The last time I disrupted a nation on the level I intended to do, I was burdened with the task to rebuild it from scratch. I believe I'd learned from the History I myself wrote. Therefore, I had to be surgical and methodical. No wanton rampage, murder, etc. Just calm, controlled, surgical removal of key elements. But I had to do it fast. My work at the cathedral wasn't quite stealthy but I wouldn't murder the people at the church just because they were praying to the wrong god.
I'd rather soon make sure they were praying to a dead god.
I took a moment to plan and a moment to prepare. I had to act fast. That's when Nenandil tugged my soul to catch my attention.
I chuckled.
I knew Nenandil was right and of all the creatures and entities in this world, she was the one I could rely upon without a sliver of worry.
I set my Exp allocation to manual while I was trapped in my elemental form and didn't switch back. Other concerns occupied my mind but I could use a boost in power. Especially, I had a perk I had to buy and others I wanted to. It was a good time to do so as the ability to locate Talbain would surely come in handy. When I started my retreat with Lorna, I was getting two trillion Exp a year. With the influx of people at the Magic Academy and adventurers farming the Dungeon making full use of the MP regeneration boost I provided, it synergized with my Exp tithing and catapulted that to three, almost four trillion a year.
The bottom line was, I had enough Exp to rank up if I didn't put points in my professions. A full rank-up would cost almost two hundred trillion. If I leveled only the Class and Species, ninety-five. And that's what I did.
> You reached Elemental Lamia [Water] level 20.
>
> You gained 3 human perks.
>
> A Rank-Up is available.
>
> You reached Royal Lamia Champion level 20.
>
> You gained 1 perk.
>
> A Rank-Up is available.
>
> You gained 70 Skill Points.
> You became a Royal Lamia Avenger (ultra-rare). You gain:
>
> 1 Attribute point every level.
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> 1 Strength every even level.
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> 1 Endurance every odd level.
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> 1 Agility every four levels.
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> 1 Ego every four levels.
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> 1 Soul every four levels.
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> 1 Agility, Willpower, Charisma, Magic every four levels.
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> 12 (+3) HP per level.
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> 6 (+3) MP per level.
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> 1 (+2) SP per level.
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> 7 (+3) Skill Points per level.
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> 1 perk every 2 levels.
>
> You gained the perk: Avenger Strike (very rare): When striking someone that committed heinous crimes against your species (and you have honest proof of), you deal double damage.
That sounded like a quirky Perk to work. I'd have to wait and see.
> You ranked up into a Frost Lamia [Ice] (ultra-rare).
>
> 1 Attribute point every level.
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> 1 Dexterity every odd level.
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> 1 Endurance every even level.
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> 1 Mind every four levels.
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> 1 Magic every four levels.
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> 1 Soul every four levels
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> 1 Willpower, Charisma, Strength, Endurance rotating every four levels.
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> Attributes above the cap were redistributed.
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> 8 (+3) HP per level.
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> 8 (+3) MP per level.
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> 3 (+2) SP per level.
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> 7 (+3) Skill Points per level.
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> 1 perk every 2 levels.
>
> You gained the Perk: Elemental Body [ice] (ultra-rare). You can transform into an ice elemental. While in this form, you have great mastery over your element. You take 50% more damage from crushing attacks. You deal 100% extra cold damage with your melee attacks.
I had a little less than six trillion Exp left from ranking up which I invested in my new Class and Species. I would come back to level the Professions once the main level was too expensive to raise again.
> You reached Elemental Lamia [Water] level 5.
>
> You gained 2 human perks.
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> You reached Royal Lamia Avenger level 6.
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> You gained 3 perks.
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> You gained 110 Skill Points.
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> Reassigning Attributes above the cap.
> Level: 131
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> Strength 66+3 / 71 - Dexterity 67+3 / 71 - Endurance 67 +3 / 71
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> Mind 73 / 81 - Willpower 71 / 81 - Charisma 67 / 81
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> Magic 160
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> Ego 160 - Luck 160 - Soul 160
>
>
>
> HP 63.499.980 (regen: 72,265 / s)
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> MP 21.215.040 (regen: 1,934,366 / h) <----- That's already with the Wellspring bonus.
>
> SP 7.070.040 (regen: 645,881 / h)
I used {Suppress Curse} to raise a few Skills to the Journeyman cap. I had nine Perks to select.
> You gained the Perk: Cold aura (very rare): When in ice elemental form, you may emit an aura of cold with (Endurance/2) meters of range. Inside this area, creatures are slowed by 50% of their movement and attack speed, mitigated by Endurance and cold resistance. Those in range take [Magic x SQRT(Willpower)] cold damage every 5 seconds. Fluids freeze and objects become brittle. You are immune to the slowing effects of the cold.
>
> If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
>
> You gained the Perk: Cold Healing (ultra-rare): 10% of all cold damage before reduction heal you.
Two Perks improved my cold elemental form. The other three Perks went to improve my Exp farming scheme for large groups. The two Perks above gave me a minor source of regeneration for 135 HP every five seconds.
> You purchased the Perk: Improved Exp Split III (very rare): When splitting Exp between a group, you treat the group as if it was 49% smaller.
>
> You purchased the Perk: Improved Exp Split IV (very rare): When splitting Exp between a group, you treat the group as if it was 59% smaller.
>
> You failed to purchased the Perk: Improved Exp Split V (ultra-rare). Assigning a Perk of the same family with a lower rarity.
>
> You gained the Perk: Boosted Exp Split (very rare): Those you share Exp with gain 25% more Exp.
Each Perk in the series reduced the former group size by roughly 20% before rounding. It looked like it had diminishing returns but that was just an illusion caused by the decimal exponentiation.
Onward to choose Class Perks. Getting {Unescapable Duel} opened up a very enticing series of Perks.
> You gained the Perk: Champion's Spoils I (very rare): If you win a challenge, you gain 25% more Exp.
>
> You gained the Perk: Champion's Spoils II (very rare): If you win a challenge, you gain 56% more Exp.
>
> You gained the Perk: Champion's Spoils III (very rare): If you win a challenge, you gain 95% more Exp.
>
> You gained the Perk: Champion's Spoils IV (very rare): If you win a challenge, you gain 144% more Exp.
Funny though if one thinks they should gain more for winning. In a challenge, the prize for second place was death. But if it was that way, why not double-down on the bet. Or triple in the case of the fifth Perk.
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I prepared myself to strike. First, I shifted into base Apricot and started to apply some changes. Alloralla modest hips and Lily's prepubescent chest. The {Fox-Kin Disguise Kit} gave me a well-trimmed beard and thick eyebrows. I donned one of the Bundeus' templar knights silvered chainmail armor and tabard, along with gauntlets and a closed helmet that all bore Bundeus' heraldry. I placed the small cloth golem with the auctioneer's soul inside the helmet where he could both see and whisper in my ear.
I also prepared a decoy with the body of the head templar. I would display his Status and look exactly like him, or close enough for people that had no idea what forensic science meant.
I made a beeline for the Royal Palace. Each minute counted now. News of the temple and auction house takeover would spread and the nobles could defend themselves or worse, hurt their slaves. I bomb-dived straight into the throne room. I crashed through a window and the protective wards taking several hundred thousand HP of damage. I opted to use Light magic this time. It wasn't as efficient as Force but I had seven times the MP pool of an archmage. I could splurge with {Overcharge Magic} to compensate for the damage. As I touched down in the middle of the room, I enclosed the entire place in a cage of Force magic.
"By Bundeus' grace and sacred light, die, heretics!" I shouted using a wind spell to lower the pitch of my voice to a baritone, matching that of the templar. A few people recognized me and said his name.
I fired at the King and Crown Prince. {Avenger Strike} shone as it doubled all my damage on them. Charms activated and broke as the enchanted items protected the monarch and his heir from my assault. The encore claimed the prince but the King's personal wards were stronger. The court mage returned fire. I mean, he tossed a torrent of flames my way. I didn't even bother to return fire. The guy was giving me thousands of MP.
On the third barrage of light beams, the King fell with a hole in his head. I got the Exp notification - without a {Death Contract}; it was too risky - and started to rotate and strike the nobles as the auctioneer identified the names on my list.
The guards attacked me. I bobbed and dodged, dancing in the flurry of blows. I only went for those attacks that seemed really dangerous and retaliated with the templar's blade. I had to grow into my new Grandmaster Skill as I just barely scraped what it really could do. I kept taking potshots at the targets on my list. I was fencing with the Royal knights when someone new entered the fray.
"STOP! I ORDER YOU AS YOUR QUEEN!" The woman next to the King shouted and I felt the power of a {Royal Order}. I froze and slammed the tip of the templar's sword on the ground. The knights also stopped. In her haste, the Queen issued a broad command. She had quite the pool of SP to pull it off. While {Royal Order}'s cost was negligible, she affected close to forty people at once.
"My Queen. I'm only doing Bundeus' bidding!"
Lucky me, there was no priest in the room. I'd have known. And probably killed them too.
She looked at the smoking corpse of the crown prince and despaired now that her adrenaline was crashing, "My son! Why?"
"Heresy. Of what kind, my lord did not disclose that to me. I'm merely a blade, my Queen."
She pointed at me, "Kill him!"
The knights came. I tossed an illusion of my figure overlayed on myself. At the same time, I stored all the items on me and shapeshifted into the three-centimeter bumblebee bat. Next, I summoned the body of the templar and placed a Force spell holding his entire spine in place. in the same spot as the illusion. The weapons came and impaled the still-warm body. I silently flew away, invisible.
"Take the helmet off!" The Queen ordered.
The surviving nobles gasped, "It's Sir Wymark the Valiant!"
Walking half the steps down the dais, the Queen screeched, "Who got the Kill?"
I tossed a {Royal Order} at one of the lower-level knights.
"I did, your Majesty. Level seventy-nine [High Templar]!" The weak-willed knight answered.
One good thing about crashing through the wards was that {Magic Eater} broke them as I discharged their energy with my HP. I was disarming traps the [Barbarian] way, which was both painful and fun. I summoned a lightning bolt from high up in the sky over the window and crashed it over the knight.
With that done, I flew out and into the place in the inner palace where the King and Crown Prince kept their personal slave harems.
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I entered the harem and assumed Mononoke's form without the wolf appendages. The women started at my sudden appearance.
"I came to rescue you. Come, let's leave this place," I told them.
"Who are you, trollop?" One of the women approached. She was stunningly gorgeous and sexy. Seriously, one could count the eights or lower in the fingers of one's hand. There were no sevens.
"Who I am doesn't matter. The King is dead. I'm taking you out of here."
Some of them panicked. As they ran here and there to pick an item and two catfights started, I started to doubt their willingness to be free.
"Why would we want to get out? This is heaven!" Another girl said. She was young but not too young. Thankfully the late King was not into that.
"Yes, get out of here!" Another one shouted.
The panic was generalized now. "They're going to sell us!" - "The Queen is going to kill us!" - "Why did you kill our man!" - "I hate you, bitch!"
Taking in the sights of the harem, it wasn't a bad place. The King and Prince were not too rough and they enjoyed a life of luxury. These women all wanted to keep what they had but their masters were dead.
"Does any of you want to get out of here? You, the blonde that said the Queen is going to kill you?"
"It's a trick! Don't go with her or you'll regret," The main speaker shouted. She came closer and slapped my face. "Get out of here, bitch, before you put us in even more trouble!"
With a sigh, I vanished. The prince's harem had the same attitude. I wouldn't force them.
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I spent the next couple of hours darting between mansions, checking the slaves. Bells rang all over the city, announcing the King's death.
Only one or two out of every ten wanted to get out of there. Mostly those that had family they wished to see again. But to these people - not only women as some nobles liked bratwurst as well as ocean bivalves - the luxury slave life wasn't bad. Some even spat in my face - literally on one or two occasions - that getting enslaved was the best thing that happened in their lives.
I took whoever wanted to come with me in Force bubbles. Most of the time it was a beast-kin or were-kin.
I felt a sharp drain in my MP. The barrier I placed on the temple was being under assault. I returned to the auction house. From above, I saw that the temple was surrounded by guardsmen, soldiers, and knights. They were striking the barrier and some mages were studying the spell. I knew they would have a hard time dispelling something from someone with sixty points of Magic above them. Their attempts would drain my reserves but I had enough.
In fact, when I checked, I was full. The Wellspring had drained enough MP from the population to restore all I'd spent. The city had millions of people. A level zero person recovered two MP per hour. Those with any modicum of magical ability recovered much more than that. I was earning almost ten times the amount of MP I got in Windemere just because there were too many people in here.
That meant I could break the curses in a tenth of the time if I stayed here. Thought for later.
I crossed my own barrier and prepared our getaway vehicle. in the main chamber of the auction house, I sang to meld a few pews with planks of wood and a long thick dowel as a safety bar. I added slanted slots on each side of the pews so the bar could be raised or lowered. A clamp on each side would keep the bar in a position to hold the legs of the passengers.
I called everyone in the bedrooms, waking up the few that were sleeping and interrupting certain activities that died some cheeks red. To each their own. I guided everyone to take a seat and wrapped my not-rollercoaster car in a sphere of Force, weaving a Light spell to make it and the people inside invisible. Once the people were suspended, the buildings were no longer counted as being "attended" by anyone but me.
Making myself Invisible too, I stored the whole block containing the auction house and the cathedral. I rose up in the air and dismissed the barriers. The sudden difference in pressure caused the gravel bed to burst into bringing a flood of seawater. Ships were dragged by the sudden current and clashed against one another. Panic struck the population and I saw some soldiers and mages falling down in the fifteen-meter deep hole created with the vacancy of the basements and foundations. The gravel bed extended under the square. Part of it slid down with the vibrations caused by the crashing water, dragging more soldiers and knights down into the flooding pit.
The crashing water and gravel treated them like the proverbial frog in the blender. If the frog had a few hundred thousand HP. They were being beaten around but the biggest threat to these metal-clad warriors was drowning. They had a hard time swimming in armor and breathing between the violent waves.
In a matter of minutes, the whole thing stabilized. I got a dozen kill notifications as the System thought it was a trap I'd set. But damn, shit. I should've suspected the nobles' harem slaves would suffer from Stockholm syndrome, or - more realistically - the average lifestyle of a commoner was so shitty that being a luxury sex slave was a better choice.
I saw some fires here and there in the city. There was an armed and angry mob in front of each fire. Curious, I flew next to one such place and found that the burning building was a church dedicated to the Butt God. Priests were dead on the ground. Eavesdropping the mob, I learned that the blame for the King's death fell on the church of Bundeus and some proactive citizens took upon them the task of avenging their monarch.
Well, shit. I missed my shot at freeing the slaves by a wide margin. At least the ricochet struck a target of opportunity.
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An hour searching and sniffing for my werewolf companion led me to where Talbain was hiding. He hooked up with Kazuyran's agents and was in one of their safehouses. I assumed Mononoke's form with the wolf ears and tail. After identifying myself with the prearranged passcodes, I sat with my co-conspirators and quickly explained what happened.
"Well, that went really well," the werewolf guffawed.
Across the table, the agents, a human and a lierin elf were trying to not laugh. Lierin was the name of the elven tribe of the wild forests in southeast Auvanini. The humans called them wood elves. I paid them no heed and g
"We gotta go. I have sixty people floating above us. Come, Talbain. I'm giving you a flying ride back to Windemere. We drop these people and see what our next step should be."