Wyxnos, God of Logic, Science, and Craftsmen bowed slightly, "Greetings, Lily or Lakerta, how would you like us to call you?"
Annoyed, I stared straight into his eyes. The guy would just vanish if he worked in Wall Street amidst all the other suits.
"How about not by 'Anomaly', 'Invader', 'cursed being', or anything else like that? How about NOT calling me?" I delivered my reply with all the sarcasm I could muster.
My legs would've given up if I had any. Now that Bundeus was dead, I was feeling the mother of all adrenaline crashes. I would love nothing more than just slithering under some silk sheets and sleeping for a month.
I could see that a lot of the Gods would like nothing more than killing me right here. They were keeping their distance, about ten meters from me. I found the "Basilisk Guy" and decided to do a staredown match with him. If there was anyone I wanted to kill next in this group, it was this dude. Then the Dragon-Bitch. She looked mighty tired. I bet that {Reverse Fate} ability of hers cost a lot to use. She wasn't even scowling right.
"What are you looking at?" He asked.
I narrowed my eyes. It was probably suicide but I really wanted to dump another 3.2 million MP into another {Force-Fire Maiden}. {God Slayer} was out of the cooldown. I bet three hundred million would hurt. "Bundeus' lapdog. You summoned the basilisk that killed my mother. There will be a reckoning."
"Respect, mortal!" He said haughtily. "I'm Nurha-boenir, God of Monsters!"
I sputtered into a fit of giggles. "Pleased to meet you, Nur-had-a-boner." I cackled and chuckled manically. "Had a boner. Now no longer. May he Limp Eternally," I said with a solemn bow. "I'm going to get you so many followers. You're going to get the Impotence domain, trust me!"
I was writhing and rattling along with my peals.
"IMPUDENT MORTAL!"
He transformed into the most hideous creature I ever laid eyes on. I think that if I hadn't just gained {Pinnacle of Willpower} I'd be wetting my scales now. He would strike hadn't Queltphion shoved a gauntleted hand his way.
"Enough," The God of War, Soldiers, and Balance spoke (he gave Death to Rabhorktaar). The God of No-Boners obeyed.
"I can give you some lamia aphrodisiac, free of charge. Maybe it helps," I snarked.
Let's not think this aphrodisiac is some kind of genital fluid, okay? And the thought of giving mine to him was totally creeping me and nope-nope. I totally failed at not thinking of it as a genital fluid. Now I couldn't use it anymore.
"Lakerta, please," Yznera pleaded.
"Okay, okay. Sorry for making fun of your medical condition," I told Nur-had. He scowled and opened some insectoid mandibles with oozing teeth underneath that would've given H. R. Giger wet dreams.
A lamia that looked absolutely stunningly gorgeous and sexy met my eyes and I forgot about the God of Limping Dicks. She reached with Her hands and I would love to tit-wrestle Her.
"There has been enough violence for an age. Please, don't provoke him anymore," She could only be Zacheia, Goddess of Love and Arts. But why a Lamia? Maybe she appeared as the most enticing form for each person?
"You're correct, I'm Zacheia. And no, I can't read your thoughts," She explained, "But your eyes are very honest."
She did something with her lips that made me feel very, very warm at the end of my tail if you catch my drift. Goddess of Love. Love, baby, that's where it's at.
"Ladies!" Galbarar's voice boomed. Then in a normal polite tone, he addressed me, "Lakerta. Is that how you wish to be called?"
"You may call me by any of my incarnations' given names," I replied as politely as he did.
There were some deities I didn't wish to aggravate. Yznera, Queltphion, and Galbarar. Wyxnos was kind of a Frenemy weak on the "fre" and strong on the "nemy". His cold and calculating demeanor and the fact I was still here assured me that he hadn't found yet a way to screw me over. However, I knew he was still trying. Behind those cold eyes lied a cross between the Terminator and Agent Smith with none of Hugo or Arnold's charm. And now with his logs turned off, he had little chance to know what I was up to. I bet he was sifting through my fights trying to find out what little would show up on other people's logs.
"Good. Lakerta it is then as it is your current shape. I'll be straightforward as you seem to prefer. We have one request. We need Bundeus' body."
Yeah. What for, was anyone's guess. But guessing was how I'd get screwed in this game. I blew a huge sigh.
"What for? Why do you need his body? What do you want from it?"
Galbarar smiled. "I need his Core. There's a great amount of divine energy in that core, energy that could be used to end this Age of Eclipse sooner. The other Deities might have their own uses for it but the plea I make is on my behalf, and also Yznera's. She is overburdened feeding her own energy to the plants and environment so they don't die without the sun's energy."
A level two hundred core, from a god nonetheless? I wonder how many points it would feed me. Magic cores had a quality. Dragons and Demon Lords gave one Attribute Point per level. Lesser cores gave one every two, three, or even four. But I could only get points from cores of a level higher than the last one I consumed, and the new one would only give me the difference. That's why I didn't use crappy ones. But would a God's core give me more than one to one? I was dying to know.
"Even after I drained him dry?" I asked the first of many questions.
"Indeed. Did you notice he released no soul? A God's soul resides in their domain. These forms you see are but avatars, magical constructs. During your fight, Bundeus lost the ability to support his domain and his soul merged with his avatar, forming a Core. There is a great deal of divine energy to be obtained from it."
"And if I eat it, everything goes to Loki, right?" I asked just to confirm.
Galbarar nodded. "Indeed. It is an outcome we would very much love to avoid."
"Fine then. Let's negotiate," I replied.
At that moment, my rage flared because I understood why the fuck I was so agreeable with these gods-damned-gods. It was the fucking {Pinnacle of Charisma} along with a throng of other traits messing up with my mind. Damn, they even convinced me to kill myself.
"How about two Unique Perks of your choice?" Galbarar offered.
I forced the scorn that was about to come out and ruin everything down my throat. Now that I knew - and could resist - what they were doing to me, it was so damn obvious I was trading gold for shiny glass mirrors.
Barely hiding my suspicion and other feelings, I asked, "What's the chance Bundeus comes back to life if I hand the core?"
Galbarar grinned, "None, I assure you. Why would we want Him back?"
I had dozens of questions. And I would ask every single one of them. "What happens to Humans now?"
"They lose some of their boons without a patron deity. Newborn Royals won't get a racial Royalty Perk," Galbarar answered.
Wyxnos added, "And the odds of getting the right Perk from the 'Human Shop' will be halved. No, it has already been halved. That will be a massive downgrade to that ability. One that will affect you as well even though you'll keep the Royalty Perk."
I nodded, trying to hide the smirk. Wyxnos didn't know about my new cheese power. Although I had {God-Slayer} now, I would find another "god" Perk to exploit.
I replied enthusiastically, "Thank you for your advice! I can pick any Perk from my current species, as well as six fairy types and the species I create. I think I'll be fine, Wyxnos. I think I'll even make a few more."
"Please don't," Wyxnos implored with a heavy sigh. "It's a ton of work to fill all the entries for the new species."
Galbarar cleared his throat, clearly impatient.
"Okay. Negotiations. Here's my counter-offer. First, I want a guarantee from every single deity here that no more hostilities will come my way from you or your minions. Nor will any church ever endorse or support an attack on either Theirian, Windemere, or any nation I help create. I mean not a single priest in any army attacking these nations. Second, I want three hundred Attribute Points, split between me and Nenandil. Fifteen to each Attribute, both current and cap. Third, I'll take those two unique Perks, but I already know what I want. One that will keep {Surpasser}'s thresholds at hundred points without scaling, and another that I'll describe to Wyxnos in detail."
I explained to Wyxnos. His eyes went wide but he nodded. "It is possible."
"Three hundred is too much," Galbarar said. "One hundred."
"Guarantee non-interference from the churches against my nations, that Bundeus is never coming back, that dragon-bitch and basilisk-xenomorph there will stay forever out of my toes, including her hatchlings, meet me halfway in the Attribute Points, the two Unique Perks I asked Wyxnos, and we have a deal. I'll give you Bundeus' Magic Core."
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> Divine Negotiator active.
>
> Contested Charisma check won.
The pantheon exchanged some glances, "We agree to your terms."
And that's how I knew I could've asked for more. But I think that was enough. I got all the Gods off of my back.
> The Gods offer you the following Quest:
>
> Deliver Bundeus' intact Magic Core to Galbarar.
>
>
>
> You will gain the following Traits:
>
> True Surpasser (unique): The amount of withheld Attribute Points required by the Surpasser traits is always one hundred.
>
> Bygnone Hero (unique): Whenever you use an ability that requires your life to activate it, you don't die at the end of the ability's effect. Instead, gain the "Bygone Hero" condition. No longer gain experience points. Lose a level of your Species and Class every thirty days. You die when you reach level zero. This loss of levels does not affect any other traits, except your basic HP, MP and SP. You cannot activate skills that require your life while under the effects of Bygone Hero. No other trait or ability can stop you from dying or losing levels until you die. The Bygone Hero status is removed after death.
>
> Enhanced Familiar Attributes X (unique): Unlocks all Attributes of your familiar. Increase all your familiar's current and maximum Attributes by ten.
>
> Enhanced Attributes X (unique): Unlocks all Attributes. Increase all your current and maximum Attributes by ten.
>
> Do you Accept [YES] [NO]
Wyxnos got the Perk wording exactly as I wanted, unintentional loophole included. Excellent. I reviewed the prompt but there was one point of contention. it was nice, but it had one little issue.
"Just one problem, guys. I have no idea in what condition the core is. I'll deliver it to you as-is. Amend the Quest and we are gold."
They removed the "intact" wording from the Quest and I accepted it. I put a huge bathtub on the ground and produced Bundeus' cut-off torso inside of it. With a few cuts, I removed his Magic Core from the chest where the heart should be.
Bundeus' magic core was a glowing crystalline heart made of a golden translucid gemstone. Not the symmetrical twin-teardrop shape people use for hearts. I mean the actual human organ. It even had the cavities and was dripping blood. I emptied it on the tub, then stored the body and the tub filled with the god's blood. God blood. What kind of enchantments could I make with that?
With the core in hand, Galbarar held it up high as if he was presenting little Simba to the beasts of the Serengeti. I sensed wisps of Soul energy flow from the crystalline heart and into his hand. The golden glowing crystal lost its shine and color, becoming as transparent as glass. Finally, when the last mote of energy left it, the thing crumbled into sparkling dust and vanished.
"The Sun shall now rise for three hours every day," He declared.
That was a huge improvement. I received the Perks we negotiated. I checked my Status to see if I had any hidden Attribute but there was nothing new.
"We should go," Wyxnos stated. "Staying next to... Princess Lakerta is not productive. Stay in peace, Your Highness. Know that I, especially, am not working against you."
But not helping either. I got the message loud and clear.
The Gods vanished, leaving me alone in the clearing. One day later, the world got a message along with an early sunrise.
> Rejoice, people of Yznarian!
>
> Bundeus the Fool, the perpetrator of the Age of Eclipse, has perished.
>
> Humans no longer have a patron deity.
>
> BY Galbarar's Plentiful Grace, the Sun now shall shine for three hours every day.
Huh. The elven name really caught. And what a piece of crap... I mean, marketing. Galbarar was making a grab for the now dispossessed humans and preying on the people's desperation.
----------------------------------------
I spent the next few days cleaning the blight I'd spread. I looked around and saw the same effect happening again. Bundeus' blood infused the whole place as his {Repulsion} ability spread everything he bled around the two-kilometer circular clearing. This place was going to become a second Dragonfall Valley. Bundeus' Folly, that would be the name of this new open-air Dungeon. It would take several years for the energy to transform into a new Dungeon but the signs were all there.
I had to remove the blight because I didn't want an undead spawning grounds. As Galbarar promised, we now had three hours of sunlight each day. After the blight was gone and no longer at risk of spreading and tainting the place - a couple of zombies spawned while we were cleaning - I sat with Nenandil at the edge of the arena of my most important fight.
"I can't believe you fooled them," Nenandil said.
"I didn't, though?" I smiled like the were-jaguar that ate the angel. Although I couldn't transform into one.
She shook her tiny blue head, "They were watching you fight. I doubt they didn't notice what happened."
I chuckled, "There's only one way to find out."
I brought another huge bathtub and placed Bundeus first body in it. It was still bleeding. After a quick cut and a few removed ribs, I got another crystalline heart and quickly hid the evidence back in the Item box.
"No wonder the Broodmother was so tired," I commented, taking care to not use any derogative terms. We were at peace now. "She had to rebuild his body from scratch."
Next life's Magic Core was already secured. But now, I had a rank-up to make. I had a few species to choose from. I could pick a normal lamia race with a bump in power because of the high rank, but there was one that caught my eye.
> You ranked up into a Crystal Lamia [Light] (unique). You gain:
>
> 1 Attribute point every level.
>
> 1 Dexterity every odd level.
>
> 1 Soul every even level.
>
> 1 Mind, Magic, Endurance, and Ego, rotating every four levels
>
> 1 Willpower, Charisma, Strength, Luck, rotating every four levels.
>
> 5 (+3) HP per level.
>
> 8 (+3) MP per level.
>
> 10 (+2) SP per level.
>
> 7 (+3) Skill Points per level.
>
> 1 perk every 2 levels.
>
> You gained the Perk: Light Lamia (ultra-rare): Your scales may glow with intensities from a faint luminescence to as bright as daylight. You are immune to blindness and glare. When your scales shine brightly, all Light and non-necromantic Spiritual magical effects are doubled.
My scales shifted in color again. The pale blue of the ice lamia parted to make room for the yellow I always had. But now I had yellow diamond shapes all along the back of my tail surrounded by a navy blue border. The scales were glossy and caught the light. Upon close inspection, I saw that the scales were translucid. I detached an old scale to check, it felt like a crystal.
I tested the shine. It was gorgeous. I could light up the whole tail or just parts of it. I could even make just the diamonds glow. I decided to leave them shedding light equal to a candle. But the real light show happened if I assumed my ice elemental form along with the shining scales. My body caught the light from the scales and shone like a prism, refracting the light and separating it into all the colors of the rainbow. I was my own Lisa Frank creature now.
I even had some leftover Exp (yes, at my level, three quadrillions Exp was leftovers) to apply some levels.
> You reached Crystal Lamia [Light] level 5.
>
> You gained 2 Human Perks.
>
> Attributes above the cap were redistributed.
>
> You gained the Perk: Pinnacle of Mind (very rare): Your thought process is twice as fast and precise. You recognize illusions for what they are. You recover MP and SP 50% faster.
I needed two Attribute Points to increase my Charisma to a hundred. Just one more level... Nothing that FIFTEEN centuries (at two trillion Exp per year) receiving tithed Exp from the kin couldn't solve. High-level people's problems. Spoiler alert, Lakerta would die of old age before that.
> {Princess}
>
> Level 164 (Species 85 + Class 79 - Professions 74 / 74)
>
>
>
> Strength 81+3 - Dexterity 82+3 - Endurance 82+3
>
> Mind 102/145 - Willpower 115/145 - Charisma 98/145
>
> Magic 170
>
> Ego 170 - Luck 170 - Soul 170
>
>
>
> HP 99,093,739 (139,278 HP/s)
>
> MP 31,813,290 (4,928,734 MP/h) <--- With the Wellspring.
>
> SP 10,831,826 (1,495,372 SP/h)
I had to get used to these numbers. They aren't growing up anytime soon. At least I had a veritable bounty in Perks to pick from. Five from [Avenger] and ten from the species. For the Class Perks, I knew very well what I wanted. I had to get some combat Perks I was sorely missing. The combat with these elites gave me several ideas.
> You gained the Perk: Second Wind (uncommon): Once every fifteen minutes of combat, you can recover 5% of your maximum HP. This Perk can be used up to three times a day.
Second Wind was a requirement for several recovery Perks, including the {Full Heal} Bundeus spammed during our fight.
> You gained the Perk: Charge (uncommon): You may move up to (Strength) meters in a straight line at ten times your running speed. If you make an attack against a target at the end of the charge, you deal double damage.
Also, the first one in a chain to acquire {Flash Step} and others.
> You gained the Perk: Blood Sacrifice (rare): You can spend (weapon base damage ^ 2 ) HP to imbue a melee attack to deal double damage.
>
> You gained the Perk: Glorious Charge (rare): Your Charge attacks now stuns the target for 5 seconds if you win a contested Strength vs Endurance test.
>
> You gained the Perk: Flash Step (ultra rare): When you Charge, you move instantly, ignore obstacles, and deal triple damage.
Species Perks. What does a [Crystal Lamia] get? I could only pick two from this list.
> You gained the Perk: Light Healing (ultra-rare): 10% of all Light damage before reductions heal you.
>
> You gained the Perk: Sunlight Regeneration (ultra-rare): When exposed to natural sunlight, your resources regenerate 50% faster.
I needed another target for cheesing the Perk selection as {God Slayer} was no longer valid. After giving it some thought, I decided to try and aim for the cheat resurrection power the Broodmother had.
> Your attempt at obtaining {Reverse Fate (unique)} has failed. Perk is locked at {Unique}. Perk is restricted to deific entities. Selecting an alternative Perk of the same family.
>
> You gained the Perk: Improved Last Chance (ultra-rare): You spend SP equal to the target's HP. The window of time extends to 1 hour.
Again? Why not.
> You gained the Perk: Mass Last Chance (ultra-rare): You spend SP once and may affect up to (Soul/10) targets.
Erm... Third time is the charm?
> You gained the Perk: Healing Last Chance (ultra-rare): Targets recovered by your Last Chance return with full health but have their Strength and Dexterity reduced to 1 for 1 hour. All debuffs and ailments are removed.
Okay. Last one. I think the whole family is rated ultra-rare as the base Perk is.
> You gained the Perk: Heroic Last Chance (ultra-rare): The window to use Last Chance is one month.
Four Perks left. I wanted to spend them on my people.
> Boosted Exp Split II (very rare) (...)
>
> Boosted Exp Split III (very rare): (...)
>
> Boosted Exp Split IV (very rare): (...)
>
> Boosted Exp Split V (ultra rare): Those you share Exp with gain 205% more Exp.
----------------------------------------
This place was too far away from Windemere. Expanding along the river would aggravate other countries. I dug two meters of the blood-infused topsoil and the earth ramparts created by {Repulsion}, compacting it with Earth magic and storing the dirt balls. Removing the infused ground before it had the chance to spread and cement its influence did the trick. The river turned and flooded the place, creating a shallow lake. Perhaps this place would become a mire later, but no longer a dungeon.
I sensed a ping on my {Detect Sentients}.
"Lakerta, we have visitors," Nenandil warned me.
She pointed at the edge of the lake. A squad of scouts from Windemere. A rabbit-kin and a were-badger took point, by the fur and animal ears.
"Hail the scouts!" I shouted. "Approach, friends."
I swam through the water, noticing that a few fish were already exploring the new feature. Once I reached the other shore, the scouts gasped as they probably used {Appraise} on me.
"Salutations, Your Highness," they snapped into the salute with their fists over the heart.
I smiled and returned the salute, "At ease, guys. I'm on your side."
"We received reports of a large army coming this way," the rabbit-kin reported.
I pointed at the lake, "They are all dead. Including their boss. Nothing to see here, gentlemen. Let's go back home."