What is the deal with those Gandalf-esque dudes? This one is more like a hermit than a dignified wizard but still... Yeah, his appearance was but a mask he wore. Because the person that spoke to me was nothing less than a deity.
"Greetings," I curtsied and tried my best polite speech. "I'm terribly sorry for intruding and causing a ruckus. But I had to meet the guardian of this valley. Are you perhaps the guardian?"
He smiled, "I don't know about being a guardian, but this place is my home," he opened his arms wide to apparently hug the whole valley. "I never had to protect this valley from anything. Most creatures are not foolish enough to challenge me."
"I see. May I assume you don't want people here?"
The God shook his head slightly and gently chuckled, "You may, but that's not very objective, is it? To answer the question you are hedging around, I would not like this to become a busy place. That's why I surrounded it with mountains, anyway."
He created the mountains. Of course he did.
"Well, I won't bother you anymore. I'll also warn the King of the nation by the western foothills to not come here."
"Already in a hurry to leave? Stay awhile, and listen."
Eh? I raised an eyebrow full of suspicion at him. Speaking of suspicious gods, this guy was missing from the crowd at my fight with Bundeus.
"I am well aware of your world's culture, traveler," He replied with a smirk. "Now, I'm called Tuisco. I've been worshipped in your world in the old times, then came to this one. I have nothing to do with the dominant pantheon. In fact, I am not even subordinated to their 'System'. I have a proposal for you, traveler. You have something I desire, and I can offer you something you need the most."
That made me raise the other eyebrow. There were two categories of people that gave me great grief in this world. Gods and Kings. Guess I'm too much of an anarchist. Or just I can't be put in a box and made a subordinate. Or because I refuse to put up with their shit. Or because I'm an asshole. There's no need to pick only one answer.
"No need to trust me," He answered my unspoken question. "I'll give you some free advice anyway, you can choose to follow it or not. First, never turn off the tether that links you to Loki and sends the stolen divine energy to him. Despite what the legends may tell you, mortals who absorb divine energies do not ascend. They get corrupted."
Wyxnos said something like that god-knows-how-long-ago. After pondering, I asked, "What do you mean by they get corrupted?"
"What do you think demons are? They're creatures that steal divinity. Creatures that can rob people of their little spark of faith to increase their own power. If you absorb divine energy without somewhere or someone else to send it, you'll become a demon. And that's bad because once you die and reincarnate, you'll still be a demon. So, don't do it. If I had to guess, Loki set you up like that not to steal this world's energy. The amount you take by just being near me is negligible. It was to keep you safe as you clash with the gods that claimed this world."
That seemed like sound advice I would have no trouble following because I wasn't interested in having anything to do with divinity.
"Okay. I can do that. I assume what you have for me is even better than the free sample. What do you want?"
"You have some powerful cores with you. Two from demigods and one from a fellow deity. They would be more helpful to me than to you and I'll give you what you need the most in exchange for them."
These cores meant a lot of points. Over three lives, they can give Nenandil and me two hundred and thirty-five extra Attribute points each. While it is not impossible to get other cores later, having them in hand is a great benefit.
Tuisco was reading my expressions if not my mind. He claimed to be outside the System, who knows how things interact between non-System deities and System entities. "You'll find strong cores in your next lives if the changes that are to come to happen. Most likely. The level cap is about to be lifted, there will be several creatures above level two hundred. But I don't need those. The cores you hold have divinity in them. Useless to you."
"I'm not making a trade in the dark. What is your offer?"
He smiles. "I won't tell you. I'm a God, so I'm telling you to have a little... faith in me."
"Can you give me some time to talk to my familiar?"
He nodded.
I explained my worries to Nenandil. I felt I was being scammed.
"If he scams you, you lose the cores and he loses your trust. You can threaten something he values a lot, the peace of this valley. While I would detest seeing this patch of untarnished nature being destroyed, it's not like it would remain intact with people coming here anyway."
He was hearing our talk but gave no input. After I collected my thoughts, I felt I couldn't trust him. Or have faith.
"I'm sorry. I won't give you the cores," I told him. "Not without knowing what you offer."
"That's fine. If I might suggest, hold onto those cores. If you still have all three, come back here and we'll talk. I can see everything in this valley, and I'll know you in whichever form you wear."
With that, he vanished. The presence I felt also vanished and it was as if our meeting had been a dream. I looked up and only the starlit sky witnessed what just happened. I was pretty sure the other Gods had no idea what we talked about.
----------------------------------------
I went to the palace but Eric was busy. I talked to Vanagon, the resurrected human king of a neighbor nation turned silk-man now working as the seneschal of Windemere. I explained to him about the valley and the entity that lived there.
"No expansion then. We need to build another city for the refugees," He pondered over the map. He tapped the spot of my battle with Bundeus. "What about Freedom Lake?"
They dubbed the lake that formed once I cleared the topsoil of Bundeus' body "Freedom Lake" because in that lake I'd won freedom for the slaves. It was fifty kilometers outside our wall and we would have to expand Windemere, stretching our defensive efforts. While I could defeat any army they threw at us, I wouldn't be around forever.
"We need to train more guards."
"There's a ton of people eager to find a job. The situation is sustainable now, but it strains our reserves. We are one drought or plague away from famine."
"Then it is settled. Let's settle around Freedom Lake and expand Windemere."
From the palace, I visited Yznera's temple. The place was packed with people and the main nave became a hostel. After donating a handful of gold coins to the church, I was led to the same spot where I got the quest to breed a new Elf Princess.
"Old soul," the venerable werewolf priest grinned with his pearly white fangs. "How may I help you."
"I need to ask the Mother about the spirit of the quest she offered me. If she wants me to give birth to an elf girl or if she is just interested in reviving the bloodline."
He looked confused as his ears flicked, "What do you mean? Aren't both things the same?"
"There's a subtle difference. While giving birth to an elf in Alloralla's body would revive the bloodline, that's not the only solution. I must know if she is interested in an alternate solution that doesn't involve my womb."
I was fine being the donor of genetic material, and I was pretty sure I could do the in-vitro fertilization and implant the embryo in another elf woman's womb. It wouldn't be my daughter even though she'd be Alloralla's genetic daughter.
"Wait a minute or two. I'm praying to the Mother for Her wisdom."
The werewolf knelt and prayed. It took five minutes of silence in which I meditated before he came up with an answer.
"She said she is open to amend the quest. The rewards won't be the same, however. She also asks you to not teach anyone how you'll do it."
I accepted the prompt.
> Yznera, Goddess of Nature, granted you a Quest.
>
> Revive the Old Fulgen Royal Bloodline.
>
> To complete this quest, you need to use Queen Alloralla's eggs and oversee the birth of a pink-haired elven princess. Be warned that only elven royalty can beget elven royalty.
>
> You gained:
>
> * Fertile Womb (very rare): You have a 100% increased chance of achieving conception through intercourse with a fertile male. You have an 80% reduced chance of miscarriage. You have double chances of twins or triplets. You have a 20% better chance of conceiving daughters. Childbirth is 80% easier and less stressful. This perk will be granted to your daughters.
> * Birth Control (rare): During intercourse with a male, you can decide whether to allow a chance of conception or not. This perk will be granted to your daughters.
> * Your {Sterile} curse was removed.
>
> After the Princess is born, you'll gain:
>
> * Ten Attribute Points to allocate.
> * Rest and Relaxation (rare): The beneficial effects on your body and psyche from relaxing and comforting items and actions are enhanced by 100%. This perk will be granted to your offspring.
> * Tree Refuge (ultra-rare): When using Tree Stride, you can instead opt to teleport into a tree refuge, a circular forest meadow twenty meters across that is inaccessible by any other means. You always access the same refuge. Objects left in the clearing will be there once you return. Time passes in the clearing normally when you are not there. When you cross out of the clearing, you return to the tree you entered from.
>
>
I can have babies now, hooray? Nope. Not happening. I needed to convince an elven princess to lend her womb to birth the baby. Okay. I needed Sariandi for that. I accepted the Quest, handed the priest a platinum coin to help with the refugees. The werewolf smiled.
"It is heartwarming to know the people here have three mothers watching over them. My thanks, Matriarch. Know that Mother Yznera and her followers will always be your allies, Old Soul. And one more thing..."
He fidgeted with the coin. I smiled, "Speak your mind, elder. Know that I'll never be angry with my own kin."
"Mother Yznera asks you to forgive her. She tipped Bundeus that you were not petrified, which caused him to come here for a fight. She had total confidence you'd slay him."
That explains a lot. I looked up. "Thanks for being honest with me, Yznera. But you now owe me a big one. You put Windemere in harm's way, regardless of the outcome."
The werewolf's ears flicked and shifted as he listened to something. "She said it's a deal. Now, go. Elves take an awfully long time to gestate."
I chuckled and left the temple.
----------------------------------------
I tracked Renyn down to tell him of our plans. He was in Rosebush, performing for the eleons. From there I went to the fairy ring and tried to link to Theirian as I was sure I'd visited a mushroom circle or two in Silverstreak's home glade. After spending my entire MP and SP pool, I got one dreadful message.
> Target is out of range.
I calculated how far I could teleport with the amount of energy I'd used. Forty million points could move someone ten thousand kilometers. A quarter of a loop around Earth's equator. I would have to set up waypoints if I wanted to get there.
I flew to the edge of Auvanini and placed a small fairy ring there. Then to the Vintis Archipelago where the remnants of the pirate community were still living their sedated lives. Away from the settlements, I put another ring. I had to cross the ocean.
I dove in the water and transformed into a sailfish. From what I saw on documentaries, it was a very fast fish but I couldn't reach a hundred kilometers per hour without any buffs as they stated. More like a cruise speed of twenty kilometers per hour, which was fast as heck for something swimming in water. I transformed into a water elemental version of the fish and prepared for my cross-oceanic trip. I had {Improved Swimming} that doubled it, and {Very Fast} which doubled all movement. That took me to eighty kilometers per hour. But my elemental form had one power, {Jet}. it allowed me to use MP to improve my speed. After testing with varying degrees of propulsion, I found that I could pump it to give me a ninety-times boost to my speed.
That went so well, let me tell you. Have you ever heard of supercavitation? Well, a water elemental attempting to swim at seventy-two hundred kilometers per hour caused a little localized explosion as the water basically tried to fold on itself and created water vapor bubbles in my wake. It was like a sonic boom - no, it WAS a sonic boom - underwater. I took a heck of a lot of damage and even killed some fish as the shockwave worked like a depth charge.
Oops. We'd weaponized super-swimming. Looking good for a day's work. Take that, Aquaman.
I found I could go really fast. Two thousand kilometers per hour was a comfortable speed and while it caused some turbulence, it didn't have devastating effects. A few marine creatures came to see what was going on but they couldn't catch me. A few hours later, I reached the shore.
Going up revealed a fishing village It was ridiculously easy to find settlements in the eternal night as people still had to use light. I became Blossom the ginger fox-kin girl and asked for directions to TIjen's cove. I'd missed my mark by a month's travel on foot. I found an out-of-the-way grotto and placed a fairy ring there.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
On the wings of the swallow, I reached the port city at the same time I took to cross the ocean. Tijen's Cove was the same as when I left decades ago. It was as if they'd stopped in time. I found a nice grove of trees on the far end of the island near the ruins of the lamia temple.
I placed a fairy ring there, next to a cliff. The waves crashing on the other side gave the place a briny scent and a constant rumble. People rarely came this way as the ground was not adequate for agriculture with too many rocks. The ruins were just as I left them. I tested the teleport and returned to the Vintis Archipelago, the closest fairy ring in Auvanini. The distance was more than eight thousand kilometers. I think this world might be slightly larger than Earth.
After regenerating a bit of MP, I opened a gate to Windemere. As the gate opened, a few pixies zipped through. I groaned inside.
They shouted excitedly, "It's the ocean! It's the ocean!" Keeping with their raucous banter as they started to fly away.
I whistled, "Stop right there!" I shouted with the power of a {Royal Order}. "The gate is closing. You'll be stranded here."
"I think the word is 'marooned', matey!" One of the pixies retorted.
"Arr. You go on back to land, lass! We're going to pillage and bury me a treasure."
I crossed the gate before it closed. At the porch of our house, Vesper waved at me. Things were already getting hectic in the fairy ring.
Yes, she was right. There was a Perk for that and I didn't even need to deal with half-eaten fruit logos. It reduced the distance based on the fairy circle's radius. After I talked to Vesper, I went to inform Eric that I was going to Pekothas and get Renin onboard.
----------------------------------------
I opened the last portal to mainland Pekothas in my SIlverstreak form.
"That's impressive. From Windemere to Theirian in two days!" Renyn exclaimed as we walked out of the portal. No stray pixies went through this time. The grove was crawling with fairies. They came to pick and harass Renyn but the elf took the bullying in stride.
Renyn can be called the "Poet of Torment" but he was the kindest and most understanding creature I knew. People thought he liked to see torment but in fact, it was the other way around. He loathed torment for the sake of torment. What he sought was to hear sad stories from people to learn valuable lessons and understand the sentient psyche. He often reached out to hurting people to comfort them. He was adamantly against torture, executions (but most elves were), and cruelty in general.
He shared those stories he heard because he thought people could learn from these lessons. By hearing how horrible this or that thing was, maybe those who watched his performances would be less prone to causing such harm and maybe be convinced to act against it. But, of course, people were morons. He had quite a following of hedonistic and sadistic people that wanted to use his stories for inspiration.
No good deed shall go unpunished, indeed.
"Ah, Silverstreak mah lassie! How urr ye! sae guid tae see yer coupon aroond 'ere again!"
I spun around to see that round silly face of a brownie I loved so much. I rushed to hug Neep. If we fairies had such attachments, he could very well be Silverstreak's father. Definitely a mentor figure.
"Neep! How I missed you, my brownie!"
"Ye keek mighty braw fur someone wha died, lassie!" He exulted.
"I'm a lamia now. But I can use the forms of my previous lives."
He nodded sagely, "Aye, th' queen explained it tae me. Ah wis juist pul'in yer shank."
I laughed. It was nearly impossible to understand half of what he was saying.
"We need to go to Fulgen, but I don't know any fairy circles there," I told Neep. "Is there any fairy here that can open us a gate there?"
He looked at the tree that led to the Brenna's realm, "Th' queen surely kens, bit a'm asking aroond tae see if someone kin hulp ye."
We went around asking. Several fairies had traveled to Fulgen but none could open a gate. Instead of bothering Brenna for help, I flew there myself. The trip took a whole day of flight but I marked a mushroom ring on the outskirts of Forestheart. But with that done, I could just open a gate and pull Renyn through. Some fairies came through to sightsee and harass some elves. Let them.
Nenandil and I rode on Renyn's shoulders. We entered the city underneath the gigantic evergreens and it was crawling with elves.
"I've never seen Forestheart this crowded," I commented.
"Yes. Ever since someone solved the elves' low reproductive rates, the population boomed."
It also had another secondary effect. The amount of MP I was collecting through the Wellspring was MASSIVE. Caps totally deserved. I set {Erode Curse} to work on {Unspeakable Curses (uncommon)}. It was ticking up by one percent every half-hour. In just two days, that curse would break. Eight days for a rare, thirty-two for a very rare, four months, an ultra-rare.
Nenandil excused herself and went to visit her mother at the underground lake goblin village. Renyn strategically went away, leaving me to do my quest on my own.
In Alloralla's shoes, I came before Sariandi in her throne room. I was left alone with the High Queen.
"Mother!" She shouted. I see you are even more ridiculously overpowered than before."
I met her challenging gaze. "Which head do you want to see, the hundred-fifty Black Dragon King, or the two hundred Human God?"
"Can you not drop severed heads in my throne room?" The queen of Elves sighed, "Dear Yznera, you sometimes behave like a cat, sharing your kills without a request."
I stared at her and huffed, pretending to be annoyed. "And exactly who bound me to a cat?"
"You chose the cat!" She retorted. "If I had my say, I would pick an armored bear."
"Gross!"
"That's why you lost to Rudolph III."
"I didn't even fight. He was too strong and I ran out of poison."
"To what do I owe the visit, mother?"
"Cut the crap. I know Yznera warned you."
She smiled. "Yes, she did. I already chose the candidates," She said calmly then used magic to project her voice. "{Enter}!"
Eight elven girls, barely two centuries old entered the room. Their dresses and tiaras clearly showed they were princesses and to which court they belonged. Technically they were Alloralla's adoptive great-grandaughters. But damn, they could summon some Yuushas.
Sariandi did the introductions. I really didn't pay attention to the names. The eight princesses were trying to win my attention as if it was some sort of pageant.
"Pick one to bear your child, Alloralla." She declared at the end of the introductions.
"Okay. All eight of you, follow me. Sariandi, I need a hundred healthy males to make this work."
Some of the princesses giggled, others gasped. Sariandi raised an eyebrow. "A hundred?" Her voice rose an octave. "Alloralla, my dear, you are insatiable."
I could explain but Yznera asked not to. Let these dirty-minded princesses think whatever they wanted. Instead, I just smiled and shifted back to my true form, with the glowing scales. "I'm a lamia now, don't forget it."
I rattled menacingly. "All of you eight, follow me."
I don't need to tell you that even though elven libido is less than a human's, the chance to help the legendary pink-haired Queen Alloralla breed had a line of volunteers going 'round the ancient tree. They were somewhat dismayed when I just told them to jizz in a glass vial. Three days later, I had my sperm samples from random donors. Time to harvest the eggs.
This was going to suck.
First I had to make a microscope. I could make glass using alchemy and shape it using Force magic cutters as that school of magic was perfect to make geometric shapes. The second step was to refine hormones off of my blood. I needed them to grow the eggs.
Then came the third step.
Anyone that watched the Devil's Advocate with Keanu and Pacino knows that scene. The ovaries scene. Naked, I bit a piece of wood. Then I took my trusty enchanted dagger and cut open my belly. The wood splintered because of superhuman strength. Then I cut me... Alloralla's ovary off. Some pain sensations can go over a hundred percent of the threshold. Fuck. Then my regeneration kicked in and helped as I spent SP to regrow the ovary. Rinse, repeat, I had several ovaries in Storage.
I remembered why I was doing this shit. Because I wanted the Attribute Points to reach {Pinnacle of Charisma}.
From the ovaries, I removed viable egg follicles and nurtured them with a hormonal bath. Once they were ripe, I made the embryos and froze them in the timeless item box.
Regardless of what one believed or the reality back on Earth, the fact here in Yznarian was that babies only acquired souls moments before birth. The fertilized eggs were just diploid cells with a unique genome that, given the right conditions, could become a person. I did not assume the rules of this freaking fantasy world applied to Earth. I mean, I can go from a hundred-kilogram lamia to a two grams bat. Where did the extra mass go? Nobody knew.
With twenty-four healthy embryos, it was time for the implantation. I brought the princesses one by one, got them comfortable on the gurney, and injected the embryos inside their wombs. Two days later, I checked their pregnancy tests. Seven came out positive. A huge success but I had to consider they had the Perk granting double chances of pregnancy. The one princess that didn't get pregnant was from the Summer court.
Elves didn't have a menstrual cycle, so I tried to implant her again. This time, it worked.
I broke all my "unspeakable" series of courses during that time. But I wouldn't stay to oversee the gestation for two main reasons. One, I didn't want to develop a more emotional attachment to these children. And two, I wanted to search for lamias.
I collected my familiar and left Fulgen.
Above the skies of the centaur plains, I got a massive surprise. A flock of griffins, wearing Fulgen's colors flew my way. I placed a platform of Force on the air and shifted into Alloralla's form. The lead griffin came and landed next to me.
Taeral "Vandyke" jumped from the beast's saddle. He knelt.
"Your Grace, welcome to Fulgen. We were patrolling the mountains so we couldn't greet you before."
"Stand, Taeral. It is good to see you. You did tame the griffins! Amazing!"
I was mildly annoyed nobody told me that.
"After you gave your life to scare the dragon away, the griffins were very receptive of us. We managed to unlock the Class and rank-up as you commanded. With the [Royal Griffin Rider] Class, it was a matter of using the Perks to bond with the eggs."
I caressed the griffin's head. "Magnificent. Congratulations, Taeral."
"We claimed the mountains where the griffin's nest. We had a fortress there now. We call it Alloralla's Aerie."
"I'll visit you sometime. Now, I have another quest. I'm looking for lamias."
He pointed to a lit-up place in the plains. "Go to the centaur village. Maybe they know where you can find them."
I hugged Taeral. "Thank you, my friend. Give Velora my regards."
He grinned. "You must meet our son. He's at the Aerie with her!"
Implying he and Velora got busy. Right... life goes on, doesn't it?
We parted ways and I flew, absorbed by my thoughts. No, I couldn't have children of my own. I was already tangled with this many people, and having true offspring would make me completely paranoid. Not to mention they would be a tool to be used against me. No. I needed to be independent. Never lonely because I had Nenandil and Lorna's memories with me.
But no, having children of my own was not in the cards for me. Too much bullshit flying my way.
----------------------------------------
I spent the next several months searching Pekothas high and low. I updated my maps, I ground my proficiencies to the maximum, I purchased new abilities.
> Appraiser [156]: You can see the System information of a target, be it an item, person, or monster. The precision and amount of information gained increases with proficiency.
>
> * Legend and Lore: When appraising a historical item, you learn some of its history.
> * Distant Appraise: Increase the distance you can appraise a target by Proficiency meters.
>
>
>
> Cartographer [171]: You can create precise maps of the land around you and search for resources.
>
> * Oceanic Charts: You can map oceanic depth and currents.
But of lamias, not a sign. The few people I interviewed told me the monsters were all hunted down. The church of Bundeus was stronger in Pekothas, mostly because someone a century ago destroyed all the temples in Auvanini and slaughtered the priesthood. I have no idea who was that fake King in shining plate armor. That's what I got for a job half done.
My despair only grew as I kept visiting places. Here and there, I could see signs of lamia settlements in ruins. I also found nobles wearing articles made of lamia leather. Let's say it didn't end well for said former nobles.
Lamias were considered monsters. The female orcish snakes, some called them. No wonder the System marked my species as at risk of extinction. But he didn't bump my rarity to unique as it did with Alloralla. I thought I had a shot. I only had three types of lamias in Windemere. Nature, Fire, and Earth. Maybe Light, Water, and Ice if you counted me. We were still missing on Wind, Lightning, and Darkness.
No. I refused to let that happen. After six months of search, I abandoned Pekothas and swam to the scorched continent. Only the east coast was populated. The western side was a desolate place crawling with abominations and horrible monsters.
No lamias whatsoever. I felt as if the two I rescued in Vintis and me were the last ones. The only benefit of all this traveling was that I had now a fairy ring network to teleport between the continents.
----------------------------------------
When I was teleporting back to Fulgen, I found a peculiar character on the other side of a gate. Loki.
"Greetings, Princess Lakerta," the Norse God said. "I'm here with dire news and a request. No, why deceive you. A demand."
I knew that Loki was in an entirely different league from the Gods of this world's pantheon. I had as much chance of defeating him as a toddler with a toothpick had of killing the current me.
"What do you want, Loki."
"Simple. I need Lakerta to die. Soon. Something very important is about to happen, and I need you on a 'rerolled toon', as you guys call it."
I took a step back and prepared to fight. Loki took a step back and laughed.
"No! By the All-Father's eyepatch, I'm not here to do something as boorish as murdering you. Your paranoia is worse than Hodr's aim, for crying out loud."
"So, how should I die?"
"If I may suggest, you should take the princesses that are about to be born with a bunch of lamias and grant blessings on them. I'll give you a hint. Lamias give birth to children with one of their own elemental affinities. What would happen if a lamia has, dunno, a copy of your {Elemental Magic Affinity (ultra-rare)} Perk? Two dozen? That might be the ticket to revive the subspecies you are so desperate to find. You do that. Give them your all and reroll. That's my request. Oh, there I go again. My demand. Burn your lifeforce on these blessings. The girls with Alloralla's blood are all being born right now. Anytime soon Yznera will complete your quest and I have to get out of here or they'll see me."
Damn. Damn. I never have any agency.
"What are the dire news, trickster?"
"In your next life, something awful is going to happen to you. Keep in mind it was all my fault. But remember that I did what I had to do for your own benefit. I'm looking at the endgame. You can trust me. It is a matter... of faith!" He grinned.
Loki was a snake oil salesman. You could trust him as much as said snake oil would cure grandpa's gout. I said nothing.
"Remember, it was all on me. For your good even if you don't see it that way. Don't aggravate the pantheon of this world more than you need to," Loki warned then his face became too much serious. It was a mix of Hannibal Lecter and Don Corleone. He'd eat me up then give me concrete shoes. "And if you don't kill yourself in a month, I'm going to do it myself. You don't want that. I have to go. It's time."
Loki vanished. Seconds later, a message popped up.
> QUEST COMPLETED.
>
> Twenty princesses were born. For completing the quest above the requirements, you are granted twenty extra Attribute Points.
Holy moly! Thirty Attribute Points. I put two in Charisma.
> You gained the Perk: Pinnacle of Charisma (very rare): Modify all reactions two steps in your favor. Increase all positive social bonuses by two. Decrease all negative social penalties by two. You cannot have your communication impaired.
One could believe it was lackluster but social reactions were everywhere. Even in combat. Feints, taunts, stratagems. All of that was influenced by how people saw you. I dumped the other twenty-eight on Mind, to boost my MP regeneration. I couldn't get a pinnacle on a physical Attribute because the cap was still below one hundred.
> Level 164
>
> Strength 81/90 - Dexterity 82/91 - Endurance 82/91
>
> Mind 130/145 - Willpower 115/145 - Charisma 100/145
>
> Magic 170
>
> Ego 170 - Luck 170 - Soul 170
>
>
>
> HP 99,093,739 (139,278 HP/s)
>
> MP 31,813,290 (5,611,926 MP/h)
>
> SP 10,831,826 (1,495,373 SP/h)
The numbers were looking very, very good. Too bad I had zero doubts Loki would make good on his threat.
I went to Windemere and brought a group of fifty lamia children to Fulgen. After making sure Sariandi would look after them and the elves would raise and train these girls until they could go to Windemere on their own or I came to pick them up, I performed the {Fairy Godmother} act, granting all of the lamias and the twenty new pink-haired elven princesses a lot of Perks.
* Elemental Magic Affinity (ultra-rare): Spells of the eight basic elements. Fire, Water, Ice, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Light, and Darkness have a 50% reduced cost and 50% more efficiency.
* Nature Magic Affinity (rare) Spells that affect plants and non-magical animals have a 50% reduced cost and 50% more efficiency.
* Fairy Goddaughter (very rare). You have a protector fairy. You gained +2 Dexterity, +2 Endurance, +2 Mind, +5 Luck. Other fairies will recognize you have this perk.
* Affinity Resistance (very rare) You resist 25% of the damage from magic to which you have an affinity. For non-damaging harmful effects, they end 25% earlier.
* Head Start I (very rare) You gain eighteen base points of HP, MP, and SP.
That wiped out my SP pool.
I stayed with the lamias, teaching them some basic magic skills until it was time to go. I intentionally didn't see the elven princesses for fear of bonding with them too much. I was just a genetic material donor. Just that. Damn. I was still not strong enough. I needed to get what? Two hundred on all Attributes? How could I get rid of Loki? Was this what the old man at the mountain valley wanted to teach me? Should I've given the cores to him?
I didn't know. But like the executioner's ax, I knew Loki would come for me. Two days before the due date, I flew away from Windemere and sat on a mountain near the Aerie. Taeral and Velora were there with me.
"I have to go now. Here, you can have these storage rings. Make sure to dispose of my body."
"That's too cruel," Velora cried. "Are you doomed to never live to old life?"
"Putting it that way, it doesn't sound too bad. No, Velora. I need to get stronger yet. I'm a pawn in some cosmic game. But I guess it is time. I can feel a tug in my heart. If I don't do this myself, he'll come and I don't know what that guy will do."
Finally, I used {Self-Sacrifice} to break another curse, ending my current life.
> Your {Major Decrepitude (ultra rare)} curse was downgraded to:
>
> Decrepitude (rare): Your maximum physical Attributes are fifty.
>
> You died.