Novels2Search
Of mortals and gods
5 - The table of Self-knowledge

5 - The table of Self-knowledge

They talked for the best part of an hour, and even if Sarah wasn’t sure any of that information would reveal itself useful for her quest, it would make a great article. Mimir then gestured for them to get up, and led them to the outside of the grove. The bald man was presented as Wolündr, god of the forge, and was holding a dark metal plate twice his height, polished like a mirror and adorned with runes on the sides. He made it stand on it’s base, a white stone with some runes.

Mimir addressed him. “You’ve really outdone yourself here. It’s beautiful. Does it work the same way as the old one?”

Wolündr just nodded in approbation.

“Dear Sarah, would you like to link yourself to it? It would allow you to see your own status, and probably answer some of your remaining questions. Just stand in front of it, and put some blood on it.”

Sarah stood in front of the tablet. She could see her darkened reflection on it. As she thought of the blood part, she turned around to see Audrey handing her a small scalpel. She had it on her since the beginning?

Sarah cut the tip of her middle finger, noticing she had to put some strength for the scalpel to cut, and touched the metal plate. It absorbed the drops of blood. She suddenly felt something strange, and her reflection grew brighter, before flowing into a multicolored beam toward her. It was over before she could react.

“Now, just think of your status, and it should appear.”

Sarah 

Lomrow

Liberator of gods Global level 8 Truthseeker 7/20 Race Human *!* Affinities

Darkness 5%

Death 5%

Valkyrie 1/20 HP 848/848 MP

1131/1131

    STR 143 INT 216 Luck 13 END 141 WIS 183     AGI 148 CHA 168     DEX 148 MEN 141     PER 182        

Skills : Level Aïkido 3 Archery 6 Astronomy 2 Celtic language 2 Climbing 4 Dagger mastery 1 Decipher language 2 Drawing 2 Egyptian language 1 Eyes of the Tomb explorer 2 Eyes of the Truthseeker 2 Geography 4 Germanic language 6 Hearth of the warrior 1 Hellenic language 2 History 6 Instinct of the Truthseeker 3 Latin language 4 Orientation 4 Riding 3 Speech 2 Staff mastery 1 Trade (Mason) 1 Trade (Painter) 2 Trade (Sculptor) 2 Unarmed combat mastery 3

Perks : Curious mind, Divine quest, Focused mind, Gotta befriend them all, Oblivious, Touch of the Valkyrie. Titles : Liberator of gods, Tomb explorer, Library rat

The blue windows appeared out of thin air, right before her eyes. Quickly reading it, she couldn’t help but notice her low luck. Though it might be something special, after all, it was alone in its column.

Wondering how everything worked, her gaze stayed a bit longer on the ‘Tomb explorer’ title. A smaller window appeared immediately.

Tomb explorer

(current number : 5)

The grand tombs of the ancient time are full of secrets and history. It takes a special kind of person to wander inside, even more to explore it fully. +5 WIS per tomb fully explored, +5% affinity with darkness and death.

Sarah was happy to see this, even if, lacking a reference, she couldn’t really understand her stats. She decided to check everything, titles, perks, skills and classes.

Liberator of gods

(current number : 100)(Operation impossible, number attributed : 100.)

For a being of pure power, being imprisoned is rare. For a lower being to free a god is a feat rarely accomplished. +10% total Experience for divine classes per freed god. +1 to all stats except Luck per freed god.

Library rat

If someone willingly spend more time in a library than outside, there will fatally be consequences. +5 INT; +5% to all stats when inside a library.

 All those titles seem pretty good. Well, maybe that last one is a little insulting, but I can do with it. But the error number for the Liberator of gods left her wondering. Was there an infinite number of gods? And if so, isn’t it totally unfair that I got only one hundred? There’s at least four hundreds in the Norse pantheon alone! Sarah calmed herself quickly, and went on to see the perks.

Curious mind

Diversity is the key to survival! Or you just like learning new things. +50% Experience when learning new skills. +10 INT.

Divine quest

Given to you by multiple gods at once, accepted in front of Mimir, norse god of knowledge, this quest is worded as such: “Find what happened to the gods, and bring the culprits to justice”. Allows one to use the Great Library of Gods once a month for an hour. Reward upon completion: ?????

Focused mind

Mastering a skill takes time, and you’re not afraid of that. When training a skill beyond first level, +10% Experience for each prior day of continuous training. +10 INT.

Gotta befriend them all

A unique perk, available only if all the gods agree to give it. Allows you to have multiple affiliations at once. +10 CHA.

Oblivious

You’re a little dense aren’t you? Whatever the reason, you can’t seem to notice romantic interactions around you, or even toward you. +50% resistance to charm or suggestion effects. +5 CHA, +10 MEN.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Okay, that last one is downright insulting. I’m professional, that’s all. To whoever wrote those, I have a complaint! Since the blue box didn’t move at all, she went on with a sigh.

Touch of the Valkyrie (Valkyrie) For one of the prideful Valkyrie to willingly touch someone, this one must be outstanding. Allows one to pursue a Norse divine class while ignoring the affiliation requirements.

Well, it seemed that one was there solely for her to be able to become a Valkyrie. I suppose it's Thrud gift. She's the only Valkyrie I know of.

Aïkido

A martial art focused on counter-attacks and using the opponent strength.

+0,5 END, +1 AGI, +0,5 DEX, +0,5 PER, +0,5 WIS per level.

Archery

Nothing like a bow to survive in the wild!

+0,5 STR, +0,5 AGI, +1 DEX, +1 PER per level.

Astronomy

Gazing at the stars can reveal useful.

+1 PER, +1 INT, +1 WIS per level.

Celtic language

You learned to speak the language of the celtic people!

+1,5 INT, +1,5 CHA per level.

Climbing

Up! Up! Up! And never look down.

+1 STR, +1 END, +1 AGI per level.

Dagger mastery

Stab a kidney, slash a throat, cut an artery…

+1 AGI, +1 DEX, +1 PER per level.

Decipher language

The ability to peer at the meaning of an unknown language.

+2 INT, +1 WIS per level. Allows one to level other language skills regardless of certain prerequisites.

Drawing

From a schematic drawing of the room to the preliminary works of the greatest artists, everything start with the self, a drawing tool and an observation.

+1,5 DEX, +1,5 PER per level.

Egyptian language

You learned to speak the language of the egyptian people!

+1,5 INT, +1,5 CHA per level.

Eyes of the Tomb explorer

Inside a tomb, the path only lit by a flimsy torch, one needs good eyes to avoid missing an inscription, a treasure or a trap.

+2 PER, +0,5 INT, +0,5 WIS per level.

Eyes of the Truthseeker

The gaze of the Truthseeker pierce every veil, laying bare the truth.

+1,5 PER, +1,5 INT, +1,5 WIS per level. Serve as a prerequisite for other Eyes skills.

Geography

Knowing where you are is just as important as knowing where you're going, and for both, geography's the way.

+0,5 PER, +2 INT, +0,5 WIS per level.

Germanic language

You learned to speak the language of the german people!

+1,5 INT, +1,5 CHA per level.

Hearth of the warrior

Knowing fear isn’t succumbing to it.

+1 WIS, +2 MEN per level.

Hellenic language

You learned to speak the language of the hellenic people!

+1,5 INT, +1,5 CHA per level.

History

If someone already failed, better know it, no?

+2 INT, +1 WIS per level.

Instinct of the Truthseeker

A Truthseeker’s instinct is sharp, and allows him to find the places where he will find answers to his questions.

+2 PER, +1 INT, +1,5 WIS per level. Serve as a prerequisite for other Instinct skills.

Latin language

You learned to speak the language of the latin people!

+1,5 INT, +1,5 CHA per level.

Orientation

So, where's north?

+1 PER, +1 INT, +1 WIS per level.

Riding

Once you're on top of the beast, this might be useful to direct it (Other skills may be necessary to ride something else than horses, we decline all responsibility for any incident.)

+0,5 STR, +0,5 END, +1 AGI, +0,5 PER, +0,5 CHA per level.

Speech

What good is being knowledgeable if you can’t express it?

+0,5 INT, +0,5 WIS, +2 CHA per level.

Staff mastery

Well, everybody needs a first weapon…

+1 STR, +1 AGI, +1 DEX per level.

Trade (Mason)

From a clay hut to an impregnable fortress!

+1,5 STR, +1,5 END per level.

Trade (Painter)

Your brush shall move the hearths of men (provided you work for it).

+1,5 DEX, +1 PER, +0,5 WIS per level.

Trade (Sculptor)

Art pieces and weapons in a single trade!

+1 STR, +1 END, +1 DEX per level.

Unarmed combat mastery

When you don’t have a weapon, become the weapon!

+1 STR, +1 END, +1 AGI per level.

It’s definitive, the one writing the definitions is a dick. Some of those are clearly strange. But Sarah noticed that every skill let her gain 3 stat points per level. Except the ones containing the word Truthseeker, which gave 4,5 per level. It explained some of her highest stats, but only created more questions about what that class was exactly.

Truthseeker

Truthseeker quest : Find what happened to the gods.

[3d tier](Mortal class) Prerequisites: ‘Seeker of truth’ perk or ‘Hidden past’ perk or ‘Divine quest’ perk, PER over 100, INT or WIS over 100.

The path of the Truthseeker is one of danger and shadows. Peeking under the veils some put on their past actions is bound to trigger conflicts. The Truthseeker isn’t one to be deterred by anything or anyone in his quest, and telling him to stop searching is sure to make him grow curious.

+1 STR, +1 END, +1 AGI, +1 DEX, +3 PER, +1 INT, +1 WIS, +1 CHA, +1 MEN, +0,5 Luck. +100% Experience from exploring new places or discovering new knowledge. +100% Experience when working directly toward solving the Truthseeker quest. +10% Resistance against illusions per level. +5% Resistance to mental effects per level.

If everything here was true, and why wouldn't it be, this was probably one of the most powerful Mortal classes, as Mimir told her that the most basic classes gave around 3 or 4 stats point per level. And she wouldn’t even be close to reaching the prerequisites without the ‘Liberator of gods’ perk! How did she get something so strong? With already seven levels in it. Was it retroactive maybe? The Valkyrie one now.

Valkyrie (allowed by Touch of the Valkyrie)

[1st tier](Divine class) Prerequisites : Norse pantheon affiliation, approbation of one Norse god, one martial skill at level 5.

The valkyries were often misjudged as being the daughters of Odin. Though it’s not the case, they’re still some of the strongest beings in service of the Norse gods. From the lowest one guarding the gates of the Valhalla to the mightiest ones acting as avatar of their gods, they form the bulk of Asgardian forces.

+1 to all stats except Luck. +5% resistance against disease and poisons. +5% resistance to hostile non-norse divine magic. Allows one to learn norse divine magic. Allows one to access the Great Library of Gods once a year for an hour.

Allows one to confer the ‘Touch of the Valkyrie’ perk.

Before she finally dismissed her status, Sarah glared at the bright red exclamation point adorning her race.

Human

A race often belittled by more powerful or ancient ones. However, no one can hold up to their ambition, curiosity and tenacity.

+10% Experience toward the acquisition of a new skill.

Awakening bloodline : Valkyrie (1%)

Thrud, the Valkyrie goddess, has gifted you the opportunity to become a Valkyrie. A little bit of that ancient blood now travel your veins. As you gain in power and accomplish feat of strength and valor, your blood will thicken, bringing you closer to your Awakening as another race.

Titles, perks, classes, skills or stats may evolve your bloodline into a variant one.

Oh, so THIS is Thrud gift.