With groaned exertion, Riza picked herself up from the ground, catching her breath as she surveyed her surroundings.
Corpses littered the rocky ground. Dozens, perhaps even hundreds of beast demons slaughtered mere metres from the fog. Dotted around, near the centres of battles, were the humanoid demon corpses, each one killed in different ways. The greater demons had been lost to the white miasma.
The colossal demon stood tall. Titanic in the crater, it filled your vision like the sun, impossible to ignore but thankfully motionless. Riza didn't know why, although she had her suspicions, but the thing only seemed hostile when someone was near the fog.
And finally, the people. Amidst the demon corpses were the dead and bloodied villagers, killed by the fall, the debris on top, the noxious fog, or the beast demons themselves. It was a heavy sight. Sobering.
Those that remained had gathered near the edge of the crater, defended by the staunch Chosen and Dominion of Asum's people. Straggles of beast demons still approached but were easily dealt with, stabbed to death effortlessly as the soldiers maintained a strong perimeter.
Atop of the crater, standing on the precipice, was Adewyn, stomping her foot down with tremendous strength that caused a small cascade of rocks, stones, and dirt to slide off and down the side of the crater.
What is she doing? Riza was baffled.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t spend more time watching Adewyn work as a small gaggle of demons was approaching her. They were easily dealt with.
Her gaze followed the stones as they rolled down the near-vertical wall, picking up speed and flying outwards once the ground became more horizontal. They rolled past the villagers, past Asum’s people, and even past her own.
Meren had joined in the fighting, lunging after whatever demon thought to try its luck. The rest, however, seemed to be conserving their strength.
“Everyone okay?” Riza sent a [Message] to Lefie as she trudged over to them.
“Yep! Daven and Sanders healed up anyone who was injured and now Adewyn is trying to make a slope so we can get out,” The teen happily replied, sounding impossibly energetic after the battle.
So that’s what she’s doing.
Another stomp, this time, dislodging a large chunk of earth that was as big as a car. It came sliding down with a thunderous sound, breaking apart on the way right beside the gathered group of people. A few cheers resounded from the crowd.
Amongst the survivors was Asum, speaking to people as needed and occasionally relaying orders back to his people. He looked tired, and with a fair amount of dried blood and dirt on him, but otherwise healthy.
Riza had to push through the throng of people to reach, calling him over to talk somewhere a little more private.
“Is this over? What are you going to do about that thing?” She asked, gesturing towards the demon.
Asum looked over at it, scratching the back of his head.
“It doesn’t attack us over here, and I don’t know if we can kill it. My current goal is to get these people out of here and to somewhere safe. Even if I wanted to fight it, I couldn’t. Adewyn’s in charge and these are her orders,” He explained, sounding like he had aged 5 years since they’d last talked.
“Right, right,” Riza said absentmindedly, looking up at Adewyn. “And she’s making a slope for you to climb.”
“Correct. We’ve got no rope, pickaxes, or anything, really, that would help us climb out of here. My men are busy with the demons and I doubt the women and children will be of much help.”
Riza was quiet for a few seconds, thinking things over. She checked her entity manager as well.
Entity Manager Excess Essence 1.25 es/sec
Entity Name Skill Level Health Stamina Essence Cost (es/sec) Daven Raise Dead 17 120/120 120/120 1253/2046 8.18 Sanders Raise Dead 17 100/100 100/100 1142/2064 8.18
Level 17! Holy shit, that’s a fucking boon! And how many skills do they have now? Like, 10ish?
Riza nodded to herself, affirming her plan. “I think I can help,” She told Asum before marching over to Daven.
The man was trailing behind the wall of soldiers occasionally going up and placing his hands upon their back. Instantly recognisable tendrils of green energy flowed through him and into them.
Heal. Whether they’re injured or at full health, it still has an effect.
“Daven, over here,” She called for him, and he obeyed promptly.
“Well done on level 17,” She said, catching a few sudden head whips to look at him. Faces ranged from shocked to impressed before focusing back on the threat, albeit minor at the moment. “How’s your essence?”
“Mostly full. It’s not like I have much to spend it on.”
“That’ll change. Take [Earth Shape] and help to carve out some steps for the people,” Riza ordered.
“[Earth Shape]? Seriously?” Daven asked, not out of disbelief but understanding of what such a decision meant; it’d be the first skill he took that didn’t contribute to essence regeneration.
Riza nodded firmly.
The man took a deep breath before moving his hand through the air, eyes flickering.
“Done,” He reported and began to head over to the crater wall.
Her eyes darted back to her entity manager. Only 1.25 essence per second. I’d only be able to sustain another level up for each until they began draining me. Better have them leave the party and stop fighting.
Two quick [Message]s to Daven and Sanders accomplished just that, leaving the pair firmly stuck at 17 thankfully.
Now, all Riza could do was wait.
----------------------------------------
“And no attacking the elder demon,” Adewyn warned firmly.
“Hey! I like a good fight but I’m not fuckin’ suicidal,” The warrior said as he left, drawing his sword as he broke away from the congregation to tackle the beast demons further out lest they escape the crater.
She sighed heavily, stretching out her arms and back as they clicked in all sorts of places. That demon had really done a number on her. She had even had to tear off her breastplate, too deformed to wear now.
As tired and desiring of a warm bath and good rest she was, that would have to wait.
Protector Asum’s people were doing a good job holding off the demons, his mages doing the majority of the work, the crowd control strength of essence shining through.
And, that mysterious man with Riza had begun to make steady progress with the steps. They were rough, uneven, and sloppy at first but were getting better as he climbed higher and higher.
There was no urgent matter for her to attend to and, with that, she decided to take a break. By Skaldur, she’d earned it.
Breaking away from the main group of people, not wanting to answer any more questions, she looked for a place to sit down, her eyes falling on the auspicious woman of the hour, Riza.
She was sat on a large boulder, facing the central, towering demon. On her hand was a pure black crow, surprisingly docile as it let her run her hand all along its feathers.
Adewyn walked up to them, not disguising her approach but not announcing it either, and sat down next to her.
The woman jumped slightly at her presence, too engrossed in something else to have noticed her.
“Hi,” Adewyn said tiredly, her posture and poise gone from her voice when she talked to the villagers. She was a symbol of the Chosen’s strength, after all, and so she’d better not show any weakness.
“...Hello,” Riza said after a second or two of quietness, as if contemplating whether to actually respond with a greeting.
“That was very impressive what you did out there. Killing all those greater demons. The way you got rid of the pure essence… that wasn’t life magic, was it? That was something else.”
“...Yes.” Her responses were short and laconic, as if everything required careful deliberation.
“That was fucking awesome.”
Riza turned her head to look at Adewyn, a shocked expression plastered all over her face.
“From where I was standing, you disappeared into the essence and then the demons started dropping like flies even with the elder attacking you. It was incredible!” Adewyn smiled.
She was looking at the elder greater demon, replaying what she saw in her head.
“Hmmm,” Riza mumbled but didn’t say anything, looking outwards again.
“You’ve got to be very brave to do that stuff. Were you scared?”
“Not at the time.”
“Wow. I’d be shitting myself if I was that close to the thing. Even sitting here, I still don’t feel that safe.”
“Hmmm.”
Adewyn was quiet for the next few seconds, watching the demon but also Riza out of the corner of her eye. She was so different since she last saw her.
“You’ve cut your hair,” She said, almost absentmindedly.
“Oh? Hmmm.” For a moment, it sounded like the woman was about to say something. Latching onto this, Adewyn stayed on topic.
“It looks quite nice. Urgh, when I was younger, I hated having long hair and actually cut it once. Everyone freaked the fuck out. My father accused me of trying to be a boy and didn’t let me touch a knife for months and my mother literally cried over the lost strands. It was ridiculous.”
“Why don’t you cut it again?” Riza asked quietly.
“Ah. So many reasons. I was more rebellious when I was younger as well. Although, I mainly keep it this length because I know my wife likes it?”
Riza visibly perked up at that, looking at Adewyn with thinly veiled interest.
“You have a wife?”
“That’s just what I call her. No one else sees it that way,” She said, tone bittersweet.
“Oh.”
“You’ve met her, actually. Andreya. Remember?”
A blank look briefly passed on Riza’s face before she nodded.
“She was… forceful,” She said, causing Adewyn to chuckle.
“That’s just because it’s her job. She likes to act all serious and professional but she’s really sweet once you get to know her. You should’ve seen her when she was promoted to Head Steward; one moment, I’m out in a field fighting a greater demon and then the next, I’ve got her screaming in my head about how she got the role and couldn’t wait to tell me,” Adewyn replied lovingly. Her smile was full as she reminisced on the past.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
The smile slowly faded as Adewyn got serious. She began with a sigh.
“There’re not many people I can talk with like this. I’m a Guardian. Everyone either fears me for my strength or treats me like a vessel for Skaldur. I can’t have one conversation with someone without a heaping of praise for “doing his work”.
“It’s like they don’t even think I got to where I am through my own strength,” She scoffed.
“Are there any other Guardians you can talk to?”
“As if. Way out here, you’re lucky if there’s one Guardian per province. I’m in charge of three!” She sighed.
“And then, all the Guardians are incredibly fanatical. They’re mostly men, as well. That’s partly why I’m here. When Andreya told me this was where she was assigned, I left with her as soon as I could.
“Urgh. Sorry for dumping all that on you. I guess that’s one thing they don’t tell you about getting strong; it’s awfully lonely up here.”
The silence stretched on for what felt like minutes, Adewyn worrying if she perhaps alienated Riza with her complaints and feelings.
“Would you like to hold him?” She suddenly said, offering up her crow.
Adewyn wordlessly accepted, holding out her hand as the bird jumped to it.
Hesitantly, and with as gentle a gesture as she could, she began to stroke it, feeling the glossy black feathers.
“Feels different than what I expected,” She commented, a small smile forming as she continued to pet it. “How do you get it to be so friendly?”
“That’s a secret!” Riza said with a bit of energy, smiling mischievously.
Adewyn laughed lightly. What wasn’t a secret with this woman?
“You said the Guardians are fanatical. Why did you become a Guardian, then?”
“Er… It just sort of happened. They pick us to train into Protectors. A party is drafted with the most effective composition so we can safely kill a greater demon. Once I became a Protector, that’s when I met Andreya and I knew that if I wanted a life with her, I had to be strong. Strong enough so people couldn’t tell us what to do.
“So, when there was a report of an elder greater demon and a Guardian was recruiting for a team to take it down, I was the first to join.” Adewyn looked from the bird back to Riza. “What about you? Why did you become this strong?”
“Huh. Same reason as you, basically.”
Adewyn, a bit surprised by this, looked from the woman and then back towards the group of people.
“So, is Meren your-”
“No, no, not like that. I mean I wanted freedom to live my life,” Riza hastily explained, slightly embarrassed, as Adewyn gave a small sound of realisation. “When I was weak, the Dominion forced me to do stuff and go places.”
“Yeah, well. They’re not going to stop trying?” Adewyn said, receiving a confused look in return which prompted her to elucidate.
“I wasn’t called here to deal with the demons. I was called to deal with you. Not to kill you!” She quickly said, reacting to Riza’s alarm. “Just to take you in. Bring you the Seat of the Regent or, if that didn’t work, stall you while other Guardians or perhaps even a Warden arrived. You’re too dangerous out of their control.”
“Wh-Why are you telling me all this? Do you believe it?” Riza shot up from her position, taking a step back, panicked.
“No no no,” Adewyn hurriedly shook her head. “Shit, sorry, but I like you. I think you’re a good person. I’m just warning you, the Dominion won’t give up trying to control, especially if you continue to grow stronger and display your power.”
“But you’re one of them! How can I trust you?”
“I’m telling you all of this freely. I’m not trying to hurt you. I don’t care that you use ‘forbidden magic’ and, honestly, many of the rules they have are ridiculous. If all you’re doing is helping to destroy demons and not harming anyone, I’m on your side.”
Riza was breathing rapidly, her eyes darted about, looking like she’d run away at any moment.
Thankfully, she didn’t.
“Okay. Then-then, if you’re on my side, tell me how I can avoid the Dominion,” Riza said, clearly trying to muster confidence in her tone.
“You have to calm down,” Adewyn said, holding out one arm placatingly. “Protector Asum asked you to stay here not only to help with the defence but to also keep you here until I arrived. You’re too dangerous to confront without a Guardian present so nobody will fight you.
“As long as you keep on moving, and don’t tell the Dominion of where you’ll be next, we can’t follow you. It took me eight whole days to travel from Litchendorf to here. If you left and avoided any villages, I’d have no idea where you had gone and would return to the Steward empty-handed.”
“But I don’t want to run forever.”
Adewyn smiled sympathetically. She knew what Riza was feeling but didn’t have a response.
“Shit. Fuck. Shit. Are you always going to be chasing after me?” Riza had begun to pace.
“I don’t have to be.”
That stopped the short woman in her tracks.
“Huh?”
“You have psyche skills. If you keep me informed of your location, I can make sure I never catch up to you.”
“Why? Why would you do this for me?”
Adewyn pointed towards the elder demon and the essence that had stopped growing larger.
“Because of that. Without you, this whole crater would be filled by now. All those villagers, dead. Protector Asum’s men? Dead. The demons need essence to survive and I think, the more ground covered in it, the further that thing can move. You stopped that.
“You have the skills to do so much good. Look at Litchendorf? You saved them when you didn’t have to. If you kept helping people, why would I want to stop that?”
“But, but… it’s "forbidden".”
“That’s just what they want people to think. You saw Sylan. He used ‘forbidden’ skills. Skaldur forbids me to love my wife but once I became a Guardian, it was suddenly okay? All these rules stop mattering once you’re strong and so deep into the Dominion or the Chosen that they’ll never let you leave or tell anyone about that. It’s all hypocritical.”
Adewyn was glad they were a fair distance away from everyone else. What she was saying was positively blasphemous.
Riza finally seemed to take it all in, not responding but continuing to pace.
“Okay,” She nodded slowly, finally calm. “But I might not always be able to send a message. You might be too far away."
“Well…” Adewyn began, suddenly getting an idea. “I can work something out.”
Riza looked intrigued but didn’t ask, instead turning around to look at the elder demon.
“What will you do about that?” She asked.
“Nothing, for the time being. We have to get the villagers to a safe location. We’ll probably create an encampment to keep the beast demons at bay.
“The Dominion has probably already been informed of the thing. They’ll be rounding up their equivalent of Protectors and then they’ll send them here to take it out. It’ll probably take two or three weeks until then, though. A lot of bureaucracy is involved. Andreya hates the stuff.”
Riza nodded firmly.
“Well… thank you. For this.”
----------------------------------------
The sun was starting to get a bit low in the sky, barely visible from all the way within the crater. Up on the edge, Riza could barely make out a person watching them. This constant vigilance was Adewyn’s doing; in exchange for letting Riza’s group hang out in the crater, killing as many beast demons as they could, Adewyn and her people will keep watch along the crater edge.
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They simply couldn’t leave the colossal demon unsupervised.
This was all fine by Riza. Her biggest priority right now was the levelling of her men to level 25 so she could gain a bit of essence back. Meren and Lefie were currently handling them while Riza was going over boons and skills for Daven and Sanders, who she had pulled aside.
Let’s start with boons.
You have reached level 15 and can now choose a Consolidation Boon
[Boon of Labour]
Effect: Non-combat skills level up twice as fast
[Boon of Body]
Effect: Physical skills level up twice as fast
[Boon of Mind]
Effect: Non-physical skills level up twice as fast
Hidden Boon
[Source of Spirit] -Consolidated
Requirements: Spirit is 2 times greater than any other stat
Effect: Spirit is multiplied by 3
Hidden Boon
[Self-Actualisation]
Requirements: Be summoned
Effect: For each level gained, the cost of maintaining existence is 1% cheaper
Hidden Boon
[Root of Spirit]
Requirements: Have no stat points allocated to anything other than Spirit
Effect: Spirit is multiplied by 5
Hidden Boon
[Way of Primordial Magic]
Requirements: Two Primordial Magic skills (10/10)
Effect: All Primordial Magic skills are 2 times as effective
Hidden Boon
[Party Animal]
Requirements: Have been in a party for 24 consecutive hours
Effect: Intensity of all skills is multiplied by 2 when affecting a party member
Hidden Boon
[Way of Life]
Requirements: Two Life skills (10/10)
Effect: All Life skills are 2 times as effective
Some new ones. The way skills are to be expected but [Root of Spirit] is completely unprecedented. Of course, I had to go and disqualify myself for it ages ago.
At first glance, it seems very strong. With my meddling in air magic as well, [Touched by Essence] is less of a necessity which is good as he currently doesn’t meet the requirements for it.
So, Sanders, what’s your essence regeneration per hour?
Name Sanders Level 17+ Health 100/100 Stamina 100/100 Essence
2064/2064
Power 5 (5) Constitution 6 (6) Endurance 5 (5) Vim 4 (4) Essence
2 (103) Spirit
108 (973)
Health Regeneration
120/day Stamina Regeneration
100/day Essence Regeneration
4869/hour
4869 essence an hour. Not bad. 1.35 a second.
What variables are relevant? For one, total regeneration. Two, base cost of maintenance. Three, how much essence I gain from [Essence Monarch].
Hidden Skill
Animation skill (5/10)
[Essence Monarch] (6/10) -Learned
Gain 24% of each summoned entity's essence regeneration
There’s also two states to consider; level 17 and level 25. Their respective costs are 8.5 and 12.25 essence a second.
So, [Root of Essence] turns 1.35 into 6.75. I get about a quarter which is about 1.7 for a total cost of 6.8. My current regen is 17.5 essence a second so, after everything, it’d be 3.9. That translates to 4 more levels each, for a total of level 21. Not enough but if I only focus on one, I can bring him up to level 25.
[Root of Essence] is definitely viable.
Next up, [Self-Actualisation]. Currently, he costs 8.5. 17% of is…About 7 essence. 14 total, leaving me with 3.5. I can bring both up to level 20 which then costs… Something. This is a lot of maths. I need to do it by level.
I need a table.
In her journal, Riza began drawing swift, messy lines, jotting down quick calculations in the margins, as she filled in each cell.
Level Base Cost Reduce Monarch Total Excess 17 17 14.11 0.65 13.46 4.11 18 18 14.76 0.65 14.11 3.46 19 19 15.39 0.65 14.74 2.83 20 20 16.00 0.65 15.35 2.22 21 21 16.59 0.65 15.94 1.63 22 22 17.16 0.65 16.51 1.06 23 23 17.71 0.65 17.06 0.51 24 24 18.24 0.65 17.59 -0.02 25 25 18.75 0.65 18.10 -0.53
Phew. All done.
Looks like I can level them both to 23 before running out of essence. What’s the total cost of one at 17 and the other at 25? That’s… 16.43, so that method is viable.
[Way of Primordial Magic] now. Look at that, I’ve already written down those skills and multipliers. Let’s just adjust those, do the calculation again, and… 2.26 essence a second currently. Much worse than [Root of Spirit]. Excess essence comes out to 1.7.
Yeah. Doesn’t look like they have enough skills to warrant that boon.
So, the real question comes down to [Root of Spirit] and [Self-Actualisation]. Neither can sustain both of them to level 25 but root is currently a bit better and also synergises a lot more with regeneration boosting skills so the choice is obvious.
For both of her undead, Riza went in and selected [Root of Spirit] for them.
And, while she was at it, she made them both purchase [Maximise Mastery+].
Let’s see the changes.
Entity Manager Excess Essence 5.99 es/sec
Entity Name Skill Level Health Stamina Essence Cost (es/sec) Daven Raise Dead 17 120/120 120/120 2054/9750 5.82 Sanders Raise Dead 17 100/100 100/100 2073/9840 5.80
Holy shit! 1.2 jumped straight up to 6.
And how much do they regenerate per second themselves?
Name Sanders Level 17 Health 100/100 Stamina 100/100 Essence
2077/9840
Power 5 (5) Constitution 6 (6) Endurance 5 (5) Vim 4 (4) Essence
2 (492) Spirit
108 (4869)
Health Regeneration
120/day Stamina Regeneration
100/day Essence Regeneration
11/second
At this rate, they’re going to regenerate more than me. That’s weird to think about.
Now finished, Riza slapped her book shut, looking up at both Daven and Sanders from where she was sitting.
“Congratulations. You both now have a second boon. It’s finally time to introduce you to the ways of fighting with essence.”
Their smiles slowly morphed into a confused look as Riza began to talk.
A lot didn’t need to be explained, as they were already familiar with fighting, and most of what Riza taught was around resource management, making effective use of essence. When to go past when they can regenerate. Trying out different strengths before combat so they can adjust quickly when necessary.
Doing this led neatly into a discussion on skills, as well as Riza making both of them pick up [Alteration Mastery] as well.
Daven had 4 skill points available while Sanders had 5 and since Daven already had dipped a toe into a build, Riza decided to focus on him first.
Let’s see what the earth skill tree has in store.
Earth
0th Tier
[Earth Sense] (1/10)
Sense Dimensions and material properties of nearby earth
1m radius
Cost: 1 es/sec
[Earth Shape] (1/10) -Learned
Manipulate 1kg of earth
1m radius
Cost: 1 es/sec
1st Tier
[Earth Tremor] (1/10)
Shake the ground in a circle originating on you
1m radius
Cost: 5 es/sec
[Hard as Rock] (1/10)
Whilst standing on earth, increase power and constitution by 1%
Wow... [Hard as Rock] is unexpected.
Skill trees tend to have a few trends that skills follow. Life magic has healing and restoration, necromancy and summons, creating life from scratch, and I suppose more miscellaneous skills.
Looking at just these two tiers, I’d imagine there’s skills for manipulating earth, large area effect, and close-quarters fighting.
Riza looked at Daven, then at the few beast demons Lefie and Meren were fighting.
[Earth Tremor] is sort of close range as well. 1 metre radius. If he got up close and personal, it’d affect who he was fighting but no one else.
But if he’s getting up close and personal, [Hard as Rock] would be more useful as well.
Actually, Daven’s regen is high enough he can get some use out of [Heal] in combat. Without [Meditate], he says it’s 1 es/sec. That would be 9.5 health a second. Combine that with his shield, that’s a fair amount of protection.
Note for future me: once Daven’s level 25, considering exploring sword and shield skills as well as increasing his physical stats.
Anyway, [Hard as Rock] it is.
Earth
0th Tier
[Earth Sense] (1/10)
Sense Dimensions and material properties of nearby earth
1m radius
Cost: 1 es/sec
[Earth Shape] (1/10) -Learned
Manipulate 1kg of earth
1m radius
Cost: 1 es/sec
1st Tier
[Earth Tremor] (1/10)
Shake the ground in a circle originating on you
1m radius
Cost: 5 es/sec
[Hard as Rock] (1/10) -Learned
Whilst standing on earth, increase power and constitution by 1%
2nd Tier
[Earth Glide] (1/10)
Whilst standing on earth, glide along the surface at a higher speed
Cost: 1 es/sec
Requirements: [Hard as Rock] (1/10)
[Rocky Carapace] (1/10)
Whilst standing on earth, coat yourself in a suit of rock armour
Cost: 1 es/sec
Requirements: [Hard as Rock] (1/10)
[From the Ground] (1/10)
Whilst standing on earth, increase the range of earth skills by 1m
Requirements: [Earth Sense] (1/10)
[One with Earth] (1/10)
Store and release up to 1kg of earth inside of you
Cost: 5 es/sec
Requirements: [Earth Shape] (1/10)
Okay, okay. Seeing the trends here. [Rocky Carapace] looks like it’s compensating for the investment into essence and spirit than power and constitution.
[One with Earth] seems to be the equivalent of [Intrinsic Tank] but probably more useful; there will be situations where there’s no earth compared to no air.
[From the Ground] can help make someone a more long-ranged attacker with [Earth Shape] or truly destructive with [Earth Tremor].
Quick calculation can put [Earth Tremor] at 60 metre range with [Maximise Mastery]. [Range Compression] might work and would probably make it into a terribly effective skill at close range.
Man, there are a lot of options.
“So, Daven. I’ve taken the earth skill [Hard as Rock] for you but I’d like your input on what other skills you should take next,” Riza asked, looking away from the blue boxes.
“It’s quite weird having someone else decide my skills for me. I’m not saying to stop but, you know, I’d like to be included,” Daven said slightly strained, probably not wanting to offend Riza.
“That’s fair. And that will happen from now on, since we’ve gotten the important skills taken care of. Same for you, Sanders,” She said, turning to him.
“Good,” He grunted.
“Earth skills was it? These are interesting,” Daven said, no longer looking at Riza.
While he was thinking about it, Riza looked at the costs again.
1 es/sec for [Earth Glide] and [Rocky Carapace]. I hadn’t planned for it but [Essence Congruency] is probably desirable if he goes down this route.
He currently has only two active skills so he’d need 8 more and then another skill point for [Essence Congruency] itself. He’s got 3 skill points left so would need 6 more levels. Level 23.
Oh. That’s doable.
“I feel more comfortable being right up in the thick of it. Could I take some sword and shield skills as well?” Daven said, having finished pondering on it.
“Er… I think you should hold off on that for now. Your regeneration is massively boosted by [Meditate] so I think active essence skills are a priority so you can take [Essence Congruency].”
“[Essence Congruency]... Ah, there it is. This is important?”
“Yes. Look at [Rocky Carapace]. At level 10, it’ll cost 10 es/sec. You can exceed that with [Meditate] but you can’t use both at the same time unless you have [Essence Congruency].”
“But I have a ton of essence already. Aren’t I meant to use that instead of only what I can regenerate? That’s what Lefie does, right?”
True. I’m too used to thinking on time scales of forever with my summons.
“You’re right. You’d have like 15 minutes of uptime on your skills.”
“That’s ages in a fight!” Daven exclaimed. “I'd run out of stamina long before I ran out of essence. And I can always regenerate it quickly afterwards.”
All good points.
“But you’re squishy–you don’t have much health. If we’re, like, down in the fog, there’s demons everywhere and we don’t know if we’re safe. Having [Rocky Carapace] up at all times would make you a lot safer.
“Also! As your regen increases, you can maximise [Rocky Carapace] to protect you even more. It’s a lot less dangerous and with what we’re fighting, they could kill you in an instant. I don’t want you to die.”
I’ve invested far too much into you to lose that.
“Damn,” Daven said, scratching his head. “You’re the expert. Just active essence skills?”
Riza nodded. He may have agreed with her but she didn’t know if she was right. Better safe than sorry, she always thought.
“[Rocky Carapace] it is.”
Earth
0th Tier
[Earth Sense] (1/10)
Sense Dimensions and material properties of nearby earth
1m radius
Cost: 1 es/sec
[Earth Shape] (1/10) -Learned
Manipulate 1kg of earth
1m radius
Cost: 1 es/sec
1st Tier
[Earth Tremor] (1/10)
Shake the ground in a circle originating on you
1m radius
Cost: 5 es/sec
[Hard as Rock] (1/10) -Learned
Whilst standing on earth, increase power and constitution by 1%
2nd Tier
[Earth Glide] (1/10)
Whilst standing on earth, glide along the surface at a higher speed
Cost: 1 es/sec
Requirements: [Hard as Rock] (1/10)
[Rocky Carapace] (1/10) -Learned
Whilst standing on earth, coat yourself in a suit of rock armour
Cost: 1 es/sec
Requirements: [Hard as Rock] (1/10)
[From the Ground] (1/10)
Whilst standing on earth, increase the range of earth skills by 1m
Requirements: [Earth Sense] (1/10)
[One with Earth] (1/10)
Store and release up to 1kg of earth inside of you
Cost: 5 es/sec
Requirements: [Earth Shape] (1/10)
3rd Tier
[Eternal Terra] (1/10)
Consume 1kg of stored earth to use skills wit [whilst standing on earth] without standing on earth
Cost: 5 es/sec
Requirements: [One with Earth] (5/10)
[Essential Earth] (1/10)
Infuse 1kg of earth with essence
Cost: 100 es
Requirements: [Earth Shape] (5/10), [Earth Sense] (10/10)
[Earthen Bones] (1/10)
Consume 1kg of stored earth to heal 1 health
Cost: 1 es/sec
Requirements: [One with Earth] (5/10)
“None of them look that appealing,” Daven said straight away. “[Earthen Bones] is pointless since I have [Heal].”
“[Essential Earth] could be interesting,” Riza said after a bit longer taking it all in. “A bit vague, though.”
“I need [Earth Sense] to take it.”
“Jakks used it once to see how deep a cave-in went,” Riza said almost absent-mindedly. Her focus was drawn to the specifics: dimensions and material properties. What were their implications?
‘Earth’ is vague. I’ve seen it work on dirt and rock. It should work on anything solid and underground which would include ores and minerals. Lithium is a rock but is notoriously soft enough to be cut with a knife. You wouldn’t want armour made out of raw lithium.
Consequently, you may be able to direct [Rocky Carapace] to be constituted out of tougher stuff with [Earth Sense].
Then, there’s the dimensional aspect. You can see the shape, the topography, of any earth within range. That can include dust, right? Whenever you walk, you depress the ground slightly with your weight.
Maybe, if he trained hard enough, Daven could sense people’s location through distortions of the earth.
Far-fetched but it’s a basis for sight while in the fog.
“Finished with your thinking?” Daven asked when Riza looked at him.
“Uh-huh. I think you should take [Earth Sense] and then save the rest of your skill points.”
“What about [Earth Glide]? Should I take that to start levelling it up?”
“No. It’s unnecessary and nothing requires it. Start levelling them and then join Meren and Lefie in levelling up.”
“Yes ma’am,” Daven said very respectfully before turning around to join the aforementioned party members.
“Okay, Sanders. Your turn.”