image [https://cdn.midjourney.com/9047ac30-2523-49d2-9497-5d6036d83adc/0_0.png]
They walked all the way back because they needed to calm their bodies and thoughts. On the way, Bee realized he had forgotten the drone in the Vault and recalled it on automatic, which added a minute. With a grinding sound, the slab moved away, freeing the exit. The sunset light bathed their faces as they stepped up, a warm sensation filling their hearts with hope.
"Why did it take so long?" a voice barked at them.
Both Bee and Vincent jerked and took a step back. The one to ‘greet’ them was none other than Ludwing. Frowning, his arms crossed, and tapping his boot on the ancient ruin's floor.
"I'll deal with him; you go talk with Barbara," Vincent whispered to Bee. "The King and I need a word in private," he announced, beckoning Ludwing to follow him to the farthest corner of the hall. The King followed reluctantly, dragging his feet.
"If you renege, I so swear I'll eat your liver raw," Corvinus said, and Vincent knew it wasn't a joke.
He started by offering the Earth Core. "I took the forest theme, and the iron is small."
"I don't care about thematics. I need land," the King sneered, grabbing the core with trembling fingers. "Where's my cousin?"
"He's a little… indisposed," Vincent said, producing his phone. "Take a look at this," he played only the Necromancer’s betrayal confession without the fight.
The King ground his teeth in silence for a long minute after the recording ended, clenching his fists so hard blood left them. "Did you trap him down there, or…"
"I had to kill him," Vincent said. "Sorry, but not sorry."
"Pray thee, how did you kill a Necromancer twice your level who can enter your shadow and stab you from it?" Ludwing asked calmly, fists resting on his hips. The vibe was: 'You cheated somehow.'
"I had a genius plan," Vincent said deadpanned.
"No way," the King puffed.
"He started a stupid monologue, and I shot him in the face."
"Evil monologues…" Ludwing nodded. "A curse that runs in my family… Many have lost their lives because of it… What is done is done. You were in your right and did me a service… I owe you a favor… and I don't like owing favors. Name your price."
"Sure. I want you to be nice," Vincent said.
"Sorry?" the king yanked his head backward.
"Treat your population well. No summary execution, slavery, or forced labor. Rule of law. Free tip: Happy people make a country prosper."
"Granted," Ludwing said. "It’s what I had in mind anyway… No more micromanagement. Everybody is free and happy… As long they accept me as their ruler, that is. I won't tolerate rebels. Those will be impaled on stakes publicly, and their—"
"Have you received the quest about signing a treaty and stuff?" Vincent asked.
"I did. We'll meet in Prague the day after tomorrow, in the evening. I understood you can take care of the transportation."
"Shoot…" Vincent let out, disappointed that a precious skill got out…
"It's hard to keep such a special skill secret… I had to kill everyone who witnessed mine."
You're joking, right? Right? Vincent tried to find a sign of humor on the other's face. There was none.
"We will keep in touch by telegraph."
"You have telegraph?"
"The magic paper you write on, and the writing appears in another place. Your town has one too. I'll go deposit the core in a safe place."
Saying that, the King opened his mouth and swallowed the Dungeon Seed. In the process, its jaws became a massive raven's beak. Changing into the bird, Ludwing exploded upward in a violent flap of wings, passing through the gaps in the destroyed roof.
"Weirdo," Vincent said in a low voice, returning to the others, who were gathered around Bee, looking at the young scientist’s phone.
"A strategists' chef-d'oeuvre," Bee's words resounded from the screen. He was showing them the fight.
"Who gave you permission to—"
"Well done, son. Well done!" the mayor patted Vincent back, and the old man almost fell from doing that, catching his cane at the last moment.
"Just another day on the job," Vincent massaged his forehead. "Bee, are you coming to Krivoburg with me or staying?”
“I’ll stay here for now,” his friend said. “Barbara’s mom has a huge mansion with a jacuzzi and pool."
Without further notice, Vincent Strode, and reappeared in front of his room at the inn. He knocked, just in case Lila was doing something she considered private. Girls were fickle in that matter; looking at them while doing their nails was worse than seeing them naked. He knew it as a fact.
The room was empty, and he profited to check on his stats. He was level fifty-three and had eight free Tokens. Vincent summoned his skills menu, then dismissed it, gathering his thoughts. They'd had been lucky. Adversaries had underestimated them, taking their time to talk, like Boory, or following strange codes of honor, like the tiger… The Mongol raider, on the other hand…
During the last fight, Vincent realized he couldn't afford to be unprepared, untrained in the ways of this world. The Outsider's Cloaking and Refuge were skills he never really tried… On one hand, those skills would have gotten him killed in the Vault. That was what the Necromancer expected from him: to hide and to run. Attacking had been the best option, taking the man by surprise. Yet, no fight was like another. One day, a neglected skill could save his life.
Activating Outsider's Cloak, he walked left and right in the room, looking in the mirror. He was visible, a bit transparent, but noticeable. After a while, though, he started to melt in the surroundings, distorted furniture, walls, and windows superposed over his figure.
He dismissed the skill when he was at two-thirds Mana and activated, for the first time, Outsider's Refuge. A sphere of energy with a nine-foot radius surrounded him. Nothing appeared in the mirror. The chairs and the room around them were projected on the walls of the pocket universe, like light reflecting on a soap bubble, yet in the mirror, they appeared intact. Vincent, however, wasn't there anymore.
He tried walking and succeeded, but only inside the bubble. The Refuge itself didn't move. Trying to Stride and take the sphere with him didn't work either. The skill worked only inside the pocket universe, which meant the Vault had been one, too.
Exiting the space with only a hundred Mana left, he concentrated on the important notifications, noticing the color was blue, probably meaning the Main System wasn’t interfering with him anymore.
Your Passive Skill Battle Instinct has reached level 50 due to your uncanny ability to sense danger in unpredictable situations.
C'mon, what was unpredictable in guessing a bad guy is evil? It's just common sense!
You need to select a choice of an additional effect for this skill:
Guarantee Hit. Consume 100 Stamina to always hit true with your first attack in a fight. It doubles the damage if you attack without being noticed.
Enhanced Damage. Permanently enhance your melee or ranged damage by 5%. Consumes 5% of your Stamina per hit.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The next evolution is available at Skill level 100.
Without second thinking, Vincent selected the first option. The next evolution was in Quiet Leadership. He had to choose between doubling his stats buffs or being able to communicate at range with his followers through a magical chat. As they had phones, he opted for the first.
The next notification was lengthy.
Inspect and Insight have reached level 50. You can continue using them as they are or combine them into Arcane Intuition (Active/Legendary tier. Merged skills (Macros) enhance abilities by an order of magnitude but consume more resources.
Arcane Intuition: Merges the keen prowess of Inspect with the profound understanding of Insight. This ability allows users to scrutinize their surroundings, revealing hidden details and secret knowledge about objects, creatures, and environments.
With a single glance, the wielder can uncover an item's history, discern nearby beings' emotions, and detect concealed traps or magical influences. As they focus, shimmering threads of energy outline the hidden truths, illuminating connections and motives beneath the surface.
In addition, Arcane Intuition grants the user a glimpse into the potential of their own skills. Consumes 100 CPs per use.
Come here, baby! Vincent thought, gleefully running his hands. A flash of light blinded him for a second, and then a brief headache and dizziness made him sit on the bed. Yet the skill set in faster than any other.
Suddenly, he knew stuff, and it felt like it was always there. For instance, Spying could be absorbed into Arcane Intuition. Simple words in the tooltips meant much more than they appeared. 'Together or separately,' for instance, allowed him to weave Light and Darkness into armor or attacks at the same time.
Slippery, the next evolvable skill, offered him a choice between even more Magic Resistance or chances at dogging physical attacks. He chose the latter to cover a broader spectrum.
Resilience had reached fifty and had a selfless and a selfish option. The latter was about ignoring damage for a few seconds, which was inferior to Refuge. He chose the first and unlocked Health Points, which also had active use: a transfer of life energy to an ally under 25% Health once per day. Considering all the nerds around, it felt a necessity.
Then, he considered buying those neglected skills, but an itch made him take the ring and the metal wire he had looted from the Corvinus castle and look at them. To his surprise, they had tags.
Shapeshifting Weapon (Elite): This strand is made from an alloy of quick mithril, changing its shape to suit its wielder's tastes. Albeit underperforming compared to dedicated weapons, it is easy to conceal and makes a perfect tool for assassins or rogues.
Ring (Legendary). This item had once belonged to a powerful king, but its bonding had been unmade by time, and its magic had faded. This item can be bonded and re-enchanted.
"YES!" Vincent yelled. " I want to buy Outsider's Storage. Invest seventy-five Karmic Charges and make this ring mine."
Karmic Charges: 122/200
You have acquired a Ring of Holding. Warning: Greed is bad. Do not use this ring for stealing, or you will lose Karmic Charges.
Putting and getting things in and out of the storage felt natural, instantaneous, and worked even at a few feet apart. After playing for a while with that, Vincent bought Cloak of Darkness because he felt like it, and shopping sprees were one of his weaknesses. Then, Vincent threw himself on the bed, face up, hands under his head, reviewing his stats and skills.
Name: Vincent Valaška Age: 28
Level: 53 (3 tokens available).
Body +52 (+8) / Mind 30 (+8) / Spirit 41 (+8).
Karmic Charges: 122/200
Class: Dichotomic (Unique, Mythical)
Elements: You can wield elements from the schools of Light, Darkness, Fortune, and Wisdom, altogether or separately.
Name buff: Valaška/Velasco.
Due to your class, you can choose the name you want to display. CD: 24h.
Under the Valaška name, you gain +10 in Body and increased damage when using a shepherd axe and light spells. While displaying the Velasco name, you gain the Blessing of the Raven: +10 in Spirit and an increased effect of all Darkness spells.
These buffs activate only in combat.
Species: Outsider (Mythical)
Species Perks:
Resilience (Passive, Elite): You age 4x slower than a normal human. Evolvable at Skill level 100. Current Skill Level: 50
Added effect: Health Points unlocked (Body+Level x 10).
Passive effect: Mana Body. Creates a Mana double of your body, considerably speeding up your magic processing. In case of heavy injuries, the Mana Body will help your body keep going for a limited amount of time. Healing must be performed within (skill level+your level) seconds to ensure your continued existence.
Active effect: Health Transfer. Once per day, Heal an ally who's under 25% Health at a rate of 1% HP per second. You cannot go below 15% HP yourself while doing that. Requires 50 MPs to activate. Evolvable at Class level 100.
Slippery + (Passive, Elite). High Resistance to Magic Damage, Mind Control, and against all forms of Identify. +25% chance of dodging physical attacks. Current skill level: 50. Evolvable at level 100.
Disguise (Passive, Elite): Set a class and a species to display as a tag. Recommendations for your level: Scout, Ranger, Warmaster / Half-Elf, Evolved Human.
Passive Proficiency (Elite): Your passive skills work +25% over their expected performance. Allows most of your passive skills to evolve at Skills levels 50 and 100.
Passive Skills:
Battle Instinct (Passive, Elite). You don't need to look at a target to judge its movements or the distance. Current skill level: 50. Evolvable at skill level 100.
Additional active effect: Guarantee Hit. Consume 100 Stamina to always hit true with your first attack in a fight. It doubles the damage if you attack without being noticed.
Quiet Leadership (Passive, Elite). With few but wise words, you make others follow you. Increases the stats of your followers by +2. Gain +8 in every stat for yourself as long you have at least 30 followers. Current bonus: +8. Current skill level: 50. Evolvable at level 100.
Animal Empathy (Passive, Elite skill). You feel the mood of the animals around you. You can detect hidden predators in an area of a hundred feet if they observe you with malicious intent. Current skill level: 20. Evolvable at Skill levels 50 and 100.
Spying (Passive, Rare skill). Your presence and attention are barely noticeable, and you are prone to finding secrets. Current skill level: 38.
Mentor (Passive, Elite skill). You are exceptionally gifted to teach your skills to others. Current Level: 20.
Active skills:
Arcane Intuition (Active/Legendary tier). Allows users to scrutinize their surroundings, revealing hidden details and secret knowledge about objects, creatures, and environments. In addition, Arcane Intuition grants the user a glimpse into the potential of their own skills. Consumes 100 CPs/use. Current skill level: 50.
Iron Grip (Active, Elite tier): Your grip has an unusual force. This skill increases the strength of your hands for a limited time. Consumes 25 Stamina/use and 5 SPs/second to maintain. Current Skill Level: 28.
Cloak of Darkness (Active, Elite Tier). Surround yourself in shadows to sneak around undetected. Stronger at night. Consumes 20 Mana per second at your current skill level of 1.
Karmic Skills:
Outsider's Stride (Active, Mythical tier, Karmic). Bestows you with the ability to conjure a bespoke wormhole. You can use it to go to places you see, were to, or can attune to in various manners, as long they are on an Awakened Realm. This skill has no levels, but it performs better with practice.
You can transport people, living beings, or objects with you as long they are willing and not more than twenty-five feet away. Unconscious or unwilling people you transport to save their lives are an exception. A Stride costs one charge of Karma/jump/person.
Outsider's Cloak (Active, Mythical). Use both Light and Darkness to make your presence unnoticeable. A faint glint among the bright light of the day or a shadow confounding itself in the darkness of the night: that's you. This skill has no levels, but it performs better with practice. Activation costs one Karmic Charge, then 10 MPs/second to maintain.
Outsider's Refuge (Active, Mythical): Creates an invisible and impenetrable pocket universe around you for a limited amount of time. Its size depends on your Spirit stat. This skill has no levels, but it performs better with practice. Costs 1 Karmic Charged to activate, consuming 10 Mana/second to maintain.
Outsider's Storage (Active/Passive, Mythical): You now have a 100 slots Ring of Holding in your possession. No weight transferred to the outside. Capacity: one metric ton.