[Greater Aspect of the Werewolf (Lustrous Blue): When reduced below 50% HP (Greater Werewolf’s Regeneration) will activate, restoring 10% HP per 5 seconds]
Raine was stunned as he read the description, not believing what he was seeing. The original aspect he came here to get (one of the best known early-game aspects) only started regeneration at 25% HP and restored 5% every 5 seconds. This upgraded version was so much better, he was struggling to wrap his mind around it.
5% health regen was enough to turn an elite tank into a guild’s peak main tank. Healing was notoriously one of the most challenging roles in ZionLine due to long recast times and massive Celestial Power costs. A tank that could mitigate even a small amount of damage was a huge boon. Even accounting for the need to be below 25% HP to activate, over the course of an hour-long raid boss, that was an insane amount of saved MP.
Just how good was a 10% heal anytime he was below 50% HP? The utility of this evolved aspect was truly impossible to gauge. It would allow him to fight monsters above his level with relative safety. So long as they couldn’t reduce half his HP in a single hit, he would eventually win.
Raine shook his head, shifting his awe to the magnificent weapon in his hand.
[Last Chance Gambit - Common Gray - LVL 0 - 0/1,000 SP: (Attack Power +6) (Elemental Power +6) (Attack Speed +1) (FNS +1) (CNC +1) (Durability 45/45) Innate Skill - Final Gambit: Convert 100% remaining EP into a single target non-elemental attack. 10 damage per EP converted]
A growth weapon! Unbelievable. I could easily sell this for one or two million creds. That would be a complete waste though. I have a much better plan for making credits and in order to do it, I’ll need to reach level fifteen as quickly as possible.
Even if the ring keeps me from using this every fight, it’s going to be one less weapon I have to constantly replace. At least until level fifty when it reaches its cap.
Raine added the new dagger to his inventory, feeling a slight tug on his consciousness. He mentally accepted the query and his old novice dagger fell to the ground as the new one replaced it. He picked up the old dagger and added it to his inventory, this time declining to replace it in the roulette.
So that’s how the curse works. I can add and remove weapons from my inventory, but not the ones I’ve selected as part of the roulette. Unfortunately, the curse classified all the weapons in my inventory at the time I equipped the ring.
Which means I’ll never be able to completely get rid of those original weapon types, only replace them. Right now, I have nine weapons in the roulette, which isn’t the worst odds of getting the one I’ll want in a given situation. Especially with my aspect to regenerate health if I decide to reroll.
The worst part is going to be learning how to fight with so many different weapons. I’ll be fine for a while since these low-level enemies are relatively easy, but later… No point thinking about that now. I’ve got my aspect, time to go. There’s nothing worth staying for in this forest.
Raine left the witch’s garden and was startled to see her standing in the doorway of her hut. He had the distinct impression she had left for good when he completed her quest.
Thinking maybe he needed to speak with her again to start the next phase of the unique chain quest, he approached, “Is there anything else I can help you with, ma’am?”
The nasty old woman gazed at the horizon with a slack expression, “I have nothing more to say to you.” Compared to before, her response was robotic, lacking emotion or inflection.
Oh, now you want to act like an NPC? Wait, is this a shadow clone?! That’s not a skill even grandmaster witches should have access to…
With trepidation in his heart, Raine left the hut and made his way back through the forest. He didn’t bother wasting time with stealth, killing anything that got in his way and loading up on berries. The SP gains were abysmal after leveling and with little to no drops, he couldn’t wait to move on.
He ran a few tests on the way. His first discovery was holding a weapon before a fight resulted in it being replaced the moment he took the first swing.
Damn, that means I won’t be able to gain AT for ranged weapons until I get rid of this ring.
His second test was confirming he had to be within a few yards of a beast before attacking activated the roulette. He rapidly grew accustomed to how his weapons suddenly appeared in his hands. The mystery of not knowing what would appear, and the challenge of instantly adapting called to him and a grin stretched his lips when he realized how much fun he was having.
It wasn’t long before he returned to the grassy field separating the forest and Mirror Lake Town. Just before pushing through the patrolling Mangy Wolves guarding the forest, he heard laughter and shouting nearby. Raine ducked, advancing slowly while listening to a boisterous man yelling loud enough to attract several wolves.
[Human: Level 0 - HP 55/55]
Pretty brave for even a full group to come this far where they might have to deal with multiple wolves simultaneously.
“Hahahaha! Don’t be afraid, recruits! If the three of you work together, these wolves will be nothing. Consider this your last test before being accepted into Righteous. We’re going to become the greatest guild in the region, you can’t afford to miss this chance!”
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Righteous? Those bastards, eh? They were a huge pain in my ass. It took us months to force them to relocate. Luckily, they burned so many bridges with their penchant for theft and killing players that we had a lot of help.
Raine immediately understood what the boisterous man was doing when he spotted him standing with his hands in his pockets behind three players with excited expressions. The man had no intention of helping, the greedy gleam in his eyes and the easy smile on his lips was all the confirmation Raine needed.
Two wolves jumped forward, latching onto two of the players and bringing them down to the ground where they were savagely mauled. Blood-curdling screams erupted from their throats as they got their first taste of ZionLine’s lifelike combat.
The two downed players truly experienced their throats being ripped open and blood flowing freely from their wounds. The lack of overwhelming pain made injuries more visceral in its own way. In real life, pain could be so intense that your brain ignores many of the sensations from an injury. For instance, flesh being torn apart one centimeter at a time as a wolf’s teeth slowly sank deeper into muscle and tendons.
ZionLine was not so kind as to block such minor inconveniences.
Raine had experienced being eaten alive on multiple occasions, and despite only feeling fifty percent of the pain, it was always traumatizing. Luckily, zones were absolutely massive, giving players time to mentally recover as they trekked back to the area they were farming to do it all over again.
The third player screamed when he realized just how bad his situation was. This, of course, attracted another wolf who wasted no time bringing him to the ground. The three players thrashed wildly, unable to gather their wits through the pain and rise to their feet where they would at least have a chance of fighting back.
The boisterous man chuckled quietly as the three ‘recruits’ were mauled to death. After a few seconds, two new men appeared beside him as they dropped out of stealth. With a nod from their leader, all three jumped into action, stabbing the wolves in the back as they tore into the three prone players.
They timed their attacks perfectly, killing each wolf just after it killed the pinned players. As each avatar died, they vanished into motes of starry lights, leaving a single piece of gear on the ground. The three men laughed, joking between themselves as they scooped up the gear and placed them in their inventories.
“What a bunch of suckers! How stupid do you have to be to come out here with complete strangers so soon after finishing the tutorial?”
“Seriously! The NPCs wouldn’t let anyone leave before they listened to that whole spiel about loot dropping when you die. Morons. Serves them right for being so stupid.”
In ZL, any loot acquired, even quest items, would be guaranteed to drop if you died within two hours of picking it up. It was common practice for thieves to ambush players when they came out of dungeons and raids for exactly that reason. The player killers of ZionLine were relentless. If you didn't watch your back constantly, you were bound to eventually lose something precious.
Raine stood up and was spotted by one of the three. The man raised his hand to point and alert his accomplices but not before Raine’s voice split the air, “Going through all that trouble just for a few measly tutorial drops? Pathetic.”
The boisterous man looked Raine up and down, noting his leggings were a cut above the starting gear. His smile widened and he talked like they were old buddies, “You know how it is, friend. We aren’t allowed to PK until level five, so we’re just doing the best we can to get ahead. Interested in joining in on the fun? Since you’re out here alone, you must be pretty strong. We’ll give you two drops from the next group of newbs, whatcha say?” The man rubbed his hands together, clearly having no intention of sharing anything with Raine. Had he known the trick to seeing someone’s level without Identify, he certainly would have been singing a different tune.
“I have a better idea,” Raine’s teeth flashed as he jumped forward, barely dodging the wolf that lunged from his side. A flash of light shone from his hand as his shiny new knife made its first appearance. Considering how many beasts he had killed on the way here, he was more than a little excited to give it a test run.
Their loud voices had attracted the two guardian wolves closest to Raine, and the close proximity of the beasts had pulled an additional two. The players’ eyes flew open as he barreled toward them with all four right on his heels. At level three, Raine’s base run speed was marginally higher than theirs and he burned seven points of Discipline to boost it even further, crossing the short distance between them.
The beautiful and deadly dagger in his hands caused intense desire to flash across their eyes, which also made them hesitate long enough for Raine to arrive in their midsts.
“How is he so fast?!” One of the men barely got out a question before Raine slipped around him, putting the man between himself and the wolves. Two of the beasts pounced, their jaws stretched wide toward his throat. The man tried to leap to the side, but Raine easily saw through his panicked dodge and spent another point of Discipline to step in his way.
Just because they couldn’t actively attack each other didn’t mean there was no player collision. The man slammed into Raine and bounced off him as his Potency was too low to overcome Raine’s defenses. The player let out a startled cry as the wolves crashed into his chest, knocking him to the ground where they savagely ripped into his throat.
“What the fuck are you doing?! You have no idea who you’re messing with!” The boisterous man was foaming at the mouth as he desperately dodged one of the wolves while occasionally stabbing it with his dagger.
Raine laughed as he jumped into his way, allowing the wolf to get a grip the man's leg and tear him off his feet. He tried to stand up, but Raine’s leather boot planted on his chest held him in place, “I know exactly who I’m fucking with. You, on the other hand, know nothing.”
A dagger flashed, but ricocheted off Raine’s calf, unable to do a single point of damage through the shimmering red shield that appeared from thin air. The man gasped, his face contorting with equal parts agony and fury as the wolf got its fangs into his throat. The third player tried to run but was pounced on from behind after only a few steps.
Looks like they haven't even figured out how to burn Discipline to sprint yet. Who are the noobs again?
One of the wolves leaped at him, its mouth dripping fresh blood. Raine easily stepped to the side, his weapon whistling as it tore through air, fur, and flesh with equal ease.
“Final Gambit!”
Raine’s EP dropped to zero as every point was spent into a single blast that blew the wolf’s head clean off in an explosion of white light. [-279] He whistled in appreciation as he took a step back to dodge another lunge. His knife flashed again, dealing a much more reasonable damage for his level. [-39] Two rapid follow-up stabs dropped the injured wolf before it could even turn around. Seconds later, the last two died.
[Obtained 0 Superiority. -100% for defeating a monster 2 levels below you]
[Obtained 0% Attunement. -100% for defeating a monster 2 levels below you]
Raine paid the messages no mind, more interested in the plethora of equipment scattered across the ground. His brows rose, impressed by how busy the three had been over the last two hours.
“Well, your loss is my gain.”