"I hope you don't mind, but I cashed in the quest rewards," Sybil told me, handing 5 gold pieces over to me. "Here's your cut."
I waved her down. "It would be best if you just kept all the money. I've go no idea what I'd do with it anyways."
She slipped the gold back into the pouch it had come from with a nod. After a moment of awkward silence, her eyes lit up, as though she'd recalled something important. "So, you don't know the Fable of Three, right?"
I remembered that she'd mentioned it before we'd gone to fight Killion, but still had no clue what it was. "No, but it sounds like something I should probably hear. Would you please explain it to me?"
She nodded exuberantly. "The original story is formatted as a poetic song, but I can't remember the words, and parts of it have been lost over time. I'll do my best to explain it though. First, though, I think you need a bit of context.
"It is said that this story originated on the first world that ever came into being, the first one that was ruled by the Endless System. It's odd to think about such an omnipresent thing having a beginning, or there being a time that people didn't have it, but that's not relevant. On this world, there were three kingdoms. These kingdoms had seen the dawn of the System, and had seen many powerful beings rise up and take their places in the universe. The first of these kingdoms was known to the others as the Monstrous Kingdom. They knew only brutality and wrath, and lived purely on instinct, with no knowledge or technologies with which to improve themselves, so the System, out of pity, created a way for them to increase in power and intellect by following their instincts. Many of these monsters quickly rose in power, but this scared the people of the two other kingdoms. While they had, previously, been able to combat the power of the monsters with their superior technologies and technique, the balance of the kingdoms had been broken, and they feared that it would not be long until they fell.
"And so the System allowed them to grow stronger, also. First came the Humanoids, or rather, the Enlightened Kingdom, as they called themselves. These had the greatest ability to reason for themselves, and so they pleaded that the System allow them to direct their own power and strength as they pleased. Thus, the Status, Class, and Profession Screens came into being. Additionally, the System granted them Free Points and the Three Attribute Groups, each with Three Statistics of Empowerment. For the final kingdom, the one comprised of Semi-Humanoids, which was called the Anthropoid Kingdom, the System melded the functions provided to the Humanoids and the Monstrous Kingdom. They received the ability to direct their upgrades by instinct until they gained a certain amount of sapience, and were also provided with the Race Screen, which was a visual, logical representation of the way that the Monsters empowered themselves.
'Kay, any questions?" She finished with a smile.
My head was a bit dazed, but after a moment, I knew what question I wanted to ask. "What do all the stats do? I thought I knew, but now I'm questioning myself."
She momentarily frowned, which was somehow cute on her. "Constitution determines how present your body is in the world. How dense it is, and how tough it is. It is the stat that most increases your Health Total. Vitality is what helps your body recover from destruction: how quickly you pull yourself back from Khaos, as well as how lively you are, both in appearance and personality. Finally, Fitness is the stat that determines how effective your body is, meaning how well it can move. The other three groups follow a similar pattern. Willpower determines how densely your Mana is packed. It also tells us something about your memory and self-control. Nerves tell us how quickly your Mana returns to your body, and how quickly you learn. Intelligence is all about properly leveraging your Mana and knowledge.
"The Astral statistics get a bit weird, but it's somewhat similar. Balance how stable your soul is is. High Channeling helps it soul work with your Physical and Mental stats, and allows energies to pass through your soul, into your body. Harmony is a bit different from Fitness and Intelligence, though, which is where things get odd. Rather than increasing the effectiveness of your soul and how well you can move it, it actually reduces your impact on the world, and increases your sense for soul-related things. That's why high Harmony makes me stealthy, and low Harmony makes you a living beacon to anything that has more than you." She finished up with a smile.
Ah. But, then... "What happens if my Harmony gets to zero?"
She scoffed. "I've only heard of that happening in stories. You probably shouldn't need to worry about it."
"Sybil, my Class reduces my Balance by three every level, and my Profession decreases my Harmony by three every level. It's just a matter of time before they both hit zero, and maybe even go negative."
She seemed shocked by this new information, and so warned me, "That's dangerous, Abel. It won't kill you, but if your soul lacks stability and protection from outside influences, you'll start having some big issues. For one, your Health and Mana Totals will go down, and anything that bypasses the protections of your body and mind will have free reign to do whatever it wants to you. As your Harmony goes down, you'll lose most, if not all, of your spiritual senses, and other creatures will be able to find you much more easily."
"I can see why that would be bad. How can I fix it?" I queried.
"Stop leveling?" She shrugged. "I don't really know what you can do at this point, other than stop leveling, buy a bunch of magical items, and go speak with an Astral Mage."
Wait, I knew one of those, didn't I? "Hold on, I met a guy like that. He's a god, though. Do you think he'd be down to talk with us?"
She stared at me, deadpan. "You met a god? For some reason, I doubt that."
"I mean, I did, but I understand that meeting a god probably isn't a super-common thing."
"Definitely not."
"So, any idea where we can find one of these guys?"
"We could probably find one in the Capital? If not, then it would all be luck. Many adventurers and mages just wander, or live out in the middle of nowhere. However, it is common to find a few mages in cities and villages, providing support when their place of residence needs magical assistance or wisdom."
"Why do they live far out?"
"Well, certain magical experiments are quite explosive. That is their concern. Killing everyone in a 5 mile radius doesn't tend to be legal, or particularly good for your mental health."
Well, that made a lot of sense. I wouldn't want to kill a bunch of people, either.
She and I sat in silence for a while. After a few minutes, I made myself comfortable, laying on the couch.
"So," Sybil asked, "Where do you want to go after this?"
"I don't know. Where could we go? I mean, I'd like to meet with an Astral Mage as soon as possible."
"I know I mentioned the Capital, but I'd actually rather avoid that place. Too much politics. The best place to go might actually be the edge of the Rabid Territories." She said with a hint of trepidation.
I latched onto that last phrase. "The Rabid Territories? What's that?"
She stared over at me momentarily. "Ah, right, you're stupid. The Rabid Territories are what we call the last segment of this continent that is still controlled by monsters, the only place that the nations have yet to conquer."
"How does that work? Are more monsters created there or something?"
"You seem to be missing something here," She said, "Do you need me to explain how monsters are made?"
I nodded. "Actually, that would be quite helpful." I positioned myself into a cross-legged position.
"Well..." She smiled, "When a mommy Lurker and a daddy Lurker love each other very much..."
"Ew. Stop. Now." I didn't need an explanation on sexual reproduction. "I just thought there might be more to it than that."
"Well, there are certain ways to summon monsters via rituals or Skills, but I'm sure you're familiar with that."
"Definitely." My mind was brought back to the waves of Homunculus I'd battled. All of them had been summoned by rituals that had been made just a little bit wrong.
Speaking of rituals… “Hey, Sibby?”
“What’s up?” The nickname made her smile a little, but she seemed to think that I’d be asking something serious.
“My Class relates to making rituals, and I just realized that I don’t know a single one. At least, not really. I saw the ones in the caves, and I’m sure I could fix them, but that’s not really what I’m after right now.” I’d rather keep my hands off summoning magic, for now at least.
She thought for a moment before answering. “My family doesn’t really support that path, but there are a few basic ones that I know. What are you after?”
I looked over my Screens before coming back to her with an answer, highlighting just a few parts in my mind.
First came the Features and Skills from my Class, out of which I cherry-picked the following:
Ritualistic Recovery: Rituals replenish doubled Health and Mana.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Soul Mark Lvl. 1: Cast a curse upon a creature's soul, linking them to you. Ritual, Lifesteal, and Manadrain effects created by you that target it are increased by Channeling.
Arcanoccultist's Grimoire Lvl. 1: Summon a magical grimoire, containing knowledge important to the Arcanoccultist.
Blooded Ritual Lvl. 1: Rituals which use your blood as a component are empowered based on your Vitality.
Combat Ritual Lvl. 1: Perform a combat ritual with significantly reduced preparations and components. Effects are improved by Intellect and Channeling.
Next up came my Profession, which I hadn't really used so far, but sounded quite ominous. Only one ability directly mentioned performing rituals, unless sacrifices counted. If they were,- and Sacrifice Expertise did lead me to believe so- then there would be some serious
Ritual of Blood Lvl. 1: Learn and gain mastery over rituals related to blood.
Having considered all of those, and my needs at the moment, I believed that I had a sufficient answer for her. "I'd like some sort of blood-aspected healing ritual, if you've got something like that?"
She seemed to search through her mind, looking for something that matched my specifications. "Well, I know a healing ritual, but nothing that's based on blood." She laughed lightly. “That must seem pretty silly, a vampire who doesn’t know any blood rituals!”
I gave her a chuckle and a smile, but went back to looking through my Skills. “Give me a second, I think I might know something that might help…”
It would be the first time I used this Skill, so hopefully it proved useful.
A book dropped into my lap, startling Sybil out of her thoughts.
Arcanoccultist's Grimoire Lvl. 1: Summon a magical grimoire, containing knowledge important to the Arcanoccultist.
I ran my hand over the book's sleek cover. It sure was something. It appeared to be . I opened the book to see what I was working with. As expected, there was an index.
1. Ritual Circles and Equilateral Polygons
2. Rune Descriptions
3. Rune Placement
4. Material Components
5. Ritual Classifications
6. Environmental Mana
7. Mana Aspects
8. Mana Intent
9. Example Rituals
Even with just a quick glance, I could tell that the guide was quite comprehensive. Right now, though, I just looked through the Example Rituals portion. That, alone, was hundreds of pages long.
The rituals were sorted by their classifications and mana types, which I assumed were both covered in previous chapters. Certain parts of the text wavered, and were unreadable to me, likely due to the Skill's level. Nonetheless, I was able to quickly find a ritual that I thought would work.
Lifeblood of Lazareth
2nd Tier Healing Ritual
Optimal Attunements: Blood, Holy
Runes: Switch, Input, Intent, Target, Output
Components: 1 oz. of the caster's blood, a drop of the Target's blood, a Healing Potion.
Instructions: Place ritual (Lifeblood of Lazareth) within a standard Mana Containment Circle. Mix Healing Potion into the caster's blood. Place the completed ritual upon the target's wound. Begin channeling Mana into the ritual, beginning at the Switch rune and pushing into the Input rune. Once the caster's Mana enters the Intent rune, pour 1 ounce of their blood into the center of the ritual. Once the blood has been absorbed, Mana will flood into the Target rune, at which time, the target's blood must be provided. Once the target has been locked, the Mana will Output into its body.
Efficiency: 75-100 Mana if drawn at a standard size. The conversion rate of Mana to Health is about 1-to-1, if performed with a Tier 1 Healing potion. This increases by 50%, compounding, with each additional Tier of potion (1, 1.5, 2.25, 3.375).
Notes: Utilizing a potion of higher Tier and quality will provide a greater healing effect. The blood that is provided by the caster will be most effective if given expressly for the purpose of healing. Additionally, fresher blood carries more intent and will, generally, work much better. Other methods of targeting may also be used, though blood is the most commonly used method of taglocking. Creatures that do not have blood will not be affected by this ritual. While this ritual does not need to be placed upon the wounded region of the target, the Mana will travel to its destination more efficiently if it is closer to it.
That sounded... doable. Well, so long as... "Hey, Sybil?"
"Yes, Abby?" She snickered to herself. I rolled my eyes, but accepted my punishment for calling her Sybby earlier.
"Do you still have your healing potion?"
Name: Abel Halloran Class: Arcanoccultist Level: 20 Class Xp: 34% Profession: Bishop of Blood Level: 20 Profession Xp: 0% Health Total: 650/650 Health Regen: 53 /minute Mana Total: 922/922 Mana Regen: 95 /minute Physical: 84 Constitution: 67 Vitality: 147 Fitness: 37 Mental: 115 Willpower: 133 Nerves: 98 Intellect: 115 Astral: 56 Balance: 58 Channeling: 101 Harmony: 10 Free Points: 0 Traits: Prodigy
Inspiration in Suffering
Class: Arcanoccultist (Arcane Mage -> Arcane-Blood Mage -> Arcanoccultist) The Arcanoccultist gains 1 Constitution, 6 Vitality, 1 Fitness, 2 Willpower, 6 Nerves, 8 Intellect, 27 Channeling, but loses 2 Balance and 1 Harmony, per level.
Features:
Mageblood Drinker: Damaging spells using Health as a resource gain lifesteal based on the amount of Health lost. Damaging spells using Mana as a resource gain manadrain based on the amount of Mana lost. (1% of max Mana/Health = 1% Manadrain/Lifesteal)
Ritualistic Recovery: Rituals replenish doubled Health and Mana.
Occultist's Charm: Reputation gain increased with certain factions. Reputation gain decreased with certain factions.
Major Skills:
Soul Mark Lvl. 1: Cast a curse upon a creature's soul, linking them to you. Ritual, Lifesteal, and Manadrain effects created by you that target it are increased by Channeling.
Arcanoccultist's Grimoire Lvl. 1: Summon a magical grimoire, containing knowledge important to the Arcanoccultist.
Blooded Ritual Lvl. 1: Rituals which use your blood as a component are empowered based on your Vitality.
Minor Skills:
Arcanoccultist's Bolt Lvl. 10: Fire a bolt of mana at your foes, aspected equally to Arcane and Blood, and dealing a small amount of damage directly to the target's soul. Deals damage based on Vitality and Intellect. A small part of the damage dealt passes through all shielding and resistance. This effect is slightly reduced by Balance.
Malefic Bond Lvl. 1: Reduce a creature's Health and Mana, at the cost of an equal amount of resources from yourself. Requires your mana to be in contact with the target. Effects increased by Intellect and Channeling.
Combat Ritual Lvl. 1: Perform a combat ritual with significantly reduced preparations and components. Effects are improved by Intellect and Channeling.
Profession: Bishop of Blood (Autodidact -> Tormented Autodidact -> Bishop of Blood) The Bishop of Blood gains 4 Constitution, 10 Vitality, 2 Fitness, 4 Wisdom, 1 Nerves, 3 Intellect, 27 Channeling, but loses 3 Harmony, per level.
Features:
Pantheon of Blood: Increases all favor gained with gods of the Blood domain significantly. Effects reduced by Harmony.
Soul Leak: Your mere presence radiates a near-physical pressure. Effects improve with Channeling, but are reduced by Harmony.
Fasting: Food, water, and sleep requirements are decreased by Channeling.
Major Skills:
Polytheist Lvl. 1: Why worship one god when you can earn the favor of many? Innate knowledge of the various gods of the universe, as well as their rituals and magics. Slightly increased favor gain with all gods. Effects reduced by Harmony, but increased by Intellect and Channeling.
Bloodmarked Sacrifice Lvl. 1: Infect a creature's soul with your own tainted blood. Improves favor gain and blessings from the sacrifice of said creature based on Vitality and Channeling.
Sacrifice Expertise Lvl. 1: Increased skill at creating and performing rituals of sacrifice. Favor, boons, and blessings gained from sacrifices improved. Effects improved by Intellect and Channeling.
Minor Skills:
Ritual of Blood Lvl. 1: Learn and gain mastery over rituals related to blood.
Sadistic Sacrifice Lvl. 1: Rather than dedicating a creature's entire life at once, you may instead sacrifice small portions at a time. As you deal damage to a creature, siphon off bits of its soul, sacrificing them for greatly reduced gain. Effects increased by Channeling.
Dedicate Soul Lvl. 1: You have learned to more effectively perform the final portion of any sacrifice: the Dedication. Critical blows dealt to restrained, unconscious, or otherwise motionless targets that lay upon a sacrificial altar and have no more than 3% of their Health remaining produce instant death.