CHAPTER 95 EVEN FURTHER BEYOND
More months passed by.
The exact passage of time was hard to measure in my current situation. Ever since my escape attempt I was kept under strict lock and key by Lurks.
Basically solitary confinement.
I ate when she told me to. I slept when she told me to. I woke up when she told me to. And I fought when she told me to.
If she didn’t explicitly allow it, it didn’t happen. Period. That wasn’t too unsurprising honestly. She also took plenty of liberties with me now that she was allowed full access to me whenever she wanted.
She had a good day? She came to me. She had a bad day? She came to me. Someone took the last roll? She came to me. Drikith complimented her work ethic? She came to me.
I had been here for months at this point. I wasn’t sure exactly how long. Maybe close to a year? Regardless, my mind had grown numb to what she did to me long ago.
The only times I was allowed out of the small cell she kept me in was when she sent me to fight in the arena.
That was the only splotch of color in my monochromatic life at this point. And even that was starting to get dull. The fights were difficult, and more than a couple of them had almost ended with me dying by the end. Either by bleeding out because I didn’t have enough mana to heal from the damage, or because the opponent just had that much power behind their attacks.
I had fought several dozen times. And those times had been enough to finally put me at a crossroads.
I was now left with a decision.
‘Ping’ [Battlemage - Lightning] Has leveled 31 > 50
‘Ping’ [Bladedancer - Lightning] Has leveled 30 > 50
‘Ping’ [Nature’s Adept] Has leveled 25 > 50
‘Ping’ [Identify] Has leveled 15 > 27
‘Ping’ [Rest] Has leveled 2 > 10
‘Ping’ [Mana Sense] Has leveled 20 > 42
‘Ping’ [Electric Sense] Has leveled 25 > 47
‘Ping’ [Sword Apprentice] Has leveled 40 > 50
‘Ping’ [Martial Technique] Has leveled 4 > 23
‘Ping’ [Dagger Apprentice] Has leveled 1 > 26
‘Ping’ [Wood Manipulation] Has leveled 20 > 43
‘Ping’ [Electric Manipulation] Has leveled 1 > 33
‘Ping’ [Accelerated Thoughts] Has leveled 25 > 50
‘Ping’ [Parallel Minds] Has leveled 20 > 25
‘Ping’ [Plant Production] Has leveled 17 > 20
‘Ping’ [Fatigue Resistance] Has leveled 17 > 49
‘Ping’ [Erotic Arts] Has leveled 2 > 22
I had made leaps and bounds in my levels and had finally reached level cap for tier two. At least in my classes.
Only a few of my general skills had made it to cap as well, with [Fatigue Resistance] being one that was exceptionally close.
The big problem here was that I wasn’t likely to be able to level any of my skills. The cell I was being kept in had the same runes that were in the cells in Verdanst, the ones that prevented me from using any kind of skill at all.
So I was kept, essentially, completely harmless at all times. And that meant I wasn’t going to be leveling any of my skills outside of combat, which made it extremely unlikely I’d be able to max out every skill that I had, or at least the ones I cared to level to max.
So now I was left with a decision. Do I go ahead and ascend my classes? Or should I wait for some potential change in my situation. I had been here for a long time as it was already, and realistically I didn’t really see any changes happening in my living situation that would allow me to be allowed to level my skills going forward at this rate.
Lurks also hadn’t given me any orders against ascending to the next tier either, even though she most definitely knew I was sitting at level cap as well. There’s no way she didn’t know that.
I hadn’t been down to fight in several days, which gave me time to think about the decision. Lurks also hadn’t bothered me during this time, so I could only assume she was being kept extremely busy. To the point where she didn’t even have time to spare to come harass me.
To ascend, or not to ascend? There was a minute chance that my tier up would provide me with something that would make my escape easy. There was also a chance it would just completely do fuck-all. That latter seemed like the more likely outcome to me overall.
I didn’t immediately dismiss the notion that I could be given something useful, but I doubted it would really happen. The heart hadn’t really done anything for me besides turning me into an elf, giving me a minor bump in stats, and prematurely unlocking my third class and then forcefully locked me into a selection of its choice.
While, arguably, that was extremely useful and helpful, it hadn’t done anything beneficial outside of that. And honestly? From what little I knew? It was more deadly for me to have this thing than not. It put a target on my back.
The Sentinels wanted this heart if I guessed correctly, that was the only possible reason they would ever try and attack a citadel like that is if they wanted this heart. But what did they want it for? Or were they trying to destroy it?
Questions for another time perhaps.
Do I ascend or not? At the end of the day it’s a very simple question with a very simple answer. I stand to gain nothing by waiting and I stand to gain everything by pushing forward. There’s a miniscule chance my skills will expand in a way that gives me access to something unique that will benefit another escape attempt. One that will give me an advantage over the multitudes of opponents I would face.
I have to take that chance, regardless of how slim it might be.
I pushed through my status and mentally confirmed my desire to ascend to the next tier. It was hard to tell a difference in the world around me with how static everything was already.
Normally colors would drain from view and sounds would fade as everything came to a stop around me. But given that the walls around me were gray stone and the only sounds were that of my own breathing there wasn’t a lot of change that took place visually or audibly to me.
But I knew it worked as my status shifted in front of me displaying columns of information for me to peruse.
[Slave Enforcer] -
Nope. Not even kind of interested. I needed to find a way to start filtering out classes that I just wouldn’t be interested in. I wasn’t sure if that was possible given that I’m not sure that the System is necessarily sapient. I’m sure it’s probably sentient? Hard to tell sometimes.
[Enforcer] -
Requirements: Beat someone while unarmed, acquired a martial skill, work for a crime boss.
Diligence, Duty, and Lethality. All important aspects of enforcement and you embody those ideals.
+9 Vig, +9 End, +10 Str, +8 Dex, +8 Agi, +3 Int, + 2 Wis per level.
Uhhh. That’s most definitely a class and most definitely not one I’ll be taking right now.
Or ever really. Especially given that it’s a green class at this point in time. Honestly should I even be considering green classes anymore? I quickly scanned the other few greens I had.
[Shock Meister]
[Shock Trapper]
[Arc Blaster]
[Surge Protector]
What? Surge protector? Really? I honestly can’t even be mad about that one, it’s kind of funny.
Sentient not sapient eh? None of these really looked interesting though. They were… classes. But nothing I’d write home about at the end of the day. I’d at least scan the names, in future classes but I doubted I’d pick one unless something really resonated with me.
Moving on to the meat and potatoes though, the blues. Oh that beautiful blue hue. Hopefully I had something helpful.
[Mage of the Storm] -
Requirements: Defeated fifty opponents a tier above you, used wide reaching area storm magic, leveled [Electric Manipulation] to the second tier.
You are the storm that is approaching, unfettered, unbound, and uncontrolled. Total destruction lies at your fingertips, waiting for you to unleash it.
+7 Vig, +7 End, +5 Str, +12 Dex, +10 Agi, +15 Int, +15 Wis per level.
This seemed like a pretty interesting class. Honestly, it was probably the direct upgrade to [Battlemage]. Or at the very least in the same vein of power. Seemed like a focus on area control with the potential of high single target damage at the expense of my mana. A full-on blaster.
Not that I was particularly opposed to that either way, I actively enjoyed it actually.
[Lightning-Clad Sorcerer] -
Requirements: Defeated over a hundred opponents with lightning, use a full body lightning aura, have a body modifying lightning skill.
You move with the speed and strength of lightning, your actions enforced by one of nature's strongest forces.
+12 Vig, +8 End, +5 Str, +10 Dex, +10 Agi, +10 Int, +11 Wis per level.
Interesting, a class gained because of [Ride the Lightning]? Or was it based on the fact that I had a lightning based passive that boosted my agility based on intelligence? Either way, this didn’t sound bad even slightly.
Although it had more requirements to get into, it seemed like more of a sidegrade to [Mage of the Storm]. Although that just might be how classes worked, the skills might be better or really at the end of the day they might just all be side grades of each other. None particularly better than the other.
[Coruscating Dirge] -
Requirements: Defeated over five-hundred opponents with lightning.
Lightning is beautiful, and in that beauty you find death. Each death brings you more power, and while you don’t relish in the death you cause you understand the necessity in it.
+6 Vig, +5 End, +6 Str, +12 Dex, +12 Agi, +14 Int, +14 Wis per level.
I wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about this one. A class focusing on purely causing death? It seemed like the benefits could potentially be good. But it seemed kind of ominous. I might be reading too far into it though.
At the end of the day it didn’t necessarily go against what I stood for. I didn’t like having to kill people, but I understood that I had to in some cases. And lightning does look pretty cool and is pretty decent at killing people. A definite maybe.
[Ground Piercing Bolt] -
Requirements: Defeated over five-hundred opponents, traveled through lightning, defeated an opponent in a single attack.
Person, animal, weapon, ground. None shall defy you, none shall hinder you, all will be torn asunder.
+11 Vig, +10 End, +7 Str, +10 Dex, +11 Agi, +13 Int, +14 Wis per level.
I uh. Seems kind of basic? Stat totals were higher than the other classes I guess. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad choice then, it didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives attached to the class, the stats were high, the requirements were steep. Although only [Mage of the Storm] mentioned defeating people a tier above me.
Hmmmm… Now that I thought about that, it seemed kind of strange.
I had defeated plenty of people tiers above me, and yet only one class mentioned it?
Honestly I wasn’t sure which class I really wanted to go with, they all sounded pretty cool. There didn’t seem to be that much difference between each class either, I wasn’t sure if the distinction between each one was important or if it was something minor.
I guess I could always come back to look at it after seeing the classes I had available for the other two slots.
[Blade Deviant]
[Bladed Dervish]
[Path of the Myrmidon]
[Phalanx]
I quickly scanned through the greens I saw and once again, I wasn’t impressed. There were more in total for my second class, but after the first few I stopped looking at them. I just couldn’t be bothered at this point in time. I needed every advantage I could get right now and I highly doubted there’d be anything worthwhile in a green that a blue couldn’t or wouldn’t provide and provide better.
Looking at the blue classes I had a neat little selection there just like the first class.
[Bladed Storm] -
Requirements: Defeated fifty opponents, defeated one hundred opponents while fighting with a lightning imbued weapon.
You’ve clad yourself, and by extension your weapons, with the power of the storm. It will now inhabit the weapons you wield allowing you to further your destructive capabilities.
+8 Vig, +9 End, +10 Str, +9 Dex, +12 Agi, +8 Int, +8 Wis per level.
Pretty basic, not a bad class, but not something inspiring either. I’ll come back to it if everything else just ends up completely sucking.
[Soldier of the Storm] -
Requirements: Defeated fifty opponents a tier above you, leveled [Electric Manipulation] into the second tier.
You are the storm that is approaching, unfettered, unbound, and uncontrolled. Total destruction lies at the tip of your blade, waiting for you to unleash it.
+10 vig, +9 End, +11 Str, +8 Dex, +8 Agi, +7 Int, +9 Wis per level.
I uhh… huh. I glanced back quickly and confirmed that this was basically a carbon copy of [Mage of the Storm]. I’ve never seen a class get replicated like that before, although I guess it’s something I’ve noticed before. I think one of the people I fought in the arena had a shadow based blade dancer class.
So I guess this kind of confirms that classes have a kind of template they can fall into based on what requirements you meet. Maybe that’s why all the class requirements feel so vague and just kind of… boring? I guess that’s the right word for it. Lots of stories that I read had much more interesting class requirements, or rather the classes started off growing more intrinsically tied to the achievements of the character.
I guess I wasn’t actually that far along in the grand scheme of levels though. I was only just getting into the third tier, I still hadn’t even gotten my first organically purple class yet. So I guess it would be asking for a bit much to have classes be more personalized.
Regardless, the class was interesting. It might synergize really well with its mage counterpart as well, something to consider anyways.
[Power Blade] -
Requirements: Defeated over a hundred opponents with an imbued weapon, imbued an elementally created weapon with a separate element, created a weapon out of an element.
The weapons you use are powerful, but not because they were created by someone with power. Your weapons drink in the strength of the world around them and use that to empower themselves to reach new heights.
+10 Vig, +10 End, +9 Str, +8 Dex, +7 Agi, +10 Int, +11 Wis per level.
This was… interesting. It stepped away from lightning based magics from the description. Some sort of energy leech based class perhaps? That could be kind of interesting, but at the same time it seemed kind of strange. Assuming I was right I could absorb the element of an attack or something and then my weapon would be empowered by said element.
The element that my opponent had just used and was more than likely quite resistant to. Class was definitely cool sounding, but not for me I don’t think.
[Blade of Lightning] -
Requirements: Defeated over five-hundred opponents with a lightning imbued weapon, imbue a weapon, create an elemental weapon.
Lightning is integral to your strength, your sword and shield. With its power you will cut down your enemies with primal force.
+9 Vig, +9 End, +12 Str, +10 Dex, +7 Agi, +10 Int, +7 Wis per level.
Ah. Very nice. Short and simple. Clearly defines what this class is about and tells me what it plans on giving me. Just straight up raw power, not much to think about there. Stats were pretty good as well, definitely a potential top-pick there.
[Lightning Guided] -
Requirements: Defeated over five-hundred opponents with Lightning, used a body modifying lightning skill, defeated an opponent in a single attack, defeated over fifty opponents a tier above you.
Lightning has guided your progress, been by your side from the beginning and will be there at the end. It’s a core part of your strength and being and has given you the versatility you’ve needed to succeed.
+11 Vig, +9 End, +10 Str, +10 Dex, +10 Agi, +12 Int, +11 Wis per level.
I narrowed my eyes slightly at the class. This… didn’t quite feel like a spell-blade type of class. It also seemed vaguely exasperated. I’m not sure how text managed to convey an emotion to me, but it did. I wasn’t sure why either. The versatility part seemed to be the emotion imbued word.
Hmmm. I’m not sure what to think about this, the class could be pretty good, but I didn’t like how vague it was about the goals. Or rather the fact that it didn’t specify a direction for the class other than a level of versatility.
I don’t think it was that difficult to choose a class to replace this one. I didn’t know that I necessarily liked the last one. I really did like the look of [Blade of Lightning] though.
I nodded my head slowly. Each class seemed to have its ups and downs. But [Blade of Lightning] seemed to be the most in line with what I was already doing. I wasn’t necessarily interested in trying to change up the program at this point in time.
I locked in the decision, the second column going gray with my choice. I felt confident with my decision, maybe I wasn’t in the best place mentally and so I wasn’t able to think through all my decisions properly. But that wasn’t something I’d be able to fix easily. At the end of the day, this class felt right to me. It felt the most comfortable and the one that would push me down the path I wanted to be going anyways.
Looking back over my options for my first classes, I slowly came to a similar decision. My second class was the focus on raw destructive power. Whereas my first class was a focus on utility and area control with a little bit of blaster power.
There were some interesting classes to look at there, but they sounded just… strange to my ears. I didn’t like the feelings they gave me when I read them. The only ones I felt truly comfortable with were [Mage of the Storm] and [Lightning-Clad Sorcerer]. Looking between the two, I liked [Mage of the Storm] more.
Not only because it gave massive bonuses to intelligence and wisdom, but it was also the only class in the first column that made any mention of defeating opponents a tier above me. None of the other class options even made a mention of that. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but that’s what it was about at the end of the day.
I locked in my decision, the first column graying out as well.
I smiled slightly, I was left with one final set of options, this one was usually the most limited. Not that I particularly minded.
I turned my attention to the final column taking a look at the, as expected, short list.
[Druid of Nalthien] -
Requirements: Leveled an epic grade nature class to max, race is elf.
You seek to protect the Heart of the Ancient from the forces that would use it to destroy the world.
+30 Vig, +30 End, +30 Str, +30 Dex, +30 Agi, +30 Int, +30 Wis per level.
I let out a bone deep sigh. Once again I was provided with the druid class. The stat offering was starting to get ridiculous. The Heart really wanted me to take this class, and as I said before, I’m not even remotely interested in giving you an ‘in’ to dictating my actions.
I was the only person that was allowed to tell me what to do. Or at least that’s how I wanted things to be. Reality was currently doing its best to dissuade me of that notion.
[Nature’s Enforcer] -
Requirements: Leveled an epic grade nature class to max, Have a martial skill, have a nature manipulation skill.
Enforcing the will of nature and expanding its domain is integral to your abilities. It grants you a safety net to operate within, making sure that no matter where you are you’ll always be at the heart of your power.
+15 Vig, +15 End, +10 Str, +17 Dex, +16 Agi, +20 Int, +20 Wis per level.
That was actually pretty good. The will of nature seemed a little suspicious in that description, but other than that the class didn’t seem all that bad. In fact, it sounded down-right pretty cool. As it stood it was kind of the approach I was taking with my nature abilities anyways.
I was constantly spreading nature and maintaining it so I’d always have eyes, and given that I could grow nature as long as I had mana, having a class that encouraged what I was doing would be pretty nice.
[Dryad of Nalthien] -
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
…
Trying to sneak a second one in there like I wouldn’t notice? Huh? The bonuses may be great, but I’m just not interested.
I wasn’t particularly happy about being left with only one choice, but there wasn’t much I could do about that now.
I locked in [Nature’s Enforcer], the third and final column of my classes turning gray.
I looked over my three classes once again before I confirmed the changes.
[Mage of the Storm]
[Blade of Lightning]
[Nature’s Enforcer]
Nodding my head slowly I confirmed my decisions. Supposedly the world faded back into color, but given that I couldn’t tell a difference it looked like nothing changed. I also wasn’t sure if time-passed for me this time or if I was left at the same point that I went in at.
Not like it really mattered, I took the time to look over the new changes my classes had received.
‘Ping’ [Battlemage - Lightning] Has become [Mage of the Storm] +7 Vig, +7 End, +5 Str, +12 Dex, +10 Agi, +15 Int, +15 Wis per level.
‘Ping’ [Lightning Storm] Has become [Storm Call] - You call upon the winds, rain, and lightning to batter, delay, and incinerate your foes. Buffeting winds make projectile attacks difficult, rain impedes movement and vision, and your lightning smites those caught within. Costs 100 mana to cast with a 10% compounding cost to channel. Area of effect increased by 1% per level (303 ft).
‘Ping’ [Paralyzing Blast] Has become [Storm Explosion] - Launch a storm infused ball that explodes with a (66%) to paralyze and knock prone anyone caught in the explosion. Direct impacts have a higher chance to proc (75%). Increased AOE by 1% (10.1 ft) per level.
‘Ping’ [Lightning Aura] Has become [Storm Aura] - You coat your entire body in an aura of pure storm magic. Each attack you make, whether with a weapon or with your body, imparts a high voltage blast of lightning. Any ranged/melee attacks made against you will find their blows blunted by the storm and missile based projectiles will have a chance (10%) to be completely negated. Extra damage scales by 35% of int. Damage reduced by 5%. Increased damage scaling by 0.15% (35.15%) per level and chance to negate by 0.1% (10.1%) per level.
‘Ping’ [As Fast As Lightning - Passive] Has been enhanced - Dexterity and agility are enhanced by 85% of intelligence. Enhancement increased by 0.15% (85.15%) per level.
‘Ping’ [Chain Lightning] Has become [Web of Lightning] - Multiple splinters of lightning arc between your foes. Each arcs damage is reduced by 10% each time it jumps. Increase splinters by 0.07 per level (3.07)
‘Ping’ [Conductor Points] Has become [Storm Points] - Your opponents like to dance and attack you from unpredictable angles, you seek to put a stop to that. Designate at minimum two points, channeling the skills will cause either lightning or wind to travel between the two points continuously, electrocuting or buffeting anything between those points. Forming shapes with the points allows you to fill in the center with the element of your choice as well. Cost to channel is 25 per second +25 for each point beyond the first two. Increased damage by 1% (1%) per level.
Some interesting changes are taking place here. I now have access to some wind based abilities. Which makes sense given that this is a focus on storm rather than just lightning.
One of the changes that catches my eye the most is [Storm Aura]. It being both a defensive and offensive aura now instead of just one or the other is going to be amazing. Having the ability to also just straight up negate missile based projectiles? Insane. I could’ve used that during my escape attempt several months ago.
A 10% chance to just say ‘No.’ to attack is huge. By the end of this tier that chance will be 20%. Unfortunately there’s not any scaling to the damage reduction, but I’ll take what I can get. 5% is infinitely better than the 0% the skill offered before. It would also nicely stack with the one in [Bladedancer] totaling about 20% DR.
[AFAL] looks like it’s starting to slow down in its benefits. Looks like it’ll cap around 100% if my math is correct. Which isn’t a bad bonus, but it means that the skill is probably going to start branching out into other things at later tiers. It’ll be interesting to see what it does if it’s not just going to be a passive increase. Unless it’s going to branch into other types of passive?
I guess I’ll find out when the time comes.
[Storm Explosion] now has the added benefit of knocking people prone if it procs. It also has a higher chance to proc on direct hits. I wasn’t hitting people directly all that often to begin with, but I might start trying now. 75% is pretty huge. Even just a second or two of stopping someone will be devastating at the high speeds of combat people operate at.
[Web of Lightning] was looking pretty spicy now. I was no longer just limited to one avenue of attack. Instead it hit three separate targets and theoretically could jump to thirty different targets! Although there was likely to be some overlap in that.
By level 100 the skill should have 10 splinters to work with. So 100 enemies? In one attack? Sheesh.
A shiver of anticipation ran down my spine at the thought of the complete battlefield destruction I would control at later levels.
[Storm Points] was an interesting upgrade, although relatively minor compared to other stuff. Useful for sure. A certain specific anarchy causing grenade launcher was coming to mind.
…
Maybe it was going to be a lot better than I thought. Definitely something to test out when I got the chance.
Time to see what [Blade of Lightning] is gonna give me.
‘Ping’ [Bladedancer - Lightning] Has become [Blade of Lightning] - +9 Vig, +9 End, +12 Str, +10 Dex, +7 Agi, +10 Int, +7 Wis per level.
‘Ping’ [Forged by the Storm - Passive] Has been enhanced - Your physique has been pushed beyond its limits, weathering attacks and pushing past the ends of its endurance. Reduce incoming damage by 15%, all stamina use reduced by 25%. Health, Stamina, and Agility all increased by 5% per tier (15%) and 0.25% per level (75.25%).
‘Ping’ [Lightning Strikes] Has been enhanced - Your attacks move at speeds almost too fast to follow, and with that speed comes unfathomable strength. Infuse mana into your attacks, for every 200 mana bypass 60% of resistances. Increase the speed of your attack by 0% of Intelligence. Increased speed scaling by 0.5% (0.5%) per level.
‘Ping’ [Enchanted Redirection] and [Enchanted Accuracy] Has become [Lightning Blade’s Guidance - Hybrid] - You pour out lightning creating conductive pathways to aid your attacks in landing in critical spots and hinder those of your opponents. Your blade is also guided into theirs making it easier to redirect their attacks to wherever you want them to be. Efficiency determined by opponent size and strength of incoming attack. (Even more) Increased efficiency by 0.125% (12.625%) per level.
‘Ping’ [Second Strike] Has become [Lightning Stream] - No longer are you limited to just striking one attack at a time. When you make an attack you can activate this skill to let loose a series of precise, elementally enhanced, strikes against your opponent that only stops when you deactivate the skill or an attack misses. Costs 250 mana to cast with a 10% compounding cost to channel. Agility for attacks increased by 25% during skill. Increased agility scaling by 0.25% (25.25%) per level.
‘Ping’ [Ride The Lightning] Has been enhanced - No longer is lightning something separate from you, instead it becomes something you embody. Any electricity or lightning based attack you create you can ‘ride’ to its destination. Positioning or speed, the choice is up to you! You’re now able to make 1 adjustment to your direction for each jump you make. Increased adjustments by 0.5 (1.5) per level.
Passive for this class seemed to be taking the same approach. The level increase would cap it at 100%, although the tier bonus would put it over? Hmmm. Well, I’ll be interested to see what happens later.
[Lightning Strikes] was the first one to do things… weirdly. Starting at 0% scaling, I guess it instantly jumped to 0.5% since I’m now level 1. But the fact that it called that out in such a strange fashion was interesting. Maybe the system was catching on to the fact that I liked nice orderly numbers.
[Lightning Blade’s Guidance] was a combination of two skills into one. A very interesting combination. It opened up a spot for a new skill as well, I’d have to try and figure out what I’d want to do there.
Overall the skill was just what it said on paper. The more I attacked the easier it would become to land my own attacks. And given that my blade was constantly coated in lightning, each attack made with my blade in addition to lightning magic would make my attacks land more easily.
So it was some weird, passive with an active aspect to it? A hybrid of sorts. Which would explain the suffix attached to it.
[Lightning Stream] was something I was very interested in. A flurry of nonstop attacks would be absolutely devastating. Especially if I combined it with [Lightning Strikes]. The speed that those attacks would come out? Absolutely brutal. I was looking forward to trying that combination.
[Ride the Lightning] also got a nice enhancement. Being able to redirect myself after setting my direction was going to be extremely useful. The utility of this could definitely not be understated in any capacity. Not having to stop and recast a skill to keep moving would allow me to reposition even faster, and as I leveled I’d be able to pull off more precise and advanced repositions in combat with the skill.
All in all a very handy update to the class.
‘Ping’ [Nature’s Adept] Has become [Nature’s Enforcer] - +15 Vig, +15 End, +10 Str, +17 Dex, +16 Agi, +20 Int, +20 Wis per level.
‘Ping’ [Nature’s Protection] Has become [Wood-Infused Armor] - Create a magic infused suit of armor around yourself, protecting you from all but the most lethal of blows. Increased protection per level.
‘Ping’ [Healing Blossom] Has become [Healing Lily] - The Lilium Longiflorum, or more commonly known as just lily, has become your staple. Infused with your mana and the blessing of nature it seeks to heal all wounds, poisons, and maladies that afflict the unfortunate. Anyone designated as an ally heals at a rate of 33% of your maximum health per second. Costs 500 to cast and 100 with compounding 20% increase to channel per second. Increased channel efficiency by 0.1% (19.9%) per level.
‘Ping’ [Elements of Nature - Passive] Has been enhanced - Nature is one of the most primal forces in existence, any attack that can be reasonably considered as being from nature deals 435% more damage. Increased damage by 0.65% (435.65%) per level.
‘Ping’ [Bind] Has been enhanced - The power of nature is used to heal and protect. But a good defense is one that never allows an attack to be made in the first place. Roots sprout from the nearest surface and seek to ensnare your opponent within a twenty-five foot radius. Increased number of targets by 0.1 (0.1) per level.
‘Ping’ [Nature’s Touch] Has become [Nature’s Embrace] - Heal yourself or your allies with the warmth of nature. Purge poisons, clear infections, stop diseases, nothing stands in your way. At least it won’t for long. Costs 125 mana per cast. Heals 15% of your maximum health per cast, may channel to continuously fight infections, diseases, or channel healing through someone. 5% compounding cost to channel per second.
‘Ping’ [Barrier] Has become [Nature’s Rampart] - Walls of force protect you from all angles, not unlike that of a castle, one of your own making, through your own power, you defend those without the strength to defend themselves. Barriers are now resizable and reshapable and can be left where you summon them. Barrier initial size is five square feet that can be remolded. Barriers cost 100 mana to cast and cost an additional 5 mana per square foot of coverage. Can create up to ten barriers and/or a maximum of 100 sq. feet. Increased barrier count by 0.1 per level and maximum material by 9 sq. feet per level. Barriers absorb up to 10% of your maximum hp before shattering.
‘Ping’ [One With Nature] Has been enhanced - You’re able to spread your senses out further and make out more details, navigation is much easier as a result. Distance and level of detail gained increase per level. Distance gained 50ft per level (3800ft).
[Wood-Infused Armor] was a pretty straightforward upgrade. Nothing really to talk about there.
[Healing Lily] was also pretty straightforward. A healing upgrade focused around the fact that I was partial to the lily flower for creating observation points. Although before it only did health, now it looked like it handled other things as well.
Poisons and such. The channel efficiency was also still being increased which was nice.
[Elements of Nature - Passive] was slowing down hard like the other passives. Granted it made all my attacks do four times the damage they should be was absolutely insane. I was definitely getting a lot of mileage out of the skill.
[Bind] got a pretty hefty upgrade. Currently it could still only target one person, but every 10 levels I could target one additional person with the skill, which would be absolutely nifty. It still had a limited range of being near a surface and only reaching up to 25 feet. I wonder if I could spawn it off my barriers? I’d have to see if that was something I could do.
[Nature’s Rampart] was a powerful defensive skill just based on what I was reading. Basically I could more easily defend a position with this skill. It was slightly more limited in the fact that it could now absorb up to a maximum in damage based off of a relatively static number. But that number would scale pretty far. I mean currently it was sitting somewhere around 4k damage, I think? I’d have to check my status after this to know for sure.
[One With Nature] got a pretty normal upgrade. It looks like it removed the nature affinity required environment. I wasn’t sure about that though, I was never hindered from using the skill in the first place so I wasn’t entirely sure what the restriction did in the first place.
I was getting pretty close to that one mile range for observation though, which was pretty powerful. As it stood, in certain areas of The Pit, I could see the surface grass above us. It was a little infuriating to be able to see the surface so close within reach and yet so far from being able to actually get to it.
I let out a sigh and tried to push that from my minds, all that led to was a further spiral of depression. It was already hard enough to hold on to my sanity currently. I wasn’t even sure I was fully sane anymore as it was. For all I knew this was just some dream Lurks was forcing on me.
I shook my head lightly trying to push my thoughts to get back on track with my skills.
‘Ping’ Ascended to Tier 3 bonus stats gained - +1000 to all stats.
‘Ping’ Ascended to Tier 3 - acquired 100 ability points.
‘Ping’ Ascended to Tier 3 - Tier 3 enhancements unlocked.
‘Ping’ Ascended to Tier 3 - Third class unllllllllllll— ERROR!ERROR!ERROR!
An error has occurred, third class already achieved. Adjusting for anomaly.
The system ran through a series of lines that flashed by way too quickly for me to even begin reading. Thousands, millions, billions, trillions of lines of code all scrolled by in the blink of an eye. Recalculating and reevaluating the situation.
I had known that having a third class early was an anomaly, but I didn’t realize it was so far-fetched that it would break the system. The reality warping, fabric breaking system. That one.
After several minutes it scrolled to a halt and instantly cleared before I had a chance to read any of it and potentially get a glimpse at what was happening behind the scenes.
‘Ping’ Ascended to Tier 3 - Skill Combinations unlocked.
‘Ping’ [Sword Apprentice] leveled 50 > 13
‘Ping’ [Sword Apprentice] Has become [Sword Expert]
‘Ping’ Ascension Complete.
Well. That was something I guess.
Name: Alexander King
Ability Points: 1105
Tier 2 Class - [Mage of the Storm] - Level 1
Ability - [Storm Call]
Ability - [Storm Explosion]
Ability - [As Fast As Lighting - Passive]
Ability - [Storm Aura]
Ability - [Web of Lightning]
Ability - [Storm Points]
Tier 2 Class - [Blade of Lightning] - Level 1
Ability - [Forged by the Storm - Passive]
Ability - [Lightning Strikes]
Ability - [Lightning Blade’s Guidance - Hybrid]
Ability - [Lightning Stream]
Ability - [Ride the Lightning]
Ability -
Tier 2 Class - [Nature’s Enforcer] - Level 1
Ability - [Wood-Infused Armor]
Ability - [Healing Lily]
Ability - [Elements of Nature - Passive]
Ability - [Bind]
Ability - [Nature’s Embrace]
Ability - [Nature’s Rampart]
Ability - [One With Nature]
Enhancements -
Tier 1 [Point Blank] (Level 25)
Tier 1 [Weapon Proficiency] (Level 25)
Tier 1 [Quickness] (Level 25)
Tier 2 - [Close Quarters Casting] (Level 50)
Tier 2 - [Dodge] (Level 50)
Tier 2 - [Feint Proficiency] (Level 50)
Tier 3 -
Tier 3 -
Tier 3 -
General Skills -
Tier 2 [Identify] - Level 27
Tier 2 [Rest] - Level 10
Tier 2 [Mana Sense] - Level 42
Tier 2 [Electric Sense] - Level 47
Tier 3 [Sword Expert] - Level 1
Tier 2 [Martial Technique] - Level 23
Tier 2 [Dagger Apprentice] - Level 26
Tier 2 [Wood Manipulation] - Level 43
Tier 2 [Electric Manipulation] - Level 33
Tier 2 [Accelerated Thoughts] - Level 50
Tier 2 [Parallel Minds] - Level 25 (17.5 additional minds)
Tier 2 [Fruit Production] - Level 22
Tier 2 [Plant Production] - Level 20
Tier 2 [Vegetable Production] - Level 5
Tier 2 [Fatigue Resistance] - Level 49
Tier 2 [Erotic Arts] - Level 2
[Mining] - Level 3
Status -
Vig - [4299] (7959.59)
End - [4077] (7548.56)
Str - [3813]
Dex - [4018] (7934.04) [12210.5] {12210.5}
Agi - [4081] (11472.02) |12621.77| {17208.03/18357.78}
Int - [4599]
Wis - [4705]
Health - 79595/79595
Stamina - 75485/75485
Mana - 47050/47050
(number represents passives provided by classes) |number represents CQC enhancement bonus| {Number represents 1 second spike when dodging/with CQC active} [number for weapon dexterity]
[Sword Apprentice] was conveniently raised to the next tier at the end there. Strange that I didn’t receive any classes for bringing that to the maximum tier before ascending. Maybe there was something else I missed that would’ve opened up some classes for me?
Still kind of strange that it didn’t happen regardless. You’d think there’d be at least a couple of classes that would be available for achieving that.
And yet I got nothing. I feel like I got robbed.
Damn you system administrator!
I wonder if there actually was a system admin. I feel like there kind of has to be right? I mean, it seems like the system runs on some type of code. So someone had to write it… right? And that means there needs to be someone to manage it since it’s a program.
Or so you would think anyways. Maybe this is life’s great mystery here. Instead of ‘why was I born?’ it’s ‘Is there a system admin?’
Truly a question for the ages.
All that’s left to fully finish off my ascension is to pick some new enhancements. I’m interested to see what options I have for tier three. Tier 2 brought [Dodge] which is easily the most useful skill I’ve received to date. I mean, a whole 50% boost to dexterity and agility for a second. At later levels, as my agility gets higher, that one second is going to feel like an eternity.
Tier 3 Enhancements
Improved Dual Wielding: Off hand weapon gains full mainhand weapon proficiency. (Requires Dual Wield tier 2 enhancement) (Cost: 25 points)
Elemental Shift: Shift the element of spell to something else for the duration of the cast. Descriptor of spell changes to the new element. (Cost: 25 points)
Matter Creation Proficiency: You’re more proficient in using your skills to create things. Whether that’s using fire to forge something or wood to make a shield, you’re more capable. Increased efficiency by 1% per level. (Cost: 25 points)
Team Flanking: if you're flanking an opponent with an ally you gain increased dexterity. Increase dexterity by 0.5% per level. (Cost: 25 points)
Defensive Fighting: Trade strength for dexterity to fight defensively. 0.25% of str per level to dex. (Cost: 25 points)
Improved Weapon Proficiency: Increase dexterity with chosen weapons by 0.1% per level. (Must have Weapon Proficiency enhancement) (Cost: 25 points)
Intimidation Tactics: Mighty blows from you have a 0.1% chance per level to frighten your opponent. (Cost: 25 points)
Grappler: Increased strength and dexterity by 0.5% per level when grappling an opponent. (Cost: 25 points)
Confidence: Fear based effects are 0.25% per level less likely to affect you. (Cost: 25 points)
Strong Life: Death effects are 0.25% per level less likely to affect you (Cost: 25 points)
Fleet: Increase agility by 0.25% per level when traveling (Cost: 25 points)
As expected, these abilities were very nice supplemental skills. There were a couple of interesting combinations and a couple of things I was reminded of.
I had, at one point, wanted to trade out [Feint Proficiency] for something else since it wasn’t that useful to me at the moment. Now I wasn’t so sure I wanted to do that. I kind of wanted to hold on to it, especially if I was planning on choosing [Improved Weapon Proficiency].
That would put me in a solid range for actually being able to pull feints off on people, creating openings for myself.
Doubly especially now that I was tier three and on an even playing field with everyone else now. For the most part anyways.
I wasn’t even sure which skills I actually wanted. I think I for sure wanted [Matter Creation Proficiency]. Not just because the name sounded kinda cool, but because I was doing lots of making stuff with my arm and weapons and whatnot. This would also probably affect my production skills for making food and whatnot.
So all in all it was just going to be a handy enhancement to have.
I hadn’t run into any fear or death based effects yet… but that didn’t mean that I wouldn’t in the future. I’d have to keep an eye out for stuff like that in the future. If I ran into something I knew for sure had one or the other, swapping out enhancements could be a great idea.
I didn’t really ever expect to need [Grappler] so I instantly ruled that one out in my mind.
[Fleet] seemed kind of useful for travel… but I already had really high agility as it was, and I doubted I’d really be running from place to place going forward. And if I was traveling in a group I highly doubted I’d be the one slowing us down going forward.
Or at least it was going to be extremely unlikely.
I also definitely wasn’t interested in trading my strength for dexterity with [Defensive Fighting]. My strength was already one of my lowest stats, I didn’t need to be lowering that further and negating any physical damage I dealt.
[Elemental Shift] sounded useful. And it looked like it was just a one and done buy, so I could grab that at some point perhaps, it would certainly come in handy if I came up against a lightning elemental or something like that.
I guess [Team Flanking] to go in my last slot then? It seemed like the only one that would potentially come up in any capacity.
I nodded slowly to myself. Yeah, I think that’s what I wanted.
Quickly running over the list one last time to make sure I hadn’t missed anything I would like, I confirmed my choices by buying the three skills and slotting them in. I then immediately spent all my points on leveling them all the way to the max.
Or at least I tried.
Enhancements -
Tier 1 [Point Blank] (Level 25)
Tier 1 [Weapon Proficiency] (Level 25)
Tier 1 [Quickness] (Level 25)
Tier 2 - [Close Quarters Casting] (Level 50)
Tier 2 - [Dodge] (Level 50)
Tier 2 - [Feint Proficiency] (Level 50)
Tier 3 - [Improved Weapon Proficiency] (Level 39)
Tier 3 - [Matter Creation Proficiency] (Level 1
Tier 3 - [Team Flanking] (Level 1)
But only one of my skills even leveled up partially. My eyes widened and I quickly snapped my eyes to the top of my status.
Name: Alexander King
Ability Points: 5
Well crap. I had actually run out of ability points trying to level things for once. And now that I was paying attention and trying to do the math it would take 2500 points per enhancement to bring them to maximum.
Meaning I’d have to defeat 1500 opponents on my level to gain enough points to level all three of them to max, assuming starting from level 1. Now it was more like 1300ish? I wasn’t really interested in trying to figure out the exact math. Not like it would make the result happen any sooner.
It would happen when it would happen.
The problem was that I fully burned through all my ability points.
At the very least it all went into the most immediately useful combat enhancement. Another sigh slipped its way out of my mouth as I relaxed into the chains that were attached to the wall.
I was fully and properly secured in this room. There was one way in and one way out through a solid metal door. And I mean solid. The thing had to be at least a foot thick of just pure iron.
But that wasn’t enough for them, no. There were also enchantments that prevented me from using any type of skill. Active and passive. But not even that was enough for them.
I was also chained to the wall. The chains dug into my wrists and ankles, chafing the skin and rubbing them raw. The first few weeks I had ended up bleeding slightly before the skin had come back tougher. Now the skin there was an off color as it scarred over. Just one more thing to add to my already marred physique.
Lurks had been supremely unhappy with me for trying to escape and she was making that very apparent with my current situation.
At some point she’d be here to feed me and from there she’d either take me to fight or to her bed depending on her mood. She hadn’t done either in a while which was kind of odd. But I counted my blessings where I got them.
Closing my eyes I slowly dozed off, I’d need what little sleep I could get regardless of how uncomfortable it was.
***
I was woken by the sound of a key slotting into the cell door.
My eyes instantly snapped open, I wasn’t able to sleep particularly deeply in the kneeling position I was kept in, so any even slight noise was enough to bring me awake. Thankfully as I was getting higher and higher in levels I was feeling the effects less and less.
On the other hand, this had been going on for a very long time and my strength was starting to dwindle. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake fully as I wasn’t able to get good rest.
In fact the best rest I got was when… Lurks…
I shook my head refusing to finish the thought and instead focused back on the fact that the door was opening.
The door slowly swung open and I was greeted with the sight of Lurks looming over me. I had to crane my neck if I wanted to be able to see her face. I had stopped bothering after the first few times, I could easily recognize her by her shoes after all.
She stepped forward and leaned down, unlocking the shackles holding me to the wall and then shortly after took control of my mind making me stand up.
Lurks didn’t allow me to walk places by my own freedom anymore. Whenever she was taking me to her bed or to the arena she controlled me the entire time. Just another aspect of how she was making her displeasure apparent.
Her tendrils scanned over my mind taking notice of my most recent memories.
“Decided to ascend then? Hoping to get something useful to support another escape attempt?” She questioned with a slightly mocking tone.
“It was a good thought, but you should’ve known better. Even if you got something to help you, you’d never get a chance to actually be able to use it in an environment where it would actually be useful. I wouldn’t ever let you,” She said chidingly.
I didn’t respond. Mainly since I couldn’t.
“Well that’s not important, it’s good that you did ascend after all. If you hadn’t I would’ve made you do it on our way down to the arena. You’re fighting again tonight.”
A question sprang up in my mind.
“Why would I make you ascend? This will probably be your last night as my pet. I’ve tired of you at this point. You didn’t quite break in the way that I hoped you would have. And while you’re attractive and a good bed fluffer, I can gain that from a new pet as well. Tonight you’re fighting what’s essentially the reigning arena champion. She’s in the fourth tier, so I don’t necessarily have high expectations for you surviving past tonight,” She explained.
Well…
Fuck.
She smirked at me, “‘Fuck’ indeed, pet.”