Jonathan Luke Tillman Level 51 Son of Flame
Something was wrong…
Tilly floated in a daze, hovering just above his core and the rip that almost tore it in half.
The fire of his Mana Well burned brighter than ever, engulfing the spherical structure. But the core itself, the matrix of his being, had been severely damaged. Ragged edges showed around a gaping rent in his soul where the insane king had savaged him metaphysically right before sliding his blade into his heart.
The sight of such damage was like nails on a chalkboard, cutting searing lines of pain through his mind.
He was still alive; he knew that.
But try as he might, he could not pull himself away from the view. It ached in a way he could not fathom, sending a deep, shuddering pain through his psyche as he beheld the price of his desperate plan.
He had survived and hopefully so had his allies, but the victory had not come cheap. He tried again to pull back his awareness, to rise up from this prison of internal trauma, but try as he might, every flex of his Will sent new shudders of pain through the already damaged structure.
His thoughts were sluggish, heavy things, battered by the raging pain of his psychic wound. He needed to find a way out, find a way to wake up. His mind strained and searched, struggling for a way to uncover more information, some key to escaping this semi-dream state.
With a flaring pop, light danced briefly in an archaic pattern across the surface of his soul and he felt something reconnect. Then a square of light interposed itself between his awareness and the tear in his soul, displaying a flickering version of his status screen. The display winked in and out several times as if his cosmic reception was bad in the semi-conscious state he found himself in. But with something to focus on besides the damage to his soul, he felt his mind begin to clear, and he noticed several changes and new entries to the screen, not the least of which was the eleven levels he had gained from his last battle.
The first thing he did, before falling into any patterns of self-reflection, was to assign his points, making sure to keep a healthy cushion in his Endurance Min-Max. He wasn’t going to lose that again, and he wasn’t going to leave something so important undone before he investigated the other new entry in his readout.
Jonathan Luke Tillman
Level: 51 (87% EXP until next level)
Display Name: Tilly
Race: Human
Class: Son of Flame
Health: 100% (3.7% per min.)
Mana: 18% (4% per min.)
Status Effects: Soul Wrent
Titles: [Harbinger], [Resolute], [Origin’s Champion], [Trusted Gaijin], [Hostile Environment],
[Scarred Heart], [Divine Wind], [All or Nothing], [Verdant Rebirth], [Peerless Annihilation], [Savage Dominion]
Stats:
Constitution: 37
Endurance: 230 (253)
Dexterity: 72 (79.2)
Strength: 34
Wisdom: 40
Intelligence: 41
Equipment:
Origin’s Primitive Stone Hatchets: +10% to Dexterity (Legendary, Growth-Type)
+Imbued Ability: Recall
+Imbued Buff: Dragon’s Fury
Origin’s Primitive Leather Armor: +10% to Endurance. (Legendary, Growth-Type)
+Imbued Form: Sun Salamander
+Imbued Form: Nullspider/Mana Engine Enchantment
+Imbued Form: Blood Mound Shambler
+Imbued Form: Draconic Emissary
+Leprechaun Pocket (Legendary)
Bracelets of Substitutional Might (Celestial)
Hermetic Belt of Multiplication (Mythic)
Skills:
-Forestcraft: Level 19
-Identify: Level 29
-Cooking: Level 12
-Beginner Hatchet: Level 49
-Animal Processing: Level 9
-Stealth: Level 22
-Herb Lore: Level 8
-Ax Throwing: Level 43
-Dual-Wielding (Hatchets): Level 36
-Spirit Walk: Level 20
-Meditation: Level 16
-First Aid: Level 38
-Draconic Authority: Level N/A
After he finished distributing his points in the way he hoped would serve him best for whatever came next, he was once again struck by how crazy his stat imbalance was. He could see how so many who discovered the rough ratios he had chosen thought he was insane… but they couldn’t see the whole picture like he could. His build had become utterly synergistic, each piece feeding into each other to create a warrior that was both very difficult to kill and extremely dangerous in the right circumstances.
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His Titles [All or Nothing] and [Divine Wind] allowed him to launch attacks with damage output far above his weight class. Whether these were evidence of some system intervention encouraging him to continue on his chosen path, or simply the result of his past choices, Tilly did not know, but they were small pieces of a greater whole.
When you factored in the Dragon’s Fury modification that his hatchets had undergone, and his Blue Flame multiplier against Corruption, he was regularly operating with a 400% increase in damage output against corrupted enemies. These things alone already made him capable of destroying or at least severely damaging any of Corruption’s generals… or so he hoped.
When he took into account the utility his Bracelets of Substitutional Might added to his Build, the end result was a multi-use trump that could change depending on the need.
He had become a true force to be reckoned with on the Plane, made even more dangerous by his highly visible low level. Despite the damage to his soul and the overwhelming nature of the odds they faced, a small part of Tilly relished the idea of the coming conflict.
Corruption seemed to have every advantage, yet time and time again, his side had won against impossible odds. They would do so again. He knew it in his bones… and if they didn’t? Then he would die, leaving everything on the line, and having done all he could for those he loved, something that he hadn’t had the courage to do in his first life.
The tear in his soul ached deeply as the emotions he had just stirred up rumbled through the lattice structure of his core. He tried to distract himself by pulling up his notification log and scrolling back through until he found the description of the new Title he had spotted. It had been awarded right after he had moved up to the fiftieth level.
Congratulations! You have been awarded the Title: [Savage Dominion]
[Savage Dominion] - You have entered into the second Tier of power almost exclusively by gaining experience from enemies many times your own strength. The powers of Nephesh beware. Any superior foe will now sense their doom upon you when entering into combat.
Congratulations! You now receive 300% more experience from defeating enemies above your tier of power.
Warning, you now receive zero experience from defeating enemies within or below your tier of power.
Tilly would have chuckled dryly at those last two lines if he had not been suspended in unconsciousness. Looks like the reward for a job well done was more work. The Title effectively meant that anything he killed up to level 99 would issue zero experience to him and the flip side of the title didn’t seem like it would be helpful very often.
One thing was for sure: whatever came next wouldn’t be any easier than what he had just survived, and his aching soul attested to just how close that last one had been.
Tilly, A voice boomed through his consciousness, reverberating through his core. The vibrations jarred against his metaphysical injury painfully, and he would have screamed had he been able to. The voice continued heedlessly, sending tremors through his being as it grew louder with every word.
I am sorry, I know you are not ready, but we need you NOW!
The last shouted word struck his core like lightning, yanking him up and out of his disembodied state with a savagery that caused the metaphysical pain at his center to scream forth in a fresh torrent of agony.
“AAARRRGG!” He screamed as his eyes burst open to find a haggard-looking Erash leaning over him. His hands shot to cover his abdomen in a protective posture before freezing midway through the motion.
…The pain was gone.
Erash winced in sympathy, “Do not be fooled, Jonathan. The damage is still there, perhaps even worsened by what I have been forced to do. But it is not physical, and will not make itself known unless you call upon your Will or employ your Aura.”
Tilly sat up with a groan, “Ugh, where is Broken…” His question trailed off as he took in his surroundings. They were sitting at the epicenter of a huge blast radius that reached out as far as his eyes could see in every direction.
“Yes, your plan seems to have been far more effective than either of us imagined. But I am afraid we do not have time to-”
“RWWAAAAARRR, WHERE ARE THEY, LONGTOOTH?” Brokenridge’s furious voice sounded from above. Tilly lifted his eyes to find the dragon hovering hundreds of feet in the air, facing the central mountain.
In a hurried voice, Erash continued, “I tried to advise caution, but that, obviously, did not work. He can find no sign of his kin, and I believe his desire to challenge his sire is more complex than we first assumed.”
Then, shockingly, a voice heavy with authority rang out from the central mountain of the Council Peaks. “Ah, the whelp has returned… Come and face me. Let me show you the same end I showed each of the others.” Its force gripped Tilly’s soul painfully and the rent in his core made itself known briefly even as Brokenridge’s wing beats hitched in shock.
Brokenridge recovered, roaring something incoherent and shooting off toward the mountain. Tilly cursed to himself, jumping to his feet despite the lingering pain the authority-laden voice had left on his soul.
“As I feared. Our companion was seeking more than power. He thought to rescue those trapped under his sire’s claws, and now…” Erash trailed off, watching as their foolish companion raced toward the tallest peak of the Contested Lands, taking the obvious bait.
“We can’t let him go alone. He is going to get himself killed before we even have the chance to help,” Tilly growled.
“I am afraid I have little left to offer. I have regained only ten percent of my Well and my options are limited.”
“Yeah, I’m down to the dregs as well… I was hoping to get him to wait somehow, but that is off the table. But even if we are only able to tip the scales slightly, we have to try.” Tilly said, pulling his eyes away from the dragon's distant form, “Please tell me you have a way to get us to that mountain in time to make a difference.”
Erash’s face fell, “I have enough Mana to bear one of us to its base, but that is it. Between the two of us… I assume it will have to be you.”
Tilly grimaced in return, “Yeah, not great but I do have one more trick up my sleeve… I was just hoping to employ it when we were a little more prepared.”
“Very well, our fate once again lies in His hands…” She answered, raising her arm and speaking a few words in a breezy, ephemeral voice.
Tilly watched her, feeling that something had changed in the High Priestess. There was a sturdiness there that felt new, almost reassuring, and as a small cloud coalesced before them, his Identify went off, updating her level,
Erash, Level 100 High Priestess of Origin’s Flame
“Erash… you-”
“I am afraid you must go, Tilly. Be cautious. Your soul is damaged, but will still heal given time. However, if you strain it much further, it will be too far gone to be restored naturally. You must do all you can to avoid such a fate, as healing the soul is a rare and costly thing and none of your options would be available before the true battle has begun. Avoid a contest of Will at all costs.” She said beseechingly, her face drawn with the effort of her magic.
“I’ll do my best… and Erash, thanks for coming.”
She allowed a small smile to lift, the weight of her exhaustion showing on the lines of her face as she directed the small cloud under Tilly and he felt it lift him up.
“I will pray for you and follow as soon as I am able,” she answered quietly before launching him forward with a sharp gesture.
Tilly shot off, the cloud bearing him just feet above the ground at an incredible speed. Unlike when he had followed Brokenridge’s flight, the wind did not resist him at all, seeming to split before him as he raced toward the mountains.
He glanced at his HUD, wincing at his still-recovering Mana,
Health: 100%
Mana: 22%
Status Effects: Soul Wrent
Seeing the Debuff again, Tilly rapidly brought up its description, finding them relatively recently in his log. He needed to have as full a grasp of his resources and shortcomings as he could if he wanted to be any help to his insane dragon.
Soul Wrent: Your soul has suffered a severe injury and is at risk of irreversible damage. The effectiveness of any Aural and Will Abilities will be halved for the duration of this Debuff and using your soul in such a manner will result in further damage. Six days 23 hours remaining.
Shit, if he understood this right, even trying to resist the incapacitating nature of a superior Aura would be enough to damage him further…
His hand wandered to his belt and he pulled free his last item. It was a small vial, stopped with a seal of wax and filled with a vapor that danced mesmerizingly within the glass.
Elder Siren’s Distilled Tears (Legendary)
Any creature who detects this scent before it dissolves will identify the source as the object of its greatest desire and will be seized by a compulsion to obtain it at all costs. Vapor’s effect lasts two minutes.
Tilly looked down at the vial, frowning. He had purchased it with the last of his funds at the auction, struck by a vague idea that he could use it as a distraction to set up some huge attack, stacking Abilities and Titles like he just had against the fey king. But that option was off the table until he had a chance to rest. Now all he had was a powerful distraction and a little over a fifth of his Mana Well to use.
He wasn’t sure he would have ever been able to beat Brokenridge in a fair fight and now they were both racing off to challenge the king of Dragon-kind. He chuckled dryly to himself, the ludicrous nature of his mission glowing with a rich warmth in his belly as he considered just how crazy his life had become. The feeling built until it bubbled forth into a rich belly laugh. “I hope you have something good up your sleeve because I am all out of tricks,” he called up into the sky.
Maybe the dragon wasn’t the only one who was insane…