He looked for a notification but didn't see one. Neither him, nor his Power, had Levelled Up. Stingy, he thought about the System, but he recognised the scaling difficulty of chasing Levels. Unfortunately, the increase in difficulty did not bode well for him with his time limit.
Turning his thoughts aside, he set about looting what he could. It seemed that the set of armour on the first [Skeletal Guard] he had slain was continuously generating heat which radiated off it. The bones inside were almost pure black by now and parts of it were beginning to turn to ash. He would stay far away from it as he could feel the heat from where he was. The other set of armour wasn't as unapproachable, he would just have to be careful not to set it off when handling it.
He [Analyzed] it all first, making sure it was worth the effort of removing it from the bones, since he doubted his axe would be able to absorb them through the metal, starting with it's weapon and shield, and then the armour.
[Hearthsteel Longsword
Tier II Bladed Weapon
A longsword made from Hearthsteel for a warrior of the Phyris Clan upon their graduation from training. It served them faithfully throughout their life and was laid to rest with them when they fell in battle.
Damage: + 13-18 slashing
Additional Properties: + 11-12 fire damage
Tier I: Requires [Bladed I] to see.
Tier II: Requires [Bladed II] to see.]
[Hearthsteel Longsword
Tier II Shield
A shield made from Hearthsteel for a warrior of the Phyris Clan upon their graduation from training. It served them faithfully throughout their life and was laid to rest with them when they fell in battle.
Endurance: 50
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Additional Properties: + 11-12 fire damage
Tier I: Requires [Shields I] to see.
Tier II: Requires [Shields II] to see.]
[Hearthsteel Plate mail
Tier II Heavy Armour
A set of plate mail armour made from Hearthsteel for a warrior of the Phyris Clan upon their graduation from training. It served them faithfully throughout their life and was laid to rest with them when they fell in battle.
Endurance: 75
Additional Properties: + 11-12 fire damage
When the full set is worn, improve it's Endurance by 25 points.
Tier I: Requires [Heavy Armour I] to see.
Tier II: Requires [Heavy Armour II] to see.]
The Attributes on the sword were better than the ones currently on his axe, but he still preferred his weapon since, for one, he actually knew how to use it, and two, it would grow with him throughout his time in the catacombs. Who knew, maybe by absorbing the remains of the [Skeletal Guards], it would improve enough to surpass the Hearthsteel blade. What he truly wanted were the shield and armour.
He had been plagued by a lack of HP since this whole thing started, needing to be extremely cautious and avoid almost every attack that came his way. If he could use even just the shield, then a lot of his problems would fade. The only problem was with the armour. He had seen firsthand how dangerous it could be to the bearer if the were crushed between to forces and he didn't want to risk that happening to him. Also, it had limited the sentries' movements to the extreme and he didn't want to be weighed down by that. Maybe when he upped his Strength Attribute a bit more he would come back for it, but for now he would stick with just the shield and bones.
He removed the guard in front of him's helmet and set about feeding it's bones to his axe. The skull being absorbed made it easier to take the rest of the armour off its body and get to the next part. When he was done, he looked at his axe and was pleased by what he saw.
[Skeletal Armament - Bone Axe
Tier II Hafted Weapon
A Bone Axe made from the [Lesser Skeletal Armament] Trait and upgraded through absorbing the bones of its fallen foes. It was won in battle and has served it's owner faithfully since.
Damage: + 11-14 -> + 13-16 slashing
Additional Properties:
+ + 8-9 -> + 10-11 fire damage
+ NEW - Passive: The Armament passively draws in energy to boost itself, the higher the ambient energies the more powerful the axe becomes.
Progress towards being Named: 1/3
Tier I: Can repair and upgrade itself through absorbing inanimate bone it is in contact with
Tier II: Improve the effect of any Spirits used on this weapon by 1 Level]
Not only had it's damaged increased, both the Physical and the Elemental components, but it had a new ability that would make it more powerful. The way he read it was that it had an ability similar to what the [Skeletal Guards] supposedly had, which meant that it would be harder to damage in more energy dense areas. He had no way of measuring this energy density so he would just have to trust that it was working. What fascinated him were the possibilities of what it could mean. Would it produce hotter flames? Have a sharper edge? Was his [Spirit of Death] considered ambient energy? And if so, how much extra would he gain from using the Power?
When he had time, he knew he would test all his theories and questions, but for now he lacked the ability to make it a priority. Attributes and Levels in his Power would give him a known improvement, much better to rely on than knowledge of an ability that would work on its own anyway.
He turned to the shield and picked it up in his left hand, wanting to wield it in his coming battles, but an odd sensation overcame him when he picked it up. A rejection rose within his being and made itself known be repulsing the shield from his hand and sending it clattering to the floor. Liam looked down at it and his hand it shock. What was that?