The silence to descend over the room was deafening. I doubted I would ever get used to the silence permeating the very air at the end of such intense battles. Nothing stirred, not even the dozen or so people held still by whatever Tsurra's had done to them. Though, by the looks of them, the effect was fading, albeit slowly. Heads were beginning to turn, eyes sluggishly blinking.
The tempo of the fight had felt like one long, mad dash. In a way, I was fortunate to still be standing. Tsurra out-leveled me by a significant margin, and his spells were potent, to say the least. If it wasn't for my roaring sweep ability, my fireball, or even my specialized boil blood, I would be the one cooling on the floor. Tsurra was face down on the stone floor, his blood mixing with the numerous sacrifices. My axe was still buried in his chest, causing his body to be in an awkward position, but I couldn't recall it yet with the one-minute cool-down still in effect. I didn't want to disturb the body, not yet at least, so I'd wait patiently until I could call my weapon back magically, courtesy of my ring of return.
While everything was as silent as the grave, the intensity of the light around us was steadily getting brighter. Not with the expected golden light from the hundreds of candles contained within the many chandeliers above our heads, but with a hue more attuned to a ruby's. A blood ruby. My gaze snapped to the marble altar where a solitary figure was lying still. The man was still alive. Tsurra's blade hadn't pierced his chest, thanks to our quick intervention. My eyes only lingered on the once-intended sacrifice, before an ominous glow rang brighter and brighter several feet above him. The jewel was trembling, a burning fire raging inside its center.
"This doesn't look good," I mumbled as a System message slammed in front of my vision.
Notice! System Warning! Imminent Destruction of the Dread Hecatomb Jewel!
"Oh no," Stella muttered in disbelief as she hovered over my shoulder. Her tone of devoid of emotion, as if the shock we were both feeling had sapped it from her.
Notice! A fractured quest has automatically been accepted to your quest log.
Quest: 'The {Fractured} Dread Hecatomb Jewel'
With the death of the Hunter, Tsurra the Corrupted, his unique quest can no longer be successfully completed as originally intended. The quest has been updated from 'The Dread Hecatomb Jewel' to… 'The {Fractured} Dread Hecatomb Jewel.' The jewel's structural integrity has been irreparably damaged by the death of its master. The legendary artifact is now moments away from violently releasing all of the stored death energy collected from 91 sacrifices. The resulting catastrophe will be akin to a meteor impact. Warning, you will not survive!
New possible success conditions have been automatically added to this quest. Failure to fulfill a success condition will result in the destruction of… calculating… 20 square miles of the surrounding lands.
Hurry, Hunter, for annihilation is upon you!
Notice! Previous Objective: Sacrifice 101 of 101 souls. Status: FAILED.
New Success Condition added (Hidden): not fulfilled.
New Success Condition added (Hidden): not fulfilled.
New Success Condition added (Hidden): not fulfilled.
New Success Condition added (Hidden): not fulfilled.
"What do we do, Stell?" I asked in a rush. "Could I just… I don't know… destroy the jewel?" A countdown timer had appeared in the corner of my vision after reading the quest in its entirety. It was inexorably counting down from three minutes. Each second passes away as if counting down to a harbinger of doom.
Stella struggled to respond, "I mean, maybe? But, I wouldn't recommend it because the blasted thing is going to shatter on its own anyway in only under three minutes. We would only be speeding it along."
My mind whirled, "Well we need to figure out one of these 'success conditions' or nothing even remotely nearby is going to survive." My face dropped when realization dawned on me. "Didn't you mention a village was nearby?"
Stella's blank stare turned to me, "Yeah, I did." She knew what it meant. "The destructive radius will likely more than reach far beyond them. We have to do something!"
"Don't I know it," I said after taking a deep breath, attempting to still my thundering heartbeat. The ten or so people around were waking up, though comprehension didn't show on their vacant expressions.
"There's no sense in running," I continued as I eyed up those remaining souls fortunate enough to survive Tsurra. Well, at least for now. "Even if the blast radius was far less, we can't abandon them."
"Wait!" I shouted, my whole body jumping with a thought. Tsurra had been wearing something that caught my eye as we fought. "Tsurra was wearing a ring, it was blood red just like the one floating over there, and it was beating in sync."
Time was running short, we had under ninety seconds remaining. I rushed over to Tsurra's body, flipping him over hastily before grabbing at his cold hands. "This one," I said as I pulled off a gold band. The shank of the ring was thicker than I was familiar with. It wasn't like the delicate diamond rings from Earth. To me, it looked like this band was three times as thick due to the enormous center stone. The stone's prongs looked as if they had been bleached crimson as if the jewel's hue was leeching out.
The gem was an exact replica of the hecatomb jewel floating above us, though the jewel on Tsurra's ring was only a fraction of the size. Holding the ring in front of my face, it came in line with the main jewel beating furiously behind it. The ring's seeming heartbeat matched perfectly in time with its larger brother.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I inspected both the ring and the larger Hecatomb jewel behind it.
{Profane Ring of the Dread Hecatomb} (Paired). When this ring is paired with the fully charged Dread Hecatomb Jewel, the wearer of this item will be bestowed with powers capable of allowing ascendancy past a Prime World. Until that time, the ring draws upon the vitality of the wearer. Quality: Master craft. Rarity: Legendary. Type: Accessory. Slot: Finger. Durability: 500/500. Effect(s): Minus three Strength, Constitution, and Charisma. Minus 5 health regeneration per minute.
Warning! The Dread Hecatomb Jewel has been FRACTURED. This ring can no longer be empowered. Notice! This is item a CURSED. It cannot be removed until the bearer has ascended, or upon death.
{Dread Hecatomb Jewel} (Paired). Harnessing the power of one hundred and one sacrificial victims, this item bestows the bearer of the paired Profane Ring of the Dread Hecatomb the power to ascend beyond a Prime World. Quality: Master craft. Rarity: Legendary. Type: Artifact. Durability: ERROR - FRACTURED. Effects: N/A.
Warning! The quest "The Dread Hecatomb Jewel" was interrupted causing a rapidly deteriorating power cascade within the jewel's internal structure. Notice! The Dread Hecatomb Jewel has been permanently fractured and can no longer sustain the energy contained within. Unless the jewel can be stabilized, the cumulative death energy acquired will be released over the course of 0.01 microseconds. Without an active Hunter to wield the authority of the pair items, detonation is imminent.
There it was, a possible solution. Stella and I met each other's eyes. Having read the same information I had, she knew the same as I did. "Our time is running short," I said, my face forlorn. "I'm the only Hunter here"
"But it's cursed," Stella muttered quietly. "We may still have time, there are… three other options to complete this quest. You don't have to put that on." Stella's raptor gaze snapped to the ring held gingerly in my fingers, "That thing is evil. You don't want that on you."
Motioning with my hands the futility of our options, I shrugged. "I know. There's nothing for it." The timer was under thirty seconds now.
Stella's eyes pleaded with me to reconsider, but we had no other choice. There wasn't enough time to try something else. So, I slipped on the profane ring, closing my eyes as I did. Like a bar of red-hot steel, the ring clamped down on my left index finger. It was as if the ring had shrunk down several sizes, digging painfully into my skin, never to leave again. A blaze of pain knifed through my hand, coursing through my veins before slamming into my chest and into the Core that resided there. My entire body flared with pain, my vision turning red as all of my limbs extended outwards as if my body was covered in flames. A guttural roar tore out of me, pain was all I knew for an unknown length of time. Then, like it had never been, it vanished.
Falling to my knees, I could barely breathe against the tightness in my chest. My eyes still firmly shut, a thin red line of agony became visible in the darkness. From my hand, down the center of my arm, and into my Core, I saw it. Like a line of molten metal, the power from the ring had made a single revolution around my core, clamping down like a tightened garrote. There it remained, unmoving.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Even had I not seen the cursed tag within the ring's description, I knew now the ring couldn't be removed. Not until I ascended – or died.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed the quest, 'The {Fractured} Dread Hecatomb Jewel'
Mentally pushing the notification aside, I planted my butt on the cool stone floor. Stella was in front of me, her gaze held equal parts worry and sympathy. "We'll find a way to remove that evil ring. You will not carry it until your death, I promise you," her voice was soft and even. The once intense red glow of the Hecatomb jewel faded, leaving the room bathed in only candlelight.
"I know we will, Stella," I said. "For now though, this is a burden I would gladly carry again if it meant saving all of their lives." Regaining my feet, the two of us walked closer to stand before the now inert jewel. I saw my reflection on the many facets as it slowly spun in the air. There was a menace within the crystalline structure, like a wolf hidden in shadow waiting to strike. Through the ring etched painfully into my finger, I could feel something throb within the faceted jewel. It was like an anger, a desire having gone unfulfilled. Unsated.
"You will not be repaired," I said to the jewel, though I had no way of knowing if it could understand me, let alone sentient. "You will not find your desired objective. Never again will you find blood sacrificed in your name. One day, I will find a way to shatter you completely before tossing you into the blackness you deserve."
With contempt, I snatched the massive jewel out of the air and threw it into my inventory. The feeling of anger within the jewel disappeared from my mind, becoming nothing more than a distant memory.
"We did it," I said before glazing to Stella.
"That we did, Xaz. That we did."
Congratulations! You have come out victorious against Tsurra the Corrupted, level 17 Death Sire, and conquered his Accelerator (Uncommon).
Like when I defeated Adom the Savage, a small metal orb appeared to rise out of Tsurra's body. The size of an apple, it made no hostile action, simply floating gently toward Stella before vanishing as it neared her. She had absorbed another defeated Accelerator. I knew what it meant. PvP was rewarding if nothing else.
System Notification: You have been granted a new title, 'Hunter Killer II'.
Hunter Killer II - You have taken a firm stance against Hunters who would seek to plunder and bring destruction to those around them. You acted as a shield against that pain and suffering. You have cried out in a firm voice, for all to hear; not here, not now, and not on my watch! You will now be known as Xazorus the Hunter Killer II.
Upgraded Title Benefits: Permanently increases all damage against aggressive Hunters by 15%. All spells, skills, and abilities are 10% more likely to land against other Hunters.
"Well, that's a nice upgrade," I said after reading the message. "I can't wait to get hunter killer three when we finally take down Duke." I was thrilled as it looked like my new title would be upgraded with each Hunter I managed to take down. A goal that drove me ever onwards. As Stella and I continued treading this path, this upgradeable title could mean the difference between life and death.
Congratulations! Having defeated another Hunter, your view count and follower count have been significantly increased. Anyone watching Tsurra the Corrupted during your fight has automatically been added to your view count, Additionally, all of his followers will automatically be transferred to you. Do note that some viewers may decide to cease following your feed, but will be required to do so manually.
Notice! Before his death, Hunter Tsurra the Corrupted was in the process of ascending past Prime World "Echo" so his viewership and followers had been substantially increased.
Congratulations! You have received an additional 2,459,634 views. You have received an additional 573,830 followers.
I wanted to ask Stella about the process Hunters went through to ascend, but it was a conversation for later. For now, my eyes reread the message about my views and followers skyrocketing beyond anything I could have imagined up to this point. With the next notification to appear, perhaps the System didn't either. Still, considering what could have happened, we were fortunate to have come upon Tsurra's lair when we did. He only needed a few more sacrifices and he would have ascended to the next world, but at the cost of many lives. The orc deserved his new fate. He cared nothing about the NPC's lives he would have brought to ruin. Good riddance.
Congratulations! Reputation Achievement: You have reached the 500,000 and 1,000,000 & 2,500,000 viewer achievement tiers (message condensed).
System reward is based on the contributing factor that increased your viewership. Please note that these achievements were all within your first 24 hours; rewards have been increased based on the rarity of this type of achievement (times 2 Epic and times 1 Legendary Rarity).
Congratulations! You have received: plus 500 health and plus 500 MP! Congratulations! You have received the ability 'Spell Strike (Necromancer)"!
Spell Strike (Necromancer) - your damage over time effects can now critically hit.
My eyes bulged after reading these rewards. The boost to both my health and mana was amazing, certainly worthy of the 'epic' rarity, but spell strike took the cake. From my history on Earth, many games outright ignored the possibility of a critical hit when it came to damage over time spells. Now, instead of my damage being static, though it did increase with each new DoT on a target, with critical hits being enabled meant my main damage source could spike as well.
Spike damage could be essential at times, whether it be for boss fights or in player-versus-player combat. It was even more valuable if the target you were fighting had healing capabilities. If your damage spiked at the right time, it had the potential to overwhelm healing and regenerative skills.
"I am loving that spell strike," I said to Stella as I explained the true potential it brought with it.
"It does sound awesome," Stella said next to me. "Congrats. Oh, and from what I am reading behind the scenes, this ability isn't typically seen in prime words. Lucky bugger."
"It is legendary tiered," I chuckled. "It's going to come in handy." Pulling up my character sheet, I quickly found a new entry indicating my damage over time critical hit percentage was listed as six point nine percent.
Stella after reading the same information, shared some additional information, "The percentage is ten percent of your intelligence. So, when you reach one hundred intelligence, you'll have a ten percent critical hit chance."
"Even close to seven percent, right now," I said. "It can jump my damage potential skyward. Can you imagine me having ten spells on a mob? That's ten ticks of damage every ten seconds, and each one has the chance to crit. I can't wait, it's going to rain down the crits as we keep leveling." The notifications continued as we pressed forward with the next being my rewards for seeing a significant jump in overall followers from my fight with Tsurra.
Congratulations! Reputation Achievement: You have reached the 25,000, 50,000, 75,000, 100,000 & 500,000 follower achievement tiers (message condensed).
System reward is based on the contributing factor that increased your follower count. Please note that these achievements were all within your first 24 hours; rewards have been increased based on the rarity of this type of achievement (Times three Rare and times two Epic Rarity).
Congratulations! You have received: +15 to Charisma, Roaring Sweep has increased by 3 levels, and Fireball has increased by 3 levels. Congratulations! You have received: you may select one ability to upgrade, and you have unlocked the "Execute" (Axe) skill.
Execute (Axe) – In a lightning-fast motion, you strike at a target's vulnerable area causing massive damage. This skill is only usable when the target's total health is below 20%. The damage from this attack plus 200% of normal weapon damage. Cool down: 30 seconds, but is automatically reset if the target is killed by the attack. Additional levels in this spell increase the damage by 5% and reduces the cool down by 0.5 seconds.
I laughed. My chuckle was a mix of astonishment and excitement. The execute ability was one I had been hoping to receive for a while now. Usually, mobs became far harder to kill when they were on their last legs, doubly so for bosses. My new execution skill would us help push beyond that obstacle. My thoughts turned then to the decision I had regarding upgrading one of my abilities.
Notice! You must select one ability to upgrade before proceeding further. Which do you choose? Mind & Matter, Exalted Acceleration (INELIGIBLE), Adaptability, Clear-Headed, Darkvision, Keen Senses, or Spell Strike (INELIGIBLE)?
"Damn," Stella and I said at the same time. We caught each other's gaze, both amused at the other.
"Would have been nice to bump our exalted acceleration a tad further," I mused. "Ah, well. It would have been too good to be true."
Stella must have sensed when I attempted to pull more information as to what my current abilities could upgrade into. Sadly, the System didn't expand further. "Let me see if I can find anything in the meta-data," Stella said before her eyes darted from side to side. She raised a paw to her chin, "There is no guarantee of course, but it looks like mind and matter might increase your experience gains for both your spells and abilities. Kind of like how being a necromancer increases your experience gained with your damage over time spells."
She continued, "Adaptability looks like it could increase your attributes by a set percentage, though I doubt by any significant amount. You already get seven per level currently, so it may be… perhaps worth another level or two. It would grow slightly as you do, but not worth it right now, in my opinion. Now, clear-headed, that could be very useful. It could add another status immunity, like stun or dazed! Let's definitely keep it in mind."
"For darkvision," Stella said. "It looks like it might upgrade to a different form of vision altogether. Maybe ultravision but, then again, it could change into a heat-based vision instead."
Her words piqued my interest. Thoughts of shooting lasers from my shoulder while invisible played in my mind. There were probably spells out there to do both! Shaking my head to clear away the fantasy, I tuned back to Stella who had kept on speaking.
"Finally, keen senses could push your sense of smell, taste, and touch to another level. For example, your sense of smell might become as strong as mine. Though, that could be a double-edged sword." Stella's eyes turned to me before a big grin crossed her face. "You did smell something awful that one time, do you remember? Ha!"
Ignoring the comments, I considered our options. "So, you would probably recommend clear-headed, right?" My own opinion lined up with Stella's but I wanted to make sure before settling the matter. Getting another immunity could easily save my life one day, I knew it all too well.
Stella nodded and sat down on her haunches, still hovering in the air viewing the System message handing there. "Getting extra experience will always help, but getting stunned at the wrong moment… that could kill you. Not many Hunters get abilities that allow them to outright ignore certain status effects. Shit, not five minutes ago you stunned an entire pack of thralls eager to rend flesh. If they had immunity to stun, you'd be dead."
I nodded along, the choice made.
Congratulations! Your Clear Headed ability has been upgraded to Clear Headed II. You are now immune to the stunned debuff.