Chapter 7_The Shattered Isles: Greed

Chapter 7

Sebastian was still holding the Corrupted Heart against his chest protectively, still worried about Samuel stealing it from him. It was an irrational fear, but upon Sebastian’s advancement past |Level 10|, he had begun to get the feeling that Samuel was much stronger than he seemed. The memory of Samuel completely stopping the Wendigo’s storm in place when he first met him came to mind.

Sebastian’s mind then began to drift towards his fight with the Wendigo. When he first attacked it, he did absolutely nothing, but when he woke up again he had been on equal footing with it, perhaps even stronger. But for the first time ever since Sebastian came to the Shattered Isles, he had an answer as to why. When the Wendigo struck him and knocked him unconscious, he must have gone far away enough from it for Sebastian to have technically ‘survived’ it. Then he had reached |Level 10|, which was when he needed to do something to acquire his Class and then he’d level up. Sebastian had a feeling that whatever had happened in that dream of his had been enough for him to achieve his Class and reach |Level 11|.

That meant Sebastian had gone from below |Level 10| to above |Level 10| which meant he could finally hurt the Wendigo, then he had gotten his Class and had somehow unconsciously acquired an Ability and put his new Attribute Points into Strength, all of which contributed to his sudden rise in power. Sebastian checked out his new and improved status.

Name: Sebastian Hart

Age: 18

Level: 11

Class: Treasure Hunter

Experience: 16 / 1000

Unused AP: 0

Health

110 / 110

Stamina

110 / 110

Mana

110 / 110

Constitution

Vitality

Resilience

Intellect

Endurance

Spirit

Strength

Focus

Agility

Wit

Perception

Insight

Dexterity

Control

Skills

Abilities

Treasures

Grasping Greed

None

Class: Treasure Hunter

Physical

None

Magical

None

Sin

Grasping Greed

Create limbs of concentrated Greed that can cling to any object

The parts of his status under his Class were his abilities, which were divided into physical, magical, and sin. Sebastian unfortunately had run out of answers for his many, many questions and instead tried to guess what they meant. Physical Abilities likely cost Stamina and magical Abilities probably cost Mana. But Sebastian was stumped by sin though, did it even have a cost? The idea of an ability not costing anything sounded a little ridiculous at first but Sebastian realized he had never gotten tired when he used his Grasping Greed Ability. Which was probably another something that contributed to him being able to defeat the Deviant.

Sebastian tentatively created a small finger that came out of his palm and tried to feel if he had any sort of unmentioned reserves that were being exhausted when he used his Ability. Nothing. Sebastian tried again but this time created multiple arms but he still didn’t feel any drain. Sebastian thought that maybe Samuel might know the answer, but when he thought of him he remembered his deal. And then even more frustratingly, he remembered he had never said what he would get if he won the bet. Had he seriously not gotten anything out of all this?

A familiar thumping noise resonated out from the Corrupted Heart when Sebastian thought of that. He had gotten something out of this, the heart. Sebastian looked at it and wondered how he was supposed to use this. It wasn’t exactly something he could just hold the rest of his life, though with his inexhaustible Grasping Greed Ability, perhaps that wasn’t such a crazy idea. As Sebastian was thinking this, a screen came up.

Name

Description

Corrupted Heart

Once known as the Heart of the Forest, a Treasure that held the life force of the trees, the Heart was corrupted by the bloodlust and endless hunger of the Wendigo and now also contains the deceased Deviant's strength.

Assimilation Time: 12:37:21

“Well that’s an oddly specific amount of time to wait, but oh well.” Sebastian thought.

Sebastian still felt on edge about the fact that Samuel was probably capable of stealing his Treasure and wanted to find a safe place, but if he could just “assimilate’ it, whatever that meant, Sebastian wouldn’t have to worry about that. Sebastian wasn’t sure how he did it, it’s not like there was some button to press or switch to flip, but the heart seemed to understand that he wanted it and the hand that held the Treasure went to his chest, the Heart seemed to merge with his body in a fascinating and slightly disgusting fashion. Sebastian was especially curious as to how his shirt was completely unharmed, he was sure the heart had made skin contact with him but his shirt was definitely in the way.

Sebastian’s thoughts were interrupted when a new screen came up.

Sin Detected

…

Fusion Possible

Assimilation Time Updating

…

Assimilation Time: 34:28:19

“Wait, what?!” Sebastian thought in shock. Not sure of what to make of the screen.

Then he passed out. Sebastian would later come to learn that Treasures put their holders into an almost coma-like state while they assimilated.

———————

Samuel looked at the unconscious Sebastian with a sense of glee… that sounded a little bad. Anyways, this was the perfect opportunity to take him to Lady Wixx, she would be much better suited to making deals with the obstinate young man. Samuel normally wouldn’t just kidnap someone under the pretense of keeping them safe while unconscious, not that he got a lot of opportunities in the first place, but Sebastian was different. He had awakened his Sin, which already was enough for Samuel to internally jump up and down in joy, but he had also done it before he gained his Class. Or perhaps that’s how he gained his Class? Either way, Samuel had never heard of anyone who had awakened their Sin before |Level 10| and he knew everyone who had one. Not intimately, of course, it’s just that everyone had heard of the people who had awakened their Sins.

Darius the Sleeping Mountain, Cardinal Sin of Sloth

Mammon the Collector, Cardinal Sin of Greed

Tieras the Soul Thief, Cardinal Sin of Envy

Talos the Whispering Serpent, Cardinal Sin of Lust

Annabelle the Bloody Justicar, Cardinal Sin of Wrath

Nimious the Sun Eater, Cardinal Sin of Gluttony

And perhaps the worst one of them all,

Evelyn the Exalted, Cardinal Sin of Pride

Each of the seven Cardinal Sins was appointed a title by the other six, and when a new Sin was born, the Cardinal Sin from the seven with the same Sin would fight the new one, and whoever won was the new Cardinal Sin. Events like that were rare though, and the last succession was possible the worst to date. It was a fight between the Sins of Gluttony, they say the battle actually destroyed most of an island, but what came next was even crazier. Both of the Sins of Gluttony ate each other at the same time, merging the two and creating Nimious the Sun Eater.

The level of power the Cardinal Sins have is massive, each of them likely having power equal to that of an entire faction. If House Wixx had their own, the possibilities were endless. When Samuel picked up Sebastian, he didn’t throw him over his shoulder but rather carried him gently against his chest, and instead of using his Endless Steps, he simply disappeared with no special effects, as if he had never been there.

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———————

Emelia was feeling bored. She had been allowed to go to an island unsupervised to level up, but that was a few months ago and she still hadn’t got past |Level 10|. It had been quite the surprise even though no one knew what it was that got people past the bottlenecks, a nickname for the levels that had no explicit requirements for advancement. She instead tried to throw herself into training until her bodyguard came, a fact that still irked her a little. She was fine with her mother trying to find someone to keep her safe, the Shattered Isles was a dangerous place after all, and she knew that whoever Samuel picked would be an excellent choice for a guard. Her real worry was if she would like them, Emelia didn’t want to spend the rest of her life with people she didn’t like after all.

Emelia tried to console herself with the fact that Noxia wasn’t really a close friend of her mother but they still got along fine. Perhaps she wouldn’t need to be best friends with whoever was chosen and maybe she just had to get along with them. Emelia’s contemplations were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, footsteps that were easy to identify with her improved Perception and familiarity with them.

“Samuel!” Emelia thought with excitement.

Samuel had been a sort of uncle to Emelia her whole life, taking her on trips throughout the island and using his Abilities to make up fun games for her when she was a child. Maybe he could cheer her up? Or maybe he had actually found someone. Emelia began to race down the halls of her home, they were rather large though because she lived in a literal castle, one made of misty grey marble, white stone, and the occasional blue-tinted windows. It was a beautiful place, but it was often filled with an atmosphere of abandonment since there were only a few other people in the castle beside her.

Emelia’s steps echoed loudly throughout the corridors as she ran towards Samuel. Her eyes grew wide and a silly grin appeared on her face when she spotted Samuel walking not too far away, he was holding someone. Emelia launched herself onto his back, hoping that maybe Samuel was so distracted that he might not notice her coming. She launched herself onto his back as if he were giving her a piggyback ride.

“Hey Emelia, it’s good to see you again.” Samuel Said, obviously not surprised.

“Ahhh, I thought I’d be able to get you this time.” She said with a pout.

She probably should have expected this though, it wasn’t like Samuel to get distracted, and his Allsight Skill gave him a three hundred sixty degree view that made sneaking up on him all but impossible.

“Who’s that you’re holding there?” Emelia asked curiously.

He was handsome, with his tanned skin and almost golden hair. He also had high cheekbones, a strong jawline, and a very symmetrical face. To be honest though that wasn’t shocking, people who achieved even a somewhat low level of power usually gained attractive features and it seemed like he was no exception.

“His name is Sebastian, and he might just be the answer to our problems.” Samuel said.

“Are you being purposely vague?”

Samuel looked at her a small smile came to his face.

“Perhaps I am, perhaps I’m not.” He said, that smile of his growing even bigger.

“Uh, I hate it when you do this!” Emelia half-shouted and half-whined. “Just tell me.”

Samuels smile faded into something a little more serious.

“Honestly,” He said, “I think it’d be better if your mother tells you.”

Emelia being as close as she was to Samuel knew that was his way of saying it was genuinely serious. Emelia grew even more curious and began to stare at Sebastian.

“I wonder what’s so interesting about you?” She thought.

———————

Sebastian was the dragon in the cave again, just like before. Which meant he was unconscious again.

“I really got to stop making a habit of that.” Sebastian thought to himself.

Sebastian looked around the cave, he hadn’t noticed it before since actually being a dragon had taken up much of his attention but it was actually quite circular. Well, except for the mural that was in front of him. It was in an alcove surrounded by inlaid pillars and artwork of mountains of gold. But as beautiful as it was now, the mural was still unfinished. Even so, Sebastian was entranced by its beauty, it looked like a heart made out of gold with a copper sheen and veins of glowing emerald, or was it arteries? Probably both.

Despite the new colors, Sebastian recognized it a the Corrupted Heart, or at least it once had been. Sebastian’s status didn’t seem to know what to make of it either, which was mildly terrifying.

Name

Description

[Forming]

Assimilation Time: 4:09:11

At the very least Sebastian’s status still worked in these dreams. But the fact that it did work made him consider that these weren’t dreams at all. And then Sebastian had an even crazier thought, what did his status look like now? He was in his dragon form, which felt a little incredible to say, but did that mean his status had changed? Sebastian looked but was at a loss for words.

Name: Sebastian Hart

Age: 18

Level: ???

Class: ???

Experience: ???

Unused AP: ???

Health

???

Stamina

???

Mana

???

Constitution

???

Vitality

???

Resilience

???

Intellect

???

Endurance

???

Spirit

???

Strength

???

Focus

???

Agility

???

Wit

???

Perception

???

Insight

???

Dexterity

???

Control

???

Skills

Abilities

Treasures

???

Grasping Greed

???

Class: ???

Physical

???

Magical

???

Sin

Grasping Greed

Create limbs of concentrated Greed that can cling to any object

All it had was his name, age, and Ability, everything else had question marks. Perhaps the body he was in isn’t actually real so there’s nothing to show? Sebastian looked at his only available ability and tried to use it, wondering if there would be any changes in this form. At first he started small, but it didn’t take long for Sebastian to want to test its limits, a few moments later the incredibly large cavern was completely filled with limbs of gold, copper, and emerald.

“There doesn’t seem to be a limit to how much I can create, but that sounds honestly ridiculous. There must be a cost somewhere, but until I find the answer, it’s probably for the best that I use this Ability sparingly.”

Sebastian decided to just lay down on his small mountain and just watch the mural form. He was a little weirded out by the fact that he laid sprawled out like a dog rather than on his back like he normally would, but it actually felt kind of comfortable. Sebastian looked at the mural, his eyes slowly drooping down, and this time he really fell asleep.

———————

Victoria Wixx was feeling rather stressed out. People feared her abilities for good reason, but it had left her faction as a ghost of what it had once been. The town that laid below her castle was completely empty and the only people left were her most loyal and close followers. But as talented as they were, there simply wasn’t enough of them, but now maybe they didn’t need more people, maybe they only needed one.

Victoria studied the unconscious boy in front of her. He had golden hair, tanned skin, and attractive features. But that didn’t really matter to her, she was much more interested in his potential.

“Having a Cardinal Sin on our side wouldn’t just fix our problems, it would raise us far beyond our past strength.” Victoria thought.

But there was more to it than that, every Cardinal Sin that had a faction of their own also ruled that faction themselves. Sure they all did it their own way but in the end, it was they who ruled. Inviting this boy into her faction might be the same as inviting a starving animal into one’s home, expecting not to get eaten. There was hope though. There were only three Cardinal Sins who had a faction, and only a total of four in history, which gave a rather small sample size. Which meant there was a chance that Victoria could make a deal with him and create the first faction that had a Cardinal Sin working for it than the other way around.

Victoria might take the chance even if the boy showed signs of wanting her faction for himself. Victoria’s House was dying and this was her last hope, she just had to decide whether or not she should tell him the truth about her abilities or not.

Name: Victoria Wixx

Age: 41

Level: 34

Class: Phantasmal Puppeteer

Experience: 10179 / 40000

Unused AP: 0

Health

390 / 390

Stamina

340 / 340

Mana

490 / 490

Constitution

Vitality

Resilience

Intellect

Endurance

Spirit

Strength

Focus

Agility

Wit

Perception

Insight

Dexterity

Charisma |T|

134

Skills

Abilities

Treasures

Oration |9|

Hollow Doll

Devil’s Tongue

Sense Intent |7|

Puppet Strings

Phantom Armor

Fake Intent |4|

Living Marionette

Shadow Puppet

Broken Strings

Class: Phantasmal Puppeteer

Physical

None

Magical

Hollow Doll

Create a mindless doll to do your bidding

Puppet Strings

Release phantasmal strings that can attach to and manipulate objects

Living Marionette

Attach your strings to a living being and control their body

Shadow Puppet

Summon a puppet from your shadow that can manipulate others

Broken Strings

Break your opponent's threads of control as they fall to the ground like puppets without strings

Locked

The cornerstone of her power, the Devil’s Tongue. It had changed her Attribute Control into Charisma, which had caused some tremendous changes to her skillset. Victoria could now control other people’s Mana as well as her own to varying effects. But it wasn’t in combat where this ability shined, it was when she talked. When Victoria spoke, foreign Mana responded. That doesn’t sound bad at first, but Mana is to the soul what Stamina is to the body. Victoria’s subtle manipulation of people’s souls wasn’t something she consciously did, it was an Attribute, not an Ability. And suffice to say, people didn't like it when their soul was manipulated.

Victoria could probably try to hide her Charisma from the boy, but he would inevitably outpace her in terms of power and her Charisma would no longer affect him. The best decision would be to tell him the truth. Victoria looked at Sebastian with worry in her eyes.

“I hope this works out.” She thought.

Chapter 7

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