The following day, he was awoken by the sound of knocking on the door. When he groggily pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, he was surprised to see it was already 8 AM.
Putting on his trousers and a T-shirt, Michael opened the door and saw a smiling Rasyka.
[Breakfast is ready.](Raskya)
"Mhm. Thank you."
[Seems like you slept throughout the night. Don't overdo it! If your body gives out in the middle of a fight because you're too tired, you'll die with grievances.](Raskya)
"I know, don't worry. Luckily enough, I'll be able to enjoy some peace and quiet soon. Right. I wanted to ask. Is there a way I can send a letter to Lorath? He's in the Dry Steppes, but I don't know exactly where."
[Hmm... Write what you need to, and I'll let you know once I hear back from my friends. Lorath is known for sleeping and not paying for his rooms, so it should be rather easy to find him.](Raskya)
Shaking his head at the ex-Horadrim, who kept ruining the reputation of his order, Michael went downstairs to enjoy sunny-side eggs and bacon, a giant sandwich, and a jug of milk.
He was happy to see dishes he 'invented' being served and other people enjoying them. Making a mental note to make a list of businesses he could get into tonight and seeing how the Sanctuary reacts, he got up and walked out of the Inn after waving Raskya goodbye.
His first stop was at the Occultist shop, where he met Demyan again.
"Good morning, sir."
[Good morning. Back here already? Do you want to make more adjustments to your items? I told you yesterday, but it would be best to save up your gold. You are still low-leveled, and you'll get better items through almost every Dungeon you clear.](Demyan)
"Not for that, sir. I want your help with extracting an Aspect."
[Hmm? You know that will destroy the item, right?](Demyan)
"Yes, sir. However, I already have a better replacement for it equipped, and the Aspect could save my skin in the future."
[Overlapping items, I see. Show it to me.](Demyan)
Grabbing the Legendary pants he got yesterday, Michael accepted Demyan's request and placed it in the 'Extract Aspect' window.
Seeing the cost of confirming the procedure be 28,815, he almost cursed aloud. Still, seeing the details in the information box made him hold back.
[ Protective Defensive Aspect
Legendary Aspect
448 Item Power
--------------------
When hit while not Healthy, a magical bubble is summoned around you for 3.5 seconds. While standing in the bubble, you are Immune to all types of damage. It can only trigger once every 90 seconds.
Allowed item types for imprinting:
*Helm
*Armor
*Pants
*Amulet (Power increased by 50%)
*Shield ]
Grinning, he agreed to the transaction, and the Protective Defensive Aspect was sent to his Aspect Inventory, being the first item of its kind to appear there.
Furthermore, seeing the 50% increase in Power, he was confused and asked Deyman about it.
[Some Aspects work better with specific types of items. For example, in this case, after adding the Aspect to a Legendary amulet, instead of the bubble shielding you for only 3.5 seconds, it will probably get closer to 5.5. That's why it's good to check in the future before randomly adding Aspects to any items. But that's why I'm here for. To make sure you newbies don't mess up too much.](Deyman)
"I see. Thank you very much for the information. What should I do now?"
[Do you have an amulet you can imprint it on?](Deyman)
"Yes, sir! I just equipped it yesterday."
[Here. Accept this request.](Deyman)
Smiling from one ear to the other, Michael accepted the request and saw the 'Imprint Aspect' interface asking him to select the item he wanted to use and if he would add an Aspect from his Codex of Power or inventory.
Curious, he mentally clicked on the Codex to see what Aspects he had there and how many, and he was stunned.
"What's going on!?"
There were more Aspects than he had expected, adding to almost 20 of them, though he couldn't use some since they were Class-restricted.
Looking at Deyman for an answer after explaining, he shook his head and complained.
Stolen novel; please report.
[Did that girl of mine teach you nothing? When you open the Codex of Power, you get some freebies thrown in there by the Sanctuary. However, most of them are low-level rolls. Also, not all Dungeons give you Aspects of your Class, as I told you the first time we met. Anyway, let's see... 2 Veiled Crystals and 3,456 gold coins for the cost. Do you want to go ahead with it?](Deyman)
"Yes, sir! Please do."
While adding this new Aspect onto his amulet will inevitably result in losing the 2-second stun for enemies attacking from afar, 5.3-second invulnerability was much more welcomed, especially since it would trigger every minute and a half.
During Boss fights, it would be overpowered.
'Furthermore, since I need to fight in melee range to get used to my new stats, it would come in handy for saving my ass if the situation gets dicey.'
After paying for the services in the Occultist shop, Michael went straight to Zivek, selling his other four Legendary items for materials.
The result was 5 Iron Chunks, 2 Silver Ore, 1 Rawhide, 1 Coiling Ward, 2 Baleful Fragments, and 1 Abstruse Sigil.
Through the additions to his materials inventory, Michael discovered that the Baleful Fragments are needed for the highest upgrade on weapons, while the Abstruse Sigil is required for jewelry.
Overall, he was happy that now he had more stuff to farm. He could only pray that the monsters would be more generous in the future.
'*Sigh* There's no other way around it. After I hit Level 50, I'll have to switch to Tier III for the World Difficulty. Better items, more experience... tougher enemies... There are ten levels left, so I should focus on Dungeons. I'll take care of the other two near Menestad.'
The Dungeons in question were the Forbidden City and the Kor Dragan Barracks. The second one would bring him dangerously close to the Stronghold Event, but he had already confirmed that as long as he didn't join the affected area, it wouldn't be considered as him participating in it.
'Before I get this ball rolling, I guess I should spend those four skill points. There's no need to keep them gathering dust. The only question is... what should I spend them on?'
He could add some points in Skeletal Warrior and Skeletal Mage Mastery, but adding the Golem Mastery on top of that, he couldn't make the most of them.
Therefore, spending them on passive skills or maxing out some of his active damage-dealing ways, such as Corpse Explosion, was better.
After some contemplation, he maxed out his Corpse Explosion. He brought its overall damage to 991 Shadow damage over 6 seconds. The last point he added to Terror increased the damage he deals to Slowed or Chilled enemies to 6%, the same as the damage to Stunned, Immobilized, or Frozen to another 6%.
Satisfied with the upgrades, he took the Waypoint to Menestad, summoned his mount, and traveled north. His first target was the Forbidden City.
From the information he bought from the City Guards before leaving, this Dungeon was an ancient tomb; therefore, he should expect lots of undead. He had an Elixir of Undead Slaying, but he would hold off on using them for now.
He didn't expect that once he got inside, he would see writing masses of flesh instead of walls, as well as disgusting tentacles slithering on the ground.
They wouldn't attack him or anything, but they were doing continuous damage to his mental sanity. They looked like a combination of flesh and tree roots, flailing about without a care in the world.
[ Dungeon Quest issued - Forbidden City
Objective: Slay the Enraged Spirits (0/3). ]
This time around, he didn't have his minions scout the way, but he advanced side-by-side with them instead. He would attack in melee range for today and see how things went.
He found his first target; as expected, it was a Wraith-type monster.
[ Enraged Spirit (Elite) - Level 45
*Lightning Enchanted: Each attack creates a ball of lightning that moves randomly in a ten-meter radius, dealing 250 damage upon contact. ]
It suffices to say that he underestimated it and paid the price. As he dealt with the surrounding Wrathful Phantom minions, he used Corpse Tendrils to group the monsters and blow them up as usual.
Unfortunately, once the three seconds passed, the Elite madly threw red lightning balls around it. The result was the death of all his Reapers, and his Life Points also dropped to 73%, activating his new Aspect.
The bubble was indeed a tiny dome, probably covering an area of about 5 square meters and about three meters tall. When inside, all the red lightning balls that hit him simply bounced off without any effect.
Walking deeper into the Dungeon, the next two Elites he found were a Revenant and a Blood Mage, surrounded by minions of the same type. The Revenant had its standard Vampiric modifier, while the Blood Mage used its Summoner one every minute or so.
And as annoying as it was to admit, it took over six minutes to kill the Blood Mage. Mainly because it would fly away in its bat form every time it took significant damage. Fortunately, after stacking at least two to three Corpse Explosions, the damage ticks the enemies would take would be around 850, and that was without any buffs from Elixirs.
After using Reap to get rid of some Vampiric Bats, he found a shrine of Inarius, which proved to be cursed. Obviously...
As annoying as it was, getting rid of the summoned creatures was pretty simple, as they would fall easily when grouped and blown up. Then, the other waves would follow in their steps, as the clouds of Shadow damage dealt by Corpse Explosion were still around.
As he kept killing while pacing himself, Michael successfully kept track of the time needed for the bubble to reactivate. It was difficult, close to impossible, to avoid taking damage when the Ghouls, Vampiric Bats, and Revenants would attack you in melee range while the Blood Mages attacked from a distance.
A very pleasant surprise came in the form of two Elixirs of Demon Slaying, which dropped after killing a minion Revenant, puzzling Michael. However, you don't question gifts, so he grabbed them and moved onward.
The more he fought, the better he got at using his shield and sword. Adding his skills on top of it all while keeping the Aspect effects in mind proved difficult, but he was slowly getting the hang of it.
As it turns out, this Forbidden City Dungeon was the gift that kept on giving. The next two Elite Revenants he met contributed two Legendary rings, making Michael jump around in happiness.
Their Aspects were garbage, but he would inspect them further when he returned to the city and figure out how to get better upgrades. That way, he could further increase his arsenal.
As it turns out, his guard was dropped considerably, as the next time he met the target of his Dungeon Quest, he was ambushed not by one but two Elites.
[ Spiteful Knight, Enraged Spirit (Elite) - Level 45
*Lightning Enchanted: Each attack creates a ball of lightning that moves randomly in a ten-meter radius, dealing 250 damage upon contact. ]
The combination of two monsters using the same modifier turned tragic, as he barely escaped alive after the fight, nursing his burnt wounds. He would spasm every now and then, proof of the electric currents still affecting his muscles.
The problem was that he put too much trust in the invulnerability bubble, and once it vanished, he was assaulted by over ten lightning balls at the same time. Fortunately, he used his Blood Mist skill to avoid dying and simultaneously detonating the Corpses in the area.
The Enraged Spirits didn't drop any Legendary items, but he at least completed the Quest.
[ Dungeon Quest update - Forbidden City
Objective: Travel to the Ghastly Depths. ]
Slapping his cheeks with both hands to get his shit together, Michael advanced after collecting the Blood Orbs on the ground. With his Healing Potions back to full, he ventured deeper.
The situation continued to deteriorate, as the next Quest he was given was to exterminate all enemies. And it was hard!
"Fucking hell! Can you stop popping up like that behind me!?"
He was reminded of the Phantoms' capability of materializing out of thin air for the first time in a while. Also, whenever he killed too many, two Elites and a horde of other minions would swarm him.
However, with the crowd control skill he had and his Golem's taunt, they were easily handled.
The final waves were even more challenging to deal with, and he was stabbed at least four to five times in the process, making him wonder how much Zivek would charge for repairs.
"Finally... all dead."
[ Dungeon Quest update - Forbidden City
Objective: Travel to the tomb of Thazbach. ]
"Boss time!"