Azathoth, the “Blind Idiot God”, sleeps, dreams, and shifts. The essence of reality falters with each shift as the Old One tries to understand.
Excerpt: The Old Ones: Lost Lore of the Cosmic.
By HPL.
Gideon entered through the open end of the coliseum. From up above on the road the place looked smaller. Now that he was here, it was gigantic. The main floor of the arena wasn’t as open as he imagined it to be, nor was it a flat plane. He didn’t know why he pictured a wide open flat space for them to fight on. Were they supposed to line up and just charge at each other? That would be ridiculous. People would never be that stupid. This looked to be designed to simulate a real world situation. There were small hills, trenches, and even buildings that weren’t much sturdier than his lean to in the favela.
Gideon looked around for a place to hide and settle in. Then he remembered the headmaster’s advice. The battle would be quick and he needed to shine. He needed to give himself every advantage possible when entering into the academy. He wanted to be powerful, but he needed to be special. He felt he had to be viewed as a gifted student, a person that the school would support no matter what. He didn’t have the coin to pay for himself, so he needed to make them want to support his life. Maximus had said he could earn enough coin delving, but until he experienced that for himself, he had to chase what he knew.
With these thoughts in mind, he prepared for the fight. He summoned his armor, shield, and for the first time his sword. He activated his void shield skill, immovable object as well. He wasn’t completely comfortable with all his skills and abilities yet, but he intended to use everything he had, efficiency be damned.
Gideons feet lifted from the ground as the void energy formed boots around them. The void energy slowly advanced and wrapped around his legs and up his torso. The feel of cold steel was there, even if the physical armor wasn’t. It closed over his shoulders, a turtle came to mind as the cold energy wound up his neck and the helmet formed. With a click a visor locked and place and the armor became whole. A glowing disc formed on his arm, the shield almost like a part of the armor itself. No seams could be seen connecting the shield to his arm. The spike that Gideon had nearly killed a man with solidified in its place, ready for cruel intentions.
Lastly, a void blade of a pulsating energy formed in his hand. With a similar sound, the hilt of the blade snapped into a solid reality. The blade however refused. It continued to pulsate with a glowing red energy, just like the wheels on the train. The sword was burning off a large amount of energy, the red glow indicated this, shining as though it were a magitek device.
Gideon reflected on the sword Master Brom had given him. He knew Primrose found Riley annoying, but he had learned something from the boy that came in useful already. The void blade burned bright, but like all things that burned too bright, it would burn out fast. It’s a good thing this is supposed to be a quick battle he thought. He reviewed his new skills and with that complete he walked up the stairs to the roof and awaited a challenger.
He checked on his statistics and what they meant for the battle to come. Training with the captain had been preparing him for this moment. While he thought himself ready, the nerves knotted in his gut. He stretched as he waited, trying to free himself of the nerves that had crept up on him.
Name: Gideon Daniels Strength: 8 Constitution: 10 Agility: 12 Wisdom: 12 Archon Interface Module (AIM): Xion-5 AIM Synergy: 6% User Interface Module: None Alpha Ability: Armor of the Protector(Rare, Paladin Tier: E Base Stats: Constitution and Strength DEM: 5,400 Armor of the Protector(Paladin): Grants the ability to absorb physical equipment to later summon as as a void based versions. The equipment absorbed can alter the capabilities of the summoned base. The item rating of summoned equipment will be that of the original(Armor and shield combined), plus the AMP, plus the total skill level of all related skills. Summoned items last 1 hour or until dispelled. Armor of the Protector grants access to a wide array of general skills as well as access to advanced skill techniques. *All abilities will receive the same bonuses due the the synergistic nature of this ability. Absorbed Equipment Available: Chain-Mail(High Quality)/Spiked Shield: IR 30(36) Alpha Skills: 1) Immovable Object: Void Shield(Rare) Level: 6 Base Stat: Constitution DEM: 1,932 Immovable Object gives the user a high stagger resistance. Allowing them to withstand the strongest of attacks. Grants an additional +1 AMP per level. All items gain the Immovable keyword. Immovable: Resist the knock back effect of all attacks 2) None. Level: N/A Base Stat: N/A. 3) None. Level: N/A Base Stat: N/A Beta Ability: Long Blade(Common) Tier: F(AMP 1) Base Stat: Agility and Strength OEM: 98 Long Blade: Grants the user a passive skill boost to the efficiency of damage while using all long bladed weapons. Long blade grants access to a wide array of general skills as well as access to advanced techniques. Long Blades can now be absorbed. *Available due to Alpha Ability (Paladin) Synergy. Absorbed Blades/Holy Symbols: Void Bastard Sword: IR 70(70) - Fusion: The physical blade fuses with the void where it is stored, drawing void power into the world when summoned. Effects Unknown: Tier up ability further for more details. Beta Skills: 1) None. Level: N/A Base Stat: N/A 2) None. Level: N/A Base Stat: N/A. 3) None. Level: N/A Base Stat: N/A Gamma Ability: None. Gamma Skills: 1) None. Level: N/A Base Stat: N/A 2) None. Level: N/A Base Stat: N/A. 3) None. Level: N/A Base Stat: N/A Delta Ability Convergence: None. Class Skill: None Equipment: Item Rating: Soft Leather Shoes 10 Sharp Daggers of Balance: Yin 23 Yang 32 Twin Strike: When both Yin and Yang are used together, their (IR)Item Rankings are combined. All Dagger related combat Skill Levels(SL) are doubled.
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{{Armor of the Protector Activated(Tier E)(DEM 5,400).
Immovable Object: Level 6 Activated(DEM 1,932).
Long Blades: Void Bastard Sword: OEM: 98.}}
He hadn’t noticed before with everything else going on, but he no longer had the bastard sword that he had received from Master Brom listed in his inventory. Absorbing the blade had converted it to a Void Bastard Sword that was substantially stronger the the blade he originally had. His stomach dropped for a moment when it hit him that he had lost Master Brom’s Blade, but then that was the intent for the gift all along was it not? He steadied his nerves, he was ready to show them what he had.