Soulful Rest has triggered...
Dante opened his eyes to find himself once more standing beneath a familiar tree. This time however, the world he looked out upon was different.
Looking out upon the rolling hills of green, the forest in the distance. It all just seemed more than it had been before.
Stepping past the edge of the shade he had a thought, turning back he found the familiar tree that always greeted him had changed.
Last time he had been here the lowest branches hadn't been more than a few inches from his head. Now, the lowest branches were more than a foot from the top of his head. Turning back to the grass he walked over to inspect it.
The green grass seemed more or less the same but its color seemed deeper, richer. A moment of consideration brought him to but a single thought.
"Is Efficient Breathing doing this? I wonder..." Dante mused to himself as he scanned the land out to the edge of his soul space.
Something caught his eye, something that hadn't been there before.
'...I don't remember that building being there.' He thought for a moment before remembering some of his new skills.
Shepard's Sickle- A sickle, from one Shepard to another. From the harvesting of grains, to the slaughtering of animals, to the defense of yourself and your flock. A sickle has many uses. Create and summon a sickle to your hand. Costs 100 mana to create the sickle. Sickle can be stored in your inventory. Once created, item can be summoned instantly from your inventory for 10 mana. Small increase to damage and durability per level of the skill...
Humility- You have learned to be humble, and those that encounter you shall feel it in your very presence. Small increase to CHA and Spirit per level of the skill. Small increase to range and power of presence per level of the skill...
Appraising Eyes- Appraise a target you can see within a short distance, range has absolute limit of (sight). Small increase to range per level of the skill. Small increase to power and quality of appraisal per level of the skill. Small increase to Int, Wis, and Perception per level of the skill. Drains (variable) mana and stamina on use...
Temple of Hastur- A temple to the Outer god, Hastur. Here your prayers are heard most clearly. Here your gifts give the most power. Here you may commune with Hastur. Moderate increase to Spirit, Cha, Wis, Int, and Will per level of the skill...
Prayer- Your voice invokes beings greater than mortals to listen. Variable resource cost. Small increase to Cha, and Spirit per level of the skill. Tiny increase to Mana and stamina per level of the skill...
Dante took a deep breath and let it out.
"Well that new building is probably the temple. Appraising eyes says it can only be used within a short range and has the absolute range limit of sight. Does that mean stuff that blocks sight blocks this?..."
+1 Wis...
"...I'll take that as a yes for now. I wonder how this skill will interact with Eagle's sight? Well might as well test out these skills since I'll probably be here a while. Ok let's appraise the grass." He said then did so.
Soul Grass- A manifestation of part of your soul made for you to experience....
"Well shit...I wasn't actually expecting that much. Let's appraise the tree!" He said with glee as he turned and fired off the skill again.
Soul Tree- A manifestation of part of your soul made for you to experience....
"Not much different. Well then I suppose I can go check out that temple and scan some things along the way." He said with a smile as he began making his ways slowly down the hill towards the temple in the distance. He had chosen to walk rather than use the fast travel method Virgil had shown him.
Occasionally he would scan something that he hadn't scanned before.
Soul Rock- A manifestation of part of your soul made for you to experience....
Soul Dirt- A manifestation of part of your soul made for you to experience....
Soul Daisy- A manifestation of part of your soul made for you to experience....
Most things he scanned came to that same description or something similar. Was it just the low skill level or was that genuinely all there was? He didn't know.
With a little bit of testing he found the range of the skill was rather short at only about a meter from him. It seemed there was an invisible boundary past which the skill could no longer find purchase on an object.
It was annoying but understandable.
"Now let's test if we can extend the limit with Eagle sight." Dante said as he flicked on the skill. Slowly he moved the distance at which he scanned something until he was looking about 5 meters away. Farther than that he seemed to run into the boundary again.
Then he had an idea.
'Can I appraise myself?' he thought suddenly, facepalming that he hadn't thought of it sooner.
Looking down at his hands he fired off the skill and received the notice.
Dante A. Stone Race: Human [Rank 2] Lvl. 32 To next level: 55.32% 7,191/13,000
Skill, Appraising eyes, has leveled up! Lvl. 2...
"Well it's probably as good a time as any to check my status page. Maybe run some roads. Status." Dante spoke onto the air and a blue box appeared.
Dante A. Stone
Race: Human
Classes: [Expand]
[Rank 2] Lvl. 32
To next level: 57.24%
EXP: 7,441/13,000
Gold: [Expand]
Strength
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
(184+160)=
344
Resources
Total
Regen.
Constitution/Vitality
218
Health
11,024
(326.7/min)
Endurance
254
Mana
13,364
(287.4/min)
Dexterity
173
Stamina
11,421
(374.85/min)
Willpower
145
Road Points
84
Intellect
194
Stat Points
92
Wisdom
234
Charisma
157
Luck
143
Perception
141
Spirit
221
Soul capacity 134.05/221
Stat total
2,319
Skill Lvl total 326
"Well...If I'm going to be talking to Hastur I should probably bump my will now..."
+3 Wis...
Taking that as the system giving a nudge he dumped 55 points into will bringing his will to an even 200.
Now that he was at it, he might as well spend the rest of his stat points. His lowest stats were Charisma, Luck, and perception. He considered for a moment if pouring the last of his points into Luck would be worthwhile, but in the end he decided that charisma would likely get him further with Hastur.
Dumping the last of his stat points into Charisma brought it up to 194.
Looking at his Rp he came to the conclusion it would probably be best to spend the stat points that came from it on Luck and perception to get them closer to his other stats.
Watching his status update itself he almost didn't notice Virgil as he sat down next to him.
"A good status for only your fifth day." Virgil spoke, giving Dante a warm smile which he returned.
----------------------
A few minutes of discussion later and they were off again towards the temple.
During the discussion though Dante had taken a second to scan Virgil with his skill, and the results were interesting.
Virgil
Race: Guiding Spirit
Classes: Scholar (N/a), Philosopher (N/a)
[Rank 3] Lvl. N/a
To next level: N/a
It was only about 20 minutes before they reached the temple.
Upon a closer inspection of the building it appeared reminiscent of the Parthenon in its design. Which was to say, old Greek. Large stone pillars surrounding a main building, each pillar helping to hold up the roof.
The building was smaller than it had first appeared, being only about 10x10x10 feet not including the roof. Dante shouldn't have been able to see this place from the distance he did. He dismissed the oddity though, attributing it to Hastur playing with perspective or something of the like.
Attempting to scan the building with appraising eyes gave him a headache and the skill failed.
To the West he saw his class tower rising high into the sky, now with 32 floors.
Virgil, wary of the temple, decided it would be best if he didn't get much closer, and Dante didn't argue with him there.
Looking in the front door of the temple there was little light to be found save for the light that came through the doorway from outside.
The floor rippled and rolled like small waves on a lake. Though in this case the "water" was opaque.
The walls of the temple were smooth white stone only interrupted by square pillars set into the wall acting as supports for the roof, made from the same material as the walls.
At the back of the small temple stood...a figure cloaked from head to toe in a yellow robe. The robe almost seemed to disappear into the temple floor.
The figure stood almost to the ceiling of the room. His face shrouded in the darkness of his raised hood.
Though the robe was open he could only see darkness within, and though he was tempted he did not dare to try using appraising eyes here.
Behind the figure's head, he saw the only other source of light in the room. A great ring made of golden light, like one might see from an eclipse rested in the air behind his head.
Dante looked back to Virgil and stepped forth into the temple, only when he crossed the threshold did something change.
No longer did he stand in a small temple, but a grand temple!
Where the statue had once been no more than 9 feet tall he had to say it was over 100 feet now. The ceiling once so close to the head of the statue now stood what must have been 120 feet high. Turning back he saw the door seemed to be far larger now than it had been. Though the world beyond, including Virgil, seemed unchanged. Virgil all the while still watching, seeming oblivious to what was going on.
He wondered how this appeared to him.
"...That's some impressive fuckery right there." Dante said in awe of what he was seeing.
Taking a few steps forward he noticed there was silence save for the echo of his own footsteps. With each step he grew more confident walking around this temple.
Each step he expected the floor to rise or fall beneath his feet. But each time his feet met a level and stable surface.
'Quite the display if you ask me.' He thought with a smile.
As he drew closer he realized the figure didn't move. Its yellow robe did not sway, nothing about this figure moved.
'Is this a statue of Hastur?' He thought quizzically.
"It doesn't matter in the end. Hastur can likely move the statue as an extension of his being. It might as well be him." Dante spoke to the air as he came to a stop.
He stood 20 feet from the foot of the statue's robe not wishing to get much closer. Though now that he was closer, the robes did seem to disappear beneath the shifting floor.
Now that he was closer he could see a line of silver tracing the hem of the robe from the floor up to his hood and back down the other side.
The silence of the room was deafening. Dante, unsure of what to do, closed his eyes and muttered a small prayer.
"Hastur grant me guidance." He spoke as he felt his mana slip away for a second. Then he felt a tug at his mana pull that was gone just as quickly.
Skill, Prayer has leveled! Lvl. 1->5...
*Thunk*
He heard something hit the ground behind him. Turning to look he saw...a book.
Looking quickly between the statue and the book he slowly reached down and picked it up.
"Well it's not the Necronomicon, but..." He joked while looking up at the statue, swearing for a moment he could hear the smile on Hastur's face.
“Fuck…” Dante brought the book to his forehead and hit it gently a few times.
“We’re not supposed to say shit like that. It’s how we got Hastur…”
In his hand he held one of the books he had a quest to study. On its cover it read, Monster Encyclopedia. It did look...bigger than he recalled.
“Not my problem…” Taking one last look around the temple.
“For now.”
-----------------
Dante stepped from the temple book in hand.
Virgil looked at him for a moment then the book.
"So, I assume things went well?"