I accepted my new abilities and a tingle ran up my spin. My skin itched, which quickly grew into a burning sensation. I yelped at the pain before I could stop myself. Then quick as it came, it dissipated. I looked down at my arms and legs. They didn’t appear any different, though when I ran my hands up to my shoulders, there was a hardness just below the skin. Guess that explains how strange Eris’s body felt when I touched her.
With my abilities sorted out, I had to allocate my stats.
Since I was keeping my speed high, I decided to continue being a damage dealer. Though I would change my health and defense to be a bit sturdier, I wouldn’t be as fast or strong as I used to be, but I would be a good bit more durable. After I had placed my stats where I wanted them, my new character build looked a lot better.
Strength: 75 (85)
Strength Sub-Stats (-)
Attack Damage: 25
Constitution: 75 (85)
Constitution Sub-Stats (-)
Health: 25
Health Regen: 25
Endurance: 75 (85)
Endurance Sub-Stats (-)
Battle Fatigue: 10
Battle Fatigue Regen: 10
Agility: 50 (60)
Agility Sub-Stats (-)
Attack Speed: 15
Movement Speed: 10
Wisdom: 25 (35)
Wisdom Sub-Stats (-)
Mana: 20
Luck: 0 (30)
Charisma: 0 (10)
Not exactly min/maxing, but even if I’ve never had much use for them, I don’t like having zeros on the board. Still, it should keep me alive for the time being. My go-to strategy was to always increase the main stats first before working through the comprehensive sub stats. Having most of my stat points in my main attributes was a better bet before I started specializing with sub stats.
For every point added to a main attribute, it increased by a single percent. Having one hundred in Strength would give a hundred percent increase to my strength. The main sub stat I focused on in Strength was Attack Damage. For every point in a sub stat, it increased by half a percent. And having a hundred in both Strength and Attack Damage would give a hundred and fifty percent increase to my damage.
Of course, that wasn’t the end of things. A hundred other factors played into it as well. So just having high stats wasn’t enough to succeed. Weapons and armor, abilities and magic, potions and auras—all of it had to be accounted for as well. And the biggest factor of all was pure skill.
A far-too-often overlooked factor for most people.
Our stats are only multipliers, nothing more. Hard work and training mattered because you couldn’t multiply from nothing. A weakling who could only lift twenty pounds wouldn’t find much benefit in having a hundred in Strength.
Character Name: Durandahl
Race: Hybrid (Hive)
Class: Hive Knight
Level: 44
Exp: 1000/4400
After I finished dealing with my stats, I glanced at the time. It was nearly nine, and I had a meeting to get to.
Eris was awake and staring at me with a sleepy expression when I closed my interface and looked over to her.
“Good morning,” I said, smiling.
“Morning.” She yawned, stretching her arms in the air. “How long was I asleep for?”
”Not long, maybe half an hour or so. I didn’t want to wake you up while I was fiddling with my new class.”
“That’s okay. I needed a nap anyway. I’m still shaking off the aftereffects of the void.”
“What do you mean?”
“Spending so much time there drained much of my strength away. I'm considerably weaker now. Not that I was that strong, to begin with.”
I leaned over and pulled her to her feet. “Well, don’t worry about it. I’ll keep you safe.”
She stood up on the tips of her toes to kiss me and beamed at me. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
“I mean, it’s not like I have a choice. We’re bound together body and soul, apparently.”
Her smile faltered at my words. “Right.”
Ah, hell. “Look, I didn’t mean it that way. We’re married now, or bonded or whatever. And even with the extenuating circumstances, it still means something to me. But this is all so sudden and new to me. Just give me some time to process things, okay?”
But my words did little to brighten her mood. She wants this to be more than just necessity; she wants an actual relationship.
I ran my hand through her hair. Her body heat had already dried most of the water, but there was still a little dampness as I brushed my fingers across her scalp. She wants something I don’t know if I can give.
Whatever entity had forced me into bonding with her seemed to be gone for the time being. I wasn’t happy about being bound with Eris against my will, but if we were going to be together going forward, maybe I could at least give her chance. She seems like an easy person to fall in love with. Not right away, but maybe…maybe I can at least try.
“I can’t make myself fall in love right off the bat, but I can promise you that I will at least give it a chance.”
Her smile returned; It lit up her eyes and made them sparkle. “I’ll hold you to that,” she told me, clutching me tightly to emphasize her point.
I grinned at her and set her down. “All right, let’s get dressed and call a meeting.”
The guildhall had the largest door in the castle. Eris stopped just before we went in to admire the carvings in the wood, running her fingers over the wood. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said as I pushed open the door.
Ten pairs of eyes stared at us when we entered. “Look who finally decided to join us,” Gil bellowed, as Eris and I walked in.
“I see you brought the demi with you. Eris, right?” Wilson asked softly as I sat down.
“What was I supposed to do, leave her by herself?” I hissed at him.
He grunted and didn’t answer. Since both seats next to me were occupied, Eris settled for leaning up against the side of the chair next to me.
“There's a seat right over there,” I told her, pointing at the seat next to Markos, the only other empty chair beside Alistair's.
Eris leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I’d rather not sit alone next to strangers. I’m fine where I’m at.”
Gil, having heard her, despite the hushed tone, immediately chuckled and held out his hand to Eris. “Hello there, miss. I’m Gilgamesh, but you can call me Gil,” he said with his deep voice.
She took his hand, which engulfed her own, and returned his smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Gil. I’m Eris.”
“A pleasure. So, since Duran is being so inconsiderate to our esteemed guest, would you like my seat?”
Eris held up her hands and stammered a bit. “No, I couldn’t, but that's kind of you to offer. Really, I’m fine.”
Gil, being the kindhearted person he was, stood up and wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I insist, no way can I let you just stand ther—”
I grabbed Eris by the waist and brought her closer to me. “If it will stop this conversation, you can sit in my lap.”
She grinned at me but did as I said and plopped down on my leg and curled around me, leaning her head against my chest.
“That works too,” Gil said before devolving into a fit of laughter.
Which, of course, made most of the others join in and laugh at my expense. A chorus of chuckles and snickers filled the air for a moment. Though not everyone joined in. Evelyn seemed particularly interested in Eris.
“Who is this strange creature you have brought into our hall, dear guild leader?’ Evelyn asked me with a peculiar expression on her face.
I coughed loudly to clear my throat. “Everyone, this is Eris.” I paused for a moment before continuing. ”She is—”
I was interrupted by Harper and his loud, obnoxious voice. ”She’s the weird demi-human with the freaky eyes Wilson found with you in the loot room yesterday.”
> “Thank you, Harper,” I said to him with clenched teeth. “If we could refrain from such rude comments toward our guest in the future, I would consider it a personal favor.”
Harper opened his mouth again.
“And if we can’t, Harper—” I put fury on the edge of his name. “—I would be more than happy to settle things with a duel.”
Harper shut his mouth quickly after that. At close range, Harper was next to useless, and he knew he couldn’t win against me, even weakened as I was now. I’d still bet on me in that fight.
“Now back onto business,” I said as I dismissed Harper. “There has been—”
Gil’s booming voice interrupted me. “I have a very important question.”
I nodded at him to continue.
“Why isn’t she wearing pants?” Gil asked, before descending into even more raucous laughter.
I facepalmed as the rest of the guild joined in again with the laughter. I let them get it out of their system. As they died down, Eris chimed in with her musical voice.
“I don’t like wearing them, so I don’t,” she said, as if that solved everything.
The guild cracked up again at her words.
“Did you wear that to sleep in?" Evelyn asked with a mischievous smile.
“Of course not. I don’t wear clothes to bed.”
Gil fell over from laughing, and a few wolf whistles echoed around the room. Evelyn looked a little...dare I say jealous? Or maybe just possessive, that's more her style. Wilson leaned over to whisper to me. ”Don’t you think that it was a bad idea to let her sleep naked in your room…given your ‘Unique circumstances?’”
He made a good point; it was out of character for me, and he knew it, but he didn’t know every facet of mine and Eris’s relationship. Let's keep it that way. I barely know what to make of it myself. The others wouldn’t understand. Thankfully, Eris had my back on that one.
“Why is that strange?” she asked in a too-loud voice. “Is it normally strange for husband and wife to sleep together?” she asked Wilson, before turning to me. “I did get the names right, didn’t I?”
“Yep, you did great,” I groaned.
Dead silence reigned for all of two seconds before literally everyone started asking questions all at once.
“Oh, look, a lovely wall right over there to bash my head against,” I muttered to myself.
In between waiting for the roar to die down, and contemplating the angle needed to do the maximum amount of damage to the wall with my face. Eris tugged on my arm.
I looked down as she stared up at me with her big obsidian eyes, and ignoring everyone else in the room, I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, promptly tuning out everyone else in the room but her.
Eris was warm against my chest, and while the room wasn’t freezing, without a fireplace, it was a little cool. Eris took the chill away instantly. Getting used to this wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. A few moments of me ignoring everyone later, the room got quiet again.
“All right, you mongrels!” I yelled at them. “Settle down. Now. Yes…I guess Eris and I are married… Sort of. Kind of…look, it’s hard to explain, and I don’t feel like going over the details. So, let's just all accept it and move on. Trust me, you’ll have much better questions in a few minutes.”
Gil just laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. ”Hey, no worries, I’m just happy you’ve got a lady in your life. A less homicidal lady, in any case,” he said with a whisper, glancing over at Evelyn.
“Thanks, Gil. Now I didn’t call everyone here to gossip like schoolgirls. There are two serious matters to discuss.”
Everyone quieted up and listened to me—instant silence. We’re the worst, except when it comes to business.
“First and most important is the recent attacks on Gloom-Harbor.” Taking stock of the room, I continued. “This last raid was the worst we’ve experienced yet, over five hundred troops and a full guild to siege one castle. We were incredibly fortunate to win without taking casualties.”
Wilson spoke up, “The Alliance has gone too far this time. It was a declaration of war on us.”
“Except I don’t think this was the Alliance, not this time,” I replied.
Wilson and Gil both looked confused. ”Please elaborate,” Wilson said.
“Look at the evidence. We have a small fortune in gold down in the basement. Since when has the Alliance ever paid their soldiers so well? There’s enough gold to pay every soldier they sent for ten years of service.”
Wilson thought about that statement, and I knew he would see the logic there. I added to my debate. “Not to mention the guild we fought. The Order of the Dawn were hardcore mercenaries, just like us. And I know exactly how much we charge for our services. Hiring mercs isn’t cheap. Besides, the Alliance doesn’t contract out bounties, plain, and simple.”
“Then, who?” Adam asked, chiming in.
“I don’t know. When I fought the would-be assassin, he told me that someone was coming for us and that we wouldn’t be able to stop them.”
Everyone paused for a moment, letting what I’d said sink in.
”That…is disconcerting news,” Wilson mused. “If not the Compass Kingdom, that means it’s someone new. We should’ve had forewarning regardless. It seems like we are being kept out of the loop.”
He’s got a point. We should have had some warning about this. We paid a lot of money to be kept abreast of any important news. Either our contacts hadn’t heard anything, or they were being paid off to keep us in the dark. Neither option a good one.
I turned to Wilson and asked him, “Do you think you could talk to any of your old Thieves Guild members, see if they heard anything?”
He ran his fingers through his beard, stroking his well-groomed silver hairs in thought. “I could try, but I doubt I’d get much from them, and since I’m unable to enter the city anymore, it would be a costly venture to try and arrange a meeting.”
I wracked my brain, trying to come up with a solution. “Evelyn, do you think any of your networks could be of use here?”
She looked up from her interface to answer me. “Oh, absolutely, though like Shadow, I can’t exactly go strolling through Compass Kingdom right now.”
“Shit, I forgot the Assassins Guild still has that hit out on you.”
“Indeed, though I’m not worried about my safety. They’ve tried to kill me dozens of times now, but anyone seen with me would be a target, and most of my contacts are cowards who wouldn’t risk it.”
At this point, Eris piped up. ”You all seem to make friends well.”
Everyone laughed, and Makenna spoke. “We all have bounties on our heads. It’s just a way of life for us,” she said softly.
I was always surprised by Makenna. With her long red hair tied in pigtails and a swatch of freckles dotting her cheeks, she looked like everyone’s favorite kid sister. But she was one of the deadliest assassins on Nexus. She flashed her emerald eyes to Eris for a second before turning back to the thick leather-bound tome in her hands.
“You’re all criminals?” Eris’s eyes looked to each member of the guild before finally looking up at me.
“Hey, don’t lump me in with the rest of this rabble, I’m no criminal.”
Levi snapped back at my words. “Oh, yeah? What about when you pretended to join the Church of the Penitent Whisper, to become a paladin?” he asked me.
“Hey, technically, I didn’t commit any crimes,” I told the big brute.
Wilson, of course, took the opportunity to add his two cents. “Well, you did pledge an oath of service to the church and the Alliance, only to immediately ditch after you got your hands on the paladin class,” he said.
“That would make me an oath breaker, not a criminal,” I replied to him.
“Well, what about that guard you knocked unconscious, trying to escape, hm?” he said with a smug nod of his head.
"One assault charge, c’mon that doesn’t count. The bounty was like, what, thr
ee hundred gold? That’s peanuts.” I said, clearly in denial.
Everyone started chuckling at me. Levi and Wilson held up their hands in mock surrender. “Okay, fine, you win,” Wilson said, “Though my point was that out of all the members here, you have the best chance of walking through the five kingdoms unmolested. As long as you stay out of Cardinal Square, that is,” he said with a laugh.
It looks like I have no choice in the matter. “Okay, fine. I’ll go and check things out in the capital. See what I can dig up,” I told everyone. “I’ll head out first thing in the morning. I shouldn’t be gone more than a day or two.”
Eris tugged on my sleeve and gave me a look that said in no uncertain terms would I be leaving without her.
“Sorry, what I meant to say was that we will be leaving first thing in the morning. We have the spare teleportation scrolls on hand right, Wilson?” I asked the stony-faced guild treasurer.
“Of course, we do, but D….” he said, then trailed off.
I just stared at him. “Yeah. What?” I asked, confused.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
I didn’t comprehend what he was asking me. What have I forgotten? Eris shifted in my lap, and the movement made me glance at her. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Oh, son of a bitch,” I lamented.
“Ah, there goes the little hamster wheel turning,” Adam quipped.
Gil and Levi fell over laughing at that. Even Makenna and Yumiko chuckled at my expense.
“Eris is an NPC."
“Indeed, she is. Albeit, like one I’ve never seen before, but an NPC regardless,” Wilson stated.
I sighed into my hands. “NPCs can’t use teleportation,” I groaned, “Which means that if Eris is coming with me, we have to travel by mounts.”
“What’s an NPC?” Eris asked.
“Well, the technical term is non-player character, but that won’t mean anything to you. NPCs are most of the people here. Most of the humans and every single one of the other races. Anyone other than one of us players.”
“Oh,” she said and leaned against my chest. “I knew that, then. I had just never heard the term before.”
Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1) Page 18
