by Aleron Kong
TRING! TRING! TRING!
You have reached levels 33, 34 and 35! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. You are awarded the following points to distribute:
Per Level
Total
Stat Points
As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 Stat Points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4
18
Talent Points
As a Chaos Seed, you receive 15 Talent Points instead of the usual 10.
You receive an additional 15 Talent Points from your Profession and Specialty for having a 100% affinity in Enchanting
161
Chaos Points
You receive 8 Chaos Points due to your Blessing by the Lords of Chaos
122
Skill % Points
+25% to the skill of your choice
+75%
Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!
Now that you have progressed more than one level, you must allocate your Stat and Skill Percentage points within the next week or they will randomly be assigned for you.
Seeing the advancements in his level brought a small smile to his face. It was also satisfying to know that he was earning Chaos points. Whatever the hell those were. And just who were the Lords of Chaos and what “Blessing” had they bestowed? Were they gods? He had ended the previous age that was called the “Epoch of Banished Gods” after all.
Richter shook his head. Leveling was wonderful, but it was more than slightly irritating to once again be confronted with something new. The Land seemed determined to throw his ignorance in his face. What the hell was he supposed to do with Chaos points? A slight, ever so small facet of himself rejoiced in the increase of his level. He dismissed that thought a second later as he remembered what he had done to earn the boost. The fact that he forgot so easily, even for a moment, disturbed him most of all. Scowling now, he focused on what to do with his points. Anything to shut up the small voice inside of him.
As he and his guards continued to run, Richter brought up his status page.
Name: Richter
Level: 35, 28%
Age: 24
Race: Chaos Seed (Human)
Profession: Enchanter
Languages: Sapient Mortals
Reputation: Lvl 5 “You are a man worth following.”
Specialty: Essence
Alignment: Chaotic (2) Neutral
STATS
Health: 712
Mana: 602
Stamina: 350
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 33
(base: 25 + items: 8)
Agility: 32
Dexterity: 38
(base: 23 + items: 15)
Constitution: 56
(base: 56 + mark: 1%)
Endurance: 35
Intelligence: 51
Wisdom: 45
Charisma: 34
(base: 30 + Honorable: 4)
Luck: 22
RESISTANCES
TYPES OF MAGIC
Air 50%
Earth 25%
Fire 10%
Life 50%
Mental 55%
Spiritual 5%
Blood 5%
SCHOOLS OF MAGIC
Enchantment 32%
SKILLS
MARTIAL SKILLS
Archery: 17, 76%
Double Shot: 2, 11%
Imbue Arrow: 17, 29%
Drill Shot: 2, 81%
Focus: 6, 13%
War Leader: 15, 40%
Army of One: 3, 87%
Beacon: 11, 79%
Inspiring Leadership: 8, 56%
Unarmed Combat: 1, 78%
Pressure Points: 1, 0%
Light Armor: 16, 29%
Grace in Combat: 14, 83%
Dual Wield: 10, 36%
Riding: 7, 76%
Swordsmanship: 1, 43%
Tracking: 15, 88%
Small Blades: 13, 18%
MAGIC SKILLS
Air Magic: 15, 22%
Earth Magic: 11, 61%
Water Magic: 5, 96%
Dark Magic: 8, 98%
Light Magic: 7, 61%
Fire Magic: 12, 38%
Life Magic: 11, 61%
Death Magic: 3, 51%
Dual Cast: 12, 35%
Spiritual: 1, 92%
Blood Magic: 12, 77%
ROGUE SKILLS
Traps: 25, 72%
Trap Disarm: 22, 48%
Stealth: 14, 9%
Pierce the Veil: 25, 68%
CRAFTING SKILLS
Enchanting: 48, 5%
Brewing: 3, 57%
Distillation: 3, 57%
Construction: 4, 82%
Masonry: 3, 38%
Carpentry: 4, 47%
Crafting: 5, 29%
Smithing: 6, 73%
Alchemy: 2, 48%
Scribing: 5, 14%
MISCELLANEOUS SKILLS
Administration: 9, 60%
Lead From The Front: 6, 28%
Self-Awareness: 14, 9%
Animal Husbandry: 2, 43%
Exotic Beasts: 2, 26%
Diplomacy: 3, 78%
Coercion: 1, 82%
Beast Bonding: 8, 23%
Trade: 16, 77%
Herb Lore: 40, 72%
Analyze:15, 57%
ABILITIES
Limitless: 100% affinity in any and every skill
Gift of Tongues: Ability to comprehend almost any sapient languages
Fast Learner: +30% to speed of skill advancement
Bounty of Life: +30% growth for the physical manifestation of your Place of Power
Psi Bond:
+40% Mental Resistance
Maximum Communication Distance 1250 yards
Eye contact offers the chance to connect with other creatures in a limited way
QUALITIES
Resolute: +5% Spiritual Resistance, +5% Thought Resistance
Honorable II: +4 Charisma
Implacable: Awarded Initiate rank in Tracking Skill
MARKS
Master of the Mist Village
Blood Oath of Vengeance
Forge of Heavens
Dragonkin
Adventurer
Blood and Chaos
Before he even thought about anything else, Richter dumped his 75% skill bonus into Enchanting. It wasn’t enough to get him to a new skill level, but it got him most of the way there. Then he minimized the skill section of his status page. Limitless was an amazing ability, but it made it hard to even keep track of his own skills. He put three of his Characteristic points into Luck. It might just be a strange quirk, but he believed in good fortune. Always had.
That still left the question of what to do with his remaining fifteen stat points. Strength was an option, but as short blades were his weapon of choice, speed and precision mattered just as much in regard to his combat damage. The points were probably better used elsewhere. Agility and Dexterity were both tempting, but the chaos seed wanted something that translated into better stats: health, mana and stamina. That left Constitution, Endurance and Intelligence.
More health was always a good thing, but he was already fairly high with seven hundred and twelve points. He also had several rings that augmented that. Endurance, on the other hand, was something he was lacking in. During the battle, he had burned through stamina at a prodigious rate. Time and again his green bar had come close to bottoming out. Richter had learned that when his stamina ran dry, his reaction time turned to garbage. He didn’t completely lose consciousness every time, but even with his high level he became easy pickings for any enemy with a hard-on and a need to use it.
It wasn’t an insurmountable problem though. Having a bag full of stamina potions had been a good workaround for that. As long as the Dragon’s Cauldron could keep him supplied, it wasn’t a huge issue yet. What he really needed was the ability to cast more spells in the heat of battle. Of course, the easiest fix for that was…
Richter nodded to himself as he ran. If his Inte
lligence was a cock-meat sandwich, he was about to add some bacon! He placed all fifteen points into that stat and the hue of his mana bar shifted to a deeper blue. The warband kept running.
His next prompts dealt with his skills.
Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 13, 14 and 15 in Analyze. For reaching level 15, you have unlocked a new facet of your skill. In addition to the information you already receive, you will now also be provided with a list of the target’s skills, including the special abilities of non-humanoid creatures.
Hell yeah! Fighting new monsters was always potentially deadly. Even a small creature could have some insane capability that could knock you on your ass. If he could know what monsters could do before engaging, it would be clutch! The slow leveling of his Analyze skill was one of the main downsides of living in the sticks. He didn’t get any skill progress for analyzing the same person over and over. If he was in a major city, it would probably already be skill level thirty or forty. Still, he was happy he’d finally unlocked a new facet of the skill. Richter dismissed the prompt and went on to the next.
Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 23, 24 and 25 in Traps. All traps +50% more effective, +50% less likely to be found.
Congratulations! You have advanced from Initiate to Apprentice in: Traps. Your skill in this field has advanced to the point that you can now store known spells in your traps. Use this new rank bonus with caution. The materials of your traps must be up to the task of containing the magical energy you invest in them.
Richter’s eyes widened. What? He could make magical traps now? The possibilities seemed endless. He could tie a sleep spell to a dart trap. Or better yet, a fireball! The only problem was that he had barely any traps left. In fact, he only had one, the shrink trap. He had to hope that someone in his village had the expertise to build more. Still, the fact that he could tie his magic into traps now was very interesting…
More notifications awaited.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 13 in Small Blades. +26% attack speed while using small blades. +26% bonus to damage while using small blades.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 10 in Dual Wield. Base accuracy penalty in primary hand reduced to 15% and in off hand by 40%. Dual attack speed increased by 10%.
Congratulations! You have advanced from Novice to Initiate in: Dual Wield. You may now use a normal-sized weapon in conjunction with a small blade without any extra penalty.
You have received 2,500 (base 2,000 x 1.25) bonus experience for reaching level 10 in the skill: Dual Wield.
The progression in Dual Wield was welcome as well. He had gotten used to fighting with two weapons at once, but he still felt off balance as he fought. His initiate rank in Small Blades helped by decreasing the penalty in both hands by 5%, but he had still completely whiffed some of his swings during the last battle. The goblins had been so closely packed that he had still struck home most of the time, but time and again his blades struck armor instead of the gaps that would have let him pierce vital areas instead. He would probably be deadlier with only one weapon and increased accuracy, but once he leveled up Dual Wield, the extra combat speed would make him a real beast. He was planning for the future, and hoping he didn’t get his ass kicked too badly in the now. Which pretty much summed up both his gaming style and general approach to life.
Besides, compared to most of the opponents he faced, his gear was top-notch and his stats were strong. His accuracy penalty didn’t matter too much when he was wielding an elementum blade against fur-clad goblin scouts. Richter made sure not to lose sight of the fact that there were incredibly powerful foes waiting out there for him. He had accomplished amazing things, but much of his success was because he’d been smart enough and lucky enough to cultivate strong friends and allies. It hadn’t been Richter of the Mist Village that killed the goblin commander, after all. It had been Yoshi of the Hearth Tree.
He went back to his prompts. He’d advanced in even more skills. Whatever else could be said about the battle, it had advanced him on all fronts.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 16 in Light Armor. +32% to defense of all light armor.
Congratulations! You have reached subskill level 14 in Grace in Combat. Dodge increased by 28% while wearing all Light Armor.
Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 11 and 12 in Dual Casting. Chance of spell miscast decreased by increasing this skill. This number is affected directly by spell level and caster’s proficiency in that branch of magic. Specific changes:
Level Changes
Current Values
Spell Power
Increases 4%
+148%
Mana Cost
Decreases by 2% from base +300%
+276%
Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 5, 6, 7 and 8 in Beast Bonding. +8% effectiveness to Tame. +8% attack and defense of bonded creatures.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 15 in Air Magic. New spells are now available.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 11 in Life Magic. New spells are now available.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 11 in Earth Magic. New spells are now available.
Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 12, 13, 14, and 15 in War Leader. Sphere of Influence +15% larger. +15% attack and defense for all allies within your Sphere of Influence.
Congratulations! You have reached subskill levels 10 and 11 in Beacon. +110 to the Fighting Spirit of war party.
Congratulations! You have advanced from Novice to Initiate in: Beacon. Killing an enemy Champion will now give +2 Strength to everyone in your war party for one hour.
You have received 1,250 (base 1,000 x 1.25) bonus experience for reaching level 10 in the subskill: Beacon.
Congratulations! You have reached subskill levels 5, 6, 7 and 8 in Inspiring Leadership! +40% to chance of war party members earning Field Advancements. +8% to the power of Field Advancements of any party members under your command or the command of your subordinates.
One final prompt awaited him. Something that had taken entirely too long.
Congratulations! You have completed a Quest: Protect the Forest I
Bugbears and goblins have been invading the Forest of Nadria and disrupting the balance of the Forest. You have struck a massive blow against the goblin invaders, but have also revealed that the forces arrayed against you are more powerful than anyone imagined. The battle has been won, but the war is far from over. Grow your strength, young Master; your life will depend upon it. See the Hearth Mother for your reward.
Know This! You have failed the optional condition of the Quest: Protect the Forest I. You have not discovered why the invaders are coming into the forest. As the Quest is much larger than even Hisako intended, she may give you an extension to this condition if you speak with her.
Richter closed the last prompt. Months that felt like years had passed since he had obtained the quest. He had not even unlocked his second power when the Hearth Mother had charged him with destroying an enemy camp. It seemed like forever ago that Sion had given him a cocky grin and said, “This is what we do, brother.” Richter thought back to his best friend’s prophetic words. The sprite had been right. Death and warfare was what they did, but it came at a cost. The losses his people had suffered weighed heavily on the chaos seed.
He pushed off such dark thoughts. Turning his head, he stole a glance at his men. More than a few were red-faced and sweating buckets, but not one of them asked to stop. If his soldiers could push themselves without complaint, then he sure as hell could too! If the price to protect his people was an ocean of blood, then he would pay it gladly.
Richter realized that over the past hour he had increased the speed of the warband from a jog to a run as he dealt with his own inner turmoil. Well, he was done with all that. At least for now. The chaos seed raised a hand and called a halt. His soldiers slowed down and then came to a grateful stop. One or two look
ed longingly at the ground, just wanting to lay down, but Caulder was the perfect sergeant. He walked around, speaking to his soldiers in his barking voice. He handed out claps on the back and kicks in the ass with equal measure, giving each man and woman exactly what they needed to stay strong and alert. While his warband recovered their stamina, the chaos seed looked off through the mist and wondered what waited for him.
CHAPTER 4 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC
They started moving again a few minutes later. Richter didn’t want his men to fully cool down and cramp. After a nod to Caulder, the sergeant was once again spitting orders and epithets at them. His particular brand of harsh love had them up in no time, and soon the warband was running again. While they moved, Richter decided how to allocate his War Leader points.
Badge
Cost
Description (applies to entire party)
Melee Attack I
(Closed)
25
+5% to melee attacks
Melee Defense I
(Closed)
25
+5% to melee defense
Ranged Attack I
(Closed)
25
+5% to ranged attacks
Ranged Defense I
