Beastborne- Mark of the Founder

by James T Callum

  A feat he never would have been able to accomplish when he first arrived on Aldim with a pitiful 1 STR. Now, he could hold the Sin Keeper without a hint of strain.

  He hadn’t been able to claim that simple feat even back on Earth.

  They entered into smaller chambers full of crumbling walls that were in the slow process of being worn down with thick trunk-like roots.

  Using his instinctual sense from the Manaseed, he always chose the direction the roots were going whenever they came to a junction. So they had followed bridges and pathways of the things that spanned over empty black pits. Chasms filled with beautiful, glowing crystals, and crumbling ruins.

  They even saw a few roaming monsters, some sleek black things that moved with preternatural grace, once or twice on a walkway too far away to be a threat.

  The architecture looked familiar to the tunnels beneath the Coffin District, the ones filled with shadowy creatures and arcana dolls waiting to spring out at unsuspecting intruders. Only the constant presence of the roots threading in and out of the stone and the suspicious lack of opposition seemed out of place.

  “We have to make camp soon,” Ashera said once they had gone for a while. Despite setting out in the morning, Hal felt the hours keenly in his stiff muscles and weary steps.

  “I was about to suggest that,” Hal said. Since they hadn’t come across any other monster beside the happy hopping box mimic that followed them, Hal was excited to get some Levels.

  They found a small side passage a short while later and found a pair of rooms off to the side. One was well on its way to caving in and the other, though small, seemed a perfect room to camp in.

  Hal was about to offer one of his [Adventurer’s Kits] to Ashera, when she pulled out a lavish cooking pot suspended on a tripod, with a pile of glowing red orbs underneath. With a whispered word, the orbs ignited and brightened considerably with tongues of flames licking up their round glassy sides.

  “You came prepared,” Hal said with a smirk. Vorax ambled about the room, sniffing at the rubble and bits of debris that had been left behind. Hal worried when Vorax would need to eat and what he was going to feed it now.

  He had three pieces of unidentified gear from the Shoggoth, the [Bounding Boots] that had 7 Durability left, and not much else in the way of equipment that he thought Vorax would want to eat.

  “Are you… sure about your new pet?” Ashera asked, taking out some food and adding it to the pot. The welcoming savory scent of stew began to fill the room, replacing the decades-old musty smell that pervaded the tunnels.

  “He’s sweet,” Hal said, rooting through his inventory. “Vorax only eats treasure and equipment anyway.”

  “Speaking of equipment, I found this on one of the shadow creatures. Perhaps you can use it?” Ashera handed him a [Length of Void Chain].

  Hal took the chilled shadowy metal and wrapped it around his left wrist. The metal was cold but not uncomfortable. He smiled. “Thanks, Ashera.”

  She shrugged. “I noticed you had a penchant for using the unconventional weapon and figured since you lost your old one, you might prefer a replacement.”

  With a chuckle, Hal said, “I’m glad you didn’t give it to Vorax to eat.”

  Ashera gave him a look. “That reminds me, what if your new friend becomes hungry when somebody is wearing a particularly juicy piece of armor?”

  Hal shrugged. He didn’t think it likely but his interactions with Vorax so far were limited. And yet, he felt certain the mimic was trustworthy. There was something there that Hal trusted.

  The smile Ashera gave him seemed odd. “Good. I was worried for a moment that perhaps you were not being objective and might have been enthralled. It is subtle magic and quite devious. But if the mimic had done so, you would have violently defended it.”

  “Physically?” Hal asked, looking up from the [Unknown Codex] he held in his hand. He had been meaning to read it. Even if he couldn’t make heads or tails of the sigils, he might be able to learn something.

  And gaining more Founder magic seemed like a good thing.

  “Perhaps. There are various stages.”

  “And you weren’t worried that I would attack you?”

  “No.” This time, Ashera’s smile seemed a touch sinister. “I have not survived this long without knowing how to defend myself, Hal. I am not as weak as you might believe me to be.”

  Hal immediately looked to her snowy white horns. They weren’t massive but he could envision her goring somebody with a brutally effective headbutt to the abdomen.

  “Have you ever…” Hal began.

  “Killed somebody with my horns?” Ashera finished for him, reaching a hand up to touch the smooth white horn. “A few times. They are not there for decoration.” Her fingertips trailed to the silver filigree toward the base where her white hair gathered around the horns. “But I do enjoy dressing them up. As most of my kind do.”

  Hal was about to ask why but he stopped himself. It was a stupid question. Humans decorated their hair, nails, and everything in between. Why would it be odd that another race would decorate a unique part of their body?

  There were probably cat people that shaved unique designs into their tails or painted them. It would only seem odd because he was a mundane human that lacked anything more.

  They ate the delicious stew, the closest thing Hal had ever eaten to compare it to was gumbo.

  You eat [Ashera’s Travel Stew].

  +10% HP | +10% MP.

  +5 STR.

  Duration: 4hrs.

  You gain the effect of Camping.

  +225% HP Regeneration.

  +225% SP Regeneration.

  +225% MP Regeneration.

  +100% Healing effects.

  Duration: While Camping.

  With the Camping buff active, it hardly took half an hour to recover his flagging SP. He made a mental note to camp more often in between fights if he could manage. And even said as much to Ashera.

  “Oh, that would be a terrible idea,” she said calmly, spooning stew into her mouth. Once she finished the bite, she continued, “Monsters are attracted to campsites. Only through the use of special repellents - like the Rangers use - or having a large number of people might you temper their bloodlust.

  “If we were to camp without finding a very defensible - and preferably out of the way location, like in this room - we would quickly find ourselves beset by all manner of beast. So while we could camp at every opportunity, we might be worse off for it.”

  That gave Hal an idea.

  He doubted he could put his idea to use with just the two of them. But in the future? It might prove valuable to go out with only one or two people in his party, camp in the middle of a forest and fight all the monsters that came calling.

  It would be a lot more efficient than hunting for monsters. The downside was, he might attract too much attention. Or even the wrong monster family.

  He took another bite of her stew, thanking Ashera for it and complimenting her cooking skills all at once. She blushed and demurred, as was her way but Hal could tell she was pleased he liked it.

  While they ate, Hal pulled out the acid-eaten [Bounding Boots] and offered them to Vorax.

  It felt wrong to eat while the mimic watched off to the side. Without the slightest hesitation, the mimic zoomed across the room and slurped up the suddenly floppy boots.

  He hadn’t expected it to Level Up again but he was mildly disappointed all the same when golden sparks didn’t bounce from Vorax’s sturdy body. Hal reached out a hand and pet the curved top of the chest.

  The wood felt smoother, almost polished now. So even if it hadn’t Leveled Up, it seemed a mimic was altered somehow with every item it ingested.

  Hal was far from sure what Vorax was to him. A friend, yes, but a pet or a companion? He didn’t want to presume Vorax’s intelligence or his dependency. After all, it had existed for years without Hal.

  As Elora would no doubt tell him, he didn’t need to go out adopting every m
onstrous creature he came across. That only made him want to do it even more. How much safer could a settlement be if it was also protected by friendly monsters?

  They agreed - through much arguing on Hal’s part - that he would take the first watch that night.

  While he sat and relaxed, Ashera crawled into her bedroll for a night’s rest. Hal cut his EXP surplus in half by getting 4 Levels in Beastborne.

  If he wanted his baseline to be 10 stat points, he needed 20 points to spread between STR, DEX, AGI, and CHR. Of course, that put him at Level 9 Beastborne which annoyed his sensibilities.

  It was a small annoyance, but he reminded himself that he had the EXP to use. So why not use it to have a more pleasing Level 10?

  He did just that, placing the 5 points into MND. Looking over his Status, he was happy with his decision. This time, he focused just on the relevant changes. He didn’t need to see his affinities every time. Especially when he knew they hardly changed.

  [Status]

  Hal Williams

  Level: 20

  Discordant Stone: 6,616/55,000

  Strain: 0/25

  BP: 7/10

  Classes

  Novice: 10

  Beastborne: 10

  Resources

  HP: 305/305

  SP: 275/275

  MP: 330/330

  Attributes

  STR: 10 (+5)

  VIT: 20

  DEX: 10 (+1)

  AGI: 10 (+4)

  INT: 22 (+1)

  MND: 25

  CHR: 10 (+3)

  Regeneration

  HP/hr: 46.9 (105.52 While Camping)

  SP/hr: 48.1 (108.22 While Camping)

  MP/hr: 71.6 (161.1 While Camping)

  The difference of suddenly doubling most of his stats was night-and-day. His fingers were able to move with a grace they never possessed. His muscles strained against the fabric of his quilted armor.

  Where the armor had fit perfectly before, now it was a little snug. Not uncomfortably so, he noted.

  He also had a few notifications, most of them were the typical Level Up message, but upon hitting Level 10 Beastborne he got another perk point and a new trait.

  It would seem that Classes gained perks every 5 Levels, while skills were every 10.

  Beastborne reaches Level 10.

  You learn the Arcana Killer trait.

  Gives you an edge when fighting Arcana Family monsters, increasing damage dealt while decreasing damage taken. Adds a chance to Intimidate Arcana.

  You have 1 Beastborne Perk point awaiting assignment.

  Essence Tap 0/1

  Increase Essence Gain by 25%. Increases chance of gaining Essence upon successful kill.

  Essence Delve 0/1

  Increase potency of Essence Powers and allow greater attunement when imbued with a specific Essence.

  Deep Magic 1/3

  Alters the Elemental and Monster properties of unassociated held weapons to include currently attuned Essence.

  Lv1: Adds Elemental & Monster Properties to weaponry.

  Lv2: Includes Weaponskills and Abilities.

  Lv3: Includes Spells.

  Monster Attunements Available

  Aberration: 1

  Goblin: 2

  Hal selected the second Level of Deep Magic. Now that he had some solid downtime, he opened up his Monster Attunements and looked them over with a critical eye.

  [Monster Attunements]

  Aberration: 1

  Amorphous Skin 0/1

  Adapt the naturally amorphous nature of Aberration to suit your own needs. While using Amorphous Skin you have 25% resistance against blunt, force, and slashing damage.

  Monstrous Resistance 0/1

  Aberrations are remarkably adept at resisting magic, being creatures of undead corruption they possess the ability to shrug off some of the worst magic has to offer. While using Monstrous Resistance you have 15% Resistance to every element and its associated status effects.

  Sturdy Hide 0/1

  Unnatural life has given Aberrations the ability to take a hit and keep moving. Adapting their unique essence to your own will increase your HP by 15%.

  Amphibious 0/1

  The most iconic facet of an Aberration is their ability to adapt to any situation. While you utilize this Attunement you are able to breathe water as easily as air.

  Goblin: 2

  Kludge 0/3

  Goblins are well known for their ability to make seemingly impossible things work. By attuning more deeply to their essence, you become able to bend the laws of reality slightly to make even the most ridiculous creation somehow work.

  Lv.1: Crafted goods can be made with up to 25% non-standard parts and will function just as well as a properly made piece.

  Lv.2: Crafted goods can be made with up to 50% non-standard parts and the resulting creation functions 10% better than its counterpart.

  Lv.3: With enough Goblin-grit and blatant ignorance of physics, you too can create goblin architecture and mechanical feats of impossibility. Unlocks Goblin Synthesis.

  Friends 0/1

  Goblin-kin are among the friendliest of all monster races. While they may not take particularly well to humanoids, they are among the most sociable monsters. Attuning to Goblins on a deeper level will allow you to adopt that same level of affability that other monsters cannot resist. Goblinspeak optional.

  With the quiet, almost peaceful camp, Hal found it easier to focus on the merits of each attunement.

  The first thing that jumped out to him was the Amphibious trait. He never learned how to swim back home.

  After a near-death incident where the on-duty lifeguard was more interested in picking up hot lonely moms than doing his job, Hal had never gone near water deeper than his knees.

  It wouldn’t matter how poorly he swam if he could breathe underwater.

  But the other three were so useful he couldn’t ignore them. As gross as Amorphous Skin sounded, having a flat quarter resistance to most types of damage was incredible.

  While Sturdy Hide increased his HP by 15%, Amorphous Skin increased his effective HP by 25%. But only for physical damage.

  He hadn’t encountered too much magical damage, yet the only attack that had actually killed him was magical.

  The pain-soaked memory still gave him cold sweats when he thought about it.

  Monstrous Resistance was pretty straightforward. While physical damage was painful, it was the magical damage that seemed to possess true power. The more damage and effects he could resist, the better in his opinion.

  Thinking back to how he had resisted the Gibberer’s attack, it seemed resistances did more than provide a linear reduction in damage received.

  He simply couldn’t risk taking Amorphous Skin, so he took Sturdy Hide instead. Ultimately, Monstrous Resistance had the same failings as Amorphous Skin. It only provided defense against a single type of damage.

  Having a flat HP boost while Splicing aberration essence would make his recent VIT gains go even further. And would work no matter the damage type he received.

  An invigorating rush of energy filled him, and Hal watched as his HP grew to 351 while still Splicing aberration and shadow.

  He earmarked Monstrous Resistance for his next attunement, though.

  As for goblin attunements… Hal had firsthand knowledge of how their ridiculous creations would work even when they really shouldn’t. The entirety of the goblin cave should have been impossible. He could have counted on one hand the number of nails he saw.

  And yet, the whole thing still functioned surprisingly well. It held several hundreds of pounds worth of prisoners without falling in on itself.

  Though he hadn’t gotten the chance to do any crafting yet, it was hard not to be interested in Goblin Synthesis. In either case, even if he went all-in on Kludge, he wouldn’t get access to Goblin Synthesis just yet.

  So, he split the points between them, acquiring Friends and a single Level of Kludge.

  By the time he was done, Hal st
ill had enough time to peruse his [Unknown Codex]. It felt like worthless work since he still couldn’t discern any meanings from the sigils but he was committed to trying.

  Every time they rested at a camp, Hal planned to take a couple of hours to study the book. Even if all he did was stare at the glittering sigils floating on the page.

  Ashera woke up after some time and they switched places. Hal bedded down and as soon as his head hit the makeshift pillow, he was out.

  The only reason Hal knew it was morning was because Ashera woke him up. They had more of [Ashera’s Travel Stew] and mostly ate in silence. Vorax had snuggled up to him in the bedroll and Hal kept one arm around the mimic as they ate, letting the monster have its beauty rest.

  They broke camp shortly after, refreshed and ready to strike out again. Vorax scooted and hopped alongside them.

  “You have changed a lot in a short time,” Ashera said once they had packed everything away and returned to the cramped, musty halls. “I know it’s… a delicate subject for many but I have never heard of your Class before. Could you tell me about it?”

  “I don’t know much about it myself, but I’ll gladly share what I’ve learned so far.”

  47

  As Hal already knew, Ashera was an excellent listener. Even as Hal shared the aberration attunement he chose, she seemed unfazed by the gut-wrenching possibilities of those he didn’t.

  “At least you picked something,” she said. “Whether or not it makes a physical change is irrelevant if you die looking handsome and young. Function over form, Hal.”