All that remained was for me to continue my preparations in facing these twin monsters, as well as whatever other horrors were waiting for me in the darkness. Equipped with 11,000 Bloodpoints, I scoured my abilities, looking for opportunities to improve our chances in that accursed forest.
Archer Tier One Completed
Archer Tier Two Completed
Archer Tier Three Completed
Archer Tier Four:
- Armor Crack: If your arrows cannot pierce armor, they deal double damage to the armor itself. This ability works in combination with Rapid Shot or Multishot.
- Arrow Homeostasis: All arrows in your quiver will transform to match the strongest arrow that you have.
Tracker Tier One Completed
Tracker Tier Two:
- Know Your Enemy: Clues and trails now have a chance of revealing an enemy weakness.
- Darkvision: When on a trail, gain the ability to see in the dark until the monster is located.
Stealth Tier One:
- Camouflage I: Gain the ability to craft camouflage that provides stealth bonuses when worn.
- Stealth Instincts: Effective hiding spots glow.
Navigator Tier One:
- Cartography: Unlocks the Mapmaking ability.
Navigator Tier Two:
- Secret Passage: Hidden doors, passages and basements will glow, revealing themselves.
Navigator Tier Three Completed
Hunter Tier One:
- Animal Tracker: Your tracking abilities can now apply to natural animals.
- Butcher: Increases the meat gained from butchering any creature by 50%.
- Stomach Sense: You can tell which monsters are edible and which ones are not at a glance.
Acrobat Tier One Completed
Acrobat Tier Two Completed
Acrobat Tier Three:
- Wall Run: May move alongside flat vertical surfaces for a distance of ten feet at a time.
Acrobat Tier Four:
- Blessed Descent: You no longer take fall damage and always land on your feet.
Giantslayer Tier One:
- Flatten Body: Reduces stomp and smash attack damage by 80% when fighting a Giant monster (10 feet or taller.)
Giantslayer Tier Two:
- Crush Defense: Reduces grab and squeezing attacks by 50% when fighting a giant.
Giantslayer Tier Three:
- Titanfoe I: Titans take more of an interest in you than other targets in a fight.
Giantslayer Tier Four:
- Unbreakable: You treat attacks from Giants as if they were a size class equal to yours. A giant claw attack equals a medium claw attack, etc. This significantly reduces damage from giants.
- Titanfoe II: You may utter a challenge to a Titan. Once the challenge is uttered, the Titan will lose all interest in anything other than killing you. This effect lasts for as long as the Titan can sense your presence within 1 mile.
- Coresight: After a minute of intense concentration, all nearby titan cores will be revealed to you.
Alchemy Tier One Completed
Alchemy Tier Two:
- Miscibility: May convert Estoan to Firnin or Firnin to Estoan at a rate of 2:1.
Alchemist Tier Three:
- Strong Stomach: You may ignore 1 side effect per day.
- Botanical Knowledge: You may now extract Firnin and Estoan from plants. These yield lower results than monsters.
Magician Tier One:
- Memory Trick: Reduce memorization cost of spells by 25%.
Magician Tier Two:
- Mystic Bonds: Select one item in your possession. That item, when worn, grants you an additional +100 mana. You cannot cast spells without your Mystic Bond equipped.
Magician Tier Three:
- Fast Caster: You may spend an additional 20 mana to reduce casting time of a spell down to 10 seconds. This only works on spells with a casting time of an hour or less.
- Mystic Vision: You can sense the elemental strengths and weaknesses of enemies by observing them for a few seconds.
Spellbow Tier One:
- Arrowfinder: You always know the exact location of your arrows and can find your way to them in the shortest time possible.
Spellbow Tier Two:
- Platform Arrows: You may spend 5 mana to instantly turn an arrow into a platform arrow. When a platform arrow strikes a solid target, a 5 foot long steel platform appears, affixed to the surface. These platforms exist for 1 hour before fading.
- Command Arrows: You may spend 20 mana to command all arrows in the area to fire themselves at a single target. (This spell does not work on arrows in quivers or other containers.)
The fourth tier of Giantslayer was quite impressive, though the price point was high enough to make me feel a little woozy. 5,000 points per ability! But still, the ability to see Titan cores? To endure massive attacks and only take damage as if they were my size? Hard to pass up, but not entirely relevant to what I was handling right now.
Mystic Vision was more of the speed I was looking for here. Fighting new monsters was always a guessing game when it came to weaknesses. Having the ability to immediately observe elemental weaknesses within a few seconds of a fight would reap tremendous rewards. Most importantly, it would let me figure out the most effective way to kill the Eldest and its foe. Plus, it would unlock the next rank in magician, which could bring about some new spells or abilities. Here’s hoping.
I spent the 2,500 points on Mystic Vision and watched as the fourth tier opened up, revealing three new abilities.
Magician Tier Four:
- Mana Barrier: You may expend 50 mana to create a Mana Barrier out of an element of your choice. This barrier will last for 5 minutes and will automatically dispel any attack composed of the chosen element, regardless of the attack’s strength.
- Double Spell: You may expend 10 additional mana when casting an instant spell to cast it again immediately, without paying the regular mana cost.
- Charm Trick: By spending all of your mana, you may activate another charm ability on the charm you are currently wearing. This ability will last for 8 hours. You cannot cast spells when performing a charm trick.
The price for these abilities were doubled with a cost of 5,000 each, same as the Giantslayer abilities. Charm Trick was nice, but I was hoping to find something that could maybe help me find our way in the darkness…wait a second! Didn’t I just see something that could help here?
I scanned my potential abilities and zeroed in on the Spellbow’s Arrowfinder ability. Of course! I kept scanning past it because frankly, I never thought I’d need to find my arrows. But it wasn’t just about locating a missed shot. I always knew how to get to my arrows with this ability, meaning if I left a few in Brimley’s shop, I could find my way out of the Shadewood. Hell, I could probably guide the entire village out, once we had freed them from whatever influence the Eldest had. Why hadn’t I thought of this before? I could kick myself over this.
I bought Arrowfinder, then Charm Trick to finish out my selection process. My magic use was rather situational at times, but the ability to activate a third charm ability? That was pretty much always going to be handy.
With these three abilities purchased, I had once again spent the Bloodpoints I had just earned faster than it took me to gain them. Oh well, at least I still had my savings. It was good to hold onto them just in case. Besides, those tier 4 Giantslayer abilities weren’t going to come cheap at all.
The Hunter’s Profile shimmered and shifted, changing to match my latest selections.
Avery Lorn: Giantslayer
Health: 100%
Mana: 100
Bloodpoints: 3,000
Stats:
Strength: 4 (2+2)
Dexterity: 4
Intelligence: 4
Perception: 3
Charisma: 4
Stealth: 2
Archery: 10
Tracking: 5
Navigation: 7
Trapping: 3
Acrobatics: 10
Surprise Attack
Clean Retrieval
Search I
Light Step
Snare Trap
Leap
Archer’s Eye
Recognizable Scent
Fast Movement
Spear Trap
Safe Fall (40ft)
Piercing Shot
Tracker’s Instincts
Home Territory
Advanced Bear Trap
Dodge Reflex
Focus Breaker
On the Trail
Expedition Leader
Perfect Balance
Rapid Shot
Danger Sense
Acrobatic Training
Multi-shot
Strider
Acrobat’s Grip
Swift Hands
Group Captain
Air Combat I
Sniper’s Aim
Springheels
Explosive Shot
Homing Shot
First Aid: 5
Alchemy: 7
Magician: 7
Spellbow: 4
Giantslayer: 6
Skilled Extraction
Mystic Recovery
Spell Saver I
Fell The Mighty Oak
Physiological Examination
Mana Boost
Spell Arrow
Obsession
Enhanced Mixtures
Student
True Arrow
Invigorating Roar
Apprentice
Dabbler
Arrowfinder
The Harder They Fall
Nourishing
Journeyman
Hindered Regeneration
Extra Sip
Mystic Vision
Iron Meets Steel
Charm Trick
Illusions:
Weapons:
Armor:
Tools:
Bone Charms:
Alchemy:
Dazzle
Bone Bow: Strong Fire Affinity
Swift Medium Scale Leather
Slots: 1
Expanded Bag
Max Level Kinru Charm
Firnin: 150
Phantom Sound
Iron Crossbow x3
Swift Blackoak Greaves
Level 1 Fitzon Charm
Estoan: 150
Enchantments:
100 Tooth Arrows
Blackoak Vambraces
Slots: 1
Level 2 Fylk Charm
Kaos: 0
Return Arrows
Bone Bow: Strong Sonic affinity
Level 1 L’Gara Charm
Switching Arrow
Bone Bow: Strong Lightning Affinity
Level 3 Fungara Maestro Charm
Enhanced Accelerated Healing Potion: 1
Blessings of Swiftness
Level 1 Ligoran Charm
Potion of Speed: 3
Expand Satchel
Level 1 Great Wyrm Charm
Thunder Arrow
Manipulation:
Level 1 Lurbia Charm
Summon Quiverling
Minor Spellburst
Level 1 Hypnosin Charm
Strong Elemental Affinity
Minor Telekinesis
Level 1 Glurp Charm
Weaponlink
Weigh Down
Level 1 Griffin Charm
Bless Boots
Level 1 Tyndel Charm
Titanic Weapon: Josiah’s Storm
Slayer: 3
Striker: 4
Artillerymaster: 3
Bow-Bond: 2
Munitions Specialist: 2
Damage Rating: 5
Bow Connection
Forceful Hit
Indirect Fire
Gift of Intelligence
Breach Charge Recipe
Weapon Speed: 2
Rage of the Slayer
Unmoving Arrows
Barrage
Partnership
Triggered Charges
Special 1: N/A
Endurance Surge
Agonizing Strike
Range Extension
Special 2: N/A
Snap Shot
I was a bit stronger now, but more importantly, I had a way to navigate the dark without the help of the Eldest. All I had to do was drop an arrow off at the village and we’d have a way to find that horrid monster without it knowing our next steps.
With the Stabwagon filled to the brim with bubbling cauldrons, brewing the various potions I had set into motion, I took a hard turn to the left, making my way once again to the pitch black forest that was the Shadewood.
Chapter 22
At the back of my mind, at all times, I knew exactly how to get back to Brimley’s workshop. Each turn I took in the darkness, each shift in the area created a new pathway in my head. A series of steps and turns was ever present, guiding me to my arrow. Of course, I was just getting further and further away from those arrows, but even that didn’t matter. I knew how to get home, on the ground. I could lead the entire village out of here once we freed the people.
The darkness surrounding me seemed eager yet irritated at the presence of more fire. Taking advantage of the slow-moving cart, I placed several torches on all ends of the vehicle, creating a much wider circle of light around me. This gave me better visibility, but I still was unsure of how to reach the village. I didn’t dare take off my new charm to give the Eldest a glimpse of where I was. It might speed up the process, but at the same time, if the creature could read my thoughts, it would know my plans of betrayal.
Yet, as I pondered this question, leading the cart forward through the endless shadow, there came a sound of footsteps in the distance. I raised my bow at once and waited.
“It’s me,” Trig grumbled as he wandered out of the darkness. Behind him was Eckshaw, carrying a green torch. The pale flame had made it near impossible to spot them. I hoped to learn the secrets of this fire before killing that damned creature.
“You have deception in your heart,” Eckshaw said. “For you were gone from the eye of the woods for some time. Now you return. Whatever you are up to, I must advise against it. The Eldest will not respond kindly.”
I ignored the man entirely, still unsure of just how much free will he actually had. Instead, I motioned for Trig to follow me to the wagon. He hurried over to me, leaving Eckshaw behind to merely watch us. The man did not seem interested in following after us, which was fine.
“What’s up?” Trig asked once he met me behind the wagon. I immediately clapped him in the right ear. He let out a wild yelp and grabbed his ear.
“Ow, what the hell?” he shouted as I grabbed his Kinru charm and yanked it off, swapping it for the Fylk charm.
“Take Hardened Mind now,” I hissed, smacking him in his other ear. He yelped once more, but nodded at me.
“Why all the pain?” he moaned, standing up and instinctively covering his ears to avoid another assault.
“Had to distract your mind the hard way,” I said. “You activated Hardened Mind?”
Trig nodded, still wearing a wounded expression. “Do you have any idea how strong you are?”
“Come on, it wasn’t that bad,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “I only wailed on you because I kno
w you’re strong enough to take it.”
“Oh wow, that patronizing tone makes me feel like a big strong man,” he said, chuckling and wincing at the same time.
“Now he has vanished from her presence,” Eckshaw said, drawing his sword. He stepped forward a few feet and raised the blade. “Come out now! Show yourself, or she will start ordering the children to leave the village, one by one!”
Trig looked at me, eyes wide. “What do we do?”
Monster Hunting 401: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure Page 12
