Scourge of Souls: The Realms Book Four: (An Epic LitRPG Series)
Page 4
People smiled at him as he walked into the Nexus. Several more clapped him on the shoulder or reached out to touch him as he passed. Gryph was growing claustrophobic from the attention when a gruff voice bellowed over the racket.
“Leave the man be ye bunch of parasites,” Grimliir roared. The one-time Chief Artificer was one of the staunchest supporters of Gryph’s bid to be the next Lord of Dar Thoriim. If Gryph had been a suspicious man, he would have suspected that support was at least as much because of the dwarf’s distaste for the mantle of leadership as it was Gryph’s worthiness. But in this case, he was happy that the man had run interference.
The crowd dispersed as if Grimliir’s ire was a cloud of tear gas fired into a crowd of protesters. Gryph nodded his thanks. Grimliir grabbed his arm and forcibly turned him down the hallway towards the suite of rooms the last Stone King had called home. Despite his protests, Grimliir had made Gryph take them as his own. The gruff dwarf's grip was fiercely strong, and Gryph suspected one way or another he’d end up doing what the dwarf wanted.
“Get some rest laddie, you’re going to need it.” He stopped and sniffed before a scowl marred his perfectly groomed beard. “And take a bath, ye smell like an orc latrine baking in the sun.”
Gryph scowled, but a whiff of putridness reached his nose and he couldn’t fault the dwarf for the harsh comment. He reached a door with neither handle nor knob and placed his hand palm out into the center of a silver circle. Pale yellow fire burst from the circle and traced around his fingers. The flames were warm to the touch but did not burn his skin and after a moment they retreated into the magic circle as if by an unfelt vacuum. The first time he’d used the magical lock, he’d yelped in shock, something Grimliir had found most amusing. As it had then, the thung of metal bars retracting announced success and a moment later the door eased open.
As he walked in, Gryph realized that by accepting the last King of Dar Thoriim’s chamber he had subconsciously accepted the leadership role. He scowled to himself at the thought, knowing that too had been a part of Grimliir’s plan.
5
Gryph walked into his chambers. Like the rest of Dar Thoriim, the suite of rooms was carved from the very rock of the mountain. In his mind’s eye he imagined the long-lost opulence of the chamber, but millennia of neglect had left the place in disrepair.
He’d protested when Grimliir insisted he take the rooms and outright complained when stonemasons and carpenters made it a priority to return the chamber of kings to a functional state.
“There are too many other things that need attending to,” Gryph had said, only to learn he was an amateur at curmudgeonly stubbornness compared to the dwarf.
“A lord needs tae project a certain arrogance, tae carry themselves as if their shite don’t stink as bad as the rest of us. It is a crap attitude of course, but I’ll see my beard shorn before I allow you tae fail at keeping up that venerable tradition.”
“I’m no lord.”
“But ye will be, soon enough.” He laughed at Gryph’s sudden sour look. “Don’t ye be all aflutter with worry laddie, I’ll instruct ye in the haughty ways of the nobility and that nose of yours will be turned upwards in no time.”
“I think I may hate you,” Gryph grumbled.
The dwarf had laughed and smacked Gryph hard on the back before leaving him to wallow in his opulent misery. Then, as now, it was the sight of the hot spring fed bathtub that chased away some of the sour from Gryph’s mood.
He plopped himself onto the edge of the massive stone slab that served as his bed. The dwarves had looked oddly at him when he’d requested an actual mattress, and though they complied with his request, Gryph was positive he’d heard a few disparaging comments about namby-pamby elves. The soft sheets and the thick mattress provided by the same namby-pamby elves, felt amazing. To his right lay a set of fancy dress clothes someone had set out for him to wear to the night’s ceremony. He scowled at the reminder and tugged off his boots.
He removed the rest of his armor and clothing and placed them in the stone and metal chest at the foot of the bed. The chest would secure any belongings he placed in them, but it also had a bonus ability to launder his clothing. It even repaired small dings and dents in his armor.
He walked over to the steaming bath, eased himself in and let the water scald away the muck and the grime. His mind drifted back to the first time he’d enjoyed this comfort, when the grime he’d scraped off his skin was still flecked with the blood of his friend Wick.
A part of him still couldn’t believe Wick was gone and occasionally, when he was on the breach between the waking world and the dreamlike state of his Soul Reverie, Gryph would hear his friend giving him shit. He’d have given just about anything to make that illusion a reality, but it was beyond his capabilities, even in the Realms, where miracles and magic were so commonplace.
Could there be another way? With a mental flick he opened Lore. Perhaps the skill would send him down a secret path to Wick.
You have learned the skill LORE.
Level: 21 - Tier: Apprentice - Skill Type: Passive/Active.
Lore allows the user to subconsciously tap into the Sea of Knowledge, an undercurrent of pure information that twines through the aether and uses information in a more efficient manner than others.
Lore enables increases to the speed of skill progression by a tier-based multiplier. Lore also enables adepts to get a more refined level of knowledge from books, spell stones, trainers and other methods of learning.
Lore is different from other skills in the Realms. While it can be levelled through study and research, the primary method of levelling Lore is via the levelling of all other skills. Lore is the literal path to power through knowledge.
Each new skill learned adds 5% to the progression to the next level of Lore. Each new level reached adds 1% to the progression to the next level of Lore.
Every skill in the Realms relied on hidden, secret or specialized knowledge. On the surface, Lore seemed no different. It gave adepts a deeper understanding of all things by granting adepts access to the Sea of Knowledge. He wasn’t sure what ‘an undercurrent of information that twined unseen through the aether’ meant, but he knew Lore was a force multiplier of incredible power.
It wasn’t until he’d been alone with his thoughts, submerged in this bath in a vain attempt to soak away his guilt over Wick’s death, that its true power became clear.
LORE PERKS.
Skill Progression Multiplier.
The user’s subconscious mind taps into the Sea of Knowledge and can increase the speed of their learning. This increases the speed they can level any skill by the percentage listed.
Re-Engineer.
The user’s subconscious mind taps into the Sea of Knowledge enabling the examination and study of a spell or item with the intent of repurposing for a similar, but different outcome OR to understand how a spell or item works so that improved versions can be created.
• Example: It can convert A fireball to do cold damage
• Example: A healing potion made with ingredients imbued with Life Magic can be repurposed to cause damage to Death Magic creatures
The percentage listed is the chance to succeed. New spells and items must be related to the original source in some concrete and logical way.
The time in hours required to Re-Engineer is 5X - (Int/10) where x is the tier of the spell or the Item Class Modifier (see below) of the item being repurposed. A minimum of one hour must be spent to Re-Engineer.
Item Class Modifier:
• Non-Magical: 2
• Base: 3
• Major: 4
• Artifact: 6
• Divine Artifact: 10
Notes:
• Spells: The user must possess the spell and the requisite magic skill(s) at a tier at least equal to the tier attempting to be Re-Engineered.
• Item: The user must possess the item or a ‘recipe’ for the item and the appropriate crafting skill to Re-Engineer an item.
The Repurposed item will be destroyed if the attempt fails.
Osmosis.
The user can attempt to form a psychic bond with a source of knowledge for the purpose of absorbing said knowledge without destroying the source of the knowledge. This is especially useful for spell stones, Attribute and Stat matrices, skill tomes or other arcane methods of storing and delivering information.
The percentage chance listed is the chance of success and the bonus to the effectiveness of the learned information. Example: A spell stone for a fireball spell will cost 25% less mana OR cause 25% more damage if successful. (User must choose bonus at time of osmosis.). At higher tiers this bonus can be split between effects in blocks of 25%. (Example: A user with the Apprentice Tier in Osmosis who successfully learns a Fireball spell via Osmosis can elect to cast the spell for 25% less mana AND cause 25% more damage).
Bind Skills.
By spending Perk Points the user can attempt to combine two (or more) skills with the purpose of expanding the capabilities of both skills. If successful, both skills will attain a new shared perk. Upon successful binding the user is awarded the Base level of the new perk for free. New perks must be paid for with Perk Points and will follow the standard rules of all perks.
The two skills merged must possess a logical link. Example: Dodge and Unarmed Combat can be merged to increase the effectiveness of both skills.
The cost to merge skills is determined by the following formula. Perk Point Cost = 2X - T, where X = the number of skills to be merged and T is equal to the Tier rank. (B: 1; A:2, etc.) of Bind Skills.
X is limited by the Tier the user possesses in Bind Skills.
Each additional skill added to the attempt beyond 2 reduces the chance of success by 5%. Perk Points are lost if attempt fails. If three or more skills are successfully bound, the user is awarded the Base perk of the newly created perk branch for free. There is no victory without risk.
Perk Point Cost cannot be reduced below 1.
NOTE: A powerful will can affect the binding of skills in unexpected ways.
Gryph had dumped two of his four Perk Points into the first two tiers of Skill Progression Multiplier. It was costly, but he knew the return on investment would be staggering and that it would be the first perk he’d spend points on when he reached the next tier.
The Re-Engineer perk fascinated him, even though it would take a lot of time to repurpose even the simplest spell or item the payoffs would be game changers. Osmosis was nearly as badass, both for its potential to preserve sources of knowledge, but also to increase the potency of any learned information.
It was Bind Skills that had Gryph drooling though. Creating new perks by combining skills was incredible and he could not wait to try it out. Then the cost sobered him. Even if he spent one of his last two Perk Points, he’d need to wait several levels to earn enough to use Bind Skills, and even then, the attempt might fail.
Gryph had never been a materialistic guy, but as he looked over the potential of Lore, he felt like a bratty rich kid pouting because his parents refused to buy him every toy in the store.
Lore Perk Tree.
Tier
Skill Progression Multiplier
Re-Engineer
Osmosis
Bind Skills
B
+25%
25%
25%
25% (Max: 2)
A
+50%
40%
40%
50% (Max: 3)
J
+75%
50%
50%
75% (Max: 4)
M
+100%
75%
75%
100% (Max: 5)
GM
+200%
90%
90%
125% (Max: 6)
D
+300%
99%
99%
150% (Max: 8)
Lore was the road to incredible power. Not only did it boost the progression of every other skill, he could, through pure study and the expenditure of Perk Points, deconstruct and repurpose knowledge. The possibilities were limited only by his imagination.
Gryph now understood why Lore was one of the most guarded skills in all the Realms. Only a consecrated Loremaster at one of the three Lore Guilds on Korynn could teach the skill, and such institutions were by invitation only. The powerful hoarded power in the Realms just as much as on Earth.
Maybe I’ll start my own school, Gryph thought wryly. Break the system. Stick it to the man.
Gryph had proven that system could be broken. Instead of training with a consecrated Loremaster, Gryph had looted the skill using Assimilation, a divine perk that allowed him to take one skill per week from those he defeated. He’d assimilated Lore from the Aberrant and done so at skill level 21. It had allowed him to reach Apprentice Tier and that meant a new Tier Ability. His mouth had hung open in awe when the prompt filled his vision.
You have reached Apprentice Tier in Lore.
With that tier boost, the skill has gained the Apprentice Tier Ability Perk Point Market.
Perk Points are the currency of specialized knowledge. As an Apprentice of Lore, who has proven your dedication to acquiring knowledge, you can now access the Perk Point Market. Once a week an Apprentice in Lore can journey to the Market where they can sell items, skills, spells, Attribute Points, secrets, knowledge, memories and other valuables for Perk Points. The Merchant can also give unique quests.
Entrance to the Perk Place Market costs one Perk Point. Each successive tier in Lore provides a better exchange rate in the Market and access to greater quests.
The one Perk Point cost to enter the market made him cringe considering he only earned one point per level, and he had no idea what the Perk Place Market actually was. The prompt said he could sell a wide variety of things, including memories. That one was odd. Would someone give him Perk Points for the memory of losing his virginity? Cuz that was a disappointment he would pay to forget.
Gryph inhaled deeply and let the warmth of the water ease into his tired muscles. He closed his eyes and saw a new icon shaped like a merchant’s stall blinking in the corner of his vision. He tapped it was rewarded with a prompt.
You have requested access to the Perk Point Market.
Cost: 1 Perk Point. Do you wish to pay the toll? YES?/NO?
“This had better be worth it,” Gryph grumbled to himself and tapped YES.
6
Gryph never felt his body move, but the next thing he knew he was standing in a modest shop. It would have been at home in any medieval town, except that it had neither walls nor ceiling and its floor was nothing more than a raft floating on an endless sea of goopy gray liquid.
“Welcome to the Perk Point Marketplace,” came an oddly calm and ordinary voice. “I must inform you sir, that we are not purveyors of clothing, raiment or apparel.”
Gryph spun, his wet feet slipping on a wooden floor polished to smoothness by eons of shopper’s feet. He was dripping and naked and he berated himself for his stupidity. His embarrassment took a nosedive into the land of the disturbing as he saw the being that had spoken to him.
The man, and it had the barest of similarities to a man, stood nine feet tall and was rail thin. He was hairless and had no eyes. Skin stretched taught over empty eye sockets. Where a nose should have been, was a blank spot, and below that was a mouth filled with a dual row of needle-sharp teeth.
“I’m not here for clothing,” Gryph said attempting to reassert a modicum of control.
The merchant gave him an assessing up and down look, and despite his lack of eyes Gryph knew he could see him. The creature’s sightless gaze was not admiring him with a ‘you’re hot let’s do it ogle’ but more suggestive of a black-market harvester assessing the value of Gryph’s organs. What little confidence Gryph’s witty retort had earned him disappeared.
“Good, then let us begin, shall we?”
“Um… okay. Well I’m
kinda new here, so how does all this work?” Gryph waved his hand around, encompassing not only the store, but the seething aetherial sea. A cresting wave drew his eyes and for a moment Gryph saw something akin to a mathematical formula roiling in the froth but written in characters he did not understand. It flowed and morphed as the wave crested.
His head began to pound, and the sound of the sea crashed louder not only in his ears, but in his bones. Another wave crested, bringing with it another incomprehensible packet of knowledge. He felt both nothing and everything and his mind started to fray and unravel.
Gryph heard himself scream as his mind stretched like a rubber band about to snap. A distant part of him knew he should pull away, but he did not, could not. Then he felt a slight wetness on his face and the connection to the Sea of Knowledge snapped.