SE: 2,000/2,000
Description: Silas is the Divine Call of Victor Goodspeed. Silas is a seedling of the Tree of Life and carries with him the spark of life. Silas has chosen to serve Victor Goodspeed for @&$%!^*#&@.
Silas looked just as interesting as Era and Asher but there was an oddity to his description. There was a portion that was hidden behind unintelligible writing. Trying to ignore it, I called Silas back. I was mesmerized once again as he grew into being and greeted me as he bowed. “Thank you for your consideration. Shall we see what your options are?”
“Please,” I said, tapping on the ‘select unique proficiency’ the ink bled away and was replaced with three options.
Available Support Proficiencies:
Silas’ Energetic Aura: Passively increase energy regeneration by 50%
Silas’ Binding Roots: Actively bind an additional target with divine roots.
Silas’ Oneness: Passively increase perception by 25%.
I wanted them all. A true crowd control would have been very helpful on multiple floors and from the sound of it, that was his basic ability. Crowd control was a boon in any game. It allowed a player to hold an enemy in place, not necessarily useful fighting a single target, but extremely useful when fighting multiple targets. It allowed you to control the flow of the fight. Being able to crowd control two targets would have been great. That said, the other two were much more significant, or at least the energy regeneration was. As the last boss fight proved, I was not very good with managing my EP. A solid boost to my EP regeneration would be a step in the right direction. However, before I selected anything, I ask Silas for his opinion.
“Do you have a preference?” I asked.
Silas’ voice was gentle and calming, “My binding roots will be very helpful to you. However, I think you and I both know that you need the other two more at this time, so please proceed.”
Silas was a breath of fresh air compared to both Asher and Era. He was calm, collected, and humble. He was the guide I kind of wished I’d had from the start. I tapped on the first line activating his energetic aura, which immediately updated offering an improved version. As tempting as that was, I selected Silas’ oneness, finishing the process.
“Thank you, Silas,” I said gratefully. “Okay, next up, leveling Raphael’s blessing.”
“Are you sure you want to spend all those free proficiency levels on that?” Asher asked. It didn’t look like he thought it was a bad idea.
I smiled. “I’m sure.” I turned to the page and tapped on the (+107 Free) and it ticked down by one and the level increased by one. I sighed. I tapped eight-nine more times, bringing the proficiency up to its maximum level. However, it didn’t level up exactly the way I thought it would.
Raphael's Blessing of Regeneration
Level: 100
SE Cost: 400 + 40 per minute
Healing: +2.50% HP per second
Receive Raphael's Blessing and heal from any wounds, recover from any injury, and be cleansed of any ailment.
It still cost me my entire SE pool to use the proficiency. But the regeneration stopped increasing at level fifty, topping at 2.50%, which was still phenomenal. After that, the SE per minute cost started dropping by 1% with each level. Suddenly, the ability only required half of my SE regeneration. It meant I could get soul proficiencies I could use in battle again. It meant I had more options than I had before.
“That proficiency is so broken,” Asher grumbled.
I expected the nod of agreement coming from Era, but even Silas nodded and hummed his agreement. That told me just how broken that proficiency really was.
“Oh, come on, guys. It’s not that broken. It’s just a little . . . overpowered,” I protested, even though I knew my argument held no truth. Sometimes, when an ability was too powerful in games, people called it broken, those were usually the people on the receiving end of the ability. To the owner of the ability, it was just smart play to use what you’ve got.
After that, I went on an experience point spending spree. I took my shield proficiency to the beginner level cap, making it ready to upgrade. Then I spread points around just about everywhere. The only thing I didn’t upgrade, much to Era’s annoyance, were my calls. I had enough to bring them all up to level thirty-five but refrained. I planned to upgrade them during the next floor, after I knew what I needed. After all, the next floor was Envy. It was the seventh deadly sin, and more importantly, it was to be my last floor.
Satisfied, I checked over my status one more time.
Name: Victor Goodspeed
Highest Floor Cleared: 6
Experience Earned: 0
Hierarchy: 4th
Rank: 12th
Title: Sinner
HP: 800/800
EP: 400/400
SE: 400/400
Body
Experience to Next Point: 4,558,101
Unused Points: 0
Strength:
40
Reflex:
40
Constitution:
80
Recovery:
40
Soul
Experience to Next Point: 79,659,124
Unused Points: 0
Faith:
50
Spirituality:
40
Righteousness:
80
Fortune:
40
Applied Statistics
Health Regeneration:
80
Energy Regeneration:
60
Spirit Regeneration:
80
Attack Power:
80
Divine Power:
100
Speed:
20
Accuracy:
54.00%
Perception:
25
Block:
34.00%
Block Absorption:
40
Critical Strike Chance:
2.00%
Demonic Resistance:
80
Luck:
0.40%
Nodding to myself in satisfaction. I put the scroll away, filled the vault with the things I didn’t plan to sell and headed out into town. I needed to find one more proficiency, then it was off to the bar to celebrate. I felt like I had earned it, in spite of Ramy’s seeming disappointment.
Chapter 39 – Punishment & Illusion
I entered my favorite watering hole feeling pretty darn good about myself. My trip to the shops yielded a slightly higher tier charge proficiency called locomotion. Basically, I started running and activated the proficiency. I would then rapidly increase speed, steaming through anything caught in front of me. It was an excellent proficiency that made me wish I’d saved some experience for it. But that would solve itself the next time I went into Purgatory.
The bar was as cheerful as usual, noisy with boisterous people celebrating success and commiserating failure. I was of the former persuasion. I bought myself the best scotch they had. It was the only scotch they carried but it was still the best I could buy. Thankfully, Theo, Rebecca and Theodore were already there, though they looked rather despondent.
“Greetings friends,” I said happily, taking the open seat next to Rebecca.
“Hello friend,” Theo greeted me, giving me a small smile.
“Yo,” Theodore greeted me, looking slightly lost before he focused back on me. “Hey, did you know?”
“Know what?” I asked, trying to figure out why everyone was so solemn. Everyone was there. No one had moved on to heaven, so why were they all so down?
“About the stat cap?” Theodore asked.
Registering what he said, my glass froze halfway to my mouth. “Stat cap? What stat cap?”
Theo looked at me in surprise, “You didn’t know? I thought your guide would have told you.”
I looked to my trio of small helpers, only Silas was able to shrug while the other two twisted left and right. His deep soft voice reverberated, �
�Some knowledge is forbidden. Some is simply taken from us to ensure you are suitably challenged.”
Setting my drink down I looked to Theo, feeling panic crawl through me. “What stat cap?”
“Two hundred and fifty points for Body and two hundred and fifty points for Soul,” Theo answered.
I sighed in relief. “That’s not so bad. It should take a long time to earn two hundred and fifty points for each.”
“No, two hundred and fifty total points. That’s two hundred and fifty points split between all your stats,” Theo clarified.
I gaped like a fish out of water. I didn’t know what to say to that. I wanted to pull out my scroll to check my numbers. I knew I wasn’t at two hundred and fifty, but I must be getting close. Then something else occurred to me. “The rewards. They aren’t rewards, are they?”
“No,” Theo answered with a shake of his head. “Every time you are rewarded with stat points, you’re truthfully being punished. Every point you are rewarded reduces the number of proficiencies you can gain.”
“So, the seventy points I was just rewarded for finishing a floor in a day, that was . . . I was being punished. I lost out on two soul proficiencies and three body proficiencies . . . for doing well. How does that make any sense?” I demanded. My good mood was long forgotten.
“Patience is a virtue,” Rebecca answered meekly.
Ramy’s disappointment suddenly made a lot more sense and that just made me even angrier. He could have warned me. He could have told me. Why hadn’t he said anything? I must have looked quite the fool. I cursed angrily.
Rebecca had more to say. “I just . . . I miscounted the days. One more day. Just one more day and I would have been outside the six-month threshold. It’s not fair. One day and one single stat point and now I can’t get my last body proficiency.” She was sobbing by the time she finished.
I felt horrible for her. All that work and she was screwed by a single day.
Theo looked sadly at Rebecca but there was nothing he could say. “The few decent folk around here share the knowledge of the stat cap. You should purposely try not to clear a floor in less than six months until you’ve reached the cap. That’s the only way to maximize your proficiency slots.”
How many proficiency slots had I lost out on because I didn’t know that? How badly did I harm myself due to ignorance? I wanted to be angry with my guides. They should have been able to tell me. I wanted to be angry with Ramy. But reflecting on our talks, I should have read more into his body language. And now, a statement like ‘patience is a virtue’ is supposed to answer everything. I wanted to be angry and blame everyone, but the only person to blame was myself.
I should have seen it sooner. What good was raising my stats at the end of a floor if the floor based its difficulty on the stats I first entered with. Wouldn’t that mean those stat points didn’t help me in any way?
The rewards were an illusion, something I thought I had earned for doing so well. In truth, they were a punishment for being impatient. I took a few long pulls from my scotch, emptying the glass. I wanted to get another, but I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate anymore. “I’m getting a refill, anyone else want one?”
Theo shook his head. It was the first time I noticed the Viking was in the bar without a drink . . . but no, that wasn’t right. There was one other time, it was right after Gunther ascended. “It’s not good to drink the devil’s brew when one is not in the right frame of mind.”
Why did he feel the need to put it that way? I looked again at my empty glass and slumped in my seat, intent on sitting there and no longer interested in drowning my sorrows.
We sat together in silence until eventually, Rebecca stood up and left in silence.
“Poor girl,” Theo said. “She’d saved up for that proficiency for a long time. Kept watching for it to hit the market. And just like that, a single point rewarded,” he practically spat the word, “and all her patience has gone to waste.”
“What was the proficiency?” Theodore asked.
“Bow fighting. Basically, it’s a way to use your bow as a melee weapon,” Theo answered.
“Have you ever heard of a potion that can strengthen the Body?” I asked, thinking of the Soul strengthening potion. There should be something like that for the Body, right?
“Plenty of potions to make you stronger,” Theo answered. “They cost a bit depending on the potency, but you can buy one at the apothecary.”
It took me a second to understand what Theo was saying, and when I did, I shook my head. “No, I mean Body, capital B. Like the Soul strengthening potion.”
I got blank looks from the pair. “Uh, you know, the potion you can get that can be poured on your Scroll of Body and Soul that allows you to add an extra Soul proficiency?”
More blank confused looks. “You’ve never gotten one?”
The pair both shook their heads, though Theodore was now staring at me with hungry eyes. He quickly demanded, “There is such a thing?”
I nodded.
“Where did you get it?” Theodore asked.
“From Purgatory,” I answered, frowning. “It must be a rare thing.”
“If there is such a thing, I’ve never heard of it,” Theo said, “And I’ve been here longer than most.”
After hearing that, I guessed I was just lucky. I couldn’t help myself and suggested, “Still, maybe we can keep an eye out for something like that for her?”
“If I find something like that, I’m probably going to use it,” Theodore said, “Sorry, but I also need to get stronger if I want to get out of here.”
Theo even looked guilty. “Sorry lad, but in this place, we’re all out for ourselves. For all I know, I might be just that one proficiency away from ascending.”
That honestly disappointed me. Rebecca was supposed to be their . . . our friend. But was I really so different? Now that I knew I was only going to be able to get a few more proficiencies, wouldn’t I want to put myself first? Then again, wasn’t putting myself first how I ended up here to begin with?
“I think I’m done for tonight,” I said. I didn’t want to stay there any longer. I wanted to believe that we could still be selfless. That we could be better people. Wasn’t that the whole point of Purgatory? Weren’t we, wasn’t I, trying to become better?
Michael’s words echoed through my brain just then. ‘You are not sent to Purgatory just to fight the demons.’ That was what he said. What did that mean?
Stepping outside, I was surprised by the cold bite in the night air. Somehow, I’d never noticed the cold before. I looked up at the night sky and stared at the tower. There were large bonfires all around the tower’s base, casting light and shadow on the building. Despite the mystique and beauty of the construction, it was a horrible place. I hated it so much more now.
I should have gone back to my room. After struggling so hard on the last floor, I should have gotten some rest. And yet, my feet carried me inside the tower anyway.
The safe room looked much like the very first safe room I ever faced. There was a simple wooden door waiting to be opened.
“Are you certain this is wise?” Silas asked.
Asher quickly agreed, “I don’t think you should be doing this tonight. You’re not in the right frame of mind.”
“I’m sure,” I said, calling on my armor, shield, and weapon before finally applying Raphael’s blessing. It was the first time I’d seen my new armor. The full set of plate mail armor was made of a white metal. It was a little tarnished and didn’t shine brightly or emit some kind of holy aura, at least, not that I could feel. It really just looked like armor. It was significantly heavier than the chain mail armor, but I would get used to it. I seemed to be able to still move well enough.
Not waiting any longer, I opened the door and my surroundings vanished. I was somewhere else, surrounded by fog. It felt familiar, becoming more so as the fog cleared. I was standing in a line of people. There were so many people. I didn’t understand at first then I saw the
destination. Far off in the distance I could see it. Almost as if it were on a hill, a gate of gold stood, glowing softly. Was this it? Was I going on to heaven now?
I smiled excitedly. It was over. I had finished Purgatory. I had done it. Now, I just needed to wait my turn . . . but there were thousands of people in line ahead of me. Surely it would have been okay if I moved ahead, wouldn’t it? Hadn’t I fought through Purgatory for exactly this reason? I quickly shook that thought away. After the most recent discussion with my friends, I knew patience mattered. Patience was a virtue, and my turn would come . . . eventually.
So, I waited . . . and waited . . . then waited some more. In what must have been hours, I had barely moved ten feet if that. Meanwhile, I continually watched the gate. Every time some passed through it there was a small flash of light. With a little patience, that would soon be me.
Patience was never my strong suit. Never my best quality. In life, patience would often result in losses, generally financial losses. No, I needed to strike while the iron was hot. That was when a stray thought struck me. What if I got up there and they said I wasn’t good enough? Wouldn’t it be better to hurry ahead and find out now?
No. No, I shook my head, then repeated the same word in my head, ‘Patience, be patient, Victor. Be patient.’
Somehow, days passed with me repeating that mantra in my head. Meanwhile, it was maddening to watch all of those people ahead of me passing through the golden gates. Why did they get to heaven before me? Why wasn’t that me already? Once again, I squashed that thought with one word, ‘patience’.
Purgatory: The Devil's Game Page 42
