The Land: Monsters

by Aleron Kong

  You have slept! Exhausted debuff removed. Concentration returned to normal levels.

  Richter heaved a sigh of relief. The Dehydrated and Ravenous debuffs were still there, along with the gnawing pain and sandpaper throat that accompanied them, but at least he could think straight. That miscast spell had nearly ended him at the beginning of the fight. He couldn’t allow for that kind of mistake again.

  Thankfully the powernap hadn’t been so long that the other two debuffs had worsened. If he became Severely Dehydrated and started to lose 10 HP/second, he’d be out of options. He had to find water and fast. Now that he could think more clearly, he also realized he couldn’t just keep rushing through the darkness.

  He was fortunate to still be alive. Either his Luck was kicking in or the nesting stone slime had been the apex predator of this particular little patch of nothing. If there had been even one other monster in the area, he’d be dead. He didn’t forget for a second that the lich’s curse was hanging over him like an axe. He had to survive until it disappeared in a week. That meant being smarter, and better, than he’d been so far. Before he took another step into the dark, he needed to maximize his chances.

  That meant allocating his points and coming up with a game plan. He pulled up the one notification he’d earned in the fight with the slime.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 5 in Chaos Magic. New spells are now available.

  That was good news. Advancing his Chaos Magic was definitely slower than the progression of his Basic Elements, or even his Deeper Magic. He only knew one Chaos spell so far, but hopefully that would change soon.

  He had fifteen Attribute Points to distribute. The question was where? The +20 to his Luck along with the tier 2 bonus had catapulted the stat. It was heavily augmented by the one-week bonus of having the kindir as vassals, but even at the end of that week he would still get +5. There was a strong argument to invest more points into the attribute in light of the 20% modifier. He would in the future, but for now it was high enough.

  He looked down at his body. His muscles were huge now. Like Terminator huge. Truth be told, he was having a little buyer’s remorse. More Strength was definitely not what he needed.

  Honestly, when he moved around now, he felt… stiff. All the muscle felt like he was out of balance in some way. It might just be that he was still adjusting to his new physique. It also might be because he’d never added thirty points all at once to what he considered a “physical” attribute before.

  Str, Agi, Dex, Con and End all resulted in an immediate and noticeable change to his physical body when they were increased. Intelligence, Wisdom, and Luck didn’t. Charisma definitely had a physical effect as well, but it seemed as much about how people perceived you as getting flawless skin or perky nipples… not that that was his thing.

  The point was, even though he wasn’t exactly slower after putting so much into Strength, he felt… off. He hadn’t noticed at first, but after ascending to a higher tier his awareness of his own body had increased. It wasn’t something he could put his finger on, but he knew he was right. It made him wonder if there was something he could do about that.

  His eyes went to his Agility and Dexterity. They were his lowest stats. He’d ignored both for many levels, but now he reexamined their descriptions.

  Agility – Determines movement speed. Each point increases walking speed by 0.1 mph. Determines dodge. Improves attack with melee weapons

  Dexterity – Determines attack speed. Improves damage with ranged weapons. Improves Dodge. Improves Attack with ranged weapons

  Those were just the surface descriptions. Each attribute had a lot more to it. Dexterity, for instance, could impact any number of skills. The stat directly increased the damage he could inflict with a bow. It helped some people more and others less, but his Limitless ability made sure he always got the maximum modifier. Every point increased his archery damage by 2%. Likewise, Agility didn’t just let him move faster, it greatly improved his balance. Either could be helpful.

  He also couldn’t ignore the other options. A boosted Constitution would give him more health. That was always good. On the other hand, he still had two rings that increased it by +154 HP. Having almost a thousand health made him resilient, to say the least.

  Increasing his Endurance would increase his stamina. He’d definitely ignored the attribute for far too long in the past. If there was one thing he’d learned since waking up underground, running out of stamina was deadly and dangerous. He needed to increase that as well.

  Richter blew out his breath. He didn’t have time to debate this in his head over and over. He needed to get moving again soon. His debuffs were a ticking time bomb, and he’d already lost hours while he was passed out. Richter thought about it a bit more, then made his choices.

  Two points went into Endurance and three into Constitution. Then he poured five into both Agility and Dexterity. As soon as he did, he felt his muscles loosen. His center of balance grew more firm, and he felt lighter on his feet. There was no doubt about it. He felt more at ease in his body. He’d been hoping that that would be the case. Richter hadn’t had much to go on, but on Earth, stretching was always supposed to balance weightlifting. That was why he’d thought putting points in Agility and Dexterity might solve the “off” feeling.

  What Richter had intuitively picked up on was a little known fact about attributes. It wouldn’t impact most people, but he’d caused an imbalance in his body when he’d upped his Strength so massively. His musculature and raw power had swelled, but his overall physical capabilities had become less efficient.

  Though he didn’t know it, Richter had stumbled upon one of the lesser known differences between the various races of The Land. While a giant or ogre could have their Strength be tens of times higher than their other “body” attributes, other races had a maximum ratio that, once exceeded, would have both immediate and long-term repercussions. The chaos lord’s Luck was definitely in play as well, having kept him from turning himself into a cripple.

  He’d felt, and looked like, a roided-out weightlifter. He might have been able to pick up a truck, but he couldn’t scratch his own back. Now that his increased attributes had adjusted his body he felt much more at ease. Even his tendons loosened, giving him greater range of motion and better balance. He immediately felt more limber, and his form started to resemble a barbarian warrior more than a muscle-bound idiot.

  He brought up his status sheet, limiting it to his basic info, attributes and stats.

  Name: Richter

  Age: 24

  Level: 45, 3%

  Race: Human (Chaos Lord)

  Tier: 2

  Languages: Sapient Mortals

  Reputation: Lvl 5 “You are a man worth following.”

  Profession: Enchanter

  Specialty: Essence

  Alignment: Chaotic (2) Neutral

  STATS

  Health: 944

  Mana: 828

  Regen/min: 36

  Stamina: 480

  Regen/min: 47.4

  Bloodline: 15/72

  Regen/hour: 7.4

  ATTRIBUTES

  Strength: 67

  (base: 65 w. Dragonkin + Goblinhold: 2)

  Agility: 42

  Dexterity: 33

  Constitution: 79

  (base: 69 + mark: 14%)

  Endurance: 48

  Intelligence: 78

  (base: 71 + Quickening: 10%)

  Wisdom: 50

  Charisma: 41

  (base: 35 + Honorable: 4 + Impassioned: 5%)

  Luck: 65

  (base: 34 + Vassal: 20 + Tier 2: 20%)

  Richter twisted at the waist and swung his arms. There was definitely a markedly improved ease of motion. His stamina and health had increased as well, making him feel, at least a bit, refreshed and revitalized. The health he was missing didn’t refill, but his total swelled. All in all, he felt better. Not good, but definitely less like crap. He’d take it.

  The next thing
he did was look at his Chaos Points. More specifically, the new table he had gained with his new status as a chaos lord. At least, he tried to.

  Chaos Lord upgrades are locked until at least 1 chaotic vassal is obtained!

  So much for that, he thought, though it made his choice even easier. Instead of thinking about what upgrades he might purchase, he could just dive back into the Sea of Chaos. With his new Luck, he just had to get something good. He could now dive deeper than ever before due to his tier upgrade. Despite his battered and depleted body, Richter even managed a smile of anticipation. The gamer in him wasn’t dead. It was time to get some loot!

  You have accessed the Sea of Chaos. The Sea contains everything that was, is, or could be. Choose wisely, for you may choose the Catalyst for your own death and salvation.

  You may reach the first stratum at a cost of 1 Chaos Point.

  You may reach the second stratum at a cost of 3 Chaos Points.

  You may reach the third stratum at a cost of 5 Chaos Points.

  You may reach the fourth stratum at a cost of 7 Chaos Points.

  You may reach the fifth stratum at a cost of 9 Chaos Points.

  Which level do you wish to access?

  There really wasn’t a question. He eagerly chose the deepest stratum. The cost was nearly as many Chaos Points as he used to earn from leveling up, but now he had money to burn. Besides, despite the high cost, each stratum offered the potential for much greater rewards. The first stratum had provided second rank, or uncommon, items. The third stratum had provided scarce, fourth rank, items. He’d even purchased a sixth-ranked epic potion from the fourth stratum. If his luck held, the fifth might give him a mythic item. Possibly even something legendary!

  His number of Chaos Points updated and new offerings were presented.

  Total Chaos Points: 139

  5th STRATUM OFFERINGS

  Offering

  Chaotic Cost

  Traits

  Monocle of the Master Craftsman Niclewis

  123 points

  This eye piece was used by the elvish master Niclewis. Originally a simple magnifier, this device is forged of the super-dense material, glass. Over a lifetime, spells and alchemical treatments were applied to this monocle. This item allowed Niclewis to see the potential of the materials he worked upon, massively improving the success rate of his crafted products and allowing him to make new Templates with a much higher degree of accuracy than other masters.

  It was this very fame that led to his assassination by a jealous rival. With his dying breath, Niclewis threw his priceless possession over the railing of a ship and watched it sink into the depths of the Pestilent Sea. These events occurred prior to the 5th Cataclysm.

  Offering Class: Epic

  Ancestral Ring of the Hardings

  122 points

  The Harding family were a series of smiths that served the Green Tear Dynasty prior to the 4th Cataclysm. The blood of titans intermixed with the blood of the fey folk to form their short-lived race, the Elowyn. Though they are long extinct in The Land, some of their weapons and armor survive even eons later. The Hardings were among the greatest families of the lost Elowies.

  This ancestral ring was passed down through generations of their family, absorbing the blood, sweat and life energy of these titan descendants. So much power was passed through this item that it awakened a life of its own, some even say a consciousness. Any worthy smith wearing this ring will be able to mold almost any metal and will enjoy a drastic increase in their chances to make higher quality weapons and armor.

  Offering Class: Epic

  Kajbaf’s Sewing Needle

  124 points

  The master Tailor Kajbaf’s name was spoken of with reverence for over a millennium thanks to his masterful hand. His garments were worn by emperors and archmagi alike, and offered unique bonuses and protections. On his deathbed, he admitted that the secret of his power was the mithril needle he had found as a child in a long-abandoned temple.

  He held it as he died. With his last breath, it vanished. Such was his fame that no less than one thousand people gathered to be with him during his passing, but none saw what became of his famed sewing needle. One witness swore, however, that she heard a sweet but vindictive voice whisper, “The price shall now be paid.”

  Offering Class: Mythic

  Know This! No purchase is required. This window may be dismissed at any time, but it will last no longer than 7 minutes, and sometimes less. The purchase price of accessing this level cannot be retrieved. Each time a stratum of the Sea of Chaos is accessed, the offerings are randomized and may never come again.

  This was the first time he’d accessed the Sea of Chaos since ascending. The first thing he noticed was that there were colors tinting the swirling grey energies of the stratum offerings. The first two were pinkish to show they were epic. The last was the yellow of a mythic offering, a full rank higher. His increased understanding of Chaos was already paying off. The descriptions of each offering were also much more expansive. Richter read over the options closely and was honestly a bit let down.

  He’d finally reached the fifth stratum, and this was what he got? He’d been hoping for a weapon like Excalibur or a goddamn Gundam! What he got instead was a list of objects that looked like they helped various craftsmen. He needed things that would keep him alive right now!

  The rarest was the sewing needle but, unless he was missing something, it was definitely cursed. It was probably owned by a demon that would steal a person’s soul when they died. He’d had quite enough of that. Even if it wasn’t demon-related, it sounded like there was a high price to pay for using it. That, coupled with the fact that a sewing needle wasn’t of much use underground, surrounded by monsters, made it easy for Richter to rule it out.

  The Ring of the Hardings sounded like something Krom would trade his fourth-through-sixth girlfriends for. The dwarf had explained once that each rank in Smithing allowed someone to make higher quality weapons and armor. A novice smith had a 99% chance of creating items in the four lowest quality ranks: poor, average, above average and well-crafted.

  When Krom had initially explained it, he’d drawn a standard deviation curve. The middle two quality ranks both had a 34% chance of being created and the outer two had a chance of 13.5%. When Richter had heard that, he’d thought it was great news. That meant as a journeyman-ranked smith Krom should have had a 13.5% chance to make exquisite weapons. Even better, when reaching the adept rank, the dwarf would have the same likelihood to make a masterwork, right? Wrong. Wrong!

  The problem with what the dwarf had taught him was that it was way too general. It was like teaching someone the concept of “round peg in a round hole” and expecting them to be good at sex. That only worked on 70, 80% of women, tops. For the rest, you needed some nuance.

  Richter had been thoroughly annoyed with his smith when he found out that the deviation curve was only equally balanced for unranked smiths. Even novices did not have a 13.5% chance to make the highest quality for their rank, at least not at the lower-skill levels for their rank. A novice-ranked smith actually had a fair likelihood of making weapons of four different qualities: trash, poor, average, and above average, with a small chance to create something well-crafted.

  When he’d expressed his irritation over the bad info to the mountain dwarf, Krom had just guffawed and said, “Real men only need ta count one cock, two tits and three sets of lips!” Then he’d proceeded to slap Richter on the back hard enough to make the mist lord stumble, and had chugged several ales in under a minute. It wasn’t until the next morning that Krom was coherent enough to tell him that as a journeyman, the dwarf only had a roughly 1-3% chance of making the highest quality items for his rank, exquisite.

  Once Richter had understood that, it really cleared up just how powerful one of the bonuses of the Forge of Heavens was. There was a 10% chance of a forged item being upgraded by one quality rank. It was how Krom had managed the near-miracle of creating a masterwork pi
ece of armor even though he was only a journeyman. Richter winced as he remembered that that particular piece of armor was currently in tiny bits. He’d tell Krom it had saved his life, but the salt-and-pepper dwarf had an almost sexual connection with the items he created.

  The convo would definitely be easier if Richter had a present like the Ring of Hardings to give his village Smith. If he was understanding the description correctly, the ring would increase the likelihood that smiths would create higher quality weapons and armor while they were forging. Coupled with the bonus from the Forge of Heavens, the quality of the Mist Village’s armory could skyrocket. Which would be great, because higher quality weapons not only increased durability, they increased the damage they could inflict, and, most importantly for Richter, drastically increased the strength of the enchantments they could hold.

  The problem was, while the ring would be priceless if he were back in the village, a forging ring was as useful as three nuts on a taco while he was trapped underground. Even if he did plan for the future, he might die down here. If and when he was reborn, there was no guarantee that any of these items would be soul bound to him.

  If it wasn’t, then this ring that he had spent an insane amount of Chaos Points to buy might be left underground, lost again for centuries. He had the capability to soul bind objects to him, but he still needed powdered crystal. His much-vaunted Enchanter Profession was completely impotent without it.

  The Harding ring was a no, which only left the first option, the Monocle of the Master Craftsman Niclewis. If he didn’t pick anything, he could just let the time elapse, but that meant he’d wasted nine Chaos Points. Nine CPs was enough to access and make a purchase from the first stratum, so it wasn’t a small sacrifice.

  He read the window again. The eyepiece was a boon to craftsmen, the same way the Harding ring helped smiths and the needle helped weavers. Richter wished he’d spent more time learning about the skill. He’d invested almost all of his time into forging and enchanting, with a bit of time left over for alchemy. On the upside, he’d been able to absorb a little-known skill book for the Crafting subskill, Unconventional Materials.