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Malika
The Twin Wights had been an incredibly difficult fight; a serious call. By all ats she should be happy that they had defeated it – and first try too. But Malika had only ohing on her mind.
Health: 291/291 (-38% Life Drain)
I ’t heal it.
By now, Malika was quite used to her Healing Mantra being able to erase wounds like they were nothing more than painful dreams. It was a beautiful magid one she had truly e to rely on. No matter what, as long as she had stamina or mana, she could fix anything. Her biggest worry had been runniy, or taking so much damage all at ohat she simply couldn’t react fast enough to save herself.
But the Death Wight’s magic had summohe Votile Wraiths which had drained her life. It wasn’t every siime they hit, only occasionally, but she could feel the tearing, ripping deep ihat somehow cwed out her life-force leaving her feeling hollowed out and damaged. Thehe viciously sharp and powerful sshes of the bined bone-ah Wight monstrosity – attacks that sucked the life out of her wounded flesh before turning it to bone. Voraciously hungry swords wreathed with the horrific twisted miasma of Life Drain. The drains had uch more frequently from the bck mist-wreathed swords, ented with bone magic to increase sharpness and the ce ter the critical damage.
It still remained half an hour after the battle – a health total that was supposed to be four hundred ay still showed two hundred and y-one. All the way back to the retive safety of their camp she anxiously checked it, again and again, but nothing had ged. She had healed herself, and walked within Mateion aura, but still nothing had ged. She had even wasted a healing potion, but to no avail. Finally, she decided she must broach the subject.
“So, is this life drain … perma?” She felt the sense of dread, as if putting words to her fear had suddenly made it more real.
“ mentioned life drain…” Ali answered. She looked so puzzled, Malika was certain that Ali hadn’t been hit.
“That’s a horrible thought,” Mato said. “Mine is at fifty-three pert.”
“Mine is thirty-six,” added.
“Wait, what are those pertages?” Ali asked, sounding worried.
“The Wight’s Life Drain reduces maximum health by a cumutive one pert every time it hits. I think it’s a critical damage effect,” Malika expined. She couldn’t believe Ali hadn’t gotten hit even once. But perhaps it was reasonable, had been effectively tanking the flyih Wight, and he had taken most of the fury of the Votile Wraiths at the beginning. Malika only took bsts when she had to pull skeletons off him. It was at the end of the fight when she ran through the bdes that she had gotten a substantial number of hits from the swords.
“You were tanking all that stuff at the end with less than half your health?” Ali sounded incredulous as she stared wide-eyed at Mato.
“Still less than half, it hasn’t gone away.”
“It sounds a lot like my domain withdrawal,” Ali said, looking thoughtful. “And that eventually goes away, but I o be in my domain. You don’t have a domain. A debuff then? But we killed the Wights, how is it still there? I – I o think about this.”
“If it’s not gone by m, I think we should ask Vivian Ross about it. She’s much more experiehan we are,” suggested.
As uneasy as she was about the guild’s administrator, the Guildmaster had offered them solid advice when they were starting out and agaihey had failed the first attempt at the Skeletal Wyvere her usual retice to rely on anyone, Malika felt a burst of hope at ’s suggestion.
“Besides, we all reached silver rank, so we o che a upgrade,” finished. “Don’t fet to spend some points on wisdom, everyone.”
What does he mean, silver? Oh… he must have earned a big advance! In her frantic obsession over her health and the drain, she had simply fotten to check her progress iermath of the fight. I wonder what I got?
Sug in a breath, she read her notifications.
Soul Monk has reached level 33 (+5).+50 attribute points.
Soul Strike has reached level 18 (+2).Healing Mantra has reached level 19 (+2).Perfect Body has reached level 16 (+2).Martial Artist has reached level 14 (+2).Soul Armor has reached level 19 (+3).Enlightened Evasion has reached level 18 (+3).Diviep has reached level 16.Sed Wind has reached level 4.
Meditation has reached level 11.Appraise has reached level 11.
Her eyebrows nearly bounced off the cavern roof. Five fug levels! Now we’re talking! And a bataller upgrades. I guess that takes the sting off this Life Drain… some.
She let the visible signs ress sink in, reassurihat even though her health was drained, she was still making substantial advances, growing her abilities and skills. Her role in the fight had mostly been pying catch for skeletons and tanking them until either Mato could pick them up or Ali could bst them. For that, all her defensive skills had grown substantially. It seemed to be a role her css was ideally suited for – while she didn’t have the armor Mato did, she did have a great suite of defensive skills – armor, blog with Martial Artist, evasion, and to round it all out she could heal herself and her movement skill did not have a recharge.
Mindful of ’s suggestion, she spent twelve points on wisdom, boosting her mental fortitude in case of mental attack. She followed that up with thirteen points in endurand fifteen ierity, taking care of her primary attributes. With the remainder, she spent five on vitality, three on perception, and two on intelligehen she moved to the set of notifications.
Css skill slot unlocked.New skills are avaible for Soul Monk.
New skill unlocked.
Css level has reached 30.Dexterity has surpassed 150.Martial Artist skill level has reached 14.Survived being hit by a retaliation attack from a raid-level threat.
RetaliateStamina: Whenever you block, you instantly retaliate with any Melee attack. You gain +20% ce to nd a critical strike. Recharge: 5 seds.Physical, Melee, Dexterity
New skill unlocked.
Css level has reached 30.Survived substantial area damage.Survived a sirike that took more than half your health.
Soul ShieldStamina: Project your soul energy into a shield of for front of you, defleg any ining damage. Damage taken reduces your stamina instead of health.Soul, Defense, Wisdom
New bloodline skill unlocked.
Malika suddenly stopped reading; eyes widening in surprise at the notification.
A bloodline skill?
Bloodline skills were the pride of the Ahn Khen – unique skills passed down through their shared bloodline from the aors themselves. Vilges were known to rate their retive social and cultural value by the number of bloodline skills they had produced. They did not always ma, even for people who ied the bloodline, so she had been taught not to expee. But Bakahn vilge, where she had grown up, would grind to a halt to celebrate whenever anyone unlocked one. Several times, the celebrations she remembered had even attracted visitors from the nearby vilges, too.
Bloodline skills were sidered to be a huge honor, but also responsibility, and the custodians of such skills were expected to hohem to the highest potential, developing their strength and power because it was believed that they might pass the more powerful versions to their desdants growing the strength of the bloodliself. Many of the most powerful of these skills were now lost to the ravages of time and the dee of her people, but of the ohat remained, Malika knew most of them by heart. At least their initial presentation before their owners began to develop them.
Whie did I get? My bloodline hasn’t even awakened yet! This is… wow, this is huge!
The question burned in her heart as she rapidly sed the remaining blue-white glowi h in her mind.
Ior of the Ahn Khen bloodline.Css level has reached 30.Wisdom has surpassed 100.Endurance has surpassed 100.Meditation skill has reached level 10.
Crity supersedes Meditation.
CrityYour proficy with meditation is enhanced by your Ahn Khen bloodline. Your mind has reached a perma state of crity, during which mana and stamina regeion is increased by + [40 + skill x 15] %. Bonus is doubled if you sit and focus.Soul, Bloodline, Wisdom, Endurance
Crity.
There it was – a bloodline skill. The text seemed to burn in her mind as if somehow it was written with more weight and significe. And it was not one she had ever heard of. She read it through again, a little fused.
She didn’t know what she had been expeg – an attack skill, perhaps? Or maybe a potent defensive skill. Or even – dare she hope – one of the iic eye-magibat perception skills that had made her aors so feared in battle.
This is… a non-bat bloodline skill? What’s the point, even?
Malika had never even imagined such a thing ossible. It seemed to be a variation of Meditation, and ohat was only marginally improved at best. She had not expected to be staring at an actual bloodline skill, offered to her, a be so … underwhelmed.
She pulled up her Meditation to pare.
Meditation – level 10Focus: Enter a meditative state during which mana and stamina regeion is increased by +185% [35 + skill x 15]. Movement or using an active skill cels your focus.Wisdom
Crity would increase her regeion by a meager five pert. And she would o level it up to ten before she got even that improvement!
“Did you get anything good for level thirty?” Ali asked, interrupting her fusion with her typical curiosity.
Without ent, Malika simply shared her three new skills. Perhaps she could do better taking the shield skill. With Crity being so weak, she might simply be forced to give up on her bloodliirely. It’s not like I see eye-to-eye with the Aors anyway. This is absolute, slime-sug shit! Retaliate wasn’t a bad skill on its own – but, pared to Mato’s version, it simply seemed all too ckluster. It had been a terrible day, and her worries about Life Drain, and now this inexplicable offer of a worthless bloodline skill…
“Malika! You got a bloodline skill! That’s amazing!” Ali’s suddeement cshed harshly with her morose mood.
“It’s not really that good,” Malika admitted, shaken by how close she had e to yelling at her friend. “I was thinking I may have to take Soul Shield instead.” It seemed Ali had been distracted by the Bloodlirait, like she had when she first read it, and not actually uood the implications.
“What do you mean? It looks amazing! And it’s a bloodline skill, don’t those have the highest potential frowth?”
“It’s only five pert better thaation. I have to give up a css skill slot for it, losiation in the process. It would be something if I had unlocked one of the eye magic skills, or an attack,” Malika expined. It was hat Ali was excited for her, but the skill was simply disappointing. Malika shared her Meditation description so that Ali could pare and uand.
“I don’t think you’re reading this skill right, Malika.”
“What do you mean?” she snapped. Damn, and now I sound like a sullen brat. Reag out, she touched the Fae’s arm. “Sorry.”
“Ah, alright. How I read it is that if you use this skill between bat like Meditation, it’s more than twice as good. Yeion bonus is doubled if you’re sitting and fog. But it’s a passive skill. See that there’s no activation?”
Wait… Malika hurriedly pulled up the description for Crity again. That means… it will work during bat? Suddenly her perception of the skill was flipped on its head.
“It’s an in-bat meditation, that doubles outside of bat?” she asked, as she ed her mind around the implications of the detail Ali had pointed out.
“That’s how I read it,” Ali answered.
“Same,” chipped in.
“Passive means I won’t be able to turn it off?” This insight ged everything about the skill, but she still wasn’t quite certain how to approach it. Especially with the ents about it affeg her state of mind.
Will I still be me? Or a weirdly super-chill me?
“I ’t turn my aura off,” Mato rumbled amiably. “I’ve started notig the weeds grow when I ast them in town.”
snorted, “Weeds? Seriously?”
“I ’t turn off my Are Insight either. Sometimes it causes trouble when there is too much magic going on around me.” Ali offered. “If you’re worried about it ging your mental state, just remember you have enough skill choices that you try it out and ge your mind ter.”
“I don’t know…” Malika hated the idea that something would mess with her mind, take away her trol, or the essence of who she was. It was, she had to admit, part of the reason she had reacted so ively to Mato’s Berserk skill early on.
“You’re worried because it ges your mental state permaly?” Ali asked, intuiting her fear with uny precision.
Chewing on her lip in frustration, she he skill looked amazing now, but not being in trol was a big thing to trust to an unknown magic.
“Do you like how you feel when you meditate?” Ali asked.
I hadn’t thought of it like that, she realized, figuring that Ali expected the skill to behave just like Meditation, but simply be always on. “Yes, I’m still in trol when I meditate.”
“Then you should try it,” Ali said, sounding annoyingly fident and chipper about the whole situation. “You know you repce it with one of the other options if you don’t like the way it makes you feel. Even a skill like Mato’s Primal Rage was repceable – and that truly messed with his mind.”
Mato grumbled, “Don’t remind me.”
“There’s a ce it might make your mind tougher, too,” added, pursing his lips thoughtfully.
“Ok,” Malika said, making her decision. It wasn’t quite as easy as Ali said though – the skill would repce Meditation. With a blend of nervousness aement, she picked her first bloodline skill.
You have lost the general skill Meditation.You have gaihe bloodline css skill Crity.
As soon as the skill choice was firmed, she felt a sensation like a pebble dropping into the pool of her mind.
No, more like my soul.
There was a sound like the spsh of a single drop of water and suddenly the world quietened down. She blinked, and iillness, she was aware of the sound that her eyelids made closing, the sensation of her eyeshes brushing against each other. The focus in her mind was incredible.
I could trate on a single bde of grass for hours if I wao.
“Are you ok?” Ali sounded like she eaking from an infinite distance away, a right beside her at the same time. The resonance of the sounds and shape of the words daogether in her mind. A subtle undercurrent of y bare in Ali’s tone. Details that she would usually have ignored snapped easily into focus.
“I think so,” Malika answered. “It’s pretty… incredible.”
Just like Ali had shared, Malika k would likely take some getting used to such a powerful shift in her experience.
***
Name: MalikaRace: HumanTitles: Street Rat
Active Buffs: Perfect Body, Soul Armor, Enlightened Evasion
Css: Soul Monk – level 33- Martial Artist – level 14- Soul Strike – level 18- Healing Mantra – level 19- Perfect Body – level 16- Soul Armor – level 19- Enlightened Evasion – level 18- Diviep – level 16- Sed Wind – level 4- Crity – level 1- [Locked]
General Skills- Dang – level 4- Calligraphy – level 3- Lockpig – level 5- Appraise – level 11
Aptitudes- Languages: on- Bloodline (Ahn Khen): Dormant- Mana (Affinity): Soul- Relentless (Css): +100% to Stamina Regeioless (Css): You pay for any abilities with stamina instead of mana
Attributes- Vitality: 52- Strength: 15- Endurance: 141 (+55) - Dexterity: 199 (+86) - Perception: 25- Intelligence: 22- Wisdom: 143 (+56)
Equipment- Ring: Bronze Guild Ring – level 10- Hands: s of Accuracy – level 17
Armor: 133Physical Damage Redu: 12.58%Evasion: 126Dodge: 12%+6% to Accuracy rating.
Health: 322/322 (-38% Life Drain)Stamina: 1269/1410 (141 Reserved)Mana: 1001/1430 (429 Reserved)
I really hope the Guildmaster knows how to fix this, thought, studying the status of his css, and the life drain damage left from the Wight battle. He had suggested the Guildmaster might know something as if he was fident, but he worried that it erma. Or that the treatment would require expensive reagents or access to priests that were simply out of their range and means to afford.
“It’s lucky we defeated the Wights on the first try,” he muttered. With this level of life drain, there would have been no way for them to survive a sed attempt.
“You say that again,” Malika chimed in.
He gnced up, surprised that she had heard him, but theurned his attention to the notifications from the fight. In the Lich drama that had ensued after they had killed the Wights aed the dungeon, he had not had the time.
Archer of Light has reached level 32 (+5).+50 attribute points.
Five levels is great! He let out a low whistle of appreciation.
When had pulled aggro on the Death Wight early in the fight, it had been on purpose. Not even the monster’s surprise flying skill had bothered him. He had kept Grappling Shot primed for the duration of the fight – only, Malika had never freed up from tanking skeletons, so it had been unnecessary. It was when the monster summoned wraiths that had beeain he had made an awful mistake.
In hindsight, though, he had actually turned out to be the ideal tank for the monster. her Malika nor Mato could reach it, and he could tank it from outside the death magic aura. He didn’t have a lot of health, but it was far more than Ali – at least before his life drain – and he could dodge the Votile Wraiths.
Votile Wraith. He shuddered, recalling the chilling and horrifyiion of the incorporeal undead wraiths passing through his body to unleash their painful bite. With the drain being a critical damage attribute – something he was nearly certain of – and a pertage redu – it actually worked out much better to spread it out over three people. If Mato or Malika had been able to tank it, they would have an additional thirty-six pert loss, and likely they would have died he end of the fight when damage output substantially increased as the Bone Wight powered up.
I wonder what would have happened if we’d killed them in the opposite order? he mused, before reading on.
Radiant Archery has reached level 21 (+3).Arrows of Brilliance has reached level 24 (+3).Motes of Light has reached level 12.Explorer has reached level 18.Blessing of the Dawn has reached level 16 (+2).Eclipse has reached level 15.Eyes of the Ar has reached level 16 (+2).Righteous Fury has reached level 9 (+2).
Cartography has reached level 8.
His skills were growing nicely – particurly his two archery reted skills. It made sense, Radiant Archery, Arrows of Brilliance, and his use hteous Fury made up the bulk of his damage over the entire course of the fight. Carefully he noted down his skill growth in his notebook. It was a crazy-long fight too… After a moment’s sideration, he added a hat he wao stock up on even more arrows, just in case.
Right, so far so good. Now for the meat of it…
Css skill slot unlocked.New skills are avaible for Archer of Light.
Excellent! This was the one he was most excited for. He had been worried about his css, but his hopes y in how it might grow as he unlocked new skills and advances.
New skill unlocked.
Css level has reached 30.Dexterity has surpassed 150.Survived being stunned in a fight without assistanbsp;
Stunning ShotStamina: Fire a magical arrow, stunning your target for a few seds. Stun creases with skill and critical strike ce.Physical, Ranged, Dexterity
New skill unlocked.
Css level has reached 30.Intelligence has surpassed 100.Leveled three or more light affinity skills above 15.
MirageMana: Create an illusion of yourself otlefield. It will mimic your as. Duration: 30 seds.Light, Illusion, Intelligence
New skill unlocked.
Css level has reached 30.Dexterity has surpassed 150.Freefall more than 50 yards in bat and survive.Tank a flying raid-level threat.
Azrael’s WingsMana: Create ethereal wings made of light magic. You fly. eled.Light, Movement, Dexterity
Holy crap – yes, yes! Yes!
He knew he was being uncharacteristically impulsive, but his decision was instantaneous. This was so wildly beyond anything he could have hoped for, he had chills all over. Lyeneru Silverleaf was legendary for rainih down on her foes from the skies, borne aloft by her wings of fme. Now he would be just like her!
I want to fly!
You have gaihe css skill Azrael’s Wings.
He knew his decision robably heavily biased by his experience falling from the inner ring, and needing to be saved by Ali, but he didn’t care. He stood up and stepped outside the campfire circle, getting a few curious looks. eled a little mana into his new skill.
His mana flowed from a tral dense core of warmth deep behind his breastbone, surging backward into his shoulder bdes aing outward from his back. There was a rush of unfamiliar power and uanding as his magic augmented his body, and a bright light filled the area around him.
“Wow! So cool!” Ali excimed, beaming from ear to ear.
“Woah!” Mato gasped.
Malika breathed, “Oh, that’s really something, .”
He turned, and behind him, spread wide to either side air of glowing wings of pure white light, shimmering, insubstantial, and slowly shifting as if reag to an u breeze. A potent energy of power and readiness flowed out from his back through the magical wings, and he found that he somehow already knew how to move with them.
Responding easily to his will, he stretched his wings wide and thehem softly downward feeling the magic lifting him gently into the air. He circled slowly, trying to get used to the feeling, but it was hard to keep the grin of sheer exhiration from his face.
I’m flying!
“Maybe keep close to the ground until you get used to it,” Malika suggested.
It was a smart idea, he didn’t want to fly into a tree because he cked experience, and his skill was draining his mana. Falling out of the sky because he had run himself dry would not be a smart move. However, none of that mattered when he flew up higher and took off in a sudden high-speed swoop as he pushed his wings to see what he was capable of.
Damn, I only wish Malika could have gotten something this fantastic. Her mixed feelings were more than obvious, and he knew she held her tongue for his sake. I guess, like Mato had, these advances aren’t always what we want.
Still, as he came about in an unsteady curve, ughter bubbled from his lips. This is awesome!
***
Name: AveryRace: Half-Elf
Active Buffs: Blessing of the Dawn
Css: Archer of Light – level 32- Radiant Archery – level 21- Arrows of Brilliance – level 24- Motes of Light – level 12- Explorer – level 18- Blessing of the Dawn – level 16- Eclipse – level 15- Eyes of the Ar – level 16- Righteous Fury – level 9- Azrael's Wings – level 1- [Locked]
General Skills- Bowcraft – level 7- Wood Carving – level 3- Cartography – level 8
Aptitudes- Languages: ana (Affinity): Light- Perceptive (Racial): +11 to Perception- Quick (Racial): +5 to Dexterity- Timing (Css): You have an innate sense of timing
Attributes- Vitality: 37- Strength: 9- Endurance: 24- Dexterity: 208 (+89) - Perception: 148 (+58) - Intelligence: 139 (+54) - Wisdom: 42
Equipment- on: Hunter's Bow – level 10- Body: Leather Armor – level 20- Hands: Bracers of Accuracy – level 10- Feet: Simple Boots of Swiftness – level 15- Ring: Bronze Guild Ring – level 10
Evasion: 240Dodge: 21.12%+5% to Accuracy rating.+5% to Movement speed.
Health: 236/236 (-36% Life Drain)Stamina: 240/240Mana: 336/420 (84 Reserved)
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