Chapter 100 (1/2)
Randidly breathed in, and then breathed out. He was already dreading tomorrow, not for the part where he would beat the squads as much as he could, urging them towards strength. In fact, that part would likely be slightly cathartic. It would give outlet for the burning aggression that had been lit earlier during the fighting, and still burning quite hot. After all, he had not been pleased to come back to the village to find that Lyra was… well, whatever it was that had happened to her. Punishing the village in a small way seemed like a forgivable outlet.
Truly, he had obtained a taste for violence.
No, it was for the words he would have to say after that. Randidly still didn’t want to be involved in any of the daily activity of Donnyton, but he did want to spur them on towards growth. To that end he had created the schedules with Daniel and Regina, given the new potion methods to Mrs. Hamilton, and used his remaining two blessings.
The choices were relatively easy. He needed people who would protect and strengthen Donnyton, individuals who were active, and people without classes. That Regina wouldn’t obtain a blessing was unfortunate, but the power that Randidly felt from both Annie’s and Mrs. Hamilton’s classes seemed very promising. Best of all, the 4 blessings had been used on different types of individuals, so their classes had different uses.
Alana for strength and power. Sam for support and crafting. Mrs. Hamilton for managing things behind the scenes. Annie for threat elimination.
But Randidly knew that these actions were only a small part of what he needed to do for the village. So after crushing the squad’s concept of strength, Randidly would then speak to them, hopefully in a motivating manner. This was what he was dreading the most.
The sun peaked over the horizon, and Randidly raised his hand to shade his eyes. It had been a long night. But it looked like it was finally over.
It would probably take the group from Franksburg another day or two to arrive, slowed as they were by the large number of people traveling with them, and the necessity of sticking to the roads on their journey. After they arrived, Randidly wanted to speak with Alana and Raina, and then he believed he would take his leave of Donnyton for a while, finding a deserted area to train in.
At least, he thought he would do so, depending on what happened with Lyra….
They had placed her dead body in a bed, and put her goop on the bedside table. But they were complete unsure what to expect from her. No one could tell when she would… recover, but there had been no changes in the goop over the last several hours.
Sighing, Randidly rubbed the bridge of his nose, a spark of irritation flashing across. This was exactly why he wanted someone else to be in charge….
‘Only one thing at a time.’ Randidly reminded himself, taking a deep breath. Then he examined a particularly notification that he had received earlier in the night.
Congratulations! You have fully absorbed the blessing from the Patron of Ash. The Soul-Skill “Blessing of the Patron of Ash Lvl 1” is available to you. You may either retain your current and forget this new soul skill, retain the new and forget the old, or attempt to combine the two. All previously obtained benefits will be retained.
Warning, if the two Soul-skills are combined, an inferior skill may be obtained, based upon compatibility. This action cannot be undone.
There was no real choice here. Always forward, holding tightly to the spear as best he could. Randidly chose to combine the skills.
Soul-skills combining…. Warning, compatibility is at 41%. Do you still wish to proceed?
That spark of irritation had erupted, filling Randidly with hot flames of rage. His grin wide, Randidly clicked yes, daring the system to try and screw him over. He felt the two Soul Skills, almost could see them, the warm power of the blessing from Ash, the cool rot and deadly accuracy of Spear of Rot Mastery.
They began to circle each other in his chest, coming closer. As they approached, slowly spinning around each other, Randidly heart began to beat more quickly, a strange excitement filling his body. And within him, another beating emerged, a pulsing of that strange icy-hot energy. As they neared, the heat of the the blessing burned away the spore-y remnants of the rot, and the rot settled neatly into the area left cleansed by the heat.
Faster and faster they swirled, and as they neared each other, the energies turned increasingly unstable, rushing towards an explosive collision.
Instinctively, Randidly sensed that this couldn’t happen.
So he pressed, using all his will to keep them apart. The approach stabilized somewhat, but the two Soul Skills rotated faster and faster, perversely creating greater and greater pressure for them to meet.
Gritting his teeth, Randidly refused. Not like this.
This….
Randidly’s eyes burned emerald in the dark.
This would not end in an inferior product….!
Randidly was very aware of how much of his strength he owed to his Soul Skill. It had given him several unique skills, and gave him extra benefits from leveling skills. With it, he had risen farther and faster than even a Classer hoped to match.
And that would only grow more pronounced if he succeeded here, Randidly knew. Although Randidly didn’t know how to accomplish what he wanted, he knew that the system responded to want and need. And every ounce of him craved this. Every inch of him needed that strength, so he could live, so he could protect the people who relied on him. So he could find the people from his past and lay to rest any lingering ghosts. The pulsing in his chest grew more insistent.
If you crave something, take it.
For a brief second, Randidly’s green eyes flickered, and then burned a sickly violet. A cold, numbing kernel, simultaneously the concentrated core of heat from his rage, flowed out of him, moving to settle between the two swirling energies. It gathered itself into a small ball, creating an oppressive pressure of its own, its energies pressing outward and counteracting the strange gravity that was drawing the two soul skills together.
They orbit stabilized, slowing slightly, but still swirling around each other in an endless cycle: Rot, followed by a cleansing fire, followed by creeping rot.
Panting, Randidly fell to his knees.
Congratulations! You have obtained the Soul Skill “Cycle of Rot and Ash Lvl 1”. All previous benefits have been retained.
There were no skills or other bonuses associated with this Soul Skill, apparently, which made Randidly hesitate. But in the end, he would soon find out whether he succeeded or failed, so for now, he simply shrugged. Then he looked at his skill level notifications.
Spear Mastery had increased by 2, Phantom Thrust and Spear Phantom’s Footwork by 3, Eyes of the Spear Phantom and Phantom Half-Step by 1, Heavy Blow by 1, Dodge by 2, Fighting Proficiency by 3, Block by 1, Haste by 3, Sweep and Empower by 2, Calculated Blow by 1, Edge of Decay by 3, Ghastly Slash by 5, Pierce the Skies, Shatter the Earth and The Spear Advances, Ash Trails by 1 each, Agony by 3, Physical Fitness by 1, Pain Resistance by 3, Grace by 3, and Bacterial Regeneration by 2.
All together, including leftover from previously, exactly 50 PP. Randidly chuckled to himself. Not enough to finish off the Phantom Thrust path, but more than enough to see the usefulness of this Soul Skill.
Randidly put the first 5 PP into Phantom Thrust path, earning him +1 Agility from the path. He obtained nothing from The Soul Skill. Frowning, Randidly put 5 more PP into it, earning +1 Strength. But this time, Randidly also received a bonus from the Soul-Skill, Cycle of Rot and Ash: +15 health and +2 Vit.
Randidly made a pleased noise. It took 10 instead of 5, but the benefits were still decent. Randidly dumped the rest of his PP into the Path, seeing what he obtained. The remaining 40 earned him +4 Agi and +4 strength, but also results from the Soul Skill that made his eyes widen.
Each took 10, but each was slightly different, but each giving powerful gains. Randidly wasn’t sure if the rotation continued, but even this much was quite a bit. First was the health and Vit, and then came +3 Control and +2 distributable stats. Then third was +15 Stamina and +1 Agi and Strength, then +3 Focus and +2 distributable. Finally, the fifth rotation was +15 mana and +1 to all types of regeneration.
The distributable stats Randidly put into Resistance, and then he looked at his status.
Randidly Ghosthound
Class: ---
Level: N/A
Health(/R per hour): 556/548 [+8] (234 [+12])
Mana(/R per hour): 12/874 (91.75)
Stam(/R per min): 601/678 (85 [+4])
Vit: 70 [+4]
End: 42
Str: 60 [+12]
Agi: 79 [+12]
Perception: 46