Chapter 955 (2/2)
Because it was hard to see it as anything but a way to put a weakness directly into his Yggdrasil image. Could you lose stats from a Path? Could you obtain a passive Skill that impacted you negatively? If not the former, the latter was definitely possible. The fact that it was part of a group bound by karma meant that it wouldn’t be completely useless, but…
It was a dangerous prospect.
Shaking his head, Randidly looked again at the Paths he could choose.
Heretic XXIX 0/???, Nexus Traveler Cohort 5 0/50, Experimenter I 0/50, System Transgressor 0/1, Friend to Humanity 0/100, Mantle of the Patron 0/500, Metallurgist 0/300, Aether Convergence II ???, Perfect Soul Bond 0/1000, the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600, Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000, Fiery Sharpshooter 0/350, The Ashes of Ulaat, Patron of Ash 0/1000, Order Ducis: Font of Guidance ???, Humanity’s Torch 0/500, Bearing of a Teacher ???, Puppet Master 0/100, Mana Lich 0/500, Pain Immunity I 0/250, Physique of the Grim Chimera 0/1000, Chimera’s Grudge I ???, Cleaver of the World Tree ???, Weakness of the World Tree 0/500
Heretic obviously would finish itself in good time, so Randidly had no reason to put points into it. But the rest of the Paths were on the table. With so many PP at his disposal, finishing off some of the easy Paths wouldn’t require much at all. Meanwhile, at the other end, Randidly was definitely looking at some of the higher cost Paths in order to improve his own personal power.
Yet Randidly’s gaze kept returning to the tiny Paths that he had never taken, even after all quite a lot of time of having them. Specifically, Nexus Traveler Cohort 5, Experimenter I, and Metallurgist. More than hoping for anything that would give him a powerful Skill, they would provide Stats and satisfy his curiosity. All told, these three would require only 400 PP to finish, and he would FINALLY know what rewards the provided. Especially the first two.
But still, Randidly cautiously looked at the other available Paths. There was no rush in choosing. In terms of Skills, Randidly suspected that he would get a useful harvest from Fiery Sharpshooter and Ashes of Ulaat. Mana Lich was another possible choice for a new Skill, but it seemed more likely he would just receive another large boost to his Mana pool and Regeneration. Not that such a thing wasn’t valuable, but as Randidly’s focus shifted more toward images, Mana had diminishing returns.
Growth of Yggdrasil III still was greyed out, but Randidly sensed that obtaining a couple hundred more Stats would open it up for him.
That thought immediately made Randidly wince. It seems I’ve really come far if suddenly obtaining a couple hundred stats seems like an easy feat… but with the aid of four thousand PP, it really shouldn’t be difficult…
Then Randidly shrugged. If his goal was to at least to unlock Growth of Yggdrasil III and get a solid start on finishing it, that probably meant he should save fifteen hundred of his gathered PP in order to dump into it. Although it was a lot to ask for several hundred stats from a few Paths, Randidly figured spending 2500 or so PP would get him there.
So, in order to satisfy his own curiosity, Randidly finished the three smaller Paths almost immediately. From Nexus Traveler Cohort 5, Randidly received one free Stat point every 5 PP spent, which was truly a harken back to the good old days. Experimenter I gave 1 Reaction every 5 PP, which also fine. Finally, Metallurgist gave 1 Control every 5 PP, which added quickly up after spending 300 PP on it.
Congratulations! You have completed the Nexus Traveler Cohort 5 Path! Although you were born on a lower Cohort, you have transcended your initial world to begin to explore the System! Although there exists a strict hierarchy within the System, such ambition will always be rewarded. So continue to ascend, moving on to higher places and larger rewards! Above, the Nexus awaits!
Congratulations! While on Cohort 5, you shall gather a small amount of bonus experience on every kill! It will be slightly easier to raise your Skill Levels!
Congratulations! You have completed the Experimenter I Path! By combining Skills and materials in strange ways, you have been able to understand that the rigid structure of the System is simply a guide; what you can do with it is only limited by your imagination! This Path takes many strange turns, but by the same token, it reveals the secrets of this wondrous world. Perception +20. You have gained the Skill Creator’s Luck Lvl 1!
Creator’s Luck Lvl 1: When combining disparate elements, there is a slightly increased chance of being successful! Effect increases with Skill Level. When combining disparate elements, there is a miniscule chance of an unexpected reaction occurring! Effect increases with Skill Level. When combining disparate elements, there is an almost nonexistent chance to create something truly special! Effect increases with Skill Level.
Congratulations! You have completed the Metallurgist Path! As the extracted bones of the Earth have been insufficient to meet your needs, you inevitably began to modify and enhance the materials around you. By walking this Path, the knack for creating something truly special will slowly emerge. Your familiarity with all forms of metal increases. Wisdom, Control, and Focus +20. You have earned the (Unique) Skill, Touch of the Ghosthound!
Touch of the Ghosthound (U): When you create a material, it will be permanently improved based upon a percentage of your own stats. The enhancements will be related to the type of material created. The specific percentage of your touch displayed will be based upon the Rarity of the created piece of equipment, when it is made. Higher Rarities will bring out more of the latent potential of your touch. Common: 1%, Uncommon: 3%, Rare: 5%, Ancient: 7%, Runic: 9%, Legendary: 10%, Mythic: 15%, Transcendental: 20%, Pinnacle 25%.
Randidly twitched very slightly. Immediately, he was punished for waiting so long to go through the Cohort 5 Path. The small amount of stats he gathered while finishing it was fine, but the reward was practically useless to him at the moment. Meanwhile, since he had spent several years on Tellus in various forms, the extra experience and Skill proficiencies would have been extremely valuable at the time.
To get it now just felt like the System was taunting him…
Meanwhile, the bonuses that Randidly got from the other two Paths were more pleasant. The Creator’s Luck didn’t have any direct effect, but it would likely help him as he returned to Erickson Steel to make metal or when he was working on Engraving. And due to the text, it seemed possible that it would also give him bonuses when adjusting Skills or perhaps even images.
Considering that Randidly still was in the process of figuring out the exact shape for his Yggdrasil Skillset, it would be valuable to push the Level of that Skill up some before he finally attempted to consolidate this core Skillset.
The bonus from Metallurgist was even more powerful. It had been quite some time since Randidly had received any Unique Skills, so he was immediately excited as he considered the effects. And since the bonus it gave was based upon his own stats…
Randidly grinned.
Although a Pinnacle Rarity item was probably a long way away, it would mean that Randidly could create an item that would give the user an extra 250 or so Control…? Even if the item was the limit of Sam’s current abilities, a Legendary item, that was still a boost of 90 Control, should the bonus be the Control variety. That was in addition to any effects that the item would already possess.
...maybe I should spend more time working on creating metal in the upcoming days...