4 Break Them (1/2)

I grinded my skills for three days before I ran out of food from the back pack. I gained quite a few skill levels, but unlocking other skill trees would require character levels. I needed to kill a bat.

Over the course of these three days, I studied the bats movements and lifestyles. I found they were most active during the morning and afternoons. After that, they alternated between comas and napping. My plan involved waking up one bat during its coma before trying to kill one.

Most of the bats required more than a little rustling to wake them. When I got out of the circle of light at the beginning of the change, it had been during these comas. The only thing keeping me alive had been dumb luck.

Understanding that, I planned out the fight this time. I chose a flat, open location, since the bats had poor maneuverability. There raw power must be the trade off. I would kite one bat around until my agony aura finished them off.

Of course this would take a long time. I found that most rolls required 10 stamina, so I’d have four or five every minute. That meant I needed to dodge them without rolling as much as possible. A hefty task, but with all my new buffs, it shouldn’t be as hard as the first bat was.

With that in mind, I walked over towards the flat piece of ground before I activated agony. With all my damage reduction and willpower bonuses, I found the aura was around 8 feet from me in all directions. A serviceable distance for defense.

Time to get started. I toss a stone overhead at the landing place of a bat I saw earlier. The rock landed on the bat as I sprinted towards it. It hit the bat causing it to open its wings before squealing lightly. Now it was go time.

I reached the rock before catching it in my hand. I bent my knees as I caught it, reducing the impact and following noise. If it hit the ground, I’d be fucked. I increased agony until it reached about 8 health a minute. The bat passed by.

When it reached agony’s range, I darted sideways. The creature crashed into the rock like a truck, just like the other one. I ran towards it until it reeled back at agony’s aura. Now was the hard part.

I set up in my stance for boxing for the speed boost. The bat glanced around before echoing its signal. Turning towards me, it flexed its wings and bolted forwards, fast as a bullet. I rolled sideways, the monster passing by inches from me. The wind flew past my face. It was damn close.

I neared it once more, and the process repeated itself. The bat scratched me several times before clipping my shoulder with a solid gash. It hurt less than I expected, but more than I wanted, like pulling a tooth.

Soon, a sheen of sweat appeared on us both. The conflict dragged on, minutes turning to hours. By the time the bat had any wounds, we were both heaving for air. Gashes littered my body, but the bat fared no better. Blood poured from his mouth and pieces of his skin. His crashes had covered him in scrapes as well.

Once his teeth started falling out, I secured my victory. The bat’s movements slowed substantially before I began slipping in punches. I dashed in, jabbed, then dashed out. The monster always chomped where I hit it, but I pulled back just in time, every time.

The bat lost the ability to move after a while, its own tenacity working against it. I pummeled the poor thing as agony slowly whittled away its life. The body felt like slamming my fist into stone. After fifteen minutes of punching it, the damn thing finally died.

Level up! [360 exp](BloodHollow Bat(lvl 36) exp)X[2.3](Underleveled Bonus) = 828 exp gained. 3 levels gained.

Man, three levels. What a drop off, but I suppose it makes sense.The exp was less than last time, and I'm a higher level too. The attribute screen popped up. I added all three points into endurance. I figured 20 points in it would unlock the other perk, and that would be the perk I choose. Besides, endurance was my bread and butter stat.

The next set of perks appeared, this time for level 15. By my assumptions, you get a perk on level one, three, five, then once every five levels. I'm level 16 now, so 5 perks in total.

Perk Selection. Choose One.

[Unrelenting(endurance 20) - Your endurance is very impressive. +50 health and stamina, +5 health regen, +50 stamina regen. Adds 1/10th of your endurance to willpower.]

[Fledgling(Reach level 5) - You've just started learning. +10% to experience.]

[Beginner(Reach level 10) - Now you know a little. You can step out of the tutorial zone now.]

The choice was obvious. Unrelenting was ridiculous. It made sense though. 14 of my level up attributes had gone to endurance. That's some serious commitment, it deserves a serious reward.

I picked the perk and finalized my selection. Instantly, the pain of agony weighed less on my mind. Thank god. With that wave of relief washing over me, I focused on my status for a minute.

My attributes were starting to beef up by quite a bit. The extra willpower really helped too, since it made agony better and helped me keep focused. With that in mind, I check out my skill trees. I had 127 tree points after the last few days and the fight just now. My skills had started to slow down their level ups, but I had enough for what I needed.

| II Determinator(Tireless, Unyielding, and Unrelenting unlocked, all before level 20[0/100]), I Vicious(Fight in a battle with an opponent 20 levels over you for over one hour and win, Scorn, Desperation, and Death's Dance unlocked)[0/25] |

With a few quick thoughts, I put 100 points in II Determinator. Four notifications appeared.

Nothing can stop you. They tear your legs off, you walk with your arms. +15% to regen stats.

They tear off your arms, you crawl with your chin. +15% to regen stats.

They tear off your chin, you crawl with your tongue. +15% to your regen stats.

They tear off your tongue, you crawl with your teeth. You are a walking, breathing storm. +25% to regen stats and +10% to willpower.

What an amazing boon. Agony grows even easier for me to maintain before I put all twenty five points into vicious. Five notifications come as expected.

You will not go down without clawing at your opponent. +1% to damage dealt.

Your every intention is to kill your enemies. +1% to damage dealt.

You feast on hatred. +1% to damage dealt.

You live for their death. + 1% to damage dealt.

They will feast on your hatred too. +1% to damage dealt.

It was a nice little bonus to damage. Compared with the determinator trees, it was very little, though more than the fighter ones. Now that I settled my perks and attributes, I checked out my attribute then character screens.

Level 16 Attribute Totals(3)

Strength - Increases carrying weight, maximum speed, and physical power 8.8

Constitution - Increases hardness, density, and weight of your body 5.5

Endurance - Increases regeneration of stamina, health, and their totals 23.1

Dexterity - Increases ease of movement, flexibility, and reflexes 4

Willpower - Increases internal motivation, mana regen, and Mental Res 11.3

Intelligence - Increases memory, critical thinking, and total mana pool 4

Charisma - Increases likeability, persuasion, and decreases prices at shops 4

Luck - Increases money found, odds in your favor, and chance of rare events 3

Perception - Increases comprehension, the five senses, and awareness 4

Character Totals Regen Buffs/Debuffs

Health 301/301 29.24/min Agony - 5.15 Hp/min lost

Stamina 301/301 292.40/min Elemental Res - 0%

Mana 50/50 2.26/min Plasma Res - 0%

Phys Dam Reduction - [5.5]*1.15 = 6.1% Rad Res - 0%

Phys Dam Bonus - [8.8%*1.15] = 9.8% Mental Res - 11.3%

Its no wonder agony doesn't hurt near as much. The pain is relative to the percentage of my health bar being drained. Willpower also helps with the pain as well. My regen stats were insane compared with before. The health regen could be effective in a fight and the stamina regen was downright insane.