130 Hunter of Many (2/2)

This reminded me why I focused on skills instead of my cipher. The cipher might pay off in the long run, but I gotta survive today before I survive tomorrow. I needed Amara’s help to really take advantage of the cipher. With her giving me a boost, it might not even be a full year before I can take on Yawm.

Amara already started the process. Despite being an eldritch, she was a trooper. She sent me a dozen messages during my training session. I skimmed through them as I fought, but none of them were urgent. They were basically just telling me how I should write in the cipher.

I would read them in detail once I got back. Before I did get back though, I invested all my attribute points into endurance. I selected finalize, and the jolt rippled through my skin and veins. The cells in my muscle multiplied, condensing till they were hard as iron. Hell, they were probably already as hard as iron. It was hard to tell at this point.

Mana flooded my system too, the energy dense enough to feel liquid. As I increased the flow of mana into my cipher, I passed a threshold. I channeled more mana than during the display with Yawm. The next time I trained like this, I would invest my levels as I went.

It may have resulted in only one more incarnation of the cipher, but that might make the difference later on. Before checking out the changes on my character screen, I checked out my tree menu. I put all my points into my current tree, Immense, and a notification appeared. I finally got enough points for it.

You are a behemoth with flesh of metal and blood of iron. They try and shatter your skin. Your laugh echoes over the sound of their fire and fury, like an omen. They feel your voice in their bones. Immense unlocked!(Tier 1) 5% of your total mass is added to your physical bonus damage. Unlocks the unique skill, Mass Manipulation.

Unique unique skill unlocked! Mass Manipulation!

Mass Manipulation(lvl 1) - Your will warps matter in its wake. Allows the user to increase or decrease the density of mass. Level of control varies by level.

Whenever the notification sounded, there was a flood of strength. I didn’t think 5% of my mass would be that big a deal, but it was a colossal increase. It overwhelmed me, like adrenaline flowing into my veins.

I grinned, my hands clasping into fists. My arms thickened. My back broadened. I shifted my toes in my armored boots. They let out echoes, like hammers smashing against metal. I gripped my hands together, squeezing them with all my might. My armor bent under my grasp.

I laughed, relishing in the sudden explosion of vigor. A couple more ranks in immense and I might even be stronger than Yawm. With that fervent excitement, I checked out my character screen.

Level 3,466

Strength – 3,010 | Constitution – 4,720 | Endurance – 18,336

Dexterity – 1,119 | Willpower – 9,441 | Intelligence – 3,207

Charisma – 297.5 | Luck – 996 | Perception – 435.7

Health: 1.78 Million/1.78 Million

Health Regen: 2.10 Million/min or 34,957/sec

Stamina: 1,066,041/1,066,041 | Stamina Regen: 16,301/sec

Living Dimension: 0.32 Trillion/4.30 Trillion

Mass: 120,688 pounds(54,858 kilos~) | Height: 9’7(2.9 meters)

Damage Res - 98.5% | Dimensional Res - 49.25%

Phys Dam Bonus – 58,247% | Damage Bonus – 40%

Event Horizon – 20,000 + (100% of your total health)/min

I shook my head for a moment, flabbergasted at my health regen. It was something else altogether. The other dramatic increase was in my physical damage bonus. After crunching a few numbers, I understood why.

Immense gave me around 6,000% more physical damage. Combine that with my three times multiplier for the stat, and the difference was, well, immense. Knowing all that, I cracked my knuckles while walking towards Yawm’s palace. A realization stunned me.

I was taller.

It wasn’t a dramatic difference, but Yawm would notice. That would make him suspicious. When Yawm was suspicious, he made people sign contracts or worse. I sighed, a lump of frustration welling up. My eyes widened as I remembered the second part of the skill tree.

I gained a unique skill called Mass Manipulation. I reached out a hand, trying to condense myself. A few seconds later, an odd sensation crossed up my hand. It was like banging my ulnar nerve, sending pins and needles up my hand. There was no visual difference in my arm, but the sensation was distinct.

I reached out, amplifying that sensation in my arm. As I did, the sensation expanded up my arm and into my shoulder. I grit my teeth, hardening my mind. There wasn’t time to spend learning this skill. I needed proficiency in it, enough that I wouldn’t even notice it being on.

I turned around, walking back towards the beetles. I sure as hell didn’t feel like fighting them again, but I had to hide myself somehow. It would take at least a few hours of messing with this skill before I had it down enough to keep myself smaller.

Just like that, I found some more damn beetles and started the chase once more. The abstractions circled me as I honed in on densifying myself. It sounds as hard as it was. The pins and needles faded with time at least. As I leveled the skill, the difficulty of it faded, letting me get the hang of it.

It helped that Hunter of Many made dodging the beetles a breeze. I kept sapping the poor beetles until I leveled Mass Manipulation to 15. Once that was done, I reached out with Event Horizon. Something I noted was that it wasn’t working like before. It didn’t drain half the damage it dealt.

It drained more.

That’s when it clicked. Hunter of Many enhanced draining effects. That included Event Horizon. When I opened up my status, I couldn’t find an exact value per say. It was enough to notice the difference at least.

So I closed my status and finished off the last fleet of beetles. They were all level 1,500 or so. Even after killing a hundred of them, I only gained a paltry for levels. It would be slow going for the levels now. At least Mass Manipulation let me disguise my gains from Yawm. That enabled me to pull this whole plan off.

With all that finished, I invested my attribute points and headed back to Yawm. By the time I reached his ice castle, the sun was setting. It was hard keeping track of time since I didn’t sleep anymore. I mean life was just one long day. Without all the willpower, I wouldn’t be able to take it.

But I did have all that nifty willpower, so I put it to good use. I swam through the ocean, manipulating my body with gravity wells. I remember the process being demanding and difficult. Now it was easy as blinking.

I floated into the air bubble on the far side of the pale fortress. I walked through the doors, a bit of water dripping off my armor. I stepped forwards, towards my room. As I passed by Amara’s room, Yawm walked out. He sighed, his lumbering shoulders wider than a fridge.

“Ah, it’s good you’re back Daniel.”

I raised a hand, “It’s good to be back. I got caught up in the whole process.”

“Hah hah, it’s easy to do.” Yawm crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. “I just finished a lesson with Amara. It wasn’t particularly helpful.”

“Heh, she’s by no means a natural teacher. At least from what I’ve garnered from her.”

Yawm nodded, “My sentiment is the same.” He squinted at me,

“Wait a moment...are you...shorter?”