Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Minimized notifications appeared in Ruwen’s vision as Dusk handed him his new uniform and pressed a relic token into his palm. “Congratulations,” she whispered. “The Clan owes you so much. I’ll notify Kysandra of your rank so she can begin your training.”

Until Ruwen broke the prison around his soul, he would likely not successfully move between the Material and Shadow Realms like other Shadow Steppers.

Dusk continued. “I had hoped Kysandra could be here today, but the short notice must have made it impossible, as she didn’t respond.”

“Thank you, Founder. The trials have proved…” Ruwen struggled to find another word, but after a second, smiled and just said it. “Enlightening.”

Dusk returned the smile. “Good. It is what we intended.”

As Ruwen returned to the back of the class and Sift, he worried about Kysandra’s absence. The Mistress of the Black Pyramid and head of a massive spy organization, and who knew what else, probably had something important going on and couldn’t just jump over to watch him get a belt. But he also worried that she might have gotten in trouble. Maybe the same trouble as Hamma and Lylan, and it reinforced his eagerness to get home.

When Ruwen reached Sift, Thorn addressed the class. “Your required time here is almost over. The Soul Pearls used to power many of the Clan spells, enchantments, and of course the Journeyman Trial’s Crossing Stone, are found around Victory Lake in the Red Forest. The forest holds many hazards and the closer you get to Champion Fortress, the more danger you’ll encounter.”

Champion. Sift signaled to Ruwen in Shade Speak.

Mist continued. “The Clan hopes each of you can find five pearls. The more translucent they appear, the better. Regardless, the portal to the lake will remain open and after an hour you are to return. Any longer gives the Shattered Clan time to mount an attack. They hold the Fortress and have patrols looking for other Clans at the lake.”

Dusk spoke next. “From now on, twice a day, we will open the portal to Victory Lake. If more than one Master goes, you can venture off alone, which makes you less visible, or stay together, which adds safety. It is a balance. At sunrise and sunset, for those who wish to finish their required time here, a portal is available.”

Ruwen looked at the sun, which had almost reached the horizon. He felt eager to get home, see his friends and family, and address the problems there. “Including today’s sunset?”

Dusk glanced at the setting sun and back at Ruwen. “Yes. We will portal back to the village shortly, and then send anyone interested to Savage Island. Congratulations. Never has the Bamboo Viper Clan had such a successful class. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

The Founders bowed, and the Masters returned it.

Ruwen strode directly to the vault door and handed his four relic tokens to the Quartermaster.

“I don’t have room to bring out the relics,” the Quartermaster said. “You’ll need to wait until tomorrow at the beach.”

Ruwen had planned for that, and because he didn’t care about the relics, he listed off the four he’d glanced at earlier before picking Tarot. “That’s okay. If they’re still available, I’ll take the Boundless Bribe, Lightning Spine, Soothing Stone, and Broken Time, please.”

The Quartermaster raised his eyebrows, and Ruwen smiled. The old man disappeared into the depths of the vault, grumbling to himself. Ruwen planned to portal home as soon as he finished his hour at Savage Island and wanted to get rid of the relic tokens. The excitement of going back home made his heart race, and he forced himself to calm down.

Sift stepped up beside Ruwen.

“Rung Four is coming with us,” Sift said. “Some of the others might as well. I think everyone wants to get home.”

“I’m so excited to see everyone.”

“Me too. I really wish Shelly would come back. I’m worried if we portal home, it will be too far for her to reach me.”

Ruwen knew Sift’s fear had no basis in reality. Shelly had literally traveled across the Universe to fetch Ruwen, and because his connection to Uru and Blapy remained, he guessed this planet likely sat in the same galaxy, or a nearby one. Which equated to a tiny step for the Elder Star Tortoise.

Instead of saying that, Ruwen patted Sift on the shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll show up. She always does.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

The Quartermaster returned with the four small items and handed them to Ruwen. He glanced at their descriptions again.

Name: Boundless Bribe

Effect: Flip coin and press against any item to use as a bribe.

Description: Worn gold coin. Imbued with illusion magic this coin imprints an item with the recipient’s greatest financial desire.

Name: Lightning Spine

Effect: Symbols scratched into the skin will absorb lightning until triggered.

Effect: Lightning Immunity with active symbol.

Description: A quill from a Cloud Razor. Symbol may itch and burn. If not discharged manually, the symbol will explode when the skin heals.

Name: Soothing Stone

Effect: Fear immunity.

Description: A river stone from a stream on Mount Jasper. Rubbing the stone for 6 seconds calms the mind. You hear the faint sound of a babbling stream.

Name: Broken Time

Effect: Stop time.

Description: Fashionable men’s watch with a leather strap. When the current time matches the value of the timepiece and the wearer is touching the crystal face, the wearer becomes unstuck from time for three seconds, disappearing from sight and gaining an extra three seconds to perform actions undetectable to others.

Ruwen bowed to the old Master and dropped the four items into his Void Band for Fractal. It felt good to be rid of the tokens. Nothing held him here anymore. In just over an hour, he’d be home.

The Founders and Addas created a portal back to the village and once there, Dusk told everyone it would take ten minutes before the Founders and Addas could power the portal to Savage Island. The five of them sat around the portal, meditating to regenerate their soul power more quickly.

Ruwen thought about drawing the gate runes himself with his portal chalk but decided it might come across as rude. Especially since the wait was only ten minutes. Sift wandered toward the beach, following a group of seabirds and trying to mimic their whistle. Ruwen stayed by the stone and went through the rest of his minimized notifications.

The first didn’t surprise Ruwen, considering the importance of what he’d discovered about himself.

Gong!

You have increased your Knowledge!

Level: 171

Twelve extra points in Knowledge almost didn’t seem like enough.

The next notification was one Ruwen had never seen before.

Thrum!

The Soul Oath, Darkness Holds No Shadows, has become invalid…

Violation: Restriction - Bamboo Step Rank of Master Required

Violation: Restriction – Viper Step Rank of Master Required

Explanation: Current rank exceeds quest rank.

It appeared Uru invalided commitments that could no longer be completed. Probably to stop the awarding of experience or rewards to those who skipped steps. In this instance, since he’d never became a Master to trigger the completion of this quest, coupled with his current rank of Grandmaster, meant Uru considered this quest prohibited.

And the next notification contained the same thing, only this time it referenced a quest.

Ting!

The Quest, Last Steps, has become invalid…

Violation: Reward - Bamboo Step Master

Violation: Reward - Viper Step Master

Explanation: Current rank exceeds reward rank.

Losing easy experience and rewards was disappointing, but it also meant none of the penalties triggered, and some of those had included marking Ruwen for death.

Shing!

You have advanced a skill!

Skill: Unarmed Combat

Level:1,004

Effect: Increase unarmed damage by 502.0%. Increase chance to deflect or dodge a blow by 502.0%.

Unarmed Combat had increased from seven hundred eighteen to one thousand and four, a gain of two hundred eighty-six points. With Ruwen’s new understanding of balance and the connection he had with his surroundings from Harmony, he believed he could now face anyone in unarmed combat without fear, even the gods.

Shing!

You have advanced a skill!

Skill: Bamboo Step Mastery

Level:199

Effect: Increase Armor Class by 199, Increase Dodge to 199%.

Shing!

You have advanced a skill!

Skill: Viper Step Mastery

Level:199

Effect: Increase Haste to 199%, Increase Critical Strike to 199%.

Now that Ruwen had passed the rank of Master, the Bamboo and Viper levels over ninety-nine had opened to him, and they had both jumped a hundred levels.

The next notifications came from when Dusk had handed Ruwen his new belt and uniform.

Tring!

The Bamboo Viper Clan has gifted you…

Name: Grandmaster Belt

Quality: Rare

Durability:50 of 50

Weight:1.0 lbs.

Armor Class:100

Effect: 10 slots of dimensional storage. Open and close by running two fingers along belt.

Effect (Triggered): Whispering Grove – For five seconds all communication, including telepathic, vocalized, sign, and vibrational, in a 500-foot radius is replaced by the gentle sound of wind through a bamboo grove.

Effect (Triggered): Constriction – Belt will wrap and hold the first entity that contacts the wearer.

Restriction: Bamboo Viper Step Grandmaster

Description: A black heavy cotton belt. Balance is crucial in all things.

Name: Grove Jacket of the Grandmaster

Quality: Rare

Durability:100 of 100

Weight:2.6 lbs.

Armor Class:500

Effect (Triggered): Warming Rays – Absorbs up to 90% of light striking the wearer, and alters the angle of reflected light, effectively lowering the Perception of an observer by 500% and making the wearer invisible when standing still.

Effect (Triggered): Calming Grove - Creates a grove of illusionary bamboo in a 500 foot radius reducing visibility to five feet. Members of the Bamboo Viper Clan are immune.

Restriction: Bamboo Step Grandmaster.

Description: Heavy cotton long jacket. Like bamboo, you are strong and flexible.

Name: Nest Pants of the Grandmaster

Quality: Rare

Durability:100 of 100

Weight:2.4 lbs.

Armor Class:500

Effect (Passive): Toxic Resistance – Increases Poison, Acid, and Disease Resistances by 100%.

Effect (Passive):Snake Skin – Increases Armor Class by 1% per rank of Grandmaster.

Restriction: Viper Step Grandmaster

Description: Heavy cotton pants with reinforced seams. Like a viper, you are quick and deadly.

The gear had far more benefits than Ruwen had expected. Even on Grave, where magic filled the entire world, this uniform would be considered superb, especially for cloth. The Master gear probably wasn’t quite this good, but he guessed it would still seem godly on the worlds the other Masters had come from.

Ruwen glanced at his Profile and two values jumped out at him. The skill increases had pushed his Dodge to one thousand and nine percent. He had become literally untouchable. His Haste had increased to three hundred thirty-four percent, and a punch with his normal buffs and enhancements would cause over three hundred fifty damage. Of course, that was calculated at a normal velocity. Using Diamond Strength, he guessed he could shatter walls.

The Founders and Addas stood and grouped around the portal stone. Ruwen closed his Profile and turned to find Sift. Instead, Ruwen found the entire class behind him, including Echo. It seemed everyone wanted to finish tonight, and it made him happy they’d do it together.

Sift stood two hundred feet away, his new uniform pants soaked as he stood knee deep in the ocean, head bent back as he whistled at the circling birds.

Ruwen used Sphere of Influence to speak directly to Sift’s mind. Come on. It’s time to finish this.