Grand Game 533: The Old One

Your choice has been made.

You have gained 1 ascendant point.

“It’s done,” I announced.

Adriel blinked. “What, already? Isn’t that a bit hasty?”

“Nine days, remember?” I shot back, a trifle grimly. “We’re on the clock. That being the case, none of us can afford to hesitate. We must use every advantage at our disposal to get done what needs doing.”

The lich sighed. “You’re right, I suppose.” She paused, then asked with more animation, “Can you use the ascendant point?”

“Let’s find out.” Closing my eyes, I conveyed my intent to the Adjudicator.

Assessing player’s suitability...

…

…

Assessment completed. 

Warning: you have not evolved your champion and commander Classes beyond rank 1, therefore your existing ascendant benefits are not eligible for advancement. You may, however, learn a new rank 1 ascendant benefit.

Do you still wish to proceed?

“Ah,” I exhaled.

“What?” Adriel and Safyre demanded at the same time.

I smiled. “Adriel was right. I can’t upgrade any of my existing benefits, but the Adjudicator is allowing me to choose a new one.”

Anriq’s brows furrowed. “Is that a good thing?”

I shrugged. “It depends on what’s on offer.” I paused to relay my answer to the Adjudicator. “Let’s see what they are.”

Commencing ascendant Class upgrade…

…

…

Viable ascendant benefits determined. 

As a result of your new ascendant point, you may choose 1 of the following 5 ascendant benefits:

New commander benefit: wolf’s howl. Your howl is a mighty weapon that can wreak havoc across an open battlefield, momentarily confusing, terrifying, and sometimes even charming those who hear it. 

New commander benefit: bloodlust. This trait grants you a permanent aura that fortifies the attack and defensive strength of your followers and Sworn whenever they are near you. 

New champion benefit: lycan renewal. This trait enhances your shapeshifting blood memories by fully restoring your energy pools whenever you shift form. 

New champion benefit: blood caster. This trait reduces the cooldown of your active blood memories, allowing them to be used more often. 

New champion benefit: elder form. This trait allows you to transform once a day into an elder wolf, the most powerful of all wolven subspecies. 

Existing benefits not available for upgrade: commander trait (not upgradable), champion trait (not upgradable), were’s bite (requires ascendant rank 2), and sire’s strain (requires ascendant rank 2). 

Choose your desired ascendant Class benefit now.

I rocked back on my heels. “Now, isn’t that interesting?” I murmured, as much to myself as to my companions.

“What’s that?” Shael asked.

Still perusing the choices on offer and just as importantly what wasn’t—namely sire’s strain and were’s bite—I didn’t immediately answer.

“C’mon,” the bard demanded, “don’t keep us in suspense!”

Turning my focus outward, I found everyone staring at me with ill-concealed impatience. I smiled. “All the ‘new’ benefits are familiar. They are the ones I didn’t choose during my previous higher evolutions.”

“That’s bad, right?” Anriq asked, scratching his head. “I mean if you didn’t choose them before—”

“On the contrary, it's great news,” Adriel interjected. Her eyes darted to mine. “Elder form is one of the options on offer?”

I grinned. “Yes.” 

“Choose it,” she shot back immediately.

“Yes, Prime,” Ghost encouraged. “Do that!”

“Elder form?” Anriq mumbled, looking confused.

“What’s that?” Shael asked.

“You’re about to find out,” I replied. 

The elder wolf form was, of course, the best option on offer—especially considering what we planned on doing in the next nine days. There was no way I was not choosing it.

Safyre held up her hand. “Perhaps we should reconvene in the cave first?” She glanced meaningfully at the impenetrable mists surrounding us. “It’ll be safer and who knows what’s lurking out there. Let’s not give away any secrets we don’t have to.”

She had a point. “Good idea, but…” My gaze slid in the direction of the guardian tower portal. “Let’s return to the tundra rather. That way we can also get going with the Packs’ migration.”

Safyre cast me a somber look. “Are you sure you want to relocate the wolves so soon?”

“I don’t think we have much choice,” I replied. “We can’t take the chance that the nagas will disable the portal again. And next time, we might not be in a position to interrupt their spell. Completed, who knows how long it would have lasted? Besides, we need the Rings and all the stores we’ve stockpiled on the tundra to begin the next phase of the plan.”

She inclined her head.  “All good points. Very well, the tundra it is.”

“What about the stygians’ corpses?” Shael asked. “Shouldn’t we loot them first?”

I sighed. Despite my determination to speed things along, there were a hundred little things—all important—that needed doing beforehand. And truthfully, as enthused as I was about the waiting elder form, I was more eager to move on and take the fight to the stygians. Doing so would have to wait a little while longer, though.

“You’re right, we should,” I agreed heavily. “Let’s split up. Adriel and Safyre, take Shael to the tundra and start preparing the Packs for the move. Anriq, Ghost, and I will see to the looting, then join you.”

✵ ✵ ✵

You have retrieved an alchemy stone. 

New ingredients acquired: 150 x lumps of necrotic plasma and 50 x vial of nether residue.

In the end, the Packs’ evacuation got underway without me.

Looting the stygians took longer than expected, especially since Adriel insisted that we retrieve one of the naga corpses fully intact. Why she would want that, she wouldn’t explain, and realizing our protests were getting us nowhere, Anriq and I capitulated and did as she desired. 

Sadly, nothing remained of the overlord itself except for tiny shards of shell that would take days to collect, so I decided not to even bother trying.  

Even so, by the time Anriq and I were done collecting the stygians’ reagents, Adriel and the Pack elders—with the Astral Rings in tow—were back in the cave, and when I checked in on them, they were already hard at work golem crafting. Glad that they didn’t need me to hurry things along, Anriq and I let them be and made our way to the guardian tower. 

✵ ✵ ✵

You have entered sector 107 of the Endless Dungeon. 

Ignoring the sideways falling snow, I drew to a halt as I entered the tundra’s windswept plains.

It took Anriq a few steps to notice. “What’s wrong?” he asked, glancing back in surprise. “I thought you were in a hurry.”

“I am,” I replied, gazing in the direction of the wolves’ den. It was too far away to see, of course, but I was fairly certain that Safyre—ably assisted by Shael, no doubt—had matters well in hand.

“You go on,” I told Anriq, urging him toward the distant den.

The werewolf turned about fully. “Aren’t you and Ghost coming?”

I shook my head. “It’s time I begin the hunt.”

“The hunt… you mean against the stygians?”

I nodded. 

Anriq’s face fell. “You won’t wait for the rest of us?”

“I can’t,” I replied. “Ferrying the wolves, not to mention all the supplies we’ve left in the den, is going to take Safyre and Shael the rest of the day.” I smiled. “It might go a bit quicker if you helped them, though.” 

He nodded, seemingly resigned to being relegated to the role of a pack mule. “What do I tell the others?”

“Adriel and Safyre won’t be surprised to hear of my plans, I suspect. But tell them, I’ll return by nightfall.”

“I’ll do that.” He hesitated, then blurted, “You’re going to use the elder form, aren’t you?”

I smiled. Anriq had since learned what the form entailed, and needless to say, his interest had been piqued. “Yes.”

“I want to see it before you go.”

I chuckled. “Alright. Let me get it first.” Calling up the message, left hanging open all this time, I willed my choice to the Game. 

“Done. Now, I can—” 

I broke off as an avalanche of text poured through my mind. 

You have gained the wolf trait: elder form. This trait grants you +10 to all attributes, the alternate form, elder wolf, and the shapeshift ability. Note, elder form is a trait unique to the sire wolf Class and cannot be bequeathed to any of your followers who themselves are not sire wolves. 

Shapeshift (epic) is a self-use ability that can be used once per day to physically alter your body and shift into one your learned forms. The transformation is permanent, and while psi is required to effect the change, there is no accompanying spell duration, nor is any energy expended to maintain your new form. Currently known forms: 2, human, elder wolf. 

Note, shapeshift is an ascendant Class ability. It does not occupy any ability slots, and its activation time is very slow. 

The elder wolf is an ancient and primal wolf, considered to be the precursor of all other wolfkin. They’re hardier than werewolves, more mentally adept than dire wolves, and as magically gifted as hellhounds. Rare, and nearly hunted to extinction, they are universally feared by their foes. 

While you are in wolf form you cannot equip any additional gear or use any consumables. However, all your equipped gear’s benefits are retained irrespective of your form. Transforming into an elder wolf also grants you the following: primal creature I, hide armor, tooth and claw, regeneration I, lacerating bite, and everburning (unavailable). These benefits are only applicable while you’re in wolf form. Note, everburning is unusable due to its incompatibility with your spell illiterate trait. 

Furthermore, while shapeshifted, you will lose access to your human-form-only abilities, these being: greater load controller, crippling blow, piercing strike, trap disarm, lockpicking, set trap, stunning slap, astral shurikens, conceal small weapon, and mimic.

Hide armor: While shapeshifted, your light armor skill is transformed into the primal equivalent, hide armor. Any skill progression you achieve in either wolf or human form is retained and applicable to both skill variants.

Tooth and claw: While shapeshifted, your shortswords skill is transformed into the primal equivalent, tooth and claw. Tooth and Claw is a beast-only skill that, depending on the nature of the creature involved, can be governed by Dexterity alone, Strength alone, or both Dexterity and Strength. Any skill progression you achieve in either wolf or human form is retained and applicable to both skill variants.

Primal creature I: This epic trait modifies your primal skills and size. In elder form, you will measure 12 feet from nose to tail and stand 6 feet tall. At this tier, your tooth and claws skill is governed by the higher of the two attributes: Strength and Dexterity. Additionally, you gain the ability to alter your tooth and claw attacks at will and inflict fire damage instead of physical damage. Furthermore this tier also makes your hider armor more resistant, granting you +25% resistance to all types of attacks. 

Regeneration I: This epic trait grants you a health regeneration rate of 1% per second.

Lacerating bite is an epic bite-based attack that causes bleeding damage. The bleeding damage will be sustained for a duration equal to the rank of your tooth and claw skill. Lacerating bite is an ascendant Class ability and does not occupy any ability slots. Its activation time is near-instantaneous, it consumes stamina and cannot be upgraded. 

Everburning is an epic mana-based spell and unusable by you. 

My mouth dropped open in shock as I struggled to process the implications—some alarming, others astounding—of the elder form trait.

Staggeringly, the least noteworthy aspect of the new trait was the seventy attributes I’d gained. Sadly, though, they’d been split equally amongst my attributes. And while shapeshift did about what I expected, when it came to the elder form… 

…there was a lot to digest.

And the Adjudicator was not done yet. Barely had I dismissed the first series of messages than the Game dumped another lot upon me.

Secret blood trait has triggered! To conceal your bloodline, your new trait will be hidden.

Sire’s strain trait has triggered! Elder form has advanced to tier 2!

The second tier of elder form grants you +20 to all attributes, the alternate form, greater elder wolf, and the legendary variant of the shapeshift ability. 

Shapeshift (legendary) is a self-use ability that increases the maximum number of shifts possible to 2 per day. Known forms: 2, human, greater elder wolf.

Transforming into a greater elder wolf grants you the following benefits: primal creature II, hide armor, tooth and claw, regeneration II, lacerating bite, everburning (unavailable), stunning paw, and fearsome aura. 

Primal creature II: The legendary variant of this trait increases your physical size to 18 feet from nose to tail and 9 feet from head to claw. Additionally, your tooth and claw attacks are now modified by both Strength and Dexterity and can also inflict poison damage. Furthermore, your hide armor’s resistance to hostile attacks has increased to 30%. 

Regeneration II: The legendary variant of this trait increases your health regeneration rate to 2% per second.

Stunning paw is a legendary paw-based attack that stuns a foe for a duration equal to the tier of your tooth and claw skill. Stunning paw is an ascendant Class ability and does not occupy any ability slots. Its activation time is near-instantaneous, it consumes stamina and cannot be upgraded. 

Fearsome aura is a legendary channeled spell that causes foes that approach within a distance equal to the rank of your telepathy skill to freeze in fear. Fearsome aura is an ascendant Class ability and does not occupy any ability slots. Its activation time is average, it consumes psi and cannot be upgraded. Note, fearsome aura is a wolf-only-form ability.

I don’t know how long I stood there—gaping at nothing for all intents and purposes. The elder form was powerful, and definitely worthy of its ‘legendary’ tag.

“Michael?” Anriq called out loudly.

“Sorry,” I muttered, wrenching my gaze away from the Game text to focus on him. “I got distracted.”

The werewolf’s mouth quirked. “I figured. That was the third time I tried to get your attention.”

I shrugged. “What can I say, there is a lot more to the elder wolf form than I expected.”

“It’s powerful then?” he asked eagerly.

“You could say that,” I replied, then proceeded to share with him the Adjudicator’s description.

“Wow,” Anriq exclaimed, looking as stunned as I’d been. “Thirty percent resistance? Across all types, that’s… that’s…”

“Insane,” I finished for him. And it was. 

Because, crucially, the primal creature trait granted my wolf form damage resistance, not damage reduction. The two were not to be confused.

A thirty percent damage reduction would decrease the damage I sustained from a hit by about a third, whereas a thirty percent damage resistance meant one out of three attacks launched against me would fail—completely. And the best part was that it applied equally to hostile spells as it did to direct damage!

“Will the trait stack with your void armor?” Anriq asked.

I nodded. “Undoubtedly.” 

“Wow. Resistance. Regeneration. And three legendary attacks.” He shook his head. “You’ll be unstoppable!”

“Not quite.” I grinned. “But close. And not to quibble, but lacerating bite is only an epic ability.” I chuckled at hearing myself say that. 

Only an epic ability? Riiight!

Anriq was equally disdainful of my qualification. “Who cares. It’s damn powerful.”

I smiled. “I won’t disagree.”

“You forgot the best part, Prime,” Ghost said, chipping in for the first time.

I glanced at her. “Oh, what’s that?”

“You’ll be huge!” she replied, letting her tongue hang out in a wolfish grin.

I laughed. “Now that, I’m less sure about.” I’d grown used to fighting colossal many times my size, but if the elder form tier-increases were anything to go by, by the time I reached tier five, I’d be as big as a dragon in wolf form.

And wouldn’t that be something.

Anriq gestured impatiently. “Well, go on, do it! Let’s see you in wolf form.”

I closed my eyes. “Alright. Here goes.”