Ruthless ~ 54!

Ohhhhh boy! With this chapter, we are nearly at the end! Only 5 to go! Ahh! So exciting. This full book is in final proofing right now, and the preorder will be live for people on Wednesday! Y'all will get a copy a week in advance of release, but you will have the book right here by the end of next week! All edits and changes will be in the new copy, so make sure to read and see all the changes when we get you that copy!

Here's the chapter!

~ 54 ~

All the light in the area seemed to dim as Joe was bathed in eight colors, which came together into a silver stream that filled him to the breaking point and beyond.

Strength has reached the Zone maximum!

Constitution has reached the Zone maximum!

The messages continued until luck also showed that it was at the Zone maximum, which seemed to be one hundred and fifty points. His health shot over fifteen hundred points, his mana over three thousand. Joe looked at his hands, which seemed to have replaced all fat and bone with pure muscle, and turned to look at Aten. “You’re out of your mind! What good is this to me? I can’t use this to-”

“Jo..oo..oe, yo..oo..oou need to go..oo!” Aten’s voice was so slow that Joe had a hard time understanding what he was saying. This must be the effect of having his intelligence and dexterity so much higher: everything else seemed to happen in slow motion.

“I’ll try, Aten.” Joe growled and pulled out the tablet that was in his codpiece. “Activate?”

Scanning… Base Class found: Ritualist. First prerequisite for usage met.

Scanning… Specialized class found: Rituarchitect. Second prerequisite for usage met.

Generating class selection options one through four… previously generated.

Scanning… Third prerequisite for usage met. Base class ‘Ritualist’ requires that Characteristics ‘intelligence’ and ‘wisdom’ be at the Mortal characteristic limit before second specialization can be applied. Scan indicates that all characteristics are at this limit. 

Activate specialization attempt? Yes / No.

“Yes.” Joe’s word was too fast to be intelligible to those around him, but that wasn’t on their mind. What they saw was a multicolored lightning strike Joe… leaving behind a cloud of smoke with nothing in it. Their hopes died, and they thought he had as well.

Joe blinked, and looked around the room that he stood in. It was a small, comfortable room. There were four hallways attached to it, and… there was one other person in the room. “Tatum?”

Occultatum looked his way and grimaced. “You foolish mortal… activating a tablet using borrowed power? Do not talk, only listen. Choose which path you will attempt, and for all that is Celestial, finish the trial before your borrowed power fades! The tablet you activated was single-use!”

Four paths lead away from where you currently stand. All of them contain power enough to transform you into what you wish to be. There are three things to decide before you follow a path to the end.

Are you choosing the path that is right for you?

Are you choosing a path that you are willing to follow to the end?

Will you do what you must to attain the power at the end of the path?

Path one: Reductionist. There is more, there is always more. More to do, more to build, more to learn. What if that can be reduced to the most basic components? The ultimate desire of the multiclasser, this path opens the way for all crafting by reducing everything to the common denominators. The path of the Reductionist is the path of industriousness.

Path two: Reinforcer. The might of a city is not only in the buildings that it contains, it is also within the people that live there. Health, happiness, fertility, protection, empowerment. You will hold a city in your hands, and they will live or die when you decide. This path is based around protecting and enhancing structures, and allows for permanent boosts to nearly all aspects of life within its range. The path of the Reinforcer is the path of permanence.

Path three: Seigebreaker. By following this path, no defences can stand before you. No one would dare to hide behind a wall that you approach. Conversely, no one would dare assault a wall you have decided to protect. One way or another, the siege ends with you. Always. This path is the natural next step for a Rituarchitecht, being able to create or destroy cities practically on a whim. The path of the Seigebreaker is the path of the intransitive.

Path four: Rarified. A rarefied being is one who has forgone other attachments, and has devoted themselves to their mental and physical perfection. Instead of focusing on what they can do for others, or what they can make for themselves, they look at what they can make of themselves. All characteristic training is easier, all skill gain is increased. The path of the Rarified is the path of enduring.

Joe wanted to take all the time in the world to make his choice. He wanted to ponder the pros and cons, he wanted to made a carefully considered choice. But… there had been fear in Tatum’s eyes, not anger. Joe needed to make his choice now.

He did.

He ran.

Siegebreaker. That wouldn’t do. Just like when he rejected the choice to become a Waritualist, Joe didn’t plan to fight forever. He didn't want to be forced into it just so that he could advance along his chosen path.

Reinforcer was a no-go, as he could make the same effects with his study into building as it was. So he might need to take longer to achieve the same effect? Worth it. The same feeling came from the Rarified; though it might take longer, the end goal was something he could do either way. 

This meant that the choice was simple for him. Joe sprinted along the path of the Reductionist. Turn everything into the common denominators? Useful for all crafters? Joe was nothing if not industrious, so the path description suited him perfectly. A gate appeared in his path, and Joe slammed into it without slowing down. The heavy wood gate turned into splinters. There hadn’t been a lock, or a key. This was a gate that tested his strength.

Nearly two minutes had passed.

Soon, another ‘gate’ blocked his path. This one was intangible, and Joe sprinted through it. His nerves screamed in pain as the mist tried to tear apart his skin. His constitution held firm, and he passed through. Joe ran, pushing himself to the edge of his ability. The world blinked, and Joe stumbled… it seemed his luck had held firm.

Five minutes had passed.

Two gates appeared, and Joe went through the one on the left, somehow knowing that the right path held only failure. His wisdom had seen him through. A narrow gate ahead, too small to fit through, too strong to smash. Joe contorted, screaming as his bones seemed to melt; then he was through. Jaxon would have been proud of his dexterity. 

Seven minutes had passed.

A powerful saintly figure waited for him, a flaming trident poised to strike. Joe nodded politely, “Pardon me, I don’t have time to fight you.”

The figure cocked it’s head to the side, and nodded. How very charismatic Joe felt right then! The figure only slowly got out of the way. So… so… slowly.

The last gate was in sight, and Joe sprinted forward, saw what he needed to do… then the knowledge was gone. He collapsed to the floor as his body screamed that it had been badly used and abused. Forcing himself off the floor, Joe saw that his boost from Aten was gone. He reached a trembling hand to the gate, but he no longer had knowledge of how to open it.

“I had to prove my intelligence…” Joe shook his head. “That’s not something that’s possible. There’s no way to show that you are intelligent.”

Joe sat and stared at the door. There was no longer a time limit. If he couldn’t go forward, he was lost here anyway. The minutes turned into an hour, then two, as Joe searched every inch of the door for a clue. He slammed a fist onto it in frustration. “I chose the path that was right for me!”

Joe kicked the door. “I’m absolutely choosing a path that I’m willing to follow to the end!”

“What do I need to do to attain the power at the end of the path?” he shouted at the door. “I’ll do it! I just need to know what it is!”

He sat and thought. He tried over and over to find a pattern, to discern some secret. Joe took a deep breath and thought over all the information at hand… and a spark flew, a clue flashed in his mind. “This is the path of industriousness…”

“How can I show my industriousness, willingness, and intelligence all at the same time? I know I knew I could do it… extra-smart me was even happy… what was it?” Joe pounded on the floor. “There’s only an eighteen point intelligence difference. I can reach where I need to be in eighteen days. I can survive here that long, I just have to trust that the guild can hold out.”

Joe pulled out his puzzle cube and started working on it, grumbling the whole time. “I’ll boost my intelligence until I’m able to get through this naturally! See if I don’t, door. I’ll stay here until I’m forced out, or I win!”

Just under two hours later, Joe solved a question on the cube, and the entire thing locked into position and started to glow. “I solved it? No! I won’t be able to gain intelligence through training!”

Characteristic training complete! Special reward, all characteristics +5! You have solved a tier three Puzzle Cube! You are the first to do this on Midgard. Your reward was decided long ago! Sage Treasure himself was the one to load the interior with-

[[Sacrifice acceptable]]

Joe was startled as the message he was reading was interrupted by a much more mechanical one. The cube was pulled out of his grasp, and hovered in front of the gate. 

Sacrifice Unopened, Completed Tier Three Puzzle Cube to open this gate? Yes / No.

“I’ve been working on that since I learned that I could increase my stats!” Joe shouted at the message hovering in his face. “It was loaded by a Sage of freaking Treasure! You want me to give up… you want me… the third question. This is what I need to do to attain that power?”

Joe stared hungrily at the items that were just visible through a haze of energy. That cube seemed to have been a spatial device, or the world might be messing with his mind. “Am I willing… to do what I have to do… to attain the power I desire?”

He swallowed deeply. “Yes. Sacrifice the cube.”

[[Sacrifice accepted]]

The cube vanished with a small *pop*, and Joe felt his stomach drop. The gate fell over, toppling backward and leaving the way open for Joe to walk along. In the center of the room was himself, just like when he had originally chosen a class. This doppelganger mimicked his movements, but stopped as he got closer. Then, it reached into the air next to it and pulled two items out of nothing. 

One was a strange diagram that showed moving energy throughout all of Joe’s body. Joe took it, but wasn't sure what to do with it. The other was a ritual diagram, but… there was a sense of permanence to this diagram that he had never felt before. The other him activated the ritual, and Joe was wrapped in potent power.

The shackles of Midgard trapping you upon Zone break away from your limbs! You have gained the class specialization ‘Reductionist’. There are three benefits to this class and two negatives that balance it out.

The first negative: You will no longer gain characteristic or skill points by leveling. Neither from character class, nor specialization. 

The second negative: You can no longer use standard materials for any form of crafting.

“Excuse me?” Joe blanched at the words that appeared in front of him. Has his warehouse of crafting materials stored in his codpiece had just become worthless to him?