Ruthless ~ 33!

~ 33 ~

Joe pounded his fist into the wall as he appeared in the Grand Temple of Ardania. “That slimy son of a-”

Reward calculations granted! Item descriptions available! You now have a choice: you may forfeit any of the items collected. You may keep any of the items collected. Each item will be assigned a point value, and all items turned in will grant each party member an equal share of points. If there is a dispute, party members may use their points to purchase an item. The spent points will be shared to the other team members. All leftover points can be traded for experience or coins.

What followed next was a huge listing of all the items that had been collected through the course of their time in the Hallowed Land. The five party members went down the list quickly, and most of the items were converted into points and shared out. Everyone took a few trinkets or things that they wanted, and there were a few surprises.

“Seriously, Poppy?” Joe’s voice was strained from pure exasperation. “You stole the couches?”

“And I would like them, thank you very much.” Poppy grinned as he thought about how well he had slept on the plush, golden, overstuffed cushions.

“Challenge.” Jaxon demanded instantly. They started a bidding war with their points, and soon Poppy was wearing a pleased smile.

“Thank you.” Poppy lightly stated. “Joe, would you be so kind as to keep those stored for me till we get back?”

“…Sure.” Joe and the others kept moving through the listings. Joe claimed the cauldron, but it cost most of his points, since Alexis also had a use for it. She got most of the crafting materials, and Bard saved up his points. At the end of the bidding war, Jaxon had taken a small Unique necklace named ‘Attention’. There was no other information on it, but Jaxon wanted Attention so badly that he got it pretty easily.

“There’s a list where we can spend points on things we didn't find.” Bard happily informed them as his fingers moved a screen only visible to him. “Expensive as all get out though.”

Each extra point could be taken as ten experience points or one silver. After the sale of all the other items in their possession, Bard had collected thirteen thousand points. He had enough to bring a level zero character directly to level fifteen if he cashed out, but he only had eyes for one option. He made his choice, and golden light bubbled up in his hands. It formed into a two-handed axe, and the weight of it made him grunt. 

“Now we are talkin.” Bard shifted the weapon, letting one of the sharp edges rest on the ground.

“What did you get, Hon?” Alexis carefully inquired.

“It’s ah triple axe!” Bard told her excitedly. The blank expressions around him made the Skald snort, so he decided to show them. With the handle pointed into the air, he brushed his hands against the golden handle and a mellow chord rang out. “Not only is it an axe that ah can use ta slice an dice, it’s an axe. An electric guitar! Well… mana guitar?”

You are under the effects of Power Chord. All damage dealt increased by 5%.

“Ha! That’s naw even ah song! That’s just an idle strum!” Bard crowed excitedly. “Jus’ wait till I figure out how to use Beast to his best effect! That’s a Special Unique weapon for ya!”

Joe was blown away by the utility of what Bard had gained, but as he looked at his own point balance under a thousand, he knew that there was nothing he would be able to gain beyond regret if he looked at the listing of purchase options. He swallowed and exited out of the purchase options.

Points remaining: 861. Convert to experience or coin?

“Experience.” Joe stated firmly. The next question that popped up made his eyes bulge, and he shouted for everyone to wait before choosing to buy anything else.

Where would you like your experience points to go? Character level, class level, or skill level?

“We can convert the points into experience for class or skill levels!” Joe explained when he gained odd looks.

Class level selected. Active class: Rituarchitect. 

“Wait! Back! I was just telling them that…” Joe trailed off as he watched his point values drain away into nothing. Then, silver light poured off of him, and he was filled with euphoria.

You have reached level 7 as a Rituarchitect! 5,214 experience remains until level 8!

Rituals used to build structures now have a fixed 10% chance to absorb a portion of the mana invested in the ritual, gaining an additional effect. The effect will be random unless you learn how to stabilize the mana draw from the materials.

“Well that’s pretty neat.” Joe was utterly elated. He had gained two class levels just from-

Now quantifying growth from event ‘The Hallowed Lands’. Calculating… 5,355 experience gained! See full listing of monsters defeated by clicking *here*.

Joe skipped clicking the listing, and a golden aura lifted him off the ground and exploded around him as he was lifted to level seventeen. His party members were undergoing similar effects, and the combined energy scoured the area around them clean. He landed on his feet, and the notifications continued. There were so many that he simply stared. Every ability he used had increased by at least one skill level, even if he had only used it a single time.

The bounty of the Hallowed lands has boosted the energy you are able to maintain. Boost has been compounded by Ritualist class bonus! Skills increased:

Mend (Student VII).

Lay on hands (Apprentice IX).

Neutrality Aura (Apprentice VIII).

Corify (Beginner I). Created Cores now have a uniform size, regardless of the amount of experience they contain! Caution, powerful Cores may cause blindness if you play with them too much!

Hidden Sense (Apprentice I). Items that were lost or hidden by amateurs hold no mystery for you! They will practically speak to you, and you will need to intentionally ignore them if you don’t want them.

Retaliation of Shadows (Apprentice VI). Getting a little slap happy, aren't you? You know you need to get hit in order to rank this up… right? Or are the concussions getting to you?

Polearm Mastery (Apprentice I). You want to use your silly stick to hit other people that have actual weapons… okay. Yeah. Let’s see where this goes. While using a polearm, you now have a flat 1% chance to disarm an opponent that is using a one-handed weapon.

Mana Manipulation (Student IV). More mana!

Coalescence (Student VII). Denser mana!

Acid Spray (Apprentice II).

Dark Lightning Strike (Beginner VII). You are attractive. To lightning. Still, it's a start. 

The gains were, in a word, unbelievable. Especially in the case of Dark Lightning Strike, which had directly doubled in skill level. Sure, he had used all of these, but… this was too much! The others also started muttering about the gains in an excited tone. Joe’s pupils shrank to dots as he had a disturbing thought. “We need to leave. If this is what we got for being in the middle of the pack, what is the first-place team going to come back with? I think we may have made some enemies…”

The general consensus was that yeah, it was time to go. Joe promised himself that he would come back soon to talk to the powerful cleric of Elemental Water, but for now he contented himself with looking at his status as they fled to the safety of Towney McTownface.

Name: Joe ‘Tatum’s Chosen Legend’ Class: Mage (Actual: Rituarchitect)

Profession I: Tenured Scholar (Actual: Arcanologist)

Profession II: Ritualistic Alchemist

Character Level: 17 Exp: 157,498 Exp to next level: 13,502

Rituarchitect Level: 7 Exp: 22,786 Exp to next level: 5,214

Hit Points: 622/622

Mana: 1,129/1,872 (617 Reserved)

Mana regen: 39.44/sec 

Stamina: 610/616.5

Stamina regen: 5.88/sec

Characteristic: Raw score (Modifier)

Strength: 61 (2.11)

Dexterity: 70 (2.22)

Constitution: 62 (2.12)

Intelligence: 120 (3.2)

Wisdom: 95 (2.45)

Charisma: 59 (2.09)

Perception: 72 (2.22)

Luck: 45 (1.45)

Karmic Luck: +20

Joe was having a good time going through everything while they leisurely walked toward the main square. His stats were looking good, he had apparently done something right if his Karmic Luck were anything to go by, and-

“And that’s why we need everyone we can possibly get if we are going to launch an offensive against a Noble Guild!” The person speaking had drawn a huge crowd, and was standing on top of a statue. “We know for a fact that they have an endless food supply! They have housing, clothes, weapons, and have been funneling resources into beautification projects while we are starving to death again and again!”

Joe’s party had all stopped to stare at the man. Was he trying to make a mob? Though the densely packed city had thinned as people got used to this reality, it didn’t change the fact that over a billion people had entered Eternium. Though… that thought felt… fuzzy. Joe narrowed his eyes as he realized that he hadn't thought about earth or the destruction there in days, possibly weeks. This place had a way of making you forget your past troubles, in order to focus on the future, and the present. For most people, that was only helpful… but here, it was being used against the Wanderer’s Guild to paint them as the true monsters.

“Three days, and we will march against this repository of ‘elite players’ that are making it impossible for us to better our own lives! Join us now, and we’ll work with you to get ready! Three days, and you will be powerful enough to take everything you need! Once we have seized the means of production, we will all-”

“Let’s go, guys.” Joe started pushing at the crowd. “I think we need to talk to someone about this.”