Chapter 181 - Rune Forger

Eric’s heart burned with the desire to purge the entire world of those sneering goblinoid bastards so gleefully doing all they could to enslave all of humanity in their carefully connived debt traps.

Just thinking of them filled him with fire.

It was only when Sam whistled nervously and Pavel flinched that he snapped back into the moment. “Sorry. Just thinking of a certain group of over enthusiastic bankers I really, really, want to have a heart-to-heart with.”

Sam snorted. “Like I wouldn’t be running away in terror if I was your banker, Eric.”

Eric laughed off the snark, taking a deep, calming breath, focusing on his newest boon companion. “So, in a nut shell, your former sect is expending significant resources camping a gate on a newly integrated world, all for the sake of a future head determined to get his paws on a full dozen divine tier spirit fruit guarded by the sentinel of this entire pocket realm. Furthermore, among your fallen henchmen’s supplies is a trap that would have poisoned both the forest guardian and their own karma, at least in terms of prizes they might earn in this realm. But that was okay as far as your former crew were concerned. Because ‘Young Master’ could still be gifted fruit that would have ascended him far beyond what he could otherwise hope to achieve by his own merits.”

Sam whistled. “Talk about manufacturing the ultimate fortuitous encounter!”

Eric nodded. “And to top it all off, Scar’s father is camping the entrance along with his henchmen. And even if he can’t, say, lift a finger to strike at me, because he’s supposedly the equivalent of a System approved Bronze tier Classer, and I don’t even know what that means, but I’m guessing it involves class evolution and general badassery, he’s still permitted to strike you dead in a heartbeat, just for spite.”

Pavel flashed a bitter smile. “Correct.”

Eric, now having a full sense of the treasures he had claimed from the cultivator he had killed in singular combat, smiled at the crippled cultivator. “Then I’d say the first thing we need to do is get you back on your feet.”

The dark elf’s skin took on a grey pallor when Eric pulled out a prize radiating energies so dense even Sam stepped back with a curse, solemnly presenting a lozenge wrapped in rice paper covered with runes. Runes blazing so fiercely with spiritual potency that they shivered right through Eric’s very soul.

“Eric, that’s one of Scar’s lozenges! Do you have any idea what Bronze Tier Spirit Medicine pole that is worth?” The elf gave a rueful shake of his head. “No, Eric, that pill… forged by the headmaster of our entire sect...”

“Was given to the leader of your pact, in case grave injuries were taken by your party. And they sure as hell were.” Eric flashed a sad smile, nodding Sam’s way. “Sorry, buddy, but I don’t think the red potion I left in you care will cut it for missing limbs.” A raised eyebrow Sam’s way earned a quick nod, his friend crouching down to address the cultivator.

“Sorry, Pavel. Grandfather’s potions will heal slashes, infections, or gut wounds, true life savers for non classers like you and me. But even a badly enough infected injury required almost an entire vial to save my life. And, buddy, you’re missing not one but two legs at the knee.” Sam gave a sad shake of his head. “No potion can possibly save you from that. Only being able to grab a class, if you can actually survive entering the pods. But if Eric’s theories are right, then the fact you have a complete set of meridians, or hell, any open and functioning meridians at all, means you’re a shoe-in for a System class as well.”

Pavel gazed at Eric for long moments, hope and worry flashing across his features. “If you’re… sure, Eric. As someone who owes you his life… it’s only fair I point out that that pill would be worth at least 5 million credits on the galactic exchange.”

Sam blinked at this. “Shit, Eric, best think twice! After all, wheel-chairs are cheep, and we can always rename our buddy Stumpy!” He smirked at Pavel’s look of horror. “I’m kidding, Stumpy. Seriously. Shut up and take the pill already. Don’t make our boy look stupid, just holding his hand out to you.”

Pavel’s eyes locked upon the lozenge. “Are you sure? If you’re right about the pods...”

“You need to be on your feet and mobile,” Eric insisted. “if we’re going to have a chance in hell of escaping… if you’re going to be able to survive even a two second encounter with your psycho elder, you need to at least be back on your feet! Besides. I need a training partner. There might be no way in hell I can learn your disgustingly awesome Windblade Qi attack in a day or a year, but I sure as fuck can learn to better counter it than I did in that fight this morning.”

Eric flashed a bleak smile. “So shut up and take the pill, kung fu brother. We’re wasting time that you could be kicking my ass in a sparring ring.”

Pavel gazed at Eric for long moments before bowing his head, his hand snatching the pill with a speed only 50 Quickness would allow, earning a wide-eyed lurch from Sam.

“Shit, when you were talking about a cultivator you weren’t…” He swallowed. “Sorry for the stumpy joke. Please don’t use your Xianxia super powers to rip my head off.”

But Pavel wasted no time, carefully removing the rune covered scrap of rice paper that seemed to glitter with flame before popping the lozenge in his mouth and swallowing, gulping down the flask Sam handed him with a grimace before his eyes bulged, and he began to writhe and scream.

“Eric? Shit, Eric, what the hell happened?”

But Eric’s eyes were lost in the captivating glitter of fiery runes upon impossibly thin rice paper, time seeming to slow as trembling hands pushed Quickness, Finesse, and air resistance for all they were worth as he lurched for the priceless prize, just moments away from disintegration.

The background screams and worried cries were a cacophony of distraction as Eric’s heart lurched, struck by a revelation so profound that he went near catatonic as destiny’s rigid path opened wide to reveal avenues and directions he couldn’t even have conceived of before his fingertips at last touched the priceless prize. Quickly, before it could disintegrate to dust and forever deny its secrets to primitive natives who were being deliberately cut off absolutely every chance of ascension, Eric had flooded that impossibly miniscule scrap of rice paper with every iota of his being, prepared to pay any amount of potency for the secrets locked within, even as he endured once more the terrifying sensation of his experience pool crashing down to nothing, mad impulse and folly’s laughter drinking deep from the crimson cup of his soul, while his mind blazed with messages both unexpected and profound.

Congratulations! You have successfully Soul-Bound Rune-covered artifact! This miniscule piece of rice paper, a heartbeat away from disintegration, weights 1/100,000 of a pound.

Spiritual energy of Runes contained within is equivalent to 7 pounds.

Fire Qi essence detected. Fire cultivation affinity detected.

You have saved versus oblivion!

You have learned the rune for FIRE!

Your experience is now at zero.

You have consumed an additional 3 weeks of your life.

Do you wish to continue claiming runes?

The words washed over Eric as he drowned in a sea of flame, his mind blazing with knowledge he howled for the learning, his mind forced to stretch in ways both alien and sublime, Eric instantly becoming more than he had ever been before.

An entire path to power he sensed that might be just as devastating as any path of arcane sorcery.

Yet the cost for daring even a single step beyond the singular rune so intimately tied to his essence, the core of his very being, would see him plummet to the depths of folly, the sands of his mortal shell becoming the blot to absorb the ink of the words of wisdom he would seer upon his soul for all time, even if his shell would crumple with the burden of gifts a future self would be granted, sensing with exquisite clarity only in that halcyon instant his place upon the grand wheel of reincarnation.

Heart howling with a hunger for knowledge and power gave way to the fierce desire to see this life through to its end, Eric mentally lurching away from that impossible vortex of knowledge that could so easily consume him. A glimpse into divine truths that he feared he would never glimpse again.

Dizzy and utterly disoriented, Eric found himself crashing to the ground with a cry, his head pounding like he had just done way too many tequila shots, which made no sense, since he had sworn off alcohol altogether in silent support of his sister’s recovery, save when his mother forced both of her children to be the perfect little figurines for all her various social gatherings, garnering support for endless projects, far too much focus paid on his sister, medicine and makeup hiding so many scars, cracking so badly beneath her smile.

And Eric had failed to save her from the wolves even then, so naive in the ways that really mattered, missing the cues that would have spared his sister so much grief and shame.

And that wasn’t the only time he had failed her.

Tormented by visions of Elonia’s wide-eyed horror as a goblin’s sniper rifle clipped the side of her throat, coming so damn close to ending her life right then and there… and again, he had done nothing. Could do nothing. His sister a slave to his mother’s ambitions, forced to dance her tune while enemies constantly sought to end her misery with tears of blood.

Both of them trapped in a world tearing itself apart as moguls and madmen fought for power, Eric just desperate to survive. To survive and grow strong and profound in ways even his enemies would be forced to respect. Even his mother, finally forced to defer to his own desperate quest to gain relevance and finally be able to protect the ones he loved.

A resolution he swore once more as he screamed with illumination that transcended both pleasure and pain, his soul blazing with the pristine essence of his own inner flame.

All the brighter as the flashing rune of Fire now encapsulated his soul as well.

And how striking it was to see that the results of all his efforts had paid off beyond his wildest dreams, his rune somehow gaining added dimensions of relevance, of import, glittering in directions tied to both spiritual energy and the arcane, with a weight that trembled through his entire soul.

Breakthrough made!

The potency of your rune has been magnified and amplified by your own experiences straddling three realms of power, doing all you can to master the power of flame!

You now possess 1 Transcendant Rune!

The Essence of Fire within you is now Blazing!

The Essence of Fire within you has achieved Rank 3!

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Eric Silver Level 9 Conscript (You are 100% of the way to level 10!)

Rank 12 Basic Fire Cultivator (+1 St/Vi/Qu/SE per Rank.)

NOTE! - You have successfully infused your core! You are currently at 98.5% of maximum core density!

Physical Characteristics

Strength – 74 (91%) You’re now many times stronger than any Olympian ever to walk the face of Earth!

Vitality – 53 You can now regenerate at a visible pace, and have (limited) natural damage resistance!

Finesse – 79 Yours is an exquisite grace that any professional dancer, fencer, or marksman would envy.

Quickness – 67 You strike between the beats, cutting down your foes in the blink of an eye.

Appearance – 19! (Congratulations! You have achieved Alpha genetic compatibility! You have won the genetic battle from within! Countless defective genes and adverse mutations have been destroyed and replaced by their healthiest counterparts. And it shows! Almost any compatible partner will find you captivating at first glance, and for those able to smell pheromones or otherwise sense biological fitness, you will come off as absolutely irresistible. Best to expect plenty of marriage and alliance offers in the near future!)

Thanks in part to your massive spike in Vitality, your Essence scars are now no more than vibrant tattoo-like markings that only a few will find off-putting, and most will find absolutely fascinating! Combined with your cat-like grace and magnificent physique, your exquisitely handsome hybrid features now exceed everything your mother had once hoped to achieve with steroids, foundations, and primers.

Congratulations! You now glow with health that many will find absolutely irresistible! Best keep a tight lid on your Sylvan System Interface connections, lest you find yourself with an offer you (literally) can’t refuse!

Mental Characteristics

Scholarship – 16

Perception – 57 Perhaps the greatest attribute of all. This, (along with infravision) means you can spot most enemies long before they spot you.

Willpower – 35 You have already survived trials that few others could endure. And it shows.

Charisma – 13

Potency Pools

Arcane Potential – 17

(Mana Pool = 204)

Spiritual Energy  – 46

Soul Reserves – 58 (52)

Stamina – 530 Points

Health – 814 Points.

Resistances & Recovery

Physical Resistance – 7

Physical Regeneration – 5.1 /second

Elemental Resistance – 0

Qi Resistance – 3

Mental Resistance – 10

Physical Age = 17 Years (+32 years, 11 months, 1 day & 4 hours that Arcane Magics cannot restore! Superhuman Vitality allows you to keep your youth, even if you’re now burning your candle at both ends!)

Interface Recognized Skills

Acting – Rank 5

Advanced Arcane Weapons (Blaster Rifle) – Rank 3

Bardiche (Unified) – Rank 21 (Cleaving Blow, Battleforged,*Piercing Strike)

Blade and Shield – Rank 11

Bow (All Types) – Rank 19 (True Strike)

Crossbows – Rank 16 (True Strike)

Small Blades – Rank 4

Demolitions – Rank 12 (Path of Mastery)

ESS Manipulation – Rank 10 (Arcane Resonance Mastery: You can store UNLIMITED amounts of any element, prize, or artifacts with arcane potential.)

Find Weakness (Spell Cleave, Qi Perception) – Rank 21

Identify – Rank 1

Gunnery – Rank 2

Healer’s Aid – Rank 3

Iado (Fast-Draw) – Rank 10 (Epic Tier - Doom Flurry –every strike you successfully execute within 1 second of drawing your blade will count as a Doom Slice!)

Javelin Throwing – Rank 12

Negotiation – Rank 9

Repair – Rank 1

Saber – Rank 20 (Doom Slice, Battleforged, *Piercing Strike)

Spear – Rank 20 (Piercing Strike, Battleforged)

Stealth – Rank 12 (Hunter’s Grace)

Swimming – Rank 2

Unarmed Combat – Rank 10 (Empty Fist (Adept) - You have chosen forgo any connection with the echoes and memories of countless brawlers who have come before you. You have turned your focus inward, to the insights your tribulations have brought to the interconnections between mind, spirit, and body.)

Arcane Skills

Flame Bolt (Soul-Linked Wand) – Rank 6

Necromancer Affinities & Skills

Blood Mastery – Rank 24 (Blood Claimance, Lesser Healing, Essence Infusion)

Spirit Mastery – Rank 17 (Path of Dominion)

Rituals of Summoning and Binding – Rank 20 (Tier II Path of Dominion, Ritual of Greater Spirit Summoning)

Flesh Sculptor – Rank 20 (Tier II Path of Dominion, Basic Revenant Preparation)

Blood Ward – Rank 1 (Ward against non sapient living creatures!)

Potency Binding – Rank 4 (Blood tattoo used to Store the potency of your foes to channel into necromancy!)

Necromancer Spells

Unorthodox Abjuration – Rank 20

Damage inflicted upon undead: EXTREME. Cost: 60 Ex, 10 temporary health, 20 mana, 10% of temporary Soul Reserves.

Interface Enhancements

Full Neuro-Linguistic capabilities

Extradimensional Storage Space

Essences Claimed:

Fire – Blazing - (Rank 3, White Tier)

Wrath (Rank 1, White Tier)

Dominion (Rank 1, White Tier)

Essence Related Skills:

Burst of Strength: Rank 14 (Path of Mastery)

Dominion’s Resilience: Rank 3 (Make your toys harder to break, especially the soul-bound ones!)

Dominion’s Command: Rank 6 (Command your foes to kneel. Command your allies’ flesh to seal! Weaker opponents must save versus contest of Wills to resist your orders. Even a single rank lets you throw lesser Classers off-balance! Note. This skill boosts Blood Mastery Healing affinity! Prerequisite to healing application: You must first anoint your target with your blood..)

Heat Surge: Rank 10 (Path of Mastery)

Unified Perception (Formerly Infravision): Rank 20 (Magesight +4 to spot mind & soul magic. Detect Spiritual Anomalies)

You will received bonuses in comprehending arcane blueprints and circuits, especially those involving the element of Flame! The Artificer Class is now open to you!

Contender Skills (Path of Consumption)

These skills fuse Necromancy, Essences, and a Contender’s potential! You have dared to fuse your gifts along a Forbidden Path!

Necromantic Consumption (Path of Endless Bounty): Rank 5 - You may feast on the potency potential of Territories you have conquered, boosting your Strength and Vitality permanently, so long as you claim no territory under your banner! (The Path of Rulers and the Path of Consumption are diametrically opposed). This form of consumption has the highest likelihood of success, and mimics natural cycles of predation enough that not even System Sentinels can detect your actions!

You may also feast upon the potency of Dungeons you have achieved a First Completion on. Note: Likelihood of success, penalty cost (in terms of life force) for anything less than a 100% clear, and degree of potency absorbed all benefit from increasing Rank!

You have chosen to walk the Path of Endless Bounty! Now, the territories you carefully prune actually blossom under your touch, able to evolve with 1 Lesser Bounty of your choice!

Essence Consumption: Rank 3 - You may feast on the Essence potential of Territories you have conquered, so long as you claim none! (The Path of Rulers and the Path of Consumption are diametrically opposed!). You may also feast upon the Essence potential of Dungeons you have achieved a First Completion on! Note: Not all territories or dungeons have any potential Essence to claim. Additionally, said essences might NOT be compatible with those you already have. Likelihood of success is lower than with basic Necromantic Consumption, unless territory or dungeon is naturally attuned to a particular Essence!

Basic Fire Cultivation Technique – Rank 12.

Titles Earned

Necromantic Prodigy

HERO

Lightning Marksman

Realm Breaker

Headhunter

Mad Bomber

Master Negotiator

Battlefield Champion

Battlefield Archer

Orc Slayer

Master Criminal

Basher

First Ascendant

Alpha Hunter

Nature’s Boon

True Disciple

Title Boons:

- Increased spacial perception and sense of timing means you’re 35% more likely to hit all future targets with all ranged weapons!

- You now learn all ranged weapon skills 60% faster.

+4 to reaction rolls from all humans who know of your hero status.

- So long as you forsake the Path of Rulers, you may consume the essence and potency of any territory you claim!

- All skills involving explosives or gunnery improve 10% Quicker.

+2 to all skill checks to impress or intimidate non-native humanoids.

- You have (an additional) +4 to all skill checks to impress or intimidate non-native humanoids, should you reveal your Orc Slayer title.

- +1 to all intimidation skillchecks.

- Unless you deliberately hide Orc Slayer title, orcs will either flee, or attack you on sight!

- You enjoy a bonus to all Find Weakness skill checks against Orcs.

- Orcs now have a penalty at resisting your Spells or Essence based attacks.

- All explosives you yourself design and implement, including artillery rounds, will earn you an additional 10% of base experience.

- Tier 1 Structural Integrity Sense mean that your own weapons will hardly ever blow up in your face, and you now get a gut feeling whenever weapons (or shoddily made buildings) look ready to erupt, topple, or otherwise explode in your face.

- Social Perception - You may now use Perception in addition to Charisma to sense meaning behind action like never before!

- What The Other Party Wants - Above all else, you’re able to sense what others truly want in any negotiation!

- All blows with melee weapons are now 15% more powerful!

- You learn all melee weapon skills 15% faster!

- All melee weapons under 2 feet in length or specifically used to assassinate are learned 40% faster.

- All thief and assassin skills are learned 25% faster than they otherwise would be.

- 25% increased chance of finding the weakness in any object through the application of carefully applied brute force.

- Tier 1 Danger Sense. You will automatically spot hostile intentions from sentients with a successful Perception Check! If you ever feel a cold shiver racing down your spine, you know to DUCK AND COVER, even if you fail to spot the would-be executioner!

Nose for trouble. - You can spot a raw deal like overripe fish, and can sense a setup a mile away.

Smooth Criminal – The law doesn’t take kindly to known criminals, but somehow you always come out smelling like roses!

Know the Score –  You’re far more likely to hear rumors or be led by the strings of fate to uniquely profitable opportunities of all types and stripes! Rewards from all Elicit activities will be anywhere from 100% to a full magnitude beyond what they would otherwise be!

- Your bloodline has been purged of all negative mutations as defined by Summer Realm. Symmetrical features, unmistakably sylvan eyes, and enhanced pheromones increases likelihood of potential mates becoming infatuated with you.

- +15% Cultivation Efficiency

- +5% Potency to all Spirit Fruit eaten and Beast Cores consumed.

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Chapter 182 - A Skill Evolved, A Mentor Found