After taking a few steps away from the disfigured remains of Gilgamesh’s corpse, a quest update exploded in my vision and was swiftly followed by several others. Right before this, I was pondering if the Ascended Ogre would be a valid target of my Undeath minion spell, which I desperately wanted to make more use of. Unfortunately, the regret swirling in my chest of the spell simply failing the moment I attempted a spell casting was soon replaced by the gains we were about to receive from defeating the monstrous opponent. Even if Gilgamesh’s head was still attached, I was confident the System wouldn’t allow me to revive him to fight at my side since the boss was an Ascended mob, after all.
Looking at the first of my message, defeating an Ascended monster while under level thirty ourselves and fighting it on a Prime world was quite the accomplishment in the System’s eyes. The rewards were impressive, to say the least.
“Oh, hell yeah!” I exclaimed as my eyes greedily soaked up the message.
Quest Update – Keeper of the Cabochon Spire.
Objective: Slay Gilgamesh the Turbulent, COMPLETED.
Rewards: Experience, a random spell or skill upgrade, and access to the Cabochon’s foundation obelisk.
Calculating rewards, please stand by…
Notice! Quest rewards have been increased for having a party with an average of 10 levels lower than the enemy combatant (moderate difficulty, plus 50% towards quest rewards).
Notice! Quest rewards have been increased for defeating an Ascended Boss-tiered combatant while still on a Prime World (extreme difficulty, plus 125% towards quest rewards).
Congratulations! You have earned 34,375 experience (Base 12,500).
Congratulations! You have earned a hidden quest reward: plus 10% to movement speed (permanent boon).
Congratulations! You have earned a quest reward: a random skill upgrade! Stealth has been upgraded to Covert Stealth.
Congratulations! You have acquired the skill: Covert Stealth.
Your methodical and precise approach allows you to remain undetected by all but the strongest of enemy forces. It is rumored that masters of this skill pass completely unseen in even the least optimal conditions. Each level in this skill decreases your chance of being detected by six percent. Additionally, damaging attacks and abilities while under the effects of Covert Stealth will cause 100% more damage and is increased by a further six percent per skill level. As an upgraded to Stealth, this damage enhancement now applies to harmful direct damage and damage over time spells (average tier or lower).
Note – To receive this damage increase, spells must be cast within fifteen feet of an unaware target.
We were within a handful of yards from the square obsidian base of Cicero’s tower when the fantastic new stealth skill’s information appeared. As close as we were to the magnificent granite-like structure, we discovered the dark stone was precisely cut a hundred feet on each of its square sides. The obsidian marble was perfectly smooth and entirely devoid of even the slightest imperfections, though gray swirls only detectible with how close we were could be seen running through the impressive material. It was a remarkable structure anchoring the gigantic emerald spike reaching far overhead. And, unless I missed my guess, the obsidian stone was so precisely crafted I was confident it would be nigh impossible to replicate the feat with even modern-day equipment from back on Earth.
Yet, as fascinating as the pitch-black marble was, the edifice disappeared into the back of my mind as my mouth dropped in stunned amazement. My upgraded Stealth just pushed my potential to whole new levels. Sure, I had hoped the randomly upgraded ability granted with the quest’s completion would have turned out to be one of my most used spells instead, perhaps my specialized Blood Boil or Pyroclastic Funeral Pyre, pushing either to reaching enhanced-tier levels, but I hadn’t considered such a gain resulting in Stealth crossing into a whole new realm. I was not about to voice a complaint. No, sir! From that day forward, I was able to sneak attack with a spell! Better yet, the skill would double the damage of damage over time spells! Such a boon was simply unheard of.
“Bloody hell!” I exclaimed in a futile attempt to keep my excitement tamped down. “Stell, please tell me I’m not imagining this. Does it work with all of my DoTs?! This can’t be serious.”
Stella grunted in amusement. “It sure does,” she replied with a flick of her paw. “Well, granted, you’re near enough to whatever you’re casting on, and they don’t hear you whispering the words of your spell. It’s too bad the range on spells isn’t farther, but it makes sense,” Stella remarked with a mischievous Cheshire grin. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled up one of her invisible screens and dove face-first into anything else she could find about my spectacular new skill.
“Spells are typically very flashy, not to mention obnoxiously loud. Take your Vivisection spells, for example, with the ‘cacophony’ it creates. Though I guess it’s not as loud as we first feared. It’s still annoying, I say! Before looking closer here, I half expected some of your flashier spells wouldn’t work at all. Yet, from what is hidden in the Metadata, as long as you’re within fifteen feet, you’re good to go even if they hear or see the spell coming after its cast.”
“I doubt we’re going to be able to use it all that often since we have to be hidden, but when we can…” I said before mimicking an explosion with my fingers. It was going to cause absolute devastation to whatever was unfortunately enough to feel my spell’s sting. Beaming a radiant smile at my friend, I pressed forward with the rest of my notifications—the next being an interesting new title gained from slaying the Ascended Ogre.
System Notification: You have been granted a new title, ‘Champion Slayer.’
‘Champion Slayer – Title benefits: Permanently increases all damage against monsters of a higher level than you by 10%. All spells are 10% more likely to bypass magical resistances against monsters of a higher level than you.
Would you like to change your Title to ‘Champion Slayer?’ Note – Title benefits remain regardless of the displayed title. Yes/No?
“Well, this is awesome,” I cheered as my smile grew broader. “More damage and my spells are easier to apply on anything higher level than me? Yes, please! Heck, most of the things we fight nowadays are at least a few levels higher to boot.”
I mentally selected ‘no’ on the waiting prompt. I thoroughly enjoyed displaying my Hunter Killer II far better, so I wanted to keep that as my displayed title. With my latest message taken care of, another swiftly took its place. It was the experience I gained from defeating the boss and it pushed my XP bar even higher. It was too bad the System didn’t spell out exactly how many experience points were earned whenever we killed a monster, but I was willing to bet that with Gilgamesh being above level thirty and an Ascended boss, it was substantial.
Experience Awarded: Celeritous Behemoth Ogre (Level 35 – Ascended Boss)
Notice! Experience has been split among party members.
For a moment, I pondered the possible connection of defeating a ‘Celeritous’ monster and a hidden quest reward granting me a permanent boost in my movement speed, but I shook the thought away. Another thought popped into my head so I checked in with Stella. Sadly, she quickly confirmed the hidden quest reward only applied to me and wasn’t given to anyone else in our party. At her words, I saw Tallos attempt to disguise a disappointed look behind his rubbing a hand across his mouth. The proud ranger caught my eyes appraising him, so I waved away any apology I was about to offer at the bad news.
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“It’s alright,” he stated after a heartbeat. His tone wasn’t too serious, and his follow up statement contained a fair bit of lightheartedness. “The rest of us will just need to walk that much faster to keep up.”
Patting my friend on the back, we rounded the nearest side of the marble foundation where we spotted what appeared to be the main entryway into the structure. Holding up a hand to forestall our advance, I signaled my friends to give me a minute to run through the rest of my notifications before we moved inside.
“This shouldn’t take too long,” I commented softly in case anything was behind the marble doors, but I was swiftly proven wrong as multiple messages appeared one after another.
The healthy amount of quest experience, combined with extra earned from defeating Gilgamesh, was enough to vault me right past level twenty-seven and into twenty-eight. I knew precisely what that meant. Three new spell options would soon be made available to me.
Level Up! You have earned enough experience to advance to level 27 & 28! Tier 3 class characteristic attributes have been applied. You have 14 attribute points to distribute. Fight well, Hunter!
Along with the default boost in several of my key attributes, excitement fluttered in my chest at the thought of a new spell getting added to my repertoire. “Please be enhanced tier. Please be enhanced tier,” I wished with giddy optimism. Sadly, I wouldn’t be that lucky, at least not until reaching the maximum level for this beginner world.
“No dice, but that skill on offer seems well worth taking a deeper look into,” Stella commented as we took in the information displayed across my vision.
Congratulations on reaching level 28. As a Wraith, you are able to choose one of the following class-appropriate skills or spells. Please know that it is possible any skill or spell not selected may be found elsewhere in the World. Additionally, when level 30 is reached, a tier 4 class will become available. Choose wisely.
Option 1: Skill [Fade Step] – Unlike other common forms of magical fast travel, which require a medium like a shadow or a hostile enemy present, Fade Step enables a quick means of translocating across a battlefield without the typical hindrances intertwined with other variations of this skill. Briefly fading from sight, you are able to instantly appear at a desired distant location. While this skill cannot be used in rapid succession without incurring a cool down penalty, it allows the user to navigate a battlefield to always find the most opportune location to deliver killing blows.
“Alright, first up, Fade Step. It's something any backstabbing rogue dreams to receive,” I noted appreciatively. Rogue classes were one my favorite to play in the host of MMORPGs I enjoyed in my former life back on Earth. The ability to instantly get behind an opponent and then deliver a killing thrust should never be underestimated. Better still, it seemed to have a short cool down as long as the skill wasn’t used back-to-back. Otherwise, it would have been overpowered to a high degree and I likely would have chosen it then and there. “Impressive, to say the least. It’s also better than something like Shadow Step which would have required nearby shadows for the teleport to work. This appears to work just about anywhere and would let me get into perfect positions against anything we tangle with.”
Stella’s nose was buried deeply in her invisible Accelerator screens, her eyes flickering back and forth as if she was intently scanning through a mountain's worth of data. With eager anticipation, I waited for her to dig up anything else she could tell us about the impressive skill.
“I can’t say how far exactly you can teleport, but it seems to be quite respectable. Maybe thirty feet, or more perhaps? Fade Step is equivalent to an average-tier spell, so will be powerful in its own right,” Stella elaborated after another good half minute of meticulous searching. While she read, she tapped a toe against her lips before divulging more of what she uncovered. “Its cool down is less than ten seconds and, sort of like what we saw with Gilgamesh’s charge, Fade Step can be used sooner than this, though at the cost of tripling the normal cool down. Also, you won’t be able to phase through walls or anything of that sort. But, as long as you have a line of sight of where you want to go, you wink out for a split second before reappearing.”
Stella looked away from her Accelerator screen and met my eyes. “This skill is definitely worth considering over a spell. Though, remember that you’re more a mage than a fighter, meaning one of the other options may be better for us in the long run. I know you’ve been dreaming of having a short teleport ability for some time.”
Nodding to my petite friend, we pressed forward to the second of the three options. “Let’s keep that in mind. Alright, what else is on tap?”
Option 2: Spell [Provoking Djinn] – Summon an incorporeal air elemental to harass a distant target, inflicting moderate damage over time and making all spell-casting and concentration-based skills susceptible to interrupts, as well as potentially locking out recently used schools of magic. The summoned Djinn elemental cannot be harmed directly by either physical or magical means. Additionally, the caster will benefit from the distraction with an overall decreased threat generation. Finally, the target’s movement speed is significantly reduced, dependent on total mass, and will be susceptible to being knocked prone by the elemental’s slicing winds.
“This may be worth picking up,” Stella said as she bit her lower lip. Like before, she was buried in screens only she could see. “It’s perfect against casters and has a decent chance of locking them out of spell types for a short period of time. That’s particularly powerful if we fight someone specializing in one type of magic. The part about their movement speed means something as large as Gilgamesh wouldn’t be hindered all too much. Against a man-sized mob, like Cicero, it would have a higher than fair chance of knocking him on his ass.”
“Yeah, I do like it. It would work well against any Hunters we come across since even melee-focused will have at least a few spells at their disposal. Let’s keep it on the table for now, though I would rather pick Fade Step if it were between these two alone. This last spell… well, it looks like it would pair exceptionally well with my Empowered Aegis.”
Option 3: Spell [Devouring Umbral Plague] – A shadowy emanation of umbrage energy strikes at the body of a target within 100 feet. Afflicted entities are dealt high damage over time and have a moderate chance of spreading the contagion to other nearby hostile foes. Additionally, any damage caused creates a leech effect which transfers a portion of the damage dealt to directly restore the caster’s mana pool.
This spell was pretty simplistic in its description, which seemed an oddity compared to other average-tier spells typically offered during my class level-ups. The umbral plague reminded me of my Soul Leech spell we chose back when I reached level twelve. That one transferred most of the damage done to heal some of my lost health. Sadly, that particular spell wasn’t as useful nowadays since I rarely took damage courtesy of my Aegis. With this spell, however, and wonderfully so, the leech effect would instead restore mana and be infinitely more useful as a result.
In prolonged engagements, one of my primary limiting factors was my overall mana pool. If I ran out, not only would I lose the protection afforded by my Empowered Aegis, but I would be locked out of dealing my highest and most reliable source of damage to my enemies. Sure, my generous allocation into Intelligence helped ensure that concern was staved off as long as possible; plus, that’s not even taking into account that nearly every single item adorning my half-elven body was devoted to pushing my mana pool as high as possible. For the most part, it meant I had more than enough. Yet, if our recent battles were any indication, running out of mana was more and more a distinct possibility.
With this shadow DoT at my fingertips, I would gain a reliable and sustainable way to restore my most important resource pool. Better yet, the spell was contagious meaning other mobs would become infected, thus replenishing far more mana than whatever the initial investment of mana was needed to cast the spell. Even if the percentage of damage converted into mana was relatively low, this spell could allow my mana pool to stay as high as possible for as long as possible. It would certainly be better than downing a mana potion mid-fight, that was for sure. When shit hit the proverbial fan, this spell could mean the difference between life and death.
After my internal musings, I turned to Stella with hope in my eyes, “This can’t be as good as I think it is. Can it?”
Her next words slightly burst my optimistic bubble as she pointed a toe to something in front of her I could not see. “Sorry, some bad news. You’re only allowed a single instance of this spell at any given time.” Stella winced as she spotted my suddenly forlorn look before shifting to the good news. “Still, with its contagious effect, which spreads decently, I might add, it would only be a matter of time before others are infected, meaning the mana restored could really ramp up with enough time and enemies.”
Stella and I debated the gains from each option for a couple of minutes longer. Tallos added his thoughts, and in short order, we all agreed on which would provide the biggest gain.
“Yeah, it’s the best pick,” I confirmed with nods from my friends. “Running out of mana is like running out of the will to keep fighting. For our survival, mana is the best ticket we have to accomplish our goals. Having a reliable way to restore it every fight, beyond my once-a-day Quintessence Empowerment or the odd mana potion, simply cannot be ignored.”
It was decided. Devouring Umbral Plague was clearly the best choice, but I still couldn’t help taking one last look at Fade Step’s description. Stella caught the glance and consoled me with a pat on my arm.
“We’ll find something like it later on, I’m sure of it,” she predicted before settling atop her customary spot over my shoulder.
Giving her a quick ‘thanks,’ I mentally selected Devouring Umbral Plague.
"Here, we go."
