NOVEL NEXT Chapter 319 - An Ascension Like No Other
Congratulations, Contender! Your Finesse has exceeded 200 points!
You are the ninth Earth-born Classer in the Northeast Sector to achieve this feat!
(Boon has already been claimed.)
Your remarkable feat means that you are now visible on the Top 10 Player Charts!
Congratulations, Contender! Your Perception has exceeded 200 points!
You are the seventh Earth-born Classer in the Northeast Sector to achieve this feat!
(Boon has already been claimed.)
Your remarkable feat means that you are now visible on the Top 10 Player Charts!
Eric smiled as he found himself floating in the void of his psyche, just seconds from coming to, happily taking an endless moment to view the latest system messages before he pulled himself fully awake once more. In truth, he wasn’t disappointed by missed opportunities. He knew he had absolutely no right to that, after the incredible boons he had already gained.
Besides, he had been all but certain that he was way too late to claim either of those two title boons. Though a 20% stat bonus with all future points gained would have been incredibly sweet, he had sensed with the handful of assassins that had taken out BunBun that the tried and true method of sniping powerful opponents at range and leveling up as a glass cannon sniper was just as effective here as in countless games he had once enjoyed playing, and if there were two stats that definitely had specialists, it would be those two. His hope at this point was that the sheer vulnerability of being so super specialized would compel most if not all specialists to work on strengthening their foundations by a certain point, as they had to take ever greater risks to advance in increasingly unsafe territory, which hopefully meant that the 300 point slots were still open.
And it was with that thought in mind that his psyche awakened itself just a bit more to savor the next two System notifications that filled him with incredible joy and a fierce sense of accomplishment before looking at a condensed version of his character sheet, now all but certain that he understood the real reason why he was met with such fierce hatred from the humanoid invaders that had been all but howling for his death.
Congratulations, Contender! Your Strength now exceeds 300 points!
You are the FIRST Earth-born Classer in the Northeast Sector to achieve this feat!
All additional boons, blessings, and Potency Points invested in Spiritual Energy will receive a permanent 30% bonus from Mother Earth herself!
You have taken the Number 1 Spot for Strength in the Top 10 Player Charts!
Congratulations, Contender! Your Vitality now exceeds 300 points!
You are the FIRST Earth-born Classer in the Northeast Sector to achieve this feat!
All additional boons, blessings, and Potency Points invested in Vitality will receive a permanent 30% bonus from Mother Earth herself!
You have taken the Number 1 Spot for Vitality in the Top 10 Player Charts!
_____________________________________
Eric Silver Level 59 Primal Adventurer
Rank 29 Cultivator (Death’s Disciple)
Level 31 Master Necromancer
Physical Characteristics
Strength – 303
Vitality – 313
Finesse – 236
Quickness – 412
Appearance – 26
Mental Characteristics
Scholarship – 25
Perception – 223
Willpower – 84
Charisma – 14
Potency Pools
Arcane Potential – 184
(Mana Pool = 2217)
Spiritual Energy – 272
(Qi Pool = 3272)
Psionic Potency – 19
(Psion Pool = 237)
Soul Reserves – 101.2
Stamina – 3133 Points
Health – 4366 Points
Resistances & Recovery
Physical Resistance – 59
Physical Regeneration – 31 health per second
Elemental Resistance – 33
Qi Resistance – 51
Mental Resistance – 33
30% Bonus to all Strength points above 300
30% Bonus to all Vitality points above 300
30% Bonus to all Quickness points above 300.
20% Bonus to all Spiritual Energy points above 200.
10% Additional bonus to all ability points earned! (Additive with all other modifiers)
___________________________________
Eric frowned in thought. It seemed that the numbers were being rounded down on his condensed character sheet, but still counted in full underneath the hood, so to speak, if his potency pools were any indication. And he thought it interesting that 400 Quickness had gotten no notification from the System in terms of a new boon earned or missed out on. But maybe the next ranking of significance wasn’t based on even hundreds but something closer to the Fibonacci sequence?
It was one of the most common patterns to be found in nature, Earth’s nature, at least, which made it’s own sort of sense and meant that the next ranking of significance would be 500, then 800, then 1,300. In other words, stat ranking opportunities would soon be drying up, so best he keep busting ass for the best bonuses he could possibly get.
He chuckled softly, gazing fondly down at his friends, presently resting comfortably over the frozen ground in the bone and leather hammocks he had made them, thanks to all their kills and his Flesh Sculptor skill. Everyone looked fine, and for all that this was an Orange-tier territory, the wildlife was considered imposing yet docile, and not even a snow fox had yet to dare this frigid piece of land by the rift entrance.
His thoughts were racing as he scanned the still frozen wonderland stretching as far as his eyes could see. He couldn’t help but mentally relive the brutal struggle for survival they had all endured, and the incredible boon that he, at least, had gained.
A boon that made it abundantly clear why invading clans did all they could to take the lead in every way imaginable, desperate to lockdown whatever titles they could get, and above all else, keep the humans in their place.
Because if natives that could advance 10 times faster than invading clans were to actually stumble upon Bronze-tier boons… they would be rewarded not just for future gains, but for every stat point they had earned while living on Earth, from the moment of their birth.
Eric took a deep breath, wiping an unexpected tear from his eye, even as he resisted the urge to laugh for the sheer pleasure and power he felt in his frame, now stronger, faster, and more graceful than it had ever been before. All for the freakishly unlikely encounter that led to him actually besting a Bronze-tier opponent, and profiting from the exchange far more than any invader could have possibly hoped to.
And for all that a combined 40% bonus to future Strength, Quickness, and Vitality points filled him with the urge to level up like a madman, what really awed him was the initial 10% boost to all his stats he had earned. That fusion had been the sweetest rush imaginable. Most striking of all, it had been a cumulative 10, not additive, taking full advantage of all the bonuses he had ever earned before. Which mean that if he could find the secrets to earning additional Bronze-tier titles, especially before ascending to Bronze himself, he’d be ascending in power beyond his wildest dreams… and beyond the means of any White-tier opponent, at least, to touch him.
He chuckled ruefully at that delicious and perilous train of thought, before it spiraled into a realization so awful that he found himself clamping shut his jaw shut and glaring at the cold, howling wind that prickled his skin but didn’t really chill him at all. Because if he was being honest with himself, he had to accept the very real possibility that his mother hadn’t been callously sentencing him to death at all… but rather pointing the way to a path that would see him ascend beyond his wildest dreams.
As much as he was infuriated by the monstrous torments he had suffered… to have come so far in such a short period of time, to have learned how to touch upon Transcendent Fire while claiming a Bronze title and not one but three stats in excess of 300… one of them now cresting 400… it defied the very laws of probability to think that his boons had all been the result of random chance alone.
But still, even if he knew he should be grateful, the thought of his mother smirking and him and insisting he kneel and give thanks for being made to suffer unspeakable agony and the terror of death for hours on end… He clenched his fists in frustration, promising himself that he would never give her the satisfaction.
“Like throwing a dozen helpless fools into the sea. If eleven drown, is the twelfth still supposed to thank you for learning how to swim?”
“Ah, but you didn’t drown, my beloved lastborn son. You ascended to glorious heights, just as I knew you would! Now rise further, Eric. Rise to heights so grand that none will ever be able to cast you down!”
Eric gasped and jerked upright, realizing he had momentarily dozed off and absolutely refusing to give the dream of his mother’s taunting voice any more weight then that.
He then twisted around when he heard sleepy grunts and soft curses, focusing on things far more important than his own brooding thoughts.
“Eric? What the hell happened?”
Eric smiled down at a groaning Jack, the first of the presently comatose delvers to wake up, all of them carefully wrapped in rat fur and minotaur hide, for the breeze was brisk and the air far colder than it would normally be this time of year, and all one had to do was look around to understand why.
Which Jack immediately did, now flashing the first heart-felt smile free of strain that Eric had seen on the cheerful redhead’s features, before his eyes widened with awed dismay.
“We made it! We actually escaped that nightmare!” He peered intently at Eric, as if desperate for reassurance. “Did we really do it, Eric? Are we actually… out?”
Eric didn’t poke fun at the question. He understood the sentiment completely, the fear that this might be just another level of the dungeon mirroring the outer world. So he just smiled and nodded. “We are.”
“Then why is the forest a frozen icicle as far as I can see? And fuck, the ground is cold!” Jack scowled down at the ground, slipping off of his raised bone bed to put a foot on grass stalks that would have sliced a mortal’s limbs to ribbons, before shattering like glass.
Eric sighed. “That is the million dollar question, isn’t it? But the good news is that whatever caused this cold snap appears to be gone.”
Jack’s expression grew strained, questions flooding out of him as he shook himself free of exhaustion’s stupor. Eric focused only on the ones that were most pertinent, and those he could immediately answer. “Your friends are okay.” He gave Jack a gentle smile. “Everyone I could save, at least.”
Jack’s smile turned to an anxious curse. He quickly snapped around, counting heads. “Ron, Richard, Yuki… too damned cute, sleeping with drool leaking down her cheek. Emily and Steve.” He gave a relieved chuckle. “Shit, that’s a weight off my chest. You scared the shit out of me!”
Jack took a deep breath, and held out his hand. “I know Ron will argue it, because he’s an ornery bastard who likes things staying just the way they are. But let me be the first to say thank you, Eric. If it weren’t for you...” He swallowed, eyes going wide in reflexive panic, before violently shaking his head, as if to shake dreadful memories free. “Well, let’s be honest. We’d all be dead.”
Jack took a deep shuddering breath, before slowly letting it out. “There. I said it. We owe you our lives. Far more than we can ever repay.”
Eric chuckled. “Honestly, I’m just glad I got a chance to play hero, where everything doesn’t end in backstabby bullshit. Now let’s hope that’s not the only reason you have to shake my hand.”
To Jack’s curious look, he said only, “Take a fresh look at your character sheet. I think you’ll be pleased by the changes.”
Jack frowned, before his eyes lit up with wonder. “Are you fucking serious? For clearing an Orange-tier Delve I’m now eligible for… shit… Half a dozen Adept-tier classes, including Elite Adventurer!”
“Careful before you take that one,” Eric cautioned. “It only gives six points per level, not nine like most Adept classes. On the other hand, if you’re looking to fuse cultivation with a Classer’s skills without any conflict, it might be a great choice. But what I’d mostly advise is, after we do our dungeon clearing blitz, you take the time to reflect and go over all the possibilities, and maybe see if our Blue Corp affiliated Cultivation Academy isn’t a perfect fit for you. Then, after a few weeks or months or years of training, you might find yourself able to lock in an incredibly sweet hybrid class.” Eric shrugged. “Or at the very least, benefit from two sources of stat boosting level up & ascension points.”
“So that’s how you do it!” Jack exclaimed.
Eric gave him a curious look. “Do what?”
“Got so damned powerful! Do you have any idea how much juice you’re radiating right now? I swear that when I first woke up, I thought the minotaur had won! You have the same pressure… or close to it. Anyway, it makes sense, seeing as you’re both a Cultivator and a Classer.”
Eric chuckled, pretending alarm bells weren’t ringing in his head with that last compliment. He began frantically looking inside himself for any way to tune down whatever pressure he was giving off… or whatever it was that had Jack giving him such strange looks, while still doing his best to answer his new friend’s questions.
“Among other things, yes. I am both Cultivator and Classer.”
“What other things?”
“Not important. What matters is how much you value your twelve point boon.”
Jack’s eyes grew solemn. Much to Eric’s surprise, he actually kowtowed before Eric.
“This unworthy disciple thanks revered master for over two freekin’ levels worth of power over and above what my class would suggest... and yes, sure as fuck, my skills are progressing so much faster now that I locked myself at Level 49!” His eyes grew brilliant with near reverence. “Eric, do you understand what you did for us? You earned us each the equivalent of one of those revered titles! And twelve points is a fuck ton better than what most offer, and even I know that all those humanoid Contenders will tear out your throat in a heartbeat, if they think you’re trying to come between them and their fucking titles!”
Eric chuckled softly. “I know, right? Probably explains why they hate me so much.” His smile instantly faded as he peered off into the distance.
Jack immediately picked up on his troubled scowl. “Eric?”
“Time to wake up sleeping beauties here, and plan our next move.”
“Why the sudden rush?”
Eric flashed a humorless smile. “My interface is suddenly picking up a handful of reds coming this way. And ten to one odds says they aren’t the local slow-moving dinosaur-sized plant-eaters either.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Shit. We do not want that fucking Sylvis asshole to see us vulnerable like this. Especially since we just earned a first clear and if even half of what you told us is true...”
“It all is.”
“Yeah, well, that just makes it even worse.” Jack immediately spun on his heel and turned to the others. “Emily! Yuki! Rise and shine, sweethearts. Steve, get your game face on! Richard, Paladin-wannabe time!”
He began gently shaking people awake, everyone but Ron, Eric noted, and in very short order confused groans became excited squeals and congratulatory pats on the back as everyone without exception, even Ron, was ecstatic to see themselves twelve additional character points in the black, around two levels stronger than they had any right to be. Especially as all of them had agreed to halt their progression at Level 49.
Their judgment call had showed a surprising amount of trust in Eric’s suggestion, but Richard’s words made perfect sense.
“We literally owe you our lives, Eric. If you had wanted to do us dirty, you could have cut our throats at any time. Hell, you pulled us right out of that dungeon and actually watched over us while we slept the sleep of the dead, in a fucking Orange tier territory, which is stupid as sin, no matter how docile and slow most of the wildlife might be.” He flashed a brilliant smile. “These twelve points will help change our lives, their boon only growing as it gets increasingly hard to level up naturally. And if you were serious about that offer… if you can actually lead us to several more delves…” He shook his head with more than a little bit of awe. “Well, you’ve certainly made an outstanding case for why your words have merit. If you think we should hold off on hitting level 50 until we at least have a chance at seeing what options are available to us in a Tier 2 Pod, we’d be fools not to take you up on it.”
“Damn right,” Yuki cheerfully chimed in. “Especially seeing as I got a fucking Epic-tier class option waiting for me!”
“Sweet,” Eric said, doing his best to hide the tension he felt, knowing they had needed at least a couple precious moments to unwind, savor their escape, and celebrate a happy ending to their perilous adventure.
Because they were about to dive into the deep of it once more.
“Only problem is that we got reds coming in hot and fast. I’d put them at less than five minutes out. So unless you want to stick around and explain the potency you now all radiate just a bit clearer than you did before, not to mention the fact that you quite literally cleared an Orange-tier Delve… I suggest we get a move on, and fast.”
Emily paled. “Oh shit. I’ll bet it’s Sylvis!” She anxiously turned to Richard. “You know we don’t dare stick around, love. He’ll be all congratulatory smiles with his goblin body guards pointing their blasters just a bit too high for comfort, and he’ll be encouraging all of us to celebrate with him and I have no fucking doubt that by the end of those celebrations we’ll either be VIP players of the gnoll faction with contracts signed in our blood, or we’ll be dead. I don’t think there’s any middle ground at this point.”
Richard nodded. “I think you’re right.”
She blinked, surprised. “Really? But I thought you… no, that’s great. Great! Okay, what do we do now?”
Her smile held a twinge of anxiety as she looked Eric’s way. As did the rest of them.
“You want my opinion? Sure. We head that way.”
Yuki frowned in the direction he was pointing. “You want us to head South? Deeper into Orange territory?”
Eric beamed. “That’s exactly what I want. There’s another Delve exactly twenty miles away from this one, one of two wild Delves in the adjoining territory. We clear them and we’ll have two Orange-tier territories that any Contender will then be able to claim, assuming they can get rid of the 70th level wildlife.” He flashed a fierce smile. “And somehow, I don’t think that’s happening any time soon.”
“Unless that someone is you,” Emily whispered, eyes widening with what could only be called awe. “You’re actually going to go for it, aren’t you?”
Eric shrugged. “Only thing I’m worried about now is locking in another twenty four points for all of us, with these next two delves. But first, we need to get some transportation.”
Richard frowned. “How are you...”
But Eric had already turned to face the one member of their crew who had seemed to find fault with absolutely everything he did. Until now, at least, Ron still in an odd daze with whatever he was looking at in his interface.
“Ron, question for you.”
The man blinked, shaking his head. “You actually did it. You badass motherfucker… you actually came through!”
Eric smirked. “Yeah, I’ve been known to do that from time to time. Quick question for you! Do you still feel any bonds of loyalty to the gnoll faction or any of their asshole friends?”
Ron’s jaw clenched. He gazed at Emily like a father would his beloved daughter, before angrily shaking his head. “As far as I’m concerned, you and they are equally responsible for nearly killing us all. But at least you made amends. Hell, you didn’t just pull us out of the fire, you earned us two bonus levels while doing so.” surprisingly, he actually held out his hand. Eric didn’t hesitate to clasp it.
“You’re good in my book, Eric Silver,” the man said, flashing a bitter smile. “And I never thought I’d be saying that aloud. But those treacherous gnoll bastards on the other hand...” He chuckled coldly. “I swore an oath to protect my employer’s daughter. I swore nothing to those little shits, and I don’t intend to. As I see it, you delving with us is directly aided in my own mission. So no, Eric. As far as I’m concerned, we owe those little shits absolutely no consideration at all.”
Eric nodded. Because even if he still did feel a faint prickle of something with Ron… it was equally obvious that the man despised him a hell of a lot less than he had an hour ago. He’d just have to win the man over one step at at time.
“Glad to hear that. Now you all head that way at as fast a clip as you can… and I’ll see about finding us some transportation.” After firmly pointing for them to continue their cautious path through the thick foliage a short distance from the cleared fields, keeping a close lookout for trouble, Eric jogged back to the rift entrance, eager to pay his regards to whatever was coming his way.
He spared only a moment to gaze at the stone box he had received as compensation for sparing Minose’s life… both fearing triggering whatever double edged curse or blessing would bond it to him for all time… yet almost certain it had to be something pretty damned useful, if the prize had been ultimately intended for the young scion that their opponents actually thought they could slip onto Earth even as a Level 10 Bronze-tier monster.
Which forced Eric to wonder just how powerful that particular Minotaur faction was? Or was the treasure he had earned the farthest thing from a cultivator severing the karmic debt of Eric sparing his prized warrior, perhaps even his son? What if it was a trap instead? How well did he really know any of the rules of cultivation in this reality? The answer, sadly, was not very well at all. All he knew for sure was that the next living soul who opened that box would be bound to the artifact, whatever it was, within.
Which meant that Grim, who wasn’t alive at all but was actually a lich who just happened to look like an extremely distinguished 18th century gentleman of mixed origins, might have an answer for him.
Yet the true boons of that delve had been far more precious than any material prize that he could think of.
“An actual Bronze-tier title. +10% cumulative bonus to all my stats, and a 10% additive bonus to all future earned stat points from all sources. That’s so sweet it’s fucking absurd. Now I just need to figure out how to get more of them, assuming that it isn’t a capital crime for anyone to whisper a single word about it my way.”
Eric shook his head, still marveling at the magnificent peaks and terrifying valleys that he had been forced to endure, all in less than a day’s time.
But now it was all about embracing the unorthodox once more, climbing one of the frozen trees surrounding the clearing before the rift, and quickly spotting the velimobile in the distance.
Eric slowed his breathing, brows furrowing as he drew back his bone bow, sighting his targets with such singleminded focus that he completely ignored the bone deep chill of the frozen branch he effortlessly balanced upon. For all that he regretted receiving no First Achiever bonus for breaking the 200 Perception mark, his vision was still sharp enough to see the disdainful sneer on the lead gnoll’s jackal-like features as he controlled the veli, earning cold looks from the goblins who clearly felt no need to hide when they were safely in their vehicle, speaking harsh rebuttals with twisted lips that Eric’s Interface could now pick up on perfectly.