NOVEL NEXT B2 Chapter 37 (Attributes, Skills, Items)
A Glorious Achievement!
The Holy gaze of Theosis, the Divine System, the eternal shepherd of the Empire of the Holy Trinity, falls upon you once again, brave Knight.
Your valor shines as a beacon of the Three's wrath. With a thunderous hymn of zeal roaring in your soul, you gripped your hammer, its head graven with runes of sanctity, and led three stalwart soldiers into the crucible of war.
Your foe, a wretched Neuronaut of the Old Guard, a profane commander enthroned within the blasphemous Neural Dominion, its mind a cesspool of vile Heresy.
Undaunted, you faced the Heretic's psychic onslaught, its tendrils of unholy thought seeking to rend your soul. Yet your faith was an adamantine bastion, forged in the fires of devotion to the Holy Trinity.
With unyielding resolve, you stood as the Lord's righteous bulwark, your hammer smiting the foe with Divine retribution. The Neuronaut fell, its unholy hive-mind shattered, leaving the enemy's fleet rudderless, their ranks in chaos, soon scattered like ash before a storm.
For this sacred triumph, Divine Theosis decrees a glorious bestowal of fifteen laurels of eternal renown, justly divided among the four faithful who stood defiant, a testament to your unswerving duty.
Glory Points bestowed: 4
For God and Empire!
Clearing the machimotarium and propulsorium went without issue, as the Ruler-castes there lacked any enhancement.
Without the Neural Dominion, mopping up the remaining Old Guard forces would be much easier. The Warforms would go berserk and begin attacking anything moving, including their own kind and war-machines, and the war-machines would run off basic scripts.
Hierarch Pumatay received reports that the Synapse-Engine had been located, but its destruction would no longer serve a purpose. Selling it to the Holy Empire, along with this ship, would grant a share of credits to all boarders.
The bridge had been located, secured behind a fortified gate akin to the one shielding the Neuronaut's lair.
The nanites still burrowed relentlessly into Angar's armor and flesh. His left testicle, hip, and upper thigh burned with an unfamiliar type of searing pain, making him struggle to suppress his winces, limps, and stifled groans.
The harness' healing had eased some of his pain after the fighting stopped. Hierarch Pumatay and Signum Sergeant Frieden both assured him the nanites would eventually relent.
With no countermeasures available, Angar could only grit his teeth and hope his armor wasn't too injured.
With no immediate threats and a moment to regroup, they rigged the engines to blow, collected their spoils, and reviewed their advancements.
Angar had slain well over a thousand Old Guard forces, which he assumed would've given more experience. It yielded just under 5 levels. The Enforcers granted about three levels each, with Warforms adding a modest amount of experience.
By the time he faced the Neuronaut, he was just shy of level 66. Its defeat pushed him to the peak of level 66, Tier 2, wasting much of the experience due to hitting the cap.
Ascending to Tier 3 now would be premature. He'd just ascended a little over a month ago, blazing through the second Tier quickly. His foundation was not yet tempered, his channels still unfortified.
Advancing from level 54 to 66, he gained and allocated three Stat Points and three Attribute Points.
He had also gained, but held unspent, three Ability Upgrades, bringing his total to seven, the exact number he'd need once ascending to Tier 3 and gaining another Class Option.
He also gained one Ability Option, bringing his total to two.
He received another Feat Option he couldn't yet spend, bringing his total to four. If he didn't open a psychic power before he was ready to ascend, he decided he'd spend all those.
He also gained two Skill Points. He had eight but spent six, so these two brought him up to four.
The three Attribute and three Stat points went to Body and Physique, which worked out to a total of 4 and 7 overall, as he received a free point in Body for surpassing 16 Stat Point applications in Physique.
Of course, due to his Capstone, the 7 increases to Physique also applied to Resilience and Power Level as Stat Point applications. This raised his Mind and Spirit Attributes by 2, along with all their governed Stats by the same amount.
Now, both his modified Toughness and Resilience had surpassed 100.
He had long ago narrowed down the selection of his second Capstone, torn between two special and very rare options. It wouldn't be an easy choice.
Samson's Might
Increase Body by 8
Upon swearing a vow, before the Holy Trinity, to never touch strong drink, a corpse, or cut your hair, 50% of your Body score rounded down applies as a Power Level bonus. Breaking the vow reduces this to 10%.
Divine Strength
Increase Body by 6
10% of your Body score rounded down applies as a bonus to Mind and Spirit.
Samson's Might gave two more points to Body but required a vow. Divine Strength's Attribute buff provided broader benefits across six Stats, versus a 50% buff to one. But Power Level was an extremely useful Stat, whereas a few others weren't all that desirable to him.
He didn't mind forgoing strong drink and haircuts, but he often touched corpses in battle. He had no idea how sensitive the vow would be, or if it counted honest mistakes or not.
Divine Strength seemed the safer bet of the two.
There was another rare Capstone, named David's Wisdom, he'd heard about and wished he had on offer. It worked somewhat like Samson's Might, but 50% of the Mind Attribute applied to the Physique Stat. With Glory Thunders, it'd have a cascading effect, maybe an infinite loop, and he'd love to see how it'd work out.
Chances were, he'd never have that on offer, specifically because of the possible cascading effect.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
There was also a third Capstone he found tempting.
Divine Resurgence
Increase Body, Mind, and Spirit by 2
Unleashes Divine healing in a 2-meter radius, significantly restoring you and allies in range.
Cooldown: 72 hours minus 24 per Tier.
Cost: 25 Energy
There were very few ways to benefit from direct healing when in need, making this Capstone so appealing. But it wouldn't increase his power nearly to the extent the other two would.
As he reviewed the list, reading through descriptions, a new Capstone suddenly appeared.
Trumpets Blast
This Capstone has unknown requirements. This Capstone is reserved. Hidden requirement 1 met. Hidden requirement 2 met. Hidden requirement 3 met. Hidden requirement 4 met. Description not available.
Like his first Capstone, until Spirit had added it somehow, Trumpets Blast offered no details. Also, its name was very unlike the others, akin to Glory Thunders.
Tempted to choose it, Angar hesitated, thinking it through. He had no idea if it'd work without Spirit's help. If it did nothing, or only something trivial, he'd squander his potential.
He decided to put that aside and come back to it, then grabbed his three System drops.
The first was a neck piece, Vinculeparo, a thick, black-alloy torque with a dangling plug, etched with intricate runes that mirrored the Vitalulum's design.
Thin silver conduits, pulsing with a dull greenish light, weaved through its surface like circuitry, glowing brighter when worn and the plug connected to the Vitalulum harness.
It provided the same utility as the Vitalulum too, but instead of healing flesh, it repaired mechanics like armor and cybernetics.
For the item to function, he had to spend a point on the Mechanical Repair Skill, taking his Skill Points down to three. The item was worth it, so it had to be done.
He also received a mod.
Eye of Mentality, Hardware Weapon Mod – Grants a 25% chance psionic energy expenditure will not lower Resilience.
Useless until he manifested a psychic power, it was still a rare and powerful mod.
His Electrum Tutela ring had just proven its minor usefulness when the Neuronaut's nanites turned his own lightning against him, but he received another ring as an item drop.
He badly wanted the Olcinator ring, as the benefit it'd provide him while fighting large groups was massive. This new drop changed things, hopefully for the better.
It was a dull metal band with a crude Trey etching. It did nothing noticeable, but its description challenged his faith, and he couldn't disregard, as the ring was crafted by Holy Theosis itself.
He had more loot in his compartments, non-System stuff, Reptiloid equipment he had been collecting from dead enemies. He hoped some of it would fetch good prices.
Necklace: Amulet of Dominion – Amplifies Synapse-Engine connection, extending Neural Dominion control range by up to 20% or 78 kilometers.
Back: Torment – Unleashes a swarm of flesh-eating nanites targeting a single target once daily.
Necklace: Badge of Infiltration – Grants more precise shapeshifting control, reducing mass by an additional 10% and biomechanics by an additional 20% during transformation.
Those were the more unique items. He had a bunch of the same type of trinkets and rings too.
Trinket/Accessory: Call of the Pack – Bolsters sturdiness under Neural Dominion. Additionally, for each war-machine, Soldier-caste, or Worker-caste Reptiloid within 100 meters, reinforces resistance to the Underworld's corrupting influences.
Ring: Signet of Conquest – Consuming non-Reptiloid corpses boosts natural healing considerably.
Besides the back item, none of it seemed useful in the Holy Empire, but he wouldn't know until he tried selling it.
He then spent minutes thinking about his Capstone, still undecided, until Hierarch Pumatay said it was time to move out. This choice was too important, and he wouldn't make it in haste, so had to put it off.
He quickly reviewed the changes shown in his Annals. As he did so, Spirit suddenly materialized, and time halted around her ethereal form.
ANNALS OF SIR ANGAR MECIA (SAINT KRAKUS, ERIM, ZANAYA, EENGURRA)
Age: 16
Social: Holy Knight, Private, Lay Rank - Minor Gentry (surviving heir and heir apparent of devastated lands controlled the former city-state of Mecia located on the planet Sulfuron 9 with few inhabitants or subjects, and no income or apparent imperial value).
Chapter: The Smallest Spark
Tier: 2
Rank: Knight
Level: 66
XP: 100%
Glory Points: 109
Voluvicas Credits: 12
ATTRIBUTES, STATS, AND ADROITNESS
(Each Attribute Point increases all Stats governed by that Attribute by 1. Applying 4 Stat Points to the same Stat will increase the governing Attribute by 1. Numbers in (parentheses) include increases from items.)
BODY (Physical Attributes): With 17 AP applied – 41 (50)
Physique (Size/Strength): With 17 SP applied – 61 (70)
Endurance (Stamina/Health): 45 (54)
Toughness (Physical Durability/Resistance): 58 (136)
MIND (Non-Physical Attributes): 29
Competence (Skills/Insight): 31
Cognizance (Awareness/Perception): 38 (43)
Resilience (Non-Physical Durability/Resistance): With 57 SP applied – 97 (105)
SPIRIT (Metaphysical Attributes): 22 (24)
Power Level (PL) (Ability Damage and Effectiveness): With 57 SP applied – 80 (82)
Energy (Resource for Powers shown as Energy Points equal to 3 + (Energy Stat x 3)): 22 (24)
Charges (Increases the number of times certain Abilities can be used per combat): 22 (24)
ADROITNESS (Finesse/Reaction/Speed): 5 (6)
RESOURCES
Current/Maximum Energy Points: 39/75
Current/Maximum Charges: 14/23
SKILLS
(3 Skill Points available)
Acrobatics 2
Armor, Heavy Armor, Power Armor, Crusader Armor 2
Blocking Tactics 2
Close Combat 2
Close Weapons, Blunt Weapons, Hammers, Power Hammers 2
Close Weapons, Hand-to-Hand, Strikes, Clawed Weapons 2
Disarming Tactics 2
First Aid
Mechanical Repair
Meditation 2
Melee Mastery 2
ITEMS
Primary Weapon: Trivident Maul, V8.2M5/2, Graviton x6 Power Hammer, Tier 2
Mods:
Extended Reach – Lengthens weapon range.
Personalized Grip – Custom handle boosts accuracy and control.
Armor: Crusader Armor, Armiger, Tier 2, 4/4 mods, w/customizations (+1 Adroitness, +9 Body, +2 Spirit, +69 Toughness, +5 Cognizance, +3 Resilience).
Mods:
Omnivis Interface – Provides Ammo Count, Biomechanical Feedback, Customizable Widgets, Dynamic Crosshair, Enhanced Vision Modes, Environmental HUD, Gravity Indicator, Hacking Overlay, Loot Notifications, Map/Radar, Overheat Gauge, Ping System, Proximity Alerts, Range Finder, Reload Prompt, Stealth Meter, Suit Environment Auto-tuning, Target Lock Indicator, Team Status, Timers (Clock, Cooldown, Status Effects), Trackers (Injury, Resource, Motion, Objective/Task), Universal Translator.
Phasorax Core – Phase through 3 meters of solid matter once daily (currently 2 meters once daily. Will increase to stated values upon ascension to Tier 3).
Scutum Radians – Consumes one Charge every 12 hours providing additional shielding against radiant attacks (non-physical-Ability, energetic, and thermic).
Hacking Module S2 Prime – Skill Level 2 Prime-rated Hacking Semi-AI, with full hacking kit.
Back: Vitalulum, Tier 3 – Auto-treats 9 worst injuries post-combat based on First Aid Skill, using items from a superior medkit, accruing 3 minutes of credit towards First Aid training per use; at 50 hours, substitutes a Skill Point for higher Tier First Aid System training (currently 6 injuries, 2 minutes, and basic medkit. Will increase to stated values upon ascension to Tier 3 and equivalent Skill level for kit).
Neck: Vinculeparo, Tier 3 – Requires connection with Vitalulum to function. Auto-repairs 9 worst defects in armor or cybernetics post-combat based on Mechanical Repair Skill, using items from a superior repair kit, accruing 3 minutes of credit towards Mechanical Repair training per use; at 50 hours, substitutes a Skill Point for higher Tier Mechanical Repair System training (currently 6 defects, 2 minutes, and basic repair kit. Will increase to stated values upon ascension to Tier 3 and equivalent Skill level for kit).
Ring 1: Reliquary of Wrath, Tier 2 – Increases duration of channeled Abilities by 20%.
Ring 2: Auspex – Gird thy faith and don.
Trinket/Accessory: Negatus Susurri – Decreases vulnerability to dark whispers and corruption, increasing Resilience by 5 points.