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Kernstalion 32: Choices, choices
🕑 Added 2021-03-21 18:05:59 +0000 UTCThe remaining three weeks passed in a blur of ax handling, wood crafting, and skimming through the spell books, searching for desirable spells. With my learning rate back to it's natural six, I could learn two small spells in the remaining days and ended up choosing Gills and Remove Body Modifications. It left me with thirty free knowledge and an intense desire to find the sea and try out gills.
Three days before the end of the six weeks that Rathica had given me, I was slicing my ax through the air. My two bottom hands were constantly casting spells and exchanging small logs of wood. One was casting Harden Wood while the other was casting Soften Wood.
"I see I've not been the only one working hard!"
Rathica's voice, the first not my own in three weeks, made me flinch and release the ax. It shot through the air in the direction of the voice. Turning around with a screech of warning, I saw Rathica stare at me a few tables away. My ax stood shivering in a library cabinet behind her.
"Good reflexes! That would have ended any hapless person that might have startled you!" She said. Her voice told me she was pleased and angered at the same time.
"Sorry…" I said, walking past her and taking back my ax. Then I stared at her, barely able to suppress how happy I was to see her. The last three weeks had been some of the worst in my life, and I decided I was never going to be alone this long again. It felt horrible.
Rathica smiled and nodded. "Yes, being alone for a long time can be a test."
I blinked as I realized she had been alone, locked in a room for thousands of years, while I had only been here a few weeks.
"So, is your realm ready?" I asked, deciding this was a good time to change the direction of the conversation.
"Not completely. The edges are still growing. But my constant attention isn't needed anymore. Having done this before, I've found many things I did wrong the first time around. My new realm will be much better compared to my previous, and those of the others!" Rathica grinned at me, and I almost asked if she could take me to see it.
"Not yet. But don't worry, you will be the first mortal to see it upon completion."
I nodded, and a fleeting thought crossed my mind. Would I go there if I died?
"You will. All followers are granted access to their Deity's realm after death. There…" Rathica fell silent as she seemed distracted for a moment.
Then she grinned and continued. "There, they will be able to venture into the primordial chaos and the worlds that lie within for the span of a hundred years… if they can find what they need, they will gain the ability to turn into deities in a new and budding universe. But that only happens once every few million times."
I thought for a second, wondering how it would be to be a deity, and then I frowned.
"What happens to those who fail?"
Rathica smiled bittersweetly. "Most souls return to the primordial chaos to be reborn and returned to the mortal realm."
For a moment, I wondered if this was what had been what happened in my old world.
"Probably, "Rathica said. Then her eyes began to glimmer. "But now it's time to see what you will choose!"
A loud ping came from my status window, and without me summoning it, it popped up in front of me.
> Deity specific class options unlocked
> Potential class options locked to -
A massive list of classes scrolled into view, each with red gems in front of their names. The top five all had blood-red gems with a silver border. Lower the silver borders were replaced by red ones, and as I scrolled down, I saw that the gem's redness faded. The largest portion of the classes, the bottom ninety percent, only had a red border and a transparent gem.
"You are right. Those five are the best classes I have. With my current power, I can only grant each to a single follower, "Rathica said, scrutinizing me. "I still can't see what you will choose… read them already!"
Grinning, I put my attention on the five classes at the top, reading their names to get a feel for them.
> Paladin of Wrath
> Vengeful Protector
> Vengeance Bringer
> Deliverance Force
> Safe Haven
I blinked at the names. Each gave me a reasonable idea of what to expect—all but the last. Curious, I scanned the short text below it.
> Safe Haven
> Evil will always run rampant. People are always in need of protection in the most remote corners of the world. To seek out these things means never staying in one place. But to guard those who are damaged, that need attention, teaching, and guidance on the path of honest vengeance, a place of safety is needed. The Safe Haven brings these things wherever it goes. Capable of creating a sanctuary in the most dangerous parts of the world, the Safe Haven will take care of those the other followers of Rathica find. Teaching and protecting, before setting those who need it lose on evil. Then, they move on to another place where they are needed.
Frowning, I realized I still didn't know what the class did. I scanned through the abilities, and my eyes widened. This was the ultimate combination of a fortifier and guerilla warfare specialist. It could create temporary miniature realms with a single bottleneck entrance and extra hidden exits. Auras that could nourish and bolster those the Safe Haven thought of as allies while providing temporary boosts to the Learning Rate solely for battle oriented skills.
With a grin, I began reading through the others. The Paladin was what I had expected, a heavily armored, ax and shield-wielding powerhouse. With mainly melee-oriented skills, reading it, I knew this would have been what Eliandra would have picked. Incredibly powerful, but not what I wanted.
The Vengeful Protector below was more interesting. Similarly geared as the Paladin, it used no shield but used the free hand to cast spells. Barriers, slows, holds, and nullifications it had a long list of possible ways to control a battlefield. Thinking for a moment, I nodded. This was definitely more my style.
Turning my attention to the Vengeance Bringer, I saw it was based on the assassin with the two axes I had imagined in the warehouse. Lightly armored, with two axes, it excelled in working from the shadows. It's most interesting skill was Vengeance Step. With it, the Vengeance Bringer could practically teleport to a person that needed vengeance done upon, bridging incredible distances to bring the Vengeance Bringer within a hundred meters of the target. Interesting, but not what I wanted.
Turning to the Deliverance Force, I blinked. I had thought it was probably some type of healer, but I had been wrong. It wasn't a healer, but a summoner of some sort. Reading further, I saw it was a true one-person army. Capable of summoning the vengeful specters that lingered in the world and binding them temporarily to vessels. With the only limit to the amount of summons, the availability of the vengeful souls, and the vessels they needed, the Deliverance Force could displace a small army attacking a city or battle a group of enemies alone.
The fact that it was a medium armored melee combatant that needed to stay close to the summons instead of a ranged caster as most summoners were helped as well. For every delivery of vengeful justice, the summoned Vengeance Puppets would become stronger, attack faster, and be harder to destroy.
I whistled as I closed my eyes for a moment. Although the Safe Haven seemed a good option, it didn't seem to match the abilities and skills I was getting. The Vengeful Protector wasn't bad either, but I shook my head as I knew I had already made my choice. As a Deliverance Force, I could use wood crafting to create vessels, even growing the wood needed with vegetation magic if there was none around. I would just need to carry acorns or something with me. It also gave me bonuses based on the vessels around me, which would increase my own effectiveness. More ideas popped up in my mind, and I grinned. The potential synergies were just too good.
"Are you sure, Est? The way you are fighting now, the Paladin would suit you very well…" Rathica whispered, but I shook my head.
"I know, but that's not my way, but Eliandra's. I've always enjoyed versatility over pure stopping power. I've decided!" My words barely left my mouth when a ping came from my status, and a shiver ran through my body. I looked at the massive changes happening to the screen in front of me.
> Skills 2/4
> Gained the class: Deliverance Force
> Deliverance force 1/10
> Gained the title: 'The Deliverance'
Derived attributes
> Derived Strength: 11
> Derived Dexterity: 15
> Derived Constitution: 10
> Derived Intelligence: 9
> Derived Common sense: 5
> Derived Charisma 1
> Total mass: 70 KG
> Current weight: 70 KG
Active attributes: (Easily changed)
> 23/33: Muscle mass
> 05/120: Fat
> 26/39: Coordination
> 20/30: Stamina
> 06/30: Learning rate
> Knowledge 314/443
> 03/30: Beauty
> 04/99: Grooming
> 03/60: Well spoken
Staring at my increased stats, I could barely wait to begin increasing my physical attributes again. I had long since maxed out most of those that I knew how to raise- but now I had great growth potential again.
"That will have to wait," Rathica said, interrupting my budding plans.
"In a little over two weeks, you have to reach the entrance to the realm of the ancient god. I had planned on taking you there, but there is an unfortunate catch to me rushing my realms growth."
I felt my happiness at gaining class abate as I saw the worry flash across Rathica's face.
"What happened?"
"Nothing you can help with, but for the next few weeks, I can't do much more than projecting my mental image to you."
"Wait… and how am I supposed to get to that entrance? Where is it anyway?"
Rathica was quiet for a while, her mind seeming pre-occupied again. I wondered how that worked. Wasn't she a deity and supposed to do many things at the same time?
"I can do one thing at a time for every follower I have…" Rathica said as she grinned at me.
I blinked. That made little sense, unless. An image of a computer offloading processing power to others to do small tasks popped into my head.
"Something like that. Although it is more complicated because it isn't your actual brain processing the things."
Staring at Rathica, I wanted to have a long talk and discuss how a deity worked. Because right now, they sounded a whole lot like an AI with machine learning and limited personal processing power.
"And we can- at length, but that will have to wait until you save your people. Remember?" Rathica said, as usual, answering my thoughts.
Shoving my curiosity back down, I looked around.
"So, where do I go, and how do I get there?"
"To a lost temple, deep inside the Howling Forest, and to stave off your question. There is no exit straight to the temple."
I groaned. Of course there wasn't. I looked at the ceiling, glad we weren't going to some volcano or underwater kingdom. Although, with the latter, I could have tried my gills!
"There is an exit that will bring you within a ten-day travel from the temple."
Ten days? That didn't sound too bad. Looking up, I saw Rathica look at me, and I knew right away there was something else.
"What?" I muttered.
"Between where you will exit and the temple is a region controlled by Fin'r Goblins."
Thinking back to when Sart was attacked and the first time I had killed something defenseless, I nodded. Individually those things didn't look strong, and they seemed stupid, but together?
"Those that you saw were outcasts, "Rathica said. "You are going to have to pass through a kingdom ruled by a Fin'r Goblin war chief with tens of thousands of followers of Fin'r, a chaotic Deity who thrives on chaos and conflict. "
Great… I should have chosen the Vengeance Bringer and stealth through.
"When do I need to leave?"
"Right now. Get the things you need. If you look on the map I gave you, you will find another route to the Howling Forest exit."
I felt conflicted, something I hadn't thought I would when hearing I could finally leave the smelly library. I needed time to find out how my class worked and time to become stronger.
"Don't worry, Est. You will find that you are already plenty strong compared to many!" Rathica said, and with her words came a feeling of surety and power.
Suddenly the prospect of going into the Howling Forest and sneaking past some kingdom of Goblins seemed a lot less problematic. Taking a deep breath, I blew out the remaining tension, gripped the ax, and grinned at my Deity.
"Alright, give me a moment!" Putting the ax on the table, I sprinted to my hide-out and began filling my travel bag. In a few moments, I put rations, water, and my currently filthy smelly blanket inside. Then my eyes fell on the dozens of wood-carvings I had made.
"As soon as I can, I'll bring what you leave to my realm!" Rathica said from below.
I nodded, grabbed a single small statue, and stuffed it in the bag before closing it and heading back down. Looking at the books scattered on the table, I wished I could take one with me. Rathica didn't answer my unanswered question for a change, and looking up I saw she was zoned out again. I needed to get her some more followers fast.
"Yes, we do. And to answer the other question, you can't take a book from the library. This is actually the leftovers of another ancient Deity's realm, and books can't leave it. It's also the reason I am not really here, but nothing more than an image in your mind."
I grabbed my map and found another route. It went into a whole other area of the library from where I had been. From what I could see of the distance, a day's travel would be optimistic. Taking one last look around, I knew I was somehow going to miss this place- not the smell, or the loneliness, though.
Moving forward, I found that Rathica was moving besides me, her long paces easily keeping up with me.
"You are coming?" I said in surprise.
"Only to the exit. You might think I was making fun of you before, Est. But I do understand what you went through here, alone. Not everyone is made to be alone, and don't forget you shaped my new form!"
"Does that mean you don't like being alone either?" I muttered, surprised, and confused.
"It does," Rathia said.
We walked forward for a while, as my mind tried to make sense of what was happening. I always had pictured gods and goddesses as omnipotent, indifferent, and with grand plans. Mortal worries seemed like unlikely trouble to them.
"Do other Deities have issues like these?" I asked.
"They do. We gain some of the imperfections, part of the weaknesses and quirks of the ones that form and shape us."
"Gain?" I muttered. She made it sound like a good thing.
"It is a good thing! Weakness shapes us, forms our desires, and creates the path along which we try and accomplish what we think is right. Without imperfections, Deities would lose the connection with their followers and slowly lose perspective."
I hadn't thought of it like that before, but looking at Rathica beside me, she didn't look weak, and almost as perfect as I could imagine.
"How long will it take for your realm to be complete?" I asked.
"Probably a few thousand years, give or take a hundred."
I almost tripped. That long? I had thought it would be done much faster. Did that mean she wouldn't be able to help until it was finished?
"It will only require guidance for another month. All growth after that will be automatic and follow the guidelines and parameters I set for it."
I continued asking questions for a long time until I got tired of it. Rathica answered all of them, even those that were probably stupid. After that, we continued forward, walking nonstop through the long corridors of books.
"We are almost there."
Rathica's voice jogged me from my daydream, and I looked up. We were moving through a long corridor, and at the end, I saw a door. Like the others, it was a wooden, double door with knobs.
When we reached the small open area before the door, I wondered what to expect beyond it.
"The small temple has been buried beneath a few meters of sand and plants. Rest inside. It is safer there than this library. You will find an exit in the east part, but you will have to dig to get through."
I wondered how she knew all of this. Probably some divine vision and knowledge.
"It is the last temple dedicated to my previous form left in existence…" Rathica said calmly before pointing at the door. "You will find a route to the temple on the map. Try and be careful and remember: you have thirteen days until the rift into the realm opens."
Rathica cast a last look on me, and I felt a steely resolve settle in my mind. Then she disappeared like a whisk of smoke.
Turning to the door, I pulled it open to find a dark tunnel ending in a cross. The walls and floor were made of white stone and covered in dust. Without my night vision, I would never have been able to see inside.
Waving to the library behind me, I stepped through and closed the door.
