Malcolm Tent
patreon
Wish upon the Stars chapter 850
🕑 Added 2025-03-25 23:22:39 +0000 UTCThe next day I decided it was time. It had been a while since my last points drop, and I was going to need them for what came next. We’d spread the news of me killing that C-ranker (I was getting the credit for the kill this time, since we decided having more wish capability was the best use of the renown). I stockpiled the days scrolls, bringing my personal stash to thirty six, which I then passed on to the others with specific stat requests for payment.
Because I was so low on the stat from my renown, I asked that they put those eighteen hundred stat points into Creation. While I couldn’t tell people what to wish for usually because I needed fair compensation, stat swaps were a one to one exchange, so I could be a bit more direct there. On top of that, I was asking for payment not telling them where to spend the points they wished for, so I was in the clear.
Aside from that…I had a LOT of points incoming. Not nearly enough to rank up, obviously, but I’d gotten a little over a hundred thousand. Between stories about me having the artifacts, my great-grandmother talking me up as her most powerful descendant (an obvious way to feed into her trap, whatever it was) and killing that C-ranker, I’d been swimming in renown lately.
I understood how Callie felt after that godslayer incident now, because the sheer income here was staggering. It gave me a clear understanding of why the WCP participated in the Unlucky 13 and consistently changed the current Wishmaster. I was only vaguely famous for my level right now, and it was pushing me through D-rank at a pretty decent clip. If I won the succession war, the regular income from being the Wishmaster would help me sail through C, B, and even A-rank at this rate.
A majority of my points came in the form of Might, clocking in at twenty five thousand six hundred and nine. After that I got twenty two thousand five hundred Vitality, nineteen thousand forty six Focus, fourteen thousand five hundred and eight Perception, and sixteen thousand ninety seven Fantasy. On top of the nine thousand eight hundred Creation, counting the points from the scrolls) I was sitting at almost one hundred and ten thousand points of income since my last power boost.
Wishmaster candidate status. D-rank. Ability: Master Wish- Eight times a day grant a Master wish in return for proper compensation. Wish must be feasibly achievable by the candidate's own efforts within a three day period with current statistics.
Master Path of the Doom Sovereign- A Solid Path toward a great destiny.
Might-121,619
Impact-105
Fantasy-69,703
Vitality-62,854
Focus-66,766
Perception-67,014
Creation-28,122
Progress to next rank:416,180/1,000,000
Soul strength- Amethyst Soul Body
Chronicle: Ten Demons Tome
wish scrolls stockpiled: 36 (3 in the possession of friends to be used over time)
Bonded compantion: Archimedes (Life Nova Phoenix)
Weapon: Ten Demons Tree (reincarnation tree staff that lets him simulate alternate lives to perfect his forms, and when combined with the library lets him simulate and deduce techniques in a process called the "Wisdom of Solomon")
Stored:7 shadow attacks, 10 shadow jump (seven in reserve), 10 Stealth charges, 0 fire attacks, 10 triple strength tranq blows (ten in reserve), 0 triple strength density shifted attacks. 10 spider leg attacks (ten in reserve), 0 heal bursts (0 reserve), 3 gravity attacks, 1 shadow clone, 18 scan heals (I-rank ability so Shane can hold more)
Pet- Wolf named Jin
Financial resources: 42 D-ranked(worth 100 E-ranked, past master rank is a watershed)
I was blown away. Not just by the growth, but by the fact that I wasn’t even halfway to C-rank yet. I’d been hoping to make it to C before I reached the competition, but at this rate I had no chance. I might make it there DURING the competition, depending on exactly what we were doing, but for now I decided to let go of the dream of ranking up before the succession war. It was better to focus on shoring up the abilities I already had and making them as deadly as possible.
Even if I couldn’t BE a C-ranker, I could still fight one with enough prep. I needed someone else to land the final blow, but that was why I had friends. Despite that, I did have another possible avenue of power. A way to categorically raise my power and enable me to land the final blow on higher ranked enemies. Namely, my staff.
The Ten Demons Tree was a powerful peak C-rank item, and if I could rank it up to B-rank, I would still be able to use it (weapons could be used within two ranks, usually. Past D-rank that got tougher but with my Chronicle I was strong enough to make it work). Not to mention the secondary capabilities like Wisdom of Solomon and the life simulation that let me evolve my forms would both be strengthened, leading to a qualitative shift in my power.
So I decided to check in with the one person on this trip who would know how to go about that little rank up. Daysia.
My sunflower haired dryad friend was in the compound as well, though she’d retired to an indoor track I hadn’t realized was there and was playing with Archie. My phoenix had been thrilled to finally get out of Bethy’s Domain, and having someone to play with was even more exciting for him. When I found them, she was chucking acorns the length of the room and Archie was flying in specific patters to try to catch several of them in a row.
“Interesting game,” I laughed as I sat down next to Daysia. She turned to look at me and almost jumped out of her skin. “S-Solomon?”
I raised an eyebrow…and then realized why she was so shocked. Namely, the fact that my face was exposed. I’d never put my mask back on since I was still in the complex, protected by Veldran’s formations. I grinned sheepishly. “Ah yeah, sorry about that. Hope I didn’t freak you out.”
She shook her head, a little dazed. “Not at all. It’s just…I thought you were older. Which saying it out loud is really dumb, because we’re Ascendants, but you must have gotten high ranked FAST, because you look like eighteen. Most of the higher rankers I know look like they’re in their early to mid twenties. The age thing doesn’t kick in until you finish growing, but if you don’t hit a decent rank before then you get a few years before it starts.” She paused. “Maybe slow growth is a Dryad thing though, who can say. Still, you look young.”
I shrugged. “I have a bit of a baby face for a guy my size, I think. Part of why I wear the mask. Gives me an air of legitimacy.”
“It’s also super intimidating,” she noted bluntly, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, that too,” I agreed. “So, I came to ask you about something. My staff. I want to know how to help it rank up. It IS technically a tree, and even a living one, so I figured who better to ask about what to feed it than you. All I know about it is that it’s a soul attribute tree. But that doesn’t tell me much about helping it break through.”
She lit up. “Oh, I can help with that! Here, take it out, and I can help you communicate. I know you’re connected to it, but some things a tree will only say to a Tree Singer.”
I shrugged, then called my staff out from my soul and placed it butt down on the ground in front of me. The sapsteel tracing the body glowed dimly in the low light, and Daysia knelt down, closing her eyes before she started to whistle. I’d seen her use her powers before, but not like this. This was more…visceral. The high pitched whine of her whistle reminded me of nothing so much as wind between leaves, and as soon as it started, the staff began to tremble.
As it shook, I heard a rustle I hadn’t heard before. While I could communicate with the staff, it was more emotions and impressions than anything, but judging by her expression, Daysia could actually UNDERSTAND my weapon. I was damned glad we’d brought her along.
After a few minutes back and forth, she furrowed her brows and hummed contemplatively. “It’s not sure. It says that it thinks ‘the bitey one’ can help.”
I chuckled. “I probably should have figured that. Consuming life force is Bethy’s whole thing.” I glanced to Archie. “Go get Bethy for me?” He trilled back insolently and I rolled my eyes. “No, you don’t have to get back in the Domain yet, I just need to talk to her.”
To my surprise, my companion literally rolled his eyes (someone was teaching him bad habits) and then flashed off. He came back within five minutes alone, and I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Well, where is she?” He glared at me, chirped once, and then flew up into the air, spreading his wings in an explosion of green flame.
“BETHY!” Boomed a familiar voice as my vampire friend manifested from out of the flames. I was pretty sure she’d just been in stealth up to this point waiting, but I still laughed as she appeared from the fire, arms thrown out and head flung back in triumph.
I stared at her dryly. “Really? Fireworks entrance? That doesn’t seem a little ironic to you?”
She pouted at me sulkily. “You guys are getting too used to my grand entrances. I need to start mixing it up. Bring a little pizzazz back to my hellos!”
“Bethy, I think of all the things I can imagine you needing more of, pizzazz is literally the last one,” I told her with a laugh.
“That’s so sweet,” she said cheerfully. “But I think I can do better. Now, what’s up, birdy said you needed to talk? He also complained a lot about my kitties, apparently they’re mean to him inside the Domain, and he wants me to make them be nice next time he’s in there.” That explained why he’d helped with her entrance.
I held up my staff. “Daysia and I are trying to help my staff upgrade. It’s at the peak of C-rank, so it should be close…ish. I just don’t know what it needs. It’s connected to my Chronicle, so it shouldn’t be that, which means we need to like…water it. Or whatever. We need to feed it life force, or soul force, or whatever. Your Domain can do that right?”
“Probably,” she said with a hum. “But it might become a vampire. Do you want a vampire tree?”
I shook my head. “I’m gonna say no. Is there a way to do it WITHOUT turning my tree into a bloodthirsty undead?”
“Hey,” she said with a pout. “That’s not nice. I’m not bloodthirsty! Actually, I’m feeling kind of peckish, I should find Dayna after this. Anyway, there is another way, but it’s kind of dangerous. I could water it with wine. I can make really good wine, especially if there’s blood in it. I don’t do that often because it usually makes me go a little crazy, and until now, I was worried about tapping into my bloodline that deep. But with your purification we could cleanse the wine so it wouldn’t drive the tree into a frenzy, plus Daysia could help us guide it!”
That sounded…interesting. “I…guess we could try that. What do we need to get started?” Bethy squealed in excitement, bouncing up and down and clapping her hands. Then she made a list of necessary ingredients for the wine she was going to make. It sounded like an involved process, but I was still pretty excited for the possible results. I couldn’t wait to see what I could do with a B-ranked version of my staff.
Comments
Malcolm Tent
I think he used it to buy fish coins? I could be misremembering ill have to check.
David White
Didn't Jessie pay Shane with a C ranked chit for her racial trait? That's not in the financial resources list yet (can't recall if there's been a status page since)
thaughton2
So the Ten Demons Tree is an alcoholic. Wow, didn't think a plant could do it.
Malcolm Tent
I felt like it's personality so far has been a little wooden. Needed to branch out. Or maybe just get back to its roots.
Void
.....are we getting the staff drunk? Is that how we do character development?
