Battleforged
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Chapter 71 - Devour All That Would Oppose You
🕑 Added 2022-05-09 11:22:51 +0000 UTCHis footsteps pounded against the bone-strewn limestone corridors, no longer worried about Stealth, well aware that his nemesis could sense him coming.
Eager to spring the trap she had set.
Doing his best to ignore the sibilant rustle that first whispered through the ether as a far-off echo, and now seemed to thrum through the too-thin limestone walls, roaring through his skull.
“Come, supplicant!
Through the final door.
"Embrace your fate,
As we settle this, forevermore.”
"Hell yes, we will!" Eric hooted with a madcap grin, ignoring the throbbing pain in his skull… the trickle of blood leaking down his nose as seconds turned to minutes of all-out sprinting. Running at such a mad clip, he almost felt propelled forward.
And it would have been so easy to give in to the fugue eager to embrace him. To lose himself in the compulsion of movement. The giddy feeling of laughing on a storm-lashed precipice overlooking the crashing sea of howling winds, pounding waves, and swarming rats below.
To close his eyes in surrender, and plunge into those perilous waters without a care as he approached the culmination of all his impulses, choices, and folly, embracing the doom that was his destiny.
Instead, he snapped his bloodshot eyes open with howling laughter that was one part insanity, two parts epiphany, gazing upon an entire sea of massive swarming rats in the impossibly vast central cavern that was as much basin as soaring cathedral, enormous pillars of stone upon which countless thousands of swarming rats had been lovingly carved in bas-relief, holding up a vast ceiling above. The ruins of an ancient temple to gods lost when man was young, save for the ancient half-divine rat queen reigning over her swam.
Eric was breathless with awe, too exhilarated to be horrified, agape at the size of a creature so vast it was easily the size of an ancient sauropod, now glaring at Eric from a good fifty yards distance as he braced himself at the lip of the overhang, just a single mad leap from plunging to his death in a sea of swarming rats.
Ancient red eyes glittering with hate locked upon Eric’s own.
Forcing a scream of dizzying pain from Eric’s tightly clenched jaw as he strove to keep his balance, death just a single misstep away.
Rank 6 Mental Resistance reduces Fatal Psionic Attack to Serious Wound!
Modified Willpower check successfully counters Words of Compulsion. For the Path of Dominion is one you walk as well!
The heady fugue was entirely gone. Now his world had become one of unending pain. So terrible was the rat queen’s power that Eric felt his mind being clawed from within.
He shuddered at the thought of the horrific wounds to his psyche and soul he sensed being inflicted as his left eye slowly began to dim.
But not before he embraced a strength not even this nightmare abomination could crush.
A bone bow infused with his blood and Wrath was now fully drawn, trembling with so much potency it was all he could do to keep it from bursting.
And he refused to let terror stiffen his limbs or send him crumpling to the hard stone floor in terrified supplication, for all that he shook under the crushing weight of a will and fury beyond anything he could conceive, as the rat queen’s massive crimson eyes abruptly widened, somehow sensing her mortal peril.
Realizing that this tiny insignificant human that dared invade this ancient monster’s realm was actually something to be feared.
Rank 6 Mental Resistance reduces Fatal Psionic Attack to Serious Wound!
You are now suffering from 2 Serious Wounds!
Essence of Wrath allows you to keep your focus!
So that was the moment she struck, all grace gone as she wielded the mad power of her mind to crush Eric’s own like an anvil while desperately squeeling for its rats to scrabbled for the lip of the stone ledge Eric now stood upon, to do all they could to tear the life free of the horrid human as Eric was forced to one knee, blood now flowing freely from both ears.
But not before the air cracked with the supersonic discharge of a white-hot arrow that could easily melt titanium alloyed steel, blasting into the massive rat queen’s neck.
Eric managed a single fierce smile before the abomination’s shriek sent Eric crashing to the ground with a groan, his interface flashing with multiple critical notifications as all the rats went into a mad frenzy, their goddess rolling frantically around as hot death seared it from within.
And for all that Eric knew he had to flee, immediately, he also knew that if he left this hellish nightmare of a realm before claiming his kill… she would recover.
And he would never get a second chance at this again.
He knew that just as surely as he knew the feel of the soul-bound bone bow in his hands that he traded for a score of crossbows, one after another, each shot with a growing mastery that forewent the need for any scope or sight. Which was a damn good thing, since the tips of all his oversized special bolts were setting the air alight at a fearsome hot 4000 degrees.
Eric spent precious seconds he knew he could ill-afford to shoot his preloaded weapons of death as rapidly as he could.
One crossbow after another.
Each second sending another quarrel streaking towards their target at anywhere from 400 to 500 feet per second.
Flashing through the air like Nova Wars blaster fire. Only this was, in a sense, the real thing.
Each bolt piercing only a few feet deep, compared to the arrow that had plunged into the nightmare rat's core.
Yet each was superheating the flesh they were embedded in, setting the rat ablaze as it was cooked from within.
Mental Resistance mitigates Fatal Psionic wail to Serious Wound!
You have successfully hit your target! (A hell of a lot larger than any barn door, or even a barn!)
One bolt after another. Scoring twelve hits out of fifteen in just as many seconds.
And for all that he had 5 loaded soul-bound crossbows still ready to go in his ES Space, he snapped out of his berserker fury only when he collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood, finally sensing how close he himself was to death.
Not from the sea of rats too busy writhing and swarming and attacking one another, those not being crushed by their queen to pay him any mind at all...but from the death knell he sensed the quivering queen readying herself to deliver.
A squeal that would burst her heart…
And his as well.
RUN!
And Eric was off like a hare, zipping through endlessly winding corridors that his interface thankfully had mapped perfectly. For he was now all but blind, with cranial bleeds and wounds he didn’t even want to think about shredding his insides like a dozen concussive blasts as he raced with desperate abandon, blinding hot righteous fury replaced by the cold terror of imminent death as he howled his own desperate cry, stumbling down corridors he suddenly could no longer see, for all that by some miracle he could almost sense the flow of heat it gave off upon his cheeks.
But he dared not waste even a second on the wonder of a skill that bridged the gap between sight and tactile perception, the feel of heat upon his skin, the taste of magic in the air. For most of his skin was covered in armor essence enchanted to always be a comfortable room temperature, and his cheeks were covered in blood, sweat, and tears of pain as the Rat Queen’s shriek sent him flying off his feet and slamming right into the gate between realms, and he sensed death just seconds away.
Congratulations! You have successfully slain Level 55 Rat Queen!
You are directly responsible for the deaths of 82 mixed-level Giant Rats!
You are indirectly responsible for the deaths of 725 mixed-level Giant Rats!
You have successfully completed Greater Rat Warren (Dungeon Realm 557A-3).
You are the first adventurer to clear Greater Rat Warren! You have earned a one time bonus as you are shaped by the dungeon realm’s potential as much as it has been shaped by you.
Your dedicated focus on mastering multiple martial techniques against countless foes has netted you a permanent bonus! Your 32 in Finesse means you now strike with greater accuracy, precision, and control than ever before!
The Willpower needed to resist a Rat Queen’s compulsions is beyond mortal ken. As is your own! Your Willpower is now 26!
Your Vitality has been pushed to the limit, doggedly launching multiple bolts of fiery death even as the Rat Queen’s Psionic Shrieks shredded your body and mind! A tiny portion of the realm's potential has granted you a 23 in Vitality, assuring you at least a couple more minutes of life as a near irreversible cascade of micro ruptures and system organ failures all but assures your doom!
Congratulations! You are now at 72.9% of maximum core density!
And before a groggily alarmed Eric could focus more than a second on his imminent death, additional messages flashed across his interface.
You have successfully conquered Greater Rat Warren! (Dungeon Realm 557A-3)
How do you wish to shape this realm, Contender?
Option A. - Enhanced difficulty (Level 45) The Rat Queen might have perished, but another has taken her place! Her most devious daughter, always scheming in the shadows, revels in the fruition of a plan countless years in the making! A plan in which you yourself played a key role! After consuming her mother's heart and brain, she now has the powers of a matriarch and the cunning of a machiavellian prince! Her pawns will be deadlier than ever, and her influence might one day expand far beyond her warren.
One can only wonder at what treasures might be found in the first Bronze Tier dungeon to be found in this tiny corner of your newly blossomed world. Assuming said Queen doesn’t end up shaping the entire territory to her own ends! Who knows? Sentient as she is, she might even be wise enough to offer tribute to the being destined to choose the path her fate is tied to.
Option B. - Standard Difficulty: (White Tier – Level 30) The Rat Queen might have perished, but another daughter has taken her place! As savage, brutal, and deadly as her mother before her. One can only wonder what treasures might be found within those endless warrens, especially since the first delver to dare these depths fled before he could claim a single prize!
Option C. - Easy Difficulty: (White Tier – Level 15) The rats never recovered from the death of their queen, scurrying like the mindless creatures that they are. Though they are forever hungry for fresh food, their unique metabolism and inherent fragility means that they can survive on the mana discharges of their environment alone.
Neither their numbers nor their tactics are more than what a competent trio of Conscripts of almost any level could handle, especially in the tunnels beyond their nest. Being perfectly mindless beasts, however, means that very little treasure of any sort will be gathered. On the other hand, the dungeon will re-spawn within days of every clearing, and the sewers adjoining the layer will serve as the perfect training grounds for even the most novice of adventurers!
And who knows what boon a nearby orc tribe might offer the plucky adventurer who reveals the location of yet another rat farm to fill hungry orc bellies with an almost unlimited supply of fresh tasty vermin, no sophisticated agricultural techniques needed!
--Option Forbidden--
Necromantic Path detected! Path of Essence detected!
You have claimed Dominion over ZERO territories.
Ruler’s Path limitations do NOT apply!
Oblivion’s Maw is in effect!
You can now sense the crooked paths that others would keep hidden from you!
It is one thing to feast upon the locked potency of your kills. It is quite another to feast upon the divine potential of an entire realm!
Do you dare to walk a Forbidden Path?
Leftmost Fork:
Necromantic Consumption – Success Rate – High. Hostile detection Likelihood – Minimal.
Thanks to your unique skill set, genetic heritage, and sacrifices already endured, you may feast upon this realm's potential to permanently increase Strength and Vitality by 3 Points Each! - The most basic of Consumption Paths, it is perfect for Necromancers weakened by their perilous arts, especially those already on the brink of death!
Rightmost Fork:
Essence Consumption – Success Rate – Low. Hostile detection Likelihood – Minimal.
Thanks to your unique skill set, genetic heritage, and sacrifices already endured, you can sense the faint resonance of the essences used to shape this realm. Most particularly, the Essence of Dominion. There’s no guarantee, of course, but it is possible that a careful study of discordant cascades as this pocket realm crumbles to nothing will provide the insights needed for a significant breakthrough in your mastery of Dominion’s Essence!
For long moments, Eric gazed in awe at the messages blinking in his interface, mind racing with the glorious potential suddenly before him that almost made everything he had endured so far worth it. More than worth it.
Before a fresh bout of dizziness and sudden projectile vomiting reminded him of the chilling messages he had received before. Only seconds before. The interface’s messages read and understood in the blink of an eye. Even if it sometimes felt like many minutes had been spent processing them.
Even so, his sporadically thumping heart left him terrified that he was already too late as he made his choice.
Now clenching tight and howling with sudden shocking pain that burned with a searing pleasure he had no words to describe as every cell in his body engorged upon the potency of a dying realm… and the hundreds of squealing, screaming, still surviving rats within.
Rats that fought desperately with every iota of their being for one last chance at life…
Rats that Eric’s soul devoured with a vicious bloody maw, engorging upon a fresh flood of experience even as psionic squeals and snipping teeth took their toll, white hairs upon an otherwise prime Alpha’s body the only mark of hundreds of desperate struggles.
Each and every one tearing yet another day from Eric’s shortening life…
even as his body shimmered and burned with the flood of crimson power reshaping and strengthening him anew.
You have chosen the path of Basic Necromantic Consumption.
Success!
You have learned the Contender skill: Necromantic Consumption! This skill fuses the power of Necromancy and Blood Magic with the Essence of Dominion and a Contender’s Birthright!
You have dared to shape your skills along a forbidden path! Let no one know!
Necromantic Consumption is now Rank 4!
Blood Mastery is now Rank 17!
Spirit Mastery is now Rank 15!
Strength has been permanently increased by 3 points to 28 (91%) as an entire dungeon realm's might becomes your own!
Vitality has been permanently increased by 3 points to 26 as an entire dungeon realm’s life force resonates through your soul! Physical Resistance is now Rank 2! You now recover 1 Health Point every 8 seconds!
Vitality increase and potency boost has successfully stabilized organ failure cascade!
Congratulations! Your massive surge of Vitality has coaxed even essence-infused scars to shrink and find symmetric balance as the last residual inflammation fades and a pattern reminiscent of crackling flames remains! An Appearance of 12, along with a superhuman Strength and Vitality, will catch more than a few eyes, especially among men and women who don't mind facial tattoos and appreciate a potential boyfriend blessed with a graceful and powerful physique!
With the right concealers, your fiery hair and eyes, panther-like grace, and hunter’s gaze will make you absolutely irresistible! (Face paints may now be used to hide all traces of Essence Scars.)
Sure, you might have lost another 666 days of your life, equivalent to every rat whose essence you absorbed without killing directly, but you’ve never looked so virile and potent in all your days!
Excess essence absorbed has boosted Core infusion to 74.9% of maximum!
Eric wanted to shout for joy, sensing the rough ridges upon his face and body fade, tears coming to his eyes as he felt skin once more smooth and whole, save for the faintest of ridges from scars his interface assured now looked more like tattoos than mangled flesh.
The news was so welcome that he choked out a grateful sob as he opened tearing eyes that could once more see perfectly, surprised by how shaken and grateful he was to find scars fading that he had thought himself long past worrying.
Only then did he note the price he had paid for his most recent ascension.
“Another 666 days of my life stolen? What the bloody fucking fuck!” Eric shook his head, both horrified and furious, heart racing as it spiked with dread, all but imagining countless undead liches laughing at his daring as his life trickled away like sand in a broken hourglass... before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to think through all that had occurred, and all that he had learned.
He had paid a severe price for daring the necromantic path, it was true.
Over 228 days lost, overextending himself over multiple occasions, most especially when he had fought against a dark artifact’s curse while claiming a necromantically enchanted bone bow. He had paid a significant price even then, extending himself far beyond his stored experience points or potency reserves, before finally making it his own, body and soul.
He was far wiser now, and wouldn't dare infuse any weapon with his essences, or seek to bind them to his soul, without significant experience points in the bank, like he had with all the extra long bolts he had infused with flame, at least the bodkin heads, before daring to take on the rat queen in her barrow. And he had no intention of fighting for his soul trying to soul-bind any additional necromantic artifacts. Not until he'd had a hell of a lot more training, at least. And when he thought of just how profoundly sweet a prize that bow had turned out to be, Burst of Strength synergizing with Flesh Sculptor to compel the bone bow limbs to spring with such shocking speed that arrows released actually broke the sound barrier, he couldn't help but think it had been worth the cost.
Were it not for his own Strength, Finesse, and the Necromantic control he had over those limbs, he knew that weapon would probably break his wrist, or at least spring out of his hands constantly, ruining his follow-through. But with training, dedication, and yes, insane Strength, that no longer seemed to be a problem.
He forced a satisfied nod, despite the bitter tang in his throat. In truth, he had profited mightily at a cost of less than a year of his life, and would never waste another day of his potential bonding artifacts again, when an experience cushion would always see him through.
It was only when he had actually dared an abjuration so discordant that it had actually severed the links between realms that he had paid the most exorbitant of prices. 20 precious years of his life, even if thankfully not his youth. And cleaving free realms he didn't even dare set foot into wasn't a feat he would dare ever again, lest perhaps Earth itself was on the line.
As for his most recent bittersweet boon?
Necromantic Consumption was entirely different from Unorthodox Abjuration that had demanded such a fearsome tole for him. It seemed that devouring a territory to infuse his body with that territory’s potency would pay glorious dividends. But there was a vital caveat he must follow, lest the skill become just as costly and untenable as Abjuring entire realms.
If he truly wanted to profit free of any cost, then, at least for dungeons, he must achieve a 100% clear before he consumed the realm in question for all time, or pay a penalty of a day of his life for every foe left behind.
So yes, his latest mad feat had cost him 666 days, and gained him +3 to 2 vital stats that had probably saved his life with the potency infusion, and had him looking better than he had since the day he had dared flame and pod, for the sake of his sister.
It had also opened up a path of power that he dared to hope would level the playing field for him, as he was forced to compete against what he was increasingly certain were numerous power brokers and groups with far more knowledge on the best paths forward, and access to elite skills, classes, and resources that he could only dream of.
Hopefully, if he played his cards right, he would never age more than a handful of days from daring Necromantic Consumption, or any of his other abilities, ever again.
At that moment, he dared to laugh for joy, feeling as powerful and fierce as the wolf he had envisioned himself to be, while devouring the rat-queen’s realm.
An incredible path of power had revealed itself to him, and he was determined to embrace it to the fullest.
With a quick glance assuring his safety by the still empty corridor end that included a manhole cover and ladder just feet away, where the dungeon portal had once shimmered and beckoned, he took a quick look at his character sheet before forcing himself to face the final interface message, one which he was somehow certain would have a major impact on his life and future choices.
But first, he would take a moment to appreciate just how far he had come.
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Eric Silver - Level 9 Conscript
(You are currently at 74.9% of maximum core density!)
Physical Characteristics
Strength – 28 (91%) Your Strength is now superhuman! (Good luck ever rounding this stat up!)
Vitality – 26 Your Vitality is now superhuman! (Don’t expect to be able to train this any further in the gym!)
Finesse – 32 (Your superhuman grace and coordination make you a deadly opponent with spear, sword, bardiche, or crossbow! You’re a natural marksman with longbows as well.)
Quickness – 23 (Your superhuman speed means you’re now faster than any Olympian sprinter or gold medal fencer!)
Appearance – 12 (Traces of the strikingly handsome youth you once were are now clearly visible through grievous scars that now appear to be no more than tribal tattoos, for all that they glitter like rubies in the light! Save for irises and hair the color of wild flame that some would consider quite striking, you look much as you did before.
Note. Your appearance is further enhanced (considerably) by Strength, Vitality, and Finesse that are all superhuman! Any man or woman attracted to a predator’s fierce potency will find you absolutely irresistible! (Especially with concealer!) Warning! People intimidated by men with an aura of danger will want nothing to do with you!)
Mental Characteristics
Scholarship – 12 (Your memory is now at least as acute at 75% of all mortals trying to remember a name, book-learn a new subject, or cram for an exam!)
Perception – 27 (You’re more perceptive than most marksmen when it comes to spotting and drawing a bead on your target, or sensing someone trying to draw a bead on you! You almost always hear people talking behind your back, even a hundred yards away! And if your sense of smell were any better, you’d be a bloodhound!)
Willpower – 26 (You have the determination and focus to push your body to the limit, resist a Bone Lord’s commands and a Rat Queen’s Compulsion!)
Charisma – 13 (You lack any Isekai ability to inspire everyone you meet to instantly fall for you, but you’re pretty good at reading a room, sensing non-verbal ques, and knowing just what to say, or keep silent about, to diffuse a tense situation. Even if most of your magnetism now comes from your powerful body and inhumanly graceful physique, you’d know just when to smile and ask a girl out, if you weren’t still so ashamed of your wild appearance and once-hideous scars!)
Potency Pools
Arcane Potential – 14
(Mana Pool = 168)
Spiritual Energy – 16
Soul Reserves – 40 (35)
Stamina – 260 Points
Health – 378 Points.
Resistances & Recovery
Physical Resistance – 2
Physical Regeneration – You recover 1 Health Point every 8 seconds.
Elemental Resistance – 0
Qi Resistance – 0
Mental Resistance – 7
Physical Age = 17 Years (+22 years, 164 Days & 14 hours that Arcane Magics cannot restore! Superhuman vitality allows you to keep your youth, even if you’re now burning your candle at both ends!)
Interface Recognized Skills
Acting – Rank 3
Bardiche (Unified) – Rank 15 (Cleaving Blow)
Blade and Shield – Rank 10
Bow (All Types) – Rank 14 (True Strike)
Crossbows – Rank 14 (True Strike)
Dagger – Rank 3
ESS Manipulation – Rank 9
Find Weakness – Rank 7
Iado (Fast-Draw) – Rank 7
Negotiation – Rank 5
Repair – Rank 1
Saber – Rank 13 (Doom Slice)
Spear – Rank 13 (Piercing Strike)
Stealth – Rank 11 (Hunter’s Grace)
Swimming – Rank 2
Unarmed Combat – Rank 4
Necromancer Affinities & Skills
Blood Mastery – Rank 17 (Blood Claimance)
Spirit Mastery – Rank 15 (Path of Dominion)
Rituals of Summoning and Binding – Rank 14 (Path of Dominion)
Flesh Sculptor – Rank 15 (Path of Dominion)
You are now an Journeyman of the Path of Blood!
You are now a Journeyman of the Path of Dominion!
You are now an Apprentice Necromancer!
Necromancer Spells
Unorthodox Abjuration – Rank 20! Adept Rank Achieved!
Damage inflicted upon undead: EXTREME. Cost: 60 Ex, 10 temporary health, 20 mana, 10% of temporary Soul Reserves. NOTE! This attack WILL affect Bronze tier revenants and cause CATASTROPHIC damage to all White Tier Undead!
Interface Enhancements
Full Neuro-Linguistic capabilities
Extradimensional Storage Space
Essences Claimed:
Fire (Rank 1, White Tier)
Wrath (Rank 1, White Tier)
Dominion (Rank 1, White Tier)
Essence Related Skills:
Burst of Strength: Rank 10 (Path of Mastery)
Infravision: Rank 11 (Magesight +4 to spot mind & soul magic.)
Heat Surge: Rank 9
Contender Skills (Path of Consumption)
These skills fuse Necromancy, Essence Potency, and a Contender’s potential! You have dared to fuse your gifts along a Forbidden Path!
Necromantic Consumption: Rank 4 - You may feast on the potency potential of Territories you have conquered, so long as you claim none! (The Path of Rulers and the Path of Consumption are diametrically opposed). You may also feast upon the potency of Dungeons you have achieved a First Completion on, boosting your Strength and Vitality permanently!
This form of consumption has the highest likelihood of success, and sufficiently mimics natural cycles of predation such that not even System Inquisitors are likely to think anything is amiss! Note: Likelihood of success, penalty cost (in terms of life force) for anything less than a 100% clear, and degree of potency absorbed all benefit from increasing Rank!
Essence Consumption: Rank 1 - You may feast on the Essence potential of Territories you have conquered, so long as you claim none! (The Path of Rulers and the Path of Consumption are diametrically opposed). You may also feast upon the Essence potential of Dungeons you have achieved a First Completion on!
Note: Not all territories or dungeons have any potential essence to claim. Additionally, said essences might NOT be compatible with those you already have. Likelihood of success is lower than basic Necromantic Consumption, unless territory or dungeon is naturally attuned to a particular essence!
Unformed (Trash Tier) Cultivation Technique (Flame Origin) – Novice – 10%
Titles Earned
Necromantic Prodigy
Adept tier Necromantic paths are now open to you!
You are now officially a HERO of the human faction! You now enjoy +4 reaction rolls among humans who know of your new title!
Lightning Marksman
Increased spacial perception and sense of timing means you’re 20% more likely to hit all future targets with all ranged weapons!
You’re clearly a natural at this! You now learn all ranged weapon skills 20% faster!
All archery and marksman classes of Advanced prestige or lower are now open to you! At least one bow specialist class of Adept tier or better will be open to you! Additional classes of higher prestige involving the use of ranged weapons may also be available to you! All will resonate with at least Silver tier concordance!
Strength, Perception, Quickness, and Finesse have each gone up 5 points as a legend is forged, and a bit of your world’s potency becomes your own!
Elite Title (Hidden): REALM BREAKER!
Title Boon: OBLIVION’S MAW. - So long as you forsake the Path of Rulers, you may consume the essence and potency of any territory you claim!
Title Bane: You are now considered a VESSEL OF OBLIVION! - YOUR ELITE TITLE HAS BEEN HIDDEN! Let no one know what you are truly capable of!
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