BabaVader
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Chapter 292 Finalizing
🕑 Added 2022-11-15 21:11:32 +0000 UTCHey there!
Here it is, your bonus chapter! Now we're caught back up until tomorrow. I've had a much better time writing this one. Largely because I'm much less exhausted. Gonna see my doctor tomorrow but I have the afternoon free to write. I should be able to finish the next chapter in time.
I'm gonna put up an announcement by the end of the week on how I'm continuing from here on. The break week sounds really good. I'll likely put the first one at the beginning of December, even though there's another break around Christmas. Eh. If that's how it works out... More details in the announcement.
For now, I hope you enjoy the chapter! (I totally didn't forget about this thing, nope!)
Cheers!
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I was sitting at the shore of Vivi’s lake. Our house was right behind me with a bunch of dwarves carrying the parts of the cotton-spinner into Safrah’s workshop. The woman was coordinating them and overseeing the construction even though the [Artificer]s were perfectly capable of setting it up. I heard them complaining behind her back but there was no bite in their words. When I looked back, it was easy to spot their smiles.
My first-ever friend, Vivi, was in the water. Because of course, she was. Her race was called ‘oceanlot’, after all. I was curious what she would think of a real ocean.
We were using [Telepathy] and talking about nothing important as she swam through the lake. Her movements created soft waves washing over my talons and creating mesmerizing patterns on the surface. For once, I was in my normal form, even though I was right next to water.
“And then like this!”, Vivi sent as she shot into the air. A plume of liquid followed her like a monstrous tail It almost reminded me of the moray we had fought for this node. The back of her body was difficult to make out. It almost looked like she was fused with the water, her legs and tail dissipated. Then, she swung around and the huge eel of liquid whipped around and slammed into the lake. Water splashed everywhere and the noise almost made me wish I had hands to cover my ears with. Luckily, shadows were even better at dampening sound. I just had to make sure the effect worked on me.
“That looks really powerful”, I said, “Is that one Skill?”
“I wish!”, she giggled, “I’m combining three Skills. And they’re everything I’ve worked on besides my carving.”
“Did you upgrade your Class, by the way?”
“Yes! I’m a [Storm Hunter] now. It made me even more specialized but it also upgraded my racial Skill [Clawing Water] into [Riptide]. I can make a river wherever I want, now!”
“That… sounds powerful. Was that an optional upgrade?”
She surfaced a few metres in front of me. Her blue-grey head nodded.
“Yes. I made it upgrade all of them!”
“Huh… I still have that option. Haven’t gotten around to it.”
“Do it! I want to know!”
I only barely saw her step out of the water before she sat next to me.
“Right. Let me pull up the notification.”
~ding~ Congratulations! Your Class [Assassin] has evolved into [Dream Cutter]! Your Skill [Sneak lvl 7] was replaced with [Distant Dreaming lvl 1]. Your Skill [Winged Death lvl 6] was altered to [Winged Dream lvl 6]. You may alter your Skills [Shock Attack lvl 7], [Mingling lvl 7], [Telepathy lvl 4]. Once you alter at least one of your Skills, you may no longer use this option.
“So, I have three options. Huh. One of the Skills levelled up since then. Do you think that’s going to be a problem?”
The ocelot tilted her head.
“No idea!”
“Right. I can upgrade [Shock Attack], [Mingling] and [Telepathy]. Do you think I should go for all of them?”
“Yes!”
Catori took that moment to jump into the conversation. At least on my end.
“I’m all for it. Would suck to lose [Telepathy], though.”
I nodded.
“Right. I’ll do it.”
~ding~ You have chosen to alter your offered Skills. Due to a Breakthrough, your Skill [Telepathy lvl 4] will now be altered differently. Commencing, please wait…
“Huh? What now?”
“What’s up?”, Catori asked.
“It says to wai… ARGHEE!”
A sudden sting ran through my brain. I let out a shriek of pain alongside my telepathic exclamation. Just as sudden as it came, it was gone again.
“Ouch! That fucking hurt!”
Vivi only nodded sagely.
“Are you alright?”, Catori asked.
“Could’ve warned me…”, I mumbled.
Both of them laughed.
~ding~ Alteration successful. Your Skill [Sensory Telepathy lvl 5] has become [Sleep Talk lvl 5]. Your Skill [Mingling lvl 7] has become [Always True lvl 7]. Your Skill [Shock Attack lvl 7] has become [Betrayal lvl 7].
Those were some weird names… I immediately dove in at both Vivi’s and Catori’s prodding.
[Sleep Talk]: You trained your soul like a muscle. You know how to stretch it and find others to connect to. You can use it to communicate with others even if they are sleeping. See their thoughts and show your own.
1st Breakthrough: You no longer need to connect to find another soul. You will always be able to see them, as long as you focus. Increases range based on Wisdom. You will know if your target is sleeping.
The first Skill already looked very different. It no longer talked about ‘intimate conversation’ but it also lacked an obvious description of the original [Telepathy]. Only, the Breakthrough had barely changed. I quickly tested it with Vivi and found that the Skill still connected to someone that was not sleeping. I might have needed a little more effort but it was nearly imperceivable. Our [Telepathy] was safe! On to the next one:
[Always True]: The [Dream Cutter] is a master of getting to their target unnoticed. You have learned to infiltrate groups highly differing from yourself by taking over one of their members. Your actions will more easily align with who they were before.
1st Breakthrough: You will have an easier time controlling Skills not originally yours. You can now [Identify] your host at any time.
Now that… was powerful. It no longer let me easily learn languages and social norms but instead, I would almost become who I took over. The Breakthrough made Catori shout in happiness. This was incredibly useful for her, specifically. And the ‘host’ was not the body we were currently using, as I easily found. I could simply [Identify] every body we had access to. Catori was even able to [Identify] our original body while in the horse.
Those were two great Skills. Only one left. Though I expected much less from the name.
[Betrayal]: You are the brother striking in greed, the wife poisoning her husband, the supplicant stabbing their master’s back. Attacking a target that is related to your current body massively increases your accuracy and damage based on your Dexterity and Perception.
1st Breakthrough: Your betrayal stuns all onlookers. They will be unable to act for long a time. Length of shock is based on perceived violence and closeness of your target and yourself.
That was… much worse than [Shock Attack]. The previous Skill worked as long as I was unseen. Now, I needed to be ‘related’ to my target. It was apparent that a blood relation was not necessary, at least. From the Skill name, I assumed I would have to be trusted by whoever I was attacking. Maybe something like a pet would be enough? That said, it hurt a little losing the previous version when I was planning to explore the Deep Green. The synergy with the other Class Skills could not be denied, though. [Sleep Talk] could let me figure out someone’s memories, [Always True] let me act as they should and [Betrayal] made the attack stronger because I would not lose trust easily.
“Okay, this is pretty good”, Catori said.
“What did you get?”, Vivi asked at the same time. The ocelot could still not hear my other self. We would wait for her have a body of her own.
“Some pretty scary stuff. Makes me feel like an [Assassin] again.”
“You weren’t before?”
“I was. Just not… this much. It’s a pretty specialized thing. I have a clear path to kill anyone as long as I can get access to someone they trust during their sleep.”
“Everyone trusts.”
“What about wildlife? Especially non-sapient?”
“… they trust too. Animals can feel safe with others. You can gain trust without risking yourself, as well.”
I blinked. That was… a great idea. I had gained a very good option for keeping out of danger. Even better than [Eldritch Shift]. I would only have to find a safe spot for my real body. Or have Catori pilot it.
“Huh. I didn’t think about it like that. It makes complete sense, though. I’m not sure if I want to take the time for every kill. That might be a bit much.”
“You need to move fast”, she nodded.
I had already told Safrah and Vivi of my adventures in the human plains and what I had learned. At first, they were quite shocked. It felt like Safrah was more surprised about how decent humans can be than the impending doom. They agreed to join the Curtachadh in Serrington three months from now. If Riggard travelled with them, I would have a lot of friends helping out just from this side. I hoped it would be a productive meeting.
“Yes”, I said, “Though I don’t think that’s going to be the issue. It will be more problematic to find places to rest. Going into the trees will be the most dangerous part and I won’t have to do that a lot.”
“You want to meet more helpers.”
I turned to look at the craftsmen still carrying the cotton-spinner-parts into the workshop.
“I know. I’ll take it slow to start with. Maybe the edge of the forest will be easier to traverse for me.”
“No scouting?”
I scoffed.
“I want to but it’s probably impossible to see much from above once you get further in. It’ll be like a cave made of plants.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
“We should find a forest animal that can keep up with us”, Catori said.
“And how’s that supposed to be possible?”
“We can slow down. If crossing the forest takes a month instead of a week, that’s fine.”
“I still trust our senses more.”
“… okay. You have a point, there. Would also let me keep playing…”, she mumbled.
“Right. We’ll try it my way and if it’s too dangerous to stay inside, we’ll find a secondary body to scout with.”
“That’s a plan.”
I returned my focus to Vivi who sat next to me with her head tilted.
“Are you okay?”, she asked.
I nodded and leaned over to start preening her fur. The ocelot purred and leaned into me.
“Good”, she said.
