Zuss followed the coin with the rest of the group. They had to guide Hunter, he had stowed his torch. If it was out, then Alfred couldn’t move the coin. Something to do with his ability to weaken untethered.
She could feel the tension in the air. The awakened dead were either destroyed or tamed. The roots had stopped attacking and there seemed to be no more corpse wood to bother them.
That meant all that was left was the demon. It was out of pawns and had to either run or fight.
One problem with being a demon that possessed a dead tree is that you can’t run. She expected the demon to fight like a cornered badger.
That meant they were all in mortal danger.
No time to be careful. Daggat had preached his philosophy on holding onto a point or two of your biotraits. The idea was to adapt to any situation. It was a sound theory. At least, it’s worked so far. But this was one of those situations they needed to adapt to.
Zuss had three biotrait points. No skill points or growth points. So, she needed to spend them the best she could.
“It stopped,” Elyndris commented. They came to a halt. The coin stopped moving and was now spinning, flattening with each rotation.
“Let’s give it a moment. Maybe he had to do something.” Hunter offered.
Well, this was a good opportunity to look at her options. She had already glanced through them earlier and had a few ideas.
The main benefit to combining traits, from what she could see, is they could all be simultaneously upgraded with fewer biotraits. She had two synergized skills. Improved body control and Nimble hands and feet.
Improved body control could gain the following mutations: Ultranatural body control, Autonomous Reflex, and Dynamic Nerve Control.
The first simply enhanced her balance, reflexes, and flexibility to nearly impossible degrees. She wasn’t sure of the limits, but with her current flexibility, she imagined she could contort and fit into any space or stand on any surface. That sounded fun, but not too useful in the current situation.
Autonomous Reflex allowed her reflexes to move her body with greater speed and control. Essentially, her body would dodge for her, allowing her to focus on other aspects of a fight.
The last was Dynamic Nerve Control. It was a bit more esoteric and strange. She didn’t see how to use it effectively. It allowed her to adjust the effectiveness, speed, and density of her nervous system in one area of her body. She supposed if she was in a situation where she needed to be able to move her fingers or toes at incredible speeds, then it might be useful. She put that one on the back burner.
So far, her biggest weakness in a fight has been her being unable to dodge and fight effectively at the same time. In her fight against Anath she was completely overwhelmed. Same with the Butler.
Zuss selected autonomous reflex.
Next she wanted to upgrade her nimble hands and feet. She knew what she wanted and luckily, it was an option. Mighty Grip. This way she wouldn't slip as easily when she climbed over people.
Now, she had another problem. Her body could dodge for her, in theory. But her eyes couldn’t keep up. She scrolled through the options. There were so many to pick from, and it wasn’t sorted well.
“Hey, does anyone know a biotrait to help my eyes keep up with my body?” She asked the group.
“Enhanced Visual Acuity,” Elyndris answered immediately.
“Ah, there it is. Thanks. Oh, we have a shared status void now. In case anyone wants to check it out.”
Elyndris, Hunter, and Anath each popped into her status void a moment later. They looked around with awe and interest. Zuss grabbed the biotrait. Already, she could follow the minute movements of her companions more easily. The twitching of Anaths mandibles and the flopping of Hunters hair.
It was strange seeing other people in the status void. Normally it was a dark void where the system information floated. Now, she could see her companions.
A spider made of glowing blue lines scuttled across the void.
“Fun, fun. Friends, yes? Help Anath, yes, yes? She hates biotraits. Biotraits strong. Help convince?”
Anath groaned. Stupid spider.
“Ignore the spider,” she said. They could see it, she could tell by the looks on their faces.
“What! The spider is REAL?!” Elyndris nearly shouted.
“Hello,” Hunter said. The spider waved a leg at him.
“Of course! What do you think I meant?” Anath said. She told her about the spider. Right?
“I thought it was a metaphor.” Added Zuss. “Dag has one of these. His is… creepier.”
“Spider. What are you?” Elyndris demanded. The spider scuttled to her.
“Anathema’s assistant. I am, I am. Good assistant. Help her live. Help her hunt.” Said the spider. “Anathema, time to spend points, yes, yes?”
“Just skill points. But, go away! We don’t need you.” Anath said.
“Girl, do you know how useful an assistant is? They can sort through options in a fraction of the time any of us could. And find exactly what you want.” Elyndris said.
“Well, you can use it. I don’t NEED the spider.” Anath crossed her arms.
She wasn’t going to spend biopoints! If she followed the spider's suggestions she would be more spider than girl.
Specifically, it wanted her to take the exoskeleton biotrait. It, combined with hardened Chitin, would give her full body armor.
Then it wanted her to change herself even more. Anath shuddered at the thought. With a level five monster soul, she had access to regenesis.
There were not many options for her. Lycan (Giant spider), Giant Spider, Arachne, and arachtaur were out of the question. But there were other choices not themed around the spider. Low Giant, Human Paragon, Neanderthal, Alfen, Mountain Folk, and Small Folk.
If she was forced to, she would go with human paragon. Maybe that would cancel out the spider. But she wasn’t being forced to, so she won’t change. That was that.
Her skill points, however, were another matter completely. She only had one, but it was better than nothing.
She was a berserker now, so she had access to the berserker skills. Outside of Berserker's rage and great vitality, she had ten options. As far as she knew, that was the standard for early classes. One active skill, one passive skill, and ten other skills. She could branch out and get them all, but that wasn’t a wise choice. Focusing on a certain path tended to make for better adventurers. However, her knowledge of this was lacking.
She decided to look at her skill options and then decide what she wanted.
Savage Warrior allowed you to manifest mystical savage weapons. Claws, fangs, and the like. Anath immediately tossed that to the metaphorical trash heap. No thanks.
Mountain Grip made it easier to hold large weapons. She didn’t use large weapons.
Blood Rhythm increased her strength by one for every attack she made. If she missed, the strength went away. It also faded away pretty quickly. The strength bonus was up to three. This would work well if she kept two blades, like she had.
Battle Cry allowed her to scream three times per day. This attack could demoralize or even frighten those with weak will. This one could be useful, but not against a demon.
Reckless Charge was an active skill that allowed her to charge forward at great speed. If she attacked someone in the sprint, the attack would be more effective.
Last Stand canceled the damage of an attack if that attack would kill her. That sounded great, but it was only usable once per YEAR.
Unbending Will made it so if she would succumb to a mental effect, she would resist the effects. It only worked once per day, and it forced her to rage if she could.
Skull Splitter was an active skill that could be used once an hour. It added five to her strength for a single attack. As simple as it was useful.
The last two skills were enhance strength and enhance constitution. Some classes offered skill increases, but you could only select them once.
Decisions… decisions…
She currently had 13 constitution. If she enhanced it, she could gain the feat associated with it. But, Blood Rhythm was also tempting.
The others were working with the spider on their own choices. Anath could see their status screens.
“Elly, what do you think I should get?” Anath asked. The worm crawled over to her.
“Have you narrowed it down?” She asked.
“I am thinking either Blood Rhythm or enhanced constitution. That would bring me to 15.” Anath explained. The worm read the descriptions. Could she see?
“Both would be good choices. With your legs, you would be guaranteed to fluctuate your strength as you fought. That could make you unpredictable.” Elly hummed, “But 15 constitution would give you mighty constitution.”
“What does that do?”
“It should increase your disease resistance. Which can be useful.”
“Yes, but not here.”
“Fair. What about last stand?”
“That could help me survive… but it won’t help me fight.”
“Can’t fight if you are dead.”
Anath mulled that over. Was that likely? She was pretty tough, now.
“I think… blood rhythm.”
“Your power continues to grow. A bit more confidence and you will be a true terror.” Elyndris commented. Anath smirked at her. She made the choice.
Hunter marveled at the shared status void. This would be useful for when Daggat or Elyndris showed them how to grow.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Hunter hadn’t looked at his stats in a while. He had a lot. Somehow, he had missed a growth point. He also had a total of nine skills. Seven from his levels, and the two from when he said the prayers. He had only spent six of them.
Well, time to spend them.
Hearth tender had ten skills, aside from the two he started with. Sacred Flame, Encompassing Warmth, and Brilliant Bash were what he selected. He was told that it was a good idea to pick three or four to focus in.
He was happy with his choices, but he wished his class wasn’t so complicated. The effects of his skills were largely influenced by the size of his flames. They were, in order, candle, torch, fire, hearth, and bonfire. Then his torch was an asset, especially with brilliant bash and hearth flame. It was classified as fire strength flame with the Hearth Flame perk. But, each time he used it the torch dimmed. Fire to torch, torch to candle, and candle to nothing. Then he would have to wait until dawn to rekindle it.
He took a gander at the other skills, just in case he was interested.
Kindle Flame allowed him to temporarily increase the effective strength of a flame. He could do this once per day. With this ability, he could make his torch as powerful as a fire, when it came to special abilities.
Fire Breather allowed him to blow flame from his torch like drake fire. Useful, but dangerous.
Ignite Flame was similar to Fire Breather. But instead of blowing flame in a cone, he could cause a flame he was tending to explode. Fun, but too dangerous.
Protective Warmth would bolster the defense of any allies near a flame he tended, but it would slowly go out as it was used.
Keeper of the Flame made it so fires he tended didn’t go out naturally and would last longer. That was one he really wanted, he could tend a fire and not have to worry about wood. Most importantly, he could sleep without it going out.
Hearty Cook was another he desperately wanted. Any food cooked at the hearth was enhanced… somehow. He wasn’t clear what that meant, but it piqued his interest in cooking.
Pass the Torch allowed an ally to dip a weapon into a flame he tended. It reduced the fire's strength, but it temporarily infused the ally's weapon with the same benefits as his torch.
Hunter decided to go with the basics. Increasing Invoke torch to level two. The perks he had to choose from were Mighty Torch, Hotter Burn, and Lantern.
Mighty Torch strengthened his torch, physically.
Hotter Burn increased the effective strength of the torch.
Lantern converted the torch into a lantern, which allowed him to illuminate further away, and made it harder to extinguish.
He chose Mighty Torch.
Hunter summoned it. It was noticeably longer and reinforced with bands of metal. It felt sturdy in his hand. He could smash demons well with this. Those were okay to smash, right? It was like smashing zombies or creepy bugs. Didn’t count as hurting something.
Next, he upgraded Hearth Fire to level two. He could choose the following perks: Healing Warmth, which increased the healing effects of his flame further. Purify in flame, this allowed him to burn away curses on items in his hearth, which they didn’t need to at the moment. Finally, Cozy Camp enhanced the calming effects of the fire even further.
Hunter knew it wouldn’t be useful in the fight, but he was sure people would need to heal afterward. So he selected healing warmth. Now the fire allowed one to heal five times faster. If Anath slept near the fire, she could heal over a week's worth of damage in a day with her great vitality.
Now he had one skill point left. Perhaps he could upgrade one of his other skills?
Bounty Hunter gave him a count of things he had slain. He was able to bring it out and show people. He didn’t understand the point of that, except to show off. He got that skill from his Slayer feat. Looking at the options, the only one that intrigued him made it a party feat. Then Daggat could see what the entire party had killed so far.
“Anyone know about the bounty hunter skill?” Hunter asked. Anath’s spider skittered over and read it.
“Fun, fun. Gives proof of kill.” It said.
“Yeah, but why would that be worth a point?”
“Well, there is something useful with it,” Elyndris said. “Mortals have this annoying habit of requiring proof of experience gained. Something about not wanting unregistered murderers or something.”
That might be important. They were pretty high-level. It was unusual for humans to be above level six or so unless they were a guard, soldier, adventurer, or craftsman. He will hold off on that, wait until their next level.
Seek had nothing useful. Just extra information you could get by just asking the angel.
He had an idea. He put his remaining growth point into Will, bringing it to 15.
[Feat achieved, Unshakable Will. Cause: Raise Will to 15. Reward: Fearless.]
The fearless skill was just a byproduct of increasing will to 15. He wanted to see the options.
One caught his attention. Peaceful Presence.
It gave him an aura that made it difficult for others to attack him or his allies. That was perfect. The demon would hesitate, hopefully. And if they made it through this, this would come in handy when dealing with others.
He selected the skill.
[Feat achieved, Aura Master. Cause: Obtain two different sources of an aura effect. Reward: Condense Aura.]
Hunter laughed when he saw the feat, mirth clear in his deep tones.
“What is it?” Anath asked.
“Spent my points and I got two feats. It’s very fun.”
“What did you get?” She asked. He explained while the rest of the party finished up their selections.
Elyndris finished up helping Anath and Hunter with their choices before focusing on her own. One skill and three biotraits. A wealth of choices.
She needed to start with her weaknesses. First, she couldn’t see. That wasn’t as much of an issue as she would expect. At this point, it was a game with herself to see how long she could go without eyes.
Next, she was small. She can’t do much about that at the moment, not until she can increase her strength to 15. But that was a long way off.
Finally, she was squishy. Literally. Her defenses were lacking.
So, how could she cover those weaknesses with the points she had? A few ideas came to her.
First, her sight. She needed to touch something to “see”. But, she knew of a sense that was more useful than sight. Mana sense. It simply allowed her to sense magical energy. There were two versions of this. A skill and a biotrait. The difference was how the body sensed them. With the skill, it overlaid your vision or other senses. But, as a biotrait, it would become its own sense.
The problem with this was she didn’t have access to it, yet. It required a spell skill of some kind. She had access to several, but they would be borderline useless until she learned how to cast magic.
She mulled over the trade-off. Eventually, she would need those skills anyway. She decided to go for it. She purchased Construct Capacity. This now gave her access to mana-based biotraits. She purchased Mana Sense.
[Biotrait Synergy requirements detected. Mana sense, Tremor Sense. Combine into Thaumic Sense? Yes or No?]
Oh? That was unexpected. She was sure they had no synergy. Perhaps the system had an update or two since… whenever her past life learned of these biotraits. She selected yes.
Immediately, the world exploded into color. Her tremor sense now passed through the ambient mana in the area. It had a sickening gray tinge to it, but it still allowed her to sense the world much better than before.
Then she upgraded it. Refined Sense was the mutation she selected. Immediately the world crisped. The fuzzy outlines sharpened into clear outlines. She could easily see the magic items the party had, as though they glowed. She could now clearly see the features of Anath, Zuss, and Hunter.
Oh. Poor kid. “Hunter. Uh… sorry about the face.”
“What? Did you say something?” He asked.
“Nothing. Forget I said something.”
Elyndris focused on her points again. She had one biotrait to eliminate her two other weaknesses.
Funny thing about weaknesses. A clever worm could turn them into strengths.
She was small, yes. But that means it was hard to hit her directly with a point or slash. Much easier to smash her. If she could remove that danger, then she would be much more effective.
Elyndris selected the biotrait, Force Distributing flesh.
Her body shivered and changed. It was now noticeably less slimy and it had a rubber like quality to it. Now, she could resist being crushed and smashed much easier. As an added bonus, if she had someone throw her, she would now transfer the force more directly to the enemy, dealing more damage.
She cackled, then roared in triumph. She was much stronger than before.
The chattering around her stopped.
“Oh, uh, sorry. Don’t mind me.” She said. “I am done, by the way. What are we talking about?”
“The coin hasn’t moved in a while,” Zuss said. “Should we wait for it? Something doesn’t feel right.”
In the distance, there was the shattering of stone. As though a boulder smashed through a wall.
“Well, we might get to test out our new growth right away.” Elyndris mused.
“Elyndris, you can fly pretty quickly. Go on ahead. Find Klaw and then take care of the tree.” Zuss said. It seems she really was Daggat’s sister. With how naturally both took command when they had to. Elyndris wondered what Klaw would do in a similar situation. “The rest of us, slow it down.”
Elyndris flew off, leaving the rest of the party behind. She grinned. Secretly she hoped the demon would bypass them. Elyndris needed something to sharpen her new skills on.
Zuss
True Name: Zuss
Soul: Monster
Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size]
Genbloom: hobgoblin [ +1 Str, +3 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Nimble Fingers; Small Size]
Monster Level: 8
Attributes (0/6):
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 8
Will: 10
Charm: 9
Feats:
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [Layered feats]
Ability: Mighty Alacrity
Skills(0/2):
System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge]
Deep Shadows: 1
Path Finding [Type: Climbing]
Notable Natural Skills:
Stealth: Apprentice
Climb: Apprentice
Biotraits (0/8):
Base size: Small [Source: Hobgoblin]
Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin]
Enhanced Night Vision [Mutations: Dark Vision; Source: Gremlin]
Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin]
Improved Body Control [Synergy: Improved Balance + Improved Nerve Conduction + Improved flexibility; Mutations: Autonomous Reflex]
Nimble Hands and Feet [Synergy: Nimble hands + Prehensile Feet; Mutations: Mighty Grip]
Cold Resistant Skin
Enhanced Visual Acuity
Transformations:
Drakeheart Form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Smoke Aura
Lesser Wings
Night Stalker form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Enhanced Scent
Deepen Shadow+, Widen Shadows
Notable Gear:
Blade of a Thousand Screams
Pet:
Name: Birdy
Genseed: Cat
Attributes:
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 4
Constitution: 2
Intelligence: 2
Will: 2
Charm: 3
Biotraits:
Lesser Wings
Hunter
True Name: Hunter
Soul: Mortal/Monster
Genseed: Ogre [ 8 Str, 2 Dex, 6 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Ogre's curse; Large Size]
Hearth Tender Level: 8 [+1 Str, +1 Con, +4 Wil; Invoke Torch, Hearth Fire]
Monster Level: 1 [Source: Ichor of the Beast]
Attributes (0/6):
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 9
Will: 15
Charm: 8
Feats:
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Vile Concoction
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Act: Slayer
Ability: Unshakable Will
Skills (0/9):
System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge]
Invoke Torch: 2 [Perks: Mighty Torch]
Hearth Fire: 2 [Perks: Healing Warmth]
Sacred Flame: 2 [Perks: Debilitating Warmth]
Encompassing Warmth: 1
Brilliant Bash: 2 [Perks: Hearth Flame]
Bounty Hunter: 1 [Source: Slayer]
Seek: 1
Fearless: 1
Peaceful Presence: 1
Condense Aura: 1
Biotraits (0/1):
Base Size: Large
Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Vile Concoction]
Other:
Curse: Ogre Curse
Anath
True Name: Anathema
Soul: Monster/Mortal
Genseed: Human [ 3 Str, 3 Dex, 3 Con, 3 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Standard Size]
Monster Level: 5
Berserker Level: 5 [+3 Str, Dex Con, -1 Int, Wil, Cha; Berserker's rage, Great Vitality]
Attributes [0/7]:
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 10
Will: 8
Charm: 7
Feats:
Encounter: True Angel
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Vile Concoction
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Skills(0/8):
System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge]
System Assistant: 1
Skill Boosts: Survival (1)
Savage Legs: 1
Berserker's Spirit: 1 [Synergy: Warrior's Spirit (Burst of Strength + Burst of Alacrity + Burst of Vitality) + Berserker's Rage]
Purge Poison: 1
Great Vitality: 1
Blood Rhythm: 1
Notable Natural Skills:
Survival: Apprentice
Savagery: Apprentice
Biotraits [2/5]:
Disease Resistance [Source: Vile Concoction]
Extra Limb (Arachnid), x4 [Source: Variant]
Venomous Mandibles [Source: Variant]
Multi-eye [Mutations: Magnified, Night Vision; Source: Variant]
Hardened Chitin
Transformations:
Night Stalker form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Claws
Dark Vision
Other:
Variant: Arachnid Traits
Elyndris
True Name: Elyndris
Soul: Monster
Genseed: Larva [ 1 Str, 1 Dex, 1 Con, 1 Int, 1 Wil, 1 Cha; miniscule Size]
Monster Level: 8
Attributes (0/12):
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 15
Will: 7
Charm: 7
Feats:
Encounter: True Angel
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Act: Blasphemy
Ability: Mighty Intellect
Act: Vile Concoction
Skills (0/3):
Burst of Strength: 1
Pounce: 1
Construct Capacity: 1
Biotraits (0/8):
Base size: Miniscule
Jaws
Thaumic Sense [Synergy: Tremor Sense + Magic Sense; Mutations: Refined Sense]
Complex organs
Limbs [Mutation: Lesser Wings]
Disease Resistance [Source: Vile Concoction]
Force Distributing Flesh
Transformations:
Night Stalker form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
+2 constitution
Jaws [Mutation: Powerful Jaws]
Other:
Curse: Ungenesis
