Harmless Human Sacrifice - 29 (Patreon)

[Name: Markus Brown]

[Class: Otherworlder (Earth) (Tier: Novice 44)]

[Health: 890/1070]

[Mana: 7908/5590]

[Strength: 80 (+30)]

[Agility: 80 (+30)]

[Arcana: 20]

[Constitution: 130 (+30)]

[Spirit: 150]

[???: 0]

Okay. 170 regular points and 304 free points. That… was a fuckton. Jesus.

Imagine jamming 500 points in a single stat. That’d be fucking lunacy, surely. 

…no. He wasn’t doing that. Markus THOUGHT about doing that but holy shit he needed to contain his impulses. There was surely a fuckton more he could do here if he played his cards right, and with no guaranteed super-breakpoint at 500 he wasn’t risking that on any stat. Maybe if he could spend free points on Spirit, it’d be a different story, but again, that wasn’t the case.

Still, he had so much to spend, not to mention any other increases he still needed to go over in terms of skills and Paths and more. His mind was still cloudy and hazed after an eternity spent fighting last night, but food and drink were helping him focus.

When Lexi returned with the health potion, he downed it right in front of her, red trickling down his chin as he gulped the entire thing down in one go. She stared up at him the whole while, smiling peacefully.

Ember licked a couple of fallen droplets off of the sheets, leaving them totally clean with no red marks. Lexi never once asked about Ember, not choosing to pry even though by all rights she certainly should’ve.

Whatever. If she wasn’t gonna make a thing of it he wasn’t gonna complain. Made it a lot easier than trying to explain where the hell he’d procured a hellhound. He wasn’t even sure if Drathok knew about her yet, and he’d prefer he continue not to.

Markus slammed the vial down beside him with a large belch. Still tasted like energy drink. Fucking kicked like one too. He felt about the same as he did on a regular morning going down the depot to clock in, only his bed was far comfier and his body ached a lot more.

Not that those sensations weren’t beginning to fade as the potion took effect, thank fuck. Hellspawn or not, Lexi was a fucking godsend, and there was no doubt about that.

50 points into Strength, raising the stat to 100, and Markus felt the difference within his body immediately. A list of passives popped up right after:

[Pack Rat I (Common): Your carrying capacity far exceeds that of someone your build. Your ability to lift, haul, and drag objects for long distances is increased by 50%.]

[Bully I (Common): Your unarmed strikes gain 20% speed. Your knuckles can absorb 33% more force than your Constitution would usually allow without breaking, allowing for more reckless and powerful unarmed strikes.]

[Pride I (Epic): You are emboldened by combat, your Strength increasing by 10 points for an hour for each enemy you fell, capping at 100 points. While under the effects of Pride, enemies of your level or lower that attempt to flee from you will be revealed to you and slowed by 2% of your Strength within 30 feet of you, capping at 20%. While under the effects of Pride, your own movement will be slowed by 25% if you attempt to flee combat until you are 50 feet from your opponent.]

[The effects of Pride may only be activated and deeactivated while out of combat.]

Okay, fuck this choice. 50 points in Agility before he made his mind up on that one.

100 points in Agility, unlike Con or Strength, didn’t give him a list of passives to choose from. Instead, like Spirit had, it simply gave him a dash skill, alongside 3 more points in Evasion, raising Evasion from 14 to 17.

[Dash I (Common): Your movement speed is passively increased by 12%. This can be increased to 30% for 30 seconds at the cost of 50 F Grade Life Mana. Dash has a one minute cooldown after the active ends, and passive movement buffs are removed while Dash is on cooldown.]

Okay, that settled it. Markus locked in Pride. 

He could see the benefits to something like Pack Rat, but it was too future-thinking. Even if he might be able to use it to drag more loot around in the dungeons below, it sounded more like an endurance buff to carrying things long distances than anything that would directly increase his combat prowess. Great for pulling a cart, not so great for pulling a monster’s head off.

Then there was Bully. Fun to imagine running around beating everything up with just his fists, but some of the monsters he’d ran into already made that prospect sound pretty much impossible to him, and he’d already invested enough into his malichor blade that it felt it’d be  absolutely stupid to take a class change right now. 

Versatility was surely a good trait to have, but for now he wanted to ensure he remained focussed on the things he already knew how to do well, the things that had done their jobs in keeping him alive so far. He could always round out his weaker points later. 

Pride sounded a little dangerous to use, but only if he turned it on at stupid times. Besides, half of his fights were literally impossible to run from. He just needed to plan ahead a little to use that ability to its full potency.

That left Markus with 120 regular points and 254 free points. Still about 400 in total…

He boosted Con to 200.

[Robust I has evolved to Robust II.]

[Stone Skin I has evolved to Stone Skin II.]

[Respite: 3 >> 4.]

That and an extra thousand health marked the difference between now and before. It was a monumental change for sure, but 200 wasn’t a breakpoint like 100 was, and Markus had spent 100 points to find as much out. 

Next one could be 250, it could be 500, it might not even be until 1000… He only had 300 points left. He wasn’t yet sure if he was willing to use another 50 to stress test this further. More health was great and all until he got put versus something he couldn’t damage, then he’d only get to live those few hits longer to realise how stupid he was for dumping all his points in Con.

120 regular, 154 free. His stats now looked like this:

[Name: Markus Brown]

[Class: Otherworlder (Earth) (Tier: Novice 45)]

[Health: 890/1070]

[Mana: 7908/5590]

[Strength: 130 (+30)]

[Agility: 130 (+30)]

[Arcana: 20]

[Constitution: 230 (+30)]

[Spirit: 150]

[???: 0]

Okay. Big Arcana dump time. Straight to 100. Time to see what the fuck that did.

[Magical affinity: 0 >> 1.]

[Mana Control: 1 >> 3.]

[Cryomancy: 9 >> 12. Mastery unlocked.]

[Hemomancy: 3 >> 6.]

[Pyrokinesis: 3 >> 6.]

[Stone Skin II has evolved to Stone Barrier I.]

[Manifest: 4 >> 5. Path Unlocked.]

[Adaptive Resistance I unlocked.]

Okay, that right there was a fucking lot.

First off, what was Magical Affinity?

[Magical Affinity: Affects your general ability to understand and process magic and mysticism. Ability to learn magical secrets via study and osmosis are affected directly by Magical Affinity, which increases Growth in all magical pursuits by 4% per point, and allows for unlocks of increasingly complex magical subclasses at certain breakpoints. This trait governs Enchanting, Crafting, Forging, Artifice, Spellcraft, Alchemy, Rituals, and Rune Carving.]

Okay, shit. That just opened a lot of doors for him. Not exactly great for an arena fight, probably, but if he survived, he had a lot of pies he’d be able to dip his fingers into, assuming he could find a way to learn about any of that stuff.

Then there was Adaptive Resistance: 

[Adaptive Resistance I: Allow your body to build a moderate resistance to a single element for a mana type you can generate, or a minor resistance to a mana type you cannot generate but have access to. A resistance take ten minutes to generate and lasts until switched or until the corresponding mana type is depleted. Requires mana of Grade D or higher.]

Okay, shit, this was pretty dope. D Grade kinda made it a bit harder to use than some of his other stuff, but the idea of being able to prepare for his fights in such a manner…

“Hey, Lexi."

She blinked up at him. “Yeah?”

“You’re absolutely sure you can’t remember what I’m fighting?”

“I…” she rubbed her chin as she mulled the prospect over. Eventually, she raised a finger, gasping with a start. “Oh! It’s…”

She slumped down onto the floor, resting her chin on her palm. “Shit. I lost it again. Sorry.”

Well, fuck it. Markus chose to make himself resistant to fire. Seemed like a fairly safe bet.

“Nah, don’t apologise. How long have I got, by the way?”

“Hmm… About ten minutes. You ate pretty fast.”

“You cooked pretty good.”

“I didn’t cook those!” Lexi said, batting away his complement. “I just fetched them. I’m terrible in a kitchen. If you want broken shells in your eggs, I’m your go-to.”

“Noted,” Markus laughed, eyes flicking back to his screen. She wasn’t rushing him out of the door, which was nice, but he still needed to get a move on. The fact he’d ran down twenty minutes just making the decisions he did was worrisome. He was pretty sure being late to his scheduled fight wasn’t an option, either. Lexi would use that chain spell thingy to pull him there eventually if she had to.

Cryomancy unlocked a mastery. What were his choices?

[Freeze Ray I (Arcana+): Channel the Frost Mana within you into a chilling blast that inflicts ice damage upon enemies within a 30 degree cone and inflicts Freeze II upon enemies your size or smaller for one minute. Requires E Grade Frost Mana. Size of cone and duration of Freeze affected by Arcana.]

[Frozen Sanctuary I (Spirit+): When stood within cold spaces, your Frost Mana generation doubles.]

[Cold Heart I: Your movement across icy surfaces is bolstered. Movement speed is  increased by 5% while standing on ice, balance is proportionately increased, and effective Agility while standing on ice is increased by 8%.]

There were more, and Markus wasn’t sure which to pick. He shelved the choice. He wasn’t even sure if he’d use any of these in the upcoming battle, and he could always come back to this on the walk to the arena if needed, or maybe make a split second choice before the fight started.

He was very aware of his time limit, and Mastery choices were so far spanning that he’d be scrolling through this list forever if he wasn’t wary. That in mind, he moved on to Manifest’s Path selection.

[Complexity (Epic): Your mind has a greater recall for the dimensions and shapes of objects, allowing you to more effectively conjure manifestations that fit your needs.]

[Duration: (Epic): Allows your manifestations to remain tangible for up to five more seconds after you lose focus on them.]

[Increase (Legendary): Allows you to immediately double the size of a manifested object, assuming said object is under five feet in length, three feet in width, and four feet in height.]

Fuck, these all sounded good. Which was best? That was really difficult to say. Complexity, maybe?

No. Even if it might solve a major hurdle for Markus, he was sure that learning to memorise the minute details of objects was something he was capable of doing if he studied objects and really practiced hard enough. Sure, it’d probably get him into that tricky chest he’d hauled in here much faster, but that was about it.

Another decision to delay. He wanted to be sure about this one before he selected it, even if he had a bias in his head right now. He wanted to practice more with said ability before he locked anything in, because while he could see the applications of both options, his Manifest prowess was a bit of a fucking joke right now. He could make sticks and poles and straight, long sticks that kind of resembled narrow ramps.

Oh, and he could cover his face. Nothing there he really wanted to double or increase the duration of too badly, though he could definitely see the use.

Then there was [Stone Barrier], the evolution of his Stone Skin spell. What was the deal there?

[Stone Barrier I: Using 500 (F Grade) Earth and Spirit Mana, shield your body in a protective coat of stone, or summon a stone wall between yourself and a target that lasts for up to 30 seconds or until smashed through. Stone coating affords moderate protection against physical attacks, major protection versus lightning, and moderate protection versus heat. Strength and duration of Stone Barrier are modified by Arcana.]

Whoa. Cost shot way up. But he could erect stone walls now? That and the increase in physical damage reduction made this pretty fucking dope, but he didn’t exactly have a constant source of Earth Mana to spam this ability with. Even the entire creature he’d drained had only given him enough Earth Mana for perhaps one cast of this ability in its current form!

And while he could affix the core he’d gotten from it, that was something he imagined would give him way less mana than he needed. Maybe he’d generate enough for one cast per day if he was lucky.

Speaking of cores, it was about time he went through them.

Markus had absorbed 25 cores in his time down in the dark, and once he’d sorted through all of them, his mana had ticked up by another 900, his Agility had increased by 12, his Strength by 6, his Constitution by 9, and his Spirit by 3.

Twelve cores from bats, six came from rats, three came from giants, two came from bears, one from a slime monster, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Hold on. One came from wall chameleon. That was 25.

He hadn’t looked at combining or affixing them yet. Too much work and not enough time. 

120 regular points, 74 free. He rounded out all the uneven stats, spending 20 points in the process. With that done, the sheet read:

[Name: Markus Brown]

[Class: Otherworlder (Earth) (Tier: Novice 45)]

[Health: 890/2110]

[Mana: 7908/6890]

[Strength: 140 (+30)]

[Agility: 150 (+30)]

[Arcana: 100]

[Constitution: 240 (+30)]

[Spirit: 160]

[???: 0]

And Markus honestly felt about ready to leave. After giving Ember a thorough pat, he dumped another 30 in Strength, Spirit, and Agility each and then rose to his feet, mulling over the Frost Mastery choices he had as he began to make his way towards the edge of his cell.

Ember tried to follow him out of his cell. He turned to her

“Off already without saying goodbye first?” came a voice from the neighbouring cell.

“You’ve been quiet,” Markus laughed, eyeing Cyrus as he walked to the bars to greet him. “Do orcs typically sleep that long?”

“Maesha made us run for days on end to keep up with her stride. My body isn’t used to being still.” Cyrus tutted. “Anyways, I’ll be praying for you out there. Go win so we can have that rematch, okay?”

“For your sake, you’d better hope I lose,” Markus said, smirking at him. “I’m a lot stronger than I was when we last fought.”

“We’ll see. Anyways, don’t make jokes like that. I’d never hope for something so terrible. Who would I wipe the floor with if you lost today?”

The pair of them shared a laugh. It was weird that this was becoming Markus’ new normal. Go out and fight something to the death, make plans for after if you were still breathing. It took the concept of ‘each day as it comes’ to a whole new level.

Lexi forwent the chains, choosing to simply guide Markus to the arena after he’d grabbed his glaive.

“I’m meant to use your contract to bind you,” she said, “but I don’t think you’re gonna try and skip out or run off on me.” She stopped and faced him. “Don’t, okay? I’ll be in trouble otherwise.”

“Don’t worry,” Markus said, nodding at her. “No plans of bailing. I’m gonna see this through no matter what.”

He wasn’t just talking about this fight. But if anything, Markus wasn’t entirely fearful for what came next. There was a part of him that felt scared, definitely, and fear of the unknown and of impending combat definitely got his blood pumping, but the prospect that he could see how far he’d come outweighed that in some capacity. 

It was strange to feel any kind of anticipation for something like this, but Markus couldn’t deny the feeling either. It’d been there each time he’d narrowly survived a conflict, it’d been there as he’d taken charge and begun to train his body, and it was there now as he strode towards the arena, aware that these gods were still waiting and watching over him, eager to see the full extent of what he could do.

Markus already had a good idea of what kind of show he was planning to give them. He only hoped he had his assumptions about the coming fight correct.

If not, he was playing a dangerous game, but Markus trusted in his own hunches. He believed that even if there was much about this world and this setting he hadn’t quite figured out, he at least knew what the purpose of these fights was, and furthermore, knew exactly what he needed to do if he wanted to maintain leverage in a situation like this.

Markus levelled his glaive as he walked, more points in Sharpness and some in Durability. He still had a fair few left over, and while he considered pushing further into the Affinity stat, he decided to hold off for now. Covering the basics was good enough for him at the moment. Having plenty of options ready and prepared for him to dip into was paramount to being able to adapt on the fly.

And if there was one thing that’d kept Markus alive so far, it was his ability to adapt to whatever bullshit this world threw at him.

He’d continue trusting in that trait he exemplified. It could take him even further than it already had.

Even bigger audience this time. He could hear them long before he even reached the tunnel out.

“Good luck!” Lexi said once he reached the tunnel, teleporting away as soon as Markus stepped forwards.

He remembered how he’d felt when he’d first walked this path, armed with a weapon he’d just learned the name of, confused and disoriented, cursing god for his fate and hoping to all fuck that he’d manage to be able to get through the coming horrors and emerge out on the other side still breathing. He remembered that fear, that desperation.

In a way, he still felt it. He leant into it. It gave him strength.

Hunger was what would keep him alive in this place. Complacency bred death, and no matter how much Markus felt he might’ve progressed, there was always the possibility that he was overestimating himself. He needed to not be careless if he could help it. If he wanted to do this right, to get his plan off without a hitch, then he needed the best balance of care and control he could possibly manage.

He wasn’t only fighting for himself, after all. It didn’t matter what Abrah had said, what anyone said. They didn’t know his true aspiration, what mattered most to him.

He took in all the smiling, watching faces. More gods had turned out today than ever before, he was sure. The box seats were absolutely packed.

The crowd’s cheers and jeers and shouts and boos, they all meshed together as Markus took centre stage, his image projected for all to witness.

He’d seen himself up there before and been horrified by the implication, but what was to come. Now, he hardly recongised himself, but through all the dirt and grime and blood, he saw a solid, still jaw and a fiercely set pair of green eyes, ready and waiting, scouting the dark space from the opposite gate, eager to determine what his next target was.

He was a different person now than he’d been only days ago, but he hadn’t changed. Even through all of the screaming and adoration and hatred, even through the twenty times he’d approached death, he was still the same person.

A stubborn motherfucker hellbent on crushing this place and walking his way out of here, head held high, as this shitty institution burnt to the fucking ground.

Markus tuned out the announcer, tapping his foot against the sand.

Blah blah blah, get on with it.

He watched as the gate finally moved. Felt the anticipation crawling along his spine. 

Whatever came out of that gate, whatever fresh challenge laid in wait, whatever ghastly horror they’d thought to pit him against next?

He only felt sorry for it.