Grand Game 253: Windfall (Patreon)

Kesh set down a familiar-looking thin film of metal on the desk. It was the same emporium catalog I’d used before. Scanning the sheet, I saw it contained a list of skills.

Picking up the catalog, I read avidly.

The Emporium’s List of Void Skillbooks

Cost: 200 gold each. Tier: Master.

Constitution skillbooks:

poison absorption (unavailable),

disease neutralization,

hardy (reduces damage from piercing attacks).

Dexterity skillbooks:

nimble (counters dexterity-based abilities),

avoid (reduces damage from area of effect spells).

Faith skillbooks:

null life,

null death,

null dark,

null light,

null shadow.

Magic skillbooks:

air absorption,

earth absorption,

fire absorption,

water absorption,

nether absorption (unavailable),

aether absorption.

Mind skillbooks:

mental fortitude (counters subversive thoughts),

kinetic rebound (reduces damage from fast-moving objects),

concentration (counters spell interruptions).

Perception skillbooks:

fade (counters all forms of detection),

conceal (counters all forms of analyze).

Strength skillbooks:

toughness (reduces damage from blunt attacks),

juggernaut (counters strength-based abilities).

“That’s it?” I asked after staring at the list for a drawn-out moment. “Where are all the resistance skills?”

“Interestingly enough, void mages don’t use ordinary  resistance skills—those only increase your odds of avoiding harmful effects.” Kesh shook her head in bemusement. “Your new Class does more. It is part of a rare set of void Classes, all of which specialize in damage reduction. Void skills not only increase a player’s chance to resist an attack, but they also absorb a portion of the incoming damage—no matter the outcome of your resistance checks.”

I nodded slowly. That tied in with the Game’s description of my null force and elemental absorption skills. More surprising, though, was how much Kesh knew about my new Class. “You seem to know an awful lot about void mages,” I said, leaving the question hanging.

Kesh smiled ruefully. “I researched the Class after your last visit. Voids are few and far between in the Game.”

“I see.” I paused. “Then there are other void players?”

“Certainly,” Kesh said. “Though I myself have not run across one before.”

Nodding thoughtfully, I bent my head to study the list of skills again—but I’d not been mistaken the first time. None of the skills on offer were comparable to the class-unique skills I’d obtained when becoming a void mage.

“Is something wrong?” Kesh asked, seeing my pensive look.

I sighed. The list contained twenty-three skills, and while many looked intriguing, none were what I sought.

“Were you hoping for something else?” Kesh prompted again when I didn’t answer.

I nodded reluctantly. “I was hoping for a duplex skill.”

Her brows drew down in puzzlement. “A duplex skill?”

I nodded absently. “One that counters two or more different types of damages.” I paused. “Like my class-unique skills.”

“Ah,” Kesh breathed. “I’ve heard of those. But you won’t find any on sale—anywhere.”

I shot her a glance. “Why not?”

“Class-unique skills can only be acquired through Class stones. Only the Adjudicator has the power to create them, and when he chooses to do so—and why—is anyone’s guess.” Kesh looked at me oddly. “You are fortunate indeed to have earned one. Not many do. But the short of the matter is: there are no class-unique skillbooks.”

“Oh,” I said, sagging in disappointment.

I perked up only a moment later, though, as I realized just how big a boost the Class stone I’d found had given me. With it, I’d effectively gained seven void skills for the price of two slots. I doubted many other players had such an advantage.

It left me wondering about the nature of the Class stones, too. Did the Game configure the starting skills of each stone differently based on what a player had done to earn it?

That was what Kesh’s explanation seemed to hint at. If that was so… then even if there were other voids in the Game, none of them might have my particular Class-unique skills.

All-in-all, I was grateful I’d listened to Ceruvax and searched out my own Class stone instead of buying one. But none of this was neither here nor there.

Shaking off my musings, I returned to my inspection of the catalog. I had only a limited number of skill slots remaining which meant I could only choose three of the twenty-three skills on offer.

But which three?

My current void skills focused on avoiding magic and faith-based attacks. Going forward, I could also spread my skills to resist other forms of damage, but I didn’t have nearly enough skill slots to cover most of them.

Disease neutralization, in particular, caught my eye. Most notably, it would make venturing into the swamp easier. Unfortunately, I could see little use for it beyond that, and I couldn’t afford to choose my skills based on short-term goals.

Then there was fade, avoid, and kinetic rebound skills. There were undoubted benefits to each. But the truth was, I was more inclined to specialize my void skills.

Better to become as resistant to as many forms of mana-based casting as possible, I decided.

That would mean choosing between null life, null death, aether absorption, and nether absorption. An easy enough decision, then. Aether magic was not offensive in nature, as far as I knew.

“I’ll take the—”

I broke off, finally noticing the additional notations next to some of the skills. “Kesh, why are two skills marked as unavailable?”

“I have not yet managed to find a seller for the poison absorption skillbook,” Kesh admitted. “But if you give me another day or two, I’m sure  I can source it.” She paused. “As for nether absorption… that, I’m afraid, is more problematic.”

I frowned. “Why?”

Kesh’s lips turned down. “There is only one source of such tomes: the stygian brotherhood. They buy all nether-related spellbooks and skillbooks as soon as they hit the market and keep them for use by their own members. I could try to outbid the brotherhood for the next nether absorption skillbook that goes on auction, but that could be weeks or months from now. The only other option is to—”

“Approach the brotherhood directly,” I finished. I bowed my head for a moment, thinking. “What about other nether artifacts? Does the brotherhood hoard them too?”

Kesh shook her head. “On the contrary, they sell them.”

I blinked.

The merchant chuckled. “Crafting and selling stygian gear is the main source of the brotherhood’s wealth. They are not the only ones to do so, but they are the best, by far.” She gestured at my swords. “That stygian blade you carry was probably made by a brotherhood smith.”

“Interesting. In that case, I’ll take the null life and null death skillbooks.”

Kesh nodded and, with a wave of her hand, caused the tomes to appear on her desk. Touching my palm to her keystone, I completed the transaction—but not without an expression of protest. “I don’t see why they’re so expensive,” I grumbled.

Kesh smiled. “These aren’t just any skillbooks. They are amongst the rarest in the Game.”

I nodded, having no argument with that, and picked up the two tomes.

You have acquired a null life skillbook.

You have acquired a null death skillbook.

You have lost 400 gold.

“Do you mind?” I asked, pointing at the books.

Divining my intent, Kesh shook her head. “Go ahead.”

Inclining my head in thanks, I read each tome in turn.

You have gained two master skills: null life and null death.

Null life absorption is the art of using your void armor to ward off hostile life-based attacks or, failing that, absorb a portion of its damage. Note the benefits provided by this skill are only active so long as you have mana remaining.

Null death is akin to null life absorption but instead attunes your void armor to necromancy, allowing you to repel—or absorb—its harmful effects.

You have 1 of 6 void mage Class skill slots remaining.

I exhaled slowly, feeling the new knowledge seep into me. My tertiary class’s configuration was nearly complete, and I itched to see it done and find out how it melded with mindslayer, but I couldn’t just yet.

“What about your last void skill?” Kesh asked, seeing the tomes vanish from my hands and guessing the direction of my thoughts.

“For that, I think a visit to the stygian brotherhood is in order.”

Kesh studied me curiously. “You want the nether absorption skill that badly?”

I nodded mutely. Given the hidden nether-infested sector, I suspected I would be spending a significant amount of time in the Nethersphere.

But it was for more than that that I wanted the skill.

Sooner or later, the new Powers would hunt me, and where better to hide from them than where few players ventured? And besides, it was past time I also acquainted myself with the brotherhood.

“Odd choice,” Kesh remarked.

I glanced at her, but she said nothing further, leaving me to decide how to respond. “I have a few ventures planned for the nether,” I admitted.

Kesh snorted. “Planning on becoming a rift jumper, are you? That’s a dangerous hobby.”

I shrugged, not refuting her assumption, and changed the topic. “I also need some new gear.”

“Hmm, like what?”

“To start with, four upgrade gems,” I said.

Kesh did not look surprised by the request. “That will exceed your available funds,” she pointed out.

“Transfer 15,000 gold from the tavern’s account,” I replied offhandedly.

Kesh nodded and wordlessly materialized the items I asked for.

You have acquired 4 x upgrade gems. Each item lets you improve any ability by a single tier.

You have lost 8,000 gold.

I winced. Even with the windfall from the tavern, the cost of the upgrade gems bit deep into my funds. I would have to carefully ration how I used them.

“What else?” Kesh asked.

I thought for a bit. Many of my skills had reached tier three, and I was eager to purchase some expert-ranked abilities, but the attribute cost was another thing that worried me. “How many attribute points do tier three abilities consume?”

“Ten,” Kesh replied, confirming my suspicion.

“Ouch,” I muttered. Turning my attention inwards, I checked my player profile and, specifically, my attribute slot status.

Unused Attribute Slots

Strength: 13 of 13.

Constitution: 14 of 19.

Dexterity: 9 of 36.

Perception: 3 of 25.

Mind: 47 of 71.

Magic: 21 of 21.

Faith: none.

The Strength and Magic attribute slots were useless to me. I didn’t have any strength-based skills, and my spell-illiterate trait prevented me from acquiring Magic abilities.

Sadly, my Perception was the most constrained, and even though both my deception and insight skills were at tier three, I could not afford any Perception abilities. I must plan my attribute distribution better in the future, I thought.

But I did have sufficient spare slots to purchase expert Dexterity and Constitution abilities. And when it came to Mind, with over forty slots available, I could be more expansive.

I focused first on Constitution. The choices I needed to make there should be the simplest. “What tier three light armor abilities do you have?”

“Hmm… There are four tomes available,” Kesh said. “Do you wish to see them all?”

I nodded. “That will be useful.”

Kesh placed another emporium catalog before me; this one already filtered to show the four abilities in question. Leaning forward, I studied each.

Item 61,411 of the emporium’s wares is the improved lighten load ability tome. This ability reduces the encumbrance from worn armor by 30%. Governing attribute: Constitution. Tier: expert. Cost: 50 gold. Requirement: rank 10 armor skill.

Item 291,412 of the emporium’s wares is the load controller ability tome. This ability is a variant of the lighten load ability, and instead of reducing your own encumbrance, it increases the weight of your foes’ armor, slowing them down.

Item 451,478 of the emporium’s wares is the lesser toughen armor ability tome. This ability temporarily increases your physical damage reduction by 10%. Governing attribute: Constitution. Tier: expert. Cost: 50 gold. Requirement: rank 10 light armor, rank 5 medium armor, or rank 1 heavy armor.

Item 931,102 of the emporium’s wares is the agile fighter ability tome. This ability temporarily increases your Dexterity by +4. Governing attribute: Constitution. Tier: expert. Cost: 50 gold. Requirement: rank 10 light armor, rank 15 medium armor, or rank 20 heavy armor.

I sat back heavily. So much for simple, I groused. I wanted three of the four abilities, but I knew it would be foolish to select more than one.

Constitution was not one of my core attributes, and I didn’t plan on investing heavily in it in the future. All of which meant upgrading one Constitution ability to tier four, then five, and so on would be challenging enough; two would be impossible.

So, which one shall it be?

Improved lighten load, I immediately dismissed from consideration. I didn’t need further encumbrance reduction. My light armor skill already provided enough of that.

The physical damage reduction of toughen armor was nice, but my fighting style depended on not getting hit, so it was less useful than the other two abilities on offer.

Agile fighter seemed the most versatile, but it was also more expensive than load controller—an upgrade of an existing ability—and as tempting as the ability was, ten attribute slots were too much to spend for it.

“I’ll take load controller,” I said.

Kesh summoned the item, and I wasted no time reading the tome to acquire its knowledge.

You have upgraded your lighten load ability to load controller. This ability increases the encumbrance of any foe within 2 yards by 20% for 10 minutes. Its activation time is very slow. Note, load controller only affects hostiles who wear armor.

It is an expert ability and requires 5 more attribute slots than its advanced variant. You have 9 of 19 Constitution ability slots remaining.

You have lost 50 gold.

I smiled in pleasure. Despite some of the ability’s limitations, I thought the twenty percent debuff to nearby armored melee-foes more than made up for it.

Next, I considered Dexterity. Given how many Dexterity abilities I already had, I immediately ruled out acquiring more. And besides, I had only nine free slots to play with.

I had the choice of upgrading either piercing strike, backstab, or whirlwind. All three had worked well in the past, but of the three, there was no doubt that backstab was my favorite. Its burst damage was what had made many of my one-shot kills possible. “I’ll also take a tier three backstab ability tome.”

Kesh laid another book on the table, and I read it too.

You have upgraded your backstab ability to improved backstab. This ability increases the backstab damage you inflict to 2.5x more than normal. It is an expert ability and requires 5 more attribute slots than its advanced variant. You have 4 of 36 Dexterity ability slots remaining.

You have lost 50 gold.

The description of the upgraded ability was exactly what I expected, and dismissing the Game message, I turned my attention to my Mind abilities. With them, the way forward was less clear.

The upgrade gems I’d just bought would advance the abilities I’d acquired through the Wolf trials, but that still left my more ‘ordinary’ psi spells to consider.

The first step, I decided, would be to upgrade my existing tier two Mind spells to tier three. “Can I please get expert versions of reaction buff, mass charm, and two-step?”

Kesh waved her hands again, but unexpectedly, when she was done, four spellbooks were laid out on the table, not three.

Another variant, I thought. After peering at the spellbooks’ titles, I opened and read the first two tomes.

You have upgraded your charm ability to superior mass charm.

This spell temporarily overrides the consciousness of 10 targets, forcing them to serve you for 20 seconds.

You have upgraded your reaction buff ability to heightened reflexes. This is a self-use ability that increases your Dexterity by +8 ranks for 20 minutes. You have 37 of 71 Mind ability slots remaining.

You have lost 100 gold.

The remaining two books required further consideration before opening. Both were variants of the two-step ability. Focusing on each in turn, I considered their properties.

Item 41,550 of the emporium’s wares is the four-step ability tome. This ability allows you to take four steps in the air as if it were solid ground. Governing attribute: Mind. Tier: expert. Cost: 50 gold. Requirement: rank 10 telekinesis skill.

Item 231,802 of the emporium’s wares is the windborne ability tome. This ability is a variant of the four-step ability that allows you to slide through the air at a faster pace but over a shorter overall distance.

The windborne ability sounded intriguing, if not wholly different from four-step, and not seeing many downsides to the implied distance limitation, I chose it without further hesitation.

You have upgraded your two-step ability to windborne. This ability allows you to slide along a current of wind, in any direction, up to a maximum distance of 10 yards and at 2x your normal movement speed. You have 32 of 71 Mind ability slots remaining.

You have lost 50 gold.

“Well, well,” I murmured. “That will certainly come in handy.”

“You’re satisfied with your purchases, then?” Kesh asked.

I beamed at her. “I certainly am.”

“Will that be all?”

For a moment, I was tempted to acquire more Mind abilities. But I still had the upgrade gems to use—which would require at least another seventeen more slots, leaving me with only fifteen.

There’s no need to rush my choices, I cautioned myself. Better to wait and see how these abilities perform before buying more.

“I don’t require any further abilities, thank you,” I told Kesh. “But I do need a few other items.”