《Eternity's Wake》 Chapter 1 I¡¯d been a member of the middle management of guild of sorrows for almost a decade now and had been with the guild for fifteen years. Every day I dealt with administration for about two hours and developed my character for much of the rest of the day. All of this was done in game time which occurred at triple the speed of out of game time, leading to 72 hours in a work day. Since the game worked in my sleep, I worked 48 of those 72 hours, having a waking life of only 8 hours a day, weekends included. I basically gave the best years of my life to sorrow¡¯s guild, and to the VRMMO eternity¡¯s wake. My character was a level 300 Tier 4 swordsman. I¡¯d only recently become level 300 and passed my tier 4 promotion quest with sizable difficulties one hundred levels later than minimum level needed. Nonetheless as a tier 4 presence I was a solid powerhouse in the game, if not among the very best elites. Tier 5 and even the occasional tier 6 player existed at this point in the game but those players were legendary. I had a high enough level to challenge the tier 5 and tier 6 promotions, but lacked the skills, techniques, equipment and abilities to pass them. After all, tier 4 came very recently for me. One of those players was the tier 5 powerhouse, Diablos, my nemesis. We were both on equal terms for much of our tier 3, but he encountered a heaven-sent opportunity and rapidly advanced, leaving me behind. We still hated each other for all the fighting we did back then and I had to be very careful to avoid being found by him these days since his higher tier would almost certainly mean death. Fortunately, he mostly operated on completely different maps than me, and was an independent player without a guild to track me down. Today I was mostly grinding in neutral maps, looking to level up as fast as possible. Other days I¡¯d go for equipment runs in dungeons or encounter lucky opportunities and go on special missions. All of it was very challenging and very exciting, which is part of why I had no regrets about investing so much of my life into the game. Sorrows paid me an excellent salary, and I had plenty of money these days, although in the beginning years things were a lot rougher. My biggest regret in life was not having money to help my parents when they needed it. It ate at me that for the cost of a few million credits I could have saved their lives. I¡¯m worth over 5 million credits now, and wish I could go back and make that trade but at the time I had barely 400,000 credits to my name. I¡¯m a filial son, and visit their graves often, but even now, years later, my failure to provide for them, as they once provided for me, still eats away at me. Anyways, back to my day. I finished up grinding, putting in a small portion of the work needed to get to level 301, at this level it took forever to level up, eternity¡¯s wake was around for the long haul, and this level took me 15 years of play to get to. The top players were level 500, but they had legendary, celestial, divine or even growth type items to help them level up. Level 300 was impressive without such things. I came back to the guild office ready to do my administrative work when I was called in for a meeting by the guild leader. Such things were rare and usually not good so I was plenty nervous. My nervousness reached a whole new level when sitting in the other chair in the guild leaders office was Diablos.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I sat down and prepared for the worse. The guild leader started to talk and it didn¡¯t get better: ¡°I¡¯d like to thank you for many years of excellent service Mark. The guild wouldn¡¯t be where it is today without you. But as you know our enemies have more tier 5 and tier 6 players than we do and us such we¡¯re very threatened by them. Diablos has agreed to join the guild as long as you¡¯re not in it, and we need his help to face the oncoming threat. As a thank you for years of service, we¡¯re giving you a 2,000,000 credit severance, and as per the terms of your contract you must delete your character.¡± I was floored. I went numb inside, and the past 15 years of my life went crashing away. I didn¡¯t know what to do. My life without Eternities Wake wasn¡¯t much of a life, and starting over from level 1 seemed pointless when it took 15 years to catch up to where I am today. I could play one of the newer games coming out I suppose, but there was a reason that the 15 year old game Eternity¡¯s Wake was still far and away the most played game. It all seemed a little pointless. Without the game I didn¡¯t know who I was, it occupied much of my waking and every sleeping hour. Nonetheless, I took the money and deleted my account. I had no other choices. I was filled to the brim with hatred for diablos, but most of all with hatred for sorrow¡¯s guild who treated my years of loyal service as if it were nothing. I was confused and depressed and full of rage. Not even a session with the punching bag could calm me down. At 35, I¡¯d reached the point in my life where my reflexes were starting to slow down and I could no longer do the things I once did. With technology these days enough money could change such things, the very best professional athletes played until they were 60 keeping their reflexes almost 30 years longer than was natural. Without the money for such treatments I was forced to admit I was an aging man playing a young man¡¯s game. Feeling frustrated with all of it I had the worst idea of my life. I thought maybe a drive would calm me down. I drove my sports car out into the country and around the rolling hills. I was climbing a cliff when a horrendous sadness hit me and I sobbed and sobbed. Tears clouded my eyes till I couldn¡¯t see. And when I wiped them away I saw a fast approaching guard rail. I hit the brakes as hard as I could but I smashed into the rail and felt the car start to roll before I blacked out. Chapter 2 I woke up to an alarm, which was strange because I hadn¡¯t used an alarm in years. I vaguely remembered what happened and expected to be in a hospital but it took me a moment to place where I was. I was in what looked like my room from my university days, although this place no longer existed, having been bulldozed for newer fancier buildings. Nonetheless, here I was. I picked up what I expected to be my phone but instead encountered a much older model. I struggled with the password, the passwords being different from modern technology, eventually remembering the four-digit sequence I used back then. I was shocked when the sequence worked. I was even more shocked when I saw the date on my phone. I don¡¯t know what sort of prank this was but the date was 15 years ago, 1 week before the launch of Eternity¡¯s Wake. I decided to check the internet, and was even more shocked that everything lined up, and nothing of the past 15 years existed. I finally looked in the mirror and was floored, I was my younger self, all of 20 years old. I sat down, this was all quite shocking and I wasn¡¯t quite sure what to do with myself, after all who¡¯s been reincarnated before. I eventually decided this was the heaven-sent opportunity of opportunities. I could create my own guild in Eternity¡¯s wake and take advantage of everything I knew from 15 years of play along with my younger reflexes to rise to the very top. My excitement was interrupted by a phone call. My friend Edward was calling. I hadn¡¯t seen him in ten years, our friendship ended when Sorrow dropped him and I stayed in the guild. It was another one of those big regrets in life but this time it will be different. I picked up excitedly. ¡°Hi, Edward, what¡¯s up?¡± I said. ¡°Where are you, John?¡± he replied. ¡°What do you mean where am I?¡± I expressed my shock at his question. ¡°Sorrow is hosting tryouts in 15 minutes; don¡¯t you want to join their guild?¡± he clarified. I paused and hesitated before deciding it was best to rope him into my plans. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to be starting my own guild.¡± I said emphatically. ¡°What do you mean start your own guild, it costs 8000 credits for a VR headset and a guild needs at least six and you have barely a thousand credits to your name.¡± Edward sounded like I was having a crazy idea, which without all my expert knowledge I would be. But I had a plan. I could buy two headsets on installments and pay the installments with money I''d earn from the game. I¡¯d be able to earn a lot of money because of all the secrets I knew. Earning that much money from a game might sound crazy, but Eternity¡¯s Wake was different. It was the only game in town for time acceleration technology and the only game that you could play while you sleep. The combination meant that fairly quickly almost everyone would play, and most people would spend more time in the game than outside of it (just playing a 8 hour sleep meant 24 hours in game and 16 outside it). As such, people started to spend lots of money in game as it became as important or more so than their real-life situation. Good equipment for cutting edge experts could go for thousands of credits. And soon corporations would be pouring money into the game. I had some secrets that could earn me massive coin, which I could convert to cash in two weeks once the trading system opened. All that went through my head in a few seconds. ¡°I have a plan, I can get two headsets on installments for us to get started. I¡¯ll pay them off with proceeds from what we earn in game. You know how I went missing a lot over the past few months? I was in the beta test.¡± It broke my heart to lie to Edward but I couldn¡¯t exactly tell him I was reincarnated. ¡°I know a lot of secrets that will make us good items and good cash, as well as the fastest ways to level up.¡± I don¡¯t want to waste these skills on a guild like sorrow so I¡¯m going to make my own. I¡¯d really like you to join me.¡± ¡°Are you sure, John? This really sounds crazy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure, do you really want Sorrow controlling whether you have to delete your account. That might sound fine now, but think what that would feel like five years in.¡± ¡°Fine, I trust you, I¡¯m leaving the Sorrow sign-up.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Seven days was too short. Edward and I trained physically and did our best to get in shape for the game, we trained mentally and discussed combat techniques. I wrote down everything I could remember about the game in a notebook I kept hidden for myself. Years of memories came flooding out onto the page, some of it my own, others from forums. I decided on taking a big gamble. Sorrow didn¡¯t even start in the continent of Altaea and I¡¯d barely been there myself. Nonetheless Orleans was the nation of artificers and I knew of some amazing growth type equipment that was found there in the early game. People had posted on the forums exactly where and how they found it since these were unique items that no one else could get. If I was lucky I could find the full swordsmen set, two rings and an amulet. Anyone who found one of these items went on to become a tier 5 player; no one had found two in the past. My goal was to find all ten. I mostly knew about the items for my class. The week of combat training convinced me that Edward was far from ready for playing a close combat class. Fortunately, it convinced him too. He was willing to play a summoner, and I¡¯d play my familiar swordsman in an unfamiliar land. I suppose I should explain the class system. Eternity¡¯s wake had 6 categories with three classes each: Tanks were made up of Warriors, Knights and Anti-mages. Melee DPS was made up of Swordsman, Assassins and Berserkers. Ranged DPS was made up of Ranger, Archer and Elementalists. Healers were made up of Clerics, Druids and Oracles. True Mages were made up of Wizards, Summoners and Sorcerers. Lastly, Hybrids were made up of Paladin, Samurai and Ninja. These 18 classes offered a rich selection of options, with each class having benefits and drawbacks. Anti-mages were slightly underpowered due to the rarity of high magical attack enemies but were extremely useful vs those enemies. The hybrid classes tended to be great for solo play but a bit lacking compared to specialized classes. My favorite class was Swordsman, which was a solid Melee DPS that generally fought with a two-weapon style. Summoners were also quite powerful as with enough buffs they could summon creatures of higher level and higher tier than themselves. Any good guild would have elites of all classes however as all of them were at least situationally useful. My plan was to make enough money to teleport from Orleans back to my familiar Verdure kingdom on the Asterith continent then use all the knowledge I had of dungeons and grinding areas to make a killing. Of course, that would require a lot of gold as it was a different continent and teleportation charged by distance. I discussed the plans further with John and we decided he¡¯d start at the city of Rensworth in Verdure and I¡¯d teleport to join him as soon as I found what I was looking for. He was skeptical but one expensive teleport was much more affordable than two. The day before the game started we finally got our VR helmets. We setup on beds in my apartment, made our characters and waited for launch. I wanted to log-in as soon as possible as every second counted in the race for these rare early items. Finally it was time: 3 ¡­ 2 ¡­ 1 .. Game Start. Chapter 3 The village of Colmar was a village on the outskirts of Avignguard. It was much like any other novice town. It had a few small shops, a blacksmith, a tanner, a mayor and a small inn. The game was meant to be pleasant so the village smelled surprisingly clean with the air of the fresh countryside, rather than the expected horse manure making up farmer¡¯s fields and travel everywhere. The benefits of it being a game I suppose. A huge line of people queued at the village mayor trying for a quest, but John, playing as Corwin Swordborn had other ideas. He headed to the town drunk to start a conversation. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Corwin, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±. ¡°I¡¯m Dante, can you buy me some wine. *hic*¡±. Corwin was convinced into buying the drunk some wine with all the money he had to his name, his whole starting 10 coppers. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back¡± he said. He headed over to the inn and purchased a bottle of cheap wine for 10 coppers, returning to Dante quickly. ¡°Here you are good Sir, enjoy.¡±. Corwin received a notice that Dante¡¯s favourability increased by 100 points. ¡°Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± Corwin asked. ¡°Well, there is one thing but it¡¯s dangerous.¡± Dante replied. ¡°Ever since my father died I¡¯ve been overcome with grief. If someone could slay the monster that killed him I could find some peace and move on with my life. It¡¯s dangerous however, and I don¡¯t think you¡¯re up for it.¡± he continued. ¡°I live for danger, and I¡¯m up for much more than you think, I¡¯m an adventurer after all.¡± Corwin answered back. ¡°Very well, the werewolf you want lives near the wolves¡¯ den north of the village.¡± Dante acquiesced. At that Corwin received an alert: UNIQUE QUEST: Werewolf Defence. A werewolf lives on the northern outskirts of town, near the wolves¡¯ den. Kill him and bring back his head for a reward. Of course, even knowing where to go wasn¡¯t enough. The werewolf was a powerful monster. So instead Corwin headed to a less crowded monster area with level 3 monsters and started to grind. The wolves were pack monsters with high attack, low defense and moderate agility. The combination was near ideal for grinding as Corwin was experienced enough to not get hit, despite not being used to playing with such a low agility stat. While most players with the current level of experience would die here, even with a party, Corwin happily hunted, getting plentiful benefits. Firstly, higher level enemies gave out more XP. Secondly using skills on higher level enemies gave higher chances of skill points. Lastly, higher level enemies had better drops. The fights were straightforward and Corwin used his slash skill repeatedly whenever he could to gain Skill XP with it. Without an enemy able to hit him, he settled into a peaceful rhythm as he rained slow death upon his foes. After an hour of grinding Corwin had collected 50 wolf hides. He still continued to grind for three more hours, collecting a total of 200 wolf hides. One of the wolves dropped a level 3 trash plate boots with 3 defense points and no stats, and another dropped a level 3 trash plate helm, also with 3 defense points. Finally, at the end of four hours he levelled up. If anyone knew someone was level one at this point in the game they¡¯d be shocked. After all, starting from level 0 it was supposed to take a full day to reach level 1. Each level in Eternity¡¯s Wake gives 5 attribute points and Corwin put his 5 attribute points for levelling up into agility. Most swordsmen would go strength figuring that more damage led to faster leveling, however for Corwin, movement and survivability was key. Happy with his new-found agility, Corwin headed back to town with a spring in his step. Along the way he crossed a spacious road full of players and NPC¡¯s with players still trying unsuccessfully to get quests. NPC¡¯s would not give quests to people they didn¡¯t have a favorable impression of (unless they were desperate) and none of the players had done anything to gain favourability. Corwin sold his furs to the tanner for 5 coppers each yielding a rather nice 10 silver coins. He spent all 10 coins immediately: 4 for a silver-iron mixture trash sword and offhand sword, 3 on potions of speed and 3 on potions of slow. The drawback of having a silver-iron sword was low durability, but that cost was necessary as werewolves were weak to silver. The potions of speed and slow would enhance his agility and decrease the agility of his opponent enabling his dodge to reach the maximal benefit. With three of each potion, he¡¯d be able to last for 3 hours in a fight while having the bonuses. Having spent his money, Corwin headed north passing through the town towards the wolves¡¯ den. Many players had given up on finding quests and instead tried to grind mobs. The level 1 zones were a mass of people levelling. Corwin was glad to avoid the hotly contested monsters and continue on his way to bigger things. Fairly soon he had found the werewolf. He drank a speed potion and tossed a slow potion at his enemy. This gave him 15 agility while lowering the werewolf¡¯s to 25. The 10 difference was manageable, without the potions the werewolf would be 3 times his speed and that would be a bridge too far.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Corwin brandished his silver sword and dodged repeatedly taking the chance to hit the werewolf as openings presented themselves. The silver was effective, giving a stacking damage over time effect that quickly dwarfed the damage of the weapon itself. Even with the DoT the werewolf was quite powerful, a chieftain monster of level 5. When fighting enemies of higher level in Eternity¡¯s wake, damage is reduced by level suppression. The level suppression reduced Corwin¡¯s weapon damage to a minimum of 1, but fortunately the stacking damage was unaffected. Of course, killing a chieftain while doing minimum damage is a slow task so Corwin was in it for the long haul. The first hour went flawlessly, reducing the enemy to 60% health. Corwin renewed his speed potion and hit the werewolf with a slow again before grinding it to 20% health. At this point the hardest part of the fight started, the werewolf went berserk. Fortunately, werewolves only gain 5 agility when berserk, they mostly gain additional strength. Dodging was still manageable but the pressure was intense, at this point one hit would certainly kill Corwin forcing him to respawn down an item, likely the expensive silver sword, as well as wasting the 6 potions he¡¯d used. Fortunately, his skills were sharp and he didn¡¯t get hit. As Corwin approached exhaustion he landed one last hit and the stack ticked lethal on the werewolf. At this point Corwin received a slew of server announcements and rewards: Congratulations to ¡°Corwin Swordborn¡± for the first kill of a Chieftain monster in Eternity¡¯s Wake, rewarding 3 Tier 1 Gemstones, 20 gold and 2,000,000XP. Congratulations to ¡°Corwin Swordborn¡± for the first kill of a Chieftain monster in Altaea, rewarding 2 Tier 1 Gemstones, 10 gold and 1,000,000 XP. Congratulations to ¡°Corwin Swordborn¡± for the first kill of a Chieftain monster in Avignguard. Rewarding 1 Tier 1 Gemstone, 5 gold and 500,000 XP. Players were shocked that anyone could kill a chieftain this fast, after all the lowest level chieftain was a level 5 monster and they still believed everyone was level 0. Level 5 to Level 6 took 30,000,000 XP in this game so normally this reward would be a small boost. However, Level 4 took only 1,600,000 to reach so this XP filled up his bar all the way to 55% of level 5 (4,000,000 XP with the XP from killing the chieftain). He looked at his gemstones, getting three agility gemstones, two strength gemstones and one constitution gemstone. Since he wanted agility he was quite happy with this selection. Gemstones could be slotted in armor but once slotted would be destroyed if removed. Each tier 1 gemstone gave +5 to the respective stat, so they were equivalent of 1 level worth of stats by themselves. Normally gemstones would only be useful if you had top tier equipment that would last a long time for them. Unfortunately, most equipment got replaced every level. Fortunately, for Corwin he was planning on getting some growth type equipment that would stay with him for a long long time, making these gemstones something that could eventually become quite useful. But first things first, it was time to loot the werewolf. He got the quest item werewolf¡¯s head, a level 5 common off-hand sword and a single mana crystal. At this point it¡¯s best to explain the levels of equipment, in order from worst to best they are: trash, common, bronze, iron, silver, gold, epic, legendary, celestial, and divine. Almost all items sold in the village are trash, so getting common equipment this early is quite exciting. Furthermore, it¡¯s a sword, which is an essential equipment for a swordsman. Of course, it would take three more levels before he could use it, but it was still something to look forward to. Corwin returned to the village and approached the town drunk. ¡°I believe this is what you wanted¡± Corwin spoke while giving Dante the werewolf¡¯s head. ¡°That was quite quick. Thank you for slaying the werewolf that killed my father. I can finally live a life of peace.¡± After a brief pause Dante continued ¡°In return I¡¯ll give you this ring from my adventuring days, it grew with me. Unfortunately, the growth resets when it changes hands, but if you nurture it you¡¯ll find it quite a powerful item.¡± Quest complete: Rating: S Experience reward: 2,000,000XP Quest Reward: Ring of Hidden Attributes. Ring of Hidden Attributes (Divine Growth Type ¨C Currently Level 0 Trash) Can be upgraded by sacrificing 5 trash rings. Can be evolved by sacrificing a mana crystal. Current effects none. Known benefits: None The base attributes in the game were Strength(Str) which affected damage, Agility(Agi) which affected movement and coordination, Constitution(Con) which affected health, Intelligence(Int) which affected spellcasting damage and mana, and Charisma(Cha) which influenced likability with NPCs. There were also hidden attributes like Stamina(sta) which affected how far a player could exert their character before a collapse, Luck(Lck) which affected ability drops and Concentration(Cnc) which influenced the ability to learn techniques. Corwin knew this ring was special as raising hidden attributes is extremely rare in Eternity¡¯s Wake, and he knew at higher levels that was precisely what this ring did. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level: 4 (75% of level 5) Str: 5 (Base: 5) Agi: 25 (Base: 25) Con: 5 (Base: 5) Int: 5 (Base: 5) Cha: 5 (Base:5) HP: 210/210 (100+CON per level) MP: 210/210 (100+INT per level) Def: 5 (CON + Item Def) MDef: 5 (INT + Item Def) MW: Trash Tier Iron-Silver Longsword. Damage 5-10 Durability 4/5 Requirements: None OW: Trash Tier Iron-Silver Shortsword Damage 2-5 Durability 4/5 Requirements: None MA: None LA: None B: None G: None RR: Trash Level 0, Hidden Ring of Attributes (Divine Growth Ring) LR: None AM: None MW=Main Weapon OW=Offhand Weapon MA= Main Armor LA = Leg Armor B= Boots G= Gloves RR = Right Ring, LR = Left Ring, AM = Amulet Chapter 4 Corwin now had the first of the ten items he wanted and was level four. Roughly seven hours had passed which was only about 2h20m in real life so the night was still young. The next growth item was a reward for the first solo clear of hell-mode of the level five dungeon Grimsbane. Grimsbane was a special dungeon replicated in every novice village in the Kingdom of Orleans, so this was basically a race among everyone in the whole kingdom. Corwin bought 25 level zero trash rings to make sure he could get the ring of hidden attributes to level five. He used his only mana crystal to upgrade it. At common tier it offered +1 Agi/Level and +1 Luck/Level. The ring now took 2 Mana Crystals to upgrade to Bronze Tier. Corwin sacrificed 20 trash rings and equipped the Level 4 Ring of hidden attributes, saving the level 5 upgrade so that he could still equip the ring. He then went to the alchemist once more and bought some low-level speed and slow potions to continue to take advantage of agility, 10 each for 20 silver. Being flush with money he bought 5 Healing Potions for 1 gold each. He also bought 2 poison potions for 5 gold each. The poison was very expensive but necessary since only DoT damage would ignore level suppression. He then went to the blacksmith bought a trash level four sword with nice damage and durability, that only required five strength from the blacksmith for another 60 silver. He bought a similar off-hand sword for 40 silver. Both of these were only nice by these early game standards but that was enough for the moment. He continued by buying trash level 4 armor for all of his armor slots just to get some defense against AoE¡¯s, which generally did less damage per hit than direct attacks, but might make it possible for him to get hit once and live. That armor cost a total of 3 gold. Before heading back out he did a quick check of the market. He found someone selling the common pierce skill book for swordsmen for thirty silver. He quickly bought it. He also found someone selling the common parry skill for swordsmen for fifty silver. He also bought this. He went to a level 7 area to grind wild boars with 3 levels of level suppression. With the level suppression he did very little damage to the boars but fortunately by poisoning his sword he could take advantage of DoT stacks. Each dose of poison lasted an hour on his sword so he could grind away successfully. He was able to collect boar tusks and hides for his effort but using poison unfortunately spoiled the meat. The boars would very rarely drop a trash item. It took around 15m for the poison to kill a single boar, but this was phenomenal levelling speed as the boar gave 1,000,000 XP. After 1 hour, Corwin encountered an elite boar. The elite boar charged at Corwin and he used a parry to deflect its tusks away while he sidestepped behind. He took advantage of the opening to throw a slow potion on the elite boar and hit it with his poisoned swords causing two stacks of DoT effects. The boar came back around and this time he dodged. He felt like a Spanish bullfighter all that was missing was the red cloth. Each time the bull charged and he dodged then hit its flank with the swords. The fight was anti-climactic until the elite boar went berserk. It¡¯s charges were suddenly much faster, as the berserk improved agility a lot. The timing was still the same as the attack patterns didn¡¯t change they were just faster. Corwin regularly comboed with parry into slash and pierce, developing his skills and soon the elite boar fell to a poison tick.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The loot was exciting, it dropped the uncommon assassin skill book Finesse. This was a powerful passive skill that increased the damage of all other assassin skills by 1% per level. While only an uncommon skill it was a must have and hence more valuable than most rare skills. He could use it to trade for good swordsman skills since he didn¡¯t need to sell it for money. After finishing the elite Corwin had enough experience to reach level 5. This levelling speed requires a bit of an explanation for you to understand how rare it is. Normally, players could only fight enemies of the same level and a level was typically designed to take around 1-3 days to complete for lower levels. However, each level required roughly 4 times the experience of the previous level. This mean the boars gave 1,000,000 XP which was a pittance when going from 160,000,000 to 640,000,000 XP for level 7 to level 8 but was supercharged for going from level 4 to level 5 as level 5 required only 10,000,000 XP. To prevent people from levelling up quickly on higher level monsters powerful level suppression is applied which reduces damage dealt and increases damage received. Of course, Corwin could only get away with dealing with higher level enemies because of the silver and the poison as well as his ability to not get hit. The fact that DoT didn¡¯t get decreased by level suppression is part of why poison was so expensive. To be honest DoT was basically a powerful exploit, and in the past they had patched the game so that DoT would be effected by level suppression in the 2nd patch they released. Corwin happily took advantage of the narrow window to maximize his gains. Corwin continued his dodging oriented plan and put all his points into agility. He excitedly equipped the common level 5 off-hand sword, sacrificed 5 trash rings to level his hidden ring of attributes and looked over himself with pride. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level: 5 (27%* of level 6) Str: 10 (Base: 5) Agi: 35 (Base: 30) Con: 5 (Base: 5) Int: 5 (Base: 5) Cha: 5 (Base:5) Luck 10 (Base:5) HP: 525/525(100+CON per level) MP: 525/525 (100+INT per level) Def: 21 (CON + Item Def) MDef: 5 (INT + Item Def) MW: Trash Tier, Level 4 Longsword. Damage 16-20 Durability 9/10 Requirements: 9 Strength OW: Common Tier, Level 5 Longsword, +5STR Damage 15-20 Durability 14/15 Requirements: 10 Strength MA: Trash Tier, Level 4 Plate Armor 4Def LA: Trash Tier, Level 4 Plate Cuisse, 4Def B: Trash Tier, Level 4 Plate Boots, 4Def G: Trash Tier, Level 4 Plate Gauntlets, 4Def RR: Common Level 5 Hidden Ring of Attributes (Divine Growth Ring) +5 AGI +5LCK LR: None AM: None MW=Main Weapon OW=Offhand Weapon MA= Main Armor LA = Leg Armor B= Boots G= Gloves RR = Right Ring, LR = Left Ring, AM = Amulet *=Includes experience from level 5 Chapter 5 Grimsbane in normal mode was fairly straightforward. The mobs were regular enemies, and level five enemies were easy to Corwin who was used to fighting upcurve. That all changed once reaching a boss though as elites and chieftains were never so simple. The first boss was only an elite, the Goblin Scrimshaw. He fought with a Katana and had a fairly simple attack pattern. His two power moves were an overhead cleave and a Whirlwind AoE. Both were parryable, so Corwin was able to fight without taking damage. He fell into a natural rhythm and things were simple until the boss reached 20% health and went berserk. Unfortunately, goblins gained a lot of agility when they berserked and dodging became substantially harder. Fortunately, the attack pattern didn¡¯t change save for the speed which meant Corwin was already dealing with something familiar. He managed to not get hit and reduce the goblin to 5% health before comboing it out with: Thunder Slash, Slash and Pierce. He excitedly looted the corpse, but to his dismay he found only a level 5 common cloth leg armor. However, after the boss he found a common chest, something he suspected was a reward for being the first in the dungeon. The common chest had 3 items, a level 5 common leather armor, a level 5 common leather helm, and a level 5 common plate boots. The plate boots gave +5 Con and some extra Def and MDef so they went on right away. The others went in the inventory to sell later. He continued grinding the dungeon mobs and eventually arrived at the second boss, an Orc named Sabrefang. Sabrefang unsurprisingly fought with a sabre. His movements were quick, making it more challenging to dodge, but he was only an elite and normal mode was normal mode after all. Sabrefang had a forehand side-cleave and an AoE multi-slash as his two power moves. The AoE was a cone shaped attack so it was easy to avoid, especially as the boss telegraphed it. The side-cleave was parryable, so saving the parry for that move was useful as it was a bit tricky to dodge. Corwin fought well executing his dodges perfectly and doing plenty of damage with his good weapons. When the boss entered berserk his rhythm accelerated but it still wasn¡¯t necessary to use potions. Finally, the boss had 5% HP, and a thunder slash, slash, pierce combo did him in. The loot this time was rather exciting as it has a skill book for the uncommon sword skill double slash, and a level 5 common plate gloves. The skill book was used and the gloves were equipped and Corwin got that little bit better. Corwin¡¯s luck was in because there was another common chest for being the first to reach this point of the dungeon. When he opened the chest, there was a bright flash of light indicating a lucky drop. Inside was a recipe, and not just any recipe but a bronze tier recipe. Even better, the recipe was for plate armor, something Corwin definitely needed. Bronze Tier items offered a minimum of +1/level to key stats (Str, Agi, Con in this case), 4Def/level and 2MDef/level. While this item was a minimum bronze item with no special abilities it was still impressive for this stage of the game. The only drawback was he couldn¡¯t equip anything right away so he didn¡¯t get additional help for the next boss. He also only got one item instead of three. At this point the cave in the dungeon narrowed to a small path and Corwin pushed onwards. The narrow restricted his dodging and forced him to fight enemies while dodging only backwards which was trickier than usual. Fortunately, he was equal to the task and managed to avoid taking hits. The cave opened to a clearing for the final boss, a Chieftain. At this point there was no sense taking chances, and Corwin rested to full health and stamina, applied a speed potion and engaged the boss with a slow potion. The difference in agility proved decisive as the orc Boss, Scarfang, who fought with an Axe was not equal to hitting him. Even his power moves Overhead chop, and Axe-Spin did not connect. Corwin reduced the boss to 20% HP before it went berserk. The berserk mode was challenging and the extra agility meant the AoE hit Corwin once, reducing him to below half health. Nonetheless, one hit was not enough and Corwin soon had the boss down to low health. Corwin combed out with Thunder Slash, Double Slash, Slash and Pierce resulting in Scarfang meeting his maker. As Scarfang fell to the ground announcements, Corwin was asked to enter a party name. Corwin planned to name his guild Righteous Destiny so he used that party name and quickly a spring of announcements rang out. Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a normal difficulty dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Party member Corwin Swordborn receives 2,000,000 XP, 20 Gold, and 1 Tier 1 Gemstone. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn on the first solo clear of a normal difficulty dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. He receives 4,000,000XP, 40 gold and 1 Tier 1 Gemstone. Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny on first clear of a normal difficulty dungeon in Altaea. Party Member Corwin Swordborn receives 1,000,000XP, 10 Gold and 1 Tier 1 Gemstone. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn on the first solo clear of a normal difficulty dungeon in Altaea. He receives 2,000,000XP, 20 gold and 1 Tier 1 Gemstone. Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny on the first clear of normal difficulty of the dungeon Grimsbane. Party member Corwin Swordborn receives 500,000XP, 5 gold and 1 extra dungeon pass. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn on the first solo clear of the dungeon Grimsbane on normal mode. He receives 1,000,000XP, 10 gold and 1 extra dungeon pass.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The 8.5 million XP was really nice for pushing the level bar from near 25% all the way to just over 50%. More importantly, the 2 extra dungeon passes and extra money created good opportunities. Normally you could only raid a dungeon once a day, regardless of what difficulty you picked. The first clear bonuses meant you could raid multiple times, something that Corwin planned to use to get through hell mode today. When Corwin looted the boss, the flash for a lucky drop appeared and he excitedly reached down. He received a recipe for a level 5 Bronze Plate Gauntlets along with two mana crystals instead of the usual one. This was enough to upgrade the ring of hidden attributes to bronze tier which Corwin immediately did. At bronze tier the ring gave +1 to all attributes per level and +1 to all hidden attributes per level. It now needed 5 Mana Crystals to evolve. There was a common chest as the end of the run and 10 luck showed its power as the rather fortunate Corwin received a lucky drop containing a recipe for bronze level 5 plate boots. Corwin for now would just use these recipes to equip himself, but if he was careful in timing he could create good value from selling said items at the cost of accelerating his opponents gear. Meanwhile, the Raven guild was trying to figure out what to do about Corwin Swordborn. His multiple first clear announcements and promotion of ¡°Heaven¡¯s Path¡± created quite an issue for the first-rate guild of Orleans. They knew from the XP bonuses and the dungeon clear he was already level five and possibly even level six. He also had to have good equipment. Being top tier experts, they already had many characters who had reached level one, and their very best expert had reached level two. They ultimately decided it would be worth trying to kill him with numbers, to get whatever equipment dropped, and hopefully leave some of the announcements and bonuses to their guild. In Eternity¡¯s wake a player would experience down to the minimum for the previous level so they¡¯d always lose slightly more than a level for dying. Killing him down to level 4 would slow down his dungeon running as he¡¯d need to get back to level 5 again. On death, usually the most powerful equipment on a player would drop. This typically meant a player with bronze tier equips would lose a bronze tier item. Losing items often slowed down dungeon running as one needed to run the normal-mode again instead of hard mode to get gear back. Corwin wasn¡¯t exactly unaware of danger, although he had no clue where it was coming from. He headed back to town and purchased a cloak for two gold. In this game, a cloak could hide one¡¯s identity, a useful feature for remaining anonymous. Unfortunately, because of the high cost for this stage of the game, people with cloaks tended to be targets anyways. Nonetheless, a cloak was less high profile than Corwin himself, who had the only global announcements so far in game. In the market he found someone who was rather desperate for money. They had found the rare swordsman skill book Wind Charge. In the past this skill book was easily worth thirty gold, but at this time no one in the game knew prices and he had decided to sell it for merely ten gold. Corwin was a bit hesitant about providing anyone ten gold out of fear they could use poison to power level but decided to chance it as this was an important rare skill useful in both PvP and PvE. After all, most people had only hours of experience with Eternity¡¯s Wake and didn¡¯t have the finely honed sense of dodging Corwin had developed over 15 years of close combat. So, Corwin bought and learnt it before spending the remainder of his money on crafting gear and materials. He went to the forge and worked on crafting the plate while cloaked. The first tries were all failures, but after 8 failures he succeeded. He equipped the new armor and worked on the gloves next. After four failures the fifth try was a success and he replaced his gloves with bronze versions. He then did the boots and was pleasantly surprised to succeed on the 2nd try. He received a token amount of experience from his crafting, as well as some crafting experience as a metalworker. He had plans to improve his crafting skills much more later, but all those plans relied on knowledge of the Verdure Kingdom so he had to wait until he completed his plans in Orleans and saved up his massive teleportation cost. He now had a decision to make, did he have enough gear for hard mode, or did he need another run of normal. Fortunately, the first clear gave out two extra dungeon passes, so he ultimately decided to run normal again first. As expected, the second run did not have the chests anymore, but he had lucky drops and managed to get a recipe for level five bronze plate main hand sword, and a recipe for a level five bronze cuisse as well as some cloth and leather armor drops. He also got three magic crystals which put him a good chunk of the way towards evolving his bronze ring. Heading back to town he sold off all his cloth and leather armor drops for ten gold and spent fifty silver on crafting materials. That gave him five tries at the cuisse and the fourth succeeded. Another fifty silver went to five tries at the main hand sword, and the fifth succeeded. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 5 (53% to level 6) Str: 35 (base:5) Agi: 55 (base:30) Con: 30 (base:5) Int: 10 (base:5) Cha: 10 (base:5) Lck: 10 (base:5) Cnc: 10 (base:5) Sta: 10 (base:5) Def:110 MDef: 50 HP: 650/650 MP: 550/550 Gear: MW: Bronze Tier Level 5, Level 5 Longsword, +5 Str, +5 Agi, +5 Con Damage: 30-40 Durability 25/25 Requirements: 20 Str OW: Common Tier, Level 5 Shortsword, +5 Str Damage 15-20 Durability 12/15 Requirements: 10 Str MA: Bronze Level 5 Plate, +5 Str, +5 Agi, +5 Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements:20 Str LA: Bronze Level 5 Plate Cuisse +5Str, +5Agi, +5Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements:20 Str B: Bronze Level 5 Plate Gloves +5 Str, +5Agi, +5 Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements: 20Str G: Bronze Level 5 Plate Boots, +5Str, +5Agi, +5Con 20Def,10Mdef, Durability 25/25 Requirements: 20Str RR: Bronze Level 5 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+5 All base attributes, +5 All Hidden Attributes) LR: None AM: None MW=Main Weapon OW=Offhand Weapon MA= Main Armor LA = Leg Armor B= Boots G= Gloves RR = Right Ring, LR = Left Ring, AM = Amulet Chapter 6 Corwin was fairly convinced he was far ahead of any character in the game at this point and he decided he was ready to run hard mode. With has last dungeon entry he needed to succeed and get rewarded with more passes. The run itself was tense, while the dungeon monsters remained normal mobs the first two bosses were now chieftains. Each of them had a significant agility and strength upgrade. Fortunately, the bronze equipment made sure that Corwin kept up. With over 50 Agility he wasn¡¯t easy to hit at this point in the game. His damage had reached a whole new level with his 30 strength, and clearing Scrimshaw was faster than his first run in normal mode. He excitedly looted the body, getting a Level 5 Bronze Shield Recipe and a fourth magic crystal. He encountered a chest, likely for the first run of normal mode and eagerly opened it. Inside was two gold, and a Level 5 Bronze Axe recipe. Unfortunately, Axes were useless to a swordsman, but that didn¡¯t prevent him from making some to sell. Many tank classes used them, and axes were also common among berserkers. Excitingly, there was also a small hidden compartment in the bottom of the chest. Such compartments were often trapped but Corwin knew what to look for and manually disarmed the poison trap he found. Inside the hidden compartment was a second recipe, this one for a level 5 Bronze Leather Armor. Again, something he could make to sell but not anything useful for himself. Fighting the enemies remained easy until the boss Sabrefang. This fight was fairly intense as the chieftain had an additional power move, Carve, a powerful AoE Sabre attack. With two AoE¡¯s it was harder to dodge and Parry. Everything was fine until berserk mode. The attack pattern of the boss changed slightly and Corwin was hit going to 51% of his health. He was back up to 88% health when he got hit again going down to 39% health. At this point a hit would kill him so he reluctantly consumed a 1 gold potion to heal up. Fortunately, not long after the boss reached 5% health. Corwin comboed on it with his full set of skills: Wind Charge, Thunder Slash, Slash, Pierce and watched it fall to zero. He looted the boss, getting a Whetstone recipe, a Lightstone recipe and magic crystal. A system in Eternity¡¯s wake increased the frequency of recipe drops when the players raiding the dungeon had recently crafted items. This was designed to encourage crafting, but in solo it was rather powerful as with 100% of the party having recently crafted multiple items, recipes would drop with extremely high frequency. This was increased moreover by Corwin¡¯s luck as recipes were valuable drops. What was concerning was that none of them were the key items needed to advance from hard mode to hell mode. What Corwin needed most of all was a usable off-hand weapon drop. Regardless, he had 5 Magic Crystals and could use them to evolve the Ring of Hidden Attributes to Iron Tier which he did. The ring promptly developed +2 to all attributes/level and +2 to all hidden attributes/level. This was incredible as his luck was now triple the normal amount and his drops rated to be miles better than other players. He also had an extra 5 agility, 5 strength 5 constitution, and 5 stamina for the upcoming main boss fight and every little bit helps. Another chest was available, this one a bronze tier chest for hard mode. Unfortunately, a lucky drop didn¡¯t trigger so there were no iron tier items in the chest, but fortunately there was an level 5 bronze offhand sword recipe. The chest had a secret compartment and after disarming the trap on it, Corwin found a pouch with a recipe for a stamina potion. This potion gave a player +2 Stamina for 10 hours. Since most players had only 5 stamina this was an incredibly powerful 40% increase, making it a useful item to sell, particularly since the 10 hour duration was quite friendly. Potioneering would likely have to wait until after players were level 10 and the auction system was in use however as it was too difficult to get ingredients piecemeal and NPCs sold most materials at high prices. Corwin focused his sights on the now familiar narrow corridor and the non-elite enemies quickly fell to Corwin¡¯s increased damage output. He paused before the final boss noting that it was now a lord instead of a chieftain and decided it was worth using a strength potion, a speed potion and a slow potion. He fought the boss frantically for half an hour before triggering it¡¯s berserk. At this point the boss triggered an AoE slamming his weapon into the ground and causing a rain of stalactites from the top of the cave. Fortunately, Corwin parried one before dodging out of the radius as those stalactites were quite deadly. As the boss hit 10% health the stalactite attack triggered again, but the boss continued attacking during it. Corwin managed to avoid the stalactites but took a single blow from the boss. That blow reduced his health by 45%. Unsurprisingly Corwin could only survive 2 hits from this boss, he wasn¡¯t a tank after all. Regardless, everything went fine until the boss was at 2% health. An attack swung toward Corwin at faster than usual speed and Corwin was forced to use Wind Charge while ducking under the blow. He then combed out with Thunder Slash, Slash, and Pierce leaving behind a dead lord.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Corwin was once again asked for a party name, entering Righteous Destiny. Once more announcements rang out: Congrats to party Righteous Destiny for achieving the first clear of a hard mode level 5 dungeon in Eternity¡¯s wake. Rewarding party member Corwin Swordborn with 4,000,000XP, 40 gold and a Tier 1 Gemstone. Congrats to Corwin Swordborn for achieving the first solo clear of a hard mode level 5 dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding him with 8,000,000XP, 80 gold and a Tier 1 Gemstone. Congrats to party Righteous Destiny for achieving the first clear of a hard mode level 5 dungeon in Altaea. Rewarding party member Corwin Swordborn with 2,000,000 XP, 20 gold and a Tier 1 gemstone. Congrats to Corwin Swordborn for achieving the first solo clear of a hard mode level 5 dungeon in Altaea. Rewarding him with 4,000,000Xp, 40 gold and a tier 1 gemstone. Congrats to party Righteous Destiny for achieving the first clear of Grimsbane. Rewarding party member Corwin Swordborn with 2,000,000XP, 20 gold and 1 Dungeon Pass. Congrats to Corwin Swordborn for achieving the first solo clear of Grimsbane. Rewarding party member Corwin Swordborn with 1,000,000XP, 10 gold and 1 Dungeon Pass. His XP shot up like a rocket, reaching 29% of level 6. More importantly, he had 2 passes available, giving him some hope of reaching hell mode today. He needed some luck with the loot. He went to loot the Lord and received an item this time, a Level 5 Bronze Off-hand Sword giving (+5Str +5Agi + 5Con) and dealing 25-30 damage. The lord also dropped 2 magic crystals and a Bronze Rank Level 5 Amulet (+5 All Base Attributes). Finally, there was the last chest which had a Level 5 Bronze Main-Hand Sword Recipe, giving (+5 Str +5 Agi +5 Con) and dealing 30-40 damage. That one was exciting as now he could make the sword he already had. The secret compartment after disarming a trap contained a level 5 bronze ring with (+5 All Base Attributes). That loot sequence could not have gone more perfectly, it finished his gear off and made him ready for hell mode. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 6: 29% of level 7 Str: 55 (base:5) Agi: 85 (base:30) Con: 55 (base:5) Int: 25 (base:5) Cha: 25 (base:5) Lck: 15 (base:5) Cnc: 15 (base:5) Sta: 15 (base: 5) Def:135 MDef: 65 HP: 930/930 MP: 750/750 MW: Bronze Tier Level 5, Level 5 Longsword, +5 Str, +5 Agi, +5 Con Damage: 30-40 Durability 22/25 Requirements: 20 Str OW: Bronze Tier, Level 5 Shortsword, +5 Str, +5Agi, +5 Con Damage 25-30 Durability 24/25 Requirements: 20 Str MA: Bronze Level 5 Plate, +5 Str, +5 Agi, +5 Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements:20 Str LA: Bronze Level 5 Plate Cuisse +5Str, +5Agi, +5Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements:20 Str B: Bronze Level 5 Plate Gloves +5 Str, +5Agi, +5 Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements: 20Str G: Bronze Level 5 Plate Boots, +5Str, +5Agi, +5Con 20Def,10Mdef, Durability 25/25 Requirements: 20Str RR: Iron Level 5 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+10 All base attributes, +10 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Bronze Level 5 Amulet (+5 All base attributes) AM: Bronze Level 5 Ring (+5 All base attributes) Skills: Thunder Slash, Rare Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare Level 0 Double Slash, Uncommon Level 0 Slash, Common, Level 0 Pierce, Common, Level 0 Parry, Common, Level 0 Chapter 7 In hell mode nothing was simple. The regular mobs were elites, and dropped occasional items, mostly crafting materials. Fighting multiple elites required lots of attention to successfully dodge, even with increased stats. The first chieftain had elites nearby, and it took Corwin¡¯s best effort to lure them away without attracting the boss. There was one he couldn¡¯t lure separately so he started out fighting to kill and elite while dodging it and boss attacks. He got hit once while killing the elite, losing 50% of his health to the rather nasty Chieftain boss. Once the elite was dead things got easier and he settled into a routine of saving parry to help with the AoE skill while dodging everything else and getting attacks in. Pretty soon Chieftain Scrimshaw was berserk. At this point, everything changed. The boss suddenly had new attack patterns and never before seen moves. Not having played this before Corwin was hit, and lost 50% of health, recovered a tick before being hit again. He immediately health potioned and refocused his efforts. He adjusted to the new patterns easily after his initial surprise and burst down his foe, until 10% when the AoE triggered. He managed to take only 1 hit before getting the enemy low. When the enemy hit 5% it started to charge a new powerful attack but before that could happen Corwin combed: Sudden Charge, Thunder Slash, Side-Cleave, Double Slash, Pierce, Slash. The boss fell lifelessly to the ground. Corwin looted the boss and happily took the generous rewards. A recipe for a iron level 5 ring (+10 all attributes) was the key item, and of course a 3rd mana crystal. He put away the other items (common materials) from the boss and moved on fighting a few more elites before finding a bronze chest. He opened the chest hoping for good luck and was pleasantly surprised to find a level five iron amulet recipe (+10 all attributes). The chest had a secret compartment and in it was a level five iron cloth armor (+10 Int +10 Con +10 Agi, 20 Def, 40MDef). John saved this armor and decided he¡¯d use the mail system to send it to Edward. Continuing on he fought elites in groups and managed to avoid getting hit, getting progressively better at dodging. He could feel his skills improving as he challenged himself to the limit, playing right on the edge of his capabilities to push forward as fast as possible. John was pleasantly surprised as learning generally comes slowly once you have 15 years of experience at something. He supposed he was adjusting to his younger more fit body as well as learning new things but the rate of progress excited him. After dispatching the final set of enemies, he found himself facing a chieftain with 4 unlurable elites surrounding him. This would have been quite a problem before but with his new-found confidence in dodging he dove in and attacked the elites quickly. He wasn¡¯t flawless but only got hit twice at a slow enough pace that he didn¡¯t need to use a potion. Once there were only two elites left nothing could hit him. Everything was going well until the boss reached berserk mode. Once again there was a total shift in attack sequences, and this time Corwin forced his way back avoiding getting hit. He watched the boss move and got an understanding of the pattern before charging back into combat with a well-timed wind charge. He bursted his skills out for damage in between dodging attacks until the enemy reached 6% health. At this point he saved up all his skills off cooldown and whittled its health to 5% with only normal attacks. Sure enough, at 5% health, it started charging a special skill. Before that skill could arrive a burst of all Corwin¡¯s skills killed off the chieftain. He looted the chieftain getting a fourth magic crystal and a recipe, this one for a level 5 iron-tier cloth helm. He also found a iron-tier chest and excitedly opened it, hoping for the flash of light that indicated a lucky burst. Unfortunately, the chest had only an iron tier recipe, but fortunately that recipe was for a level 5 off-hand shortsword. With nothing new of note to equip he proceeded on to fight groups of elites in the narrow corridor. He felt challenged by the environment but rose admirably to the occasion even when a group of elites came from behind and he was fighting on all sides. He didn¡¯t get hit once, and dispatched the elites quickly, picking up some crafting materials. The ¡®last fight¡¯ of hell mode was rather scary. It featured a chieftain, a lord, and two elites. Fortunately, the elites and chieftain were able to be lured away from the lord so they could be fought separately. That fight was uneventful, and the chieftain was looted for a magic crystal(5) and the level 5 iron recipe for a staff. Finally, he faced the lord. The lord gave off a new aura of intimidation. It seemed it had presence now. This intimidation slowed opponents and made them feel slightly sluggish, causing it to be harder to dodge. Corwin still avoided getting hit but it took significant effort as he was forced to use his vanishing steps technique repeatedly and he could feel his stamina reserves draining. It became a race between Corwin¡¯s stamina and the Lord¡¯s health. Slowly the race turned in Corwin¡¯s favor, and he stopped needing to use vanishing steps by the time the lord hit 60% health. Unfortunately, that didn¡¯t last when the Lord went berserk. Corwin used Vanishing steps to narrowly avoid an attack. He kept dodging and hitting the lord when he could. His stamina hit critical just as the lord hit 5% health and started charging a power move. Fortunately, all it took was a burst combo of all his attack skills to finish it off.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Corwin paused to catch his breath. He was too tired to even answer the name request that accompanied his first clear. Finally, after about a minute he had the energy to type in Righteous Destiny and receive the announcements. Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hell difficulty dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Party member Corwin Swordborn receives 8,000,000 XP, 80 Gold, and 1 Tier 1 Gemstone. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn on the first solo clear of a hell difficulty dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. He receives 16,000,000XP, 160 gold and 1 Tier 1 Gemstone. Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny on first clear of a hell difficulty dungeon in Altaea. Party Member Corwin Swordborn receives 4,000,000XP, 40 Gold and 1 Tier 1 Gemstone. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn on the first solo clear of a hell difficulty dungeon in Altaea. He receives 8,000,000XP, 80 gold and 1 Tier 1 Gemstone. Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny on the first clear of hell difficulty of the dungeon Grimsbane. Party member Corwin Swordborn receives 2,000,000 XP, 20 gold and 1 extra dungeon pass. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn on the first solo clear of the dungeon Grimsbane on hell mode. He receives 4,000,000 XP, 40 gold and 1 extra dungeon pass. Please log off in the next 30 minutes as a patch is ready to be applied and the server will terminate for one hour of real time to apply it. The massive gold and XP were a welcome addition as Corwin reached 57% of level 7. He was still very tired, so he looted his enemy receiving a rather exciting level five iron main-hand sword recipe and two magic crystals (7 total). Finally, he looted the end of dungeon treasure chest receiving the second of his ten targeted growth items. Ring of Elements (Divine Growth Item ¨C Currently Trash Level 0) No ability Requires 1 magic crystal to evolve Requires 5 Trash Rings to level. Corwin had a bit of a dilemma. Luck was really important as it affected drops, should he save his crystals to evolve the ring of hidden attributes to silver tier or did he want to spend them on evolving the ring of elements to common and bronze? Ultimately he decided all growth tier equipment would be good and he wanted to be able to wear it as soon as possible. He invested a crystal in evolving the ring of elements to common and was floored by its ability. The ring had ignore levels 0.2/level. Ignore levels would reduce level suppression making it easier to fight upcurve for faster XP, this ability was extremely powerful. The ring also gave +1 Str/level at common tier. With the ability being this powerful it was a no-brainer to see what else it gave off and he spent 2 mana crystals to evolve it to bronze. At that tier the ring had +1 all base attributes/level and in addition to the ignore levels ability it had an ignore equip levels 0.2/level ability. This ability meant for every 5 levels of the ring he could have 1 level higher equipment than his level. Again, this was extremely powerful and Corwin was quite excited. Ignore levels was normally a good ability but with growth equipment he could take advantage of it to the fullest capacity. Corwin kept the ring in his inventory as it didn¡¯t do anything until he could sacrifice rings to it. He paused to collect himself and stumbled back to town exhausted. As luck would have it, on the way back he was ambushed by the Raven¡¯s guild who finally made their move. It was ten on one. Fortunately, they were only level two and with four levels of level suppression their damage was miniscule even if they hit. Meanwhile, their clerics were useless as every attack of Corwin¡¯s was a one-shot. Pretty soon there were ten bodies at his feet and he picked up ten dropped pieces of gear. He was glad he was cloaked as he didn¡¯t want Raven knowing who had slain them since they might come back with more numbers, interfering with his ability to get other things done. After getting back to the village Corwin bought up all the level 0 rings in the shop, (100 for 1 gold) so that he wouldn¡¯t run out of stuff to upgrade his rings. He used 35 of them to upgrade his Ring of Elements to level 7 and 10 more to upgrade his ring of hidden attributes to level 7. After that he logged off as he was too tired to craft, knowing he would only fail if he attempted to do so. John needed to rest and recover before doing anything else, fortunately this downtime mostly coincided with the patch so John wouldn¡¯t lose any time in game. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 6: 29% of level 7 Str: 61 (base:5) Agi: 91 (base:30) Con: 61 (base:5) Int: 31 (base:5) Cha: 31 (base:5) Lck: 19 (base:5) Cnc: 19 (base:5) Sta: 19 (base: 5) Def:141 MDef: 71 HP: 966/966 MP: 786/786 Gear: MW: Bronze Tier Level 5, Level 5 Longsword, +5 Str, +5 Agi, +5 Con Damage: 30-40 Durability 22/25 Requirements: 20 Str OW: Bronze Tier, Level 5 Shortsword, +5 Str, +5Agi, +5 Con Damage 25-30 Durability 24/25 Requirements: 20 Str MA: Bronze Level 5 Plate, +5 Str, +5 Agi, +5 Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements:20 Str LA: Bronze Level 5 Plate Cuisse +5Str, +5Agi, +5Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements:20 Str B: Bronze Level 5 Plate Gloves +5 Str, +5Agi, +5 Con 20Def,10MDef, Durability 25/25 Requirements: 20Str G: Bronze Level 5 Plate Boots, +5Str, +5Agi, +5Con 20Def,10Mdef, Durability 25/25 Requirements: 20Str RR: Iron Level 7 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+14 All base attributes, +14 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Bronze Level 5 Amulet (+5 All base attributes) AM: Bronze Level 7 Ring of Elements (+7 All base attributes) Skills: Thunder Slash, Rare Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare Level 0 Double Slash, Uncommon Level 0 Slash, Common, Level 0 Pierce, Common, Level 0 Parry, Common, Level 0 Interlude Corwin rested up for a while before doing his exercises and martial arts routines, practicing keeping his body in shape for the demanding hand-to-hand combat required in game. Corwin also wished there was a way to supress messages. His kill of the chieftain had been rather flashy and he drew a lot of attention. He didn¡¯t want to get on the wrong side of the local guilds by upstaging them, although he didn¡¯t really have a choice to suppress the messages. He hoped it wouldn¡¯t become an issue, although he knew he was already attacked once. Near the end of the hour Corwin took a call with Edward and found out Edward had named his character ¡°Kyo Staffsworn¡±. It turned out the two friends had similar taste in names. Edward had used the tips and tricks John had given him to get Kyo to level two. This confirmed Corwin¡¯s expectations that he would be well ahead of everyone at this time as even Kyo wasn¡¯t level 3 with all the insider tips and tricks Edward had. Perhaps it was arrogant but John couldn¡¯t see anyone having anywhere near his 15 years of experience or insider knowledge to take advantage of.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. John taught Edward some more about key areas in his map and told him where and how he could farm more quickly as a summoner. He also reminded him to focus his money on skills rather than equipment and gave him a list of key skills for a summoner to get early. He also let him know the key areas to farm skill books for a summoner. He wanted to make sure Edward had a solid development in game. He promised he¡¯d send him some good level five equipment so his gear wouldn¡¯t be a problem by then. Eventually and hour was nearly up and the patch will finish applying. That meant only one thing: 3¡­ 2¡­1¡­ Game Start. UPDATE * PATCH CHANGES *Game Balance: DoT stacks no longer ignore level suppression. Chapter 8 Corwin quickly adjusted to being back in the game. He bought iron level crafting materials for swords at one gold each set of materials. It took ten tries to make the main-hand sword and nine tries for the off-hand. Almost twenty gold poorer, he nonetheless equipped his weapons with pride. A similar cost was needed for the amulet recipe, but the iron amulet was equipped as well. Lastly, he made a level five iron cloth helm and level five iron staff, and level 5 iron amulet for Edward, spending twenty-five gold in the process. He sent the helm, staff, ring and previously achieved armor to Edward via the mail system. He sent him 25 gold as well which should help with any items he needed to grind. This should give his friend enough of a head start to keep ahead of the curve. Finally, after gearing up and dealing with his other responsibilities Corwin was ready for the next challenge. The next item was located in a divine trial, a unique event that could be found at a cave one hour away from town. The trial was theoretically passable at level 6 as it scaled with level, and with his good gear Corwin felt he was ready. He¡¯d need an S-rank clear to get the item he wanted which would involve clearing all the levels of the trial. The travel through the countryside was relaxing as the roads were clear of monsters and no players were ¡®wasting time¡¯ venturing out this far at this stage in the game. Corwin found the cave, and killed some bears in it before finding the swordsman gate at the back of the cave. He entered the level 1 divine trial. In the trial he had to ascend a staircase, on each step of the stairs a new battle would occur. If he could reach the top he¡¯d get to S-rank. The first step was an uneventful trash mob and ended quickly. The second step was a slightly stronger trash mob and was similarly uneventful. At step five, the monsters became elites. At step ten, he encountered his first special elite enemy. Fortunately, special elites were still weaker than chieftains so everything was fine so far. It took some time to kill the 10 special elites before facing chieftain monsters on starting on step twenty. This was a worrying development as the staircase had 40 steps in total. The chieftains started out weaker than those in the dungeon and ended with one that was stronger than the dungeon chieftain but still much weaker than a lord. Each of them dropped a mana crystal when they died, the first drops of the trial. Once he got a 4th mana crystal he upgraded the ring of elements to iron tier. This gave him the ability: Time Manipulation ¨C Tier 0, Level 0 -- For a 1-hour duration, make time slow down by a factor of 2 in an area of up to 100m radius resulting in 1 hour of real-life time for every 6 hours in game. Requires 1 minute to cast. Upgradeable for 6,000,000 XP. He wasn¡¯t about to use this in the trial as it wouldn¡¯t be useful but planned on investing in upgrading it immediately after. After all, this was the perfect skill for when he needed to do crafting. The ring also doubled its attribute bonuses and now required 10 crystals to evolve. He stepped onto the 30th step and faced the first lord enemy. This one was much weaker than the lord in the dungeon and went down without a fight, dropping 2 crystals and a level 6 iron plate armor. These two crystals left him with 11 crystals total, and he now needed to decide which ring to upgrade. Hidden attributes were strong in combat but the next ability from the ring of elements might be relevant for combat. It was quite the dilemma. Ultimately, Corwin decided to gamble on the ring of elements. While that gamble gave him an extremely valuable skill, it didn¡¯t pay off because it was once again a non-combat skill.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Space Manipulation ¨C Tier 0, Level 0 ¨C For a 1-minute duration, open a portal between here and any location you¡¯ve previously been up to 50km away. Portal is any size up to 10m x 10m. Upgradeable for 6,000,000 XP. Fortunately, the Silver ring still had double attributes so his combat abilities did improve. Also, if the Lord¡¯s continued to drop 2 mana crystals he¡¯d upgrade the other ring soon enough. The next lord was also level six but had stronger moves and stats. It was still not a threat compared to the dungeon lord. It also dropped 2 mana crystals (3 total) and a level six iron plate cuisse. The 32nd step saw a third level six lord. This one was as strong as the one in the dungeon, but with all his new iron gear that fight was no longer exhausting for Corwin. He saved his burst to avoid getting hit with a special skill and otherwise did damage quickly. That lord dropped two mana crystals (5 total) and a level six iron plate gloves. The gloves went on and Corwin prepared for an even tougher fight. The next lord was level seven. With his ignore levels reducing the suppression to zero the fight was possible, but it was somewhat challenging. Corwin managed to avoid getting hit but needed a breather afterwards. He got two mana crystals (7 total) and a level seven plate boots for his trouble. He equipped them and was ecstatic at his new gear but needed a serious plan as he was starting to worry he might not succeed here. He also experienced his first skill upgrades with Slash, Pierce, and Parry reaching level 1. After resting till he thought his stamina was full, Corwin stepped on the next step facing the intermediate difficulty level 7 lord. The extra attributes helped but this fight would be far from easy and Corwin knew he would be pushed to his limits. He prepared himself and gave himself a final look over before stepping onto the next stair. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 6: 30% of level 7 Str: 127 (base:5) Agi: 147 (base:30) Con: 127 (base:5) Int: 33 (base:5) Cha: 33 (base:5) Lck: 19 (base:5) Cnc: 19 (base:5) Sta: 19 (base: 5) Def: 327 MDef: 138 HP: 1362/1362 MP: 828/828 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 5, Level 5 Longsword, +10 Str, +10 Agi, +10 Con Damage: 40-50, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 30 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 5 Shortsword, +10 Str, +10Agi, +10 Con Damage 30-35, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 30 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate, +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12 Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str LA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Cuisse +12Str, +12Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Iron Tier Level 7 Plate Boots, +14Str, +14Agi, +14Con 56Def,28Mdef, Durability 35/35, Requirements: 42Str RR: Iron Tier, Level 7 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+14 All base attributes, +14 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Iron Tier, Level 5 Amulet (+10 All base attributes) AM: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Elements (+28 All base attributes, Ignore 1.4 Levels, Ignore 1.4 Equip Levels Skills: Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 0 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Chapter 9 Corwin gulped down a speed potion and a strength potion, and then engaged by throwing a slow potion at Horax. As the speed potion hit he immediately activated wind charge. Horax let out a sudden roar and chopped with his axe, but the charge was faster and Corwin got under Horax¡¯s guard to slam his swords home. -100, -85. The small damages let Corwin know he was in for a long fight. He bursted thunder slash right as Horax spun and executed double chop. The two skills hit against each other and Corwin was forced backward a few steps while Horax stood his ground. Recovering quickly, Corwin charged in again right as Horax began his Axe spin. A quick parry and rapid retreat prevented Corwin from taking damage. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t dealing damage either and the regen tick was upcoming. Things got better as Horax¡¯s skills were all on cooldown. Corwin struck home with Slash, Pierce and Double slash enjoying pleasant bursts of damage as the skills hit for 100, 100 and 180 respectively. A normal attack with each weapon hit for 25 and 10 respectively. Horax swung his axe in a diagonal slash at Corwin and Corwin ducked inwards relying on the shorter range of his swords to make his opponent miss. Horax merely stepped back and made a downward chop as his skill came off cooldown. Corwin barely dodged but was faced with a dilemma. His thunder slash wasn¡¯t yet off cooldown but Horax¡¯s Double chop was coming sooner. The first blow was parried but the second connected, and 400 of Corwin¡¯s health disappeared in that instant. He came up with a new plan, using parry and slash to keep up with double chop while dodging single chop. That worked and he ground Horax¡¯s health down. When axe spin came off cooldown he saw the animation and leapt backwards quickly, managing to avoid the blow. He used his saved-up wind charge to close the distance after the attack finished and was rewarded with two nice damage numbers. Finally, after much grinding the crucial moment of the fight arrived. Horax reached 20% health and entered his berserk mode. Horax had a skill cooldown berserk mode, meaning the cooldown were reduced to 60%. Corwin was forced to use thunder slash to parry one double chop and slash plus pierce and slash plus parry for the next. Wind charge could only be used to re-engage after every second axe spin so there was a vulnerable moment where he was in ideal range for that axe to hit him as he closed in manually the other times. He got hit again once this time for 600 damage. But he fortunately had recovered from the previous blow in the minutes that had passed. He managed to stabilize and avoid getting hit again. Things went swimmingly until Horax hit 5% health. Horax began to charge up his ultimate skill. Corwin bursted all his skills combined with normal attacks but the defense and HP were too much. Horax¡¯s health fell to 150 instead of zero. Horax¡¯s ultimate skill ¡®Heart of the Beserker¡¯ went off. His agility and strength doubled. Corwin hit a normal attack reducing Horax to 75. Horax went for his double chop, the first blow landing and dealing 800 damage, putting Corwin to critical. The second blow closed in. At the last possible instant Corwin used parry. He went for a normal attack, dealing 50 damage with his main sword. His short sword hit and did 25. Unfortunately, a regen tick happened right before the second hit and Horax was back to 150 health. He executed Chop and an axe came hurling towards Corwin at incredible speed. Corwin used Vanishing steps to dodge the axe and reappear behind Horax. At this crucial moment double slash came off cooldown and he immediately used it. -100, -60. Horax fell to the ground leaving an exhausted and wounded Corwin standing over his corpse. As he paused to catch his breath, Corwin smiled. He hadn¡¯t been pushed this hard in a long time and he was enjoying the feeling of battling in life or death situations. In that moment, there was no worry about the next step, or about how hard it would be to defeat the whole challenge, instead it was just one man and his opponent. A test of wills, a battle of skills.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Something came over him and Corwin felt compelled to salute the fallen warrior. ¡°Bravely fought, Horax.¡± he said before pausing for a moment. Something about looting the corpse felt slightly distasteful, but he pushed such thoughts from his mind, reminding himself it¡¯s just a game. The rewards were worth it as Horax dropped a level 7 Iron shortsword and two mana crystals (9 total). He took a moment to look over the notifications he had ignored in the heat of combat and was pleased to see that double slash, thunder slash and wind charge had all reached level one. He equipped his new longsword, hoping the extra stats would be enough for him to keep up with this difficult challenge. The 36th step awaited. Corwin thought this might be the hardest step of the challenge, as he¡¯d be able to upgrade his ring of hidden attributes with just one more mana crystal. He itched to fight but was forced to wait for his health to regenerate. The usurious 1 gold health potions weren¡¯t worth using to heal out of combat, even with all the gold Corwin had from the special rewards. Corwin mediated and achieved a certain inner calm while he waited. Finally, his health hit full. He had to ask himself if he was ready for this. Perhaps he could accept the lesser reward from completing only 35 steps. He really wanted the growth item, but he suspected he had taken on too much. He banished his doubts as best he could and decided it was worth the risk of carrying forward. He stepped onto the 36th stair and found that a nightmare awaited. He looked his staff carrying opponent over and had his worst fears confirmed. Haldrofir, the Sorcerer HP: 5,000/5,000 MP: 25,000/25,000 Def: 100 MDef: 150 Sorcerer¡¯s and other casters were the most dangerous opponents for someone like Corwin. They had some undodgeable skills, and even the ones that he could dodge were hard to. The only good thing about this battle was Haldrofir¡¯s low health. He cursed the person who put the information on the forums, they must have had all gold equipment by the time they took this challenge on. With his iron gear this was going to be difficult. Corwin looked himself over before downing speed and strength potions then activating wind charge to engage his opponent. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 6: 31% of level 7 Str: 131 (base:5) Agi: 151 (base:30) Con: 131 (base:5) Int: 38 (base:5) Cha: 38 (base:5) Lck: 19 (base:5) Cnc: 19 (base:5) Sta: 19 (base: 5) Def: 331 MDef: 138 HP: 1386/1386 MP: 828/828 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Damage: 56-70, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 5 Shortsword, +10 Str, +10Agi, +10 Con Damage 30-35, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 30 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate, +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12 Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str LA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Cuisse +12Str, +12Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Iron Tier Level 7 Plate Boots, +14Str, +14Agi, +14Con 56Def,28Mdef, Durability 35/35, Requirements: 42Str RR: Iron Tier, Level 7 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+14 All base attributes, +14 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Iron Tier, Level 5 Amulet (+10 All base attributes) AM: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Elements (+28 All base attributes, Ignore 1.4 Levels, Ignore 1.4 Equip Levels Skills: Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Chapter 10 Corwin used wind charge and was met with a cast of the debuff slow. His charge was neutralized and his approach towards Haldrofir started to take an eternity. Magic missile was cast next and it was one of those unblockable spells, the three missiles slammed into Corwin, dealing 100 each. Fortunately, knockback didn¡¯t trigger and Corwin was able to close the distance reaching sword range. He led with thunder slash and was happy to see damages of 150 and 100. A double slash follow-up did similar damage. He continued with Slash and Pierce before hitting with a regular attack. In this time, Haldrofir cast a fireball at point blank range but Corwin got his sword in front of it to just barely parry it. A few attacks later Haldrofir reached 80% health. This triggered the first instance of his special attack Starfall. Corwin wasn¡¯t able to leave the AoE¡¯s radius fast enough due to the slow and got hit by the first falling star, taking 400 damage. Fortunately, he still had the enhanced recovery from the potion and was at full otherwise. Unfortunately, a barrage of magic missles came next reducing him by another 300. If he kept getting hit by starfall this fight would become unwinnable. Corwin avoided panic, and continued to attack. Right as Haldrofir hit 60% health Corwin used Vanishing steps to back away as quickly as possible. It wasn¡¯t enough and Starfall still hit him once. His health was down to 600 from after the recovery and Magic Missile would soon be up again. Corwin realized he was fighting a losing game and something needed to change. He quaffed another health potion, deeply regretting not having bought more while he attacked. His mind wasn¡¯t fully into it and he almost got hit by a fireball through carelessness but a last-minute parry saved him. Finally, Corwin had a plan. He activated ring of space and attempted to create a portal back to town. It worked. He had forgotten what the game was like before the developers closed all these loopholes. Unfortunately, there was a 3-hour time limit for the fight, if Corwin didn¡¯t finish off Haldrofir by then he¡¯d lose the trial and miss out on the item he wanted. Corwin went to the market sincerely hoping to find something that would help. As luck would have it someone was selling the rare skill, Disrupting Blow, which interrupted a spell as it was being cast. They wanted an outrageous 50 gold, when normally it was only worth 30. However, given the need Corwin cursed under his breath as he accepted being ripped off. He decided to buy 50 health potions from the market as well, temporarily buying them out of stock. He¡¯d be a lot poorer when done this trial but hopefully he¡¯d have some shiny new boots to show for it. Corwin returned to find something rather troubling had happened. Someone had found his portal and entered it just as he was stopping. The trial was now contested. Fortunately, whomever entered should have to start at step 1, which left Corwin less worried. The bigger risk was if people started searching for these lucky locations if this guy brags about it on the forums. After all Corwin still had many more of these trials to go through to get the items he wanted. He set all those worries aside for now and focused on the matter at hand, returning to fight a fully healed Haldrofir. Once again, Haldrofir cast slow before Corwin could complete his wind charge. Once more Corwin got hit by magic missiles and lost 300 health. This time every time Haldrofir started to cast Starfall though, he¡¯d be met with a disrupting blow. The spell disruption had a 90% chance against lord level monsters at level zero, and fortunately it worked. Fairly quickly, Corwin had used two health potions and Haldrofir was down to 2000 health, triggering his berserk. Another disrupting blow hit cancelling the Starfall. When magic lords go berserk, they get a new spell. In this case, it was lightning bolt. Lightning bolt was a virtually undodgeable spell due to its very rapid movement. The only way to avoid it was to dodge it before it was cast. Facing the accumulated damage from magic missile, Corwin would have to do exactly that. Right as Haldrofir made the motion to cast lightning bolt Corwin used vanishing steps. The lightning past by his chest missing by the narrowest of margins.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! When the second lightning bolt cast started Corwin used disrupting blow. Unfortunately, the 10% happened and the spell cancel chance failed. Corwin used vanishing steps immediately, but he was a second too late. He watched helplessly as the lightning hit him and his health bar ticked downwards. It reached double digits and kept going lower. It finally stabilized at 13 life. With a sigh of relief Corwin doffed a health potion and his health rocketed up to 213 instantly before continuing to climb. It was at 280 when Haldrofir started to cast magic missile. The first two missiles slammed into Corwin reducing his health to 80. The third missile hit a second later. But, in that second his potion enhanced regen had ticked bringing his life to 105. His health fell to 5 and Corwin was extremely relieved to still be in it. He couldn¡¯t let his guard down anymore though. He used thunder slash and double slash on Haldrofir, parried a fireball and followed up with slash and pierce. Haldrofir started to cast lightning bolt and disrupting blow was not yet off cooldown. Corwin attacked relentlessly, using every skill just as it came off cooldown. Haldrofir raised his hand to beckon the lightning, but right as he did he fell to the ground. The last of his HP had been removed. No lightning came and Corwin had survived by the thinnest of margins. Corwin settled in to wait for his health to come back to full. While he was waiting he looted Haldrofir, getting 2 mana crystals (11 total) and a level 7 iron-tier off hand short sword for his trouble. While Corwin still wanted to see what powerful ability was next on the ring of elements that would take 20 mana crystals and wouldn¡¯t happen this trial. He upgraded his ring of hidden attributes. It now gave +28 to all base attributes and all hidden attributes. It also required 20 mana crystals to evolve from silver to gold tier. Corwin hoped the gains would be enough for whatever came next. As his health bar filled up Corwin resolved to continue and see the trial through. He stepped onto the next stair and assessed his opponent. Ba¡¯al, the lesser ¨C Demonic Lord Level 8 HP 25,000/25,000 MP 20,000/20,000 It had been a while since Corwin had fought a demon, but he remembered it well from his ¡®future¡¯. Demons were mostly hybrid fighter mages, but fortunately tended to not have undodgeable spells like magic missile. He unfortunately only had 1.4 levels of level suppression so his damage would be reduced and the damage he would take increased. Corwin looked himself over and prepared himself for what was certain to be another hard fight. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 6: 32% of level 7 Str: 149 (base:5) Agi: 169 (base:30) Con: 149 (base:5) Int: 52 (base:5) Cha: 52 (base:5) Lck: 33 (base:5) Cnc: 33 (base:5) Sta: 33 (base: 5) Def: 349 MDef: 152 HP: 1494/1494 MP: 912/912 MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate, +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12 Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str LA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Cuisse +12Str, +12Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Iron Tier Level 7 Plate Boots, +14Str, +14Agi, +14Con 56Def,28Mdef, Durability 35/35, Requirements: 42Str RR: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+28 All base attributes, +28 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Iron Tier, Level 5 Amulet (+10 All base attributes) AM: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Elements (+28 All base attributes, Ignore 1.4 Levels, Ignore 1.4 Equip Levels Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 11 The demon began the fight by activating an aura of fear. Corwin trembled briefly but having long been used to fighting under the oppression of auras he adjusted quickly. Corwin activated wind charge and struck home with both his swords. Ba¡¯al the lesser attempted to claw him, but a quick parry solved that problem. Thunder slash and double slash further ate the demon¡¯s health, as did a slash and a pierce. Corwin held nothing back expecting the demon to have only basic attacks and magical abilities. Ba¡¯al bit at Corwin and he dodged backwards, slicing the demon near the horns as he did so. Finally, Ba¡¯al used his second special ability. Corwin cursed under his breath as he saw what it was. The demon cast haste on itself and suddenly was a lot faster. Corwin defended bravely, but struggled to cope with the speed of the attacks. His health was slowly whittled down until finally the haste wore off. When the demon went to cast it again he was ready with disrupting blow, and fortunately it succeeded. He took the initiative once again and went on a powerful offensive, grinding the demon down. At 80% HP the demon cast pestilence and a plague of insects flooded a region around him. Corwin wasn¡¯t able to escape the radius easily and the insects bit at him. He gained the diseased status, which weakened him substantially. Fortunately, due to his high constitution it would wear off once he exited combat and had time to shake it off. For now though, it was a real concern, as his damage to the demon had been reduced substantially. The fight became a real grind, and hurting the demon slowed to a crawl. Finally, the demon was at 60% and Corwin dodged backwards avoiding the AoE, not wanting to see if the disease could stack. Another stack of it and his damage would struggle to stay much ahead of the demon¡¯s powerful regeneration. Everything was going fine until at 45% health, Disrupting Blow failed to proc. Instantly, the demon was hastened and Corwin was back on the defensive. Each skill he had was used to block while taking some damage and knockback for doing so. The demon was so fast that dodging was almost impossible. Corwin used Parry whenever its cooldown was over and just waited out the haste, falling to just under half health for doing so. He decided to use a health potion, reluctant to pay the high cost but admitting it was necessary. Haste ran out and Corwin took the initiative once again. He quickly reduced the demon to 40% health and dodged the pestilence AoE. The fight went smoothly until 20% health, where the demon activated it¡¯s berserk. Demon¡¯s had several different berserk types, and this demon had a summoning berserk. Suddenly Corwin had 5 enemies, 4 of which were imps. Imps were annoying ranged attackers that would throw fireballs at enemies. Fortunately, they were rather squishy and could be killed quickly. Unfortunately, doing so would leave Corwin vulnerable to the demon who wasn¡¯t standing still after summoning. Corwin got to work and looked with pride as his sword finally killed the last of the imps. The demon had managed to get off a haste spell while he was distracted and Corwin had fallen to 20% health. Another potion solved that problem for the moment, and Corwin stabilized until the haste wore off. Once the imps were gone there wasn¡¯t much challenge left to the demon, until it reached 5% health. It started to activate its special ability. Corwin tried Disrupting Blow, but was predictably shown this skill was immune. He attacked the demon wholeheartedly, comboing out all his remaining offensive skills. Wind Charge, Thunder Slash, Double Slash, Slash, Pierce! The demon fell to 1% health before its special activated. DUAL FORM had triggered. Suddenly Corwin had to fight 2 demons, fortunately they each only had 0.5% health with the health getting split between them. Unfortunately, blocking two of them was impossible. Corwin raced to finish one off as he watched his health bar plummet. His attempts to finish that one off were interrupted when he cast disrupting blow on the other demon that was trying to use haste. Corwin was extremely unlucky as disrupting blow failed to proc. He finished off the other demon while taking even more damage, falling to 200 health. With how long the duration of haste had left Corwin knew he couldn¡¯t hold on. He needed to somehow go on the offensive. Corwin tried to dodge a blow and watched it miss by millimetres. Too close for comfort. Corwin activated Thunder Slash and connected. The next blow he parried and then hit with double slash. On the third blow he was in position to dodge again. Vanishing Steps. He appeared behind the Demon after his dodge and struck home with slash. The demon was turning towards him with his fastest attack. It was enough to kill Corwin and it was not something he could dodge. He frantically used pierce and a normal attack. The demon started it¡¯s attack animation but as Corwin¡¯s shortsword struck home it fell to the ground dead.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Corwin was pleased to see the diseased debuff vanish. He relaxed and looted the monster, receiving a level 8 plate armor that he couldn¡¯t yet equip, and another two magic crystals bringing his total up to three. Corwin rested to full health and stamina and pressed ever onward. He stepped bravely onto the 38th stair wondering what came next. He looked up to see a beautiful woman with heavenly angel wings, and wished it were good news. Unfortunately, appearances can be quite deceiving in eternity¡¯s wake. Astrid Nebulae, Seraphim Lord Level 8 HP 30,000/30,000 MP 30,000/30,000 Corwin prepared for the worst, knowing that angels generally had powerful buffs and even summoning skills. Nonetheless, he looked over his opponent bravely and activated wind charge to start the fight. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 6: 58% of level 7 Str: 149 (base:5) Agi: 169 (base:30) Con: 149 (base:5) Int: 52 (base:5) Cha: 52 (base:5) Lck: 33 (base:5) Cnc: 33 (base:5) Sta: 33 (base: 5) Def: 349 MDef: 152 HP: 1494/1494 MP: 912/912 MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate, +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12 Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str LA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Cuisse +12Str, +12Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Iron Tier Level 7 Plate Boots, +14Str, +14Agi, +14Con 56Def,28Mdef, Durability 35/35, Requirements: 42Str RR: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+28 All base attributes, +28 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Iron Tier, Level 5 Amulet (+10 All base attributes) AM: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Elements (+28 All base attributes, Ignore 1.4 Levels, Ignore 1.4 Equip Levels Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 12 It might seem strange to have a Seraphim as an enemy but in this world, Seraphim were the specific followers of the god Cortos. Cortos was a harsh god and had very few followers among the humans. He was widely regarded as a relic of older, crueler times. Of course, being a god and being real one had to be rather careful about not being too critical. If Corwin was a follower of Cortos, he¡¯d have to fight a different enemy as Seraphim would be allied. Nonetheless, Corwin currently followed no god, and was rather unlikely to as he didn¡¯t like the restrictions gods placed on their followers. All of this meant Corwin had to fight the Seraphim and that explained his activation of Wind charge. He accelerated in just as the Seraphim cast mana shield. His swords were stopped by an orb that flickered into life around her. Unfortunately, this orb would cause a certain amount of damage to be directed to MP instead of HP, making the process of killing the Seraphim longer and more involved. Astrid Nebulae next cast Starfall, a skill Corwin had dealt with previously, and quickly moved out of the AoE area. He was lucky enough to not get hit, but was rather disturbed by the fact that this opponent had an AoE that they could free cast as a normal skill rather than when their HP hit a specific percentage. He re-engaged shattering the mana shield and focused on damaging the Seraphim while dodging her normal attacks. Everything went fine until the Seraphim reached 80% HP, at that point the Seraphim activated a summon skill. Disrupting blow failed to stop it (Corwin tried anyway since it sometimes worked on these skills, albeit with a far lower than 90% success rate), and for his trouble he faced two metal slimes. Metal slimes had moderate attack, high HP and good defense but almost no agility. Nonetheless, Corwin couldn¡¯t afford to have the battlefield cluttered with summons as he¡¯d be easily defeated by numbers if he was unable to dodge the many attacks of strong enemies not experiencing level suppression. Corwin thus engaged the slimes and slowly whittled ones health to zero. Unfortunately, as the slime died it turned into energy and flowed back into Astrid, replenishing her mana. Shortly after, another starfall came and Corwin was hit once, unable to dodge it perfectly while focused on the slime. He lured the slime out of the AoE and finished it off, once again disappointed to see the energy flow from the slime to Astrid, giving her recharged mana. When he re-engaged most of his skills blasted against the mana shield before breaking it and slowly reducing her HP. Eventually he whittled her down to 60% and had some good luck when disrupting blow worked on her special skill. The fight continued and Astrid fought intelligently, timing her starfall to hit immediately after a parry. Corwin was in close and without a defensive skill he was exposed to Starfall getting hit twice, down to 60% health. He got more cautious when he re-engaged and his hitpoints slowly recovered while Astrid¡¯s continued to fall. He saved his parry this time, and Starfall combos were unavailable to his devious opponent. Eventually she hit 40% and unfortunately disrupting blow failed on her special skill. This time she summoned two cupids. Cupids were the most junior angel and fought with bows. Their attacks had a chance to induce the charmed status, which would temporarily prevent one from attacking. Corwin thus needed to dodge every attack to finish them off as fast as possible. He was mostly successful in dodging, but with two cupids to worry about Astrid would score the occasional blow. Wind charge was incredibly useful as it largely stopped the cupids from kiting and enabled him to finish one off, watching as it recharged Astrid¡¯s mana. As he was charging to the 2nd one, Astrid activated Starfall. He was unfortunately charging through the radius of the attack and the fastest way out was continuing forward. He used parry once but still took multiple hits, leaving the AoE at 20% health. Corwin chugged a health potion, hoping to recover quickly before he used a slew of skills on the 2nd cupid. It was slain, turning into a pool of mana for Astrid. Corwin re-engaged his primary foe, and whittled her health down to 20%. Angels got very scary at low health because they possessed heavenly berserks. Astrid¡¯s heavenly berserk was the very powerful dual form. She split into two angels, each with 10% health and each attacking Corwin. The pressure was on, and he needed to deal with one of them as fast as possible. Corwin pulled out all the stops using vanishing steps to dodge. He tried to keep one angel at distance and force them to constantly close as he maneuvered around the other dealing damage to it. Unfortunately, even with his special technique he wasn¡¯t able to avoid being hit. Even worse the enemies recovered HP quite quickly when he had to disengage for each of their starfalls. Nonetheless, Corwin bravely persisted. The first angel¡¯s HP fell to 5% and it started to charge a special ability. Disrupting blow failed to defend against it. He attacked all-out and got the angel down to 1% health but couldn¡¯t kill it before the enemy triggered. His aggressive attacks left him open to the other angel and his health had fallen to 40%. With his potion still active Corwin just had to bear it. He grit his teeth and wondered what was in store for him when the special move fired. He prepared to dodge.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The angel activated the special ability ¡°Two become one¡± and suddenly there was an 11% health angel fighting Corwin which received massive buffs to its stats. While it was still a level 8, it fought like a level 10 lord. Fortunately, level suppression didn¡¯t increase. Corwin barely held on dodging, and even getting in an occasional blow. His health dropped to 30% as he brought Astrid to 5% health. She started charging another special ability and disrupting blow failed to cancel it. A burst of damage brought her to 1% health before it fired. Nebula Domain. A domain was a controlled realm that became the surrounding radius of a fight. In a domain, the owner of the domain would be buffed while it¡¯s enemies would be debuffed. If two conflicting domains were used they would weaken each other until one triumphed and the triumphant domain would apply its weakened effects. The nebula domain was a buffing domain, so in it Astrid got even stronger and faster. Corwin could no longer dodge and was forced to trade blows with the powerful enemy. One hit took him to 20% health, the next to 11% as a regen tick helped. He frantically hit Astrid going all out. One more hit brought him to 1%. Astrid attempted to use starfall but disrupting blow came off cooldown to stop it. As she wound up for her last normal attack his sword pierced through her and a flash of golden light emerged. He had slain his enemy, by the slimmest of margins. He excitedly looted the corpse, getting a level eight iron amulet, and two more magic crystals bringing his total to five. He wished he could wear the amulet, as he needed to get stronger. There were two more stairs left, and if the past was any indication the 40th stair would be a big step upwards. Corwin rested to full health and prepared to challenge the 39th stair. What powerful enemy awaited him, he wondered. He didn¡¯t need to wonder long, as when he stepped up to the 39th stair he had his answer. His first reaction was, a dragon how his this possible? Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t a true dragon only a lesser draconic being. Nonetheless Dragons were more powerful than other lords and this would test him severely. He looked his opponent over. Tsuros, Baby Red Lesser Draconic Being HP: 50,000/50,000 MP: 30,000/30,000 The Def and MDef of this being were unable to be identified by Corwin¡¯s passive skill, he could only hope for an improved identify in the future to have more information. For the moment, he just hoped they were manageable. Corwin was also glad the lesser draconic being couldn¡¯t fly, he had no tools to engage with an airborne enemy at this stage of the game. Corwin activated wind charge but was forced to abort it as the dragon opened with its flame breath which filled a cone heading towards him at a scary pace. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 6: 60% of level 7 Str: 149 (base:5) Agi: 169 (base:30) Con: 149 (base:5) Int: 52 (base:5) Cha: 52 (base:5) Lck: 33 (base:5) Cnc: 33 (base:5) Sta: 33 (base: 5) Def: 349 MDef: 152 HP: 1494/1494 MP: 912/912 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate, +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12 Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str LA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Cuisse +12Str, +12Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Iron Tier Level 7 Plate Boots, +14Str, +14Agi, +14Con 56Def,28Mdef, Durability 35/35, Requirements: 42Str RR: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+28 All base attributes, +28 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Iron Tier, Level 5 Amulet (+10 All base attributes) AM: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Elements (+28 All base attributes, Ignore 1.4 Levels, Ignore 1.4 Equip Levels Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 13 The breath was hot and intense, Corwin could feel his flesh burn as his HP dropped. He quickly moved to the side taking the shortest path out of the cone. The dragon continued to breathe forward. Fortunately, he couldn¡¯t change the direction of the breath during the attack. At less than 50% HP, Corwin immediately used a health potion. The dragon tried to activate another skill but disrupting blow prevented that. A regular claw attack was parried and a thunder slash hit the dragon in the face. The dragon lashed out with his sharp teeth trying to catch Corwin¡¯s arm in the claws. Corwin was too quick, by the time the bite nearly landed he had twisted his body moving the arm backwards out of the way. While he was off-balance the dragon landed another claw attack, erasing all the good the potion had done and bringing Corwin back to 50% health. Is it still too much? Corwin wasn¡¯t anticipating the remainder of the fight going well. He pushed himself to the limit, using vanishing steps consistently to avoid the dragon¡¯s combination attacks. He used his skills occasionally getting damage in, but his stamina was depleting quickly. It became a race between the dragon¡¯s HP and Corwin¡¯s stamina. Luckily, the dragon did not activate special abilities every 20% health lost. Corwin¡¯s stamina reached 50% as the dragon dropped to 50% HP. Corwin started to take the occasional blow to reduce the pressure on his stamina, and finally got ahead. He had 30% stamina and 30% HP when the dragon reached 20%. The dragon berserk started to charge. Dragons are unusual in that they have charged berserks that are quite powerful. Think 360-degree AoE breath attacks or shooting many exploding fireballs powerful. Whatever was about to happen Corwin was unlikely to survive. "I suppose this is my limit right now" Corwin thought as he hit the dragon with everything he had. Wind Charge, Thunder Slash, Double Slash, Slash, Pierce, Disrupting Blow. Remarkably, his luck was in as the berserk was interrupted, cancelling it. He still had no clue how he¡¯d survive whatever was coming at 5% but he used more stamina to stop taking damage, and let the potion bring his HP back to full. At 5% health the dragon started to charge ¡°Ultimate breath attack¡±. Corwin knew this because the words appeared above the dragon with a 30 second timer. Corwin attacked relentlessly using all his saved-up skills: Wind Charge, Thunder Slash, Double Slash, Slash, Pierce and disrupting blow. The breath attack continued to tick down. Corwin bombarded the dragon with normal attacks pushing himself to the limits to attack as fast as humanly possible. As the timer hit 5 seconds the dragon still had 1% health left. Corwin was just a little short. 4 seconds, 0.9% health, 3 seconds, 0.7% health, 2 seconds 0.5% health, 1 second 0.3% health. If Corwin failed here, in addition to being slowed down by the death penalty he¡¯d be unable to challenge the divine trial again for another week. In that week, someone else might complete it, leading him to lose his growth tier item forever. Corwin didn¡¯t want to risk that possibility, but didn¡¯t know what more he could do. Then, just in that moment an alert: ¡°Technique Rapid Blow unlocked.¡± The breath weapon exploded in a blinding flash of white flame and light. Corwin¡¯s health plummeted but he remained surrounded in the AoE attack. He used rapid blow on the dragon and the dragon¡¯s health was precariously low as well. 0.3% Dragon, 50% Corwin, 0.2% Dragon 30% Corwin, 0.1% Dragon 10% Corwin, 0% Dragon, 1% Corwin. Corwin had barely survived.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He looted the dragon and saw the delightful flash of a luck trigger. He received 4 magic crystals bringing his total to 9. Perhaps even more valuable was the level 8 silver cuisse that had dropped as well. Silver gear was unheard of at low levels; Corwin had never before seen silver gear below level 15. Of course, Corwin had never participated in a low-level divine trial before this life either. Regardless, this plate leg armor would be more powerful than a basic level 15 iron tier cuisse. Corwin excitedly put it away, eagerly awaiting the one level that would let him wear it. He then pondered his next move. The 40th stair was clearly a step too far. Did he want to die and lose a level and some skill XP, or did he want to take the rewards for the 39th stair? What ultimately decided it for him, is that once he took the rewards he¡¯d not be able to try the divine trial again. If my last life is any indication this one should still be around in a week, perhaps I can only pass it then. Corwin tried his best to think that he somehow had a fighting chance, and did whatever he could to lift his spirits. My only way is forwards he thought. If nothing else, I¡¯ll test my skills to the limits and may even gain benefits like the technique I learned this time. Once he felt a lot more positive about his next move, he finished resting. He fully expected to fight a superior lord enemy, something he wasn¡¯t even remotely capable of soloing at this stage in the game. He pushed thoughts about how much luck he needed to beat the dragon out of his head and bravely stepped onto the 40th stair. He looked at the situation and immediately let out a surprised gasp. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 6: 63% of level 7 Str: 149 (base:5) Agi: 169 (base:30) Con: 149 (base:5) Int: 52 (base:5) Cha: 52 (base:5) Lck: 33 (base:5) Cnc: 33 (base:5) Sta: 33 (base: 5) Def: 349 MDef: 152 HP: 1494/1494 MP: 912/912 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate, +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12 Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str LA: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Cuisse +12Str, +12Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements:36 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Iron Tier Level 7 Plate Boots, +14Str, +14Agi, +14Con 56Def,28Mdef, Durability 35/35, Requirements: 42Str RR: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+28 All base attributes, +28 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Iron Tier, Level 5 Amulet (+10 All base attributes) AM: Silver Tier, Level 7 Ring of Elements (+28 All base attributes, Ignore 1.4 Levels, Ignore 1.4 Equip Levels Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 14 The surprise was a rather pleasant one. There was no enemy on the step. Instead, there was a glowing treasure chest. Inspect showed it was a Special Chest. Special Chests were incredibly rare and fell outside the standard tier of chests. Nonetheless, this was expected to Corwin as growth tier items didn¡¯t have an exact class either. He opened the chest excitedly, and rather greedily hoped for multiple items in it. That wish didn¡¯t come true, but he was nonetheless rather happy. Boots of the Swordsman (Divine Growth Type Currently Trash Level 0) As a trash gear this item gets +1 Def/level and +1MDef/level. This gear is part of set of the swordsman. Set effect with 2 items: +0.5 Overall Tier. Set Effect with 4 items: Hidden Set Effect with 6 items: Hidden Use 5 trash boots to upgrade. Use 1 Magic Crystal to evolve. Already familiar with the process, Corwin spent 1,2 and 5 magic crystals, reducing his total to 1 to get the boots up to iron tier. At common they gained an agility bonus, At Bronze they gained all-stats. They also gained abilities. At common, they could reduce the effect of slow skills by the level of the boots. This meant the slow would last far less long. A slow reduced below level 0 would be ignored, so if Corwin kept his level at or above that of most players this ability would be godly in PvP. At bronze, they could reduce stop and immobilize skills by the level of the boots. At iron, they gained +0.02 Move Speed Tier/level. Move speed tier was a multiplier on basic move speed. A tier 2 player would move twice as fast as a tier 1 player. These boots would gain a tier every 50 levels, meaning that Corwin would likely be the fastest moving player in the game. All of these abilities were quite powerful. Of course, for them to truly matter Corwin would have to equip the boots. After opening the chest, a portal appeared and Corwin used it to leave the divine trial. A slew of announcements went off. Congratulations to player Corwin Swordborn for being the first player to clear a Divine Trial in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding 1 Iron Tier Treasure Chest and 32,000,000 XP. Congratulations to player Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Altaea to clear a Divine Trial. Rewarding 1 Bronze Tier Treasure Chest and 16,000,000 XP. Congratulations to player Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Orleans to clear a Divine Trial. Rewarding 1 Common Tier Treasure Chest and 8,000,000XP. Corwin was slightly disappointed as he preferred the rewards that showered him in gold. Nonetheless, it was possible he could get a lucky break and get something one tier higher than the actual treasure chest. A silver tier recipe would be a dream at this stage, the items he could make with it would sell for a fortune. Even better, items started to use rare materials at Gold Tier, so a silver tier item would need at most uncommon materials and would still be possible to mass produce. Furthermore, chests were linked to a player¡¯s level so whatever item he got would be at the level he was when he opened it. Corwin decided it was worthwhile to hold onto the chests for a while, he could almost double his luck if he got one more upgrade of the ring of hidden attributes after all. Corwin had to walk back to town as his portal was still on cooldown. He finally arrived, and quickly checked if players were selling any skill books he needed. He was unlucky on that front, but couldn¡¯t complain. He went to the blacksmith and bought up all the level 0 and level 1 Trash boots, getting 50 in total. He similarly bought up all the level 0 and level 1 trash rings that were available, getting 20 in total. He upgraded his boots to level 7 and equipped them. Corwin then bought up all the crafting ingredients his recipe could use from all the vendors in town. He rented a private forging room near the smithy and activated his time manipulation skill. Corwin crafted all kinds of items, starting with bronze tier equips and moving on to iron tier equips. Eventually he received another series of messages. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Apprentice Forger. Rewarding with 1 Forger¡¯s Hammer (Iron Tier) and 16,000,000 XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Altaea to reach Apprentice Forger. Rewarding with 1 Forger¡¯s Medallion (Bronze Tier) and 8,000,000 XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Orleans to reach Apprentice Forger. Rewarding with 1 Forger¡¯s Belt (Common Tier) and 4,000,000 XP. Each of the forging items increased forging success rate based on their tier and the tier of the item crafted. Since these items couldn¡¯t be bought, they likely made Corwin the best forger in the game right now, especially considering that he certainly had the most recipes. Corwin switched over to working on amulets and rings and before the time acceleration of his zone was up was rewarded once again.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Apprentice Jeweller. Rewarding with 1 Jeweller¡¯s Tools (Iron Tier) and 16,000,000 XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Altaea to reach Apprentice Jeweller. Rewarding with 1 Jeweller¡¯s Medallion (Bronze Tier) and 8,000,000 XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Orleans to reach Apprentice Jeweller. Rewarding with 1 Jeweller¡¯s Belt (Common Tier) and 4,000,000 XP. These items worked similarly to the forging items. Corwin now had a similar claim to dominating the early game Jeweller profession. He also finally levelled up, reaching an exciting level 7. This let him equip the level 8 gear he was waiting on, including that very exciting silver Cuisse, and let him upgrade his rings and boots to level 8 as well. Corwin continued to craft valuable items right up until the time acceleration stopped, gaining plenty of forging and jewelling experience as well as some regular XP. The regular XP was based on the level of the item, so was a pittance since the items were all level 5. Nonetheless, Corwin was quite happy as he now had the items that would pay for his installments. He just needed an effective plan to sell them. He knew the market demand was too low right now, players hadn¡¯t had enough time to find money and level 5 was too far away for them to spend coin on. But in two days, that would all change. He decided to sell bronze gear first then iron gear soon after, something he thought would maximize his earnings. He was concerned that if he sold iron gear too soon it would accelerate the pace of players dramatically, but it wasn¡¯t his top concern as he remained far ahead. Corwin then used his last two dungeon passes to run hell mode of Grimsbane twice, clearing it easily with his new enhanced gear. The drops were uneventful as no lucky chances were triggered and only 3 recipes dropped all of them leatherworker¡¯s recipes. However, he still got 10 magic crystals for the two runs and that was enough to upgrade the boots of the swordsman to Silver Tier. They gained the ability ¡°All swordsman skills +0.02/level¡±. This was small now but by level 100 it meant his skills could be 2 levels higher than they would be otherwise. The attributes and armor values also doubled, and the durability increased as well. Corwin then decided that leatherworking was the best use of his time even though he was out of time acceleration. He did just enough leatherworking to achieve one last set of announcements. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Apprentice Leatherworker. Rewarding with 1 Leatherworker¡¯s Tools (Iron Tier) and 16,000,000 XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Altaea to reach Apprentice Leatherworker. Rewarding with 1 Leatherworker¡¯s Medallion (Bronze Tier) and 8,000,000 XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Orleans to reach Apprentice Leatherworker. Rewarding with 1 Leatherworker¡¯s Belt (Common Tier) and 4,000,000 XP. The experience was a small gain at this point but the bonuses for the crafting gear would be quite handy. He also wanted to prevent others from getting this 28,000,000XP as that was enough for an instant level 5 and decent progress on level 6. He thought it was unlikely anyone could achieve apprentice level using the level 0 and level 1 recipes sold in novice villages but felt it wasn¡¯t worth taking chances. Corwin also decided to close off the same avenue for potion makers. He wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d stick with that profession long-term but it did seem like a good short-term investment. Hours later, he received a fourth set of profession notices: Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Apprentice Potion Maker. Rewarding with 1 Potion Maker¡¯s Tools (Iron Tier) and 16,000,000 XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Altaea to reach Apprentice Potion Maker. Rewarding with 1 Potion Maker¡¯s Medallion (Bronze Tier) and 8,000,000 XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Orleans to reach Apprentice Potion Maker. Rewarding with 1 Potion Maker¡¯s Belt (Common Tier) and 4,000,000 XP. Lastly, Corwin started to produce light stones out of regular stones. Light stones were like magical torches, they emitted light so that one could function after dark. Since day and night were reversed in Eternity¡¯s wake, this gave players the ability to venture out after monsters during the real day. As John was a professional player, he fully expected to put in more than just sleeping hours into the game, he just didn¡¯t expect he¡¯d have the recipe to do so right from day one. Corwin crafted enough stones to last two players one night, and sent half of them to Kyo, with a message encouraging him to put the hours in. Finally, Corwin checked the time. He had four real life hours till the server went down for the daily patch. Daily patches were unlike the triggered patch earlier, and reflected general changes to the game over time. Sometimes there weren¡¯t any changes, but most of the time, new opportunities were added to the game. Eternity¡¯s Wake changed quickly, and Corwin was looking forward to keeping up with the changes. Seeing as he had plenty of time, Corwin set out to the second divine trial of the swordsman, and prepared to face the array maker¡¯s challenge. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 30% of level 8 Str: 177 (base:5) Agi: 207 (base:35) Con: 177 (base:5) Int: 85 (base:5) Cha: 85 (base:5) Lck: 37 (base:5) Cnc: 37 (base:5) Sta: 37 (base: 5) Def: 545 MDef: 333 HP: 1939/1939 MP: 1295/1295 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plateboots +32Str +32Agi +32Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str RR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+32 All base attributes, +32 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+32 All base attributes, Ignore 1.4 Levels, Ignore 1.4 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 15 Corwin travelled for almost an hour enjoying the quiet countryside. The first ten minutes had plenty of players, but fairly quickly that thinned out. Corwin was happy to see players not exploring very far is it meant his secrets would not be reached any time soon. After an hour of travel Corwin spent 15 minutes searching the cliff face before finding a small hidden cave. Inside the cave was an old spirit at the base of an eleven-step staircase. Corwin figured the last step would be a reward, so he expected to face ten challenges with the challenges getting substantially harder at steps 5 and 10. The spirit explained the challenge. Corwin already knew bits and pieces but the full explanation was helpful. "Each challenge will consist of using an array to suppress a powerful opponent which you must then fight. The better you do with the array the more suppressed the opponent will be and the easier your fight will be. Different arrays can suppress different aspects of opponents, some of them will suppress many aspects. Once you finish drawing an array, the magic of this staircase will hold the array active, while you will be free to move. As you continue the challenge each array will become more technically demanding but more powerful, the opponents will similarly get stronger. Each enemy has had its loot adjusted so it drops array scrolls instead of items. Good luck brave hero." Corwin now understood what he needed to do and smiled. In his past life, he had been known as an Array Swordsman, someone who specialized in arrays in addition to combat. He expected this trial to go smoothly as long as the opponents weren¡¯t too strong. With his strong equipment and powerful array skills, he doubted anything would grow wrong. However, on the first stair was a superior lord monster, and suddenly Corwin wasn¡¯t so sure. He looked at the array formation and saw a basic fighting suppression array which would reduce str, agi and con substantially. Corwin had used more advanced forms of this array in the past and drew upon magical energy before extending the tip of his sword to draw the circles and lines. His MP dropped quickly as he was used to having a much higher pool to draw from and as such he drew the array faster than he would have liked. Nonetheless, he completed it well. *Array Complete, 99% Perfection. 150% of effects applied*. Corwin breathed a sigh of relief, with 150% of the effects applied fighting a superior lord would be much like fighting a lord. Corwin looked his opponent over in more detail as it approached him to engage, having been aggroed by the completion of the array. Lord Zelith, Minor Death Knight, Superior Lord, Level 7 Reduced HP: 40,000/40,000 MP: 30,000/30,000 This still won¡¯t be easy Corwin thought as he used wind charge to counter the death knight¡¯s charge. His swords struck home and he dodged the countering blow. Corwin avoided using any techniques as he fought the Death Knight with advantage, avoiding being hit until he reduced its health to 80%. The death knight glowed red, and prepared to cast it¡¯s health depletion special ability: ¡°Summon Retainer¡±. Corwin used Disrupting Blow, only to see it fail. A pile of bones suddenly appeared on the staircase and Corwin watched it assemble into two skeletons. Corwin chose to kill the skeletons as fast as possible, preferring not to deal with multiple opponents when he could avoid it. Fortunately, with the slow speed of the Death Knight he managed to not get hit. Strangely, the death knight had not used an activated skill this fight. Corwin wondered if the death knight¡¯s skills had attribute minimums it no longer met. He pushed the thought out of his head and focused on combat, lucky to not get hit while distracted. Fairly soon one skeleton fell and the pressure eased substantially. Soon after, another fell and Corwin returned his attentions to the Death Knight. Everything went perfectly until 60% health. The death knight summoned 3 skeletons this time. Each skeleton was identical to the ones he fought before. 4 enemies were a bit much and Corwin would occasionally take a hit. He was able to control who hit him and took damage from the skeletons instead of the boss. His health was reduced to 80% by the time he finished off one skeleton. From that moment, the tension eased. Corwin quickly finished the two remaining skeletons watching his HP slowly climb as time passed. He returned his attentions to the death knight who continued to use only normal attacks.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. By the time Corwin reduced the Death knight to 40% health his health had fully healed. This was a good thing as 4 skeletons were summoned and Corwin was under substantial pressure. Taking hits from 2 skeletons he was down to 60% health by the time he killed one. Corwin potioned and was at 70% health by the time a second skeleton went down. At that point he had stabilized and gained health at a good clip finishing the last two skeletons. He returned his attentions to the boss, wondering what would happen at 20% health. Corwin had healed fully by the time he triggered the bosses berserk. He received a rather worrying alert. *SPECIAL BERSERK TRIGGERED: IGNORES ALL SKILL REQUIREMENTS*. The boss immediately used a powerful skill, stunning word. You have been hit by a level 7 stun. Reduced to level 0 due to effect of boots. You are stunned for 0.1s. Corwin managed to get hit only once by the boss before recovering, and his HP were at a rather comfortable 80% health. Lord Zelith then activated powerful blow. This attack was very damaging but rather slow, Corwin dodged it easily. Finally, the boss attempted to activate what appeared to be a summoning skill, but Corwin used disrupting blow preferring not to find out. Corwin hit the boss with Thunder Slash triggering a knockback. The boss countered by activating ¡®Death Knight¡¯s Charge¡¯ and closed the distance to Corwin in a blink of an eye. His blade came in ferociously quick, and only a quick use of Vanishing steps let Corwin escape damage. The fight continued in this manner, with Corwin needing to use a potion after the second time he was stunned. Fairly soon Corwin as at 70% health as the Death Knight hit 5%. A timer of 20 seconds appeared above the death knight¡¯s head and Corwin didn¡¯t want to find out what would happen at zero seconds. He unleashed all his skills along with regular attacks and the special technique rapid blow. The timer reached a rather comfortable 5 seconds to spare when the death knight fell. Corwin looted the corpse and was rather excited to see that magic crystals were present in addition to the array scroll. Corwin picked up four magic crystals, bringing his total to five. He looked over the scroll excitedly. Use this scroll to learn how to produce the Silver Tier Level 7 Version of the Basic Fighting Suppression Array. Corwin used it immediately and planned on producing some arrays once he got back to town. He rested and mediated recovering his stamina, MP and HP. When it reached full he was immediately ready and stepped onto the second step of the staircase. On it, he saw what appeared to be a powerful wizard and another familiar array. Corwin smiled as the basic magic suppression array seemed to be perfect for this fight. He hoped his mana was enough to complete the more complicated array. He also hoped that the suppression would be enough to seal skills, making the caster a substantially easier opponent. Corwin¡¯s sword started to glow as he channeled his mana into it, and began the first stroke of the array. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 35% of level 8 Str: 177 (base:5) Agi: 207 (base:35) Con: 177 (base:5) Int: 85 (base:5) Cha: 85 (base:5) Lck: 37 (base:5) Cnc: 37 (base:5) Sta: 37 (base: 5) Def: 545 MDef: 333 HP: 1939/1939 MP: 1295/1295 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plateboots +32Str +32Agi +32Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str RR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+32 All base attributes, +32 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+32 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 16 Corwin moved his sword through the air quickly, deftly altering the flow of mana through it. He sighed at his ¡®low¡¯ mana pool and the fact that it rapidly drained. He actually had the highest mana pool in the game at this point, but it was still small compared to his past life. He nonetheless managed to complete the array with a bit of mana to spare. His completion accuracy was 98%, which meant the array would have 145% effectiveness. Corwin saw the wizard preparing to cast a skill and immediately used wind charge closing the distance and slicing his swords home. Before he could consider disrupting blow, the staff hit the ground and the wizard had cast exploding fireball. Corwin sliced the fireball with his offhand sword and it immediately exploded. Both Corwin and the Wizard were hit by the blast and took damage. Corwin¡¯s health fell to 80%. Corwin took the opportunity to look his opponent over and liked what he saw. Alacacier the Wise,Wizard, Superior Lord, Level 7 HP: 21,435/25,000 MP: 50,000/50,000 The fight was going to be quick and explosive. Corwin was disappointed to see a second skill cast, either the boss had three active skills or none of them were suppressed by the falling stats. Corwin decided he was fine with both him and the wizard taking damage from the exploding fireball so he used disrupting blow to cancel this skill and then comboed his thundering slash. He used all his skills and a normal attack to reduce the wizard below 80%, even before exploding fireball was ready for recast. At 80% the wizard cast mana shield and Corwin¡¯s attack started to damage MP instead of HP. Corwin blasted away at the wizard¡¯s MP attacking rapidly and hitting vulnerable areas. After a lucky critical hit the shield shattered and Corwin was back to damaging HP. He hit the wizard with his all his offensive skills except disrupting blow as the wizard once again cast exploding fireball. Corwin slashed the fireball very close to the wizard, and the wizard took more damage from the explosion which dealt Corwin another 10% damage through his parry. Corwin used a health potion, as the wizard fell below 60% and put up another mana shield. Corwin sighed, the fight was taking longer than he thought because of all the shields. He attacked away and brought down the mana shield much more slowly vs the critical hits. While doing so he used disrupting blow to cancel the still unknown spell. A burst of skills brought down the mana shield while Corwin continued to attack. The wizard was down to 43% health before his next exploding fireball which brought Corwin from his recharged full health to 70% and brought the wizard down to just below 40%. Corwin hoped this would be the final mana shield as he didn¡¯t want to deal with mana shield during a berserk. Luckily, Corwin¡¯s hope was answered. Unfortunately, a rather scary berserk appeared. *SPECIAL BERSERK TRIGGERED: IGNORES ALL SKILL REQUIREMENTS. The Superior Lord had another skill and had it back. Corwin didn¡¯t cancel the familiar yet unknown cast animation, saving disrupting blow for what was surely the most powerful skill. He was frustrated when the spell was cast however. The wizard had cast chain lightning, and Corwin was not in a position to dodge. The three strikes all hit bringing Corwin¡¯s health to 20%. Fortunately, his potion was up and he immediately used it. Unfortunately, he wouldn¡¯t heal above 80% by the time that cooldown was up. The fight continued with Corwin grinding down the Wizard¡¯s HP until that 2nd chain lightning was ready. Corwin timed his vanishing steps almost perfectly, but almost wasn¡¯t good enough and he still got hit. His health fell to 50% with the first blow. Luckily, the 2nd and 3rd lightning bolts missed and Corwin thus survived. Wanting to avoid playing this dangerous game more frequently Corwin activated his rapid blow technique and whittled the Wizard¡¯s health down as aggressively as possible. He saved his skill cooldowns for 5% health. All except disrupting blow which was used to counter the berserk spell. Unfortunately, right after the Wizard hit 5% health and triggered his special skill the disrupting blow failed. The wizard cast mana shield, and taking him out before the special skill became hopeless. Corwin attacked furiously doing as much damage as possible. But the shield wouldn¡¯t come down. The timer above the Wizard¡¯s head ticked to zero, and the wizard¡¯s special skill triggered.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. *PULSE RING* A ring of light and heat radiated out from the wizard doing 11% damage to Corwin. Just as quickly another followed, and then another. Corwin was powerless to do anything but keep attacking the mana shield. The 7th pulse hit then the 8th. After the 9th pulse hit Corwin had just 5% life. With the 360 AoE effect the pulses were impossible to dodge. Corwin sighed with disappointment at his impending doom. But nothing happened. The Wizard had run out of mana, and thus had no more pulses left in his ultimate skill. Corwin smiled with satisfaction, and lay into the now unshielded Wizard. With the wizard slowly recovering MP he was able to easily defeat it. Happily comboing out his techniques and skills at the end for practice. He looted the wizard, but did not get a lucky trigger. Instead he found 4 mana crystals bringing his total to nine, and a silver tier level 7 array scroll for the basic magic suppression array. He happily learnt the new technique and with nothing to do with only nine mana crystals he sat down to rest. Corwin half wished these superior lords could drop regular items, imagine being able to kite his character out in full silver gear at this stage in the game. But the other half of Corwin knew array¡¯s weren¡¯t a small thing. Without the special power of the staircase casting an array would freeze a player leaving the vulnerable to attack, but in team fights could be used to suppress powerful summons or elite enemy players. Scrolls for arrays were rare enough that one couldn¡¯t get them without encountering some lucky chance. The hardest of all professions to nurture was an array master, and Corwin was getting a powerful head start with the opportunity to learn ten array scrolls. He hoped the fights wouldn¡¯t get more difficult, while acknowledging his poor luck nearly did him in. Corwin got into a confident positive mood and with his stamina, HP and MP fully recharged he proceeding onto the next stair. He looked at the enemy on the stair. Belephegorite, Junior Named Sloth Demon, Superior Lord, Level 7 HP 100,000/100,000 MP 80,000/80,000 Those stats were terrifying, but Corwin knew that the array he had available would surely be the basic five pentagram demon suppressing array. The five-pentagram array was quite powerful suppressing both all stats and all hidden stats. Corwin fought demons often in his past life and more advanced versions of this array were quite familiar to him. He quickly reviewed what was missing in the basic version and got quite familiar with the parts he had to draw. His sword filled with mana as he began to draw the powerful array. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 40% of level 8 Str: 177 (base:5) Agi: 207 (base:35) Con: 177 (base:5) Int: 85 (base:5) Cha: 85 (base:5) Lck: 37 (base:5) Cnc: 37 (base:5) Sta: 37 (base: 5) Def: 545 MDef: 333 HP: 1939/1939 MP: 1295/1295 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plateboots +32Str +32Agi +32Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str RR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+32 All base attributes, +32 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+32 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 17 The demonic suppression array consisted of a pentagram core formation with a circle at each point. The symbols for the 5 main stats were inscribed in the five circles, while the symbols for the hidden stats were inscribed in the first, third and fifth circles. Corwin drew the array quickly, fluctuating his mana to account for the different strengths of the lines. Drawing the symbols inside the circles was painstaking work and couldn¡¯t be rushed. Fortunately, Corwin¡¯s mana was equal to the task. His familiarity trumped his speed and the array completed with 99% success, getting a delightful 150% suppression effect. Corwin looked at the Demon once more. Belephegorite, Junior Named Sloth Demon, Superior Lord, Level 7 HP 50,000/50,000 MP 40,000/40,000 Corwin smiled a happy smile. For the demon to have 50,000 HP instead of 100,000 it¡¯s constitution had to fall by slightly more than half. Since the demonic suppression array affected all stats equally and so far as he knew Belephegorite had no suppression resistances, this meant he¡¯d be fighting a creature with half the stats of a superior lord. That was roughly the power of a lord, and Corwin had fought plenty of level 7 lords by now. He was only slightly concerned as the ¡®named¡¯ status may indicate extra stats. Regardless, the demon charged in and Corwin¡¯s thoughts became exclusively focused on the fight ahead. He used wind charge and ducked under Belephegorite¡¯s wing attack. He followed up with a thunder slash while the demon clawed at him. The demon quickly continued with a claw and a bite which were met with a dodge and a parry. Corwin was concerned about the fast attacks but seemed to be able to handle them for the moment. He was happy to see no skills being used, a likely sign that suppression had taken them all away. Everything went fine until the demon hit 80% health. The demon used the skill Sloth, which temporarily reduced Corwin¡¯s stamina by 10. This skill was too cruel as normal players would be reduced to the minimum of 1 stamina, and would faint easily from using almost any skills. Even with the ring of hidden attributes Corwin became very concerned. He planned out his fall to 7 stamina and resolved not to use any techniques this battle. He settled in for the long hall. Sure enough, at 60% health, the sloth technique came up again, and Corwin¡¯s stamina fell to 17. Fortunately, Corwin used very little stamina to dodge despite the pace of the demon¡¯s blows. Near 50% health Corwin had a minor lapse in concentration and was hit, reducing his health to 80%. He was otherwise flawless and soon enough the demon reached 40% health. The last sloth hit Corwin and he was down to the expected 7 stamina. Seven stamina was 40% more than a normal player had, but Corwin¡¯s needs were more than that. With seven stamina, he was rather constrained. In fact, his Tier 4 character had over 1000 stamina, and he¡¯d managed to faint from exhaustion with that character. Corwin fought bravely, but was rather nervous about the expected berserk. Just what active skills did Belephegorite have? A few blows later and Corwin was about to find out. Corwin played the guessing game, trying to guess which skill would be the most powerful. He decided demons generally liked progression and that Belephegorite was likely to have three skills. He thus saved disrupting blow for the third skill. The first skill was unfortunately a slow. Corwin began to feel heavy as his agility decreased. It became more exerting to keep up with the Demon¡¯s many attacks and Corwin felt his stamina slowly start to fade.Stolen story; please report. The second skill was another debuff. ¡°Mental Laziness¡± subtracted 10 intelligence, making Corwin fire skills from his limited and rather depleted Mana Pool. This also lowered magic defense, likely setting up a powerful magic attack as the 3rd skill. Fortunately, disrupting blow held and Corwin wouldn¡¯t have to find out what that powerful attack was. Corwin held back his abilities and fought normally letting his MP build up for a burst at the end of the fight. His stamina slowly drained as the demon¡¯s HP went down. He was keeping ahead for now but became rather concerned about what would happen at 5%. At 10%, Corwin was under half stamina, by 5% he was down to roughly one third stamina. While there was no actual indicator, Corwin could feel from experience where he was. When he burst, he received a notification that Pierce had reached level 2. All that remained was the demon¡¯s special ability. Fortunately, the counter that appeared on the Demon¡¯s head was extremely long at 2 minutes. Unfortunately, Belphegorite got more aggressive, upping the pace and intensity of his attacks. Corwin dodged and snuck blows in where he could but the demon¡¯s health bar ticked down rather slowly. Whatever took this long to charge would be extremely powerful and Corwin didn¡¯t want to see it resolve. He reluctantly began to use his techniques, feeling the fearsome drain on his stamina. With his techniques he managed to find more openings and even hit with rapid blows. The demon¡¯s health bar fell quickly but so did Corwin¡¯s stamina. Finally, the timer reached 10 seconds. Corwin felt exhausted, as if he was running on fumes. His abilities came active and he burst the demon down to its last 300 HP just as the timer reached 2 seconds. With no choice Corwin used Rapid Blow and after a quick attack started to faint. The timer reached zero and a blinding flash of light emerged. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 40% of level 8 Str: 177 (base:5) Agi: 207 (base:35) Con: 177 (base:5) Int: 85 (base:5) Cha: 85 (base:5) Lck: 37 (base:5) Cnc: 37 (base:5) Sta: 37 (base: 5) Def: 545 MDef: 333 HP: 1939/1939 MP: 1295/1295 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plateboots +32Str +32Agi +32Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str RR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+32 All base attributes, +32 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+32 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 18 Corwin came too and was surprised by what he saw. He fully expected to be at his respawn point having failed the challenge. He slowly realized the flash of white light was the monster being killed and not the trigger of Belphegorite¡¯s special attack. He¡¯d somehow managed to survive. He checked the time and realized he¡¯d slept for 30 minutes of game time. His stamina wasn¡¯t full and he still felt a bit lightheaded but he was slowly becoming alert. The debuffs to his stamina and intelligence were gone. Corwin looted the demon, hoping for a lucky chance. He wasn¡¯t disappointed. He received eight magic crystals instead of the usual four, bringing his total to a rather happy 17. He also received a level seven gold tier basic pentagram demonic suppression array. While it was only a basic array, any gold tier item or ability would be quite powerful at this stage of the game. With an ally he could protect, Corwin would likely be able to take on more powerful demons going forward. Furthermore, with 17 crystals, Corwin was on the cusp of his first gold item as only three more crystals would produce it. Corwin would then have quite the dilemma as all three items could offer powerful abilities. Would the ring of elements finally offer a combat ability? Were the hidden attributes necessary if another more powerful sloth demon occurred later on? Or was upgrading his boots the right thing to do? Corwin ultimately delayed his decision. Having recovered fully and finished with the looting on this stair, Corwin pushed forward reaching the 4th stair. He looked at his enemy: Firath, Lesser Fire elemental, Superior Lord, Level 7 HP: 120,000/120,000 MP: 50,000/50,000 Elementals were powerful beings but fortunately the four elements array was used to suppress them. The four elements array consisted of a compass with symbols for Fire, Water, Air, and Earth at the North, South, East and West tips respectively. Corwin knew some hidden secrets of this array, to suppress a creature of a specific element the suppression would be more powerful if the opposing element was drawn stronger than the other three elements. This required channeling more mana into that one element while equally balancing the other three. Corwin was equal to the task, finishing the fire element last and draining all his mana into the suppression. Four Elements Array drawn, 99% completion. Hidden Enhancement unlocked. Net result 250% effectiveness. Corwin looked at the result before charging into battle with wind charge. Firath, Lesser Fire elemental, Superior Lord, Level 7 HP: 40,000/40,000 MP: 15,000/15,000 Corwin was impressed with the results but still knew the fire elemental was quite dangerous as elementals often are. He wished he had a water skill as opposing elements would do extra damage. He promptly pushed such thoughts out of his head and centred himself for combat. His charge was successful and his swords dug into the elemental. Unfortunately, the elemental was resistant and the damage wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d hoped. The elemental used the flame sword skill and created a sword of flame on an arm that grew out of its non-humanoid form. The arm began to attack at Corwin, but parry was still effective. Corwin attacked normally, not having any mana left for his skills after using the last drops that had regenerated on wind charge. Fortunately, techniques didn¡¯t cost mana so he used rapid blow to accelerate the pace of the fight. The elemental was quiet on skills and the next skill it tried to use was the same one as before once it was off cooldown. Corwin had the mana saved up for disruptive blow, and used it as he didn¡¯t want to see this thing get more sword arms. Fairly soon the elemental reached 80% health. The elemental underwent a transformation as its flames grew more intense. Corwin could feel the room get hotter as the waves of heat hit him. He¡¯d have to be careful now as clearly this thing would deal a lot of damage. Furthermore, the intense heat was exhausting so Corwin had to stop using techniques and conserve stamina. After what felt like an eternity of saving mana just for disruptive blow, Corwin finally got the elemental to 60%. The temperature increased once more and the core of the elementals flames became purple. Fortunately, the thing still only had one flaming sword and its attacks were easy to dodge. Unfortunately, the temperature of the room started dealing damage, not too much, but enough to basically negate Corwin¡¯s regeneration.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Since he wasn¡¯t getting hit this wasn¡¯t a problem but there was still one more temperature evolution. Corwin suspected he¡¯d need potions to keep up with that one which would limit his margin for error substantially. The predicted scenario came to pass and at 40% HP the interior of the elemental turned bright white. The heat in the room became unbearable and Corwin could feel his skin slowly burning. He downed a potion to regen enough to keep up health wise and pressed onwards. At 20% the fire elemental unlocked its other, more powerful skills with the now predictable berserk from a suppressed enemy. Corwin decided he could no longer afford to disrupt flame sword. He also once again entered a stamina race, using rapid blow to defeat the elemental before it could grow too many arms. This was risky with the temperature, but if he let Firath grow more arms then pretty soon he¡¯d need vanishing steps to dodge and that would be a good deal worse. At 10% health, the fire elementals second skill triggered, and Corwin didn¡¯t disrupt it. *Flame Wave* was cast and a wave of fire passed over Corwin. With the heat of the room being unbearable the flame wave was unusually effective and Corwin had his health reduced to 50%. The third skill was dealt with by disrupting blow. Corwin was unfortunately surprised and dismayed to find the elemental had a fourth skill. Fortunately, his potion cooldown came just before it triggered and his health jumped to 69% when he quickly used it. *Flame Wall* was cast and a giant wall of flame separated Corwin from the elemental. Not wanting to let the elemental burst him down from range, Corwin used Wind charge to go through the flame wall as quickly as possible. By the time he exited he was at 40% health and still on fire. He positioned himself between the fire elemental and the flame wall preventing it from going through the wall again. His health declined to 35% right as he got the elemental to 5%. The elemental froze in place as a timer of 1 minute appeared above its head. Corwin did everything in his power to burst the enemy, his stamina starting to fade to exhaustion as he used rapid blow repeatedly. His health ticked to 30% then 25% then 20%. The elementals health ticked to 3% then 2% then 1%. Finally, at 10% health Corwin defeated the elemental and the flame wall vanished. Corwin wasn¡¯t out of the woods yet as he was still on fire. His health ticked to 5% as he stopped, dropped, and rolled. The flames went out as he checked his health bar. 40 HP were remaining. Corwin sighed and collapsed, resting for over 15 minutes, recovering HP, MP and stamina. He then finally got up and went over to the corpse of the elemental, looting it. He wasn¡¯t lucky, and only got 4 mana crystals and a level 7 silver tier array scroll for the four elements array. Nonetheless, he was happy as he now had an upgrade available as he had 21 crystals. Corwin ultimately decided that his hidden attributes were more important than the two unknown benefits. He upgraded the ring of hidden attributes to gold tier which once again doubled its effects. Invigorated by his enhanced stamina and luck, Corwin pressed onwards, ascending to the fifth stair. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 40% of level 8 Str: 209 (base:5) Agi: 239 (base:35) Con: 209 (base:5) Int: 117 (base:5) Cha: 117 (base:5) Lck: 69 (base:5) Cnc: 69 (base:5) Sta: 69 (base: 5) Def: 577 MDef: 355 HP: 2163/2163 MP: 1519/1519 Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plateboots +32Str +32Agi +32Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str RR: Gold Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+64 All base attributes, +64 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+32 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 1 Chapter 19 The 5th stair had a rather pleasant surprise. No monsters, and no arrays, instead there was just a chest. Corwin opened the chest excitedly, hoping for a good item. Inside was something he, in the moment, valued more than an epic item. The one time use item, lesser mana imbuer. It gave a permanent +1000 to MP. This was exactly what he needed to have enough mana to draw intermediate arrays, and would improve his combat prowess by letting him add more powerful high mana skills (once he found or bought skill books for them). Sure enough, when he reached the sixth step he was expected to draw the intermediate fighting suppression array. Furthermore, his opponent was a greater lord and a full level higher to boot. He looked him over before getting to work. Balroth, the berserker, Level 8 Humanoid Greater Lord. HP: 300,000/300,000 MP: 100,000/100,000 He drew the familiar symbols of the intermediate fighting suppression array, working quickly as Ihe didn¡¯t want to waste any mana. His sword carved out lines of mana in the air, as he mapped the nine concentric circles and inscribed them. Three each for Strength, Constitution and Agility, whose symbols were placed on the outer edge of the circle at equal ninths. A crossed sword and spear were drawn through the circles to complete the array. He completed it with 98% completion, enabling 145% suppression. 145% suppression from an intermediate array was no small thing. He then looked at Balroth, the Berserker. Balroth, the berserker, Level 8 Humanoid Greater Lord. HP: 30,000/30,000 MP: 100,000/100,000 While the array did nothing to hurt mana, the 10x HP drop was exactly what was needed. Greater Lords were designed to be team fights not solo mobs. Even with less HP than any monster he''d faced so far and greatly reduced strength and agility this fight would not be easy. He could only hope the 10x reduction in stats turned off the rather powerful skills that greater lords possess. He didn¡¯t have much time to think as the berserker approached him with his great axe. He used wind charge to close the last few steps and was grateful he still had mana for skills. Corwin''s swords hit home as he dodged a wild slash from the great axe. Fortunately, Balroth continued to execute a wild pattern of normal attacks, focused on strength. Corwin was quite content to dodge and plink away at his HP. At 80% health, the berserker executed ¡°Berserker¡¯s Roar¡± which froze Corwin for 3 seconds as a mental control skill. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t classified as a stun so the boots didn¡¯t reduce the level. Those 3 seconds felt like an eternity as two powerful chops of the axe hit home. Corwin''s HP was down to 20%. He dodged the 3rd chop right as he regained control of my body and quaffed a potion. He waited with Balroth at 61% health for a while, making sure to get my HP to full and get good timing on reducing him to 60%. Corwin dodged his swing and attacked him mid-swing to maximize the time it would take for him to attack. Sure enough, Berserker¡¯s Roar stunned Corwin for 3 seconds again and he was hit once more by 2 wild slashes once more going to 20% health. Fortunately, he had enough time to dodge the third and still had plenty of health potions. Drinking one, he reengaged. Attacking him down to 40% was a simple task, but getting stunned and hit twice wasn¡¯t very fun. Dodging that 3rd attack was rushed, it almost seemed like the berserker was getting faster. This was also costing Corwin a lot of potions. He tried not to worry about anything unrelated to combat as he focused his full attention on his enemy. Corwin saved disrupting blow for when the berserker was down to 20% as sure enough his berserk unlocked his suppressed skills. His first skill was ¡®chain combo¡¯ a rapid series of 5 axe attacks that Corwin had to use vanishing steps to avoid. His second skill was ¡®axe spin¡¯ a powerful AoE that was fortunately stationary. Between parry and a rapid back step Corwin managed to avoid taking damage. The third skill Corwin decided to let through as well, It was a power cleave, which was fortunately easy to dodge.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Corwin knew greater lords tended to have five skills and expecting the berserker to use them in ascending order Corwin had to let the fourth skill through also. It was unfortunately a buff skill making the greater lord stronger and faster. The fifth skill was dealt with through a nice disrupting blow that fortunately succeeded. Corwin fought aggressively, chipping away at the rather low HP of the greater lord. When he used his speed skill at his faster pace Corwin was hit once before he could vanishing steps away. That one hit took 40% of Corwin''s health away, so he knew mistakes could easily be lethal. Fortunately, his power skills were slower and easier to dodge. He imagined that cleave was something that could one shot him should it connect. Corwin hit him to 6% HP after dodging the cleave and was in for a horrible surprise. He was using the buff skill again which meant it could stack. Fortunately, his 2nd stack came on just as he was reduced to 5% HP, meaning that the berserker froze to charge up his power move. Corwin burst out his skills and with the berserker''s low health it couldn¡¯t last the duration of the timer. The berserker collapsed in a white flash, falling to the ground. Corwin paused to catch his breath and was rather relieved to have won the fight. Beating the greater lord was an achievement in and of itself. He looted the corpse, getting 8 mana crystals (9 total), and an iron tier level 8 intermediate fighting suppression array. If one were new to Eternity¡¯s Wake one might have expected a gold tier array from a greater lord. However intermediate arrays are a more powerful category of item, meaning that their rarity is increased. Thus, even a greater lord would only drop iron tier intermediate arrays. Silver and Gold were the products of Ultimate Lords and King class monsters, those were existences one shouldn¡¯t even think about this early in the game. Corwin also checked his notifications. His slash and parry had both reached level 2 during the fight. Finally, having fully recovered, he stepped onto the 7th stair and looked at his opponent. Estrea, Wizard, Level 8, Greater Lord HP 100,000/100,000 MP 300,000/300,000 Corwin shuddered to think what would happen if he had to fight these battles without the powerful suppression arrays. Fortunately, this was an array he knew well. Even more fortunately, Wizards were quite weak if the suppression turned off their abilities, making the first 80% of the health bar straightforward. Corwin smiled as he told himself he could do this. His sword lit up with mana as he channelled the first stroke of the array pattern. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 40% of level 8 Str: 209 (base:5) Agi: 239 (base:35) Con: 209 (base:5) Int: 117 (base:5) Cha: 117 (base:5) Lck: 69 (base:5) Cnc: 69 (base:5) Sta: 69 (base: 5) Def: 577 MDef: 355 HP: 2163/2163 MP: 2295/2295 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Boots +32Str +32Agi +32Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str RR: Gold Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+64 All base attributes, +64 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Silver Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+32 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 20 Corwin traced out the more advanced patterns of the intermediate magic suppression array, obtaining 99% success and getting a 150% reduction. This reduced Estrea¡¯s stats dramatically and turned off all but one of her abilities. As such the fight till 20% HP was straightforward. At 20% HP, her berserk gave her back her skills and Corwin had to face some buffing and debuff magic as well as a powerful offensive arsenal of spells. Fortunately, most of her offensive magic could be dodged so he remained in good shape. At 5%, she started to charge her ultimate ability but the timer was long enough that a burst of skills and techniques made sure it didn¡¯t trigger. Corwin got a lucky loot and ended up with 16 magic crystals and a silver tier level 8 intermediate mana suppression array. With his 25 magic crystals he had a decision to make about upgrading. The ring of elements seemed to have powerful abilities that were rather important to him so Corwin decided to upgrade it. Corwin was absolutely floored by the combat ability that came out. Air Manipulation, Tier 0, Level 0 For the next 5 minutes, gain attack speed +25% and movement speed +50%. 1 hour cooldown. Level does not advance by skill points. Spend 4,000,000 XP to level up. Corwin spent 4,000,000 XP to level the skill and then 16,000,000 XP to level it again. At level 2, it gave +35% attack speed and +70% movement speed for 5 minutes. Corwin hoped that when it advanced tiers it would get a longer duration and/or shorter cooldown but it was still quite a powerful buff. So powerful in fact that it made the next fight unfair. Corwin completed the intermediate demon suppression array and fought a higher tier of sloth demon, who once again had very few abilities while suppressed. The fight went smoothly till 20% but at that point he activated Air Manipulation. The next 5 minutes saw the sloth demon reduced to zero without too much of a challenge. With 50% movement speed it was too easy to dodge and with 25% extra attack speed his damage reached a whole new level, in part because it became harder for the enemies to block his skills and attacks. No lucky loot this time but Corwin ended up with 8 magic crystals and an iron tier level 8 pentagram demon suppression array for his trouble. He decided it was time to hold onto my mana crystals for the new item though so didn¡¯t anticipate getting a 3rd gold item any time soon. The 9th stair was unexpectedly another loot stair. He opened a chest containing a rare water technique, wave chop. Corwin was excited to expand his elemental arsenal and learn a valuable new skill but nervous about just how strong the fire elemental he expected to face next would be. He stepped onto the 10th stair, fully expecting the final boss fight and was absolutely floored by the enemy he faced off against. Not only was it a greater lord, but it was a fire elemental and not a lesser fire elemental. Fire elementals were powerful existences, and facing one at this stage of the game shocked Corwin to the core. Corwin steadied himself and centred all of his focus unto the tip of his sword, drawing the intermediate four elements array with the precision of an expert who knew it well. In the intermediate array there were concentric circles at each point of the compass. The number of concentric circles varied based on how one wanted to manipulate the array, but a minimum of three were needed. He drew three circles for each non-water element, and drew a full 9 for water. Corwin then used his mana to fill each circle on the water element exploiting the secret trick of this array he knew before. His intense effort was rewarded by a favorable alert. 100% completion achieved, array has 175% effectiveness. Bonus activated array gets an addition 125% effectiveness. Corwin smiled wholeheartedly. A 300% effectiveness intermediate array would provide an extremely effective reduction in stats. Sure enough, the fire elemental was easy to fight and had only one skill which Corwin regularly used disrupting blow on. The room got hotter as the elemental lost 20% health ticks, and Corwin started to have less regen, then no regen, then needed a potion to keep up. The elemental''s berserk brought a whole plethora of powerful skills online, but having patiently waited on the previous stair, Corwin''s Air Manipulation was off cooldown so he had his own super speed to deal with it. Nonetheless, several AoE¡¯s attacked Corwin''s HP to low life, and he had to use a potion to get through a flame wall. At 5% health, the flame elemental triggered its ultimate and a countdown appeared along with the word Nova. Nova was a dangerous self-destruction technique of powerful flame-based enemies. If it triggered Corwin had no chance of surviving. Fortunately, he had his skills saved up in addition to still having the ring active and his techniques available. Had the fire elemental not been severely weakened by the array, killing it fast enough would just be a fantasy. As it was, Corwin had 5 seconds to spare, largely due to the increased effectiveness of wave chop.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Corwin looted the enemy, getting 16 mana crystals and a silver tier level 8 four elements intermediate suppression array scroll for his troubles. This was quite exciting loot and Corwin looked forward to using it in the future. Corwin stepped onto the last stair and the spirit appeared before him. The spirit offered a choice of three rewards. The first was a basic attributes elixir, usable only once, that would increase all basic attributes by 20. The second was a basic hidden attributes elixir, usable only once, that would increase all hidden attributes by 20. The last was a mystery box. Normally it would be quite difficult to pass up a hidden attributes elixir but between the ring of hidden attributes already giving Corwin massive buffs to his hidden stats and his foreknowledge of what was in the mystery box he didn¡¯t have too much of a dilemma. Corwin quickly opened the mystery box, revealing a special item type, one he hadn¡¯t found a single copy of to this point in the game. Corwin evolved it 4 times for 1,2,5, and 10 crystals respectively, leaving him with 11 crystals. Helm of the Swordsman (Growth Type Divine Item, Silver Level 0) Def: 16/level MDef: 16/level +4 Agi/level +4 Str/level +4Con/level Reduce the level of mind-altering skills by the level of the helm (Common) Reduce the level of mind-altering techniques by the level of the helm (Bronze) Improve Mental State Tier by 0.02 levels/level (Iron) All Swordsman skills +0.02 levels/level (Silver) It was definitely a powerful item, but the rarity of helms in Orleans meant he¡¯d need to place an expensive custom order and wait for it to be completed, or perhaps find a crafting recipe for a helm. Corwin had enough gold and getting an entirely new item to add to his person would be quite valuable so he decided it might be worthwhile. Corwin thanked the spirit for the honor of the trial and expressed his gratitude for being found worthy as well as for the generous reward. He then equipped the helmet in front of it with a smile. Corwin''s politeness was rewarded as its reputation improved from neutral to polite. He didn¡¯t think it was likely he¡¯d ever encounter this spirit again, but he still liked being friendly regardless of the advantages. Having now achieved the fourth growth item, Corwin headed back to town with a spring in his step. He got there and immediately placed a special order for 50 trash level 0 helms. Custom equipment cost a minimum of 1 gold each, so he reluctantly parted with 50 gold for his troubles. Immediately after placing his order, it was time to log out for the daily patch. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 60% of level 8 Str: 273 (base:5) Agi: 303 (base:35) Con: 273 (base:5) Int: 181 (base:5) Cha: 181 (base:5) Lck: 69 (base:5) Cnc: 69 (base:5) Sta: 69 (base: 5) Def: 609 MDef: 387 HP: 2611/2611 MP: 2967/2967 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Boots +32Str +32Agi +32Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str H: Silver Tier Level 0 Helm 0 Def, 0 MDef durability 5/5 Requirements: 0 Str RR: Gold Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+64 All base attributes, +64 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Gold Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+64 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 2 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Interlude 2 John woke up from the game excitedly. He had already accomplished more than he thought possible. He checked the website for the daily level charts which showed breakdowns by world, continent, and kingdom for the top 100 levellers. In the past, the highest level on day 1 was level 3. Corwin was the leading character in the world, but surprisingly Edward¡¯s level four was only 3rd. Someone else was level five. That character, Beowulf, was in the Denova Kingdom. Just who was Beowulf? Was it possible someone else had reincarnated just like him? Or was this some strange unpredictable butterfly effect? For the moment, John was content to avoid Beowulf as they rated to be far away for quite some time, but he decided to keep an eye on the journey of this potential rival. John also reviewed the patch notes which included the opening of the auction houses for trading items within an entire kingdom, as well as the real money exchange system. In Eternity¡¯s Wake, the company did not sell money instead only allowing players to sell money they had earned to each other while taking a 10% cut. Interestingly, the AI had also patched divine trials to prevent teleportation out of the trial by any skill, technique or item. John was grateful the loophole hadn¡¯t been closed before, as he would have failed his trial without that cheat. John analyzed his recent play, disappointed with himself for some basic mistakes. Not buying health potions earlier could have really hurt him. Similarly, he had forgotten to upgrade the ring of space before using it, and this cost him time as it might have had longer duration and/or shorter cooldown. The presence of this Beowulf lowered his margin for error, after all if there was one, maybe there were others like him. Since items could only be sold in a kingdom and no-one in Orleans was level 5 yet, John knew he could hold off on selling gear. He also knew he wanted to not sell currency until he made his gold make more gold through crafting.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. John talked to Edward about the Verdure Kingdom, which had multiple level 3 characters, something John wasn¡¯t sure had happened before. Despite having only one of those level 3 characters, the guild of sorrows was a bullying presence, threatening characters and using PvP to take items extensively. Edward avoided trouble by avoiding attention: using a cloak and not selling anything that would be worth taking. Edward wanted to change that, but John urged him to be patient. While Edward¡¯s levelling speed was impressive, John didn¡¯t expect that Kyo could take on large numbers of enemies, even with a bit of level suppression. At level 5, that might change with the huge uptick in gear that awaited him. Instead, John expected Edward to try and get the kingdom and continent bonuses for the first Chieftain and first hell mode dungeon raid, hopefully getting him a good portion of the way to level 6 as well as some handy spending money. There was an alert in Verdure about someone clearing a divine trial, unfortunately none of the divine trials in Verdure had ended up on the forums so John couldn¡¯t help Edward find them in the early game. Regardless, right now success in the game was about levelling and gear and John wanted Edward to stay focused on those two things. John thought about his plans and decided his time was quite limited. He wanted to be able to sell good gear to two kingdoms, Orleans to pay for his massive teleport and Verdure to pay off his gaming capsules. This meant he needed to be quick about getting the remaining growth items if he waited too long guilds wouldn¡¯t pay top coin for items they were already getting in hell mode. John wondered if Beowulf managed to clear hell mode, with the kingdom bonus taken he¡¯d have a hard time of it since he¡¯d get fewer extra passes but it was still possible. Would someone have high level gear selling before he wanted to? John sighed, he only hoped Beowulf didn¡¯t plan on teleporting. John did some quick exercises and waited for the moment to log back on. It arrived fairly quickly. 3 ¡­ 2 ¡­ 1 ... Game Start. Chapter 21 Currently, while the patch was applied the world still ran just inaccessible to players. This meant 3 hours passed in-game during the patch, and Corwin¡¯s order at the smithy was now ready. He instantly raised his helmet to level 8, saving 10 helmets for future levelling. He knew 40g was a waste for these trash items, but he¡¯d pay it again for the extra strength. Time was now of the essence. Currently, the third princess of Orleans, Medea Orleans, was travelling by carriage to Avignguard on Royal Business. Her carriage was going to be waylaid by bandits looking for money and a ransom. Rescuing her would earn a royal favor, which could be used to claim an item from the Kingdom treasury. This was a quest that could result in growth equipment for any class. The bandit attack happened in 2 hours and it would take 1 hour to travel to where the carriage was. The bandits were low-levelled but the princess was without her customary escort due to the unofficial nature of her excursion. Because the bandits were low-levelled, someone else might complete this quest, after all someone did in a different timeline. Corwin planned to arrive early and scout the area out so he could complete the quest as soon as it existed. This left him with about half an hour to spare and he used it to search the stalls, and the new auction house for all the array ingredients he could find. Unfortunately, arrays required some uncommon and rare ingredients so none were fully available. Corwin also bought up all the crafting ingredients he could get his hands on for the bronze and iron items he planned to make his fortune on. He also found someone selling an uncommon skill book Swordsmanship for 5 gold. Swordsmanship was a swordsman passive that raised all sword damage by 1% at Tier 0, Level 0. Passives were hard to level since they didn¡¯t get SP from using the skill and instead only levelled up slowly over time, or from earning SP that could be applied to any skill. Corwin bought the skill book and learnt the skill, knowing that over time this could rise to a significant damage boost. Finally, it was time to set out. This time the path was southwards, through some scenic woods. Corwin was using a light stone and the woods had a pretty haunting quality to them. It was autumn, and the stone provided just enough light to make out the colors on the trees. Fortunately, no monsters were out on the roads and Corwin was not delayed. When he arrived near where the bandit ambush would occur he found something unexpected. Another cloaked player was already here. Did someone know of the ambush in advance? What could he do now. Corwin contemplated killing the player. Would the bandit ambush still occur without the player here to intercept? What if it was from a quest? Was it worth the risk? Corwin decided he wouldn¡¯t attack the player until he could see or hear the bandit attack. Once the attack was initiated he should be able to take over the quest with the player disposed of. He just hoped he¡¯d be quick enough to do it out of sight of the caravan, attacking their rescuer would not be looked on kindly. Nonetheless, in Eternity¡¯s Wake, if the player who owned the quest participated in the rescue and survived, they¡¯d be the one to get the rewards. Taking over a quest was only possible if the player whose quest it was died in the attempt, or had fled the scene. Corwin was usually a nice guy and felt a bit bad about his bloodthirstiness here, but he wasn¡¯t about to let a growth equipment escape. This was especially true since he knew the equipment the royal treasury held was the main hand sword, possibly the most important growth equipment for a swordsman. Corwin did his best to use his natural stealth to conceal himself and waited for the quest to trigger. 15 minutes later, he heard the sounds of bandits attacking. He activated wind charge and engaged the player who had just started to move towards the attack from behind. The thunder slash follow-up was enough to kill, leading to the player dropping an item, and more importantly taking them out of the quest. Corwin picked up the dropped armor, stashing it in his inventory as he rushed towards the caravan. The bandits were basically fodder for him at this point and each one fell to a single skill. Unfortunately, they had numbers, and while he dealt with one side the bandits from the other side had reached the princesses carriage. As one of them grabbed her arm and worked to try the door open Corwin could only activate Air Manipulation and Wind Charge and hope his speed would be enough.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The door flew open and the bandit moved to hold a sword to the princess¡¯s neck. Just as it touched it, he turned into a flash of white light. Corwin quickly closed the door and resumed fighting. Nothing else eventful happened and Corwin fought off the bandits, capturing the last one standing to have available for information. With that bandit disarmed and restrained he approached the caravan and dropped to one knee. ¡°This swordsman greets the honorable princess.¡± Corwin announced in the customary fashion of the kingdom. ¡°Arise, brave hero.¡± Medea quickly replied. Sensing her comfort with dropping formality Corwin risked a more forward tone. ¡°Are you alright, Princess?¡± ¡°Yes. Thanks to you.¡± She started before continuing: ¡°I have business in Avignguard today but will be returning to Edencourt tomorrow. If you wish, you can accompany my carriage to receive a reward in the capital. I unfortunately have nothing suitable to give on my person.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be honored princess. Would you allow me the honor of escorting you to the city gates before I accompany your carriage to capital?¡± Corwin was careful with his words, not wanting to imply anything more than the princess had said. ¡°That would be most welcome, I had thought secrecy my shield, but have stumbled upon the most unfortunate encounter in these bandits. I feel safer with you already brave hero.¡± Corwin received an alert that his reputation with the princess had grown to Friendly. He was happy the exchange went so well, in the back of his mind he had been worried about the princess thinking the encounter a setup. There was nonetheless, a hitch in the plans. To enter a city Corwin needed to be level 10. This meant in addition to what he needed to do in Avignguard before leaving, he needed to get three levels, one of which was a big step up. Level 10 required substantially more experience than the normal progression, just like level 5 had before. Corwin decided to worry about the levels last, after all there were other quests and trials he needed to secure. This time he had to deal with a player, that meant people were close. Could he still get all the items he needed? After arriving in Avignguard, Corwin used space manipulation to teleport back to Colmar. A quick trip through the shops and auction houses found only some crafting ingredients. Corwin hadn¡¯t wanted to do this so early, but he knew that as he was leaving Avignguard there won¡¯t be a choice. Corwin prepared for what was likely to be the most difficult encounter to date, a class two divine trial. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 60% of level 8 Str: 305 (base:5) Agi: 335 (base:35) Con: 305 (base:5) Int: 181 (base:5) Cha: 181 (base:5) Lck: 69 (base:5) Cnc: 69 (base:5) Sta: 69 (base: 5) Def: 641 MDef: 387 HP: 2835/2835 MP: 2967/2967 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Boots +32Str +32Agi +32Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str H: Silver Tier Level 8 Helm, +32 Str, +32 Agi, +32 Con 128 Def, 128MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 64Str 0 Def, 0 MDef durability 5/5 Requirements: 0 Str RR: Gold Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+64 All base attributes, +64 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Gold Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+64 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 2 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 22 The class two divine trial was located two hours west of Colmar. This headed out of the flatlands towards a mountain range. In that mountain range, was a cave. And in that cave was a portal gate. After much effort, Corwin found the right cave and saw the portal gate. Two rainbow marks symbolized the difficulty of the trial, compared to the previous gates which had a single mark. Corwin looked over his new gear and tried to convince himself that he¡¯d improved enough. Corwin was honestly more nervous about this step of acquiring gear than any step that had come to pass so far in his plan. He entered the trial and encountered a rather intimidating 99 step staircase. Steps 1-4 had elites, and step 5 had a reward chest which gave 2 gold. Steps 6-9 had level 8 elites, then another reward chest which gave 3 gold. Steps 11-14 had level 9 elites, step 15 had yet another reward chest, this one giving a full 5 gold. Steps 16-20 had level 10 elites, and step 20 had a reward chest giving 10 gold. The pattern repeated with special elites, and Corwin reached the 40th step without much difficulty. Starting on step 41, the enemies became chieftains. These were the first enemies to drop loot in the entire trial, as each chieftain dropped a mana crystal. The first reward chest was also exciting, as it didn¡¯t contain gold anymore but instead had a recipe for a level 7 iron-tier, leather chest armor. The level 8 chieftains were also straightforward, and Corwin reached 19 crystals. The reward chest had a level 8 iron-tier, cloth leg armor. Even with a touch of level suppression, the level 9 chieftains were fodder before Corwin¡¯s enhanced stats. Upon defeating the first one he got his 20th mana crystal and upgraded his helm to gold tier. In addition to doubling in Def, MDef and attributes, the helm got a new ability. Increase mana regeneration rate by 5%/level. It seemed small now, but doubling his mana regen by level 20 was a powerful ability. Corwin would be able to support an even larger arsenal of skills now. Corwin defeated the 3 remaining level 9 chieftains, levelling up parry to level 2 along the way. He opened the reward chest, getting a rare level 9 iron-tier plate helm for his trouble. At level 10, the chieftains had 1.4 levels of suppression, which wasn¡¯t enough to make them much of a threat. Corwin plowed through and reached the 60th step. On the 60th step there was a special reward for beating the chieftain stage of the trial. Corwin opened a magic crystal chest, and received 10 extra magic crystals, bringing his total to 17. Corwin fought lords next, and no longer found them to be much of a challenge, he quickly went through the first 2 level 7 lords and got his crystal count to 21. He then upgraded his cuisse to gold-tier enjoying the healthy boost in Def, MDef, and attributes. The boots also gained a new ability, which was ¡®Reduce all agility drain effects by the level of these boots.¡¯ Agility drain could come from array¡¯s or special abilities. Corwin¡¯s fighting style most depended on his speed and having it become semi-immune to many forms of reduction was a huge benefit. It mattered most for guild wars, where arrays were often used to attempt to suppress powerful individuals. Corwin was happy with his upgraded stats and abilities and proceeded to crush the remaining level 7 lords even more easily. He opened a reward chest and received a level 7 silver tier quarterstaff. Getting silver gear this early in the trial made Corwin very excited. If the pattern continued, perhaps the last four reward chests might have gold gear. Corwin fought onwards, excited that even the level 8 lords weren¡¯t a match for him. He accumulated crystals as he went getting his total to 13 by the end of those lords. A level 8 silver tier spear was retrieved from a reward chest and Corwin continued to climb the stairs. The level 9 lords were a bit slower to kill because of level suppression but still weren¡¯t a match. His crystals reached 21, but he needed 50 to upgrade anything new. A level 9 silver-tier shortbow was in the chest. Corwin was shocked by his power even as he faced the level 10 lords. The kind of fight that would have killed him just hours earlier was now easy. Even 1.4 levels of suppression didn¡¯t help the lords as Corwin dispatched them. He got up to 29 crystals and opened the special reward chest on the 80th stair. Inside was a silver-tier level 10 recipe for an amulet. Corwin was excited to be able to make that one, but slightly disappointed the special reward chest didn¡¯t get a lucky strike. Gold tier recipes were enough to salivate over as they¡¯d make the owner a small fortune at this stage of the game. The 81st step arrived, and it contained both good news and bad news. The bad news was that Corwin faced a superior lord. The good news is that it was 5th level. Everything went fine until berserk mode when Corwin finally found himself forced to use his ring of air. He¡¯d have to wait on each stair to let the cooldown recharge and his patience was sorely tested as his climb of the staircase slowed. Corwin dispatched the remaining 3 level 5 superior lords with ease. Unfortunately, all the lords dropped were mana crystals, but fortunately the 4 each from the superior lords had brought Corwin¡¯s total to 45. He needed 50 mana crystals to upgrade any of his growth tier items to epic, he was so close he could taste it. He wanted to upgrade the ring of hidden attributes for the luck and stamina. The extra concentration would be valuable if he found a technique tablet, but such things were almost non-existent in the early game.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Corwin climbed to the 85th stair and was both elated and disappointed by the reward chest. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t a gold tier chest so gold recipes wouldn¡¯t be happening. But, it was a magic crystal chest and a lucky burst meant there were 20 crystals inside. Corwin immediately went down to 15 crystals and got the ring of hidden attributes to epic. Collapse and restraint were no longer words in his vocabulary when it came to stamina. His staying power showed when he faced each of the level 6 superior lords, getting another 16 mana crystals for his trouble. His ability to repeat rapid blow endlessly at low stamina made him unafraid of his enemies getting off their ultimate skill. Admittedly, it was a little close with the higher HP that level 6 superior lords had. The 90th stair had another magic crystal chest, this one with 10 crystals inside. On the 91st stair was a level 7 superior lord, and this was a difficult fight. Corwin barely killed it before its ultimate move came off. The 92nd stair was similar. On the 93rd stair Corwin was hit by part of an ultimate move before killing his enemy during its execution. Fortunately, he had reached 53 crystals and was ready for a 2nd piece of epic gear. He still favored his rings and was excited to see what was available from the ring of elements. He upgraded it and in addition to the increased stats he had a new earth ability. Earth Manipulation ¨C Special, Tier 0, Level 0. For a 5 second duration, reduce the level of all attacks attacking you by 0.2 levels/level. For each multiple of 50 levels instead reduce the tier of all attacks attacking you by 1 tier. Requires 4,000,000 XP to upgrade. Cooldown 1 hour. At level 70, it would reduce a skill by 1 tier and 4 levels for instance. This ability was quite powerful because it could potentially reduce a skill to negative level or negative tier, either of which would result in zero damage. Unfortunately, level 0 damage skills could still pack quite a wallop so this wasn¡¯t by any means a perfect solution. Still it did offer some fairly powerful damage mitigation, as enemies tended to have 1 level in their skills for every 5 levels (rounded down). The 94th stair broke the pattern with a reward chest, this one had a lesser HP embuer, giving a permanent bonus of 1,000 HP. Corwin used it happily, and was excited at his increased survivability. On the 95th stair he faced a level 8 superior lord. This time he didn¡¯t have a chance at stopping the ultimate and instead had to endure it. With his Earth Manipulation and higher HP, he survived on 20% health and finished the enemy off while it was in a weakened state after its special move. The 96th stair had a very similar outcome. The 97th stair had a reward chest, this one giving a basic attributes elixir. Corwin drank it happily and gained +20 to each of his attributes permanently. The 99th stair had his divine growth item. So it all came down to the 98th stair, the final boss. Corwin stepped onto the stair and looked his opponent over. Balthazar Summoner, Superior Lord, Level 9 HP: 50,000/50,000 MP: 300,000/300,000 Summoners were dangerous opponents as they had regular skills that would add mobs. Corwin needed to be brutally efficient to make sure he didn¡¯t get swarmed. He focused on the combat ahead while executing wind charge to initiate the fight. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 7: 99% of level 8 Str: 497 (base:25) Agi: 527 (base:55) Con: 497 (base:25) Int: 281 (base:25) Cha: 281 (base:25) Lck: 133 (base:5) Cnc: 133 (base:5) Sta: 133 (base: 5) Def: 1249 MDef: 913 HP:5179/5179 (base: 1000) MP:3667/3667 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Iron Tier, Level 7 Shortsword, +14 Str, +14Agi, +14 Con Base Damage 42-49, Durability 25/25, Requirements: 42 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Gold Tier Level 8 Plate Boots +64Str +64Agi +64Con 256 Def, 256MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 128Str H: Gold Tier Level 8 Helm, +64 Str, +64 Agi, +64 Con 256 Def, 256MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 128Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+128 All base attributes, +128 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+128 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 2 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 1 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 23 Corwin charged in and attacked as the summoner cast his first skill. Two goblins appeared, both of them elite tier enemies. Corwin switched to targeting the first goblin as he dodged their blows and the summoners staff. Corwin had dispatched one goblin when the second summoning skill went off. The summoner had summoned a single special elite monster, a dark unicorn. Corwin finished off the last goblin and switched targets to the dark unicorn as the summoner¡¯s third skill went active. Corwin had already committed to saving disrupting blow until he knew what each skill did. This had risks, but he didn¡¯t want to use disrupting blow on what wasn¡¯t the most dangerous summon. The unicorn was down to 70% health when the summoner cast ¡®haste allies¡¯ accelerating the speed of both the summoner and the unicorn. Corwin had brought the unicorn to 35% health when the next summon skill arrived. The summoner had summoned a goblin chieftain, an actual chieftain monster. Corwin sighed and worked to finish off the unicorn as fast as possible. It died just as the summoner cast its last skill. ¡®Blessing of the summoner¡¯ was a massive buff that increased, Str, Agi, Con and gave a damage shield. Corwin was glad he had waited as he would have guessed wrong and stopped the summoners last skill with disrupting blow. Corwin¡¯s plan was now to kill off the goblin chieftain as quickly as possible and use disrupting blow to prevent the summoner from summoning addition goblin chieftains. He was convinced he could manage the buffs even if they landed on special elite monsters. Corwin burst out his skills and managed to crack through the shield from the special skill. He continued to dodge the chieftain¡¯s attacks and got the chieftain to 50% health by the time two goblins were summoned. Not happy with his pace Corwin started to use rapid blow. He killed off the goblin chieftain just as the dark unicorn was summoned. Deciding he wanted to avoid splitting his attention Corwin next focused down a goblin. It died, and Corwin continued on a 2nd goblin, reducing it to 50% health before ¡®haste allies¡¯ was cast. The faster goblin and unicorn were a bit of a threat, but Corwin managed to kill the goblin without getting hit. He attacked the unicorn while keeping a close eye on the summoner, interrupting the summon chieftain spell before finishing off the unicorn. With no summons alive, the summoner was forced to save its buff spell. Fairly soon, the summoner was at 85% health and Corwin was handling two buffed goblins. He dispatched those, and the unicorn that followed, before focusing on the summoner, reducing it to 81% health. Corwin waited for the summoner to use its buff skill before hitting it down to 80% health. Sure enough at 80% health it used a special summon, summoning Shamshaw, a lord class goblin. Corwin got his enemies to line up in the AoE radius for Thunder Slash and hit them all. He continued with a wave chop hitting multiple opponents as well. He focused down the goblins while dodging the lord. Unfortunately, he had lost track of the summoner at this point in the fight and took a rather nasty staff blow to the head. The good news was no stun, the bad news was his health was down to 60% from a critical hit. Corwin used a potion and continued to kill goblins, getting them both dead before the unicorn was summoned. Corwin knew he needed to save the ring of elements ability for later as the berserk was likely to be very dangerous. As such, he had no choice but to commit to fighting a hasted lord. Corwin burst down the Dark Unicorn, hitting the lord as well whenever he had an AoE skill that could target both. Fairly soon, the lord was at 80% health. Fortunately, summons didn¡¯t generally have health loss skills or berserk triggers, and this one was no exception. The haste spell was cast and Corwin focused the lord, starting to use vanishing steps and rapid blow. The lord was at 40% health before Corwin disrupted summoning the goblin chieftain. Corwin burst the lord down to 10% health, unfortunately not killing it before blessing of the summoner. After blessing of the summoner, the lord fought like a superior lord. Its enhanced attributes and haste made it speedy and challenging, as Corwin had to dodge the summoner¡¯s staff as well. Opponents that were easy in one-on-ones could be tricky in multiple opponent combat. Nonetheless, Corwin aggressively used Rapid Blow and broke the shield. Two goblins were summoned into the fight, but Corwin remained focused on the lord. Four enemies were too much to keep track of when two of them were such high tier and the goblins began to chip away at Corwin¡¯s health. Fortunately, elites didn¡¯t deal too much damage to his much higher HP total and he took the damage while fighting the superior lord. Finally, a burst of skills felled the lord. Unfortunately, before Corwin could deal with the goblins a Dark Unicorn was summoned. Corwin continued to chip away at the additional monsters, trying to get ahead of the curve. He did so by the time blessing of the summoner was up and started to focus on bursting the summoner down. Once again, he waited for blessing of the summoner to trigger on the 2 goblins and then burst the summoner below 60% health. Once again the summoner summoned a lord class monster. Corwin engaged in the long grindy fight, focusing the lord down while taking hits from the goblins and eventually from a dark unicorn as well. The lord fell, this time just before blessing of the summoner and Corwin had to deal with hasted, blessed elites and special elites. His health was down to 40% from that burst, but his potion was off cooldown which improved things considerably. Furthermore, without the lord pressuring him, he was no longer hit. Breaking the shields from blessing took time and he could only kill one goblin before two more joined the fight. Fortunately, those unshielded goblins fell quickly. The shielded one was slain as well, just as a 2nd dark unicorn joined the fray. Keeping ahead of the summons was quite a challenge, but fortunately one Corwin was equal to for the moment. Eventually Corwin brought down both Unicorns, but not before the 2nd one received blessing of the summoner. This left two unblessed goblins up, which Corwin slayed then brought the summoner to 40% health, once more bringing a goblin lord to the field. Corwin thought about using disrupting blow here but knew it had a fairly low chance of success and didn¡¯t want to risk facing a lord and a chieftain at once. Unfortunately, while he was bursting down the hasted lord the summoner began to summon a chieftain and disrupting blow failed.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Corwin faced a lord, a chieftain and the summoner, and the lord and summoner were hasted. This was an extremely dangerous situation that pushed Corwin to the limits. He started to take hits from the chieftain while his health fell. He continued to burst down the lord, hoping he could somehow defeat it before blessing of the summoner. His commitment to aggression resulted in his health falling to 20% while the lord class monster reached 5% health. The cast animation began for blessing of the summoner and Corwin attacked as fast as he could with rapid blow. It wasn¡¯t quite enough and the lord class monster was blessed at 1% health. Corwin¡¯s health fell to 10% while he whittled away at the shield. He was forced to go more defensive and use vanishing steps regularly to stay alive. He burst the shield just before the two goblins were summoned. His potion was off cooldown, so he healed and then rapidly burst the lord to the ground. This stabilized the situation enough that he could focus on the chieftain. He wanted to kill the thing before it got haste, but unfortunately didn¡¯t have enough time. Fairly soon Corwin was swarmed by 2 goblins a chieftain and a dark unicorn, all of whom had haste. The goblins began to connect chipping away at Corwin¡¯s health which had only risen to 35%. Corwin slayed the chieftain by the time his health had fallen to 10%, then took the opportunity to disrupting blow the summoner. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t fail twice in a row. Corwin was able to stabilize and get ahead of the curve. His life slowly rose, reaching 80% before he had an opportunity to burst the summoner down to 20%. At this point the summoner activated its berserk skill, an attack summon ¡®Blade of the Goblin God¡¯. A portal opened in the sky through which a giant sword came out. Sword light flashed as the blade flew towards Corwin. Corwin activated thunder slash, then parry and earth manipulation trying desperately to control the attack. It nonetheless broke through, and Corwin¡¯s health rapidly fell, stabilizing at 5%. Breathing a sigh of relief, Corwin re-engaged the summoner, switching his focus to each of its summons as they came up. There was no real pressure even though disrupting blow failed once. At 5% health, the summoner started its special ability. Corwin didn¡¯t want to find out what it was and activated ring of air, all his skills and techniques and went full aggro on the summoner. Unfortunately, the special ability had a very short cooldown and the summoner was still at 1% health when it activated. A blinding white portal appeared in the sky, as the power move began to activate ¡°Spears of the Goblin god¡± had been cast. Corwin barely survived one god blow and wasn¡¯t about to survive multiple so he continued to attack the summoner. The summoner was down to a mere 500 health when the first spear fell. Corwin dropped to 2% health despite parrying. Defending himself left him with no window to attack, and the 2nd spear would surely be fatal. Was this his limit? Suddenly the portal collapse in on itself. Corwin looked at the summoner once again, it¡¯s mana was down to zero, and the skill had terminated early. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the long grind had made the end of the fight easier. Without the spears he had no worries and quickly landed a final blow to slay the summoner. He heard a familiar ding as he advanced to level 8, continuing to put his points in agility. He got a rare double lucky trigger on loot, but unfortunately there weren¡¯t any items besides mana crystals. The double trigger resulted in 12 mana crystals bringing Corwin¡¯s total to 19, 1 more than he needed for 4 upgrades of the new item that awaited him on the next stair. Corwin decided to rest to full and wait for the cooldown on the ring, just in case there was something funny on the last stair. He then climbed up to the stair and encountered the spirit. The rewards for the divine trial was a choice of three objects: the intermediate attributes potion (+50 all basic attributes), the intermediate hidden attributes potion (+50 all hidden attributes) or the mystery box. Corwin briefly hesitated as 50 luck, 50 stamina and 50 comprehension was a huge bonus. But ultimately, he knew he wanted the growth tier item and so he opened the mystery box. Offhand shortsword of the Swordsman. Divine Tier Growth Equipment ¨C Currently Trash Level 0 5-10 damage, 5/5 durability. 5 trash offhand swords to upgrade, 1 magic crystal to evolve. Corwin immediately upgraded the sword 4 times, and 4 skills came out as well as some bonus attributes. Sword of Defense: Adds +1 Def per point of maximum attack Sword of Anti-magic: Adds +1 MDef per point of minimum attack Sword of the Expert: Adds +0.02/levels to all swordsman skills per level of the sword. Firm Grip: Reduce the level of any disarm skill or technique used on the sword by the level of the sword. Corwin headed back to town and bought 50 trash offhand level 0 and level 1 swords, feeding 45 of them to the offhand sword. He then equipped his level 9 sword, ecstatic at the increase in power. He checked his notifications and was excited to see that double slash had risen to level 2. Unfortunately, it was hard to level rare skills, and they were all still at level 1. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 8: 26% of level 9 Str: 535(base:25) Agi: 527 (base:60) Con: 535 (base:25) Int: 297 (base:25) Cha: 297 (base:25) Lck: 133 (base:5) Cnc: 133 (base:5) Sta: 133 (base: 5) Def: 1327 MDef: 1010 HP:6080/6080 (base: 1000) MP:4176/4176 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Silver Tier Level 9 Shortsword +36Str, +36Agi, +36 Con Base Damage 81-90, Def 90 MDef 81, Durability 72/72, Requirements: 72 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 29/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Gold Tier Level 8 Plate Boots +64Str +64Agi +64Con 256 Def, 256MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 128Str H: Gold Tier Level 8 Helm, +64 Str, +64 Agi, +64 Con 256 Def, 256MDef Durability 128/128, Requirements: 128Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 8 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+128 All base attributes, +128 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 8 Ring of Elements (+128 All base attributes, Ignore 1.6 Levels, Ignore 1.6 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 2 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 24 Corwin bought a lot of trash items, everything he could find at level 1 or level 0 for every piece of gear that needed items to upgrade, including the ones he didn¡¯t have yet. While this was slightly presumptuous Corwin did have a large inventory, and the items did stack so it cost only silvers. Corwin also picked up a custom order for helmets he had made before leaving for the divine trial. That one was more expensive, requiring a gold per helmet. Corwin¡¯s next priority was to reach level 10, so he¡¯d be able to enter cities. To do so, he consulted a map of the area and found a zone with level 12 monsters. This would result in a manageable 2.2 levels of suppression while giving a massive XP bonus. At level 10, there was a substantial transformation in monster quality. Players were expected to have at least bronze gear by level 10, so monsters were adjusted accordingly. As such, level 9 monsters were much easier to fight than level 10 ones. Level 10 also required 10x the experience of level 9 instead of the regular four times. Level 12 monsters would enable Corwin to level up quite quickly as they were roughly 640x the experience of a level 8 mob. Level 8 was designed to be completed in 3 days of nighttime grinding, which was 72 in-game hours. The expected kill rate was 60 monsters an hour, so 4,320 monsters would need to be killed for a level. Instead, Corwin needed to kill 7 level 12 monsters. His levelling was like a rocket ship. In this zone, the level 12 monsters were cave bears and they dropped valuable hides and claws. The effects of level suppression were quite powerful at just over 2 levels of suppression. Corwin had his damage reduced by about 70%, and incoming damage was increased to roughly 3 times normal. Corwin¡¯s high strength was equal to the challenge however, and grinding a bear took roughly 5 minutes. After just over 30 minutes, Corwin reached level 9. He was able to upgraded all his upgradeable gear to level 11 and enjoyed the attribute boost provided. Level 10 was more of a slog. It would take over 70 level 12 bears to advance to level 10. Fortunately, at only 0.6 levels of suppression Corwin was able to fight upcurve easily. The five-minute kill time dropped to a more typical minute. The spawn rates were sufficient to keep up with Corwin¡¯s killing frenzy as at this stage of the game he had such areas to himself. Just over an hour later Corwin was level 10. He once again upgraded his upgradeable gear, this time only by a single level. Corwin made his way to Avignguard at this point in the game, aiming for the bonus to be the first player to enter a city. He was successful. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Eternity¡¯s wake to enter a city. Rewarding 40,000,000 XP, 400 gold, and 1 Tier 2 Gemstone. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Altaea to enter a city. Rewarding 20,000,000 XP, 200 gold and 1 Tier 2 Gemstone. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Orleans to enter a city. Rewarding 10,000,000 XP, 100 gold and 1 Tier 2 Gemstone. Corwin was lucky as 2 of the gemstones were agility gemstones. He visited a jewel crafter and paid them to slot two of the +10 AGI gemstones into his two growth armors. He planned to replace them with higher tier gemstones later but for now +20 agility was still a nice bonus. Corwin visited vendors in the night market of the city, buying them completely out of the crafting ingredients he needed, enjoying the ample quantities and selection a city provided compared to a village. He also went to the smithy and had all his equipment repaired. Finally, Corwin went to a crafting area and began to work on bronze cloth armors. He had neglected to become an apprentice tailor and wanted to get the bonus crafting gear while the opportunity was still open. He was lucky his earlier delay did not cost him.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Eternity¡¯s Wake to become an apprentice tailor. Rewarding Iron Tier Tailor¡¯s Tools and 16,000,000XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Altaea to become an apprentice tailor. Rewarding Bronze Tier Tailor¡¯s Medallion and 8,000,000XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Orleans to become an apprentice tailor. Rewarding Common Tier Tailor¡¯s Belt and 4,000,000XP. Corwin switched to saving up a huge stash of bronze items, crafting over 100 copies of every bronze level 5 recipe he had. Tomorrow he would sell them in the auction house of Orleans. His crafting experience slowly ticked upwards but was far from the level needed for Journeyman. To make serious progress he¡¯d need some level 10 recipes. That being said, his staff recipe was woodworking and he eventually received a familiar set of notifications. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Eternity¡¯s Wake to become an apprentice woodworker. Rewarding Iron Tier Woodworker¡¯s Tools and 16,000,000XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Altaea to become an apprentice woodworker. Rewarding Bronze Tier Woodworker¡¯s Medallion and 8,000,000XP Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Orleans to become an apprentice woodworker. Rewarding Common Tier Woodworker¡¯s Belt and 4,000,000XP. Corwin decided that 100 bronze items would be enough to satisfy demand and began to craft 50 copies of every iron level 5 recipe he had. The iron recipes gave more experience and had more difficulty and even with his bonus from gear and plentiful experience Corwin would fail often. Still he stabilized at producing about 1 in 3 successes. Corwin only had enough supplies to make 50 copies of the iron recipes, and planned on buying more supplies in the capital city tomorrow. Doing so many attempts at crafting took quite some time and fairly soon daylight approached. Corwin visited the regular vendors as they opened and similar bought out the crafting ingredients he needed. The auction house had opened as well and Corwin bid on some rare crafting ingredients he needed for arrays. Finally, he headed for the city gate, ready to meet with Princess Medea. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 26% of level 11 Str: 723(base:25) Agi: 788 (base:70) Con: 723 (base:25) Int: 409 (base:25) Cha: 409 (base:25) Lck: 197 (base:5) Cnc: 197 (base:5) Sta: 197 (base: 5) Def: 1851 MDef: 1405 HP:9230/9230 (base: 1000) MP:6090/6090 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Silver Tier Level 12 Shortsword +48Str, +48Agi, +48 Con Base Damage 108-120, Def 120 MDef 108, Durability 96/96, Requirements: 96 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 30/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Gold Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +96Str +106Agi(10 Gemstone) +96Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str H: Gold Tier Level 12 Helm, +96 Str, +106(10 Gemstone) Agi, +96 Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 2 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 25 Princess Medea¡¯s carriage was right on schedule and Corwin didn¡¯t have to wait long. Surprisingly, he was invited to ride with the princess. He was a touch nervous about holding his own in conversation with a member of the royal family but was nonetheless happy to accept. Much to his comfort the princess preferred a very informal conversation. She mostly wanted to hear tales of his adventures and he was able to talk about the divine trials he¡¯d been through and some of the monsters he¡¯d slain. Medea predicted he¡¯d become famous in the future, and he tried to find something modest to say in response, but ended up just going along with it. The travel was otherwise uneventful, with no ambushes this time. Corwin knew they were near the capital when the carriage encountered traffic on the main road. The city was on high alert and everyone and everything entering or leaving the city was being searched. Finally, the carriage arrived and something quite unexpected happened. The guard immediately said ¡°Alert the king, she¡¯s been found.¡± Corwin turned to look at Medea, and she shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I sort of snuck out... but I left a note. This is quite the overreaction.¡± ¡°Fathers can be overprotective, King¡¯s especially. And you did nearly fall to bandits, after all.¡± Medea had the good grace to blush, she seemed to be slightly ashamed of her actions. Corwin was curious what was so important that she snuck off to Avignguard, but knew it was a bad idea to get entangled in royal politics and thus refrained from asking. Eventually, the Princess¡¯s carriage was let through and a portion of the guard escorted it to the palace stable. Corwin and Medea were immediately summoned before the king. On the way there, Medea told Corwin ¡°It¡¯s best if you stay quiet until you¡¯re asked something, I¡¯ll handle this.¡± Corwin nodded assent. It¡¯s rare for the king to meet an adventurer he thought to himself. He wanted to make sure not to make a fool of himself. He thought he needed to talk a good game to get rewarded and he desperately wanted the main-hand sword within it. Trumpets rang as he entered the great hall. At the end of the hall was a hard black stone throne and on that throne was King Alfred the Wise. Corwin and Medea both knelt before his majesty, the king of Orleans. ¡°Arise¡± the king addressed them directly rather than nodding to an advisor. This meant, rather unsurprisingly, he¡¯d be taking a personal interest in the matter. ¡°Medea, Medea, Medea. What am I to do with you? Sneaking off to god knows where for god knows why, you had me worried sick.¡± Medea let out a sigh and paused nervously before answering, ¡°I¡¯m sorry father, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± She paused again before deciding to say what was necessary for Corwin to be rewarded: ¡°I found out you were right to be worried though, I was waylaid by bandits. This man here, Corwin Swordborn, saved me and escorted me back to the capital.¡± King Alfred shook his head and composed himself before speaking: ¡°You¡¯re right, it won¡¯t happen again, your guard will be doubled and you¡¯d do well to listen to them on matters pertaining to your safety.¡± He turned to face Corwin. ¡°Corwin Swordborn, you¡¯ve done the realm a great service and that service shall be rewarded. The royal armory possesses many items useful to adventurers. You may take one of them. Darvin will accompany you for the selection.¡± The treasurer escorted Corwin out of the room after a brief goodbye to Medea, and a bow to the King. Corwin breathed a sigh of relief as he was worried he¡¯d have to talk the King into giving him the reward he wanted and wasn¡¯t sure how to do that in the royal court. He talked to the treasurer, an elderly man with a white flowing beard. Darvin was a rather boring man, mostly interested in matters of coin. He talked while Corwin listened, mostly complaining about some vagaries of collecting tax from villages in the realm. Finally, they arrived at the armory. Darvin spoke ¡°You may take only one item from here, let me know when you¡¯ve made your selection.¡± Corwin glanced around the room and didn¡¯t see the sword he was looking for. He started to get nervous as he took a closer look. He eventually found it tucked away in a corner, amongst some shabby rusted weapons. It seemed likely they had misidentified it. It was clear there was a better armory he wasn¡¯t given access to, but their mistake became a rare opportunity for him. Corwin picked up the shabby looking sword and told Darvin he¡¯d made his choice. He gave the sword a nice viewing: Longsword of the Swordsman ¨C Main Hand Weapon. Divine Tier Growth Item. Currently Trash Level 0 Damage 5-10, Durability 5/5 Use 1 Magic Crystal to Evolve. Use 5 trash main hand swords to upgrade. Corwin needed some magic crystals before it would be worthwhile to equip the sword however as right now he could only evolve it once. He refrained from doing so in the palace, just in case they wanted to take it back once they saw it was something special. Darvin then had a guard escort Corwin out of the palace.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Corwin contemplated his desperate shortness of magic crystals further. He not only needed to upgrade his items, but magic crystals were useful for a number of things that would become available in the next few patches. Perhaps he¡¯d have to miss out on those things for a while. He upgraded his sword once before heading to the shops. Rarer ingredients were much more common in the capital and as such Corwin finally had enough ingredients to make a few arrays. He manufactured a few array scrolls, but unfortunately did not reach apprentice inscriber. Corwin used some of the earlier items he had bought, using trash main hand swords en-masse to upgrade the sword to level 12. He also realized he had been too greedy in his gear upgrades, regretting the fact that he couldn¡¯t level down without becoming substantially weaker. The trial he was about to face would be much easier if he lowered his level to 7 (using the XP costs of the elemental ring) the expected gear would go down and thus monsters would be weaker. Unfortunately, Corwin had shut that door and would need to deal with the more powerful enemies going forward. Corwin simply wasn¡¯t used to having the option to level down and cursed himself for making such an amateur mistake. To prepare himself, Corwin visited the potion master¡¯s shop in the capital. There were several expensive potions that were of interest to him. The intermediate agility potion would raise agility by 5% for 2 hours. There were similar potions for strength, constitution, intelligence and even charisma. Unfortunately, the potions were 5 gold each. Still for Corwin the gain would be over 35 points in one of his main combat stats. Corwin reluctantly bought 10 each of the strength, agility, constitution and intelligence potions. He was exercising a lot of extravagance in taking out 200 gold for temporary buffs. Nonetheless, the trials would be difficult, and if the potions could make the difference between success and failure, it was money well spent. Before heading out, Corwin bought up all the supplies he could for bronze and iron gear and upgraded the time manipulation skill 3 times, reducing his experience by 126,000,000. The next upgrade would lower his level so Corwin held off. Time manipulation improved moderately: Time Manipulation ¨C Tier 0, Level 3 -- For a 1-hour and eighteen-minute real time duration, make time slow down by a factor of 2.3 in an area of up to 115m radius resulting in 1 hour of real-life time for every 6 hours 54 minutes in game. Requires 1 minute to cast. Upgradeable for 384,000,000 XP. Corwin found a private workshop he could rent and activated time manipulation. He then crafted for the whole duration, producing his full range of bronze and iron gear. Lastly, he went to the auction house and placed 25 of each bronze equipment for auction, with a starting bid of 1 gold. He figured he¡¯d have 24 hours of selling bronze-tier equipment before needing to move on to iron gear for best results. Anyone in the kingdom could build, and the kingdom had 20 cities, each of which had 5 villages. With 100 starting villages, each of which supported 20,000 players, there would be up to 2,000,000 players in the kingdom. He hoped that would be enough to make 25 of an equip very scarce. He mainly knew he¡¯d be selling to the top guilds as no one else would be able to pool enough money. Fortunately, money buying was open and plenty of people sold currency for real world cash while currency was scarce. Finally, with his money-gaining plans in progress, Corwin left for the next divine trial. This one was a level 1 divine-trial 3 hours south of Edencourt. Corwin arrived at the gate just as a figure disappeared inside. While it was only a level 1 trial, it appeared Corwin would be racing to finish it. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 25% of level 11 Str: 723(base:25) Agi: 788 (base:70) Con: 723 (base:25) Int: 409 (base:25) Cha: 409 (base:25) Lck: 197 (base:5) Cnc: 197 (base:5) Sta: 197 (base: 5) Def: 1851 MDef: 1405 HP:9230/9230 (base: 1000) MP:6090/6090 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Iron Tier Level 7 Longsword, +14 Str, +14 Agi, +14 Con Base Damage: 56-64, Durability 24/25, Requirements: 42 Str OW: Silver Tier Level 12 Shortsword +48Str, +48Agi, +48 Con Base Damage 108-120, Def 120 MDef 108, Durability 96/96, Requirements: 96 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 30/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Gold Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +96Str +106Agi(10 Gemstone) +96Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str H: Gold Tier Level 12 Helm, +96 Str, +106(10 Gemstone) Agi, +96 Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 2 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 26 Corwin was glad to see this divine trial having a large staircase. The longer it was the more likely it was his adversary would fail. There were 99 steps in this trial. Longer trials were also better as they tended to have more loot. Unfortunately, when Corwin stepped on the first stair, there was no enemy challenger and hence no loot. Instead, a faint pressure emerged, and started to weigh down on Corwin. Corwin smiled as he resisted the pressure. He was quite familiar with this pressure, and at higher levels it would drain stamina and concentration, two stats where he was surely ahead of his adversary. Corwin nonetheless moved quickly and started to climb stairs rapidly. He wasn¡¯t running or doing anything that would deplete his stamina further, but he maintained a brisk walk in the face of the pressure. By the 5th stair the pressure had become something that would be quite substantial for someone with only 5 stamina and 5 concentration. On that stair there was a trash-tier magic crystal chest, which when opened contained a single magic crystal. Corwin was glad for any magic crystal although he missed the higher-tier magic crystal chests of the other trials. The pressure continued to climb, as Corwin reached the 10th,15th and 20th stairs. The 10th and 15th stairs each had a trash-tier magic-crystal chest, increasing Corwin¡¯s total magic crystals to four. The 20th had a common-tier one, and that meant Corwin had six. Beginning on the 21st stair, sword lights would occasionally come crashing down, forcing Corwin to block or dodge. At each stair up to the 40th, the sword lights got stronger. The pressure continued to remain at the level of the 20th stair. The 25th, 30th, 35th and 40th stairs all had rewards, 3 common-tier magic crystal chests and a bronze-tier magic crystal chest. That brought Corwin¡¯s total crystals to 16. The next set of stairs had the sword lights get faster and more frequent. Corwin paused on the 45th stair as the chest upped his magic crystal total to 20. He upgraded his main sword four times for 18 crystals. He looked at the new item before equipping it. Longsword of the Swordsman ¨C Main Hand Weapon. Divine Tier Growth Item. Currently Silver-Tier Level 12, +48 Str +48Agi +48 Con Damage 144-168, Durability 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str Use 20 Magic Crystals to Evolve. Use 5 trash or better main hand swords to upgrade. Sword Defense: Add max damage to Def Rating Anti-Magic Defense: Add min damage to MDef Rating Firm Grip: Reduce the level of any disarm skill or technique on this weapon by the level of this sword. Sword of Expert: +0.02 swordsman skill levels/level. The weapon so far seemed similar to the offhand sword, which was good since Corwin was quite happy with those abilities. The slight boost in stats didn¡¯t help very much, but the extra base damage was useful in attacking the sword lights. Corwin began to combine a mixture of dodge parry and fighting the sword lights off with skills. He advanced past the 50th, 55th and reached the 60th stair. Two bronze-tier crystal chests later he had 9 crystals again. He was excited when the pattern continued and the 60th stair had an iron-tier magic crystal chest. Inside the iron-tier magic crystal chest were 10 magic crystals, bringing his total to 19. On the 60th stair, the pressure began to increase again, climbing until it would crush someone with 20 stamina by the 79th stair. Corwin happily took his 20 magic crystal rewards, before reaching the 80th stair. The 80th stair had something that made Corwin¡¯s heart leap. A silver-tier magic crystal chest. Corwin hoped for 20 crystals, but there were only 16. Still that brought him to 35 and he upgraded his main-hand weapon once more. The sword gained Sword of speed, improving attack speed with this weapon by 0.01 Tiers/level. This speed was exactly what Corwin needed for what came next. On the 80th stair the sword lights attacked in pairs. This wasn¡¯t too bad but on the 81st stair they attacked in Triplets. Corwin found this manageable but the pattern was rather scary. On the 85th stair he got another 16 crystals, and upgraded his offhand weapon to gold-tier. The swords still had the same abilities, and Corwin was grateful. Tier was multiplicative, and a Tier of 1.12 in attack speed meant that Corwin had a 12% bonus to agility for attack speed. At his current level of agility, that was nearly 100 points, a substantial difference. Corwin continued to climb to the 90th stair and got another 16 crystals, bringing his total back to 31. At this point there were 12 simultaneous attacks from each sword light. Corwin was hit once, and his health dropped to 80%. Only 5 hits would be fatal, there wasn¡¯t much margin for error. Corwin advanced to the next stair, and there were 13 simultaneous attacks. The patterns varied, some of them were easy to deal with. But some of them weren¡¯t. Corwin got hit again, and potioned up from just over 60% health. It¡¯s too soon for that, it won¡¯t last all the way. I need to get better. Corwin used the sword attacks to practice his dodging and slowly got better. He was hit occasionally but not so often that his potions couldn¡¯t keep up. After an hour of practice, he was no longer getting hit. He moved to the next stair, and began to hone his craft again. This time he had reached the limits, the extra sword light had made many of the easy patterns into dangerous ones. Corwin had no choice but to use techniques to dodge, and was still hit occasionally. Under the pressure of the aura, his stamina regen was greatly reduced, and Corwin started to calculate. He was hesitant to train under such circumstances, but it was still too early to activate ¡®that¡¯ and race to the end. As such, he had no choice but to practice. He got hit less, and slowly needed to use vanishing steps less often. His stamina drain had levelled off and he was slowly gaining. In an hour, his stamina would recover. The question was could he afford to wait?The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Corwin knew the adversary that entered the trial was no ordinary player, he had gotten a glance at his equips and expected that some of them were silver tier. It was risky to wait. But Corwin, had no choice but to accept the risk. He recovered stamina while he practiced, eventually becoming perfect at dodging, parrying and counter-attacking the 14 simultaneous sword lights. Finally, when his stamina recovered he reached the 93rd stair. It would take Corwin roughly 1 minute to rush through stairs, this meant he could burst from the 93rd stair to the 98th stair using ¡®that¡¯ power. If the 99th stair was just a reward stair he¡¯d be fine. But something told him not to do that. Corwin rotated as he dodged and saw a bright glowing red light on the 88th stair. He knew instantly that was where his opponent was. Corwin was impressed, even if the trial difficulty was much easier below level 10, it was shocking anyone could reach this far this early in the game. Corwin was also relieved as seeing where his opponent was meant that he could take his time. Corwin began to use a mix of getting hit occasionally and vanishing steps to deal with the 15 sword lights. His stamina slowly declined, then stabilized. This time it would take almost 3 hours for his stamina to recover. Corwin accepted the wait and honed his sequences once more, getting to the point where he could handle all the sword lights without using vanishing steps or getting hit. He wanted to improve further and tried to multitask and analyze the sword lights. He understood they were a ranged attack that one could make with a sword, but didn¡¯t know how it worked beyond that. The sword lights continued to be a mystery and Corwin was hit occasionally as he studied them. He had to decide if it was worth using vanishing steps and draining his stamina again to study them further. Ultimately, he decided to focus on the trial and ascended to the 94th stair. On the 94th stair the sword lights pushed him to the limit. His finely-honed sense of dodging reached a new level, and he began to dodge by the smallest of margins. To an outside observer, it would look like he was hit by the sword lights and yet he wasn¡¯t. Corwin lost track of how much time had passed as he felt on the edge of a breakthrough. Finally, he received an alert. Passive Movement Technique ¡®Precision Dodge¡¯ gained. Corwin was excited, unlike active techniques passive techniques did not consume stamina and were always active. A technique that improved his dodging was a powerful thing. Corwin tried to find the limits of his technique, and stopped parrying or attacking the sword lights. He managed to dodge all 16 lights repeatedly. While Corwin knew these lights were a life or death situation it felt easy. However, while Corwin made this breakthrough the red dot had reached the 93rd stair. Corwin felt pressure from his opponent and needed to rush, yet something still warned him not to. He decided not to use air manipulation and continued to advance by his own force of will. On the 95th stair he received 16 more crystals, bringing his total to 47. He was forced to reintroduce parry, unable to purely dodge. He felt a strong compulsion to study the sword lights, but focused his mind to resist it. He didn¡¯t have time. He advanced to the 96th stair and was forced to use parry, dodge and attacks to resist the sword lights. On the 97th stair he reintroduced vanishing steps. He once again resisted the compulsion to study the sword lights, despite feeling it get substantially stronger. On the 98th stair, the sword lights vanished an a mysterious chest appeared. Corwin opened the chest and inside was Platemail of the Swordsman. This confused Corwin as he wondered what was on the 99th stair. When Corwin opened the chest, the red light vanished, his adversary had been kicked out of the trial. Corwin tested the trial, trying to step back down to the 97th stair but this was not allowed. He sighed at losing the opportunity to further improve his skills. He wanted to get good enough at evading to study that sword light. With nowhere else to go, Corwin stepped up to the 99th stair. The first thing that surprised Corwin was that there was no portal out of the trial. There was no chest either. Instead, on the stone were two powerful ancient arrays, with which Corwin was unfamiliar. As Corwin bent over to study the one closest to him, a powerful sword light fell from the sky and Corwin was forced to leap back. The sword light fell regularly every 15 seconds, without the pressure of dodging Corwin was able to study it. Hours later, Corwin practiced with his own swords, emitting the faintest wisp of a sword light. He had identified that this was a powerful technique known as Sword Will. He was surprised how difficult it was to learn, despite his obscenely high comprehension. Nonetheless, he slowly had insights. Corwin was concerned that he¡¯d been stuck in the divine trial a long time. In fact, night was almost ending when Corwin could finally emit sword lights. A lovely alert accompanied this moment. Basic Technique ¨C Single Sword Light Learned Basic techniques were a level above techniques. This was reflected in their power. Corwin had many great gains from this trial and he had reached a new level of power. He didn¡¯t have much time to reflect, and instead hurried, somehow intuiting what he needed to do. Right as the sword light fell from the sky into one of the arrays, Corwin executed his own sword light into the other. He was rewarded by the delightful sound of a portal opening. He could finally head back to town. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 25% of level 11 Str: 853(base:25) Agi: 918 (base:70) Con: 853 (base:25) Int: 409 (base:25) Cha: 409 (base:25) Lck: 197 (base:5) Cnc: 197 (base:5) Sta: 197 (base: 5) Def: 2071 MDef: 1609 HP:10530/10530 (base: 1000) MP:6090/6090 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Gold Tier Level 12 Longsword, +96Str +96Agi +96Con Base Damage: 168-192, Def 192 MDef 168 Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192 Str OW: Gold Tier Level 12 Shortsword +96Str, +96Agi, +96 Con Base Damage 120-132, Def 132 MDef 120, Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192 Str MA: Iron Tier Level 8 Plate, +16 Str, +16 Agi, +16 Con 64Def,32MDef, Durability 48/48, Requirements:36 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 30/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Gold Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +96Str +106Agi(10 Gemstone) +96Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str H: Gold Tier Level 12 Helm, +96 Str, +106(10 Gemstone) Agi, +96 Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 2 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Vanishing Steps, Precision Dodge, Rapid Blow Basic Techniques: Single Sword Light Chapter 27 Corwin exited the trial and looked at the deactivated gate, which was a shell of its former self. In place of the rainbow-colored stripes indicating the difficulty were dull shades of gray. The portal no longer opened, and wouldn¡¯t for anyone else now that someone had completed the trial. Corwin headed back to Edencourt, doing his best to enjoy the nearly 3-hour journey. The kingdom of Orleans was beautiful and the forests were awash with bright colors in the fall. Stepping off the road and away from its monster wards to view the scenery was quite dangerous, even for Corwin. The road passed through high-level monster areas. At long last, Corwin was back in Edencourt. He went to the auction house and took in his gains. The equipment had sold for a total of 8000 gold, which was almost the 10,000 he needed for intercontinental teleportation. Corwin put a second batch up, another 25 of each bronze item he could make. Tomorrow, he¡¯d start selling iron items. He didn¡¯t want to decrease the value of the bronze items too much. He also didn¡¯t want to accelerate other players by more than necessary. Corwin spent some time looking at what was for sale on the auction house and was particularly interested in something rather unexpected. There were 75 magic crystals available, with a starting bid of 1g and a buy it now of 5g. Magic crystals traded for 100g each in his past life, after the full set of their uses was discovered. This early in the game they had no use yet for most people, so Corwin was happy to just stock up on them. 375 gold was gone in a heartbeat, and Corwin had a difficult decision to make with his 122 magic crystals. Corwin wasn¡¯t super-eager to hand that much gold to whomever had just entered the trial with him, but the magic crystals were simply too valuable. Corwin faced a difficult decision. He had so many choices for upgrades at this point. Ultimately, he decided that weapons would be most important to him and spent the 100 magic crystals necessary to upgrade his weapons to Epic-Tier. In addition to doubling their attributes, both swords gained abilities. The swords were finally distinct. The main-hand sword gained: Sword of Lightning. The owner of this sword can channel mana into it to make any attack have the lightning attribute, and deal an additional 50% of weapon damage as lightning damage. Furthermore, all lightning based skills used with this sword do double damage. The offhand sword however gained another powerful ability: Sword of Ancients. The owner of this sword can channel manaa into it to make it possess the ancient property. This property is required for the use of certain skills. All ancient skills used with this sword gain double damage. With 18 of the 22 remaining mana crystals Corwin upgraded his new item 4 times. PLATEMAIL OF THE SWORDSMAN (Divine Growth Type) Silver Tier Level 12 Plate, +48 Str, +48 Agi, +48 Con 192Def,192MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str Reduce level of Damage over time(DoT) skills by level of plate Reduce level of DoT techniques by level of plate Improve Defence Tier by 0.02 levels/level All swordsman skills +0.02 levels/level The 24% bonus at level 12 to Def and MDef from the defense tier was quite nice, as was the level reduction on Damage over time effects. Corwin was slowly gaining a level-based immunity to most status effects in the game. Since the levels of skills were lower than the levels of players, it would ignore almost all effects in PvP. Monster skills worked differently and were closer to the level of the monster itself, so there it would only ignore skills of monsters that weren¡¯t much higher levelled than Corwin himself. Still, Corwin¡¯s mana crystals were almost gone in an instant and he still needed many more. His gear was one thing but he still needed mana crystals for all the same reasons that other players soon would. Corwin went to the shops and bought out rare array ingredients. He then crafted arrays until he got a rather pleasant global notification. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Eternity¡¯s Wake to become an apprentice arraymaker. Rewarding Iron Tier Arraymaker¡¯s Tools and 32,000,000XP. Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Altaea to become an apprentice arraymaker. Rewarding Bronze Tier Arraymaker¡¯s Medallion and 16,000,000XP Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first player in Orleans to become an apprentice arraymaker. Rewarding Common Tier Arraymaker¡¯s Belt and 8,000,000XP. Arraymaker was a rare profession, and as such it rewarded double XP, of course this was still a pittance for Corwin at level 10. The experience was nonetheless enough to upgrade Earth Manipulation and Space Manipulation each to level 2 and they underwent minor improvements. Corwin contemplated his next moves. Levelling would increase the difficulty of the next trial, but he could get experience to feed his ring skills. All the ring of elements skills were very important to him and if he could get them to a high-level he could gain a substantial edge. He¡¯d need it as he was facing a level 2 divine trial next. The level 1 divine trial he had just faced was likely a peak level 1 divine trial but it was quite demanding of him. Corwin could only hope the next one was a low-difficulty among level 2 divine trials.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Corwin headed to a city gate and paid the fee for leaving at night; darkness had arrived in Edencourt while Corwin was finishing his array-making. He immediately activated a lightstone and headed to a level-14 zone, hoping to grind experience quickly. Level 14 monsters gave approximately 256 times the experience of level 10 monsters, and as such this was the best way to grind experience for his ring. With 2.4 levels of ignore level-suppression from his level 12 ring, Corwin faced a manageable 1.6 levels of suppression. Enemies might take 5 minutes to kill instead of the ideal 1 minute, but it was still quite an XP grind. Corwin slayed monster after monster, always upgrading his ring when it would keep him at level 10. Near the end, he levelled up to level 13 after what felt like an eternity of slaying monsters before levelling back down. This time he was wise enough not to level his gear. After level 9, these skills would undergo a qualitative transformation, reaching tier 1. Corwin could use tier 1 skills as a tier 0 player, but there would be penalties that negated most of the bonus for gaining a tier. It wouldn¡¯t really be profitable to do so unless those skills also gained additional levels after tiering. The XP cost to get the ring skills to Tier 2, Level 1 was quite high, and tier 2, level 2 was out of the question as a level 10 character. Corwin decided he had ground enough monsters at this point. Corwin reviewed his updated skills. Air Manipulation, Tier 0, Level 9 For the next 5 minutes, gain attack speed +70% and movement speed +140%. 1 hour cooldown. Level does not advance by skill points. Spend 4,000,000,000,000 XP to tier up. Time Manipulation, Tier 0, Level 9 For a 1-hour and 54-minute real time duration, make time slow down by a factor of 2.9 in an area of up to 145m radius resulting in 1 hour of real-life time for every 8 hours 42 minutes in game. Requires 1 minute to cast. Spend 4,000,000,000,000 XP to tier up. Space Manipulation, Tier 0, Level 9 For a 1-minute duration, open a portal between here and any location you¡¯ve previously been up to 95km away. Portal is any size up to 19m x 19m. Cooldown 3 hours. Spend 4,000,000,000,000 XP to tier up. Earth Manipulation, Tier 0, Level 9 For a 5 second duration, reduce the level of all attacks attacking you by 0.29 levels/level. For each multiple of 10 levels instead reduce the tier of all attacks attacking you by 1 tier. Cooldown 1 hour. Spend 4,000,000,000,000 XP to tier up. It was time to face another level 2 divine trial. This trial was to the north of Edencourt, nearly 4 hours away. In fact, the trial was closer to the city of Aginhome, and Corwin would be heading there after the trial. There were some useful quests in Edencourt, but Corwin decided to put those off until after he had his gear, the last trial had convinced him every moment counted. It was quite possible for elite players to be completing divine trials now, and at least some of them were exploring far enough from the city to find them. Corwin headed to the divine trial, taking the long route following the roads. Along the way he ran into a shattered ward at the side of the road. This was quite troubling as Corwin was passing through a level 50 area. In fact, after entering that part of the road Corwin was chased by a Manticore. Fortunately, the new Air Manipulation power was equal to the task and Corwin managed to outrun the Manticore to the next Ward, which wasn¡¯t shattered. Corwin gained a quest, to report the damaged ward to Edencourt¡¯s Trade Division. This quest was worth a lot of XP and could gain city reputation, but wasn¡¯t important enough to divert Corwin from his mission. He would lose the quest if someone else completed it first, but that was a risk he was willing to take. Finally, Corwin arrived in a mountain range, a rather dangerous level-18 area. Fortunately, the enemies here were lesser stone elementals which weren¡¯t very agile. Corwin managed to avoid all the enemies in the region, running away whenever they approached. Searching by lightstone was quite difficult and Corwin took almost 3 hours to find the cave containing the gate. There was a lesser stone elemental in the cave, which Corwin managed to circle around. Unfortunately, it chased him all the way to the gate. Corwin dove into the gate to escape it and began the next divine trial. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 26% of Level 11 Level 10: 25% of level 11 Str: 1077 (base:25) Agi: 1142 (base:70) Con: 1077 (base:25) Int: 409 (base:25) Cha: 409 (base:25) Lck: 197 (base:5) Cnc: 197 (base:5) Sta: 197 (base: 5) Def: 2741 MDef: 1893 HP:11770/11770 (base: 1000) MP:6090/6090 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384 Str MA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate, +48 Str, +48 Agi, +48 Con 192Def,192MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Iron Tier Level 6 Plate Gloves +12 Str, +12 Agi, +12Con 48Def,24MDef, Durability 30/30, Requirements: 36Str G: Gold Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +96Str +106Agi(10 Gemstone) +96Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str H: Gold Tier Level 12 Helm, +96 Str, +106(10 Gemstone) Agi, +96 Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Passive Skills: Swordsmanship, Uncommon, Level 0 Chapter 28 Upon entering the trial, I encountered a spirit. The spirit explained that on each step of the staircase was the tomb of a hero. In each tome was a soulstone. The soulstone could be used to enter a dream world where the hero still existed. In that dream world I was to duel them. If I failed to defeat them, I¡¯d lose the trial. If I defeated them I could advance to the next stair. Unlike a normal fight, these duels were conducted to the first blow. Unlike in other trials I didn¡¯t know how far this one went as the staircase steps only appeared one at a time. In the beginning I faced minor heroes, everyday men like Edwin Valeheart who rose to the occasion and had a good dose of luck. I was more than equal to the task, striking each blow home with all the determination of a master swordsman. It was an honor to face such men and learn of their heroic deeds. After nine such battles I reached a treasure stair. On it was an iron-tier magic crystal chest, and I gladly received the 4 magic crystals it provided. The 11th stair began with more substantial heroes, ones who hadn¡¯t just got lucky. Tia Alenia, was the first of many and these duels were more involved. It took combination attacks to land a blow. I wasn¡¯t yet pressed to my limits, but I felt challenged. The 20th stair provided more treasure, this time a silver tier magic crystal chest containing 10 magic crystals, I was happy to have 18 crystals again, not far from improving an item. By the 21st stair I was facing heroes about whom I¡¯d heard stories. Heroes like Farrah Farstrider who had slain the spider lord. Dueling such heroes was no simple matter and I was pushed to my limits in complex sequences of give and take. I trusted my finely-honed sense of dodging and chose not to activate the ring of air until I needed it to escape a situation. I continued up the staircase, reaching the 30th stair and yet another reward. On this stair, I opened a chest and received a stone tablet. I looked at the tablet in awe. This was a single-use passive technique tablet. I decided to study it immediately, slowly understanding it was a vision technique. I then learnt it pertained to understanding the properties of opposing skills. Finally, after hours of study I learnt the technique. Elementary True Sight, Basic Passive Technique Identify the properties of any Tier 1 skill as it is being used. This includes whether a skill can be blocked, whether a skill can be parried and whether a skill can be dodged. On the 31st stair, I was immediately glad to have studied the technique. Jain Riviere, first king of Orleans, and slayer of the beast army that once inhabited these lands, used a mix of normal, unblockable and unparryable techniques. Knowing which was which let me react accordingly, and avoid losing the duel to something like trying to block an unblockable move. By the 35th stair, undodgeable moves started to be used as well. I struggled through and managed to reach the 40th stair, earning a new reward. Inside was another tablet. It was very similar to the first and I quickly realized it was a more advanced version of the same technique. I learnt it immediately, but when I realized what the upgrade was I sincerely hoped I wouldn¡¯t need it. Junior True Sight, Intermediate Passive Technique Identify the properties of any Tier 2 or lower skill as it is being used. This includes whether a skill can be blocked, whether a skill can be parried and whether a skill can be dodged. The pattern changed at the 41st stair. The hero, Elias Bloodborn, was substantially stronger and I needed to use air manipulation to keep up, hoping to win the duel quickly before the cooldown came. Fortunately, my rapid speed made this quite possible. I waited for the cooldown before advancing to the next stair, the 42nd stair had another reward chest. It was another tablet, this one containing the advanced version of true sight. Senior True Sight, Advanced Passive Technique Identify the properties of any Tier 3 or lower skill as it is being used. This includes whether a skill can be blocked, whether a skill can be parried and whether a skill can be dodged. The 43rd stair had a legendary battle. The tomb was the tomb of the unknown hero and the spirit that presented had forgotten his name to the passage of time. The hero was an ancient and his deeds long forgotten. He fought with unfamiliar skills, also lost to the passages of time. I was hard pressed even with air manipulation, the strange skills and fighting style was difficult to adapt to. Fortunately, he had an equally hard time with my modern style. I landed a glancing blow to the shoulder, and thought it was enough to win. I nearly lost the trial when I paused briefly afterwards, the blow hadn¡¯t been enough to count and his continued fighting nearly took me down. I recovered but was forced on the defensive for a good time. Finally, with a minute left in the duration of Air Manipulation I was able to regain the initiative and attack fiercely, pushing the man back. I was lucky as he stumbled on uneven ground and it was enough to land a well struck blow.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. I waited for Air Manipulation to come off cooldown before advancing to the 44th stair. On it was a mystery box. I opened it and received the item I had come for. I spent 18 magic crystals to evolve it 4 times and 60 trash gauntlets upgrade it. Gauntlets of the Swordsman, Divine Growth Type Currently Silver, Level 12 +48 Str, +48 Agi, +48 Con 192 Def, 192MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements: 96 Str Sacrifice 5 Trash items to upgrade. Sacrifice 20 magic crystal to evolve. Reduce level of Attack Prevention & Attack Redirection skills by level of plate Reduce level of Attack Prevention & Attack Redirection techniques by level of plate Improve Attack Speed Tier by 0.02 levels/level All swordsman skills +0.02 levels/level The trial wasn¡¯t over however. I equipped my new gauntlets and my attack speed reached a whole new level. I was ready to fight my next opponent. My next opponent was Kylian Windblade, a legendary swordsman from 3000 years ago. He had slain the Black Dragon, Eragor and would make for a powerful opponent. I activated my Air Manipulation skill and relied aggressively on my attack and movement speed increases to fight. My swords became like a tornado as I whirled my way through combat. I was able to parry both naturally and through the skill better than I ever had before. But my opponent was able to keep pace. Legendary swordsmen didn¡¯t grow on trees, and defeating one in a duel was no small matter. Finally, I was outmaneuvered and about to be hit. Remembering the glancing blow from earlier that didn¡¯t count I activated Earth Manipulation. Earth Manipulation decreased the impact, and made the blow not count. The swordsman was momentarily paused when he struck me, expecting it to end the duel and I took advantage and stuck home. I wasn¡¯t his equal, but my unexpected skill had carried the day. I advanced to the next stair, on which there was a chest and a portal. In the chest was another passive technique tablet, this one at the ultimate level. Even with my high Concentration it was a bit early for me to study such techniques. I put the tablet away in my inventory, and exited the trial through the now open portal. It was a new day and I had a new dungeon pass, it was time to solo raid Hell mode of Banesdeep. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 25% of level 11 Str: 1113 (base:25) Agi: 1178 (base:70) Con: 1113 (base:25) Int: 409 (base:25) Cha: 409 (base:25) Lck: 197 (base:5) Cnc: 197 (base:5) Sta: 197 (base: 5) Def: 2837 MDef: 2021 HP:12130/12130 (base: 1000) MP:6090/6090 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384 Str MA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate, +48 Str, +48 Agi, +48 Con 192Def,192MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str B: Currently Silver, Level 12 +48 Str, +48 Agi, +48 Con 192 Def, 192MDef, Durability 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str G: Gold Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +96Str +106Agi(10 Gemstone) +96Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str H: Gold Tier Level 12 Helm, +96 Str, +106(10 Gemstone) Agi, +96 Con 384 Def, 384MDef Durability 192/192, Requirements: 192Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Iron Tier, Level 8 Amulet (+16 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 29 Corwin planned to go to the Agincourt entrance to Banesdeep, a level 10 dungeon for the Kingdom of Orleans. To get there, Corwin returned to the road and completed the journey to Aginhome. He passed through the city, stopping at the shop to buy some rare ingredients and checking the auction house for mana crystals. For most players in the game, money was extremely tight as the only real huge sources of it were crafting (which was expensive to start), and rare events. Most enemies encountered so far were good for grinding coppers and silvers, but it was hard to make much gold from them. As such, mana crystals, even though they were likely to have a use in the future were something players were willing to sell if the price was high enough. Players were starting to raid dungeons and thus were getting mana crystals from the bosses in them. The market price seemed to be somewhere between 5 and 6 gold. Corwin bought all the crystals on the market, even the one that cost 20g. Unfortunately, the available crystals were just a drop in the bucket. He had a total of 102 crystals after all hiss purchases. Corwin decided to focus on his higher levelled items, getting the bonus for upgrading his boots and helm to epic level. Instantly, he was crystal poor as he was down to 2 crystals again. His boots gained an ability that doubled his stamina regen. His helmet gained an ability that doubled his mana regen. Both of them doubled in stats given, def and MDef. The gemstone bonus unfortunately didn¡¯t double, but could Corwin really complain? Corwin picked up the coins from his auction, this time earning 11,000 gold. He auctioned another 25 of each bronze tier equipment he could craft. Corwin was tempted to start auctioning Iron equipment as well but decided to hold off as he thought the bronze equips still had high demand. He knew the items were being bought by guilds pooling money and using gold farming techniques to the best of their abilities. Corwin was happy to reap the gains of their hard work, he just hoped he didn¡¯t bleed them dry as he needed to continue getting a hefty amount of gold. Corwin''s time manipulation ability was not off cooldown so he spent no time crafting, instead heading straight for the dungeon once his auction house work was complete. Banesdeep was a level 10 dungeon. It expected teams of players to have bronze equipment in common mode, iron equipment in hard mode, and silver equipment in hell mode. As such, it rewarded iron equipment in common mode, silver equipment in hard mode, and mostly silver set equipment in hell mode. Of course, rare recipes, and special items were also possible. In hell mode, a lucky chance could get a gold equipment, but low-level gold equipment was still extremely rare. If a team of players needs silver equipment, then a single player generally needed more than gold equipment. Corwin''s six epics seemed equal to the task, so he decided it was time to go for the solo clear. Corwin entered and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of rot. Dark mold grew on the old stone walls of the underground keep. The tunnel was dimly lit by torchlight, but he had his trusty lightstone to see clearly. The enemies were undead. Mostly elite and special elite zombies. He carved them down without too much effort. Zombies were slow after all. Eventually the tunnel opened up into a large room with a high ceiling. In that room was a vampire lord. The vampire lord was the ideal mob to fight one-on-one, and a total nightmare in team fights. It had an aura that would drain health from everyone in a radius, adding the health to its own. Fortunately, that drain wasn¡¯t too substantial and his recovery from having one enemy in a radius wasn¡¯t much to worry about. It would be frustrating for a team of ten to deal with however. Corwin¡¯s epic swords were equal to the task of racing him, although Corwin did need to expend some potions dealing with the aura. The lord dropped 2 crystals and a level 10 silver cloth set piece armor that had good bonuses for a summoner. Corwin pocketed the item, planning on sending this to Kyo. There was a first-clear chest for this boss, and in the first clear chest was a skill manual. Unfortunately, it was for a rare Archer skill, and Corwin could only keep it for trade. The chest had a hidden compartment which contained a recipe for a level 10 silver-tier set piece cloth helm. Corwin was excited to get a level 10 recipe as this was exactly what he needed for the next level of his crafting skill. Corwin continued on through the tunnels, fighting zombies, skeletons, and ghouls. The elite and special elite mobs only proved challenging in the sheer magnitude of their numbers, but Corwin¡¯s dodging skill was equal to the task. Working on those sword lights had resulted in a whole new level of avoiding attacks. The second boss was someone who was more challenging in solo mode. He had a powerful AoE skill as well as a single target skill that was both undodgeable and unparryable. The good news was Corwin could fend that skill off with attacks, and had powerful enough attacks to do so. Epic weapons were truly something else after all, with their extremely high base damage and Corwin¡¯s excellent strength multiplier. The boss dropped a level 10 gold-tier amulet and 4 mana crystals as Corwin triggered a lucky drop. The amulet wasn¡¯t part of a set, but the +80 to stats had Corwin immediately equip it with a smile. He knew a better amulet was coming, but it would take a while for it to truly be better given his lack of mana crystals.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. There was also a first-clear chest from which Corwin got two set piece silver equipment, both leather armor pieces. Corwin decided it would be worthwhile to save those for his guild. He carried on with his task, fighting through the next hallway, dealing with zombies, ghouls, skeletons and wights. The wights were a nuisance to many players as they had a powerful strength drain skill that would slow down one¡¯s offence. Fortunately, that skill wasn¡¯t anywhere close to being able to deal with Corwin¡¯s incredibly high strength. Lastly, Corwin arrived at the final boss. The final boss was a superior lord tier, Invera, the lesser succubus. She wore a sexy chainmail miniskirt that emphasized her shapely thin legs as well as a thin chain chestpiece that looked more like a tube top. Her wings and horns were strangely alien, although sleak and beautiful. Nonetheless, she oozed sexuality, with her shapely bare midriff and ample partially exposed curves. Corwin took a moment to appreciate the sexy seductress before banishing such thoughts from his head and focusing on the coming battle. The battle was anti-climactic. Corwin had such strong weapons and stats, while the succubus¡¯s most powerful skill was almost worthless. Charm would make a male enemy join her side for a period of time (or until damaged), attacking other allies. However, Corwin had no-one to attack. As such, charm was only used to make him defenseless to a single attack before he recovered. She had a stacking drain skill that was slightly annoying, each use would give her a buff to all base stats while giving her opponent a penalty. Nonetheless, the effect was relatively small on Corwin¡¯s massive stats. The high base damage meant Corwin could burst her down without having to deal with her ultimate ability. At that point Corwin entered his party name Righteous Destiny and received two announcements: Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn on the first solo hell-mode clear of Banesdeep. He receives 80,000,000XP, 800 gold and 1 Tier 2 Gemstone. Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny on the first clear of hell difficulty of the dungeon Banesdeep. Party member Corwin Swordborn receives 40,000,000 XP, 40 gold and 1 extra dungeon pass. There were no global announcements this time, and probably wouldn''t be until the larger 20-man dungeons that started at level 20. Nonetheless, Corwin was happy for his influx of gold and XP. He returned his thoughts to the succubus. Slaying such pretty creatures always made Corwin feel a bit ungentlemanly, even though he knew they were evil. Corwin looted the corpse, and received four magic crystals and two pieces of skimpy chain armor, parts of the succubus set. There was a first-clear chest which rewarded the following amulet. Amulet of Skill, Divine Growth Type Currently Trash Level 0 Sacrifice 5 trash or better amulets to upgrade. Sacrifice 1 magic crystal to evolve. With only 11 magic crystals, Corwin decided to hold off on upgrading it. Currently, his gold-tier amulet was stronger. Corwin was eager to wear this soon however. He wanted to give the gold tier amulet to Kyo. Shortly after Corwin finished the dungeon, the patch announcement was made and Corwin had only 30 minutes of in game time till he logged off. He spent that time heading to the city, purchasing some crafting ingredients and making some of his new level 10 set piece recipe. Unfortunately, Corwin didn¡¯t reach Journeyman before the log off was triggered. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 35% of level 11 Str: 1305 (base:25) Agi: 1370 (base:70) Con: 1305 (base:25) Int: 409 (base:25) Cha: 409 (base:25) Lck: 197 (base:5) Cnc: 197 (base:5) Sta: 197 (base: 5) Def: 3881 MDef: 2829 HP:14050/14050 (base: 1000) MP:6090/6090 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384 Str MA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate, +48 Str, +48 Agi, +48 Con 192Def,192MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 8 Plate Cuisse, +32Str, +32Agi, +32Con 128Def, 64MDef Durability: 64/64 Requirements: 64 Str G: Currently Silver, Level 12 +48 Str, +48 Agi, +48 Con 192 Def, 192MDef, Durability 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 386/386 Requirements: 386Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 386/386, Requirements: 386Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Gold Tier, Level 10 Amulet (+80 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Interlude 3 John got out of the game and did some exercises. After long periods of being stationary, the exercises refreshed his sore muscles. Corwin went to the washroom and took care of business. Finally, he sat down to a nice meal while he browsed the Eternity¡¯s Wake statistics on his tablet. He ate a simple cold cut sandwich and checked out the levelling boards. Beowulf was level 11, so Corwin was no longer the highest level character in the game. This was quite surprising as the top standard at this point in the game in John¡¯s past life had been level 7. Something strange was going on. Fortunately, Beowulf remained a far off problem for now. John was happy to see Kyo in 3rd place at level 9. There were a few level 8 characters, including the Sorrow¡¯s guild leader in Verdure, and a non-guild player in Orleans. Corwin suspected the player in Orleans was the silver-tier equipped player who challenged him in the trial. John then looked at the patch notes for the upcoming daily patch. There were a variety of uses coming out for magic crystals: the magic crystal auction house, the battle simulator, and the tower of champions. The magic crystal auction house conducted auctions in magic crystals instead of gold coins. Auctions still occurred on a Kingdom wide scale. The battle simulator enabled one to fight against a simulated enemy that mirrored your stats, skills and techniques. This enabled one to hone one¡¯s battle skills in a way that wasn¡¯t possible against regular enemies. It was especially useful for pushing one to the limits when one was working to unlock a technique. Lastly, the tower of champions was another way to unlock additional techniques. Each floor contained challenges escalating in difficulty. The reward for passing each floor was a technique table for your class. The 5th and 10th floors even offered basic techniques. Even higher techniques were possible on later floors. Best of all if one died in the tower, they¡¯d be reduced to 1 HP instead, so no death penalties occurred. The tower cost 1 magic crystal per attempt. The tower had 99 floors and an eastern theme emphasizing the importance of 9 as heaven. The tower¡¯s difficulty was not scaled to level, so there was a powerful incentive to get strong quickly. John knew that in later patches the tower would be expanded to 999, and 9999 floors as the tower grew in difficulty. Fortunately, one could resume the challenge on the last floor they past so one didn¡¯t have to fight many challenges consecutively. Lastly, the tower had a leaderboard and the top 100 players would win daily rewards. Access to all the new buildings was possible in any city in any kingdom.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. John checked in with Edward and told him about the level 10 gear he had for him, including the gold-tier amulet he planned to pass off soon. Edward told him about getting the first clear for hell mode solo of the Verdure kingdom dungeon and receiving the unique passive ¡°Fire Specialist¡±. The Verdure kingdom¡¯s special abilities were elemental specialties. John hoped he could still arrive at the Verdure Kingdom in time to get the ¡®Lightning Specialist¡¯, which was found in a tier 2 divine trial. He was close now as he had most of the gear he wanted and had saved up enough money to teleport. Both Edward and John hadn¡¯t had this much fun playing the game the first time around. Knowing all these secrets and becoming among the most successful players in the game was a huge rush. The question was whether their skills would be equal to holding these positions as they advanced. John thought he could, and was optimistic about Edward, whom he thought was more talented than him the first time around. He thought about Edward¡¯s bitter conflict with a specific person in the guild of sorrows that led to his exile, and it renewed his hatred for them. He thought about his own exile and that hatred grew to a new level. He was more than ready to teach them a lesson. Chapter 30 Corwin checked the auction house but no one was selling magic crystals anymore. People wanted to experiment with the new unlocks. Corwin began a long overland journey. The last trial was 6 hours west of the village of Colmar where Corwin had started. That would be a 30 hour journey from here, but Corwin could use space manipulation to reduce it to 4 hours. Not wanting to draw attention Corwin found a discrete place to open the portal and closed it immediately after stepping through. Corwin travelled through the scenic fall forest into the mountains. It was pretty even by lightstone. He travelled up the mountain and the weather got colder. Eventually there was snow. The snow reflected the light from the lightstone and became a strong yellowish white. Corwin started to circulate his mana feeling the heat from it in his body. Finally, as he reached the top of the mountain he found a gate. And on that gate were the familiar two rainbow streaks. Corwin entered the portal and began another divine trial. He once again saw a spirit and a staircase. The spirit talked to Corwin and instructed him on the trial. This trial was the trial of the hunted. On each stair, he¡¯d be pursued by a stronger and stronger army and had the choice to fight or evade them. If he lasted 1 hour or if the opposing forces were dead he could move on to the next stair. There were 27 stairs in the trial and Corwin wasn¡¯t about to spend anywhere near that long in the trial. He would fight the armies quickly and then only evade if he couldn¡¯t fight. On the first four stairs the armies consisted of 10 ordinary soldiers, which Corwin defeated easily. The 5th stair had a reward magic crystal chest, but the iron chest had only 4 crystals bringing Corwin up to 15 in total. The next four stairs were more challenging, the armies consisting of 20 elites. Fortunately, they split up to search and Corwin was easily able to defeat the 10 small groups of 2. The 10th stair had a reward magic crystal chest, this one a silver tier. Corwin happily gathered the 10 crystals, getting a total of 25. This was enough to upgrade his plate or gloves, but Corwin held out, planning to get up to 38 crystals to equip the amulet. The 11th stair was a substantial step upwards. The army consisted of a general (a chieftain), 3 troop leaders (special elites) and 27 soldiers (elites). The troops split into groups of 5 for the search, with the general on his own. Corwin killed each group in turn, finally killing the general and getting the dropped magic crystal. This pattern continued for the next 3 stairs, and Corwin happily reached 29 crystals. The 15th stair had a reward magic crystal chest, which was also silver tier. Corwin had 39 crystals, and very quickly he had 1 again. He had upgraded the amulet from trash tier to gold tier. He sacrificed 60 trash amulets bringing it to level 12. Corwin looked over the powerful amulet. Amulet of Skill, Divine Growth Type Currently Gold Level 12, +96 All Basic Stats Unlock Hidden Attribute: Qi. (+5 Qi) Unlock Hidden Attribute: Soul (+5 Soul) Unlock Hidden Attribute: Air Affinity (+5 Air Affinity) Unlock Hidden Attribute: Earth Affinity (+5 Earth Affinity) Unlock Hidden Attribute: Fire Affinity (+5 Fire Affinity) Corwin was shocked. This amulet was the ultimate combo with his ring. He¡¯d unlock new hidden attributes and then receive massive boosts to them. He equipped his new amulet excitedly. When he equipped the amulet something else happened that excited him to no end. ¡°You have sufficient fire affinity. Unlocking Ring of Elements skill Fire Manipulation¡± Fire Manipulation, Tier 0 Level 0 For the next 30 minutes, you have precise control of all flames in the area. This can be used to weaken any source of fire, or to make it more powerful. It can also be used for precise control of flames in alchemy. Your precise control enables you to increase a flame by 50% or decrease a flame by up to 50%. Upgradeable for 4,000,000 XP. Cooldown, 4 hours Corwin was excited by this skill, with it he could weaken fire monsters by at least half. He could also use it to make his alchemy reach a whole new level of accuracy. It also answered a question for him. Since Air Manipulation, upgrading his ring didn¡¯t give him new manipulation skills. Apparently, he needed more affinity for them. Corwin continued onwards, facing the next stage. In this stage the general was a lord, the sub-commanders were chieftains and the regular soldiers were special elites. Corwin was equal to the task and picked up 5 magic crystals from each step, until reaching step 20. On step 20 was a gold-tier magic crystal chest, which Corwin opened for another 16 magic crystals. He was back to 32 crystals, but he wanted to save them. He was hoping that the next upgrade of the amulet would unlock another Manipulation skill. This was more important than the extra defense and stats from upgrading either his gauntlets or his plate armor. At the 21st step things reached a whole new level of difficulty. The individual soldiers were chieftains, the sub-commanders were lords and the general was a special lord. Fortunately, they searched in groups of 2, and Corwin could handle fighting even a chieftain and a lord at once at this point. He fought quickly and managed to defeat the entire army by a small margin, receiving 35 magic crystals for his efforts. He upgraded his amulet, doubling the stats and getting a double unlock. Unlock Hidden Attribute: Water Affinity Skill: Water Manipulation, Tier 0, Level 0 For the next 30 minutes, you have precise control of all water and ice in an area. This can be used to reduce or increase any water or ice effect by 50%. It can also be used for precise control of fluids in alchemy. Upgradeable for 4,000,000XP. Cooldown 4 hours. Corwin was also excited by this skill, which improved his alchemy even further. It also enabled him to reduce the effectiveness of water and ice monsters as well as survive in hostile cold environments. Corwin knew of one such environment he could enter shortly, a Level 15 ice realm. Corwin stepped onto the 22nd stair and fought a stronger army of similar composition. He was lucky though; this army was made up entirely of fire minions and elementals. Corwin dispatched the army in half an hour, using fire manipulation to weaken the enemies and all their skills and attacks. He got 35 magic crystals for his trouble and used his 20 magic crystals to upgrade his plate armor to gold. His plate armor gained the powerful ability Soul of the Martial Artist, which doubled the Soul stat.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Corwin stepped onto the 23rd stair and fought an even stronger army. This one was made up entirely of water minions and elements. Corwin used water affinity to dispatch the army in under 30 minutes, getting 35 magic crystals for his troubles. Corwin knew he was expected to run and hide from enemies at this point of the trial, but was powerful enough to fight them instead. The rewards were great. Corwin upgraded his plate armor to epic, leaving him with just 2 magic crystals. His plate armor gained the powerful ability Cultivation of the Martial Artist, which doubled the Qi stat. The 24th stair was a reward stair. Corwin received a gold tier magic crystal chest happily, getting 32 magic crystals for his trouble. Corwin wanted to save some crystals to upgrade the cuisse he expected to earn on the 26th stair, but he knew the 25th stair would be quite challenging. Corwin upgraded his gauntlets for 20 magic crystals, and was excited to see a new ability on them. Affinity Boost: Pick an Affinity Stat you possess. That affinity is doubled. Corwin picked Air for now, as it greatly increased the performance of his wind charge. Finally, Corwin challenged the 25th stair. He was glad to see the composition of the new army was not on a new tier. There were more of them though. Each army subdivision consisted of 9 soldiers now, but there were 6 subdivisions, for 55 total enemies. The enemies approached in groups of 3, except for the greater lord which kept 3 bodyguards. Corwin fought through 51 of the enemies quickly, taking their individual groups on and fighting 3 chieftains or 2 chieftains and a lord with an expertise that was probably unmatched in the game. Despite being outnumber 3 to 1 by boss class monsters Corwin dispatched each group in under 3 minutes. When he approached the final boss group consisting of 3 chieftains and a greater lord he had over 10 minutes left for the fight. He began with Air Manipulation and received a large bonus for it was enhanced by his insane affinity. His attack speed and movement reached an impressive level and he was unhittable even by 5 enemies. His speed gave him enough time to attack and before the skill was up the chieftains were gone. He was down to 7 minutes to dispatch a greater lord. The general fights were more grindy. After 5 minutes, Corwin triggered the berserk of the greater lord. The demon general, Athanos, grew to twice his size as he received a massive surge of strength. Corwin no longer pushed the general back when he attacked, instead their attacks would bounce off each other with neither of them stepping back. Fortunately, Corwin attacked faster and slipped attacks under the guard. By 1 minute, left in the challenge, Corwin had the demon down to 11% health. Corwin pushed his techniques to the limit and started to use rapid blow non-stop. He had to be faster. Finally, he got the demon to 5% health. The demon¡¯s special ability had only a 5 second timer and Corwin was hit by the powerful wave of darkness energy. He was surprised when his HP fell to 75%, this fast attack was powerful enough to kill someone in all gold equipment. Fortunately, Corwin had mostly epics, his magic defense and HP was on an insane level for this point in the game. After the skill, Corwin burst down the boss successfully, finishing with just enough time to loot him. Corwin rubbed his hands excitedly, he had faced off against all the armies without hiding or running once. He was gleeful about his 64 new magic crystals, bringing his total to an impressive 84. Corwin upgraded his gloves to epic tier while he waited. He was happy with the ability that came out. 2nd Affinity Boost: Pick a different Affinity Stat you possess. That affinity is doubled. Corwin waited for his ring of air to reach the cooldown if in case the 26th stair wasn¡¯t a reward stair like he expected. It turns out his caution was unnecessary. He reached the 26th stair and the spirit appeared before him. There were 3 rewards to choose from. But before Corwin could pick the mystery box the spirit spoke. ¡°As a reward for defeating all the armies, instead of picking one of the rewards, you may take all 3.¡± Corwin picked up the basic potion of attributes, the basic potion of hidden attributes and the mystery box. The potion of attributes he couldn¡¯t use because of the one-use limit, but he could gift it to Kyo. He used the potion of hidden attributes and opened the mystery box. Inside was the expected Cuisse, Cuisse of the Swordsman, Divine Growth Tier Currently Trash Level 0 Sacrifice 5 Trash or better Cuisse¡¯s to upgrade. Sacrifice 1 magic crystal to evolve Corwin smiled. He spent 18 magic crystals, getting the cuisse to silver tier, leaving him with 16 total. He sacrificed 60 trash cuisses to get it to level 12. Cuisse of the Swordsman, Divine Growth Tier Currently Silver, Level 12, Str +48 Agi +48 Con +48 Def 192 MDef 192 Durability 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str Reduce level of Charm skills by level of cuisse Reduce level of Charm techniques by level of cuisse Improve Martial Arts Tier by 0.02 levels/level All Swordsman Skills +0.02 levels/level Sacrifice 5 Trash or better Cuisse¡¯s to upgrade. Sacrifice 20 magic crystal to evolve Corwin was quite happy with the improvements. Charm was a dangerous ability when used on him because he¡¯d be able to easily kill most players in the game. The new resistance was a welcome addition. Similarly, Corwin planned on getting martial arts skills eventually and having a high tier in the rare pursuit was valuable. Further enhancement of his swordsman skills was always welcome. Finally, Corwin stepped onto the 27th stair. On the 27th stair, there was a manual and a portal. The manual was a martial arts movement skill, blink. The portal was 10 meters in the air, and could only be accessed by blinking to it. Corwin read the martial arts skill and practiced it for hours before he could finally achieve it. He blinked into the portal ending the divine trial. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 75% of level 11 Str: 1801(base:25) Agi: 1866 (base:70) Con:1801 (base:25) Int: 601 (base:25) Cha: 601 (base:25) Lck: 217 (base:25) Cnc: 217 (base:25) Sta: 217 (base: 25) Qi: 217 (base: 20) (*2) Soul: 217 (base:20) (*2) Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) (*2) Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) (*2) Def: 5593 MDef: 4251 HP:20010/20010 (base: 1000) MP:8010/8010 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 201/384, Requirements: 384 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 198/384, Requirements: 384 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def,768MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +48Str, +48Agi, +48Con 192Def, 192MDef Durability: 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def, 768MDef, Durability 370/386 Requirements: 386 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 368/386 Requirements: 386Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 372/386, Requirements: 386Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 31 A smile washed over me as I was finally free to contemplate what I¡¯ve achieved. I had successfully achieved a complete set of equipment made out of growth items. This made me the most powerful character in the game, and meant that any gear I gained in the future could go to developing the guild or could be sold for funds. I knew the gear wouldn¡¯t level with trash tier items forever, but I also knew it was a long time before the gear became difficult to level. To my knowledge the items sacrificed never had a level minimum meaning that I could always get rid of obsolete gear. I interrupted my celebrations to focus on making progress. I teleported back to the capital city, the only city with a teleportation gate powerful enough to travel between kingdoms and continents. I had a few things to take care of before teleporting however. First I went to the auction house, and picked up my spoils. The sale of bronze equipment had peaked, this time I had earned only 8000 gold coins. Still a lot more than they¡¯d be worth in even a single day, but less than before. I checked the auction house for magic crystals and found none. I couldn¡¯t auction anything as I was leaving shortly. Before leaving, I attempted to turn in the road quest. Unfortunately, the reward was only a small amount of Kingdom reputation, something I wouldn¡¯t need in Orleans for a long long time. I next had to decide how greedy I wanted to be. Did I want to go to any other kingdoms before Verdure? Teleportation to a kingdom near Orleans was only 1000 gold, and I still knew a few secrets in neighboring kingdoms that could be valuable. If I waited too long I might miss out on getting one of the powerful elemental legacies available in Verdure however. Perhaps greed got the better of me, but with time manipulation I knew that the Kingdom of Aquitalia was where I should go next. If things went to plan, I¡¯d only stay there long enough for one auction and one divine trial. The divine trials in Aquitalia focused on crafting, and the one I was most interested in enabled me to get a divine flame: the tribulation flame. Divine flames were mostly used in alchemy and forging, but could also be used offensively or defensively if one learnt the appropriate flame skills or techniques. The tribulation flame was located in a divine tier 2 crafting trial, something I was confident no one could pass. Being a divine flame trial, one needed to be skilled in both alchemy and forging to get through it. I suspected I had the highest skill in the world at both as I got the unique items for completing the ranks, and there had not been any announcement for journeyman as yet. I committed to spending up to 10 hours in Aquitalia, paying 1000 gold to teleport to the capital. Once there I took in the capital. I bought out the rare crafting ingredients I needed for arrays, as well as crafting ingredients for my iron tier gear. I auctioned the last 25 of each bronze item on an eight hour time limit. I went for gold, which despite the hardness of earning would still be more plentiful and spent more easily than magical crystals. I did however, decide to auction 25 of each iron gear at the magic crystal auction shop, for 1 magic crystal each minimum. I wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d sell, but if any did it would help me greatly. If they didn¡¯t I could always sell them for gold in Verdure. After completing my tasks in the capital city of Aquilia, I set out on the 2-hour journey to the divine trial. Aquitalia was directly to the north of Orleans, and it had reached the late fall. The trees were no longer pretty as the leaves had mostly fallen. As I headed further north, the green returned as the pattern of the forests shifted towards evergreen varieties. Finally, I reached the level 18 zone in which the trial was hidden. With my high agility and movement speed tier bonus I was easily able to avoid the enemies, eventually finding the gate in a meadow deep inside the evergreen forest. I stepped inside and encountered a trial rather different than the rest. Instead of a staircase, there was a room consisting of an alchemical workshop and a forge. The heat from the forge was intense and I had to use mana to control my body temperature lest I sweat profusely. Instead of the normal trial spirit, there was a semi-corporeal old man. He played with his white mustache and beard as he spoke. ¡°This divine trial is one of forging and alchemy. At each stage you will be given a recipe and will have five attempts to successfully produce it. Should you fail to craft an item your trial is over. We will alternate between forging and alchemy. Save for the ultimate reward, your only rewards will be the recipes you learn. Each task has a 1-hour time limit. I equipped my forgers belt, medallion and hammer, confident that between my manual skill at crafting honed over 15 years in the past together with my item bonuses I could succeed. Sure enough, the first item, a common shield was produced in 1 attempt. I switched to my alchemy equipment and made the common stinkbomb potion out of stinkweed in a single attempt as well. This continued for some time, until we had covered common recipes from level 1 to level 10 in both forging and alchemy, with each trial taking a mere 5 minutes. We started again with bronze items, going from level 1 to level 10 once more. On the higher-level bronze items I had an occasional failure. Nonetheless, I kept the average time per success to around 8 minutes. We moved on to iron-items, everything went smoothly until level 8 where I failed the first two attempts at making an iron plate helm. I succeeded on the third however, and the trial continued. I was lucky that the level 8 and level 9 items were a mana potion and health potion respectively. Those recipes were useful as the NPC prices for those potions were heavily inflated. I persevered and reached the level 10 forging challenge. In it I had to create a complete set of armor for a set called Tank¡¯s armor. It had unusually high defense and MDef for an iron-tier equipment, rising almost to the quality of silver tier equipment. The set bonus gave a Def and MDef multiplier, reaching 1.75x if one had the full set equipped. It was ideal gear for tanks, and gave me something quite good to sell once more people had reached level 10. I completed it successfully. Upon completion I got my next set of world announcements.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Journeyman Forger. Rewarding with 1 Forger¡¯s Hammer (Silver Tier) and 160,000,000 XP.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Altaea to reach Journeyman Forger. Rewarding with 1 Forger¡¯s Medallion (Iron Tier) and 80,000,000 XP.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Aquitalia to reach Journeyman Forger. Rewarding with 1 Forger¡¯s Belt (Bronze Tier) and 40,000,000 XP.
The experience was enough to give me level 11, and I continued to improve my agility. Before handing in my completed set equipment I sat down and spent most of the remaining time working on my level 9 iron potion recipe. I had bought up the mana potion ingredients as I fully expected their value to increase over time, but instead I started making mana potions myself. Near the time limit, I handed the set equipment in and went on to the iron-tier level 10 alchemy challenge. I struggled to complete that one burning through 3 sets of ingredients before succeeding on the 4th try. I had run out of mana potion ingredients, so I did something similar with health potions. Finally, I succeeded in getting the announcement I was waiting for.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Journeyman Alchemist. Rewarding with 1 Alchemist¡¯s Tools (Silver Tier) and 160,000,000 XP.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Altaea to reach Journeyman Alchemist. Rewarding with 1 Alchemist¡¯s Medallion (Iron Tier) and 80,000,000 XP.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Aquitalia to reach Journeyman Alchemist. Rewarding with 1 Alchemist¡¯s Belt (Bronze Tier) and 40,000,000 XP.
With my journeyman level and improved tier of support gear, I moved on to challenging the silver recipes. Everything went smoothly until level 9, where I spoiled 3 sets of ingredients in forging. My 4th try produce a flawed success, resulting in an iron-tier item. I was down to my last attempt. Fortunately, I realized what I was doing wrong and corrected it on the last attempt. Unfortunately, time was running low. I finished forging the equipment with 3 seconds left, and leapt over the table sprinting to hand it in. Only my high agility and movement tier improvement saved me as I completed the trial with less than 1 second left. When I reached the level 9 alchemy challenge I was floored. The item I had to brew was actually the intermediate mana potion. This recipe was extremely valuable, and I was planning to take some dangerous risks in order to get it early. Fortunately, I wouldn¡¯t have to. I was very familiar with this potion, having brewed it many times in the past, I thus succeeded on the first try. The level 10 forging challenge was another set. It took me two failures to understand what I was doing wrong. Unfortunately, the next two successes were flawed, giving me only iron-tier items. I was down to my last try. Would it all end here? I knew they wouldn¡¯t be giving away gold tier recipes so I was down to the bitter end. I poured my heart and soul into my forging and scraped by with a final success. I once again had seconds to spare, although this time it wasn¡¯t so dramatic that I needed to leap the table. The level 10 alchemy challenge was an anticlimax. I was required to brew the intermediate health potion. This was one of the potions I had brewed most frequently in the first year of the game. Brewing it was straightforward for me an I succeeded on the first try. I thus, completed the divine trial and earned the tribulation flame. With my high fire affinity I was confident and integrated it into my body immediately. My normal temperature permanently became a few degrees hotter as my fire affinity improved further. I was ready for Verdure now. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 11: 51% of level 12 Str: 1801(base:25) Agi: 1866 (base:70) Con:1801 (base:25) Int: 601 (base:25) Cha: 601 (base:25) Lck: 217 (base:25) Cnc: 217 (base:25) Sta: 217 (base: 25) Qi: 217 (base: 20) Soul: 217 (base:20) Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) Def: 5593 MDef: 4251 HP:21911/21911 (base: 1000) MP:8711/8711 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 201/384, Requirements: 384 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 198/384, Requirements: 384 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def,768MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +48Str, +48Agi, +48Con 192Def, 192MDef Durability: 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def, 768MDef, Durability 370/386 Requirements: 386 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 368/386 Requirements: 386Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 372/386, Requirements: 386Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 32 As Corwin finished with the flame he received a notification.
You have finished bonding the tribulation flame. Fire Affinity improves by 100. This flame has other secrets to be discovered.
The secrets part of the notification intrigued Corwin. He already knew about using it in alchemy and knew of the secret skills and secret techniques that could be gained for the flame. Yet, he still wondered if there was something else. Corwin returned to Aquilia and got the gains from the auction. The last of his bronze equipment sold for 9000 gold, while he managed to sell 10 iron equips for 1 magic crystal each. This was enough to evolve his plate cuisse to gold, but he decided to keep the magic crystals instead. He still needed those crystals badly. Once Corwin had a guild, he planned on raiding world bosses, and those bosses would likely drop recipes that required them. Corwin started to plan. His gear needed 70 more magic crystals. Beyond epic tier it required magic stones to evolve. Magic stones were rarer and more powerful than magic crystals. It generally took over 300 magic crystals to trade for a magic stone, but people would seldom trade away their magic stones. Corwin doubted anyone in the game had a magic stone yet anyways. A single piece of equipment he wanted to evolve to legendary needed 5 mana stones. Corwin felt his gear was going to be stuck at epic for quite some time. Knowing this, he planned on making his allies as strong as possible. He bought all the inexpensive crafting items as well as all the rare crafting items left in the capital. This included some of the ingredients for his new level 10 silver set equipment. Finally, he paid his 10,000 gold teleportation fee and headed to the Verdure kingdom. It was good to be home. Corwin had gone on quite the adventure, but it was time to play in his backyard. The familiar sights, sounds and smells of the Verdure kingdom were welcome. The merchant quarter felt less like shops and more like a middle eastern bazaar. It was spring in Verdure, as this continent was in the southern hemisphere and thus the seasons were flipped. Spring in Verdure always smelled of water lilies and cherry blossoms. These plants were quite fragrant in Eternity¡¯s Wake, smelling similar to the earth varieties but far stronger. There was a lily pond in the capital city that Corwin would often go to. It teemed with wildlife, a parkland oasis in what was otherwise a medieval urban jungle. The capital itself was buildings on top of buildings, stretching high into the sky. Architecture was quite advanced in the Verdure kingdom and there were apartments 4 stories high. Player owned shops would soon become colossal, breaking up the skyline. But for now, a pristine view of the mountains in the distance could be seen from almost anywhere in the city. Corwin stopped his reminiscing and focused on the task at hand. He had two top priorities. The first was to take any remaining legacies from divine trials. The second was to build up reputation. With sufficiently high reputation, players would be able to buy land in the city, and Corwin needed land to setup a shop. Unlike selling in the street, shops could hire NPCs and sell exclusively on behalf of a single player or guild. Corwin also had to figure out when and how to setup his guild. Too soon, and it would be a vulnerable empty husk, but too late and he¡¯d miss opportunities to recruit. There was much to do. Corwin started by exploring the familiar areas, trekking out the various legacy spots. He avoided the fire legacy since he knew Kyo had taken it. Sadly, his trekking was rather disappointing. Air, Earth, and Water were also taken. That meant all the elemental legacies were gone. Corwin set his sights on the special legacies. A few hours journey proved the lightning legacy was already taken. All that remained were space and time. Corwin knew only the region in which these gates were, he didn¡¯t know the exact location. That meant he had to explore.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Corwin used the ring of space to teleport to a location close to the space legacy that he had visited while travelling to the air legacy. He began to explore the level 16 monster zone. This zone featured a powerful agility monster, the dire wolf. Dire wolves would hunt in packs, and would try and surround their enemies in ambush. That made this a very poor zone for levelling, and a tough zone to explore. This made Corwin happy as it meant it was likely no one had yet found the legacy. That emotion soon changed as Corwin found himself ambushed and surrounded by 8 dire wolves. While there were no elites or special elites, the level suppression made it feel like he was fighting chieftains. His damage was reduced dramatically, and any hit the wolves landed did over triple damage. Corwin would find himself in trouble if his gear was merely gold. Fortunately, his epic tier equipment gave him powerful defense and enough offense to punch through and fairly soon the wolves fell. Corwin collected the loot, finding nothing important before continuing on. He searched for some time, constantly being interrupted by ambushes. Fairly soon he heard the familiar ding of a level up. He had reached level 12. Corwin dumped his points into agility. He continued searching, and found an interesting spot. In a valley, surrounded by hills was a winding path between three hills. And at the end of that winding path there was a divine gate. The gate was the same and yet not the same. It had a bright blue portal, and the familiar grey brick surrounding it. But on that grey brick was something Corwin had yet to see in this life. Three rainbow stripes. That meant a 3rd level divine trial. Knowing the trials scaled to level, Corwin dumped his XP into his fire and water manipulation skills, falling to level 10 as they each reached level 8. The first divine trial Corwin would face in his homeland would be the hardest one he had ever faced. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 90% of level 11 Str: 1801(base:25) Agi: 1866 (base:70) Con:1801 (base:25) Int: 601 (base:25) Cha: 601 (base:25) Lck: 217 (base:25) Cnc: 217 (base:25) Sta: 217 (base: 25) Qi: 217 (base: 20) Soul: 217 (base:20) Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) Def: 5593 MDef: 4251 HP:20910/20910 (base: 1000) MP:8110/8110 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 201/384, Requirements: 384 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 198/384, Requirements: 384 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def,768MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +48Str, +48Agi, +48Con 192Def, 192MDef Durability: 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def, 768MDef, Durability 370/386 Requirements: 386 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 368/386 Requirements: 386Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 372/386, Requirements: 386Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes) Skills: Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 33 Corwin entered the trial in a blinding flash of light. The portal was more powerful than ever before; after passing through it, Corwin felt disoriented. His gaze shifted upwards and he made out the familiar light green glow on the non-corporeal figure of a spirit. He wasn¡¯t ready to talk yet, so he continued to observe his surroundings. ¡®Oh great, another staircase¡¯ he thought. After some time, the dizzy feeling was gone and Corwin felt normal. He approached the spirit, stepping over some strange ruins on the ground floor. The ruins didn¡¯t seem to be part of an array and they were so ancient that Corwin had never seen anything like them. He observed the white floor intensely, paying particular attention to the green ruins. For the life of him, he couldn¡¯t figure out what they were for. He couldn¡¯t figure out what language they were in or what symbols they were. His curiosity unsatisfied he decided to talk to the spirit. ¡°Hello, great spirit. It is an honor to be here.¡± ¡°Hello challenger. Would you like me to explain the rules of the divine trial?¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious about these ruins, could you tell me about them first.¡± ¡°These ruins are symbols of the array technique of this world. They are very ancient, older than the technique of many worlds. The technique of this world focuses on elemental arrays, generating great powers and affinities. The two ruins are an earth array known as preservation. The stone here is over 100,000 years old yet is unworn and unaged.¡± Corwin was floored. He thought he¡¯d be able to recognize any array. It shocked him that he couldn¡¯t even tell it was an array. ¡°I have great interest in this technique. I¡¯m a student of arrays in my own world, and despite my experience I couldn¡¯t even tell the ruins were an array. Remarkable.¡± ¡°One of the paths of rewards will teach this array technique. Perhaps you¡¯d like to pursue that path?¡± ¡°I have much interest great spirit, but I¡¯ve come here pursuing the space manipulation legacy.¡± Corwin said hesitantly. ¡°All reward paths lead to that legacy if you¡¯re strong enough to earn it. The other reward paths are the martial path, and the magic path. Since you¡¯ve treated me with respect I¡¯ll let you know that the martial path is the hardest path with the strongest rewards.¡± ¡°Thank you for your honesty great spirit. I pursue the martial path yet cannot shake the feeling that I must learn these arrays. You give me much to think about.¡± Corwin sat still for a while, pondering his choices. The ruins continued to glow and call to him. ¡°I have decided. In my heart I must learn these arrays. There will be other martial paths.¡± ¡°Very good challenger. I shall now tell you the rules of your challenge.¡± ¡°This is a comprehension challenge, where you will learn arrays and reproduce them to an acceptable quality within a time limit. If you advance far enough you will be given a chance to comprehend the space legacy. What you take from it is up to you.¡± ¡°What would have happened if I pursued the martial or magic challenge great spirit?¡± ¡°You would have left the divine trial, never to return. Only those who admire the great array art are eligible to receive it. There is only one true path for this trial.¡± Corwin breathed a sigh of relief, glad for listening to his gut. The spirit was quite manipulative, those great martial rewards were extremely tempting. He perked up as the spirit started to fade, speaking one last line. ¡°You are most interesting challenger, I hope to see you at the top of the staircase.¡± Corwin began the challenge. On the first 55 stairs were runes, each of which needed to be drawn. Corwin learnt to draw the runes easily, and by the 30th stair he understood they were letters of the ancient language. On the 56th stair there was a reward, a small book. Upon opening it, it turned into a bright white stream of light that vanished into Corwin.
You have learnt a rudimentary understanding of the language of ancients.
For over a hundred stairs, Corwin formed words out of the ancient language. He knew the words were rudimentary. Toddler-speak. But all words had power. These words were very basic primitive arrays. Eventually, on the 200th stair there was another book, this one somewhat larger. A familiar light streamed into Corwin.
You have a primitive understanding of the language of ancients.
Corwin continued, losing all sense of time. Hundreds of stairs followed. In each, he learned several words with the same meaning. Only his high comprehension meant he could understand the differences between them. The nuances were variations, each stronger at some things and weaker at others. After some time, he reached another reward stair.
You have a basic understanding of the language of ancients. You know the grammar well enough to form simple sentences
Corwin started to understand the two ruins protecting the staircase were a primitive sentence that roughly translated to. Sacred Place. The word place was highlighted in the sentence, and had nuances of protection and a lasting over time. The language of ancients was so detailed that such things were possible. Corwin had committed each word he learnt to memory, eager to reach the level where he could design his own ancient arrays.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Thousands of stairs followed. Each one contained a two-word sentence and each sentence had more complexity than a long sentence in Corwin¡¯s own language. Corwin noticed that the non-primary word of the sentence was always a compatible supporting word. Words in the ancient language could be compatible or opposing, and opposing words would not be able to form arrays. Corwin memorized the sentences, understanding they had the lightest touch of power. Not enough to be a true array. Finally, another book followed.
You have a reading knowledge of the language of ancients. You know what most words mean, and can decipher others from their runes. You writing is the most rudimentary form of copying, unable to shape words on your own. You cannot speak the language at all.
Many stairs and codexes follows, the language was syllabic, each rune represented a single syllable. Strangely, each syllable always contained a single phoneme. There were pronunciation variants in how the syllables combined, too numerous to name. Whether something was said hard or soft would change the meaning and how it was written. Most strangely of all, the language was not tonal. Most languages of eastern mysticism were, but Corwin could sense this was older than all of that. Speaking the words of an array would empower it further and make it stronger. Corwin learnt to speak as he wrote the many sentences he was challenged on, discovering the pronunciations by experimentation, finding the variant that made the array light up most fully. Finally, he reached a new book.
You have knowledge of the language of ancients. You know what most words mean, and can decipher others through runic inscription. Your writing is basic, and you have learned to shape words through experimentation.
Corwin continued on and the journey seemed almost endless. It felt like he had been inside the array for days. He persevered. Finally, he reached a book, and he knew this was the last book. When he took it, he received a notification and the ancient spirit suddenly appeared.
You have sufficient knowledge of the language of ancients. You may challenge the legacy of space.
You have done well challenger, few possess the comprehension to make it this far. On the next stair is a pillar and a portal. You may stay there for up to 5 days. You can portal out at any time earlier if you wish. When you leave, your comprehension of the space legacy will be told to you. Corwin stepped on the stair, worried about falling 5 days behind. If his iron equipment became worthless he¡¯d struggle to make the next payment on the game. If he had to play catch up to others he wouldn¡¯t have new valuable equipment to sell. Nonetheless, this legacy drew him in and he stayed. By the end of the first day, he could see through the pillar to the primordial energy within. He understood the primordial energy made up the universe. By the end of the second day, he could see the individual atoms in the primordial energy. On the third day, he discovered that in the nuclei of each atom was a word of the ancient language. By that night, though he had never seen it before but somehow new it meant ¡®origin of all things¡¯. On the fourth day, he discovered the bonds between atoms also formed words. It took to till the 5th day to discover the meaning of those words. It was hard to translate but close to ¡®that which joins all things¡¯. The meaning also had hints of energy, power, and creation. Corwin continued to study, and discovered that the words on the bonds would change when an advanced molecule formed. He couldn¡¯t discover the meaning of the words before the molecules would quickly collapse back to their primitive form. Finally, just minutes before the 5th day ended he comprehended the word. It translated loosely as ¡®advancement of the form¡¯, it¡¯s meaning was tinted with energy, power, creation but also destruction. Corwin reflected on all the words. He had missed another hint that had been present, all of the words carried in them hints of ¡®entropy¡¯. In that moment, Corwin understood that our universe had been created by these ancients and for some unknowable reason they had designed it to fall apart. The timer expired and Corwin received a notification as he was forced from the divine trial.
You have received an S-class evaluation. You have received the full legacy of space. As a swordsman of space you have gained the skill Spatial Slash. You will gain new space skills at each tier you advance
Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 90% of level 11 Str: 1801(base:25) Agi: 1866 (base:70) Con:1801 (base:25) Int: 601 (base:25) Cha: 601 (base:25) Lck: 217 (base:25) Cnc: 217 (base:25) Sta: 217 (base: 25) Qi: 217 (base: 20) Soul: 217 (base:20) Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) Def: 5593 MDef: 4251 HP:20910/20910 (base: 1000) MP:8110/8110 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 201/384, Requirements: 384 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 198/384, Requirements: 384 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def,768MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +48Str, +48Agi, +48Con 192Def, 192MDef Durability: 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def, 768MDef, Durability 370/386 Requirements: 386 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 368/386 Requirements: 386Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 372/386, Requirements: 386Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 34 Corwin stepped outside the gate worried about the chaos that his long absence would cause. He started to think, he didn¡¯t understand how he¡¯d been in the game for 2 real days without taking a break. He didn¡¯t recall any of the daily patches occurring either. He checked the time and was surprised to discover that only 6 hours of game time had passed. ¡®So, it was time-accelerated¡¯ he thought with relief. His iron items should still be valuable. Corwin used space manipulation to go back to the capital city and auctioned 25 of each iron item for gold, and 25 of each iron item for magic crystals. He¡¯d have to wait 6 in-game hours for results. Corwin bought up some crafting ingredients and planned to use time manipulation which was off cooldown. To keep time manipulation secret, he rented a private workshop. Corwin manufactured 50 of the level 10 set equipment, 50 intermediate mana potions and 50 intermediate health potions. This went a few minutes over the time acceleration but Corwin was quite happy with his crafting results. The set equipment should sell well in a few days, and the potions would be immediately useful for himself. Corwin took advantage of being in a city to mail Kyo the gold amulet he was no longer using. Finally, Corwin set out for the legacy of time divine trial. Space and time were related and there might be great benefits if Corwin could get both legacies. Corwin travelled 4 hours south-east, along the banks of the mighty Cressoda river, on a road that neighboured the great flood plains. He saw mighty hippo-like monsters and many alligators. Fortunately, the wards on the road were in good condition. Finally, he reached his destination, a small jungle known as the Cresanian. In that jungle was a level 22 territory, and in that territory was a gate. Corwin smiled as the gate still had a portal. The gate was a level 3 divine trial so Corwin prepared for a substantial challenge. Upon entering the gate, Corwin arrived in a small dojo. The wooden dojo walls were covered with weapons of every kind imaginable, including a framed black katana. A dojo master, in spirit form, lead two younger spirits through their katas. He left them to their movements to talk to Corwin who had suddenly appeared. ¡°I am one of many incarnations of time, I have appeared in this form because of something important to you.¡± ¡°I understand. I remember this dojo well from my younger days when I trained in martial arts.¡± ¡°Perhaps you regret stopping.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± Corwin looked at one of the spirits practicing Katas and saw himself. He looked at the other and saw his first crush, a young raven-haired beauty moving with grace and poise even as she projected her killing will. The spirit saw the fond longing in Corwin¡¯s glance. ¡°Ah, young love.¡± He gazed into Corwin¡¯s memories before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s more of a path not taken though. In that case the trial begins.¡± Suddenly, Corwin was 14 again. Just finishing a kata in the dojo. Ae-young was there, in all her majestic beauty. She dripped sweat having just completed the forms, yet somehow not a single hair was out of place. She turned to Corwin with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the way you look at me.¡± Corwin remembered his younger self stumbling through this conversation, trying to deny it. He wasn¡¯t the same man now. ¡°I can¡¯t help but stare, you¡¯re too beautiful, Ae-young.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re cute. I wouldn¡¯t let most men get away with looking at me like that.¡± Corwin was a bit dumbfounded. Was it possible she liked him and they had just never acted on it? ¡°Cute enough to go out with? How about lunch together now that we¡¯re done our forms?¡± ¡°It took you long enough to ask. Lunch sounds lovely.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. New memories flashed before Corwin, an entire alternate life spent with Ae-young. They had a family, had kids, grew old together. But something was missing, Corwin didn¡¯t game. ¡®My heart just isn¡¯t into a world where I can¡¯t game he thought.¡¯ The illusory life shattered. Corwin was now in another location. This was the first day of University, the day he met Alice. Alice captivated his heart and his mind, she remained his crush till the day before he reincarnated. He was pretty sure it was unrequired, but in this domain she loved him. Once again a life started to flash before his eyes, new memories of growing old together, once again no game. The old Corwin would have struggled with this, he wanted her so badly. To the new him she was young and immature. Once again the illusory life shattered. Other turning points of his life flashed before his eyes, in one instance he became a great scientist, discovering new technologies for humanity. But he wasn¡¯t happy, his heart wasn¡¯t in his work the way it was in the game. In another instance he became a general, winning battles and acquiring fame and glory. But his heart still wanted the game. The illusion continued in all the myriad forms. Finally, one from his past but the actual future occurred. He was firing Edward from the Guild of Sorrow. The game knowing about his future hit Corwin like a ton of bricks. He thought to himself ¡®I¡¯ve prevented this outcome. Edward and I will play together and become successful.¡¯ In total, 99 different illusory lives flashed before Corwin each without the game. Despite all their interests, each lacked appeal. Corwin¡¯s heart was set on becoming the best in the game. Each illusion shattered and finally Corwin was back in the dojo with the spirit. ¡°Your heart for this life is strong Corwin.¡± ¡°This is my path. My destiny¡± ¡°You are worthy of my legacy, you have withstood the test of time.¡±
You have received the legacy of time as a swordsman. You will gain a new time skill on each tier up. You have received the first skill, ¡®haste of the warrior¡¯¡±
Corwin left the divine trial and stared fondly at the faded gate. He reflected on missing Ae-young. Then he had a rather horrifying thought. The game AI had read his memories of the future. Does it know I know what¡¯s coming? Will the game change? Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 90% of level 11 Str: 1801(base:25) Agi: 1866 (base:70) Con:1801 (base:25) Int: 601 (base:25) Cha: 601 (base:25) Lck: 217 (base:25) Cnc: 217 (base:25) Sta: 217 (base: 25) Qi: 217 (base: 20) Soul: 217 (base:20) Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) Def: 5593 MDef: 4251 HP:20910/20910 (base: 1000) MP:8110/8110 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 201/384, Requirements: 384 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 198/384, Requirements: 384 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def,768MDef, Durability 96/96, Requirements:96 Str LA: Silver Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +48Str, +48Agi, +48Con 192Def, 192MDef Durability: 96/96 Requirements: 96 Str G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def, 768MDef, Durability 370/386 Requirements: 386 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 368/386 Requirements: 386Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 372/386, Requirements: 386Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 35 The AI having accessed his memories left Corwin visibly shaken. Fortunately, he remembered that access was limited. The AI was unlikely to know the memory of Edward came from the future. Even if it did, it probably wouldn¡¯t process that Corwin knew the future. After all, that couldn¡¯t make sense, could it. Corwin tried to reassure himself. For now, he¡¯d stay the course. If things changed too much or too quickly he¡¯d have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Corwin reflected on his new skills. Spatial slash was a line attack that did 120% damage, and would immobilize and prevent attacks from all enemies hit for 1 second. Corwin was ecstatic to have his first CC skill. It was unlikely to do much against high tier bosses, but even a brief instant of immobility could interrupt a skill. Disrupting blow had become a core of Corwin¡¯s arsenal of moves and now he had something even stronger. Haste of the warrior was a powerful haste skill. A normal haste skill would buff agility by 50%. Haste of the warrior buffed agility by 100% as well as strength and con by 25% each. For Corwin, this meant an extra 450% of base damage, roughly 4500 extra HP and an extra 1800% of base speed. The effects were even stronger when tier multipliers applied. Haste of the warrior also had a 5-minute duration, whereas normal haste skills lasted between 1 and 3 minutes. Best of all, summoner was the only class that got buff skills naturally. Having a buff skill as a swordsman at all was OP. Agility also affected manual dexterity, so Corwin could even use this skill to be very precise during some crucial crafting. Really, the only downside to the skill was that it was only self-targeting. Corwin hoped that would change with higher tiers. Corwin walked back towards the capital as he reflected on his next moves. So far, there hadn¡¯t been an announcement for forming a recognized guild. A recognized guild was one who¡¯s founding member was a noble at the time they founded the guild. Being a noble required sufficient kingdom reputation, and Corwin knew of a few ways to get some. First, there were the first clears of the Verdant Forest, Verdure Kingdom¡¯s level 10 dungeon. Secondly, there was a hidden quest that started in the capital. Corwin decided to take on the dungeon first. The quest was hard to find but had a time limit. If Corwin pursued it immediately, he might lose the first clear to some advanced players. Getting the first clear of a dungeon on any level would result in dungeon passes to enable one to try again. So Corwin went for normal mode, clearing it effortlessly.
Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of the dungeon Verdant Forest in normal mode. Party member Corwin Swordborn receives 5 Verdure Kingdom Reputation and 1 Dungeon Pass.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for the first solo clear of Verdant Forest Dungeon in normal mode. He receives 10 Verdure Kingdom Reputation.
He continued with the still unchallenging hard mode.
Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of the dungeon Verdant Forest in hard mode. Party member Corwin Swordborn receives 10 Verdure Kingdom Reputation and 1 Dungeon Pass.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for the first solo clear of Verdant Forest Dungeon in hard mode. He receives 20 Verdure Kingdom Reputation.
Finally, he went for hell mode. Corwin was too powerful. Hell mode still wasn¡¯t a challenge, and he uneventfully cleaved through the bosses.
Congratulations to Party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of the dungeon Verdant Forest in hell mode. Party member Corwin Swordborn receives 20 Verdure Kingdom Reputation and 1 Dungeon Pass.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for the first solo clear of Verdant Forest Dungeon in hell mode. He receives 40 Verdure Kingdom Reputation.
His 105 Kingdom reputation put him almost halfway to the 250 needed for the minor title. Fortunately, the hidden quest would reward 150 points. After clearing the dungeon. Corwin was up to 41 magic crystals. He decided that 21 was enough for his short-term needs and upgraded his plate cuisse to gold-tier. It gained the ability Heart of the Martial Artist which gave +0.02 to Cultivation Tier/level. Cultivation Tier was a multiplier on the Qi attribute. Corwin was excited to find martial arts skills now that he had such powerful Qi. Corwin returned from the dungeon to the capital. He checked on his auctions, and was delighted to discover that much had sold. He had an additional 98 magic crystals and 12,200 gold pieces. Corwin upgraded his plate cuisse once more, leaving him with 69 magic crystals. He was excited to see it gained the ability Soul of the Martial Artist which gave +0.02 to Soul Tier/level. Soul Tier was a multiplier on the Soul attribute. Corwin was even more excited to find martial arts skills now that he had powerful Soul to go with his powerful Qi. Corwin¡¯s shortage of magic crystals had become less of an issue now that his equipment no longer needed them. He nonetheless wanted to collect them for upcoming crafting as well as for challenging the tower. So he auctioned the remaining 50 pieces of each level 5 iron equipment he had, 25 for gold and 25 for magic crystals. Lastly, he converted 10,000 gold pieces to credits, getting enough money to pay for his two headsets.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Finally, he approached the town librarian, an older woman named Hestia Daledon. Corwin and Hestia talked for a while and he did some insignificant quests in the library, mostly around reading for information to build his reputation with her to friendly. These quests were wildly unpopular as they provided no gear no money and no XP. Nonetheless, Corwin persisted. Finally, upon reaching friendly reputation he was able to take the quest he wanted. In a cave, not too far from the capital was the tomb of a martial artist. In that tomb were many dangerous traps as well as many powerful opportunities. Buried with this martial artist was a book, his autobiography. This martial artist was famous throughout the kingdom and it was a great tragedy that he hadn¡¯t published his autobiography widely. The library desperately wanted this book. If I could retrieve this book, I¡¯d be looked on favourably by the library. In Verdure Kingdom, one of the most noble pursuits was scholarship. Scholarship was rarely achieved by commoners for it required too many resources and too much training. In the rare cases where it did happen, that commoner usually became a noble. As such, the library and the university were entirely filled with nobles. To be looked on favourably by the library was a significant step towards nobility. Corwin accepted the quest gladly, preparing to head to the tomb. Before heading out he bought up an assortment of crafting ingredients as well as some important supplies. Thus far, Corwin had been travelling without adventuring gear like rope, but in a tomb that would be a perhaps fatal mistake. Lastly, he repaired all his equipment. Corwin did his best to make sure he wasn¡¯t overlooking anything. Finally, he headed to the tomb. The cave entrance was sealed, but there were traces of an array. Corwin eventually figured out the array was a strength array, one designed to measure attack prowess. He found the critical point and attacked with his most powerful sword blow. The array glowed colors of the rainbow, progressing from red to orange, orange to yellow, yellow to green, green to blue, and blue to violet. After the progression it started to emit bright white light, and the sound of rocks grinding could be heard. The rocks blocking the entrance slowly moved out of the way and a path into the tomb appeared. Corwin entered and the entrance shut behind him. Corwin used a lightstone to see through the tomb. The cave descended for a while before reaching what seemed to be a large flat level. The first room appeared to be a dojo of sorts, and in the dojo was a spirit. The spirit stopped practicing their martial arts and looked at Corwin as he entered. ¡°No one has yet entered this tomb. You are my first challenger. I shall protect my Master¡¯s legacy and you shall only progress further if you prove worthy. If you accept the challenge we are to fight unarmed.¡± Corwin sighed. Not using his swords would greatly reduce his power, nearly all of his skills required them. Nonetheless, he wasn¡¯t about to disobey the rules of the challenge. He placed both swords in his scabbards, and turned to face the spirit. Corwin put up a fighting stance and watched as the spirit turned corporeal. Would his great stats be enough to make up for a lack of unarmed experience and a lack of unarmed skills? Corwin greatly feared this challenge, knowing it would be quite difficult. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 99% of level 11 Str: 1945(base:25) Agi: 2011 (base:70) Con:1945 (base:25) Int: 601 (base:25) Cha: 601 (base:25) Lck: 217 (base:25) Cnc: 217 (base:25) Sta: 217 (base: 25) Qi: 217 (base: 20) Soul: 217 (base:20) Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) Def: 6313 MDef: 4827 HP:21450/21450 (base: 1000) MP:8110/8110 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 384/384, Requirements: 386 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 384/384, Requirements: 386 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def,768MDef, Durability 384/384, Requirements:384 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +192Str, +192Agi, +192Con 768Def, 768MDef Durability: 384/384 Requirements: 384 Str G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def, 768MDef, Durability 384/384 Requirements: 384 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 384/384 Requirements: 384Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 36 Corwin put up his hands in a fighting stance. He tried his best to recall the martial arts he had stopped practicing what now seems like a lifetime ago. Corwin had taken martial arts until 18, so his body remembered it better than his older mind. He didn¡¯t have time to reflect on what he knew before the attacks started coming. A roundhouse kick was blocked by his arms and with his high strength Corwin was not pushed back. The blow was a fierce opener and Corwin knew he was in for a difficult fight. Corwin executed a sequence of punches that he remembered from the Kata Jion. The sequence included a kata-zuki (hook punch) and ura-zuki (uppercut), both of which would let Corwin demonstrate his extreme agility and strength. The motions were too fast to dodge and the spirit was forced into blocking. With each block the spirit was pushed back, and its HP declined. Corwin had successfully taken the offensive. Immediately at the end of the sequence the spirit came back and Corwin was again forced to defend. He did so rather haphazardly, and took some damage when a kick landed. Fortunately his high constitution was equal to the task. Corwin found an opportunity to seize the offensive and attacked with a knee to the stomach. The spirit barely dodged, but in doing so found itself off balance. Corwin pursued his advantage with his fists. Each block took a little HP from the spirit and fairly soon it was in critical health. Corwin continued until the spirit yielded. He had defeated the spirit yet he had failed to land a single blow. ¡°Your attributes are overwhelming yet your technique is sloppy. Nonetheless you have defeated me,¡± the spirit said. ¡°You fought well brave spirit. I found myself learning as we fought. Perhaps in time I¡¯ll equal your technique,¡± Corwin replied. The spirit began to fade and a treasure chest appeared. This treasure chest was not a standard treasure chest, containing no markings of tier or type. Corwin inspected it carefully and was convinced it was untrapped when he opened it. Inside were two things of great value: the first volume of the autobiography and a martial arts skill book. The skill book contained the powerful skill Dragon Fist, which unfortunately was an unarmed skill. Corwin nonetheless learnt it. Perhaps he could use it if the challenges continued to be unarmed. After Corwin had opened the chest, a door appeared in the wall of the dojo. It lead to a long hallway. Drawn on the hallway was the life story of the martial artist. Corwin paid attention, taking particular note of the important battles he had fought and the achievements the artist had chosen to emphasize. Corwin was delighted to see that the martial artist fought primarily with two swords, just like Corwin did. Eventually the hallway ended at another dojo. Inside was another spirit, this one had two scabbards at their hips and a powerful set of armor that radiated a fierce presence. Whatever this spirit was it wasn¡¯t simple. ¡°I am Itaro Kenshi, brother of the great sword saint Hoshi Kenshi. You must defeat me to be worthy of facing him.¡± ¡°It is an honor to challenge you brave spirit. Your brother¡¯s legacy will find a worthy successor in me.¡± Corwin fought much more comfortably in the sword battle. His skills and techniques came back to him and were useful. Nonetheless, he lacked martial techniques and martial skills so he didn¡¯t use his Qi or Soul to fight. The spirit unleashed a powerful domain skill, the Spirit World. Corwin would have been suppressed if not for his high Soul attribute. Nonetheless, the surroundings changed and the faint echoes of ethereal entities that surrounded the battle made a great impression upon Corwin. When the battle was over, Corwin was once again convinced he was plodding through relying on high stats to outperform better skill. He nonetheless achieved victory. ¡°Itaro Kenshi, you have served your duty faithfully to your brother and guarded his legacy well. Enjoy your time in the afterlife.¡± ¡°Corwin Swordborn, you have great power. I hope that by combining it with the techniques of my brother you will become a worthy inheritor.¡± The spirit of Itaro faded and a chest appeared. In the chest was the 2nd volume of the autobiography and another martial skill. This one was a sword technique which excited Corwin greatly. Qi Blade, allowed Corwin to make a ranged attack with each of his swords that would slice through the air. It did 50% of Strength-based damage but added 100% of Qi to damage. While this was weaker than a regular attack for Corwin, Corwin¡¯s range attacked could still one-shot many players and he could imagine using this to take out healers and mages in PvE. Sword light was also a ranged attack but had a much smaller range. After the chest opened, a door once again appeared. Another hallway, this one had a mural outlining the story of Miyoto¡¯s downfall. He lost a battle with a greater demon and used a teleport skill to flee to this cave. His wounds were unrecoverable but he used his last days to write his autobiography and establish his legacy. Finally, the hallway ended in another door. This one opened into a room that was more like a Sensei¡¯s quarters. Inside was a spirit with a commanding presence that fought with two impressive swords. Even if Corwin wasn¡¯t in the tomb of this warriors legacy Corwin would know Miyoto Kenshi was a great warrior. Corwin looked at the spirit blades and was convinced they were legendary weapons. How was he possibly going to beat this spirit? Corwin tried to calm his racing thoughts as the spirit turned towards him. ¡°Corwin Swordborn, you have proved yourself worthy in defeating my brother. I wish to assess if you are a worthy inheritor. I want a young student to take my legacy and do great things with it afterwards. I will suppress my strength to what it was when I was your age. If you defeat me the last of my legacy is yours,¡± the spirit spoke in a regal voice.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Corwin smiled as he thought about his reply. ¡°I know I am not yet your equal but my heart aspires to great things. I will prove myself worthy of your legacy and shall always remember how Miyoto Kenshi influenced my achievements,¡± he said boldly as if he knew he¡¯d win. The spirit transformed and the glow emitted by the legendary weapons disappeared. The armor became less impressive as well. Most notably the aged features of the spirits face became much younger, although the wisdom remained present in its eyes. Corwin was glad he was 20 instead of 35. The task before him was nonetheless daunting. He committed to battle with a wind charge. The charge was met easily and the spirit before him moved with near perfect technique. Corwin was completely suppressed and on the defensive, getting off maybe 1 out of 10 attacks while Miyoto took the other nine. Fortunately, Corwin could still rely on attributes, and that one attack carried with it such power that even through blocks it was dealing damage. Meanwhile Miyoto¡¯s attacks only did damage when they hit, which some did. Corwin¡¯s high HP meant he could keep up with the spirit who was only taking block damage. Their HP slowly dropped in tandem and when Corwin¡¯s got low he used an intermediate health potion. Corwin¡¯s HP surged and he was convinced he would win the fight. Spirits did not have HP drop abilities or berserker abilities. When the spirit got down to 5% HP Corwin stopped attacking and went full defensive. He was using the spirit to train, improving his abilities with dodging and parrying. After 30 minutes Corwin had stabilized with his HP at 20%, the spirit could no longer hit him. Corwin had not gained a new skill or ability, but his body control got that much better. Finally, he saluted Miyoto and resumed attacking, quickly ending things. Unfortunately, Corwin never landed an attack, instead defeating Miyoto only through block damage. ¡°You have earned my legacy Corwin Swordborn. Treat it well and become a person worthy of it.¡± ¡°I will sensei. I am honored to be chosen.¡± Corwin saluted the spirit until it faded out. He ignored the chest for the moment, reflecting on the fight. Attributes can only take me so far; my control must get greater. I have a long way to go. Corwin then opened the chest and his jaw hit the floor. The third and final volume of the autobiography was expected. What was surprising was the other item. It was an unlock item for the peak legendary Tier 1 class Sword Saint. In Eternity¡¯s wake, players would get a different but related class to their primary class at every single tier. Corwin had never heard of a peak legendary Tier 1 class. Divine classes started at Tier 3, and Celestial classes started at Tier 2. This made legendary the very best quality of Tier 1 class. As a peak legendary class, this class would be the best of the best. Corwin was extremely excited. He didn¡¯t know about this reward from the quest. Corwin proceeded by looking through the autobiography volumes. The first book contained the entire life story, while the 2nd detailed his training regimen throughout his life. The 3rd book described all his skills and techniques. Corwin stopped to read the first book and understand more of his sensei¡¯s life. This first book he was willing to turn over to the library. If they wanted the 2nd and 3rd book as well he¡¯d have to accept failing the quest. Finally, Corwin headed back to the capital. He collected the gains of his item auctions, which was only 8000 gold, and 98 magic crystals. He kept the remaining items to supply his guild warehouse. Lastly, Corwin turned in the quest. He was happy that the 1st volume was sufficient and excitedly checked his personal notifications.
You have completed a hidden quest. You receive 150 verdure kingdom reputation.
You have reached 250 or more Verdure kingdom reputation. You have become a knight of the Verdure kingdom. This is the lowest class of noble. You may purchase land.
Corwin smiled as he achieved what he had aimed at all along. He then thought about founding his guild. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 99% of level 11 Str: 1945(base:25) Agi: 2011 (base:70) Con:1945 (base:25) Int: 601 (base:25) Cha: 601 (base:25) Lck: 217 (base:25) Cnc: 217 (base:25) Sta: 217 (base: 25) Qi: 217 (base: 20) Soul: 217 (base:20) Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) Def: 6313 MDef: 4827 HP:21450/21450 (base: 1000) MP:8110/8110 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 384/384, Requirements: 386 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 384/384, Requirements: 386 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def,768MDef, Durability 384/384, Requirements:384 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +192Str, +192Agi, +192Con 768Def, 768MDef Durability: 384/384 Requirements: 384 Str G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def, 768MDef, Durability 384/384 Requirements: 384 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 384/384 Requirements: 384Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon First, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Chapter 37 Corwin headed to the guild office in the town capital. After much effort, it was finally time to found his guild. Corwin was offered a choice of guild creation options: for 10 gold he could create a basic guild; for 100 gold he could create an intermediate guild; for 1000 gold an advanced guild; and for 10000 gold an elite guild. The different qualities of guild would result in changes to how the guild gained reputation and experience. It was possible to upgrade a guild after creation, but it was even more expensive than the different costs. Corwin wanted the very best for his guild so he reluctantly shelled over 10000 gold, sighing as he thought of the many credits it was worth. That triggered a series of announcements.
Righteous Destiny is the first elite guild in Eternity¡¯s Wake. It receives 1000 guild reputation and 2000 guild XP.
Righteous Destiny is the first elite guild in the Asterith continent. It receives 500 guild reputation and 1000 guild XP.
Righteous Destiny is the first elite guild in the Verdure Kingdom. It receives 250 guild reputation and 500 guild XP.
Righteous Destiny is the first guild led by a noble in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding 1000 guild reputation and 2000 guild XP.
Righteous Destiny is the first elite guild led by a noble in the Asterith continent. Rewarding 500 guild reputation and 1000 guild XP.
Righteous Destiny is the first guild led by a noble in the Verdure Kingdom. Rewarding 250 guild reputation and 500 guild XP.
Righteous Destiny has reached level 1. A level 1 guild can have a maximum of 500 members and is allowed to have a level 1 guild hall.
The XP rewards put the guild on the right track to reaching level 2. The reputation was also handy, as our guild had left ¡®unknown¡¯ status and reached ¡®vaguely recalled¡¯. Realistically our status with players was much higher as even before formation I had dominated the world announcements. I messaged Kyo and told him to meet me in the town square. Meanwhile I went to the land office. As a noble of Verdure Kingdom, I had the right to purchase land in any city in the kingdom at that city¡¯s land office. I choose 2 prime locations on the town square. The land cost 5000 gold each, and my money continued to evaporate. I next went to the city building office, and commissioned two buildings: a level 0 shop and a level 0 guild hall. Level 0 buildings didn¡¯t require anything special to build, but they would be upgraded by building plans found from monster drops and treasure chests. By the time Kyo and I arrived in the town square there was an exciting bustle of people. We arrived in front of the guild hall just as it completed construction. I briefly confirmed my plans with Kyo and we both began to announce, ¡°Guild Righteous Destiny is recruiting players, level 5 minimum. We have extensive equipment available for guild members. Level 8 or higher players considered an elite member.¡± That attracted a lot of attention. Kyo and I were swarmed and were quickly handling the process of adding guild members. Most players were still below level 5 and many of the people we talked to were looking for exemptions to the rules. I held my requirements firm. Soon enough I needed to raise them to level 6, the guild was nearing the maximum size for a level 10 guild. When we only had 50 slots left I stopped recruiting players less than level 8. There were two recruitments I was quite excited about. Hans ¡°The Bear¡± Wolverton, was a Tier 5 tank when I had reincarnated. He was a bit green now, not yet meeting the recruitments to become an elite member but I was confident he¡¯d live up to his huge potential. Dominic ¡°Silencer¡± Davios was the other. He was a powerful anti-mage who¡¯d grow into an ideal magic tank. He was also a Tier 5 player when I had been reincarnated. Dominic had reached level 8 and would start as an elite player of the guild. I recognized four other players who¡¯d gone on to grow into Tier 4 existences. They¡¯d be solid members for us as well. One was an ideal Off Tank. The other 3 were an elementalist, a wizard and a berserker. I had recruited two core players I had not recognized, but anyone who could reach level 10 by now was at least a good player, likely better than good. I setup a structure for Guild Contribution Points (GCP) which enabled members to trade in for the gear I had crafted. I made level 10 iron-tier set equipment available along with a smattering of leftover level 5 iron and bronze equipment. There were daily quests that could be completed for a small amount of Guild XP and Guild Reputation. A player could do 3 solo quests, 2 party quests and 1 team quest each day. The party quests were aimed at 5-person parties, while the team quests were aimed at a 20-man team. Completing guild quests unfortunately gave poor individual rewards. I set up a GCP reward structure which would incentivize players to complete them however; I wanted to get the guild level and guild reputation as high as possible as fast as possible. Lastly, I set up powerful incentives to turn in recipes and rare crafting materials. This would ensure the guild could support the store.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With the guild taken care of it was time to start the crafting organization. I started a similar recruiting process, targeting crafters who had reached halfway to journeyman or better in at least one profession. Anyone who¡¯d reached that level at this stage in the game would be quite skilled. This recruitment took longer, most people who had reached that far were already supported by guilds. Eventually I had recruited two of each profession, which was enough to supply a level 0 store. We signed some basic contracts to ensure crafters would have to pay a penalty to leave based on the cost of formulas supplied. In exchange, they¡¯d be supplied with formulas and materials to enhance their crafting skills and would earn 20% of the profits on everything they sold. The market rate was 15% but I was building my organization quickly so I needed to offer an extra incentive. My lock-in terms were also less onerous than typical. Regardless, my gold dwindled further as I purchased relevant materials to support those crafters advancement. By the end of daytime in the game, I was once again poor. But with my shop and crafting organization established I felt like a temporarily embarrassed millionaire. I had so much to do: daily guild quests, challenging the tower, grinding for recipes, getting a team to level 20 to race for the first 20-man dungeon. I decided the tower was my first priority, after all it gave out so many useful rewards. I picked out a party to challenge the tower, consisting of all the elites and The Bear. I paid the magic crystal costs for everyone, which reduced my crystals down to 19. I was already thinking about the 50-man dungeons that started at level-30, so was happy to have a party of 50 competing for techniques. Once I had paid the tower fees I focused entirely on my own run. It wouldn¡¯t do to not be a top performer because I had become too distracted by guild business. I effortlessly conquered the first 7 floors, getting 7 technique tablets. The most powerful of these techniques was flicker, the level 5 basic technique. It would temporarily turn me non-corporeal causing any non-magical attacks to pass through me. Even with my epic equipment, it drained mana at an incredible rate, so it was only usable in emergencies. The other techniques were: health drain, mana drain, stamina drain, Str drain, Agi drain, and End drain. These techniques were impractical in most cases as their impact was small relative to the time used for the move. Agi Drain had some potential if everyone in a 50-man party was using it on a physical-damage boss however. The general rule for the tower was a good player could get 1 floor for every 2-levels they had. On the 8th level I was trying to outperform my level by 6. While I did have 2.4 ignore levels, this wasn¡¯t really enough to fight level 16 enemies at level 10. With the severe suppression, I was eventually defeated. Enemies in the tower didn¡¯t give XP, so I remained level 10. My run to about midway into the 8th level was good for first on the leaderboard, in fact the next best person had only completed the 6th level. Most of the elites had passed level 4, but only a few had passed level 5. The Bear who was only level 6 managed to pass level 4 which impressed me greatly. With the tower out of the way, and some techniques and daily rewards secured it was time to power level. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 99% of level 11 Str: 1945(base:25) Agi: 2011 (base:70) Con:1945 (base:25) Int: 601 (base:25) Cha: 601 (base:25) Lck: 217 (base:25) Cnc: 217 (base:25) Sta: 217 (base: 25) Qi: 217 (base: 20) Soul: 217 (base:20) Air Affinity: 217 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 217 (base:20) Def: 6313 MDef: 4827 HP:21450/21450 (base: 1000) MP:8110/8110 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 12 Longsword, +192Str +192Agi +192Con Base Damage: 240-288, Def 288 MDef 240 Durability 384/384, Requirements: 386 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 12 Shortsword +192Str, +192Agi, +192 Con Base Damage 196-240, Def 240 MDef 196, Durability 384/384, Requirements: 386 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate, +192 Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def,768MDef, Durability 384/384, Requirements:384 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Cuisse, +192Str, +192Agi, +192Con 768Def, 768MDef Durability: 384/384 Requirements: 384 Str G: Currently Epic, Level 12 +192Str, +192 Agi, +192 Con 768Def, 768MDef, Durability 384/384 Requirements: 384 Str B:Epic Tier Level 12 Plate Boots +192Str +202Agi(10 Gemstone) +192Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 384/384 Requirements: 384Str H: Epic Tier Level 12 Helm, +192 Str, +202(10 Gemstone) Agi, +192 Con 768 Def, 768MDef Durability 384/384, Requirements: 384Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+192 All base attributes, +192 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 12 Ring of Elements (+192 All base attributes, Ignore 2.4 Levels, Ignore 2.4 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 12 Amulet (+192 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon First, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 0 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Chapter 38 The quests available were bland and mundane, and it would be better to get XP in other ways. Nothing rewarded any reputation, guild reputation, or even rare crafting ingredients. The way to proceed was to hunt and be the first to get to level 15. I decided to form an 8-man party. The four Tier 4 talents, Kyo, The Bear, Silencer and I went to a level 14 area to power level. Hunting level 14 enemies was easy enough for me solo, and splitting the experience 4 ways was like hunting a level 13 enemy. Meanwhile, The Bear rode a rocket ship, levelling from 6 to 10 in under 10 minutes. I got my level 11 almost right away, and Kyo followed not too far behind. Silencer had his level 10 as well and was a good portion of the way to level 11. The Tier 4 talents got level 10 quickly and level 11 slowly, but nonetheless levelled. This time I was levelling for keeps. I upgraded my gear, enjoying the small boosts that level 11 provided. We continued hunting until the full team was at level 11 before moving to a level 16 area. I ignored 2.6 levels of suppression and 2.4 levels of suppression was quite manageable with my high damage, incredible HP and robust defense. We soon all reached level 12. The slowest part of levelling seemed to be walking between the different zones. I calmly proceeded to a level 17 zone and faced 2.2 levels of suppression. Enemies 5 levels ahead of us were worth 2560x as much XP, which was still 320x as much when split 8 ways. Levels 10-14 were designed to take 3 days, so with the extreme gains we levelled up in under 30 minutes. This was mostly due to it taking roughly twice as long to kill an enemy. I decided to take a chance and proceed to a level 19 zone next. This was largely because my items had levelled up twice to level 16, giving me 3.2 levels of ignore level suppression. I was facing 2.8 levels of suppression, which was more than I¡¯d faced before but I was hoping still manageable. I figured it would be viable to stay in this zone for 2 levels, saving us some travel time. The rate of killing slowed a little, but it wasn¡¯t four times as slow so our levelling grew even faster. Things slowed when we tried to get level 15, because this level took 10x experience instead of 4x. Nonetheless, in under 1 hour all of us were level 15. Ignore level suppression felt like a cheat-code, and I was using it to make our guild talents the highest levels in the game. After getting level 15, I broke up the levelling party and headed back to town. I gathered up the remainder of the 50 players who had challenged the tower at my expense. The 42 of us headed back out to the level 19 zone. Now splitting experience 42 ways with a single carry is supposed to be slow. But because of the massive level difference, we started out earning experience 6,553,600x as fast as was normal for the level. Divide that by 42 and it¡¯s still bonkers. Suffice it to say the levelling succeeded. After a few hours my guild had a full 50-man team of level 15 players. I disbanded the party and asked everyone to complete guild quests. I had something else in mind for myself however. At level 15, a new questline opened up in the capital. It was the first main story quest for the Kingdom of Verdure. Main story quests provided exceptional rewards including both rare items and reputation. I proceeded to the Temple or Althas, to talk to the head priestess. ¡°Hello head priestess. Is there anything I can do for you?¡± I asked politely. "Your reputation proceeds you. Perhaps you¡¯ll be up to the task. We need to investigate and stop a demon incursion into our realm. We¡¯ve discovered a small hatchery near the capital and the army is too busy to exterminate it. Could you investigate and destroy this hatchery for us?¡± ¡°Certainly. Do you have any information on how dangerous the demons are?¡± ¡°As far as we know it should only be demon spawn, the weakest of the weak.¡± ¡°Do you have anything that could assist in my slaying these demons?¡± ¡°You can face the temple trials. If you¡¯re found worthy there are rare skills and techniques to be gained. As demons are our natural enemy our best skills are demon slaying skills.¡± ¡°Thank you high priestess. I would be honored to face the trials.¡± With that exchange complete, we stepped into the back room of the temple. In front of me was a portal. I smiled as I entered, eager for further rewards. I faced a level 15 elite, then a level 15 special elite, then a level 15 chieftain, then a level 15 lord, then a level 15 great lord. Those fights were easy and I had reached the 5th level of the trials. The next fight was a superior lord. I wondered if I was equal to the task. I decided to chance it and keep going. My enemy was fortunately a physical damage dealing lord, and it was rather slow. Braxus was a barbarian lord. He fought with a giant Warhammer. I cringed at the idea of getting hit by it but was confident in my dodging. Sure enough, he couldn¡¯t connect. His health dropped to 80%. When it did he took out an ornate white warhorn and blew it. A horde of barbarians descended on the fight, 27 normal mobs led by 3 chieftains. I focused on dodging the blows of the elite mobs, letting the occasional normal mob hit me for negligible damage. I carved through the normal mobs like butter. I then took on the chieftains, slaying each in turn.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. I returned to fighting Braxus and fairly soon he was down to 60%. He once again took out his horn and this time the army consisted of 18 normal mobs, 2 chieftains, 9 elites and a lord. I focused on the elites first while I dodged the chieftains, lord and superior lord. I took some damage unable to avoid everything the swarm threw at me. My health hit 85% by the time the elites were down. I next took out the normal enemies, enjoying my extreme stats to inflict 1-hit 1-kill upon them. My health stabilized at 78%. I took out the chieftains next as I was worried the lord might have special abilities. Finally, I focused on the barbarian lord. When the barbarian lord hit 80% health it went into an extremely fast, extremely mobile axe whirlwind. I was hard pressed to dodge the shifting AoE and was hit thrice. My health dropped to 64%. I decided to potion at this point and continued to fight the lord. Knowing what was coming at 60% health I was better positioned and was only hit once. At 40%, I figured out how to avoid getting hit at all. There were no problems until the lord berserked. I wasn¡¯t about to worry about what the berserk skill was and instead used my skills and techniques to burst it down quickly. With the lord down, I focused on Braxus once more. At 40% he summoned once again, this time 9 normal mobs, 1 chieftain, 2 lords and 18 elites. Fortunately, my potion had fully healed me. I burst down the elites, each elite taking 2 hits to kill. Normal mobs died to single hits after. The chieftain took a good deal more work, but I was no longer taking damage by the time I fought it. Fighting 2 lords and a great lord during the AoE berserk remained a challenge and I was hit a few times. I potioned when I reached 60% health. Eventually I finished one lord. The other was no longer challenging. Braxus alone couldn¡¯t hit me and I whittled him down to 20% when my health recharged to full. At 20% health he summoned 27 elites and 3 lords. I quickly fell to 60% health, but my potion was off cooldown and an intermediate health potion was equal to stabilizing. My swords struck quickly, and my rapid blows sliced down elites in 2 hits. Fairly soon only lords were left. I did take some damage trying to dodge during the AoE¡¯s but other than that things were fine. Soon there were 2 lords, then 1 then 0. All that remained was Braxus¡¯s berserk. Fortunately, his berserk was slower than my burst damage. As Braxus fell I smiled. I had passed the 6th level of the temple trials. I wasn¡¯t going to attempt the 7th level, whatever awaited would simply be too strong. During the fight I received two notifications.
Congratulations, Wave Chop has reached level 1.
Congratulations, Pierce has reached level 3.
For passing 6 levels I received 6000 temple points to spend. I also received an additional 1500 points for beating all levels within the time limit. My 7500 points enabled me to buy a wide range of skills and techniques but one stood out in particular. The rare passive skill, demon slayer cost 7500 points and gave me +25% passive damage vs demons at level 0. Since the entire quest line involved demons, I thought this ability would be quite valuable. I looked over my character as I readied myself to head to the hatchery. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 10: 99% of level 11 Str: 2895 (base:25) Agi: 2960 (base:70) Con:2895 (base:25) Int: 889 (base:25) Cha: 889 (base:25) Lck: 313 (base:25) Cnc: 313 (base:25) Sta: 313 (base: 25) Qi: 313 (base: 20) Soul: 313 (base:20) Air Affinity: 313 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 313 (base:20) Water Affinity: 313 (base: 20) Def: 9347 MDef: 7203 HP:54910/54910 (base: 1000) MP:18802/18802(base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 18 Longsword, +288Str +288Agi +288Con Base Damage: 360-432, Def 432 MDef 360 Durability 569/576, Requirements: 576 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 18 Shortsword +288Str, +288Agi, +288 Con Base Damage 294-360, Def 360 MDef 294, Durability 570/576, Requirements: 576 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 18 Plate, +288 Str, +288 Agi, +288 Con 1152Def,1152MDef, Durability 574/576, Requirements:576 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 18 Plate Cuisse, +288Str, +288Agi, +288Con 1152Def, 1152MDef Durability: 575/576 Requirements: 576 Str G: Epic Tier Level 18 Plate Gauntlets +288Str, +288 Agi, +288 Con 1152Def, 1152MDef, Durability 574/576 Requirements: 576 Str B:Epic Tier Level 18 Plate Boots +288Str +298Agi(10 Gemstone) +288Con 1152 Def, 1152MDef Durability 574/576 Requirements: 576Str H: Epic Tier Level 18 Helm, +288 Str, +298(10 Gemstone) Agi, +288 Con 1152 Def, 1152MDef Durability 575/576, Requirements: 576Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 18 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+288 All base attributes, +288 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 18 Ring of Elements (+288 All base attributes, Ignore 3.6 Levels, Ignore 3.6 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 18 Amulet (+288 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Chapter 39 The hatchery was a solo quest, it wasn¡¯t possible to take a team. This suited Corwin fine as he wanted his guild members to do guild quests anyways. Corwin travelled the 30 minutes it took to find the demon spawn location. The beautiful green grasslands were tainted by a sickly gray blight. Stepping onto the blight made Corwin¡¯s stomach feel a bit sick and every step felt like the ground was rolling. In truth, it did sink a little but it was the mental unease that demon territory created that provided the rest of the effects. Corwin was glad for his high stats and resistances, he could imagine what it would feel like if he were weaker. Upon entering the blight Corwin was approached by a small pack of demon spawn. The tiny beast-like creatures had curved horns and walked on all fours. They stood on hind legs to claw at their enemies. They were among the fastest moving things that Corwin had ever fought. Corwin chose to tank their light hits and fight directly, knowing that dodging would only slow him down against the wild pack. His health fell to 90% before he had killed half the spawn. He stabilized at 85% and took a breather. The demon spawn had no useful drops. Corwin continued to roam the area, and packs of demon spawn continued to attack. He dispatched them with relative ease as he headed towards a dark red structure in the centre of the blight. The structure oozed green slime and sprayed a dark green gas into the air. The smoke almost made Corwin wonder if it was a factory of some sort. As Corwin approached the packs became more frequent and he even had to fight two large packs at once. He took a breather after that fight as his health had fallen to 40%. Corwin couldn¡¯t imagine how perilous this quest would be if he had only gold equipment. Main quests clearly weren¡¯t easy. Nonetheless, his quest pushed him onwards and after he rested to full health he headed into the seemingly alive building. Inside was a hatchery of some sort. Corwin wanted to destroy it, but before he could move to do so he felt an alluring presence tugging on his heart. Corwin turned and saw the most beautiful succubus one could ever imagine. The hornless demon had flowing blonde hair and blood red eyes. Her smooth soft facial features showed a gentleness that contradicted her demonic nature. Like the other succubus Corwin had fought she wore sexy as armor; in this case, a chainmail bikini that left little to the imagination. Corwin¡¯s eyes followed the sexy slender arm and down her hand to her fingertips, which curled in a beckoning motion. Corwin knew the emotions he was feeling was the manipulation of the succubus but he still found it hard to resist. He found himself slowly, mostly against his will, stepping towards the succubus. He steeled himself and tried to resist. The succubus started to flicker and seemed to become incorporeal. Finally, she spoke. ¡°The spell has failed. I am not long for this world. But I am here long enough to deal with you, foolish mortal.¡± Corwin found himself unable to speak and instead blankly stared. The succubus began to cast some sort of magic. Corwin finally remembered to check her status and found that she was a level 100, inferior god. Inferior gods were an existence far beyond superior lords and level 100 was something unimaginable at this stage of the game. Her presence here was only brief but even that brief presence was terrifying. Corwin was powerless to resist as a dark black energy flowed from the succubus into his body. Finally, the dark energy stream ended. The succubus vanished and Corwin received a notification.
You have been cursed with the double-edged curse, Bloodlust Malediction. In 2 days, you will be permanently weakened reducing all base attributes to 5. The curse will end if the caster dies. You can extend the time until the curse hits by 2 days by defeating a demonic presence in the world. There may be other magics that can remove or alter this curse. As this curse is double-edged, you have gained additional damage against demons. Your passive Demon Slayer is upgraded to Demon Bane. You now have +50% base damage against demons.
The good news was the benefit from the curse was permanent. The bad news was this curse was potentially crippling, undoing all the advantage Corwin had gained from his levels and stat potions. Corwin had to find a solution and fast. He knew he needed more time, killing a level 100 inferior god was a wild fantasy at this point. If this was Corwin¡¯s past life he¡¯d need over a year to even consider becoming that strong. Fortunately, Corwin had other options. The temple might have some magic that could help. If nothing else, they could probably keep sending him to demonic presences, letting him gain time. Regardless, this was going to be a huge uphill battle. Corwin focused on the beginning, extending the curse to 4 days. He slaughtered all the eggs in the hatchery and continued through the living building. Eventually, he found a level 15, superior lord demon, in a room with a red gemstone. Corwin knew this red gemstone was an anchor stone, destroying it would banish this blight from the world. Unfortunately, destroying it would take time that Corwin didn¡¯t have in combat. He needed to defeat the superior lord first. Corwin checked its status and cursed when he saw what he expected.
Asmodean
Superior Lord
Hit Points200,000/200,000
Mana Pool100,000/100,000
Asmodeans were demon followers of the demon of lust. This demon wasn¡¯t even a lesser demon. The low HP and Mana Pool meant that the demon was not an endurance or intelligence type. All of this meant it would have powerful strength, agility, and skills. Corwin tested the waters, using his Qi Blade at distance. The demon countered with a burst of lustfire. This powerful skill put Corwin at the disadvantage in a ranged fight so he closed the distance and activated Sword light. He didn¡¯t want to fight at that distance either so shortly after sword light came a wind charge. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The Asmodean quickly proved it was no slouch in hand-to-hand as it blocked Corwin¡¯s charge with its staff. Corwin was quick to respond, firing off pierce, slash and double slash all of which connected. Corwin dodged a rather powerful skill as the staff became coated in lustfire and swung towards him. The aura surrounding the attack did some damage despite the blow not connecting as the lustfire burned Corwin at distance. Corwin had a slight edge in the fight however and their HP fell roughly in tandem. When Corwin¡¯s HP had reached 82%, the demon reached 80% and triggered a special ability. The demon summoned a lord level existence, a lesser succubus. Corwin knew the ability was likely to repeat at 60% and didn¡¯t want to fight multiple lords if he could avoid it so he focused his offense on the succubus. Her HP rapidly fell, but much to Corwin¡¯s dismay when it hit 80% she triggered a skill as well. A surge of lustfire exited the succubus¡¯s heart and went into Corwin. It didn¡¯t do damage however a status was triggered.
You have been berserked. You have penalties to dodge and cannot use magic. If you attack someone other than the target that berserked you, you will take 50% of your attack as damage. This effect ends when the target the berserked you is dead or when 5 minutes have passed.
Berserk was one of the few statuses that Corwin did not have extra resistance to. Fortunately, it forced him to attack the one he wanted to anyways. Corwin started to take more damage from the Asmodean as he fought, his dodges proving ineffective. He saved his parry for powerful skills and mostly used his skills to fight off other skills. Corwin constantly used Rapid Blow on the succubus, getting her down quickly. The triggers at 60%,40%, and 20% health merely extended the duration. At 5% health she started to trigger her ultimate skill. Succubus¡¯s often had terrifying ultimate abilities. One of the most feared was seduction, a soul draining attack that could permanently reduce that attribute. Corwin wasn¡¯t about to find out if she had it and bursted her health down to zero. Corwin used an intermediate health potion to try and take back the initiative against the Asmodean. It was somewhat successful. His health reached 55% when the Asmodean fell to 60%. Corwin was prepared for the succubus and its berserk this time. He saved his skills to counter the Asmodean while relying on rapid blow to finish the succubus. When it reached 5% health Corwin switched his skills to bursting down the succubus, taking damage from Asmodean. During this time Corwin was able to renew his intermediate health potion, which offset the gains from the damage. His HP reached 38% when the Asmodean¡¯s reached 40%, but was back up to 62% after defeating the succubus. Health potions continued to vanish from Corwin¡¯s inventory throughout the fight, but he managed to stabilize. Soon the Asmodean reached 20% summoning the last Succubus. Corwin was relieved to see this one wasn¡¯t any stronger than the others. He healed as he fought, resisting all the Asmodean¡¯s powerful blows. His stamina had reached roughly the halfway point; Corwin was ecstatic with how much energy he had due to the ring of hidden attributes. The fight from 20% to 5% was anti-climactic, Corwin choose to save his skills for a final burst. Unfortunately, the demon¡¯s ultimate skill had a short timer. It went off and Corwin was very disappointed to receive another curse.
You have received the double-edged curse of the lust demon. Whenever you encounter a humanoid female enemy you will enter a berserk state against that enemy. You will deal 25% extra damage against humanoid females. This curse will last 30 days, it can be removed by slaying a Greater Asmodean.
This curse was annoying to Corwin but fortunately it didn¡¯t have permanent effects. Berserk was very bad for him as it reduced the effectiveness of his primary mode of fighting. Corwin supposed he would have to manage the consequences. Corwin looted the lust demon and found another piece of the succubus set. This piece was some knee-high boots with heels. Corwin wondered if the set was even practical for fighting but it had very good stats for secret-silver equipment. Corwin also found 8 magic crystals, and added those to his supply. The last item was a rather entertaining dagger. Touching someone with it would cause them to become sexually excited. It wasn¡¯t practical in combat but seemed like it could have a few amusing uses. Corwin then destroyed the anchor stone and watched as the building and blight around him transformed to familiar grassland. He smiled at the notification his curse now had 4 days until triggering. He headed back to the priestess, hoping for good quest rewards for the first part of his chain quest. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 15: 68% of level 16 Str: 2895 (base:25) Agi: 2990 (base:100) Con:2895 (base:25) Int: 889 (base:25) Cha: 889 (base:25) Lck: 313 (base:25) Cnc: 313 (base:25) Sta: 313 (base: 25) Qi: 313 (base: 20) Soul: 313 (base:20) Air Affinity: 313 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 313 (base:20) Water Affinity: 313 (base: 20) Def: 9347 MDef: 7203 HP:54910/54910 (base: 1000) MP:18802/18802(base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 18 Longsword, +288Str +288Agi +288Con Base Damage: 360-432, Def 432 MDef 360 Durability 569/576, Requirements: 576 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 18 Shortsword +288Str, +288Agi, +288 Con Base Damage 294-360, Def 360 MDef 294, Durability 570/576, Requirements: 576 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 18 Plate, +288 Str, +288 Agi, +288 Con 1152Def,1152MDef, Durability 574/576, Requirements:576 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 18 Plate Cuisse, +288Str, +288Agi, +288Con 1152Def, 1152MDef Durability: 575/576 Requirements: 576 Str G: Epic Tier Level 18 Plate Gauntlets +288Str, +288 Agi, +288 Con 1152Def, 1152MDef, Durability 574/576 Requirements: 576 Str B:Epic Tier Level 18 Plate Boots +288Str +298Agi(10 Gemstone) +288Con 1152 Def, 1152MDef Durability 574/576 Requirements: 576Str H: Epic Tier Level 18 Helm, +288 Str, +298(10 Gemstone) Agi, +288 Con 1152 Def, 1152MDef Durability 575/576, Requirements: 576Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 18 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+288 All base attributes, +288 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 18 Ring of Elements (+288 All base attributes, Ignore 3.6 Levels, Ignore 3.6 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 18 Amulet (+288 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 30 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 4 days Chapter 40 Corwin arrived in the city in medium spirits. He was excited at having completed his quest, but nervous about the Bloodlust Malediction. He went to the temple to see the high priest, hoping for some good news. The quest rewarded a large chunk of skill XP that could be applied to any skill. Corwin used it to upgrade disrupting blow, which was still his most important skill.
Disrupting Blow has reached Tier 0, Level 2
Disrupting Blow has reached Tier 0, Level 3
Upgrading the skill increased its chance of successfully triggering. This included increasing its chance to hit higher level skills. Corwin was even happier about the next step of the quest however. The priestess explained that the hatchery was one of many and made me a compass of sorts from a shard of anchor stone I had brought back. The needle of the compass would point to the nearest anchor stone if there was one within 5 miles. My quest was to locate and defeat the next hatchery near the city. This seemed easy enough as even within the temple the compass was triggered, pointing directly south. Well the artifact was fun, the biggest part of my happiness was not needing additional levels to fight more demons. After all, my curse trigger had only a few days left. This happiness was short-lived. I travelled 2 miles south finding a hatchery, and the hordes on the blight were all level 20 enemies. I wasn¡¯t about to fight fast moving swarms while under-levelled so it was time to level up even further. I got in touch with Kyo, The Bear, Silencer and Omega. Omega was one of the tier 4 potentials they had used to round out a party for a guild quest. They had just finished up a guild quest so the 5 of us went to level. I picked out a level 20 region in which I¡¯d have 1.4 levels of level suppression. The level 20 enemies also took a big step up as at level 20 players would be expected to have iron tier gear instead of bronze gear. Nonetheless, I was confident with my level 18 epic gear. I was able to handle the enemies easily. As usual, with 5-levels of difference the experience was a huge rocket ship, and we began to power-level. We had all reached level 17 in under an hour. I moved on to a level 22 region after upgrading my gear. The level 22 region was a similar story and lasted us to level 19. By level 19, I had level 23 gear. With 4.6 levels of level suppression I was ready to amp even further and we went to a level 25 region. Despite the 6 levels of difference I was only suppressed by 1.4 levels. Because level 25 and level 20 both required roughly 10 times the experience of the previous level, the experience gain for fighting this far upcurve was astronomical. In a mere 15 minutes the 5 of us reached level 20. I now had a choice to make. I could go solo the demon hive, or I could level up the remainder of the team and get to work on a 20-man dungeon run. I decided the hive took priority, if anyone was able to clear it earlier I¡¯d lose out on an extra 2-days for my curse which was a price I was unwilling to pay. I returned to the hive. I confronted the roaming hordes bravely, slashing them down where they stood. All the while I made progress towards a living building, this time a reddish brown one that spewed a disgusting green mist. Eventually, I made it inside the building. The main room was a hatchery which I promptly destroyed. The second room had an anchor stone guarded by a rather nasty demon. I looked him over carefully.
Mammonite, Demon of Greed
Superior Lord, Level 20
Hit Points 300,000/300,000
Mana Pool 150,000/150,000
The demon of greed was a low HP, low MP type. This meant it would be more dangerous than the average level 20 superior lord demon. I prepared myself for a bitter fight. Mammonite was fast, and had skills that multi-attacked and created AoE¡¯s. I was nonetheless able to dodge until he got to 80% health at which point he fired off a rather nasty skill.
Mammonite has used tainted treasure on your plate armor. As long as Mammonite is alive this item has its bonuses reduced to one quarter their usual amounts.
I got a little slower, a little weaker and a bit more nervous. I still managed to dodge all of his attacks but things were close. At 60% health he used the ability again.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Mammonite has used tainted treasure on your plate cuisse. As long as Mammonite is alive this item has its bonuses reduced to one quarter their usual amounts.
That was enough that his AoE¡¯s and multi-attacks started to hit me. My HP fell roughly in tandem with his and I reached 80% health by the time he reached 40%.
Mammonite has used tainted treasure on your plate boots. As long as Mammonite is alive this item has its bonuses reduced to one quarter their usual amounts.
I was somehow still able to dodge his normal attacks. Well, most of them anyways. I potioned upon reaching 60% health and shortly later he reached 20%.
Mammonite has used tainted treasure on your plate gauntlets. As long as Mammonite is alive this item has its bonuses reduced to one quarter their usual amounts.
At this point the match became a slugfest. My four epic items were performing as if they were only a single item. I was much weaker and lacked the ability to dodge. My health reached 30% by the time I brought him to 5% health. I started using all my skills to burst him down. I knew it was critical I burst him down, after all his ultimate was named ¡°Curse Transfer¡±. He hit 1% health with 3 seconds left on the countdown. 1% was still 3,000 health, but fortunately my double slash was off cooldown. A double slash and 3 rapid blows later the demon fell with seconds to spare. I breathed a giant sigh of relief as my items were spared from having to find a more powerful demon to remove a rather nasty curse. During the fight I had received a notification
Slash has reached Tier 0, Level 3
I destroyed the anchor stone and took a fragment back to the priestess as proof. My rewards were once again some skill XP, this time a much larger quantity. Once again, I focused on disrupting blow.
Disrupting Blow has reached Tier 0, Level 4
Disrupting Blow has reached Tier 0, Level 5
I was quite pleased with my gains. It was time to level the rest of the group. I took the 46 remaining players that I needed to a level 25 zone. Even divided 46 ways, the experience was quite substantial, at least for their lower levels. It took roughly 1h30m to bring them from 15 to 20, including a full 55 minutes for level 19 to level 20. My own experience surged up to 61% of level 21. With over 20 Tier 1 players it was time to start raiding the level 20 dungeons. One required a team of 10, the other a team of 20. I figured it made sense to do the 10-man first. So we¡¯d be raiding frostfang dungeon. However, it was only 10 minutes to the next patch so our plans would have to wait till after. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 20: 61% of level 21 Str: 3865 (base:25) Agi: 3985 (base:125) Con:3865 (base:25) Int: 1177 (base:25) Cha: 1177 (base:25) Lck: 409 (base:25) Cnc: 409 (base:25) Sta: 409 (base: 25) Qi: 409 (base: 20) Soul: 409 (base:20) Air Affinity: 409 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 409 (base:20) Water Affinity: 409 (base: 20) Def: 12601 MDef: 9729 HP:80300/80300 (base: 1000) MP:26540/26540(base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 24 Longsword, +384Str +384Agi +384Con Base Damage: 480-576, Def 576 MDef 480 Durability 698/768, Requirements: 768 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 24 Shortsword +384Str, +384Agi, +384 Con Base Damage 392-480, Def 480 MDef 392 Durability 704/768, Requirements: 768 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate, +384 Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def,1536MDef, Durability 718/768, Requirements:768 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Cuisse, +384Str, +384Agi, +384Con 1536Def, 1536MDef Durability: 722/768 Requirements: 768 Str G: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Gauntlets +384Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def, 1536MDef, Durability 721/768 Requirements: 768 Str B:Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Boots +384Str +394Agi(10 Gemstone) +384Con 1536 Def, 1536 MDef, Durability 719/768 Requirements: 768Str H: Epic Tier Level 24 Helm, +384 Str, +394(10 Gemstone) Agi, +384 Con 1536 Def, 1536MDef Durability 717/768, Requirements: 768Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+384 All base attributes, +384 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Elements (+384 All base attributes, Ignore 4.8 Levels, Ignore 4.8 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 24 Amulet (+384 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 30 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 6 days Interlude 4 John exited the game for the first time in a day. He cleaned his VR pod performing the necessary maintenance before going to grab a large meal. After eating his daily calories in one sitting he got on the phone with Ed. ¡°Hi Edward, things are getting exciting now, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes. But there is something we need to talk about.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Your leadership style is a bit draconian. You need to give people more room to breathe and be their own person.¡± ¡°I was just taking charge to level us up.¡± ¡°Just because you think you know best doesn¡¯t mean people will appreciate being ordered around,¡± Edward continued. I reluctantly admitted he was right. I¡¯d forgotten what I¡¯d learnt in middle management and had instead pushed things aggressively. It was time to take a softer touch and let my guild mates bloom. ¡°You¡¯re right Edward. I¡¯ll change things. Thanks for letting me know.¡± ¡°I¡¯d also like the chance to play more of a role in the management of the guild.¡± ¡°What would you like to do?¡± ¡°I want to manage the 2nd team of the guild.¡± ¡°I need you on the first team. That won¡¯t work. I can make you a vice-guild leader if you want to take on administering the guild warehouse,¡± John offered. ¡°Sigh. I was hoping to avoid that it doesn¡¯t really suit me. It¡¯s a lot of tedium,¡± Edward countered. ¡°I won¡¯t make it a permanent thing then. If we get to a point where you¡¯re no longer a first team member I¡¯d be happy to have you lead the second team. Until then, would you be willing to run the guild warehouse for me?¡± John said.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°I suppose I can do it. But I¡¯m going to automate most of it,¡± Edward finally relented. ¡°In that case, congratulations on your promotion to Vice-Guild Leader my friend,¡± John said. ¡°Thanks, I hope it¡¯s worth it,¡± Edward said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be starting salaries for key contributors soon. It will be,¡± John said. After a bit of small talk, the two friends seemed happier. John finally said goodbye and hung up. He was once again worried about money; how was he going to pay his team? John hoped the stores would be enough. He¡¯d have to tour the Kingdom buying property and setting them up. He¡¯d need to hire more crafters for his Merchant Guild. There was much to do. He supposed it wasn¡¯t all bad, touring the realm would let him find demon hatcheries and keep that stupid curse from triggering. John reached his gym and started to work out as he continued to think. He laid down on his weight bench and started to bench press. I have enough gold for shops in a few places and I¡¯ll have more when I collect the revenues from the merchant guild. I don¡¯t have to pay the crafters their share until the end of the month, so I¡¯ll borrow against that to get everything set up. I wonder if it is enough for two properties in every city, it would be great to have some additional guild houses. That¡¯s probably a pipe dream. I¡¯ll pick two new cities for guild houses, and the rest of the cities I visit will just get a shop. John completed his workout. He headed back into the game and checked on the daily AI patch. In addition to all the unrevealed improvements to the AI itself and some hidden content that gets added every day, the AI had made some rather important balance changes. The biggest one was:
Fighting higher levelled enemies will result in the XP for fighting them being reduced by 50% per level higher than you they are.
This was a balance nerf that would greatly reduce John¡¯s levelling speed. He¡¯d still get a doubling of XP for most levels but compared to 4x that was a massive slowdown. John also checked on the level rankings. His guild dominated the Verdure Kingdom as well as the global rankings. But John wasn¡¯t first. Neither was a guild member. Beowulf was level 24. Fortunately, he was still not a member of a guild and didn¡¯t appear to be helping anyone else level. John wished the rankings were more expansive. But the only one being shown was player rankings by level. No merchant rankings, No guild rankings, No item rankings. Perhaps the last one was best, if people knew Corwin had a full set of epic gear there would be outrage. The time for the patch ticked down as Corwin reviewed the information. Finally, it was time. 3¡­.2¡­1¡­ GAME START Chapter 41 Corwin entered the game and passed control of the guild warehouse to Kyo. He then went to the guild store to withdraw the profits. He started a journey to Lyonate, a neighboring city in the Verdure Kingdom. He took the road through a mountain range, taking advantage of the mana runes laid down to prevent monster intrusions. The view was breaktaking, but Corwin wasn¡¯t here to enjoy the view. On the other side of the mountains was Lyonate. Corwin went to the land office to buy property, selecting a lovely property near the town square. He then built a shop. Lastly, he stopped to recruit for both the merchant guild and his player guild. Recruiting for the player guild was unsuccessful, but Corwin found crafters to staff his new store easily. From Lyonate Corwin continued on to Delphine, which was a similar story. From Delphine, he continued to Marmos. In Marmos, he recruited a single valuable player for his guild; Arthos was a Tier 5 existence in his past life and he¡¯d be a capable Summoner for the team. Kyo now had some serious competition. Corwin started to hire merchants to deliver items and recipes between the various stores in the kingdom, he didn¡¯t want to have to repeat this journey often. From Marmos he went to Valset. From Valset to Edenburgh. In Edenburgh, he recruited two valuable players, both former tier 4 players. Gomorrah was an elementalist while Venture was a knight. There were a number of good former tier 3 players in the city as well so Corwin chose to build a guild house on a 2nd property in Edenburgh. The guild house allowed the guild to recruit 50 additional players. Corwin added 20 players he suspected had high potential, including all the former tier 3 players he knew. With 20 players, they¡¯d be able to accomplish all but the largest quests. The remaining slots he saved for adding powerhouses around the map. Corwin continued his journey while Arthos, Gomorrah and Venture relocated to the capital to participate on the main guild team. From Edenburgh he went to Prast. From Prast he went to Divonia. In Divonia, he recruited another former tier 5 player, Guildenstern. Guildenstern was another swordsman, which worked well since Corwin didn¡¯t need to compete with him for equipment. From Divonia he went to Losair. Losair was the largest city in the Verdure kingdom, and the player base reflected that. Corwin recruited well and built the 3rd guildhouse in the city. The highlight of the recruitment was Alice, the snow maiden. She was a former tier 5 player on the cusp of Tier 6. The snow maiden was an elementalist who specialized in ice. More impressively, she had completed a hidden challenge in Verdure and already had the water legacy. Corwin was ecstatic to add her to the ranks of the guild, she was possibly the best player Corwin had recruited. They conversed after the recruitment. ¡°I hope you will travel to the capital, and join the guilds main team. You would be a valuable contributor there,¡± Corwin said. ¡°I¡¯d rather remain here and finish my quests,¡± Alice replied. ¡°What quests do you have?¡± Corwin asked curiously. ¡°Water Elemental¡¯s tomb and a few minor quests,¡± Alice answered after a brief hesitation. ¡°I know that quest and it rewards mostly equipment. If you come back to Rensworth we can go power levelling and that equipment will be obsolete.¡± ¡°I normally prefer to do things on my own,¡± Alice answered. ¡°You¡¯re part of a guild now. You should learn to work in a team,¡± Corwin persisted. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right,¡± Alice reluctantly conceded. ¡°I¡¯ll head to Rensworth,¡± she continued. Corwin hoped she¡¯d get less standoffish over time. He didn¡¯t want to have to do much handholding. Perhaps once he helped her level up to 20 things would change. Regardless he had two more cities to visit in the Verdure Kingdom. On the way from Losair to Montdale Corwin encountered a hatchery. He wandered off the road to find its exact location. It was a level 35 demon hatchery so he wasn¡¯t ready to face it now, but he planned on returning soon enough. In Montdale, Corwin built a shop but wasn¡¯t able to fully staff it. He was missing a forger from his potential recruits. Finally, from Montdale Corwin continued to Estuchea. In Estuchea, Corwin recruited another Tier 5 existence, a 3rd swordsman for the team. Demonblade had the fire legacy and would eventually be known as ¡®The Flame Swordsman¡¯. Corwin was amazed at how much of a difference conquering the level ranks and leading the world announcements had made. Recruiting was easy, with all the best players looking to join. Very soon, Righteous Destiny would become a superpower in the Verdure Kingdom.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Corwin and Demonblade travelled together from Estuchea to Rensworth. Corwin liked the flame swordsman a lot, and not just because of talent. Despite the demonic moniker, the man had a gregarious personality. His talk and banter made the hours go by. When they had nearly arrived in Rensworth, Corwin found another demon hatchery, this one level 30. It was again something he¡¯d note for later. Upon arriving in Rensworth, Corwin met up with his new powerful guild members. He¡¯d take Demonblade, Alice, Gomorrah, Guildenstern, Venture and Arthos levelling. On their own they had each reached a powerful level 9. But Corwin, took the party to hunt level 25 monsters. Corwin handled the monsters easily, but the rocket ship had been seriously nerfed. The monsters awarded 512,000 times as much experience as a level 9 monster, instead of the previous approximately 33 billion times as much. Level 10 came quickly regardless, but as they reached higher levels the levelling began to slow down. At level 19, the monster only gave 400x as much experience. Split six ways this was like getting 67 level 19 kills for every level 25 monster killed. Level 20 was a large level and normally took 4 days of monster grinding to pass. At the expected 1 monster a minute this was 4800 kills. It took almost 3 hours for Corwin to kill the 108 monsters that made up this level. But he¡¯d caught his new recruits up to speed with the main party. It was time to raid team dungeons for equipment. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 20: 88% of level 21 Str: 3865 (base:25) Agi: 3985 (base:125) Con:3865 (base:25) Int: 1177 (base:25) Cha: 1177 (base:25) Lck: 409 (base:25) Cnc: 409 (base:25) Sta: 409 (base: 25) Qi: 409 (base: 20) Soul: 409 (base:20) Air Affinity: 409 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 409 (base:20) Water Affinity: 409 (base: 20) Def: 12601 MDef: 9729 HP:80300/80300 (base: 1000) MP:26540/26540(base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 24 Longsword, +384Str +384Agi +384Con Base Damage: 480-576, Def 576 MDef 480 Durability 690/768, Requirements: 768 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 24 Shortsword +384Str, +384Agi, +384 Con Base Damage 392-480, Def 480 MDef 392 Durability 696/768, Requirements: 768 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate, +384 Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def,1536MDef, Durability 710/768, Requirements:768 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Cuisse, +384Str, +384Agi, +384Con 1536Def, 1536MDef Durability: 716/768 Requirements: 768 Str G: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Gauntlets +384Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def, 1536MDef, Durability 713/768 Requirements: 768 Str B:Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Boots +384Str +394Agi(10 Gemstone) +384Con 1536 Def, 1536 MDef, Durability 711/768 Requirements: 768Str H: Epic Tier Level 24 Helm, +384 Str, +394(10 Gemstone) Agi, +384 Con 1536 Def, 1536MDef Durability 709/768, Requirements: 768Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+384 All base attributes, +384 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Elements (+384 All base attributes, Ignore 4.8 Levels, Ignore 4.8 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 24 Amulet (+384 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 5 days Chapter 42 Corwin gathered a team for the 10-man dungeon. The team had 3 tanks: The Bear was a Warrior best at tanking physical enemies, Silencer was an anti-mage best at tanking magical enemies and Venture was a knight, who was moderate at tanking both physical and magical enemies. This led to a configuration where depending on enemy The Bear or Silencer would be the main tank and Venture would be the off-tank. If there were no physical enemies, The Bear would play as a mediocre DPS. If there were no magical enemies, Silencer would do the same. We went with the unusual configuration of 7 DPS and no healer. This was because both summoners had summons that healed. It was also because I knew the nature of the dungeon and burst damage was more powerful than better healing. The DPS on the team consisted of 2 summoners (Arthos, Kyo), 3 Swordsmen (Guildenstern, Demonblade, Corwin) and 2 Elementalists (Gomorra, Alice). We would have to make sure no one died in early fights as the major disadvantage of our party was not having resurrection spells. It was a good team, but our main problem was gear. Corwin discussed with the team and as a group they decided to raid normal difficulty first. If they cleared it successfully, the first clear achievement would give them additional runs for hard mode and then hell mode. If they group couldn¡¯t clear it successfully they wouldn¡¯t clear a harder difficulty anyways. On the way to the dungeon everyone was in high spirits. It was time for gear to catch up with the massive level boosts they had recently gained. We discussed strategy and focused on keeping everyone alive. This meant DPS¡¯s had to be careful so that the tanks could keep priority for heals. The summoners would play as healers first and DPS second. The swordsmen would have to be careful about AoE attacks, while the ranged attackers would be able to purely focus on DPS. Corwin entered the normal mode of the dungeon bringing the entire party in. The frostfang dungeon featured cold enemies. We fought ice elementals and frost giants. The bosses were straightforward as the party was equal to normal mode. Between the first-clear chests and bosses we obtained a plethora of bronze level 20 equips, and the occasional iron level 20 equip. Iron level 20 equipment was roughly equivalent to silver level 10 or gold level 5 equipment. This was a better standard than most of the party had. Even the bronze equipment was sometimes useful as not everyone had silver level 5 equipment. The highlight of the haul was a level 20 iron recipe for a plate armor. We had 6 plate armor classes on our team, and everyone except Corwin wanted this armor piece. We cleared the dungeon without difficulty and triggered a nice announcement.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of Frostfang Dungeon in normal mode. Rewarding 1 dungeon pass, 20 guild reputation, and 100 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a normal difficulty team dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding 100 guild reputation, and 500 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a normal difficulty team dungeon on the Asterith continent. Rewarding 50 guild reputation, and 250 guild experience.
Before raiding hard mode we headed back to town and I made 5 plate armors, giving one to each of the swordsmen, the knight, the antimage and the warrior. This resulted in negative GCPs for some of our members which necessitated a discussion with Kyo. We were fine with this as a temporary solution to raid dungeons quickly but didn¡¯t want it to become a norm. It wasn¡¯t fair to other members that GCPs go negative and if we made it a standard practice everyone would want loans for better gear. We returned to frostfang dungeon in hard-mode and we were adequate to the challenge. Guildenstern and Venture died on the last boss, but that wasn¡¯t a problem for clearing as there weren¡¯t any fights after. Once again, the first clear chests and bosses provided some nice rewards. This time the default was iron equips and we got the occasional silver equip from triggering lucky drops. The highlight of the haul was a level 20 silver amulet recipe, something I could make for the entire party before we raided hell mode. Upon clearing we triggered a nice set of announcements.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of Frostfang Dungeon in hard mode. Rewarding 1 dungeon pass, 40 guild reputation, and 200 guild experience.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hard difficulty team dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding 200 guild reputation, and 1000 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hard difficulty team dungeon on the Asterith continent. Rewarding 100 guild reputation, and 500 guild experience.
We decided to take a 1 hour break before hell mode. I used time manipulation and manufactured 34 silver level 20 amulets and 25 iron level-20 plate mails. For my efforts I got the following notifications.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Journeyman Jeweller. Rewarding with 1 Jeweller¡¯s Tools (Silver Tier) and 160,000,000 XP.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Asterith to reach Apprentice Jeweller. Rewarding with 1 Jeweller¡¯s Medallion (Iron Tier) and 80,000,000 XP.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Orleans to reach Apprentice Jeweller. Rewarding with 1 Jeweller¡¯s Belt (Bronze Tier) and 40,000,000 XP
We once again let people go negative on GCPs as we handed out 9 silver level 20 amulets to the other members of the party. Kyo was somewhat concerned about this, but everyone promised to do guild quests straight after the dungeon raid to help clear the balances. I knew we needed the equipment to take on hell mode so I was fine with it. Once everyone was ready after the 1 hour break we prepared to ready hell mode. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 20: 98% of level 21 Str: 3865 (base:25) Agi: 3985 (base:125) Con:3865 (base:25) Int: 1177 (base:25) Cha: 1177 (base:25) Lck: 409 (base:25) Cnc: 409 (base:25) Sta: 409 (base: 25) Qi: 409 (base: 20) Soul: 409 (base:20) Air Affinity: 409 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 409 (base:20) Water Affinity: 409 (base: 20) Def: 12601 MDef: 9729 HP:80300/80300 (base: 1000) MP:26540/26540(base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 24 Longsword, +384Str +384Agi +384Con Base Damage: 480-576, Def 576 MDef 480 Durability 690/768, Requirements: 768 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 24 Shortsword +384Str, +384Agi, +384 Con Base Damage 392-480, Def 480 MDef 392 Durability 696/768, Requirements: 768 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate, +384 Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def,1536MDef, Durability 710/768, Requirements:768 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Cuisse, +384Str, +384Agi, +384Con 1536Def, 1536MDef Durability: 716/768 Requirements: 768 Str G: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Gauntlets +384Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def, 1536MDef, Durability 713/768 Requirements: 768 Str B:Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Boots +384Str +394Agi(10 Gemstone) +384Con 1536 Def, 1536 MDef, Durability 711/768 Requirements: 768Str H: Epic Tier Level 24 Helm, +384 Str, +394(10 Gemstone) Agi, +384 Con 1536 Def, 1536MDef Durability 709/768, Requirements: 768Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+384 All base attributes, +384 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Elements (+384 All base attributes, Ignore 4.8 Levels, Ignore 4.8 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 24 Amulet (+384 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 5 days Chapter 43 Alice was having a hard time adjusting to the dungeon run. She was used to playing mostly solo quests and occasionally partying for group quests. Large scale team dungeons were certainly not her forte. Fortunately, playing an elementalist was somewhat straightforward. Let the tanks get aggro then force through damage from range. Her main decisions were mana management and which skills to use when. Where things got tricky was timing her ice burst. Ice burst would slow a monster and help the tanks stay alive. Using it when the enemy wasn¡¯t doing anything dangerous was a common trap. In fact, it was precisely this mistake that led to Guildenstern and Venture falling on the last boss. Now that Righteous Destiny was raiding hell mode, such mistakes were unacceptable. The margin for error was falling and Alice was nervous about keeping up. Fortunately, she had learnt the enemy patterns so the specific mistake with the slow wouldn¡¯t happen again. Alice smiled as she equipped her new amulet. The level 20 silver amulet gave +80 to all stats, and reduced skill cooldowns by 5%. Both of these effects were powerful, and the 80 extra intelligence gave her more mana and more spell damage. Joining Righteous Destiny had been worth it so far, even if she had to abandon that quest she liked. Alice didn¡¯t know how Corwin knew what the rewards of that quest were but she trusted him. She was impressed with how he guided the team in the fights so far as well. Most of all she was impressed by his incredible damage output. It seemed like he must have appropriate level gold gear or better. Alice didn¡¯t know what secret he had that enabled his gear to keep up with his insane levelling speed but she wasn¡¯t about to ask. She stopped her wandering thoughts to focus on the task at hand. They had finally entered the dungeon. Hell-mode was always a challenge, and after running normal and hard mode only once each it was even more difficult. Much of the team was undergeared. Most dangerously, the tanks didn¡¯t have a level appropriate shield. This danger was exacerbated by the lack of resurrection on the team. In hell mode, the regular enemies were elites and special elites. Fortunately, even elites didn¡¯t pose much of a challenge when faced with our strong heals and high damage output. Everything went smoothly until we fought the first boss. The first boss was a magic-type so the main tank was The Silencer, and the off tank was Venture. Anti-mages could wear all armor types, although they normally wore cloth armor for its high magic defense. Unfortunately, The Silencer¡¯s best gear was plate mail. This meant his magic defense was far below what it should be for hell mode. This showed whenever the boss used a special attack, he was able to reduce The Silencer¡¯s HP by over half. When this happened Venture would step in and use skills to briefly take aggro. Venture was in even worse shape as he didn¡¯t have the magic defense buff skills of an Antimage. A special skill would reduce his HP by 90%. As such, Venture could only take aggro briefly. Near 80% health we had to do a timing attack, stopping our attacks and waiting for both tanks to be at full before triggering the health drop skill of the enemy. Fortunately, everyone cooperated well and the burst skill was timed perfectly. Alice used her slow to make it easier to step into the middle of the skill. The Silencer took the first 2 attacks going to 10% health and Venture took the last attack going to 60%. Corwin executed a Disruptive Blow to prevent any skill from going off while the summons healed The Silencer who was quickly back on the front lines. We fell into a familiar pattern and things were going quite well. Unfortunately, at 40% health disruptive blow failed. Corwin stepped in front of Venture and used a parry on the special skill, which kept things going fine. Alice had a sneaking suspicion that Corwin could actually tank these monsters on his own. She was glad he was letting the team develop in their primary roles though. At 20% there was no issue and this boss¡¯s ultimate skill triggered too slowly to survive the damage burst. Corwin was always the one who looted the corpse as his luck attribute would greatly affect the drops. Things went well as we triggered a lucky burst, which enabled the possibility of gold tier gear. Alice was the largest beneficiary, as a recipe dropped for ¡°Ring of Ice¡±. This gold tier ring had good enough stats to let everyone equip two, but the special bonus was an increase of 50% damage for all frost skills. To a frost elementalist this was priceless, two rings would double her damage. The only downside to recipes was they¡¯d have to clear the dungeon before they could use them. The other big beneficiary was The Bear. He got a level 20 silver tier shield, which was just what we needed for the next boss: a physical damage type. We also got a first-time chest. In that chest was a silver-tier cloth armor recipe for a helmet, some magic crystals, and a silver-tier plate boots. The Bear got the boots further improving our primary tank. Corwin took the crystals, he had lots of GCP from crafting gear for the storehouse and never spending on gear. Alice got nothing from this chest but she wasn¡¯t too worried, things would have to go seriously wrong for her to end up in the line of fire. The second boss was a frost giant named Icebasher. He wielded a giant club that no one wanted to be on the receiving end of. Nonetheless, the bear bravely stepped up to face him and after securing aggro we began to deal damage. Alice kept her concentration on the fight and made several valuable contributions. One actually saved a tank from dying by putting an ice wall between him and the boss at an opportune moment. She thought that Corwin could have saved him as well, and was rather surprised he didn¡¯t. Was he testing her? Alice banished such thoughts from her head and returned to focusing on the fight. Icebasher¡¯s health down skill was a buff so the fight got progressively harder as it went on. Fortunately, with a strong shield the warrior was able to tank wonderfully. Venture had issues whenever he needed to step in, his lack of gear was being dramatically exposed. Alice managed to cover for him with ice wall and her slow. The fact that she was using her utility skills so well made her rather excited. Now if only she had a way to get her damage to keep up with Corwin¡¯s. That seemed like a wild dream for now, maybe after she had the frost rings and some other good gear things would change. Alice chided herself for getting distracted, and focused once again. The boss had just hit 20% and reached its most buffed state. She needed to be on her game and used a well-timed ice wall to save Venture yet again. She used her slow as well, forcing the boss to move around the wall at a rather glacial pace. By the time the boss reached Venture, the bear was ready to step in. The remainder of the fight was straightforward. The team got the boss down to 5% health and Alice participated in the frantic burst with the others. The burst came off just before the ultimate skill triggered so the team avoided a rather nasty AoE. Alice didn¡¯t pay too much attention to the drops as there was nothing for her this time. There were several good equipment recipes however, and Corwin was definitely excited.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The first-clear chest after the boss was a different story. Corwin triggered a lucky burst, and received a gold tier cloth cuisse. The last boss was magical so the cloth armor users reluctantly let this go to The Silencer. Fortunately, there was also a silver-tier cloth cuisse recipe which helped reduce the pain of not getting the gold tier armor. The Bear lent his shield to The Silencer and we were ready to begin. The final boss was a frost giant ice elementalist, Malthus. His spells were quite nasty, although fortunately most of them targeted the individual with aggro. He had a few AoE¡¯s which were scary for the swordsmen but not so much for Alice. Alice smiled as they engaged, excited to fight. The beginning of the fight went perfectly. In fact, even when Malthus hit 60% everything was fine. But at 40% a disastrous mistake happened. Alice missed with her ice wall, preventing it from blocking an attack on Venture who had stepped in to protect The Silencer. Venture died as a result. Alice was distraught and it affected her fighting greatly. She didn¡¯t use her slow optimally and really struggled to recover. Fortunately, Corwin stepped in as an emergency tank and the team was able to stabilize. When Malthus hit 40% he unleashed his health-down AoE and Corwin and The Silencer both took damage. Everyone else had backed away safely. Fortunately, the damage was not so great as to upset the tanking, as Corwin had an insanely high MDef. He stepped in for The Silencer while the summons worked their heals. Alice, for her part, had recovered from her malaise, and was starting to execute her skills with high precision. At 20% another mistake occurred. Corwin took over as tank but Silencer didn¡¯t back up out of the AoE range and the AoE killed him. This forced Corwin to become a primary tank and The Bear to step in as an emergency tank. Corwin was equal to the task, in fact it was remarkable to watch him parry and dodge all kinds of attack and use skills to negate magics. Alice was quite impressed. ¡®I¡¯ve definitely chosen the right guild¡¯ she thought. At 5%, Malthus started counting down his ultimate. Unfortunately with only 8 team members left, Alice and the others were unable to stop it from triggering. Ice Storm was a massive AoE that swept up the whole team. Alice had resistance and Corwin had his extreme MDef, but no one else survived. Fortunately, Malthus had little health left and they finished him off. Alice was relieved that dying in a dungeon only cost 10% of level XP, and couldn¡¯t lower one¡¯s level. The remainder of the team had been reduced to the minimum XP for level 20, but they wouldn¡¯t have to go out and level again. Dying in the field had more serious consequences. Alice felt a bit awed as they completed the dungeon, triggering a rather exciting slew of messages.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of Frostfang Dungeon in hell mode. Rewarding 1 dungeon pass, 80 guild reputation, and 400 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hell difficulty team dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding 400 guild reputation, and 2000 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hell difficulty team dungeon on the Asterith continent. Rewarding 200 guild reputation, and 1000 guild experience.
Congratulations to guild Righteous Destiny for becoming the first guild to reach level 1. Rewarding 500 guild reputation.
Congratulations to guild Righteous Destiny for reaching status ¡®Barely Recognized¡¯.
The remaining boss and chest didn¡¯t have any lucky triggers. Alice didn¡¯t pay too much attention as Corwin pocketed two more recipes. Alice got some cloth gauntlets, silver tier. They left the dungeon with much excitement and hurried back to town. Alice reflected on the raids and was excited. It had been a while since she had learnt this much. Fighting in a regular team was going to be good for her. Of course, Alice still intended to spend most of her time solo, but team play would become a part of her game as well. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 20: 88% of level 21 Str: 3865 (base:25) Agi: 3985 (base:125) Con:3865 (base:25) Int: 1177 (base:25) Cha: 1177 (base:25) Lck: 409 (base:25) Cnc: 409 (base:25) Sta: 409 (base: 25) Qi: 409 (base: 20) Soul: 409 (base:20) Air Affinity: 409 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 409 (base:20) Water Affinity: 409 (base: 20) Def: 12601 MDef: 9729 HP:80300/80300 (base: 1000) MP:26540/26540(base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 24 Longsword, +384Str +384Agi +384Con Base Damage: 480-576, Def 576 MDef 480 Durability 690/768, Requirements: 768 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 24 Shortsword +384Str, +384Agi, +384 Con Base Damage 392-480, Def 480 MDef 392 Durability 696/768, Requirements: 768 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate, +384 Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def,1536MDef, Durability 710/768, Requirements:768 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Cuisse, +384Str, +384Agi, +384Con 1536Def, 1536MDef Durability: 716/768 Requirements: 768 Str G: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Gauntlets +384Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def, 1536MDef, Durability 713/768 Requirements: 768 Str B:Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Boots +384Str +394Agi(10 Gemstone) +384Con 1536 Def, 1536 MDef, Durability 711/768 Requirements: 768Str H: Epic Tier Level 24 Helm, +384 Str, +394(10 Gemstone) Agi, +384 Con 1536 Def, 1536MDef Durability 709/768, Requirements: 768Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+384 All base attributes, +384 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Elements (+384 All base attributes, Ignore 4.8 Levels, Ignore 4.8 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 24 Amulet (+384 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 5 days Chapter 44 Corwin was ecstatic about completing the dungeon raid. The fact that eight of his teammates died was unfortunate, but somewhat expected given the poor gear. That was a problem that would soon be remedied as Corwin had several powerful recipes. Upon his resurrection, Corwin asked Kyo to work on selecting 10 more players for a 20-man team. Corwin spent the next 4 hours manufacturing. He made cloth armor, plate armor and rings. While he was working he received 3 notifications:
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Journeyman Tailor. Rewarding with 1 Tailor¡¯s Tools (Silver Tier) and 160,000,000 XP.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Asterith to reach Journeyman Tailor. Rewarding with 1 Tailor¡¯s Medallion (Iron Tier) and 80,000,000 XP.
Congratulations to Corwin Swordborn for being the first in Orleans to reach Journeyman Tailor. Rewarding with 1 Tailor¡¯s Belt (Bronze Tier) and 40,000,000 XP
Corwin continued to make rings. In total he made 60 gold tier rings. He planned on giving 40 to the team to raid the 20-man dungeon. The remainder would go in the guild workshop to give people something exciting to work towards. Corwin also put in some spare silver-tier cloth and plate armor. While Corwin was crafting Kyo was working on figuring out the 20-man team. Kyo selected 2 healers with resurrection, a 2nd warrior and a 2nd antimage. He then added 5 DPSers: an archer, a ranger, two assassins and a berserker. When Corwin was done crafting he handed out relevant gear to the full team. This put plenty of people in the red on GCPs but they¡¯d just have to do guild quests to make up the difference. It was important that Corwin get this first clear and enhance the guild reputation and guild experience as fast as possible. Corwin also wanted the items from the 20-man dungeon. In 20-man dungeons set items were more common, so it was possible to get better equipment even though the different modes still only awarded bronze, iron and silver tier equipment. The main boss from the 20-man dungeon could also drop the Level 1 Guild Workshop upgrade. Corwin desperately wanted to upgrade to a level 1 guild so he could continue to expand the membership. Corwin returned his thoughts to passing the dungeon, everyone was ready. Since the common-tier gave out free passes for the next level Righteous Destiny raided it first. The items they got were all minor, with the best items being iron tier recipes. Regardless, some satisfying announcements rang out.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of Hellbane Dungeon in normal mode. Rewarding 1 dungeon pass, 40 guild reputation, and 200 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a normal difficulty 20-man dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding 200 guild reputation, and 1000 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a normal difficulty 20-man dungeon on the Asterith continent. Rewarding 100 guild reputation, and 500 guild experience.
The 20-man rewards were double the 10-man rewards which was quite exciting. We continued to hard mode. In hard mode we found 2 silver-tier recipes, one for leather armor and one for cloth boots. The rest of the items were iron-tier or worse, but still made sense for filling out some slots where people didn¡¯t have level 20 items.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of Hellbane Dungeon in hard mode. Rewarding 1 dungeon pass, 80 guild reputation, and 400 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hard difficulty 20-man dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding 400 guild reputation, and 2000 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hard difficulty 20-man dungeon on the Asterith continent. Rewarding 200 guild reputation, and 1000 guild experience.
Finally, after completing two practice runs at lower difficulty and receiving some small rewards we were nearly ready for the main event. I took a break to craft the silver tier items, giving the ranger and archer their first key pieces of armor. I also made cloth boots for all the cloth classes. We were as geared up as we could be when we went for the hell mode run. Hell mode was a new challenge. The regular enemies were swarms of special elites and it was tricky to defeat them without burning too much stamina and mana. Resting to recover hurt our time so we tried to be efficient. Hell mode in 20-man dungeons or higher was a time attack, there were additional bonuses for setting a record time, provided the time was under a dungeon threshold time. I wanted us to beat that threshold very badly. The first boss consisted of 3 demon lords, all of whom focused on physical damage. With 2 Warriors and a knight we were well equipped to tank them. We focused them down one at a time, enjoying our much higher damage with better equipment. Fortunately, these demons were not the kind that cursed, so there weren¡¯t any serious consequences to beating them. Things got tricky at the 2nd boss where we had to fight 2 demon great lords. These demons were fire and lava users and did a lot of magical attack damage. Our 2 antimages became the tanks and the knight rotated in support. This fight was tricky and almost half of the team died. Fortunately, we got through, and with 2 priests available we were able to resurrect the team quite quickly. The final boss was an elite superior lord. Elite superior lords were tricky opponents, with roughly twice the stats of superior lords. This became a problem quite quickly as the tanks weren¡¯t equal to tanking many blows. Even rotating all 5 tanks, Righteous Destiny had a hard time healing fast enough. This was despite having 2 healing summons and 2 healers in the party. Corwin finally decided to step in and draw aggro, using dodges to tank. Him and his party got the enemy down to 80% at which point he triggered his skill. Unfortunately, it was a buff skill, making him even stronger. Worse of all it seemed to be permanent and stacking.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Corwin knew the tanks weren¡¯t equal to taking on the buffed monster so he had to tank the whole fight. His equipment made him up to the challenge, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy. He needed to dodge a lot to keep the healers refreshed and he pushed his dodging to the limit as he scored blows whenever he could. After seeing the skill pattern of the boss, disrupting blow got saved for the only AoE. This kept everything manageable. At 60% health Corwin started to get hit regularly. At 40% he could only dodge about half of the blows. Fortunately, all four healers could focus on Corwin so he was still doing okay thanks to his large HP pool and high Def. But at 20% health things became a real slugfest. Corwin¡¯s health started to drop faster than the healing. Even worse the healers were under mana pressure. He nonetheless persisted, trading blows and dealing huge damage to the elite superior lord. Finally, the boss reached 5% health. Corwin was at 20% health by this point and the 2 priests were out of mana and had used up their potions. Everyone went all out to stop the ultimate. Fortunately, it had a long countdown. Unfortunately, the boss had high HP. It was going to be close. Corwin used rapid blow aggressively along with all his skills and techniques trying desperately to burst the boss down. Alice fired off all her powerful magic. Kyo¡¯s summons wailed on the boss. Everyone else was doing their part too. The ultimate triggered when the boss had 1000 HP left. It was an AoE that turned the ground into lava dealing massive fire damage to anyone caught within it. Fortunately, the lava existed for only a brief moment before the demon fell. Corwin was caught inside, as were some summons. The summons died and Corwin had stabilized at 2% HP. They had done it. They had raided a 20-man dungeon.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of Hellbane Dungeon in hell mode. Rewarding 1 dungeon pass, 160 guild reputation, and 800 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hell difficulty 20-man dungeon in Eternity¡¯s Wake. Rewarding 800 guild reputation, and 4000 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the first clear of a hell difficulty 20-man dungeon on the Asterith continent. Rewarding 400 guild reputation, and 2000 guild experience.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the fastest clear of Hellbane Dungeon in hell mode. Their time is 1h51m32s. Rewarding 1 dungeon pass, 400 guild reputation, and 2000 guild experience.
Along the way there was all sort of loot, including two lucky triggers. The highlights were a gold tier plate cuisse recipe and a gold tier amulet recipe. Corwin was ecstatic that his high luck was leading to so many recipes and so many gold tier drops. Level 20 gold items were as good as level 40 silver items, so this amulet and cuisse were extremely powerful. The cuisse in particular was part of the demonbane set, which gave bonuses against Demons for its set effect. Unfortunately, they hadn¡¯t found any other parts of the demonbane set yet. Corwin took another break to manufacture a ton of items. With all the recipes the team was earning, the players had paid off most of their GCP debt. Of course, they¡¯d cycle back into debt quickly as Corwin handed out amulets to the full team. The plate classes got their gold tier cuisse as well. We then raided again.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the fastest clear of Hellbane Dungeon in hell mode. Their time is 1h38m29s. Rewarding each member 1 Tier 3 Gemstone. Rewarding the team 400 guild reputation, and 2000 guild experience.
Unfortunately, the rewards changed for the top clear and we no longer got an extra dungeon pass. It would be fun to keep time attacking and raid the dungeon till we had boatloads of great equipment. Alas, we¡¯d only have one more run. We equipped some new gear and experience before continuing, but we didn¡¯t have any gold recipes this time so it wasn¡¯t as much help. Righteous Destiny¡¯s time only improved a little.
Congratulations to party Righteous Destiny for the fastest clear of Hellbane Dungeon in hell mode. Their time is 1h34m58s. Rewarding each member 1 Tier 3 Gemstone. Rewarding the team 400 guild reputation, and 2000 guild experience.
Corwin ended up being stuck crafting after that, creating enough equipment for a 2nd team to go raiding. That team had to start of normal difficulty to get used to the bosses so it would be a while before they could contribute any silver tier equipment or recipes. Nonetheless it was good to have 40 members of the team raiding dungeons. At level 30, the 50-man dungeons began, and Corwin wanted to be ready. Corwin was happy that both of his tier 3 gemstones were agility and he took the opportunity to socket them into two of his armor pieces that had yet to be socketed. This brought his agility over 4000, which was a cause for celebration. Finally, he went to the auction house and bought up rare crafting materials, particularly those that were undervalued. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 20: 93% of level 21 Str: 3865 (base:25) Agi: 4025 (base:125) Con:3865 (base:25) Int: 1177 (base:25) Cha: 1177 (base:25) Lck: 409 (base:25) Cnc: 409 (base:25) Sta: 409 (base: 25) Qi: 409 (base: 20) Soul: 409 (base:20) Air Affinity: 409 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 409 (base:20) Water Affinity: 409 (base: 20) Def: 12601 MDef: 9729 HP:80300/80300 (base: 1000) MP:26540/26540(base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 24 Longsword, +384Str +384Agi +384Con Base Damage: 480-576, Def 576 MDef 480 Durability 690/768, Requirements: 768 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 24 Shortsword +384Str, +384Agi, +384 Con Base Damage 392-480, Def 480 MDef 392 Durability 696/768, Requirements: 768 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate, +384 Str, +384 Agi, +384 Con 1536Def,1536MDef, Durability 710/768, Requirements:768 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Cuisse, +384Str, +404Agi(20 Gemstone), +384Con 1536Def, 1536MDef Durability: 716/768 Requirements: 768 Str G: Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Gauntlets +384Str, +404 Agi(20 Gemstone), +384 Con 1536Def, 1536MDef, Durability 713/768 Requirements: 768 Str B:Epic Tier Level 24 Plate Boots +384Str +394Agi(10 Gemstone) +384Con 1536 Def, 1536 MDef, Durability 711/768 Requirements: 768Str H: Epic Tier Level 24 Helm, +384 Str, +394(10 Gemstone) Agi, +384 Con 1536 Def, 1536MDef Durability 709/768, Requirements: 768Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+384 All base attributes, +384 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 24 Ring of Elements (+384 All base attributes, Ignore 4.8 Levels, Ignore 4.8 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 24 Amulet (+384 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 5 days Chapter 45 Corwin decided the next thing to do was level up. Taking on another hatchery was pressing both because of the curse and the main storyline quest. To do that well, he needed levels. Corwin was in a level 26 zone, taking advantage of negating 4.8 levels of level suppression. This meant he was only suppressed by 1.2 levels despite the huge XP gap. Levelling to 21 went quickly. Upon levelling he upgraded all his equipment by 2 levels. When his equips reached level 25 he got a nasty surprise. His equips now required bronze equipment to be levelled up. Fortunately, Corwin had recipes. Unfortunately, crafting would take time. Corwin headed back to town and crafted an additional 60 equipment of each type, 420 equipment in total. This would be enough to get his gear to level 37, which is as high as it would go from his reaching level 30. With that done he upgraded his equipment to level 26 and resumed his levelling. With 1 level higher and 0.4 more levels of level suppression it was time to try out a level 28 zone. This resulted in a manageable 1.8 levels of suppression. Corwin¡¯s pace at killing enemies was slightly slower but he still levelled quickly. Even with the experience reduced by 99.22%, the huge totals from it being 163,840x as much XP made up for it. Each enemy was the XP equivalent of almost 460 enemies at level 21. Level 21 was expected to take 5 days, so it required 7200 enemies to be killed. After killing 16 level 28 enemies in roughly 30m Corwin levelled up. While Corwin was moving to a level 29 zone, he receive two troubling notifications.
Congratulations to Beowulf. He is the first character in Eternity¡¯s Wake to complete a main storyline quest arc. He receives a secret Tier 1 class.
The quest arc ¡®Blessings of Asterith¡¯ has been completed in the Denovia Kingdom. For the next 30 days, Advanced Tier 1 classes will be available in the capital city, Marraze.
Something suspicious was happening. Corwin hadn¡¯t altered the Denovia kingdom at all and it was over a week too early for a main storyline quest to complete. Corwin was hoping to complete his main storyline quest first and use the advanced classes to create a solid backbone of good members in the guild. Instead, the Denovia kingdom will undergo a renaissance. Regardless, there was nothing Corwin could do about it now. Corwin continued to grind, reaching level 22. He upgraded his gear once more and set off for a level 30 zone. Near the level 30 zone he discovered a level 25 hatchery. He¡¯d be back to kill that one soon. 30m later he was level 23. He then travelled to a level 31 zone, and used 30m to become level 24. It was barely worthwhile to travel to the next zone, the travel time taking slightly less time than the time to kill double the number of enemies for a level. Corwin finally travelled to a level 32 zone and used it to reach level 25. Upon reaching level 25 he upgraded his gear to level 30 and again to level 31. Right as he finished upgrading his equipment Corwin received another notification.
Congratulations to Veira for being the first in Eternity¡¯s Wake to reach Apprentice Miner. Rewarding with 1 Miner¡¯s Pickaxe (Iron Tier) and 16,000,000 XP.
Veira wasn¡¯t in the same continent so Corwin received none of the other notifications, but he knew they¡¯d be the same as what he had received when he reached apprentice first. He knew he couldn¡¯t keep getting all the global notifications forever, but was sad to see two of them come from players outside his guild in rapid succession. Corwin was now ready to take on the level 25 hatchery. He fought his way through waves of demon dogs patrolling the blight. As he got more experienced with fighting the demon dogs he took less damage from the swarms despite their exceptional speed. Corwin was finally able to do more than just tank hits and trade blows against those lightning quick monsters. As a result, he was in full health after having consumed just a single potion in the waves of demon dogs outside. Inside the hatchery was a demon form suspended in some sort of gel like fluid. This was visible through a clear glass tube. The demon was a winged fallen angel type. She was admittedly quite pretty, despite the horns. Regardless, Corwin knew that if this body was possessed, bad things would happen in Asterith, not just in the Verdure Kingdom. So Corwin worked on destroying the tube. As he did, an enemy interrupted him. Corwin looked over that enemy.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Luciferous Demon, Elite Superior Lord
Hit Points 400,000/400,000
Mana Pool 100,000/100,000
Luciferous demons were demon followers of Lucifer the fallen angel. They varied a lot, but this one seemed a brute. Big and strong, but not very smart or crafty. An Elite Superior Lord would pose quite a challenge solo, but it was one Corwin relished. Corwin dove into the fight excitedly. Fortunately, the demon didn¡¯t appear to have much agility and Corwin easily dodged most of his attacks. There was a nasty AoE that occasionally hit him for damage, but he was staying well ahead. At 80% health, the Luciferous demon let out a giant bellow and applied it¡¯s special ability. ¡°One winged angel¡± summoned a fallen Angel for 10 seconds which unleashed one powerful charged attack. Corwin was powerless to stop this attack, and did well to throw out multiple skills before the attack landed. The skills offset the damage somewhat and Corwin only lost 60% of his HP. Unimpeded this attack was strong enough to kill a player fully geared in higher level epic equipment. Corwin made sure to heal to full before he reduced the demon to 60% HP. The same tactics continued working and fairly soon the demon was down to 20% health. Corwin survived the ¡°one winged angel¡± summon once more by relying on skills to reduce its impact. Bursting the demon down to near 5% health was once again straightforward. Finally, Corwin had to race an ultimate skill in the last 5%. Luciferous Demon¡¯s ultimate skill is to permanently summon a one-winged angel. Like all summons it would vanish when the summoner was killed. Corwin didn¡¯t stop the summon. Fortunately, he killed the Luciferous Demon before the summon finished charging its attack. The loot on the Luciferous Demon was a dark book, which Corwin knew was a quest item, something to bring back to the temple. There was no other loot save for 16 magic crystals, which Corwin happily took. Corwin destroyed the anchor stone in the next room of the hatchery and finished destroying the fallen angel body in the glass tube. He then took the loot back to the temple and waited to see what this item would reveal on the quest line. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 25: 28% of level 26 Str: 4985 (base:25) Agi: 5025 (base:125) Con:4985 (base:25) Int: 1513 (base:25) Cha: 1513 (base:25) Lck: 521 (base:25) Cnc: 521 (base:25) Sta: 521 (base: 25) Qi: 521 (base: 20) Soul: 521 (base:20) Air Affinity: 521 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 521 (base:20) Water Affinity: 521 (base: 20) Def: 20237 MDef: 16653 HP:158635/158635 (base: 1000) MP:51003/51003 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 31 Longsword, +496Str +496Agi +496Con Base Damage: 620-744, Def 744 MDef 620 Durability 790/992, Requirements: 992 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 31 Shortsword +496Str, +496Agi, +496 Con Base Damage 496-620, Def 620 MDef 496 Durability 796/992, Requirements: 992 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate, +496 Str, +496 Agi, +496 Con 1984Def,1984MDef, Durability 710/992, Requirements:992 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Cuisse, +496Str, +516Agi(20 Gemstone), +496Con 1984Def, 1984MDef Durability: 716/992 Requirements: 992 Str G: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Gauntlets +496Str, +516 Agi(20 Gemstone), +496 Con 1984Def, 1984MDef, Durability 718/992 Requirements: 992 Str B:Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Boots +496Str +506Agi(10 Gemstone) +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984 MDef, Durability 751/992 Requirements: 992Str H: Epic Tier Level 31 Helm, +496 Str, +506(10 Gemstone) Agi, +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984MDef Durability 741/992, Requirements: 992Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+496 All base attributes, +496 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Elements (+496 All base attributes, Ignore 6.2 Levels, Ignore 6.2 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 31 Amulet (+496 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 5 days Chapter 46 Corwin watched as the priestess examined the black tome. She took some time and carefully took out several tools to take a closer look. Eventually she came to her conclusion. ¡°This is a corrupted holy book and it would be valuable to purify it. Unfortunately purifying the corruption will require another demonic artifact. I¡¯m hoping you¡¯re able to find it in another hatchery.¡± Corwin then received a notification.
You have received a main storyline quest: Purify the Holy Book. To complete your quest you must find the demonic artifact Eye of Naxthos. This Eye is used to corrupt holy objects but can also be used to reverse corruption. Search for the Eye of Naxthos in demonic hatcheries
This quest appealed to Corwin as he felt he could complete it sooner than the quest around ridding all the hatcheries in the Verdure Kingdom. He also felt that purifying the book might give the temple (or him) a powerful artifact. Great rewards were an exciting possibility. Corwin realized his gear was at level 31, meaning he was probably strong enough to take on the level 30 hatchery he had found during his travels throughout the kingdom. Corwin proceeded there immediately, hoping he could find the eye easily. He slogged his way through the demonic spawn patrolling the blight. He slogged his way through demon dogs. Finally, he entered the hatchery. Inside he found something rather unique. A large dark eye hung from the ceiling of the hatchery, and within it was a smaller demonic eye. Corwin suspected this smaller eye was the one he was looking for. He used his Qi Blade to slash the eye down causing it to fall from the ceiling. The larger eye shattered, but the smaller remained unaffected. The crashing sound brought the anchor stone guard from the next room into this one. Corwin once more prepared to battle a demonic spawn. This time he faced a sloth demon.
Belphegorous Demon, Elite Superior Lord
Hit Points 450,000/450,000
Mana Pool 150,000/150,000
Corwin used his haste to fight the demon¡¯s slow ability and became a blur as the demon desperately tried everything in his power to hit him. Nothing seemed to work. Fairly soon, Corwin had the initiative and was attacking aggressively. The demon¡¯s HP started to fall quickly. Soon it reached 80%. Corwin received a nasty agility debuff. He continued to dodge effectively as the buff from the haste ability was quite substantial. The demon reached 60% HP. Another agility debuff followed and this time Corwin was hittable. Fortunately, few blows landed and Corwin was at 85% health when the demon reached 40%. With 3 stacks of the agility debuff on him Corwin faced substantial pressure. The demon connected often and Corwin¡¯s health fell quickly. He was forced into using an intermediate health potion before the demon reached 20% health. When the 4th stack of the agility debuff hit, Corwin could barely dodge anymore. He maximized his parry and used his skills to counter blows. Well timed uses of techniques did damage and the demon slowly got chipped away at. Finally, it reached 5% health. Fortunately, the powerful ultimate of this demon was hidden behind a long timer. Corwin was equal to dispatching it before any skill arrived. It was a close thing however, as he had a mere 2 seconds to spare.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Corwin picked up the eye and went in the other room to destroy the anchor stone. He took a piece of the anchor stone so he could extend the duration of the countdown on his unfortunate curse. When Corwin headed back to the temple so quickly the priestess was rather surprised. The eye was a powerful artifact and one they had not expected would be easily found. The priestess began to use it to purify the book. Unfortunately, the curse was too powerful and priestess suffered a backlash. Fortunately, she was able to contain the damage and ended up cursed instead of dead.
A main storyline quest: Purify the Holy Book has been updated. To complete your quest you must find a purification crystal. This crystal can be used to weaken the corruption on the holy book so that the Eye of Naxthos can remove it.
Corwin wasn¡¯t entirely shocked. He didn¡¯t think a main storyline quest would be this easy. Unfortunately, there were no hints on where to get a purification crystal. Corwin didn¡¯t think it was likely Demon¡¯s would have them. Corwin racked his brains for a way to get them. Unfortunately, none of the ways he knew would work before his Tier 1 quest. He supposed he¡¯d have to delay that piece until after his quest. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 25: 28% of level 26 Str: 4985 (base:25) Agi: 5025 (base:125) Con:4985 (base:25) Int: 1513 (base:25) Cha: 1513 (base:25) Lck: 521 (base:25) Cnc: 521 (base:25) Sta: 521 (base: 25) Qi: 521 (base: 20) Soul: 521 (base:20) Air Affinity: 521 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 521 (base:20) Water Affinity: 521 (base: 20) Def: 20237 MDef: 16653 HP:158635/158635 (base: 1000) MP:51003/51003 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 31 Longsword, +496Str +496Agi +496Con Base Damage: 620-744, Def 744 MDef 620 Durability 790/992, Requirements: 992 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 31 Shortsword +496Str, +496Agi, +496 Con Base Damage 496-620, Def 620 MDef 496 Durability 796/992, Requirements: 992 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate, +496 Str, +496 Agi, +496 Con 1984Def,1984MDef, Durability 710/992, Requirements:992 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Cuisse, +496Str, +516Agi(20 Gemstone), +496Con 1984Def, 1984MDef Durability: 716/992 Requirements: 992 Str G: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Gauntlets +496Str, +516 Agi(20 Gemstone), +496 Con 1984Def, 1984MDef, Durability 718/992 Requirements: 992 Str B:Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Boots +496Str +506Agi(10 Gemstone) +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984 MDef, Durability 751/992 Requirements: 992Str H: Epic Tier Level 31 Helm, +496 Str, +506(10 Gemstone) Agi, +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984MDef Durability 741/992, Requirements: 992Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+496 All base attributes, +496 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Elements (+496 All base attributes, Ignore 6.2 Levels, Ignore 6.2 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 31 Amulet (+496 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 9 days Chapter 47 For the first time in a while Corwin was aimless. He didn¡¯t want to advance too far ahead of the guild, as this would make him unable to run lower-level dungeons. Level 30 would be fine, but any higher was out of the question. This meant he had at most one more hatchery he could take out in the short-term. With 9 days on his Bloodlust Malediction countdown he didn¡¯t think that hatchery was a top priority. In short, he needed a new quest. Fortunately, as a level 25 noble in the capital city of the Verdure Kingdom, Corwin had options. However, all of the quests he was interested in had a side-effect of opening some part of the game early. Corwin wanted to make sure that he and his guild benefited from whatever opened early. Eventually he decided on a quest line called ¡®Restoration of the Ancient Order¡¯. This quest investigated a long dead monastery where combat monks trained. It opened up a martial artist class that could be of interest to some of the guild. This martial artist class wasn¡¯t a swordsman class and couldn¡¯t compete with Corwin¡¯s class reward anyways. But, it was still a valuable class for rank and file guild members who weren¡¯t completing top tier secret quests. Unlike some elite martial artist classes, this one gave players soul and qi attributes rather than requiring them to find it on their own. This class was particularly good for knights and warriors, and made for solid average team tanks. Corwin was mostly interested in completing the quest for an item reward. This quest rewarded the ¡®Chalice of the Ancient Order¡¯. The chalice was a transmuting artifact, it could combine weaker mana flows into stronger ones. This meant Corwin could upgrade mana crystals into mana stones, giving him another way to enhance his gear. Unfortunately, the ratio was quite painful requiring 1000 mana crystals for every mana stone. Still, it was likely the fastest way for him to get mana stones. Legendary equipment was a huge step up from epic equipment, and 5000 mana crystals for a single legendary equipment was a steep but worthwhile price. Corwin wanted to have at least legendary weapons when he challenged his class promotion quest as the degree of success would greatly affect his power as a Tier 1 character. Nearly doubling his hidden attributes would be quite beneficial as well. Corwin even leaned towards doing that upgrade first. Regardless, Corwin was getting ahead of himself. First he had to get the chalice. Next, the entire guild reserve right now was just over 1000 magic stones. He¡¯d need the guild reserve to be around 10 times that amount to justify taking half to upgrade an equipment. Both of these were solvable problems. Corwin started the quest line by talking to the Mage Athexander in the Wizard¡¯s Tower located just off the town square. Athexander was curious about the ancient order and had found a rumour about their monastery being located about one day journey away. He was willing to share the information in exchange for getting any of the spellbooks and research materials the monastery had. Corwin, knowing that this wouldn¡¯t include any artifacts found agreed to pay the price gladly.
You have got the side-quest: Restore the Ancient Order. Recover all spellbooks, research materials, and knowledge from the ruins of the ancient order. Return them to Athexander so he can study them.
Fortunately for Corwin, the Monastery ruin was just 1 hour from a place he had previously been so space manipulation dramatically shortened the journey. The monastery itself had become invaded by feral wildlife, particularly some nasty dire wolves. The level 25 monsters swarmed in packs, attacking with speed and strength. Fortunately, they were quite lacking in constitution so Corwin could trade blows and defeat them. As Corwin went deeper into the monastery, the wolves became elites. When he went down a stairway into the basement of the ruin he encountered special elites. These fights were tougher, but quite manageable, mostly dangerous because of the large numbers in a pack. He found most of what he was looking for shortly thereafter. He had recovered all the spellbooks, research materials and knowledge books from the ruins of the ancient order. Unfortunately, the artifact was in the next room guarded by a formidable opponent.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Dire Wolf Pack Leader, Elite Superior Lord
Hit Points 300,000/300,000
Mana Pool 150,000/150,000
The low HP was terrifying as it meant the monster would have huge strength and agility. Nonetheless, Corwin wasn¡¯t about to come this far and not get the artifact to show for it. He charged in. As he charged, a wind barrier formed in front of the dire wolf, completely negating his wind charge. Corwin used spatial slash to destroy the barrier and deal some damage to the pack leader. He fought smartly, exchanging blows wisely and using dodging and parries whenever possible. This wasn¡¯t really a solo-quest, and despite his epic gear Corwin was feeling outmatched. When the dire wolf hit 80% health it summoned a dire wolf pack alpha which was a chieftain level monster. Fighting both the alpha and the pack leader was a substantial challenge. Corwin was forced to use his haste skill to keep up. Fortunately, the chieftain didn¡¯t have any skills that triggered on life loss and Corwin was able to burst it to zero health. Fighting the alpha continued somewhat smoothly until it reached 60% health. At 60% health, it summoned 2 dire wolf pack alphas. This was quite overwhelming to Corwin, particularly since it implied that 40% would be 3 pack alphas and 20% would be 4. Corwin was forced to use his ring of elements for additional speed. This left him without a plan for when the enemy would reach 40% health. Corwin nonetheless killed off the pack alphas. Lacking a plan, he retreated. It seemed he would need to rely on his teammates for help sooner than he thought. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 25: 33% of level 26 Str: 4985 (base:25) Agi: 5025 (base:125) Con:4985 (base:25) Int: 1513 (base:25) Cha: 1513 (base:25) Lck: 521 (base:25) Cnc: 521 (base:25) Sta: 521 (base: 25) Qi: 521 (base: 20) Soul: 521 (base:20) Air Affinity: 521 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 521 (base:20) Water Affinity: 521 (base: 20) Def: 20237 MDef: 16653 HP:158635/158635 (base: 1000) MP:51003/51003 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 31 Longsword, +496Str +496Agi +496Con Base Damage: 620-744, Def 744 MDef 620 Durability 790/992, Requirements: 992 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 31 Shortsword +496Str, +496Agi, +496 Con Base Damage 496-620, Def 620 MDef 496 Durability 796/992, Requirements: 992 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate, +496 Str, +496 Agi, +496 Con 1984Def,1984MDef, Durability 710/992, Requirements:992 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Cuisse, +496Str, +516Agi(20 Gemstone), +496Con 1984Def, 1984MDef Durability: 716/992 Requirements: 992 Str G: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Gauntlets +496Str, +516 Agi(20 Gemstone), +496 Con 1984Def, 1984MDef, Durability 718/992 Requirements: 992 Str B:Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Boots +496Str +506Agi(10 Gemstone) +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984 MDef, Durability 751/992 Requirements: 992Str H: Epic Tier Level 31 Helm, +496 Str, +506(10 Gemstone) Agi, +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984MDef Durability 741/992, Requirements: 992Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+496 All base attributes, +496 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Elements (+496 All base attributes, Ignore 6.2 Levels, Ignore 6.2 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 31 Amulet (+496 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 9 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 0 Level 9 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 0, Level 8 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 9 days Chapter 48 The artifact Corwin was going after was something that needed to be kept a secret. It was the kind of item that could start a guild war. Corwin had wanted to gather it himself, but he decided he¡¯d need a small team in order to do so. The question was who could he trust. Kyo was an obvious inclusion. Alice had a good reputation in her past life, and always kept her word so Corwin was willing to bring her as well. The wolves were physical enemies so the team needed one warrior. Corwin wasn¡¯t completely sure if he could fully trust The Bear but that was his best option. Corwin purchased a mount in the nearest city before heading home on horseback. Mounts could be stored using the inventory system, so Corwin didn¡¯t have to worry about inconvenient things like stabling. The mount reduced the journey time to about 1/3rd of what it would have been otherwise and Corwin spent only 4 hours getting back to the capital. He gathered his small team and headed into a private room in the guild hall. The first secret he¡¯d reveal was space manipulation. ¡°I¡¯m going to create a portal to our destination. The fact that I can do this is obviously a guild secret so please don¡¯t repeat it. When there we are going to fight a boss in order to get a powerful item. This item is a top secret, as knowing we have it could start a guild war. I¡¯m trusting each of you with very important guild secrets. I think you have the potential to be important members of the guild and I want you to see this through.¡± The bear simply nodded while Alice looked rather pensive. Kyo spoke first. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve put this trust in us. I¡¯m looking forward to the additional responsibilities. You can rely on me.¡± Alice spoke next. ¡°I¡¯m honestly a little surprised. I¡¯ve been making a number of mistakes in the dungeon raids. I¡¯m not sure where your confidence is coming from.¡± Corwin needed to reply to that. ¡°Mistakes are natural at this point in the game. You have a difficult role to play, combining utility with DPS. Your most important spells are Area of Effect which makes targeting harder as well. Despite all this you get far more right than you get wrong. You also improve quickly. Most importantly, you¡¯ve demonstrated you¡¯re honest and trustworthy. I have faith in my decision and hope you¡¯ll have faith in your own abilities as well, Alice.¡± ¡°Thanks for the compliments. I hadn¡¯t thought of things that way,¡± Alice said with a slight blush. She looked a little embarrassed, almost like she didn¡¯t believe the praise. Corwin knew he¡¯d need to keep working on Alice¡¯s confidence. But first, he needed to talk to the bear. ¡°I¡¯m a bit surprised as well. I¡¯ve been doing well in my role, but we haven¡¯t interacted much. I¡¯m not sure how you can trust me with all these secrets,¡± The Bear said. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m taking a bit of a gamble. I know you better than all the tanks and I needed to bring a tank into the inner circle. I¡¯ll get to know you better as we work together,¡± Corwin admitted. ¡°Your gamble will pay off. I¡¯ll show your trust in me is not misplaced,¡± the bear said confidently. With nothing left to discuss, Corwin created the portal. Kyo, Alice and The Bear stepped through, and once they had Corwin followed. The portal closed behind them, leaving them at the ruins. The mobs in the ruins had regenerated so the team got practice fighting wolves. Compared to Corwin everyone was under-levelled and under-geared. Despite this, they still had strong gear for level 20. The Bear was able to tank the wolves successfully. Corwin was the only good source of damage as 5 levels of level suppression was too extreme for everyone to deal with. He was slaughtering regular wolves in a single blow, elites in two, and special elites in three. After some time, they arrived in the basement. Corwin cleared out the surrounding mobs and stopped to go over strategy. ¡°I¡¯ll tank the main enemy; The Bear will tank his summons. Alice, you should save your ice wall and your ice-based slow effect for when the enemy summons. Kyo, we need you mainly for healing and utility. Focus on your healing summon, and if you have any that provide buffs feel free to use those as well. Since you won¡¯t be doing much damage, it would be useful for each of you to try using agility drain on the main boss. Any questions?¡± The strategy was simple enough so everyone remained quiet. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then,¡± Corwin said eagerly. He looked over the fully healed Elite Superior Lord.
Dire Wolf Pack Leader, Elite Superior Lord, Level 25
Hit Points 300,000/300,000
Mana Pool 150,000/150,000
Corwin engaged while the others applied the agility debuff. Fighting the lord with 3 debuffs on its agility was slightly easier than before and Corwin was able to avoid getting hit. Things went smoothly up to 80% health. When the pack leader summoned an alpha, The Bear stepped up to tank. He was able to dodge many of the blows, and block and parry others. Level suppression was still quite heavy so he took fairly substantial damage. Fortunately, with Kyo focused on his healing summons, he was able to get health back quickly. Corwin knew The Bear¡¯s limit would be two chieftains. The battle would be difficult. Corwin finished killing a chieftain, which took a bit of time while avoiding the blows from the pack leader. He then slowly whittled the leader¡¯s health to 60%. Two summons came and Corwin began to attack one down while The Bear generated aggro with both of them. His tanking skills were pushed to the limit. Fortunately, neither of the enemies was able to land a full hit. Corwin finished killing the first chieftain while the pack leader just finished moving around the ice wall that Alice set up. With the slow she had cast on the Wolf leader and the two agility drains acting on it this was quite manageable. The Bear was in good shape against just one enemy and Corwin slowly finished it off while focusing on avoiding damage from the Pack Leader.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The last chieftain fell and Corwin once again focused on the leader. He announced the change in plan. ¡°Next summon is three chieftains. The Bear will tank two and I¡¯ll take on one and the leader. The last summon is four chieftains. The Bear will tank two and I¡¯ll take two and the leader.¡± Corwin finished whittling down the health and used his haste skill when the summons came. Alice was perfect with the ice wall and ice slow. Corwin finished off the chieftain that was attacking him quickly, before he had to deal with the leader¡¯s attacks. Unfortunately, the bear was under significant pressure facing two alphas for so long. He stabilized at 20% health before one chieftain went down. From there the rest of the wave was smooth sailing. The next wave was the critical point. Corwin used Air Manipulation to get a huge speed buff. He slayed one of the chieftains before he was attacked by the pack leader. He quickly worked to slay the other chieftain, bursting his skills and techniques as fast as possible. Meanwhile, the bear was struggling desperately. Alice¡¯s slow had recharged and she wisely through it near the bear slowing down the enemies attacking him. That bought time enough for Corwin to finish killing his chieftain. Unfortunately, the slow had run out and the bear was under massive pressure. Corwin couldn¡¯t draw aggro as the bear had too much built up. Just before Corwin killed the 3rd chieftain the bear ran out of health and died. The two chieftains turned on Corwin, although one almost immediately fell. Corwin faced a chieftain while under the attack of the pack leader. This was quite manageable. The bear had done his part and his brave sacrifice meant the only remaining risk was the ultimate. The artifact was so close that Corwin could taste it. The 2nd chieftain fell as Corwin refocused on combat, pushing stray thoughts out of his mind. Corwin turned to the pack leader and began to wail on it while saving all his skills and techniques for the final burst. His dodging was equal to the task, so the only question was the ultimate ability. At 5% health the countdown started. Corwin had the enemy at 3% health when the countdown was half done. He knew he¡¯d come up short. He had the enemy down to 1.5% health when the countdown expired. The pack leader used the spirit of the wolf pack ability, and a horde of 100 spirit wolves started to attack the party. Corwin desperately attacked the pack leader with everything he had, knowing the summons would vanish once it died. The pack leader was at 1% health when Alice and Kyo died. Corwin was down to half health when the pack leader had 1500 HP. Unfortunately, Corwin was a bit careless and got hit by a special skill, dropping to 20% health. Very quickly it became a close race. The pack leader had 100HP left when Corwin had 1000HP. 8 spirit wolves hit Corwin in the time it took for him to deal a finishing blow to the pack leader. Each wolf dealt 125 damage. Fortunately, a regen tick saved Corwin and he avoided the indignity of killing while perishing. Corwin was glad he hadn¡¯t brought a healer to do resurrections; they would have fallen away. He went into the room the pack leader was guarding and got the chalice. He then headed for the nearest city to meet his team near the respawn point. They had fallen to level 19 from dying in the field and he¡¯d need to help them level back up. The artifact was worth many GCP¡¯s so everyone gained a huge benefit. Nonetheless, without Corwin¡¯s help, plans to run the dungeons tomorrow would be disrupted. Corwin brought them to a level 32 area and killed monsters for 15 minutes while they recovered. He put his spare experience into his ring, bringing all of his elemental abilities to Tier 1. He¡¯d need to do some more grinding before the cooldown for space manipulation was reached. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 25: 27% of level 26 Str: 4985 (base:25) Agi: 5025 (base:125) Con:4985 (base:25) Int: 1513 (base:25) Cha: 1513 (base:25) Lck: 521 (base:25) Cnc: 521 (base:25) Sta: 521 (base: 25) Qi: 521 (base: 20) Soul: 521 (base:20) Air Affinity: 521 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 521 (base:20) Water Affinity: 521 (base: 20) Def: 20237 MDef: 16653 HP:158635/158635 (base: 1000) MP:51003/51003 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 31 Longsword, +496Str +496Agi +496Con Base Damage: 620-744, Def 744 MDef 620 Durability 790/992, Requirements: 992 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 31 Shortsword +496Str, +496Agi, +496 Con Base Damage 496-620, Def 620 MDef 496 Durability 796/992, Requirements: 992 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate, +496 Str, +496 Agi, +496 Con 1984Def,1984MDef, Durability 710/992, Requirements:992 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Cuisse, +496Str, +516Agi(20 Gemstone), +496Con 1984Def, 1984MDef Durability: 716/992 Requirements: 992 Str G: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Gauntlets +496Str, +516 Agi(20 Gemstone), +496 Con 1984Def, 1984MDef, Durability 718/992 Requirements: 992 Str B:Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Boots +496Str +506Agi(10 Gemstone) +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984 MDef, Durability 751/992 Requirements: 992Str H: Epic Tier Level 31 Helm, +496 Str, +506(10 Gemstone) Agi, +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984MDef Durability 741/992, Requirements: 992Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+496 All base attributes, +496 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Elements (+496 All base attributes, Ignore 6.2 Levels, Ignore 6.2 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 31 Amulet (+496 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 9 days Chapter 49 Between the time spent in the ancient ruin, the time spent fighting the boss and the time spent leveling, Corwin¡¯s space manipulation had just come off cooldown. He created a portal back to the private room in the guild hall in Rensworth. Everyone stepped through and it was good to be back home. Corwin went to see the mage Athexander in the wizards tower. Upon handing in the quest he received a private notifications.
Congratulations on completing your quest. You have received 50 reputation in the Verdure Kingdom and 100,000,000,000,000 XP.
The mage began to study the materials eagerly and told Corwin to come back in a few days to see his results. Corwin knew this was when the martial artist class would become available. Corwin¡¯s next priority was a quest that wasn¡¯t about himself. There was a top tier secret summoner class available from a quest that Kyo could get and Corwin wanted to help him complete it. The secret summoner class allowed one to summon monsters inside one¡¯s body to gain attributes, skills and powers. This ability was quite powerful as it would enable Kyo to summon monsters for utility and combat while also becoming a formidable combatant himself. This was especially true if he could get good ranged magic summons as then he would gain offensive powers suitable to his high intelligence while buffing that very stat. The summoner quest began by talking to Nathos in the Summoner¡¯s guild. Nathos was not easy to talk to, and only Corwin¡¯s nobility begrudgingly got them a conversation. In that conversation Nathos tried to get rid of them by getting them to explore a cave he was curious about. In exchange for revealing the cave¡¯s location, he¡¯d be entitled to any research materials found. Skill books, artifacts and material goods would belong to Corwin and Kyo. This was a rather generous deal, but the cave was in a Tier Field. Tier fields are mysterious magical fields that weaken players of higher tier dramatically. Something about the magic in them is incompatible with the higher tier players body upgrades. In addition, the experience of weakening was rather unpleasant akin to a headache and muscle fatigue. So Nathos, as a higher tier NPC wasn¡¯t about to go there himself. Tier fields are also very difficult to create and generally are only made by top tier presences to protect their inheritances. After all, it would be rather silly to create a tier 1 inheritance that could be obtained easily by a tier 4 existence. Needless to say, this cave was rather exciting stuff. Corwin and Kyo travelled the 2-hour journey across road and forest before finding the cave near the base of a mountain. The presence of the tier field felt like a strange tingling and it seemed to sharpen the senses slightly. Corwin and Kyo were in high spirits upon entering. It was nice to finally do something, just the two of them. The cave quickly opened into a large stone room. It consisted of a main corridor and several unreachable floating stone platforms. On both the main area and each platform there were trial runes. Unlike a solo trial, these trial runes would summon opponents in waves and track the level the team had passed. The difficulty would scale based on the number of combatants as well as their levels. The plan was rather simple, Corwin would handle the main wave in the corridor while Kyo would summon on the various platforms to attack the monsters that spawned there. With Corwin unable to handle anything on the platforms, Kyo would really have a chance to shine. All of this was explained by a spirit wisp left behind from the ancient summoning master that had created the trial. Corwin and Kyo readied themselves as the first wave appeared. The platforms each had regular enemies while the main corridor had elites. Corwin dispatched the elites easily, while Kyo summoned 2 monsters on each platform a tank and a DPSer. Tank summons were much worse than player tanks because they didn¡¯t dodge very much and thus needed far more healing. Nonetheless, they were good enough to keep the regular enemies off the DPSer and fairly soon those enemies went down. At the end of the wave, Corwin and Kyo healed to full health and restored to full mana. This was a rather pleasant bonus. The other rewards for the wave was based on a point system, rewarding points for each clear and points for time remaining. At any point in the trial the points could be exchanged for items. The 2nd wave consisted of special elites in the main corridor and elites on the platforms. With full mana Kyo could summon another 8 summons and he added a healer and a DPS to each of the four platforms. With healers present the tanks stabilized and the 2 DPSers were able to bring down an elite quickly. Each platform had a mix of magical and physical damage to handle various types of enemies. Corwin for his part dispatched the special elites effortlessly. Once again they healed to full health and restored to full mana. Once again they received a lot of points for clearing the wave fully and faster than expected. The 3rd wave is where things started to get interesting. 2 special elites on each platform, and 4 chieftains in the main hall. Kyo decided to go for damage, doubling the DPSers on each platform. Corwin for his part had a fun time with 4 chieftains, taking longer than Kyo¡¯s summons did for the first time in the trial. The bonus points made for an interesting choice this time: Kyo had earned enough for an epic staff. But if he took it, he¡¯d need to fight one or two extra waves to get his secret class. Kyo decided to be greedy, mostly because the special abilities of the staff were amazing: +50% to summon duration, +25% to summon stats.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. The 4th wave featured 2 chieftains on each platform and 4 lords in the main corridor. Kyo added a 2nd tank and a 2nd healer to each platform, letting the tanks split the monsters. With the staff he had mana left over to summon 1 more DPS on each platform as well. Corwin could handle 4 lords but was reaching his limit. He might need summon support on the main platform if the next wave had 4 greater lords. Corwin was impressed with how far he had come, remembering when 4 lords at his level would have been a nightmare to face. Kyo for his part was blown away by Corwin¡¯s skill in combat. Their clear time was still worth a lot of bonus points, apparently the 4 lords were expected to take a long time to deal with. The 5th wave brought very good news. It featured 2 lords on each platform and 3 greater lords in the main corridor. While this was quite a challenge, the shrinking number of enemies was a welcome relief. Corwin decided it was time to start burning his special skills and use haste to do so. Kyo for his part needed extra DPS for the lords to keep the tanks in good shape. 3 DPSers were summoned on each platform. The platforms cleared out before Corwin could finish the 3 greater lords. In fact, he took a lot of damage when fighting 3 at once. Fortunately, in the trial the greater lords didn¡¯t have any health down abilities or ultimates. Otherwise, Corwin would have been in real trouble. When he was down to two enemies he stabilized. Killing them took some time, but from that point onwards it was easy. They advanced to the 6th wave. At this point, Kyo¡¯s first summons expired. The platforms had 1 greater lord while the main corridor featured 2 superior lords. Corwin used his ring of air, hoping this was the final wave. Kyo summoned 3 dps on each platform letting the single remaining tank block the lord with two healers in support. The tanks eventually fell, but not before the greater lords were on critical health. The dps managed to burst them down, but not before 2 dps died on each platform. Fortunately, the ones that died were the older weaker summons. Corwin for his part had never fought 2 superior lords at once. His only chance was that they were fire lords, so Corwin could activate his ring of fire ability to great effect. Corwin dodged, and blocked, and parried, and positioned. He did everything in his power to avoid taking damage. His skills hit one of the superior lords consistently to great effect. But despite his best efforts his health was falling too quickly. Corwin¡¯s health fell in tandem with the superior lord and only using a potion kept him ahead. Even so, his health reached an abysmal 20% by the time he killed one of the superior lords. Facing a single lord with the advantages from his two ring abilities he was able to avoid taking much damage. Still the occasional hit was enough to be scary. Corwin survived until his potion came off cooldown and the additional health relieved the tension. He eventually slayed the last greater lord. Because of the additional damage from ring of fire, his time was quite good as well. Corwin¡¯s guess about the number of waves was confirmed. He and Kyo got a bonus for a full pass. Between the bonus and the time spent, Kyo had just enough points to get his new top tier secret class. He gave up on some nice other epic equipment, but getting a secret class was far more valuable. Corwin Swordborn Spoiler : Level 25: 33% of level 26 Str: 4985 (base:25) Agi: 5025 (base:125) Con:4985 (base:25) Int: 1513 (base:25) Cha: 1513 (base:25) Lck: 521 (base:25) Cnc: 521 (base:25) Sta: 521 (base: 25) Qi: 521 (base: 20) Soul: 521 (base:20) Air Affinity: 521 (base:20) Fire Affinity: 521 (base:20) Water Affinity: 521 (base: 20) Def: 20237 MDef: 16653 HP:158635/158635 (base: 1000) MP:51003/51003 (base: 1000) Gear: MW: Epic Tier Level 31 Longsword, +496Str +496Agi +496Con Base Damage: 620-744, Def 744 MDef 620 Durability 790/992, Requirements: 992 Str OW: Epic Tier Level 31 Shortsword +496Str, +496Agi, +496 Con Base Damage 496-620, Def 620 MDef 496 Durability 796/992, Requirements: 992 Str MA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate, +496 Str, +496 Agi, +496 Con 1984Def,1984MDef, Durability 710/992, Requirements:992 Str LA: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Cuisse, +496Str, +516Agi(20 Gemstone), +496Con 1984Def, 1984MDef Durability: 716/992 Requirements: 992 Str G: Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Gauntlets +496Str, +516 Agi(20 Gemstone), +496 Con 1984Def, 1984MDef, Durability 718/992 Requirements: 992 Str B:Epic Tier Level 31 Plate Boots +496Str +506Agi(10 Gemstone) +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984 MDef, Durability 751/992 Requirements: 992Str H: Epic Tier Level 31 Helm, +496 Str, +506(10 Gemstone) Agi, +496 Con 1984 Def, 1984MDef Durability 741/992, Requirements: 992Str RR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Hidden Attributes (+496 All base attributes, +496 All Hidden Attributes) LR: Epic Tier, Level 31 Ring of Elements (+496 All base attributes, Ignore 6.2 Levels, Ignore 6.2 Equip Levels AM: Epic Tier, Level 31 Amulet (+496 All base attributes) Skills: Spatial Slash, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Haste of the Warrior, Legacy, Tier 0 Level 0 Time Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Space Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Air Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Earth Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Fire Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Water Manipulation, Special, Tier 1, Level 0 Dragon Fist, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Qi Blade, Martial, Tier 0 Level 0 Demon Slayer, Rare, Tier 0 Level 0 Thunder Slash, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wave Chop, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Wind Charge, Rare, Tier 0, Level 1 Disrupting Blow, Rare, Tier 0, Level 5 Double Slash, Uncommon, Tier 0, Level 2 Slash, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Pierce, Common, Tier 0, Level 3 Parry, Common, Tier 0, Level 2 Techniques: Rapid Blow Vanishing Steps Sword Light Mana Drain Health Drain Stamina Drain Strength Drain Agility Drain Endurance Drain Flicker Precision Dodge Curses: Curse of the Lust Demon, Days Remaining: 29 Bloodlust Malediction, Countdown: 9 days On Hiatus While I''ve been rapidly churning out chapters it has been pointed out to me that this work drifted far too close to another work that I admire. I agree with the criticism and don''t want to write something that feels plaigaristic. I want to thank all my fans for reading this far, it''s been a blast writing this for you. I''m sorry that it ends like this. I do want to revisit this series when I have a chance to make it sufficiently unique and give it it''s own flavor. I feel I can write it better now than when I first started and would like to give the work a chance to thrive. I''ve decided to leave this up for now, so that those who enjoyed it can still do so. But I will probably take it down when I begin the rewrite. I currently have other projects (non-RR) in the works that are taking more of my time so I''m not sure when the rewrite can happen. One thing I do know is that I will be slowing down the pace to make sure that the ideas I put forward are distinct enough from other series to ensure a unique flavor and feel. I know it sucks to read this far and have the series stop like this, but I felt this was the best thing I could do for the work. I do hope you''ll join me when this restarts. I''ve repeated this letter to meet the word limit for a chapter.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. While I''ve been rapidly churning out chapters it has been pointed out to me that this work drifted far too close to another work that I admire. I agree with the criticism and don''t want to write something that feels plaigaristic. I want to thank all my fans for reading this far, it''s been a blast writing this for you. I''m sorry that it ends like this. I do want to revisit this series when I have a chance to make it sufficiently unique and give it it''s own flavor. I feel I can write it better now than when I first started and would like to give the work a chance to thrive. I''ve decided to leave this up for now, so that those who enjoyed it can still do so. But I will probably take it down when I begin the rewrite. I currently have other projects (non-RR) in the works that are taking more of my time so I''m not sure when the rewrite can happen. One thing I do know is that I will be slowing down the pace to make sure that the ideas I put forward are distinct enough from other series to ensure a unique flavor and feel. I know it sucks to read this far and have the series stop like this, but I felt this was the best thing I could do for the work. I do hope you''ll join me when this restarts. I''ve repeated this letter to meet the word limit for a chapter.