They were also now on the lookout for information when this Aether Deprivation might occur Sam indicated that it had started around when he reached skill level 450 and grew increasingly more prevalent as he approached 500 But before they could ask him more he refused to speak and locked himself away intent on testing the limits of his new skills In addition that was just a general guideline From what Lyra was able to spit out before the rules of her new station bound her to silence stats also were related It was possible that some people who took more stats heavy paths would be affected more quickly
So that project would have to wait but it was something to monitor in the future For now they continued making schedules for as The Ghosthound insisted the day after tomorrow
Because according to the Ghosthound tomorrow would be dedicated to motivating the Classers of Donnyton by reminding them an important truth
That they were very weak
Chapter 100
Randidly breathed in and then breathed out He was already dreading tomorrow not for the part where he would beat the squads as much as he could urging them towards strength In fact that part would likely be slightly cathartic It would give outlet for the burning aggression that had been lit earlier during the fighting and still burning quite hot After all he had not been pleased to come back to the village to find that Lyra was well whatever it was that had happened to her Punishing the village in a small way seemed like a forgivable outlet
Truly he had obtained a taste for violence
No it was for the words he would have to say after that Randidly still didn’t want to be involved in any of the daily activity of Donnyton but he did want to spur them on towards growth To that end he had created the schedules with Daniel and Regina given the new potion methods to Mrs Hamilton and used his remaining two blessings
The choices were relatively easy He needed people who would protect and strengthen Donnyton individuals who were active and people without classes That Regina wouldn’t obtain a blessing was unfortunate but the power that Randidly felt from both Annie’s and Mrs Hamilton’s classes seemed very promising Best of all the 4 blessings had been used on different types of individuals so their classes had different uses
Alana for strength and power Sam for support and crafting Mrs Hamilton for managing things behind the scenes Annie for threat elimination
But Randidly knew that these actions were only a small part of what he needed to do for the village So after crushing the squad’s concept of strength Randidly would then speak to them hopefully in a motivating manner This was what he was dreading the most
The sun peaked over the horizon and Randidly raised his hand to shade his eyes It had been a long night But it looked like it was finally over
It would probably take the group from Franksburg another day or two to arrive slowed as they were by the large number of people traveling with them and the necessity of sticking to the roads on their journey After they arrived Randidly wanted to speak with Alana and Raina and then he believed he would take his leave of Donnyton for a while finding a deserted area to train in
At least he thought he would do so depending on what happened with Lyra
They had placed her dead body in a bed and put her goop on the bedside table But they were complete unsure what to expect from her No one could tell when she would recover but there had been no changes in the goop over the last several hours
Sighing Randidly rubbed the bridge of his nose a spark of irritation flashing across This was exactly why he wanted someone else to be in charge
Only one thing at a time ’ Randidly reminded himself taking a deep breath Then he examined a particularly notification that he had received earlier in the night
Congratulations You have fully absorbed the blessing from the Patron of Ash The Soul Skill Blessing of the Patron of Ash Lvl 1 is available to you You may either retain your current and forget this new soul skill retain the new and forget the old or attempt to combine the two All previously obtained benefits will be retained
Warning if the two Soul skills are combined an inferior skill may be obtained based upon compatibility This action cannot be undone
There was no real choice here Always forward holding tightly to the spear as best he could Randidly chose to combine the skills
Soul skills combining Warning compatibility is at 41% Do you still wish to proceed
That spark of irritation had erupted filling Randidly with hot flames of rage His grin wide Randidly clicked yes daring the system to try and screw him over He felt the two Soul Skills almost could see them the warm power of the blessing from Ash the cool rot and deadly accuracy of Spear of Rot Mastery
They began to circle each other in his chest coming closer As they approached slowly spinning around each other Randidly heart began to beat more quickly a strange excitement filling his body And within him another beating emerged a pulsing of that strange icy hot energy As they neared the heat of the the blessing burned away the spore y remnants of the rot and the rot settled neatly into the area left cleansed by the heat
Faster and faster they swirled and as they neared each other the energies turned increasingly unstable rushing towards an explosive collision
Instinctively Randidly sensed that this couldn’t happen
So he pressed using all his will to keep them apart The approach stabilized somewhat but the two Soul Skills rotated faster and faster perversely creating greater and greater pressure for them to meet
Gritting his teeth Randidly refused Not like this
Randidly’s eyes burned emerald in the dark
This would not end in an inferior product
Randidly was very aware of how much of his strength he owed to his Soul Skill It had given him several unique skills and gave him extra benefits from leveling skills With it he had risen farther and faster than even a Classer hoped to match
And that would only grow more pronounced if he succeeded here Randidly knew Although Randidly didn’t know how to accomplish what he wanted he knew that the system responded to want and need And every ounce of him craved this Every inch of him needed that strength so he could live so he could protect the people who relied on him So he could find the people from his past and lay to rest any lingering ghosts The pulsing in his chest grew more insistent
For a brief second Randidly’s green eyes flickered and then burned a sickly violet A cold numbing kernel simultaneously the concentrated core of heat from his rage flowed out of him moving to settle between the two swirling energies It gathered itself into a small ball creating an oppressive pressure of its own its energies pressing outward and counteracting the strange gravity that was drawing the two soul skills together
They orbit stabilized slowing slightly but still swirling around each other in an endless cycle Rot followed by a cleansing fire followed by creeping rot
Panting Randidly fell to his knees
Congratulations You have obtained the Soul Skill Cycle of Rot and Ash Lvl 1 All previous benefits have been retained
There were no skills or other bonuses associated with this Soul Skill apparently which made Randidly hesitate But in the end he would soon find out whether he succeeded or failed so for now he simply shrugged Then he looked at his skill level notifications
Spear Mastery had increased by 2 Phantom Thrust and Spear Phantom’s Footwork by 3 Eyes of the Spear Phantom and Phantom Half Step by 1 Heavy Blow by 1 Dodge by 2 Fighting Proficiency by 3 Block by 1 Haste by 3 Sweep and Empower by 2 Calculated Blow by 1 Edge of Decay by 3 Ghastly Slash by 5 Pierce the Skies Shatter the Earth and The Spear Advances Ash Trails by 1 each Agony by 3 Physical Fitness by 1 Pain Resistance by 3 Grace by 3 and Bacterial Regeneration by 2
All together including leftover from previously exactly 50 PP Randidly chuckled to himself Not enough to finish off the Phantom Thrust path but more than enough to see the usefulness of this Soul Skill