Chapter 13: The effect of affinity.

Chapter 13: The effect of affinity.

The next morning I woke up well rested. It was time to bite the bullet. Today I would make my final tier up decisions. I'd had some time to think about it and I had decided.

Determined, I opened my first skill window.

[Elementary dark sight](100%)

Tier 1 skill.

You possess the ability to see using darkness, rather than light. You can see dark elemental mana when in high concentrations.

Explore dark areas or areas filled with dark mana to increase proficiency.

Tier 2 upgrades

[Dark sight]

A direct upgrade of [Elementary dark sight]. You can see dark mana anywhere.

You possess the ability to see using darkness, rather than light. You can see dark elemental mana.

[Abyssal sight]

Stare into the abyss.

The abyss stares back.

[Dark glare]

You possess the ability to manipulate dark mana based on sightlines, rather than distance.

You possess the ability to see using darkness, rather than light. You can see dark elemental mana.

This was the more obvious choice of the two, [Dark glare] and [Abyssal sight] being just too big of a risk. Without further hesitation, I picked [Dark sight]. It was the least impressive and interesting option, but safety came first. With some luck, I would get a powerfull tier up next time that didn't carry so much risk with it.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

Ding! [Elementary dark sight] skill reached tier 2! [Elementary dark sight] has become [Dark sight].

The skill settled in a moment later, making small black tufts off dark mana visible to me, despite the sunlight filtering in from the outside. With a mental command I made the mana disappear from my sight, not wanting to be distracted this early in the morning.

Now, there was only one skill left to upgrade. My core skill.

[Simple dark core](100%)

Tier 1 skill.

You possess a dark core filled with dark elemental mana. The core allows you to use dark-aligned skills.

[Simple dark core] provides a small amount of extra power to dark-aligned skills and reduces their mana cost by a minimal amount.

Absorb ambient dark mana into the core to increase skill proficiency.

Tier 2 upgrades

[Dark core]

A direct upgrade of [Simple dark core]

[Dark core] provides a moderate amount of extra power to dark-aligned skills and reduces their mana cost by a small amount.

[Undead Core]

This core brings you closer to the existence of an undead.

He seemed relieved at my declaration.

"If you intend to upgrade your core skill, I recommend you do it in a meditation chamber," he added ominously.

I wondered why for a moment, but agreed. I would probably need some extra mana to complete the upgrade. We said our goodbyes and I headed to the dungeons, having decided on the skill I would choose.

With the slow growth problem solved and the mana inefficiency limited, both due to the [Battle meditation] skill, the answer was obvious.

[Overloading Dark core] clearly had more potential, the same amount of capacity and gave me more long term strength. I would tier up [Battle meditation] more in the future, so my mana output and input would eventually equalise, if I had my way.

I arrived in my favourite meditation chamber, a dark room with a wooden floor and cobbled walls. It was entirely empty and free of distractions. It was time to upgrade my core. Mentally, I commanded the skill [Overloading Dark core] to be selected.

Ding! [Simple dark core] skill reached tier 2! [Simple dark core] has become [Overloading Dark core].

Immediately I felt a change in my body. The mana that would normally flow in and out of my core was swirling rapidly. It started to draw in ambient dark mana on its own. My instincts told me that interfering would be a bad idea, so I let the mana flow freely.

Instead of gathering near my core, the mana started wildly circulating throughout my entire body, giving me a feeling similar to that of my augment. The amount of rushing mana gradually increased. Soon my veins were starting to overload again, giving me that familiar pain that I had felt when I fought for my life against that boss. My core was spinning faster and faster, tearing itself apart to produce and pump mana through my body.

It became too much, forcing a small moan of pain out of me. Soon, a new development happened. The glowing black veins on my body weren't enough to contain the mana. Like a river flooding over its banks, the overloading mana flowed into the rest of my body, passing by muscles and internal organs. Now, my entire body was starting to glow in a pattern that reminded me of a lightning scar, like a leafless tree spreading across my body.

Just when the pain was starting to feel unbearable, it vanished, leaving faster than it had come. I felt all of the mana rush to the centre of my chest, reforming my broken core slowly. The mana coalesced and created one entity. Before, it had felt like a small cold marble. Now, it reminded me of a small whirlpool that continuously sucked in mana, threw it out on the other side and then reabsorbed it. It was in a constant state of flow.

My veins and scars stopped glowing, returning my body to its normal state, taking any lingering sense of pain with it.

Name: Arthur Titles [Dark prodigy] Class: [Death Knight] LVL 23 Strength 96 Constitution 96 Dexterity 96 Intelligence 25 Wisdom 50 Affinity 223 Free stat points 6

Skills:

Passive: [Overloading Dark core](1%), [Dark sight](2%), [Berserker Swordsmanship](3%),

[Novice lifespan](N/A), [Perfect physique](N/A), [Flexibility](N/A) [Mental resistance](N/A)

Active: [Dark augment](59%), [Shadow apparation](12%), [Battle meditation](5%)

I breathed in deeply, and let out a slow, shuddering breath. That had been an experience I hadn't been mentally prepared for. It was done though. I had borne the pain, and the results were clear. I activated my battle meditation and started to practice keeping it active permanently. After all of these tier upgrades, I had reached a whole new level of strength, without even tiering up my class.

Speaking of tiering up my class, soon, it would be time to do exactly that. Tier 2, here I come!

Pov: ???

A cloud of dust blew into my face, singing my unkempt hair in the process.

"The damn reagent blew up again! If only that blasted alchemist had lived a little longer! How was I supposed to continue to make the poison my own? 'Make it yourself', 'figure it out' and more of that tripe... "

It was always the same. It was only a matter of time before I taught that old witch a lesson. If that witch was stupid enough to give me the staff in return for the poison, power would be mine! Only a little more time....

A moment later, my little cherub demon flew in and settled on my shoulder. The bastard would most certainly try to distract me from my work with his little sing-song voice, causing nothing but hindrance.

"They're onto us, master! We gotta leave, we gotta leave, we gotta leave, we gotte leave, we..."

The little shit was singing the same damn thing over and over, just changing his intonation to make it seem like a good song. Moron.

"Rickardo, what the hell are you talking about? Say it slowly you damn feathered foetus!"

"Master, the witch hunters have found our old laboratory in Ralston! It's only a matter of time before they storm our cave!"

Crap. This was the last thing I needed. Despite the setbacks, the poison was almost done. If I left now, all of the valuable ingredients I used would be lost, not to mention that the old witch wouldn't let me off that easily. Then again, staying in this damp cave was risky as well.

I should ask myself the question: 'What am I scared of more? A couple of tier 1 and 2 hunters, or the old lady?' Well, that question was easily answered.

I raised a skeleton using [Basic Raise Undead] and followed up with a [Bestow basic sentience], casting [Bestow elementary sapience] as a final touch. This course of action cost me nearly all of my mana, but it resulted in a far stronger servant. The skeleton looked at me with its empty eye sockets, waiting for a command.

"Go to the entrance of the cave and guard it. If anyone comes, alert me and kill them after. Take the equipment from the corpses along the way."

I would have to repeat the process many times over for the next few days if I wanted to be ready to receive my guests...