Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 25

Chapter 25

Camrad_RIP 13.01.22 в 22:34

Level twenty-five. I admittedly expected to be allowed to choose another additional class, since I wasn't exactly a normal Hero, but I had to roll my lip back. They weren't going to give me any new goodies, even though I wanted them badly. On the other hand, I'm satisfied even with what I have now. The main thing is to make good use of the gifts originally issued to me, and then I can think about new things.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 09:53

If I survive.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 09:53

You could say that I passed a very important milestone in my life's journey. Especially when you think of the level I was reaching by my pure characteristics. Five stat points, three skill points, and a complete emptiness in reserve. Today I gave it exactly one hundred percent, I could barely crawl home. And only then do I allow myself to pass out for twelve long hours. No dreaming, no work - just rest.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 09:56

But I woke up with a fresh head, a vicious appetite, and a thirst for action, provoked by the newly operational pain in the ass. And there were gloomy thoughts that it would soon be time to stop saving money. And maybe right now, not anytime soon. Free points were good, but not enough to risk my skin. I need more mobility, more firepower, and more control overshadows.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 09:57

And that means that I have to spend at least a couple of points, otherwise it's not saving anymore, it's stupidity. I'm going to spend it on the shadow class, though I shouldn't forget about dreamwalking, either. But I'm happy with dreaming and alchemy at the existing levels, while I need shadow combat power like I need air. The skill upgrade alone certainly helps, especially with clairvoyance, which, lately, has even begun to partially seep through the blockade put on by an unknown creature, but not enough for my peace of mind.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 21:54

So I have no choice but to moderate my appetites and accept the need to spend a lot on my reinforcement. For the strength to confront the unknown nastiness will be needed soon enough. I will preach sobriety and abstinence if that thing is below a legendary grade! Anyway, it's time to open the coffers! For such a creature, even the toad doesn't choke me anymore... Okay, I'm lying. It's choked me a lot, to the point of tears, but it's time to fight this hoarding heroically.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 21:58

"Status."

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 09:59

Name: Constantine
Race: Human
Level: 25

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 09:59

Titles: Hero; Silent Assassin; Night Master, Thunderstruck; The Legend Seer; The Legend Killer; Withstood; Sighted Mentor; A Persistent Guy; Those who've seen a lot; Soul of a Mocker; Marathoner; Invisible Mentor

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:00

Characteristics Points: 15
Class Points: 14

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:00

Characteristics (standard):
Strength: 70
Dexterity: 115
Endurance: 75
Perception: 96
Concentration: 100
Energy: 114

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:01

Characteristics (class):
Shadow: 67
Dreams: 48
Inspiration: 24

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:02

Class: Lord of Shadows
Rank: 2
Basic characteristics: shadows, dexterity, perception.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:02

Abilities:
Shadow Control: 5/5
Allows you to masterfully control shadows in your field of vision, giving them full physical embodiment; shadows can freely take solid form and are suitable for creating obstacles and barriers; the range, speed, control, and stretching of shadows is greatly increased; shadow density is greatly increased; shadows can inflict energy damage and impose effects that reduce target characteristics; wounds from shadows are worse; with maximum tension and concentration of the shadow on a certain area, you can turn the shadow into a door to another plane; increases the Shadow's characteristic by +5.

Shadow Sense: 5/5
Allows you to sense all shadows within a large radius; allows you to clearly sense shadow movement and affiliation; allows you to control shadows freely even outside your direct line of sight; allows you to sense invisible persons touching shadows; allows you to see and hear through shadows; shadows within your perception zone are easier to submit to your will; shadows can point out targets you highlight or dangerous to you; if you wish, you can hear voices of shadow inhabitants distantly and vaguely; increases the Shadow characteristic by +5; increases the perception characteristic by +5.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:03

Steps of the shadows: 5/7

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:03

Allows the user to step into a shadow and go directly to the shadow plane at will, with the possibility of staying there for a certain amount of time, depending on the user's reserve and the actions they take; allows the user to select a shadow for back passage directly while applying the skill; the distance of movement is limited by the user's reserve, but the effort and concentration are quite tolerable; in combat, this skill is extremely effective, especially for ambushes and surprise attacks; while in the other plane, the user's body gets the ability to pass through unenchanted obstacles; allows the body to merge with the Shadow, developing great speed of movement; allows to accumulate shadow energy right in the moment of step; limited levitation is available when in the other plane.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:05

Stealing of the shadow: 1/7

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:05

Allows, with a significant waste of reserve, to take someone else's shadow, thereby taking the form of the stolen one; with high concentration allows you to pass off someone else's shadow as your own, deceiving weak status assessment abilities; with a sudden movement the stolen shadow might unfold; with excessive use of shadow manipulation the shadow might unfold; under the influence of enemy skills the shadow is likely to unfold.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:06

Summon of the shadow: 0/7
[undisclosed]

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:06

Bonuses:
Shadowborn: stealth skills grow five times faster; in case of danger, shadows will shelter you as their brethren.
Dexterous: Dexterity grows faster.
Shadow Seer: This allows you to apply a special type of vision that allows you to superimpose the shadow plan on reality; allows you to see through disguises, obscurations, and illusions; the power of the gaze depends on characteristics and class ability development.
Blood of Shadows: Other blood flows in your veins, giving you a piece of its power; increases the characteristic of Shadow by +5, making it easier to communicate and negotiate with the inhabitants of Shadow.
[undisclosed]

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:07

Class: Master of Dreams and Reflections
Rank: 1
Basic characteristics: dreams, concentration, perception

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:28

Abilities:
Create a dream: 3/5

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:29

Allows you to control the dream you are in by influencing the passage of time; allows you to directly control the situations and plot of the dream; allows you to create scenarios for individual dreams; allows you to understand what scenes will resonate most with the dreamer; allows you, with effort, to create complex dream scenarios; allows you to better control the matter of dreams and to confront others' dreams even when other entities oppose them.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:30

Send a dream: 4/5

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:30

Allows you to instantly immerse yourself in a dream, as well as clearly understand the boundaries of reality and sleep; allows you to easily enter the dream of an intelligent being located near you, if it itself is asleep; allows you to collect information from other people's dreams; allows you to learn the nature and thoughts of sleeping beings; allows you to easily intercept control over another's a dream and hold the sleeper in the dream world, not allowing him to awaken; It allows artfully influencing the subconscious mind of a sleeper by inserting the necessary ideas and behavioral matrices; it allows creating shared dreams for several sleepers; it allows leaving anchors in others' dreams, which can be used to find the marked person, provided that he is asleep, even at considerable distances.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:32

[undisclosed]

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:32

Bonuses:
Dreamer: social and magic skills associated with the class grow five times faster; no one has power over your dreams but yourself.
Undeterred: the concentration grows faster.
[undisclosed]

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:32

Class: Mystic Alchemist
Rank: 1
Basic characteristics: inspiration, perception, energy

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:33

Abilities:
Creating a compound: 3/5

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:35

Allows you to create very complex alchemical compounds from available reagents, instinctively understanding the creation process; allows you to adjust the desired result and understand what purpose a certain reagent is suitable for; allows you to work with the aggregate state of the resulting mixtures; with luck and effort, you can create exotic mixtures that can cause complex and long-lasting status effects.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 15:09

Reagent breakdown: 3/5

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 15:09

Allows easy extraction of essences from alchemical reagents; difficulty depends on the rank of the reagent, its quantity, characteristics, and skills of the user; allows to hold collected essences and limited manipulation; compositions created from pure essences are guaranteed to get higher quality; compositions created with essences have a slight chance to get a higher grade or additional effects (the effect depends on the quality of reagents).

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 15:17

[undisclosed]

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 15:28

Bonuses:
Understanding of the essence: the ability to see and, with reservations, understand magic in things and reagents; all craft skills related to alchemy grow five times faster.
Attentive: perception grows faster.
[undisclosed]

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 15:28

Special:
Limit of Excellence (from the title ‘Hero’): raises the maximum limit of natural characteristic growth to 50 (Now: 60), accelerates trainability, and increases the amount of experience gained.
Hero's Will: Thought-affecting skills ranked below your class have no effect.
Hero's Gaze: allows you to see a certain amount of information about others; depending on your level.
Mythic: Limit of characteristic development raised by 10 (Now: 60), allows you to choose three classes at once.
Silence in the hall (rare; from the title ‘Silent Assassin’): an active skill that completely mutes sounds in a small area. Duration and area of effect depend on the user’s level and energy value.
Night Master (rare): You have, voluntarily or involuntarily, met the standard for the title of a professional assassin. Proving that you have this title will get you a job in any shadow guild. If you don't get slaughtered just in case. Effect: +5 to dexterity; +2 to all characteristics except class.
Improved coordination (common): improves coordination and fine motor skills.
Improved hearing (common): Improves hearing, allows you to distinguish previously inaudible whispers and rustles, makes it easier to distinguish the sources of sounds and identify them.
Increase energy quality (common): makes your energy more saturated and denser, thus increasing the power of your charms and reducing the cost of creation.
Thunderstruck (rare): You received a charge of many millions of volts on your head, but managed to survive such a gift. You have to be pretty stupid to be struck by lightning, but you also have endurance. Effect: +5 endurance.
The Legend Seer: The Skin-Taker, or, as the local tribes call him, Sa'Shai Garhmnul, very rarely shows his face, and even more rarely leaves those who see him alive. In any case, you were among those who survived the encounter. Luck or stupidity, we can't let something like that go unrewarded. Bonus: +5 to all stats except class stats.
The Legend Killer: To become a Legend, the Skin Taker lived a long life and shattered countless lives of strangers. But all his power didn't help him when he met you. Luck and stupidity, we'll say, but we'll give you a reward nonetheless. After all, it's not every day someone proves that even Legends sometimes die. Bonus (halved): +5 to all characteristics except class, +1 free ability point.
Bone strengthening (common): makes bones stronger and more resistant, allowing you to better tolerate stress.
Combat Concentration (common): makes it easier to stay focused on something during combat or other active actions; pain and injury have a reduced chance of interrupting caste.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 15:32

Perfect Coordination (common): gives perfect coordination and fine motor skills; allows full control over your body; slightly reduces the effects of stun and trauma; makes it harder to use lie detection and cold-reading skills on you
Withstood: You stood alone, or in a very small squad, against an enemy outnumbering you in numbers and levels, bringing death to all life. We have no idea if you have brains or where they are located, but we give you a reward just in case. Bonus: +5 to Endurance and Dexterity.
Sighted Mentor: It's hard to keep the line between helping wimps gain combat experience and not letting them die in the process. Not everyone has the patience and skill to do this, but you do. Bonus: +5 to Perception.
Active enhancement (common): allows you to increase your strength by a quarter once every three hours, for forty minutes (depends on magic stats), after which it rolls back, reducing your strength by half, for an hour.
Magic thickening (rare): increases the effect of spells and slightly increases the reserve; significantly reduces the cost of creating spells and increases protection against negative magical effects and curses.
A Persistent Guy (epic): you haven't wasted a single point by reaching your full potential, only to then start investing in it. Foolishness or farsightedness? We don't know, but we're rewarding you just in case. Bonus: +5 to all characteristics, except class characteristics.
Those who've seen a lot (legend): Most mortals live and die without ever meeting a Legend. Some are unlucky enough to meet one, and then their lives are cut short. Few could boast of what they had seen. But you defied the laws of statistics and common sense. You managed to meet three legendary monsters in less than a month and survive each of those encounters! Your fearless folly is rewarded! Bonus: +5 to all stats except class stats, +1 free ability point.
Soul of a Mocker (unic): You are one of the few who is accustomed to looking for someone else's pain points and hitting them as hard as you can with gusto. For justice, for your own convictions, or just for fun, you've come a long way from being a scavenger afraid to face your victims, capable only of insult, to a true maestro, capable even of gracefully dipping your opponent's face in the dirt. Bonus: you intuitively sense a way to poke fun at your interlocutor, whether with harmless irony or extreme sarcasm.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 15:34

Marathoner (rare): You have endured a long battle against a difficult opponent. You were tired, exhausted, depleted of reserves, but continued to fight stubbornly, refusing to acknowledge your weakness. Such tenacity and fortitude are worthy of reward. Bonus: +5 to endurance.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:34

Shadow Lucky (epic): You, showing incomparable dementia, took a step too far, falling completely into the Shadow without being prepared for it. Despite your slim chance of survival, you managed to get out the way you came in. Moreover, despite your underdeveloped ability, you were not torn to pieces on the way back! The odds of survival were one in a thousand, but Fate keeps fools away! We'll just be silent, refrain from commenting, and reward you. Bonus: +1 bonus point to Shadowsteps ability.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:35

Shadow Awakening (epic): gives a permanent effect that simplifies shadow control by a certain amount, depending on the level and value of the Shadow trait. May have other effects when interacting with shadows.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:35

Natural Control (rare): allows you to perceive your magical energy as another part of your body, making it easier to work with any energy manipulation and class abilities.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:37

Invisible Mentor (epic): it's hard to keep the line between helping weaklings gain combat experience and not letting them die in the process. It's even harder to do it in such a way that the victory remains entirely in their hands and without the risk. Such a task is possible only to true geniuses of pedagogy, well, and just lucky fools. In any case, get the bonus. Bonus: +10 to the perception.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:39

Skills:
Provocation: 47 (master)
Running: 20 (journeyman)
Stealth: 62 (great master)
Swimming: 5 (apprentice)
Alchemy: 50 (great master)
Herbalism: 31 (master)
Gathering: 25 (journeyman)
Fishing: 14 (journeyman)
Spear Mastery: 3 (apprentice)
Infiltration: 33 (master)
Danger sense: 56 (great master)
Deathstroke: 48 (master)
Dagger Mastery: 52 (great master)
Hand-to-hand combat: 18 (journeyman)
Energy Flow Management: 46 (master)
Two-Handed Combat: 34 (master)
Throwing Weapon: 15 (journeyman)
Clairvoyance: 39 (master)
Disarming traps: 24 (journeyman)
Pickpocketing: 13 (journeyman)
Trap Making: 11 (journeyman)
Poisoner: 6 apprentice)
Essentialism: 16 (journeyman)

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 10:42

I had grown and matured quite a bit - the wall of text made my eyes glaze over as if I had been drinking too much. Alas, the super-fast development of the early days in the new world is finished. The easiest levels were already taken, and further development would not be easier. I can only be very strong in comparison to the average inhabitants of Alurei because even a single cultist was able to offer me quite significant resistance. If there were a dozen girls like that out there, and at most I could quickly and heroically squeal and run away.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:44

Yes, I'm well aware that my build is far more suited to instant killing and speeding off into the sunset, but it's frustrating to feel like I'm not the biggest OP in this sandbox. What would happen if I met another Legend? And I might, because the thing behind the cult wouldn't go away. It's a great time to think with my head, which doesn't want to be shoved into a noose because its bearer is thinking with his ass.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:47

The first thing I did was throw in all the available points in the energy. All fifteen of them, yes. As much as I wanted to get my perception up to a hundred, or my dexterity up, I knew a simple truth: I had enough speed right now. I might not be the "fastest blade in the world," but the combination of the shadow sphere and the ability to step into the Shadow entirely at any moment allowed me to dodge even the fastest blow with assurance. Much faster than myself. Just as long as I have time to spot my opponent.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:48

But the lack of magical powers could kill me with a much higher guarantee. Yesterday I was able to hold a call on snot and sheer stubbornness. I'd love to upgrade my concentration as well (which would help me hold it in place), but there's no sense and no available stats to waste. A hundred and twenty-nine energy is a lot by local standards, especially when you consider the class stats as well. But it wouldn't be enough to fight a supposedly legendary beast that's nesting in the Kraj.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:55

And don't tell me that I don't have to fight this filth personally! I'm not going to stick my nose in it anyway. It's just that I have this suspicion, based on an empirical analysis of my life path under the Alurej sky, that if some particularly dangerous thing appears somewhere in the same area as me, I'm guaranteed to have to deal with it closely.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 16:56

As a matter of fact, right now my accumulated treasure (fourteen points!) is enough to almost completely fill the second rank of the shadow class. I'm not even considering upgrading my alchemist and dreamwalker abilities, because I need my strike power and survivability. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I managed to keep myself from putting in all the points I had (fourteen, Carl!) with a cry of "burn it all". First of all, because I don't see how stealing a shadow can help in combat.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 17:25

Almost sobbing in pain, ripping my soul out of me, with the scream of a schoolboy who has had his console taken away from him, I put three points in the pre-selected abilities at once.

Camrad_RIP 14.01.22 в 17:28