Kingdom Come: Ch 7

My first stop after the hospital was the Keep’s Outer Gate, where the Castellan lived and worked. He was happy to hear about the dead Glacier Toads. I got my EXP and gold, which I handed back. I told him to donate the 300 gold olbia to the families of the guards who had been lost during the battle between Andrik and Ignas. Because I gave the money back, I got Renown instead. That popularity was going to be more important than money down the road.

By the time I reached my suite, I regretted turning Suri down. Karalti was still gone, and when I tried to reach out to her, there was nothing but the blankness of sleep. That left me stuck in Vulkan Keep with nothing to do except spend time with my worst enemy - my brain, which currently had a bad case of ‘it’s not fair’.

Baldr had taken over a kingdom and raised himself and his pet players to end-game levels in a few weeks. It sucked. A lot. I was hurting from how much it sucked. The old Hector, the Hector who had bluffed his way through life - bouncing bars, riding motorcycles, playing games and eating pizza - would have given up from that humiliating pain. There was no way to catch up with cheaters. There was no amount of work we could do, no legitimate effort we could make to honestly exceed them. But even as I paced, my inner drill sergeant was scowling at me. All he had to say on the matter was: “So what? So what if they’re cheating? So what if Baldr-Ororgael is the best gamer who ever fucking walked the earth? What are you going to do about it, boot?”

The new Hector had survived five years on the front lines of the Total War. I’d cheated death. My character upload had glitched and I’d still survived. There’d been no bunny slopes for me. No tutorials. The goddamn God of Darkness had chosen me to be his ‘herald’, whatever that meant. I... actually wasn’t sure. 

But yeah, that Hector, he was a Queensrider: the first in seven hundred years, if Lucien was telling the truth. I was a Kingmaker. A Kingslayer. There had to be something in me that was capable of those things, even if I still felt like I was half-assing my way through life. So wouldn’t brood about cheating losers, or my missed date, or the fact my dragon wasn’t talking to me. I was going to brew some motherfucking potions.

Like stats, skills were leveled up by using them. The only kind of experience that raised my overall level was Combat EXP, and I was all out of monsters to kill. I took a note from Mashka’s book and beat those herbs like I planned to beat Lucien’s face. To a pulp.

I made Goldenseal Tinctures, Common Antidotes - basically just charcoal and purified water - and some other recipes I’d bought at the apothecary in town. To be an effective medic, you had to had treatments that aligned with the four humors: Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic and Melancholic. I made healing potions that could treat diseases of each time. I made Concentrated Moss Tinctures for days. I made a couple of things out of mana and frog parts that I really wish I hadn’t. Fortunately, my suite had big windows. 

[Warning! You are dehydrated! -1 HP per 10 seconds]

[You have triggered Endurance!]

[You have reached Herbalism 15!]

[You have reached Alchemy 5!]

[Warning! You are famished! -1 HP per 10 seconds]

[You have reached Alchemy 6]

[You are exhausted! -10% to Skill Checks]

The brewing and crafting was only an hour’s work, but by the end, I was running on fumes. My Endurance ability was keeping me going, but it wasn’t going to last forever. I got a drink and a small bite to eat from my Inventory before running a bath and settling down in the steaming water. My lab was spread out over the table where the servants normally bought in and left food in the morning. There was now a forest of vials, bottles, and poultices ready and waiting in my inventory, so I bought up my character sheet and had a look at what I had to work with.

Dragozin Hector - Dauntan (Tuun)

Level 17 Dark Dragoon

==Stats==

Strength: 45 (+10 bonus)

Dexterity: 51

Stamina: 40 (+5 bonus)

Will: 32

Wisdom: 37

Intelligence: 20

HP: 1362 (+300 bonus)

EXP: 12,173 (2792 to next level)

Adrenaline: 136

==Abilities==

=Racial=

Blessing of Burna: +10% bonus to resist disease; +5% Stamina bonus to recover from illnesses. Immune to Pox and Lockjaw. +10% cold resistance. All physical needs accrue 2% slower.

Plateau Native: No Stamina penalties in thin air, -2 Stamina penalty at sea level. 

Saddle Born: All Riding skills increase 5% faster.

Sun-sight: No vision penalties in bright or very bright light, -5% penalty in dark environments.

Blessing of Tarn: +15% movement speed.

Blessing of Hrrun: No airsickness, reduced inertia at high altitudes, no vertigo.

=Traits=

Curiosity: The player is an open-minded and engaged person, willing to question their modes of thinking and doing and readily accept new ideas. Combat, craft and class skills gain 5% more quickly.

Introvert: With a preference for their own company or small groups of loyal friends, the player gains a 5% bonus to accumulate skills in solitude provided they are not disturbed. Fatigue accumulates 10% faster in large groups and crowds outside of combat situations. 

Dyslexic: The written word is something of a mystery to the player. Books take longer to read, and all language-related skills gain -%5 slower.

Natural Leader: You have a natural inclination to take charge. Social skills increase +2% faster when engaged in leadership activities.

Endurance: You are becoming accustomed to pushing yourself, even when you are exhausted. You may spend adrenaline to offset starvation, fatigue or bleeding for +1 minutes x your Stamina.

Mark of Matir: May convey special abilities at higher levels. When Mark is activated, drain health from enemies on a critical hit. HP regained is equal to remaining AP + Will bonus. 300 second cooldown. You are immune to undead fear effects. – 500 Infamy in places hostile to worship of Matir.

=Dragonforged Abilities=

Mana Tolerance: You have great resistance to Stranging and Mana Sickness, and may consume magical potions without permanent ill effects. Your toxicity threshold is now equal to your HP. See the Mana Tolerance ability entry for details and related skill and ability trees. Exceeding your Mana Threshold brings on symptoms of Mana Sickness and drains HP.

Eagle Eyes: 20/5 eyesight with enhanced spectrum, 340-degree visual field.

G-force resistance 1: You can remain conscious at up to 5 g of horizontal or vertical pressure.

Stone Bones 1: +10 resistance to crushing damage, 5 damage reduction.

Deep Breather: 1.5x lung capacity.

Iron Body 1: You are practically immune to extremes of heat and cold. You can safely weather extremes between -20 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Gyroscopic orientation: You cannot be disabled by extremes of motion. You are immune to disorientation and vertigo, and suffer no penalty to vision or concentration while spinning, falling, or while upside down.

Blood Pact: By undergoing the Rite of Marantha, you have become dependent on dragon blood to sustain your metabolism. Every week, you must consume at least one Dragon Blood Elixir to maintain your abilities. Failure to consume the potion will trigger the Starvation and Withdrawal statuses. All abilities gained through the Rite will become unavailable, and AP will regenerate 50% slower.

Stranged: The Rite has resulted in permanent mutations to your body which are visible and identifiable by some creatures. In places (or with people) where Stranged or magical beings have pariah status, you suffer a Severe penalty to all social interactions.

==Combat Abilities==

Basic Weapons Training: Passive -You are trained in the arts of war, and fight unarmed and use all simple and martial hand-to-hand weapons without penalty. Does not include exotic weapons.

Armor Mobility: Passive - You are used to wearing armor and bearing heavy loads. +10 Defense in armor (L,M or H), no penalty to carrying.

(New) Weapon Specialist: Polearms: You have trained extensively in the use of polearms. You may use exotic polearms at no penalty; +10% damage with polearms.

=Path Abilities=

Blood Sprint IV

Hit up to 10 targets, deal +250 bleeding damage over ten seconds, boost attack speed +20 for 10 seconds. Chains with Blood Storm.

> Blood Storm III

Strike up to 10 targets. 35 HP recovered on good hits. Can only be used after Blood Storm.

>> Death by a Thousand Cuts II

Mark Targets with a curse that lowers their attack power by 4% per skill level, and increases your attack by 4% and Damage reduction by 10%. Percentages rise as you level the skill. Max 1 enemy target per skill level.

Jump III

Spring 20ft into the air in any direction and deal x4 damage on landing.

> Obscuring Veil III

Chain combo from Jump. Deal x3 damage with a very high chance of dealing the Blindness debuff.

Umbra Burst III

Draw Dark energy from the air and emit a chilling burst of enervation that deals damage and has a 25% chance to inflict the Frozen debuff. 

Shattering Darkness III

An attack that freezes and cracks an enemy’s natural or man-made armor. Reduces enemy DR by 15%.

Whirlwind Butcher II

Hit up to 12 targets and recover 10 AP on every good hit.

Shadow Dance II

Basic Evasive Dash reduces damage by 80% at the cost of HP (10 HP per dash).

Mantle of Night I

Boost movement speed and special attack power 20% for 10 seconds.

Plunge III

Your acquired resistance to g-forces has increased, even if your head is above your feet. You are able to withstand 15 negative G’s (5 per skill level).

Leap of Faith III

You gain the ability to better control your direction in the air if you fall off your mount, even when flying at high speeds. You experience time dilation of 3 seconds (1 second per skill level) while falling.

=Gifts of Matir=

(New) Shadow Lance: Your weapon transforms into solid darkness. In a single strike, you deal bonus Dark damage equal to 150 x half your Will score. Your opponent gains the Blinded status (unless immune). Current damage: 2775.

Blessing of the Raven: You call on your power and gain increased insight into knowledge and skills. +10% Skill EXP for 45 min. 

Life for Life: Channel a blast of damaging dark energy into your enemy and drain their lifeforce to replenish your own. Inflicts Corruption debuff.

Spider Climb: You gain the ability to climb and travel vertical surfaces, crawl across ceilings, and hang on walls. Level this ability to extend duration. Duration: 20 seconds.

[You have unlocked a new combat ability: Master of Blades]

[You have unlocked a new combat ability: Glassbreaker]

[You have 8 unspent ability points!]

[You may choose one Gift of Matir]

“Oh shit bro!” Excited, I navigated to the Ability menu to review my Combat Ability options first:

Master of Blades

Chain combo from Jump. Before you hit the ground, leap backwards into the air and manifest a rain of shadow lances onto your foes, dealing massive damage to enemies (1088 per lance, 2 lances per level, maximum two lances per enemy).

Glassbreaker

Chained from Hall of Mirrors. Twist acrobatically mid-air, unleashing a second blast of Dark energy shards down on a group of enemies. 1050 damage to 5 enemies. Damage and number of affected enemies increases when you level this skill.

I’d been saving my Ability Points during the grind so that I could spend them just before we went to Myszno, and now I was glad I’d waited. I did a rough calculation on the damage that Jump, Master of Blades III, and Glassbreaker I would do together. Times four from Jump on one target, then 2176 per two lances per target, then another 1050 each on the same target and four others… that came out to almost 4000 damage leveled on a single enemy at Level 17.

“Hooollly fuck.” I rubbed my eyes and did the math again. Yup: 3966 damage to a single target, with damage in the thousands to everything else. And, if the critter I was smacking around was weak to Darkness, they’d take double on Glassbreaker. That was insane. Like… completely overpowered.

Naturally, I was tempted to dump all the points into those two new abilities, because with a little more math, I worked out that by Level VII – attainable at Level 35 – I’d be dealing five-digit damage. IN. SANE.

However, there were other abilities that were just as tempting. Umbra Blast was already awesome, and at Level IV it could effectively entangle, freeze, and damage ten enemies to the tune of 1500 Dark damage. Blood Storm, my old faithful, went up to 250% damage with 45 HP regained on good hits. If I hit between 10 and 15 targets – say, on a crowded battlefield – that was up to 675 HP regained from that one combo: about half my Max HP.

Of course, these abilities all had a cost: all those Darkness abilities were hungry for Adrenaline. The total cost for Glassbreaker I was 80 AP, which meant I didn’t have quite enough Adrenaline Points to use the combo twice unless I somehow recharged those points. You could recharge them by taking damage – undesirable, though more feasible if I had Blood Storm leveled up to IV – or by using moves that recharged AP. Whirlwind Butcher was good for that. There was also Dark Dragoon ability that recharged AP by 15% during flight. If I found some way to rapidly regenerate Adrenaline…

“How is this ability even legal?” I muttered, selecting my options. I could level my abilities to a maximum of four, so I spread my points out to select Jump IV, Umbra Burst IV, Whirlwind Butcher III, Blood Storm IV, then Master of Blades III and Glassbreaker I. It was an expensive combo, so I figured Glassbreaker could be leveled up later as I gained more base AP.

Next up were the Mark of Matir abilities. I ever only got two choices for these, and they were never the same abilities. I couldn’t just go back and select one of the ones previously offered to me, and I couldn’t change the abilities once I’d selected them.

I felt a twinge in my gut as I opened that menu and reviewed Matir’s offerings:

Purify

(Life) Cure or inoculate one target of your choice against any communicable disease. Does not work on diseases caused by curses.

Plague Lord

(Entropy) Infect any target of your choice with Filth Fever, a virulent Choleric disease which instantly debilitates and weakens targets with fever, muscle weakness, shaking and eventual death. Does not work on enemies resistant to disease. Inflicts Corruption debuff.

“Wow.” My heart screamed ‘Purify!’, but my head said ‘Plague Lord’. On the one hand, the ability to cure disease – any disease – was on my Top Five Magical Powers list. Being sick was the worst thing I could think of… which is why the idea of cursing Lucien with Filth Fever was extremely tempting. There was no cited level restriction, so resistance would be based on stamina. There was a problem, though. I still didn’t know what the Corruption debuff was, because in all the times I’d used Life for Life, I’d never seen any meter or timer appear. I’d never felt anything.

I rubbed my hand over my mouth, leaning back into the steaming hot water of the bathtub. But as I stared at the menu hovering in front of me, I realized something. Frowning, I called my character sheet to a second window, and reviewed the Gifts of Matir panel again:

=Gifts of Matir=

(New) Shadow Lance: Your weapon transforms into a lance of solid darkness. In a single strike, you deal bonus Dark damage equal to 150 x half your Will score. Your opponent gains the Blinded status (unless immune). Current damage: 2775.

Blessing of the Raven: You call on your power and gain increased insight into knowledge and skills. +10% Skill EXP for 45 min. 

Life for Life: Channel a blast of damaging dark energy into your enemy and drain their lifeforce to replenish your own. Inflicts Corruption debuff.

Spider Climb: You gain the ability to climb and travel vertical surfaces, crawl across ceilings, and hang on walls. Level this ability to extend duration. Duration: 20 seconds.

“Umm.” I blinked a couple of times. “What happened to Fury Drain?”

Fury Drain had been my first Mark ability. It was a relatively weak ability compared to Life for Life, draining 10 HP per second or minute of contact. I couldn’t actually remember. But I knew I’d had it… but it was gone, and now, I had Shadow Lance. It was a sweet move, don’t get me wrong… but I hadn’t selected it.

A shiver ran through the muscles of my back. I had lost Fury Drain at some point… but when? When I’d last died, maybe? I’d had weird memory loss, forgetting Karalti’s name, forgetting stuff about the quest I was doing. Had I forgotten a move, and had it replaced?

I stood up out of the water, letting it rush down my body, and waded out to get a towel and take a look at myself in the mirror. Same old Hector. Medium height Asian dude, with a badass Viking braidhawk and weird eyes. The Trial of Marantha had given me literal eagle eyes, with no sclera and oversized pupils. Otherwise, I was looking pretty good for a dead guy. I only had three marks of any significance: a knotty scar inside my elbow, where the drugs given to mutate me were administered. I had the Mark of Matir, a nine-pointed chaos star-like symbol burned onto the back of my right hand. I also had an enduring legacy of my glitchy start to Archemi – a triangular patch of black nothingness on my left shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t feel like skin… I couldn’t feel anything with my fingertips when I touched it, but my fingers also couldn’t go through it. Sometimes – like now – my mind tricked me into thinking it had gotten bigger.

“Fuck, man.” I jerked my shoulders, suddenly creeped out. Then I went back into my HUD and selected Purify as my new ability. “Ugh. No Corruption anything, thanks.”

With a towel wrapped around my waist, I went back out into my bedroom and plopped down cross-legged in front of the fire. The Spear lay on my bed alongside my pack, glimmering in the firelight. I turned to watch the flames dance and sighed. The warmth seemed to soak into my bones. It felt… nice.

[Warning: You have reached the limit of your Endurance!]

“Eh? Oh… first time that’s everurrrgh-” The fact I was slurring by the time I reached the end of that sentence was the last thought I had before gravity pulled me down like a hand reaching up from the earth.