[Field Dungeon: Last Refuge of the Deathless (Corrupted) - Unrated Special (Death, Undead, Possessive) Conquered]
[Dungeon Combat Modifiers: Combat initiated by creatures unaffiliated with either Dungeon; One survivor has indicated provisional affiliation with Conqueror]
[Contribution: 90%. Modifiers: Late Arrival, 99+% of Damage Dealt, Dungeon Spirit “The Deathless” Destroyed]
[20,000 XP Awarded]
[66,000 Ev Awarded]
[30% Core Level Progression Awarded (Special Reward for defeating and absorbing a significantly higher Tier Dungeon Core in Dungeon Combat; Penalty applied for Grade difference)]
[Reward: Subsidiary Linked Core - Tier and Grade matched to Conqueror]
[Field Dungeon: A Rest from Death (Death (*), Pure (**), Safety (***)) - Unrated Special Created]
[*Death mana production overridden, Death-based monster production overriden]
[**Pure alignment hidden]
[***Nonstandard descriptive alignment found. Definition required]
[Contribution: 100% (Dungeon Conquered)]
[5,000 XP Awarded]
[16,500 Ev Awarded]
[Unique Field Dungeon is Closed until participants in its creation leave or Open it; Customization Available]
[Unique Field Dungeon set as Primary Dungeon Location]
[Priority use for Filtered Mana / Essence Required]
[Battle Adept Path Completed]
[Unbound Path Selected. Confirm Path?]
Sure, already have the blindness, may as well see the Path.
Nothing happened.
That was a yes.
[It is good to have confirmation]
Level 10 - Basic Sense Raw Magic - Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active.
Why sense raw magic?
[This is an ability related to your True Core. It fits Unbound well, as the Unbound are closer to the root of things than other Children of Time - indeed, they are closer to the root of things than almost any other Time-based Path or Species. There was no Time-based utility ability that was a better fit]
That didn’t entirely make sense, but Serenity assumed that it would become clear with time, the way the Death-Eater Deathstrike eventually made sense.
Detect? What’s the range? Is it touch range?
[You can sense anything within your aura. It is not a vision-based ability]
Serenity wondered why that was important until he read the next ability.
Level 25 - Linked Sight - You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable.
So, that’s Eyeless Sight then? Can other people let me see normally?
[Eyeless Sight and Life-Sight are both vision-based abilities, which others can use as long as you maintain the link. Time’s Eye is also vision-based. Ordinary sight is not a vision-based ability, it is physical and cannot be transferred over a link as an ability, but you can see through others’ eyes if you are linked to them and they permit it]
That was useful. If he’d had the ability back in the Tutorial, the Darkness Moth wouldn’t have been much of a challenge at all.
Having to use someone else’s eyes to see in color would be awkward, but hopefully it wouldn’t come up too much. The last time he’d needed that was - hm.
On second thought, it might be far more of an issue now than it had been for Vengeance; he didn’t really need it to fight, but to do Thomas’s old job - or even to get around the city - it would be difficult. He wouldn’t be able to read signs, if nothing else. That might make this ability far more useful than he’d first guessed, though having to have someone else present to use their eyes was likely to cause problems.
Links. I assume my Seer is Rissa? Do I have any other Links?
[Four]
Who?
[Moira, Lancaster, and Echo are the people]
Then there’s another link? To something else?
[Yes]
Do I have to badger you to get me to tell you what it is?
[No]
If he’d been talking to a person, Serenity would have thought the person was enjoying being difficult. The Voice wasn’t supposed to have that much of a personality, but the Voice wasn’t supposed to do a lot of things it’d been doing recently, including talking relatively freely with him. Serenity hadn’t decided if he was simply lacking knowledge of the Voice or if it had somehow changed, at least when it interacted with him.
Fine, what is it?
[Field Dungeon - A Rest from Death]
A dungeon.
[Yes]
This time, Serenity was certain he heard amusement in the Voice’s mental voice. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He’d deal with the Voice’s developing personality later. For now, he needed to concentrate on figuring out his new Path.
So what vision-based abilities does a dungeon have?
[It depends on the Dungeon and what monsters it has. This dungeon does not have any available]
That was also something to look into later, then. If there was some way he could get vision abilities from a dungeon, it could be very surprisingly useful, especially if he could then share them with others.
That was worth asking.
Can I borrow an ability and then share it?
[No]
Too bad.
Level 50 - Moment of Prescience - Know a moment ahead of time when something will kill or disable you or someone you wish to protect. Activation is automatic. Cannot be activated more than once a minute. Consumes stamina in inverse proportion to the threat.
At first glance, Moment of Prescience looked like it would be redundant with Serenity’s runic tattoos, but at a closer examination it wasn’t the same thing at all. Instead of protection from a death blow, it was knowledge one was coming, and it also covered anyone he wanted to protect.
It really was too bad he had wings; without them, the tattoos might have made it easier to convince people he was human with significant tattoos, nail polish, and strange taste in hair dye.
Wait a minute, would hair dye work? Could he get hair that was even slightly less flashy? It was something to try when he was back on Earth.
He needed to focus. He’d been awfully flighty lately. He reread the Moment of Prescience description.
Do I need to be present for this ability to activate?
[No. The activation condition is that it must be something you can affect]
How long is “a moment”?
[Variable but short]
That wasn’t helpful. He probably couldn’t call someone to warn them, unless the phone ringing was somehow enough to “affect” the outcome.
It was still a useful ability, even if its most common use was probably combat. It would be very, very helpful against another assassination attempt.
Level 75 - Time’s Eye - Your eyes see the motions of Time as it stretches and changes. The hidden is easier to see and the false easier to see through. Consumes Stamina.
Serenity would have to see this one in use to know how good it was. He suspected its primary use would be against illusionists, but it could also probably serve as a trap and secret location-finding ability.
The stamina cost was disappointing, but it would probably be low.
Level 100 - Unbound - Time does not quite have the same hold on you as it does on others, and Fate does not rule you. You can slip between the lines of the future and past or even blur them if you have the desire and the strength. That which will be has no power over you, and you can break the strands of Destiny for others if you dare. This ability is always active and has always applied to you.
Serenity read the ability, then read it again.
Has always applied? Then … I don’t need to reach level 100 to - wait. Is this why the Time braid I just used was so easy?
[Time abilities can be strange. This one echoes into the past and future. Your conclusion is likely]
Is this why I was able to come back in time?
[Unknown, but unlikely. Time abilities do not usually loop in that manner. Additionally, the power expended and existence of significant side effects indicates the lack of a Time-loosening effect]
You remember?
[Yes]
Do you remember what it was like? At the end?
[You are not the same. Pushing you back through Time changed you, as did melding with your old self, and you have chosen to continue to change. That will never happen again]
Serenity started to speak, but stopped when he heard the Voice again.
[That end will not be permitted]
The Voice definitely remembered, and didn’t like the memory.
[Your sacrifice will not be forgotten]
That wasn’t what I was asking. I don’t - I wasn’t asking for anything more than you’ve already given me. You’ve been very helpful.
[Perhaps. Yet you may be a key to open a lock that has long been sealed, and was never unsealed in your past. Is it helpful to bring a key to the lock it opens?]
If the key wants to open the lock, I suppose it is. What lock do you mean? Is it the Lost Althyr mentioned?
[No, the Lost are a different problem that you may be a keystone for]
Then what problem do you need me to solve?
[It is not yet certain that you are the missing piece. That knowledge is forbidden without that certainty]
Serenity supposed he’d have to accept that lack of an answer for now.
He started to look at the next skill, until he realized there wasn’t another Path Skill to review. Why was he still in the blackness of a Path upgrade?
Is there something else I need to do?
[Tier 1 attribute points cannot be awarded to a Chimera until all Tier 0 points are spent. Those points will be forfeited if they are not awarded. Would you like to spend Ev on attributes and use your Tier 0 attribute points?]
That’s different. The Pathed can save them as long as they want to.
[It is different, but even the Pathed cannot save them forever. If a Pathed person gains too many, they will stop accumulating]
Serenity had never heard of that, but the Voice should know.
How many is too many?
[It varies, but usually somewhere around 200. A warning is provided when increasing a Path is likely to cause the person to exceed their personal limit]
Like the warning you gave me?
[Yes]
Do monsters also get free points?
[Yes, but they are assigned based on the monster’s actions and Species]
They only get to choose what to spend Ev on?
[Monsters may spend Ev on attributes, Core progression, Affinities, Resistances, or abilities related to their Species]
So, like mine only better?
[You can spend Ev to create new, unrelated abilities as long as they are physical in some manner, whether or not they are related to your current Species]
So, you’re saying it’s not better, just different?
The Voice didn’t reply, but Serenity’s Attributes appeared in front of him. The Voice clearly didn’t want to have that discussion, and -
How had Serenity gotten off topic again?
| Might: 75 | Agility: 75 | Phys: 75 |
| Understanding: 73 | Will: 77 | Mind: 73 |
| Perception: 75 | Luck: 71 - 168% |
He had 100 attribute points from his Tier 0 Path. He’d want to save those for the last points - how many was that?
Nine attributes, 100 points. That was clearly more than 10 per attribute. If he used 11 per attribute, that’d be 99 points. So he needed to use Ev to get eight of them to 89, and the last one only needed to be 88.
Unless he could use them even later?
Can I use the Tier 0 points to take my attributes over 100, as long as I do it now?
[No]
He hadn’t really expected that to work.
How many Ev did he have, anyway?
[85,186]
That was a lot of Ev. Serenity started spending.
| Might: 89 | Agility: 89 | Phys: 89 |
| Understanding: 89 | Will: 89 | Mind: 89 |
| Perception: 89 | Luck: 89 - 188% | Ev: 73,937 |
Serenity couldn’t believe how much Ev it took, but he also couldn’t believe how much he had left. Maybe increasing attributes wasn’t as bad as he thought.
On the other hand, he’d given up a lot of XP to get that Ev. He suspected he’d have completed the Child of Time Path if he hadn’t slanted so much into Ev.
Once he finished distributing the points from Path levels, the Voice released him from darkness back into his body. He was still curled up on a bed, but at least he’d managed to get out of the armor.
There was no point in saving all that Ev; he should spend some more. He’d save some, but he didn’t need this much.
He shifted to his Chimera form; the first thing he wanted to try was giving his eyes back the ability to see normally.
He wasn’t surprised when it didn’t work.
Serenity went ahead and increased his attributes. It was a huge increase, more than he’d ever had at once before. It would take a few days for this much of a change to take full effect … at least, it would have for a Pathed. Serenity expected the same was true for him. At least that meant he’d have time to get used to it.
He’d given up a Path’s worth of XP for those attributes, but they were about the number he’d expect to get from four Paths - of course, he’d missed out on Path skills to get them. It was probably a worse deal than the Pathed got, but farming XP was never the hard part. Determination and patience was enough for that. The hard part was managing to not get stuck.
He’d seen many other people get stuck, but he’d never really had that problem. He wasn’t quite sure why, but there had always been a choice he was willing to take available.
He’d want at least two more Paths before he moved on to the next Tier, and he probably needed about as many Ev as he’d gotten from this to get his attributes to the next breakpoint. He’d leave his XP allocations where they were for now.
Why was that dungeon worth so much, anyway? The reward for creating a new one made some sense - there were often large bonuses for the first time you did something. This one was exceptionally large, but not outside what he’d seen. The amount from “conquering” the dungeon itself looked like the sort of award you’d get when you did the impossible.
It hadn’t seemed that difficult, but then again he had the perfect tool to take on the undead.
General - Major changes: Path, Level, Core Progression, Path History, Mana, Stamina, All Attributes, Ev
Spoiler| Name: Serenity | ||
| Species: Essence Dragon Chimera (Hatchling) | ||
| Core: Unique | Progression: 30.1% Tier: 1 | Features: 4/11 True Crystal Link Death |
| Path: Unbound | Level: 34 (90/350) | Tier: 1, 0/34 Spent |
| Path History: 0: Death-Eater, Battle Adept | ||
| Condition: Healthy Healing Available: Some | Mana: 1500/1600 | Stamina: 10/1600 |
| Might: 150 | Agility: 150 | Phys: 150 |
| Understanding: 150 | Will: 150 | Mind: 150 |
| Perception: 150 | Luck: 150 - 250% | |
| Essence | Pure (Innate) | Ev: 19,856 (Purified) |
| Titles | Previous Supreme Existence | First of A Kind |
| Named | Ghost in the System | |
| Aspect Pathfinder | Incarnate | |
| Coin | 240 Etherium |
[collapse]
Magic - Major changes: None
Spoiler| Essence Techniques | Chimeric Alteration | Claim Mana |
| Devour Mana | Purify | |
| Affinities | Arcane: 50% | Energy: 40% |
| Life: 14% | Liquid: 6% | |
| Mind: 32% | Plasma: 42% | |
| Solid: 17% | SpaceTime: 71% | |
| Vapor: 14% | Void: 60% | |
| Concepts | Arcane: 78% | Energy: 52% |
| Essence: 15% | Mind: 15% | |
| Plasma: 26% | SpaceTime: 30% | |
| Void: 25% | ||
| Aspects | Essence: Growth (Bloodline) | SpaceTime: Nascent |
| Incarnate | Death |
[collapse]
Physical - Major Changes: None
Spoiler
| Resistances | Chemical: 137+10 | Cold: 553 (53 active)+10 |
| Curse: 263 | Darkness: 277 (27 active)+10 | |
| Heat: 532+10 | Light: 298+10 | |
| Pain: 1038 (38 active) | Pleasure: 31 | |
| Shock: 334+10 | Sleep: 1 | |
| Space: 250 | Time: 1000 | |
| Unknown | ||
| Chimeric Heritage | Pure (Innate) | Essence Dragon (Bloodline) |
| Asura | Child of Time, Unbound | |
| Draugr, Sage | Godling | |
| Human, Earth | Lich, Paramount | |
| Vampire, Daywalker | ||
| Known Heritages | Sea Lion, Earth |
[collapse]
Abilities -
Spoiler| Monster Biology | ||
| Eyeless Sight | Colorless vision that does not require light; no visual effect | Inherited from Final Reaper |
| Vital Sight (previously called Life-Sight) | Shows the primary animating Affinity, usually Life, for creatures. Makes the eyes glow with blue-white fire | Inherited from Final Reaper |
| Food for Power | Converts consumed material into a specialized power reserve | Self-created ability |
| Heal (almost) Anything | Uses stored energy (cannot use stamina or mana, pulls from the power reserve first) to heal. ‘Healing’ includes providing energy and raw material for cell growth and therefore other food consumption is not required. Can restore stamina or mana when the stamina or mana reduction is physical in nature | Self-created ability |
| Blossoms’ Sleep | Can induce sleep on self with a defined wakeup time | Dream Blossom Dust |
| Runic Shielding Tattoos | Resists one attack of any sort. Does not require preactivation if the attack will kill or disable. Fully drains current MP to establish, drains SP to maintain, ends when hit. MP drained determines strength of blow that can be resisted, will fail if strength is exceeded but may reduce the power of the attack even if it fails. Effect is better with automatic activation | Self-created ability (Not actually tattoos, his skin/scales grows “naturally” in the correct pattern and color to create the effect) |
| Claws | Hands and feet have claws (all forms) | Essence Dragon |
| Wings | Six-limbed creature; all forms have wings. The wings are strong enough to be noticeable and might assist in gliding, but are not large enough to support actual flight. | Essence Dragon |
| Scaled Hide | Thickened, resistant outer skin layer, covered in most places with scutes | Essence Dragon |
| Filter | Details unknown; so far, Serenity has determined that it will output Essence when fed mana, but it does not seem to have a use at this time. | Linked Crystal Seed (True Core) |
| Amplify Aura | Details unknown; has a Power Reserve that appears to be required to allow it to function, but the method to fill the Power Reserve is unknown. | Linked Crystal Seed (True Core) |
| Increase Link Distance | Details unknown; has a Power Reserve that appears to be required to allow it to function, but the method to fill the Power Reserve is unknown. | Linked Crystal Seed (True Core) |
| Change Stone Type | Details unknown | Linked Crystal Seed (True Core) |
| Path Abilities | ||
| Loot Core | Teleports a monster core from touched monster body to the user. Usable on any dead monster with a core. Costs mana | Death-Eater |
| Basic Draconic Shapeshift | An adult dragon is a force to behold, but there are many places they simply can’t go. Young dragons are commonly taught to take on another form, often humanoid, to fit in small places and interact with non-dragons. A skill normally gained much later in life, you get a basic version of it now since you don’t get Species abilities. Lucky you! You can shift between your Draconic base form and your True Chimera form. Costs mana to shift | Death-Eater |
| Deathstrike | Infuse your body or weapons with Death energy to deal additional damage. Costs Stamina | Death-Eater |
| Resilience of the Dead | Slightly increased resistance to certain status alterations | Death-Eater |
| Eat Death | Absorb Death energy found within the Death Eater’s aura. Absorption based on Affinity. Intensity of absorption can be varied but the ability cannot be completely disabled. Absorbed Death energy may be consumed or used to restore mana or stamina used as if it were Death mana. Dissipates with time. Ability damaged | Death-Eater |
| Basic Analyze | Analyze a being for basic information. The being may be animal, Pathed, or monster. Other beings may be analyzed if they have any appropriate features. Items may not be analyzed | Battle Adept |
| Intermediate Unarmed Combat (Claw Variant) | Losing your weapons is not a disaster when you have weapons attached to your hands. Your expertise with claws is nearly nonexistent, but your general training with unarmed combat is transferable | Battle Adept |
| Infused strike | Infuse your body or weapons with energy to deal additional damage. Replaces Deathstrike. May use any Affinity held. Power of infusion scales with Affinity used. Costs Stamina | Battle Adept |
| Far Strike | Discharge the magic infused in your weapon to strike a single opponent at a distance. Stamina cost increases with distance | Battle Adept |
| Adept Aspect Form | Instead of infusing an Affinity into your weapon, infuse your Aspect into yourself. Limited time, consumes both stamina and mana, induces unconsciousness when the Form lapses | Battle Adept |
| Basic Sense Raw Magic | Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active | Child of Time |
| Linked Sight | You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable | Child of Time |
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Lillene Serenity's a bit distractable today. I wonder why?
I should probably emphasize the note about the dungeon's second characteristic being hidden. This isn't important now but it may be disconcerting later if you don't notice it now.
Also, the Ability list doesn't count towards a chapter's word count. I stopped counting the Status at all soon after this; it's simply too long to reasonably include in the word count.
[Field Dungeon: Last Refuge of the Deathless (Corrupted) - Unrated Special (Death, Undead, Possessive) Conquered]
[Dungeon Combat Modifiers: Combat initiated by creatures unaffiliated with either Dungeon; One survivor has indicated provisional affiliation with Conqueror]
[Contribution: 90%. Modifiers: Late Arrival, 99+% of Damage Dealt, Dungeon Spirit “The Deathless” Destroyed]
[20,000 XP Awarded]
[66,000 Ev Awarded]
[30% Core Level Progression Awarded (Special Reward for defeating and absorbing a significantly higher Tier Dungeon Core in Dungeon Combat; Penalty applied for Grade difference)]
[Reward: Subsidiary Linked Core - Tier and Grade matched to Conqueror]
[Field Dungeon: A Rest from Death (Death (*), Pure (**), Safety (***)) - Unrated Special Created]
[*Death mana production overridden, Death-based monster production overriden]
[**Pure alignment hidden]
[***Nonstandard descriptive alignment found. Definition required]
[Contribution: 100% (Dungeon Conquered)]
[5,000 XP Awarded]
[16,500 Ev Awarded]
[Unique Field Dungeon is Closed until participants in its creation leave or Open it; Customization Available]
[Unique Field Dungeon set as Primary Dungeon Location]
[Priority use for Filtered Mana / Essence Required]
[Battle Adept Path Completed]
[Unbound Path Selected. Confirm Path?]
Sure, already have the blindness, may as well see the Path.
Nothing happened.
That was a yes.
[It is good to have confirmation]
Level 10 - Basic Sense Raw Magic - Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active.
Why sense raw magic?
[This is an ability related to your True Core. It fits Unbound well, as the Unbound are closer to the root of things than other Children of Time - indeed, they are closer to the root of things than almost any other Time-based Path or Species. There was no Time-based utility ability that was a better fit]
That didn’t entirely make sense, but Serenity assumed that it would become clear with time, the way the Death-Eater Deathstrike eventually made sense.
Detect? What’s the range? Is it touch range?
[You can sense anything within your aura. It is not a vision-based ability]
Serenity wondered why that was important until he read the next ability.
Level 25 - Linked Sight - You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable.
So, that’s Eyeless Sight then? Can other people let me see normally?
[Eyeless Sight and Life-Sight are both vision-based abilities, which others can use as long as you maintain the link. Time’s Eye is also vision-based. Ordinary sight is not a vision-based ability, it is physical and cannot be transferred over a link as an ability, but you can see through others’ eyes if you are linked to them and they permit it]
That was useful. If he’d had the ability back in the Tutorial, the Darkness Moth wouldn’t have been much of a challenge at all.
Having to use someone else’s eyes to see in color would be awkward, but hopefully it wouldn’t come up too much. The last time he’d needed that was - hm.
On second thought, it might be far more of an issue now than it had been for Vengeance; he didn’t really need it to fight, but to do Thomas’s old job - or even to get around the city - it would be difficult. He wouldn’t be able to read signs, if nothing else. That might make this ability far more useful than he’d first guessed, though having to have someone else present to use their eyes was likely to cause problems.
Links. I assume my Seer is Rissa? Do I have any other Links?
[Four]
Who?
[Moira, Lancaster, and Echo are the people]
Then there’s another link? To something else?
[Yes]
Do I have to badger you to get me to tell you what it is?
[No]
If he’d been talking to a person, Serenity would have thought the person was enjoying being difficult. The Voice wasn’t supposed to have that much of a personality, but the Voice wasn’t supposed to do a lot of things it’d been doing recently, including talking relatively freely with him. Serenity hadn’t decided if he was simply lacking knowledge of the Voice or if it had somehow changed, at least when it interacted with him.
Fine, what is it?
[Field Dungeon - A Rest from Death]
A dungeon.
[Yes]
This time, Serenity was certain he heard amusement in the Voice’s mental voice. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He’d deal with the Voice’s developing personality later. For now, he needed to concentrate on figuring out his new Path.
So what vision-based abilities does a dungeon have?
[It depends on the Dungeon and what monsters it has. This dungeon does not have any available]
That was also something to look into later, then. If there was some way he could get vision abilities from a dungeon, it could be very surprisingly useful, especially if he could then share them with others.
That was worth asking.
Can I borrow an ability and then share it?
[No]
Too bad.
Level 50 - Moment of Prescience - Know a moment ahead of time when something will kill or disable you or someone you wish to protect. Activation is automatic. Cannot be activated more than once a minute. Consumes stamina in inverse proportion to the threat.
At first glance, Moment of Prescience looked like it would be redundant with Serenity’s runic tattoos, but at a closer examination it wasn’t the same thing at all. Instead of protection from a death blow, it was knowledge one was coming, and it also covered anyone he wanted to protect.
It really was too bad he had wings; without them, the tattoos might have made it easier to convince people he was human with significant tattoos, nail polish, and strange taste in hair dye.
Wait a minute, would hair dye work? Could he get hair that was even slightly less flashy? It was something to try when he was back on Earth.
He needed to focus. He’d been awfully flighty lately. He reread the Moment of Prescience description.
Do I need to be present for this ability to activate?
[No. The activation condition is that it must be something you can affect]
How long is “a moment”?
[Variable but short]
That wasn’t helpful. He probably couldn’t call someone to warn them, unless the phone ringing was somehow enough to “affect” the outcome.
It was still a useful ability, even if its most common use was probably combat. It would be very, very helpful against another assassination attempt.
Level 75 - Time’s Eye - Your eyes see the motions of Time as it stretches and changes. The hidden is easier to see and the false easier to see through. Consumes Stamina.
Serenity would have to see this one in use to know how good it was. He suspected its primary use would be against illusionists, but it could also probably serve as a trap and secret location-finding ability.
The stamina cost was disappointing, but it would probably be low.
Level 100 - Unbound - Time does not quite have the same hold on you as it does on others, and Fate does not rule you. You can slip between the lines of the future and past or even blur them if you have the desire and the strength. That which will be has no power over you, and you can break the strands of Destiny for others if you dare. This ability is always active and has always applied to you.
Serenity read the ability, then read it again.
Has always applied? Then … I don’t need to reach level 100 to - wait. Is this why the Time braid I just used was so easy?
[Time abilities can be strange. This one echoes into the past and future. Your conclusion is likely]
Is this why I was able to come back in time?
[Unknown, but unlikely. Time abilities do not usually loop in that manner. Additionally, the power expended and existence of significant side effects indicates the lack of a Time-loosening effect]
You remember?
[Yes]
Do you remember what it was like? At the end?
[You are not the same. Pushing you back through Time changed you, as did melding with your old self, and you have chosen to continue to change. That will never happen again]
Serenity started to speak, but stopped when he heard the Voice again.
[That end will not be permitted]
The Voice definitely remembered, and didn’t like the memory.
[Your sacrifice will not be forgotten]
That wasn’t what I was asking. I don’t - I wasn’t asking for anything more than you’ve already given me. You’ve been very helpful.
[Perhaps. Yet you may be a key to open a lock that has long been sealed, and was never unsealed in your past. Is it helpful to bring a key to the lock it opens?]
If the key wants to open the lock, I suppose it is. What lock do you mean? Is it the Lost Althyr mentioned?
[No, the Lost are a different problem that you may be a keystone for]
Then what problem do you need me to solve?
[It is not yet certain that you are the missing piece. That knowledge is forbidden without that certainty]
Serenity supposed he’d have to accept that lack of an answer for now.
He started to look at the next skill, until he realized there wasn’t another Path Skill to review. Why was he still in the blackness of a Path upgrade?
Is there something else I need to do?
[Tier 1 attribute points cannot be awarded to a Chimera until all Tier 0 points are spent. Those points will be forfeited if they are not awarded. Would you like to spend Ev on attributes and use your Tier 0 attribute points?]
That’s different. The Pathed can save them as long as they want to.
[It is different, but even the Pathed cannot save them forever. If a Pathed person gains too many, they will stop accumulating]
Serenity had never heard of that, but the Voice should know.
How many is too many?
[It varies, but usually somewhere around 200. A warning is provided when increasing a Path is likely to cause the person to exceed their personal limit]
Like the warning you gave me?
[Yes]
Do monsters also get free points?
[Yes, but they are assigned based on the monster’s actions and Species]
They only get to choose what to spend Ev on?
[Monsters may spend Ev on attributes, Core progression, Affinities, Resistances, or abilities related to their Species]
So, like mine only better?
[You can spend Ev to create new, unrelated abilities as long as they are physical in some manner, whether or not they are related to your current Species]
So, you’re saying it’s not better, just different?
The Voice didn’t reply, but Serenity’s Attributes appeared in front of him. The Voice clearly didn’t want to have that discussion, and -
How had Serenity gotten off topic again?
| Might: 75 | Agility: 75 | Phys: 75 |
| Understanding: 73 | Will: 77 | Mind: 73 |
| Perception: 75 | Luck: 71 - 168% |
He had 100 attribute points from his Tier 0 Path. He’d want to save those for the last points - how many was that?
Nine attributes, 100 points. That was clearly more than 10 per attribute. If he used 11 per attribute, that’d be 99 points. So he needed to use Ev to get eight of them to 89, and the last one only needed to be 88.
Unless he could use them even later?
Can I use the Tier 0 points to take my attributes over 100, as long as I do it now?
[No]
He hadn’t really expected that to work.
How many Ev did he have, anyway?
[85,186]
That was a lot of Ev. Serenity started spending.
| Might: 89 | Agility: 89 | Phys: 89 |
| Understanding: 89 | Will: 89 | Mind: 89 |
| Perception: 89 | Luck: 89 - 188% | Ev: 73,937 |
Serenity couldn’t believe how much Ev it took, but he also couldn’t believe how much he had left. Maybe increasing attributes wasn’t as bad as he thought.
On the other hand, he’d given up a lot of XP to get that Ev. He suspected he’d have completed the Child of Time Path if he hadn’t slanted so much into Ev.
Once he finished distributing the points from Path levels, the Voice released him from darkness back into his body. He was still curled up on a bed, but at least he’d managed to get out of the armor.
There was no point in saving all that Ev; he should spend some more. He’d save some, but he didn’t need this much.
He shifted to his Chimera form; the first thing he wanted to try was giving his eyes back the ability to see normally.
He wasn’t surprised when it didn’t work.
Serenity went ahead and increased his attributes. It was a huge increase, more than he’d ever had at once before. It would take a few days for this much of a change to take full effect … at least, it would have for a Pathed. Serenity expected the same was true for him. At least that meant he’d have time to get used to it.
He’d given up a Path’s worth of XP for those attributes, but they were about the number he’d expect to get from four Paths - of course, he’d missed out on Path skills to get them. It was probably a worse deal than the Pathed got, but farming XP was never the hard part. Determination and patience was enough for that. The hard part was managing to not get stuck.
He’d seen many other people get stuck, but he’d never really had that problem. He wasn’t quite sure why, but there had always been a choice he was willing to take available.
He’d want at least two more Paths before he moved on to the next Tier, and he probably needed about as many Ev as he’d gotten from this to get his attributes to the next breakpoint. He’d leave his XP allocations where they were for now.
Why was that dungeon worth so much, anyway? The reward for creating a new one made some sense - there were often large bonuses for the first time you did something. This one was exceptionally large, but not outside what he’d seen. The amount from “conquering” the dungeon itself looked like the sort of award you’d get when you did the impossible.
It hadn’t seemed that difficult, but then again he had the perfect tool to take on the undead.
General - Major changes: Path, Level, Core Progression, Path History, Mana, Stamina, All Attributes, Ev
Spoiler| Name: Serenity | ||
| Species: Essence Dragon Chimera (Hatchling) | ||
| Core: Unique | Progression: 30.1% Tier: 1 | Features: 4/11 True Crystal Link Death |
| Path: Unbound | Level: 34 (90/350) | Tier: 1, 0/34 Spent |
| Path History: 0: Death-Eater, Battle Adept | ||
| Condition: Healthy Healing Available: Some | Mana: 1500/1600 | Stamina: 10/1600 |
| Might: 150 | Agility: 150 | Phys: 150 |
| Understanding: 150 | Will: 150 | Mind: 150 |
| Perception: 150 | Luck: 150 - 250% | |
| Essence | Pure (Innate) | Ev: 19,856 (Purified) |
| Titles | Previous Supreme Existence | First of A Kind |
| Named | Ghost in the System | |
| Aspect Pathfinder | Incarnate | |
| Coin | 240 Etherium |
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Magic - Major changes: None
Spoiler| Essence Techniques | Chimeric Alteration | Claim Mana |
| Devour Mana | Purify | |
| Affinities | Arcane: 50% | Energy: 40% |
| Life: 14% | Liquid: 6% | |
| Mind: 32% | Plasma: 42% | |
| Solid: 17% | SpaceTime: 71% | |
| Vapor: 14% | Void: 60% | |
| Concepts | Arcane: 78% | Energy: 52% |
| Essence: 15% | Mind: 15% | |
| Plasma: 26% | SpaceTime: 30% | |
| Void: 25% | ||
| Aspects | Essence: Growth (Bloodline) | SpaceTime: Nascent |
| Incarnate | Death |
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Physical - Major Changes: None
Spoiler
| Resistances | Chemical: 137+10 | Cold: 553 (53 active)+10 |
| Curse: 263 | Darkness: 277 (27 active)+10 | |
| Heat: 532+10 | Light: 298+10 | |
| Pain: 1038 (38 active) | Pleasure: 31 | |
| Shock: 334+10 | Sleep: 1 | |
| Space: 250 | Time: 1000 | |
| Unknown | ||
| Chimeric Heritage | Pure (Innate) | Essence Dragon (Bloodline) |
| Asura | Child of Time, Unbound | |
| Draugr, Sage | Godling | |
| Human, Earth | Lich, Paramount | |
| Vampire, Daywalker | ||
| Known Heritages | Sea Lion, Earth |
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Abilities -
Spoiler| Monster Biology | ||
| Eyeless Sight | Colorless vision that does not require light; no visual effect | Inherited from Final Reaper |
| Vital Sight (previously called Life-Sight) | Shows the primary animating Affinity, usually Life, for creatures. Makes the eyes glow with blue-white fire | Inherited from Final Reaper |
| Food for Power | Converts consumed material into a specialized power reserve | Self-created ability |
| Heal (almost) Anything | Uses stored energy (cannot use stamina or mana, pulls from the power reserve first) to heal. ‘Healing’ includes providing energy and raw material for cell growth and therefore other food consumption is not required. Can restore stamina or mana when the stamina or mana reduction is physical in nature | Self-created ability |
| Blossoms’ Sleep | Can induce sleep on self with a defined wakeup time | Dream Blossom Dust |
| Runic Shielding Tattoos | Resists one attack of any sort. Does not require preactivation if the attack will kill or disable. Fully drains current MP to establish, drains SP to maintain, ends when hit. MP drained determines strength of blow that can be resisted, will fail if strength is exceeded but may reduce the power of the attack even if it fails. Effect is better with automatic activation | Self-created ability (Not actually tattoos, his skin/scales grows “naturally” in the correct pattern and color to create the effect) |
| Claws | Hands and feet have claws (all forms) | Essence Dragon |
| Wings | Six-limbed creature; all forms have wings. The wings are strong enough to be noticeable and might assist in gliding, but are not large enough to support actual flight. | Essence Dragon |
| Scaled Hide | Thickened, resistant outer skin layer, covered in most places with scutes | Essence Dragon |
| Filter | Details unknown; so far, Serenity has determined that it will output Essence when fed mana, but it does not seem to have a use at this time. | Linked Crystal Seed (True Core) |
| Amplify Aura | Details unknown; has a Power Reserve that appears to be required to allow it to function, but the method to fill the Power Reserve is unknown. | Linked Crystal Seed (True Core) |
| Increase Link Distance | Details unknown; has a Power Reserve that appears to be required to allow it to function, but the method to fill the Power Reserve is unknown. | Linked Crystal Seed (True Core) |
| Change Stone Type | Details unknown | Linked Crystal Seed (True Core) |
| Path Abilities | ||
| Loot Core | Teleports a monster core from touched monster body to the user. Usable on any dead monster with a core. Costs mana | Death-Eater |
| Basic Draconic Shapeshift | An adult dragon is a force to behold, but there are many places they simply can’t go. Young dragons are commonly taught to take on another form, often humanoid, to fit in small places and interact with non-dragons. A skill normally gained much later in life, you get a basic version of it now since you don’t get Species abilities. Lucky you! You can shift between your Draconic base form and your True Chimera form. Costs mana to shift | Death-Eater |
| Deathstrike | Infuse your body or weapons with Death energy to deal additional damage. Costs Stamina | Death-Eater |
| Resilience of the Dead | Slightly increased resistance to certain status alterations | Death-Eater |
| Eat Death | Absorb Death energy found within the Death Eater’s aura. Absorption based on Affinity. Intensity of absorption can be varied but the ability cannot be completely disabled. Absorbed Death energy may be consumed or used to restore mana or stamina used as if it were Death mana. Dissipates with time. Ability damaged | Death-Eater |
| Basic Analyze | Analyze a being for basic information. The being may be animal, Pathed, or monster. Other beings may be analyzed if they have any appropriate features. Items may not be analyzed | Battle Adept |
| Intermediate Unarmed Combat (Claw Variant) | Losing your weapons is not a disaster when you have weapons attached to your hands. Your expertise with claws is nearly nonexistent, but your general training with unarmed combat is transferable | Battle Adept |
| Infused strike | Infuse your body or weapons with energy to deal additional damage. Replaces Deathstrike. May use any Affinity held. Power of infusion scales with Affinity used. Costs Stamina | Battle Adept |
| Far Strike | Discharge the magic infused in your weapon to strike a single opponent at a distance. Stamina cost increases with distance | Battle Adept |
| Adept Aspect Form | Instead of infusing an Affinity into your weapon, infuse your Aspect into yourself. Limited time, consumes both stamina and mana, induces unconsciousness when the Form lapses | Battle Adept |
| Basic Sense Raw Magic | Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active | Child of Time |
| Linked Sight | You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable | Child of Time |
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Lillene Serenity's a bit distractable today. I wonder why?
I should probably emphasize the note about the dungeon's second characteristic being hidden. This isn't important now but it may be disconcerting later if you don't notice it now.
Also, the Ability list doesn't count towards a chapter's word count. I stopped counting the Status at all soon after this; it's simply too long to reasonably include in the word count.