Tree walked me through adding my hunger affinity to the ritual circle, slowly turning the light from the yellow into the dark red similar to Feast Beam, and I felt the pull of hunger as I projected my class skill choices. As the lettering materialized, the ritual circle brightened, causing Tree to flicker with what I assumed to be excitement.
New Class Skill Options Available: Two.
Total Class Skill Options Available: Six. Previously unchosen skills improved.
Guillotine Tax. Uncommon. Your attacks deal 15% more damage against enemies with more current Health or Wealth than you.
Weight of Chains. Uncommon. Send out translucent chains that wrap around up to 10 enemies or allies. Enemies are bound and allies are bolstered based on your Strength stat. This effect lasts for a number of seconds equal to your Wisdom or until the chains are broken.
Sheep’s Clothing. Common. You are the wolf hiding amongst the sheep. Mask your true power for a number of minutes equal to your Wisdom stat. Perception stats higher than your own can overcome this mask.
Black Mail. Common. For a number of seconds equal to your Endurance stat, your skin becomes wrapped in black armor that significantly increases your defensibility.
Authoritative Absorption. Common. When fighting entities of a higher level than your race level, you gain a minor boost to your stats while you are within 100 meters of them.
As the sixth skill was beginning to materialize, the text as a whole began to wobble.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“I do not know!”
HUNGER!
Oh. That. The ritual circle pulsed as the wobble increased.
“Looks like my All-Devourer-ness is wanting to do something.”
“Allow it?” Tree asked.
HUNGER!
“I don’t see why not. It usually does ultimately good stuff for me.”
“Be careful.”
“Always.”
HUNGER!
I embraced the hunger within.
The text’s wobble crescendoed before it settled. Lines began to be pulled into the ritual circle. Guillotine Tax disappeared, updating the available skills to five. Weight of Chains disappeared. Four. Sheep’s Clothing disappeared. Three. Black Mail disappeared. Two. Authoritative Absorption disappeared. One.
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I needed more energy. I could feel it. There were only two sources within the soul chamber. I looked at Tree. “Can I have some of your energy?”
“Acceptable.”
HUNGER!
It wasn’t enough, as I didn’t want to drain Tree too much. So, I grabbed energy from the only other source, beginning with one of the control spheres. It held more than I was anticipating, and I felt the collecting magic swell within the ritual circle. The remaining text shifted, showing me something wholly different than before.
New Class Skill Unlocked! The Tyrant’s Due.
The Tyrant’s Due. Ancient. You have embraced your hypocritical hunger for power to slay the powerful before you. When you activate this skill, translucent black chains cover your body, extremely increasing your defenses. Chains extend from each of your arms, extending your reach and binding your enemies. Your attacks deal significantly increased damage to those bound by you, and your presence is masked from their perceptions. While affected by The Tyrant’s Due, you gain a 30% boost to all stats when within 300 meters of an enemy above your race level. When deactivated, a period of weakness will persist for a time depending upon the time you spent with Tyrant’s Due active.
Separate notifications populated in my vision as I fell exhausted to the floor. The ritual circle was entirely gone, and Tree had collapsed in a heap of flickering runes. Before I checked the notes, I checked on my runic friend.
“I will need quite some time to recover from what just happened, and I have much information to process.” Good. Tree was alive, at least, if a bit worse for wear.
UNIQUE SCENARIO ENCOUNTERED! SYSTEMIC ANALYSIS REQUIRED! PLEASE WAIT! You have consumed and transformed six skill selections. As such, to maintain System balance, you will not be granted any further class skill options until you reach Class Level 100. Additional records gained, but class experience will not be granted for the creation of this skill.
Control Sphere consumed during the unique scenario. Quest Updated.
SECRET OBJECTIVE: Gather all 199 Control Spheres into your Soul Chamber.
Control Spheres within your Soul Chamber: 51/199.
Control Spheres Controlled by You: 93/199.
Total Control Spheres Controlled: 199/199.
“Bethany is going to be mad at me,” I said aloud with an involuntary flinch. “Also, sorry, Guide. I may have broken your request.”
—---------
Bethany was more confused than mad, though for her it manifested in similar ways. There was an odd pulse of… something that she felt before the notification. Everyone had already left the war room except for Sarah.
“What the fuck?!” Bethany said again as she read the quest update. She had been very busy since Dan showed up and gave them the opportunity to get rid of Jarrod. She felt the full admin powers of the control spheres and had been happy as she granted various others access to opening the bubble without the need of having a sphere in hand.
“Did he just eat a control sphere?” her sister, Sarah, asked, using a claw to scratch a pattern into the war room table.
“I’m not going to ask questions and just go with it.”
“Really?” she looked surprised.
“You weren’t there when he nabbed Jarrod. He ate Jarrod’s strongest attack like it was nothing, and more relevantly, just stood there and took all of our attacks at once.”
“Fair enough,” Sarah said, raising her hands in surrender.
Bethany stared intensely at her sister, “Do not do anything that would annoy this guy. He seems pretty chill, but they say to beware the anger of a patient man for a reason.”
“I wasn’t gonna!”
“Sure you weren’t. Jarrod nearly killed you at least five or six times.”
“It’s fine!”
“Go help gather the rest of our control spheres.” Sarah huffed at the command, but left nonetheless.
Bethany rubbed her temples and continued to peruse the System setup for the Control Spheres. “I hope this is worth it.”
