1.22 – Aftermath

Rika continued her bloody work. By now, the difference was obvious. The goblins were panicked, and their attacks haphazard and desperate. She couldn’t really blame them.

She fought like a demoness. Covered in blood and possessed of a fury born of a sheer will to simply live another day, she met the remaining goblins blow for blow. Now that Erik could give her his undivided attention, her wounds closed nearly as soon as they opened. While she still hadn’t quite gotten used to the strange and discomforting pull of flesh knitting back together in mere moments, she’d come to welcome it. The sensation meant she yet lived. It meant she could keep going, keep fighting, and keep killing. It meant she was winning.

Arcs of curling shadow trailed her axe every time she activated Dark Strike. By now, she was strong enough that a single Shield Slam sent her target tumbling to the ground, or into its comrades. The raw power of her nineteen Might let her deliver devastating blows with her regular swings or shield bashes. With the fall of her own companions, she had somehow become unstoppable.

All around her, in the blazing glow of the bonfires, goblin corpses littered the cavern floor. Many were missing limbs, a few were missing heads. The stink of blood and desperation filled the close, stale air. Every time Rika advanced on another foe, she had to step over a heap of bodies. She made a point of ignoring the corpses of her fallen comrades.

The tide of battle had swung. The goblins only came at her in twos and threes, their attacks weak and ineffective, as the fatigue that had set into them all bore down more heavily on the losing force. Rika’s muscles ached, but she’d received multiple level ups since the battle had begun. Each increase to her Might and Resilience bolstered her, letting her fight that much longer.

Dark Strike I: 12 seconds

As the umbral burst of power her skill released faded into the cavern’s natural darkness, the pressure below her ribs grew to nearly the breaking point once again. At least by now, she’d started getting used to the sensation. The impending level-up was far less a distraction than it had been previously. She could only hope the same would hold true for the actual level-up process itself, at least so long as she still needed those level ups to survive.

She stepped forward. Her shield cracked against the skull of a goblin warrior. The axe she’d scavenged after losing her sword made a wet cracking sound when she pulled it free of her foe’s ribs. Once again, the pressure increased. It would only take a few more kills now.

Looking up, she swept her surroundings. Only a handful of goblin warriors remained, and they all looked worse than she felt. They also weren’t displaying any of the reckless aggressiveness that had marked their attacks earlier. Two of them had shields raised, and they practically cowered behind them. The others all had either axes or clubs. None of them really attacked. Instead, they just feinted, made like they were about to charge, then scampered back.

Rika charged the clump of broken, terrified goblins and laid into them with all the ferocity they deserved. She had no mercy for these creatures, for they deserved none. The still-cooling bodies of Vilmos and Kriztan were testament enough to that. They’d have killed her as easily as the others, had she let them. Now it was only a matter of ending this grind and getting the fuck out of this slaughterhouse.

The last goblin died with little more than the crack of its skull as she buried her axe in it. It had been crawling away, just at the edge of the firelight. She’d stomped on its back, its spine fracturing beneath her boot. Then she struck the killing blow. And with that, it was over.

Enemy Slain: Goblin Warrior – Level 10

Congratulations! You have reached Level 10!

Name: Rika

Class: Dark Warrior (Basic, Rare)

Level: 10 (Grade I)

Affiliation: Adventuring Guild – Novice

• Stats Increased: Might +2, Finesse +2, Resilience +2, Magic +1, Control +1, Ward +2

• Primary Stats

  • Might – 21

  • Finesse – 21

  • Resilience – 21

  • Magic – 12

  • Control – 12

  • Ward – 21

• Class Feature Gained – Tempo I

  • Tempo I – Each consecutive hit in combat provides a small boost to damage (stacking, maximum 10). Effect ends after 6 seconds, or when receiving damage. Duration is refreshed upon activation.In battle, momentum carries the day. March forward to the drumbeat of victory.

• Class Features Upgraded

  • Mental Redoubt II – Duration and potency of mind-affecting conditions are reduced by 60%.Your mind is a fortress. Stand firm in the face of untold horrors.

  • Balanced Defense II – Adds 60% Ward to physical defense. Adds 60% Resilience to magic defense.Might or Magic matters not. You endure, no matter the hardship.

• Class Skills Upgraded

  • Dark Strike II – High damage Dark aspected attack using an equipped melee weapon. 9 second cooldown.Harness the Dark and strike true, warrior.

• General Skills Upgraded

  • Armor Proficiency II (Medium, Heavy) – Small bonus to Resilience scaling applied to Medium and Heavy armor.

  • One-Handed Weapon Proficiency II – Small bonus to Might scaling applied to one-handed weapons.

  • Shield Proficiency II – Small bonus to Might scaling applied to shields.

• Congratulations! You have accomplished:

  • Deed of Renown: From the Jaws of Defeat (Minor) – Minor increase to Resilience and Ward contribution to defense when heavily outnumbered.Against all odds, you have survived where others would have surely fallen.

Once the flood of power and knowledge had subsided, Rika couldn’t help but let out a small, bitter laugh as she fell to her knees. She dropped her weapon and shield to either side. Her new class feature, Tempo, would have certainly helped, although she couldn’t say how much. She’d taken a beating in that fight. But there had been moments where she’d landed at least a few hits without taking one in return. Surely that would have helped. Not enough to have saved either Kriztan or Vilmos, to be sure, but it would have made things easier at least.

Then there was that last notification. Minor Deed of Renown. Clearly she’d earned it from managing to come out of that disaster alive, so she was a little less bitter about that. But even without it, she could tell that reaching level ten represented a major boost to her overall strength. With it? Maybe if she’d had something like this—a boost to her toughness when outnumbered—before the ambush, all of them might have lived.

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“Chryson, this Deed of Renown. Can you explain any more about it?”

“Certainly,” came the Oracle’s reply. Music and information spun out in her consciousness as he spoke. “Deeds of Renown are awarded to individuals who achieve feats of some greatness. Either surviving against impossible odds as you have, creating a work of unparalleled mastery, or some other deed worthy of notice and fame. Minor Deeds offer the smallest of benefits, but greater deeds will only serve to propel you to greater heights, should you manage to accomplish them.”

“Is there any way to know how or when I’ll earn one?” she asked.

“The only advice I can give is to throw yourself into ever-more dire situations.”

“Trying to get me killed?”

“I am most certainly not,” Chryson said. He almost sounded offended. “That would be antithetical to my purpose. Admittedly, most of those I serve who follow combat paths such as your own meet untimely ends. Only a few can climb to the absolute pinnacle of power with mere ambition as their guide.”

Erik approached then, wearing a sour expression. After a glance at what remained of her party list, she could venture a guess as to why.

“I take you gained some massive boost that would have come in handy back there, too?” she asked, trying to keep the dry bitterness from her voice as she returned her attention to her new abilities.

“Take a look,” he said.

Name: Erik

Class: Healer (Basic, Common)

Level: 10 (Grade I)