Ascension

by B F Rockriver

  Nevermind, I get it. Just keep it simple and let me know if I reach any major milestones in any skills. I would like to hear about my progress from time to time. If I’m getting close to hitting an attribute threshold, let me know. I have points to spend.

  “Will do, boss,” Aida replied, her words biting as she cut off communication.

  Noticing that his friends were now staring at him, waiting for some kind of plan, Eli grimace.

  “Good, everyone awake.” Eli said, trying to draw attention away from the fact that he had just been standing there staring for several minutes, “I have presents.”

  Michelle and Don both looked at Eli, excitement on their faces. The pair looked like kids on their birthdays. After explaining what he found and handing out the items, each looked at him with a puzzled look.

  Don was the first to speak, “Thanks man, I appreciate it. This staff is awesome, but I can’t use it right now.”

  “Why,” Eli asked, confused. “Its bonuses are great, and it does decent damage.”

  “It’s the curse, man. Alignment can prevent you from getting certain quests, classes, and abilities. I’ve never heard of an evil healer monk. I wouldn’t want it to interfere with anything.”

  Eli paused, thinking the situation over and arriving on a solution, “Could we get the curse removed?”

  The Turta’s eyes widened, a hopeful look sparkling within, “You’re right. If we can get this curse removed, it would be perfect.”

  A moment later, the monk stood, a new set of robes appearing beneath his bandolier. For now, he could use his current weapon, but once the new staff was free of taint, his capability would improve significantly.

  Eli nodded towards Michelle, “What do you think? They should be better quality than the wooden weapon you have now, and there’s a shield.” He said, hoping she would pick up the shield and become their tank.

  “Yeah, they’re great, but I’ve been using a two-handed weapon since I started. I guess I could use two one-handed. My maces skill is high enough, and it fits my plan. But, why the shield?” Michelle's words shattered Eli’s hopes, his head lowering. “You wanted me to be the fucking tank, didn’t you?”

  With a sigh, Eli admitted defeat, “Yeah. I mean, you’re a troll, you use melee weapons, and you regenerate health quickly. It seems perfect for you.”

  Michelle walked up to him, a smug look on her face, “What a gentleman, wanting to put the lady in front to take all the hits. So heroic.” Her words came out mockingly, biting into Eli’s ego, before she slapped him on the shoulder, “Just kidding. I plan on becoming a tank, just not a sword and board tank. I want to be a Berserker or Barbarian. You know, a living shield. Two weapons fighting is perfect, thank you. Now, I just need some better quality armor. Which, I see you’ve already taken.”

  The two bickered over the armor for a few moments, before Eli agreed to let the Troll and Turta split their new loot to purchase new armor. After settling up, Eli continued to search the library, finding nothing out of place. Whatever book William was looking for was nowhere to be seen. Then he had an idea. He used the item the scholar had given him, filling his mind with a strange repetitive ringing sound.

  The groggy voice of William eventually came through, replacing the annoying tone, “What is it? Do you have any idea what time it is?” The man's voice surrounded Eli as if he were in a private room with the man on the wizard.

  “William, it’s me, Eli. I’m in the library, but there are thousands of books in here. What one are you looking for specifically?” Eli replied in a hurry, “We have little time.”

  There was no response for several moments, then stammering, “D-did you say thousands? I-is the library intact?”

  “Yes, there’s magic protecting the books from damage. Now, what book did you want?”

  Screams filled Eli’s ears, nearly bringing him to his knees, “Don’t, touch, anything. I need to be there. Is the location secure? Nevermind, I’m on my way.” Suddenly, the connection went silent, leaving Eli to stand in confusion.

  Hearing the man’s words, Eli looked around at the pristine books, wondering what was so important. There was possibly decades worth of knowledge stored in this room, but getting through it all would take nearly the same amount of time. No one man could ever read everything compiled in the strange library. While peering about the room, Eli noticed one book in particular.

  Its cover was made from skin, and it’s binding from the coarse hair of some massive beast. Something tugged at his senses at the sight of the strange tomb, pulling him closer. Without thinking, he reached out, grabbed, and inspected the item. As he did, he felt the need to open it, to absorb its knowledge.

  “Stop!” Aida called out to him, just before Eli had exposed the first page. “That’s a class book, a rare one. You need to be sure you want to read it before you do. It could change your class permanently.”

  Stopping himself from reading it immediately, Eli looked over its item description. As he read through its information, his breath left him. He had found an artifact quality item, and a mythic level class. Then he read what it did, and his face twisted in fear.

  *Fury of the Wilds*

  Item Type: Class Manual (Magical) | Class: Scion of the Beast (Mythic) | Uses: 1 | Quality: Exquisite | Rarity: Artifact | Weight: 2 lbs | Restrictions: One Rage type ability, Commune with nature skill of twenty-five or higher, or Beastkin Race. Players must have an alignment of True Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, or Neutral Good.

  Upon reading this tomb, the player's class will change to Scion of the Beast. This class allows a player to assume the shape of a beast. While taking on the form of a beast, the player shares the statistics, senses, skills, and abilities of the creature. While transformed, the player will have access to the ability, primal rage. If the player already has access to this ability, it will be improved to increase the characters' strength, constitution, or dexterity for its duration, as well as the likelihood of succumbing to primal instincts. As this class gains levels, more powerful beast forms will be unlocked, including access to magical beasts. Starting options: Wolf, Bear, Panther, Cougar, Puma, Giant Boar, Great Ape, and Horse.

  If he read this book, he would be locked into a class that might make him lose control permanently. While the class seemed amazing, allowing him to transform into all kinds of powerful creatures, Eli already had the primal rage ability, which he was growing to hate. The bonuses and abilities were amazing, but the risk of hurting his allies far outweighed any benefits. Out of fear, he placed the book into his inventory. He could not risk absorbing the information, or allowing someone else to get their hands on such a powerful class tomb.

  As the item vanished, he heard Michelle call out behind him, “Hey, what did you find? If it’s good, you have to share it. That’s how this goes.”

  Not wanting to tell anyone of the tomb, he lied, “It was just some book, it’s for a quest. Our friend William, a scholar, wants some old books to study, and we kind of owe him.”

  “Sure, whatever. Share the quest with me so I can get the rewards, at least.”

  Wiping a bead of sweat from his brow, Eli pulled up the quest William had given him and shared it with the group. “Here, I think I forgot to share it with Don too.”

  After seeing the notification flash in her vision, Michelle relaxed, “Sweet, it looks like it’s already complete, we’re just waiting on the reward.”

  With looting and squabbling over items complete, the three adventurers searched for a way out of the maze-like library. What they found was two corridors, one leading in the direction that the two now-dead players had come from, the other leading down a short hallway that opened to a small dimly lit circular room. Sitting in the center of the sparsely decorated room was a dimly glowing altar, made of living foliage, animal bones, and stone. Next, it stood the silhouette of a tall, thin figure with his arms pressed against a shimmering field of energy.

  “There,” Eli whispered, forcing himself to remain calm. “The altar is
right there, but there’s someone in the room. We have to move. Now.”

  As the Adventurers rushed the fifty yards down the hallway, a second figure came into view, then a third. One, a sizable ogre-orc hybrid, was leaning against one of the circular walls, a large ballista-like crossbow resting on his shoulders and a vicious-looking axe on his back. The other was an owlish man with nearly unnoticeable feathers sprouting from his skin, circular eyes, and a hand on a long needlelike rapier. The sight of them did nothing to stop Eli’s momentum, or take his focus off of the robed elf who spoke words of power, and smashed his hands against a now cracked barrier of green light.

  Chapter 34

  Eli pressed forward, running as fast as his legs would carry him. If the Cloud Elf broke through the barrier, it would be game over. He and his friend would lose their chance of curing themselves, and their enemies would have access to one of the Twelve Altars and a stronghold. They could not let that happen, and it didn’t matter how many people they had to fight. Suddenly, the owlish man’s gaze lifted, turning in Eli’s direction.

  “Boss, they’re here.” The lanky, six-foot-tall, avian man said, as Eli’s party entered the room. His voice was chirpy, and high pitched, adding to his bird-like appearance, “Should I take care of them?”

  “Just do what I’m paying you to do and keep them off of me.” The cold words of the Elf followed as if the matter were unimportant. “Grogg, help him if need be, but keep an eye out for more.”

  The Ogre nodded, placing his finger on the trigger of his loaded weapon, before returning to resting against the wall, “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Eli stopped, staring at the man with the rapier. He was Strig, a birdlike race of Beastkin with extremely high perception, near-perfect night vision, and ability that let them glide. Eli had rarely seen anyone from the nomadic race, as they were always on the hunt for forbidden treasure or knowledge. Seeing one here made sense, as artifacts and centuries-old tombs surrounded them. What made little sense is seeing one working with a Cloud Elf and an Ogre. Then Eli remembered that Players were free to pick their race and ally themselves with whoever they wanted. This man probably just wanted to take advantage of the racial benefits.

  While Eli sized up their opponent, Don and Michelle followed, flanking him. As they did, the Strig adventurer stepped forward, his rapier drawn. The weapon moved in concentric circles, working to distract Eli. A moment later, the birdman inched forward, taking several lightning-fast practice swings.

  “Ey, you guys might wanna be off now. This place is ours,” the Strig warned. “I don’t necessarily want to kill a bunch ah noobs right now. But, this guy here,” he pointed at the Elf mage, “paid me a lot of money to keep him safe.”

  At the man’s words, Eli focused on him in an attempt to bring up his information. To his surprise, the only thing that appeared was a string of red jumbled text. QweRtyAsdF - level ???. Upon seeing the strange information, Aida beamed knowledge into Eli’s mind. In an instant, he knew that the adventurer most likely had the concealment skill or an item that concealed his identity. He also learned that many mercenaries, assassins, and rogues gained the skill early on.

  “Sorry, we can’t let him do that,” Eli replied, focusing his attention on the Strig, his rage crashing against his willpower. “Now, if you would kindly leave this temple and let me kill that man, I would appreciate it.”

  Suddenly, the Strig’s weapon moved slightly, drawing Eli’s attention, “Can’t do that mate,” and a loud bang filled the room.

  Pain exploded through Eli’s shoulder as blood trickled down his chest. In shock at the sudden attack, Eli looked down to see a small hole just under his clavicle. Hearing a loud clang, he looked up to see the Strig locked in combat with both Michelle and Don. The pair had closed the fifty-foot gap in a flash, letting their weapons fly. He then noticed a second weapon in their enemy's hand, a small magitech pistol.

  A new icon appeared next to his status bar, the silhouette of a man, his arm in a sling. As he focused on it, he immediately knew what it was. The shot had disabled him. His right arm would suffer a fifty percent speed debuff. Another bang filled the room, causing his focus to return to the battle. Michelle’s leg had a similar hole in it. Hoping that his friends’ could handle a single foe, Eli sprinted towards the Elf, his vision slowly turning red as rage took hold. He would use it, control it.

  Two steps later, a ballista bolt crashed into the ground, creating a small crater inches from his feet. Eli’s movement faltered as he looked up to see the Ogre step forward, waving his finger at him. He had already loaded a new bolt. Focusing on him, Eli brought up the man’s information, followed by a panic.

  Grogg - Level 12 Warrior.

  As the information appeared, the man smiled, showing several gold plated fangs.

  The man was twice his level and wielded items more powerful than he had ever seen. He had to do something. Remembering Stabbins reaction to the black orbs, Eli sheathed an axe and summoned one of the toxic globes from his bag of holding. When the ominous object appeared in his hand, Grogg’s face darkened. He was afraid. Without hesitation, Eli hurled the globe at the Ogre, uncaring of what would happen. This man did not deserve to lose his character, but he was trying to destroy Entarra. If he knew what he was doing, or not, was unimportant. He was in Eli’s way, keeping him from his revenge, and trying to ruin what little he still cared about.

  As the orb flew, Eli continued his charge at the Elf, grabbing his sword from his hip as he ran. A crash rang out to his left, the ball smashed upon the ground, followed by the scent of death and the sound of choking. Behind him, another gunshot sounded off, along with a gasp of pain, this time from Don. Eli wanted to look, to help, but he could not afford to waste a single second. The barrier was about to fall.

  A chime rang out in Eli’s mind, and he knew he had learned a new ability, Dash. Eli focused his energy, pouring it into his legs. The green of his stamina bar dropped by twenty-five percent, and then he used Lunge. Again he was airborne, flying towards his enemy. As he hurled through space, closing the thirty-foot gap in an instant, he brought his weapon over his head, preparing himself for violence. Allowing himself to succumb to his rage, Eli’s vision turned red. To finish this, he would need every tool at his disposal. Eli knew the Elf was much stronger than he was, but to him, this was life and death, not just a game.

  The world slowed as Eli’s muscles bulged, and fury overtook him. Then he attacked. Eli brought his sword around his body, twisting at the waist. In mid-air, he went through the motions of Planted Feet. Feeling tension in his muscles, he attacked. Another chime. His skill Planted Feet had changed to Power Strike, and the Elf did nothing. His chanting continued as if his life was not in danger. As Eli unleashed the powerful attack, a shimmering blue shield sprang forth to block his it. A moment later, three copies of the elf sprang into existence from thin air. As he landed, Eli struggled to focus. The elf’s copies blurred and moved, making it difficult to target the caster.

  Not knowing which one to attack, Eli swung his weapon wildly. His attacks cleaved through the images, each swing sailing through them as if cutting were carving air. Each strike caused the illusions to flicker but dealt with no damage. Eli’s mind was slipping into a blind fury, being overtaken with the need to kill. While struggling to retain control, Primal Rage impaired his ability to create a plan of attack. In the back of his mind, he heard a woman’s voice. It was calming, guiding him to keep control.

  “Eli, focus, control your anger. Use it to fuel your strength. These are mirror images. Find the real one. Hurry. He’s about to take control of the temple.”

  Knowing that he had to stop the Elf, that thousands of people relied on his success, Eli forced himself to breathe. As he did, he stopped swinging, each breath slowing his racing mind. He began to regain control, to bend the rage within him to his will. Another chime rang out as his mind became his own.

  The rage icon flashed next to his status bar, and his vision was red, but he
could think freely. He was in control. Before him sat three flickering images, each a copy of his enemy, on the other side of the altar, was a nearly invisible silhouette, similar to the one the Forest Elf had used when helping William. Seeing through the illusion, Eli used Dash to close the gap in an instant, before using the first ability he had ever learned, Cleave. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, Eli Roared allowing Primal Rage to empower his strike.

  Tears streaked down Eli’s face, his pain overflowing, strengthening his attacks. Eric. Savannah. This man will suffer.

  Cleave was intended for multiple opponents, but missing his shrouded opponent was not an option. His movements were fast, precise, and violent, but they were his own as his blade impacted flesh, blood spraying from a deep wound. Eli smiled as the blood of the man, who killed children, painted him crimson. With a flicker of light, the elf appeared before him, wounded. A deep gash gouged his stomach, but he kept up his chanting. Knowing that the man had to defend himself, or give up his chant, Eli raised his weapon. Pressing into his enemy, he prepared to unleash another powerful blow. As he swung, the ground shook as the protective shielding around the altar failed. A moment later, pain exploded through his body as his feet left the ground.

  Eli flew backward, the warmth of his rage replaced by pure agony. Hitting the ground nearly twenty feet back, he felt a sticky wetness pooling underneath him. Sharp pain ravaged his chest. His world swam as his health bar vanished, dropping to ten percent in an instant. Bleeding debuffs stacked next to his status bar, reaching their maximum in an instant. The dazed debuff flashed to life, counting down, and a new disabled debuff appeared, this time showing a man impaled by a spear.

  Slowly Eli reached for the source of the pain, his hand trembling. What he found, cut through his rage like butter. A massive bolt stuck out of his chest, its tip pressed against the ground beneath him. Focusing on his status bar, Eli watched as his health drained, the five stacks of bleeding taking their toll. Under his own status, he saw several debuffs next to Michelle's status, and Don was nearly dead. The Strig mercenary held them off. No, the man was winning.