by C. M. Carney
You have 3 unused Perk Point. (1 New and 2 Previously Earned)
I stared at the prompt for a moment and realized that I was keeping my experience after each death. I know it seems obvious to you, but I was so stressed out about dying repeatedly, that I had kinda glossed over it. I was leveling.
I had another chat with Rubik. “Hey, my multi-faceted friend how’s the family?” As usual, I got nothing. With a heavy sigh, I asked my question. “Can I beat the Agent?”
NO, it said and floated away.
“Dammit,” I said, and I sank into a real depression. Maybe that’s why I let the Agent take me this time. If I was gonna die, then I may at least productively use my last few moments. It was time to spend some points.
Order Bolt was cool, but it didn't do squat to the Agent, and it would be a while before Mana would become a problem there. My god Cerrunos was dead, so I didn’t have any incantations. That shitty situation convinced me that I needed to up my physical Attributes. My Stamina had gotten me killed several times already, so I dumped 5 points into Constitution. I put another 5 into Dexterity, thinking that maybe it would help my aim, or at the very least my ability to escape capture. I dumped my last 5 points into Strength, cuz ya know, ‘smash smash, crush head’ with my war hammer would be much more effective.
Lex - Level 4
Ordonian
Deity: Cerrunos
Experience: 10,253
Next Level: 4.747
Stats
Health: 140
Stamina: 144
Mana: 145
Spirit: 145
Attributes
Strength: 23
Constitution: 19
Dexterity: 17
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 16
Gifts:
Player Detection
Ordonian Bloodlust
Attribute Points: 0
Perk Points: 3
The surge of warmth and power that flowed through me, almost made me forget about my imminent death. Then I felt Lurch tie my hands, and the Agent chirped up.
“Tell me where Gryph is?”
This again.
“I told you already, I don’t know,” I said.
“Told me? When?” she said, giving me a strange look.
“Oh, right, that was the last time.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and with a flick of her wrist, she suddenly held a thin dirk in her hand. “Explain that statement?” She walked up and Lurch held me a bit tighter.
“Nah, I don’t want to. Let’s just do what we do,” I said.
She tapped the dagger against my cheek. “You’re an odd one. I like that.”
“So, you’ll let me go?”
“Sorry. No can do,” she said, flipped her dagger back into its sheath and pulled the port stone from her pouch.
“Ooh, the pretty rock. And yeah, I know you love the Hill of Death at the edge of town.”
The look she gave me sent a chill into my bones. Had my charming love of sarcasm led me to say too much? She clearly had some kind of prognostication capability, some way of knowing the future or sensing danger. How else had she avoided my attempts to kill her every damn time?
“Shit,” I said and ran to the edge of the bridge. She moved too quickly and I could not properly lasso Lurch this time. He reached for me as I plummeted over the edge of the bridge and the rope tangled around his right arm. He made the mistake of trying to arrest my fall and as the rope jerked, I heard Lurch grunt in pain as his arm snapped. I fared no better as the sudden jerk, mixed with the odd angle I was falling, wrenched both my shoulders from their sockets. I screamed in agony as my body spun, dangling from the rope like an unspooled yoyo.
I don’t know if it was the pain, the uselessness of his broken arm, the weight of my body, or all three, but the rope went slack and Lurch pitched over the side of the bridge. We both fell into the water and I screamed in joy as the water rushed into my throat and lungs.
☠☠☠☠☠
This time I made a Molotov cocktail out of Master Grimslee’s rotgut liquor. Of course I didn't hit the Agent with either the improvised grenade or the crossbow. The Molotov exploded on the fire mage who grinned in some horrid combination of pain and ecstasy as he burst into flames. That guy has issues. The crossbow bolt took the thrall in the neck again. Yay, another Critical Hit for Lex.
You have earned 1,223 XP for slaying a Fire Mage.
You have earned 1,523 XP for slaying the Agent’s Thrall.
I continued to cast Commune. “Hey Rubik, will I ever be capable of beating the Agent?”
YES, it said and floated away.
“Well yay,” I said as the world returned and the Agent caught up with me. I smiled up at her with renewed confidence. “Your days are numbered bitch.” I was almost happy to drown this time.
☠☠☠☠☠
I fired the crossbow a bunch more, sometimes killing the thrall, sometimes sending a random bystander into the next life, but never once coming close to scratching the Agent.
☠☠☠☠☠
I tried to hire the twitchy fire mage to attack her as soon as she walked through the door. But he wasn’t interested, and I spent so much time arguing with the weirdo that the Agent was there before I knew it. Then things went pretty much as normal for me.
☠☠☠☠☠
I tried the Agent as a bounty hunter trick on Gaarm a few times. As I ran the screams of Gaarm and his cronies bit into me with a stab of guilt. I got a bit further those times, but, not far enough.
☠☠☠☠☠
There were a bunch of other things I tried.
☠☠☠☠☠
“Dammit.”
☠☠☠☠☠
“Ouch.”
☠☠☠☠☠
“Crap.”
☠☠☠☠☠
“Really? Now that is just messed up.”
☠☠☠☠☠
So, yeah, I kept dying, which was getting really old. On the bright side, I was earning a butt load of XPs, upped my skills a bunch and even earned a few more levels.
You have earned 7,338 XP for slaying a Fire Mage (x6).
You have earned 4,615 XP for slaying a Priest of Ferrancia (x5)
You have earned 22,845 XP for slaying the Agent’s Thrall (x15)
You have earned 21,530 XP for slaying Seraphine. (X10)
I felt a bit bad for killing Seraphine so many times, but since she was reborn anyway I quickly got over the feeling. I took a while to notice just how much XP killing her gave me. Earning that many XP for killing a simple barmaid made no sense. There was more to sweet Seraphine than met the eye. I made a promise to myself that I would uncover her secrets as soon as I was able.
My Q & A sessions with Rubik became increasingly frustrating. Once I asked if it knew how I could defeat the Agent and it thought YES. But, knowing how and being able to tell me how with just a YES or NO answer was another matter. When I asked it directly if it could tell me how to defeat her it said NO. The cubic idiot knew how I could win but could not tell me how.
I wasn’t getting anywhere fast, and that made me angry.
So I took it out on Gaarm. Killing him didn’t help me escape the Agent, but I really hated that guy. So, I killed him a bunch and got some good experience.
You have earned 9,920 XP for slaying Gaarm (x5)
And, I gained a new skill after evading Gaarm’s clumsy dagger attack.
You have learned the skill DODGE
Level: 1 - Tier: Base - Skill Type: Active.
You have showed proficiency in Dodge. Dodge allows the user to avoid an attack, thus incurring no damage. Chance to Dodge is a percentage chance based on the user’s Dexterity +1% per level in Dodge - the opponent’s level in the skill used to attack. Heavy armor wearers suffer a penalty to Dodge.
Just for shits and giggles I even tried to shoot the shifty rogue who was a big fan of smoking and looking mysterious. Every time he evaded my attack. His skill differed from the Agent’s a
bility. He was looking right at me, so I gathered he had a very high Dodge skill. She moved aside without knowing I was there. Her Spidey Sense was way cooler than my Dodge skill.
You have reached Level 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
You have 25 unused Attribute Points.
You have 8 unused Perk Point. (5 New and 3 Previously Earned)
You have reached Level 10 in Order Magic.
You have reached Level 8 in Archery.
You have reached Level 8 in Blunt Weapons.
You have reached Level 4 in Stealth.
You have reached Level 1 in Dodge.
You have reached Level 6 in Light Armor.
You have reached Level 15 in Analyze.
Casting Commune and Order Blast was upping my Order Magic skill slowly, but steadily. I’d never planned to use my Archery skill, but its constant leveling made me wonder if I should rethink that. After all, who didn’t love playing the sneaky archer?
Apparently, my constant people watching had seriously upped my Analyze skill. It gave me an idea. I needed more information if I was ever to extract myself from this hellacious time loop. It was time to spend some Perk Points. I opened my Analyze Perk Tree.
Analyze Perk Tree
Tier
Understanding
Defense
Learn
B
Detect Falsehood
Block Analyze
Skill Resistance 1
A
Know Desires
False Report 1
Skill Resistance 2
J
Know Falsehoods
False Report 2
Spell Osmosis
M
Know Skills
False Report 3
Skill Osmosis
G
Know Perks
False Report 4
Perk Osmosis
Understanding:
Those who invest in the Understanding branch of the Analyze Perk Tree can glean important information from an opponent. All Understanding Perks require that the user's Analyze skill be of a higher level than the opponent or creature to be effective.
The Detect Falsehoods perk enables the user to detect whether an Analyzed person or creature is lying, hiding a truth or being evasive. The nature of the lie will remain a mystery.
The Know Desires perk enables the user to know what an Analyzed person or creature wants. Every person and creature craves understanding.
The Know Falsehoods perk enables the user to not only Detect Falsehoods, but to know what the lie concerns. This can uncover deep, dark secrets.
The Know Skills perk enables a user to see what skills a person or creature possesses. It also enables the user to know what level the person or creature possesses in that skill up to the level of the user’s Analyze skill.
The Know Perks perk enables a user to see what perks a person or creature possesses.
Defense:
Those who invest in the Defense branch of the Analyze Perk Tree can defend their own information from an opponent. All Defense Perks require that the user's Analyze skill be of a higher level than the opponent or creature to be effective.
The Block Analyze perk enables a user to block a person or opponent’s own Analyze skill. If the user of this perk is of a higher level than the opponent, then the opponent’s Analyze attempt will fail.
The False Report 1 perk enables the user to present a false Strength when Analyzed.
The False Report 2 perk enables the user to present a false Immunity when Analyzed. Users are also immune to others use of False Report 1.
The False Report 3 perk enables the user to present a false Weakness when Analyzed. Users are also immune to others use of False Report 2.
The False Report 4 perk enables the user to present a false set of Skills (and their levels) and a false set of Perks when Analyzed. Users are also immune to other’s use of False Report 3.
Note: False Reports must be set up in advance and can be changed at will.
Learn:
Those who invest in the Learn branch of the Analyze Perk Tree can learn how to defend themselves from the Skills and Perks of an opponent. At higher tiers the user can learn Skills and Perks from an opponent. All Learn Perks require that the user's Analyze skill be of a higher level than the opponent or creature to be effective.
The Skill Resistance 1 perk enables the user to reduce the effectiveness of any one skill used by an opponent by 25% for the duration of the encounter. After the encounter is over the ‘immunity’ disappears.
The Skill Resistance 2 perk enables the user to reduce the effectiveness of any one skill used by an opponent by 50% for the duration of the encounter. After the encounter is over the ‘immunity’ disappears.
The Spell Osmosis perk enables the user to Analyze and learn a spell that is cast by a person or creature. To learn the spell, the user must have an Affinity for that sphere. Requires that the user already possess the requisite magic skill. The user can only absorb the knowledge of the spell if they already have gained that Tier in the magic skill. This perk can only be used once per week. Success of Spell Osmosis is determined as (Intelligence/2 + Analyze Level /2) - (Opponent’s Intelligence/3 + Opponent’s Analyze/3).
The Skill Osmosis perk enables a user to Analyze and learn a skill that is being actively used by a person or creature. The learned skill will always be Level 1 regardless of the level possessed by the Analyzed person or creature. This perk can only be used once per week. The user must have a higher Analyze skill than the opponents own Analyze skill and the user’s Analyze skill level must also be of a higher level than the opponent’s level in the skill being learned. (Requires Know Skills Perk). Success of Skill Osmosis is determined as (Intelligence/3 + Analyze Level /3) - (Opponent’s Intelligence/4 + Opponent’s Analyze/4).
The Perk Osmosis perk enables a user to Analyze and learn a perk that is being actively used by a person or creature. The user will also learn the associated skill if they do not already possess that skill. The learned perk must be of a tier capable of being learned by the user. The user must have a higher Analyze skill than the opponents own Analyze skill and the user’s Analyze skill level must also be of a higher level than the opponent’s level in the skill being learned. This perk can only be used once per month. (Requires Know Perks Perk). Success of Perk Osmosis is determined as (Intelligence/4 + Analyze Level /4) - (Opponent’s Intelligence/5 + Opponent’s Analyze/5).
For example: A user may learn the Fire Magic perk Item Power 50% if, and only if, they have reached the Apprentice Tier in Fire Magic. If they have not, then they will learn the perk in the same tree of the appropriate tier.
“Sweet,” I said. The Analyze perks would be my ticket out.
“Should I assume that means you wish to go all in sir?” the dealer asked.
I motioned with a dismissive hand that I was folding. “I don’t have time for your pompous attitude Jeeves,” I said. “I got me some spending to do.”
My eyes lingered on the Learn branch. Without hesitation I put a point into Skill Resistance 1. The perk may not help me overcome the Agent on its lonesome, but I sure wouldn't sneeze at the idea of reducing the effectiveness of one of the Agent’s skills by 25%. What I was really after were the higher Tier Perks.
I was currently level 15 in Analyze, which meant I had a way to go before I could purchase the truly great perks like Osmosis. But, if I had one thing on my side it was time. I reread the descriptions several times as my plan solidified. I dumped another point into both Detect Falsehoods and Block Analyze. I had no idea if they’d be effective against the Agent, but every bit helped, right?
I was so engrossed in my task that I did not see the Agent enter until she tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped a bit and looked up. This time, when the Agent took me, I smiled at her.