The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4)
Page 10
Carefully, Ruwen sat. He could keep all twelve Fortifications going at the same time if he didn’t move much. Before he left the privacy of Shelly, he would look through A Worker’s Guide to Harvesting, the book that had glowed warmly on his first trip to Blapy and would only open with Spirit. He hoped the book would help him increase the pace of his Spirit training.
But first, while Ruwen Refined Spirit into Essence and Fortified his body, he needed to distribute his attribute, Ability, and spell points. If the mine turned out to be dangerous, he wanted to be prepared.
Chapter 13
When Ruwen reentered the Material Realm a day ago, he’d created a prioritization process to distribute his attributes before making any changes. Now that he’d switched from Observer to Fighter he needed to do that again.
When Fighters dinged a new level, they automatically received two points in Stamina. This was one reason they were so hard to kill. The other two attribute points were flexible and might go in Strength or Dexterity depending on the type of Subclass they chose.
The Worker Class already gave Ruwen a point in Stamina and Strength per level. So he just needed to figure out the best way to place the remaining four points he’d receive, two from Worker and two from Root.
Ruwen thought back to yesterday on the hilltop before the fight with the Bone Sculptor and revisited his prioritization logic. This time his two chosen Classes overlapped, and both his automatically placed Worker points would benefit his Fighter Class.
The terrible debuffs Ruwen had experienced when his attributes dropped below ten on his Ascendancy Day were still fresh in his memory. So regardless of priority, all his attributes needed a small buffer to keep that from happening again.
With the new Fighter Class, Ruwen reconsidered maximizing a couple of attributes at the expense of the other four. But, unlike most people who encountered similar challenges every day, he never knew what might happen. His life since Ascendancy had been a whirlwind and having a weakness would almost certainly be deadly at some point.
Those who maximized one or two attributes had an advantage over their opponents if the situation favored them. It also made them vulnerable, but only if their opponent figured out how to exploit their weaknesses.
The Fortification Ruwen was doing right now already provided some buffer. Every time he leveled his body, those points went into every attribute. So this process automatically kept him somewhat balanced.
Since Ruwen had the Fortification bonuses, he decided, like before, to use a more hybrid approach. He could emphasize his essential attributes while not letting the non-critical ones fall too far behind.
Ruwen created three attribute lists in his head: critical, important, and minor.
Under critical, Ruwen placed Stamina. Stamina would keep him alive and added to his Energy, Resilience, and Endurance.
For important attributes, Ruwen listed Intelligence, Strength, and Dexterity.
Many of his new Fighter spells, while powerful, consumed a lot of Mana. Until he could use Spirit to cast spells, he needed to rely on this limited Mana. Intelligence also increased his Cleverness and Perception. His Cleverness stat, in particular, had benefited him many times.
Dexterity benefited Ruwen’s Unarmed Combat, Step training, Energy, Armor Class, Critical Chance, Dodge, and Perception.
Strength received a point every level automatically because of Ruwen’s Worker Class, and he probably wouldn’t add any more. His Void Band made Encumbrance a nonissue, and while Strength benefited Endurance, so did Stamina, which he preferred to emphasize for the obvious benefit of Health Points. He had ignored Power Strike before, but now as a Fighter, it had more relevance since its damage would stack with all of his other Fighter capabilities.
That left two minor attributes: Wisdom and Charisma.
Wisdom almost made it to important because it directly affected Cleverness and Resilience, both of which had saved his life. The days after his Ascendancy, when he’d suffered from the Wisdom debuff Foolish, had been truly painful. But unlike Intelligence, Wisdom didn’t affect his Mana pool as it did for Hamma and the Order Class.
Wisdom would remain the most important of the minor attributes, since Ruwen couldn’t always rely on Hamma for common sense. He needed Wisdom of his own to balance out his Intelligence.
That left Charisma. Ruwen had to admit he cared more than he should about how he looked and how people reacted to him. The truth was he couldn’t ignore Charisma because it affected his Persuasion stat, and if he meant to lead, he’d need that.
So with every level, after the automatic points in Stamina and Strength, Ruwen would add another point to Stamina, one to Dexterity, one to Intelligence, and alternate the last point between Wisdom and Charisma.
Ruwen opened his Profile and looked at his current attribute values. Leveling to twenty had added one to Strength and Stamina automatically, and he had four left to spend. When he’d chosen Fighter, it had activated the five levels of abilities the Divine Amulet had given him. One of those abilities was Endure, and it added ten percent to Strength, Stamina, and Dexterity.
Attributes
Strength: 38
Stamina: 53
Dexterity: 51
Intelligence: 34
Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 20
Before Ruwen had died, he’d leveled eighteen times as an Observer. Since the Root Class gave him two attribute points per level, it totaled thirty-six attribute points that he could redistribute if he wished. When he focused on the Redistribution Points entry in his Profile, it stated he could only do this once.
Dexterity had too many points for his current build. Using his prioritization system as a guide, he removed eleven points from Dexterity, dropping its value fourteen points because of his ability modifiers, which brought Dexterity even with Strength at thirty-eight points. He added three of those eleven points to Intelligence, two to Charisma bringing it even with Wisdom, and added the last six to Stamina.
With the four extra points he’d gained from leveling to twenty, he placed one in Stamina, Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence. Going forward, he would adhere more closely to his point system.
Ruwen confirmed he wanted to redistribute his points and then looked at his new values.
Attributes
Strength: 39
Stamina: 62
Dexterity: 39
Intelligence: 39
Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 22
Now Ruwen faced the hard part, distributing his ability and spell points. The points he’d placed in Worker abilities and spells were permanent, but the ones he’d placed in Observer were refunded, which when combined with what he’d never used, gave him a total of forty-three spell points and twenty-two ability points.
Ruwen had since taken the abilities Ringleader and Chat, and it was immediately apparent to him he needed triple the ability points he had to get everything he wanted. He would put five ability points in Banner for sure. That would allow him to add five of the listed buffs to his group. And even with five choices picking would be difficult, as there were so many powerful buffs in that list.
Sunburn and Analyze would each get one point so Ruwen could try them, and he’d keep eight ability points in reserve in case they were both worth maxing to five. His most valuable asset was his Void Band, and it needed Energy. Sunburn would help him keep his Energy reserves up. Analyze, a level twenty Gatherer ability was sure to be powerful. But, he didn’t know if it should get the extra four ability points to make it instant, or if waiting four seconds was acceptable.
If Ruwen maxed those three abilities out, that only left him five ability points. Survey would improve his map, and that seemed like something worth investing one point in. Insect Repellant would give him an adjustable barrier with a radius of one hundred feet, which sounded very useful. Stone Echo would use vibrations to sense the world around him, kind of like what Rami did. One ability point would give him five hundred feet of vision and could help exp
ose hidden items.
That would only leave Ruwen two ability points, and there were tons of things he still wanted. Prospector would increase his Perception by twenty percent, although there was Banner buff that was even more powerful. An extra point in Vigor would add another ten percent to all his attributes, and one in Store would provide another ten percent to his pools. Both great uses for an ability point.
The Fighter choices had tons of places to add points: extra damage, increased attributes, or buffed armor. It made Ruwen a little sick that he’d needed to use ten ability points to get Hey You high enough to receive the Architect Role. Although, that role would eventually dwarf anything these abilities offered, so maybe those ten points were cheap.
There was also the group abilities. If Ruwen put another point in Ringleader, he could create two five-person groups. Draft would allow him to make the groups bigger, and Battlefield Promotion would enable him to create layers of groups. With the imminent battles, it would be dumb not to consider these.
After another moment of thought, Ruwen decided he’d keep the two ability points in reserve. He’d also only add one point in Sunburn and Analyze at first, giving him another eight ability points to use somewhere else if needed.
Ruwen placed five ability points in Banner, and one ability point in Sunburn, Analyze, Survey, Insect Repellant, and Stone Echo. After confirming his choices, it left him ten ability points and gave him some flexibility in the future.
Focusing on the Banner ability, a prompt appeared. Only one group was listed since that was all Ruwen could do at the moment. He selected it, and a list of buffs filled his vision.
Ruwen wanted all of them but had to pick five. After thinking through what would benefit Sift the most, Ruwen picked four that would help them both, and one Banner buff that only helped him: experience. With all these abilities he wanted to max, he felt the pressure to level more quickly. On the off chance something lived in that mine, he wanted to maximize its experience value.
The other four buffs he picked to mitigate them not having a Healer. He focused on the five buffs he wanted, and a notification appeared.
Apply the following Banner buffs to Primary Group:
Havoc - Damage increased by 25%
Unrelenting - Regeneration Rates increased by 30%
Indestructible - Armor Class increased by 25%
Untouchable - Dodge increased by 25%
Tutor - Experience increased by 20%
Yes or No
Ruwen chose Yes, and five buffs appeared at the top-middle of his vision next to the Clear Mind buff from his Scarecrow Aspect: Havoc, Unrelenting, Indestructible, Untouchable, and Tutor. Those would help immensely with any problems they encountered.
Closing the Abilities tab, Ruwen opened his Spells and studied the choices he had. It tempted him to just put one point in every Worker and Fighter spell he didn’t know, which would cost him thirty-two points. But some spells, especially the higher level Commander and Warlord ones, really deserved to be maxed out.
Ruwen agonized over the choices, trying to balance utility with destructive power. When he finally decided on a path, he realized the Fighter Class spells would buff him into a monstrous threat, and he wondered if he’d overdone it. The points had definitely skewed toward the Fighter spells.
But the world had proven to be dangerous, and if Ruwen wanted to survive and level up, he needed to maximize the capabilities that would help him the most. These choices were necessary.
One spell point went into each of the Worker Class spells Fresh Air, Climb, Chaff, Sow Seed, Greenhouse, Sixth Sense, Shed, Minion, Fresh Harvest, and Worker Wagon. The spells gave Ruwen some utility, even though they were only level one.
One spell point went into each of the Fighter Class spells Gust, Move On, Bodyguard, Fallen Heroes, Coma, Warcry of Freedom, Draining Bandage, Painful Charge, and Emissary’s Shout. Two points went into Quartermaster’s Yell, and Ruwen added four more points to Leeching Blow, bringing it up to level five. The thirty-minute buff would now heal him for twenty-five percent of the damage he dealt.
Three other spells were maxed to five as well. Relentless would now increase his Energy Regeneration by twenty-five percent for an hour, Warlord’s Roar increased both his damage and Armor Class by fifty percent for an hour, and Warcry of Life would heal everyone under his command for fifty percent of their Health once per hour. If Ruwen ever maxed out Ringleader, Draft, and Battlefield Promotion, then Warcry of Life would heal over seven hundred people for half their health.
That left three spell points Ruwen could use later to level up an existing spell that proved useful, or pick a new one that would help.
Normally the ability buffs didn’t show up in Ruwen’s vision. The Fighter ability Shell that gave him a ten percent Armor Class bonus and Honed that increased damage by ten percent weren’t displayed. He figured the visibility of the Banner buffs was probably linked to the different combinations available.
Not bothering with any of the channeled Energy spells, Ruwen cast all his one time Mana buffs. Hustle increased his Haste by ten percent. Power Nap increased his out of combat Health Regeneration by fifty percent. Leeching Blow would heal him for twenty-five percent of his damage, while Relentless increased his Energy Regeneration by twenty-five percent. Quartermaster’s Yell decreased spell cost by twenty percent and potions were twenty percent more effective. Emissary’s Shout increased Perception and Speed by ten percent, and Warlord’s Roar which added fifty percent to both his damage and Armor Class.
Thirteen buffs lined the top of Ruwen’s vision, and he opened his Profile to see their effect on his stats. He skipped down to areas that had changed since assigning Root to the Fighter Class and distributing all his ability and spell points.
Pools
Health: 777/777
Mana: 424/424
Energy: 1,122/1,122
Attributes
Strength: 39
Stamina: 62
Dexterity: 39
Intelligence: 39
Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 22
Ratings
Armor Class: 827
Max Encumbrance: 871 lbs.
Critical Chance: 89%
Power Strike: 8%
Haste: 102%
Dodge: 166%
Persuasion: 15%
Resilience: 37%
Endurance: 10%
Cleverness: 53%
Perception: 68%
Parry: 15%
Regeneration
Health Regeneration per second: 3.52
Mana Regeneration per second: 2.84
Energy Regeneration per second: 64.12
Iron Stomach had increased all of Ruwen’s Resistances by twenty percent, making most of them fifty-nine percent. Chaos and Dark were only fifty-five but his Mind had reached ninety-eight percent.
Ruwen’s Regen rates, especially the Energy, had benefited greatly from his choices. That much Regeneration opened up many possibilities for his Void Band.
But the Armor Class shocked Ruwen. All the abilities and buffs had stacked to make it equivalent to banded armor, one step below plate. In fact, because of his body strengthening Fortification, even naked, he now had the Armor Class of chain mail.
And one of the biggest changes wasn’t even listed. Ruwen’s base damage had increased by eighty-five percent, almost doubling the damage of every attack. His punches would pack the kick of an angry appah and would heal him in the process.
Ruwen closed his Profile, and maybe for the first time since his Ascendancy, truly relaxed.
The Worker Class had made him versatile and given him options to help overcome his physical limitations. The Spirit Realm had given him the opportunity to reach the cusp of Step Master, making him one of the most dangerous people on the continent. The Fortification of his body, while still in the beginning stages, had strengthened him immensely. And now, taking Fighter as his Root Class, had amplified all of that, and made him terrifying.
Ruwen glan
ced at the clock over his map and calculated he still had hours before they reached the mine. He opened his Void Band and removed A Worker’s Guide to Harvesting, eager to see if the book would reveal any more of its secrets.
Chapter 14
Using Spirit saturated hands, Ruwen pulled on the cover of A Worker’s Guide to Harvesting, and for the first time, the book opened immediately. He quickly turned to the section that had previously remained stuck shut. Its title page read ‘Refinement Form.’
Ruwen smiled as the page turned, revealing the new form.
That’s unexpected, Rami said.
What?
Bring the book closer, please.
Ruwen held the book to his right ear, and Rami vibrated for a moment.
What’s wrong? Ruwen asked.
The last time I absorbed that book, the pages were all blank after what you’d read. It now contains additional information.
That’s impossible. It’s been in my Void Band the entire time. Ruwen thought a moment. How are things stored in Blapy? Could someone have gotten to my things there?
It’s possible, but extremely unlikely. I think a more likely scenario is that book is a sketcher.
When Ruwen, Sift, and Hamma had fallen victim to an ambush in Deepwell, the Enforcers that had answered Hamma’s Dawn spell had used a book to transmit information to the other city Enforcers. Writing in one sketcher automatically updated the other sketchers linked to it. Like what the Enforcers had?
Yes.
If you’re right, then who has the other sketcher? Ruwen asked. He already felt like he knew the answer to that question.
When you borrowed this book from the pyramid’s library, what did it say?
The author and topic were just listed as “Unknown to Borrower.” I wonder if my librarian view has more information.