by Aleron Kong
Weak Life Armor was his next purchase. The spell increased the defense of every piece of armor the target was wearing by +1. That wasn’t much, but it was especially effective against Death creatures, giving +3 defense. He imagined the enchantment would do the same.
For a moment, he considered converting Weak Life Aura instead. It surrounded the target in a shell of Life magic that discomforted weaker undead that got close to it. The golden aura would also cause direct damage to any Death creatures that came into direct contact with it. It was a more offensive choice, and could come in handy, but he only had so many Talent Points to go around. Richter decided to invest more in defense. The aura was high on his list of spells to convert though.
You have chosen to unlock the enchantment for: Weak Life Armor. This enchantment can be applied to only one medium: Armor.
You have now unlocked the (Armor) enchantment: Life Defense
Enchantment Size: Unknown
Enchantment School: Life
You are currently at 0/2400 of the mana cost to learn this enchantment.
Effects: Unknown
You have: 125 Talent Points remaining.
With that done, Richter turned his attention from his Specialty Talents to those of his Profession. He wished he had enough to upgrade Talent Point Conversion again. If he did, he’d empty his experience bank again and buy as many TPs as possible. The next rank of the Talent cost a whopping one hundred and seventy-five points though. It just wasn’t in the cards right now.
He reexamined the nebula that held his Profession and Specialty. Many of the spheres were lit, but a few remained dark showing that he hadn’t purchased the first rank of that particular Talent. In addition to not being able to benefit from them, it also meant that the next sphere in the chain was still hidden from him. Richter decided to buy a Talent that would reveal more of his Profession tree. There were two dark spheres leading off Increase Weapon Enchantment, which boosted the strength of his weapon enchantments by +10%.
Both dealt with the additional effects of his enchantments like Disarm or Shatter. Both would make his enchantments deadlier and both had a filament leading off into the fog indicating that when he purchased them, even more hidden Talents would be revealed. He bought the one on the left.
You have purchased the Talent: Increase Additional Effect Power for 20 Talent Points. The additional effects of an enchantment (eg Burning from Fire Damage) are now +10% more powerful. This will increase both the strength of the effect and the likelihood to overcome the target’s resistance to the effect. You are currently Rank I in Increase Additional Effect Power. Progressing to Rank II will cost 40 Talent Points.
You have: 105 Talent Points remaining.
The sphere lit up with an inner light, glowing cheerfully against the starscape background. The fog surrounding the sphere pulled back, but the filament leading away from his new Talent still trailed off into the obscuring mist. No new Talent was revealed. Richter frowned slightly. This had happened once before, when he had purchased Increase Armor Enchantment. All he could think was that whatever Talent was next in the chain had additional requirements he had to meet before it was revealed.
It was slightly disappointing, but he had still gotten a new Talent. The additional effects were already game changers. An opponent that was suddenly immolated, frozen solid or stunned into immobility lost interest in fighting for some reason. Increase Additional Effect Power would make those effects even more powerful. Richter moved on to the other Talent that branched off from Increase Weapon Enchantment.
You have purchased the Talent: Increase Additional Effect Chance for 20 Talent Points. The additional effects of an enchantment (eg Burning from Fire Damage) are now more likely to trigger. Secondary effects are +25% more likely and Tertiary effects are +10% more likely. You are currently Rank I in Increase Additional Effect Chance. Progressing to Rank II will cost 40 Talent Points.
You have: 85 Talent Points remaining.
The sphere lit up, same as the first. This time when the fog rolled back, however, it revealed a new Talent. Richter’s earlier irritation faded because he saw now that he’d been right. The filaments from the Talents he had just purchased led to the same sphere. He had just needed to buy them both in order to reveal it. As he read about the new Talent, the ghost of a smile crossed his face. It had been worth it.
Congratulations! You have uncovered a new Talent: Advance in Rank I. Every enchantment you know will be able to be enchanted by you at one rank higher than would otherwise be possible. Cost: 40 Talent Points.
For forty Talent Points every enchantment he knew, or would come to know, could be used at a higher rank! As excited as he was, he made himself calm down and think. Forty Talent Points was no small amount. Even with all the bonuses from his Limitless ability, he only received thirty Talent Points per level. It was also much harder to level now than it used to be. His eyes scanned the rest of his Talent tree, but he felt like this was the right choice. Richter wasn’t one to hesitate. He made his choice.
You have purchased the Talent: Advance in Rank I. +1 to rank of all enchantments. You are currently Rank I in Advance in Rank. Progressing to Rank II will cost 80 Talent Points.
You have: 45 Talent Points remaining.
As soon as he bought the Talent, another window appeared.
Know This! All known enchantments are increased in rank by +1 due to your Talent Advance in Rank. Your known enchantments without this bonus are:
Name (cost)
Level/Rank
Base Effect per Rank
WEAPONS
WEAPONS
WEAPONS
Attack +1 (5)
STATIC
Increases attack by +1
Freeze (3)
I/IV
+1 Cold Damage (+2 vs Fire)
+1% chance to Freeze
Life Attack (2)
I/III
+1 Life Damage (+2 vs Death)
Ignore Defense (3)
I/I
Ignores +2% of Target’s Defense
Goblin Slaying (3)
I/IV
+6% Damage vs Goblins
Dark Attack (3)
I/I
+1 Dark Damage (+2 vs Light)
Beast Slaying (3)
I/III
+6% Damage vs Beasts
Sonic Damage
(Level I: 3)
(Level II: 4)
I/III
+1 Earth Damage (+2 vs Air, +2.5 vs Crystalline)
+1% chance to Disarm
II/II
+2 Earth Damage (+4 vs Air, +6 vs Crystalline)
+2% chance to Disarm
+1% chance to Shatter
Multishot (5)
I/II
Creates 1 extra projectile upon being shot
Confusion (2)
I/I
+1% chance to cause Confusion
ARMOR
ARMOR
ARMOR
Earth Resistance (2)
I/I
Increases Earth Resistance by +1%
Defense +2 (10)
STATIC
Increases Defense by +2
Increase Movement Speed (4)
I/II
Increases Movement Speed by 1%
Increase Unarmed Attack Damage (3)
I/I
Increases Unarmed Attack Damage by 5%
GENERAL
GENERAL
GENERAL
Durability (2)
I/I
Increases Durability by +10
Some of the enchantments had colored backgrounds to indicate what spell schools they came from. Some apparently were generic though, which made Richter wonder if that meant there were some that even his Essence Specialty couldn’t provide. If the enchantments weren’t based on spells, how could he learn them? He shook his head. Just one more matter to be worried about at another time.
There was another prompt waiting to be read that showed the enchantments that were contained in the Forge of H
eavens that he hadn’t learned yet.
Name (cost)
Level/Rank
Base Effect per Rank
WEAPONS
WEAPONS
WEAPONS
Tracking (2)
I/I
Struck creatures leave an obvious trail for 250 yards
Analysis (4)
I/I
Know information about struck creature. Depth of knowledge dependent upon multiple factors including, but not limited to, rank of enchantment, level of creature, etc.
Mana Stealing (3)
I/I
2 mana stolen per hit
Metal Decay (4)*
* Can also apply to Armor
I/I
0.1 points of durability damage per charge expended
ARMOR
ARMOR
ARMOR
Shockwave (10)
I/I
Increases Spell Strength of Shockwave by +5 (base 5)
Darkvision (2)
I/I
Provides 10 yards of Darkvision
Increase Attack Speed (4)
I/I
Increases Attack Speed by 1%
For just forty points, every one of his enchantments had jumped a rank. Of course, that didn’t mean that he had to enspell anything up to its max rank. In all honesty, he probably wouldn’t, due to a lack of captured souls. The fact that he now had the option to make more powerful enchantments though was awesome! Mana Stealing and Confusion in particular had been neglected by him for far too long, and Multishot could also be powerful.
He turned his attention back to his Talents. One of the dwarven smiths had called out that he would have an item ready to be enspelled soon. Richter only had thirty-seven TPs left. There was a wide array of Talents left to choose from, but his gaze was pulled inexorably towards the one Talent he’d had his eye on for months. It was the high cost that had always kept him away. The fifty Talent Points required were actually threatening to stymie him again. He felt like Ralphie on Christmas Eve. The object of his desire was right in front of him, but a ruddy-faced asshole had just told him he’d shoot his eye out. Fuck it, he thought. Even though he hadn’t wanted to do it, he used his Specialist Talent again.
You have used Talent Point Conversion IV. By expending 175,000 experience, you have now gained: 25 Talent Points.
All experience earned will suffer a 0.5x penalty until this XP is repaid.
You have: 70 Talent Points remaining.
If you’re going to fuck yourself, might as well go deep. Richter purchased enough Talent Points for two acquisitions and a few left over besides. The penalty was really going to chafe for a while, but he knew it was worth the burn as he finally bought the Talent.
You have purchased the Talent: Increase Number of Enchantments for 50 Talent Points. Allows for a second enchantment to be placed on a single item. Attempting to create such an enchantment greatly increases the chances of the enchantment failing to take hold in whatever object you are working upon. All enchantable objects are still bound by the same rules of enchantment size and slots. You are currently Rank I in Increase Number of Enchantments. Progressing to Rank II will cost 100 Talent Points.
You have: 20 Talent Points remaining.
And while he was at it, might as well look at that bucket list…
You have chosen to unlock the enchantment for: Weak Life Aura. This enchantment can be applied to multiple mediums: Armor, Weapons, and Items. You must choose which medium you wish to unlock. Unlocking further mediums will require separate purchases with Talent Points.
Richter chose “Armor.”
You have now unlocked the (Armor) enchantment: Life Aura
Enchantment Size: Unknown
Enchantment School: Life
You are currently at 0/4000 of the mana cost to learn this enchantment.
Effects: Unknown
You have: 17 Talent Points remaining.
He clapped his hands together and said the words his smiths had come to expect, “Let’s enchant some shit!”
CHAPTER 29 – Day 142 – Kuborn 32, 0 AoC
He walked up to one of the smiths that was putting the finishing touches on a spiked mace. The spikes added another point of damage to the mace’s base attack. It was the only weapon Schematic the village smiths knew for maces. Krom had been in his ear before about needing to acquire better Schematics for weapons and armor. When Richter had asked why the smith didn’t just make a flanged mace or any other type, Krom had responded that specific guidelines needed to be followed to ensure that the gear gained certain properties. Without the specific process, the mace would just be a fancy version of the base round-ball version.
Seeing his liege lord standing nearby, the dwarf stepped back with a pleased smile on his face, “Will there be anything else, my lord?”
The dwarf’s voice had a rolling brogue similar to Krom’s but much less pronounced. Hearing him speak brought the cantankerous Smith to Richter’s mind. He hoped the salt-and-pepper dwarf would return from his Trial soon. Having so many of the village’s skilled men and women absent as they tried to earn their Professions had greatly hindered the efficiency of the village. It had really illustrated the importance of quality help to Richter. Despite Krom being gone, he was thankful for all the smiths that were still grinding away. It was reassuring to know that his village was not wholly reliant on any one man or woman.
Richter looked at the smith awaiting his response, “This is great, Caellen.” He didn’t even need to use Analyze to know the dwarf’s name. That was happening more and more. The hundreds of people that made up his village were really starting to become like family. Of course, the fact that he spent time every day in the Forge of Heavens enchanting and working on his own meager Smithing skills helped as well.
The dwarf walked off to get a drink of water and Richter examined his first enchantment victim for the day.
You have found:
High Steel Spiked Mace
Attack: 14-21
Durability: 42/42
Item Class: Common
Quality: Exceptional
Weight: 2.6 kg
Traits: +10% Damage vs Spell Barriers
Despite being less skilled than Krom, the dwarf’s thirty-one skill levels and the exceptional quality of the weapon increased its base damage by 61%. He accessed his enchantment interface and got to work. There were only seven minutes after an item was completed that Richter could enspell it without serious penalties to the final enchantment. The chaos seed sprinkled a measure of powdered crystal onto the metal.
Do you wish to enchant High Steel Spiked Mace? Yes or No.
Richter quickly chose “Yes,” and more prompts appeared
This weapon has 36 enchantment slots (base 15 from weapon quality + 15 from Journeyman rank in Enchanting + 20% for Increase Enchantment Potential).
A list of Richter’s enchantments appeared again and he decided to play with his latest toy.
The enchantment cost of Sonic Damage, Level II is 4. You can reach the 3rd rank of this enchantment (Base +1 Advance in Rank). What rank would you like to enchant this item to? 1, 2 or 3?
Richter chose “3,” and another notification appeared showing how strong the final enchantment would be.
Final Yields from maximizing this enchantment are as follows:
9-10 Earth Damage* (base 6 + 48% for Enchanting skill + 5% for Increase Enchantment Strength + 10% for Increase Weapon Enchantment)
7-8% chance to unleash the secondary enchantment, Disarm (base 6 + 25% for Increase Additional Effect Chance)
3% chance to unleash tertiary effect (base 3 + 10% for Increase Additional Effect Chance)
* +200% vs Air, +300% vs Crystalline
The cost to maximize this enchantment is 28 Enchantment Points.
Do you wish to power this enchantment? Yes or No?
Everything that Richter had seen so far was basically consistent with other items he’d enspelled in the past. Now, to his delight, there was more te
xt right after the last question.
If you wish to add an additional enchantment, it must be empowered simultaneously. Be warned this greatly increases the chances of enchantment failure. Do you wish to add a second enchantment? Yes or No?
Richter barely read the warning before choosing “Yes” again. His list of enchantments reappeared, but this time Sonic Damage was greyed out. Clearly, he couldn’t put the same enchantment on the same item twice, not that he’d want to do so. Not a problem for me though, Richter thought with a smile. I’m a fucking Essence Enchanter, I’ve got loads of enchantments to choose from!
There were eight enchantment slots left to fill. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to bring a lil’ more pain. He decided to use something that had a base cost of two. Not many of his enchantments offered that so the choice was obvious. He selected Life Attack.
The enchantment cost of Life Attack, Level I is 2. You can reach the 3rd rank of this enchantment (Base +1 Advance in Rank). What rank would you like to enchant this item to? 1, 2 or 3?
Richter chose “3” again.
Final Yields from maximizing this enchantment are as follows:
9-10 Earth Damage* (base 6 + 48% for Enchanting skill + 5% for Increase Enchantment Strength + 10% for Increase Weapon Enchantment)
7-8% chance to unleash the secondary enchantment, Disarm (base 6 + 25% for Increase Additional Effect Chance)
3% chance to unleash tertiary effect, Shatter (base 3 + 10% for Increase Additional Effect Chance)
* +200% vs Air, +300% vs Crystalline
4-5 Life Damage* (base 3 + 48% for Enchanting skill + 5% for Increase Enchantment Strength + 10% for Increase Weapon Enchantment)