Above are intricate stained-glass murals depicting some sort of battle. The room is quite an impressive size, being about half as big as the cavernous room we had just come from.
I’m woken up from my observation by a very clearly annoyed voice.
“Sir please clear the warp pad for the next person.”
I look back to see a floating humanoid with pale gray skin and fully black eyes staring at me with a displeased look.
I nod somewhat embarrassed, and limp off the warp pad to Garut, who was waiting patiently for me on the side, Gael still in hand.
Gael then gives me a shoulder to help support me as we slowly make our way out of the church-esque place.
As we make it outside, the sheer scale of the place makes my jaw drop. Not only does the cathedral stand at least half a size larger than the system generated building on earth, it’s also almost double the width.
It’s clear now that there are probably tens of those same rooms, each one fitted with the same amount of warp pads as the one we had just come from. Lines of people leave and enter from all sorts of various entrances scattered around the building’s exterior.
“So this the Temple of Archania?” I ask in awe.
Garut then shakes his head and points towards the center of the city, past the hundred of thousands of various buildings, all impressive in their own right. There I find a large mountain, or rather, a cathedral.
It dwarfs what I even thought was physically possible, with it beating easily one hundred times the size of the building we just left.
My mind struggling to comprehend the sheer scale of the building in question. After a few moments where my body is paralyzed in shock, I exclaim loudly.
“Holy shit! Do giants live there or something?! Wha-what do I even… what the hell?!” I say, completely overwhelmed.
Garut just nods before beginning to walk in a seemingly random direction. I catch up quickly with a few one-footed hops, and use the large man’s shoulder as a support once again.
Walking through the city only heightens my amazement, as I stare at the impossibly sized houses that, while not even close to competing with the scale of the Temple of Archania, are still impressive in their own right.
Another thing that quickly catches my attention is the sheer amount of diversity among this city’s population. Everywhere I look I see a new race that I’ve never seen before.
Everything from a strange blobs, to humanoids with every shade of skin, every type of facial feature, and every combination of limbs and appendages you can imagine.
I even saw a guy… girl? Person, that seemed to change appearance with ever look. They change from a young boy human boy no older than ten, to a floating person covered in writhing tentacles. Upon further inspection, it begins to straight up hurt my eyes to look at them for too long.
‘Weird…’ I think to myself.
With the amount of culture shock I’m experiencing right now, my mind grown more and more exhausted. That, combined with the fact that not only did I just go through the most stressful fight of my life, I also haven’t even really come close to processing Uncle Moren’s death… and I’m not even sure I want to.
To keep my mind away from the thought of Uncle Moren, I look at my status notifications that I haven’t had the chance to look at yet.
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‘As per usual, my status notifications never disappoint. Okay let’s see a lot to go over here. First let’s get all this AP out of the way.’
I have a total of 33 AP to spend. There’s a lot of ways I can spend it, but I think I have the right idea so far. That being, sticking most of my points into willpower and dexterity, while investing a small amount into perception and agility.
My new Limitless trait, if anything, incentivizes me to not invest practically anything into endurance, as my endurance will increase when I really need it all the way to my highest stat.
‘Quite the boon if I do say so myself.’
So, following my line of reasoning, I put ten points each into willpower and dexterity, leaving me with thirteen. I invest six points into perception and the rest into agility.
I then take a look at my full status.
Name
Rowan Attain
Level
18
Class
Legacy: Skill-less Swordsman
Race
Human/Janin(+)
Formless Skin – Allows one to adapt their skin to take on the properties of any creature of any realm in the multiverse. Requires in depth knowledge and analysis of said creature’s physiology to work. Warning: Does not change musculature or internal processes.
Attributes
Strength – 20 (+2)
Agility – 56 (+2)(+8)
Dexterity(+) – 86 (+2)(+4)(+8)
Endurance – 21 (+2)
Perception – 36 (+2)
Intelligence – 22 (+2)
Willpower – 79 (+2)
Masteries
Common
Swords – 26
Temperance – 19
Stealth – 14
Sprinting – 9
Exercise – 7
Thievery – 3
Deception – 4
Killing – 12
Blending In – 1
Misdirection – 8
Monster Hunting – 10
Spirit Control – 5
Item Understanding – 3
Weapon Throwing (Upgradeable) - 1
Uncommon
Assassination – 2
Struggle - 1
Skills
Feats
Early Killer - Very slight increased progression towards your Killing Mastery.
Swords Prodigy - Slight increased progression towards your Swords Mastery. +1 to all Stats.
Temperance Prodigy - Slight increased progression towards your Temperance Mastery. +1 to all Stats.
Early Enlightenment - One trait can be chosen related to your core.
Reversal – One trait can be chosen related to your recent ambush.
Punching Up – +1 to all stats.
Starter’s Blade – +3 AP, +3 to dexterity.
Smart Spender – Save all of your SP until level 10. +1 to all stats.
Novice Spirit Controller – Very slight increased progression towards your Spirit Control mastery. Any cultivation abilities are slightly enhanced. +5 willpower and +5 intelligence.
Connected Mind – You may upgrade your race or add a new attribute to your status. +5 intelligence and + 5 perception.
Boundless Determination – Grants the Limitless trait. +10 Willpower and +10 Endurance.
Core
Sword – Your sword resonates with omnipresence.
Traits
Indomitable Swordsman - Receive a slight boost to perception when in a tough situation. Scales based on willpower.
Meager Swordsman - Increased progression towards your Swords Mastery while living humbly.
Sword of Silence - Harder for enemies to detect your sword coming. Very slight increased progression towards Stealth.
Dedication to the Sword – +2 to all stats when holding a sword, -2 to all stats when not. Increased progression towards Swords Mastery, decreased progression towards all other weapon and combat masteries.
Willful Gains – Permanently gain 5% of your willpower in any stat. Affect continues to scale with willpower. (+3 Dexterity)
Skill-less – All SP gained up to this point and onwards will be transferred into 2 AP each. Unable to acquire skills through any means. Bonus (2 * Tier) AP gained per level.
Sword of Will – Gain 10% of your willpower two other stats. Can be changed once a year. (+6 Dexterity/Agility)
State of Concentration - When you achieve perfect concentration under stressful circumstances, increase your agility and perception by 1.5 times. Duration is based on willpower.
Limitless – In extreme circumstance, your endurance will become equal to your highest stat.
Items
Solace’s Soul Shard (Two uses left)
I marvel at the progress I’ve made in these short few weeks, though I wish all this progress didn’t cost me so much stress… and Uncle Moren.
Unfortunately, this time I’m all out of notifications to keep my mind off his death, and I’m left sullenly stewing in my thoughts. Finally after what must have been a few hours of walking, we stop.
I look up to see us standing in front of a seemingly normal-looking, ranch-style house. In fact, it’s so normal looking that it stands out among the sea of extravagant and large house around it.
Garut knocks on the door, and we quietly wait a few moment. Just as I begin to think no one’s home, the door swings open to reveal a stout, grandmotherly looking dwarf.
“Who might you two be?” She asks confused and somewhat weary.
Garut then hold the unconscious Gael outwards so that the woman can see him.
“Oh my system?! Is that Gael?!”