Rise of the Devourer

Chapter 41: Victory Spoils

A soothing sensation enveloped Noah, like he was floating within an endless ocean. His eyelids fluttered, opening to a white ceiling above him, as a gentle, pale green glow bathed his body.

Trying to move his limbs, Noah realized that he was, in fact, floating in a pool of water. Pulling himself upright, he looked down, realizing he had been stripped of his clothes, with only his shorts left on him to preserve some of his dignity.

His gaze drifted to the spear in his hand, clutched tightly in his grasp. The spear itself had changed, its deep red color was now interlaced with stripes and patterns of black that ran all across it. Noah felt a strange sense of connection to the weapon, like it was a newly gained limb to his body.

“And the fortunate fool awakens.”

Noah glanced sideways, watching Vati seated nearby. The giant peacock looked at him with the usual arrogance, but there was more curiosity present in the gaze than there had been before. “I must admit, I did not expect you to survive.”

“Why am I in a pool?” Noah asked, looking at the pale green marbled tub he was in.

“Avera put you there, when I told her you were about to die. It’s a tub filled with pure lifeforce,” Vati replied.

“I should thank her,” Noah murmured, looking down at the green water. Grasping the marbled side of the tub, he pulled himself over, the water splashing down his body with stinging pain as he made his way out onto the floor.

“What happened to my clothes?” Noah asked.

“The Rot ate them. I don’t believe you realize how you look right now, mortal. Perhaps you should glance back at the water to take a look,” Vati said.

Noah frowned, before he moved back to the tub, glancing into the rippling water surface.

As the water settled down, his own image became clear. Noah stared at himself in surprise.

The black skin up to his elbow now rose all the way to his shoulder, with dark stripes reaching into his chest. Stripes of black ran across the left side of his neck as well, looking like strange eldritch tattoos. But the most striking change was his eye. His left eye was pitch black, the white portion having turned a deep dark shade, while his iris had turned a crimson red, glowing ominously.

“Holy shit,” Noah muttered, touching his own face as he looked at himself. There were red scar marks all over his body, crimson patches of skin from where the Crimson Rot had afflicted him as he was unconscious.

“I take it, you are not a fan of your new appearance?” Vati asked.

“I don’t know. On one hand, it looks badass. On the other hand, I look so freaking evil it’s not even funny,” Noah said, pulling his eye to see if his entire eyeball had turned black.

“Your familiar worked hard to keep you alive, even as the Crimson Rot continued to devour your body.”

Noah nodded, stepping back, as he inspected how he felt. There was a burning sensation running through his entire body with each heartbeat, but other than the strange heat, he felt perfectly fine. Better than ever, if anything.

“I feel like I just took the longest nap of my life,” Noah said.

“You were unconscious for nearly a week, so I believe that would be correct,” Vati said.

“What?” Noah blurted. “I was out for an entire week?”

“I believe so, but I am not one to keep track of mortal time. It should be three days on Erandir due to the time dilation,” Vati said, glancing at Noah.

“Oh wow. That is… a bit jarring,” Noah said, before glancing at the spear in his hand. “I hope it was worth it.”

“You have a Growth item, child. There are few of these in all of Erandir. It is a weapon capable of becoming a partner for life. Do not merely treat it like a tool, it is more akin to a limb that will remain with you for life. Should this spear break, you will forever feel its missing presence, like an aching gap in your soul,” Vati said.

Noah nodded, looking at his spear, before he used Identify on the weapon again.

[Spear of Crimson End (Common/Growth)]

Progress to Uncommon Rank: 0%

A spear infused with Crimson Rot. The spear is bonded to Noah Brown, and will grow along with him. Applies [Crimson Rot - I] on enemies.

Noah looked at the spear with satisfaction, feeling pleased with his new weapon. Putting it away in his inventory, he stretched his limb, before deciding to take a look at all his new status notifications.

He reached out to his Astral script, changing the display settings to show his entire level ups in a single notification. He felt a slight resistance before the UI changed, displaying itself in front of him

Paths:

[Exsanguinator] level 22 → 42.

[Astralwalker] level 25 → 41.

[Void Hunter] level 21 → 39.

Abilities:

[Blood Drain] level 7 → 13.

[Bleed] level 8 → 13.

[Lifeblood] level 6 → 9.

[Blink] level 14 → 16.

[Dimensional Pocket] level 6 → 7.

[Obliterate] level 8 → 12.

[Void Hunter’s Eyes] level 15 → 22.

[Abyssal Symbiote] level 10 → 16.

[Blood Drain] has ranked up to Intermediate!

[Bleed] has ranked up to Intermediate!

[Obliterate] has ranked up to Intermediate!

Skills:

[Pain Tolerance] level 6 → 11.

[Spear Proficiency] level 10 → 17.

[Rot Resistance] gained!

[Rot Resistance] level 0 → 6.

[Pain Tolerance] has ranked up to Intermediate!

Sub-Attributes:

Ability Damage: D2 → D5.

Special Damage: F8 → E3.

Reflex: A0 → A1.

Vitality: B1 → B4.

Endurance: D0 → D1.

Physical Resistance: D8 → C0.

Attributes:

Power: 78 → 116.

Agility: 74 → 94.

Constitution: 80 → 101.

Mystic: 86 → 142.

Free Attribute Points: 12 → 120.

Noah stared at the long list, feeling overwhelmed by the many notifications. Even after he’d made it concise, the changes took up half of his vision to display.

“From your expression, I believe the improvements were substantial?” Vati asked.

Noah gave a nod.

“As is to be expected. You absorbed the spirit of a Scarlet Valkyrie. One who had survived the war with the Crimson Heart. Merely just that alone would result in great boons for anyone,” Vati replied. “I would suggest taking your time to go over what changes have occurred. You are reaching closer to your rank up to Grade E, where your Paths will strengthen, and provide you with new abilities. Which abilities you get there, will be influenced by your choices now.”

“Got it,” Noah said, as he returned to his screen. Going through the list, he decided to first take a look at all the skills that had ranked up.

Reaching to the top, he opened the description for Bleed.

[Bleed (Rare, Intermediate) - level 13]

Blood is what you reap, and blood your enemies will shed. Inflict the [Bleed-II] status effect on enemies. Can be applied to weapons.

Noah read the description, noting [Bleed] had gone up to [Bleed-II], closing the menu, he moved on to the next ability.

[Blood Drain (Rare, Intermediate) - lvl 13]

You can draw upon the blood of others to heal yourself or others near you. Increases healing regeneration and can negate blood loss and bleed.

So I can heal others now, too. I wonder what the range on that is.

Noah reached out to the ability, feeling a new sense. If he wanted, he could direct the healing to someone else as well, though with lower efficiency.

[Obliterate (Epic, Intermediate) - lvl 12]

Channel the energies of the void to annihilate everything that may come in your path. Can now be launched as well.

Noah read the description, whistling. Channeling obliterate into his clawed arm, he found the dark jet black claws shimmering with a greater intensity. He knew if he wanted, he could send five arms of void mana from his claws. Feeling pleased, Noah let obliterate dissipate, as he moved on to his skills.

[Pain Tolerance (Intermediate) - lvl 11]

You are adept at ignoring pain. You may choose to become numb to pain for a short while. All ignored pain will be experienced at once when this ability runs out.

Noah looked at the ability, feeling a bit concerned. Turning his pain off could be quite useful, but completely turning it off was a risky thing to do as well. Pain was important to tell him how things were, and if he took it too far, he could become immobilized by the bottled up pain hitting him all at once.

Something to keep in mind I suppose.

Closing the menu, he moved on to his newest skill addition.

[Rot Resistance (Basic) - lvl 6]

You’ve survived the deadliest of Rots, and now your body is resistant to its effects.

Noah closed the menu, taking a breath. From the corner of his vision, he could still see the [Crimson Rot] affliction in his display, telling him the Rot was not purged from his body. The burning pain every time his heart beat let him know as much, too, but lifeblood and his resistance combined seemed capable of holding it back for now.

Finally, Noah opened his attributes. He had 70 free ones, which was far more than he was going to put. Selecting twenty five attributes, Noah distributed them between Agility and Constitution.

Agility: 94 → 108.

Constitution: 101 → 114.

Noah felt a rush pass through him, as the attributes changes happened. He checked his free attributes, noting 45 still left and decided to put them in after he’d had some time to test all his upgraded abilities.

“I do wonder how I don’t have mana backlash,” Noah said, inspecting his own body.

“Because the battle did not occur in reality,” Vati replied.

“Right. That makes sense”

“This was amusing. I forgive your intrusion for the entertainment you provided, now leave me alone to my slumber and go bother Avera. You are her guest after all, not mine,” Vati said, rising up.

“Thanks for your help, Vati,” Noah said, before he gave the divine bird a bow.

A door appeared behind him, glowing brightly. Noah stared at it for a moment, before stepping through to the other side.

“Welcome Noah. I heard of your little stunt,” Avera said, sitting on a bench across Aurelia. A magical board was set in front of them, with little pieces that moved and jumped and cast magical spells. It took him a moment to realize they were playing some fantasy version of chess.

“I did tell you he was an idiot,” Aurelia said, as her own pieces moved, the troops shooting arrows at Avera’s army.

“The boy does like to test his luck. Perhaps it’s fortunate that he has quite a bit of it. But luck is a fickle lady, you should not rely on it,” Avera said, taking a sip from her goblet as a sly smile hung on her lips.

Briefly, Aurelia glanced at Noah, giving him a once over. “You look awful. That eye and arm are going to be really hard to explain,” she said, scrunching up her nose.

“I think you mean badass,” Noah said, puffing his chest out, though he knew he’d need to quickly find some clothes once he was out. Or hide while Aurelia brought him some.

“I see your familiar modified your physique. These are not changes that will revert easily, so be careful of where you tread, lest your humanity may be lost one day.”

“Can that happen?” Noah asked, feeling slightly concerned. His powers were growing, but every step seemed to be taking him in a direction he wasn’t sure could be called entirely human.

“It already has, Noah. You are not really entirely human at this point. Humans do not have Crimson Rot running in their veins, or Abyssal parasites embodying their arms. The rate at which you are growing comes with its fair share of sacrifice. No power comes without a price. Just be aware of what you’re willing to pay,” Avera said, as she took another sip.

Noah watched the board, seeing Aurelia’s troops advancing when a powerful gust began to rise. A mini tornado appeared on the battlefield, as Aurelia cursed, realizing she had stepped into a trap. The spell wiped her troops, flinging her soldiers outside the board as they vanished into little motes of mana.

“I surrender,” Aurelia said, and Avera laughed in delight.

“It was a good battle!” She exclaimed, though Aurelia did not seem to think so, as she grumbled under her breath.

“You two seem to have gotten a lot closer,” Noah muttered, walking up to the two women.

“We had a chance to bond while you had gone to knock on death’s door. Your friend is a fascinating woman, if you ever try to get to know her,” Avera said, leaning back on her chair.

Noah glanced at Aurelia, who looked back at him with an expression he couldn’t quite read. “Yeah, she’s definitely interesting,” Noah replied.

Aurelia stood up from her seat, walking up to Noah. Avera followed behind, though her steps were far more graceful, as the wind rustled with each step she took.

“I believe the time to part has come. I would not be a good goddess if I ignore my believers for too long,” Avera said.

Aurelia nodded, standing up as she bowed her head deeply. “It was a great honor to get to know you, goddess.”

Noah walked closer, presenting his hand to Avera. She looked back at him, before grasping his hand, as they shook.

“It was nice to meet you,” Noah said.

“Indeed, it was. And we have fate tying us still, so I’m certain we’ll meet again. I bid you two farewell on your journey. You have my blessings upon you,” the goddess of Wind and Knowledge said, a gust of air blowing through them.

You’ve gained Avera’s Blessing!

You will learn things twice as fast for a short period of time.

The Wind will guide you on your path!

Noah stared at the notification, as the goddess smiled. With a wave of her hand, the world rippled around them.

“‘Till we meet again,” Avera said, as the world blinked around them.

With a startle, Noah found himself standing back in the church of Avera. But before he could even reorient himself, a shout came, followed by someone jumping on him and tackling him to the ground.

“What the—“ Noah exclaimed, noticing Aurelia had dodged her attacker, but now stood with her arms raised above her head, as she slowly kneeled on the ground.

Noah felt his head being pressed to the floor, as shackles clanked around his wrist, draining him of all mana near instantly.

“It’s a void beast!” Someone shouted, a spell blasting over Noah’s head.

“Stand down!” A voice shouted, shaking the air with the power in it. “You two are under arrest for trespassing and unauthorized entry of the Windrest Astral Rift!” a tall Drailith shouted, walking closer as his draconian eye looked down upon the two of them.

Gulping, Noah looked up at the Drailith as he realized how he must look with his eye and arm. He tried to use Identify, but found his ability refusing to work.

You are being suppressed. Astral System locked.

Noah read the notification, feeling his gut sink, as the Drailith crouched next to him, looking him in the eye.

“Take them to the holding cell. We’ll present them to the governor.”

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