Chapter Eight: Ymir

Corvac woke up to the dim rays of dawn's sunlight. He felt well rested, despite the fact that he'd likely only have slept for a mere few hours. He groaned, the thought of needing to manage a workable sleeping schedule being utterly impossible with how his skills functioned. He'd be exiting the dungeon with a pep in his step and a desire to taste the surface' life, yet if he were to function by a normal adventurer's schedule, that'd be him showing up at midnight to an active nightlife and a tired or sleeping goddess. Yesterday's activity showed its cost with the dead-to-the-world corpse sleeping next to him, his Goddess having stressed, worried, and then had her world rocked yesterday. She was likely going to be sleeping in for quite a while now.

Corvac slipped out of bed quietly, his tired goddess unable to muster the necessary cognitive ability to catch his likely clumsy stealth, before he then softly closed the blinds and made the room dark and then snuck out. He'd check on her later, and hopefully be well rested.

As for himself, well, he had work to do still. He'd only used one pinch of his material requirements for Wyldfire last dive, but he figured it'd do well to make a good count of what was used and what remained after every dive.

Despite yesterday's excitement, he was diving again today, and then the next day, and then the next, and so on and so forth. He'd likely take two days off to research all the necessary medical skills for delivering a child successfully on his weekends, take some time to wind-down and adjust to not being a murder loving sadistic Chaos Wizard. He was well aware that what went down in the dungeon wasn't exactly the picture of someone well adjusted for average suburban life; but hey, he wasn't exactly the average suburban guy. His lover was a Goddess, he'd be raising a demi-god here soon, he had magic and skills that fucked with his head; there wasn't anything average about him, and he liked it that way. Being normal was feckin' gey is what that was; overrated and over-hyped. He liked being the murder-happy novice Chaos Wizard that he was, anything less wouldn't be a respectable father to a future demi-god of The Morrigan. Whatever fool thought they could fuck around with his daughter wouldn't just earn the ire of the Celtic Goddess of War and Death, but also a powerful Chaos Wizard who'd banish said fool to the Warp for looking at his daughter wrong.

'Kids a demi-god, so she'll obviously need to know what the kill-spots on all the mortal races are. Hmm, hopefully by the time she's ready to start swinging swords I can hire someone to teach her. That 'sword princess' gal I hear everyone mumbling about sounds like a right good teacher. Likely expensive though.' Corvac went into father mode, thinking about a daughter that wasn't even a fetus right now. Eventually he managed to pull his thoughts out of the future and focus more on the present.

'Ah, right. Loot!' Corvac grinned as he went to find his satchel leaned up against the couch. There he started to pull out a massive amount of Goblin Claws and pebble sized magic stones, of which filled about five Satchel worths of space, all of it stored on the kitchen counter like a dragon's horde of black claws and purple rocks. Many of which fell on the floor to roll about.

Corvac gave a satisfied hum before pulling out Morrigan's many satchel bags for buying groceries and started to fill them with his loot. Once he had filled three of the far larger bags, Corvac awkwardly carried them and wondered how Supporters did this shit in the dungeon. He then exited to the milling streets and started on his way to the Guild.

Once there he waited his turn for exchange and handed a teller all his bags. He waited fifteen minutes and soon his name was called and he was handed a heavy bag of Valis and a bill totalling 65,700 Valis, of which was 73,000 Valis, but the Guild took ten-percent taxes. Fucking bastards. They taxed them, then they resold them at a premium. Damned bastards.

Corvac was grumbling about the Guild's greedy ways all the way back home. There he threw the bag of Valis on the kitchen counter and stretched. He then stroked his chin and decided he'd catch up on some chores.

He went out and started to purchase more stock for Wyldfire, which was mainly just him buying more Potassium Nitrate as he had plenty of Sulfur and Charcoal and then checking in on various jewelers across Orario. He purchased significantly more Emerald Dust than this time, and thanks to that now had several coin pouches bursting with his necessary materials for casting Wyldfire.

'Dear Lord, is it hard to resist the temptation to just cast Wyldfire right here.' Corvac was currently dealing with Impulsive Thoughts tm as he was meandering through the central street of Orario. There was some fool coughing on his right and some whiny Palum or child; or both, was whining and crying to their Palum or fellow child. He managed to escape that hell and then came back home with some coffee grounds and a kit for making coffee.

Which was good as he saw his Goddess sitting at the counter looking miserable.

"Looks like the bastard's back home." Morrigan hissed. "I can't feel my legs. Guess who's fault that is?" She kicked, her legs doing an impressive impression of being jelly as she wiggled them while sitting at the counter. "I almost fell down the stairs! I had to do this embarrassing crab walk down with my arms." He could see the indignity on her face, and the creep of embarrassment at admitting to it.

Corvac couldn't keep the utter amusement off his face, nor the choked back laugh that was caught in his throat; earning a death glare from his Goddess.

He smiled in response and tried to assuage her anger, "I brought some Coffee." He said easily and started to boil some water on the stove and readied the coffee papers for filtering.

Morrigan gave a satisfied, but still cross hum. A comfortable silence fell in the house as a homey smell of quality coffee grounds filled the air. Soon a cup was placed before Morrigan who sampled the black liquid and smiled contentedly.

"Oh? Like it black?" He asked.

She smiled demurely. "I like bitter things. Sue me." She whispered.

Corvac shrugged, "Not judging, dear." He added plenty of sugar and cream to his own and they shared a coffee over the kitchen table, making small talk about his day and jokingly complaining about last night.

"How long will you be gone tonight?" Morrigan asked.

Corvac leaned back in his chair, "I can't really tell you. I'm planning on going deeper for sure, which will add a level of difficulty and travel time." He sighed as he mentally went through the maps he'd found at the guild of the fourth and fifth floor. "There's more spawns as well, Kobolds, Goblins, Dungeon Lizards, Frog Shooters. Nothing to worry about even on the lower floors if something runs up, I could deal with it."

Morrigan frowned, "War Shadows, Purple Moths?" She asked.

Corvac frowned back, "War Shadows should be easy to deal with. I found I had some sort of sixth sense for danger, like I had eyes on the back of my head. Maybe a new skill? That, and I use my Bolts as a light source, so sneak attacks will be less effective against me. The moths though." He tapped his finger against the table, "Poison is a big deal, one of my spell effects is poison and I watched goblins fall apart to it. I'm honestly on the fence about getting Abnormal Resistance before getting Mage for my Level Up."

Morrigan hummed back, going into thought. "I'd recommend that path as well. Mage has wonderful benefits, but you gain most of them with your staff, and that disgusting Arcane Mind Skill."

Corvac nodded, "Speaking of Skills and the like, I'd like to see what a day's benchmark of improvements looks like."

Morrigan smiled and nodded, a bit of childish glee entering her as she was excited to see his improvements and the story that was sung deep in the pits.

Corvac shucked off his robe and tunic, before finding a spot on the couch that was still soiled with their fluids. Morrigan sat on the small of his back and he felt a feeling of intense bliss chase its way through his body, a heady feeling of improvement singing through his soul and imposing its excavated potential upon his body. He heard a strangled moan from the goddess on his back, a hand fumbling with a page, before it was pressed against him and then handed to him with jittery movements.

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Corvac Forwitch

Level 1

STR: 133 H

END: 78 I

AGI: 117 H

DEX: 201 F

MAG: 376 E

Developmental Abilities:

-

Magic:

Chaos Bolt: A bolt of chaotic energy, one that takes on a random offensive effect.

"Chaos Bolt!"

(V,S,M) An eight pointed star of blackened iron. Not consumed upon cast. Must be worn or presented in some way.

Wyldfire: Call forth the green flames of Wyldfire, a toxic flame that corrodes metal, poisons wounds, and consumes everything in its path to spread as much destruction as possible. Wyldfire often has bizarre effects, at times freezing wounds, or burning the very lifeforce of those it licks with its flames.

"Wyldfire!"

(V,S,M) A pinch of powdered emerald dust and black powder. Consumed upon cast. Must be on person.

Prismatic Barrier: Summons forth a barrier (modular in shape and size, up to caster's determination) of shimmering rainbow light. Any magical attack that strikes the barrier is rebounded back towards the attacker. Attempting to pass through the barrier causes the trespasser to take a random offensive or deliberating effect corresponding to the shifting layers of color. The attack's power is determined by the size, shape, and mind given to the barrier. The barrier can be destroyed, one layer at a time in which there are seven through physical attacks. Weapons used in destroying the barrier take the offensive effect in turn of their wielder.

"Prismatic Barrier!"

(V,S,M) A piece of clear, transparent glass, no smaller than a fingernail. Not consumed upon cast. Must be worn or presented in some way.

Skills:

Chaos Wizard: Magics ignore magical resistance and nullification effects. Certain magics require material components to cast. Caster can move while casting.

Ymir: Natural ability to impregnate deities. Can give one skill and one magic to divinely born children. The child obtains a skill and magic derived from their mother's domains. This skill and magic is not removed and instead copied. Children collectively gain 1/10th of the father's gathered Excelia. Boosts Excelia gather rate dependent on how many half-divine children the father has. Immunity to charm.

Shillelagh: Imbue one's staff, club, or quarterstaff with magic. Adds half of Magic to Strength when attacking with the affected weapon. Causes the weapon to become a magical weapon if it already wasn't, dramatically increases the weapon's durability.

Arcane Mind: Mind is a measurement of 'mental fatigue' in a magic user. MAG is the amplifier of power applied to Mind spent in a spell. Feel only half as much mental fatigue when casting magic compared to other mages. Unlimited Spell Slots. Learn Magic by using magic.

Black Magics: When slaying a foe with magic or a magical item, the more painful and drawn out their suffering leads to increased Excelia gain. Every slain enemy causes the slayer to recover wounds and fatigue, both magical and physical with the more gruesome deaths leading to greater recovery. If well-rested and uninjured, one gains extra Excelia.

Hermit's Solitude: Greatly increases one's excelia gain when fighting alone. Scales according to Level difference and can increase further if outnumbered.

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"Hmm, carry the one…add the fish. Nine plus ten equals twenty one." Corvac muttered. "Seven hundred and ninety ninety status points! Stonks."

Corvac then read his new magic, Prismatic Barrier. It was a solid defensive magic, and one that was sorely needed. Corvac already had his utility 'magics' in the form of Black Magic, healing him and all of that, but healing wouldn't be necessary if he never took damage. The quick chant characteristic of the magic made it all the more viable, although with all its effects he imagined that there was likely a significant Mind cost with larger and more nuanced forms and shapes of the barriers he'd create.

Against warriors who rely on their fists or primary weapons, this barrier was gold, but against those like rogues and assassins…

'On second thought, my build is really vulnerable against rogues. In the 'rock, paper, scissors' of Warrior, Mage, and Rogue, Warrior crushes Rogue, I cover Warrior, and Rogue cuts me. This is made even worse by the fact that if someone manages to steal from me my components, or discovers my status through a Status thief, I could be at a real disadvantage if they focus on ridding me of my material components to cast spells. Powerful I may be, I am not without weakness.'

Corvac thought of his iron star, and knew that he needed to create more of them and to really go the entire Chaos Cultist route with his assembly. He needed iron stars everywhere, several charms of glass, and some way to store his Wyldfire powder without it getting all icky with blood or water. He knew there was a Water floor further down the line, and while Wyldfire would easily act like Greekfire and burn or freeze everything its cast within, he doesn't want to know what would happen if he were to try to cast such a thing with incorrect materials; water in this case.

Moving along, he gained two new skills this time, which was…surprising. He was sure they were rare.

'Why is my back wet?' Corvac wondered, hearing stifled moans coming from atop him, but his new skill drew his attention from whatever was happening behind him.

Ymir was cool. Its name was cool, its effects were cool, it was just all around awesome and physical or is this meta-physical proof; that he's going to be an awesome dad.

'Ymir created the world when he was slain by Odin, his bones the earth, his blood the ocean, his breath the air, and his eyes the sun and moon. A bunch of gross old-norse anatomy stuff gave birth to things like dwarves and elves and other shit too. Anyway, I can see that entire 'sacrificial vibe' it's going for with the Excelia drain, but it kind of revokes that with it rewarding me for having more kids. If I have ten kids, that's going to be 1% of my Excelia to all of them. Plus, will that be Level whatever-I-am-at-that-point Excelia, low-quality, high-quality? Shit's mysterious. Giving my kids skills is cool too. If I ever have a son I could give him Ymir too, tell him to go fuck Freya or something, get her to calm down. The fact that they'll be getting a skill from Morrigan is awesome though. The Morrigan, Goddess of Death, Magic, Prophecy and other cool stuff. Likely a cool skill and magic in there somewhere, right?'

Corvac moved on from Ymir and looked at Shillelagh. This skill synergized greatly with Black Magics, as now when he killed stuff via blunt force trauma, he'd gain its benefits. Besides that it was a general upgrade to his staff and also proof that his true calling all along was beating shit up with sticks.

Corvac grew alarmed when he felt a splash of liquid hit his back and then Morrigan started to shake violently. He cocked his head back, just in time to watch as Morrigan let out a raucous moan, her hand deep inside her cunt as she then collapsed forward and onto his back. She let out a tired groan this time as Corvac rolled to the side and let her rest on his chest, their legs binding together. She looked up at him, eyes lidded and satisfied, although there was a deep cloud of lust inside her.

"You look so handsome, covered in blood." She whispered softly and then moaned, "Mmm, that laugh. You looked so evil." His goddess giggled like a love sick maiden.

Corvac realized she must have seen some visions of him when he was fighting in the dungeon through the Falna. As a blessing designed to record the experiences of one's journey through the dungeon and life, a Goddess of Prophecy must have her ways to look through it in ways other divines couldn't.

"I'm glad you liked it, love." He frowned when he said the last word, a pang going through his heart.

"Something wrong?" Morrigan asked.

Corvac tried to smile, but he froze in response when he saw the unimpressed look she was giving him. He sighed and scratched his cheek, a bit ashamed.

"Come now, you can tell me anything, love." She whispered into his ear, making Corvac sigh and looked to the side.

"Do you think…we could get married?" He asked softly.

The goddess choked on air, her salacious vibe escaping with it as she stared at the man who'd effectively just proposed to her. "I, um, Corvac, this sort of thing is normally done with rings, and you're meant to kneel, and um…" Morrigan started to blush up a storm, her fantasies getting the best of her as she imagined her dress and his suit, oh and the wedding! It'd be a simple thing, just the two of them, his family, oh yes, she could see it already.

She turned down to not see another bashful face, not his teasing grin, but instead a suddenly very insecure young man. "Honey, what's wrong?" Morrigan asked softly.

"'Till death…do we part.'" He whispered, the words like death toll in and of themselves. Corvac grinned weakly, "I'm accepting of my mortality, my love. Are you?"

Morrigan felt like she'd just been slapped and then sucker punched. The question suddenly unearthed very long term thoughts that stewed within her own mind, pushed away in favor of the present. She frowned and hugged him close, suddenly feeling like every second she didn't feel his warmth was a bit that'd get stolen from her.

"I…"

She was at a loss for words.

Yet, Corvac's brutal actions weren't done. His hand went to her stomach, and she suddenly felt a chill through her very Arcanum. "Death to us mortals…is a cruel thing, yet it is just another aspect of life, no?" He chortled with a grim humor about him. "Even as I grow old. Even as I eventually fade away and venture my way to the hells that await, I'd hope you'd be capable of moving on. Such is an aspect of life. Yet, no parent should stay unaging as they watch their children grow and age. No parent should watch them depart this mortal coil." He stroked her softly, "I worry for you, my love."

A solemn silence fell, before Corvac slowly stood. He sighed and sat back down. "The dungeon can wait one day." He muttered and pulled his love into his arms. She shook and then started to cry.

Tears shed for a future yet to be told.

….

….

Few things are inevitable.

…

…

'Death and time will just have to be among those that aren't.'