Chapter 141: Rewards

Chapter 141: Rewards

Now then, what should he evolve first? Wait, did he even have enough points for both evolutions? <Appraisal>?

[<Sneak> evolution cost: 300 Skill points. <Steady Heart> evolution cost: 700 Skill points.]

He barely had enough then.

"Evolve <Sneak>," Mercury said.

[Evolution confirmed. Engaging. Please pick an option to evolve the Skill into. The price will be the same, no matter which you choose.]

[1. <Stealth>

2. <Cocoon>

3. <Veil>

4. <Slippery>]

As usual, Mercury pulled up the Skill descriptions.

[<Stealth>: A Skill which allows the user greater flexibility and body control when hiding. They also gain a sense on how to use cover, and minimize exposed surface area. Additionally, any noise or smell produced by the individual becomes less pronounced.]

It was pretty much what you'd expect from a Skill for stealth. A simple, straightforward improvement of everything to do with hiding, and a very decent contender.

[<Cocoon>: By wrapping a material around themselves, the individual becomes able to easily pass as an inanimate object. The cocoon can take different colours and shapes, and can leave gaps small enough for the user to look out through. When moving, the cocoon moves with the user.]

That... seemed a lot like a certain cardboard box he remembered from a game. It was probably available because it was exactly what he'd used to get past the wall of gloom stalkers protecting the nexus. As of right now, the Skill seemed good, but a little situational at the same time. Mercury decided to move on for now.

[<Veil>: Using this Skill, the individual can cloak their form. While active, the user's body is covered in a veil, which makes it hard for people to keep their attention on the individual, or discern their true nature.]

Once again, he was offered a Skill that seemed to be based on what Mercury had done. The similarities between this and the veil he'd pierced when practicing ihn'ar were stunning, especially the part about "being unable to discern the true nature" of something.

The issue he saw was the lack of info on the strength of the veil. The fact that there were no environmental conditions was great and all, but it also meant that the Skill would be lacking in other areas. Then again, if he levelled and evolved it again, it might make him nigh on invisible... he'd consider it again after reading the last one.

[<Slippery>: The individual is hard to catch. The surface of their skin can, at will, be coated with lubricant, allowing them to slip out of material bounds far more easily. Additionally, when running from something, the individual projects illusions based on their movement speed, making the distance to them harder to judge for the pursuer.]

His final option was, in essence, a Skill which only really helped once you were actually caught, and also somewhat overlapped with <Unrestrained>. Being able to escape more easily was great, but honestly, he would really rather not get into tough situations in the first place.

For someone else, Mercury could imagine this Skill doing serious work, especially someone mainly focused on speed, but it just didn't feel quite right for him. Which narrowed his choices down to three.

Next out of the race was <Cocoon>. It was just too restrictive. If he grew in size some more, which he most likely would, the Skill would be more and more impractical. Also, people in this world weren't all idiots. Anyone with half decent eyesight would notice a moving rock, and if he got investigated even once, he'd be kind of screwed.

Which left him torn between <Stealth> and <Veil>. Mainly, because the latter was cool as shit. Just being able to stop others from thinking about him? It was literally what had already saved his life when he was dragged through one of the blood eclipse rifts in the first place.

It would also work regardless of how big he was, but that was something <Stealth> still covered better, allowing him to find suitable cover and all.

In the end, what tipped the scales was the fact that eyesight-based Skills existed, and would probably be more common in scouts than mental ones. If someone forgot about searching for him, that would make his life easier than hiding. And also, making himself practically undetectable, even when walking right under someone's nose, sounded absolutely awesome.

<Veil> it was.

[Evolution selected.]

[The individual has acquired the Skill <Veil> through Skill evolution!]

Then, Mercury moved on to the next thing on the agenda. "Evolve <Steady Heart>."

[Evolution confirmed. Engaging. Please pick an option to evolve the Skill into. The price will be the same, no matter which you choose.]

[1. <Harmony>

2. <Still Mirror>

3. <Radiant Aura>]

Those sure were some names. Seems like Skills a monk could have, or some sort of hundred-year old sage. Mercury called up their descriptions.

[<Harmony>: Long ago, there was a time before conflict, a time before life itself. Back then, there was harmony. The user of this Skill will be able to resonate with inanimate objects, putting their body in stasis or slowing their thoughts. Meditation will come easier to them, as there are no more distractions, for all is one and thus there is no "other" to distract the individual.]

Yup, this was some buddhist shit if he ever saw anything like it. Live in harmony with all other things, everything used to be one and the same. It might not be entirely accurate, but it definitely had some zen undertones. He didn't quite know how useful putting his body in stasis would be, but easier meditation might help with ihn'ar as well. It was worth considering, at least.

[<Still Mirror>: The mind is a lake. Its water so clear you can see straight through to the bottom, and its surface so calm it forms a perfect mirror of the world. If the individual wishes, they can smoothen out any wave on their mind. Calm comes easy, and allure washes off like winter flees from spring rain. A clear mind allows one to see things as they are, especially oneself. Provides bonuses to self-reflection and peering into others.]

His second option seemed to double down on <Steady Heart> pretty hardcore, advancing every bit of it in exchange for branching out very little. Looking at it, Mercury knew it could be useful, especially knowing it helped against adverse states of mind, and only did so if the user chose to "smooth out" those waves.

For now though, he kept his mind open to the third Skill.

[<Radiant Aura>: Not being a true aura Skill, the name here refers to an effect that is always active around the user. Those who surround the individual experience calming effects, and will be more likely to view the user favorably. The second effect is less likely to apply to those with high willpower, and the first only applies to those who already view the individual as a companion.]

Mercury blinked and read the Skill through a second time. That was totally mind control, right? Like, a very light form, sure, but it certainly changed the way a person thought about him.

Well, then again, so did just dressing more nicely or smelling good, to a degree, but still. The path this Skill could take in the future didn't seem like something he would enjoy at all, quite frankly. Maybe it was suitable for someone working at a confession booth or something, but to Mercury, the Skill seemed rather meh and a little icky, especially compared to the others on offer.

Once again, he was down to two option, <Harmony> and <Still Mirror>. The two seemed very similar, but there were some key differences. <Still Mirror> was much more general, and applied to himself as well, while <Harmony> seemed to specifically target non-living things. Which also meant that it wouldn't exactly help with his understanding of himself, or any plantlife.

Also, the fact that <Still Mirror> gave him clearer indication of how strong his emotions were, and what bothered him, with the added option of calming himself, it felt like the better Skill overall. He selected it.

[Evolution selected.]

[The individual has acquired the Skill <Still Mirror> through Skill evolution!]

Finally, Mercury moved on to the bound item he was promised. "Show list of generated bound items."

[1. Remembrance of the Fallen

2. Dream of Starvation

3. Patchwork Darkness]

"<Appraisal>, what exactly does a bound item entail?"

[A bound item is an item that is always with the individual and will shape itself to whatever their body currently appears as. It does not take up an inventory slot, and will repair itself between uses if damaged or dirtied. When conjured, it will shape itself and appear where the user wishes it to on their body, though the appendage has to be compatible with the item. You may view your bound items within a suitable space. In your case, this will be your dreamscape. When the individual perishes, the item disappears with them.]

That was very much so in line with what he imagined for a bound item, then. So, what did the items actually do?

[Remembrance of the Fallen: This item manifests as a small, ruby amulet on the wearer. For every creature the wearer kills, the item gains one charge, up to a limit of 500. These charges can be consumed to enhance the wearer's stats temporarily, or to purge their body of ailments. What use are the dead but to sustain the living?]

Alriiiight, that sure set the tone for the items. Mercury was now more than sure that the items were definitely themed after the nexus. Literally sustaining himself from all the things he killed? Now that was some shit. He didn't really hate the idea of the item, but he also kind of didn't exactly want to become some sort of life-essence eating monster.

[Dream of Starvation: This weapon manifests to enhance the user's naturally gifted means of attack, often appearing as a set of gloves, or an extension to one's claws or nails. When your attacks carve into an opponent, their body will be sapped of nutrients and stamina, an image of your weapon haunting them in their dreams. May any wounds you carve cause themselves unhealable, and scar your victim's heart forever.]

What the actual hell? He got offered some sort of vampire-life-essence pending, and then a set of stronger claws which would literally follow whoever he fought into their dreams? Fucking hell. Mercury shook his head for a few seconds.

There were a few non-moral issues with the item as well. Of course, sapping stamina and shit was really nice, but the whole haunting part would only really work if they survived the fights, which seemed like something that wouldn't happen very often. Unless he ambushed someone, of course, but then, wouldn't he already have an advantage?

It seemed like a good choice for battles of attrition, but he wasn't quite sold on it.

[Patchwork Darkness: A needle must be used for stitching, and this bound item is a very special carving tool. It allows you to stitch dark to darker, creating a tapestry of thick smoke the user may deploy to bind anything within, including themselves. In order to sew something with the needle, you must be in area of sufficient darkness, and supply it with mana or blood.]

The final item on the list was slightly less sinister, but also seemed kind of underwhelming? Sure, he could definitely see the use in throwing out blankets of darkness, but at the same time, when would he realistically use that? When running away from something? Then he better have one heck of a sheet prepared. Maybe when sneaking up on something in the night? Deeper darkness would also stick out.

Again, this seemed like an item with potential, but it felt like it wouldn't quite fit into his skillset, especially after him just choosing <Veil>. Then again, how much potential could these items have?

"<Appraisal>, can bound items grow with the user?" he asked.

[All bound items may grow. Most of them share the growing trait, which the individual's cloak also possesses for example, allowing them to increase in grade and gain additional effects as their proficiency increases, however all bound items have secondary advancement conditions unique to the item itself. These will not necessarily be revealed, but can usually be fulfilled by using the item, sometimes in creative ways.]

So, two ways of growing them, then. He could sort of guess what the way to grow them would be, here. The first one probably needed to be fed whatever it absorbed when he killed something into the item itself, or he needed to have it full and keep killing. For the claws, maybe there was some sort of mechanism that let him have it grow from absorbing nutrients or blood, which was creepy, but also valuable. Finally, he'd guess the needle might just devour darkness into itself every time he stitched something?

All of these were just hunches, but at the same time, he kind of felt a soft ringing of approval from <Intuition>, so there was that to consider.

Knowing that all of them were bound to grow with him also made an impact on his choices. He really, really was starting to need a weapon. Sure, his mind was a powerful tool, and so were the rocks, but having some advantage when things got up close and personal would be great.

The more he thought about it, the more Mercury leaned towards the Dream of Starvation. He wasn't guaranteed to get a reward like this again anytime soon, and it would be really quite hard to find any weapons that would adjust themselves to fit him, especially given he was probably closing in on another evolution bit by bit.

Having decided, Mercury nodded. "System, give me the "Dream of Starvation", please."

[Got: Dream of Starvation (bound).]

As soon as the notification came through, Mercury felt a slight shift, a muscle in his mind that had not been there before. He tugged on it lightly, feeling it was bound to be good.

[Dream of Starvation:

Grade: Bound C - Proficiency (0/1000)

Rank: 0 - Growth (0/1000)]

Immediately, he could feel the notification manifest in front of him, showing the progress on the weapon. Apparently, it was C grade, which meant its enchantments were probably rather powerful, given that it seemingly provided no direct boosts to stats.

An item with a rank was something new though. That was probably the special avenue for growth that <Appraisal> had mentioned. It was nice to know that he could check his progress on that front as well.

Besides the window, Mercury could also feel that he could move the new part of his mind differently. He could tell that he was able to pull up the entire status if he wished and quickly did so to confirm, but it was just what he'd already read before, only adding the Grade at the end.

Other than that, though, there was a third function of his muscle, and Mercury had some intuition on what it meant. Sure enough, when he flexed it, he willed the item into being, watching as silvery sparks coalesced around his paws. Once the light had disappeared, Mercury found his legs up to his shins wrapped in a thin fabric, with a metallic sheen.

The construction fit him perfectly, as though it was made by a world class tailor, just for him. When he shifted his weight, all of it shifted smoothly as well, and he found he could even change its shape slightly if he wanted to, but never extend it past his knee.

Where his legs ended and his paws began, the fabric shifted slightly. It wrapped around the bottom of his feet as well, where they touched the floor, but it felt wispy thin, letting him still feel the ground he was walking on. There was the option to make it thicker, but by now Mercury was very used to waking barefoot, and honestly preferred it that way.

However, the easily most recognizable feature was where the item wrapped around his claws. It seemed to be made from liquid abyss, a lightless metal swirling around his natural weapons. He tried pulling them back, and found that the metal simply smoothed itself out, wrapping around the top of his paws instead.

Extending his claws again, the metal flowed downwards and formed a black shell around them before Mercury could even blink. He attempted to will the substance out further, and it obeyed. He could give himself an extra two, maybe three centimeters of reach with it, seeing the metal elongate into wicked blades.

After some testing and getting used to the strange item, Mercury dismissed it again, seeing it dissolve away into nothingness. He felt very badass doing it, even with the item being a little unsettling. Hopefully, it wouldn't start whispering to him about needing to be fed...

- - -

When he was finally done with all of his rewards - excluding the shard, which was still being processed, somehow, right now -, there was another inhuman screech on the outside of the tent. Something was quite clearly quite mad at him. Well, more like at everything around, but if it knew he'd destroyed the nexus, then he'd probably be its target.

Deciding he should at least make an effort to join the others, Mercury stepped out of the hut. The sight of the ashen plains he'd grown so accustomed to seemed a bit different these days. The ash fell faster, blanketing the ground in a thick layer of dust, and making the air hard to breathe.

The crimson sun had dimmed, its red hue intensified. The landscape looked less aflame, and much more alien, bloody. So much so, in fact, that he couldn't tell apart the ground where blood had been shed, and where it hadn't.

And there was plenty of blood. Dozens of servants were roaming around the mansion, and just as many had walked outwards, turning their blank faces to the sky and drawing in air through their nostrils. Some of them seemed more developed, vertical cracks among their faces revealing maws filled with rows and rows of teeth. Those tasted the air with their grotesque tongues, almost like snakes.

Bit by bit, they filtered through the landscape, seeking out prey and tearing it apart. Blood flowed as though from a river, and corpses were dragged back to the mansion, the trails soon disappearing in the storm.

Surprisingly, very few of the servants were approaching their hut, most simply stalked by, hardly sparing it a glance. Perhaps they couldn't smell them, or perhaps they simply knew not to approach the traps, Mercury couldn't tell.

As he looked over the landscape, he turned to the right, coming face to face with Juno, who was... surprisingly close. Of course, someone as brave as him had no reason to jump at such an absolutely expected event, and no part of him even flinched. Obviously. He was no scaredy-cat.

"The servants are swarming out to gather food, m-Mercury," the name still rolled off her tongue awkwardly, as she barely avoided calling him her liege again. "We already decided to head back, Jirluc should be here any moment."

And just as she said, the hunter soon arrived, wading through the field of traps with confident steps. He gave Mercury a quick glance filled with a mix of hope and worry, but shook his head a moment later and headed inside, presumably to prepare their food.

"He doesn't talk much, does he? Why do the servants avoid us?" he asked.

"Larash set up a contraption which releases a terrible stench to the servants. Their meat is hardly edible at all, and their screams attract more of their kind, so it was an important measure to keep our traps free from them, and ready to catch other creatures," the wolf explained, gazing at the mansion.

"I see," Mercury nodded. "Do you think we'll escape here?" he asked again.

Juno paused for a few moments, turned her eyes away from the building in the crater, and faced the mopaaw. "I do not know," she said, after some time. "But I know that if I die now, I will have no regrets."

Mercury flinched slightly at that. "No regrets? Why is that?" he half-hissed through gritted teeth.

"My life was never my own, Mercury," the wolf replied calmly. "There is no blame on you for where we find ourselves. It was simply poor luck. I would rather die here, a free wolf, making my own decisions, than still live in the forest, caged within my own instincts."

"Right," Mercury whispered, then remained silent for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. "Thanks for your trust. I'll try my best to get all of us out of here."

With a nod from Juno, Mercury felt his resolve steeled. He'd not known all these people for very long, but sharing a desperate situation created strong bonds. They'd survive, and so would he. And they'd get out of here.

-

[Main Quest: "House of a starving Court" (Chain <2>)

Condition: The individual has bested the nexus of the starving dream, cutting off the nutrients it harvested from the destitute and gave to the court. The ashen plains will break soon, and time is ticking. Enter the mansion and survive until you find the exit to this place.

Reward: 500 Skill points, <Survivor> mastery, <Vast Mind> mastery, 2 levels (character, instant).]

-

He just had to break through the mansion now.