The Desert of Stone

The waters were tense, but utterly still; each side unwilling to move even an inch. As one stared at the other, a sneeze was had and chaos unfurled; the colossal beast snapped at Clarence with impeccable speed. It's gaping mouth swallowed Clarence in an instant, not leaving a remnant of his existence.

~~~

Ugh, my head hurts; blood is always an issue with me." Sighed Imogen as she tightened her belt, of which was already starting to look like Clarence's. "System, could you explain to me why you gave me such a good reward for free and why you don't just give me all the power in the world so you can survive without risk?" Inquired Imogen while pulling some stone shards out of her back.

*𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐬' 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞: For one, I don't want to and for two; I simply can't. So stop thinking about free items and think more about how you're no longer human; in the last fight you would have lasted longer if you had shifted into your true form

"I hate to admit it, but you're right; I'm not human and trying to think that way is just going to get me killed." Concurred Imogen as she put away her new halberd. "And now that I think of it, I've had this problem before; that means I need to try harder to enforce the realization that my tick form is simply the best option." Concluded Imogen while ripping a bone shard out of her tongue.

"Also, I've been wondering about this for a while; what are the tiers of a weapon?" Questioned Imogen as she used Quick Heal on her shoulder successfully.

*𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐬:

[Pre-Channeling stages]

Non-magical Tier (Blade Void Of Magic)

Temperament Tier (Temperamental Blade)

Armament Tier (Armament Blade)

Awakening Tier (Awakened Blade)

Harnessed Tier (Harnessed Blade)

-----------------------------------------

[After Channeling Stages]

Imbued Tier (Imbued Blade)

Forbidden Tier (Forbidden Blade)

Sorrowful Tier (Blade Of Sorrow)

Penitence Tier (Blade Of Penance)

The Tier of Radiance (Blade Of Radiance)

"What tier is my halberd? I need to know just how powerful this new blade is?" Asked Imogen while failing to stab a stone shard through her skin.

*𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠: The Suffering Blade Of Melted Bones is at the Armament Tier, which is slightly beyond your level

"Thank you, now could you tell me what all my new skills do?" Smirked Imogen as she sat down, for she knew just how long it would take.

*𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 - 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐛 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞: An unlevelable skill that lets you tell the difference between useful and not so useful herbs - It's a passive skill

*𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 - 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐩: Wrap your foes in a prickly world of hell and to the abyss with it, poison them too. The mana cost is 7 mana per cast, but beware the vines don't always guarantee poison - It's an active skill

*𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 - 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐭: Shoot the fallen thorns of jungle vines and guarantee poison with every shot, at later levels it even pierces through enemies with ease. Thankfully the poison and the minuscule cost of 3 mana per cast makes up for the small amount of damage it does - It's an active skill

*𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 - 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬: Send your prayers to the vines, ask for their power if only for a few minutes. You gain the attributes of a vine, with some even being permanent. Make any enemy regret hitting you with Retribution Damage, a 70% chance to poison and the half stat doubling buff that it'll grant you. But once you cast there's no going back, you have three minutes to beat whomever you're fighting before you get knocked out. The cast cost is nothing to scoff at either, it permanently takes your INT down by 4 along with taking the rest of your stored mana - It's an active skill

*𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 - 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥: Heal any light wound you acquire in battle for the low cost of 2 mana per second, deep cuts can only be healed out of battle - It's an active skill

"Those are all better than I expected for just the baseline skill, you sure have outdone yourself this time." Praised Imogen while trying to take in all the information she had just received. "Haha, now tell me every tier of armor; I am 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 curious after all." Giggled Imogen as she itched her ear.

*𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬:

[Pre-Channeling stages]

Non-magical Tier (Armor Void Of Magic)

Temperament Tier (Temperamental Armor)

Armament Tier (Armament Armor)

Awakening Tier (Awakened Armor)

Harnessed Tier (Harnessed Armor)

-----------------------------------------

[After Channeling Stages]

Imbued Tier (Imbued Armor)

Forbidden Tier (Forbidden Armor)

Sorrowful Tier (Armor Of Sorrow)

Penitence Tier (Armor Of penance)

The Tier of Radiance (Armor Of Radiance)

"I don't know what I expected, why wouldn't the tiers for armor and weapons be the same." Suspired Imogen while pushing herself up and off the blood stained floor. "Time to press on and see what other horrors await me further down into the sepulchure." Announced Imogen as she ran down the stone clad hallways at an unexpectedly fast pace.

~~~

The stomach of a Colossal Sea Drake is no place for the foolhardy, which is why poor Clarence doesn't have much of a chance to survive. But much more impossible things have happened before, so Clarence could very well survive and tell one hell of tale afterwards.

"Goddamn it all!" Screamed Clarence while falling down the esophagus of the Colossal Sea Drake. "It's all pink and green down here, it's the most disgusting sight I've ever laid eyes on!" Cried Clarence as he watched a giant bone structure sink beneath the waves of stomach acid.

"Hopefully I don't end up like that massive sea creature... I mean I won't end up like that gaint sea creature, because I've got you to light the way little one." Smiled Clarence while noticing that the protective shield around him was waning with every passing second.

"Well shit, I need to hurry my butt up; time for a pleasant and relaxing dive in the lagoon." Jested Clarence as he fully submerged himself into the acidic bile.

~~~

In a large stone hallway crammed with dust, a fight was being initiated; now it's up to fate to decide.

"What vile creature of the abyss are you, how many innocent souls did you take to receive human form!" Accused a Holy Cleric while unlatching his spell book and brandishing his mace.

"What?" "Are you drunk, you're going the wrong way; how did you even get in here?" Inquired Imogen as she felt her fingers grasp the cool leather of her halberd.

"Die unholy cretin, feel the cold steel of The Brotherhood Of Bonded Hollows!" Cackled the madman while running at Imogen with his mace swinging.

"Uh... Vine Wrap, this guy feels very lackluster." Shrugged Imogen as she watched vines crack through the walls and wrap up the madman in a tight embrace.

Imogen, with a flick of the risk; chopped in half the pretentious madman and cast an end to his unimpressive charade.

"I wonder if he has anything intresting on him, corpse looting is a respected profession after all." Lied Imogen while tearing off his necklace and snatching his book.

"This man has many items of little value on him, why would anyone keep a misshapen sword as a necklace?" Chuckled Imogen as she looked up to see a new system notification.

*𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: The new system feature - Binding has been unlocked

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 - 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Bind items to your soul to make them fit your skill set and scale to your level. But note that the binding process will have to happen multiple times as you level if you truly desire to keep your items useful - Requires 1 Binding Token per item

*𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧: An old remnant of a bygone age, cracked and in disrepair - when equipped it provides +6 STR and +7 HP while holding a sword

"Now I know this guy was an idiot, he wore the necklace while wielding a mace; what a fool." Suspired Imogen as she stashed the necklace in her pocket. "Is this book of any use to me, because I doubt it is?" Questioned Imogen while waving the cleric's spell book around.

*𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡: Your Level is too low to see this information, don't open the book; just don't - Achieve Level 30 before you can read the text

"Well that's a thing, I don't know why some random madman was carrying an Eldritch Spellbook; but I'm going to hold on to it for now." Concluded Imogen as she stuffed the book into her belt. "Before I get going on my path again, I've one last thing to ask you system; how do I get Binding Tokens?" Asked Imogen while wiping off some blood that had gotten on her arm.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬: System vouchers that allow you to bind an item to your soul, they only drop from enemies classified as hard for your current level and even then they don't always drop

"That's better than I thought, anyone else would be really upset; but I always get into fights with really powerful creatures somehow so it's not bad at all." Appraised Imogen as she noticed a faint light coming from further down the sepulcher. "And it's once again time for me to roam these blood soaked tunnels full of death, perhaps I'm not as far behind the others as I think." Speculated Imogen while morphing into her tick form for extra speed.