Chapter 61. Discrepancies
It didn't take long for Michael to reach the location of the two shops.
Walking west from the Waypoint and following the handrail, only these two big shops greeted the eyes of the curious. One was the Rings & Amulets shop - but most people knew it thanks to the Jewler capable of slotting items - while the second shop belonged to Demyan, Helen's father and the only Occultist in Kyovashad.
As curious as he was about the Occultist shop, Michael wasn't ready to visit it yet, so he stalled for time by walking in the Rings & Amulets first.
After venturing inside, Michael was greeted by tons of shelves upon which seemingly endless amounts of jewelry were presented to potential customers.
It didn't take long for Michael to try and appraise some of them through the system, but all he got back were random names and ridiculous levels above 40 and higher, all shown in red.
[Don't bother, child. You cannot identify equipment higher than your level by more than five. Come here!](?)
"My apologies for disturbing you. My curiosity got the better of me."
[Haha! Did you hear that, Kratia? Child, if there was no curiosity among Wanderers, I'm afraid we'd starve before we could sell anything. My name is Idania. I'm handling the sales of jewelry. This is my colleague and friend, Kratia.](Idania)
[Hmm... a newbie Wanderer. As much as I'd love to help you, you must wait until you're Level 20 before I can do that. Make sure you prepare enough materials and lots of gold coins. My services aren't cheap!](Kratia)
"I understand, Miss Kratia. Miss Idania, can I look through your wares? I reached Level 12 recently and want to purchase good rings and amulets I can wear."
[Well... I'm afraid you came a bit too late, child. Boza arrived early this morning and bought everything from Level 10 to 20 in stock. She said something about rewarding the recruits.](Idania)
Michael was temporarily speechless, remembering the lady Guard who tried to encourage her recruits while trying to maintain her prestige as a 'hard-ass.'
'Lady... don't you think you're trying a bit too hard? You bought everything this store had!? Is everyone in this town a hidden bigshot?'
[Don't worry. We'll get another shipment of goods from Hawezar tomorrow morning. Come by, and you might be able to get something good.](Idania)
"I understand. Thank you very much for the advice. I'll patronize your shop as much as possible in the future."
[Hehe! It's not like you have a choice, brat. I'm the only Jeweler in Kyovashad.](Kratia)
[Hush now, you. Ignore her, child. You're welcome to come by anytime.](Idania)
Smiling at the duo, Michael waved goodbye to them and left the shop. Opening his Status page, he glanced at the new equipment he had gained after slaying the Ghoul Boss.
[ Glamour Legacy
Rare Ring
369 Item Power
-----------------
*12.5% Lighting Resistance
*12.5% Shadow Resistance
------------------
* +3.0% Damage Over Time (3.0 - 6.0%)
* +7.0% Vulnerable Damage (7.0 - 10.0%)
* +10 Life Regeneration while Not Damaged Recently (6 - 12)
Description: Initially a Level 25 Ring, but transformed into a more accessible option as a reward for a difficult accomplishment. ]
Grinning from ear to ear, Michael thought back to Rhaz'Al'Ghoul and how difficult it would be for a low-leveled party, such as his at that point, to actually manage to kill it without anyone dying or suffering significant damage.
To call it an accomplishment wasn't wrong at all.
'There's no gain in attributes, but that's no problem. The element resistance is always good to have, especially if I'm gonna get blasted again by magic-wielding creatures. Then there's the increased damage over time, which is useful given my newly gained three levels.'
No longer hesitating, Michael opened his Skill Tree, planning to use his unspent points.
Hesitating momentarily, he started calculating the skill points gained per level and realized he had an extra one.
'When I reached Level 7, I added a point in Hewed Flesh to open the next Tier in the Skill Tree. But after killing lots of Ghouls and reaching Level 9, I added points to Blood Mist, Corpse Explosion, and Bone Prison. What's going on? Where's the extra skill point from?'
There were no logs he could check and see what happened, so he confusedly sat on a bench near the Occultist shop and started browsing through his available interfaces, hoping to find what was happening.
He was not using this nonexistent issue to avoid walking into the shop and meeting Helen's father. Nope! Not one bit!
After searching for a while, he opened his Achievements interface and was stunned to see two new entries.
[ The rock blocking the river
--------------------
Description: Your persistence and achievements gained the Sanctuary's praise!
Objective: Kill 100 enemies at a higher level than yourself.
Reward: Madman (title) ]
Raising an eyebrow at the new title, Michael opened it and saw that it was a passive title, not providing anything in terms of attributes.
Looking at this equipped Lucky and Commoner title, he shrugged and opened the second achievement.
[ Meatgrinder
--------------
Description: Your persistence and achievements have shocked the Sanctuary!
Objective: Kill 250 enemies at a higher level than yourself.
Reward: +1 Skill Point
Reward: Horde Slayer (title) ]
Finally finding the source of the 'problem,' Michael sighed and checked the Horde Slayer title he got.
[ Horde Slayer - Equip this title to gain +10 to all attributes when not in a party.
*Can equip up to a maximum of two titles at a time. ]
Michael unequipped the Commoner title without hesitation and replaced it with the new addition. After all, it was a net gain of nine points per each main attribute.
He considered unequipping Lucky, but with how important gaining good equipment was, Michael decided to leave it on.
Overall, happy at the unexpected gains, he decided to check the Achievement page every now and then, just in case he missed something again.
'And now, the remaining three Skill Points... Let's get both Enhanced and Blighted Corpse Explosion first.'
[ Enhanced Corpse Explosion
--------------------------
Corpse Explosion radius is increased by 15%. ]
[ Blighted Corpse Explosion
--------------------------
Corpse Explosion becomes a Darkness skill and, instead of exploding, releases a vile miasma dealing 110% Darkness damage over 6 seconds. ]
Grinning at the description of Blighted Corpse Explosion and looking at his Damage Over Time buff from the new ring, Michael was completely satisfied.
Surprisingly, after using these two Skill Points, he opened up the new Tier of skills and quickly dived in to check what new goodies were in stock.
After more than 10 minutes of pondering, Michael was unsure what to do. There were only two new active skills, which he couldn't use at the moment, and lots of passives.
'So, ignoring the active skills, I should focus on passive for now. Eh... Let's see...'
[ Death's Reach (0/3)
---------------
You deal x[4%] increased damage to Distant enemies. ]
[ Death's Embrace (0/3)
-----------------
Close enemies take x [2%] more damage from you and deal [3%] less damage to you. ]
[ Amplify Damage (0/3)
------------------
You deal x [4%] increased damage to Cursed enemies. ]
[ Skeletal Mage Mastery (0/3)
--------------------
Increases the Life points and Damage of your Skeletal Mages by x [20%].
It can stack with Skeletal Warrior Mastery. ]
Upon further inspection, it was obvious that the first two passives recently unlocked could decide if the Necromancer would become a ranged or melee fighter.
The Amplify Damage skill would be good only if he would use any of the newly opened active curse skills.
'As for the last one... it seems that I have another similar passive skill but for my current Skeleton Warriors.'
[ Skeletal Warriors Mastery (0/3)
--------------------
Increases the Life and Damage of your Skeletal Mages by x [15%].
It can stack with Skeletal Mage Mastery. ]
'I'm about to go explore the wilderness on my own. Strengthening my minions would give me a strong advantage. So, let's go with Skeletal Warriors Mastery.'
He had previously overlooked this passive skill due to the urgency of the situation he was in. But it was opened simultaneously with Corpse Explosion, Blood Mist, and Bone Prison.
Finally done with stalling, Michael glanced at the Occultist shop and worked up the courage to walk inside.
To his utmost surprise, he didn't find a grumpy middle-aged man staying there, but rather a 16-17-year-old boy cleaning up the room.
[Hello! If you're here to imprint or extract Aspects, Master Demyan is not in for today. You would have to come back tomorrow, I'm afraid.](?)
"Hello. My name is Michael, and I'm a newbie Wanderer. I only reached Level 12 and was curious about this shop and what it offers. Could you explain it to me?"
[No problem! The name is Charlie. I'm an Occultist apprentice studying under Master Demyan. I'm afraid you won't be able to use our services anytime soon, though.](Charlie)
"Hmm? Why so?"
[Well... you must either reach Level 25 first or acquire five Codex of Power Aspects from exploring Dungeons.](Charlie)
[That's enough, Charlie. I'll take it from here.](?)
When the deep voice boomed behind him, Michael unconsciously stepped sideways to distance himself from whoever was there.
It seems he's been blocking the entrance unknowingly, so it was only polite to step away and make space for others.
Turning around, Michael saw a well-built middle-aged man, probably in his mid-forties.
He had a pair of blue eyes and sported a very well-groomed beard, hinting at his wealth.
Two things immediately stood apart at first glance: the man's bald head and his bright purple clothes.
[A newbie? You don't seem to have reached Level 25 yet, have you?](?)
"I'm afraid I didn't yet, no. I assume you're Master Demyan. My name is Michael Corbett. I've let my curiosity get the better of me and decided to visit under Helen's suggestion."
While sweating a bit under the man's scrutinizing gaze, Michael couldn't cower and leave a bad first impression.
[Oh? You're the brat she's been seeing recently? I've heard you've created quite a mess. Multiple times as well. You seem to have a knack for getting into trouble.](Demyan)
"It would appear so. Fortunately, Helen managed to save my skin both times."
[Not too prideful. A good quality to have. But, as Charlie mentioned, you won't be able to gain much from me until you get to Level 25 or if you somehow clear five Dungeons on your own.](Demyan)
"I see. What's the difference between the two?"
[*Scoff* Smart. Well, at Level 25, you'll simply be able to use my shop, and the Sanctuary will give you access to generic Aspects. If you somehow clear five Dungeons before Level 25, though, the Aspects you'll gain access to are much better in terms of quality.](Demyan)
Thinking of a possible achievement, Michael pondered and continued asking.
"What are these Aspects?"
[You can think of them as strengthening rewards for clearing up Dungeons. You already know what Dungeons are, right?](Demyan)
"Yes. Spaces that overlap the Sanctuary and the Hell."
[Pretty much, yes. Also, you should already know that when it comes to demons, only the ones higher up the food chain can revive themselves; the minions can't. So, every time someone clears a Dungeon, the Burning Hells must spend energy, resources, minions, and Elites to replenish the said Dungeons. And trust me, it's not cheap.](Demyan)
"So, these Aspects have something to do with clearing a Dungeon?"
[Yes, they do. Every time you clear a Dungeon, the Sanctuary would reward you with an Aspect. Some are general, while some are Class-restricted. After you gain them, you can return here, and I'll help you imprint them on items.](Demyan)
"What do these Aspects offer?"
[Most are skill-related. Some can increase existing skills; others can offer new skills entirely, while some can even grant new effects on top of your current existing ones. Also, there are two things that you must keep in mind. Number one, every Aspect you gain from Dungeons can be recorded in your Codex of Power. That means you can use them indefinitely, and trust me, Class-restricted or not, they will come in handy later.](Demyan)
"How so?"
Looking at the senior pouring knowledge into his empty bowl without holding back, Michael obediently listened as a proper student would.
[All Wanderers can get the same Aspect after clearing the same Dungeon. However, that doesn't mean that the Aspect provides the EXACT same thing. For example, let's say that there's an Aspect that increases one's damage by 12%, which you just gained after a clear. Others might get the same Aspect, but only with 7%, or maybe even with 15%. Do you understand my meaning?](Demyan)
"I see. But are the Aspects tradable?"
[Not on their own. That brings us to the second thing you must keep in mind. Aspects can be imprinted on items. However, once imprinted, I am unable to extract it without destroying both the item and the Aspect. However, remember what I said before about the Codex of Power?](Demyan)
"About how every Aspect gets recorded in it?"
[Exactly. That means that you can trade with other Wanderers in a more complicated manner. They give you the item they want to be imprinted, and you provide the Aspect from your Codex of Power. That way, they gain what they want on the item they want, and you can charge them whatever you feel appropriate.](Demyan)
"You mentioned extraction as well. How does that work?"
[That's both simple and complicated. The easiest way to explain it is that Legendary items have these Aspects already imbued by the Sanctuary. Say, for example, that you find a longsword with an Aspect that you need; however, you only use a Wand. I can extract the Aspect from the longsword and imprint it on your Wand. However, the same restriction would apply immediately after - it can't be removed anymore after imprinting on your item.](Demyan)
"So, that means that Aspects gained from items are one-time use consumables, while the ones recorded in the Codex of Power are permanent, and I can use them repeatedly?"
[Exactly.](Demyan)
Pondering, Michael looked back at the middle-aged man and asked what he was curious about most.
"Is there an achievement for clearing five Dungeons before Level 25?"