She paused, “You have also awakened sleeping evils, however. Also, you have altered the fundamental nature of The Land. Never before has our alignment been anything but good or evil, but I can now read the chaos in your soul.” She sighed heavily, and scrubbed her face with her hands again. When she spoke, her tone was weary, a weariness that only comes from years of fighting a war with no end in sight, “I fear that you and your kind may be the end of all things, Lord Richter of the Mist Village. You alone have changed so much; I cannot fathom what will happen when more of your kind make themselves known.”
The Hearth Mother fell silent again, and once again, they sat in silence. Then, without preamble, she suddenly stood and began casting. Richter was afraid that she was planning to attack the Dungeon with some powerful magic, but he decided to trust her. How could he ask her to trust him if he wasn’t willing to extend the same courtesy? Hisako finished her spell a moment later. Her hands glowed gold for a moment, but nothing else happened. “I can sense no evil intent from the Dungeon, despite casting my strongest detection spell. I will leave this Chaotic Bloodstone in your care and will make no moves to destroy it if you promise to notify me of any evil.”
“I can do that,” Richter agreed.
The two leaders shook on it, each staring the other in the eye. It took all of Richter’s willpower to not react when a small voice spoke in his mind. A red light that occupied the portion of his psyche reserved for those he had made a psychic bond with pulsed in time with the words.
<<Well done, Dungeon Master. You have stopped the sprite’s wrathful retaliation, and the home you have provided will let me protect myself. I hold your oath fulfilled. I will now finish my bonding with the Dungeon. I do not know what this will change me into. It is very possible we shall never speak again. I will take this time to thank you. Enjoy these gifts with my compliments.>> The psychic doorway in the chaos seed’s mind disappeared, and notifications filled his view. Richter was reminded of the last time a disembodied voice had left him presents, and wondered just what it boded for the future.
CHAPTER 54 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC
You have fulfilled your vow to the Chaotic Bloodstone and are released from any further onus. For fulfilling your vow to the Chaotic Bloodstone, you are gifted with ten skill levels in Blood Magic.
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 3 in Blood Magic. New spells are now available.
…
Congratulations! You have reached skill level 12 in Blood Magic. New spells are now available.
Congratulations! You have advanced from Novice to Initiate in: Blood Magic. You now have 5% resistance to Blood magic and your spells in this school are now 5% stronger. In addition to this, you may now use the blood of others to power your spells via the spell Blood Mana. At Initiate rank, you may only use the blood of the freshly killed. You may now also use the blood of others to pay the Health cost of your spells. Only willing or helpless creatures with blood can pay this cost. You must be in physical contact.
Congratulations! You have learned spell: Blood Mana. Every 10 points of Health will provide one point of Mana that will increase your total mana pool for one hour. This is a spell of Blood, level 10. Cost: 21 mana. Duration: 1 hour. Range: 5 feet. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A.
You have received 1,250 (base 1,000 x 1.25) bonus experience for reaching level 10 in the subskill: Blood Magic.
Congratulations! Your advancement in the skill Blood Magic has now unlocked your knowledge! Spells remaining to be unlocked: Dread Harvest and Sanguine Protection, Congratulations! You have learned spell: Weak Vitality Puppet. This spell allows you to take complete control over one other creature that has blood. This is a spell of Blood, level 10. Cost: 200 Health and 184 mana. Duration: 20 minutes. Range: 30 yards. Cast Time: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 day.
Richter absorbed the information from the prompts and quickly dismissed them. Many things shocked him. For one, reaching the initiate rank in Blood magic didn’t just have resistance and spell power perks. It also made it much easier for him to use those types of spells. Blood Mana could definitely come in handy, and the spell cost was negligible. Even more surprising was the puppet spell. If he was understanding the prompts properly, if he advanced far enough, he would learn every spell the Bloodstone had cast while using his body.
Hisako had started looking at him quizzically while he pondered his prompts. Then he realized it was probably because he was still holding her hand. He broke their clasp with a cough and stood back. Wanting a change of subject, he said, “I suppose all that remains is for me to choose the Harbinger.”
“I assumed that choice would be easy,” she replied. Hisako raised a hand and pointed at a patch of grass. He didn’t understand at first until he saw a faint movement. She had pointed unerringly at the shale adder when even he hadn’t known where it was.
“How did you… nevermind,” he finished shaking his head. “Are you sure I should use the adder? I don’t mind especially, though it’s been more than useful as a battle pet, but shouldn’t we pick a monster that is easier to kill if we plan on fighting in the Dungeon?”
“No,” Hisako said definitively. “One thing that I am sure about Dungeons is that the stronger the Item of Power and the Harbinger, the greater the rewards. Also, if the old stories are to be believed, there will come a time when you want your Dungeon to be as strong as possible.”
He almost asked her what she meant, but he felt like it was going to be a much longer conversation, and there was plenty of time for that. Richter was also distracted by her next statement, “I doubt you will be able to keep your pet Tamed much longer anyway, in light of the changes it has undergone.”
“Changes?” Richter asked. She just arched an eyebrow at him in answer, so Richter called the snake closer. When he used Analyze, he received a great shock.
Name: Chaotic Reptile Current Form: High Steel Adder Disposition: Friendly
This creature has been touched by raw Chaos. Its form and very nature will remain ever in flux. Its current form is that of a High Steel Adder. The scales of its multiple scale layers are comprised of high steel. Chaotic Reptiles are highly resistant to control of any type due to their nature. This creature will always retain its core characteristic: Camouflage.
Level: 20
Health: 740 Mana: 210 Stamina: 510
Strength: 30
Agility: 23
Dexterity: 27
Constitution: 74
Endurance: 51
Intelligence: 21
Wisdom: 17
Charisma: 5
Luck: 14