Chapter 232
<strong>Chapter 232</strong>
Mythic-tier item box sitting on another dungeon boss corpse for his sister to use?
Check.
Room full of gold, jewels, and various F-grade artifacts?
Check.
Powerleveling his friends and demons?
Very much a check. Having a bunch of level 15–50 dungeon divers in his group after wiping the floor with a whole gaggle of level 100+ pdins and their less powerful vampiric allies had meant enormous gains for everyone involved, including Fay and Azmoth who’d each gained quite a bit of experience respectively.
Unfortunately Captain Vros Kinal of the Empire of Dying Suns had gotten away, Riven had failed to see Ath’s two new blood martial arts duringbat, and half of the skinwalkers recently pledged to Ath had died - but considering the ambush it was an overall better than expected oue. Riven was still recovering from the tribtion, Ath had lost her entire force of crystal ice spiders before the fight had even begun, and the pdins had specifically outfitted their weapons with anti-vampire silver alloys which had been a real pain in the ass.
Riven pocketed the orange bauble, having had Dungeon Petrus package its dead dungeon boss just like he’d forced thest one to package the drake. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, jackass.”“Stuff it!” Dungeon Petrus growled while folding its little avatar arms. “The amount of coins you cost me is outrageous! You have six hours, then you gotta leave so I can relocate! That’s the deal. I’ll be moving out of this forsakennds to set up somewhere else, I won’t have a monster like you knowing where I set up or I’ll never make a living!”
The dungeon avatar snapped its fingers and it vanished, leaving Riven in the room behind where skinwalkers were still stripping gear and loot off the dead. Meanwhile Ath and Azmoth were digging through piles of gold an treasures in the room beyond the trap he’d tripped behind that hidden hallway earlier, where Dungeon Petrus had put an additional sum of cash there after Riven’s thread made it abundantly clear that if it wasn’t enough - Riven would find the core.
As for Fay, she was standing beside Riven while he watched the skinwalkers work. On one hand he didn''t’ necessarily trust them not to steal high quality treasures off these young scions of the multiverse if there were any to be had, but on the other hand they’d also bled and died in the fight against the offworlders. He was torn on what to do, because though he likely wouldn’t have needed them - they had served as decent distractions.
“Ak’ra and Selzi, a word please.” He motioned to where the skinwalker couple, the first he’d ever met, stopped what they were doing and walk over to where he and Fay stood in the center of the room that looked like a typhoon had gone through it.
“Yes, master of our master?” Selzi - the female skinwalker asked with a submissive bow and posturing. “Can we help the great one in some way?”
Her mate, Ak’ra, bowed the same way. “We wish to serve…”
Riven gave them a sad smile, seeing that they were a bit down about losing friends or family, and took his helmet off to better look at them. Stuffing it under one arm, he gestured to where the individual piles of armor, weapons, potions, jewelry and other items had been categorized. “Do you see anything you want?”
Selzi shifted her body ufortably. “We do not wish to take from the vampire prince, but appreciate the great one’s generosity if that was intended.”
Riven blinked, considering this. “What is it that you and your n want?”
“I am… unsure of what you mean by that. Forgive me, great one.”
“What are your goals? Why leave hell? What do you intend to do here now that you’re on Panu and in the mortal realms? Surely you have some kind of want or desire.”
Ak’ra was the one to reply this time. “We do not have any high aspirations, great warlock. We merely wish to grow strong. What about you? What is it that you desire?”
Riven hadn’t been expecting that kind of response, and the question turned around on himself made him seriously give it thought. He looked right, to where Fay was standing beside him, and pulled her in close to kiss her forehead.
She grinned, nting a kiss on his cheek and wrapping her arms around him while he continued to search for answers.
“I guess my life is so hectic I hadn’t thought about it much.” Riven replied softly, stroking the back of Fay’s head with one hand. “Growing stronger used to be a need, and it still is, but that too has be a desire because of the freedom it grants me. That though is secondary to keeping the people I love safe. Andtely, magic itself has been rather… fascinating. I suppose if I had to choose an answer aside from granting the people I care about protection, it would be that I want to explore magic in the same way scientists of my old world did with microbiology, chemistry, physics - I want answers to how it all works.”
Riven thought back to the totems he was working with, smiling slightly. “I wish the Blood Moon Requiem was able to give me more information on totems. Sucks that it’s restricted. Elysium is very picky about what it does and does not allow on… Anyways I’m getting off track. Ak’ra, Selzi, I just wanted to let all of you know that I appreciate the help. And you know what? Take whatever you want off the bodies, but know that if you find anything good that I may be able to use - I’d be willing to buy it from whoever finds it for a good price. You’re all more than wee toe back to the necropolis after this is done with Ath too, though I’m sure you’d already nned on it.”
“We had, great one!” Selzi adamantly nodded her head. “We will do so, and your appreciation is noted! We will let you know if there’s anything worthy of your attention and I will inform the others they can pick what they’d like off the dead.”
Both skinwalkers bowed again, then left for the rest of their n on the outskirts where the bodies had been dragged to.
The sound of a woman clearing her throat caused Riven to turn, and he saw Genua standing awkwardly with her daughter’s hand in her own only a few feet away.
“Yes Genua?”
The elf woman’s eyes rapidly blinked, and she looked around the room - then back to where the others who’d remained under the dome had been all this time. Most of Ja’s group werepletely shellshocked, staring dumbfounded at the absolute destruction of the dungeon around them, while a few of them were excitedly going over all the levels they’d gained by just passively being in Riven’s group during the fight.
“You ok?” Riven asked, frowning in concern when Len hid behind her mother to peak out the side of Genua’s leg.
Genua seemed to get ahold of herself then, and straightened her posture to smooth out her maid’s uniform. “Y-Yes… I just wanted to say thank you for keeping us alive and out of the fight. It was far more violent than I’d expected it to be, and I just…”
“Mother and I were scared.” Len said from behind Genua’s leg - staring up at Riven’ with that one eye poking out where the rest of her face was hidden. “That was really, really scary.”
Genua took a shuddering breath, closed her eyes, and nodded. “Yes, I felt rather helpless. I don’t like feeling helpless, but it seems to repeatedly afflict me time after time. But I wanted to thank you for having us along, because it appears that I may not always be so helpless.”
Genua shifted one hand, and a status screen appeared.
<strong>[Genua’s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 21</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Fae Foundation, Forest (Corrupted, transition to Unholy Foundation has been detected. Potential loss of Fae Foundation and associated pirs is soon possible.)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] </strong><strong>Race: High Elf </strong><strong>, </strong><strong>ss: None (3 options avable)</strong><strong>, Vampiric Thrall (98% Complete), Blessing of the Blood God (???)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] None</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 3 Strength, 4 Sturdiness, 6 Intelligence, 6 Agility, 1 Luck, 2 Charisma, 3 Perception, 2 Willpower, 1 Faith (90 Free Stat Points to use)</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] </strong><strong>None</strong><strong>]</strong></li></ul>
“Oh wow! You gained so many levels just from standing by! That’s awesome!” Riven enthusiastically put a hand on her shoulder. “3 ss options too! Any idea what you want or if they’re any good? I’m happy for you…”
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His voice trails off when he saw ‘Blessing of the Blood God’ listed as one of her traits. Furrowing his brows, he scratched his head. “What’s that? Have you had it before now?”
Hesitantly, she shook her head no. “It is new, and came with the level ups. Until now I’d only had one ss option avable too, it was just ‘ve’, and now the old one disappeared entirely. There are three new ones. They each mention something very specific, and I’m not sure if it’s some kind of oddity, or a joke from Elysium, or something entirely different. Would you mind having a look and guiding me?”
Riven continued to curiously stare, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Sure, of course.”
Nervously smiling her appreciation, and with Len still looking at Riven like he was some kind of truly scary monster after the fight, Genua pulled up her ss options. It was somewhat reminiscent of his own ss choices back in the day, only these ones were far, FAR better than his own options had originally been.
<strong>[For every level gained, you will be presented with certain amounts of stat points depending upon both your ss title, your race, and sometimes other unique factors that will not be discussed here. Currently you have no ss title, and your race is set to High Elf. The High Elf race has +5 Free Stat Points per level. Please choose your starter ss title. Remember that sses do not dictate your survival style - rather, in the future, your survival style will dictate what sses you are awarded beyond these base forms. The better your performance, the better sses you will be awarded upon evolution opportunities.</strong><ul><li><strong>Priestess of the Blood God (ssTitle)(Completion of the Vampiric Thrall trait is required to choose this ss)(Must apply the Blood God’s Markings to choose this ss)</strong><strong> - A ritualist ss evolutionary pathway emphasizing the use of divinity, utility miracles, rituals, and sacrifices. You gain ess to the Blood God’s Clergy Interface, where you may buy miracles using faith points gathered from prayer specifically made for your ss or interact with the Blood God himself if you climb the rankingdder of clergy to a sufficient degree. +16 Faith, +1 Willpower, +2 free stat points per level. Comes with the abilities ‘Sanguine Smite’ [Tier 1 Miracle that sts an enemy at mid to short range with blood divinity], ‘Blood Oath’ [Tier 3 miracle that requires your vampire master’s permission to use, roots the user to one spot, increases the amount of damage taken by the user’s vampire master, and grants invincibility to yourself unless your vampire master dies], ‘Transfusion Zone’ [Tier 3 area of effect miracle that heals allies and damages enemies], ‘Body Fusion’ [Tier 3 miracle that temporarily fuses the priestess with one of her master’s other minions for unique effects depending on the target], and ‘Sanguine Possession’ [Tier 4 ritualist miracle that requires a sacrifice in an attempt to temporarily control a marked enemy based on enemy Willpower]. Choosing this ss alsoes with a legendary F-grade Clergy Robes of the Blood God set.</strong></li><li><strong>Lamprey (Combined Race-ss Title)(Completion of the Vampiric Thrall trait is required to choose this ss)(Must apply the Blood God’s Markings to choose this ss)</strong><strong> - A berserking race and ss that emphasizes raw power and up-close violence. Lampreys are a direct upgrade from the Vampiric Thrall trait, meant to be protectors and pets of the Blood God’s Chosen, and choosing this ss will rid yourself of the Vampiric Thrall trait while binding you as a Lamprey to your vampiric master instead; simultaneously granting you magic resistance, physical resistance, divinity resistance, extremely high regenerative properties, bonuses to unarmored, and the vampiric tendencies to feed on mortals regrly for survival. Choosing this race-ssbination changes your body into a hybrid of what you originally were, and a blood-type demonic entity, with associated traits that also drastically increase your speed, sturdiness and strength. Comes with the abilities ‘Cannibalize’ [Tier 1 Martial Art thatunches you towards and enemy in a frenzied state and does heavy amounts of damage to a single target, while simultaneously spiking your own regeneration amidst consumption], ‘Berserk’ [Tier 1 Martial Art that increases the amount of damage you do with physical attacks, increases the amount of damage you can take, drastically increases your speed, but enrages you and clouds your judgement], ‘Bloody Feast of the Primordials’ [Tier 3 Martial Art that sends out repeating shockwaves and that afflict all nearby enemies with the ‘Heavy Bleeding’ debuff, and that debuff will continue to apply additional stacks every 10 seconds or upon being hit by another shockwave for additional passive damage.], and ‘Blood Dance’ [Tier 2 Martial Art that applies a mark to an opponent for execution in the next 8 seconds, dealing 100% extra blood damage on strike to that opponent until they die or the 8 seconds expire. If the marked enemy lives, this martial art goes on a lengthy cooldown. If the marked enemy dies, this martial art allows you to mark and teleport to another enemy for 120% additional blood damage on strike. This effect can repeat up to 400% additional blood damage on strike as long as executions are sessfully made within their 8 second time allotments]. +6 Strength, +6 Speed, +7 Sturdiness, +2 Free Stat Points per level. Comes with a legendary F-Grade Guillotine Rampager set.</strong></li><li><strong>Sacrificial ve Aspirant (ss Title)(Completion of the Vampiric Thrall trait is required to choose this ss)(Must apply the Blood God’s Markings to choose this ss)</strong><strong> - A utility ss that focuses on empowering one’s vampiric master by means of internal sacrifice. Comes with the traits ‘Numbed Pain’ [60% decreased sensation to any painful stimuli], ‘Masochist’ [Derives gratification from pain while simultaneously healing your vampiric master at 1% of the damage you directly take], ‘Cockroach’ [Upon death, respawn a dayter as long as your vampiric master is still alive], and ‘Master’s Burden’ [20% of damage dealt to your vampiric master is rerouted to you until death]. Comes with the abilities ‘Take Affliction’ [Tier 1 Spell that immediately rids your vampiric master of any debuffs and ces them on yourself], ‘Give Life’ [Tier 1 Spell that immediately sends a portion of your health pool to your vampiric master], and ‘Red Meditation’ [Tier 3 Spell that absorbs surrounding blood mana while in a channeling trance-like state to heal yourself at extreme rates. This channeling can be easily interrupted]. ‘Increases sturdiness by 500 t points, with an additional 10% Sturdiness overall buff. +1 Willpower, +1 Intelligence, +10 Sturdiness, +3 Free Stat Points per level. Comes with a legendary F-Grade Shackles of the Blood ve set. This ss has an abnormally wide array of potential evolutions in the future once reaching level 50.]</strong></li></ul>
The very second Riven finished reading her notification, the room shuddered as the lid of the mythic-grade treasure chest opened. His eyes widened, and many of the onlookers stepped back while Azmoth and Ath rushed back into the room.
Red light bathed the interior of the dungeon wreckage, and a swirling mass of crimson symbols intertwined with one another hovered in the air - mixing with one another and rearranging themselves in odd, interchanging patterns.
If there was ever any question that system prizes for quests didn’t customize themselves to their assigned person, that question was nowpletely curb stomped.
<strong>[Blood God’s Markings (Mythical-Grade Female Thrall Enhancement):</strong><strong> Apply to a female thrall for upgrades.]</strong>
‘Female’ thrall enhancement. Did this mean there were specific types for male as well? He shot Luke a hesitant nce, wondering what his options would have turned into if he’d been the one to receive this kind of booster, and returned to staring at the swirling crimson symbols in the air.
“Huh. Well that’s neat.”
***
His fangs sank into Genua’s neck while Len was distracted by Jenny and the others, and the elf woman’s red eyes brightened even beyond her already abnormal light as a shudder and down her body. Her muscles spasmed, her bloodstream flowed with vampiric venom that Riven continued to pump into her, and her fingers clenched around his forearm while her mind began to temporarily fade away.
<strong>[Final stage of Thrall Manifestation is now underway. Estimated time untilpletion: 56 minutes. Would you like to im this thrall as your own?]</strong>
<strong>[Genua has been imed as your vampiric thrall, and now requires a certain amount of Willpower to sustain. Thralls will begin to mentally shut down if theyck the appropriate amount of Willpower.]</strong>
<strong>[Due to unique internal circumstances and the presence of a vampiric child inside Genua’s womb, the trait of Vampiric Thrall has been upgraded into Ascended Vampiric Thrall.]</strong>
<strong>[Genua has acquired the following traits: Ascended Vampiric Thrall, Positive Vampiric Inclinations, Vampiric Subservience. Due to unique internal circumstances and the presence of a vampiric child inside Genua’s womb, the Unholy Foundational Pir and Blood Sub-Pir have now reced her previous pirs.]</strong>
His eye only twitched slightly when the system itself confirmed Genua’s pregnancy, and he felt a very odd influx of emotions when considering the woman fainting in his arms bore his child. Especially given their history, it certainly wasn’t a match made in heaven.
“Will she be ok?” Tanya asked worriedly, blocking out Len’s line of sight while her mother was gently ced with her head on a nket.
Riven nodded and stood up, turning around to look at all the other people assembled there. “Yes she’ll be fine, better than fine probably.”
Ath and Tanya looked skeptical, Fay took it all in stride without a hint of doubt, Luke looked worried, while Azmoth seemed not to care.
“Uh… While we wait…” Ath slid up next to him and prodded him in the ribs with a finger. “Want to see what we’ve got going on in terms of loot!?”
She yanked out a rather gaudy headdress from behind her back made of jewels and gold, with massive dangling earring-like piecesing off the sides. Smiling widely and cing it on her head over the ck tiara she already wore, she began to wriggle her fingers Riven’s way. “NOW I’M A REAL PRINCESS!”