229 Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-Nine – Wait, Forsaken aren’t Forsaken? (1/2)
”Like getting D Rank, just for that one Level?” Briggs murmured, and everyone else agreed. Earning that much Karma was no joke at all! Eighty Levels worth...
”There's a reason all them post-Tens aren't youngsters anymore,” I hinted strongly. ”Pretty sure the extra years we get are just so we can last long enough to maybe break that ceiling under normal circumstances, if we keep trying. After all, you don't NEED to be a Deep Ten to make Eleven.”
”Huh.” Briggs glanced down as the pool in front of us trembled ever-so-slightly. ”What are you planning on doing?”
”The Annis Hag evolution is actually very strong, especially once you remove the Curse. It gets to +7 flat Attack Bonus. I have a Fallen Ahren template that should get me to +13 thereafter, and then lilitu or marilith would get me to +17.”
”Ugh. You have to pay for the bonus twice?” He rubbed his nose as the water trembled more.
”Never said the process was efficient.” I was watching it too, of course, and what was at the bottom of the pool. We weren't sitting here for no reason. ”Wizards are associated with Dragons because they are the easiest Arcane Casters to reach, with Evilborn the next most, particularly Arcanadaemons. Divine Casters go to servants of their Patrons. Warriors emulate mighty creatures that can have higher AB's. It all fits.”
”Why not make the run for Eleven?” he asked, his hand closing around Endure now, and the Hammer starting to burn. Quaver slid herself into my hand, starting to do the same.
”Karmic costs for Secondary Levels all increase with every Primary Level,” was the automatic reply.
”Uh, you're still buying up Class Levels?” He was shocked despite himself. ”Prestige Levels? What?”
”Well, I made a discovery.” Something dark at the bottom of the pool was starting to flow upwards. Naturally, we could both see it perfectly in our tremblesense. It was massive, easily a hundred cubic meters in size, flowing up, up, stealthily and steadily, toward the food above vibrating on the ground.
”A discovery.” Briggs threw a partial smile. ”That's that 32 Int coming into play again, gnawing at something. What is this massive discovery that is holding you back from Eleven?”
”Well, do you know Forsaken can take Caster Classes?”
Despite himself, he flinched from head to toe in shock. ”Are you serious? Of course you are. Why in the world would we do so?” Everything about the Classes was designed to increase Casting ability. Even the Feats you could theoretically take since you didn't get spells would have to do with magic and Casting, useless to us.
”Well, it turns out those are the Classes that work with our Forsaken Status. Nulls default to work with the Druidic Classes, Sources are probably on the Divine Paradigm, and Voids on the Arcane.”
”Wait, there's Classes that advance Forsaken skills?” His eyes almost popped.
”Null Druid subsumed my Null Mastery and all my Null Feats I'd paid for.”
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The edge of the great black ooze broke the surface of the water on the opposite side of the pool from us, closer to the numbers of people-snacks over there. More mass flowed out of the pool like an inky black tide, noticeably lowering the level of the pool as it did so.
”Well. Shit,” Briggs blinked at me.
”Oh, and one more thing.” I moved Quaver back, now a blade of solid Firephasing flame. ”I have a Casting Matrix.”
I cut forward. Briggs almost smashed his own foot, and I grinned as my first Oozebane Fireshard drove hard into the bulging mass of the great Ooze, boring a hole right through it.
Oozes, degraded shoggoth-spawn, were utterly insatiable eating machines that could be found basically anywhere they could hide from sunlight, as the skinless colonial organisms were intensely vulnerable to ultraviolet light. Given its size, a whole lot of biomass had been devoured by this sucker, but now its time was at an end.
Endure's Sharding plowed into it, a foot-wide tunnel plunging deep into its mass. Everybody nearby knew what was going on, of course, and the Casters waiting there immediately began to pepper it with Fire and Force Reserves. Ashified, disrupted colony cells eroded away, vivic energy flaring like fireworks as the miniscule creatures died, removing them from blocking further effects. Now it was taking fire damage from both directions, all directions, getting eroded down very quickly as Banefire tore through it and guided the damage to all the best parts.
I noted a lot of water flowing down it and back into the pool, too.
”Are you shitting me?” His eyes narrowed as he leapt along that train of thought. ”We can store magical energy... our own magical energy?” His eyes popped. ”We're generators... and capacitors...” He glanced at me. ”Can we use the power?”
”We can't spend it, if that's what you are asking. Are there some Feats or Masteries out there, besides the traditional Reserves, that allow you to leverage all the magical energy in your body into something else? I remember there being a Feat which granted Toughness based on how many metamagic Feats you knew... eh...” But my eyes were dancing as a constant flurry of burning Swords and Hammers matched with the firecracker explosions of the directed Reserves, chewing this Ooze to bits. It had a lot of Health, even as it shuddered and stopped moving.
Nobody let up. This thing was going down to vivus... and then we were going to get all the nice things out of the bottom of the pool.
”What about elemental energies?” he had to ask. ”Is it just generic?”
”I was automatically thrown into the Animal Domain, probably because of my Annis background. I'm likewise assuming Verd, Amber, and Veis will be thrown into Plant, Fire, and Air respectively. So, all the Engrams and Pools I've been raising have signs of bestial, primal energy to them.”
”But if we can't use the power, that's a total waste,” he frowned.
”Is it, Brothers?” I /asked into the Marktell going on.
The /silence was thrumming with anticipation. It was the Fire and Sword who finally answered. -Bondmages,- he /whispered.
-Mechanics?- I /asked for everyone.