System Change: Chapter 34

After looking over his stats for a few minutes, Derek had a general idea of what he wanted to do. Vitality and endurance would always be his go-to stats, but with the mana costs of his void skills, wisdom was going to be a must if he ever wanted to use them consistently. He wasn’t sure how much intelligence modified the strength of the skills, but everything he used void on seemed to die almost instantly, so intelligence was the least of his worries.

After getting the achievement for raising his endurance and vitality to 500, he wanted to have all his stats at 500, eventually. He actually almost had enough stat points to do it now, but he was still missing a few.

The first thing he did was use 140 points to increase his strength to 500. The feeling, just like when he initially reached it with vitality, was a rush. It felt like his strength was on a whole new level. In fact, when he looked down, the armor he was wearing was tight on him, and his muscles felt much tauter than before. He sensed that, if needed, he could use an explosive amount of strength.

Next, he used 240 points to raise his dexterity. The explosive power remained from his strength, but with the dexterity, his body size shrank back to his old size, albeit much more toned. He could still erupt with great strength, but now he felt that he could control it much better. Derek shuffled from one foot to the other like a boxer would. He couldn’t imagine the speed at which he could now run.

The notification he had been expecting was there. He ignored it for now and spent more of his stat points. He used 235 points to bring his wisdom to 450. His mind felt clearer overall, but he definitely didn’t feel the breakthrough that bringing a stat up to 500 brought with it.

Finally, with his stat points settled, he moved through all his new notifications.

Derek had been waiting for this ever since the previous achievement. Because of his lack of offensive class skills, offensive skills were what he felt he needed most. Unable to wait any longer, he focused on the offensive skills.

Derek looked over the list of skills available.

Augment Projectile was an ability that let him increase the strength of a projectile weapon. Using it would allow a dagger or arrow to fly faster, farther, and would also increase its penetrating power. Derek had been using projectiles often lately, but they would never be a part of his primary focus. Also, there was a chance that he could eventually attach void to a projectile with his current skills, so he dismissed the skill.

Enhanced Strike seemed like his previous Heavy Blow skill. It focused his attack into a single strike, increasing his damage. He hadn’t been missing Heavy Blow very much, so the only reason he would get this skill would be the possibility of the two skills combining.

Glass Cannon was very interesting. The skill would bring his endurance down to 10, effectively eliminating his stamina and lowering his overall defense. Afterward, the skill would distribute half of his endurance to strength and half to dexterity.

Lightning Pierce was an instantaneous skill. It was more based on dexterity than strength. The skill would project him and his weapon forward at an insane speed. The skill moved in a straight line, and it would take some time getting used to attacking at the same time. Derek could see how someone without a high dexterity would never be able to adapt to the skill.

Mastery was a passive skill—just like a Weapons Mastery skill. What Derek liked was the fact that the bonus would stack on top of his Heavy Weapons Mastery skill. He also wondered if the skill would combine with his old Glaive Mastery skill. His previous mastery skill had combined with Glaive Mastery earlier, so he didn’t expect to get lucky and combine it twice.

Multi-Strike was one skill that Derek was interested in. It was a pretty basic skill. When activated, a strike would hit twice. It would be like stabbing someone in the exact same spot two times. Even though it was basic, with his strength, the strike would be devastating, especially if used in tandem with the void. And, as the skill leveled, the cost would decrease, and the possibility of more strikes would be added. He favored this skill greatly over Enhanced Strike, even with the skill combination with Heavy Blow.

Phantom Blade was a feint type of attack. He could see its uses for speed-type fighters, but for him, it wasn’t very useful. It projected an attack towards an opponent when you attacked, which left it up to the enemy to try to figure out which attack was real.

Rapid Movement was nice. It increased all movement while in combat. It was very much like Haste, but it was a passive skill. When it recognized that the user was in combat, the buffs would automatically activate. How it recognized when one was in combat, Derek did not know. He guessed it was based on the user’s mindset. The overall increases in movement were not near as much as Haste, but, being a passive skill, there was no cooldown, and the ability was always active.

Sweeping Slash seemed to be just like his Wide Sweep skill. It was actually the skill that Derek was missing the most. When he used the skill, it would project a crescent-like blade one meter out from his weapon. Of course, that would increase as the skill leveled, as would the damage inflicted. It was a perfect area of effect skill for someone like him.

Finally, Whirlwind was a skill sort of similar to Sweeping Slash. But instead of the half-circle in front of him, it would attack the full 360 degrees. After the attack, a residual attack would circle around him for five more seconds. It was a nice skill. It would be great if he were surrounded by enemies.

After breaking down the pros and cons of each skill, Derek narrowed it down to Mastery, Multi-Strike, Rapid Movement, and Sweeping Slash. Luckily, he could choose two of the skills. After a bit more consideration, Sweeping Slash was a must for him. It may not be the best skill of the bunch, but it was a skill he was used to and it should start out at a higher level.

Soon, Derek eliminated Rapid Movement from the list. He just hadn’t needed to move any faster than he already did, and with his new stats, he didn’t even know how much his movement had increased. He figured it was already more than enough for his fighting style.

This left his choices down to Mastery and Multi-Strike. The extra mastery for using his weapon would be great, but at the same time, his strength and dexterity were already super high. Not to mention that his Heavy Weapons Mastery was already very close to reaching level 20. Multi-Strike would be an outrageously powerful single-target skill. If he could combine the skill with Channel Void or Sweeping Slash, he couldn’t imagine the destruction that could be wrought by it.

After a few minutes of debating himself, Derek let out a sigh and selected Sweeping Slash and Multi-Strike. He confirmed his choices.

Soon, a tinge of pain flashed in his head, and a notification popped up in his vision.

The pain was not even a distraction anymore. He opened up his notification to see how his new skill had leveled.

He nodded, happy with the skill combination. He viewed the skill in its entirety.

Derek smiled. He wondered if he could augment his glaive with void before activating Multi-Strike, then using Sweeping Slash. He couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle. He looked at his other skill.

Derek was content with his new status. He was prepared to go run the new undying dungeon. He looked over his new stats.

Derek closed the window and addressed the group. “Okay, the next dungeon we’re running is the level 100 undying dungeon. On the way there, you have to be careful. I’ll take care of Brandi, but the rest of you must stick close to me. Or I can take you back to the village. It’s completely up to you. Just know, getting there won’t be as safe as everything else has been.” He had to warn the group. Derek knew he shouldn’t have a problem protecting them, especially with his new stats and skills, but he wouldn’t give them any false promises. Going to the next dungeon was something they would have to decide for themselves.

“Of course I’m in,” Thomas said. “Who knows if there is an achievement for being the first team to complete a dungeon, or even finishing a level 100 dungeon? Not to mention the possible rewards for such a high-rank dungeon.” His eyes glowed just thinking of the possibilities.

Rayna didn’t hesitate, either. “I’m fast enough that I should be able to survive the trip there, especially if we are stealthy.”

“We can go,” Mal said. “But you have to keep Brandi safe above all else.”

Derek nodded. “The dungeon is farther away than all the others, but I picked this dungeon as the last because it was closest.” The dungeon they were currently in was around a third of the way between the village and the level 100 dungeon.

Of course, the group wouldn’t mess around like he did when he was alone. They would go straight to the new dungeon at a brisk pace, avoiding what enemies they could. Derek expected them to arrive within a week.

“Okay, masks on,” he said, and everyone covered their faces. “Let’s go.”

The group all placed their hands on the dungeon orb and Derek chose ‘Leave Dungeon.’ The orb glowed, and the bright light overtook their vision. Soon, they were standing around the entrance to the dungeon.

Derek looked around and, seeing that no one was there, picked up Brandi and moved deeper into the forest. The others all followed. They traveled like this for days.

In Torith, inside a noble manor, a middle-aged man with graying hair was sitting at a desk in his study. He looked up from a stack of papers. “Bronson, is that brat back from his quest yet?”

“We have not heard from him since he left, master,” a man wearing a classic butler uniform answered.

The older man sighed. “That damn kid. He’s probably messing around, causing another mess that I’ll have to clean up. Why can’t he be more like his older brother?” He waved his hand and a stack of coins appeared in his palm. He handed the coins to Bronson. “Take these, and go see Maria. At least make sure that Wallace is well.”

Maria was a commoner who had worked her way into the noble’s good graces. She had gained her reputation as a Lesser Sibyl. She couldn’t see the future per se, but she could feel out the wellbeing of others. If anyone needed to know the status of another, they could bring a possession of the one to her, and she could check his or her basic status.

Bronson stopped by Wallace’s chambers and grabbed a tunic he had seen the young master wear. With that, he left the manor and walked through the noble part of the city before arriving at the upper-class commoner region that bordered.

He walked up to a well-off residence and knocked on the door. A young lady answered. “Can I help you, sir?” she asked.

“Ah yes, I was looking for Miss Maria. I have a task that I would like her help with,” Bronson answered.

“Yes, sir. I will inform Miss Maria that House Gracefall would like to meet. Please come in.” The young lady, seeing the house insignia, motioned Bronson to have a seat. “I will be right back.” She turned and went up the stairs.

Soon, a black-haired woman in a lovely blue dress walked down the stairs into the living room. “Bronson, how nice to see you today. It’s been too long,” she said as she walked to a seat across from the man.

The man smiled. “Miss Maria, you are as lovely as ever.” He stood while waiting for the woman to have a seat. She sat, and he soon followed. “Unfortunately, today’s visit is business. The young master has been out on a mission from the Adventurer’s Guild for a while now, and the master is worried.” He placed the tunic and stack of coins down on a table between them.

The woman smiled. “Of course, I would be happy to help.” She reached over and grasped the tunic and closed her eyes. Squeezing it, her hand started shaking from the force. The smile eventually turned into a frown as her eyebrows creased. Soon, her eyes opened, and a look of sadness filled them.

She looked up at Bronson. “I am sorry, Bronson. I can feel no future from your young master. I’m afraid that he is no longer of this world.” Maria broke the news.

Bronson’s face turned stony. “Are you sure?” he asked. Seeing Maria nod her head, he reached over and took the tunic from her. He stood. “Thank you for your time. I must go inform the master.” He turned to the door and headed out.

Maria looked at the closed door and sighed.

Back at the manor, Bronson made his way to the study. He stood in front of the man and waited for him to look up.

After some time, the man finally raised his head. “So?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, master. It seems that the young master is no more.” He broke the news.

The older man sighed. “I knew that his arrogance would get the better of him one day. I had hoped he would break his habits as he grew.” The man shook his head and looked Bronson dead in the eyes. “Go. Go to the Adventurer’s Guild and find the information on the quest he took. Then, find out what happened to him. You have one month.”

Bronson nodded his head and left. He made his way to his servant’s quarters and replaced his butler uniform with shining battle armor. He then strapped a giant great sword to his back and retrieved a golden Adventurer’s Guild Badge and strapped it to his arm. Soon, he opened the door to the manor and left toward the Adventurer’s Guild.

The group hadn’t actually run into any problems other than a bear attack on the first night they set up camp. Rayna had easily taken care of the level 62 monster. After that, it was smooth sailing for the team of five. Thomas, Malorie, and Rayna stuck as close to Derek as possible while he kept Brandi in his arms. He had started to feel like he was just her personal taxi at some point. They made good time.

Six days after leaving the previous dungeon, Derek and his group finally arrived at the area where no plants were even partially alive. The area seemed to have gotten even bigger since the last time he was there.

Brandi and Thomas were looking around in awe, while Rayna had a look of contemplation on her face. “This is what will happen to the entire forest if the overflow isn’t cleared soon,” the woman said.

“I imagine so. It seems that once the disease is rooted, it spreads even faster. The patches of diseased plants and trees from the outer parts of the forest were probably from when partially diseased animals made contact with them. I don’t actually think that the disease will spread on its own from there,” Derek answered. “Once the overflow is taken care of, I think the orb will stop radiating with the disease, and the forest will start healing. That is, of course, if the dungeon is properly maintained afterward.”

Rayna just nodded and didn’t answer back.

“Come on. We’re close, and I don’t know how long it will take for me to clear this dungeon,” Derek said as he led the group farther into the forest.

Soon, they arrived at the dungeon orb. Brandi looked around and let out a gasp. “Why are there so many bones over there?” She pointed past the orb to a giant pile of bones and rotted animal carcasses.

Derek smiled awkwardly. “Uh, that’s where I had a fight the last time I was here. The monsters didn’t take kindly to me running around making noise.”

“Oh,” Brandi answered. It seemed like after traveling together and completing dungeons, no one was surprised when Derek said or did anything unbelievable anymore.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Derek motioned to the group, and they all walked to the dungeon orb together. They reached their hands out and touched the orb.

Derek viewed the dungeon to make sure everything was still the same.

Nothing had changed since the last time Derek was there. He backed out of the status screen. “Okay, here we go.” He selected ‘Enter Dungeon,’ and the countdown began.