READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 37 - Divine Waves
As Caeileera was welcoming Deirdee into the family I was assaulted by several notifications that definitely soured this touching scene.
Warning: The Blood that Devours has taken notice of you. Further acts of defiance may result in earning its ire.
Notice: Ereshkigal approves of your actions
Notice: Nyx approves of your actions
Notice: Unmet Power has found your actions amusing
Notice: ??? now considers you a dangerous wild card.
Notice: The Sun that Burns No More considers you to be a potential ally.
New quest acquired: The Great Game
Type: Personal (Epic)
Difficulty: Deadly
Description: Despite your short time on Dwynveia, you have managed to get the attention of the Powers that Be. Some of them view you as an ally, while others see you as a hindrance to be removed. That means your days as a free agent are limited. As the Old Gods of Dwynveia lack sufficient resources, sooner or later (preferably the former) you will need to align yourself with one of the other powers to get you and your friend some level of protection.
Objectives:
Acquire patronage of one of the Powers
(Optional) Complete the “Daughter of the Abyss” questline
Rewards:
20000 experience points
Access to faction quests
Penalties for failure
(Likely) Death
Notice: This quest cannot be cancelled or declined
Tracker:
Powers currently favourable to you:
The Old Gods of Dwynveia
The Sun That Burns No More
Unmet Power
Powers hostile to you:
The Blood That Devours
???
Unmet Power
Powers neutral/unmet: 4
New quest offered: The Daughter of the Abyss
Type: Faction (Epic)
Difficulty: Very Hard
Description: Despite them feeling at home in Ereshkigal's domain, Tenebral Slimelings are, actually, native to the Abyss. Due to your good relationship with the gods of Dwynveia and opposition to the Blood that Devours, the Sun that Burns No More wishes to establish a relationship with you.
Objectives:
Contact Naevud in Ror-Bhyk (Ask Aki for details)
Rewards:
Place at the court of the Sun that Burns No More
Do you accept this quest? Yes/No
Notice: Declining this quest will have consequences both for you and for Aki
Notice: Completing this quest line will affect your relationship with other powers
Wait… Why would this have consequences for Aki? Oh… it’s about THAT Abyss.
I did a mental shrug and thought: “Yes”.
Not gonna ruin things for Aki. Sadly, that means I really AM becoming a divine errand girl. Hopefully, this “Sun” will be as hot as Ere or Nyx. Though knowing my luck, and given that its name reminds me of a certain bloody fuck, this one is probably an actual eldritch abomination.
Using the slight lull, I checked my notifications
Level 9 Lesser Tooth Abomination has been slain.
You have earned 450 experience points (2782/3000 total experience points progress to level 6)
Level 4 Lesser Tooth Horror has been slain.
You have earned 400 experience points (3182/3000 total experience points progress to level 6)
You are now Level 6 (182/3500 total experience points progress to level 6)
Your total health has increased
Your total stamina has increased
Your total mana has increased
You have received 2 perk points (Current Number of Perk Points: 2)
New Spell Acquired: Shadow Weapon
Level 5 Lesser Tooth Horror has been slain.
You have earned 250 experience points (432/3500 total experience points progress to level 7)
Level 6 Lesser Tooth Horror has been slain.
You have earned 600 experience points (1032/3500 total experience points progress to level 7)
The following attributes have progressed:
Strength: +25% (91% total progress to level 12)
Dexterity: +10% (30% total progress to level 15)
Agility: +6% (21% total progress to level 12)
Endurance: +80% (149% total progress to level 12)
Your Endurance Attribute has increased to level 12 (24% total progress to level 13)
Your total health has increased
Your total stamina has increased
Vitality: +10% (37% total progress to level 14)
Intelligence: +12% (84% total progress to level 17)
Cunning: +3% (29% total progress to level 9)
Willpower: +24% (36% total progress to level 16)
Resilience: +1% (18% total progress to level 8)
Charisma: +20% (23% total progress to level 7)
The following skills have progressed:
Bastard Sword - Two-handed: +28% (42% total progress to level 7)
Air Arcana: +34% (68% total progress to level 4)
Sanguine Arcana: +30% (33% total progress to level 2)
The following spells have progressed:
Gust of Wind: +46% (66% total progress to level 4)
Fist of Wind: +34% (59% total progress to level 3)
Blood Lance: + 60% (60% total progress to level 2)
I called up my character sheet to see if there was anything obvious to level.
Basic Details
Name Lilyth Race Tenebral Slimeling
Gender Transwoman Age 33
Level 6 (1032/3500 exp) Class Shadow Paladin
Rank Novice Perk Points 2
Attributes
Physical Progress Mental Progress
Strength 11 91% Intelligence 16 84%
Dexterity 14 30% Wisdom 12 0%
Agility 11 21% Willpower 15 36%
Endurance 12 24% Cunning 8 29%
Vitality 13 37% Resilience 7 18%
Perception 11 0% Faith 3 0%
Appearance 12 0% Charisma 6 23%
Skills
Lore - General
Name Rank Level Progress
Insight Novice 17 45%
Lore - Humanities
Name Rank Level Progress
Linguistics Journeyslime 40 10%
Earth Literature Apprentice 25 0%
Earth History Novice 10 0%
Lore - Sciences
Name Rank Level Progress
Data Analysis Apprentice 30 3%
Mathematics Novice 10 0%
Computing Novice 15 0%
Survival - General
Name Rank Level Progress
First Aid Novice 2 0%
Sense of Direction Novice 10 8%
Stealth Novice 4 8%
Climbing Novice 1 77%
Martial - Swords
Name Rank Level Progress
Bastard Sword - Two-handed Novice 6 42%
Crafting - Cooking
Name Rank Level Progress
General Novice 2 0%
Crafting - Magical
Name Rank Level Progress
Arcane Writing Novice 1 50%
Arcana
Name Rank Level Progress
Earth Novice 2 28%
Air Novice 3 68%
Water Novice 0 5%
Umbral Novice 1 0%
Sanguine Novice 1 33%
Spells
Name Arcana Rank Level Progress
Rock Spikes Earth Novice 3 44%
Gust of Wind Air Novice 3 21%
Fist of Wind Air Novice 2 25%
Flickering Lights Umbral Novice 1 0%
Quench Torch Umbral Novice 1 0%
Shadow Weapon Umbral Novice 1 0%
Blood Lance Sanguine Novice 1 60%
Traits
Name Level Progress
Neurodivergence N/A N/A
The Queen's Raivarian N/A N/A
Entomophobia 08/10 Special
Hidden Predator N/A N/A
Predator's Instinct ??? ???
Elemental Infusion - Air 2/10 Special
Abilities
Name Rank Level Progress
The Swiftness of the Wind Novice 1 0%
Given how I was getting more and more Umbral Spells and had bonuses for them I put both perk points into Umbral Arcana. Given how much shit I was in, it was time I started looking at things like maximising my advantages and exploring what this new body of mine could do. I had allies now, so my instincts told me it really was high time for that.
‘Finally,’ the Huntress sighed. ‘Remember - you have a pack and a mate you are responsible for. ’
Could you not call Aki “my mate?”
‘Sorry. Mates.’
What?
The Huntress went silent. What the fuck was she implying?
Your Umbral Arcana skill has increased to level 3 (0% total progress to level 4)
You have spent 2 Perk Points (Current Number of Perk Points: 0)
Last, but not least, I checked out my new spell.
Spell: Shadow Weapon
Type: Shadow - Enhancement
Level: 1 (0% progress to level 2)
Effect: Imbues wielded weapons with Shadow Energy. Can be maintained.
Casting time: 1 second
That will be useful. Especially now that the Blade of the Black Rose is gone.
I turned back towards my pack and mates and packmates.
‘Any ideas where we should go next?’
Caeileera pointed at the big monster.
Deep beneath Lilyth's growing party in the depths of the warehouse complex, a full nest of the Tooth Horrors finished manifesting. This was not the original intent of their mistress, but sometimes your hand gets forced. And ultimately the mongrel spawn of the Abyss was right: the shelter would, indeed, serve as a perfect base. Another wrinkle in the plan was the need to deploy one of her strongest pawns. This was solely out of the need to eliminate Lilyth from the game before the slimeling became an even greater threat. The Blood might be willing to observe the Earthling a bit longer, but the mistress of the nest was not. Her powers have greatly waned in the period she was non-existent, and they would take a very long time to fully recover. And that meant all six of the intruders had to be disposed of. So, in the centre part of the nest, where the hatchery would eventually be, a special cocoon was manisted. It opened silently and a man fell out of it.
Elias Ross stretched his numb limbs as he got up from the floor. He was once a handsome man, with neatly cut blonde hair, a goatee and sparkly blue eyes, which is something that allowed him to charm his way into many sinners' houses. Now his skin was pale and sallow, his hair shoulder-long, grey and unkempt and his beard reaching his sternum. His eyes were bone white as if covered by cataracts, and yet he could see quite clearly. Elias’s all-black clothes - a shirt, pants, coat and Boss of the Plains hat have fared surprisingly well over the years. They were a bit wet from their stay in the cocoon, but other than that there were no tears or damage on them. Elias had only one piece of clothing of a different colour on him - his still-pristine white priest collar. The man reached beneath his coat and unholstered the gun he had hidden there. It was his old plain large-calibre six-shooter, but some modifications happened to it, thanks to the mistress. Its cylinder, rather than bullets, held mana crystals - each infused by a different kind of Arcana. Elias could switch between them at will, and each would result in a bolt of different mana energy being fired. The gun’s barrel also became slightly wider and longer to accommodate the necessary magical circuitry.
Images of four Sanguine, a Demonborn and a Slime flashed in Ross’s head. Those were his targets.
‘Yes, mistress,’ Ross muttered, his voice still hoarse, ‘Thy will be done. The sinners will be punished.’