Patch 17 (Realm of Arkon) (14 page)

Ice Blade I.

Energy: 10 points.

Instant.

Cooldown: 2 seconds.

Minimum level: 10.

Melee range required; melee weapon.

An instant attack that deals 100% damage on top of the weapon's base damage.

Slows the target's movement by 5% for 5 seconds.

1% chance to freeze the target for 1 second.

Tongue of Flame I.

Energy: 10 points.

Instant.

Cooldown: 2 seconds.

Minimum level: 10.

Melee range required; melee weapon.

An instant attack that deals 100% weapon damage.

Ignores 1% of the target's physical defense.

Stone Blade I.

Energy: 10 points.

Instant.

Cooldown: 2 seconds.

Minimum level: 10.

Melee range required; melee weapon.

An instant attack that deals 100% damage on top of the weapon's base damage.

Slows the target's movement by 5% for 5 seconds.

1% chance to stun the target for 1 second.

Eight talent points and four skills. No way I was going to pass on Tongue of Flame—it was way too unique of a skill. And for my second, I was leaning toward Ice Blade, if only for my affinity for ice... Hold up! Altus had teleported when fighting Shaartakh—did I have something like that as well? After five minutes of searching, I found it! The skill was called Jump; you could add one point to it at level 50, and the second only at 100.

Jump I
.

Mana cost: 50 points.

Instant.

Cooldown: 25 seconds.

Minimum level: 50.

Teleports the caster to a set point within a 20 yard radius. Requires line of sight. Removes all stun and movement-impairing effects.

There. It was time to wrap up.

You've learned the spell:
Tongue of Flame V
.

Instant.

Energy cost: 30 points.

Cooldown: 2 seconds.

You attack the enemy with a blade burning with the power of fire, dealing 150% damage on top of the weapon's base damage and ignoring 5% physical defense.

You've learned the spell:
Ice Blade II
.

Instant.

Energy cost: 20 points.

Cooldown: 2 seconds.

You attack the enemy with a blade of ice, dealing 120% damage on top of the weapon's base damage, slowing the target by 10% for 10 seconds with an additional 2% chance to freeze the target for 2 seconds.

You've learned the spell:
Jump I
.

Instant.

Mana cost: 50 points.

Cooldown: 25 seconds.

You teleport to a set point within a 20 yard radius. Requires line of sight. The jump removes all stun and movement-impairing effects.

There, I was done. Whether I was right in my assumptions, only time would tell. I threw 39 stat points into vigor and 25 into constitution. Now I would have enough energy for 20 strikes, and I could buff up my hit points with equipment bonuses, if need be. On that note, I went back to my character's expanded window.

Archmage Altus' Apprentice, Shaartakh's Slayer—Krian, level 67.

Race: human [demon].

Agility: 10.

5.05% chance to hit critically with physical attacks: 5% base + .05% agility stat bonus.

5.05% chance to dodge physical attacks: 5% base + .05% agility stat bonus.

1% damage reduction from falling.

Strength: 100.

1% boost to armor.

20% boost to physical damage.

500 lbs carrying capacity.

Constitution: 46.

460 hit points.

Vigor: 60.

600 energy points.

Spirit: 67.

5.67% mana and energy regeneration in combat: 5% base + .67% spirit stat bonus.

5.67% mana and energy regeneration out of combat: 5% base + .67% spirit stat bonus.

.67% HP regeneration out of combat: 0% base + .67% spirit stat bonus.

Intellect: 67.

5.34% chance to hit critically with spells: 5% base + .34% intellect stat bonus.

13.4% to spell power.

670 mana points.

Armor: 20.

Abilities and skills.

Personal Weapon Enchanting with the Power of the Elements V

Shield of the Elements V.

Tongue of Flame V.

Ice Blade II.

Jump I.

Passive skills and achievements.

Shaartakh's Slayer.

Archmage Altus' Apprentice.

Toughness: 33%.

Bonus to damage with swords: +2%.

Bonus to heavy armor: +2%.

Magic Resistances.

Water magic: 0% (25% with Shield of the Elements).

Air magic: 0% (25% with Shield of the Elements).

Earth magic: 0% (25% with Shield of the Elements).

Fire magic: 0% (25% with Shield of the Elements).

Mental magic: 95%.

Dark magic: 67%.

Nature magic: none.

Light magic: 67%.

Relations with other races:
Humans—hostile, Elves—hostile, Orcs—hostile, Dark Elves—hostile, Dwarves—hostile, Drow—hostile, Demons—unfriendly, neutral in Ashtar Dominion.

I went into Settings and removed Shaartakh's Slayer from my name bar. The monster was essentially a solo skill for the archmage, and I was already reaping the rewards of the achievement by way of bonuses. Then I transferred all of my abilities, save for the enchantment, to my action bar. I had four boxes remaining.

It was time to sort through my trophies. I'd been itching to sneak a peak at what was in my bag, but I'd promised myself to wait until I was done with the talents. Now the time had come, so I started with armor and weapons.

Out of the sixteen items dropped by Shaartakh, only two were of any value at this point in time. But it was the kind of value that made my head spin!

Moonlight Garment.

Chestguard: leather.

Durability: 2789/3000.

Epic scalable. An item from the Moonlight set.

No minimum level.

At level 10:

armor: 25.

+15 to intellect,

+10 to spirit,

+15 to constitution,

+5% to spell power.

Weight: 2 lbs.

Part of the armor of the Elven King, Nakilon the Divider.

Requital.

Sword: two-handed.

Durability: 2489/3000.

Epic scalable.

No minimum level.

At level 10:

damage: 46-71,

+15 to strength,

+5 to vigor,

+10 to constitution,

+.5% to critical hit chance with a physical attack.

Weight: 15 lbs.

Forged by dwarves in the fiery chambers of Kuad Dor for Ertadyon.

Well, my luck was bound to run out at some point! Two scalable epic items, and I could use neither, since my class couldn't equip leather armor or two-handed swords. I sighed with disappointment. Scalable items grew in level and power along with their owner, and I couldn't begin to imagine what they were worth. Considering that they were dropped by a level 473 unique boss, each could probably fetch a luxury sports car.

As a rule, unique bosses dropped items with increased stats—the higher the boss' level, the better the stat bonuses. I stashed both items in storage to be dealt with later. The remaining fourteen items—eight rares and six epics—soon followed. Picture a Neanderthal stumbling onto a nuclear landmine.  The analogy was more than apt, since the items were all level 400+, and I couldn't even sell them to anyone. Well, I could in theory, but I wasn't going to get back anything close to their real value.

Moving on the vessels, I had twenty vials of Shaartakh's blood and six of his saliva—all unique, unsurprisingly, since there was only one Shaartakh. The blood increased the value of any capped-out profession by one; the saliva added a random stat point to a weapon up to level 450, depending on the item's level. Awesome! As far as I knew, leveling professions at higher levels was sheer torture, so this would be by far the easiest +20 to any profession. And +1 stat to a weapon needed no explanation—random, sure, but better than a hole in the head!

Seven vials with Hellspawn Liver Extracts—a rare category base ingredient for level 200+ alchemical potions. According to the wiki, one example was the Great Elixir of Magic Resistance, which boosted all maximum resistances by 10% for six hours and persisted through death. The component was surely quite expensive, but useless to me for the moment. Who knew when I'd level my alchemy to 200, or if I would pick up alchemy at all?

Six epic quality vials with a Potion of Greater Healing, which instantly removed all diseases and curses and restored all hit points. Nice! In light of the recent changes of 20% reduction in levels and stats upon death, this could prove truly irreplaceable.

A strange unique vial the color of gold:

Shaartakh's Breath.

Unique item. Potion.

Duration: 30 seconds.

Effect: the mighty Monster's breath transforms your essence, making your stats on par with the stats of your opponent or the strongest enemy within a 20 yard radius.

Break to use.

I shrugged. Sure, when facing Shaartakh or someone of that caliber, it would be cool to acquire those stats for half a minute, but then what? Your gear and weapon would remain unchanged. Or would they? I wasn't going to waste the potion's single use to find out. At the very least, this little bottle should be able to save my life in a pinch.

But the remaining five vials were all good news!

Shaartakh's Venom.

Unique item. Potion.

Duration: 600 seconds.

Effect: no creature can withstand the ancient Monster's venom. Your opponent's health will shrink to 1/10th of their maximum value.

Throw at your opponent to use.

I knew raid leaders that would sell their soul for five vials like this! And using it solo would be akin to swatting a fly with a jackhammer. But certainly a nice ace to have up your sleeve in case of an emergency.

Filling up the last four belt slots, I put two Potions of Greater Healing, one poison, just in case, and, after some hesitation, Shaartakh's Breath—if anything, it was another chance at survival. The remaining vials and money I put into my private storage, leaving only fifty gold on me for basic expenses.

It was time to go down, have some chow and shop for some gear. As ridiculous as it sounded, at level 67 my character still hadn't had a single kill.

Suddenly I remembered the two strange items from before. I opened my bag and pulled up the mirror. A lovely oval encased in ornate truesilver—which had some value in its own right—with glass polished to perfection. Most likely of elven craftsmanship.

You've accessed the quest: Isyliel's Mirror.

Quest type: hidden.

Return the mirror to its rightful owner.

Reward: experience, unknown.

And not another word: not about who this Isyliel was nor where to look for her. And another hidden quest to boot. It was almost not even surprising anymore. I shrugged and put the item back in the bag, then pulled out the piece of fabric from there and laid it out on the desk. A menacing boar's muzzle was scowling back at me from the brown background, clearly marking some kind of banner. Tattered at the sides, with two holes in the middle, the fabric was stained with something reddish, presumably blood.

***

"What are you grinning at?" Drang gave Scitti a frowning, sour look. "You're a grownup now with a son of your own, but you're just as hyper as you were thirty years ago. No wonder Gorin still has you as an apprentice. A proper dwarf should be even-keeled and dignified, like me," he poked his thumb into his chest.