As Anton waited for John, he reviewed the Mythical Spells he’d picked up.
Fireball - This spell creates a small ball of fire that can be fired out to a range of 100,000 feet. Upon impact, it will make a 100-foot diameter fireball that will envelop everything within it. Any item or creature that takes twice its hit points or durability is instantly vaporized.
PE Cost: 100 / Range: 100,000 Feet (18.9 miles) / Adjustable Damage, Maximum 100,000 Damage.
Teleport Other - This spell allows you to target another individual and teleport them anywhere within range if they fail their magic resistance check. While Psychic Energy fuels this spell, the target resists against Magic as Normal. PE Cost: 100 / Range: 100,000 Feet (18.9 miles)
Force Construct - This spell allows you to create a force construct within a 46.4 cube centered on yourself. The constructs may take any shape, form, or thickness you desire and may be clear or opaque.
The Initial Psychic Energy Cost is 100 and requires 1 PE per turn to maintain. All Force Structures share an HP pool of 100,000 Hit Points. As damage is absorbed, the whole structure is depleted. It will not fail until all 100,000 hit points are depleted.
There are other Mythical Versions of this Skill that can create much more durable force constructs. That strength was sacrificed to reduce the initial cast and upkeep cost.
Flight - This spell allows the caster to fly up to 6,818 miles per hour at a cost of 100 mana per turn. It should be noted that this spell does nothing to protect the caster from the damage associated with traveling through an atmosphere at such a high speed.
Teleport - This spell allows you to teleport to any place you can see within 10,000 Feet for 1 PE.
There are other Mythical Versions of this Skill that will allow you to teleport much further and even across dimensional boundaries. That functionality was sacrificed to reduce the cost of casting.
Adaption – The Mythical version of this spell allows the caster to adapt to any Environment. From the bottom of an Ocean to the void of space. From a vat of Acid to a pool of liquid magma. Theoretically, the caster could survive at the center of a sun or even a Black Hole, though that claim has not been tested.
Initial Cost: 100 PE
Upkeep: 100 PE per turn.
Anton looked over the spells. They were all Mythical Rank, but it looked like the spells he’d absorbed had all been tailored to a low initial casting cost. As he looked the spells over, he realized that each spell was quite powerful for the mana cost. The Fireball spell alone was extremely powerful, with up to 100,000 points of damage for 100 mana in a 100-diameter sphere. If he dropped a Force Construct around himself and then dropped a Fireball, he could clear out everything around him and not take any damage. If needed, he could drop a Fireball at his feet, and his Manifested body would survive. Well, he wouldn’t die anyway. Of course, he was immune to the magic, but fireball had a blast component, so it was better not to chance it.
Anton smiled; all in all, the spells were a welcome addition to his arsenal and improved his ability to move around a battlefield and destroy large numbers of enemies. He would need to add more spells that he could cast and absorb, which he should do when he had the chance. Using Mythical spells to handle his issues every time would be an overkill.
Anton quickly checked his Spell list and realized that the spells he’d just received did not use up the spell points he had. It appeared that if he absorbed the spells, they were treated as if he’d earned the Spell Points, which was broken beyond belief. As he looked over his six new spells, each was considered level 80 and listed 3,240 Earned Spell Points for a total of 19,440. Considering he only had 27,190 spell points that he could assign, the fact that the spells he absorbed didn’t count toward that total…yep, broken. This begged the question, was there an upper limit?
The next obvious question he had was, should he take back eight of the divine objects he’d taken and assimilate them to improve his Divine Pilfer Title? He was definitely of a mind to do so, but he’d made a deal with John. Also, he didn’t really need them at this point. Besides, he had an Assassin Guild Leader that he needed to visit and a Temple to construct. Maybe he could spend some of his Conviction to get tailor-made Divine items that would further improve some of his other Perks, abilities, or titles? Yeah, he was going to do that.
Anton’s thoughts were interrupted when John’s voice filled the air near him: “Anton, are you done with your super big explosion yet? Because we haven’t detected anything?”
Anton laughed, “Yeah, I’m good; please bring me back.”
The world shifted around Anton again, and he stood before John.
“So?” John asked.
“So, the energy release wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, though I need to rest for a while. Any issues with me staying right here while I recuperate?” Anton asked.
“How long do you need?”
“About a day?”
“Well, you technically own 49% of the business, so I don’t have a problem with it. Are you sure you don’t want to go settle that whole Bloodhunted and Exiled problem you have?”
“I’m not really concerned,” Anton said.
“Someone could come in here looking for you. As a resident of Haven, I would be required to allow them access,” John said.
“Not an issue. I’ll be in here somewhere; they shouldn’t be able to detect me. I’ll come back to this location when I’m ready to leave,” Anton said.
“Okay, I guess,” John said.
Anton deactivated Manifest and shot away toward one of the shelves he saw about a half mile away. He floated up to the top of the shelving racks and found a group of boxes to float in the middle of. He continued to maintain Quickened Healing and then closed his eyes and activated Meditate.
***
Scuff continued to look around the trader's shop, keeping an eye on Baltar's body, which was standing next to a wall. Scuff, while a goblin that didn’t look like much, was also one of the top scouts for the Assassin’s Guild. His low level and the poor and homeless vibe he cast made him one of the best scouts and trackers in the guild. No one expected a level 10 rogue to be part of the Assassin’s Guild; it was one of the reasons the Guild Leader had sought him out; he needed a few scouts that were not within the normal limit range for The Assassin’s Guild. If he did well for another year, the Assassin’s Guild would help him level and even change his class.
Today, he was told to follow the new City Owner when he left the Capital Building and report any changes in his status, which he did. Everyone knew about John’s extra-dimensional warehouse; it’s one of the reasons none of the rogues tried to steal from him.
Scuff had sent a message when Anton had stepped through the door into the warehouse, and he’d been watching Baltar for just over a quarter-hour before he dissolved. It was the only way he could describe it. He’d been standing in the hallway, and then he’d just evaporated while his clothes and the little equipment he carried fell to the ground. One of the attendants had noticed, run over, picked it all up, and then taken it behind the counter. Baltar had just ceased to exist.
After another hour, John came out of the warehouse without Anton and went back to helping other customers. One thing had changed. However, John appeared more jovial than before. Did he kill this Anton character? The Bounty was quite good at one million credits. Maybe there’d been something in the warehouse that could have done it.
Regardless, the attendants and even John had started looking after him more and more, so he decided it was time to make an exit and watch the store from the other side of the street. If Anton reemerged, he wanted to be here to report it. Without saying a word, he scuttled out the front door and across the street over by one of the trees along the outside of the crater. He took up a position in one of the bushes near the trees and kept watch while he pulled out a low-grade communication crystal and made his report to the Guild.
For the next day, nothing changed. He was contacted once every six hours to see if Anton had left, but so far, nothing had happened. The night had come and gone while he watched, which was why he was roused from dosing when a group of city guard, the new City Owner, and four elite members of the Assassins guild walked down the ramp from the upper city and stood in the road outside of John’s Trade Shop.
“John, Present yourself Now!”
Scuff watched as John came outside, and the City Owner questioned him. A moment later, the guards moved to surround the shop while the City Owner, his four lieutenants, and ten city guards walked inside.
Whatever was about to happen was going to be good, and he had a front-row seat to watch.
***
Anton ended his Mediation skill and opened his eyes. His attention immediately focused on an unfamiliar voice.
“WHERE IS HE?”
“I don’t know,” John said.
“He was here, yes?”
“Yes,” John answered.
“And he didn’t leave?”
Anton moved to where he could see John and his guests and noted one man and ten city guards, along with four more individuals hiding in stealth. The stealthed individuals were standing in a position that allowed them to guard the loud man's back. From the dress and garb, Anton took them to either be rogues or assassins, which meant that he was probably looking at the new City leader.
Well, he’d picked up a new power, he needed to kill this asshole, and he also needed to know what he had done with the City Node, if he had moved it. So, Spectral Hand with a touch of Assimilation, maybe his whole brain. It couldn’t be that easy, could it?
Anton was about to activate Analyze and realized he hadn’t leveled the skill. Well, he was sitting on over 63,521 Psychic Skill Points, so he invested 3,240 into Analyze and increased its skill level to 80. Then he concentrated on the Leader and activated Analyze.
Name: Artemis
Race: Human
Age: 38
Common Class: Assassin
Level: 482
Active Titles: City Owner: Haven / Slayer of Sentients X +100% chance to hit and Damage against all targets. / All other titles masked by Ability Personal Shroud.
Active Ability Detected: Personal Shroud—Perception and Skill-based attempts are 100% less likely to detect your use of Invisibility or Stealth.
Also, magic and skill-based scrying below divine rarity will not work against you.
Hit Points: 5,560
Stamina: 11,604
Mana: 5,820
Psychic Energy: 727
Anton smiled; yep, this guy would be a perfect candidate for him to use Spectral Reach and Assimilate Memories. Anton moved down until he floated just beneath the floor and then shot forward until he was within range of the Party. When he was close, he rose out of the floor just enough to see his target. Anton reached out with Spectral Reach and had one of the hands the skill created grab Artemis by the back of the head.
Artemis tried to dodge it, but it was pointless. Since his objective was to kill the man, he went quick and dirty and broke down his mind as he absorbed every memory within Artemis’s head while the matter of his brain evaporated.
Almost thirty-nine years of memories flowed into Anton and were archived by Anton’s superior intellect. In the moment it took for Artemis’s eyes to cave into his skull as they receded into the void left by the missing brain, Anton knew everything that Artemis knew, which had an interesting side effect.
SYSTEM Message
The Assimilation of Artemis’s mind into your own permanently has had the following effects:
One, You have all the memories and knowledge of Artemis for the entirety of his life. While these memories may or may not influence your actions, they are yours.
Two, The following Skills are either improved or learned.
Note: Knowledge-based skills, such as language and knowledge skills, will be retained as if earned at 100% of the value that Artemis achieved. Physical Skills will only improve by approximately one-half the earned skill points.
Language, High Elvish, Level 10
Language, Dwarvish, Level 10
Language, Gnomish, Level 10
Language, Lizardman (Tear’nar), Level 10
Language, Goblin, Level 10
Language, Orc, Level 10
Language, Gnoll, Level 10
Basic Map, Increased from Level 29 to 35
Long Blade, Increase from Level 38 to 43.
Scavenge, Increase from Level 3 to 20.
Short Blades Increased from level 38 to 43.
Snatch, Increased from Level 2 to 20.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Throwing, Increased from level 1 to Level 20
Two-Weapon fighting Style, Increased from level 29 to 35.
While the skill increases were nice, the items Artemis was currently wearing were nicer. With his hand from Spectral Reach still holding Artemis’s head, Anton pulled him into his body into his Personal Storage. He’d go through Artemis’s equipment later.
Anton watched as John’s mouth went slack-jawed as the other four assassins instantly moved into a defensive stance. One of them went so far as to reach out with their weapon and strike Anton’s floating Spectral Hand, which vanished. Anton summoned two rare swords from his inventory, flashed forward into the position the Artemis had been in, and then Manifested into existence.
He was going to say something but was never given a chance as all four assassins attacked simultaneously. Anton was pleasantly surprised when the fight actually forced him to go all out. It wasn’t a question of skill or attributes. Anton exceeded the four assassins in both. It was a question of numbers. There was Anton, and then there were four of them. When he appeared, he had expected to be able to parry their attacks easily and strike with impunity. Unfortunately, the four bodyguards went all out.
Anton could, if he pushed himself to extremes, make 36 attacks in a single 10-second combat turn. It would cost him 499,950 stamina to do so and leave him with only 16,825. The irony of him doing that was that after he went all out, his Stamina Regeneration of 13,260 would allow him to continue attacking up to 21 times per Combat turn.
He didn’t know what the four assassins that went all out against him had for Stamina's regeneration, but he knew two things. After he’d used his incredible speed to parry 21 of their attacks, the four pushed themselves and burned out their Stamina pools as they struck him 15 more times each. The strikes would have cleaved normal people in half, but his manifested body had a Physical Damage Resistance of 576. When the first strike hadn’t drawn blood, he’d pulled up his Status Screen and then his Combat Log.
You have been struck for 514 points of Damage. Physical Damage Resistance of 576 negates all damage.
You have been struck for 512 points of Damage. Physical Damage Resistance of 576 negates all damage.
There were 59 more messages identical to the first with varying levels of damage, none over 525 points of damage in the first turn. If he were any less durable, he’d have been turned into little chunks of flesh. Instead, the only thing ruined were his clothes.
As the four assassins attacked, Anton had been prepared for a long, drawn-out fight in which he would focus on one assassin at a time and ignore the other three. That’s not what happened.
As soon as the next turn began, Anton realized that they’d blown their wad, so to speak. All four could barely lift their blades to make two attacks, which he was quick to capitalize on. He parried their eight total attacks, two from each of them, as they tried desperately to end him. When the four almost simultaneously dropped to the ground on their knees, he knew they were done.
Anton put one of his swords back in his inventory and then went to work. Before the second turn was done, Anton had assimilated the memories of the four assassins and added each of their bodies to his Personal Storage. His Psychic Energy was at 162,402 of 172,892 and was returning at a rate of 1,755 per turn. He also learned something new about Assimilating memories. They were his memories. As soon as he assimilated them, he could recall everything they’d seen, touched, tasted, and done. He’d almost felt sorry for the assassins as he executed them until their memories flooded into his mind. This Assassin’s guild was evil, with a capital “E.”
As Anton looked around where the Assassins had been he noticed that the ten City Guards were standing around Anton and John motionless.
“I’m going to say this once, only once, then if you're still here 10 seconds later, you join the former City Owner and his cronies,” Anton waited for a response, but none of them moved, “Return to your Captain, let him know what has happened and tell him, I will be along to talk to him in a bit. Let him know that if I meet any resistance after I’ve taken the city over again, I’m going to destroy the Capital Building and sell the damn City Node back to SYSTEM, and you all can deal with everything outside of the borders, Now. Go!”
With that last command, the City Guard broke and scrambled for the portal entrance, which still stood open. John cleared his throat. “There are 90 guards outside of that portal. Are you going to kill all of them if they try to stop you?” John asked.
“No need. That idiot Artemis moved and tried to hide the City Node in the Assassin’s Guild. I have to retrieve it from his private quarters. After I leave, I’d suggest that you close the portal and exit through another exit or hang out here for a couple of hours. It should all be settled by then.”
“Okay, I guess,” John said as Anton released the Manifested body and shot through the portal in his Specter form. A moment later, he was outside of John’s shop and heading toward the South side of town—funny thing about memories. A lot of teleport circles and back alley paths that lead to deadly traps made sure anyone trying to get to the Assassin’s Guild couldn’t do so without teleporting into said traps. Since no one knew where it was and it was shielded from any teleports except the linked teleportation platform, it was tough for anyone to find the Assassin’s guild. That is unless you had the memories of the guild leader and his top four sub-commanders, each of which knew of various physical paths into the Assassins Guild. Within a minute, Anton had entered and bypassed every magical trap, some of which targeted noncorporeal entities such as himself. Unfortunately for the individuals that had set those traps up, such a being also being immune to magic hadn’t been part of their consideration when they created the traps.
Retaking the City Node was anticlimactic. No one knew where it was, and the message that went out informing everyone that it was contested didn’t tell them where it was. One hour later, he was the City Owner of Haven once again. He quickly went through the various functions he had access to and created and sent out his first Announcement.
Citizens of Haven: The City Owner, Anton, Me, is no Longer Exiled; all bounties are rescinded.
Second, the Bloodhunted Bounty made by the former City Owner, Artemis, is also rescinded, as he will be unable to pay any bounties he’s promised because he is dead.
No other changes to how the city is operated forthcoming at this time.
Have a nice day
Anton, City Owner of Haven
Straight and to the point, just the way he liked it. Next, he decided that the Assassin’s Guild needed to go, like now. With the memories of Artemis, Anton named and Exiled every member of the Assassin’s Guild for murder, except Scuff; that little goblin hadn’t actually killed anyone yet, so Anton left him off the list for now. Once he was sure he had added all the names he wanted to, he put out a bounty utilizing his personal wealth to fund the bounties to be paid.
City Announcement!
There are currently 213 Assassins tied to the Assassins Guild. I have exiled them from Haven and marked them. In the Name of the Goddess Keres, I call on the righteous to seek out and destroy every one of these assassins.
To appease the local gods, I offer this recompense: Those who slay an exiled assassin will receive one million credits, to be split among all who helped. In addition to the first million credits, a second million credits will be donated to the temples of any deities that the individuals who accomplished this task serve, Also to be split as the individual reward was split. I have set aside 639 million credits, which the SYSTEM will pay out automatically.
Why 613 million credits?
I’m glad you asked.
For those of you who make the deaths of these murders and fiends as violent as possible, an additional million credits will be awarded by the SYSTEM.
Now go forth and Kill, Kill, Kill
In Keres’s name, of course.
Okay, he could admit the Kill, Kill, Kill comment was cheesy as hell, but damn, that fish lady in that book had been crazy. Anton brought his straying thoughts back under control and tried to store the City Node.
Error!
An active City Node may be moved, but it may not be stored.
Of Course, it couldn’t be stored.
Anton quickly went through the rest of the Assassin’s Guild and watched as the individuals still within the underground lair noticed the exiled flag that had appeared above each of their heads and wondered what they were going to do. Unfortunately, they were hiding in the one place that those above ground probably wouldn’t find, which encouraged Anton to return to Artemis’s hidden quarters and send out another announcement.
City Announcement #2
To all the Assassin’s hiding in the Assassin’s Guild’s underground Lair
Yes, Garbor, that means you. You too, Josey. By the way, who names an Assassin Josey? But I digress. I’m also talking to the other 35 assassins I counted in this lair. Grab your shit and go. In ten minutes, I will destroy each of the teleporting platforms. Then I will start killing anyone I find in the lair, and trust me I know where every body is buried, every treasure is kept, and every secret sleeping area that any of you created is. How? That was information Artemis gifted; well, he didn’t gift it; I ripped it from his mind, but you get the drift.
If you wish to try to survive, you have a better chance anywhere but in this Lair with me.
You have 10 minutes. The clock starts ticking NOW!
Anton floated back into the main meeting hall and was happy to see that more than half of the people present believed him and fled. Some even fled via the underground tunnels that led outside of Haven’s walls. In the end, only three individuals were stupid enough to stay. All were lifetime members of the Assassin’s Guild, and through Artemis’s memories, he knew none had anywhere or anyone to flee to above ground.
He ended each of their lives with Spectral Reach and Assimilate memories.
Once that task was done, he stored the bodies and then went to the teleporter circles and destroyed them as well. Altogether, there were seven teleporter circles. Four main ones and three personal ones that the occupants didn’t think Artemis knew about. Unknown to most of the guild, Artemis had purchased a state-of-the-art Magic detection kit that could detect any magical fluctuations within 100 feet. He knew when the circles had been installed and had, in turn, put up a secondary ward around each that would activate if he wished. Anton assimilated the stone or plate the runic circles rested on, thereby causing them to become inert.
Next, he went to each physical exit to the Lair, except for the one, and destroyed the supports with Spectral Reach and Assimilate. This caused the tunnels to collapse. No one would be coming into the lair without going through a considerable effort and making a tremendous amount of noise.
This left him with a moment to check his Status Sheet, which hadn’t been reviewed in full for a while. First, he checked his Notifications.
Congratulations! You have reached Vampiric Pseudo Specter Level 2,990 through 2,996
Next, he pulled up his Status Screen.
Name: Anthony Nicholas Thomson
Birthday: September 13th 2013 (Friday the 13th)
Apparent Age: 27
Race: Human
Classes
Mythic / Vampiric Psuedo-Specter / 2996
Hit Points: 161,438
-Health Regeneration: 8
Stamina: 517,280
-Stamina Regeneration: 13,272
Psychic Energy Reservoir: 585,120
-Mana Regeneration: 0
Psychic Energy: 173,065
-Psychic Regeneration: 1,758
Strength: 44,248
Agility: 44,251
Dexterity: 43,915
Endurance: 44,238
Constitution: 57,698
Perception: 44,251
Intelligence: 44,229
Wisdom: 43,909
Willpower: 58,512
Charisma: 44,229
Luck: 196,437
Skill Slots: 64,343 / 64,343
Spell Slots: 27,217 / 27,217
Psychic Skill Slots: 60,281 / 70,413
Conviction Level: 100
Conviction: 25,869,500
Running Speed
MPH: 27,876
FPS: 40,886
Flight Speed
MPH: 83,630
FPS: 122,658
Abilities
Anit-Mage
Immortal
Vampiric Pseudo-Specter
Divine Luck
Master of Magic
Titles
I Ain't Worried
I Can Take it
Goblin Slayer 3
Trifecta
Fate's Arbiter
Hijacker of Divinity
Human Slayer III
Goblin Slayer VIII
Battle Slayer II
Zombie Slayer X
Skeleton Slayer X
Scourge of Anubis
There can Be Only One
Backstabbing a Backstabber
Divine Pilfer 2 of 10
Perks
Specter
Basic Map
Personal Storage
Pseudo-Undead
Cold Immunity
Annihilate Life
Mark of Keres
Spell Absorption
Skills
Basic Map: 35
Personal Storage: 80
ASL: 7
Bows: 21
Crossbows: 21
Dodge: 29
Firearms: 29
Language: Common: 29
Language: Standard: 55
Long Blades: 57
Long Range Firearms: 21
Maggen's Exceptional Storage: 80
Maggen's Gift: 46
Scavenge: 20
Short Blades: 57
Snatch: 20
Two-Weapon Fighting Style: 52
Throwing: 20
Language, High Elvish: 29
Language, Dwarvish: 29
Language, Gnomish: 29
Language, Lizardman (Tear'nar): 29
Language, Goblin: 29
Language, Orc: 29
Language, Gnoll: 29
Spells
Fireball: 80
Teleport Other: 80
Force Construct: 80
Flight: 80
Teleport: 80
Psychic Skills: Skill Level
Specter: 100
Manifest: 71
Spectral Reach: 8
Spectral Scream: 17
Analyze: 80
Aura Sight: 12
Battle Meditation: 41
Detect Magic: 2
Eagle Eyes: 12
Hyper Focus: 4
Identify: 80
Meditation: 100
Mental Refuge: 5
Mental Shield: 41
Mind Bolt: 12
Planar Shift: 4
Possession: 17
Quickened Healing: 22
Syphon: 14
Telekinesis.: 2
Telepathy: 5
Material Breakdown: 0
Organic Breakdown: 0
Assimilation: 50
Annihilate Life: 1
Animate.: 50
As Anton looked over the skill list, he noticed that he’d picked up some languages he hadn’t had before and had improved on some of his weapon skills. Assimilate Memories was definitely showing its worth. He also realized that because the skills were being earned through use, sort of, that meant that if he failed to continue using them, they would eventually decrease in level and drop off. Still, they were free for now, and if he needed them again, someone, somewhere, was eventually going to piss him off.
He smiled at the thought. He might have questioned his bloodthirstiness in the past, but the SYSTEM was brutal, and he was done apologizing for doing what he had to do to survive. He specifically told that part of himself which was informing him that no matter what he did, he was going to survive to SHUT THE HELL UP. It wasn’t just about him.
Anton looked around at the empty Assassin’s Guild and had a thought. He had enough Conviction to set up a Temple to Keres, and this lair was the perfect place to do it because, besides no longer being needed by the asshats that had utilized it before, It was under the temple district of Haven. There couldn’t be a better place to dedicate this facility to Keres and allow him to head back to Earth, or at least contact Keres and see what was going on back there.
