Standard Band of Mental Clarity [Well Built]
Base Efficiency Bonus: 12% + [20% Well Built Bonus] = 14.4%
Skill Tree: Bulwark of Soothing Dreams
Base Ability: Calming Thoughts
Trigger: Wearing the Helmet
Energy Drain: Negligible
Description: This headband allows the user to have a higher resistance to mental effects while worn. You are able to focus for much longer and deeper based on your efficiency and wisdom.
Attunement Slots: 40
As he put on the head band he smiled. While he was under the effects of the clarity potions that he drank every day this was more…complete. He could even feel Guin’s presence much more closely than normal. He felt surreal as he decided to head back towards several alchemists and traded his resources boxes for dozens of powerful healing salves, antitoxins, anti-plague all and all he had well over 100 standard healing salves. He looked around at the city of Druid’s Grove and decided to return when he had the strength to actually do something.
He quickly left the city again after paying the tolls and headed North East towards the lizardkin frontier from Druid’s Grove it was roughly a 3 day journey even with his speed cutting the time short. Reaching the Frontier Outpost what was apparent was how the dense forest turned into a tan leafed savannah.
What he imagined would be like a 2-3 story tall wooden outpost, what surprised him was a massive fort with hundreds of people running around it. It wasn’t long before several guards came up to him with their weapons drawn telling him to state his business.
“I am going to train in the Frontier and thin out the Lizard population a bit.” The guards looked at him strangely but didn’t make any effort to stop him as returned back to their post as he continued to walk past the rocky grassfields of the Lizard territory.
As he took in the scenery he smiled as Guin spoke up again.
“I recommend going after smaller groups or smaller forts they may have.”
“I won’t be reckless. I have to survive to avenge people. I am no use to them dead.”
After several hours of jogging, the frontier camp had faded into the distance, disappearing from view entirely. He pressed on, his feet pounding the earth in rhythm, when suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears.
Instinctively, he turned around, his heart skipping a beat as he caught sight of an enormous creature barreling towards him. It was a beast resembling a Komodo Dragon, but its sheer size was astonishing—comparable to a small house. The ground trembled beneath its weight as it charged with alarming speed. Realizing the imminent danger, he swiftly reached for his whip, preparing to defend himself against the colossal predator.
“Let's dance, sunshine.”
As his whip extended with a tremendous crack, it struck the monster with a force that brought it to an abrupt halt. The creature toppled over, its massive form shaking as if trying to rid itself of an unbearable noise.
Marcus imagined that the piercing screams were overwhelming its senses. With calculated precision, he switched to his boomerang, launching it with a swift motion that sliced cleanly through the tendons and ligaments in the creature's legs.
Under the debilitating effects of Widow’s Embrace, the monster writhed helplessly on the ground. Marcus watched intently as the skill took its toll, noting with grim satisfaction how blood began to seep from the monster's ear holes, trickling down from its eyes and ears, signaling the skill's potent hold.
“Let's finish this!” He rushed forward and threw the boomerang as hard as he could at the skull of the large monster as he felt the skull crumple as the boomerang embedded itself deep inside of the skull of the monster.
+15 Kills
Marcus quickly went away from his kill before he decided to make camp about an half of a mile from the spot he killed. He hoped someone would find it so that he could kill more. As the morning soon came he heard the sound of cheering as he looked over and at just over a mile away he saw what had to be a few dozen lizardkin. He didn’t see any of the caster types there so he decided to give it a shot.
“Looks like at least another level.” He smiled as he went with the Boomerang and Whip combo. He ran over and used his Boomerang as he picked over three of them along the way while easily dodging the bone javelins with his high intellect and wisdom.
Three smaller lizardkin stepped up as he rushed to them, threw his boomerang at one before moving over and ripping the throat of another then headbutting another as blood dripped down his helmet.
Several of the larger lizardkin ran over to him leaping as he threw a dead lizard at the leaping one and slashing with his whip shattering the shin of one as he screamed in pain before throwing his boomerang directly into its skull and getting clawed across his helmet as he could feel the deep groves as he used Recall to come back as the Boomerang hit the large lizard in the back of the head collapsing.
“Phantom Hunting Grounds”
A glowing field of energy appeared under him as began to rend flesh from bone as the remaining Lizards were immediately slaughtered.
LEVEL UP!
Level 19
74 more kills till level 20
STR: 35
DEX: 15
CON: 35
INT: 15
WIS: 15
STA: 23
Attunement: 185/190
“Well that was pretty easy, They seemed to come from Northwest of this position. Let's see if I can find more.” With a smile on his face he continued. He saw the depravity of the undead and he had to imagine the lizards weren’t much better. He was not gonna let people get slaughtered if he was gonna have any say in it.
After a few hours and a healing salve down he saw there was another small group of about 10 small lizards and a few other large ones. Without a second thought he killed them without much of a second thought with as little effort as possible.
17 more kills till level 20
As the last remaining one gave to groveling, Marcus crushed its arms and climbed on top of it and asked it where the nearest base was. It began to speak and pointed Northwest. Marcus smiled and put it on its feet and told him to show him as he motioned for it to run as it ran towards what looked like a small rockfield with dozens of lizards from older to young. As the lizard got to within eyeshot of the place he threw his boomerang and hit it in the back of it’s head as Guin spoke up.
“What will you do about the young lizards or non-combatants?”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Same with the rest, kill them all and let the gods of these lands sort them.” With that he continued down towards rock cropping as several lizards saw him and ran towards him. With a single flick of his wrist a lizard lost the bottom half of its jaw as others continued towards him he used his whip and superior range and slash over heads and limbs with Pull of the Forgotten as he continued forward towards the center of the camp he could see more of the older lizards grab some of the young and flee turning tail.
“There is no mercy for monsters.” He quickly lashed at the young and elderly alike, killing them with a single blow before turning to face several enraged lizards. They rushed him as he continued to hack off limbs and heads. Within minutes a camp of over hundred lizards were reduced to 0. Despite not getting any kill experience for the young he still leveled from Level 19 to 20 with enough experience to put him almost at level 21.
Level 20
24 more kills till level 21
STR: 35
DEX: 17
CON: 38
INT: 16
WIS: 15
STA: 23
Attunement: 185/195
He decided to run full speed for about an hour towards the Silveroak and Lizard border and set up camp for the night as he closed his eyes and slept for about 5 hours before he woke up to the sound of angry yelling and screams that were coming from the rock field as Guin caressed his face as he smiled and went back to sleep.
Now they know what it feels like.
As he woke up he used a beverage box to make hot water and clean himself and his gear before heading out back towards the rock field again to see if he could get more kills.
After an hour of running he had reached there again and this time it was no smaller lizards but what looked like a lizardman the size of a truck covered in tattoos carrying a staff along with several other staff users. He decided to use pull of the forgotten and dump half of his energy into its extension and slash at the massive monster before the whip wrapped around his body and was pulled towards Marcus flying towards with his massive strength stat. As the lizard was pulled he saw several lizards use their staffs and launch bolts of lightning at him which he used the massive lizard to block as giant monster got hit with several bolts before he used his boomerang thrown at his skull to kill him as his whip retracted.
+30 Kills
With that he rushed towards them as they launched bolts of lightning at him. While he was able to dodge one as he tanked three others that brought his health from Green to light yellow as he smiled.
His high constitution was really playing off as he reached them in seconds and slaughtered the 5 lizard mages quickly before killing several larger lizards. At this point his strength was so high that he could easily two shot even large lizards now and sometimes one shot depending on the placement of the hit. After the fight was done he was just short of ten kills before he reached level 22.
Level 21
10 more kills till level 22
STR: 35
DEX: 20
CON: 38
INT: 17
WIS: 17
STA: 23
Attunement: 185/200
With that he continued on deeper into lizardkin territory. It was just about a day's travel for him in enemy territory as he felt the ground shake as a massive snake the size of a school bus but ten times as long erupted from underneath his feet as he leaped back just barely avoiding its attack.
“This should be fun.”
As he flipped backwards he threw his boomerang and hit it square in the head as he saw it damage it as he saw the cut on its head.
If I can wound it then I can win
What he was not expecting was for it to spit acid at him at such velocity. It hit him so hard that it knocked him off his feet and sent him flying back as his loot armor melted completely off his body in places.
His health dropped from Green to Orange as he smiled before applying a health salve as he combat rolled out of the way of another acid blast as he used Pull of the Forgotten to extend his whip as he hit the beast it looked as he combined it with Widow’s Embrace to force it to hear the wails.
As the sounds of widows wails flooded the mind of the creature it began to scream and shake its head.
“What’s wrong? Don’t like that big guy?”
He continued to use his boomerang to continue to pepper the monster with powerful blows before he got too close and its tail whipped him and launched him off his feet and into a rock outcropping as his health went from Light Orange to Red. As the creature was rushing towards him to eat him he smiled and said.
“Recall!”
As he summoned the boomerang back to his hand he used every ounce of strength he had left to throw the boomerang and hit it square in the eyeball as it crushed it eye socket and dug into its brain as he collapsed into the ground and rolled around screaming in pain.
“Recall!”
As he rolled around, he hurled his boomerang with ferocious precision, slashing deep, vicious gashes along the monster's body before it snapped back into his grip. As the wurm's movements began to falter, he seized the moment, launching himself onto its back with fierce determination. He swiftly wound his whip around its neck, completing a full rotation, and then grasped both ends with raw intensity. With a powerful yank, he felt the scales rip apart, slicing into the flesh as torrents of blood and acid gushed from the widening wound. The whip dug mercilessly deeper, severing sinew and bone until, with a final, forceful pull, he tore the head from its massive body. The wurm's lifeless form crashed to the ground, defeated.
+100 Kills
LEVELUP!
Level 22
25 more kills till level 23
STR: 36
DEX: 20
CON: 38
INT: 20
WIS: 17
STA: 25
Attunement: 185/200
“They will all fall before humanity. I am done trying to figure out how to play nice with monsters. These monsters that prey upon the weak and defenseless to grow in power and strength. I will cull them all. I will not see more Ume children die in front of their parents and families like cattle. “
