Chapter Twenty-Two #2
Vester stared at the page for several long moments. What. The. Fuck? His split-second of dumbfounded shock was blown aside with how fast he accepted the new option. Vester had no doubt that a divine skill wasn’t to be neglected, and so he greedily claimed it without a second thought.
Evolution in progress, do not move.
‘Do not move?’ Vester repeated to himself, then his entire body felt like it had burst into flames.
Tricker class gains +2 to dexterity, intelligence, and wisdom per level +1 free point.
That message was the first thing Vester registered when the pain vanished almost as fast as it had appeared. The text almost looked like it was made of living flames, demanding his attention. Then he saw what his Freeform Illusions and passives had merged into:
Trickster’s Domain (Divine)
This skill does not level. The Trickster projects an aura that coats reality around him with an illusion capable of fooling mortal senses.
The radius of this skill is 15’ per point of intelligence.
Within Trickster’s Domain, reality can be shaped to the user’s will.
The greater the change, the more mana is used.
Living beings inherently resist being changed and will use mana to fight against the domain.
Expending faith energy allows Trickster’s Domain to defy other divine skills.
For a greatly reduced mana cost, illusions can be used in place of altering reality.
“Holy shit,” he mumbled, unaware he’d spoken out loud. I… can reshape reality at will? This is… insane. Wait, what are my stats now? He swiftly flipped to his main page and stared in utter shock.
Vester Gambit: Divine Elf
Trickster: Level 51
Profession: Enchanter
Strength: 28
Dexterity: 115 (165)
Constitution: 36
Intelligence: 134
Wisdom: 122
Charisma: 31
Skills: Trickster’s Domain, Phantom Form 4, Decoy Swap 3, Labyrinth Ward 3, Chaos Cock MAX, Chaos Thief 2, Remove Divine Curse, Deprivation Cage 2, Unfettered. Trickster's Cunning 2
Profession skills: Mana Manipulation, Inscribe Enchantment
Unique Ability: Nightmare’s Release
Gear: Avatar’s Raiment, Trickster’s Cane, A Father’s Approval
Free Points: 0
Oh, that, that is a lot of attribute points…
No wonder it hurt. He did some quick math and realized Trickster’s Domain had a radius just under two thousand feet—he couldn’t even comprehend how big that was.
He found he could recall his math classes with far greater clarity, and then tried to visualize almost thirty-two-and-a-half billion cubic feet of volume… and failed.
A lot. I can affect a lot, he decided. I’m also not sure what ‘faith energy’ is, but…
could I use this to break the rules of my curses?
He was tempted to try but decided to wait for Non before he did anything potentially risky.
To remove the temptation, Vester flipped to the page describing A Father’s Approval to see what had changed.
A Father’s Approval (Soulbound): A plain porcelain mask that will change appearance to match any gear worn by Vester Gambit.
This mask is indestructible by any force on Ordinal, and it cannot be removed.
A Father’s Approval’s abilities are [Skill Token], [Locked], and a +15 to intelligence.
This mask can be made intangible at will—usually.
I mean, that’s not what I expected, but it’s… fine? I guess. He frowned and brought up the Skill Token to see what it was, then blinked.
[Skill Token] can be used to upgrade a single skill by one level.
Vester decided to use the [Skill Token] on Deprivation Cage, and then grumbled to himself at having to read more to make sure he didn’t miss any potential changes in the new skill.
Deprivation Cage (S-Rank): Level 3
The Deprivation Cage level 2 targets 7 beings.
These beings are isolated in complete sensory deprivation for one minute per point of the caster’s intelligence.
At S-rank this skill targets 3 additional beings per level.
This effect ignores standard resistances if they are below the rank of the casting skill. This skill requires mana to use.
Well, being able to trap seven people isn’t anything to scoff at, that’s an entire Party and an extra. Not to mention it lasts for two fucking hours now. That’s brutal. Now what—
“Vester!” Non screamed in shock. His eyes snapped up from the Grimoire and he found his entire Party staring at him. “How are you suddenly a demigod?” Non demanded. “Would. You. Stop. Changing. Things!”
Non was suddenly looking incredibly vulnerable, shaken, and confused, and without thinking about it, Vester cast Decoy Swap to appear next to her. He wrapped her in his arms and hugged her tight.
“Hey, take some deep breaths,” Vester said gently.
His hand rose, stroking the back of her head, and Non curled into his chest and began shivering violently.
“Trust me, I’m overwhelmed too. But let’s calm things down and talk over everything that just happened…
because I have some questions and I think you’re my only chance of getting answers. ”
For a second, Non looked so fragile that Vester found himself wondering how old she actually was in terms from her perspective.
On Ordinal she’d been a goddess for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.
But he knew she existed on another plane and found himself wondering how much time had passed for her true self since she’d taken over here.
Am I dating a teenage goddess?