I’m so very glad my pathways had been strengthened by the Systemic Gem, because eating almost a hundred Uncommon magic items at once was NOT a pleasant experience. But I didn’t exactly have very much time, so I shoveled them in like a steam train stoker.
It felt like my skin was on fire as I fought to maintain focus. Steadily, my stats grew, and the pain dulled a bit. At twenty points all around per Control Sphere, my stats skyrocketed. The minutes passed, and my strength grew. Then, an unpleasant notification appeared.
Your stats have reached a new threshold. Uncommon rarity magic items no longer grant stat increases.
Ninety-two control spheres consumed. 1840 points gained per stat! I more than doubled all of my stats in less than ten minutes. Holy shit! Some almost tripled. I couldn’t believe it. Also, as I was shoveling them down, I felt a shift in my Soul Chamber. I consulted the skill description before doing anything else.
Marked Soul Chambers of the Fathoms. Ancient. With the assistance of the Living Rune, you have created a chamber within yourself in which you are able to store items without risking them being consumed by your core. You may enter this chamber while you meditate, retaining your ability to sense the energies around you and significantly improving your recovery rates. You may create a total number of chambers within your Soul Chamber equal to your mental stats divided by 1000, rounded down. One of these chambers is always attuned to the Deeps. Items enchanted by you within the Deeps are much more difficult to dispel, and have inherent backlash should such attempts be made. You can tap into the Deeps to create an alluring rune that draws the attention of nearby beasts. Beasts associated with the seas, hunger, or the void are especially drawn to this mark.
Five more rooms were available to be added to my Soul Chambers. Though I was excited to add more, I didn’t have time to do too much, so I just used one of my new rooms to expand the Chamber of the Deeps, essentially doubling the length of time my mark could be active. I watched another opening form from the main chamber interconnected with the Deeps. Nice!
“I have four more rooms I can make, Tree, so help me think of some good options while I go take care of more of these gems.” I didn’t wait for his response before exiting. I stood up and looked out over the battlefield. With over 3200 Perception, I’d essentially gained a zoom function to my eyesight, able to see clearly out to about 10 kilometers. I, as gently as I could, hopped down from the tower, landed with a thud and began my walk outside the bubble. My Agility, also just over 3200, made the trip extremely short, and I almost bumped into the bubble before catching myself. Once out, I tried speed walking outside of our army’s area, and found that I could now leisurely walk faster than most sports cars. I got a kilometer outside of the adamantium wall in a few seconds and sat down again.
The space around me grew heavy as I altered the affinity to that of the Deeps. It was much easier to do now with almost tripled mental stats, and the full 20 meter radius was altered with only around a quarter of my total mana and stamina used. I double checked my new and improved situation before reaching out with my Senses of the Deeps.
Status
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Name: Dan Trench
Humanoid Race: Omnis Vorare 63
Class: Hypocrite Revolutionary 65
Profession: Neophyte Enchanter 62
Max Health: 35090
Max Stamina: 64600
Max Mana: 60400
Agility: 3202
Endurance: 3210
Intelligence: 3027
Perception: 3242
Strength: 3250
Vitality: 3509
Wisdom: 3013
Free Points: 280
Race Skills:
All Stats Must Be Eaten. Unique.
All-Consuming. Unique.
Infinite Tank. Unique.
Senses of the Deeps. Uncommon.
I Have Five Mouths and I Must Feast. Rare.
Void Step. Uncommon.
Eat the Rich. Rare.
Hunger Strike. Epic.
Class Skills:
Ravenous Cloak. Uncommon.
Purging Surge. Common.
The Tyrant’s Due. Ancient.
Profession Skills:
Marked Soul Chambers of the Fathoms. Ancient.
Weave Infusion. Uncommon.
Runic Stability. Uncommon.
Feast Burst. Rare.
Enlightened Alteration. Rare.
Equipped Gear:
Amulet of Holding. Common.
Titles:
Chosen of the Deeps. Unique.
I activated my Senses of the Deeps, and the overload sent a rush of pain through my head. Gritting my teeth, I tried to make sense of the flood of information, but I had to turn it off. Six hundred and two of the survivors were of a higher race level than my own, and it was like thinking about all of them at the same time, for which I neither expected nor was prepared.
Gradually, I was beginning to get a handle on my mental stats’ capacity to process information. They, too, had grown monstrously from the control spheres, but it felt at first like I was trying to use a cup to contain the flow of a fire hose when I was standing in a perfectly empty pool.
I reactivated Senses of the Deeps, but pulled it to a crawl, slowly expanding and trickling in the information. It reached the adamantium wall, and I noted its magical footprint, strong and sturdy. Then the bubble shield, similar in its protective feel, but subtly different.
Moment of truth.
My sense reached the first groups of people, all of whom bore several magic items of a multitude of different rarities. I expanded my mind to process the information concerning the people and their items at the same time. Basic info came in first, such as race and level, item type and rarity, followed by more complex data such as geospatial information relative to myself and the presence of blessings and affinities.
Senses of the Deeps, Uncommon, advances to Senses of the Deeps, Rare.
Senses of the Deeps. Rare. Your need to consume the powerful has grasped and adapted your perceptions. Improves the distance at which you can sense and identify powerful prey, including geospatial location relative to you. Identification now shows the presence of deific blessings and affinities.
What an unexpected surprise! And a welcome one indeed. With my stats in the state they were, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of my other skills saw some sudden improvement. Damn this time crunch! No time to try for advancements just now.
Noting with amusement that Jenny was playing with my veloci-labradors thirty or so meters to the south of the tower, I pointedly tuned out the ‘noise’ of the survivors to my senses and finally pushed it out.
What had been only around a five kilometer range before shot past it. WAY past it. Five became ten, then twenty, settling somewhere around the 30 kilometer range.
Wow! And there they were, all deep underground as the other.
Fourteen more Systemic Gems. Or as the System liked to call them, REDACTED!
