He thought of his passive skill Command Presence and the chance subskill Silver Tongued Bastard. With it he could keep calm in the face of danger and gain a favorable outcome during conversations like a speech check. The goblin bandits just looked at Rook dumbfounded. Maybe it didn’t work on goblins?
“What are you really?” The bald one snorted and hacked phlegm onto the ground near the small fire.
Let’s try a good name. Mike Oxmall? Hugh Jaynus? Ben Dover? Which should I use? “My name is-.”
“Gwik Luk. No matter, kill him,” the bald goblin said.
Shit, please work. Rook took a step back and burned his mana once again bringing up the lines of Attramancy. He tried to get a line within the archer’s waist quiver. He found it difficult to focus on a specific point, so he raised his hands up like a finger gun and pointed at the archer. The line seemed to focus on the reference target he pointed at. A bolt rose into the air and the archer gasped. Rook smiled, half amazed at his newfound skill. I still can’t believe I can use magic.
The bandits looked at the bolt then at him. Fear crossed into their faces.
“Ok, let’s just calm down, unless you’re ready to die.” He began to feel sick as his mana drained. “Shit.” Rook watched in horror as the bolt wobbled.
“Something wrong whelp?” The bald goblin asked with a smile full of brown teeth.
Rook began feeling like he had to sit down, the bolt itself was now shaking uncontrollably in the air. I forgot, I can’t keep this up forever.
“Rix, can I take the dagger since I’m using one of my bolts?” Stringy goblin asked, pointing his cross bow at Rook.
“Rix, I want the shiny knife?” The wrestler asked, he was as dumb sounding as he was big. “Why do you always take what you want?”
“Because ya big bastard, I have the crossbow.” The stringy goblin growled.
“I can just smash your head and take the blade when I wring his neck.”
The stringy goblin let out a low whistle. “I could just put a bolt in your big dumb brain, it may not even kill you.” He pointed his crossbow bolt at the bigger one’s head.
The big one took a step forward, seemingly oblivious that his foot was dangerously close to the flames. “My axe kill you faster than you shoot..”
Rook, met the gaze of the woman who looked both scared and confused at the conversation. You and me both, lady. With his Telekinesis draining his mana bar the bolt faltered and Rook grunted as he dropped to a knee and released his Attramancy. The bolt disappeared as it launched towards the wrestler. Then the fuckery commenced.
The bolt went into the wrestler’s knee cap and he fell to the ground clutching his knee. His two headed ax dropped down slicing the archer’s leg in half just above the knee. Holy shit. The crossbow released and the bolt shot directly into the wrestler’s neck. He gurgled as blood pooled from beneath his fingers, then he went limp. There was a spreading pool of blood leaking from the archer’s leg and he began to look pale and sick. The goblin leader scrambled towards the fallen crossbow.
Attramancy: 16/500
+2 Experience gained. 25 experience until level up.
You have slain Goblin Bandit Archer +10 experience
You have slain Goblin Bandit enforcer +10 experience
5 Experience until level 2.
“Oh, great. I guess I won.” Rook muttered, beginning to feel ill himself.
The goblin growled, struggling to load the archer’s crossbow. “Not yet you didn’t. Not while I still draw breath, whelp.” The bald one said, pointing the crossbow at him.
“Shit” Rook hid out of sight. “I don’t want to get shot.” His chest began to feel tight and he thought he might start having a panic attack. Remember to breathe.
He blinked, the command presence skill made the world slow down and his thoughts became analytical and coherent.
The feelings of fear and doubt he was wrestling with started to dissipate. I still have the mana potion. He opened his inventory and willed it into his hand. The blue potion showed up in his hand, roughly the same size and shape as a cologne bottle. We’ll open the lips, through the gums and all that. Rook popped the topper and downed the contents.
The liquid was thick as cold medicine, but had a sweet unfamiliar fruit taste. Its flavor was somewhere between a banana and something tropical. His grandad never kept much fruit in the house, when he was younger he used to take them from the local grocery store. The nausea faded quickly and the blue bar reached back to full, getting rid of the blinking indicator.
What can I use? He bit at his lip trying to figure out the next course of action.
“I ain’t got all day. You killed my boys, so I will make it easy for you. I’m a reasonable man that is. Come down and I’ll kill ya painful and quick. If I come up there I’ll kill ya painful and slow.”
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What?
“What sorta deal is that? Do you know who you’re even dealing with?”
Rook cleared his throat and burned his Attramancy. Lines reached out to hundreds of objects. One lines of dark silver caught his eye, it was a cup full of what looked like black
sand. Gunpowder. Rook looked from the barrel of gunpowder then the campfire, then to the Bandit with his crossbow trained on him and smiled as he went to work.
“My name is Ben Dover.”
“Ben Dover.” The goblin’s words seethed out, and he took a surging step raising his crossbow. “I ain’t never heard of you. Gwak loo, fool Mage, if you think you’ll make it out of Black Dagger territory.”
Damn that sounded funnier in my head. Should’ve picked Hugh Jaynus.
Rook focused, and the goblin’s monologuing speech about Black Dagger bandits became background noise as he locked eyes with the woman. She had since crawled from the camp fire towards the logs the goblins were sitting on. He motioned his head trying to tell her to crawl behind the tree and she obliged.
Attramancy: 18/500
+5 Experience gained.
Congratulations you have reached level 2.
He found that using his Attramancy in small bursts made it easier to maneuver objects, especially a small funnel of gunpowder pouring a trail to the barrels. There was an exclamation icon flashing red in the tip right beside his Health, Stamina, and Mana bars.
“Come down now, maybe you could be high price as a slave with those strange tattoos,” The goblin finished. “I’ll even give you a shirt and something to eat.” He beamed a great smile of missing teeth and rot.
“Holy shit, you were still talking that whole time. Sorry I wasn’t listening, I was busy finding a way to kill you. I’ll tell you one thing. Pain will teach you a lesson that paper never could,” Rook said his rehearsed line he gave troublesome Soldiers.
“Paper?” the Goblin leader said.
“Forget it, that sounder cooler in my head too. Man, I really need to work on my delivery… Anyways goodbye.”
The goblin frowned down at the trail of gunpowder leading from his feet to the barrels, then grimaced. Rook flared his Attramancy once more, moving some of the small burnt coals in the fire, igniting the gunpowder at his feet. There was a hissing as the flames hungrily ate the trail until it met the barrels. The explosion that followed rocked Rook deep in his bones. Shit. Shit. He grit his teeth and waited for the subsequent explosions to finish. Oh damn, did I just kill the merchant’s daughter?
You have slain Goblin Bandit Chief +30 experience
30 of 100 experience until level 3.
Quest completed:
Escape the goblin attack.
You have stumbled upon a goblin camp. Fight your way out.
Quest reward:
Crude Club added to inventory
Travelers pack added to inventory
+50 Experience
80 of 100 experience until level 3
“Sweet. I’m pretty sure I just got some items.” Rook adjusted his cloth pants, making sure the rope was tied tight. “Gotta make sure I don’t have a freedom boner.” He jokingly said.
He pulled up his inventory, and within the boxes of space, there was a box with a purple backpack. He focused on the bag and realized that there was a description of the items within.
Traveller’s pack (common)
Contains the basic items for traveling on adventures.
Updates Conjured inventory to 15 slots
He brought the pack out and equipped it, then a small sack that appeared at his feet. He opened his inventory and realized the Travelers pack now acted as the main inventory. The bag itself had a cooking pot, bedroll, parchment, and most importantly, a change of clothes. He equipped them. It was a red cloth shirt and shorts to match. He equipped the traveler’s brown hide shoes that felt like his classic slip-on skate shoes.
He reached down and touched the bag.
Would you like to loot Rook’s belongings?
Yes/ No
“Yes, I worked hard for that rabbit pelt.”
All of the items, including the crude club, appeared in his inventory.
You have obtained Crude Club (Copper)
Made of simple wood, strong and reliable.
He equipped the club and was surprised to find out that you could equip multiple one-handed weapons. Makes sense, it’s about the size of a little league baseball bat. He opened the skills menu.
Name: Rook
Level 2
Rank (Copper)
1 of 5 Effigies until Bronze Rank
0 of 8 challenge coins
80 of 100 experience until level 3
Core attributes
Strength level 3:
Governs athletic ability
Dexterity level 3:
Governs physical actions, professions, and the ability to perform finer tasks
Arcane Wisdom level 5:
Governs spell damage and mana recovery capabilities
Charisma level 10:
Governs Persuasion, deception, and intimidation
Constitution level 3:
Governs overall health and stamina abilities
Core competencies
Strength
Unarmed 10/250
Block 8/250
Blunt 4/250
Dexterity
Stealth 8/250
Survival 17/250
Alchemy 12/250
Arcane Wisdom
Pyromancy 4/500
Cryomancy 4/500
Psyomancy 4/500
Attramancy 18/500
Learned skills
Racial skills:
Nectar of the Gods: Skills applicable to previous life will increase faster.
-Subskill, due to vitality potion consumption, you are now immune to adverse potion effects. (No rank)
Passive skills:
-Command Presence:
Silver Tongued Bastard- Use Command Presence during dialogue in order to achieve favorable outcomes.
Passive- Remain calm in stressful situations and think clearly. (Copper rank)
Natural Born Leader- Allow party to use rare skills.
-Fatal attraction:
Skills involving Attramancy are leveled up faster and more intense. (Effigy of Attraction skill. Basic rank.)
Skill trees: Unlock available
-Battle Ready 0/15
(Locked available at level up)
-Force Multiplier 0/15
(Locked available at level up)
-Elemental Mastery 0/15
(Locked available at level up)
I better allocate the skills when I am out of this forest. He was getting used to having the skills menu up as he walked; it was about as difficult as walking while using his phone. Rook got up from his hiding place and headed down to the bandit’s campfire. Looking around, most of the debris was on fire. He probed a few ruined boxes with his club. One of the logs nearest the campfire explosion seemed to have been pushed deep into the woods off to his left.
The three charred bodies of the goblin bandits were lying about. The biggest of them, the goblin enforcer, was bent over one log. The remnants of the crossbow bolt were still lodged in his knee.
“I used to be an adventurer like you.” Rook paused for dramatic effect. “Until my friend shot me in the knee, because some half-naked guy used telekinesis to ruin our day.”
Something like that, anyways.
Rook looked at the enforcer. “Tough crowd.”
