Dungeon Salvation

Elias stepped out of the portal at the exact spot where he had been before being plucked by Hager, except he didn’t have a canoe under him this time around. He fell into a pocket of boiling water with a startled yelp. The water healed him faster than it burned him, but it was still uncomfortable, so he quickly swam into one of the mixed temperature zones. He navigated his way through the waters of the Temple until he reached the pillar of stone where the camp was set up. From the smells coming from the numerous tents, he deduced that it was already around dinnertime.

He arrived at the location where their group had set up camp and found Vivian and Rebecca huddled around a campfire, drinking hot chocolate. Rebecca looked to be downtrodden and shaken up while his mother was trying to comfort her. He suddenly felt bad about taking his time in returning and cleared his throat to get their attention. Both women looked up at him sharply.

“Um, hey,” he got no further before Rebecca barreled into him, giving him a tight hug. Thankfully, his mother had a more subdued reaction, giving him a sad smile when she saw the bracelet on his wrist.

“Where were you?! What happened? No, I want an answer to the first question, where were you?” There was no masking the signs of stress on her–sunken eyes and puffy cheeks. He gave her another hug to reassure her.

I hope this didn’t traumatize her; she looks like she panicked when I was taken.

Elias briefly explained what happened after receiving a nod of assent from his mother. Rebecca had already seen the abduction, and she would be part of his party. This was something she would need to know eventually. He obviously kept the details regarding his soul weapon out of the story and asked her not to talk about it with anyone else. Rebecca agreed to keep his secret.

He presented her with the potion he obtained from Hager, as a gift and apology for the distress he caused her. Her eyes widened and seemed to sparkle when they landed on the glowing vial. In the darker ambiance of the dungeon, it looked even more beautiful and mesmerizing than before. They all used Analyze on the potion.

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Potion of Primal Healing

Legendary

This potion contains a powerful spell cast by a Grandmaster healer. It is capable of healing even the most grievous of wounds.

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“Hager said that you should be able to take your foundation the rest of the way to perfection with this potion.” Rebecca looked between him and the potion repeatedly, as if trying to determine if he was joking. When she determined that he was indeed serious, her eyes teared up once more, and she jumped into his arms, giving him a long kiss.

Remembering that his mother was only a few paces away, they came back to themselves and parted from their kiss. Rebecca looked at him red-faced, blushing furiously, but with a quiet intensity in her eyes that made his heart skip a beat. When they looked at Vivian, however, she was giving them a goofy grin and thumbs up.

I think she might like Rebecca even more than I do.

Rebecca took the impressive-looking potion gingerly and carefully unstoppered it, downing the small vial in one gulp. Elias observed her for a while to see if something changed, but nothing seemed to happen outwardly.

“Did it work?” She just looked at him like he was stupid for even asking the question.

“How am I even supposed to know that? I felt a strange energy spread to the rest of my body. Didn’t you get the same treatment, how did you know it worked?” Elias’ eyes widened in realization when she said that; he didn't know. Hager had simply said it would, and he believed it. Before his thoughts could spiral down that rabbit hole, his mother interjected into the discussion.

“Relax, the purpose of the potion is to heal wounds. Of course, none of you felt any immediate effects since you weren’t wounded. Improving the foundation is just a side effect due to your low level relative to the caster. I think it also has something to do with the mana type as well, but I can’t be sure. Anyways, it’s not an immediate effect, so we’ll know for sure in the next few days,” said Vivian.

“We can use this to measure the realized potential of your foundation.” She held a stone glowing a pure white color and threw it at Elias. As soon as he caught it, the stone turned just ever so slightly smoky. He threw the stone to Rebecca, and it turned a bit brighter than before, yet not as pure as when Vivian held it. She looked at him with smug superiority, and he rolled his eyes.

That done, they settled in to relax and celebrate for the night; it’s not every day that someone can build a perfect foundation. They stayed up around the campfire well into the night since they wouldn’t need to wake up early tomorrow. With their foundation issue now resolved, they would be departing the Temple the very next day.

“So… Are you two love birds dating now?” Vivian’s smile was playful, her eyes twinkling with curiosity. Elias had no idea how to respond to the question. They hadn’t had the opportunity to talk about it yet, with him being abducted mid-date and all. He hoped they were.

“Um,” said Elias, hesitantly looking at Rebecca.

“Yes!” Rebecca said enthusiastically, at the same time, looking at Vivian happily. The other woman let out a lighthearted giggle.

“That’s great and all, but you’re still sleeping in my tent, missy,” said Vivian with a wink, in a last-ditch attempt to get a blushing reaction from Rebecca. It didn’t work. She rolled her eyes slightly and agreed, but sat beside Elias in the campfire.

Before they went to sleep, Vivian pulled Elias aside and deliberately held his hands in hers. They looked into each other’s eyes for long moments, and while they said nothing, the look on their faces spoke volumes. She averted her gaze to stare at the innocuous bracelet on his wrist then back at him, her meaning clear. Elias could see the worry in his mother’s vulnerable expression as she squeezed his hand in a silent question. His eyes watered and he pulled her into a tight hug.

“I love you Eli. I want you to always remember that,” she said emotionally, tears threatening to break out.

“I love you too, mom.” Nothing else needed to be said.

*******

Elias gulped as he readied himself to touch the giant pillar before him in order to finally gain his Skills. It was only a few days after they returned to the surface, and they had already confirmed that Hager’s spell had worked. His foundation was now perfect. His body was as fit and muscular as in his wildest fantasies, his mind was clear and sharp at all times, and his spirit felt light. He was ready.

*******

Congratulations! You met the criteria to enter the Beginner rank.

Please prepare for Skill selection.

Spirit: Meditation.

Wisdom: Danger Sense, Mana Sense, Enhanced Perception, [...].

Intelligence: Mana Bolt, Imbue Mana, Basic Casting, [...].

Charisma: Inspiring Presence, Bind Weapon, Animal Companion, [...].

Agility: Dodge, Steady Hands, Haste, [...].

Strength: Heavy Blow, Explosive Power, Steadfast, [...].

Vitality: Vigor, Toughened Skin, Physical Fitness, [...].

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Congratulations! The Meditation (Common) Skill has been selected for the Spirit attribute.

Congratulations! The Soul Bond [Soul’s Salvation] (Common) Skill has been selected for the Charisma attribute.

Warning! Your soul weapon [Soul’s Salvation] will initiate the Weapon System Interface when all Skills have been selected.

*******

Lists with dozens of options appeared in his vision with Skills available to choose from for each Attribute. There were no descriptions of the skills, but even despite their self-explanatory names, Elias already knew what each one did. It has been a long time since the System appeared, and all the pros and cons of each of the basic Skills have long since been documented.

Elias already knew which Skills he would be picking for each of the attributes, having had years to make his decision. He was now forced to go with the build that centered around being a weapon user type, but it was probably the option he was going with anyways. The biggest advantage he had accrued the last several years was his skill in combat, especially when fighting with weapons.

The Charisma Skill is probably the weirdest one of the lot, as it has to do with how a person perceives themselves and interacts with others. It defines a person’s identity as an adventurer since all other Skills are usually aligned to this Skill in some way or another. For example, people that choose the Skill Inspire (Common), which is related to their presence, usually end up becoming leadership or support type adventures. In Elias’ case, he would become a weapon user type adventurer by virtue of having no other choice.

The Spirit Skill is the connection to the mana that suffuses the environment. It always begins as the Meditation (Common) Skill, which allows the person to recover mana at a faster rate. Unlike other Skills, it only has one evolution path, which is to become a mana mastery type Skill. It allows a person to gain control over mana, becoming capable of manipulating it. Mana control and strength increase with Skill mastery and the Spirit attribute value. When a person manages to transition their mana to a higher tier of mana, it is through this skill that they would control that mana type. Particularly, if a person gained even the most basic insight into water mana, it would become a Water Manipulation (Uncommon) Skill. It is also through meditation that most people are able to gain the insight necessary to obtain a higher tier mana type in the first place.

The Wisdom Skill is intrinsically linked to how a person perceives the world around them. They may begin as a simple sensing, analytical, or even intuition-related skill, but grow very personalized with time and effort. A merchant may evolve this Skill to sense business opportunities, for example, instead of danger like the Danger Sense (Common) Skill. It could also remain as a Skill that simply increases the perception of a person in all aspects, without specializing in sensing something specific.

Elias chose the Kinesthesia (Common) Skill as his Wisdom Skill, as it would best fit with his combat style and Charisma Skill. It would give him a supernatural awareness of his own movements and positioning. It would be very helpful in both training and combat, allowing him to become a more skilled fighter. All things told, it wasn’t a very popular choice of Skill, as it required a person to already be a very good fighter for it to be particularly useful. Still, he believed it was the best choice for him at the moment.

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Congratulations! You have selected the Kinesthesia (Common) Skill for the Wisdom attribute.

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The Intelligence Skill determines how a person uses mana and magic. It can grow into a flexible or rigid Skill depending on personal preference and mana type. The Basic Casting (Common) Skill would allow a person to cast many different spells but would always be weaker and slower that a single-purpose Skill like Mana Bolt (Common). One is flexible but weak, while the other is powerful but rigid.

Despite not knowing exactly how his soul weapon worked, Elias still decided to choose the Imbue Weapon (Common) Skill for the Intelligence attribute. This skill would allow him to imbue a weapon with mana, allowing it to deal significant magic damage. In fact, when it came to raw power, it was one of the strongest Intelligence Skills due to its limitations.

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Congratulations! You have selected the Imbue Weapon (Common) Skill for the Intelligence attribute.

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The Agility Skill determines how a person moves and flows through the world around them. It governs things like their speed, reflexes, dexterity, and even mannerisms to an extent. What they do exactly can vary greatly depending on how a person uses them and moves around in general. For example, a cook might evolve the Steady Hands (Common) Skill, that grants them a much greater dexterity with their hands, into the Swift Cooking (Uncommon) Skill, allowing them to also move faster and more dexterously while cooking.

Elias decided on the Grace (Common) Skill for the Agility attribute, which allowed him to move more fluidly and effortlessly at all times. It also granted him a slight boost to movement speed. This Skill would also have a synergistic effect with the Wisdom Skill, Kinesthesia (Common), as both were focused on movement cognition and effortless motion. Together, not only would they immediately make him a deadlier fighter, but would also allow him to improve his fighting skills at a much faster rate. Similarly, they were both Skills that would require a lot of work to realize their full potential.

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Congratulations! You have selected the Grace (Common) Skill for the Agility attribute.

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The Strength Skill has to do with a person’s physical power and muscle control. It governs their ability to deliver powerful blows, lift heavy objects, or withstand physical strain. These Skills usually fall into two categories, either granting a burst of power or a constant enhancement. For example, the Heavy Blow (Common) Skill allows a person to put a great amount of power into a single blow. The Steadfast (Common) Skill, however, maintains a person at their peak of physical performance at all times.

For this Skill choice, Elias decided to go with something that would provide him with a burst of power in case he needed it. He chose the Overexertion (Common) Skill, which allowed him to overexert his body for short periods, increasing his strength significantly. This was one of the most commonly picked skills of the strength type since it was the only berserking type skill at the Common rank.

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Congratulations! You have selected the Overexertion (Common) Skill for the Strength attribute.

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The Vitality Skill defines the constitution, or root, of a person, and is the source of their physical energy. In some ways, it is responsible for attuning their body to their mana type, aligning the body and spirit. As a person gains in levels, their bodies begin to source their energy from mana instead of things like carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. The Vitality Skill evolves to transform a person’s mana into energy, fueling their body in all aspects. At low levels, however, it begins as a Skill that either increases a person’s toughness or physical recovery.

The Vitality Skill he decided to go with was largely chosen because of the Skill he chose for the Strength attribute. The Overexertion (Common) Skill, while powerful, has the downside of putting immense strain on the body, resulting in a slight backlash. Therefore, he decided to go with the Recovery (Common) Skill for the Vitality attribute. This Skill functioned just like a recovery potion, allowing him to recover from wounds and strenuous activities with much greater ease.

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Congratulations! You have selected the Recovery (Common) Skill for the Vitality attribute.

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Having finished picking his Skills, Elias waited expectantly for the Weapon System Interface to activate, yet nothing seemed to happen. He re-read the prompt from before to check if he hadn’t missed something, but there was nothing to be gleaned there. He also received no feedback from attempting to Analyze the bracelet again. He opened his Status to see if there was something there.

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Name: Elias Oliveira

Exp: 100.000

Spirit: 10

Skill: Meditation (Common)

(21.000 exp to level)

Wisdom: 10

Skill: Kinesthesia (Common)

(21.000 exp to level)

Intelligence: 10

Skill: Imbue Weapon (Common)

(21.000 exp to level)

Charisma: 10

Skill: Soul Weapon [Soul’s Salvation] (Common)

(21.000 exp to level)

Agility: 10

Skill: Grace (Common)

(21.000 exp to level)

Strength: 10

Skill: Overexertion (Common)

(21.000 exp to level)

Vitality: 10

Skill: Recovery (Common)

(21.000 exp to level)

*******

Mentally focusing on the Skills in his Status, he received impressions of what each did and how to use them, confirming what he already knew. However, focussing on the Soul Weapon [Soul’s Salvation] (Common) provided no clue on how to access the weapon’s interface. As he was about to give up on trying to figure it out by himself, the expected prompts appeared in his vision.

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Welcome to the Weapon System Interface!

Analyzing…

Awakening Soul Weapon…

Regressing weapon to Common rank…

Complete!

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Soul’s Salvation

Common

Soul Weapon

Salvation Points: 0

Effects:

Cannot be Analyzed

Forms:

Bracelet (Common)

Shop:

Sense Weapon (20 Salvation Points)

Common Mana Conductivity (50 Salvation Points)

Common Mana Attunement (50 Salvation)

Mana Storage (100 Salvation Points)

Energy Storage (100 Salvation Points)

Golden Gauntlet (300 Salvation Points)

Requirements: Mana Storage, Energy Storage

Upgrade Soul’s Salvation (1000 Salvation Points)

Upgrade to the Uncommon rank

Requirement: All effects

*******

Elias felt relieved as he explored the bracelet's interface, noting its versatility. It seemed like he could purchase various upgrades for the weapon using Salvation Points, whatever those were. One section even hinted that the weapon would be able to take on different forms as he upgraded it. He wondered what those might be, hoping they’d be more useful in combat than the bracelet.

Truth be told, Elias found the available effects rather underwhelming. The ‘Golden Gauntlet’ effect, however, seemed promising—if it worked as he imagined. Considering that it required the ‘Mana Storage’ and ‘Energy Storage’ effects to be purchased first, and given the effect’s telling name, it would likely utilize mana and energy to form a thin layer of mana over his hands.

Speaking of mana, Elias attempted to use his Imbue Weapon (Common) Skill on the bracelet for the first time to see how it worked. He focussed on channeling his mana into the weapon, feeling as if an essential part of him was flowing into it, causing the bracelet to glow slightly. With nothing around to test the Skill’s damage, he contented himself with the visual effect for now.

Next, he attempted to use the Meditation (Common) Skill to recover his mana. He quickly entered a meditative state, feeling a reservoir of energy inside him for the first time. The reservoir wasn’t completely full; there was a small empty space from the mana he used in imbuing his weapon. Frowning, Elias noticed his tank was filling very slowly. After trying in vain to speed up the process for several minutes, he decided to let it go for now. He would figure it out later.

Disappointed with his failure to understand how his Spirit Skill worked, Elias decided to test Skills with more tangible effects. Closing his eyes, he abruptly performed a backflip, and his Kinesthesia (Common) Skill kicked into action, allowing him to feel every small motion of his body. Even with his eyes closed, he had complete awareness of his position in midair, landing effortlessly. The Grace (Common) Skill had made the maneuver feel as natural as breathing and as effortless as walking. He considered performing a gymnast routine but decided against it, recalling another mana who did that minutes ago and looked foolish.

To test his Strength Skill, he activated the Overexertion (Common) Skill and jumped as high as he could. Every muscle burned with energy as he soared almost twice as high as usual. Upon landing and deactivating the Skill, he felt soreness in his muscles. It wasn’t severe, considering the effort, and his Recovery (Common) Skill quickly restored his muscles to peak condition.

Satisfied with his preliminary tests, Elias reentered a meditative state. He noted that his quick tests hadn’t depleted much mana, and it should naturally refill in minutes. Observing his mana pool, he estimated it would refill in about an hour, even without meditating. Nodding to himself, he turned his attention to the last untested Skill: Soul Weapon [Soul’s Salvation] (Common).

How do I get Salvation Points?