Unconquered Tower

THIRTY

BODY TEMPERING

TIER: 2

PURIFY AND STRENGTHEN YOUR BODY WITH MANA

ALL PHYSICAL STATS HAVE BEEN INCREASED

YOU WILL NEED LESS SLEEP. YOU WILL RECOVER AND HEAL FASTER. MANA RICH FOODS ARE NECESSARY.

MENTAL RESISTANCE

TIER: 3

RESIST POOR-GRADE MENTAL ATTACKS AND INCREASES WILLPOWER

PASSIVE RECOVERY

TIER: 3

MANA FLOW WILL INCREASE YOUR PHYSICAL RECOVERY BY 30%

SYNERGY FOUND WITH BODY TEMPERING

SKILL SHAPING

45/60

BLOODLINE UPGRADED: POOR

“What the hell skill am I shaping?” Roan asked as he finished throwing up and washed his mouth out again. He didn’t have an answer for himself, but kept staring at the synergy line on his passive recovery. That was the hint he thought would make the most sense.

“The voice said it burned off some impurities beside the corruption in the core. And consuming it strengthened my bloodline and most of my body skills. The next step in the tempering guide was bone and that tracked with what I felt, but I skipped a bunch of requirements.” There should have been more ingredients to use, ones that would harden and toughen his bones and mix it with enough power sources he was certain his bank account would never have forgiven him.

And it had all been circumvented by just eating a purified dragon core? He wanted to nudge at his sleeping passenger, the weight of it a now visible presence in the back of his mind. Like when you knew someone was staring at you without having to look.

“Mental resistance will top out at only blocking uncommon-grade skills. To get past that I’ll need to look for a further skill and now need to find out how to synergize my passive recovery with my body tempering.”

More than any of that he needed to know what had just happened and if it was replicable. Roan groaned and wiped at his face, grabbed his polearm and headed toward the cave. For the moment he couldn’t do anything until he could get back to the village and access the market and it was pointless to make wishes.

Whatever it had been, he felt fresh. The pain and exhaustion that had come from using his bloodline was gone. Running through the dark forest was by far easier than it should have been, his eyesight had improved so much that he doubted he even needed the light of the burning villages in the distance to guide him.

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A laugh bubbled out and he felt joy at the thrill of running. He increased his speed until the trees were nothing more than a blur, his mind reacting faster than he could consciously decide, avoiding running into trees or tripping.

The club came flying through the darkness. It was the sound of moving air that Roan hear first, drawing his gaze to see the tumbling weapon headed for where he’d be. It was simple to follow the trajectory and see the ogre in the distance, a dumb look on its face.

Roan planted his foot and changed direction smoothly, rocketing toward the ogre while the thrown club shattered against a tree. Its smile faded and it reached down to grab at the shield next to it. Roan pumped his legs faster and drew his poleaxe back, preparing to use the hammer to crush the dumb brute’s joints.

The first blow did more than break a bone. It pulverized the entire region it hit. A ripple rolled through the beast’s body, a wave of destructive energy that had Roan transfixed. Black blood spewed from its thick lips while its arm fell in a mangled ruin next to its side.

Roan twirled the polearm to the axe blade and ended its suffering before it could truly comprehend what had happened. The ogre’s head flew and it slammed into the ground, collapsing chest first.

“Not even a fight,” Roan told the dead ogre, pushing it over and grabbing its necklace and stuffing it into his secondary ring. Between the weapon and whatever the bonuses from the second tier of body enhancement were, the ogre had been as difficult to fight as the goblinoids.

“Could I take a hob?” Roan wondered as he settled for a more sedate jog back towards the caves. With how fast he was moving it didn’t take long to find them and he was pleased to see that Billie had lived up to her side of the deal. Men and women were at the front of the cave mouth with spears pointing into the darkness. Behind them others were using pickaxes to break up the rock and form a crude wall.

Trees had been felled and stakes made from their branches. Roan didn’t envy whomever would get stuck with trying to wedge those into the rocky fortifications of the cave entrance. A few torches were spread out to illuminate the approach of the cave, but he still called out so nobody would be startled.

“Don’t stab me!” Roan doubted they would manage it even trying, but he wanted to be polite as he jogged toward them.

“Roan?” Billie’s voice had an echoey quality to it, bouncing around the edge of the cave before reaching him.

“Yeah. Just got back,” he said, skidding to a halt in front of the mouth of the cave. Closer now he could see that the cave wasn’t natural. There was a hill that had been carefully hollowed out with the cave actually being a tunnel that led deeper into the ground. His curiosity raised he came toward them, stopping only when Billie lifted her hand in a stop gesture.

“Roan? Are you okay?"

“Yeah. Why?”

“You’re smiling. Like a big, goofy smile? And your weapon is covered in blood. As are you.”

“Just upgraded some skills and feel really good,” Roan answered honestly. There was a lightness to his body that was revelatory. A massive weight had been shoved off of his shoulders and the euphoria of not being under it was enough that he wanted to sing.

“Are you high?”

“No.” Roan’s smile cracked and his brain finally started to reassert itself over the feeling of his body.

“We’ve had a massive increase in physical stats and our passenger is asleep rather than doing whatever he does. Bloodline increased in potency as well. Any of these could lead to the symptoms Billie is describing. Is my judgment impaired?” The thought was enough to ground him for a moment.

“Think I’m struggling with the recent boost. Maybe it is like being high. I’m going to go and sit down for a bit. Call me if you need anything.” Roan started to walk again and the euphoria of feeling his body move started to build again, a joy that threatened to drown him.

“Actually. I think I’ll just sit down and relax right here.” Roan crossed his legs and sat down, pulling a torn piece of cloth out of his spatial ring and cleaned his poleaxe before setting it to the side. He summoned his enchanting tools, primitive as they were, and pulled the vitality-purifying amulet off his neck and started to plot out how to turn them into something that could be used against the corruption.

If he was forced to sit down until he was calm again, then he might as well find a way to make a bit of money.