Naomi glanced at him, and he could barely see the glint of her eyes through her colored visor. “Seeing if there’s a pattern. There’s not.”
Peter came over a moment later. “No ashes, huh? Or Monster Parts.”
“Nope,” Eric replied as he glanced back at his ally before bringing his attention back to the lava field. “Those things didn’t have shit.”
Shannon pointed at something and Eric didn’t catch it. “I saw something flip through the lava there. A tentacle, maybe?” She looked at Eric. “Are lava krakens a thing?”
Eric closed his eyes and shuffled through his Paths Within. “Not that I encountered or heard of,” he replied. “I mean, giant cephalopods exist, but I only saw them from the side of the Fist of the North, I never actually fought them.” He took in the lavascape. Bubbling, roiling flames that hissed and popped, with massive chunks of stone that seemed to move around in a chaotic, slow shuffle.
“Going across doesn’t seem too tricky,” Peter said. “How stable do you think they are? Like, do you think they’ll tip?”
Shannon shook her head. “They look pretty big and stable. How do we want to approach this?”
“We just have to go for it,” Eric replied as he spent another Sigil—down to thirteen—and used Bristling Bastion once more, covering himself in his defensive armament. The billowing cloud of smoke and cinders exploded out and was ripped away by the wind. “I really hate that,” he muttered.
Peter raised his shield and used another Sigil as he brought up the large bubble again. “Okay, through the ice storm and into the lava pits.”
The group huddled next to him and on Peter’s signal they ran across the trail toward the next chamber. There was not some translucent barrier protecting the area from the hail of razor-sharp ice and icicles that were the size of longspears, and when they reached the edge of the lava, Eric saw that the ice was the cause of the bubbling. The lances would slam into the boiling liquid, cause an explosion of magma and superheated steam that hissed upward, and would make any jumps hazardous.
Peter’s barrier overhead began to crack, and one of the platforms began to move around to them. “Okay, who is first?”
Shannon said, “I’ll jump on first and test for movement.” She prepared to jump as the massive chunk of rock bobbed over—it was easily fifteen feet across at its widest and about as long—and she jumped onto it. The rock bobbed a bit, but maintained its stability. “Come on!”
Eric jumped over next, and the moment his feet touched the surface, he could feel just how precarious the perch was. He moved backward, so that he was opposite Shannon. The ice shards pelted him and her both, and Eric could see the blood seeping down from Peter’s armor as the two of them were battered and the damage was transferred. “We need to balance out our weight!” Eric shouted over.
Peter leaped over, and Eric had to drop to all fours and dig his armored-form’s claws into the rock to keep steady—Shannon did the same. The hefty man moved to the center of the platform as Naomi jumped over, and all four were safely on the same rock with Peter’s barrier provided protection from the ice rain once more.
“See? Not too bad,” Peter said.
Naomi maneuvered to a spot that put her in a triangular position from Shannon and Eric. “Now we just have to wait until we float into range of the exit. No clue how long that’ll take since its all random.”
“It can’t be that easy,” Shannon said.
“I mean, look how easy the last chamber was,” Eric replied. “Our builds are hyper-specialized. Another more conventional team would have struggled in that other chamber. Us? It was easy because of our builds. Imagine another group? They’d be draining resources like crazy right now just to survive.”
Eric sensed something behind him and he leaped forward, which dipped the platform toward Naomi. She moved forward to Peter to prevent being dislodged, and Eric turned around as he saw the tentacle that had tried to grab him grasp at nothing.
“Ha! Lava kraken!” Shannon crowed. “Called it!”
Fuck that, Eric thought as the platform kept tilting.
“It’s going to flip us!” he shouted. “Get to Peter!”
The platform kept tilting, and Naomi was barely able to cling to Peter’s legs, Shannon jumped to a different platform entirely, going on her own, and Eric slid down to the Paladin. The moment he was able to grab onto his arm, Eric used a Flashstep and got them onto a different rock, right at the center. The platform wobbled, but held firm.
He looked back and saw the tentacles fully. The suckers were easily the size of a Mastidorse, and the whole tentacle tip itself was as big as a carriage.
If that’s how big the tentacles are, he thought, the body must be massive.
Eric pointed behind him, “Naomi, other side to counterbalance. Peter, in the center.”
Shannon, farther away on another platform, had unlimbered her crossbow and was firing drill-tip bolts into the magma below. Eric heard the whirr, boom, schlorp, of the arrows going down as the tips sped up, impacted something, exploded, and then the bubbling of magma. He could also see the deep, purple miasma begin to coat and outline a massive shape below them, filling most of the lava field. There were easily twenty tentacles, and a huge central body that was as big as their estate house.
The platform they had been standing on was fully flipped over, revealing a red-hot underside, which icicles began to slam into and gradually cool.
Eric had his grimoire in hand and fired off a Blackflame Evocation, igniting off the first Blackflame Blaze on the monstrosity below. Thanks to Shannon, their infinite damage combo was now going on, and it would only be a matter of time before the creature succumbed. But, they had limited platforms to use, and so time was not on their side. “We need to minimize platform use like in the invasion dungeon on the way to the capital!” Eric said.
Shannon’s voice came across the lava plain but also through the bracer that was muted thanks to being under Eric’s armored form. “I can be on my own just fine—I’ve got a short-distance teleport. You all stick together! I don’t think it’ll go for me if I’m alone.”
Seemingly true to Shanon’s prediction, more tentacles started to rise up around the platform the group was on.
Naomi shouted out, “Eric! Edge of platform on your side! Peter and I will jump, then you’ll dip, and can run up and jump to us!”
“Got it!” Eric was able to see the outline of the monsters head, and fired off a Blackflame Beam right at the now-visible body part. Due to the lava in the way, he could not make out the vital organs even with Reaper’s Flamesight active, so he was just taking a shot in the dark, hoping some vital part was in the head.
The beam lanced out from his grimoire, the black center bolting forward as crackling white power roiled along the outside, and slammed through the lava, through the creature, and pierced all the way to the bottom of the rocky caldera. He knew it did damage and ignited another DOT, but the tendrils kept moving.
Eric felt the platform suddenly shift backward as more weight went to his allies who were standing closer together, and he had to grip on with his feet-claws. Then, it shifted down, as the weight was lifted. Turning, he sprinted, and as the weight transfer caused the platform to level out, he was able to jump to the new one that his allies were standing on.
Peter caught him with his shield-arm held out, helping to stabilize the landing. “Wish I could do shit here,” he said.
“You’re taking all the hits from the ice,” Eric replied. “Keep doing that.” Eric was also transferring health that he didn’t need from the DOTs to the Paladin, while allowing his mana to stockpile for a Mana Burn empowered ability. Then, an idea clicked in his head.
I can regenerate mana above my maximum reservoir and additional capacity from any source.
As the tentacles focused on the prior platform and flipping it, Eric activated Mana Channel. He felt the raw ambient mana churning around, and could feel his whole body already full of the powerful energy. His Mana Skin was full up, as was his sword.
Where does the excess mana from my Blackflame Blaze go? He thought to Indedroma.
[The best way to put it is that it is being stored inside your node of the Paths Within.]
Is it still counting as above maximum reservoir for Mana Burn.
[Yes. But, after ten seconds, the excess mana will go away, being reabsorbed into the atmosphere, just like how your buffs from your Embersoul Blackflame Blaze fade after ten seconds of the last instance of damage dealt. The same timer applies.]
“What are you doing?” Naomi asked, as Eric had frozen in place.
Indedroma spoke in everyone’s heads.
[He is charging up mana. Just hold tight for a moment.]
The tentacles flipped that other platform, and began to rise up around the platform they were standing on.
Fuck! I’m locked in place for another few seconds.
[Eric needs more time!]
Peter lifted Eric and looked at Naomi. “We’ve gotta move!” He literally threw Eric—still frozen in his pose—and the regressor went sailing through the air and crashed onto a rocky platform, skidding a foot before stopping at a slight tilt.
A moment later, Eric regained control of his body and stood up. “Thanks,” he said as he stood up.
Peter and Naomi managed to clear the platform they had been standing on as the tendrils rose up and grabbed it. Eric was now able to fully see the outlined form of the monster beneath them—both from his DOT and Shannon’s. “Here we go!” he shouted as he elected to use Conduit’s Wrath, and put all of his mana into it.
A Sigil winked out of existence from the back of his palm—putting him to ten—and he had to take a staggering step as every bit of mana left his body, his Mana Skin drained dry, and his sword was also tapped down to nothing. All of the excess mana above his capacity was converted at a rate of one-to-one-point-one-seven, and all of that was added into the damage of the Skill.
The mana pooled in the grimoire, and the tome’s pages began ripping themselves out of the book, flying up into the air as they whizzed about before zapping out of existence as they disintegrated. A sphere of deep, blue-purple, with a central core of monochromatic Blackflame, floated above the pages.
Kaboom!
A beam of that same energy—blue-purple exterior with the Blackflame core—surged out and into the head of the kraken-like creature in the lava below. Eric’s shadowy cloak from the Cinderscale Shroud billowed behind him—still-active thanks to the ‘reserved’ mana, and all the incoming icicles and shattering hail was blown away as the beam shot down, tunneled a path through the lava, and eviscerated the monster.
The tentacles all slipped down into the lava, and the platforms all scooted together into a line that led from the start of the chamber to the end, though the hail storm didn’t stop.
Shannon ran over. “The fuck was that?! It was like a Kamehameha!”
Peter came over, his large barrier still active. “We should get to the edge.”
Eric, thankfully, had a twenty-percent health and mana restore from the monsters’ demise, and was no longer staggered from exhaustion. He moved along with his allies to the sheltered bubble that signaled the chamber’s end, and thankfully, felt his bracer vibrate underneath his armored shell. He was panting still, and glanced at Naomi, as she had been silent thus far.
She looked at him with a curious expression. “New Class is a bit overpowered.”
Eric chuckled. “A bit. Give me a little and I can fuel up on mana again.” He stood up, crossed his arms, and activated Mana Channel once more, holding steady as he drew in the ambient mana.
“How did you do that?” Shannon asked.
[He’s busy right now, sucking in a lot of ambient mana at once.]
Peter, shield still held up as his Skill was still active, let out a chuckle. “I get it. He’s being like an arcane wizard in WoW. Bro is emptying his mana down to the last drop to empower massive spells, then stuck in place to charge it up again.”
[That is what he just did, yes. He did not have to put all of his mana into Conduit’s Wrath, the Skill you just saw, but he elected to.]
“Wait,” Naomi said. “He’s got a Skill that let’s him put mana into it for extra ‘oomph’?”
Eric could control his body again and turned to face Naomi. “Yes. Conduit is all about mana interplay with Skills and Traits. For example” —he snapped his fingers, spent all of the mana in his body, and pulled the mana from his mana skin into his body to restore it as he used Mana Conversion— “I just made a Sigil by spending my full mana reservoir.” Naomi’s eyes went wide under the visor and Eric added, “I can only do that once every six hours though.”
Peter nodded. “Sweet. Makes sense, since you’re burning them a lot.”
Shannon grumbled, “I want to shoot a Kamehameha.”
Eric looked at her. “I can spend time writing down a Scroll for it. It’ll take me a long time though.”
“Shit, I forgot that’s something we can do,” Peter said. “How’s that work?” His Skill turned off, and he lowered his shield arm.
“Anyone can write a Scroll or Tome,” Eric said as he crossed his arms. “Just takes time. You have to really intimately understand your Class—normally that means you have at least ten Ranks in what you’re trying to pass on.” He looked at Shannon. “I can’t do it now, but eventually, if I choose to put more Ranks into that.” He looked at Peter again. “I don’t know if we can do it with our primal force Classes, but I doubt it.”
Naomi interrupted. “We can’t. Just non-primal force. If you Polymerize that Skill with something else, then it’s not Conduit anymore, so it wouldn’t be eligible.”
Shannon almost pleaded, “Please put Ranks into it! I want to shoot a giant fucking laser!”
Eric laughed at that. “We can find a Scroll for something like that, I’m sure. Heck, there’s probably one for sale for a ridiculous amount of money somewhere in Tenebria. You just have to ask around. But they are pricey.”
Shannon crossed her arms and pouted. “I’ll just steal one, then.” She looked forward toward their next obstacle. “Glaciers and climbing. What do you want to bet we have to fight yetis while climbing? Or giant ice worms?”
Eric followed her gaze. “No fucking idea. But, we have some levels to deal with.” He willed his bracer to emerge from his armored form and up to his eyes.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have 3 level-ups to process.]
[Blackflame Evoker 175, 176, 177.]
[Level 175 in Blackflame Evoker reached! Gain access to a new Skill. You may equip your new Skill on your Loadout by spending one hour doing low-impact activities.]
[Level 175 in Blackflame Evoker reached! Gain access to a new Trait.]
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New Skill:
Evoker’s Wrath 1 - The user designates an ally. That ally is imbued with the power of Blackflame, empowering their next strike, Skill, or Rote to deal moderately increased damage. The user may spend mana to increase the damage dealt. 500-foot range, 1 minute duration.
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New Trait:
Evoker’s Aura 1 - While you have more mana than your maximum reservoir allows, it bleeds out from your Paths Within temporary storage, dealing damage to any who are within one foot.
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[Choose a Skill and Trait to increase. Then repeat this twice.]
Huh. The aura is neat. Something to Polymerize with the other Conduit Traits, and then Rank up to merge into Mana Burn: then I’d have another ‘uber Trait’ focused around mana passives.
[You could. Shall we continue?]
Yes. More into Blackflame Blaze and Bristling Bastion.
[Confirmed.]
[[Armored] Bristling Bastion is at Rank Advanced 10. Maximum Rank achieved. Invoking and resetting.]
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Skills:
[Armored] Bristling Bastion I1 - Increase duration to 60 minutes. Increase knockback to 10-feet. Increase range of knockback reprisal to 110-feet.
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Traits:
[Dire] Embersoul Blackflame Blaze M8 - Increase the DOT damage. 133% of the total direct damage over 2.5 seconds.
-----
Eric lowered his bracer and looked at his allies. “So, are we ready to move on?”
“I am,” Shannon replied. Her face wasn’t readable thanks to her serpentine-armored-form’s helmet, but her voice made it sound like she had a downcast expression.
Eric walked over to her and patted her on the back. “Cheer up. You’ll get some badass Skills. I’m sure. Netherdark has to have some big cool fucking shit also.”
Peter came over to the edge of the protective bubble. “Climbing up glaciers. Reminds me of another floor of the Twilight Depths.”
Naomi looked back at the lava pit. “We don’t have any Monster Parts so far. Stupid lava and glass.” She walked over next to Peter. “Give me a moment to look at this and think.”
Eric was about to reply, but instead immediately felt a pit in his gut as Indedroma’s voice spoke in his head and his alone.
[Oh . . . oh no.]
Why are you just talking to me?
[I can only tell you this message. You, and the other Summoned who first touched the stone.]
Don’t tell me—
[We now have thirteen years until the Titan breaks free.]
***
Eric’s Full Readout as of Book 2’s Conclusion
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Rotes:
[Scorching] Blackflame Evocation - Manifest three Blackflame Bolts around a singular target within range which immediately impact them, each dealing [moderate] damage + 1% of your maximum mana reservoir capacity. This damage is instantaneous and does not require a travel time. 500 foot range.
Blackmana Breath - The user expels a shapeable area of Blackflame in front of them, dealing minor damage every 0.1 seconds to all within the area. This AOE goes around obstacles to strike those who might be hiding behind them. The shapeable area is, in total, 50-cubic-feet. The user may elect not to harm specific targets. The user may double their mana expenditure to increase damage from minor to moderate.
[Heat Sink] Cinderscale Shroud - Manifest a covering of dragon scales (equivalent hardness of full plate) across the whole body. Fingers and toes elongate slightly and tip with claws that are the equivalent to short daggers. Equipped items and gear blends with the user’s body. Additionally, manifest a cloak of cinders that trails behind you and shrouds your form. While active, [negate half of the stacking incoming damage from Blackflame Blaze]. Gain additional Damage Resistance equal to 10% of your maximum mana reservoir.
Blacksteel Mending - The user designates a target within range, and can either sacrifice their health or mana to heal the target. The amount restored is a 1-to-1 ratio for sacrificed health, or a 0.5-to-1 ratio for sacrificed mana. 500-foot range. Ambient mana around the target is infused into them, halving their mana expenditure to receive the heal.
Mana Channel - The user locks themself in place, becoming unable to perform any actions save for autonomous ones (breathing, hearing, seeing, etc.), as they open themselves up to the ambient mana in the atmosphere. Increase mana regeneration rate by 500% while active. Must restore at least 25% of maximum mana reservoir before the lock can be cancelled.
Mana Drain - The user chooses a singular target in range. While the user maintains line of sight with the target, and is able to concentrate their attention on that target, they siphon the mana out of them. This Rote does not cost mana to use. 500-foot range.
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Skills:
[Armored] Bristling Bastion I1 - The user coats their body in ash, which functions like a [medium] suit of armor. Upon being impacted by a strike, Rote, or Skill, a burst of concussive Blackflame knocks that foe backward and deals minor damage. Additionally, a cloud of ash stays in a small area around you, obscuring vision and muffling sound. You and those you designate as allies are unaffected. The user and allies within the cloud of ash have the mana cost of Rotes reduced by 50%. Foes who enter the cloud will suffer minor damage upon entry, and for each second they remain within the area. While active, the user may freely manifest or dismiss ten melee weapons that can be mentally controlled. When any of these weapons inflicts harm upon a foe, the user recovers an equal amount of health, and the target is marked for death, suffering 20% more damage from all sources. These weapons may only persist while within the cloud. 60-minute duration, 10-foot knockback, 110-foot range on knockback reprisal, 50-foot radius centered on the user.
Cinderstorm 3 - The user launches a ball of Blackflame that detonates, dealing moderate damage to all struck. The area is then covered in a rain of Blackflame that deals minor damage every second until the storm fades. 250 foot range, 50 foot radius from impact or chosen point, 7 second storm duration.
Blackflame Beam 10 - Fire a beam of concentrated Blackflame that lances forth in a line. Pierces 10 targets (or 10 feet of material).
[Flareburst] Flashstep E10 - Emit a burst of Blackflame from your feet, dashing rapidly to a nearby location. 100-foot distance. In addition, you may alter your trajectory slightly, changing the direction of your travel by 150-degrees. If you would suffer a lethal blow, this Skill activates in response, moving you to the maximum safe distance possible from the triggering strike. This will not activate if you have self-resurrection charges on Nothing’s Certain and this activation would bring you under the Sigil threshold to activate that.
Combustion Trigger A10 - Only usable if a target is suffering from Blackflame Blaze. The primary target suffers all remaining Blackflame Blaze damage, amplified by x5. Nearby targets are dealt damage equal to all remaining Blackflame Blaze damage, amplified by x2. 50 foot radius centered on the primary target. This damage triggers new Blackflame Blazes as if applied by 10 instances of the Blackflame Evocation Rote.
Blackflame Eruption 3 - The user causes Blackflame to erupt from the ground in a line, which surges upward and deals moderate damage to all in the area. 7 feet wide and 60 feet long.
Locking Singularity 3 - The user designates a target suffering from Blackflame Blaze. A singularity appears above the target, storing a copy of all current and future instances of Blackflame Blaze damage that occurs for a short duration. After that duration expires, a portion of the damage is applied in a single blast. 500-foot range, 3 second duration, 10% of stored damage.
[Apocalyptic] Blackflame Meteor 3 - The user manifests a meteor of Blackflame above a location. After a brief delay it crashes down, dealing massive damage. 130-foot-radius from chosen point, 1,300-foot-range, 8-second impact delay.
Death's Best Friend 3 - The user designates a single target within 700 feet. Their life force is linked to that target. For the next minute, any healing or damage inflicted upon the target is halved and shared with the user, and vice-versa. The user may transfer any amount of health from themselves to the target, or vice-versa, which cannot reduce either below a low health threshold. 700 foot tether range, 3 minute duration.
(x0) Nothing’s Certain C10 - This Skill costs 5 Sigils to use. Only usable if a target dies within range of the user, within the past 10 seconds, and their body is partially intact. The target is revived at low health and mana. Cannot be used on the same target within a 1 minute time span. 1500-foot range. The Sigil cost of this Skill is reduced by 1 for every 1 creatures with access to The Paths who are slain by the user. This reduction persists for one minute after the last kill before fading. Cannot reduce the Sigil threshold below 1. For every 10,000 creatures with access to The Paths who are slain by the user, one self-revive is stored. This will only trigger if the user dies, their body is partially intact, and they have enough Sigils remaining at their time of death to activate the Skill. When reviving a target, the user may instead capture the soul, holding it in a sealable container for up to 10 seasons. It may then be released to cross beyond, or put into a viable vessel. While stored, the soul is in stasis. After the time expires, the soul crosses beyond.
Fiery Chains 3 - Only usable if two or more targets are suffering from Blackflame Blaze, and within ten feet of one another. A chain of Blackflame manifests between each target, persisting for 10 seconds, and remaining even if the targets separate beyond that initial range. Anything that touches the chains is dealt minor damage upon initial impact with, while passing through, or for every second spent touching and/or while inside the chains. This damage can apply a new Blackflame Blaze, but does not manifest a Fiery Chain.
Through the Flames 3 - This Skill costs 1 Sigil to use per mile traveled. The user may travel to any active flame they can detect as a teleportation effect, emerging adjacent to the fire on any surface that can support their weight. This Skill fails and the Sigil is refunded if the target is out of range, or there is no surface that can support the user's weight nearby. If the target flame is extinguished before the travel time elapses, the user returns to the closest safe place they departed from. 30-mile range. 10-second travel time.
Mana Conversion 1 - This Skill costs no Sigils, but may only be used once per every 6 hours. Requires a full mana reservoir. The user expends all of their mana, and restores a single Sigil.
Mana Bomb 1 - The user launches a sphere of raw mana at a target, which then detonates, dealing moderate damage to all struck. The user may spend mana to increase the damage dealt. 250-foot range, 50-foot radius from target.
Conduit’s Wrath 1 - The user designates a target within range, dealing massive damage to them. The user may spend mana to increase the damage dealt. 500-foot range.
Manacule Tornado 1 - This Skill costs 3 Sigils to use. The user creates a tornado of manacules that is sent ripping across the battlefield, dealing massive damage to all impacted. This tornado can be guided, or sent on a path. An individual suffers injury when first impacted, or when leaving and then re-entering the tornado’s area—not while inside the eye of the storm. 10-second duration, 100-foot travel distance, 10-foot diameter width.
Manacule Minefield 1 - This Skill costs 3 Sigils to use. The user creates a field of hard-to-detect mines that hover in the air. Upon impact, the manacules detonate, dealing minor damage. This can be set to either perform a chain reaction, or detonate independently. The shapeable area is, in total, 500-cubic-feet, with mines separated out every foot. Mines last 1 hour.
Evoker's Wrath 1 - The user designates an ally. That ally is imbued with the power of Blackflame, empowering their next strike, Skill, or Rote to deal moderately increased damage. The user may spend mana to increase the damage dealt.
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Traits:
[Dire] Embersoul Blackflame Blaze M8 - Adds a burning damage-over-time (DOT) to all of the user’s Skills and Rotes that inflict damage, dealing an additional 133% of the total direct damage over 2.5 seconds.
If reapplied, all DOT timers refresh, and all refreshed DOTs flare up, dealing 10% of their total burn instantly.
Subsequent attacks (of any type) from the user or those they designate as allies refresh the timer.
Every time this DOT applies damage, it grants the user the following benefits, stacking up to 100 times.
Increase outgoing damage by 10%.
Increase incoming damage by 10% {5% with [Heat Sink] Cinderscale Shroud active}
Regenerate 1% of maximum mana per second.
Increase movement speed by 10%.
Improve reaction time by 10%.
Accelerate processing speed by 10%.
These bonuses last for 10 seconds after the user’s last instance of damage dealt.
The user may will the effect to fail in activation
The user may set an artificial cap to the stacks they can gain.
The user may direct these benefits to any ally within five feet of themselves or within five feet of the target suffering from the DOT at half efficacy.
Every time this DOT deals damage, the user siphons away 10% of that target’s health and mana.
If the siphoned health would put the user above maximum health, they may redirect that healing at 100% efficacy to any target they can see within 1000 feet.
When a target dies within 1 minute of being harmed by the user, the user restores 20% of their health and mana. Allies who are within five feet of the target restore 5% of their health and mana.
Any time a target dies while under the effect of this DOT, the single most powerful application leaps to a target within 50 feet designated as hostile by the user. If no valid targets are within range, then the user may choose one of the following:
Expire and vanish as per the baseline Trait.
Cause that DOT to erupt, dealing the remaining damage to all in a 10 foot radius which does not trigger further Blackflame Blazes.
Allow the Blackflame Blaze to float in place for up to 10 seconds, and then leap to a valid target that enters range within that time.
When the DOT spreads to a new target, the user may have the DOT lay dormant for up to 10 hours before igniting and dealing its damage, with the time and/or trigger condition modified at-will.
When the user kills a creature, if it contains Monster Parts, they will produce 20% more, rounded down. This stacks with Gathering-type Class effects.
Fires of Death 2 - The user inflicts more harm to a target the closer they are to them. A target within five feet suffers 20% increased damage, with the amplification falling off the more distant the target becomes, out to a range of 600 feet.
Final Reaping E10 - 100% of the user’s outgoing damage is replicated and applied as a ‘healing buffer’, absorbing any incoming healing until the buffer is filled. This buffer fades after 10 seconds of not suffering damage from the user. While active, this buffer reduces the efficacy of barriers and shields applied to the target by 25%.
Mana Burn 7 - When the user regenerates mana above their maximum reservoir and additional capacity (from any source, such as the additional capacity from the Mana Skin Body Enhancement), excess mana converts to additional damage on the next Rote or Skill at a ratio of 1 to 1.17.
Evoker’s Aura 1 - While you have more mana than your maximum reservoir allows, it bleeds out from your Paths Within temporary storage, dealing damage to any who are within one foot.
Conversion Catalyst 1 - The user processes ambient mana 10% faster, converting it to mana they can use at a quicker rate than others can at their baseline.
Reservoir Empowerment 1 - The user’s mana reservoir increases all damage dealt. Amplify all damage dealt by an amount equal to 1% of the user’s mana reservoir.
Reservoir Reinforcement 1 - The user’s mana reservoir directly contributes to their hardiness. Reduce all incoming damage by an amount equal to 1% of the user’s mana reservoir.
Reaper's Flamesight 1 - You have an intuitive understanding of where to strike to inflict the most harm to a person, mana beast, or monster. Your strikes that target a weak spot (vital location) deal 10% additional damage. At will, you may shift your vision into 'Flamesight', which grants thermal vision, highlights vital parts of living creatures, and grants sight of any fire within ten miles of your location, which remains during the use of the Skill Through the Flames or any variant of it.
Reaper's Reprieve 1 - You stay beyond the reach of death. For every 1,000 creatures with access to The Paths who are slain by the user, one year is added to the user’s natural life span. This additional lifespan reverts age if necessary towards the prime of youth and reverses age-related maladies and afflictions.
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Body Enhancements:
[Antithesis] Neversick Slime (T5) - When bound to the body, the wielder cannot contract viruses, infections, or other maladies. This also applies to viruses, infections, and other maladies from other realities.
[Reactive] Mana Skin (T7) {DR 20} - When bound to the body, the wielder's skin functions as a secondary repository of mana. WARNING: Injury reduces the stockpile of mana, and if healed, mana must be re-stockpiled. [When touched, you may divert stored mana into a reflexive burst of flame that deals damage] {Incoming damage reduced by 20%}.
[Surging] Mana Muscles (T6) - When bound to the body, the wielder’s mana channels are more closely bound to the muscles. This results in the user’s mana capacity directly contributing to their physical strength. [The user’s strength and speed increases by 1% for each instance of Blackflame Blaze applied to a target within 500 feet of them. Max of 100 stacks. Fades 10 seconds after Blackflame Blaze deals damage.]
Tarrasque Nervous System (T8) - Replaces the wielder’s nervous system. This results in the user’s reaction time improving massively. Additionally, the user’s nervous system extends its awareness a few inches away from the body, just like a Tarrasque in its natural environment, able to react autonomously to threats that come close.
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