Here to give feedback on reviews:
merendinoemiliano - Thanks again for the review, he'll likely be meeting new people relatively soon, though, we'll see just how well that goes.
DIB - I fixed the WIS stats from Ch3, sorry I didn't see it before. Also sure, if you want to point out the mistakes I make then go for it!
hzchb11 - :)
DefenseSquadofDefenseSquad - Those are some really good ideas, I might take some of them onboard in the later chapters of this fic but for right now, thanks for all the positivity!
I woke up to the feeling of water falling on-top of my snout.
...
Is this going to become a regular occurrence from now on or something?
I hope not.
Ok. What do I remember? I remember falling into a large, deep pool of water, thrashing around when a certain somethi-
Oh yeah, that weirdly shaped, black and red thing that had somehow disappeared in my body as I was flailing around uncontrollably. Fun!
Wait a minute. If the last thing I remember was drowning and flailing around like a maniac, then why is there a distinct lack of water filling my lungs at this moment? Why am I not dead?
I got up from the cold, wet rock beneath me, stretching my limbs and my back, amazed at the extreme lack of anything and everything water related in the newly established pit I was lazing in. Noting the subtle changes that were made towards my posture, the deep depths of the pond that I was sinking into simply didn't exist anymore, and instead laid me, various shaping of rock and a small Beringel.
Wait a minute, rewind that for a second. A Beringel was here with me?
Not any other Grimm?
Never-mind that thing. First let's examine whatever the hell just happened to me.
"Status" I think to myself:
Name: ?
Class: The Gamer
Race: Fledgling Overlord Grimm (Soul) (1/5)
Level: 17(Next Level: 3210/5000)
Title: Novice Grimm Slayer
Bounty: 0 Lien
HP:736
MP:213
STR:48.1[Base 37 + 11.1(30%)]
VIT:27.3[Base 21 + 6.3(30%)]
DEX: 19.5 [Base 15 + 4.5(30%)]
INT:37.5[Base 25 + 7.5(30%) + 5(25%)]
WIS:17.05[Base11 + 3.3(30%) + 2.75(25%)]
LUK: 16
Elemental Affinity: None
Skill Points:25
Biomass: 0
Lien:100
Status Affects: None
A fledgling overlord Grimm is now my race? Am I going to get any explanation for why this is, my blue boxed friend? I can already feel the onset of a headache come back to the front of my head at the future explanation heading my way.
[Oh yeah, I forgot... my bad?]
I started grating my teeth audibly, chanting whatever mantras I could in my head to prevent the already present headache from getting even worse then it already was.
[Anyway... Welcome to the evolutionary system of Remnant. You may have noticed that your Race was a tag in the system before as I originally explained that the "Soul" part of your changes before were what unlocked your Aura, and all those enjoyable, additional percentage buffs that you get with it as well.
However, you have found an Evolutionary Core.
Evolutionary Cores are rare, very exclusive enhancements that can totally change an individuals biology and stats in a completely biased or potentially indeterminate way. You may have noticed certain physical changes to your appearance as you have awakened too. ]
I thought something seemed... different somehow. I took note of my bone plating on my face first, it had developed into something that an Imp would have, with long, narrow horns having sprouted of the top of the bone plates on my face, with the rest of the bone plates making their way down to my maw, fitting next to my fangs perfectly and creating a substantially more imposing look for me. The bones there had tiny, slight rivers of gold running through them, intertwining themselves into each other and constructing themselves into various kinds of patterns, they were gleaming in the dim lights of the caverns walls, making me seem like a much more... regal type of Grimm?
Did I really want to be regal?
I had grown taller, slimmer in size though still retaining much of my strength, many of the more developed bone spikes had also gained those golden lines, running constantly through those that it deemed worthy and leaving those that were premature as bare, unready to handle whatever was running through those glinting rivers.
This was... New?
You have now been established as being an "Overlord" type of Grimm, this was chosen by the System due to the massive influx of Grimm that surrounded you when the evolving process took place. Currently a Fledgling due to the lack of proficiency with the race, and with it, its abilities. We understand that this evolution is involuntary and as a consequence of this emergency procedure taking place, we will give you the chance now to reset this decision.
However you should acknowledge that this evolution is rare in nature, and if you choose to re-roll those evolutionary chances to something else you'd prefer, this race type will NOT be made available to you for a second time.
I had already decided otherwise, a rare evolution that I couldn't take back if I chose otherwise, I'd rather check out whatever cool stuff this evolution had to offer first.
Lets look at those new abilities.
[Overlord (Fledgling) Lv1 (Passive/Active) EXP: 0.0%: A lord over other lords, a lord paramount to what they are and the individuals they lead. This is your ability to wield the power of an absolute / supreme ruler, to commandeer those and either consciously or unconsciously force them to bend to your will.
Passively increases the chance of dominating your chosen's mind by 10%, however if they are above your current level, this chance will decrease by 0.5% per level they have gained over you.
Actively increases the chance of dominating your opponents mind by 50%, however if they are above your current level, the chance will decrease by 2% per level they have over you.
You are currently dominating 1/1 individuals, the amount that you can currently dominate will increase by 1 for every 10 levels that you gain in the Overlord skill!]
Wait, I'm already dominating something already? Was it that tiny Berengel I saw earlier?
Another notification came up to my view as I was thinking on it.
[Aura Bridge (Passive) Lv Max: This is your ability to "bridge" the statistical gap between your minions and the Overlord, each minion you take under your possession via domination will be linked to you via your Aura, increasing their stats by the same percentage and allowing telepathic communication to directly talk and command your minions to do your bidding.
Passively allows the Gamer to telepathically communicate with its minions, allowing it to direct them or do whatever the Overlord wishes to. Also allows the Overlord to share its statistical buffs with its minion, however you may only choose one to specifically raise above the others.
May also allow the Overlord to unlock one's Aura potential in another being, this is possible to do at levels 15 and above for selected minions.]
The ability to talk to my dominated minions via telepathy would probably be cool. Problem is, I have no idea what this "telepathy" even is, is it the same thing as when an Alpha Beowolf "instructs" its pack on what to do without even saying anything?
That really was so cool whenever I saw it on hunts out with my pack, that immediate obedience and acceptance from the pack towards its Alpha and now, was I going to become that Alpha...
Wait.
Was I going to have my own pack soon?!
I was already jumping around the cavern with an almost gleeful expression covering my entire face, rapidly thinking of different possibilities and scenarios for the future of my own pack and the members that it may contain.
Oh yeah. Back to the thing that actually requires most of my attention. I currently am dominating something out there in the wider world, best explore whatever's currently around me, and namely, one small, out of place, out of luck, Beringel type Grimm.
I lumbered toward it with my towering form, taking notice of how much taller I had become due to the recent evolutionary upgrade. As I inspected the infant Beringal, I observed various other things adorned across it's body, for one, It seemed to have very little regards for its own safety, considering the fact that as I fiddled and prodded its bone plates, it didn't retaliate in anyway, it had very small amounts of bone plating coating its arms and shoulders mainly, with almost none reserving itself for the rest of its small frame. The bony, unfinished mask it had fitted onto it's face was extremely brittle as I used my paws to feel and observe the various parts of its body, checking for anything out of the ordinary or out of place for its kind. In all honesty, it reminded me of what I was before this System latched onto me, brittle, weak and small, smaller then all those who did their best to harm me.
Of course now I was still a lot weaker then the strongest who still currently resided within the forests, but at least now, I had a chance of fighting back.
As I finished inspecting the tiny Beringel, it suddenly latched onto my arms, grabbing on with remarkable strength, and climbing its tiny self onto my back, riding on-top of me. It gave me good memories of when I was the one being transported around throughout these forests, on the back of something more experienced, more dangerous then I was.
What came soon surprised me even more:
[Party invitation received from ?]
[Infant Beringel]
[Regular Grimm - Aura Bridged]
[Lv2]
Accept / Refuse?
I hit the "Accept" notification as fast as I could, seeking to figure out what this "Party System" actually was.
?'s Party:
Party members share 50% of all XP gained from all sources.
Name: ?
Class: The Gamer
Race: Fledgling Overlord Grimm (Soul) (1/5)
Level: 17(Next Level: 3210/5000) (+5% Experience Gain!)
Title: Novice Grimm Slayer
Bounty: 0 Lien
HP:736
MP:213
STR:48.1[Base 37 + 11.1(30%)]
VIT:27.3[Base 21 + 6.3(30%)]
DEX: 19.5 [Base 15 + 4.5(30%)]
INT:37.5[Base 25 + 7.5(30%) + 5(25%)]
WIS:17.05[Base11 + 3.3(30%) + 2.75(25%)]
LUK: 16
Elemental Affinity: None
Skill Points:25
Biomass: 0
Lien:100
Status Affects: None
Name: ?
Race: Fledgling Beringel (Aura-Bridged!)
Level: 2 (Next Level: 0/400)
Title: None
Bounty: 0 Lien
HP: 500
MP: 0 (Aura Cannot be Unlocked Yet!)
STR: 33 (Base 30 + 3(10%)]
VIT: 22 (Base 20 + 2(10%)]
DEX: 22 (Base 20 + 2(10%)]
INT: 5.5 (Base 5 + 0.5(10%)]
WIS 3.3 (Base 3 + 0.3(10%)]
LUK: 10
Elemental Affinity: None
Skill Points: 0
Biomass: 0
Lien:
Status Affects: None
WHAT!?
This Beringel was only level two and it had a base strength of thirty? THIRTY?! That was idiotic, crazy and every other word under the fractured moon. Why wasn't I born a Beringel? Look at all these crazy stats you get from simply BEING a Beringel!
Though then again, look at these INT and WIS stats... 5.5 and 3.3? I can already guess that anything even resembling a thought process wasn't going to be this little Beringels main forte. I should make sure that it invests all its Skill Points and Biomass into something relevant, something that isn't... mind related at all? It'll be good in the long run, i'm sure of it.
We have XP sharing between party members too... This'll be a good way to quickly level up my little companion here and make him into a one Grimm fighting machine, a monster in his own right, sure he has literally no brains to think of but that's my job!
Isn't it?
[Now that you've established the [Party System] and have explored the stats and levels of your recent minion, you must now give it a name and must now, finally, give yourself a name for the future ahead.]
A name? I peeked my head towards the Beringel that was making my back its new home for the day, what should I name you?
I thought about it for several minutes, staring at the recent addition to my life with a keen eye.
Alright, I've got it.
Your name shall be... Titus,
Yes, I can already see it... Titus, a name fitting for an upcoming titan like you are, my little friend!
As soon as I thought on the name, I heard a very distinct *ding!* in my ears, notifying me of my recent and likely, permanent choice that I have made over my minion. I just hope he likes it as much as I do.
He doesn't seem to have any issues with it? At least it doesn't look like it. Doesn't look like he's doing much of anything though...
Now for me.
Hm. This is going to be permanent though, isn't it?
[Yes it will.]
Thanks little blue box for the help.
Okay, so it WILL be permanent, no pressure, no pressure at all, why would I be under pressure?
In what felt like hours, I stared absentmindedly at the walls around me, stuck processing a million names through my head and thinking on each one.
My mind kept on racing and racing continuously, what do I actually want to be known as in the near future? I chose "Titan" for my little Beringal because of his already insane strength but, what about me? Do I want to be known for my intellect that is miles above any other Grimm? Do I want to be named after the remembrance of my old pack? They did try and kill me though, so I guess that's out the window. What about this cavern? The place of my very recent evolution, should I name myself something similar to it, as a sort of appreciation for the bounties that laid within it?
As I thought about it more and more, I thought back onto the awakening of the System, and how it unlocked the most important part of myself, my Aura, and with that nostalgic memory filling me in, I finally decided what it'd be.
"Nekros" I breathed. My name will be Nekros, an old name relating to the ancient Grimm legend of manipulating one's Soul. Simple, but sounds cool. And isn't that what I've been doing for the past couple of days anyway? It is simply an extension of what I will be, come this evolution. A manipulator.
[Quest Complete!]
You have found out what has been attracting the Grimm! The anomaly has been dealt with and the balance is fixed.
Rewards: 10000XP, 2000 Lien, 10 Biomass, 10 Skill Points, Improved Relations with ?(Not Met!).
Oh man, I had completely forgotten about that quest, look at all those rewards!
No, don't get distracted by all the riches showering you, you have a new pack member to communicate with.
I peered around the emptiness of the cavern, looking at the shimmering amounts of Ice Dust crystals that were embedded into the cracks and crevices of the walls around us. I made to experiment with my new overlord skills with trying to "command" Titan, first using just my mind. "Collect", I thought, looking towards Titan as I pointed my claws to a nearby deposit of raw Dust crystals...
Nothing?
Do I growl and bark next? Though even that thought was promptly cut down from the look of Titan, standing around on my back, observing the cavern with obvious wonder and excitement.
I had to tear my eyes away soon after, no Grimm could possibly be this cute, it's a mutant species, it had to be!
Do I... Use my Aura? But how would that even work? I can use my Aura for defence and offence but for communication? But it did say that he was [Aura-Bridged] so, it could maybe work? Experimentally, I waved out a claw and pushed my Aura through it, as I laid my paw onto Titan's head, something stranger happened as well.
As soon as I pushed my paw anywhere near Titan's head, it flowed off my hand like water and seeked to... the best way I can describe what it felt like was that it "connected" with my new party member? I had a small, glowing strand of golden Aura, that connected me and him permanently it seemed and with that, I thought of my instructions for a more, up to date test, "Collect" I thought and with that, Titan shot up from off my back and looked down at my head inquisitively. We stood there, unblinking for several seconds before it turned its head to the side, indicating that it must have been a little confused as to what is happening.
Ah wait. I didn't even say what to collect in the first place. My bad, young Titan!
I lifted my paws away from the young Beringel and pointed it towards a decent sized deposit of Ice Dust crystals, "Collect all of those",and as the Aura link we had communicated the words directly to its mind, it jumped off of my back and ran off to the same deposit of crystals that I had pointed to earlier.
Is this what a parent feels as its child grows older? This sort of, excitement and contentment at watching your child go out and explore the world around it?
I mean sure, he was currently doing nothing to the deposit of crystals, instead choosing to sit on the largest crystal in the pile and punching the rest of them to no avail but still, it's the thought that counts!
As I went over to help him break off many deposits of these Dust crystals. I kept thinking and thinking throughout my head about what this Beringel would do with the System that I involuntarily gave him, what would he invest his Skill Points into? What would he invest his Biomass into? What kind of cool evolutions would he get as well in the future? He could likely become five of six times the size of an adult Beringel with an Evolutionary Core! The possibilities were opening up drastically for me with the inclusion of a new pack member and I couldn't wait to see what would come in the future for me and my newly made pack.
[You have collected Raw Ice Dust Crystals x 15!]
After a couple hours of digging and mining in the caverns, we had gathered fifteen of those raw crystals and I slotted them in my inventory, when I questioned Titan on whether he could input some of those crystals into his own inventory, he merely tilted his head at me, almost as if he was questioning what the hell an inventory even was. Communication was still made hard due to his low intelligence and therefore, his unwillingness or more likely, his inability to speak via Aura to me so I had to make sure to read his body language to see whatever he currently wanted. Even if most of the time those requests usually pointed to the edge of my back, which he had now made his new home. Oh maker, I really hope that as he gets bigger and bigger, he doesn't keep on using my back as his own personal transportation. I can't carry that much!
So in the end, we left the caverns with fifteen deposits of dust crystals and a new companion! Not bad to say the least in my opinion. And as we walked into the bright rays of the outward sunshine, I had already decided to grind more levels out, right now I was still too weak, and so was my newest member of the pack.
We made our way back into the depths of the forest, forever unsuspecting that there was a small Nevermore back in the crevices of the cavern, one that seemed very interested in watching us and our exploits within. And as we left the caverns, so did the Nevermore, and we had left none the wiser to its observation.
I really should have payed more attention back then...
Three Days Later.
My grinding came to and end when I saw the shining sun on the horizon. It was a pleasant sight to see after being kept in that forsaken cavern for what seemed like a couple days at least. Still, during the night I had managed to get three levels in my Overlord skill for commandeering Titan to do various things, "Collect this", "Kill that", "Help me with this", I wanted to test out the depths of the Overlord skill on Titan to figure out just how far I could go with it before they may decide to think otherwise, or to think for themselves, which was something that I didn't want at this point in time. I was still learning, still increasing my knowledge of the skill, I didn't want a rebellion on my mind at this current point in time!
Though couldn't I just go out and dominate one of the weaker Beowolves around the area? Of course not! Titan will stay with me forever!
Since coming out of the cavern and laying low for a while, I had finally decided to input the majority of my Skill Points into the categories which I selected, making my Status page look something like this now:
Name: Nekros
Class: The Gamer
Race: Fledgling Overlord Grimm (Soul) (1/5)
Level: 20(Next Level: 1370/5000)
Title: Novice Grimm Slayer
Bounty: 0 Lien
HP:866
MP:303
STR:61.1[Base 47 + 14.1(30%)]
VIT:40.3[Base 31 + 9.3(30%)]
DEX: 32.5 [Base 25 + 7.5(30%)]
INT: 46.5[Base30 + 9(30%) + 7.5(25%)]
WIS:17.05[Base11 + 3.3(30%) + 2.75(25%)]
LUK: 16
Elemental Affinity: None
Skill Points:10
Biomass: 12
Lien:2100
Status Affects: None
I even got a new skill for getting my STR up to fifty!
[Enrage! Lv10 (Active) EXP: 12.4%: The user lets out a roar of raw power and strength. This ability allows you to increase your STR, VIT and DEX by 1.25x their current stats, will greatly exhaust your MP reserves however by activating it.
Actively increased STR, VIT and DEX stats by 1.25x their base.
Cost: 20 MP a second.]
Inputting all those Skill Points had left me seriously winded for a couple hours, trying to deal with its after-effects. As I was resting, I thought back to the XP sharing system that was put in place with the introduction of the Party system that we had both became accustomed to after a while, so I looked into the status page of Titan for a quick minute.
...
...
...
...
...
I slowly turned my head towards the offending culprit. Titan? Why are you harbouring thirty whole Skill Points for no reason? I communicated my thoughts to the Beringal in question and as expected of him, (or unexpected?), he sunk deeper into the mud and whined softly at its overlord for indirectly telling him off.
With him getting to level nine, he had used what little bits of Biomass he could scrounge up to make himself bigger, and I mean BIGGER, whereas he was up to my waist in terms of height when we were introduced in the cavern, he was now rapidly making his way up to my shoulders in terms of height. Seriously, this cannot be healthy for him to just suddenly jump up a couple feet in height over the course of only a couple days, though it was with that growth that he too had finally felt the pains that I had felt for so long.
The itching.
Oh it was painful to look at, though I knew it was a hundred times worse to actually experience it. Titan always looked at me with an almost pleading look on his bony face when he was undergoing those changes, I could only look the other way as it was happening.
It was only a few hours later, as I was lazing around under the night sky until something truly dangerous had shivered its way up my back in warning of what was to come. I shot up immediately and looked around, only to be greeted with a sight that no one would ever enjoy.
Lv. 30 Alpha Beowolf
Lv. 30 Alpha Beowolf
Lv. 29 Alpha Beowolf
As I made way back onto my feet, Titan was already halfway there, standing upright as fast as he could and trying to make himself look somewhat imposing to the abundantly stronger pack of Beowolves that had made themselves turn in our direction, likely to check out the cause of all the rampant hunting for the past couple days.
I could only sigh as my claws extended. When was I ever going to catch a break in this forsaken forest?!
And as we devolved into another hunt, a Nevermore looked on towards the scene in front of it, never moving, never flinching even when the bigger Beowolves crashed into the nearby trees. It stood, patient, perceiving, and it stayed there. And as the carnage soon died down, it flew away into the distance, somewhere far, somewhere... Dark.
And there we go! Another chapter down. I know this introduces an entirely new system into the mix but I hope it is at least somewhat decent for you to read.
I need a beta-reader though, so if any of you reading want to be a sort of long term beta reader for this fic then PM me, we'll talk it out.
As always, thanks for all the massive amounts of love and support you've been giving this fic for as long as its been up, it's been a joy to write with all you guys behind me. :P
Next chapter might be a bit later then all the others though, thinking of taking a few days off to recoup after writing so much during these past 2 weeks, hope you can understand. :)
Reviews and Critiques are always accepted.