40 Chapter 40: Lost.
For the first time since I left the asylum, I felt lost.
I was currently standing on one of the elevated positions in Blighttown just looking down. In my hand, there was a half-finished bottle of alcohol. Just next to me were 3 more empty bottles.
I couldn't get drunk.
My poison resistance was far too high for that. I just drank it for the feeling of drinking alcohol hoping that maybe I could get drunk. But alas lordran had also taken that away from me. Because it would be too good to have something fun in lordran right?
Groaning I scratched my helmed in frustration.
I just don't know what to do. And it was all because of this damn thing.
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<[Quest: Quelana's Request]>
Fulfill the plead of your teacher Quelana and lay the chaos demons that her family turned into to rest.
Conditions: Kill Quelaag, The Fair lady, Ceaseless Discharge, and the Bed of Chaos.
Rewards: 500,000souls, Fire Tempest, Chaos Blade.
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I knew for a fact that at my current point. I could easily dispatch Quelaag even with restrictions. Then just ring the bell and go on my merry way. I had already gotten all I wanted from blight town.
But so then why does that thought leave such a bad taste in my mouth?
I killed someone unprovoked before.
Why do I hesitate to kill someone who would kill me the moment they saw me?
What a hypocrite.
"Haaah."
I took another swing from my drink.
What the hell do I do? And why do I feel hesitant about killing Quelaag and the others? Why do I feel like I want to save them!?
...
I remembered the scene of Quelana asking me to kill her family. Even though she may have abandoned them in the past they were still her family. Even though she tried to hide it, I still saw the sadness on her face when she asked me to kill them for her because she couldn't do it herself.
/How pathetically hypocritical of you John. You are willing to kill other people on a dime but not Quelaag and the others?/
Just... shut up man. I already know I am a hypocrite, I don't need John the second to repeat it inside my head again and again like a broken record.
/Fine. I will leave you to your delusions for now./
*Groan.*
"This shit is driving me insane."
I don't even know if curing the chaos demons is possible. Not to mention the blight the white lady is infected with. I don't know shit. Hell, I don't even know if there is a cure, and even if it did, that I could reach it.
Fuck it, until I find an answer I will just do sidequests.
But what to do, what to do? I have several locations to go to right now. As well as several things I have been putting off because they were too troublesome.
Although my pyromancies may be more than formidable after going under the tutelage of Quelana, I know for a fact that being content and or satisfied in lordran is an express ticket to getting your dick kicked in by the world.
But I would be lying if I said I was dissatisfied with my current pyromancy screen.
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[Pyromancies (Ascended lv.1)](-)
[Great FireBall lv.1], [Iron Flesh lv.10(max)], [Flash Sweat lv.10(max)], [Great Combustion lv.1], [Undead Rapport lv.1], [Fire Whip lv.2], [Firestorm lv.1], [Power Within lv.4]
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I had managed to evolve my regular pyromancies to the great tier and got very useful other pyromancies as well.
The great ones were just a flat upgrade in every category except focus consumption which would decrease with proficiency.
Fire whip allowed me to create a solid whip of fire that I could use as an actual whip. Its versatility couldn't be underestimated as the more it levels up the more I can control the whip itself.
Firestorm is an incredibly good aoe. Nothing much to say.
Now power within was another beast. One fully compatible with my moveset. Forget compatible, the synergy was so good it was absurd and a little scary.
It allowed me to burn my vitality in exchange for energy. Be it pyromancy, miracle, or physical everything was boosted. Even my stamina and focus recovery sped up significantly. Well, everything except actual regeneration but that's kinda obvious.
There is another unexpected fault inside it though. When I use it am flooded with adrenalin and I kinda get a bit... brash. It also dampens my sense of pain but that's irrelevant. That meant I couldn't abuse it as much which made me kinda sad.
But now is the most fun one. Undead rapport. Which forces undead to become your allies and so much more. In fact, the way Quelana kept her island safe was through a high-level application of rapport. If I can master this I can basically permanently force undead out of areas.
If just pyromancy which is very useful despite being so simple be so good, then what about sorcery? Just how many paths can it open up with my system improving upon it?
I guess I should pay a visit to my neglected friend then.
I went through the shortcut through the valley of drakes(which I hadn't cleared yet because I don't want to wrestle with dozens of lightning dragons) and my way back to the shrine.
After resting for a bit I went up to Griggs who made a little quaint place for himself on the shrine seeing me come up to him he greeted me.
''Oh, hello. I regret meeting you under such compromising circumstances. At least we both made it back unscathed. Incidentally, would you care to learn any sorceries? You're clearly talented, and besides, I owe you. Of course we will require some materials, but I am happy to teach you some elementary spells. Are you interested?''
''Of course, I am.'' Why would I be here if I wasn't?
''Splendid! Very well! I am pleased to have a chance to give something back. Well, then lets get started straight away.''
...
Well, learning magic is certainly harder than learning pyromancies I'll tell you that.
Pyromancy is fundamentally linked to one's self and their body. The ability to channel the flame of oneself to cast pyromancies. That's why spells like poison mist, flash sweat, and rapport can work. Because they are based on the life and functions of a being.
Sorcery on the other hand handles a completely different area. Or at least soul sorcery invented by Seath. Unlike pyromancy which handles life sorcery handles 'Soul'.
Not the thing inside of us though. I'm talking about the soul as in the gas-like energy in everything, even the air around us. But mostly in living things.
Confusing? Yeah, it is also confusing for me too.
Sorcery is the actualization of the soul through will or focus. Channeling the fundamental force of the soul into a tangible form that harms whatever it makes contact with. The more focused the form is the denser it is, eventually becoming crystal-like in appearance. The more focused it is the more powerful it is.
It was actually way more fun to research and learn about sorcery than I thought. It is like science class but actually fun.
The time it took for me to learn all the sorceries Griggy had was surprisingly short. Probably due to my high int stat and my enthusiasm.
I also got a catalyst and lo and behold.
< Subsume {Sorcerer's Catalyst}? Y/N >
So yeah, that means I can cast magic without having to wave my stick around. Hah, that sure confused Griggs when he first saw it. I just avoided all of his questions until he gave up. By the end of my time with Griggs, I had learned a butt ton of sorceries.
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[Sorcery (Catalyst lv.1)]
[Great Soul Arrow lv.2],[ Great Heavy Soul Arrow lv.1], [Fall Control lv.8], [Magic Weapon lv.4],[Magic Shield lv.3], [Aural Decoy lv.1]
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The soul arrows were just simple condensed soul shot out like an arrow. Its slight tracking abilities made it quite useful although I still prefer pyromancies. The heavy variety is just a bigger version of soul arrow that cost more.
Aural decoy is just not that good. It simply makes noise, making it only useful for tricking dumb opponents. Luckily for this spell that consists of the majority of lordran.
Magic weapon and shield were quite useful. Allowing me to augment my weapons and shield for quite a cheap amount of cost. Although sunlight blade could do the same it was good to have options for opponents that resisted sunlight blade.
As for fall control...
One cannot imagine the dopamine this spell gives me. How do you think I raised it so high in such a short timeframe?
I'll tell you. I chucked myself off of tall places over and over again.
It is like skydiving without a parachute except you do not die when you hit the ground. It also felt nice giving the middle finger to gravity which was equal to giving the middle finger to the entire world.
I also bought the rings that Gruggs sold. They just boosted the power and duration of my spells which was pretty cool. Though I still hadn't managed to successfully subsume another ring yet.
But something that annoys me is that I have no idea how to raise the level of my catalyst skill. But I would just have to find that out along the way. Now that I had learned sorcery it was time to move on to my other sidequests.
As I was making idle chatter with Griggo he mentioned something that aroused my interest.
''Did you see them? The three young clerics... headed for the Catacombs, to seek Kindling. Kindling is the art of feeding bonfires. The poor young girl, sent down into a tomb. What a terrible mission she is burdened with''
*Sniff* *Sniff* Do you smell that?
*Sniff* *Sniff* Yeah that.
*Sniff* *Sniff* It smells like a sidequest.
And seeing as Pissrus is back at the link shrine it means that it was time to delve into the catacombs. Which means more miracles and loot. And I'm always down for loot.
But first I need to make some preparations.
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