22 Chapter 22
「Alert: Overall Level Increased」
「Level 11 -> 15」
「Reward: 1 perk point」
「Advice: Invest your perk points as soon as possible」
Athias yawned as he scanned the window floating over him, body racked by soreness and his magicka far from replenished. He didn't need to check his status window to know there were still lingering effects from yesterday's escapade.
So he'd gotten a perk point after five whole levels. Would that be the new rate now that the so called tutorial was over and done with? Talk about disappointing. Don't get him wrong, he'd take what he could get, but assuming that rate persisted, the points became that much more valuable. He still planned on dabbling in everything he could to experience all there was, but sooner or later he might have to adopt a bit more of a cautious attitude.
Shelving that for later, he headed over to the perk tree menu. As expected, three names greeted him, Remiel's added along his and Auri's. He'd check hers out later. For now he had four whole perk points to invest into his magical constellations.
[Perk: The Self]
[Constellation: Alteration]
[Description: Your body is your own, beholden only to your wishes. You've become accustomed to altering aspects of your physical form as you see fit.]
[Effect: Self-targeted alteration spells consume 25% less magicka.]
[Perk: The Other]
[Constellation: Alteration]
[Description: Your influence extends beyond your own flesh. You've become accustomed to altering aspects of others physical form as you see fit.]
[Effect: Alteration spells targeting others consume 25% less magicka.]
[Perk: Form is Emptiness]
[Constellation: Alteration]
[Description: The world is malleable, changeable. Therefore no two things are truly different from each other; it is simply a matter of perspective. A logical fallacy? Perhaps. Either way, you've become accustomed to forcing the world to conform to your will.]
[Effects: Alteration spells that affect inanimate objects consume 25% less magicka.]
[Perk: Illusive Presence]
[Constellation: Illusion]
[Description: Illusion magic is all about altering another's perception without their notice. Your magicka has adjusted itself to fit that purpose and tends to go unnoticed.]
[Effect: Your Illusion spells are 10% harder to detect.]
[Perk: Domineering Presence]
[Constellation: Illusion]
[Description: Illusion magic is all about altering another's perception without their notice, but that doesn't mean it's the only way to use it. Your magicka's potency has increased, allowing it to seep deeper into the minds of others.]
[Effects: Whether victims are aware of them or not, your Illusion spells are 10% harder to dispel.]
The effects of the perks were nothing to scoff at, especially considering his birth-sign. If he went with Domineering Presence it would mostly likely stack with the flat double increase in effectiveness the Apprentice Sign offered him.
Still, he had a limited number of perk points. More importantly, he wasn't so sure how deep he wanted to get into the school of Illusion.
It was dangerous.
Not the he might hurt himself or others kind of dangerous, but the more psychological side of things. He was already coming to terms with the kind of person he was. If someone got in the way of him doing what he wanted, he was perfectly willing to screw them over, no questions asked or regrets had. With his current skill set, screwing over usually boiled down to killing. If he had the power to warp someone's entire reality, screw with what made them them, why wouldn't he use it?
Self control? That wasn't exactly his strong suit.
It was one thing to use it for combat but Athias hated the concept of invading someone's mind on such a deep level and it had nothing to do with the modernized morals of his previous life.
It was wrong. Plain and simple.
That's what he thought at least.
Dedicate himself to illusion magic, make use of the memories of his previous life, and he could probably have entire civilizations obeying his whims, all of them none the wiser if he was smart about it. He could postpone or stop the Civil War entirely and explore the land in relative peace.
Anyone who said that kind of power wasn't at least tempting would only be ousting themselves as a liar. He only knew two basic spells from the school and he was already thinking up a very warped form of world domination.
Magic opened up a door of infinite possibilities. Hopefully he didn't end up swallowed up by it during his studies.
For now Athias unlocked The Self perk. Oakflesh was useful in damn near every situation; the more he could use it, the better. He'd hold onto the rest until he spent some of his newly acquired gold. Maybe one of the general stores he visited would finally have some of the books he asked about in stock.
Completing his morning rituals, Athias emerged from his room in his old clothes, armor stuffed in his bag.
"Oh, good morning." Remiel stepped out from a room further down the hall. The satchel slung across her chest was noticeably weighing her down. "Going into the market as well?" He nodded. "You wouldn't mind carrying this while I grab my other bag of scrap would you? We can go together and split up after I sell all this. It'll save me a trip and you'll get your gold sooner."
He nodded again and she handed over the satchel. His arm nearly gave out under the unexpected heft of it. The thing probably weighed as much as an elk and she had been planning on walking around with it? Remiel was stronger then she looked.
How much gold did old Dwemer scrap go for anyways?
x-X-x
"Toss in one more shovelful!" Remiel ordered.
Digging a worn shovel into the pile of charcoal at his feet, Athias tossed some into the smoking smelter beside him. The flames within grew stronger as a thick black smog blew from its few openings. Remiel was in front of the machine, the portioning of the ingots handled by her.
"You should've mentioned we'd be doing this!" Athias yelled back.
"I didn't say anything? It must've slipped my mind!" She didn't even bother trying to make the lie sound believable. "Just think of it as a learning experience! This might come in handy one day!"
And, as if agreeing with her, a window popped up.
「Alert: Skill advanced」
「Smithing: 20 -> 21 」
Remiel's unexpected penchant for underhanded tactics aside, Athias wasn't against the whole process. He just wished he'd been told rather than roped into this.
They'd been melting down scrap for nearly an hour.
After getting permission from one of the local blacksmiths to make use of a smelter, the most time consuming part had been heating it. With that done Remiel inserted scrap that was all melted down into sizable ingots which cooled relatively quickly once poured into a cast iron? He wasn't too knowledge about the whole smithing process or its terminology.
Maybe he should pick up some books on that today; with his magicka still regenerating he couldn't do anything spell related.
Wedging the provided shovel into the dirt, Athias joined her in front of the smelter.
"Once these fully cool down, we'll be able to sell them to a blacksmith for a good bit of gold." Remiel said as removed the last cooled ingot from its cast and laid it onto one of the few patches of dirt in this city of stone alongside the others . All that scrap came out to maybe two to three dozen ingots. "They might look solid on the outside, but the inside hasn't fully solidified. Dirt is good at absorbing any lingering heat so we won't have to wait too long."
"You've done this a lot?" Athias asked, looking out across the city. The smelter was built high up and offered a good view of almost everything; the perfect place for a bit of people watching, or reading in Remiel's case. She'd taken up a seat on the staircase leading up here and pulled out a book.
"I had to find someway to earn money from my research and scrap itself doesn't sell for much." She said, looking towards the ingots one more time. "These turned out way better than anything I made on my own. The process was much easier with someone else to handle the temperature."
"I'm sure it was." Athias said blandly. Soot stained both of them but he'd suffered through the brunt of it. "Next time you want help just ask instead of springing it on me at the last second."
Remiel smiled sheepishly. She might be the first person he's ever met that's managed to look apologetic without the faintest hint of regret. "Right, I just wasn't sure whether you'd want to bother with something that wasn't part of the deal. Next time I'll let you know if I'm planning anything. Probably."
They fell into a comfortable silence, Remiel flipping pages and Athias examining any below who caught his attention.
Man, mer, at this point he's seen them all at least once somewhere in the city. He'd yet to cross paths with either Khajiits or Argonians, something that would hopefully be rectified; he was looking forward to facing all the races in combat at one point or another.
How did their stats compare to one another? He was willing to bet based off the Thalmor alone that High Elves tended to have high levels with the magicka to match. They and any other magically inclined race were going to be troublesome to deal with.
Speaking of magic-
Athias pulled the enchanted ring from his pouch.
[Item: Band of Righteous Fury]
[Description: The enchantment on this ring isn't particularly strong but any mage unlucky enough to find themselves in arms against the undead might find a use for it.]
[Effects: Restoration and destruction spells are 10% more effective against the undead. Magicka regeneration is boosted by 5%]
Remiel was right about the whole desecration thing; he couldn't sell this here without risking a jail sentence but he was still iffy about using it himself. It was too weak to be a daedric artifact but it came off of a Meridia worshipper, so he couldn't be certain it wasn't bound to her in someway. Its effects fit what he recalled about her lore; smiting the undead was her whole thing.
Associating with daedra wasn't something he wanted to do so soon, curious or not.
Athias slipped the ring back in his pouch. He'd decide after reading all that he could find on daedra; best not to rely solely on fragmented memories in regards to reality altering beings.
x-X-x
The Hag's Cure. A bold choice in name for an apothecary with how superstitious Nords could be but Athias liked it. The main room of the store was quite big, wooden shelves full of jarred ingredients and labeled empty potion bottles, a few in small vials like the ones he used and the more expensive ones in far bigger flasks.
[Name: Bothela]
[Race: Breton]
[Level: 32]
"Morning." Athias greeted the apothecary's owner as he took a spot at the center counter. Did alchemy alone get her to such a high level?
Remiel had joined him after they sold those dwarven ingots, off to the side perusing shelves.
"Athias." Bothela, a gray haired woman with a tribal tattoo painting a majority of her face, returned the greeting with an amicable nod. She raised a brow as he placed empty vials on the counter. "I assume my potions aided in whatever you got caught up in?"
"More than you know. I assume the price will be the same as last time to replace them?"
She nodded as she stored the vials beneath the counter. "Odvan! Bring some of the basic health and magicka potions!" She shouted towards the back of the store. "Have you given my offer any thought?"
"I take it you haven't gotten hold of any of the books I asked for?" Athias shot back.
"Detailed instruction manuals on alchemy are rare, especially in Skyrim." Bothela said. "You're better off learning the process through experience. I'll take you on as my apprentice if you agree to be my assistant and help out around here for a few months."
It was a good deal. In exchange for his time he'd get experience with alchemy and a steady stream of mostly danger free gold.
"I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn't be around enough to do my job." Athias turned her down. It really was a good deal, but he was an adventurer; almost all the time he spent behind this city's walls was to prepare himself to venture beyond it. Now that he had more spells at his disposal and their business with Nchuand-Zel was wrapped up, that day would be coming soon. "How much did you say a basic alchemy kit would cost?"
Bothela frowned. "I can not recommend teaching yourself. You understand you're likely to poison or blow yourself up before you create something passible without the proper techniques and knowledge?"
"I'll take that risk."
"No need." Remiel butted into the conversation, jars of ingredients placed on the counter as she joined them. "I'll teach you." Athias crossed his arms, nose wrinkling. The putrid smell of her creations were still fresh in his memory. "My potions might not turn out perfect but I know enough to teach you the basics. I've managed to go an entire month without a major incident."
"And what do you consider a major incident?"
"I haven't passed out and no buildings have been burnt down." Remiel shared proudly.
That bar was set so incredibly low it might've been underground. Still, something was better than nothing.
"So-" Athias said turning back to face Bothela. "-how much is that kit going to be?"
"To be young and reckless again." The older woman muttered. Whatever her reservations, she still called for Odvan, her grandson, to grab what they needed.
If he could make his own magic resistance potions, which cost an arm here, and some animal based health potions for Auri, he'd feel far more confident if they came across Forsworn.
Hopefully he and Remiel didn't kill themselves in the process.
x-X-x
I'm dead tired. Need to get a better sleep schedule. Anyways we'll have a few chiller chapters incoming next week. Hope ya enjoy them when we get there.
You know what I'm about to say, I know what I'm about to say, so lets not dance around it. Pop into the patreon if you want to help me write fulltime and or want advance chapters. Not gonna bringing it up until I'm spending all day writing with no worries.
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Bravo six, going dark.
