Stygon
patreon
Chapter 153
🕑 Added 2025-07-18 16:20:29 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note: Patreon had an update and it looks nuts. I'm still getting used to it, so tell me if there's anything wrong. Thanks!
------------------------------------------------------
He wasn’t good at this kind of thing.
Picking.
He’d gone over the two options he was 100% going to choose, but he also took a cursory glance at the two he was leaving behind. It was funny to think that Mythic grade was not good enough for him, while it was considered the absolute peak to the rest of the universe, but that’s simply how the cards fell.
Going over the Legendary grade [Dreamwalking Slaughterer], he had to say that it was an impressive class.
[Dreamwalking Slaughterer
You’ve conquered the Dream affinity and are unstoppable in it. Gain total control over dreams, contesting even The Mother herself.
Give Skills: [Absolute control over whichever dream you’re in], [untrackable layer travel through the Dream], [siphon the life force of whoever's dream you’re in to turn them into physical attacks]
Stats: Not enough]
It was good, but not the best. It made him a godlike entity, but only within dreams. He’d rather take control over all reality instead. He looked at the Mythic option to see what it had in store for him.
[The Divine Slaughterer
You’ve not only killed a God, but a Primordial Child. You’ve also resisted the call of a Dragon’s Authority-
Dei quickly noted that The Champion had tried to exorcise his Right over Dei and utterly failed because of the Curse he’d infused into his body. It was certainly something to be proud of, though he thought he should get an Achievement of sorts.
‘Maybe it’s not impossible to do what I did through willpower alone? I don’t know.’
-and shown yourself to be somewhat of a nuisance on the divine scene with Gods, Primordial Children, and affinities alike either fearing you or, at the very least, getting mildly annoyed by you.
[Gain the ability to track and interact with faith, using it to reforge your own body (Huh, Dei didn’t think that was really possible for a mortal. Interesting)], [Gain a permanent boost with every divine being you slay by working their particular domain into your powers (DAMN)], [Innate resistance to all things divine, including their mortal soldiers]
Stats: more, but not enough]
Much better than Legendary. Dei felt like, for Legendary and below, it was all auxiliary to his own abilities. From what he gathered, that’s how it was supposed to be. Great, but it doesn’t hand everything to him on a silver platter. He has to put in the effort to make it work.
For Mythic though? It grants him amazing abilities to use right off the bat.
Impossible grade? Instant reality bending.
‘Goes without saying that Impossible is the best grade I suppose, in more ways than one.’
He didn’t think too hard about it, too focused on the next thing in his list: the Profession options.
This one, he really did have to temper his expectations. They would at best be only Mythical- yes, only Mythical- because he did not have a Metasystem Upgrade for his Profession. Only his Class.
Still, he was positive it would be great.
Expectations properly toned down, Dei opened his list of Professions
[Diverging paths for evolution open:
-Realm Walker (Historic)
Doctor of Physics (Fabled)
Sage of the Era (Mythic)-
‘Aint NO way am I picking another thinker Profession with how long this one took.’
-Herald of Power (Mythic)
Secret Seeker (Mythic)]
Crossing off the first two, he glanced over [Sage of the Era], seeing that it was exactly what he expected it to be. A direct upgrade to Sage. It improved his mind further and let him think a lot harder.
‘Aw HELL nah.’
He scrapped it. If he was going to get a Profession, he’d be choosing a more proactive one. For that, he looked towards [Herald of Power] and [Secret Seeker]
[Herald of Power
Clad in divine authority and burning with fervent conviction, the Heralds of Power travel from one world to the next, serving as a force for ultimate powers. Unbound by higher entities, they carry the messages of the divine for their personal conviction alone. Be it God, affinity, ancient force, or a simple cosmic ideal, they serve an emissary not for those they believe in, but for those they find worthy. Wherever they walk, miracles bloom or calamities erupt, testaments to the will they channel. Their mission is not conversion through words alone, but revelation through overwhelming presence. To encounter a Herald is to face the raw will of the divine, for they are not believers- they are conviction manifest.
Gives the Skills: [Land Between], [Sheltered Self], [Fluctuating Blessings]
Gives the Stats: +2 Mental, +1 Spiritual, and +2 Magical every level]
‘Oh? It seems like some kind of holy Profession, but not for any one power, but a bunch of them? Why not just Aloran’s though? I mean, true, I’m not exactly reverent of Aloran, but what other divine powers have I “Herald”ed for? I guess Void, with how I’m making its little followers on Earth. Oh! There’s also The Champion and how I followed his orders to kill The Mother. Does Aloran’s quest count for more than one God? Since it had the words of, what I presume, is a bunch of different pantheons messages? Okay yea this is starting to make sense. I’ve been a herald for Gods, Primordial Children, and affinities. There also seems to be some realm travel Achievements in there, and maybe chaos with how it says “Miracles bloom or calamities erupt.’ So it’s part holyman, part traveler, part chaos. Interesting. What are the spells, though?’
[Land Between - Level 1
The Herald goes where he goes, heedless of their power’s reach. Oftentimes, he finds his way through lands where higher powers dare not touch. Still, he carries the message with him, implanting it into every step he takes, so others may hear the message of his heart upon the land. His message is not for all ears though, and not all may hear it safely; unfiltered power is dangerous for the unprepared.
Gain the ability to create a Land Between, a section of ground where those that enter naturally become closer to whichever higher power it is named in. Land Between may warp or change to better suit the powers above
Variable affinity cost, dependent on which concept is attempting to be imbued into the land]
‘Oooh yea, definitely some chaos in there. Hmm… could I use this to… get Aloran more followers? That’s a pretty good idea! I bet I could set up some kind of statue to Aloran in the main cathedral! That’d get me some brownie points. Oh! And I’m sure The Champion would love it if I blessed some land in his name, I wonder if I could charge for it? If nothing else, it’ll be some pretty solid levels.’
Overall, not the most useful combat-wise, but this was a Profession. It wasn’t meant to be useful in combat.
[Sheltered Self - Level 1 - Passive
Not everywhere is as welcoming as one’s birthplace, but not always by intention. The Herald must defend against hostile natives, this is true, but the land itself may also prove to be an obstacle to overcome.
Allows for the Mind, Soul, and Body to adapt to the toxic presence of differing powers and their effects on reality]
This one, he was pretty sure he understood, and liked quite a bit. If he wasn’t mistaken, it would help him adjust to the different worlds or universes he may visit, like how the System had rearranged his soul partially to match Earth’s physics. It was sort of like Homeostasis, but it worked on a grander scale and was probably Mythical grade, whereas Homeostasis was likely Common.
‘Actually, now that I think about it, there is a very good chance that Sheltered Self will merge with Homeostasis. That’s not a bad outcome at all, as it’ll simply upgrade Homeostasis’ complexity, AND become level 378, as Homeostasis is. That’s an incredible outcome!’
Last up, [Fluctuating Blessings].
[Fluctuating Blessings - Level 1 - Passive
The Herald holds both the message and attention of many. He may not bind himself to any one, but the powers that be love him nonetheless, and allow him to be a conduit for their blessings.
Laces Presence with the wills above, wherein any higher power that holds a link to you may grant you their varying protections that affect the world around you- though only one at a time]
‘Woah Woah, hold on just one moment!’ Dei thought, ‘Wouldn’t this synergize quite well with [Aura of Chaos]? That Skill says it’s going to lace my presence too. If I pick my Class first, then Aura of Chaos will be more powerful than Fluctuating Blessings, and it can be the main body of the Skill. The chaos aspect of it involves direct affects, which give the affinities more control over the world, through me! I might be able to grant affinities a direct hand into the world if I combine the two Skills! Considering they genuinely hate demons, I have no doubt that my affinities would jump at the chance to “nudge” my chaos, ripping apart the demons in my wake!’
It was a point for Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm, but he still hadn’t decided which of the two to take.
At the very least, he checked over [Secret Seeker], his third Mythical Profession.
[Secret Seeker
Wanderers of the infinite, the legends of these adventurers speak of those who walk the hidden threads that stitch the multiverse together. Drawn by whispers in forgotten languages and signs only they see, the Secret Seeker passes through shimmering portals and fractured realities in search of truth. Whether cloaked in shadow or stars, the Secret Seeker is ever in motion, chasing riddles that echo through Realms.
Gives the Skills: [Bent Reality], [Unseen Trail], [Intuitive Thinking]
Gives the Stats: +2 Physical, +2 Mental, and +1 Spiritual every level]
Looking through the Skills, he saw exactly what he expected to. Bent Reality was like Sheltered Self and let him adjust to toxic environments, Unseen Trail helped him sniff out hidden secrets, and Intuitive Thinking helped him figure out paths through unfamiliar areas or solve strange puzzles on limited knowledge. It would’ve been good for other people, but he was soon to be trapped in a single universe. Maybe in another life, this would’ve called out to him as some multiversal adventurer, but that was just not the path he was allowed to take any longer.
So it was either between Sage of the Era- he shivered at the thought- or Herald of Power. Between them, he would absolutely pick Herald of Power.
Even if he wasn’t the most holy of people, he had to admit that he had a lot of interactions with divinities and other higher powers. It wouldn’t be bad at all to have something like that at his back. Not to mention, it was an active profession, something he could actually put the work into, rather than just thinking as hard as he could. He couldn’t see it taking long either, not with how his life went regularly.
‘Okay, Herald of Power it is, now what about my Class?’
Both [Father of Slaughter] and [Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm] were amazing, but in different ways. Father of Slaughter, though, was an objectively better Class for the situation he was returning to. They needed a bigger army, and more people. Dei was pretty sure he got it as a mirror to The Mother, as he would essentially be raising an ultimate fighting force for Sapients, while she worked with monsters.
His only hang up was that it was just… not him. At all. Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm was. It felt right. Father of Slaughter was incredibly social, and some kind of tactical genius. Between the two, Father of Slaughter was a closer fit to what the quarantine needed, but was it what he needed? This was his Class, not the quarantines Class. He’d already done so much in preparation of helping the quarantine, was he willing to give up more?
The final nail in the coffin for Father of Slaughterer was the wording of its Skill, [Broken Souls].
[Grants a supernatural sense for those of civilization with the potential to become Slaughterers, and exactly what one must do to bring out their full potential]
More specifically, [What one must do to bring out their full potential]
It wasn’t going to just let him, hands off, create Slaughterers. He would need to actively torture these children, potentially even seperate them from whatever family they had left to raise them into killing machines.
That’s why it was “Better” than Slaughterer of the Sundered Realms, because it took its tithe in blood. Slaughterer of the Sundered Realms? He took it, and gave him simple power- there were no hang ups to that power.
Could he do what Father of Slaughter needed him to do to save lives?
The answer was a simple no. No, he couldn’t.
His decision made up, he was finally able to relax, slumping down on the couch he sat. Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm even synergized with Herald of Power quite well, which helped soothe over the remaining qualms he had about giving up the long-term stronger Class.
Still, he didn’t lock in his decisions. He needed to wait until Iten finally organized a ton of researchers to come see his options and all the Mythical stuff he had. Dei had agreed to give them all the information he had on Mythical Classes when the time came, and that’s exactly what he intended to do.
As for his impossible Classes? He had an absolutely devious plan, one that would earn a massive- and likely continuous- influx of help from the outer universe.
He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.
Comments
Burcury Neptune
Can't answer that, but just as a clarification I will say that the faith isn't interacting with Connection right now, it's just changing states to match its physical properties.
Ahppy
Would Dei be able to infuse connection with faith and use his current skills to reforge his body with faith-connection?
Ahppy
I hope when Dei returns to Avium we get a similar chapter to Whisper’s advisor’s. I’d be interesting in seeing what’s already in Dei’s file, his advisor’s reaction, and then what becomes of his file after everything he did while away.
