Book 3: Chapter 5 - A New Point of View (RAW)

The Whispering Wastes, at least from the mouths of the more intrepid adventurers tell, has hidden depths beneath its shifting sands. They speak of a cavernous network of tunnels, bored out by the Guardians of the wastes and of rivers, not of water, but of sand that flow beneath the surface. They tell tales too of people who have never seen the light of the Sahel, our glorious sun, who have made such a place their underground home. Others whisper of cannibalistic and backward troglodytes, far removed from our common ancestry, who prey on each other and the monsters that dwell beneath the surface. But all of them speak of the vast treasures of an ancient civilization and a gateway into the deeper darkness. A path to mystical realm of the Everdark.

- The Fanciful Travels by Beron de Laney 376 AC.

Hesitation, the source of all failure, leeched power and speed from my blow in the final fractions of a second before it connected with my arm. From near my wrist, an organic mix of wood flecked with dull metal burst forth tendrils that formed a shape. The shape of a small round shield.

Dumbstruck, I could only pause in shock as notifications and messages obstructed my view even as the edge of my blade cut into this new shield. It bit deep, but not nearly enough to sever my wrist.

You have learned Monster Taming (lvl.1)

Your Entropic Mimic has learned Adaptive Defense (lvl.1)

Your Entropic Mimic has learned Shield Form (lvl.1)

There it was before me, the unnatural shape of my curse. I had strayed too far from my humanity and become a monster, an unnatural and alien thing. I would grieve if I had any tears left in my thought, I thought, a thought punctuated by a bitter laugh.

I had thought the invasion finished once I had mentally lobotomized the damn thing. But, like all wars, the damage is still felt long after, as this new unnatural new growth was testament to. Was this supposed to be the Iasis’ gift, a shield made from my own flesh and blood? Then this should be a blessing, and not a curse. A giggle infused with the chaos of the moment escaped me.

I scanned my Status, looking for answers to my current situation.

[STATUS] Calling: Gilgamesh lvl.12 Paladin/Reaver

Strength: 30

Dexterity: 26

Constitution: 42

Intelligence: 21

Wisdom: 22

Charisma: 14

Luck: 21

Entropic Mimic [Creature of Entropy - lvl.24]

Health: 462/474

Stamina: 58/60

Mana: 1/1

Adaptive Defense (lvl.1)

Shield Form (lvl.1)

SKILLS & PROFICIENCIES

Pain Nullification (lvl.3)

Power Strike (lvl.4) 10

Endure (lvl.4)

Stealth (lvl.1)

Rest (lvl.3)

Backstab (lvl.2)

Dodge (lvl.3)

Polearms (lvl.3)

Dual Wield (lvl.2)

Critical Hit Mastery (lvl.3)

Improved Unarmed Combat (lvl.1)

Hammers (lvl.4)

Flails (lvl.3)

Maces (lvl.3)

Shields (lvl.3)

Medium Armour (lvl.3)

Heavy Armour (lvl.5)

Axes (lvl.2)

Daggers (lvl.4)

Throwing Weapons (lvl.2)

Double Throw (lvl.1) 5

Shield Bash (lvl.2) 10

Riding (lvl.2)

Dash (lvl.1)

Swords (lvl.3)

Crossbows (lvl.4)

Blind-Fighting (lvl.1)

Rush Strike (lvl.1)

Tracking (lvl.1)

Trap Detection (lvl.1)

Frenzied Strikes (lvl.1) 30

Monster Taming (lvl.1)

SPELLS & MAGIC

Heal (lvl.5) 5

Rust (lvl.4) 2

Identify (lvl.3) 1

Silent Casting (lvl.2)

Mana Regeneration (lvl.2)

Purify (lvl.2) 3

Greater Heal (lvl.2) 10

Holy Aura (lvl.3) 2

Decay (lvl.1) 1

Drain (lvl.5) 2

Entropic Aura (lvl.3) 2

Inferno Bolts (lvl.1) 2

GIFTS

Curse of Entropy -20% to all starting attributes.

Mark of the Paladin  10% resistance to Dark/Holy magic. 5% resistance to Physical.

Touch of the Void  10% reduced resistance to Holy/Fire magic, 20% resistance to Mental Effects, 15% immunity to Mental Effects.

Mark of the Adaptive Helix  5% resistance to Physical, Minor Regeneration

Experience to next level 812/891

Health: 258/342

Stamina: 8/70

Mana: 10/14

There it was, a new entry on my Status, the list and record of my progress and accomplishments. Entropic mimic, with all with its own mini status within my own. For an irrational moment, jealousy pulsed hot as this creature has taken up precious space in my already cluttered ‘character sheet’.

I took a deep breath, shaken by my almost-self-dismemberment. The will I had worked up to cut off a part of my limb left me with the last of my giggles. The rational part of my mind was slowly taking over, searching within for any last remnants of my invader. Finding nothing, not that I would know what I was looking for anyway, I began to think more and more logically as cold reason took the helm. Like appreciating a pointillist painting, I needed to take a step back and appreciate the whole.

Forcing myself to continue, I plodded on in the darkness. The clank of my armor punctuating my steps. I needed to keep moving. My companions were waiting for me.

Despite her annoying prattle, and putting aside the whole almost dying part, I had come out of the exchange quite well. Playing one god's ire against the other had worked, giving yet another source of power to work with. I read over my new skills again, trying to work out a few answers for myself.

First, there was my new skill. Being bonded so closely, at the very much physical level, and perhaps psychic level, had even given me the Monster Taming skill. I had sampled the monster’s life across our mental link and had drunk deep of its memories. For time its struggles were mine, its hunger was mine. Apart from the feeling of disgust that still lingered, this opened up a whole plethora of new possibilities, provided I survived long enough to make use of the new skill. Or survived using the new skill.

My new ‘pet’, for lack of a better word, had its own Status displayed within my own. True to form, this world decided that it would be unsporting to give me more detailed information. All the information I had on my new passenger was its Health, Stamina, and Mana, alongside its new skills Adaptive Defense and Shield Form. Its Shield Form skill was rather self-explanatory, and I had an inkling that the Adaptive Defense had something to do with it suddenly forming a shield in reaction to my attempt at self harm. The name of my new passenger itself was puzzling, Entropic Mimic. Was it just a simple mimic before it met me, and upon bonding, had been changed somehow?

More worrying than the name was that at four hundred and seventy-four the Mimic’s health dwarfed my own. Was that because it was at a much higher level than me, having lived in an environment filled with constant conflict before its ennui and the monster’s encounter with Iasis? Or was it, like the Xaruar, simply because it had a ridiculous Constitution attribute. Most likely, a mixture of both.

I vaguely recalled that the monster, before we had completely bonded, had wanted to make itself useful. It had latched onto my recent memories of the loss of my shield. Perhaps, that was the reason it had received that skill? Also, if it had acquired the Shield Form skill, then it stood to reason that there would be other forms and shapes it could learn in the future.

The Entropic Mimic, with only one Mana, I concluded had most likely no longer had a consciousness or true will of its own, having been completely suborned by my own. I would not be a host to a parasite, but I would use the tools that were given to me even if didn't, at least currently, did not fully understand the cost. From my experience, the gods of this world were rather backhanded in their blessings, after all. The voices, my other passengers, agreed with this assessment. More fuel to add to the growing pyre of hate that was my feeling for the Divines of this world.

For all of this, I could not feel its physical presence within me, too. My limb, to all intents and purposes, felt just like an ordinary arm. I moved it experimentally, testing its range. Yes, apart from the new growth, nothing odd. I willed it back, and felt nothing. Next, I tried imagining my arm and wrist as they used to be, willing it to be so once more. It felt like holding a pencil for the first time, a clumsy thing, but slowly the new growth receded, disappearing back into the flesh of my arms through the gaps of my armor. Convenient, for at least now, I would not be needing to go shopping for a shield again, I thought to myself in a moment of black humor. Positive thinking had always been the key to my mental health, even in my darkest of hours.

This new symbiosis, was very much one-sided in my favor. The mimic was to all intents and purposes dead, its monstrous aspect now joined to mine. Or was this its way of making me let down my guard, before it consumed me in my sleep? An existential dread threatened to overwhelm me before the voices soothed it away. The legion had done their job, and done their job well, they assured. The choir protected its own against any and all.

As I was thinking these thoughts, I saw my Health, along with the Mimic’s, go up a tick. That must be due to the Minor Regeneration effect from Iasis’ Mark of the Adaptive Helix. Though perhaps of little use in a confrontation settled in a manner of seconds, its effects outside of combat were already making themselves known.

What was the biological explanation for all of this? Was there even one? Wasps had been gifted their stings by an ancient virus, incorporating the alien presence within their very being across the generations. Using it as one of their greatest weapons. My symbiosis, was it to be a similar story? Would my future prodigy, if any, be cursed, or blessed, similarly? What was the term for it… mutualism, or commensalism? Some of the scraps of knowledge of my old world, of my old life, had grown distant.

Questions within questions, within questions, spiraling pointlessly within my mind. I would have to set aside such things and concentrate more fully in what lay ahead. There was still the option of excising the thing at a later time, if it proved problematic. I doubt I had it within me anymore to do the deed, but perhaps one of my companions could do it in my stead.

It had grown too dark now for my eyes, the ambient glow from the ore veins illuminating next to nothing and forcing me to a stop. Now, hopefully a good distance from the goddess, I channeled my Holy Aura to throw off the dark and to top off the last of my Health. It was bright, too bright, for eyes that grown accustomed to the dim. Down before me, beyond the circle of my light, I heard the slither and clacking sound of something approaching. Empowered by the spell and my gifts, thoughts of flight were distant things. Close to level thirteen, I needed the experience. I welcomed conflict and would not flee, come what may.

What had the goddess said about going down the left? Who cared, I would deal with this thing first and then backtrack later. I drew my sword with a new and fierce determination… and this time summoned my new shield.