It was a world of spires, a world of buildings tall enough to pierce through the clouds and rend the heavens asunder. Their towering shadows almost seemed to stand as affronts to the gods, attestations of resistance and defiance.
It was impudence incarnate. And yet, no divine punishment was doled.
Because there were no gods left to administer it.
Within the metropolis' boundaries, nature's remnants were few and far between. The occasional tree stood. But none had been truly allowed to be. Their limbs were pruned, their extremities constantly cut, and their desperate efforts to grow denied without remorse. Those of a certain age were always replaced with younger plants, plants whose thinner trunks would not obstruct the passersby.
The dryads were not the only ones denied. While the tree nymphs were robbed of their prosperity, the spirits of water were contained and controlled. Likewise, the spirits of thunder were turned to slaves, forced to fuel the ambitions of those unable to hear their cries.
Not even the spirits of flame, once burning with destructive passion, could resist their bindings. They were all but extinguished, to be revived only when it was convenient for their masters.
There was nothing to be done.
The land was too defiled for the nymphs to have power, their divinity robbed by a lack of worship.
The fallen titans had been forgotten. And with their fading came that of the pantheon whose duty was their repulsion.
Not even their titles remained, wiped from the records and sealed beneath ten hundred thousand solar revolutions.
And yet, the people continued to prosper.
In a land where not a single blessing remained.
___
Claire rubbed her temples as she slowly sat up. She wasn't feeling well. Attempting to sleep in the brightly lit room had certainly been one of her predicament's notable contributors, but it was not the worst. Nearly all her discomfort had come from the bizarre dream she returned to each time the night took her in its embrace.
Like many of her other recent late night reveries, it was clear. Too clear. She could vividly recall the experience of watching over an unkempt man's shoulder as he spent countless hours staring at a miniature catgirl inside of a glowing box. That alone was enough to qualify the dream as a nightmare, but it was just the premise, the base atop which her dreadful, lucid experience was built.
He wasn't just sitting in front of her. The very same man was also standing beside her. It wasn't a body double or a twin, but a legitimate second instance, a projection as astral and non-present as the form she had taken. From time to time, he spoke, explaining what he showed her in a language she somehow understood. But that didn't mean that his words were heard.
It wasn't the first time she had been in his company. The experience wasn't always awful either. She would even say that she enjoyed it, on occasion. Last night's encounter, however, was not one of those occasions. Calling it traumatizing would have been an understatement. She really hadn't needed to see him pull down his pants. Nor had she even remotely wanted to listen to him explain his interests in extreme detail. It was like the librarian's curse had somehow corrupted even the spirit in her mind.
"And why does it always have to be catgirls?"
The question she mumbled was the part that had thrown her off the most. It wasn't as if she didn't understand why people were attracted to the feminine felines in general, courtesy of a certain curse, but she failed to see why both the spirit and the librarian were so obsessed with them. They weren't noble like the harpies, mysterious like the merfolk, nor great conquerors like the elves. None of their more notable traits were particularly uncommon either. Tails, fangs, and animal-like ears could be found anywhere. She did have to admit that they were notably more acrobatic than the average beastkin, but that was a strength they shared with over a dozen other subspecies.
"This is a waste of time."
Coming to the conclusion that there was no real conclusion to be made, Claire discarded her train of thought and began sorting out her agenda for the day.
The first thing she wanted to do was to get cleaned up. She was filthy. Both her cloak and her dress were covered in blood. Bathing was typically a part of her nightly routine, but she had skipped it in favour of heading straight to bed. The previous day's events had left her far too exhausted. Now that she finally had the time and energy, she decided to get to it right away.
Eight casts of Llystletein Authority, each featuring a stream of stale water, more or less did the trick. She was able to get herself squeaky clean, but her clothes remained at least somewhat stained. Both her dress and her cloak sported a series of permanent red stains that she was unable to rinse off.
A more pressing problem presented itself right as she gave up on washing out all the blood. She didn't have anything else to wear. Preparing a change of clothes was a task that the halfbreed had never once concerned herself with. Her maids had always done it in her stead. With a defeated sigh, she hung her clothes on a nearby glowing rock and moved on. Her lack of planning had left her feeling embarrassed, but she didn't mull on the sentiment for long. There was no point crying over spilled milk, and sitting around in the nude was at least preferable to being cold, wet, and soggy. The halfbreed wasn't exactly cold blooded, but her more reptilian ancestry led her to prefer warmth over its opposite.
Fortunately, the heat the rocks radiated helped her solve her clothing problem by the time she finished breakfast, another veaber tail. Both the dress and the cloak had been thin enough to dry off relatively quickly. Only the ropes were still a little bit soggy, but Claire didn't particularly mind them since they didn't make direct contact with her skin.
What do I do now?
She began contemplating her options as she dressed herself. She had already concluded that the bull knight's gate was most likely the dungeon's exit and that defeating it was the key to opening the door. But for the time being, winning such a duel was impossible. The guardian was obviously too strong for her. She needed more power if she wanted a fighting chance at taking it down. I think I should at least wait until my first ascension. A second class would be nice.
That, however, did not mean that grinding out her levels had to be the first thing on her agenda. Claire had lost her spear to the caveveaber horde, and while the weapon wasn't one she had been particularly attached to, it had definitely served her well. Without it, she wouldn't have been able to survive the two versus one she had managed to win last night.
Another important task on the chopping block was to sort through the knowledge granted to her by Llystletein Authority, but Claire didn't have any Llystletein classes unlocked. The exercise seemed rather pointless given its lack of immediate relevance, so she decided to put it off. She was confident that she wouldn't forget to check up on it once its teachings became relevant. She was also confident that pigs were incapable of flight, but that was only because she'd never seen a skygrunter before.
Listing out her options led Claire to realize that there was a rather obvious choice. Weapons had to come first. She was sure to need more of them if she wanted to stand a chance against the lost library's less-than-friendly inhabitants.
With her next steps decided and her equipment ready, she headed off to the hellhog's lair as she glanced over the two skills she had acquired from her misadventures in Caveveaberland.
Spear Mastery - Level 1
The way of the spear comes as naturally to your father's people as the art of waddling to a duck. This skill will allow you to better draw upon that of which your body is naturally predispositioned to understand, even if you are an ugly duckling.
Effects
- Unlocks spear-based skills.
- Improves your technique with the spear.
- Increases damage dealt by 11% (10% + 1% per level) when attacking with a spear.
- When wielding a spear, strength is improved by 27.5% (25% + 2.5% per level) of your dexterity.
And here I was thinking that the box wasn't going to insult me for once.
Dagger Mastery - Level 2
Did you know that not every problem is meant to be solved by repeatedly stabbing it in the face with whatever sharp object you happen to have on hand? Well, you do now. This skill should teach even you that not every weapon is meant to be used like a greataxe.
Effects
- Unlocks dagger-based skills.
- Improves your technique with the dagger.
- Increases damage dealt by 12% (10% + 1% per level) when attacking with a dagger.
- When wielding a dagger, strength is improved by 30% (25% + 2.5% per level) of your dexterity.
- Gain the ability to identify the weaknesses and vitals of enemies you are in combat with. This effect grows more pronounced with skill level and time spent in battle against a particular foe.