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Level

Up

x2!

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Congratulations! You have reached Triumph Level 10 (Rank: Common).

Strength +12, Vitality +8, Wisdom -4 (NULL).

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Boon Granted:

You have received a Divine Boon of Triumph!

Spirit +10, Strength +30, Vitality +20, Wisdom -10 (NULL)

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Name:

Dharen

Awakening:

Triumph

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Triumph is the domain of the strong. Clad yourself in victory and accolades, that your enemies may quake before you. Arm yourself in glory, that you may pierce the very heavens. The Champion walks, and history trembles.

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Level:

10 (Common)

Boons:

Champion’s Aura (Common) Rank 0

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- Warcry -

A Champion does not back down; they know only triumph. Roar your defiance to all that might hear. Increase stats of self and allies by 10% and decrease nearby enemy stats by 10% for a short duration.

10 minute cooldown.

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Champion’s Aura (Common) Rank I

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- Challenge -

A Champion prevails despite all odds. An opponent’s strength is irrelevant; only his own might holds meaning. Send forth a Challenge to your enemies. Increases Strength of Challenged entity by 25% for one hour. If the Champion deals the killing blow, gain +50% Strength for 10% of the duration the entity was strengthened.

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Champion’s Aura (Common) Rank II

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- To The Victor, The Spoils -

A Champion conquers. He takes what is his, for that is the right of the Victor.

Killing an entity while To The Victor, The Spoils is activated randomly selects a single of the defeated’s Boons to seize.

If To The Victor, The Spoils is deactivated, the enemy Boon will be lost.

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Name:

Dharen

Race:

Faceless Human

Affiliation:

The Faceless One

Spirit:

51

Strength:

98

Agility:

38

Vitality:

66

Endurance:

27 (28.35)

Wisdom:

1

Charisma:

1

Luck:

1

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Tower Tokens:

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7,500

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Upon seeing his new Boon, Dharen eagerly set to testing. He activated To The Victor, The Spoils. As he did so, he felt a noticeable drain upon his Spirit pool. Similarly to Miasmic Wreath, it exerted a constant toll upon his Spirit - though at a more increased rate. Unfortunately, this meant that his hopes of being able to steal powerful Boons and hold onto them until the right moment were quickly dashed. By his estimation, he would be able to hold onto a stolen Boon for one hour at most before having to release it. Of course, that was assuming that he did not require the use of any other abilities. And considering the stolen Boon itself would have its own Spirit costs, that was a difficult assumption to make.

Additionally, the randomness factor was particularly concerning. With his minimum Luck, it was highly unlikely that he would ever be able to steal the correct Boon to save him from a desperate situation. It was best to operate under the belief that, in any case where an enemy held more than one ability, he would receive the least useful of the list.

Regardless, in a situation where he knew all of the abilities of an opponent were appealing, the new Boon would be of greater use. Dharen mentally shrugged, and moved on to examine his newly enhanced attributes.

Even before seeing the numbers themselves, he knew that he had undergone a qualitative change in his own power. Just as had occurred when he surpassed the level five threshold, he had received an extreme boost upon reaching level ten. Having not yet adjusted to the changes, his newfound Strength felt overwhelming, as if his muscles might accidentally tear themselves purely through their overwhelming power.

Still, he knew that was merely his skewed perception following the boost. With his high Vitality, such occurrences were of little concern.

Dharen looked up once more as Duende began to speak.

“Now, speaking of the goals of the Vezian Alliance…” the man started. “Soon, there will be a major occurrence. You may be unaware, but each sector’s Spire contains its own noticeboard, similar to that which you may find in the Plaza. However, unlike the public notices, those contained within the Spires are rather…unique. The notices available to the public are constantly available, and are aimed towards directing adventurers to defeat monsters in exchange for Contribution Points.”

He waited a moment before continuing. “I recently received word that a large group of strong adventurers were defeated while conducting a quest to raid a tribe of monsters. Only one managed to make it back to the teleporter, spreading word of what had occurred. Fortunately, he was a resident of our Alliance’s sector, allowing us to be the first to learn the details and begin preparations.”

Riell, the warrior woman who had proven victorious over the advanced bracket, chose that moment to speak up. “What are we preparing for?” she questioned.

Duende looked at each warrior in turn before responding. “An Awakening Cluster.”

Dharen, along with the others, was taken aback. Though he had heard of the possibility before, he had been unsure that it was something that could occur while within the confines of the Tower. Awakening clusters were a calamitous event wherein an entire group of monsters managed to Awaken at once. Though rarely seen, it was only reasonable that such an event could occur. One only had to look at examples within humanity. Large groups tended to feed off of one another’s emotions; panic engendered panic, anger begat anger. One only had to look at a human mob to see this truth; the mentality of the group at large seeped into the psyche of its individual members.

Some humans discounted the idea, of course, unwilling to accept any similarities between monsters and men. Dharen, however, had always found it a reasonable theory. Many men were secretly monsters in their own way, after all.

Though it was unlikely to occur naturally, unless a group of monsters encountered a particularly aggressive predator, human adventuring parties sometimes found that failed raids resulted in a more difficult assault in the future - with more Awakened monsters than before.

The Vezian leader’s voice took on a darker tone. “Yes, an Awakening Cluster. As far as we can tell, it is likely that the previously Unawakened members of the tribe triggered together during the party’s assault, and awoke to either Fear or Rage. Based on the report of their displayed abilities provided by the surviving member, Fear is the more probable of the two.”

Beran, one of the two brothers, scoffed slightly. With a deep voice that held the raspy notes of a frequent Hilleaf smoker (an odd choice of vice for a man that already suffered from poor Endurance, Dharen noted), the man rumbled: “Why be afraid? Smashing a tribe of baby Awakened is not difficult for us.”

He was right, Dharen thought. At least, in this case. Though an entire tribe of monsters that had formed their Seeds would normally be cause for concern, the individuals on the Fifth Floor were a far cry from normal. Each of them was an absolute powerhouse in comparison to their former selves. The newly-Awakened would only be a source of low-grade Seeds.

With a suddenly icy tone, Duende replied. “Do not be foolish. Prior to the failed raid, the quest was already given a designation of Veteran by the Tower. That was when there were only a few Awakened that were living within the tribe. Now there are many. Not only do they have the coordination and cooperation typical of tribal monsters, but they were also formidable by nature.”

Dharen, dismissing the man’s departure from his typical attitude with ease, asked the question that immediately came to mind. “What type of monster forms the tribe?”

Duande smiled at the question, nodding his approval. “And that, friends, is the crucial piece of information. The tribe is composed entirely of Nulzan.”

At that remark, every listener - hardened warriors, all - blanched, faces growing ashen. Dharen was no different. Though he had never encountered one personally, that was a given. He was still alive, after all.

The Nulzan were a particularly deadly species of monster. Nocturnal by nature, they congregated in tribes that could easily eradicate a village in the dead of night. Though not overly dangerous by dint of pure strength, their natural speed and agility was enough to overcome many an Awakened warrior.

It was in enemies such as these that the true terror of monster Seeds was laid bare. A dangerous quirk of soulseeds was that, as was the way of the world, they were not equal. A human could gain Awaken to Rage and immediately become 60% stronger than he had been before. It was a notable change, but he would not become overwhelmingly powerful. But what happened when a monster was already overwhelming?

A group of Nulzan Awakening together was more than worrisome; a group of Nulzan Awakening together to an agility-boosting Seed with their already-frightening natural agility was downright terrifying.

“And unfortunately, there is more. Unlike the normal notices, those offered by the Spire are not so simple. Whereas normally, a particular quest would only appear on a single notice throughout the city, those that appear within the Alliance’s Spires have a copy available for the taking at each Spire. When combined with the additional benefits that these special notices reward, a bloodbath can occur.”

“Soon, we are bound to receive a special quest to eradicate the Awakened tribe. In response to these special notices, each Alliance customarily sends their own party to seize the extremely high rewards that come along with them. And each time, things regrettably devolve into violence between the Alliances. The Vezian Alliance has many eyes, and many friends that support us - even from within the ranks of the other Alliances. From the information they have provided, and having seen each of you fine warriors in action, I have utmost faith that you will be able to succeed where others have failed before you. You have the ability to secure the greatest rewards for the Vezian Alliance and for the good of all. And if any of the other Alliances choose to prove difficult…”

Duende paused, a hard glint in his eyes. “Kill them.”