Deacon woke up several hours later exhausted. He had weird dreams about a starry expanse that he was just floating through. Bizarre stuff. His shoulder felt much better, and it looks like his health is at one hundred percent. That’s a welcome sight considering the past few days. Freeing himself from the bandages, he noticed his back felt much better. No more tenderness. No more crispy, flaky skin. He guessed it was time for a new shirt, again. Siting up he found three books and note on the chair the tiny Mr. Onderdonk was using yesterday. Deacon pulled on his boots then leaned over to take a swig of water. He then picked up the note and began to read it.

“Dear Deacon, as per your request last night, I have prepared several skill books that should help you going forward. The first is a basic Alchemy skill book that should teach you the basics. The second is an alchemy recipe book of my own making. There are some mostly scarce recipes in there that you might find intriguing. The last is a meditation skill book. You need this. Read it first. Good luck. – Molok.”

Meditation? Deacon was never a fan of the concept back home. Back home, now Deacon hasn’t concerned himself with his home world much at all. He’d been getting into one disaster after another. Deacon wondered if anyone showed up at his funeral. Being estranged from most of his family for many years, did they even know he was gone? He hasn’t even started meditating yet and already he’s stuck in his own head. Let’s see what a skill book does. Deacon picked up the meditation skill book.

New item- Meditation for beginners, this book will teach level one meditation. Would you like to learn Meditation for beginners? Yes/No

Deacon chose yes. Immediately the book broke apart to reveal a spinning core of light. That light shot right into Deacons head. Knowledge of the proper way to center himself, how deep breathing could impact his mental state, and overall aura control was seared into his mind. Aura control, that sounded interesting. He received a new message from his slate.

New Ability Unlocked- Trailblazer perk has evolved the concept of Aura control to Apparitions Aura- allows fine control of energies from the Nether Plane to surround the user. This can create many affects but will slowly drain soul energy if not near a sufficient supply of souls. Would you like to learn Apparitions Aura? Yes/No

Deacon selected yes. He decided to try it right then and there. Focusing on his breathing technique he started to push soul energy out around him. A fine coating of ice started to creep out from his position in a five-yard radius. Neat but not immediately useful. He decided to try basic mediation for a little while, maybe that would allow him to gain some insight. Sitting on the bed in a lotus position, Deacon began to breathe in and out. He shortly found out why Molok insisted on meditation. There was a clarity he had never known, and it felt like the world around him had dropped into slow motion. The shadows moving underneath the door started to creep by and motes floating through the sunlit window danced a little slower. That or his frames per second dropped. He laughed at that random thought. Once again, that starry void appeared to him and was immediately ruined by the grin stretching off into the horizon.

“I thought you’d never pick up that book. Actually, there was a forty-three percent chance you’d just toss it onto the other cot.” Said Cheshire

“Cheshire. How can I help you today?” Deacon responded with a sneer.

“Straight to business I see. I need you to consecrate a few gambling parlors, casinos, and generally any arenas or places of competition.” He said flat out.

“How do I do that?” Deacon asked.

“Just smear some of your blood anywhere. I will do the rest. If you do this for me, I’ll get you a gift. Trust me you want this gift and I have been dying to give it to you. You see I have been doing some research on my end into this forgotten class of yours. If you can get just 5 of these places, I’ll unlock another of your abilities.”

New Quest- Houses of Worship. Cheshire would like you to consecrate new locations in his name. 0 of 5 complete.

“I see this is more of a courtesy call and less of a request.” Deacon replied.

“Got it in one. Well, you better get going, lots to do and extraordinarily little time.”

The grin disappeared from the horizon and Deacon was left with his own thoughts. He wondered what else could be done with his new aura ability. Could he shape it to his liking? Just pushing energy into it had an affect but if he could target with it…focus it into a cold attack. Deacon would have to use the only method this world ever offered him, trial and error. On that thought he broke his meditation and on to the next book.

New Item- Alchemy for beginners, this book will teach level one alchemy. Would you like to learn Alchemy for Beginners? Yes/No

Once again, the book broke apart and the ball of light shot right into Deacons head. He now understood that certain ingredients heated to specific temperatures could combine with other ingredients to make liquids, powders, and pills with differing effects. It’s a just a matter of what and how you combine them. The requirements of a mortar and pestle plus any cauldron or diffusion equipment made Deacon face palm. Gotta buy a bunch of gear. He wondered if they had Bunsen burners yet. Digging through his back he realized he had a few gold coins left and that bag of jewels. Was there a bank where he could do currency exchange? He would definitely have to ask Typhus about that.

New Item- Moloks Recipes, this book contains level six and higher Alchemy recipes discovered by Molok Onderdonk. You do not meet the requirements…. Rule Breaker has reduced the level requirements to level one Alchemy. Would you like to learn Moloks Recipes? Yes/No

Of course Deacon chose yes, anything to stop the several volcanoes going off pointed toward a sky scrapper collapsing under its own weight sound from continuing in his head. There were recipes for various levels of healing potions all the way to regeneration that could put limbs back on. If that wasn’t enough, he found recipes for the following: Growth, Shrink, Glass Strengthening Polish, Wood Strengthening Varnish, Invisibility, Steel Devouring Solvent, and the freaking jackpot, Copper to Gold process. Odd he went right to gold without considering silver. Go big or go home Deacon guessed.

The downside was a lot of this stuff required specialized equipment. Deacon decided to look for the ingredients for a few of them once he got to Iron Mountain. If he could get the basic set of gear together, he could work on a way to contribute more meaningfully to the group.