Upgrades

Ryun took a seat on the ground and folded his legs beneath him, he had already prepared everything that he needed, and so he started to advance his secondary Path without delay. His first advancement was to the Early Immortal Realm, and just as he had suspected there was nothing waiting for him once he pushed his second Path to that stage. He had lost his Immortality, had it removed with his newest perk. There wasn’t anything to upgrade. The loss did annoy him, but he hadn’t known that his perk would disappear in that way.

He had waited for a long time to upgrade his perks, thinking that it would give him better choices. Now, he felt like it was a wasted effort. The two perks that he had expected to gain the most by him waiting had been the two that he had lost. He wondered what his immortality would’ve been like if he had advanced his second path earlier.

He was still ageless, but he no longer had a way of coming back from death. If he suffered sufficient damage, he was done. Though, he was very hard to kill. He hadn’t yet had the chance to test out the other parts of his Perk, though he wanted to speak with Nayra about it. Perhaps his new sense skill could help shield him from the strange effect that the Ethereal Realm had on him. Either way, he wanted to try. He didn’t dwell on that though, instead he turned his attention back to the task at hand and advanced again.

Master’s Conduits

Your Qi conduits are made for masterful control. Allows for complete command of Qi and Essence through conduits. +25% to wisdom.

Imprinted Conduits

Your Qi conduits are imprinted fully on your body and soul in the shape of your techniques. Increases the effectiveness of your current techniques by 150%, while greatly decreasing effectiveness of anything else. +25% to wisdom.

Voluminous Forged Conduits

Your Qi conduits are forged for extreme volume of Qi. Allows you to move incredible amounts of Qi through your conduits. +25% to wisdom.

There was only one real choice. Imprinted Conduits were not something that he could afford, it would cripple his ability to utilize Qi in any way other than his own techniques. It was especially bad since he often used Selia’s techniques as well. The third choice was also not something that he would consider, simply because there was no need for it. He had cycled a lot over the years and had improved both his core and conduits. He didn’t feel the need to be able to move more Qi through them.

That left only the first choice, Master’s Conduits, which was a direct evolution. What made it a certain pick was the fact that it would seemingly improve his Essence control as well, which was one thing that he was struggling with still.

He made the choice and then advanced again.

Titanic Swift Mind

Your mind is swift. Your thoughts travel at incredible speeds, gain x10 to thought speed. Increases the ability to alter the perception of time by 300%. Gain +20% to intelligence.

Empty Mind

Your mind is a reflection of Oblivion, mind reading perks will see only emptiness when attempting to peer into your mind. +20% to intelligence.

Adaptive Mind

Your mind is adaptive, it can more effectively adapt and endure damage. Your mental defenses increase based on the strength of the mental attack. Gain+20% to intelligence.

The last choice was interesting, though he had Lesser Enlightened and mental defense skill, so he didn’t think that it was necessary. He did think that mental shields were important, which was why he had gotten items for it. A new perk in that direction didn’t seem all that needed. The second option was another defensive perk, though this one would only protect his thoughts. It could be good, although only in situations where he went against people that could read thoughts or intent. It was useful but too specific. The first choice was again a direct upgrade, which he leaned toward the most. It was simple and it helped him a lot. Being able to think and plan while in the middle of a battle had proven to be a big advantage so far, and he had no reason to deviate from that direction.

He picked the first choice and continued, advancing again. Again, there was nothing. His Evolved Perk was gone, removed with his Forging of Body and Soul. He had been testing and training with his new perk, and he could change his physical shape with it, he could turn into a giant wolf, though it cost him willpower and Qi. A lot of the benefits of his Evolved perk had been incorporated into his Ankh of Eternity perk. His stat boost for example was now dependent on him consuming high tier Oblivion Essence, which wasn’t that much of an issue with his kit.

He didn’t pause and lament, instead he moved on to the next stage.

This time, there was no choice, instead he got a single upgrade.

Oblivion Territory Gate—Heart of Oblivion

You may open a door to your Territory that allows entrance to anyone that walks through it. Your Territory is directly linked to the plane of Oblivion, allowing you access to its Essence inside of it. Gain +25% to intelligence and wisdom. You are in the heart of nothingness.

He read through the perk several times. It was an interesting development. He had known that he would get the ability to open a door to it and allow others in, that much Tali had known. It was a standard upgrade of the Territory Perk. The second part was unique to him it seemed. Though he could see how it could’ve been granted to him. His body and Soul were made from Oblivion, he had Grasp and a perk that allowed him to open a Gate to Oblivion. It made sense. And it was useful, it meant that he didn’t need to waste the cooldown on Gate to Oblivion when he wanted to draw in Essence.

All in all, he was very satisfied with his upgrades, even though the loss of two upgrades stung a bit. He looked at his sheet and thought about advancing further, he had the Essence for it. Ultimately, he decided against it at this moment in time. His next perk was Master of Oblivion, which allowed him to influence Oblivion Essence around himself. With his new conduits perk he wanted to try and train with it a bit before making the next step. Perhaps it would improve his next choice further if he mastered Essence manipulation.

He did take a moment to consider his new perk, or rather what it represented. Heart of Oblivion, it was another clue toward the meaning of his being. He had many ideas, but nothing really that fully clicked into place. The closest thing that he had was Enduring in Pursuit of Worth, though even there he only really felt like the Enduring path really fit.

He knew that he needed to work on his skills, that to advance them properly he needed to know his meaning. He had made peace with the parts of him that he understood, the Wolf of the End—Aspect of True Death. That part of him was… old, so much so that Ryun understood how his view on the world was impacted by the weight of that existence. He wasn’t easily excited or impressed because a part of him had seen it all before.

His newest perk was Heart of Oblivion, with all the others, it told a story. His Ideal was about witnessing those stories, yet he wasn’t drawn to many of them. It was as if a part of him was still looking for something that he didn’t know how to put into words. His path had brought him to Oblivion, the Aspect that stood apart from everything, that would endure until the end. In many ways it was the Aspect of the ultimate observer, something that would always be there to witness.

He thought that he was close to making a realization, but he knew that he was still missing something. Perhaps he should take some time, maybe travel with Nayra and see another Realm. If only there wasn’t so much to do, it seemed like there was not enough time for anything. He could not afford to fail his people again, and yet… if he could grasp more of his power, perhaps he could do more. It was frustrating to say the least, but he knew that he had to make a decision, and soon.

He shook his head and pulled back from those thoughts. He opened his eyes and realized that the amount of Light Essence in the air was increasing, the day was coming, and he stood. It was time for his meeting with Zach.