Hand of The Eldritch God

In the depths of his soul, he knew he had stained himself. It was not the stain of bright berries on the palms that had picked them. Nor was it the stain of good coffee on a rug. This stain was no simple consequence or helpless accident. This was his deed, his choice to fight against his nature. The nature of his damned soul is marked by the seed implanted within it. It was the seed and mark of something so ancient, so foul, horrid and abominable that it had no name, or face. No word, no sound that could describe its unutterable appearance.

Feared by even a God from this alien world, its claws were sunk into him. He had no price to pay for a second chance, so he had given the skin off his back, and his very own soul to pay.

Before him were the husks of what were once men. Whether saints or sadists it did not matter. The toll of human life was now paid.

With an eldritch touch he rusted away the iron bars while the glass pooled in small piles of dust. The open horizon met a mountain beyond the stone walls of the monastery. Pain bloomed across him in phantom streaks from his further use of eldritch touch. He activated his stealth skill and urged his eldritch touch to corrupt the traces left behind in his wake. The phantom pains slowly eased as his tracks melted away behind him.

Falling into the empty yard below his window, he looked upon the walls beyond him. With light, soundless steps he moved towards them.

His body was weak and ready to give out. Looking up the stone brick walls he did not have the strength within him to scale them. Instead, he looked into his status.

Congratulations Eldritch Rouge Lv 8

+6 Dexterity +2 Willpower +2 Vitality +2 Intelligence +10 Freepoints

Two levels huh? This evil fuck likes when I kill priests from his enemy’s order eh.

Allocating his points he increased his stamina and strength greatly.

Congratulations New Ability Acquired

Eldritch Horror: The buildup of eldritch touch has begun to permeate your being. The release of this buildup can reveal the true essence hidden within abilities. A combination skill, or to be released as a singular outward wave of eldritch touch.

All it took me was nearly killing myself to get stronger. Well, shit, I guess I’ll have to nearly destroy my own soul more often.

Name: Ren

Race: Human

Alignment: N/N

Class: Rough level 8 Tier 1

Skill: Ritualism

Marks: Gate-Walker, Ascendant Slayer

HP:57/85 SP:36/90 MP:14/100

Attributes:

Str: 14

Vit: 17

End: 18

Dex: 34

Wil: 22

Int: 18

Free Points: 0

Abilities:

Combat: Sneak attack, Eldritch Touch, Eldritch Sight, Eldritch Tongue, Eldritch Horror

Skill: Ritualism

Misc: Stealth, Tracking

-Analyze,

-Systemic Itemization,

Eldritch Touch: The power of something vast and unknowable has left its mark upon the user. The power to call upon the mark is deadly to all. To destroy and destroy oneself. Empower objects, attacks, and abilities with this to strengthen them.

Eldritch Sight: Eyes that gaze at the face of the void is fooled by none other. The abominable eye has seen you, and you it. The auras of Celestial, Fiendish, Living, and Undead are shown to you.

Eldritch Tongue: The voice has spoken to you. No other tongue shall meld your mind to their liking. You may speak to all, and so to all the voice may reach.

Eldritch Horror: The buildup of eldritch touch has begun to permeate your being. The release of this buildup can reveal the true essence hidden within abilities. A combination skill, or to be released as a singular outward wave of eldritch touch.

With his newfound strength and boost to stamina he scaled the wall easier than he could have ever before. Falling to the other side, the impact was muffled by his stealth ability. Still using eldritch horror, it eliminated the smallest traces left behind by his movements. Not a single impression, broken blade of grass, or crushed leaf was left behind.

Ren began gliding towards the mountains beyond the rear side of the Monastery. With his increased dexterity it was effortless. Downed logs, broken stone eroding down the mountain slope, none of it could slow him. The rate at which his stamina burned was slow, his dexterity meant every point was being used far more efficiently than prior.

Just as intelligence had made his willpower flow more easily, allowing the more precise control of mana and magic, so the same with dexterity and endurance.

As he further reached the summit of the mountainside, bells rang from down below, their clanging and ringing meant his victims had been found. He burned away at his stamina faster, allowing the energies to burn away as his legs turned up dirt and stone below him. Having run out of eldritch touch’s lingering power, his stealth was no longer the perfect disguise any longer.

As the peak came closer and closer in his view he felt a pulse of energy waft over the mountain. Shit, they found me already.

He delved deeper into the woods that cascaded down the sides of the mountain. Deactivating his stealth, his energy drains slightly lowered and freed him to move even faster.

With his dexterity so highly boosted he grabbed a branch and swung himself gliding twenty feet over a crevasse that went down deep into the earth. Landing, his feet slid slightly before he regained his balance. Dashing forwards, he passed a great dead log nearly half rotten. His foot slammed into its great mossy trunk propelling him over a slope. Again, feet meeting the ground, he had crossed into a rocky area.

Before him loose rock and eroded ancient stone had fallen in great heaps and masses. As he stepped forwards, shale snapped under his black boots made of the unreal material all his clothes were generated from.

Glancing up the path looked terrible to try climbing up. He had no choice, he grabbed at loose cracks in the high-grade slope. Pulling himself up small bits of stone snapped and broke away. Continuing this way, he had to continuously find new handholds and spots to plant his boots. The stone was nearly ready to all fall down at once.

As he reached a small outcropping he looked into the blackness of a small cave. Whether it continued down ten feet or a thousand he had no clue. Anything was better than dying from a rockslide or being found by the dogmatic priests ready to strip him of his will to live.

It had been long since he wished to live as strongly as he felt now. The burning urge to keep going no matter what threw him into this mess. Would it be easier to just ask them to kill me, or to throw myself down these rocks? Is it really worth all this? Dammit all, it would be easier to give up… but I can’t.

Fighting on, he pulled himself up onto the ledge where the small entrance into a black abyss lay.

Looking down he saw the broken and cracked rocks far below him, in a short span he had climbed nearly two-hundred feet. Before this power had become part of him, he could have never imagined being able to do such a thing. Looking into the distance, he had climbed likely ten times the height of the rock face in elevation while running.

In the distance he watched civilization roll out in front of him. Small squares of land cut about in property lines, farms, streets, and even the city. Beyond all of that was a blue tint in the atmosphere that blinded his sight of the great distance beyond the cultivated land. The small shapes of forests, trees, hills and meadows was nearly indiscernible from the haze that lay over the land.

Further away, another range of mountains arose from the earth shooting into the sky. The blue haze laid on them most of all. Beyond them was a great nothingness as far as Ren’s new eyes could see.

He turned looking into the mouth of the cave before him. A great shadow lay over its entrance, cool damp air wafted out touching his nose. The air smelled dank and musty, but what other choice was there?

He pushed himself into the small entrance, squeezing tight until reaching a large pocket where the area expanded. Having enough room to crouch while holding his palm forwards a small ball of burning mana came forth in his hand.

The inside of the cave was slightly wet, seemingly dampened by the rains washing down the impermeable stone outside and having to find their way into the ground elsewhere. The stone was dark and cool to the touch.

Slowly moving forwards, he pushed further into the tight confines of the cave only seeking a sweet release from pressure mounting on him. He couldn’t know how soon they’d find him. Hours? Days?

His stealth ability had become useless to him, now he just needed to gain as much distance as possible. Maybe delving into a dark cave wasn’t the best option but maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t find him here.

The tightness got better as he pushed forwards, after nearly an hour unable to stand he could now walk with his back bent over. His slow descent into darkness gained in haste.

As the depths opened further, his mana had begun to wane. It would be difficult to sustain his light much further as his mana generation was slightly slower than the rate at which it burned creating his light. Resting and allowing his light to wink out he waited until his mana had recharged.

During the two-hours he had to wait, small skittering came up to him in the depths beyond. A distant echo telling of what was to come, chitinous bodies clicking and clunking rang up from unknowable dark chasms.