Chapter 22: Tales of the System Apocolypse Ⅰ: Luke Graceson
DING!!!
Welcome to the System, Luke Graceson!!!
As you did not take advantage of the extensive guide the system provided six years ago, your muggle will now be initiating your world to the system without the tutorial.
Cliff notes version: You get a system, classes, and skills. Most of your landmarks and population centers will be turned into Dungeons or Settlements to soak up the excess mana and prevent everyone from dying from mana poisoning.
If you want any additional advice, please find a settlement, avoid the dungeons, as they produce monsters, and try not to die. Maybe try to find a [Beta-Tester] who actually knows what they're doing.
Peace the Fuck Out.
Luke groaned as his free hand swiped at the blue box in front of my face, as he cracked his eyes open. He was pretty sure he hadn't drunk anything last night, so why the hell … Almost as soon as the box disappeared, another appeared, obscuring the small two-person tent that I was sleeping in.
DING!!!
Bloodline Detected
Bloodline of Poseidon - Legendary
Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following skills.
[Power of the Sea God] - Level 1
Channel the immense might of the sea to enhance your magical prowess. This skill boosts your Water magic Mastery by 5% per skill level. Additionally, gain a 3% increase per skill level in the effectiveness of your Earth, Air, and Life magic Mastery. Harness the ocean's boundless energy to fortify your elemental control and amplify your spellcasting capabilities.
[Poseidon's Sea] - Level 1
Embrace the power of Poseidon’s domain and master the depths. You can breathe underwater effortlessly, enhancing your survival in aquatic environments. Gain +0.5% resistance to physical and elemental attacks per skill level. Additionally, your regeneration rate while submerged increases by 1% per skill level, allowing you to heal faster in the water.
[Kin of Horses] - Level 1
You gain an empathetic link with all horses; they recognize you as family and inherently trust you while you are riding them. This improves your relationship with and Mastery for riding horses by 2.5% per skill level.
[Born Sailor] - Level 1
Enhance your innate understanding and skill in sailing and navigating the seven seas. Gain +2.5% proficiency in sailing and navigation per skill level. Additionally, your movement speed in or on water increases by +5% per skill level.
[Natural Born Leader] - Level 1
Form a party with three members per skill level. Your party gains +0.5% Mental Resistance per skill level. You can communicate clearly across any medium, even in noisy environments or space.
[Master of Death] - Level 1
Gain +1.25% Mastery with all weapons per skill level, applying universally to any weapon. Further, enhance your understanding of weaponry and its uses by 1% per skill level. Mastery of death extends to all tools of death, making you a formidable force in any battle.
[Greek Tragedy] - Level 1
Gain +2% to all skill and XP gains per level, accelerating your growth. Increase the chance by 1% per level to tempt a monster to try and eat you. Your journey mirrors the dramatic rise and fall of ancient Greek heroes, filled with both rapid advancement and peril.
[Divine Assistance (Guide)] - Level 1
Your father has arranged for a guide to assist you in these troubled times. Increase this skill in order to allow your guide to access more of its own skills and levels.+
+5 STR per level
+5 INT per level
"What the …?" Luke muttered.
RRRROOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!
Luke flew out of bed as an ear-shaking roar shook his room. Literally shaken, pictures of him and his mom fell off the shelf and crashed to the floor as Luke fell out of bed and tried to scramble to his feet. He looked out his window just in time to see a dragon strafe his house.
"What the hell?" Luke muttered as he jerked forward and nearly fell to the ground. He was still tangled up in his bed sheets, and the fact that he hadn't even bothered to change out of his clothes from last night or take off his shoes didn't help.
He ripped it off, pulling his 6'2" frame to a standing position. Swiping his sandy hair out of his eyes, he stared at the dragon flying off into the distance.
"Alright, I’m awake, and this is not a dream. This can’t be happening. I mean, sure, it’s happening, but how?" Luke muttered to himself.
Luke reached out to touch the screen. He could feel something, a slight tactile sensation. He stared at his hand as he started manipulating the screen, navigating it like an iPad, which made no sense since it was just a screen hanging in the middle of the air. He flicked it away, watching the window shrink.
"This made no sense," Luke muttered to himself as he paced the room.
"Ok, ok, let's review this," Luke said as he re-read the information. "So. I have Bloodline. And there’s a system providing the skills and classes. There are also going to be dungeons and monsters, and I’m in a frigging video game without a damn manual. So I need information, a wiki or maybe a guide?"
"You called?" a voice cut in.
"Gah!" Luke screamed as he leapt into the air and twisted around to see who had spoken.
A one-foot-tall man sat on a cloud before him, hovering two feet off the ground. He had slicked-back black hair and wore a purple toga. The cloud covered his entire lower half.
"Who the fuck are you?" he screamed.
"Not so loud, godling, I'm right here. I am your guide. Names Theo, didn't you read the notification, dumbass?"
"Well, I," Luke began.
"You know what doesn't matter. Give me a minute while I check your status."
A window appeared in front of Theo, a window that had Luke's name on it.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Luke asked.
"My job, godling," Theo said as he looked through floating screens.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Luke asked.
"Keep calling you what godling?" Theo asked
"That, godling. Why?" Luke asked.
They raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.
"Because that's what you are godling. Little god or demigod. Son of one of the gods.
"Wait, you are telling me god is real," Luke asked, perplexed.
"No, I said, gods. Let me repeat myself in case you're deaf: gods. Lowercase g with an s at the end of the plural. Great beings that can control the weather and shit."
"This doesn't make any sense," Luke muttered.
"You can make sense of it later, godling. My job is to keep you alive. It's really simple, kid: Run, fight, or hide. Make your mind up before the monsters show up," Theo said.
"Um, what do you recommend?" Luke asked.
"Run. Your [Greek Tragedy] skill makes you monster bait. Until you can find a safe place, you will be hunted by monsters."
"Alright then lets run." Luke decided.
"Finally!" Theo exclaimed. It took the kid thirty minutes just to get us here. Let's take a look at your class options."
Class Options available:
Fighter Class Options
As a fellow son of Poseidon, you hear your half-brother's call to take up his mantle as the Rider of Pegasus.
As a fellow son of Poseidon, you hear your half-brother's call to become the Slayer of the Minotaur.
Warrior - Lesser
Diver - Uncommon
Water Enhancer - Rare
Heir to Belephon - Legendary
Heir to Theseus - Legendary
Spellcaster Class Options
Aqua Mancer - Lesser
Water Mage - Common
Rouge Class Options
Swashbuckler - Epic
Ranged Class Options
Pirate - Rare
Ship Captain - Epic
Support Class Options
None
Crafter Class Options
Sailor - Basic
Fisher - Basic
"Ow, my gods, all water-based classes. What a surprise. I recommend one of the Heir classes," Theo said.
"Why?" Luke asked
"You want a class that would help you survive. Legendary class skills almost always give you a stat bonus. On top of that, your normal goal would be to upgrade your class to mythic or legendary anyway, so this means less work for both of us."
"What do rarities mean anyway?" Luke asked.
Theo sighed.
"You really are dumb. All right, so rarity starts at Inferior, Lesser, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Historic, Ancient, Mythic, Legendary and Forgotten. You can ignore the last one because you'll never see one.
For classes, each increase in rarity increases the pool of possible skills you can pick from, while a skill's increase in rarity increases the number of effects from each skill. Legendary and Mythic skills almost always give stat bonuses. But be warned: almost all Legendary classes and skills reference someone or something. So, if you pick [Heir to Theseus], then your class is going to focus on being a carbon copy of Theseus, even if it's not helpful.
So, little demigod, can you please choose between the king of Athens and the guy who rode a flying horse? I would recommend [Heir to Theseus] as his skills are better suited to your immediate situation," Theo said.
As much as Luke was tempted to take Bellerophon and fly around, but Theo warned him that he would need to max out the class before he could fly anywhere, he decided to take Theo's advice and pick [Heir to Theseus].
DING!!!
Level up!
You are now a level 1[Heir to Theseus]
+14 free stat points
Please select a [Heir to Theseus] skill.
You have selected the skill [First Labor: Periphetes' Crippling Strike]
[Heir to Theseus] - [First Labor: Periphetes' Crippiling Strike] - Legendary
The first labor of Theseus was to slay the bandit Periphetes.
Periphetes' Cripple Strike is the pinnacle of devastating precision. As you unleash this technique, your weapon undergoes a momentous transformation, increasing in length and size. Your strength surges, granting you a 1% boost in STR per skill level when you attack
+10% to your STR
Stamina costs: 75 Stamina
Instantly, Luke felt his muscles bulge as what felt like liquid heat surged through his muscles.
"This was the best one I could find," Theo said.
"Why didn't you let me choose?" Luke asked, annoyed.
"Remember how I told you we needed to get out of here before monsters showed up?" Theo asked.
"Yeah," Luke said, not liking where this was going.
"Well, there is a level 2 cat downstairs that is coming up here to kill you," Theo said.
Before Luke could say anything, there was a bang as something slammed into his bedroom door.
"What the fuck!!" Luke cried out.
"Grab that sword on your wall," Theo ordered, pointing to his replica of the master sword from the Legend of Zelda game.
"It's just a replica," Luke muttered as he pulled the sword from the wall.
"Well, if you want to fight it bare-handed, you're welcome to try," Theo said smugly as he examined his fingernails.
The door to Luke's room burst open, and a house cat, the size of a large dog, leaped into his room hissing.
“What the fuck!” Luck hissed at his so-called companion.
He had no time to do anything beyond berating the floating ass since the cat noticed him. Turning, the cat began to stalk towards him. Bringing his sword up between them, Luke started to back up as he kept the naked blade between them.
The cat lunges at him, catching Luke by surprise as he clumsily swung his sword at the cat. The blade bites into the cat's shoulder at an odd angle, failing to penetrate very deeply. The cat landed on top of him, its claws digging into his flesh. With a roar, Luke tossed the cat off him with surprising ease.
Bringing his sword around, he slammed the blade into the cat like it was a baseball bat. Over and over again, he brought the sharp metal stick down onto the monster cat in a panicked assault. He wasn't sure when it stopped moving, but by the time he calmed down, the cat was a bloody smear on his bedroom floor. Luke just sat there, feeling the cat's splattered blood roll down his face.
<[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 2>
<[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 2>
<[Poseidon's Sea] has Reached Level 2>
<[Divine Assistance (Guide)] has Reached Level 2>
<[Master of Death] has Reached Level 2>
"What the hell was that?!" he shouted at Theo.
"A house cat that thought it could eat a little demigod for some easy level," Theo said with a shrug. "It turned out ok. You got some much-needed experience. So stop complaining."
"So what do I do now?" Luke asked in shock as he stared down at what had apparently once been a house cat.
"Put on some proper clothes, pack a bag with whatever you have, and get outside," Theo said. This isn't a suggestion to do that; get some armor, food, water, and maybe a few more weapons."
Luke left his home an hour later, and a fresh winter cloth covered his body. Under his clothes sat his football equipment. Theo said it was nearly worthless, but it was an improvement compared to the nothing he had been wearing. In his backpack, some space changes were made to clothes, water bottles, and food. The sword was slung over his shoulder as he left his home. Unfortunately, the car wasn't in the driveway, so he was going to have to walk.
Police cars raced by, heading east as he started down the road heading west.
"So, little demigod, where are we going?" Theo asked.
"Isn't that your job?" Luke asked as he trudged along.
"Technically, I'm only here to help you. But if you want my advice…" Theo looked at Luke pointedly.
"Well?" Luke asked.
Theo let out a sigh.
"We need to find a settlement. Settlements have the ability to put up fields that repel monsters. So finding one of those will give us time to work on your skills. Unfortunately, I don't know where any of the settlements are. Fortunately for you, little demigod, your class offers a skill that can tell us where the nearest settlement is at level 17. So, for now, we just need to get you some levels. Since we can do that anywhere, lead on, little demi-god." Theo said.
Luke rolled his eyes and walked through the thick snow to Sam's house. If it didn't matter where he went, he would go to his friends.
As he ran through the snow, he looked around, waiting for something else to jump out of the snow and try to kill him. People were in their cars and seemed to be going somewhere. Some people looked like they had their entire lives in their vehicles as they drove off.
Luke wondered if he should follow but dismissed the idea. Right now, he would only hinder them because he apparently had a skill that attracted monsters to him.
When he finally arrived at Sam's house, he immediately noticed the collection of giant rats trying to bust down her door. Arrows stuck out of the rats' sides at odd angles, even killing a few of them.
"Well, godling back into the breach." Theo laughed as Luke charged forwards.
You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Luke Graceson
Race: Demigod
Type: Humanoid
LVL: 2
SubRace: Human
Age 18
Health: 315
Stamina: 485
Mana: 480
Health Regen: 3.2 per min
Stamina Regen: 4.5 per min
Mana Regen: 1.3 per min
Titles: None
Immune
N/A
Resistances
Physical 1%, Elemental 1%, Mental 0.5%
Weakness
N/A
Bane
Manslayer, Godslayer
Classes: Heir to Theseus 2
Total
STR: 22
AGIL: 0
DEX: 6
CON: 10
END: 4
PER: 8
INT: 10
WILL: 0
SPIRIT: 4
EGO: 2
CHA: 8
LCK: 0
Base
STR: 20 +10%
AGIL: 0
DEX: 6
CON: 10
END: 4
PER: 8
INT: 10
WILL: 0
SPIRIT: 4
EGO: 2
CHA: 8 +10%
LCK: 0
Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA
Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO
Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.
- [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1
- [Poseidon's Sea] - Level 1 >> Level 2
- [Kin of Horses] - Level 1
- [Born Sailor] - Level 1
- [Natural Born Leader] - Level 1
- [Master of Death] - Level 1 >> Level 2
- [Greek Tragedy] - Level 1 >> Level 2
- [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - Level 1 >> Level 2
- +5 STR per level
- +5 INT per level
Skill Slots: 3/60: Skill Points: 0
Personal Skills
- [Endless Brawler] - Level 1 >> Level 2
- [Storyteller] - Level N/A
Heir to Theseus 04/11
- [First Labor: Periphetes' Crippling Strike] - Level 1