It took considerably less time for Bjorn and his water elemental to cross the distance between where he fought the bandits and the main camp. He and the elemental were able to travel at considerably faster speeds due to them not trying to hide with stealth. When they made it back to the camp the elemental had around 2 minutes left on its timer.
Bjorn wanted to get the attention of whoever was left so he just strolled into the clearing. To his surprise it was empty. And after several minutes of searching it was still empty. Concerned about what that meant he turned away from the clearing and at a full sprint took off towards where Adriana and the prisoners had gone.
Without needing to be said, the elemental’s time ran out and it returned to its home plane. Another rent in reality appeared and a powerful sucking force pulled the elemental back to the plane of water. The rent in reality slammed shut leaving behind just a small amount of water which slapped into the ground. If Bjorn had to guess roughly 1 gallon of water worth.
After a few minutes of running at a full sprint he stumbled across the first body. It was one of the three remaining bandits. They had several arrows sticking out of their body. A total of 3 in the body and 1 in the throat. It was obviously Adriana’s handy work. The arrows were too well made and the fletching was the special fletching from the Shantat bird that only he used. Or now he and Adriana.
Proud of her work he kept moving there were still two more who were unaccounted for. It was several minutes later of running that he found the second body. This one had one arrow in her thigh and other than that she looked to have been bludgeoned to death. There was a single deep cut across her midsection, likely the work of Adriana’s dagger. But her head was smashed in and a bloody mess. There was a splatter of blood around her body where a heavy rock was dropped on it, smushing it flat. Likely the farmers wanted to get their revenge.
From there it wasn’t long before he was back where they had left the golem. He had abandoned all pretenses of stealth, wanting to make sure that she wasn’t in trouble. The only body that was unaccounted for was the real leader of the group and the highest level of the entire 14 man party.
When he was within 250 feet of where he left the golem Adriana entered his sphere of influence once again. Her name which had been greyed out in the corner of his vision took on color again. Her grey health bar was back and mostly full, it was missing just a hair out of the end of it. Their telepathic link got re-established once again.
“Bjorn?” She asked.
“Yep.”
“Thank the gods.”
“Really? I didn’t take you for a religious person.”
“I’m not, it’s just a saying.”
Bjorn finally entered the clearing. When he did the 3 farmers had been sitting in the middle of the clearing with their backs to each other all facing outward. When Bjorn entered the clearing all three heads snapped around to see where the man entered. They had tensed up but upon seeing who it was they relaxed ever so slightly. Their body language all said that they were still defensive but no longer ready to run.
“What happened?” One of the farmers asked.
Adriana materialized from the tree line right where Bjorn knew she would. She had a small wound on her head that she had wrapped in a bandage. Blood had soaked through the white cloth slightly. “Are they dead?” She asked.
“All of them except for their leader. I don’t know what happened to him. I drew 8 of them after me and I slowly picked them off. After they were dead I went back and found the camp empty. So I figured I didn’t get all of them, I only found two bodies so 1 of them is still on the loose.”
Adriana stepped over to Bjorn, she placed her hand on his arm. “Your hurt, let me heal you.” She could see both with her eyes and with her HUD that he was hurt. He didn’t look to be in the best shape, even though he had dominated the fight he still had taken some damage. Not everything was blocked by his armor, they had scored several shallow cuts along his body, nothing serious, but enough that he bled a good amount. This covered him in blood, but it wasn’t entirely his, most of it was the 3 that he killed. He was sitting at 182 out of his maximum of 320 hp.
Bjorn’s eyes darted to where the three farmers were sitting watching the exchange, his words unspoken and not needed to be.
She understood what he was getting at. She was a life magi and being able to cast life magic was rare. He wasn’t sure if she wanted the farmers to know that she had the ability to cast life magic. “It’s already too late. I cast my magic on myself to heal that nasty little head wound I got.” After that she got to work casting her life magic.
Every time he got healed by magic it was a wonderful experience. Even though he didn’t have any major injuries he still hurt. He had plenty of shallow cuts that had only scabbed over. Given less than half a week, he would have been full health again but those 4 days would have been annoying to have to deal with.
The power of life magic flooded his body and he felt as the pain that had been running through his body began to slowly wash away. It felt as if a cool spring had been flowing through him and the cool water stopped and focused on repairing the flesh. The pain washed away and was soon replaced with a light itching feeling.
Her magic wasn’t strong enough for him to be fully healed by one spell so she began to tell her story. After they where Bjorn was she and the prisoners started trying to be as stealthy as possible. Which was considerably less than she hoped for. Luckily whatever Bjorn had done had worked as they could hear the group split off and follow after him. After that they kept moving trying to stay hidden.
After 20 minutes they could hear the sound of someone running through the woods, soon it became two. Only the two followed after Adriana and the prisoners. Adriana pointed the prisoners onwards and stopped to set up a trap. When the first one came into view she shot and injured him. It slowed down his advance enough that she was able to finish him off with several arrows. Then she had to run.
It took less time than she was hoping to catch up with the rest of the group. The man who had gave Bjorn a little lip earlier had tripped and broken his ankle which slowed them down. When Adriana caught up the other bandit was close behind. Instead of running with the sound of just one person they decided to fight. Adriana took her by surprise with an arrow. It didn’t fly anywhere as straight as she was hoping only wounding the woman. She closed the distance before Adriana could set another arrow. So instead she set up for a close fight with her dagger.
While fighting the other two prisoners decided that it was time to get in the fight. They tackled her and beat her, after she stopped moving they crushed her head with a boulder. Then the 4 of them made their way to the clearing.
By the time she finished recounting her story she had cast her weak slow heal around 6 times bringing him close to full health. “Alright. I want you to stay here and keep watch over them tonight with the golem. I am going to head back to that camp and try and find the last person. If I have no luck there, maybe I can find some sort of information about why they are here and where the home base is at.”
“Got it. Hey Bjorn. Be safe out there. I have been hearing sounds in the night that don’t sound humanoid.”
He looked back at her. “I will, don’t worry.”
He then turned towards the three farmers. “You all saw her fight. She is way stronger and better prepared to fight than any of you. You are in safe hands tonight. Try and get some sleep, in the morning you will be heading back to LeefFalls in the morning alone.”
The three of them exchanged glances before looking back at their savoir. They hadn’t gotten any good looks at Bjorn as it had been night and the only light out here was the light from the moons.
The woman of their party spoke. “Your name was Bjorn right? Thank you for saving us. We don’t know what we did to deserve getting captured but you have our gratitude for freeing us.” She took in a breath and shuddered. “They were talking as if we would be put to work without any say in the kinds of work we would be doing. Thank you for saving us from that.”
Bjorn paused as he took in her words. “I won't sugar coat it. If we hadn’t saved you without a doubt you would be slaves. I don’t know everyone in the group but I do know their leader. He is a son of a bitch and your life would have been miserable.” He paused for dramatic effect. “You are welcome.” With that he turned and headed back out into the night.
This was the third time he had crossed this piece of land in the last day so he knew that path very well. Regardless he had his minimap that he could use to navigate but he didn’t need to. He was being extra careful as he went though there were two main reasons for his caution.
One he didn’t know where that last bandit was, he would more than likely win in a fight but there was in a straight fight. As many things are in the Eld, it wasn't just power that mattered. It was the application of that power. A level 30 human and still be killed by a level 1 goblin if it gets the drop on them. All of the attributes in the world doesn’t change the cruelty of reality. The second reason was whatever sound Adriana was talking about. He didn’t want to chance running into something out here at least not while he was on a mission.
Luckily for him the trip back to the clearing was uneventful. He watched from the woods for the better part of an hour before he decided it was well and truly empty. He got up from his spot and started slowly making his way through the tree line. After another hour he was convinced that no one was hiding in the trees either.
Finally he decided it was worth the risk of heading into the camp. He then ransacked the entire place. To his disappointment there was nothing within the camp that was useful. For the millionth time he hated this damn medieval world. Paper was a luxury that not many could afford, on top of that those who were out here probably couldn’t even read. As it turned out the majority of Escar had been illiterate. It galled him to no end. They likely hadn’t been trusted with any kind of written word that would be useful for this exact situation. There were no maps, no manilla folders that housed important documents, not even so much as a love letter.
The only things he found were items that the bandits likely used on a daily basis, such as bowls, spoons, a deck of cards, packs, two shovels, and a bunch of various useless items. After searching the tents he realized that these bandits weren’t the best equipped to begin with as he had barely found any armor in camp. They had all had weapons but didn’t have much in the way of protective gear. Likely they used their superior numbers to get things done.
There was one thing that made him think that there was a chance that there had been some sort of correspondence or at least some valuables. There was one tent that was thoroughly ransacked even before he had entered the tent to search it. It was the largest of all the tents and it had the only single piece of furniture inside, a table. The table had been flipped over with such force that one of the legs had splintered. There was a shovel leaning against it and under where the table had been was a small hole. Something had been buried there.
Bjorn drew the conclusion that their leader had ran away. He likely found the 3 dead sentries and decided it was best to report back to Kairon, or whoever was in charge of this part of town. Actually the more Bjorn thought about it the more likely it was that he had run into town to report to Ramsey and Luna. A foolish endeavor but he didn’t know that. Either way the likelihood of Bjorn running into the man was slim to none.
After the disappointing search of the camp Bjorn made his way back through the woods for what felt like the 4th time. After a bit he found himself back in the small clearing. The three farmers were all asleep. They had at first fallen asleep in the same upright position they had been sitting in. Throughout the night they shifted and were now just laying in one large pile of bodies.
Adriana had been keeping watch, once she entered Bjorn’s sphere of influence she slowly left her perch and made her way over to Bjorn. “Did you find anything?” She whispered to Bjorn, trying not to wake the three farmers.
Bjorn just shook his head. “No I didn't, the last one was gone, and their camp didn’t hold any information as to where the town was, or anything about other groups of bandits out and about in the world. It was completely useless.”
“Damn, that sucks.” She said with a yawn. It was getting super late, it was almost suns rise, maybe an hour or two away.
“It does. Why don’t you get some sleep? It’s a few hours until we have to get moving again. Might as well get some sleep.”
Adriana looked at Bjorn for a few seconds scrutinizing him. Then her weariness won out and she nodded. She made her way into the clearing, pulled out her bed roll, laid it out and fell asleep. Bjorn just smiled down at her for a few seconds before he then found his own watch post and sat down till morning.
In the morning Bjorn woke up both Adriana and the prisoners. They unsurprisingly jolted at being woken up. The last week must have been difficult for them. After everyone was awake there was a slight awkward silence that filled the air as Adriana finished packing up her stuff. It felt like the prisoners had something they wanted to say but didn’t actually have the guts to say something.
It wasn’t until Adriana finished packing that someone broke the awkward silence. It was the man who had been the problem ever since he was free. “Why can’t you take us into LeafFall. You obviously know what you are doing, as well as being strong. We are more likely to make it home if you come with us. On top of that I am sure you would be rewarded for our safe return.”
If only he knew. There was a fairly good chance that they were wanted in LeafFall now. They weren’t stupid. On the same day that Ramsey and Luna, two people universally loved in town, died, Bjorn and Adriana go missing. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out there had to be some kind of connection between the two events.
“No. We are hunting down those who did this to you. They are a group of bandits who took something precious from me. From both of us.” He corrected, indicating Adriana as well. “They are going to pay for what they took from us. On top of that one of the bandits has disappeared. He is likely going back to their home, headquarters, base of operation, whatever you want to call it. If he makes it back there more powerful people will come here and take more than just the three of you prisoner. We have to hunt them down.” “Besides, if we go to LeafFalls we will likely get arrested. Not taking that chance.” Bjorn thought to himself.
The man was clearly unsatisfied by Bjorn’s answer. He opened his mouth to retort, probably to demand that Bjorn and Adriana return them safely. The universe will never know as the woman of the group put her hand on the man’s arm. “We thank you for freeing us. It won’t be fast or easy but we will make it home. Thank you for everything you have done for us. And thank you Adriana for healing our injuries. You have a wonderful gift. I hope you use it to help many other people over the years.”
“Thank you Bjorn for taking care of those evil things.” The third man said, he spit that last word as if it was a curse word. “They needed to be stopped, I am just sad that I wasn’t the one who did it.”
“Of course.” Bjorn said as he picked up his bag of holding that had been sitting on the ground. He attached it to his hip.
“Do you have any advice on how to get back home safely?” The same man said.
“Don’t get caught. If you hear something moving in the woods, hide the best you can. If you can climb trees it is your best chance to make it home.”
“We will do that.” The woman said.
“Bjorn, I think it is time to go.”
He nodded and together the two of them plus the golem made their way out into the woods. Behind them there was another round of well wishes and thanks from the three they were leaving to fend for themselves out here in the woods.
For the first part of the morning they traveled in silence. There were a few things that Bjorn wanted to do. The first obviously having the conversation with Adriana, there was an air between the two of them. The usual easy banter between the two of them that flowed easily was absent. Something in their relationship had changed. He had no doubt that it had to deal with his actions in LeafFall. The second was he needed to accept his specialization, he wanted to get access to as much power as possible as soon as possible. Especially seeing how alchemy was a skill that only benefited him if he had time to prepare.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
As they traveled Bjorn had his eyes peeled for an easily defendable position, he wanted to get them both done and taken care of before they went too much further along their path. Just a little bit after mid-day Bjorn spotted a small cave that was set into the side of a cliff they were walking under. He motioned to Adriana and the pair turned away from their current course and started walking to the cave.
It was a small cave that was set close to 11 feet into the side of the cliff. Bjorn told Adriana to wait there and he jumped, easily catching the lip of the cave and using his upward momentum easily swung his body up and into the cave with one arm. The entire process only took a few seconds.
The cave wasn’t overly large or deep. It was a tunnel close to 6 feet in diameter that went back 7 or 8 feet before there was a bend in the cave. Using his simple light spell he found that the cave ended just 10 feet back around the bend. There was nothing else of note other than the moss that covered the cave walls.
He made his way back out and reached down. Adriana jumped, using the wall as leverage to get higher and caught the lip herself. She just as easily made her way into the cave. Impressed, Bjorn gave her a quizzical look.
“I have gained a few levels over the last several days.” She said simply as she did the exact same path that Bjorn had just done, walking deeper into the cave to check out what had caught his attention. Normally they wouldn’t stop until night. “What is going on?”
Her direct question made a knot form in the pit of his stomach. This was it, the time where he needed to confront Adriana and they had the talk. Or was it?
“There are a few reasons I want to stop. The first one is that I have qualified for a specialization and I was… Da fuck?” His sentence was cut short by the tiny golem landing on the stone floor at the mouth of the cave. His sentence shifted in the middle of his speech.
Adriana also looked just as confused as Bjorn was. Together the two of them walked over to the mouth of the cave and looked down at first the golem, then down to the ground 15 feet below their heads. The stone looked undisturbed, how the hell did the golem get up here?
For its part the golem just stood there, its featureless amorphous blob somehow was looking up at Bjorn. He had to know, so he did the first thing that came to his mind. Using one foot he shoved the golem’s body and it flew off the cliff slamming into the ground.
The golem just pushed itself back to its feet and began moving. It walked up to the cliff face and somehow the stone of its body melted onto the stone. It slowly and methodically made its way up the stone wall. When it removed a limb the stone stopped flowing and returned to its normal un-touched stone face. The golem made it to the lip and its hands? Kind of hands? Grabbed ahold and mimicking the motions that Adriana and Bjorn did launched itself upward and landed on the landing, making the exact same noise as what had interrupted Bjorn’s train of thought.
“Well I’ll be.”
“Ain’t that something.” Adriana agreed. They stood there for close to half a minute as both looked down at the golem, trying to wrap their head around what they just saw. Finally Adriana broke the silence. “What were you saying?”
“Oh, um, I qualified for a specialization for my alchemy profession. I was thinking about claiming a specialization but I don’t know what exactly that will entail. I don’t know if I will be out of it for a week, an hour, or even 10 seconds.”
“Well I don’t know anything about specializations. No one back home was a high enough level to qualify for one, so your guess is as good as mine. But no worries I will watch over you as you undergo the process. You can tell me about it afterwards.”
“Thank you. The second reason I wanted to stop for now was that I think it is time we had a conversation.”
Adriana grew somber at that, the small hint of a smile that was playing across her lips fled. “I know it has to happen, but does it have to happen now?”
“Adriana, you can’t hide from it forever. It is something we need to talk about, if not it will continue to fester between both of us and make things worse and worse between us. I don’t want our relationship to fall apart and for you to start to see me as something I am not. I have little doubt that is where we are currently heading.”
“Are you sure I am seeing something you are not?” She asked in a tiny voice.
Bjorn was surprised at the vulnerability in her voice. “I am not a monster. At least I don’t think I am. I-”
Adriana cut him off mid sentence. “You are right, we need to talk, and sooner rather than later. Go get your specialization and while you are doing that I will sort through my own thoughts. Then we can talk, deal?”
Bjorn felt like this was the time to push but something within him told him to wait. “Alright deal. If something happens, try and wake me, I would rather fail and not get a specialization rather than something happen to one for both of us while I am focusing elsewhere.”
“Sounds good. Now go old man and leave me to my thoughts.” There was a hint of teasing in her voice that Bjorn hadn’t heard in the last week. It was there for a moment and gone the next.
“I’m not old, but alright.” Bjorn said as he turned and walked into the cave. He moved just around the bend in the wall and pulled out his bedroll. He set it down against the wall, making a small padded chairish thing. It was considerably more comfortable than sitting on the bare rock for potentially hours, maybe days.
He sat down crossing his legs. Then mentally he pulled up his notification informing him that he was able to specialize and this time he mentally clicked on the “Yes.” Button. Once he did that a new prompt appeared in the middle of his vision informing him that once the process has started it can not be stopped without consequences. If stopped it would lock him out of trying for a new profession or specialization until he had grown 10 more personal levels. Once he closed that he got another prompt asking him if he still wanted to do it. Once again he mentally clicked on “Yes.” Then a third prompt appeared asking if he was sure. FFS “YES.” Bjorn thought, he almost said the thought out loud.
With his final proclamation that he was sure the world around him quickly faded to black. He soon found himself standing on nothing, in a black expanse that traveled on for what felt like forever. He stood there looking around unsure of what was happening. It could have been a second or an eternity before something changed. The black void was affecting his mind.
A small pin prick of light appeared off in the distance. It was the only change so Bjorn focused on the pin prick. A sense of vertigo overcame him as it felt like he accelerated to ungodly speeds in a matter of seconds. As he was traveling a second pin prick of light appeared.
With his focus now divided between the two pin pricks of light his momentum came to a halt. Based on the feelings he got it was as if he had been traveling at 100,000 miles per hour and stopped dead in a matter of moments. His mind wondered why he wasn’t dead or unconscious. The blood in his body would had all stopped and ripped itself out of his veins and skin, turning him into a spot.
After a moment a third pin prick of light joined the other two, then a forth, and a fifth. Soon the entire black void was filled with thousands, maybe even millions of pin pricks of light. Some grew closer and others winked out of existence. Soon his vision looked like it did when he opened up his talent page. Millions of stars in the distance formed nebulas of colorful patterns. The main difference was now the star map that was his talent page was 3d instead of 2d.
When he finally realized that he was inside his own talent page a white platform formed underneath his feet. As he stood there 8 began to rapidly close the distance. These were different than all the other stars that made up his talents. They were larger and of different colors. All the other talent stars were all the same nondescript white. They came to a stop floating what felt like right next to the platform but they were still over a million miles away.
Bjorn focused on the first of the stars going from left to right. When his focus landed on the first star it rapidly approached and inside he could faintly see an image, but it wasn’t clear enough to really tell what was inside the star. Instead he got a prompt.
Generalist: A Generalist is a specialist who isn’t specialized in anything in particular. In reality they have strove to become well balanced in all things. As such the generalist gains talents that help all of your alchemy as a whole. This path to power is weaker than all other specializations in their respective niche, however what it sacrifices in pointed power it makes up for with a little bit of everything.
Would you like to become a Generalist? Yes/No?
Bjorn mentally clicked on the no. As soon as he did the image within the star faded and the star rocketed back to back in line with the other stars. A Generalist would probably be great, but there was no way that it fit what he needed. He would take it if no other option stood out to him. So he focused on the next star in the line up. The exact same thing happened, the star rocketed towards him. When it got close enough he could see a vague image inside, but it wasn’t clear enough to see. Again a prompt appeared in front of him.
Resource Specialist: A Resource Specialist focuses on potions that help recover resources. This specialization will make all healing, stamina, and mana recovery potions you make considerably more potent. On top of that just taking this specialization will make all of your potions not be affected by the decay of time. This path to power focuses more on helping those around you more than yourself. Who needs personal power when those around you become immortal through the power of your potions?
Would you like to become a Resource Specialist? Yes/No?
Again Bjorn hit no and the image within faded, and then the star returned to the lineup with all the other stars. The power to make his health, stamina, and mana recovery potions more potent would be amazing. Currently they were without a doubt the most useful potions he knew how to make. Anything to make them more potent would be a boon. On top of that, making it so that all of his potions were unaffected by time would be amazing. This would be his choice over generalist already, taking it out of the running.
Just to test that he wasn’t shooting himself in the foot by choosing no he focused on the Generalist star again and it once again made the approach and the prompt appeared in his vision. Glad he still had the option to go back and he wasn’t locked into accepting a specialization when he first saw it. So he moved on to the third star.
Augmentation Specialist: An Augmentation Specialist uses alchemy to change their bodies. This can happen in a number of ways. The first change to your body is that it will be able to take on the effects of potions permanently. Albeit these effects will be a significantly weaker version of the potion. This path of power is all about personal power. As you ingest more of your own potions your body will begin to change in many different and varied ways.
Would you like to become an Augmentation Specialist? Yes/No?
Holy shit. The ability to gain permanent augmentations to his body based on the potions he drank. Although based on how the specialist said “Your own potions.” Makes him think that the only way the specialization would work is if he drank potions he brewed. If he wasn’t in a time crunch to get vengeance this specialization would be the best by far. He had an extended life and as such he could brew thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of potions. If each one made the permanent effect from the potions stronger he would become a monster.
Still unfortunately he was on a time crunch and he couldn’t chance the specialization. Who knew how long it would take for the effect to stack up and be something actually useful. No it wasn’t the right choice for now. Still he thinks it would be better than the Resource Specialist. So he moved on to the next one.
Ailment Specialist: An Ailment Specialist focuses on how alchemy can help people with diseases and permanent damage to their bodies. This kind of specialist takes on more of the role of a village healer. Their main focus is on helping those around them. They make medicines for diseases and pain medication to help ease people's suffering. This path of power is more about gaining the power to help those around you.
Would you like to become an Ailment Specialist? Yes/No?
This one was an immediate pass. He was less interested in healing the sick and reducing pain. His desires are almost completely antithetical to that path. He had no doubt that if Medera had managed to make it to where she could have qualified for a specialization she would have picked this path. It was without a doubt not for him.
Elixir Specialist: An Elixir Specialist is someone who had dedicated their life to healing how to craft Elixirs. This comes across in many different ways. This specialization will not only augment the strength of your elixirs, it will even offer you the ability to buy elixir recipes for talent points. As an added bonus there is a small chance that a portion of the benefits from your elixirs will become permanent.
Would you like to become an Elixir Specialist? Yes/No?
Elixirs are something that Bjorn had only heard about in passing. They were extremely rare and powerful. There are many different stories that talk about what an elixir can do but there is only one thing that is consistent. An elixir temporarily increased your attributes for a set amount of time. The power of elixirs can not ever be understated. A level 1 human could drink an elixir of strength and gain potentially 10, 20, or even 30 points in strength for a short amount of time. This boost would be insane if taken at the right time. It could easily tip the scales of battle in one direction.
The main drawback is that elixirs are supposedly insanely difficult to brew, if you can even find a recipe. This specialization helps circumnavigate that problem. It offers the potential to learn recipes for different elixirs. This isn’t just the ingredients, it would tell him how exactly to brew it as well as give a few different substitutions for ingredients.
On top of that it also has the potential to make some of the attribute gains permanent. The potential of this specialization was staggering. Bjorn had an impulse to take it on the spot. But that would be foolish, especially seeing how he had three specializations left to see. So he moved on to the 3nd to last specialization.
Toxicology Specialization: Toxicology Specialists focus on a section of alchemy that affects the world around them. This most commonly refers to poisons, but isn’t limited to just that. A Toxicology Specialist has the ability to augment their surroundings, or kill it off. This path to power is perfect for those who wish harm to others or to their environment. These specialists have little regard for those their alchemy will hurt.
Would you like to become a Toxicology Specialist? Yes/No?
Truth be told this specialization spoke to Bjorn. He was going to have to fight Kairon if he was to avenge Meira. The man was a professed mage, a level 43 professed mage. More than that he was going to have to kill Gnack, who had fought Gram to a standstill. Some might even suggest that he won in his fight against Gram. He needed everything he could get to stand a chance against both of them. There was little chance he could win without something to tip the scales in his favor.
Trying not to focus on what he needed to do he moved on to the 2nd to last specialization.
Industrialist Specialization: An Industrial Specialist is an alchemist who mass produces potions. Their talents are focused on reducing the amount of time needed to successfully brew potions as well as increase the number of doses that can be made with a single batch of brewing. These specialists are extremely sought after and extremely valuable to kingdoms and cities. They are able to mass produce potions and poisons.
Would you like to become an Industrial Specialist? Yes/No?
Again useful but not his cup of tea at the moment. Maybe in a different life, or if Meira was still alive, he could make so much money that they could have lived in luxury for the rest of their lives. But what could have happened was never wise to dwell on. So he moved on to the last star.
Transmutation specialization: A Transmutation Specialist’s focus is rather self explanatory. They are provided the ability to buy talents that allow them to transmute one object into another resource. This can be done with stones, metals, plants, even living flesh. This specialization isn’t tied to alchemy all too much. You are able to produce potions that can have the same effects. This specialization is more focused on your mana and touch. It is the dream of alchemists who live in alchemical component barren areas.
Would you like to become a Transmutation Specialist? Yes/No?
There are stories back on earth of alchemists using transmutation to turn lead into gold. He wondered if these stories were somehow based on this specialization. Not for the first time Bjorn marveled at how sometimes things from the myths on earth were true in the Eld. It made him wonder if there was a way to get back to Earth. Otherwise how did the stories end back there?
As great as the ability to transmute things would be. It was a dream of his when he was a kid reading the book series called “The secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.” A favorite when he was young. It was still not the right choice for Bjorn’s situation.
He was ultimately tied between three different Specializations. They were Augmentation, Elixir, and Toxicology. They all had their benefits and drawbacks. If given enough time Augmentation would without a doubt be the most powerful specialization he could pick. Being able to permanently gain the powers of his potions would be insane. The same held true for Elixir. The power of gaining attributes temporarily was insane. Then there was a chance that some of the attributes would become permanent, that was just the cherry on top. The main downside to elixir was that he had no idea how hard it would be to brew an elixir, or even if he had the components to do so. It would be a gamble.
That just left toxicology. It was unarguably the one that appealed to him the least. Whenever he played video games he always picked the powers that gave him weaker but permanent powers that could stack. All because of the word “Permanent” it was just too powerful in the long run. This however was not a video game, it was the real world and he had to make his decision based on the real world. He needed power, and he needed it now, not in 10 years, not in 5 years, now.
With a mental sigh at having to pass on augmentation and elixir he settled on Toxicology. It was without a doubt the right choice for him, right now, in the situation he was in. So he brought the star into focus and this time he clicked “Yes.”
The star pulsed brightly and the image within finally became clear. As he watched the image cleared and he could see himself. He was standing in the middle of a forest. He looked almost sinister. He was standing on top of a pile of black desiccated corpses, the forest around him was black and grey with death and rot. Thin lines of vibrant purple energies streamed up from the pile of corpses below his feet and flowed into his body. This skin was traced by the same lines of purple energy as the lines ran underneath his skin. His face was one of rage and pain as veins bulged under his skin.
Bjorn had only a few moments to drink in the depiction of him before he was lifted off the platform he had been standing on. He only had a second to mutter. “What have I done?” Before he was pulled into the star. The power of the star began to burn away at his body, not destroying it, but purifying it, changing it. Power flowed into Bjorn’s body as he absorbed the power of the star.
In a matter of moments, or hours his body fully absorbed the power of the star and finally his vision changed again. He was once again back in the cave in the same position he had been sitting in. The transition was sudden that he jolted up from his seated position. Only to immediately fall on his face. His legs were numb and spikes of pain ran through his limbs as feeling started to return.
Adriana was sitting at the mouth of the cave looking out into the darkness. Her head turned towards the commotion and she took in Bjorn’s appearance on the ground. She couldn’t see details, only his form. She sighed and got up, walking over to Bjorn to put him back into his place.
“How long was I out?” Bjorn said.
His words startled Adriana. “13 hours.” She said a hint of annoyance in her voice. “And you didn’t leave any food out for me.”
Bjorn was their pack mule with his bag of holding. They had left some food out so that Adriana didn’t have to rely on Bjorn to provide her with food. However the events of the past 2 days had made her run through her stocks. They hadn’t refilled her stocks before Bjorn started his specialization process, a mistake he hadn’t thought of.
“Sorry.” He said as he pushed himself painfully onto his back.
“Give me something to eat. Then it is time to talk.”
