24 Chapter 25: What Remains

Tatiana's body turned to ash and blew away on the wind, as soon as Luca put her down. 2Face's body was nowhere to be seen, likely already absorbed by the dungeon. I didn't want to kill her, but I don't need another enemy running around right now. The boost to my speed her death gave me, and the sword could be the difference between life and death, if not today, then eventually. As he turned and walked towards the ability shop, his steps making the same ones she had just taken, Luca couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment.

He knew that Tatiana and 2Face wouldn't be the only people he would kill, only the first and that many many more would follow. Luca made a vow to himself there and then that so long as he had a choice if it logically made sense, he wouldn't kill. He had no qualms about it, and was otherwise unaffected.

Strangely enough, the forest felt welcoming rather than forbidding as it walked through it alone. Though the canopy above head still rustled with the sounds of monsters milling about, they knew well enough know to leave the strange human with the dark aura alone. It felt.. right to Luca to be rightfully feared and left alone. Power itself was a good deterrent, and he would gather enough of it to himself that nothing again would ever threaten him.

Passing through a nearby clearing, Luca saw signs of the Orc Hoard Tatiana had spoken of, but judging by the look of the rampaging footprints in the dirt, they had cleared out quickly in a panic. Probably when my Nightmare was set loose. Maybe when I'm done here, I'll chase them down. He admitted, smiling to himself, hoping that next time he could see it in action, rather than watch the memory of it through the Obsidian Orb.

The ability shop was less than a half-mile away, and with his boosted speed and high endurance, Luca was easily able to cut into his travel time and arrived within minutes at the base of a large white oak tree. The tree itself wasn't tall by any means, maybe 20 feet at a max, but what separated it from the other trees of the forest was that it was almost as wide as it was tall.

Though the white tree wasn't dead, it was apparent to Luca it was at the end of its lifespan as only a few leaves could be seen sprouting from withered branches. As Luca approached, he saw a black electrical cord plugged into the base of the tree, leading to what appeared to be a vending machine. The closer Luca got, the easier it became to read the letters on the machine, letters that reading "Ability Kiosk." He had arrived at the shop, though it was not quite what he expected.

Notification: "Welcome to the Ability Shop" – Current Location – The Phoenix Refuge, The White Oak's Haunt

Current Spending Balance – Sol: 12265

Please Note - Each ability after it has been purchased doubles in price. This effect is cumulative and does not reset.

Current Ability List

* V – Lesser Fireball (8000 Sol)

* IV – Ice Bolt (6000 Sol)

* III – Corpse Golem (24000)

* VI – Healing Light (8600)

* X – Defend (10000)

* III - Burning Fist (10200)

* II – Lesser Purge (2000)

* XII – Summon Skeletons (30000)

* III – Redundant Organs (10000)

* VII – Lightning Curtain (28000)

After he scanned the list, Luca was disappointed to see that what was offered was, for the most part, outside the range of what he could purchase. I guess being one of the first people to hit up an ability shop can make all the difference, though I'm surprised that more abilities haven't been bought. It makes sense, though, hard to get those kinds of points if most things can kill you so easily.

Luca had made a decision to prioritize his own survival, and judging by the fact that only two other people had bought the ability, it seemed the decision was not a popular one, but he didn't care, it was his life, and he had no intention of squandering it. Luca quickly selected Redundant Organs from the list and double-clicked the screen with his finger.

Instantly, Luca felt a pain in his chest as veins split and redirected as alternate hearts and other internal organs grew, spreading themselves out across his body, making it that much more difficult for anyone to land a critical hit on him. The last thing Luca wanted to be a lucky shot to his heart to end his journey to power.

Notification: Upgrade Purchased "Redundant Organs"

Details: With this upgrade purchased, all of the player's organs have doubled and been hidden randomly throughout the body. These organs are not in, but in the event of a catastrophic injury will replace the harmed primary organ. This may only be used once. To replace redundant organs, the player must again purchase the upgrade.

The upgrade cost is frozen for the player at the price of their opt-in.

Luca frowned, reading the prompt, but overall it was still the right decision for what he would have purchased. With his ability to consume souls, abilities would come sooner or later. All he needed to do was stay alive in the meantime.

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He quickly selected the second ability he would purchase for himself, Lesser Purge, and with that all of his Sol was spent. Thinking of all the money he had just spent made him inwardly cringe, but there was nothing he could do about it. Saving resources for later when they needed to be used now didn't help anymore, and it certainly wouldn't help him if he wound up dead on top of a pile of Sol for someone else to plunder.

Notification: Ability Purchased – Lesser Purge

Details: This ability is an endurance stat check. The check is equal to 50% of the caster's endurance stat. If the target of the ability has an endurance of less than 50% of the user, they are killed instantly.

With his preparations done. Luca did the unthinkable. He sat down and rested, waiting for whoever was coming to kill him. Be it Oeviss, Dominic, the Gemini Twins, Garen. It didn't matter. Luca would kill them all.