Chương 58: Tenebrosity Rises

"Ugh... it hurts, IT FRICKING HURTS!" Cried Imogen as her bones cracked, and shifted in succession.

"Imogen!" "Are you okay, what's happening to you!?" Exclaimed Clarence while watching Imogen attempt to tear her left arm off with her naught but her teeth.

*𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: You have forcefully absorbed the host of a fallen god, although the possession has been quelled; it will cause a few unavoidable... and well permanent effects. -5 INT, -5 STR, -5 AGT, -5 VIT, +20 DEF

"Oh thanks, you've been so helpful system; like I needed my... defence stat any fricking higher!" Grimaced Imogen as vines of luminescent purple, wrapped in ebony black rock sprouted from the stump where her right arm once was.

*𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭: Because of the forceful effects of the weapon know as The Cursed Blade, your class, Guardian Dryad has been altered into the unique class; Cursed Dryad - You can now have two classes, and gain the skill; Soul Hungry

*𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲: In order to feed the enormous amount of power inside you, one soul every two days must be consumed; or else you risk permanent mental damage - A Passive Skill

"What power... I didn't gain crap out of this... go to hell system!" Winced Imogen while the finally vines formed the shape of an arm, and were smoothed out by more ebony black rock filling in the gaps.

*𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫: Experience a tremendous surge of strength as your body tripples in size, and solidifies into a form of ebony rock. But in return, the skill can only be maintained by the deaths of others, you must consume a soul every minute for the full fifteen minutes that is the max amount of time you can use this skill per usage; this skill can only be activated once every twenty six hours - An Active Skill

*𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: You've 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 the new title - Curse Bearer

*𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫: Through foolish, or unpreventable means; you've aquired a curse - simply standing within a five meter radius of a blessed creature will alert them of your presence, and vise versa; +5 STR

*𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞: Unlike one not of this world would think, curse bearers are not hated, or even feared by the denizens of Tanvene; only envied. Most curses actually have nothing to do with evil, or actions of malicious intent... besides the most powerful of them. They trade a huge amount of power for a disability of similar stature; making them grossly disproportionate and out of sync with the world. The strongest curses are sealed within objects of power and are fed people under the illusion of its feeding ground being a competition. The host of the curse then hunts the unlucky contestants, and takes their prizes of varying worth as a reward for hunting more difficult prey

*𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞: These creatures are not saints, or even virtuous beings... unlike most creatures who inhabit Tanvene think. Although, that's not to say that they can't become what one could call a virtuous creature; it just has naught to do with the blessing they carry. Blessings originate in the bloodlines of The Thirteen Saints, of which were touched by the fallen blood of Denair; any descendants of them will awaken their blessing around the age of fifteen. Blessings have no drawbacks, unlike curses of which actually have nothing at all to do with them; being spawned by the remaining negative emotions of fallen creatures instead. But although they have no drawbacks, they're certainly not as powerful as say a curse, giving only weaker abilities like temporary flight; or enhanced strength

*𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: This is the biggest drawback when it comes to handling a curse, and has been specifically tailored to you by me - Your VIT stat shall now, and forever be 1 point

"... Frick!" "I should've just killed myself when I had the chance, tell me system, how's defence supposed to help when the frail body it's protecting is so weak that even a simple gust of wind could shatter every last one of its bones!" Growled Imogen as she felt the terrible pain subside, leaving only anger in its place

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐦: As long as your defence is high, blows will barely even scratch you, so on that note; could you please just shut up for one god**** second!

"Rude much... but I'll leave you alone because that title you gave me a while back is frightening, well; could you pull up my status?" Inquired Imogen while suddenly wondering if she should learn how to use a bow.

Name: Imogen

Titles: One Of The Second Wind, 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫, Unfavorable Of The System, Devourer Of Kin and One Watched By Denair

Race: Tick - Adult

Age: 2

Gender: Female

Bloodline: Tick Of Penitent Bark

Level: 19

Class: 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐝

Blood: 283/870

Hp: 10/10

Mp: 39/39

Str: 35 ---> 41

Vit: 6.2 ---> 1

Def: 51 ---> 87

Int: 30 ---> 27

Agt: 26 ---> 26

Infamy: 11

Stature: 34

Quests: 6

Skills: Racial skill - Life Steal 2.0, Plea To The Vines, Weak Pierce 3.0, 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, Posture Of The Unrelenting Inanition, Candidate Of Denair, Negligeble Illusion Resistance, 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐚𝐤𝐬, Subtle Regeneration, 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲, Hightened Smell, 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫, Medicinal Herb Knowledge, Fast eyes, 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧, Eyes Born Of Fire, Fragmented Language Comprehension 3.0, 𝐃𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐝'𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧, Verbal Communication, Sixth Sense, Proficient Halberd Mastery, False Form and Quick Heal

*𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐝 - 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬: A cursed weapon has merged with your previously existing halberd, creating something new entirely; an Awakening Tier blade. This halberd is tied to your curse, meaning it's indestructible until your death; and will grow with you. But more importantly, you can now name your weapon, names give weapons power. But they can only be truely given to unique weapons, for when a weapon isn't unique; it can't tap into The Mana Rupture without help - Fledgling Stage

"Holy Hell, I have eighty seven points in defence... cursed people really are imbalanced!" Coughed Imogen as she covered her mouth to stop from gasping at the sight.

"I need to tell someone about this... actually never mind, that would be stupid; I need to get out of here without any long-lasting regrets." Mumbled Imogen while looking over at the sleeping Clarence, proped up against a bookcase as maggots ate away at the books.

"I almost forgot Clarence was here... it's a good thing he fell asleep before he could hear any of my mutterings, it's almost coincidental; like in poorly written fiction." Laughed Imogen while watching the same vines as before wrap around her back to form a sheath perfectly fitted for her halberd.

"Anyways, Clarence isn't too important at the moment; I have to give my halberd a name... but sadly I'm blanking." Sighed Imogen as she examined her ebony black halberd with red engravings running around the Demy Hache.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: How about Kobalt Killer, or Defence Dasher; those are some pretty good options if I do say so myself

"Well... at least now I know at least someone has worse naming sense than I do, so that makes me feel a tad bit better about my horrid naming sense." Chuckled Imogen while staring at the system's awful names with temptation.

"Hmm, this is hard... should it be a human name, it something more fitting for a halberd; I don't know." Pondered Imogen as she scratched her head in wonderance.

"How about Execratus... yeah; I think that's what I'll call it." Smiled Imogen while watching Execratus almost instantaneously start emitting a reddish glow, seemingly awakening from a deep sleep.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧: Psh, and you said you had bad naming sense; that's better than most would name their child

"I'm sure someone else could come up with way better, but I guess it isn't terrible." Shrugged Imogen as she walked over to the sleeping Clarence, and hefted him up; eyeing the radiant creature that was sucking on his fingers suspiciously.

*𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: Your cursed halberd has accepted the name Execratus, and can now harness mana on its own with psudo sentience. It's expected that you'll clean it after every fight from now on, or you'll most likely be in for a rebellious weapon

"So my halberd can turn against me now... how fun, I'm regretting naming it already." Grumbled Imogen while a dark blue, metalic door phased into existance as Imogen pulled out her key.

"Strange, Clarence's blade isn't glowing any more; I wonder why." Contemplated Imogen as she opened the door, and stepped out of the library.

~~~

"Well kid... you can't say you're not making any progress, that was your first swing where the axe head didn't go directly into the floor; a feat to celebrate indeed!" Jested Craigen while taking the great axe from The Rebellious One, and hanging it back up on the weapons rack.

"I'll never be able to wield great axe, we've been at this for a week; and I haven't gotten anywhere." Despaired The Rebellious One as he slid down the ship's wall, with his hands laying defeated by his sides.

"Agh, don't be like that, you got to toughen up kid; learning how to wield a great axe takes commitment!" Beamed Craigen while offering his hand to The Rebellious One.

"But I've made no progress in a week, soon I'll die of old age!" Wailed The Rebellious One as he silently sobbed on the floor.

"Do you think this past week was pointless, don't you notice how you now hold that great axe with familiarity; if you keep on trying I know you'll be able to cleave that the training dummy in half within the month!" Encouraged Craigen while sitting down next to The Rebellious One, and patting him on the shoulder.