Mila
“You understand what your boyfriend’s insane goal is, right? At least the general gist?”
Mila waited for her body to stop twitching, but didn’t get up, instead looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t know for sure, but, knowing him, he’s probably going for some ultimate build of ultimate power.”
“That’s about it.” Nana Xara swiped her hand in the air and half the hovering robots faded out of existence. Then the others started attacking again and Mila pushed herself back to her feat, this time shooting back while trying to dodge. “He’s trying to maximize everything, from his race to his class, but that comes with a cost.
“Race is relatively simple. Most people increase only the rank of their race as they advance, not its grade. And there are plenty of A ranks in history with Common grade races and Common grade abilities, with no bloodlines or uniquenesses.
“There are, however, no A ranks with classes below Legendary grade as, every time someone increases in rank, their class has to increase in grade, and this is the cause of the bottleneck for most cultivators in the universe, as every higher grade has higher requirements.
“Aalam is aiming for something insane, a Heroic grade class at F rank, one grade higher than Legendary, and, if you want to follow him, your class should at least be Epic grade, if not Legendary. But this means, if you don’t die, you are extremely likely to hit a bottleneck at some point.”
Mila shot down two more hovering robots and then started to only dodge as she spoke. “What are the requirements for a Legendary grade class?”
“At F rank, usually at least one Law Egg at high grade. Though you will meet the Law Egg requirements for the Legendary class I’d recommend just by gaining the Law Egg of the Reaper, as your two main Law Eggs are already middle grade. And Laws are usually the biggest bottleneck.
“Other requirements are specific achievements, specific skills, and, occasionally, specific races, bloodlines, or abilities. It’s generally good to plan your classes all the way up to A rank if possible, but most don’t have an awesome teacher who can give them access to that type of information.”
Mila dodged three bolts, took another on her reinforced dress, and blocked a third with Legacy of the Weaponsmaster in shield form. “You want me to go for the more difficult route, even though it will decrease my chances of becoming a god and reviving you?”
Nana Xara raised her hand, her expression serious, and the robots all stopped in place. “Mila, no matter what you choose, your chances of becoming a god are slim to none. Your start so far has been impressive, but there have literally been trillions with starts better than yours, yet only 0.0000000003% of them have ascended.
“Many of them had masters way more talented than me, ones who were alive and could offer them actual protection, with resources far more useful than anything I ever managed to get my hands on.”
Nana Xara smiled again and swiped her hands, the number of robots doubling and all starting to attack again. “Don’t worry about me. Choose whatever you want, and then let me fulfill my role as your mentor in life, guide to power, and moral conscience.”
Mila almost fell over and was soon twitching on the floor again. “Moral conscience? Nana Xara, I read your biography in the library, and, while it wasn’t very detailed, it did have a list of your achievements. I only killed thirteen people in my life, but one of your epithets was Mistress of Plagues. I’m pretty sure your kill count was in the billions.”
Nana Xara walked over and looked down at her. Then she poked Mila twice in the chest with her walking stick. “If you rise to A rank in the future, your kill count will likely be about the same. Do you think I, who’ve gone through that process and then lived countless years after, wouldn’t be able to guide you through the moral implications you’ll have to deal with?”
Mila paused to think about it. Then she decided she didn’t like where her mind was going and that her teacher was almost certainly at least partially right, so she might as well hear the advice in the future, even if she didn’t follow it. “Sorry.”
“So.” Nana Xara poked her again and the robots finally stopped shooting her, as they had been the entire time she’d been on the floor, Nana Xara not the nicest of masters. “What do you want?”
Mila took a few seconds to think, but the answer came quite quickly and it wasn’t complicated. “I want to get powerful enough where I don’t have to be under anyone and I want those I care about to be safe, especially Aalam.”
“Alright then.” Nana Xara held out a hand and Mila hesitantly took it, the old woman helping her up. “Let’s make you a Diabolical Trickster, then.”
“A what?”
“The Legendary grade class your boyfriend and I think you should aim for. It has no limitations on the skills you can learn, which is rare; it boosts disguise related skills, which suits you; and it allows you to more easily make unfair magical contracts with people under some kind of influence while also strengthening those contracts, which provides many, many possible exploits.
“You’ll be stronger in utility and less so in pure combat, but the advancement conditions for the future classes at higher ranks suit you.”
Mila parsed the name and decided it made sense. The class could basically be read as ‘Giver of unfair contracts who disguises herself and fools people.’
“To truly gain the benefits of the tutorial, though, you’ll have to pass the last Nightmare difficulty challenge.” Nana Xara reactivated the robots and Mila had to start dodging. “But now that you are my apprentice, I can actually give you some information. The last Nightmare challenge never allows you to bring in anything. You’ll be given simple clothes upon entering. And, more important, it will be an isolated challenge for each trial taker, so both you and Aalam will have to find a way to survive on your own.
“To that end, let’s talk about your performance during this last challenge. Here are the reward calculations for you.”
Challenge over. Calculating rewards.
Base Trial Points: 144
4 Vitalized Insectoids Killed
Base Trial Points + 4
128 kilograms of Solar Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 128
64 kilograms of Lunar Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 64
32 kilograms of Eclipse Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 128
All hidden recipes found
Base Trial Points + 128
Fully explored all areas
Base Trial Points + 256
Rolling Death cleared in second place
Base Trial Points X 4
Rolling Death cleared with no damage
Trial Points X 6
Rolling Death cleared with no surviving monsters
Total Trial Points X 4
Rolling Death cleared with total Luck 72 or higher
Total Trial Points X 2
Trial Points for Li Mila: +163,584
Automatic Rewards:
All stats +6
1 Legendary free building coupon
1 Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic)
Skill Choice: Devil’s Contract (G-Legendary)
Artifact Choice: Orb of Devouring (G-Legendary)
System Boon: All stats +3
“And here are the reward calculations for Aalam.”
Challenge over. Calculating rewards.
Base Trial Points: 144
53,628 Vitalized Insectoids Killed
Base Trial Points + 53,628
107 Juvenile Vitalized Rollie-Pollies Killed
Base Trial Points + 321
12 Adult Vitalized Rollie-Pollies Killed
Base Trial Points + 124,416
1 Vitalized Rollie-Pollie Queen Killed
Base Trial Points + 248,832
128 kilograms of Solar Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 128
64 kilograms of Lunar Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 64
32 kilograms of Eclipse Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 128
All hidden recipes found
Base Trial Points + 128
Fully explored all areas
Base Trial Points + 256
Rolling Death cleared in first place
Base Trial Points X 6
Rolling Death cleared with no surviving monsters
Total Trial Points X 4
Rolling Death cleared with you responsible for more than 99.3% of monster deaths
Total Trial Points X 12
Rolling Death cleared with total Luck 144 or higher
Total Trial Points X 4
Trial Points for Aalam Alvaro: +493,107,840
Automatic Rewards:
All stats +8
1 Legendary free building coupon
1 Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic)
Skill Choice: Runescriber (G-Legendary)
Artifact Choice: Token of Pocket Dimension (G-Legendary)
System Boon: +1 Temporary Max Mastery Skill [Cognitive Healing (G-Rare)]
“Do you notice the difference?”
Mila was twitching on the floor again, the System messages having messed up her vision and thrown her off long enough for several bolts to hit her, but she did notice what Nana Xara was trying to point out. Aalam’s base trial points were higher than her total. He’d gotten an extra +2 to all stats. And his skill and artifact lists had both included Legendary options by default.
His System boon was also one she hadn’t seen before, so he’d had more options there as well, and she didn’t fully understand any of his choices, so she’d have to ask him later.
“You both almost died.” Nana Xara stopped the robots from shooting her any more.
“You got close to a D rank without understanding the power difference. You and Aalam both ignorantly thought a nuclear bomb would kill a D rank specialized in Toughness, which was very wrong. And you, for some reason, thought a D rank wouldn’t be able to get through locked doors any average E rank wouldn’t have much trouble with, just because it had never tried.
“And this isn’t even going into how you stupidly almost tried to single-handedly fight an E rank as a G rank after losing control over your emotions.
“To your credit, you did bring a lot of talismans and bombs into the trial, which was smart, even if you never used them, but none of them would have worked on the E ranks and D rank you faced, as they specialized in Toughness.
“Most important, you were incredibly lucky the trial suited the two of you. It was a contained space, allowing Creeping Death to spread all throughout. The E ranks had low Spirit and low Perception, allowing you to hide from them. And the D rank was too stupid to care about you even though it did notice your presence when you got close.”
Mila took a couple seconds to absorb all that. She really hadn’t had a practical understanding of the powers of an E or D rank and they had been extremely lucky the D rank Rollie-Pollie Queen had been mourning her children when they met.
“What should I do to prepare for the next challenge?”
“First, master your current skills.” Nana Xara waved her hand and the robots started attacking again. “It should only take you another day or so of intensive training. Then you can fuse your skills into the Legendary grade Artifact Enhancement skill and learn Devil’s Contract.
“That will finish your section of the first quest I gave you and, once Aalam finishes merging the extremely rare skill he’s been going for and learns Runescriber, I’ll be able to give you the Legendary grade skills I’ve prepared for the two of you, ones which should make it much more likely you’ll survive the next challenge.
“By that time, Aalam should have also finished your other quest and you’ll be able to upgrade Legacy of the Weaponsmaster into something worthy of the Yin Yang Sage’s apprentice. You won’t be able to use it in the next challenge, but you should be able to get the Law Egg of The Reaper before then, and that will be extremely helpful, as you will actually have a destructive Law.”
Nana Xara raised her hand again and the number of hovering robots doubled. “First, though, you need to master your skills. And you won’t be leaving here until that is done.”
Thirteen_Life_Legion
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thirteenlifelegion
Vote for SotSK on TopWebFiction! http://topwebfiction.com/listings/shadow-of-the-soul-king/
And a special thank you to Shadow of the Soul King's patrons, who get to read the latest chapters as they are written and edited.
If you are unable to support Shadow of the Soul King monetarily but are enjoying the story, please like, comment, and add Shadow of the Soul King to your reader list to help more readers see the story. It will be much appreciated, especially comments. As an author, feedback is always of value.
Also, any mentions on social media would be awesome. Let's see if we can get that thief who posted the first 25 chapters of the story to webnovel.com off the first page of a 'Shadow of the Soul King' google search.
Mila
“You understand what your boyfriend’s insane goal is, right? At least the general gist?”
Mila waited for her body to stop twitching, but didn’t get up, instead looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t know for sure, but, knowing him, he’s probably going for some ultimate build of ultimate power.”
“That’s about it.” Nana Xara swiped her hand in the air and half the hovering robots faded out of existence. Then the others started attacking again and Mila pushed herself back to her feat, this time shooting back while trying to dodge. “He’s trying to maximize everything, from his race to his class, but that comes with a cost.
“Race is relatively simple. Most people increase only the rank of their race as they advance, not its grade. And there are plenty of A ranks in history with Common grade races and Common grade abilities, with no bloodlines or uniquenesses.
“There are, however, no A ranks with classes below Legendary grade as, every time someone increases in rank, their class has to increase in grade, and this is the cause of the bottleneck for most cultivators in the universe, as every higher grade has higher requirements.
“Aalam is aiming for something insane, a Heroic grade class at F rank, one grade higher than Legendary, and, if you want to follow him, your class should at least be Epic grade, if not Legendary. But this means, if you don’t die, you are extremely likely to hit a bottleneck at some point.”
Mila shot down two more hovering robots and then started to only dodge as she spoke. “What are the requirements for a Legendary grade class?”
“At F rank, usually at least one Law Egg at high grade. Though you will meet the Law Egg requirements for the Legendary class I’d recommend just by gaining the Law Egg of the Reaper, as your two main Law Eggs are already middle grade. And Laws are usually the biggest bottleneck.
“Other requirements are specific achievements, specific skills, and, occasionally, specific races, bloodlines, or abilities. It’s generally good to plan your classes all the way up to A rank if possible, but most don’t have an awesome teacher who can give them access to that type of information.”
Mila dodged three bolts, took another on her reinforced dress, and blocked a third with Legacy of the Weaponsmaster in shield form. “You want me to go for the more difficult route, even though it will decrease my chances of becoming a god and reviving you?”
Nana Xara raised her hand, her expression serious, and the robots all stopped in place. “Mila, no matter what you choose, your chances of becoming a god are slim to none. Your start so far has been impressive, but there have literally been trillions with starts better than yours, yet only 0.0000000003% of them have ascended.
“Many of them had masters way more talented than me, ones who were alive and could offer them actual protection, with resources far more useful than anything I ever managed to get my hands on.”
Nana Xara smiled again and swiped her hands, the number of robots doubling and all starting to attack again. “Don’t worry about me. Choose whatever you want, and then let me fulfill my role as your mentor in life, guide to power, and moral conscience.”
Mila almost fell over and was soon twitching on the floor again. “Moral conscience? Nana Xara, I read your biography in the library, and, while it wasn’t very detailed, it did have a list of your achievements. I only killed thirteen people in my life, but one of your epithets was Mistress of Plagues. I’m pretty sure your kill count was in the billions.”
Nana Xara walked over and looked down at her. Then she poked Mila twice in the chest with her walking stick. “If you rise to A rank in the future, your kill count will likely be about the same. Do you think I, who’ve gone through that process and then lived countless years after, wouldn’t be able to guide you through the moral implications you’ll have to deal with?”
Mila paused to think about it. Then she decided she didn’t like where her mind was going and that her teacher was almost certainly at least partially right, so she might as well hear the advice in the future, even if she didn’t follow it. “Sorry.”
“So.” Nana Xara poked her again and the robots finally stopped shooting her, as they had been the entire time she’d been on the floor, Nana Xara not the nicest of masters. “What do you want?”
Mila took a few seconds to think, but the answer came quite quickly and it wasn’t complicated. “I want to get powerful enough where I don’t have to be under anyone and I want those I care about to be safe, especially Aalam.”
“Alright then.” Nana Xara held out a hand and Mila hesitantly took it, the old woman helping her up. “Let’s make you a Diabolical Trickster, then.”
“A what?”
“The Legendary grade class your boyfriend and I think you should aim for. It has no limitations on the skills you can learn, which is rare; it boosts disguise related skills, which suits you; and it allows you to more easily make unfair magical contracts with people under some kind of influence while also strengthening those contracts, which provides many, many possible exploits.
“You’ll be stronger in utility and less so in pure combat, but the advancement conditions for the future classes at higher ranks suit you.”
Mila parsed the name and decided it made sense. The class could basically be read as ‘Giver of unfair contracts who disguises herself and fools people.’
“To truly gain the benefits of the tutorial, though, you’ll have to pass the last Nightmare difficulty challenge.” Nana Xara reactivated the robots and Mila had to start dodging. “But now that you are my apprentice, I can actually give you some information. The last Nightmare challenge never allows you to bring in anything. You’ll be given simple clothes upon entering. And, more important, it will be an isolated challenge for each trial taker, so both you and Aalam will have to find a way to survive on your own.
“To that end, let’s talk about your performance during this last challenge. Here are the reward calculations for you.”
Challenge over. Calculating rewards.
Base Trial Points: 144
4 Vitalized Insectoids Killed
Base Trial Points + 4
128 kilograms of Solar Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 128
64 kilograms of Lunar Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 64
32 kilograms of Eclipse Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 128
All hidden recipes found
Base Trial Points + 128
Fully explored all areas
Base Trial Points + 256
Rolling Death cleared in second place
Base Trial Points X 4
Rolling Death cleared with no damage
Trial Points X 6
Rolling Death cleared with no surviving monsters
Total Trial Points X 4
Rolling Death cleared with total Luck 72 or higher
Total Trial Points X 2
Trial Points for Li Mila: +163,584
Automatic Rewards:
All stats +6
1 Legendary free building coupon
1 Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic)
Skill Choice: Devil’s Contract (G-Legendary)
Artifact Choice: Orb of Devouring (G-Legendary)
System Boon: All stats +3
“And here are the reward calculations for Aalam.”
Challenge over. Calculating rewards.
Base Trial Points: 144
53,628 Vitalized Insectoids Killed
Base Trial Points + 53,628
107 Juvenile Vitalized Rollie-Pollies Killed
Base Trial Points + 321
12 Adult Vitalized Rollie-Pollies Killed
Base Trial Points + 124,416
1 Vitalized Rollie-Pollie Queen Killed
Base Trial Points + 248,832
128 kilograms of Solar Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 128
64 kilograms of Lunar Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 64
32 kilograms of Eclipse Iron retrieved
Base Trial Points + 128
All hidden recipes found
Base Trial Points + 128
Fully explored all areas
Base Trial Points + 256
Rolling Death cleared in first place
Base Trial Points X 6
Rolling Death cleared with no surviving monsters
Total Trial Points X 4
Rolling Death cleared with you responsible for more than 99.3% of monster deaths
Total Trial Points X 12
Rolling Death cleared with total Luck 144 or higher
Total Trial Points X 4
Trial Points for Aalam Alvaro: +493,107,840
Automatic Rewards:
All stats +8
1 Legendary free building coupon
1 Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic)
Skill Choice: Runescriber (G-Legendary)
Artifact Choice: Token of Pocket Dimension (G-Legendary)
System Boon: +1 Temporary Max Mastery Skill [Cognitive Healing (G-Rare)]
“Do you notice the difference?”
Mila was twitching on the floor again, the System messages having messed up her vision and thrown her off long enough for several bolts to hit her, but she did notice what Nana Xara was trying to point out. Aalam’s base trial points were higher than her total. He’d gotten an extra +2 to all stats. And his skill and artifact lists had both included Legendary options by default.
His System boon was also one she hadn’t seen before, so he’d had more options there as well, and she didn’t fully understand any of his choices, so she’d have to ask him later.
“You both almost died.” Nana Xara stopped the robots from shooting her any more.
“You got close to a D rank without understanding the power difference. You and Aalam both ignorantly thought a nuclear bomb would kill a D rank specialized in Toughness, which was very wrong. And you, for some reason, thought a D rank wouldn’t be able to get through locked doors any average E rank wouldn’t have much trouble with, just because it had never tried.
“And this isn’t even going into how you stupidly almost tried to single-handedly fight an E rank as a G rank after losing control over your emotions.
“To your credit, you did bring a lot of talismans and bombs into the trial, which was smart, even if you never used them, but none of them would have worked on the E ranks and D rank you faced, as they specialized in Toughness.
“Most important, you were incredibly lucky the trial suited the two of you. It was a contained space, allowing Creeping Death to spread all throughout. The E ranks had low Spirit and low Perception, allowing you to hide from them. And the D rank was too stupid to care about you even though it did notice your presence when you got close.”
Mila took a couple seconds to absorb all that. She really hadn’t had a practical understanding of the powers of an E or D rank and they had been extremely lucky the D rank Rollie-Pollie Queen had been mourning her children when they met.
“What should I do to prepare for the next challenge?”
“First, master your current skills.” Nana Xara waved her hand and the robots started attacking again. “It should only take you another day or so of intensive training. Then you can fuse your skills into the Legendary grade Artifact Enhancement skill and learn Devil’s Contract.
“That will finish your section of the first quest I gave you and, once Aalam finishes merging the extremely rare skill he’s been going for and learns Runescriber, I’ll be able to give you the Legendary grade skills I’ve prepared for the two of you, ones which should make it much more likely you’ll survive the next challenge.
“By that time, Aalam should have also finished your other quest and you’ll be able to upgrade Legacy of the Weaponsmaster into something worthy of the Yin Yang Sage’s apprentice. You won’t be able to use it in the next challenge, but you should be able to get the Law Egg of The Reaper before then, and that will be extremely helpful, as you will actually have a destructive Law.”
Nana Xara raised her hand again and the number of hovering robots doubled. “First, though, you need to master your skills. And you won’t be leaving here until that is done.”
Thirteen_Life_Legion
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thirteenlifelegion
Vote for SotSK on TopWebFiction! http://topwebfiction.com/listings/shadow-of-the-soul-king/
And a special thank you to Shadow of the Soul King's patrons, who get to read the latest chapters as they are written and edited.
If you are unable to support Shadow of the Soul King monetarily but are enjoying the story, please like, comment, and add Shadow of the Soul King to your reader list to help more readers see the story. It will be much appreciated, especially comments. As an author, feedback is always of value.
Also, any mentions on social media would be awesome. Let's see if we can get that thief who posted the first 25 chapters of the story to webnovel.com off the first page of a 'Shadow of the Soul King' google search.
