UL1 Book 10 - Chapter 7

Jazzjak fidgeted slightly, taking a deep breath.

“What I’m going to share with you is known by a few. Most of the newer gods, all under tier five, most likely don’t follow this because either they ignore their assistants, spend time fighting amongst each other, or a variety of other reasons.

“Some gods are what we call… intelligent beings, which might seem offensive to you, but even though one might be able to conquer a tower on their world, that doesn’t suddenly mean they’re geniuses or know how to approach a new life like this.”

The vorpal rabbit pointed at Sog.

“Demon or not, he understands that time is different. For humans and other races that are known for shorter lifespans you would be surprised at how many try to race through everything. Some get lucky, but most do not.  Other beings like dragons, or creatures like Kherbann, live thousands of years sometimes before they ever defeat the tower.  For them, this is simply another day in their long life.

“What you need to come to grips with is two things. First, time is your enemy and time is your friend.”

“That sounds like a lot of fancy talk,” Fowl muttered. 

“It is,” Jazzjak replied. “First, you need to get to tier six as fast as possible. The one thing most of you won’t know and most gods don’t figure out till far later is that after tier five, everything changes. You don’t appear on the arena circuit like you used to. Yes, you’re entered in, but consider this for a moment.

“When one enters the circuit right now from tier 5 and below, you can only be seen by someone one or two tiers above you. This means only tier ones and twos gods saw Max.”

“So anyone watching would know it’s a new god,” Cordellia said.

“Correct. But when one hits tier six, the arena goes away. You’re simply a god in the vast collective and the arena is rarely used because doing so reveals your true power.  Tier fives are also less likely to wage war in the arena because it puts a target on their back for the coming eons. One can gauge how strong someone is by their showing. Max just told every other potential challenger that he’s far stronger than they might expect. Only tier ones and twos can see him, and you can be certain only those who are confident will challenge him.”

“And that means what?” Rakonath asked. “We’re going to spend all of our time investing DP in leveling?” 

Their helper nodded at the smiling dragon.

“You don’t get experience from killing anything but a god now and the income from your worlds. Unlike the tower and adventuring, you’ll only gain the DP you need from those two methods but you can spend DP anytime on experience. Each of you pull up the screen I have showing.”

*****

Divine Point System Shop

God Experience:

1,000 Point - Infinite DP

Each DP 1,000 spent is equal to 1,000 God experience.

Can only be spent in increments of 1,000.

*****

“So you’ll be focusing on earning as much DP as fast as possible. You can spend DP in a variety of ways, from causing… dungeon breaks, I believe is what you called them back on your world–”

“Wait, the gods did that?” Batrire asked.

“They did. When successfully cleared, they grant a significant bonus of DP for a specified period.  Right now your world is earning extra DP because of what Max did.  Everything is about stacking those bonuses on top of each other as quickly as possible.  If I’m honest… the fact you have Max is going to make what I recommend next your best option.”

Another display showed up.

“The arena… you can win or lose everything. As you might have imagined, most gods wagered on Kherbann. What you don’t realize or know is that over 500,000,000 DP was lost on that wager.”

“Holy… Godly elf tits,” Fowl cursed. 

“Seems like a safe bet though,” Sog said, tapping his clawed finger on the wooden table. “I’m assuming the odds were in his favor?”

A chuckle came from their helper.

“One would have thought. Even at a 1:2 Odds, they had to risk one million DP to get five hundred thousand. There are many gods right now who just set back their plan more than they want to admit. What you haven’t learned yet is that the arena has a cap on how much can be wagered per god. Half a billion is the standard max cap. Those who get in before it is all taken are good. Anyone after isn’t allowed to bet.”

“How much was bet on Max?” Tanila asked, smiling as she held her sleeping child.

“Two million, sixty-two thousand.”

“Seems like someone or a few someones joined in on our bet,” Rakonath said. “It would appear there are a few gamblers out there.”

“Most likely,” Jazzjak replied. “I don’t know if it was one or more betters, but some do risk on higher odds. For all future fights, I’m going to ask you to trust me to handle the betting for you. As we have discussed, I’ve been around for a while and I know most of the fighters. I won’t go all in at first. Small, smart wagers are good, but at some point you’ll have to be willing to take a risk if you want to make some fast DP.”

“Or wait for Max to fight again,” Fowl said. “I’ve earned so much gold off him… why not earn a bunch of DP?”

“That is the plan,” Max stated. “I’ve got a god in mind but I need to wait a few years so you all have some DP saved up to make it worthwhile.”

“A target? Already?” Sog asked, grinning from ear to ear. “Care to share?”

“Not yet, but you’ll know it when it happens. Now back to the lesson.”

“Arg, I disliked school in my previous life,” Fowl groaned.

Ignoring the dwarf who summoned a cup and some alcohol from his dimensional storage, Jazzjak moved to the next panel.

“As Max stated, we need to get your DP going as quickly as possible. This means you need to be active in your world every day for the next three hundred years.”

“Wait, what?” Cordellia asked.

“Just wait, and listen,” Jazzjak replied. “You need to craft items, help acquire supplies and teach your people how to get stronger, faster. Max told me he’s the only one with a crafting skill. Is that true?”

Nods came from everyone and a rabbit ear flopped over.

“I may have another one of you fill in the gaps for what he has. Max, what do you have skill-wise?”

Max grinned as he leaned on the table with both elbows. “Weapon and armor crafting, both at the legendary rank. Alchemy is epic and then I have tinkering, gnomish tinkering and multiple power core and elemental core crafting skills. Oh and my favorite, Baking.”

Silence was his reply as Jazzjak’s right eye twitched, blinking rapidly.

“I think Max broke him,” Batrire whispered.

“You… have… all of those?” their helper asked quietly.

“It appears you keep forgetting he has a black skill,” Rakonath said. “Max grows stronger as he defeats opponents. I know for a fact he gained a considerable amount of stats off Kherbann because I get a portion of them.”

The vorpal bunny sputtered for a moment. “Wait… what?! You two share stats?”

“As do I,” Sog said, still smiling. “Max is a great friend to be bonded to.”

“Wish I got some of his stats,” Fowl muttered.

Shaking his head a few times, Jazzjak took a moment, closing his eyes and breathing slowly.

“Okay, then we’ll at some point want to branch out and get some basic cooking, sewing, jewelry and… a breeding skill. Max can purchase the skill stones as his DP rises.  For now, let’s focus on what I was talking about before my mind had an aneurysm.” He cleared his throat, raising a soft padded fist to his mouth. “You need to purchase a school and create a spark team.”

“Spark team?” 

The rabbit nodded at Cordellia. “Look at the display I’ve got pulled up.”

*****

Divine Point System Shop

World Enhancement:

Codex of First Light

1,000,000 DP

Doubles the racial literacy and potential magical affinity.

Increases skill gains on all skills that are built around mental foundations.

Last 100 years - 100 year cooldown

Codex of Strength

1,000,000 DP

Doubles the racial physical health and ability to recover from injuries.

Increases skill gains on skills that are built around physical foundations.

Lasts 100 years - 100 year cooldown

Spark of the Chosen

75,000 DP per hero or 300,000 DP for a group of 5

Awakening Surge - Elevates target’s class rarity to +2 of current rank (capped at Epic)

Stat Infusion - +40% to the core stat. +25% to two secondary stats.

Destiny Thread - XP gained is converted to DP 1:1

One-Time Resurrection - hero returns to capital, 50% health, 3-year cooldown.

Limit - Only one spark per hero, max of 5 heroes per god across all worlds. 

500-year cooldown.

*****

“Sweet Ockrim,” Batrire gasped. “Why… why didn’t we get this?”

“You were on old worlds,” Jazzjak replied. “Odds are your gods had others who had a spark. Some wait to give, others who are smart help make the best of their worlds. You have time before you have the DP to do this. Which means being present among your people will allow you to see who is worthy. Remember, the line between a hero and a monster is a thin one. Give some power and they might just use it for themselves. I have heard of gods who had to kill the one they gave a spark to because they went against their will. Even worse, one had to put down a party of them.”

Max frowned and nodded.

The king you chose… he might be worthy.

We already discussed outfitting him with equipment but a king cannot spend his life in a dungeon. Still… it would be a good thing in some ways. The problem is that eventually he will stop fighting in the dungeon and even in the tower. At that point the experience will end and our gaining of DP isn’t going to happen.

Not a problem we need to worry about. I’m considering the long term. A king who lives longer because of the power inside him and the potential to rise quickly will be one who can protect his people better.  We still need an answer to the question about the bloodline.

“Jazzjak, if I decided to give my spark to Edward Farren, the one I chose as king and to have my bloodline, what happens if he gets married and has a child?”

“The bloodline passes and a portion of his strength as well. Many gods who learn about this eventually try to create a bloodline and cultivate it. You can give both spouses the bloodline if one lives long enough and each can have a spark. Their child would then be stronger. Similar to your child.”

He nodded and squeezed Tanila’s knee.

“And what if my wife were to give her bloodline to someone my bloodline married?”

The rabbit made a clicking sound as his left cheek twitched. “That… has happened. It creates a variation. Some seek it on worlds where they are aligned, like you are with other gods they trust. Others bring their people to different worlds, conquering them and attempting to create a modified bloodline in this way. There are many different reasons for a god to want someone to get stronger and defeat the tower. You all realize that… Ockrim and Phaius and…”

“Thuyja,” Tanila sighed.

“Thuyja, that’s right. They all get a portion of the DP you acquire?”

“Seriously?!” Cordellia gasped. “What if we don’t want them to get a portion of it?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jazzjak replied. “Every god whose race completes the tower and becomes a god gets 3% of all DP you earn. Forever.”

“Goblin… er… Man, now I understand what Fowl’s struggling with,” Max muttered. “I’m not even sure what to curse. Still, does that mean Phius gained DP from my killing of Kherbann?”

The rabbit chuckled and shook his head. “Not just that, Max. He gained 3% off your bet and will gain 3% off every DP you earn from every world you hold.”

Well, someday when you manage to meet Phius again, you’ll need to ask him how much you’ve earned him.