The bridge appeared, one of the supports directly under Ruwen. The small tube that connected the bases looked like a blur as he fell ten feet from it. He briefly opened his Void Band and used bursts of air to move closer to the tube. Grasp Crate increased the friction of his skin by ten percent and should slow him enough to survive.
Ruwen grabbed the tube with both hands. Last Breath protected him from the pain, but blood spattered his face and his Health dropped by twenty. He let go, blinking the blood from his eyes as Massage healed his damaged hands. Gripping the tube directly would rip his hands off his arms, and he only had two seconds left.
Ruwen didn’t have time to use his cloak or extract something from his Void Band to protect his hands. Instead, he channeled one Energy per second into Climb. His level one Climb provided one hundred feet of rope, but he only needed five.
Grabbing the rope in each hand, Ruwen pressed his now protected palms against the tube with all his might. The sudden friction jerked his arms above his head, causing forty damage, and intense pain radiated from his shoulders. Searing heat blistered his hands, and Massage struggled to heal it.
Ruwen slowed, but only fifty feet from the ground, he worried it wouldn’t be enough. With a thought, he removed the left support of the bridge-base below him. Immediately the entire bridge swayed to the left, shifting his momentum from straight down to an angle.
Fifteen feet from the ground, Ruwen stopped channeling Move On and Climb. The bridge and rope disappeared, but they had done their job. Instead of striking the ground head on at seventy miles an hour, he flew at a thirty-degree angle, moving forty miles an hour, which would maximize the damage reduction from his Tumbling skill.
Ruwen channeled five Energy per second into both Petrify and Turtle Stance. At level one, Petrify increased his Armor Class by five percent, which coupled with all his other modifiers, added fifty-one additional AC points. Turtle Stance would reduce his damage by ten percent, which might help him survive this fall.
Tucking into a ball, Ruwen attempted to roll as he struck the ground. His shoulder smashed against a rock, and his roll turned into a whirling pinwheel. Bone after bone broke and blood splattered everywhere as he catapulted across the rocky ground: right femur, left shin, ribs on both sides, jaw, and both shoulders all shattered.
Ruwen slammed into a large boulder, bringing him to a sudden stop. Last Breath kept him from passing out, and he took gasping breaths from a punctured lung. Last Breath had slowed time making the fall seem much longer, but less than ten seconds had passed since he’d cast Massage.
The heal continued to tick for thirty-two Health per second, and Ruwen’s Health bar turned from red to yellow. He’d survived.
Ruwen stopped channeling everything except Fresh Air and looked up into the sky. He laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of what he’d done, but immediately stopped as what felt like magma filled his chest.
Casting Massage again, Ruwen stood as soon as his bones mended. Another tunnel had led off that cavern, and Ruwen suspected it connected with more enemies. Enemies who had likely survived the blast in the cavern. Survey and Stone Echo displayed the large hole he’d created just three hundred feet away, and he ran toward it.
The fire had burned out, and everything still in the cavern looked shredded. Stone Echo had a five-hundred-foot reach and white dots appeared at the far edge of the tunnel. Naktos had additional troops here, and they headed toward Ruwen.
Ruwen wanted to search for valuables and inspect the destroyed revival baths that were thrown upward with the explosion, but with the approaching guards, he didn’t have time. His number one priority was getting back into Uru’s Blessing and ensuring the knowledge he’d gained wouldn’t be lost. Even though he finally had the Resources to cast Uru’s Touch and synch his current state outside of Uru’s Blessing, the two-minute cast time made it impossible to do now.
Zooming out on the map, Ruwen found Uru’s Blessing, almost five miles away. He channeled two Energy per second into Dash, increasing his top speed by twenty percent, and sprinted toward safety. Many Classes had quick ways to cross even great distances, and there wasn’t any place to hide out here. He needed to get to safety before the quickest soldiers caught up to him.
Ruwen looked for Whiskers on the map and found the cat a mile away. He summoned the cat, while shifting it to its travel form. A minute later the large cat appeared, a saddle on its back. He pulled himself up and sent Whiskers the map location of Sift and Shelly. Whiskers bounded forward, and Ruwen’s stomach fluttered at the sudden speed.
The map overlay no longer displayed any white dots, and Ruwen relaxed a little. At this pace they would reach Sift in five minutes and six seconds. Ruwen opened his notifications.
Shing!
You have advanced a skill!
Skill: Swimming
Level: 12
Effect: Increase speed in the water by 12%. Decrease Energy Cost by 6.0%
Shing!
You have advanced a skill!
Skill: Tumbling
Level: 72
Effect: Decrease fall damage by 36.0%.
Shing!
You have advanced a skill!
Skill: Unarmed Combat
Level: 96
Effect: Increase unarmed damage by 48.0%. Increase chance to deflect or dodge a blow by 48.0%.
Ding!
Uru’s Blessings, Worker! You have reached level 21.
You have gained +1 to Strength!
You have gained +1 to Stamina!
You have 2 unassigned points.
Uru’s Blessings, Root! You have reached level 21.
You have 2 unassigned points.
New Spells and Abilities are available to you. Choose wisely.
The skill boosts were welcome, but the level increase thrilled Ruwen. He desperately needed more ability and spell points. He opened the last notification.
Ding!
Uru’s Blessings, Worker! You have reached level 22.
You have gained +1 to Strength!
You have gained +1 to Stamina!
You have 2 unassigned
