Garath considered his question, then hesitantly decided it really was the best and safest way to get the information he needed - and he welcomed any distraction from the growing death toll. "Yeah. But let's do it in the main hall. Sharon, you coming?"
"Yes,” she said, nodding slowly with one finger pressed against her chin. “Yes, I think I would like to watch this.”
The three of them moved into the main hall and Garath walked ahead of the others into the middle of the room. He turned and looked a bit nervously at Warrion.
"Where should I hit you?" the Assassin asked.
"I don't know, just...wherever. Don't hit my face though."
Warrion laughed as he assumed a staggered combat stance he only could only have picked up from video games. “Don't worry, bro. We both know you're too pretty for that."
"Ready when you are," said Garath. The Necrologist closed his eyes, knowing he would instinctively try to avoid being hit if he could see it coming. He heard a rush of footsteps and braced himself. Pain seared across his chest as Warrion's dagger raked his skin in a horizontal sweep. Garath staggered back and opened his eyes.
"Ouch!" he pouted. "Fuck."
He looked down, the cut was shallow but blood flowed freely from the open wound. His HP had dropped to 299/350 and was continuing to trickle down as the blood soaked his (now) ripped t-shirt. He loved that shirt, but tried not to think too much about it - considering the whole apocalypse thing, it really just didn’t matter all that much - at least that’s what he kept telling himself.
In the lower half of his vision a simple, white text literally put his pain into words.
Begin Combat Log:
[08:32:13.232] Warrion's Slash strikes You for 51 damage (Physical).
[08:32:13.232] Warrion's Slash afflicts You with Bleed. You will lose 5 HP per second until healed.
[08:32:14.232] You have lost 5 HP from Bleed.
[08:32:15.232] You have lost 5 HP from Bleed.
[08:32:16.232] You have lost 5 HP from Bleed.
End Combat Log.
"Sharon, you're up!" Garath said through gritted teeth as the bleed damage continued draining red from his Health bar.
Sharon concentrated and the Mana pooling in her outstretched hands began to glow with a calming emerald light. She raised her hands and targeted the bleeding Necrologist, then released the spell. Green light shot from her hands and into the wounded Raid leader. The searing pain in his chest lessened immediately and he watched as the gash slowly closed, the skin inching together as though pulled by unseen sutures. His health bar stopped plummeting and started to tick toward full, but the pain had not abated completely. He looked at the combat log again as additional information scrolled continually in his vision.
Begin Combat Log:
[8:32:56.012] Sharon's Life's Touch heals You for 21.1 HP.
[8:32:56.012] Sharon's Life's Touch has healed Your Bleed debuff.
[8:32:56.012] You are no longer affected by Bleed from Warrion's Slash.
[8:32:57.012] Sharon's Life's Touch heals you for 1.98 HP.
[8:32:58.012] Sharon's Life's Touch heals you for 1.98 HP.
End Combat Log.
As his breathing eased and the lingering pain transitioned into nothing more than a tightness across the newly healed skin on his chest, Garath looked at Warrion with an incredulous expression.
"What the fuck was that? Fifty-one damage?!" G asked.
"Seriously? Sick!" Warrion pumped one dagger into the air triumphantly. “I've only been hitting the skellys for around twenty.”
"Less sick on the receiving end you ass," said Garath, laughing at the Assassin's antics. "So, wait… what the fuck? Why would it do so much more damage to me?"
"Beats me. PVP bonus?"
Garath nodded, lost in thought. He left Sharon and Warrion in the main hall, begging off under the pretext of needing to use the boy's room.
Once alone in the public restroom, Garath considered his point allocation and relieved his bladder. For some reason, the Necrologist felt odd about doing something as normal as peeing during such an abnormal day - like he was playing catch at a soccer game or something.
Though he would have felt more comfortable distributing Attribute Points after combing through wikis, none were available - and with the third wave only minutes away, he knew he had to make a decision. What he had learned so far would just have to be enough. The enhanced spell power from pouring points into Wisdom was tempting, but in the end... not dying was his first priority. With that in mind, the Necrologist poured all six points into Regeneration.
The second he confirmed his choices, an indescribable feeling washed over him. He just felt generally... well, like having a Gatorade and greasy burger after a binger but even better, cleaner - maybe something like he would feel if he’d never had a hangover to begin with, and slept on a regular schedule, and ate healthy food, and exercised - not that Garath would have any idea what that would feel like. He opened his MENU panels and navigated again to his Profile panel to look over his improved stats.
Garath
Race: Human
Class: Necrologist
Level: 8
Age: 29
Health: 350/350
(base: 300; APs: +50)
Stamina: 97/100
Mana: 390/390
(base:300; APs:+60 items: +30)
Exp to next Level: 18,665/21,000
Attributes
Vitality: 35 - Each point of Vitality provides +10 to maximum Health.
Wisdom: 36 - Each point of Wisdom provides +10 to maximum Mana.
Regeneration: 20 - As a Necrologist, each point of Regeneration increases Mana recovery rate by +1.11 per second; Health recovery rate by +.25 per second; and recovery from injury by +2%.
Strength: 5 - In addition to making one stronger, each point of Strength increases physical attack damage by 1% and reduces damage received from physical attacks by .25%.
Dexterity: 5 - In addition to making one more agile, each point of Dexterity improves the critical strike chance of physical attacks by +.3%; the critical strike damage of physical attacks by +3%; and improves chance to dodge by +.5%.
Unused Attribute Points: 0
He grinned at his refilling Health pool and made his way back to the front of the large brick building. New Skills, improved Attributes, Garath was ready for more action.
Chapter 15
Rollin’
