At the highest ranks, Joe was certain that pure stats would already let him disregard almost anything that people of a lower level could throw at him. His mind came into alignment with his personality, and he went with his initial choice of choosing the second option. In an instant, Joe was shuddering on the ground as power started to flow into every cell of his being.
Character trait updated! Unsuppressed Growth added. Mental stats feeding physical stats has been chosen. Intelligence is feeding Strength. Wisdom is feeding Dexterity. Dark Charisma is feeding Constitution. Luck is feeding Perception.
Characteristic: Raw score
Strength: 76 -> 89
Dexterity: 93 -> 104
Constitution: 77 -> 85
Intelligence: 138
Wisdom: 118
Dark Charisma: 80
Perception: 93 -> 98
Luck: 59
Karmic Luck: -1
You have reached a threshold for Dexterity! Upgrading nervous system!
Joe twitched uncontrollably, only the massive pressure of this Zone keeping him from flailing wildly as his muscles swelled slightly and his nerves were remade. His health increased, and he could feel his self control becoming finer.
Stamina now regenerates at a rate of .3*Constitution+.3*Dexterity instead of .275*Constitution+.275*Dexterity. Stamina regen has moved from 5.97/second to 6.05/second! Congratulations on reaching this threshold!
“Yay… so worth the pain,” Joe muttered into the air, not realizing that he had managed to actually speak. “Hey, at least I can think my way into muscles now. I’ve always dreamt of reading a book and getting fitter; maybe I can walk into a library and come out a bodybuilder? That’s how it works now, right?”
“What!” The Dwarf was on his feet in a second, inspecting Joe excitedly. “You actually managed it! You improved yourself to such a degree in this short time! You’re an abyssal genius! I knew it!”
“From the look of you, more changed than just a simple crossing of the Mortal Limit.” The Elf’s already huge, moist eyes widened even further. “A crane in a flock of chickens, indeed…! You had a character trait. A bloodline. Literally one in one hundred thousand. Human, I can tell you now that the advancement opportunities I can offer you are limitless.”
“Quiet, twig! To use your overblown and overused sayings, ‘you are just trying to fish in troubled waters’. You can’t even give promotions; those are mandated.” The Dwarf didn’t even bother to look over at the Elf as he dismissed him, which was too bad, because it was the first time the Elf really reacted truly furiously. The expression faded from the perfect face after a few long moments of struggle, but if the Dwarf had seen it… he would have gloated for the next decade.
“Both of you. Stop. Talking.” Joe still couldn’t sit up, but he could speak with only moderate difficulty. “I’ve wanted an answer to this for days, and this is the first chance I’ve gotten. Don’t deny me, I’ve waited too long.”
“Go on, lad.” The Dwarf waved at the human encouragingly. “You’ve got your chance now, and you should walk the path of rewards for your actions.”
The Elf slightly turned his head to the side in an inquiring manner, “What is this burning question that you have for us? I am sure that both of us would be happy to expand upon the benefits of joining us.”
“You sit across from each other, you talk to me and bicker constantly, and not once…” Joe stared at one, then the other. “…have either of you said your names. Do you know how annoying it is to call you only ‘Androgynous Elf’ or ‘Beardy Dwarf’ in my head?”
Chapter Three
“Names? You want to hear our names?” The Elf shook his head at the thought, and even the Dwarf started chuckling. “You may refer to me as ‘Enlightened One’.”
“Call me ‘Captain’,” the Dwarf volunteered easily, reaching out for a fist-bump, only to drop his hand when he remembered himself and the current situation. “I was really expecting that you would ask about our offers before anything else. That's what everyone else has done.”
Joe shook his head, albeit slowly. His words came out breathlessly, since he needed to stop and suck wind every few words. Luckily, he was used to this; when he had first entered Eternium, his stats hadn't allowed him much freedom of motion. “I have no… intention of joining… either of you. In my mind, you have already proven… that you can't be trusted to help people when they need it. You are only after the largest benefit to yourselves. I just wanted the names… of the two people who so drastically disillusioned me as soon as I got to this Zone.”
Captain’s face darkened, and veins began to pop out on his forehead. Before he could start shouting, ‘Enlightened One’ spoke up. “One of those types, huh? Well, human, I can tell you right now that not choosing a side means that you have chosen both of us as enemies. I can tell that you have the favor of a deity; I can also tell you that here… neutrality means nothing. You walk away with one of us, or you never leave this room.”
“That would be quite the shame after you spent so much time just figuring out how to survive long enough to breathe,” Captain growled at Joe, his already deep voice going so low that Joe practically vibrated with the sound. “Hear our abyssal offers; choose to join one of us, or-”
“We will kill the chicken to warn the monkey,” the Elf finished, cutting off the Dwarf; much to his displeasure.
“Celestial’s sake, can't you just say the words ‘use
