C58: Greeting the Local Royal
sorry for the late post, lost track of time.
4/10/26
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[Prey Slaughtered]
[Side Quest Completed]
"Hmm, yes. Give it to me suga" I spread my arms wide as massive amounts of echoes flow into me followed by the insight and then the items respectively.
[+ 545,490,000 Blood Echoes when accounting for all factors. + 50m for defeating a boss of an epic rarity mutation. Total 595, 490,000 Blood Echoes. ]
[+5 insight upon encountering the boss, + 10 for defeating said boss. Two instances of gain come up to a total of: 47 Insight]
[Side Quest created: Beating up a Reknowned Asshole: Objective: defeat Martyr Logarius. The higher the difficulty, the better the rewards.
Reward 1: 200k echoes (Cleared)
Reward 2: 10x lesser skill shards (NG+10 or higher) (Cleared)
Reward 3: 4x greater skill shards (NG+20 or higher) (Cleared)
Reward 4: 3x random skill level up (NG+35 or higher)(Cleared) ]
[Full Rewards obtained]
[Gain 10x lesser skill shards, 4x greater skill shards and 3x random skill levels. Would you like to redeem them down? The skill levels must be redeemed within the next half an hour]
"Oh my, I get time to prepare. Don't mind me then" I get to work on training as many skills as I can. The most obvious tactic being: chaos step walking whilst occasional hopping to train jumping and silver cat. Shooting and swinging my weapons all over the place for the next 29 minutes. Sometimes ill change it up and even sword fight in the air against my own shadow tendrils to increase that as well.
As the time limit approaches, I also shatter a handful of lesser skill shards, this includes the ones I've had long stored up from way back when such as my early bosses that were related to quests or even from the first half of the quest related to keeping Cherry safe.
[Cosmology has leveled up. Level 2-> level 3.]
[Silver Halo has leveled up. Level 4 -> level 5.]
[Tracking has leveled up. Level 2->level 4]
[Darkness mastery has been understood further. 4% -> 7%. Darkness mastery has leveled up. Level 1-> level 2]
"Hey thats pretty good" i meme react as I usually do whenever suitable.
The results speak for themselves as my [young hunter] title is certainly showing off how much its effect is…effective. Flatly boosting all the experience for my skills gain is wonderful. Back then when I first got the system, I was not aware of how amazing it actually was. Though that mostly hinged on the fact that I didn't realize how the exp worked too. Which I do now.
It's scales based on my 'current class' aka a fantasy class system: fighter, barbarian, cleric, etc. This class change principle is how I realized what makes the xp tick up. I was originally a random newb fighter before I multiclassed into rogue with all my stealth skills before becoming a barbarian due to the rage skill and enhancements in my physique.
Now I'm a wizard.Or at least a sorcerer since my magical knowledge is still lacking. As such, I must use the 'sorcerer' level abilities to properly grow all my other skills.
The reason this is important is because my system is a hunter system, not a bob and weave around the enemy system. As such, I must hunt in a manner that befits my status. Not just any hunter but an advanced human subspecies known as 'Seeker' Hunter. This means I must more actively level up my cosmology skill or anything related to it like my darkness mastery and chaos step.
Without those, I'm just a normal unga bunga hunter and thus my skills level up slower. Though the system is at least nice in how it works. It works by having me grind xp, but then that itself is saved as what I assume is percentage bar like 20%, 30%, etc.
This means that for instance with my current skills, If I had something at 50% progress like Jumping and the system gave it a level then that progress was saved. Reduced sure but that is only in relation to the new ceiling of the skill.
With my thoughts sorted out, I wave the screens away before bringing up the one related to the quest which I see the timer tick down, 3, 2, 1.
[Quest rewards automatically accepted. Greater skill shards have been automatically stored with the rest in the inventory. Three random skill levels have been redeemed. Selecting random skills. Results: Banshee's Cry, Hunters Will, Dark vision]
"Wow. thats probably where all my luck from the curse debuffing my echoes is going to." [1] I accept the results as my singing skill reaches level 3, the new Hunters Will reaches level 2 and dark vision reaches level 5. It had also been one of the few skills that got a level during my dungeon crawl as the whole dungeon structure is dark. Combined with the tracking skill had allowed me to easily find all the enemies to maximize my grind back then.
I then look to my next destination but before I get a chance, the previous silver lady from outside approaches now and is kneeling with the crown of illusions in her hands, bestowing it to me.
I would have picked it up anyways but this saves me a few seconds of effort to fetch it and then come up the stairs. I assume that it's one of the three factors of my absurdly high insight, my own Vileblood or my racial evolution to Seeker and the introduction of cosmology that allows me to see the throne room before me that Logarius was guarding.
"Thank you" I thank the lady-in-waiting as she bows before continuing to escort me forward but stops at the boundary as she seems to sense that the throne room is up ahead but cant actually see it.
"Heh" i chuckle and set the crown on her head for a moment before pocketing it, but that moment was enough for the wind to blow up and break away the seal that 'lesser' beings couldn't see. The lady bows to me a few more times as I instead take the lead to step inside.
Along the giant staircase up is a series of knight statues on horseback. The first few are scattered around with what seems like a surplus of statues as there are multiple scattered around facing all directions.
As I step inside, I feel my blood flowing faster, as if a calling sings to it even though I detect nothing but the wind. I can only assume it's a type of bloodline suppression effect similar to vampires. It pulls on me to hurry up, hurry up, and hurry up. But with a simple flow of mana through my body, im able to resist the pull, and leisurely stroll up. The same can't be said for the silver lady as she has become nothing more than a dementor-like creature, just swaying and floating up the stairs before disappearing in the mess before me.
I say mess because it only becomes orderly as I go up yet the throne room itself is a crowded mess as dozens of different praying statues are grouped up. I assume the front is the right way forward to meet the so-called queen but I instead walk around and get a Cainhurst summons that isn't named to anyone. With nothing else, I return to the central path and find a single figure seated at a high throne chair.
"My, finally found your way here, have we dear?" A female voice calls out muffled from behind a thick iron mask dressed in a similar style as the noble dress I got from the previous silver ladies but obviously slightly more extravagant compared to the one I have.
"Hmm, yes. I have arrived…." A silence spreads throughout the room as my mind suddenly takes a random nap which short circuits any of my thoughts in that moment. As such, I completely forgot why I was even here for as the vileblood queen was all but useless in the game, nothing more than an ornament with a faction which only gives a single gesture.
Cough The queen clears her throat as she bears witness to my empty-mindedness, this attracts my attention again as my brain is stunned awake. Good to know this trait from my futuristic life was retained by the soul fragment that makes up my ego.
"While I have no followers, I am still a queen. You shall kneel when addressing me" the queen reverts to her default introduction and I just do it to go with the flow.
Going down on one knee, I look at the woman, then to the silver lady that appears by her side. I switch between the two subtly before a sudden thought crosses my mind as I mentally curse.
'Damn it, I have to take a shit. Why now of all times'. I cant help but bemoan my situation as I try to focus hard, tightening my body which ends up putting a frown on my face which the queen does observe.
"Moon-scented hunter. Kin of my kin. Are you this unhappy to be before my presence?" The queen cant help but question as I tilt my head in confusion.
"Not at all. It's just that I already achieved any and all objectives I have set for myself in coming here. Meeting you is just a sideshow." I say bluntly which causes the silver lady to cover her ears as if she can't believe what she just heard.
"Even as of my ilk, you are still just an Echo Fiend like all the others. If my attendants had not shown you courtesy, you would have slaughtered them all to meet your needs." The queen seems a bit more dismissive of me and she believed that I would defend my behaviour to not offend her further but on the contrary.
"That is correct m'lady. I would have first killed everything ghost lady and servant here along with the bat-like ghouls outside until the castle would be empty with the exception of just you. As such you can see my surprise when I was welcomed with grace and prestige that I likely can't find anywhere else in Yharnam."
My confirmation only seems to make the ghost girl to shiver as she hides behind the throne a fair bit while Annalise, the queen of the vilebloods seems to instead relax as she slouches a bit to lean over to her right arm as she leans her metallic mask which is stuck on her against her fist.
"Materialistic as ever, I see. I shall have to be endeared to your nature if I should need your services, yes?"
"Ye. i mean yes" I confirm her words as I shrug a moment later.
"Very well. I have decided upon your first task." She had only taken a moment after my confirmation to think of a task for me which I'm surprised by but I am about to pay for my own confusion no mind but my body acts faster.
"Huh?" My confusion is obvious though a mix of factors.
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Word Count =2056
[1] I remind all readers that the curse works with a 50/50 on whether it increases gained echoes or decreases said echoes. It has been consecutively negative for the past few bosses and echo grind sessions to the point of making me angry a few times and almost wishing to cheat but then I remember that a single boss at this point which can be killed via soul shattering (aka all humanoid bosses) is subject to a 100x multiplier and I just shrug and continue writing.