Pathfinder: Sacred Order - Chapter 33
All Vulcan could recall was his body being shot and darkness began to devour him whole. His memories felt fragmented and for some odd reason, his heart ached. There was this emotion within him that kept trying to drown him in sadness.
A voice said ‘Fuck’ and that was when Vulcan assumed someone was in the room with him. Yet, when he gazed around the small wooden room he saw no one. Was his mind playing tricks on him?
It wasn’t until he heard the voice ask him a question that Vulcan knew he was not hallucinating. Something was talking to him, but he did not know what.
He only stared at the figure whose head popped into the room.
“Ah! You are up already?”
The voice contained some excitement as well as shock.
His body was still in pain but he managed to nod.
“Yes, where am I? Are you the one who saved me?”
Vulcan asked while removing the white sheet that covered his body.
Suddenly a head-splitting ache caused his eye to twitch.
“The temple of Saint Michael.”
“The temple of Saint Michael.”
Both of them said in unison.
Vulcan felt like he knew this place even though he has never stepped foot in here before. It was like a memory was locked away about this place, and he somehow managed to drag it out of its cage.
He even knew who Saint Michael was.
Going insane was a bit far-fetched for now. Instead, Vulcan guessed he heard of the temple and Saint Michael from one of the old folks he hung around before. It could have been a story they told him, or just mentioned in a conversation he picked up on.
As for the veiled woman, she too was stunned at first but quickly recovered.
For a noble, he should know of the temple. His mind must have been rattled and it was only now that he was recalling what happened. That was why she was not too bothered when he said the name of the temple.
“I’m glad that you are recovering sir, but I am not the one who saved you. Your guard or companion was the one who brought you here. Your condition was dire, but the Bishop managed to patch you back together.”
Jacob wanted to ask if this was what she considered ‘patched’ because from his view it looked like the bishop just gave him the bare minimum of treatment. He more than likely did not even use a spell to heal him.
Beggars can’t be choosers and he should be thankful he was still alive. However, who exactly saved him.
No one survived, at least not from what he saw.
“You have my thanks. Might I ask if you have some food as well?”
Vulcan asked as he slowly rubbed his stomach. His face was slightly red, and the veiled woman found his appearance to be cute. He was young but his body was not like that of other young men his age.
She has heard the tale that befell the Lezhalt family. She wondered if he was training himself for protection, or something else.
“Yes, but the Bishop would like to meet you first.”
From the tone of her voice, Jacob knew that she was not an older woman. She had the body of an adult woman which could be seen due to how fitting her outfit was. However, he figured that her age was not older than eighteen.
Vulcan nodded his head and tried to get up, but the veiled woman rushed to his side. Her soft hands held him down.
Vulcan looked up at her, he could not see who was behind the transparent veil but for some reason, he felt his heart beat loudly. Her face was close to him, only a few inches apart.
The veiled woman looked into his blue eyes as if she was under a charm spell.
She did not mean to touch him, after all he was a noble and a lot of nobles had a temper. She was just a common woman who was on the path of becoming a priest.
The two of them looked at each other for ten seconds, but it felt like ten minutes.
Vulcan’s lower half rose as their eyes were locked.
All of his clothing was removed due to his treatment so the only piece of clothing left was a pair of white underwear.
Noticing the rise, the woman swiftly removed her hand from his body and took a step back while retreating her gaze.
Vulcan himself was embarrassed, placing his hand over himself while closing his legs.
“I-i’ll go get the bishop. Wait here.”
With that, the woman hurried out of the room without leaving Vulcan a chance to explain himself. Wuxiaworld for visiting.
‘Way to go player. You should get yourself under control before some noble makes you a eunuch for googling his wife.’
Jacob said.
Vulcan heard the voice but was still unsure of who was speaking to him. Maybe the figure was hidden in the dark.
“I can’t control it. Who are you anyways and why do you hide?”
‘You can, but guess that is something you’ll learn with time. I am Jacob, and I am not hiding.’
Vulcan laid his head in his hand as he felt something inside his head. Like a distant memory was trying to come forward but was being held back.
“Well, if you are not hiding how come I can’t see you?”
‘Probably because we are one in the same. I guess you can say we share the same body but have different minds of our own. Just think of it like a personality disorder.’
“What is that…?”
‘When you have multiple personalities in one body. Like, you can be nice and I can be the evil mean brother. When people meet you they can either see the nice version or the evil one. Just depends on what triggers are used to bring out the other personality.’
“Huh…?”
‘Nothing, forget it.’
“Fuck me man, wonder how long this cutscene will go on for.”
Jacob said as he did not want to watch as Vulcan would be played with.
He knew the hidden secrets that some temples had, especially during the time when taxation was sky-high. They took it upon themselves to squeeze donations out of everyone they could, in the name of Mother Nessa. Sometimes even charging for their services when they were free.
Somehow, he managed to gain control over the body. It was fairly quick compared to last time. Jacob did not know who that veiled figure was, but he had to pay her attention.
She must have a part in Vulcan’s story. Might have even become his lover at a later time.
His body hurt and whoever this bishop was that patched him up did an ok job. He was unsure of how long he was out for, but to recover faster he would need some proper healing.
Name: Jacob | Vulcan
Renown: 5
Honor: -3
Affiliation: None
….
Looking over his status, Jacob nodded his head and knew what he had to do. There was already something he wanted to become class wise, but it would be a while before he could achieve it.
For now, it was best for him to pick up something that would help him out currently and in the long run.
In total, he had fourteen thousand one hundred and fifty experience points (14150) to use. Although at first glance it seemed like a lot, it was not.
Leveling up his commoner class once cost him fifty experience points.
[Commoner Level 2 Achieved!]
[Gain: 20 Proficiency points!]
[Gain: 1 Stat point.]
[Commoner Level 3 Achieved!]
[Gain: 20 Proficiency points!]
[Gain: 1 Skill Point.]
[Commoner Level 4 Achieved!]
[Gain: 20 Proficiency points!]
[Gain: 1 Stat Point.]
Every two levels in commoner gave him one stat point, while every third gave him one extra skill point. However, every level he gained always gave him twenty proficiency points.
To make this class out, Jacob would need over ten thousand experience points, which was just a little less than what he currently had. Making the class out would allow him to get a benefit of extra stat points, but Jacob had no need to make it out.
At least, not at this point.
Instead, he reached level ten in the class which was what he needed to unlock the next feature in Pathfinder. Traits.
[Trait system unlocked.]
Traits were special perks that every character had. He was sure Renold had the trait ‘Veteran’ as it usually went hand-in-hand with the Man-at-Arms class.
Veteran was a trait that gave one heightened perception during combat, giving them something akin to a sixth sense. It was overpowered if used correctly, but there were ways to counter it.
There were two ways to get a trait. One, level up to ten and you can get a free trait of your choice. However, this was limited by your stats. If you did not have a certain amount of points in certain stats, some traits you would not see or be able to gain.
The other way was to earn them through working on your character. Veteran was easy to gain, as you could obtain it through constant battles. Eventually, you’ll earn the trait.
With five stat points to spend, Jacob placed them all in intelligence giving him a total of fifteen points. As for the five skill points he obtained, he put all five into Magic Control which was the maximum amount he could do so far. He still had eighteen points to spare and decided to place five into Mana Pool. After hesitating for a moment, he put five points into ironflesh.
Magic Control increased the damage of his spells by five percent, decrease the mana consumption by two percent and increased the casting time of spells by three percent each level, while mana pool increased his mana pool by ten points each level.
Jacob went to his traits and looked them all over, but he skipped over a lot of them. The build he was going for meant he needed to have this one rare trait. It was hard to get, and a major pain.
The easiest way to obtain it was through the free trait you received once you reached ten.
[Nessa’s Blessing.]
[Increase healing effectiveness from all sources by one hundred percent.]
Frankly, it was overpowered in the right hands. However, it was difficult to obtain without a player playing mini-games to increase their stats.
It required a player to have five ironflesh, an intelligence of fifteen or above, and at least thirteen agility.
Next, Jacob picked up his second class Priest.
[Priest Level 1 Achieved!]
[Gain: 20 Proficiency points!]
Yes, not mage but priest. Getting a secondary class cost him four thousand experience points, but he could level it once.
[Priest Level 2 Achieved!]
[Gain: 20 Proficiency points!]
[Gain: 1 Stat point.]
Finally, with the five hundred forty proficiency points he had he put everything into Light. Giving him a total of two hundred and eighty points in Light.
Smirking to himself, Jacob placed his hand over his chest.
‘Heal!’
——————————————
Jacob’s current status.
Name: Jacob | Vulcan
Renown: 5
Honor: -3
Affiliation: None
Class: Commoner Lv 10 | 15
Priest Lv 2 | 25
Exp: 500
Lifeforce: 75%
Stamina: 90%
Mana: 100%
Traits: Nessa’s Blessing
Strength: 15
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 15
Charisma: 5
Stat Points Remaining: 1
Ironflesh: 5
Mana Pool: 5
Weapon Mastery: 6
Magic Control: 5
Power Strike: 0
Power Draw: 0
Shield: 0
Athletics: 6
Riding: 0
Sneaking: 0
Tactics: 0
Path-finding: 0
Detection: 0
Leadership: 0
Persuasion: 0
Management: 0
Trade: 0
Skill Points Remaining: 8
One-Handed: 200
Two-Handed: 20
Archery: 20
Crossbow: 20
Fire: 0
Water: 0
Earth: 0
Wind: 0
Lightning: 0
Dark: 0
Light: 280
Proficiency Points Remaining: 0