Chapter 505 - The Arbiter of Life and Death (Patreon)

The long drought is over! ... for those of you with no self-control and who binged a bunch of chapters all at once :P
Fuck, I hit 'publish' not 'Schedule' my bad... this is Friday's chapter >_<

=========================

Several years ago, when Iona was leaving to take Nina on her first [Squire] adventure

Everything came down to geography.

The Exterreri Empire was founded near the elven lands, on the shores of the Sea of Stars. Just across the Sea of Stars was Nippon-Koku, home of, among other races, kitsunes.

Which was how Nina had found herself in Sanguino in the first place, the port city on the Sea of Stars.

Nippon-Koku’s neighbor was Vollomond, home of werewolves.

When Iona decided to take Nina to Vollomond, they naturally needed to pass over the Sea of Stars and Nippon-Koku. Given that it was directly after the discussion Iona and Elaine had about marriage and life, the thought was at the top of her mind.

She’d remembered that Jake had been from Earth like Elaine, and that he had a number of people he might’ve shared marriage customs with.

It would be a great surprise for Elaine, a fabulous loving gesture. None of the girls had been lying to her, and Iona left satisfied, with a plan for a great proposal gift.

It never occurred to her that Jake might’ve lied…

===================

“What’s that?” I asked, my tone making my thoughts clear.

Iona started and did a double-take, looking at the collar in her hands.

A collar. I wasn’t some pet to be leashed up! Yes, we had a fun bundle of rope in a closet, but a collar was like, eight steps too far.

As I became more aware of the world and my senses and [The World Around Me] turned back on, I was able to get a detailed look at it.

It was fabulous. Ten thousand tiny stitches in it detailed dozens of scenes with the two of us. From when we met in a tavern, to the lake where we’d started dating, to montages of our adventures together, it was clear Iona had spent hundreds of hours hand-stitching the entire thing together. It ended with Auri and Fenrir each holding a moonstone on the front.

I immediately regretted my words and the face I’d pulled. It was a stunning display of love and dedication, if a little… misguided.

“A collar. Red and the rest of Jake’s girls said it was the typical Earth custom to propose with one.” Iona said. “They also talked about a red string, but I thought it was too much.”

I facepalmed, ignoring the dozens of notifications ringing in my ears.

“Jake was lying through his teeth.” I said. “We don’t use collars. Phef. We use rings. Typically two. One for the proposal, and a second for the marriage.”

“Oh.” Iona looked down at the collar, her face falling. “I-”

I didn’t let her finish. I half-lept out of bed, wrapping my arms around her neck and planting a kiss on her lips. I could feel myself moving differently already, launching myself far faster than I’d planned, sinking deeper into her arms than intended. I’d clearly gotten a few levels - even 2 would’ve more than doubled my strength stat!

“It’s lovely.” I insisted. “I can tell it was made with love.”

Not wanting to linger over a potentially awkward moment, I broke the hug, took it, and sat back on the bed.

“For you!” I proclaimed, and used [Rapid Reshelving] to get the proposal sword I’d made onto the bed. It was Iona’s turn to look a little awkward, and she coughed.

“Elaine, moonlight of my life, I love you, but did you raid a 500 year old book or something?” Iona brought the sword up to her eyes, giving it a critical look, then experimentally flourished it.

“Hey!” I flushed as I protested. “It wasn’t that old… 400.” I muttered. “Also, be careful with it. It’s not well-forged, I did it myself. I don’t want you swinging it too hard and breaking it or something.”

Iona laughed and sat on the bed with me. I leaned over and nuzzled her.

“We’re a right pair.” I said.

She wrapped an arm around me.

“That we are.”

We spent a few minutes in bliss.

I was engaged! I had a fiancee! I was going to get married!

“Soo… do we want to talk dates? When we’re doing this? Where? What traditions are we going to use?” I wanted to know it all! This was so exciting!

“Is there anything particularly important to you?” Iona asked. “What’s critical for a ceremony from your perspective?”

We got talking, and started to hammer out various details. I shot an annoyed look towards the door as I detected footsteps pausing outside.

Some aspects of marriages transcended time and space, elements distilled down to the essentials.

A ceremony.

A promise.

An exchange.

And, of course, there was naturally a huge party. The exact details of each one different from culture to culture, and it was fun starting to figure out what we wanted and how it would go.

“Do you want rings?” Iona asked. I put my hand out, and Iona started to play with my fingers.

The recent loss of my Deception Ring occurred to me, and I grimaced.

“Yes… but also no. I end up in fairly dangerous spots, and I’d hate to lose it. I want to be with you for a long, long time, and losing the symbol of our marriage would suck.” I also didn’t have my [Lost and Found] skill anymore.

I was inspired by Arachne’s neck tattoos, the sign she had with Night. Also, Artemis and Julius had matching tattoos. That, and our earlier discussion.

We didn’t want this until ‘death did us part’ or anything. I didn’t plan on dying, and Iona was practically guaranteed to become one of Selene and Lunaris’s angels after death. Death would just be an unfortunate speedbump in our relationship, if it came for us at all.

Immortality was weird.

“What if we got tattoos instead? Got someone with the right skills to make it part of our image? That way we can’t lose them.” I said.

“Hmmm.” Iona was thoughtful. “I’m initially optimistic about the idea, but the logistics are tricky.”

“I can’t take it anymore!” Artemis yelled as she burst into our bedroom. “Eeeeeee! My little healybug’s ENGAGED! A thousand twenty-four congratulations!!” She swooped in, picked me up in a hug, and twirled me around. “And it couldn’t be to a better woman. Congratulations on nabbing Elaine!”

Artemis put me down, grabbed Iona’s hand, and started to vigorously shake it. Julius walked in, slowly shaking his head.

“Artemis, you’re going to have months to plan. They’re newly engaged. Give them a few hours.”

Julius’s implication burned my ears, but Artemis just waved him off.

“We were all piled in a heap for weeks after you proposed to me.” She countered. “I didn’t see no privacy then or anything.”

“So because we had it bad, they also have to have it bad.” Julius crossed his arms. I lightly punched Artemis’s arm.

“Yeah! What was all this about teaching youngins to live better lives, hmmm?” It was fun sassing Artemis.

Iona wisely stayed out of it, beaming at me with a silly grin.

Another ding! Went off in my ear.

My class! My skills!

“Alright all of you, celebration later. I need to figure out my new skills.”

Artemis lit up, and dashed out of the room.

“Be right back!” She yelled over her shoulder. Iona put me on her lap, wrapped her arms around me, and was a very comfortable seat while I brought up my notifications and started reading through them.

[*ding!* [The Dawn Sentinel - Celestial] upgraded to [The Arbiter of Life and Death - Celestial]!]

[*ding!* [The Arbiter of Life and Death] has leveled up! 768 -> 770. +400 Strength, +400 Dexterity, +800 Speed, +800 Vitality, +1600 Magic Power, +1600 Magic Control, +1000 Mana, +9000 Mana Regeneration from your Class per level! +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Speed, +1 Vitality, +1 Mana, +1 Mana Regeneration, +1 Magic Power, +1 Magic Control for being Chimera (Elvenoid) per level! +1 Mana, +1 Mana Regeneration from your Element per level!]

Whoof. Those were some stats and a half. A bit of a shame that it was ‘only’ two levels, but I’d finally hit the tipping point right at the end of the Han civil war.

No more outlying dexterity eating my strength!

[*ding!* [Celestial Affinity] has upgraded to [Celestial Mastery]!]

Not only would I be getting better skills, but my mana would go a lot further.

Celestial Mastery: This skill represents a profound deepening of your connection to the Celestial element. You are the master of the cosmos, ruler of the eternal sky and boundless galaxies. You’ve harmonized with the very essence of the stars and the myriad mysteries of the universe. Your abilities are not only enhanced, but elevated to a level where the Celestial and the arcane intertwine seamlessly. Improved Celestial mana efficiency per level.

Excellent! My Celestial class was high level enough that I’d really be feeling the impact from this. It was a large part of the math around ‘healing everyone’.

[*ding!* [Cosmic Presence] has upgraded to [Aurora Curialis]!]

Aurora Curialis: The Aurora Borealis dazzles the sky like the Aurora Curialis heals the body. Drawing its power from the ethereal beauty and natural energies of the aurora, this skill gently envelopes all, promoting rapid natural healing and rejuvenation. The vibrant colors dance around the injured, stitching flesh back together, closing wounds, and helping the body bring itself back into peak physical condition.

The Aurora can not only help and heal, but it can also hinder. Healing can be selectively prevented within the range of the Aurora Curialis. Increased range per level. -16,376 Mana Regeneration. Mana contesting efficiency improved per level.

[*ding!* [Center of the Universe] has upgraded to [Luminary Mind]!]

Luminary Mind: Your light and ideas have shone upon millions, elevating all different kinds. A light of a lighthouse or guiding star that has enabled many to circumnavigate difficult decisions and weather the storms to safe harbors. Shine through any storm of distracting thoughts or pain to find solitude. Effective pain immunity. Minor enhancements to memory, focus, clarity of thoughts, perception, and awareness, increasing per level. -4096 Mana Regeneration.

Oooh! My anti-pain skill just got much better!

There was a greedy part of me that wanted to just ditch the skill. I’d gone through a war no problems! I could heal quickly!

I’d also seen just how debilitating pain could be, and how even powerful Classers had been brought low by an unexpected, unhandled agony, leaving them vulnerable to those much weaker than they were.

No, ditching the anti-pain skill was a trap. I was unsure about the other buffs - [Luminary Mind] inherited a high level from [Center of the Universe], but I wasn’t feeling the other effects too strongly. Maybe a little? Then again, I’d just come from the world of my soul, it was hard to properly check the effects.

Mental skills were interesting in a way. Since it was all in my mind, the mana costs tended to be extremely low, even with the strongest of skills. The ‘low’ cost on [Luminary Mind] was almost purely anti-pain related, and was in no way indicative of how strong the mental boost was or wasn’t. [The World Around Me] was only 64 mana regeneration for comparison, yet it was one of my strongest skills. There was a chance to merge [Parallel Thoughts] in with the skill, and I was keeping both long-term. Might be nice to get a new general skill.

Artemis returned with chairs.

[*ding!* [Mantle of the Stars] has upgraded to [Shroud of the Stellar Sea]!]

Shroud of the Stellar Sea: Protect yourself by placing an entire galaxy worth of stars between you and all those who would cause you harm. Increased range per level. -65,504 Mana Regeneration.

Wow.

One of the ways skills could go ‘above and beyond’ were mana regeneration passive costs on top of active costs. It effectively let the skill ‘build up’ power that was then used later on in a big all-in-one shot. The actuality was more complicated than that. It wasn’t a skill on a cooldown, and in theory, I could ‘overdraw’ in a sense where I could block more than I’d spent improving the skill. The analogy was imperfect. The long and the short of it was - the passive drain on the active skill let it be much stronger. [The Arbiter of Life and Death] had talked about improved shielding, and I was seeing it for the first time.

“Hey Artemis, I got a new shield skill. Help me test it?” I asked.

She’d helped me with my very first shield, and now I had something strong. That, and she was an expert at killing people with shields. If I could hold against her, I could hold against most people.

Artemis snorted.

“If I can’t break your shield, I’ll streak naked through the chariot races.”

I lifted an eyebrow.

“Deal!” I said before Artemis could make it worse.

She tsked and held up a finger.

“If I do break your shield… you have to hand-feed me one mango.” Artemis grinned wickedly. “And call me ‘your most majestic royal highness’ for a week.”

“A devil!” I dramatically proclaimed, unable to throw my head back because of Iona but pointing my finger at her anyway. “A demon! Julius, quick, your wife’s been replaced. It’s totally not a fair bet.”

Julius shook his head.

“From where I’m standing, it’s more than fair.”

I whimpered but accepted.

“Back to figuring out my new skills.” I told everyone, refocusing on the notifications.

Offense tended to be stronger than defense… it’d be an interesting challenge. I had more levels on Artemis, but she was fucking good at this sort of thing.

[*ding!* [Sunrise] has upgraded to [Zenith Everlasting]!]

Zenith Everlasting: The sun peaks like your energy peaks, and takes hours to wane and wear off. -512 mana regeneration.

[Arbiter] didn’t include a whole lot of changes for [Sunrise], now [Zenith Everlasting]. Still a touch-based energy skill, but it looked like it would also create a minor buff where the energy took some time to wear off. A nice little bonus to the skill!

[*ding!* [Dance with the Heavens] and [Wheel of Sun and Moon] have merged into [Universal Cure]!]

Universal Cure: A true panacea. Increased range per level. 0.12% healing efficiency per level. Small ranged penalty per meter. -131,008 Mana Regeneration.

The healing % looked tiny, but with almost 1000 effective levels thanks to [Sentinel’s Superiority] giving me a 25% boost to my skills, that dropped my healing cost to 30% of what it should be.

Before the boost from [Celestial Mastery] came in and said hi. It was a large part of why I’d taken [Arbiter] - my healing was just so potent that the ‘decrease’ in healing power didn’t matter anymore.

Sure, there was the mana regeneration cost, but the math I’d done inside the world of my soul suggested that even under the harshest pressure, the discount to my healing far outstripped the cost.

The range penalty was described only as ‘small’, and again - my primary problem was finding enough people to heal and keeping them in range, not mana or cost.

The description was a little sparse. I knew from reading the book that it also included minor biomancy and medium curse breaking. The “biomancy” worked on a ‘System normal template’, where I could, at significant cost, make adjustments ‘towards the species norm’, with certain limitations. Excessive muscles, for example, couldn’t be removed, nor would there be problems like the infamous joke - the average human had one ball and slightly more than one skeleton. I’d also need a strong image to work off of, but no longer would certain diseases and problems stymie me.

I had a [Universal Cure].

There was one general skill trying to move around.

[*ding!* Would you like to move [Sentinel’s Superiority] from a General Skill to a Class Skill? Y/N]

Sentinel’s Superiority: The peak of humanity, you stand at the top, the best in your class, defender of humanity against the endless threats to its survival. 25% boost to all other class skills. Improved fighting prowess per level. -2048 mana regeneration.

I carefully read the description, noting that the only real change was it didn’t self-inflict its improvement. I wasn’t sure if general skills would be better than one of the class skills offered though, and it would limit my options in the future.

Like, if I ever took [The Arbiter of Life and Death] off the Sentinel path, I’d lose the skill and wouldn’t be able to get it back! The modern day [Sentinel] skills just weren’t as potent as the old one I had. I’d already declined the [War Sentinel] skill once upon a time, and [Sentinel’s Superiority] was a relic of a bygone era. Humanity wasn’t at the brink anymore, and I wasn’t the last, best defender of humanity. The new skills lacked weight.

No, the risk wasn’t worth the reward.

Then I was on to a slew of new skills being offered. There were a few major ones I was interested in, but I gave them all consideration. I had an open skill slot thanks to [Wheel of Sun and Moon] merging with [Dance with the Heavens], so I had to take one. Starting at level 1 was going to suck though.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [The Dawn Has Arrived]! Would you like to take it? Y/N]

The Dawn Has Arrived: The night is always darkest before the dawn arrives. But when the sun crests the horizon, hope and renewal spreads. Amidst the celestial light, a blazing beacon of saving light graces all those who are blessed by it. Increased range per level. -65,504 Mana Regeneration. No mana cost on cast. 1 month cooldown.

The skill wasn’t one of the big attractors to [Arbiter], and some basic math suggested it wasn’t a winner. It would take me ages to level the skill up to a useful degree, and I could simply just heal people with [Universal Cure]. The ‘costs no mana’ aspect was nice - under ideal circumstances, I could heal far more people than my mana pool suggested - but they’d have to be perfect conditions. Like, tens of thousands of people packed together with debilitating but non-lethal injuries. The month-long cooldown, with no mention of reducing the cooldown on leveling up, was another huge demerit to the skill.

The stars would have to align too much for the skill to be useful, let alone dedicating an entire skill slot to it. Bottom of the list!

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Arbiter’s Eyes]! Would you like to take it? Y/N]

Arbiter’s Eyes: [The Arbiter of Life and Death] must be able to see the entire field of battle in order to properly dispense her judgment. Increased vision per level. -512 Mana Regeneration.

The skill wasn’t that exciting to me. The most interesting aspect was if I could merge it with something. Both [Aurora Curialis] and [The World Around Me] looked like they could merge with the skill, giving me a whole ‘free’ skill if it merged with the first one, and dramatically increasing my sphere of perception if it merged with the second.

It might be worth taking it for a few days and seeing if I could make some magic happen. I wonder if the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft was nearby?  The island Oddity’s magic made obtaining, and by extension, merging skills easier.

The issue was the ‘timer’ all skills were on. They’d naturally fade away if I didn’t take them, and then I’d need to re-earn them from scratch. Not impossible, since they were offered already and clearly part of the class, but annoying and time-consuming.

It’d be worth seeing if it automatically merged.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Zodiac Champion]! Would you like to take it? Y/N]

Zodiac Champion: Bestow your gifts upon a single zodiac champion from the stars, a protector. A sword and a shield for you. Dramatically increased strength, speed, dexterity, vitality, and physical prowess per level. Costs mana regeneration on the target.

The first of the offered buff skills. [Arbiter] didn’t have a lot, and they weren’t the main draw of the class, but hey, why not check them out? [Saintess] and [Savior] had better buffs, but the shield skill that was the draw of [Arbiter] was already in a designated slot.

The physical prowess part caught my attention. I wouldn’t just be buffing the System stats, but also the body itself, giving a stronger base for everything to multiply off of. It was like the skill was custom-tailored for Iona.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Astral Soul]! Would you like to take it? Y/N]

Astral Soul: Everything is present in the vast and boundless cosmos. Take it all, and stuff it into a single soul, greatly enhancing their speed, strength, reflexes, and enabling them to take flight. Improved buff per level.

Another single-target buff. It was potent and narrow, but… single target.

Hmmm. There was a certain Valkyrie hugging me tightly that could use buffs… I had to think after looking everything else over.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [The Stars Smile Upon You]! Would you like to take it? Y/N]

The Stars Smile Upon You: The [Arbiter] is a single person with an entire army at their back. The stars smile down upon them and their fellows, slightly increasing all of their physical stats.  Increased range per level.

The other two buffs I’d been offered were the ‘champion’ buffs. Improve a single person quite a lot. This was the ‘War Sentinel Dawn’ buff, where I could slightly improve an entire Legion. It wasn’t a narrowly tailored one like with many of the [Centurions], [Tribunes], and [Standard-Bearers] of the Sixth, but at the same time, it wasn’t as strong.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Etheric Aegis]! Would you like to take it? Y/N]

Etheric Aegis: The stars descend from on high to adorn your clothing and armor, your weapons and amulets. With its glittering protection, your armaments are bound to you. Slightly increased protection per level. -8,192 Mana Regeneration.

The classic, the infamous, the armor skill! I’d be able to extend my vitality to my clothing and some other parts that were sort-of ‘me’, and prevent hostile Classers from fucking with it. My armor wouldn’t be tissue paper at the levels I was fighting at anymore, and it could actually protect me. [Blink] would be subtly upgraded as well, since my stuff would be ‘me’ for the purpose of teleporting around, and I’d no longer lose stuff when [Blinking].

[The Dawn Has Arrived] wasn’t interesting enough or powerful enough to take.

I’d probably take [Arbiter’s Eyes] to see if I could merge anything into it, but I didn’t see it sticking around long-term.

I’d seen enough warfare and there were enough other buffs going around that I wasn’t convinced that [The Stars Smile Upon You] was a helpful skill.

I was generally fighting against the high level Classers. That one [Great General] trying to kill me at the very start of the war was fresh in my mind, and the Eventide Eclipse, my closest friends and family, was a small group. I reread the single-target buff descriptions, and noticed that they didn’t include a species restriction.

I could buff Fenrir if I wanted.

I wasn’t sold on the single target buff over an armor skill though. I figured I’d ask my primary target about it.

“Hey Iona. Got a question for you.” I said.

“Sure, what can I help you with?” She said.

“I’ve got the option of two buff skills for you, or an armor skill. Which do you think I should take?”

I gave her the detailed breakdown of the three skills, Julius and Artemis listening in.

“Armor skill.” Artemis instantly said. “Always take the armor skill. It’ll save your life.”

“Even with my healing?” I countered. “I took a sword through the head and survived.”

Julius said nothing. I hadn’t asked him.

“I’m going to say the armor skill as well.” Iona said to my great surprise.

“Oh? Why’s that?” I asked, genuinely surprised.

“Fighting stronger and faster’s all very well and good, along with all the other fancy effects, but if you’re hitting me with that, I’m fighting close to you. I worry about you. All the power in the world doesn’t change that. With an armor skill, I can worry less about you, and fight more aggressively, and less defensively. I’m less in the protector role.”

That brought up another good point.

“Sure, but isn’t qualifying for your [Vow] to kick in worth something? Will I still qualify? No matter how good my buffs are, nothing compares to the power your [Vow] provides.”

Iona nodded in recognition.

“You still would, no question about it. A slightly harder to kill healer is still a healer, and you’re still the love of my life. Don’t worry about me so much, stay safe for you.”

Well, that made the decision easy.

I did take [Arbiter’s Eyes] first though, hoping they’d merge into one of the skills in the few hours I had before a skill faded. To my great disappointment, I didn’t get any immediate notification that they’d merged or upgraded.

With everything done, I took a look at my stats.

[Name: Elaine]

[Race: Chimera (Elvenoid)]

[Age: 31]

[Mana: 2,492,840/2,492,840]

[Mana Regeneration: 2,026,800 +(3,967,401)]

Stats

[Free Stats: 0]

[Strength: 1,559 (Effectively: 12,472)]

[Dexterity: 26,294 (Effectively: 279,979)]

[Vitality: 60,972 (Effectively: 952,688)]

[Speed: 48,204 (Effectively: 948,799)]

[Mana: 249,284]

[Mana Regeneration: 265,378 (+ 396,740)]

[Magic Power: 257,614 (+ 9,918,139)]

[Magic Control: 257,335 (+ 9,907,398)]

[Class 1: [The Arbiter of Life and Death - Celestial: Lv 770]]

[Celestial Mastery: 770]

[Aurora Curialis: 555]

[The Stars Never Fade: 17]

[Luminary Mind: 476]

[Universal Cure: 770]

[Arbiter’s Eyes: 1]

[Shroud of the Stellar Sea: 496]

[Zenith Everlasting: 505]

[Class 2: [Butterfly Mystic - Radiance: Lv 598]]

[Radiance Affinity: 598]

[Radiance Resistance: 598]

[Nova Lance: 598]

[Lepidoptera: 598]

[Nectar: 598]

[Solar Corona: 598]

[Scintillating Ascent: 598]

[Kaleidoscope: 598]

[Class 3: [Ancient Loremaster of Legend - Spatial: Lv 256]]

[Spatial Authority: 256]

[Manuscript Mastery: 256]

[Blink: 140]

[Loremaster's Library: 256]

[Vault of Ages: 64]

[Rapid Reshelving: 224]

[Astral Archives: 256]

[Lust for Lore: 256]

General Skills

[Long-Range Identify: 448]

[Parallel Thoughts: 294]

[Companion Bond between Elaine and Auri: 768]

[The World Around Me: 174]

[Oath of Elaine to Lyra: 770]

[Sentinel's Superiority: 770]

[Persistent Casting: 600]

[Imbue: 263]