Apocalypse Redux

Full Character Sheet and [Skill] descriptions (not a Chapter)

Name: Isaac Thoma

Class: Hildebrand’s Heir

Species: High Human

Level: 99

XP: 17,135/50,000

Health Status: Healthy

Mana: 2,000/2,000

Stats

Fortitude

210

Perception

350

Strength

210

Agility

400

Magic Power

210

Magic Regeneration

365

Free Points: 0 Stat, 1 Skill

Aura

Aura of the Crimson Dawn (short range, combat, blood, regeneration)

Aura of the Desperate Seeker (long range, sensory, mental, projection)

Central Skills

Form of Horror XXIV

The Chosen Weapon XXVIII

I Am The Sword X

Grave of Swords XX

Armory of Ancient Times XVII

Legacy of a True Warrior XII

Skills

Hundred Faces XXVI

Stealth XXIX

Power Strike XXX

Piercing Strike XXX

Sundering Strike XXX

Blades XXIX

Sneak XXVII

Sweeping Strike XVII

Far Strike XXVII

Manifold Strike XX

Hunter’s Gaze XXX

Phantom Step XIX

Unknown Fear XXV

Bestial Regeneration XXVII

Undying Focus XXIII

Tools of Terror XIX

Fleeting Presence XVII

Crippling Blow XVIII

Absolute Blade Mastery XVII

Compounded Impact XVI

True Cut VIII

Legendary Blow XV

Fully Geared X

Knightly Leader XIV

Analyze Person IX

Continent Strider III

Burden of Power IV

Expert’s Insight I

General Skills

Gralloch XII

Alchemy XII

Death’s Embrace VIII

Bloodline of the Survivor (Empower Relatives)

Advanced Bureaucracy VI

Police Procedure V

Aspects

Aspect Skills

Arcane Poltergeist (3 stack)

Flight of the Poltergeist

Ephemeral Form

Haunting Pursuit

Greater Hydra (3 stack)

Hydra’s Regeneration

Redundant Organs

Ignore Injury

Megalodon (2 stack)

Shark’s Body

Wave Charge

Twilight Weaver (3 stack)

Lesser Illusion

Perception Interdiction

Warp Wave

Razor Apparition (3 stack)

Remote Wielding

Immortal Blades

Razor Trails

Acid Drake

Drake’s Heart

Least Demon Lord (2 Stack)

Moment of Immortality

Grand Hellflame

Class Central Skills

Form of Horror (legendary, Level XX)

There are many sides to the Undying Wraith. The impression they broadcast out into the world and show others, the hole in the world no one will ever perceive before it devours them, and lastly, the face someone only sees in the moment of their death.

The form granted by this Skill. A monstrous alternate body based on the user’s Aspects.

Current Aspects: Aspect of the Poltergeist, Aspect of the Greater Hydra, Aspect of the Megalodon, Aspect of the Fata Morgana, Aspect of the Blade Tempest, Aspect of the Acid Drake

If the user also has the Skill The Chosen Weapon, this weapon will be incorporated into the user’s new form.

Furthermore, while in this form the user’s Strength and Fortitude are increased by 45 % while Agility and Perception are increased by 70 %. Magic Power and Magic Regeneration will remain unchanged.

This Skill can only be activated once every hour and lasts for 300 seconds. It also requires 1,000 mana to use, which it siphons off from the user’s mana regeneration so long as the mana pool is full.

In addition, the user can now create a second form while drawing only on the Aspects they wish to use, customizing it for specific purposes. Once set, this form can only be changed after removing the previous form, which takes 24 hours. Additional Slots are unlocked at Skill Levels fifteen and twenty.

After countless battles where the user has used this Skill to annihilate foes that should have been well beyond his capabilities, it has been increased to a level of power worthy of its own legend. The user may now transform into any non-Boss creature whose Aspect he holds and has a Level that does not exceed his by more than 10 (more powerful creatures may suffer from a shortened duration). In addition, the user may manifest body parts of the monsters for a cost dependent on the specific body part copied on their normal body.

Current Forms:

Aspect Amalgam

King of the Sea

Ruler of the Airspace

Perfect Amalgam

The Chosen Weapon (epic, Level XX)

There are many things that determine the power of a warrior. Training. Physical Prowess. Skill. Raw Talent.

But there is one more thing. A weapon. Having the right one to carry into battle can be the difference between life and death.

And that is what this Skill is all about. The user may choose a single weapon and make it soulbound. This weapon then becomes a part of them, inextricably and eternally bound together, able to be summoned at will, and will never harm its user.

As this Skill’s Level grows, new forms and abilities will be gained.

In addition, consecrating this weapon in the blood of legendary foes will grant it new strength and powers.

The chosen Weapon has its own mana pool to use its own Skills, separate from the user’s, drawing power from the environment. However, the user may also choose to divert their mana regeneration to refill this pool once their own is full. It starts out with a pool of 100, then increases by 10 with every Level in this Skill.

Based on the user’s Level in the Blade Skill, The Chosen Weapon (Old Reliable), gains a new ability for every Aspect the user holds.

This weapon may now absorb two (one remaining) additional weapons to be used as an alternate form for The Chosen Weapon. This number will increase by one with every [Class] Evolution.

I Am The Sword (legendary, Level X)

In the right hands, a sword can be a devastating weapon. But sometimes, the hands themselves can be a weapon far more dangerous than any mere hunk of metal.

And with this Skill, both is the case. For 0.1 seconds, increasing by 0.01 seconds per Level, the user’s form will become indestructible, immoveable, and inviolable while their momentum will be maintained for that period, tearing through or pushing aside anything in their path while this Skill is active. In addition, the user’s static body acts as a blade, far more likely to cut through instead of push away the target, and Skills that require a blade can be used upon it.

This Skill can only be activated every 60 min and cost requires 750 mana to use, which it siphons off from the user’s mana regeneration so long as the user’s mana pool is full.

Cost: Major Stamina Drain, 1,000 banked mana

Grave of Swords (legendary, Level XX)

A vast field, countless blades thrust into the dirt, each one representing a warrior who fell in battle within this space

This is the Grave of Swords, each one containing the power and knowledge of a specific foe, so the user may fight them over and over again, or be used as fuel to enhance this space.

Upon activation of this ability, both the user and one target will be transported to another plane (current size: circle with a 50 meter diameter) for a one minute per Level in this Skill. The target must be either in contact with user or the user’s soulbound weapon when this Skill is activated for it to take effect, though.

The Skill ends if one combatant dies, it hits its time limit, or is deactivated by the user, any leftover mana will be refunded and placed in the Skill’s pool.

When an enemy dies within this Skill, a new blade is thrust into these hallowed grounds, containing a record of the fight, the fallen, and a measure of its power. With it, the user may choose to fight against the old foe once more for training purposes, experimenting with new tactics and moves without danger.

However, the weapons store the remnant life force of the monster, which can be used as additional fuel for this Skill as its cost increases with the strength of the other participant (+5 mana per opponent Level over the user’s, +50 for each Tier barrier between the user’s Level and the monster’s, overall cost doubled for Bosses, tripled for Raid Bosses and quintupled for World Bosses)

This Skill can only be activated every 5 hours, cost requires 1,500 mana to use, which it either siphons off from the user’s mana regeneration so long as the user’s mana pool is full or draws from the swords themselves. Cooldown can be bypassed by paying double the normal activation cost from the stored blades.

After countless fights where the user has sealed powerful foes within to protect his allies, this Skill has evolved to further enhance the isolating power of Grave of Swords. It can now be used to seal of a part of the battlefield, creating an incredibly durable spherical barrier around the user, with a radius of 50 meters (it increases automatically for larger, singular foes, according to the same rules as the regular use of this Skill). The user may choose to banish any person in their Party from this zone to protect them, but enemies cannot be forcibly removed.

(Note: inanimate objects overlapping the barrier will not be damaged, living beings will either be pushed into or out of the Grave of Swords if they overlap the barrier during its creation, depending on where the majority of their body is)

Furthermore, this Skill has gained an additional effect due to a high degree of synergy with the Class Hildebrand’s Heir. When using the Grave of Swords to train against enemies trapped within, the user may choose to take along up to five other people.

Cost: 1,500 banked mana base cost for combat purposed, cost increases with target’s power, increase must be paid from stored blades or the user’s mana pool

Armory of Ancient Times (legendary, Level X)

They had some good stuff back in the time of legends, didn’t they? Legendary swords, cloaks of invisibility, rings and belts that granted the strength of ten men … all that good stuff. But we don’t have that stuff anymore, they were either lost to history or they never existed in the first place. But with this Skill, it doesn’t really matter which of those is true, because Hildebrand’s Heir is able to summon anything he wants, so long as Hildebrand once held it, such as his sword Balmung, once wielded by Siegfried.

You may summon multiple weapons (or objects) at a time, and doing so will reserve 100 points of your mana to maintain it unless you can find alternative ways of sustaining it for the first, with the cost doubling with every additional summon.

As you learn more about Hildebrand’s legend, you’ll learn more about what you can summon.

Currently available gear: Balmung, Nagelring, Eckesachs, Mimung, assorted mundane gear, Laurin’s Ring, Hildegrim …

Legacy of a True Warrior (legendary, Level X)

Once upon a time, there was a man. A warrior, teacher to a legendary king, and his companion in all his adventures. And now, you hold that man’s legacy. His knowledge, his skills, his experience in combat both figurative and literal. Not only that, but all of that experience has been improved by the knowledge of how to apply it to a world with the [System].

But even though Hildebrand’s personal achievements are hardly small, they pale in comparison to what his student achieved. As such, the core of this inheritance is all about training others.

Anyone you train will pick up all lessons at a vastly accelerated pace, a pace that will increase even further if the training is related to knightly endeavors, such as horse riding, medieval politics, or combat with traditional weapons (sword/axe/bow/spear).

But that is only the beginning of what you are now capable of. You may now impart the following Skills onto your students (these are weaker versions of your Class Skills, they can only be taught if you have the Skill yourself):

-Knightly Discipline (downgrade from Knightly Leader, enhances group coordination)

-Epic Blow (downgraded from Legendary Blow, allows the stacking of multiple identical Strike/Shot/Blows)

-Phantom Armor (downgrade from Fully Geared, allows for the storage of a single set of armor in an extradimensional space)

-Veteran’s Knowledge (downgrade from Expert’s Insight, grants overall knowledge and the occasional flash of insight)

You may only teach 5 Skills per week, the number increases by one per Level in Legacy of a True Warrior.

Skills taught this week 0/15

However, there is one more way the Heir of Master Hildebrand can teach people. After reaching Level 10 in this Skill, the Heir may teach groups of up to five people at a time. This will only grant a rare Skill, rather than an epic one, but only use up a single timeslot. Using a few hours of one-on-one training and 80% of a slot, the Skill can be upgraded to its full power.

In addition, this Skill allows the Heir to seamlessly interface with training Skills used by coworkers.

Class Skills

Hundred Faces (common, Level XX)

Ultimately, even the greatest criminal is unable to completely avoid being seen. But what is seen doesn’t have to be the user’s true face. This Skill allows the user to adjust their entire body, within reason, to allow for some degree of anonymity. This will not, however, affect the user’s physical capabilities.

After countless situations where this Skill has been used to hide the user’s true feelings it has evolved to act as a method to hide the user’s emotions as it does their true appearance. It is now far more capable of changing facial expressions to reflect false feelings and these false feelings will also be what emotion-sensing Skills will see.

Cost: 50 mana per minute while adjusting, 15 mana per minute while cloaking emotions

Stealth (common, Level XX)

Use magic to shield the user’s form from visual inspection, as well as muffling noise created by the user. Quality of shielding will increase at higher levels.

However, user’s expertise has increased the power of this Skill, allowing it to suppress the user’s smell and prevent the user from leaving physical traces while it is activated.

After countless battles where this Skill was used to stalk and eventually take down prey, be it animal, monster or human, it has evolved to reflect this, the process of the hunt. While in stealth, the user may instill a sense of dread and foreboding in his intended victims with no clear source, ensuring they know there is something hunting them, and even create sounds and flashes of something in the dark at a distance to serve as a distraction.

Cost: 1 mana/sec, doubled while secondary power is in effect

Piercing Strike (common, Level max)

Users weapon is covered with energy, increasing its ability to penetrate armor. This effect lasts for a single strike. Should the weapon in question be stuck within an opponent, the effect will last for 2 sec, allowing for removal of weapon or further cutting.

In addition, it may now be used in ways beyond the original description, lingering on weapons after use, refining them, and being able to be combined with other Skills.

After countless battles where this Skill was used to pierce the very core of an enemy and slay them in a single, swift, strike it has evolved into an even deadlier form. It may now stab through space itself, any thrusting attack empowered with it launching a beam of all-piercing energy at triple the mana cost. In addition, using this Skill will give the user insight into the location of his opponents’ vital organs.

And now, it has reached the pinnacle of its power. It will now linger on any blade it is used upon, constantly providing it a degree of unnatural sharpness that can also cut immaterial things, which will only be further boosted if this Skill is used actively. Using this in conjunction with True Cut will reduce the cost of the other Skill. Lastly, Piercing Strike’s base cost has been reduced while it has also gained the ability to be overcharged. tier

Cost: 5-50 mana per strike, 40 mana per ranged attack

Sundering Strike (common, Level max)

User’s next strike will weaken the targets armor around the point of impact. This damage is permanent until it is fixed/healed. This effect can be stacked until the armor is destroyed.

This Skill can also be toggled to be almost undetectable, destroying any nerves or creature specific equivalent upon impact, or cause maximum pain by directly irritating whatever pain receptors a being might have.

After countless battles where this Skill was used to tear apart the user’s foes, shredding them on a fundamental level until their own movements tore them apart, it has evolved to destroy them, rather than merely weakening them. For an additional 18 mana, this Skill will now inject a weakening, magic based poison that rots an enemy’s flesh and corrodes their defenses until nothing but soup remains.

And now, it has reached the pinnacle of its power. What once merely weakened armor to make follow-up attacks more effective was supercharged to melt flesh wholesale, eventually being used to simply destroy the entirety of a monster’s internal organs.

Now, Sundering Strike is able to disintegrate matter through touch or weapon, though its cost climbs exponentially as the target becomes tougher, has the properties of armor or is intended to be used for defensive purposes.

Cost: 12 mana per strike, 30 mana per poisoning Strike, 100 mana minimum for disintegration (unarmored flesh belonging to a being at your Level)

Power Strike (common, Level XXX)

The user’s next blow will hit as though their strength were three times as high.

This Skill may now also be safely used on fists and legs and has a reduced backlash on the user’s body.

After countless battles where this Skill has been used to drive a piercing blade into an enemy’s flesh, it has evolved to ignore the concept of an equal and opposite reaction, driving the cutting edge into the foe while pushing them with vastly reduced strength, massively improving armor penetration.

And now, it has reached the pinnacle of its power, infusing each and every attack with a permanent 20 % increase in impact power, regardless of whether or not this Skill was activated.

Cost: 12 mana per strike

Sneak (common, Level XX)

Grants user basic knowledge of how to move stealthily, from avoiding making noise to reducing visibility. Higher levels of this Skill will allow the user to have an overall lessened impact on the world at large, to the point of near complete invisibility.

This Skill also has an active mode in which the User actively spends mana to reduce their impact on the world.

After countless situations where it was used to hide in plain sight to avoid public attention, this [Skill] has evolved to create a permanent (toggleable) effect that makes supernatural or attention grabbing displays by the user less obvious. (This effect is powered by ambient mana, a lack of such will require the user to power it themselves)

Cost: 10 mana per minute

Blades (common, Level XX)

Grants user basic knowledge of using knives, including throwing and non-combat applications.

In addition, the user may repair any bladed weapons in their possession through the application of mana. Any such weapons are also more durable in the user’s hands and if they are not a traditional knife, they will slowly adjust their form to suit such a tool.

After countless battles where the user has obliterated his foes using a soulbound Blade able to gain new abilities from power foes while making extensive use of Aspects, it has gained the ability to infuse the weapon, Old Reliable, with the power of said Aspects to give it new forms.

Far Strike (common, Level XX)

Upon the User’s next melee attack with a bladed weapon, the blade will extend by 2+0.5n meters where n equals skill level.

In addition, the User may now imbued his weapons with ten mana to create a range enhancing aura for a full minute. This extra reach is 0.5 meters, gaining an additional 0.1n meters, with n being every Level in this Skill over 10.

After countless battles where the user has used this Skill to destroy foes that thought they were safe due to being out of range, this Skill has evolved to grant him even an greater reach. The user may now input more mana at will, with the range doubling with every additional 20 points of mana invested.

Caution: Extremely long blades may give way if engaged along their entire length, this may be mitigated by applying a second Skill to strengthen it (elligble Skills: Piercing Strike, Power Strike).

Cost: 20 mana minimum, no maximum mana investment

Sweeping Strike (uncommon)

Upon the users next attack, 5 blades of 3+.3n meters in length, where n equals skill level, will extend from the blade, allowing the user to strike at a large area. Spread of blades must be specified by user, maximum spread is 45°. Length of blades may be reduced to reduce mana cost.

The user may also now choose how the blades are spread, it is not necessary for them to be evenly spaced.

Cost: 30 mana + 5 mana/meter

Manifold Strike (legendary, Level XX)

The user may combine any number of [-Strike] type Skills into a single attack, so long as there is one Skill with a minimum Level of X available for each Skill used below that Level.

In addition, the overall potency of the Skills used increases by 10 %.

After countless situations where this Skill has been used to deal devastating damage using the right combination of lesser Strikes, especially when combined with a second Skill that allows for multiple uses of the same strike, it has evolved to be even more powerful than the sum of its parts. Now, when staking multiple instances of this Skill using Legendary Blow, one may choose which Strike to use how often, modifying proportions as needed to create a truly optimal attack with no mana going to waste.

In addition, the complimentary Skill of Legendary Blow has been enhanced to allow for an additional instance to be applied, for a total maximum of seven possible stacks.

Cost: Combined cost of individual Skills * 1.20^used Skills

Hunter’s Gaze (epic, Level XXX)

There are many possible upgrades to the basic Inspect Skill. Some allow for improved examination of details, others are far better at piercing information protection Skills.

This one is different. It loses any ability to gaze past defenses for raw details unless the defenses are veryweak, but gains an incredible power at getting rough information on the user’s foes.

Barring an incredible Level disparity, the user will be able to sense whether someone’s Stats are higher, lower or comparable to the User’s, how many Aspects they have and what their overall affinities are.

But by using the information gained via this Skill, an Undying Wraith will be able to deduce anything Inspect could grant, and more.

In addition, this [Skill] allows the user to see mana and sense the purpose of Skills being used in front of him.

After countless fights where this Skill has been used to seek out every secret an enemy held has evolved to see absolutely everything an enemy might try to hide, instantly recognizing passive Skills, all manner of active abilities and slotting them into a newly gained mental library and highlighting any past experiences with similar Skills. Lastly, it gains vastly enhanced Privacy penetration abilities and further grows as the user’s Perception increases.

And now, it has reached the pinnacle of its power, able to read the past Skill use of those that would oppose the person wielding the Hunter’s Gaze.

The more powerful a Skill, the greater and longer lasting an imprint it leaves in its user’s spiritual body. And the more recently it was used, the stronger and clearer said imprint was. Should a foe have used all their Skills recently, this can be read like a book, figuring out the entirety of their Skillset at a glance.

And even should that not be the case, this Skill will still be useful as it provides a vastly improved ability to understand an enemy’s powers and abilities, eventually allowing them to be beaten or countered with contemptuous ease.

Tools of Terror (epic, Level X)

An Undying Wraith is never unarmed, eternally equipped with the tools of his slain foes. This Skill allows the user to draw upon the natural weapons once possessed by any creature whose Aspect he holds.

Cost: 10 mana per weapon minimum, up to 100 mana for extremely large weapons, 1 mana every second to sustain it

Undying Focus (epic, Level XX)

No matter what kinds of damage an Undying Wraith suffers, no matter how badly they are injured, one thing will always remain. Their undying willpower.

This Skill grants the user the ability to directly alter their perception of pain, including completely shutting it off.

WARNING! Completely removing one’s sense of pain may lead to injuries going unnoticed!

In addition, it prevents tunnel vision, therefore allowing the user to keep track of their goal without overlooking anything in the process and even block out mental attacks.

Lastly, Undying Focus allows healing and regeneration Skills to heal brain damage and even restore damaged memories without requiring specialized Skills on the part of the healing individual.

Furthermore, this Skill boosts the user’s resistance to hostile aura effects.

After countless battles where this Skill has been used to ignore even horrific injuries and terrible pain, it has evolved to allow the user to remove health seeping and other negative status effects through sheer force of will.

Bestial Regeneration (epic, Level XX)

No matter how good a fighter is, injuries are inevitable, given enough time. Therefore, this Skill is as invaluable as it is indisputable that it will find a use.

It allows the user to store excess mana generated by Magic Regeneration for the sole purpose of fueling the user’s regeneration Skills. This pool will be used to automatically heal any injuries sustained unless this Skill is explicitly suppressed and will be used up before any regeneration Skills draw on the user’s mana pool.

This pool’s size is Skill Level*25.

In addition, it may be set to prioritize specific organs and body parts over others.

After countless fights where this Skill has been used to keep its wielder alive through horrific injuries, it has evolved to provide a speed to boost to all of the user’s self-healing powers, with the mana cost increasing proportionally to the boost, with a maximum increase of one hundred percent.

Fleeting Presence (epic, Level X)

There one moment, gone the next. Completely gone.

This Skill tells the user how to erase all traces of their presence, such as footprints, avoid breaking branches and trampling shrubs.

However, it also stops the user from shedding all the usual traces that all humans leave behind, such as skin and hair cell.

It also prevents the oils found on human fingers from leaving behind fingerprints, though it will not prevent fingerprints from appearing if the user were to touch a material that is easily imprinted upon, such as soft wax, putty or a heavy layer of dust, instead disturbing the material until the fingerprint is no longer visible, but that by itself could be spotted.

Likewise, nothing will transfer from the user’s clothes or shoes to any surfaces, and footprints will be removed, but the signs that something was removed might still be visible.

Phantom Step (epic, Level X)

A single step is the beginning of a journey of a thousand miles. And if this Skill’s Level is high enough, then a single step can be a journey of a thousand miles.

You are a phantom in the dark, an unseen shadow that streaks past in the night.

With this Skill, the user can make a single step take them far greater distances than it would normally ever be able to. As a stealth Skill, it is vastly more efficient when used unobserved.

This Skill may now also be used simultaneously with either [Spectral Shift] or [Stealth].

Cost: 15 mana to initiate, 2 mana per three meters of unobserved travel, 4 mana per meter of observed travel, with a maximum range of 10 m +2 m per Skill Level

Crippling Blow (epic, Level X)

Striking down a target with a single attack is the sign of a truly excellent Assassin or other stealth based combat Class.

But sometimes, that simply isn’t possible. A foe is too large, too good at regenerating, or simply has more than one point that needs to be targeted in order to kill it. And that’s where this Skill comes in.

Activating this Skill will cripple any mechanism, biological, mechanical or magical, that the user touches and can be projected through armor or hide at a length of up to 5 cm, increasing by 1 cm per Skill Level. This requires the user to focus on the specific thing they want to disrupt (i.e. sensory organs to impede perception, limbs to slow down movement, natural weapons to reduce offensive power, etc.). By default, this Skill is very painful, but that can be increased to near-crippling levels for a slight increase in cost.

Cost: 20 mana per use minimum, can be increased up to 150 to affect powerful enemies or tough body parts

Unknown Fear (epic, Level XX)

There are many things that people are afraid of. Mostly, those things are definable, specific things. But there is another kind, the fear of the unknown.

With this Skill, the user becomes the embodiment of this fear. An unknowable entity, become fear itself.

It will block out any same Level and rarity Inspection Skills as a matter of course and is boosted by any stealth Skill, gaining strength as if it were one Level higher for every two Levels in a stealth Skill. Further power is gained based on Agility.

In addition, this Skill may now be used to project a false status when Inspect style Skills are used. However, the user of Unknown Fear does not have true control over what the other person sees, they can only switch between showing them whatever they hope to see, something menacing, or merely a blank façade.

After countless fights where this Skill has been used to hide its user’s true nature from warriors and kings, knaves and stalwart defenders of justice, it has evolved to hide even its own attributes. Initially, Unknown Fear merely showed the vast, unknowable abyss to those who dared to Inspect its user, yet that, in itself, could identify them. This kind of all-encompassing darkness is by no means unique to Unknown Fear, but it is hardly a common impression to receive from a failed Inspect.

Now, however, whenever the user chooses to take on a different persona, the feedback likewise subtly shifts to the point where it cannot be connected to them. In addition, it will always take on the same feedback type when the same persona is taken up.

Absolute Blade Mastery (legendary, Level X)

All throughout history, countless people have staked their lives onto these pieces of metal, living and dying by the blade. Some may have wielded it in anger without any training at all, other spent their entire lives honing their craft without ever having to raise their weapons in a real fight even once.

Yet none of them have ever reached this stage, because they couldn’t. Normally, there is always more to learn. At some point, you will solidly run into the issue of diminishing returns, but your path will never truly end.

And then, there’s this Skill. Might not grant absolute skill with the blade, but it allows the user to truly master it in all of its forms, in two different ways.

Firstly, now any and all skill and experience with any blade carry over to any and all other blades. Never, ever, under any circumstances, will a tiny difference in balance, length or weight screw you up, never again. You can pick up an entirely new type of sword that you’ve never even conceived of, as long as you are a master of some manner of sword, you will also be a master of this one.

Secondly, never again will you cut something you did not mean to cut. You have absolute control over your weapons, you could shave a furious cat actively trying to murder you with a gauntlet sword without ever even so much as inflicting a single scratch, this is the level of fine control you hold now that you have this Skill. Hell, you could wave a chainsaw around in a crowded disco and unless you want to hurt people or destroy objects, the only issue would be the noise.

Lastly, this truly legendary level of skill with the blade can now be shared with others. The secondary effects of this Skill will not be imparted, but proper use of the blade can turn even a blunt pair of scissors into a lethal weapon, and this is what your students will learn.

Compounded Impact (legendary, Level X)

When striking at the same place, over and over again, each blow will cut deeper than the last.

With this Skill, a bond will be created between the user’s blade and an opponent, every additional strike hitting harder and harder, drawing an ever increasing amount of mana until even a casual tap contains the force to shred mountains. (Combo resets after 5 seconds of no successful hits)

For an additional cost of 10 mana upfront, the first strike can be enhanced to count as the fifth hit in the series.

Cost: 1 mana, doubles every use, resets after 3 seconds

True Cut (legendary)

What can be cut? Paper? Flesh? Bone? Rock? Metal? Air? At what point is something too hard to cut, and can you even cut liquids or gasses? What about things with no physical form to cut?

Well, with this Skill, the answer is that everything can be cut, no matter how hard, no matter how immaterial, no matter how conceptual it may be.

Defenses sundered with a swipe as a magical shield is destroyed in a single swipe or the very concept of armor ceases to function for the brief instant it takes for the target to lose its head.

However, not all uses of this Skill are as grand as that. At its most basic, True Cut can be used directly on the effects of another Skill and cut it, disabling it for a period dependent on the amount of mana invested.

IMPORTANT: Concepts cannot be destroyed, only damaged, and will return rapidly, possibly instantaneously, and can only be affected in a small area.

WARNING: The cost of this Skill depends on the target and may exceed the user’s mana pool by a significant degree, attempting to overdraw the mana pool will lead to the user’s death.

Cost: variable, depending on type

Legendary Blow (legendary, Level X)

A single blow to shatter mountains, raze city walls or split the sea, these are the things stories are written about and when someone uses this Skill, there is a good chance that too will end up being turned into a story.

When Legendary Blow is activated, the user may use any of their Strike/Blow/Shot Skills up to six (seven due to Manifold Strike Evolution) times to enhance a single attack, massively increasing its power.

With every Level in this Skill, the cost of component Skills is reduced by 5 %, up to 25%, Levels past that merely boost the already ludicrous levels of power this Skill harbors into the stratosphere.

Knightly Leader (legendary, Level X)

Many a tale has been told of a heroic knight, of the dragonslayer, the rightful king who returns from exile to bring peace and prosperity to his home. All of these tales focus on a single individual, the knight, yet that knight is never alone. He has pages, squires, comrades in arm and occasionally, a mentor that’s along for the ride.

This Skill is an essential component of leading a group of your fellows into combat.

Firstly, it allows for the creation of an official, System acknowledged party with all the advantages that entails (knowledge of each other’s health states, locating allies, XP sharing).

Secondly, it allows the user to draw upon all the experience about leading men that Master Hildebrand gathered over the course of his life, and apply it to the situation at hand. (this information has been updated to include the System, Classes and Skills)

Thirdly, any commands given by the user will be able to override irrational panic if necessary.

In addition, the user can remotely talk to party members up to five hundred meters away, with the distance increasing another one hundred meters per Level in this Skill.

And finally, the user can set up contingencies ahead of time, so orders are issued without the user needing to fully articulate potentially complex statements in the middle of a fight for their lives. These orders can be cancelled at any time, should it be necessary, and new ones can always be added though it would be inadvisable if a distraction would endanger them.

Cost: 100 mana to establish, 300 mana per day to sustain

Expert’s Insight (legendary)

What separates a soldier who just got out of training from a veteran? A student who just got his degree from a lead engineer? A wizard’s apprentice from an Archmage?

The answer to all those questions is, of course, experience. Some things are taught, yes, but others need to be learned from experience.

Sometimes, said experience takes the form of repeating an action over and over and eventually figuring out a way to make said action more efficient.

In other times, realization comes as a painful realization after a mistake reaps terrible consequences.

Either way, this Skill offers up both a massive pool of experience to the user and vastly improves their experience and Skill Level gain by granting preternatural hindsight. If the user has any knowledge on a subject, they find themselves making connections far more readily and related subjects will be far easier to research. Furthermore, Expert’s Insight acts as a general memory booster.

As with many other Skills in the Hildebrand’s Heir Class, a lesser version of this Skill can be granted to the user’s students using Legacy of a True Warrior.

However, unlike those other Skills, Expert’s Insight does not turn into a lesser version of itself, but rather transforms into a fundamentally different Skill called Veteran’s Knowledge, which allows the user of Expert’s Insight to directly impart their knowledge (note that this is a limited effect, this Skill will not directly put the taught individual on the same level as the user).

Fully Geared (legendary)

The historical definition of a knight is a lesser nobleman who maintains his own set of heavy armor and a warhorse. Therefore, a knight without his armor is no knight at all. And as sturdy as armor is, it can break, get stolen or simply fall apart if it gets too old.

If you want your armor to survive for more than a couple of fights, this Skill is essential. It allows the user to store four full outfits in an extradimensional storage and dress themselves with a mere thought. Armor and clothing is cleaned upon being stored and damage is repaired so long as the required materials needed to replace removed parts are provided.

Equipped armor can be reinforced using mana.

Cost: 10 mana to store/equip/switch outfits, 5 mana per second to repair clothing, 50 mana per minute to reinforce armor

Burden of Power (legendary)

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, or so the saying goes. And it’s true, only fools see the crown as something that turns one’s life into a great and wonderful paradise. If one fulfills even a fraction of the responsibilities that leading a country requires, then one’s life will be filled with hard work. This is the Burden of Power.

When this Skill is activated, that burden shows in your Aura, a tangible thing for all to see, experience and be impacted by. It can either be used to focus attention on yourself and demonstrate your status as a leader, or you can now temporarily offload a small amount of that burden upon your foes and watch them crumble.

Cost:

Auric Infusion, Aura of the Crimson Dawn: 20 mana per minute

Auric Infusion, Aura of the Desperate Seeker: 50 mana per minute

Warning: Using two Auric Infusion Skills simultaneously will increase the overall cost by fifty percent

Analyze Person (legendary)

Politicians, managers, hucksters. All kinds of people have all sorts of insights into the human condition, and the associated Classes have a myriad of Skills to help them with that, each one purpose built for a specific kind of analysis, giving them the exact kind of knowledge needed to do what they do.

This Skill, on the other hand, is the distillation of a lifetime of experience reading people, empowered to a supernatural degree. It might not have the power of a focused Skill and therefore falls far short of the combined abilities of a social Class, but it doesn’t have to match the might of an entire Class because that is not its purpose.

This is a Skill that makes your current social skills useful in a world where magic can interfere with social interactions, as well as empowering said social skills with a lifetime’s worth of experience. In addition, it allows for a degree of insight into what Skills are interfering with your mind/arguments. In addition, blocking hostile social Skills will be easier and will work with a smaller Level gap than normal.

Continent Strider (legendary)

In olden times, it could take months or years to go from city to city, from country to country. Modern technology has shrunken the world somewhat, but it still takes quite a while to move significant distances.

This Skill not only removes the need for modern technology to travel vast distances in a reasonable timeframe, but further boosts the travel speed while moving on foot. Your movement speed on foot or horseback will increase exponentially with this Skill active.

Continent Strider cannot be activated in combat or while fleeing combat, it is purely a utility Skill.

This Skill can be applied to all party members so long as said party members are within 100 meters of the user and the user is the party leader.

Cost: 500 mana per hour, plus 100 per party member

General Skills

Gralloch (common, Level X)

This Skill is quintessential for a hunter after the hunt is done. It teaches the User how to properly skin and clean a kill, separate out the important and valuable parts and reduces the risk of accidentally damaging any organs.

It also points out some basic uses for the harvested parts.

Alchemy (common, Level X)

When combining things with magical properties, many things may happen, some good, some bad, some just plain explosive.

This Skill is a catch all that supports these kinds of pursuits by granting basic knowledge and making its further acquisition easier.

It will also highlight useful alchemical ingredients and give information about their most common uses.

Death’s Embrace (epic)

A hug is nice, isn’t it? The warm embrace of a loved one, assuring you that you are not alone in this world, that you are loved … yeah, this isn’t that. This is the cold embrace of skeletal arms wrapped around you, bones poking into you as the deathly cold that radiates from them saps your life force.

This terrifying effect can be created in one of two ways.

The first of these is to infuse you Aura with this Skill, increasing its ability to inflict damage, temporarily reducing an opponent’s regenerative ability and physical Stats upon dealing damage. This has an ongoing cost of 50 mana per minute for the Aura of the Desperate Seeker and 20 mana per minute for the Aura of the Crimson Dawn.

The second fills the space around the caster with a dark miasma that weakens any designated enemy to a degree proportional to the amount of mana invested. The target area is a circle with a diameter of 20 meters centered on the user and does not move with them, remaining where it was first cast. This costs 20 mana to activate, as well as thirty mana per minute as upkeep, and will reduce all Stats of affected enemies by 5. Investing an additional 20 points of mana will further reduce your opponents’ Stats by 10. Each set of twenty mana invested beyond that will be ten percent less effective, additively.

Cost:

Auric Infusion, Aura of the Crimson Dawn: 20 mana per minute

Auric Infusion, Aura of the Desperate Seeker: 50 mana per minute

Area Debuff: 30 mana to activate, 20 mana per minute of use, more mana may be infused at will

Warning: Using two Auric Infusion Skills simultaneously will increase the overall cost by fifty percent

Advanced Bureaucracy (uncommon)

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. But what makes money move? Bureaucracy.

And that is what this Skill is all about. It grants you a high degree of awareness into the rules that govern what you are doing at the moment (this effect can be toggled on and off), and allows you to integrate your bureaucratical tasks into the System, creating task lists, taking inventory without having to be physically present once it was taken in-person, and so on.

But as you continue to hack your path through the jungles of paperwork, this [Skill] is capable of extending to cover new applications.

Police Procedure (common)

This Skill represents the core knowledge that any member of law enforcement should know. When to exercise caution, in what few situations violence is acceptable, and when, and more importantly, how to exercise restraint.

In addition, this Skill acts as a repository for all law enforcement procedures taught to its user, ensuring they are retained and the knowledge is available when it is needed.

Bloodline of the Hellborn Survivor (legendary)

The legacy of a warrior who lived through countless battles, countless injuries, countless tragedies, someone who came through it all completely intact. And that is what this Bloodline represents.

As its first holder was a High Human, all others also gain this powerful Race. In addition to this, it grants countless Skills useful to surviving attacks.

Firstly, it comes with extraordinary regenerative capabilities, which even extend to injuries to the brain, a separate mana storage to power said regeneration and the power for organs to take over the function of other, damaged ones. And when all of that proves insufficient, the body will temporarily gain the power to ignore nearly all injuries. Starting once they have reached the age of majority, they also gain significant resistance to pain.

Secondly, the holder of this bloodline has the ability to phase through solid objects, granting them the mobility needed to escape all confinement.

Thirdly, it automatically grants a preternatural level of skill with all bladed weapons, as well as stealth.

In addition, this Bloodline makes analyzing its holders nearly impossible.

However, there is more to this Bloodline than mere survivability. Its holders may wield the very Hellfire that forged its progenitor, but only in the most dire of circumstances, with their parents’ permission, or if they have reached the age of majority.

Lastly, anyone in possession of this Bloodline is able to use it to signal distress to anyone else who hold it once a year.

Finalize Bloodline Y/N?

(Hydra’s Regeneration, Redundant Organs, Phasing, Unknown Fear, Blades, Sneak, Undying Will, Moment of Immortality, Blades, Sneak, Bestial Regeneration)

Aspect Skills

Flight of the Poltergeist (epic)

Once you are dead, you are free. Free from responsibilities, free from death, free from gravity.

With this Skill, you gain a Poltergeist’s ability to nullify gravity and take to the air, nullify the effect of wind and air resistance to avoid being blown away like a leaf in a hurricane by the slightest breeze and start to accelerate yourself at a constant rate of 1 m/s^2 for a maximum speed of 150 m/s.

Cost: 1 mana per second per active effect (air resistance nullification, gravity nullification or telekinetic self-acceleration)

Ephemeral Form (epic)

Walls, fortresses, even bunkers that sit at the heart of a mountain, none of these can stop an Ephemeral being. The only thing able to damage such a being is raw mana or Skills fueled by it.

But transforming would be rather risky if an errant Spell would tear through them, wouldn’t it? That’s why true powerhouses among the Ephemeral are able to spend additional mana to reinforce their bodies and mitigate said vulnerability to some degree.

While shifted, the user of this Skill can choose to treat objects as physical and interact with them normally or treat them as though they didn’t exist.

Cost: 10 mana for activation, 5 mana per second of upkeep, upkeep can be increased up to 50 mana per second to resist foreign mana

Haunting Pursuit (epic)

It doesn’t matter where you try to run, where you try to hide, what you try to use as a shield. Nothing will stop the Arcane Poltergeist when it has decided to kill you. This is the power of the dead’s unending hatred for the living, the need to tear them apart and bathe in their entrails.

This Skill makes its user aware of all living beings around themselves in a radius of a hundred meters for 5 mana per minute, and can give more precise locations the more mana is invested, up to a maximum of 100 per minute.

One the user has chosen a target, they can spend another 50 points of mana to mark them, gaining the ability to track them precisely so long as they remain withing 10 km, as well as knowing the most direct route to reaching them.

Cost: 5-100 mana per minute for a passive scan, 50 points per mark per hour

Hydra’s Regeneration (epic)

This Skill allows the User to rapidly regenerate from injuries at the cost of mana. Regenerating large amounts of flesh may be uncomfortable.

Cost: 5-25 per second of use, 50 mana per kilogram of flesh restored

Redundant Organs (epic)

This is a passive Skill that allows the user’s organs to take over each other’s responsibilities, within reason, increasing all their overall performance by creating a vast network of redundancies. A liver that pumps blood, kidneys that remove alcohol, a pituitary gland that produces insulin. These effects will never be as strong as the original function, but it will massively reduce the debilitating consequences of any injuries.

Ignore Injury (epic)

There are Skills to mitigate the effect of certain injuries, there are Skills to fix such injuries without the services of a healer. And then, there’s this Skill, which lets the user act as though they’d never even been injured in the first place.

While this Skill is active (can be toggled on and off at will), the user is able to completely ignore any and all injuries, but all actions that would be impeded by injuries grow more difficult and draining. Moving broken toe will be about as difficult as picking up one’s phone while moving the same toe with a severed spinal cord might be as difficult as carrying a mountain.

Shark’s Body (epic)

There are plenty of Skills to let one breathe underwater, but for most of them, that’s all they do.

This one is a little different, in addition to gaining the ability to survive the lack of gaseous oxygen and the crushing weight of the ocean overhead, it gives the user an additional form, said form being a shark-human hybrid, complete with sharkskin, as well as webbed hands and feet, electromagnetic senses, and an improved sense of smell.

Clothing worn in the human form will vanish with the human form, though some articles of clothing may be kept on.

(The passive effect of the Gills Skill will continue to work even if this Skill is not active.)

Cost: 7 mana to transform, 1 mana per minute to maintain transformation

Wave Charge (epic)

There is a charge, and then there is a charge, something that isn’t merely the act of rushing forward at an enemy.

Activating this Skill will fling the user forward, running at a chosen target, without needing a solid surface to jump off of. In addition, it ignores all kinds of non-solid resistance.

Cost: 15 mana

Lesser Illusion (epic)

When first using this Skill, the user must choose a two subjects to create an illusion of (specific person, object, creature, etc.). From that point onwards, the user may create an illusionary version of them at will (the illusions will update to match the chosen subjects).

In addition, the user may directly create illusions based solely on their imagination, though it will require a high degree of focus and concentration, with the cost scaling with the area of manipulated space.

Cost (preset illusion): 15 mana per activation, 1 mana per second of upkeep

Cost (direct manipulation): 50 mana per minute per cubic meter

Perception Interdiction (epic)

This Skill allows the user to create a five-meter diameter sphere in which enhanced senses function considerably more poorly, reducing their effective power by the equivalent of 1 point of Perception per 10 mana invested.

In addition, the user may infuse a room with this energy, creating a stationary effect that will last so long as the user does not dismiss it, continues to pay the upkeep cost and remains within 100 kilometers of the room. The cost is identical to the first effect, but increases if the room’s size exceeds 125 π m3.

Cost: activation cost variable, upkeep cost 1/5 of activation cost per minute

Warp Wave (epic)

Up, down, left, right, what’s it all mean? Nothing!

This Skill emits a blast of energy that impacts nearby enemies and disorients them by messing with their senses, even inflicting synesthesia or swapping the sensory inputs between identical sensory organs. The power of this Skill increases against weaker enemies, as well as those whose Aura has been suppressed.

Cost: 50 mana

Drake’s Heart (uncommon)

Within your breast now beats the heart of the most legendary of beasts. A dragon (technically, a Drake does qualify as a type dragon, but has nowhere near the same level of power).

This confers a few benefits. First off, it provides a certain degree of resistance to the element wielded by the Drake that provided the Aspect. In addition, it grants a sliver of draconic vitality, increasing resistance to diseases, as well as the user’s longevity.

Moment of Immortality (legendary)

What kind of monster can have its guts hanging out, be bleeding from countless arterial wounds, and still be fighting? One with this Skill, that’s what.

Moment of Immortality activates automatically when it is needed, granting the user the ability to survive with massive bloodloss and without a complete set of internal organs. In fact, few things short of being pulverized will be able to kill the Skill user while it is active, but it is by no means a perfect defense.

Moment of Immortality lasts for twenty seconds and can only be activated every 168 hours.

Grand Hellflame (epic)

The flickering flame of a candle. A crackling fire in the fireplace. The burning heat of a blacksmith’s forge. An welding torch. Sure, all of those things could be considered ‘fire’, but don’t really seem like they deserve the moniker compared to what this Skill can produce.

The holder of this Skill can wield the fires of hell, in their full all-consuming, life-force destroying glory, while gaining complete immunity to any and all fires up to and including this Skill’s power level.

Cost: 100 per second to generate, 10-50 per second to control, 200 to extinguish all fires caused by generated flame

Auras

Aura of the Crimson Dawn (short range, combat, blood/renewal/combat)

When the System descended, it brought war with it. War, conflict, bloodshed. Some people drowned in it, their lives ending in one of a myriad of horrible ways. Others, though, they survived and rose back up, stronger than ever.

A phoenix, rising from the ocean of blood that covers the battlefield and taking flight among the pillars of smoke that rise from the field of corpses, reborn anew in the crucible of blood and steel to take war to take war to the very heavens themselves.

This Aura allows the user to wreath themselves in an aura of blood and violence, projecting hardened slabs of crimson energy around themselves, to be used as a means of attack and defense, as well as to enhance the user’s stats by up to 10% (this can be increased through practice).

However, while this Aura is active, the user embodies the very spirit of a phoenix emerging from the ocean of blood that covers the battlefield, healing in the midst of a storm of violence, constantly increasing as conflict continues and escalates, and as more blood and more blood soaks the soil underfoot.

If the user wants to, it can also show those who sense it the entirety of what the user has killed, demonstrating their power and achievements to all those who would dare to face them on the field of battle.

Cost: standard (10 mana per minute), cannot be overcharged with mana, projections cost vary between 5-20 mana per second or spilled blood

Aura of the Desperate Seeker (very long range, sensory, mental/emotion)

We all search for things in this life. Money, wealth, power, freedom, those are the common ones. But others seek knowledge instead, be that for knowledges sake, slowly and methodically uncovering all the secrets the world holds, or to achieve some goal, desperately searching for the solution, clawing at the world to make it release its secrets.

This Aura embodies the spirits of the latter, of grabbing reality itself by the collar and shaking it until it gives up all that delicious information.

It is a sensory Aura that given the user information about anything it touches, and can be focused to further enhance the amount of information it gives. It may also be used in conjunction with Inspect and its upgrades to gain information on monsters and other people without needing direct line of site on them, so long as they are within the Aura’s range.

Lastly, this Aura may be infused with the frantic, manic energy of desperation and can be used as a (weak) mental attack.

Cost: standard (10 mana per minute), can be overcharged with up to 25 mana per minute to enhance information defense penetration and secondary mental effects.

Equipment

Weapon: Old Reliable

Once merely an ordinary Ka-Bar, this weapon has been refined and strengthened by the Skills of a Rogue, bathed in the blood of countless powerful monsters and finally claimed as The Chosen Weapon of an Undying Wraith, transcending its old purpose and limitations.

Ever-growing with its wielder, the Old Reliable will not only gain strength, but entirely new powers as it is used in legendary battles and bathed in the blood of the enemies that fall in them.

Mana Pool: 310/310

Forms: Ka-Bar, Kriegsmesser, Zweihänder, Balmung, Giant Sword

Skills:

To Me: Calls Old Reliable back into the wielder’s hand in a straight line, costs 10 mana, at a range of a maximum of 10 meters.

Always Armed: Teleports Old Reliable into the wielder’s hand from anywhere in the universe. The minimum cost is 50 and scales with distance and interfering effects.

Eternity: Old Reliable is as eternal as its wielder. So long as he is alive, this weapon has the opportunity to be reborn. Doing so will require all of the materials used to build it in the first place, as well as 500 mana. This cost will have to be paid by an external source.

Shapeshift: Old Reliable can now shift between Forms at will, every shift costing 1 mana.

Duplicate: This Skill calls out as many of Old Reliable’s forms as the user wants, having them exist simultaneously until it ends. This costs 10 mana to activate and 1 mana per minute for every manifested weapon.

Aspect Infusion: This gives Old Reliable a variation on each form based on the user’s Aspects (Greater Hydra: Venomsteel, Megalodon: Boneblade, Poltergeist: Astral Dagger, Fata Morgana: Invisible Blade, Blade Tempest: Quintuple Threat, Acid Drake: Corrosive Saber, Least Demon Lord: Hellblade). This costs 15 mana each time a new Aspect is infused, and 10 mana per minute of keeping it active. Only one Aspect can be active at a time.

Starfang: This infuses the blade with the power of the sun itself, superheating it. This heat will only damage the user, the environment or other individuals if the user wills it. This costs 5 points of mana for a single strike or 50 points of mana to sustain for thirty seconds.

Grand Hellflame: The blade wreaths itself in the flames of hell, barely restraining their hunger for flesh and life. This costs 15 points of mana per strike or 100 to sustain for twenty seconds. The wielder of Old Reliable can extinguish all fires started by this ability by spending 100 points of either the blades or his own mana.

Balmung

A legendary blade, forged from the broken halves of a legendary weapon. Upon being reforged, it brought low the dragon Fafnir, and eventually won its wielder a kingdom.

When Siegfried was eventually slain by the treasonous Hagen, the traitor continued to wield the weapon until he too died in the battle at the court of king Etzel, captured by Dietrich and subsequently executed by Kriemhild. When she too died, the blade passed on to Hildebrand.

And from the hands of that warrior of ancient myth, this peerless blade passed onto Isaac Thoma, the Auric Sage, the man who fought a monster that killed an army to a standstill for five minutes.

No armor without comparable pedigree can withstand Balmung’s blows, no foe can survive its bite so long as its wielder is capable of wielding it properly.

(this is a summoned weapon)