Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"My cousin is getting married and I need a plus one." She said.

"Yeahhhh... no offense, but, hard pass." Drew said.

They sat in silence for several moments.

"May I ask why you're not interested in attending with me?"

"I'm married, and that wouldn't feel right to me. Additionally, I have no interest in attending a wedding with all-powerful beings."

"I see. Most mortals would jump at the chance to attend an event like this."

"I'm not most people. I'm no one special, just one person out of countless others in the Multiverse, and to be honest, it sounds like a real drag. Especially after you've told me about what giant dicks the other gods are. You can take Hades, or Cerberus, plus I'm sure you have a ton of mortal worshippers who would be overjoyed to go."

"Yes, I suppose I do have many worshipers who would be willing. It's just a truly rare occasion when I'm turned down."

"Sorry, you're lovely and all, and I greatly respect what you do for the souls that other gods have abandoned, but it's just not my thing. I have little patience for politics or drama, and going to an event like that sounds like it would be painting a target on my back. Also, I'm happily married and I love my wife a great deal."

"Your affection for your wife is admirable, I simply wished for a plus one, not truly a date."

"Ah, I see. Well, let me know if you change your mind."

"Sure. So, about the profession?"

There were several minutes of awkward silence where Drew felt he might be struck down for blasphemy, but he hadn't lied. A wedding of gods sounded awful, and it was sure to piss some very power beings off if he went to it. Also, Earth was his home, and it was going through the apocalypse, he didn't have time to go do something like a wedding.

"Yes, I'd like you to accept the position of Warden for Earth."

"Warden? Like a prison warden?"

"No. It is a profession closely aligned with the aspect of Death. As such, you can level up by using Death related abilities and skills. However, the main part of the job is acting as a beacon for lost and damned souls. Sometimes, when a mortal dies, their soul becomes trapped on the mortal plane and confused. You would be in charge of collecting those souls when you run across them, and sending them directly to me."

"Doesn't that run counter to me using Soulflame minions though? If a friend or family member dies, I may want to keep them around. Or, if I run into other assholes and want to use them as Soulflames because they can have classes and become really powerful."

"That's not an issue. Eventually all souls that aren't claimed by other gods come here, unless their lost and damned of course. That requires direct intervention, and thus the profession of Warden. Besides, you don't seem like the type of person to enslave a whole planet of souls for no reason."

"True. Are there any benefits or costs related to the job?"

"Costs are only related to the time spent collecting the lost souls you come across, and sending them directly to me. Specifically sapient beings. There are several benefits to the position however. The profession is powerful, very powerful. You can level it using any Death related skill, as well as performing its main function. The attribute points you gain are also far higher than you would normally receive from other vocations."

"I see, do the stat points I would gain per level lean towards ranged combat?"

"No, they actually lean a bit more towards the physical stat side of things. However, you would still receive a small amount of mental related points per level, similar to what you're currently gaining with your Caster class."

"Alright, not ideal, but still, it sounds powerful. But why offer this position to me?"

"For the same reason that I marked you, and invited you to my realm. You were the first person to use skills related to the aspect of Death on your planet, a planet that wasn't even fully integrated into The System yet. Then you showed compassion and empathy towards your enemies that you killed, which is something I personally strived to achieve when I was once mortal. Lastly, you managed to raise a Soulflame minion before you evolved, and without any assistance, and then you held empathy in your heart over your mistake. Despite the empathy, you still acknowledged the benefit to utilizing the minion. These are all qualities that I personally admire."

"Well, I guess sign me up then, as I'm definitely interested."

She waved her hand briefly.

New Profession Available

Baleful Warden (Unique)
You are the lighthouse in the darkness for lost and damned souls. Acting as The Baleful Lady's Champion on the mortal planes, you collect the lost and damned using your Baleful Lantern, and then guide them to The Halls of Reflection. This is a combat-oriented profession that focuses on skills that utilize the aspect of Death, with affinities of death, life, and shadow. Accepting this profession will grant you the Champion's Mark of The Baleful Lady, as well as greatly impact your Records.
Grants: +3 STR, +4 VIT, +3 END, +4 TGH, +2 AGI, +1 PCT, +2 INT, +1 WIS, and +1 Will per level.

Accept Profession?
Yes/No

"Hey, so I'm reading the description here, and it's saying something about the Champion's Mark, is that like the current mark you put on me?"

"It's similar, but more powerful. You'll have an easier time learning skills by yourself with it, and it's a physical mark to show that you are my Champion, at least for Earth. Also, it'll allow you to speak with me whenever you'd like."

"So... it’s kinda like a freckle or something?"

"Yeah, similar to a freckle, but with more power, and it’s a little bigger."

"Okay, if it's just a freckle that's totally fine. I accept."

Obtained Profession: Baleful Warden (Unique)

Title earned: [Marked for Greatness]

Title earned: [Champion]

[Marked for Greatness]
Received a Greater Mark or higher from a Divine Being. Grants: +5 All Stats

[Champion]
Received a Champion level Mark from a Divine Being. Grants: +20 All Stats

Holy shit that was a lot of... owwwww, where did this headache come fro....

**********************************************

Drew woke up in his bed back on Earth. He looked around and quickly gathered his thoughts. Was it all just a dream? He pulled up his status to check.

Status

Name: Drew Wright

Race: Dhampir (Grade - F) - lvl 6

Class: [Caster] – lvl 12

Profession: [Baleful Warden (Unique)] – lvl 0

Health Points (HP): 520/520

Mana Points (MP): 860/860

Stamina: 520/520

Stats (Attributes)

Strength: 50

Vitality: 52

Endurance: 52

Toughness: 52

Agility: 49

Perception: 56

Intelligence: 86

Wisdom: 76

Willpower: 56

Free Points: 0

Titles
[Progenitor], [Forebearer of The Descent], [The First Necromancer], [Curiosity of the Divine], [Hunter II], [Monster Slayer III], [Cold Blooded], [Auspicious Necrolyte], [Marked for Greatness], [Champion]

No, no it was not a dream. His stats were way, way too high, plus he had the titles from her realm as well. So, what happened? He was talking with her. Then he saw the titles and the stats. He was about to ask her something... and then he woke up here. He looked at his notification icon, but it wasn't blinking. Okay, so no new notifications. How did he get back here, did she end up teleporting him? Wait, couldn't he just ask her? He was supposed to be able to talk to her whenever he wanted now. But how did that work?

"Oh Good, you're up. You passed out after accepting your profession. Not to worry, it was likely due to the Champion's Mark being inscribed upon your soul, you should feel fine now."

Uh...What? He looked around, but there was no one nearby. It sounded like the Primordial, but she wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Just send your thoughts to me."

"Uh...Raynalyr?"

"Yes."

"Oh good, I thought I was going crazy."

"If you are, it's not due to hearing my voice in your head."

"That's not very reassuring. Sorry I passed out; did you teleport me back?"

"Yes, although I forget to give you the Baleful Lantern for your profession, so I sent out a courier from my Cadre with it and some other supplies to assist you."

"What kind of supplies?"

"A weapon and some armor. I can't let my Champion on Earth take a dirt nap yet. Making you into my Champion required a lot of energy, most gods only have a couple of champions, but I can afford to have more. It's still expensive however."

"Huh, alright. So, when should I expect the courier person? Five to seven business days?"

"No, she'll be there in an hour or two."

"Cool, thank you! Next time I'm there, I'd like to pet Cerberus though. I was looking forward to asking you, but I passed out before I had a chance."

"You're welcome to next time you visit, he's friendly."

Well, that was nice. At least she was sending him a care package. He definitely needed the lantern, but he wouldn't turn down some free armor and a weapon, especially if the weapon was anything like the one Hades made for Amber. Oh well, at least he was back now. It was time to get out of the stuffy dress-up clothes, take a piss, and go check on everyone. He must have been gone for a while since Amber wasn't in bed. So, it had been at least four or five hours if she'd gotten a full rest. He got up and stripped off his clothes before walking to the water closet to do his business.

Righttttt...no flushable toilets now. Good thing he remembered before doing anything. He'd have to go to the outhouse. He went into the closet and picked out some clothes, threw them on, and went to check himself in the mirror. Oh. Oh. That wasn't a freckle at all!!!

"Hey, ummm... I think there might have been a miscommunication. You did say the mark was similar to a freckle, right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. It's a physical marking that shows everyone that you're my champion."

"Good, good. I was just wondering why my left eye is glowing red, and my right eye is glowing blue. Plus, I have these lovely red and black lines running directly above and below both eyes that almost look like branches to a tree."

"Oh? Let me take a look, one second."

"Sure, sure. Take your time, I'm only totally freaked out right now."

"Hmmmm... That is peculiar. Never seen anything like it."

"WHAT?! *cough* sorry, what do you mean?

"Well, a glowing eye or two would be normal as a mark, or a freckle, or maybe one of those 'tree branches' as you called them. But to have fully manifested heterochromatic eyes, plus two representations of the Tree of Life and Death's bough, and several shoots on each, well that isn't normal at all."

"What caused this then?"

"I have no idea. I've seen this before on extremely evolved beings that bear my Champion's Mark, but they were in A or S grade evolutions by the time something like this occurred. Meanwhile you're still in F grade. It's interesting though, you may have an extremely high natural affinity towards the aspect of Death."

"Is there a way to turn it off?"

"Turn what off?"

"The glowing eyes, and tattoos on my face..."

"Oh, no. Not at all. At least until you Transcend into godhood, but that's a long, long time away, if you even make it."

"Great. Okay, thanks!"

"Sure! Have fun!"

Have fun with what? Explaining to Amber that he went out and got fucking face tattoos like a rapper? That wasn't going to be fun at all. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about it right now. If a Primordial didn't know what the fuck was going on, then it wasn't like he would either. At least the rest of his new clothes looked good on him, but still, it was super eerie looking into the mirror and seeing himself. Didn't he already go through one major physical change just last week? Fuck it, he might as well get it over with and go find his wife. Maybe the fact that he had a new bow for her would help keep him out of the dog hou... what was that?

An alert came from one of his watchtower minions. He had better check it out just to be on the safe side. He cast his [Minion Possession] skill while focusing on the mental thread of energy that connected him to it. Okay, he was in the watchtower, there were a bunch of rotting goblin corpses on the ground outside the fence... but he couldn't see any movement. He scanned the tree line... oh. Oh, that's not goo...HOLY FUCK that was a lot of them! Battle Stations! Battle Stations! He sent out commands to all his other minions to come to the watchtower and defend the property. He pulled all his archers, and ordered them to the tower as well. He reached out to Scolder and commanded him to find Amber and the others and bring them.

He was going to need everyone. Because perched high in those trees was the largest murder of crows he'd ever seen in his life. There was so much black, they basically blotted out the sky. He cut the connection to his minion and started running to the tower.