Upgrades & Improvements

“Really...?” Krvavy immediately groans out, pressing a hand again her forehead in tired frustration.

“Mm. The upgrade occurred occurred instantaneously, did it not?” A faint smile plays at Inanna’s lips as she asks that.

“So it would seem...” Krvavy grumbles unhappily as her Soulbound Weapon manifests in her hands, looking exactly as it did before. She really should have upgraded it as soon as the skill hit level ten... What a waste of experience...

“Was tha’ the upgrade tha’ lets it consume different materials ta get bonuses out o’ them?”

“Yeah,” Krvavy answers her Elf with a slight sigh, pushing her mild annoyance to the side. “Up to three at a time. And it doesn’t seem to have any right now...”

“Mm... Khalia.” Inanna pokes the Were-Beast in the cheek, earning herself a harsh glare. “Would you be so kind as to fetch a bar of Tenebrine steel and one of the Rock Bear teeth from the storage area?”

“Rrgh...!” Khalia simply growls back in response, cuddling closer to the barbarian’s body.

“Ugh, fine! I will get those stupid things...” Thea impatiently huffs out as she rises to her feet, ignoring Beryl’s warning glance as her voice gets a little louder than it should.

Krvavy raises an eyebrow as the brat hurries off. “Why’d you ask Khalia to do that?” She curiously asks, genuinely wondering why Inanna thought that the Orc would willingly stop her clingy cuddling.

“She is fast and would quickly return with the materials.” The Dwarf plainly replies.

“Ach,” Beryl brushes that response aside, clicking her tongue and gently waving her hand. “Ah get the steel, but why’d ya ask fer a tooth too?”

“It is expendable.” Inanna simply states, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “Plus, I am curious about just what sort of bonus it may provide. I already have some ideas as to what the Tenebrine steel may do based on its properties, but not that tooth. Will it be literal, with the bonus being derived from its physical qualities? Or will it be more figurative, with the bonus being something that would ‘fit’ the tooth of a dangerous beast?”

“Right.” The tomboyish Elf nods her head in understanding. “Ah wonder if they’ll change wha’ ‘er weapon looks like...?”

“But...” Krvavy’s eyebrows furrow slightly as she questioningly looks at the grey-skinned shortstack. “That is only two th–”

“Hmph!” The silver-blonde brat returns with a huff, pressing the metal ingot and large fang into Inanna’s hands before dropping down onto the edge of the bed with a weakly grumbled groan.

“Thank you, Thea.” The Dwarf politely nods her head, before turning her attention towards Krvavy. “My Ushumgal, have your weapon consume this first.”

The Drakling stifles a sigh as the ingot is placed in her lap. Krvavy isn’t exactly being given much choice here, is she?

With a shake of her head, Krvavy grabs the bar of Tenebrine steel and glances at her axe. She... isn’t actually sure how to make it consume any materials... Maybe if she just focused on that happening and...?

“Huh.” Krvavy breathes out in surprise as, within a single second, the ingot goes transparent and then completely disappears from her hand. A soft light briefly emanates from the entirety of her Soulbound Weapon, fading out just as quickly.

“Ooh!” Beryl leans forwards and taps a finger a finger against the large axehead. “So it does change ‘ow it looks! At least a little bit.”

The dark silvery metal holding the weapon’s three heads together has blackened just a bit further, losing some of its gleam. If Beryl hadn’t been watching closely and pointed that slight difference out, then Krvavy may not have even noticed it.

“What bonus did that provide, my Ushumgal?”

“Uh...” The barbarian quickly brings up the skill description of Soulbound Weaponry, hoping that the buff will be listed there. “It says that it... increases ‘Magic Damage’ by twenty percent.”

“Mm...” Inanna furrows her brows and tilts her head slightly. “It likely just affects the damage that is classified as a type of ‘magic’ rather than any damage caused by your magic... Not ideal, as it will have next to no effect on spells such as Seismic Stomp... But in what way does it increase that ‘magic damage’? Does the weapon simply need to be manifested for you to benefit from that increased damage? Or is it limited to increasing the ‘magic damage’ that the weapon itself inflicts? But what about spells channelled through it...?”

“I have no idea.” Krvavy sighs out, feeling a tinge of annoyance at how vague it is.

“No matter,” the Dwarf pushes her many questions aside as she hands the tooth to Krvavy. “Perhaps the bonus that this provides may help to answer those questions. Assuming that each bonus functions in the same way, that is.”

“Alright.” The Drakling’s fingers wrap around the large and slightly yellowed fang, immediately willing her weapon to consume it. Just as with the ingot, the Rock Bear tooth goes transparent before disappearing in an instant, causing another soft flash of light to briefly radiate from her Soulbound Weapon. “Did that... change anything...?” She idly wonders, trailing her eyes across the three heads.

“Aye, my dearest love, just not up there~.” Beryl’s voice drips with amusement as she nudges her Draconic lover in the side. “Look down ‘ere~.”

The rounded steel cap that previous sat at the other end of this large weapon’s shaft has been completely remodelled. The blackened steel has shifted into a fairly blocky shape, with a rather flat bottom. A large ivory spike juts out of the ‘front’ of that new cap, aligned with the axehead. While that spike still resembles the tooth that it was just moments ago, it isn’t exactly the same: it has grown a little bit bigger and has had its shape altered slightly.

“That doesn’t look to be purely decorative...” Inanna leans forwards and reaches out towards that large spike, poking her finger against its point. “Mm. It is decently sharp. Not enough to draw blood at mere contact, but it should function fairly well as a pick.”

“It kind of makes the whole thing look a little... lopsided.” Krvavy idly comments as she trails her eyes up and down her Soulbound Weapon, needing to turn her head back and forth to do so. “It’d look a bit more balanced if it was facing the other way.”

“Balanced? Balanced?” Thea incredulously breathes out, staring intently at the Drakling. “Are you serious?! That thing is about as far as you can get from balanced! It is already top-heavy and front-heavy due to that ridiculously large axe! It –!”

“Shh!” Beryl silences the bratty girl with a harsh glare. “Just ‘ow many times do Ah need ta remind ya? Adeline is tryin’ ta sleep on the other side o’ the room!” She quietly scolds. “Be considerate o’ ‘er!”

“Mm. I understand what you mean, my Ushumgal.” Inanna plainly states, ignoring both the noble brat and the Wood Elf. “Aesthetically, at least. This positioning is far more practical. You could easily transition from a strike with the axe to swinging up with that pick, potentially getting beneath your opponents guard or at least encouraging them to retreat as you draw the axe back for another strike. Plus, you would not need to worry about accidentally stabbing yourself as you swing the axe around as long as it faces the same direction. Though that will be a concern when you use the hammerhead on the other side...”

Krvavy gently bites the inside of her cheek as she considers her Dwarf’s words. “I do occasionally bonk the haft against myself as I swing it around...” She idly mutters, lifting the weapon up a little.

The Were-Beast grumbles slightly as that movement disturbs her clingy cuddling, prompting her head to slide down the barbarian’s body and into her Mate’s lap.

“It shouldn’t be too inconvenient...” Krvavy muses to herself, holding her Soulbound Weapon in her hands and getting a fairly decent feel of it. “Especially since I don’t use the hammer quite as often...”

“Ugh, you can play around with that thing later...!” Thea quietly complains, throwing an annoyed glare towards the tomboyish Elf. “Just what sort of bonus has that tooth given it?”

“It is... increasing my Might by five percent.”

“Mm. That is helpful.” The grey-skinned woman nods her head as her lips curl into the faintest smile. “At least in determining how these bonus’ apply. Is it currently having an effect on you, my Ushumgal? And does it continue to do so when you place your weapon down so that you are no longer in contact with it?”

“Yes and...” Krvavy briefly trails off as she does that quick test, bringing up her stat sheet to see if her Might changes. “Yes. I don’t need to be holding it to get that buff, apparently. Maybe it has some sort of range to it?”

“I presume that you only benefit from the bonus when it is manifested, yes?”

The Soulbound Weapon turns transparent and fades away as it is recalled back into Krvavy’s soul. “Yes again.” The barbarian confirms, giving a nod as the weapon manifests back into her hands.

“Hopefully the previous bonus also functions in the same way.” Inanna simply states, before tilting her head and looking Krvavy in the eye. “Can those materials be removed?”

“Yeah, I...” Krvavy briefly pauses as a faint frowns fills her face. “It’s more of a gut feeling, but yeah. I could remove them right now. Except... I don’t think that I’d get anything back if I did that.”

“Mm. As I expected.”

“Wha’ about the third material?” Beryl asks, resting her hands on Thea’s shoulders as she leans over the bratty girl. “Do we ‘ave anythin’ else tha’d be good fer yer axe?”

“I was about to suggest this.” Inanna casually holds up the faintly gleaming prism.

“Huh?” Krvavy can’t help but be a little confused by that. “Why...? We don’t even really know what that really is.”

“The uncertainty is a minor issue, I will admit, but even taking that into consideration... I do believe that having it as part of your Soulbound Weapon would be the best use for this crystal.” The Dwarf calmly explains, her intense copper-orange eyes remaining locked onto Krvavy as she speaks. “I am convinced that it’s main capabilities lie in holding large amounts of mana, regardless of what else it may be able to do. Thus, you would benefit the most from having it as a functional extension to your Total Mana. But simply carrying it around is not ideal: it would be a vulnerability, as removing it from your person would severely hamper the number of spells you could cast in combat. And so, it is only logical to have it as part of the self-repairing weapon which is bound to your soul, and which you can recall at will.”

The Drakling gently bites the inside of her lip. “Are you sure that there isn’t a better use for this thing? A use that isn’t... irreversible? Like replacing some of the quartz crystals that we’re using to keep the water running and the lights on?”

“No.” The grey-skinned Dwarf immediately replies with a shake of her head. “That would, in all honesty, be a complete waste. We are not short on quartz or on space, so we will simply have to add more crystals to the system when we need it to hold more power. Additionally, I have ensured that all of the quartz which we have used thus far have a roughly equivalent rate in which they transfer mana, which cannot be said for this particular crystal. I would be **** to severely throttle its capabilities lest the higher flow rate damage the systems, admittedly crude, channels and nodes. Which, as I said, would be a complete waste. We would not be taking advantage of its vast mana storage potential, instead simply treating it as another mundane quartz crystal. That could be avoided by completely reworking the entire system, though that would introduce another set of issues. The most pertinent of which being the fact that it would become incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to expand the storage capacity using the quartz we are curren–”

“UGH! Enou-ghmmph!” Thea loudly groans out, cutting Inanna off before she herself is silenced by a tanned hand pressing down onto her mouth.

“My dearest love.” Beryl’s steely voice doesn’t quite match the smile on her face. “If Inanna thinks tha’ this is best, then Ah am inclined ta agree. She knows more about wha’ever other uses tha’ thing could ‘ave.” The Elf speaks in a rather even and calm tone considering that she is still holding the silver-blonde brat in a firm embrace, reducing Thea’s undoubtedly indignant insults into mere muffled muttering. “O’ course, Ah would still feel like it is a good idea even without ‘er opinion. There can surely be no better use fer tha’ crystal than ta add it ta somethin’ tha’ is quite literally a part of yer soul. So, my dearest love, either do it or don’t. It is up ta ya.”

“Alright, alright...” Krvavy sighs as she grabs the prismatic crystal. A part of her is still a bit worried about potentially wasting this fancy prism, as she will be incredibly annoyed if it turns out that they need it later on. But she is also quite curious about just what sort of buff this will give her. Another entire mana pool to draw on would be incredibly useful...

And so, deciding to take that risk, Krvavy wills her Soulbound Weapon to consume this beautiful prism.

“Oh.” The Drakling can’t help but frown a little once the soft glow has faded away.

Light gleams across the polished surface of the large blade-like crystal jutting out from the top of Krvavy’s Soulbound Weapon, in the same spot where the spearhead was just moments ago.

“Mm. Interesting.” Inanna raises a thick eyebrow and leans forwards slightly, her massive breasts squishing beautifully into her knees. “I had expected it to simply add a crystal into the core between those three heads, not replace one entirely.”

Krvavy can’t help but glance at the squished titflesh, though her attention quickly returns to the weapon in her hands. “Yeah, this feels like a pretty big change...”

The previous spearhead had a decent point on it, though its shape was definitely more for slashing than for stabbing. This new crystalline spearhead is almost the complete opposite. It has a fairly hexagonal shape to it, though each side is concave enough to make all six edges jut out a bit. This sharp and pointy prism isn’t particularly narrow, especially not when compared to a spear that is meant to pierce armour, but it definitely looks like getting stabbed with it would still leave a real nasty wound.

“Can it store Mana?” Curiosity fills Inanna’s copper-orange eyes as she stares expectantly at the barbarian.

“Uh...” Krvavy brings up the skill description of Soulbound Weaponry once again, quickly reading what this new buff does. “Oh, wow...!” She breathes out in surprised awe. Any bit of hesitation or regret that she had about her weapon consuming that prismatic crystal has been immediately washed away. “Yeah, it can...! Quite a lot too...!”

“Mm?” The Dwarf’s lips curl into a faintly proud smile as her decision is so quickly vindicated. “Just how much can it store?”

“Almost as much as I can! It says that its Total Mana is six-hundred-and-thirty!” The Drakling struggles to keep her voice low as she bristles with excitement, not wanting to disturb Adeline from all the way across the room or the Orc trying to nap in her lap. “And it even has a calculation that includes its skill level, my level, and my total Willpower!”

“Remarkable...!” Inanna seems genuinely surprised by that, which further adds to the slightly smug expression that is gradually filling her face. “For it to grow and improve as you do...! That is far better than I expected!”

“But that isn’t all...! It also generates its own mana...!”

“Really!?” Inanna’s copper-orange eyes widen as her budding smugness is drowned in astonishment.

“Yeah, its calculation is a bit more complex, and uses Rationality instead of Willpower... But it says that it generates one-point-five mana per minute! That is way more than my mana regen!” Krvavy’s enthusiasm dampens just a tiny bit as she sees that there is a catch to that. “Oh, though it also says that this mana generation only works at twenty-five percent efficiency when my Soulbound Weapon is manifested... So it’s only generating twenty-two-point-five mana per hour right now, which is a bit less than my regen... But still, that’s amazing...! It has basically doubled my Total Mana and Mana Regen!”

“Tha’ is incredible, my dearest love~!” Beryl joyfully coos out, finally releasing Thea from her grasp so that she can hug onto the side of her Draconic lover. “Does it still ‘ave the scryin’ protection too? Ah don’t exactly want ta test tha’ myself~...!”

“Yes, yes it does.” Krvavy quickly nods her head, captivated by the glimmering prism and the amazing buffs that it has given her weapon. “It says that, if it is manifested, anything near to it that ‘contains or is bound to’ my soul will be protected from ‘unauthorized scrying’.”

“Does that include me?” Thea skeptically asks, still bristling a bit about being manhandled by the Elf.

“Probably? You do have a part of my soul in you...” The barbarian idly replies, before suddenly laughing to herself. “Hah! I kind of feel like an idiot for not immediately going through with this.”

“My dearest love, ya were just bein’ cautious.” Beryl smiles happily, nuzzling into the crook of Krvavy’s neck. “It is completely understandable. None o’ us could’a guessed tha’ crystal’d be this good~! Now, before we go get cleaned up and put the dishes away, why don’t ya sate my curiosity and tell us wha’ it upgrades ta next~?”

Krvavy mentally brushes the various descriptions aside and brings the points shop back up, quickly finding what she is looking for.

Soulbound Weaponry III: 20 Divine Favour. Upgrades your Soulbound weapon to deal additional magic damage based on Might, Willpower, & Allure. Visual appearance can be changed at will. Requires skill level 20 to purchase. Upgradable.

“Tha’ doesn’t sound bad at all.” The Wood Elf comments after her Draconic lover reads that out loud for them all. “A bit underwhelmin’ compared ta wha’ the materials are capable o’ givin’ ya. But still not bad at all.”

“Why would the damage increase with your Allure?” Thea sounds a little judgmental as she scowls slightly at the barbarian.

“I have no idea.” Krvavy shrugs her shoulders and furrows her brow in thought. “Might and Willpower make sense, but Allure...? Did it just want a Social stat so that it could have one of each...?”

“Ya do fight mostly naked, my dearest love. And ya are even encouraged ta do so by a divine blessin’. So maybe tha’ ‘as rubbed off on this weapon o’ yers?” The tanned Elf offers her opinion with a shrug. “Either way, Ah don’t think any o’ us’ll complain about ya now ‘avin’ a reason ta make yerself even more allurin’~!”

Thea rolls her eyes and glances at the Drakling. “How much favour do you have left?” She asks in tone that is almost nonchalant.

“Want me to buy you another gift~?” Krvavy immediately teases her brat, causing the girl’s cheeks to flush slightly.

“Ugh, no!” The noble girl scoffs and scowls. “I just want to know many of those points you are hoarding when you could instead be spending them on other more important or useful things. Such as upgrades and additional traits.”

“Oh, the girl ‘as a good point.” Beryl stops what she is doing and looks to the barbarian, leaving the empty bowls and plates where they are. “Ah know tha’ ya’ve been savin’ up fer somethin’, but wha’ could ya get right now? Is any o’ it worth more than waitin’? Maybe somethin’ tha’d ‘elp ya get more favour, or avoid dyin’?”

Krvavy slowly sighs out and she brings the points shop back up again. She still has thirty-five favour, which is a bit less than half of what she needs to get the Inventory. But her two girls might have a point. Krvavy has been doing fairly well without her own personal pocket dimension to store things in, so she doesn’t really need it... She still wants it, obviously, but it isn’t really the most important she could buy...

“Wha’ about yer Naturists Blessin’? Surely ya can afford ta upgrade it again?”

“Yeah, I can. It’ll cost me twenty-four favour though...” The barbarian thoughtfully hums out. “But it is pretty good...”

“Ugh, that is boring!” Thea rolls her eyes again. “Can you not get something more interesting?”

“Why are ya complainin’? This was yer idea!” Beryl’s blue-green eyes narrow as she glares at the brat. “And upgradin’ ‘er blessin’ again is interestin’!”

“Really?” The bratty girl raises an eyebrow and meets the Elf’s gaze with a bored scowl. “It is predictable and boring. Sure, getting more ‘True Defence’ and ‘Base Armour’ would be good and might prevent her from dying like an idiot, but it is not anything new.”

“So ya’d trade our dearest love’s life fer some entertainment?” The tanned Elf coldly asks.

“There are other things I can buy.” Krvavy interjects before her two girls truly start to argue. “Most of the stuff I’d want to get a bit too expensive right now, but I could still get Skilled Soul. It ‘only’ costs twenty-five points.”

“Is tha’ the one tha’ gives ya more attribute points each level?” Beryl curiously asks, getting a nod in response. “Maybe it’d be best ta get tha’ sooner rather than later...”

“It also gives me the points for all my previous levels as well,” the barbarian clarifies, “so I won’t miss out on anything by not getting it right now.”

“Ach, still... One o’ the main reasons tha’ ya are puttin’ yerself in danger so often is ta level up, all so tha’ ya can get those milestone traits...” The Wood Elf woman mutters to herself, tapping a finger onto her chin as she thinks. “Maybe it would be worth gettin’? Ya’d grow stronger without needin’ ta risk yer life... Upgradin’ yer Naturists Blessin’ is still better, in my opinion, but this isn’t a bad idea either...”

“Hmph!” The silver-blonde brat huffs out. “That is not much better, but maybe the milestone traits will be more interesting? So go on, buy it already.”

“My dearest love, it is yer choice.” Beryl smiles warmly, even as she glares at Thea out of the corner of her eyes.

Krvavy bites the inside of her cheek as she weighs her options. There are still other things that she could buy instead, but that just makes this decision even more complicated. So she is fine with it being between upgrading her Naturists Blessing and buying Skilled Soul.

Naturists Blessing IV: 24 Divine Favour. Upgrade Naturists Blessing III to gain increased True Defence from Physical Attributes, increases the base amount of True Defence to 25%, and increases Base Armour to 60. Upgradable.

That is definitely the safe option. In a literal way too. It really doesn’t hurt to get something that will make her tougher and harder to kill. But... Maybe Thea is getting to her, as that feels kind of... boring? It is really good, no doubt. Kind of amazing, to be honest...

It’s just... Krvavy isn’t really planning on going out and fighting anything for... quite some time. The golem was more than enough excitement for her. So she doesn’t really need that extra defence right now. Unless something unexpected happens. Like running into that golem...

Skilled Soul I: 25 Divine Favour. Increases attribute points gained per level to 6. Points for previous levels will be available for allocation upon purchase. Upgradable.

On the other hand, Skilled Soul is... it isn’t actually that interesting either. But it would let her get two more milestone traits right away, leaving just one left over. It’ll help Krvavy get all of her stats to twenty-five a lot faster, which... Well, that isn’t really important, but it is something that she wants, that she desires. And she gets divine favour for fulfilling her desires...

She definitely wants to get both of these at some point. And getting Skilled Soul first would, probably, mean that she wouldn’t have to wait quite as long to upgrade Naturists Blessing again... But is it worth it, or is she just being a bit impatient?

“Ugh! Make up your mind already!” Thea loudly groans out, earning herself a stern glare from the Elf.

“Alright, alright...” The Drakling closes her eyes and slowly breathes out. “I... I don’t really want to go out on another ‘adventure’ any time soon. So... I’ll get Skilled Soul.”

“If tha’ is wha’ ya want, my dearest love.” Beryl gently smiles and supports her Draconic lover’s decision. “Bet Ah can guess wha’ attributes ya’ll be increasin’~!” She teases, leaning in and staring intently at Krvavy.

“Of course you can.” The barbarian idly replies as she spends her favour to buy the new trait, getting twenty-four stat points in an instant. “I only have three more of the base milestone traits to unlock...”

“Huh. Didn’t notice ya gettin’ stronger or anythin’...” The Elf offhandedly states, before shaking her head. “So... wha’d ya get from Allure~?” She playfully wonders while innocently batting her eyelashes

Krvavy doesn’t immediately respond. She needs to put five points into that stat before she has the answer.

Alluring Aggression I: Increases Allure by 5%, strengthens the effect it has on Health & Stamina Regeneration, now affects Total Health, and reduces the chance of scarring. Associated attribute = Allure.

“That is not as degenerate as I expected.” Thea comments as soon as she hears what that trait does. “It is... fairly normal, really.” The girl sounds almost suspicious as she skeptically stares at the barbarian.

“And wha’ about... Rationality~?”

“See, it was obvious what I would go for...” Krvavy idly mutters to herself as she puts the next thirteen points into Rationality, bringing it up to twenty-five.

Ravishing Rationality I: Increases Rationality by 2.5%, greatly strengthens the effect it has on Total Mana, slightly strengthens the effect it has on Mana Regeneration, and improves instinctive knowledge on how to best pleasure sexual partners. Associated attribute = Rationality.

“Hmph! Now that is what I would expect from a pervert such as yourself!” Thea victoriously declares, pointing dramatically at the Drakling. “All thoughts inside that dense head of yours lead back to lewd acts!”

“Tha’ is a bit hypocritical comin’ from you o’ all people, loveslave~!” Beryl teases the brat before Krvavy can, earning herself a flustered glare in response.

“That is a title this degenerate Dragon gave me!”

Krvavy almost puts the final six points into Guile, but stops at fifteen. It’ll still take two more level ups to get its milestone trait, even with that final point. So might as well put it somewhere else... How about... Endurance? It isn’t like Krvavy needs more stamina, unless she gets into another situation where her regen gets crippled, but maybe it’ll start effecting her health when its milestone trait gets upgraded? That will be pretty good, even if it will be some time until that happens...

“Is tha’ all, my dearest love?” The Wood Elf turns her gaze back towards her Draconic lover, smiling playfully as she innocently rests her hand on the barbarian’s shoulder. “Can’t afford ta get Guile up ta twenty-five yet~?”

“No, I still need to level up a couple times for that...” Krvavy idly responds, looking over her character sheet now that those points have been allocated. Her weapon fades back into her soul, so that she can see what her stats are like without its buffs.

A part of her kind of regrets getting Skilled Soul over upgrading her Naturists Blessing. Her health didn’t increase by quite as much as she had hoped it would, though she does have a fair bit more mana... At least it is satisfying to see all those twenty-fives lined up like that. And it’ll just be a few more levels until she can start focusing on the important stats again.

“Ah take it tha’ we’re done ‘ere now?” The tanned Elf doesn’t wait for an answer as her hand trails across Krvavy’s torso and gently pokes at the Were-Beast’s clingy hands. “Which means tha’ it is time fer ya ta stop cuddling yer puppy and get up. Ya’ll be ‘elpin’ me wit’ the dishes today, Ah’ve decided.”

“Rrgh!” Khalia growls out unhappily as her strong arms are slowly pried away from her Mate’s slightly bruised body.