Rise of the Devourer

Chapter 4: Cultistus Exterminatus

A myriad of words appeared in Noah’s vision as he opened his eyes.

You’ve Awakened the [Exsanguinator] Path.

You’ve Awakened the [Astralwalker] Path.

You’ve Awakened the [Void Hunter] Path.

[Exsanguinator] has unlocked Ability [Blood Drain]

[Astralwalker] has unlocked the Ability [Blink].

[Void Hunter] has unlocked the Ability [Obliterate].

Rank has increased to F

[Exsanguinator] has reached level 3!

[Astralwalker] has reached level 2!

[Void Hunter] has reached level 2!

Power has increased to 4.

Agility has increased to 2.

Constitution increased to 3.

Mystic has increased to 6.

+14 free Attribute Points awarded!

He ignored the words, focusing on his health bar. His vision was spinning, and consciousness was a fading thread. He’d lost too much blood, and he needed to move quick.

Health: 4%

Noah reached out to his Path. An entirely new sense opened around him. Something he could feel at all times within his mind and reach out toward at will to control. Moving on instinct, Noah drew on a nearby source, and something thick and warm began to flow into his body.

You’ve used [Blood Drain].

Noah shuddered. A painful itching sensation crawled over his injuries. Skin rapidly mended itself, and his organs healed within seconds as his abilities worked.

Your health has been partially regenerated.

Health regeneration increased by 100% for 5 minutes.

Health: 11%

The sensation dulled, fading to the background. Trying to raise his head, Noah looked at his chest. His wounds hadn’t healed completely, as pain still pulsed when he moved. But at least he was no longer in immediate danger. He focused on his health bar and found it ticking upward thanks to his increased health regeneration.

Noah rolled himself over. With effort, he raised his body off the ground, sitting upright. Each movement was followed with pulses of pain, which forced him to stop and breathe through it. With jerking movements, Noah pushed himself up to his feet.

He noticed the cultist he’d killed. The man’s body was wrinkled and twisted, eyes wide in shock, as if something had drawn every ounce of life from his body.

Noah stumbled back, understanding what just happened. A numbness filled him at what he’d done, but he had no time to contemplate the guilt or moral implications.

The Abyssal Cult Chief dashed around with the fire magic woman he’d freed. Not a single cultist had survived the battle besides the chief. A field of burnt and charred bodies littered the dark grounds of the underground chamber.

The strong smell of burning flesh made Noah’s head spin, nausea building up in him. This time, he controlled the sensation, briefly looking at the stone ceiling to settle his mind before he returned to the fight happening in front of him.

The woman he’d freed—Aurelia, as his Quest log told him—fought fiercely, like a wild beast pushed to the edge. Golden flames followed each motion she made, every punch and kick destroying chunks of the ground. Despite that, the Abyssal Chief had no visible damage. Little swirling tentacles and black wisps struck Aurelia, nicking her skin through her thin white clothes, painting them red.

As if to reinforce his fears, a new Quest appeared.

New Quest obtained!

Quest: Cultistus Exterminatus

You were summoned here as an eldritch monstrosity by Vikral Nayfar. It only seems fitting to exterminate him like one too.

Optional Objective: Don’t Die

Difficulty: Hard

Reward: A Rare grade Ability Tome

Noah dumbly stared at the Quest. He looked back at the fight taking place, before looking back at the Quest screen.

“Gotta love how not dying is an optional objective. Might as well name the Quest ‘Fuck you, Noah’,” he said, helplessly watching the battle.

Aurelia Fauster continued to fight, but she was starting to show signs of exhaustion. In the meantime, the Abyssal Chief looked just as enraged and energetic as he had when he’d first arrived.

Noah ran his hand through his hair. He needed to do something, except everything he could think of felt like terrible options that included him being burned or skewered to death.

“Okay, assess the information first. Find out what I can do,” Noah murmured, trying not to lose himself to the panic.

He pulled up the Status page from his inbuilt menu, and checked for changes.

Name: Noah Brown

Race: Human

Rank: F

Paths:

Exsanguinator - level 3

Astralwalker - level 2

Void Hunter - level 2

Attributes:

Power: 4

Agility: 2

Constitution: 3

Mystic: 6

Attribute points: 14

Noah reached out to the Attribute Points option and saw the Attributes light up. Thinking for a moment, he selected the Mystic Attribute.

Mystic increased to 7.

Noah looked over his body, clenching his fists to see if he could feel a difference. He noticed that the second bar in his vision had increased by a small amount. Picking the other free Attribute, Noah put five into Constitution, five into Agility, and three into Power.

Power increased to 7.

Agility increased to 7.

Constitution increased to 8.

Noah found that the values were updated in his menu. A powerful shudder shook the chamber, and Noah ducked as a flaming rock shot toward his head. Dark tendrils struck chunks of flaming rocks and fire-coated fists as the two participants continued to fight.

He went through his menus, trying to find something relevant. Anything. Opening his Inventory, Noah put his arm through it and felt his hand brush against something on the inside. He jerked his hand back out. It was the letter from earlier. Putting it back, he felt a sensation of awareness filled him at the act, as if the object were a part of him. Like something he could move.

Acting on the sensation, Noah tried to move the letter around in his Inventory, and made it manifest through the menu above his palm. He looked at the battle happening, as an idea clicked in his mind. Perhaps…

Noah picked up the executioner’s sword lying on the altar nearby, placing it inside his Inventory menu.

Before he could pick up anything else, a loud crash pulled Noah’s attention. A dust cloud swirled around the chamber, where he saw Aurelia collapse to one knee, bleeding from her many injuries. Cursing at his lack of time, Noah rushed down the stairs of the altar.

“Stop!”he screamed at the cultist chief, who glanced back at him with fury. Noah checked the chief’s name from his Quest log.

“Viktral Nayfar, this has all been a huge misunderstanding. I am an emissary of the Incarnation of Void, sent to deliver a message,” Noah said, finding his words invoking an all encompassing silence.

Viktor’s face contorted in fury as he regarded Noah. “Do you take me for a fool?”

“No. But trying to hurt me will be a mistake,” Noah said, trying to keep the waver out of his voice. Taking out the letter from his Inventory, he raised it to the chief.

Viktral stared at the letter, his eyes widened in shock. “That—it cannot be…” he murmured.

Trying to keep his racing heart still, Noah moved closer to the chief, keeping the letter in front of him, and handed it to the man. “The Void has heard your devotion, Viktral. It has heard your call, and now gives an answer,” Noah said, heart pounding in his chest against the stream of lies.

The chief grabbed the letter, reading through the contents. An expression of disbelief covered his face, and Noah glanced behind the man, to where Aurelia lay. He dearly hoped she understood what he was trying to do.

“The Incarnation of the Void itself… An honour of a lifetime…” Viktral said, his voice wavering. He looked up at Noah, and the man’s expression twisted, his body vibrating with anger.

“And you dare lie about it?”

Noah felt his gut drop. He jumped back but Viktral was faster. His hand grabbed Noah’s shoulder and a crack resounded. Noah screamed, but he could not move as Viktral held him in place. In a blind panic, Noah poured all he had into Blink.

The world slowed down as Blink activated, turning grey. Through an intuition he didn’t know he possessed, Noah could feel the Astral Realm sweep over his body, as the world distorted. In that long fleeting moment, he could feel his Astral abilities freed, removed from the chains that bound them. Reaching out, he grabbed the executioner’s sword from his Inventory and launched it at Viktral.

The world shifted. Noah reappeared at the far end of the underground cavern.

Warning. Low mana.

Mana: 4%

A painful scream tore through the chamber, and Noah saw his blade buried into Viktral’s shoulder. The Abyssal Chief glared at him with a look of fury and hate.

“Aurelia!”Noah screamed with all he had.

Rushing forward, Aurelia jumped in as fire erupted all over. Her fist struck Viktral in the gut, launching the man at the other end of the chamber’s wall with a shuddering shock that sent a crack through the wall, causing rocks to collapse. Fire erupted from Aurelia’s fists, and she rushed after Viktral, launching into a barrage of strikes.

Flashes of light poured through the dust cloud, a vast amount of mana swirling through the battle. Strikes and shockwaves made the entire cavern shudder.

A few moments later, the shockwaves settled. The battle was over. Noah stood, heart racing in anticipation as he waited for the dust cloud to dissipate.

Suddenly, a notification appeared in his vision.

You’ve helped defeat [Abyssal Cultist Chief (Uncommon) - level 72/Flesh Grafter (Uncommon) - level 63]

[Exsanguinator] has reached level 6!

[Astralwalker] has reached level 4!

[Void Hunter] has reached level 4!

Power increased to 11.

Agility increased to 9.

Constitution increased to 11.

Mystic increased to 13.

+14 free Attribute points awarded.

Quest: Cultistus Exterminatus Complete!

Reward: [Tome of Infliction (Rare)] obtained.

[???] has partially absorbed [Abyssal Cultist Chief/Flesh Grafter]

[Progress to unlock 8/10]

A wave of relief flooded Noah and he collapsed to the ground. It took him a moment to notice a throbbing headache eating at his brain, like a nail being hammered into his skull.

The world spun in circles, dizziness and pain assaulting him. Distantly, he saw Aurelia make her way toward him.

“Hey,” Noah said, raising a hand as he smiled awkwardly. Aurelia did not look amused.

Folding her arms, she looked down at him. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

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