Chapter 11
Theo was done mending his wounds when he noticed the music had finally stopped playing. He had several notifications to attend to, so he took care of them now.
Ding
You have killed a level 14 Guardian.
Battle Healer Lv. 10 to 12
Human F-Grade Lv. 5 to 6
You have 5 free stat points.
Theo put 4 points into endurance and 1 into intelligence, continuing on his notifications.
Healing Touch, Common, Journeyman 0 to Journeyman 1
Cure Wounds, Common, Journeyman 0 to Journeyman 2
Target Healing, Common, Journeyman 0 to Journeyman 1
Sword Mastery, Common, Journeyman 0 to Journeyman 3
Bloodline manifested: Fortitude
Your mind, body, and spirit are in harmony regarding resilience. This makes it difficult for others to use mental manipulation, suggestions, or spiritual attacks against you. Your body is strong and can withstand most toxins and harmful effects. You can recover more quickly from traumatic events and resist pain and fatigue more effectively. Since you already have the Resistance, it will be bumped up to one full rank and changed to physical resistance. You’ll also receive mental resistance and soul resistance at novice 5. You will receive a bonus of 10 points of willpower and one point of willpower more at the Human level from now on.
Mental Resistance, Common, Novice 5
Physical Resistance, Common, Journeyman 9
Soul Resistance, Common, Novice 5
“Well, that explains a lot about how I can be so nonchalant about most things, and I can stay calm and steady in most situations,” Theo mused.
Then, he decided to look at his status sheet.
Theodore Thompson
Race: Human F-Grade Lv. 6
Class: Battle Healer Lv. 12
Profession: N/A
Health: 310/310
Mana: 90/380
Stamina: 158/300
Stats:
Vitality: 31
Strength: 26
Endurance: 30
Agility: 26
Intelligence: 38
Wisdom: 26
Willpower: 36
Perception: 26
Free Points: 0
Class Skills:
Healing Touch, Common, Journeyman 1
Cure Wounds, Common, Journeyman 2
Target Healing, Common, Journeyman 1
Sword Mastery, Common, Journeyman 3
Healers Intuition, Common, Novice 0
General Skills:
Inspect, Common, Novice 1
Bonded Skills:
Respond and Chains of Gehenna
Titles: Warden of Gehenna
Bloodline Skills:
Mental Resistance, Common, Novice 5
Physical Resistance, Common, Journeyman 9
Soul Resistance, Common, Novice 5
Bloodline: Fortitude
Bonds:
Galaxy Trade Store tablet, Chains of Gehenna, the Prison Gehenna, Sword Cane Rare
Theo got up and headed towards the fallen Guardian. He picked up the Mace. It was heavy,
“Not something that I would use. So much for treasure. Didn’t Daniel say that if you defeat a boss, you get treasure or loot?” Theo thought.
At that moment, a treasure chest began emerging from the cobblestone streets in front of the gates leading to the next district. Theo dropped the mace, and it cracked the street slightly more. Theo headed towards the treasure chest and opened it. Inside was a bandolier with six mana potions and six health potions.
“That’s useful,” Theo thought.
There also was a complete leather armor set using the Inspect skill on the armor set.
Leather armor set, common, master grade. This armor set is the highest quality available for novice leatherworkers who have just begun their path. Theo decided then to carry the armor set.
He also put on the bandolier over his torn armor and headed towards the church, entering it, which seemed normal but. There were pews leading to a stage instead of a statue of Jesus; there was a statue of the system and a book on a podium. Setting the leather armor down on one of the pews, Theo headed toward the book. The book was closed, and the title was. Holy Scripture of the system,
“Which seems a little bit over the top. “Theo thought
Opening the book was filled with how benevolent the system is and how privileged people are to have the system to show them their growth in yada yada
“Nothing useful,” Theo thought
Theo turned his attention away from the book and looked at the stained glass. It showed many scenes of people training, fighting, crafting, and growing their skills. The mural on the ceiling was more of the same.
“Wait a minute,” Theo thought.
Heading outside the church, the stained glass depicted the manikin and many others fighting Eldridge horrors. Walking inside the church again, the stained glass depicted people training and bettering themselves. Scratching his head,
“It must be magic,” Theo thought.
Walking towards the church's back, Theo saw a door that he had overlooked. Opening the door, there were living quarters for the clergy, nothing of value to him, so
Theo returned to the central part of the church, grabbed the leather armor from the pew, and decided to head back toward the inn.
“Congratulations on winning the fight, Theo,” the Host said sincerely.
“Thank you, Host; I’m going to drop this stuff off and take a bath, and what do you want me to do with my old armor?” Theo replied
“Just leave it on the table in your room, and I’ll take care of it,” the Host said.
With a wave, the Host returned to the kitchen. Theo went up the stairs to the third floor to drop off his belongings and then went to the second floor for a bath. Sitting in the tub, Theo thought of the fight and the loot he got, thinking there was not much to scavenge in this big city.
“I’ll ask the Host about it,” Theo thought. After his bath and putting on his clothes, Theo went down for dinner. After eating a delicious meal,
hey Host, how come there are not many items in the city? The only proper gear I found was after defeating the boss? Theo asked
“I was wondering when you would ask. What I can tell you is that you have several advantages that I'm not aware of. The system told me to tell you to offset the advantages you already have. The tutorial will be sparse in terms of items and equipment. Also, when you finish the tutorial, inventory what you have.” The Host said
“That sucks but understandable, so what can you tell me about the second district since I cleared the first Guardian? Theo said,
“Mmmm, the second district is the noble, merchant, and crafter quarter. It’s where you get your profession class. Several buildings offer primers on how to learn a profession. “The Host said,
“Good to know. Thank you for the information. With that, I’m going to head to bed good night,” Theo said
“’ Night.” The Host said back,
The following morning, Theo was still in bed. And he wondered if he should get his profession now or wait. fuck it. When he opened up his status screen and went to professions, there was only one option: Warden.
Would you like Warden to be your profession? Yes or no,
mentally clicking yes
Warden: The profession of a warden acknowledges the fact that you are the warden of a mortal prison or a supernatural one. The stat points per level 1, intelligence, 1 willpower, 1 wisdom, and 2 free stat points
Wardens’ Knowledge: This grants the warden from a newly integrated universe the knowledge of how mortal and supernatural prisons operate and how to manage one in the multiverse.
Warden Sight: This skill allows the warden to view a person’s karma alignment. For someone of a higher tier than you, you cannot see their alignment unless they choose to reveal it.
Universal Translator: This skill is given to all professions. Since the multiverse is vast, the system enables it so that everyone can understand one another.
Theo was overwhelmed with knowledge about being the warden and prisons in general. Much of it aligned with the lecture from the system.
“Glad I’m still in bed,” Theo thought
One of the tidbits that stood out immediately was that people can form a ritual that sends a person to a supernatural prison. The ritual serves as a message to all the wardens or the genius locorum. They will use the skill Warden Sight or a similar ability to determine the potential prisoner's karmic alignment, and from there, they will decide whether to accept that person. Many people and factions do this because they don’t have the resources to imprison someone of significant power. Theo realizes that’s how Gehenna got prisoners even though it was cut off from the rest of the multi-verse. With that,
Theo sends a message to Gehenna asking.
What did you do during that period between the last warden and me? And how long has it been since you had a warden?
Theo was shocked at the Universal Translator skill and how well it worked.
Gehenna’s voice was rough, like boulders grinding against each other, yet neither masculine nor feminine.
“The bond was broken during the third era, which means the system integrated the third universe, and what I have been doing all this time is refining mana to raise my level and gathering all the wealth that I would need when I get a warden who would be able to buy all the resources I need so I would be able to grow pretty fast. About Earth's size within a month,” Gehenna said,
“Gehenna, how big can the prison world for pseudo-divine get?” Theo asked
“I can get up to the size of Jupiter, which will take a lot of resources,” Gehenna answered
Why not obtain the resources now or earlier, when I was in your realm? Theo inquired
“The system told me you are too weak and have no backing. It would be a bad idea to announce ourselves to the multi-verse with no patron, and I agreed with the system,” Gehenna said
“I agree as well,” Theo replied
Another thought Theo had was the difference between legendary and common classes. His Warden class is so much weaker than his Battle Healer class.
“Hey, Gehenna, do you know if the next upgrade will be significantly better than this for Warden?” Theo asked
“Yes, you’ll have better choices because of our bond, and I’ll help you through the process of becoming an E grade when the time comes,” Gehenna said.
Getting up from bed, Theo took care of his morning business. Theo headed to the bar as usual. There was food waiting for him: a significant portion of porridge with fruits meshed in it, and with a weak beer was his breakfast
“As usual, delicious as always, “Theo said with a smile
“Thank you. Are you heading towards the next district today?” the Host asked
“Yes, I am,” Theo replied
Good luck to you, Theo, “the Host said
With that, Theo left the inn and headed up the street towards the next district. Getting to the gateway between the districts, Theo opened it up, and a wave of miasma hit him. The stench was more potent, but this time, due to his bloodline that bumped up his Physical Resistance, he didn’t have to spend hours getting used to it and could walk in.
“Fuck me,” Theo thought.
On his right was the inn, the same one he had just walked out of not too long ago. Entering the inn, he saw the Host with a shit-eating grin behind the bar.
“Good morning, sir! Welcome to the inn in the second district!”
Theo walked out, giving the Host the bird, hearing laughter behind him. What he could see through the haze showed that on the right of the inn were a bunch of shops and workshops, and on the left of the cobbled road were run-down warehouses, which in their day were probably some pretty big buildings and merchant stores. Throughout this time, he also gained several levels in the Warden class.
The system said he would level up quickly due to Gehenna’s involvement.
Sending a mental message to Gehenna
“Thank you, Gehenna, for helping me level so quickly in the Warden class,” Theo thought.
“you’re welcome,” Gehenna replied
I’ll wait a few days until the Warden class reaches its maximum. Theo returned inside, waved to the Host, and went upstairs to his room. Relaxing for two days at the inn, Theo checked his notifications on the second day.
Ding
Warden has reached level 25. You have 50 free stat points to distribute.
Your Human level has reached 18. You have a total of 62 free stat points to assign.
Warden has reached level 25. Would you like to upgrade your class now or wait until you get to E grade? Yes or no,
“Gehenna, should I upgrade my profession now or wait after I rank up to E grade?” Theo thought
“You should wait for your class and race level to max out, which will give you a more significant boost when you upgrade everything simultaneously,” Gehenna said.
With that, Theo mentally hit no.
Theo decided to distribute his free stat points, allocating 20 points to endurance, 20 points to agility, 20 points to strength, and 2 points to perception. Then, Theo continued reading.
Spectral Guard: a guardian created from mana, a shadow-like creature with a vague outline resembling a prison guard, requiring 50 mana to summon and 5 mana per minute to maintain.
Warden’s suggestion: This skill is based on willpower. If your willpower is higher than that of your opponents, they will be stunned. If their willpower is higher than yours, they negate the stun. The Warden’s Suggestion allows the warden to stun a person for 60 seconds, but the duration may vary depending on the target's skills or resistances, requiring 60 mana to cast.
Wardens’ Command: This skill is based on willpower. If your willpower is higher than that of your opponents, they will be stunned. If their willpower is higher than yours, they negate the stun. Wardens Command allows the warden to command a room of people to be still for five minutes, but the duration may vary depending on the target's skills or resistance. This skill heavily taxes the body and soul, requiring 300 mana, 100 health, and 100 stamina points to cast, with a 24-hour cooldown.
Warden’s Key: This skill enables the warden to unlock or lock any devices used for detaining or imprisoning individuals. However, the skill can only unlock or lock devices of the same grade. 50 mana to cast
Summon Handcuffs: This skill summons a pair of handcuffs from mana. The spell duration is an hour, and 50 mana to cast
Theo decided to check his character sheet and all the changes
Theodore Thompson
Race: Human F-Grade Lv. 18
Class: Battle Healer Lv. 12
Profession: Warden Lv.25
Health: 430/430
Mana: 750/750
Stamina: 620/620
Stats:
Vitality: 43
Strength: 58
Endurance: 62
Agility: 58
Intelligence: 75
Wisdom: 65
Willpower: 85
Perception: 40
Free Points: 0
Class Skills:
Healing Touch, Common, Journeyman 1
Cure Wounds, Common, Journeyman 2
Target Healing, Common, Journeyman 1
Sword Mastery, Common, Journeyman 3
Healers Intuition, Common, Novice 0
profession skills
Wardens’ Knowledge, N/A: Warden Site, Common, Novice 0: Universal translator, N/A: Spectral Guard, Common, Novice 0: Warden’s suggestion, Common, Novice 0: Wardens Command, Common, Novice 0: Warden’s Key, Common, Novice 0: Summon Handcuffs, Common, Novice 0
General Skills:
Inspect, Common, Novice 1
Bonded Skills:
Respond and Chains of Gehenna
Titles: Warden of Gehenna
Bloodline Skills:
Mental Resistance, Common, Novice 5
Physical Resistance, Common, Journeyman 9
Soul Resistance, Common, Novice 5
Bloodline: Fortitude
Bonds:
Galaxy Trade Store tablet, Chains of Gehenna, the Prison Gehenna, Sword Cane Rare
“I guess tomorrow will be the day I explore this district,” Theo thought.
