Hyperion Evergrowing

Chapter 15: Legacies

Level up! Class [Noble] is now level 10!

For building a community in which you hold a position of leadership and respect you have gained a level!

+1 to [Alacrity] +1 to [Spirit] +2 free points!

You have gained the capstone class skill [Legacy]!

Congratulations! You have reached the level cap for your [Noble] class! Auxiliary classes cannot be promoted! [Noble] experience earned is evenly distributed between your other classes!

You may now teach the Inheritant class [Noble] to those who meet the minimum requirements!

Leif didn’t even look at the new skills description. That had to be the worst way to ever receive a level up. How did that even happen? Was hog stacking really worth that much? Or was he so close to levelling up that doing literally anything would have pushed him over the edge?

Thoroughly bemused he checked over his newest skill.

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Aspects: Enhancement (Body)*, Analysis, Social*

Your legacy endures. Those you sire are stronger, healthier and have an innate resistance to diseases.

You can instinctively identify any descendants and may analyse them if they're of equal or lower level to you, gaining a general overview of their classes, levels and attributes.

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This skill made Leif feel… Uncomfortable. The idea of making more creatures like himself was practically revolting. What was he supposed to do with this? Utterly useless skill, he closed the system window and began unstacking the hogs.

===

Leif explored parallel to the mountain range, with every passing day he got further and further west. The hogs had swollen. Sorry, the number of hogs had swollen. Around two hundred of the furry creatures had decided that wherever Leif was heading was the place to be.

It seemed like every time he turned around the horde would add several new members. One day a pack of wolves had stalked out of the nearby treeline, growling and slinking forward. A bunch of hogs had turned to face the hungry predators and, before Leif had even noticed what was going on, had charged the wolves in a squealing tide of flying dust and rage.

The sounds of panicked yelping and angry snorting drifted off into the distance, the remaining members of Leif’s procession watching with idle curiosity. A few minutes later the victorious hog returned and the group moved on. Leif noted that one of the hogs was absolutely drenched in blood, though it didn’t seem injured.

Stolen story; please report.

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A strange tall rock formation of similarly sized blocks and overgrown moss stood atop of a hill. It was hollow and full of piles of detritus. Leif recognised it as some sort of structure, but he didn’t know what it was for.

An ill kept path led away from the tower and down the hill. Leif followed, interested in where it led. The first obstacle was half a small stone bridge worn with age. The second would be crossing over the river that ran beneath it. It wasn’t particularly deep, nor was the flow overly fast.

Leif was too dense to swim, and not in the stupid kind of way. Believe it or not but trees can actually drown. He possessed some approximation of lungs but crossing the river was still a risky prospect. He travelled upriver for two days before it was narrow enough to safely ford.

Any fish living in that particular stretch of river witnessed a very odd scene that day as hundreds of animals followed Leif across.

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Old, abandoned farmland was scattered across the next leg of Leif’s journey. Low stone walls and decrepit homes and barns littered the landscape intermittently. The environment left Leif feeling melancholy, it was all so familiar to what he had once been, an echo of what once was.

The farmland led to an equally abandoned village, evidence of fires having claimed several buildings. It made Leif wonder what had happened? Was this destruction recent? He was no expert on ruins but he had a more firm understanding of how long it took plants to grow.

This land had been destroyed maybe… ten or so years ago. Around the same time I became like I am now. He thought, the idea of the beings who had lived here being turned into trees, forgetting all they were…

Leif’s fist cracked the stone he was holding, he let it crumble away.

===

The third village was occupied. Smoke rose from the centre like a beacon. But something wasn’t right. This place was just as destroyed as the ones before it. Leif pulsed his aura in an attempt to get the animals to stay back. It took an hour and many failed attempts before they seemed to get the picture.

He crept forward, though stealth wasn’t his strong suit by any means he went unseen through fields of wild wheat. Chattering and screeching came from one of the outlying buildings, the sounds were unfamiliar to Leif’s ears, but his fractured memory placed them all the same.

Goblins. Nothing sows fierce dislike of a species of monster like almost being murdered by them.

As he got closer Leif abandoned all attempts at stealth. The ground was a patchwork of detritus and foliage, there would be no way for something of his weight to move around without making a sound. So he stood up straight and marched up to the building.

A little green monster poked its head curiously out of the partially destroyed door. It looked at him blankly with beady dark eyes. Those eyes went wide as Leif’s foot introduced its head to the doorframe with a sickening crunch. The voices from within the home went quiet.

Then angry screeching started. Leif shoulder checked the door, sending it splintering inwards. What little light there was filtered through ceiling beams where the roof was absent. But visual perception wasn’t needed if you could sense creatures' locations via their lifeforce and emotions.

A goblin threw itself forward, a spear gripped tightly. The weapon plunged into Leif’s lower back and snapped in half, he ended the monster's life with a backhand. Another flipped a table and started to string its bow. Leif reached over, grabbed the goblin by the neck and drained it of lifeforce. It struggled in vain with his hand tightly around its throat.

A fourth goblin swung a rusty cleaver in a wide arc. Its sharp teeth glinted as it passed through a pillar of light. The weapon was wreathed in a dark mist so instead of letting the attack land a golden shield snapped into existence.

The barrier held against the attack but the dark energy seeped into cracks, rapidly destabilising the skills structure. But it didn’t matter, a golden vine skewered the monster through the heart and out its back.

The goblin in his grasp finally stopped moving, its body going limp, all blood and vitality syphoned away. Not thirty seconds later Leif stepped out of the now cleared building and into the afternoon sun.

Two deer stood outside waiting for him. Leif sighed at the sight and shooed them away. He wanted to clear out this village without having to worry about protecting anyone but himself. He limbered up, hopping in place and doing a few test punches.

If he had managed to kill two drakes, this shouldn’t be much of a problem.

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An hour later twenty seven goblin shaped husks littered the village.