Surface- Rolling Dunes Region

Kingdom of Rolling Sands- Forgotten Forest of the Lost Dungeon

Alex threw himself into a role as the club came down sending shards of rock shooting out as it cracked the floor. "Stop grabbing their attention lad!!" Brounom yelled out before triggering some skill that blasted the Ogier with light and sent it reeling backward away from Alex.

"Sorry my Backstab does so much damage, I will try to control it in the future," Alex replied sarcastically as he slipped into Stealth and made his way behind the ongoing melee between the two Ogiers and the Dwarf/Berserker team. How the hell was he supposed to know when his Backstab was going to crit and grab the monsters aggro Alex thought as a barrage of Firebolts pelted to ten-foot-tall monsters. Both caught fire from the barrage and caused more damage.

This was their second day working together and their second Dungeon, they had not worked out all their kinks, but time would help with that. At least Alex thought so as he arrived in position and drove both daggers into the Ogier as he activated Gauge causing the creatures dwindling health to nosedive as the Ogier collapsed. The surviving Ogier bellowed in rage but quickly was downed between Brounom's hammer and Mozil's Ax. "Sorry, I have no control over if I get a critical hit," Alex told the Dwarf as he looted to two bodies. Each of them earned a Silver per Ogier.

The Dwarf snorted, "Well, I am not mad about that, it's just annoying to have to grab the attention of a monster." Alex snorted in amusement as the two ladies of the group strolled over and joined them.

"Enjoying your new knife and cloak?" Rol asked as she strode up.

Alex smiled at her and winked, "Yes, they were both upgrades for me and long overdue." He told her before disappearing into Stealth and scouting ahead. Both his new knife, Poison Fang, and the cloak called Web of Shadows had been nice upgrades. The cloak more so Alex thought as he brought up the stats on both items as he moved slowly through the fortress halls.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: Web of Shadows (Cloak)

Quality: Epic

Armor Rating: +30

Properties: Increase Dexterity and Agility by (Level X.3)

Properties: +10% Chance to ignore Movement Impairing Debuffs

Properties: +10% Decreased Chance to be seen while Stealth is active

Properties: +10% Shadow Resistance

Requirement: Rogue, Level 26, Dexterity and Agility 50

Durability: 100/100

Description: The Web of Shadows was crafted from the silk of Shadow Spiders, creatures of the Shadow Plane and rare for both the Mortal and Shadow Planes.

Name: Fire Fang (Dagger)

Quality: Epic

Base Damage: 30

Properties: Increase Dexterity and Agility by (Level X.25)

Properties: Increase Duration of Poison Debuffs by 5 Seconds

Properties: +3% Critical Hit Chance

Properties: Ability Unlocked Fiery Poison

Requirement: Rogue, Level 26, Dexterity and Agility 50

Durability: 200/200

Description: This dagger is crafted from the Scorpion Lord himself and contains a portion of his essence so that he continues to kill and destroy.

Name: Fiery Poison

Description: Do you feel a burning sensation? You might want to go see a doctor about that.

Damage: 30 + (Melee Damage X1)

Benefit 1: 50% Chance to cause Burning*

Benefit 2: 25% Chance to cause Scorch*

Benefit 3: 10% Chance to cause Seer*

Duration: 1 Minute

Cast Time: N/A

Restriction: Only applies to Fire Fang

Maximum Doses: N/A

Dose Duration: Constant

Bank: 100 Stamina and Mana

Cooldown: N/A

The poison itself was a boon, but the constant drain on his Stamina and Mana were intuitive to what was coming when he used the bow Vengence. He still had all his Stat Points banked from the last couple levels, perhaps it was time to invest some of them into Intelligence and Strength to boost both his Stamina and Mana pools or find more equipment to augment those two Primary Stats.

Alex felt bones snap as the club slammed into him, then more bones were broken as he slammed into the nearby wall. An Ogier had slipped past Brounom and had made straight for Rol, who was to busy keeping the Tank alive, to pay attention. Alex hadn't even thought about it as he triggered Shadow Step and appeared on the Ogiers shoulder as he slammed Gutter into the side of the Ogiers throat earning a bunch of multipliers causing the Ogier to roar in pain and anger as half of its health disappeared in an eye blink.

Fire Fang had joined his other dagger in being buried into the Ogier flesh as it wheeled around trying to dislodge Alex. When he eventually did so, the Ogier got a lucky shot in as he was flying and was blasted backwards into the nearby wall compounding the Ogiers damage.

BATLLE ALERT...

Debuff Concussed: 50% Chance for Skill/Abilities to misfire, Accuracy decreased by 25% (Duration 1 Minute)

Debuff Winded: Stamina Regeneration Negated (Duration 10 Seconds)

Debuff Broken Ribs: Stamina Regeneration decreased by 25% (Duration 1 Minute)

Debuff Broken Back: Cannot move (Duration 5 Minutes)

Debuff Internal Bleeding: 50 DPS (Duration 30 Seconds)

BATLLE ALERT...

Alex dismissed the information as he pulled a Medium Healing Potion and downed it in a gulp, but it was only a delaying action. Between the Ogiers blow and the damage from slamming into the wall, he was already below half health. The Internal Bleeding Debuff would kill him. Well, it would if the raging Ogier wasn't glaring at him and stomping over too him to finish him off. Alex felt the ground rattle a little bit as he desperately looked through his inventory and pulled out a Small Healing Tonic and downed it as he tried to crawl away.

As the Ogier raised its club and brought it down towards Alex, Brounom was suddenly there interposed between him and the Ogier. The Dwarf grunted with the effort but deflected the blow with his shield before driving his glowing hammer into the Ogier finishing it. The Dwarf looked back at him and shook his head in disgust before leaning over and touching him as healing magic coursed from the Dwarf and into Alex as Brounom chanted and whispered entreaties to his god. Within a minute Alex was healthy and devoid of Debuffs.

"Are you done playing the Tank lad?" Brounom asked with a chuckle and Alex nodded as he rolled to his feet with a groan.

Alex rolled his shoulders and stretched his newly healed back, "Yeah being a Tank hurts too much and I don't have the health pool to take the damage." Alex told the Dwarf causing him to laugh. Alex leaned over and scooped up his daggers and sheathed them before rolling his neck causing more than one bone to crack as he stretched his neck.

Surface- Jagged Coast Region

Kingdom of Rolling Sands- Village of Happy Harbor

The Beached Whale Inn

Alex studied the black ring in front of him, it seemed to absorb the light around it and hit silver Runes and Sigils inscribed all over it. It had been a major upgrade for him considering he had only one good piece of jewelry equipped.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: Shadow Grasp

Quality: Epic

Properties: Increase Dexterity and Agility by (Level X.3)

Properties: Increase Melee/Ranged by 15%

Properties: +3% Critical Hit Chance

Properties: Decrease the chance of being Detected while Stealth is active by 10%

Requirement: Rogue, Level 26, Dexterity and Agility 40

Description: Assassins are a dime a dozen, King Slayers are rare. Shadow Grasp is rumored to have been forged for Alin'Senara, the man who killed the Elven King Thereon Treagon III and started the war between the High-Elves and the Kingdom of Rolling Sands.

"Enjoying the sight of your fancy new ring?" Rol asked from nearby.

Alex snorted, "Yes, it's a really good upgrade for me considering most of my rings are simple plus one to a specific stat. This is a nice bonus for me." Alex told her before putting the rin back on and tearing into his dinner.

Rol frowned at him before leaning closer, "That Ankh is nothing to sniff at." Her comment made Alex freeze and his first instinct were to go for his daggers but he squished the thought ruthlessly.

"That necklace is just a good luck charm, nothing really special about it except that its old," Alex replied before going back to his food as he felt the necklace next to his skin and not out in the open.

Before the Priestess could respond, Brounom put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "So lad, you are Level twenty-seven now and getting closer and closer to Level thirty, do you know what Advanced Class you want?"

Alex nodded and ignored the byplay, "Honestly, I had not thought of it. I have no idea what type of class would complement my current skill set." Alex told the Dwarf.

"Well, you have time and you don't have to choose as soon as you get too level thirty. Just think about it lad." Brounom told him and Alex nodded his head in agreement.

"You can always go with another Advanced Class, like Stalker or Master Poisoner." Mozil pointed out and Alex considered them, niether one really caught his attention.

"I will look up what Advanced Classes I can unlock later. Do some research and ask around. I don't have to decide tonight and I will keep it in mind." Alex replied.

Brounom nodded his head in acknowledgment, "Well we will be taking a portal to our next location in the morning and will be doing some quests then another Dungeon."

"What type of Dungeon are we diving into tommorow?" Alex asked.

"I would rather keep it a suprise, don't spoil it!!" Taeral called back.

Alex was taking a walk outside the inn, thinking and reading. It had been a long day, and he needed rest, but the Dwarf had brought up a good point. He needed to research and decide what Advanced Class he was going to take or settle for just being an Assassin. Then he froze as he heard a growl. Alex took a moment and considered his options as he looked around and spotted a large tiger that was blending in almost perfectly with its surroundings. If not for its white stripes, Alex probably wouldn't have spotted it. "Hey, I am just walking around, not causing any problems for you or anyone else," Alex told the beast who continued to study him. Alex tried to ignore the apex predator, but having a large beast studying you is somewhat intimidating. It made him miss four of his next ten shots, and none of them hit what he had been aiming at.

Alex took a deep breath and stepped forward nervously and glanced at the tiger, and if he didn't know any better, he would swear it was smirking at him. "Don't mind Tully, he has a quirky sense of humor." Alex's eyes snapped to a robed figure that was studying him. The tigers snarl caught Alex's attention and caused him to release the hilts of his daggers he had grabbed instinctively.

Alex looked at the tiger and slowly stepped back, "So who are you and why are you here?" Alex asked the figure.

The robed figure pulled back her hood revealing a human woman that looked to be in her later forties to early fifties. "Why did you choose the Assassin Class Alex, you are not a cold-blooded killer." Alex froze in leaning to pick up his last arrow. Alex quickly analyzed both.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: ???

Level: ???

Class: ???

Health: ???

Stamina: ???

Mana: ???

Name: Tully

Level: ???

Health: ???

Stamina: ???

Mana: ???

"My family and my actions prove that opinion wrong," Alex stated as he studied her and the tiger. Against her, he had a chance but with her best friend he had no chance what-so-ever.

The woman smirked at his response, "You regretted every kill except the Beggar. I have been studying you, Alex, you can kill but you do not like it. You are not twisted like your so-called family."

Alex frowned, "What do you want and why are you here?" Alex asked the women as he moved closer too her causing Tully to his but he ignored the cat for now.

The woman smirked at him and made a placating gesture towards Tully, "I go by many names Alex, you Immortals call me Elaine. You could say I am an interested third party in your development. A family member of mine asked me to help with your case since he is to busy dealing with other things currently."

Alex frowned and considered the Divine Quest he had sitting in his Quest Log but before he could say anything she continued. "Before you ask, no I am not a being of Chaos nor an ally of Chaos. I am a being of the System and assist Immortals in their development. Usually, we would not talk until you hit level fifty but your path in certain things is set by the choices you have already made. Now why did you choose Assassin?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to live and kill those who would try to stop me from living my life the way I wanted too.Because I have and will always be alone. Because every time I have trusted someone, they have always stabbed me in the back. Now if you will excuse me, I have a long day tomorrow." Alex told her before turning and stomping off.

Well, that just won't do." Alex heard behind him as he heard a growl as a portal opened in front of him. Before he could step around it, something slammed into his back and sent him through it and the darkness beyond.