Rise of the Devourer

Book 2: Chapter 8 — Child in a Candy Shop

Noah walked through the armory, his eyes moving across the chamber as he took the various items in. Walls and shelves were covered with gear, and one by one he began to use Identify on them.

[Soulflame Diadem (Legendary)]

A circlet inset with a flame-like gem that burns with ethereal fire. It boosts the wearer's magical abilities and allows them to cast spells with a thought, significantly reducing casting time.

Noah looked at the crown set with jewels that gave on ethereal wisps as if eternally on flame.

“That one won’t be of use to you. It’s for spell-casters. On which note, if you guys are forming a party with the Paladin you should get a spell caster as well, you have a brawler, a fast damage dealer, and a paladin, all you need is a mage now.”

Noah glanced at Aurelia, who stood on the other end of the chamber, looking at an amulet. She noticed his glance, and then gave him a shrug. “I’m not sure if Erwest is interested in adventuring. He seems to only be joining us because of orders from his church.”

“That’s fair, but it’s not rare to have Paladins act as adventurers. Many churches consider slaying monsters and helping people out as a service to their god, which allows them to level up,” Nae replied.

“I see,” Noah replied, taking one last glance at the Soulflame Diadem. The item was captivating, but given he had no Mage related paths, and neither did he use any spells, it was a useless item to him.

Moving on, he walked across the chamber until a cloak caught his eye. It was ethereal, almost transparent, but with stars scattered all around it, like it was fading in and out of reality.

Noah walked up to the cloak, before using Identify.

[Celestial Feather Cloak (Legendary)]

A cloak woven from the feathers of a Legendary Celestial Roc and crafted by a Master Tailor, It provides enhanced flight capabilities, and magical protection against attacks from behind.

Noah stared at the cloak of feathers, imagining himself with celestial wings behind his back as he soared through the skies. He chuckled at the image, before adding the item to the list.

“Ah, I really wanted that one when I first saw it,” Nae whispered.

“It is quite beautiful,” Noah replied, staring at the cloak, before he glanced down at Nae. “And why’re you only following me around? What about Aurelia?”

“She’s not the outerworlder, and I trust her not to touch anything she shouldn’t,” Nae replied, crossing her arms.

“Touché,” Noah said, moving on. His eyes caught onto gauntlets glowing with a pristine white shimmer and golden light.

[Elysian Gauntlets (Legendary)]

Gauntlets made from heavenly white steel and embellished with golden filigree. They enhance the wearer's strength and grant them the ability to create shields of pure light, offering extra protection.

“I feel like Erwest would love these,” Noah said, looking at the gauntlets.

“I’m not lending weapons to Hellion’s church,” Nae replied with a snort.

“Fair enough,” Noah said, walking past.

Item upon item passed him by as he made his way, before he managed to create a list of four items, including the Celestial Feather Cloak.

[Abyssal Bow of Shadows (Legendary)]

A bow crafted from the Heartwood of a Nightshade Tree. The arrows fired from this bow create shadow duplicates, confusing enemies and multiplying the damage dealt.

[Tesseract Locket (Legendary)]

A locket imbued with spatial magic, allowing the wearer to store an almost infinite amount of items within an interdimensional space accessible only to them

[Quadrivium Ink (Legendary)]

A magical tattoo inscribed on the user's skin, appearing as an intricate pattern of glyphs and runes. Each glyph represents a different weapon, for a total of four which can be stored within the ink. Current items: a longbow, dual swords, a shield and a war-axe. Each weapon made by the Quadrivium Ink is crafted from pure energy, a radiant manifestation of the user's fighting spirit.

[Trickster's Amulet (Legendary)]

An amulet that grants the ability to create illusionary duplicates of the wearer. These duplicates can perform simple tasks, making it a perfect item for diversion and trickery.

Every item in the list was more tempting than the previous one, and if Noah could take all of them he would. After asking Nae for permission, Noah picked up the Abyssal Bow of Shadows, feeling the dark wood of the weapon stir his void mana with a deep unsated hunger present within it. There was no string on the bow, but as Noah channeled his mana into the weapon, the weapon guided him as a string made from dark wisps formed on the bow. Pulling back, he felt the void gathering into ethereal arrows that he could shoot if he so wished.

“Don’t you dare fire that,” Nae warned.

Noah let the mana dissipate, as he put the bow back, before he picked up the [Tesseract Locket]. Clutching it, he could feel a powerful Astral energy inside it, and the Dimensional Pocket stirred within Noah’s spirit, wanting to devour the item immediately to upgrade itself. For a moment Noah felt tempted, but he put the item back down.

[Quadrivium Ink] looked interesting. It was a simple bottle with a feather present in it, but the ink itself was made of pure mana. The feather was also stuck inside the bottle.

“You can’t take it out. It activates if you pour mana into it,” Nae said, watching Noah try to pull out the feather from inside.

Feeling a little silly, he looked at the bottle, before putting it back on the shelf.

At last, he picked up the [Trickster’s Amulet]. With a pulse of mana, Noah found a spectral duplicate of him standing in front of him. He could feel the specter like a limb, and something he could guide and control. A grin formed on Noah’s face as he pointed at the specter

Immediately, he pointed at the specter, and made it point back.

“I’m Noah,” Noah said.

“No, I’m Noah,” the specter replied.

Laughing to himself at the joke no one else would understand, he walked up to his specter, giving it a high-five as his hand passed through the illusion’s hand.

Chuckling, and feeling amused, Noah put the amulet back as he hummed, rubbing his chin in thought.

“I’ll take your entire stock,” Noah said, glancing at Nae.

The woman stared at him, before cupping her face in her palm. “This is not a joke Noah, I’m already stretching my authority to lend you these. And if you break or lose anything, you will have to pay us back.”

“I know I know, I was just trying to lighten the mood, jeez,” Noah said, before taking a glance at all the items. “Honestly, it’s a tough pick. All of these are really good, but at the same time, I want something to enhance my offensive abilities. Technically the bow does that, but switching between a spear and a bow constantly sounds annoying for combat.”

Nae shrugged at Noah’s words. “There’s still a lot of other items you can look at.”

Noah nodded, before his eyes went to a shelf with only a few items set on it. Walking closed, he glanced at it when Nae stepped up and grasped his shirt. “Those are cursed.”

“I’m just taking a look,” Noah replied, and after a moment’s hesitation Nae let him go.

Walking closer, Noah looked at gloves. Gears were set upon it with a giant crystal at its center that called to him. It was almost as if the gloves were whispering in his mind, to wear them, and use them. Noah used Identify.

[Gloves of Forgotten Promises (Legendary/Cursed)]

Gloves that grant the wearer extraordinary dexterity and the power to manipulate time on small objects they touch, but will gradually erase the user's memories, starting with the most cherished ones.

“Terrifying,” Noah said, reading the description of the item.

Moving on, he glanced at the scythe hanging off the shelf and glowing with an ominous green and black aura.

[Harbinger of Pestilence (Legendary/Cursed)]

A scythe, forged with an obsidian blade that emits a sickly green aura. It inflicts devastating physical and magical damage, but at the cost of slowly sapping the user's life force over time.

“Would be perfect if I wanted to look even more edgy,” Noah said, glancing at the scythe before his eye caught onto a tome. Walking closer he saw the cover shining with a soft, mesmerizing glow of twilight, containing swirling galaxies against a backdrop of void-black nothingness. Noah used Identify on the item.

[Tome of Starforged Arms (Legendary)]

A Tome containing the ability to summon two ethereal arms crafted from the raw, celestial energies of the cosmos. Imbued with the raw cosmos and the power of the Watcher’s Eye, they inflict madness upon any spirit too weak to use them. These Astral arms, bound by the user's will, mimic the movements and capabilities of their physical counterparts with startling precision, and their power intensifies in direct proportion to the user's magical prowess. They can master skills on their own and can function autonomously.

“Why’re these here? It doesn’t say cursed,” Noah asked, looking at the tome.

“Because it’s a tome tied to the Watcher. The last person who used these went mad. Some items don't need to be classified as cursed to be cursed,” Nae replied.

Noah hummed in thought, before he moved on. Making his way through the armory, he slowly identified almost every item present inside it. Hours passed as he went by everything, thinking over every possible item and its usage, before finally making his choice.

“I want Quadrivium Ink and Tome of Starforged Arms,” Noah said to Nae.

“Can’t give you the second one,” Nae replied.

“I won’t go mad,” Noah said, looking at Devourer’s description. “I’m quite certain I’m resistant.”

“It’s still a risk. And taking the tome back will be impossible, so if it doesn’t work, we just lose a legendary grade item,” Nae said.

“You said I could pick any two,” Noah replied, frowning.

“I did say I would also decide if you get the things you picked or not, and I’m saying no,” Nae replied, crossing her arms.

Noah frowned, looking around the chamber. “How bad will it be if I take it anyway?”

“We might have to kill you. I’ll definitely have Raesar kick your ass,” Nae replied.

Noah frowned, before he glanced at his shackles. “Can you increase their power?” he asked, pointing at the shackles.

“I can…” Nae trailed. “Are you really going to?”

“Yes,” Noah replied.

“Fine, suit yourself then. But if you go mad, I’m putting you down,” Nae replied, as she touched his shackles. Light and runes flared as a message popped up in front of Noah.

You are being suppressed. Astral System locked.

Feeling the shackles drain him, he grabbed the tome, letting his mana flow into it as the prompt appeared in front of his eyes.

Would you like to use [Tome of Starforged Arms (Legendary)]?

Yes/No?

Noah selected yes, and felt his spirit being pulled in.

He was a spec here, a grain of sand within the vastness that surrounded him as the unending infinite vastness of the cosmos poured into his mind.

Then he blinked.

A giant eye looked upon Noah. Its iris was formed of colors he could not describe, and dimensions he could only imagine. Realities layered itself within the eye that looked into Noah’s soul, making him shudder.

Noah floated in the void, as the giant eye regarded him. And then the eye split in two, revealing teeth that lined a gaping maw within as it spoke in a screech that threatened to break Noah’s mind.

“WE SEE YOU. ENDER OF REALMS, CHILD OF HUNGER. WE ARE WATCHING. PERISH HERE, BEFORE IT AWAKENS AGAIN.”

A swirling vortex pulled Noah into the eye’s maw as the teeth chewed upon his flesh, breaking his bones. His left arm was gone, before his legs were eaten, leaving only his torso. Blood flowed freely as the eye continued to eat him alive and Noah felt the moment last forever. He felt his impending death loom over, yet never quite reached him. An eternal torment.

Yet, there was light here. In the darkness within the eye’s maw, Noah saw a shining light and reached out towards it with his single remaining arm, before he grasped it within his hand.

You’ve been inflicted with [Madness - V]

[Devourer] resists [Madness].

The stars collapsed upon Noah, flowing into his soul. Plants, stars, entire galaxies filled his spirit with the energy of the cosmos reforming his broken body, making him whole again.

From this vast unending realm, two arms were born. Each one a part of him, as much as his own body was.

[Astralwalker] has unlocked [Starforged Arms]!

Noah opened his eyes.

He was in a different room now, one far more empty than the armory he had been in. Raesar stood in front of him, arms crossed as he looked down upon Noah.

“State your name,” the guildmaster asked in a serious voice.

“Noah Brown,” Noah replied, looking at Raesar.

“Countdown from ten to one.”

Noah followed the instruction as he counted backwards from ten.

“Well, it seems your confidence was not unfounded,” Raesar replied, glancing back. The door to the chamber opened as Nae and Aurelia walked inside. Aurelia was wearing an eye patch with flowing flames alongside black scale armor giving off a menacing presence with fire patterns and runes present all over it. Noah used Identify on the items.

[Ember Eye (Legendary)]

An eyepatch made from the skin of a Pyro Serpent, known for its fiery gaze. It enhances the user's perception and reactions, enabling them to predict opponents' moves in a fight and see in heat-vision. However, the constant influx of information can overwhelm the user's senses, leading to disorientation if not managed carefully.

Noah whistled as he read the description. If he didn’t have Tony he would’ve likely picked this one for himself.

[Infernal Heartplate (Legendary)]

A chest armor made from obsidian dragon scales, each shimmering with an internal fire. When worn, it enhances the user's resilience exponentially, grants resistance to fire, and can imbue the user's attacks with flame.

“Sick items,” Noah replied.

“Why is it sick… oh, yes. Yes it is very good,” Aurelia replied, before smiling.

“Darn right it is. That armor is part of a legendary set. We’ve only got the heart-plate but even that alone is powerful,” Nae said, before walking up to Noah as she reduced the resistance on the shackles, before handing him the Quadrivium ink bottle.

Noah took the item, looking at it. “I just have to put my mana in this, right?”

“Yes. The ink already has weapons stored in it, but if you ever learn runecrafting, you can use any weapon you want and put a copy of it in the tattoos. The ink will refill itself over time for use,” Nae replied.

Noah nodded, before sending a pulse of mana into the item.

Do you wish to use [Quadrivium Ink]?

Yes/No?

Selecting yes, Noah watched the quill shine as it rose into the air with a glow. Flying over to Noah’s neck, it began to move, carving glyphs with a rapid speed. Mana seeped into Noah’s body with an electrifying sensation as the feather moved, and then it was done. The Quill lost its glow as it returned to the ink bottle, now devoid of any ink inside it and Noah put the item in his inventory.

Stretching his neck, he tried to call for his new abilities.

Two arms formed of star matter and glowing a deep blue formed around him. He moved them around, making them shake hands, before giving a high-five to both of them, one after the other.

“This is so cool,” Noah said, before he activated the ink. The magical tattoo flared to life, as a bow made of mana appeared in his spectral hands. Drawing the strings back, he formed a bolt, charging it up with his mana and a smile hung upon his lips.

“Alright, now that you have your items, as promised, I’m going to have Raesar kick your ass,” Nae said, turning around.

“Wait what?!” Noah exclaimed but the short woman did not wait.

A moment later, his eyes drifted to the giant Drailith, now looking down upon him with a predatory grin.

A shiver ran down Noah’s spine.