In the Lap of Luxury by Unsweetened Chestnuts

Jake finally had a proper melee skill, one already surpassing his archery skill by quite a margin rarity-wise. Jake knew this wasn’t due to him suddenly being a more skilled fighter but due to his comprehension of whatever Valdemar had done. It was a concept he could no doubt apply elsewhere too and of a high concept that raised the rarity.

One of those places it could be applied was with Fangs of the Malefic Viper.

He had already gained experience from what the Malefic Viper had done in the vision. Jake had felt the effects of Fangs of the Malefic Viper in the claws of the Viper, so why couldn’t Jake do it with his weapon if that was his “fang,” so to say?

And as before, Jake would use the Hydra as his grindstone as they brawled. The simple nature of his opponent made it optimal for this, but it was a bit problematic that he was still getting his ass handed to him even after he gained Fangs of Man. The skill didn’t magically make Jake several times better in melee, even if it did surely improve his abilities.

The Hydra kept attacking as the two snapping maws pushed Jake back, as he now at least managed to block more than before. Moreover, he did begin to see some benefits he had not expected.

Eternal Hunger was now more linked to him than ever, which meant its use was more instinctive and innate. There was a direct connection between them that allowed Jake to pour energy not just around the blade like he usually did with skills such as Descending Dark Arcane Fang, but also directly into it. At least somewhat.

This connection turned out to only be one way, if still stronger now. The lifesteal effect of Eternal Hunger was more powerful than ever as Jake managed to land a few good blows, even if he took more himself. The regeneration offered from the Scimitar of Cursed Hunger before he upgraded it had always been low if not downright negligible. Eternal Hunger was a lot better, but it was still not a massive boon and primarily useful when he was killing many weaker foes.

But now? Now Jake saw his wounds visibly heal on his arm that held Eternal Hunger as the energy went directly through Jake’s arm, shoulder, and into his Truesoul around his heart with every strike. From there on, any remnant vital energy pulsed through his body to heal him with a far weaker effect, which did lead to the odd situation of his arm appearing near-undamaged even if the rest of his body was a bit of a mess.

As for his wooden sticks? Yeah, no matter how great a skill Jake had, he couldn’t overcome the limits of material Strength. He could integrate the sticks, but ultimately a wooden stick was a wooden stick. Valdemar had used the Viper’s fang, and even if said fang was far weaker due to it being dislodged from the Viper’s Soulshape, it was still a far better raw material than some fragile marsh wood.

Due to that, Jake pulled back as he retrieved the Bloodfeast Dagger. It was far worse than Eternal Hunger, but it was still a good weapon, and he could even use the special enchantment on it to cut himself and pour blood on his foes.

The blood in his veins was a deadly weapon after all, and the venom in his own canines was an even more improved version of that blood, so if he could bi-

Ah…

Jake got an idea. He retreated further than before and flew up into the air where the Hydra didn’t even try to follow. Up there, Jake closed his eyes as he dismissed the Bloodfeast Dagger and only held onto Eternal Hunger as he tightly gripped it.

With a bit of foresight, he reduced Arcane Awakening to 30% to not burn his own life away while he experienced enlightenment.

He focused on his own body and his Soulshape as he felt the wings beating on his back and the energy moving through it. He felt the scales that covered his body, but moreover, he felt how they were connected to him. The wings had veins running through them. His own veins, which was why they could bleed even if they weren’t actually a part of his true Soulshape.

The scales were similar but also very different. The scales were not “living” like his wings but closer to teeth and hair. A part of the Soulshape, but the nature of the connection was different. There clearly was one, though, as he felt like microscopic metaphysical veins of his Soulshape moved into each individual scale. This allowed him to absorb energy from them after the legendary upgrade and reminded him a bit of the connection between himself and Eternal Hunger.

had allowed Jake to truly feel his Soulshape. Feeling had led to comprehension as comprehension and feeling came together to form control. Control had given Jake many minor

and could carry more energy, such as those that followed his actual physical veins, but others were so small they barely did anything. In fact, most were barren as running energy

energy veins entered each scale, entered his wings, but did not enter the weapon he held. The sword was just attached to his hand like a truly dead object… at least it would be so under normal circumstances. Because a black, almost tangible vein did go from Eternal Hunger

formed to transfer health and the funnel of health energy. It had been further amplified by Fang of Man as many of Jake’s veins

He focused and saw a peculiar collection of veins going into each, and when he used Fangs, they all activated as the venom began just magically appearing on his

is where he was stumped… for this was not merely due to the veins, but some higher concept. Some principal magic beyond Jake’s comprehension that there was no chance for him

getting control through understanding and feeling, one could lean enough into one part to

He remembered the feeling the Viper’s fangs gave during Path of the Heretic Chosen, and he focused on the

to expand the metaphysical highway of veins with a few more lanes to allow the toxic payload to

vital kicked in: system assistance. Fangs of Man, his experience in the vision, and Jake’s

to seep out of his nails as a connection was formed to them too when the web of

allowed his interpretation through. It spread through the blade as invisible veins invaded it to the delight of Eternal Hunger as the blade was more tied to him than ever before. He felt

as venom began slowly seeping out of the edge

No… his fang.

and learned to apply the same concept. Allows the Alchemist to coat his teeth in deadly venom, sharing all the same effects as Blood of the Malefic Viper in an empowered state. Additionally, all poisons you have crafted or created are significantly more effective when injected directly into the body of your foes. Passively provides 1 Strength

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only with its fangs. Its bites the deliverer of death. As a human, you have integrated these concepts and made them your own. Allows the Alchemist to coat his teeth in deadly venom, sharing all the same effects as Blood of the Malefic Viper in an empowered state. Allows any part of your Soulshape viewed as a weapon to function as fangs, making it possible to excrete venom through them, and

one that differentiated the most from one of

different from the Viper’s. What differed was merely their definition of what was part of one’s body and Soulshape and what defined

was further rewarded. Even if he had noticed skill upgrades in his class not doing

Viper] has reached level 150 - Stat points allocated,

of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 151 - Stat points allocated, +10

[Human (D)] has reached level 152 - Stat points allocated, +15

His blade hummed with power and hunger as Jake regarded his opponent down below. By now, the Hydra had mostly managed to heal itself as it now only regarded him with

once, so it probably thought a bit of floating in the air wouldn’t change that. Quite the opposite, as it would allow the Hydra to fully

keen on proving it

the one on his weapon and teeth. That was something that would no doubt

improved from the upgrade of Fang as Jake now felt more confident. Everything came together as the multiple upgrades had transformed Jake from a purely defensive

Strength to give him more of an edge as he needed the pure power to penetrate the scales. Usually, Jake didn’t need much Strength as he just needed to do enough to inflict his poison, but the Hydra had proved that difficult as Jake

hoped he could now more easily puncture the scales.