Chương 85: Burn It All to the Ground

I blinked, rubbed my eyes and looked again.

"Are these real?"

"Very real," Jagoda said. I read them aloud so Vasil could also hear it inside the satchel.

Desecrate - StarPoisonSpeedVortexWebFangs 50% Chance for target to explode on death 20% Chance to cast [Poison Explosion] on striking +10% Mana stolen per hit +10% Life stolen per hit +20 to all stats +250-400% Enhanced Damage +40% Enhanced Attack Speed Court of Flame - SpeedFlameHandFistVortexStar Gain [Burning Edict] aura when holding weapon in hand +8% Mana stolen per hit +30 to Strength +30 to Dexterity +200-300% Enhanced Damage +100% Damage against undead + 20-40% Enhanced Attack Speed + 20-40% Enhanced Movement Speed So yes, these were absolutely insane.

Unfortunately I was still missing most of the runes required, but I resolved to start looking even harder now I knew I could potentially be wielding these things. Hells, I could wield both if I got the stones for it. Let me start with Desecrate. What the actual fuck. Probably wouldn't be good if I wanted to collect heads with [Headhunter], but by the goddess, would I even need heads with a boost like this? 20 to all stats! How many heads would I even need to get that? A lot.

And potentially increase my damage by 400%, that would be devastating. Would that turn every shot into a potential [Clean Entry] by sheer damage alone? You'd have to have a solid Barrier to survive that. Even if they survived the first shot, with a 40% increase in attack speed more bullets would be coming their way before they had time to realize what hit them. And the Mana and Life steal. Wow. Then it also had a chance to cast [Poison Explosion] like everything else wasn't crazy enough.

Yeah, I could see why Jagoda would want to keep these from the Church. If they knew about this they would certainly keep it for themselves. And that was just one runeword. Let's not forget about Court of Flame. I had no idea what [Burning Edict] did. Even if it didn't do anything, the rest of the enhancements would turn any normal weapon… or person into something totally terrifying. 40% Enhanced movement speed would make me fast as hell, and with the boost to Dexterity it already gave. Yikes! This was crazy.

What could [Burning Edict] possibly add to make this weapon even better? It had to be something good, right? So I asked the System what [Burning Edict] did. [Burning Edict] Type: Aura All objections have been overruled by fire. Aura damages all nearby enemies with Fire damage. Also adds Fire damage to all party attacks. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. So this wouldn't just buff me, it would buff my entire party!

Even if Vasil never leveled up he could be out there dealing damage if I had this on. As soon as Kasia turned eighteen and was able to join my party she'd be shooting flame arrows! I thought the weapon was great before, but now it was even more ridiculous. I wanted to make these so bad, but I wasn't even close to being able to. Of all the runes I needed, I only had Flame, Poison, and now Vortex. For Desecrate I still needed: Star, Speed, Web, Fangs. For Court of Flame I still needed: Speed, Hand, Fist, Star.

No matter what I wanted to make, I was still four stones short. There had to be an easier way to get these things than doing random quests. I sighed and slumped in my chair.

"I'm never going to be able to make these. I only have Flame, Poison, and Vortex." Jagoda got a sympathetic look in her eyes and glanced down at the bag with runestones. She hesitated for a moment, then pulled out three more runestones.

"Here," she said, sliding them towards me.

"Web is a rare one, especially since the Church generally frowns upon it. Fangs is also rare, but more accepted by the Church. Fist is uncommon." She gently smiled.

"You can have them. I'm old now, and probably have no use for them anyway. You're young. You have your whole life ahead of you, and I'm well aware how powerful these combinations are. Wielding either of them should make you powerful enough to change your future. I don't have a Star rune or a Speed rune, but those are only uncommons, so they should be easier to get than Web or Fangs." Once again my mouth fell open. I had completely misjudged her, and I felt like a total piece of shit.

Just a few minutes ago I was thinking about stealing them or conning her out of them, and now she was giving them to me for free, because she was so nice. Because she felt sorry for me.

"I—I can't accept this," I stammered. Jagoda waved my objection away and got a mischievous glint in her eye.

"We both know you can… Anna." Did she know who I really was? Had she known all along?

"Jagoda, I…"

"Bet you feel like a real jerk right now, don't you?" Pieruś said. I ignored him.

"I don't know how I can ever repay you for your kindness," I said. Jagoda shuffled closer to me, then grabbed my hands and held them in hers. She looked me straight in the eyes.

"You give them hell. You burn it all to the ground. Burn it until there is nothing left."

"Wha—" Jagoda grinned.

"I'm sure you've already felt it, you are strong with Attunement, I can tell. When you walk outside, what do you feel?"

"The magic? It's different?"

"Exactly. And I'm sure you've noticed no one here has the Church's symbol on their doors."

"I did, actually. Stvora's symbol. Does that mean you don't believe in Stvora?"

"Hah! Stvora's symbol?" She scoffed.

"That's not Stvora's symbol! And of course we believe in Stvora, for he is the only god. Just not their Stvora. We believe in the real Stvora. Why would He create all these miracles and then not allow us to use them? No," she spat to the side.

"The Church is an insult to Stvora. An insult to Silesia. All they do is take. All they want is to keep us small, keep us stupid, so they have free reign to do whatever disgusting things it is they do. They are thieves and murderers. All of them." My eyes flicked to Kasia, who looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Neither could I.

"You… have had bad experiences with the Church as well?" I asked. Jagoda laughed, but it was sharp and mocking.

"Have I? Everyone in this town has lost someone to the Church. For them to put such a high bounty on you, they must truly be afraid. Absolutely terrified. I have never seen a bounty like that, not even close."

"I… I'm not sure," I said. Jagoda laughed again.

"No need to be humble, dearie. We both know who you are. The fact that you ended up in my house, and returned Pieruś to me is all the proof I need. You were sent by Stvora himself to save us. It is my honor and sacred duty to help you."

"It is?"

"And if you are looking for more runes, perhaps even Star and Speed, Melchior may be able to help you. He owns The Tail End. You will find him behind the bar most days. He might even know a combination or two of his own." I nodded.

"I've been there. I think I've met him."

"Very good. Just tell him Jagoda sent you, then ask about the runes." At this point my head was spinning. What the hell just happened? One moment I'm saving an ungrateful cat, the next I'm being handed priceless runes and combinations. Then being pointed at possibly even more unbelievable combinations and stones? Because I rescued a cat? Because the Church wanted me dead? Either someone up there was looking out for me, or I was incredibly lucky.

Most people would have probably either tried to kill me after taking off my mask, or reported me. Instead I got one step closer to more power than I could have ever dreamt of.

"I think it's best you go there right away," Jagoda said, helping me up with more strength than she should have. Was she even an old lady? What was her class? What was going on? Kasia also got up.

"Thank you for the food. Thank you for everything," she said. Jagoda made a small bow.

"It was my pleasure. Be safe now, girls, you never know who's watching." I stumbled to the door, still not fully grasping what had just transpired.

"Thank you, Jagoda." I glanced at Pieruś.

"Thank you too… Maybe?" Pieruś grinned but didn't say anything. This was all so odd. So very odd.

"Hold on a moment," Jagoda said as she grabbed Karn's Face from the table and walked over to me. She held it out.

"Don't forget your mask… Anna." She winked.