The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) by A. Kay (best short books to read .TXT) 📕

his Profile and switched to the Abilities page. It took him a moment to find the level one Fighter ability Dressed to Kill. He’d gained access to the abilities and spells for every Class up through level five from wearing the divine amulets on Big D’s camping trip. He read Dressed to Kill’s description.

Ability level 1: No penalty for Scale, Hide, Studded Leather, Leather, Padded, or Cloth.

Ability level 2: No penalty for Chainmail

Ability level 3: No penalty for Splint

Ability level 4: No penalty for Banded

Ability level 5: No penalty for Plate

Ruwen had twelve ability points, and he didn’t want to use them for armor unless absolutely necessary.

I can wear scale right now with no penalty, Ruwen said.

That’s still a medium armor, Hamma said.

Ruwen stared at Hamma, surprised at her knowledge of armor, and she responded out loud. “What? It’s the heaviest armor a Warden can wear.”

Scale is interesting though, Rami said. Many creature’s scales are just as hard as plate.

Ruwen thought about the Ink Warden garb he’d cleaned for Fluffy. It had looked like cloth but actually been created from Leaf Dragon silk and been as protective as plate. But that type of material was incredibly rare, and many people didn’t even know it existed. During this battle, he needed armor that looked the part, not something exotic that caused more questions.

So you think scale is acceptable? Ruwen asked.

For now, anyway. If you don’t find a home for all your ability points, we can reevaluate, Rami said.

Hamma looked around. “There must be some sort of mechanism to search for things. Does anyone see a screen?”

Ruwen spoke directly to Rami. Do you have an inventory of this place?

Give me a second to talk with Lir. Three seconds later Rami spoke up. Okay, I know where everything is. I’ll direct people.

Can you affect their interfaces?

Not as much as I can change yours. But because you formed the party connection, I have some control.

Ruwen spoke in Chat. Tell Rami what you need, and she’ll direct you.

Toward the back of the vault, one pillar pulsed yellow, and Ruwen strode toward it. When he arrived, the pulsing changed to just one locker, twenty feet above him. He pulled down on the pillar and the locker rotated lower. When it stopped in front of him, he placed his palm on the round disk under the small window. The locker opened and Ruwen pulled out a sliding drawer.

The lockers near the front had many items of a single type, but this locker contained five distinct pieces of armor colored a dark reddish-brown, like dried blood. He took the helmet out, which covered the entire head with only a slit for the eyes. The armor looked like scale but felt and bent like soft leather. A notification appeared.

Tring!

You have discovered…

Name: Overseer’s Cowl of Revelation

Set: Overseer’s Cowl of Revelation, Overseer’s Tunic of Faith, Overseer’s Gauntlets of Servitude, Overseer’s Boots of Duty, Overseer’s Pants of Obedience.

AC: 100

Quality: Epic

Durability: 157 of 190

Weight: 3.3 lbs.

Effect (Passive): +7 Wisdom.

Effect (Passive): Detect Trap +20% per 5 seconds.

Effect (Passive): Blood Tithe. Requires constant nourishment of 0.20 Health per second.

Set Bonus (Passive): Increase Armor Class of set items by 50%.

Set Bonus (Passive): Decrease Armor Encumbrance of set items by 50%.

Set Bonus (Active): Instant heal once per hour by casting Last Rites, tapping the blood of every enemy within a twenty-foot radius, damaging them for 5% of their max Health and transferring that Health to the wearer.

Restriction: Scale capable Classes.

Restriction: Health Regeneration must match or exceed Blood Tithe.

Description: Rumored to be drenched in the almighty lord's own blood, the Overseer set is 50% less restrictive and 50% more protective than normal scale. This armor is proudly worn by the elite guards charged with protecting the almighty lord’s temples, providing an honor guard, and ensuring the devotion of his servants.

This armor was truly epic, and the added fifty percent set bonus would increase the Armor Class of this piece from one hundred to one hundred fifty. He had learned of the Overseer Class when trapped in the Spirit Realm with Jagen, the Champion of Uru’s brother, Izac. Jagen had told them his Classes were Knight and Overseer, which correlated to Uru’s Fighter and Priest. The man had loved to talk about armor, and Ruwen wondered if he owned a set like this.

Ruwen thought back to what Jagen had taught him about armor. If the scale armor increased in effectiveness by fifty percent, it would make it better than chainmail, splint, and banded. Only plate would offer more protection.

The instant heal is what really made this armor special. Even if its cooldown lasted an hour, it could still save his life while damaging his enemies. The extra Wisdom would do him good, as would the Detect Traps. He really missed some of his Observer capabilities and this buffed an important skill.

Ruwen focused on Rami. This is Izac’s armor.

I know. And the Priests have forbidden anyone from wearing it because it consumes the wearer’s blood. They consider it evil and an abomination.

And you want me to wear it.

The pieces are all Epic quality, and Priests of one god always think the others are evil. It is the way of your kind.

The way of my kind?

Yes. You are tribal, shortsighted, and kill what you fear or don’t understand.

Ouch.

My point is the armor isn’t evil. It uses blood to work. So does your body. Uru’s Priests just hate Izac’s blood magic and so this is locked away.

Ruwen ran his hands across the rest of the set and opened his notifications. All the pieces were Epic in quality and he skimmed the parts that repeated between items, focusing on the details and abilities of each piece.

Tring!

You have discovered…

Name: Overseer’s Tunic of Faith

AC: 189

Durability: 203 of 288

Weight: 9.9 lbs.

Effect (Passive): +7 Strength.

Effect (Active): Shield of the Faithful: Convert 100 Health into a 500 Health Point tower shield of blood.

Effect (Passive): Blood Tithe. Requires constant nourishment of 0.40 Health per second.

Tring!

You have discovered…

Name: Overseer’s Gauntlets of Servitude

AC: 137

Durability: 89 of 154

Weight: 2.0 lbs.

Effect (Passive): +100