Chapter 15: Level Seven Heaven

Demon Lord Azanth Level 7 Crisp (Prawn Cocktail flavour)

Rank 0 Evolution 0

Cast down from the Seventh Plane of Wickedness, this arch-evil demon lord was reincarnated on the Plane of Life as a prawn cocktail crisp. Surviving only for revenge upon those other demons who betrayed him to a paladin, Lord Azanth nurtures nothing but hate in his brittle potato heart.

HP 33

Mana 75

Health 11

Strength 6

Agility 6

Intelligence 13

Physical Attack 30

Magical Attack 30

Natural Armour 30

Magical Defence 30

Available points: 8

Equipped Slots: Perimeter (empty), torso (empty)

Exp 128,198

Spirit Stones 8/100

Rank quests 3/20

Skills:

Telepathy (Level 2)

Choose one.

Titles:

Puzzle Solver

Satisfaction, thought Lord Azanth, were it to be a living creature, would be a winged one with a short lifespan. Satietas thy true name be papilio. For although he had attained a peak from where he could look back with a real sense of achievement at having progressed from being a pathetic level 0 crisp, that satisfaction flew away from him the moment he turned to face the enormous journey that rose ahead. Onwards, demon lord, ever onwards. No congratulations for thee, not until those who had betrayed him were punished.

Only a being lacking in ambition would allow their concentration and drive to falter while they congratulated themselves on becoming Level 7. This was not a time to throw a party – as the young humans did when they got to Level 7 – it was a time to think very carefully about his new choices. They would determine his entire future.

One choice was whether to spend all eight of his new attribute points or save some (it was often wise to keep some points in hand to add to a relevant attribute in a moment of crisis, but this meant not performing to the maximum possible for his level in the meantime). A more important choice, however, was that of his new skill. Only after picking his skill would he really understand how best to arrange his attributes.

All of the skills he had previously rejected were available choices and some of them were of considerably greater value now than they had been at Level 0 and 3. It was, however, the new options that Lord Azanth was eager to examine. There were five of them: Backslice, Change Flavour, Fly, Intoxicating Scent, and Summon Shield.

Backslice

A shadowy, spinning crisp with an iron-hard edge materialises behind an opponent and strikes against their back, causing slicing damage until it is either destroyed or the duration of the effect ends.

The range at which the crisp can be summoned, the amount of damage per second, and the duration of the attack, all rise with the level of the skill.

Change Flavour

You temporarily obtain some of the benefits of another flavour of crisp.

Salt and Vinegar: an increase in Strength, Physical Attack and Natural Armour.

Cheese and Onion: an increase in Health and Agility.

Sweet Chilli: an increase in Intelligence, Magical Attack and Magical Defence.

Ready Salted: an increase in Mana and Agility.

The extent of the increases and of their duration rise with the level of the skill.

Fly

You gain the ability to fly.

The speed, manoeuvrability, and duration of the effect rise with the level of the skill.

Intoxicating Scent

A gaseous cloud forms over your opponents, causing a stun effect on those unable to resist the scent.

The range at which the cloud can be summoned, the size of the area of effect, the duration of the cloud, and likelihood that the effect will not be resisted, rise with the level of the skill.

Summon Shield

A translucent, rectangular prism of light forms over you and your allies, providing a boost to Natural Armour and Magical Defence.

The extent of the shield and the size of the bonuses rise with the level of the skill.

At level 5 the shield can be turned opaque, so that while those inside can still see out, those outside can only see a pink surface with the word TAYTO. Nor can they hear anything but a rustling sound.

Currently, Lord Azanth was hidden behind Volume 198 of the Corpus Auguriorum in cubicle Twenty-One on the third floor of the Berkely Library. These books seemed to have been undisturbed for over a century and as the only presence nearby was a student in a state close to slumber, it was a most suitable environment for an safe, uninterrupted, and careful deliberation of his options. It was a pity that Lord Azanth had no peer with whom he could share his thoughts: for in dialogue wisdom did flourish more than the calculations of one mind, albeit that of a demon lord. Should he wait before making his choice to discuss the matter with Liam? Absurd thought, away with you, back to a realm in which mice were titans.

All of the new skills had their attractions. And still in contention were Heal Fracture, Invisibility, Poison Cloud, and Slice from his starting choices; Resist Heat and Glow from his Level 3 options.

The sun shifted a rectangle of light across a table. Students came and went. The remote hum of Dublin’s traffic rose and fell, sometimes punctuated by a siren. And Lord Azanth, although aware of the world around him, kept his concentration on the decision in hand. He had centuries of experience in picturing his future as a demon, and that was all clear and simple just because it had all been achieved and he knew all there was to know about skills of a demon and their best use; but it was impossible to picture a future as a prawn cocktail crisp, because he did not understand it.

What he did know was that his desire to protect himself and go alone into the future (Change Flavour, Fly, Heal Fracture, Invisibility) conflicted with the strategy of being a support member of a group in which other members did the scouting, fighting, and the healing (Intoxicating Scent, Summon Shield). Somewhere in the middle, as useful both for solo and group situations, were the damage-dealing Backslice, Poison Cloud, and Slice.

When cold thought cannot see the way, let hot spirit lose upon the day. Rereading each skill, Lord Azanth tried to listen to his intuition rather than his reason. Elusive as this was, it returned a very distinct result: Intoxicating Scent. At once, he recognised the truth of this and the wrestling match within him ended. Yield, o, selfish demon. Thy shall not fly and thy shall not conceal thyself; nor hope to stand alone in the fray. Having previously chosen Fortify, he was committed to the role of support and for that the best available skill was Intoxicating Scent.

Intoxicating Scent

Release a cloud of enticing prawn cocktail-flavoured gas, with the potential to give the stun condition to your enemies. As the skill increases in level you will be able to increase the range of the effect, the duration, and the numbers affected. Resistance to the effect is based on the level of the opponent and the level of the skill.

Level 1 – Affect up to 2 enemies within 5m for 3 seconds. Available

Level 2 – Affect up to 3 enemies within 5m for 4 seconds. Locked (requires light green rank)

Level 3 – Affect up to 4 enemies within 7.5m for 5 seconds. Locked (requires level 10)

Level 4 – Affect up to 5 enemies within 7.5m for 6 seconds. Locked (requires dark green rank)

Level 5 – Affect up to 6 enemies within 10m for 7 seconds. Locked (requires level 20)

Level 6 – Affect up to 7 enemies within 10m for 8 seconds. Locked (requires light blue rank)

Level 7 – Affect up to 8 enemies within 15m for 9 seconds. Locked (requires level 50)

Level 8 – Affect up to 10 enemies within 20m for 10 seconds. Locked (requires level 100)

In the daily battles that Lord Azanth needed to win to keep levelling up, the shield would assist far more often than the stun. Even so, to regularly stun opponents would speed up the rate at which they were dispatched. And more importantly, there would come times when survival depended on controlling a situation where there were too many opponents for the group to deal with. Repeated casts of a high level Intoxicating Scent might save the group from destruction. With only the slightest hesitation, Lord Azanth made his choice.

This then guided his decision with regard to attributes. He must boost his mana pool so as to be able to cast the new skill as often as possible in a short space of time. Unlike Hit Points, which progressed geometrically in proportion to Health, mana progressed exponentially in proportion to level, in addition to a geometric component based on Intelligence. Assigning attribute points to Intelligence therefore had a disproportionate impact at low level and saving but one point for an unforeseen emergency, Lord Azanth increased his Intelligence to 20, which lifted his mana to 89. The mind being ready, the potato body be ready too.

***

Towards evening, Lord Azanth sensed the presence of the young mage and contacted him even before the books were moved and he was taken from the shelf in the alcove. Ahh. My companion. I have chosen my Level Seven skill and it is one that may surprise you.

I’ve been ransacked. Our flat is ruined. They took my laptop. Distress was pouring from the youth like a waterfall of tears. I came home to find the lock on the front door broken and Aengus sitting with his head in his hands. They had ripped open every cushion; every pillow; the mattresses. They smashed our Xbox apart and the TV. All the doors are pulled off the presses, with our food strewn everywhere. The toilet cistern lid was on the floor in pieces. The bookshelves are down and all the books have pages torn out of them. Our vase that mum gave us is shattered. Our clothes are cut to pieces. Even the windows are broken.

Had he limbs, Lord Azanth would have embraced the youth to demonstrate his sympathy. No doubt the thieves were looking for me.

They must have been.

Are you angry at me? Regretful that you ever found me? Has the day that my silvered packet fell to the bottom of the vending machine become a cursed one in your calendar? One that you deeply rue.

Angry at you? Not at all. Why should I be? This isn’t your fault. This has to be the paladin. How can a paladin behave like that?

Earl Clarence is a being who believes that whilst the means accuses, the end excuses. The more fervent and noble the goal in the mind of the righteous, the more they convince themselves that all of their actions are necessarily just as righteous. What they fail to appreciate is that the deed of the moment cannot be detached from the distant outcome. If one ransacks the impoverished home of a low-level human mage, one is not building heaven on Earth but the opposite.

I will find a way to make him pay.

Aha. Revenge. A most worthy and life-affirming goal. I have a certain expertise in the practice of it.

What must I do?

Level up. Crush your enemies. Drink wine from their polished skulls as you listen to the howls of their imprisoned loved ones.

Let’s go level up so.