Chapter 194 Egh . . . Hexcrafter?
<Host will only have spells and skills according to your class. However, if you advance your \'Evil Apprentice\' class, then a new set of spells and skills will be able for you>
And when would that happen? Besides my HP and MP, which were already in the thousands, my other stat was nearing 500.
Do I have to reach more than that to advance my class? I have more than 240 000 EXP. Maybe it was worth the shot?
Divided it by 100 to receive 1 stat points, I had 2400 total stat points. Distributing it evenly on my stat except for HP and MP, I had added 400 hundred to my STR, INT, DEF, MDF, AGL, and LCK.
Now that my stats were 800 plus in points, I heard a ding, and a notification appeared on my screen.
[CONGRATULATIONS! You have advanced from being an Evil Apprentice to EVIL BEING!]
". . ." I didn\'t know if I should be glad about this advancement or not.
It was like I graduated from a novice and became an experience, evil person.
[New Skill Acquired! HEXCRAFTING!]
Finally! A new skill, and it didn\'t contain any evil word!
Hexcrafting?
I didn\'t know what it was, so I read its description.
[Hexcrafters shared an interest in the occult and forbidden. They have often sought after for their abilities to bestow powerful curses, create accursed magic items, and even help willing subjects undergo terrible, dark transformations.
To alter the present and future of individuals as the hexcrafter does, one must, by necessity, manipulate the strands of fate itself. Such an act was not just dangerous but also unnatural – and costly.
The price of Hexcrafter\'s services varies and depends on the specific Hexcrafter\'s motivations. The services performed and the customer\'s desperation. Hexcrafters were rarely interested in gold and usually demanded a price that aligned – in some ironic twist – with the service they were providing.
Someone who beseeches the hexcrafter to cure their spouse of a deadly disease may have to pay with their own life – or the memory of their relationship. Likewise, a spurned lover who seek to curse her former partner with a terrible ailment or misfortune may have to accept being cursed in the same way.
Some believe that their costs were necessary because the scales of fate must remain balanced; others insisted that Hexcrafter was just evil and malicious.]
". . ."
<What an awesome spell to have, Host!>
". . ." I closed my eyes tight and sighed.
I should have expected this.
Why did I suddenly turn into like . . . a warlock or something?
<It\'s an awesome skill to have Host! Just look at all the spells under it!>
I did check because I was curious.
The curses bestowed by Hexcrafter could be divided into two types: hexes and jinxes. While somewhat similar, there was a clear difference between the two. Where jinxes had no upside at all and were always a detriment to the subject, a hex was a pernicious bargain that provided both a boon and a bane.
The spells underneath it were:
[ HEXES
● Beauty LV. 1
This hex grants unnatural beauty and intense charisma but also makes the creatures affected vain and fearful of losing their good looks.
- increase LCK by 100
- AoE supportive spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 minute and suffer LCK -100 for a whole day
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Bloodthirst LV. 1
This hex imbues creatures with an unquenchable desire for battle. They gain the following traits:
- increase STR by 100
- AoE supportive spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 minute and suffer exhaustion the whole day.
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Feather LV. 1
This hex makes creatures lithe and graceful but also makes them frail. They gain the following traits:
- increase AGI by 100
- AoE supportive spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 mina and suffer DEF -100 for the whole day
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Haven LV. 1
Affected creatures briefly gain resistance to specific damage (your choice of the type of damage) – though doing so left them vulnerable after one minute.
- increase DEF and MDF by 100
- AoE supportive spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 minute and suffer DEF and MDF -100 for the whole day
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Mind LV. 1
Affected creatures allowed them to connect mentally with others and gain the following.
- increase INT by 100
- AoE supportive spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 min and suffer INT -100 for the whole day
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day ]
As for Jinxes. They were usually bestowed upon an unwitting victim – much like a traditional curse – while hexes were often willingly incurred by the customer who believed that the hex\'s benefits outweighed its downside.
[ JINXES
● Amnesia LV. 1
Creatures affected suffer from acute memory loss. It can\'t remember other creatures it has met or events that had happened before it was affected by this jinx.
- AoE spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 min.
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Babbling LV. 1
Creatures affected struggle to speak normally. As a result, whenever the targets attempt to cast a spell or use another feature that has a verbal component, they won\'t succeed until the curse wears off.
- AoE spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 min.
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Migraine LV. 1
Creatures affected suffers from severe migraine and constantly suffer exhaustion that can\'t be removed after the time duration is over.
- AoE spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 min.
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Naivety LV. 1
Creatures affected become gullible and easily swayed. They are prone to suffer and begin charmed or frightened.
- AoE spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 min.
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Phobia LV. 1
Creatures affected regard a specific object or creature, determined by you how jinxed it, with intense revulsion.
- AoE spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 min.
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day.
● Turncoat LV. 1
Creatures affected regard their allies as foes and their foes as allies for one minute.
- AoE spell within a hundred-meter radius
- Cost 1000 MP
- Single target
- Cost 100 MP
- last for 1 min.
- cannot cast to the same person twice on the same day]
Now that I think about this, disregarding the evil curses, weren\'t these spells kind of OP? Though they felt evil and were definitely used for Evil.
<A perfect spell for you, Host!>
I could use the hexes for my army to boost their stat while jinxing the enemies to fall in their ranks. However, the side effects, huge MP, and low cooldown were a problem.
<As long as Host leveled them up, then you have nothing to worry about>
I wonder how long that would be.
<If Host uses them often, then it wouldn\'t take long. Five years maybe, to get them to MAX?>
Great.
I better start casting it on myself, then. The minus 100 points seemed negligible compared to my high stat, so I could probably increase my hexes every day.
As for the Jinx . . . I think I would test it on the beasts around.
<Host could test it on the inhabitants!>
Maybe . . . as long as it wouldn\'t hurt them. One minute seemed manageable.
<It would be fun too! Keekeekee. Imagining casting amnesia on someone, and they wondered on the streets asking who they were, and then after a minute, she regained her memory, but she had no knowledge of what she was doing a minute before. She would be the talk of the town!>
". . ." You have a very weird sense of humor. Do you know that?
<If it\'s your other self. He would definitely test it out even to the players>
I was glad that his time was over.
< We both know that Host would summon him sooner or later>
My smile skewed. I would make sure that it would be much later and not sooner.
Speaking of him, I suddenly remembered of that dragon he fooled to become his minion.
I checked Balaur, and like what I expected, he was still salty about what happened. My relationship with him was zero, and even though he was my minion, I doubted it if it would follow me.