Reborn as the First Boss, Chapter 122 (Patreon)

Chapter 122 – Tattoos

According to Avelyn Longchaser, Magic Tattoos came in two types. Ones that take up an item slot, and ones that don’t. Both types had a passive ability, and a summon ability, but they were slightly different after that. If you did one with an item slot, you gained an active ability, typically something related to the tattoo’s subject. A slotless tattoo would have a second passive ability, which could be significantly more powerful than the slotted tattoo’s active ability, but you could only have one slotless tattoo unless you were the one with the skill who made it.

While the rest of the Longchaser family returned to their manor, Avelyn got her reference material for not just a Dire Hellhound, Angel, Lesser Frost Dragon, Lesser Balor, High Human, and High Elf but also showed off my Hellhound, Frost Drake, and Fell-Winged Unicorn forms. Then, after getting her to promise to keep it quiet, I showed her a Greater Angelic Succubus, and truly blew her mind. Suffice to say, the Ink Mage was very thankful for literally one-of-a-kind reference material, and immediately agreed to do two tattoos for each of us, one slotted, and one unslotted.

To make the Magic Tattoo, Avelyn needed some specially made ink, a wand she used as a spell focus, and some of our blood. The final product was a matter of magic more than actual ink embedded in the skin, which is why creatures like Frostmaw and Rastran could easily have them. Their scales and fur would carry the marks, as would mine, if I turned into my other forms. The process took 10% of her MP, and 10% of the target’s. The more MP used in the process, the greater the result. Some [Mana Potions] helped keep her going through the process of giving everyone their tattoos.

Starting with my oldest followers, Linette picked a tattoo of a Greater Firebird on her back, which was slotless, and allowed her to sprout wings of flame, allowing her to fly, and a tattoo on the small of her back, showing a stone golem, which gave her a permanent [Stoneskin] effect, dramatically improving her defenses. Astruth got a slotless tattoo of an angel on his right arm, giving him an immunity to Radiance damage, and a tattoo of a Lesser Frost Dragon on the back of his neck, which took up the ‘Face’ slot, and gave him a frost dragon’s immunity to the cold. Jewell got a Wraith tattoo on her back, taking the ‘Head’ space, which would allow her to turn incorporeal at will, and a slotless tattoo of a Displacer Beast on her right thigh, which made her get a hazy, displacement effect whenever she moves faster than a slow walk. Angelina got a slotless tattoo of an Angel on her left arm which gave her a bonus to all of her Healing abilities, and a Lesser Phoenix on her right thigh that occupies the ‘Legs’ space, and gives her the ability to resurrect in flame once per month, adding extra lives to the ones given through the [Profane Rebirth] skill.

Then, Rastran got a slotless tattoo of a Greater Eagle on his right haunch, letting him get an eagle’s wings to fly, and a tattoo of a Celestial Hound on his chest, taking up the ‘Head’ slot, and giving him immunity to Radiance damage. Zazriel got a slotless tattoo of a Succubus on her back, giving her immunity to Hellfire, and a tattoo of an Elven Archmage on her left thigh, taking up the space of a ‘Belt’, which dramatically increased her spell damage and Enchantment abilities. Syllia got a slotless tattoo of hawk-feathers around her eyes, which gave her enhanced eyesight and accuracy, and a tattoo of a Greater Zombie on her back, taking the ‘Shoulders’ slot, giving her the ability to infuse Plague into her attacks. Frostmaw got a slotless Greater Firebird tattoo between his wings, giving him an immunity to Fire, and a tattoo of an Incubus on his right hip, taking the ‘Belt’ slot, and giving him the [Shapeshifting] ability.

Honestly, if that was all I got out of spending a couple hours letting someone study me and my pets, and use her magic to create tattoos? I would have been more than pleased at the trade. Several of my pets gained solid immunities to things that they would otherwise be weak to, and active abilities that greatly boosted their primary abilities in useful ways. But I got a pair of tattoos, too.

Tattoo of the Celestial Panther

Type

Feet

Rank

Rare

Cost

Special

Weight

N/A

This tattoo of a panther with fur of sable and starlight was made by a mage who combines artwork and power. A symbol of agile grace and quiet cunning, not only does this tattoo provide a passive bonus to the bearer, but it also allows the panther to be summoned at will.

Restricted: If the bearer is not the creator of this tattoo, no more than one Magic Tattoo may be placed upon the bearer unless it takes up an item slot, and a new unslotted Magic Tattoo will replace this one.

Panther’s Grace – Grants +10 DEX, +10 INT, +10 WIS, and +2 DEX, +2 INT, +2 WIS per level. All footfalls are silent unless the bearer wishes otherwise. Bearer ignores movement penalties due to difficult terrain. This passive bonus disappears when the panther is slain, until it can be resummoned.

Shadowstep – The bearer can step into one shadow, and reappear from another shadow within (Level) meters. This movement requires 100 SP per meter. This ability disappears when the panther is slain, until it can be resummoned.

Summon Celestial Panther – Summon a Celestial Panther. This panther appears as a creature of your level and Tier. Summoning the creature reserves 10% of your max MP, and that amount is added to the creature’s natural ability scores. If the panther is slain, the tattoo, and its passive ability, are rendered inert for a month and a day, until it can be summoned once more.

A tattoo of a panther with the night sky for a coat decorated my left calf, taking up the slot that had been occupied by my boots. Considering the stats on the [Tattoo of the Celestial Panther], it handily beat out my old [Boots of the Silent Huntress], which only provided +20 DEX, the silent footfalls, and the ability to ignore difficult terrain. Getting an extra movement ability was very useful, and more attributes were always welcome. Trading the [Boots of the Silent Huntress] for the ones from my [Mhyrsha’s Charming Explorer’s Outfit of Mindbreaking], which didn’t technically fill the Feet slot, was just fine by me.

Tattoo of the Elven Wolfbride

Type

Tool

Rank

Rare

Cost

Special

Weight

N/A

This tattoo of an elven maiden being mounted by a mighty wolf in the throes of passion, and it was made by a mage who combines artwork and power. A symbol of wanton lust and primal power, not only does this tattoo provide a passive bonus to the bearer, but it also allows the wolfbride and her partner to be summoned at will.

Restricted: If the bearer is not the creator of this tattoo, no more than one Magic Tattoo may be placed upon the bearer unless it takes up an item slot, and a new unslotted Magic Tattoo will replace this one.

Wolfbride’s Passion – Grants +10 STR, +10 CON, +10 CHA, and +2 STR, +2 CON, +2 CHA per level. This passive bonus disappears when the Wolfbride is slain, until it can be resummoned.

Spellpassion – Add CHA to INT when calculating MP. This passive bonus disappears when the Wolfbride is slain, until it can be resummoned.

Summon Elven Wolfbride – Summon an Elven Druidess and her Wolf companion. These summons appear as creatures of your level and Tier. Summoning the creatures reserve 20% of your max MP, and half of that amount is added to each creature’s natural ability scores. If the creatures are slain, the tattoo, and its passive ability, are rendered inert for a month and a day, until they can be summoned once more.

Avelyn was blushing furiously as I described the second tattoo I wanted, but she did a very nice job of it. And, thanks to using my blood and magic in the making of it, I got an extremely welcome boost to my abilities, and more than doubled my max MP. At this point, the summons were ‘nice’, but entirely besides the point for me, and my companions. It was the attribute bonuses and abilities we gained from the tattoos which were really important.

After sending Avelyn to her manor in the carriage, there was little more than an hour until I expected the Longfield family for dinner. Which left plenty of time for me to test whether summoned creatures could play a role in the [Ritual of the Beast]. As it turned out, they could.

You have successfully completed the Ritual of the Beast. You gain the form: Celestial Panther

Form of the Celestial Panther

You are able to shift between your natural form and a Celestial Panther form at will.

Doing so reserves 20% of your SP. You gain temporary HP equal to the reserved SP. The transformation lasts for either 1 hour/level or until the temporary HP is lost.

You cannot use spells or abilities with vocal components, and your speech is limited to the sounds your new form can make.

Your attributes do not change.

Equipment and gear are subsumed and nonfunctional while you are transformed, and will reappear in their proper places when you return to your normal form.

You gain the ability to take Celestial Panther racial skills as General Skills.

While in Celestial Panther form, you gain the following abilities:

Darkness Immunity – Immune to damage from Shadow and Darkness.

Natural Weapons – Gain two claw attacks (dealing STR damage) and a bite attack (STR*1.5 damage). A celestial panther’s natural weapons deal additional Darkness damage equal to their CHA.

Tough Hide – The Celestial Panther reduces all damage taken by their CON.

Shadowmeld – The Celestial Panther is invisible in areas of shadow or less than half light, and can only be seen through True Seeing or similar spells. Attacking temporarily removes this invisibility.

Tier 2 Achieved. New Form unlocked.

You may now select between Celestial Panther and Dire Celestial Panther when using this ability.

Form of the Dire Celestial Panther:

Darkness Immunity – Immune to damage from Shadow and Darkness.

Dire Strength – STR increased by 50% while in this form. Natural Weapons – Gain two claw attacks (dealing STR1.5 damage) and a bite attack (STR2 damage). A celestial panther’s natural weapons deal additional Darkness damage equal to their CHA.

Tough Hide – The Celestial Panther reduces all damage taken by their CON.

Celestial Bite – Natural attacks deal double damage to creatures of Profane heritage.

Shadowmeld – The Dire Celestial Panther is invisible in areas of shadow or less than half light, and can only be seen through True Seeing or similar spells. Attacking does not remove this invisibility.

New Elements Unlocked!

You have unlocked the following new elements to use with [Elemental Magic]: Shadow, Darkness.

I had not expected a ‘Celestial’ creature to give me Shadow and Darkness as elements, but considering that it was a Panther, that made a certain kind of sense. Even the description of the celestial panther mentioned black fur with stars in it, so the abilities made sense. Darkness was a Tier 2 version of Shadow, just like Hellfire was a Tier 2 version of Fire. Shadow was weakened by Light, but Darkness stood strong, even in Radiance, which was more about purifying than casting light.

“Mistress, the Longfield carriage is approaching.”

I looked up from the Voice of the World’s interface, and nodded to the maid, who had come to warn me. “Thank you, Meriel. Please ensure that they are guided to the dining hall.”

“Of course, Mistress.”