As Luke’s eyes began to flutter open, the vulnerable moment caused the First Reaver’s mark to bubble to the surface. Sooty jumped off his shoulder and landed behind High Defier Musai, scared.
The five stone columns around the yellow circle Luke sat in, shook. A black and white orb revealed itself in the space between his brows. Luke opened his eyes fully, but they were not his. Pure white essence filled them, causing both eyes to glow brightly. A vortex sucked in the essence within a hundred yards. Building up for an imminent use.
Musai stared at Luke before the light of understanding entered his expression, “I see. Iona, go retrieve the Sin Class book. The newest leaf has attracted the attention of his progenitor.”
A frost pillar exploded out from the young man, firing off into the ceiling; the display of power supported by a shadow column and intertwined by white essence, the gathered resource coalesced around the pillars.
“What, now? That can wait until whatever is happening to our newbie calms down. I’m staying unless it’s an emergency.” Iona issued a refusal.
Musai didn’t have the time to argue; he stood up and waited at the entrance, observing Luke. Sooty remained nearby, wary but unwilling to leave Luke alone.
A projection formed, first of a hooded figure with red and white eyes, but slowly it transformed, the eyes turned blue, a crossed Wand and Sword became its background, its initially closed mouth became a wide smile fully exposing white teeth. A small portion of the neck area emblazoned a golden compass radiating light as it hung, detailing the new projection—a crow perched on the half-outlined shoulders.
An aura spread wide from the projection; despite the phenomena being underground the Defier’s guild, soon pressure was felt by every citizen in Sylen. As panic began to set in, the image spoke. Speaking directly in the ear of each individual subject to the aura.
Luke opened his mouth, but the voice was precisely the same as the First Reavers, with a short pause left between each sentence he uttered.
“For too long.”
“The Gods have been a scourge to the land, languishing on their five thrones.”
“Their stagnant corruption has allowed a forgotten arbiter to arise.”
“So begins the next cycle.”
“I tell you, children of the World Spirit.”
“The last piece has descended.”
“Know this, beings of filth, parasites of the Corelands.”
“True sin has returned.”
After the message, the black and white orb returned to within Luke, and the young man regained control of his body. He slowly brought his hands up to his face and clutched them. Sooty bird piled him by charging at his sternum; without a stable stance, he fell back and began to laugh.
“Good to see you too, pal. Strange, you’d think they’d include you in the ritual ascension. You didn’t have to see anything terrible, did you, Sooty?” Luke asked, worry creeping into his face.
The crow shook herself. Through Reaver Link, she communicated a refusal to his question. That put Luke at ease. From experiencing the bird tackle, he felt Sooty, and the difference in strength was stark from before they entered this room. Sooty had risen to the first tier, as he had. Based on previous experience, Sooty felt more corporeal, commanding a greater existence. Luke struggled to pinpoint the feeling accurately.
“You’ve regained yourself, young leaf. Do you remember your actions a moment ago?” Musai asked.
Luke pat Sooty’s head, before sitting up, Sooty settled down right next to him, brushing against his equipment. His eyes darted to the side in thought. Racking his brain, Luke eventually said, “No, after clearing the Ascension, the space around me shattered to pieces; the first thing I remember was Sooty tackling me a moment ago.”
Iona walked over and flicked him on the forehead, “You started talking about all sorts of cryptic things with pure white, glowing eyes and pillars of power coming out of you. Even for tier one, you’re not capable of that. A black and white orb surfaced between your eyes; looks like it’s gone now. Iona scrutinized Luke’s face, turning his head each way. “Yep, gone.”
Luke faintly remembered the color of the First Reaver’s orbs back in the tomb, Black and white orb? It had to be the one she gave me.
“What exactly did I say?” Luke asked, curious.
The Beastmaster sat down carefully, making sure Lulu kept a grip on her arm. Before she could answer, Xera butted in.
“You said True Sin has returned, and something about a new cycle, arbiter thing, and…gods on thrones? It was all exhilarating. How’d you get a different voice? Sounded exactly like the old lady.”
Musai raised an eyebrow once Xera spoke but showed no additional reaction. Live enough years and you see more than you expect.
Iona crossed her arms and let Lulu down. She bobbed her head up and down, “That’s the short way of putting it. Not including whoever this ‘old lady’ is. Any idea what you meant by those words?”
Luke shook his head, although he had an inkling of the source. First Reaver, what else did your ‘gift’ do to me?
Not that Luke complained about it; in the end, that same black and white orb put his body back together, strengthened him, and helped fuse his original heart with the Spectral Heart. If, in return, he needed to relay a message he couldn’t understand once, it was no skin off his back.
High Defier Musai tapped his foot and turned around, “Stay here while I return with an item my stubborn leaf cannot bother to retrieve.” High Defier Musai promptly left the chamber, walking up the stairs connected to the exit.
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“Stubborn leaf, retrieve an item? What is he talking about?” Luke’s confusion grew, and his mouth opened slightly with a furrowed brow, one eye half closed.
Iona answered, “I’m the ‘stubborn leaf’ he’s on about.” She turned her nose up and closed her eyes for a second, “Hmph, if that impatient old man had given me a few more minutes, I would’ve left and gotten the book for him as he asked.”
Switching topics, she asked, “How are you feeling? The harrowing didn’t mess you up too bad, did it? Some people live a harmless life, so it’s nothing; others, it’s far worse.”
Feeling the stone with his hands and instinctively sensing the immense essence in the air, Luke replied, “Is that what they call it? The harrowing? It certainly made me live through times I’d rather forget. At least I figured out a critical fact. Are the other rituals to go up in tier like that?”
Picking through Lulu’s feathers, Iona inquired, “No, only the first, and that ‘critical fact’ would be? If I’m being transparent, you can add additional materials to get rid of it, but it comes at a cost.”
“I’ll tell you when it feels right to. It comes at a cost to skip the harrowing? Scratch that. Tell me what happens next first.”
“May as well sort yourself out and adapt to being a tier 1 now. Be careful; you’re better able to use stats now, but your fine control will suffer until you adjust. I can help you look over that skill book now, too, if you’re interested. As for the cost, you’ll see an additional reward from the notice you received for reaching tier one. If you skip the harrowing, you never receive that reward. And considering how critical it can be, Defiers aren’t allowed to skip out. It’s a…tradition as much as it is a necessity.”
Luke tested out his tensile finger strength. He slightly bore into the stone flooring. He realized even without flooding essence to his eyes, he could ‘see’ more in the air. Faint blue wisps circled him, entering into his glabella. His hearing heightened; he heard Musai’s footsteps going up the spiral stairway despite the increasing distance. All his senses had elevated, including the faint, gradually growing sixth sense.
He took out the Siphon skill book, “This is what I was mulling over earlier; I’m not sure if it's worth taking up my last active skill slot, especially if it's permanent.”
Iona opened her hand, “May I inspect it?”
“Go ahead.”
The Beastmaster took the skill book and scanned it. She returned it to Luke, and he placed the book beside him. Sooty hopped on it and settled down, closing her eyes. Iona lowered Lulu to the ground, who had started to fuss; the owl trotted over to Sooty and nested on the floor, looking back and forth between Luke and Iona.
Iona pouted, “Lulu has become more demanding lately…” Brightening her expression, she began to speak, “I overheard some of what your compass taught you about with skill books. Since you know the basics, let me tell you an additional detail he forgot. Skill books tend to teach you either a growth-type skill or one that starts stronger but grows less from skill point investment. Siphon is unusual in that it is a heavy growth type skill. You’ll have to spend on or train it quite a lot, but once you do, it’ll absolutely be worth having.”
“How do I know if I should go for one with more immediate impact or a late bloomer type?”
“Depends on your goals. If you plan to walk this road as a Defier to the end, however, you can’t go wrong with at least one skill like Siphon. Plus, with the Tide, the only way you're going to get another quality skill book like this is from the next auction or if you get fortunate with monster drops. A book like this goes for thousands of gold.”
Thousands of gold? No, wait, that’s not important. The First Reaver said those god-creatures wouldn’t spare me. I doubt they’ll come after me in any short amount of time, but still…
Lightly picking up Sooty, Luke put her on his knee. He took the skill book into his hand, “I’ll learn it.”
Sending his intention to the Interface, a new prompt written in dazzling silver revealed itself.
[Learn skill? Warning: This action is permanent. Y/N?]
Tapping the ‘yes’, a bright orange light burst out, and the book turned into fine dust. Immediately, Luke clutched at his face. A pulsing migraine tortured his brain. Sooty opened her eyes, about to complain with a coo, but upon seeing Luke in pain, she hopped around in worry, tilting her head in confusion. Looking around, the bird saw Lulu and cawed at her in accusation. Lulu explained with a hoot, and the two birds patted Luke on the back with their wings.
“Bear with it, Luke. It won’t stay for long, the basics to perform the skill is being imprinted into your soul and mind. On the bright side, you’ve got yourself an avian cheer team.” Iona said, chuckling at the sight.
True to her words, the pulsing head pain ran its course in half a minute. Luke wanted to test out the ability, but upon observing the relativity barren chamber, shelved the idea for now.
“That’s all over with. Do you mind if I take a look at the notices from the ritual?” Luke said to Iona.
“Not at all. It’s best you get it over with before old Musai returns. He’ll likely set you on your next task now that you’ve met the true minimum to be one of us. A minority can’t surpass the harrowing this way, and we Defiers cannot accept someone so weak-willed. Consider that your last test.”
Nodding, Luke put the slight reveal behind him. He seriously doubted anyone who could pass that crazy trial against the Doppelganger would simultaneously be unable to pass the unaided harrowing. Shrugging to himself, he combed through the Interface Log.
[You and your companion have completed the first Ascension. Tap for more information]
Luke naturally tapped the log line. A brilliant silver screen occupied his entire vision afterward, and he began to read the information.
[Congratulations last transfer. You have reached the 1st tier. The following bonuses have been applied to you and your companion:
+55% stats gained per level. (Applicable only to Reaver’s Companion)
Abilities may be upgraded or trained to the 1st tier. Your baseline ability may now reach the 2nd tier.
The first agility, intellect, and strength thresholds are now breakable. The 2nd vitality threshold may now be broken.
Hidden stat: Physique has been upgraded in tier, aura abilities below tier 1 do not affect you.
Senses have been enhanced. Aggressive abilities below tier 1 have a 35% reduction in power or effect on you.
More potential of your body and spirit has been unlocked but not applied; you must train or force more out over time to learn possible techniques and adjustments.
Earned 10 resilience stat points, modestly reduces damage from all sources, regardless of tier.
A one-time skill point reward of five skill points has been automatically earned. (Applicable to all classes and companions)
Sub-set reward: Your Spectral Heart has upgraded to the first tier. Any other tier-dependent items have unlocked their upgrade.
Sub-set reward: Ten mental resistance stat points have been rewarded for clearing the first ascension. (Applicable only to those who experience the true harrowing.)
Tier 0 potions & external healing spells are now half as effective on you. Does not apply to healing effects from equipment or own abilities. Tier 0 Bandages remain 75% as effective]
Luke began to barrage Iona with questions, “It says something about a ‘threshold’ for agility, intellect, and strength? What’s this hidden physique stat for? And the mental resistance stat? Does that help with illusions?” He figured out the ten resilience points well enough on his own, considering the specific explanation for it.
He kept a few thoughts to himself; I remember breaking the vitality threshold a while back. It felt like my body sharply toughened up after that. Is that what happens with the other three thresholds?
“Hold your Kelpie’s there. One question at a time.” Iona’s eyes wiggled, “Never mind, Musai should be here in a second. Wait for him, will you?”
Standing up, Luke stretched, happy to finally walk out of the circle he’d sat in for an unknown amount of time.
“Sure, I can wait. How long was I out, by the way?”
“For over twenty hours, it seems you had quite the experience.”
“If you can call it that.”