Even though Nil had lost Restless In Body And Mind, his senses felt sharper than ever. Besides the titanic increase in Brutal Battery’s capacity, Nil lacked the means and understanding to measure how an increase in Spark affected him. The case wasn’t the same for Finesse.
It wasn’t just his senses that were sharpened. Nil could now move comfortably with supercharged speed without focusing on keeping balance or looking out where he put his feet. The increased control over himself felt incredible. Pushing the ability with additional energy still required using Absorb and a modicum of focus, but it wasn’t too big of a deal. Nil usually switched to supercharging strength or durability when in melee combat, but he no longer felt it necessary. Now, he believed that additional speed with bursts of Expend would suffice.
The increased Finesse also made him feel more confident about using kicks in combat. He often used low kicks, targeting shins or knees, but felt that anything more left the rest of him too open and vulnerable. Nil no longer had such concerns, as he roundhoused a Cursed One in the face.
It was the fifth day of his two-week-long quest. Nil spent the scorching daylight hours sleeping, relaxing, or cultivating in Samara Khan’s underground city. Then, once darkness came, his guard duty began. So far, he had faced nothing but Cursed Ones, no stronger than the entity from the specimen from his first quest. They came in a variety of shapes and sizes, but so far, none had posed much of a risk to him. He had little trouble taking them out alone.
The roundhouse kick snapped the hulking wendigo-like creature’s head to the side, cracking the bony armor and sending shards flying across the stony ground outside the caves. Supercharged speed combined with Expend-enhanced movements were enough to knock the monster on its side. Nil released a trickle of energy through his hands and plunged it into the beast’s torso. Energy Instinct had helped him pinpoint the heart’s location as soon as the fight began. He grasped it, gritting his teeth through the burning pain, and ripped the organ out. The creature thrashed for a moment but stilled as soon as he destroyed it.
Next, Nil turned his attention to its smaller companions. The pair of donkey-sized canines had looped around him and attempted to infiltrate the mines. Soul Smith Samara Khan relied on them for her experiments and creations and had a town’s worth of employees residing in the adjoining caves. They were the reason why she refused to move to a Control World. Andrew and a handful of armed guards blocked the creatures, keeping the beasts from getting to the non-combatants.
An empowered stride propelled Nil toward his targets. His hand burned from the Expend and the Cursed One’s volcanic interiors. It was tempting to pause and use the burn ointments from Moon Rabbit Emporium. He had sampled it at the start of the quest, and the ointment’s potency put Symbiotech’s creation to shame. Nil resisted. The container was a sample, and as a result, its volume was low. Samara had a healer on staff, and her services would suffice.
The first fell to an axe kick. He shattered the beast’s spine, and it collapsed. The beast tried dragging itself away using its still functional forelimbs. A spear-wielding guard fell upon it, thrusting the torso repeatedly until one of them found the heart.
Meanwhile, Nil and Andrew took the other out together. The latter’s ability didn’t give him any combat power. However, Soul Tinker—which Samara called an artificing ability—gave Andrew the power to build internal magic stores and use them to create or fuel his creations. It also extended to the creation, modification, and repair of soul weapons. Andrew lacked the know-how and experience to fix the seed in Nil’s arms, but he had fashioned himself a rudimentary double-barrel magic shotgun. It took several minutes to charge but proved sufficient as a non-combatant defensive tool. He blew the beast’s face and forelimb armor off while pushing it away.
Nil hopped into the gap between his friend and the monster and grappled it onto its front. Expend-powered blows proved enough to break limbs and ribs. He backed away once the little Cursed One was disabled. A fiery glow leaked through the monster’s skin, high on its right breast, revealing its heart’s location. A guard finished it off, saving Nil from plunging his hands into the monster’s slag-filled interiors.
Once they were sure no Cursed Ones or Agents of the Scourge hid in the dunes outside, the settlement’s healer rushed out of the main entrance. She made a beeline for Nil and held Nil’s scorched appendage between her hands. A green-gold light flowed from them and the screaming nerves calmed straight away. The burnt skin and flesh started flaking away a moment later.
The woman frowned at him, but before she could start reprimanding him, angry squeaking came from between her feet. Meatball looked up at Nil, mouth bloody, carapace cracked, and a mangled snake-like creature by her side. It had bony spikes running along its spine and armoring around the upper jaw. The magic leaking from it and the slag leaking from its ripped-open chest suggested it was a variety of Cursed One. That meant the blood on Meatball was her own. He saw burns on the carapace but no open wounds. He guessed her innate regeneration had already taken care of them.
“I’m sorry, ladies,” Nil said, flashing the healer and Meatball an apologetic smile. The whelp continued its angry squeaks and even smacked his shin with a tentacle. She only paused every now and again to rip the flesh off her kill and consume it. “I know I could’ve taken the beast down without hurting myself, but I wanted to end things as soon as possible. It's been a long night, and dawn is almost here. I doubt we have any more monsters coming tonight.”
“That’s no excuse to hurt yourself,” the woman said. She appeared a couple of years younger than him and had similar skin, a long-hooked nose, and bright green eyes. The features gave her a Middle Eastern complexion similar to Samara’s and most of her employees. “I told you to just disable them. The guards can safely dispatch them afterward.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“I’m sorry, Meera. I promise to be careful for the rest of the quest.”
Meera rolled her eyes and focused her attention on her healing spell. The woman served as the settlement’s primary healer while her brother was in charge of its security. The man stood talking to his men near the cavemouth, shooting Nil glares. It seemed Siddiq had a dislike for Summoneds. He appeared to hate the fact that Samara didn’t trust him and his soldiers alone for protection and insisted on using Summoned too. The excuse that she needed them for her soul weapon testing and creation didn’t seem enough to placate him.
“I know it's more work for you, Meera, but Nil should continue as he has,” Samara stated, strolling out of the cave. She flashed him an encouraging smile, and Meatball’s squeaks ceased. She sped up her consumption of the Cursed One’s flesh since Samara didn’t approve of the act and would likely confiscate the corpse for butchering and material extraction. The woman appeared in her mid-forties, but according to Layla, she had several centuries under her belt. Soul smithing and the seed world’s version of cultivation had significantly slowed her aging. “This is all vital data for soul-weapon creation. Don’t you think so, Andrew?”
“Indeed.” Andrew beamed. He held his shotgun like a baby as he joined them. “We’re almost ready to repair the seed and revert Symbiotech’s modifications. Then the soul weapon creation can begin.”
“Are you sure about your decision?” Samara asked for the hundredth time. “I can tweak the seed to become more armor or weapon-focused. A hybrid is versatile, but it does neither extraordinarily well.”
Nil nodded. “I’m not a master of defense or offense. I believe I’m most potent when I maintain a balance of both. Starting with a hybrid chassis will be best. Then we can decide what I need most and proceed accordingly.”
“Very well.” Samara nodded. “It's your soul weapon, and the decision is yours. I’m mostly concerned because of everything the seed has endured and whether it will develop well after all the trauma. Hopefully, it will have no trouble adapting to your power seed and give you precisely what you want and need.”
As dawn approached, everybody retreated into the cavernous settlement, and the exits were sealed. The unbearable desert heat made stepping outside impossible for the unascended. Heatstroke awaited all. Samara’s cooling enchantments activated once all exits had been sealed, maintaining a comfortable temperature inside. Nil ate with the guards, and then everybody retired to their sleeping quarters. The day shift—a smaller contingent of guards and a Summoned knight from an alien Earth—descended into the cave system below with the miners. They worked during the day, gathering materials. He appeared uninterested in socializing with Nil and Andrew and was only present for his quest and soul-weapon-chassis creation. Apparently, the Nexus had sent him on a six-month-long quest.
The evening shift worked the smelters and forges to help heat the settlement during the frigid nights. Samara and Andrew worked with them while Nil joined the watch. It was by far the most relaxed and easiest quest he had ever been on. In fact, it almost felt like a vacation.
At Bronze Realm, Nil found himself fully refreshed with significantly less sleep. His calorie needs hadn’t multiplied, quashing his worries and making the ascension even more pleasant. He especially enjoyed the extra hour he had every day. Samara’s home sat over a well of power, making the area rich with magic. Nil made the most of the opportunity, cultivating it whenever he had a spare minute.
He hadn’t seen any increase in attributes since his arrival. However, the new feat–Primal Origins- combined with Energy Instinct made circulating energy significantly easier. The lack of Cursed Energy in his arms also opened several channels, giving the swimming tiger more ground to cover. It made the process easier since the reeds and obstacles in the image’s path were significantly reduced. Nil guessed it was a matter of distribution. The tiger could move more freely since the reeds and aquatic flora weren’t as concentrated. The infrequent obstacles also gave it enough room to pick up speed and maintain it for longer.
When Andrew wasn’t working under Samara’s tutelage or trying to improve his designs for a better personal protection weapon, he sat with Nil, trying to learn the basics of cultivation.
“This really isn’t fair,” Nil commented, studying his friend with Energy Instinct’s full capabilities. He detected the slow passage of silvery vapors flowing through Andrew’s body and a small cloud gathering just below his navel. “It took a quest, studying manuals, and getting the ability to grasp this, and you’ve managed it in a matter of hours.”
“It's not my fault I’m amazing.” Andrew grinned. “Don’t sweat it. Half of Soul Tinker’s power involves managing the flow, containment, and conversion of energies. It’s probably unintended, but it’s almost built for cultivation. On the downside, I don’t have any offensive or defensive abilities. So, I’ll need to almost exclusively rely on my creations.”
“You’re an artisan. It’s unlikely you’ll get many quests that involve directly getting involved in combat—”
“Unless you invite me for group quests. I’m your guy in the chair, Sunny-boi. I hope you won’t fire me just because I’m a Summoned and an artisan.”
“I won’t, but you’ll need to play catch up first,” Nil said. “I wouldn’t worry too much about abilities. Given your Mind attribute and potential, you’ll have no trouble picking up a few spells.”
Nil was happy for his friend but couldn’t help but feel envious of his friend’s starting attributes and potential. He received significant bonuses from Nexus for his assistance in the Symbiotech quest.
* Might: Mortal 3 | Potential: Bronze
* Finesse: Mortal 6 | Potential: Gold
* Mind: Mortal 9 | Potential: Platinum
* Spark: Mortal 5 | Potential: Silver
Soul Tinker: Mortal 4
* Aether Manipulation: Mortal 5
* Arcane Tinkering: Mortal 4
Andrew had used his bonuses to increase the potential of all of his attributes except Might. Apparently, Layla half-expected him to dedicate them all to Mind and Spark to become a mage. She claimed it was the path most individuals from their Earth favored. Instead, Andrew had insisted on arranging the potentials for the best chance at an artisanal ability, and the Schema offered him two.
On the downside, the Nexus had sent him on a long-term quest with no discernable end date. Neither Andrew nor Nil knew when Andrew would return home. It was all in Samara Khan’s hands. Andrew wanted to get back to Susan, but he didn’t seem to mind much. The quest reward involved two Iron Ascension Tokens, several Schema Tokens, and a bunch of credit. More importantly, he was having a ball pursuing his dreams.