“Time to bind this armor and—Fuck.”
It was at that moment, of course, when Leonidas realized he had no idea how to use Psi. More than that, he had still not claimed his experience reward, nor looked at himself post-Class acquisition. It seemed like a massive oversight, and one he knew he’d need to correct immediately.
“I want to claim my 5,000 experience points,” he said immediately, “and then open my Character sheet!”
The moment he said the words, a sudden tension gripped him, and Leonidas felt his body momentarily stiffen. A surge of heat rolled through him from his nascent Core, and he shivered at the feeling of incomparable power that washed over every nerve in his body in a tide. It felt as if his senses were coming alive in a way he’d never known, and he was standing under a perfect-temperature shower. He could almost picture golden light threading through his veins, and he felt himself shiver in pleasure at the torrent of energy coursing through him.
One wave, then a second in quick succession, and it was done.
“What the hell was that?” he asked after several deep and steadying breaths.
As if in answer, a System screen popped up helpfully.
image [https://i.imgur.com/NDwHQec.png]
“That was two level-ups?” he said incredulously. “Fuck me, does that mean that every time I—oh god, does that mean that Kairi and the others—? Nope! Nope! Not thinking about that at all.”
Leonidas swiped his hand to banish the System screen, and when he did, his character sheet appeared in front of him.
image [https://i.imgur.com/tLjtm89.png]
Name: Leonidas Achilles Romulus Paendrag
Age: 25 | Race: Human | Sex: Male
Core Name: Cataclysm Core | Core Stage: Formation
Class: Psiarch | Level: 3 | Rank: Novice
Health: 100 | Mana: 68 | Stamina: 58 | Psi: 28
Affinity: Psi | Archetype: Knight | Discipline: Duelist | Ambition: Sovereign
STR: 13 | AGI: 11 | DEX: 15 | VIT: 10 | END: 16 | INT: 16 | WIL: 18 | CHA: 13
Psi Skills: Pskinetic Blade | Pskinetic Shield | Psion's Focus
Knight Skills: Chivalric Charge | Coup de Force: Premier
Sovereign Skills: Noble's Resolve | Oath of Fealty
Titles: Terran Forerunner (U)
Traits: Terran Cataclysm (U)
2,000 / 3,000 XP
4 Attribute Points
1 Skill Purchase Points
0 Skill Upgrade Points
0 Skill Evolution points
----------------------------------------
“Woah. Okay, so…”
Leonidas scanned the sheet quickly, and immediately noticed the main changes. His Class, Affinity, Archetype, Ambition, and Aspect were all filled in—as were his Titles, Traits, and Skills. Additionally, he’d gained 1 Skill Purchase point, and 4 Attribute points, and was sitting at 2,000 out of a required 3,000 experience. The immediate assumption, then, was that reaching each consecutive level required him to attain enough experience as his current level, to a factor of one thousand.
“So I need 3,000 experience total to hit level 4? I wonder how much the arena nets me…”
It explained why he’d only gotten two level ups from his 5,000 experience, at least.
“Now, Attribute Points and Skill Purchase points, huh? I guess that means I can buy new skills. I wonder if that’s—?” Leonidas shook his head to clear his mind. “No. Focus. Worry about that after you survive the Arena. Now, what did Tarnys say…?”
> “You must have a high Willpower and Intellect to have unlocked Psi as your Affinity. That’ll serve you well in the Arena, given what you’ll be up against.”
Leonidas smiled when the memory came to him, and with only a moment’s hesitation put two of his Attribute points into Willpower, and then the remaining two into Strength to complement it.
He was a spellsword, after all. He would need some measure of buffer against whatever was waiting for him in the Arena.
The moment his points registered, he saw Psi increase by two, and his Mana increase by the same. With that done, Leonidas nodded at the changes to his character sheet and dismissed it with a wave of his hands.
His skills he’d need to practice, as idiotic as it was, in the Arena itself. He had no idea how long he had, but based on what Tarnys had said, it couldn’t have been long. Instead of wasting more time, he walked back to where his new sword lay unclaimed, and reached out to take it.
When he had it in hand, he looked at it quietly for a moment.
“Channel Psi into the sword and armor, huh?” he asked the air. “Maybe it’s just like it was in Elatra. If that’s the case, then…”
Leonidas closed his eyes after he said the words, and let himself slip into the meditative state Miranda had drilled into him as a core part of his repertoire. “A steady mind is a lethal mind” she’d often said, and Leonidas could find no fault in his old mentor’s words. Calm suffused him while he breathed in through his nose, and out through his mouth, and he felt himself slip from distracted mental buzzing into a state of heightened focus.
Feel the energy…
He searched within himself carefully, and pulled at the essence of his Core to find what he was after. At first there was nothing, only the quiet flow of mana through his laughably small channels, and the hum of energy from his formless and still-condensing [Cataclysm Core]. It was something he’d need to address, or perhaps could address during the Arena. First, though, he needed to find—
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Currents of power flickered within the recesses of his Core, and ghosted along its exterior in coruscating sparks of concentrated force. These, when compared to the scarlet of his [Cataclysm Core]’s power and the rich blue of his mana, were void-purple and manifested like vipers of pure thought. Grasping them in the usual way was impossible, he realized after several attempts at doing so, and so he didn’t.
Instead, he focused his Will and sense of self into pulling on the fleeting current.
The moment Leonidas pulled at the strings of purple power lurking within his Core and its surrounds, he felt a sudden flash of understanding erupt within his mind. Heat, chill, and electricity rippled along his spine and his eyes snapped open with sudden and abounding awareness.
Ripples of purple lightning crackled and sparked around his gauntlets, and Leonidas looked down at them with a newfound sense of comprehension. Something in his mind had unlocked in a way he could not fully explain, and he immediately felt himself alert and in-tune with his Affinity. Psi, he realized, had little to nothing to do with actual magic.
It was the force of Will, and Intent given form.
Almost instinctively, Leonidas let out a breath and pushed Psi from his mind into his body, and let it flood through his armor. As it did, he directed a portion of it specifically along his right arm, and threaded it into the gems placed into the pommel and crossguard of his sword.
When he did, he felt a kind of aching emptiness within the weapon where the gems were, and sought to fill it instinctively. Leonidas raised the blade to look at the gems, and smiled at what he saw. The moment the Psi made contact with the quartz stones, both lit up as if a backlight had been activated. It was dull at first, and then quickly grew until both jewels shone faintly with an enigmatic inner force.
Serpentine sparks of Psi could be seen crackling within their depths, and lighting up the scars across each of the gems.
The moment both amethysts lit up, he received a new joint notification.
image [https://i.imgur.com/YEcLRY1.png]
Leonidas realized he could feel it the moment he did, as well. The armor felt comfortable in a way it hadn’t before, and seemed to have subtly changed as well. Where before it had fit him imperfectly, now it felt like a second skin—and shaped itself to his musculature without issue. His sword, meanwhile, felt more sturdy in his grip; and when he made a few testing swings, it felt as though it had been made for his hand.
In a flash of curiosity, he spoke out loud. “System, show information on my sword and armor.”
image [https://i.imgur.com/CKAnJTj.png]
image [https://i.imgur.com/zeKH7Od.png]
[Archon's Psiblade] [Damaged]
[Quality]: Rare
[Requirement]: Level 1 - 10 Psionic Class
[Effects]: Binds with wielder on use
[Description]: The Psiblade was once wielded across Altera in the time of the [Archon Order], and has since become a relic of a bygone era following their Order’s destruction. The few Psiblades that remain are of little use to modern Psions, as they lack the traditional combination of Archetype, Ambition, and Aspect favored by the Archons. Without a Knight, Noble, and Duelist combination, the Psiblade cannot reach its full unfettered potential. In the hands of a wielder that possesses these traits, however, this weapon’s potential for growth is uniquely powerful, and uniquely terrifying.
[Archon's Warplate] [Damaged]
[Quality]: Rare
[Requirement]: Level 1 - 10 Psionic Class
[Effects]: Binds with wearer on use
[Description]: The Warplate worn by Archons was designed to be paired with an [Archon’s Psiblade]. When bound to the same wielder, both the Warplate and Psiblade form a symbiotic bond. This bond is then used to synchronize evolutions for both the Warplate and Psiblade to ensure maximum potential, for both the items and the Psion they are bound to. With the fall of the [Archon Order] and the loss of their bloodline, it is exceedingly rare for a Psion with the correct Archetype, Ambition, and Aspect to emerge and bond with the items early enough to bring out their full potential.
----------------------------------------
“Okay,” he said approvingly. “I owe Tarnys a beer for this suggestion.”
Right when he said the words, a sudden sense of awareness gripped him, and Leonidas looked up at the door. He had the oddest feeling, suddenly, that Tarnys was about to walk through the door. It was like he could feel the elf approaching, and when he thought the other man would open the door, Leonidas looked right at it.
A moment later, that’s exactly what Tarnys did.
Woah. Did I just track him with Psi?
“Ready, Leonidas?” The raven-haired elf in question asked him with a once-over appraisal. “The Arena Master was none too happy about it all, but he knows better than to argue with the Dusk-Lord. He’s probably going to make your first match spitefully brutal, though, so I hope you’ve had enough time to prepare.”
Leonidas frowned and walked toward the elf instead of answering immediately.
When he did, the subtle ‘feeling’ grew noticeably stronger. Experimentally, he stepped a few feet away again, and it grew slightly more faint. He stepped closer to Tarnys again, let the feeling build as he did, and then once more stepped away from him.
“Leonidas?” The elf asked in momentary confusion. “What are you—?”
“I can feel you,” Leonidas said without bothering to obfuscate what was happening. “Like you’re broadcasting some sort of signal, and I’m receiving it. This is super weird. Cool,” Leonidas clarified, “Very cool, in fact! But also weird.”
“Ah,” Tarnys said after a moment of clear confusion, which melted quickly into understanding. “You awakened your Psionic Focus.”
“My what?” Leonidas asked immediately upon recognizing the name of his skill.
“Your Psionic Focus. It’s a passive skill that allows you to identify the presence of people you’ve had time to, for lack of a better word, attune to. From what I understand, it’s like a form of extreme spatial awareness. When you get stronger, it becomes sort of like what you Terrans call ‘active radar’, if my memory is correct.”
“...that sounds incredibly, incredibly overpowered.” Leonidas said with wonder.
“If you get that far, sure.” Tarnys said glibly. “Until then, though, it only works on people you’ve attuned to, and I have no idea how long that takes, so…” he shrugged and took a half-step toward the door. “Now, we’re expected. The first match starts in five minutes, and you need to be at the gate in the next two. Are you ready?”
Leonidas glanced around the room, glanced down at the sword in his hand, and then promptly shut the visor on his helmet securely. “As ready as I can be,” he answered honestly. The visor barely obstructed his vision, he was happy to notice, though it did create black spots at the edges of his periphery that he’d need to stay aware of.
“Good enough,” Tarnys said with a decisive nod. “Let’s go.”
Leonidas stepped forward to follow him, and the pair set off at a brisk pace.
The distance between the preparation chamber and the gate, thankfully, was far shorter than Leonidas had been expecting. Tarnys had likely picked a preparation chamber that afforded him more time to be ready, thanks to its proximity to the arena entrance, and for that Leonidas felt another wave of gratitude.
The gate itself was an immense portcullis in ancient style, with magitech veins running along the length of each of its thick teeth, and a wide circular tunnel connecting it to the preparation area. The arena beyond was hidden, as well, behind a layer of thick steel that had been artfully placed over the interior of the portcullis’ spikes.
The surface, Leonidas noted with morbid amusement, depicted quite a vicious battle.
“They’ll announce you shortly,” Tarnys said from beside him and pulled his attention. “Remember that this is a fight to the death, not a show match. I managed to sneak a glance at your first opponents, and I’ll deny it if anyone asks me, but I can say with confidence that I think you’ll be alright.”
“What am I up against?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Tarnys said with a firm shake of his head. “I won’t break the rules like that, but I can tell you that it’s definitely within your wheelhouse to beat. Just focus on your sword-work and avoid overtaxing your stamina or psi reserves. Remember: Your specific Archetype uses Stamina as its resource, and your Affinity uses Psi. Your Ambition will probably use mana, but I doubt any of those skills will be very useful today.”
“What do I do if I run low on Stamina or Psi?” Leonidas asked while the first, and familiar tingles of pre-battle adrenaline started pumping through him.
“Do you have Aetherium left?”
“Yes.”
“Then buy some potions from the store, and hope you get a chance to drink them. Your helmet will impede you though, so you may want to consider removing it.”
“Isn’t that just asking to be stabbed in the throat or head?” Leonidas asked warily. He hadn’t worn a helmet on Elatra, but he’d had his Divine Skein to protect him—and with his mana density as the Hero, it had almost never been a concern that it would run out. At least, not until the battle with Azrageth himself.
“It’s definitely a risk you’d be taking,” Tarnys conceded, “but the alternative is trying to pull off your secured helmet in the middle of combat, while also trying to avoid getting hit long enough to down a potion. If you’re trying to take a health potion because you’ve been injured on top of that, well…”
“Couldn’t I just, I dunno, de-summon it? It’s bound, right?”
“Have you had time to practice that level of precise control?” The elf asked with a raised eyebrow. “Because I’d be worried about accidentally de-summoning everything, if you haven’t.”
“Okay. Fair point.” Leonidas said with a grunt, and throwing caution to the wind, reached up and pulled off his helmet. Without hesitation, he handed it to Tarnys and shook his hair out.
At that moment, a booming voice filled the tunnel in thunderous Haelfennyr.
“{ANNOUNCING THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PRE-SHOW GAMES, WITH THE BENEVOLENT SPONSORSHIP OF HER LADYSHIP, DUSK-LORD DUCHESS LATHERIAN…}”
“That’s your cue,” Tarnys said when the voice abruptly went quiet again, and while taking a few steps back. “Good luck, Leonidas, and remember something: ferocity is your friend. The crowd is everything in the games. Win the crowd, and even if you lose, you might walk away with your life.”
“Thanks, Tarnys.” Leonidas said genuinely. “I mean it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Leon—Ace.” Tarnys said with a smile. “See you afterward!”
Leonidas raised his sword in salute, and turned back to the portcullis when the magitech veins erupted with light, and the portal to the arena rose in a brilliant flood of morning sunshine.
He took a final steadying breath, and then strode out to the roar of the crowd.