I wake up, roll out of the way, and activate Temporal Echo. With diminishing returns being what they are, it's no longer worth fighting the mantis myself — and besides, I don't trust myself not to make a mistake. My mind is still spinning, going over those last few moments again and again.

It's not just the song. It's not just the implication behind the names of the two monsters. It's also very much those two things, but—

I gained Firmament credits. Why?

No matter how much I roll the thought around in my head, I don't know. Maybe it's the number of Firmament abilities I used, but if it's possible to gain Firmament credits through practice, then the gains should all be folded into Harpy 1's death. Maybe it's the fact that I faced off against an opponent a full magnitude stronger than I am.

That's the best guess I have at the moment. Harpy 2's song is eerily similar to the way the Interface crushed me two loops ago. I don't think they're necessarily related, but...

[ You have defeated a Broken Horror (Rank E)! ]

Not even a single Firmament credit. I grimace and let my Temporal Echo fade away, picking up the scythe and forming a plan of action. I'd expected that anyway, with the diminishing returns.

If we're going to defeat the harpies, we're going to have to kill both Laments at the same time. There's no more time for training, no more time for hesitation — I need to use every single one of my assets.

Which means it's time to bank everything.

I glance over my stats, hesitating for a second. But I don't want to bank everything mid-combat. It's hard enough as it is to figure out what every skill does, and I want the time to pick through my choices, not just pick the first one that fits my situation.

It feels... almost like a waste? But I think it's time.

I start with Strength.

[ 47 Strength credits spent! Rolling for results... ]

[ Select between:

Crystallized Strength (Rank C)

Adrenaline Rush (Rank D)

Strength Enhancement (Rank D) ]

I'm starting to see a pattern for these credits. Nothing concrete, and some of my data doesn't fully line up; my first Firmament skill is ridiculously highly ranked for the amount of points put into it, if the pattern so far is any indication.

I pick the higher-ranked skill for this one. I can't tell much from the names alone — they all seem to be generic enhancements, and one of them is literally named that — so all else being equal, I'm going to assume the one with the highest rank will do the most for me.

[ Crystallized Strength obtained! ]

Next, Durability.

[ 37 Durability credits spent! Rolling for results... ]

[ Select between:

Steel Body (Rank D)

Frozen Moment (Rank D)

Barrier (Rank D) ]

I take a moment to think about this one.

Steel Body would be unilaterally useful; it's the upgrade to Tough Body, if I had to guess, which means I'll naturally get it if I can upgrade that skill again. Frozen Moment is vague, but might protect me for a fraction of a second. Or freeze everyone around me, but that doesn't sound like a Durability skill.

Barrier is the most obvious of them all, and strikes a nice balance between Frozen Moment and Steel Body. A general upgrade would be good, but I doubt it's going to be good enough, and I think I can get it by other means. Frozen Moment is... risky. If I get a good Reflex skill, I might be able to use it well, but if the moment ends too early or I mistime it then I'm screwed.

A barrier I can keep up, and I might even be able to use it to protect Mari and especially Tarin. I doubt I'm taking out those two harpies by myself, as much as I'd like to.

[ Barrier obtained! ]

My first Reflex skill is next.

[ 58 Reflex credits spent! Rolling for results... ]

[ Select between:

Mental Acceleration (Rank C)

Automatic Reflex (Rank C)

Danger Sense (Rank C) ]

This one is... interesting. Mental Acceleration is the most broadly useful, whether it's an active skill like Second Wind or a passive one like Tough Body. Automatic Reflex... presumably allows me to automatically respond to an input stimuli with any chosen skill or action? It's hard to tell; the names are vague. If I'm right, it's not a bad skill to use in combination with something like Barrier or Frozen Moment, but also not independently useful.

Danger Sense is something I can already do, to a certain extent. I have 'unstable Firmament', whatever that means, and the apparent result of that lets me sense it when Firmament is accumulating. It would be helpful for exploring something like the Fracture, so an enemy doesn't come out of nowhere and bludgeon me to death, but it's not as immediately useful for the upcoming fight.

Mental Acceleration it is.

[ Mental Acceleration obtained! ]

Speed I only have twelve points in, but I bank them anyway. I want every advantage I can get.

[ 12 Speed credits spent! Rolling for results... ]

[ Select between:

Triplestep (Rank E)

Inertial Deepening (Rank E)

Directed Speed (Rank E) ]

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Triplestep sounds generally useful for movement and travel, if I take the name literally. I have no idea what Inertial Deepening means, but if I had to guess... it makes it harder for my inertia to be changed. It would take more energy to slow me down, or to start moving me.

Directed Speed... might make me move faster in a specific direction? Like Triplestep, but less generally useful, and maybe a little faster in return.

Inertial Deepening is the most interesting of the three, but Triplestep is broadly useful. I suspect a Rank E skill isn't going to help me that much in the fight against the harpies, anyway.

[ Triplestep obtained! ]

Last but not least... Firmament.

It's been a while since I picked up my last Firmament skill. Temporal Echo is the only skill I have that doesn't match all the data I have on credit distribution and skill rank. There are a few reasons I can think of for that — maybe I got ridiculously lucky, for example. Maybe it's the nature of the Trial I'm in. It's a Rank SSS Trial, and I can only assume that the rewards are commensurate.

Assuming there are rewards at all.

Alternatively, it might be the situation I'm in. It hasn't escaped my notice that the first three Firmament skills I rolled for were all in some way related to the fight I just had. I have no doubt that Temporal skills, such as they are, are higher rank than their counterparts; if the pool of skills it's pulling from is more limited...

But this is all speculation. I have twenty-nine Firmament credits. If the credit distribution I've been seeing is anything to go by, I'd expect to get a Rank D skill from this, with maybe a small chance at getting a Rank C skill. Considering how useful Temporal Echo has been and has the potential to be...

It's worth it to bank now, I think. A Firmament skill might change everything.

[ 29 Firmament credits spent! Rolling for results... ]

[ Select between:

Temporal Echo (Rank D)

Firmament Manipulation (Rank D)

Sonic Scream (Rank D) ]

I stare at my selections and frown.

It's evident that Firmament skills pick from my experiences — Temporal Echo, Firmament Manipulation, and Sonic Scream are all direct from things I've been doing. Presumably Firmament Manipulation will make things a little bit easier, and maybe allow me to move around Firmament that isn't my own. Temporal Echo... I don't know what getting a copy of Temporal Echo is going to do. It's good to know it's possible to get skill duplicates at all, but what a skill duplicate does...

"What does getting a duplicate of a skill do?" I ask, just in case.

This time, there's no response.

I don't want Sonic Scream. It's a good ranged skill, and might even be something that would be useful in my kit — but I don't see a good variety of uses for it. It's an offensive skill and nothing else, and that's not bad, but... I find myself wanting more. Maybe if I have the points to spare, one day.

Firmament Manipulation would give me something like what the crows can do, reinforcing and strengthening specific body parts; hopefully, I won't have to have Second Wind active to be able to sense and move Firmament.

I already know what Temporal Echo does. I don't know what getting it again would do — but I've seen a skill getting upgraded, so I assume it would do something similar. It... feels like a lot to gamble on. There's more to Temporal Echo, I know there is; every time I touch on the skill it gives me a sense that it can be deeper, that it can do more.

Do I want to spend my points on the gamble that an upgraded Temporal Echo will let me do more? Or do I keep the skill as it is, exploring it to its limits until I'm forced to upgrade it?

I linger longer on this choice than the others. Firmament Manipulation feels like the best choice, but something about Temporal Echo is calling to me.

On the other hand... I've gotten Temporal Echo more than once already, and with less points spent. If I can get a copy for less points, then I should. I'll have to test it out, but all signs point to the idea that getting Temporal Echo for the third time shouldn't be that hard.

Firmament Manipulation it is.

[ Firmament Manipulation obtained! ]

I take a moment to look over my new skills and consider the results. The rating scale I have in mind seems largely accurate — under ten for F-rank skills, under twenty-five for E rank skills, under fifty for D-rank... under a hundred for C-rank, though I have no proof of that.

There's some chance of rolling a skill that's at least one rank higher than your current bracket. Critical rolls boost the rank of a skill, and clearly something happened to let me get a D-rank Firmament skill so early on in the Trial. I don't know what to make of that yet, but I'm banking on it happening again.

Of the five categories, Durability is the closest to that hundred-point milestone. I should consolidate that as soon as I can — what happens when I hit a hundred points banked is a feature of the Interface I'm still not sure about, and the sooner I understand it the better. All I remember is something about a bonus.

I've gained Crystallized Strength, Barrier, Mental Acceleration, Triplestep, and Firmament Manipulation. But getting new skills is one thing. I have to test them out, get used to them...

The best way to do that will be through practice. I'll spar with Tarin again, if he's willing, but first, I need to make sure these new skills aren't going to kill anyone.

Or trip me up.

I start towards the nearest tree, and note the difference almost immediately.

Firmament wraps around my feet when I move. What should take thirty steps takes only ten, and I'm suddenly right next to the tree, deep-purple wood towering over me. I take a breath and invoke both Barrier and Crystallized Strength, dual Firmaments ringing inside of me — a flash of blue surrounds my fist, and I feel more than I see the effect of Crystallized Strength, like a lattice of Firmament wrapped around every fiber of muscle.

It's painful.

But when my fist hits the tree, it does so with an explosion of sound. Bark shatters outwards, a solid half of the trunk cratering inwards; the entire tree sways, and I hear the telltale cracking of wood as it begins to topple. I note the line it's about to fall in, and realize it's going to land almost directly on top of the mantis' corpse.

I Triplestep, realize halfway across that it won't be enough, and move up a level to Firestep; the compounded speed takes me to the mantis' corpse in an instant. I pick off the scythe, use a burst of Crystallized Strength to yank off the other one with a crack, just in case I need it, then glance up.

The tree falls towards me, almost in slow motion. Mental Acceleration.

Curious, I wait for it to fall, stepping just a hair's breadth back and letting the tree breeze past in front of me. Another Crystallized Strength, this time backed with Firmament Manipulation to pack as much Firmament as I can into my arm, a Barrier to protect my skin...

The Barrier I used breaks from the sheer force of the blow. My knuckles bleed, but the Barrier's protected me from enough force that none of them are broken.

The trunk of the tree cracks in half from the sheer force of the blow, and the entire thing rotates, landing almost forty-five degrees off from the power of my fist alone.

I stare at it for a moment, and then let myself feel a bit of hope.

Third try. Last try.

I won't let them down.

----------------------------------------

[ Loop 8 in progress. ]

[ Status:

Name: Ethan

Strength Skills: Crystallized Strength (Rank C)

Durability Skills: Tough Body (Rank E), Second Wind (Rank B), Barrier (Rank D)

Reflex Skills: Mental Acceleration (Rank C)

Speed Skills: Firestep (Rank C), Triplestep (Rank E)

Firmament Skills: Temporal Echo (Rank D), Firmament Manipulation (Rank D)

Credit Distribution:

Strength: 0 (47 banked)

Durability: 0 (84 banked)

Reflex: 0 (58 banked)

Speed: 0 (79 banked)

Firmament: 0 (31 banked) ]