Issania and Arthur sat at a small table with a teapot between them, all items the elf had summoned from her storage device. It was, in her words, a graduation dinner of sorts, even though the locus prevented her from retrieving any of the high-level cuts of meat from her ring. They were apparently too high a tier or something and so they’d been forced to make do with a beverage Issania couldn’t even remember picking up.
Ilshtur’s brew, it was called. Whoever the man was, or woman, Arthur wanted to go and shake their hand. Whilst the drink didn’t provide any buffs or benefits, it tasted delicious and Arthur was on his fourth cup already, the minor alcohol content a non-issue in the face of his Draconic Vitality.
“So I guess this is it them,” Issania said, raising her glass. “You’ve received your rewards and I’ve got mine.” Unlike him, she’d gotten a little tipsy and her cheeks were tinged red. “I’m gonna get kicked out of the lowcush in three minutes,” she slurred. “Isn’t it about time you get rid of your obfushcation? No? At least tell me what race you are then. The curioshity is killing me.”
Arthur smiled at her antics, though she wouldn’t be able to tell right now. Issania wanted to know who he was. He’d thought long and hard about what he’d do going forward now that he’d gained a class and wasn’t at risk of a soul explosion. He’d come to two conclusions. One was that he had absolutely no plans on what to do in the post-system world. Arthur had once dreamed of becoming a surgeon but he could now bring man back from the brink of death with the click of his fingers. His former goals seemed a little… simple now.
For a while, he’d held on to the hope that he would be able to bring his sister back to life, but he now knew that things didn’t work like that. Without that anchor tying him down, he was now free to do whatever he wanted, go where he’d never travelled before and see things he’d thought existed only within the realms of imagination. There was an entire universe of possibilities out there and Arthur currently had no idea what he wanted to do. I’ve got time to figure things out. The second conclusion Arthur had come to was that it was time to stop hiding who he was. He’d done so initially out of a sense of self-preservation but continuing to do so no longer made any sense and bordered on paranoia. No one on Earth could equal him, and the cat was already out of the bag with Lady Sleyca learning of his identity. No, unless Arthur was happy with the life of a hermit, he’d start making splashes sooner or later. Case in point against the threat Earth was currently facing. I'm no longer willing to take shit from everyone, anymore. It was tiring and put a bad taste in his mouth. He wouldn’t go around flaunting his soul-mage status to anyone and everyone but a small demonstration of power here and there would make his life, if not easier, at least more bearable to live.
And what better way to start this new policy off than with the woman before him. Issania had taught him a lot, she was a great teacher and easy to get along with. If a powerful noble lady came after him, he wanted a friendly one backing him on his side of the camp.
“I’m only doing this because I feel bad about how I just thrashed you,” Arthur joked as he removed the locus’s anonymity feature. “My full name is Arthur Ward, by the way. A human, born on this little ball of dirt we call home.” With the way translation magic tended to work, that was enough for her to guess the planet’s name, though he doubted his little play on words went over well. It wasn’t his problem to worry about either way. Arthur would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a thrill of satisfaction when Issania’s eyes widened in shock.
“You're a HUMAN!” she exclaimed. “How? I was sure you were dragonkin of some kind. Are you currently in disguise? Or perhaps a beast that’s taken on a humanoid form?” Issania was understandably shocked at his grand reveal and the barrage of questions didn’t look like they were coming to an end any time soon. Unfortunately for her, she had exactly 73 seconds left before she was returned to her physical body and her time in this locus came to a end, nowhere near long enough to satiate her curiosity. Lifting a hand, Arthur waited for her to quieten down. “There's no big trick to it,” he said. “I’m human, perfectly ordinary. Well, I guess I’ve become a little special in recent times, but otherwise, I’m your average Joe.”
“I’m not gonna pretend I understood the last thing you said, but I’ve got sixty seconds left on the clock. I can waste it getting shitty half-answers or give you my final advice as your teacher."
"Focus on developing your concepts but don’t get tunnel vision. You’ve got a long time left before things get sticky. Don’t worry too much about skill levels. You’d rather be someone who knows the way around a level 1 skill rather than an amateur who's maxed theirs out. Keep working on your spear forms. Pick up a general skill for it if you've got the room for one, something ranked Rare at least. Otherwise, wait for when we can actually meet face to face and I'll hook you up with something good.” She paused for breath. “Besides that, if you ever find yourself on Arlo, don’t be a stranger. I’d add you as a friend now but the system’s not letting me. Oh and take this.” A vial of purple liquid appeared in her hands and she passed it over to him. “It’s the most useful thing the locus is allowing me to give you. I’d explain what it is but I don’t have the time. Just get it evaluated and use it when you think is best. And well-” she smiled at him, the expression lighting up her face. “It wasn’t for long, but I’m glad we met. Oh yeah, I said I’d tell you if you did good. The real me is level 306, I broke the class barrier just a decade ago so my levelling speed is definitely on the high end. One last thing. My rewards for this layer were given on the grading Excelled beyond all expectations thanks to you being such a great student. I got a legendary ranked bond egg as a reward. Whatever hatches, if it's male, I’ll name him Ward to remember you. And don't be too disappointed by your rewards. You went above and beyond, yes, but unfortunately the rewards a Tier 1 locus can give you are severely limited. Accept whatever you get and move on. It's not the be all end all.”
“Goodbye, and may the winds forever favour you, Arthur.”
Issania, unfortunately, had timed things wrong, so she had to stare at him for an entire fifteen seconds after her farewell before her clone was whisked away, her face becoming as red as a tomato by the end of the awkward moment of silence. She’d probably wanted to look cool or something, most likely imitating something she'd seen her father do long ago. Finally, her clone was whisked away, saving her from further embarrassment.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
“That woman’s a daddy’s girl through and through,” Arthur said to the empty space in front of him. No one was around to hear his words, he was the last living being in this locus and his time of departure was fast approaching. He had an important decision to make before then.
You’ve been rewarded with a [Epic] skill upgrade token and a supplementary enhancement (Disruptive force) of the epic variant. These rewards must be used before you leave the locus or your rewards will be forfeited. Time remaining: Six minutes. You have gained a Locus Title, Above And Beyond
This title does not follow the usual tiering system inherent to titles. Above And Beyond- Gain an extra three stats per level. (This title does not work retroactively. Applies to levels beyond 300)
His rewards for the third layer were self-explanatory. The upgrade token would directly raise a skills tier to the epic grade and the supplementary enhancement was something that he could use on any of his existing skills below the legendary grade. It would apply the (disruptive force) effect to it which made the skill ignore 20% of a target's defences, both physical and magical, a potent boost to say the least. It had been a close battle between Poisoned Fang of the Hydra and molecular water shot but he’d eventually settled on the former.
At the end of the day, his water bullets weren’t useful because of how much damage they did, they were there to deal with weak mobs and control his opponent's movements. The poisoned fang of the hydra, however, was a skill made purely for damage. The ONLY reason he’d be using it would be to finish off a tough bastard he couldn’t handle through other means. Enhancing a purely damage-focused skill to deal more damage just made sense to him instead of wasting it on something meant for crowd control.
His latest title was also quite simple, and though it seemed a little disappointing at first, it was anything but. The vast majority of sapient species and most beasts and monsters stopped gaining stats after breaking the barrier of level 300. Till date, he'd thought of it as a hard rule, with the only subsequent methods of stat growth occurring in the form of system achievements like the one gained from slaying an apocalypse beast. This title was his first step in breaking through that limitation.
The reward he hadn’t settled on though, was the epic skill upgrade token. He had one class skill he could use it on, Overcharge (Elite), but on the other hand, Identify had been sitting at max level for a long time right now. Upgrading his purify by two ranks was sure to bring about some useful effects too. His other general skills he wasn’t too fussed about but those two were definitely contenders. Actually, is Identify even classed as a general skill? I’m pretty sure most fighters out there would be pretty pissed if one of their limited slots was taken up by an ability they didn’t have any choice in receiving.
It was needless speculation right now that he didn’t need to concern himself with. He’d ask someone about it later. In the end, it was a decision between utility and more power, something he could use anywhere and a skill he’d only use situationally. That cleared things up for him. He was plenty strong enough already.
You have selected Identify (Unranked) for an upgrade. Commencing skill evolution.
Searching through the host's records…
Resonating with existing skills…
Resonating with class...
Finalising…
Complete…
You have created the Intrinsic ability Homunculus eye (Epic)...
This is no longer classified as a skill and has become an innate characteristic of your unique species…
Homunculus eye (epic)- The homunculus forever chases perfection, always searching for ways to reach new heights, the catalyst required to climb to the pinnacle. That desire for growth has created this ability. Passive effect- Increases Perception by 20%. Makes ether and magic more easily observable.
Active effect: Analyse an item or individual. Your understanding and this skill's magical nature will help you discern their true disposition, weaknesses strengths and total health pool. May even disclose their highest attribute.
Cost: 100 ether.
Note: Innate abilities do not have a level. Instead, they grow stronger the more the user adapts to them.
This was incredible. He’d gone mining for copper and found gold. An innate ability. Arthur didn’t really know what one of those was but it sounded cool as fuck. Homunculus' eye also broke a few hard-set rules that he’d been aware of. It allowed him to look at another individual's status, at least parts of it, which was supposed to be under the impenetrable barriers of their soul. Why was that the case? The answers didn’t take him too long to figure out.
Identify had evolved by resonating with his personal records and skills, it was literally built using his very being's history as its foundation. The only known way to see another person’s status is by using soul magic and I’m a goddamn soulmage. When it rained it poured and this was one of the few times Arthur welcomed the drizzle. He had the tools on hand to benefit instead of getting drenched. Smiling, he placed the vial of purple liquid he’d been given on the table. Issania had told him to find someone to evaluate it for him. Looked like he wouldn’t need to do that anymore. Sadly, his curiosity would have to wait a while to be satiated. The locus was finally kicking him out. He quickly grabbed the vial and the teapot his teacher had left behind and placed them in his dimensional bag. It wouldn’t do to leave them behind right now. Arthur felt the teleportation magic closing in on him and knew instinctively that he could reject it if he chose to, at least for a while. Listening to reason, he decided not to. Arthur didn’t want to find out if you could get permanently trapped inside a locus. Closing his eyes Arthur took a deep breath. He’d be leaving this place a changed man free from all soul problems and with a legendary class to boot. A dizzying moment later, it was done. When the smell of forest hit him and a breeze ruffled his hair, he knew he was back on Earth.
When he opened his eyes, Arthur was surprised at the sight that greeted him. The forest looked like a giant had stepped on it, with trees completely uprooted and branches broken off. The ground was filled with potholes and he could see the signs of a fire that had burned itself out. Nailed to a stump in front of him was a piece of alchemically-treated paper, covered in scrawly writing it took a moment for the myriad tongue to translate. Arthur didn't have a good feeling about this and as he began to read, he realised his gut hadn't been lying to him.
It was short, concise, and written in note form, the hasty scrawls of a woman pressed for time.
I came out in time. Artemo was where I left him, but they had this place surrounded. I don’t know who they were but I managed to kill two of them and lead the rest away. I came back to leave this warning. They’re NOT HU-
That was the exact moment a grenade exploded in Arthur's face.