Ray felt a burst of eagerness roil through him as the spell activated. It had been a while since he’d had a clear enough opportunity to test the new abilities he had earned. He was determined to make the most of it.
[Channel Prayer]
Channel Prayer has found multiple items above Denizen-grade. Please select which item you would like to draw upon.
Tower Node of the Marauder
Tower Node of the Mentor
Tower Node of the Skycaller
Tower Node of the Fleshcrafter
Tower Node of the Ingestor
Tower Node of the Abstractor
It wasn’t surprising at all that he had the option to pick one from all his Tower Nodes. Ray didn’t need to ponder the choices as he had already figured out which he was going to go with.
Fleshcrafter.
It felt like it was the best choice, but Ray also understood there were some inherent risks with that option. For instance, what if that Tower Node ended up providing him with abilities that were essentially similar to what he already had? Primal Spiritcraft was a modification of his flesh, in a sense. He could also already create constructs using Lifeblood Soulform.
Still. Ray figured he’d give the System the benefit of a doubt and assume it had figured things out enough to not give him something redundant.
[Channel Prayer]
You have selected Tower Node of the Fleshcrafter. You have obtained the following abilities:
* Fleshform Manipulation
* Fleshboon
* Untamed Flesh
* Untamed Flesh has been converted to Fleshed Exchange by Path of Lifeblood Chaos
Huh. So those were the abilities he could get from the Tower Node of the Fleshcrafter.
The first ability was pretty clear on what it would allow Ray to do, although he would still need to read its description. It was the second that was more confusing. Fleshed Exchange? What in the world was that supposed to do?
Also interesting that his Path had affected one ability, but not the others. Was the Tower Node itself restricting how much his Path could affect the powers it granted to Ray? If so, why wasn’t it restricting both abilities? Maybe the latter modification was actually something beneficial, whereas the first wouldn’t have been.
If it was a matter of choice which ability could be modified by his Path, Ray wished it had been left up to him.
Well, at least he could look more into his new abilities. A little information Request brought up the details.
[Information Request—Channel Prayer]
Fleshform Manipulation [Utility]
A flesh manipulation ability that makes the wielder’s body malleable. Wielder’s body can now be transformed to increase or decrease mass without impairing bodily functions. Certain modifications will affect the wielder’s stats, and modification can be performed on both musculature, skeleton, and all organs.
Fleshboon [Passive]
A passive ability that allows your flesh to knit itself back together after receiving an injury at a significantly enhanced rate.
Fleshed Exchange [Utility]
A flesh manipulation that can be switched between defensive and offensive forms. In offensive form, the ability causes all of the wielder’s other attacks to carry with it a tiny growth of flesh. This flesh grows as soon as the attack touches the foe. Rate of growth is enhanced as more attacks hit the foe. In defensive form, the wielder can embed layers of chaos underneath patches of secondary skin that detonates on a foe upon contact.
Ray’s eyes widened. Alright, his new abilities were all super cool. Or at least, the descriptions were really exciting. Whether the actual abilities would stand up to scrutiny could only be determined via some testing.
But that was why Ray was here. Why he had selected this out of the way field so that he could do whatever was necessary.
Flesh manipulation went first. Ray had less than 3 minutes with the trio of abilities, so he tried to be a little fast about it. The ability was definitely intriguing. Just as it said on the tin, he could modify his own body.
He experimented with his arm muscles first, since they were the least likely to cause any unintended and lastingly harmful consequences. It took only a second of focus to reduce the muscles there,. His arm grew much thinner and turned sticklike, much easier to move. He could also do weird shit like making his forearm thin but ballooning up his fist. Pretty wild.
And comedic too.
The leg muscles received a similar treatment. His testing was more focused this time. Ray tried to find the right balance of adding and streamlining his muscles to increase his movement speed while keeping the limb strong.
It was kind of insane to realize he was essentially replicating months if not years of exercise that regular people could go through in just seconds.
Then again, he was also capable of flying with little effort.
The unfortunate part about experimenting was that there was nowhere near enough time to figure out his ideal state of muscles. Plus, it wasn’t like he could keep himself in that state perpetually. It was only while the spell lasted for those 3 minutes.
As such, Ray decided he would practice more with making instantaneous modifications, such as granting himself a boost to his speed. He even slowly but surely learned how to create extra sets of organs. For instance, what happened if he lost his heart or his lungs? It would be very handy if he could recreate ones as good as new with his skill.
He actually tested it out with one of his kidneys. Creating an extra one inside him caused a stake of pain at his waist to grow and grow, which only relieved when Ray used Fleshform modification to open a slice on his waist and let his old kidney slowly pop out as the new one took its place.
Ray was really, really thankful that the process of replacement came naturally to him. It was just taking the new organ and placing the old connection to the new one’s biological terminals. Definitely easier for things like kidneys, lungs, and the heart.
He did not want to test it with the spinal cord.
“Don’t worry,” Ray told the guard, who was trying very hard not to look aghast at Ray’s activities. There was quite a bit of blood, what with all the bodily tinkering. “I’m perfectly fine. I’ve been using a little bit of my Recovery to make sure it doesn’t actually harm me, you see.”
Fleshform Manipulation would have been more ideal if he could have learned how to fix any injuries and wounds. He couldn’t really modify his skeletal structure, so that was one negative.
The other thing was that wounds were complicated. Sure, he could perhaps learn how to reknit and reconstruct an organ’s structure back how it used to be.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
But that wouldn’t help if the organ itself was diseased and decaying. Fleshform manipulation couldn’t get rid of pathogens. Ray was free from diseases in this world, as far as he had experienced, but still.
That still applied to actual wounds too. He couldn’t manipulate a chunk of debris or a broken weapon out of his body, nor could he remove all the internally haemorrhaged blood.
Plus, he had Fleshboon as a passive ability to help with wounds.
No, it was better to construct a whole new organ with his skills and just replace the faulty one.
With all that testing done, Ray moved on to his other active ability. Fleshed Exchange.
The description had stated there were two forms for it. The defensive and offensive forms. Since he didn’t have an actual target to test the offensive form on, he figured he would test the defensive version. He supposed he could smack the guard who annoyingly followed him everywhere, but he quelled the silly urge.
When the ability activated, Ray found he could modify his skin. Specifically, he was able to create thin flaps of new skin over the one he already had, and under this new skin went chaos.
It was definitely something to see a small patch of chaotic black-red energy creep over half his forearm. A little bit of will was all it took to cover up the energy with new skin. It looked so normal. So natural. Ray hardly felt any new weight on the area he had used Fleshed Exchange.
Though, that did change when he applied the ability to more places. The gradual increase in weight as he moved from one patch of skin to the next was difficult to notice, but it became a lot clearer when he applied it all at once.
Not surprising. The skin was the largest organ a person had.
Point was that it wasn’t necessary for him to do it all over his body. This spell was about making an enemy regret getting too close. As such, he only ought to put it in places most likely to be impacted.
It was a little saddening he couldn’t test the offensive capabilities just yet, but that was alright. He’d just have to wait until he faced a new monster sometime later.
“Mimic time,” Ray said.
He said it out loud as sort of a signal for himself. But more than that, he was curious about the guard’s reaction. The man had been eyeing Ray’s Tower Node—before it had disappeared—and then the associated powers Ray had tested. How was he going to react when Ray exhibited a very different power?
The word “mimic” made the guard jolt a bit. Ray was definitely curious at that reaction. Was the guard one of those who had been stationed on the spire, or was it a more general feeling towards the Lesser Imitators that these people were so desperate to keep out?
Ray focused on what he needed to do. He had the mimic transform into various objects in the area. The fence posts. The patch of ground it stood on. Even the guard’s sword.
When Ray tried to actually wield the last one, he found he couldn’t pull the sword out of its sheath. It made sense. The Imitator construct had copied it while it was inside the guard’s sheath, so of course it couldn’t imitate what it couldn’t even see.
Funnily enough, it could mimic the guard too, though Ray quickly made that disappear before the man got offended.
The biggest test came when the construct transformed into Ray again. Mostly a pretty good copy, if Ray was being honest, even if it was disappointing the construct couldn’t cast spells like he could. That, he admitted, would have been a little too overpowered even for his tastes.
There were some interesting applications, though. Like, the Fleshed Exchange ability hadn’t stated it had to be his own flesh he could trap some chaos under.
It was no difficult a matter to turn his Imitator form into basically a bomb of chaos. He covered its whole figure with another layer of skin, secreting black-red energy underneath. Now, as soon as anyone or anything struck it, the fake skin would burst and spill out a detonation of chaos. Very devious, if Ray was asked.
Although, in the middle of a fight, he wouldn’t be able to do that quickly. He would need to prep it beforehand. That did limit the applications to some extent.
Ray also understood that a lot of the Imitator construct’s applications would be situational. It could turn into whatever it saw, so seeing something new could create new opportunities and use cases.
At the same time, it did retain information about what it had turned into before. Ray could still make it turn into a tunnel from the Imitator Dungeon. There was no indication of how many of these transformation choices it could retain, although, his recollections of the ability descriptions gave him somewhat of any idea.
Since Lifeblood Graveyard was holding it at Tier 10, Ray could assume he had at least 10 different transformations possible through the Imitator construct.
He would need to be careful about when he ran out.
With his Imitator tests done, Ray turned his focus to his new spells. He retained the Imitator’s presence. It would now act as his spell-test dummy.
Ray cast Spiritblood Stake on the Imitator then had it move around. There was the slight glow of a faint, black-red stake impaling the construct from its head through the middle of its torso. Ray grimaced and apologized a little. That looked painful as all hell.
It worked as the descriptions stated, though. The further the Imitator went from the spot where it had been hit by the spell, the more it took spirit damage. This damage was continuous, so after some time, the Imitator actually disintegrated once the spell power had built up enough.
Hmm. Just as he had feared, it didn’t seem super practical to use in a battle. Especially against fast foes like the Lostcaller.
Although, that was balanced by the fact that he only needed to get it off once in a battle.
Ah, well. Ray did have a ton of options to work with.
Afterwards, Ray, his Imitator construct, and the guard all worked together to bring in a large rock and a large pail of water to the field.
With those, Ray tested the combination of Project Presence and Spectral Step again. He could try working with a different spell, but most things he could cast either wouldn’t hold still like a projection of his spirit would or wouldn’t be as True Mana efficient as the spell he went with.
“Do you need me to remain here?” the guard asked, a little apprehensive.
He clearly didn’t want to stay close by. Ray wondered if it was because he thought the experiments were a little insane, or if he was scared of the Imitator. There was definitely some tension in the air, radiating entirely off the guard, due to his proximity to the construct.
What was with these people and their hatred for the Imitators?
“It’s fine,” Ray said. “You don’t have to stay nearby if you don’t want.” He grinned at the Imitator, who only looked back impassively. “I’ve got me, myself, and I to count on.”
The third mention of himself was true because, as the guard began departing, Ray created another mimic construct to transform into himself. Three sets of hands were stronger than two.
“Alright, stand back,” Ray said.
The Imitators obeyed, falling back for a moment.
Ray used Project Presence to send his spirit partially into the rock. The world distorted and there was once more that heavy, splitting sensation he still couldn’t get over. It left him too disoriented. But he refocused and quickly used Spectral Step. The spell took his actual body straight into the rock too.
He knew the experiment was dangerous, but thankfully, nothing bad happened. The part of his body inside the rock—which was his lower left leg—materialized inside his target.
It displaced the matter within. This made the stone shatter as the mass there was pushed out into the surrounding rock. With so much matter getting compressed into such little space, it was no surprise the pressure became too great and the rock rumbled around Ray’s feet.
He grinned. So Spectral Step was strong enough to overcome even solid matter. That was an incredible discovery.
Ray hadn’t been convinced after trying it out against the Lostcaller. After all, that was a biological body. Mostly soft. Liquid, in truth. He’d had his doubts that his body would be able to displace something stronger than it.
But it turned out it could. Ray’s next test with the water revealed that he could replicate the same experience with liquids pretty easily. He already figured that, but it was good to test nevertheless. The displaced water splashed out of the large pail and drenched half his lower body. It was the force of the displacement that Ray took note of. Strong. Strong enough to kill.
Just as it had done with the Lostcaller.
Ray knew he could probably test a few other things if he let himself come up with more ideas. But all the recent testing had taken up too much of the day. He still needed to actually perform the tasks he had been assigned, and he had wanted to find some things out for himself too.
So, as the last piece of exercise before he headed out, Ray decided to check his Status.
[Status]
Raymond Dominick
Race: Human
Class: Spirit Carver [Epic] [Tier 3]
Vocation: Tower Conqueror [Epic]
Path: Lifeblood Chaos [Legendary]
Level: 24 [15,580/37,500]
Mana: 2,150
Recovery: 968
Perks: Riotous Life, Carving Affinity
Gear
Raiment: Gold-Chased Shaper Raiment
Footwear: Drakescale Boots
Headwear: Unseen Feathered Headband
Handwear: Supple Gloves
Accessory: Mana Infuser Ring
Accessory: Silver True Mana Bracelet
Accessory:
Armament: Valorous Back Shield
Armament: Talisman of Greater Scourge [Tier 5]
Armament: Talisman of Life [Tier 5]
Stats
Vitality: 64 [+33] [Tier 2]
Resilience: 4 [+10] [Tier 1]
Strength: 4 [Tier 1]
Agility: 16 [+10] [Tier 1]
Intellect: 115 [+123] [Tier 3]
Spirit: 100 [+115] [Tier 3]
Reputation
Knowledgeable: 702 [Intellect boost: +45]
Chaotic: 215 [15% Insanity (Tier 4) buildup]
Tenacious: 65 [Vitality boost: +10]
Indomitable: 85 [Resilience boost: +10]
Cunning: 145 [8% critical chance]
Thorough: 55 [Pierce Tier 2 defences]
Benevolent: 60 [Refunds 15th spell Mana cost]
Heroic: 60 [+10 to all stats when foe stronger]
Ruthless: 150 [15% bonus damage]
Cooperative: 60 [+10 to all stats in a party]
Hallow: 30 [Removes first True Mana cost in an encounter]
Devout: 20
Adept: 50 [10% bonus Essence from Objective completion]
Spells
Soulstrike [Offensive] [Tier 4]
Primordial Gauge [Utility] [Passive] [Tier 5]
Spiritsorb [Offensive] [Utility] [Tier 3]
Lifeblood Graveyard [Passive] [Tier 10]
Primal Spiritcraft [Summoning] [Tier 5]
Mottling Spiritguard [Barrier] [Tier 3]
Soullife Cloak [Utility] [Tier 6]
Lifeblood Soulform [Summoning] [Tier 6]
Spectral Step [Utility] [Tier 5]
Project Presence [Utility] [Tier 5]
Spiritblood Stake [Offensive] [Tier 5]
Skills
Goliath Eater [Buff] [Tier 3]
Dual Wield [Tier 3]
Killer Instinct [Passive] [Tier 2]
Mana Imbuing [Passive] [Tier 3]
Adaptive Breath [Passive] [Tier 3]
True Mana Skill
Vengeful Plunder [Utility] [Tier 1]
Ah, it was good he had gotten another look at his Status. It reminded him about stuff he hadn’t fully considered yet. Namely, his third Accessory slot and the new Reputation points of Adeptness and Devoutness. He didn’t even know what the latter did, and the former wouldn’t even come into play until he completed his Objectives.
Well, the refresher was nice. Now he could focus on actually finding another Accessory.
For now, though, Ray decided to head out before the day ended. He really wanted to see what in the world was up with these Infected.