Reaching out to the system. Trying to call up my status as normal, nothing happens. 'What..' "The system does not reach here." is a quick reply from the shadows.The darkness churns around me, floating in the void, "You strained yourself, you are not what you once were Nihr.. The original Seals was it truly you who placed it? Maybe." a soothing voice echoes softly from the darkness, "You have a long road ahead, I will protect you until you awaken to the Truth or for as long as I can." The voice slips out back into the darkness. My tense body slowly unwinds, the calm darkness the stillness comforting both body and mind. 'Where am I?" my thoughts echo out into the dark. "The abyss, our domain.." another voice echoes in, "Not your first time here.." and another "Won't be the last we suppose either." a soft voice, distinctly female says, "Work out the issues with your energy, then return back to the Tower, you will not be able to stay here long not with your current power."
'Thank you for the respite..' the darkness around me cradling my body. 'One question I have, you mentioned I am not what I once was, You know me from before.. What was I really?' the very space I float in shakes after that question leaves my mind, 'Not ready.' The female voice snickers slightly, a soft sound echoing in my ears, "You would say that til the end of time, #$&@(*)%#" her voice turns pondering, "However I will agree with him for now, become stronger." a sigh escapes my lips, 'Become stronger is always the answer huh.. I suppose.' closing my eyes letting my conscious flow back to my body, I remember back to some of the first lessons on multiple types of energies and their manipulations.
--- Tower of Magi, City of Latun ---
"Now young Talm, focus your mana, move it along the points as we discussed. We are trying to build your mana pool, the foundation is always important, to build upon it is easier the better you do." feeling the mana floating in the surroundings a massive concentration sitting in a crystal in between my palms pulsing in the blue glow I had come to know from mana in my recent year as Master Polman's apprentice. The mana flows jerkily from the crystal up my arms, cycling in my chest then flowing towards my heart in one final cycle. A pulse explodes outward, "Congratulations Talm, you have join the ranks of Magi!" Master Polman's face is jubilant as he claps excitedly at my success in forming a mana pool in my heart.
--- Natures Storm Sect ---
"Is he really still stuck at Qi Sensing, he has been here for over 20 years... how old is he now and why has he not advanced?" an older voice asks. "Answering Sect Master, he is 43 years of age. He had advanced however, due to an accident his meridians ruptured and his cultivation base he had gained was lost fighting a Beast in protection of 6 other disciples, including your personal disciple, Sect Master." the sect master hums slightly, "Give him a Luminous Rebirth Pill. May he have fortune bestowed upon him in his next life." the voice that answer previously sputters out, "But Sect Master you held onto that pill for a-" pressure descends upon the advisor, silencing his objection.
--- Dunes of Skorn ---
"The desert gives us much, accept that gift, Prav'na. Breath in the power of the dunes. Use it to fuel yourself, walk the sandstorms, the dunes, withstand the heat of the suns. You will gain much." an old dune rider stands there lecturing me. The sand swirls around my palm, a connection long since made, freeing and calming the grit coarse between my fingers. An earthy aura coating my hands, the sand falls to the ground through my fingers, the winds of the desert pulling the falling sand away to the desert currents.
The memories slide by more and more, accepting the energies of the universe, in one form or another, my body being tempered, changed. "Calm the flow, direct it, the connection was strained because you used more than you were suppose to for the level that your body is at. Your body had a high adaptation towards the Dark yes but, that doesn't allow for infinite use yet." turning back to the voice, the energy that was flowing in my body the connection I had with Dark, the strain on it lessens, my headache I didn't notice slowly fades to the background.
The dark swirls around me, refusing to move towards me and doing nothing besides hold me in its embrace. "Why would you start over, you are already at the peak.. Just because his body can not handle the strain is not due to body alone it is because he is trying to embody two &*@#_!." a grating voice rebukes me confusion comes to my face, 'Embody two?' The grating voice sends out a surprise, "Oh.. you don't know, shall I drag it out for you." pain lances through my entire being, feels like someone is rooting around my insides. "Ah there you are..." There is a pulling sound something snaps into existence next to me.
A shadowy being stands there, its head is tilted to the side, looking at the surroundings, its face splits open slightly a mouth and teeth slightly visible in the shadows of its face. "Where...." a gurgling voice comes from the shadow, "When..." the shadow asks instead. It turns staring into the dark away from me then abruptly stiffens.. "WHY?! WHY AM I STILL HERE?!! WHO TOOK IT?!!!" it shrieks, it begins flailing about.. ~rattle~ the shadowy being shrieking becomes hysteric. "So a discordant soul? No, but it is the same as you." the grating voice that decided to root around my being says. "Is it?.. How? It is you.."
My mind stops at that, the flashback of the room with the Gods coming to mind, me lying against a wall destroyed. 'You are the one who sacrificed?' the shadowy being turns sharply at that looking directly at me. "Ah.. ah.. how many times.." the shadow groans out, "Taken by you?!" "YOU!!" "No.. thats not right..." it seems to stare at me, its body shifts from tension to relaxed to tense again. "Now why did you go and do that... So foolish.. so tired." the shadow looks at me I can feel it is looking at me in pity. "You took it upon yourself? why?" the shadow asks. The space we are in begins to shake, "Enough." comes from the shadow, a voice different from the previous, red chains and links slowly materializing around the abyss. "Oh now what is this, this is interesting? You-" the shadow's head turns sharply in another direction. "Not ready." the shadow says again.
The grating voice chuckles, "Very well, that is the reason for the discordant soul. If so the strain on his body will be too much to bear." the shadow turns back to face me, "He will be fine.." the shadow steps forward, all the memories I have for danger spike through the roof as the shadow walks towards me, its form rapidly shifting to contain both colors of black and red, swirling in tandem.
As it reaches me it pulls up a hand, the shadows a stark contrast to the black and red that make up the being. "Must go back, must finish what we started Nihr.." the shadows hand touches my forehead disappearing in a flash. 'You know who that is or what that was, do you not?' my thoughts travel to the voice that pulled this apparition from my body. "Do not worry Nihr, if he states you will be fine, you will be. How it is even possible is beyond even our knowing."
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The soft voice echoes again, "Your connection has calmed, your strain is lessened by his hand." 'So what is the Dark that I use now his power or my own?' the female voice laughs for a moment. "That would be telling now, and we can't have that just yet, knowing too much is a burden, even you know that. Why else is there a seal in the first place." my mind grinds to a halt at those words. And deciding not to linger on that non answer just yet, I shrug my shoulders, I can feel an ache from where the shadowy being was rooted out from inside me, but also from my entire being.
"I told you you have been here too long. So much pointless talk. At least you got what you came here for originally." 'Oh and what is that, all I seem to have is more questions.' tossing my hands up in exasperation. "The connection is not strained, the flow of Dark is stable once more. Remember Nihr, from In to Out. It all starts here. A female hand is visible in the shadows I feel a finger touching my chest where my heart is at. "Be on your way now." a shove and I am no longer floating.
Jolting awake on top of a tree, 'What is it with having freaky ass dreams, visions, memories, and whatever the hell that was in trees, I swear did I piss off nature itself in a past lif-' the tree below me shakes violently before going still again. Back in the tower, ignore the tree, I look out over the crown of the tree to the forest floor below. A Hobgoblin is standing there berating two other hobgoblins. 'Wait did I not get a combat log for the previous one killed?'
System Reconnect Established
Floor 6: Broken Forest
Threat Level: F - F+
The first true step on a path to climbing the Tower, everything from floors 1 to 5 are considered a tutorial on things to come for experienced Climbers. Welcome to the true tower, floors are never the same from this point onwards, good luck.
Description: The Broken Forest, is part of a remnant %#@&* that was pulled into the Tower after its destruction. The inhabitants range from Goblins, Hobgoblins, to lower tier Ogres. To pass this forest navigate the broken forest and slay the Broken Spire's Master. Or tread a path not travelled by others to go to the next floor.
Withheld Combat Log: Hobgoblin Scout
Fatally Struck Hobgoblin Scout(Lvl:016)
Distributing Earned Rewards:
Experience: 873
Tower Coins: 130
Drops:
Hobgoblin Scout(Lvl:016) dropped Steel Shortsword.
Weapons Lost: 2x Iron Shard Daggers
'Withheld until a reconnect huh? that means that wherever I was at either didn't have a system, or had different rules in place. I assume different rules in place. The systems are generally just operating systems that run off the na..tu..r'
'What was I thinking about? Hmm. Well looking at the three hob's below, I should be able to take them out easily with the Dark, but I need to find more avenues to use just in case a situation like before occurs. Explore a different energy type.. Nature maybe?' shaking my head, 'tasks at hand, climb higher, get strength, level to 5, hopefully get some true answers, deal with those below me.' Dragging my feet over the edge of the crown, just above the arguing hobgoblins. Planting my feet onto the tree trunk, I do the equivalent of a walking down a tree perpendicular, shadows allow me to adhere to the tree, while also encasing my body under my armor so gravity doesn't force my to fall, after one step at a time, I stop a couple arm lengths above the hobgoblins. During one of the fitful arguments the one berating the other two decides to points up and at the tree and just so happen to point directly at me, the two others following its fingers direction turn to stare. Their mouths drop open staring at me. The berating Hob looks between the two and says something gutterally in its own language. One of the other Hob's points behind him at me, doing a small chirp sound. The hob slowly turns toward me still pointing in my direction. It stares at me for a moment, looks back at the other two, looks back to me.
"Human?" it asks in the common language. Tilting my head, "Death." I reply seriously. The hob nods turning back to the other to hobgoblins, and then books it to the utter surprise of all of us. Me and the other two hobgoblins stare at the retreating form of the hobgoblin, a horn sounding out moments after it disappears through the brush.
One hobgoblin whines something before turning towards me. A handful of something snaked out of a pouch on its waist it throws it at me. Vials.. come into my vision, my eyes turning red as I remember my first ignorant move on the second floor. "HELL NO!" my anger flares shadows surge from below my feet eating all the vials mid air, a muffled explosion the only sound that something occurred. The Hobgoblin Alchemist stands there mouth open, a lance of shadow sticking out of the top of its head. It was pierced through from between its legs through to its head. The shadow lance drops back into the ground the hobgoblin dropping to the ground like a puppet without its strings. The other hobgoblin was mid posture for throwing a javelin that was over its shoulder towards me. Dark strings stopped it mid motion.
"Just had to remind me of that mistake on the second floor." swiping my hand away towards the hobgoblin tied with dark, its body is shredded and immediately dies. 'Overpowered, yes.. Whatever I used for killing the two trolls is what left me in that state of exhaustion and strained my connection and use of the Dark, as long as I don't use that I should be alright.
Combat Log
Fatally Struck Hobgoblin Scout(Lvl:???)
Fatally Struck Hobgoblin Alchemist(Lvl:???)
Distributing Earned Rewards:
Experience: 1,562
Tower Coins: 206
Drops:
Hobgoblin Alchemist has dropped Vials of Bang x3.
Hobgoblin Scout has dropped Necklace of the Scout.
The influx of experience is the tipping point for my next level, a surge comes from within me, a brief vision of the black obsidian cube of the network spins in my mind pulsing with red energy that rips through my entire being, I drop from the tree to the forest floor, barely catching myself in time, as a pulse of red shatters the trees around me, scarring the massive tree I was just on. 'Ho boy.. Now that was a punch to the gut. A fresh of breath of air forces itself into my lungs my body losing all aches and pains as the red pulse swirls around my body just above the skin for a moment before pulling back into me.
Horns of all types started blaring in return, reaching down I grab the necklace and vials before I turn and start running through the forest, 'Pick them off, hunt them down, gain power, advance to the next floor. Getting to level 5, and advancing floors are priority.' Picking up speed I start to sense large groups of hobgoblins through my connection with the Dark. extending it out in a line in all directions pushing it as far as it can go, I cover a large portion of the forest with this radar, minimap.
'Pick them off huh..' a grin comes to my face. No struggle when I outclass them. Hopefully something worthwhile drops to give me a different means, or I can try my hand with my other memories and some of those methods..
We shall see. Tossing a vial of bang, assuming its the explosive vials the Hobgoblin alchemist tried to pelt me with, it flies from my hand as I pass a tree a Hobgoblin Ambusher stands there knife at the ready. As the vial smacks into its chest shattering the vial a concussive and violent flames explodes forth throwing the Hobgoblin into the tree. Splattering it across the tree and surroundings in flames and bits of flesh.