"What is mental resonance? I learned a little bit about it, but I don't know most of the specifics." Owen asked. Moxius seemed to think about it for a little bit before speaking. "Mental resonance is mostly the same as combat resonance in function, but the results are extremely different. With combat resonance, you gain increase attack power, but you are also more in tune with your body, allowing for faster reactions."
"Whereas with mental resonance, you achieve the same, but with your mind. You gain a considerable amount of control over your mana, while also being able to interact with it using just your mind. Normally, this is generally the case anyways, but the difference in process allows for things like mind reading, telepathy, and telekinetic powers, even if greatly diminished compared to skills." Moxius said. Owen nodded and tried to see if he could send a message using just his mind, but he didn't see any reaction from Moxius.
He tried to move the mana around, without using a skill, but while it did move, it was more like a molasses. It didn't look like a natural movement the mana could make, which Owen assumed was because he didn't have mental resonance. He double checked with Moxius who nodded back. "One of the interesting things about any kind of resonance, is that despite the normal requirements to unlock it for some people, the more it is used around others, the easier it is for them to replicate." There was a specific tone around Moxius's words this time and Owen realized quickly what it meant.
They wanted Owen to use resonance around them, inn order for them to possibly be able to recreate the feeling and use resonance early. However, it seemed like even Moxius's information wasn't infallible. Owen had asked Xerxes about this previously, especially since he could easily get everyone he knew to be able to recreate resonance, if he were to demonstrate it enough times. So, Owen just told Moxius what Xerxes had told him. "While I could go out of my way to demonstrate combat resonance to you, you would only be able to create a parody of the effect, while at the same time limiting your access to being able to use real resonance."
Moxius looked like he wanted to argue, but sighed and shook his head. "Bear said the same thing every time I wanted him to show me how to use it. Achieving resonance is just too far out of my grasp at the moment. My stats are currently too far misplaced with my potential and both my class and skills consistently push me further from my stat potential." He didn't press the issue though and Owen let the silence hang as he thought about Moxius's issue.
It wasn't unfamiliar to him, but it was also why he wanted to help him reach level fifty. If he created a secondary class to help boost his stats in a way that went along with his potential, it would be easier for him to achieve resonance, even if it wasn't a guaranteed results. Owen himself wasn't sure how he had managed to accomplish it, but a part of it had been him resonating with specific weapons, while inside the training gauntlet. The process for others wasn't guaranteed to be the same, so the first step would have to be a secondary class.
They let the silence reign as they got to the tier eight gate and entered it after making sure the other was ready. "You probably know more than I, but this gate is far more dangerous than most of the others I have attempted and so I need you as far out of the way as possible. If you can find a way to participate, great, if not, I will try to give you the last hit." Moxius nodded seriously, so Owen didn't waste anymore time and they both dove into the gate.
The whole world was transformed into a barren wasteland. The ground was cracked and cratered in most places, with debris strewn about like sprinkles on a cake. Owen and Moxius stared out into the wilderness, trying to see if there was anything worth aiming for, but nothing stood out. Owen half expected a tumble weed to be pushed past them in the wind, but most everything they could see was either rubble or sand. Picking a direction at random, they started walking, both of them on high alert.
They aimed towards what looked like the largest pile of rubble in the area and set off at a brisk walk. Owen checked his system notifications, but there wasn't any extra information he could gather from it, that he couldn't see himself.
*You have entered the tier eight gate, Desolate wasteland.*
The worst part, was that there wasn't a specific clear condition, which usually meant that you needed to find the boss of the gate and defeat them. Taking another glance around, Owen couldn't help but groan and Moxius also looked slightly defeated. "I will send out some illusory copies and hopefully they can pick something up." Moxius said and Owen gave him a grateful nod. "Awesome, I am going to see if I can find anything related to the rubble, maybe it has hints?" Even Owen didn't believe himself when he said it, but they spilt apart anyways.
They weren't so far apart they couldn't help each other, but far enough apart that they could focus on scanning for hints. Each piece of rubble Owen found had a slightly different pattern etched into it, but more importantly, they looked like they had been carved, rather than broken or split into pieces. He began to collect each one, temporarily storing them in his bracelet, until they were all gathered.
It didn't take long and without any monsters having appeared, he continued. Moxius eventually realized what he was doing and also began collecting the rubble. More than an hour later, they had gathered every piece and Owen groaned. "It's a fucking puzzle, and one of those super hard 3d puzzles as well."
"It isn't so bad, at least we haven't had to worry about being swarmed by monsters." Moxius said, as he fitted two pieces of the rubble together. Most of the pieces were about the size of a softball and with over a hundred of them, Owen sat down and started trying to fit some together as well. They only made it a couple minutes before a loud groaning sound echoed through the entire world they were in and several dust storms were kicked up. They had only manage to fit together as many as five pieces, but apparently that was too much for the boss. A notification came through and Owen wanted to curse at Moxius for speaking too soon.
*You have begun assembling the ancient ritual stone and the world quakes in despair.
Finish assembling the stone and activate, before the wasteland claims you as one of its own.*
Owen turned to Moxius and stared for several seconds, until Moxius raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, I spoke too soon. Do you want me to try and take care of it, or do you have it handled." Moxius asked, though Owen knew that they both knew he would need to take care of it. "I've got it, I leave as many of them alive as possible and in a couple minutes, do a walk through and take care of them." Owen answered as he began limbering up.
The sand storms grew fiercer and shapes began falling out of them. They looked like bodies, but their form would change for a moment, as if they were whisked away by the wind, before quickly recollecting and continuing their walk towards Owen. Owen didn't wait longer than identifying the first enemy, before he charged in, his bracers quickly changing form.
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*Hybrid Sand Elemental - Level 93
This enemy can change its state of matter, while communing with its element. Based on environment, can boost is speed and power, by absorbing matter and expelling it mixed with its element*
As Owen dashed towards the closest one, even more began spawning out of the sandstorm and Owen was surprised to see the storm could be identified as well.
*Blessed Sandstorm Elemental - Level 134
This opponent has no method of attack, but can continuously spawn hybrid elementals at the cost of mana. Can spawn up to ten elementals a minute, with a chance of spawning an elemental bruiser.*
Owen's eyes grew wide as another kind of elemental dropped out of the eye of the sandstorm and began charging forward as quickly as Owen himself was moving.
*Sandstorm bruiser - Level 102
This enemy cannot change its state of being, but can harden and soften parts of its body at will, making them extremely hard opponents to fight. When killed, it creates a small explosion of sand, berserking nearby hybrid elementals.*
Owen didn't have the chance to complain, before an enormous fist of sand crashed into him, causing him to spit up blood. He felt his bones creak as he was flung through the air. He managed to land in a crouched position, but everything hurt. He felt the next blow, before he could even see it and he barely managed to duck, before another sand fist crashed through where his head had been. Owen quickly got up and back away as another strike came his way and he cursed in anger as he felt sand inside his shirt and pants. "It really is irritating, coarse, and is already everywhere." Owen complained, before he launched his counter attack.
Now the question that he had already asked himself, how does one fight monsters made of sand, Owen wasn't quite sure yet. He had already started his combat style of repeatedly changing out weapons, while pushing the sand monsters back from where Moxius was still assembling the rubble, but to little effect.
The chaos energy he was imbuing his weapon with seemed to have an effect on the hybrid elementals, but the bruiser didn't seem to have any issues. Every time Owen had made a move to attack, he ended up hitting soft sand, rather than the rock hard material that kept trying to blow him to bits. Owen was already pushing his limits as he slowly needed to begin dodging more than he was able to attack and after a minute, he cursed as another bruiser started barreling towards him.
Less than a second of time passed, as Owen breathed in deeply and regained his focus, just as the bruiser crashed into him. Except rather than a feeling like he had been struck by a truck, he was hit by a blast of sand before it dispersed with the wind. In the same moment it had leapt forwards, he had swung his sword down, while using resonance, cutting past the defense of hardened sand. In that moment, Owen had complete control over the field, as he began slicing through the elementals like paper. He wasn't able to keep any of them alive, but with the bruisers, he was able to. Time passed as Owen kept up his whirlwind of strikes and he finally heard Moxius shouting over the din of battle.
"I've just about finished, you take care of the rest and I'll clean up here." They traded out and blasts of fire began shooting out of Moxius's hand and he attack with his own sword. He strike sounded like thunder and the sounds of glass shattering were all Owen could hear as he raced back towards where the ritual stone was located. Moxius really had left him barely any thing to assemble and as Owen inserted the last piece, the whole world rocked.
The world shook and the storm reached a fever pitch as the sand inside of it began condensing. Owen rushed back to help as the surge of monsters more than doubled. Owen felt himself almost toppled over as a rush of power shot through him, causing his attack to be thrown off balance. He still focused on the fight as the final boss appeared. A crystalline golem had formed and in the same moment, the storm disappeared, leaving just the three of them.
*Goliath: Glass Golem - Level 155
Due to having the title of Goliath, this monsters defense and attack have been doubled.
This monster is known for its durability and can withstand most attacks. It is very slow, but can heat up the surrounding area, by empowering light cast through its body.*
Owen barely had time to finish reading thee information, before a beam of focused heat hit the ground, instantly turning it into a plate of glass. The beams of energy continued as the monster slowly lumbering forward. Owen made several slashes against its body in quick succession, but for the first time, his resonance attacks barely had any effect. Tiny chips had been made from each attack, but Owen wasn't dissuaded. He transformed his sword into his warpick, which he swung as hard as possible into one of the cracks his sword slash had created.
Spiderweb fractures appeared all across its body and before it had the chance to stop him, Moxius used some skill that Owen didn't recognize. Following up his last strike, Owen's attack shattered the body of the boss monsters. Energy ion the area collected for a moment before dispersing and Owen collapsed to the ground slightly exhausted. "Nice save, Moxius, that was clutch." Owen said as he forced himself into a sitting position again.
Moxius had a wide grin on his face and Owen gave him a questioning glance. "I leveled up twice in just this gate!" He said excitedly and Owen felt like cursing. Even if it had been his idea to bring Moxius with, he wasn't able to go full power, otherwise bringing him wasn't even worth it. Owen had hoped Moxius would make it to level fifty in this gate, but apparently they were going to need to dive into another one, before Owen could go all out. So, he just nodded and looked at his notifications.
*You have reached level 55
Polymath's Apprentice has reached level 15
Covetous Wielder of Chaos has reached level 2*
Owen grinned wide, but that wasn't yet everything as another couple notifications waited for him.
*You have the option of selecting a new class skill.
You have gained the title, Goliath Slayer, for killing a boss more than 100 levels above you. This title grants a 5% increase to all stats.*
Immediately interested, Owen turned to Moxius. "Did you just get a title?" He asked, wondering if he just found a great way to power level people, but Moxius shook his head. "No, why do you ask?" Owen sighed, "I just got one and I had hoped you would've gotten it as well." Moxius shook his head again, though he did look interested. "We can talk about it later, we should have already left for the next gate minutes ago." Owen said, before getting up and moving towards the gate exit.
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"There is someone on the outskirts of town waiting to speak with you," Mark said, looking slightly confused. Myra scanned him and sighed, "Okay, I will head over in just a bit." Mark shook his head furiously and seemed to hesitate. "The name of the person waiting is Malik and he said he will speak with you now, or this city is forfeit."
Myra felt a wave of nausea coming on, but she pushed it out of mind and she turned towards where Malik was supposedly waiting. She sent a message to Owen and called for everyone else who could put up a fight to meet her where Malik was supposed to be.
Something told her that this visit wasn't simple, especially if their name was Malik. All of them had heard the system call him out, even if her vantage wasn't the greatest. She could only imagine how strong someone would be, that many levels above everyone else. The very idea made her shudder slightly, but she once again pushed her anxiety to the side and she focused on the task ahead of her. She wasn't sure how long it would take for Owen to return, but she wasn't even sure that he would be able to help.
It had already been several weeks since the man had been above level 120, with his rate of progress, she wasn't sure if Malik would even be below some crazy level, like 150.
As she moved towards the outskirts of Rochester, more and more people joining her group as she moved forwards, she felt her heart drop as she saw Malik standing in the distance. It was worse than she had feared as the man she remembered the system flashing a spotlight on, stood by himself, with a wide grin on his face. Myra used identify, though she expected it to fail, but instead she had to fight to keep her face neutral.
*Malik - Level 176*