Undead Fellton Soldier (x 239) - 50% Contribution [Game Point: + 119 GP] Deep Puppeteer (x 1) - 50% Contribution [Game Point: 50 GP] Bad Wolf (x 45) [Game Point: +45 GP] [Game Point Balance: 260 GP]> Stitching a Frayed Nation Together Rewards: Rebel Title Power: Inspiration Ev. 0 +80 GP [Game Point Balance: 340 GP]> Eli compressed his radiance while he reflected off the air around him as he swooped through the canopy of leaves. He bounced off the grass undergrowth with a flash as he streaked toward the loping pack of six wolves. Fur blackened, tissue melted, and blood boiled. The lives of six wolves were snuffed out instantly after Eli blasted himself in a laser chain through each of their heads or throats. Easy points. Finding them had been harder than killing them. Eli reshaped himself into flesh and blood with an elastic snap that sent shivers down his spine. A triumphant grin spread across his face as he read over his new notifications. Bad Wolf (x 6) [Game Point: +6] [Game Point Balance: 346]> Kill All Wolves! (50/50 Killed) Rewards: Natural Selection’s Assistant Title Power: Hunter’s Bounty Ev. 0 +100 GP [Game Point Balance: 446 GP]> Prove Your Worth! Rewards: Good Samaritan Title +100 GP [Game Point Balance: 546 GP] [Stats: Body: Light (Photon Shot) Perks Equipped: [Glow] [Reflect] [Amplify] Mind: None Will: None ] [Equipped Power List: Slot One -- Stellavoltaic Nullspace Ev. 0/Lv. 5 (Maxed) Perks Equipped: [Double] [Control Light] Slot Two -- Inspiration Ev. 0/Lv. 0 Slot Three -- Warlock’s Sanctum Ev. 0/Lv. 5 (Maxed) ]> “Holy shit.” Eli blinked at the screen hovering in front of him at the same time Roman swooped out of the sky. His armor was a roughed up patchwork of dings and scrapes. “What is it?” Roman asked, alarmed, as multiple weapons charged up with a grating whine. “Fuck. I’ve pushed the Dream parts of my suit too hard.” “All these points… I can buy back my powers and the rest of the perks I want. Might pick up some new powers too.” Eli said while he reopened the [Shop - Perks] and [Shop - Powers] menus. While he looked at the menus, Roman popped his armor off to tinker with the warped sections of the metal. All the places where Dream had pushed reality too far. “Inspiration is pretty neat. I might give Hunter’s Bounty back to DD for the points though.” Roman said while he pried off part of the plating at the front. I tossed aside sheets of armored so he could rip out the mess of frayed wires and scorched circuits inside. Roman sighed at the mess of ruined armor while his eyes flickered to read text. “Oh, sweet. Looks like there’s Stability and Permanence perks available. Get that and a… Nice. Toolkit Construct perk.” Eli nodded absently while he clenched his fists at the sight of a pair of powers that he had to buy outright if he couldn’t try to get a downscaled evo-0 version of them. [Shop - Powers: Evolution 3 List: Cybermancer’s Tech Ev. 3 [Cost: 350 GP] Phytomancer’s Regency Ev. 3 [Cost: 400 GP] ] They felt strong. Far better than what his parents sold to give him the powers he used to create the original power, Lumengust, that he had turned into Lumencloud Transfiguration. He thought about what he had seen when he had figured out Nullspace Horizon. Dad’s hair had grayed, and he had a limp. There had been strange plantlike spawn everywhere. But he hadn’t seen a hint or sign of Mom, Lyra, or Lana. Would it be better to grab as many perks as he could for when they made it back? Or he could make a bunch of starter powers and enchanted gear? He wondered if there was a way for him to make the System-interfacing enchantments and shove it full of spare powers. Maybe he could make copies of the powers and hand them out. There were too many options. Eli scrunched his eyes shut before he dismissed the evo-3 screen outright. He wanted to give them back the powers they sold, the powers they got from the Initialization, but it wasn’t his top priority. Maybe he could get the perks and build it for them. But first he had to focus on what would help Eli and Roman get home. He updated his perk list before pinning it with the wristband’s surprisingly helpful interface. [Shop - Perks: [Common Perks: Control Water - 10 GP Control Air - 10 GP ] [Uncommon Perks: Cloud - 15 GP Navigate - 15 GP Farsense - 15 GP Stability - 15 GP Permanence - 15 GP ] [Rare Perks: Mirage - 20 GP Warp - 20 GP Shroud - 20 GP Insightful Clarity - 20 GP Automate - 20 GP Program - 20 GP Analyze - 20 GP ]> Eli sighed while he massaged his temples. If he tried to get all of these, he would be way over his limit on perks he could hold. Okay. He needed to reassess his goals here. Shroud could go which would save him 20 GP. It wasn’t strictly cloud based, but more mist and shadow. Unfortunately, he wanted everything else. For his new light, space, and cloud power he wanted all the perks he already had. Plus, the Control perks, Cloud, Mirage, and Warp which would cost him 60 GP total. Easy. But he wanted to experiment with the individual perks more to see how he could push Photon Shot. He’d definitely butt into the limit if he wanted any more, and he absolutely did. All the other perks would either be for another new power or they’d be something he could use to train Warlock’s Sanctum and Refinery’s Alteration so they would be even better. He felt like it would overpower Stellavoltaic Nullspace part of the power though and make it too focused on crafting. No, it would need to be separate. Except for Farsense and Navigation which he wanted on Stellavoltaic Nullspace. Stability would be nice for Lumencloud Transfiguration, especially once he was able to slot it into his Mind stat. Eli missed the emotional smoothing over Restoration did for him and would be more than grateful for any semblance of stability and normalcy. Maybe once they figured out dimensional travel he could fuck off and take a vacation a bit. His hope with the other perks was that they could help him either use his powers better as an auxiliary power or he could maybe keep Refinery’s Alteration separate and merge it with Inspiration and whatever new power he created. If he bought all the perks he wanted it would come out to 215 GP. He could buy all the extra perks and merge them into a new power. Maybe he could dismantle Inspiration and add it to it? Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Perk: Stability [Cost: 15 GP] Perk: Permanence [Cost: 15 GP] Perk: Insightful Clarity [Cost: 20 GP] Perk: Automate [Cost: 20 GP] Perk: Program [Cost: 20 GP] Perk: Analyze [Cost: 20 GP] [Total Cost: 110 GP] Y/N?> Yes. Eli jerked as the wristband turned uncomfortably warm around his wrist while a flood of information poured into him. A sense of fullness burrowed into his being from the sheer number of perks he held in his status. He had twelve total with these new ones, Blight, and the five he had equipped between Stellavoltaic Nullspace and Body of Light. One more wouldn’t hurt. Inspiration Dream> Eli immediately chose Inspiration. There was no way in hell he was taking a Dream perk or power, especially not like this. He felt how this could be flexed and used to eventually affect others. Revulsion filled him at the thought of Daniels and his projections. How he used Dream to torture Eli and participate in that fucking massacre at the mall. The simulation they and the government had subjected him to in order to ‘see how he would react’. He wanted nothing to do with anything close to that. But he did feel like merging these perks would be an incredible boon to him in one way or another. Yes. Stability Permanence Inspiration Insightful Clarity Automate Program Analyze> Would you like to equip it?> Eli accepted it with a shudder as his normally whiplash fast thoughts slowed. Eased themselves. Hormonal imbalances and heaps of trauma categorized themselves for him with a flicker. He felt Vigilant Muse lurking like a protector that he controlled, because it was himself. He glanced over at Roman who disassembled his suit in billowing clouds of parts in various states of disarray. Scratched, dented, and melted parts and circuitry were mended or replaced before they slotted back together as if they were never damaged. Vague memories and recollections of pistons and gears flashed through Eli’s mind as Vigilant Muse dredged up every snippet of information he’d ever seen or heard about engineering. He remembered learning about electricity and schematics in elementary school when they took a wire to a battery and lightbulb to make it glow. Right when the tide of information started to become overwhelming, it eased off so he could navigate it or dismiss it. “That’s fucking trippy.” Eli winced as he rubbed his head. It wasn’t supernatural or anything like that. Vigilant Muse just interfaced directly with his thoughts, stimuli, and instincts. “Get something good?” Roman asked blandly while he willed the suit to flip over so he could repair the rear of his armor. “Oh yeah, I’ll tell you about it later.” Eli almost shivered as he felt Vigilant Muse make an actual reminder for him to do so. He wished… oh. Vigilant Muse immediately drew back while it continued to monitor and categorize all pertinent information. It would kick into gear when he needed it or pushed it. “Sounds good. I’m almost ready to go if you want to check out the duels. Unless you wanted to grind out any more spawn kills?” “Nah, they weren’t worth as much compared to the quests.” He still had 436 GP left. He could buy back Lumencloud Transfiguration and swap it with Warlock’s Sanctum after pulling what equipment he needed for each duel. Anything left over would be perfect for some gambling. Vigilant Muse helpfully reminded him that Delver’s Dive offered a different conversion rates from GP to USD. It varied between wristband, but he had skipped through the tutorial screens too fast to notice. He’d have to ask Dorian and Nora later. Use of: Lumencloud Transfiguration [Cost: 100 GP] [Game Point Balance: 336 GP]> Eli swapped out Warlock’s Sanctum for Lumencloud Transfiguration to his immediate relief. Tiny wounds healed as his body absorbed, augmented, and assimilated all the air, water, and light already in and around his body. Body of Light felt like it doubled as the two stored stars of light connected directly to Lumencloud Transfiguration. “Ready to go?” Roman asked with his head in his hand while he flipped a conjured screwdriver up in the air before he caught it by the plastic handle. “Yeah, let’s do this. It’s time to duel.” Eli smirked while he brought up the choice prompt and selected the duel option. Heat simmered across the wristband as particles vibrated all around him. Gravity shifted on its axis as a hook snared around his wrist and yanked him sideways. Space didn’t move around him, but reality seemed to warp as if he were shunted from one layer of the dungeon to another. Eli found himself standing in a vast courtyard by a fountain outside of a colossal stadium. People milled around in throngs as groups gathered or broke apart. Several headed inside through the sprawling sets of double doors beneath an electronic billboard that showed a high level duel taking place. A bald man dispersed into motes of dust and ash or grains of sand. Waves of decay and devastation churned the cityscape battlefield apart while a sandstorm raged. Yet, a vaguely familiar figure hosed the area down with a tsunami of inky shadows that weighed the bald man’s attacks down. Bald man rode atop a cloud of debris. Spores gusted toward the ink user. Bubbles of ink sloshed from the impact as they diluted to nothing. Blades of ink slashed around the bald man as he avoided the attack by dispersing into a cloud of devastation. He brushed his hand over the ink user’s shoulder. Clothing snapped as each thread decayed. Exposed skin paled as it dried in a cracked crust full of bloody fissures. A second later, the ink user collapsed as they broke across the ground as nothing more than a mound of dust. Shadows writhed under the bald man as his real opponent climbed out of the puddle of ink that frothed as it submerged him. Scarlet coated the darkness as the pool of ink lacerated the bald man until the winner’s duelist name and face flashed on the screen. [Inkmaster Wins!] It was Zach, the power trader, that Maeve introduced him to. Vigilant Muse sharpened as it helped remind him that they had met the bald man before too. Eli’s eyes widened as he remembered the strange man on the subway that had tried to peddle that power gym onto them. Maybe they’d need to check it out. “Did they really just demolish a whole city?” Roman asked beside him, dumbstruck. “Is this your first time here?” asked a tall somewhat familiar man beside them. He crossed his arms in front of his armored chest while he glanced from them to the screen that played recaps of their fight that flattened the cityscape arena in two minutes flat. “Yeah!” Roman smiled as he eagerly took over the conversation. Thank God. Eli noticed the man only had a green wristband like him. He must not have very good powers then or a build actually suited for anything more than his occupation and hobbies. “Welcome to DD! My name is Thomas, never Tom, but I’m happy to help you both out! Glad to see you joined the Rebels…” Eli tuned him out as fury kindled through his nerves and veins at that name. Tom. This man looked nothing like that asshole, but yet, he almost did if you squinted a little. His face wasn’t gaunt or covered by those floppy bangs Tom kept. No baggy hoodie ripped to shreds along the hem of the sleeves. He wasn’t short either, but tall and healthy. “Sorry to interrupt you, Tom, but what’s your last name?” Roman asked coldly while Eli studied him in his attempt to figure out whether or not this was Tom’s counterpart of all people. What were the chances? “It’s Thomas, please. I hate the name Tom, that’s my dad’s name.” He chuckled humorlessly while he frowned at their obvious hostility. “But my last name is Andrews. Why do you ask?” “Not Harver?” Eli asked while he stepped closer to Roman in case he had to restrain his friend. Or in case Roman had to stop Eli. “That’s my dad’s name.” Thomas’s eyes narrowed. “My mom took custody away from that narcissist asshole. Do I know you two?” Eli clapped his hand over Roman’s shoulder in a flash as Vigilant Muse picked up on the twitching of jugular. The way his shoulder tensed. This guy wasn’t Tom and didn’t deserve to get punched. Probably. “Nah, you don’t.” Eli’s smile felt fake while he squeezed his left hand slightly in what he hoped translated to ‘chill the fuck out, we don’t punch random people because they resemble people from our home’, but he doubted it went through correctly. “How about a duel, Tom? I’ve always wanted to kick your ass.” Roman’s face flushed with rage as stripes of metal from his suit showed across his cheek. “From a red? No way in hell.” Thomas snorted, but he turned his dark eyes reminiscent of Tom’s over to Eli. “But a green on the other hand? I would be happy to give you a DD greeting warm enough for both of you.” “I’ll gladly fight you anywhere. How does it work?” Eli asked even while two notifications flickered across his vision before the wristband swept him away into an empty void. Eli blinked as fields of gray and swirls of color reshaped the empty world. Dream made a new stage for them using reality’s building blocks as a guide. All he knew was that whoever enchanted these wristbands to work with the dungeon was beyond impressive. What could he and Roman do with their powers once they had them for longer than a couple of months? He couldn’t wait to find out. A mountaintop bulged beneath Eli as he dropped onto the hard frozen ground. Other mountain peaks corralled a rippling forest below them. Thomas looked around at the expansive view with a fiendish grin that looked far too familiar. He stretched luxuriously while fans of flame coiled around him. Remembered painsflared from getting knocked over and kicked in his chest. A barrier of Dream enforced by their bracelets separated them while a timer counted down in their notifications. [10] “I’m surprised you let me pick the field, rookie. That was beyond stupid.” [9] Eli almost responded, but settled for a smug smile instead. Light split and reflected inside of him as he doubled his two Photon Shot stars inside of him to four. Then he amplified Body of Light directly as he twitched. Stone cracked beneath his feet from the erratic movement. [8] Lumencloud Transfiguration greedily swept all his absorbed light up as it saturated his whole body with the increased volume and capacity of light. He let his physiology balance in that perfect neutral zone between light and cloud. [7] Stellavoltaic Nullspace bloomed as his spatial field cordoned off the entire area as he claimed the space they were in. He felt through the veil of Dream and enchantments to the cavern in the dungeon they dug all their stadiums out of. Nullspace hardened the side of the field he could directly control. [6] Vigilant Muse helped Eli as it allowed him to focus on the fight. It gave him more of an edge as he noticed Thomas’s loose, casual stance. The arrogance on his face. He didn’t expect to lose at all. All of Eli’s fights, past experiences, every single moment processed through the lens of clarity Vigilant Muse provided. [5] *** [5] Thomas narrowed his eyes while he stared off this short teenager asshole. How was this kid a green band? Did they even allow high schoolers to compete in DD? Maybe he was one of those pathetic college students who coasted by until they realized they needed a good build to do anything. Delver’s Dive was full of people unwilling to spend real money to fix their adolescent mistakes. But they had no problem gambling their DD points away, and even if they didn't make a bet his own would pay off if he won. Usually, he tried to give some advice to help them out either with their build or on the best spots and quests to farm points. Either way, their losses helped Thomas refine his own build for his eventual promotion. [4] He flexed his muscles in a deep stretch while he ignited a continuous stream of fire that he absorbed into himself with his Body of Inferno. Fortunately for him, his build was perfect for both work and delving. [3] Air combusted in a scorching chain he prepared to unleash on this asshole. See if this fucker enjoyed messing with a fireman who dove into burning buildings on a regular basis. It wasn’t a good look to beat mouthy teenagers or college students up, but no lasting damage would happen here. Thomas had been nothing but nice, then these two acted like he was some freak for bothering clear rookies? Fuck them. [2] Thomas checked his status with a wry glance just to make sure he had his combat powers ready before the game locked his powers down so he couldn’t swap them. He always made sure to unequip his work powers when he came here for the green band. His work powers were versatile and could be used for combat and for Delver's Dive, but he knew he wasn't ready for a blue band, and didn't want any penalities heaped on him for using evo-2 powers on other greens. [Stats: Body: Inferno (Conflagration Ignition) Mind: None Will: None ] [Equipped Power List: Slot One -- Heat Wave Ev. 1/Lv. 8 Slot Two -- Thermal Empowerment Ev. 1/Lv. 10 (Maxed) Slot Three -- Smoldering Smog Ev. 1/Lv. 9 ] [Unequipped Power List: Vast Pyromancy Ev. 2/Lv. 12 (Suppressed) [Cost: 200 GP] Aeromancer’s Heal Ev. 2/Lv. 8 (Suppressed) [Cost: 200 GP] Aqua Jet Ev. 1/Lv. 9 ] [1] Streams of hellfire roared as lashes of flame scythed forward. Thomas wanted to burn this fucker down at the knees. Steam puffed as the earth turned to magma before he ignited it to launch another whip of fire. But his opponent had already disappeared. Thomas skipped backward with a kick that smelted the ground beneath his feet. He glanced around as he ducked in preparation of an attack aimed at his head, but nothing was there. The kid vanished so fast it was like he teleported. He had forgotten he was fighting a rooki— Extreme force blasted into Thomas’s back right between his shoulder blades. Bone cracked as his spine buckled. Chunks of molten gravel scraped across his face. He rolled out of his skid through the magma pool while he whirled around. A vibrant humanoid cloud wreathed in blinding rays of lightning landed where Thomas had been a second ago. Twin stars where its eyes would be peered into Thomas’s own even as its dazzling brightness blinded him. Heat and fire kindled around his skin while he drained it to restore his eyesight. Right as the demon appeared in front of him and shoved its fist into his stomach. Hellfire burned around it while he tried to ignite the demon from inside of him. Light vanished from his ghostly flames while the heat did nothing. Thomas could be tickling it for all he knew. “You’re still pathetic. Even here,” whispered the cloud as a gash tore across the face of the cloud where a mouth would be. He caught a glimpse of its icy fangs full of that terrible light. “I expected better.” Tremendous pressure clamped along where its hand impaled him. Muscle and tissue tore as force or some other power pried his stomach apart. Strands of radioactive cloud ripped through his body as it burned him. Leeched off him. Demonic stars pulsed as they brightened. Thomas died howling. Thomas came back to himself screaming in the stall he’d activated the wristband in. Sweat boiled on his skin. Nothing but cloth and then clammy skin met his touch as he patted his unharmed stomach. What the hell was that? How was that freak only a green band? Thomas shuddered at the thought of having to face anyone or anything like that again. He’d leave delving to the actual professionals if they were like that monster. Stopping fires and being on standby for fire elementals or other spawn was plenty for him.