Anthony’s mana type might not help the rest of them until he had a dedicated Ability, but he had already created an Enhancement that steadily rejuvenated his stamina and another that healed injuries he took. The Enhancements were mana-intensive, but that was a good thing as it let him avoid any Capacity-related issues.
His initial plan had been a Mana Body that would withstand heavy blows, allowing him to survive boss fights without getting savaged. To Alex’s relief, after exploring the specifics of his mana type, Anthony had gone a different route than initially planned.
Restore was incredibly similar to his father’s mana type, thanks to the method of acquisition. This similarity allowed the man to help Anthony design a Mana Body that fit the type perfectly and matched up incredibly well against undead opponents. Anthony had only managed to inscribe two of the Enhancements after using his trial-given Guidance, but the other two would hopefully be finished soon. He still had an Achievement Guidance left over.
These two Enhancements let Anthony fight zombies nearly uncontested. He didn’t kill them as quickly as Alex could, but he refused to tire. The slow-working healing allowed him to fight aggressively, and the stamina rejuvenation meant that he just kept going. It was an impressive showing, although he probably would need to cut back in future trials to share the contribution.
Everyone was happy for him to show off his new powers in their fourth trial, even if they weren’t particularly glamorous. His skill with a spear was still less than Jess’s, but magic proved to be more than an equalizer.
When the time to fight the boss came, they found themselves facing an undead construct over eight feet tall.
It had the appearance of a human with stitches all across its body. The flesh of several people had been sewn together to create a monstrous figure, made all the more repulsive by the normal head that sat upon its large frame. It was worsened by the head being shriveled as if it had come from a person who was dead long before they were used in the creation of the flesh golem.
The monster failed to live up to its horrifying visage. It had the strength to match its hulking frame but seemed to have been put together sloppily with how clumsy it was. Even the normal zombies were more dexterous.
A big, clumsy opponent was just about Alex’s sweet spot. He wasn’t confident enough to attempt the fight without Inspire, but the boost pushed his power to a point where the battle wasn’t much of a challenge. He dispatched the golem unscathed after a battle that lasted longer than the three previous boss fights combined. The monster’s durability proved its greatest strength, but with his friends chipping in whenever opportunities arose it still fell eventually.
Alex was ready to go for another trial, but Mr. Stirling hadn’t advised them to attempt it the next day without reason. Level four was the point where Jess and Muhammad fully unlocked their soul attributes, and they would spend the afternoon reworking their Mana Bodies.
Alex’s plan for the afternoon was more time spent attempting to drift, but he was brought up short by the reward screen after the trial.
You have cleared a Hard Mode Trial! You contributed considerably to your team’s clear! Rewarding One Minor Skill Guidance.
Alex wasn’t too surprised to see that he hadn’t quite managed to contribute enough to receive a Capacity boost. Anthony had taken a good amount of contribution from the earlier fights and the rest of the team had chipped in against the boss even if Alex had done most of the work.
Not receiving any Capacity at all was a surprise, but not a particularly upsetting one. He’d have to figure out if there was a good skill to pursue other than drifting, but he’d probably be using it for that.
“Oh, I got a Minor Skill Guidance.” Anthony sounded a bit guilty, fully aware that his gain was everyone else’s loss.
“Not a surprise,” Jess replied, “We all knew you would be getting a better reward this time.”
“I got a point of Speed,” Muhammad shrugged, clearly unenthused, “Not as good as Guidance, but I’ll take it.” Alex was sure that if the boost had been to his Agility, it would’ve been much more welcome. Muhammad’s Speed wasn’t seeing much use at the moment, and Alex wasn’t sure that would change at all in the short-term.
Jess stated that she received a Lesser Skill Guidance, but Becca received a point of Durability. The loss of Guidance for two of the people who needed it was a letdown that went a bit beyond their expectations. The team had chipped in to fight the boss in hopes of avoiding this scenario, but it seemed that Anthony’s contribution had exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Alex was sure he wasn’t the only one questioning the decision to let Anthony push his limits. While Lesser Guidance wasn’t the most useful, Anthony had already demonstrated what a difference it could make. They could use the help, as no one held any doubts regarding how happy Mrs. Stirling would be to declare them too weak for a Hell Mode attempt.
“What did you get, Alex?” Becca noticed that he hadn’t spoken up yet.
“Minor Skill Guidance,” He answered. There was no need to hide disappointment, because he didn’t feel much. One trial without the Capacity boost didn’t change things too much, and help with drifting felt more important at the moment. If anything, he had to wonder if the shift was just another extension of the Trialbringer being helpful. He had a full afternoon coming up, after all.
His friends clearly didn’t feel the same way.
“Damn,” Anthony frowned, “My bad, guys. Practicing out here would’ve been good enough if I realized you’d lose that much.”
“Optimizing your rewards for every trial was never going to happen,” Mr. Stirling spoke, “It’s already incredible that things lined up so well for your first three trials.”
The man had been waiting for them outside the trial like normal, ready to heal them on exit. He now stood in front of them, seemingly prepared to lecture them on the harsh realities of delving and how some trials would go better for one than others.
Alex had heard the lecture before, several times, so he happily filled the silence as the man paused for reaction, “It’s not bad on my end. I might use the Skill Guidance today, and managing a drift is my main goal at the moment.”
“I’ll be fine,” Becca agreed, “I’ve been working on other things to shore up weaknesses, but I want to get back to work on my Mana Body today. Durability is a great attribute for spells, so it works out well.”
“Actually, that brings up an important point,” Mr. Stirling seemed just as happy to avoid launching into a lecture as they were to avoid listening to one. He accepted their denial of being upset by the rewards without question, “Alex, have you considered using Body Guidance yet?”
“Not really,” Alex replied, “The array that creates my aura covers my entire body. Any Enhancements or Abilities would risk interfering.”
Suddenly, Mrs. Stirling was there as well, “Body Guidance doesn’t have to lead to immediate changes, you can just seek information. We’re quite interested to learn the requirements for a Mythic Body at Tier 0.”
Realization dawned, and Alex almost immediately mentally requested a prompt. Talking was great, but he wanted to find out the secret behind the Achievement. There was no record of anyone reaching that standard in New Chicago, and Alex had the chance to be the first.
Would you like to use Body Guidance to learn how to create a Tier 0 Mythic Mana Body?
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Yes/No
As always, the Trialbringer knew what he was looking for.
“Wait a second, come inside,” It seemed that Mrs. Stirling had recognized his expression, “If it’s an involved process, you’ll want to be sitting down.”
Alex quickly made his way to the living room, where hot tea was already waiting. He took a seat next to Becca, and happily accepted the cup that floated over. Debriefing from the trial could wait, so he went back to the prompt.
“How long does Body Guidance last?” Jess asked. Alex paused at the question. If he was about to put himself out of commission for an hour while knowledge was uploaded into his mind, it might be better to wait.
“It varies,” Mrs. Stirling replied, “When you’re just seeking knowledge or a specific rune, it’s normally very fast. Sometimes, the knowledge takes a while to sink in, or there are several requirements. Mythic Bodies tend to be rather convoluted but I’m hopeful that this will be quick.”
That was enough for Alex, “Sounds good. I’ll have an answer soon.”
Alex expected some sort of external thought to guide him towards the creation of something new. Maybe the knowledge of a special rune that would take his Mana Body to the next level. What he received was another prompt.
For your Mana Body to be rated Mythic, you must use your mana type to form a Soul Aperture.
Well. So much for that idea.
“The requirement is a Soul Aperture that uses your mana type,” Alex stated. The news was a bit of a letdown, but he quickly realized that it wasn’t overly surprising. Either way, he wouldn’t be building the Inspire mana a vessel to enter his body. It likely wouldn’t make a massive difference to his situation, but he had no interested in the exploration of Inspire which would be necessary.
“That was one of our theories,” Mrs. Stirling nodded. She frowned a bit as she spoke, “The most troublesome one. There’s a qualitative difference between forming a blank aperture and one that uses a mana type.”
“Isn’t forming Apertures at Tier 0 impossible?” Becca asked.
“It’s impossible with just the attributes you gain from leveling,” Mr. Stirling specified, “When your Connection is below ten, you can’t interact with your soul on even the most basic level required.”
Aperture formation wasn’t a topic Alex had studied in-depth, but he knew the basics. You had to draw an array that would exert a pull on your soul to connect to that spot in your body. David’s Aperture, which included alterations to the soul, was far beyond what you needed to do in earlier tiers.
The bottleneck of creating an aperture was a large one, as only a Rare Mana Body could guarantee you ten Connection upon reaching Tier 1, and even that would leave you with exactly ten. Most citizens of New Chicago never gained a mana type to easily push themselves above that number, and the five Connection granted by an Uncommon Tier 1 Achievement wasn’t enough on its own if you were mediocre at Tier 0.
“Either way, it’s no difference to me,” Alex said, “I won’t be creating an aperture using Inspire.”
“I don’t have the time to figure out a blueprint for Restore,” Anthony sighed, “Even with help, I’d need to sit at Tier 0 for a while to have a chance.”
“Even with my help, it would be difficult,” Mr. Stirling agreed, “The arrays for apertures are all considered Tier 1 runes for a reason. Even with the Legendary Achievement boosts, it’ll be near impossible at Tier 0.”
“The control required is beyond all of you save perhaps Becca,” Mrs. Stirling stated, “Alex could eventually bridge the gap with Guidance and practice, but not on his timeline. Anthony doesn’t have access to the Guidance he’d need.”
Becca seemed a bit startled, “Really? You can tell I’m at that level just because of my speed with inscribing the Rare Body?”
“No, dear, I can tell because you spent hours working on your Mana Body in my tower earlier this week.” Mrs. Stirling smiled at her.
“Regardless,” The tower’s owner continued, “It is clear that this isn’t a feasible goal for your group unless you decide to discard your plan of delving a Hell Mode trial. Attempting both will spread you too thin.”
“We could do Hell Mode at level eight,” Muhammad reasoned, “If the rewards get Becca a mana type it would be another Unique Achievement for Earth.” He was confident that no one else had created a Mythic Body because Unique Achievements generated a global announcement. The three Achievements that each upgraded Earth were the only ones that anyone had managed.
Alex was immediately interested with that idea. Hell Mode at level nine would mean that they reached level ten and tiered up as part of their rewards. The level up couldn’t be delayed, and the tier up process was completely automatic for Tier 0s as long as they had a Mana Body. Pathwalkers weren’t meant to waste time in the tutorial tier.
Taking apart your Mana Body to delve more at Tier 0 wasn’t unheard of, but it granted minimal benefits because normal Tier 0 trials were so light on rewards. Only adventurers looking to carry noncombatants to Tier 1 or people trying for a greater Achievement would do it. Once you had a mana type, it was no longer a possibility as you needed a Mana Body to survive the mana you produced.
Mrs. Stirling hesitated, instead of rejecting the idea. That told Alex that it had just as much merit as he was thinking. She would’ve shot Muhammad down immediately if it was unreasonable.
“Every level counts at Tier 0,” She sighed, “But another Unique Achievement holder would be a significant boon.”
Jess frowned, “I’m not comfortable trying Hell Mode unless we’re as powerful as we can get.”
“It’s just one level,” Muhammad argued, “We’ll create powerful Mana Bodies with the guidance we’ve received, and we’ll manage it.”
“Don’t underestimate Hell Mode trials,” Mrs. Stirling scolded him, “When we cleared one at Tier 1, David already had two mana types, one Uncommon, and a Mythic Tier 1 Body. It’s hard for me to imagine Tier 1 enemies ever matching the heights he had reached, but Hell Mode didn’t pit us against a Tier 1 boss. We faced an Attuned beast capable of stealth that none in our party could pierce. We only won because David and I both had Abilities that used illusions to match its talent for obfuscation. Dale almost died anyway.”
“So we’ll have to kill a Neophyte monster?” Alex asked.
“Almost certainly,” Mrs. Stirling replied, “I would not be surprised if there were multiple monsters at varying points in Tier 1, as the leap is nowhere near as large as Tier 1 to Tier 2.”
“I think it’s time we explain Hell Mode in more detail to you,” Mr. Stirling stated, “The change is significant, and the stakes are far higher. The rewards match the risk, but you should at least understand the risk before you decide on anything.”
No one disagreed, they’d all wanted to learn more when it was brought up the day before.
“Hard Mode bosses are significantly more powerful than normal monsters, but they’re still in the same range. More intelligent, but still far from sapient. Hell Mode bosses, in our experience, are always sapient monsters. Beasts will have experienced at least one bloodline evolution, and monsters like ghouls and goblins will likely have gained a bloodline of their own.”
Alex’s understanding of bloodlines was that they were basically just another source of magical powers. They could be matched by creating more and better Abilities.
“If you fail to clear the trial, the Hell Mode boss will be allowed to leave. If it left right on top of the trial, that wouldn’t be too bad, but it is instead given a safe location. As a powerful monster, it will then enter a period of rapid growth until it becomes a more serious threat.” Mr. Stirling paused at this, and his wife took over.
“While we’ve never failed a Hell Mode trial, the knowledge we’ve gained from Plato and on broken worlds has made it clear that this monster will immediately generate a regional quest for its demise. Continued failure to eliminate it will result in escalating penalties.”
“What kind of penalties?” Becca asked.
“Increased trial overflow rates are the most common. Hell Mode bosses are more powerful than the average noble monster, and they naturally reach nobility as they grow.” Mrs. Stirling explained, “If you fail a Hell Mode undead trial, the zombie hordes to the North will grow in strength significantly over the following years.”
Noble monsters were a big deal, and Alex understood why David and the rest of their group had been so stingy about Hell Mode delves over the years. If they got a bad matchup, it wasn’t just a matter of surviving until they could escape the trial, they’d need to push through and risk their lives.
Alex and his team would be the same. The liches to the North were already terrifying enough without a Hell Mode-level commander organizing them under its banner.
“Could we try a beast trial instead?” Muhammad asked.
“That would be a mistake,” Mrs. Stirling replied, “It’s impossible to say where the monster would be released, but we have to assume the worst. If it is placed under the protection of the great herds to the West we will be unable to prevent its growth and risk the creation of a fourth dangerous enemy on our borders.”
Alex’s mind was elsewhere as the group hashed out their plans for the afternoon. He was frustrated, by his inability to work on Mana Bodies with the others. Even if he had the Capacity to get rid of his aura, he couldn’t do it and still expect to be allowed to delve a Hell Mode trial.
He wanted to get rid of it, but there was no use wasting it before it was gone. Everyone else was powering up, he was ready to do the same.