Alexia

After spending every last day of the time before the event doing nothing but training my Energy Manipulation, not even sleeping or taking any breaks in between, I finally get the message I’m looking for.

{Congratulations! Your General Skill ‘Energy Manipulation’ has reached Level 20! Would you like to expend a Monster Core to raise the skill to Tier 3?}

And without any hesitation, I raise it to level 21 with a core.

{Congratulations! Your General Skill ‘Energy Manipulation’ has reached Level 21!}

[Energy Manipulation has been brought to Tier 3. Requirement to bring Energy Manipulation to Tier 3 has been cleared. All requirements are now cleared. User will now advance to Tier 4.]

Then I pass out as the System’s barrier surrounds me and my bed.

And when I wake up again, I feel invigorated and full of energy. Or, full of soul I guess would be the better term.

Meanwhile several System Messages are ringing out in my head and floating at the center of my vision, urging me to read them.

{Congratulations! You have reached Tier 4! The effect of each stat point has been increased by fifty percent and your level lock has been removed! Current advanced stats are 50% weakness to all magic, 90% immunity to all physical damage, and a stat multiplier of 1.5.}

{Congratulations! You have leveled up to level 501! Your Species has awarded you +2 VIT, +2 DEX, +2 STR, +2 MAG, and +2 MEN. Your Class has awarded you +1 VIT, +2 DEX, +1 STR, +2 MAG, and +2 MEN.}

[*New Racial Skill* – Incomplete True Form: You now have access to your Incomplete True Form. To upgrade this into your True Form, you must enter the Quantum Realm and find your core.]

Right. I almost forgot about that bit. The whole finding my core thing.

So how do I…

My thoughts trail off when I notice a man sitting on a chair nearby reading a book. One I very much recognize as the Quantum Architect. Just in his true form and no longer being in a clone body of Luna.

Oh. Yeah, the Ruler did mention that he’d be returned to his original form after I reach Tier 4.

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Before I can say anything though, I feel someone tackling me from my position lying down on my bed, making me let out a huff of air. Not feeling any pain or anything probably due to that increase in physical damage immunity. Which should actually be at 100% now thanks to the 10% extra I got from ascending along with the armor I’m wearing.

So physical damage won’t hurt me anymore.

Just magical.

Although my magical weakness shot up so it’s a weakness again, instead of being countered by my skills and items.

That aside, the one who tackled me… is that… huh.

A smile graces my lips as I pat the teenage-looking girl on the back and stroke her hair a little. And after a second, I say, “Hello Luna.”

“Momma!” Luna says, making me stiffen ever so slightly before I just return to stroking her hair.

Whatever. She can call me what she wants.

We stay in our position for a few more seconds before I push her backwards a bit to get a better look at her. And just as I expected, she looks exactly like how the Architect looked when he took her Quantum Vampire form.

Which is to say, she looks like a younger version of me. Black hair with a purple tint, glitchy purple eyes, same facial structure, and so on.

After looking her over for a bit, I smile wider and pat her head, making her giggle.

Interesting. She’s acting more like a seven or eight year old than a teenager.

Then again, she’s only like a little over a year old at most. So that makes sense.

Anyways, I turn to look at the Architect again as I ask, “How long was I out?”

He answers without turning his head away from the book in his hands – a book I can’t help but question where came from – “Less than a day. If you want to leave the Retreat before the event, I’d suggest doing it now.”

Right. Almost forgot.

I quickly get up and begin walking out of my house, only to notice that the Architect is staying behind. But in the end I decide I genuinely don’t care about what he does and continue leaving.

Of course, I take my house with me, which leads to him falling out of it, seemingly having forgotten about that part.

“Mommy, can I enter the dungeon on my own?” Luna asks, making me glance at her in surprise, the girl having ran right alongside me out of the house.

“Why?” I ask while tilting my head, not feeling uncomfortable by the idea or anything. Just curious.

Luna looks down and clenches her fist for a moment before looking up at me again and saying, “I want to do what you do. Without help.”

I stare at her for a few seconds, meeting her glitchy purple eyes with my own, only briefly glancing at her mouth to realize she has sharp canines before returning my gaze to her eyes again as I say, “Alright. Go ahead. But be careful and make sure to teleport back to me with that skill of yours if you feel you’re unable to continue or are in danger, okay?”

She immediately brightens up and nods her head repeatedly. Then we both begin moving through the air towards a random island not too far away but not nearby either. With me teleporting and Luna growing bat wings from her back.

And once we get there, I stop teleporting and land on the ground on some barren planet made entirely of stone, where I decide that there’s no time like the present to check it out.

My True Form.

Or, Incomplete True Form, that is.

The Ruler said I should be able to use it whenever I want so long as I’m not using it to attack someone. Otherwise I’ll get punished.

Not sure if that applies for the incomplete true form as well or what, but I’d rather not test it.

So while Luna stands to the side watching, her head tilted slightly in a rather adorable manner, I activate my new Racial Skill.