Claire wiped the blood-stained dirt off her face as she collapsed into a tired heap. She was underground again. With more ravens inbound and no energy to deal with them, the halfbreed had returned to her hole and tunnelled in a random direction, stopping only as the birds grew too distant to hear.
She continued to groom herself with a damp cloth—a piece she had ripped off her cloak—but she was hardly making any progress. Her hair was plastered with dried blood, and she hadn’t the slightest clue how she was meant to get it out. Rinsing it wasn’t doing the job, and scrubbing was hardly helping.
She gave up and opened her log after a few minutes of futile effort and traced her eyes through its entries. There were over a hundred new notifications, most of them marking the deaths of the ravens she had mindlessly slain. Picking out the important tidbits informed her that the bird king was an Empyrean Cyberaven. It was level sixty-two—an ascended beast as she had gathered from its strength—and slaying it provided a hefty reward. Between her two classes, she had gained a total of nine full levels.
Many of her skills had grown as well, but Envenom was the only ability to have notably changed. Its tenth level provided her with a working knowledge of quicksilver. The new poison certainly begged her curiosity, but her focus was stolen away. She had unlocked another Halfbreed skill—one that she didn’t lack the parts to use.
Paralyzing Gaze
Cold and lacking in compassion, you have chosen to label innocent creatures as prey, time and time again. Your heartlessness is reflected in your gaze, sharp enough to trigger flight responses in the faint of heart. You may infuse your eyes with mana to enhance this effect and paralyze your targets.
P.S. Please be aware that violence and retaliation are not considered methods of showing affection.
Eager to put her mother’s skill to the test, Claire looked at the fox trotting towards her and filled her eyes with all the magic she could muster. Their slits soon grew hot and painful. It was almost like they had been lit aflame.
Sylvia’s approach was immediately put on hold. She froze in place and remained unmoving for a solid three seconds before breaking free with a shake of the head.
“What the heck was that!?” The fox barked as she leapt out of her skin; her fur stood tall, her tail was a line, and her feet stuck to the ceiling above.
“Nothing,” said Claire.
The words were whispered under her breath from over twenty meters away, but Sylvia reacted regardless. She cast the bird killer a dubious glance, remaining cautious until she waved her paws through the space in front of her and confirmed a lack of an invisible wall. Only then did she drop from the ceiling and resume her previous advance.
“So uhmmm… What are you doing down here?” asked Sylvia. “I’m pretty sure you’re not gonna find anything interesting, and I think Al said that you’ll just get an empty skybox if you dig too far.”
“Hiding. What else?”
“From what?” Sylvia cocked her head. “The steelwings are gone already if that’s what has you worried. They ran away after you killed their boss.”
“Oh.”
Claire started down the tunnel after a few blinks and a pause. It took a few minutes for her to return to the surface, but she eventually popped her head out of an awfully conspicuous hole and quickly scanned her surroundings. Surely enough, it was as Sylvia had said. The birds were gone. It was only their corpses that remained.
“You should be able to touch it now.” Sylvia pointed a paw at the hexstone. “I’ll sit around until you’re done,” she said. “Oh! And thanks! The super big one was a huge pest.”
The half-snake acknowledged the false gratitude with a nod before turning towards the magical rock and pressing her hand against it. When that didn’t work, she tried applying her forehead, but again, the world was unchanged. It remained perfectly steady until she spun around to find herself pulled away.
Her vision blurred; everything, everything suddenly spun out of control. Objects became blobs and colours turned to lines as her reality was squeezed into a splotch atop a dark canvas. It all sped past her, moving so quickly that it was impossible to determine when one thing ended and another began. And yet, it was slow, so painfully, agonizingly slow that she felt like she would lose her mind.
Log Entry 783
Detect Vector Magic has reached level 7.
She found herself in a familiar location when her senses finally returned. There were infinitely tall bookshelves all around her, stretching to a ceiling of equal height. Despite her sudden entrance, she went largely ignored. The human-shaped god had certainly glanced in her direction when she first appeared, but his eyes soon returned to his desk. A few minutes passed before he finally looked up again and revealed the heavy bags placed under his eyes.
“Excuse the delay. I’ve been a bit busier than usual lately.” He popped a pipe into his mouth as he spoke and lit its contents with a tap of the wand. “I believe this is your second visit?” He rummaged around on his desk, lifting a few binders before finally grabbing a dark yellow sheepskin. The ink was faded, but the record was otherwise well preserved; its edges were as unfrayed as they were on the date of its creation.
Just like the first time, the words floated off the pages before entering her mind. They burned her as they entered her flesh, filling her veins and circuits with searing light. It didn’t make sense. Her body was nonpresent, but the sensation was not so easily denied.
How intriguing. Despite your inadequacies, you have survived long enough to find a second set of instructions. Most do not make it so far, and those that do are often too rigidly fixed to be influenced by Llystletein magic. But if you are seeing this message, then for you, that is clearly not the case. Llystletein class variants have been unlocked. You will receive a number of additional bonuses at the Head Librarian’s discretion.
The lost library’s trial is harsh. Know that you may benefit from seeking the aid of others, but do not rely upon it. Never forget that you are to them as they are to you, another competitor and source of experience.
The message was sitting in the usual glowing box, waiting to be read, but she could barely see the words. Her whole body was screaming in pain. The foreign magic pounded at her insides, violently destroying and reconstructing every path it crossed.
Log Entry 784
Rogue has mutated into Llystletein Rogue.
All ability scores have been increased by 20.
You have acquired the Manathief skill; attacking foes will passively allow you to absorb a portion of their mana based on the amount of damage dealt.
Log Entry 785
You have unlocked the Llystletein Vector Mage and Llystletein Blood Mage classes.
Log Entry 786
You have unlocked the secondary class slot.
Log Entry 787
Llystletein Authority has evolved into Llystletein Authority II. Additional functionality has been unlocked.
One by one, the logs rolled in, each accompanied by a distinct change in her body. She didn’t let it show on her face, but the half-snake was bubbling with excitement. Class slots were typically unlocked with ascensions. It was a great boon, second only to the prefixes that had accompanied the change. Everything was looking up. She had finally taken a step in the right direction.
Log Entry 788
You have acquired the Catgirl Fetish skill.
But then the next entry came, and with it, a blight upon her mind. A thousand images flooded her brain all at once. Scantily clad women with feline ears and tails flooded her internal landscape. They were mewling, blushing, scolding, purring, and submitting—doing everything they could to rob her of her undivided attention. She tried to look away, but the scenes were burned into her retinas. She was forced to stare, even as the bile bubbled in her throat. Her mind was flooded with primal revulsion. She wanted to scowl and vomit and kick and scream.
But she fought it back. She pushed the unwanted thoughts into a corner of her mind, never letting her face twitch as she faced the god head-on. It was clearly his doing. And she refused to yield.
“Well, that didn’t go the way I thought it would,” he said. There was a gleam in his eye, a twinkle of interest that only fueled her disdain.
“You’re an incorrigible degenerate,” she said blankly.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Thank you.” He smirked, leaned forward, and rested his face on his wrist. “Honestly, I didn’t think you’d put up that much of a fight. Might’ve ended up causing some minor damage by not accepting it, but no matter.” He waited for a reply, continuing only when he was met with extended silence. “On another note, I took a quick peek through your logs while you were processing, and I must ask, which deity do you have as your patron, and how in the world did you manage to earn their spite?”
Claire paused briefly to consider her choices before opening her mouth. “I am sworn to Builledracht, but it was no different before he became my patron.” Another pause to silence the voices. “How are you reading my logs?”
“I am a celestial, child. This is as easy a parlour trick as any,” he said. “Ah, yes. I never did introduce myself, did I? The name is Alfred, Alfred Llarsse, Celestial Progenitor. And as I’m sure you can tell from my appearance, I’m the head librarian here, as well as the creator and manager of all things related to catgirls.”
Claire blinked. If the man was a celestial—a demigod—then he was likely more killable than she had initially assumed. “I don’t think I heard that right.”
“Trust me, you did.” Grinning from ear to ear, the old man took a drag from his pipe. “I made catgirls. I’m in charge of managing them as well as every other race that ever branches from them. It’s quite the privilege.”
Claire remained silent. Maintaining her poker face took everything she had.
“Oh, and no need to introduce yourself. I already know who and what you are,” said Alfred, his eyes still focused on her log. “Now, where was I?” His voice trailed off. “Ah, that’s right. You said your patron was Builledracht? That doesn’t seem quite right. He isn’t one to be petty, or at least this petty. I’d say it’s much more likely to be one of the Goddesses, maybe Griselda or Primrose. Both of them need help, to put it politely.”
“Possibly.” Claire nodded, despite doubting his judgment. “Whatever god it is, he is as bitter as a toad.” Neither of the ladies proposed were particularly likely candidates. They were certainly universally worshipped, but their importance as deities came second to her people. Cadrians kneeled most for Vella, the goddess of war. The only other goddess whose name was frequently chanted was that of the frozen wilds, given the tribes that relied on her protection come winter.
“Now, unless you have any more questions, I’d like to get back to work.”
Claire shook her head. “I have nothing to ask.”
“Good. An indifferent mortal is a long-lived mortal.” He twisted his lips into a small smile as he waved his wand and sent her away.
It took a moment for her to return to her body, and then another for her to collapse into a ball, trembling with her arms around her shoulders. She shook her head over and over, but the mewling wouldn’t go away, no matter what she thought to fight it off.
“Ummmm… Claire? Are you okay? Al didn’t do anything weird to you, did he?”
It was only as the fox called out to her that she realized she wasn’t alone. “I’m fine.” Clenching her fists, she forced the emotion back. It only took a second. Her heart rate slowed, her face blanked, and the tension drained from her shoulders—all techniques her despicable father had instructed.
“Really? You don’t look fine.”
“I said I’m fine. I’m just thinking about my classes.”
It was a bluff. She had long made her choice.
Log Entry 789
You have become a Llystletein Vector Mage.
Your conjuring has increased by 25.
You have acquired the Basic Vector Manipulation and Basic Vector Resistance skills.
Detect Vector Magic has been reclassified and boosted to level 10.
There was no contest. Her only other options were blood mage and barbarian, and she had long dismissed the latter. She didn’t doubt the former’s efficacy—in fact, she was well aware that blood mages were among the most powerful—but the class’ function was effectively baked into her father’s race. And the last thing she wanted was to follow in his wake.
Llystletein Vector Mage
Vector mages are a group of obnoxious folk that can never quite agree on the true nature of their magic. There is but a single axiom that they universally accept: physical manipulation is for the unenlightened. Given that you are unable to understand basic geometry, it is a wonder that you have managed to acquire this class.
This class was unlocked when your natural talent for vector magic was stimulated by the lost library’s refactoring of your magic circuits.
The accompanying skills were simple but useful. Basic Vector Resistance was self-explanatory, doing precisely as its name described, while its manipulation-based counterpart came with a pair of fresh spells. The first, Apply Vector, was a fairly simple command that allowed her to move nearby objects. Summon Spirit Guardian had another self-explanatory name, but she couldn’t confirm its function. The description was basically non-existent, and using it was off the cards. It required a full thousand mana to cast, and she barely had nine hundred to her name.
Claire wasted no time testing the one functional spell. She focused her eyes on a stray pebble as she channelled her mana through her body and wrote the corresponding formula into her reconstructed circuits. Twenty points were consumed—enough to spawn a fireball—but the pebble barely budged. It slid maybe half a step away, even though she had meant to launch it into the nearest tree.
Repeating the experiment only yielded the same results. Each time, she would make the rock budge, and each time the mana she spent would prove itself completely benign.
“Wait a second! You chose vector mage?” asked Sylvia.
Claire nodded as she extended a finger toward the critter’s nose. She charged a bit of magic into the prod and completed the spell as her finger closed in. The idea was to confuse the fox with a delayed boop, but Sylvia was catapulted away.
The incident was accompanied by a series of blinks. Claire slowly looked between her hand and the missing fox. She repeated the motion two times before everything suddenly clicked.
She immediately turned her eyes back on the pebble and ordered it with an explicit motion. Surely enough, it rose from its spot and mimicked the movement of her hand.
Flicking her wrist drew another reaction. The rounded stone flew straight into a giant brown mushroom and bored a hole through its soft flesh.
“Ow!” cried the critter standing behind the toadstool.
“Oops.”
“What the heck was all that for!?” Sylvia complained as she returned to the clearing with a paw on her face.
“It was largely accidental.” Claire magically retrieved a branch as she spoke and set it down in the space between them. “Did it hurt?”
“Uhhh… I didn’t really feel anything from the push, but the rock kinda did.” Sylvia rubbed the spot on her face where the tiny projectile had greeted her forehead. “Hey! Wait a second! You were totally just testing your magic on me on purpose!”
Claire shook her head. “Only the glare.” Claire twisted her hands and magically snapped the wooden branch in two. Both halves worked independently; they spun when she ordered them, moving with more or less the same cadence as their corresponding finger.
“What the heck! That’s so rude!”
Ignoring the complaint, the two-legged snake pointed an open palm at her mace, which lay on the forest floor alongside several broken antlers, but the oversized femur was too far to budge—it didn’t start sliding towards her until she idly stepped closer.
Log Entry 790
Basic Vector Manipulation has reached level 2.
Claire toyed with the weapon, spinning and twirling it around both with and without her fingers. She stopped after a few minutes, but not because she was satisfied with the results. The constant vector use had nearly depleted her mana.
She wanted to test the other spell as well, but it would have to wait. She needed to gain a few levels or spend her points to make it happen. The latter option was particularly tempting; she was confident she would have enough if she emptied her reserves, but she eventually dismissed the idea with a frown. Spent ability points could not be returned. She needed to be careful with their allocation. Frankly, she wasn’t sure what to do. Her stats were already messy enough; the first-kill bonuses she had earned had boosted her strength just above her spirit. Raw physical power had become her second most invested stat, and raising it further seemed wise, but there was a chance she wouldn’t need it. With a new mage class under her belt, her conjuring score was no longer dead weight.
Whatever the case, she was unable to decide. The halfbreed continued staring at her status screen until a fuzzy prod eventually got her attention. She found Sylvia when she looked down. The vixen pointed at the fish in her mouth and gave her head a tilt.
Claire paused briefly before shaking her head. She had no idea how she was meant to cook a fish.
“I can’t believe you turned that one down. It was super plump and tasty,” said Sylvia, as she swallowed the trout. “Oh yeah, when do you wanna go to Borrok Peak?”
“How far is it?” asked Claire. It was hard to say for sure without a clock, but it felt like evening would soon be upon them.
“It’s pretty far,” said Sylvia. “We won’t be able to make it by nightfall even if we set out right away, and trust me, you don’t wanna be out at night. That’s when the mirewulves come out, and they’re super strong.”
“How strong?”
“Mmmnnn…” The vixen stood up on her hind legs and raised a paw to her chin. “It’d probably take like ten of those big birdies to kill just one of them.”
“Oh. Great.” Claire breathed a sigh and retreated into her burrow. “Then I guess I’ll sleep until morning.”
“Huh!? Morning!?”
Magically retrieving her bag from a tree and ignoring the prattling furball, she laid out a pauper’s bed and slowly closed her eyes.
* * *
Claire Augustus
Health: 278/278
Mana: 938/938
Faith: 2/2
Health Regen: 49/hour
Mana Regen: 358/hour
Faith Regen: 5/hour
Ability Scores - 23 Points Available
- Agility: 73
- Conjuring: 243
- Dexterity: 70
- Spirit: 108
- Strength: 109
- Vitality: 49
Racial Class: Halfbreed - Level 36.17
- Lashing Tailstrike - Level 1.00
- Paralyzing Gaze - Level 1.40
- Quadrupedal Bloodrush - Level 1.00
Primary Class: Llystletein Rogue - Level 28.12
- Assassinate - Level 6.40
- Dagger Mastery - Level 7.82
- Envenom - Level 10.97
Secondary Class: Llystletein Vector Mage - Level 1.09
- Basic Vector Manipulation - Level 2.44
- Basic Vector Resistance - Level 1.00
- Detect Vector Magic - Level 10.00
Unclassed Skills
- Catgirl Fetish - Level 1.00
- Club Mastery - Level 9.38
- Dancing - Level 6.02
- Digging - level 10.27
- English - Level 25
- Llystletein Authority II - 3.97
- Makeshift Weapon Mastery - Level 9.62
- Marish - Level 18.97
- Spear Mastery - Level 3.82
- Sword Mastery - Level 6.45
- Thrown Weapon Mastery - Level 4.80
- Tracking - Level 8.37
- Unarmed Combat Mastery - Level 5.16