Chapter Twenty-Three
Ambrose pushed the slew of notifications he got aside for him to look at later. He wasn’t eager to spend any more time here in Todd’s realm than he needed to. He walked out as the devil waved goodbye,
“May we meet again, Ambrose Severen!” The devil child called.
Ambrose held up a hand as he walked back onto the path that led to the central cavern, where the Avalon tree was located. Vivienne sat on the lake shore, cocking her head at him as Ambrose stepped up beside her and sat down, pulling Noelle tighter around him.
“You succeeded then.” A statement.
Ambrose nodded,
“He’s leaving. No more devil in the depths. Just Mordred to deal with now.”
Vivienne’s eyes flicked to the lake,
“You must address your advancement first. As you are now, the kinslayer would destroy you.”
Ambrose flicked a hand,
“I have questions first.”
“Ask then, Knight.”
“The devil said the book might predate the System; if that’s the case, then how does it bind its power? I feel nothing from it right now, and I am sure that is because I have to handle a notification first.”
Vivienne pointed at the water.
“This water, would you say it is independent of us?”
Ambrose arched an eyebrow.
“Not sure where you’re going with this, but I’ll play along. Yes, the water is independent of us.”
Vivienne moved her lips upward before reaching out a hand. A globe of water flew from the surface of the lake and hovered over her palm,
“Where it was once independent, I have now imposed my will upon it. Before I did so, it was separate from me. The System is similar. Before it was there, the power, and all of us, were outside of its control, not bound to it. Once it arrived, all things existed within it and, therefore, bound by it.”
Ambrose considered for a moment before nodding,
“Suppose that makes sense. Alright, I’m going to look at these notifications now.”
Ambrose brought them up, one by one.
[You have bested the being you know as Todd in deadly games! You have advanced to level 75! You may now evolve your class and advance to D-Grade. Would you like to do so?
Y/N?]
Ambrose didn’t want to do that right now. He needed to ask some questions first. He looked at the next notification,
[You have gained [Merlin’s Grimoire-Mythic]]: This grimoire is a mythical item that contains all of Merlin’s power. Bonding to this item will grant you the [Infernal-Mythic] Trait. This trait will alter class selection and skills upon advancement to any grade. It passively grants you +25 to all attributes and +1000 to your mana pool. These effects will increase at C-Grade and A-Grade.
Do you wish to bond with this item? Note that you cannot bond any other mythical items until C-Grade if you bond this item.
Y/N?]
Ambrose took a deep breath and willed an affirmative to the System. Fire rushed through him like a tide, setting his nerves afire and bringing him to his knees as the grimoire bonded with him. Ambrose clenched his hands, his jaw tightening so hard he thought it would break. He writhed as he felt himself burn, his mana within him changing, becoming red and black as the clear blue was burnt to ash.
Vivienne looked at him with pitiless eyes as Ambrose clenched at the sand, his body vibrating, veins bulging beneath his skin. Noelle tried to help, the warm presence pulsing within him with encouragement, a soothing wave of emotion that attempted to calm the fire. The pain of it was immense, but it was nothing compared to when he was hung or his left eye was burned out of his skull.
It faded, and another notification lit up his vision as it did.
[You have bonded with [Merlin’s Grimoire] and have gained the [Infernal-Mythic] Trait. Upgrade to D-Grade to receive altered class selections. Upon upgrade, your current skills will change, and you can choose two new ones.]
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The next step was to upgrade to D-Grade, but he had questions before he did.
“What does upgrade to D-Grade mean? Does the System just do it for me?”
Vivienne smiled,
“Ah, you reached level seventy-five, then. Good. It is good that you asked before doing it. If you simply followed the System prompt, you would achieve a flawed upgrade.”
“What does that mean?”
Vivienne tapped her chin,
“How to explain it to you? I find human understanding to be limited. The System recognizes grades through levels, and occasionally having enough attributes, but the spirit is more than a number. You must strengthen it properly, or your path will be broken.”
Ambrose waved a hand, adjusting himself on the sand as he did,
“What does strengthening it do? Give me more mana?”
Vivienne waggled a hand,
“In a way. Tell me, my Knight, how long could you run for?”
Ambrose shook his head,
“Why is that relevant?”
Vivienne gave him a wry smile.
“Indulge me.”
Ambrose rubbed at the bridge of his nose,
“I don’t know, but it's a while. An hour or so, maybe. It depends on how fast I run and whether or not I take this armor off.”
Vivienne’s eyes smiled at him,
“Exactly so. You ask whether you get more mana, and the answer is yes, in a way. It makes your mana usage more efficient. You use less to do more.”
Ambrose blinked,
“More bang for my buck, then.”
Vivienne cocked her head,
“I do not know what that means.”
Ambrose flicked a hand,
“It doesn’t matter. I get what you’re saying. How do I do it then?”
Vivienne held up a hand and curled her fingers into a fist.
“You squeeze your core with your mind. Remember that the process is different for every grade you advance to, but for D-Grade…you squeeze.”
Ambrose nodded,
“Let’s begin.”
____________
Ambrose closed his eyes as he crossed his legs. As he had done before, he allowed his consciousness to flow through him and down to his core. No longer was it a small ball of clear blue light. Now, it was a small swirling vortex of red and black. It was as if someone had turned fire and brimstone into light, wove them into a small star, and set it within Ambrose.
Ambrose had tried to manipulate the light before and was mostly unsuccessful. When he used his skills, the light flowed like water being pumped out. Instead of trying to force the light anywhere, Ambrose reached out with his willpower and his thoughts and constructed a mental hand; he wrapped it around the ball of light and began to squeeze.
Sharp pain burst through Ambrose, but he ignored it, continuing to squeeze as the star quivered. It swirled and shook, trying to escape his mental hand. It couldn’t. Ambrose’s mental grip was an unyielding vice. The pain grew, but Ambrose was an old hand at dealing with pain at this point, and it was easy to push it away.
Finally, as the shaking of the star intensified, it stopped for just a second, frozen as made into a statue, before exploding outward in a rush through him that brought a wave of energy. Ambrose’s mental hand blew apart as the light grew. The small star was now a little less small. It had also gained a sharpness, a depth you could clearly see.
Ambrose felt lighter overall as if a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He took a deep breath and let it out in a satisfied sigh.
“Congratulations, Knight.”
Ambrose rolled his head from side to side.
“Now, I just have to take care of the System prompts. Time for D-Grade.”
Ambrose accepted the notification to upgrade, and notifications unfurled before him. His class selection choices.
[Infernal Viking-Rare]: The Infernal Viking is an axe-wielding warrior wielding infernal powers. Infernal Vikings forgo all armor in favor of a berserker-like combat style. They walk a path of pure offensive power. Receive +3 Attributes per level up.]
Ambrose didn’t think this was a bad class. Sounds cool, at least. But it wasn’t really what he wanted. He had no connection to it, nothing about it that called him. Ambrose wanted his path to reflect his goal and his connection to his wife. He read the next notification.
[Infernal Guardian-Epic]: Infernal Guardians protect a place or people. With skills relying on debilitations and tactical thinking, the Infernal Guardian walks a path that says the best offense is a good defense. +8 Attribute points per level.]
It was the same sort of problem as before. This class is more tempting, but eight attributes per level is overpowered. Ambrose smiled. It was a phrase his wife would have used. Even so, it lacked the connection he was looking for. Plus, Ambrose was never one to use a purely defensive approach. His father had advocated for a balanced approach, and Ambrose agreed with his father's assessment. He considered the next one.
[Infernal Monk-Epic]: Masters of unarmed combat, the Infernal Monk can infuse himself with infernal power, moving through the battlefield with perfect, dexterous ease. Infernal Monks gain +8 attributes per level.]
Closer. Ambrose thought. He would consider this option if he didn’t like the last two. The only problem was that he wasn’t a giant fan of only using unarmed combat. Ambrose wasn’t attached to the axe, but he would like the option of at least being able to use a weapon.
Biting his tongue, Ambrose considered the next class he could choose.
[Infernal Mage-Epic]: Infernal mages use their infernal aspected mana to cast powerful offensive and defensive spells. Those on this path embark on a study of mana and sacrificing all for power. Gain +8 per level.]
This was an immediate no. Alice used to say that mages were squishes, and he found that observation true. Even if it wasn’t, Ambrose didn’t want to be a pure caster. Playing casters had never been his thing, either. He certainly did not want to make it his life path or his goal. That left the final option.
[Infernal Paladin-Epic]: Infernal Paladins are Paladins touched by an infernal force. They deepen their convictions and thus deepen their power. Infernal Paladins gain +8 attributes per level.]
Ambrose smiled. It was time to select a new class.