Evolution of the ‘Identify’ function is complete.
A full interface restart is required.
Restart now?
Dyani agreed before she could consciously consider the message. She’d been waiting long enough for Identify to evolve to grow concerned that she’d actually broken it. It wouldn’t be impossible to cut it off and replace it, but that would be a waste of time and information, not to mention experience.
“Nice.”
“What’s nice?” Pikawon asked, glancing at their dank surroundings, including a shriveled corpse of a naked mole rat with wings, “There’s so many options. You’ll have to narrow it down.”
“Identify finally evolved.”
“Into what, Analyze?”
“Don’t know yet. I had to restart my interface.”
“How long will that take?”
Dyani willed her interface to come up, hopefully with some sort of progress indicator, but nothing happened.
“You just tried to ask your interface, didn’t you?”
“Shut up,” Dyani said, shoulders hunching as she sped up, to keep him from seeing her embarrassed expression. Pikawon chuckled and ran up behind her, prompting a race between Dyani’s Mana Jumps and Pikawon’s higher speed attribute.
Dyani was still in the lead as they came upon a Turret Shroom spraying its acid at an Acidic Jellypod. Predictably, the walking mushroom’s acid had no effect on the land-faring jellyfish with acid for blood.
Without even slowing down, Dyani flipped upside down, braced her feet against the ceiling, and lashed out with her new weapon.
* Mercurial Halberd:
* Level: 4
* Condition: Pristine
* Description: A halberd forged of quick cast silver with the ability to shift from its general form to specialized forms which enhance and enlarge its component weapons. The weapon may be repaired by shifting to an alternate form, with a mana cost from the user proportional to the level of damage. Shifting forms when undamaged costs no mana.
* Attributes:
* Soulbound (Any Attribute)
* Shifting Form:
* Halberd
* Spear
* Poleaxe
* Scythe
While she couldn’t yet use the shapeshifting enchantments, as she hadn’t bonded the item, it still served its purpose as a polearm topped with incredibly sharp blades. The halberd’s axe blade cleaved through the Turret Shroom’s cap with barely any resistance, performing significantly better than her level 1 knife.
Dyani jumped down from the ceiling, using Mana Jump to move past the Acidic Jellypod and the pool of acid around it.
“Clean-up!” she shouted, still running. That wasn’t exactly one of their combat strategies, just a message the Pikawon was in charge of finishing off the remaining monster, any easy enough task, since the only thing dangerous about the Acidic Jellypod was getting its mildly acidic blood on yourself.
“Why do I get the pod? You’re the one with a weapon.”
“It’s brand new. I’m not dipping it in acid.” Brand new was a bit of a stretch, but she was definitely still excited about it.
He squashed the sphere of gelatinous flesh beneath his boot, relying on its sturdy craftsmanship to keep his foot safe. Dyani sucked up the experience. She pointed her weapon at the dead mushroom.
“Do you want me to grab that for later?”
He said, “No,” but it was one of his no’s that actually meant yes, so took off and opened her dimensional backpack. They hadn’t yet found its maximum capacity yet, but the slight resistance when the stuffed the body inside suggested they were getting close.
There was no need to ask about the Jellypod. Pikawon had tried drinking a single drop of acid from that kind of monster, diluted into an entire bucket, but his alchemy skill hadn't activated. Apparently acid didn’t count as poison.
Eating a monster that was essentially congealed acid without any sort of resistance wasn’t a good idea.
They continued their patrol, already far past their route for the day. With new skills, levels, and equipment, they’d been getting faster and more effective every day. Their speed, combined with the diminishing returns of absorbing experience from the same kinds of monsters, had pushed them to explore ever further.
After they killed the first new species they’d seen in a week, a purple snake that slithered through the air like it was solid ground, Dyani stopped to admire what it had dropped.
* Skill Shard: Exclusive Mana Sight (Unknown Rarity)
* Type: Perception
* Affinity: Light
* Range: Self
* Cost: None
* Effect: Allows the user to see mana. Different mana affinities are displayed as different colors.
* Warning: Mana perception replaces ordinary sight while this skill is in use.
This was the first skill shard she’d witnessed forming, and being able to feel out the process was interesting. Skill cores were complete skills, while shards were incomplete ones, but Dyani’s had felt an entire core try to form. One section had condensed faster than the rest, and had pulled some of the still forming energy to complete itself the best it could, like blood scabbing over a wound. When the rest of the energy condensed, it couldn’t properly connect through the scab. It swirled and tried to condense as well, but it was missing whatever it needed to form its own skill shard, so it dissipated.
Dyani had a few theories as to what the problem had been. The two most likely explanations were that there just wasn’t enough energy to make two shards or that whatever skill might’ve formed lacked some of the components that would make it functional and stable, like her early proto-skills that had dissolved after one use.
She couldn’t tell which, if any of her theories was correct, since she hadn’t been able to sense the structure of the skill until it finished forming, so she just sat there, pondering and examining Exclusive Mana Sight to try and find an answer.
“Dyani.”
“Dyani!”
“Hmmmm?”
“Dyani!” Pikawon yell-whispered directed in her ear while he yanked her to her feet.
He was looking down the corridor they’d come from with more panic than she’d ever seen on his face, including when he nearly died facing the False Hydra.
***
Nymin’s spirit was screaming at her. She had no problem draining sufficient mana to keep dodging and fighting, after all, skills were flashing all around her in every affinity she knew and several she didn’t. If her opponents weren’t making such a concerted effort to capture her without causing significant harm, she would've been killed ten times over.
Wraith’s Hunger provided greater protection from absorbed mana than many other drain-type skills, but she’d been using it so much that the skill felt rubbed raw. Her throat ached from countless minutes of constant wailing, which had been just enough to destabilize the few skills she couldn’t dodge.
To make matters worse, The magical link from Throw Down the Gauntlet was still bound to her leg, and the skill’s caster had recovered enough to begin reeling her in.
* Throw Down the Gauntlet (Very Rare)
* Type: Attack, Ranged, Affliction, Drain
* Affinity: Oath
* Range: Medium
* Cost: Extreme Mana
* Effect: Conjures a gauntlet-shaped projectile that seeks out the chosen target. If successfully caught, afflicts both the user and the target with Forced Challenge.
* Forced Challenge:
* Type: Affliction, Curse, Oath, Paired
* Effect: Establishes a mana link which prevents either afflicted party from moving more than a medium distance apart. Resists any teleportation that would move either party more than the maximum distance apart. If either party is killed, the other drains a large amount of any remaining mana or experience, which can be absorbed or discarded. If either instance of this affliction is dispelled, the other is also dispelled.
* Effect (continued): The user may spend additional mana to reduce the maximum distance between them and the target, or increase the resistance to teleportation effects, optionally broadening the resistance to include all teleportation.
Despite numerous attempts, Nymin had been unable to drain enough mana from the curse to break it down before it replenished itself from her own mana. Having her own mana drained instead of the opposite was an unpleasant sensation that awakened the dark hunger that lived in her heart, but that hadn’t been helpful, as it just led to more spiritual strain.
A pair of green, spectral chains shot out at her, the very same skills used at the start of the fight. This time, they caught her, one winding around her arm, while the other caught her around the neck, cutting off her wails.
Many of the guards visibly relaxed as their spirits and minds were freed from constant, low level attack.
Despair ran through Nymin like ice water. She had failed. Nymin pulled open her interface to try contacting Dyani for the dozenth time, and was surprised by a message, but not from her daughter.
Hoss Goldeye: On my way.
Even with no idea what a shopkeeper could do to save her daughter, that gave Nymin a bit of hope and she was slammed down, impacting the wards instead of the floor itself.
A group of guards with glowing hands surrounded her and held her down. Whatever skill or spell they were using allowed them to make physical contact, while the spectral chains were preventing her from activating Wraith’s hunger to drain them.
She closed her eyes, too tired to do anything else.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Hoss Goldeye: If you breathe, hold your breath.
Nymin’s eyes snapped open.
Before Nymin could message Hoss back, she smelled something like strong tea and mildew and did as instructed. Breathing was more of a habit for her than anything else, even if it did allow her to absorb trace amounts of ambient mana. She was more than willing to give that up to avoid breathing in whatever Hoss had released.
***
Hoss’s Pawn was filled with all sorts of items, but only a fraction of them were useful in a fight. Whether through fate, or subconscious association, the items he’d grabbed all reminded him of Dyani. With a bit of creativity, invocation, and spellcraft, he might just be able to get through this without losing a level.
* Material Invocation (Rare)
* Type: Enhancement, Utility
* Affinity: Light
* Range: Touch
* Cost: Low Mana
* Effect: Awaken the latent mana within a physical object, causing it to react according to the nature of the mana and object. The user may exert a small amount of control over the reaction.
Thanks to a city map, it had only taken a few minutes to find the recycling plant where Nymin worked. The flashing red lights and sounds of fighting inside assured him he was in the right place.
Donning a Hollow Silk Mask to protect him from airborne poisons, Hoss slipped inside without anyone trying to stop him. They were all focused on Nymin’s form on the ground. A group of guards with Reinforce Body skills glowing around their hands pounced on her.
Hoss had never been a traditional fighter. He’d rarely tried to fight at all, as his talents and interests were geared towards collecting interesting things, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hold his own, especially against a group of half-trained, unsuspecting flunkies in the back end of nowhere.
A jar appeared in his hands, summoned from the dimensional space provided by one of his talents. He unscrewed the top and began distributing its contents around the edge of the atrium facing away from Nymin and her captors, keeping his speed and gate casual to avoid drawing attention.
He used Material Invocation on each item, but willed the effect to lay in wait.
He sent a quick message to Nymin to warn her about what was coming, then fully activated his skill.
* Rat Back Mushrooms (Common)
* Level: 1
* Condition: Good
* Description: Mushrooms harvested from the bodies of Fungal Rats, a common decay-affinity, monster. These mushrooms contain a weak poison which temporarily inhibits physical senses and has various alchemical uses related to poisons and medicine. They also produce weak blue light when healthy.
Barely visible vapor hissed out of the mushrooms, which shriveled into desiccated lumps.
A couple heads turned at the sound, but most turned their attention back to the much more interesting scene in front of them.
“Hey you!” shouted a woman in the uniform of a sergeant, “This isn’t the theater. Stop gawking and clear the area!”
The poison needed a couple minutes to spread far and fast enough to be useful. Instead of fighting or fleeing, he stood his ground, keeping his expression blank. He’d learned from long practice that general dullness could avert, or at least delay most conflicts. The mask over his mouth and nose didn’t help, but this plant recycled and processed enough dangerous or toxic material that it wasn’t too conspicuous.
The sergeant wasn’t willing to let it go. She stomped over, hands glinting with the metallic sheen of a metal-affinity strengthening or defensive skill, probably Iron Fist.
* Iron Fist (Uncommon)
* Type: Enhancement, Defense
* Affinity: Metal
* Range: Self
* Cost: Moderate Mana (Initial Cost), Very Low Stamina (Channeling Cost)
* Effect: Temporarily give your hands the properties of iron, including weight and durability, without sacrificing mobility or dexterity.
“Sir, you. need. to. leave!”
Threatening him was rude, so Hoss didn’t feel bad about using force, but he still needed to give the poison gas as much time to do its work as possible. He allowed her to cuff his hands behind his back and march him through the entrance. Once they were outside, he pulled the cuffs into his dimensional storage space, easily overpowering their magic dampening enchantments.
“What-”
Before the sergeant could say more than a single word, he retrieved an enchanted glove directly onto his hand and overcharged it with mana.
* Glove of Spark Touch (Common)
* Level: 2
* Condition: Good (Repaired)
* Description: A single glove enchanted to mimic the effects of the level 2 skill, Spark Touch. When activated for low mana cost, this glove deals a moderate amount of lightning damage and may inflict temporary paralysis through touch.
The glove was one of the first items Dyani had sold to him, which he’d repaired and thoroughly cleaned. Lightning was the perfect counter to the sergeant’s defensive skill. Having hands of iron was amazing when you needed to catch a blade or punch someone’s light’s out, not so much for defending against concentrated lightning.
Lightning through her body, sizzling at the seam where metal met flesh. A body thumped to the floor, and Hoss leaned down just long enough to ensure she was unconscious, but not in any serious danger.
The careful formations of combatants were just breaking down into chaos when he returned. No one noticed him, as the few that were resisting the poison mist through high vitality, high levels, or specialized skills and weren’t stumbling around in a half-blinded and deafened haze had enough to deal with keeping the others from hurting each other.
Perfect.
“Poor Hoss, always left with the clean up.” A rare smile flashed across his face.
He strolled through the groups like a ghost, distributing and invoking more items.
* Deceased Plover Moss (Common)
* Level: 2
* Condition: Poor
* Description: The body of a Plover Moss. While normally useful in alchemy, this material has limited utility due to its poor condition.
* Tanglepillar Hair (Uncommon):
* Level: 3
* Condition: Pristine
* Description: High quality golden hair harvested from a Tanglepillar. Tanglepillars use their hair in conjunction with hair manipulation skills to ensnare and suffocate their prey. Tanglepillar hair has high durability and low mana conductivity and is useful in weaving cloth armor.
The moss released clouds of noxious spores that sent people into coughing fits, while each clump of hair immediately tied itself into a knot, then lashed out tentacles to strike or entangle anyone it could reach.
Already on edge and nearly blind, the guard’s training broke. The first skill to be tossed out was a common Mana Bolt, but the blue-white projectile was lost in the chaos of a hundred other skills. Hoss dodged and weaved through them, like a portly dancer, taking a circuitous route to Nymin, who was still on the ground.
Instead of fighting the ground surrounding and restraining her head on, Hoss pulled out another item.
He invoked the skill shard and tossed it into the center of the group. It burst into fractal light, sending echoes of the skill, Mana Jump, into everyone it touched. Guards rocketed away, their own mana propelling them. Even Nymin was pushed down, but that didn’t do anything but cause her to yelp, since she was already on the ground.
It pricked his spirit to waste a skill shard like that, but it wasn’t like Dyani couldn’t make more, assuming she survived the day.
Hurrying over, Hoss stuck splinters of Shambling Bloom bone into a link in each Spectral Chain, invoking their power of decay to eat away at the conjured material. In the few seconds it took them to break down, Nymin was already on her feet, or at least, floating upright.
“What are you doing here?” she asked with a raspy voice, like she’d been screaming for hours.
Hoss shrugged.
“You needed help. Now you can help Dyani.”
As soon as he’d read the message, he’d realized that, if Nymin was desperately asking for him to help her daughter, that meant she couldn’t help Dyani herself. Since Nymin was much better suited to fight than him, he’d decided to free her instead.
“I can’t,” she said, gesturing to her leg, “They caught me with a binding skill. I can’t go more than a dozen meters away from the caster.”
While there was nothing visible, it took him only a cursory spiritual scan to feel the insidious power of oath mana. A quick use of his talent-given analysis skill, Goldeye, revealed the skill to be Throw Down the Gauntlet.
“Can we kill the caster?” That was the obvious answer. It would even give her mana and experience.
Nymin looked affronted at the very thought.
“I’d rather not.”
Hoss wasn’t feeling nearly so generous, especially given these people were also trying to capture a sixteen year old girl he’d reluctantly grown fond of, but he couldn’t deny that actually killing a city guard when they’d obviously gone to considerable trouble not to kill Nymin, could blow up in their faces.
But that left them few options.
The trouble with breaking oath magic was its inherently dual nature. The caster had a paired copy of the same curse Nymin was suffering from, Forced Challenge. If either curse came under attack, the other would reinforce and repair it.
Dispeling it wasn’t impossible by any means, but it would be far more difficult than breaking a couple of chains. Mutual consent from the caster and the victim would work, but sounded unlikely.
The next easiest answer was…more palatable than killing, but that was all you could say in its defense.
“Do you know who the caster is?”
Nymin looked suspicious, like she still wasn’t sure he would just murder them, but she was running on sufficient levels of panicked concern that she pointed the man out.
He was sprawled out on the floor. His clothes and body were unmarred, so Hoss couldn’t tell whether he’d been struck with a subtler attack than the conjured knife that Hoss tilted his head to avoid, or if he’d just passed out from the spiritual strain of using a skill above his capabilities.
Either way, Hoss was grateful for it. It would make the next part far easier.
“Hold out your hand.”
Nymin was confused, but did as he asked.
Hoss summoned a wand and a bag of notes from his dimensional storage space. He jammed the wand into the bag for it to absorb the notes in streamers of purplish light. He dropped the bag and wove the quickest mana tracking spell he knew, along with a mana barrier to surround it, that would allow the semi-tangible Nymin to touch it without using her own mana.
As soon as he finished, he tossed in another one of Dyani’s Mana Jump skills to act as the mana sample to track.
The spell lines and skill core both flashed and condensed into a blue stone, which extended a faint line of light in Dyani’s direction. The tracking stone fell into Nymin’s waiting hand. She clutched it like a lifeline, surprised when it didn’t slip through her fingers.
“When I break the connection, follow that.”
“I don’t know how to thank you.”
Unsure how to respond to that, Hoss just said, “Keep safe,” and ran over the the caster.
Not having anything better, he pulled the man’s own sword from its sheath. Lifting the hand that glittered with a phantom gauntlet of bronze mana, Hoss swung down to slice through the arm just below the elbow.
When the blade was a bare inch from its target, Hoss sensed a passive defensive skill awaken, not yet active, but ready and waiting.
Hoss’s Mind attribute was so far above his Speed attribute, that he had plenty of time to analyze the skill and consider his options.
* Vengeance Mirror (Very Rare)
* Type: Attack, Retributive
* Affinity: Mirror
* Range: Self
* Cost: High Mana (Initial Cast) / Extreme Mana (Recast)
* Duration: 1 hour
* Cooldown: 1 day
* Effect: While active, this skill deals equivalent, retributive damage whenever the user is attacked, until the maximum damage threshold is reached, the maximum number of reflected attacks is reached, one hour passes, or the skill is dismissed. This skill has a one day cooldown, but may be recast while still active for an extreme mana cost.
This guard must have an impressive talent, to be entrusted with two such rare skills. There was no way he could have afforded to buy them on a city guard salary.
The mirror affinity skill wasn’t nearly as difficult to circumvent as Throw Down the Gauntlet. He could dispel it with a destabilizing spell or wear it out with rapid, weak attacks.
But each of those solutions would take significant time, and could be easily disrupted by one of the less poisoned guards around him, several of which were already approaching.
Once again, Hoss was faced with the decision of whether Dyani was really worth spending his advancement and lifespan.
A blade sliced through one arm. Two fell to the ground.