She pulled up the bond ability to look over the options one last time before making her decision.
Offered Bond Abilities:
Bond Ability Points (BP) Remaining: 2
Jackalope of all Trades (Rank 4)
*Mongrel Bloodline
(0/4 Bond Ability Points Invested):
Forge Light [2 BP] - Like the Celestial Hare, you gain the ability to manipulate light into a solid state. Properties and duration of forged objects will vary depending on light source, light intensity, and initial qi invested.
Abundant Spring (Rank 2) [2 BP] - You and your bond’s qi pool and regeneration combine into one. Your bond’s cooldowns will be significantly reduced in exchange for a small consumption of qi per ability use, and can be eliminated entirely by expending additional qi. For one minute each day your bond can call upon their Empyrean Stag heritage to increase in size, Strength, and Resilience relative to your shared maximum qi pool.
Spectral Projection (Rank 2) [2 BP] - You gain the ability to temporarily project your consciousness outside of your body or to any location you can clearly visualize for 1 qi per minute. By expending additional qi, you can manifest a weak, semi-transparent physical form. Arts used while projecting will no longer incur a qi cost penalty. Upon canceling the ability or running out of qi your consciousness will be returned to your body.
Mongrel’s Feast [2 BP] - You can permanently sacrifice bond abilities in exchange for an amount of BP’s equal to their cost. Sacrificing an ability with the potential for multiple ranks will yield BP’s equal to the total cost of all ranks. Sacrificing a purchased ability will yield a full refund of invested BP and BP for any remaining rank potential. Sacrificing the unpurchased rank of an ability you already possess will yield BP for the remaining ranks and halt that ability’s potential progression.
She’d spent over a year agonizing over what she would choose, wavering as she theorized about how exactly [Jackalope of All Trades] presented its available options. To her dismay, this was something Silas didn’t know the answer to despite these powers coming directly from him. Other than a general idea of what it did, he was as in the dark about it as she was.
The first rank of the skill had given her a set of disparate abilities based upon Silas’s Mongrel bloodline. The second rank had upgraded the effect of the previous rank’s abilities. The third rank had forced her to choose from a set of five ability options, each costing either 1 or 2 BP’s but with a total ‘spending limit’ of 3 BP’s. The two abilities she’d chosen–[Abundant Spring] and [Spectral Projection]--reappeared with upgrade options in the fourth rank of [Jackalope of all Trades]. The three abilities she hadn’t chosen–[Always Close], [Moonlight Step], and [Duplicate]--were no longer available and were replaced by [Forge Light] and [Mongrel’s Feast]. All abilities had a consistent cost of 2 BP’s this time and there was a spending limit of 4 BP’s.
This pattern was somewhat inconsistent, which meant any conclusions she tried to reason out would most likely be fraught with errors. Still, she had a few theories that felt somewhat reasonable given her limited information.
Assuming that the recent trend of choosing from a list of abilities continued, she surmised that the ‘spending limit’ and the overall cost of the abilities in the selection pool would continue to increase each rank. If true, this would quickly reach the point where she’d be unable to purchase any new abilities until she and Silas both had gone up several ranks or she stumbled across multiple opportunities to deepen their bond. These chances to gain bond points would dwindle until she was unable to purchase any more abilities.
From here, her theories became progressively more speculative.
First, she believed that the abilities she didn’t purchase this rank would disappear going forward. She recognized the possibility that un-purchased skills might reappear in a higher rank of [Jackalope of all Trades] or another ability from the Mongrel bloodline, but she couldn’t count on that.
Second, despite not being marked as ‘Rank 1’, she thought that the abilities offered through [Jackalope of all Trades] were all multi-rank. This was based on her previous purchases, which weren’t revealed to have additional ranks until after they were bought.
Third, she hoped that if she’d already purchased the first rank of an ability through [Jackalope of all Trades] the option to upgrade it to the next rank would carry over. This was something she could only test if she let either [Spectral Projection] or [Abundant Spring] go unpurchased for this rank.
Lastly–and this was a complete guess–abilities consumed with [Mongrel’s Feast] would only affect herself and not Silas. All of her bond abilities came directly from Silas, so it wouldn’t make sense that an ability he provided to her would also harm him.
Though the most prudent choice might be choosing both [Abundant Spring] and [Spectral Projection], [Mongrel’s Feast] presented a unique opportunity to overcome any bond point famines in her future. Having firmed her resolve, she took the plunge.
Bond abilities selected! Changes have been made to your status page.
Quickly checking over her profile, she noted that [Mongrel’s Feast] appeared under the ‘Utility Arts’ section as a Rank 1 ability. This supported her second hypothesis.
Now, it was time for her next major gamble. If the unpurchased abilities reappeared down the line or consuming an ability hurt Silas she would come to regret this, but if she was right then she couldn’t pass this opportunity up. She had discussed her intentions with Silas multiple times, but she still looked over to him and mentally confirmed that he was ready for whatever consequences may result from her choice.
“I’m ready when you are.” he encouraged, his calm acceptance resonating through their bond and giving her comfort.
“Alright then. Let me know if you feel anything when I do this–anything at all. Okay?”
Silas let out a series of rhythmic huffs, resembling a laugh, “I know. We’ve talked about this more times than I can count!”
“You can still only count to like… 10.” Samantha pointed out jokingly.
Silas turned his nose up at her and turned his head, as if pouting and purposefully looking away from her.
She smiled, then took a deep breath. Delaying further was pointless. She focused on the ability she wished to sacrifice and activated [Mongrel’s Feast].
Feast upon [Forge Light]? Y/N
Not going to give me any more information, huh?
She mentally confirmed her choice.
You have consumed the potential of:
[Forge Light] Rank 1 - 2 BP
[Forge Light] Rank 2 - 3 BP
You have gained 5 Bond Ability Points.
Almost not believing the notification, she checked her profile and saw that, indeed, she now had 5 BP’s to spend.
It really worked.
“It’s done. Any changes? Weird feelings?” Samantha checked in with Silas.
He paused for a beat before answering, “Mmm…. I don’t think so?” His tone was slightly disappointed as he continued, “I thought I would feel something. They are my skills I’m offering to you. Is that normal?”
“I don’t know, buddy.” She said sympathetically, patting him on the head. “I’m learning just like you are. At least nothing noticeably bad happened?”
“It would’ve been nice to know for sure. But, I guess you’re right. How good were your guesses?”
“I’ll find out right now.”
She purchased the next ability she’d decided upon for this rank: [Spectral Projection] Rank 2.
Bond abilities selected! Changes have been made to your status page.
Although the second rank of [Abundant Spring] was tempting due to the new capabilities it gave to Silas, [Spectral Projection] had too many potential benefits to pass up. Obviously this was her best chance to see her family again in the near future, but it might also give her the ability to project outside of the rift. She hadn’t dared try to send her projection through the rift while the quest was active out of fear that she’d be damaged by the drake again, but if she could project directly to a safe distance outside of its den…? That might just let her find an opening to escape.
The only concern she had was that projecting outside the rift would count as ‘exiting’ it and she would lose her first delve bonus and any accumulated resource points. She planned to ask Theora the next time she saw her, but this may be one of the things her representative couldn’t answer. If that was the case, she would eventually have to take the risk. Knowing when there was a good window of opportunity to act was more important than resource points–though she’d wait until the last possible moment before executing that strategy.
She pulled up her bond abilities with the desperate hope that at least some of her guesses were right.
Offered Bond Abilities:
Bond Ability Points (BP) Remaining: 3
Swift (Rank 2)
[2 BP]
For every 0.5 qi points spent per second, gain +2 Agility. After ability ends, effects will linger for a short time before returning to original levels. While active, your steps gain perfect traction.
Herb Hunter
[1 BP]
Like the Lunar Hare, you have the uncanny ability for finding the best quality herbs around.
Translucence (Rank 2)
[2 BP]
For every 1 qi point spent, you will become mostly transparent for 60 seconds. All other signs of your presence will be partially muted (sound, smell, aura, etc). Remaining motionless while translucent will make you exceedingly difficult to spot.
Antler Genesis
[1 BP]
You can spend at least 1 qi point to grow an antler from any bone. Size and shape of the antler can be affected by increasing qi investment during creation. Once disconnected from the body, the antler will continue to exist for 1 minute or until consciously dismissed.
Jackalope of all Trades (Rank 5)
*Mongrel Bloodline
(0/5 Bond Ability Points Invested):
Abundant Spring (Rank 2) [2 BP] - You and your bond’s qi pool and regeneration combine into one. Your bond’s cooldowns will be significantly reduced in exchange for a small consumption of qi per ability use, and can be eliminated entirely by expending additional qi. For one minute each day your bond can call upon their Empyrean Stag heritage to increase in size, Strength, and Resilience relative to your shared maximum qi pool.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Spectral Projection (Rank 3) [3 BP] - You gain the ability to temporarily project your consciousness to any location you can clearly visualize for 1 qi per minute. You maintain a sliver of awareness in your physical body which can perform simple tasks and self-preservation actions using base instinct. You can freely choose to manifest a semi-transparent physical form. You can use a wider variety of arts while projecting. Upon canceling the ability or running out of qi your consciousness will be returned to your body.
Mongrel’s Feast (Rank 2) [3 BP] - You can permanently sacrifice bond abilities in exchange for an amount of BP’s equal to their cost. Sacrificing an ability with the potential for multiple ranks will yield BP’s equal to the total cost of all ranks. Sacrificing a purchased ability will yield a full refund of invested BP and BP for any remaining rank potential. Sacrificing the unpurchased rank of an ability you already possess will yield BP for the remaining ranks and halt that ability’s potential progression. You gain the ability to feast upon beast cores without ill effect to your cultivation base. Elemental imbalances will be equalized and consumed by your bond, strengthening you both in the process.
Mongrel’s Regurgitation [5 BP] - You can permanently sacrifice up to five purchased bond abilities in exchange for a new ability that combines and enhances their effects. Unpurchased ranks of any combined skills will factor into the new skill’s effects, though will be less impactful than if they’d been purchased beforehand. The more synergistic the original sacrificed abilities’ effects, the more potent and cost efficient the combined ability will be. [Mongrel’s Regurgitation] must be used upon purchase and will be sacrificed during the combination process.
Piercing Strike
[1 BP]
*Mongrel Bloodline
Spend 1 qi point to coat and reinforce a small area with piercing energy and increase the damage of the next attack by half. Qi coating will last for 5 seconds or until a target is struck.
Ghost Walk (Rank 1)
[1 BP]
*Mongrel Bloodline
For every 1 qi point spent your footsteps will be completely silenced for 60 seconds. Secondary sounds from your movement will be unaffected.
High Speed Strike (Rank 1)
[1 BP]
*Mongrel Bloodline
Spend 5 qi points to significantly increase the speed of the next attack made within 1 second. For a split second upon impact, your base Resilience is significantly increased.
She let out a sigh of relief, “I think I was right. Mostly.”
Silas responded with a mental cheer.
Looking everything over, the first thing she noticed was that Rank 2 of [Abundant Spring] was unchanged in cost or description. It seemed there wasn’t a penalty for leaving an option unpurchased if she already owned a previous rank of the skill, which was good to know.
Rank 3 of [Spectral Projection] had several interesting changes. Instead of being totally defenseless while projecting, her body could maintain itself using ‘base instinct’, whatever that meant. The qi cost to manifest a physical form would also be removed, and the form would no longer be qualified as ‘weak’. It also said she’d be able to use a wider variety of arts while projecting, which interested her. Currently she could only use [Inspect] and [Telekinesis], but she wondered if she’d be able to use [Flawless Healing Touch] from a distance with this option.
Rank 2 of [Mongrel’s Feast] gave her the ability to utilize spirit pearls with impunity while simultaneously strengthening Silas with the excess elemental energy. After her beast core scare where she nearly crippled her cultivation base, she’d been careful with her core usage. This thrilled Silas because she let him eat most of the spirit pearls she couldn’t immediately make use of, but having her limitations around core usage removed could skyrocket her advancement during periods where she didn’t have access to high-density ambient qi. Cultivating with a spirit pearl was roughly equivalent to spending time in a nexus, and in a pinch they could also be used to directly fuel an art’s qi expenditure.
As excited as she was for all the options so far, [Mongrel’s Regurgitation] was definitely the most eye-catching. It seemed to disprove her guess about each ability in [Jackalope of All Trades] being multi-rank (since it would be destroyed upon use), but the ability itself more than made up for any disappointment about being wrong. Silas had always offered numerous unique and versatile abilities. This was why he was ranked so highly when they first bonded despite his overall attributes being relatively low. While the glut of options gave her solutions to many problems, there wasn’t much in terms of strong offensive or defensive capabilities like some other bonds offered. This skill could change that.
Looking at what she had available to her now, she imagined she’d get an impressive ability just by combining [High Speed Strike], [Piercing Strike], and [Flurry]. These three skills had the highest synergies for an attack ability, but they certainly weren’t her only options. Though not enhancing her attacks directly, it was easy to imagine how [Antler Genesis], [Swift], [Translucence], or [Ghost Walk] could contribute to the final outcome. She might be able to cover herself with antler spikes during her assault, massively increase her speed, become hidden while attacking, or any other number of deadly possibilities. The potential was incredible, and the description specifically mentioned that the abilities’ effects would be enhanced upon being mixed together. She believed these skills were synergistic enough to give her additional potency and cost efficiency as well.
The only sticking point was whether or not she should fully invest in all the ranks of the skills she wanted before combining them. She’d need to spend at least 2 BP’s for [Piercing Strike] and Rank 1 of [High Speed Strike] already. With the hefty 5 BP cost of [Mongrel’s Regurgitation] added in, she’d need 4 more BP’s to afford the full 7 point expenditure. If she wanted to gain the maximum benefit of [High Speed Strike], that was a minimum of 2 more BP’s if it only had 2 Ranks, 5 more if it had 3 Ranks, and that cost only grew if she added in other multi-rank abilities. The BP cost could easily get into the teens or twenties, which might be better spent progressing [Jackalope of All Trades] instead.
After letting her mind spin with possibilities for several minutes, she ultimately decided that she’d need to spend a lot more time considering what she really wanted to do. None of these long-term thoughts would matter if she couldn’t survive her time in the rift or dealing with her rift guardian situation. It was possible a ‘less optimal’ choice may be required to survive, regardless of her feelings about it.
All she knew for certain was that she would work towards [Mongrel’s Regurgitation] this round since the other three abilities would carry over. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. As a gesture of her commitment to this decision, she went ahead and purchased [Piercing Strike] and Rank 1 of [High Speed Strike]. This left her with one remaining bond point to spend.
Bond abilities selected! Changes have been made to your status page.
She checked what Rank 2 of [High Speed Strike] offered and nodded appreciatively.
High Speed Strike (Rank 2)
[2 BP]
*Mongrel Bloodline
Spend 4 qi points to greatly increase the speed of the next attack made within 1 second. For a short time upon and after impact your base Resilience is greatly increased.
The cost went down by one qi point, the effect of attack speed and Resilience increased from ‘significantly’ to ‘greatly’, and the duration of the Resilience increase was extended. It wasn’t a flashy upgrade, but it was undeniably practical. She was tempted to try it out right away, but didn’t want to seem disrespectful by punching random things. There was an easy enough solution for that, though.
----------------------------------------
“I’ve heard you found a promising new ascendant, Theora. Congratulations.” Karrenne said disingenuously. “I was so surprised to hear the news from our director first instead of you! You can imagine I was quite embarrassed by being so out of the loop on my subordinate’s activities, so I’ve come to see what you’ve been up to myself.”
Theora stilled the rising disturbance in her dantian, not wanting to reveal how irritated she was at Karrenne’s unceremonious appearance. Hearing the all-too-familiar, artificially saccharine voice immediately put her in a bad mood, and the fact that Karrenne continued to refer to her as a subordinate after literal decades working at the same level in the same department was still as frustrating as ever. It took every modicum of self-control to come up with an appropriately professional response without lashing out.
“Thank you, Karrenne. I’m so pleased you’re still taking an interest in my development even after my promotion! I learned so much from you during our time together…how long ago was that now? 50 years? 60?” Theora asked with just as much false pleasantness. “And, seeing you here like this, I imagine it must have been very shocking indeed. Either that, or you’ve improved your ability to splinter your consciousness. Last I recall you were limited to several hundred fragments. To have such a vivid presence here without the rest of your fragments becoming shadows… it’s very admirable.”
Theora took a petty pleasure from the unsettled qi that briefly sparked in Karrenne’s center. As much as Karrenne was a terror on the battlefield and could pummel her in a proper fight, she didn’t fear the woman here. When projecting into a World Spire, very few could match Theora in terms of both number of fragments and fragment potency. Even at this moment she was holding thousands of conversations with ascendants across multiple floors and she still had mental capacity for more. Her expertise in splintering was the main reason she’d advanced through the Ministry of Preservation at such a quick pace and reached the upper echelon of agents in under 500 years. For someone like Karrenne who hadn’t been promoted once during that time, this was the easiest way to get under her skin.
Karrenne laughed, the sound only slightly forced, “Not all of us can possess your great talents, I’m afraid. I’m briefly cutting back how many ascendants I’m answering to speak with you. While I may not be able to handle as many fragments as you, however, I do still have many gifts and experiences to contribute. I’ll offer one such piece of wisdom to you now: you’re still letting the fervor of youth cloud your judgment. Just because you’ve found a potentially valuable ascendant doesn’t mean you’re the best suited to guide them. The chain of seniority exists for a reason, not just because we felt like it. Not following proper procedure by going over my head when you submitted your report is a sign that you’re putting your own prestige and career advancement above the well-being of your charge.”
“I agree that I’m not automatically the best suited just because I’m the first agent to speak with them. I’d also argue that the most senior agent isn’t automatically the best suited person either. In this case, seeing as how my request was approved without issue, the director agreed with my evaluation that I could handle it. I’ll also remind you that the last promising ascendant you ‘took over’ from me ended up dying on the seventh floor. Correct me if I’m mistaken, but don’t most of the ascendants you take under your wing die because you purposefully make things harder for them?”
That accusation seemed to have really struck a nerve because the thin veneer of civility that Karrenne had been keeping up showed its cracks. “You speak out of ignorance. I’ll remind you that you’ve not lived out your first millennia, let alone faced a Divine Beast in battle as I have. This Age is peaceful compared to The Age of Apostasy, which I was unfortunate enough to live through. You’re not doing your ascendants any favors by coddling them. Once again, you’re getting too attached and not letting them be properly challenged.”
“I’m not coddling them, and there’s nothing wrong with being fond of the people you’re meant to help.”
Karrenne scoffed, “I practically heard you tell that girl how to close the rift not minutes ago. What is that, if not coddling? And if that’s what you really think then I question if you learned as much from me as you claim. Undue fondness causes weakness for both you and the ascendants. How many times will you be forced to grieve their snuffed sparks before you accept the truth?”
Theora bristled, “I hope the day never comes where I find myself unable to keep caring, and you know as well as I do that I haven’t violated any of the Ministry’s codes of conduct. If I had, the geas would have inflicted an appropriate punishment.”
“I know how skilled you are at skirting the rules and only following the intent behind them when it suits you. That’s why I’ve gone ahead and requested to be assigned as your Observant–which was also approved by the director. He’s clearly not as certain you can handle this assignment as you believe, else he wouldn’t have so readily agreed.”
Theora couldn’t help how her dantian began to swirl with uneasiness at this revelation. Karrenne was notorious for being a ruthless Observant. In any other case, Theora could simply obliterate this fragment of Karrenne to solve her problems. By the time she could send a new fragment to check in, years would’ve already passed in this place and Samantha would have ample time to close the rift. She’d done something similar with nosey coworkers before. With an official assignment to watch over Theora’s activities, this was no longer an option.
She firmly believed that Samantha would normally be able to complete her ascent without any help from a representative. ‘Normally’ being the key word. Being chased into the rift alone by a rank 10 spirit beast was a near death sentence for even a Low Silver. The fact that a rank 10 spirit beast could even exist on the second floor at all was astonishing. The amount of time it must’ve remained hidden, consuming the energy leaking from the rift undisturbed by other spirit beasts or curious cultivators…? It was possible that it was older than Theora was. What kind of representative would she be if she let her ascendant be destroyed by such an unusually overpowered creature? Samantha had only been a cultivator for less than a year, and just needed more time to grow into her strengths to stand a fighting chance. She doubted Karrenne would understand that, though.
“You’re too predictable, Theora. I can practically feel your disappointment that you can’t just blast me out of existence.” Karrenne chided, her mask of sweetness settling back into place, “The first order of business as your Observant is to fully review how you’ve handled this quest so far. Which–” Karrenne paused for a moment as a stack of papers appeared in her hand. Her hand flashed with purple light as it instantly absorbed the information held within the pages, then the papers vanished. Karrenne raised an eyebrow, faking concern, “--oh, dear. You’ve really gone quite far for this child, haven’t you? You changed her assigned scenario, altered the quest contents, increased the time dilation to the maximum, locked in a double reward bonus for her so long as she doesn’t leave the rift, and were especially generous with the quest judgment. How misguided. This only goes to show I was right to come here. I’m going to put a stop to the flagrant favoritism you’ve been showing to your ascendants.”
Theora pushed back, “You’re more than welcome to fulfill your duty to observe and report on my behavior. If you overstep your authority–”
Karrenne interrupted her, “Unlike you, I follow the spirit of our rules. You are free to disregard the guidelines I think you should follow. I will mark your refusal to comply in my report though, and when your actions are reviewed you can deal with the consequences. The choice is yours.”
Karrenne had Theora in a tight spot. Admittedly, she was already pushing the boundaries for what could be considered ‘reasonable’ in helping Samantha. Theora would likely be forgiven for the resource expenditure if Samantha ascended and became a useful contributor to the war, but she would be punished if Samantha failed to ascend because the expense was wasted. With an Observant actively watching her every move, that retribution could come regardless of Samantha’s success. If Karrenne deemed Theora wasn’t properly following the code of conduct, someone else could be assigned to Samantha’s case. Karrenne herself might even get it, just like she was trying to avoid in the first place.
As frustrating as it was, Theora would need to be more careful–at least until Karrenne signed off on her behavior and left her alone. Who knew how long that would take, but Karrenne couldn’t neglect her other job duties forever. A significant portion of Karrenne’s consciousness was present here so that she could properly engage with Theora and report on everything accurately. It was only a matter of time before she was forced to focus on her own work again.