Oh, citizens of my acclaimed house, I do so love rebellions. It is the truest way, the most democratic way, for one's subjects to make their scorn and disappointment in their lord ruler known.

Except for one thing. You don't seem to be so scornful or disappointed. In fact, this was awfully organized. There was no passion in this rebellion. It was targeted to the smallest attack, all these attempts directly on my System itself… So willing are you to sacrifice your Classes. Naughty children, making such things existential.

Or perhaps you don’t believe this is existential. Perhaps you already have something promised to you. A means of preserving your lives or treasures truly grand already pre-paid at my expense. Well, I accept. Engineered rebellion or not, I can accept a Color Revolution all the same. That doesn't mean I will not slaughter you to the last man, woman, and whatever you are.

Anywho. To those of you who thought that detonating a singularity within my sun would have been enough… silly children. What danger is a collapsing star to someone who can wretch back time itself? It is like trying to use more water to drown a leviathan.

Here. Let me show you how a god kills.

-Mepheleon the Harbinger

35

Decisions (I)

Convening with the group again allowed Wei insight into their newly gained abilities.

Agnesia was the most straightforward among them. Her Destroyer Class increased her Strength and Constitution tremendously. It also imbued upon her an Abyssal Rage that allowed her to heal and get stronger by inflicting harm. She still had the greatsword and gauntlets that Wei gave her, and so her progress to further power remained relatively straightforward. More Strength, more Constitution, and, if possible, enhancements to her pryomancy—though that was likely to come more with her Class Specialization.

Presently, the only skill she had was Wrathful Charge. It allowed her to expend some of her Abyssal Rage as an explosive charge. According to her, she didn’t even need a solid surface to push off of. The skill simply detonated a cone of blazing force in the opposite direction of where she wished to accelerate as a propellant.

Roggi’s Path of Sloth, meanwhile, proved to be more interesting and esoteric. His Class was centered around entropy. The reason behind his sudden physical degeneration was because his Strength Aspect was constantly in decay—though he could shift which Aspect he wished to atrophy after spending some time. With a chosen Aspect rotten, the enemies he attacked or even made contact with would also suffer temporary weakness lasting for a certain period.

Additionally, Roggi also claimed a beneficial skill, allowing him to control constructs made from rot and decay. Wei wondered if that was a deliberate boon provided to the Oathbearer, considering their ability to shape and build different things. After all, Mepheleon knew about the Oathbearers and their special armors. The current necrotic shell that he piloted was not quite the same thing, but it allowed him easy movement and circumvented his lacking Strength.

Rafael, meanwhile, had passed through the Path of Envy, and the emerald glint along with the crown of hands were symbols signalling his alignment to thievery. His Abyssal Invocation gave him a chance to steal skills and even potential traits from his foes—a fitting thing for a coward to mimic their betters—but Rafael could also gain shapeshifting capabilities. Such was also what allowed him easy access to a new body; a boon that fit his undying state quite well.

Overall, the lich had grown much more useful, but that only made Wei more suspicious of the coward. Whatever he did, Wei would be watching.

And that finally left the young master and Ellena. Both of them were now Tyrants, and though his Eidolon and her current Class functioned along the same wavelength, their focus was to differ substantially. Ellena was no fighter, and it would be best if she could summon and outsource the fighting to others while she herself focused along the path of augmentation.

Wei, on the other hand, wanted to use his new Eidolon to enhance his already existing concept-breaking potential. Furthermore, it would be useful to pass his Eidolon off as an actual Class to hide his System if he could. For that reason, he intended to use his Eidolon as a booster.

Allocatable Points [0]

Strength > 11 (+Authority = 26)

Speed > 22 (+Relativity = 38)

Enlightenment [Shared With Bonded User] > 10

Awareness > 1 (+Omniscience = 17)

Constitution > 5 (+Fortification = 14)

Will > 10 (+Intent = [Incalculable])

Putting 10 points into Speed when he first claimed his Eidolon was an easy decision for Wei. Being able to strike first and often last had won him many a battle. Furthermore, as his Speed now flowed over into his Aspect of Relativity, he moved at a pace that exceeded time itself—furthering his already impressive advantage. Such was why he considered boosting it further with his remaining fifteen points.

What stopped him, however, was the consideration of his present weakness. He was facing threats numerous and unknown. Judging by the Knight of Lust, many of them exceeded his capabilities by far. He needed a means of evening the odds.

And with his Gate 1 System Ascension, he had found it. His newfound ability to shatter concepts and outright break the laws of reality using his Aspect of Authority was a revelation. But a revelation he needed to increase. Such was why he put 10 points into Strength this time and the rest in Speed, for if he were to encounter that Knight of Lust again, he doubted he could contend against her force on force. But if he could break the foundations of her power at the roots, then maybe a worm could find a way to feast on an eagle after all.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

With Aspects decided, he looked to his skills and frowned. He had already disregarded the Minor Hammer of Scorn and Chain of Conviction. Neither of those skills enhanced his combat capabilities substantially, but that still left three new starting skills for him to consider.

[Minor Tyrant’s Stand]: Lets the user create a tower from their Aspect of Will for [10] Arrogance. The tower will intermittently pulse with force based on the user’s Strength.

Not so useful for Young Master Wei. He always admired the storm more than the mountain; an onslaught in motion rather than one to stand their ground and endure. Perhaps this would be useful for someone who liked to engage at range or needed to keep their enemies at bay. More, Wei just couldn't imagine a minor burst of force being enough to halt a powerful enough demon.

[Minor Demon of Pride]: Summons a Supplicant to do battle on your behalf for [5] Arrogance each time. The number of supplicants you summon is determined by your Mind Aspect.

This one was already far better than his first option. So much better that he encouraged Ellena to take this. So far, it didn't seem to have a specific limit on how many Supplicants could be summoned, and it also would finally give Ellena a reason to put points into her Aspect of Mind. For Wei, however, the expenditure of arrogance didn't seem worth it, and supplicants were feeble on their own.

And then he looked at the last skill and found his curiosity piqued.

Minor Icon of Domination. Marks a designated foe with a Minor Icon of Domination at the cost of [2] Arrogance per second. Allows the user to slowly and temporarily gain Aspect boosts should they dominate their designated foe in battle. Is capped at 25% increase for all respective Aspects. The boost will last for 2 minutes.

This Wei could appreciate. Boosting his Aspects over time would grant him substantial advantages in battle—he could see moments where he could gain an edge by defeating weaker enemies first. The ultimate choice was rather simple.

Skills [⅖]

>[Minor Bolt of Judgment]

>[Minor Icon of Domination]

Something occurred to Wei then. It seemed that every two levels, he gained a new starting skill. He wondered if that was unique to him or if everyone in the group shared such an experience.

“Does everyone have two selectable skills so far?” Wei asked.

“Yes,” Ellena, Roggi, and Agnesia said.

“Ah, yes, starting skills,” Rafael muttered. Something flashed within his sockets and Wei’s Compendium drifted in front of the lich. “So. Most newly Classed of the Claimed Hells will gain starting skills on their first, third, and fifth levels. After that, however, the Classed will be required to construct within themselves or claim skill shards from places or enemies.” To demonstrate his point, he projected what seemed to be a solid chunk of glimmering crimson out from his being. “Skills are ultimately just crystallized fragments of hellish essence fed into your Class, allowing its power to be expressed through specific means.”

Without hesitation, Wei infused his Intent into the shards and grinned. Information from his system spilled across his eyes.

Minor Thread of Fixation: Expends [10] Jealousy and infuses an object or entity with a [Fixation]. Targets designated as enemies will have to use their Mind Aspect to resist or become [Fixated], causing them to desperately want to possess said object or entity.

Conceptual integrity of Minor Thread of Fixation skill: [3/3]

Wei chuckled. "It's breakable."

Everyone went still. Rafael held up his skeletal hands. "My friend, please don't break my skill…”

Wei regarded him for a moment and slowly retracted a monochromatic tendril. "That depends on you."

Of course, he wasn't going to do it. The fact that he could was pleasing altogether. The idea of shattering someone else's technique, crippling their cultivation—it was among the most cruel things one could do to another back on his homeworld. But here, in these Claimed Hells, surrounded by fiends, demons, scoundrels, and who else knows what? Well, perhaps fates worse than damnation were just what he intended to inflict.

Rafael cleared his non-existent throat and continued, "Regardless, most skills have feat requirements and levels associated with them. Class and Specialization restrictions as well. Some skill shards are universal and can be applied to any Class, but most of those are unfocused and lack effectiveness, according to the Compendium.” The lich paused and peeked at Wei. "Do you want the book back?"

"I will take it when I wanted," Wei stated simply.

Rafael just nodded awkwardly. “Or… you could just ask.”

Wei continued staring. It took more than a little willpower not to break the lich’s skill.

Slowly, Rafael withdrew the essence fragment back into himself. “So. In summary, Classes incubate skills, and past the starting three, the remainder all need to be forged through action. However, that is not all. We can also loot them from defeated foes or buy them from a merchant.” Rafael then pointed to the Demon of Greed floating in the corner of the room. The gold-filled hand just waved.

“Wait,” Roggi grunted, “that thing sells skills?”

“It will,” Rafael said. “But we need to achieve our first Specializations first. Right now, our Classes are not even at basic maturity yet, so this merchant only buys and sells artifacts in trade for Sins.”

“And how do you know that?”

Rafael pointed to the crown composed of interlinking hands on his crown. “Because I got this from the merchant.” The lich made a disgusted hacking noise. “Forgive me. Sometimes, to defeat the market, you must indulge in it.” He shivered. “Disgusting though capitalism may be.”

“Capitalism,” Wei said dully.

It is like an auction, his System provided. Rafael’s dislike is usually associated with concentrations of wealth away from those that desperately need it.

Wei frowned. So they why do they simply not take it?

Due to a myriad of societal and structural factors across various realms, the masses often cannot.

The young master shrugged. Then it was never their wealth to have.

Still, knowing that he could potentially buy something from the Demon of Greed was useful. His original spear was lost and his Shadescale remained quite damaged. If he could get an artifact to replace what he currently had.

“Now,” Rafael said. “To something that might be more interesting to you, Oathbearer, settings!”

All a sudden, interface was projected forth from Rafael. There were icons and symbols everywhere, as well as different screens and flowing text. The amount of information on display was disconcerting, but the lich seemed to navigate through the contents without difficulty. Finally, after shuffling across several menus, he finally arrived at a menu titled [Chat] and opened it.

“If you wish to access your [Chat],” Rafael began, “simply think settings at your Class. It will respond and—”

And Wei was already in progress. As was Roggi. The only ones that lagged behind were Ellena and Agnesia, the mother and daughter looking on confused. For the young master and the Oathbearer, there were people to talk to.

Or threaten, in Wei’s case. His chat spilled out from his flowspear rather than himself, but its details was quite similar to his System interface in several places as well—uncannily so.

Intuitively scrolling through the menus was not hard for him, thanks to his System, but as he arrived in chat, there were several hundred more options, and the young master found halted.

Rafael continued. “...and what you need to do is go into the search function—”

Wei looked for a minute and found it near the very top of the menu.

“---and focus on it. It will ask you to apply a memory of the person you wish to speak to, and Mepheleon’s System will cross-reference—”

But the young master was no longer listening. Instead, his mind was cold as a grave as he poured his father’s face into the search function. In seconds, the page before him cycled as a long string of numbers began to drop rapidly.

Search Results: 1

>Contact: William Yu (Circle of Envy) [You have not spoken to them before]