Ignium. What can be said about the Dragon God. The Creator, the Destroyer. Well, let’s start with the fact that direct attacks against them or their Scions will be rendered in effective. Fire? Forget it. Force? Well, you better surprise them, because anything they see coming will hypercharge their Essence. Seriously, fighting the Scions of Destruction is a pain in the ass.
But you don’t need to fight them. Not at all.
Now, if you’re not a moron, you probably already know what I’m hinting at. For the mouthbreathers reading this, here’s the direct idea: Smash their minds; jack up their perception; control them. Make them struggle before deception and illusions. And when they’re out of Essence—drained and confused—go in for the kill.
It’s not a perfect method, but it is an effective one. Remember that winning a battle doesn’t mean you have to kill everyone. Disabling or repelling is just as good. Don’t let your murderous desires to screw you over.
-The Trespassers’ Compendium
II-63
Team Building (II)
“Well. She’s doing better than I thought she would,” Vendrian said, enraptured by the violence taken place on the golden screen before him. His arms were folded, and Mourning hovered in the air beside him, radiating auras of frost and healing.
“Indeed,” Rafael breathed. A loud draconic cry sounded from the Tower of Possibilities systems and the lich shuddered. “She also sounds like my mother after I mixed colors with whites one too many times. Such a rage I will never forget.”
The Scion of Death eyed the lich with a frown. “What the fuck is that supposed to me?” His gaze turned to Wei. The young master shrugged.
“It is about separating articles of clothing when they are to be wash—” Rafael was cut off as a massive explosion sounded from the projection. Scenes of fire and violence played.
The enormous flaming minotaur that served as Agnesia’s current foe wasn’t having a very good time. First it lost its charge, then she broke off his horns via her draconic avatar and shoved them up a very unpleasant region of the body, and now, finally, she was dragging the man-bull all over the place, using their face like a plow.
A snapping sound echoed through the room as Wei, Vendrian, and Rafael all shuddered. The minotaur’s pelvis looked like it was jutting out at three places. The creature was screaming, howling for her to offer it a swift death. To make matters worse, it was also burning—her fire overwhelming the boss’s.
“Her technique is non-existent,” the Shell said, shaking his body in disgust. “There is so much we must remedy.”
She has willingness, Wei said. Instincts.
“She is winning on brute force alone. This will not stand when stronger adversaries come.”
No. No, it wouldn’t. However, Right now, at that very moment, what she needed wasn’t training or an increase to her skill. No, what she needed was what she had said earlier—to hit something, to set something on fire, to deliver pain and not see pain delivered in return. The Minotaur served that purpose nicely. Though the massive beast flailed and projected beams of fire from its eyes, it crashed uselessly against Agnesia’s Draconic Avatar, splashing like a small spray greeting a falling tidal wave.
For her part, the Draconic Avatar—a Skill that composed a five-meter large projection formed of ash and gold—clutched the bull’s broken pelvis and proceeded to rearrange it even further. A series of sickening cracks followed, and a piercing shriek filled the air. Wei didn’t think a bull could scream that high. But then again, he also hadn’t realized you could do that to a bull’s pelvis.
“All right, this is getting kind of sick,” Vendrian said, though the edge of his lip was quirking up slightly.
“No, no,” Wei said, holding up a hand. “Let her have this moment.”
Vendrian’s features darkened. “Bloodlust and torture aren’t habits you want to develop in a fight. She’ll get in a fucked up habit.”
“I’ll correct her later,” Wei replied. For now, he gestured at the unfolding scene. “Let her have this. Life has been unkind to her.”
“Life’s been fucking unkind to us all. It’s not a good excuse. Just kill the cunt and move on.”
Wei looked at the scion of death and simply shrugged. “Excuse or not, she needs it. We do not interrupt her while she is… composing herself.”
Vendrian’s eyebrow quirked up. “What’s she to you, anyway?”
“A respected companion.”
The Scion’s face twisted into a sneer. “Yeah. Sure.” He didn’t say anything else, but Wei felt vaguely annoyed by the way the man grinned at him.
It didn’t take Agnesia much longer to finish the other rare category challenges. She tore what seemed to be a massive kraken in half—a kraken that bore a resemblance to the one they had seen in the arena. This one, too, wielded weapons; but rather than blades and scimitars, it held hammers and its tentacles layered in thick brigandine armor. She melted through one of its tentacles and boiled it alive from the inside. It was a quick fight, though no less horrifying.
Her next adversary, the last one in the rare series, posed the greatest challenge to her. She fought a swarm-like entity—something that could dissipate and reform at an instant’s notice. Effectively, it was a swarm of locusts that coalesced into a giant insectoid being. It was fast—much faster than Agnesia—and when she tried to burn it initially, she found herself always a step behind, a moment too late.
Frustration overcame her. Frustration, rage, and lack of foresight combined as she wasted ten minutes of her essence, consuming entire sections of her surroundings, melting through buildings, and leaving glass furrows across the landscape. Her destructive capabilities were astounding to behold, but her sloppiness reminded him of himself before the Shell began its corrections. “Remember, you embarked on your path to true mastery at the Tower of Possibility as well,” he thought. “It is good that she makes these mistakes now.”
Yes. But she doesn’t exactly have an Antediluvean rarity Skill to guide her.
“Indeed,” the shell agreed, “but she can learn. Perhaps she must fall, but she will. There is nothing better than real steel on steel—than iron sharpening iron.”
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With a feral cry, Agensia channeled all her Essence into a wide-sweeping blast. The forest-based realm the battle took place was consumed by golden fire. The insectoid adversary tried to escape, but each of its lesser bodies came ablaze from the heat, and eventually vanished into the light as well.
A moment later, Agnesia emerged from the portal again. She refused this evolution quick. Wei expected that. Insects didn’t seem to be Agnesia’s interest. Leaning down from the bridge she stood upon, Agnesiia flashed Rafael, Wei, and Vendrian a quick, bloodthirsty grin. “Might be done with this sooner than I thought. Faster than you, Wei.”
The young master tried not to laugh. He failed.
The cockiness faded from her face, and in its place came indignation. With a muttered “I’ll show that bloody stupid young bastard,” she exploded up toward the next nearest portal, continuing her warpath.
“Getting too confident,” Vendrian commented.
“Indeed,” Wei said, “but let’s see how long she lasts. We can help her once she empties all her frustration and anger.”
“I am not sure if this is the psychologically sound strategy,” Rafael said quietly. “But I must admit: I do like watching her burn things.”
As she moved on to the Epic category of challenges, her true trials began. A scene unfolded on the golden screen as Wei observed her loading onto a massive platform. This platform drifted alone amongst a whirlwind tide of storm clouds and her adversary.
Well, it seemed they were nowhere to be seen. But as with all things, there was more than met the eye. When it came to the class specialization evolutions, there was always a catch—always something special about the adversary they were facing. Once you reach the epic category, you shouldn’t be facing anything mundane anymore. The adversaries always had an edge, something surprising, and this time was no different.
Agnesia looked around, her perception alerting her to nothing. Her face contorted with suspicion—and rightly so. For a second thereafter, a shadow loomed over her, one she had barely noticed in time. She barely materialized her Draconic Avatar in time to ward off a lashing claw.
The adversary this time was listed as a Lv. 150 Stormwyvern Knight. It fell like a stake from the heavens, lightning coursing along its length as it crashed hard against the top of Agnesia’s manifested avatar. The platform shook. Storm greeted fire as both Essences clashed. Yet, Agnesia remained standing, her materialized avatar wrestling the wyvern with claw against claw.
“Huh. A rider. I didn’t expect that,” Rafael commented.
True to the lich’s words, there was a small figure on the massive wyvern’s back. The beast Agnesia faced seemed to be sculpted from dark iron and smoke. It was twice again as large as her avatar, and its head was narrow, like someone painted eyes and other organs on a knife. Rows of teeth bit down on her black-gold flames, while on its back, an armored figure prepared to deliver their own strike.
The rider work smoking plates that wafted trails of eerie green into the turbulent skies. Lightning crashed against their armor, and flowed into a massive lance that gleamed like a falling star.
As Agnesia channeled a blast of fire into his wyvern, the rider thrust his lance over his mount’s head and struck her avatar in the eye. A cry sounded from Agnesia. She twisted back, trying to pull the lance out from her avatar—but a bolt descended from above and hypercharged the rider’s acceleration, driving her down against the platform, and pulling her along the ground.
A massive explosion of electricity engulfed the platform. A shockwave opened a pocket in the stormcast skies. When the scene cleared, Wei noticed Agnesia’s avatar had been impaled through the skull, and that the wyvern was flapping its wings and dragging it toward the edge. Wei’s nerves began to come alive with anxiety. The girl kicked and clawed, using her manifested form to grip the ground and halt her path, but the rider twisted their lance, and she gave a shriek of pain.
Wei looked away. Something in his stomach did a flip.
“Face this scene, coward,” his Shell chided. “This will be her life if she chooses to stand by her own strength. Think of all the times you bled and cried out. Why would her fate be any different?”
It shouldn’t. But he didn’t want this to be her life. He didn’t want her to suffer and struggle. He should have been enough. She—
Agnesia’s screams turned to a furious roar. A hand shot up and seized the wyvern by the neck. With a burst of ridiculous strength, she pulled the flying beast down and used her avatar to bite down around its neck. The wyvern crashed into the draconic avatar’s embrace, and the rider went sailing off its back.
Yet, rather than shooting past the fast approaching edge, the rider’s lance extended, punching clean through the platform as they came to a complete halt. At the same time, before Agnesia could deal any lasting harm to the wyvern, the creature dissolved into hissing smoke that drifted up into the air and began to swirl around the rider’s body. Slowly, it poured into their lance, until the weapon changed shape, lengthening to become as if a large axe edged by darkness.
There the Stormwyvern Knight rose, but a step away from the edge of the platform. A few meters away, Agnesia breathed heavily, her Draconic Avatar regenerating. Flames filled the messy hole that the rider made of the avatar’s left eye.
“Fine, then,” Agnesia said, gritting her teeth. “I’ll take you seriously.”
Her flames crackled with greater intensity while the rider held their weapon up in salute.
For a beat, nothing happened.
And then both exploded into motion at once.
Agnesia came like a falling tsunami, fire erupting behind her as she bellowed. The rider meanwhile practically danced across the platform, wasting nothing of their Essence as they drew closer. She channeled a blast of fire, but with a slash, he unleashed his wyvern—the beast expanding into a veil of darkness and smoke. At once, the platform was engulfed in shadows, and though Agnesia’s flames were all-consuming, she couldn’t destroy what she couldn’t see.
“Shit,” Vendrian muttered. “Think she’s done for.”
Wei shot the Scion a look.
“What?” Vendrian added. “Look at her. She’s just pumping out fire everywhere. Trying to burn everything. She’s not going to last. And you saw how easy it was for the fucker to put a hole in her. All he needs is a single opening.”
And the Scion’s words rang true.
As waves of fire blasted out of Agnesia, she found herself illuminating a swirling shroud of darkness. Yet, none of her power struck her adversary, and she found her Essence dimming. A groan of exertion escaped the girl as she stumbled. Her avatar flickered.
Then through the darkness came the rider, their lance gleaming bright like dawn riding over the horizon.
The rider exploded, tearing through the darkness like a meteor. Agnesia twisted—noticing them at the last second. Her avatar turned. Reached out. Massive, scaled claws seized the oncoming attack. Wei’s eyes widened as he grinned.
Good. The girl had some reflexes. For a moment, it seemed like she was—
Without fanfare, the avatar burst into nothing more than falling sparks. The princess was dry of Essence, and the knight lunged, continuing their thrust. Agnesia flinched, extending both hands to catch the strike herself. Wei winced at the sloppiness of her action—practically shouted for her to use Railblade Slash to create some distance.
Just then, her Artifact activated, and he took a breath.
Too soon.
Lightning surged along the Ferromagnetic weapon that flowed along her body. She zipped forward. Into the rider. Chest first onto the lance.
Wei struggled not to look away. Or cringe. Of the many defeats he’d seen, this one was particularly embarrassing. She practically threw herself onto her enemy’s blade. This was basically a suicide.
“I think she choked,” Vendrian grunted. “Got nervous. Closed her eyes. Reacted. Then went straight into the lance.”
Agnesia gasped and struggled for a few moments longer before she dissolved into fractals of gold and ash. At once, the portal she passed through came alight, and Wei felt her spirit spill back across. Her body materialized just before the rift, and she lay there groaning while in the challenge dungeon, the knight saluted her fading form.
“Wei,” Rafael let out a tense breath. “How do you think she will take this?”
The young master considered Agnesia’s personality. “Well. I expect a bit of a tantrum to start with. Come on. Let us provide our critiques. There is much to be improved.”