Michelle – Epsilon Zone #1 Level 100
The weeks of waiting were finally over.
The Initiate Diplomats had done their glad handing and managed to wrangle the cooperation of all the larger factions still surviving on Earth. The Asian Union, The European Conglomerate and The American Territorial Army had all willingly agreed to cooperate with The Freedom Consortium.
However when it came to The Valkyries of Gaia and The Undefined, the two factions had apparently required some sort of assurances to be provided before they grudgingly agreed.
Michelle knew the world had gone to cago long ago, yet try as she might, she couldn’t help but find it strange how people seemed to cling so desperately to what they had once known. The titles of organizations they had set up seemed more a condemnation than a constructive declaration to her minds, but then again her minds were no longer average.
Or singular.
Out of habit she probed her memories while she surveyed the thousands upon thousands of miscellaneous allied forces, arrayed on the steeps that led to the plateau. The mass of rock towering over the Epsilon Zone #1 as a whole.
Cognitively, Michelle knew her life had ceased its vapid equilibrium that movie stardom had afforded her some eight and a half years ago, as one of her minds passed time by flicking through the surreal images her memory had become.
Before her mind was fully enhanced, her recollections were jumbled messes of emotions, sounds, smells and tastes with only the barest of adherence to a time line. Over time she had gradually increased her Wisdom attribute, which in turn enabled her remembrances to lens toward a vague sense of order and lucidity with every incremental increase.
However it was when Michelle had finally passed the threshold of 250 in the attribute that the drastic metamorphosis occurred. If she were to try and do the abrupt shift a sense a justice, she would describe it as transitioning from a green and black cathode ray tube to entering a virtual recreation of the memory that enables her minds to inspect or even relive the scenes down to their last spec of dust.
The mind not gazing upon the spectacle of humanities best and brightest making their way toward the plateaus edge, focused on the anomalies that studded her low and hyper definition memories alike. Beginning where they began, she knew she had met …someone…and then she had met Calvin. After which she had met Terrance and…someone…then Judy and then sometime much later...someone…else.
The gaps in her knowledge a mental thorn either mind couldn’t help but fascinate upon. Rather than literal gaps, the occurrences were more akin to blurry absences than voids, their occlusion letting her know that something was supposed to be present. Yet as to what that object, person, place was, she had absolutely no caquita de la vaquita idea…
Over time she had puzzled out the potential reason for the absences, owing in no small part to the edges of grief, pain and suffering that colored the surrounding memories. She had reasoned out that that was why she had used [Mind Vault] to erase their presences. One such memory was of being curled in the fetal position on Habitation Unit bed however thankfully, she was not aware of the reason why.
The choice Michelle had made had troubled her initially, as she was afraid that she had lost some vital part of herself in using the skill in the way she had. But when she looked at herself in those times of useless and detestable grief, she knew that whatever she had erased was better left forgotten if it made her thus.
Looking to her side she saw the stalwart Calvin, shinning in his plate mail whilst it reflected the morning light, upon noticing her attention, he turned and smiled, as he offered.
“It’s finally time eh?”
Nodding and returning his smile she replied in mild annoyance.
“It certainly took those idiots long enough to sort this mierda out!”
Laughing at her frank reply he countered.
“All good things take a little time Michelle…”
Frowning at his all too happy mood she asked suspiciously.
“Since when did you become a pinche fortune cookie?”
Laughing again he rejoined.
“And you’re not just a little bit pumped to kick a titan’s ass?”
She couldn’t help but smile this time, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a verbal confirmation. Chucking at her silent admittance the Australian added.
“And you’ve finally got 29 new slaves to follow your every whim!”
Giving him a hand gesture he thoroughly deserved, she shot back.
“We can’t all be The Field Commander of The Freedom Consortiums Raid Party’s, now can we your lordship?”
Not even trying to hide his mierda eating grin that was framed by the open faceplate of his helm, he answered shamelessly.
“It’s not my fault people finally wised up to just how fucking awesome I am!”
Grumbling at his buoyant good mood, she opened her mouth to reply when she saw a flare arrow go up, signaling the command to advance onto the plateau. She heard orders being yelled amongst the assembled army, as next to her Calvin followed suit.
“RAID LEADERS! YOU KNOW THE DRILL! FORM UP AND HEAD TO THE PLATEAU, THREE AT A TIME IN AN ORDERLY MARCH…AND DO NOT CHARGE AHEAD LIKE A DICKHEAD!”
A ripple of chuckles went out from the Adventurers as they followed their Raid Leaders directions and began the arduous task of attempting an orderly advance in concert with the 96 thousand troops from the other factions.
Eventually Raid Party 72’s turn came to advance and she signaled her Party’s with her [Communication Necklace].
“Alright you lot, P3, p4 and p5 side by side, forward MARCH! P2 with and P1 on me, and fall in next to a Party of rejects from Raid Party 71!”
Laughter echoed from the yellow crystal strung around her neck, as the Party’s under her command sounded off their agreement and loosely followed her directions, making they made their disorderly way toward plateau.
Turning her other mind to her ‘status’ she reviewed her downright terrifying attributes in a bid to amuse at least a portion of herself:
STATUS
Name: Michelle
Age: 29
Titles: Survivor
Class 1: Initiate Fire Mage Level: 99 +1 Intelligence Per Level
Class 2: Initiate Lightning Mage Level: 90 +1 Intelligence Per Level
Profession: N/A
HP: 598 / 445 + 153 (598) MP: 3008 / 909 + 2099 (3008)
Status Effects: N/A
Vitality: 170 + 35 x 1.05 (215)
Strength: 30 Dexterity: 60
Intelligence: 267 + 112 (379) Wisdom: 261 + 27 x 1.05 (302)
Charisma: 9 Luck: 7
Undistributed Attribute points: 0
Passives –
Human: + 5 attribute points per level
Lingua System: Able to communicate verbally with any system integrated entity and be understood
Introspective: + 5% to Wisdom
Survivor: + 5% to Vitality
True Believer: + 15% to damage dealt and -10% damage taken when taking an action or actions that you believe are correct , -20% damage dealt and + 15% damage taken when taking an action or actions you believe are incorrect.
Mind Vault(250Wisdom): Once a memory has entered your mind, it may only leave it should you allow it to do so.
Twin Minds(250Intelligence): Elevant possess two independent cognitive centers
Skills – Initiate Fire Mage
1) Fire Bolt (LvL 10): Cast a Fire Bolt at a single target causing it to seek the target whilst caster is in line of sight and deal 30 – 70 Fire damage (damage and mana cost scales with skill level). Cost: 15 Mana, Cast time: 1 second, Cooldown: 10 seconds
2) Lesser Fire Shield (LvL 10): Cast a Lesser Fire Shield with a radius of 2.5 Meters around yourself that is able to absorb 1000 damage (Diameter, absorption and mana cost scales with skill level) Diameter: 5 Meters, Cost: 50 Mana, Cast time: 2.5 seconds, Cooldown: 30 seconds
3) Blink (LvL 10): Cast Blink on yourself causing you to disappear and reappear instantaneously at a target location 10 meters from your current position (distance, cooldown and mana cost scales with skill level) Cost: 20 Mana, Cast time: 0 seconds, Cooldown: 20 seconds
4) Fireball (LvL 10): Cast a slow moving Fire Ball toward a target location which will explode on contact with any surface causing a radial explosion of 100 – 110 Fire damage (damage and mana cost scales with skill level). Cost: 35 Mana, Cast time: 6 seconds, Cooldown: 10 seconds
5) Silence (LvL 10): Cast the effect of Silence on a target causing it to be unable to use magic for 10 seconds. If the target is casting while Silence is cast upon it the spell being cast will be interrupted and cause disorientation to the target for 20 seconds. The target has a chance to resist the effects of Silence based on their wisdom and intelligence when compared to that of the caster (Duration of silence, disorientation, cast time and mana cost scales with skill level). Cost: 20 Mana, Cast time: 2 seconds, Cooldown: 60 seconds
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6) Fire Nova (LvL 10): Cast a Fire Nova that rapidly radiates outward for a distance of 5 meters, causing 50 – 100 of fire damage (Distance, damage and mana cost scale with skills level). Cost: 25 Mana, Cast time: 1 second, Cooldown: 30 seconds
Skills – Initiate Lightning Mage
1) Lightning Bolt (LvL 10): Cast a Lightning Bolt instantly at a single target, whilst caster is in line of sight and deal 15 – 85 Lightning damage (damage and mana cost scales with skill level). Cost: 15 Mana, Cast time: 1 second, Cooldown: 10 seconds
2) Lesser Lightning Shield (LvL 10): Cast a Lesser Lightning Shield with a radius of 2.5 Meters around yourself that is able to absorb 1000 damage (Diameter, absorption and mana cost scales with skill level) Diameter: 5 Meters, Cost: 50 Mana, Cast time: 2.5 seconds, Cooldown: 30 seconds
3) Lesser Lightning Step (LvL 10): Cast Lesser Lightning Step on yourself causing you to move rapidly to a target location 20 meters from your current position (distance, cooldown and mana cost scales with skill level) Cost: 40 Mana, Cast time: 0 seconds, Cooldown: 20 seconds
4) Lesser Chain Lightning (LvL 10): Cast Lesser Chain Lightning at a single target within line of sight, causing lightning to ark from the initial target to another target within two meters of it, up to 5 times. Initial strike deals 15 – 50 lightning damage with each subsequent target suffering 25% less damage then the initial strikes damage value. (Number of arcs, damage and mana cost scale with skills level). Cost: 50 Mana, Cast time: 1 Second, Cooldown: 30 seconds
5) Lesser Lightning Ward (LvL 10): Cast a Lesser Lightning Ward on yourself or an ally within 5 meters to protect their mind against mental attacks (Range, cooldown and mana cost scales with skill level). Cost: 40 Mana, Cast time: 3 seconds, Cooldown: 30 seconds
6) Lesser Thunder Storm (LvL 10): Channel a Lesser Thunder Storm at a target location within 50 meters of you with a radius of 5 meters, causing a lightning strike per second to randomly land directly beneath it and deal 15 - 85 Lightning damage (Damage, mana cost and range scales with skill level). Cost: 20 Mana a second, Cast time: Channeled, Cooldown: 50 seconds
Grinning at her now near palpable amount of mana she had in reserve, the mind willed her ‘status’ away when she noticed a commotion at the lip of the plateau. Frowning as she watched a fight breakout between Raid Party’s of Asian Unionist and European Conglomerates, she reminded herself that even though the last eight or so years had been formative and educative for some, people were still most assuredly people.
Thankfully only the melee fighters ended up trading blows and as her own Raid Party drew closer to the scrum of plate and mail clad idiots, Michelle hated to think how lethal it could have turned out for those involved if either sides ranged attackers had seen fit to deploy magical artillery.
When the yelling had quieted to traded slurs and taunts, her group finally drew level with the plateau proper.
Moving to the left, towards The Freedom Consortium marshaling area her Raid Party eventually trudged to a clear spot of barren rock among the throngs of people nervously clanking and chatting, in a din that brought her a strange sense of reassurance.
Once again waiting with nothing to do until all the rest of the allied army had mounted the plateau Michelle used her [Communication Necklace] in an attempt to reassure those under her command.
“All right you chupamedias, we’ve finally made it up in once piece!...Just sit tight and let some other pendejo worry about the rest of the mierda while we ready check, comprende?”
Receiving laughter in response she too checked her Item’s durability:
Minor Elemental Essence Crystalline Staff
Level Requirement: 96
Attributes: Melee Damage + 56 – 81, Magic Power + 483 – 602, +49 Intelligence, +18 Vitality, +723 Maximum Mana, +142% Damage to All Elemental skills, +41% to Mana Regeneration.
Durability: 169/178
Description: A mana infused crystalline staff entrapping a minor elemental’s essence, inscribed with journeyman offensive runes, intermediate empowerment and support runes. A randomly generated yet rare magical item rewarded to Michelle for successful participation in the cleansing of Dimensional Siphon#15923.
Kelbourne’s Robe of Deliverance
Level Requirement: 96
Attributes: Increase in physical and magical defenses by 14%, +34 Intelligence, +17 Vitality, +14 Wisdom, +153 Maximum Health, +1253 Maximum Mana, +29% Power to all spells
Durability: 283/297
Description: Expertly woven mana enriched robe embroidered with basic defensive runes, journeyman enhancement and empowerment runes. A rare magical item crafted and inscribed by Kelbourne The Emancipator, who in a quest to free himself of the shackles of the physical realm, disrobed in the middle of a perpetual blizzard on Squo’tan II, truly learning the value of inscribing tracking runes into ones defensive attire.
Communication Necklace
Level Requirement: 50
Attributes: Linked with 4 other identical Communication Necklaces to form a Zone restricted closed communication network.
Durability: 97/100
Description: A mana synthesized communication crystal attached to a mana conductive cord. When activated, enables voice transmission to other crystals of the five piece set, while in the same zone. A necessary but uncommon magical item synthesized for phase 1 worlds.
Ring of La’tiem’s Wrath
Level Requirement: 97
Attributes: +14 Intelligence, +46 Maximum Mana, + 44% Increased Effectiveness of All Fire Skills
Set Effect (2): +50% Damage to All Elemental skills
Durability: 121/126
Description: A synthesized ring of flame augmentation, inscribed with journeyman enhancement and empowerment runes. A randomly generated yet rare magical item rewarded to Michelle for successful participation in the cleansing of Dimensional Siphon#18606.
Ring of La’tiem’s Ire
Level Requirement: 98
Attributes: +15 Intelligence, +39 Maximum Mana, + 47% Increased Effectiveness of All Lightning Skills
Set Effect (2): +50% Damage to All Elemental skills
Durability: 122/124
Description: A synthesized ring of lightning augmentation, inscribed with journeyman enhancement and empowerment runes. A randomly generated yet rare magical item rewarded to Michelle for successful participation in the cleansing of Dimensional Siphon#19413.
Mana-shard Diadem
Level Requirement: 95
Attributes: Increase physical and magical defense by 8%, +13 Wisdom, + 38 Maximum Mana, +32% increase to rate of Mana Regeneration
Durability: 71/74
Description: An intricately extruded mana-shard diadem, inscribed with journeyman defensive and enhancement runes. A randomly generated yet rare magical item rewarded to Michelle for successful participation in the cleansing of Dimensional Siphon#14139.
Having nervously checked her equipment’s durability thrice and received positive confirmation from everyone under her command but P4’s Tyrone, she relaxed slightly. When Tyrone had successfully finished extracting two [Runestone of Item Repair]’s from his none too impressed Party members, she grew bored and cursed the lack of available items to make herself taller.
When inspiration found her, she called over to her Party’s Initiate Bulwark, in an attempt to remedy the situation.
“Hey Quan! Come over here a second!”
Clanking over as he navigated through the ranged members of the Party, he queried somewhat anxiously.
“What’s up boss lady?”
Smiling in an innocent fashion she responded.
“Drop your weapons, remove your helm and get down on one knee!”
Perplexed at the instructions he frowned as he asked cautiously.
“A-and what if I say no?”
Her smile evolved into a sadistic grin as she asked.
“Are you telling me that you wish to disobey a direct order from your superior?”
Relenting slightly she added more casually.
“Cummon it’ll be fine…nothin’s gonna happen till The Undefined’s misfits finish bringing up the rear…”
Grumbling something under his breath, he did as instructed while she nodded appreciatively. Dropping her staff next to his equipment, she hoisted her robe up, then proceeded to clamber onto his shoulders. Laughter echoed around them as she did her best imitation of a Victorian royal as she declared to the now straddled Quan.
“Arise sir knight!”
Doing as commanded he hissed in an aggravated whisper, just loud enough for her to hear.
“I’ll get you for this…”
Patting his head’s bald spot while she giggled, Michelle replied in her best British accent.
“Do not tempt me peasant! Now turn and face the plateau’s center…if you do not wish to be flogged that is…”
Grumbling expletives under his breath the Korean man did as requested, bringing into view what appeared to be a barren desert, spanning almost the whole surface area of the Plateau. Only the rocky edge on which their comparatively small army stood upon seemed to be solid whilst the sand mounded beyond, seemed to shift despite the noticeable absence of wind.
Movement to her left caught one of Michelle’s minds attentions. Noting a large portion of the arrayed forces donning the red, white and blue of The American Territorial Army, advancing purposefully toward the vast fluctuating desert. Looking quickly to her right where The Valkyries of Gaia were only just beginning to crest the plateau’s edge, panic began to take hold of both her cognative centers.
Frantically shifting her gaze around the lip, Michelle confirmed that there still weren’t any visible signs of The Undefined’s forces present at the marshaling!
Seeing none of the other forces had even moved, she voiced her thoughts.
“Pinche greedy pendejo’s!”
Deftly vaulting off the mutely irate Quan’s shoulders, she scooped up her staff before making a B line toward Calvin’s position.
When he saw her dodging through their Raid Party’s he began to approach her in kind and it was mere moments before he asked in an admonishing tone.
“What is it? I hope you just didn’t break formation to complain…”
Stopping herself from unleashing on him and making a pointless scene, she replied in an equally serious rush.
“General Jenkins and the American Territorial Armies moving on their own!”
Eyes going wide in alarm he asked in bewilderment.
“B-but I thought that the others still hadn’t reached the marshaling area?”
Confirming his fears she replied.
“They haven’t, like at all! Last I saw before I came running was The Valkyries just reaching the Plateau and still not a single Undefined mierda in sight!”
Growling as he stomped his plated boot, releasing a not so small tremor followed by an audible cracking stone, Calvin bit out.
“Gods fucking damn that asshole Jenkins! What in the hells are we supposed to do now?”
Trying to hide her astonishment at his absentminded show of strength, Michelle replied in feigned nonchalance.
“I’m guessing that would be your call now wouldn’t it...’Field Commander.’”
Growling again in frustration he took a moment before he came to a decision and bellowed in an ear assaulting manner.
“ALRIGHT RAID LEADERS OF FREEDOM’S CONSORTIUM! THE AMERICAN TERRITORIAL ARMY, BEING THE FUCKWITS THAT THEY ARE, HAVE SEEN FIT TO ENGAGE WITHOUT THE REST OF US!”
Pausing to make sure he had the majority’s attention, he continued.
“NOW I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU? BUT I HATE STANDING AROUND WITH MY DICK IN MY HAND WHILE EVERYONE ELSE IS GETTING FUCKED!”
Laughter almost deafened her already taxed ears before he added.
“SO LETS STOP WAITING FOR AN INVITATION TO DANCE AND FORM THE FUCK UP AND MOVE THE FUCK OUT...ON MY COMMAND!”
Cheering and whooping made its way through their motley forces as she managed to ass loud enough to be heard over the hubbub, to the now stupidly grinning Australian.
“You better no-”
But the remainder of her wants were drowned out by an echoing, chest rumbling
*guguguguGUGUGUGUGugugugu*
The sound reverberating through the very bedrock of the plateau as pebbles whilst sand vibrated and danced along the juddering monolithic platform beneath their feet. And as Michelle’s minds struggled to orientate on the source of the bass emanation, they wondered in unison if the remnants of humanity hadn’t just awoken something better left undisturbed.