“What did you decide?” Taiwo asks once we’re settled and I know exactly what he means. He’s clearly seen that I’ve crossed the Level 25 threshold.
B’esloor has excused himself to take care of the mountain of trouble I’ve caused him, or so he says. He’s not taking it badly, if anything he seems energized by what’s happened. Dhromea’s been called away to some other situation, not unusual for someone of her talents given the need of so many people to travel quickly on Galactic business. I don’t get a chance to speak with her about the changes to my Omnipresent Skill, but hope I get the chance sometime and now that I can find anyone with my Skill, it can happen.
So… it’s just Taiwo and I again as it has been so many times, although the dynamic has changed. I consider how much to tell Taiwo about what’s happened to me. Lingering, unformed doubts about his loyalties make me hesitate slightly even though I have absolutely no real evidence that he’s betrayed me in any way. Half remembered fragments of some hazy conversations that might have been my imagination. I go with my gut and trust him.
“I picked up all three of the Tier 4 Skills and Evolved Runic Recall,” I reply, then flick over the description to him. He stares at the notification for quite a while before he speaks.
“This… I’ve never even heard of something like this,” he marvels, and then looks at me. “Unique Class combined with unique Evolutions and unique circumstances. Surely somewhere else in the Universe this has happened, but…”
“I’m going to be pretty hard to put down,” I suggest and Taiwo laughs, his gills vibrating.
“How many Class Skill points you have left?” he asks. “What choices do you have remaining?”
“Enough that I can drop more points in something if I need it,” I say.
“And… you want to hunt? Should we hunt? We have quite a lot of time until the next Trial and you still need to Level up as much as you can. More Skill points and Attributes for the Trials can only help, though I admit you may have an insurmountable lead already unless someone else happens to finish in record time. From what I’ve seen, I suspect there will be more danger from outside the Trial than inside it for you.”
There’s no suggestion from Taiwo that he might be heading somewhere else and I guess it makes sense. We’re friends and he’s part of my KCT advisory team; perhaps that’s more than enough to keep him interested, especially if he’s going to get some XP out of it.
“I have some new armor and weapons, very powerful. I’m keen to give them a try,” he says, and I can tell he is very serious and interested. “Your next Trial will be a powerful Monster, perhaps almost Level 300, but that seems to be an everyday occurrence on Earth with you Portaling to danger.”
“Just a Tuesday,” I agree and then wonder how that translates to Taiwo. Surely Merpeople don’t have the same days of the week we do.
Path forward determined for now, I consider grabbing Logan for a moment and then reject it. For me to get enough XP to keep increasing my Level I’m going to have to go places that are too dangerous for him right now. Maybe not in the future, but for now it’s too much.
“Let’s do it.”
I trigger Omnipresent and search for trouble on Earth while Taiwo equips some inky black armor that seems to flow all over his body. It looks like sludge crawling with nanites that undulates when he moves. A rough wooden staff appears in his hands that’s topped by a fiery red crystal that pulses ominously. My Mana Affinity stirs and I settle my mind then reach out carefully with it toward the staff. The unseen Mana currents beyond what I can easily detect are so complex and dense that it feels like putting my hand on the stove and I retract my Affinity, then go back to exploring with Omnipresent.
Jeff mentioned that Earth is still having trouble with the most powerful Monsters that are developing and Teleports that appear through wormholes. Since I’ve got Taiwo with me and I need to test out what I can do now, I pick the highest Level, most powerful threat I can find and open a Portal to scout it in the middle of the Sahara Desert. I’m keen, but looking before I leap is still a sensible move.
This looks perfect, like a walking natural disaster.
Behemoth Manticore (Level 371)
Health: 28120/28320
Mana: 4870/6400
Conditions: Arcane Carapace, Legendary Regeneration, Mythic Mirror, more…
The Manticore’s lionine body ripples with muscle as it somehow scutters around a huge sandstone cavern despite its size. All around it are dead carcasses of other large Monsters in various states of ruin. Some of them are still smoking and sizzling while the Manticore’s fur looks untouched and shimmers with a magical aura. A scorpion tail, tipped with a wickedly barbed stinger, crackles with potent green lightning that I can tell is dangerous even through the Portal.
“You ready for this?” I ask Taiwo. I’ve been around him long enough to know he looks a bit nervous about taking on what I’ve found.
“As long as I’m providing ranged support, of course I’ll watch your back” he replies and I want to laugh, but instead accept the support with a nod. I won’t be getting up close until I’ve tried out my new Skills and I appreciate he’s not going to bail.
“How are you going to get that next Level if you don’t get your hands dirty?” I inquire.
“There’s dirty, and then there’s… that.”
Fair enough. This looks like one tough bastard and that’s exactly what I want.
I move the Portal to a position well outside the cavern and then manifest it. A blast of hot, toxic air hits us as soon as we step through; it seems like there may be a lot more about the Manticore that’s poisonous than its stinger. This is not the kind of environment that a Merman is comfortable in and although he’s hardy and it’s perfectly survivable, Taiwo is sealed up in his dark armor and helmet.
I’m operating under the assumption something this powerful will have a way to detect us, so before the Manticore can focus on us I trigger Echoes of Einherjar for the first time and my Stamina dips by a third. Around me, ten spectral warriors rise up out of the ground. A powerful looking mix of human melee Classes with different weapons and armor takes shape quickly and I feel the pull of bringing them up almost as if I’m lifting them myself. It takes maybe a second for them to fully form into solid, translucent figures. I find that I can command them with a thought and I send them off to fight the Manticore. Let’s see what they’ve got. They move quickly, practically flying across the ground, and hit the Manticore from three sides at the same time. I can see how overwhelming this Skill might be if I wasn’t facing a Monster that’s almost Level 400. Maybe I should think about more Class Skill points in it. More warriors, more damage. An army to command, at least for a minute or two.
A few weapons strike the Manticore and its Health drops slightly, but the Manticore doesn’t exactly stand still and wait to be hacked to death by a thousand cuts. Its massive stinger cracks through the air like a whip and slams into spectral warriors, causing them to flicker and pause before they slowly take time to solidify again. The Manticore tramples some, spins to swat others away, and stings the rest. Within a few seconds the mini battle is over, or at least paused until the spectral warriors recover, and all that’s happened is we’ve tickled it a bit.
I haven’t been idle during these few seconds and neither has Taiwo. He’s flown a short distance away and pulls a massive rail gun from his Inventory to track the Manticore with. My Stamina is back to full as the Manticore charges out of the cavern and onto the sand, its legs biting deeply into the ground with each step. I’m ready for it.
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First I trigger Sentinel’s Verdict, crushing the Manticore’s very being with the weight of humanity’s battles. I can feel the massive power behind my Skill’s attack even with only one Class Skill point allocated as the Manticore’s knees buckle, and then part of the damage is reflected back at me from one of the Manticore’s Skills. Fucking high Level Monsters!
I stagger as the Manticore recovers quickly and unleashes what looks like a torrent of necrotic energy from its stinger. I dial Acceleration up to maximum and sprint to my left as the beam tracks me. I trigger Wraithstrike and Charge multiple times to try to get away, just in case its attack can hit me even when I’m insubstantial. Suddenly the beam shoots up into the air and disappears as a railgun slug slams into the Manticore’s tail and explodes, taking a chunk of the tail with it.
Half a second is all I allow myself to admire the shot before I trigger Psychic Eruption. Although the raw damage output is much lower, the Skill seems to bypass the Manticore’s Resistances a lot better and as I make a connection with its chaotic, wild mind I pump eight Psychic Eruptions at full lethality through my Skill. The Manticore collapses, but immediately tries to stand and buckles. In the seconds my Stamina takes to rebuild Taiwo slams another explosive slug straight between the glazed eyes of the Manticore. Its head rocks back and a chunk of its face is ripped away. I trigger two more Psychic Eruptions and then sprint forward and trigger Wraithstrike as it recovers, my Swords extended to maximum length.
Just as I’m about to sweep my Swords across it, the Manticore flickers and disappears. All my senses and my Dimensional Manipulation Affinity tell me the Manticore has somehow short-range teleported back into the shadows of the cavern. My Stamina is still low; at the speeds we fight a few seconds to recover is a long time and I want to finish this while its mind is still mangled from my attacks.
I feel my connection to Runic Recall and then rush forward into the cavern and leap over Monster carcasses to close in on the Manticore. The major downside of Runic Recall, Evolved or not, is that I basically have to get killed to test whether it works or not. The Manticore must sense me; it flickers again and disappears. My Perception finds it easily even without the big red glowing dot on my minimap and I dart out of the cavern and turn to my right. Taiwo is temporarily out of the fight but I can sense him flying this way, no doubt equipped with one of his Mana-driven jetpacks.
My Danger Sense pulses slightly higher and I trigger Wraithstrike to slide toward the Manticore at high speed. More elemental energy and deadly beams fill the air from the Manticore and part of the damage unexpectedly hits me from the powerful attack even though I’m insubstantial. I close the distance and emerge from Wraithstrike with my Swords swinging, fully committed. The Manticore sweeps a paw at me lightning fast to bat me away and my Swords slice into its foreleg. The defensive Resistances of such a high Level Monster battle with the power of my Swords and lose, but the strike is so fast my Swords don’t have time to slide all the way through before I’m knocked away despite my Strength.
I skim across the ground like a skipping stone and quickly slam into the wall of the sandstone cavern, which blasts apart in a shower of pieces and dust then collapses on top of me. Annoyed and always oriented on the Manticore, I trigger Wraithstrike to emerge from the desert tomb and emerge just as another railgun slug from Taiwo, this time from high above, slams into the Manticore’s back causing it to slam into the ground. I can see its leg is already partially healed by the way it’s weight bearing again. That’s fast.
Taiwo swoops away quickly, barely avoiding the hail of destructive energy from the Manticore, which it then turns on me. I’m already moving and this time I trigger Omnipresent and place a Portal between us, with the other side tracking the Manticore from just above it. I trigger Psychic Eruption four times to stun it and dart straight through the Portal at high speed, leading with my Swords.
The Manticore is a tough bastard and instinctively tries to leap away, but I’m too close and this time my Swords get a full chance to carve it up. Just as I slide a double chop through the Manticore’s neck, Foresight triggers and I see in my mind’s eye an assassination attempt on me just about to happen. It’s so little warning I won’t even be able to finish letting Foresight play out to see what I’m dealing with. There are no monologues, no posturing, before the attack on me. Just a vicious unleashing of lightning and weapons to bring death.
I have less than a second to decide - run or fight? My Stamina is lower than I’d like, but I’m uninjured and angry.
Adrenaline surges as I Loot the Manticore and race to my right then spin, then I trigger Wall of the Clan and scatter Edges in front of me instantly. My attacker appears and his killing blow scuttles along my Wall causing it to waver. In that half second I pull what I can to see what I’m dealing with and I rashly spend some of my precious remaining Stamina on Omnipresent to track his connections elsewhere.
Koarvex Dor’urggent, Herald of the Unlit Throne, Dealer of Retribution, Unstoppable, Reality Warper, more… (Level 10 Warrior-Priest) (Ascended)
[Raijonni] [Qillathe Syndicate Universal Enforcement]
Fucking Ascended Class, and with access to his Tier 2 Skills.
His body crackles with arcs of electricity and his metallic-blue skin etched with intricate, glowing circuits resembling storm clouds. The eyes that fix on me are pure white, sparking with lightning and his four arms each wield a weapon charged with elemental energy: twin thunder hammers and two smaller blades crackling with currents. His movements leave faint trails of static energy in the air, and his grunt rumbles like distant thunder.
Koarvex teleports right next to me, bypassing my Wall and Edges. I dodge and trigger Wraithstrike but he’s already gone, teleported or moved at the speed of light behind me. Blades strike my Elemental Aegis and explode through it through multiple angles as he teleports again and again. Each attack sends out a shockwave that knocks me off balance for a fraction of a second, leaving me open for the flashing, machine gun attacks of electricity and kinetic energy.
I extend my Swords and strike through where I sense he’ll be using my Danger Sense. The pace of the fight is faster than anything I’ve experienced before, he must have some kind of a crazy speed build that allows him to flicker through the spot I know he’ll be so fast that I only clip him with my Swords.
Mental attack resisted
Stunning burst resisted
Nervous system overload resisted
Koarvex appears in another place and destructive energy blasts me, destroying the rest of my Elemental Aegis and ripping into my flesh. Even with Acceleration dialed up to maximum I don’t have time to react before he’s gone again, a static field left behind that I can feel slows my reaction and motions. A second has passed and I’ve gained back enough Stamina to trigger something. I instinctively reach for Sentinel’s Verdict, then change and trigger Psychic Eruption at full lethality. I’ve only got one point in the Skill, but it seizes up Koarvex’s mind for half a second and causes him to stutter step. I whip my Sword toward him, sure I’ve finished it, but he’s so fast that a jink to one side means I only clip his left arms, slicing clean through both below the elbow.
If it bothers him, Koarvex doesn’t show it at all. The swing has put me in a vulnerable position and I trigger Edges behind me to slow Koarvex down. Instead he appears a few meters in front of me, surrounded by a churning shield of storm energy. White hot lightning fills the space around me and I fail to dart out of it, my muscles have seized up and instead I stagger forward, triggering Unbound then Wraithstrike to escape the savage pain.
I’m ripped out of my insubstantial state by powerful energy and find myself collapsed on the ground. Koarvex has transformed into an impossibly dense lightning Elemental and flashes toward me. I can’t move fast enough and he rips straight into my body, tearing me apart. The pain is so great I can’t think, can’t move, can’t breathe. Just white hot nerves and pain. Fucking Ascended!
Suddenly, the pain disappears as my Health flatlines and Runic Recall rises up from deep within my bones, deep within my being. Invulnerable to damage while my Health is ticking up, I flash my Swords all around me, biting into whatever holds him together. A second later my Health is restored by a third and I only have a couple of seconds of invulnerability left before Koarvex has the drop on me again. My body is healing but my mind is rattled.
I trigger Sentinel’s Verdict and the Skill comes in like an avalanche, swamping Koarvex. It’s doing damage, but it’s not enough to stop him and my Stamina is dangerously low. I swing my Swords but he easily dodges out of range and slams me with more lightning and savage energy. I wonder where Taiwo is and hope he’s gotten the fuck out of here.
My mind reflexively tries to trigger Omnipresent to escape but I grit my teeth and drop all five of my remaining Class Skill points in Psychic Eruption. It’s a risk compared to putting them in Sentinel’s Verdict since it’s only a Tier 3 Skill, but I go with my instincts based on how I’ve seen it bypass Resistances, the lower Stamina cost, and the ability to inflict lethal or stunning damage.
My connection with the Skill ramps up massively in an instant and I trigger it once, twice, a third time as my Stamina ticks up again. I can feel the flood of abrasive, clawing energy flow through the Skill into Koarvex and his Elemental form evaporates from around him. No doubt he’ll be fine again in less than a second so I dive at him with desperation while triggering Charge and Critical Strike and everything I can think of. I whip my Swords right through him and then stand in a state of intense tension, waiting for him to rise again or for someone else to show up.
The seconds tick by and nothing happens. My Perception on such high alert I feel like an elastic that’s about to snap, I check and see the kill notification confirming Koarvex is dead. Fucking Qillathe Syndicate! I dial Foresight even further down as it relates to my family and the people I care about. If they’re about to get a fucking paper cut, I’ll know about it.
I take a deep breath and let it out again. That one was close. Another close one. I sense Taiwo flying back and feel him land near me as I flex my internal mental muscles to try to regain some stability and control.
“You swim in the deepest of seas, Bronwic,” says Taiwo softly after a short, comfortable silence as we both look down at Koarvex and I Loot him. Surely the equipment, Credits, and XP for killing an Ascended will be substantial?
“I’ve got to go after them,” I say.
“Who?” asks Taiwo.
“The Qillathe Syndicate. He’s from the Qillathe,” I say and kick Koarvex’s corpse. He still looks threatening, even dead and missing half of two arms. I Inventory the body, just in case.
Taiwo sighs. I’m not sure if he’s disagreeing with me or just wishes that what’s true right now would be false instead.
“It’s always a risk, during the KCT,” he says. “But I hoped you would just be able to focus on Earth.”
“I’ll get to it,” I agree.