I raced through the frostlands towards my neck dungeon and skill point. “Acid Shot,” I said and melted a dark blue centaur that created chains of ice out of the ground to try and trap me. Nice try, but that wasn’t going to happen.

If I got caught I would be in trouble, and while the skills by the monster were quick, it was too slow like other trap skills if you were paying attention. They didn’t trigger my danger sense which was good to know. I had initially written off Entangling Roots from the dungeon near Purgatory, but if a person or monster was caught off guard by a trap skill it would be devastating.

The problem was sneaking up. I could see these blue centaurs coming along before they got in range to use the skill and easily melted them while I kept moving so they couldn’t trap me. It was kind of cute how they thought they had a chance, but there was no chance at all.

It made me question why the Almighty System was doing all this? My current theory of the day was a weapon’s platform that had been abandoned. It would teleport up people to the cities to bunker down in and then move in on enemy area’s flying through the void, unleashing attacks while using the monsters as self-defense.

It sounded cool it my head at least, but it was just pointless speculation. What I really needed to focus on was getting my skills upgraded all the way. I had no doubt it was going to be a slog, but it needed to be done.

Going back and redoing all of this was something I did not look forward to in the future, but I would have to do it regardless. Get cost upgrades instead of silent or gestureless, then at level 5 pick those options and cancel out the song and dance I would have to do.

With Acid Shot that would mean going back and clearing 40 dungeons all over again and 10 level four zones with level 5 roaming bosses to get it where I wanted without the skill being combat ready until the final upgrade.

It was a frustrating system since it wasn’t easy to go back and make changes. Then if I got to level 6, I would have to do it all over again, only I couldn’t kill the level 6 monsters with my skills until they were done being upgraded.

That was the advantage a stat focused person would have over a skill focused person like myself. She would be more concerned about upping her stats to get stronger in combat, while I needed to up my skills to get better.

There was overlap of course, but it was about our focus. Being a wizard in the Systemic Lands was not easy. My dreams of being a walking artillery cannon hiding in the back getting further from me. I would need another attack skill and then I would have to redo one and then the other, not both at the same time. That would be the best way once I had to switch out my skills.

A forest of frozen trees lay ahead of me. How interesting, a terrain feature. I went for the trees melting more monster centaurs as they approached me. When I entered the trees there was a mix of centaurs and wisps. Colored bits of wind that flew at me.

I didn’t dare let them touch me and melted them right away. That was a big advantage skills had. They could damage things like these wisps at a distance. Just trying to hit someone with your fists seemed like madness to me.

The level 4 monsters were wisps with blades in them along with a plus sized centaur that unleashed massive ice shackles from the ground and the trees. It was no problem to dodge and melt them.

That was the problem with fights, they were either really easy or really hard. There was a very small band in the middle of these ranges where the fights were challenging without being dangerous. Safe was good and I liked safe, but it was something that I would need to think more on.

Stats weren’t my purpose for fighting monsters, but upgrading my system skills and improving my combat skills and knowledge. I poked the upgrade crystal. Ice Shackles and Decaying Wind. Neither of them interested me or were the right type for what I wanted. I chose an upgrade instead for Acid Shot.

I chose silent as the fifth upgrade. I hated having to say the name of my attacks. It sounded stupid to announce what I was doing in combat. A gesture was marginally better. This also raised the cost of Acid Shot up to 160 energy. A sizable amount.

If I could get a level 4 or level 5 fully upgraded acid shot that only cost 20 energy, that would devastating to anything or anyone I faced. It would just be wave after wave of acid. It was definitely on my list of things to do once the Divine Empress was dealt with.

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I left the frozen forest and kept heading South to the next level 3 zone. I was considering if I really needed to even go to the Astrologer. I would just grip a pillar when the time came and get restoration after restoration. Even if my head or body exploded, I felt I would have a short period of time to get a restoration and save myself if I was clutching a pillar.

It was a bit of a gamble, but I didn’t like being forced into do things. Then I would leak the Astrologer’s location to the Divine Empress, go up another tower myself, get a meta-point and then I could face her. He probably had some last-minute trap he could use. He seemed like the guy who would pull something out of his rear at the last moment to turn the tables on someone.

Perhaps he would impregnate the Divine Empress again? That thought made me chuckle. No wonder why she was so obsessed with him. Then she would leave the tower and I would lead her towards the super weapon that would hopefully be finished. She would get injured, maybe die if the Almighty System was being extra kind that day.

Then we would fight. I could have traps set up before hand and bombs to throw at her. Lots of bombs. She would eventually be worn down and killed. But that sounded like a much better plan than going up the tower to save the Astrologer.

Also, it would mess up whatever the Avatar had planned. Or she could be using reverse phycology so I didn’t go up. That just led into a circle of he thinks, she thinks, he thinks, around and around.

But the option sound quite good. Still, I did owe the Astrologer a debt, however a reluctant one since his proxy had saved my life. He had been incapacitated and had gotten me out when the Divine Empress showed up.

Unlike the Avatar, I knew he didn’t lure her there. While he was clearly ready to fight her. The Divine Empress showing up was inevitable. That was just bad timing for me to be there when she had shown up.

That was an annoying debt. I let out a sigh as I raced across the landscape melting monsters. It was a real debt too, since he had saved me and helped out. But he had put a bomb into me and probably had traps galore in the tower. I didn’t mean traps that came from the tower, but traps he himself had prepared.

The Astrologer was the most sus person to ever exist and his city of cultist assassins didn’t help matters. Well, I would upgrade my skills, kill some level 5 monsters to get their crafting crystals, and then make a decision.

Who knows, all this could be pointless speculation and the Divine Empress could drop from the sky right now. I glanced up. No Divine Empress in the forecast today thankfully. She came with a side of death, terror, and destruction.

I reached the next zone and began to run into human looking archers. It threw me for a loop, but one look at their faces and the gray colored clothing showed they were just monsters. Their faces were etched into a permanent snarl.

The gray arrows they shot turned the ground into dust. If that was how Abs had looked impersonating the Divine Empress, then they had all been idiots in the Forbidden City. Sorry Master Fleshcrafter, but if you lived, you probably wish you hadn’t right about now.

I was honestly a bit surprised the entire Systemic Lands wasn’t shaking at her rage once she got back to her capital city. The entire place was probably one giant smoking crater. We didn’t need to kill her evil empire, she would do it for us.

Also, the evil empire was never a major threat, just the Divine Empress. That was both the strength and weakness of a powerarchy concentrated into a single individual. It was a terrible form of government unless that individual was me.

Hypocrisy was one of my many skills. I saw a ruined town in the distance, and it was getting dark. I altered my direction. More wisps started to show up and I melted them right away. I was not letting one of those things touch me.

I got to the town and waited for night to fall and regaining my energy to fill up my tank. Mist filled it and I entered. Acid Shot. Acid Shot. Acid Shot. I used both hands for the skill spamming the skill out in every direction.

The level 4 monsters were archers that shot ballista bolts that exploded with a burst of energy. There were a couple close calls, but danger sense came in clutch once again. No type advantage, which I was thinking was just due to bad choices for the level 4 zones I had poked.

After finishing them off, the skill crystal appeared. I gave it a poke. The two skills were Force Arrow and Death Arrow. Both pointless for me so I took the upgrade instead and pick power for my sixth upgrade for Acid Shot.

I wanted to be able to kill those level 5 monsters without an issue. That way my possible ascent up a tower would be easy and it would put me in contention if there was a level 6 monster at the top.

Well, I would have to make a decision now, Southeast, or Southwest. “Hmm, even I am going southwest, odd I am going southeast, roll on it,” I said and kept my Sense stat activated without flickering it on and off to see if anything happened. I pulled out a six-sided die and rolled it. It came up 3. I rolled it three more times, 5,1, and 4. That added up to 10. That meant southwest. I didn’t see any shenanigans happening, but I couldn’t be too careful.

If the Avatar had messed with things, I hope she was pulling her hair out. Then I realized she had no hands and that made me smile. She would be waving her stumps in frustration at how aggravating I was being. That was my other secret skill.

Well, it was time to set off again. I put the die away and left the ruined town dungeon, turning towards the Southwest. It might be a level 4 zone, but that was fine. I knew there was a void zone to my South. I had gone North to Normandy just East of it.