Now what do I do?
"Now what do I do next?" Dream thought, a sense of urgency gripping him. His situation was beyond dire; 'mild' was a generous word to describe it. He found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, there was the valkyrie right in front of him, and to ensure his survival, he had to find a way to deal with her, whether by defeating her or escaping her pursuit. Both options seemed equally unrealistic given his current resources.
But that wasn't the only problem. The valkyrie was also stalling for time, likely to allow her companions to catch up. If Dream spent too much time grappling with her, trying to defeat or evade her, he risked being caught in a worse situation as the reinforcements arrived. He knew he had to act fast, but the odds were heavily stacked against him.
I’m screwed! Screwed! SCREWED!
Okay, enough of this, me! Let's calm down. What am I even saying? I'm obviously calm. It's just that this situation is so messy—everything is all turned inside out.
Sigh.
A deep breath in. A deep breath out.
Now, let's objectively review the card in my hands.
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
90/122
245▼/2086
13▲/438▲
41.7▲
121▲/570
17
I’m screwed!
Skills
Draconic / Godling
Aspect
Blessing
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon
Nexus System
Blessing of the Valkyrie
Odo Leveling
Morphogenesis [0.2]
Golden Blessing
Elemental Resonance [0.5]
Screwed!
Skills
Aspect
Lesser Aspect
W.P
Nexus System
⥈
⥈
Morphogenesis
Aquamorphism
0.2
Cryomorphism
0.2
Elemental Resonance
Electrokinetic Resonance
0.5
Electrokinetic Dissonance
0.5
SCREWED!
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Crap! Crap! Crap! I should have buried myself as soon as I had the opportunity to.
Enough of this!
Enough with lamenting about what has been done; it won't change or improve my situation. I need to figure something out.
Dream's arsenal had significantly improved since his previous encounters with valkyries. He had acquired new abilities, particularly the aspect of morphogenesis and its accompanying lesser aspects: cryomorphism and aquamorphism. If he were to have a rematch against the towering valkyrie and her companions from back, Dream was confident he would emerge victorious even with half his reserve of Odo, Prana and Arcane. It wasn't overconfidence; it was a plain and objective assessment. However, the current situation was vastly different from the previous encounter. Not only did Dream not even have half of his original reserves, and he was facing a flying valkyrie, which introduced an entirely new set of challenges.
Both Cryomorphism and Aquamorphism were potent tools, especially when it came to creating strategic opportunities and launching powerful attacks. But here, against an airborne opponent, the chances of submerging her in mud using Aquamorphism were slim to none. Consequently, he couldn't rely on Cryomorphism either, as its effectiveness was largely tied to freezing mud. Although Cryomorphism offered broader applications than just mud-freezing, such as freezing the air around him, Dream found the latter to be impractical and had seldom used it, if at all, since his initial experimentation.
Apart from the Morphogenesis aspect, Dream had recently acquired a new aspect known as Elemental Resonance, along with its two lesser aspects: Electrokinetic Resonance and Electrokinetic Dissonance. While these aspects held more promise compared to the Morphogenesis lesser aspects in a battle against a flying valkyrie, they still lacked the definitive advantage or solution he desperately needed.
The two lesser aspects of Elemental Resonance worked in contrasting ways.
Electrokinetic Resonance facilitated improved conductivity for the wielder's lightning abilities—Dream's electro-elementalis, in this case. This allowed Dream two main benefits: firstly, it enabled him to overcome the usual constraint of generating his electro-elementalis solely from his body, granting him more flexibility in its usage; secondly, it heightened the surrounding conductivity, thereby enhancing the potency of his lightning attacks.
On the other hand, the other lesser aspect, Electrokinetic Dissonance, generated the opposite effect. Rather than amplifying the power of his lightning, it disrupted and dampened the conductivity of electric abilities.
Although these new aspects presented a variety of possibilities, none appeared to provide the decisive advantage or trump card that Dream so urgently required to surmount his ongoing confrontation with a flying opponent, as as even though he could now cast his lightning without it emanating directly from his body, there was little doubt that with decent reflexes, she could evade his attacks, much like he had done against the Nagadread.
As he whispered to himself repeatedly, "think, think, think," Dream furrowed his brows in deep concentration. Yet despite his utmost efforts, no epiphany seemed to emerge from the depths of his mind, leaving him with a growing sense of frustration. With his options dwindling, he couldn't escape the inevitability of considering "that" option.
“Should I really do it? Ugh, I hate this, but…” Seeing the valkyrie's swift recovery from his [Unrelenting Surge] and sensing her imminent charge, he clenched his teeth in a bitter expression of resignation. “Am I stupid or something? What am I hesitating for when I clearly don't have that luxury.”
Skill: [ Godling ]
Odo Leveling
H.P▼
O.P▲
O.M.P▼
32▼
114.84▲
10.94▼
I swore myself to never ever use this skill ever again, but here I am! And still I can’t see myself winning in spite of having sacrificed so much. And yet I have to make this work somehow.
“I promised myself I'd never use this skill again, but here I am.” Dream chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Ironic, even after giving up so much, I can't see a way out of this mess.”
The skill in question was [Odo Leveling], a skill ranked similarly to [Blessing of the Guardian Dragon]. It allowed Dream to sacrifice both his Halo Potential and Odo Manipulation Potential in exchange for additional Odo points to boost his reserves. In simpler terms, it was a skill with a terrible deal. But in those desperate times even that deal that was nothing short of “shitty” looked like a decent option to resort to
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
90/90▼
245/2086
127▲/438▲
30.7▲
121▲/570
17
“Screw this bleak prognosis. I'll have to make this work out somehow. This is a do-or-die moment. In either case I won't ever have to resort to that skill again,” Dream muttered to himself with determination.
With his newly bolstered reserves of Odo, Dream conjured projectiles. However, this time he opted for a simpler design, foregoing the spear-like structure. He aimed for efficiency, creating projectiles that would allow him to unleash a barrage of attacks without quickly exhausting his already limited resources.
Instead of conjuring a full-blown mantra, Dream unleashed his projectiles with a limited input of aero-elementalis, firing a salvo of five projectiles at the valkyrie. She immediately deployed her wing to shield herself from the incoming attack—a task that her defense didn't fail to accomplish. Dream's projectiles turned into golden dust upon impact with the valkyrie's wings. “Tsk,” Dream muttered in frustration.
"I was starting to think that you weren't able to use Odo at all," the valkyrie taunted. With her feet now on the ground, Dream attempted another tactic. He reached for the ground, but before he could complete his maneuver, she flapped her wings, leaving a trail of golden dust-like residue as she ascended into the air. "Tsk," Dream clicked his tongue, undeterred.
Summoning another salvo of projectiles, he hurled them at the flying valkyrie. Through a series of mid-air maneuvers, she adeptly avoided and blocked each of his attacks.
[ Aero ]
Apprentice
Galestrike Spear Lvl.2
38
However, seizing a moment he perceived as an opening, Dream quickly conjured a golden spear slightly shorter than the one he had used against the Nagadread. He launched it at the valkyrie, the spear whistling through the air as it closed in on its target.
But just as the spear was about to strike its intended target, it abruptly came to a halt, halted by the valkyrie's monstrous golden claw-like arm. She smiled at Dream before suddenly flapping her wings forward, launching what earlier had been her first attack: a rain of Odo feathers directed at Dream.
As the raining feathers struck the ground, Dream had already used his elementalis to retreat from their range, avoiding the fate of being impaled by hundreds of knife-like feathers. However, his momentary relief was shattered when he saw the valkyrie diving straight at him. Reacting instantly, he summoned another spear and hurled it towards her, but once again, she used her claw-like arm to shield herself, emerging unscathed and closing the distance between them with remarkable speed.
Feeling the urgency to salvage his situation, Dream was on the verge of unleashing [Unrelenting Surge] to create some distance between them, knowing that his chances in close combat were slim to none. Yet, just as he was about to initiate the mantra, the valkyrie intercepted his arm with her gigantic claw, a triumphant taunt escaping her lips. She seized his neck, her next move evident, before swiftly using her wings to propel herself upwards.
“Crap! I messed up!” Dream inwardly lamented, but his resilience kicked in. Gathering himself in mere seconds, he began amassing a significant amount of lightning using his electro-elementalis. This maneuver was incredibly risky, given her grip on his throat, yet it could potentially create an opening for him to deal a substantial blow against her.
However, before he could unleash his lightning, the valkyrie caught onto his intention and relinquished her chokehold to perform a barrel roll in mid-air. This unexpected maneuver left Dream disoriented for a moment before he realized his new position. The valkyrie now had a firm hold on the back of his neck with her left arm and clung to his left leg with her claw-like appendage.She was diving headfirst toward the ground—or at least, she was forcing Dream into a headfirst dive, with the clear intent of smashing his skull into the ground.