Congratulations! Your skill: Intermediate engraving (Epic) has increased to level 17
Engravings were a pain in the ass Vincent had decided. "Crap.." he muttered, tossing aside a warped, junk piece of metal that had once been a small sword. If an engraving was too powerful, or applied in an incompatible manner it ran the risk of completely destroying the canvas on which it was constructed.
It had been just over four months since he had begun learning the art and he could barely form a single stabilized symbol. It was easily the most difficult concept he'd ever tried to understand. He spent at least half of his days studying the art and being instructed by Zar-Rhah yet even still he had made very little progress.
Engravings, once they were mastered, had an infinitely versatile number of uses. They could be applied to equipment or drawn on the environment around you to any number of combinations and effects. It was because of that infinite potential that the art was nearly impossible to master.
Not only did one have to master their emotions but they also had to constantly control the amount of energies flowing through their Engravings. Each one took a unique amount and shape of energy to function and not all symbols worked well together. All it took was one small miscalculation and an entire script could be ruined. Scripts, were mlre or less considered the next stage of an engraving ritual following singular runes. It's basically the result of multiple engravings applied to the same surface.
Though the most effective Engravings were always those which were carefully constructed over time, a master was able to create lesser engraving on the fly to varying degrees of success. Some could even be made in mid air to replicate skills such as fireball or forcefield. Of course it stood to reason that engravings that were permanently and physically drawn out on a solid object were typically much more potent than those that were constructed using temporary energies or composed of disintegrating substances.
Vincent was exceedingly fortunate to have a master of the art to teach him because he was sure it would have taken him years to translate even the most simple of sentences let alone decipher their functions and applications based on energy flows.
As it was he could currently produce one simple word at a time and their power was.. well let's put it this way; He had managed to learn 'harden' one of the easiest engravings ever made, and when applied to a junk weapon he forged it raised his attack from 70 to 72.. not exactly the kind of progress he was hoping for after almost half a year of busting his ass off. He felt so inadequate.
Zar-Rhah vehemently swore that Vincent was advancing at an astonishing rate. Originally he had unlocked the skill Basic engraving (Common) which he learned from Zar-Rhah but then he rapidly improved it to the point of evolving the skill within a month. Zar-Rhah seemed endlessly fascinated by Vincent's aptitude with skills. Still the man from Earth wasn't satisfied and he pushed himself to the brink and beyond day after day.
Whenever Vincent wasn't studying or meditating he was torturing his body, mind and soul, forcing them beyond the absolute limits on the battlefield. And make no mistake that Zar-Rhah, though he held back, had absolutely no qualms with 'accidentally' killing Vincent if he couldn't handle being brought to the point of exhaustion day in and day out.
While they were sparring, Zar-Rhah would often drill battle tactics and random knowledge into Vincent's head which he would expect Vincent to then relay perfectly at any given time. Should he fail at any of his directives, the intensity of his training sessions would increase for an indefinite period of time.
Zar-Rhah even had him reading books and studying the art of fighting multiple opponents which seemed useless to Vincent seeing as how some of his most potent bonuses came from one on one fights but Zar-Rhah refused to train him unless he completed all of his lessons in the order in which they were presented to him.
Currently Vincent was at the tail end of a particularly boring study session in which he would apply various symbols to a junk sword he crafted on the fly, in order to try and improve its base attributes. He was beginning to understand which kind of materials and objects responded better to which engravings as opposed to others. Their elemental makeup and the energy flows of an object, as well as the function of the rune created, all played major roles in compatibility.
'Sharpness' for example, was an excellent engraving to use on swords made of uniform metal and other such blades while contrarily 'range' would be absolutely useless. That is to say, it was probably possible to extend the range of one's swipe with engravings, but Vincent soon realized it was far more complicated than applying that single word to a sword. Not for lack of trying of course.
Sighing, he stood up and brushed off his knees. He would need to make a trip back to the cave soon. Vincent tried to check in with the pack at least one day out of the week. For the most part they seemed to function fine without him but he hated being away from the family he loved and was responsible for, for so long. He knew it was necessary to grow stronger...
Zar-Rhah made his way over to Vincent and signaled that it was time for physical testing. They began to make their way to their usual sparring spot across the lake. As they walked slowly to their destination Zar-Rhah regarded the man deep in thought beside him. "We're going to try something.. unconventional today." He said shortly. Vincent merely nodded, having learned the hard way that it was better not to argue when his master had made up his mind about the day's training regime. The only thing he knew for sure was to expect the unexpected.
As the two finally arrived at their intended area Zar-Rhah began weaving his hands to and fro while softly chanting an ancient language. His eyes were closed, brow furrowed in concentration. As he finished his chanting he threw his arms out exclaiming what translated roughly to 'bind' in the ancient tongues.
A spider web of golden runes exploded forth from the man and wrapped themselves around Vincent's arms and legs. "Hey what the hell!? What gives old man?" He exclaimed, wondering how the hell he was supposed to fight like this or even defend himself at all? "I'm not into this weird, kinky, bondage shit!"
Zar-Rhah frowned and huffed. "Have some respect, you dimwitted brat!" The old man said, smacking Vincent over the head with his gnarled cane. While Vincent glared and wished he could rub his head, Zar-Rhah continued. "The goal here, I'll have you know, is to see how capable you are at adapting to conditions that generally make it unfavorable or downright impossible for oneself to succeed." As he finished explaining Vincent looked himself up and down.
"Yeah that sums up my situation pretty damn well but I'm not sure I like where this is going. What's this got to do with engraving and swordsmanship anyways?" He cried indignantly. Zar-Rhah chuckled, clearly enjoying the plight of his young pupil.
"I'll admit it doesn't help you over much in the way of engravings but as far as swordsmanship goes.." He looked at the human with serious eyes. "learning to adapt is essential. At a later date you shall even learn to fight blind folded." Vincent rolled his own piercing blue eyes and scoffed. 'Of course.' The man thought in exasperation. 'Because the Jewish training trope has to be in every cheesy movie ever.'
The Orc held his stick as if it were his claymore and shouted, "Now defend yourself! Have at Thee!" He shouted as he began swiping at Vincent with reckless abandon. As he was hit time and time again with dull, resounding thuds, Vincent yelped and began jumping side to side while trying his best to activate any number of skills that might place obstacles or distance between the two of them.
He used Plante to grab Zar-Rhah's feet while using Earthquake to disrupt his footing. He used telekinesis and gravity manipulation to try to push the brute backward. Orcs were particularly vulnerable to poison so Vincent made sure to coat his plante in as much of the stuff as possible. There were a plethora of other skills in effect as well but all the same it amounted to nothing. Without his arms and legs, Zar-Rhah easily trampled Vincent's defenses and continued whacking the human with his freakish looking cane.
Vincent began to feel his agitation get the better of him and had to bite back curses as he was repeatedly smacked across the exposed face, torso and head. *wack* *wack* *wack* *wack* He began to lose his temper, one eye flashing red the other a shining piercing icey blue… Try as he might, he couldn't move his arms or legs more than a few inches in any direction. And beyond that, whatever enchantment bound him there conveniently blocked his shadow step as well.
His eyes began to burn as he grunted in frustration. He really hated being stuck and powerless…
"Knock.." Vincent began..
*whack* *whack*
"it.." He snarled, closing his eyes tightly..
*whack* *whack*
"OFF!" He roared, pulsing azure beams firing from his eyes as he did so.
Congratulations! Skill: Optical incandescence (Epic) achieved!
Optical incandescence (Epic) User gathers a massive amount of energy behind their ocular lenses before firing a concentrated blast of heat at any target in sight. Due to the 'Epic' rarity gain a moderate boost to range and intensity of the beam per skill level. Intelligence Grants a moderate boost to this skill (Active skill) (consumes 1000 mana)
Not expecting such an attack in the least Zar-Rhah took the full intensity of the basketball sized beam right in the shoulder "gah!" He gasped being blasted off his feet, and losing control of the bindings around Vincent. Some types of runes, called 'active' or 'animated' engravings, required constant focus and energy or they would disappear. These were typically the easiest ones to use on the fly but at the obvious cost of being temporary and far less potent than regular symbols.
Words had meaning and power. There was a great significance behind the intention of someone who was engraving. Vincent cracked his neck and flexed before scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I am.. soooo sorry.. I didn't mean to lose my cool like that."
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Zar-Rhah for his part merely chuckled as he returned to his feet, cane levitating back into his grasp. "No need for apologies that was beyond anything we could have possibly hoped for! Hahaha! Your ability to create new skills dependent on necessity never ceases to amaze me." He said honestly, with a beaming smile.
Wisps of smoke curled off of his smoldering shoulder. He looked down with a chuckle. "Quite a potent beam too.. But it is merely a flesh wound." He dismissed the man's concerns with a wave.
The two sparred for a while longer this time with Vincent having full mobility, before they went their separate ways. The primary reason for his departure was an unexplainable feeling the man from earth had that he really needed to get back to his system-native family for some reason. It was a constant grating feeling that gnawed at the back of his mind and it kept growing stronger. 'Odd.'
As he traveled through the forest at speeds that not even the fastest automobiles could achieve, there was a strange wind in the air. Of course there was always a gust of wind bullying its way through the jungle at all times but somehow it felt different today. Normally the flavor of the wind was curious, or slightly hostile even. But today it was as if the entire jungle itself was quivering in fear.
There was a feeling of anticipation and apprehension more intense than any Vincent had ever felt in his new home world. It reminded him of his severe and frequent panic attacks being in large crowds in the old world. But for what reason?
There wasn't even any hellspawn to be seen so monsters weren't causing the feeling… It all unsettled him deeply. He began to run faster, gathering kinetic energy with each bound.
A subtle pressure began to build in his chest, the air resistance getting heavier and heavier even with his aerodynamics skill being stronger than ever. The pressure continued to build seemingly trying to suppress him and his full power, until Vincent roared in annoyance. Gathering a huge amount of energy he leapt forward. When his next step landed...
'BOOM!!!'
He broke the sound barrier.
It didn't take him long to crash through the wall of trees that comprised the edge of the massive jungle land. He tumbled through the canopy, coming to a rough stop fifteen feet into the clearing with a crash. He honestly didn't even feel the impact. In fact there was more accumulated damage simply from moving at subsonic speeds. Even though a lot of his skills dealt with mitigating friction and resistance while moving, there was still a bone crushing force acting upon the body at such speeds.
He flinched at having lost control and damaging the entrance tp the jungle however, as it provided quite a bit of protection to his pack's home turf. Looking back there was now a giant, Vincent shaped hole in the wall of trees.
Shaking his head and hoisting himself up on one knee he looked at his smoking forearms marveling at his power. It was only because of all of his skills and stats that his body could even handle it. His pre-system self would have been crushed the moment he jumped with such levels of force in any direction. It was the acceleration that got you.
He stood, brushing himself off and examined his pack which had all gathered in confusion due to the enormous ruckus.
Everything seemed fine here.. so why did he have this feeling…
Congratulations! A special event is occurring in the country of Garkan; the Unyielding mountain.
Events are incredibly rare challenges that often require a coalition between countries, worlds or in incredibly rare circumstances even entire galaxies.
Challenges are determined on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the hardest.
The current challenge difficulty is set to… ???
Error.. system interference detected. The system is unable to provide any additional information about this event.
Vincent blinked rapidly several times when he suddenly had a dreadful, intuitive instinct to look to the sky. As he did so he saw a literal meteor streaking its way toward his home. "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me.." He mumbled taking a step forward, mouth open in stupidfied shock. "How am I supposed to.. what..?!"
What the hell was this!? How was this fair? His pack began to notice the looming issue of catastrophe and began to panic. Some began to ready their most powerful spells for a collaborative effort but it appeared useless. In a strange twist Vincent's companion came out of the cave and bounded over toward him. For once the plant man's look of joy was absent and a look of horror had made itself at home in its place.
The creature settled up next to Vincent who didn't think anything of it… until he did. He blinked several times in surprise at the plant copy of himself. "Wait! What the fuck? How are you outside of the cave!?" He yelled in disbelief. Lupus looked just as confused as he was and shrugged. Vincent laughed in a very 'this isn't actually funny' kind of manner as he realized they didn't have time to worry about it right now.
He figured it must have been because of the collaboration event or whatever. The system was letting all creatures work together to try and stop this.. thing. But why the hell was it targeting his home specifically in lieu of the entire fucking country!?
The system mentioned system interference which he did have a strong reason to believe he was the cause of… he coughed into his hand.
His system interference had been growing stronger lately… Was this all his fault and this being the system's attempts to delete him again? Was this something that would just happen at random for the rest of his damn life?
He gritted his teeth in frustration. This wasn't fair.. if it had been the old him, back on Earth, he would have simply given up because of how robbed and cheated he felt by the damn system.. but it wasn't the old him. His tribe depended on him. They were effectively his children, brothers and sisters.
Here he was, cowering before the quickly approaching imminent death yet… He looked up as his tribe and even his companion who at this point were all readying their most powerful attacks, with Dawn barking out orders.
His companion's ultimate attack apparently came in the shape of what looked alot like an energy blast from an anime or something, but with his signature wrathful flame (Lupus's flmaes were green). However, he didn't bend his knees to set his feet as one might expect. Instead his companion used Plante to fuse himself into the ground effectively turning him into an unbudging cannon. Not only that but Vincent watched as raw energy began traveling up through the ground and into his companion via Yggdrasil.
Vincent shook his head and smiled despite the situation. He honestly loved that little guy. It's ingenuity never ceased to amuse him. Vincent creased his brow in determination and summoned his sword. How could he be such a coward when they were willing to give it their all?
He looked up and narrowed his eyes at the approaching calamity. It almost looked like the meteor was shrinking due to the sheer friction of moving through the ridiculously heavy atmosphere of this planet. But he knew it wouldn't be enough.
Still he was thankful, at this rate the meteor would only be half of its original size by the time it reached them. That of course meant they'd still effectively have to catch a minivan moving at roughly 30 thousand feet per second by his quick and sloppy calculations. He couldn't quantify that in terms of stats… did anything in the world stand any semblance of a chance in stopping this thing? He doubted it.
Nevertheless he began to focus on the tip of his blade. He focused on the flows of energy within him, coursing through his body. Everything that formed who he had become, all of his stats and skills. The red energies of his Health, blue for Mana and greenish yellow for Stamina. There was even a tinge of the golden yellow substance that Zar-Rhah and the system referred to as Nectar, though his master said he wasn't ready to learn about that yet.
He focused all three of the primary energies, physical, mental and spiritual as well as his dozens of skills into the tip of his blade. It was difficult to maintain even with his current efficiency of 5 percent. He forced every ounce of his very being into the blade. The weapon groaned in protest, vibrating and heating up but it held firm. The father knew what was at stake here and it would not falter.
Sweat began to accumulate on Vincent's forehead and he grunted with effort. Everything that he was. Everything he had ever worked for before and after the system.. every emotion he had amplified 1000 times over by the desperation of the situation. He couldn't lose everything again. It was do or die. His health, mana and stamina began to run low as he poured everything he had into the beam gathering at the tip of the blade. At this point his blade was swirling with a brilliant azure blue energy.
Congratulations! Skill: Singularity (Divine) A unique ultimate ability created by a prodigy with unparalleled potential. Combines the very essence of the mind, body and soul to unleash everything the user is capable of at the cost of all vital energies. User may be vulnerable for some time afterwards. Due to the 'Divine' rarity gain a fractional reduction to vital energy consumption per level. All stats and skills grant a substantial bonus to this skill (Active ability) (consumes all health, mana and stamina)
As he achieved his new ability his half lidded eyes snapped open to the size of saucers. He stared in awe at the pulsing blue energy in his blade. 'Such power..' Was this really all him? All of the energy began to accumulate at the tip of his blade forming a sapphire energy sphere the size of a yoga ball. The ball of energy began rotating rapidly. Even his pack and companion had noticed. While maintaining all of their respective attacks they focused their full attention on him.
He could clearly feel their respect and admiration for him throbbing through all of their bonds via his Network of Souls. Their emotions fueled his own causing his attack to grow slightly larger. He grinned, swelling with pride and love for how far they had come in their struggles.
All at once it was as if he could feel the energy of every single one of his pack members as well as his companion's flowing through those bonds and into him. Some moved faster than others based on how strong their bond was. "What?" He gasped as his attack began to swell and his energy began to return to him.
*Ding!!!*
Reach out and take strength from those who need you… Your network of souls grows ever more powerful…
Congratulations! Skill: Spirit Fusion (Legendary) achieved!
Skill: Spirit fusion (Legendary) Allows the user to draw power from their allies and companions through the bonds they share. Strength and intensity of bond increases the synergy between user's energies. Due to the 'Legendary' rarity, gain a large bonus in efficiency of energy transference per level. (Passive ability)
Vincent couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. For the first time in a long time he had nothing to do with the creation of a skill. He played a large part in creating the singularity sure but not the spirit fusion. That was a collective effort by his allies to see his desires accomplished. He could tell a lot of his pack members were gaining various new abilities as well, no doubt receiving generous boosts from some of his power amplifying their own. It seemed struggling during these system events was very generously rewarded.
With a renewed sense of hope and determination Vincent growled out, "Alrighty boys let's do this! Haaargrah!" He roared, raising his blade and firing off the deep blue beam known as the Singularity. Imbued with the energy of all the other attacks and energies of his allies it exploded to over fifteen feet in diameter. It arched up and rushed forward at over Mach 5, impacting the large incoming projectile within seconds.
There was a resounding crunch, the force of which vibrated the air with such intensity he thought reality would be torn asunder. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He could feel the pressure from the two uncompromising forces colliding even from here. Unfortunately the meteor was rapidly overtaking their newfound ability.
Vincent grunted as he began to slide backwards across the grass and gravel, digging a trench with both feet as he went. "Da.. damn it!" He grunted. He didn't have the tiniest sliver of excess energy to reaffirm his footing or he might have been able to slow the meteor a bit but as it were.. it looked like a knife slicing through the proverbial butter that was their combined defense.
As the meteor got within 5 seconds of impact, all of his allies launched miniaturized versions of their ultimate attacks, being small because most of their energy sources had gone to Vincent's own attack. They amounted to little more than an extra one percent of kinetic force, he figured.
Vincent was at the far back of the pack with his companion roughly five to twenty feet in front of him. From his position in life it really looked like the approaching ball of flaming death was the last thing he was ever going to see. Time seemed to crawl. He was inexplicably mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the thing despite the fact that the object was the herald of his certain demise.
Congratulations! Unique Feat: He who tamed the stars, achieved! The very heavens tremble before your wrath. They alter their course in hopes to avoid your ire and receive mercy for their penance. Hear him. Heed his call and relent. None may stand before the might of the Starscourge, herald of the rising King.
Perk: Starscourge achieved!
Perk: Starscourge. A unique perk granted to the Starscourge of the Nexus. Your will more easily dominates others. You more easily resist mind altering effects. The flows of energies that comprise the system bend ever so slightly to your whim. All stats +10. Additional +20 to perception. Additional +10 to intelligence.
By a few precious meters the meteor passed over the head of Vincent who turned swiftly around and raised his shield. Looking over the rim he watched the impeccable object crash into the ground fifty feet away. The explosion of force tore a massive breach into the otherwise uniform wall of trees that made up the edge of the jungle further down.
When the shockwave hit Vincent it nearly blew him off his feet but he held fast. His companion was rooted to the ground so he made due ok but alot of the pack even with the shelter of their dens, were blown mercilessly throughout the clearing. Many impacted the mountain, ground, trees and even each other with bone crushing force. Very few escaped unscathed.
Before the dust had even cleared Vincent and his companion were healing the pack, throwing their blood on some and using the mercy of the revered patreon on others. Thankfully it seemed like there weren't any permanent casualties but Vincent felt uneasy. Thanks to the spirit fusion he had a little bit of health and mana restored but he went ahead and popped a potion anyways just to play it safe and instantly frowned.
There was a lingering weakness due to having used every ounce of his energy at once that a potion just couldn't fix. It seemed his new ability was incredibly powerful but it came with a heavy price. Even though his stats were full he wouldn't be able to fight at full strength in this state. By his estimates he would be running at three quarters of a tank for a while, it seemed.
Vincent was sure they weren't the only ones who saw the notification that an event had started. And he was sure it wasn't over either. Something had hit the ground and other factions would probably come and investigate. Especially now that there was a massive, gaping hole in the edge of the jungle that had no doubt kept many creatures out of the stretch of lands between the mountain and the jungle. This just really just wasn't shaping up to be his day..
End of chapter 28