Congratulations! Your skill fire resistance has increased to level 74!
The air in this hellish place he now found himself was dry and hot. In many ways it reminded him of his first day in the system, before his body had grown and adapted. Flames burned three feet high as far as Vincent could see. What little bit of exposed ground there was that wasn't engulfed in flame, was charcoal black. The heat was incredibly intense but certainly not as potent as the stream of fire the Fang had tried to melt his face off with. Of that he was sure.
Quickly drinking a potion Vincent burped and wiped his mouth of leftover fluid. He had brewed this particular batch in a way so that the red substance tasted like strawberries. Thank God the system still had those…
He looked around, scanning the environment. If he had to guess this suffocating wasteland of flame probably stretched on infinitely in all directions. The sky was red and dark in a mirror image of the burning, desolate ground. Roughly fifty feet to his left a growing ball of rapidly increasing heat energy formed. It burned a bright yellow, almost white against the backdrop of the otherwise red and orange environment.
Vincent turned to face the phenomenon with a growing sense of concern. 'Have I traded one unbeatable entity for another?.. Am I doomed to die here today no matter what because of my arrogance and hubris? If that is the case... Then so be it.'
He raised his sword and shield as the enemy before him took shape. It was a crimson red knight with an appropriately flaming broadsword. The knight was massive in stature, standing at, at least 7 feet tall. It had a long black and red cape flowing behind it. It reminded him starkly of the black knight he had fought before. Of course this individual's stats and skills were seemingly in a league all it's own based on how dense its Aura was.
Vincent was sure that if he were to fight that same ebony warrior from before he would probably win rather handedly. He was a little less confident about facing his current opponent … Upon examining the enemy before him Vincent was predictably dissatisfied with the information he could gather.
Name: Flaming lord of despair (Unknown)!
Lvl: 75
Stats: unknown.
The enemy before him leveled its massive blade at Vincent in a challenging gesture. Grinning, the much shorter man responded in kind by shadow stepping within arms length of the flaming knight. He drew back his arm, instantly charging an unwavering strike and launching it at the flaming being before the thing could react.
He couldn't help but notice the heat around the lord of flame had increased enough to passively take about 10 health per second from Vincent even with his ridiculous vitality and fire resistance.
Ironically, despite the heat, his blood ran cold when the being raised it's broadsword and fully withstood Vincent's attack with minimal effort.. He gasped out loud. "How.?" He whispered, jumping away in several rapid hops.
Of course it wasn't the casualness with which the knight blocked his strike that bothered him so… What truly unnerved the man from Earth was how familiar the energy of that blocking skill his opponent had used, felt. It was a skill he was intimately familiar with… The unyielding guard.
The knight slowly settled into a stance, squaring its shoulders and once more leveling its blade at the blue eyed man. The Lord crouched before shooting himself forward. Jets of flames blasted from its boots, sword pointing with intent toward Vincent's chest.
Vincent activated the ancient slumbering tortoise and raised his shield. He grunted and stumbled as he was blasted back by the attack of the knight, the force of the impact denting his shield. His blood ran cold when the knight made contact with him, but it wasn't because the blow did any real damage… It was the fact that he had just been struck with an unwavering strike. He shook lightly as he scrambled to form another guard.
Did this bastard somehow have copies of all of his abilities? Did that include his legendary ones? He certainly hoped not. The damn thing's stats were likely at least twice as high as his own, based on the force behind the attack he'd just been hit with. And that was with his skills mostly active. "I unlocked this trial at level 50 of my fire resistance.. If I had done the trial when it initially became available would it have been a lot easier, I wonder? Or would his stats have already been this high making it much more difficult than it is now? Or maybe its based on my current stats so its always an equal pain in my ass.."
He imagined facing this foe as he was over a year ago when the trial originally appeared. He couldn't suppress the shudder that ran up his spine. "No chance in hell I wouldn't have been slaughtered. These trials are a fucking trap." The man said with a pale face. During all of this the red knight had been eyeing Vincent like a piece of meat and at first glance it looked as if he was about to charge toward the man in order to tear into him as if he really were one.
Vincent shadow stepped away to try and bait his enemy and sure enough, the thing followed him. Not only did it shadow step in a mirror image of himself but it left a blazing trail in its wake showing it had an improved version of the skill in question.
Vincent huffed in discontent. 'It's using my abilities even better than I!?' He roared incredulously within his mind. "I think the hell not!" He stomped his foot and shadow stepped again, only this time when he did he used his elemental mastery to leave a trail of black energy akin to fire in his wake.
The strange fire-like substance was the resulting combination of every element he could possibly use currently, and subsequently drained nearly all of his mana. The results were nor disappointing. In a fifty foot line that was at least 3 feet wide, his black flames consumed everything, even the naturally occuring fire itself. However, unlike the Knight's skill, the ominous, obsidian energy left behind by Vincent didn't spread very far from the source and it didn't persist very long before dispersing. "Hmm.. Something I'll have to work on in the future if I want it to be of any practical use.. Still looks cool though."
Congratulations! Skill: Blazing trail of Wrath (Epic) Achieved!
Blazing trail of Wrath (Epic) A unique version of 'Trail of flames (Rare)' Created by a true elemental prodigy! Allows the user to leave behind a column of Wrathful Flame whenever they move in any direction for any unspecified distance. Continuously drains mana while being deployed. Due to the 'Epic' rarity gain a considerable increase to how long the effect of the skill lingers as well as the intensity of the trail created (Active ability) (consumes 1000 mana per sec)
Congratulations Skill: Thermal manipulation (Uncommon) Achieved!
Thermal manipulation (Uncommon) Allows the user to control the temperature of their body as well as the relative condition of their immediate surroundings. Due to the 'Uncommon' rarity gain a small increase in range and extent of control per level.
Vincent chuckled. 'Each of those abilities seems kind of useless right now… But maybe it would be a good way to train my fire resistance at a later date or something.' He decided. As Vincent grew more proficient he was sure in the future he would be able to change the size, shape and behaviors of the flame. Especially when the system chose to acknowledge and reward his efforts with a recognized skill.
At the moment however, the last thing he wanted to do was make the place even hotter. Now if he could somehow lower the temperature, that would be great. But.. try as he might, the energies in this environment wouldn't allow for the creation of a cold based ability and they wouldn't heed his will when he bid them to lower themselves naturally.
Unfortunately, at this point the Flaming Lord had apparently grown tired of the game of cat and mouse. The bulky entity began launching jets of concentrated fire at Vincent. Using various enhanced movements as well as his shadow step, Vincent began to grow faster and faster, gathering momentum as he nimbly dodged his enemy. Upon realizing that his target was too swift to be defeated in this manner, the knight stomped its foot, launching a wall of fire in all directions.
Vincent yelped and raised his shield, activating his Ancient slumbering tortoise once more. The wall of fire smashed into his shield, cooking his hand and forcing him to drop the shield. He felt the soul of his equipment.. it was in pain.. both because of the raging fire and because of its unwillingness to leave Vincent alone in the grasp of the flames around him.
He knew it wasn't real but he couldn't help but feel terrible for the Soul that was apparently modeled after that of his own mother. A deep longing clawed it's way up from inside him. He felt the thing's pain through their connection. Felt it's desire to protect and nurture life. His life. He felt as his sword vibrated intensely. It's righteous fury burned through their shared connection. The blade would punish any who sought to harm them..
Vincent's own soul hummed in tandem with his armor and sword. Potential energy built up within his chest and he felt as his equipment, his companion and himself all pushed towards a singular, all consuming desire. They wanted to make this creature and the Fang pay for daring to resist his will.. He raised his head and roared.
Congratulations! Error.. recalculating..
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Unique skill created! Skill: Network of Souls (Unique) created!
Network of souls (Unique) A unique skill created by the bonds shared between the souls of you and your closest companions. Synergy between connections grows with skill level and personal relationships. As your Soulspace grows, new connections can be forged. As your Soulspace grows various new bonuses will be unlocked! (Passive skill)
Vincent shook his head and winced. The effect was immediate. He could feel all of the connections he had forged since being abducted by the system. He felt his companion, Lupus, frozen in time back in the cave. It was muffled but it was clearly still the strongest bond he held by far..
The next one he noticed was the one currently throbbing in his right hand, his sword, Anguish of the Father. The blade was angry, willing to cut through any misfortune that befell its master. He could also feel the desperation of the shield to return to his side much more clearly than before. It wanted more than anything in the world to wrap itself around him and protect him from any harm.
The system was fucked up and it wasn't even close in capturing the actual personality of his parents. He realized that now. He shouldn't think of the souls like that but more like.. extensions of himself.
The blade that was his metaphysical father was just as much him. So too was he the shield, and his armor. They were extensions of his very soul. More specifically his anger, love and determination. If he were a father he would be the blade. If he were a mother he would be the shield. If he were a son he would be the armor. He was none.. yet he was all three. "Trinity…"
Congratulations! Efficiency has increased to 3%!
He flicked his wrist and his shield appeared in his left hand, just in time to block the massive swing of the foe before him. He smirked even as he was blown back several feet by the charged up unwavering strike.
His joy at gaining a few great abilities was quickly diminished as he realized he still had no practical way to defeat the over powering foe. Even worse was that after this battle came the fight with the Fang. And he was getting tired.. Firing off a few comets, he meant to distract the Flaming lord while he began to gather energy for another blade of black energy made of his wrathful flame.
The result was better than he could have hoped as the knight, seeming to expect a direct and immediate follow up attack from the comets, deflected them with a Parry before he sat unmoving in an unyielding guard position. Vincent continued to smirk at the flaming red knight until the creature realized its mistake and began to charge forward faster than ever to take its opponent out once and for all. "If you were a real opponent with any semblance of intelligence this never would have worked.." Vincent observed. "As it stands.. I had just enough time!"
Combining his unwavering strike with his wrathful flame and stored momentum which had reached its limits, Vincent met the Knight's charge with one of his own. The two shadow-stepped towards one another to boost their inertia. Their swords clashed in a massive whirlwind of flame and raw force.
Vincent was blown backwards skidding through the fire on his back for nearly 10 yards. When he finally managed to shakily stand to his feet and dislodge the cobwebs from his head, he checked his status. He had cut it close.. he hadn't been using his Ancient slumbering tortoise there at the end so he lost nearly 10,000 health in that exchange. Altogether he had less than 5,000 health left and he felt it. The man quickly drank a potion and scanned for his opponent.
The knight for its part slowly rose to its feet as well. It's crimson helmet had been blown off and it's head was engulfed in an impenetrable flame. It's actual features were impossible to distinguish. Vincent sighed heavily. "What the hell do I have to do to put you down!? Say please?"
Congratulations! Your skill fire resistance (Uncommon) has increased to level 75!
Congratulations! Your skill fire resistance uncommon had evolved into Cinder of flame (Rare)! Skill level will be maintained!
Cinder of flame (Rare) Allows the user uncontested control over the elemental energy of heat. Due to the 'Rare' rarity, scope and degree of control gain a small boost per skill level. (Passive ability)
Due to synchronization between your Cinder of flame and your Thermal manipulation, your heat based skill levels will rise slightly faster and burn slightly hotter!
Congratulations! Efficiency +1%
Vincent's eyes became saucers. Synergy between skills would cause his efficiency to rise as well? And his efficiency also determined how fast his skill levels rose. He wondered whether or not that stacked with his pack leader perk or not. Did his current 5 percent efficiency take all of his bonuses and skills into consideration? He had a strong feeling it did.
The increase to his stats were all well and dandy but the true shock was that after achieving Cinder of flame, the flame covering the head of his opponent vanished. As it did so he stared dumbfounded at what lay beneath. Slowly he began to chuckle which turned into a cackle and finally a full blown guffaw.
Congratulations! New feat achieved! Face one's inner self in the circle of eternal fire!
New perk: The Flaming Lord of Despair Appears achieved!
The Flaming Lord of Despair Appears. A title formerly belonging only to the mythical Fang of Flame, another has risen up. Grants the user +1000% resistance to heat based energies. Grants the user the ability to conjure flames in any environment. Allows the user's flames to burn other flame based beings. User's fire based attacks and skills are significantly stronger than usual.
The knight underneath the helmet had shoulder length black hair. His right eye was a crystal blue that shined with an unnatural luminosity while the left pulsed with a deep, bloody crimson. Vincent felt as if he were looking into a strange alternate mirror. This whole time… "I am the flaming lord of despair.."
Vincent came back into the real world just in time for a stream of fire to smash into his face. If he were being perfectly honest.. It felt like a warm ray of sunshine on a beautiful summer's day.
He flexed and leaned backwards to Crack his spine. The surge of energy he felt from the recent influx of skills and stats was a euphoria unlike any other. With this, all of his stats at their baseline had breached one hundred. In fact with all of the bonuses he had achieved each and every stat was well over that mark. Vincent felt a qualitative change in his body and power over all.
He didn't really look all that different from his pre-system self besides the fact that he was about 5'9 now and had muscles that looked like they were chilzed out of marble. He honestly looked alot like his favorite anime character, or at least his physique was similar.
He figured the only reason his body wasn't freakishly mutating and bulging was because of his precise control over his flows of energy. He had dictated the outcome of nearly every power increase and skill he'd ever received, leading to extremely balanced stats.
How many people at level 1 had stats that were as high as his yet also as well balanced? Besides that ridiculous vitality... That one got away from him.
The Fang for his part seemed extremely confused. One second the creature before him had seemed terrified of its imminent approaching death and the next.. it had just smirked and taken the full effect of the mighty Fang's flame like it was a cool breeze. There was a shift in the being's entire demeanor and the wind in the air changed tunes. The Fang cocked its head sideways before growling lightly.
To make sure it wasn't a fluke it reared back and launched three fireballs at the man. Vincent raised his arms in response and concentrated. With a burst of light the balls crumpled and dispersed before they even reached him.
The wolf looked extremely shocked at this point. Vincent for his part took in a deep breath and began to focus his energies. "That won't work on me now.. and I don't have to cancel my bleeding heart because of your blasted fire affinity. So I guess from here on out it's just hitting one another until one of us drops."
The Fang roared, clearly having reached the limits of its patience. It curled into a ball and charged at Vincent. He raised his arms in defense and the beast barreled into him causing him to skid back several meters. Somehow, he withstood the full force of the Fang's attack and only received 9000 damage for his efforts. He cried out involuntarily due to the pain but chuckled despite himself.
It seemed like a lot of damage at first glance, being close to half of his total life. However, seeing as how he hadn't activated his massive plethora of skills in earnest yet, he was quite satisfied with the result. Clearly he had gotten quite a bit more powerful just since this hunt began..
The force of the attack itself had broken his arm and collar bone for sure, but he was quick to pop a potion to get himself back up to snuff before the Fang had even finished landing behind him. His arm snapped back into place near instantly and he frowned. Not from the pain, but rather from the smell in the air. He never noticed how putrid the smell of burning flesh was before the days of the system. Anymore it constantly seemed to fill his senses, permeating the air everywhere he went.
By his quick calculations, he had effectively gathered 100 strength worth of pilfered kinetic force from that single attack. It wouldn't be long now and Vincent would hit the beast with an attack so powerful it wouldn't be able to run away like last time.
He activated the slumbering Ancient tortoise while he began to manipulate the various elements around him. He had plenty of uses left of his potions to restore his mana while he gathered his strength for one final attack. He pointed the tip of his blade at the Fang and began to walk toward the beast in a slow taunt. He would have loved to run but unfortunately even with its current skill level of 60, his Ancient slumbering tortoise reduced his agility to only a fraction of what it should have been. He had to be careful, remaining focused rather than letting his excitement and anticipation get to him.
The Fang, having realized its heat based attacks were now useless, snarled before it furled into a ball to launch its strongest attack once again. The attack slammed against Vincent with the force of a freight train but with his amazing defensive abilities active he barely lost 500 health. Taking such little damage meant he received a lot less kinetic force than before as well. A stroke of bad luck to be sure, but that was OK. Every little bit helped.
As long as he didn't get distracted he could gather most of the rest of the needed force on his own with skills such as Absolute timing or lucky break. Even if he couldn't run or make the most out of it, his new elemental prowess in conjunction with the current environment did wonders for his ability to gather energy without having to physically do much. It was just as well because if he moved any faster than a very light jog, he would lose his Complete Tranquility's wondrous effects.
By now the sun had risen over the jungle lining the barren battlefield and Vincent was sure he would have to fight someone else for the right to keep his spoils by the time this battle concluded but that was alright.. as long as he wasn't unlucky enough to get stuck against a level 100 monster he was confident in his abilities to run away at least. He had been doing that forever now, it seemed.
Just as he had these thoughts the Fang began to twitch and convulse wildly. Vincent had steadily been watching the creature's anger grow and he knew it would lose its top eventually but he didn't expect the thing to start having seizures. Maybe he'd get lucky and it would just die?
Of course no such thing could ever happen in Vincent's story. After a minute or so the creature finally stopped bucking and leveled a ferocious snarl at Vincent. The creature's eyes turned a deep crimson red, contrasting sharply with the wolf's exposed skull and jaw. He couldn't help the eerie shudder as he noticed how the thing's two glowing eyes were the only organic matter left in or on its head which was otherwise all bone. It's fur began to glow, emitting a heat that Vincent could feel even with his amazing new perk. Honestly this thing should have been called the lord of lava or something. It was a true monster.
On instinct Vincent activated all of his skills at once and braced himself with his shield. It was still barely enough as the Fang unleashed a crackling beam of crimson energy from its maw directly at the man.
The beam slammed into him at incomprehensible speeds. He was being pushed back rapidly, gritting his teeth and grunting in effort and frustration. The heat was more intense than any he had ever felt even from behind his wall of defenses. He was quickly losing health but he couldn't let up his guard even for a second or he was toast. He felt his companion frantically trying to heal him but it was not enough. Just as the edges of his sight were beginning to grow dim, the domineering force acting against him ceased to exist.
He breathed a rapid sigh of relief and downed a potion, thanking the gods above his alchemy had come so far. His shield was quivering from the pain of that last attack even after healing. Trying something a little outside the box he directed some of his vital energies into his shield and sure enough his energies caused a rapid recovery in the sentient item.
So far his sword seemed to have no limit to the durability it possessed which you would think would be the other way around..
He didn't have any time to question it further as the creature prepared to send another beam of raw destruction his way. Raising his blade he furrowed his brow in determination. The beast had messed up by not holding its attack a couple of seconds longer the first time around and finishing him off. Because by now Vincent had gathered an insane amount of energy and force within him, far more than hie current limit would comfortably allow.
The flows of energy both within and without his body were like dense storms, visible even to those who lacked an ability to read energies. Around him there was a massive, raging whirlwind of kinetic force. His wrathful flames rotated in an X shape at incalculable speeds around his body.
Wisps of raw blue energy span around the entirety of his body beginning to spin like a shuriken faster and faster. All at once the various energies began to gather into his blade and he was absolutely sure he was going to lose it all in a massive point blank detonation. He began to sweat when somehow, inexplicably, he felt his companion deftly exerting its will to hold the attack together long enough for Vincent to readjust his grip on the technique.
It hadn't lasted very long but it was all he needed to shape the energy into a perfect, sharp blade, which he charged into a ten second unwavering strike. His arm snapped forward, clearly breaking in the process. The black energy shot forth not a moment too soon as it collided with the Fang's potent beam of energy. There was an explosion of force that blew him clean off his feet and shattered his bones in several areas.
It didn't really matter though… His task had been accomplished. He shadow stepped backwards as far as his mana would carry him and raised his shield to try and guard himself against the explosion as the two titanic energies collided, destroying the area around them with the force of an atomic bomb.
End of chapter 25