“... So, where should we start?” Vorn asked his magical notebook in hand. Around him were the lacerated corpses of various beasts that he had killed with {Wind Blade}. Everyone else was asleep and would be for several more hours. Not everyone got an insane amount of CON per level, after all.
“That’s up to you. I don’t know the format or necessary information for a Bestiary.” Rowan pointed out.
“I guess we could start with threat level? And then just a basic description.” Vorn pondered aloud.
“We do have access to an alchemist and microbiologist, perhaps they could add some insight as well.”
“That’s… Not a bad idea. I don’t have the first idea what uses any part of a beast could have. Having potential uses would be a fantastic resource for other Delvers. That gives everyone a way to contribute, as well.” Vorn muttered.
“Everyone?” Rowan raised an immaterial eyebrow.
“Or, well, almost everyone. Hmm, how could you contribute?” Vorn sank deep in thought, and after only a few moments he stumbled across an answer. Rowan was an up close and personal fighter who relied on evasion, giving him the perfect opportunity to study the movement patterns of whatever beast they were up against.
The fact that he reached that conclusion so quickly reminded Vorn of just how alien his mind was becoming, something he was becoming increasingly aware of as the days went by. With his INT and WIS so high, his thoughts moved like lightning.
[Discovery] didn’t even need to be focused on to use anymore, becoming just a passive part of his thought process. His initial metaphor of his mind being a compass wasn’t quite right, though. He could still arrive at incorrect conclusions if the information he was working with was wrong, or if he had any hidden biases that skewed his knowledge. Though not quite infallible, it was still invaluable for skipping hours of trial and error and helping him find direction when he was uncertain.
With his INT and [Discovery]combined, it truly felt like he was operating on an entirely different level than before.
For example, he could go on long diatribes like this before even a second passed in real-time.
“You’ll just do what you do best, combat. Just analyze monster behavior while fighting and I’ll write it down in the description.”
“That could work.”
With that, Vorn began writing his first entry.
*Ding* You have reached level 24!
“Really? Were we that close?”
“Well, I did learn quite a bit from Blythe, and that demonic Elf pushed you quite a bit. Plus, I have to imagine killing that Titan gave you quite a bit of progress. We probably only got four levels because of me. The whole ‘experience’ metaphor we’ve been using breaks down a little here, because our streams of progress are very different. I gain progress from learning and discovering new things, you from combat. I’m honestly surprised we got four levels considering I hadn’t done much for my Path at that point.” Vorn explained his theory.
“That makes sense. Well, that probably means our next few levels will come pretty easily now that you're researching and using magic a ton.”
“I hope.” Is all Vorn said before pulling up their status.
Voran, Level 24 Twin Soul Spellblade
Age: 16 | Rowan: [Twin Soul: Body Path] | Vorn: [Twin Soul: Mind Path]
CON: 360
STR: 360
AGI: 360
DEX: 360
INT: 720
WIS: 720
CHR: 144
LUCK: 144
[Titles:][Perks:][Skills:]
Status: Rested, Well Fed, Hydrated
“Look at how far you’ve come.” Rowan said warmly.
“I know, our stats are just absurd.” Vorn said, still not able to get over his disbelief.
“I meant in personal wellbeing. You finally aren’t dehydrated.”
Vorn just rolled his eyes and began writing once more.
— — —
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“So what’s next up on the docket!” Ark awoke, as energetic as ever.
Vorn, looking up from his pad, said, “I’d like to try getting an entry for most creatures in the forest today, if you don’t mind.”
“Nah, I’m fine with that. We should ask Rexen when gets up though.” Ark said.
“I’m okay with that.” Rexen said from behind Ark, scaring her so badly that she jumped over eight feet in the air.
“Jeez, warn a girl next time!” Ark shouted with a hand over her chest, but there was no real heat in her voice.
“You forgot to pick up your comm stone so I couldn’t…” Rexen said mildly.
“Ah- That’s a fair point. Wait, couldn’t you have just ringed Vorn’s?” Ark pointed out.
“W-would you have remembered if I did that?” Rexen said, nervous humor lacing his voice.
Ark’s eyes widened in surprise before she burst out laughing.
“No, I guess I probably wouldn’t’ve.” Ark said, a grin stretching across her face.
— — —
Ark was sure that if she was in Lunaris’ divine realm, she would see him clapping his hands and laughing in delight. The scene in front of her was just… absurd.
Rowan was being attacked on all sides by all manner of beasts, from Wargs and Boars to Dire Wolves and a few goblins. Normally, these creatures would be overtly hostile to each other, but it seems they were able to put their differences aside to kill this annoying human.
And that wasn’t even the absurd part. That was the fact that Vorn was controlling their arms and writing their weaknesses and movement patterns while fighting them.
No wonder the monsters were so pissed, she would be too. Ark was aware that this dungeon was below their skill level, especially the starting area that was only ranked D0/C0, but this was just ridiculous.
— — —
Rowan’s mind was racing as he dodged through the onslaught of attacks. Normally something like this would be easy, a bunch of level twenty/thirty monsters that didn’t even have Epic Paths? Cakewalk.
Or so he thought. It turns out that when your fighting several different creatures with different strengths, weaknesses, moves, and reach, things get a little overwhelming.
Two wargs lunged at him, one at his legs and the other at his throat. Dodging to the side was easy, but led him into striking range of a goblin. Normally he would just parry its dagger with his own, but his arms were currently… Indisposed.
No matter, he flowed under the dagger around the goblin… directly into a charging boar that he was forced to jump over. Now in the air, his options for dodging were greatly limited, but thankfully, the monsters he was facing weren’t quite fast enough to capitalize on i-
An Alpha Dire wolf lunged at him from where it was hidden behind a thicket of brambles. They hadn’t thoroughly scouted the area enough, it would seem. This beast was the most dangerous creature in this area of the forest, having an Epic Path, or whatever the equivalent for monsters was. It wasn’t as strong as him, but with how fast it was going, it didn’t need to be. It was specialized in speed, whereas he was a jack of all trades.
It was going to reach him before he could react.
Rowan’s perception of time slowed, and he could hear his heart thumping loudly in his ears. Colors around him seemed to sharpen unnaturally and his vision narrowed solely on the wolf. It almost looked as if it were moving through molasses. He could even see individual strands of spittle slowly falling from its maw.
Emotions that he normally kept suppressed, even when fighting, began to bubble to the forefront of his mind. Mania, euphoria, and excitement all came crashing through his veins. He had felt these things before, but never as intensely as in this moment.
The wolf had reached close enough that he could see each individual strand of fur. Only three feet away. Normally, even with his system-enhanced physique, he wouldn’t be capable of dodging this.
‘BUT WHY DODGE!’ Rowan thought manically.
He shoved his boot into the monster's jaw and flung it at the ground, creating a loud bang when the beast slammed into the forest floor. He knew his own strength well, and he knew that shouldn’t be possible at his current level. He didn’t really care to know the reason why, though.
The moment he landed, he sprinted through the creatures surrounding him, bright colors flashing by him as he moved well beyond even the speed of his own perception. He didn’t need to see with his eyes, though, he could feel the [Movement] of everything around him.
His senses locked onto a goblin standing over forty feet away, and before he even realized it he was standing right next to it. The bumpy texture of its skin only inches away, he went for the throat… Literally. If he couldn’t use his hands, he would use everything else! Biting at the things jugular sent blood flying through the air, but Rowan was already moving before the bloody arterial mist could start falling.
Like that, he kicked and bit his way through the crowd, working his way through them in what felt like hours but in reality was only seconds. By the time the dust from the alpha cratering into the ground had settled, every creature was dead and mangled.
With a maddened look, he gazed upon the only living thing within a mile radius, his party. Before he could even take a step, however, Vorn took over.
And time sped up.
— — —
Ark, not realizing she had been in any danger at all, screamed, “What was that! I didn’t know he could move so quickly!”
Rexen appeared unsettled but stayed silent.
“I don’t know, I’ll have to ask him once he calms down a little.” Vorn responded, weary and in pain.
He looked down at his foot and noticed that the alpha had managed to half gnaw it off in only a split second. They should be more durable than that. Much more durable.
“You good to talk?” Vorn asked.
“Y-yes. Though there isn’t much to talk about, I don’t know what happened.” Rowan said, his voice… still… jittery.
How was adrenaline affecting him when he wasn’t in control of their body? And why wasn’t Vorn feeling it?
Vorn pulled up their status page.
Voran, Level 27 Twin Soul Spellblade
Age: 16 | Rowan: [Twin Soul: Body Path] | Vorn: [Twin Soul: Mind Path]
CON: 405
STR: 405
AGI: 405
DEX: 405
INT: 810
WIS: 810
CHR: 162
LUCK: 162
[Titles:][Perks:][Skills: One new skill gained! One new skill available!]
Status: Blood Rage - First Stage (Divine), Fatigue, Adrenal Overdrive, Dehydrated
Blood Trance Achieved! Bonus Experience Awarded.
New Skill: Thrill (Unique)
Thrill is part of the reason you breathe. You enjoy the lightning in your veins, the thumping in your ears, and the sharpening of your senses. This skill is simple, it overhauls the natural adrenal system of your body, enhancing and empowering its effects based on the amount of excitement you feel. Sharper senses, enhanced strength, and powerful emotions are just some of what you can expect! Beware, not all effects are positive.
“The System is really trying to turn you into a berserker, huh?” Vorn couldn’t help but comment.
“It would seem so. I haven’t felt like that in years, since I was a child I think. That amount of feral euphoria caused me no end of trouble in my younger years.” Rowan reminisced.
“You sound like an old man, aren’t you like twenty five?”
“Technically I’m sixteen.” Rowan stated matter of factly.
“Insufferable is what you are.” Vorn said, exasperated.
— — —
Back at camp, Rowan explained what happened.
“So you were in the feral version of a trance, ey? I haven’t even heard of a Blood Trance before, but I guess not every skill gives you inner peace when you unlock it.” Ark thought out loud.
“I think I remember something about Sixth General Kona having something similar in his younger years. Though the details around the Generals are always a little dramatized, so it’s hard to tell fact from fiction.” Rexen said.
“My main point is, it won’t happen again. I’m very familiar with dealing with adrenaline, I was just surprised and in a fugue state. I apologize for turning my aggression on you for even a second.” Rowan said, genuine remorse and emotion audible to more than just Vorn for the first time.
“Ah, it’s nothing. If I had super adrenaline running through me, and blood rage, and a blood trance, I don’t even want to know what I would do.” Ark said.
“Me too… Having your emotions enhanced to that degree sounds horrifying.” Rexen shuddered.
“It wasn’t terrible, but it did unbalance me since I wasn’t expecting it. I will endeavor to do better in the future.” Rowan said sincerely.
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Vorn said, taking over for a moment, “I said I’d be your force of reason, and I will. I could have taken over at any moment and stopped you, I just waited until we weren’t in any danger first.”
“Thank you.”
“Though, you should work on paying attention to your surroundings in that state. I gave up control of our arms basically immediately after that wolf jumped at us. You didn’t have to go biting things, ya know.” Vorn pointed out.
“Oops.” Rowan said shamelessly.