7
Congratulations! Central Node activated.
Darkness no longer obscured everything. Ephemeral silver light and blue wisps danced around. When the wisps collided, a feeling of calm washed over Jordan. He nearly got lost in their perpetual back and forth, the clashes soothing him to the point of complacency.
He looked away to see five white lines, their luminescence the true contender to the darkness. Those lines inched slowly across the floor, moving somewhere. Once those lines reached their final destination, the world completely changed. Five more Nodes, similar but different in comparison to the Central Node, rose from the ground.
Thankfully, the process didn’t take nearly as much time as the Central node. When Jordan approached, he could clearly see each Node had been etched with designs unique to each one. When he approached the first dais, he ran his hand across it, feeling the sheer Power. The Node boasted an aura of overwhelming might, the strength of body pushing passed the laws of reality.
Like a long lost friend, it called to him—yearned for him to strive toward a realm of greatness. And like the Central Node, it had the space for a single Essence Orb. Unlike the simple Central Node, the Node's etchings moved as though alive.
One man wielded a simple sword before an army. As the scene progressed, the army fell to the man’s overwhelming might. Only the man remained in the end, and he stood triumphantly atop the corpses of those that wished to challenge his Power.
If he could’ve, he would’ve placed an Essence Orb in that slot then and there. Power was something he needed desperately, and the fact he couldn’t claim it at that second tested his patience. But even if he got upset, it would be pointless. Nobody was around to listen. So after looking at the Node fondly, he moved to the next.
Unlike the Power Node, the second gave him the feeling of impenetrable defense. The etchings showed a singular man, much like before, but this man stood in front of the army without a single weapon in hand. Like a god among men, he strode through their ranks without a single man able to scratch his unarmored flesh.
The man shifted form as the scenery changed. In a swamp, a troll lumbered about without an arm. By the time it reached its destination, another arm had grown over the stump. Then the scene shifted again, this time to a golem with its mighty natural shell. Another shift, this time to an ocean. A great aquatic beast slept, a beast even dragons feared.
The leviathan.
Nothing could bypass the absolute defense Durability could give.
Why can’t I activate these things? Had he the chance, he would’ve also activated the Durability Node. What am I supposed to do? What’s the point of all this?
His questions went unanswered. For several minutes, he watched the Node cycle through the etchings. With a deep sigh, he patted the dais and moved on to the next one.
Everything about this one screamed speed. The images moved on the dais so fast, he couldn’t see them at first. The longer he watched, the more clear the images became. Like before, a single man stood before an army. But they didn’t see him. His speed was so great, his movement couldn’t be perceived.
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The longer he watched, the more he felt like the Node and he were destined for one another. In fact, even the Power Node hadn’t caused such a strong feeling. An aura washed over his mind, a calm and soothing thing that made him see the world in a new light.
Alacrity.
Everything felt right standing beside the Alacrity Node, his mind working faster than ever with almost no strain.
“This.”
The feeling of absolute control.
“I want it.”
But he had two more Nodes to go before—well, he didn’t know for sure what would happen. Only time would tell. Without further delay, he moved to the next one.
Arcana, the mother of all elemental magic and some other things he couldn’t make out. It reminded him of a show he used to watch as a kid and into his teen years. The core four magics he could see within the etchings were fire, water, earth, and air. Several variations of those elements also made an appearance, but the Node did not excite him as much as he’d expected.
When compared to the Alacrity or Power Nodes, it barely held a candle. He felt no two ways about the Node, outside of recognizing that magic would be something to concern himself with, and moved on.
Last but not least, Spirit.
That one, Jordan couldn’t make heads or tails of. Everything was a big blur without any kind of concrete meaning to him, so he just returned to the Central Node in hopes something would happen—literally anything at all.
Attribute Nodes observed.
Distribute Essence now?
Yes
No
“Honestly thought you’d never ask, yes.”
Power Node Activated!
Durability Node Activated!
Alacrity Node Activated!
Arcana Node activated
Spirit Node Activated!
Attribute Nodes Active:
5/5
“That…” Jordan slumped against the Central Node and held his head, the pounding causing his ears to ring.
When he’d observed the final Node and returned, a large see-through container appeared above the Central Node. Presumably, that’s where the first Essence Orb had come down from. But the way it looked so effortless couldn’t have been any more wrong.
Each of the five Nodes surrounding the Central Node required him to do mental gymnastics to coerce Essence Orbs down and into the marble-sized slots at each dais. Of course he couldn’t just reach up and grab an Orb. No, that would be too easy. He had to use Jedi mind tricks or psychic powers like Alakazam to get the things down.
And the fun part? If he relaxed his control over them at all, they zipped back into the container like a rubber band!
“...really sucked,” Jordan muttered, exhaling deeply. “Whoever made this place has a twisted sense of humor.”
Though, as much as he grumbled, the reward would determine if the effort had been in vain or if he’d struck oil. The silver message in front of his eyes taunted him, promising something great, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up.
Status unlocked!
View Status now?
Yes
No
“Yes.”