Chapter 22
The landscape blurred by as Ethan found himself in a high speed aerial chase he'd never even imagined to be possible.
But then again, he was in a world of magic, was he not?
Ethan was maintaining the flying spell well from what he could tell, the spell consisted of more than just plain flight. If it were that simple, he needn’t worry while casting the spell. The spell actually consisted of multiple components: there was the component that pushed him around while levitating him through the air, another component that created a sort of conical bubble around him to enable him to breathe while flying at high speeds, and a third component that compensated for the high G forces encountered while flying dangerously fast and maneuvering around obstacles.
The formula looked something like this:
Repel[Orderly] | Spin[Orderly] * Self + Shape(Cone) | Compress | Bind(Air) * Self + Divest(Gravity) * Self
With these factors combined, Ethan could get to 320m/s. Just a bit below the sound barrier. He figured he could theoretically go faster by pouring more mana into the spell, but it would just be an immense increase in cost the further he tried to push it. He found that while flying at a velocity of 180 m/s, he regenerated mana as fast as it was used up. The spell was very efficient to maintain once it was sustained. Ethan found it required around 2.5 mana a minute to maintain a solid 180 m/s, which just so happened to be Ethan's current mana regeneration rate. It would be impossible for the spell to be this efficient if it weren't for Primordial Magic.
If Ethan did push up to 320m/s the spell used around 4 mana per minute, and with his mana currently sitting at a max of 275, he could still fly for about an hour travelling this speed. He could theoretically fly forever if going at the right speed. Well, until he fell asleep mid flight or whatever.
The AI had overlaid a special HUD over Ethan's vision, which now showed him things like velocity, altitude, orientation, current G forces that he would feel as well as how many Gs he would experience if it weren't for the spell dampening the G forces. It also displayed a bunch of other information he didn't have time to fully understand.
So this is what being a human jet fighter feels like… Ethan thought to himself. He would have laughed out loud if it weren't for the seriousness of his situation.
Ethan found himself having brief visions of teaching others this spell and creating an air force of mages. He filed the thought away under “More things to remember for another day.”
Ethan banked sharply to the left as his AI predicted the next location that a bolt of lightning would land. He zipped past one of the many huge branches of the Mother of Chaos. The massive tree’s branches just extended that high, and lighting slammed harmlessly into a branch instead of into him. Ethan was glad that at least his AI was paying attention to maneuvering, even when he was not.
Well, that was close! If I want to beat this guy, I need to test his limits.
Ethan pulled up into a hard turn, increasing his speed to his maximum of 320 m/s and felt the G forces pile on, he maxed out at 5G for a brief second (although it would have been 20G without the spell dampening the forces) before he passed the midpoint of the turn, swooping back in what Ethan hoped was a very elegant maneuver.
The strange [Wizard] continued to chase after him. He seemed a little slower at turning than Ethan was, and seemed to be keeping up with Ethan's new speed. What’s worse, his attacks had started to vary. Now the [Wizard] was flinging magical missiles that looked like bolts of green energy. Ethan had no idea what they were. Of course, he immediately commanded his AI to start looking into how a spell like that might be done. It helpfully informed him that creating a spell like that would probably take 28 days.
I guess I'm not going to be giving him a taste of his own medicine then. Ethan mused to himself.
He wondered how much those things would hurt if one hit. Ethan decided not to think about it too much.
During the climb, Ethan had risen to a few kilometres above the volcano, now starting to dive back down he got a great view of the multiple kilometre wide basin of the volcano, with the mother of chaos majestically growing in the middle of it. He couldn’t see into the crater though. The tree blocked his vision of what lay inside.
The ground rapidly got closer and Ethan had to dodge another one of the magic missiles. It only missed him by a few meters this time.
Ethan figured it was time to act on the offensive. Only, how would one act on the offensive when being chased like this? He needed to turn and face his attacker to fling spells his way. However, if he did that he would be an easy target as he would no longer be able to dodge the [Wizard]’s attacks.
It was like some sort of demented dogfight right out of a Star Wars movie; and unlike the movie, he didn’t have a Millennium Falcon to cover his back.
He had to change that. Even if he had no wingmen. Maybe he could turn the tables?
He gave his AI a quick command, and his AI directed the spell to take him just a few feet from the rocky exterior of the Krell volcano.
It was time to enact his plan.
Ethan brought the conical shield of his flight spell in contact with the volcano. He immediately felt like he’d hit a brick wall, the shield effectively dragging along the floor was creating an immense amount of resistance and heat. The effect it was having was brutal and immediate however, small chunks of rock flew up into the air behind Ethan at potentially lethal trajectories, and the pursuing [Wizard] was forced to start dodging the small rocks as they zipped by at the speed of a low velocity bullet. The [Wizard] slowed down a little so that he could focus on flying and to build a shield. Ethan noted this down. It seemed that others had to struggle to maintain multiple spells at the same time. Having an AI literally stuck in your head had many advantages. Ethan heard the thing let out another shriek. It sounded frustrated. This little trick didn’t stop the [Wizard] for long, he was soon back on Ethan's tail.
Ethan sighed, he would need something better than rocks to beat this guy. He gave up scraping the ground and quickly picked up speed again as he raised his altitude.
Ethan thought about trying his energy shield/absorption spell, but was afraid of doing so. Not to mention how difficult it was to dismiss it last time, it was unpredictable and he’d not yet gotten used to it. It could pose as much of a danger to himself as the attacks being flung at him right now.
Now what to do? Outrun – or outfly – the opposition? It didn’t look like that would work. The guy had levitated a huge group of people all the way out here, and he wasn’t slowing down. He seemed to only be aiming to match speed with Ethan, yet the guy was capable of travelling faster than the speed of sound as his earlier arrival had demonstrated. Maybe it just cost him too much mana to attack while flying? Seriously, how much mana did this guy have anyway?
Ethan glanced back and cast [Analyse] quickly.
| Name | Samayael | Species | Nephilim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class (1st) | Aeromancer (Level 26) | Strength (STR) | 1079 |
| Class (2nd) | Defiler (Level 18) | Vitality (VIT) | 1128 |
| XP (Deferred) | ??? (??) | Dexterity (DEX) | 1047 |
| AP/SP Available | ?? AP / ?? SP | Agility (AGI) | 1852 |
| Health | 2018/11280 (+0/min) | Intelligence (INT) | 6201 |
| Mana | 40502/78984 (+0/min) | Wisdom (WIS) | 7890 |
| Age | 1213 years old |
| Affliction | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Corruption | 8 (2%) | Your soul is corrupt. You may no longer regenerate health and mana. Your appearance is altered. |
“What the actual fuck?” Ethan shouted. The corrupt Nephilim screeched and fired another bolt of lightning at Ethan as it realised it had [Analyse] used on itself. It seemed that whomever he used the Skill on had an angry reaction, and it almost seemed like some comical game mechanic. He would need to make sure to never use it on Kothar. Ethan could do without being hacked to pieces.
Just looking at this guys stats was terrifying. However, the longer he looked at the stats, the more strange things stuck out. How was something so old so low levelled?
Maybe immortals levelled much, much, slower than normal beings? Unless this guy had just spent most of his existence sitting in a hole somewhere twiddling his thumbs? But the stats… how was he supposed to defeat someone so powerful?
He took a deep breath, collected himself, and looked at the character sheet again, and that’s when he noticed something.
It can’t regenerate health and mana! He laughed aloud at the discovery as the Nephilim chased him around. If I can kite it, I’ll win!
He wondered how it had survived that long though… even with that much mana, there was simply no way to for it to survive that long. The obvious suddenly hit Ethan: magic and potions! That thing must know how to cast healing spells, and it probably chugged mana potions like there was no tomorrow.
This guy must have one heck of a alchemy setup… Ethan mused.
The other thing that brought up questions for Ethan was this guy’s species: according to his analysis a Nephilim, which – if memory served correctly – was the offspring of a divine and a mortal, that meant that at some point, beings that were apparently divine once roamed this world. From what Ethan had seen so far, it seemed that they no longer did, or maybe no longer can. Ethan decided he would look into this at some point as well.
None of this stuff helped Ethan beat the guy much, he had no idea how long it would take the guy to drain his mana. He let time slow to a crawl as he entered his simulated space and put his body on autopilot. He realised just how tense he was and forced himself to relax. Ethan let out a sigh as he sat down at his desk, dimly aware of another magic missile just missing him in slow motion in the real world.
“AI, calculate the chances of us winning against this guy using all known variables and through all known methods, including simulated spells.”
“Acknowledged.” His AI responded, and a new screen appeared in front of his face. This screen listed ways he could escape or win this engagement based on all the existing research data and known variables.
He asked his AI to remove all impractical methods with less than 60% certainty. This filtered out many solutions, including things like outright melee attacks.
He scrolled over the list quickly and was glad he didn’t set a filter on the time frame. Because a couple of things caught his eye, but weren’t exactly feasible at the moment.
| Method | Certainty | Execution Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| Soul Rending | 88% | 7 days |
| Life/Mana Drain | 95% | 96/42 days |
| Teleportation + Melee | 61% | 112 weeks |
| Disintegration | 69% | 64 weeks |
| Radiation Ray | 99% | 57 weeks |
There’s nothing of immediate use, though… He thought wistfully. All the spell concepts his AI had been working on were running through his head. He read the description for Radiation Ray out of curiosity, finding out that it was a spell that fired a shotgun blast of concentrated gamma radiation, inflicting immediate damage from skin burns and long term damage in the form of cancer and radiation sickness. The more he thought about that spell the quicker he realised how gruesome it was. You would literally cook your target alive, and if they survived, they would die a terrible death from radiation sickness. Ethan sometimes wondered if his AI made these things on purpose. The AI helpfully chimed in, and told him that a spell like this – although morally questionable – was the most efficient way of eliminating a target with directed energy.
Ethan put his fingertips on his temples and started rubbing them in circles. He had no idea what to do, and frankly, all the solutions the AI had offered were way too far into the future to be useful.
So far, his efforts to make spells had been sporadic and whimsical. He just created whatever he felt like or needed at the moment; but right now, he wished more than anything else to have had created some combat spells using Primordial Magic when he had the chance.
“Soul Rending” looked… promising, and his instincts told him that therein lay the solution. The only problem was the lack of data. He needed to [Analyse] living beings to get more data on their souls, and that was difficult when everyone turned into angry homicidal maniacs from the use of the Skill.
I need something that’s already angry and homicidal and won’t care if I analyse its soul. So what fits that description? Ethan nearly slapped his forehead as the answer stuck out to him like a sore thumb.
“AI, scan the surrounding area for any Roc flying about or nesting, I’d prefer one that is nesting.”
“Acknowledged.” His AI responded, the voice echoing in the expanse of his virtual lab.
Ethan sat and watched as the AI made microscopic adjustments to his head movements and enhanced and analysed what his eyes saw to an inhuman scale. The AI quickly spotted a flying Roc a mile or two away, and he decided not to pursue that one and instead wait for a better opportunity. After thirty minutes of simulated time, he had his mark. Up just near the top of the volcano’s highest point was a Roc that was nesting.
At least getting an egg from one of these guys isn’t going to be an issue anymore.
Ethan exited his simulated space and the world suddenly snapped back to full speed, another bolt of lighting just barely missed him as he adjusted course towards the Roc. Ethan took himself closer to the mountain, keeping a constant distance from the ever more sloped volcano as he climbed in height. Even travelling at his current speed reaching the top of the volcano took a good 30 seconds, the volcano was truly massive, Ethan figured he would need to measure it at some point and compare it to the largest volcanoes on earth so he could get a proper scale of the thing. It also reminded him just how massive the Mother Of Chaos he’d grown was.
I wonder what people would say if something like this grew on Earth! He thought ruefully.
As he approached the Roc it seemed to notice him, it turned its head towards him with incredible reflexes and took up a defensive stance over its nest. Frills of feathers covering the thing’s back were moving in a pattern not too dissimilar to a Mexican wave as it squawked in protest. Ethan figured that it thought he was another Roc encroaching on its territory. There weren’t many other things that flew around at such high speeds after all.
Ethan had no clue what the maximum range on [Analyse] was. He’d previously made the judgement that the further away you are, the less detailed it will be. It needed testing, but he was sure if he used it to analyse the moon orbiting this planet it would only provide him with cursory information unless he was much, much closer. For this reason Ethan used the AI to use the Skill at the perfect moment, just as he passed within a couple dozen metres, or at least he would have.
Ethan caught a blur of something in his peripheral vision and something big knocked into the aerial shield his spell was generating. The sky and rocky floor rapidly rotated around Ethan as the AI struggled to keep the spell stable, Ethan felt like he’d also been punched in the gut and was struggling to breathe. Whatever had just hit the spell had exerted a lot of force. The AI didn’t get a chance to cast [Analyse], having been knocked a good hundred meters off course. Ethan slowly regained his senses, catching his breath. He took a look behind himself, sure enough the Nephilim was still pursuing him, and was about to unleash another bolt of lighting by the looks of it. Ethan couldn’t figure out what the guy had done to hit him considering he was able to dodge the rest of the attacks.
Ethan suddenly caught sight of the blur again, this time approaching from directly above. The AI adjusted his course just in time for it to miss. Ethan let the AI slow down time so that he could get a good look at what exactly it was. He then got quite a show as a massive Roc missed him by a scant few metres. The AI helpfully displayed information showing that the Roc roughly weighed 349 kilograms and was travelling at a speed of nearly 300m/s.
No wonder that thing nearly knocked me out the sky, that's 104,700 newtons of force that just hit me. The average 80 kg human exerts 791 newtons on the ground under 1G. This means I have just been hit by the equivalent weight of 132 average adults, or roughly 10 tonnes worth of force! This thing just hit me with the equivalent weight of dump truck! It must have incredibly strong bones to withstand those forces, or maybe it doesn’t? Maybe it actually broke some bones when it hit me? Ethan was really glad he had a literal calculator in his head for when he got curious about these things.
Ethan also realised that the Roc was only a few meters away. Not being one to miss opportunities, he cast [Analyse] on it. The Skill, which seemed instant most of the time, seemed to take an eternity to activate while in slow motion.
| Name | [Untranslatable] | Species | Roc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class (1st) | N/A | Strength (STR) | 43 (32) |
| Class (2nd) | N/A | Vitality (VIT) | 102 (73) |
| XP (Deferred) | ??? (??) | Dexterity (DEX) | 12 |
| AP/SP Available | ?? AP / ?? SP | Agility (AGI) | 247 (195) |
| Health | 349/423 (+0.2/min) | Intelligence (INT) | 6 |
| Mana | 35/108 (+1/min) | Wisdom (WIS) | 4 |
| Age | 34 years old | Willpower | 16 |
| Soul Type | Greater Soul |
| Affliction | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Broken Bones | 6 (72%) | Multiple broken bones. Large penalties to Strength, Vitality and Agility. |
Due to a special action, soul-related information has been unlocked.
[Analyse] Has increased to skill level 9 and now requires 5 MP to cast.
What special action did I perform? he wondered. Maybe just thinking about souls while analysing caused the information to become unlocked? His eyes widened at the realisation. It’s like a riddle! Unless I ask the right question I won’t get a proper answer!
This certainly opened up new avenues of research for him. If his Skills could evolve, what else was he missing?
Regardless, he decided to focus on the information at hand, and the first thing that stood out to Ethan was that the Roc had broken some bones upon impact with him, at least that meant the damn things were not invincible. He was thankful for his shield of compressed air.
Second was that it seemed to have mana, and from what Ethan had seen, many species on the planet had the ability to store and use mana generated by their natural ‘spell glands’. In the case of Rocs, they probably make use of it to enhance their flying abilities in some way.
As a matter of fact, the only explanation for its speed was that it used magic to boost its air speed just like he did.
The third, and by far most important observation was the two new descriptions: Soul type and Willpower. From basic study Ethan knew that there were different types of soul that a being could possess, from Petty Souls for creatures such as small rodents, to Black Souls from sapient beings. Willpower was a completely new thing to Ethan.
How the hell do you measure and quantify willpower? Every time so far that Ethan thought he was getting close to figuring out the quirks of the system running this world, another one would pop up.
Ethan pondered this and let time speed up again, the AI quickly adjusted his flight path again to dodge another one of the Nephilims magic missiles. The thing seemed to be taking advantage of his situation, trying to hit him while he was distracted. The glowing green orb missed and zipped past in a crackle of energy. Ethan flinched as he felt the shockwave of an explosion. For a second he thought it had hit him. However, looking down it was quite clear what it had hit.
The mangled remains of the Roc that was previously attacking Ethan were falling to the ground. It looked like it was burnt to a crisp and strange green crackles of energy rippled over its body as if the spell had a lingering effect. It made him wonder, if that thing had more than 300 hp and died instantly to the spell, there would be no way he would survive an impact without an energy shield. Ethan made sure to redouble his efforts to not get hit by the deadly missiles.
With nothing else to do, more than anything, he needed time to think.
AI, enter the lab and initiate maximum time compression.
<Acknowledged. Entering lab simulation… Initialising time compression protocol.>
Back in his simulated lab, Ethan leant his head on his arm as he looked over the figures again and again. He still couldn’t really see a way to win this, apart from being able to fly, he had no other amazing spells or abilities that would help him in this situation. To make things worse, it would only be another hour or so of real time before his mana ran out from flying and he dropped out of the sky. That's if he didn’t get hit by the Nephilim’s spells during that time. The Roc hitting his shield had drained a considerable amount of mana. Ethan crossed his arms, closing his eyes and laying his head on top of them, taking a moment to look away from the simulated screens.
He was just about to start thinking about all the life choices he regretted when he heard a knock on his door. It didn’t actually register with Ethan for a second what the sound was. It should be impossible for anyone but him or his AI to make noise or interact in this simulated lab, after all. Whoever was knocking tapped away again, this time hitting a bit harder. Ethan's head snapped up from his arms and he swivelled on his chair, looking over to a door he didn’t know even existed until now. His heart rate and anxiety levels jumped to new and unforeseen levels as he contemplated what this meant. His lab was in his own mind! It should be impossible for things to happen outside of his or the AI’s control! Yet, it seemed that an unseen figure was currently knocking on the door.
“Uhhh… AI, what the hell was that?” Ethan nervously asked. His AI was quick to respond.
“Unknown. Reviewing security protocols.”
I really, really hope this is not a bug in the firmware… That’s the last thing I need right now. Ethan thought grimly.
He got up from his seat and started taking cautious steps towards the door, as if it would leap off of its hinges and attack him at any moment. His shoes squeaked on the impossibly clean floor of his lab as he slowly worked his way closer to the door. Before he knew it, his hand was on the door handle and he was getting ready to open it. Ethan paused for a moment to think if it would be worth it. Figuring that he was likely dead anyway if his AI couldn’t protect his mind from intrusion, he pressed the handle down and swung the door open.
Ethan's eyes widened as he looked upon the figure standing in the doorway. An amazingly beautiful and very scantily clad woman stood there, poised to knock on the door again.
Before he could say anything she beamed a smile and spoke.
“Ah thank god, I thought you were just going to ignore me. You know, getting past the security in this… place? Was really hard. The security wouldn’t even let me send a message down to you to let you know who I was!” Ethan's Jaw went slack as she spoke, he wasn’t even aware he had a physical security desk/reception area in his mind space, and certainly not that others could gain access if they spoke their way past it. The lady continued to speak.
“Oh! Sorry, I’m getting a little ahead of myself! It’s not often that us divines pay a personal visit to a mortal’s mind.” She paused, seemingly collecting herself “My name is Memeta, and I’m here to discuss a few things.”
Radon was struggling to not fall asleep as Jarret continued to talk on and on and on. His damned stupid accomplice had misused the babblifier.
See, when you use this specific item, you are supposed to ask very specific questions, and the subject will be forced to speak until everything they can say in answer to that specific question had been said.
Radon had allowed Nodar, his accomplice, to use the babblifier, as it would have been a good chance for some practice. A mistake in hindsight. Because unfortunately, it seemed that Nodar was not aware of how the thing functioned. He had asked a simple question: “Tell us everything!”
Which was a question that would – under normal circumstances – make sense. But in conjunction with the babblifier, it resulted in the subject literally telling you everything they knew. This was used as a form of torture. Once used, it was impossible to stop the victim from talking until they were done. Victims of this would literally talk themselves to death over the course of a few days.
Currently, Jarret Lytell was telling them about his life during school, about a teacher he particularly hated. He had been going for nearly 10 hours so far, starting all the way from his earliest memories. Nodar and Radon had been taking turns to keep him hydrated, they didn’t want him dead. Although Radon wished that they could just kill him. He also wanted to smash-in Nodar’s head, but he didn’t want to find himself in a tent like the one he currently resided in, being tortured for killing a fellow member of The Hands.
“... see, this one time I dropped a pencil on the floor. Just a single damn pencil, and this stupid woman stops lecturing the group and walks over to my desk. Now, I was terrified. She stood over the end of my desk and picked up the pencil, looking between me and the pencil, her face soured before she…”
Radon didn’t really know how much longer he could take it, he could certainly see that Jarret wasn’t taking it very well. Radon could see in the unfortunate Polarii’s eyes that he was terrified out of his mind. Nodar, meanwhile, had just started snoring next to him. Radon nudged him roughly, waking him up. Nodar quickly came to his senses before flinching back from a very angry looking Radon.
“It’s your turn to keep watch now, you worthless sack of meat. I’m going to get some sleep, tell me if he actually says anything important.” Radon quickly walked out of the tent to get some sleep before Nodar could protest, Nodar sighed and leant back in his chair, trying to pay a small amount of attention to Jarret's continued babbling. They would probably be stuck there listening for another week before they finally got the details from Jarret of what had happened to their general.
“... Anyway, after she beat me in front of the class for that I was never looked at in the same way by the rest of the class again. They saw me as annoying because of the fact I dropped a pencil and interrupted the class, and weak because I let myself get beaten by a woman. I went home extremely depressed that day, I could hardly bear telling my mother about the humiliating event….”
[Sundering Blow] hits the unaware [Cultist] for 567 damage, killing him instantly.
The cultist briefly remained standing before the now separated parts of his body fell to the floor in a wet slop. The other cultists quickly drew their weapons and stepped back out of reach from Kothar’s swings. Kothar had never seen weapons like the ones they wielded. They used strange poles that had a small blade on each end, the poles were probably around a meter and a half long and seemed to have a mechanism which allowed them to fold up into a more compact size when not in use.
The four remaining [Cultist]’s kept back by a few meters as Kothar paced towards them. His eyes cold and calculating. Two of them stepped forward and pushed towards Kothar, spinning their weapons in an attempt to slash at him. Unfortunately for them they were drastically underestimating the abilities of a level 42 [Warrior]. Kothar activated [Rapid Thrust] and his sword took on a mind of its own. With amazing speed, his blade struck against their spinning poles. Metallic clanging sounds echoed through the night as he continued to deflect their attacks. Kothar got lucky with one of his swings, and his blade swiped across one of the attacking [Cultist]’s arms, leaving a big gash.
[Maiming Swing] Hits [Cultist] in the arm for 59 damage, tearing the muscle and causing bleeding.
The [Cultist] let out a cry of pain and stepped back from the attack, taking advantage of the moment, Kothar focused his attacks on the second one before the other two cultists had a chance to get involved. As the [Cultist] was preparing to swing his pole back at him again Kothar saw a gap he could take advantage of. He activated [Rapid Thrust] and leapt forward, the [Cultist] caught onto what he was doing just a moment too late. Kothar’s blade sunk straight into the [Cultist]’s chest but not before one of the [Cultist]’s blades caught Kothar on the shoulder.
[Rapid Thrust] stabs [Cultist] for 320 damage, piercing the abdomen. Cultist is critically wounded.
You were slashed over the shoulder by the [Cultist]’s blade, 56 damage sustained.
Kothar winced as he pulled back his blade from the now limp [Cultist], his shoulder seared in pain but his adrenaline allowed him to ignore the pain and bleeding for now and continue to fight. The three remaining attackers were stood fairly close together, holding their poles like a spear in an attempt to use their range against Kothar. The attacker that Kothar had previously wounded was looking somewhat wobbly on his feet.
Seeing the weakness Kothar leapt back towards them. He deftly deflected a few attempted jabs from their poles, knocking one of the [Cultists] off balance with one particularly good parry. Soon enough he was in the perfect position to strike down the previously wounded [Cultist]. Kothar was sure that if he could see the man's face, it would be an expression of pure shock as his blade thrust into his head, he heard the man's skull crack as his blade went cleanly through, and the [Cultist] slumped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
You impale the [Cultist] for 2,480 critical damage, killing him instantly.
In the corner of his eye, Kothar saw another one of the attackers' poles swinging towards him in an arc that would have taken off his arm if he did not move quickly. Kothar tried to dislodge his sword from his previous victim’s head but found that it was stuck. He had to tug hard to loosen it, and the delay from doing this cost Kothar. He was only just able to bring his sword up to deflect the [Cultist]’s swing slightly. Instead of the blade hitting his arm it slashed across his chest, slicing straight through his thick hide armour and cutting at the skin beneath.
Your chest was slashed by the [Cultist]’s blade, taking 96 damage and incurring [Major Bleeding].
Kothar let out a howl of frustration and pain as the bladed tip dragged its way across his chest. He didn’t let this distract him though. Because of the way the blade had slashed down across his chest, it left the attacker wide open when his swing reached it’s lowest point. As Kothar was still shouting in pain he activated [Power Strike] and swung his sword at the [Cultist]’s neck. His blade swept clean through the guy's neck, making a strange wet sound as exited the other side. Kothar felt blood splattered all over himself and wasn’t quite sure if most of it was from the unfortunate cultists or from his own wounds. Regardless, he only had one last [Cultist] to deal with.
Kothar started walking towards the [Cultist] and made no attempt to block him as he stabbed forward with his pole. The blade sunk into Kothar’s chest, Kothar barely even flinched.
You are stabbed in the chest by the [Cultist]. Taking 114 damage and [Minor Organ Damage].
For a brief moment they both stood, the cultist a little shocked that he had just been able to hit Kothar this easily, however it was no shock for Kothar. The cultist tried tugging on his weapon but found it was stuck. Kothar smirked and then proceeded to use [Maiming Swing].
[Maiming Swing] Strikes [Cultist] for 24 damage.
[Maiming Swing] Strikes [Cultist] for 67 damage.
[Maiming Swing] Strikes [Cultist] for 52 damage.
[Maiming Swing] Strikes [Cultist] for 50 damage.
[Maiming Swing] Strikes [Cultist] for 32 damage.
The [Cultist] was quite literally hacked into pieces by Kothar’s brutal ability, and after the attack finally ended the attacker slumped to the floor, thoroughly dead. Kothar stood for a moment with the pole still stuck in his chest, breathing heavily as his adrenaline slowly faded. He looked around himself and saw that the outcropping he stood on was now covered in blood, and dead [Cultist] body parts. The woman they had brought with them was still slumped against the wall, struggling in her bindings. Kothar limped over to her and stood over her, she seemed to notice his presence through the hood they had put over her head and froze.
“No! Please, don’t kill me! I’m not with them, they dragged me here-” the woman's pleading was interrupted by Kothar slashing at her bindings, cutting her free in one swipe of his blade. Realising that her hands were free she quickly took off the hood covering her head and saw a very angry krell covered in blood standing over her. She nearly let out a scream when he toppled to the floor in front of her, recovering from her shock and taking a look over him she could see there was a spear-like weapon stuck out of his chest, and multiple deep cuts over his body. Looking beyond, she saw the decapitated bodies of her previous captors. The realisation that this man had just possibly saved her life dawned on her.
With no immediate way down the mountain, and feeling a need to repay him, Milandera set to work trying to keep him alive.
| Name | Ethan West | Species | Human |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class (1st) | Harbinger – Science (Level 8) | Strength (STR) | 18 |
| Class (2nd) | Magineer – Chaos (Level 8) | Vitality (VIT) | 17 |
| XP (Deferred) | 156 (0) | Dexterity (DEX) | 20 |
| AP/SP Available | 5 AP / 4 SP | Agility (AGI) | 24 |
| Health | 173/173 (+1.7/min) | Intelligence (INT) | 25 |
| Mana | 184/275 (+2.5/min) | Wisdom (WIS) | 26 |
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Divine Lawbreaker | You have broken a Divine Law and incurred the wrath of the heavens. Beware the consequences. |
| Runebreaker | You have transcended all forms of magic and unlocked the more mystic base elements behind it. You now wield great power over the arcane. Beware lest you err! |
| Skill | Level | Cost | Description | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyse (Active) | 9 (2%) | 5 MP | You analyse any object or living being, obtaining information about it. More details will be revealed as the level of this skill rises. | [Scientist, Level 1] |
| Lecture (Passive) | 5 (22%) | — | You instruct another character on a subject. The level of knowledge conveyed and the success rate are limited by the level of this skill. | [Harbinger – Science, Level 5] |
| Assemble Schematic (Active) | 2 (27%) | 15 MP | You assemble a schematic quickly and efficiently. 10% Less material wasted per level. | [Engineer, Level 1] |
| Adjust Entropy (Sustained) | 6 (78%) | ~ | Adjust the level of entropy in a system or creation. 10% To effectiveness per level. | [Chaos Engineer, Level 5] |
| Stabilise (Active) | 2 (88%) | ~ | Allows you to stabilise any chaotic reaction, quickly bringing down the energy of an unstable system, chemical reaction, spell, or machine. | [Chaos Engineer, Level 5] |
| Mana Manipulation (Passive) | 3 (98%) | — | The ability to manipulate mana is at the core of spell-casting. This skill governs how much mana your body can channel. 2% bonus to maximum mana per level. | [Magineer – Chaos, Level 8] |
| Rune Mastery (Passive) | 3 (56%) | — | The ability to construct and maintain spell models in one’s mind is what governs Rune Magic. Your mastery over runes will increase with the level of this skill. Can control +2 extra runes per spell model per level of this skill. | [Magineer – Chaos, Level 8] |
| Design Schematic (Active) | 2 (43%) | 100 MP | Allows you to design a schematic. | [Scientist, Level 2] |