149 A Gif

An awkward atmosphere haunted the group on the walk back. I caused it. After a few minutes, we reached the elevator. As we funneled up, Kessiah spread out her arms,

"So...what are you guys wanting to do once we get to Giess?"

Torix jumped into the conversation, eager to get rid of the malaise,

"I've been meaning to brush up on my alchemy. As diverse as Earth is, it lacks basic ingredients for recipes or rituals."

I raised an eyebrow, "I thought we were going to just run in, get the mission done, and come back?"

Kessiah rolled her eyes, "Of course you would think that. You're going off-world for the first time, alright? Live a little."

I spread out my arms, "I don't want to live a little. I'd rather live a lot. Fucking around the whole time we're there won't help with that."

Althea frowned, but she stayed quiet. Kessiah nudged me, "Maybe, just maybe, Althea was looking forward to going somewhere with you."

I glanced at Althea. She averted my gaze. I put my hand around her waist,

"How about it? It sounds fun to me."

A slight grin went up Althea's lips, "I...yeah, I'd like that."

The elevator doors opened, and we walked out. Torix turned towards us, "We'll need to survey the city first. While Feontis isn't the most developed capital, it's still the hub of a world. We'll need to procure shelter, disguises, etcetera before we do something for fun. After that, however..."

Torix opened his status, ogling over his credits, "I have no problem whatsoever with a shopping spree of sorts."

Kessiah rolled her eyes, "Good luck getting through all the prying eyes."

Torix grinned, "Oh, I doubt we'll have to worry about that. I've got a few tactics for going unnoticed. We'll also be plenty safe at level 5,000. You, on the other hand, may struggle with it a bit."

Kessiah glared as Torix continued, "Being a measly level 2,400, well there will surely be many who discover your identity."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Torix gestured towards Kessiah, "Care to explain."

She crossed her arms, "Your perception can help mask you."

Torix grinned, "Althea invests into perception as one of her cardinal attributes. A good rule of thumb is to double your perception then assume anyone below that level cannot identify you. "

Althea nodded, "So for me, someone would need to be over the level cap to analyze me. Torix has spells for helping us out with that anyways. If someone did figure out who we were, I doubt they would want to fight a group of cappers."

I blinked, "Cappers?"

Althea looked at her hands, "Uh, you know, people that hit the level cap."

I frowned, "Give me a second, I need to check my status."

I opened my home screen, wanting to check out my perception. Before checking out my character sheet, I opened up my trees. I needed 27 more skill points before I could finish off immense.

I turned towards Torix and Kessiah,

"Hey, do either of you have a few red dungeon cores?"

Torix scoffed, "I assure you, I've already used all of mine on myself."

Kessiah frowned, "I'm not giving them to you for free. 60,000 credits apiece."

I pursed my lips. I pointed at Torix, "Is that a fair price?"

He nodded, "It's very near the galactic standard of 50,000 per core. Considering the convenience, it isn't a bad price."

I shrugged. I opened my status. I selected the trade menu, and I pressed on my Kessiah contact. After messing around with the interface, I began a trade of 170,000 credits for three dungeon cores.

Kessiah frowned, "Its supposed to be 180, not 170."

I grinned, "It's a bulk discount."

She accepted the trade, "Cheapskate."

I shook my head, "Nope. Just a conscientious shopper."

The three cores appeared in my dimensional storage. I opened a portal for one of my rings, pulling them out. The dungeon hearts sunk into my armor, the energy absorbed. I used the thirty free skill points into Force of Nature. I tried putting them into my unknown skills first, but they wouldn't accept it.

It didn't take much to understand why. The skills were unknown because Schema, well, didn't know them. How are you going to develop someone's talent when you don't even know what the skill is? It's impossible. That's why I stuck with Force of Nature, my legendary ability.

With these extra points, I invested in the immense tree. I finished it.

For the Horizon shakes with your every step, and the ground cries out in anguish. A celestial bound to the earth beneath your heels, a bond inseparable. You are immovable. You are unshakable. You are a living star.

Immense(Tier 5) unlocked! 25% of your mass is converted into bonus physical damage. The more mass you have over your adversaries, the greater the effect of your diplomatic and intimidation skills. Unlocks a second legendary skill slot.

Clout and potency channeled into my blood and bones. I rolled my shoulders, grinning at the message. A secondary legendary skill slot was an amazing reward. Considering how ridiculous Force of Nature was, getting a second skill helped expand my horizons.

The tree menu popped up after a minute or two.

Breaker(Finish an S tier bounty, only one class can be chosen)(0/5,000) | Legendary(Gain a legendary skill)(0/2,500) | Originator(Be the first to learn a skill)(0/1,500) | Purger(Clear a quarantine)(0/250)

I crossed my arms, staring at them. Having the option for the breaker class was nice, but I decided against it. The Fringe Walker seemed much more fitting for me. My legendary skill helped me in many ways, and it may help me with the next one I get.

With that in mind, I put the rest of my points into the legendary tree. As I closed my status, Kessiah snapped at me, "What are you grinning about?"

I looked down at her, "Oh, I finished one of my trees. It gave me a second legendary skill slot."

Torix snickered as Kessiah took a step back,

"What in the fuck are you?"

Althea chimed in, "I got a legendary skill too."

Kessiah looked at her, her jaw slack, "What? I get the meathead having one, but you? No...no way. Bullshit. They're supposed to be rumors for Schema's sake."

Althea opened her status, "Can you see it? It's called Slayer of the Celestial."

Sure enough, Althea had the skill active. What tipped it off as a legendary skill was the underlining and white on black font. Torix put his hand over his face, exaggerating a snorting laugh,

"Oh, you don't have a legendary skill like these younglings?"

Kessiah narrowed her eyes at him, "Yeah, I bet you don't either."

Torix froze up. He looked down, and Kessiah continued, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Not so funny now."

Althea patted Torix's back, "It's ok. You're more of our generalist. You help glue the team together. Like earlier when Daniel asked you for the price of dungeon hearts." Althea snapped her fingers,

"You knew it in a flash."

We reached the teleportation room, and Torix held his head up high,

"I suppose there isn't any true reason to be ashamed. My knowledge is valuable in its own right."

After stepping inside the room covered in runic carvings, Torix cast magic. He raised a doorway of earth, sealing us inside the space. Before leaving, we rechecked our belongings. Using the free time, I finished looking at my status, taking a gander at my character sheet.

Dimension-C138(Level 5,564)

Strength – 5,514 | Constitution – 9,677 | Endurance – 42,104

Dexterity – 2,160 | Willpower – 24,006 | Intelligence – 8,659

Charisma – 799 | Luck – 2,905 | Perception – 852

Health: 7.05 Million/7.05 Million | Health Regen: 16.6 Million/min or 276,913/sec

Stamina: 4.54 Million/ 4.54 Million | Stamina Regen: 66,141/sec

Living Dimension: 1.02 Trillion/4.30 Trillion

Mass: 441,867 pounds(200,427.5 kilos~) | Height: 12'3(3.73 meters)

Damage Res - 98.5% | Dimensional Res - 49.25%

Phys Dam Bonus – 491,001% | Damage Bonus – 40%

Event Horizon – 20,000 + (100% of your total health)/min

I turned the status towards Kessiah, and I gloated,

"Read it and weep."

She stared at it as I made it visible to her with a thought. She tilted her head at Torix, "I thought you said it was only 9 mill Torix."

Torix walked over, glancing at the status. He shook his head, "Absurd. Those stats make no sense whatsoever."

He walked over towards a wall, channeling mana into a gemstone, "42,000 endurance...He's not even level 6,000." He turned to me, "You weren't joking when you said that was all you put your points into."

Althea pressed her head against my arm, "Don't worry about them. They're just jealous. Mine's a lot like yours."

She opened her status.

Althea Tolstoy(Level 5,000)

Strength – 24,246 | Constitution – 334 | Endurance – 456

Dexterity – 13,905 | Willpower – 450 | Intelligence – 450

Charisma – 4,397 | Luck – 201 | Perception – 9,678

Health: 910,098/910,098 | Health Regen: 15% of total health every 30 seconds

Stamina: 143,098/143,098 | Stamina Regen: 2,347/sec

Mass: 894 pounds(405) | Height: 6'7(2.01 meters)

Damage Res - 95% | Phys Dam Bonus – 874,032% | Critical Damage Bonus – 135% | Damage Bonus: 55%

Immaterial: Ignores rigidity of matter. Grants 100% armor penetration.

Etorhma's Sorrow: Health regen continues for 30 seconds after death. If health is above zero, revive with 50% of maximum health.

I raised an eyebrow at her bonus physical damage, "Damn. You're over twice as strong as me. How did you get so much health?"

She rolled her eyes, "I have a tree that gives me one health for every percent I get in bonus physical damage. I wouldn't fuss too much about it either. You're only, like, what? Maybe a thousand times tankier than me?"

I shrugged, "Ah yeah, you do rely on passives for most of your survivability. They work pretty well though. You should show me that tree. I can show you a few of mine too."

She pursed her lips, "Yeah, sure. Just keep in mind that those ice grenades would've done me in easily if it wasn't for you getting rid of the fire."

I weighed my hands back and forth, "Eh, you do more damage than me. Tradeoffs."

Kessiah turned her eyes at Althea's status. She didn't say anything, but she crossed her arms, and her eyes dilated. It shocked her seeing Althea's strength and other stats. I wasn't the only one that got bonuses from trees after all.

We finished with the dick swinging contest before Torix turned to us. He looked between everyone, "Do you all have what you need?"

We nodded. Torix clapped his hands together, sparks tracing between each palm, "Then to Giess we go."

Torix placed grasped his fingers together, the mana collapsing. It dispersed through the room in a wave of darkened mana. As it passed through me, vertigo sent me off balance. I looked around, noticing my vision close in at the sides.

I entered a state of mind like tunnel vision. I stretched right after, and time slowed down. This lasted many minutes. How long exactly, I couldn't tell you. It could've been an eternity or a single moment. I couldn't tell the difference.

A coldness raced up my back. My hair stood on end. Stuck in place, a crack in space-time appeared in front of me. A familiar eye bored its gaze into my head. I wanted to wince, but I was frozen in place. It wrapped a formless arm around me, and it pulled my massive bulk with ease.

It was a servant of Etorhma.

I fell through a dark haze. I remember the deep cold from last time. Now it was a light chill against my skin. I stayed awake during the travel, my body more resilient than before. I couldn't move, however. Frozen in place, I wondered if Ajax felt this way before his execution.

After several minutes, the mist faded. I hovered in space, my body weightless. All around me, asteroids circled around a series of planets. Two nearby stars cast a glare over a portion of my vision. Covering part of those red suns, Etorhma hovered.

Alien and bizarre, he chose a different form this time. Like a giant arachnid, he had eight legs and eight eyes. They took no definite place on his body, instead deciding to move on his skin. Plates and scales moved as he shifted, unable to make a pure form.

The eyes floated down, glancing at me. As they set on me, life returned to my limbs. I could move and breath, though there was no air here. As I adjusted to movement, Etorhma spoke. His voice was gentle yet undeniable,

"You...he is gone. I see no timelines of his return either...You slew him, as was determined by fate."

I shook my head, "I got lucky."

The limbs on him moved and shifted as his voice radiated across the vast cosmos, "You think of your victory as a product of chance? Humble, but misguided. It makes no difference. You have done as I asked. You followed your destiny, and so you deserve a reward fitting."

I shook my hands, "You know what? I'm good. I don't really want anything."

The eyes on the body of scales and plates scattered out, "You wish for nothing then?"

I nodded, "Yes. I just want everything to go on like it was before you grabbed me out of wherever I was."

An invisible force pulled me towards Etorhma. He was bigger than I thought. Much, much bigger. He grew in my vision like I was falling towards a planet. The eight eyes broadened until a single eye consumed my entire view. Once I was close enough to touch him, I hovered over his pupil.

It was like a vast ocean of darkness below me.

His voice transmitted into my ears,

"You...you are different."

I turned at a slow place like jewelry in a display case,

"You are no longer mortal. You are neither living nor dead. You are matter given a mind...No, a real space given purpose...I cannot comprehend you. You are the first creature to elude my understanding."

I crossed my arms while floating around, "Alright, that's cool. Can you stop spinning me around?"

I snapped into place, facing his pupil, "And you are the first to deny my gifts. Do you not wish for the powers that Yawm obtained? They would suit you well."

I pressed my hands together, "Your runes put him in a tight spot. That's why I don't want them. Please don't do anything like that."

Etorhma pulled me away. I fell back from his eye, the speed unbelievable. His planetary sized body shrunk back into my view. His eyes squinted at me, "I do not leave those that serve me without rewards."

He reached out with one of his legs. It neared me, becoming the size of a mountain. With precision he should lack at his size, he tapped my forehead. It was like an endless wall thumping me.

"I'll give you a gift."

A rush of knowledge poured into my head. The dimensional cipher became clearer as if pieces of a puzzle were clinking together. I looked at the cipher on my arm. The precise lines altered into messy scribbles. Well not quite, but they seemed mediocre by comparison.

I looked up at Etorhma, "What did you do?"

His formless minion wrapped an arm around me, pulling me backward. Etorhma chuckled then spoke,

"You wish for nothing at this very moment. I gave you the knowledge to create what you desire when the time comes."

I made an X with my arms, "Please no."

The stars behind Etorhma dampened as Etorhma's voice shook space, "There is no reason to fear me. I do not lead any astray. I guide those that enact change. You decide the change you commit. Goodbye, Harbinger."

He pointed at me with one of his spider legs, "May fortune favor you."

His formless minion pulled me through the haze. Minutes later and I returned to the runic room. The others waited in place, stunned by Torix's magic. I idled with them, frozen in place. Within a few seconds, space minimized. It no longer magnified.

The room thudded against something, dust falling from the ceiling. The crystals embedded in the walls drained, no longer glowing. I lightened, but the air grew heavy and pressured. I grasped my hands looking around,

"What the fuck just happened?"

Torix gasped, "Finally it's over...We're here. We're at Giess."