Chapter 274: Ten thousand years of wisdom
Unnatural heat formed inside of Sofias body. The packets of mana she had spread throughout her body were condensing, reshaping into something new. The heat rose higher and higher, until something changed. Sofia felt a sudden jolt of pain stemming from her heart, and with it came light. From within her chest, bright white light like the sun shone through her flesh and skin, inundating the surroundings. Then, like a sudden migraine, two jolts of pure pain through her skull sent Sofia reeling back. Pareth appeared behind her, helping her stay upright. Two more lights appeared, from the points of pain, one a tern gray, the other a vibrant red. The sudden strokes of pain followed the pattern of her mana, illuminating her from within, it was impossible to tell which light was which anymore as Sofia shone like a miniature Sun.
Just like she thought the pain was over, Sofia felt something moving in the middle of her chest. It was only mildly painful compared to what came before, but not less unsavory, as she could only describe the sensation as a thousand bugs crawling under her skin. The bugs spread out, following some grand design, carving new paths inside her flesh, all over her body. The shining motes of mana became agitated once again as the crawling sensation spread. They whirred like a channeled spell about to explode and backlash, but started harmonizing instead. One by one, they were now vibrating at the same frequency.
All the lights disappeared at once.
Sofia no longer felt any pain, but she was bleeding all over, and the packets of mana were still there.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.
Is Is it over? She stuttered in her thoughts.
The packets of mana collapsed into a single point at the center of Sofias chest. The pain was swift like a lightning strike, and Sofia erupted into light once again. A singular shining star, likely enough to blind Sun Herself, but not for long. The light faded, revealing Sofias new and enhanced body. A body that was essentially still exactly the same, if one could look past the thousands of glowing veins of light slithering beneath her skin.
Out of all the things I expected I did not expect to transform into a glowing life-sized diagram of blood vessels. And why is it moving?!
Sofia felt lost, her mind was blank as she observed her hand and the streaks of light undulating inside.
She changed to Pareths point of view. Even my face?! She opened her mouth, it was the same, her lips, her tongue, everything but her teeth was host to the glowing veins.
My hair is probably the only part of my body I wouldnt mind seeing glow and its one of the only unaffected parts!
Sofia looked at VPPV again.
[Venerable physique of the primeval void] - First step Light forging realm :
The primeval void was born of the universes first shadow.
Shadow gathering realm :
A single hit cannot take away more than 99% of your maximum health.
You are 50% more resilient to explosions
You are able to see in extremely low light levels and to breathe light
You cannot be hurt by the cold and cannot be traced in the spirit realm
Shadows and light are two faces of a single coin.
Light forging realm :
Starting step : You no longer age.
First step : Your skin becomes tougher and opaque (0/1000%)
Actually, please look first, you tell me what you think. Be honest.
Erredis didnt answer but Sofia could see the Dragons eyes slowly shifting as she read the description line by line, her expression undecipherable.
Do you not have [Fast reading]? Sofia asked, trying her best to sound curious and not impatient.
I like to take my time with entertainment. I have plenty of time Alright, Im done reading. Your skill Its uh. It reflects the name well. Im honestly shocked the system allocates the precious time and resources necessary to assemble spells just for you every time. I would kill to have something like this instead of having to do research by myself. I mean... Yeah actually I would.
Are you trying to change the subject? Sofia asked calmly while her eyes stared daggers at Erredis who had stood up to put away the dishes as if the conversation was over.
No No! Obviously not! Uh, hum. The skill seems, hmm, yes; usable
Usable?
Thats not at all what I hoped to hear. Am I getting another completely failed skill like [Pristine essence]? It was bound to happen at some point
While Sofias heart sank, Erredis had gone into a full-fledged rant. You know, its no big deal, skills really arent all theyre propped up to be. Back in my days, we used to
[Saintess madness] : The Saintess grabs and throws one of her undead minions. They are infused with a random element and explode on impact, releasing a burst of elemental magic. The power of the burst scales on undead minions base health and the amount of mana infused, multiplied by this skills level. Direct hits also inflict a related elemental affliction upon the targets. There can only be one infused minion existing at any one time.
You gain a minor magical resistance against the infused element until next use.
(Next function unlocks at skill level 2)
What even is this?
A random element, really? It would already be a dubious skill to have if I could choose! And this kills my skeletons! This really isnt it
At least the elemental affliction and the resistance can be useful depending on what elements I get. If I know what Im going to fight next, I can chain cast with the rat swarm until I get the resistance I want. Hmm Its not completely useless. I just dont know if I really need more attack skills when I already have so many.
I would have liked another movement of defense skill better. Cant change the keywords though. They werent good enough that I feel bad about wasting them.
... and this is why you should always target the eyes first! Erredis proudly declared, concluding her rant that Sofia had unknowingly tuned out of.
Grandma Erredis?
Yes, child?
The Dragon ladys demeanor and expression reminded Sofia of the Orphanages kids when the matrons caught them trying to sneak away with extra servings of food. I cant believe youre five thousand times my age
Would you allow this weak and nave kid to try her new spell on an extremely benevolent and incredibly wise flying lizard?
Ahah Erredis laughed nervously then sighed, defeated. Sure, she finally said, rolling her eyes. Just dont go trying to explain to another Dragon that you started calling me grandma and that I let you hurl explosive skeletons at my face. Theyll think youve been afflicted by [Saintess madness] for real...