Chapter 74 : Spirit Severing

Name:Sworded Affair Author:


[Turning Point: Spirit Severing underway!

Sacrifice anything that is yours; the more valuable the sacrifice, the more you gain!

This opportunity is unique and will not arise again.]

Anything that is mine? Emma didn't take long to think before offering up her music player.

It had been something she sought out early into her journey, having anticipated a boring life spent wandering a post-apocalyptic earth, with not much else to do besides fighting demons. The revelation of multiple magical factions and their associated dungeons put those fears to rest; if anything, she had far too much to do now, and not enough time for it all.

[Add-On - Music Player sacrificed.

200 EXP gained.]

That much experience for a single time-waster? Emma thought gleefully. Time to go all-in!

[Tea Kit sacrificed.

500 Anima gained.

Inventory sacrificed.

Spacetime proficiency increased!

Cost of Ability - Summon Unholy Sword reduced to 20% Current Mana.]

Holy Tea known for rejuvenation translates to increased anima, while giving up the inventory gave me some of its underlying comprehension of space and time? The sacrifice influences the boon, then. Well, I can travel pretty fast now, a few hundred miles isn't a big deal anymore, compared to when I was stuck moving on foot.

[Fast Travel - Academia Mortalis sacrificed.

Summoning proficiency improved.

Angel of Extinction cooldown reduced by half!]

Nice! Finally, for the big prizes?

Intellectually, Emma knew that she'd already gained plenty, and that this was a pretty good place to stop. Unfortunately for her; she had always been the kind of person to pursue her passions relentlessly, with a single mindedness that many psychologists would call obsessive. This personality had served Emma well in life thus far, but it had its weaknesses; tunnel vision being one of them.

This quest has been sitting in my log since the beginning, and we're barely any closer to figuring it out. Better to cash in now, rather than hope for what might eventually come.

[Quest - 404 - Answers Not Found sacrificed.

Trait upgraded!

Blood Borne

Objective: Find your Mother

Reward: ???

Cum Laude

Objective: Reach the 10th floor of Scholomance

Reward: ???, Save Point, Quest: Magna Cum Laude

Her Anima and EXP were too critical to throw away on a gamble, no matter how much she was enjoying the process. Both her remaining quests, meanwhile, were close to completion and would pay out very soon. The remaining abilities and traits were most all useful in their own ways; although that being said, there were a couple of exceptions to this.

[Trait - Divine Conduit (Anathema) sacrificed

Trait - Divine Conduit (Anathema) gained.

Please don't.]

Well, it was worth a try, Emma mentally shrugged, before selecting her final sacrifice of the night.

[Trait - Circle of Life sacrificed.

500 Anima gained.]

All done, Emma concluded, immensely satisfied with how things had gone.

[Turning Point: Spirit Severing complete.]

The conclusion of her transformation was not a sudden process. Gradually, even as Emma felt her new gifts settle within her soul, the incandescent light began to dim. Over the course of five long minutes, the flood of power created by the ritual diminished, from a flood to a trickle then finally unto nothing. Another two minutes more, and she could see the room again; one more minute still, and the ritual circle burned itself out at last, vanishing from the ground in a final flicker of light. Freed from her pentagrammic prison, Emma emerged a much stronger being; a genuine Archetype, forever elevated beyond the heavily restricted set of starting classes that served as the training wheels for new wielders of the System. There was only one slight problem however; one that Emma didn't even notice in her euphoria until she began to explore the room anew, reaching for the broken necklace that had saved Princess Astaroth's life, only for the translucent wisp that was her soul to float harmlessly through.

Why am I still a floating soul? Emma complained.

[The Revenant class requires a physical tether, in order to bind your anima to the material place. As a Damned Apostle, you have outgrown this remnant of mortality; your Will alone is sufficient for you to persist in this world. If you want your physical form back? Well, that's what your skills are for.]

So if I'd sacrificed Oversoul, I'd be stuck as a ghost? Until my summons got me enough levels to find a solution, anyway.

[It's a good thing you didn't make that sacrifice then, right?]

Emma's reply was interrupted as a brick fell from the ceiling, passing harmlessly through her but being rather alarming nonetheless, given what it implied. Glancing at the top left of her display, Emma froze.

What do you mean its been five days?