[Choose up to two options from the following:
1) Ability - Parallel Lives (Cooldown: 1 minute): Swap places with your active Summon.
2) Trait - Naraka (Cooldown: 77 Days): Upon death, return to life at a location of your choosing (that you have visited before).
3) Lose Weapon Enhancement - Weeping Scar and Weapon Enhancement - Can I Play With Madness? Gain Weapon Enhancement - Nergal's Rot: Wounds inflict Poison, Insanity and Frenzy; those afflicted by Nergal's Rot spread it by touch.
4) Item - One of a Kind (Practitioner): Gain a random item from Scholomance Lost and Found, belonging to an aspirant who died on floors 11-30.]
Staring at the level up menu; the definitive proof of her success in the final trial, Emma couldn't help but sag in relief. The ninth floor had been short, compared to some of the others; but it had also been non-stop action all the way through, and the closest she'd come to dying for a good long time. It also showed just how far she still had to grow; Overmind had scaled herself down to Level 11 to give Emma a sporting chance, but despite the numbers proclaiming they were evenly matched, it had instead been a desperate struggle to survive from the word go. Shoving the introspection aside for later, Emma glanced around the arena, half-expecting the three Founders to reappear with further words of wisdom. That was when she noticed the monochrome grey effect signifying that time had stopped, and turned back to review her choices.
"Nergal's Rot is completely out," Emma muttered. "Why does the System keep giving me super weapons? The world's in bad enough shape without a magical zombie apocalypse."
[Eh, that was sort of the job of your Class, if we go back far enough. Most holy-themed classes are all about salvation, justice and the afterlife, so I decided to add a class that would focus on the other aspect of divine judgement; the Old Testament version. Hence, the Damned Apostle; because if they're being deployed to a specific battlefield, then everyone there is already marked for death and damnation.]
"Sounds like a great time," Emma shook her head, belatedly realising that Angel of Extinction probably wasn't as unique as she'd thought when selecting it; not that she regretted her choice in the slightest. "Wait, did you create Nergal's Rot?"
[I'm invoking my fifth amendment rights to avoid answering that question.]
"Wrong country," Emma snorted, though she didn't press further on that obvious sidestep, instead giving the three remaining choices careful consideration. Naraka was on paper the one that would come up the least, but even on a very long cooldown, another life was no joke considering some of the enemies she'd faced, and knowing that there were people out in the world who could squash her like an ant. On the other hand, One With Everything served a similar purpose, and it had yet to be triggered even once. She'd come close, but hadn't taken a killing blow yet, so was it worth stacking more defensive effects, 'just in case'? On the other hand, Parallel Lives was a straightforward upgrade to her mobility, one that would scale as she levelled and became able to maintain more summons at the same time.
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"Will do," Emma promised, making a note to look up where that was.
Paradox didn't say anything, having already agreed terms earlier; while Anathema just waved her arm, creating a portal to the tenth floor. Said portal appeared below Emma, dropping her through the floor and into a fish tank.
[Objective: Reach the 10th floor of Scholomance [X]
Quest - Cum Laude complete!
Title - Practitioner unlocked! (+500 Base Anima, unlocks social interactions within the Eternal Britannian Empire).
Practitioner Emma Knight - Level 12 Damned Apostle
Anima: 4500
EXP: 5310/6000
Save point unlocked; you may travel freely between Scholomance reception and the 10th floor.
Quest available for pickup at Scholomance Reception (Level 20+ required)
Quest - Magna Cum Laude
Objective: Reach the 20th floor of Scholomance
Rewards: ???, Save Point, Quest: Summa Cum Laude]