Day 64

Despite the flaming mage only being around twenty feet away, I stood still for as long as I could before dodging. I waited for him to accelerate as much as possible before I turned 90 degrees and his welding flame claws traced less than an inch from my cheek.

"Nope." I said simply before I spun on my heel and turned 180 degrees towards the alley way I noticed earlier. I saw the mage flip in midair right before I started sprinting. The sound of the rockets became worryingly louder despite me triggering my dash.

I raced through the alleyway, dodging around debris and curling around turns whilst maintaining as much speed as possible. Luckily, this sort of thing is what [Strafe Lith] was made for, despite me mostly using it for evasion as of late.

I glanced behind me to see light rapidly ensnaring the path behind me. How fast am I even moving right now? Definitely as fast as a car.. Maybe 40 miles an hour? I actually had to tone down [Brash Dash] so I didn't slam into any walls, though I've been compensating by extending its duration.

The city is absolutely massive, so I doubt I'll be running out of path anytime soon. I glance back at my pursuers. The two support mages are struggling to keep up, but I can still see them running across rooftops. The fire mage, I need to come up with a name for him, is easily keeping pace.

He's definitely moving slower than when he flew at me before. He's about fifty feet behind me. If he's not trying to catch up, then what's he doing? Suddenly, a softball of.. Alarm? Appeared a few miles away, suspiciously close to the seek I put on Lily.

It was the same little pinprick of caution I felt when Red Tide threw that flashbang at the Knightmare. Now that I think about it, why didn't they throw more of those!? Damn, I'm making myself angry again. Got relax, gotta-

An arrow of flame shoots past me and dives into a wall ten feet in front of me. The triangle of volatile fire exploding and covering me in ashy dust. More and more of the arrows started to fly towards me. They weren't trying to hit me though, unless the mage was just a terrible shot, they seemed to be aiming more to slow me down.

I broke off from the mostly straight road and began going down a more angular path. Less than fifteen seconds later, said path became saturated with vines and brambles that grew from nowhere.

The other mage appeared wielding an invisible sword that glowed with mana in my senses. I knew instinctively that it was super dangerous, so I broke off and began heading to the right again, the same way I was going before.

When I tried going different directions again, the same thing happened. The plant/healing mage would grow foliage to block the path, then the energy mage would show up to make sure I diverted the path.

My insight stat went to work, processing possibilities and thoughts in seconds. Ideas flashed through my head and linked together like a detective's bullet board before they even formed into words. A conclusion came to me unnaturally fast.

These guys are leading me somewhere. They were herding me like cattle. My mental map of the city was still very incomplete, so I have no idea what could be ahead. Suddenly, I felt the small softball of alarm still miles away expand into a bowling ball of caution. The feeling continued to build, my own senses worried on my behalf.

For a split second the bowling ball ignited into extreme danger, before disappearing. Less than a second later a nuclear level explosion burst into the distance. I could feel Lily and probably Oldren fleeing very fast from the location. …Did Oldren build a bomb?

The fire mage seemed slightly affected. His rockets stuttered for a moment and he fell behind, clutching his head with one hand. With the mage distracted, I put the plan I had just made up into motion.

I leered around a sharp corner and then triggered [Hyper Space]. I teleported next to the healing mage I had put a tracker on moments ago. I was a dozen or so feet away from him, due to the fact that I couldn't actually see him. Still, it's good enough.

I haven't used [Hyper space] very much, despite how useful it is. This is mostly because of the restriction on Overload. Apparently I can only use it twice in one day, and I've already used it once. So while I could use it again to double my speed, I'd be out for the rest of the day.

[Hyper Space] itself isn't actually teleportation, it just has that effect. It lets me move faster than the speed of light for a microsecond. While I'm using it everything goes black since our eyes see by interpreting light. I can also go through buildings somehow? So yeah, effective teleportation, but not actual.

The two support mages were mid leap through a clearing when I teleported in. A wave of force exploded out of me and grounded the two mages. The healer lost its footing and fell, so I took the opportunity to harass it.

I disabled my dash and [Launch]ed toward the downed healer. If I maintained my dash any longer I would have gone over that invisible will threshold, and would start losing it much faster. Hopefully canceling it early will let it refresh by the time hotstuff over there figures out where I am.

Just four seconds after I started abusing the healer the other mage started rushing me. No shields this time, he created two swords blazing with mana. I attempted to block one of the blades with Dusk. The block succeeded, but not before shaving off a tenth of Dusk's durability.

I flipped my left blade upside down and cut across the attacking mage's chest, whipping around at the same time to throw my right sword into the healer's shadow. Then, I whipped around and started fending off the mana mage.

I dodged blade after blade. I took the time to marvel at the evasion xp I was getting, before I took an opening and kicked the mage square in the chest. I started running at the healer again, who had prepared some brilliant green spell underneath him.

A second after I turned I whipped around for a moment to cast a weak [[Wave Cutter]] at the mana mage, before I made a dead sprint for the healer. With the mana mage momentarily distracted I [Launch]ed myself towards the healer once again.

A forest of roots, vines, bark, and brambles erupted from the ground like a vengeful earthquake. It built a rapidly expanding dome around the mage, no doubt to buy time for the mana mage to recover.

I refreshed [Cleave] and then lifted my sword above my head. Bright, green energy expanded from the hilt and covered the blade in a glassy sheen. The energy expanded up and outward, forming a slanted cleaver thrice the size of Dusk. I jumped over the mound and expelled the skill right at its center.

The [[Helm Splitter]] ripped through the roots and bark like paper, then vented wind to the sides of its aura. The burst of force completely spliced the dome of flora in twain, leaving the Healer completely exposed. With some kind of spell ready, the Healer shot out three spines that dug lightly into my left shoulder.

I detected poison in those darts, but decided I didn't need to worry about it right now. Not wanting to waste another refresh, I activated pierce and stabbed through his head. Once, twice, three times, then I stopped at the fourth once the notification came in.

< lv36 Fraction blood demi star (Nature) Slain 3600 XP acquired >

< You leveled up! LV38 -> Lv39 | +1 SkP +3 StP>

A bullet of concentrated mana flew through my senses and seared through my back before I could dodge. It bore a hole right in my spine but didn't pierce. The lack of spinal segments completely paralyzed me for a moment as I willed [Health Pulse] to expel its stored healing.

Any time I'm not actively injured, even when fighting, I'm always stocking healing. Thanks to that habit I always have a pretty good store of healing on demand. The wound rapidly closes as I pump nearly a third of my saved health into the wound.

I played dead in an attempt to catch the mage unawares, but he was simply not having it. Three more of the bullets came whizzing at my corpse the moment he came within view. I hefted my arms onto the ground and [Launch]ed myself upwards. The skill is super versatile now, so much so I can activate it with any part of my body.

The bullets slam into the ground, driving deep channels through it. Through [High Hound] I can get a decent grasp of other people's emotions, and this mage, despite having no face to read, is pissed. Before I even landed the mage started hitting me with everything he had.

All of my attacks were blocked by those small wafer shields. The swords in his hands swayed with energy as he changed them. At one point, his left blade elongated into a twenty foot katana that I had to limbo under. With no way to block his attacks, or any ranged weapons, I had no choice but to dive in for a blitz attack.

I fused Dusk together in preparation for an X-scissor, but was forced to abandon that thought as the mage suddenly created an energy whip. I kept the blades together as I evaded, and once I had a decent opening I swung the two blades apart.

Instead of the two foot x blade I had been getting, this one was six feet long and thrice as fast. The blade caught the mage off guard and severed his left arm. The mage went double time on the mana projectiles, which hammered the ground around me like cannon shells. Swords, shields, whips, bullets, and… rocks!?!?

I threw myself to the side to avoid a boulder that slammed into the ground. I looked to the mage to see debris floating around him as if gravity had been turned off. Each piece of debris, mostly rock, had a blue outline of pure mana. It was at this time that I noticed how thin the mana in the area had now become.

…Telekinesis. Because of course he does.

I dodged another volley of projectiles. With my will almost depleted, I need to finish this fast. I still have to take care of fire boy after all. Speaking of him… it seems he knows where I am. I can feel the temperature rising subtly. As soon as he shows his face I'm making a break for it. If I couldn't beat him then I certainly can't now, even without his guards.

I activated [[Wave Cutter]], taking care to reduce its power as much as possible and rerouting the energy to its size. I tossed the now gargantuan blade with the offensive force of a blunted paper plane right at the mage. I made sure to make it as wide as possible, so his only method of escape is..

The mage lept in the air. Unfortunately for him, I was ready. I had activated [Launch] as soon as I let go of the [[Wave Cutter]]. Using the last of my will to refresh the skills, I swung [[Helm Splitter]] with all my might at the mages' now erected barrier. The force of my swing sent him barreling down to the ground, his shield broken but his body unscathed.

As the heat in the area reached its crescendo and a person shaped beacon of danger lit up in my senses, I spent three charges of [Launch] to jump in midair. I sent myself barreling toward the downed mage at mach speeds. The lackluster mana in the area tried its best to reach him, but I tore it away with my hands.

His skill and mine clashed for control of the mana, which he was very clearly winning. However, the moment was enough. With no barrier to defend himself, I plunged my knife straight through his head, no skill needed.

< lv75 Fraction blood demi star (Pure) Slain 7500 XP acquired >

< You leveled up! LV39 -> Lv40 | +1 SkP +3 StP>

< You've reached lv40! Acquired Class Skill: [Petrify] >

I had no time to celebrate. I quickly pulled off a chunk of the deceased mage's head before dodging the incoming fire arrow. I dodged explosion after explosion of flaming projectiles from the burning mage. Only once the barrage of arrows stopped did I start eating the rapidly goopifying remains.

< Fraction blood demi star (Pure) absorbed! Part: Head (1/5) . Processing… complete! +34 Int +20 Wis | Arcanokinesis lv58 x1 | added to stocks! >

More and more swarms of exploding arrows rained down on me. I danced around the falling mine field as I thought. What is this guy's plan? It's not like he's ever gonna hit me. He's just wasting our time at this point. Is that his plan? But why? How would stalling me affect their plans at all?

Hp- 5483/6000 | St- 6780/14000 (+5000) | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray

My hp is fine, I feel fine. I look at the three "poison" darts still lodged in my shoulder. Wow, these don't even give a condition. Worthless ass spell. I rip the darts out of my shoulder, and shove them into my mouth. The hail of arrows slowed for a moment as I saw the mage flinch.

I chewed the darts into a pulp in my mouth, and then spit it on to Dusk. I used the two blades to spread the poison like butter. It was definitely awkward, but I managed to evenly coat the whole thing. I doubt the poison will actually do anything if I manage to hit someone, this is mostly to check Night Shade's poison maintenance effect.

< [Narrow Evasion] Experience threshold Reached. Lv11 -> Lv15>

< [Convergence] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv6>

< [Heat resistance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv2>

Oh yeah, I am absolutely powerleveling my evasion right now. But I think it's about time I stop. Mainly due to the fact that Oldren and Lily are leveling up right now, which means they are most likely fighting these mages. And if they happen across one of these elite mages, like fire boy, they'll be screwed.

I honestly don't know how strong Oldren is. I haven't the foggiest clue what his full capabilities are, what he knows or how his skills/race even works. Lily, while she has made great strides in the magic department, is still nowhere near ready for solo combat.

So saying, I narrowly dodged another arrow, then used the force from the blast to propel myself to the right. Now that [Convergence] has passed level five, I can converge from two different stats. And they don't even have to be physical. So far, I've been taking from my Dex, which I do once again, converging towards my speed. It's only six points, but every bit helps.

Looking at my six spare stat points, I put five into strength to permanently unlock [Concussive Blast], and then put the last one in speed. All that time spent dodging the fire rain wasn't for nothing. It gave me time to regain some stamina and health, form a small plan, and most importantly, it let all of my skills cool off.

[Brash Dash]!

I rocketed off towards Oldren and Lily. The mage literally rocketed towards me. The barrage of arrows stopped, now he was just tailing me. We simply continued going forward. I ran, he flew. For like five minutes, neither of us made a move.

I spent the entire time deep in thought. What is their plan? I have no idea. The first time I met them they just started bombing the whole city and got into a fight with the local government. This time, they've set up teleportation traps everywhere, and erased part of the city. There's also a bunch of them running around, though I don't know why… They must want something, right? Something the cities would have, but not something possessed only by one. Is it resources? Like iron, stone, wood, that kind of stuff? Or are they really just fear mongering?

The heat behind me intensified. I could barely glance back before the mage grabbed onto me by the shoulders and started flying upwards. He ascended in a wide arc, the flames beneath his feet thrice as large as before and formed into one column of flame.

The wind whistled past my ears as we kept going up and up. As the elevation rose I felt my ears pop. Once we went above the clouds, the mage finally stopped going up. I probably could have attacked him, but that wouldn't end well for me.

Actually… Whatever he's about to do will probably be worse. Yeah, never mind. I twist around in his grip trying to dislodge his grasp. He held firm, so I activated [Wrecking Smash] and started pounding at his face. Due to the terrible angle, the blows did little but annoy him.

After the eleventh blow, which consisted of me slamming my arm against the side of his head, he finally let me go. Unfortunately, this means I began plummeting towards the ground at a rapidly increasing pace.

The mage floated in place for a moment, before he clicked his heels together and formed that huge pillar of flame again. Remember when I speculated that he wasn't actually trying to catch me, and that he was flying slow on purpose? Well, I think this is the fast mode.

Falling as I was now, most definitely many thousand feet up in the air, I remember reading that the lowest clouds form at like 5000 feet or something, I couldn't help but think about my life. I like to call it my past life, even though this isn't some reincarnation story. The life I lived before I was brought here.

Thinking about school, my family, vacations, my pets, all the good food. It instilled me with what I had been lacking. Will. The will to live. I probed [Breakfall] for a solution, and found a pretty risky one. I flipped myself in midair and oriented my feet towards the.. Oh wait nope wrong step.

Ok no so first… I rolled in the air again and fanned out my limbs into an x formation. I think it's to slow me down with drag. I searched the layout of the city, looking for anywhere I could land. One thing I do remember is to avoid water. This isn't Minecraft, if I hit the water at these speeds it'll be the same as hitting concrete.

My little self preservation plan was cut short once I felt the heat on my back reach searing levels. I swung my body to the left in order to very narrowly dodge the mage from diving into me. K this guy needs a name…. Cinder? Meh, it'll work.

Once Cinder noticed I was not in fact at the end of his fists, he shut off his rockets, turned himself 180 degrees until his head was facing upwards again, and reactivated the boosters. The two flames burned to life at his heels, slowing him down until he fused his legs together to make that column of flame again. He started ascending rapidly again, aiming straight for me.

I made one half of me look out for Cinder, while the other half perused the city. The biggest thing that stood out to me was the massive black crater near the outer wall. Definitely the result of that massive explosion earlier.

I pushed myself to the side once again, though this time I was covered in a gout of flames while Cinder descended. I began tilting myself towards a large clearing in the distance. It's super hard to tell how far away stuff is up here. What I do know is that I'll hit the ground in less than a minute. Though from the heat I'm feeling, I think it'll be sooner than that.

True to my word, Cinder flies at me from an angle this time. He slams into me and I start rocketing towards the ground. Cinder seems privy to the landing location as well, as my current trajectory is running towards the massive bald spot. If he's going there too, that either means he's just fed up, or going there was his plan this whole time.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I inhale a sharp breath. This is a very bad situation. My mind raced through strategies, plans, options, and anything else. How could I have avoided this? Can I even survive what's about to happen?... I guess since the system hasn't piped up, I'll survive? Somehow?

The pressure on my back suddenly alleviated, and Cinder blurred passed me. The pillar of flames washed over me as he sped past before turning up in another wide arc. He circled around until he was falling towards me once again, with great speed.

I attempted to flee once again, but was unsuccessful. Cinder slammed into me with both of his fists. The impact was negligible compared to the force of the wind arching my body. I twisted into a U-Shape, with my head and feet at the same level, while my torso was closest to the ground.

With my hair plastered to my face and the ground rapidly approaching, all I could do was squeeze my eyes shut and protect my head. I felt the surface area of the pushing force lessen as Cinder removed one of his hands, and coated the remaining one in fire.

BAM!!!

We both slammed into the ground. Hundreds of my bones broke and dozens of my organs squished and ruptured. Wind escaped through my broken teeth as an exhale that hadn't even formed into a scream yet escaped my crushed lungs. Though my skull may be shattered, my spirit was not.

Until I noticed the hole.

Cinder stood from the crater and brushed aside the dust from the destroyed area. My body was hoisted up as he lifted his arm, now slick with my blood. He had to tug hard to rip his hand from the hole in my stomach, but he managed. My body flopped back into the crater lifelessly. Make no mistake, I was still, unfortunately, alive. The adrenaline was holding off the pain, but feeling my body as shattered as it was was not good for the ol psyche.

Cinder stopped and appraised me for a moment as I debated whether I wanted to continue living or not. I settled on a tentative yes, then debated whether I wanted to be conscious when the adrenaline ran off. That one is still ongoing.

I wasn't sure if I should channel my saved healing to the gaping hole in my abdomen or my broken everything, but cinder made the choice for me. He channeled hot orange mana into his hands.

"W-wait. NO!!!-" He vented a beam of flame right into my torso. The flame pierced through the hole and vented the heat to my gaping wounds. I screeched in agony as the wounds were closed and the bleeding stopped. After twenty seconds he finally stopped. The wound was crusted black and red. The air was still smoking and filled with the smell of ash and burnt meat.

My face was covered in tears and saliva running down my face. I had lost consciousness twice during the process. I threw my pride out the window as I begged him to stop, but no mercy came my way.

Hp- 162/6100 | St- 4580/14000 (+5000) | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray | Skeletal Fracture x59 | Skull Fracture x9 | Brain hemorrhage (lesser) | Internal Bleeding (Greater) | Organ Rupture x18 | Compromised Structural Integrity | Complete Stomach Destruction | Cauterized (Major) | Disabled | Concussed (Greater) | Shallow Senses (Lesser) | Blindness | Paralyzed | Shell Shock (Greater)

It was hard to think. Impossible to think. I was confused, as if I were half asleep. Irrelevant ideas half formed and were thrown away rapidly as I attempted to make sense of my shattered mind. Minutes passed as Cinder dragged me by my hair across the ground.

With no direction, the healing energy flooded across my body evenly. Five minutes later, it finally repaired my brain enough for me to understand where I was again. I managed to form the thought of healing my head. Somehow the energy bowed to my confused and uncertain will as it began channeling into my bleeding brain.

Once I was actually sapient again I took stock of my situation. I checked my status and attempted to wrap my head around the astonishing amount of conditions I was suffering from. I can't move, can't talk, and can't even function as a proper living being. Healing the massive fucking hole in my body somehow isnt my top priority. Thanks to Cinder cauterizing the wound, healing it is next to impossible. Disabled is gone, and so is brain hemorrhage. But right now I need to fix all of those fractures so I can move again. Though, I think the paralysis stems from my lack of spine where the hole is.

I can slightly move my arms, though it hurts like a bitch. My legs are completely gone. Not erased, but I straight up can no longer move them. I would be freaking out if it wasn't for the bonus of having vitality at fifty.

I burned half of my remaining stamina to fix the upper half of my skeleton, and to stop all of my organs from bleeding. What ever the fall did to my head fucked the parts that control my senses. Only now are those coming back. My sight is good now, but everything else is still bleary.

Hp- 805/6100 | St- 1923/14000 (+5000) | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray | Skeletal Fracture x21 | Skull Fracture x2 | Internal Bleeding (Lesser) | Organ Rupture x3 | Compromised Structural Integrity (Lesser) | Complete Stomach Destruction | Cauterized (Major) | Concussed (Lesser) | Shallow Senses (Lesser) | Lower Paralysis | Shell Shock

Compromised structural integrity is mostly referring to the massive hole in my torso, obviously, but another, much smaller part is referring to my skeleton. Now that my upper skeleton is mostly repaired, and by repaired I of course mean not disconnected, the condition lessened a bit. Still gotta deal with the whole 'Gaping wound' thing.

Once again, Cinder gave me no time for anything. He stopped moving and threw my body through the air and watched as I tumbled and rolled across the ground, my shattered legs flying about like spaghetti. I took the time to thank my body for no longer having feeling in that region.

It took me way too long to notice, due partly to my still frayed psyche but mostly my incomplete senses, that I was now smack dab in the middle of a teleportation trap. I feebly attempted to tear at the mana making up the trap, but was teleported before I could even find out if I was making progress.

In preparation for whatever trap I was about to fall into, and to help with my healing, I ate all thirty five points of vitality I had saved from my stocks. Predictably, this stat change was also cucked by Soul Frey, making it 17.5 instead. Still, that's an extra seventeen hundred HP.

`The scenes from there were blurry. I used [Rumination] to focus on my healing. When I spawned in, one of the mages dressed in a dark gray trench coat and boots dragged me through some kind of complex made of shotty metal plates. Brown and gray mana flew everywhere as all sorts of mages channeled it into their separate projects.

I was dragged past a group of large buildings. The mage that was dragging me spoke in some warbled language that didn't sound even vaguely human. He opened a rusty and thick door and tossed me inside.

Once I was on the ground and the footsteps vanished, I exited [Rumination] and took stock of my situation. I was in a small, dank room. The floor was dirt, and the walls were patched metal plates. On top of the walls, connected to the roof at an angle sat vents. Four opposing each other with six slits each.

Gas started venting into the small room with a loud hiss. I immediately held my breath while attempting to make a plan. Suddenly, I was overcome with a wave of fatigue. I dropped from my push-up position and fully onto the ground. The tiredness crept into every facet of my being, enough that I even felt my heart slow.

Hp- 2904/7850 (+1750) | St- 1475/14000 (+5000) | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray | Skeletal Fracture x9| Internal Bleeding (Minor) | Compromised Structural Integrity (Lesser) | Complete Stomach Destruction | Cauterized (Major) | Concussed (Lesser) | Shallow Senses (Minor) | Lower Paralysis | Shell Shock | Narcolepsy (Greater)

Narco… I'm being put to sleep? It seems I don't need to breathe it in as well… must be going in through my skin.

I sink into [Rumination] once again. The comforting darkness swallowed everything whole. My pain, my panic, my fear… but the darkness wasn't as comforting this time. Now, it was encroaching. Even though the blackness has not changed, I could still feel its weight bearing down on me.

I delved deeper. I had tried to explore this mental space before, but had always been dissuaded. It was just a feeling, as usual. Not as absolute like danger sense or mana sense, but more subtle. [Existential Empower] had spoken to me.

But this time, I had no choice. I fled from that oppressive darkness, and fled down even deeper into my subconscious. If that truly is where I was. Time had little meaning here, especially with me focusing entirely on the inside as opposed to the outside, like how I usually use this skill. So far, all of this was unknown territory,

I swam deeper into myself, as odd as that sounds. I wasn't sure what constituted me in this place. Was I just a perspective, moving down into the darkness while imagining that i'm doing something to get there, or do I have a body that's doing all of this?

A glimmer shines in the distance, so I cast aside my thoughts and dug deeper. The light brightened more and more, and eventually revealed a white flame, flickering in shadow.

It stood suspended in space, a wide, almost circular flame shimmering in the depths of my mind. It fought the darkness, iridescent lightning flashing lightly around its base. My perspective vanished. No longer was I some kind of visiter, but the flame itself.

I found that I could control the flame. It served as some kind of antithesis to the darkness. I let the flame flicker and began panicking once the darkness stopped receding. I strengthened the flame, the same way I channeled my will into my skills. Where I directed the energy didn't matter, as drawing out the energy was all that mattered. Like that, I flexed the flame and drove off the darkness.

But it wasn't enough. The flame dwindled as my will fizzled out. The darkness ate away at the light, and I felt myself slipping away. Panicked, I directed the flame to expand. It burst out for a moment, driving back the darkness before shrinking again, even smaller this time.

I moved the flame, which removed the darkness in that area but left its previous spot free for the taking. I felt my mind fail as the darkness drilled deeper into the flame, snuffing out the light until only a spark remained.

I put everything I had into that spark. It formed a small white flame, weak but bright.

Spin.

The flame spun. I strained my existence as I kept pushing more energy into the spinning ball of energy. The ball turned into a small ring that staved off the darkness. It halted its march as iridescent lightning began sparking throughout the ring.

I exhausted my energy and was forced to stop feeding the flame. To my surprise, it wasn't losing energy, in fact, it was just gaining more speed. It expanded a bit more, staving off even more darkness and completely keeping it at bay, although it still persisted. I opened my eyes, the circle still spinning with barely an ounce of my attention driving it.

I shook off the bone deep lethargy and lifted myself up. The sleep mist was still working. I was dead tired. I wanted to sleep so so so bad. But I resisted. It tore at my body to resist sleep but I powered through.

< Acquired skill: [Sleep Resistance] >

< Through enlightenment, Special Skill: [Existential Empower] Has evolved. >

< [Existential Empower] has evolved into: [Spirit Drive] Tier [4] >

< Achievement Attained! >

< Achievement Attained! >

I acknowledged the new skills, and then looked down at the egregious wound. A column of flesh had closed near the back and down the middle, containing my regenerated spine, now guarded by threads of muscle.

With legs weak but back online, I stood for a moment to let my circulation get back into rhythm, and make sure all of my nerves were working properly.

< [Sleep Resistance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv3>

< [Paralysis resistance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv3 -> Lv4>

< [Health Pulse] Experience threshold Reached. Lv10 -> Lv13>

< [Break Fall] Experience threshold Reached. Lv2 -> Lv5>

< [Rumination] Experience threshold Reached. Lv2 -> Lv5>

< [Convergence] Experience threshold Reached. Lv6 -> Lv9>

< [Brash Dash] Experience threshold Reached. Lv16 -> Lv17>

< [Strafe Lith] Experience threshold Reached. Lv8 -> Lv9>

< [Stone Mind] Experience threshold Reached. Lv2 -> Lv4>

< [Grand Pain Resistance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv9 -> Lv17>

< [Heat Resistance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv2 -> Lv5>

< [Travel] Experience threshold Reached. Lv19 -> Lv20>

< [Way of the WInd] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv5>

<Class skill: [Defense Vocation] Experience threshold reached. Lv3 -> Lv4 >

< Skill: [Travel] has reached its max level 20/20 | Rank up? >

The flood of notifications brings peace to my mind as their effects wash over my body. Most importantly the massive leap in [Grand Pain resistance] massively relieved my aches to a sharp murmur, as opposed to the screams they were before.

The cauterized flesh was finally starting to soften, thanks to the leveled up [Health Pulse], the waves of healing energy produced were much stronger. At first glance, the skill might seem bad. Get healed less often? What a scam! But what the skill doesn't tell you, is that when it distributes its saved healing, it also multiplies the effectiveness of the energy by five times.

It doesn't completely stop all bodily healing, as that is necessary on cellular level. However, all of the energy the body would normally use to heal is constantly being stored, even if the body doesn't need to heal at that moment.

Hp- 4389/7850 (+1750) | St- 836/14000 (+5000) | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray | Internal Bleeding (Petite) | Compromised Structural Integrity (Lesser) | Complete Stomach Destruction | Cauterized | Shell Shock | Narcolepsy (Greater) | Sedation Decompensation | Overgeneration

<Shell Shock- A long lasting concussion that is more a result of mental failing then physical. A lack of trauma for long periods of time will lessen this condition. Weakens mental abilities, causes light hallucinations, attacks senses, alters personality.>

< Narcolepsy- Forced sleep through medicinal compulsion. Resisting will lead to negative effects. >

< Sedation Decompensation- Acquired when forced sedation is resisted for moderate periods of time. Decreases stamina overtime, and prohibits stamina regeneration. Dulls senses and weakens biological processes. Higher level versions of this condition will attack the mind. >

< Overgeneration- The result of attempting to regenerate a large amount of complex biological matter at once. Weakens stats and biological processes until healing is complete, but also nullifies pain in that region, as well as making it heal faster. >

Well that's not good. I wait for the hole to close over. While still devoid of anything within, it hurts less, and gets rid of the structural integrity condition.

I looked through my status and formed a plan, using something that wasn't even possible a few moments ago. But I'll need this first.

< Would you like to buy the: {Burst} modification for the {Respiratory system} for 5 medium Souls? Slots remaining: 2 >

Hmmmm… this too.

< Would you like to buy the: {Burst} & {Vacuum} modification for the {Respiratory system} for 13 medium Souls? Slots remaining: 1 >

That should be good.

I waited as long as I could for the modification to take place. I continued absorbing the purple mist. While I was successfully fighting off sleep, my body was being torn apart because of it. Once the feeling of having my organs blended was over, I went over to the wall and punched it.

My muscles refused to tense, and all the punch did was hurt my hand. My entire body felt like boiled pasta, my arms simply unable to channel any strength. I wasn't out of options, far from it.

Stocks - +103 Str | +57 Spd | +19 Stm | +71 Int | +33 Def | +7 Fer | +3 Stl | +20 Wis

Piercing chomp lv1-2 x2 Crushing Bite lv1-3 x13 Ripping Snap lv2-4 x5 Healing Rush x5 Feather Faint lv4 x1 Snipe lv7 x1 Thread Spin lv7-12 x34 Scale shot lv2-9 x28 Flame Charge lv7 x1 Six-Fold Smash lv23 x1 Roar lv14 x1 Fore-Blade lv19-34 x5 Sonic Javelin lv18 x1 Shadow Sting lv4 x8 Arcanokinesis lv58 x1

I'm still the guy who hates using his consumables. I've always hated shopping, because I could only think about the costs and not the reward. But this time.. Well, I think I'll splurge a little.

Flame charge!

My body ignited with a flame flavored aura as my body was flooded with temporary strength. I backed up to the wall six feet away and charged into the door shoulder first. The explosive energy provided by the skill was enough to send me through the door and barreling into a dirt path.

I barely had time to register my surroundings. Not because I was attacked immediately, but because this… prison camp? Was crawling with mages, and I was completely out in the open. In fact, the entire camp had stopped in their tracks to look at me.

The camp was somewhat rectangular, with my gas chamber in one of the rounded corners, while the entryway was embedded into the short side, leaving a huge open area between me and the exit. But this is what I wanted. Before I got blasted by magical bullshit, I dived into my depths and ripped energy from the spinning white wheel.

Rather than white flame, the free energy was made up of that rainbow lightning, all coalescing into a chaotic ball. The two of them flew up and into.. Something. Some kind of glowing white shape that felt familiar yet foreign. With no time to waste thinking about it, I brought the energy upwards, into some kind of white space filled with boxes.

It was some kind of system archive, as every white box was inscribed with my skills, with a little drop down box that described its level and effect. Though perplexed by the vast change in scenery, I pushed it aside and looked for the two boxes I needed. Luckily, they were in fact there.

I pushed the orbs of iridescence into each box, causing them to gain a crackling rainbow outline. Suddenly, I was able to perfectly control them. Whilst I was unwilling to explore the possibilities this ability opened up, I was more than happy to slam the two boxes together. The rim combined and formed a continuous shape, before they clicked and fused together into one, brand new skill.

< Stocked Combo Skill: Roar + Sonic Javelin = Sonic Beam >

With one mind on that, I had the other sucking in a vast amount of air. I activated the combo skill, leaned back, and screamed. The ground rocked as a beam of air shot from my face, waves of air roiling from the ignition point like continuous sonic booms. The sound shattered glass. The force shattered bones. The beam shattered eardrums. Even the metal plating was straining from the force.

Every mage doubled over and clutched their ears, even those not in the blast radius. The poor souls trapped in the seven foot wide beam were either on the ground or exploding. Over the thirty second scream, notifications of deaths by vibration dropped in like rain. When I finally stopped, heaving for air, I saw the ground had formed a trench, and was even plastered with several liquidated mages.

< lv47 Fraction blood demi star (Wind) Slain 4700 XP acquired >

< lv26 Fraction blood demi star (Earth) Slain 2600 XP acquired >

< lv34 Fraction blood demi star (Earth) Slain 3400 XP acquired >

< lv49 Fraction blood demi star (Metal) Slain 4900 XP acquired >

< lv18 Fraction blood demi star (Metal) Slain 1800 XP acquired >

< lv32 Fraction blood demi star (lightning) Slain 3200 XP acquired >

< lv41 Fraction blood demi star (Water) Slain 4100 XP acquired >

< lv29 Fraction blood demi star (Earth) Slain 2900 XP acquired >

< lv45 Fraction blood demi star (Ice) Slain 4500 XP acquired >

< lv56 Fraction blood demi star (Water) Slain 5600 XP acquired >

< lv25 Fraction blood demi star (Nature) Slain 2500 XP acquired >

< lv28 Fraction blood demi star (Ice) Slain 2800 XP acquired >

< Achievement attained! >

< Calculating xp… 43000 xp gained! >

< You leveled up! LV40 -> Lv45 | +5 SkP +15 StP>

I heaved from exhaustion. My stamina was at an all time low, even with the hole in my stomach now closed. I was well and truly at the end of my rope, which of course is the time that Cinder made himself known. Even though I didn't understand their language, the scream of rage Cinder produced as he flew at me transcended the barriers of language.

As I was preparing to launch, however, Cinder was knocked into the complex wall forty feet away by a projectile moving so fast even I couldn't see it, let alone sense it. The sharp murmuring of jet engines caught my attention as I looked up at my savior.

"What the…! IRON MAN!?!?!"

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