LIGHTNOVELONLINE B2 Chapter 40 - Make war, not love
“Before I bring your summary up, I’d like to cover some items. Are you listening, or are you still sulking like a little boy?”
“I’ve never sulked in my life,” replied John.
Avatar rolled her eyes dramatically. “First, I should remind you that your ten percent energy cost penalty is gone now that you’ve ascended. Starting at Bronze tier, you receive an automatic [Perk] on every ascension named after the tier. The [Bronze] [Perk] you’ll see in your summary increased all your [Stats] by one. The [Silver] [Perk] increases [Stats] by two, etcetera. The [Bronze] [Perk] makes many changes to your body besides the [Stat] increases, but I won’t bore you with details.
“Since you ascended tiers, your body [Perk], [Leech Body of the Morning's Glory], increased some [Stats] as it will every tier. For Bronze, it’s six for [Physical Fortification] and [Elemental Fortification], three for [Strength] and [Swiftness].
“Your ascension went even better than it did for Copper. No new [Achievement] for it though. Nearly all users receive between two-point-one and two-point-five to all [Stats] ascending from Copper to Bronze. You gained five-point-five-six-five to each [Stat] besides [Runes].
“Oh, you didn’t want to check when you ranked up to peak Copper so I’ll tell you now. Nearly all users increase [Capacity] and two other [Stats] by just under one point ranking up to peak Copper, so a little less than three total. You increased all your [Stats] by three-point-nine-six besides [Runes]. Simply amazing.
“For the purpose of our records, you’ll see a [Perk] named [Mutating]. Mutating isn’t the same as mutated, and you function the same. Nothing to worry about.”
Avatar smiled widely and said, “Oh, some great news! Ascending to Bronze did something to your soul. The passive soul healing from [Orb of the Crimson Palace] and [Theta Enhancement] are enough that we can see a small increase to your [Runes] [Stat]. It’s slow growth, but growth nonetheless! How about that?”
Avatar waited for John to reply. He finally said, “You’re only showing my latest versions of the spells I care about, correct? And only [Skills] I care about?”
Avatar frowned and said, “Come now, John. We already discussed that. I’m bringing your summary up now, mopey boy.”
Tier/Level/Race 3 (Mortal) (Bronze), 11 (Low), Terran-E
Active Title Blessed by Magnus Gar’tar
Aspects/Affinities Blood (98%) (Major), Leech (96%) (Major), Shadow (98%) (Average), Change (98%) (Minor),Protection (96%) (Minor), Battle* (96%) (Minor)
NCU Energy Cost 64% (-60.3%)
Active NCU Upgrades Nano Assistance, Emergency Heal, Theta Waves, Heal Delta A, Heal Delta B, Inexorable, Refractory, Nano Support C, Nano Support D, Lock and Key
NCU Expansion Upgrades 4 of 16 slots opened, 3 slots empty
1) Theta Enhancement – T1C
STATS [Effective] Current (Increase)
Strength [25%, 104.70] 83.76 (12.96)
Swiftness [25%, 104.44] 83.55 (12.96)
Conditioning [26%, 102.45] 81.31 (9.96)
Min. Power [12%, 77.75] 69.42 (9.96)
Capacity [13%, 67.56] 59.79 (9.96)
Runes [10%, 17.70] 16.09 (1.06)
Physical Fortification [23%, 107.98] 87.79 (15.96)
Elemental Fortification [19%, 104.79] 88.06 (15.96)
Mental Fortification [10%, 88.16] 80.14 (9.96)
Highest Skills [Leech Feckless Retreat Technique] 96.45
[Mixed Style Swords] 93.67
[Mixed Navigation] 91.12
[Mixed Stealth] 88.85
Synergy Skills Ready
Class NA
Perks Orb of the Crimson Palace, Dynamic, Physical, Potent, Protected, Strong, Fast, Healthy, Quick Thinking*, Resilient, Powerful, Expansive, Harden, Resistant, Soulful, Good Genes*, Leech Body of the Morning's Glory, Regeneration, Mutating, Bronze, Fibrilized*
Manifestations Blood Manipulation, Drain All, Draining Blade, Drain Blood, Drain Essence, Drain Life, Flashburst Pulse, Hide, Incite, Multi-Enhancement, Multi-Shield, Shadow Blades, Shadow Spray, Slip, Spoil
Last Achievement Archaea - F
Highest Achievement SSUR Body - SSUR
Titles Blessed by Magnus Gar’tar, Ptagmog, Record Holder (System), Trailblazer (System)
-Start Notifications
129 tracked skills increased, 36 of interest. Scaled summary per notability/interest user profile.
Legendary: Leech Feckless Retreat Technique – 96.45(.01)
Grandmaster: Mixed Style Swords - 93.67(.02)
Master: Mixed Combat Offense – 87.31(.03), Mixed Body Control – 86.99(.02), Mixed Archery – 85.44(.01), Mixed Combat Defense – 83.16(.02), Mixed Armor – 78.73(.02), Mixed Style Long-Shafted Weapons – 76.36(.01)
Adept: Mixed Style Axes – 69.18 (.02)
Expert: Mixed Style Blunt Weapons – 58(1), Mixed Style Unarmed – 44(4)
Apprentice: Essence Manipulation - 30(10), Blood Manipulation – 25(10), Breath of the Serpent Clan Endless Technique – 25(10), Turmoil Within Tranquility Cycling Technique – 21(10), Flashburst Pulse – 20 (10), Unbind Defense – 20(10), Unbind Manifestation – 20(10)
Novice: Manifestation Defense – 15(3), Drain Essence – 13(10), Slip – 13(10), Soul Veil – 12(5), Coiled Center of the Universe Energy Gathering Technique – 14(10), Drain All – 10(10), Draining Blade – 10(10), Drain Blood – 10(10), Drain Life – 10(10), Essence-Infused Projectile Weapons – 11(10), Heal – 10(10), Hide – 10(10), Multi-Enhancement – 10(10), Multi-Shield – 10(10), Self-Propelled Projectile Weapons – 12(10), Shadow Blades – 10(10), Shadow Spray – 10(10), Spoil – 10(10)
Neophyte: Incite – 4(4)
John was surprised to see so many of his higher level [Skills] had increased. He assumed [Mixed Style Unarmed] would’ve increased more, as he practiced hard in hand-to-hand with Amber and on the targets.
There were some [Skills] John struggled with and couldn’t increase much, even with theory training. Amber made an active spell to use on him to increase his [Manifestation Defense], and he was disappointed to see it only increased by three. [Soul Veil] increased by five, but he could only work on it with Amber.
[Incite] was a new spell that replaced [Battle Closest] and used both the concepts of ‘battle’ and ‘change.’ It didn’t work on Amber at all but should cause enemies susceptible to it to fight one another.
John replaced [BB Buff] with [Multi-Enhancement], using ‘blood,’ battle,’ and ‘change.’ The new version was more powerful and helped calm himself and see clearly what must be done, as well as enhance his physical aspects. Three concepts incorporated into one spell was the most he could handle, and some concepts just didn’t fit or worked poorly when incorporated with the base he used them on. He experimented a lot and kept the versions that worked the best.
[PB Shield] was replaced by [Multi-Shield], using ‘protection, ‘battle,’ and ‘leech.’ When his new essence shield blocked a manifestation, he now absorbed some of the essence of the manifestation into his dantian.
[Blood Heal] was replaced by [Heal], using ‘blood,’ change,’ and ‘shadow.’ Why ‘shadow’ helped heal more than his other concepts, he had no idea.
[Blood Blade] was replaced by [Draining Blade], using ‘leech,’ ‘battle,’ and ‘shadow.’ It did more damage than [Blood Blade] and also drained the target of some essence with each hit. Since he didn’t yet have a fire spell allowing him to billow forth flame from his hands, he would stick with Fireblade’s enhancement for the time being.
For new spells John had [Drain Life], using just ‘leech,’ and allowed him to drain the vital essence from enemies through touch. The life essence didn’t go to the same place as when he took it in as usual, through his mouth. It went into his dantian, the same as with [Drain Essence]. It would also take him at least ten times as long to drain a victim of vital essence with the spell than the usual way he did it. He hoped it would unlock a way to someday drain life essence from victims at range and replenish it within him the same way as drinking of them did.
[Drain Blood], using ‘leech, ‘blood,’ and ‘change,’ allowed him to take the blood of others and replenish his own. He didn’t think it was overly useful, but the more he knew and understood of his ‘leech’ and ‘blood’ concepts, the more he could do with them.
[Drain All], using ‘leech,’ ‘blood,’ and ‘change,’ drained essence, life essence, and blood from victims he touched. It went far slower than [Drain Essence], so he had no reason to ever use it in combat, but it helped him learn.
[Hide], using ‘shadow,’ covered him with shadows and darkened him, making stealth easier. He wished it was like Amber’s technique, but as it was, it only had situational use until he improved it more.
[Shadow Blades], using ‘shadow,’ ‘change,’ and ‘battle,’ sent out blades made of shadow. His punches alone did far more damage, and the spell was more for learning and control of concepts.
[Shadow Spray], using ‘shadow’ and ‘battle,’ was a spell he planned on using. It didn’t do great damage, but it was the only area attack he could come up with that did any at all. Though he almost had enough rune points to get the most basic fire-based area attack. That made him very excited.
[Spoil], using ‘blood’ and ‘change,’ made the blood in opponents a sickly substance that gave him another option on how to kill his enemies if any were ever resistant to clotting.
The range and damage of [Flashburst Pulse] increased with [Skill] level, and he thought it was much improved, as well as the improvements to [Blood Manipulation].
John made many other spells too, but these were the best versions he wanted to use or increase for learning purposes. He really wanted a less restrictive and faster casting [Slip]-type spell but wasn’t able to create one no matter how much effort he put into it.
Unrated Perks attained: Mutating, Bronze.
Perk attained in the SupraType progression chain: Fibrilized.
57 common Achievements attained for a cumulative [NCU Energy Cost] reduction of .9%. Focus here to see each individually.
8 notable Achievements attained.
‘Daedal Medal’ attained (B-Rated). Infuse a manifestation with three separate, unrelated, and differently colored aspects, 0.50 [NCU Energy Cost] reduction, cumulative 59.5%.
‘Creative’ attained (F-Rated). Create and successfully utilize twenty manifestations with different functions, 0.10 [NCU Energy Cost] reduction, cumulative 59.6%.
‘Innovative’ attained (E-Rated). Create and successfully utilize forty manifestations with different functions, 0.20 [NCU Energy Cost] reduction, cumulative 59.8%.
‘Gorilla’ attained (F-Rated). Attain an effective rating of 100 Minimum Energy Units with the Strength Stat, 0.10 [NCU Energy Cost] reduction, cumulative 59.9%.
‘Cheetah’ attained (F-Rated). Attain an effective rating of 100 Minimum Energy Units with the Swiftness Stat, 0.10 [NCU Energy Cost] reduction, cumulative 60%.
‘Husky’ attained (F-Rated). Attain an effective rating of 100 Minimum Energy Units with the Conditioning Stat, 0.10 [NCU Energy Cost] reduction, cumulative 60.1%.
‘Armadillo’ attained (F-Rated). Attain an effective rating of 100 Minimum Energy Units with the Physical Fortification Stat, 0.10 [NCU Energy Cost] reduction, cumulative 60.2%.
‘Archaea’ attained (F-Rated). Attain an effective rating of 100 Minimum Energy Units with the Elemental Fortification Stat, 0.10 [NCU Energy Cost] reduction, cumulative 60.3%.
End notifications-
John expected to have more [Achievements]. He thought the achievements for having an effective [Stat] score of over a hundred should be better than F-rated.
It surprised John how much energy and time was required to open NCU expansion slots. He had only managed to open three during his time in the pocket plane, and he gathered energy far faster than anyone else could. He had stopped a while ago to bank energy credit.
Every opening of an expansion slot caused the next opening to cost far more. The free expansion John got was truly a boon, and it didn’t count against the cost of opening slots on his own. Avatar stated expansion slot openers could be bought with crystals by the same crafters that made NCU upgrades for the expansion slots.
John was surprised to find he was feeling a little better too. Less angry. He knew what he had to do, and he couldn’t change the past. Maybe it was being in his Mind’s Eye, and the dullness it brought. He would use his [Multi-Enhancement] spell when he exited, as that spell should also help his mental state.
“Avatar, I couldn’t help but notice that all the exercise you had me do did absolutely nothing for me.”
Avatar smirked and said, “The exercises did help, just not by an amount shown on your summary. You were almost at the natural cap before the Tree of Life, so it won’t be easy to reach cap. Exercise and increasing the power of your body naturally is one of the few ways you can increase your soft caps. It’s not much, but every bit counts for you. And it also helps in other ways, such as with efficiencies. I’m not sorry.”
“Understood,” answered John.
Avatar smiled and said, “I’m glad to see you’ve calmed some. No one likes a boy that mopes.”
“My path is clear.” John didn’t feel calm, but he knew what must be done.
“Good. Now create emptiness and refill your core before you’re expelled from this plane. Remember your duty and the collective mission. Your actions and inactions help or hinder the collective mission. We shall achieve core.”
John changed into the sleek, black armor with the powerful automatic essence-shield, attuned it, and ensured the rest of his kit was set. The belt of hiding helped him too much to change out. He created emptiness, filled his dantian and decided to hold off on testing shen, so made more emptiness. Even with the strange energy of the pocket plane which made crystals unnecessary, Amber still gathered and refined energy much slower than he did, so there was no chance she’d fill her dantian.
Avatar sent an alarm a few moments before John’s time on the pocket plane was expiring. He entered his Mind’s Eye again and purchased an expensive enhancement NCS [Buff] that took nearly all his energy credit. The [Buff] further protected his mind from mental influence.
John felt the pain of the energy cage shocking his feet and he knew he was back on Earth. He set Amber down. She said, “The cage doesn’t hurt my feet anymore. You still mad at me?”
“I was never mad at you,” John snapped out. “Sorry. I didn’t…I’m sorry our time in the pocket plane is over. You’re a good friend and I value your friendship highly. Are you ready to kill these g’athu filth?”
Amber’s demon face smiled frighteningly. “Not really, but I don’t really gotta choice. And I value you too, buddy. A whole bunch. Wanna try and break the…the cage first? I don't wanna waste essence if I don’t hafta.”
John needed something to break and take some frustration out on. The last time he tried to assault the cage physically, it gave him very deep cuts very quickly. He punched his hand through the energy. It hurt but didn’t damage him all that much. He grabbed the small opening with his other hand and pried it wider. His fingers started to bleed badly, and he had to switch to holding it open with his palms. Then his wrists. Then his forearms before he had to give up on that method and remove his arms.
John was about to cast [Flashburst Pulse] when Amber stuck her hands into the energy cage and pried it open wide. She said, “It doesn’t cut me at all. Ah! It burns and is super heavy so go through quick. Go!”
John squeezed through and dropped to the ground. Amber dropped beside him a moment later. “Ow! That burned. Didn’t cut me though.”
John threw his shield at the floating ball that showed scenes of the g’athu killing humans, destroying it and fulfilling the oath he made to do so. He collected his shield and said to Amber, “You should go invisible now. The Gold is the issue, and your way of killing him is our best chance. I can handle the rest.”
Amber put her big demon hand on John’s chest and bent down to kiss him on the cheek. “You got it, buddy.”
John held his disgust in and hoped none of it showed on his face. His heart still hurt a tremendous amount and he was still full of rage. He was happy he could now take it out on those deserving to be the target of his wrath. He drew Fireblade, recast [Multi-Enhancement], and increased his speed with vital essence. His goal was to cause enough death and such a ruckus that the Gold and all the Silvers would return, so he yelled out a war cry and charged into the nearest building he felt many g’athu in.
The building was filled with loud machinery making various objects. The g’athu in the building, all Wood and Copper, were all trying to exit from another door. He felt into all of them but was unbound when he tried to place clots. He doubled his [Unbind Defense] score and had the new NCU upgrades, and he was still unbound, by either a Copper or Wood no less.
That filled John with more anger, and he leapt across the room and Fireblade and Defiance decimated his foes as they tried to escape. As he was stomping on corpses, Amber whispered, “Calm down, Hulk. The rest of the g’athu are all running to the portal.”
John stretched out his senses again and admonished himself for not paying attention to what he should have been. He ran out the door and rushed to the portal, killing all the g’athu he could catch along the way. As he turned a corner of a building, a completely veiled Silver attacked him with a beam attack that caused his armor’s automatic essence-shield to activate.
John forgot the powerset Lilly told him the g’athu had weren't the only powers he’d face from them. They utilized common manifestations as well, especially the ones not wearing tech. They coordinated extremely well, and if one manifestation didn’t work on John, they all stopped using it, at least in the same way.
John had known a living creature was around the corner, he had heard it and smelled it, but he was told only Platinums and higher could mask their tier. It felt like a Wood, so he expected a Wood. It was a good reminder he wasn’t facing normal enemies, if how easily they unbound his spells wasn’t enough of a reminder.
As John thrust at the Silver, the g’athu ended John’s [Multi-Enhancement] buff somehow. Instead of an essence-shield completely surrounding the g’athu, as John knew all essence-shields to work, a small and condensed ball of essence appeared in the path of John’s thrust instead.
The thrust destroyed the ball, but the g’athu managed to slip the thrust.
John had no issues cutting through the normal essence-shield of the other g’athu he had managed to kill. How adaptable the g’athu were began to anger John more, and without the clarity of his [Multi-Enhancement] buff, he swung angrily at the g’athu.
A new condensed essence-shield appeared in the path of the swing, and as the g’athu sidestepped that blow too, John flung Defiance at his opponent and imbued a little essence into his ring. The plasma hit its chest and the shield embedded deep into the head of the g’athu and sent the lifeless body tumbling backwards a fair distance.
John leapt at the corpse and started to cut it up into pieces. Amber yelled, “Come on, dude! They’re all getting away. What’s wrong with you? Get your head in the game.”