Propagate: A survival litrpg

Day 56

Darkness folded around me. I was met with a world of shadow and chaos. Harsh black swirls permeated a dark purple canvas, constantly shifting like thousands of snakes.

The surroundings melted into a wide path, lined with similar looking houses. I stood there on a sidewalk, and I realized where I was. My neighborhood. I walked down the path and looked around.

A family appeared before me. They were made of the same violent black lines and shifting purple shade. Despite the lack of an outline or definition, I recognized my family. A tall one, my father. A short one, my mother. And a tall and broad one, my older brother.

I noticed people in front of every house, standing on the incline leading to the road. They all stared at me, their eyes hollow and mouths melting together.

Subtle eyes morphed into the sky, thousand staring at me. The ground melted like mud, and my family descended upon me. They whispered to me as they tore me apart. My flesh melted off my bones, and I fell into an abyss.

I drowned in darkness, breathless and unthinking. Hands barely within their own outlines reached from the shadows. They grabbed onto me, but this time, there was no tearing.

I felt cold as I began turning. My outline became a shifting maze of insanity, my fingers lost their identity as they unraveled. My form became caked in more endlessly swirling lines and the purple background invaded my shape.

The winter chill of thousands of eyes intensified to a mind shattering degree. The hands disappeared and the abyss lost its weight. Air solidified under me as I shot upwards.

In the darkness, I saw two points. One shining with golden light, the other darker than the abyss, infusing me with icy dread.

The points shot forward into each other. Both forces were equal, causing them to fight for dominance. As the light shone brighter, the shadow deepened and grew. The forces clashed more and more, shock waves from the fight radiating outwards more and more, bigger and stronger every time.

They clashed and clashed, hopping back before slamming into each other again, wisps from each elongating and lashing the opposing like whips. When the forces grew to astronomical lengths, they thrust together one final time.

But this clash was different, the forces fused. Instead of clashing together constantly, they became locked in endless furry. Black wind with a white outline and golden waves swirled outward like a spatial collapse. Red lighting tinged between each strand of element.

I reached forward, my outline pulling itself back into usable appendages. As if size had no meaning, a being as insignificant as me grasped the source of destruction in my palm.

Instantly, the forces of chaos ripped through my body. Disorderly but with purpose. My outline blurred and intensified. I became shrouded in black lines, but filled with dark red as well. Golden protrusion grew across my body, horns sprouted from my head and blades formed disconnected from me, four floating aloft on each side of me. Skulls floated between each blade, and I twisted the wings with a force of will.

Arms burst from all over my body, physical form given no meaning. Manifest, I touched the void. Those eyes, those impossible eyes blinked. I looked into the endless dark. And saw something there, an elongated face with horns growing from the top of its head, stretching out like roots on a tree.

And it smiled.

—

I sat up with an aggressive lurch. I clutched my body, hugging myself tightly. Ensured that I was all there, I began patting myself down. I looked at my hands, and I was trembling. My entire body was.

Drenched in sweat and hyperventilating, I clutched my wildly beating heart and attempted to calm myself. I failed. I spent many moments studying my own heart beat. But that fear, that cold, freezing dread remained, barely thawing after relentless breathing.

Only then did I notice the heartbeat next to me. I turned and saw Lily right next to me. I choked back my tears, and reigned in my emotions. That ice cold fear remained, leaving me rooted in place.

I attempted a logical approach. The dream was just nonsense. There is no message. No meaning. But when I think about it, those eyes start haunting me again. I can see them watching in the shadows.

Even when expressing my will, my skills had no effect on the absolute terror. I checked my status, no condition, no abnormality, nothing. I sat there, heaving, for a long time. Long enough for the sky to transition from night to morning. Light flit through the rafters, and I took in the view of the room.

In an effort to stabilize myself, I entered [Lofty Meditation]. Due to the lofty part, I could enter the calming state despite my currently very un calm emotional state. With only my mind and no outside distractions, the nightmares took up even more of my attention. To combat this, I dived deep into my menus.

Class - Thresher | lv 27/50 | 2188/5400 xp **

Party Composition: Max (Dealer lv3 | -16% Skill cooldowns) | Lily (Leader lv2 | Clarity Buff)

Name - Maximilian | Race - Modular Human m

Achievements- The Special | Self indulgent | Sure Kill | I’ll be watching you | (+6)

Hp- 4850/9700 (1/2) | St- 7500/7500 | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray

Legacy: Sky Wyrm ( Wind | Draconic )

Ability’s: Chaos Potential | Overload | Resonation | Mana Sense

SkP- 4 | Stp- 0 | Souls- 255 2 3

Assimilation Bonus:

Stats - (+26 phys)(+3A)

Strength 66

Speed 72 (+5A)

Stamina 75

Dexterity 97 (+71)

Intellect 65 (+14)

Insight 11.2

Sense 85.8 (x2.6)(+10)

Vitality 52.5 (1/2)

Charm 16 {locked}

Special Skills -

Existential Empower ||| lv15/20 Death Resistance \ lv3/99 Corruption Resistance ||| lv1/20

Class Skills -

Desperate endurance || lv3 Schematica (4/9) || lv4 High Hound || lv3 Defense Orientation || lv4

Passive Skills -

Complex Crafting ||| lv17/20 - Adv Dismantling ||| lv5/20 - Chisling ||| lv12/20 - Nimble Hands || lv9/20 - Toxicology || lv9/10 - Travel ||| lv12/20 - Strafe Lith || lv4/10 Greater Regen || lv8/10 - Terrain Memorization || - lv3/10 Knitting || - lv2/10 - Evasion || lv5/10 CQC || lv3/10 - Feather Foot | lv4/5 - Bark Runner || lv2/10 - Night Owl | lv4/5 - Storm Wise | lv3/5 - Brain Enhancement | lv4/5 - Mana Touch | lv5/5 - Mana Manipulation | lv5/5 - Conceal || lv3/10 - SOLU || lv7/10

Active Skills -

Brash Dash ||| lv12/20 - Spring 4/4 || lv 7/10 - Power Boost || lv5/10 - Lofty Meditation || lv9/10 - Penetrate || lv1/10 - Wrecking Smash || lv1/10 - Slash || lv9/10 - Supplementation ||| lv13/20 - Seeking ||| lv5/20 Sharp Shot ||| lv1/20 - Spectral Arrow ||| lv1/20 -

Resistances -

Greater Pain res || lv8/10 Shadow res | lv2/5 Greater Force Res || lv5/10 Paralysis Res | lv2/5

Stocks - +56 Str | +45 Spd | +43 Stm | +37 Int | +25 Vit | +18 Def | +7 Fer

Piercing chomp lv1-2 x5 Crushing Bite lv1-3 x13 Ripping Snap lv2-4 x9 Healing Rush x5 Feather Faint lv4 x1 Claw Strike lv3 x2 Snipe lv7 x1 Armor Up lv1-4 x7 Thread Spin lv7-12 x34 Scale shot lv2-9 x28 Flame Charge lv7 x1

Modularity- Special: Assimilation

Nervous 300% Immune 300% Integumentary 300% Ardent Muscular- 300% ||| Absorbing Skeletal- 300% | Circulatory 300% Reproductive 300% Primal Assimilating Digestive 300% ||

Brain 200% Heart 200% Lungs 200% Stomach 200% Intestines 200% Muscles 200% Bone marrow 200% Arteries 200% Veins 200%

Eyes 200% Ears 200% Jaw 200% Nose 200% Mouth 200% Tough Neck 200% | Supportive Shoulders 100% | Forked Tongue 200% | Arms 200% Stomach 200% Hard Hands 200% | Fingers 200% Condor Thumbs 200% | Demolishing Teeth 200% ||| Hard Hands 200% | Soft Feet 100% | Vigorous Legs 200% |||

I read every skill and stat description, perused every menu I had at my disposal. I had the theory before, but it seems the modification options are being subtly expanded. More entries were being added to every category without my notice.

But more than that, I looked at my status. And I have to say, the categories are kinda disorganized. Like, why are resistances separate from the passive skills? And isn't mana manipulation active? Why is it in the passive section?

Annoyed by the organization, I began changing the whole thing. Separate skills into offensive, and defensive. Actually, I'll do movement skills too, since those aren't really defense? Skills that increase stats will be defense as well. Skills that grant knowledge but aren't active will be called knowledge skills, until I come up with a better name. And it only makes sense to give the magic skills their own category. Then I'll just combine the special and class skills to save space.

With that, I had my final product. On a whim, I color coded it as well.

Special / Class Skills

Existential Empower ||| lv15/20 - Death Resistance \ lv3/99 - Corruption Resistance ||| lv1/20 — Desperate endurance || lv3 - Schematica (4/9) || lv4 - High Hound || lv3 - Defense Orientation || lv4

Offense Skills -

Power Boost || lv5/10 - Penetrate || lv1/10 - Wrecking Smash || lv1/10 - Slash || lv9/10 - Sharp Shot ||| lv1/20 - Spectral Arrow ||| lv1/20 - CQC || lv3/10 -

Defense Skills -

Greater Regeneration || lv8/10 - Evasion || lv5/10 - Feather Foot | lv4/5 - Night Owl | lv4/5 - Conceal || lv3/10 - Lofty Meditation || lv9/10 - Nimble Hands || lv9/20 - Supplementation ||| lv13/20 - Greater Pain res || lv8/10 - Shadow res | lv2/5 - Greater Force Res || lv5/10 - Paralysis Res | lv2/5

Mobility skills -

Strafe Lith || lv4/10 - Brash Dash ||| lv12/20 - Spring 4/4 || lv 7/10 -

Knowledge Skills -

Complex Crafting ||| lv17/20 - Adv Dismantling ||| lv5/20 - Chisling ||| lv12/20 -Toxicology || lv9/10 - Travel ||| lv12/20 - Bark Runner || lv2/10 - Terrain Memorization || - lv3/10 Knitting || - lv2/10 - SOLU || lv7/10 - Storm Wise | lv3/5 - Seeking ||| lv5/20 -

Magic Skills -

Brain Enhancement | lv4/5 - Mana Touch | lv5/5 - Mana Manipulation | lv5/5

I was at a bit of a loss for meditation. It didn't really fit into any of the categories, but since defense was basically just self support, I put it in there. Since brain enhancement levels alongside my magic skills, I figured it can be an honorary mention.

It was surprisingly hard to categorize some of them, but I think I did alright. I drop the meditation and am met with a pleasant surprise. One, the icy dread had died down to a quickly dissipating murmur. And two:

<[Lofty Mediation] Experience threshold Reached. Lv9 -> Lv10>

< Skill: [Lofty Meditation] has reached its max level 10/10 | rank up? >

Hmm, I'm kinda running low on skill points. But, [Lofty Meditation] has served me well. Rank it up!

< [2nd] Tier [Lofty Meditation] Has ranked up into [3rd] tier: [Rumination]- Active. Greatly enhances senses and mental power when active. Unlocks soul meditation. Can be used while moving with diminished effects. >

Soul meditation? Sounds like a great fit with [Existential Empower]. When I activate the skill, I can immediately feel the quality increase. My senses expand outward in a bubble five times the size of my usual range, but that's not all. The small sphere around me which lets me perceive mana quintuples in size as well, giving me access to droves of mana I hadn't noticed before. Not that it matters too much, since I can't reach any of the mana strings, but I'm sure higher levels of [Mana Touch] will remedy that.

I breathe a sigh of relief as the last shred of fear leaves my body. I exit the thoughtful state and look at Lily, still asleep. Noticing how exposed she is, I throw my portion of the blankets on top of her, both in an attempt to cover her up and wake her from her slumber.

She stirs for a moment, closed eyes twitching before she stretches and twisted away. I silently walk over to the blinds, and rip them open. Light floods into the room and right onto her face, causing her to grunt in displeasure.

“Rise and shine!“ I wait for her to respond, but she doesn't. “Lily? Lily.” I squint at her. “I know you're awake. People breathe slower when they're unconscious.” She still refuses to move.

“Hmmm… You know this reminds me of something I used to do as a kid.” I started walking to the foot of the bed, doing a few preparatory squats as I continued speaking. “When my dad was asleep, and mother asked us to wake him up, you know how we did it? We would jump on him.”

I see her eyes launch open, and she turns toward the sound of my voice fearfully, only to see me midair and moments away from shattering the bed. Lucky for her, I showed mercy. Before I jumped, I adjusted my trajectory slightly so my outstretched knees would slam right next to her, inches away from her head.

The bed rattled from the impact, but nothing broke. She sat upright and looked at me with tired eyes. “Was that really necessary?”

“Fear is a great motivator.” I bite back instantly. She sighs and begins climbing out of bed. I walk away and start putting on my stuff. Nearly twenty minutes later we enter the inn's cafeteria. It's very small, about 50% larger than a classroom, but thankfully provided sustenance leagues better than school food.

We had no choices, we just sat down and got given a slab of wood stacked stingily with wheat bread, a small pile of fruits, six ¾ inch cubes of dull yellow cheese, and two absolutely massive sausages about four inches long.

The bread, which I'm pretty sure was plain wheat, tasted like sawdust. The small pile of fruits had a variety of sour, bitter, and even spicy flavors. But not an ounce of sweetness. The cheese actually tasted really good, which makes sense considering it's probably locally sourced. The sausage is a bit tough, but otherwise quite tasty.

All the processed food I've eaten my whole life has clearly messed with my taste buds. My stomach must be confused about the lack of corn syrup in this food.

About two minutes after we got our wooden boards, we were both given a thin wooden mug containing some purplish red liquid. I sniffed it hesitantly, and almost jumped. I tentatively gave it a sip, and confirmed my suspicions.

This is wine. First of all, I'm sixteen. Second of all, wine? For breakfast? Come on man. Three, no ID check, and not even asking if we wanted alcohol at like ten AM. Like, they gave Lily wine for god's sake. I don't know who runs this place, but I don't think kids as young as Lily need to be drinking wine. Then again, I'm pretty sure kids were taking drags of cigarettes in early America, so maybe I was just raised a snowflake.

Doesn’t matter, Lily is not drinking wine.

I flagged down a waiter and asked her for some water. She grunted before turning away. I hope that’s a yes. Five minutes later she returns with a wooden cup of water and placed it next to me. She almost seemed shocked when I told her thank you. Is this what they call culture shock?

I confiscated Lily's cup as she sniffed it suspiciously. “Here, water.” She took it from me gratefully and gulped it down greedily, not that I blame her. Everything here except the fruits are bone dry. Even the sausage, which would normally be greasy, has the consistency of leather. I take small sips from my cup of wine, feeling warmth stir in my throat moments after consumption.

Once I had drunk half I pushed it to the far side of the table and waited for Lily to finish. We then got up and thanked the inn keeper, who was also subtly taken aback by our thanks.

“So~ what now?” Lily asked from beside me.

“We need to go register for the wanderers guild, remember? Before that though, I wanna go power level my language skill. “ I turn to the right and point to a fountain. She seems confused at my intention but nods her head in affirmation anyways.

We strut over and sit on the rim. I focus on the cacophony of noise around me, all the conversations, haggling, and scolding. An untold amount of information both useless and usefull being exchanged hundreds at a time all at once. It's overwhelming when you think about it, especially with ten times better hearing.

I fall into [Rumination] and divide my mind. I do my best to listen to every conversation, not just letting the words go through my ears, but actually understanding what they're saying and talking about. Its super hard, but results come immediately.

< [SOLU] Experience threshold Reached. Lv7 -> Lv8>

While doing this, I notice at least six different languages are also being spoken, which I don't understand at all. Since my skill says ‘specific otherworld language’ do I need a new skill for every different language? That will destroy my skill point supply.

But then I remembered something. I use my skill molding coupon, and watch as every skill on my status seems to pop out at me. I mentally click on [SOLU] and imagine one result. Remove specific.

The skill itself doesn't change, but I get a notification that the path has changed. Now, I just have to wait until it tiers up to see if it works.

< [SOLU] Experience threshold Reached. Lv8 -> Lv9>

I wont have to wait long.

True to my word, it takes about another ten minutes to get to my last skill level. I check Lily’s status to see how her level’s are progressing.

Class - Grand Paragon | lv 17/200 ******

Race - High Human

Name - Lily f

Skp- 2 Stp- 0

Stats -

Strength 7

Speed 15

Stamina 13

Dexterity 10

Intellect 40

Sense 20

Vitality 20

Spirit 10

Charm 17 {locked}

Skills -

Mana Sense || lv6

Mana Shifting || lv4

Mana Grasp || lv3

Water Affinity | lv3

Lightning Affinity | lv2

Stitching | lv3

Cooking | lv4

Intense Focus || lv2

Lofty Meditation || lv2

SOLC | lv4

Hide | lv2

Class Skills-

Super Appraisal |||||| lv6

Soul Exploitation |||||| lv2

War Conduction |||||| lv1

Party Link |||||| lv3

[Lofty meditation] already? Wow, this girl is diligent.

< [SOLU] Experience threshold Reached. Lv9 -> Lv10>

Alright, rank this bad boy up so we can leave!

< Molding coupon used. Target: [Specific Otherworld Language Understanding] skill will lose specificity. >

< [2nd] Tier [SOLU] Has ranked up into [3rd] tier: [Otherworld Language Linguistics]- Abbreviated to [OLL]. Allows for the understanding of all languages within this world with significant exposure. Allows for the writing of languages that have been studiously viewed. >

“Ok, my skill has gotten to the third rank, so I should be able to write now.“ I notify Lily before getting up and marching to the right. Overall, the layout of the city is kind of confusing. Luckily, I still remember where the wanderers association is thanks to [Terrain memorization].

We go through major roads and suspicious alley ways. Eventually, we got onto another of the secondary main roads, like the one that connected the inn to the fountain. This street is completely packed with shops and carts.

Me and Lily both start sightseeing, browsing the various trinkets laid out by the merchants. It was all mostly jewelry, brand new inventions, food and clothes. Lily started harassing every shopkeeper we met with questions, eventually leading to a conversation we had planned beforehand.

The merchant this time was a large and buff man with heavily tanned skin. He gestured broadly to every crate sitting on display. You'd think a man of his build would be a butcher or blacksmith, but no, apparently he owns an orchard.

“ …And finally, the ror rooks, for seventy dregs.“ He finished, breathing a sigh no doubt of relief from being released of Lily’s constant questions. Unfortunately for him, she still had things to say.

“What's a dreg?” Lily pipes up innocently. The entire time I've been standing behind and to the right of her, close enough to signify that we’re together. The shop keep quirks an eyebrow at me. “ Well, its currency… all kids your age should know this by now.”

My stony facade melts as I lurch back and let out a long, dramatic sigh. “I've told her over and over again, but she always forgets. Every. Single. Time. i'm hoping if she hears it from someone other than me it’ll be internalized that time. Kids, am I right?“

The shop keeps nods in agreement. “Yeah, I get it. I got three myself. What's the relation?” I laugh. “ What, you think I have a daughter at my age? Hah! She's my little sister.“ He nods sagely, before turning back to Lily with a smile.

“You should listen to your older brother, you know.” she scoffs. “But, to answer your question, the currency goes like this. First are dregs, the smallest payment you can make. I can't think of anything that would cost only one dreg, but most of the time small food stuffs will cost dregs.”

He thinks for a moment. “The primary coin we use is called a scale.” He fishes a shiny copper coin out of his pocket, and holds it up for us to see. It's a bit larger than an inch, with a rounded trim around its entire circumference. In the middle, was what I could only describe as a scale coming up to the same height as the trim. He pocketed the coin moments later. He also showed a dreg, which was smaller and much more worn, with what looked like a little spike imprinted in the middle. The whole thing wasn't even a circle, it was very messily pressed and almost looked bad on purpose.

“After that is a talon, which is mostly for more expensive meals and stuff like furniture. You can buy weapons and stuff too, but the high quality stuff you need to buy with spine, which is also used for renting property and such. I don't have any spine on me, but it's this shiny silver that has this multi-colored sheen in the light.” He also holds out a talon, and I recognize it as the coins in the wallet Mr.johanson had given me.

“Supposedly, after that is a horn, which is used for buying big properties and artifacts, as well as high tier magic items. I say supposedly because I've never seen one. And the last one is called a heart. Honestly I'm not even sure if they’re real but they represent a huge amount of wealth.

I smile at him and hand him four copper… no, ‘talons’. His grin also widens. “I'll take whatever for this much. Just, whatever you think is good.” He takes it happily and begins rushing around the store, compiling all sorts of things into a wicker basket. Lily snatches the basket before I can, claiming that I can't use it because it’ll ‘contrast with my appearance’. Whatever that means.

—

We continue walking, peacefully enjoying the scenery and the company of society. Lily eventually gets tired of running over to every stall and falls into a silent walk right next to me. It’s so peaceful.

And I hate peace. Why? Because it's so nice, but it always ends. As if the universe itself had conformed to my ominous thoughts, I feel a spear of danger from my right. My eyes widen and I instantly pull Lily to the side. Suddenly, the stall next to us exploded.

I was swallowed by a high pitched sound for a moment, before I shook myself off and looked towards lily. I noticed the hp bars in the top left corner of my vision had been shaved down slightly, the red peeled back and replaced by gray.

I looked at Lily and saw a small fractal of stone embedded in her chest. She gasped in pain, but was otherwise unharmed, save for a small trickle of blood pouring into her right eye from her forehead.

I quietly lamented my lack of healing skills, before I picked her up and began leaping across roof tops with [Spring]. Dozens of more explosions rang out across the city, sounds of panic resonated throughout the streets, as buildings blew up indiscriminately.

[Supplementation]! Strength to Speed!

< +13 speed | -13 strength >

Strength 53

Speed 85

I felt the muscles in my arms and chest deflate with a painful cramp inducing compression, while my legs blurred even more than before. I dashed across rooftops, scanning the city for any signs of refuge. I blinked when I saw a group of people limping away from something. They had what I assumed were injured people hanging off their shoulders or propped up by their hands.

They were shouting and pointing back from where they had just come, I could hear them urging their injured comrades forward. Peeking out from one of the alleyways came the object of their fear, a large wooly mammoth. With six massive curved horns pointed forward from its ugly face and a lumpy coat similar to a mop. The creature stamped its legs into the ground, scraping the road as if preparing to charge.

I jumped from my perch and slammed into the ground behind the monstrosity and dumped Lily on the floor. Then, I took out the iron short sword and rushed towards the beast. Remembering something I found out while using [Adv Dismantling] I dived forward and cut the back of its legs. My blade slashed through its tendons, crippling the monster and disabling its charge, though it continued to run forward despite its skill failing.

Mid scream of pain I slashed across its entire body. I cork screwing around its entirety before making one huge incision into its neck. Blood poured from the gash as the monster crashed to the floor, sliding a few feet forward from the momentum of the unsuccessful charge.

< lv18 Wooly Monstrosity Slain 562 XP acquired>

< Attained 1 Soul (medium)>

< [CQC] Experience threshold Reached. Lv3 -> Lv4>

< [Feather Foot] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv5>

I scanned the bewildered group of people. “Do you guys know where a doctor is?” One of the older gentlemen stepped forward and spoke. “There is a collection of buildings designated for evacuation. If everyone else goes there, doctors should be there too.” Rather than wasting my time with thanks, he gave me information quickly and well articulated, though he had a vaguely Indian accent.

“However,” he continued, “ I know some first aid if you'd like me to take a look.” He gestured toward Lily, and I quickly nodded. I flitted over to Lily and brought her before the older man. He looked her over before giving an approving nod towards the stone piece still embedded in her chest.

“Good job not removing the piece. Most people would panic and rip it out right away, leaving them to bleed out.“ I nodded and kept watch around the area as he directed people to scrounge for bandages. He ended up having to tear someone's shirt apart in order to keep the wound closed. “That should keep her stable until we can find the healers. Let's go.” He gestured towards the rest of the injured folks. I followed behind them and vowed to defend them if any more monsters came through.

I reached out with my senses and scanned for monsters, and I found many. Mostly big monsters like the mammoth and small packs like wolves and more of those damn rabbits. I noticed a bell tower near me and lept up to its domed roof after handing lily off to one of the uninjured men. I switched [Supplementation] from speed to strength as I ascended up the side of its long and smooth walls.

My leap fell a bit short, and I was forced to stab my short sword into the wall. I grabbed one of my hexsidian throwing knives and cut into the wall. I slowly shimmied upwards until I finally found a foothold again, and lept once more.

The city was in shambles. While the explosions had lessened, they still continued all in seemingly random places. Of course, important buildings like the bank and townhall were well exploded, but the entire city was dotted with craters everywhere.

I jumped in shock as I noticed something, huge and deep holes in the ground at a level enough incline for all sorts of monsters to go through. I witnessed body parts trapped under debris, roving bands of creatures protrolling for fresh meat, and even a few people getting attacked.

I took my bow from my shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief that I decided to bring it along. Unfortunately, I only had fifty shark arrows on me. But then I remembered my new skill. As bad as this situation is, it’s the perfect time to try out [Spectral Arrow]. I sniped a wolf monster that had leaped at someone, the arrow caving in its skull and sending it careening to the floor.

Hmm I don't really need strength or speed for this.. Maybe stamina? [Supplementation]! Strength to stamina!

I feel the stats shift and nod approvingly. I realize I've been kinda dumb lately, and have not been maximizing my skill use. So I figure it's time to fix it. [Spectral Arrow]!

A small orb of transparent white light appeared in my right hand, before bursting into three glimmering lines that traced out an arrow shape. Two slammed together to form the head, while the other traced out the fletching. Ten seconds later, and I had my arrow.

I actually forgot how this skill works. System, pull up the explanation!

< [Spectral Arrow]- Active. Create a ghostly arrow out of stamina with half the power of the last arrow fired. Can also increase the power of a loaded arrow by 50% known as [Spectral Aspect]. [Spectral Aspect] will be split evenly among multiple arrows, and power will be evenly split among created arrows if multiple are made at once. Percent will increase by 5 per level.>

Hmm, yeah, I can definitely feel the stamina drain. The little purple bar under my hp was slightly drained as well. Not that I actually feel tired or anything, it's like lifting a heavy weight. You feel fine the first time, but know you'll hit your limit soon.

I look for my next victim and notice what appears to be a six armed ogre harassing a crew of soldiers. Before I set my arrow loose, I get a feeling that it won't be enough. Whether that's [High Hound], [Existential Empowering], or intuition talking I don’t know, but I'll be damned if I don't listen.

I activate [power boost] and call myself an idiot as I realize I'm not using a real arrow. Then, the two skills vibrate for a moment before unintentionally slotting into place. My eyes widen in shock as my skills seemingly combine without my consent.

Orange fire sprouts from nowhere and consumes my bow and string. The light gets consumed by the arrow, which seems to evolve. The fletching became wider and longer, the shaft thicker and longer, and the arrow head became three pointed instead of two. The bow gleamed with orange fire, while the arrow glowed like almost melting iron.

< Skill Combo! [Spectral Arrow] + [Power boost] = [[Brave Arrow]] >

< Combo skill: Brave arrow- Creates an empowered version of the last arrow used, increasing its power by 50% >

My stamina got a solid chunk eaten when the skills merged, making me even more indignant at their treachery. I sighed outwardly and launched the glowing arrow, which cleanly pierced through the six fold ogre mid smash.

I attempted to use the skill again but nothing happened. Apparently, you can't make a ghost out of another ghost. I shake my head. Stop getting distracted! It's math class all over again..

I continued taking pot shots, cycling between ghost and shark arrows which essentially doubled my supply but made me fall to my knees ten minutes later. Most of the monsters had cleared out, either from me, the soldiers and lone adventurers, or simply running away. Packs of slain wolves, rabbits, mammoths and some weird sheep looking things littered the ground, and I had to wipe my saliva away three times.

< lv4-10 Cavern Wolf Slain x37 690 XP acquired>

< Attained 37 Souls (small)>

< lv25 Mountain Eater Slain 1401 XP acquired>

< Attained 1 Soul (large)>

< lv6-37 Steel Ram Slain x23 896 XP acquired>

< Attained 23 Souls (medium)>

< lv18-31 Six-fold Ogre Slain x5 1390 XP acquired>

< Attained 4 Souls (Medium)>

< lv4-19 Jacked rabbits Slain x34 679 XP acquired>

< Attained 34 Souls (Medium)>

< You leveled up! LV27 -> Lv28 | +1 SkP +3 StP>

< [Spectral Arrow] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv4>

< [Sharp shot] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv3>

< [Supplementation] Experience threshold Reached. Lv13 -> Lv15 | +2 phys>

< [Power Boost] Experience threshold Reached. Lv5 -> Lv6>

That's the first time I've leveled up in a while. Now that the xp requirements to level up have been doubled, leveling up has been getting harder and harder. Of course, that's partly because i've been doing side quests and not getting stronger, but that's besides the point.

I look at my status and look at the one thing I need to spend. The skill upgrade coupon. I stare at my class skills in contemplation.

Rather than upgrading a skill that's already good, I should elevate one that sucks, and I think we all know what I mean. Defense orientation is trash. It says it helps me get and level resistance skills, but I'm not really seeing it. I got banged up quite a bit before I got the [Force Resistance] skill. That one was definitely not sped up. And yes, the skill is the reason I have [Corruption Resistance], but as cool as it sounds, it hasn't leveled up even once. It doesn't even have a single drop of xp in it. Clearly, defense orientation is lagging behind compared to the others, so let's fix that.

Use coupons!

< Using Class Skill upgrade coupon. >

< Class skill: Defense orientation has evolved into: Defense Vocation- increases acquisition rate and leveling speed of resistance and defense skills. >

< Level has been consumed in order to amplify the skill. >

< Second affect: Increases potency and efficiency of all resistance and defense type skills. >

So not just resistance, but defensive skills in general. Neat.

I also upgrade [Feather foot] before I jump down.

< [1st] Tier [Feather Foot] Has ranked up into [2nd] tier: [Break Fall]- Majorly decreases fall damage and increases grace while falling. >

With that I jump off the tower and land heavily on the ground, my legs not hurting in the slightest. I check my bond with Lily to make sure she's okay, before I [Dash] off towards the fallen monsters, specifically the ogre and mountain eater.

I head for the ogre first, since that one's flesh is more prone to rotting and was abandoned last I checked. The mountain eater, after all, was a big ass golem that emerged from the center of a big building in the middle. From the sheer size, I could only assume it was some kind of government office.

I find a trio of wolves munching on the ogre. I quickly slammed into one of them as my [dash] expired. The sheer force of the tackle sent it flying in quite an amazing spectacle. I listened idly until I heard the rapid impacts finally cease as it went through multiple tattered buildings.

The other two wolves lunged at me, and I activated [wrecking smash] in return. I reeled as both of my hands became consumed in the solid blue skill aura, focused around my forearms. I clenched both of my fists and saw some skill aura manifest outside of the blue, turning into the magical version of brass knuckles that then slammed onto my fists.

I nailed the right one with the corresponding fist and then immediately uppercutted the left one, sending it tumbling in the air. It didn't die, but was clearly concussed. I went over to its body and stabbed it in the head, waiting for its notification before I feasted on the ogre.

I entered some kind of feeding frenzy, my thoughts faded away as I focused only on consuming the ogre. At some point, Lily must have been healed as the red health bar was full when I checked again.

< Six-fold ogre absorbed! Part: whole. Processing… complete! +40 strength +20 Stamina +15 defense +10 Vitality | Skills: Six-fold smash lv23, Roar lv14 | added to stocks! >

Wow, that is way more than all those ants gave me. Clearly, the assimilating stomach was made with the extension of eating big game, good to know.

My relief at Lily being healed made me susceptible to a sneak attack from above. A bat-like creature swooped in and screeched with such force I could see the sound moving towards me like a blurry javelin. I may be fast, but even I'm not faster than sound.

The bolt of vibration suffused my entire body and rattled my everything. My organs churned and burst, my hearing completely gave out as I felt a warm liquid pool from my ears. I crashed into the ground, trying desperately to breathe. The pain was so unbearable I couldn't think.

Hp- 1934/4850 (9700) (1/2) | St- 3245/7500 | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray | Internal bleeding (Greater) | Deafened (Major) | Organ rupture x42 | Stunned

[Greater Regeneration] tried desperately to heal me, but failed miserably to un-liquify my internals. The best it could do was prolong my suffering. Not for long though, as I had another healing skill. Healing rush!

I felt a winter chill as a foreign liquid pumped throughout my body, stitching everything back together. By this time, the bat-like creatures had already started descending, presumably to feast on my flesh.

To my horror, the healing skill petered out before my hp could even go back to half. I hastily activated another healing rush, and then another as the bats started tearing my flesh from my bones. For some reason, the healing liked to prioritize my flesh from my organs. Eventually the cooling liquid finally fixed my internals enough for me to move, which I used to swat away the bats.

They strafed backwards but refused to go into the air again, watching their still living carrion struggle for life. I had to trigger the healing rush a fourth time to finally get off my feet, but I was finally not on death's door.

My health was only up to about three fourths, which is when I noticed that my hearing was still gone.

Hp- 3145/4850 (9700) (1/2) | St- 2103/7500 | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray | Internal bleeding (minor) | Deafened (Major) | Organ rupture x3

Well, shit. Can healing rush not heal sensory organs? I can tell my eardrums are healing very slowly with [Existential empower], which must be thanks to [Greater Regeneration]. Speaking of,

< [Greater regeneration] Experience threshold Reached. Lv8 -> Lv10>

< [Greater Pain resistance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv8 -> Lv10>

Rank up greater regeneration, I can just ignore the pain.

< Due to the unique application of skill: [Greater Regeneration] its evolved form will be suited to the individual, as opposed to the whole. >

What? I thought while swatting away the bats. I haven't touched [Greater regeneration] at all though? Or wait, is it counting the consecutive healing rushes as me manipulating the skill?

< [2nd] Tier [Greater regeneration] Has ranked up into [3rd] tier: [Health Pulse]- Active/passive. Instead of constantly being healed slightly, healing energy is conserved and released in bursts over time. Healing energy can be stocked up for up to four hours. Can consume large amounts of stamina to rapidly heal the body. >

That is a massive upgrade! And I can already feel it working. Instead of the constant mist spreading throughout my body, I can feel a pool of energy building up within me. You'd think this energy would be building up in my heart, but it's actually right next to it. Right in the middle of my chest, where the ribs reconnect. But there's no organ there…

One of the bats rips past me, making a deep cut in my left shoulder. Not from talons though, these little rats have blades embedded into their wings! I rely on my [CQC] skill and [Evasion] to dodge and cut down all the bats.

I incur all sorts of scratches and cuts, but after five minutes on the dot a wave of energizing pressure rolls throughout my body. Glowing green strands form and knit my scratches back together. Eventually, I overcome the maelstrom of bats and begin chowing down on their corpses. Six bats later and I remember why I came here in the first place, the mountain eater.

I run over to the caved in mansion as I stew over my gains.

< lv24-36 Bastard bat Slain x27 2396 XP acquired>

< Attained 27 Souls (medium) >

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

< [Evasion] Experience threshold Reached. Lv5 -> Lv7>

< Due to the influence of [Defense Orientation] Skill: [Cutting resistance] has been Acquired! >

< Bastard bat x6 absorbed! Part: whole x6. Processing… complete! Speed +12 Stealth +3 | Skills: Fore-Blade lv19-34 x5, Sonic Javelin lv18 | added to stocks! >

The mansion is further than I thought so I activated [Brash Dash]. A few minutes later I got to the mansion, to find two groups having a standoff.

On the right side stood multiple figures clad in decorated robes. The robes were dark blue and covered in golden circles and other swooping and curving shapes. Each entity had different patterns on their robe, with a mask sharing the same description, with the exception of it being white instead of blue.

On the other side stood a small army of people. I could see one figure clad in fancy clothes and surrounded by a thick ring of guards. All around them stood what seemed to be scholars and a few maids, cowering behind a wall of men all dressed in different attire.

Okay, so I'm thinking the guys on the left are the town leaders, specifically that guy in the middle angrily shouting at one of the masked beings. Said masked beings are obviously the ones who caused all of this.

I flickered over to the scene. The tension in the air was almost physical as the two groups continued to stare at each other. My dash puttered out so I started camly walking towards them. One of the masked beings, presumably the leader judging by his size and how none of the others stood in front of him, snapped his neck towards me.

I waved at him.

With a very slight upward nod of his mask, two of the… sentinels? Meh, itll do for now. Two of the sentinels floated down from the third floor through the open wall and rushed me. The noble and guards seemed completely uninterested by my plight, as the leaders reaction made them start attacking each other again.

I watched the two who approached me curiously as they started drawing in magic. Much to my fascination they didn't manually weave it, the magic simply formed into complex shapes on their own.

The one on the left had a bright yellow construct shaped like multiple overlapping circles of different sizes. It crackled and popped as five jagged strings of energy collected into a ball in front of it, before bursting into a laser bolt aimed straight at my face.

I jumped upwards and noticed the other one had more boxy shapes composed of mud colored mana. Obviously it's earth, I thought as dozens of rocky spikes formed underneath me. I angled myself midair so my feet would land on the side of one of the spikes, in which I then activated [Spring] to kill my downward momentum and send me careening towards them.

If they were shocked by the inhuman maneuver, they sure didn’t show it. The left one continued peppering me with all sorts of different flavors of lightning as the other shaped the earth inconveniently. I was bound and tripped, the earth shook or dumped me into the path of a thunder arrow. God forbid I tried to close the distance, or else I'd get a wall in my face or quicksand up to my knees.

My frustration only grew as I tried and failed to attack them. The mana in the atmosphere was clearly not declining, unlike my stamina. My anger continued to build, condensing into a ball and roiling in my gut like a compressed vortex.

My skills trembled as the vortex rumbled and swore, before it burst outwards. I let out an unhinged scream, and rushed the lighting mage. My body coursed with energy, and suddenly, I became much faster.

< Overload activated. Target: Speed >

< Due to the stat: Speed | surpassing 100, the overload skill: [{Hyperspace}] has been temporarily acquired >

< Hyperspace- For a single moment, move faster than light. You effectively teleport anywhere within a mile radius. Creates a powerful shockwave wherever you arrive. >

With a ear shattering snap I teleported behind the lightning mage, the wind whipped my ears and scattered dust as a mighty shockwave announced my arrival. Before the mage could even attempt escape, I raked my blade across his body.

The golden tracery glowed bright in response and somehow protected the mage. Despite the failed attack, it doesn't change the fact I have 100 speed. The mage gets maybe a foot away from me before I rip my blade through his body. I activated [Slash] to make sure I didn’t waste the opportunity.

I split him cleanly in half diagonally upwards. Oddly, his insides weren't insides, but a starry blue void. The earth mage went double time on the spells, but simply could not follow my newfound speed. I cleaved through him shortly after the first’s death.

I aimed a [[Wave cutter]] at the leader. I knew it wouldn't connect, but I hastily empowered it anyway. The strain supplied me a resounding headache, and despite the effort, I only made the skill about 20% stronger. Whatever, it'll do.

I ripped the blade sideways with a vicious movement. As expected, the leader saw it coming and dodged, but the two grunts standing adjacent to him certainty weren't. The orange blade bisected the left leaning man and gravely injured the more right one.

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

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

< lv39 Fraction blood demi star (Fire) Slain 3900 XP acquired>

< You leveled up! LV28 -> Lv31 | +1 SkP +3 StP>

< You've reached lv30! Acquired Class Skill: Imitation>

Damn, they give a shit ton of xp. But uhh.. What the hell kinda name is that? Or species? The hell are these things?

The leader strafed backwards and raised both of its hands like a particularly expressive shrug. All of the demi stars fled to the leader and crowded close to him. A huge amount of mana dove into the clearing and knit themselves into a dense and complicated circuit on the floor, all composed of dark blue mana, the same color as Lily’s eyes.

After hundreds of mana strings converted into that dark blue energy, the structure glowed and became visible to the naked eye for a moment, before all of them vanished.

So, teleporting is a thing apparently. Yes, I know that's a fantasy staple, but just because this is another world doesn't mean everything from fantasy stories in my world carries over. I haven't seen a single slime, goblin, skeleton, or zombie after all.

I notice how every magic has a different color, and how people tend to have very different eye colors, all corresponding to the magic colors I've seen. Which means, eye color determines what element you can use.

Effectively, this means Lily should be able to use spatial magic like that leader guy. And I guess I have.. Healing magic? That's cool, I always liked playing supporter roles.

I thought about chowing down on the demi star bodies, but ultimately decided against it. Not only because they were human shaped, but because the nobles and soldiers were still near, not that they seemed to care about me at all though.

I sighed and walked away.

I trekked through the now very destroyed buildings in search of my spare shark arrows, people in need of help, and loot…. What? Can you blame me?

I didn't find anything too meaningful. All of my arrows were straight up gone and I could see evacuation teams doing a sweep in the distance. I did, however, stumble upon some treasure. Almost completely hidden beneath a pile of rubber lay a map of what I assume is the continent. It wasn’t really shaped like anything, just a big ol blob longer than it is wide.

I snatched it up and began walking towards the evacuation site where Lily’s marker was pointing too. I studied the map as I went, and found a pretty good location.

The dwarven city of Distentia huh? Didn't mr.johanson mention that? Well, seems like a solid option. Not like we're really trying to do anything besides live and find some clues to go back home. Says it's a major trading hub so maybe they have information? It's a long shot, but a worthwhile one.