Sworded Affair

Chapter 85: Practitioner Makes Perfect

[Choose up to two options from the following:

1) Ability - Parallel Lives (Cooldown: 1 minute): Swap places with your active Summon.

2) Trait - Naraka (Cooldown: 77 Days): Upon death, return to life at a location of your choosing (that you have visited before).

3) Lose Weapon Enhancement - Weeping Scar and Weapon Enhancement - Can I Play With Madness? Gain Weapon Enhancement - Nergal's Rot: Wounds inflict Poison, Insanity and Frenzy; those afflicted by Nergal's Rot spread it by touch.

4) Item - One of a Kind (Practitioner): Gain a random item from Scholomance Lost and Found, belonging to an aspirant who died on floors 11-30.]

Staring at the level up menu; the definitive proof of her success in the final trial, Emma couldn't help but sag in relief. The ninth floor had been short, compared to some of the others; but it had also been non-stop action all the way through, and the closest she'd come to dying for a good long time. It also showed just how far she still had to grow; Overmind had scaled herself down to Level 11 to give Emma a sporting chance, but despite the numbers proclaiming they were evenly matched, it had instead been a desperate struggle to survive from the word go. Shoving the introspection aside for later, Emma glanced around the arena, half-expecting the three Founders to reappear with further words of wisdom. That was when she noticed the monochrome grey effect signifying that time had stopped, and turned back to review her choices.

"Nergal's Rot is completely out," Emma muttered. "Why does the System keep giving me super weapons? The world's in bad enough shape without a magical zombie apocalypse."

[Eh, that was sort of the job of your Class, if we go back far enough. Most holy-themed classes are all about salvation, justice and the afterlife, so I decided to add a class that would focus on the other aspect of divine judgement; the Old Testament version. Hence, the Damned Apostle; because if they're being deployed to a specific battlefield, then everyone there is already marked for death and damnation.]

"Sounds like a great time," Emma shook her head, belatedly realising that Angel of Extinction probably wasn't as unique as she'd thought when selecting it; not that she regretted her choice in the slightest. "Wait, did you create Nergal's Rot?"

[I'm invoking my fifth amendment rights to avoid answering that question.]

"Wrong country," Emma snorted, though she didn't press further on that obvious sidestep, instead giving the three remaining choices careful consideration. Naraka was on paper the one that would come up the least, but even on a very long cooldown, another life was no joke considering some of the enemies she'd faced, and knowing that there were people out in the world who could squash her like an ant. On the other hand, One With Everything served a similar purpose, and it had yet to be triggered even once. She'd come close, but hadn't taken a killing blow yet, so was it worth stacking more defensive effects, 'just in case'? On the other hand, Parallel Lives was a straightforward upgrade to her mobility, one that would scale as she levelled and became able to maintain more summons at the same time.

The random item was also looking like a good choice now; because unlike the last time it had appeared, aspirants for the first ten floors were excluded from the selection; meaning that anything she got would have belonged to someone who was already a Practitioner, and thought themselves ready to become a Magus. That significantly thinned the pile of junk items; increasing the chance of getting something truly good. Steeling herself, Emma decided to go with boldness, aiming to become harder to kill rather than relying on getting back up from being killed. Skipping the revival option, she locked in Parallel Lives and One of a Kind.

[Ability - Parallel Lives gained!

Item retrieved from Scholomance Lost and Found.

You receive Item - Efishency: Wounds caused by this weapon inflict Instant Death.]

"Really?" Emma deadpanned, as she held the tail of a rubber fish as long as Epitaph. "Someone brought this into the second set of trials?"

Emma made to place the joke item into her Inventory, before realising that she'd sacrificed it for her Archetype formation, meaning she was stuck carrying the fish until further notice. That was when time resumed; all three Founders returning as though they'd never left. Overmind placed her hand over her mouth; while Anathema started giggling and Paradox facepalmed.

"This item has a bit of history, I take it?" Emma asked, noting the immediate reactions to her reward.

"It has a certain place in the history books," Paradox sighed. "Blood feuds and honour duels are nothing new in our Empire, but only one has ever been decided by slapping someone in the face with a fish. Even after being resurrected, poor Sir Finley couldn't bear to show his face in court for another thirty years."

"Sir Finley?" Emma asked incredulously. "You mean..."

"The item was created purely to humiliate the man with a fish pun, yes."

Emma couldn't help it at that point, she laughed too.

---

"Well fought," Overmind acknowledged, once the laughter died down. "Admittedly, I had expected to be the victor, and cast judgement based on how well you performed. I could cast aspersions on Anathema's interference, but frankly it doesn't matter either way; only sore losers blame circumstances beyond their control. You've impressed me, and my doors are open to you. If you're ever down by Pevensey Castle, feel free to visit."

"Will do," Emma promised, making a note to look up where that was.

Paradox didn't say anything, having already agreed terms earlier; while Anathema just waved her arm, creating a portal to the tenth floor. Said portal appeared below Emma, dropping her through the floor and into a fish tank.

[Objective: Reach the 10th floor of Scholomance [X]

Quest - Cum Laude complete!

Title - Practitioner unlocked! (+500 Base Anima, unlocks social interactions within the Eternal Britannian Empire).

Practitioner Emma Knight - Level 12 Damned Apostle

Anima: 4500

EXP: 5310/6000

Save point unlocked; you may travel freely between Scholomance reception and the 10th floor.

Quest available for pickup at Scholomance Reception (Level 20+ required)

Quest - Magna Cum Laude

Objective: Reach the 20th floor of Scholomance

Rewards: ???, Save Point, Quest: Summa Cum Laude]