Chapter Two Hundred And Eighty Seven - 287
Felix paused, unsure. He used his Mantle often enough, and it was closing in on Journeyman Tier. But Incendiary Shell was the Skill that had inundated the entire area in deadly flame. And aside from his wispfire, he had little in the way burning attacks, though they worked against the Reforged really well. If they could get stronger....
Yes.
He'd roll the dice.
Evolution In Progress.
His insides hollowed out as nearly all of the Essence he'd gathered drained from him rapidly to fuel the creation of this new Skill. The pain spiked, stabbing through his core space like a lens flare. With a brilliant, whirling flourish, a new pattern appeared in his celestial array.
New Skill!
Mantle of the Infinite Revolution (Epic), Level 47!
You have discovered the balance between extremes, and all the violent potential therein. Shroud yourself in bitterest cold and boiling heat as the world itself turns about your person. Damage increases moderately per Skill level, range increases minorly per Skill level.
It glowed, fresh and vibrant upon the velvet black, an interplay of shimmering lines and jeweled tones. A sound drifted to Felix, one that was both a crackling inferno and a riotous, crescendo of horns. And beneath that, hanging in the gaps, was the blissful silence of a glacial plain, and the slow steady turning of a cold, bitter winter.
It was as if the Skill encapsulated the turning of seasons in the most violent of ways.
Mantle of the Infinite Revolution is level 48!
Got it in one, apparently.
Felix lifted himself from his core space, a sensation that was like rising back into his body though he never moved. Exhaustion teased at the edges of his senses, though his Stamina was full, and flashes of a migraine joined in. Reminders of how hard he'd pushed himself today. Multiple castings of Adamant Discord, Stone Shapings galore, and getting very nearly burned alive.
"Been a busy day," Felix muttered to himself.
Indeed. I am impressed by your resilience, Felix. Though my memory is choppy, I do not recall many who would remain awake after joining and evolving two Skills together.
Felix leaned back on his arms and stared up into the night sky. Thousands of stars covered the expanse, filling the blue-black sky with rivers of light. He felt empty, achingly so, and he knew that he'd have to hunt down some monsters in the morning to keep his core in balance. Between Essence and System energy it was a narrow ledge he had to walk. "I've had some experience with it," he said at last.
Karys let out a wordless hum of thought. The Eidolon-turned-sword seemed pensive, and Felix let him be. The combination prompt had set his mind turning. His Mantle was now an amalgamation of a fire and ice element Skill. It was clearly not a common Skill as it was literally ranked Epic. Why did some people focus only on a few elements? Atar and Alister were fire and force focused, respectively. Evie had her core devoted to ice and, to a lesser extent, water. Vess was wind or air. Felix, on the other hand, had a core based in flame and lightning but he felt no greater affinity toward those elements. He'd gotten the impression that his Unbound nature meant a wider array of abilities and Skills...but was it more than that?
If he had one Skill that was a dual element, could he make more? His Shadow Whip, for instance, was very similar in form and concept as the enchantment array on his vambrace. Smoldering Lash was a fire Skill, meant to burn and cut, while Shadow Whip was a bludgeoning and clinging tool. Could he make a shadow that burned? That clung and cut?
It was something to think about.
He wanted to test out the Mantle, but with so many people around, Felix instead accessed his notifications once again.
You Have Absorbed A Portion Of Eidolon Exult Karys Taiv!
You Have Gained The Following:
+5 Levels To Any Mind Skill
+5 Levels To Any Spirit Skill
+5 Levels To Any Body Skill
"Any advice on what I should advance, Kerys?" It was his power anyway.
I am happy to offer advice. Will you show me your Status?
Felix willed his Status to show to the sword, which was, frankly, a weird sensation. Weirder still that it could see it. His sword made several humming noises as it looked things over.
This is...You are an Unbound, of that there is no doubt. Your primary stats, resource pools, and sheer amount of Titles and Skills are monstrous.
"I try my best," Felix said dryly. "Any advice?"
You have ten unused stat points. I would suggest you place them into Endurance, then focus upon your Perception, Dexterity, and Agility in that order. You are remarkably close to crossing the Third Threshold.
"Thresh" Felix picked up the sword at stared at the blade. "You know about the Thresholds? And the Third is when all stats are at one thousand, right?"
Yes, that is the next stage. And of course I know of them. As I said, my memory may not be entirely complete after my long sleep, but the Thresholds are common knowledge.
"Not anymore," Felix said. "I don't even think Humans can reach the First Threshold without some serious luck. They get so few extra stat points."
You are not incorrect. Humans were...they were...Hm. The sword rattled in his grip, agitated. The holes in my memory rear their heads. I recall only that Humans were the weakest of those within our Empire, as even the Gnomes and Elves had greater range on their advancement.
"Humans have been around since your time?" Felix said with some surprise.
The arrival of Humanity was celebrated in the Halcyon Concourse well before my time. They are old upon the Continent, yet weak. Their survival beyond the ending of the Empire is nothing short of incredible. Felix had the impression Karys was shaking his head. Our enemies wanted nothing more than the death or enslavement of all those our Empress protected. What could have happened that stayed their hands?
"Enemies. Who were the enemies of the Golden Empire?" Felix asked.
The gods. Who else?
Felix couldn't help it. He started laughing.
It was a long belly laugh, rising from the depths of his soul. He felt his fatigue and aches carry away with it, drifting up into the sky. After a long few minutes, he looked at the moons, the blue Twins and a sliver of jaundiced Yyero. "There's about five hours until sunrise. You and I, Karys, we've got a lot to talk about."
As you wish.
The morning came quickly, or so it seemed to Felix.
He'd spent the dark hours talking with Karys and petting a snoring Pit. Their conversation had ranged from the mundane to the magical, and the former Paragona stage that was apparently above even the Grandmaster Tierhe gave Felix solid advice on his own advancement and Skills. Enough that for the first time in a while, he felt like he had a good grip on where he wanted to go.
First, he boosted his Endurance, adding his extra ten stat points. It was now sitting pretty at 1016 points. The sensation of exceeding a thousand stat points had felt like his skin and muscles and bones were all tightening. It wasn't painful or even uncomfortable, not like when he hit the Thresholds, more like he could feel himself growing denser while at the same time his Stamina pool widened.
Next, he focused on his Skills.
Song of Absolution is level 72!
Voracious Eye is level 61!
The Body Skill he chose was his combined resistance Skill, the one that cut so much damage from attacks that it had likely saved his life thousands of times by that point. The closer he got that to Adept, the better, as the most effective way to level it seemed to be surviving near-fatal wounds, and that was hard to train. Not to mention, the Song of Absolution would keep him a bit safer from his enemies.
The Mind Skill was harder to decide upon, but he'd had a hard time leveling his Voracious Eye previously, and the information it gave had always been useful. Deep Mind or Manifestation of the Coronach had been close seconds, but he had plans to raise those in any case.
Several Skills would have reached Adept Tier had he applied the five levels to them, but Felix suffered from a distinct lack of good Essence Draughts or Motes. Even if he brought his Bastion of Will or Ravenous Tithe to Adept, he'd be unable to Temper with them. True, he could have gone and hunted down some rare beast and eaten it, likely extracting some sort of Essence Mote from it, but that would cost them precious time. Time they couldn't afford, not if the Archon was as close to the Temple as they feared.
He'd also toyed with the idea of saving the levels for later use, but like with Tier up messages, he only had a day to use the boosts before they vanished. According to Karys, they would simple imbue a Skill at random.
The final choice was one he deliberated the longest on. In between interrogating Karys, he would mull over the choices. He had many Spirit Skills, ranging from Manasight and Oathbinding, to Adamant Discord and Arrow of Perdition. Powerful, useful abilities. Again, he wanted to avoid bringing anything beyond level 74 and into the Adept Tier, but that only removed his sigaldry Skill from the list of options. The rest were all well below.
The answer didn't come to him until the first blush of dawn had shown itself. Karys was describing some of the benefits of planting a Spirit Tree in an area under one's own Authority, when frustration mounted. The former Paragon had repeatedly told him that Felix should hold to his personal vision of strength and power. Who do you wish to be? the spirit had asked him. What dream does an Unbound dream?
What was his dream? Who was he? Felix had worn a lot of hats in his time on the Continent. Hero, Fiend, student, and friend. He wanted to protect people, but was that who he was? If Felix were honest with himself, he wanted to explore the Continent as well; to see the far off places the others had described to him. He loved the struggle for strengthmuch as it pained himhe loved besting his opponents and, if not always winning, at least surviving.
Were he given free reign, Felix wasn't sure what he'd do.
So, while he could have pushed any number of Mana Skills higher, he chose one of his lowest ones. Because, if nothing else, that Skill intrigued him. Its effects were mysterious even to Zara. Kerys also had no idea what the Skill was meant to do, though he was duly impressed by its Transcendent rarity.
He chose.
Unite the Lost is level 13!
There was a tightened in his core space as the last of Karys stolen Essence was doled out to the Skill. The pattern, situated in the farthest corner of his core space, was smaller than it had a right to be. Less than half the size of even Tracking, his Common ranked Skill barely into Apprentice Tier. When the Paragon's Essence hit it, that changed.
Felix's eyes bulged as a fiery explosion erupted in his center; he fell onto his hands and knees. Within him, the steady, sedate Skill had blossomed to twice its former size as it sang with such crystalline perfection that it startled Karys.
T-that sound! That music!
As quickly as it had begun, it faded. Unite the Lost was now larger than ever, and had jumped closer by half to his two core rings. At level 13 it should have remained in the back orbits; only the highest leveled and Tempered Skills crowded near his cores.
Shaking his head to clear it, Felix collected himself and his sword. He had forgotten the rush of change that overcame a Beginner Tier Skill once it hit level 10. This, though, was way more intense. Maybe because of its high rarity, he mused.
Felix Nevarre. That Skill...watch it carefully.
"Why?" Felix asked, staring down at his sword. "What do you know?"
Only that the strains of its song are...exotic. I do not know what it will become, should it reach Apprentice Tier or higher. I simply...urge caution.
Frowning to himself, Felix breathed softly through his nose. "I'll keep it in mind." He looked up and around as the Henaari changed their sentries for the morning. They were the only ones still up and moving, but that was slowly changing. "About time we woke everyone up. Sun's barely up and daylight's already burning away."
His friends had alternated between sleeping and meditating themselves, though most of them grumbled quietly when Felix shook them awake. The sun was already inching above the horizon by that point, so he figured he had given them at least a few extra hours of rest. Evie, among others, didn't appreciate it.
"I was havin' a dream I found a giant sandwich," she said, before going onto describe it in such detail that several among them began drooling. "And just as I was about to take a bite? Some blue-eyed brute comes and shakes my dream apart!"
"A travesty if I've ever heard one," said the Farwalker. The man was wheeled into their section of camp by Wyvora. A'zek followed closely behind in the shadows of the statues. "While I have no sandwiches here, I hope this, at least, will do you in good stead."
The shrouded man snapped his fingers and several Henaari carted in packs of salted meat, bread, and a bevy of berries and nuts. "For you, as a weak thanks for all you've done. Please, eat your fill and take the rest with you on your journey."
After getting a nod from Harn, his team fell on the offering with gusto.
"Thanks for this," Felix said. He shook the Farwalker's hand and let out a relieved laugh. "I'm sure you know how hard it is to feed this many Tempered fighters."
"I'm familiar, yes," he said, and his voice dripped with amusement. "I wish only that we could do more."
"You've helped a lot, and your information on the Archon and his forces is more than I expected," Felix said. "We're not looking to fight the thing head on, not yet. Stealth is the priority. If we don't, then a couple extra bodies aren't going to slow down the Archon when he comes for us."
"He is mighty, that I can sense. A'zek has tasted the aura of his Spirit, and it has the weight of Ages to it." The Farwalker shook his head slowly. Sadly. "I do not envy your Path, for all that you have yet to choose it. But I can hopefully make it a touch easier." He gestured, and Wyvora and A'zek stepped forward. "My apprentice and my Companion will go with you, see that you make it to your destination. Whatever that may be."
Felix looked at the Farhunter and harnoq, fighting to keep suspicion from his gaze. The Farwalker had only helped them so far, and though Felix couldn't read the man, he felt he could trust him. He lowered his voice, so softly that he barely made a sound. Yet he knew the Farwalker could hear him easily from so close.
"We seek a Nymean Temple. It will be dangerous. I," Felix licked his lips. "I will be opening a dangerous door."
The shroud dropped from the Farwalker's face, revealing the old man's shocked expression. Then his eyes crinkled in excitement. "Truly?" he whispered back.
"Cross my heart," Felix said.
The grin that burst across the old man's features was almost worth the anxiety of telling him their goal. He clapped his hands, twice. "I give my Oath, upon dark unknown, that me and mine will not endanger you. I swear on my advancement and levels, upon the Raven Herself, that they will do all they can to assist your task, Felix Nevarre. I swear."
The Farwalker clasped Felix's hand. Not missing the cue, Felix engaged his Oathbinding Skill, locking the old man into his words. Taut cables of silver tightened between them, with lesser threads extending outward into the Henaari camp.
Oathbinding is level 35!
"Farwalker, you gave your Oath?" Wyvora asked in shock.
"Indeed I did, apprentice." He flashed a smile at her and his Companion. "Be sure to follow the letter and spirit of its Intent, aye?"
She bowed her head. "Yes, sir."
"You too, you old sourpuss," he said to the regal-looking harnoq.
A'zek threw his head back. "Worry for yourself. Who will watch over you when I am gone?"
The Farwalker's grin turned harder, sharper. "I'm sure the Matriarch will take care of me," he said. A'zek snorted.
Unwilling to get involved in more of their internal politics, Felix thanked the man and got his team moving. Without avum to saddle or many supplies to secure, they were ready within minutes. The Henaari themselves were also packing, though they were far quicker about it. By the time Felix started off, they had mostly cleared out of the monolithic circle.
"Well, we ready for more adventure?" Felix asked.
"I could use a nap," Atar said with a supportive nod from Evie. "Maybe we could sleep in a bit more?"
"Onward!" Felix declared.
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