Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL] -
2.52 Conclusion and Ascension
I stumble back to my feet. Goddesses above, I beseech thee for assistance in dealing with this hells-damned [Ether] strain I’m under. My [Mechanist’s Eye] disables itself, my mind no longer able to maintain enough focus and will to keep it active. I scurry off to the side, taking shelter in the entryway of one of the office buildings within the capitol complex, grabbing my final [Ether Canister] and beginning the far-too-slow process of absorbing its contents.
I hold nothing back, taking full advantage of my [Intermediate Ether Manipulation], yanking every drop of the contents out of the air and into my tired, aching [Ether] channels. With my core at less than ten percent of its maximum capacity, I’m able to osmose even more [Ether] into my body, the combination of my heightened natural regeneration, my [Flawed Ring of Regeneration], and the [Ether Canister] supercharging one another’s effects.
But I don’t stop even when the sensation goes from refreshing to sore, knowing that I need to continue the fight to make sure that everyone’s work is rewarded. A little pain is a small price to pay for the [Ether] and power I need to emerge triumphant, the two going hand in hand again and again.
This is the one constant that I’ve experienced with everything System-related. The System rewards pushing one’s limits. It rewards danger, it rewards experimentation, and it rewards defying what is believed to be possible, bestowing power unto those with the will to seek it.
This is consistent with Madison’s explanation of Ether as being the will of sapient beings manifested in a semi-physical form. And it is consistent with her declaration that fighting for one’s life in the throes of combat is the best way to manifest that will.
My largest bursts in Skill Ranks have all come during or immediately after combat. The next largest have been at times when I’ve made major breakthroughs in my research, but only once I shift from theoretical advancements into practical applications. Specifically, those with practical applications in combat.
And throughout all of this, the System takes into consideration danger and challenge in determining how much Experience to award. My little stunt from before should be worth a good chunk of Experience, possibly enough to get me to that all-important Level 32 threshold that I’ve heard good things about. Or maybe not. Neither Lindsey nor Alexey has mentioned what exactly happens at this point. Only that it’s allegedly important and a big deal.
The slamming of the worm’s undulating body against the grassy fields outside the capitol forces my attention back into the present. My [Ether] is now back to just under six hundred. Enough that I can focus and the lightheadedness has subsided, but not enough to [Glyphcast] worth a damn. But that doesn’t matter. People are out there fighting, and I’ve still got a [Mechanical Arm Cannon], several volleys of [Ether Bullet Barrage], and the second highest level among the people fighting this overgrown annelid.
I rush back into the fray, my [Ether Bullets] empowered by [Impulse] for extra kinetic energy as I fire fifteen blasts in rapid succession like a machine gun. The attacks don’t do much individually, but once I explode the bullets from within the creature’s innards, the damage compounds. Again we manage to stun the creature, buying Lindsey a crucial moment to regroup and reposition herself while the rest of us get a moment’s breather.
A moment that ends when the creature attempts to flatten us with its own body, spinning around like a giant rolling cylinder across the commons. I doubt it would be a lethal attack to Chloe or Kristil, but I’m not confident everyone else present would emerge alive, even with Chloe’s prodigious— but limited— healing magic.
Trying to knock the creature off course isn’t possible. I simply lack the [Strength] to wrestle with a behemoth which must weigh nearly as much as a jumbo jet. And while I could pull Chloe out of the way, there’s no way to do the same for everyone else. And I refuse to allow them to perish due to my weakness.
Instead, I get an idea. I Manifest the glyphs of [Earth] and the slashing variant of [Sharpness] together, intuiting them together into a cutting edge. It hurts to cast the spell, [Ether] strain again damning my body, but I’m able to focus it enough to slice a trench across the commons. Chloe and Kristil realize my plan immediately and start pulling our comrades into the hole. I leap in as well, charging my [Lightning-Sheathed] dagger and delivering a quick slash across the creature’s underbelly as it rolls overhead. And then it does so again, giving me another chance to strike. This time, however, I’m well-enough of mind to follow my slash up with an [Ether Bullet Barrage] delivered directly into the creature’s flesh from point-blank range.
Pink goo splatters all over me. It burns and smells disgusting and the tiny bit that gets in my mouth tastes even worse, forcing me to concentrate on not involuntarily retching from the sickening sensation. But the creature does seem wounded, now stunned long enough for everyone else to get their own attacks in. Kristil follows up with another [Lightning Surge], while the others shoot ordinary bullets and use whatever other weapons and spells they have on hand. None save for the first of those do much damage, but every point is helpful.
And it is adding up. The wounds are much slower to heal, giving us more time to attack its insides. I’m sure Lindsey is hard at work elsewhere, whittling down the creature’s [Health], and at a pace none of us, individually or collectively, can accomplish.
After a third pass over our trench to the same result— not a productive or painless one for the worm— our adversary changes its attack pattern again. It is neither looking nor smelling pleasant at this point as it lifts its head a couple dozen feet into the air. Its head rises into the sky, and I recognize this immediately for what it is.
“Everyone, fall back, now!” I say. “Behind me if you can!”
I wait in the trench until the last possible moment, hoping that I’m a more attractive target than the others. I draw my left arm and point it at the creature, loosing a single weak bullet. It barely scratches its slimy skin, but the intention right now is to keep the wave of acid it’s about to spray on me and away from everyone else.
And without its handler to steer it away from the obvious ploy I’m using, my ruse is successful. A spigot of acidic saliva flies directly toward me, far larger and faster than I had anticipated. But I trust in my abilities. I trust in the glyph research I’ve done to this point. I vowed that I would not fall. Not to this overgrown vermin, not to anyone or anything, no matter what the System throws at me.
I Manifest two glyphs of [Repulsion], forming a convex barrier in front of my body. The spray hits the barrier, filling the trench at my feet. And it’s clearly an acidic toxin to boot, the yellowish-green sludge sizzling the dirt and even the rubber soles of my shoes as it piles within the trench. A couple droplets burn into the flesh of my calves and upper arms, but I’m far beyond this level of pain already. I shake it off, leaping up once the spigot starts to slow.
The acidity has managed to partially eat through my barrier, something I didn’t even think was possible, given my current hypothesis is that my barrier acts like a powerful omnimagnet, repelling all mass and energy. Yet again, the System is turning the impossible into reality.
Kristil fires another bolt of purple lightning, this one some sort of [Thunder Serpent] based on its appearance. And I feel the renewing pulse of [Ether] accelerating into my core as a System notification alerts me to the presence of Chloe’s [Angelic Sanctuary] washing over us.
Even her spell isn’t giving me enough strength to deliver the final blow. And though my [Ether] regeneration is skyrocketing under the effects of my love’s spell, it’s not quickly enough even to build another barrier of that capacity.
But I will never surrender, not as long as my body still draws breath. I still can’t tap into [Seraphina Overlimit], but that doesn’t mean I can’t try to scratch the outer surface of the other powers of 「The Anomaly」. The power to overcome limits, the power to defy the System, and the power to shape my own evolution. Freedom incarnate.
And right now, I force the pain of [Ether] strain to vanish. I will be the master of my own body. I will not be encumbered by a failing will, not when it is needed most. I will overcome, just as my creators wanted and I need.
[You have gained the General Skill [Ether Strain Immunity]. Would you like–]
Yes, yes I would. I slot it into my newly-empty skill slot after fusing [Mechanist’s Eye] and the pain vanishes. I’m well aware that there are still consequences for trying to go to or below zero [Ether], and I’m just as well aware that the System is going to be all too eager to make those consequences as harsh as possible. Pain is important for living creatures, and this isn’t the System granting me a beneficent Skill. This is deleterious. And exactly what I need right now.
With my mental focus restored and my lightheadedness evaporated, I lead one final charge atop the back of the beast. Lindsey is right there beside me, her arrows and my [Ether Bullets] striking with reckless abandon, aiming for every spot we can, trying to overwhelm the last vestiges of the creature’s phenomenal healing. Oh, how I would love to examine its corpse for any insights into how its healing fluids work.
It feels like an hour of shooting at the creature, but based on my [Ether] regeneration rate, it’s been barely a minute. The creature’s movements are almost completely docile, and with one final, useless thrash, the creature expires. I breathe a sigh of relief, bemoaning the fact that I won’t get a chance to study the creature further as its corpse disintegrates into a cloud of Ether that disperses into the ambient air all about.
[Your party has slain a Wilds Summoner [Level 38]. You have gained a boosted 39,000 Experience.]
[Your party has slain a Colossal Earthworm [Level 37]. You have gained a boosted 27,500 Experience.]
[You have gained enough Experience to reach Level 31. [Vitality] +1, [Mind] +1. Please assign free stat points (Remaining: 4).]
Two points into my [Speed] and two into my [Mind]. I still desperately need more [Ether], but this last fight showed exactly why I can’t slack on my physical stats, either. Had we gotten here a few seconds earlier, we could have averted a significant chunk of the damage. Plus, [Speed] means [Agility] and accuracy alike, and missing with my [Glyphcasting] is a recipe for an early grave.
[Warning: Experience Threshold for Level 32 exceeded. Experience gain reduced by 11,246. (Experience gained in excess will be stored until after Class Change has been completed.)]
[Level: 31; Experience: 314,999 (Stored: 11,246); To Next: 1]
[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x2 + Current Level + Rand[1, 3] = 167]
[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0, 2] = 136]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 2,896 / 3,249; [Ether]: 267 / 2,164]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 35 (27); [Speed]: 35 (27); [Vitality]: 85 (67); [Mind]: 132 (103)]
I also take a moment to check the [[Ether] Strain Immunity] Skill I gained in the last fight. It's pretty much exactly what I'd expected from the name.
[[[Ether] Strain Immunity]: You have become practiced in pushing yourself in combat and other dangerous situations even when your willpower is flagging and your [Ether] is running low. You are now immune to all negative effects associated with [Ether] strain. (Warning: Deleterious consequences will still occur when [Ether] hits 0. Exercise extreme caution.)]
“Congrats, Sera,” Lindsey says.
“It wasn’t just me!” I protest. “It was you and me and Chloe and Kristil and everyone else working together! There’s no way we would have made it through without everyone’s contributions.”
“I don’t mean about the fight. I mean about you. And how you’ve done it. Good luck, by the way.”
Chloe walks up behind me and wraps her arm around mine before swiveling around and planting a kiss upon my lips.
“In front of everyone?” I whisper.
Chloe grins that alluring grin of hers. “If there are any politicians watching who have any objections to me kissing my girlfriend, they are welcome to clutch their pearls to my complaint representative.” She extends her middle finger slightly, directing it behind her toward the Capitol building itself.
I can’t help but smile at Chloe’s well-deserved and brazen disrespect for authority. Though the idea of having to meet with any of the politicians, especially our sorry excuse of a governor, makes me want to lose my breakfast almost as much as the worm’s acidic breath and burning flesh did earlier. Thankfully, Lindsey seems to notice my twitchy discomfort before I can bring it up.
“Great work, all three of you,” she says. “Why don’t you all head back to Guild Headquarters? After our battle, I’m sure you can all use a bath and some good food. And Sera’s going to need some time to herself.” That last bit earns a bit of a side-eye from Chloe.
“But,” Kristil says.
“Don’t worry about me,” Lindsey says. “I’ve been in more stressful situations than this before. Handling a few politicians and reporters is nothing.”
“A– Alright,” Chloe says. “Shall we get going?”
I nod, taking Chloe’s hand in my own as we head off.
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