Chapter 136: Topsy-Turvy Chaos
Just like the last time he’d fought a monster like this, Isaac had made sure there wasn’t anything loose, non-living around in his summoning area. No chalk for drawing out circles, no random rocks, and even most of the dust had been sucked into his storage space. Heck, Isaac was even in his birthday suit because getting strangled with the collar of your own shirt by an Arcane Poltergeist was a shitty way to go. Not because it was particularly painful, but because it was so damn avoidable.
The beast in question was only the second Tier 7 monster that Isaac had summoned in this timeline, the first having been the Greater Hydra. But where the first one had merely been at the very top of ‘can still be beaten by mundane weapons without going nuclear’, this one was utterly invulnerable to conventional armament. If this thing got free, it would be very, very bad.
Isaac wouldn’t have picked this fight if he hadn’t known he could win. [Legendary Blow] was at a Level he was satisfied with, he had the right Stats, and everything else that he needed.
Once again, he drew out a series of blood magic runes on Balmung’s blade. He still rarely used this kind of magic, but then again, it was pretty damn situational. In some fights, that blood loss could be enough to get him kill, so he didn’t use it then, and in others, his regular [Strikes] were more than enough so he didn’t have to resort to self-mutilation.
These Ephemeral things, on the other hand, were the right combination of annoying and exceedingly vulnerable to make them the perfect target.
Against more physical enemies, he’d have needed regular runic magic, whose description could be gained from the Crystalline Sage [Raid Boss], but sadly, Isaac hadn’t memorized many of them. And the few he did know, he couldn’t properly use.
That being said, he had passed them along to Karl so he could see what could be done with them, and it had paid off in spades. After all, his coworker was now a [Magitech Innovator], legendary [Class]. Isaac had expected a [Magitech Engineer], the standard [Enchanter]-[Engineer] hybrid. What he hadn’t accounted for because he hadn’t known it was a thing was the [Class] explicitly gained for being the first person to create things using those runes, seamlessly integrating magic and technology.
Sure, higher rarity [Classes] for people who charged ahead was something Isaac had experience with, for example, his own [Bladewraith] or the [System Researcher] [Class] several of his teammates had, but it was the first time he’d seen the bonus be so obvious.
As Isaac activated the circle, he stood there with a blood-covered Balmung in his right hand, shining like the sun from a fully [Piercing Strike]-filled [Legendary Blow], while a trio of Kabars floated overhead, likewise enchanted and controlled with [Blade Control].
The Arcane Poltergeist emerged from the circle with the terrifying screech customary for this kind of beast, which shifted into a scream of fury as the daggers plunged into the beasts energy-wreathed form, and stuck there.
Angry red energy erupted from the points of impact, burning through its form. It would die in time, but until then the monster was still a massive threat.
Arcs of blue energy burst from the Poltergeist’s body, tearing through the surrounding rock as its [Aura] tried to tear Isaac apart. Unlike the telekinesis, it could affect living tissue, but it was an [Aura]. Using that on Isaac was about as effective as trying to drown a fish.
More worrisome were the rocks being gouged out of his surroundings, but he had a couple of seconds before those became a problem.
Isaac charged and swung Balmung through the monster, the overcharged Level 30 [Skill] not only tearing through its flesh and also rending the spiritual energy that kept the whole affair together.
The energy hurling rocks at him seemed to stutter for a moment, then resumed with a vengeance as the monster threw an unsustainable amount of energy behind the effort. In maybe five minutes, the monster would die from using too much of its energy, but it wouldn’t get that far if Isaac had anything to say about it.
A rock nearly managed to brain him, but Isaac just ducked under it, then slammed a glowing green Balmung into another one, which then splattered against his bare chest like a water balloon.
Sadly, the Poltergeist responded to that by slamming multiple rocks together and trying to force the resulting dust cloud down Isaac’s throat.
But its human foe just phased right through it. The Poltergeist tried to use its force now that Isaac was in a state it could affect, but the [Skill] was only in effect long enough to avoid the attack.
[Wave Charge], [Legendary Blow: Fivefold Piercing Strike]
Another attack later, Isaac had lopped off a massive chunk of ‘healthy’ mass, leaving the monster mostly shaded a sickly crimson.
It tried a variety of different rock attacks in the next twenty seconds or so, but none hit home, and then the monster vanished, the knives that had been stuck inside it clattering to the rock below.
Arcane Poltergeist (Lv. 51) has been slain. 1,200 XP gained
No Aspect, sadly, but he could always try again.
And try again he did, though Isaac first removed all the debris that had accumulated during the first fight, leaving the whole area looking like the surface of the moon.
Another fight, more craters, no Aspect.
And again, over and over again, netting him the XP he’d need to slot the Aspect five times over, except he didn’t have the bloody Aspect.
All he’d earned was some XP and a dire need to have Karl come out here and fix his summoning pit. But in the end, an hour before he had to go back to work, his work finally paid off.
Aspect of the Arcane Poltergeist:
This is the distilled essence of what makes an Arcane Poltergeist an Arcane Poltergeist. Walking through walls as if there were nothing there, a rather loose relationship with gravity, the power to track the living with casual ease, see through walls, or just toss around buildings as if they were mere Legos.
Requirements for Activation:
5,000 XP
Open Aspect Slot
Grants:
+15 Magic Power
One of the following Skills:
Flight of the Poltergeist
Ephemeral Form
Haunting Pursuit
Telekinetic Domain
Ghostly Senses
[Poltergeist’s Flight] became [Flight of the Poltergeist], [Poltergeist’s Shift] became [Ephemeral Form], and he picked [Haunting Pursuit] as his new [Skill]
Haunting Pursuit (epic)Ñøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.
It doesn’t matter where you try to run, where you try to hide, what you try to use as a shield. Nothing will stop the Elder Poltergeist when it has decided to kill you. This is the power of the dead’s unending hatred for the living, the need to tear them apart and bathe in their entrails.
This Skill makes its user aware of all living beings around themselves in a radius of a hundred meters for 5 mana per minute, and can give more precise locations the more mana is invested, up to a maximum of 100 per minute.
One the user has chosen a target, they can spend another 50 points of mana to mark them, gaining the ability to track them precisely so long as they remain withing 10 km, as well as knowing the most direct route to reaching them.
Cost: 5-100 mana per minute for a passive scan, 50 points per mark per hour
In other words, sneaking up on him had just become even more difficult, and only the strongest stealth [Skills] would be able to get unnoticed. Sure, his [Aura] could do much the same job, but that would require him to devote at least a part of its volume for that purpose. As such, this [Skill] would let him focus on other stuff without sacrificing his situational awareness and ensure he didn’t have to spend precious time reading tracks if he was chasing after someone.
Of course, his existing [Skills] got some nice upgrades as well.
Ephemeral Form (epic)
Walls, fortresses, even bunkers that sit at the heart of a mountain, none of these can stop an Ephemeral being. The only thing able to damage such a being is raw mana or Skills fueled by it.
But transforming would be rather risky if an errant Spell would tear through them, wouldn’t it? That’s why true powerhouses among the Ephemeral are able to spend additional mana to reinforce their bodies and mitigate said vulnerability to some degree.
While shifted, the user of this Skill can choose to treat objects as physical and interact with them normally or treat them as though they didn’t exist.
Cost: 10 mana for activation, 5 mana per second of upkeep, upkeep can be increased up to 50 mana per second to resist foreign mana
Overall, this was just a basic upgrade and reduced some of its weaknesses, but it was still really nice to have.
Flight of the Poltergeist (epic)
Once you are dead, you are free. Free from responsibilities, free from death, free from gravity.
Far Strike XXVI
Manifold Strike XIX
Hunter’s Gaze XXIX
Phantom Step XIX
Unknown Fear XIX
Bestial Regeneration XXV
Undying Focus XXI
Tools of Terror XIX
Fleeting Presence XIV
Crippling Blow XII
Absolute Blade Mastery XIII
Compounded Impact XV
True Cut VII
Legendary Blow VII
General Skills
Gralloch XI
Alchemy XII
Death’s Embrace V
Bloodline of the Survivor (Empower Relatives)
Aspects
Aspect Skills
Arcane Poltergeist (3 stack)
Flight of the Poltergeist
Ephemeral Form
Haunting Pursuit
Greater Hydra (3 stack)
Hydra’s Regeneration
Redundant Organs
Ignore Injury
Megalodon (2 stack)
Shark’s Body
Wave Charge
Fata Morgana (2 stack)
Improved Basic Illusion
Perception Block
Blade Tempest (2 stack)
Blade Control
Eternal Blades
Acid Drake
Drake’s Heart
Least Demon Lord (2 Stack)
Moment of Immortality
Grand Hellflame
And yet, it was the new [Skill] that would make the biggest difference in the end.
Legacy of a True Warrior (legendary)
Once upon a time, there was a man. A warrior, teacher to a legendary king, and his companion in all his adventures. And now, you hold that man’s legacy. His knowledge, his skills, his experience in combat both figurative and literal.
But even though Hildebrand’s personal achievements are hardly small, they pale in comparison to what his student achieved. As such, the core of this inheritance is all about training others.
Anyone you train will pick up all lessons at a vastly accelerated pace, a pace that will increase even further if the training is related to knightly endeavors, such as horse riding, medieval politics, or combat with traditional weapons (sword/axe/bow/spear).
But that is only the beginning of what you are now capable of. You may now impart the following Skills onto your students (these are weaker versions of your Class Skills, they can only be taught if you have the Skill yourself):
-Knightly Discipline (downgrade from Knightly Leader, enhances group coordination)
-Epic Blow (downgraded from Legendary Blow, allows the stacking of multiple identical Strike/Shot/Blows)
-Phantom Armor (downgrade from Fully Geared, allows for the storage of a single set of armor in an extradimensional space)
-Veteran’s Teachings (downgrade from Expert’s Knowledge, grants overall knowledge and the occasional flash of insight)
You may only teach 5 Skills per week, the number increases by one per Level in Legacy of a True Warrior.
Skills taught this week 0/6
Time to put some coworkers and subordinates through the training from hell.
