“Well done, both of you,” Nicholas says. “That was an admirable display of teamwork, battle coordination, and quick reasoning and adjustments on the field of battle. Both of you ought to be proud of your performance out there.”
Part of me wants to sneer at his words, about how he’s coming off as a little patronizing. Chloe and I got this far just fine, without needing his so-called guidance. However, rather than antagonizing him further and instigating a battle of wit and words that I know I cannot win, I instead smile slightly, acknowledging the words in the spirit they were probably intended.
“Now if only you could stop being so reckless, Sera!” Chloe says as her [Healing Burst] sutures up my wounds and restores the lost blood from that monster’s attack. She says the word with sternness and a frown, but there’s absolutely no malice behind her words. Just the worried pleading of my love, never enjoying when I put myself into the fray but accepting that that’s the path that I’ve chosen and she’s chosen to follow.
“Yeah. Sorry about that. Hard to track a creature that can distort both its apparent position and its [Ether] signature both.”
“Indeed it was, Ms. Jacobs. Fortunately, your attack there helped us to identify its weakness and exploit it, thereby preventing any loss of life or injury beyond your ability to heal. I believe we all have at least one level gain to process. Let us take a moment or two to do that, and then we shall reconvene for an after-action report on the previous fight.”
Just as he says as much, the dull ache and repeated pinging of the System trying to get my attention start manifesting themselves. Damn needy thing, not willing to give us even enough time to get healed up and our bearings straight before demanding we drop everything to take care of its needs. At least when babies do it, they’re cute and it’s because they’re actually helpless. The System, on the other hand, is emphatically neither.
[You have gained enough Experience to reach Level 61 (From 59). [Strength] +2, [Speed] +2, [Vitality] +2, [Mind] +2. Please assign free stat points (Remaining: 8).]
Not having anything better to do with them, I assign them evenly, of course assigning my [Vitality] and [Mind] with the first level, then [Strength] and [Speed] with the second. I survived that final fight back in Red Clay City by less than thirty [Health] and have occasionally dropped into the double digits on my [Ether], so I know every little point can and does help.
[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x 2 + Current Level + Rand[1,3] = (294, 296)]
[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0,2] = (225, 229)]
[Level: 61; Experience: 4,663,370; To Next: 20,750]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 9,845 / 10,504; [Ether]: 1,402 / 7,852]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 203 (Base: 95); [Speed]: 205 (Base: 96); [Vitality]: 250 (Base: 117); [Mind]: 533 (Base: 166)]
[Your [Archangel’s Gaze (Rank XIII)] has upgraded to [Archangel’s Gaze (Rank XV)].]
[Your [Etheric Armor (Rank V)] has upgraded to [Etheric Armor (Rank VI)].]
[Your [Angel’s Grace (Rank VII)] has upgraded to [Angel’s Grace (Rank VIII)].]
[Your [Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank XX)] has upgraded to [Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank XXI)].]
[Your [Elemental Ether Strike (Rank V)] has evolved to [Elemental Ether Strike (Rank VI)].]
Damn. And here I was a few minutes ago, standing in awe of Chloe’s powerful [Scouring Light], marveling about how she must have over 500 [Mind] by now. But now, looking at my stats, I notice that I’m in exactly the same situation. I guess as much of a terror as it would be to stand on the opposite side of a battlefield from Chloe, I’d be exactly the same. Maybe even worse, considering that I’m nearly as capable of physical combat as I am magical.
I suppose I should keep that in mind going forward, both in terms of what exactly I’m capable of, as well as how I’ll be perceived by others on those— hopefully rare— occasions where I do need to go all out. Loath though I am to admit it, I might be considered by some to be a monster in the body of a human. Even worse, they might have a point.
“Now then,” Nicholas says. “I believe we have all completed our level gains? Now then, while we search this room for any signs of hidden treasure, let us undertake the after-action report. What went well, and what we need to improve upon going forward. I shall start with myself. Namely, that I am once again shown the weaknesses associated with having a lack of magical attacking options as a mage-fighter hybrid class.”
“Is that a big problem?” Chloe asks. “I don’t have any real physical attacking capabilities.”
“Yes, but you have healing capabilities, and are practically tied to Ms. Mortensen at the hip. Further, I understand that the two of you are capable of telepathic communication over long distances. Those three things combined mean that there is limited risk that you will be caught defenseless against an enemy like that eldritch terror. While I would still recommend you train in martial combat as a matter of principle and perhaps look at a stronger weapon, I do not believe you should spend your limited Skill slots or stat points toward increasing your physical combat proficiency.”
“I will point out that Nicholas’s analysis regarding combining physical and magical attacks was the key to our winning that fight,” I say. “I had already written off physical attacks as being ineffective back then. I wouldn’t have considered the possibility of a creature that could change its resistances and affinities on the battlefield. Moreover, the cloak it carried helped it mitigate those weaknesses even further>”
Silently, I ponder the implications about just how far I still have to go. I’ve still barely been able to compensate for my [Lightning] weakness thanks to the wyvernscale equipment from back then. And now, here’s a cloak that can shield its user from physical or magical attacks, intercepting them, almost as though it has a mind of its…
Yes, of course. It probably does have a mind of its own. Filia is far from the only intelligent artifact out there. Madison had one in my past life; I probably did at some point as well. Which means that, even if I take it, I’m not sure if any of us can use it. I ask Filia about it, and they concur with my reasoning.
“The best case scenario is that we’re able to use a weaker version of the item. More than likely, the item will try to resist us completely. In particular, intelligent items tend not to view each other very fondly.”
I pull out my glasses and inspect the cloak, confirming the suspicions about the item being intelligent.
[[Gh’thnokxz, Shroud of the Void]. This intelligent cloak is designed to be worn by a [Cosmic Spawn] or other transdimensional horror. When worn by a being other than a transdimensional horror, it provides +20 [Defense] and +20 [Magic Defense]. It also attempts to madden its wearer, whispering secrets about the cosmos and what lies beyond. A wearer of this cloak has a [Mind/100]% chance of becoming maddened, losing the ability to discern between friend and foe. This is considered a [Mind-Altering] effect.]
The inspection doesn’t yield any further information about its true functionality, although much of it, I can glean from the previous battle. Thankfully, [Indomitable Will]’s Skill description says it covers all [Power Suppression] and [Mind-Altering] effects, and this one doesn’t suggest it bypasses such immunities. Still, it’s best to get a second opinion.
“What do you think we should do? Or rather, what would you like us to do with that cloak? I don’t want to offend you by causing some sort of conflict as you describe.”
“I… I am not exactly pleased with the idea, but I think it would be best if you took the item with us. As long as it is stored in your [Inventory], it won’t be able to interact with the outside world in any manner. And it shouldn’t be able to influence you, either, especially because of your [Indomitable Will] Skill. I wouldn’t entrust it to either of your companions, though. Especially not while in the Tower.”
I go ahead and take the item, storing it in my [Inventory], but not before it attempts to show me visions from beyond. Visions that make no sense, distortions in geometry, higher-dimensional spaces, the warping and distending of space, tears in the fabric of reality, and the horror of infinity that lies beyond. None of them affect me, and the last thing I sense before it’s fully stored away is a sensation I interpret as a mixture of anger and resignation.
“Sorry about that, Nicholas. It’s intelligent and hostile. It wouldn’t be safe for anyone without a [Mind-Altering] immunity to touch it.” I relay the depiction I was given.
“I agree. And I appreciate your letting me know about it as well. I’ll have to revise our doctrines accordingly to accommodate. Changing the topic back to our after-action report, Ms. Mortensen, I want to commend you for the way you fought in general. You’ve come a long way from the green girl I first met nearly five months ago. You as well, Ms. Jacobs.”
“I– I need to work on my emotions a little better,” Chloe says. “When I see Sera getting hurt or putting herself in danger, I get scared and I tend to lash out… violently. I should work on getting that under control. Here, it was fine, since we were fighting a monster. But if we’re going to be working on a diplomatic mission in the upcoming months, I don’t want to lose control and do something to sabotage everything.”
“That’s good that you’re aware of that potential weakness,” Nicholas says. “Being cognizant of your weaknesses is the first step to overcoming them.” He turns to me. “I believe there is something behind this wall. The color is a little off, and it seems to have been made at a later time than the rest of the walls in this room.”
I look at it. Sure enough, there is some sort of mechanism behind it. I create a sphere of [Darkness], just large enough to enshroud the roughly six-foot-by-six-foot panel of stone. It’s not [Darkstone], to my chagrin, but when I shrink the sphere of black down to a more modest size, I find that it operates in the same vein as the doorway we took to get into this room. Honestly, I should have realized as much from the very beginning.
Sensing no enemies lurching within, ready to pounce the instant we cross into this even more hidden chamber, we head inside, me leading the way, and Nicholas this time bringing up the rear. The fight took more out of him than he’s letting on, although I think it may be more a case of low morale and feeling relatively useless compared with the two of us.
“I will add to our earlier discussion,” I say, partly to get my mind off the monster we just fought, and partly because it’s pretty dark and spooky in this passageway. “You are definitely much better at locating these hidden passageways than I am, even lacking the same level of sensory Skill that I have. Neither Chloe nor I would have found this passageway, or the previous one, had we been on our own. I’m not sure either of us would have even thought to look.”
Chloe nods approvingly.
“Hmm.” Nicholas’ puzzled response suggests he does follow the hidden subtext behind the words, although he chooses not to acknowledge it further. “In either case, I believe I have spotted something that may be of particular import to all of us.”
Sure enough, there are three treasure chests ahead of us. After performing the Standard Mimic Protection Protocol— stabbing each of them with Filia’s tip to check for any signs of life, and finding none— I open them. And I can already tell just by feeling the flow of Ether around the three chests: these new items are going to be awesome.