Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Some Immortal Old Geezer

Chapter 11: Some Immortal Old Geezer

 

The figure stepped out of the ritual circle.

“Since you’re so hopeless, I thought you would need my help. It appears you’ve suckered some unwilling participants to do so instead.”

Chrome said harsh words, but reading between the lines, he had indicated that he had come willingly to help Nara. She was long used to his prideful but ultimately soft-hearted personality.

“We are not unwilling,” Amara replied to him.

“I did mess up your ritual.”

“An easy ritual, made for repetition.” She crossed her arms, “Do you have a name? Or does Nara need to name you?”

“I am Chrome.”

-------

Effect (Iron): Summon a [Hand of Time] to serve as a familiar.

• Chrome has a humanoid physical form and can wield two swords that deal resonating force damage, which is highly effective against physical defenses.
• Chrome can physically interact with incorporeal entities.
• Chrome can move instantaneously to a nearby location. This ability has a cooldown of 40 seconds.
• Enemies damaged by these swords are afflicted with [Ravages of Time].
• [Ravages of Time] (affliction, magic, stacking): Increases the speed at which stacking afflictions accrue instances. Periodically decreases the stacks of boons. Additional instances have a cumulative effect.
• Can be subsumed within the summoner’s aura, making the summoner’s aura much harder to detect and read.

-------

The group was once again lounging outside within a gazebo. Juices, treats, and fruits had once again been prepared by Laius, and Nara recovered from an extreme mana deficiency.

“So, you are her imaginary friend?” Redell asked Chrome.

“I was never imaginary.” Chrome strongly stated, again.

“He kept me company in the Astral.” Nara said jubilantly. “I wondered if I was the type of person who’d create an imaginary friend that would insult myself for a while there. Maybe I am? I might have gone insane without him. Although I also wondered if I was insane with him there.”

“For a normal ranked, non-magic entity, perception of the astral is difficult. Although towards the end it was tenuous, you did your best for what you are.”

“See? He’s such a softie.”

“Hand of Time?” Amara asked, “do you serve the Keeper of Moments?”

“I am a being of that domain.”

“And you choose to serve as a familiar now?”

“It would hardly do to see an unattended soul wandering the astral, beyond the Reaper’s domain or physical reality. And I do not see jobs half done. I accompany her here, for my own reputation.”

What reputation? The group had thought, and they similarly saw through his harsh words into his soft interior. Despite his flamboyance and arrogance, his ability to conceal his true intentions was weak.

“Well, he was probably just bored.” Nara said, munching a snack. “He’s some immortal old geezer. I bet he just finds physical reality more interesting.”

“I am not you. I do not get ‘bored’. And I am not a geezer. I do not normally stay in the astral either.”

“Okay, but how much older are you than me?”

He frowned and repeated with some resignation. “I am not an old geezer.”

“Besides,” Chrome said, glancing down at Nara, “your time in the astral puts you older than these lot. If I’m a geezer, you’re an auntie.”

“That hardly counts. Time didn’t exist!” Nara frowned. “I’m supposed to be twenty-three.”

“Aunt Nara?” Laius tilted his head and flicked his tail.

“Hey!”

 

 

Chrome brought another affliction to Nara’s meager two, but the group agreed that a few more abilities needed to be awakened.

“I think going up to fifteen or seventeen abilities should be sufficient.” Chelsea discussed with Amara and the others.

“She’s still missing a lot of affliction and damage abilities.”

Chrome rolled his eyes, “I’ll probably be doing most of the damage anyway. Until she can swing a sword without cutting herself.”

“How about warrior, wrath, and focus? Those three should provide damage focused abilities.” Amara began to plan the next step.

“An Awakening Stone of Cloth or Armor could provide her with conjured amour.” Said Redell, “She lacks normal damage reduction, and any could be important.”

“I like being self sufficient too.” Nara added. “If I can just summon armor, all the better.”

“She does need all the protection she can get.”

“Then, what about the fifth stone?”

“Ruin?” suggested Laius.

“Ruin? It could provide an affliction ability. Omens as well.” Nodded Amara.

 

[Query: Should I use a awakening stone of Ruin or Omens?]

[Answer: Awakening stone of ruin is recommended over omens.]

 

Nara kept the result to herself, for now. She didn’t understand the difference between the two stones, except that the awakening stone of ruins was of rare rarity and the awakening stone of omens was epic.

The group settled on cloth over amour, and ruin over omens, regardless. The group proceeded back to the ritual gazebo. While it took longer, Amara had Nara draw out and perform the rituals.

“Finally, some practice. It was insufferable trying to teach you basic ritual magic without having a way to demonstrate it.” Chrome grumbled at the memory.

One by one, the rituals were performed and redrawn.

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You have awakened Balance Essence Ability, [Astral Return]. You have awakened 2 of 5 Balance Essence Abilities.

Ability: [Astral Return]

Special Attack (dimension)

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Cost: Low stamina

Cooldown: None

Effect (iron): After avoiding or negating an instance of damage while using abilities, your next attack is enhanced with additional rending damage. Enhancement is proportional but not equal to damage avoided or negated. Enhanced damage rapidly decays.

You have awakened Mystic Essence Ability, [Empyreal Retribution] You have awakened 3 of 5 Balance Essence Abilities.

Ability: [Empyreal Retribution]

Awakening stone: Wrath (uncommon)

Spell (curse)

Incantation: “Suffer Empyreal retribution.”

Cost: Moderate mana

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Rank: Iron 1 (60%)

Effect (Iron): Inflict rending damage for each curse, holy, unholy, dimension, or magic affliction the target is suffering from.

You have awakened Balance Essence Ability, [Dream’s Wake]. You have awakened 3 of 5 Balance Essence Abilities.

Ability: [Dream’s Wake]

Special ability

Base Cost: None

Cooldown: None

Effect (iron): Negate all damage and non-damage effects from actively intercepted or parried attacks. Not all damage from very powerful attacks will be negated. Intercepted or parried attacks will not trigger retributive effects.

You have awakened Mystic Essence Ability, [Moonlight Raiment]. You have awakened 4 of 5 Balance Essence Abilities.

Ability: [Moonlight Raiment]

Awakening stone: cloth (common)

Conjuration

Cost: High mana

Cooldown: None

Effect (iron): Conjured robes that contain the tranquility of night.

• Increased resistance to damage. Highly effective against cutting and piercing damage, less effective against blunt damage.
• Caster is harder to perceive and detect.
• Mana recovery over time effects have increased strength and duration.

You have awakened Dimension Essence Ability, [Moonlight Raiment]. You have awakened 4 of 5 Dimension Essence Abilities.

Ability: [World’s End]

Special Attack (execute)

Base Cost: Moderate mana

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Effect (iron): Imbue your next attack with the power of rending dimensional annihilation. Additionally deals a small amount of transcendent damage. As an execute effect, damage scales exponentially with the enemy’s level of injury.

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“It’s unfortunate, but your last five abilities will mostly likely contain the bulk of your afflictions.” Chelsea commented after having observed Nara’s new abilities.

Chrome glanced at the abilities, “based on similar abilities I know, Empyreal Retribution is likely to have several afflictions at bronze rank. Astral Return as well, mostly likely a retributive affliction.”

“I can see that you have a rather dangerous set up. A lot of your damage will come from actively clashing with opponents. However, if they choose not to engage, then your boons will be free to escalate, growing your power.” Amara added her own thoughts.

“It’s all recovery boons.”

“Even then. When mana is no longer an issue, Phase Shift becomes an increasingly powerful ability. We will have to work on your reaction speed. A lot of these abilities are based in skill and timing.”

“Indeed.”

“She’ll need a lot of work.”

“Yes.”

“Agreed.”

 

 

Upon returning to the practice field, Amara additionally set up a specialty training dummy. This dummy in particular was to test execute or effects upon enemy death or destruction. It would be destroyed in a single hit, regardless of the damage. Then, a ritual would activate, and another would be summoned in its place.

Nara turned to the normal training dummy and struck it twice with her sword. Chrome casually summoned his own gleaming swords of light, thin and long like hands on a clock, or perhaps a lightsaber, and similarly sliced at the dummy. She then casted Entropy, and watched the afflictions stack at an impressive rate, with the addition of Chrome’s effects.

“Suffer Empyreal wrath!”

The afflictions within the dummy glowed like burning stars. As they did, the dummy visibly suffered damage, suffering deep gouges as if it had been cut.

She switched her target to the special dummy and imbued the effect of World’s End within her blade. The dark blade became completely black. Light itself did not escape. The edge of the blade shone with pure white, red, and orange light, just like the event horizon of a black hole.

“Now that looks wild.” She held up to the blade to the sun overhead, but it still remained completely void of light.

As her blade connected with the dummy, slicing through it like butter, air and space warped as a mini black hole manifested in its place, consuming the dummy in its entirety. The uncanny silence disappeared, and sound returned to her surroundings.

“Best not point that at anybody.” Nara said, gazing at the now inert blade.

“Anybody you don’t want to annihilate from existence, which you might. Then you can clean up the evidence.

“That’s a disturbing yet oddly pragmatic thought.”

 

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