Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Balance out the Good with the Bad

Chapter 8: Balance out the Good with the Bad

 

The ritual activated, and a magic squall rose within the room, whipping Nara’s recently regrown, short brown hair. Golden motes of light arose from the ritual circle, and the essences began to dissolve into streams. The streams whirled about the air, creating a whirlwind of sparkling diamond dust. Her body was set aglow from within with rainbow light as the wind-strewn essence dust was absorbed into her body. It was painless, but she felt the strange but not malicious sensation of the essences touch her soul, absorb into it, and change it. Once the essences had been absorbed, the wind stopped dead and the magic circle faded, having been drained of all magic.

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You have absorbed [Dimension Essence].

You have absorbed 1 of 4 essences. Progress to Iron Rank 25%.

[Dimension Essence] has bonded to your [Speed] attribute, changing your [Speed] from Normal to Iron 0. Master all dimension essence abilities to increase your [Speed] attribute.

You have awakened the Dimension Essence Ability [Phase Shift]. You have awakened 1 of 5 Dimension Essence Abilities.

 

You have absorbed [Harmonic Essence].

You have absorbed 2 of 4 essences. Progress to Iron Rank 50%.

[Harmonic Essence] has bonded to your [Power] attribute, changing your [Power] from Normal to Iron 0. Master all Harmonic Essence Abilities to increase your [Power] attribute.

You have awakened the Harmonic Essence Ability [Astral Blessing]. You have awakened 1 of 5 Harmonic Essence Abilities.

 

You have absorbed [Balance Essence].

You have absorbed 3 of 4 essences. Progress to Iron Rank 75%.

[Balance Essence] has bonded to your [Recovery] attribute, changing your [Recovery] from Normal to Iron 0. Master all Balance Essence Abilities to increase your [Recovery] attribute.

You have awakened the Balance Essence Ability [Refresh]. You have awakened 1 of 5 Balance Essence Abilities.

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“I thought it would feel painful,” Nara said crinkling her face, “but it just felt weird.”

“Essence rituals are gentle,” said Chelsea, “if you absorbed an essence without a ritual, just shoved one into your body – then it is very painful.”

Nara recalled the description of her racial ability [Free Spirit] and took a shuddering breath of relief.

The description of the abilities she had awoken popped up, awaiting her attention, but she dismissed them as the initial three essences that had been absorbed re-emerged as shimmering, incorporeal cubes in front of her torso. The cubes lacked the substances the original essences had, and Nara still felt their magic in her soul. The three cubes spun quicker and quicker and they gradually converged into a single cube. The cube lit up the ritual room with a vibrant blue light, still incorporeal.

“Hurry,” Chelsea urged, “take it.”

Nara reached out and the intangible cube became solid and rested in her palm. A Guide message appeared, prompting her. Nara assented to the absorption of the [Mystic Essence] and the cube dissolved into blue smoke that seeped into her body.

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You have absorbed [Mystic Essence].

You have absorbed 4 of 4 essences. Progress to Iron Rank 100%.

[Mystic Essence] has bonded to your [Spirit] attribute, changing your [Spirit] from Normal to Iron 0. Master all dimension essence abilities to increase your [Spirit] attribute.

You have awakened the Mystic Essence Ability [Cosmic Path]. You have awakened 1 of 5 Mystic Essence Abilities.

 

You have absorbed 4 of 4 essences. All of your attributes have reached Iron Rank.

You have gained damage reduction against Normal Rank damage sources. You have gained increased resistance to Normal Rank effects.

You have gained the ability to sense auras.

You have gained the ability to sustain yourself using sources of concentrated magic.

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“Holy shit.” Nara stood in the middle of the room, unmoving. She felt her body brimming with the power and anticipation of an Olympic athlete before their race. Doubts and anxiety from before the ritual had faded away, and Nara had a renewed sense of purpose of energy. Her senses felt reborn, and she observed the room around her with unbridled curiosity and vigor. In regard to magic and auras, it was certainly new to her, at least in physical reality.

“Nara.” Redell said, interrupting the magic of the moment. “I strongly suggest you make your way to the door.”

“Unless you want to make a spectacle of yourself.” Chelsea added.

Nara felt confused but obliged and stepped into the side room. A moment later, the rest of the group heard her violently throwing up.

 

“Its always a pleasant sight to see a new essence user getting their essences,” sighed Chelsea, “I know this is the way it works, but it really dampens a good experience.”

“It feels like the universe needs to balance out the good with the bad.” Amara stated.

“At least she has crystal wash. The impurities will wash off right away.” Redell nodded, “Laius did you say you didn’t have any back then?”

“I did not.”

The other two looked at him horrified.

“With your fur???” Chelsea gasped in disgust.

“I’m not some princess.” Laius responded to Chelsea. “Could not afford it.”

“I am not a princess!” exclaimed Chelsea, “Just minor elven nobility! I can’t compare to Redell.”

“What?” said Redell with an innocent expression.

“What do you mean, ‘What?’ You share the last name of Rowan Kingdom royalty!”

“I’m just related. Besides, I serve Healer.”

Chelsea swung her gave accusatorily from Redell to Laius, “Why mention me and not him?” Chelsea saw that his tail flicked mischievously, and the other three suppressed laughter.

“All of you!”

 

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After vomiting an amount of black gunk and purging some with her body with a smell best left undescribed, Nara showered off in the adjacent shower. As she did, clear water swept down from the sides of the walls, dissolving the gunk away into a hole in the center of the room.

As she dried off and changed into the fresh clothes waiting for her, she gazed into the full length mirror within the room. The face that stared back at here was familiar yet changed. Her facial features were simple and pure. A medium nose with a straight bridge, unusual with her half-Chinese heritage. Small lips. Brown almond eyes with ‘delicate’ eyebrows, as the Doctor from Doctor Who has said. Overall, her face gave her a pleasant but ordinary feeling. Her original body reconstruction had removed her acne scars, and since she’s hasn’t had any. She’s always had acne, despite being in her early twenties, and it was something that had continually vexed her.

The rank up from iron to normal had instead slightly refined her features. Nara felt as if her face was more even, more symmetrical, more balanced. Her facial expressions were slight, and she had a habit of exaggerating them after others had told her they couldn’t tell when she was smiling or had told her that she looked angry when she was not.

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While she still couldn’t remember her own face, in her soul she felt definitely that this was her visage, or close to it. Nara was half afraid she would look into the mirror and see a complete stranger – that her own soul would not remember what she looked like. With relief, that small despair had disappeared.

 

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Nara exited the side room and rejoined the group. As she did, Laius presented her with some snacks, which she wolfed down voraciously, feeling entirely drained.

“Well?” Chelsea impatiently gestured. “What are your first four abilities?”

“I am very curious as well,” said Amara. Redell clasped his hands together in anticipation, and Laius leaned in as well.

Using [Display], Nara displayed the abilities in order.

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Phase Shift

Special Ability/Conjuration (dimension, teleport)

Base Cost: Extreme mana per second

Cooldown: None

Current Rank: Iron 0, 00%

Effect (Iron): Phase shift into an adjacent dimension. While phase shifted, your abilities and attacks will not affect non-phase shifted targets. In this state, non-phase shifted abilities and attacks will not affect you. You are harder to detect while phase shifted. Mana cost increases as duration increases.

 

Astral Blessing

Aura (holy, magic)

Cost: None

Cooldown: None

Current Rank: Iron 0, 00%

Effect (iron): Allies with aura periodically gain instances of [Integrity]. Instance threshold is determined by the [Recovery] attribute. Accumulation rate is proportional to severity of injury. Instances drop off when health, mana, and stamina are at maximum values.

• [Integrity] (heal-over-time, mana-over-time, stamina-over-time, holy, stacking): Periodically recover a small amount of health, stamina, and mana. Additional instances have a cumulative effect.

 

Refresh

Special Ability (recovery)

Base Cost: None

Cooldown: None

Current Rank: Iron 0, 00%

Effect (iron): When expending mana, gain an instance of [Invigorating Energy]. When expending stamina, gain an instance of [Invigorating Blood]. When expending or suffering health damage, gain an instance of [Invigorating Spirit]. Instance threshold is determined by the [Recovery] attribute. Ability cannot recover more than expended mana, stamina, and health.

• [Invigorating Energy] (boon, recovery, stacking): Recover a small amount of stamina. Additional instances have an increased effect.
• [Invigorating Blood] (boon, recovery, stacking): Recover a small amount of health. Additional instances have an increased effect.
• [Invigorating Spirit] (boon, recovery, stacking): Recover a small amount of mana. Additional instances have an increased effect.

 

Cosmic Path

Conjuration (dimension, light, darkness, movement)

Base Cost: Low mana

Cooldown: None

Current Rank: Iron 0, 00%

Effect (iron): Conjures a path of stars beneath the caster’s feet. Prevents abilities from manifesting directly below the caster. Increases speed. Can reduce the weight of the caster for low mana-per-second cost, allowing for reduced fall speed and water walking. Can further increase the caster’s speed for additional low mana-per-second cost.

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“An aura ability right at the start? That is a relief.” Chelsea noted, “All essences users will usually awaken one, but sometimes those who over-manipulate their abilities with essence stones will miss out. It’s disastrous.”

“You have two recovery and two avoidance abilities. We will need to get you some offensively oriented awakening stones to balance it out.” Amara wove her hands together, deep in thought. “The essence abilities you awaken are influenced by your personality and experiences. It is not a surprise that they are related to dimensions, teleportation, and recovery.”

“We certainly have been working on a lot of physical therapy.” Redell concurred with Amara’s observation.

“How about we start with a weapon awakening stone, like an awakening stone of the sword. Do you have a weapon preference?” Amara gazed at Nara, still in thought.

“I actually got something in the astral.”

“What?” Chelsea rubbed her forehead, exasperated. “You didn’t think to mention this earlier?”

Nara’s hand shimmered for a moment, immaterial, as she reached into her Astral Domain. From within, she removed the black staff she had found in the astral. The weapon molded into her grasp as if it had been designed for her. It was still in the form of a staff, as she first found it. The material felt sleek and comfortable, and yet her grip on it was stable. Between the weapon and her, she felt an intrinsic connection. The weapon seemed to respond to her touch with a sagely reassurance.

Using her Guide once again, she displayed its description to the others.

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Item: [Nirvana] (iron rank [growth], legendary)

A weapon forged from the Astral and transfigured by the Reaper. Fear not death but a life unlived.

• This item is bound to [Nara Edea] and cannot be used by anyone else. This bond allows the weapon to share the wielder’s ability to ignore rank disparity.
• Effect: You may invoke all effects of a conjured weapon into this blade for the normal mana cost of conjuring the weapon. Only one weapon’s effects may be invoked at a time.
• Effect: This weapon has no specific form. Current forms available: Staff, Bow, Sword. This weapon can take the form of an accessory when not in active use.
  • [Staff]: Low Increase to damage resistance.
  • [Bow]: Low increase to [Speed].
  • [Sword]: Low increase to [Power].
• Effect: This weapon deals increased damage for each instance of a boon on the wielder.
• Effect: The wielder gains increased resistance to dispel effects.

This weapon will gain additional effects as it ranks up.

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With a thought, Nara transformed the weapon into its sword form. It took the form of a Chinese jian. The black blade channeled the gentleness of night. Tilting the blade, stars reflected off of the cool metal, and almost imperceptible silver designs shimmered like Damascus. The handle was wrapped with silver handle cord, like Japanese Ito.

With another thought, the weapon dissolved into black smoke and into a recurve bow. It was made with the same midnight material but felt of wood more than metal. Shifting silver designs decorated the tips of the limbs. Originally, there was no string, but as Nara brought her fingers to where the string should be, it shimmered into existence with a silver light.

Finally, Nara dismissed the weapon form, and Nirvana formed a small black tear drop earing on her right ear. When she moved her head, the jewel followed gently as if it was not affected by gravity, and it gleamed with the light of suns, stars, and nebulas.

“Coooooool.” Nara’s eyes sparked as she messed with the earring with her fingertips.

 

 

 

 

 

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