I left Dave a communication artifact and headed out. He wouldn’t tell me his real name—something about fae and company policy—so I decided he was Dave. He looked like a Dave, so it was fine. At some point, while talking with Dave, a bunch of notifications started appearing in my system tray, and I was finally taking the time to look at them.
[Kill the Queen]
Quest Giver: [Dave]
Tier: [Hellforged]
Descript…
[Error: Quest Invalid]
[System Error Code: 404-QueCheck]
[Reason: Zone Quest Initialization has not yet completed.]
[Finding new Zone Quest.]
[Prevent Queen from Entering Eternia]
Quest Giver: [Dave]
Tier: [Wrought]
Description: [Shut down the planar rift before it blooms by simultaneously deactivating both anchor rituals.]
Reward: [Someone is figuring this out.]
Failure: [Zone contaminated with Malifactum permanently. Quest chain update.]
After taking a moment to eye the jank in the quest menu, I decided it wasn’t worth my time thinking about. I gave Autumn a head pat for being such a good spriggan and not eating Dave. I know that was very hard for it to hold back, as it was attempting to explain to me in a series of plant noises. Or at least I was pretty sure that’s what it was trying to say.
To be honest, it was hard for me not to have Dave killed either, and I was having trouble figuring out if I was okay with that fact. The nudges to my mind that grew louder the closer I was to the connection between planes were a little disquieting. I didn’t personally care if somebody was manipulating me, but I wanted to know what their goal was.
I knew for certain that whatever force was influencing me had a distaste for the abominations on the surface. This seemed like a good reason to me; if allowed to grow, those things would consume everything.
That wasn't what bothered me, though, until I ended up running across some other kind of creature I inherently despised, but didn’t have a problem with. Otherwise, I saw no reason to distrust those impulses. Instead, I was worried about my casual disdain for living beings. I felt like I’ved struggled to see other people as living beings; instead, ever since I came to Eternia, they'd felt more like objects that kind of annoyed me.
Now that I think about it, haven't I been doing that with Autumn, too, in a way? I don’t even know how it would want to see itself. I should probably ask…
Turning to look at Autumn, I found its beady eyes fixed in my direction—or past me? Its gaze was distant and unfocused, like it was staring at something only it could see. The longer I looked, the more it felt like there was something hollow behind those eyes, like the lights were on, but no one was home. I snapped my eyes away and focused ahead. Maybe I’ll ask later.
Wait, why would I care about Autumn’s opinion if I saw it as just a useful object in my collection? Obviously, I hadn’t realized all the implications of my new personality because that didn't make any sense…
Off the top of my head, there was actually a person I genuinely cared about and didn’t see as just a lump of Class experience. That person being Hazel, whom I could genuinely say I saw as a friend. In fact, I might have developed a level of codependency with her, which unfortunately wouldn't be the first time. Because I was pretty sure I would overthrow a small to medium-sized nation state just to improve the quality of her day. Maybe dice up an orphan or two as well. But that’s only because I cared about Hazel, the entity inconveniently stored within a bag of flesh. Not Hazel, the human.
Was that disdain for flesh-based life even a bad thing, though? Would I benefit at all by fretting over the two people I killed yesterday? Was that even the right question to ask?
Frowning, I checked the map Dave gave me and took a left at an intersection. The hallways had been pretty barren so far, with no creatures or natives in sight. Dave had said everyone else had vanished while he was sleeping under his desk after a long day. He didn’t seem to really want to talk about it, though, and it took a lot of coaxing just to get him to say that much. I'm not sure why, but it almost seemed like he was scared to talk about it.
We were heading deeper into the facility, closer to the centre of the crater, but far underneath it. The crater was apparently centred on their old research facility, and both anchor rituals were technically held in close proximity but separated. Nexis Industries was creating something similar to a competitive spirit between the two facilities.
If I were a betting woman, I would bet that’s what led to the disaster. Beyond the whole ‘playing with forces you couldn’t comprehend’ business, that is. That is, if I’m still even a woman with my new body.
The last thought passed through my mind along with a bit of an odd feeling, but I shook it off. This wasn’t the time to be going through an identity crisis. I could do that whenever I got a moment to sit and contemplate. Which meant after closing the massive fuck-off hole in the world. One more thing for the drawer of things I’m not supposed to think about.
Taking a deep breath, I stopped in the hallway and watched as Autumn continued on as if I hadn’t. Its head turned at an unnatural angle so its eyes could remain locked on me. Grabbing one of its vines, I pulled it to a stop as well.
"We’re here, you creepy fuck." I said, pointing at the door to what should be the armoury. Of course, they had to put the armoury on the other side of one of those glass enclosures, so I was expecting trouble. Specifically, an ‘Eidolon Sage’ if the map is to be trusted, whatever that was. Why they needed to keep weird creatures locked up all over the place was anyone’s guess. Dave certainly wasn’t going to tell me “company information” like the reason they were doing that unless it was on a need-to-know basis for the made-up job he gave me.I took a moment to uncoil the vines from my arms and began building intent in the release mechanisms. I wasn’t going in unprepared this time. After a minute of preparation, I could feel something boiling in my arms, and I decided it was time to move. It was not unpleasant boiling, mind you; it was more like a bunch of larvae burrowing through my skin. That didn’t sound better.Tapping the keyplate, the door slid open, and I took a step into the room. The room was completely wrecked, to the point it was even worse than the ritual room with the melted bodies. Corpses littered the floor, and chunks of flesh and blood were splattered along the walls. Floating in the centre of the room was the cutest little guy I’d ever seen.A small black ball hovered in midair, wearing a tiny hat and wizard robe. A single floating hand hovered beside it, gripping a wand. The ball turned slowly as the door opened. The moment its two solid white eyes locked on Autumn, it began vibrating."Hey, Autumn, maybe cool it with the eye contact," I whispered. "I think you’re freaking it out."Menacing-looking flakes of Kinetic Mana began to form around the Eidolon, which prompted me to start running towards it, hands held forward. Both I and the creature fired at the same time. A bolt of Kinetic Mana pierced through my body, barely missing my Core, as I dove to the side. Apparently, it knew where to hit. My shots missed completely due to the panic dive. Flicking my Authority Core on, I realized that I couldn’t actually bypass anywhere within a small ball around it.
Pulsing physical enhancement through my channels, I whipped the two semi-metallic vines hanging from my arms at the Eidolon Sage. With a series of incredibly precise movements, it seemed to flow through both my spells and vines like it was dancing. As it moved, it flung kinetic spells directly at my Core with a level of accuracy that made me jealous. The constant bombardment had me running a circle around it while ducking and weaving as I tried to hit the damn thing. Luckily, I wasn’t burning Mana as quickly as when I attached a blade to a wire. The thicker vines didn’t require as much reinforcement.
The air screamed as a lance of plasma sliced across the room, burning the exterior of my shell and doing very little else. I was suddenly very glad I had coated myself in Ashenflare because there had been absolutely no warning that it was about to do that.
Autumn finally joined in the fun once I was on the other side of the room. I could have sworn the thing had eyes on the back of its head as it dodged both my and Autumn’s vines as well as a whip made of Blood Mana Autumn was controlling like a snake out to kill.
Sighing mid-fight, it turns out, is a great way to get hit. A bolt of Kinetic Mana scraped along the edge of my Core as I mistimed a step, the pain leading me to transition the step into a roll. I didn’t sigh because I was bored. I just realized that this would likely be a fruitless endeavour if we continued just aiming for where the other was standing. My torso was filled with enough holes that I must have looked like Swiss cheese as I moved my Core to compensate for poor dodging capabilities. My Grace stat was a godsend here. I wasn’t nearly this nimble in my past life, but I felt like my Might wasn’t keeping up, as I couldn’t put enough power into each step to reach the speed I wanted.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Flicking on [Mana Simulations], I pulled the entire room into a simulation at one hundred times speed. Having to act fast before I burned through all of my Mana, I went through dozens of different movements I could make while attempting to predict how Autumn would react. Eventually, I found something that might work and used [Regrowth] to make the needed changes.
Using a series of stuttering and rapid movements with my vines, I managed to corner the Eidolon so it could only move up or down while still avoiding any attacks. Then, taking a page out of its playbook, I turned my Authority on, aiming directly above it, and manifested a bolt of corruptive Nature Mana, aiming directly down. I pumped almost my entire remaining Mana supply into the attack, and the lump of Mana responded to the incredible density I was pushing into it by crystallizing. Just as the circuit powering it burned out, it formed into the shape of a mushroom.
My snort of laughter at the appearance of the Mana nearly allowed it to escape while I barely avoided tripping. But I managed to throw the mushroom downwards at exactly the same time as my fuck up. The crystallized Mana slammed into the Eidolon, and it practically exploded into mushrooms. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a scrap of cloth or flesh left that hadn’t been turned into mushroom flesh. A soft smile played on my lips because I was pretty sure I had found the solution to the last puzzle that I was stuck on. I didn’t know Mana could crystallize like that.
Autumn looked upset that it didn’t get a chance to eat the Eidolon and made a sound like an angry bush in protest.
"Sorry, were you the one getting holes put in you?" I asked as I caught my breath. It was not that I needed to breathe, but it felt good to go through the motions anyway. "No? I didn’t think so. When you’re being turned into a pincushion, you get to call the shots, okay?"
After a few moments of silence, it seemed like Autumn was giving me the silent treatment as it wouldn’t even meet my gaze. Or maybe it was staring into space again. It’s hard to tell.
I took that moment to check my notifications. The Sage was a bitch to kill, so it had to be worth a couple of levels.
[Killed Eidolon Sage Lvl 50]
Class Level (Neophyte Conduit) Increased +5 (20)
+10 Wit, +15 Spirit, +10 Fortitude, +15 Arcana
I absentmindedly blinked at the number of levels I had gained. That’s more than I’d expected from a level fifty kill. I decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and checked what Skills were being offered without thinking too much about it.
[Class Skill Option]
Name: [Artificial Aura Control]
Tier: [Basal - Growth]
Description: [As an artificial being, you have no inherent ability to generate aura. However, you've found a way to bypass this limitation by absorbing an entity capable of the feat. Through it you can now exert your will over reality in the same way biological beings do. This Skill greatly enhances your control over the manifestation of your aura, allowing you to mould it into various shapes, intensities, and effects at will. Allows for basic will shaping scaled off Wit.]That explains why I couldn’t even feel Authority within my soul like Hazel tried to teach me to do. I’m technically not a living being. Also, what the hell is will shaping?
Honestly, I probably had to get this Skill, it would make my life so much easier. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to control my Authority Core beyond choosing which direction I want it to point in, and I could only do that with a ridiculously complicated circuit. Still, I had to look at the other options to make sure I didn’t skip any good ones.
[Class Skill Option]
Name: [Natural Evasion]
Tier: [Wrought]
Description: [Your movements flow like wind through the trees, instinctively guided by Nature Mana. Foes struggle to land a hit as your body weaves through danger with effortless grace. Improves the effect of [Natural Enhancement] by sharpening your awareness of danger while the Skill is active. Additionally, your dodges become more fluid and instinctive, enhancing the effect of Grace when avoiding perceived dangers.]
Gods damn it, I really want both skills… Or, actually, maybe this one is almost useless? I can’t tell.
When the Skill says ‘awareness of danger,’ I don’t know if that only means danger to my Core or if it includes my shell. Given that I earned it after being treated like a pincushion, I was leaning towards it, only detecting danger to my Core. Maybe this would be useful if I had a regular body, but as I am right now, that would mean I could be about to lose my head without detecting any danger. But I kind of needed my head to see with my eyes. I could start putting eyes all over my body, but I don’t think I have the Wit to be able to process that kind of strain yet. That meant the Skill sucked if my assumption was true, though I might be overthinking things. Oh well![Class Skill Option]
Name: [Evolutionary Assistance]
Tier: [Wrought - Growth]
Description: [Through your own means, you have taken the first steps toward guiding nature’s design. Your crude attempt at influencing the biomagical structure of living beings has granted you an innate sense of their inner workings. You can now perceive the flow of energies and exert fine control, shaping biological and biomagical processes with far greater precision.]
Crude?! Now, that’s just rude! I’m pretty sure I did a fine job with my vines.Uncoiling one from my arm, I channelled what I’d call a good amount of Mana into it, then did my best to try and rip the vine in half. After a few moments of struggling to get it to even bend, I gave up; the only way I could get it to even move was by using movement circuits built into the vine. I was pretty sure I'd done a decent job since it still retained its durability and functionality. I was fairly certain I’m several times stronger than a regular human right now. I bet I could bend steel with my bare hands. I’d noticed it in the back of my mind every time I had a jump in levels, but my footsteps seemed to fall harder than they used to. I’d probably be tripping over myself if my Grace hadn’t improved far past my Might.That meant the only issue could be vitality absorption. Maybe the Skill was judging me for not doing well enough on that aspect. Unfortunately, my only test subject is Autumn, and it can absorb Vital Energy on its own, so it wouldn’t be a great example. I’d have to fight Autumn for its vitality.
Whatever the case, I picked [Artificial Aura Control] and began sorting through how the Skill worked.Unlike the personal Authority techniques Hazel was trying to teach me, which centred on sensing my own power, this Skill focused more on the external. That made sense, given that my Authority Core currently felt like an extra limb that had been attached to my body. I was going to have to play around with the Skill later. Right now, it’s time for loot!
Heading over to the door to the armoury, the first thing I noticed was that the light on every other door wasn’t lit up on this one. Tapping the keyplate on the door resulted in no response either. So somebody disabled the armoury door… No wonder there are so many bodies in here. A bunch of people rushed to get weapons and were mowed down trying to get through the door that had been turned off.
I absentmindedly kicked one of the corpses that was lying propped against the door and sighed. We probably wasted time getting here that I could have spent clearing a way to the ritual room. Might as well see if I can get anything worthwhile out of here, even if I can’t get into the weapons locker.
Looking around the room I was in now it seemed to be some kind of equipment storage room. The walls were lined with labelled bins, so I spent some time perusing the stock.
In the end, I grabbed two full-body suits that seemed somewhat useful and threw them in my Inventory.
[Hazardous Environment Protective Suits]
Designed to shield the wearer from extreme external conditions, these suits provide insulation against temperature extremes, high acidity, and exposure to corrosive Mana or other hazardous energies. The interior will maintain dimensional stability within environments as low as 0.2 VEILS and will automatically resize to fit the wearer. Self-repair functionality as long as the internal Mana supply lasts.
My Core’s description of the suit being able to resize to fit the wearer was rather generous. I was possibly around the height of the smallest member of the species it was suited for, maybe less, and this is just a facility full of tall corpses. Once we no longer immediately needed them, I was going to rip the suits apart and figure out how the self-repair function works anyway.
"Anything you want in here before we head out? I can’t get this door open." I asked Autumn.
It slowly turned to look at me before walking over to take one of the mushrooms I had turned the Eidolon Sage into. Autumn then stuffed it into its mouth, a look of bliss on its face as it chewed. I shivered. I’ve always found the texture of mushrooms to be incredibly unappealing.
I probably should have expected something like that. Unfortunately, Autumn did not show any noticeable changes, like when it ate the Bloodroot seed.
"You know, if you want, I might be able to get you more moulds, mushrooms, or other fungi. I can probably figure out how to make some you would like once we’re out of here." I said that because if I could make Autumn stronger with my own creations, I would be happy to do so. Its power is my power, after all, as long as we are together. Assuming Autumn even wanted to stay together.
Autumn gave me a pleading look with its little beady eyes and nodded vigorously, but my thoughts had already started rolling down the track.
How long was Autumn going to stick with me? I hadn’t added any spiritual attachment to the initial ritual, so it was only following me because it wanted to, for now. But did it want to do that forever?
Would it eventually want to return to The Verdant Veil, its home dimension?
Whatever, that’s a later me problem.
I just had to never summon anything again without binding its spirit to mine, and I won’t have to worry about this in the future.