"What are you?" She asked, her voice filled with an enthusiastic curiosity. Not quite the tone I was expecting.
"Uh, a Runaspriggan?" I replied, trying and failing to hide the uncertainty in my voice. "Please don’t shoot me like the other people did."
"No, like, what are you? Obviously, I know your species name. What I want to know is how you're alive, but you’re an item as well?" She continued, "You’re covered in circuits with designs I’ve never seen before. Did Li hold out on me?"
"Uhh, I don’t know how to answer that question. Can you be more specific?" How does she know what I am? Are there Runaspriggan in Fateswatch already?
"Never mind. Give me one moment, and I’ll figure it out myself. Don't resist the scan," she mumbled and started walking towards me.
What’s going on? Does she not care about the dead people? Great success! Crisis avoided!
Standing over me as I sat on the ground, she started making complicated hand gestures and the Mana in her body began to flow from her hand into some kind of rudimentary rune in front of her. I didn’t even take a moment to consider the email I was going to write to the bug report team about the fact that hand casting was a thing later. Too confused by the situation. Is the damage to my Core fucking up my ability to think, or is this just weird?
The spell was completed, and I felt foreign Mana wash over me. For some reason, it didn’t feel like Raw Mana despite clearly looking like it. It didn’t hold the same primal qualities, and it almost acted in an ordered fashion.
"Hmm, I’m sorry to say, but I think you're dead." She muttered, her eyes scanning over something in front of her that I clearly couldn’t see.
"Well, yeah, isn’t that how we all got here?" I replied with a chuckle. "I'm sorry, I feel like I missed something. What are you doing? If you want a breakdown of how my circuitry works, I can give you a rundown of what I’ve discovered so far."
Something I said startled her out of focus. An excited expression flashed across her face, but just as she was about to reply, an imp appeared in a puff of smoke. Her face dropped the moment she was interrupted, and turning to me, she whispered, "Afterwards."
The imp was bright purple and floated in the air, carrying far more impish qualities than Ledger did. This included small horns and little wings that seemed to be doing something interesting with Mana. I couldn't determine their gender from their appearance.
"Oh, what’s this? Only two remain already?" The imp said in a completely androgynous voice, a smile crooking their lips. "Well, that sure makes my job easier. We can skip the vote for who should die. Those sorts of things always end up being so noisy. I’ll have to apologize for arriving a little late, but it looked like you two were busy anyway."
"Yup, can we finish this quickly so we can get back to it?" The girl said in a deadpan voice so different from her previous tone that I almost did a double-take.
"Absolutely, my dear. In fact, you two are next up!" they replied, spreading their hands in the air. "Since you’re in such a hurry, and I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting, I’ll just go ahead and send you over now."
With a snap of their fingers, the black room vanished, revealing what I hoped was a reasonably sized, circular arena, seemingly dug out of solid stone—assuming, of course, they didn’t plan to throw any giant monsters at us. Overhead, a glowing ball of a Mana type I hadn’t seen before lit the arena and the overhead ceiling. The stands were filled with white outlines of people like one of those games where they didn’t bother making models for the audience.
None of that caught my attention, though. Instead, I was entirely focused on the fact that my [Pioneering Explorer of the Far Reaches] title told me I was less than a kilometre underneath Fateswatch. I felt anticipation that I hadn’t had before because it felt like, for the first time, I was actually going to survive and make it back. Once we walk out of here, we’re all good.
"We have our next contestants here, folks. Five went in, and only two made it out of the very waiting room!" an announcer's voice called out over the arena. Unfortunately for these two, that doesn’t mean a decrease in difficulty. They should have known better before they decided to forsake their responsibilities." The crowd booed us, but I wasn’t fazed. I had started implementing something in the waiting room that I was excited to try out.
"Do you know how to fight?" I asked the girl. "I have something I want to try out, but it wouldn’t be a good idea if I accidentally killed us both."
"I should be able to perform adequately. Please go ahead. I would love to see what you can do with that body of yours, " she replied, sounding a little too eager for my comfort.
"Yeah, alright. If things go way south, I can probably deal with whatever the issue is. I just might also kill you in the splash damage." I said, pulling the hood on my cloak up. I didn’t want to accidentally get anything I was about to use on my skin. I’d probably have to ditch a limb if I did, which would be inconvenient if said limb were my head.
"The first round is a group of creatures you should all know and love. Hellhounds!" The announcer called out. "These beasts are known for being one of the worst pests known in the hells."
"Alright, you…" My voice died off when I turned to look at the girl and noticed she was standing inside a bubble of Mana. It's not quite what I meant by ‘let me try something out,’ but okay. More experience for me.
Six large dogs covered in still-burning tissue, with an almost ember-like quality, appeared on the opposite end of the arena. After taking a moment to orient themselves, they turned towards me. I took off running to one side and began circling Mana. One of the dogs near the front opened its mouth and spit a bolt of flames that whizzed by me. Of course, more fire was what I was looking for in my life. Haven’t had nearly enough of that…
I took off running as all the dogs ignored the other girl, as they chose to chase me exclusively. A barrage of fire bolts started pelting me, which occasionally caught the edges of my clothes. My heat resistance was seemingly enough to tank a bit of the damage. Once I felt comfortable with the level of charge, I aimed the palm of my hand at the one closest to me and fired a condensed blast of [Verdant Corruption] at it.
The charge manifested in the palm of my hand as a black blob spewed a dark fume as it travelled toward the hellhound. It slammed into the creature’s right upper foreleg, which quickly fell apart, causing the dog to fall over and its leg to liquefy into a putrid black substance. That brought a smile to my face.
I turned my hands towards the other dogs and expended another two charges, causing one more dog to fall and one to immediately die as its skull turned into black goo. Their fortitude has to be crap. This trick didn’t work nearly this well against my own body in a simulation.
I finally failed to dodge a bolt that struck my right leg. The initial burn left a shallow but wide wound that cracked as the surface bark burned, cutting through half my leg. I had to slow down to a limping jog as I reformed it. I turned to the girl in the bubble and tried to wave her over to help. A sense of surprise flashed across her face, which morphed into a look of desire. She just waved back at me with a smile on her lips.
I sighed. I could probably handle it. I just didn’t want to take an unnecessary risk. Obviously, she’s competent, given that the hounds can’t even tell she’s there somehow. Also, she’s a human, so she’s probably level ninety-nine or something ridiculous.
Once they were ten feet away, I could feel the heat coming off the remainder of them. Two more charges were finished, so I unloaded them on two of them, and they collapsed almost immediately. The final hellhound leapt on top of me and started ripping chunks of my torso apart. I reacted a little bit strongly to having my Core threatened again and grabbed the head of the beast and flooded it with [Verdant Corruption] until it popped, spraying rotting flesh all over me. I then started my [Regrowth] cycle while lying on the ground. This is why I wanted help. Luckily, the new circuits I built into my arms weren’t damaged at all.
"Wow! Would you look at that? She managed to tackle all six on her own. Despite receiving what would be life-threatening injuries on anyone else, that little plant isn’t out of the fight yet!"
I glanced at the kill notifications while the announcer carried on.
[Killed Hellhound Lvl 4-7]
x6
Looking over at the bubble, she observed me with a bit of worry on her face. When she saw I was looking, she flashed a thumbs up and thumbs down with an inquisitive look. I replied with a thumbs up since I was almost done with repairs. She smiled and politely clapped, not moving from her bubble. I groaned and lifted myself off the ground. Next time, I'm giving her a thumbs down. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Taking a bit of inspiration from the last fight, I decided I probably needed some crowd control. So, I began shifting the circuits in my arms while recharging the injectors. The announcer had just finished an advertisement for something called a "Hellfire Infusion." The product description was bleeped out for us mortals in the arena, though, so I have no idea what it does other than the fact that it is great for solving hellhound infestations. I was distracted from trying to picture what the hell an infestation of those things would look like by a massive tree appearing in the centre of the arena.
Oh, good, it’s just a plant.
A wooden root drove itself into my head from the ground, piercing my right eye before getting stuck an inch into my head. I thought I was a friend of the forest. How could the forest betray me like this?
I felt Mana begin to drain into the root and reacted. I started charging injectors with intent and used Nature Mana to separate the wooden root embedded in my body from the tree. It screamed as I did that, and I ended up dodging three more roots. Pulling the root out, I was about to toss it away, then thought for a moment and dropped it in my Inventory to check what the hell the thing was. I wasn’t listening when it was announced, after all.
[Groveheart root]
A root originating from a Groveheart Spirit Tree, a sentinel of the grove that absorbs Mana from its prey to promote its growth. This root is somewhat conductive to all types of Mana equally.
Okay, I can work with that.
I dodged two more roots and let the third one gut me. I had already consumed the bit stored in my Inventory, so using the knowledge gained, I shifted the intent of the charge slightly to try to follow Mana pathways. I grabbed the root inside me with my left hand and fired the Mana into the root. The root started to rot at an incredible speed, the corruptive Mana I sent into it travelling up the tree, which was now making some kind of ear-piercing screech. I hope I can learn how to do that. I’d like to be able to talk even when I have no mouth, after all. Its roots began to flail wildly. Instead of three precise roots, I was now having to dodge a barrage of ten. They lashed out in seemingly random directions, tearing into the arena floor and sending little bits of stone flying. One of the roots clipped my arm as I dodged another that would have sliced my throat open.
Unfortunately, I made a mistake when I injected the tree with corruptive Mana. Since I was still connected to the tree, I had also sent the Mana into myself. This meant I had to spend time and Mana blocking off circuits in my torso and excising rotted material from my body. My left arm hung limply by my side, the pathways controlling it completely disconnected during repairs. That was fine, though, because my left hand hadn’t been immune to the charge either, so it was useless until I addressed that issue.
I raised my right hand and unloaded the new circuit I had just built into the tree. A spray of corruptive Mana blobs exited my hand, and a cloud of corrupted Nature Mana hung in the air, almost black from the blight I had added to it. I was glad I had made sure my clothing was rather thick, as the cloud was beginning to cause it to rot.
As the blobs struck the tree, it began to slow. The corruption had spread up its roots, and an entire side of it was reduced to rotting pulp from the shotgun blast I had just sent its way. Checking my Mana, I was down to barely a quarter remaining. I received a kill notification, and the tree disappeared a couple of seconds later.
[Killed Groveheart Protector Lvl 16]
This kill was enough experience to knock me over the line and gain a class level, apparently.
Class Level (Neophyte Conduit) Increased +1 (10)
+2 Wit, +3 Spirit, +2 Fortitude, +3 Arcana
I got fewer levels than I expected from my last kills... Maybe? I need more info on how levelling works.While the ads played, I wasn't really paying attention to them, which were offering access to some kind of World Tre. Most of the ads were censored anyway, so I went over the Skill options that had just appeared.
[Class Skill Option]
Name: [Mana Resistance]
Tier: [Basal]
Description: [As a conduit, your creativity can often lead to backlash. Your physical form will be more resistant to the destructive elements created by your own Mana.]
Yeah, that makes sense. I wonder if this would increase the durability of my circuits as a way to allow me to send more Mana through them before burnout. If that is how it works, it might be worth picking. Given the Class given Fortitude, it was more likely than not that it was used to fix the downside of Mana burnout. Should I hurt myself more often and harder to repair injuries to get a better version of this later on?The thought of harming my Core in any way by mucking about and touching something I shouldn't flashed through my mind. As that happened, I took a moment to slap myself across the face, then chastised myself. Bad Ellie, no self harm, even to get a higher tiered Skill.
[Class Skill Option]
Name: [Precision Casting]
Tier: [Basal]
Description: [Despite your path in magic, your Mana usage is remarkably precise. Allows for Mana to be channeled down exact pathways through your body.]
Okay, this is just an option because I’m using circuits. I don’t think a normal person who obtains this Class has actual veins of Mana inside them. I’m actually fairly curious to see how other conduits cast magic. I know I can move Nature Mana through my body, ignoring circuits, if I focus on the task, but there has to be a better way.
[Class Skill Option]Name: [Natural Enhancement]Tier: [Wrought]Description: [You have learned to move gracefully using Nature Mana alone. This is no easy task, given that the constituent parts of Nature Mana are not conducive to kinetic spells. Allows for faster and more precise movements by increasing the rate of Nature Mana usage while moving.]
Well, now, this is just cheating. I didn’t even have to figure that out myself. I’m happy to cheat if it means I gain the ability to dodge better and faster. I’m sure I’ll need it… Maybe even right now.I picked [Natural Enhancement] and tuned back into the announcer just as they finished the ad about the trees. I wasn’t listening to whatever it was and began announcing the next creature."Up next, we have the main event! The real challenge of tonight—the one that separates those who are ready from those who never stood a chance. This isn’t about glory or victory. It’s about us proving you don't belong. Proving that despite ignoring your obligations on the FIRST DAY to slack off, you were still given a chance."Does this guy have some kind of problem with us mere mortals? Well I'll show his ass."The Terraforged Titan!"Nothing appeared for a moment, and I was wondering what was going on when the arena exploded. Something had fallen from up high, at high speed. I pushed the shrapnel that had gotten in my eyes out and looked forward. In front of me was a massive earth golem. Its exterior was a constantly flowing wall of mud, and as soon as I was spotted, its roar shook the arena. The Mana around it seemed to vibrate as if quaking from its mere presence.
Fuck me.I glanced at the Mana bubble, noting she was on the other side of the arena. I turned back to face the Titan as it approached me a little too quickly for my liking. Turning to run, I activated [Natural Enhancement] and noted how my movements were altered. It also did something to my circuitry, but I didn’t have time to look at what changed. I was, however, moving a decent bit faster at an uncomfortably large Mana cost.
Little hope in my head as it was still gaining on me. I considered throwing a grenade but dismissed the idea almost immediately. There’s no way fire would do anything except seal the outside temporarily and add a bunch of hardened stone to the interior as it shifted. I tried both kinds of corrective shots, which led to basically nothing happening. It wasn’t alive after all. There was nothing to corrupt.A fist flew my way, and I barely dodged, just in time for a kick to send me into a nearby wall. I slammed into the wall hard enough to leave cracks and limply fell onto the floor as the blow had disrupted my Mana. I could see a foot coming towards me from the side, and I resigned myself to my fate.SNAPThe Titan froze as a snap echoed through the arena, after a moment of trying to figure out what had happened and what the girl was capable of . I didn't allow myself to relax since the thing wasn't dead yet and scurried away once my Mana was flowing properly again.
As I moved, I noticed a red beam of Mana that was incredibly complex. Just looking at it caused an ache in my Core to build, but I couldn't look away. I needed to know what this was. My eyes widened as I realized that despite the red colour, the aspect of the Mana within the beam was Raw Mana. I made a note to check Raw magic. Obviously, it's designed to do something important. What the beam was doing quickly became clear as a ball covered in symbols was ripped from the body of the construct and pulled towards the girl. The Titan began to break and turn to dust, which scattered as if blown by a non-existent breeze, disintegrating into some variant of Earth Mana. Surprised by the entire event, it took me a moment to register a notification hanging in the air in front of me.
[Kill Assist Terraforged Titan Lvl 99]Contribution 0.1%The crowd and announcer were dead silent, but the girl had travelled the entire distance of the arena to stand next to me in a fraction of a second. Did she teleport? Also, where did she put the orb? I don't see it.
"Oh, before we were so rudely interrupted by this little game, I was going to introduce myself." She said, despite me being pretty sure she had forgotten the concept of introductions completely at the time. "My name is Hazel, and it will be your pleasure to be my friend."
"I'm Ellie. And we'll see, I suppose, about both your claims." I replied with a chuckle. Moments later, a teleportation spell's distinctly unnerving feeling passed through my bones. A final thought passed through my mind as she can keep up the overly eccentric curiosity, she's probably right about becoming a friend, and then we vanished.