"You just aren't enough anymore."
"We tried everything, I'm sorry sir."
"Get in the car Tom, NOW!"
The four walls surrounding me, each painted and designed differently, began slowly closing in.
"Get the FUCK over here!?"
"What the fuck are you even doing with your life?"
"You were together for HOW long?! Why?!!"
Familiar cacophonous whispers mixed with bellowing screams echoed around the rapidly shrinking room, faces of my loved ones now burning in the wallpapers that surrounded me. The voices persistently grew in number and intensity.
"You really think you can beat m-"
"Baby it's not what it looks l-"
"GET over here you little sh-"
My heart felt like it was about to pound through my chest, sweat beading from my face as I struggled to cover my ears from the crescendoing chorus of terribly familiar voices.
"You're weak."
"Too fucking soft."
"What haven't you failed at?"
A large dark cloud arose from the floor before me, the walls still closing around us. Its smoky appearance slowly shaped into a towering thin humanoid in a hooded black robe. Sharp red eyes pierced through its dark fog that danced and crackled with crimson energy.
"Selfish."
"Compulsive.
"Hateful."
My mind ached and pounded like a million bullets ricocheted around my skull as the figure began approaching, the pain crippling me down to a knee.
"Hypocrite."
"Prideful."
"Lost."
The figure's bony hand, exuding the same red energy its eyes had, lunged for my neck while it screeched gutturally in my face.
"HUNGRY!"
My body froze as its dark bony hand barreled for my throat, utter defeat and despair washing over my entire being. That was until an unfamiliar man's voice echoed through the continuously shrinking room in an oddly soothing tone.
"…Tom. Breathe."
My stomach expanded rapidly in a title wave of warmth, crashing through the fear and pain that rendered me catatonic. My head barely leaned out of the way of the dark figures extending arm in time, its shadowy figure brushing across my nose.
My feet shuffled changing stances and slamming a hooking punch into the figure's body, another followed to where its face should be under its large hood. The figure's skull snapped to the side violently and back straight again, its balance remaining unaffected.
Slowly, its head turned back toward me before disappearing from existence in a puff of smoke. Scoffing, I started laughing nervously enjoying the shock at having defeated this…thing. Thankfully, the walls of the room had stopped closing in after it evaporated from existence. Turning back to find an exit from the room however, the same shadowy figure stood in wait. Its eyes ignited as its hand flew to my temple in a ball of ruby energy.
"Feed. Me." It growled sinisterly, its hand shooting at my face with a blinding crimson fla-
"TOM! Wake up!" Barry's burly voice and heavy hand slapping my face jolted me up from bed, a slight pain shooting through my abdomen.
"Fucking OW, Barry? Why are you hitting me?" I asked angrily, still trying to attain full consciousness as I rubbed my eyes.
"For one, I owe you way worse for that sucker punch you pulled out there. If you hadn't helped protect my people, you'd be dead before a healer ever laid a fucking finger on you." The giant growled as he leaned forward, closer to my face.
"When you become a giant, do you like, lose stat points in hygiene or something? Your breath is kicking." I replied with a chuckle, pinching my nose crinkling my face. Honestly, his breath just smelled like beef, which just sounded enticingly flavorsome at this point. All the same, he came in way too hot not to give shit
"Smug little shit. Anyways, it's fucking nighttime now. You napped the whole day away, most of your friends and one of your serpents left for the 'Elysium'. Just you, your army, and that flying snake of yours here now." Barry turned away as he finished relaying the information he clearly was ordered to give, revealing the many scars and unhealed wounds across his back.
"…Barry!" I hollered after him exiting my rather decently sized hospital room. Kaitlyn's were far more advanced than this, decorated with cabinets, healing potions at the ready in the cabinets, even a waste area for whatever form of contamination could occur. This giants' hospital room however, stored an admittedly nice bed and some stained rags with frayed stitching. That was the extent of their 'equipment' available here.
"What?" He shot back.
"Sorry for uh, uppercutting you like that today. Just have a thing about being called a rat. I fucking hate those little abominations, especially the one back h-" I winced recognizing that blasted undead mongrel appeared in my mind. I braced for the shooting pain of Korbin's contract regarding his little buddy to overtake my thoughts, possibly sending me back into another mini-coma if I'm in too bad of shape.
Except…nothing. No pain anywhere whatsoever when thinking about Korbin's rat.
Randy.
…not even a tingle.
"You okay? Why are you smiling all of the sudden?" Barry asked, ripping me from my glorious discovery of newfound freedom.
"No reason, just happy to be alive. Hey, did my friends say when they'd be back?" I asked, concerned they'd chosen to leave the same day as the battle that'd claimed so many giants' lives. I've yet to find out how many of ours went down or missing, but anything above 0 was sure to piss me off.
"Tomorrow in the afternoon. Until then, Cassi instructed you to await further orders." Barry responded despondently.
"Okay. What am I to do until then?" I asked him, concerned they may be tardy. Barry answered over his shoulder continuing back out of the room, clearly done with this conversation.
"Not my problem, Tom. Goodnight."
As Barry exited, I caught a glimpse of the starry night outside the door, confirming I'd in fact slept the day away. The wave arrived at 11 am this morning, though I haven't the slightest how long that battle raged on for. The more details I recall, the harder it was to estimate.
Trying to keep my mind off of our fallen soldiers, along with the memory of what that damned undead gorilla did to the corpses of my comrades, I checked my notifications. Filtering the normal enemy death notifications left the boss ones…along with a few special others.
*Congratulations!*
You have slain (Queen mantis [level-9])
Bonus experience awarded for slaying a stronger foe
You have slain (Ophiophagus Callosus [level-9])
Bonus experience awarded for slaying a stronger foe
You have slain (Hippocerotidae Pod King [level-9])
Bonus experience awarded for slaying a stronger foe
*Congratulations!* You have leveled up your class!
[Storm Strider (Level-7)]
->
[Storm Strider (Level - 8)]
+3 agility +3 endurance
+1 free skill point
Having played a hand in killing so many beasts and bosses had catapulted me up an entire class level in a day, and I wouldn't be shocked if I was closing in on eclipsing another. Surveying my status, I noticed I'd forgotten to throw the last class upgrades free point into any stats, and tossed both into willpower.
Upgrading willpower wasn't much like any other stat, besides the sudden influx of energy that courses through your body. Agility for example had a particular tearing sensation along every fiber of muscle lining my skeleton. Vitality, on the other hand, felt more like a warm hug in my stomach, accompanied by an internal expansion in my stomach. Where other stats evoked their own respective flavors of sublime euphoria upon leveling, wisdom just felt more…well, more. It wasn't so much a particularly concentrated sensation, rather an all encompassing growth that extended just outside of myself. A passive invisible energy hummed around my skin, flaring out into the room and rapidly subsiding.
I'd never upgraded the stat more than once at a time before, either through my profession upgrades or staying on top of my free points, and never noticed this particular effect so vividly. Usually it was more subtle, like having a hot flash only outside of your body. It was definitely enlightening, that strange aura something I' made note meditate on later. With any luck, I could learn to replicate the feeling to better understand it. For now, I had one more notification.
And without a doubt, it was the best one yet.
*You have unlocked a new class skill!*
Spirit of the Storm (Epic)- your affinities search toillessly to earn merger with the Flow that governs the motion of all, your spirit serving as the mitigator as they innately battle for sovereignty, fighting to achieve equilibrium between the two. Skill and spiritual discipline forces the dueling affinities together, amplifying users' associated affinity potency. These energies have yet to reach mutuality, resulting in an intense weak state following the deactivation. Health will be taken when mana and/or stamina is fully drained while skill is active.
+20% water affinity potency
+20% lightning affinity potency
+20% flow affinity potency
Costs: mana + stamina
…woah
Reading over my very first epic rarity skill was utterly electrifying, the excitement surging through my still recovering body made it hard not to immediately activate the skill. However, the lengthy description held a LOT to unpack. For starters, the entire skill implied my preferred affinities were literally in direct conflict with one another. Not only that, but somehow my Flow constantly cycling within me worked as their mediator, hoping to achieve some balance amongst them.
In terms of pre-integration, balance had been the virtue I valued the most. Largely because I was so terribly unbalanced in nature for the vast majority of my life . A short temper at a young age often landed me in fights, some in which I dearly regretted afterwards, feeling like a bully at times. The worst of it being I'd been bullied myself before I'd hit any growth spurts, especially having moved over a dozen times before turning 13. Didn't really have enough friends to have my back anywhere we went.
So, naturally, I overcorrected after sprouting to 6 foot by the 9th grade, and became utterly passive for years. Avoiding not just violent conflicts, but all conflicts entirely. This included arguments, unpleasant emotions, even my own dreams if any notable obstacle stood in my way. That didn't land me anywhere special either, in fact those who knew me during those times openly considered that period as my lowest.
That all changed around the time I'd been introduced to Flow. Not to say it directly removed all my problems or anything. Quite frankly, they haven't 'gone' anywhere. I'd already been on a personal quest for self betterment in all feasible facets when Korbin introduced me to martial arts and Flow. The concept itself quickly assisted in bridging the gaps between many questions I had for myself. Namely, my three Pillars of health; mind, body, and spirit. Each pillar had its own priorities of maintenance, with wildly differing means to hone them. For the longest, I'd neglected my body and mind, relying on my spiritual health to carry me through life. For obvious reasons, being 'spirited' doesn't even land you captain of a cheer squad, much less a sense of fulfillment.
These pillars existed in just about everything, naturally connecting all, so long as one could follow the weave far enough. It's a 'nothing' that everything shares, much like flow itself. Something I quickly deemed priceless in a world that values individualism like gods before we ever met one.
Either skills were personally tailored to people's most positive delusions, or the system genuinely recognized the role Flow had played too. In any case, the latter half of my new skills description mentioned my two affinity's energies had 'yet to reach mutuality', which ended in severe weakness after turning off the skill. It would cost both my mana and stamina to use, and would siphon health when those ran dry, implying it could be fatal to use this skill too long. Neither of these sounded pleasant, or anything I felt like experiencing at the moment.
Based on its multiple 20% boosts, however, it would undoubtedly make me exponentially stronger for the duration of the skill keeping active. My body ached at the very idea of trying it out, instead reserving myself to a little Flow Meditation in hopes I could continue resting before sunup. Besides, there were already a myriad of sensations that channeled through my body yesterday to review. Namely having completely blacked out at one point, regaining my senses moments before killing my own comrade in a fit of blinding rage.
He'd call me the forbidden insult, one I vehemently detested. That was absolutely no excuse for trying to literally stab him in the fucking back though. All I craved for was vengeance, to the extent I sincerely doubt I could've contained the energy in my body with a sound mind had there not been a massive hippo-monster left to slay. At first it was merely streaks of scorching heat, something my blades often released during Lightning Strike.
However, as I regained consciousness, my mind became innately aware of what I assumed was the blood swaying in my body. The odd thing was it amplified my lightning mana, causing the two energies to magnify as they swayed within me with every motion. The multitude of jagged streaks reacted within my body similarly to how it had with the Hippocerotidae Pod-King's mud pool. The lightning mana is surged through its mud puddle, compounding in intensity with every moment spent in that damned puddle.
What medium did the mud and my body share in common? Easy; water. Meaning, the epic skill I'd gained was more than likely earned by interpolating the three affinities I aligned with by accident. One could argue the skill itself represented a byproduct from the culmination of training that led up to that point, sure. Intent was the catalyst to comprehension however, which meant I'd inevitably have to use this skill again in order to understand its inner-workings better.
Every ab muscle lining my stomach ached a dull pain at the very thought, reminding me once again I'd need to rest if I had any hope at being remotely useful tomorrow. Laying my head back down, I focused on clearing my mind to allow my body to mend what it must, and drifted fast asleep.
Day 16
The morning arrived in what felt like a blink of an eye, which usually only happened when I really needed the rest. My muscles and joints felt renewed lifting myself from the hospital room bed, which was way nicer than any pre-Tutorial ones. My twinblade lay atop the desk at the foot of the bed, along with a large glass of water.
Clearly, this incredibly thoughtful gesture couldn't have been Barry's doing, however I welcomed the large glass without question. Whatever healer had left such a thoughtful gift must have mixed some sort of healing potion in, because the sensation as the liquid trickled down my stomach resembled that of massive stat boost. The warmth was wondrous, like I'd swallowed a cozy, hot coco filled winter night.
Finishing the last gulp of the highest quality water I'd ever tasted, movement in my periphery snapped my attention to the side. A millisecond of panic overcame my heart, subsiding just as quickly recognizing myself in the mirror. It'd been a few weeks since I'd gotten a good look at myself, surprised I hadn't grown out my typical bushy beard yet. I'd tried out a fresh shave before this went down, and deeply regretted it.
I have a bonafide baby face, no two ways about it. The beard at least kept me looking my ripe age of 26, but without it I looked like a damn college freshman. That being said, it took a moment to recognize my younger looking self in the wall mounted mirror, roughly 8 feet across the room. Unlike my facial hair, the hair on my head found no issue growing out. Hopefully, someone at the Savants Elysium will harbor a 'barber' profession holder, I've never had hair down to my shoulders before. Definitely not my style.
Annoyed seeing this new and uncomfortable look that was my own face, I lifted my large cowl over my head, leaving only my nose and mouth exposed from its shade. The muffled clashing of metal and hardy laughter averted my attention outside, grinning knowingly at the source of the commotion.
Grabbing my twinblade from the table, I exited the hospital room, finding myself a few blocks from the entrance to the settlement. There, a pair of the original 15 soldiers were in a sparring tournament, exerting onto the recruits and a few giants their prowess with glee. Pride welled in my chest seeing my soldiers enjoying a pass time I treasured dearly, and I held no intention on interrupting their fun.
"Commander Tom! You gotta help us, these guys are kicking our a-hey?!" One of the new recruits hollered, getting elbowed hard by one of their comrades trying to request a helping hand. The elbowing recruit whispered something to the other's recruit ear, and I wasn't in earshot to eavesdrop.
"What's that, soldier?" I asked with an inviting smile. My disciplinary voice was reserved for combat and sparring situations. I couldn't care less how they spent their time. So long as they were no nuisance, that is.
…no more than me, that is.
"Ugh…n-nothing sir. Sorry for disturbing you." The recruit nervously muttered with a shaky salute.
"Save the wavy shit for Cassi and Korbin. I don't care for the formalities, we all know where we stand." I said, trying to extend an olive branch of affability. We were both soldiers, who lived and died together at the end of the day. Korbin of course would care for us, and Cassi was here too, but I felt far more kindred to the soldiers and Steve than I had our 'shot callers'.
"S-so s-s-so sorry s-sir!" The soldier stammered, his mouth refusing to permit the suddenly terrified soldier to spit his words out. A group of the newer recruits nearby wore the same withheld dreadful look on their face, side eying us from afar.
"Don't sweat it, bud." I responded casually to the openly perspiring young man, trembling before me. Curious, I waved my finger for him to follow as we walked away from the rest of the soldiers. Lowering my tone was a hush, I decided to cut the crap in hopes he'll be straight with me.
"Hey, why are you acting afraid of me?" I asked, restraining all signs of frustration in my voice.
"W-well…you're um, you're the Chosen of the Wrath God, sir." He responded, avoiding eye contact.
"Why does that scare you?" I asked, genuinely befuddled. The soldier's scrunched brow indicated he too was confused.
"Sir, your gods an Aboriginal, and one of the most feared across the multiverse. He openly detests weakness, and typically disposes of it. Publically." The soldier answered, his eyes nearly bulging from his skull in fear.
Sure, I could see Perunious being a hard ass multiversal tyrant. Being the god of wrath probably meant you exerted some along the way, after all. He also never struck me as patient for mediocrity, though I figure most gods share such priorities. Which is why the relevance confused me.
"What's that got to do with me?" The soldier looked absolutely shocked at my question.
"W-…well you're his Chosen?" He answered apprehensively.
"That doesn't mean I'm him. He chose me for what I am and what I'll become, not to make a Corbin copy of himself. Sure, we both use lightning, but I saw no swords in his hands when we meet." I explained with a smile. True, Perunious and I probably do very much share some personality traits. However, seeing the planet he'd been decimating amidst showing off his Flodhest affirmed there were very sundering differences between us.
"U-uhh…well um, sorry for being mistaken, Commander." The sweat-soaked soldier fumbled out, nearly throwing another firm salute, his arm falling to the side recalling my prior request to cut that shit out. He stumbled on one foot trying to stop his arms momentum, instead throwing a timid smile.
The soldiers' fear persisted and didn't show any indication of going anywhere, regardless of my attempts at affirmations. Not willing to be made out to be a tyrannical black sheep any longer, I dismissed him. He shuffled back stiffly to the army's friendly fighting club. Hoping to forget this entire experience, I took a stroll around the settlement in search of Steve. Shit, even Barry would suffice in curing my rapidly blossoming boredom.
My mind wandered freely walking about the now Korbin-owned Pylon. I'm not entirely sure how, but Korbin already managed to claim this Pylon without even being here. He and Cassi were conducting business with Garrin, Phoebe, and Becky at the Savants Elysium. At most, they were still en route back here.
Korbin's patented blend of black and gold streaks covered the now Romanesque buildings towering over residential homes and the marketplace alike. The giants residing here were relatively active, at least for a people who suffered losing over a third of their main fighting force. The upgrades to vital professions such as alchemy, smithing, and general trade seemed to revitalize a spark in their non-warrior settlers, the bustling chatter of trade filling the marketplace.
No sign of my winged serpent, nor the joyless giant, Barry. My TP was running short after getting this grappling hook, barring any hope of shopping to pass the time. So far I'd barely utilized the grappling hook, due to its higher mana cost to cast. It served its use in the fight with Barry, but I also had little reason to conserve my resources in a dual. That last Pylon defense however, was an entirely different story.
Continuing along the wall toward the Pylon building, my rather pleasant stroll around the settlement was rudely disrupted by the sound of Barry's thunderous voice barking obscenities nearby. A couple short paces following his yells brought me to a disgruntled Barry, waving a small note in the air towards an angry Steve.
"Relax you stupid fuckin' lizard! I know you understand me. This note's for your master, dammit!" Barry yelled angrily at Steve, who was only shaking his head around Barry as he tried to deliver the note.
"Very unwise to provoke a serpent like that. Especially telling them you have news for their 'master'," I announced, casually walked over wearing a smirk. Barry jumped at hearing my voice, sighing through his nose with his eyes staring to the sky, assumingely for patience.
"I was trying to tell your stupid snake to give you this whenever you woke up. Cassi sends word from your settlement." Barry explained, bearing very little enthusiasm. He flicked a small envelope over to me. A red seal with a strange insignia dissolved as my fingers grasped the envelope snatching it out of the air. Within was a small folded blank piece of parchment paper, though words manifested onto the page as my eyes focused.
"Tom, first of all, heard how you took down those bosses during the wave defense. Good shit, try not to almost kill yourself next time though. Cassi's doing her best."
Clearly, this was Korbin's message for me. I found the hassle of getting this to me a profound waste before the letters scrambled across the page, rearranging into a new message.
"We've squared away Phoebe and Becky's contract, however I've sent Cassi back early. Hold for your next assignment."
My toe tapped impatiently on the ground awaiting a new message to appear with my assignment. The message hadn't changed in the slightest for several seconds before finally scrambling and rearranging into another message.
"Did it work? I put a delay in, hope you're pissed. Anyways, there's a massive island south west of our new settlement with only a single Pylon detected at the center. Cassi should arrive short after this message. You two are to take Barry and Steve with you to explore the discovered island. Hold."
My interpretation of 'hold' was to wait for the rest of my assignment details, which instead rearranged into a much smaller message. I had to pull the paper closer to my face to make out the one word message.
"Randy."
My hand instinctively reached for my temples, bracing for another splitting headache. It took a few seconds to remember I'd somehow grown out Korbin's little contract side effects. I started giggling to myself, remembering I'm spontaneously free of Randy's chains on my mind.
"What's so funny?" Barry asked curiously. I'd forgotten he was still here, causing me to jolt at hearing his voice. I took a deep breath before responding.
"We got an assignment. You're coming with us to an island Korbin found out about. Your dad's still there so, he probably cleared this already." I answered, the excitement at exploration leaking into my voice.
"What? No. That's a terrible idea." Barry, waving it off dismissively.
"Why? Have you been there already?" I asked, now feeling a little disappointed.
"No, no one who's ever gone has come back. My father sent warriors greater than me a week ago. That was the last we saw them." He answered solemnly as his head lowered.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Barry. But I think we'll be in better shape quite honestly."
"How can you be so sure?" He answered, an ember curiosity igniting across his face.
"Well, you see Steve here? We met at the bottom of the ocean. Ever since, we either tamed or slain our way through any worthy oceanic predator across the sea, all the way here." I answered, the giant's eyes darting about as he searched for the implications of what I'd just told him.
After a few moments, he squinted his eyes with his hands spread wide at his sides, clearly needing me to spell it out.
"I can get you a beast to ride to the island, who can serve as back up worse case scenario. So long as I tame a couple predatory beasts along the way." My enthusiasm fell to a lethargic disappointment realizing I'd have to go through the motions of taming again.
"OH! Okay, then why are we waiting? I'll get my cleaver!" Barry said, his deep voice sounding unfit for his sudden giddy attitude as he began jogging away.
"Wait Barry, we have to w-" Barry ignored my calls rushing toward the Pylon building entrance.
"Wow, he's pretty dence, isn't he?" Steve mentally snickered, slithering back into a coil behind me.
"You didn't have to fuck with him, you know." I said, a little ashamed at my serpent for picking on the big guy.
"Like he can't take it. He certainly dishes his fair share of insults so, at least his grammar's not the problem." Steve continued remorselessly insulting the giant, nestling his feathered head at the center of his bundled body.
"Don't get too cozy. We're leaving soon." I said, plopping down for a meditation session myself while I awaited Barry.
"You were telling Barry to wait? Do we have to do something before we leave?" Steve asked. Looking up, the sun already drifted further west, indicating we were past midday already. Cassi was still not here yet, though she did have until Barry returned to join us.
"Nah, nah I just wanted to have him grab potions. I can do that." I answered Steve, turning and heading toward their alchemist back at the marketplace.
Sure, Korbin did explicitly say Cassi would come with, however there were no instructions against meeting her on the island? Assuming Korbin estimated her arrival as well as his stupid delayed message gag, she shouldn't be far behind regardless.
Besides, yesterday's wave was the closest to an insurmountable challenge we'd encountered yet. Not to mention we won't need to protect anyone particularly weak, and my leveling up unlocked an ace in the hole boosting skill if it somehow gets too dicey. Cassi won't be too far behind either, especially if I leave her a tamed beast to lend her a lift over.
We'll be fine.