Luca DR
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Punishment reincarnation 35
🕑 Added 2024-02-22 18:12:53 +0000 UTC35 – Powerup
“What do you mean maybe?” Lisette’s stare was unbearable. Usually, it wouldn’t have been. Ishrin had been able to stand defiant even when faced with the god of multiverse himself, and yet he found himself faltering.
The more he looked into her eyes, the more he found himself thinking about the words the monster had uttered when they faced it, words Ishrin better thought forgotten, lest his thoughts go in circles around the topic. Had his wife been here before? If so, to what end?
His gaze went to Liù, still snoozing on his shoulder. Having named the little pixie after his wife seemed morbid, now, although the name was given new value by the loving little creature. It didn’t prevent Ishrin from thinking about his not-so-dead wife, however. Was she responsible for the giant hole in the mountain? Was she the great power who had fought against the horde of minions this mountain was spewing out into the world long ago, according to the records Melina had read? Or was she involved in other ways? It was impossible to tell, yet speculations ran wild.
The party resumed their travels in silence. They made their way into the mountain, and by the time they came upon the first fork in the tunnel, it was clear to all that making their way up would not be an easy feat. They encountered more and more enemies, abominations born of an unholy communion of magic and technology, controlled by the mountain. They were dangerous and strange, ever more so the deeper they went and the higher the level of technology grew. The magic permeating the air was also increasing, making the atmosphere almost oppressive. Ishrin was bearing the full brunt of it, his Tier 2 body ill equipped to deal with the abnormal mana density.
The ice had also returned, blue but also at times pink, lit by the lights of the circuits below its surface. Treacherous it was, hiding enemies in plain sight, requiring the party’s full attention and focus. The fights became scrapes and skirmishes, sometimes quick and easy and at times hard earned and drawn out. Cuts and bruises were stacking up, quicker than their healing could deal with.
It was also good training. Their teamwork was improving, and even their magic was inching forward. Melina’s frozen foundation continued to thaw as she stewed on concepts and revelations. Lisette’s blades were ever faster and deadlier, and Ishrin’s control over the forces of magic and nature improved.
The trio sat down after a long afternoon of fights. In the eerie light of the ice, which sparkled and shimmered with the reflection of their campfire, groans could be heard as the three stretched and made themselves as comfortable as they could on the ground.
A sigh escaped Ishrin’s lips. “We are reaching the end of what we can do.”
“Yeah,” Melina nodded, “if the enemies keep getting stronger, we might need to bail out.”
“No,” Ishrin said, shaking his head, “what I mean is that we need an upgrade. Your foundation is good, and I have grown accustomed to my strength.”
“I am not yet ready to break through, Ishrin.” She said.
“I know. Breaking into Tier 7 is hard even without your… insight problems. However, it might do you good to ponder over this.”
With a swipe of his hand, a swirl of black stars signaled the opening of his inventory. A stack of blank papers fell gracefully to the ground together with a brush and ink. He wrote quickly, diagrams and formulas appearing as if by magic on the paper, depicting the human body and its energy centers, meridians and chakras. It wasn’t all, for there was a whole other section dedicated to something else entirely: the soul.
“Tier 7 is about connecting the soul and body together. Meditate on these diagrams, see if they shake things up a little. And remember: magic is more than just a tool. It’s the very energy that makes you. That includes your soul.”
Then he moved over to Lisette, asking her help for a ritual. She did so without question, and with practiced movements they set up the complex lines on the ground. Similar they were to what he had drawn before they entered the mountain, the runes and power lines for a set of armor that would bump her abilities from the peak of Tier 4 to something beyond that, yet not in the realm of the fifth tier either. A half-step into the next level of power, as it was, and although it would only be a temporary one it was going to help immensely.
Having decent materials would have been nice, but his reserves were dwindling and he only had access to some random cores and monster parts he collected around Noctis, none of which were more powerful than Tier 4. They would have to make to, as the technological scrap he had been collecting from the mountain was too strange and volatile to be used in a ritual without extensive study.
Melina watched them as they set the ritual up, wondering just how wild it was that she was getting used to things like these to the point they didn’t even faze her anymore. She looked at the diagrams in her hands in awe, then at Ishrin who moved with precision and efficiency, focused on his task. Even at Tier 2, he was perfectly comfortable surrounded by people much stronger than himself, and even managed to make them all feel somewhat lacking compared to him, without even doing it on purpose.
She shook her head, wrestling her thoughts back into control. This was no time for girly gawking and starry eyes, they were deep into hostile territory. Even after they got back they would still be in danger for the foreseeable future, which was very unfortunate, but that was the way of things. Perhaps they could find a far away place to have another dinner together. Maybe just the two of them.
“Done,” Ishrin said after a couple of hours. “How does it look?”
Melina put down the stack of papers and diagrams and studied Lisette, barely managing to suppress a gasp. She was looking at a wholly different person. While Lisette was still wearing her usual black leather attire, everything else about it was different. Jewels were encased into it, little shiny gems thrumming with power, dark black and red. The former Tier 4 cores were now objects of power under her control, shining under the hard icy light of the cave. They gave the adventurer presence, like a solid force walking among them.
Such power was otherworldly indeed, beyond what mere Tiers could do.
“I feel powerful.” Lisette said. “Once again, thank you for the boon, Ishrin.”
Ishrin nodded. “Welcome to the world outside of Tiers. You’re technically still Tier 4, but I reckon you could probably outpunch a weak Tier 5 adventurer.” Then, he turned and regarded his sword, which lay on the corner of the cave, like he was studying the face of a problematic child. “It’s time to do my sword now. I’ll do it outside, it’s going to be a bit messy. It’s another one of those reality-defying rituals. Don’t get startled by the voice.”
It was yet several more hours later that they heard it. The Voice.
Ritual successful: Magic Pebble 6.
Along with it, another one which Ishrin later explained was to offset some clunkiness he felt in his swings.
Ritual successful. Speed 1.
The girls had eaten and relaxed in the meantime, but seeing how Ishrin was in no condition to keep going after the rituals, they all elected to spend the night in the relative safety of their little cavern. Mana fled him like it hated his presence, reminding them of the fact that Ishrin was momentarily too real for the rest of the universe to tolerate. He appeared like a hole in their magic vision, a bubble of transparent air surrounding him where the orange and blue mana did not want to enter. If it weren’t for his sorry state, it would be a good idea to make use of it to penetrate deeper into the mountain.
They also wondered how he felt about being completely cut off from the mana supply of the world. While at higher Tiers a person’s soul could generate some mana for them to live off of, it wasn’t so at Tier 2. Ishrin was forced to rely on his internal supply, dwindling as it was, until the negative effect of his ritual wore of. But he was completely calm about it, and Melina could tell that he was doing something to his meridians and core as he rested, making them denser and sturdier. While he was still far from Peak Tier 2, it was clear that he was once again doing something that would put him ahead of the curve compared to a regular cultivator.
They chatted a bit as he recuperated, talking about how ritualism was overly powerful, to which Ishrin replied that such power was offset by its great difficulty and ludicrously slow speed. Then, finally, they went to sleep, with Melina keeping first watch. She saw Ishrin drip something into his mouth directly from his inventory portal, then he was fast asleep before she could ask him about it.
When they woke up, they were refreshed, more powerful and ready to once again tackle the challenges of this strange place. It was clear that what had started as a simple quest had become much more, but it was also a chance to grow stronger and closer together. Both things were assets they were desperately in need for, especially considering what was brewing back at the Guild, where Syrma was establishing his despotic rule.
The Dynasty class had also been dispatched, but it had been deemed a low priority thing by the Guild, and things in a big machine like the Guild tended to proceed slowly unless they were urgent. Someone high up did not want Ishrin found just yet, it seemed, but they also lacked the ability to operate unless very discreetly. Alas, Paradise’s Guild Master smiled as he thought that bureaucracy was the same everywhere you went, magical world and technological dystopias alike. It was slow. Hopefully slow enough for our world hopper to grow strong enough to stand on his own two legs.
