PreCursive
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Chapter 105 - Without a Trace
🕑 Added 2023-11-13 18:00:06 +0000 UTCAN: Okay, so! There are couple things I need to say. I made a few mistakes, so I need to make a handful of retcons. First off, I changed the way obtaining new skills and talents works. Used to be, every ten levels you would get a choice of three skill or talents. Like how Nate got Sylvan Vigor at level 20. That has now been changed so that you get a set skill that you ‘inherit’ at every tenth level. So, 20, 30, 40 etc. I also realized that I never gave Nate a skill for reaching level 40, after the ambush by the loyalist patrol. That has now been rectified. At level forty, Nate received a skill called Grasping Roots, something that causes thorned roots to erupt from the ground and immobilize people. I changed the fight in the Marrowmist warehouse to demonstrate this skill.
Second change is that I realized that Fade had essentially…faded from the story, once the party had boarded the Thorny Reef. I added some lines to indicate his presence over the last few chapters, and he now has a role in the events that are going to occur on Caer Drarrow.
That’s all I can think of for now, so onto the chapter!
……………………………………..
I shivered in the freezing air of the cavern, edging closer to the large fire we’d created. We’d found more than enough material in the cavern to light a bonfire, surprisingly. You would think that it would be too wet to light, but eerily it was almost bone dry. I can’t tell you how unsettling it had been to discover that the driftwood in this underwater cavern was as desiccated as it was.
Still, it made for excellent firewood. I held my hands out to the fire, warming my bones.
My companions were arranged around the fire as well, recovering after the brief fight we’d had with the Neptaurian ambush. Mostly, they were either cleaning themselves off, or cleaning their blades. Or in Bella’s case, standing around impatiently, waiting for Grey to give the word to pack up. I wanted to tell her to calm down, but I don’t think she’d take it very well. We were only intending to stick around for a few more minutes anyway. Still, that gave me enough time to consolidate whatever gains I’d gotten from the battle.
I pulled up my Status, using Hidden Amidst the Spheres.
You have gained six levels!
You are now level 51!
You have sixty unspent Virtue points.
Level 50 Class ability inherited.
Would you like to review your Status?
Y/N
My eyebrows shot up. Six levels? Wow, I almost felt like thanking the Neptaurians that had ambushed me. I’d even gotten my level fifty ability from fighting them.
I mentally selected yes, causing another box to pop up.
Level 50 Class ability (Thornblade Acolyte)
Ringed Mind (Talent): Reorganize your mind.
Reorganize your mind? What the hell did that meannnnnnn…..
Suddenly, I was paralyzed by a downright terrifying sensation. I could barely describe the feeling, but it was almost like the metaphysical structure of my thoughts were changing in real-time. Not only that, but I could swear that I felt my brain morphing inside my skull.
Slowly, my thought process changed, gaining what felt like…levels, each with their own speed and agility. There were three of them, which I guess were the ‘rings’ of the talent. The outermost ring of thought was the fastest, and the most similar to how my previous thought process had functioned. It was faster than my mind had been previously, though. My thoughts in this ring moved with a speed and agility that was nearly frictionless, making connections and observations at a speed that I’d never experienced. But it was as I moved downwards or, rather, further into the recesses of my mind that things became strange.
The middle ring of my consciousness was similar to what my mind had been like before, but it also seemed to be representative of more than the outer. Within it, I could feel my desires on a deeper level and almost control them, propagating outward. For example, I could feel my desire to retract my hands from the fire in an almost tangible sense, as I’d frozen in place with them too close to the flame. Eyes still frozen open, from within my middle thought ring, I…turned off that desire. Suddenly, it was as if I didn’t feel the uncomfortable heat of the fire on my hands anymore. Even if I intellectually knew that I was in danger of burning my hands, I didn’t have the automatic need to do so. Hurriedly, I switched it back on, withdrawing my hands from the flame to lie trembling in my lap.
But it was the very center of my new consciousness that frightened me the most. It also possessed a thought process like the outer ring, but this…‘core’ was so much more. Instead of manipulating my mind and its reactions like the middle one, I could manipulate my body. It was like I was now directly overseeing the automatic functions of my physical self. They still functioned without my input, but I could now…weigh a finger onto them. For instance, right now I was fucking terrified out of my mind at the amount of control I had over myself. From within my core ring, I could see how my body was being flooded with fear from the adrenaline that was pumping through my body and caressing my brain. With only a moment’s thought, I shut down the production of adrenaline in my body from the fear that had been flooding me.
Instantly, I could feel myself calm down. With the fear dying down, I curiously massaged another gland in my brain, causing it to release another hormone that felt really fucking good. Oh God, this was nice. I could feel myself not only calming down, but a large smile stretching across the features of my outside body from the induced pleasure.
I let my outer two rings drift in a sense of artificial bliss, for a moment. Still, my core thought process retained enough presence of mind to realize this wasn’t the best time to be indulging in such a high.
Later, though…
I returned to the task at hand, marveling at the sensation of having three separate streams of thought. It wasn’t like they were three different people, though. This wasn’t a ‘we’ situation. All three of them were still me. I just had more flexibility now, with two of the thought streams having extra capabilities.
For a moment, I thought I could sense something else from my core, but the sensation was fleeting. And honestly, this wasn’t the best time for such experimentation. As fun and interesting as this was, we still had things to do. I still had things to do.
I focused back on my status, and selected the still waiting Yes prompt to view my Status. Once I did so, I allocated my Virtue points in a now familiar process.
Name: Nathaniel Eugene Hart
Titles: Unbound Liberator
Level: 51
Age: 24 Sol
Race: Human (Precursor)
Affinity: Terrestrial
Classes: Thornblade Acolyte (Uncommon)
Professions: Aetherial Melding
Health: 490/490
Stamina: 100/100
Vitality: 60
Strength: 10
Spirit: 10
Dexterity: 110
Perception: 60
Intelligence: 160
Wisdom: 160
Free Points: 0
Options: [Talent Page], [Skill Page], [Profession Page]
Nice, neat numbers. Not that I could do anything with some of them, at this point. I was incredibly curious about what having my own Mana would be like. At this point, I was half-way there to level one hundred, and reaching the first ‘threshold’.
I was broken out of my life-changing moment by Grey standing up from the fire, drawing the attention of everyone around it. Grey picked up a nearby bucket that we had scavenged from among the debris, and tossed the seawater he’d filled it with earlier over the flame. Our warm respite from the freezing temperature of the cavern died with a hiss. I shivered in the cold, before dialing down my sensitivity to the cold with my middle mind.
Ah, that was better.
“We must press on,” Grey told us, tossing the bucket to the side carelessly. “We can’t dally too long, else we risk the sabotage crew being discovered.”
“Finally!” Bella blurted out, throwing up her hands. “It’s like you landlubbers ‘ave never taken a dip beneath the waves!”
Grey rolled his eyes, but didn’t respond. Instead, he reconjured the orb of bright silver light he’d extinguished earlier, and set it to hover in front of him. The rest of us clambered to our feet, some with more reluctance than others. Azarus in particular still looked miserable from the cold, and I didn’t blame him. He was not only smaller than everyone else, but he was clad in full plate mail armor. The dwarf had frost crystallizing in his firey beard.
When he saw that I seemingly had no issue with the cold anymore, my dwarven friend looked at me in disbelief. “H-how the hells are ya all right this m-mess?”
I grinned back at him. “New skill,” I said, aware that I was still feeling the physical effects of the cold. The sensation was just muted in my case.
Either way, Azarus just grumbled to himself, conjuring up his own fiery ball of light. Both to help light the way, and warm his gauntleted hands.
We pressed on.
……………………………………..
Grey led us to an opening in the rock wall of the entrance cavern. It wasn’t huge, only large enough for one person to squeeze through at a time. Venix in particular had to shuffle his massive form through the gap in the stone sideways. But once we were through, the cavern widened. It led to a passage bigger than its entrance, frosted with ice.
But the passage contained a grimmer sight.
Corpses. Dozens of them.
Only…
All of them were webbed to the walls, as if by spiders.
As one, our group stopped to stare at the unfortunate victims that we had found. Grey approached one of the unfortunates, gesturing for his light to hover near them.
The body of the man webbed to the wall was dessicated to an extreme degree. His skin was paper thin, and stretched over a lidless skull, staring into space with an expression that was somehow still horrified.
Grey examined the corpse somberly for a moment, before turning back to our group. “This…” He said gravely. “Is not the work of a Neptaurian. Bella, you told us that you were attacked by a Neptaurian Prime. You were able to confirmthat the Prime leading this herd was Neptaurian?”
Bella stared at the desiccated corpse on the wall in disbelief for a moment, before dragging her eyes to Grey. “Hells yes, I’m sure. I got a damn good Observe type skill, and could see the Prime right on its bleedin’ Status.”
Grey frowned. “Then…what did this? Neptaurians are not known to ally with other monsters in the wild. Monsters, in general, are not known to ally with each other. We’ve already confirmed the presence of the Neptaurians beneath the island. Suddenly, there’s a second nest of monsters down here as well?”
“Could that mean,” Sylvia interjected, speaking slowly. “That there could be a second Prime?”
The group grew quiet and still at the possibility. I felt dread try to roll over me, but suppressed it with my second mind.
Meanwhile, Grey was staring at his daughter in disbelief. “Impossible. In centuries of study, I’ve never heard of Prime’s allying with each other. Every case I’ve ever heard that involved a Prime meeting a Prime led to battle over territory. There’s only so many resources in a given area for competing monster groups to fight over.”
“But this isn’t a normal case,” I said quietly. “We already think that the Loyalists are controlling not only the Neptaurian herd, but their Prime.”
My words caused Grey to narrow his eyes. He let out a frosty breath of frustration. “Damn.” He said simply.
Our group stood around in silence for a moment, before it was broken by the sound Venix unsheathing one of his blades with a loud ring. Our group turned to face him, only to see that he was looking around with an intense look on his insectoid features. “Where,” He said lowly. “Is the healer?”
I felt adrenaline race up my spine, and spun in a quick circle. He was right.
Aurum was missing.
Without even needing to be asked, Azarus spun around and sprinted back to the gap leading to the entrance cavern, his flame bobbing in his hand. The dwarf slipped through the gap, and we heard his voice calling Aurum’s name. Moments later, he emerged back into the passage we were in, with a grim look on his broad features. “Nothin’,” He said ominously. “He ain’t in there.”
Grey held up his light, and flared it brighter. I held up a hand to block out the light, while my eyes adjusted. When they did, I looked around with everyone else, trying to see any kind of clue as to his whereabouts.
I found one.
Walking swiftly to the side, I picked it up from where it lay discarded on the stone floor of the passage. “Fuck,” I said finally, drawing the attention of the group. Turning back around, I showed it to them.
It was Aurum’s staff.
“Something,” I told my companions. “Snuck up on us while we were examining the corpse, and nabbed him. All without making a single sound.”
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