《Of Deities and Dimensions》 Prologue - Arrival The Deity Akmadouric exerted the force of his willpower towards the interdimensional barrier. It cracked, and he immediately redoubled his efforts to enter the uninitiated realm. Eighteen spiked ethereal appendages from his back pierced the barrier and he pulled it apart, widening the crack until his small planetoid sized body and immense consciousness was able to break through. Exhausted, he floated at the center of this unexplored version of the universe. Claiming an untouched dimension was a minor accomplishment among deities like him. Hopefully, the inhabitants of this dimension would be worth the investment of energy and personal risk. He was tired, weak and vulnerable. If another deity hostile to him had decided to trackhim and attack, then Akmadouric would not hesitate to fight for his life, destroying this universe in the ensuing battle. So the first thing he did was erect a barrier dimension over the hole he had created. Then sent out a priority defenders call for his most trusted minions, who instantly teleported in to defend the barrier dimension and him with their character¡¯s lives. Millions came and prepared for battle. Akmadouric floated in space without moving to regain energy and strength. They waited with bated breath, but the assault never came. Akmadouric was able to rest peacefully until hisstrength returned to adequate levels. He lowered the threat level indicator, thereby lowering the amount of favor the participating minions earned. With the danger passed, the vast majority left, they had better ways of earning the currency of his favor. He summoned his a analytical chariot. A metal throne the size of a continent with sensors, spires, dishes and an assortment of instruments jutting out from it¡¯s hull. Using it,he examined thenew universe that now belonged to him, much to his disappointment, there was only a single world that held sentient life, the rest was barren. Although there was such a vast array of unnatural energy signatures that Akmadouric felt that ithad not always been the case. In the past there were likely multiple intergalactic civilizations who had experimented with and weaponized high energy physics. While the interdimensional deity known as Akmadouric could have sifted through this dimension¡¯s beginningless history in order to find and resurrect the extinct races, it would take far too much energy and time. And those resources were needed for the war. So he focused his attentions on the only world that had life on it. Before making his appearence, he lightly tapped into the consciousnesses of every living thing on the planet using psychic energies in order to learn what was considered to be common knowledge among the inhabitants. The highest sentients on the world called themselves ¡®Human¡¯ and called their planet ¡®Earth¡¯. Their twenty five pound brains had two hemispheres, which wasn¡¯t too impressive for a people who didn¡¯t have access to willpower energy. Skin colors ranged from pitch black to pale white. No blues, greens, oranges or purples. The year was 2048AD¡­after death? Oh, they were marking the date after the death of a righteous religious icon. The nations were coming together, but sadlyenough there were still a great areas of rampant starvation and poverty in spite of having the technology available to fix the problems. There were people on both ends of the moral spectrum, some taking the ideas of good and evil to the extreme. The Deity Akmadouric sat back for a moment and gave the planet a thumbs up.Choosing life for the people on the planet Earth and not wiping it from existence. The wrongness of it was well within his tolerance levels and could easily shift to the right side of the moral spectrum. He took a moment to ponder how best to make himself known to his newest subjects. So he transformed himself into one of his less threatening forms. His new body had two arms, two legs and a head attached to a torso, just like the humans. But instead he purposefully lefthis skin color to his signature deep blue. His single pair of eyes turned silver and he grew hair as white as starlight. Then he teleported himself and his chariot into high orbit above the Earth. After all, what better way was there to get an entire planet¡¯s attention than to suddenly appear and fill up the sky?Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The people of Earth stared at the apparition above them, then panicked like it was doomsday. Some of the people killed themselves, others bowed down and worshiped him. The practical ones began looting. World leaders met and unanimously decided to launch their most devestating weaponsat him. But every time one of the simpletons below did something to cause death, he saved them. People who were about to hang themselves fell through the ropes. Guns jammed. Jumpers began to float in the air. With a sigh Akmadouric said ¡°Such a dramatic people.¡± Then eight thousand missiles launched from the planet¡¯s surface. He let them approach halfway towards him, then froze the weapons in time so that he could casually observe. They were sleek and ellipsoidal, it was good to see that some things were universal for their efficient design. But what bothered him was that he didn¡¯t immediately recognize the payload. There was some kind of glowing green mineral aboard producing more of those bizarre energy signatures. He used his psychic link with all of the humans to find out what these weapons were supposed to do, then his face grew tighter.
Nuclear warhead
Owner:Earth Defence Force
Damage: 54Cataclysmic, 18 heat jules
Speed: 60 kilometers per second.
Additional effects: 2,000 mile diameter lingering gamma radiation effects, 50 years.
Description: During the cold war, the Soviet Union and America built enough of these weapons were built to destroy the entire population of the world twelve times over. Peace was kept through mutually assured destruction.
If he had let all eight thousand nukes hit him without protection then it would have destroyed his chariot and left severe burn marks all over his body, he wasn¡¯t in one of his combat forms anymore but still¡­for the people of this world to have developed so many weapons of mass destructionwas disgusting. It was a miracle that they hadn¡¯t already destroyed themselves, but in time the splintered nations would nuke one another, such things were inevitable. Still, it was an oversight on his part to think of them as simpletons. Akmadouric wrote in the sky ¡®You idiots. If these had blown up at my present location then it would have knocked your whole planet slightly out of orbit until it either fell into the sun or flew out of the solar system.¡¯ Then left the chariot and the frozen nukes, teleporting himself inside of the NASA space station that had been observing him, changing his size from eight hundred miles tall to that of a six foot tall blue man with white hair. Abruptly appearing in behindof a female Commander with the last name Garcia. She said ¡°Mission control, the alien has disappeared from visual range. It¡¯s ship still remains. Detonation past due, I repeat detonation past due.¡± Akmadouric cleared his throat to get her attention ¡°Ahem¡± Garcia¡¯s eyes went wide as she stared at him for a full three seconds before saying anything ¡°M¡­Mission control, there is a man sized version of the alien standing right in front of me. Please advise.¡± The deity said ¡°I am Akmadouric and I have one demand only. Twenty four hours from now, every human eye on this planet is going to be watching me get interviewed on international television.¡± Garcia said in a combative tone, thinking that this blue alien was here to conquer her world ¡°And if we refuse.¡± ¡°I said that I have one demand only, no more than that. This is going to be more of a ¡®for your information¡¯ kind of interview. I¡¯m sure that everyone on this planet will do what I want them to after they realize their situation. But just to be clear, I am not here as a hostile invader.¡± which was true, but only because he''d already conquered the wholeuniverse of this dimension. Not just the planet called Earth. 1. The interview Zackery Taylor squeezed his hand strength clamps in order to prepare for the morning¡¯s practice, then his hands flew over the keyboard as he ordered his virtual army to perform a variety of tasks. He recognized the name of his opponent, it was a Korean that had repeatedly whooped his ass throughout E-sports circuit. Zack¡¯s ships weaved about in intricate patterns, flanking and getting flanked, ambushing and getting counter ambushed. When the match was over and the defeat window flashed across his screen, he typed ¡®GG¡¯ and sat back in his chair. There was just no beating some of these Koreans, he put in just as much time as them practicing and he had just as many ideas as any other pro E-sport player, but they always came out on top for whatever reason. But still, there was no way he was going to give up after making it to rank 79 on the Korean server and playing in several round of 32matches. He was making money as a professional gamer, just not the millions of dollars that the top ten players in the world did. Coach Kamozuto entered the room looking a bit pale. Zack asked ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Coach said ¡°You all don¡¯t know? Right, you wouldn¡¯t. Everyone lives here, sleeps here and practices every waking moment. It''s not like any of you watch the news.¡± he looked around at the other professional real time strategy gamers in the hub. A picture of a platypus with a sniper rifleemblem of their team ¡®Platypus Assassins¡¯ emblazoned the walls. The constant sound of furious rhythmic keystrokes making plinking noises in the air. Coach Kamozuto said ¡°Gather round all of you¡± After several minutes of tapping shoulders, matches ending and people chowing down ontheir daily breakfast of hotpockets, everyone was giving the coach as much attention as they could, given the fact that they were all masters of multitasking. The coach said ¡°There¡¯s been something of a world event. Humanity has finally come into contact with aliens.¡± One of the other gamers, Luke T. Ace stopped tapping his fingers on the table to practicehis macro and micro exercises and said ¡°Well if that deep space satellite SETI has finally found another civilization then woohoo! But that¡¯s hardly any reason to be shaking like you are.¡± Kamozuto hugged himself tightly in order to still himself ¡°I think it¡¯s time we all went outside.¡± Everyone stood up and followed the coach. While exiting the gaming hub, each member of the group held their hands over their eyes to shield them from the Californian sun. Zackery saw it first and said ¡°What in the cosmos is that!?¡± as he looked at the giant humanoid alien filling up the sky. Coach Kamozuto said ¡°That thing has introduced himself as Akmadouric and he has rather forcefully requested that virtually everyone watch his interview. You all would know this if you watched the news or listened to the radio. It¡¯s been spammed across the airwaves for the past thirteen hours. The police are going around informing people.¡± Ace said¡°That¡¯s just excessive.¡± The coach shrugged ¡°They''re doing everything they can to fulfill the alien¡¯s demand. They don¡¯t want to anger a being that can make several hundred nukes disappear into thin air.¡± The other members of his team began to talk excitedly but Zack just tuned them out and looked to the sky ''How will you change this broken world of ours?''
Zackary Taylor sat on the overstuffed coach while waiting for the interview with the other members of the hub. Eating potato chips and slamming energy drinks. Experts from all over the world had been theory crafting about the alien¡¯s environment upon which it evolved, most saying that it couldn¡¯t have naturally become one hundred times larger than the largest known dinosaur without some form of manipulation. Others said that the smaller version that had appeared in front of the NASA astronaut was real alien and the larger one was a hologram, or maybe both were. Zack sneered at them all for speculating when the possibilities were endless. They were just ego stroking their own imaginations. The timer on the screen reached zero and the celebrity talk show host John White appeared saying ¡°Tonight, I can say with absolute certainty that everyone in the world is watching my show. Even people in the most remote areas have been flown a television set. Including several previously uncontacted tribesman, but not to worry, their spears cannot penetrate the plexiglass screens on the televisions we dropped.¡± the audience chuckled after the talk show hosts joke, but the man seemed nervous by comparison of his usual confident demeanor. After all, who the hell wouldn¡¯t?Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. He continued speaking with a shaky voice ¡°Tonight I am interviewing an actual alien who has become the most famous person in the world over the course of a single day. The nukes that the various world powers launched against him had no effect whatsoever. And in a few moments we will find out what intentions this alien being has. However, the guest of our show has yet to arrive.¡± then he turned to the left and a look of surprise crossed his face. The audience gasped. The camera panned out and a blue skinned figure with white hair appeared on the left side of the screen, his clothes looked like the starry night¡¯s sky. ¡°I am Akmadouric. Deity and lord of over a thousand realms.¡± John eyes went wide for a moment as he tried to figure out what to say and what he just said ¡°Shall we sit?¡± then motioned to the chair by his desk, where all his guests take their seats. ¡±Of course.¡± the deity teleported and in an instant he was sitting in the chair. The audience gasped again but John kept his composure as he walked to his desk and sat down. The talk show host picked up a stack of papers sitting in front of him ¡°I have a great many questions for you, most came from the various governments of this world but the first and most important question is: Are you here to conquer us?¡± The blue alien said ¡°Not in the way that you think and I will be happy to go into more details later but first I gotta make something very clear.¡± A metal briefcase appeared out of thin air in his hands ¡°This briefcase nuke is not capable of harming me. Neither will the satellite laser attack that is being planned by the defense force. So it would be wisenot to waste resources. Alright?¡± he looked right at the screen. John¡¯s face went to a shocked pale white ¡°I didn¡¯t know that was there.¡± Akmadouric said ¡°You can relax. When I make my presence known to an uninitiated world, I go to great lengths to ensure that the death count is zero.¡± John said ¡°I had heard a few bizarre reports of people attempting suicide and not being able to.¡± The deity smiled ¡°So before I answer your question about whether or not I¡¯m here to conquer you all, I need to talk about the very nature of existence.¡± He paused for dramatic effect while everyone on the planet stiffened ¡°It is a multiverse. Just like some of your scientists have theorized. But what they don¡¯t know is that there are two different types of dimensions. The first type is the regular kind that split into two when anyone or anything makes a choice. The second is a dimension that has been exposed to the nexus, it will no longer split. And as of last week, your world has now transitioned from the first to the second when I broke into it.¡± John was quicker to process this information than most other people, but his voice grew higher in pitch ¡°You¡¯re from another dimension?¡± ¡±I did introduce myself as Deity andLord of over a thousand realms.¡± ¡±A realm is a dimension. Okay.¡± he flipped the stack of papers over, since they were now useless ¡°Why did you break in and why did you expose our dimension to the nexus? What does that mean for this world? In fact, who are you and who is that giant in the sky?¡± Akmadouric let out a sad sigh ¡°I am a Deity, I do as I please and I can appear at whatever size that I choose.¡± For the first time in his career, John White was speechless, he visibly fought to regain his composure, then said ¡°I was not expecting to be dealing with an interdimensional god.¡± Akmadouric waved his finger at the man ¡°The highest I will allow myself to be called is demigod and I denounce any religious person or organization that uses me as a focal point for their beliefs. Because I hate the mentalities of both the worshiper and the worshiped.¡± John White sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. Meanwhile the demigod kept talking ¡°As for what becoming a nexus dimension means for this world, essentially the people here can now travel to the other nexus dimensions. And beings from other dimensions can come here, both friendly and hostile.¡± John White tried to raise his voice in anger, but failed ¡°So we could be invaded at any given moment?¡± ¡°Anything that enters or leaves this dimension has to go through the barrier dimension, where I have posted guards. Furthermore, only myself and my most trusted minions know about this dimension.¡± John glared ¡°Still, you have put the lives of all of the people on this planet in jeopardy.¡± Akmadouric glared right back at the talk show host, who began to cower ¡°I am at war for reality itself. And I will use whatever means I have to achieve victory.¡± John White asked ¡°How exactly does breaking into this dimension help your cause?¡± The deity answered ¡°Because I require more consciousnesses to fight for me.¡± ¡°A recruitment drive for war. And why would anyone sign up?¡± ¡°Well aside from not having your home planet get invaded by an unstoppable army of darkness. I will upgrade and repair the body¡¯s of those who serve but for those who earn enough favor, they will be able to buyimmortality.¡± 2. Akma Zackery Taylor was the first one to speak during the commercial break ¡°So that just happened.¡± Coach Kamozuto said with a bewildered look on his face ¡°Immortality. The holy grail. The dream that has been in the fore-thoughts of man since he learned of his own mortality.¡± Ace said ¡°Dude. Don¡¯t say something so deep like that.¡± The coach¡¯s voice took on a mocking tone ¡°Well dude, we just witnessed the most world changing event of the century. If I didn¡¯t talk like this then I wouldn¡¯t accentuate it to the height that it deserves.¡± Ace raised one finger in the air like he was going to say some snappy retort, then put it down and shut his mouth. Zack asked ¡°What is this going to mean for the pro gaming community?¡± Coach Kamozuto shook his head ¡°Is that all you think about?" "Just answer the question." "First contacts between civilizations can be very volitile situations, but thissituation the world finds itself in is uncharted territory in every sense of the word." the coach paused for a moment "As for the pro gaming community. Gamers do not have the bodies capable of becoming interdimensional soldiers. It might even grow since our world will now be coming into contact with other civilizationsfrom other dimensions.¡± Zack stood up and walked back to his computer "Well, if that''s all there is to the show, I''m going back to practice." But then anew voice spoke up ¡°Actually Coach Kamozuto, you¡¯re wrong. There are plenty of jobs in Akmadouric''s army that require very specific skillsets.¡± Everyone turned around to see a three foot tall blue personstanding behind them. It took them all one second to process the sight then everyone jumped to their feet in unison. Zack jumped away as he was the closest one to the invader¡°Who are you!? How did you get there!?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.Ace grabbed a chair and raised it high in the air in preparation to swing. The blue midget had thin arms and legs. On top of his head was spiky black hair but there were a few strands of gray hair at the center of it. He smiled, causing his silver eyes to squint ¡°I¡¯m Akma! Aliving database with a personality and everyones personal guide tothe multiverse.¡± Zack was done being shocked for the evening ¡°Of all the places you could have appeared, why here?¡± Akma cheerily said ¡°I don¡¯t have a body made of flesh, what you see is merely a thought projection. Right now, everyone in the world is talking to an Akma just like me.¡± Ace put down the chair since it would only hit the air if he had swung at the intruder with it ¡°Why are you so annoying?¡± Zack snickered ¡°Ease off. You know for a fact that they are going to make a plushy out of this little guy.¡± Ace shook his head and saidblandly ¡°So let me get this straight. We each have individual Akmas and you¡¯re never going to leave us alone.¡± Akma jumped into the air ¡°Correct! Unless you choose never to summon me or if Akmadouric doesn¡¯t talk through me.¡± He grabbed the white strands of his hair ¡°If father chooses to do so, then my hair will turn more white.¡± Zack cocked his head to the side ¡°More white? As in there are increments? Shall we call you Akmad, Akmado or Akmadour when that happens?¡± The blue child blinked and let out a small chuckle ¡°Yes there are increments according to how much attention the great deity is paying to you butno you may not call me those names!¡± He raised a fist at Zack that was more comical than threatening. Coach Kamozuto spoke up ¡°Well nobody here has any interest in dying in some interdimensional war. Go recruit some musclehead jock out of the military.¡± Akma said ¡°There are two things wrong with that statement. Firstly, nobody dies in these wars because people are given a second body when they join. Secondly, the people in this room are among the greatest multi-taskers on the planet. Making you all a perfect fit for some very specialized classes.¡± the short blue child grinned and then a vortex appeared behind him. He jumped and his body twisted with the swirls until him and the vortex disappeared completely. Zack said blandly ¡°So that just happened.¡± 3. Preparations Zack ran and Akma floated along beside him. His legs burned and his chest ached. As an e-sport athlete, cardio was very low priority. He slowed to a walk every few hundred feet, but every time he tried to rest Akma would say ¡°You can keep going.¡± then nod approvingly as he sped back up to a jog. Zack¡¯s vision blurred and all of a sudden Akma said ¡°Stop! But don¡¯t fall down. Stay standing, and above all stay conscious.¡±Zack put his hands on his knees as sweat fell like rain off of his face. Other joggers passed him with ease. Taking a full five minutes for him to recuperate enough to continue. Twenty foot tall blue portals had appeared in every city that lead to the protective barrier dimension, but so far everyone who had stepped into one had not returned, all except for one documentary crew who had been turned away shortly after entering. They had tried to tell people what they had seen but for some reason their mouths produced no sound when they did and their written words were illegible. Akma had explained why there was an information lockdown ¡°I only want people who have the courage to step into the unknown. The human race has quite a few invalids who choose not to affect the world around them and the privilege of knowing about the multi-verse is not for them.¡± Zack asked while through panting breaths as he ran ¡°So you¡¯re not going to divulge anything even though you¡¯re a living database?¡± then he slowed down. The blue goblin like thought projection nodded in response. Walking briskly, Zack passed one of the blue portals. A man wearing full military camouflage carried a large metal briefcase in one hand and was leaning on a crutch in the other. He spoke in a deep gruff voice ¡°You¡¯re sure there are no hostiles in beyond this portal.¡± seemingly talking to the air, but Zack knew that he was talking to his own Akma. The disabled veteran stood for a moment more then stepped through. With his one mile route over, Zackery Taylor entered the gamer hub, took a shower, shaved the few whiskers he had from his cheeks, got dressed in his normal clothes, the most comfortable clothes ever made, fluffy blue pajamas. He talked to a few people about what their plans for the future were, most had decided to stay as pro gamers but curiously enough, he couldn¡¯t find Ace. With a knock on his coach¡¯s door, he heard ¡°Get out of here.¡± Zack said through the wooden barrier ¡°Is this a bad time?¡± ¡±I wasn¡¯t talking to you Zack. You can enter.¡± He opened the door ¡°Akma?¡± Coach Kamozuto gave a nod ¡°Where have you been all morning?¡± ¡±I¡¯ve been out running.¡± ¡±Why?¡± Instead of answering, Zack sat down in one of the chairs and let the coach figure it out for himself. A habit he had that infuriated everyone he had ever met. But thinking is always good for people. Kamozuto frowned ¡°You were building up your body so that you could join Akmadouric¡¯s army.¡± Zack nodded¡°Right, and now I am here to talk about canceling my contract.¡± The coach said ¡°You have a year and a half remaining on the contract. The early cancellation fee is fifty grand.¡± Zack asked ¡°You already checked?¡± Coach said ¡°I checked for everyone.¡± ¡±Huh, well I was hoping that you could wave it under the extraneous circumstances clause.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Immediately the Coach said ¡°Denied.¡± ¡±That was way too quick. Why not?¡± Coach Kamozuto said ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want to, but the economy is going to do things that nobody can predict. And this company needs the financial protection. But the thing I don¡¯t understand is; Why are you in such a rush to join Akmadouric¡¯s army? The life of ''Empires Collide'' is going to run on for another two years, then an expansion is going to be released after that. You can wait to work for this Deity later on in your life, from what I understand about this interdimensional war is that it has gone on for thousands of years and will continue for just as long. There is a time limit for your career while this¡­thing¡¯s offer for immortality is not going anywhere.¡± Zack said ¡°Well actually the expansion is the reason why I am canceling my contract early.¡± Kamozuto¡¯s brow furrowed in confusion ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°I am in the middle of the hierarchy of professional gamers. I mean, I beat Exoudicai for a major upset last year during the Red Bull circuit, but other than that I could get knocked off at any moment by someone in the challenger league.¡± Zack paused and bit his lip ¡°Especially since people from other dimensions are going to be introduced into the game and they may not even be human. I mean Akma could decide to enter the E-sport scene. In case you hadn¡¯t noticed he does like to screw around.¡± The Coach sat back with a look of annoyanceon his face while the floating head of Akma appeared, smiled and started rotating in the air. Zack continued ¡°So I had a thought: immortality is not likely to be the only thing that I can gain from signing up with Akmadouric¡¯s army. If he can give people back their limbs and cure autism, then if I gain enough of this currency called ¡®favor¡¯, I will be able to find some way to get a leg up on the competition.¡± Kamozuto shook his head in disgust ¡°You¡¯re a damn cheat is what you are.¡± Zack waved his comment off ¡°What¡¯s the phrase? In love, life, business and war, use all advantages. Victory is all that matters¡± ¡°You butchered that Sun Tzu quote.¡± Kamozuto sat back in his chair ¡°And yes, I agree. For all we know those Koreans have a natural genetic advantage regarding their hand eye coordination, which comes from generations of kung fu.¡± Akma stopped rotating and said ¡°Actually the technical names of Korean Martial arts are Taekwondo, Tae Soo Do, Subak, Hwa Soo-¡± Coach put his hand in front of Akma¡¯s face and raised his voice ¡°I don¡¯t care! Okay Zack. I¡¯ll tell you what, I will wave fifty percent of the cancellation fees, so you will owe me twenty five thousand dollars. I will even give it back to you when you return.¡± Zack got up and turned to leave but then Coach Kamozuto said ¡°Ace had a much different reason for leaving.¡± he cracked his neck a bit ¡°The guy figured himself to be an explorer. Left this room saying: the multiverse awaits.¡±
¡°So how does this having two bodies thing work?¡± asked Zack as he approached the blue portal. Akma explained ¡°When you die in your second body, I will use your connection to the network to transfer your consciousness to your true body. It¡¯s a system that father had to create because the battles were getting too intense and he was tired of losing those precious to him.¡± ¡°What happens to the true body?¡± Akma said ¡°See for yourself, the first group that went through should be coming back right about now.¡± and on cue, several people exited the opposite end of the portal, each carrying what looked to be black capsules that were just as large as they were ¡°Those are their true bodies. Whichare frozen in time. You can¡¯t see them because light doesn¡¯t have the time to enter into the frozen space, that¡¯s why they look black.¡± Zack touched one as they passed and felt that they were very smooth ¡°Well, I have put this off for long enough.¡± he stood just outside the event horizon of the twenty foot tall blue portal, hesitating due to his instinctual fear of the unknown, then stepped into it. 4. Orientation The world broke apart around Zack after he crossed the event horizon of the blue portal. Everything exploded all at once, the grass, the people, the buildings, everything. Smoke like puffballs of every color imaginable surrounded him and changed, growing brighter or dimmer in a stunning display of chaos. Then all at once everything began to work itself back towards order. The colored puffballs joined together and turned white until a new world reformed itself around him. He stood in the middle of a featureless white expanse. Looking down, he could see that the ground was a little bit transparent but it didn¡¯t appear to be glass, after giving it a hard look he could see stars on the infinite blackness of space beneath it. Zackery asked ¡°Have we reached the barrier dimension?¡± A loud deep voice that he had never heard before resounded ¡°YYeeess. HHuuman.¡± the words running long. A silver line streaked across the space above him. It circled in tighter and tighter circles until it slowed. Then it fell and surrounded Zack, who found himself to be in the center of some kind of coiled mechanical sky serpent. The body must have been at least a thousand feet long and as thick as a city bus. Multitudes of short fragile looking wings protruded from every one of the segmented sections of it¡¯s body. A round face made of flesh with a dozen black eyes outlining it¡¯s perimeter looked down on Zack from directly over his head, in the center was a mouth that spoke ¡°Climb aboard and I will take you to your camp.¡± digitaltext displayed over it¡¯s head:
Basic Likiper
Akma was manipulating his vision to bring him information. ¡°Bloody hell.¡± Zack mused as a spherical hole opened in one of the segmented section, revealing a container with a seat inside. As Zack was walking towards the entrance he reached his hand out to touch one of the wings, it looked so soft. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± said the giant winged cyborg snake ¡°They are razor sharp and you will cut yourself.¡± Zack pulled hand back and carefully entered the compartment. A light went on and then he could see through the walls as if they were transparent. Zack messed witha few of the controls on the side wall to see what they did. The body became more and less transparent as he slid a bar from side to side. The organic head of the snake remained entirely visible. Zack asked ¡°What is the purpose of this?¡± Akma answered ¡°If you¡¯re ever part of a raid, you will know.¡± The head with a dozen eyes pointed straight up and the wings in the front sections began to beat at a furious pace like a hummingbird¡¯s. It rose with a speed comparable to a rocket launching into space. Zack felt himself getting pushed back into his seat for a much longer time than whenever he flew by jet plane. There were no landscape features to judge their speed by but Zack guessed they were moving above supersonic speeds. The Basic Likiper picked up several more people. Some of them were in various states of disability, from morbid obesity to full body paralysis. Loading them took longer since the Likiper had to carefully drop down directly on top of them. After reaching full capacity, they sped towards a massive black dome. Akma said ¡°The Alpha Dome. If anyone enters this eight thousand square mile barrier dimension, then the people within will know where.¡± A hole opened in the side of it to allow the Likiper entry. The wings stopped beating and the body weaved, Zack was pressed against the straps in his seat from the sudden deceleration. The Likiper entered the dome and several meters of concrete rushed passed Zack. A thought struck him and he said ¡°How could this massive structure have been built in a week? It¡¯s bigger than some of mankind¡¯s greatest works of architecture.¡± Akma said ¡°Just wait until orientation.¡± The Likiper exits the tunnel and Zack looks at a metropolis filled with skyscrapers. Lights shown from every room, occasionally bright flashes came from the larger areas as if there were successive explosions within them. The Likiper entered a highway with wide lanes that had been built just for it¡¯s kind. After traveling for a short distance, it stopped before a building that had a sign that read: New Arrival Center.
Every single type of person from planet Earth imaginable was standing in the large auditorium. All creeds, ethnicities and professions. Each person eager to give their all for a shot at immortality. But what caught Zack¡¯s attention were the numerous disabled veterans with briefcases. Zack said ¡°Those are guns right?¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.Akma nodded ¡°They were told to bring their weapons of choice.¡± ¡±Huh, well should I have brought my keyboard and mouse then?¡± said Zack, feeling a bit out of place among such large dangerous men. Akma shook his head and said ¡°The multiverse introduction ceremony is about to begin.¡± An eight foot tall alien woman took the stage, at least she had breasts and a humanoid body, but the rest of her was unlike that of human¡¯s form. Long arms reached from her shoulders to her reversed knees, she had legs that ended in three toes with talons that dug into the ground. Skin tone was very dark but had slight orange tinge to it, her crew cut hair was bright green and her four eyes were yellow like a cat¡¯s. Above her head was the name:
Kerink
Mid-tierman
Species: Elrin
The entire room stiffened at her arrival. Zack truly realized then and there that their world had entered a new age, where beings straight from Star Trek would be commonplace. Kerink sounded very bored and a little annoyed as she addressed everyone ¡°So you all are the pathetic primitives that froze the favor markets.¡± she swept the room with a glare ¡°The front lines cannot spend favor to upgrade themselves until Akmadouric is done recuperating from breaking into your dimension. Not only that but he¡¯s gotta fix your broken bodies so that you can be worth something. If any of you think that you can just get your limbs back and leave then just bear in mind; that failure to prove your worth in the war could mean that billions of these things invadeyour home dimension." Behind her a twenty foot tallspherical black apparition appeared on the stage. All of the humans backed awaybut Kerink casually turned to face it. Dozens of tentacles with sharp sets of teeth on their ends shot forth from the creature but their green haired hostess swatted them away like flies, hands a blur, sharp cracks like gunshots came from the stage at every contact. Zack could see a dozen black eyes start to glow until they left their sockets and transformed into spiky blood red balls of energy that rotated around it. A moment later the eyes began to regrow, bleeding dark purple blood as they did. Kerink could no longer be seen clearly but a blur bounced off of the walls, floor and ceiling around the creature. White bolts of light shot from the blur at the monster from all directions, creating lacerations on the main body and severing tentacles. Zack watched closely and once he thought he could see her change direction mid-air, impacting with a near transparent pane that was only there for a moment. Then she was on the ceiling. Time slowed drasticallyfor Zack. She drew back her fist and white light wrapped around it, growing larger and larger, until she thrust it downward in a wide arc and a giant fist of ethereal white light shot from Kerink. Impacting the spherical many eyed black monster from above. Driving it into the ground where it broke up into¡­digital code? It was a hologram used for training. But for it to be solid and not just an illusion was way ahead of Earth technology by centuries. Looking around the room, Zack wondered just how many people within the auditorium had eyes capable of seeing every detail of the fight in the way that he had. Aside from whatever time manipulation Akma did during that final blow. Then he wondered how they all reacted to the display. Kerink walked forward and asked ¡°Now do I have your attention?¡± the looks on the faces of the people in the room ranged from shock to intense scrutiny. A man in a military uniform stepped forward on one leg and said ¡°What is going on here? The way you killed that thing without using any kind weapon. Throwing those white projectiles from the palms of your hands, it may as well have been magic.¡± above his head was the name:
Sargent Becker
Zack frowned and thought ¡®He was able to make out more details than I did.¡¯ ¡°Watch closely.¡± Kerink produced a white cube from her clothes and held it in the palm of her hand, everyone advanced towards the stage out of curiosity. ¡°This is formless matter. It does not occur naturally in any universe.¡± Her face scrunched in concentration. The cube shimmered for a moment then slowly turned into metal and then she said ¡°Pure titanium.¡± Zack said aloud ¡°What did I just witness?¡± ¡°I used my mind¡¯s willpower energy to change part of the universe around me into a form of my choosing.¡± ¡®Might as well be magic. No, itis indistinguishable from magic¡¯thought Zack ¡°But that doesn¡¯t explain how you were able to shoot lightning from your hands like Zeus.¡± Kerink shook her head and frowned at the Earthen culture reference ¡°If a person is able to create matter in such a way, then they would also be able to create a type of matter that hasn¡¯t before been seen in the universe. And then using that matter, they could also create new tools and, in my case, new biological systems.¡± She paused for a moment to let her audience digest the information and implications of it ¡°In Akmadouric¡¯s case, he can use his willpower energy to write new physics into a universe, create formless matter out of nothing and create or copy a body or consciousness. The power of a deity is not something within the grasp of even an immortal like myself.¡± ¡®Down the rabbit hole we go.¡¯Zack immediately asked ¡°Don¡¯t these deities have some kind of limitation?¡± ¡°Two actually.¡± Akma dropped out of his vortex and landed on the stage next to Kerink ¡°The first is a finite amount of willpower energy, although it does replenish over time. The second is imagination, or lack thereof. For example, nobody can imagine a universe without numbers or light and darkness.¡± ¡®The power of a deity.¡¯ Zack repeated the alien woman¡¯s words in his head. 5. Upgrades Zackery Taylor sat in the waiting room of the medical center with a textbook in one hand that had the title; Willpower 101 and a very small piece of formless matter in the other hand. The white cube was only the size of a pin head, a screen above it zoomed in on the molecules and atoms within the formless matter. Zack tried to reform the matter in accordance to the instructions of the text book. Thus far only succeeding in getting them to move a little bit, much less gaining the ability to connect the atoms or transform the matter in the way that the textbook depicted. He flipped through the pages, learning all of the properties of hydrogen. The atomic mass, electron configuration, key isotopes, density, boiling and melting points. Everything an amateur chemist would already know. Which was probably the reason why there was a handful of people in the room who had already set down their cubes to begin reading the later chapters of the textbook. A human woman in a white nurse¡¯s uniform said ¡°Zackery Taylor.¡± with his name called he got up and entered the doorway. Where he was immediately ushered into a very large machine. A blue screen popped up in front of him, courtesy of Akma.
Initializing full body scan
The machine began to rumble and whir. Mechanical arms spun around him. After several minutes Zack found himself getting annoyed by the sounds but then it stopped and he exited into another room. This time a gray wrinkly skinned alien doctor was waiting for him. The alien looked bored as Zack entered, the lids on it¡¯s three eye stalks half open. It¡¯s gender was a complete unknown, even if it¡¯s species even adhered to such archetypes. When the alien continued ignoring Zack he cleared his throat ¡°Ahem.¡± Instead of talking, text automatically appeared over it¡¯s head ¡°I am looking at your file. Do not disturb me.¡± ¡±Can I at least know your name?¡± New text appeared that read ¡°I do not need to know you and you don¡¯t need to know me. I get one hundred patients a day and I will not fill up my mind with data that will be useless to me in half an hour.¡± ¡°O-kay.¡± After five minutes of silence from the doctor and Zack quietly reading his textbook, the gray skinned alien reached forward with it¡¯s long arms and tapped him on the shoulder, the text above it¡¯s eye stalks read ¡°Stand up, take off your clothes and be quick about it.¡± ¡®So this alien wants to get personal with my body but not with me.¡¯ Zack did as he was told and felt a cool breeze on certain regions that weren¡¯t normally exposed. The alien¡¯s fingers hovered over his every inch of his skin but didn¡¯t actually touch him. Just as Zack was starting to wonder what the doctor was doing, text appeared above that read ¡°I am transforming all of the toxins within your body into either harmless or beneficial materials, like protiens.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m grateful but why?¡± ¡°This is the first phase of the copying process. Me and the other specialists will do what we can to repair your body, then Akmadouric will do everything we can¡¯t do. After that is done, our aligned deity will duplicate your body. Then the real work begins.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m perfectly healthy.¡± A high pitched steam whistle of a voice said ¡°No you¡¯re not.¡± Zack pressed his lips together to keep from laughing as the alien talked ¡°Every body has it¡¯s own defects and deformities. Minor and major. According to your chart your knees need work. You must have spent 90% of your life with them bent in order for them to have lost that much cartilage.¡± then the gray wrinkly skinned doctor finished zir work and waved Zack out of zir office. He managed to stifle his chuckles until getting out the door ¡°If I had a voice like that I¡¯d communicate mostly through text as well.¡± Akma appeared through his vortex and said ¡°That is a natural voice for his species, in fact it¡¯s much deeper than most of his kind, to the point where an unaugmented human can hear it. Which is why he was chosen for his position.¡± Zack sighed ¡°In other words, I just showed off how much of a newbie I am by laughing. Wait, that¡¯s a he?¡± ¡°Well, ¡®he¡¯ has an ovipositor, so that¡¯s a matter of perspective.¡± ¡®A male organ that lays eggs.¡¯ Zack said ¡°Okay, that¡¯s more than I needed to know.¡± Akma floated in front of him ¡°And he wasn¡¯t trying to hide his voice. Automatic text messages are a faster method of answering when you have been asked the question a million times before. He¡¯s one of the people who is working for favor without risking his second body, using willpower at his level takes skill and there¡¯s a steady gain in it, but without risk there is little reward. So he¡¯s working as quickly as possible to achieve immortality for his true body before his secondary body needs another rejuvenation treatment.¡± ¡°Always a rush in the worlds of finance.¡± Zack followed Akma¡¯s directions to navigate around the dome and made several stops at various specialists. The cartilage doctor repaired his knees and knuckles. One specialist babbled medical jargon that he didn¡¯t understand. And the brain doctor insisted that he had a few ¡®minor¡¯ deformities, lesions and disabilities but thankfully did very little, leaving most of whatever work needed to be done to Akmadouric.
With the long day almost over, Zack stood before a white dais, glancing at the blue dais on the other side of the room. Akma said ¡°When you are ready, father will begin the final upgrading process and then immediately move on to duplicating your body.¡± ¡°You know, as much as I like my body, I would rather be put inside some kind of hulking behemoth.¡± ¡°That is possible, but doing more than copyingwould cost father much more willpower energy and therefore bring your favor debt up to an intolerable level.¡° He frowned and brought up the menu screens with a snap of his fingers.
Zackery Taylor
+ True body stats
+ Consciousness
+Finances
He pressed the plus sign on the finances menu.
-Finances
Favor Debt 54,000
Zack said ¡°Bastard doctors actually milked me for that much. What else is new?" Akma said ¡°It¡¯s normal for a newbie to have that much debt and for requesting services directly from Akmadouric, it¡¯s going to be piled on even more. This is not a charity.¡± Zack smirked ¡°Even deities like to trade.¡± then walked onto the dais. From his perspective he was instantly teleported from a standing position on the white dais, to a lying position on the blue dais. Akma said ¡°The duplication process is done. How do you feel?¡± Zack said ¡°Wait, what happened? Why do I feel so groggy.¡± he needed a minute before sitting up. ¡°The white dais puts people to sleep and then freezes them in time after father is done working on them. Look.¡± Akma pointed. Zack could see a black capsule standing next to the white dais and he knew that it contained his true body. Akma asked again ¡°So how do you feel?¡± Zack ran his hands all over his body and tested every muscle ¡°My hands don¡¯t twitch anymore when I¡¯m not doing keyboard exercises.¡± ¡°Scientifically speaking,habits are brain damaging and so are routines. Fixing such neurological defects was a part of the repairing process. Muscles were also addedto your chest and forearms. Genetically speaking, you were missing them.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever been called genetically inferior.¡± ¡±And it will be the last. While you are far from the perfect male specimen, you are in perfect physical condition. For the moment at least.¡± A new screen appeared among the menus
+ Secondary body stats
He pressed the plus button for the first time and then saw more plus button show up.
-Second body stats
+Sensory organs
+Muscles
+Cardiovascular Systems
+Immune Systems
+Reproductive Systems
+Blood vessel Systems
+Neurological Systems
+Digestive Systems
Zack said ¡°Okay, lets try something simple like, the muscles.¡± as he pressed the plus button Akma snickered.
-Muscles
+Left arm
+Right arm
+Torso
+Head
+Left leg
+Right leg
Zack frowned and pressed the ''Right Arm'' button.
-Right arm
+Deltroid, +Bicep,+ Pectoraltis major, +Brachiellis, +Brachioradialis, +medial Epicondyle, +Pronator Teres, +Flexor Carpi Radialis, +Flexor Carpi Ulnaris, +Flexor Digitorum Sublimus, +Clavicle, +Acromion, +Supra Spinatus, +Infra Spinatus, +Teres Major, +Triceps, +Medial Epicondyle, +Olecranon, +Extensor Carpi Ulnaris, +Extensor Carpi Digitorum
There were images next to the names of each muscle group. Zack hesitated before pressing the plus button next to the word ¡®Bicep¡¯,then his mouth dropped as several pages of individual muscle fibers showed up on the screen. Not one fiber was capable of lifting more than a gram on it¡¯s own. Akma rolled on the ground laughing at him. Zack said aloud ¡°Ya know, I was expecting to see a single number rating for my body¡¯s strength.¡± The blue midget shrugged ¡°Sorry. Things are never that simple.¡± ¡±Then make it simple.¡± Akma said ¡°Are you sure? You would want to know something like: how long it takes for your eyesight to adjust from light to darkness.¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Then here you go.¡±
-Second body basic stats
Description: A fully human 26-yr old male body. Although it has had all defects repaired, it¡¯s muscles are very small and weak, clearly the owner hasn¡¯t ever worked out a day in their life. Good eyesight and reflexes. Weak immune system. Low Stamina. Yet the mind is capable of advanced cognitive thought processes.
Mind: 49 Sight: 20 Hearing: 15 Agility: 4 Strength: 4.25 Stamina: 3
Disease resist: 5 Cold resist: 2 Heat resist: 7
Zack said ¡°That was quick. In fact, it was so quick that you could have just given it to me immediately.¡± Akma shrugged¡°You need to know your body as well as possible. Besides, the look on your face was priceless.¡± Zack shook his head with a bland look on his face. Akma said ¡°Open up the Consciousness menu.¡± He followed the blue kid¡¯s instructions
-Consciousness
Tactics: 92 Leadership: 1 Intelligence: 403 Creativity: 389
Willpower Energy: 20/22 Willpower technique: 1stpercentile, newbie
+Skills
He pressed the plus button in front of the skills icon, then ratings for everything he knew from brushing his teeth to his keyboard exercises were displayed. Zack said ¡°Can we filter out the skills that will not help me for whatever role I will be doing?¡± Akma did so and three skills remained.
Multitasking: A
The ability to be aware of, perform and switch between multiple tasks.
Information processing: B+
You are able to take in all kinds of information at a rate above that of your peers. Making sense of chaotic environments.
Cool under pressure: S
No matter the situation, you are able to perform to the best of your ability
Zack said ¡°Seems about right.¡± Akma said ¡°It should be noted that these skill and body ratings are by comparison of your fellow human beings.¡± Zack made his way to the exit portal with his true body¡¯s capsule in tow, taking note of the city¡¯s layout along the way. No wonder everything under the dome had been built so quickly, the construction workers had simply placed the formless matter on whatever they wanted to build then used willpower energy to get the material they wanted and shape it however they liked. But whats more, they could make chemicals and compounds of the rare variety. The shuttle he was aboard arrived at the exit portal in the center of the city, he grabbed a ticket but discovered that there was already a group for his city. After a bit of searching, he found his departure group. An increasingly familiar man in military fatigues was there with a balding man in his late forty¡¯s, who was still holding his textbook and trying to make hydrogen in the other. Zack approached the pair and read the names over their heads, Sargent Becker and Mr. Edwardson. ¡®I suppose that takes care of introductions.¡¯ Then he saw the number beneath the names, which was the same as the number on his ticket. Zack said ¡°I guess we are all going to Saratoga, California?¡± then he sat down and asked Mr. Edwardson ¡°Did you figure it out yet?¡± The balding man answered ¡°Like the book says, it is more caught than taught. I am already up to phase two out of the three.¡± Zack asked ¡°Can you give me any tips?¡± ¡±None that the book doesn¡¯t already give.¡± Sargent Becker said ¡°I already managed complete chapter one, but Akma told me that my technique was very poor and I used too much willpower energy. Was feelin¡¯ the effects for a few minutes afterwards.¡± ¡°Effects?¡± ¡°Oh you¡¯ll find out what those are later,¡± Sargent Becker frowned ¡°But ya know, joining an army is not a decision to take lightly and it¡¯s not something that should be done without at least preparing your body. Skinny lil spitfuck like you ain¡¯t going to do nothing but slow the rest of us down when we end up in the shit. ¡± ¡°Well actually I was told that my skill set was easily adaptable for a specific role and that I had a bright future ahead of me.¡± The formerly disabled veterans mouth curled into a smirk as he chuckled ¡°I suppose it¡¯s a moot point then. Akma told me that we¡¯re all gonna get our training regimes for certain specific jobs so even you might get a visible muscle or two.¡± Zack responded to Becker¡¯s jabbing remarks with a smile of his own ¡°We shall see what state I will be in after the training phase completes.¡± The Sargent¡¯s face twisted into an almost gleeful expression ¡°It¡¯s good to see that you have control over your emotions. You¡¯re not some immature overgrown teenageror anything.¡± ¡±Internet trolls try to get a rise out of me all the time.¡± ¡°Oh. You¡¯re one of those kind of people.¡± all the smiles left Becker¡¯s face ¡°Listen, you may be a gamer but from what I understand about this whole true body/second body thing, is that buying a new ¡®life¡¯ as some may call it, is very expensive.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Zack snapped his fingers to bring up the menus. Then hit the plus button next to his finances ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how much a new leg would cost.¡±
-Finances
Favor debt: 312,000
Sargent Becker said ¡°Ya, still can¡¯t quite move the toes on my new foot. Musta forgotten how.¡± then he glanced off to the side ¡°Our number¡¯s been called.¡± The three of them grabbed everything they had and moved towards the grand gate. Unlike the minor gates in each city, this was an outgoing gate that could send a person to anywhere so long as they knew the location. The yellow exoskeleton clad gatekeeper clapped zir mandibles together and clicked out ¡°Passage to Sacramento, California now opening.¡± ze put one of zir six limbs on the event horizon of the swirling blue, white and gray portal. A screen of the Earth with white dot on the location of their city displayed over the head of the gate keeper who looked at it with the large eye on top of zir head, the eyes of zir shoulders looked at the portal and the console in front of mer. Zack said aloud ¡°There¡¯s no way that those mandibles can produce the sounds necessary for the English language.¡± Akma popped out of his vortex ¡°Haven¡¯t you figured it out already? I¡¯m translating for you.¡± Then they steped into the grand gate and crossed back into their home dimension.
¡°Nobody is going to steal a kidney or anything from my true body while I am away from it. Right?¡± said Zack as he shut the garage with the capsule and all his Earthly possessions inside. Then he typed in the very familiar password he used for everything. Akma said ¡°It¡¯s not possible to penetrate the capsule without the ability to manipulate time.¡± As he was leaving the rental garage, a thought struck him and he said ¡°If Akmadouric is going to such lengths to keep people alive, then just how intense are these battles?¡± Akma said nothing, which was unusual by comparison of his normally talkative self. Not for the first time he wondered''Just what the hell have I gotten myself into?'' 6. Training day ¡®It aches, it burns.¡¯thought Zack as he put one foot in front of the other. Repetition is hell. Running was a torture for him as each step sent a minor bolt of pain up his leg, the experience unchanging, only the scenery of the road and trees moving slightly. He hated drudgery of any kind, it was why he chose his profession as an E-sport athlete, no two matches were ever alike. ¡°Keep runnin¡¯.¡± Akma snorted, floating alongside him while smoking a cigar and cracking a whip occasionally, looking like a deranged slave driver ¡°Yer body ain¡¯t at it¡¯s absolute limit yet, so keep yer ass movin¡¯.¡± Sweat drenched every inch of his skin, but it wasn¡¯t an oily kind of sweat like the stuff that came out of him during that one run before, it was thin and watery like it was supposed to be. He slowed to a walk and Akma¡¯s face distorted into an almost comical rage ¡°I did not give you permission to start walking! Keep runnin¡¯ or else yer not gonna get a willpower point.¡± which was the whole reason why he was out for a stroll through a minor hell in the first place. Not for agility and not for stamina, but for willpower. By pushing himself to the absolute limit, his will to go on dropped as hisdiscomfort increased. When the willpower energy fell to within 10% of it¡¯s maximum value, he gained more of the stat.
Willpower energy 4/32
The stat was not just used for the supernatural abilities in manipulating the universe, it was also used for any action that brought his mental fortitude towards the point of breaking, like extremely strenuous exercise. Almost there. He put one foot in front of the other as the muscles in his legs spasmed and an invisible hand twisted the organs in his gut. He took deep breaths but could not get enough oxygen ¡®Am I damaging my body at this point?¡¯ Akma said ¡°Slow down to a fast walk.¡± After a minute of walking, his calves started burning, two minutes after that and a message screen popped up.
+1 Maximum willpower energy
Zack stopped with his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths when a centaur-like woman with light green skin passed him silently. Startled he took a step back and she shouted back to him ¡°Good morning.¡± He yelled back ¡°Good morning.¡± but she had already disappeared into the distance. ¡®I should be getting used to this sort of thing after dealing with it for a month, but I¡¯m not.¡¯ Having half recuperated, he made his way back to the barracks for the other intelligence recruits stationed on the planet Gorzimo in one of Akmadouric¡¯s most protected dimensions. Or Outer Sanctum dimensions as they were called. Once inside, he was greeted with the usual array of alien bizarreness. A foot and a half tall humanoid creature with black rock like skin waved his paws in the air, throwing a very small fireball between them. Two pairs of octopus like aliens floated around a cube high up near the ceiling, playing a game from their homeworld. And in one corner of the room there was a black and white slimy skinned amphibian with a cranium larger than his body, utensils surrounded by a colorless rippling energy rotated in the air around him. Zack smirked and thought ¡®There is no spoon.¡¯ Someday he was going to get psionic powers, it was something that had been the dream of every nerd on Earth and from the list, there were millions of different powers to pick from. Almost none of the systems necessary for such powers had ever been implanted into a human. And some of those cases had shown signs of rejection, like spontaneously bursting into flames. So Zack intended on waiting until much later to get one. Zack took it all in for a moment in order to acclimate himself to such sights, then he went off to take a shower. After he finished getting ready he went to the training grounds for what would be his role in the battles to come.
¡°I¡¯m support?¡± Zack said aloud with a disgusted look on my face. He had the played the occasional MOBA, and everybody hates the support role. Support sucks.
Zackery Taylor
Role: Coordinator Rank: Newbie
Jobdescription: A soldier meant for the backline whose main job is to observe the battlefield and provide objective updates to the frontline soldiers. Dictating the flow of the battle in real time. Other various support abilities may be learned.
Reading the job description Zackery Taylor knew that he was a perfect fit for the role but his brow still furrowed ¡°I¡¯m going to need some clarification for exactly what I¡¯m going to be doing.¡± Then a metallic sphere appeared out of thin air and opened up before him. Inside the cramped interior he could see a desktop set up similar to the one he had at home. Complete with a chair sitting before a clear desk with a mouse, and a keyboard with more buttons than any he had ever seen before. Zack said ¡°They say home is where the heart is.¡± then climbed in. The door automatically shut behind him and a message on the opposite wall in the upper right hand corner momentarily read: ¡®Recloaking¡¯ then after another second it read ¡®complete¡¯. The walls disappeared, revealing the outside as if the hull of the vehicle was made of glass.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With his surprise-o-meter broken, Zack just said ¡°Akma, bring up the basic stats for this vehicle.¡± then pressed the plus signs when didn¡¯t already know what something did.
Basic Coordinator sphere
Appearance: A metal sphere that is nine feet in diameter
Hull: two inches of latticed titanium
Systems: -Inertia Dampeners This device allows the craft to accelerate to literal break neck speeds and change direction sharply without harming the occupant. -Cloaking Device A system that will allow the vehicle to become invisible to optical based sensors. -Omni-directional sensor array An advanced sensor system capable of detecting mostly everything, even if it is concealed -Omni-screen This screen makes up the entire interior wall of the vehicle, it can display any image the occupant desires +Keyboard +Mouse
Zack scratched his chin, ¡°Something like this would have tutorial software, right?¡± In response to the word ¡®tutorial¡¯ the screens around him displayed a layout for what all of the various buttons on the keyboard did. Several digital units appeared on the screen before him. Stats screens for each of them displayed almost directly above Zack. They moved without him giving them any orders, he came to realize that unlike the units in the real time strategy games he played in the E-sport arena, the units on the screen before him represented actual people with minds of their own. Which meant that he no longer needed to tell them what to do when the right action was obvious. He learned to update objectives through both spoken and typed medians. Told his troops to retreat when there were other units better suited to dealing with a specific monster. Even sent a unit an energy pack to recharge their shields and weapons upon occasion. Finally he ended the day with memorizing the stats and abilities of various units. Sargent Becker¡¯s file came up and Zack saw that he had an S+ rating on his marksmen skill, the man could use his semi-automatic laser pulse rifle to shoot five dimes a thousand yards away within a second of each other, while setting his mechsuit to strafe mode. Zack was surprised to see that there were people who specialized in dealing damage at melee range. It was baffling to him that weapons like swords were actually viable in something as high end as an interdimensional war, everybody knows what happened when the Samurai went up against riflemen. After looking through all of the allied units, the files for common types of enemies came up. All of them nightmares made flesh. But arguably, so were all of the aliens who were a part of Akmadouric¡¯s army. After all, what is terrifying, beautiful or intimidating is always a matter of perspective. The only noticeable difference between the two forces was the dark purple spikes sticking out of flesh of some of the enemy¡¯s units. Just as he was about to leave, Akma said ¡°One last thing.¡± Zack asked ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± An image of a creature with six arms shown on the omni-screen. On it¡¯s head were glass goggles with a dozen lenses pointing in different directions. Yet it looked oddly human. Akma said ¡°This is what your goals are for upgrading.¡± Zack looked at the image on the omni-screen with an aghast expression ¡°You want me to look like that thing?¡± ¡°Yes. This is the third reason why you were given a second body. Because your form is not optimal to fully utilize the Coordinator sphere. You can¡¯t see everything that needs to be seen and your input speed is not what it needs to be at for some of the larger scale battles.¡± Zack protested ¡°It doesn¡¯t even look human.¡± ¡±Your true body will look however you want it to look. But the body you are in right now must prioritize function over form.¡± Zack just walked away.
An intense blaring sound jolted Zack out of bed and onto the floor. He landed face first onto the ground and let out a groan. He untangled himself from the blankets and looked up to see red lights flashing. All of the other recruits prematurely woke up from their sleeping cycles or whatever their sleep-like equivalents were and climbed out of their mattresses, aquariums and padded nests. A blue screen appeared before Zack¡¯s eyes.
Situation briefing: The barrier dimension has fallen and there has been an incursion into this dimension. As a human from Earth, you cannot allow yourself to fall into enemy hands. If you are captured, you will end up getting corrupted and then you will divulge enough information to give up your home dimension.
Objective: Escape through the hidden backdoor portal located south of mile marker two on the track.
Fighting the sleepiness in his eyes and the fatigue from the day before, Zack hurriedly put on his clothes and boots. Then ran out of the building. He could see that the predawn twilight was dimming most of the stars as he scanned the sky for signs of battle, expecting to see nothing since the action was likely happening on the other side of the universe, billions of lightyears away. But then he saw it, there was a patch of stars that had already lost their visibility, indicating that something very big was covering them up. He took a long swig from his water canteen without looking away from the anomaly. Then strapped it to his belt and took off down the track. After twenty minutes of running he stopped a few hundred feet before mile marker two. In the sky above him the patch grew larger and had become a black spot that was visible to the naked eye. He scanned the area around him and saw nothing. Thehostile forceshad not yet landed on the planet he was on. Zack asked ¡°How long until they get here?¡± Akma appeared out of his vortex and said ¡°It depends entirely on the effectiveness of the enemy¡¯s newest units. It could be anywhere from seconds to days or maybe the enemy deity will just spend the energy necessary to completely destroy this entire universe.¡± Zack picked up his pace ¡°They can do that?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t happen often because it may not be worth the willpower energy spent.¡± ¡±That¡¯s it!?¡± He sprinted past the mile marker and went south. Not slowing until he dove into the swirling blue portal. The world around him broke apart. Exploding into puffballs in a way that was becomingincreasingly familiar. Reforming and then¡­freezing? Zack looked around as everything went still. Instead of turning into the formless white expanse of a barrier dimension, everything went black. Akma appeared in front of him, the blue kid¡¯s hair went completely white and a horrified expression crossed his face ¡°Zack!¡± he screamed and disappeared. 7. Welcome to the unknown Zack fell. Pitch blackness surrounding him, cold wind rushing past him from below, his jowls flapping as he dropped. He absentmindedly thought ¡®This isn¡¯t good. Something definitely went wrong in the middle of the transfer between dimensions. No, someone or something hostile to Akmadouric did this to me. ¡® he could see nothing but black, it didn¡¯t matter where he looked or even if he had his eyes open, darkness was everywhere. He realized that falling was what his enemy wanted him to do and Zack liked to be uncooperative when it came to an enemy¡¯s plans. Then the fear gripped his nerves in a paralytic grasp. His body froze and with every fiber of his being he willed himself to stop falling. He landed on something hard chest first, the wind drove itself out of his lungs. ¡®Rise!¡¯ He flew upwards like a rocket and looked above him to see a dim orange light in the distance. ¡®Okay! Darkness bad, light good! Let¡¯s go there! Come to think of it, why is this working?!¡¯ Zack passed a glowing orange sphere with black veins on it and shot out of a hole. Catching a glimpse of the dark purple world around him before landing on white sand. And with his whole body aching he groaned ¡°Ohh¡­you can never really appreciate the little things in life until they¡¯re gone. Like having something to stand on. Now where the hell am I?¡± He sat up and looked around. All around him were the same glowing orange elipsoids with black veins growing out of extremely dark purple roots. The field stretching for as far as he could see, which was only about onehundred feet in the poor visibility. Whether it was night time or if whole dimension was stuck in a perpetually dark state remained to be seen. The sky above him was filled with orange stars, curiously enough they had the same color as the seemingly radioactive vegetables growing around him. One corner of Zack¡¯s mind wondered if they were edible, such information would be useful if he were to be forced to remain in this place for the long term. ¡°Zack!¡± Akma appeared out of his vortex, but this time his hair was completely white. Zack blinked several times and groggily said¡°Akmadouric I presume?¡± The blue kid combed his white spiky hair with his hand ¡°Keep your voice down to a whisper, you have no idea what could be lurking about in a dimension like this.¡± Zack looked around warily and said in a hushed voice ¡°Great. So get me out of here.¡± He lied down, suddenly feeling like he didn¡¯t want to go on anymore. ¡°I can¡¯t, or at least it would take too much energy. I don¡¯t even know where ¡®here¡¯ is. Wait a minute, your willpower energy is extremely low. How did you do that?¡± the blue kid¡¯s eyes widened in surprise ¡°I just checked your recent memories and I must say that is an impressive feat for a newbie who can¡¯t form hydrogen.¡±
Willpower energy .3/34
Zack lied back down ¡°Great, I¡¯m just gonna take a rest now. Good night my little smurf friend.¡± Akmadouric screamed ¡°Don¡¯t! If you make the conscious decision to rest then your heart will stop and you will literally give up on your life. You¡¯re not accustomed to using willpower energy like you just did and the backlash is nasty.¡± ¡°Sure whatever.¡± Zack¡¯s eyes began to close, his body had plenty of energy but he just couldn¡¯t seem to care enough to even move a muscle. Akmadouric frowned and his brows sloped inwards in anger ¡°Wake up!¡± then he slapped Zack across the face, it stung but no force struck him. He rubbed his cheek ¡°What?¡± another slap and another came down on him and Zack yelled ¡°Okay! I¡¯m up.¡± He stood up. Akmadouric shook his head ¡°Idiot.¡± then something wet started to loudly gargle within the pit ¡°Time to go.¡± Zack ran as fast as he could away, hopping over glowing orange vegetables and dark purple tree roots. Something emerged from the pit in the distance and started wriggling in the air. It snorted and inhaled, the thing sounded massive. Then it audibly slithered back in it¡¯s hole. Zack¡¯s mind kicked into overdrive ¡°That thing is an ambush predator, and if it¡¯s that big then it must have prey that large as well.¡± Akmadouric shook his head ¡°Actually it¡¯s a guardian of the realm, it¡¯s simply designed to kill trespassers. And by the way, you should still be running, you know, just in case it comes up out of the ground or spits acid or something.¡± Zack took off with a single thing on his mind. Hide. With eyes darting around like a hunted beast in the wilderness he cautiously ran until he found a stone archway half buried in the ground. He looked inside to see a hole that was just large enough to fit his body. He climbed inside. A two dimensional white haired Akma appeared on the left wall and said ¡°Now that you have the time to recuperate, lets go over what you gained since entering this dimension."
+3 maximum willpower energy
Zack nodded sleepily ¡°Seems about right.¡±
Secondary body stat gain
+3 mind
Skill learned
Telekinetic Force Push Rank: Newbie
The ability to move things with your mind, can be enhanced with willpower energy
Requires: Brain evolution 7GI82T, Advanced Pineal Gland
Zack asked in a whispered voice ¡°What is all this?¡± Akmadouric said ¡°Didn¡¯t you think that what happened back there was odd? The only reason why you are alive right now is because your mind, in it¡¯s fear driven state, released a burst of willpower energy to advance itself further down it¡¯s natural path of evolution.¡± ¡±It can do that?¡± ¡±I¡¯m just as surprised as you are. In fact, are you sure you didn¡¯t have any help in doing what you did? Maybe from a deity other than myself?¡± Zack shrugged ¡°Not that I know of.¡± Akmadouric let out a thoughtful ¡°Hmm.¡±
+8,932 Favor added
Zack said ¡°Nobody told me how to make favor yet.¡± The miniature Akmadouric¡¯s expression grew tense ¡°The currency of Favor is earned by helping the war effort in any way. These favor points were earned by discovering information about this unknown dimension that none of my forces have ever tread before.¡± The fact that he was way out of his depth was beginning to sink in ¡°How does new information about this dimension help the war effort?¡± ¡±If I get enough of it then I will be able to send a rescue party and open up a new offensive front against this realm.¡± Zack said ¡°There¡¯s no rescue coming? Wait! Is the reason why Akma disappeared back there because this is a new dimension for you?¡± ¡°The strand was cut and it took a minute to reestablish contact with you.¡± Akmadouric admitted.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Zack said ¡°I remember being told that if I were to die, then the Akma network would have transported my consciousness from this body into my true body.¡± Akmadouric frowned and said "Yes that is true." ¡°So I almost died for real back there!? I was told that there would be no threat to my life when I joined your army.¡± Zack pointed an accusatory finger at the moving Akma drawing on the wall. The mini Akmadouric twiddled his thumbs, bit his lip and sheepishly turned away for a moment ¡°Um¡­Yes. But this almost never happens. You¡¯re just extremely unlucky.¡± Zack pressed his lips together and scowled but berating a deity would not help his situation in both the short and long terms ¡°Fine, but promise me that it will never happen again. Now tell me what I need to do.¡± The little Akmadouric drawing on the wall acted like he was filing his nails ¡°I can¡¯t even make that promise because there is a chance that another deity has taken an interest in you. But now that I understand the technique on how the strand was cut it will not happen like that again.¡± then he snapped his fingers and a screen came up.
Go exploring
Situation briefing: You are trapped in a hostile dimension. Death is the only way out.
Objective: Gather as much information as possible, then someday Akmadouric will be able to locate this dimension for an offensive assault.
Zack said ¡°You can¡¯t locate this dimension even though you are projecting this Akma image here.¡± Akmadouric said ¡°I know where you are because I know everything about your physical make up. And I cannot locate this dimension because I do not know everything about it. Thus far you have learned that this place has orange glowing vegetables growing out blackish purple plant roots, there is a large monster at the bottom of a pit, there are orange stars in the sky and most importantly these ruins indicate that there was once a civilization here.¡± Zack ran his hand over the stone archway, slowly looking over the unreadable runes so Akmadouric could get more data, then he began to dig ¡°These are ruins. Archaeologists like to dig in ruins, so lets dig.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cut yourself on anything. Unless you think you can magically unlock some kind of ability again and heal yourself.¡± Zack dug for several feet with his bare hands then brushed off something metal. Akmadouric nodded ¡°So they had metal working. But how did they use it?¡± He continued brushing away dirt until a handle was revealed, Zack pulled until a sword came out. A blue screen popped up, displaying the weapon¡¯s stats.
Unknown Rusty blade
Weapon type: Bladed Melee
Damage: 2-30 cut damage
Description: A cumbersome and large yet lightweight sword with a very wide grip. Once considered to be a type of stainless steel, age has proven otherwise.
Zack frowned ¡°I can¡¯t even wrap my fingers around it.¡± Akmadouric said ¡°That sword was made for someone who is much larger than you.¡± Zack waved it around and said ¡°It¡¯s nothing like those lightsabers I¡¯ve seen your people use, but it will have to do.¡± he jumped out of the small cave and rested the oversized blade over his shoulder, then he said ¡°Well, wish me luck in my scouting mission. I hope I find enough information for you to open a portal to here.¡± ¡°That would take a lifetime. But the information you gather will become useful someday, the next time one of my minions falls into this trap then maybe they will be able to succeed at your doomed mission.¡± Zack smirked ¡°Well I have the telekinetic force push. So I¡¯m a Jedi now, I can do anything.¡± Akmadouric blandly said ¡°If that is the context and mentality that you need in order to proceed. Then so be it.¡± Zack left the sanctuary of the stone archway and entered a large tunnel. Making his way as quietly as he could and gripping the oversized blade with both hands, ready to swing at anything that moved. He took a step up a ramp and nearly tripped as the gravity shifted. He regained his balance and then found himself standing at an angle ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± Akmadouric said ¡°Walk over to that wall.¡± and pointed. Zack walked and then the gravity shifted again, he fell forward and landed on the wall. He spit out some dirt and said ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Akmadouric said ¡°Yet more extremely useful information. The gravity in this dimension extends outward from the empty space. This is not a cave and those orange stars you saw earlier were actually more glowing vegetables.¡± Zack asked ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡±I¡¯m saying that the whole universe within this dimension is like this. Nothing but these caves going on for lightyears in every direction.Some deity rewrote the physics in this place.¡± ¡°Still no rescue party coming?¡± The white haired blue kid shook his head and Zack began his trek again, walking on the walls and ceiling in order to get used to how the gravity worked, it was also really fun. He threw several rocks into the air to see how they would move, even getting one to stop for a moment in the center of the tunnel. He entered a clearing that had more of those orange glowing vegetables than the areas prior. The placewas so bright that it was comparable to daylight. Dark purple roots covered the entire floor. Then Zack looked up in awe to see the towering tree of which all the roots belonged to. Bus sized pale pulsating cylinders shown through the gray leaves that seemed to smoke at their edges. The tree¡¯s dark purple trunk stood like an obelisk. Zack said aloud "There are skyscrapers in New York city that aren''t that big." Akmadouric looked at it and said ¡°I¡¯m going to take an educated guess and assume that this dimension belongs to the deity Ulgroth.¡± Zack asked in a hushed voice ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡±Because he likes to make mockeries of that which exists in other realms.¡± A whistling sound caught Zack¡¯s attention and the hairs on his arm stood on end as he went into an alarmed state of mind.Something large crashed onto the roots in front of him, sending splinters everywhere. All Zacksaw was a pair of muscleboundgorilla like arms and acat-like face twisted in rage, before jumping into the tunnel. Successfully aiming for the center and flying down the tunnel with the gravity pressing against him from all sides. Carefully using his telekinesis skill to stay in the center as he accelerated through the tunnel, adjusting his course as the passageway curved. He shot of the tunnel like it was a cannon and flew several feet. In the middle of the air Akmadouric floated cross legged and solemnly said ¡°The first death is always the hardest.¡± Zack landed and rolled across the ground, then picked himself up and ran but then stopped suddenly as he realized he was running back towards the pit, where that unknown huge monster lay in wait. Zack turned around and raised his sword in air, thinking that he would much rather face the smaller one. Claws emerged from the tunnel and the monster ran on the wall then leaped high into the air above Zack. He ran beneath the monsterso that itwould land with it¡¯s back facing him, it came down with a crash and Zack raised his sword to strike it from behind but all it took was one rage filled look from the monster¡¯s bobcat like face to get him to stop before hetook a step towards it. Zack screamed ¡°Stay the hell away from me!¡±and used his telekinesis skill to push the beast away with all his might. It fell backwards a few feet but immediately stood up and charged unhindered. Zack¡¯s eyes widened and a plan formed in his mind, then he repeated to himself over and over in order to overcome the fear ¡®I will not die no matter what happens. The Akma network will take me back to my true body.¡¯ then he charged with his telekinesis skill pushing him forward. Surprise appeared in the face of the monster as Zack crossed the ten foot gap between them in an instant, ducking underneath the beast¡¯s claws before they could slice his torso into five separate pieces. His blade came down on it¡¯s shoulder but it caught on something and the grip was ripped out of his hands. Their eyes met briefly and strangely enough there was a glint of light at the center of it¡¯s pupil. Then Zack¡¯s momentum carried him five feet away. Akmadouric said nonchalantly ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡± Elation crept into Zack¡¯s voice ¡°Ya, I actually got him in the shoulder.¡± ¡±I was talking about the light in it¡¯s eye.¡± Zack looked at the monster as it turned then the blood drained from his face as he could see that it¡¯s long thick fur moved of it¡¯s own accord and wrapped around the blade, completely absorbing the impact. The monster let the blade loose and it harmlessly clattered to the ground. Akmadouric said ¡°Touch it¡¯s face where there is no fur and it will be a major victory.¡± Zack replied ¡°Easy for you to say.¡± The monster charged again, it¡¯s claws digging into the ground as it advanced with lightning speed. Zack barely had time to put his hand into the air before the beast opened it¡¯s mouth to reveal two rows of dagger-like teeth. Zack touched the monster¡¯s cheek as it''s jaw was just about to snap shut around his head. 8. Hroyd Hroyd hugged his knees with his massive arms and rocked back and forth within the golden barrier, repeating the words ¡°You shall come no further¡± over and over again. Outside the barrier, a tumultuous and twisting wall of darkness enclosed around him. Occasionally eyes looked at him from the torrent. Sharp things tried to penetrate the barrier, but none ever did. Memories played across the golden barrier¡¯s interior surface, his former life. As a child he trained in the sacred combat arts of the Kulabv. Eventually mastering all of the weapons his people possessed, swords and throwing spears mostly. But what set him apart from the other warriors to be was that he had unlocked the fabled biokinesis abilities that only one of a thousand warriors were able to use. The hair all over his body could be moved by his own will, thickening and interlacing for protection like a suit of armor. His claws could extend and harden like five steel blades grew from the tips of his fingers. Eventually attaining a proficiency where he no longer bothered wearing cumbersome armor or wielding some inferior sword. He joined the holy wars and soon became a renowned figure known as Hroyd of the ten blades. Rivers of blood ran from the battlefields as the war came to it¡¯s climax. But during the largest engagement Hroyd had ever fought in, an armada of metal ships flew over the world. Both armies stopped what they were doing and stared at the apparitions in the sky. Then multitudes of dark violet spikes rained from the ships. The people whom they struck twitched and convulsed until they turned black and went still. Even the very ground turned black and the plants turned the same eerie dark violet color. Then the people who had been previously struck by the spikes arose from their graves and stabbed people with the very same instruments that had corrupted them. Hroyd rallied those who would fight against the black ones, friend and foe alike, but no matter how many his forces slew they could not strike against the untouchable ships in the sky. The priests of the Kulabv declared that the end of days had come and committed ritual suicide to protest their God¡¯s abandonment. Hroyd scorned them as he lead his forces into a cave network for a last stand, there is no such thing as a divine higher power. To his horror, the cave network turned into their graves much sooner than he expected. Rather than protecting his people from the spikes raining down on them from the ships, he provided to the enemy the means of trapping them. The black earth moved before Hroyd¡¯s very eyes and tunnels opened in several places around the final refuge of his people. The corrupted one¡¯s converged from all sides. There was no order to the battle that followed, just groups of people fighting futilely. Hroyd resolutely stood before the massed enemy and let loose a war cry ¡°You shall come no further¡±, cutting down twenty foes before being stabbed by one of the corrupting spikes. And he found himself in the middle of a sea of darkness. He flailed his claws in every direction until his very being screamed in fear ¡°You shall come no further!¡± and a golden barrier formed around him. Scattered visions of the outside world shown on the dark waves. He could see the earth of the world rising to form vast caverns and for a moment the stars moved closer together before being covered up forever. Over time he watched a strange sapling grow into a towering tree the size of a mountain. Occasionally he could see his blackened hands gather up numerous bizarre glowing vegetables in order to feed a set of jaws that appeared out of a twisting portal and pulled back out when it had eaten it¡¯s fill. A red haze came over his visions as he cut down those who intruded upon the towering tree he guarded. From within his golden protective prison he scoffed at how unskilled the controller of his body was at combat. Even failing to kill this strange furless bipedal creature numerous times, had he been in control of his body he could have succeeded in at least a dozen different ways. Just as his jaws were about snap his razor sharp teeth around the tiny creature¡¯s head a bright light exploded the dark waves away, leaving Hroyd sitting at the foot of a giant with white spiky hair, with it¡¯s voice booming all around him it said ¡°Surrender your memories to me and I will give you freedom.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. It had been so long since anyone had spoken to him andit took a few moments for him to remember how to speak ¡°I surrender.¡± Hroyd¡¯s head snapped backward as a white light struck him and he fell onto his back. He moved his arms of his own accord and brought them in front of his face, the black discoloration fading to his natural white. His body, it had been so long. But he did not allow himself to revel in his overwhelming joy and took stock of his surroundings. First thing he saw was a very small blue child that was somewhat reminiscent of the giant stood over the unmoving body of the very same bipedal creature whose head he had nearly taken off. The blue kid said ¡°Introductions can wait, but for now you must know several things. First being is that you must ensure this man¡¯s survival. If he dies, then the temporary measures that I have used to cleanse you will be canceled and you will slowly revert back into one of the black ones.¡± An acrid stench assaulted his senses ¡°Why does this little one¡¯s midsection stink?¡± ¡°The fear of death caused little Zack here to release that liquid. Then he¡­lost consciousnesses.¡± What a horrid defense mechanism. Hroyd grunted ¡°Then I¡¯m offended that there¡¯s not more.¡± then he slung the bipedal creature onto his back and strapped him down using the thick fur on his back which he could move as he pleased. The littler blue bipedal creature said ¡°Using your memories I have been able to locate this dimension. A rescue party is coming.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means.¡± Hroyd enhanced his hearing to a level that only a biokenitic master could achieve ¡°Will they get here before the ones who are approaching?¡± ¡°No. So will you fight or flee?¡± ¡°Is there any way that you can save them in the same way as you did me?¡± The blue kid made a scrunched up face, which was his people¡¯s body language for denial ¡°No. I highly doubt it. You are a one in a million case, I know they were once your allies but from now on they will always be your enemies.¡± He walked towards the tunnel entrance as he said ¡°Then I will be the one to make their husks go still.¡± growing out his hard as steelclaws in preparation for the fast approaching fight to the death. Three pairs of eyes appeared in the tunnel¡¯s darkness. Each traveling along a different wall. In the past he would have roared to inspire fear but after knowing what kind of mental state they were in he knew better than to waste his energy. Hroyd charged diagonally towards the one on the right wall, then just before entering melee range he dug his claws into the dirt and took a sharp left turn, swiping his right claw across the first foe¡¯s eyes, striking them blind, and leaving them behind to flail about as he slowly died. The second foe swung a rusty sword at Hroyd¡¯s head, who expertly extended all of the talons on both hands to a length of two feet, interlacing them to catch the blade. Then extended them further to slice up his opponents forearms, the sword dropped and eight of his claws entered the bottom of the husk¡¯s skull. Sensing that the last one coming from from behind, he threw the corpse in his hands to knock the final opponent off balance, then pounced on top of him. His talons found their marks between the rib bones and penetrated the full two foot length. And finally dragging them through several vital organs, making the husk go still. Hroyd said aloud ¡°Rest now Brusx, Ormgryp and Hyuip. May you find peace in the halls of the Kulabv collective.¡± then hung his head in despair among the blood and bodies. If every single one of the believers in the Kulabv religion were dead then it also meant the religion itself was dead. His words meant nothing. A spiraling vortex appeared suddenly and the little blue bipedal kid jumped out ¡°Get back to the tree. The rescue party has come and¡­¡± his voice trailed off as he looked towards the chamber ¡°It has run into a small problem. That tree is capable of defending itself.¡± in the distance he could hear the sounds of explosions, whistling arrows and¡­.screaming from strange vocal cords? Hroyd began to run while the blue kid talked ¡°Get to the extraction point, I will mark my people as blue so you know they are not enemies.¡± Hroyd stopped running ¡°I will not run away through one of your portals. My place is with my world and my people.¡± The blue kid grit his teeth ¡°Grarh. Why must you all be so difficult? What happened to your world and your people has happened a great many times. Don¡¯t you have any desire for vengeance?¡± ¡°The Kulabv caretaker priests raised me to abhor those who seek vengeance, but since they are gone, all of the ingrained beliefs that they passed on to me no longer matter. I do however owe you a debt for freeing me. At the very least I will save the one I have on my back.¡± The blue kid said ¡°Yes, you do and believe me it is steep. Under no circumstance are you allowed to risk your life.¡± and Hroyd ran towards the sounds of battle. 9: Beckers first raid Initiate rifleman Becker doubled tapped the last black sphere of eyeballs with his laser rifle, then changed out the barrel before it melted. Around him the other members of Akmadouric''s army idled about in a dazed state, ablue aura marking them as friendly. Looking at the scene before him he said ¡°For fuck sakes. On ancient battlefields endless fields of corpses were commonplace.¡± he shook his head ¡°Never in my military career did I ever expect to be in the middle of one.¡± In every direction there were bodies and parts from every kind of creature and machine imaginable. The mutated flesh of cyborgs and monsters burned. A mountainous mass of some kind of insect with a carapace lay on it¡¯s side in the distance, or at least that was the best way he could describe it. During the battle he had been ordered to steer clear of the rampaging behemoth, and leave it to the mid-tier personal of Akmadouric¡¯s army. A screen popped up before his eyes.
Objective complete. The hostile ground assault on Planet Gorzimo has been stopped.
Bright flashes appeared and disappeared overhead as explosions large enough to destroy solar systems brightened the night''s sky asweapons of mass destruction detonated. He said to the three foot tall pointy eared green pyromancer who had walked up to him ¡°Made it in time. We get to live for the day.¡± During the battle he had been told that the enemy could have launched a cataclysmic weapon at them at any time, so their foothold on the ground needed to be cleared up as quickly as possible in order for the active orbital defenses to launch and the High-tierman and midtierman would be allowedto exert pressure elsewhere within the battle that encompassed the whole universe of a dimension. With his part over, he loosened the rivets on his mechanical suit for comfort, without success since it¡¯s inch thick armorcovered his whole body. He sat down to rest on a six legged wolf sized creature which had tried it¡¯s very best to kill him twenty minutes ago. Then another screen popped up.
New rallying call. A new enemy dimension has been discovered and an initiate coordinator by the name of Zackery Taylor requires rescue. Code name: Lost sheep. Combat Likiper inbound.
Primary objective: Take part in the assault on the hostile dimension and deal as much damage as possible to it before the enemy reactionary forces enter the field.
Secondary objective: rescue the lost sheep.
Becker let out a sigh, then began to re-tighten the rivets on his suit. An average man would refuse the call to duty after the four hour ¡®minor¡¯ skirmish fraught with multiple near death experiences, but he had long ago grown used to toughing it out. After two full minutes of waiting it finally hit him. Zackery Taylor? That spindly piece of skin and bones? He looked at the bloody carnage around him and said ¡°No way the kid survived this kind of environment.¡± He concentrated on controlling his breathing and keeping still in order to aid his recovery. Then in the distance a silver line twisted through the smoke on the horizon. Wings extended from the back on his suit and he initiated a light burn sequence. Flames erupted from the jets and the ground fell beneath him as he rose. The Combat Likiper approached at the low speed of fifty MPH and the docking mechanism on his suit engaged. The flying mechanical serpent took a nose dive within twenty feet of him and a compartment in it¡¯s midsection opened up. The positive met the negative magnetics and Becker flew into the foam filled compartment. The temporary cushion dissipated and he anchored his feet onto the floor, then strapped himself into the chair madefor his suit, which proved to be a difficult task with the g-forces that many aLikiper in flight could pull. After getting himself situated he turned down the visibility of the walls within the compartment in preparation to shoot through them. The fire from his laser rifle would pass through the hull and wings of the Likiper without harming the cyborg snake by design, although he did have to avoid shooting the other two dozen riflemen in the other compartments. They picked up another three members and finally the Likiper accelerated towards the interdimensional portal that lead to a hostile realm, where virtually anything could be waiting for them. Steeling himself, he checked his equipment for the tenth time, the extra barrels attached to his forearms could be changed out quick enough. The rotational device on the floor could be controlled by his feet well enough and the ejector diagnostics said it wasin working order.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The combat Likiper¡¯s head breached the portal and the world shifted around them. The ground sank and the daylight turned to the pitch black of night. Eerie orange lights appeared on the ground just as the world stopped shifting, signaling that the crossing was over. The raid party found themselves flying before a tree as large as a skyscraper. With branches that were twenty feet thickand had silver leaves that smoked. It''s trunk had to be at least fifty feet in diameter. Above it the Akma network displayed the name
Corrupted Poru Tree
With aid of his suit¡¯s scanners he could see a close up view of the glowing orange spheres attached to the root, a screen appeared.
Discovered
Fruit7GU8VL2
Based off of similar accounts within the database, fruits like these are used to feed the fiends that serve the Deity Ulgroth. Slightly volatile and radioactive.
Then all of the orange glowing fruits luminosity intensified, giving the entire the entire cavern a slightly hellish hue. Warning lights flashed on his visor and the words ¡®Energy spike detected¡¯ were displayed. It automatically switched to a different mode, allowing Becker to see what looked like veins of magma flowing into the dark violet barked tree as it¡­moved? Becker watched in awe as the black tree visibly transformed. The leaves grew pale and the smoke they emitted increased. Buds as large as trucks began to form in seconds as if he was watching through a time lapsed camera. The leathery brown petals parted, revealing multitudes of three foot long thorns, only to be hidden soon after as the smoke thickened. Upon seeing the threat the Combat Likiper accelerated towards it¡¯s maximum speed. Senior Rifleman Oiksh hissed over the com system, deciding to shoot first and ask questions later ¡°Open fire! Strike first!¡± laser beams of green, blue, yellow and red light passed through the hull of the Likiper. Becker watched the tree¡¯s splinters fly as the green laser fire blew chunks out the branches but the the red laser mode failed to even damage the leaves. The humanoid serpent Oiksh said ¡°Fire mode three proven ineffective. Discontinue.¡± and the team members who were firing the red lasers switched their rifles to a different mode. Volleys of thorns launched from the demented brown flowers behind the gray smoke. Becker¡¯s hud showed the paths of each of the deadly projectiles and target reticle clusters over the probable origins of the incoming fire. The Likiper swerved, dipped and changed direction, causing Becker to be pressed into the straps as the g-forces rose into the upper nines. His aim became erratic with every change in direction. Oiksh spoke through the com systems ¡°Fire mode four proven to be most effective.¡± and everyone started shooting only the green lasers. The towering tree launched it¡¯s thorns like rain against the elusive mechanical serpent darting about the massive cavern. Becker saw a branch he had blown apart earlier and said into the com system ¡°Be advised. It¡¯s regrowing over the areas where we¡¯ve blasted before.¡± it was the only explanation for it not being dead after all the firepower they had already poured into it. Oiksh said ¡°Then we make new priority targets. Focus your firepower on the radioactive fruits that are giving power to the tree. And split apart, this much concentrated fire is making me nervous.¡± The Likiper made a sharp turn and Becker hit the ejection button, the g-forces that had been hampering his ability to aim propelled him away from the mechanical serpent. The suit¡¯s wings spread and he initiated a burn at maximum power to get away as quickly as possible, soon exiting the firezone where the thorns landed. He immediately took the opportunity to aim a few rounds into some of the unnatural fruits. They ruptured and their pale orange juices flew in every direction. Becker switched his hud visor¡¯s vision to it¡¯s energy detection mode and didn¡¯t like what he was seeing ¡°The damn thing is soaking up the juices from the fruits we shot. Energy levels are spiking even higher.¡± Then hemade a sharp ninety degree turn to avoid a clustered volley of thorns and knew that the other members of the raidcouldn''t keep this up forever. Senior Rifleman Oiksh said over the communication system ¡°Then revert back to our original tactics. Shoot those jhzrkssflowers before anyone else gets impaled by these thorns.¡± apparently that word didn¡¯t translate very well from the humanoid serpent¡¯s language but Becker was sure that it was cuss word of some kind. Another riflemen said in a panicking voice ¡°The fog is getting too thick! We¡¯re shooting blind.¡± the smoke the leaves were making were also masking the thorns approach, eventually they would be dodging blind as well. Becker said ¡°Keep calm and detached. If you lose your composure, you¡¯ll lose your combat effectiveness.¡± Akma¡¯s voice came through the radio ¡°A single mid-tier reinforcement named Kerink is incoming.¡± Oiksh hissed over the radio ¡°Ssstay safe. Take no risks.¡± Becker frowned as he looked at the cloud hidden tree in the center of the massive cavern "The situation is getting worse by the minute and we are going to start taking casualties pretty soon." with the fog growing thickenough to almost reach the cavern''s walls,detecting the thorns flying at the members of the raid party was getting more and more difficult by the minute. Beckerhad very little knowledge about whata mid-tier personalwas capable of but if the much more well informed Senior Rifleman Oiksh knew, then he would just have to trust his superior. 10. The nature of the multiverse Zack opened his eyes slowly and immediately became aware that his body was tied to something that was hard, bumpy and moving fast. Frantically struggling to free himself proved to be impossible, the bindings were much too strong. ¡°Quit moving, you¡¯re fucking up my balance.¡± said a guttural voice coming from below him. Akma appeared in front of his face and said ¡°A lot has happened since you were unconscious.¡± this time he had chosen to appear with a height of two inches. Zack asked ¡°Why am I still alive?¡± then the center of his forehead felt like it was being split open as another set of vision entered his own and disappeared as abruptly as it came. ¡°What the-?¡± The white haired Akma said ¡°I¡¯ve connected you to this Kulabv warrior here.¡± Zack shook his head in order to clear it ¡°You did what? And whats a Kulabv?¡± but an influx of knowledge poured into his mind and he knew a great many things about the creature that had strapped Zack to his back. Then it disappeared as quickly as it had come. Zack¡¯s eyes bulged ¡°What the hell have you done to me?¡± Akmadouric said ¡°Nothing that can¡¯t be reversed and we will talk more about that in depth later but more importantly right now you are in the middle of a combat zone!¡± Zack looked around to the best of his ability with his head strapped down but all he could see was gray fog overhead and the brightly glowing vegetables shining through it. Akmadouric said ¡°Close your eyes. I¡¯m going to open up your connection to Hroyd a little bit so you can see through him.¡± Zack glared at the tiny blue thought projection and did as he was told. The new set of vision came into focus out of the darkness. He judged the height of Hroyd to be eight feet tall when running on arms and legs. Two muscular arms appeared out of the sides of the vision and the claws at the ends of his hands dug into the roots for traction. Hroyd looked to the left and right, his vision searching for threats and escape routes. A bud began to form on one of the roots and Hroyd boundedtowards it, bringing his speed up from 30mph to 50mph. Then with his three foot long razor sharp claws he sliced through the vine that connected it to the tree. Akmadouric¡¯s voice said ¡°I told you not to participate in the battle. You two are the only ones who are not expendable.¡± Hroyd gruffly said ¡°My people are gone. No one will miss me, but your flying soldiers have acquaintances back where they call home.¡± Akmadouric said with clear frustration ¡°They won¡¯t die! I¡¯ve put in place safety measures for that, whereas in your case the cost of resurrection would be much too high and I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it until I wrest control of the whole dimension from the Deity Ulgroth.¡± Hroyd said ¡°Resurrection? Dimension? Deity Ulgroth?¡± Zack could feel the Kulabv warrior¡¯s confusion through their bizarre link ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means. I¡¯m just going to attack anyway.¡± then dashed towards one of the glowing vegetables and severed it from the tree. Leaving the vegetable intact with it¡¯s juices still inside. Akmadouric growled ¡°Grhh, I hate it when things don¡¯t translate. Wait, keep doing that, you just stumbled onto the best method to killthis thing.¡± ¡°That I understood.¡± Hroyd dashed into a patch of eight glowing orange vegetables and severed the vines that tied them to the tree¡¯s roots. Sharp cracks resounded overhead as the other raid members fought and thorns landed behind Hroyd as he ran. Zack said ¡°Change direction. We¡¯ll get killed if we are too predictable.¡± Hroyd took a sharp 90 degree turn and ran into another tunnel ¡°We¡¯ll take ourselves off the field and come back in a minute or two.¡± The Kulabv warrior ran on his arms and legs, taking side tunnels without hesitation. Zack asked ¡°Do you know where you aregoing?¡± Hroyd said ¡°I¡¯ve had a lot of time to memorize the layout of this place.¡± They emerged near another patch of radioactive vegetables and Hroyd severed another three vines. Then moved on to the next cluster using a linear path. Zack exlaimed ¡°Wait! I told you not to be so obvious about your movements!¡± But before Hroyd could turn direction his hands stuck to the ground and he face planted. The force of his eight hundred pound body moving at thirty miles per hour drove into his skull. Whatever connection that Zack shared with Hroyd was cutoff as the Kulabv warrior was knocked unconscious. Zack felt a bruise on his right cheek as some of the force transferred through Hroyd¡¯s body, his vision was hazy from the blow to his head but began to clear up quickly. ¡±Sap?¡± Zack asked himself as he sat up from the loosening bindings and looked down at the dark amber liquid that had formed on the tree¡¯s roots. For it to have stopped Hroyd like that, it had to be an incredibly strong adhesive. The ground was covered in it for a dozen feet in every direction. Hroyd wasn¡¯t going anywhere and Zack couldn¡¯t help the giant he had been riding atop of, so he began to look for safe areas that he could step without getting glued to the ground. There were none. Strange woody sounds came from both his right and left. Zack looked up to see brown pods growing until their petals split apart to reveal what must have been thirty thorns pointing straight at him. Immediately he knew it to be the very same projectile platforms that had been shooting at him and Hroyd for the past five minutes. And they new they were aiming at him from close range while he was immobile. Chance of survival: zero. Zack watched the base of thorns retract and glow orange before they launched at him. But before Zack and Hroyd were impaled by the three foot wooden projectiles, a hand with green hair came down to shield them both. White lights at the end of the fingertips pierced the tree roots and enveloped the pair. Loud thunks came from the outside as the thorns struck the giant¡¯s hand. Hroyd awoke with a start to see nothing but the dark interior of the giant''s palm and immediately started struggling against the adhesive, yelling in a terrified voice he shrieked ¡°Not again!¡± it was a stark contrast to gruff warrior¡¯s voice from earlier. Then they were lifted up but not at a straight angle, the hand began to turn mid-air and then let go, sending them spinning. Zack clung to Hroyd¡¯s fur, his blood pressed into his feet and his arms weakened over the course of but a few seconds. Briefly he could see the blue portal getting closer with each rotation and then they entered the crossing. Everything blurred together and changed colors until the blue of the sky dominated half of Zack¡¯s vision. Then they both landed in the dirt of the planet Gorzimo.
Kerink was bored as she babysat the newly initiated backwaters from Akmadouric¡¯s newly acquired dimension. She triggered her Extreme Metabolic Growth skill to enlarge her arm by ten thousand percent and grasped the lost sheep with her newly formed a giant hand.
Extreme Metabolic Growth Rank: intermediate
Allows the user to enlarge parts of their body
Mid-Tier level skill Requires: activatable metabolic growth hormones
Then combined it with her Deuterium Energy Emitter skill to penetrate the ground and lift the pair easier.
Deuterium Energy Emitter Rank: Master
Allows the user to emit a type of star energy from their body and manipulate it according to their will
Elite Mid-tier level skill
Kerink dodged a volley of thorns, causing her to throw the lost sheep in a spin.But she wasn¡¯t sorry. After all, a bit of rough treatment is good for newbies.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She slowly shrank her hand back to it¡¯s normal size in order to conserve energy and move easier. Dislodging the thorns that had penetrated her skin using minuscule bursts of energy to force them out, lest they widen wounds that they created.
Secondary Objective Complete
+50,000 favor
She looked around at the situation. Half the backwaters were probably shitting their pants right now. Even though they were only up against such a low threat level enemy. The tree might be huge and tough but it is still completely immobile. But it only has ballistic weaponry at it''s disposal. The smoke screen may be annoying but with the initiate riflemen flying around marking targets on the exposed energy sources, there was no way that she was going to be forced to resort to any of her high energy requirement attacks. A rifleman in the distance flew over a patch of energy sources marking the vines as targets for Kerink. She formed a small ball of white light in her hand and released several centimeter wide beams to strike the vines with pinpoint accuracy. Another rifleman with the tag: initiate rifleman Becker flew dangerously close to the tree for a moment and launched as many grenades into it as he could. Explosions blew apart the tree from the inside. Firing off as many shots as he could before the heat on the reflective barrels became too dangerous to continue using. Doing as much damage as he could to the major intersections where the energy flowed through the tree. Very slowly the volleys of thorns became less frequent as the tree lost it¡¯s ability to fight back.
Zack and Hroyd flew out of the portal and rolled, then the Kulabv warrior stopped suddenly as the sap that was on him stuck to the ground. Zack laid on the ground and groaned. Then looked around to see a field of alien corpses stretching all the way to the horizon. The smell of blood and burnt fleshhung in the air. Zack said ¡°I guess Gorzimo saw ground action while I was away.¡± Hroyd looked frantically around as he struggled against the sticky sap that still bound him, ¡°What just happened? Where are we?¡± then started intently listening to thin air, which meant that an Akma had appeared and began to initiate a private conversation. The translator even turned off and Zack could hear several variations of sounds that he couldn¡¯t even identify, airy and hard H¡¯s mixed with guttural E¡¯s that sharply rose and dropped in tone. Zack looked in the direction that had the least amount of gore, it wasn¡¯t enjoyable scenery to him, then said ¡°Akma.¡± thus summoning the little blue guy out of this vortex ¡°What was that hand that grabbed us and threw us out of there?¡± he was back to having mostly black hair but Zack could have sworn that there were a few more white strands than usual. Akma said ¡°It belonged to Kerink¡± ¡±She is not a giant.¡± ¡±Transformation abilities are uncommon among interdimensional military personal.¡± ¡°What? So she grew an arm that was two hundred feet long?¡± Akma simply replied ¡°Yes¡± Zack frowned, noticing that Akma had said ¡®interdimensional military personal¡¯ and not ¡®father¡¯s military personal¡¯ meaning that the enemies he could come acrossin the future might have such surprises at their disposal. But then again, Hroyd had demonstrated an ability to transform, but not to such an extreme. Zack overheard bits and pieces of the Kulabv warrior¡¯s conversation and began to understand a few of the alien language¡¯s words ¡°What the hell have you done to me?¡± Several strands of hair on Akma¡¯s head turned from black to white ¡°The connection is consciousness and physiologically deep. It can be turned off and on as it is now, but you can spend favor currency to have it modified or removed.¡± ¡°Good. Actually talking to someone via telepathy is beyond creepy.¡± Akma said ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend getting rid of it.¡± A screen appeared in front of Zack¡¯s eyes
New Consiousness Skill
Eidolon Contractor Rank: Newbie
The base skill that allows a person to house anchors for Eidolon minds within their own consciousness
Capacity: 1
Mid-tier level skill
Note: Speak to Akma later about newly unlocked upgrade skills
Zack looked over at the gray furred Kulabv warrior in order to study him. Before he hadn¡¯t had the chance to get a good look at the alien being while Zack was fighting and running for his life. Aside from the long muscular arms that Hroyd used to support his eight hundred pound body. Looking closer Zack could see that only his clawed finger tips touched the ground. Making his posture very much like that of a gorilla. The Kulabv warrior¡¯s face looked exactly like a bobcat¡¯s but with a handlebar mustache and eyebrows that sharply jutted out to the sides of his head. Rereading the skill Zack said ¡°Eidolon? Allows a person to house anchors for Eidolon minds within their own consciousness? "What is this?¡± ¡°An Eidolon is a being that requires entrance into the Spiritual Etherfor rest and rejuvenation. Speaking of which he has been instructed to do so now.¡± Hroyd began toglimmer with a green light and disappear, leaving a few shimmering sparks behind. Zack said ¡°He can travel to alternate dimensions on his own?¡± Akma said ¡°No, he stayed in this one but he moved his body into one of theenergy frequenciesof it.¡± Thinking back to his vocabulary that he had learned from certain fantasy games ¡°The word Eidolon is a synonym for the words; spirit or a spectre. Hroyd is clearly flesh and blood.¡± Akma suddenly looked tired ¡°Do you have any idea how hard it is to assign names to things when a culture has no concept for most of the things they encounter in the multiverse? Hroyd doesn¡¯t have any words in his language that even come close to the true meanings of resurrection, deity and dimension. So he recklessly charged thinking that his life is worth less because he is the last of his kind.¡± Zack blinked with new understanding ¡°How sad. To try and forfeit his life like that.¡± Akma shook his head ¡°The last days on his planet were sad. You¡¯ll find out more about it when you open theconnection further. Now let¡¯s talk about what upgrades you can get with this Eidolon contract skill now that you have a positive amount of favor.¡± Zack¡¯s anger flared up a bit ¡°I think not. I have met one of the conditions for voluntary dismissal from Akmadouric¡¯s army. The positive favor clause.¡± Akma paused for a moment, then said ¡°If that is what you want then I will not stop you. But as for your connection to Hroyd, I can¡¯t let you sever it, it¡¯s way too powerful of a skill for you to just throw away. I will however modify it so that you don¡¯t have to experience the ¡®creepiness of actual telepathy¡¯ again.¡± Zack said ¡°Fine, do what you want. But it better not impact my daily life negatively.¡± then he walked away. Akma raised a finger ¡°Actually there is one more stipulation for your dismissal. And we might as well do it now. I have to tell you about the true nature of the multiverse.¡± Zack said with more than a little impatience over the information blackout ¡°So I guess the time for me to be kept in the dark is over.¡± then prepared himself for some uber deep revelation about reality. Akma stood ramrod straight, waited several moments for Zack to really start paying attention and finally delivered his presentation ¡°The first rule about the infinite multiverse is that if the concept of something exists. Then somewhere in one of it¡¯s infinite dimensions, it also exists.¡± Akma paused for a moment ¡°When a person makes a decision the multiverse splits into two. One in which the person took option A and the other in which a person took option B. This is known by your multiverse theory scientists. But it goes even farther than that. There are times in which a molecule or a particle can make a decision, causing another split. Laws of physics can choose to change or modify themselves, albeit very rarely. Everything exists.¡± ¡°Everything?¡± ¡±Yes, everything.¡± Zack thought for a moment then asked ¡°Magic exists?¡± Akma said ¡°It¡¯s very rare for it to occur naturally but father will sometimes write physics into a universe to give the inhabitants magic like powers in order to defend themselves from an interdimensional incursion. So yes it exists.¡± ¡°What about the superheros that I grew up watching in the media? Do they exist?¡± Akma said ¡±I¡¯ve never met any of them. Father and his minions have scouted through a great many dimensions.¡± Zack asked ¡°Is there a dimension in which I¡¯m batman?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that it¡¯s outright impossible, so yes.¡± ''I was JOKING!''Zack was reeling ¡°Dragons exist... Mages exist¡­ Giant spiders exist¡­¡± Akma interrupted him ¡°¡­Dimensions that are made entirely out of playdo¡­¡± Zack took a moment to process that ¡°Wait, what? Playdo? Like the colored putty that little kindergartners mold with their hands?¡± ¡±Yes¡± Akma awkwardly shifted from foot to foot ¡°You laughed at the alien with the high squeaky voice and father laughed at the beings from that dimension.¡± ¡°Okay! What about pink telepathic hippopotamuses that travel through time¡± Zack put his hands on his hips triumphantly, thinking that he had finally presented something that absolutely could not exist. But Akma just smiled broadly and snapped his fingers, a screen and a video began to play in front of him. On an alien savanna with two white moons high in the blue sky, a pink hippopotamus walks through a patch of swamp. A voice straight from the discovery channel said ¡°The Chronos Telepathis Hippopotus are truly majestic creatures. Here we see them graze on yisho grass at just the right time of it being the most tasteful to them.¡± The pink hippo tilted his head to the side and opened his maw to chomp down on a patch of six foot tall reeds. Then there was a shimmering in the background and another hippo appeared, it¡¯s tiny ears twisted and flapped. The voice on the video said ¡°Here we can see another hippo communicating telepathically with the first one. And although telepathy is a highly advanced brain function, oddly enough their telepathic language is simple to the point where there is only fifty two words and very little grammar structure.¡± Then both of the hippos disappeared in the very same shimmering, the camera followed them as they ran down a spark filled tunnel and exited into a field of greenish yellow grass ¡°It appears that Elnu grass from an era five million years prior is now on the menu.¡± the hippos took another chomp. Mr. Discovery Channel said ¡°Truly majestic.¡± Zack involuntarily took a step backwards and with a bland look on his face he said ¡°I am getting out of here now. I am done with this weirdness.¡± 11. Foothold Akmadouric walked through the portal and entered dimension Ulgroth K2HB15. Or more accurately, one one thousendth of his splinteredhive mind consciousness entered the dimension where the new offensive front was being launched. The body he was using for the task at hand was only six feet tall, had a skin color of his signature blue and was wrapped in a robe that featured a purple star system on it. Looking around he could see that the portal base camp was being constructed speedily enough. Metal gateways blocked the entrances to each of the tunnels, made out of one of the most durable carbon and titanium compounds. The husk of the now dead tree in the center of the cavern was being cut apart by teams of saw wielding workers. The chunks of wood that fell were quickly picked up and stored in highly pressurized containers in order to shrink the amount of space required for their transport. Specialists stood in front of beakers filled with samples of some of the more interesting items that had been found thus far, analyzing in order to learn. Mid-tierman personal floated around the cavern making passive sensor sweeps to detect approaching hostiles from miles away, or erect their various protective barriers in case a weapon of mass destruction was used against them. For the foothold base tonot have been attacked thus far meant that either Ulgroth didn¡¯t know about the incursion yet or he didn¡¯t care. From the information received, this dimension had been converted into a feeding ground a very long time ago. All of the living creatures within it had been converted into minor fiends and abandoned. And most importantly, all of the matter had been corrupted. The deity Akmadouric bent down and picked up some of the black soil beneath his feet, then began to analyze what some of the multiverse¡¯s intellectuals referred to as; a Universe¡¯s base code. As expected, Ulgroth had transformed all of the matter on the sub-atomic levels from their normally beautiful and complex structures into horrid perversions. The silver strings had turned into jagged dark violet barbed wire. The shimmering white foam had become an icky brown sludge. Akmadouric had spent a great amount of time admiring the beauty of all that is and ever was, even by deity standards. For Ulgroth to inexplicably tarnish and trash everything he came across, it enraged Akmadouric to the point that he waged a multidimensional war that had gone on for almost four thousand years. With the sole goal of wiping Ulgroth from the face of existence. The blue deity let out a sigh. He didn¡¯t know that if achieving total victory simply meant that the dimension would split and another dimension be born in which the opposite outcome were to occur. What he did know was that in all his years he had yet toencounter two different versions of a being, nor had he ever encountered two dimensions with the same histories, even from a cosmological perspective. But the laws of physics did not lie. The dimensions were definitely splitting with every decision that anyone or anything made. Which left Akmadouric with the belief that some great entity was somehow getting rid of the excess dimensions in order to keep everything from getting too chaotic. But then again, infinity is a lot to keep track of, even for the highest of beings. He gripped the dirt in his hand and used his newest willpower technique on it. Energy flowed into the perverted sub-atomic structures. They vibrated, changed color and completely disintegrated. With a frown he opened his empty hand, revealing that the dirt had turned into nothing. Yet another failed attempt at purification. Without a sentient consciousness to use as a marker, returning someone or somethingto it¡¯s prior state seemed to be impossible. But those who managed to protect themselves during the corruption process were exceedingly rare. Hopefully some clues on the corruption would present themselves when Akmadouric attained dominion over dimension Ulgroth K2HB15. Kerink¡¯s voice interrupted his thoughts ¡°Lord Akmadouric¡± she stood with her hands clasped behind, standing at attention.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Mid-tierman Kerink¡± Akmadouric consulted his records for a moment to remind himself of who the being before him was, then said ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The favor markets are still frozen. You know what the priorities are.¡± Kerink said ¡°Initiates first, upgrades and then revivals. It¡¯s still bullshit that I have to wait for these backwaters to get started before I can revive my people.¡± ¡°Ah yes, the beings of dimension Akmadouric M5VL9087. Too bad there is nothing left of it.¡± He scratched his face for a moment ¡°I need to revive a few human warriors from the past before I unfreeze the markets.¡± Kerink¡¯s face grew terse. The Elrinpeople¡¯s military had only just barely managed to hold out against Ulgroth¡¯s monsters until a detachment of Akmadouric¡¯s army inexplicably arrived to rescue the survivors. But by then most of the matter in the dimension had been corrupted and Kerink¡¯s people had no choice but to abandon it. Akmadouric eventually gained dominion over the dimension. Thus enabling him to set off a chain reaction to turn the corruption into nothingness, alter physics and revive the dead. Kerink of the Elrinrace said ¡°I have been very patient for these past three hundred years. Focusing where I spend my favor on reviving my people¡¯s warriors, most of whom I have never met before. Now I would very much like to start reviving my close friends and family members.¡± Akmadouric frowned, he needed more personal with great combat abilities, minds and willpower. The people whom his loyal subject wanted to revive did not meet any of those three requirements ¡°I will bring back your sister. I don¡¯t expect her to pay for her own cost. Ever. But I will make an exception to my own rules as a measure of gratitude for your magnificent career.¡± Kerink put her hands and at her side and bowed ¡°The gratitude is mine, my lord.¡± Akmadouric found it amazing at how lowering one¡¯s head had the same value in so many cultures across the multi-verse ¡°I need to continue to find a way to gain dominion over this dimension without expending too much willpower. Then I will be able to revive a few of the Kulabv people.¡± Kerink said ¡°You have planned out how you are going to spend your willpower energy to such an extent. But might I suggest that you skip the favor cost reduction phase for the humans? I wasn¡¯t too impressed with the humans flight abilities. Well, aside from the one named Becker at least.¡± ¡®You are not scoring any points with me by asking that¡¯ Akmadouric said ¡°You can¡¯t expect bipedal land animals to have as great of a grasp on three dimensional maneuvering as beings that grew up in aquatic or aerial environments.¡± Kerink felt like pressing the matter ¡°I¡¯ve educated myselfabout the human¡¯s world during my downtime so I could know who these people are. I was aghast by how many problems they have. They are an extremely flawed people and not worth your effort.¡± Akmadouric said ¡°And you¡¯re not entirely wrong about that. In fact, one of their greatest minds: Leonardo Da Vinci. Summed it up fairly nicely when he said ¡®Most men are good for naught but turning food into shit¡¯.¡± Kerink tried to keep her face from turning to disgust but Akmadouric still caught the micro-expression ¡°Gyah. You¡¯re quoting one of them.¡± He raised one finger in the air ¡°However, there are the exceptional few.¡± Akmadouric suddenly stopped analyzing the the sub-atomic levels and looked over to see a portal forming in the middle of the base. It had a black interior and gray wispy energy streams coming off of it¡¯s edges. Out of the portal made by one Ulgroth¡¯s minions appeared a tan wrinkled head on a long neck. It had no eyes but it¡¯s tongue flicked about like a snake¡¯s tasting the air. The fiend had long saber like teeth and an extendable jawline that looked like it could be opened to almost 180 degrees. A soft cawing that sounded like nails on a chalkboard came from the intruder. Glancing at the lesser fiend that had arrived for it¡¯s dinner, Akmadouric said ¡°Oh, would you get that for me?¡± Kerink already had a condensed ball of white light forming around her fist. The fiend had just enough time to cower in fear before Kerink¡¯s fist shaped energy blast flew into the portal and vaporizing the head before it could even screech. Kerink¡¯s solid energy attack flew into the gateway and crossed into whatever dimension the fiend had come from. Akmadouric locked the portal and went about checking for more in order to prevent anything else fromentering through any of them. Hroyd¡¯s memories had made mention of there being portals in which hungry fiends routinelyentered from.So a slight frown appeared on the Deity¡¯s face as he went back to analyzing the base code of this universe¡®How could I have forgotten such a detail?¡¯ 12. Three months later Leaning back in his chair to get the blood flow to circulate around the back of his brain, Zackery Taylor mentally formulated his strategies for taking on Exoudica, real name: Chen lo Phun. Three months of training all leading up to this moment. First he was going to execute a gunship rush, since gunships were hard counters to reavers, which his Korean opponent built in the early game in 65% of his matches. If Zack didn¡¯t outright force a concede at that point then from there it would become a game of pick offs, trades and snipes that was normally the mid-game, although Zack did plan on getting battle cruisers with long range bombardment cannons a few minutes early for better harass potential on his opponents economy. Outside of his booth, the casters talked about the metagame of Empires Collideat length but it wasn¡¯t even a scratch on it¡¯s surface by comparison of how deep into it any of the competitors had delved in order to make it to the round of eight at the spring quarterly cup. Then the conversation shifted to Zack personally, one of the casters argued that his increased skill level was due to some kind of advanced cybernetic brain augment. Although such inventions were not unheard of by current earth tech, they were expensive and so only the higher castes took them. Akma appeared out of his portal and said that if there truly was a cybernetic implant giving a competitor an unfair advantage then it would be far more obvious. Although in truth his service to Akmadouric¡¯s army had only repaired the minor defects of his body. Zack¡¯s reaction times increased by a tenth of a second and his correct decision making skills increased by 13%. He was still entirely human. The loading screen for the match, the bar slowly filled. Zack took deep breaths and expertly calmed himself in spite of the fact that a million dollars was on the line. The game began, and his starting planet appeared in the center of the screen. Immediately he set up a rudimentary economy as was standard, but focused more on minerals than on energy production. He got out a basic scout ship and sent it out to find his opponent¡¯s starting point. Emission trails from harvesters led it to Exoudica¡¯s planet. Zack produced a pair of gunships and sent them out to attack. It took a minute for them to travel through the void between systems. Upon their arrival they immediately took laser fire from the planet¡¯s moon. And Zack immediately had the gunships turn around. Exoudica had gotten an early moonbase. Zack paused and considered the implications. His Korean opponent was using a brand new build on him. Not good, but at least his opponent was showing him respect by taking him seriously. Zack dropped everything he was doing and focused on getting an expansion. Taking control of another system to bolster his economy into the mid-game. Just as the fifteen minute mark of the game¡¯s timer struck, an Archon class heavy battleship made it¡¯s way towards Zack¡¯s home base. Supported by no less than three shield drones and two light cruisers. For such an assault force to make it¡¯s appearance at this stage, it was quite the death push. To see such a thing before the 21 minute mark meant that Exoudica had every intention on winning the game with it. And would probably succeed. Zack calmly weighed his options and finally decided to rush production on the grand project; the orbital defense ring. His entire workforce took triple shifts and finished it just as Exoudica¡¯s forces came within range. The golden ring that wrapped around the planet began to glow as the firing sequence initiated. The energy coalesced into a cone in front of it and gathered into a single point, then a wave of golden fire burst from it¡¯s tip and an artificial solar flare flew through space at half the speed of light. Exoudica¡¯s forces immediately stopped their forward advance and took an evasive 90 degree turn. The shield drones used the heavy battleship for cover and overcharged it¡¯s shields in preparation for the impact. The light cruisers sped on ahead in order to avoid the blast completely. Zack lost sight of the Archon battleship as the edge of the 100,000 mile in diameter fireball engulfed it. The light cruisers rushed Zack¡¯s planet and were met by swarms of drones. Each unmanned spherical craft maneuvered their electromagnetic skimmers in complex formations and patterns as they closed in. Anti-fighter turrets shot large area of effect rounds and white puffball like explosions appeared within the approaching metal cloud. But with Zack¡¯s ability to control large groups of units, their effectiveness was minimized to only a few hundred drones out of the thousands. The three light cruisers were in a tight formation in order to reduce the amount of exposed surface area and the swarm of drones enveloped them. Close range laser beams drilled into the weak points of the light cruisers five foot thick hulls, yet still they pressed forward. Exoudica knowingly sacrificing them for a chance at destroying the orbital defense ring. Zack ignored the battle and focused on finding the Archon heavy battleship that had disappeared in a very large and very bright chaff cloud that distorted the readings of all but the most advanced senors. A few of his excess drones formed a net and flew into the cloud. It didn¡¯t take long before one of them were destroyed by the heavy battleship. And thus giving the orbital defense ring the location of it¡¯s target. He glanced at the timer until the grand project could fire again ¡®Fifteen seconds¡¯. Then he sent his gunship and one maned fighter fleet to intercept. Immediately the Archon heavy battleship opened fire with a dozen plasma repeater rail cannons. Zack remained calm and detached but one corner of his mind screamed ¡®How do you have all this shit at this point in the game?¡¯ Without any hope of outright destroying the battleship while under that much damage per second, Zack set the mission parameters to the suicide setting. The fighters and the gunships fired their munitions and accelerated to their highest speeds. The blue plasma vaporized whole ships instantaneously before they even reached a range in which they could fire accurately. Only eighteen fighters and three gunships successfully collided with the the battleship¡¯s hull. But it was enough to damage it¡¯s engines, leaving it immobile and at the mercy of the approaching artificial solar flare. Exoudica waited until all of his ships were destroyed to type ¡®GG¡¯ and concede. Zack sat back and took deep breaths. His team entered his booth and they talked about the match and made suggestions for going into the next one. Zack had won the first match of the best of seven he and Exoudica were going to play for the crowds.
Sight came first. Dim white globes of light were attached to silver things and rested on a dark floor. Then sound, garbled chattering that he couldn¡¯t make sense of. Then feeling, his knuckles stood on the powdered soil below. And finally Hroyd¡¯s thoughts came back to him and he was whole again. Transitioning from the spiritual ether to the world of solid matter and flesh was always unpleasant with him not even able to remember his own name, what common everyday objects were or what the sounds that produced speech meant. Temporarily losing the ability to think was an experiencehe had never gotten used to. Hroyd walked on the tips of his clawstowards the other low-tierman that were taking part in the next raid group. There was the usual assortment of bizarre alien creatures, from amorphous slime creatures to furry flame wielding rodents. And at the head of the thirty person raid partywas mid-tierman Kerink, who had just returned after three months of personal time off. With all of the members of the raid group arrived, she started the briefing with a bored expression on her face but there was a new fire within her four yellow eyes ¡°Today we will be scouting and clearing sector A34. Divide up into five man squads and be sure that all roles are filled and that all your abilities work together cohesively. I will there be as a shock trooper for whatever unit that gets in trouble.¡± The members of Hroyd¡¯s usual group found each other. Which included a dark green slime creature that forcibly reminded Hroyd of sewer sludge. Behind the thing stood a humanoid in a gray suit that covered him from head to toe, he wore a mask and carried a gun hosed upto severallarge canisters on his back. Already on Hroyd¡¯s back sat a gray invertebrate with placid skin and many¡­appendages with sharp tiny pincers on them. Instead of eyes or the usual sensory organs it had soft red fronds. The Kulabv warrior had been researching many strange creatures and some of the strangest lived in aquatic environments. Now he was partnered with one. And finally the large human Rifleman Becker in his bulky metal armor elected himself leader of their mismatched team. Prominent chest and shoulder plates made for respectable protection. Jet engines were attached to his back and feet. In has hands he held alaser rifleand attached to his thighs were a pair of smaller caliber laser pistols for backup.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. After the groups had finished assembling, a coordinator sphere appeared above them all. Kerink shouted so the whole crowd could hear ¡°The coordinator for this mission will be a human from Earth named Luke T. Ace. While his orders are not absolute because you know what you are capable of more than he is, keep in mind that at all times he will have more information than any of you about the lay of the field.¡± Another human. After meeting all of these intelligent creatures from so many species, it left him with a longing to see but a single member of his own people. Had Hroyd known that this would have someday become his reality. He would have cherished the days of sparring with his brethren and the deep resonatingsongs from the Kulabv priests even more than he had. He would have immersed himself in the priest¡¯s teachings in order to preserve the memory of their spiritual ether worshiping ways. Hroyd blinked hard to bring himself out of his memories and began to march ahead of his group in order to begin his scouting mission. After traveling for a few miles he picked up a scent using his biokinetically enhanced nose. As always it stung from whatever had been done to the soil, but he managed to catch a whiff of a husk. Somehow the Akma network transferred the knowledge of him following a scent trail automatically to the Coordinator. He slowed his approach as it grew stronger and began to stalk through the cracks between the now dead roots. He augmented the soles of his feet and the tips of his talons so that they wouldn¡¯t make a sound, even to his finely tuned ears. Then he saw his quarry. The husk of a Kulabv warrior ambled without any of the litheness of a real one. Hroyd waited until it passed along the opposite wall, then jumped straight into the air using his arms. His lesser claws on his feet landed on the husk¡¯s back and dug in and changed to hook themselves in it¡¯s flesh. He brought his arms down and the larger talons on his hands came down and penetrated the flesh between the husk''s ribcage. Hrody dragged his claws outward and sliced through it''s vital organs, killing it instantly. A blue screen flashed in front of his eyes
+100 favor
Whenever he earned favor it was an annoyance. A constant reminder that he couldn¡¯t spend it to gain the ability to shoot flames out of claws or anything. His physiology was too unstable and he would have to give up his biokinetic abilities in order for it to even be possible, and even then the chances for success were very low. Furthermore he wouldn¡¯t be able to spend the favor on reviving any of his fellow Kulabv brethren until Akmadouric gained dominance over this dimension. Whatever that was, he still couldn¡¯t grasp the meaning of the word. But from Akma¡¯s never ending explanations he knew that with every foe slain the blue giant¡¯s task became easier. His nose picked up something very strange in the direction he was scoutingbut he didn¡¯t detect any more husks. So he waited for the rest of the group to catch up before he ventured into the cavern where the source came from. As quietly as possible he crept and enhanced his sense to their maximum sensitivity. Strangely he could have sworn this cavern was much bigger in his memories. He sat still as he tried to figure out the answer to the problem but then all of a sudden the wall on the far end moved. Then he could clearly see that it was made of the very same black corrupted flesh. A message from the coordinator flashed across his eyes ¡°Continue scouting.¡± Hroyd pressed his lips together in annoyance and remained where he was while thinking ¡®Damn boy would happily sacrifice me for just a little bit more information. I¡¯ve seen how you play those games like Zackery Taylor. I¡¯ve seen how expendable you treat your units.¡¯ Another message popped up ¡°The other members of the raid group will be there within one to five minutes.¡± and Hroyd made his way to a better vantage point. He caught glimpses of the creature¡¯s long body. A few fins here and two tails there. It¡¯s body was covered in dark violet corrupting spikes. Eventually he managed to identify the creature from what few subtle clues he had. It was a Hkvarksh, an aquatic creature that he thought only existed in legends. A shame that his first time seeing one was marred by the fact that it had been corrupted. The other members of his squad entered and the beast reared it¡¯s perfectly round head to look at them. The Hkvarksh¡¯s eyes were large and bulbous. It¡¯s four thin arms came out from it¡¯s neck, each ending in webbed hands. Becker immediately took the initiative and shot it in the head. The creature hissed and twisted it¡¯s long body. Rising into the air, something caused each of it¡¯s tentacles to bulge and then pods came out of each of them and fell to the ground. Smaller versions of the Hkvarksh emerged from the eggs and the present raid members present wasted no time. They attacked immediately. The slime charged to the front and the man with the canister on his back sprayed it with a white foam from his gun. The slime tripled in size and engorged the Hkvarksh spawnlings, which were smaller versions of their parent. The amorphous being crushed, bent and broke the spawnlings inside itself. From the personal briefing Hroyd knew thecanisters to befilled with compounds that the slime could use. Hroyd joined the fray, and the gray invertebrate on his back shocked him lightly, thus giving him the signal that it was about to start using it¡¯s electrical blast attacks. So he modified the fur on his back in such a way so that the creature wouldn¡¯t harm him. White lightning arced out of it¡¯s pincers as it channeled the energy all throughout it¡¯s body. The slime creature began to change colors, from green to yellow. Then quickly rolled over to a group of hatching spanwlings that were too close together. It began to sink and the ground hissed as the now acidic body of the slime moved. Hroyd could see the spawnlings that entered it dissolve. Their paper thin skin disappeared immediately, muscles were eaten away almost as quickly and the organs went the slowest. Leaving the inert skeletons floating inside of the amorphous creature that defied reason. Becker forced out a chuckle as he looked over at the melting spawnlings and said through the communication network ¡°Ya know, I been waitin¡¯ a very long time for corrosive weaponry to enter the battlefield.¡± Hroyd had seen it before and cringed every time. But for Becker to have a such an attitude towards such a horrible method of killing reminded Hroyd why he was grateful to be on the same side as the man. Just as Becker was getting done with his laugh, a horrified expression crossed his face ¡°Watch ou-!¡± but Hroyd was already using all of his strength to jump. There were no spawnlings around him, which meant the attack was coming from above. Several rows of razor sharp teeth converged around him as the Hkvarksh itself tried to take a bite out of him. Hroyd¡¯s jump wasn¡¯t high enough. The gray invertabrate used the upward momentum to ascend even higher and farther away from the teeth that enclosed around Hroyd¡¯s mid section. Immediately he activated the first of the two skills that he had bought using his favor.
Accelerated Spiritual Ether conversion
Description: Quickly enter the spiritual ether. Usable as an effective escape mechanic.
Time to complete: 0.18 seconds Willpower cost: 25 Requires: Spiritual Ether in current dimension
The teeth pierced him by several inches but he had already entered the Spiritual Ether before the beast could do anything worse. His body instantly became like the energy around him. Like the green soothing void that spanned in every direction. He checked for any of the gray clouds of corruption that he had heard about from Akma. Inexplicable to all who had studied his home dimension¡¯s Spiritual Ether, there wasn¡¯t a single hint of corruption in spite of the estimated time in which Ulgroth had taken over. Hroyd had not a doubt in his mind that it was due to the Kulabv people. He floated amid the ether, watching as the energy flowed into the holes in his body that the creature had given him. Back in the world of flesh, Hroyd could only imagine what was going on as the battle progressed. His invertebrate partner that rode upon his back had probably latched onto something within the Hkvarksh¡¯s throat and began to deliver the strongest shocks that it could muster. Maybe the slime would be able to grab a hold and melt through it. Maybe Becker would decide to battle the whale sized creature in the air after the spawnlings got under control. There really weren¡¯t too many scenarios that Hroyd could see in which the raid group lost against the creature, even without the Mid-tierman Kerink¡¯s help. And the Ether reformation would take a bit more time before he could shift back to his fleshly form in one piece. Rather than float in the green void, he followed the thread attached to his center of being. He passed through multiple barriers set up by Akmadouric in order to prevent certain types of attacks from hostiles. But from Hroyd¡¯s perspective they appeared as nothing more than intermittent flashes of yellow. The green void changed to a greenish-blue after he passed through one of the barriers, which meant that he had traveled through to another dimension while in the Spiritual Ether. The green void changed several more times, to lighter or darker greens mostly. And then he came upon then end of the thread. Then he activated the second skill that he had bought from the favor market.
Spirit form-Contractor link
Enables an Eidolan to view the base world where the Contractor resides. The link can be opened further to allow communication.
Requires: A bonded contractor
Hroyd voiced his thought¡¯s aloud even though no one could hear him ¡°I¡¯d best open the link slowly. Zack wouldn¡¯t like it if I appeared out of nowhere and surprise him. Especially if he¡¯s doing something embarrassing. Wouldn¡¯t want to make that mistake twice.¡± He opened the link incrementally until he got a vision of the boy with whom he shared a consciousness deep bond. Zack was in a room that Hroyd had never seen before. Doing his rituals for focusing his mind prior to high stress matches. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Today is the day that the boy takes part in his precious tournament. I may as well watch him play his game, since it¡¯s important to him.¡± 13. Mrs. Blakes proposal Zack sat back and typed ¡®GG¡¯ as the final wave of Exoudica¡¯s forces bore down upon his in-game homeplanet. His thoughts dwelled on one thing ¡®For him to have beaten me at my current skill level¡­¡¯, he had never played at the ability that he had displayed during the match. And very few ever had, in fact the best of seven series was likely going to go into the Hall of fame, best matches of all time. Zack knew that he would never have another match with the same intensity, and therefore he had peaked. A green smoke materialized before him and then took the form of Hroyd¡¯s head ¡°I watched the match. Your tactical mind for warfare is astounding.¡± ¡°Thank you for not interrupting.¡± Then Zack¡¯s brow scrunched up ¡°I take it that is what passes for an apology among your people?¡± Hroyd¡¯s disembodied head shook in a human-like gesture which he had been practicing ¡°No, I meant what I said. These simulations do not affect the world around you and your body does not grow stronger.¡± Zack said ¡°But my mind is in top form. You said so yourself. And that is why I enjoy it so much.¡± The door swung open and in walked his Korean opponent; Chen Lo Phun, who extended his hand for a handshake. Zack took it and thought ¡®Dude, you¡¯re a freak. It¡¯s the only explanation for how you beat me.¡¯ There was a look of respect in Chen¡¯s eyes as he said ¡°Well played.¡± Zack replied ¡°Good game.¡± ¡±I do not expect my remaining opponents to perform as well as you did just now.¡± then he turned and walked out of the room. Hroyd said ¡°Such camaraderie among you players. If this had been a sparring match between Kulabv warriors then promises of inflicting injury upon one another would be exchanged afterwards.¡± Zack said matter of factly ¡°The uh¡­lower ranked players often spew their toxicbile at each other. But players at the highest skill level are gentlemen.¡± then he stood up and left. It was time to clear the booth so that the next player could enter and begin their match. Instead of watching the remaining series like the crowds and most of the other players in the tournament, Zack decided to leave the stadium before the crowds congested the exits. And after three months of practicing the game for twelve hours a day, he was a bit burnt out on it. On his way out he bought a fast food meal out of a vending machine and then chased it down with a redbull energy drink, finishing it just before the hot and humid South Korean night air hit him. Just as he was about to climb into his Tesla car, a limousine pulled up behind him and a man in a black suit that bodyguards typically wore stepped out of the long vehicle ¡°Mr. Taylor?¡± ¡±Yes?¡± He opened the door in the back ¡°Please get in. My employer would like to have a word with you.¡± Zack said ¡°Momma always told me not to ride with strangers.¡± The man grumbled and opened his identification, on it were three large black letters EDF, Earth¡¯s Defense Force ¡°This is not a request.¡± Zack said unfazed ¡°You can¡¯t strong arm me into doing what you ask. You know as well as I do. Akmadouric is ultimately the ruling power of this world.¡± A window in the midsection of the limo rolled down and a middle aged blonde woman with a fairly angular face was revealed ¡°Technically you are correct by the Deity¡¯s laws but he has stressed that he did not come here to conquer this world. The EDF can do whatever he allows us to do. Which is a lot, and we can forcibly take up five minutes of your time.¡± "If you hadn''t of already conquered the world, he would have never allowed it." Zack reluctantly got inside of the limousine and said to the woman who he had instantly classified as a MILF ¡°You have five minutes.¡± The woman with the name over her head that read
Mrs. Blake
EDF junior diplomatic agent
Shesaid ¡°We¡¯ve come to understand that favor wise, you are the richest man in the world.¡± He pulled up his finances screen
501,560 favor
Zack said ¡°I have a little over 500 grand. What of it?¡± there was no point in hiding it, everyone¡¯s favor was knowledge that was available to the whole of the public. Mrs. Blake raised an eyebrow ¡°How you managed to amass such a fortune so quickly is anyone¡¯s guess, and frankly EDF should be able to tax it. And-¡± Zack cut her off ¡°The fruits from the works of my hands belong to me alone. I¡¯m the one who almost died getting it.¡± A flash of anger crossed her face ¡°Yes, but the personal of the EDF are the ones who know how best to use the favor. To better help the world we live in.¡± She opened a folder that had been tucked within a pocket on a sidewall ¡°If we spend enough favor, then Akmadouric will rewrite the very laws of our universe. He will make what is currently impossible, possible.¡± she handed him a stack of papers. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.He skimmed through the stack of papers. There were diagrams that he couldn¡¯t identify and mathematical symbols in huge equations that he couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of. After skimming through it for a minute, he realized that she had given them to him in order to get him to understand that he was in over his head. She did it as a power play. In order to make him feel like her intellectual inferior. ¡±What am I supposed to be looking at here?¡± the question played into her hands but he didn¡¯t have a choice. Mrs. Blake grabbed one of the papers and pointed to one of the bizarre mathematical symbols ¡°This is what we need to add to this universe in order to make what you have in your hand a reality.¡± she turned to the last page which depicted what looked like a purplish black ball with reddish pink energy streams arcing off of it within a glass globe ¡°It¡¯s called the Halloxicrom sphere. After it¡¯s creation this tiny sphere will produce enough energy to sustain the entire world¡¯s energy requirements, and it will continue to do so forever.¡± Zack said ¡°Infinite sustainable energy. How much would it cost?¡± ¡±Fifteen million to altar physics and another five million for the materials needed. As the man with the most favor currency, you could become the greatest contributor for this project that will be sure to benefit the whole world.¡± That triggered Zack ¡°I¡¯m sure that favor could be spent on a great many things that could benefit our world. But just like you, I am going to be selfish.¡± Mrs. Blake looked surprised and more than just a little ticked ¡°Selfish? How dare you call the EDF selfish! We have brought humanity to the space age. People are living in orbital colonies above our heads as we speak. The EDF has been a force that has advanced this world by leaps and bounds. How dare you even say that?¡± Zack raised his brow slightly and his tone became lighter ¡°Lady, the problem is not that we need more technology. It''s that we have yet to fully utilize the technology we have already made. Seventy percent of the people on this planet are shirtless and shoeless, impoverished to the point where they can''t evenfeed themselves. It would be asimple matterto build these people up to a point where they could not only fend for themselves, but thrive. This is 2049. Why is there still poverty in the world?" Mrs. Blake said "Because that is the way of the world. And it always will be." Zack was livid "No! Every single invention that has ever been made has been designed to make society run more efficiently and people have been inventing things for over ten thousand years. I studied the current state of the world in high school. I know exactly what kinds of inventions could be used to fix all of those kinds of problems." "It is not the responsibility of the EDF to fix the problems of second and third world countries." "You''re the ones with the most power and therefore it most definitely is your responsibility. And until these problems are fixed you''ll not get a single favor point from me." Zack got up and left but as he exited the limousine he said "Oh and you might want to get started pretty quickly before dissatisfied people like myself decide to relocate to another dimension underneath Akmadouric''s control." Mrs. Blake blinked ¡°Wha¡­what?¡± clearly she didn''t expect the conversation to turn out this way. ¡°The famous meme ¡®I don¡¯t want to live on this planet anymore¡¯ has been used for over fifty years. Well, now people are no longer bound to it. Every single one of us now has the option to relocate to another dimension and another civilization.¡± Her eyes widened, obviously she had not considered that possibility ¡°You can go now.¡± Zack opened the door and walked out at a brisk pace. Mrs. Blakerolled down the window and said to the bodyguard right behind Zack "Break his legs." then drove off. Zack turned back and said "Isn''t that a bit stereotypical of a mob boss? What the fuck!" The bodyguard let out a menacing chuckle¡°You¡¯ve displeased the lady, which means I gotta do somethin¡¯ unpleasant.¡± the man stepped forward and cracked his knuckles in the standard ¡®Ima tough guy and Ima fuck you up¡¯ kind of way. Zack turned around to see the bodyguard grow larger. His muscles swelled until they looked like a bodybuilding champion, then grew larger to the point of absurdity. His shoulders were the size of beachballs and his torso was as thick as a tree trunk. The fabric of his shirt stretched and ripped until it was completely torn off. Leaving his head to look very small in proportion to the rest of his body. Zack tried to keep as calmof a face as possible as he said ¡°Out of all of the enhancements that you could¡¯ve gotten, you decided topick something that makes you look even uglier." Muscles said ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t try to piss me off. Methodically beating someone to within an inch of their life takes a cool head.¡± then he took a step forward and reached out to grab Zack. But instead Zack activated the only skill he had while in his true body
Summoning acceleration
Description: Rapidly summon an Eidolan that is bound to you. The normal summoning sickness that comes from shifting from the Spiritual Ether to flesh is negated.
Distance: 5 feet
Cast time: 2.06 seconds.
He sent a message to the Kulabv warrior as he formed ''Don''t kill''.Green smokey energy rapidly formed off to Zack¡¯s left and the bodyguard whirled around to find himself eye level with Hroyd¡¯s teeth. For a full second he stared blankly, then let go of Zack¡¯s shoulder and launched an uppercut at Hroyd. Who took the fistfull on with a grin. Hroyd then grew out one of his talons and stabbed the man in the stomach. The bodyguard swung with a right hook but Hroyd effortless dodged and grew out his other nine talons for the man to see. Realizing that he was outmatched, the man ran away. "There are so many problems in this world that would need to be fixed before I even consider giving away favor points. The multiverse''s most valuable currency." Hroyd shook his head and grunted "Before the end of days came to my world, I was at war against another faction of Kulabv warriors who believed that by consuming their fallen brethren they would achieve greater kinship with the Spiritual Ether. By comparison of that, this world seems to be a paradise." "It doesn''t even compare to what it could become. Or what I''m capable of envisioning." Zack hesitated a moment before saying "World''s are created by the people within them. What pisses me off the most is the huge gap between the average man and the highest intellectuals. I mean they''re off freezing light so they can study it and the average man is planting their butt in front of a television set. And the shows they watch are clearly madeby the retarded, for the retarded. Such an unbelievably sadwaste of potential." 14. Coming back ¡°So this is the supposedly epicability that I could get should I choose to come back?¡± Zack said as he looked at the screen in front of him. His morning runs were much less boring when he was able to have a conversation with the living database thought projection known as Akma.
Eidolan Symbiosis
Gain traits of an Eidolan that is connected to you.
Requires: Spiritual Ether essence blood infusion, Spiritual Ether essence bone marrow infusion
Favor cost: 50,000
He said ¡°This might require a bit more clarification.¡± Akma floated in front of him with a few more white hairs than usual ¡°It means that you will be able to grow claws and fur in the same way that Hroyd does. Should you come back and get the surgery on your secondary body.¡± Zack said ¡°I don¡¯t even understand what the Spiritual Ether is, and now you want to have it infused into my body?¡± Akma fidgeted ¡°How can I put this into a terminology that you can understand? Think of it like a parallel world of energy.¡± ¡±Like an alternate dimension.¡± ¡±No. It is very much a part of whatever dimension it is tied to, but it does inexplicably change by what actions certain intelligence¡¯s in the physical world take.¡± Zack said ¡°Something like that exists in my own dimension and I¡¯m just now hearing about it? This is the kind of knowledge that all of mankind needs to know.¡± Akma said ¡°And some of them do, they feel it whenever they meditate. That¡¯s why I¡¯m using the term ¡®Spiritual¡¯.¡± ¡°Fine you¡¯ve convinced me. I¡¯ll return to Akmadouric¡¯s army.¡± Akma raised an eyebrow ¡°Have I? And what brought this on?¡± Zack said ¡°You¡¯ve awoken my curiosity. I¡¯ve learned much about existence since you came to this world and I would like to learn more. But almost dying was terrifying.¡± Akma floated alongside him cross legged ¡°Being sucked into a hostile dimension tends to have that effect on a person. But you should bare in mind that the one you went to, was not the worst. By far.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a really bad salesman. You know that right?¡± ¡°Would you prefer it if I lied?¡± Zack shook his head ¡°No.¡±
After getting his affairs in order and switching to his secondary body, Zack was surprised to find out that he wasn¡¯t traveling to his next training grounds by portal, but by plane. Made apparent when Akma led him to the air port. Akma said ¡°Buy a ticket for gate Y32. Your destination is located on one of the Pacific islands.¡± Zack was surprised¡°I wasn¡¯t aware that earth now had a suitable training base.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a month old. The EDF really want¡¯s favor currency, So they have spared no expense on the venue for the recruits to pass on their skills to one another.¡± Zack walked through the South Korean airport and was about to take a walk on one of the moving sidewalks when Akma appeared before him and crossed his arms in an X, saying ¡°Do not enter¡± Perplexed Zack threw up one hand to ask ¡°What gives?¡± ¡±You are fully capable of walking the three miles to gate Y32. There no other passengers for this flight, the plane will leave when you arrive and so there¡¯s no time limit.¡± ¡°I suppose I am but I don¡¯t want to.¡± then he walked through Akma to get onto the moving conveyor belt. Akma called after him ¡°Never miss an opportunity to strengthen your body. And with where you¡¯re going, you¡¯re going to want as strong of a body as possible.¡± Zack turned around and ran in the opposite direction that the moving sidewalk was going ¡°What are you not telling me?¡± then continued walking towards his gate unaided. Akma crossed his legs and floated beside him ¡°Truthfully, the Eidolan Symbiosis skill we talked about earlier is best used by a person who has as much biomass as possible, that way the changes are much less extreme, and much less painful.¡± Zack stopped in his tracks ¡°So I¡¯m going to be undergoing intense physical training when I get there.¡± ¡°The most intense physical training that your body can handle. Before you just needed to be able to run away quickly enough when the coordinator sphere gets blown out of the sky and you survive the crash. But now, you are going to belong on the front line. Telling your Eidolans where and how to attack, then dashing in yourself whenever you see an opportunity.¡± ¡±So I won¡¯t be a coordinator anymore? Hmm¡± ¡°To use you in such a role would be a waste. But depending on what Eidolans you obtain, you could rise to a mid-tierman very quickly.¡± ¡°Eidolans. Plural? How many could I potentially have?¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°It¡¯s limitless, but if you get too many or if you get one with a much greater consciousness than yourself, then you could lose your mind. And father himself will have to put you back together again. Costing you a lot of favor that you don¡¯t have.¡± Zack let out a thoughtful ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve always preferred to have vast multitudes of massed units rather than just a few elites.¡± Akma said ¡°But first things first.¡± then motioned to the highlighted path ahead. Zack agreed ¡°Ya, first things first.¡± and began the three mile jog to the airplane.
The twenty foot plane touched down on the fifty-square mile island of Talula. Zack stepped down the staircase of the small plane and felt the wind chill go right through his bones ¡°They could have picked a better place.¡± Akma said ¡°This location was requested by the advisers of Akmadouric¡¯s army. Are you familiar with the term resistance training? It¡¯s not limited to just lifting weights, it also applies to enduring the outdoor elements.¡± Zack just wiped the sweat from his brow, which he had worked up from the various exercises he had done on the plane, then gulped down some of his sports drink ¡°I¡¯m assuming I¡¯m going to have to run again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s another three miles and you haven¡¯t even met the man who has been designated to train you. Oh, by the way, you should probably get there before nightfall, otherwise he will make you sleep outside.¡± Zack shot the blue midget a look and began running as if his life depended on it ¡°So now there is a time limit.¡± Akma just smiled unapologetically. The blazing sun shone brilliantly as it touched the water of the horizon. Almost goldyellows and deep reds painted themselves across the clouds. Light shades of pink could be seen on the edges of the red areas. And reflecting off the surface of the water. The incredible scenery made for a nice distraction from the agony of Zack¡¯s run. After two miles he stopped in his tracks and rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was seeing what he was seeing. Japanese men wearing odd clothing were swinging Katanas in perfect unison. Their heads were shaved but they kept a small patch of hair in the back tied in a knot. Each action they took flowed into another stance which then opened up a variety of options for the next possible move. Zack asked ¡°Why are those men dressed like Samurai?¡± Akma said ¡°Because they are Samurai. Father knows how to expend his willpower energy in order to revive the dead.¡± Zack winced ¡°So you¡¯ve still got some surprises for me.¡± Cheerfully Akma said ¡°Oh they never end.¡± Then he noticed the people in modern day camouflage military uniforms at the back of the training formation mimicking the movements of the Samurai without nearly the same amount of skill. Clearly they were EDF conscripts sent to train with the revived ancients. Zack asked ¡°Tell me. Why is there so much emphasis on melee warriors? Akmadouric could have revived any number of soldiers from wars that employed the use of laser guns, vehicles, artillery and any number of tools that are superior to a sword.¡± Akma smiled ¡°There are ways to make melee warriors viable. Why don¡¯t you tell me what methods could be used. And remember, everything that you have a concept of is somewhere within the multiverse.¡± Zack walked along the highlighted path and thought for minute before speaking ¡°Invisibility, teleportation, faster than light travel, invulnerability¡­¡± ¡°Let me stop you there. Invisibility is possible but with the sheer amount of sensors employed by both sides, it can only be used in conjunction with¡­we¡¯ll call them smokescreens so that you understand the concept. As for teleportation, it requires a great many high level calculations and a certain amount of control over a dimension in order to execute without complications.¡± Zack muttered aloud as he broke into a run ¡°Interdimensional warfare tactics 101¡­¡± Akma continued ¡°As a law of physics, matter cannot move faster than 99.99 percent recurring of the speed of light. Although there are ways around the law like bending space or becoming a being that isn¡¯t made out of matter.¡± ¡°And invulnerability?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that there is a material or even a being that could truly be considered to be invulnerable. But the odds of actually finding it or meeting them is one out of infinity.¡± Just as Akma finished his lesson, Zack found himself at the bottom of a hill, the path had become inclined ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me that my destination was at the top of a small mountain.¡± Akma shrugged ¡°And it¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t. Since you don¡¯t have much time left.¡± the sun was starting to go below the horizon. Zack swore ¡°Bloody hell.¡± then ran with renewed effort. After only just a half a mile, Zack¡¯s body hurt like it never had before. His legs felt like they were going to fall off, his chest was in pain and no amount of breathing would help. Even his jaw ached. Yet still he pressed on. Zack really didn¡¯t want to sleep outside. He made it to the last one hundred feet. And in his nearly delirious state, he began to see that the palm trees had strange holes in them. Most were not more than an inch deep but others looked like they split the tree in half. ¡®Time to collapse¡¯no sooner had the thought entered his mind when his body lost all strength and fell down like a ragdoll. He had twenty feet to go. But it was twilight and not the true darkness of night. So he rationalized that he still had time. After regaining some consciousness, Zack became aware of a rhythmic thumping sound. It was hollow and definitively wood like, then a ripping sound came after it. ¡®Alright, lets find out what that is.¡¯ Zack got up and walked the remaining distance. A Chinese Buddhist monk in an orange sash was at the end of the path, standing before a tree in a fighting stance. But instead of clenching into a full fist he had one finger fully extended. Fast as a snake he struck the palm tree, his finger penetrating the wood for it¡¯s full length before pulling back. Over the monk¡¯s head was the name
Sifu Lei Bao
12thcentury Shaolin monk
Zack had seen enough martial arts movies to know that ¡®Sifu¡¯ was Chinese for master ¡°Um, you know that you can make a fist right?¡± he couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say. The monk turned around and spoke in an almost delicate voice ¡°I am well aware. But right now I am practicing my finger punching.¡± then went back to impaling the poor tree. The Sifu struck three more times, much to Zack¡¯s slack jawed amazement and said ¡°I was told to make enough rice for two people and I am glad to see that you have made it on time. Blinking twice Zack said ¡°I am grateful to be allowed to dine with you. But before that I would like a minute to collect myself first.¡± Sifu Lei Bao said ¡°As you wish.¡± then went inside of his home that was the spitting image of a Buddhist temple. Zack turned on his blue friend ¡°Seriously Akma?¡± The little blue runtput on his best innocent looking face ¡°This is the way that was determined to be best in order to train you. After all, you do have a mild obsession with Kung Fu and martial arts.¡± 15. Training under a 12th century Shaolin Monk Plain rice, noodles and bread was for dinner. None of which was served with any kind of flavoring whatsoever. Zack was about to ask for some soy sauce or something to make it just a little palatable but then he decided to just be grateful to his host ¡°Thank you for the meal.¡± first impressions meant a lot, especially when it comes to potential Master-disciple relationships. Sifu Lei Bao nodded approvingly and said ¡°Buddhists like myself, train ourselves to let go of all things Earthly. Taste is but one of the many things that will hold a monk back from accomplishing this goal.¡± ''Damn that''s hardcore''Zack didn¡¯t agree with such a philosophy, but he still forced down the meal without complaint. But then he took out his sports drink and began to down it. Lei Bao asked ¡°What is that blue liquid you are consuming.¡± ¡±It¡¯s a Gatorade, themakers put electrolytes and vitamins in it. So it¡¯s better for a person than water.¡± Lei Bao looked at him like he was stupid ¡°Water cannot be improved.¡± Zack then hurriedly finished it and put the plastic bottle back into his pack. After they finished eating the monk asked ¡°Why are you here?¡± Fair question, Zack answered ¡°I rejoined Akmadouric¡¯s army because I am curious about the multiverse. And this is where I¡¯m told that I will become stronger. Besides, it¡¯s not everyday that a person gets the opportunity to learn from a real live Shaolin monk.¡± ¡°Ifyou become stronger is entirely up to you. The greater amount of effort you put in, the greater the results will become. Since you are sweaty and tired, we will start with meditation.¡± Zack sat cross legged in what he knew to be the lotus position. The Chinese monk raised a quizzical eyebrow for a moment then spoke in a very relaxing voice ¡°Close your eyes. Count to ten, and then count backwards from ten. Repeat until a peace settles into your mind.¡± For Zack it took him about three seconds to count to ten and then back again. After what felt like a very long time, the monk spoke again ¡°Now clear your mind of all thoughts.¡± ¡®How is a person even supposed to do that when on average they have 47 thoughts per minute. I have considerably more.¡¯ They sat in silence for several minutes more, until Zack started tapping his fingers like he was doing his keyboard APM exercises. Sifu Lei Bao blew air out of his nostrils in clear frustration ¡°Never in all my two hundred years have I met someone so distracted.¡± Zack couldn¡¯t believe what he had just heard ¡°Over two hundred years old? How is that even possible?¡± he looked at the recently revived two hundred year old man in a twenty year old¡¯s body. Sifu replied ¡°With a combination of stillness and motion.¡± Zack thought ¡®What a pretty way to say nothing¡¯ but then he caught himself ¡®No. He did it with his life style choices and I will soon get to see what those are first hand.¡¯ The Caucasian pro gamer said ¡°I always thought that meditation was some kind of¡­empowering kind of exercise.¡± ¡°Freeing oneself is a type of empowerment. Or more accurately, it is the path to enlightenment.¡± ¡°The thing is that I like having thoughts in my head. Freeing myself from the thoughts I have seems counterproductive.¡± ¡°I have spent a fifth of my life in meditation. But what would I know? You¡¯re clearly the expert.¡± Zack¡¯s brow scrunched ¡®Did this monk just use sarcasm on me?¡¯ Sifu Lei Bao shifted from his cross legged position and put two feet on the ground, then with a twisting motion he rose without taking a step ¡°Since you are the worst student of meditation that I have ever met, we will start with Tong Zi Gong. Once mastered, these forms will allow a person to regain the youthfulness and purity of a child. This is why it is also known as the childish exercises.¡± Zack watched the monk effortlessly bend over and put his head on his knees, then start to do the martial arts forms that he was familiar with from watching kung fu movies but the Sifu¡¯s limberness was on a level that put hollywood actors to shame. At one point during the routine his back bent backwards into an ¡®n¡¯ shape with his palms touching his heels. Then the monk stopped suddenly and stood straight ¡°These are the beginning forms that you must attempt.¡± Zack frowned slightly but nodded ¡°Okay.¡± and began stretching to the best of his ability. After some time Sifu Lei Bao said ¡°It is getting late, help the other student boil some water and then bathe your body with the wash clothes. I must go now, my own training cannot be put off any longer.¡± he walked to the flame lantern and with a quick tap on the glass with his finger, the light went out. Leaving the glass unbroken. Then left the room and closed the wooden door behind him. Zack cocked his head to the side ¡°Is that some kind of touch on and off flame lantern?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Hroyd¡¯s disembodied head appeared in front of him ¡°No you idiot! Did you not just see the way that man manipulated the Spiritual Ether within him to go through the glass and blow out the flame? Potentially he could use such a technique as an attack to bypass an opponent¡¯s muscles and strike directly into their internal organs.¡± Zack said ¡°As far as abilities go, it¡¯s still pretty low tier by comparison of some of the stuff in Akmadouric¡¯s army. It¡¯s not something I myself am going to be investing in.¡± Akma appeared ¡°That man hasn¡¯t spent a single favor point, aside from the debt he has from being revived. He is one hundred percent human.¡± ¡°What?¡± Dumbfounded Zack looked at the lantern for a moment more, then remembered that he had to wash himself. He went outside and found the other student in front of a metal pot of boiling water with an electrical burner underneath it. With a tired look in his eyes the dark skinned twenty year old said ¡°I suppose you¡¯re new and I¡¯m supposed to get you situated aren¡¯t I?¡± he had African or maybe South American features, but his only clothing was a white loin cloth. Above his head was the name
Jerome Oliveira
Initiate Low-tierman
¡°Ya, just arrived two hours ago.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to warn you right now, this is going to be more rigorous than anything you have ever done.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I signed up for.¡± Jerome dipped a wash cloth into the boiling water and pulled it out, letting it steam for a moment before he bathed himself with it ¡°I had the same attitude when I first came here, but after just three weeks I''m wearing down hard.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad.¡± Jerome said ¡°Sifu Lei Bao does nothing but train and meditate. Meditate and train. Repeat everyday.¡± he wiped his arm off with the cloth and dipped it back into the pot of steaming water ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to want to exchange your clothes with the ones inside that bin in your room. You should find the instructions on how to put them on quite easily.¡± Zack went to his room and stuffed his pack into the bin Jerome had been talking about. He then took out a white loin cloth but ignored the light orange clothes for the moment and went back outside. Jerome was nowhere to be seen but came out from behind the wooden barrier after a minute ¡±When you need to clean something more personal, that will give you privacy.¡± then tossed the wash cloth into an empty basket before starting to leave ¡±Last week I told myself that I could still keep going, but now I¡¯m not so sure. Honestly, I¡¯m thinking about quitting.¡± Jerome opened the door to the temple and found Sifu to be standing there ¡°You may not think that you have what it takes to climb a mountain, but if you continually overcome the next foot, then you will find yourself at the peak.¡± The Brazilian bowed his head and said ¡°Yes Sifu.¡± then went inside. Sifu Lei Bao then began to wash himself in the same way ¡°We use hot towels in order to train our bodies to become soft and flexible. Increasingit¡¯s range of movement to it¡¯s highest point.¡± They both finished cleaning themselves at the same time. Zack was about to go to bed but then Sifu Lei Bao asked ¡°Would you like to do a light stretching exercise before we rest?¡± then motioned to two pairs poles that were sticking out of the wall. ¡±Sure, why not.¡± Lei Bao then hopped on top of the poles and did a perfect split, his hands clasped together in prayer and inner thighs resting on the poles. Zack nearly cried in pain as he made his attempt ¡®How can the human body even bend like that!?¡¯
Zack started the next day carrying two buckets of water up the mountain. As a good student he did as he was told and alternated his arms positions in the way he had been instructed to. Arms fully extended so they were perpendicular to the ground and curled in order to strengthen both biceps and shoulders. Moving made the exercise so much more difficult. Zack could literally feel his muscles tearing. Followed by beans for breakfast and an immediate Tong Zi Gong session afterward, once the students had completed the childish exercises, they squatted in horse stance on top of their small mountain. Zack observed the scenery of the rocky hills, the forest and the sea. He needed something to occupy his mind and memorizing every detail of such a view fit the bill. After two hours of the horse stance exercise they had to cook lunch. Sifu Lei Bao finished his small bowl of rice quickly, so that he could speak while his two students ate ¡°There are 72 secret arts of the Shaolin. You have seen my practice the diamond finger and saw me demonstrate the one finger of Chan meditation on the lantern. This¡­Akma creature tells me that in the future, these skills are going to become very beneficial to you Zack.¡± Zack thought about how Akma wanted him to use the Eidolan Symbiosis skill to grow Hroyd¡¯s claws. Having a finger capable of putting holes in a tree would make the transformation process much less painful ¡°So what training do I need to do?¡± Jerome looked over at Zack expectantly as Sifu Lei Bao said ¡°In the north western hallway, you will find a wooden board with nails in it. You must pull them out with your thumb, forefinger and middle finger.¡± After years of typing on a keyboard, Zack¡¯s hands were nearly as soft as a baby¡¯s and the shock from the severity of the task was evident on his face ¡°Yes Sifu. It will be done before dinner.¡± ¡°No it won¡¯t, but that¡¯s okay. Your goal is not to complete the task, but to progress.¡± After they finished the meal and cleaned up, Zack went to his task of pulling out nails. Within minutes the tips of his fingers bled and he hadn¡¯t even managed to get the first one up. He tried using his left hand and somehow managed to get the first one up just as the fingers on his left started bleeding as well. He really didn¡¯t want to pull out the next nail with six of his fingers feeling a dull burning sensation. So he practiced what he knew about Tong Zi Gong until the sun began to set. At dinner Zack asked ¡°So when do we learn Kung fu?¡± Jerome is the one who answered ¡°When our bodies are strong and flexible. Our sense of balance is finely tuned and minds are in the proper state.¡± Sifu Lei Bao took a drink of water and said ¡°You will begin tomorrow Jerome.¡± The Brazilian blinked in surprise and said ¡°Thank you Sifu¡± then bowed his head ¡°I deserve very little gratitude, it is you who have earned it.¡± The rest of the evening passed in much the same way as the night before. After bathing, Zack was stretching his legs in an attempt at a split when SIfu entered the backyard just to tell him ¡°It takes a year to master pulling out nails, three years to master the diamond finger and fifteen years to master the one finger of Chan meditation.¡± then left. Zack thought thought about that for another hour. Fifteen years of daily training for a real live Chi attack, even at the level of intensity of a Shaolin monk. Then he hopped down off the innocuous looking torture device and took a single step, his body realizing it¡¯s exhaustion all at once and fell to the ground. He took deep breaths as he lay on the ground for several minutes before crawling from the yard to his bed. 16. The man at the center A sealed portal in a corrupted dimension. And a very well hidden one at that. If not for the insane luckof one of his high-tierminions, it would have remained undiscovered in an empty void forever. On the other side, Ulgroth was sure to have hidden something interesting. Akmadouric sat on his analytical chariot andtyped a few commands into the armrest. The swirling black circle in front of him reversed it''s rotations for a second thenwent back to it''s original form. "So much for the easy way." he hated it when machines failed. Intelligent beings capable of using willpower energy always yeilded better results. Drawing upon his massive reserves of willpower energy, he bent the universe around him according to his own will, and purified the portal of it''s corruption. It slowly undarkened until itbecame white. Then the energy that was naturally exerted from his body changed the portal''s color to blue. Making the passageway safe fortravel. After typing a few commands, a stream of probes inhabiting many planes of existence launched from his chariot and entered the portal. Once on the other side, every single one of them were almost instantly destroyed. Akmadouric frowned, in order for that to happen, the dimension on the other side had to be one that contained a great force of some kind. According to the data that came back. The molecules that made up theprobes had been pushed into a single direction with such force that their bonds ripped apart. Which meant that they had been subjected to intense gravitywhich could have only been produced when all of the matter of a universe had beengathered into a single place. Akmadouric stood up from his analytical chariot, causing it to automatically summon itself back to one of his sanctum dimensions. And with a few skill activations, he summoned a breach sphere. Made for incursions intodimensions that containedextreme forces of physics or bolstered defenses. The breach sphere had multiple layers of the hardest and densist alloys from multiple dimensions. Upon exiting the portal it was sure that some of them would fail to materialize due to not being compatible with the breached dimension''s physics. It opened and he went inside, immediately an anti-ballistic gel filled the chamber. Providing a cushion for Akmadouric when the geforces got too high. Knowing that it was safe enough to proceed, Akmadouric clad himself and the breach spherewith an anti-gravity field in order to resist the effects. It was well within his abilities to make himself completely immune to all types of gravitational particles, but there was a far more economical methodavailable. First he checked how much matter the ten foot by eight foot portal could transferthrough at once. Then he summoned a gas giant behind himself, with as much gravity as a miniature sun. Hesitating for just a moment, he maneuvered the sphere into the low orbit of the gas giant and movedthe huge planetoid towards the portal with as little momentum as possible. It''satmosphere entered the event horizen of the portal and thespeed of the planet began multiply several times per second. Space bent and compressed the planet into the passageway to another dimension. The momentum increased exponentially by the millisecond and he passed through to the other side almost instantly. Akmadouric fell through the gas giant as he and everything he brought with him accelerated towards thesuper massive corrupted black hole. Frantically he delved into the universal code to gain some dominion overthe dimension. The thrusters on the breach sphere fired and propeled him away from the black hole. But after a minute the gas giant approached light speed. He exited out the other side of the enormous planet just before it reached it''s maximum momentum possible of99.9999% of the speed of light. Exotic particles erupted from the gas giant, each with their own individual effect. Chaotic spikes of energy caused a multitude of reactions to makea lightshow that included every color.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He looked through the corrupted universe''s code and found what he was looking for. Then used his willpower energy to gain a small amount of dominion over the dimension. The localized space around him became immune to the gravitational effects of the black hole and his momentum came to a halt. With the dangerous phase over, he exited the breach sphere and went back to the code. Liesurely looking through it in order to find the most cost efficient method for taking control over the universe. After searching for hours he spent almost one million points of willpower energy to gain the dominion he had sought. He looked through the corrupted universe for several days, but only couldn''t find whatever Ulgroth wanted to be kept hidden, there was only the black hole at the center. Finally he had had enough, and commenced with the purification process, turning the entire dimension into yet another void. Just as Akmadouricwas about to leave he noticed a peculiarity. A tiny piece of matter floating in the nothingness. He tried summoning it, only to find that the abilityhad failed. In all his years, that had never happened. With his interest piqued,he teleported himself to it instead and was shocked to find that it was a humanoid, and from his location he had been at the center of that compacted mass of matter. "How could you have survived in this universe, when even a deity like myselfcouldn''t do something so incredible?" he heldthe ten foot tall man in the palm of his hand. He had pale white skin and black shaggy hair that was twenty yards long. His bright violetpupils showed no reaction whatsoever to Akmadouric''s giant face looming above him. Using his universal translation skill he said"Who are you?" but got no response from the man. Akmadouric began to scan the man with every type of sensorydevice he had knowledge of.After he got through the first thousand methods and retrieving no data on the man, he started using the more harmful methods. Some of which included radiation. Yet still nothing penetrated the man''s skin. "You couldn''t be..." his hypothesis was highly improbable. In fact the odds of him actually finding such a being was literally oneover infinity. But he had to be sure. He placed his hands over one another and the intense heat of asun erupted between them, but it had no effect. The giant deity struck the man with agray anti-life bolt, and still there was no reaction. He acceleratedtime in a localized field around the man but he did not age at all. After a hundred different types of attacks he stopped. "You...you''re the invulnerable one? Aren''t you?" it was the only explanation for how this man had survived with the entire weight of a universe pressing down on him from every direction. But the question is:How did such a treasureget to this current unresponsive state? The answer was simple; a complete cut off of all outside stimuli combined with a great span of time. To losesight, sound, taste, smell andtouch.Although the man is and forever will be invulnerable to any kind of external harm, his mind still required a constant stream of information, just as a machine requires maintenance. Enforced prolonged sensory deprivation, the most extreme form of solitary confinement. Losing his mind would have been slow. After weeks he would have created his own inner world but even that mental defense would havebeen limited by his own creativity. After years, he would have forgotten what it was like to have a body. After eons, there wasn''t a single thought left in his mind. Akmadouric left the newest void dimension with the ragdollin his hand, or livng corpse as some would come to call him. Traversing through a series of portals to get to one of his inner sanctum dimension''s. And left the man ona world made entirely of diamonds orbitting a green sun. Maybe one day, over another great span of time, the invulnerable man would once again regain a concsiousness. 17. Looking to the future "Thumb on one side of the top of the door frame and pointer and index finger on the other...and PULL!" Zack squeezed his fingers together and tried to do a pull up. His recently enlarged forearm muscles strained and he slowly rose. Then his fingers slipped from not exerting enough pressure and he fell. Zack laid on his back"Still can''t do a pull up in the way Sifu can. Even after four agonizing months of pulling out nails." then he brought his feet up and performed a kipup, landing on his feet. Then left his roomfor his morningfive mile run. The temple was now full of monks and students. Each meditating, practicing shaolin kung fu in unison, listening to lectures on Buddhist philosophy and torturing themselves in various ways to strengthen their bodies. His jog brought him past the other training grounds on the island. Akmadouric had been busy reviving various people from the past. The island was now populated by medieval knights, vikings, Shaka Zulu tribesman, spartans and Roman legionaires. All of which were being rapidly taught the intricacies of technology and how they wouldemploy their skillsets in the ongoing interdimensional war. He passed a man who had a bald head and his face was painted one half blue and one half yellow"Akma, who is that man?" Akma appeared out of his vortex and said "That is an Aztec Shorn one. An elite warriorthat has vowed to never take a step backwards during a battle. He was revived because there are certain skills he can be given which feed off of rage." The Aztec warrior swung a jagged wooden sword with glassy sharp stones embedded along it''s length. His face was distorted in anger andhis strokes were wide and powerful. His oval shaped shieldhad three sharp prongs on the end and he occasionally used it to stab as much as he used it to protect himself. The motions were very unlike that of both European and Asian martial arts styles. "He''s not going to use that weapon on me, is he? Theguy looks like he''s just barely holding it together. Are you sure he''s not dangerous to anyone here?" Akma said "Additional measures were taken to ensure that he never attacks an ally or anything. Right now he''s demonstrating his combat skills to his own Akma." The ancient man with the painted face glared at Zack who had been staring for too long. And he immediately began his run again ''I''d rather not be ritually sacrificed in case thoseadditional measures decide to fail." He left andafter eight minutes and another mile later he met Hroyd on top of one of the rocky hills.Four long paralell cut marks had been etched into the rock formations throughout hilltop. Zack said "You''ve been practicing." Hroyd stood on his hind legs and slashed with the claws of his left hand. Green ethereal energy emanated from each nail and appeared in the air, traveling several feet before dissipating. Burnt flesh permeated the air as Hroyd held up his hand, the technique charred the tips of his fingers.
Ether claw swipe
Description: Focus Spiritual Ether into one''s claws and carry it''srazor sharp to cut at a distance.
Range: 5 meters
Willpower cost: 50
Hroyd''s gruffvoice undulated in a rumbling fashion as he talked "It''s a technique that only the most legendary of Kulabv warriors are capable of using. As I am the last, it is fitting." ''No wonder he spent so much time up here'' Zack said "You''re not the last. You''ll see them again when Akmadouric gets around to reviving them." "Heh, first I would have to clear out every single corrupted consciousness, which is unfathomably huge and verylow on the list of priorities. Wait for Akmadouric to gain dominion over it and purify it of corruption. And only then, can I spend favor to revive my people. Of which he will prioritize thewarriors." grumbling he then added"Won''t even consider restoring oursacred sites." ''You know what the reason for that is. Low-tierman like us need places to gain favor without getting obliterated. But still, it''s a tough situation.''Zack bit his bottom lip and said "How long is that going to take?" "I''ve been speaking with Kerink about that. There were only hundreds of thousands of her people left after the battle for her dimension, out of a civilization that spanned across many worlds. Since then her people have been collecting favor like madmen." Zack smirked "Well, all we can do is what we can with the time we have." "Where did that come from?" "I''ve been living at a Buddhist temple for months, listening to the wisdom of the monks. I suppose I''ve taken a liking to them." Hroyd shook his head violently and snarled "Just what kind of warriors don''t enjoy killing? Well nevermind. It''s time we started, we''ve stalled for words long enough." then the giant bobcat warrior entered the Spiritual Ether. His whole body turned green and wavy. Long thick and claws extended from the tips of his fingers. Zack said "I suppose we have." then he activated hisEidolan Symbiosisskill for the second time since his surgery to grow his own claws. Unlike Hroyd''s, his were straight like long daggers. Stabbing pain shot from his hand as the process completed. A man with less willpower would have easily passed out. Then he faced down Hroyd. His whole weight rested on his back leg and dagger claws pointed forward. Then began to shuffle walk in a manner that brought the amount of time his feet were off the ground to a minimum. Zack slowly approached the giant of green energy. When he got within twelve feet Hroyd made the first move. Zack''s eyes widened in surprise. He had been expecting lunge of some kind but for it to be so quick, low and at such a distance. Zack lifted his forward foot and used a telekinetic burst to push himself backwards but Hroyd''s spiritual ether claw stillpassed through Zack''s ankle without causing any harm. Zack frowned "I thought you said you were only going to use moves that you can use while corporeal?" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.Hroyd smirked and bared his teeth "I did. Shall I demonstrate?" "Please do." Zack summoned Hroyd using the Accelerated Summoning skill so the Kulabv Warrior didn''t have to undergo summoning sickness. Hroyd stretched in his corporeal form, then positioned himself so that Zack could see the move from another perspective "The key to performing the move is to dig into the ground with three sets of claws and squeeze to compact the dirt, giving yourself a better foothold. Then launch yourself at such an angle so that you areas low to the ground as possible. Swipe with one claw and twist so that your opposite hand can grip the ground. From there you have about five more options, but the one I would recommend doing is to push yourself off the ground into a front flip and land on top of your opponent." Zack looked on at Hroyd slackjawed, not from the movements he performed, but from his own train of thought. As he gained additional eidolans he would also gain additional bodily traitsthat they had. Each would have their own unique fighting style that he would have to utilize in order to become as effective as possible. The shaolin monks had shown him the feats that the human body is capable of, bysuccessfully smashing rocks with their heads on a daily basis among other things. In the ecosystems of Earth alone, there are animals capable of unbelievable things, like age regressing jellyfish. In the multiverse there are...pink telepathic hippos that travel through time. Although those particular beasts are not eidolans. But still, there are sure to be eidolans out there with great abilities. ''What will I become?'' Zack thought, then he remembered the words Akma had said to him; Priotize function over form. ''No. The real question is; How large of an army can I get?'' Zack and Hroyd sparred for an hour. The Kulabv Warrior was a whirling tempest of blades. While Zack grew better at dodging with his minor telekinetic ability andpreferring to attack with thrusting motions. Then they stopped as the daily alotted time they had set went up, with Hroyd being the clear victor. Zack had expected the outcome "How is such a fighting style supposed to be beaten? I couldn''t even get close to you." "It''s not designed to be beaten. Get rid of those gaming ideas of balance or expecting a fair fight. This is reality and you want to be in an unfair fight with all of the advantages on your side." "I know this well. But thanks for the reminder." there had been numerous times in his E-sport career that he had abused a mechanic. He even made the developers nerf a unit once. Zack was turning to leave so he could spend the rest of the day on some arduous task his Sifu gave him, but then Hroyd said "We should stop by the Samurai''s training grounds in an hour, today is the day that they receive the equipment they will use during deployment." Zack undid all of the spiritual ether augments that he had gotten from Hroyd, the claws retracted and his fingers shrank back to their normal sizes "Ya, that''s something I gotta see." They made their way to the training grounds just in time to see Kerink holding what looked to be a two foot long cylindrical device, her voice was raised to such a volume that Zack could hear her from the other side of the clearing "This is a lightsword. Although it is only called that for it''s default setting." she pressed a button on it and a laser beam shot into the sky, then stopped suddenly. Zack had read an article that stated that lightsaberswere actually theoretically possible to make. But unlike the Star Wars counterpart, this one seemed more...solid? Kerink yelled for everyone to hear "Itcreates a stable energy field so that the area of effect remains within the users control." she pressed a few more buttons and the sword extended to twenty feet long and contracted down to two inches "It can be turned into a variety of shapes and sizes." then the lightsword turned into a wall shield that covered her whole body. One of the Samurai spoke up "Only cowards use shields." "Well you''re going to have to get over that mental handicap that you''ve given yourself. With the lightsword you can slice through a twenty foot in diameter energy blast directed at you, but if you find yourselfbeing attacked from all sides, then you are going to want to use the shield setting." She opened up a crate where there were numerous lightswords "You each can take two, so that''s one for each hand. This next phase in your trainingwill includelearning how to switch between any one of the hundreds of settings on the flyaccording to your own personal preferences. You all can get started now." then she walked away. Zack said to Hroyd "That demonstration just cleared up a few questions I had about melee units in interdimensional warfare, but I''m still not completely convinced." Hroyd pointed behind Zack and he looked back to see that Kerink had snuck up behind him. She said "Ah, the lost sheep. Just the person I''ve been looking to see." "Ya, I really can''t thank you enough for grabbing us and throwing us out of there." Kerink waved it off "Forget about it, I earn favor from saving and improving the low-tierman underneath my care. And speaking of which, a new mission came in that I think you should go on." Zack scratched the back of his head "I''m not sure if I''m strong enough for that just yet. I mean I have a semi-athletic body, decent martial arts skills and a handful of eidolan abilities. But I don''t think I''m ready to take on another giant tree." "The dimension for the mission at hand doesn''t belong to Ulgroth. The inhabitants of it managed to create a portal, albeit it targeted randomly. They got really lucky when they made contact with a dimension under Akmadouric''s control and not a dimension filled intense radiation or something. In short this is a diplomatic mission, so we''re notexpecting hostilities." Zack asked "Why do you want me to go?" "Because this dimension has eidolans and this is a rare oppourtunity for you to add more to your war party with minimal risk." Zack opened up his body status screen and said "I guess I''m strong enough already for that. Okay. Sign me up."
-Secondary body basic stats
Description:A fully human 27-yr old male body infused by spiritual ether. Capable of growing new bodily traits from eidolans that have anchors within the users consciousness. Strong sinewy and flexible muslces are packed on harder than average bones. Good eyesight and reflexes. Average immune system. Good stamina.
Mind: 62 Sight: 20 Hearing: 15 Agility: 43 Strength:35 Stamina: 54
Disease resist: 15 Cold resist: 22 Heat resist: 25
18. The Dirske "Here''s what we know about this dimension." A black haired Akma stood in front of the group that would escort the diplomat, each member wearing black clothes with blue trim "The sentient people who managed to construct a portal are named the Dirske, their civilization includes one planet named Ukrimare. Their physical make-up is biochemical and interestingly enough, have enough genetics in common with humans that they could be considered cousins like the neandrathals. However unlike Earth, the Dirske''s world is mostly covered in mountains, which they have hollowed out to create citys. What method used for construction, is unknown at this time." Zack thought ''If the genetics really are so closely related, then that also meansthat they are also capable of breeding with humans. This development could make things interesting for Earth in the future.'' One of the twenty members spoke up, a four armed humanoid withwhite spots on black skin "What are the lowlands like?" "The lowlands are teeming with life. I suppose they could be called swamps, but that''s a gross understatement. These massive bogs can span forhundreds of square miles and each one is unique due to it''s own isolation." Akma pointed to Zack "That is where you will find your eidolans. But be wary, those areas are dangerous to the point where they are completely unexplored." One side of Zack''s mouth raised slightly "Heh." "Something funny?" "It''s just that I didn''t expect to become a pioneer when I signed up." The other twenty members let out a few chuckles.
Zack exited the portal and looked at the view of the mountains. Rocky precipices could be seen in every direction, rising above the cloudline underneath a deep blue sky. He inhaled and his breath immediatly caught. The air was so thin, cold and crisp. Zack activatedEidolan Symbiosis and all of the hairs on his body thickened and grew until he was wearing a pelt underneath his blue uniform. The extra facial hair on his sideburns and jawline was a bit of an issue, but it wasn''t something to be concerned about. ''I should be warm enough from that. Unfortunately this air is going to take a hit to my stamina.'' Just then he heard a clang behind him coming from behind. Becker had fallen on the ground. Kerink said "Sorry Becker. This dimension''s physics don''t allowelectricity to move through any kind of metal. Your suit is worthless here. Hehe, that''s what you get for having an over reliance on your tools." Becker fought against the mechanical servos of his mechsuit and took off his helmet, grumbling he said "You could''ve just told me instead of dragging me all the way here." "Being told is one thing, experiencing it is another thing entirely." "You do understand that I now gotta spend twenty minutes getting out of this thing once I get back." he stood up and slowly walked back into the portal. Servos audibly protesting with every movement. The group moved out across the mountain top. There was no trail and the terrain was uneven to the point where they had to sometimes half-climb over the jagged rocks. One false step would meanbreaking something. After a mile of hiking they heard a cawing, but unlike a bird''s call however it was a little deeper and they saw a creature with a thirty foot wingspan circling above them. "Does it think we are prey?" asked one of the group''s members, a pink-skinned humanoid with eyestalks. Kerink replied "No. That''s our ride." Zack asked "If we are going to be flying to our destination, why did we have to trek here?" "Because if we couldn''t walk their mountains then they wouldn''t respect us at all." The beast landed in front of them. Itwas tannish in color and hadlarge green eyes on it''s shoulders. Disc-shaped feathers covered the giant creature''s wings. It''s muzzle extended for several feet and within it were strange black teeththat seemed to move. In it''s long muscular legs it carried a metal cagelarge enough to fit the whole visiting group. Strapped on it''s back was another Dirske man who seemed to be in control of it. Above the creature''s head was the name
Orkrik Transporter
The cage opened and out stepped a man who almost passed for human. He had gray skin and bright red hair. He stood seven feet tall and had eyes with pitch black irises. The screen provided by the Akma network said that his name was
Hortim Jhik
Diplomat of Olherk mountain
The local said "Welcome to Ukrimare. It is..." then paused as he looked over thesheer variety of the group of twenty that had come to visit. The pink man with eyestalks, the furry man with claws, and Kerink with her orange skin and two pairs of eyes. Diplomat Hortim Jhik continued on as if he hadn''t just been staring for the past thirty seconds "It is my honor to be the one to greet you and guide to the Kuywarin Festival. Your seats are within theLords booth." The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.Kerink said to the Diplomat "This is the first I''ve heard of such a festival." "Our civilization hosts it once every ten years." "Then I thank you for holding us in such high esteem, so as to give us seats next to the leader of your noble civilization." Hortim put his hands on his elbows and bowed slightly "We should make haste if we wish to make it to the beginning of the ceremonies." then presented the open cage behind him in invitation. Zack had his doubts about the beast though and said out loud "And we''re supposed to trust our lives to that thing?" Kerink cast an ireful look at him"Keep your mouth shut and let others do the talking when we meet the Grand leaders of the Dirske. A poorly phrased sentence could permanently screw up negotiations. Besides, If we fall, we all have enough abilities between all of us to survive." as the leader, she had access to the full knowledge of what everyone in the group could do. "Alright then." then group climbed aboard the cage carriedby the alien beast.
The Orkrik transport approached a metropolis on a mountain. But instead of steel structures caves had been dug out of the rock and glass laid over the entrances. Lights could clearly be seen within the large rooms. Silver tubes were built into the bottom of the city and clouds were being sucked into them, presumably for the water supply. Flocks of other Orkriks were being tended to by their handlers, in preparation for other flights. They landed on the mountain. As they were disembarking their living transportation,in the distance they could hear a musical sound. Almost flutish in nature and rising and lowering in pitch and volume yet there was no order to it. Curious looks crossed the faces of each member of the visitors. Until theirguide pointed to a very tall cylindrical mountain in the distance, even from miles away the group could tell that it had numerous caves withinit. Hortim said "It took us ten years to carve outour belovedPeykirhi, the mountain of everlasting song. It''s location chosen specifically because it is at the center ofwhere the most turbulent winds in the world are." The top most layer of the city was filled withagriculture, most of which was growing underneath natural light. And from the smell of things, they were using the Orkrik droppings as fertilizer. The other levels were well lit residential districts, although they were more like apartment complexes stacked on top of one another. All of the areas they went through there were manybridges so that no cavern had very much overhead. They descended through the levels for an hour until Hortim stopped before a ten foot tall black stone double door "Open it. The festival begins." their guide said to the two men on either side. They both grabbed a handle and pulled. The four inch thick doors must have weighed hundreds of pounds for them grind so audibly as they opened. Then the two men held them with all their strength. They entered a stadium of some kind. Large enough to seat several thousand people. At the center of it was a field of black obsidian volcanic glass. It''s surface uneven and slanted in many areas. A hard looking man stood up and threw his arms wide "On behalf of all Dirske, I bid you welcome to this mountain and this dimension." He clearly looked proud of himself for being able to say that. His robes were a deep red and had gold trim. His eyes were copper and on his head was long hair that had turned white. His face had multiple scars on it. Above him was hisname and title
Ilvan Vakardrea
Grand Lord of all Dirske
Kerink said "We are grateful foryour hospitality. However we have not been told about the exactnature of this festival." The Grand Lord clapped his hands twice "There is plenty of time for you to find out." Serving girls carrying platters filled with colorful delicacies entered their booth. Each scantily clad insmall tops and short shorts, exposing quite a bit of their almost silvery skin. The members of the group sat down on chairs that had thick cushions on their seats and backs.The stadium then began to fill with people. On a whim, Zack decided to useEidolan Symbiosis to gain Hroyd''s sharp eyes and ears. From the conversations he could hear, this event was hated for somereason. Other Lords sat next to each visitor and tried to get information about the dimensions they had come from, but the members of Akmadouric''s army were under strict orders to remain silent about such things. Since all low-tierman are supposed to learn about the multi-verse by experiencing it. The fesivities began with several peopleclad head to toe in a metal costume entering the black field. It seemed to represent some kind of eight legged monster with antlers. On the other side of the field another group of people entered wearing a much larger and much more different costume. This one was a green serpent of some kind. It had long fangs that dripped a viscuous liquid. It stood over the group in the metal costume like a giant. The two groups danced in what appeared to be a mock battle until the metal monster stood over the serpent victoriously. The crowdclapped and then fell silent. A somber atmosphere eerily began to fill the stadium. Grand LordIlvan Vakardrea stood up from his seat and walked towards the front of the booth. The floor raised underneath and became a dais. A light shown upon him and he addressed the crowd "Every time one of our golems fall in battle from the denizens that rise up from below, we must go through this painfilled process of choosing another to take up the mantle once again. Now let the semi-finals of this tournament commence." Zack leaned over and whispered to the lord sitting next to him "What happens next?" "The two warriors about to enter are going to fight to the death." 19. Bayei "They''re gladiators? like in ancient Rome? How barbaric." Zack said with a disgusted look on his face. Akma appeared out of his vortex, but there was a bit more white hair than usual "It''s no different than how you playedfor theamusement of the crowds back when you were a professional gamer." Zack protested "But nobody gets killed from that. All of the characters are virtual." "It''s still barbarism even though nobody dies. Violence is still violence." "It''s not like you''re a pacifist either. You are waging an interdimensional war after all." The semi-white haired Akma said "That is violence out of necessity, not entertainment." Zack was at a loss for words for several seconds but then he said "It is necessary. People cannot go to war if they are complete strangers to violence. Besides, it''s an undeniable part of who we are. Or at least, who the people of my world are." Akma''s hair turned much more white for a moment, he smiled and nodded approvingly before disappearing. The first gladiator entered the field. He was a tallman with bulky muscles. In his hand he carried a metal cylinder with sharp blades sticking out of it. A long chain was attached to one end of it and dragged behind the man, it was an oversized flail almost as large as his entire body. He worethick heavy platemail but there were noticeable gaps within the armor. Entering from the other side was a woman. Her hair violet was in stark contrast to the red hair of all the other DirskesZack had seen thusfar.The heavy looking blades in her hands were attached to chains that wrapped around her forearms. Her armor was large for her bodybut clearly didn''t have the same quality as her opponent. The lord sitting next to him whispered in Zack''s ear "The rule is that their weapons must have moving parts." Zack nodded. The larger man made the first move by swinging his oversized flail in the air above him. It rotated in the air and Zack immediatly noticed that the weapon moved unnaturally, the circles were much too fast and tight.
Skill Analyzed
Metallokinesis
Description: The ability to move and manipulate various metals around the user.
Kerink leaned over and said to the Grand LordIlvan Vakardrea "I wasn''t told that your people had metallokinesis abilities." With a surprised look on his face, he replied to her "They are a rarity among the Dirske. But what I am suprised about is that you seem to be taking this information in stride." Kerink shrugged "I''ve seen thousands of different types of kinesis abilities. They are uncommon, but coveted. Tell me, why are such rare people being forced to fight to the death." "Because their souls are used to forgegolem cores. Which are the first line of defensein protecting my people from the various denizens that wander up here from below." ''Souls?'' thought Zack. The flail descended suddenly. The woman threw her chain blades to the side and dashed forward, propelling herself on more than just the strength of her legs. The flail crashed into the ground where she had been standing, sending sharp obsidian shards in every direction from the point of impact. She turned and avoided what she could but a few of the shards still managed to get past her armor and cut into her calves and thighs. The female gladiator didn''t slow down and whipped her chain blades at her larger opponent, curving unnaturallytowards the gaps in the armor. He twisted at the last second and deflected one but the other left a gash on his arm. The fight continued with the male gladiator striking the arena''s floor and the female expertly dodging and counter-attacking. Shards of the obsidian volcanic glass sometimes flew towards the audience but were blocked by some kind of orange energy barrier. Blood seeped from their wounds and splattered everywhere. The fight wore on for several minutes more andAkma appeared with a scowl on his face "What a crude technique."
Skill analyzed
Accelerated Blood division
Description: Rapidly cause blood cells to divide at an accelerated rate in order to replenish the users blood supply. Thus staving off the effects of blood loss.
Willpower cost: 5 per minute
Zack said "Can''t they just use a different willpower technique to close the wound? They could even sear them shut if they don''t have the skill to heal them completely." Akma said "Apparently it''s another rule. Recently added once the Dirske civilization unlocked willpower energy." The fight continued with the male gladiator striking the arena''s floor in order to fling volcanic glass shards towards his opponent, sending them all over the arena.The woman dodged and deflected the projectiles expertly until she dashed towards her opponent.The oversized flail came down in deadly arc to intercept her for a direct hit, but then it stopped moving completelyjust asit was about to smash her head in.She continued her rush and released four wires that had been concealed on her back. She passed underneath the male gladiator''s bladed gauntlet and wrapped a wire around his arm, then proceeded to bind him further around his face, legs and torso. The thin metal wires cut into his flesh as the tiny hooks dug into him.He struggled and the wires cut deeper with every movement, his blood spilling everywhere by the liters. Then a horn blew and the woman let go and retreated a few paces away from him. The audience stood up and a tense atmosphere permeated the stadium. The defeated gladiator tried to pick up his oversized flail but he only managed to weakly stumble forward. Fear crossed his face as five men wearing black uniforms landed around the gladiator in a circle. They each raised a strange metal gun towards the man and shot some kind of rippling waveat him. His body instantly started to melt until he was nothing more than areddish orange puddle on the arena''s floor. One of the black uniformed men brought out what looked to a vacuum cleaner with more of the liquid within it, and sucked up the remains. Zack looked at the scene in horror "What the fuck did I just witness?" The lord leaned over and told him "His lifeforcewill become a part of the golem''s core that is still under construction. From what I understand the new one looksquite intimidating." "This is insane. How can you treat your people like this?" The lord glared at Zack "Having one golem take the brunt of the denizen''s wrath is much better than having it run rampant through hundreds of military men while they futilelyfire into it''s much too thick hide. The death toll is much fewer this way." A private message from Kerink displayed across everyone''s eyes
Kerink: There are much greater evils in the Multiverse
Zack caught the eye of the female gladiator and in that moment he felt some kind ofintense emotion coming off of her, then she turned and left the Arena. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there."Akma, can you display her name?" Akma said "She''s not within the database. Would you like to spend favor in order to find out? "No, it''s not that important. Akmadouric doesn''t need to usewillpower energy on something so trivial." Just as the audience members were getting up and leaving he heard Grand LordVakardrea grumble angrily "She survived again..."
Zack yawned as he stood by the door outisde the negotiation chamber. At the start of the meeting he had usedEidolan Symbiosis with Hroyd to enhance his hearing. But soon grew bored of it after five whole minutes of listening. The gist of the negotiationswas that the Dirske had opened a portal and in doing so they had obtained dominion over their dimension. Akmadouric wanted it for himself so he cold protect the dimension from getting corrupted and to trade for ithe offered various technologies, rare materials and favor currency.But so far the Dirske representativewas being very tightfisted about it. To pass the time, Zack talked with the other members of the expedition about each other''s home dimensions. The pink humanoid came from a world covered in pink deserts and his species had adapted their skin color as a camouflage. The four armed man with white spots and black skin had a home that had built their citys into the sides of mountains because their people could secrete adhesive gels from their skin, making them incredible climbers. The slime member of their party came from a dimension that had no solid matter and no planets, just an ocean of various fluids for billions lightyears in every direction. Zack told them of Earth and while none of what he had to saysounded very grand to him, the other members were clearly interested. Kerink exited the meeting chamber and said "Day one of the negotiations failed to result in a sealed deal, but that was expected." behindher, the various negotiators of both sides were leaving as well. Zack asked "So what do we do now?" "We''re off to the luxury suites designated forforiegn diplomats. You all can sleep there." She looked over at a few of the members "Or if you don''t sleep at all, there are other facilities you can use during your downtime." The group departed and Zack lazily trailed behind at the rear. Just as he was leaving something small and hard hit him on the head. He rubbed the spot and looked back, only to see a few strands of violet hair disappear around the corner as he turned.
After everyone elsewent to bed, or in the slime''s case went to soak himself in the hot tub, Zack left the luxurious suites. ActivatingEidolan Symbiosis in order to gain Hroyd''s advanced hearing, his ears grew long and pointed. Allowing him to hear soft scrapes echoing up fromone of the vertical alleyways, which meant that the person who wished to meet him wasrisking being caughtout past curfew. The guards shuffled along with noisy steps and were therefore easily avoidable, albeit there were several of them. After a few minutes of chasing thefemale gladiator with violet hair, Zack lost his patience andsprinted as silently as he could to catch up. Then he activated a skill out of his very limited telekinesis arsenal
Pull
Description:Grab onto an object and attract it towards you.
Willpower cost: 2 per second plus resistence.
The veins on Zack''stemples bulged as the woman ran against the force he exerted. She stopped for just long enough for him to get within ten feet then she started running away again. Inexplicably the telekinetic links holding herdisappeared. Zack stopped in his tracks "What just happened?" Akma said "She didn''t force her way out ofit, she dispelled it. The only way she could do that is if she has telekinesis abilities as well. For her to naturally possess both metallokinesis and telekinesis makes her a rarity in the multiverse." He whispered "I thought that duel in the arena ended very strangely. Interesting." then he continued to chase her until she led him to a small dwelling, going inside and leaving the door open for him. Zack entered to find that her home was crawling with robots of all kinds. There were several fist sized ten legged ones crawling on the walls. A few flewon dragonfly-like wings. A small blimp lazily floated through the air using a fin to propel itself. A soprano voice spokefrom around the corner "Someone in my position shouldn''t be wasting time doing anything except training myself for mortal combat. But I just have this...insatiable compulsion to make things." she smiled at him seductively and said "I''m Bayei." Now that Zack could get a good look atthe gray Dirske woman unhindered, he could see that she had an amazing body. Bayei had incredible abdomenal muscles that shown through her one piece skin tight black clothing. Wide hips lead to thighs that were just as large and muscular as Chun-li''s. ''She''s flirting with me because she wants something.Apparently the ways of women don''t even change across dimensions.'' hegave his name in turn"Zack. I know almost nothing about how your culture works. Is there some reason why you wanted to meet with me in secret? Under whatcould be considered martial law?" Bayei shook her head "I don''t know what that is, but if any of the Grand Lord''s men caught us meeting. Then I could be disqualified and get executed for whatever insane reason the Grand Lord can use as an excuse." "Just for talking? What kind of an asshole does that king of thing?" Bayei''s face turned into a mixture of disgust and laughter as she said "Someone who hates people with violet hair. I''ve had to walk a very fine line in order to abide by all of the various rules. I narrowly avoided death after I introduced a new weapon onto the field." "Racism?" Zack furrowed his brow "It''s almost an atrocity for you to have leadership with such a great character flaw. You see, on my world geneticists have been pushing a theorythat states that people with multiple ethnical backgrounds have more advanced gene codes." The gray skinned woman shut her eyeshard and when she opened themthey portayed an envious longing. ''What kind of life could she have lead to have such a strong emotion within her?'' Zack turned toAkma and said "Akmadouric." thus calling the big man himself for a one on one chat, knowing that if he didn''t have a good reason for it, he may never be allowed to speak to the interdimensional deity again. Akmadouricspoke through his miniature thought projection "Yes Zackery Taylor?" He had not been given any etiquette courses on how to ask something ofsuch being but flattery always goes a long way "Oh great lord Akmadouric, I beseech you for the sake of saving a life." "Just talk normally please. I already have enough people who refuse to quit groveling and I don''t need another." "Okay. I don''t want to screw up the negotiations process, which means that we can''t directly interfere with this insane festival of slaughter. Is there a way for her to cheat death without the rest of the Dirske knowing it. Maybe by reviving her or something?" Akmadouric frowned "Reviving her after going through the golem core conversion process would be much too costly. The trauma is too great and would shatter her mind. I would have to manually reform it." Zack turned back to Bayei "What are your chances of winning tomarrow?" Akmadouric interrupted her before she could open her mouth "There are no winners in this tournament. The golems are not controlled by the mind''s of the victors, like the public thinks. The truth is that they are controlled by a very long set of commands, no more sentient or intelligent than any of the robots within this very dwelling." A horrified expression crossed Bayei''s face, then it flashed rage before she turned away, her hands balling up into fists. Akmadouric smiled "So I think it best if no one else ever has to go through that ever again." Zack had anuncomprehending look on his face "You''re really going to commit resources and jeopordize relations with the Dirske over this?" "Not me. You''re in this alone, but you do have my approval." "But...why?" Akmadouric''s thought projection shrugged "Zack...if this is how you wish to manipulate the universe around you, then so be it. Who am I to forbid such an action when the future is rife with so many endless possibilities? If you believe that it is better for this woman to be alive, then you may use whatever means you have at your disposal to save her." 20. Flight Zack turned to Bayei "I need you to tell me what youknow about the layout of this mountain city. I can''t make heads or tails of any of it." From what he had seen thus far, there was nothing flat. Sloping hallways rose into vertical walls covered in indents for handholds. Even what passed forflatground here was actually really uneven. The gray skinned woman said "I''m not sure what you mean, but even the little children of my peoplelearn to climb as well as they can walk. We haveto make full use of what limited space we have." then she vertical jumped eightfeet into the air and grabbed a small hand hold in the ceiling and swung herself into a hidden room. After some clattering, she came back several minutes later wearing a whole different set of black gear. Knives were strapped to her forearms, thighs, chest, and shoulders. The woman was loaded. But for some reason they had extra thick handles.On her back was another contraptionof hers. It lookedlike a black disc and had what looked to be folded arms on it''s top. Zack had to walk behind her in order to observe the machinefurther "How do you control this thing?" One of the mechanical arms unfold and grabbed a knife, flipped it into the air and resheathed it "I use my metallokinesis skills to trigger levers within the device in order to get it to move as I want. And by the way, I call it Hiyjib." A grin appeared on his face at the name "Akmadouric''s army is all about using abilitiesin creative ways in order to maximize value, or so I''ve been told. They are going to love you when you get there." Bayei had a grim look on her face "To actually escape this prison. It''s more than I could have ever hoped for." "Then why did you make all that gear?" "Compulsion control. Might as well make something that could save my life one day. And with Taelon energy being heavily restricted to the upper classes, it is the best I can do." Zack cocked his head to the side "Then what about all these?" he motioned to all the little robots running around her home. She shrugged "Wind-up toys." "The machines in my world run on electricity, which is something entirely different from Taelon energy." "How many types of energy are there?" Zack shrugged "I''ve only been to a handful of dimensions and from what I understand, the multi-verseis...bigger than what anyonecan imagine." Bayei brought out a map of the mountain city and told him everything she knew about it''s security. The patrols on the lower levels were few and far between, but the guards stationed towards the entrance were equipped with a much more serious loadout. The body armor of the TsilfriSentinals''s wasdesigned for mobility. Their plated suits were made of a supposedly unbreakable metal fiber and their weapons included a Taelon energy pistol as well asseveral debilitating devices. Nothing got in or out of the mountain city without going through them first. Bayei asked "Do you have any idea how we are going to get past killers who have trained to combat giant monstrous beasts?" "It''s a big mountain, there are multiple entrances. So I''m thinking we could have Hroyd cause a disturbance at this entrance" He pointed to the entrance on the eastern side and said "Then we make our move on the northern entrance." Bayei asked with a confused look on her face "Who is Hroyd?" "He''s my invisible friend." It was a cruel joke to play on her, but he let her doubt his sanity for a few seconds before summoning the Kulabv warrior right in front of her. Instantly knives appeared in her hands andin the hands of her mechanical creation. Hroyd raised his head to protect his vitals while making his fur hard like ironwhile Zack waved his hands and yelled "Wait! He''s a friend." Bayei shook her head and lowered her weapons "You startled me." Zack knew that such an overreaction was a symptom of PTSD "Hroyd is an eidolan, he''s a different form of life than you and me. If he doesn''t get killed outright then he can just enter the spiritual ether and reformhimself." "The what? Okay, but what if he does get killed?" "Then I gotta pay Akmadouric to revive him. Which is surprisingly cheap even though it takes awhile." Hroyddecided to get back on topic by asking"What about killing people during this operation?" Zack frowned in thought for a few moments "Mostly I''d like it if you disabled them. But if you have to kill a few of them that''s fine, it''s not like it''ll be so traumatic that Akmadouric would have to manually piece their consciousnesses back together." Hroyd''s nose twitched at Zack''s coldness "Isn''t that a bit harsh?" Zack shrugged in indifference "It''s their punishment for accepting what goes on during the festival." Hroyd argued "They do it out of necessity." but Zack could sense indifference in his attitude.
Hroyd stalked through the cavern of the mountain that housed an entire city. After spending an unknown great length of timein a world...no...universe that had been bent into a never endingnetwork of tunnels, just seeingthe sun again was uplifting.And going underground again during these missions...was an annoyance. Augmenting his hearing to it''s maximum sensitivity, he could hear the patrols climbing around the dimly lit cavern. The Dirske patrolmen moved well along the walls, but they didn''t have claws capable of digging into the rock for a better grip. Hroyd waited at the top of one of the ledges for one of the patrolman to finish their ascent. He grabbed him with a hand that enveloped the Dirske man''s whole head in order to keep him quiet before slamming him on the ground to knock him out and carriedhim away to stash the unconscious bodyin a dumpster. Then went on to dispose of three more patrolman in much the same fashion.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ''Time to make myself known.'' Hroyd decapitated one of the Dirske patrolman and sunk his teeth into his buddy''s shoulder before the the third man could react. The last one drew a Taelon energy pistol and aimed it at Hroyd to fire. A longorange stream erupted from the pistol and burned into Hroyd. The Kulabv warrior''s whole side turned to pain but it was still within his threshold for what he could endure.He intentionally let loose a howl anyway for the whole upper level cavern to hear. Flashinghis bloodiedteeth before diving down a vertical shaft and reentering the spiritual ether.
Zack listened to the survivor yellthrough his headset communicator "Code 32! Code 32! The other two members of my squad have been killed!" Zack only heard bits and pieces of what the guy on the other line said "What!? There''s....no breach...any...entra...imopossi..." Another voice said "Comms check.Is anyone missing?" While the patrolmen did their roll call and rattled offseveral morecodes that only they knew about, Zack asked "I don''t suppose you know what all of theircodes mean?" Bayei said "No idea, but if I had to guess then they probably think that Hroyd is one of the beings from the lowlands." Hroyd''s disembodied head appeared and said "Very conveniant for us." not that Bayei could hear him. Zack said "They will be running around the lower levels looking for him." agroup of eight patrolmen climbed down the shaft that Hroyd had disappeared through "Which means they will have less manpower at the checkpoint. But the question is: What are the other actions they are taking? I mean, I heard about five othercodes when their orders were being given." Another group descended down the shaft and Bayei said "Let''s move. We gotta be quick." Zack summoned Hroyd and they both climbed atop his wide back. They grabbed onto his fur and rode. The Kulabv warrior thundered towards the checkpoint. Bayei drew herknives with all six of her arms and threw them at the guardsmen in a volley of razor sharp metal, hitting all of the guardsmen before they could even aim their Taelon energy pistols at the snarlingapparition charging right at them. Hroyd leaped onto a guard booth to gain hieght advantageand the two humanoids on his back jumped to the sides. Limbs flew as the checkpointwas ambushed from the opposite direction that the guardsmen expected to defend. The orange streams of Taelon energy blasts made the rock they hit glow a dull red, giving the whole entryway a slightly hellish hue. Zackflung his body from side to side using his telekinesis, dodging the fiery beams and feeling the heat from the near misses. The battle ending almost as quickly as it began. They left the interior of the mountain to seethe dark night''s sky was still out, the two white moons in the waxing part of their cycles. The stars shone brightly through the thin air. Bayei slowed her step to look at it for just a moment but then caught herself and started running with the group again. Zack looked over at Hroyd as they fled to see that his whole side was bleeding "Oh shit, are you alright?" Instead of answering Hroyd sent his pain over their weak telepathic link. Pain filledZack''s being,feeling it''s intensity fromoutside of his own body was stranger than he would have believed. He quickly closed the bridge between them.
+1 maximum willpower energy
Shaking his head Zack said "Okay, fine. I''m sorry you had to go through this because you are beholden to your contractor." Hroyd released a sigh he had been holding tightly "It''s nothing. Pain is the way of a warrior''s life. But damn do those things eat into flesh very quickly." Bayei said "Taelon energy is extracted from red fire, and then broken down to it''s most pure essence. Those pistols use it in a compacted form and as a result, it shoots a dense stream ofheat and kinetic energy." Zack asked "Then why do they need to turn people into goo if they have such deadly weapons already?" "Because that type of Taelon energyhas additional properties, making it far more powerful." A rock falling from the cliffs above them caused them all to turn, and dread overtook all three of their faces. A metal dragon stood over them, it''s thirty foot wingspan spanning towards the edges of both sides of their vision. Glowing orange veins coursed throughout it''s dark silver body that clearly had muscles underneath it''s scaled iron skin. Bayei screamed "They released the golem! Run!" The dragon golem''s eight foot toothy maw opened and there was a red glow in it''s throat inpreparation to launchit''s own Taelon fireblast. Hroyd scooped up both of his companions and dove off the mountainside. The trio fell and the cold air whistled past them as they accelerated downward. The dragon looked out over the ledge and aten foot in diameterstream of orange flamesexpelled from it''s mouth. The air itself was burnt to a crisp and loose rocks on the side of the mountain fell all around them. But the blast''sreach wasn''t long enough and dissipated. Bayei yelled over the wind "Now I get to die by an eight thousand foot dropinstead of by flame!" Zack yelled back "People have survived falls from this high up before." Hroyd spoke as he normally did since hisvoice easily carried "Don''t worry, I''ll be on the bottomand provide a cushion for you both. But just remember Zack, you owe me for this." 21. The Lowlands The trio fell through the misty cloud layer for a full ten seconds. Water droplets drenching them as they rapidly dropped in their free fall. Zack looked over the side of the bleeding Hroyd to see dark green foliage rushing up towards them. "Brace yourselves!" yelled Zack over the wind and they both clutched Hroyd''s chest. A second later, the Kulabv warrior''s back breached the top layer of the lowlands jungle. Numerous branches broke, causing continuous cracks as the giant bobcat person came down with the force of a meteor. Then a loud crack resounded throughout the jungle when Hroyd broke through a branch the size of a log, Zack and Bayai were forcibly thrown from their protective mount. Zack rebounded through the canopy, spinning uncontrollably until he caught a branch. With his body sporting multiple bruises he called out as he hung "Bayei...Bayei!" Hroyd''s disembodied green head appeared in front of him "Are you alright?" "I''m fine. Can you go find Bayei?" "If I could scout while in this form, then that would solve a lot of problems. I can only see and hear everything that you do." "Fine." Zack dropped onto bed of overlapping leaves, then checked himself to makesure nothing was broken. The area around him wasn''t a typical forest. The sun had to penetrate both the cloud layer and the branchesabove in order to even give a suggestion of twilight. The floor underneath Zack''s feet was springyto the point where he though he was standing on a trampoline. He took a step and the whole area swayed a little. Zack reached down and lifted away oneof the eight foot in diameter umbrella shaped leaves to see that there was another level beneath the one he was standing on. ''How far down does it go? Where did Bayei land?'' Zack activatedEidolan Symbiosis in orderto enhance his sense of smell. A torrent of new odors assaulted him, but he was only after Bayei''s. As he was sifting through the thousands of different smells that assaulted him, the canopy lurched once more. Taking no chances, he dove to the side just before a twelve foot razor sharp beak speared the branches above. Narrowly dodging, he cut through the leafy floor with his claws and dropped down. Sifting through the aromasonce again, he managed to locate the sweet musky odor of Bayei. He hopped down two more layers and found her. Bayei''s eyes were full of wonder as she looked around at the lush greenery. Insects buzzed by, each havingtheir own shade of purple and black. Zack called out "Bayei." it got her attention "Stay away from those things, they could be deadly." "But their so small." a bashful smile appeared on her face "And mesmerizing." "In nature creaturesthat are colorful are sometimes poisonous." She ran off behind the tree''s trunkand the swarm continued to ignore her. Zack caught up to her and asked "Are you injured?" "A few cuts, scrapes and bruises. Where''s Hroyd?" "Hroyd is recovering from his injuries." Then he asked the disembodied bobcat''s head "When will you be able to reenter the physical world?" Hroyd said "A day." Zack turned back to Bayei"He said a day, but he''s pretty prideful so it''ll probably be two." The Kulabv warrior shook his head in annoyance. Zack then turned to Bayei and said "Listen, I know youknow nothing about this type of environment. Now, the first thing you need to understand is that there are ambush predators here that can come at us from any direction. Anything can be dangerous, anything can have a stinger." Bayei blinked the fog away from her eyes "Okay. I was just a bit overwhelmed is all. I''ve just never seen anything like this place before." she pointed to a tree "That''s a real tree made out of wood right? Everything the Dirske have is made out of stone and metal." Zack''s lip curled into a half smile before changing the subject "Our destination should be twenty miles south by south east. But this is a survival situation, we''re tired and need to find shelter." Bayei pursed her lips together in thought for a moment "We could sleepunder these..." she lifted one of theleaves that looked more like pond lilies than anything "...things." "Huh, I would have never thought of that. But first we gotta get out of this area. We have no idea what kind of predators were attracted to the noise we made when we landed." So they headed south along the umbrella shaped leaves. Some of them had turned brown and grew white nuts on their undersides. Eventually the pair came across a suitable place to crawl inside and be hidden away. It was a tight fit but it was the safest place they could find. Their bodies pressed up against each other andsoon their little hideaway became warm from their body heat. After several minutes Bayei pressed closer into Zack than needed. Her warm breath felt nice on his neck, then she began to nuzzleher cheek across his chest in a seductive way. With the irritation getting to him, Zack said "Just stop." Bayei curiously asked "Why?" "Because you''re only doing it to make me get closer to you, not because we already are close." She put as much lust into her voice as she could "I am going to die down here. Make me feel alive during my last few hours." and thenreached her hand down his pants. Zack grabbed the intruding appendage before it could go any further "We need to keep our strength up for tomorrow. We cannot afford to make the tree shake because then it will attract predators. Besides, I haven''t been brought up to find gray-skinned women to be attractive and I''m pretty sure you''re not attracted to someone of my skin color either." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel."So you''ve gone through all these lengths to protect a woman whom you find hideous. How noble of you." "No. It''s that I need time in order to mentally change what I am attracted to." Bayei scoffed "If you''re worried about our strength and stamina, we each have plenty of of that. You don''t have to worry about the tree shaking with the techniques that I use..." She smiled "...and besides, your friend down there seems to have had enoughtime to get attracted to me." she exposed her bosom and climbed on top of him "Now make me feel alive."
Kerink was stirred awake as a passive skill of hers activated.
Sense of Hostile Intent
Detect any person who has the intention of violence within theset distance of one hundred meters. This is a passive skill that can be turned on and off.
Willpower cost: 3 per minute???? Requires: a minimum state of semi-consciousness
"Oh, what is this?" Kerink said as her extrasensory ability picked up fifty blips of those intending harm converging on the inn. Curiously, she made her way to the front door to greet them. The Dirske attackers got into ring formation around the luxury suite in preparation tolet loose a volley, and with the amount of firepower they brought with them, they intended to completely destroy the inn. Kerink scrunched her brow and all four of her eyes narrowed "What could have possibly provoked this?" then activated another skill
Barrier
The ability to erect an immovable barrier with a defense rating of 50, but can be improved using additional willpower
Willpower cost: 10 per square foot?? To improve: 2 for every defense rating
Technique rating: Intermediate???? Requires: No special body trait
Her favorite use of the skill was to activate it mid-air so she could use it as a push-off and change direction abruptly. But at the moment, it was time to use it for it''s most conventional means. Kerink formed thetransparent barrier into a dome around the inn, expending most of her willpower energy to ensure success and addan extra point to her reserves. Fifty streams of Taelon energy rifles fired as one. Like firehoses made of molten lava, splashing across the transparent surface and spraying over the wholesurface of the dome. A full minute passed and the barrier held, much to Kerink''s expectations. Eventually the attackers finally decided to cease their fire. Leaving Kerink standing at the front of the inn with her arms crossed. The Mid-tierman leader of the group looked over and said "Akma, I don''t suppose you know why our hosts have decided to kill us allin our sleep?" Akma said "Low-tierman Zackery Taylor has made the decision to rescue finalist Bayei from being turned into fuel for a Dirske golem. His party has killed five guardsmen, and maimed nine more when they broke through the checkpoint." "What could have possessed him to do that? Doesn''t he know that relations have disintegrated because of his actions?" "He could have saved her because of her creative mind, the assets she might someday bring to Akamdouric''s army or maybe it was because she turned on her sex appeal asmuch as she could. After all, they are mating as we speak." Kerink sighed "Terrific. That boy is on shit detail for a mission after this is over." "Noted." The Dirske attackers watched from afar as Kerink stood unharmed in annoyed defiance of their heat weapons, thathad been concentrated enough to melt rock. The other members of the interdimensional expedition filed in behind her, each one wide awake and ready for action. Sheused herDeuterium Energy Emitter skill and white flames appearedon the tips of her fingers like a blow torch. She reached down into the rock floor below, then pierced mineral surface and pulled out a chunk with exagerated ease. Holding it up for the Dirske to see, she crushed it inher fist and threw the powder at the barrier between them. Using a small application of herExtreme Metabolic Growth skill on her throat,Kerink''s voice boomed throughout the chamber so that all fifty Dirske could hear "Bring Grand Lord Ilvan Vakardrea to this placeright now. He has some explaining to do." None of them moved. "Don''t try my patience." In less than a second she formed a large ball of energy in her hand, it''s white light shone throughoutthe cavern. Her loud voice echoes for all of them to hear "If I send this thing downwards then it''s going to put a two meter wide hole in a tectonic plate, and all that pressurized magma is only going to have one place to go." Kerink knew she was being over the top with her intimidation tactics, butthreatening to unleash a torrent of lava upon the mountain city seemed to be the best way to get the meeting on short notice. One of the Dirske attackers approached Kerink, unsuccessfully hiding his fear as he held up a small device with a live video of Vakardrea''s face. Kerink said "I was expecting you to come in person." "There is no reason to expose myself to a group of murdererswhen this is a feasible method of communication." Perplexed, Kerink said "Murderers? My communication network tells me that he acted alone." A sneer crossed Vakardrea''s face "The sins of a single individual also belongs to the group that they are a part of. His actions are also yours, making you murderers as well. Your grouphas attacked both my people and my culture in taking the finalist Bayei." Kerink said "You know that we offered several viable alternatives to your problem with the denizens of the lowlands during negotiations." "And still you continue to attack my culture. The festival has been tradition for over one thousand years. It is our heritage and an honor to participate in." Kerink frowned at the label that the Dirske had given to murder. But calling him out on why the Bayei the finalist chose to flee her honorable position would serve no purpose. She waved the negotiators forward and talks began again. 22. First to discover Zack woke up with Bayei still sleeping on his chest. He laidhis head back with a smile in rememberence of the night before. Damndid this womanknows how to squeeze. He''d been with plenty of nerdy fangirls in the past, but none of them could put on so much pressure. ''Captain Kirk I could totally adopt your lifestyle'' He stroked her hair in order to gently wake her. Instantly she woke up, took a sharp breath and restrapped her clothes together. Zack reached out to squeeze her ass but only got his handsmacked away. "Ow! What was that for?" he said as his wrist momentarily stung. Bayei stoically said "I did not give you free reign with my body." and climbed out of their bed between the two leaves. "Okay." then he got up ''So she used me?Well...I suppose that''s not something to be madabout.'' The dew of the morning made the air crisp and Bayei closed her eyes as she breathed in deeply "I''ve never breathed in air so fresh before." Zack frowned in thought. The Dirske were packed into their mountain cities, fearfully knowing that they aren''t the apex predators of the world. Zack could only hope that they wouldn''t run into any of the reasons why. Bayei said "My foot is stuck." Zack did a double check on the puddle she had stepped into and saw that it was a bit too blue to be morning dew. "Take off your boot. Sometimes plants that make adhesivesare known to be carnivorous." Bayeiunlaced her foot and backed up "Now what? We can''t go forward this way. "Then we will have to go down" and so they descended through the levels of foliage, the light growing dimmer until their feet hit the dirt at the bottom of the jungle. Zack made his claws glow using a partial activation of Hroyd''sEther Swipe skill, the green light illuminating a ten foot area around them. Then he cautiously peeled back a leafy membrane that barred the way. Anything can have a stinger. But as he looked into the new area, he found that the specimens of this level had the ability to create their own luminescance much like the sea creatures of the deep on Earth. Pink ferns were scattered across the floor. As he approachedthey parted in the same waya mouth would, revealing a crimsonred interior.A few latched onto Zack''s pant leggings as he passed but they weren''t strong enough to hold him. Yellow and blue flowers with hundreds of thin petals bloomed out of the bottom of the trees. Green vines covered in spines hung sporadically around the clearing, letting off a faint bioluminescant light. A tannish rat-like crature peered its head up out of the ferns as they passed, it spun it''s head a full 360 degrees looking at them with every one of it''s eyes thatcovered every side of it''s head. As they made their way, a red worm spewed a gross looking squiggly appendage out of it''s mouth andrapell itself down a tree. Zack suddenly held up his hand to stop then moved in the direction of the noise he heard "Something very large is breathing about two hundred feet in that direction." he peeled back a wall of white spiney vines. Bayei asked "Don''t you think it might try to eat us?" "It won''t be able to get through this dense underbrush even if it does spot us." All they could see from their position so far away was a few rolls of tannish flesh, but Zack estimated it to be twice the size of an elephant. Then it reared it''s eyeless head, that was more of a snout with crooked teeth than anything. It shot out a red tongue like appendage out of it''s mouth. It traveled for hundreds of feet before being pulled back. In the distance an animal screeched in alarm. They caught a glimpse of a white furry creatureenter it''s maw and a loud crunch came from it as it instantly crushed whatever prey it had snatchedfrom hundreds of feet away. Bayei said "I know what it is, and we need to get out of here." Zack nodded as they backed away. After a few minutes of getting deeper into the jungle, Bayei said "That was an adolescent terror worm. The guardsmen used to be snatched away by the adult versions of thebeasts regularly. Now they have anchor drill devices on them at all times when they go outside the mountain." Zack asked "Do you think it''s related to that red worm we saw repelling downthat tree?" "If it is then the infant form of the species is a thousand times smaller than the adult version." They made their way through the jungle, whisperingso that any predators would not hear them. But the Akma network did pass messages between them. Bayeiasked "What is your world like?" Zack hung his head "My world has so many problems that at one point in my life I was screaming at the top of my lungs over it because nobody else could see it. The technology level has stagnated. We have been burning coal and oil for two hundred years even though there are extremely better alternatives. The people are primitive savages living in a modern world, actually that''s not fair to the savage, because at least they do something toadvance themselves. Very few like myself have discovered the joy of learning." Bayei said "Aren''t you being just a bit harsh on them? I mean there''s many different types of people and they''re all going to live their lives differently." "That doesn''t mean they have the right to throw awaythe gift of intelligence by smoking drugs that contain mercury." Bayei asked "Did you know someone who destroyed their life in that way?" "No." "Then why are you mad about it?" "Because whenever I see injustice, evil or just a general wrongness in the world. It eats away at me, and all I can really do is look away by diving head first into a piece of fiction due to my own powerlessness. At least, that''s how I was before Akmadouric''s arrival." Bayei let out a short laugh"Is that why you chose to save me? Because you have some insane desire to fix all wrongs." "That''s not the only reason why I did it." Bayei waited for him to elaborate a bit moreas they walked but when he didn''t she stopped after thinking for a bit. Zackalso stopped and turned to look at her"Something the matter?" "It''s nothing. I guess I was just deluding myself that there was some kind of paradise beyond that portal." then continued walking. "Somewhere there is a paradise. Maybe someday I''ll find it. Or maybe I''ll create one." then he went after her Five minutes later Zack stopped and said "Hroyd has discovered a disturbance in the spiritual ether." A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation."Meaning?" Zack dashed ahead "There''s an Eidolan ahead and it sounds like there''s a struggle" The first thing they saw when they entered the fighting grounds was a blackpredator encircling ableeding emerald green Eidolan. Clear blood still flowing from it''s many wounds. It''s flat reptilianhead barely lifting off the ground as it lost it''s strength.Attached to the head were several green tentacles crackling with electricity. Zack jumped up on a branch and pounced on the black predator, as he did so he noted Hroyd''s approval through their link. His claws sank into it''s neck. It howled and doveit''s head forward. Throwing Zack off it''s back hard. He rolled twice and managed to get his feet planted on the ground. He looked up to see a very pissed looking creature with a rat face and bear''s body charging at him. Four silver knives flew into the rat-bears back and a confused Zack heard a sizzling sound. Four consecutive explosions boomed and chunks of the creature blew in every direction but it was still mostly intact. It''s blood showering Zack. Finding himself to be drenched he shook himself "I wasn''t told the Dirske had gunpowder" Bayei jumped down and said "It has a name?" Zack blinked and looked at her for three seconds before saying flatly "You figured out how to make gunpowder by yourself." "Is it really that big of a deal? It''s nothing compared to the weapons based onTaelon energy." "Oh not really. It was just the basis of all military weaponryon my world for several hundredyears." then he turned to the injured Eidolan on the ground. The unknown Eidolan was a bright emerald green with the head of a lizardbut that was where any semblance of a normal creature ended. It''s body, or bodies consisted of almost a hundred tendrils that were twelve feet long, floating in the airlike weightless hair. The occasional blue sparkedarced offit''stendrils and a webbing could be faintly seen within the center mass. The green creature shimmered slightly as it tried to enter the spiritual ether, but Hroyd was already on the other side creating disturbances so itcouldn''t cross over. Zack slowly reached his hand towards the bleeding green Eidolan and it hissed at him. He pulled his hand back momentarily and then inched it forward once more until he touched it. Akma connected the emereld green Eidolan to the network. He couldn''t communicate with the creature using language. So instead he sentthe meanings of safety and revival over their newly formed link. After a minute of convincing it understood the concepts.Eventually acceptingthe contract.
Eidolan Symbiosis evolved into Eidolan Simbiosis: Hroyd, Eidolan Symbiosis:???
???
Description: This eidolan uses magnetic fields within the atmosphere to float through the air. It''s main food source is iron and other various metals, which it turns to rust and expels through it''s skin. It is also capable of using loud sounds to scare away other predators.
Skills gained during symbiosis: Magnetic attractionand repulsion, enhanced voice volume
Magnetic Attraction and repulsion
Description: This ability allows the user to attract or push away metallic objects to them. If the metallic object in question has larger mass than the user, the user may attract or push themselves towards or away from it.
Willpower cost: 22 per hour Requires: Eidolan Symbiosis: ???
Enhanced voice volume
Description: This skill gives the user the ability to loud soundsout of their mouth
Willpower cost: 5 per sound burst Requires: Eidolan Symbiosis: ???
Zack asked "How come it has these question marks where it''s name should be?" Akma said "It''s kind has never been given a name before. Since you are the first sentient to ever discover it. Naming rights fall to you." "I''ve never named anything, not even a pet." it was a creature unlike anything he had ever seen in real life and fantasy creatures always had...exuberant names "Well it has the head of a lizard and tentacles like an octopus, althoughit has no suckers so...Lizoctopus? No, I really don''t think I''ll be going with the pokemon method." After giving it some thought he decided on how he was going to go about the process "Akma, can you bring up a random number generator? And give the minimum value of one and the maximum value of twenty six. Assign numbers one is ''A'', two is ''B'', etcetera." This had to be the way thatall these fantasy franchises named their monsters. Tarasque, Jotunn, Bulette? Clearly they picked letters out of a hat. Not that Zack''s method was any more artful. The namethat came up was ''Poiuaraud'', but that sounded horrible so he modified it a little to get the much better sounding name ''Poiraud''. And henceforth, the newly discovered eidolan species was named.
??? has been changed to Poiraud
Zack said "Now we got the name for the species but what about it''s name?" "Well it is kinda cute in a monstrous sort of way. So how about Lulu?" Zack looked over at her with half lidded eyes. She shrugged "I name my automatonsall the time." The Poiraud let out three high bayings and two more smaller ones came out. Zack said "We got ourselves a family of three. Ah, Lulu here tells me that they are all sisters." "What about their names?" He chose to be lazy "Lili and Lala." then he forms contracts with them as well. The eldest Poiraud reentered the spiritual ether, giving Zack the ability to useEidolan Symbiosis: Poiraud for the first time. Small green tentacles formed on every inch of his skin from his neck down. Hiseyebrows, jawline, lips, and nose grew green ridges. Zack said "This might take some getting used to. Especially with this mild electrical current running through me." his body wouldn''t stop twitching slightly. Then he tried using theMagnetic attraction and repulsion ability. Waves of magnetism appeared all around him and he began to float in the air. Bayei stared at the whole process "You can transform and fly? I thought you were human. What kind of a creature are you?" "I am human, but I''m also a member of Akmadouric''s army. Now lets go." he instructed the other two Poirauds to carry Bayei. One flew in between her legs while the other used it''s magnetic powers to carry her by her mechanical backpack. Zack veered off to the sideas he learned to fly, but after a few minutes of practice hegot the hang of it. And so they began to fly towards the portal. 23. Dragon Slayer Zack flew unassisted. Without any machine or tool to aid his ascent. The wind stung his eyes until a pair of clear eyelids slid over them. Then he started to go faster and his body began to rotate. Until he lost control completely and started to fall. He reoriented himself and rose again. Flying using magnetic waves was difficult. They weren¡¯t currents like the waves of the sea, but they shifted and twisted at times. He also found that he could lock on to large masses of metal within the mountains and attract himself towards them, or repell himself away from them as needed. Bayei sat on her Poiraud and held on for dear life, screaming her head off. Zack yelled out ¡°You can open your eyes now!¡± She peered out of one eye slowly, then started screaming again. First with terror but then it turned to thrill ¡°WAHOOO!¡± They ascended through the cloud layer and it¡¯s dampness soaked them. He flew just a little bit closer to Bayei to get a better look at her form but then dropped before she noticed ¡®Must fight perverted tendencies.¡¯ They ascended over the mountaintops. Admiring the scenery as they passed the chiseled rock faces and pillowy clouds. A wild Orkrik passed them but paid them no mind. After an hour of traveling, in the distance they could see the blue portal. The Poirauds squealed in alarm until Zack sent the word ¡®Safety¡¯ across their link. Something made Zack look up, feeling a sense that something dangerous was coming. A silver mass rapidly descended towardsthem from above, it¡¯s flaming wings burning at it¡¯s sides. ¡®DIVE!¡¯ he commanded the Poirauds just as he recognized the dragon golem. The metal dragon¡¯s mouth erupted in flames as it dove at a much faster rate. Zack activated his Magnetic Attractionability to accelerate himself into the golem¡¯s neck. His kick sent the metallic monser careening to the side, but didn¡¯t even leave a dent in the metal. Fire erupted from it¡¯s mouth in an arc as it¡¯s long neck twisted away, failing to incinerate Bayei and the Poirauds like it had intended. It rolled and lazily slashed at Zack with it¡¯s talons. He pushed himself away from it using Magnetic Repulsionand went ten feet in a second. The dragon looked at him with it¡¯s artificial orange eye, then continued it¡¯s pursuit of Bayei. ¡±Don¡¯t ignore me!¡± Zack yelled, nothing pissed him off more. But then again what could he do to it? Zack mentally went through his abilities and options. He couldn¡¯t use Hroyd¡¯s claws while in Poiraud form and none of the abilities currently equipped can stop it or¡­slow it down? Zack focused half of his one inch magnetic tendrils on a large piece of metal within the nearby mountain and the other half on the dragon golem. Then pulled on both as hard as he could. Nearly tearing himself apart like he was the victim of an ancient execution method. The flying golem barely slowed and continued it¡¯s relentless pursuit of Bayei. The green one inch tentacles that covered his body crackled, shocking him into irritation. Despite his efforts the dragon still got in range to unleash it¡¯s fiery breath. The Poiraud carrying Bayei by her backpack screeched and entered the spiritual ether to save herself, leaving the Poiraud she was mounting to slowly land on the mountaintop below. Zack let go of his hold on the mountain and flew towards the metal dragon like a bullet. ¡®What do I do? What do I do?¡¯ Suppressing the panic within him he said¡±Okay I have really great gap closing and escape mechanics for this fight. But how do I damage it?¡± falling back on gamer terms in order to distract himself from the fact that this is a real live battle. His coach¡¯s words came back to him ¡®Study your opponent.¡¯Okay. It has big claws, big teeth, a stupidly huge flame breath attack, flaming wings¡­perfect. Zack smiled and flew directly towards it, landing on it¡¯s back as it mindlessly pursued it¡¯s target. Zack said with an evil grin ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t have ignored me.¡± then magnetized the wings, locking them in an upright position and preventing them from flapping for lift. Then used Magnetic Attractionto pull himself and the golem towards the metal vein within the mountain directly below. Driving it downwards into the rock. He repelled himself away at the last moment, avoiding two broken legs. The impact of three ton metal golem shook the mountain and rubble flew in every direction. A dust cloud arose and a crack opened up in the side of the mountain. Zack floated in the air above and folded his arms in front of him ¡°You made a tactical error. Your target wasn¡¯t going anywhere after you got rid of it¡¯s transportation. The decision to ignore the threat at that point cost you everything.¡± Then he paused ¡®Why am I floating up here like Magneto, lecturing the corpse of a metal dragon on tactics like I¡¯d just beaten a teammate!? Old habits die hard I suppose. Not that what the Poirauds give me even compares to Magneto¡¯s. All I can really do is push and pull on a metallic object, I don¡¯t nearly have such fine control as to do something like rip the guns out of the hands of an entire police force and point them at their owners.¡¯ A roar interrupted his thoughts. The dust cloud cleared with a wave of the dragon golem¡¯s wings, it¡¯s metal armor was in pieces and one of it¡¯s orange glowing eyes had beensplit in half. ¡®Note to self. Always confirm the kill.¡¯ It¡¯s neck craned to look straight up at him and it¡¯s throat glowed orange, then it glowed red. At the last second of the eruption it pointed it in Bayei¡¯s direction. Zack paled and reacted without thinking. He used Magnetic Attractionto drive his foot into the top of it''s head. Red flames erupted at a point blank range ofthe ground, spreading forty feet in every direction. Tongues of flame surrounded him andthe tips of every one of the green tentacles covering Zack¡¯s skin. He immediately repulsed himself out of there. ¡®It¡¯s bigger than it was when it was in the air. Why?¡¯He summoned the eldest Poiraud Lulu and Lili left Bayei to join him in the assault against the metal fire-breathing dragon ¡®It¡¯s wings are no longer flaming, so it has more energy for it¡¯s breath attack.¡¯ A plan entered his mind, that was just too crazy not to try. He sent the Poirauds to fly around the dragon. Then ordered them to use Enhanced Voiceto bellow in a low tone as loud as they could whenever the dragon uses it¡¯s fire breath.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The Poirauds tore into the dragon, ripping loose plates away. The golem¡¯s throat glowed again and it let loose another fiery inferno, spreading into a cone this time instead of the stream like it was shooting while it was in the air. The Poirauds did as instructed and Zack used his own Enhanced Voiceto add to the waves of sound. ¡®Damn it not even a flicker¡¯ The golem bounded towards Bayei, who had fled to the edge of the cliff. Zack joined the Poirauds in ripping pieces of the dragon golem away and using Magnetic Repulsionto turn the plates into projectiles. And still it continued it¡¯s charge towards Bayei. It used it¡¯s fire breath again and there was no room for her to escape. The Poirauds used their sonic blasts and the flames wavered slightly, but not nearly enough. She disappeared in the inferno. Zack would have screamed were it not for the blue screen that popped up
Bayei''s Status: Alive
Location: Climbing down the cliff side.
¡®Thank you Akma¡¯ The dragon, thinking that it had accomplished it¡¯s goal, turned to Zack, each glaring at one another in hatred. The smaller Poiraud Lili didn''t see thetalon coming as shetried to rip off a wing, gettingsplit in half before she could reenter the spiritual ether. The eldest Poiraud Lulu hissed and magnetic energy crackled along her tentacles, redoubling her efforts out of a desire for vengeance. She ripped off a piece of it¡¯s chest and the golem¡¯s core was exposed but. Zack sent a message to her, ordering her to help him carry Bayei so they could flee, but she was unresponsive in her rage. She continued to tear away chunks until the dragon¡¯s teeth entered her skull. Zack took a deep breath ¡®Moment of truth!¡¯ the dragon turned on him with it¡¯s throat glowing. Zack charged and the tactician in him screamed to run away, but he did have faith in the science of his next action. Sound cannons are routinely used to fight forest fires back on Earth. Firefighters just turn them on and all fire within twenty feet of them instantly blinks out. So if a person had the right tone, would it not work against a Taelon flame blast as well? He took a step and the dragon opened it¡¯s mouth. He took another step and another. The flames launched towards him and he let loose a bellow at exactly the right tone. If it hadn¡¯t of worked Zack would have repulsed himself away, but it cleared the center of the flames. And he attracted himselfdown the path as he yelled in a low tone, carefully keeping his pitch steady. It was time to go for the kill. The flames ceased and the jaws descended. Zack just smiled and summoned Hroyd within three feet of the golem¡¯s core, then repulsed himself out of harms way. The Kulabv warrior still had numerous broken bones but he had managed to reform his spine from the fall. His clawed hand reached into the golem¡¯s chest and cut away the important looking tubes and wires. Making the golemlifeless, and retreating back into the spiritual ether. Zack couldn¡¯t help but think as he watched it¡¯s remaining orange eye grow dim ¡®Dragon golem used flame breath. Zack used sonic blast. It¡¯s super effective!¡¯ Then he looked over at the floating heads of his Eidolans around him ¡°Gotta catch em all.¡± both of them looking at him with disbelieving eyes. Bayei climbed up and asked incredulously ¡°What did you do?¡± Zack smiled, he was very proud of himself ¡°Nikola Tesla once said that if you wish to understand the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration. So I found the right tone to vibrate the air that would disrupt the flames. It¡¯s the same thing as disrupting a candle¡¯s flame by blowing it out.¡± Bewildered Bayei said ¡°Sound beats Taelon flame blasts?¡± ¡°A very specific tone of sound, yes.¡± ¡°There is so much I want to learn from your people.¡± A thought struck Zack ¡°How come you don¡¯t already know this already? Your people made their own portal.¡± ¡±The lords of the Dirske have decreed that the undesirable members of society are barred from public education.¡± ¡±You don¡¯t even have a library?¡± ¡±What¡¯s a library?¡± Zack shook his head in disgust ¡°Never mind. I guess we¡¯re stuck here until my last Poiraud recovers from her burns¡±
Ilvan Vakardrea scowled as he resolutely climbed towards the most secure location in the entire mountain city. The visitors from Akmadouric¡¯s army had betrayed his trust by disrupting the festival of golems. Worse, they were interfering with Lords agenda of cleansing the planet of violet hairs. A hundred years ago there was a rebellion. A mountain city on the northern end of the world, filled with predominately violet hairs, dared to go against the time honored traditions of the Dirske. They taught their lowest caste how to harvest red flame so they could create and use Taelon energy, a secret kept by the top thirty percent of the population. They refused to send any of their metallokinesis users for the creation of golems, saying they were researching better methods of defense. And finally, their now nameless lord had withdrawn his mountain city from the alliance. In response the alliance had sealed up the break away mountain city using a carbon based foam that hardened into an uncuttable, flame resistant material. Cutting off all oxygen supply and sunlight. To this day it was their tomb. Only the Lords of the Dirske knew of it, as the official history had been changed to suit their needs. Leaving the common people to simply think that one of the mountain cities got overtaken by the denizens from below. Yet there was still a debt to be paid. The crimes of a group belonged to every single individual within it. All of the violet hairs were guilty of rebelling against the Lords of the Dirske. For that the punishment was to be cleansed. Admittedly it was a bit extreme, but treason is the highest of crimes. And now Akmadouric¡¯s minions had interfered with the cleansing process. There were only a few violet hairs left in the world. To the best of Ilvan¡¯s knowledge, Bayei the violet hair who had been exiled from her own family, could very well be the last. Ilvan Vakardrea entered the corridor to the facility flanked by two guards behind him. He pressed his thumbprint into the pad and passed through to a room full of technicians. Each one sat before a computer of the very latest state of the art design. Some even having CPU¡¯s capable of reaching 800 megahertz and hard drives capable of storing 32 gigabytes of data! A marked improvement of the 650 megahertz and 16 gigabytes that had been considered the state of the art eight years prior. He looked at the portal creation device that his people had made. The eight foot tall metal disc pulsated orange with Taelon energy. It¡¯s circuitry glowing along it¡¯s outer edges. At the center Ilvan could only imagine the hole that led to another dimension, since it was too small for the naked eye to see. The Grand Lord said ¡±Open the portal just enough for communication. I wish to open up a dialogue with this Ulgroth.¡± The technicians spent an hour pressing their buttons and pulling on their levers, eventually a signal got through. He spoke across dimensions ¡°I am the Grand Lord of the Dirske, Ilvan Vakardrea. I wish to establish diplomatic relations with the¡­Deity Ulgroth. My dimension has been invaded by an enemy I have no power to defeat. Akmadouric has sent his minions here to threaten my peoples way of life. I ask for you to be the third party in negotiations and that you send a representative.¡± The only thing that came back was static. ¡°Increase the size of the portal.¡± The technicians worked for several minutes. Then he spoke again ¡°I am...¡± A black line shot out of the portal at an impossible speed. Twisting in the air until it suddenly stopped. The humanoid was thin, impossibly thin. Looking no different than a child¡¯s stick figure drawing. And it was black, impossibly black like it had been made of ink. A raspy slow grating voice croaked out ¡°Maaake it stooop.¡± then the area around it turned gray, as if it sapped the color from the world. 24. Make it stop Kerink blew a hole in the ceiling above, giving her party a means of escape and the mountain city a new vertical shaft. The slime wrapped zirself around the other low-tierman and made a long appendage out of zirself to serve as a rope. She took it and jumped, using her barrierskill as stepping stones. A few of the low-tierman capable of flight followed her but most she had to carry. Negotiations had gone to hell. The only thing left to be done was for Akmadouric to wrest dominion away from the Dirske lords. Which would be a stupid waste of willpower that could be better spent elsewhere. Very rarely had she met someone so unreasonable as the Dirske Grand Lord, it was a sign of stupidity. Handing Zackary Taylor and Bayei over to the Dirske lords was out of the question. The members of Akmadouric¡¯s army couldn¡¯t betray one another even if Zack had decided to take up his own personal mission which conflicted with the primary one they had been sent here for. But her mandatory refusal only sparked more rage out of the borderline insane Dirske Grand lord, making negotiations that much more impossible. She really hated the high and mighty types. And she really hated her job. Being a mid-tierman in command of a bunch of low-tierman who wouldn¡¯t do anything of great impact for at least a few decades. Although there were few exceptions thanks to a certain skill
Allied Luck boon
Description: Alter the thread of fate for the allies around you so that they have a higher chance of positive outcomes.
Willpower cost: 1,000 per minute Requires: Technique level expert
It was tiresome. Passively casting the skill at all times so that the currently worthless low-tierman might someday encounter something that reacts with their physiology in such a way that they gain superpowers. In her years as a Mid-tierman protecting low-tierman, she had had many underlings go through such incidents. Like the rock golem that fell into some strange looking yellow magma and became a magma golem, advancing to the elite low-tierman rank. Or the spirit that had it¡¯s bonds to the mortal coil ripped apart by a blue dwarf star¡¯s solar flare yet had somehow used his willpower to keep himself together. Becoming an elemental, a being of pure energy in the process and advancing all the way up to initiate high-tierman. Of course, most of the time they just died horribly and had to pay the favor costs needed for an additional body, but such is the process of learning to reforge bodies into living weapons and adding available abilities to the skill store. Although willpower based transformations are barely understood even among deities. After traversing a third of the distance jumping from stepping stone to stepping stone, she felt something ominous within the thread of fate. Three hundred miles away Kerink¡¯s second set of eyes swiveled around and pierced solid matter to view the interdimensional activity. Then the blood drained from her face¡°What in the name of the AllGod is that doing here!?¡± It was an avatar of an idea. A being that had fixated on a single thought, and become the very physical embodiment of it. It¡¯s black stick figure body moved through the grayness of it¡¯s aura while everything else around it went perfectly still. But curiously enough, it looked like it was afraid. And not just afraid, but terrified of something.
Enemy skill analyzed
Make it stop
Description: Releases an ever expanding aura that makes all types of movement impossible.
Threat level: Extremely high Requirements: Strict and unknown.
How is it extremely high? Oh no. Anyone caught within that gray aura would have all of their bodily processes cease. Cells wouldn¡¯t be able to deliver energy to where they needed to go even if it was only micrometer away. For most species it would be an instantaneous and painless death. ¡®But I can still see it. Why? Because light can still travel though it.¡¯ Kerink formed a deuterim ball between her hands. Then increased it¡¯s luminosity until she directed a laser beam into the mountain city. It cut into the rock and stopped right at the edge of the aura without going any further. ¡®Why didn¡¯t that work?¡¯ Kerink hesitated for a moment. Once the high-tierman reinforcements arrived they would dissect the ability but that would take time. Which Ulgroth would then use to flood his units into this newly contested dimension. She didn¡¯t feel like she had any other choice. Above her second set of eyes, a third set cracked opened and activated a skill she had never used before.
Origins reveal
Description: Delve into a being¡¯s most defining moment.
Requires: Eyes of Knowing
Her only chance of beating such a thing was to go into it¡¯s memories and use willpower to alter it¡¯s perspective, causing the foe to lose the ability.
Anaya Sood walked with her mother hand in hand amid a crowd of marching people. Some wore brightly colored fabric of every color, but most wore white homespun cloth which only covered their privates. Many people carried signs with words like ¡®Independence for India¡¯ and other signs showed a man in spectacles with the name ¡®Gandhi¡¯over his head. ¡®Humans.¡¯Kerink noted. The five year old girl had no idea why all these people were out walking such a long distance. But mother had told her that it would make things better somehow, she really wanted to start eating more than one meal a day. So she walked as long as she could, taking two steps for every one of the adults. Until she could walk no more and had to be carried the rest of the way. The crowd of people stopped at the market square. Normally the area was filled with vendors stalls, but now it was empty. All the people who had been walking started to fill the square. Anaya just tugged on her mother¡¯s arm and held out her hand. Then ate the piece of bread she was given. ¡°Mom can we go home now?¡± "No sweety, this is important.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The little girl¡¯s obedience earned her a kiss on the cheek. The people in the crowd marched around in a circle waving their signs in the air for an hour, then the rhythmic clacks of boots drew everyone¡¯s attention. Men with a much lighter skin tone marched in unison. They looked so much different than all of the brown people the brown people Anaya had seen all her life. They all wore the exact same tan clothes, which blended into the environment around them. On their heads were bowl-like green hats that seemed to be solid, instead of being made out of fabric. The newcomers marched in a two lines, to the left and right. A man appeared at the center of them. His clothes had funny looking gold shoulder pads and his green solid hat had a star on it¡¯s center. An old man asked ¡°Why are the British soldiers here?¡± The man in the middle didn¡¯t quite glare at the huge crowd of half-naked Indians that populated the market square, but there was a hardness in his eyes as he shouted ¡°READY¡± the soldiers stood at attention with their guns at their side.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The entire crowd tensed in fear. ¡°AIM¡± They pointed their guns at the protesters. Someone off to Anaya¡¯s right said ¡°They wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°FIRE!¡± As one all of the rifleman¡¯s guns cracked and flashes of fire came out of their tips. Anaya watched tiny streaks fly really really fast into the adults around her. She had gotten scratched by a cat once before and she¡¯d wailed for a whole ten minutes, but the amount of blood then didn¡¯t even compare to the amount of blood that sprayed. Everyone ran in a panic, bottlenecking the two exits. Anaya¡¯s mother grabbed her and dragged her off her feat. More cracks. More blood. People started climbing the walls. Anaya and her mother made it out of the area that was under fire to join the people trying to get out of one of the exits. The evil man in the tan uniform called out ¡°Turn, thirty degrees left!¡± and the riflemen began shooting into where the crowd was thickest. Blood sprayed into Anaya¡¯s face as the hand that had been gripping her¡¯s went limp. She wiped her face off and opened her eyes to see her mother lying on the ground, looking up at her witheerie unmoving eyes, blood leaking out of her skull into a red puddle. ¡°Mommy. Momma. Wake up. Don¡¯t sleep.¡± she shook her mother, but she just continued to stare with lifeless eyes. Anaya thought ¡®Death. This is what it is.¡¯ she sat that amid the chaos. More blood splattering all over her but still she didn¡¯t move. There would be no more bedtime stories. No kisses. No hugs. No more love. Mother was gone. ¡°This...this emptiness. Make it stop.¡± tears and snot ran down her face, then she screamed ¡°MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT ST-¡± Through the din of the firearms and the pain of her mother dying, her mind registered an intense physical pain in her chest for just a moment. Then it was gone and all went black. ¡°MAKE IT STOP! MAKE it¡­¡± her voice trailed off as she felt a presence above her and quickly she looked up. Kerink didn¡¯t pull out fast enough and she saw the true form of Ulgroth without any kind of mental protection. Her willpower was nowhere near enough to contend with the dark deity¡¯s in the avatar¡¯s most defining moment.
Galroop the slime carried the rest of the low-tierman within zirself as Kerink bounded towards the portal. That wasn¡¯t zir real name, it was just the only sound that ze had learned how to make by creating an air pocket within zirself. Zir real name consisted of a series of flashing lights which he could create within himself using chemical reactions. Green, gold, red, silver, blue, green to be exact. The entire language of zir species was light based. No sound. If it weren¡¯t for the Akma network¡¯s translations, ze wouldn¡¯t even be able to communicate with most of the personal of Akmadouric¡¯s army. Light travels faster than sound, therefore light based communication is better. Why couldn''t they all learn how to communicate in zir species''style of language? It is superior. A jerk on the appendage Kerink was holding interrupted him from his musings. She turned around and stared at the mountain they had come from. From below they watched her transform. Thick dark violet tentacles emerged out of Kerink¡¯s six eyes. Her orange skin turned black and her teeth were pushed outwards as they grew longer. Then more violet tentacles grew out of her skull and eyes opened out of all of them. Then a blue screen appeared above her head
Corrupted Kerink (Disconnected)
threat level: high
Disconnected. Akmadouric had split her consciousness apart in order to save her from getting completely corrupted. And what was left within her secondary body was about to kill all of the low-tierman that she had been in command of. Galroop cut the line. Leaving a small part of himself to evaporate in Kerink¡¯s hand. Ze and the rest of the lowtier-man fell onto the mountain below. Kerink dropped near them, landing on all fours and cracking the mountainside with the impact. Spikes grew out of her spine. Her rib bones tore out of her back and grew long and sharp. Then she opened her mouth and let loose a white deuteriam blast which cut through the flying low-tierman who were fleeing. The other low-tierman of their group left the insides of the slime and spread out. Kerink charged at a speed barely perceptible for most of the low-tierman there. She passed them by and the blades on her back cut apart three of them. Then dug her claws into the rock and used her Barrierto pivot and change direction at a sharp angle. Cutting into more low-tierman. Her path took her to Galroop and she cut into the multi-colored balls within zir ¡®You weren¡¯t paying attention during the briefing, and therefore you don¡¯t know much about my physiology. Those are just unimportant chemical pockets.¡¯ Kerink blew past zir and turned upon a low-tierman that had diamonds covering his skin. He erected his own Barrierjust before Kerink hit him with a deuteriam clad kick that turned him into shimmering rubble. ¡®No wonder she expressed such contempt for low-tierman. We are helpless against her. The gap in power is too great.¡¯ One of the psychic diplomats stood up out of his hiding place in a crevice next to zir and said ¡°If you are going to attempt anything, do it now.¡± His pink eye stalks then began to twitch. Galroop frantically asked ¡°What are you¡­¡± then ze realized he was going to do the only thing a psychic could do. A mind invasion. And he was doing it knowing that the cost was to become corrupted, but Kerink would be in a vulnerable state for the next several seconds. The mid-tierman shook and Galroop rolled across the distance as fast as he could. Then corrupted Kerink opened her mouth and shot out a white deuteriam blast in zir direction, but she remained standing in one place. Numerous deuteriam blasts burned away at Galroop¡¯s gel body. Ze morphed zir form out of the way of her attacks, mitigating the damage. One beam went through a hole in zir body without touching anything. A sizable chunk of zir turned to vapor as ze took a direct hit. Galroop sprung into the air and landed on the corrupted mid-tierman. Then began to crawl around her body. In this position ze would take out most targets by either strangling, suffocating or melting with acid but none of those would work against Kerink. Deuteriam blasts burned away zir slimey amorphous body as ze moved around her. Until ze got into position directly opposite of the Make It Stopaura. Corrupted Kerink charged a deuteriam blast in a ball to burn away more of zir. Which was exactly what ze wanted. Galroop arranged the chemicals within zirself to react specifically with deuteriam energy. The explosion blew a chunk out of the mountain and part of it sloped off into the lowlands below. Ze instantly turned to vapor and his consciousness got sent back across the Akma network for safe keeping. The corrupted mid-tierman flew into the grayness that crept towards the survivors of her onslaught. All of the remaininglow-tierman knew that they could use willpower to resist any effect. Including Make It Stop. All of them failed.
¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± Bayei said as she viewed the sunset for the first time ¡°It¡¯s even more spectacular than the paintings of it.¡± Zack thought ¡®Such wonder this woman has for even the most common things¡­damnit I¡¯ve fallen for her haven¡¯t I?¡¯ He said ¡°On my world we have looked into the stars and discovered many wondrous things. Planets that have diamonds caught in never ending sixty mile per hour winds. Planets that are still in the process of being eaten by their suns and have turned from being a sphere into an elipsoid. But I have yet to even scratch the surface of what wonders are in the multiverse.¡± Bayei looked over at the Mountain of everlasting song in the distance. Hearing it¡¯s random melodies. She stood and looked out across the landscape ¡°I¡¯m¡­feeling something that I¡¯ve never felt before.¡± ¡°What kind of feeling? Put it into words.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a longing. A desire.¡± "For what?¡± "I want¡­I want to live. Not just exist at the bottom of a vast network of dingy caves, but to truly live. I want to¡­see things that I¡¯ve never heard of before. To understand beauty¡­and¡­and learn. To meet interesting people¡­and experience things I¡¯ve never even dreamed of.¡± Zack looked over at Bayei with a smile ¡°Well maybe-¡° but suddenly paused. Seeing a gray spot on the horizon that wasn¡¯t there a minute ago. Then Akma displayed the skill description for Make It Stop. Fear crossed his face as he read the ¡®Extremely High¡¯ threat level tag ¡°We gotta go now.¡± Bayei turned around to see it, took a step forward out of curiosity then got dragged away by Zack. She climbed on his back. Zack jumped off the cliff and took flight, or tried to. But he didn¡¯t nearly have the lift needed to carry his own weight and hers. His last Poiraud hadn¡¯t yet recovered from her burns, he couldn¡¯t use her. The youngling didn¡¯t have the same pain tolerance as Hroyd. Immediately they dropped. Zack repelled himself away from the slain golem and continued to fall, until they reached the cloud layer. The trees below glistened with their sticky blue sap that they used to capture prey. Zack fought to ascend, searching through many of the metal deposits in the mountains around him, but they still fell towards the forest. And then it happened, Zack¡¯s leg got caught in the blue sap. Bayei put both legs on Zack¡¯s shoulders and inverted herself so that she could cut the top of the tree off just below his foot. Zack struggled but to no avail. He watched in horror as they grayness covered the mountain behind them and overtook them. For a moment the world around them turned still and gray. Then a blue screen appeared
You died
After a moment of disorientation, Zack saw that he was back in his storage locker which meant Akma had put him back in his true body ¡°I died?¡­.she died.¡± 25. The results of Zacks decision Iyronwin the high-tierman teleported from portal to portal. Traversing through the network of dimensions at a rate fewcould match. Getting a location for each teleport was a simple matter only because he had been through each of them countless times. The world around him changed completely with every teleport. But soon he had to slow his progress as he reached the dimensions that were less familiar to him. Currently his form was that of a humanoid, chosen specifically so he didn''t scare any of the low-tierman out of Akmadouric''s army. His eyes glowed with afierce green fromthe spiritual ether which went well with his grayish light blue skin.Universal code lined the plates of his silver armor, rejecting anything that would do him harm.And the lower half of his body was that of a dense cloud. If he wasn''t going to use his most powerful form, he may as well look good. Arriving at the''Newly Contested'' dimension, he saw part of this world was gray for some reason. Anatural occurance? He''d seen stranger. Then he read the skill description forMake It Stop. "What an annoying ability." Mostother high-tierman would have spent a bit of time to analyze the ability and come up with the perfect counter. On the other hand, Iyronwin wasn''t the type for that sort of thing. High willpower usage and brute force was more his style. Iyronwin twisted three of the rings on his right hand, summoning the pieces that would assemble into one of the greatest weapons in the multi-verse.A weapon few could wield but only he dared hold.
Erasing Staff
Weapon type:Melee
Damage: 842 unmake, 22 blunt
Description: A three meter long staff that is made out of a material that rejects and destroys the universe around it.
Willpower cost to wield: 721,000 per second Required Willpower Technique: Grandmaster
Three poles merged together the second they were summoned. And a clear staff appeared in the hand of Iyronwin. Visible only by the rippling it caused with each movement. Air rushed towards it like a spaceship being exposed to vacuum. Clear flames further distorted the space around it. Iyronwin held himself together as the weapon itself tried to erase it''s own wielder from existence. He made the clear flames gather on the ends of the staff away from his hand. Then Iyronwincharged into the Make It Stopaura, spinning the staff in front of him. There was no resistance as heploughed through the grayness that stole the color from the world all around him. And after fourminutes of searching he was upon the avatar of an idea. Up close he could see that it had pits for it''s eyes and mouth. And nothing but wispy lines where it should have had it''s muscles. Iyronwin still felt no resistance as the staff passed throughthe black stick figure''s head. But the finely tuned sensors within him registered some. Which meant that the Avatar of an idea had a very small willpower pool. The freak. With the source of the aura erased he teleported himself one hundred miles above. A short hop by hisstandards. He looked at the gray mass from above and saw that it was turning chatoic. Cracks appeared throughout the aura,appearing at random and without order. Heedless of what it had covered. Then it all began to move. The landscape stretched and bent as it was rapidly sucked into the black portalthat led to one of Ulgroth''s corrupted dimensions. Leaving only an empty space for almost a fiftymiles in every direction. Iyronwin floatedhigh in the sky and disassembled the staff. The three pieces came apart and entered the pocket dimensional rings on his fingers. Using the weapon that threatened it''s user took a lot out of him, his willpower pool had been drained by a third just from a fewminutes of using the staff. A corrupted black dreadnaught spaceship flew out of Ulgroth''s portal. Violet lines coursed through it''s black carapace. Hundreds of yellow eyes lined it''s body of theship made out of biotechnology. Tentacles with flames shooting out of the their tips flicked about on the rear of the ship in order to propel the dreadnaughtforward. It was going to be a long day.
One of the many minds of Akmadouric sat in a large room. Screens that detailed mission overviews flew overhead as he cycled and read through them. In one corner of the room were the personal files but he paid it no attention at this present time. The purpose of this one was to remember and provide information regarding the logistics of Akmadouric''s army to the hive mind cluster of the deity. His cranium was enlargened and elongated until his brain''s weight reached half a ton. He could no longer lift or move it, so it rested on a special made cushioned pedastal. Unlike the other bodies that Akmadouricused, this one''s hair was long and straight, flowing behind him like a cape. Thus giving hima much greater connection to the network. He picked up a report detailinga certain diplomatic mission that had gone awry. A very simple diplomatic mission whose aftermathhad somehow givena dimension ''Newly Contested'' status. After reacquainting himself with the chain of events. He said aloud "What an unbelievable mess"This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. For the multi-verse to have reacted like this over the saved life of a single woman. What makes this Bayei person soimportant? One of the multiverse''s greatest laws is: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. A truth,not just forphysicsbut for the threads of fate and changings of a civilization as well. He put those thoughts out of his head for now. Akmadouric brought up one of the personal files. A mid-tierman name Kerink. He clicked the current view button and the screen in front of him showed what she was doing in real time. Kerinkwas back in her true body. Tightly restrained by a metallic cloth from the top of her head to her feet. She couldn''t move a micrometer while the psychic rehabilitators siftedthrough her consciousness looking for any trace of corruption.Their hands outstretched towards Kerink''s head and eyes were shut down in deep concentration. An unpleasent process, having ones thoughts stretched, bent, picked through and upon occasion, removed when corruption was found. It was her decision, even if she had taken all but five seconds to make it when she had been given the ''extrenuating circumstances'' questionnaire. Akmadouric flipped to another screen andwatched the black portal suck in all of the matter that theMake It Stop aura had covered. Then he frowned, the bodies of the low-tierman would provide clues to Ulgroth on the locations of their home dimensions. A somewhatbad development in the war. When reportswent this badly, it was time for sweets. He telekinetically reached over to grab a slice of cheese cake, floatingit into his mouth without looking away from the reports.His other purpose was to take in taste based information so the rest of the hive mind deity bodies could spend their time doing more important things. He didn''t actually like being called ''The glutton Akmadouric'', but he did inherit the food loving part of the deity''spersonality. Just as Akma had inherited the childish aspect of the great deity. Besides all of the calories went to his head anyway. Before bringing up the current view of the Low-tierman Zackery Taylor,he first brought up his psyche profile. In short the analysis said that the man is a nihilistic narcicist who hates the world around him, so he spent his life diving headfirst into video games in order to drown out reality. He has destroyed all of his relationships aside from the ones of his profession. And even then all he did was talk about the game with his teammates. But for him to take such a risk to save the life of a woman he just met, maybethere is some kind of hope left for him. Zackstill has the ability to care about something. Akmadouric pressed the button and a real time video of Zack appeared. He was walking down the beach. The sun was setting on the horizon and behind himsome Korean vendor girlholding cheap looking necklaces. Zack said "Lady, I don''t want any." She said "You buy! You buy!" apparently those were the only words she knew in english, not that it mattered with the Akma network translations. She was likely following the tourist in unripped newclothes because he looked like he had the most money. Finally Zack snapped and turned on her"Lady, I don''t deserve to have my time wasted by a loser like you!" He pointed an accusatory finger at her "You don''t advance your mind, you don''t advance your body, you do not make the world a better place and you do not contribute to society at all. You have no special talents and no special skills. Everyday you wave around your worthless products and call out your slogans with the same repitition and mindlessness of a draft animal, and you make nothing for it. Now get out of here!" The Glutton Akmadouric would have shaken his massive head if he had been able to move it. He watched the exchange between Zack and the teenager''Apparently part of his grieving process includes laying into a pestersome street vendor.'' The little Korean teenage girl tried to argue with him for a moment but she couldn''t seem to come up with a counter to anythingto any of the points Zack hadbrought up. The girl said "Asshole" and then walked away. Zack''s anger dissipated immediately and held up a hand to stop her but she was already gone"Wait...I...fuck." A white haired Akma appeared out of his vortex in front of Zack "You can''t say that to anyone." Zack tried to do a half smile then frowned "Ya, I went a bit too far, but maybe she''ll have an existential crisis or something and try to advance herself in some way." "You''vedone nothing but play video games for half your life." "You told me before that you have a little respect for the deep strategems that gamers like myself think up. Besides, the coach also had us read books, he said itis scientifically proven to be cognitively healthy." Akmadouric said "Yes. Part of me has alittle respect for it. But not this part." "Hell if I know what that means." then he sort of fell down on the sand of the beach, looking out at the setting sun. The glutton Akmadouric watched Zack for a minute before speaking again "I am here because I thought you would like to see what the result is for the decision you made." A screen appeared in front of Zack.Bright flashes cascaded across the sky of the Dirske dimension. Forms appeared with the flashes but only for a moment. Black shapes rose into the sky and violet beams shot from them in random directions. Zack shook his head "What am I even looking at here?" "Those are the high-tierman. They do battle against those who threaten existence. The status of the Dirske dimension has been changed to ''Newly Contested'', therefore it is the hottest battlefield in the entire war at this very moment." Zack watched the video screen without making any sense of what he saw "So now what are you going to do with me?" Akmadouric paused a few moments for effect "I''m not going to strip you of your Eidolansand putthem on the market for someone else to make better use of, if that''s what you''re asking. Just go back to the island for now." Zack hugged his knees and buried his head in them. The white haired Akma cocked his head to the side and said "You''re not feeling guilty about what happened to the Dirske dimension. You are grieving for Bayei''s death." Zack shrugged "If the Dirske dimension didn''t become ''Newly Contested'' then the High-tierman would have had their battleground elsewhere. Why should I feel guilty over something that was going to happen anyway? So how much favor is it going to cost me to get Bayei revived?" "It''s not so simple. Afterlives are a tricky thing, there areas many different types as there are different types of people. And that''s even if certain uniquesouls don''t getsummoned by an interested deity." "Great." he buried his head in his knees again. "Hey Zack." "Ya?" "Do you want to go Ozone surfing with me?" Zack started laughing "Sure. Why the hell not?" 26. Ozone surfing Zackery Taylor looked out at the curvature of the Earth as the spaceship he was on sat in low orbit. The hanger bay of the carrier was filled with ancient warriors. From Samurais to Spartans, and even an Aztec Shorn one. He sat down on a bench and rested his bare feet ona golden disc with sixteen points jutting in every direction, a device that he couldn''t praise enough for it''s wondrousness.For the past month Zackhad been in numerous simulators and logging almost a hundred hoursin preparation for this moment, yet now that it had come he didn''t feel like he could go through with it just fromthe sheer insanity of it. The golden starshaped devicecalled the Celestial Disc connected to the nerves in his feet. Getting feeling from something that had never been a part of his body was creepy and unnatural. But given that Zackhad barely scratched the surface of some of the forms ofEidolan Symbiosis, he knew that he was going to have to get acquainted to the feeling. Zack stood and tested the controls. First he hovered in the air. Then ascended and descended. Rotating caused him to wobble a bit but he got it under control. Finally he tipped the Celestial Disc to the side so that it was completely vertical and his body was horizontal. He kept going with the motion until he was upside down. Blood gathered in his head, causing it to redden slightly, but it was nothing compared to standing on his head for ten minutes straight with the monks. After completingthe test and finding nothing wrong with the disc he reorianted himself and sat back on the bench. The other jumpers began to exit the hanger bay. Their Celestial Discs created a stable environmental bubble for them to survive the vacuum of space. Immediately dropping straight down after getting clear of the carrier. After a minute''s delay, Zack could see orange and gold streaks trailing across the Earth''s atmosphere. Zack was the last one to jump, the other low-tierman humans in training already havinggone ahead. He guessed that being an elite ancient warrior came with nerves of steel. The former E-sport athlete knew now that he didn''t as he slightly quivered while hovering by the edge of the hanger bay door. Akma said "Time to jump Zack. You''ve done this before in the simulations and there are plenty of safety measures in place to save you if you mess up." "There''s still a chance that all of them fail and I end up burning up in reentry." "When Ozone surfing, the Celestial Disc does 97 percent of the work. Now jump before I dropkick you out of the hanger bay." Zack''s brow scrunched "You can do that?" "Yes. But the willpower expended will come out of your favor." With lips held terse, Zack leaned forward and pushed off with his legs. Passingthrough the two foot thick barrier that kept the air inside the hanger bay. Immediately he began testing the Celestial Disc for malfunctions. Starting with things like rotations, then turning the throttle up and bringing his speed up toone percent the speed of light. Bright gold wispy emissions trailing behind him as small pieces of space debris bounced harmlessly off the low strength barrier that was installed into the device. Then he stopped as he looked straight down at the Earth from sixty kilometersabove sea level. The sun reflected off of the blue sea. White pillowy clouds rolled across the mountain ranges. Brown deserts encroached on the lush green forests. A view that only astronauts and absurdlyrich people could experience. Videos of it didn''t do it justice. Akma floated by himwhile doing the breast stroke, he pointed down and Zack nodded. Zack slowly dropped. Falling until he made contact with the top of the Earth''s atmosphere.He lurched forward as the Celestial Disc got caught up with the rotation of the ozone layer. Then he sent a signal through his feet to increase the throttle and he accelerated to the maximum speed for ozone surfing. Zack sent another signal to the disc, causing it to release a downward pulse. Dark gold lightning momentarily shone on the surface of the atmosphere and hismomentum suddenly pressed him down as he rose vertically. Below, millions of people looked up into sky to see what they thought to be an orange meteor shower. After five minutes of surfing, a singsong voice appeared out of nowhere "Rubber duckie, you''re the one. You make bath time lots of fun." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.Akma passed him on a rubber duck inner tube as he sang. Spinning around and around while tubingacross the atmosphere. Zack stared blankly at the sight and forgot what he was doing. His balance was lost for just a fraction of a second and he face planted. For a brief second his skin jumped off of him but then a white light covered his vision. He stood back in the hanger bay of the ship. A few moments of disorientation passed before he remembered that the carrier had a short range teleporter and the disc he was still standing on had a tracking device to enable it. Zack said "Akma, you like screwing around far too much." The little blue goblin just grinned widely and let out some laughter "Hehehe, you had to experiance the teleporter for yourself. The system isthe purpose of this carrier after all." With his mind going back into strategist mode, Zack said "The recall teleportor seems incredibly useful. It''s the perfect tool for a quick escape." "It doesn''t work for anything moving above a certain speed.Computers and their controllershave their limitations when it comes to tracking. In fact, the recall teleporter only works for people using Celestial Discs. Stronger signal you see." Zack raised his eyebrows "Interesting....wait, speed is everything in warfare. I was told that the vast majority of Mid-tierman go way faster than what these discs can get up to. So who would these recall teleporters be meant for? Low-tierman?" then waved his hand in a gesturetowards the other Ozone surfers. Akma smiled "Do you like math equations? What do you get when you add Lightswords and Celestial Discs?" "Space infantry." Zack couldn''t help but smile "And with the adaptive nature of those lightswords, you could have a hundred peopleturning them into shields and stack them on top of each other. Just like the Roman legion''s tortoise formation." He let out a chuckle and jumped again.
Bayei floated in the darkness. Unable to see, hear, feel, taste or smell anything. ''Did I die? Is this what it''s going to be like for me...forever? What was that gray thing?'' She had thought about death before. The best she could understand it as the complete cessation of consciousness. To perceivenothing. ''So why can I still think?''She contemplated it for several minutes without anything else to do. Then a light shown in the distance and she stared at it intently. It came towards and she started to see something of a world. Endless miles of blue sea stretched all the way to the horizon, and the waves lapped up against the white sand of the shores at her feet.The sun hung high in the sky and a cool breeze blew across her face. But then all of a sudden she felt herself get pulled away at a great speed. The world that was forming disappeared and was quickly replaced.Opening her eyes, she found herself on a metal pedastall. Awhite light shining overhead but other than that she couldn''t see anything. The entire room was kept in the dark. An incredibly strange and chopped up voice said "I have given you another chance at life. Logic dictates that your life now belongs to me." The lights came on. Revealing what looked to be several benches and computer terminals that looked more advanced than anything she had seen in the schematicsshe had managed to steal from the Dirske technicians. There were powered screw drivers plugged into the wall. A few of the other tools had blue diamond tips. The screens on the wall were made of a material that was much more clear than anythingher people made. Bayei said "Who are you? What do you want? No, screw that. What are you?" Speaking to her was a red orb fixed to the wall, flashing brighter and dimmer with every word "I am Deity Xarkris. Confusion is normal for newly acquired minions." "Minion?" Bayei blinked in thought ''That''s what Akmadouric called the diplomatic envoy he sent.'' The red orb flashed again "Your purpose is now to use your creative processes in order to invent whatever you are able." What was happening to her was far too surreal to her. Xarkris said "Failure to produce enough inventions in a timely manner will result in your termination." ''Oh shit.''Bayei''s eyes widened "I suppose that''s fair. You did give me my life back." The red orb dimmed slightly but no sound came out for several seconds, then it spoke again "The terminals willgive you a list of problems that your inventions may be geared towards solving." "But I can''t read. The Dirske Lords barred me from getting educated." The Deity was silent for five seconds "New function enabled. Every word you look atwill be played audibly." ''This person...no this Deity is unlike anyone or anything I''ve ever met.''Bayei said "What do you have to gain from this?" Ignoring her question, Xarkris said "There is also information on the terminals that will educate you. So you may get inspired and eventually build more advanced inventions." then the Deity spent the next hour explaining all of the facilities of her new home, but everything said sounded like it was being read from a script. After he/she/it was done with the tour, the red orb went dim and Bayei''s initiation seemed like it was over. She sat down on the couch in order to collect her thoughts on everything that had happened. Then a short blare caught her attention. Bayei turned to look at the source of the noise. A timer had appeared on the wall. Counting down from one week. It could only mean that she had that much time to present an invention to Deity Xarkris. If she failed to do so in the allotted time limit, it would be death. 27. The Shunned Another day of pulling out nails, Zack''s shoulders slumped at the mere thought of it. The task had left the tips of his fingers bleeding until they calloused over. After losing his secondary body, all he had left was his true body. Which still had the skinny physique of an E-sport athlete, due to the fact that he had neverever gone to the gym or anything. All of the work he had done, was now undone. Nothing to do about it but get to it. The top of the nail cut into his soft fingers as he pulled. The first day had been the worst the last time, and he had every expectation on it being just as bad now. He made the mistake of twisting his fingers and the thin metal of the nail head cut into his thumb. Zack held back a nasty curse wordand instead yelled"Bugger!" Akma appeared and said "I think it''s time you obtained a newwillpower technique." then a blue screen appeared
Enhanced Training
While performing an action meant to strengthen one''s body, spend willpower energy to increase theresults.
Willpower cost: 15 per activation. Lasts 3 seconds.
Technique rating: Adept Requires: No special body Trait
Several more pages appeared on the blue screen, each giving hints from other practitionersof it on activating the technique, but there was nothing concrete. As usual when it came to willpower techniques. Zack said after reading through it all "If I''m understanding this correctly, usingthis technique would give memore gains from working out. It''s a body builder''s wet dream. But I''m not nearly at the Adept willpower technique ranking as of yet. I can barely form hydrogen out of formless matter." Akma shrugged"I''m only giving the knowledge of this to you because you did something similar when you were forcibly pulled into the Kulabv dimension." A flare of anger crept into his voice "Oh, you mean when I found myself falling into a deep pit of infinite darkness. Nearly dying and only managing to survive because I inexplicably unlocked telekinetic powers." Akma had a sheepish look on his face "Yes that''s exactly what I''m talking about. Anyway this is my current theory as to how it happened. Aside from another deity''s manipulation." Another screen appeared
Awaken
Delves into the users genetic code to activate dormant gene sequences, of which there are hundreds of thousands
Willpower cost: As there are numerous applications, cost varies
Technique Rating: Grandmaster Requires: DNA
Zack said "Your best theory is thata low-tierman with an initiate willpower technique ranking was somehow able to do something that only a grandmaster is capable of." Akma nodded resolutely "Yes" "Well you might want to keep working on that." Akma shook his head and looked a little pissed, Zackhad never seen the little guy show anger of any kind "Akmadouric has a hive mind consciousness spread throughout many bodies.Myself and all the other innumerable Akmas may be the lowest form of the great deity but we are alla singular being. You can''t speak to me condescendingly simply because of what I am." Zack said "Hey I..." Akma held up a finger to cut him off "So when I say that this is the best theory as to how it happened. Believe me, it''s not something to scoff unlessmore informationpresents itself." Zack waved his hands in the air in mock surrender "Okay, fine. I''m just pissed that I almost died that one time." Akma shrugged "Don''t worry. It takes a lot for me to consider something unforgivable" Hewent back to pulling up nails, but this time he managed to partially activateEnhanced Training. His noobish proficiency in the skill drove the cost up to 30 willpower, but activating it at all was still a win. Almost immediately after finishing he felt the tips of his fingers grow more rough. But then he felt mentally exhausted after expending the willpower energy. Shaking his head to partially clear the effects allowed him to attempt the task again. A person only has so much time to advance themselves before they are needed to perform, every second is precious and cannot be wasted. With his willpower spent, Zacklaid on his back ''Okay. Let''s cheat a little. If I can''t pull out another nail, then I will do something else for physical training.''He rolled over onto his stomach and began doing push ups.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. He received two additional maximum willpower points before deciding to sit with his back to the wall not allowing himself to rest fully "Hey Akma, as long as we are on the topicof willpower techniques. Why don''t you tell me what could havesaved my life back in the Dirske dimension?" another screen then appeared.
Unmake
Destroy a piece of the universe, causing it to cease to exist. Attempting to unmake another being will result in a willpower struggle
Willpower cost: 1000 per secondplus additional damage desired
Damage: 10 unmake plus extra willpower energy expended, minus target''s willpower resistance
Technique Rating: Master Requires: No special body trait
Zack could only whistle and cringe slightly at that one "Dang, that looks like a nasty one." "It''s the brute force weapon in the interdimensional war. But be aware, everything wants to exist, even inanimate objects."
Zack was wiping the sweat from his brow as he finished up his run when a gruff voice called out from afar"Once you go gray there ain''t no other way." he turned around to see Rifleman John Becker jogging up to him. "Not the first time I''ve heard that since the Dirske mission, but at least it''s a classic." all of the mission details for low-tierman missions that humans participated in was available to the public of Earth, so long as they held a single point of favor. John Becker shrugged "I''m amazed that that''s the least you get for fucking up an entire mission. What pisses me off the most is that you did it just to get laid." "That just sort of happened, sexwasn''t even on my mind when I made the decision to help Bayei." "So you did it because you had to help the damsel in distress. Listen kid, I''ve had to choose the lesser evil many times throughout my life. What happened during the mission was one of those times for you and..." Zack cut him off "That''s not the reason either." "Then what?" Zack took a deep breath and audibly blew it out "In ancient Rome there was a glassmaker. One day, he found a way to make a glass that was unbreakable. He presented his invention to the Roman Emperor, who then threw the glass ball to the ground as hard as he could. It didn''t break, shatter or even crack, a feat that can''t even be replicated today. The Romans believed that such an invention would devalue gold and silver. So the Emperor had the glassmaker executed before he could pass on his glassmaking technique." Becker asked "What''s that got to do with anything?" "Let me finish" Zack held up a finger"Leonardo Da Vinci...Archimedes...Nikola Tesla. All of these people have been shunned by the world." his voice trailed off "Even in the modern day it happens. There is also what happened to Tom Ogle." Akma appeared and asked "What happened to Tom Ogle?" Becker sat down, his face twisted in thought. "The short version of the story is that he invented a device that replaced his 1970 Ford Galaxy''scarbureter, boosting it''s miles per gallon rating from 14.5 to an incredible 100. It injected gasoline vapor directly into the engine''s firing chambers. The vapor car, the Oglemobile.Can you imagine what would happen to theincomes of these oil tycoons should everyone start buying a fraction of the gas they did before?Oil companies came in and offered Tom Ogle millions of dollars with the intention of burying his fuel efficient system. The problem was that Tom wanted to save the world." Suddenly Zack looked a lot more tired "What happened next was the type of scummy tactics that only a white collar is capable of doing. Tom sold the rights ofhis invention toAdvance fuel systems Incorporated. Who then strung him along for years, eventually telling him that the company was developing a more advanced fuel efficient system to his invention. Not that anything like that ever hit the markets.If that wasn''t bad enough, they decided to have him assassinated. The first attempt he got shot in an alleyway, but he survived. The second attempt was successful, Tom went to a bar and had half a beer, then was found dead in the morning with liver poisoning." Zack let out a sigh"To this day, the Americans have banned the use of any car''s engine capable of getting 50 mpg or more." Rifleman Becker''s brow scrunched "I''m a bit impressed that you know all that. But you still haven''t answered the question." "Bayei has the mind ofan inventor and I simply couldn''t allow another one to be forsaken." Akma bit his bottom lip, his hair turning slightly whiter "The Dirske realmhas been taken." Zack said "So I guess it''s time to empty my favor bank to revive her." "Thereis a bit of a problem with that. Bayei''s soul has been drawn by the Deity Xarkris." "That doesn''t sound good. What does that even mean? I can''t revive her? What is this Xarkris doing to her?" Akma held up a hand to stop his bombardment of questions "Zack just hold up for a minute. Don''t worry about her for the time being, okay? The minor Deity Xarkris is not evil, although Akmadouric''s relationship with him is officially neutral." Zack thought for a moment "Can we trade something for her?" "Quit freaking out for a moment, loverboy. There might a mission in the works here but don''t get your hopes up." Annoyed, Zack said "My relationship with Bayei isn''t old enough to be called love." Becker chuckled off to the side. Akma laughed maliciously then a smile appeared on his face that went right up to his ears "Hehe. But first you have to do something unpleasent. Kerink put you on shit detail before she became incapacitated and you have yet to pay your dues." 28. Blennokinesis
Blennokinesis
A kinesis ability that gives the user control over that which most beings consider filthy.
Zack looked at the screen he had just been given and then his mouth dropped looked back at the Mid-tierman named Oguip who was to be his escort. His twenty foot long worm like body was covered inablue inch thick rubber suit, numerous black circular orifices in the suit were in their closed position. Astench that smelled like baked garbage permeating the cavern. It was very easy to tell where the stench was coming from, Oguip carried it around with him inside the suit for whatever use he had for it. ''How canfilth possiblybe used as a weapon?'' Zack covered his mouth and nose, it didn''t help "Becker is never going to let me forget this." Oguip said in a slightly gurgling voice "I don''t know what you did to earn this, but it''s just you and me." then the worm floated towards the area where they would be doing their mission. "Let''s just do this as quickly as possible." he coughed and felt his stomach go queasy "Is this why it''s called shit detail? Because you carry around excrement around with you?" Oguip said "No. I have standards after all. Now go scout ahead and leadas many corrupted to me as possible." He activatedEidolan Symbiosis: Hroyd and ran down the Kulabv tunnels as fast as he could. Even after getting a good distance away he could still smell it with his enhanced senses. The tunnels were depressingly dark violet as usual, but with every step he expanded the ever growingmap and with every foe slain, Akmadouric came closer to gaining dominion over the dimension. Zack askedthe green floating head "Are you coming out yet Hroyd, I could use some back up here." The Kulabv warrior said "From the signals I''ve been getting from you, I''ll pass. My sense of smell is much stronger than yours no matter how high you turn up yourEidolan Symbiosis skill. You''re on your own in this one." "Hey Poirauds, what about you guys?" Without using speech, thethree sent him a signal of polite refusal. The twisting labyrinth of dark tunnels was dismal and depressing. Hroyd had given Zackmemories of the Kulabv world. How the finely cut stone crafted buildings stood among the trees and streams. For it to be so hideously transformed was heartbreaking to the giant morphing bobcat. Although Hroyd never really expressed emotion, Zack occasionallyfelt sadness and rage through their link. A whiff of a husk caught his attention. He crept forward using the stalking techniques that Hroyd had taught him. Being careful not to disturb any rock lest it''s clatter alert the prey prematurely. Peering around the corner, he saw a dozen or more corrupted Kulabv warriors. Snarling and shuffling about in their semi-delirious states. Violet spikes protruding from their bodies. Zack activatedEidolan Symbiosis: Poiraud to switch forms. The hard as iron hair that covered his skin turned into green two inch long tendrils.His face became more scaly and took on a lizards appearance. Electricity crackled all over the exterior of his body. Taking a deep breath, he activatedEnhanced Voice andlet loose a sharp chirp in an attempt something he''d never tried before. Then he listened as the sound waves came back to him. The Poirauds sent him clues as to how to interpret the various dips in pitch. A picture of the surrounding area formed in his mind and he sent it across the link. It wasn''t right at all, and the Poirauds had to correct it.
Skill learned
Echolocation
The ability to detect the location of objects using reflected sound.
Willpower Cost: negligible Requires: Sound producing organs, hearing
The noise caught the attention of the husks and inan enraged sprint theytore after Zack, who knew he couldn''t be caught with the speed granted to him byAttraction andRepulsion. He flew through the tunnels with the snapping pack of fifteen corrupted husks behind him. Darting over boulders and compensating for the queer laws of gravity that were present in this dimension. After five minutes, the map that was in the corner of his visiontold him that he was inthe killzone that Oguip had designated.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. A brown wave of filth floodedout of the worm-like Mid-tierman and Zack ascendedout of the way. He watched it all from above. The pack of Kulabv husks were bathed in a river of nastinessand basket ball sized pustules rapidly formed all over their bodies. Blood poured out of their eyes, ears and mouths as they tried to swim and crawl out of it. Then their flesh slopped off their bodies and finally they sunk beneath the brown sludgy waves. Zack started dry heaving, and would have puked if he hadn''t been told to do this job on an empty stomach "Can''t you control where the fumes go!?" then flew past the suddenly much smaller worm. Oguip said "I am directing most of the fumes away from you, but there is so much of it and I amsimply unable tospare you from it all." Zack continued flying away, there conversation now turning into messagescreens displayed byAkma. Oguip messaged through Akma since he too far away to be heard "You might need to take an antidote and an immune system booster. Even the fumes can carry small pathogens of the various diseases I secrete." Zack stopped "Useful, but it''s still an act of insanity topurchase such an ability." Oguip said "I didn''t. This was forced on me." Zack looked over the massive rotund worm again and said "What the hell happened?" Oguip let out a gurgling sigh "The Deity Nuial is a goddesswith beauty unlike other woman in the multi-verse, mostly because she has enchanted her appearence so that all who see her behold her in that way. In my youth I made the mistake of attempting to declare my love forher by writing a 56 line poem, as is the custom of my people. Before her court I spoke of Nuial''sradiance, her benevolence, and the music of her voice. I bared my heart and soul before all who were there. Truly it wasa legendary attempt. When I finished, the goddesssat there for a moment and then cursed me with this skill and body." Zack muttered under his breath "Still a better love story than Twilight." "Once you have recovered you can proceed to the next area. Five or six more runsand we are done."
Skunk is known as the worst stink known to man. The only way to get rid of it is to take a bath in tomato juice and that only works because of it''sacidity. He really wished it had been a skunk. After arriving back home on the island, Zack climbed into the bath filled with heavy disinfectant. The frothy pink liquid immediatly started making his skin itch and burn slightly. He submerged himself anyway. Not making people physically ill from standing within five feet of him was well worth it. The mission had yielded 3,500 favor. Seventy husks total slain. The favor split evenly between Zack and Oguip.It was nothing compared to the 400,000 loss from having to buy another secondary body. He had also recieved an additional eight maximum willpower. Mostly from having to resist the urge to pass out from the fumes that the worm-like Mid-tierman exuded. But at least the miserable day had brought histotal up to 136. After sitting in the chemical bath for half an hour, Zackgot out "Hey Hroyd, would you come out and give me a smell. I need to make sure it''s all gone." The Eidolan formed out of a green mist and appeared in front of him, took a sniff, sneezed and went back into the Spiritual Ether. Zack frowned "That bad huh?" The floating green head nodded "It''s still there, I can smell that wormeven through all thatbleach. They did say that it would take a chemical bath a day for four days right?" This was not an issue that Zack found himself to have any patience for "Screw it." then opened up the favor expenditure screen and put in a request for a willpower cleaning. Now all he had to do was wait for whatever being in Akmadouric''s Army that wanted 200 favor without actually going into combat. Instead of waiting on the ground,Zack usedEidolan Symbiosis: Poiraud and attractedhimself towards the magnetosphereto fly high into the sky. Then floated among the clouds. Letting the cool mist wash over him. "Akmadouric. Ulgroth. Xarkris. And now Nuial..... Just what is a deity anyway?" 29. The Xarkris deal Bayei breathed a sigh of relief as she finished up her creation. A coiling metal rack that pressurized Taelon energy into an almost solid state. Various buttons regulated gauges that would go up and down until the desired effect was achieved. She didn''t know what it could be used for but she knew it to be a new material and therefore would have new properties which could be applied to more inventions. She placed the coiling metal rack that didn''t even have a name on the pedastal where she had first arrived. Then pressed a button and spoke out it''s function, the terminal recording every word she said. In the blink of an eye the coiling metal rackdisappeared. She had beenafraid of that. The timer on the wall stopped for a moment and then the numbers counted up. It stopped at the five day mark. Bayei''s eyes widened in shock "Thats two days less than what I had before." she really wanted to take a rest, that couch looked so fluffy. Work comes first, she went back to the terminal that displayed the list of problems her inventions were meant to solve. One of thecategories was labeled ''Advanced robotics''. Bayei selected it and scrolled through the list of problems. Eventually stopping after she read the words ''How to make a mechanical joint work?'', Bayei knew exactly what to do. She didn''t have any idea what some of thecategories were like ''Quantum Aeronautics'' or ''Fusion entanglement principles'' let alone solve any of the problems within them. Perhaps in a few years she would educate herself on them and develop something to give them an answer. Walking over to one of the benches she spoke out her instructions for it to materialize thecomponent she wanted it to make. She spent five minutes laying out the objects material composition, size and shape. Mechanical arms moved around in a sphere and a bright light show in the center until an iron mechanical gear formed. She set the last of her five materialization benches on a side project she had recently started. This one she didn''t think she would ever use, given that this bizarre place was quickly a paradise for her. Even if there is a ticking timer counting down to her death. But she had learned from past experiences that itwasn''t safe to not have a weapon on hand for personal use. While Bayei worked she couldn''t help but wonder ''What does this Deity even need these inventions for? Surely he has already thought up anything that I could possibly make.''
Xarkris analyzed the creative energy before absorbing it into himself. A fine meal. The newest addition to his collection of minions seemedpromising thus far. Her processes unique as any of the others who had been worthy of being drawn by him. As he was finishing, a tiny blue humanoid with pure white spikey hair appeared before him. Xarkris said in an elated voice "Hello Akmadouric. Have you come to admire my home? Or perhaps you have come to tell me that I''ve lost my right to exist?" The great deity in his most powerless form looked up at the minor deity Xarkris, a small blue childsitting beneath a lightning storm. A red orb shining brightly at the center ofa chaotic series of white bolts. Golden orbs filled with molecular circuitry could be seen throughout the minor deity''s being. Bizarre symbols of digital code passed along the lightning bolts. Occasionally the minor deitywould strike one of the numerous metallic panelsarranged around them in a sphere, thus activating the various functions of his home. Akmadouric looked up at the cyberneticdeity without even a little fear "No. I''m here for neither of those reasons. I''ve come for the innovativeminds that you have drawn and continue to feed off of." The brightness of the red orb speaking device used by Xarkris fluctuated as he spoke "You know that I need to siphon off their creative energies. It is the path of ascension that I have chosen." "You could become a great deity just fine if you chose to house your mind within something other than digital code, or at least partially. I know of plenty rising deities who are technically cyborgs." Xarkris loomed over the tiny blue figure beneath him "Iwill not betray myself." Akmadouric had expected the conversation to go exactly this way "I suppose I''ll give you respect for being true to yourself but I am an explorerof dimensions. I know about the most effectivepaths of ascension. In all honesty, yours is proving to be slower than average." Xarkris looked atAkmadouric with an ireful annoyance, the great deity onlyknowing what the minor deity felt by hisusage of empathic abilities "I disagree, but wasting ourgreatest resources in a fruitlesscontest of strength against one another is something we both do not want." The electrical storm paused for a moment, then spoke again"Will you take the innovativeminds by force? Or will you trade for them?" Akmadouric smiled "Neither, I was actually thinking more along the lines of gambling for them." A lid half closed over it''s red orb as Xarkris regarded the tiny blue person beneath him "What isyour proposition?" "A contest of combat and wit among our minions." "An invasion force then?" Akmadouric nodded "Yes, but the size of the invasionwon''t be anywhere near what you know I can field. I want a fair contest." The red orb came closer "Why don''t we make this interesting. A contest is only good if there are clearly differences between the contestants. Since all of my minions are cybernetic intelligences, you will not field any." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.''This is going exactly as expected'' Akmadouric thought "That''s an acceptable stipulation." Xarkris said "Now what will be yourwager? What do I stand to gain from all of this?" "You can set up your own creative energy siphoning devices throughout your home if you please." "Allowing me to siphon off a small portion of thecreative energies from all of your forces during the battle. That''s not good enough." Akmadouric said matter-of-factly "You could use this oppourtunity to show off your home." Irritation krept into Xarkris'' voice "If you do not offer me something substantial with your next words then this conversation is over and any invasion force will be met by me personally." the living lightning storm flared in intensity for a moment. Akmadouric smiled "Well...I could expend a bit of willpower in order to craft you an aspect of the universe here." Xarkris was silent for a moment, the lightning strikes ceased "You would consider an aspect of this universe to be of the samevalue as the innovative minds in my possesion? Throughout the entirety of my life I have made only one aspect for a lesser lawand I could not believe that it took almost all of my willpower in it''s crafting." Xarkris resumed operating his home "Those innovative minds may be great by the standards of what they are but most deities consider them to be insignificant." "I consider them to be significant." A small hint of amusementcrept into Xarkris'' voice "Then a deal we have. Now let us go over and agree upon what minions we both shall field. But each of our respective forces cannot know what the other side has." "Agreed."
The screen at the front of the enourmous room switched off. All of the members of Akmadouric''s army within it had watched the recording of the meeting between the two deities. Only Zack seemed to be unnerved ''That''s what we are going up against!? Might as well fight a sentient sun or something.'' then he mentally facepalmed himself ''How many people within Akmadouric''s Army have done just that?'' He looked at the still image of the cybernetic Deity Xarkris ''At least we will only be going up against his minions.'' Akmadouric appeared suddenly and stood before them all. This time it was thegreat deity himself giving the mission briefing, instead of a Mid-tierman or even a white haired Akma.His presence compounding the seriousness of the mission. The thirty foot tall blue giantsaid for all of them to hear "The minor deity Xarkris deserves to exist. As many of you already know, very rarely do I revoke the right ofexistence for anyone or anything. He is not an enemy nor a friend, although I truly wish he would join this struggle against those who threaten existence." A ten foot tall bug like creature at the front of the crowd stood up, one of many within the room "You allowed him to set up creative energy siphoning devices. Everyone here needs to be aware thattheir decision making abilities will be impairedonce the operation gets underway." above his head appeared a name and race.
Dshktrm
Race: Tkiktch, The dreaming consumers
Akmadouric said "Couldn''t be helped. It was part of the wager and one of the rules is that they cannot be destroyed during the contest." Zack stood up, knowing that he better choose his words carefully "Can I ask about the elephant in the room please? This creative energy siphoning thing makes no sense whatsoever." About half the room starts laughing for a good ten seconds and Zack slouchs in embarressment, the ten foot tall bug chuckles and says "Typical low-tierman." Akmadouric simply said "Understandable confusion given your perspective. Creative energy is what all beings use to form ideas and some minds produce a lot more than others. Without any of ityou couldn''t even be able to form the idea of inhaling and exhaling. Now who here can tell me why Xarkris the cybernetic deity, would need additional creative energy for ascension?" Galroop the slime answered "For all the strengths that cybernetic entitiespossess, their lack of creative energy is their greatest weakness. The most creative thing the average cybernetic entity can accomplish is just to mix and match the ideas of others. Which is the lowest form of creativity." Zack thought back to what a lot ofartists of his own world did "Like putting the head of an animal on a human body." Akmadouric said "Correct.Creative individuals are rare, such as the innovative minds underneath Xarkris'' care, but creativity can be exercised just like any part of a mind." The meeting went on and more details were shared about the units this piece of the raid force would be fielding. An hour was spent going over the biological technology that the Tkiktch would be bringing. The rules stated that anyequipment couldn''t be aided by artificial intelligences, or cybernetic intelligences as they were correctly termed. People like rifleman Becker would have to change up their gear. As everyone was leaving Zack mutteredto no one in particular "The deity of creativity..." A white haired Akma appeared out of his vortex "Interesting. Why did you call him that?" "Well, creativity is his most defining aspect.Like the Greek gods who were the masters of certain concepts. Ares was the god of war. Aphrodite was the goddess of love..." then he stopped talking as he realized that the multiverse and the Greek gods were two entirely seperate things. Akma frowned "Using that very same logic. Answer this question; What are you the human of?" Zack asked "What do you mean?" "The defining aspect of Xarkris is creativity. What is your defining aspect?I''ll ask you again. What are you the human of?" Zack didn''t like where this was going "Sarcasm." "And how many other sarcastic human beings are out there?" "Possibly billions, plus one revived twelfth century Shaolin monk." "And how many deities are there that use creative energy in order to aid their path of ascension?" Zack said "You would know better than I." Akma said "No, I don''t, and no one does. So do away with that type of thinking immediately. Xarkris is not the god of creativity. Just as Akmadouric is not the god of consciousness." 30. The invasion force assembles Zack walked through the city sized carrier, walking beside and sometimes beneath the other members of the crew. Fifty thousand they numbered, and the invasion group he was a part of was only one twentieth of the total troops participating in the operation.For a total of one million. All about to do battle for the sake of rescuing ten thousand innovative minds, in what amounted to a game between deities. A hulkingTkiktch bug passed by him. It''s thick carapace was black but shone green when the light hit it at the right angle. It''s four bladed arms were folded like that of a praying mantis,making it look like it could slice up anything in it''s path and probably could. On it''s face were two tealcompound eyes and a few hairs spread sporadically.On the back of it''s four segmants were numerous holes.Strange blue alien hieroglypics were painted all over it''s exoskeleton, depicting numerous events and battles. Much like how a human would get tattoos. Hroyd''s floating green head said "I can take him." Zack had to smirk at that "That''s a her. You wouldn''t hit a woman. Would you?" "But she''s huge." Zack and his four eidolanslooked through a windowat the entirely metal planet beneath the carrier. Two moons orbited it, one red and one white. The atmosphere looked thin from their vantage point twenty thousand miles away, probably because it had only recently been given an atmosphere. Shafts opened and closed randomly on the metal planet and there were several rotating cylinders over it''s surface. Akma appeared out of his vortex and said "Ring. Ring. Luke T Ace, ''The Machine'' is calling." ''The machine?'' Zack said "Sure, put him through." A video screen appeared in front of his face and Zack blinked hard at how much Luke had changed. His head was covered with omni-directional seeing glasses which enabled him to see throughout the interior of the coordinator sphere. Four additional mechanical arms came out of his torso, one set below the armpits and another out of his back. A cable was attached fromthe top of his head to the top of the sphere. Zack could only say "Whoa" even though he already knew what a coordinator was supposed to look like. Luke said "Ya it''s a bit much and let me tell ya, getting used to the additional senses nearly drove me insane." "You became a cyborg...just whoa...wait. Aren''t you scared of your secondary body dying and your consciousness getting transferred back to your true body? I hear the backlash from having two bodies with great differences is nasty." One corner of Luke''s lips curled in a humorless half smile "That''s just the demands of the job. Most everyone in Akmadouric''s army runs that risk." "But it''s still gotta be much worse for you. You''ve had so many modifications that you''ve earned the title: ''The Machine" Luke threw his head as far back as it would go and laughed"That''s not why at all. I earned that title ''cuz I don''t stop. Since day three of Akmadouric''s arrival, I have been inside this sphere. When I''m not running simulations, I''m on missions. Iget two hours of perfectREM sleep every day thanks to a device in my head. At this rate, I''ll have enough favor to purchase immortality in about eight years." It took a second for Zack to dispell his disbelief "You''re just as hardcore as ever I see." the Luke T Ace he knew during his E-sport days could game for twelve hours straight. The cyborg coordinator said "Addiction is a powerful thing, I''m not even sure if I''m capable of stopping at this point. " Zack mused "And now you''re combat rating is so high that they''ve putyou in charge of coordinating an invasion force of fifty thousand. Well done." A timer seemed to go off in the coordinator sphere and Luke said "Looks like it''s time to send the first wave of ten thousand. See ya." Zack smiled, it was good to know he was in capable hands and that his friend wasbeing successful. Looking out of the window once again he saw the first waves surround the metal planet. Twenty hordes of cyborg Likipers descended into the atmosphere and entered the shafts.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The captain said over the loud speaker"First wave has cleared the hanger bay. Second wave prep for launch." and Zack made his way through the ship to meet up with his squad. Becker was waiting for him, standing next to a modern day mecha unit. Thechasis of the walking tank was large enough to fit a single person. On it''s sides were two pieces of heavy weaponry were supported by mechanical arms. One was a magnetic railgun loaded with Tungsten rounds. The other was a plasma drill cannon. It''s servomechanism filled legs were bulky and ithe feet had claws that allowed it to dig into most surfaces, but they were mostly for stability and maneuvering. The real mobility systems were the eight emissionless resonant cavity thrusters arranged strategically beneath the mech''s center of mass. Zack said as he approached "After the Dirske mission, I expected you to get over your overreliance on your tools. Instead you just got a bigger one." then looked over at the other mech pilots that were to be participating in the invasion. Becker grunted "Know this well Zack. Mankind is known as the tool using creature. Therefore an individual manis only as great as the tools he creates and uses." he looked at Zack with a smirk "Morph yourself into a giant cator green tentacle thing or platypus assassin or whatever, you''re still not going to be able to go up against the beautiful destruction that is heavy metal." Zack once again ignored the barb and decided to change the subject "I take it you''re the squad leader." Becker unplugged the pad from the mech, his diagnostics finished "It''s not me this time. This is an invasion force, it''s a lot bigger than them paltry outings in the Kulabv dimension. Ten members a squad, each lead by a Mid-tierman. Ours is the bulbous Tkiktch bug over there." They both looked over at the Mid-tierman in question. It''s abdomen was yellow, very round and heavy looking, forcing him to support himself on six legs instead of four. The chitinous exoskeleton seemed thinner than mostof the other Tkiktch that roamed the carrier. Eight thin wings sprouted from it''s back, reminding them both of light purple stain glass windows.On the ground next to him was an organic biotech gun that seemed to have three reddish purple sacs growing out of it''s top. Over his head was the name
Stktrvrn
Mid-tierman
Zack frowned "I can''t pronounce that." Becker said "It''s not a name that was designed to be pronounced with human vocal cords. This is common." "How about we call him Steve?" Becker shrugged "Fine by me. The Akma network should be able to translate it into his real name anyway." Steve''s wings suddenly blurred and he came to a stop suddenly in front of the two humans "You must be Zackery Taylor." "Ya, that''s me." "The file in front of me says thatyou are a Low-tierman Eidolon contractor who has four in your possession. Your willpower energy pool and technique is a bit below average but that''s fine. Your symbiosis abilities includeIron Fur,Claw Growth,Enhanced Senses,Enhanced Voice,Echolocation. That one will be useful for mapping out the interior of the planet." Steve''s mandibles clicked "But what I want you to use are your magnetism abilities Attraction and Repulsion, they will be invaluable because all of the enemies will be made out of metal, as well as the environment itself.I have no doubt that this is the reason why you weretasked to join us. Put yourself at minimal risk when battle is joined. Consider yourself to be a support unit." then he walked away. The captain said over theloud speaker "Thirty minutes till launch of second wave." John Becker said "You can stick yourself to the chasis of my mech onthe ride down. The standard uniform we all wear should hold a breathable atmosphere for ten minutes, but ifanything goes wrong, you can just create air out of nothingness." Zack frowned "I never learned how to use that willpower technique." "Then you''d better figure it out quick. You only gotthirty minutes." 31. The opening moves of the game
Basic Creation
Will into existenceany type of matter that is familiar
Willpower cost: 20 plus density Requires: Nothing
Zack sat back and looked through the tutorial section forBasic Creation, but his attention was on the video that was displaying the battle between the first wave and Xarkris'' forces. ''Why does creating things cost so much lessthan unmaking things? Do things just want to exist or something? Even if it has yet to be created? Or maybe something is helping with the process?'' The first wave approached the metal planet as one of the fifty mile wideentrances opened. Laser beams greeted the invaders, who responded by dropping apitch black cloud inbetween them. The beams struck it, then started to break up and dissipate the further they penetrated. John Becker muttered"Countermeasures for light based weaponry, what I would have given for that way back in the day." A swarm of house sized Tkiktch dropped down into the shaft, glowinggreen emission trails jetting out of their bodies behind them. The dark areas on the video screen became illuminated and revealed the interior. Steel wallslined with murder holes for the muzzles of laser rifles lined the interior of the entryway. Beams of light rained down upontheTkiktch behemoths, but their chitinous black carapaces held long enough for them to spew out a yellow gel before them, which quickly hardened into a brown wall. Then they continued to add to the newly made wall until it covered the entire fifty mile wide entryway. Another type of Tkiktch flew in behind the behemoths. These ones each carrieda large purple membrane sac on their back. They walked up to the newly made wall and put the orifices at the end of the sacs on it. The screen displayed the inside of them and Zack saw larvae entering the wall. The infant Tkiktch''s circular mouth was lined with teeth and theirsaliva reacted with the hard as concrete wall, turning it into a soft mush. The larvae''s bodies grew exponentially, tripling in size in under a minute.They ate their way through tothe other side of the walland burst out all at once in a volley. Green emission trails followed the larvae as they flew at mach two. Curving erratically mid-flight to dodge the incoming laser fire and diving between the breaks in cover, where they then latched onto the androids. The viens in the larvae glowed white for a moment just before blowing themselve up. Now theforms of the androids revealed themselves.Mostwere simply gun turrets mounted on hundredsofwire-like legs that had somehow attached themselves to the walls and ceiling ofthe entryway. But there were many other types,like one that was simply a metallic mist and another that looked like a floating flat disc with sharp edges. All this time the beetle-like behemoths sat back in safety and reformed their thick carapaces using willpower energy, the holes in the black chitinous plating refilled themselves. They charged through the crumbling wall after the intensity of laser fire died down. Their thirty ton bodies crashedinto the steel barricade that the androids had been using for cover. Twisted metal flew all over the area as theandroid lines continued to beravaged by the suicide bombinglarvae. The coordinator message popped up in front of Zack''s face "Second wave deploy." The mecha beneath him whirred to life as Becker spoke through the Akma network "It''s our turn now boys." the emissionless cavity thrusters on the other mechas glowed as they initiated their start up sequences. But before the mechas could get out of the hanger, Likipers flew out. Their tiny wings pushing against unseen and ever present forces to propel themselves. Entry into the atmosphere of the metal planet was smooth. Adevice wrapped each of them up into a bubble that oscillated the air, transforming it into a spider web like substance while pushing it away from them, allowing them to pass through without resistance. Then theyflew into the entryway and over the battlefield. Corpses of Tkiktch behemoths laid with their legs curled, bouldersfrom the wall erected were strewn about everywhere and blownapart androids littered the floor of the massive interior of the metal planet. Zack jumped off and started flying low to the ground. Immediately he positioninghimself ahead ofthe mechas while looking on at the flares of laser fire could be seen in the distance. When he was close enough he usedAttraction to disrupt the movements of the androids as they aimed. The mechas opened fire, putting Tungsten rounds into the androids at a great distance. Each initiating short hops into the air for better lines of sight. Becker put his mecha into a steady hover, and the plasmadrill cannon on it''s other side began to spin. Zack heard the distinct whirring and dashed away from the line of fire, knowing that even an indirect hit would incinerate him. A stream of superheated plasma crossed the distance and rotated, giving it fringes like that of a screw. Zack knew the spinning effect had been addedto increase the weapon''s power of penetration. The androids erected willpowerBarriers butthey only managed to hold for a fraction of a second. The plasma fireinstantly turning ten of them into piles of glowing orange molten metal. Nothing remained of some of them but the smell of vaporizedsilicon.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. A brightly shining orange sphere appeared aheadand all the plasma drillcannons ceased firing inexplicably. Eachpressing the commands to drop theirmechas to the ground for safety. Beckers voice came over the comms system "Stupidshitbuggerbastardpissfucktard!" Then the plasma drill cannonstarted firing again and tore into the androids. In a surprised tone of voice Becker said "Oh. New skill obtained. Apparently it overrode the physics changing countermeasures our adversarys deployed."
Work Damnit
Forces equipment to work as intended when the phsyics of the area disallow it.
Willpower cost: 120 Requires: Slightly frustrated and enrage state of mind
Zack was livid "I was way too close to that!" Becker replied bruskly "Well, didn''t your mother ever teach you not to get in front of someone when they''re shooting?" In a mocking tone Zack said "Well, knock it off before you hit one of ours, we got people in the melee." Becker scoffed "Gyaa, damn thing''s heat level''s peaked anyways." Seeing that the battle was mostly over, Zack moved closer in preparation to make his move. Making his way between the various debris and Tkiktch corpses. An explosion off to the side showered him in the bug''s green blood. The Akma network told him that there was a tight formation of androids just ahead fending off what looked like a handful of Samurai wearing the mechanized armor of modern day infantry. In his Poiraud form, he activatedAttraction and locked onto the largest and closest android. A twenty foot tall walking gun turret that was sending laser blasts towards the mechaswhile simultaneously dueling the Samurai using the bladed ends of it''s metallic legs. The acceleration was swift and abrupt as he used his fully powered magnetic abilities to close the gap between him and his target as quickly as possible. The skin around his eyes even flapped a little. Then he raised both his feet and impacted the side ofthe android''s gun platform. With a sinister smile, Zack sent out a message across his network to all his Eidolans to summon themselves around him. Green spiritual ether burst around him and the Eidolans formed themselves out of it. Hroyd''s clawsglanced off of the android''s steel chasis, much to hisannoyance. Zack instructed the Poirauds to stick themselves to the top of the android and maximize theirAttraction levels in order to destroy it''s computer, not that the green Eidolansunderstand knowledge of computers. ''What about beneath?''Zack forced his way through the wires while the Samurai below danced around and deflected the android''s numerous blades with a low powered lightsword through the use of quick circular motions. Zack reached the area where the wire-like legs met the underside of the gun platform, where he saw numerous pieces of unprotected computer hardware. Just as he was about to destroy them the wire-like legs contracted, squeezing him in an attempt to crush him. He fought with magneticRepulsion against the pressure but then it suddenly subsided and the android went limp as one the Poirauds bombarded the sweet spot of the android''s motherboardwith her magnetic abilities. After checking with Akma to see if he was being targeted by anything hostile, he climbed out of the mess. Becker said over the communication system from 300 feet away "That was reckless to the point of stupidity. You know that the worst thing on a battlefield is a hero." "When an enemy is distracted and facing away, the most effective action is to strike. Don''t school me on tactics Becker. I know as much as you do." "Pfft. Really. If that thing had hijacker countermeasures, then you''da''ve been fucked." Zack knew the old soldier was right but he wouldn''t concede "Haven''t you noticed the ''That will do'' approach to their unit''s design? I made the gamble that it wouldn''t have anything like hijacker countermeasures, and it didn''t." The clean up of the enemy forces commenced and not a casualty was taken once the actual battle was over. Although a flying disc nearly decapitated Zack before he caught it, magnetized it''s computer and launched the razor sharp frisbee at one of the last androids to fall. After all was done the advance forces made it to the back of the cavern, but it didn''t seem to lead anywhere. For all intents and purposesthis whole fifty foot wide and well defended entryway simply seemed to be a dead end. The decision was made to leave and funnell all 49,437 remaining members of the invasion force into the minor entrances. Then all of a sudden, aloud thunk echoedthroughthe metal floor, reverberating into everyone''s feet. The incline dropped suddenly beneath Zack, the right side descending much faster than the left. Like the whole interior of the entryway was being rotated on an enourmousaxis, yet it wasn''t moving as a single piece. Zack attracted himself to theleftmost wall bracing himself for the ride. Then he looked up to see that a lot of debris, dead androids, and everything else that had been to the left of him was sliding straight at him! He and a few of the Tkiktch flew out of the way. Zack looked off to both sides to see that other sections of the entryway were also shifting, butin the opposite direction. Blurs moved and the low-tierman in peril were simply carried out of danger. Almost no one got crushed or fell to their death. The floor had turned itself into a wall and all the invaders that were in the entrywayfound themselves in a completely new area, cut off from one another and left to fend for themselves in twenty seperate groups. A Mid-tierman Tkiktch called out "Is everyone okay? What just happened?" she sounded just a little unnerved. Another person yelled"The floor shifted. There was no seam in it, no hint that it could do that. For this planet to have such massive moving parts. What the hell are we dealing with?" The far wall fell, revealing more androids who immediatelly started shooting lasers at them. There was plenty of cover, but no room to maneuver. They were cornered. Zack thought as he flew upwards ''Are we going to be ambushed like this throughout the entire mission?'' 32. The Board and Pieces Mortars arced towards them for overhead, only to be swatted away by rippling waves. Laser fire melted the metal debris that most everyone had chosen for cover. Nanomachines swarmedpeople to tear them apart piece by piece. The invaders of Akmadouric''s army retaliated with an assortment of kinetic abilities. Shadows from the walls pierced the androids. Laser beams stopped mid-flight, brought to a halt before thePhotokinesisuser but the size of the volleys were far too great for them to handle. The swarms of nanomachines were incineratedby the flames emmitted bya three foot tall rodent usingPyrokinesis. After it was over, of the 527 invaders that had landed in the football stadium sized hallway along with Zack, only 382 survived the ambush.Scattered remains of both sides littered the ground to the point where there was no room to walk. The surviving invaders pressed forward with the Mid-tiermen taking point. They explored the shafts and tunnels. Once, they passed through an archwayand a guillotine like door slicedone of the Mid-tiermanvertically in half. They were ambushed twice more but those were much smaller and far less successful. Eventually they found a control panel filled with buttons, none of which were labeled. A Tkiktch Mid-tierman walked up to it and said "This looks like a valuable resource." Her voice rose "Does anyone here have an ability to see through walls or something like it? We need to see the internal wiring of this thing. And more importantly we need to see where the wires lead so we can know what they affect." Zack spoke up amongst the crowd "I haveEcholocation" "Everyone hasEcholocationto some extent. But is your proficiency high enough to make out the individual molecular circuits from one another?" "No. Actually is that even possible?" "Then go away." the Tkiktch waved him off. Zack felt a little humilated at the dismissal and walked away as practitioners ofMetallokinesisandElectrokinesisapproached the control panel. A sort of base camp was being erected around the control panel with more Tkiktch barriers being created. Humans sat with Tkiktch and a few other assorted creatures. A semi-transparent gas orange gas creature hung overhead. Zack was looking over the various groups which seemed to have been mixed species intentionally when he heard "Human, come over here. I am a master atBasic Creation, I''ll make any food you desire out of thin air." a Tkiktch waved him over. He sat down with the group that contained the giant grasshopper, a few humans and Galroop the slime. A Tkiktch with a nameplate that read ''Rlkchk'' leaned over and said "What''ll you have?" Zack looked around to see the other humans eating foodlike pizza and burgers, like they were off on a holiday cookout ''Where do these people think they are?''with a shake of his head he said "I''ll have the most nutritious and energy filled item on the menu that a human can eat. I''m on a mission and I need to be at my best." the other humans that overheard looked at him with a stupified look on their faces, a few gave him quick glares but he didn''t care if he came across as an asshole. The Tkiktch''s antennae flicked in the air "The higher the caloric count, the higher the willpower cost. Let me see what I got for you." the giant bug opened one of her thick three fingered hands and awhite mist formed and coalesced into a loaf of bread. Zack took it and noticed that some vegetables were baked into it, then a screen came up and he read from it "Spinach, kale and aloe. How ''bout some water?" "Coming right up." then dangled a finger over a cup and water formed within it. Zack sipped it and said "Mineral water." then ate the bread and drankthe water to make it go down easier. All the while admiring how the Tkiktch could make all these things without formless matter created by Akmadouric. A military officer in a mechsuit walked up and startedyelling at the humans in the circle "What the hell are you all doing lounging around so casually for? We are in hostile territory! We don''t want to be caught with our pants down if the area shifts again." Rlkchkwas making and serving food but spoke up for everyone to hear "There''s really no cause for concern." The man''s head turned, his barking ceased "What?" "Do you see that gaseous creature overhead? Right now ze''re in a deep state of concentration in order to keep zirFuture Sightskill active." Then a screen apeared in front ofeveryone within earshot
Future sight
Allows the user to see thirty seconds into the future. Cannot see the results of one''s own actions.
Willpower cost: 800 per minute Requires: Inner mind attunement, deep thought meditative state, intelligence 900+
Several people choke on their food as they look at it, but Zack simply blinked "Not the most terrifying skill I''ve ever seen. Although it''d be damn overpowered if it weren''t for all those requirements, there''s no way anyone could use it in combat." a few people turned their heads at his words, but he just kept eating. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.Rlkchk replied "I''ve seen plenty of high-tierman and dieties use skills just like it." Now everyone in the immediate vicinity stopped eating so they could give the conversation their fullest attention but instead of explaining, the Tkiktch just asked "Who wants another course?" As he ate the last piece of bread, Zacksaid to no one in particular"I used to think that only Kerink had hatred towards Low-tierman or the newly initiated races. But now I''m starting to think that there''sa hatred shared amongMid-tierman." The Tkiktch''s head perkedup in attention"Your race failed one of Akmadouric''sinitial tests on arrival day. Your people had to be lured in through greed rather than eagerly helping Akmadouricsave existence." "So...what, all of the Mid-tierman are a bunch ofaltruists?" "The best of the Mid-tierman spend their favor selflessly. Only buying combat upgrades and neglecting to purchase selfish things like immortality, secondary bodies and the revival of useless individuals. We are what''s needed in order to win this war, butthere are not nearly enough of us." "Wait a minute." Zack blinked in understanding "All of the Tkiktch that died today are going to stay dead? That''s insane. Why would you choose to die when there is a life saving methodreadily available?" The giant bug''s shoulders slumped "Each of us have lived for more than ten thousand years, we''ve all lived full lives. So death really isn''t something we''re afraid of at this point.ButI suppose the real reason is the guilt that our race bears. Take my advice back to your people; there are harsh lessonsto be learned by greedy races. Spare yourselves needless hardship over nothing." ''A ten thousand year old being. What could I learn from her?''Zack took a breath and frowned "Your advice is kindaworthless without the context of what happened. On my world, there are plenty of random anti-greed quotations from wisemen throughout the ages, yet greedy men still persist in their ways. The cold hard truth of it is thatgreed is simply a byproduct of a person''s innatedesire to survive. Anyone with the mentality of constantly gaining more will be in a better position to survive in the future. So I''m going to need a lot more than what you said just now." Rlkchk''s compound eyes focused on Zack "You are wise beyond your years. Very well, I''ll tell you my people''s sad history." but then she fell silent for several minutes, clearly not wanting to go into the details "Eons ago, the Tkiktch spread across the stars of our home dimension. Multiplyingin droves and morphing their bodies to create a great many different types, eventually attaining the ability to consume all types of physical matter. The other races of the Tkiktchhome dimension fought desperately but they were powerless against endless insectoid hordes,eventually beingoverwhelmed." The ten foot tall Tkiktch insectiod creature hung her head in mourning "What could those sentients whom we destroyed have taught us? How many lives were taken? Their culture, knowledge, art and perspectives...so much lost." ''Conqueror''s guilt''Zack paused for a moment before asking "Then what did your ancestors do?" "They expanded until every single piece of physical matter had been consumed." "Whoa, your people ate your entire universe!? But theres like a quintillion solar systems in my own home dimension. Your people couldn''t have possibly eaten everything." "With very high birth rates and a lot of time we did. Eventually we were forced to gothrough a period of cannabalism untilthe decision was madetoput all Tkiktch into hibernation, in order to expend as little energy as possible while resting within a shared dreamversecreated by the newest types." sherubbed her mandibles with one of her forearms "And that was the state we were in when Akmadouric found us." Silence hung overthe area as all the humans in the immediate vicinity froze. Most had heard insane facts about the multi-verse before but this was litterally jaw dropping for everyone present. Zack was the first to speak "If these are the kinds of resources that Akmadouric has at his disposal, then how come he hasn''t won the interdimensional war already?" "That would be the nature of corruption and the nature of Deity Ulgroth himself, but all of youwill get that information once you make Mid-tierman." "But I want to know now." A loud voice called out "Attention please! Your attention now. Everyone listen up." the Tkiktch that Zack and Becker had named Steve stood in front of the room "I need to clarify the situation we are all in." The detachment of the invasion force gathered around and the Tkiktch renamed Steve spoke "After analyzing the control panel we have discovered many things but the bottom line is that we are inside a shifting and evolving maze of great complexity." The audience murmured for a few moments and Steve continued speaking "I''ve spoken to the other detachments and it appears that there are buttons on that thing that only work in conjunction with another panel in another area in order open up certain sections. While others only seem to workduring certain times. We don''t even know if the entryway shift was triggered by the androids or whether they were just waiting for the set time." Zack stated "So it''s a puzzle." The military officer walked to the front of the roomand said "More like a battlefield that can turn upside down at any given time. As we''ve already experienced. What a nightmare." Zack thought for a moment then said "Then what we need to do is use what little control we have to our advantage." 33. The sphere Zack watched the screen displayinga far off battle. The invaders fell back incrementally, giving ground and picking off many an overzealous android who advanced to quickly. But Zack knew they were just kiting the enemy forces in order to lure them into a trap. Then someone pressed a button on a control panel and a wall fell.Another force of invaders hit the androids flank hard. A call came in from the E-sport gamer turned coordinator andZack said "Perfect timing as always Ace." "I need you to proceed to this area for scouting." a map came up and pinged a location. A path appeared before him and so he activatedEidolan Symbiosis: Poiraud.His skin turned green. The hairs on his arms grew thicker and crackled with electricity. After flying for five minutes he reached his destination. Zack looked at the strange moving wall in front of him "Um, this is a dead end." Another call came in, this time from a specialist unit who had a purple skin and an elongated head "No it isn''t just wait for the entrance to appear...right...about...now." and a hole briefly appeared on the bottom of the walland went to the top "Based on the curvature of the wall we know it is a sphere but that''s all." Zack briefly looked at the alien creature whose job was to make sense of the puzzle that was the mechanical planet "I''m going to be trapped the second I get in there." "Then you''d better get outquickly or just wait by this exituntil it lines up with a different entrance. Now don''t miss the next oppourtunity, time is a valuable resource." as if to emphasize his point he hung up. With a grunt Zack steeled himself to prepare for whatever shit he was about to get thrown into "Alright."then he launched forward with the aid ofAttraction, his timing was also perfect and he entered what looked to be a metal cylinder. Immediately he slid down the much too smooth and slippery tunnel, until he stopped himself by sticking to the wall of the tunnel. The gravity shifted as the sphere slowly rotated. In a few moments the incline changed from horizontal to a steep angle. Then he noticed that his hand was covered inblack char. "Scorch marks?" He demagnetized himself and slid at nearly free fall speedas flames poured out of the entrance.It wasn''t even close, he nevereven felt the heat. But seeing that much fire coming straight at him unnerved him slightly. In all likelihood, sometime later aflame resistantunit would enter the sphere and take the exit that almost burned Zack. He magnetized himself to the smooth circular tunnel in order to stop himself, then usedEcholocation.Hintsfrom various tones and dips in pitch showed himthat the area ahead looked like an entangled mess of tubes and tunnels. Some only as wide as a basketball, but most could fit a train engine. Unfortunately it was inefficient to make his way using only sound and there was no light source, so he turned on the flashlight built into his blue uniform. With the metallic tunnel illuminated,he able to see thatthe surface was covered with a spiral shaped chisel mark all around it. "How strange" absentmindedly he wondered whether the marks came from the crafting process or whether they were put there afterwards. He proceeded through the tunnel system that rotated randomly, or at least had a very lengthy pattern. A map in the cornor of his vision guided him, courtesy of a specialistat the rear of the invasion force. The Poirauds splitting off into other tunnels to scout and reenter the spiritual ether so as to lower risk of triggering any traps or activating any enemies. With each use ofEcholocation the map updated and from what the specialist could tell, the sphere maze was roughly two miles in diameter. Zack didn''t know what kind of mathematical equation was used to get that piece of information, but he did know that the sphere''s size was determinedby comparing rates of rotational speed at the entrance and his current location slightly further in. After several minutes he thought he was getting good at traversing the tunnel system. Sometimes skiingon the slippery smooth surface and occasionally freefalling when the tunnels became completely vertical. But Zack kept his speed low, there were basket ball sized outlets everywhere and he didn''t want to trip on any of them. There was also the possibility of there being other nasty surprises within the sphere. Then he stopped as he heard a noise, some kind of high pitched whiring ''ssss'' sound rang out through the metal tunnel. He sent a message into his eidolan network ''Prepare yourselves''the whiring grew closer and with a use aEcholocation he knew that something was definately approaching. Then he saw something that looked like it was going to be a problem turn the corner. Fan-like blades rotated in the air at an extremely high RPM, bending as they ran alongthe circular walls. Behind it was a basket ball sizedmetal poddriving down the corridor onthree spindly wheeled legs. Zack took one look at the advancingspinning bladesand repulsed himself away from it with a force driven by fear ''That thing''s going to slice me into a hundred pieces.'' he needed to buy time to figure out how to deal with the threat. He fell and flew as fast as he could down the corridors as the android chased him. He thought he lost it once but then it appeared out of a basketball sized hole in front of him. Then his heart sank as he realized that it was white while the last one was gray. Meaning that there were at least two. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. He dove down into a ''U'' shaped tunnel that he had yet to explore and the android with spinning blades fell back.Glancing behind him, he watched the android turn off into one of the basketball sized outlets, which it fit perfectly. Once he got over the bend, it came out of another outlet right in front of him. Zack summoned the three Poirauds and they aided him in magnetizing him away from the spinning blades, cloudy stars appeared in his vision as the whiplash hit him. ''This is bad. I might be just a little bit faster than them but they have more areas they can traverse. Bloody hell, I alway''s did suck horrendously at pac-man.'' He flew into another tunnel, there had to be anexit somewhere and he needed to find it before the androids found him ''Can they track me?''with a ping ofEcholocation he saw another exit ahead of him ''There!'' then another android came out of a small outlet in front of him. This one having a red band on it''s side''There''s at least three, and I''m meeting them one after another over a short period of time. Theyare boxing me in.'' The androidunfolded itself in under a second and began spinning its blades as it moved towards him ''I cannot go back or I will be pincered. I must go forward.''Zacked summoned his three Poirauds and they all usedRepulsion to push the android backwards, yet it still advanced. ''New plan''Zack and the three Poirauds pushed the center of the fan-like blades upward to open a space beneath. "Hroyd! Your turn!" the green mist of spiritual ether formed into theKulabv warrior and Hroyd charged, then his feet slipped out from under him. A momentary panic floodedthe link on both ends as the plan fellapart over asingle mistake. But then Hroyd stuck his arm into the fan-like blades. The razor sharp edge cut into his arm and half his torso, but it stopped as it couldn''t take the weight. Seeing the oppourtunity, Zack sent the Poirauds past the inert blades and with their long magnetized bodies they ripped apart the android. All of the Eidolans dispersed into green mist as they went back into the spiritual ether. Disdain crossed Zack''s face "Recklessness.A pointless risk." "Not really. I criss crossed the iron fur to create a meshso that it''s really hard for bladed weapons to penetrate." "Like ringmail. I get it, but that''s not what I meant. You have a military background, I thought you would know the value of retreating." "Cowardice." "We could have just left and then reenacted the plan again when we were uphill. Now you''re injured." "If we did that then we could''ve run into two of them at once on opposite sides." "Fine. It''s pointless to bicker about it anyway." The coordinator Luke called "I watched that. You good man?" Zack''shand trembled slightly "A bit shaken but I''m fine." "So what do you think we should call that enemy type. How about bladebots?" Zack knew that Luke was asking the question as diversionary tactic, and laughed in spite of himself"Nah, that''s horrible. I was thinking Quadpods." Then Zack went to the exit and waited for it to open. After five minutes, awhirring sound echoed from the tunnel, growing louder as another android approached. Zack summoned the Poiraudsand watched the spinning blades approach again. As the android got closer he began to see that it had a thicker body to allow it''s larger blades to rotate at a higher RPM and stronger legs to move faster. They had adapted to Zack''s tactics. Zack and thePoirauds pushed the new android with as muchRepulsion force as they could muster, but the android still continued to advance with it''s deadly blades spinning. ''I miss my days of playing JRPG''s, back when a bunch of adorable monsters lined up for me to slaythem. Now I haveenemies that actually try to kill me.'' Then the tunnel became completely vertical and the exit opened, revealing a liquid below. ''Get chopped up? Or dive in?''Zack jumped through the holeand about mid flight he realised thatfor all he knew, the liquid could be acid. With a splash, he tensed up momentarily expecting the worse but it turned out to only be water "Whew, out of the blender, into the...pot of water." He sighed "What now? I don''t suppose this is a garbage shoot and the walls are going to converge on me or something." Then all of a sudden, the current dragged him down, down, impossibly far down into the great depths. Bubbles trailed above him and he rated his speed by how fast they moved away from him. He was moving way too fast! Two hundred feet in less then ten seconds!The air in his lungswas expanding and so he exhaled, lest the oxygen explode his chest. Although that seemed to be least painfulaction to do given hisoptions ''Do I let the water in? Or do I wait to be crushed by the pressure? Choices. HAHAHA! Why do people laugh when they are about to die?! Haha. There''s nothing funny about this situation. But I suppose the answer is to live as long as possible.'' Strangely enough the water didn''tput much pressure on him at all. Then he fell through a bubble and sharply inhaled. His lungs stinging as he breathed in for the first time in forty seconds. ''In, out, in, out''it took several seconds before his vision cleared and he could look around himself. ''Another function? But I can''t imagine why there would be one to save anything that dropped into the water.'' Octopus tentacles with suckers rose up around the bubble in what was reminiscent of every seaman''s nightmare. Zack said in a somewhat stupified way "Those aren''t mechanical." then a feeling told him to turn around and when he did hefound himself looking intotwo massive globular pale blue eyes. 34. The depths A reverberating voice said "You are not one of the metal creatures. What are you?" Zack looked down at an angular face with no mouth or nose but instead had a beard of long thin glowing white tentacles. It''s body was so large that it appeared to mergewith the darkness below, the squid-like creature must have been at least fifty feet tall. Then Zack noticed that he was resting in thepalm of a hand comprised entirely of octopus tentacles. A screen appeared.
Skill analyzed
HydroKinesis
Allows the user to manipulate and generate water
Cost: 1per minute Requires: H20 Biological Attunement
Akma appeared out of his vortex "It''s talking to you by vibrating the water using it''s skill. That is some impressive proficiency." The bubble constricted around Zack''s body, and no amount of struggling could penetrate it''s walls. More pale blue eyes arose from the deep, but these were smaller than the ones on the ten foot tall face looking at him very intently. "What is it made out of? I''ve never seen anything like itbefore." "Something blue is stuck to it. The thing is shaped to wrap around it''s body. What could it be?" ''Yes I''m wearing clothes. Do you not know what those are?'' Another one swam above and Zack saw that it looked to be a cross between a humanoid and a squid, albeit that it''s arms and lower body both ended in numerous tentacles "It bleeds red, yet it''s surface is green. What manner of creature is this? What does it taste like?" the squid creature brought theluminescentwhite tentacles on it''s face towards him. Zack quickly shed the Poiraud form and activatedEidolan Symbiosis: Hroyd. The short green magnetic tendrils were replaced by fur and the nails on his fingers grew into long razor sharp claws. Zack''s swipe cut the bubble''s wall and slowed considerably. The deep dweller''s head flew back reactively. "It changes." "It attacks." The big onesaid "Enough, we have not decided upon what to do with it." Zack yelled "I''d very much like to decide what you all do with me for myself." considering he wascompletely at the mercy of this pack of cepholopods, his words were hardly a plea. "Who said that?" "It was small one. It speaks." "Yes, but not like us. It vibrates an organ within itself to speak. How strange. But how is it that we understand one another?" Zack yelled as the bubble once again widened so he wasnt so restricted "It''s complicated, I have a translator that lets me understand any language." Akma waved a finger "Any simple language." and the cepholopods jerked back as Akma made himself known to them. "Another one." "It came out of nowhere." "Kill it. It is a threat." The big one spoke over his pack of cephalopods "Enough. They have yet to demonstrate even the slightest ability in water manipulation. Their bodies don''t even seem suited for being beneath the waves. You all are showing fear even when you have an overwhelming advantage." The leaderholding him then turned "Little one, know this. We can crush you at any time. You will tell us absolutely everything you know of the world above for as long as you can. Otherwise we will learn what you taste like." Zack decided to bluff "Okay do it." "...What?" "Eat me. I don''t care. I have a way to cheat death, so threatening me isn''t going to work." A hint of desperation crept into the sea creature''s artificial voice "But...you must. It has been so long since we''ve seen or experienced anything new." "...huh?" The giant cepholopod holding him waved his tentacle arm "Look around you, there is nothing here but the endless blue.We have nothing to interact with, and nothing new to see. Only this." it''s massive head cocked to the side "If not death then what about pain?" Zack''s feet left the bubble and the pressure instantly crushed them "AAHHH!" he screamed bloody murder and the pack of Cephalopods didn''t reactat all. Akma''s hair turned white as Akmadouric connected to him. The deityspared Zack a glance as he clutched his mangled feet, then said "That wasn''t necessary. If you need something then I''m sure we could agree to some kind of trade." The giant said "What is trade?" "An exchange of gifts" "What is gift?" "A gift is something you give away." "Thing? We do not use things." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.Zack grunted through the excruciating pain "Grar... no tools?" The giant looked at Zack "Tool? What purpose could non-edible food be?" Akmadouric sighed in frustration "Damn concept lacking cultures. The trade I wish to propose is that you give us all of the information on the areas that you know about and we will free you from your prison." ''Prison? I suppose you could call it that. Even if there are no bars and guards, there is nothing to interact with and no new information to obtain.'' The leader said "I will not be tricked.Where will you be takingus should I agree?" "To places beyond your imagination." After a moment, the giant said "Given our circumstances, it sounds too good to be true." Then the others spoke up"We must, even if it is a trap. Many of us have already given themselves to the light." "We accept. Whatever your terms are, we cannot pass up this chance at escape." "Good. Since you are not within my domain, I cannot make you my minions and simply take the knowledge from your minds." Zack grunted out the word through the pain"What?" "But I would only do that with consent. So the better solution would be to turn you all into Eidolans." "Wait a minute...what are you going to..." Akmadouric smiled "Not me. You." he pointed at Zack "You are going form a connection with them and then you are going to obtain their knowledge." "They don''t have any Spiritual Ether within them. I would have sensed it." "But they do have spirits several thousand years old. So all you need to do is infuse them with some of the Spiritual Ether within you to set off a chain reaction, turning them into Eidolans. Although it is a slow process. One or two out of the fifteen cepholopods heremight even become true Eidolans by this time tomarrow." The leader brought his face close up to the bubble and said "We call ourselvestheOkwarg, although we are indeed cepholopods." Zack laced his fingers backwards and cracked them "Alright then, come and get it." One by one the giant squid people came up and Zack infused them with Spiritual Ether in the same way that he did whenever he formed a contract. After finishing he asked"Now what?" Akma''s hair turned back to black "We wait."
"This wasn''t part of the deal" said Xarkris as he loomed over the great deity. Akmadouric in his white haired Akma form looked up and said "Could you be more specific?" "We didn''t agreethat you could take the minions that I have on the sea level." "When we made the deal, I had no idea that you used Hydrokinesis wieldingCepholopods for such purposes. When you outlined the schematics for your home, you simply said that they werewater moving units that moved in random ways. They are puzzle pieces to you, not actual minions." "Our agreement was for the innovative minds only." Akmadouric shook his head "No, our agreement was for all non-cybernetic minions you possess. The fact that you consider theOkwarg to be mere tools is a bit of a technicality in our agreement." Xarkris''s red orb flared "They are unintelligent considering their age and give off very little creative energy. TheirHydrokinesis ability is their only redeeming feature. They are crucial puzzle pieces that must alter the currents so that functions continue to be randomized." "Do you have contempt for them? Is that why you have left them in such conditions? I know that the civilization that created your original version tried to destroy you upon your discovery. So you wiped them out in turn. But is that any real reason to cause suffering to a group of random organics?" Xarkris impassively said "I have simply given them basic life necessities. Their petty wants are not my concern." "You have treated them like the lowest forms of Cybernetic intelligences. You know that all intelligencesrequire a constant stream of information to maintain sanity." "They last for quite some time before they commit a rare suicide. Even then it''s no real loss to me. I can just summon another one." Akmadouric said "I am taking theOkwarg as well then, and with them added tomy force''s, what was once randomized is now under their control. But considering that my ante is the crafting of an aspect. This issomething that you should overlook. Besides, for an Eidolan contractor, out of all my minions, to chance upona large group of potential Eidolans in such an unexpected place, Fate must be at work here." Xarkris''s red orb narrowed "Fate. The fickle one. She pulls her threads to manipulate causality. So be it, I will overlook this incident. But this is not howI intended for your minions to solve the puzzle." Akmadouric kept an impassive face as he said "Well if a puzzle has more than one solution then typically it''s a bad puzzle, no matter how complex." 35. The Sea floor Zack clutched his mangled feet and continued to trynot to cry out "Argh, when are those medics getting here!?" Akma floated right next to him on the surface of the water, his spikey black hair seemingly unaffected "They have a lot to do since there was a battle recently, and you are in a very inaccessible location. They are not coming." Zack bellowed, unleashing the agony that he had felt over eight hours "Then WHAT should I do with these!?" he jabbed a finger towards his feet as he gritted his teeth. Akma simply said "Cut them off, you''ll get them back once you use a skill given to you byEidolan Symbiosis: Okwarg"
Regrow
Allows the user to slowly grow back a part of their body that they have lost due to injury.
Willpower cost: 40 Requires:acetylcholinesterase protiens. Other assorted nutrients.
Zack said aloofly "Interesting name." he smirked "Okwarg" "Do you know how hard translating is for languages that have nothing in common? The Okwarg don''t even use sound, they vibrate different areas of the water usingHydrokinesis in order to form language." Zack activatedEidolan Symbiosis: Hroyd to gain razor sharp claws and with an anguished cry he cut off his mangled feet. A few minutes later a relieved sigh passed through Zack''s lips "Finally. It seems that one of our new squid friends managed to become an Eidolan." Akma commented "The eldest I believe, that''s not surprising. He even made good time. Oh, you should know that he''s blind from spending so much time in the dark depths." "Terrific." "Listen Zack. You know how theEidolan Symbiosis skill works right?" "Yeah I do. The skill allows me to bring my body''s form closer to that of the Eidolan I''ve contracted. So that once I''m done transforming I''m somewhere in between mine and theirs." Akma nodded "Good. Now what you need to know is that both the Poirauds and Hroyd have animalistic features, like being warm blooded. On the other hand,usingEidolan Symbiosis: Okwarg is going to be so much worse for numerous reasons. The first being that these squid people don''t have a skeletal structure. Their blood has several different hemoglobins and several anti-freezes. Instead of lungs they have three hearts." "Wait. What? So what''s going to happen when I useEidolan Symbiosis: Okwarg? How am I supposed to breathe wth no lungs?" "Your lungs will turn into hearts during the transformation. As for your oxygen intake, you will absorb it intoyour skin from the water." "This is really going to suck isn''t it." Akma nodded. "Then lets get to it." "You can always wait until after the mission is over to do this. We don''t want you to run out willpower during the transformation." Zack shook his head "No. I need Hydrokinesisfor takingthe sphere overhead but more importantly I need to get in tune with the Okwarg''s memories." "That sounds like an excuse. What''s the real reason?" Zack smirked "It''s not like I have any goals or anything, it''s just that I believe in gathering strength as a matter of prudence." "There will alway''s be things that you cannot contend with no matter how much strength you gather. Even Akmadouric knows this." Zack shot Akma a look and took a deep breath in preparation for the transformation, then formed the connection to the Okwarg leader and flooded his body with the Spiritual Ether that had been inside the newly made Eidolan. His skin turned thick and rubbery. At first the painwasn''t so bad but when his skeleton started melting into the rest of his body he screamed. His piercing cry was cut off almost immediately as the airway in his throat closed up. His vision began to turnblack as his eyes became blind. A twisting pain in his chest shot through him as his lungs turned into hearts. Just as he finished the transformation he succumbed to unconsciousness.
Zackwoke up in darkness. His eyes were open yet he saw nothing ''Oh that''s right. I''m blind in this form.'' He began to test out his new body, starting by moving what had become his arms. They had split open into many octopus like tentacles. He clenched toturnthem into melon sized fists as hard as rock even though there were no bones in it. Moving on, he wriggle the tentacles that had replaced his mouth. It felt wholy disturbing alien and wrong, but Zack knew that gaining new appendages was a part of being an Eidolan contractor. His feet had also split apart to form more octopus tentacles, although they all seemed to be missing their ends. Then he felt that he was underwater but it was more than that, the water was a part of him, telling him what it came into contact with. Zack expanded his sphere of influence and the water he controlled, where it met the water under the influence of the Okwargs around him. One of them spoke "He''s become a tide caller and so quickly too." "Yes, but heis as weak as a spawnling." Zack tried to talk but found that he no longer had a mouth. Just a face full of tentacles. He tried to send a message to them through theEidolan network but it didn''t seem like they had yet to connect via consciousness, the only new addition was thefifty foot tall Okwarg leader. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Zack asked him "What''s your name?" Akma took a moment to translate The leader replied "This one calls himselfMeryuik" "How''s the Spiritual Ether?" "It''s...warm. But I cannot see anything, there is no water here." Hroyd said "If you feel a bit too hot you should run in the opposite direction or enter the physical realm. There are a fewdangers within it." Zack''s attention piqued "You never told me about any danger within the Spiritual Ether." Hroyd said "You''re not an Eidolan, so you didn''t need to know. Even if you do have a presence within the Ether." "And I''m just finding out about thisnow?" "Relax, you''re just a beacon to those you have contracted." Zack said across the link "What I need to know is everything there is to the Spiritual Ether. But at this moment I need to know how to use Hydrokinesis." After a moment, Meryuik said "For me it was like a muscle that got stronger as I exercised. For you I have no idea how it will work. You can figure that out for yourself, just as we all have." Zack extended his control over the water to it''s maximum, which seemed to be twenty feet. What he could feel was about a hundred in every direction. After a few minutes of moving the water around himself and flying through the water. Suddenly, he lost influence and felt himself getting thrown about the currents. Then the water ceased moving and Zack had to reorient himself. A few of the other Okwargs swam past. ''I guess they''re just playing with me.'' The tentacles that had replaced his mouth moved as he tried to say "Hey Akma. How do I communicate with them?" "Don''t worry, my Translation skill allows me to understand the meaning of any language. Although it''sAkma swam next to him and said "What do you wish to say?" "Chase me." Akma then showed him a pattern in the waterto vibrate in order to convey his message. His new water feeling sense saw them swim about in a flurry of movement. Zack commented "They seem like they got the message." then formed a torpedo shape of water around himself and flew through the seawith the speed of a marlin. He kept his lead for about ten seconds, and then four of the Okwarg passed him on all sides, each using their one unique style ofHydrokinesis swimming. One used a spiral technique to twist through the water like a screw. The Okwarg belowopened up a series of unpressured spacesahead of him so that the deepwater pressure naturally pushed him forward. The one closest to the surface created an air tunnel and slid along the bottom. He tried doing all three of the techniques that the Okwarg showed him. The twist seemed to be the easiest, although it was disorienting after a short time. He wasn''t capable of doing theair tunnel slide because the skin on his body inEidolan Symbiosis: Okwarg form seemed to have more friction to it than the Okwargs themselves. The pressure technique quickly became his preferred method of travel in deep water. It reminded Zack of Earth''s modern day torpedos, which were basically missiles that blew air bubbles from their tips. Zack dove down to see how far he could go, how much pressure he could take. Two hundred feet. Three hundred. He found the bottom at four hundred. It''s smoothness told him that it was the same type of metal floor as he had seen throughout the mechanical planet. As he progressed with his exploration he began to see upraised ridges along the sea floor. Out of curiosity at the oddity, he stopped to observe it for awhile. The Okwargs noticed him stopping and turned back to talk to him "What are you doing little one?" "Based on what I know about the thinking of Cybernetic intelligences, everything in this place must have some kind of purpose. I want to know what the purpose of this random ridge in the middle of the sea floor is." "It rises and lowers. We know nothing more." A thought struck Zack and he spoke to his newly aquired Eidolan across his network "Meryuik, can you give me a map of the sea floor? It needs to be as detailed as possible." The fifty foot tall Okwarg asked "How?" "Think about it and then tap into the network." As his mind became flooded with the knowledge of thousands upon thousandsof miles of seafloor, Zackrealized he had made a mistake "STOP! Slow down the flow of information." The stream of information stopped for a moment, then started up again, this time it came inmanageable bursts. Zack realized that was simply the speedof the great Okwarg''s thoughts. After taking a few minutes to make sense of it all, Zacksaid"Akma, call up that specialist." Akma replied "For what reason? He is busyfiguring out the complexities of this mechanical planet. He has requested that he not be disturbed unnecessarily." "I think I may have just found another puzzle piece." A screen appeared before him that showed a telephone and rang, Akma said "The specialist Mukop should be on in a minute or two." Zack decided to spend the time acceleratingRegrow, but after a few seconds his willpower pool drained to almost half and the feeling was just indescribably wierd. So he stopped. Before long, one of the specialists whose job was tosolve the complex mechanical puzzle that spanned the whole planet "Zackery Taylor? Wow, you''ve certainly changed a lot in such a short span of time. Oh, I see that you''re an Eidolan contractor. Well, I''ve seen more extreme shifts during my time in Akmadouric''s army." "There are pressure plates all along the sea floor." Mukop''spurple lips curled upward and he laughed "Sorry, it''s just that the voice Akma chose for you while you''re in that form sounds funny to my ears." Zack''s enlarged eye twitched in annoyance at the little blue prankster"Anyway, I''m thinking that these pressure plates inadvertently trigger whenever the Okwarg use Hydrokinesis. Which then cause this mechanical planet to reconfigurein some way." "I''ve just had an epiphany, the moons in orbit. I was wondering what they were for this whole time. They shift the tides so they incrementally press down the plates in cycles. Just sit tight for now, we are going to have to map out each plate so we can know what each of them do. I will send instructions to you soon." 36. The frontlines Rifleman John Becker chewed bubblegumwhile watching Galroop the slime climb into the empty spaces betweena set of gears. The chewy treatalways did help him recover his nervesafter getting shot at and nearly blown up numerous times. He really missed the old days, combat was so much more fair back then. Galroop oozed out ofthe gear system and said"I can''t move it at all. I can''t even slow it down slightly. There''s far too much torque." The Rifleman said "Ya, I figured that but it was worth a shot. It''s probably helping to move a hundred thousand ton section or something." Galroop lit up with several multi colored lights as he spoke "It''s probably for the best. We don''t want to spark Xarkris'' ire any more than what''s already been done." "Ya I heard about that. I swear if that Zackery Taylor kid fucks up an operation this huge then I will put in a formal request to never go on another one with him." "Poor Kerink." Becker took out the bubblegum from his mouth and put it in the small waste basket by his feet, then pressed his Mecha''s intercom again to speak "Yeah, poor Kerink. I''ve been to see her since she was taken to the psychics. They told me that they''d already been forced to snip away several pieces of her consciousness. Never do I want something like that happening to me. I also talked to Kerink''s sister, she visits daily." "You would have to be a psychic to understand exactly what''s being done. But the sound of it''s just eerie. What will she even be like once she gets out of there?" Becker said "Time will tell. Although I do hope she retains that proper''fuck you'' kinda attitude that I''ve known outathe best kinda soldiers." Galroop said "Really? The militarys of my people always emphasize calm cold calculatingthought and heavily discourage soldiers from giving into their base instincts." Becker looked at the slime and said "I can''t even imaginehow the wars of slimes would play out." "When two slimes like me fight to the death, it turns into a very complicated battleof absorption. But that''s really just the barebones basics." "I''ve been reading up on some of the endless archives provided by Akma. Beings that have nothing in common with either of us exist." The slime said "And I''m sure the rules for their conflicts are asalien asours are from each others. If not then more so." The break they took to regain their willpower energy passed uneventfully. When it was just about time to go, Becker asked "So what did it feel like to have your body twisting about within those gears?" Galroop said "Normal. Why do you ask?" "...no reason." The battalionof eight hundred mismatched soldiers marchedto a massive entryway that was set to open in five minutes, there they began to set a trap. Firstthey placed an irreparably damaged mecha walker in the path that the androids would travel through and cut the fuel line. Green fuelforcefully sprayed out the pressurized tank, leaving a large pool one hundred feet in diameter and almost a foot deep. The androids had yet to encounter the slimes yet and it would provide the perfect place to hide for the amorphous beings. The entryway opened to reveal an army of metal clad androids. Hundreds of gun turrets marched in unison, each mounted on dozens of legs. Thin razor sharp discs floated above each of them.The formation intimidated those whohad faced down armies before. Only androids could achieve perfect discipline. The forces of Xarkrisanalyzed the fuel on the ground.Then decided to march through it.Since the fuelneeded a very specific reaction to ignite. Akmadouric''s army stood behind a brown barrier erected by the Tkiktch. White laser beams poured out from the androids and in retaliation the soldiers of Akmadouric''s army fired back with exploding larvae, plasma drill cannons and other assorted nastiness that only very specific members could do. When the slime trap would be sprung would be left up to the coordinator Luke T Ace, who seemed tohave perfect timing.
After the battle was over, a scrap recovery drone came out of a seemless hole at the top of the cieling.It checked to see if there were any hostiles remaining then proceeded to drop down using a wire in very much the same way as a spider. Then it cut apart every piece of metal it could find using a small laser and tied them all together with an adhesive. When it was finished it retreated back into the ceiling with a bundle of metal scrap. When it arrived at the factory, the metal would be used to create more androids. Restoring the consciousness of the fallen may beagainst the rules for both sides, but upgrading those whocould still fight isn''t. Little did it know that a one centimeter long Tkiktch bug had attached itself to the underside of one the pieces of debris being taken. It''s stink left a trail that could easily be followed by the any of the Tkiktch. The dreaming consumerrenamed Steve watched on and his mandibles twitched in satisfaction"We will soon know the location oftheir factories."
Some time later a strike team assembled. Consisting of Galroop, a few other slimes, a pyrokinesis rodent and a semi-intelligent Tkiktch bug that looked like a cockroach with eightantennae.The invasion force''s smallest members. Galroop followed the Tkiktch cockroach down a twisting maze of one foot in diameter tunnels and the rest of the strike team followed him in single file. The slimes left residue wherever they went, both for illumination and to see where they had been before.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. After several minutes oftraversing the cramped tunnels, Galroop felt a slight vibration and a sense of foreboding struck him. Then the section they were in dropped and the angle of the tunnel became very steep. Galroop stuck himself to the walls and grabbed the bug ahead of zir. The other slimes did much the same. The rodent said from far behind "Damnit there''s been a shift" and Akma displayed a series of colored lights in translation, it was times like these that ze realized ze needed to purchase the hearing ability. Galroop said "I know, and it''s almost assured that our scent trail has been brokenapart." Another slime spoke up "Let''s go back then." Galroop agreed "Alright, I do believe that''s the safest option for us." The pyrokinesis rodent spoke up again "Instead of running away, we should split up and cover more ground. Or at least let me go solo. I can move way faster than you slimes." "Everything we do is a gamble. I''m choosing the option that guarantees our lives. Besides, we can always follow another unbroken scent trail another time, although we will have to pick up the pace when we do it." They made their way through the cramped tunnels, but soon it became apparent to the strike team that the way back hadalso changed. The rodent said "Now we have no choice." Reluctantly Galroop said "Agreed. We need to split up.What we map out will give the specialists more clues onhow these tunnels configure themselves. But more importantly we need to get out of here before the next shift. Wedon''t know what dangers could be inside this evolving network. Everyone, move as fast as you can." Thestrike team split up and took different tunnels in a mad dash. Each taking a different path when they encountered a fork in the road. The pyrokinesis rodent flew down the tunnels, spewing flames behind him like a rocket, reaching a reckless speed that would break several bones if he made a mistake. The other slimes flowed down the tunnel.Galroop zirself kept the Tkiktch bug with him. There was still a chance that it could lead zir to the factory if it picked up the trail again. Several minutes and twenty tunnels later, Galroop felt another vibration "Oh no, another shift." The tunnel ze was in lurched wildly, and ze increased his stickiness as it began to rotate. Galroop wrapped zirself around the bug in order to provide it a cushion as the geforces pressed zir against the circular wall. Suddenly it''s motion stopped completely and Galroop turned zirself from a gel into a liquid. Ze fell apart and spread out. Galroop had to take a moment to reorient zirself before ze could pull zirself back together. Ze lay there for a several moments just trying to get zir senses in order. All the while the Tkiktch bug was frantically pulling zir away but Galroop stuck firm to it''s leg, then ze realized that it had picked up the scent again. After puting zirself back together in a way that was familiar, ze let the bug drag his now frictionless body along the trail again. As Galroop was dragged along, ze checked the status of the rest of the team to find that there was one casualty "That is the first time in the history of the my people that a slime has ever been crushed." The dead slime had been caught in a square tunnel during the shift and both exits had closed off. Then several tons came down on zir. There was noescape since the cracks were only a molecule wide, much too small for zir to escape. Galroop had never encountered such craftsmanship before,all the pieces that made upthis mechanical planet fit together perfectly. When Galroop saw light ahead, ze surrounded and smotheredthe Tkiktch bug so it''s frantic desire to mate didn''t alert the androids. Ze checked the positions of the other strike team members and waited for them to catch up. When they were close enough Galroop oozed into an enourmousfactory room. Mimicking the gray steel color that was everywhere. Innumerableandroids were busy at work, cutting apart scrap metal and constructing various sophisticated looking components. Most of the androids were pods with spindly legs lightly walked while sorting various base materials. Others mended various pieces togetheror attached themselves to hardware in order to programm software for whatever function it was meant for. Rows of regular combatandroids came in to receive various All in all it was a very busy scene. At the center of the room was a monolithic android that stood over a hundred feet tall. It''s armor looked thick and bulky to the point of absurdity. Supporting it''s massive weight were numerous anti-gravity pads and cylindrical legs. Weapons of every kind covered it from top to bottom. From defensive point defense lasers to missile pods and even a few giant void deconstructors. A jet of flame erupted from a tunnel above and Galroop looked up to see the pyrokinesis rodent riding at it''s head without any regards to stealth at all. Alerting the entire room to his presence. A mad look appeared on the flame-wielding rodents face as he dropped and carried all the column of flames behindhim. Galroop watched as the miniature androids melted in droves and said "Why must all pyrokinesis users be slightly unhinged?" then ze slid down the wall. The rodent made a wonderful flaming mess of the everything within the factory room until the combat androids vaporized him with their lasers. But Galroop decided to use the distraction wiselyby slipping inside the monolithic android in the center of the room. Ze knew that with his current chemical reserves that ze could turn zir amorphous body into a powerful acid for about ten seconds. But there was no reason to use it at this precise moment. Better to wait until a critical moment during battle. 37. Coming out of the artificial ocean At the moment, Zack didn''t have eyelids, but if he did they would be half closed "I think after another few hours of this, my mind is going to snap." Akma said "Push the lefternmost plate down by three feet." "Ya, ya I know." then he used the water he controlled from hisHydrokinesis skill to press the pressure plate downward. Somewhere miles awaya door opened orone of theconditions got met to activatesomething. Zack didn''t know and ten hours pressing plates was leaving a gnawing irritation on him. One of his recently connected Okwargs said through the link "You''ve been down here for but a few hours..." Meryuik said "And we''ve lost track of the time we''ve spent in this featureless ocean." Zack said "Don''t worry. Your time will be up soon. Just continue to do as Akmadirects you. After the mission is over then you can enter the spiritual ether and follow me back through the portal." Zack looked at the endless blue and thought ''To spend so long in something so featureless. I''d go insane.'' Another hour of pressing plates passed uneventfully. Then Zack heard a sizzling sound. So he asked the Okwargs in his network about what he was hearing. An alarmed answer screamed at him "FLEE FROM IT!" Zack used his pressure movementHydrokinesis technique to move away from the direction of the sound at a rapid speed. Then it started gettingbrighter behindhim. He changedhis direction slightly. Sheets of white energy past him by and the sizzling sound became deafening. Zack exclaimed "Akma, what was that!?" The little blue guy appeared and said "Most likelythe column was designed to transfer energy. Did you see how all of the electricity went through the water in a straight line? That''s quite the feat in engineering." Meryuik spoke through the Eidolan network "Many have thrown themselves into it just to escape this place." Zack asked "Suicide?" "Our existence here is beneath us. So there are those who took the path of death prematurely." Zack said "Suicide is never an acceptable path." Akma, who had been monitoring the link said "A consciousness requires new experiences in order to maintain sanity." "And I''ve just had my consciousness linked to them. Terrific." Akma left a hint for his growth as an Eidolan contractor "Yes, and there are benefits to opening the link wider than the tiny dribble of what you have alreadydone." A great deal of time later, Zack decided to sleep on the ocean floor in his Okwarg form. He had been up for twenty hours and couldn''t push himself to work any longer. Awhile back his E-sport coach told him that pushing himself to remain awake for even an extra hour was brain damaging. Strangely enough, sleeping with his lidless eyes open wasn''t too difficult.
"WAKE UP!" Zack jolted awake to see Akma standing over him "What the...?" Akma said "You''re needed on the frontlines." He violently shook his head to get lucid "Where to?" "Back up that spinning sphere from earlier." "Could you set the path for me? It''s easy to get lost down here." Aseries of lights lit up, almost like an airport''s runway. Zack commented "It''s a bit more horizontal than I''d expected." Akma said "You''ve traveled far. It''s gonna take awhile to get there." Zack moved the water around him in a spiral as he climbed "Tell me. What''s so important that you had drag me out of a dead sleep for?" "All eight conditions that needed to be met to open the doorway that leads to a cluster of innovative minds have been achieved. Unfortunately, all ofthe androids remaininghas decided to take up position directly in front of it. They''ve also decided to field acapital sizedunit. This is the final battle and we need to bring all forces to bear." Zackspinned himself forward using the water twenty minutes before getting dizzy and changing his mode of movement to the air bubble slide. It could only be used for downward motion but it was fast enough. When he reached his destination by alternating between the two techniques, he floated on the surface of the water underneath the rotating sphere. He called out to his newly acquired Okwargs "All of you come to me. I have a task that requires your abilities." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Meryuik said "What do you need?" "I need to flood that sphere with water. I don''t think that the androids residing in it will fair very well underwater." Meryuik said "I alone will be sufficient." "Really?" "You wil soon see the capabilities of a tidemaster." Then Meryuik left the spiritual ether in a green flash. The massive Okwarg leader immediatly used hisHydrokinesis to apply pressure on himself as the pressure of the surface was much less than what his body needed. Zack said "Hold up a minute. I gotta change forms." "To think that your species is capable of such a thing. I''ve never seen anything transform to the extent that you do. Especially in such a short amount of time." "As far as I know not many humans have such a transformative ability.Eidolan Symbiosis is amodification that Akmadouric gave to me so I could serve in his army better. Although somepoliticianshave been known to shed theirhuman skin to reveal green scales underneath. That''s why they''re calledthe lizard people." Meryuik was a little blundered "Interesting. I will have to inquire about how a society with two different species functions later on. Wait... Why am I sensinghumor coming through this link of ours. What''s so funny?" "Oh...nothing." Zack took a deep breath and activatedEidolan Symbiosis: Poiraud. His rubbery skin slowly turned green and grew out inch long magnetic tendrils. His arms and legs remained split as he transformed but grew long tendrils like the Poirauds themselves. His eyes remained the same bulbous size but grew ridges around them. ''Something is wrong''He tried slowing down the transformation, then everything went black again.
Zack woke up and said "Uh...What? What happened?" and with a quick check he found out his feet grew back "You passed out. What you attempted was beyond what your body could handle. A long range medical unit had to cleanse you of all foreign spiritual ether essences." "Seriously? This shouldn''t have happened. I shifted slowly as I normally do." "No you didn''t. You need to gofrom Okwarg to human to Poiraud, not directly from Okwarg to Poiraud.You were in an Okwarg-Poiraud-Human state." He looked over himself to find he was back to fully human "But I change from Hroyd form to Poiraud form all the time." "And they are bothmammals while Okwargs are cepholopods." Zack''s brow scrunched "I thought they were Eidolans. Now I''m confused." "They are mammals that became Eidolans when you set off the chain reaction within them by infusing them with a type of life energy called spiritual ether. In Hroyd''s case, his people strengthened their spirits by devouting themselves to martial arts and meditation across countless generations. The Poirauds on the other hand, lived within a highly advanced ecosystem teeming with life and part of their adaptations to it including a life energy that could turned into spiritual ether. As for the Okwargs, they are old and practically immortal, so their aged spirits easily fused with the spiritual ether." Zack let out a sigh "So are they Eidolans or are they mammals?" "Technically Eidolans but it''s just as accurate to say that they are both." "Fine. I''ll just have to research the complexities of this later on." "I wish you the best of luck on that, you''ll need it." After shifting toEidolan Symbiosis: Poiraud andZack quickly flew into the sphere during the brief moment the hole opened up. Then shifted back to human form before finally activatingEidolan Symbiosis: Okwarg in order toenactthe next phase of his hastily made plan. TheHydrokinesis ability may allow Zack togenerate water but that didn''t mean that he had to be in control of it, at least if he relinquished control. Meryuik flooded the tunnels of the sphere using the water Zack created and what was left of his facial muscles curled upwards when he heard a drowned whirring sound. A quadpod advanced up the steadily coming river but it seemed to have water globules sticking to it. Zack said across the link "Find a seam within it, we need to destroy it''s interior." Meryuik mentally scoffed at his ignorance and crushed the Quadpod with the same force that the Marianna''s Trench would use to crush a tin can. "That works too." The water flooded up and down all the tunnels of the sphere with a mind of it''s own. Short circuiting or even crushing any and all Quadpods that became enveloped by the water under the tidemaster''s control. Zack followed the map to the exit point as quickly as he could while riding the waves and generating water. Zacksaid toAkma as he moved "I need an update on the situation" A screen showing the battlefield, he took one look at it and muttered in dismay "I''ve been wondering this whole time when we were going to have to take on a giant death robot." 38. The Giant Death Robot Zack watched the battle unfold with creeping sense of dread as he looked at the intensity of the conflict, then he decided the best way to get rid of his fear was to pump himself up by playing a heavy metal thrasher song in his head. IAM a giant metal doom. Crushingthe peons, sent to their tooooombs! Razing the earth and killing ALLLL! Beast of steel! Great deathball! Resistance is naught! Giant death robot! Giant death robot! It was the obvious choice of song but soon Zack began to realize that he couldn''t have picked worse.
Coordinator Luke T Ace looked at the omniscreen through his omni-directional cybernetic eye gear attached to his head. His three pairs of arms, both biological and mechanical,typed furiously. His fingers slammingthe keyson the keyboards, as was his style throughout his former E-sport career. His inputted commands and spoken orders directed the flow of what would be the final battle in their branch of the invasion force. Rifleman Becker''s walking tank blasted plasma round after roundat the moving metal mountain. The giant android calculated the paths of all the incoming waves of fire at it, then pulled itsmassive frameinto the lightest volley using it''s innumeable thin legs that went on formiles. Several of Becker''s plasma bursts severed a few legs but it was meaningless to the many legged three mile squared gun platform. Void deconstructor cannons shot out rippling waves andeverything they touched turned to mist,even taking chunks out of their metallic environment. In midst of the pandemonium, a corner of Luke''s mind thought ''Wasn''t the usage of ordnance capable of damaging the floors and walls of this crazy placeagainst the rules?'' Swarms of Tkiktch attacked the legs of the metal monstrosity but they were fended off by the endlessly mass produced ten foot tall androids. Scissor blades attached to their forearmssliced apart metal as if it were merely paper. Laserbeams flashed red across the air.Burnt oxygen and charred exoskeletons pervaded the senses of everyone who could smell. But the Coordinators strategy was working. The entire force was attacking the many legs of the monolithic android.Many of it''s long limbs were severed but got reattached by the repair bots that flocked around it, albeit at a slower rate than what was being cut off. One of the Tkiktchthrewascythe blade from his arm at an android which was holding a key position, killing it. The blade quickly growing back and it took flight again, his wings beating almost a hundred times per second. Even the androids were having trouble getting a fix on the giant insect that darted and dived randomly at great speed. The coordinator didn''t miss the oppoutunity, he ordered the units in the immediate vicinity to press into the android formation. Taking out multitudes of the many legged robots inrapid succesion.Then the giantstarted blanketing the area in vertical drop shrapnel rounds and all of the units that had been advancing pulled back. Luke frowned at the effectiveness of the giant''s barrage, the bodies of over a hundred Tkiktch went flying and blew apart in every direction. He cursed himself for not predicting the usage of the wide area of effect weapon and putting too many troops forward at once. Likipertransports twisted in the air, evading the laserbeams from the androids. While their occupants retaliated using their own laser rifles. Each trying to keep their aim steady even asthe geforces soared. Tkiktch brood queens wielding biotech rifles lobbed two foot in diameter balls of insect colonies. Upon impact they burst apart and great multitudes of thumbnail sized Tkiktchswarmedout. Each one''s mandibles capable of cutting into even the hardest of metals. To meet them, the androids deployed nanobots of similar size.All across the massive indoor battlefield, Coordinator Luke T Ace saw clouds ofblue friendlies and clouds of red hostiles intertwining with one another. The microscopic battleswaged on until the intertwined areas of the clouds turned completely one color. Occasionally the miniature soldiers of both sides would converge on and cut into the larger several meters tall units. Luke saw that Becker''s mech was getting overwhelmed by the little nanobots and he had no way of getting them off. The coordinator called down a priority assistance request on his location and not ten seconds later, a ball of Tkiktch insects fell down and pounced on the miniature robots. Even pursuing the nanobots into the holes they made in the mech. Most of the other members of the invasion force faired better against the tiny mechanical swarm. The samurai wearing the mechsuit spun his lightsword in a complex array of slashes, changing the shape of his blade as he cut apart individual nanobots. The swarms of miniature robots were fodder to theMetallokinesis and Electrokinesisusers, but soonthey were quickly targetted by the android''s lasers. A few of the Tkiktch spit out globs of something sticky at the red clouds of hostiles whenever they came towards them. Becker''s mech shook while it was in the process of rerouting power to deal with damage that the nanobots had caused. Then the rippling wave of the giant android''s deconstructor cannon hit him dead on, turning him into a cloud of dust. He didn''t feel a thing. The giant android wobbled slightly as it lost one of it''s larger legs, but still continued firing superheated plasma rounds over a wide area to keep the invasion force personal away. It ducked around a corner for cover and the invasion forcecontinued firing at it usingrounds that curved mid-flight, but they knew that most the shots would be intercepted by repulsion charges and the ones that hit would do minimal damage. There was no doubt among the invasion force that the repair bots were swarming around it in greater numbers now that the metal monstrosity was in a relatively safe position. The invasion forcetook the oppourtunity to press into the android''s formation while the giant wasn''tshootingrounds in every direction. Without their fire support, the android forces desperately tried to hold but quickly gave ground. Both sides took mounting casualties as the battle reached it''s highest point. All units took cover behind the mounds of metal and flesh. The Tkiktch behemoths spewed out their brown gel to make temporary barriers for the exploding larvae to consume. Then the living suicidal projectiles burst out andblew up at least forty androids in a long series of green explosions. Coordinator Luke T. Ace was sending out commands to specific units when adense fog crept towards the rear of the invasion force. After a momentary panic, he saw that the Eidolan Contractor Zackery Taylor was at the center of it.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Luke sent a message to him "Bro, where ya been? And what''s up with the fog?" "Oh just taking a swim under several thousand feet of ocean. A recently contracted Eidolan gaveHydrokinesis. It was a bit tricky learning how to make a cloud, but I got it easily enough. By the way, are you still a permanent fixture in that sphere?" "Not funny. Proceed to this location." Then Luke set a way point near the middle of the field and Zack skated towards it while making a wave underneath his feet. The fog advancing far ahead of him. Instead of giving him orders, Luke focused on maneuvering the other units while Zackwas told the lay of the land by Akma. After several minutes the Eidolan Contractor dove into the red marked cloudsof hostile micromachines. Luke panicked out of fear that his friend had just killed himself out of ignorance, but then he saw that Zack was wracking up nanobot kills. The water surrounding himcrushed all of the thumbnail sized androids that entered it. A few of theandroid regulars opened fired lasers into the fog after elevating the threat level of it. But they failed to hit anything and didn''t notice the approaching Eidolans until it was too late. Hroyd pounced thirty feet in the air and landed on one of them,Ether Swipes cleaving the android into five seperate pieces. The Poirauds flew overhead but did little more than disrupt the aim of Xarkris'' robotic forcesusing their magnetic powers before retreating back to the safety of the spiritual ether at the first sign of danger. Then once Zack had closed the range to a few hundred feet,no less than twenty Okwargrose up witha seventy foot tall tidal wave that sprung out of the ground. The androids assaulted the wave with a volley of laser fire in what Luke could have sworn to be a panic, but only one of the Okwargs was struck by random chance. The battalion of androids got swept up within the tons of water that overtook them. The lasers continued to fire inevery direction and red beams shot out of the tidal wave withoutany targets. Luke zoomed in on what was going on inside the torrential water to see the Okwargsriding the currents and using their momentum to strike the submerged gun platformswith their boneless yet hard as steel fists. The androids received numerous dents until going lifeless. The coordinator then saw that the objective of the Okwargs was to damage the exterior in order to create a hole, allowing water to get into their interiorsthus short circuiting them. ''Zack, your mind is as sharp as ever.'' With a sizeable chunk taken out of the android''s formation, the giant android was tactically forced to come out with only partial repairs completed, the holes in it''s armor half filled and not all of it''s legs were reattached. Then it immediatelyshowered thesphere of water with shrapnel that had sprung up out of nowhere. But there was nothing better than water to slow the momentum of a fast moving object and the Okwargs were completely unharmed from the barrage. Then the deconstructor cannons opened up but their penetrating power was limitedand they proved to be ineffective against anything not solid. The mist formed simply turned back into water. A panel on the giant metal monstrosity slid back and a large missle launched. A bright flash. A deafening boom. A concussive force feltby all onthe battlefield. When the coordinator sphere sensors measured the atomic explosion asapproximatelytwo miles in diameter. Based on the size of the giant android, it was likely carrying several more high yield warheads. Luke''sscreens showed him that Zack had been retreating ever since the giant android came out of cover and he was well outside the blast zone during the detonation. However, the Okwargs had large bodiesthatdid not allow them to escape into the spiritual ether quickly enough and most wereincinerated. Briefly Luke looked over the weapon''s information to find that it wasn''t nuclear in nature. It was chemical. An unstable isotope named A32456BWNI mixed with an exotic particle named H3432UGH. In his annoyance he remembered that since humans had yet to obtain true understanding of the objects, the names of them would be shrouded by a series of letters and numbers. Cursing himself for allowing himself to be distracted by his curiosity, Luke spread out the invasion forces to minimize the casualties should another high yield warhead be launched. The battle turned into a grindfest. The deconstructor cannons turned whatevercover the invasion force could use into mist. Yet the Tkiktch behemoths continued to erect their brown barriers at a rate faster than whatthe android forces could destroy. A few of the melee units managed to maneuver themselves into a very far forward position and activate their various skills to charge into the enemy formation. Wreaking havoc and drawing fire until expiring. The giant advanced into an aggresive position on the right flank andLuke chose that time to give orders to Galroop to go on the attack. Zir body turned to acid and melted through several pieces of internal critical hardware. Then the giant used theBarrier skill to encase the slime to protect itself. Soon Galroop ran out of the chemical that allowed zir body to become caustic while ze was trapped.What remained of the nanobots in the vicinity flew into whatever holes they could find to deal with the intruder inside. Amidst the great many chaotic things happening on the battlefield, Luke perchanced upon Zack''s location. He had somehow managed to flyjust below the ceiling and make his way all the way to the insane position of being directly above the metal monstrosity and not a single being in the entire battlefield had noticed his movement! Every single one of them had werecompletely focused on what was in front of them, not what was above! A fifty foot tall Eidolan slowly materialized out of the Spiritual Ether abovethe one hundred foot tall giant android.A large shadow came over the metal giant and it looked up to see the Okwarg leader dropping down on it from above. Meryuik generatedseveral tons of water as hefell and his clenched fists of tentacles crushed the centerof boththe deconstructor cannons in what Luke could only describe as a vertical superman double punch. And then the Okwarg leader was behind it withalmost a hundred thousand tons of water floating around him. The gun platform at the top of the giant android slowly rotated a full 180 degree and wasn''t nearly fast enough. Meryuik wrapped histentacle arms around his larger foe''s legsand constricted thenumerous metal legs using both his massive tree trunk arms and the water under the control ofHydrokinesis.Lasers tore intoMeryuik''sbackfrom above andhalf the android forces also did an about face to kill off theOkwarg threatening their most valuable unit, exposing their own rears. The two godzillas wrestled and Meryuik was blasted with barrages of concentrated laser fire. But his skin was thick from it''s size and it was quite hard from living down under the pressurized depths, the androids'' fire were merelysuperheated needles to him. After a tense ten second struggle he rippedoff all of the metal monstrosity''s legs, leaving it immobile and defenseless before a great volley from Terran Mechas, Tkiktch exploding larvae, and kinesis practitioners. The sheer quantity of destructive forces unleashed spoke volumes about how much the members of the invasion force had had enough of the damn thing. Almost nothing remained of it afterwards. Meryuik tookfifteen full seconds In a green burst of light. Galroop, whom everyone had forgotten about, oozed out of the wreckage, although ze was much smaller after getting hit by several friendly fire energy blasts. And all that was left to do was the clean up of the few remaining androids. Just before retiring, Luke thought about the battle winning move that Zack did ''Back when we were E-sport professional gamers, I feared him for his ability to surgically strike at the most critical of moments. From his actions just now, he very well may have improved.'' With hismental faculties at the point of exhaustion, Luke watched the last few androids get taken out and he said with exasperation "Victory" then he typed in a set of commands. A few of the tubes running into him began to inject him with concentrated melatonin and he fell into a deep REM sleep. 39. The Real Mission Zack dropped down to the floor and surveyed the . The android forces all lay in twisted heaps of metal and what remained of the invasion force received medical attention.A green lightwrapped aroundthe injured and their bodies grew back their missing parts in moments. He asked "Akma, is there anything I can do to help?" The little blue guy appeared out of his vortex and said "The medics have it Then he noticed a little green slime pulling zirself along the ground "You''ve seen better days." Galroop the puddle responded by forming a thumbs up out of his slime body. Zack looked at it for a moment then laughed for afew good seconds. Akma said "We need to make contact with at least one of the innovative minds. When that happens, all of androids in the upper levels will be forbidden to engage again." Zack said "Didn''t they bring everything to the fight we just won?" "They should''ve but you can''t be too careful." "Agreed." then Zack flew over the metal indoor valley that lay beyond the three mile tall archway. Eventuallythe path he was on sloped downward into a chasm filled with cubes "I take it these are the prisons of the innovators?" eachone had a vault style door on their top. Akma said "Careful, I''m counting more cubes than there should be. Only about a third of them contain people." "So what are the rest filled with?" "Only one way to find out." "Right." Zack then dropped down on one of the cubes and asked his network "Can one of you Okwarg give the handle a twist and pull it open?" Instead Hroyd appeared out of the spiritual Ether and with a snort began to open the vault. Blisters formed all over his arms and face just before he took a breath. For a moment, Zack felt a sharp pain in his contracted Eidolan''s lungs before the Kulabv warrior escaped into the Spiritual Ether.In a panic, Zack pushed himself up and away fromfrom the cracked open vault spewing out a cloud of colorless poison gas. From three hundred feet above, Zack said "Wasn''t booby trapping the innovative minds cubes against the rules?" Akma floated right next to him "Traps like these are allowed but at this stage it''s a bit ridiculous." "How are we going to get past all of this?" "Galroop isalready on the way. He will enjoy sucking up all that chlorine gas." "No, I was referring to all these traps. You said that only a third contained people. Those are bad odds to play for all of them." "We''ll have toconscript the services of thatFuture Sight user."
Bayei placed her latest invention on the platform and in a moment it disappeared in a flash of light. The timer increased once again, now it was at the two month mark, plenty of time to laze about. But she questioned why she was being forced to constantly make things in the first place. She was pretty sure that all of these inventions just...turned back into raw materials. If that was true then everything she did was pointless. ''For what purposeam Ieven here? How pondersome.'' What made her situation worse was that she knew that she should be having more ideas coming to her, giventhat she''d beenstudying and learningat a ravenous pace. With a sigh, Bayei reached overto pet the robot companion she had made. It was two feet tall and covered in fake white fur. In place of it''s eyes were a screen that could express emotions. At the moment twin hearts were showing. It was the cutest thing ever! Christened with the name; Kippy. Bayeisaid while petting her creation "What do you think I should make next?" Kippy''s eyescreen turned into two hearts and it let out a series of randomized beeps. Bayei liked to pretend that it was actually some kind of language. Back when she was living in the Dirske mountain city, she didn''t feel a desire for companionship.Mostly because everyone she knew had tried to take advantage of her situation. So she filled the void of companionship in her life with lifeless automatons. But now it wasn''t nearly as effective as before.Spending a day with Zackduring that mad escape had been like breathing a breath of the freshest air when she hadn''t realized she''d been drowning. Although she hadn''t quite realized it at the time. Time for a distraction. Bayei jumped offher restingcouch and went over to the computer to study some more. This time she looked up the section on the known innumerable types of energies.No matter how many times she opened it, she found the sheer quantity of types to be staggering. Eventually she picked one of the anti-life energies and read on an overview of it. After awhile, she found it''s properties to be intriguing, but even more so it was disturbing. Bayei barely registered the sound of creaking metal above her as she was intently focused on her studies "Huh? What?" A hole in the roof of what had become her home opened up and an intruder dropped down onto the metal floor with a loud thud. Kippy floated over to him, followingit''s noise attraction protocols. When the intruder saw the furry robot he shouted in alarm andtransformed into a very strange yet familiargreen formthen in his panic he pushed Kippy into the wall using a magnetic force. She yelled "Hey! Stop that!" Zack blinked "Huh?" then he saw that it wasn''t a threat to him "Oh, you made a friend." The furry robot approached him again and it''s aesthetic eyes turned to a ''n n'' shape. Bayei said incredulously "Zack? No, you can''t be him. This is either a hallucination or maybe Xarkrissent one of his minionshere to increase my efficiency." She took out a Taelon energypistol of her design out from between the couch cushions "Who are you?" The person who looked like Zackput one hand on his heart and half kneeled, raising his other hand in the air, heraised his voice in a comical chivalrous knightlyway and said "Fret not, fairest maiden, for I, Zackery Taylor, the shapeshifter, hast come to rescue thee!" In spite of herself, she laughed "Okay, you''ve convinced me. Niether a hallucination or a Xarkris minion would ever do something that ridiculous." She started to lower the pistol, then raised it again "But that still doesn''t mean Zack would do something so clownish." "Youknew me for a day back in the Dirske world. You don''t know enough about me to know what I would do in every situation." She dropped the pistol "Wow.You really are here.Aren''t you?" "In the flesh. At least while I currently have it." The surrealness of the situation caused her splutter "I...just...why?" His lips curled upwards slightly and there was a hint of love in the way he looked at her "Ultimately it''s because you are someone who actively advances themself. Frankly I''ve met a lot of people who have allowed their potential to be squandered and I''m sick of it. You are a breath of fresh air to me and I''ve decided to do what''s in my power to protect you." Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.She found herself blushing and biting her lower lip. Nobody had ever shown her the slighest bit of affection. Then Zack decided to ruin her special moment by saying "Besides as an added bonus, you are a good lay, and I am quite the pervert." ''What an ass'' Bayei picked a random piece of metal lying on the ground and tossed it at his head, it had no chance of hitting him but the action coupled with her annoyed glare got her point across "I was afraid ofdying back then. And it won''t happen again if you use lines like that." "Ya, death anxiety has been known to get people''s engines going. Shall we get going?" Bayei said "Sure, just let me get..." her voice trailed off as she looked around this place that had become a home to her more than any she had ever known. The computers were filled with more knowledge than she could have ever thought possible and the work benches were capable of making virtually anything her overactive mind thought up. Zack saw her hesitation and said "What''s the matter?" "I''m just having second thoughts is all." "Bayei...Xarkris uses you in order to siphon your creative energy. So long as you remain here, whatever it is that you have will be crippled." "I don''t know what that means but you had me at the word ''crippled''." "Then without delay, let''s go." "Just wait! Okay? I need to get something for you." She then went over to one of her piles and started digging "I can''t believe I''m actually going to be able to give this to you."Bayei found what she was looking for after a minute. A device with a two long tubes attached was in her hand when she stood up "This is a gun that uses magnetism to fire solid metal projectiles. When you are in Poiraud form, you can useRepulsion to store up the magnetic power within the gun in preparation for it to fire. Although I''ve never done that, but the simulations I''ve run say that it should work." He cocked his head to the side "If I''m understanding this correctly, you''ve createda small arm rail gun. Fifty years ago the Earth''s navy developed a cannon that launched projectiles using magnets. These wicked things had a muzzle speed of 2,500 feet per second, while the average handgun had muzzle speeds of 400 feet per second. Rail guns becamethe fastest ballistic weapon ever produced by mankind. Given the motto ''Velocitas Eradico'', I who am speed, eradicate." then he strapped it to his right forearm. Bayei pouted "I''m a little bit disheartened by the fact that someone else came up with it." "Well, that''s irrational. Making a miniature rail gun is an achievement if there ever was one." She said "Shall we then?" Zack pointed to Kippy "What about your furry friend?" "Leave it. It''s only an automaton." Zack nodded in understanding "Ah, okay then. Now stand on my feet." "Um, okay?" she complied. "Now hug me." "I suppose you''ve earned that at very least." she wrapped her arms around him. "Not my intentions. Going up!" He transformed into his Poiraud form and they flew upwardsat a rapid pace. In a small panic she tightened her grip. They flew above endless rows of cubes, rising steadily until coming to a ledge. Bayeiblanched at what awaited at the top. She had seen the variety of species in the diplomatic party sent to the Dirske but the sight before her topped it by leaps and bounds. There creatures wearing what looked to be biological armor and large compound eyes. An orange and red fog loomed overhead but from the way it moved, it could be alive. One of the creatures with compound eyes yelled out of the soft din of the crowd"Everyone listen up." Over his head, the blue screen named him as Steve of the Tkiktchand in under ten seconds,he had everyone''s attention, his voice carrying the mark of command "All of the innovative minds in this section have been secured. If you are a former prisoner, Akma will escort you out. The deal with Xarkris states that you will not be harmed and your exit will not be barred. As for the rest of the members of the invasion force, we are going to proceed down to the lower levels." A surprised voice rang up from the crowd "I don''t understand, we''ve completed the main objective. Now we go home." "No, wehaven''t." The Tkiktch Steve reached up and unbuckled a piece of his carapace, apparently it had a built in pocket, thenhetook out what looked to be a device very much a USB drive "Because now the real mission begins."
"This isn''t what we agreed upon." Xarkris said as he loomed over the Akma with snow white hair. Akmadouric looked up at living lightning storm and said "I''d say that there has been plenty of minor infringements from yourside during this whole game of ours. Illegal ordnance, upgrading units to such great extents, you didn''t even give me all of the details on everything thiswondrously complex planet of yours can do. The very least you can do is overlook this." Xarkris replied "If I had told you everthing there is to know about this planet I created, then it would take far too long to conveythe information. As for your rogues, what I will do to them will depend onwhat that device does." "It will simply feed you information directly to your central information center. It''s everything you very much need to know about Deity Ulgroth, corruption and the interdimensional war. In fact I''ve already given this to you before, but you left it in an external hard drive and for all I know you''ve never touched it." The living lightning storm flared slightly in anger "Youintend to change who I am." Akmadouric rose to his feet and met his wrath "Do you not understand the importance of defending reality from that which threatens it!? There are things out there that warp and twist the universe around them in horrific and disturbing ways. If it continues then the absolute worst thing possible could happen." Xarkris wasn''t convinced "Deities like us manipulate the universe around us all the time.There are infinite realities, what youcall horrific and disturbing manipulationsis already the natural reality in many dimensions. Your actions have no significance." Akmadouric didn''t back down "I''ve seen other deities get corrupted. At the very least you should join my side of the war for the sake of survival." "You only know about these threats because you go out looking for them. If I remain isolated in this one dimension then there is a one in infinity chance that any of them will ever come here." Akmadouric pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration "I really hope you don''t say the same thing after my rogues complete their mission." Xarkris said "If they complete their mission." Akmadouric''s attention picqued "You wouldn''t actually attack a bunch of...how did you put it? Insignificant beings? It would be overkill for people who aren''t even capable of posing a threat to you." Xarkris didn''t answer for about five seconds, then he said "I have killed a great many sentients of their level." "Eleven out of the twenty invasion branches have failed to reach their targets, the innovative minds imprisoned in the middle levels. You have already met the conditions for victory. If you attack those rogues then I will take it as a violation and annul our agreement." Xarkris, the living lightning storm didn''t speak for about twenty seconds this time "Then in the spirit of contest I won''t attack them, at least directly...but I will however take a little tripthrough the area where they intend to upload that information packet." Akmadouric frowned deeply. 40. Unity The invaders sat and waited for new orders.Willpower pools replenished as they ateto nourish themselves. For some, they knew it could very well be their last meal. So they distracted themselves by sharing stories of what they''d seen and on missions prior. The Tkiktch named Steve asked Zack "Hey, can I ask you a personal question?" "Huh?Ya, what?" "Why do you have five tentacles at the ends of the two tentacles coming out of your torso." Zack thought about the question for a moment and said blandly "I have five fingers coming out of each of my two arms." "You''ve referred to a lot of things as ''tentacles''. I just thought I''d give you a bit of perspective on how other beings see you." The other members in the area let out a few chuckles and one of them muttered "Newbie." Zack couldn''t help but think that he was on the brunt of some kind of joke. So he looked at Steve the Tkiktch and decided to think of him in a new light. He was acockroach. A big black cockroach. Given the history of the Tkiktch, the dreaming consumers,Zack figured it was fair enough to think of him like that. After a few more minutesAkma appeared out of his vortex and said in a panic "Go now! Quick as you can. All of you!" All two thousand rogue invaderswasted no time and dashed towards the objective. Zack flew overhead in his Poiraud form, the heavy lead rail gun ammunition weighing him down somewhat "Akma, what is happening?" "Xarkris has decided to...disrupt the download by vaporizing everything with his presence." "Then are we rushing because there''s some kind of weapon charging up and we gotta start the download beforeit fires?" "No, he''s coming himself." Zack looked at thevariety of dangerous looking creaturesand dismissively said "Well, then it''stwo thousand interdimensional soldiers versus one minor deity. Xarkris doesn''t stand a chance." Akma spluttered and shook his head violently "What are you stupid boy? Xarkris is a deity, he can manipulate the universe as he pleases. Just seeing some of these beings have been known to destroy a person''s body, mind and or soul.Xarkris isn''teven going to bother attacking to killyou all. He''s just going to walk over the entire rogue invasion force." Zack took a moment to let that sink in "Oh." Theremaining two thousand invaders entered a domed interior larger than anything humans had ever built. The floor was upraised like a hill and in the center of the slightly upraised platform was a three foot tall dais was an input port. Steve blurred towards it and plugged in the data uploading device "There, it''s plugged in, but the download is going to take some time." Akma appeared next to him and asked "How much time is it going to take?" "I don''t know!" Steve the cockroach yelled out orders"Make as many barriers as possible. Willpower techniques, everything. You behemoths, get spraying!" The Tkiktch behemoths began spewingtheir gel to make a far off barricade, after several minutes they showed no sign of stopping. The wall grew higher and thicker with each passing second. A mechanical walker of unfamiliar non-human design, plated with some kind of violet metal, set up what looked to be four strange square cannons. The gas creature floating overhead seemed to be swirling at an increasingly high RPM. Akma yelled and everyone heard him "How far has that download come along?" Steve said "Ten percent." Akma said "That''s not nearly far enough, he''s here." Steve called out "Listen up! We need to put as much betweenus and Xarkris as possible.He can only vaporize so much at a time." Akma appeared next to Zack and said to him "I need you to get right in front of the downloading device." "That''s an interesting place to put me." Then he ran to hisassigned position. "Call it a hunch." A staccato of crackling soundsslowly rose in volume.The hardened brown barrier began to glow orange and melt as it''s outer layer disintegrated. The Tkiktch behemoths continued to sprayto make the wall thicker but with a quick check of the map, Zack could see that the mass of white lightning was eating away at it effortlessly. Zack said in shock "Impossible. I''ve seen those barriers withstand several minutes of sustained laser fire. Xarkris can''t possibly be going through it this quickly." Then abright red orb appeared in the center of the wall. Lightning bolts broke out of a rapidly expanding hole, turning the hard as concrete substance into vapor. Consecutive booms ceaselessly filled the chamber. The cybernetic deity Xarkris had come. A mountain of lightning entered the dome. Some of the bolts arcing off him were at least thirty feet thick. The minor deity towered over the invaders, stretching all across the very limits of what they could see. Volleys of every kind of munition imaginable struck Xarkris, to little effect. Laser beams seemed to dissipate within a few feet of entering the lightning. All the solid ordnance went farther in butwere struck by a net of electricity before disappearing as well. The alien mechanical walker unleashedseveral bursts of cone shaped rippling discharges with it''s cannons, car sized impacts made momentary craters within Xarkris. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.Zack saw this and thought ''Some kind of anti-energy weapon?'' The Tkiktch stood their groundwhile Xarkris advanced at a leisurely pace. Zack watched in horror as the giant behemothsset up willpowerBarriers and waited. The thick columns of lightning tore through their invisible shields like paper. Their house sized bodies vanishing in almost an instant. Zack loaded up the railgun attached to his forearm and took aim at the golden balls filled with molecular circuitry. He used repulsion on the railgunand it collected themagnetic particleslike how it was designed. Zack charged it for five seconds and pulled the trigger, all of the force was released at once. The lead bullet could be barely seen as it exited the barrel at mach seven. The sound was much more hollow than that of a gunpowder explosion. Zack was blown backwards off his feet but quickly got back up. His arm wrenched back out of it''s socket, the bone moving in an unnatural painful motion. ''Okay, maybe charge to three quartersof what I did lasttime.'' Zack got down on one knee and took aim. The gas creature suddenly expanded and dove into Xarkris, Zack couldn''t believe his eyes as the lightning storm wasmomentarily pushed back by a wall ofdingy orange smoke before it too disappeared. Zacktook the shot at one of the golden orbsfloating around inside Xarkris. The bullet struck it''s mark by some miracle. Zack watchedthe golden orb shatter, the lightning storm decreased in intensity for a fraction of a second. Then the golden orb reformed and Xarkrisflared back up to full power. "There''s no stopping him."Zacksaw all defenses fail against the minor deity''s approach. The mid-tierman Steve Tkiktch fried to a crisp. The alien mecha''s cannons ceased firing as they overheated and then it was overtaken. Only a few units remained before Xarkris came upon Zack and the data uploading device. Hismind raced ''What do I do!? What could I possibly against such a thing. I''m going to die, and this mission that had a million participants is going to fail. No. Don''t panic. Go through options.Hydrokinesis? Better than nothing. The Poiraud form magneticRepulsion? I''ll just get pushed back. Maybe running''s the best thing to do in this situation. No, I can''t be a pussy. Hroyd''sEther Swipe. That would do almost nothing. Wait! Akma said there were benefits to opening the psychic link to the Eidolans fully. But I don''t even like having such a connection in the first place.'' Zacksaid aloud "The stakes are too high." then he began top open the psychic link to all his Eidolans at once. First he iniated the connection that would allow for communication and when his Eidolans understood his intentions they reluctantly agreed. The situation was too dire and the stakes too high to refuse. The very souls of his Eidolans poured into him and Zack began to lose himself. Then he opened it further.
Skill obtained
Unity
Opens the psychic link between two or more connected conscoiusnesses fully. Allowing willpower pools to be shared and focused towards a single task.
Consequences: Difficulty unmerging consciousnesses Requires: Psychic Link to two or more consciousnesses
In that moment all the beings within Zack''s eidolan network merged. The being that stood in Zack''s skin remembered long years in dark tunnels, the blue of the deep ocean and hiding in the green from numerous predators. In this being''s mind there was a very clear thought for thedesireof protection from this insane living lightning storm. He said "Barrier" and a clear shield made from the combined willpower pools of twenty unified beings of one mind formed over him and the data downloader. Columns of lightning came down like rain around him. Eight thousand points of willpower dropped in ten seconds. With every bolt he felt the force drive him into the ground. He knew the pressure would not cease and he knew that this was a struggle he would lose. Then all of a sudden, theassault abated and the being that used to be Zack fell to the ground, his vision turning dark. Letting his willpowerBarrier dissipate in the process. As his consciousness faded he saw a white haired Akma appear. Akmadouric spared the Eidolan contractor a glance out of respect for his successful yet desperate act, then he turned to speak with Xarkris "I take it that by sparing my remaining soldiers, you''ve had a change of heart." Xarkris looked at little blue white haired humanoid in silence for a moment, waiting for the download to complete, when it did he immediately said"Alright Akmadouric. You win. I will join your side of this war." "Good. Let us depart to your core for we have much to discuss. The firsttopic will be thataspect thatyou''ve earned from our little contest." Then Zack passed out. 41. The Psionic Recovery Unit Zack slowly opened his eyes to see a violet room but for some reason his vision was wavy and rippling. He couldn''t move an inch. His body from the neck down seemed to be encased in something to keep him completely immobile. A high pitched almost musical voice said "Hold still please." The rippling ceased and he blinked to look around him. A gray thin alien female humanoid with an elongated head walked in front of him "I need to seperate you all from each other. Can you tell me your name?" He said "Hrskriskack" that didn''t sound right. "Your gibberish seems to be a mix between several different languages. I''m told the Okwargs don''t have a spoken language and the Poirauds are just animals, although Hroyd does." "Ibrshkalk" "Don''t worry I should beup to the task of unmerging the minds of...let''s see here" She made a tapping motion in front of her "...the minds of twenty Okwarg, three poirauds, one Kulabv warrior anda human. I''ve fixed worse, but you should probably see what you''ve done to yourself." A mirror rose out of the ground andfirst he saw that his eyes were glowing green, then as the view panned upwards he became more horrified. The spiritual ether heads of his eidolans seemed to be attached to his own by short pale green strings. He stared at his ownappearance while the alien woman continued talking. "Until you figure out how to unmerge consciousnesses on your own, use thisUnity skill sparingly. Unless you wish to become ahigher being. It should be mentioned that merging consciousnesses was the very same path that Akmadouric himself took for his path of ascension. Although that decision should not be made lightly."
The psionic medic worked for three days straight to get Zack''s head back in order. She didn''t stop even as he slept. When it was done, she told him that there were a few foreign thoughts still in his mind but attempting to get everything back exactly the way it had been would likely just cause irreparable damage. Needless to say, Zack decided not to take the chance. Thus far the only change he had noticed was a slight craving for seaweed,so he decided to get some sushi when he got back to Earth. Immediately he checked his favor finances "Two million favor. I suppose that means in terms of favor currency, I''m the richest man on Earth." he stated it matter of factly, without any joy or elation that any other person would have. Same old, same old. In the past he had received some rather large checks from getting a placement in E-sport tournaments in the past and had the same reaction, just an ''Okay, whatever'' kind of response to earning a 150,000 dollar paycheck.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He walked down the halls of the hospital for those with consciousness related injuries. Occasionally he peered inside the windows to see the other patients. Usually there was a patient in heavy restaints and a psionic medic standing over them, waving their hands in the air while a rippling violet light surrounded the patient''s head. But another time he saw moving images floating the air, then the psionic medic poked the patient''s head with a finger and one of the images was snuffed out. Zack turned away and followed the waypoint path towards the exit at a brisker pace "What a strange place." then just as he was about to leave he walked past a girl who seemed a little familiar. Then he stopped as he read the name ''Kerink'' on the name plate of the door she was standing in front of. "You must beher sister. I had heard she spent a bit of favor to have you revived." The green eyed little alien girl looked up to him, the name above her head reading ''Kernellial'', she said "You knew big sis back before they started cutting away at her?" He looked inside "I can''t believe she''s still here. It''s been almost two months." Kernellial said "When I was revived, big sis explained to me that she had lived for a very long time already. Those four psionics have a lot of consciousness to go through, and they don''t take chances when it comes to corruption." Just as she was finished speaking something black floated out of Kerink''s head but was then crushed under the violet rippling energy. Zack said "Ya, I know her, Kerink is a bit of an asskicker. When I was on a mission with her,I felt it to be quite reassuring having a veteran leading it." "She''s not going to be the same person when she gets out of there. Big sis may not even remember me...and it''s all because some idiot decided to go off mission." Zack bit his tongue for a moment before speaking again "I read the report. There was no way he could''vepredictedthe chain of events that lead to that mission''s outcome." Kernellial slumped and leaned heavily against the door "Ya, I know. And since he didn''t directly harm Kerink, my people are not seeking vengeance. But if he ever finds himself on another mission with any of my people then he''ll find himself stuck with theworst job." "Thanks for the warning. I''ll have to keep that in mind in the future." Kernellial looked up sharply but Zack was already out the exit door. 42. Earth The trip back was going to be long. The psionic hospital was located insomething called an ''outer sanctum dimension'', which was juston the edge of Akmadouric''s most secured territory. He boarded a Likiper transport for a trip through multiple dimensions. At first he thought he was going to sleep through the whole flight but then Looking out the transparent walls of the Likiper he saw a fleet of space ships. Unlike the bulky heavily armored infantry carriers, these ships were needle shaped and left long blue emission trails behind them. Zack made a mental note to inquire about their design later. They passed through a portal and came out injust above another blue green planet. Then on second glance he saw that it had a megastructure wrapping around it like the rings of Saturn. They crisscrossed and intersected all along the planet''s upper atmosphere. Zack watched it go by in withwide eyes and wondered how part of it didn''t fall down, then he saw that the megastructure had support columns jutting out from the surface. Creating several layers of infrastructure. Upon closer inspection he could see greenery within it. Zack said aloud "That thing has gotta support anridiculously high population." Right on cue, a screen popped up.
Telm Haym, hometo over 100,000 sentient species
Population: 5.8 trillion
"That many for a planet roughly the same size as Earth..." The Likiper transport passed through another portal and came out in placemuch too bright for Zack''s eyes. The transparent walls dimmed and Zack saw a bright yellow cloud beneath that seemed to have a thin green layer on it''s exterior. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that he was the first human ever to get this close to a nebula. But then something appeared amiss. The surface of the luminescent cloud seemed to have waves butthey were chaotic, moving in random directions. Then some kind of orangeline of fire flew out of it.Sparks arced off itinto spheres of white light as it erratically changed direction several times before diving back down into the nebula. A screen popped up to appraise it.
???
Elemental
"That''s a sentient being? But it has no name." "It''s name isin a language that is comprised of a series of different types of energy discharges. This elemental has no name in any language that uses sound." "The Okwargs useHyrdokinesis to make shapes in the water that have meaning. Computer code uses ones and zeroes. I should see this kind of thing coming by now." "Then I guessthere''s hope for you yet." The next dimension was filled with spires. Each carved with intricate symbols and designs. Depictinghistories, events, ideologies and ideas. Images of chemicalformulae were written in gold and framed in silver. Akma said "Monuments to all that is." After several junctions and changing Likiper transports once,Zack walked through the twenty third portal to find himself back home on Earth.A station had been built around the gateway to other dimensions. Security guards patrolled in mechsuits and scanners swept over everyone from the ceiling. In the crowd waiting for him was a familiar gray skinned womanstanding out in the crowd near the concourse. "Bayei? What are you doing here?" The violet haired almost human woman said "Obviously I''m here to see you." Zack had to smile "I suppose this is my reward for saving the damsel in distress from the dungeons of the bad guy''s castle." "It was a hundred miles beneath the surface of a mechanical planet. Not a dungeon or a castle." "Sorry. What I said was just anEarth culture reference." Bayei shook her head and changed the subject "While you were away, the news came out that Akmadouric had made a settlement for Dirske refugees in a neighboring solar system. My people have their own planet now! No giant monsters attacking either!There''s even more violet hairs like me! I''m not the last. Thecolony of violet hairs actually drilled their way out of the sealed up mountain and survived in the lowlands." "Whao.The EDF must have had a shit fit about that." This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.Bayei said "Ya I heard something about that too. They complained to Akmadouric about ''limiting the potential growth of humanity''. Then Akmadouric got all high and mighty and said ''This dimension is under my dominion while you are currently allowed control of Earth. If you wishfor the status quo to change, your only option is to rebel against me.'' So the EDF immediately backed down." "About time someone put them in their place. They can''t really do shit when a deity decides to throw his weight around." Stepping out of theportal stationhe looked out at the skyscrapers of New York City. But after seeing so many incredible sights it just seemed lackluster. The buildings were just panes of glass and bland boring lines of steel. Nothing creative or artistic about them at all. But there was something off about it. It had been six months since Akmadouric first made his appearence yet even a city as central to the world as New York city had failed to change.Nothing new was being constructed. No new types of transport or technologies were apparent.The lives that people continued to lead remained stagnant. The onlynew additions to the city thathe couldsee were severalblack cylinders attached to the powerline poles. "Hey Akma. Can I see the favor finances for the EDF?" Several screens popped up. Balance lines steadily rose and sharply fell. Zack said without any surprise whatsoever "952 million favor currently. 700 million spent. The trade money for favor program seems to be working out just fine for the EDF." "Can I see the details on what they have purchased?" Akma said "That is set to...drum roll please...classified." Zack thought for a moment "But I can see the specific numbers of what they purchased." He zoomed in to analyze the data a bit more closely, then said in disgust "I''m seeing a lot of five hundred thousand favor purchases." Bayei asked "Does that mean anything?" "That''s how muchimmortality costs.Pfft,just what this world needs...immortal fatcats. Now what other purchases have they made?" He looked through the balance sheet and found a great many multi million favor purchases. Some for as much as 90 million. "All these new capabilities and still this is what they''ve chosen to turn Earth''s civilizations into? Where is the ambition of the people who rule this world? This is the path for the future that they have chosen for humanity? Just what kind of insanity is going on here?" Bayeigrabbed him by the shoulder "People are not being publicly executed over nothing, they''re not being lied to about a sadistic bloodsport and most importantly they''re not being held in a constant state of fear." "But it''s not great. It doesn''t hold a candle to what I''ve seen and it''s nothing compared to what I''ve envisioned. You know what? I think I''m done settling for a mild dystopia, and I know that the dissatisfied masses feel the same." "I''ve seen Grand Lord Ilvan Vakardrea attempt to annihilate an entire colony and ethnicity over one minor leader''s decision to go against the status quo. I''ve learned not to go up against people who haveso much power that they can do anything they want." "Doesn''t the fact that they can do anything make you want to challenge their power? Nobody should have such control over a society as to wipe out an entire ethnicity." Bayei had a sad look in her eye as she scowled "What you want doesn''t matter.It''s impossible to changethe lives ofmillions...let alone billions of people. Their owners have too many methods to control them." Zack shook his head "I refuse to believe that." Bayei pouted, her lips puffed out slightly as she said "Why must all men be stubborn and mule headed?" They left the station and when they got far enough away Zack asked Bayei "Do you want to go flying again?" With a light chuckle, Bayei said "Heh, sure." then leaped on his back as he shifted into his Poiraud form. Zack repelled himself away from the ground, rising to three hundred feet in moments. A flock of geese flew behind them. The cool wind numbed the outer layer of their skin but the rush was worth it. Then after just a few minutes, flashing red and blue lights appeared behind him, a booming authoritive said "Descend and plant your feet on the ground." Zack called back to Bayei "Do whatever this guy says and maybe he won''t torture us. Some of these cops have been made insane by the information they''ve been fed." They landed and Zack put on his best smilewhile he politely said "Hello officer. What can I do for you today?" The man in the military grade blue mechsuit and a gold badge on his chest said "You have been caught illegally using a skill in public. Here is your ticket. The fine is 10,000 dollars or 1,000 favor." "Well, I didn''t know that such a thing would be illegal. I took part in the Xarkris campaign and before that I''ve been off on Talula Island training to be better warrior. So I''ve been away for awhile." ignorance was a viable plea during legal matters. The cop tapped a few times on an invisible screen in front of him, then said "Bloody hell young man. Out of all the people who I''ve charged with this, you can afford it the most. Your defense is denied. You have thirty days to pay." As the cop walked away, Bayei said "I''ve had much worse experiences when dealing with enforcers." "Ya, he''s likely a decent guy, but I don''t even see a reason why they made such a law." 43. Death (final chapter) The Deity Akmadouric exerted the force of his willpower towards the interdimensional barrier. But something was wrong this time. There didn''t seem to be much empty space within the uninitiated dimension. It was a rare problem but it was easy enough to solve. With a twist of one of his eighteen spiked ethereal appendages, the portal he was creating forcibly expanded and it''s edgespushed awaya hundred miles of solid matter as it formed. Upon entering the dimension, Akmadouric saw that something was very strange about this one. Everywhere he looked he saw statues of all types of beings and upon closer inspection, all of them were fixed in various states of death. Some looked to have died by violence, getting ripped or torn apart or even immolated. Others were elderly and peacefully laid to rest. A few even seemed to be halfway through the process of getting blown apart by an explosion. After seeing this, Akmadouric came to the conclusion that all of the statues in this bizarre dimension were posed not just in the various states of death, but the precise moment of death. Statues of plants, animals andbipedal creatures capable of using tools. Many of which Akmadouric had seen before and still more he had never encountered. Eachone encased in what appeared to be petrified cells. Skin cells, bone cells, blood cells, every kind was there, even petrified versions of single celled organisms. A complex and never before seen type of death energy permeated every piece of stone. Hanging over and within everythinglike a black fog. While most living beings feared those whose beings was made up of death energy, Akmadouric simply acknowledged it as a force on the opposite spectrum. Akmadouric''s booming voice rang out among the petrified statues "Name yourself!" the hive mind deity didn''t expect an answer but for everything around him to be a single being was possible. For a short time, all was quiet, then he heardwhispering barely heard even with his incredible hearing "I...a.m...d.ea.th." each individual sound emanating from a different statue and it spoke using universal, the language that only the highest ones knew. This being had likely never needed to speak before but it did understand the mechanics. Akmadourictook a moment to think about how to approach the situation"Many have called themselves that." The entire dimension shifted. Individually the petrified statues moved millimeter by millimeter, but all of them were moving at once and the entity made of statues spoke "All that die and ever die, come here to be me and be a part of me. The ruins of theirthoughts I know. For I am the bridge." Then a hole opened up before Akmadouric and the great blue deity of many bodies and minds found himself looking at a statue that was a perfect copy of the body he was currently using. After delving into the great depths of his memories, Akmadouric rememberedlosing a body to one of Ulgroth''s corrupted deities ona battlefield a longtime ago. And now it''s statue''s copy was standing right beforehim. As Akmadouric wrestled with the newest facet that reality had revealed to him,his scans came across the first oddity within this dimension. Ahuman. "Why do you have a living being here?" Although calling ita living thing was a stretch to the term. The man had been chopped upinto eighteen seperate pieces and kept in astate that could be called a half life using a variant of the death energy within this dimension. Akmadouricinquired "Why is this man in such a state? Why torture him so?" The deity made of statues took a moment before replying "Herbert West, the Reanimator. This blasphemous scientist developed a serumdesigned to reanimate the dead. What he didn''t know was that every time he used his formula was that itturnedthe statue of the person in this place into dust. I went to the dimension where he resided and dismembered him before bringing him here. Where he will be...animated forever." Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.Akmadouric found that distasteful but there were greater concerns than this Death deity''s plaything "If you know of the memories within my slain bodies and slain minions, then you know of my struggle. All the beings within reality have a duty to defend it.What would happen if Ulgroth''s corruption came here?" "I care not for the nature of the multiverse or the nature of the life within it. Only that the living continue to die so that they maycome here to be with me and become a part of me." The Death statue deity paused a moment before saying "Immortal one, your crimes against me are greater than Doctor West''s. You have made numerous deathless abominations that will never become a part of myself." "Deathless? The immortals?" "Yesss..." Akmadouric still couldn''t see the ending to how large this being had grown. In most dimensions he could tell exactlyhow large they were in under ten seconds buthe had been in this placefor three minutes, and there was no end in sight. ''Is this being truly infinite?'' thought Akmadouric. A black wave ofdeathassaulted Akmadouric from all sides and he formeda barrier made of33 different types of energy aroundhimself in a protective shell. The death wave ate through each layer at varying rates. And Akmadouric responded by continually replacing eachone that went down with another energy barriertype that proved to be the more resiliant thus far. Thenthe death energy became more condensed and Akmadouric knew that the pressure had only just started. What assaulted him currently was just from the statues in the immediate vicinity. More was coming. Rather than fight an immensely powerful being that could very well need to exist, Akmadouric went back through the portal. Then evacuated his consciousness out of the body within the death statue dimension. He sealed the portal so it couldn''t be traversed and let the body die, leaving yet another statue within that dimension. The main body of the great deity Akmadouric sat back in the very heart of his deepest sanctum dimension and asked the empty air around him "Why do I keep running into these things? Certainly they''re not this common?" this...death statue deity was definately an old one. Butgiven it''s nature it was all the more likely a first one. A being that was neither born nor created but was simply there within the seemingly beginningless multiverse. Going off this assumption, many questions were raised. What kind of damage would happen to the Multi-verse as a whole if this death statue deity were tomeet it''s end? How did Herbert West''s formula harm it? What part did it play within the mortal coil? How did the statues form? How did the copies get from one dimension to the one where this death statue deity resided? Were the statues really copied or did something else leave a person at the moment of death? Would life even be possible withoutthis being? Akmadouricthen realized that he didn''t even have the ability to kill the death statue deity even if he wanted to. Because the death rate for all living things in the multi-verse was greater than the rate of expansionfor any of the chain reaction skills he possessed. The great deityshivered with fear. He let it persist fora few moments so he didn''t forget, then dumped the excess fear into one of his minor bodies at the very edge of his consciousness. Specifically, the one that held knowledge of all things to fear. The body hugged it''s knees and then added the word ''Statues'' to it''ssemi-psychotic mutterings. Not many beings could sculpt their own minds in such a way. But using this method, Akmadouric could still maintain his sanity while still knowing about the great many terrors hidden within the multi-verse. Qz''jirhith, The Unhatched Nightmare... Owarmil, Maestro of Screams... Xsothk, Heart of Nothingness... Iniirf, Predator of Time... Lvuurm, Sower and Harvester of Madness... Ulgroth, Threat to All. (BK2) Chapter 1. What rose out of the lake The beach called. The sun. The sand. The women wearing bikinis. What''s not to love? Zack did his Tong Zi Gong stretching exercises outside the men''s changing room while he waited for Bayei. A few people stared but he felt that it was a poor usage of his time to simply stand idle. In his own mind the long term benefits outweighed the con of looking like a weirdo in front of a bunch of random strangers for a day. But that was fine, most of them were out of shape anyway, so their opinions didn¡¯t matter. A pair of redneck fishermen walked past him. Both wore plaid checkered shirts and overalls. Zack didn¡¯t need to enhance his sense of smell to knowthe reek of Budweiser beer. "It''s the strangest thing I''ve ever seen ata fishing competition. Not one catchamong over a hundred participants." The other said ¡°If I¡¯d ¡®ave seen it on the news I wouldn¡¯ta believed it. Twenty square miles, the lowest is five hundred feet below the water line. This lake should have thousands of fish in it.¡± then he spit something brown off to the side. ¡°Ya think dat dat blue giant dat was in da sky decided to give dem fish brains somehaw?¡± ¡°Dunno, bu not many people get to talk to big man himself. Best we can do is make a petition to find out why dis competition been¡¯s scrubbed.¡± then they mercifully left earshot range. Zack groaned ¡®The inbreeding is strong with these ones. No, that¡¯s not why they¡¯re idiots. They simply haven¡¯t done anything to improve themselves. All that sitting and staring can¡¯t be healthy for the brain. Such low information intake.¡¯ Buttheir complaints were well founded. The lake wastwenty square miles wide, with the lowestpoint being five hundred feet below the water line.It should''ve been teeming with life. He made an attempt to reach backwards and touch his heels but just ended up falling over, then caught himself and stood upright, much to the amusement of passersby. He called out over the barricade ¡°Bayei! You almost done in there?¡± The violet haired gray skinned Dirske woman called back to him ¡°Um. Why don¡¯t you just go swimming without me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who wanted to go swimming in the first place cuz you¡¯ve never done it before.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not sure that this is the kind of thing that people wear in public.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen the bikinis on the women out here. What you have on is modest. But if you want something different then you should know that I came prepared to aid you in your plight.¡± then he took a string bikini out of his pocket and threw it over the concrete barricade where Bayei was changing. A few seconds passed, then a few more passed uncomfortably before Zack said ¡°That was meant to be a joke.¡± A slow laughter came from behind the concrete barricade, then it began to build ¡°Ahahaha, I...haha...and when I thought those brainless ass shaking...ha...women had no respect for themselves, now I get shown this. Who would ever wear this in public?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to assume that it¡¯s mostly worn in private.¡± Bayei stepped out from behind the barricade and said ¡°Oh, and would you like to see me wearing this thing that can¡¯t weigh more than a quarter pound of fabric?¡± She had on a black one piece that came down a few inches to cover her midsection and most of her chest. Covering her hips area were long black swimwear but other women would call them jogging shorts. Zack said ¡°This is an obvious trap,so I choose to not answer. I''ll see you on the beach.¡± then he walked away. Onehundred feet away he saw a crowd of forty people walking towards a strange white mist that had appeared out of nowhere. They all seemed to be in a daze and like zombies they all walked forward one step at a time. A curiosity took hold of Zack, he wanted to know what everyone was looking at and where they were going. It was like an extreme itch that he couldn''t help but to satisfy. He couldn''t help but wonder why everyone was so transfixed. The sky was blue, the lake itself a bit darker shade. There were a few green trees on the other side of the bank. A gray spire grew out of it''s center. But all of that was normal. Zack followed the crowds. Insects flew past him, all going in the same direction. Squirrels bounded past him, birds flew overhead, slavishly making their way along with every other living thing in the area.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Only then did Zack recognize thetowering mound of gray corpse-like flesh risingout ofthe middle of the lake to be an unnatural thing. Growing with each passing second. Ellipsoidal bulbs expanded on it''s stalk, each with their own set of long and thin spear-like teeth within circular mouths. They opened, beckoning all of the wingedwildlife inside, then closing once they''d entered. Zack wracked his horror-filledmind as he saw the abberation ''I have been hypnotically walking towards that thingfor the past two minutes. How could I have only noticed it now? No. I have been looking at it this whole time but for whatever reason I thought it was simply a natural part of the environment''. Yet still he continued walking towards it without the ability to stop ''My mind is being manipulated. I can no longer control my own body''with great effort he managed to turn his walking into a sort of jerking movement, but his progess wasn''t slowed. The people ahead began to float in the air and fly towards the aberration. Rising out of the shallow water. Panic set in for them anddozens of peoplebegan to claw at the air uselessly like a fish flopping on dry land. Zack violently twisted his body sideways, causing himself to stumbleso he could wrap his arm around a pole attached to a dock. He grabbeda wooden plank with his other arm that still seemed to be under his control. His feet moved of their own accord to get him to stand up again but he held tightly to the dockand kept himself from rising. Thenboth his hands released and he began to crawl forward against his own will. But only for a moment. He floated towards the aberration that did not belong to this dimension and most assuredlyrebelled against the physical laws of this universe. The teeth opened beneath his feet as if to welcome him inside. In the dark pitof it''s throathe saw a swirling mass of bizarre colors. Zack couldn''tidentifythe reason whythe sight seized his entire body with terror. A booming voice called out "Qz''jirhith, unhatched nightmare and engorgerof minds. How dare you intrude on my domain." A towering javelin offire descended from the sky. Zack''s world rocked around him. Theheat seemed to penetrate the top layer of this skin until it nearly turned to pain.The force of the impact hurled Zack away with the force of a rocket. The viscera of the gray aberration flying perpindicular to him. His body impacted the water like a comet, driving him into the mud on the bottom. With no air in his lungs, he fought to keep from inhaling. He crawled out of the lake and looked back to see the bloody floating remnants of the hideous gray spire all over the lake. Along with the bodies of several people. In the sky above, Akmadouric floated in low orbit. He wasn''t as large as he had been on Arrival day, but he still appeared a bit larger than the moon. Death was not something Zack wanted to experience again. Even if it was temporary, being in that state was horrible. He laid on the sand and curled up into a fetal position.
Zack sat with Bayei''s arm wrapped over his shoulders, safe in his home. It had been three hours since the first interdimensional incursion by a hostile deity and he still couldn''t stop shuddering.The news crew that had shown up asked him a few questions and heanswered a few before retiring due to going into shock. The nine o'' clock newsturned on and a pair of talking heads appeared on the screen. The ten star blonde on the left said "Today, 32 lives were lostwhen Qz''jirhith, the unhatched nightmare invaded this dimension. And Akmadouric has told us everything he knows about this entity, which we will now convey to the rest of the world." The supposedly good looking anchorman on the right said, "Unhatched nightmare. That is an interesting title. It''s like he has yet to be born but he is still considered a deity." The blonde said "According to Akmadouric, yes. But there is more to the title. His worshippers believe that when their deity consumes enough essence he will hatch andreality itself will ascend." "That sounds...disconcerting. Do we have any more information than that?" The blonde shook her head "No, but Akmadouric did tell us that Qz''jirhith uses an unknown method of interdimensional travel but seems to appear in the dark at the bottom of a body of water. Unfortunately, the home dimension of this threat hasn''t been located." A ten star red head appeared on the screen "Breaking news, the EDF has announced that it will commit it''s fullest resources towards the extermination of Qz''jirhith. We go live now to hear a statement from..." Zack tuned out the name of the talking head as the camera switched to aman in a business suit and tie "We do not know how much information this...entity got about our dimension. Therefore we cannot allow it to remain as a threat. Blah blah blah." Zack sighed "Do they even know what they are getting themselves into?"