Accidental Reaver

Chapter 203 - 202: Stuck

Sun rays deadened, and the breezes calmed on the rolling grassy hill lands. Three humanoid figures stood in the back of the illusion realm, some distance away from the swirling red portal. Timber sauntered off toward the other two companions in the realm, interested in taking a nap at the sole tree.

Attentive to the mood, Annika ceased her drama, using Cedric to help herself back up. Turning his head slightly to better match Iona's position, the Reaver asked, "What is there to know about them? And how much detailed information is so difficult to find? I checked the usual information sources."

Crossing her arms, Iona set her jaw. "Too much mass hysteria in the periods leading up to the Tides in the past. Now, the information is usually distributed to those hunters who reach tier 2."

"Why not earlier?" Luke asked, puzzled, figuring the more known by those who could fight the better.

Narrowing her eyes, Iona scoffed. "Sometimes I forget you're not used to how weak overall most first tier combatants are. Unless dozens stand together, it's death to face an Envoy. Always. The information they get is simple. If you face an Envoy without a higher tier nearby, run and regroup to those actually able to harm the thing."

"Certainly encouraging."

"Realistic. Those same hunters could hold off various lesser monsters the Tides always floods in with—" Rubbing a temple, Iona returned to her original intention. "Envoys, that's right. They splat most lower hunters in a strike or two. But that's not what's important for you to know. I'm sure by now you've understood they're beyond a typical monster at their tier."

"What tier are they exactly, anyway? And what else about them is important?" The Reaver transfixed his attention, going so far as to ignore Annika prodding at the Golden Stigmata again.

"They're tier 2, but that's incredibly deceptive. Their resilience is on another level, and while they can't compare to the intellect or raw power the Diplomats have, they are unequaled to anything else in tier 2. Weaker tier 3 creatures can't hold against them either. Before you become an elemental human, we anticipated one or two would be your capacity." She pointed at the destruction still spread all around them. "This is something Aruna would produce, and she's been a honed tier 2 for years, easily the strongest in the city, better than most of those a tier above her. Now? Now you could do more than we planned. An unexpected second wind. Moving on—"

Gliding white water over her face, Annika seemed to smooth over her usual intellectual lust. She interrupted Iona. "Scholar's Wit, my primary technique, analyzed your overall potential in respect to anything outside of class abilities, or your items. Fast enough. Strong enough. More than durable enough. Your synapses, neural capacity boosted by intellect, and processing ability pass muster." Having come to a decision, Annika nodded. "Envoys, actually, all of the god creature blessed have a second heart. Pulverize them both within a small window. Fail that, and they never die."

Taking it all in, Luke straightened out his posture. Two hearts threw a wrench into things. Fortunately, he hadn't needed to figure out that in the middle of a fight. He asked, "Is that all there is to them? An additional heart is a cause for concern, but—"

Pointed ears wriggling, Iona said, "It's the flesh encasing the two hearts. Envoys have skin tough enough to make average quality armor appear flimsy and muscle density vastly beyond the norm. It almost acts as a second defense. Their attributes are reflective of building Divinity, usually started from drops of Ichor from either the five Throned Godkings, or the various god creatures lower in the Coreland hierarchy."

All Luke got from that was Envoys were tough bastards, and that they also had Ichor, a pain in his side of a substance. Assuming Ichor acted the same way on these god servants as it did on people like the dead Vathen. Enhanced regeneration. A passive aura that actively fought against any outside force. It became plain as day how much trouble even just the lowest Envoy could be.

"There's got to be countermeasures to that sort of thing by now, right? I've encountered people who took Ichor before. Does it affect the Envoys any different?"

Smiling brightly, Annika said, "Even better! It's more effective on them than if any of the members of the four races take it, as it needs an alchemical refinement in that case. There's theories if one of us reach a Throne, than our blood would be perfectly attuned to give to a tora, human, elf, or monic. But since there isn't, when they ingest the blood of say, Succoria, or Belfagor, there's always a mismatch."

Arms crossed and tapping a finger on a bicep in thought, Luke said, "They take to it better than anyone I've fought so far. Least the harsh truth comes out before I had to find out the hard way. Still, any methods?"

Summoning up a rushing white water ball, Annika let it float, then had it orbit around Cedric. With a gesture, the staff-spear transformed into its staff form, standing statically in the air before the runewarden controlled Cedric to fly off a short distance. The elemental water coiled along the staff form like a coiling dragon, pointed down an index finger. Annika commanded Cedric to smash into the ground, creating a new crater, deeper than most of any they 'co-operated' in making together during the duel. Annika exposed her left palm, Cedric rapidly flicked back up from the dirt, and into that position.

The eccentric woman put up two fingers. "There, showed you two methods. One, available to everyone, in theory, anyway. When you upgrade Xera enough, a resonance will form between you. Maneuvers like that with Cedric will be possible without using external means like Elementalization as a stopgap. Our weapons all grow, and better counteract god blessed advantages. The simplest example is, by already being maddened creations, their influence cannot reach Cedric or Xera."

Vines twirling, Iona armed Annika in the side. "Aren't you forgetting something, scholarly teacher? We can skip out on the benefits of a Domain for now, Luke doesn't have access to one."

"Getting to it, just let me show off!" Annika blurted out, covering her mouth about a second later, realizing she outed herself. Coughing like nothing of the sort happened, she shamelessly continued, "Have you ever wondered about the birth of techniques, Lukey?"

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Luke nodded. "Not too many people can give me a clear answer on how exactly a person ends up creating one, or reaching Expert in any of them."

"It ends up coming down to the individual. Cliché as it is to say, no two paths are exactly the same. Techniques were all created as a means for power outside the direct influence of the Interface. Elementalization was the first, made sometime before the Sinned Era. A power almost uniquely belonging to the four races, and a weapon to rival Divinity, something beyond the banished like us."

Remembering fragments of the conversation with Ceridia, the Reaver asked about something tangentially related. "What about Concepts? Do those help? Been trying to take one into Elementalization lately."

"A match made for me." Annika blew a kiss, teasing. "It depends on the Concept, some help more than others. The simple answer is yes. The amount of people in Sylen deeply pushing them into their entire class or technique is less than five. Even I haven't bothered yet, finding one perfectly suited to you and understanding it well enough to add in is astronomically difficult." Annika stuck her tongue out. "I nearly stopped our spar when Scholar's Wit confirmed you put one into your ice, never change, student. Scratch that, give me your blood as tribute, for research!"

Raising an eye, Iona questioned, "Based off all your other visits here, you seemed to be trying to put a second element into your ice. Why the change of heart?"

"During the second ascension, in the Soul Plane, I got advice that a Concept before a second element would perform better."

"Believable enough. Each of the ascensions have the potential to give critical guidance outside the norm," Iona said. She pulled out her short bow, marching back toward the contained chaos on the other side of the barrier. "Too close to upgrading Granular Control a sub-step. If you'll excuse me, I've got a date with a magma lord boss." She whistled using her fingers. Timber came rushing over, Lulu already perched on the bear's thick neck.

Annika watched Iona go back to her intense training for a moment, arms crossed. Still looking that way, the runewarden offered Luke a piece of advice, killing the usual playful tone. "Watch out for Apostle Yuriel, Lukey. You probably know better, but." She put her thumb across her neck. "That Apostle is deceptive. It's up to Musai or the City Lord to face that god blessed creature. Together, if possible. I calculate they won't have the luxury."

The usual mirth on Annika's face vanished. The water vapor in the air bubbled and burst. Iona's decision set off one of the Runewarden's own. "I'd written it off as impossible to complete before the Tide. Comforted myself by giving you a hand. All I am, is a woman stuck in the past. That day the village became consumed down to my mother's bones…" She eyed Luke from the side. "I'm too complacent after beating out Aloysius. Maybe it is possible. Spend your last free hours how it suits you, Lukey. Your teach has unfinished business. The next time we see each other will be on the battlements. Pay attention to your Defier Mark, it can send over limited amounts of information in critical moments."

Reaching out with a hand, Luke opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it. His arm fell to the side. Let them all battle their own demons. In the end, no one would do it for you. He wished they'd give more detail on the proposed defenses, but perhaps that would come in due time, or not until the absolute last minute to prevent possible leaks. There was always the Sacrament to worry about, and while they could trust Luke, what if he mentioned something offhandedly to someone else?

Meandering toward the slime haven portion of the grasslands, the Reaver subconsciously reviewed the gains of the duel and short lessons afterward. Elemental marks, altering his fighting style, trusting in the elemental regeneration he gained after becoming an elemental human. Interlacing the Greed Concept to his ice became less of an effort, but far from masterful, useful enough in even the harshest fights, that would have to be enough for the near future.

Up ahead, Sooty hopped into different shadows at breakneck speed, adapting her hit-and-run style further. Vorpal Rot seeped into targets without her direct attacks anyway. The Reaver appreciated the carnage. Sooty honed Talon Strike in particular. It remained her single greatest physical attack against one target. This session in the illusion realm would be the last before the Tide.

He started off simply, using class abilities, managing Infusion, Essence Bond, applying Essence Lance in its various methods, except for Essence Feedback. Although Luke did wonder what would happen if he used it on himself. Before, it tended to push Elementalization to further mastery, while expanding the quantity of frost he could use. Odd, in a sense, that it enhanced a non-Reaver ability, a technique instead of a skill.

Reavers in general seemed to have incredible talent with their form of Elementalization. He thought that based on Xera's past wielders also showing ability with the technique more than once. At its heart, Elementalization fed off essence, and Essence Feedback, fluxed the Reaver essence back into itself, creating a temporary positive cycle Luke hadn't fully comprehended. Over its few uses, he'd pieced together some of the process—far from complete.

Is it a hint? Would greater essence control unlock some other piece of legacy? So much I don't know. Luke pondered as he observed Sooty ambushing slimes from one corner to the next in the grass hills.

He conjured up an Essence Lance, draining it of all the frost essence. Far harder than he anticipated, applying Elementalization to things felt more natural than not by now. A faint rejection summoned in his blood at the idea. Natural, he supposed, what ice elemental kept things devoid of ice or frost? A curious one?

Cutting in Luke's thought process, the sword in his hand shook. "Put me back to a wand, master, if we're finally playing with spells again." Xera's excitement leaked from her voice crystal.

Funneling Essence into Xera, the sword-wand changed into wand form. Immediately, the control over the class ability eased, potency upgraded a visible amount, packing in the essence efficiently. The other Essence Lance—as the ability always came in pairs ever since he became an elemental human—stayed in the usual summoned state of being a rotating, four-shard frosty vertical pylon of death. He consciously contained the frost essence in the one Essence Lance from converting the pure one. Activating Polar South to free-flow some much-needed insight, the Reaver weaved a flowing strand of the Greed Concept into the pure lance. He anticipated how the two might clash, or not.

Rather than consume the frost in the other lance, the strand stuffed itself with ambient ether, altering the non-attributed Essence Lance, increasing its size as it consumed instinctively. Perhaps not all that surprising, it gorged too much and shattered itself. A hilltop blew away, chunking a decent bit of the hill further in its center, flinging the earth off into the distance.

His other lance remained unaffected by the force. Luke analyzed the sensations; the Concept proved far more difficult to control in an ability. The First Reaver hadn't been kidding. This reminded him of the first attempts at putting Elementalization into Infusion or Siphon, complete walls, asking for understanding and control he lacked in any capacity. He latched the Greed Concept onto the frost essence in the other rotating iced lance. While it behaved itself better, it too literally blew up in his face again.

A minor inconvenience, as frost or cold was all but harmless to the Reaver by now. Over the hours, Luke tested what interactions he could think of, except for anything involving Rune's tool set. He sorely lacked the time to go that in-depth. In addition, he tested Nemenoth's Sovereign Crystal affixes multiple times. That led to another discovery, Elementalization also seemed to twist how particular item abilities interacted.

Without adding frost to his strikes, the attacks would fan out in a cone, creating a miniature cutting zone, up to two dozen feet in that direction. Melee strikes could also be considered ranged during the short duration of Corrupting Aura, the crystal's active ability. Incredibly powerful, in spite of the 10% HP sacrificial cost to activate it, in addition to the long cooldown. Applying frost, especially when Xera also had Essence Bond active on her, gave him another way to spread Siphon, and more importantly, Essence Bond. Up until now, the other methods to infect Siphon or Essence Bond on others were the obvious Essence Screech from Sooty, and the not as obvious using an elemental Essence Fissure to do it for him.

During the obsessive testing, Luke attempted to upgrade any of the four abilities through repetition. The world occasionally laughed at his efforts—like now. Not one went up a rank.

Wayfinder swung from side to side over Luke's chest. "Done with the experiments, lad? Turned the grasslands back into a war zone, you have."

"Just about over it, yeah." Luke sheathed Xera. He sent intent over Reaver's Link. Sooty hopped over to his shadow, having to use a slime's shadow on the way. The corvid encountered a distance limit between hops, limited by her Adept mastery of the shadow element born in her. Luke hoped she would break through to Expert. Fortune wasn't on their side.

Feeding Sooty some seeds, he inspected one of her special equipment pieces. At last, the Spatial Feather unlocked the final sealed ability.