Unnatural Laws (The Whispering Crystals, #1)

by H. C. Mills

  Ooh, so I can purchase Skilldreams for the higher levels of Skills I already possess too? Neat! At the moment, though, it seems kind of a waste, since I’m already figuring those Skills out for myself. It’d probably be better to invest in a new Skill of some kind.

  Telepathy sounds awesome, but that seems a little useless right now, as Suri is the only one I have to converse with. Unless...

  “Suri, would I be able to contact other people through the walls if I took Telepathy?”

  [Not currently.]

  That’s vague. But fine, though that means it’s pretty much worthless right now. How would I even practise?

  “I take it the Skill ‘Exchange Lavi’ also requires the presence of another living being?”

  [It does indeed.]

  Then that’s out too.

  I narrow my eyes. “What does Lavi Font do?”

  [It’s a Skill that forms an internal source of Lavi, which in turn helps balance out your resting Lavi consumption.]

  My brows shoot up. That sounds really neat! “And I take it Boost Physical strengthens my body somehow?”

  [It does indeed. Boost Physical is a Skill that temporarily improves your Strength and Agility by burning your Lavi.]

  Yeah, that’s a hard no.

  I’m barely scraping by as it is. Sounds like Lavi Font could really help with that. On the other hand, one of those stat-increasing Internal Power-Ups would also be pretty awesome, as I’m still weakened by the Toxic Energy in my system.

  “Suri, I’m having trouble deciding on my purchases. Could you tell me a little more—”

  [Yes, actually, I can.]

  I blink. I haven’t said about what, though...

  [Since you shattered the record for Toxic Energy Tolerance at the end of this Trial, I have requested a reward for you.]

  “Awww, Suri, you shouldn’t have!”

  [Really?] Suri chimed. [Why not?]

  “It’s... never mind. It’s an expression. Tell me, what’s my reward?”

  [Ah, I see. Well, unfortunately, it’s not one of the officially kept records, or you would have gained some more substantial rewards, but I did manage to get approval to properly explain a single Trial and give you appropriate advice on how to prepare for it.]

  “Th-that’s great, that could totally save my life! When should I use it?”

  [Now.]

  “Wait, so I’m going to need your advice for the next Trial?”

  [Yes.]

  “And you think I’ll die if I don’t take it?”

  [Most definitely.]

  I sigh. Of course.

  “All right then. Tell me about the next Trial.”

  CHAPTER 10

  A dream is a wish your heart makes

  [THE SECOND TRIAL IS an obstacle course that escalates in difficulty and danger.]

  “Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad.”

  I mean, it sounds quite frightening and frankly life-threatening, but no more than the previous challenge. I have some confidence in my skills as a former gymnast, after all.

  [I’m afraid it’s worse news than you think,] Suri chimes, crushing my budding optimism. [A Strength of 7 is already on the low end for a being of your size and weight; you would have a hard time making it through the next Trial with that. If you pulled it off with a Strength of 6 that would be an incredible feat, and with your current Strength of 5, it would take a miracle. Specifically, of the kind that comes with an increase in Strength.]

  I can feel the blood draining from my face. She’s right, I’m still weakened. And I no longer have access to a Crystal of Purification. Damnit Emma, you just had to push it, didn’t you?

  [However,] Suri chimes, [thanks to your high Toxic Energy Tolerance, you earned a lot of TP, which means you still have a chance.]

  I latch onto the word ‘chance’ like a drowning man coming across anything.

  “So, what should I buy? It’s the Internal Power-Up that raises my Strength, right?”

  [Were it an option, that would be the simplest solution, yes. Unfortunately, symbionts that have yet to merge with their hosts are very vulnerable. If you were to ingest a Strength increasing Internal Power-Up right now, there’s an over 90% chance that the rampant Toxic Energy in your body would kill it.]

  “Are you friggin’ serious? What other option—Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

  [I believe you’ve already worked it out, yes. You need to take the Skilldream for Boost Physical.]

  I close my eyes and let out a groan. “That’s supposed to be my salvation? A Skill that literally burns life-force as fuel to give me a temporary boost in stats?”

  [Beggars can’t be choosers, Emma. Frankly, I think it’s a perfect Skill for a—I believe the word is ‘madwoman’—like yourself.]

  “Gee, thanks,” I say tersely. “You know I don’t exactly have Lavi to spare, right? I have a small Lavi Pool, and the Toxic Energy in my system is still constantly draining me.”

  [You’ll have to take frequent breaks, but my calculations say it’s feasible, thanks to your high intake of Lavi from Aether.]

  Feasible. My survival is feasible. Great.

  I sigh. “So, how does it work. Does Boost Physical help me control my muscles better so I can pull out the maximum potential, or something like that?”

  [No. Although a Skill close to that exists, you do not yet meet the requirements to learn it.]

  Interesting. “Why not?”

  [Skills all concern some form of energy manipulation performed by the mind, and you lack the required energy.]

  “So there’s actually a lot more Skills available, but you’re only presenting me with the Lavi-based ones, as that is the only type of energy I currently have?”

  [Indeed.]

  “I see. Wait, no, I’m confused. You’re saying Respiration is a Skill based on the manipulation of Lavi with the mind, but I’m pretty sure I use my lungs to breathe. How does that work?”

  [While for that particular Skill some physical movement is useful to facilitate its workings, Respiration is ultimately about taking control over the Lavi you inhale, so you can absorb more of it.]

  “And Boost Physical?”

  [Boost Physical is a Skill that burns Lavi as fuel to generate the power needed to push your body beyond its limits, which temporarily boosts your stats.]

  I fall silent for a bit as I mull it all over.

  “I don’t like it,” I say eventually. “But it really does sound like I have no other choice.”

  [I’m glad you agree.]

  I allow my head to fall against the wall behind me with a soft thump and immediately regret it. Stupidly hard walls in this stupid Realm. “Suri, is it just me, or were the Trials deliberately put in this order to screw people over?”

  [The First Trial is about successfully navigating a garden full of Toxic Energy. Generally speaking, when people come out still full of Toxic Energy, they haven’t really done a good job.]

  I groan. “So the Second Trial is there to clean up the ones who failed the one before, and I screwed up by ignorantly treating that one as a training ground?”

  [You overdid it, I’m afraid. If you’d allotted more time for your final Purification, you would have been in better shape right now.]

  Damnit. I should’ve just stopped at like 18%. Guess I got greedy.

  [Cheer up, Emma. It’s too early to throw in the towel. Besides, Boost Physical is not exactly a consolation prize. It provides a better boost in stats than a Power-Up of the same cost, which you’d probably have ended up swapping out at some point anyway. Furthermore, going beyond your limits with Boost Physical is actually an excellent way to train for the purpose of raising your stats.]

  I sit up a little straighter. Suri’s right, this isn’t over yet.

  [Of course, you’ll need to actually succeed in gaining the Skill first. If you fail to do so, you’re definitely done for. So, would you like to purchase a five-hour Boost Physical Skilldream for 50 Trial Points?]

  A
muscle next to my eye twitches. “Yes, that’d be great, thanks,” I bite out.

  [Good choice. Now lie back and relax. Don’t fight it.]

  “Oh, are we doing this right—wow, okay.”

  I feel my left eye roll up as a cool prickle invades my right optic nerve. Don’t fight it, she says. Like I would have a—

  I find myself inside a forest of blue trees with roots that reach high into a starry purple sky. Beneath my feet rests a yellow, pink-dotted mushroom the size of a car, which stands at the edge of a picturesque lily pond.

  And somehow this all makes perfect sense to me.

  [Focus, Emma; don’t get lost in the fantasy.]

  I turn 720 degrees and end up facing a barely clothed goddess.

  Flawless white skin, hair as black as the night, curves to die for, and a pair of familiar-looking cyan eyes. It’s like she walked right out of an otaku’s wet dream.

  “Suri?” I ask, my pair of regular eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

  The goddess nods. [This form was suggested by previous participants. Is it a problem?]

  That explains it. I swallow thickly. “No! It’s... it’s fine. Where are we?” I ask, finding it unusually difficult to draw my eyes away from the expanses of white skin in front of me, for some reason.

  [This is a Dreamscape. It’s where I will be training you. Not here though, follow me.] Her voice sounds less metallic here, silkier. Mesmerising.

  She floats off over the pond, and I quickly clamber down the mushroom. The ground is covered in grey spears, which I immediately recognise as pine-needles growing from the blue tree branches on the ground.

  I take off after my goddess, not even realizing when I run onto the pond. The surface holds me, but it dips wherever I stand and feels as slick as a second-hand car salesman. After taking only a few steps, the inevitable happens. I slip and manage to break the surface with my face.

  Beneath, I find fish in colours I’ve never heard of and shapes I’ve never imagined. I want to dive deeper, explore...

  Suddenly, Suri is below me in the water, a knowing smile on her face.

  [This place takes some getting used to. Come, let me guide you,] she says and gently grasps onto my forearms.

  The world around me blurs, and when it comes back into focus I realise we’re on a giant lilac lily pad. Beside us, on one end of the pond, is a waterfloat—like a waterfall, but reversed. The light of twin moons reflects off the surface of the silent, upward-flowing water.

  [This place will do,] Suri chimes from behind me. [First, watch.]

  She waves a hand at the waterfloat and it freezes in place, its surface forming a natural perfect mirror. Then she sticks her hand into the pond and pulls out something akin to a moose. The moose bellows, presumably annoyed at having his meal of periwinkle crayfish interrupted.

  [Shush,] Suri commands, and with a snap of her fingers, produces a bucket of crayfish hanging below the beast’s mouth. It blinks, then happily starts to munch, no longer complaining about being frozen in place mid-air.

  Another wave of her hand and an image appears in the mirror. It portrays a series of glowing pathways, all inside of the moose. The beast looks up in interest.

  Its fur looks so soft... I’m sure it wouldn’t mind if I just reached out and—

  [Stay grounded, Emma,] Suri murmurs, snapping me back to ‘reality.’ [Now, watch carefully. This is the way Lavi normally flows through meridians.]

  A flow of green flecks twirls through the pathways with childlike wonderment and glee. I fight to keep looking and not start twirling myself.

  My efforts are rewarded.

  [Very good.]

  I shiver.

  [Now watch what needs to happen.]

  The Lavi speeds up, barrelling through the moose in reckless ecstasy. I watch, my jaw unhinged, as the flow is suddenly reversed and flecks of Lavi collide. Upon collision, the flecks merge and explode into miniature galaxies which rapidly go through cycles of expansion and collapse, forming and reforming smaller every time, until all the energy has disappeared.

  I pray to Suri, goddess of horny anime fans, that my green friends end up in a better place, where the meridians are wide and the twirling is eternal.

  [Focus, Emma.]

  “Ugh, it’s so difficult!” I complain. As I do, everything around me starts growing. The moose becomes a mountain of fur, the lily pad stretches out before me, and Suri becomes ever greater.

  [No need to feel small, Emma, you’re doing great,] Suri comforts me.

  The shrinkage is reversed. I feel warm inside and my chest swells with pride. One cup size, two cup sizes...

  [Not that great. Try and maintain a normal size please.]

  I huff, struggling to return to a normal shape. “Suri, how am I supposed to concentrate on learning anything in an environment like this?”

  [I know it’s difficult, but do me a favour and keep trying. Once you get used to this place, it can work miracles.]

  Fine. I take a deep breath and notice for the first time that the air here doesn’t burn my lungs. I quickly abandon the thought. I need to focus for Suri.

  [Good. Let’s try to recreate these processes inside your body.]

  The invisible bindings holding the moose disappear, and it bellows once more before it drops back down into the pond and swims away beneath the surface.

  Suri waves her hand, and my mirror image in the waterfloat turns translucent, meridians lighting up in my chest and limbs.

  [Let’s start with a normal flow of Lavi...]

  I wake up groggy and disoriented, to the following notification.

  Well, that’s nice, I guess. I wave it away so I can look around. I’m in the preparation room. Nothing weird around me.

  [Ah, you’re up,] Suri chimes. [Rise and shine, Emma. The clock is ticking.]

  Vague, blurry memories flash through my mind. I groan.

  “Suri?”

  [Yes, Emma?]

  “Did all of that really happen, or did we drop acid?”

  Suri laughs. No, really. She laughs.

  [Real is a relative term. We were in a Dreamscape.]

  “So, it was all in my head or something?”

  [Something like that.]

  I guess that explains why my Mental Fortitude increased. Is it just me, or has Suri gotten a little looser? Perhaps the Dreamscape affects her too...

  “Do you enjoy Skilldreams?”

  [It’s... something I don’t get to experience often.]

  Interesting.

  “Well, as long as I survive, I’ll be sure to do it more often.”

  [I hope you will.]

  She’s warming up to me! All right, let’s not push it. Gotta stay focused, that’s important.

  “Time?”

  [You can stay in this preparation room for 23 hours and 50 minutes, of which 18 hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds remain.]

  Good, that’s plenty. Right, I was going to appraise some stuff.

  I carefully take the wrapped package containing the Moonshade Flower out of my backpack.

  “Ehm... appraise this Moonshade Flower. Please.”

  Wow. Who writes these descriptions? It doesn’t really tell me anything new though, except that it’s not sold. I guess I’ll get the opportunity to buy things like these in the future, though not this particular plant.

  I put the package back in and take out the blade of knifegrass. “Appraise,” I say, more confidently this time.

  For some reason?! How am I supposed to cut them off, if I only have the one blade! Is this just Suri messing with me? Anyway, apparently, it’s called Bluesteel Grass. Nah, I like knifegrass better.

  After that I appraise some random other stuff around the room, just trying to see if I’ll learn anything interesting.

  For example, I learn that the mattress has a Toughness of 14. No wonder it feels like concrete.

  The Toughness of the walls, however, is 63. I was very impressed by this, until I appraised the Crystal of Lavi.

&
nbsp; It has a Toughness of 91.

  Wasn’t that out of a 100? ’Cause, wow. Anyway, I’ve played around more than enough. Time to see what I’ve gained in my Skilldream.

  “Open Status Window.”

  Wait, what?

  CHAPTER 11

  Let’s get physical

  I SHOOT UPRIGHT. “Suri, why isn’t Boost Physical listed? Did I not succeed in learning it?”

  [A Skilldream provides training to help you gain a Skill. It’s not an automatic thing; you still need to actually perform the Skill in reality. Was I not clear on this before?]

  I frown. “Ah, I guess I just kind of assumed I would gain it during the Skilldream.”

  [Skilldreams are like simulations. There’s no actual Lavi inside a Dreamscape, so you can’t truly use Boost Physical in there, but it does make it much easier to visualise and explain how the Skill works in detail.]

  I get off the bed. “So I guess I should just try and do it for real, then?”

  [Please do.]

  I frown. I have very clear images in my head of how my Lavi moves and how it should move for the Skill, but... how do I actually move my Lavi?

  [Remember, you are One. Your meridians, your Lavi, they are you.]

  “Right... and that means?”

  [That you can will your Lavi to do what you want. Start by establishing a connection.]

  All right, one connection to my Lavi coming right up. Would you like some onions with that? No, Emma, focus.

  I close my eyes and turn my mind inwards.

  More memories of what I’ve apparently learned in the Dreamscape drift to the surface, and I follow their lead, imagining the focus of my consciousness moving into my body.

  The crystal in my right eye socket hums into life, allowing me a blurry kind of almost-vision into my chest. Green flecks are gently flowing through my meridians.

  Huh. Why did I have this expectation that they would be frolicking?

  I shake it off and get to work.

  First, I focus on the flow I need to manipulate. It’s a flow that passes through the left chamber of my heart; I need to accelerate and then swiftly reverse it so the flow will collide upon itself.