by Dakota Krout
“Poisoning…? Poisoning!” He gasped the words out, attaining a queer look from the recruiters at the non sequitur. It took a mountain's worth of mental energy, but Joe activated ‘Neutrality Aura’ and hoped for the best. It started without a hitch, and he could feel his body getting cleaner… but only the outside. Joe was still suffocating, and the spell was doing nothing to alleviate that fact. Unable to speak his frustration, Joe simply closed his eyes and thought, “Well, at least I tried. I guess this just isn't powerful enough-”
His eyelids slowly pried open, the gravity making them feel as if they were tied down. He didn’t care; that was only a reflex. What he wanted to see wasn’t something he needed his eyes for. Joe’s status sheet appeared in front of him, and he searched desperately for the one thing that might help; might allow him to survive this situation. There. He had been correct: there were nine free skill points remaining for him to allocate. He had just… never gotten around to it. Right now, all he could do was thank his younger, less focused self.
One point dropped into his Neutrality Aura, bringing it up to Apprentice nine; then the second one was allocated. Joe accepted the changes with a desperate hope in his heart and tunnel vision closing in. With only seven free skill points remaining, he wouldn't get another shot at upgrading the skill tier.
Skill increase: Neutrality Aura (Student 0): By relying on this skill far too often—for everything from showering to staying hydrated—this skill has increased far beyond what it was ever intended to be. Bonus added due to usage: this skill will now act as a gas exchange, directly exchanging the harmful gases in your blood for the helpful gases surrounding your body. While not as effective as breathing, you will be able to remain underwater or in toxic environments for a significantly longer time without inhaling.
“Intent matters. I knew it mattered.” Joe’s lips twitched upward at the thought, as clarity started to return to his vision. His eyes, which every time before now had become painful and dried out, were remaining nicely hydrated, even though he could only blink once every few minutes with great effort. If he physically could have facepalmed, he would have. Joe had no idea why he hadn't thought to activate this skill previously. Panic, perhaps? Lack of oxygen to the brain?
He was still struggling to breathe, only able to pull in one lungful every fifty seconds or so, but it did not feel nearly as terrible as it normally did. Beforehand, he’d had to focus at least half of his attention on making his chest rise and fall. With his skill reducing his need to breathe by… maybe a quarter? Joe started to feel real hope. His characteristic training notification went off, he stayed alive, and kept staying alive. Eventually, even the recruiters started to take note at the greatly extended time-to-live he was showcasing.
“Did you do it? Did you choose Mind Over Matter?” The Elf stepped forward excitedly, the first time Joe had seen something other than vague disgust on his androgynously ‘pretty’ face. “Work with us, and I promise that you will reach heaven in a single bound! You can start directly in the Officer track. I have seen you go from not even understanding that you needed to look at the Mortal Limit, to breaking it in under five full days of attempts. I'm not one to have eyes and fail to recognize Mountaindale!”
“Ignore the pampered twig, human!” The Dwarf cut in, panic filling his voice for once. “I’ve recognized your talents ever since you arrived. Were it not for this… thing stopping me, I would have been working with you to improve and reach this stage the entire time. I would have been able to keep you alive; we would have… hold on one abyssal second… why aren't you getting up? What did you choose…?”
At practically the same time, the two recruiters realized that he had not actually broken the Mortal Limit. The Elf only deigned to shrug, then went to sit on an intricately formed tree stump. “It appears the carp did not jump over the dragon gate. It appears that sometimes a fishy is just a fishy. It appears the Celestials don’t smile upon this one. No talent, no luck. Cast off even by his own Zone.”
“I still… believe in you. You can do it. Take the chance to grow and better yourself,” The Dwarf promised very unconvincingly, before he too went and sat down in a meditative pose on an anvil that had been repurposed as a chair. “If only I knew what you were going to decide.”
Joe's eyes moved between the two of them, frustration mounting in his heart. Neither of them would help him because he might choose to work with the other? Because they had a deal? So, helping a potential enemy was worse than rescuing a potential ally? Joe wanted to spit at both of them, but ended up only drooling out of the side of his mouth.
Right then, he resolved that if he didn't need to make a choice between the two, he wouldn't. When Joe was strong enough, when he broke the Mortal Limit, he was going to get out of here on his own terms.
Chapter Two
Almost… almost. Joe broke his concentration to heal himself, and the almost complete structure for his mana circulation pattern shattered into motes of light that faded away like a handful of glitter thrown in the air. Gasping in a long breath, he let his face fall to the side and tried to throw up from the pain.
Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how Joe thought of it, he had not had anything to eat for days and days. The healing water washed from his hands, traveled along his body, and brought him back up to his maximum health. He was lucky that Lay on Hands did not require him to physically touch himself on the chest, or some other strange somatic gesture. He still couldn’t raise his arms, after all.
“You can do it,” the Elf called over, pretending to speak with affection for the human that was keeping it from gaining boons and sleeping well. “It won't take you weeks or months like it does for everyone else. You can do this very easily. Perhaps if you just give it your best shot-”
“Stop pretending that you care about anything a human would be able to accomplish.” The Dwarf growled at the simpering Elf, obviously missing the sarcasm. “All you want to do is pad your bottom line, get a bonus for convincing the humans to join your race over mine. A foolish choice, and we both know it. The winning side is ours, and it always will be. I look forward to seeing your new face after our first battle.”
That final taunt made the Elven liason’s face contort in rage, but he replaced it with a sneer a moment later and launched his own verbal offensive.
Joe stopped listening; he wanted to get this process down. He focused, putting all of his mental energy into holding the mana weave that was propagating throughout his body. The voices of the squabbling recruiters faded into background noise once again, and Joe pushed on his free-formed mana, again, again. This system was built with him in mind, which meant it was something perfectly structured for himself. Joe knew that if he could not make this work, there was no way to progress in this Zone. There was no other option—there was nothing beyond success—that meant that he would succeed. Now, or… maybe after he had a few more tries.
As that mindset solidified within him, Joe heard a distinct *click*. The weave that he had been creating, the circuitry throughout his body, solidified. His mana began rumbling along the new pathway that he had created, and contrary to his expectations… the feeling of freedom that his mana was steeped in did not go away, but instead increased. It was strange, because all of the power was moving, but there was a feeling that it didn't need to move if it didn't want to do so.
As if it were… a different kind of non-Newtonian fluid? Gaseous and free-floating, but flowing along the channels created like a liquid while also carrying the potential to be structured into the ‘solid’ feel of a spell, the circuit revolved in his body. There was a clear starting point in the center of his heart. From there, it traveled down his legs, then up his body. When it got to his brain, time seemed to freeze for a long moment, and Joe felt a question coming. For the first time ever, he instinctively knew the system was about to speak to him, and was prepared.
You stand at a crossroad that loops upon itself and must directly choose the path you will walk upon. For the first
time, you will know what lies at the end of each path. Do not be afraid to make a choice now. At your next specialization, you will need to walk the opposing path if you wish to progress further upon the road.
1) Mind over Matter. (Most suitable for your current characteristics) By breaking the Mortal Limit using only your mind, you will learn how to survive in energetic environments by simply reaching a state that allows you to move through the energy like a leaf in the wind, catching the gusts that you need in order to progress. As a fringe benefit, the mental characteristics (Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Luck) will be trainable twice per day.
2) Matter over Mind. By breaking the Mortal Limit using only your raw physicality, you will learn how to survive in energetic environments by smashing through the barriers that would keep you in place, surrounding yourself in that same energy and cutting through the energy like a ship sailing upon the sea. As a fringe benefit, the physical characteristics (Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, and Perception) will be trainable twice per day.
Joe looked at his stats and tried to make a decision. He did not know if choosing one over the other would allow him to get up on his feet right away, but he did know that his mental characteristics were far and away higher than his physical ones. If he took Mind over Matter, he was certain that he would be able to get up and get going much faster. However… the only time he had seen excitement on that Elf’s face was when he thought he was going to get a new ‘acquisition’. Joe didn't want to admit it, but he was a teeny tiny bit stubborn and potentially—just maybe—a little spiteful.
With that self-realization at the front of his thoughts, he chose Matter over Mind. The weave of power that was moving through his body shifted slightly, though it took him a few moments to realize exactly how it differed. The knots and whirlpools that had been created had shifted inward, no longer floating over the surface. Mana was sinking into his muscles, bones, tendons, and organs.
Matter over Mind has taken effect! This is not an active effect or title, but a state of the energy that flows through you. Checking for traits to absorb… one trait found!
Trait: Suppression Resistance. Current effect: Will grow as your power does and gives you a 50% resistance to stun, silence, and paralytic effects. Your mind has always been striving toward freedom, and your mana has taken on a bit of your resolve.
This trait will be absorbed into your matter. You can only choose how it evolves:
1) Suppression Resistance (mind and body). This will grant you 70% resistance to hostile stun, silence, paralysis, illusions, ensnaring sounds, and formations of the Journeyman rank or below.
2) Unsuppressed Growth. Choose one characteristic set (mental/physical) to feed into the other. The fed characteristics will gain floor(10%N) where N = the feeding characteristic.
Joe’s eyes widened fractionally, and he almost mentally slapped option two… but stopped himself. The system typically did not give two such wildly differing reward tiers. It seemed almost like this was a bait and switch, where the second option seemed incredibly better than the first. But, if he was correct in his assumption, the mind and body suppression resistance was being shown as equal in value to the unsuppressed growth. Joe realized that he did not know what the feeding or fed characteristics would be, or if he would get to choose them.
Once more, he was faced with a choice that could have long-term benefits, or something that would give him great power in the short-term and long term. He needed more information! How was he supposed to know what to do without proper time to go over the options, the pros and cons of both? With a mental shrug, he tried to boil it down. The question really became: which one would be better forever? Having ten percent of his intelligence added on to strength right now would take it from seventy-six to eighty-nine, and only ten—no! Five days of training would bring the stat to the next threshold!
But the things that had been added onto the suppression resistance… Joe had an intense gut feeling that ‘formations’, like those the Jester Assassins used, were something that the Dwarves would have in spades. Ensnaring sounds? That sounded distinctly Elven, if Joe was going directly by mythology. Either way, if he ended up facing off against one or both of these groups, he was certain that the suppression resistance would remain useful.
Joe had one final thought, one that made the choice for him. The fact of the matter was that, eventually, he would be past this Zone. He would not be fighting Elves and Dwarves forever; in fact he was certain he would not be fighting forever! Yes, he would be seeking power, but that was not the same thing as attaining power. Eventually, as he gained in experience, there would be fewer things that could challenge him and what he could do. There could only be a few individuals at the peak, else it wouldn’t be the peak. Frankly, there would ultimately be very few things that could suppress him.
At the highest ranks, Joe was certain that pure stats would already let him disregard almost anything that people of a lower level could throw at him. His mind came into alignment with his personality, and he went with his initial choice of choosing the second option. In an instant, Joe was shuddering on the ground as power started to flow into every cell of his being.
Character trait updated! Unsuppressed Growth added. Mental stats feeding physical stats has been chosen. Intelligence is feeding Strength. Wisdom is feeding Dexterity. Dark Charisma is feeding Constitution. Luck is feeding Perception.
Characteristic: Raw score
Strength: 76 -> 89
Dexterity: 93 -> 104
Constitution: 77 -> 85
Intelligence: 138
Wisdom: 118
Dark Charisma: 80
Perception: 93 -> 98
Luck: 59
Karmic Luck: -1
You have reached a threshold for Dexterity! Upgrading nervous system!
Joe twitched uncontrollably, only the massive pressure of this Zone keeping him from flailing wildly as his muscles swelled slightly and his nerves were remade. His health increased, and he could feel his self control becoming finer.
Stamina now regenerates at a rate of .3*Constitution+.3*Dexterity instead of .275*Constitution+.275*Dexterity. Stamina regen has moved from 5.97/second to 6.05/second! Congratulations on reaching this threshold!
“Yay… so worth the pain,” Joe muttered into the air, not realizing that he had managed to actually speak. “Hey, at least I can think my way into muscles now. I’ve always dreamt of reading a book and getting fitter; maybe I can walk into a library and come out a bodybuilder? That’s how it works now, right?”
“What!” The Dwarf was on his feet in a second, inspecting Joe excitedly. “You actually managed it! You improved yourself to such a degree in this short time! You’re an abyssal genius! I knew it!”
“From the look of you, more changed than just a simple crossing of the Mortal Limit.” The Elf’s already huge, moist eyes widened even further. “A crane in a flock of chickens, indeed…! You had a character trait. A bloodline. Literally one in one hundred thousand. Human, I can tell you now that the advancement opportunities I can offer you are limitless.”
“Quiet, twig! To use your overblown and overused sayings, ‘you are just trying to fish in troubled waters’. You can’t even give promotions; those are mandated.” The Dwarf didn’t even bother to look over at the Elf as he dismissed him, which was too bad, because it was the first time the Elf really reacted truly furiously. The expression faded from the perfect face after a few long moments of struggle, but if the Dwarf had seen it… he would have gloated for the next decade.
“Both of you. Stop. Talking.” Joe still couldn’t sit up, but he could speak with only moderate difficulty. “I’ve wanted an answer to this for days, and this is the first chance I’ve gotten. Don’t deny me, I’ve waited too long.”
“Go on, lad.” The Dwarf waved at the human encouragingly. “You’ve got your chance now, and you should walk the path of rewards for your actions.”
The Elf slightly turned his head to the side in an inquiring
manner, “What is this burning question that you have for us? I am sure that both of us would be happy to expand upon the benefits of joining us.”
“You sit across from each other, you talk to me and bicker constantly, and not once…” Joe stared at one, then the other. “…have either of you said your names. Do you know how annoying it is to call you only ‘Androgynous Elf’ or ‘Beardy Dwarf’ in my head?”
Chapter Three
“Names? You want to hear our names?” The Elf shook his head at the thought, and even the Dwarf started chuckling. “You may refer to me as ‘Enlightened One’.”
“Call me ‘Captain’,” the Dwarf volunteered easily, reaching out for a fist-bump, only to drop his hand when he remembered himself and the current situation. “I was really expecting that you would ask about our offers before anything else. That's what everyone else has done.”
Joe shook his head, albeit slowly. His words came out breathlessly, since he needed to stop and suck wind every few words. Luckily, he was used to this; when he had first entered Eternium, his stats hadn't allowed him much freedom of motion. “I have no… intention of joining… either of you. In my mind, you have already proven… that you can't be trusted to help people when they need it. You are only after the largest benefit to yourselves. I just wanted the names… of the two people who so drastically disillusioned me as soon as I got to this Zone.”
Captain’s face darkened, and veins began to pop out on his forehead. Before he could start shouting, ‘Enlightened One’ spoke up. “One of those types, huh? Well, human, I can tell you right now that not choosing a side means that you have chosen both of us as enemies. I can tell that you have the favor of a deity; I can also tell you that here… neutrality means nothing. You walk away with one of us, or you never leave this room.”
