Monsoon117
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212 Fallout
🕑 Added 2019-04-15 23:50:42 +0000 UTCI did the math for my mana by using a calculator option in my status. It would take about ten days before my next evolution at my current pace. Considering the spike in power I'd get from it, this moved that further up in my priority list. At the same time, I couldn't lose sight of my goals. I still had to save Rivaria from some kind of invasion from Thisbey.
To make that happen, I needed more recruits. From my experience so far, no gialgathens came by during nighttime. Working in a bit of dungeon clearing and eldritch harvesting into my schedule wasn't impossible by any means then.
With that in mind, I helped two more gialgathens join my cause before heading out overnight. Throughout the night, I cleared dozens of opened rifts, focusing on ones where eldritch worlds were spilling onto Giess. This helped prevent gialgathens from dying or being trapped in those worlds. It also gave me more mana from the white pillars of light that sustained the portals.
While I ran through the countryside and silver wastelands, I kept focused on training Force of Nature. I drilled a variety of complex gravitational formations. While floating from area to area, I held complex patterns of sand and soil. At times, I rotated dozens of rocks, creating mini-solar systems hovering over my palm. This was far more difficult than it seemed.
I had to create a gravity well mirroring the pull of Giess. This let me hover a few dozen stones midair. After that, I melted one of them, creating a miniature sun at the center of the replica. After enhancing its gravitational pull, I tweaked it until the stones around it fell in orbit. Doing all that while punching mind controlling moles in the face was hard as hell.
I kept at it though, attempting to create small environments on each rock I hovered in my hand. This required precise manipulation of the heat around each stone. Over time, I created wet spots over the pebbles, mimicking oceans. I managed tiny little wind systems, keeping outside interference minimized with further gravitational manipulation.
By the time I was satisfied with this project, I had created hundreds of gravity wells. I balanced them in a dance of sorts, weighing the pull of each of them. I even attempted the creation of geological formations on the stones. I melted the inside but kept a thin layer of crust on its surface. After setting the cracks adrift, I hoped volcanoes and the like would form on the pebbles.
If they did, I couldn't tell. I did use the word 'attempt' after all.
Despite some lagging aspects of the exercise, I gritted my teeth and pushed through the process. Over the next three days, I gained a few levels and capped out my cores in the process. Despite getting to level 8,111, my mana regen didn't grow by that large an amount. That made sense considering the mountain of endurance I already stacked up. The ambient mana gains were minimal as well. Every little bit helped though.
On the other hand, my guild efforts picked up quite a bit. With only three days remaining before the award ceremony, I managed to get twenty-four gialgathens into the system and my guild. While it wasn't an army by any means, it would help out with the cause. If I were up against many hybrids as I suspected, I'd need all the help I could get.
With that in mind, I called in my three most significant advocates for a meeting. Sheom, Krog, and Chrona were all sprawled out in Chrona's home. The scars I left behind with all my armory work made it look and smell like a blacksmith's shop at this point. To be fair, Chrona didn't really care. She relished in the new combat that the system allowed. Sheom was the same in that regard, pursuing battle after battle.
Krog had been different, leading the recruitment effort. He was the biggest reason I gained so many gialgathens so soon. By speaking with many leaders of Rivaria, the old general secured me a guildhouse, the first one in Rivaria. Even more surprising, he campaigned for my cause, and he was cunning about it too.
He used Kessiah's unique skills to gain members. By offering to restore the limbs and injuries of war veterans, he added loyal, competent soldiers to our ranks. Malakai was one of the first gialgathens he went to, his burns still fresh from the bombing of our room. He among others were given a second chance to fight, and they were hungry for action.
Kessiah gained an enormous amount of training with her skills during this time, becoming proficient at turning her blood into flesh and bone. It was a miraculous turnaround for her. She went from one of the most useless, frustrating friends I had to a godsend overnight. She even gained experience when healing fellow guild members, boosting her exp gain. In between the healing, Krog took her out to destroy silvers, raising her level by over a thousand over the last week or so. Krog even sent updates on all this as it occurred, keeping me in the loop at all times.
All in all, it was a boon I never expected. Maybe that's because my expectations were low. I figured it's better to be that way. I was never disappointed and pleasantly surprised sometimes.
Krog was becoming one of those surprises. He was reminding me of Torix at this point, his political skill uncanny. Considering the guy was once a general, it made perfect sense. He was bound to have some skills in that department.
Unlike with Chrona and Sheom who were given their position based on their battle sense, Krog's logistical abilities made him invaluable. It kind of left me envious. He was using his resources better than I had, his social prowess dwarfing my own. I swallowed my pride though, remembering that as individuals, we each had our own strengths.
It was still a bitter pill to gulp down, however.
I shook off that bit of jealousy, glancing at the three titans. Though Krog's efforts impressed me most, they all supported the cause in their own way. With each of them here, I stayed standing up,
"It's good you all made it here so quickly. There's something important I need to discuss with each of you."
Krog gave me a curt nod, "What is it that you have to report?"
He was falling into the whole general more than I expected.
"Well, something is going to happen to Rivaria during the award ceremony in four days."
Krog's eyes widened, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"I had no information about it, and I still don't. I didn't want to stop you guys from accomplishing real tasks to handle something so vague."
Chrona blinked, "If there's no information of the assault, then there's little we can plan to do. Perhaps we may host members of your army around the city to assist with evacuation. I can think of no more we can do."
Krog growled, "These gialgathens have grown lazy and fat since the war has ended. They won't listen to an evacuation order. Even my warnings of a storm on our horizons do us little."
Sheom's eyes narrowed, "That's too high a price to pay for simple knowledge."
Krog shook his head, "Some lessons may only be learned in exchange for blood."
It made sense why Sheom wasn't on their side during the civil war. From what I'd seen, they were always butting heads. I intervened before the issue spiraled any further,
"Enough. We're sticking with a simple strategy. We're splitting you three into teams, each of you having seven gialgathens under you. Decide who gets who amongst yourselves." I raised a hand,
"During the award ceremony, you'll be patrolling the city. If anything crops up, go in as a team and destroy it."
Chrona smiled, her sharp teeth showing, "That seems simple enough. It will prevent us from being overwhelmed should we face another Hybrid."
Sheom frowned, "What will you do?"
"I have to visit an award ceremony in Yildraza. I'll be rushing back to Rivaria right after its finished."
Sheom tilted her head, her eyes narrowing, "So a trophy is more important to you than Rivaria?"
I crossed my arms, "It's the mythical compendium that I give a shit about. It will help me progress rapidly in my goals. Those goals don't include being a savior to people who can save themselves." I scowled,
" If anything, I've done more than enough by informing you all and getting some gialgathens into the system. What do you expect from me?"
"Could this outing not wait until after the coming invasion? You're exchanging people's lives for your convenience." Sheom snapped.
Krog growled, "I see you're used to dealing with saints then, Sheom. We are not so helpless as to need his guidance in every matter, and he has a life to live as well."
Krog turned to me, his chest puffed out, "Allow me to thank you for all that you've done."
Sheom bit her lip. She murmured, "I...I overreacted."
I didn't give two fucks about this drama. I suppressed the desire to roll my eyes, "It's fine. Focus on what matters; prepare yourselves for an incoming invasion. You were all part of a war, right? Use some of those skills to get this shit done."
Krog gave me a curt nod, "Of course, Dark One." Chrona followed suit with Sheom. I raised my hands, "I'm your leader, yeah, but this isn't a militant organization."
Krog shook his head, "They may do as they wish. I prefer more formal lines of command."
Huh. This was a strange feeling.
"Uh, sure. Anyways, that was all I wanted to inform you guys of. Figure it out from here."
As I walked off, Krog turned to them and began a telepathic conversation. I went back to my day job as a blacksmith, fixing up some extra armors and runic configurations. After a half hour of talking the three of them left with some goodbyes. As they did, a message popped up in my status.
Althea Tolstoy, the Shapeless Arbiter(lvl 9,457 | Class: Breaker | Giess: 6:41 P.M. 4/16/26) - They've ramped up their assault on Rivaria. Everyone here is talking about it. I'll be stationed in Yildraza on the 20th during the award ceremony. After I kill Thisbey, we'll meet up outside the north side of the city. That ok?
I thought back,
Dimension C-138, the Harbinger of Cataclysm(lvl 8,113 | Giess: 6:42 P.M. 4/16/26) - Yes. I hope you're ok, and I love you.
We exchanged messages for a while about what we were doing. She thought my recruitment was a fantastic success, but she was pretty biased. She felt the same way when I complimented her on her assassinations. After that, our conversation turned into goofy rambling, and it made me miss her.
I had a task here though, so I pushed that out of my head before leaving for the night. For the next two days, I continued enlisting help and searching during the nights. I say enlisting, but no other gialgathens showed up. Rivaria was clean out of fresh recruits.
Not wanting to sit around with a half dozen extra sets of armor, I devoted the rest of my time clearing out dungeons and silvers. After my armor evolution, I'd focus my time on their recruitment. Perhaps I could find a few like-minded espens to join my cause, but I didn't know if I could trust anyone.
Thisbey's influence ran that deep, unfortunately.
It didn't take long before the fatal day arrived. I managed to get up to level 8,231, and my mana regen did rise by a bit. It wasn't enough to get the evolution just yet, however. I sent a few messages between Althea and me, making sure the plan was going smoothly. It was, so I got ready to leave.
Without any more time to spend, I went off to Yildraza with Chrona, Krog, and Sheom on high alert. After flying across Giess for several hours, I reached Yildraza's soaring skyscrapers peeking over the horizon. With the silver mining business peaking, pillars of black smoke rose up to the sky in the distance. All along the various buildings, flags were hanging with my image on them. It was my hand raised after defeating Chrona.
No doubt they spun that somehow into me being a bigot. I couldn't wait until Thisbey was gutted alive. With those thoughts burning in my mind, I flew through several alleyways before reaching the giant stadium were I faced Delilath.
As I entered the building, the crowds were in an utter uproar. Their champion was here in the flesh, the Gray Giant becoming a legend for the espens. This was to be my triumphant return after stomping the gialgathens into submission. They dedicated quite the set of resources for it as well.
The production company set up a gray pyramid of steps at the center of the arena, several spotlights set over a glass trophy with a book in it. Along the walls of the steel structure, images of gialgathens were etched into metal. They even scorched the edges of their flame breath as if the fire was alive.
At the top of the pyramid, a pillar of light descended around a gyroscope the size of a fist. With three rings circling around it, the cube at its center was floated with an iridescent sheen.
It was the mythical compendium.
Schema's protection ensured no one stole before I grabbed it. Around the seats, screens were set up to encapsulate the moment. It was a strange sensation. The next few seconds would mean so much to so many people, yet it mattered so little to me. I just wanted to get in and get out as fast as possible.
I wasn't ignorant of my surroundings, however. There was a bloody undercurrent to all the celebration. A few glares peaked from under shrouded hoods and masked. White knuckles gripped guns of all kinds, ready to open fire. I analyzed dozens of the audience members as I walked up to the center stage.
I found several warriors over level 3,000. Some of those were to be expected, but there were more than there should be. Without hesitating, I sent Althea a message about the situation. As I waited for a response, Kiki Mosk was floating over the arena as always. He gestured a hand to me,
"And as always, arriving right on time, we have the Gray Giant!"
As I stepped up to the gray pyramid, the lights in the arena shut off. I leaned over, prepared for a fight, but that wasn't the case. Glow in the dark paint covered the monument, showing the fierce gialgathens being killed. Either smashed with fists or thrown into pits of lava, the gory details popped out in the dim light.
Kiki Mosk gestured to me, "The hero of the espens and the one to rule them all has come here to display his dominance and gain his reward."
I had no intention of showing dominance here. As Kiki continued chatting, I glanced up at the side of my status. My inbox was still empty, no new messages received. Althea tended to be pretty quick with those unless she was busy. She could've been in the middle of the assassination at this point though, so I stayed calm.
Kiki went on and one about the history of the event, but I was too busy to care. I floated up to the mythical compendium and stuck my hand out to the white light. It receded while the gyroscope lurched out onto my palm. The many rotating spheres aligned like the rings of a planet before shining blue lines crisscrossed the cube. The many lines divided the compendium into fifteen smaller chunks.
They spiraled along an invisible center as a message popped up.
Analyzing skills, previous knowledge, and needs...
Ten seconds passed.
Mythical Skill decided after completing the analysis. Metamorphosis skill path set. Metamorphosis is a mythical skillset revolving around using mana to change one's inherent characteristics.
This style of magic utilizes Quintessence, a mixture of augmentation and origin magic. It allows for higher purity in personal enhancements, the manipulation of matter, and the manipulation of personal attributes. The unique skills involved are listed below, followed by the five skills required for their creation:
Quintessence - Origin, Origin Manipulation, Augmentation, Augmentation Manipulation, and Serenity.
Mutagenesis - Mutation, Growth, Deconstruction, Auto-cannibalism, and Anatomy.
Mass Manipulation - Spatial Awareness, Proprioception, Compression, Decompression, Mana Manipulation(Any type)
While there may be stalls in the process, this guide will allow the learning of the mythical skill within three days for a determined person.
Congratulations on gaining this reward from Schema. You've earned it!
The pieces of the iridescent cube latched onto the rings of the compendium. They expanded before floating over my forearm. Like needles, the metal sharpened as the gray rings snapped into the flesh of my forearm. A pulse of blue energy shot through me as the device molded to me.
I guess it would be hard to steal at least.
As I glanced at my forearm, Kiki coughed, "Ok, that wasn't the signal to go, but whatever. When it comes to the Gray Giant, you never know what to expect...especially as the commentator!"
Kiki both glared and grinned at me, holding both false joy and suppressed anger all at once. I smiled back,
"Eh, I'm not a ceremony kind of guy. Wrap it up. I'm leaving."
Kiki blinked, holding his grin by sheer will alone, "Ok. Thank you for the heads up. Better than last time I suppose. Anyways, we now have the final and new event for this year's Honoring of Lehesion."
The crowd glanced around, confusion spreading over their faces. Kiki said,
"Our sponsors have allowed us to continue this effort despite the effort and cost involved. With that in mind, we would like to give the floor to the man who made this entire operation possible."
My eyes narrowed to slits. My fists clasped tight as hungry jaws. Something wasn't right about this. Althea should've responded by now.
Kiki raised a hand, as the top of the stadium opened. Large sheets of metal powered by hydraulics lifted up in a slow reveal. Above all the ensuing events, a man in gialgathen leather was floating above the group. He hovered on a platform held aloft by blue fire. Two guards stood beside him, each of them masking their identities. With a smirk on his face and his hands gripped behind his back, the living piece of shit locked eyes with me.
Kiki gestured up to him,
"Thisbey Thorn has arrived!"
Comments
Monsoon117
From a practical standpoint, intelligence is infinitely more valuable than raw strength always. It's unfortunately impossible for me to make Daniel many times smarter without changing his core character utterly. He's your everyday man, someone who works hard and puts the time in. That's who I wanted to write, and making him smarter than Einstein would rob me of that. Also, I'm not smarter than Einstein, so there's that as well. Daniel's upper cap for intelligence is mine, and I'm only so clever. I hope this makes sense.
alexander julian
Quick question. How do attributes effect Daniel relative to his starting stats? I believe his intelligence was 3 at the start and now its multiple thousand times that but he isn't several thousand times smarter? To be fair I have no idea how you would show that and he certainly has gotten smarter but I'm interested as to how its all supposed to effect him
alexander julian
Do we think him practicing his solar systems is how he's gonna populate his dimension? Also did he get a skill for that?
alexander julian
You've gotta realise that while her build is a brawler she's pretty varied. She's been wandering around space for ages doing whatever, she isn't focused like Daniel so she picks up random skills on a whim, and her interest had been runes at the time, she even said her int was higher than Torix's, she's that unfocused
alexander julian
Not with this skill but I'm sure he'll do it in the future
Scott Keesler
Same. I’m waiting for “I immediately condensed Event Horizon over Thisbey with the hatred of the entire gialgathen race”
Nakkus
I think Daniel made him a promise last time he was wearing that jacket. :) I hope he keeps it.
Alex R
He said in an earlier comment, 3 days ago, that you commented on that hes having some issues finishing the chapter.
Peacock
Something must have happened
Pretentious Slime
Author-kun, Danial could make a mini artifice solar system and then consume it using his singularity in order to fuel its power. Creating a super massive singularity~
Monsoon117
I'll be pausing pledges this month. I have 3,000 words into the next chapter, but I'm nervous to post honestly. At the same time, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
s476
Is the next one close or did something happen? Just asking.
Monsoon117
Because Tera assisted with the destruction of several rebel worlds. That's how he earned the name World Breaker.
Monsoon117
Yes. Originator will help him learn these skills very quickly. It will apply to every skill he learns from the compendium.
Alex R
Another question, why is Tera called the World Breaker when he isnt a Breaker, hes a Speaker?
Alex R
Also does Daniel get the 5/10 tree points for free from Originator?
With an intelligence over 12k does he still need a calculator? - I’m genuinely interested in how his stats apply to normal life as well and enjoy the descriptors when they are thrown out. Helps to continue to emphasise how far he has come
Alex R
Why did you say in the first few chapters that Kessiah would find the runes interesting and that she would know how to mold his soul together? She's pretty much a pure brawler and doesn't really care about anything but hitting stuff and being lazy until recently.
Monsoon117
That whole sentence is so butchered that I just removed it.
Monsoon117
That sinking feeling you have is caring about the character's fates. Imo, that's a tool I can use and haven't overused in the past. All that being said, I just ask you have some faith in me here. I won't let you down.
Monsoon117
Absolutely Terrible Twist: Turns out Althea was Thisbey's underling the entire time! jk.
Alex R
Hes been dumping them into Endurance since it's the hardest to level
Alex Kagan
Has Daniel been dumping his last 200 levels worth attribute points into Constitution like he said he would?
Calleman20
Come on monsoon leave alphea alone she is most of the reasons I read this story her and kirsha? Forgot her name but still don't mess with the characters and there dinamic it's perfect as it is.
Jacob A Smith
Augmentation, Augmentation, Augmentation Manipulation, and Serenity. DOUBLE THE AUGMENTATION POWER!!!!!! little typo here
Some BS Deity
Cliffhangers are evil :)
loimprevisto
Minor typo here: > In order is a guide for your specific learning
Thomas Bowden
So if I'm reading this right, this mythical skill is going to teach him origin mana, which is one of the three types of mana (origin, dominance, and augment) right? He's basically going to mold all three together, hahaha.
Idan tal
Great chapter, but the cliffhanger is a killer!
s476
The balls to wear the leather suit again. Then I wonder if his guards are that good or if he underestimates daniel that much. In before althea is one of them. Thanks for the chapter!
Scruffleupagas
He continued hiding it to avoid extra drama iirc. Like, he already has to deal with Grey Giant celebrity right? But then add on "Killer of Yawm" and you get extra drama from off world when he isn't even done cleaning up yet
Joshua Little
Awesome. Thanks for the chapter.
Zach Collins
My guess would be Charisma based ability, not so much "captured" but brainwashed or being manipulated. Thisbey seems the type to do that kind of stuff.
Why does Daniel still need to hide his identity again? I figure with the amount of control he has he could kill all the strong ones in a minute, grab Thisbey by the neck and fly straight up until he spews out where Althea is
Corwin Amber
thanks for the chapter
alright so my only problem with this is she is literally a lvl 9000+ assassin and no one on giess is her match. so how in the hell did they capture her?
loved it ty
Sebas Tian
Daniel please man dont get stuck in a hostage negotiation. she can survive you blowing everything up with a singularity right? I hope so xD.
Zeal Iskander
I think you did mighty fine. Doesnt look filler to me, we’re reaching this arc finale pretty soon it seems!
Omega
Thanks for the chapter Quintessence - Origin, Origin Manipulation, Augmentation, Augmentation, Augmentation Manipulation, and Serenity. Did you mean to mention augmentation twice here?
Monsoon117
Let me know what you guys think about the chapter. It was difficult to post and write since I'm trying to inform you guys without rambling about details for too long. That tends to be how filler is created in a story, and I'm trying to keep the plot lean and focused on the important aspects of the narrative. As always though, let me know how you think I did.
Jess Koch
Second
EitherWay
Noice
