Malcolm Tent
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Wish upon the Stars chapter 620
🕑 Added 2024-05-07 23:28:50 +0000 UTCWe managed to get out of the meeting without any bloodshed. Zeke vanished again soon after, and Callen reappeared only to take off to talk to my mom about all this. Griff and the others all headed home (thankfully they didn’t live at the bars) and he told us to meet him back at there the next night because Patience had a job for us.
When we got back to the inn, the first thing I did was head to talk to Jessie. I’d been putting something off for far too long, and I needed her help to get it done. When I found her, she was hanging out with Celine and Benny.
“Hey all.” I said as I headed into the room where everyone was lounging. “Jessie, I was hoping you could help me with something. Before that though, I have some wishes to burn today. I want Jessie to make two of them, but Celine, you or Benny want the other five?” I knew my best friend had been working on himself over the last few months and change, though I hadn’t seen the results.
Benny hopped to his feet. “Give them to Celine. I’ve made a ton of progress. Between the Glade, the war, and the role I played in the ruined soul temple I’m starting to build up some actual rep. Nothing on the level of you or Callie, but I’ve made some serious progress.” Grinning, he wrote out his numbers and passed them to me smugly.
Benicio Cortez- E-rank. Ability: Expert Body of Inspiration- Allows the integration of existing artifacts into the users body for the purposes of strengthening and enhancing them, two items per placement. insignia is a half gear in the shape of a C
Might-6974
Impact-65
Fantasy-556
Vitality-441
Focus-7141
Perception-582
Creation-471
Progress to next rank: 16230/100000
Soul strength: Sapphire Soul Body
Pet- Wolf named Rolf
Current integrated tech. 14/20. Torso: G-ranked intangibility for short bursts, Three times multiplication of Might for five minutes. Right fist: triple punch. Left forearm: F-ranked energy barrier or variable shape. Left fist: minor slow acting tranquilizer effect. Right foot: Density shifting to create heavier kicks and more powerful jumps. Left Foot: momentum neutralization to allow stopping instantly. Head: slight cognitive boost to allow more thinking time, Three times multiplication of Focus for five minutes. Back: ability to grow a shell to tank damage. Chest: Pair of golden G rank spider legs that arch up from the shoulders. Waist: Belt of spiritual calming, Three times Multiplication of Perception for five minutes. Heart: Illusionary double, Three times Multiplication of Vitality for five minutes.
I whistled at the improvement. “Six thousand points? I mean they go faster at E-rank, but still, that’s pretty impressive.”
He shrugged, buffing his nails on his shirt cockily. “Well you know, word about being involved in killing a D-ranker at E-rank got around. Granted, Callen got most of the rep for that, but since he ranked up and we didn’t some people are still talking about it. Apparently it’s spread around the Church quite a bit.”
“Plus you’re E-rank. So you’re starting to pull up some of your lower stats just buy virtue of a rising tide raising all ships.” I noted mercilessly. He glared at me, and Celine had to hide a giggle at me taking the wind out of his sails. “Anyway, now that I know he’s doing ok on his own, I take it you’re hoping to pump your own stats a bit?”
Still smiling, she nodded. “I’ve reached E-rank myself from the renown I gain as a noble. Baroness now, I suppose. I get a decent amount of income statwise, but not enough to keep up with monsters like all of you.” Slipping out a bag, she poured five more D-rank coins into her hand and held them out.
“Man, your family isn’t shy with the purse strings huh?” I asked as I took them, waiting for her to make her wishes. She did so, wishing for ten points each in various stats. I pocketed the coins and she sighed before finally answering.
I saw her deciding what to say, and waited until she had her bearings, happy to hear out whatever was bothering her. “They see you as an opportunity.” She said finally. “You’ve done various things of note to prove yourself distinct from the average candidate, if one can claim such a thing exists. They consider funding our cooperation an investment.”
She said it like she was scared I’d flip out or attack her, but I just laughed. “Well obviously. That’s not a big secret Cel. They benefit from investing in me long term and I benefit from it short term, that’s how investment works. I know you’re worried about me feeling like you’re working both sides, but you don’t need to be. You’ve proved yourself time and again since that mess on Callus. I trust you.”
In my mind, Celine’s willingness to go to bat for funds to help us grow was more than reasonable, it was basically a favor. I’d been commenting on the AMOUNT of money, not the fact that she had it. I said as much, and her shoulders relaxed.
“Ah, I understand.” She chuckled. “My mother is a Duchess. And like most major noble houses we’re descended from a Princess.” I opened my mouth and she rolled her eyes. “NOT the one that lives here. We’re not all related. Her liquid funds are substantial, and a few C-ranked chits worth of coins is a small investment. Now, what exactly did you need Jessie’s help with?”
I blinked, having gotten distracted. “Ah, right, sorry.” I turned to Jessie. “Need to get a few attacks off you. I’m trying to design a new Goetia form, and I’m going to try to lean into something more healing based. I’m not sure if I have enough pieces to make something stable though. I can use your stored heals, but I need more than that for structure.”
Jessie frowned. “Hmmm. I don’t really know much about Skill creation. But I might have some ideas for you.” She perked up. “Actually, I think I definitely do.” She turned to Celine. “Can you go get Chelsea, tell her we need her up here.” She seemed excited by whatever had popped into her head, so I just nodded to the elf and waited, this could be pretty good if she was thinking what I was starting to suspect.
When my sister arrived, Jessie bade her sit down and then looked at me. “So, before we start, just to make sure I’m not barking up the wrong tree, can you tell me why this particular form is different than the others? Why are you having trouble with it?”
I hummed, thinking it over. “All the other forms have been built on a foundation of my own powers. I have abilities for most things, and I use those as a base to create Skills. Not just in terms of stats or patterns, but in terms of experience. I don’t really have any healing Skills, and while I’ve used your heal bursts enough to have that experience, you can’t build anything stable on one point of failure.”
“Exactly.” Said Jessie. “You need more than just life energy. You need another positive influence right? Could you use the flames of purification?”
I’d expected her to ask that, and I nodded. “I can.” I said, sure of it. “I have Afterburner, which amplifies anything and is particularly attuned to fire. Mix that with life energy and purification and that’ll be the healing form I need.”
Grinning, she gestured to both of them. “Well, as usual, I wish for ten points of VItality, and I’ll pay with ten heal bursts.” Chelsea did the same thing, and I got ten charges of purification flames to work with. “Ten points is a drop in the bucket for me.” she said with a sigh. “Focusing so hard on just one direction is tough. Still I think I’m doing alright. Don’t you?” She wrote out her own stats for me.
Jessica Evans- E-rank. Ability: Expert Lifeweaving- Infuse living things with life itself and direct their actions while the users power flows through them. Control has limited effect on sapient entities. Prolonged exposure to life energy may cause lasting effects in controlled subjects.
Might-1425
Impact-65
Fantasy-458
Vitality-10004
Focus-555
Perception-465
Creation-458
Progress to next rank: 13440/100000
Pet- Wolf named Lily and Undying Lifestorm Ursa named Randall(Intermediate Beast Bonding with Jessie)
soul strength: Sapphire Soul Body
Skills: Intermediate Horticulture,Intermediate First Aid, Minor Herbalism, Minor Flower Arrangement, Intermediate Beast Taming Mastery, Intermediate Beast Bonding, Intermediate Shape of the Wild
She’d gained three thousand points (and ten more from the wishes), not having gotten the exposure from the war that Benny did. Still, breaking ten thousand in Vitality was absurd. And the rest of her stats had been dragged up along with her rank.
“Anyway, enough stalling.” She said bluntly. “You need to get your Skill made. Strike while the iron is hot. I’m sure you can do it.”
Chuckling, I sat down and closed my eyes, triggering my Eye of Revelation in that way that let me study myself. Once I was…I started. Building a Skill out of only stockpiled attacks was something I didn’t think I could have done until recently. I’d scanned through a bit of that book, though not nearly enough, and I was pretty sure I know how I was going to manage it.
First up was the heal bursts. I drew them from the spot where all my stockpiled attacks sat, smashing them up into fragments. Now that I knew they were just patterns of forged stats it was easier. Vitality, obviously, and I knew exactly how and where the break points were.
Once they were torn apart, I pulled out the purification flames. That was tougher. Might and Fantasy, mostly, with some Perception, and a bit of Creation oddly enough. They were…complicated. But they were only stored E-rank attacks, and I had more Impact than a normal E-ranker. I don’t know why that helped, but it did.
I found points to break them up, then used the pieces of heal burst to reconstruct them around an empty central point. I needed the foundation to be part of me, to actually connect the Skill to myself. Consecration of flame was exactly what I needed. The name and purpose was so harmonious with my intent and purpose it just clicked right into place.
Last, but not least, I built in the little extra kick I needed. Afterburner. As a fire based ability this was exactly the right mix, and I smiled internally at the most stable and harmonious Skill I’d ever made.
When the last piece was slotted into place, the whole thing kind of…shifted. I triggered the form, and I felt green flames roll over me, my hair shifting, my eyes glowing brilliants as swirling tattoos that reminded me of the vitality patterns of heal burst lit up my skin, I felt my body ignite with life and purity and power.
As the new form became a part of me, I allowed myself to breathe out the name of the stance. “Zagan.” I said with a smile, as I stared around the room at my shocked friends. “This one is called Zagan.”
I felt so at peace. So warm and alive, and I knew that in its own way, this was probably my most powerful form. No combat potential to speak of, but in terms of pure utility it was unmatched.
With this, I could heal allies, cure their poisons, curses, afflictions of any kind. More than Jessie, more than Chelsea. Zagan was the true first step in showing how my versatility could build itself into something that surpassed specialists. Granted, Jessie would eventually surpass me so heavily in Vitality that quality would cease to matter in the face of quantity, but until then, I’d developed a unique and potent new power that would keep us all alive.
Comments
JJB4345_80_815
Thank you for the chappy and the new form! Does the name of the form, Zagan, refer to a demon?
Malcolm Tent
Nope. Same with Mornax. He used density shifting to make it but now the Skill is all his.
Ramble
Thanks for the chapter. I assume since he's broken up the stored skills he's not reliant on having stored charges to use this form?
