Book 5: Chapter 21 — Resistance and Reunion |
Fighting against Stability and Dissonance were nothing like fighting against Terror or Paralysis. Either could be sidestepped on its own but both together were incredibly good at locking him down.
He couldn’t deny that forcing his way to upgrading his resistances would be helpful, but that didn’t make the process any less unpleasant.
Stability countered his astral abilities, forced his physical form to remain in place and denied him access to alternate dimensions. Resistance felt like slamming his soul against an immobile wall with increasing force, with no indication of progress apart from how inwardly battered he felt as the hours dragged on.
Dissonance trapped his spirit abilities inside his body, kept him from accessing his enemies’ life force and prevented his spectres from splitting out from himself. Though in practice it was very similar to Stability in what it did to his powerset, it felt entirely different. Where Stability was a wall of impenetrable force, Dissonance was a wall of blades and mirrors that shredded his spirit whenever he tried to push beyond it.
He did his best to alternate between them, but his spirit naturally flinched away from the attempt whenever he switched to Dissonance. While Stability was more of a blunt force kind of affliction, Dissonance fought back. It would be easier to convince himself to hug a blade-cactus.
By the time he got his first new resistance, the effort left him feeling overstrained and exhausted in a way he hadn’t felt since his body was first remade back in the early days of his new life on Erandir.
You’ve gained the skill [Stability Resistance]!
He tried to open his storage vault, which started a round of intense pressure between his new resistance and the affliction, but he’d been throwing himself against it for hours.
[Stability Resistance] has reached level 2.
…
[Stability Resistance] has reached level 18.
Affliction [Stability XVII] has been removed.
The afflictions had decayed naturally to only level sixteen or seventeen instead of twenty by then, and they were down to around twelve by the time he got the second.
You’ve gained the skill [Dissonance Resistance]!
Noah slumped in relief as the notification finally appeared, quickly followed by another.
Synergy detected: [Stability Resistance] and [Dissonance Resistance] can be combined with General Spirit Resistance. Would you like to combine these skills?
“I’ve done it,” Noah croaked, the first words he’d spoken in hours. “I’ve gotten the resistance upgrade.” He hesitated before choosing to follow through. “Is there any detriment to combining with an already combined skill?”
“The new combined skill will be reset to its base level. It’s always preferable to combine sooner rather than later. If we were able, we would have taught you this sooner, but these afflictions are not among those we are capable of evoking.”
Noah considered his resistance level, then the pair of new skills. “Is there any advantage to combining them? Any reason I shouldn’t just leave them separate?”
“If you were going to be a specialist, it is easier to grow a single resistance than the overall combination. But given what you’re going to be doing, we would suggest taking the fusion option.”
Noah nodded and clicked Yes.
[Stability Resistance] and [Dissonance Resistance] have upgraded [General Spirit Resistance] to [Greater Spirit Resistance].
[Phasecoil Venom] has been negated by [Greater Spirit Resistance].
So Phasecoil Venom qualified as a Spirit attack rather than a Toxin? Though given the serpent’s half-astral nature he could understand it even if it wasn’t entirely intuitive.
[Greater Spirit Resistance] has reached level 4.
Affliction [Dissonance XII] has been removed.
“Done.”
“Mmm.” Zax rumbled noncommittally but sloped his wings into a descent spiral. “Then we will rest here.” He released Noah from his claw when they neared the ground.
Noah landed in a crouch, easily absorbing the impact. He almost questioned why Zax hadn’t just dropped him in midair so he could shift and fly up to join them, but just thinking about transforming made him feel nauseous. Physically, he felt better than ever, but his spirit was strained and weary in a way he’d never before experienced.
Aurelia slid off Zax’s back and ran over to hug Noah. "You absolute idiot," she said fiercely, like she’d been holding onto this for the entire trip and now finally got to blurt it out. "What were you thinking? You could have died. All they wanted was a bunch of worthless materials. Why would you try to fight when they were that much stronger? No loot is worth your life."
"Wasn't about the loot." He managed a weak smile. "Couldn't let them interrupt you. I’d have given them everything I had if I thought it would help, but they weren’t going to be satisfied. All I could do was delay them long enough for you to finish.” He grinned. “And it worked. Plus I finally got to upgrade my resistances, so free bonus.”
She looked up at him warmly for a long moment, then squeezed his shoulders and stepped back, though her hand lingered on his arm. "We're going to talk about this later, throwing yourself into impossible fights for my sake."
Stolen story; please report.
"A bit late for that.” Noah cleared his throat, then quickly changed the subject. “Why don’t you tell me about your advancement? I saw a notification that it was offering you my bloodline? What happened?"
"First, my original two paths fused. They were always meant to be one, I just needed enough power to make it happen." She looked down at her hands, glowing with the fiery light of dawn. "Sunlight Warrior. It's what I dreamed about, Noah. When I was a little girl, training in the courtyard, I used to imagine what it would feel like to be… this strong.” Her eyes glistened. “We complement each other now," Aurelia said softly. "Your darkness and my light. Your void and my sun. Whatever waits in Death Valley..." she trailed off.
Tony notes that Aurelia's aura is accelerating Noah's recovery, Tony observed. Tony recommends she remain in close proximity. For medical reasons.
"We can handle it together," Noah finished for her, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes at Tony’s words.
"Together,” Aurelia agreed. Then she laughed, pure joy breaking through. "The fusion freed up a pathway slot, so that’s where I got Wyrmblood Neophyte. It’s not the rarest of my options but it felt the most… right.”
“So how does this work now? Did your old abilities get reflavored to Wyrmblood, or will you have completely different ones?”
“It’s a brand new path, so I’ll need to awaken new abilities before I can use it for anything. I’d planned to buy some new ability tomes to have ready, but things escalated a lot faster than I expected.”
“I’m sure we can get some while we’re training. My script likes generating rare tomes from all kinds of places.”
“That sounds absolutely insane. Of course, it also explains how you got to this level so fast, if you’re getting rare abilities freely.”
“Most are above rare, actually.”
“Of course.” Aurelia laughed. “Oh, and here.” She handed him an oblong crystal a little longer than his palm, a little too big to fully close his fingers around. It was a milky white with a pearlescent shimmer
“What’s this?” Noah turned it over in his hand.
“Just look.”
Overcharged Mana Crystal (A-Rank, Epic)
“A mana crystal? Where’d you find it?”
“It’s what’s left of the Menagerie Core. I drained its fire affinity and integrated the predator aspect, and the rest got lost in the transfer, but it’s still an A-Rank core. It wouldn’t be safe for any B-Ranker to absorb that much power, let alone when just starting to evolve.” She grinned. “But it’s still going to be plenty valuable to sell. I bet we can get a fortune for that. You know how hard it is to get even an Uncommon strength A-Rank crystal, let alone Rare? And this one’s Epic.”
Noah considered it, then offered it back to her. “You should keep it. Trade for those ability tomes you’ll need.”
Aurelia shook her head and held her hands up to block him. “I already took what I needed from it. Without its fire nature as a sealant, I don’t think I’d have been able to fuse my paths until reaching A-Rank. We fought it together. It’s only fair that you take what’s left.”
Noah hesitated. “Maybe Zax can use it.”
Zax snorted. “We have no need of such unrefined power.”
“Why are you so resistant to keeping it?” Aurelia asked.
“Fine, I’ll keep it.” Noah opened his Cosmic Vault to store it for now, but received a warning he rarely encountered.
Target is too powerful to contain.
His eyes widened slightly. “No wonder the Thornbacks were so eager to get their hands on it,” Noah murmured. It’d seemed like a lot of show for very little gain on their part, but this was the real treasure they’d been after all along. He tucked it into his pocket, feeling a little self-conscious about carrying around something so valuable. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Even if you have no idea how to accept a gift.” Then she laughed again. “Maybe call it a trade, payment for sharing your bloodline.”
“I’d have done that regardless.”
She smiled at him, eyes shining with reflected sunlight despite the angle being all wrong. “I know you would.”
Zax watched with amusement. "If you two are quite finished being adorable, we have a schedule to keep. Death Valley doesn't wait for romantic drama."
"We're coming," Noah called, sharing a conspiratorial glance with Aurelia, who rolled her eyes at them both.
“No drama here,” she agreed. “Are we leaving now?”
“Not yet. You must rest before our final approach.” Zax crouched on the wind-scored stone and started tracing out a rough map with both hands, leaving lines of glowing light behind. "Death Valley is divided into three zones. The outer reaches, where we will enter, contain threats within the below level 800 range. Dangerous, but survivable with skill and caution."
Aurelia and Noah shared a wide-eyed glance at that assessment. They’d been struggling against things in the level 500-600 range, and now he wanted them to jump to 800 in the matter of days?
Zax continued tracing the path through the canyons. "The middle depths require A-Rank minimum. The creatures there are ancient, powerful, and territorial, most around level 900 to 1000. Even experienced A-Rank parties often do not return." Finally, he touched the map's center, a point that pulsed with ominous light. "The Deathgate. Even Ascendants tread carefully there. Most do not enter at all."
"And that's where we're going," Noah said.
"Eventually. First, you must reach A-Rank. Your current power is insufficient for the middle depths, let alone the heart." Zax met Noah’s eyes. "We will train in the outer reaches, pushing deeper as you grow stronger."
Aurelia spoke up then. "What about you, Zax? You keep talking about our growth, but what about your shackles? How will we deal with them? Will you be able to break them soon?"
Hesitation crossed Zax's features. "We have been working toward that goal since our imprisonment. The chains have weakened over the centuries, and we too will spend time within Death Valley training. Breaking them should be within our capability then. However…"
"Yes?" Aurelia prompted when he didn’t continue.
"The moment we do, we become visible. The forces that imprisoned us will know we are free." Zax's expression hardened. "Once we break these chains, we will have limited time before they find us. We must be ready."
"How long?" Noah asked. “Hours? Days?”
"Unknown. Perhaps weeks, perhaps hours." Zax shook his head. "Our captor's resources are likely vast, his reach extensive. But we do not intend to hide. We intend to fight. And for that, you both must be at your strongest."
"No pressure then," Aurelia muttered.
"Considerable pressure," Zax corrected, smiling. "The pressure of preparation and survival. The pressure of knowing that failure means not just your death, but potentially the death of everything you care about. We have found that such pressure produces excellent results."
"You're a sadist," Noah told him.
"We are a dragon. We have high standards."
Tony agrees, Tony added. Tony has observed that Noah performs optimally under pressure. Tony will endeavor to maintain appropriate stress levels for maximum growth.
Tony is definitely being weird now, Noah thought back at his symbiote, but he smiled. Growth under pressure really was his forte, after all.
“But for now, rest,” Zax commanded, his grin bordering on sinister. “Death Valley is no place for carelessness. This may be the last secure rest of your lives.”