44 Specialization (III) (Patreon)

Time.

Time is the one resource that most of us don't have. Even if you're immortal, even if you are a System-host capable of reshaping the norms of a realm, time is against you. Because the same time you dedicate to building, someone else will dedicate to breaking. And sometimes, more specifically, to breaking you.

So, the only thing I've got to tell all you other Trespassers is this: Figure out what you want to be here for. Figure out your cause and dedicate yourself to it. Specialize your Class or System to your goals, but accept that you won’t be able to handle everything. Because you can’t because even with a System capable of reshaping the rules of existence, the amount of things you can change—and how much you can change them is a factor of time.

There will always be a problem. There was always be an angle of attack that can bring you down.

So. Accept. But be flexible. Focus on your goals, but always be thinking about how to kill or counter someone like you, or someone how shares similar capabilities. Because if you don’t, someone else will, and their first success will be the last breath you ever take.

In summary, don’t just specialize, Trespassers: understand what it means to stand as and against someone with your powers.

-John Bishop

44
 Specialization (III)

Wei slew the Collectors emerging from the Bastion of Bloodshed, just to see what would happen. After culling the first group, he counted a full minute before the second followed. And then, after killing them, another minute passed, and a third group came. Each time those wide obsidian doors flung open, Wei got a glimpse of what was inside through his Omniscience and found the interior more akin to the inner organs of a living organism. A living organism powered by the essences of fire, destruction, ash, and blood. This was a Moongrave of Wrath, after all. The Claimed Hells would never let him forget that.

Despite this, no new Warwolves arrived, and once two groups of Collectors were assembled before the fort, the swirling essence building within the structure seemed to go dormant. Something wasn't adding up here. If the Bastion was capable of spawning demons, why would it only produce weak ones like the Collectors? And why only two groups, numbering a total of twelve at the most? The building was listed as level 65. It had more than enough essence to produce an army, or so Wei felt.

After spending a few more minutes observing the structure, he received another message from Roggi, indicating that the group was almost upon the Specialization Rift. With his Source mostly recovered through his Lesser Hollow Mind and his System and Class upgraded, Wei went over his newest improvements and considered what was to come. 

Refining Source

>>>Source Refined: [100/100] Lumens

Source Core Ascended > Lv. 11

>[2/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension
>>[2/20] Core Ascensions to [Gate] 2 System Ascension

>>>Source: [110/110] Lumens

Reviewing encounter…

Masteries Demonstrated

>Meditation (I) — 21%

>Unarmed Combat (II) — 44%

>Spearmanship (II) — 11%

>Thrown Weapons (II) — 15%

Mastery Node Capacity [7/10]

>Proximal Acceleration
>Form of the Manticore
>Form of the Resonant
>Lesser Hollow Mind
>Lesser Manifestation
>Vector Chain
>Lesser Cast Possession
>Mark of Enmity

Sourcery Advancement Available!

Select [1] 

Source Refinement > Source Surge — The host can create 5 Lumens of Source by attuning with existence. Attunement can be performed through meditation or extreme focus. The host can now overcharge their total Source based on their Aspect of Intent. Overcharged Source will quickly be lost when the host leaves their attunement state
Source Amplification > Source Magnification — The host can expend 50% of their Source to double any Aspect. Amplification will remain active until the host break’s concentration.
Aspect Infusion > Aspect Expansion [Requires 5 Sourcery Advancements (Currently at 1)

His Class was due for an evolution in power, or something like it. With all the Aspect points already placed in his Eidolon’s Speed, Wei’s Relativity outmatched all his other Aspects substantially. Despite the edge it granted Wei, he slowly considered the imbalance that was impacting him. Certainly, he could attack first, but he needed more Authority to break stronger foes and greater concepts. Furthermore, his Enlightenment was lagging hard, and improving his Omniscience and Fortification would allow him more awareness and extreme survivability as well.

His system was one path of progression, but his class had points he could assign. Allocations of improvement that could shore up deficiencies. He needed to revise his current methods and consider what he wanted to achieve in the future. But with that said, his two options for level five were far more straightforward than his methodology for Aspect Advancement.

Minor Throne of Rulers: Summons a Minor Throne of Rulers. When the user sits upon the Summoned Throne, their will can be broadcast as far as their perception reaches, allowing them to infuse their Aegis into allies and summons or channel bolts at distant enemies. The Minor Throne of Rulers will also allow arrogance to slowly be regenerated. 

This seemed like a skill for summoners, or at least someone who did not partake in the fighting themselves. Wasn't that useful to Wei, though he expected Ellena to have chosen it. That left one more option.

Minor Castigator's Smite: The user sacrifices their Aegis of Arrogance and forms an additional barrier around their weapon, allowing them to add their current aspect of Will to their Strength and Speed when inflicting harm. 

Wei picked that immediately. Combining this with his Source Catalyst, Minor Icon of Domination, and his concept-breaking abilities with his System Ascension was a tremendous boon, and considering it was only minor, Wei expected future skill upgrades to have his Will multiplied upon the foundations of his Authority and Relativity.

Going over to his Core Ascension, his upgrades were far simpler. He gained another ten Source points as per normal, though his masteries were still progressing slowly. He likely needed to face a stronger adversary to see another spike. To his delight, another Sorcery Advancement was available. It felt like deeper alterations made to his System itself. These transformations had only become available after his first System Ascension. Aside from Source Surge and Source Magnification, a new evolution came to aspect infusion as well. However, despite mentally trying to access the skill, he saw that it was locked, barricaded from his awareness at the cost of five Sourcery Advancements.

There was also an additional sorcery on offer.

Liminal Bridge: Uses the host’s Aspect of Relativity to create a pathway to a source anchor they placed down. The source anchor will cost 80% of their active Source and allows the user to immediately travel to the anchor as if it was a step away.

A transportation skill. It would be more useful if Wei had a vast distance to travel, or if he could move freely, but as he was simply climbing the Black Tower, it didn't offer him nearly as much opportunity. Worse, its costs were horrendous, rendering him vulnerable even if it was a potential option for escape.

In the end, he looked between Source Surge and Source Magnification and decided a bit more survivability would be to his benefit. Magnification would further boost his power, but considering the Aspect transference properties within his Eidolon, it seemed rather redundant.

With System and Class leveled, he tested his Source Surge and found himself pleased with the result.

Source: [134/110] Lumens

When he left his Lesser Hollow Mind state, the excess Source leaked out of him rapidly. Re-entering the state, he watched as his Source climbed up to 150 Lumens before slowing dramatically.

Channeling limitations, his System informed. More Core Ascensions required. At least he could continue building his Source nigh-endlessly if he had the time to meditate. Just a shame it wouldn’t last long. Wei snorted. Always another bottleneck.

With all that done, Wei created a bridge of Intent leading 300 meters away to the Specialization Rift, and blinked across space and time once more. Arriving, he cleared out a cluster of thirty or so Collectors and then dodged a concentrated beam of fire loosed from afar. It took him a few seconds of searching to find who or what was shooting at him, but when he did, the young master found himself momentarily taken aback.

Wrathful Observer Lv. 4

These demons looked like giant eyeballs, though their irises were infused with blackened flames. They hovered about 200 meters above the specialization pylon and actively sniped at anyone who approached. Killing them was a trifling thing. As Wei blinked into existence next to them, he found them desperately wanting in close quarters combat and slow to flee even when he drew close. A moment after slaying them, he landed just outside the Specialization Rift and regarded it using his Omniscience.

Rather than being like a pathway's essence portal, the rift didn't feel so much like a wound between places. Instead, Wei thought it was more akin to a knot in space, a condensation of a wide area collapsed into a small swirling mass. Spatial essence dripped out from a pointed obelisk protruding below the obsidian pylon. The essence coalesced until they became a swirling singularity, and thus a rift was born. As Wei tried to examine its properties, he saw that small ciphers were inscribed along the form of the pylon. Using his omniscience, he found himself taking in a complex symbol of signs and reference circuits, all forming a construct of metaphysical artistry.

Omniscience Advanced > 20

[3/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension

His observation was interrupted when he felt another shape enter the sphere of his perception. He jolted, preparing for combat, only to realize the one approaching him was Agnesia. 

At level five she seemed to have undergone new changes as well. Black wings of burning ash flapped behind her, allowing her to soar freely through the air. A trail of dark flames left a lingering imprint across the path she soared, and Wei heard the girl laugh viciously as she cast the mutilated body of a Collector down, allowing it to splatter against the ground. She dove low, and as she soared along a trench line, Wei could a row of fire rise with her passing.

Flapping her wings forward a few times, she slowed herself and stumbled to an awkward stop just before the young master. Her pupils were dilated, and her breaths were coming fast. For the first time since they'd met, the girl gave the young master a carefree grin and seemed indifferent to the fact that she was covered in gore, entrails, and viscera.

"So, did you already go in?" she asked.

Wei regarded her for a second more and shook his head. "No, I've been waiting for you. I'm not sure how long it will take, nor if there are any other complications, but I think we should all enter at once. This way, we stand the best chance of synchronizing our times of entry and exit."

She nodded slowly, but he got the feeling she didn't care for such things. Her mind was elsewhere, drunk on slaughter. He knew that look. He knew that look well. Good. It might just help her survive.

A moment thereafter, Roggi, Rafael, and Ellena approached, with two Supplicants scouting ahead of them, bearing makeshift spears in defense of their summoner. A look of worry clung to the deposed queen's face. She glared silently at her daughter. A series of symbols coalesced together as Rafael fired a spell of some kind into the burning trench line. A detonation of power erupted as radiant shrapnel tore through what remained of Agnesia’s victims.

Meanwhile, the only sign that Roggi had been in a fight were the two missing bolts hanging off the side of his slothful construct. Additionally, he had what seemed to be large bulbous flies drifting along him. They buzzed noisily as they accompanied the oath-bearer, and Wei felt the tinge of rot-like essence festering within them.

"Have you become a summoner as well?" Wei asked the Oathbearer.

Roggi looked at his flies and simply scoffed. "These? These aren't demons. These are missiles."

"Missiles?" Wei asked. He gestured for a demonstration, and the Oathbearer promptly gave one. One of the flies sailed along the same path as Raphael's spell. The creature didn't fly nearly as fast as Wei had hoped, nor was it quite so maneuverable. However, it began to swell halfway through, and noxious gas leaked from its rupturing form. As it descended into the trench lines, it exploded, and caustic fumes consumed an entire patchwork of space. Portions of the ground itself began to dissolve and a deep furrow expanded along where the midsection of the trench once was.

"I can see that being effective," Wei conceded. "I'm just not so sure about the speed."

"One problem at a time," Roggi sighed. A sickening sound echoed from the back of his construct and from a pussing pustule, a new fly burst out and took its place before Roggi. “Creator. I'll take just about anything I can get right now.”

With pleasantries exchanged, Wei took in all his comrades once more. They were all at level five. Good. They still had half an hour before a potential hunter arrived. Turning to regard the rift, everyone gathered around him and faced the trial ahead.

"So, this is the Specialization Rift," Rogi said. "Doesn't look like much. Looks like a black whirlpool."

The Oathbearer sounded almost disappointed.

"It's a wide area of space collapsed into a singularity," Wei responded. "I cannot tell how much area is condensed within, only that it far exceeds my perception."

"You get anything else from it?" Roggi asked.

"A lot of nothingness," Wei admitted.

"Nothingness? You sure this thing won't kill us?" Roggi asked.

"Likely not," Rafael answered on Wei's behalf. "If they intended to kill us, they would have done so already. And the nothingness that our friend here has described is likely just empty space. Rifts usually give off a lot of displacement."

Faintly, Wei became aware of the rapid thumping within Ellena’s chest. "This is where we go to further change ourselves," she said, sounding unsure of the prospect.

"Our Classes are merelyh the foundation," Rafael said. "Our Jealousy, our Wrath, our Arrogance, these things power us, allow us to achieve impossible miracles. Think of that as your blood and breath. But here, with a Specialization, think of that as rebuilding your soul into a certain shape, allowing you to channel blood and breath in a way you believe to be optimal.”

Wei shot a wry stare at Roggi. "Do you hear that? Perhaps you'll get your dream of becoming some kind of bird after all. Just likely not a pretty bird, or even a thin one. A buzzard, maybe. Or a vulture, perhaps."

"If it's got wings, I can't complain," the Oathbearer said. "I'm guessing you're looking forward to this. As if you aren't powerful enough."

"I'm not," Wei replied without any hint of irony.

Roggi considered that. "Right. Maybe none of us are. So, I guess we better stop wasting time, then."

He directed his slothful construct forward, skittering towards the singularity. As he got just a meter away, his form widened before everyone, as if visually distorted, and then slowly, he swirled into the darkness as well, drifting as if paint circling toward the center of a maelstrom. Everyone else blinked. Wei's Omniscience followed Rogi for a while, so he knew he wasn't destroyed, but a few seconds later, he drew beyond the seventy meters Wei could sense, and the young master could state no more about his friend's fate thereafter.

A brief silence followed. Agnesia shrugged.

"Well, that doesn't look too bad."

"Not too bad," her mother said, sounding aghast.

"You really should stop worrying, mother," Agnesia sighed. She seemed to be more impatient now, and she regarded the older woman with narrowed eyes. "The worst has already happened to us. What more can the hells take."

The older woman opened her mouth, but no words came. Her daughter's sudden callousness had left her at a loss. Agnesia marched forward and looked Wei up and down. "Race me."

"Race you?" Wei asked.

"Yes, the first person to leave the portal needs to buy the other person something."

Wei just stared. "Aren't you going in right now?"

"Yes, so I'll have an advantage. But if you're afraid, or you think yourself incapable..."

This insolent wench. "What I want, you will not be able to afford," Wei said coolly.

The girl just grinned at him. A sparkle lit up in her eyes. "Oh, I best not lose, then." She stepped forward and vanished into the rift as well.

And then there were three. Rafeal, Wei, and Ellena. As the deposed queen swallowed, she lifted her head and sent her two Supplicants in first. Watching them swirl away, her heart skipped a beat, but she still hardened her resolve. "Well, then, time to see what this Specialization is about."

She took a step forward, hesitated, and turned away. "Young ser, I owe you a great deal. I and my daughter both owe you a great deal. We would have never made it this far without you, but I have something to ask. If—if I do not make it back—"

"You will," Wei deadpanned. "You cannot die in this Specialization Rift."

"I'm saying in general," Ellena continued awkwardly. "If something, Ignium forbid, is to happen to me, please look after my daughter. This place… it's affecting her."

"It's affecting all of us," Rafael said. "Don't worry. The girl is young. She will take what pleasure she can. All children do, when circumstances are desperate and poor, I've seen it many times." The lich shook his head. "Sometimes, to survive the enemy, you must become a little bit like them."

Ellena eyed the lich and simply looked down. “She was meant for a better life. She deserves… she shouldn’t be here.”

"I will do what I can," Wei said, interrupting the woman’s self-pity. "But in return, you must do what you can. I know that you are—" He wanted to say pathless, but it felt like an insult to her. She was no cultivator or warrior, yet such a fate was forced upon her. The heavens were blind. Wei was not. "Defying your fear makes you brave. Now, defying your weakness will make you strong. Take what you can from this place. Take what you can, and place no trust in me or anyone else. You've gotten this far by my aid. Make sure you can get further using your own power. Save yourself."

The older woman pressed her lips together and nodded. A flash of gold emanated from her green eyes, and she suddenly rushed forward, vanishing into the singularity as well.

That left only Wei and the traitor. 

"I'm sure you've noticed, but some parts of this place, they aren't working quite right," Rafael began, speaking quickly. "I suspect that Mephelean is not here. I've looked through the Trespasser's Compendium. The others—the ones who have passed the trials before, they claim that the Harbinger resets each of the Moongraves when they are done."

Wei considered Rafael’s words and thought back to the ruined forts, the lacking demons, the fact that only Collectors were still being spawned. "You think something is wrong with Mephelean?"

"I think they must be absent for a reason. We are passing through a Moongrave that's operating passively. We should use this to our advantage. Take what we can and leave. Or maybe even skip ahead. Something is happening in the Claimed Hells above us. Something big. When we get a moment, you should bring out the Trespasser's Compendium and look through it. I expect the public forum to be awash with rumors."

Wei nodded at Rafael and regarded his helpfulness with suspicion, but also faint appreciation. Part of him still wanted to break the lich for what he had done. But with all his insight and combat capability, at least he could keep the others safe. 

Until a Knight of Lust reappeared or something too powerful caused him to run. It was hard to rely on a coward, but one had few options in these Claimed Hells.

Rafael went in next, and when Wei was alone, he expanded his Omniscience, taking in the world around him, studying the singularity one final time before he himself stepped forth. Forces pulled at his body, and he felt his Aspect of Relativity struggle momentarily, then advance twice rapidly as it acclimated to the shifting space.

Relativity Advanced > 20

[5/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension

Diving into the rift, his understanding of spatial essence and his relative position to the world increased. His Enlightenment also advanced by a single point, and Wei felt the experience to be sublime in the simplest terms.

Enlightenment Advanced > 12

[6/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension

As he finished passing through a narrow tunnel, he found himself standing in a place dim of light and enshadowed by swirling mist. The ground beneath him was a black surface that he couldn't identify, even with his Aspect of Enlightenment. As he infused his Intent into it, he was staggered to see how much conceptual integrity it had.

Concept-Integrity of [Unidentified Surface]: [1,000,000,000,000,000,000/1,000,000,000,000,000,000]

Finally, a scrawl of text appeared before his vision.

Welcome, sinner, to your Class's Specialization challenge. You will be tested against a variety of foes and several scenarios to gauge your full potential and narrow down your highest capabilities. Are you prepared to begin?

"Yes," Wei answered casually.

Fantastic. Reviewing your recent combat encounters…

Calibrating opening encounter!

Wei rolled his shoulders and loosened his muscles. This was likely going to start smooth and easy. Most challenges had one face the weakest of foes first and gauged on the foundations of—

A massive bolt of crimson lightning tore across the sky and promptly slammed down right in front of Wei. A detonation of sheer force washed over him as the young master stumbled back. Then, at once, he felt his foe—sensed the sheer power emanating from their being before he ever laid eyes on them.

Nameless Knight of Wrath Lv. 26

Suddenly, the world around Wei was no longer darkness and mist. With a flash, columns of fire erupted before him as ash choked the air and an obsidian armored giant bearing an enormous bone-made sword chuckled at the young master.

“So… you think yourself a warrior…”