Path of the Slayer B3 59. New Gains & Spirit Blazes

[Congrats! Your Great Skill evolved! From Tiny Cutie Vengeance to Mini Murderess Comeuppance!]

[Mini Murderess Comeuppance: Level 31 (Rare): Across the Realm Verse, half-gobs are considered to be among the ‘lesser’ folks. You might have to stack yourself on top of a mountain of bodies to prove that you’re not. With this, address a perceived wrong by greatly boosting your strength, speed, dexterity, and deadliness.] [Cost: -2%]

[Congrats! Your Great Skill evolved! From Rage Reveler Restraint to Cold Rampager Fury!]

[Cold Rampager Fury: Level 31 (Rare): Nothing’s scarier than a patient half-gob with a cold anger. That’s asking for immense trouble! Activate this whenever angered, turning your rage cold, greatly boosting focus, strength, magic, and toughness.] [Cost: -2%]

[Congrats! Your Great Skill evolved! From Incurruptible Squire Faith to Pure Knight Creed!]

[Pure Knight Creed: Level 31 (Rare): The chance you’ll get corrupted is slim to none, especially with this power. Once activated, remind yourself of your creed, greatly boosting your spirit, magic potency, and your Oaths.] [Cost: -2%]

“That’s all,” Grimmy admitted, her head dipping. “I, uh, suffered some Soul Damage. Not that much. It cleared up fast, and I was still able to Level Up and evolve some Great Skills. But I might’ve lost out on a new power. Sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?” Merlin lowered his smoking pipe from his mouth. “You raised three freaking Great Skills from Uncommon to Rare. And you can get more of them! On top of having Oaths! That’s huge!”

“I like Pure Knight Creed the most,” Thumper admitted. “It synergizes with your Oaths more than the others. Would’ve been better as a passive, but you can always refresh it again and again. Depending on if you’re facing more defilers or other hellish things outside of Arden.”

“All of them are good for her. She’s more likely to use mini murderess and cold rampager in most situations, too.” I smiled at Grimmy. “You slaughtered a whole horde of giant Rank 5 monsters on your own and killed multiple Veterans stronger than you. You have nothing to feel sorry for.”

Doomie reached over and patted the Little Fighter on the head. That elicited a smile out of Grimmy.

Merlin took it upon himself to go next.

[Congrats! You’ve acquired a new Great Skill: Destruction Mage Evocation!]

[Destruction Mage Evocation: Level 31 (Rare): How does it feel growing to be one of the scariest young magical boys across the Realm Verse? With this, you can increase the destructive potential of your spells greatly before you finish the complete cast!] [Cost: -1%]

[Congrats! Your Great Skill evolved! From Magic Rex Pressure to Magic Rex Reprisal!]

[Magic Rex Reprisal: Level 31 (Exquisite): Congrats on getting an Exquisite, especially a strong one like this! With this skill, redress any physical and/or magical assault upon your person with a huge boost to your magical potency, casting speed, and mental capacity.] [Cost: -2%]

“Hey! Why does he start with Rare Great Skills?” Grimmy complained.

“Because I’m cooler than you,” Merlin quipped.

Grimmy pouted. “No way!”

Thumper sighed. “She’s becoming the little sister to all of us, isn’t she?”

“It takes a village,” I said before looking back at Grimmy. “Merlin starts off with Rare Great Skills because he’s Legendary. Also, don’t interrupt, because I don’t think Merlin’s done.”

“Oops!” Grimmy dipped her head apologetically.

Merlin waved it off and revealed the last part of his growth.

[Congratulations, Pathwalker! You’ve acquired a new Master Cantrip: Magic Shield Spell Cast!]

[Magic Shield Spell Cast: Level 61 (Epic): Don’t be disappointed! Do you know how many wizards would kill to have three Master Cantrips, let alone one that’ll provide you an Epic freaking barrier? Keep in mind, this is one of the strongest versions of a basic shield spell. Because it’s so basic, you’ll have a far easier time mixing different spells with it. Imagine all the fire shields, ice shields, lightning shields, gravity shields, or your go-to: telekinetic shields!] [Cost: -20%]

“You’re frowning,” I pointed out.

“No, I’m not,” Merlin grumbled.

“Mmmm!” Grimmy internally shouted, lips sealed, ears waving up and down.

“I’m serious. I’m not frowning.” Merlin turned to smoking his pipe aggressively.

Thumper scoffed. “What’s wrong with it?”

Like a weary dragon, Merlin let out a long sigh, multi-colored smoke streaming thickly across the table. “It feels like the System’s mocking me. Maybe if I had a Master Cantrip like this earlier, Syleth would still be alive.”

Before anyone could reply, Merlin shook his head. “Granted, I don’t think I have enough Path Energy to even abuse it. With all the Path Magic I have with my two Paths, it’s already easy for me to burn energy. The active cantrips are going to make it easier. And we can only rely on Path Elixirs so much before risking Soul Damage.”

“Becoming Veterans will fix that issue,” Thumper pointed out.

“Upgrading your bonded armor will help, too,” I admitted. “I just need more time.”

“That’s the tricky part, isn’t it? Time? We don’t have enough of it,” Merlin said.

I felt Grimmy’s intense stare on my back. I could already predict what she was thinking.

There would be plenty of time back at the Slayer Sanctum. We just need to access it for more than just training a specific power.

“The new powers are good, Merlin,” I said.

“Yeah, they are. Onto the next?” the wizard prompted, green eyes focused elsewhere.

“Yeah, that’ll be me.” Thumper sighed. “I suffered some Soul Damage as well. So other than the Levels, all I got is one power. But I need to preamble a bit. This is important.”

With a sharp gesture of my hand, I directed Grimmy to stop playing knight and to sit at the table. She hesitated for a split second before sitting next to me. Because of her four-foot height, she had trouble looking over the edge.

Doomie slid into the chair with Grimmy and propped the little half-gob onto her shaded lap. Grimmy fussed a little, until I snapped my for Thumper to continue.

“Spirit Blaze is honestly suicidal.” Thumper cast his silver eyes downward, his hands gripped in front of him. “I don’t think it’s meant to be used by those who would live afterward. Honestly, if it weren’t for Arden’s power for boosting our souls, I might’ve suffered worse than Soul Damage. Because the problem is Spirit Blaze’s true power comes from turning our soul into a spark and lighting our profiles on fire.”

“What?” Merlin sputtered.

“So it’s more than just a cool name?” Grimmy asked.

“Huh. That makes sense.” I rubbed my chin. “Why else would it be called Spirit Blaze? Why else would we force our way into our spirit journey and fight our souls directly to cause conflict? But what does it mean to light our profiles on fire? Did you lose all of your powers?”

Thumper shook his head. “I still have all my powers. That’s not at risk. The risk comes down to our souls. Even when sparking them as the catalyst, the sheer heat of the blaze itself is so intense it can drive us close to spiritual death. The Soul Damage might become so deep it might do something permanent.”

Merlin shivered. “How do you avoid that?”

“With a strong soul. And with fewer, weaker powers.” Thumper gave us all a sardonic smile. “Yeah, I know. The more we gain, the more intense the Spirit Blaze, the more powerful the results, but the more risk you face with Soul Damage. That’s why my Spirit Blaze came out so strong.”

“Holy crap! Your freaking Bloodlines! And Martial Legacies! And everything else! Oh freaking System, that’s some serious fuel!” Merlin shouted.

“And you have a Brand from the System that’s Level 501,” Thumper pointed.

The wizard turned pale. “I can’t use Spirit Blaze. Even with Arden’s magical food anime power, there’s no way I can let that thing burn my profile and come out.”

“Master Arden?” Grimmy asked in a small voice. “What would happen if the Spirit Blaze ate up my Oaths? What would I become?”

“What would happen to Arden with all of his powers?” Thumper pointed out.

I looked around the table filled with concerned and thoughtful faces. I understood their apprehension. But the way Thumper’s Spirit Blaze had easily put away hundreds of Pathwalkers and over a dozen Veterans would stay with me for a long time.

“What did you gain?” I asked, moving the conversation along.

Thumper ended the suspense.

[Congratulations, Pathwalker! You’ve acquired a new Spirit Blaze: Abyssal Assassin!]

[Abyssal Assassin: Level 201 (Mythical): Spark your soul. Burn your profile. From the blaze, the assassin of the abyss will cometh. No cost other than the risk of Soul Damage. Or worse.] [Cost: 0%]

“Arden,” Merlin mumbled.

“Yes, Merlin,” I replied.

“Thumper has a power that’s Mythical, Arden. I’ve never heard of Mythical Quality.”

“Well, Merlin, I’ve never heard of it either. I’m guessing that’s above Legendary.”

“That’s my guess, too!” Grimmy blurted out.

“I always thought it was a rumor,” Thumper admitted, elbows on the table, hands steepled under his chin. “This makes things scarier.”

“Because of the Abyssal Assassin?” I asked.

“Yes, but also no. This means that the forerunners, Melody especially, will have Mythical Path Energy.” Thumper sighed. “I’m certain of it now. They’ve always been cagey about the power of the First Heir when I was with the Gigantomachy. The First Heir was so stupidly strong compared to everyone else other than Melody.”

Thumper narrowed his eyes. “Now I’m sure it’s because he’s Mythical, and she’s probably Mythical, too. And so are the Purest Child of the Peak Elves and the Chosen Prince of the Crusaders.”

“Fuck,” Merlin cussed.

Grimmy opened and closed her mouth. Having nothing to add, she wriggled back into Doomie’s embrace. The doom avatar kept watching us silently while we contemplated these revelations.

“So be it.” I clapped my hands, the right a simple Rank 5 prosthetic instead of Hellion. “This is honestly a boon in more ways than one. We now know we can push our powers beyond Legendary if we try hard enough. We are also aware of the risks associated with Spirit Blaze, so we’ll have to work extra on reinforcing our souls.”

“Dude, what does it matter how hard we work on our souls? We pretty much played ourselves with how fast we can all gain powers. I say the Spirit Blaze is something we should completely avoid,” Merlin argued.

“We need to have it. All of us. Because it might be the last thing we have to use if all else fails. And it’s better to have it than to not have it,” I argued in return. “Even if it means we risk some Soul Damage, as long as we can survive it, then it’s worth the sacrifice.”

“I agree with Arden,” Thumper said, shrugging. “I’m still alive. And I still got Levels. I just missed out on a bunch of powers other than Abyssal Assassin itself.”

“Fine. Whatever. You ready to wow us, Arden the Nomad?” Merlin glowered at me.

Grimmy and Thumper looked at me sharply. Doomie bobbed her head from side to side, her wings fluttering around her and the half-gob in her lap.

“Alright, let’s do this,” I said, before scrolling through my notifications and picking out the most pivotal gains.

[Congrats! Your Great Skill evolved! From Undaunted Calvary Charge to Artillery Platform Advance!]

[Artillery Platform Advance: Level 31 (Rare): Honestly, watching you cheese the original version was fun. You took the word ‘charging’ as a trigger for charging your railcannon instead of the usual act of charging. Let’s take that a step further when mounted on a movable platform during an offensive maneuver. Every active use of this skill improves your focus, dexterity, strength, and charging time.] [Cost: -5%]

[Congrats! Your Great Skill evolved! From Vibrant Cultivator Gates to Vibrant Cultivator Core!]

[Vibrant Cultivator Core: Level 1 (Exquisite): With this lovely PASSIVE for Cultivators, your gates will remain at their nine positions: ankles, hips, wrists, shoulders, neck. Each one connects to the center of your body, just above the belly-button, where your core exists. Thus, leading you to having an extra 200% Path Energy!] [Cost: 0%]

[Congrats! Your Great Skill evolved! From One-Man Army to One-Man Genocide!]

[One-Man Genocide: Level 1 (Exquisite): Do you know there isn’t a specific number needed to separate a mass killing from a genocide? It all comes down to intent. And if you intend to wipe out a group and leave them horrifically damaged, that’s where this PASSIVE comes in. It’ll hugely increase your strength, power, dexterity, speed, and perception. It’ll also add a large increase to your murderous combat prowess.] [Cost: 0%]

[Congrats! Your Great Skill evolved! From Master Warlock Sufficiency to Master Warlock Virtuosity!]

[Master Warlock Virtuosity: Level 1 (Exquisite): Are we going to see you rip open hell rifts and Hell Portals more often? Yes, we are. Because why not?! With this PASSIVE, your manipulation of cursed energy is immensely improved inside and outside of you. Hell runes become more like child’s play to read, understand, and carve around you. You can also safeguard others from your madness or turn up the mad heat on your enemies far easier!] [Cost: 0%]

“So, does anyone have the God-Queen on speed dial?” Merlin looked left and right. “I need to let her know this man is hacking. And we need immediate nerfs on whatever the hell he is.”

“Shush!” Grimmy blew a raspberry at the wizard. “The master isn’t finished. I can sense there’s more.”

“No way,” Merlin said.

“Yes way,” Thumper said.

I continued.

[Congrats! Two Great Skills are combining: Striving Elementalist Grandmastery! Strength Main Confidence!]

[Congratulations, Pathwalker! You’ve acquired a combined Great Skill: Storm God Force!]

[Storm God Force: Level 1 (Epic): Few Great Skills are considered godly, but this one is deserving because it’s a freaking Epic PASSIVE! With this, you get the best combination boost for powers dealing with storms, lightning, magnetism, and the strength attribute itself! Your energy efficiency, potency, creativity, endurance, range, and confidence will shoot through the roof, too, while this is in effect.] [Cost: 0%]

“You can’t get anymore overpowered than this, can you?” Merlin asked. “Come on, that’s not even fair! You don’t even throw lightning bolts.”

“Honestly, Arden might be able to with this,” Thumper murmured.

“Shush, you two. Stop interrupting.” Grimmy snickered. “The master still has more.”

Both Merlin and Thumper gawked.

I grinned. The last major power gain was the reason I’d fallen unconscious. It should be impossible based on what was known across the Realm Verse.

[Congrats! Four Path Magics are combining: Tyrannosaurus Roar! Path Magnetism! Path Lightning! Vigorous Focus!]

[Congratulations, Pathwalker! You’ve acquired a combined Path Magic: Predator Storm!]

[Predator Storm: Level 61 (Epic): Remember that old storm magic you passed up a while ago, well here’s the bigger and meaner version. While still Epic, it’s an immensely powerful version of Epic. Every thunderclap sounds like massive dino roars that may intimidate enemies and raise the morale of allies. You have the elemental power of stormy electromagnetic magic at your beck and call. And the more stormy magic you pack into your body, the more you can increase your strength, speed, dexterity, durability, endurance, and focus! You’ll truly be apex!] [Cost: -40%]