Chapter 470 - The true power of Keystones

Sofia wanted to answer Clint, but her concentration was disturbed by the sudden change in her body, it was starting to heal, and the fake bone body was hindering it. “aH, g- gIve Me a sEcOnd.”

Pareth, help! Sofia hastily dispelled her bone helmet, slid the admin’s dagger into her mouth to be sure she wouldn’t lose the effects of the title, and told Pareth to take off her face. 

Pareth awkwardly grabbed Sofia’s face and pulled it off of her bone body, Sofia’s light veins following it out of their bone host. Her body started to slowly grow back from her face. Pareth wanted to use his [Greater heal] to expedite the process but Sofia stopped him. She put up a bone wall between herself and Clint, and slowly created bone clothes to cover her body as it grew back. With [Bone dominus] and [Radiance], Sofia was passively healing six percent of her health every second, in moments, she was finally back to full health.

“Ah- Ah- Aaaaaaah,” Sofia tested her voice, “Oh, it feels so good to be whole again!”

Meanwhile, Bookie was taking Sofia’s armguard and stuff off of her bone body to help her transfer it all, and Clint was completely oblivious, occupied that he was looking at Sofia’s mana heart from every possible angle.

Fully clothed and back to her mostly-human body after nine months of being mostly bones, Sofia stored the bone wall and addressed Clint. “So, Mr. Creation, down to give me some essence?”

Clint tore his eyes away from the mana heart with difficulty. Yeah. Thought about it a lot, I can spare two at most. Price is quite simple: you get zero say on your incoming race evolution, I get full creative control. Deal?

“That… I need to think about it. Can you give me a second?”

Well you got until the reforging to make a decision. Clint waved her off as he returned to his observation of the ULTIMATE rank mana heart.

Mr. Scribe, your take on this? The race evolution is from VPPV, right? Can we entrust that to him?

Sofia felt her mana grow out of her control, she felt weak and nauseous as Mr. Scribe took control to be able to speak.

[It is indeed a result of VPPV. The most important things are already set in stone, even without our input it should be fine, but be sure to confirm that He will not change our appearance too much. Two essences are hard to turn down, we need at least thirty for the Boundless Space realm.]

Thirty?!

[You are the one who picked the Divine Shadow Body keywords…]

Alright… 

Sofia cleared her throat. “Hmm, Clint? Can you tell me more about the race evolution? What kind of input am I giving up exactly?”

Clint turned his attention to Sofia again, Hmmph, sure. You’ve got a race evolution pending, it will happen when I reforge you with the heart, no matter whether you want it or not, your body and soul are ready to change already, no walking back. But you can influence it, still, and I’m buying that from you.

“What kind of influence?”

Appearance, racial traits, racial skills, inherent strengths and weaknesses, it’s all already forming, but you can still make large changes. You know about the Vampire’s curse, right?

“I do, yes,” Sofia confirmed.

Well if you were race-evolving to Vampire, you would be able to choose between the different elemental affinities of the Vampire curse, for example. That’s not actually a thing, by the way, but that’s the kind of scope we’re looking at.

“And you want to make all the choices for me? How does that benefit you?”

Beyond the joy of creating? I can stick one up to Sun and Moon if I also design my own race. Clint explained before letting out a coarse laughter.

“That’s a big ask… Can I trust that you will make it good for me?”

You’re talking with Creation itself, think I’d willingly forge a bad item? You’re gonna hurt my feelings lassy.

“Alright… I have two conditions, though.”

And that would be?

“I want to have the right to object to your choice of name for the race if I do not like it, I know how it can be, I don’t want to be like Alith and have my name be the race name.”

Hmm… I’ll give you a choice between a few options, but you have to pick one of them.

“That sounds acceptable… And my second demand is that you do not change my appearance too much.”

Clint scratched his head at the demand. I can make an effort to preserve your face and general body-shape, if you insist. If you really don’t like it, your Charisma will adjust it somewhat over time, but the racial features won’t disappear.

“What would the racial features be?”

I ain’t quite sure yet. But the basis your skill is giving me to work with is interesting. You should still look like yourself, mostly. Just not quite human.

Hmm… Sofia turned to her skeletons, “What do you guys think?”

Pareth looked conflicted, but Bookie was just happy to be asked for his opinion, “I think Sofia will always be Sofia!”

“True, Bookie. True. Alright… I’ll accept your terms, Clint, I hope you don’t make me regret this.”

A bit of trust wouldn’t hurt. Heh. 

“Sorry but you know how much I trust Gods in general. I still don’t even know who I am up against.”

Hah! About that, I have news. Moon thinks she knows who sent you to Peace’s realm, you’ll have to ask the small Oracle, though, faceless prick wouldn’t tell me directly. And screw waiting for Kyle, we’ll start without him. Whose signature skill do we make first?

Sofia and Pareth looked at each other, and Pareth pointed at Sofia.

“I’m first, I guess. I have no real idea what the signature skill thing is about, though.”

Means the censor did its work correctly. Signature skills are pretty straightforward, we make a strong ass custom class skill for you by tapping into all the mana pathways you’ve created in your blueprint until now. Everyone who clears this trial gets one. You do get some say on what the skill will be; I make a first draft with you, and how hard the system works on improving and fine-tuning it for you depends on the rank of your heart.

“That sounds a lot like a specialization. Do I get extra credits for my three extra ranks? How will it all even work with me being disconnected?”

Kyle will be the intermediary between you and the system. And yes, you get extra credits like no one ever did before. Suffice to say, we can make some good shit right here, Clint excitedly explained.

Sofia had to admit, she was getting excited about the idea too. “How do we start?”

Well, first, I need to explain the effects of your keystone modifier…

Clint took a step back to look at the entirety of the mana pattern he had just drawn mid-air after listening to Sofia’s ideas.

This is… It can work. Like you wanted, there’s potential for when you have more mana, and I can easily incorporate the Speed and Strength shards. As it is… You will probably be able to summon only one, for now. And the cooldown will be several months.

“I’m fine with that,” Sofia commented, “as long as they all count as skeletons.”

That, they will. Clint confirmed, Let me call Kyle, It’s about time he shows his-

“I’m right here, Clint,” Kyle interrupted him from a corner of the forge, he was sitting on an anvil, observing the mana patterns for Sofia’s tentative signature skill. “The skills you make are beyond my critique, as always.”

They’re masterworks all. Can’t go wrong. Think it’ll be accepted? Clint asked the Seraph.

Kyle seemed hesitant. He stepped down from the anvil and started walking around the spell pattern. “For anyone else, no chance. For the ultimate rank heart… Maybe. All up to Handler.”

Handler the high scribe again… Aren't there three of them? Why does it feel like Handler does everything? It makes sense considering its name, but that opens up the question of what the other two could possibly be doing?

While Sofia asked a thousand questions in her head, Kyle told Clint he had already sent the design for approval, and very soon, a mana pearl appeared directly in the palm of Sofia’s hand, making her jolt in surprise.

Clint immediately noticed, Ohohoh, looks like it’s been approved after all! Get to eating, lassy, I want to see what Handler changed!

Learning a skill by eating a mana pearl… So easy.

Sofia chewed on the mana pearl, feeling it quickly dissolve in her mouth and the released mana penetrate to the deepest depths of her soul.

[You have earned a Signature Skill. Use it well.]

[Decrypting data for: ‘SSS_ULTIMATE_AOT5C’]

[Decryption complete]

[You have learned the Signature Skill: ’Awakening of the five calamities’]

Oh yes.

[Awakening of the five calamities]: /ULTIMATE rank Signature Skill/

The Saintomancer has created yet another tool for sorrowful destruction.

Channel any amount of mana over 1 000 000 to invoke one of five Elemental Skeleton Destroyers hereby known as the five calamities.

You may invoke one additional calamity for each time you have died during the current battle. 

Each calamity is a singular and unique invokation.

Calamities disappear when they run out of mana.

Cooldown: One month per invoked calamity.

Available calamities:

Calamity of Blood

Calamity of Bones

Calamity of Spirits

Calamity of Plasma

Calamity of Light