The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“Whoa, Larek – what are you doing? That doesn’t look anything like—”

He was so hyper-focused on his work that he barely heard Nedira speaking as she backed away, let alone had the concentration to respond. This was the most complicated and frankly intense Fusions that Larek had ever created, and he needed every little bit of his mind centered on his task. Not only was this the largest Fusion he’d ever seen or created, but its appearance was so different that he wasn’t even sure it would actually work. Thankfully, he decided to start it off at Magnitude 1, though even that was going to take a lot of Mana to complete, as it was a very complicated formation. At Magnitude 1, the Pattern-made pocket wouldn’t be able to hold more what he thought might only be a few cubic feet worth of items at its limit as far as he could tell, but it was more a proof of concept at this point than his final product.

The reason Nedira was likely so worried about the Fusion was because it didn’t look like a normal grid formation. Typically, the formation of a Fusion was set up so that equally sized sections of the grid were set up in rows and columns, their exact quantity and design dependent upon what was needed for all of the different elements. Larek had always conformed to these types of grids, because they were simple, easy to understand, and made the most sense. But now, as he looked to leverage his Fusion expertise and abilities, he was beginning to see that the uniform grid formation design was only a tool; a very handy tool, of course, but it wasn’t the only way to go about creating Fusions.

He wasn’t completely discarding that tool with his new project, but he was bending and stretching it in ways that changed the way he looked at the whole process.

Looking at the simple leather drawstring bag sitting in his lap with the top opened so that he could see inside it to the bottom, his eyes traced over the Fusion formation he had placed upon it. It wasn’t a grid anymore, though it certainly started out that way as he began his design; instead, the formation he had created was like a grown-up version of the Fusions he’d created in the past.

Around the upper inside edge of the bag, which was splayed open so that he could see all it, was a ring of hundreds of small grid-like elements that went into the formation, all connected together similar to his other Fusion formations, but most of them were smaller so that he could fit them all on. The only exceptions along the ring were the five Effects and the Mana Cost, which were all tied into one another by one very unique section of the formation. Beneath the ring of hundreds of elements was another one, this one a single, triple-circled element that had extremely strong boundaries, which acted as the final Effect. This circle floated above the opening, seemingly unattached to the leather of the bag, and it was filled nearly solid with a tightly-woven net of his Pattern Cohesion.

Rechecking each element before he started filling it with Mana was imperative, and he caught a few minor mistakes in the many, many Variables that were present. Thankfully, he was able to fix these with an application of his Pattern Manipulation Skill without having to recreate the entire formation, which had already taken him over 5 minutes to create – which was an eternity compared to almost all of his other Fusions. The mental phrasing Variables were to blame, of course, though thankfully he made them quite simple for now; they were only “One” through “Two Hundred”, though he could always add more or even more-detailed phrasing on future iterations. As it was, it would be easy enough for someone to remember at least a dozen numbers for whatever they put inside the void bag and pull them out with the same phrase, but after a while they would probably have to make a written list of what was inside so they didn’t have to dump it all out with the final phrase, “Empty Everything” as they stuck their hand inside.

The Magnitude 1 element appeared fine, as did the two Activation Methods, one for Permanent and one for Reactive. So did Mana Cost, but that was almost always the easiest, because its appearance rarely changed before he began.  The two Inputs, which comprised of mental phrase detection and a physical object passing through the plane of the void, seemed as if they were constructed perfectly as well.

It was the Effect elements that he paid attention to the most, however, because they had to be very precise. The first was the easiest, which was simply a Multi-Resistance Effect to make the leather more durable; ideally, it should have a stronger Magnitude attached to it so that the bag didn’t get destroyed, but as this was just a test, he didn’t feel it was necessary quite yet.

Next was the Effect that used non-invasive mental manipulation to detect the mental phrasing of someone touching the void opening. It was this Effect that identified the aforementioned mental phrasing Variables, which then hooked to the Reactive Activation Method. This was then connected directly to the central Effect with the Pattern Cohesion net, which would manipulate the walls of the transformed pocket to push forward the items corresponding to each of the mental phrases. The fourth Effect was the aforementioned void carriers, which worked as an amorphous sheathe that not only covered the entirety of the Pattern Net, but also camouflaged the Fusion from the outside, meaning that it would look like a normal bag – apart from the “void” of Mana in the area for those sensitive to such things.

Of course, these Effects all hinged on the actual void itself being contained within the pocket and not leaking or spilling forth out of control. This was accomplished by a pair of Effects that worked in conjunction with each other, making the process a little more complicated than he originally considered it would be, but he eventually figured it out after mentally working through the problems that might arise.

The first of the pair was the actual void itself, which was then directed to push down and fill the Pattern net like a bladder inflating, though since it didn’t really have any mass, it was more that the net conformed around the void that was being created. It had been tough at first remembering exactly what it felt like being in the void, not because he had forgotten, but because it had been an extremely frightening experience that he didn’t relish reliving. Unfortunately for him, it had been so ingrained in his memories that it was easy to call up and remember every little nuance of the void to the point where it felt natural to recreate it in his Fusion; it was as if he had drowned in an ocean and miraculously survived, and from that point on he knew everything there was to know about water. In this case, it was something entirely different, but the principle remained the same.

The last Effect was what kept the void contained on a plane that cut off immediately at the mouth of the bag. This was, by far, the hardest part to come up with, because it seemed impossible to stop what was, in essence… nothing. However, remembering how he had used the inverse of one of his Fusions before when he designed his Weaken Fusion which was in opposition to Strengthen, he did the same to the void. The end result was strange, as it was something he’d never seen before, but what he was expecting it to do was create a porous barrier of pure matter that acted as a lid to the void pocket. Ideally, it would have a slight bit of resistance so that you could feel that it was there, but it wouldn’t prevent items from moving in and out of the void.

At least, that was the theory. He had yet to test any of this out, as all the different parts had to be included for it to even work. So, this was officially his test…

…and he just hoped that he didn’t blow himself up – or worse.

Reactivating his hyper-focused state, Larek blocked out all distractions and started to pump Mana into the oddly shaped formation for the first time. As the Mana was funneled in through the Mana Cost section, he made sure to keep every component of the Fusion firmly in his mind even as he traced the Mana flowing smoothly through the—

Uh, oh.

Near the Magnitude 1 and Reactive Activation Method was a slight break in the containment barriers that he must have missed, but thankfully he caught it before it could cause a problem. Using his Pattern Manipulation mid-process was extraordinarily difficulty considering he was trying to hold everything together, but he managed to mend and strengthen the barrier so that there was no more potential for rupture once enough Mana entered the formation. As he finished that, he spotted two more issues he hadn’t noticed before and mentally berated himself for missing them, but he quickly patched them up and made them better than before.

With more Mana flowing through it constantly, he kept an eye out for any other issues, but it seemed as though the three he found earlier was all there was. He was still cautious as he started ramping up the flow of Mana into the formation, but he didn’t spot anything of concern. All there was now was keeping all of the different components as firm in his mind as possible, which was extremely hard to do and pushed the limit of his concentration. With such a complicated and inherently different Fusion, he was at – or even beyond – the height of his abilities as a Fusionist, and one little slip up would be enough for the whole thing to catastrophically fail.

Yet, even as his mind strained to keep his focus and sweat poured down his face from the stress on his body, Larek was absolutely loving it. It was this feeling of pushing his limits against a challenge that seemed like it should be impossible that made him fall in love with Fusions in the first place. As much as it was dangerous to attempt such a radical Fusion, it was also the promise of success that made him keep going.

If his focus and concentration would’ve allowed it, he would’ve laughed with joy at this testing of himself against this powerful and complicated Fusion; alas, the most he could do was smile slightly as he felt the last of the Mana being absorbed into the Mana Cost section of the formation, before it stopped completely.

Larek held his breath as he directed the Fusion to *click* into place along the mouth of the leather bag.

For an eternity of a second, nothing happened.  He froze where he was sitting as he stared at the Fusion and the bag, worried that he had done something horrifically wrong.

But then he felt more than saw a darkness so complete it looked like the absence of anything resembling light had suddenly appeared in the mouth of bag, accompanied by a deep, but brief, *thrum* that startled him.

Whatever else happened after that was lost as he was bombarded by notifications.

New Fusion learned!

Void Pocket +1

Activation Method(s): Permanent, Reactive

Effect: Strengthens leather

Effect: Creates a flexible net of Pattern Cohesion that can expand and contract upon specific mental phrasing

Effect: Creates a void carrier envelop that surrounds Pattern Cohesion net and external Fusion

Effect: Creates a pocket of pure void within the Pattern Cohesion net

Effect: Creates a barrier composed of flexible, porous matter to contain the pocket of pure void

Effect(s): Using non-invasive mental manipulation, the Reactive Activation Method initiates upon detection of mental phrasing accompanied by the physical breaking of the matter barrier

Input(s): Mental phrasing, physical detection upon the matter barrier

Variable(s): Mental phrasing of “One”, “Two”, “Three” … “One Hundred Nine-Nine”, “Two Hundred”

Variable(s): Mental phrasing of “Empty Everything”

Magnitude: 100% increase in leather durability, 10 cubic feet of void space

Mana Cost: 30,000

Pattern Cohesion: 250

Fusion Time: 29 hours

Magical Detection has reached Level 40!

Magical Detection has reached Level 41!

Pattern Manipulation has reached Level 40!

……

Pattern Manipulation has reached Level 50!

Pattern Recognition has reached Level 39!

……

Pattern Recognition has reached Level 43!

Spellcasting Focus has reached Level 38!

Spellcasting Focus has reached Level 39!

Multi-effect Fusion Focus has reached Level 50!

……

Multi-effect Fusion Focus has reached Level 54!

Mana Control has reached Level 60!

Mana Control has reached Level 61!

Fusion has reached Level 60!

Fusion has reached Level 61!

Pattern Formation has reached Level 60!

Pattern Formation has reached Level 61!

You have reached Level 34 and have 24 available AP to distribute!

You have reached Level 35 and have 49 available AP to distribute!

Congratulations!

Due to your exhaustive study of spell patterns, unique Fusion formations, and your own internal Pattern Cohesion, you have unlocked the Pattern Master Specialization!

Requirements:

Patternal Specialization

Pattern Manipulation Skill of 50

Pattern Formation Skill of 40

Pattern Recognition Skill of 40

Fusion Skill of 40

Intellect of at least 50

Acuity of at least 50

Pneuma of at least 50

The Pattern Master Specialization also provides these benefits:

Ability to utilize Pattern Cohesion inside Fusions in unique ways

Ability to manipulate up to 25% of your Pattern Cohesion outside of spell patterns and Fusion formations

Heightened ability to manipulate your internal pattern

15% reduction in Pattern Cohesion requirements for all spells and Fusions

The Pattern Master Specialization automatically replaces the Patternal Specialization.

Congratulations!

You have unlocked the Grandmaster FusionistSpecialization!

Requirements:

Mana Control Skill of 60

Pattern Formation Skill of 60

Fusion Skill of 60

Knowledge of at least 50 different types of Fusions

The Grandmaster Fusionist Specialization also provides these benefits:

20% reduction in Mana Cost for all Fusions

20% reduction in Pattern Cohesion requirements for all Fusions

20% reduction in Fusion Time for all Fusions

Warning! The Specializations Combat Fusionist and Grandmaster Fusionist are mutually exclusive!

Do you wish to accept the Grandmaster FusionistSpecialization to replace Combat Fusioni—

Congratulations!

Due to your unique and persistent nature, you have unlocked the Pattern Fusionist Specialization!

Requirements:

Pattern Master Specialization

Mana Control Skill of 50

Pattern Formation Skill of 50

Fusion Skill of 50

Intellect of at least 60

Acuity of at least 60

Pneuma of at least 60

Knowledge of at least 40 different types of Fusions

The Pattern Fusionist Specialization also provides these benefits:

25% reduction in Mana Cost for all Fusions

25% reduction in Pattern Cohesion requirements for all Fusions

25% reduction in Fusion Time for all Fusions

Warning! The Specializations Grandmaster Fusionist, Combat Fusionist, and Pattern Fusionist are mutually exclusive!

Do you wish to replace Combat Fusionist with Pattern Fusio—

Congratulations, Guardian!

Due to your unique and persistent nature, you have unlocked the Martial Fusionist Specialization!

Requirements:

Pattern Fusionist Specialization

Mana Control Skill of 50

Pattern Formation Skill of 50

Pattern Manipulation Skill of 50

Fusion Skill of 50

Pain Immunity Skill evolution

Body Regeneration Skill of 30

Intellect of at least 100

Acuity of at least 100

Pneuma of at least 100

Strength of at least 100

Body of at least 100

Agility of at least 100

Knowledge of at least 40 different types of Fusions

Unlocked at least 2 different Weapon Expertise Skills

Access to at least a combined 20 Spells and Battle Arts

Has externally used Pattern Cohesion in a combat environment to kill a target

The Martial Pattern Fusionist Specialization also provides these benefits:

50% increase to manipulatable Pattern Cohesion when used in combat

25% reduction in Mana Cost for all Fusions

25% reduction in Pattern Cohesion requirements for all Fusions

25% reduction in Fusion Time for all Fusions

20% reduction in Mana Cost for all cast Spells

20% increase in the magnitude of all cast Spells

20% increase in the range of all cast Spells

15% reduction in Stama cost for all Battle Arts

15% increase in effectiveness of all Battle Arts

15% increase in duration of all Battle Arts

Warning! The Specializations Grandmaster Fusionist, Pattern Fusionist, and Combat Fusionist have been overridden by Martial Pattern Fusionist!

Martial Pattern Fusionist Specialization automatically accepted!

Ugh, not again!

The sudden influx of Skill Levels along with not just one, but two personal Levels, was more than enough to nearly knock Larek out; when he added on his Specialization changes, he was lucky to stay conscious. That being said, he was still knocked backwards, his head hitting the wall behind the bed, but the very minor pain that quickly disappeared was completely ignored as he struggled to hold onto his perception of the world rather than let it fade away entirely. As he slowly recovered, he studied his notifications a bit more than what his initial glance at them all told him, and he was pleasantly surprised by a few things.

First, it seemed as though pushing himself with a completely new type of Fusion had done wonders for his Skill Levels. He had already improved them somewhat over the last few days, but this Fusion pushed almost everything over a few thresholds that had been holding him back, especially the ones around Level 60. The biggest change was probably in his Pattern Manipulation Skill, as he had used his Pattern in ways that were both unique and powerful, which elicited so many improvements to the Skill. The Skill Levels he achieved also gave him two personal Levels, which brought him to Level 35 and granted him another 49 AP to spend, but he wasn’t quite sure where to place them yet, so he held them in reserve for the moment.

As for his Specializations, his Patternal Specialization got an upgrade to Pattern Master, of which there were a few benefits that had improved greatly. First, there was a note relating to using his Pattern in unique ways inside of Fusions, just like he had done with his new creation. Secondly, he could now use up to 25% of his Pattern Cohesion outside of his body – an improvement over the 10% of the prior Specialization. Then there was a “heightened” ability to manipulate his internal pattern, which was something he hadn’t played around with, but he intuitively had an idea how it would work; he had a feeling it would come in handy in the near-future, but he wasn’t ready to use that feature of the Specialization quite yet. Lastly, it also added a 15% reduction in Pattern Cohesion for all spells and Fusions – an increase over the 5% that the previous Specialization provided.

That was all amazing, of course, but it was the other Specializations he received that caught his attention. First, he had unlocked Grandmaster Fusionist! It was the same as his old instructor, Shinpai, though he had a hard time imagining himself with the same abilities as the old man; even with all he had done, he still didn’t think he measured up to the sheer expertise and knowledge that the Grandmaster Fusionist possessed.

But that wasn’t all, because his new Pattern Master Specialization also unlocked the Pattern Fusionist Specialization, which was even better in some ways. That lasted all of a moment before it was overridden by his new Martial Pattern Fusionist Specialization, which confused him for a few seconds. It looked similar to Combat Fusionist, with a few more requirements, of course, but when he looked into the benefits, he realized what the Specialization was all about.

The 50% increase to manipulatable Pattern Cohesion when used in combat pretty much gave it away.

Essentially, it was a way to further his use of his Pattern in combat, something that he’d been doing ever since he learned how to wield his resource outside of his body. Now, not only was he able to utilize an additional 15% of his maximum Pattern Cohesion outside of his body with his Pattern Master Specialization, but when in combat, he could use even more.

After looking at all of the changes, he glanced again at his new Void Pocket +1 Fusion, and was surprised yet again. Yes, it was expensive in terms of Mana Cost and Pattern Cohesion especially at Magnitude 1, at 30,000 and 250 respectively, but he also saw that the void pocket that was created could contain a full 10 cubic feet of space. He had originally thought it would be much smaller, and while 10 cubic feet wasn’t a lot, it was around 10 times as much volume that the actual leather bag that was used in his experiment could hold.

So, overall, it was a huge success.

As he smiled down at it once he recovered enough from his notifications to see straight, he looked over at Nedira, who was standing at the edge of the room, still seemingly frightened of what he was doing.

“Is it over?”

Larek chuckled and waved her over, excited to show off his new creation.