more, the Void Inspiration whispers. more?
"Not yet," I tell it quietly, like it's a pet. I wonder if there's a reason I've only heard its voice within this ti-stopped space ant for choosing an Inspiration. I would have expected to hear it speak before now, but then again, maybe it's just getting used to... existing.
okay, it says, and it recedes back within , surprisingly obedient. Gheraa stares at , eyes slightly widened, though he doesn't say a word. I wonder if he can tell what happened.
Inspect tells that this Inspiration is the Accelerator. The na itself is self-explanatory, although I find myself wondering about the Void and its reaction to it.
brother, the Void speaks, almost as though responding. sister.
Interesting. A... sibling power?
"The Accelerator," Gheraa introduces unnecessarily. "It veers on the side of dangerous, but it can speed up any expression of Firmant. With it, you can turn a shield into a weapon, or change a short-ranged skill into a long-ranged one."
I can't think of many skills it could apply to at the mont, as far as range goes. Maybe if I had taken Fireball. But that still makes it useful, and the Void's reaction to it makes inclined to pick it.
Gheraa waves a hand again. This ti, the Inspiration that appears is a vibrating oscillation in the air. "The Accumulator," he says.
I know. Inspect speaks to , telling what it does; as I move, it echoes my speed, using it to fuel its own store of Firmant that I can then use to fuel other skills. It's a perfect skill for a speedster.
"It accumulates Firmant based on your speed," Gheraa tells .
I wonder why he doesn't know that I know. He should have full access to my status, full awareness of everything I can do. There's a chance he's just distracted, I suppose there's clearly plenty on his mind but maybe there's sothing else going on.
"Useful," I say, and Gheraa inclines his head in a slight nod. He's definitely distracted.
Another wave of his hand spawns an erratic, flickering tree, its branches jumping from one position to another in a dizzying, moving display. I look away before it gives a headache. "What is that, a quantum tree?" I ask.
"It is exactly called the Quantum Tree," Gheraa says. He sounds amused. "It allows you to change the path of one of your skills, as if you had used it differently."
Inspect confirms his words, so I at least know he's telling the truth. It's essentially minor temporal manipulation change how I used a skill a short ti in the past.
"Is that all the Inspirations?" I ask, and Gheraa nods at .
Now cos the ti to make a decision. Again.
The Accelerator, the Accumulator, and the Quantum Tree. It sounds like the start of a joke sothing about walking into a bar. Of the three, the Accelerator feels like the most directly useful, not in the least because it's apparently the Void Inspiration's... sibling.
Whatever that ans.
But the others aren't useless. The Accumulator affects Firmant, which presumably ans it's sothing that will last across loops it could potentially combine with Concentrated Power for a very powerful blow, should I ever find myself in need. And the Quantum Tree is the most directly powerful, because what's more powerful than ti manipulation?
"Any thoughts?" I ask absently. Gheraa startles, as though he hadn't been expecting the question.
"Oh my," he says. "Interested in my opinion now, are you?"
His voice is teasing, but I'm not in the mood for a joke. "I've decided to trust you," I say. And it's true, I realize as I say the words. It's not that I won't be prepared for any eventuality, but if I'm going to do this, I need to commit to my plan.
Gheraa hears my words, and he barely manages to hide a flinch. There's a subtle widening of his eyes, a small breath let out between his... well, they're not lips, but whatever passes for his mouth.
Being trusted ans sothing to him, evidently.
"Well," he says, gathering himself. "If you want my opinion, you should get the Accelerator. The Accumulator does sothing you can already do with Concentrated Power, and if you manage to evolve Firmant Manipulation or even just train it for a while, you can pretty much replicate its effects. The Quantum Tree is powerful, but it's incredibly difficult to control. I've seen Trialgoers die using it."
Ouch. Once he tells this, information spools out to through Inspect the Quantum Tree forces you to look at all possible branches at once and make a split-second decision. Make the wrong choice, and you might end up casting your Fireball at your feet instead of actually at your opponent.
Or inverting it into yourself. Apparently that's happened at least once.
That caveat along with the fact that the Accelerator is apparently related to the Void Inspiration makes my decision for . The Void swirls within , reacting with excitent as I reach for the Accelerator.
brother, it says. sister. joining us? we hunger together?
"Not quite how I would put it," I say dryly.
"Who are you talking to?" Gheraa looks at , confused.
I chuckle. "Don't worry about it," I say. I hesitate a mont before I grab the Inspiration, giving Gheraa a considering look. "...Is there anything else we should talk about before I go? We may not get many more opportunities like this."
Gheraa hesitates. There's sothing he seems to want to talk about but eventually, he shakes his head. "I have to prepare," he says, the words a half-whisper, as if he can't believe he's saying it himself. "Next ti. I'll be prepared... next ti."
I nod at him. "Next ti," I echo.
I grab the Accelerator. Lighting and void flickers into my body, and the world resus around
"Ethan!"
Tarin's hovering over , and I'm confused for a mont. Why is he above ? Why am I looking up into the sky?
Why does Tarin look so worried?
"Ethan! You awake," Tarin says. He sounds distinctly relieved. Was I unconscious? "I thought you dead."
"What happened?" I ask. I notice Ahkelios isn't anywhere nearby his Firmant bond is pulsing within , like he's eager to be summoned, and I spare a mont's concentration to pull him out. Ahkelios spawns on my chest, frantic.
"Ethan! You're okay," he says, relieved.
"Will soone tell what happened?" I ask, but even as I do, I can already sense it. The Void and the Accelerator are mingling within , sohow. They're not rging, exactly, but they're communicating, dancing around one another, and every ti they get too close, they draw a massive amount of my Firmant into themselves.
Guys, I say. Stop.
They stop. Instantly.
...Weird.
"You collapse," Tarin says. "I see lightning around you. Then you fall down. Almost hit your head! You lucky I here."
I manage a chuckle at that. "Thank you, Tarin."
Internally, I'm more concerned about whatever's going on with the two Inspirations. I haven't tested out the Void yet, and I'd been planning to after spending my credits; now there's apparently been a significant change of... so sort. It's hard to quantify. Inspect doesn't tell that there's been any change, but Inspect only tells things that the Interface itself is already aware of.
I'm going to test you out, I tell the Void, because it seems intelligent in so sense. It's only polite. I feel the Inspiration leap around within in almost childlike excitent.
hungry, it says. food?
I rember the promise I made when I first acquired it.
Food, I say. But rember what I said.
"Tarin," I say out loud. "Let's spar."
Tarin shoots a look full of skepticism. "You hit in the head?" he asks. "You just fall over. Not good ti for spar."
I grin at him, and trigger Crystallized Strength, then stack it Concentrated Power; I feel the telltale crystalline power surge into my arm, and then a distinct series of cracks as more and more Firmant begins to build within it.
Tarin seems to recognize what I'm doing, to so degree. Maybe he doesn't know the exact chanism, but he does know that what I'm doing is dangerous, and that he needs to stop . I feel a surge of Firmant from him, watch as he vanishes from sight
he's moving with incredible speed, directly towards
and the problem with that, of course, is that it's predictable.
I don't hit him directly with the punch. I don't know how strong that combination is, or how much of an effect a few seconds of Concentrated Power has. The Void is straining within , flooding into my arm and Inspiring it, and it stacks with Concentrated Power by sucking in all the Firmant in an area around my arm.
Tarin stumbles. I can almost feel the mont his Firmant is drawn out of him, forcibly dragged out by the void and locked further in my arm, built upon everything else. I spin around so I don't hurt him with the subsequent blow
Crack-BOOM.
There's a sound and a flash of light that I think ans I broke the sound barrier with my punch. I stumble back a little, shaking off the ringing in my ears Tough Body keeps protected, but I hadn't been prepared for it. Tarin is staring at with his jaw wide open.
"Whoa," Ahkelios says, apparently less starstruck but nevertheless impressed. "It's like that thing my cousin can do."
I blink and glance at him, and he grins back at ; I laugh. Trust him to bring back to down to earth in a second. taphorically, anyway.
"Strong skill," Tarin says, peering at the scattered leaves and forest detritus left behind by the force of the punch. "Hard to use?"
"A little," I admit. My hand's a little shaky, and my Firmant is more drained than it normally would be from a single punch. Noteworthy, though, is the fact that I'm still standing. I think I could keep fighting at this pace for a solid few minutes.
Not so long ago, just one punch like that would have taken everything I had, and left with a searing headache besides. I'd be left barely able to fight afterwards.
hungry, the Void whispers within . The Accelerator swirls, radiating discontent; it didn't have an opportunity to help, and I think it feels... jealous? Of its brother.
I sigh. I didn't sign up to babysit my Inspirations. You'll get more food later, I promise. There'll be plenty of opportunity if I have to fight anyone like Naru again.
For now, I have more experintation to do. There's an ache in my eye, like the All-Seeing Eye wants to be used; there are a number of skills I can combine, and now's probably the best ti to do it.
So I activate the Eye, and let my skills surge through my body, looking for compatibilities.
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