548 credits. I better get a good skill out of this.
[ Are you sure you wish to bank 548 Durability credits? ]
[ 548 Durability credits banked! Rolling for results... ]
[ Select between:
Impact Reflection (Rank A)
Phaseslip (Rank A)
Imbued Resilience (Rank A)
Chromatic Resistance (Rank A) ]
[ You have unlocked an Inspiration. Bonus will comnce once skill selection has taken place. ]
Inspect.
Impact Reflection is pretty self-explanatory, and Inspect doesn't tell anything different from what I assud from the na alone. It's a durability skill that allows to reflect kinetic energy proportional to the amount of Firmant I put into the skill. It's a true reflection, too; the impact is fully absorbed and then expelled in the direction I choose.
A simple skill. A good one, too. But while Whisper is dangerous, it's not her punches I'm worried about.
Phaseslip, on the other hand, is a movent and durability skill rolled into one. Inspect tells it makes intangible and thus renders physical blows ineffective, which is an amazing skill that has the exact sa problem Impact Reflection does. Physical blows aren't what I need to be guarding against not at the mont, anyway.
That said... The skill does give pause, though not because I think it'll help endure more hits.
"Phaseslip," I mutter out loud. "You heard of that skill before, Ahkelios?"
"What?" Ahkelios perks up on my shoulder, then shakes his head. "No."
"Sha." I stare at the skill contemplatively for another mont more. I haven't forgotten what I've been told about where the Integrators are they live in a section of reality that overlaps every world they've conquered. The impression I'm getting from the skill through Inspect tells that Phaseslip does sothing similar. It pushes into another layer of reality, making ordinary physical attacks slip straight through.
The only question is whether I can modify it enough to pay the Integrators a visit.
Imbued Resilience and Chromatic Resistance are both passives of a sort. The first apparently allows to imbue durability skills into objects with a kind of auric effect the person holding on to the stone gains the benefit of the durability skill. It's different from directly imbuing armor with durability skills, which makes the armor itself stronger, but not the user.
Chromatic Resistance is pretty self-explanatory. It's related to all the recent experintation with the color of Firmant and offers partial resistance against additional effects that co from Firmant color.
I dismiss that one right off the bat. It's not useless, exactly, but none of the opponents I've faced so far make extensive use of Firmant color. There might be one in the future, but there's no point preparing for an enemy I'm not sure whether I'll face when I already have one right in front of .
So... Phaseslip seems like the option to go for.
For the first ti, I find myself wishing the Inspiration would happen before the skill selection. At least then I'd have the ability to ask Gheraa about it.
[ Phaseslip (Rank A) obtained! ]
[ Inspiration comncing. ]
I'm almost getting used to the way the world freezes around now. There's still a feeling of disorientation as everything just stops; even breathing doesn't really work in this space. It's more ntal than physical, I suppose. I doubt it's an actual ti freeze.
"Ethan!" Gheraa greets. This ti he's leaning against the doorway to Virin's hut, and he's... wearing a hat, for so reason. I eye him for a mont, wondering if he's actually taking this seriously, or if I've just been wrong about him needing help.
"Hello," I say.
"You've been holding on to your Durability points for a long ti," Gheraa comnts. "It's almost like you want to get beaten up."
"More like I'd prefer not getting hit to enduring a hit," I say wryly. I examine him a little more closely the golden Firmant that runs through his skin looks... a little dimr than before. It's more noticeable because Inspiration-space strips the world of color. Gheraa is the only thing that pops out, and today he pops out a little less.
The question is if he's figured out a way to communicate to what I need to know.
"Did you enjoy your skill options this ti?" Gheraa asks brightly. He conjures an object out of thin air, golden Firmant looping into a traditional Earth microphone. I stare at it, bemused.
"They were... interesting," I say.
"Good, good," Gheraa says. He leans in to stage-whisper. "We Integrators can technically help choose the skills you get, you know. It's a bit costly, especially for you, but it helps keeps things more interesting."
I'm careful not to react to his words. What he's telling is a clear hint and now I'm more certain than ever that Phaseslip was the right choice. Considering the likelihood that we're being watched, I don't want to let on that I've figured it out.
"So that's why my skill options always suck."
"Now, now, that's not fair to ." Gheraa gives a severe frown. For a mont, I think he looks actually hurt not that I can afford to tell him I don't an it. I've had a pretty good spread of skills, all things considered, except for all the overlap in functionality when it cos to Speed skills. I really don't need Triplestep, Firestep, Flashstep and Warpstep.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Why are they all -step skills, anyway?
"I suppose it isn't," I agree, careful to keep my tone neutral. It's as close to an apology as I want to get. "Is there any way for to consolidate my skills, at least? The list is getting a bit ridiculous."
"You'll have to find out! Maybe there's an Inspiration that'll help you." Gheraa grins at . "The All-Seeing Eye helped you, didn't it?"
"You shoved it into my eye."
"And it worked!"
"For a certain definition of work," I say, sighing. He's not wrong. "But it doesn't pare down my skill list, it just gives extra skills."
"Why would you want less skills?" Gheraa gives a baffled look.
"Because I don't want to get stuck in decision paralysis when I have three pages worth of skills to choose from, and so far I haven't gotten a mory skill to help rember everything I can do?" The words co out a little more sarcastic than I intend. "Besides, a lot of them are redundant."
"They have different advantages and disadvantages," Gheraa says dismissively. "But if you really want to know, there's a feature you can unlock that will do sothing similar. I can't tell you how to unlock it, though."
Huh. That's the most candid he's ever been with about an Interface feature.
"Alright," I say. "What about the new Inspirations I have to choose from, then?"
Gheraa brightens. "Glad you asked!" he proclaims, instantly bringing a cane out from behind his back. I'm pretty sure both his hands were empty only a second before, but this sort of behavior is nothing new for him.
...In an abstract sort of way, I realize I've sort of missed it. When I'm in the middle of getting an Inspiration, I don't have to worry about most of the intricacies of the loops. Or about ti still moving forward. About people on Earth still dying. Gheraa is irreverent in a way that's frustrating, but knowing that he might be on my side takes away a lot of that sting. I can view his actions through a lens of him putting on a show for an audience while still trying to help, and I can appreciate good showmanship.
Anyway. Gheraa twirls the cane in his hand once, striking the ground with the tip; there's a small reverberation in the air that rings with Firmant. Four dirt pillars burst out of the ground, each one holding a different Inspiration.
"I feel like you could have just shown those Inspirations normally," I say.
"That wouldn't be as fun." Gheraa smirks at .
I roll my eyes. "This is all of them, right?"
"Yes. I wouldn't pull the sa trick twice. That would hardly be interesting." If he had a nose to wrinkle, I imagine he'd be doing that right about now. As it is, he just shoots a mildly disgusted look, like the idea of repeating a trick offended him.
I choose not to ntion the fact that he repeats tricks all the ti. Like the thing with the microphone.
Instead, I cast my gaze to the pillars and the Inspirations sitting atop them. They're almost disappointingly simple. From left to right, I see a shield, a suit of armor, a statue, and a rose. There's no reaction from the Void or Accelerator Inspirations, which are the closest things I have to sentient Inspirations, so I'm not getting any help there.
Inspect.
Their nas are as simple as their forms. The Unbroken Shield. Adaptive Armor. Eternal Form. Aspect of Regrowth.
The Unbroken Shield is an Inspiration that flat-out upgrades whatever defensive skill I use it on, making them much harder to break in a way that scales with the amount of Firmant I pour into it. It's a little like what I can already do with Firmant Control, but hyperefficient in the sense that it amplifies the effect of the Firmant I'm putting into the skill.
Adaptive Armor just allows to wrap any defensive skill around my body like a suit of armor. It gives extra mobility without having to sacrifice concentration to move my barriers around, but it's also the least interesting of the Inspirations. I already have Verdant Armor; I don't need this.
Eternal Form is a little more interesting. It allows to imbue myself with my durability skills. Skills like Tough Body are already applied to my body, but I could, for instance, give my skin the strength and properties of my Hexfold Shield though the idea of my skin shattering like glass should sothing pierce the shield makes wince. Rigidity isn't always a good defense.
Aspect of Regrowth is simple, but useful: it allows my skills to regenerate themselves. I sense this one doesn't even have to be limited to durability skills, aning I could use it on Ahkelios and give him the ability to regenerate if he ever gets hurt not that that's been a problem so far. Or I could give it to the temporal clones I can create with Temporal Link, and a single hit won't be enough to destroy them anymore.
Well, the second one is a theory. I'm not actually sure you can heal back from a paradox.
"Wow, you have no questions about any of these," Gheraa comnts. He peers at as if suspicious, but the look in his eyes suggests that he's trying to hint at sothing. I frown it doesn't look like he's trying to indicate I should pick one Inspiration over any of the others.
"Sorry," I say out loud. I wonder if I'm not actually supposed to be able to tell what these Inspirations do with Inspect. "Just got distracted. By the, uh, presentation."
Gheraa grins broadly, practically preening. "I did pretty good, didn't I?"
Well, they're pseudo-magical items floating on top of dirt pillars, so in all honesty... no. But I decide not to say that out loud.
"So, can you tell what any of these do?" I ask. "The statue looks pretty interesting."
"Ah, yes! The Eternal Form," Gheraa says. He flicks his wrist, pulling the Inspiration into his hand. "Nothing very eternal about it, I'm afraid. You imbue yourself with your skills. You can already do sothing like that, can't you?"
There's a note of forced casualness in his tone. "Uh, maybe?" I say. I can do basic physical reinforcent with Firmant Control, but I don't think that's what he's talking about... although now that I think about it, I could try to combine that physical reinforcent with a skill.
Huh.
"I'll get back to you on that," I say. "What about the shield?"
The rest of the eting goes pretty much in this way, with Gheraa explaining to what Inspect already tells about the Inspirations, though in much less detail than Inspect does. Once or twice, I catch him lying just slightly about the function of an Inspiration. I don't call him out on it.
My choice is pretty clear, anyway. As far as versatility goes, Aspect of Regrowth is the way to go. Even if I disregard everything else it can do, I can apply it to Tough Body and basically heal myself, which is a skill I'm lacking so far.
Gheraa seems to approve of the choice, too. "Just so you know, this is going to hurt," he tells cheerfully. I blink. It's a rose. How can it possibly
The sensation of roots growing through my body abruptly cuts through my thoughts with a searing flash of pain. It lasts only for a split second, though I swear I taste blood in my mouth for that split second. I catch Gheraa giving a sympathetic look before it's covered up by his signature careless cheer.
"Well, see you next ti!" he says
and the world resus around . I double over, my body briefly seized by a sensation of crawling before I get myself under control again. Ahkelios stares at , concerned.
"...Don't worry about it," I say. I have no idea what he'll do if I tell him I have a plant-based Inspiration. That's a problem for future-Ethan to worry about.
For now, I reflect back on the experience. Gheraa told he'd prepare and that he'd be ready next ti, but he hasn't given much more in this conversation except to imply that he'd intentionally given a skill.
Co to think of it, I wonder if he's behind the early Temporal Echo rolls, too. But more importantly, if I'm right about Phaseslip...
I take a deep breath, activate the skill, and feel the world twist sideways.
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