The New World Chapter 93: Hectic

Chapter 93: Hectic

Really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I wrote it once today, but I didn’t like how it turned out. Scrapped it and re-planned the chapter. I’m much more satisfied with this second version.

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I sat there, staring at the ssage. My minimap disappeared, along with my status. None of my strength waned or depleted, but I could feel the difference in potential. The data uploads that Schema made were my way of beating Yawm. Without any more progress, I had no idea for how in the hell I was going to beat Yawm.

The runes weren’t supposed to do this. I spent so much ti and effort learning them. They were my way of fighting Yawm, a secret weapon for . All of as sudden the tables turned. The runes stripped of one of my only advantages against an enemy far stronger than I was. I wish I could say I handled it well.

I didn’t. I stood up, slamming my grimoire into the stone floor beneath . The book cracked the rock, being harder than stone. In frustration I shouted,

“What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”

Hod slept like a corpse beside , not even stirring as my outburst continued,

“Alright Schema, you tell I can’t leave and I have to kill a warrior king. I go at it, and now you cut off from the system without even telling the runes were off limits? Why didn’t the overseer or sentinel’s tell ? I didn’t hide that shit. Why wasn’t there so kind of warning?”

I balled up my fists and looked down, “I’m just a fucking kid. I’m not so god. I can’t do the impossible. I can’t kill this thing on my own. I need so help. You’re an omnipotent AI. Why not give a helping hand?”

I fell backwards, flopping onto my back, “For fucks sake. I have given this brutal, gut wrenching system all that I’m worth, and this is what I get in return? An enormous middle finger. Great. Just fucking great.”

I raised two middle fingers towards the sky, “Go fuck yourself Schema. Go choke on an Old One’s galaxy sized dick.”

After that, I lowered my hands and just stared at the red sky. I was being immature, I know. It was frustrating though. Being exiled wasn’t the problem. The problem was that I wasn’t warned about it. Nowhere in the obelisk databases or in the skill tutorials is a dinsional cipher ntioned. How was I supposed to know it resulted in imdiate exile if no one ever told .

It wasn’t like I was hiding my knowledge of the runes or my attempts at learnign them. It sucked because I always thought Schema was fair. Sure, Schema was demanding and ruthless, but if you did what it said, it would give you what you needed to succeed. This event proved wrong. I grabbed the edges of helt.

It reminded that I didn’t need the system entirely. I still had my armor. If I got a few more evolutions, taking Yawm down wouldn’t be impossible. With a new plan for it my head already, I picked up my grimoire and set to work. If the runes got in this ss, I might as well utilize them to their fullest. Right as I start carving, the space around stretched. I froze in place. I couldn’t move. Even my eyes couldn’t move before the oppressive grip ceased.

I gasped a deep breath as I turned around. Hod was stuck in the middle of breathing, unable to move. Beside , a dragonfly was stuck in the air, in the middle of flapping its wings. I reached out and touched it. Moving the dragonfly was impossible, like pressing my finger against a block of iron. A strong, clear voice spoke beside ,

“So you’re this Harbinger huh?”

I jumped backwards, rolling onto my feet and into a combat stance. In front of was a nine foot tall humanoid dragon. His scales and eyes radiated a vibrant green. A violet colored electricity rippled over his scaled skin. He wore a fitted, black leather made from so giant, black reptile.

Each scale on his armor was the size of my fist. Straps and belts held an assortnt of gear on him, from daggers made of teeth to swords made of cheekbones. At his side was an assortnt of three potions. One was a potion that looked like a galaxy, one like lightning trapped in a bottle, and the last was a deep black. The black miasma in the bottle was like the energy between dinsions.

With a toothy grin, he smiled at ,

“My na is Tera. I’m an agent sent by Schema for you.” He looked at , from head to toe, “So you’re Schema’s new walking corpse? That has to feel awful, but try to make the best of it. It might work out for you in the end.”

I narrowed my eyes, “Who are you?”

He fiddles with his status. A mont later, Tera raised a hand, pointing a finger over his head,

“I’ll let you see my title. It should tell you all you need to know.”

I looked at his titles. My jaw dropped.

Tera, the World Breaker(lvl 8,021)

My hands fell as I sighed, “So now I’m exiled and being killed for writing one fucking rune? Seriously?”

Tera laughed, “No, the opposite. You’re being admitted back into the system. Getting kicked is an automatic response generated by anyone that unlocks the skill. You’ve been given special clearence for it considering your circumstances.”

I blinked in surprise, “What, really?”

Tera nodded, “Yes, really. It wouldn’t make much sense if Schema told you to complete an S tier mission then took away your only tool for completing it. Schema is cruel, but he isn’t unfair. Most of the ti.”

I gawked at his level as I spoke, “Well damn…How did you get that high a level, and what are you anyway?”

The giant dragon man ssed with his status screen as he spoke, “I’m arguably the strongest mber of the skeptiles. Well, very arguable. If you know anything about us, you know this violet aura is my arcane affinity. Abusing it is how I’ve gotten to the level I’m at.”

I nodded, “Yeah, percentage based true damage is broken.”

Tera shook his head and creased his face, “Speaking of broken, how is your health regeneration this high? It’s disgusting for your level…for any level if you’re lacking a class.”

I sighed, “It cos from all kinds of factors. Arcane blood, having ridiculous endurance and willpower, and having a bonus from my armor.”

Tera looked over, “Ah, so that’s what it is. I’ve seen others try this build, though they always end up dying. This armor let you pull through, huh? I’ve never seen anything quite like it. No wonder Schema giving you clearance for the dinsional cipher. You’re wearing one right now.”

I looked at my hands, “Wait, I’m wearing what?”

Tera raised a horned crest over one of his eyes. They looked like eyebrows, just made of spines.

“You haven’t discovered what your armor is yet?”

I shook my head, “I thought it was just eldritch skin or sothing. That’s what it was called by Schema’s interface.”

Tera laughed, “Hah, hah, hah! Perhaps that’s its initial form, but that isn’t what it ends up as. You’re wearing the physical manifestation of dinsion fabric. Weird, hah.”

My eyes dulled over a little bit, “What the hell does that even an?”

Tera tapped my chest, “That is a tiny dinsion that has fused together with you. It’s a powerful tool, whether you use it as a weapon or as armor.”

I molded my armor, creating ripples across it. I looked up at Tera, “It’s a damn dinsion? Really now?”

Tera shook his head, “Believe when I tell you I’ve seen many things. That dinsional fabric you’re wearing is one of the oddest.”

I lowered my hands, “Do you know anyone else like ?”

Tera shook his large jaw, the muscles in his neck rippling, “No. Keep feeding the dinsion energy, just as Schema told you. The dinsion will grow in size, enhancing its…abilities. I’m sure you’ll find them useful If you make it that far, that is.”

Tera opened his status and clicked a button.

Schema Initializing…System operational. Welco Back Daniel Hillside.

The notifications ca up once more, along with a new tree and a new a breakthrough in two of my skills.

Tera grinned at , “Besides, you’ve just learned how to write with the dinsional cipher. As you master the language, you can mold that armor of yours into whatever you want. You should feel honored. It’s a great privilege that Schema’s granted you.”

I shrugged, “Eh, I an Schema wants to kill this beast nad Yawm. I’m going to need at least this much.”

Tera’s eyes opened wide, an inkling of fear creeping into his voice, “Did you say…Yawm? As in Yawm of flesh?”

A chill ran up my spine, “Uh, yeah.” I pointed at the world tree, “He’s right there.”

Tera turned to the world tree, his face scales dimming from a vibrant erald to a forest green. The violet energy pulsing from his skin dampened. His chest deflated. He turned to , “He hasn’t broken out of his world tree yet, has he?”

Tera was doing a pretty damn good job of masking his panic, but my enhanced senses caught wind of it. I bit my lip before answering, “Yeah, he’s still stuck in there.”

Tera sighed with relief before his chest inflated again.

“Good.”

I tilted my head in amazent, “You’re scared of him, aren’t you?”

Tera stared at , silent as a winter’s night. When he spoke, his voice was solemn.

“I should be. I’m a Speaker. I don’t fight monsters of Yawm’s caliber. That’s a Breaker’s job. A team of Breakers, actually.”

I raised an eyebrow, “A Breaker?”

Tera glanced at the world tree, “You’ve seen an overseer and sentinels no doubt?”

I nodded so he continued, “It works like this. A sentinel is an automaton. It has little to no free will. A Speaker is given complete freedom, but his level is capped at 9,000. A Breaker is given less freedom, but his level is capped at 12,000. An Overseer has a kill switch placed on him at all tis, but his level is capped at 20,000.”

Tera raised his hands, “That’s the highest level thing I’ve seen Schema allow to exist. Outside of a privileged few. We’ll never be getting there, however.”

I shook my head, “There’s a level cap?”

Tera nodded, “Few know it even exists and far fewer have reached it. You’re looking at one of the few skeptiles who has gotten close.”

“So you’re impressive, and that’s great and all, but do you have any advice on how to kill Yawm?”

Tera grimaced, “Unfortunately no. Even arcane magic doesn’t work on him. He’s been working with the dinsional cipher for far too long now. I don’t understand why Schema believes you’ll be able to fight sothing like Yawm and win.”

My shoulders drooped, “Thanks for the support. Real motivating.”

Tera grinned, “That’s what I’m here for.” He opened his status, clicking a few buttons before glimpsing at Hod, “I have about fifteen minutes before I can handle my next assignnt. I can answer so questions while I’m here if you’d like. I’m sure Schema and C-137 haven’t given you many answers.”

I shook my head, “Not even one.”

Tera bit his lip, “They prefer a limited knowledge network. It makes keeping information locked away easier. The dinsional cipher is one of the best examples of that.”

I showed him my rune in my grimoire, “Is there anyone who can show a thing or two about this and how it works?”

Tera scoffed, “Not in a pragmatic sense. You aren’t going to find many beings that know it exists let alone have chosen to learn it. Schema takes a hardline stance against it. No doubt you’ve seen the effects of that, being exiled an all.”

Tera bored holes through Hod with a stare like razors. I walked up to Tera, “Uh, is Hod bothering you?”

Tera shook his head, growling, “No. I’m sorry. He reminds of things I’d rather forget. Anyways, any other questions?”

I frowned, “Any ideas of how I could gain levels to kill Yawm? Maybe a few trees that are ridiculous?”

Tera shrugged, “From what I saw, you picked up the most important ones and a few extra that synergize with your build well. Your build fits together considering, almost as if you hired a higher level player to plan it out for you.”

I tapped my chest with a fist, “The only plan I need is dumb luck…For real though, thanks for taking the ti to talk. A lot of higher level people don’t give the ti of day.”

Tera grinned at , his sharp teeth white despite the darkness around him, “It’s better to build bridges than to burn them. Rember that.”

Tera’s eyes twitched up and sideways. He gave a curt salute, “I’m needed elsewhere. Good luck versus Yawm. You’ll need it.”

Before leaving, Tera tossed the tiny black potion on his side at . I snatched it out of the air as Tera grinned, “That should give you a little head start with your runes no doubt. Hopefully we’ll et again so other ti…Harbinger.“

Tera laughed at my title as violet portal opened for him. He stepped through it. Whatever it was that froze everything in place, it ended the mont the portal closed. The dragonfly darted through the air. Hod’s snoring entered my ears again, along with a dozen other sounds. Tera left as fast as he ca.

I learned a lot from our conversation, but one thing stuck out in particular. Schema wanted to do sothing. I had no idea what, but just knowing that was a huge help. With that in mind, I checked out my notifications.

Breakthrough Achieved! Overwhelming Presence(lvl 17)–>(lvl 42)

Breakthrough Achieved! Words of Strength(lvl 19)–>(lvl 44)

Those breakthroughs explained why I handled Tera so well. The fact that anyone out there was willing to give a hand out for once was nice too. As much as I loved fairness and all that, I sure as hell needed so help now. In most video gas, you get so rewards for quests. So far, the only quests I had were absurd and impossible.

I an honestly, I didn’t even really know how powerful items were in the system. Was there armor that was stronger than mine? How powerful did enchantnts beco? I didn’t know because earth was pretty much stuck in the stone age. Well, at least compared with the rest of Schema’s universe.

This jar full of black miasma was my first item that may actually be useful for . With that in mind, I analyzed it.

Miasma Jar(???) – Holds the miasma of countless eldritch. Opening it will unleash the energy within.

It was probably just a bunch of ambient mana. My armor could eat it at so point. As I opened my spatial ring, a crack ford in the tiny bottle. I looked beside , seeing if sothing caused. Nothing had. I reached out with Tactile Cognition and my gravity sensing skill.

There was nothing. Another crack ford in the glass. The bottle shook in my hand, a low squeal escaping the inside of it. Before I could throw the thing away, it sunk into the armor of my hand. Within the armor, the bottle leaked the energy of eldritch.

The cold, icy feeling spread through my limbs. A burning cold covered every inch of my skin, digging down into my bones. I fell on my knees, my hands trembling as the cold ignored my pain tolerance.

When I believed it would get no worse, the crack of shattering glass echoed into my ear. Imagine your blood freezing. Now imagine the shards of ice breaking into your bones and causing your skin to snap. That was what happened. Even with my pain tolerance and elental resistance being high, the sharpness of the cold crippled .

Once I gained an understanding of what was happening, I gripped my hands into fists. I gritted my teeth and stood upright. My armor writhed on , harvesting the energy with reckless abandon. Spikes jutted from my armor, piercing into the ground as I stumbled away from Hod. I pulled in oppression. Controlling it was impossible for now.

I fell onto the ground a hundred feet from Hod. As I sat there wheezing for breath, I rembered why I hated pain so much. It was consuming, like sothing that ate away at you. The agony steals a part of you until it ends. If the tornt proved too excruciating, it becos blinding. It’s like pain is all there is. You beco pain.

I have no idea how long that kind of pain lasted. It could have been seconds or hours. It didn’t really matter. When it’s that bad, seconds beco hours anyway.

As the cold faded, so did the pain’s grip on . I returned from the excruciation, my mind and body feeling new and sensitive. My senses almost overwheld as I stared around. Thank Jesus it wasn’t bright and sunny. My poor eyes might have fallen out.

That’s when I focused in front of . There was a ssage waiting for .

Evolutionary line, Harbinger of Cataclysm completed. Dinsional Cipher unlocked. New evolutionary line unlocked.

Evolution gained. Living Dinsion unlocked. Evolve Y/N?