Chapter 833 Choice

Ilea leaned back a little. She had thought about the fourth tier before, but mostly she had asked creatures she met about how to unlock them in the first place. Now that she actually had a point, she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it.

Just one point as well. Not all three at the same time. She wondered how she could unlock more. Maybe it’s only one? No… there was a mention of one skill per Class, that limitation wouldn’t make sense if there was only one point.

She was already starting to think about her options when she realized a few more messages were left.

‘ding’ ‘Following requirements have been met. Has unlocked Fourth tier skill points. Has leveled at least five General skills to the end of the third tier

Additional options have been unlocked

Core Skill Points available: 60

[3rd tier Class Skill Point]

[Stat Gain]

[Skill Boost]

[Add Class Modifier]

[Skill Enhancement]

[4th Tier General Skill]

[Derivative General Skill]

[Mythical Title]

Shit. Even more choices!

[4th Tier General Skill] – [Unlock a single 4th Tier General Skill point. This option can be chosen only once – Cost: 100]

And I can only choose it once. Fuck. Choosing between ten skills is one thing. Choosing between dozens…

Ilea was glad in a way that she didn’t have a hundred points already. Though she knew they would pile up eventually. Has to be a pretty fucking good fourth tier skill to justify that cost.

She checked her titles as well, finding one new addition to the bunch.

- Godslayer [You hunt and kill those without equal. Damage sustained from beings above level 2000 is reduced by a static 10%]

Oh! That one is good.

Her Immortal title increased her resilience based on how many resistances she had. Certainly helpful, but nothing compared to a flat damage reduction against high level creatures. The benefit of the former was that the increased resilience worked against any source of damage, but while she had just killed one creature at two thousand, she didn’t plan to stop.

It sounds pretty cool as well. Not that Lilith needed another set of legends. I’m only choosing this because it’s helpful. Definitely. Just that.

Now. About that fourth tier.

Violence tilted his head to the side when she changed the title. Then it giggled into her mind.

Weak

God

“Yes. Look, I don’t plan to stop there. I’m happy to have a bout with your collective ass too once I’m strong enough,” Ilea sent.

No

Violence

Only

Me

The creature drooped a little.

“You can live out your desires through me,” Ilea said with a smile. “Now let me think. I’m getting my first fourth tier spell.”

So… Arcane Eternal. My first Class. Archon Strike is an option I guess. It’s been a staple for damage. I suppose a fourth tier would add an even bigger punch? Like depleting my entire mana with a single attack? Or just straight increasing all of my punches? Maybe it would affect other abilities as well… intrusion for my ash and everything. I suppose I won’t know until I actually choose a skill and upgrade it.

Then again, the monsters always had some big show of magic. How nuanced is this really going to be?

Ilea deemed Reconstruction a good spell to choose as well. It had after all been the main reason for her continued success as an adventurer. Without healing, she would’ve already died near the temple, before her adventure had even really started. Though she didn’t really know how a fourth tier would manifest for a healing ability. Would she be able to resurrect someone? Would it just make the healing more powerful?

Her aura was a staple too, but she didn’t feel particularly confident in choosing it. Same as Transfer, though the teleportation skill had been just as important as her other abilities. The only other ability in her first Class that she considered was Sentinel Core. It was an incredible skill all around.

Though should I even go for my arcane class? I could enhance something from the Ashen Titan. There were just as many options. Her Mantle protected her, Titan Core increased her overall power, Origins of Ash and Ember let her summon ash in the first place, and Embered Heart had become one of her most reliable ranged options. She found the passive skills weren’t as attractive as options. In general. Ilea assumed it just had to do with the nature of the skills. Her active skills were, well active. She used them consciously all the time while her passive abilities were just kind of there.

Perhaps the benefits of advancing a passive skill would be greater, but she just didn’t like the idea.

Primordial Arbiter had some good options too. The only Class where she truly considered a passive ability in her Space Manipulation. Though it wasn’t exactly passive anymore after it had upgraded from Space Awareness. The other option were her fires.

She scrunched up her face, her food growing cold.

This is difficult.

Her body heated up the rest of her dish before she continued eating.

“What do you think, Violence? One fourth tier point. Which Class should I choose?”

Violence.

The Fae nodded sagely.

They’re all violent though.

And there are good options with every one.

Realistically I’ll keep hunting and fighting monsters. My damage will only grow, and I can escape if they can out heal what I put out. But if I die, it’s over.

There were plenty of defensive skills but only one she felt comfortable choosing.

Sentinel Reconstruction had kept her from dying. Her mobility and teleportation helped, yes, as did the damage she dealt with her offensive abilities. But she couldn’t count the times her Reconstruction had saved her. Her and others.

She looked through her Classes one last time.

Name: Ilea Spears

Mythical Title: Godslayer

Unspent statpoints: 7

Unspent Core skill points: 60

Unspent 4th tier skill point: 1

Unspent 3rd tier General skill points [3080 Total skill levels]: 2

Class 1: The Arcane Eternal – lvl 754

- Active: Archon Strike [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Sentinel Reconstruction [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Azarinth Awakening [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Transfer [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Arcane Dominion [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Sentinel Core [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Eternal Brawling [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Eternal Huntress [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Eternal Sight [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Arcane Circulation [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

Class 2: The Ashen Titan – lvl 751

- Active: Mantle of the Titan [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Titan Core [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Origin of Ash and Embers [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Embered Heart [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Tempered Seal [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Authority of Ash and Ember [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Ashen Wings [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Vision of Ash [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Avatar of Ash [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Embered Form [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

Class 3: The Primordial Arbiter – lvl 750

- Active: Primordial Shift [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Fires of Creation [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Active: Fabric Tear [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Reality Warp [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Primordial Flesh [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

- Passive: Space Manipulation [Enhanced] – 3rd lvl 30

By now she was a powerful fighter in many aspects, but it had started with healing. And she didn’t plan to stop now.

Would you like to upgrade [Sentinel Reconstruction] to the Fourth tier?

She thought about it for another second but found that it felt right.

Ilea confirmed the choice.

‘ding’ ‘Sentinel Reconstruction [Enhanced] reaches the 4th tier’

Active: Sentinel Reconstruction [Enhanced] – 4th tier:

Send a healing pulse of mana into yourself or your ally with a touch. This skill can be channeled.

2nd stage: Your control is increased greatly, you can now focus your healing on specific parts of the body. As long as mana and health remains, your Sentinel Reconstruction will restore your body. Lose your head and see for yourself! Health loss and critical blows are recalculated due to the nature of your healing.

3rd stage: You have healed your body time and time again, knowing every cell and where it belongs. Sacrifice a large amount of mana to rush your healing to unprecedented speeds. Lack of knowledge about your body may result in heavy damage. Effect can be used on allies.

4th tier: You have healed yourself thousands of times. Have regrown lost limbs, have reformed lost organs. You have healed and protected your mind, all in pursuit of greater power. Healing to shield you. Healing to allow an exchange of blows, with those you would not otherwise be able to fight. A core ability for the Azarinth Healer, a terrifying tool for the Arcane Eternal. You have grasped the nature of Reconstruction. Not the healing spell of a savior, but a necessity for the battle healer you have become. Through the fourth tier, you have enhanced this ability to the pinnacle. Once active, the arcane will surge within your body. Not to heal wounds you have sustained, but to keep you fighting whatever enemy you face. To overwhelm the foes no other could dare stand against.

Following benefits and changes will apply during use of the fourth tier:

- All damage sustained is dealt to your mana instead of your health

- The first stage of Sentinel Reconstruction will generate mana instead of health

- All mana generation and absorption is doubled

- Your body is pushed to the limits of arcane power, enhancing all of your abilities

- Your body sustains heavy damage from this flow of arcane power. This ability will deactivate when your health drops below a certain point [10% - Set value] and cannot be used again for twice as long as it has been active

- You cannot use the third tier of Sentinel Reconstruction on your own body

Category: Healing

Ilea read through the changes, raising her brows in the process. This isn’t what I expected. Not really about healing, but then the description isn’t exactly wrong. The Class is meant to be a battle healer, and I’ve certainly used Reconstruction to keep on fighting. Interesting angle. Not a healing spell of a savior, but a terrifying tool. Can’t say I don’t like that.

Damage taken to mana instead of health. Which… if I take the same amount, essentially just tripled my health. Well not health… I still need to use mana to cast spells. Though the first tier will generate mana too, and all generation and absorption is doubled.

Ilea considered the rest of the bonuses. The negatives as well. She would have to test it to really grasp the skill, but enhancing everything with arcane power had to cost quite a bit of mana, and she was wary of the supposed heavy damage to her body. The addition of a deactivation limit based on her health let her assume the only thing that would damage her health was using the fourth tier spell itself. And she wasn’t sure why her third tier would be unusable while she used the fourth.

Uncertain?

The Fae’s voice resounded in her mind. She glanced at it and stood up, her empty plate vanishing into her domain. “It’s not quite what I had expected. Give me some space. I’ll test it.”

She watched the Fae appear about twenty meters away. Closing her eyes, Ilea felt the power of her auras. Her enhanced senses, enhanced muscles, the weight of her body. Her breathing was slow. Arcane energies flowed through her as naturally as they always did. She didn’t remember anymore how it had felt to be without them.

Her mind focused on the spells she had available to her. Spells integral now to her very being. Archon Strike, Azarinth Awakening, Transfer, her Dominion, and finally her Reconstruction. She tested it, flowing the healing through her mind, then her chest, her limbs. It felt the same as it always had. Grounded. A feeling of security. Of knowing that no matter what damage her body would sustain, she could push through, could fight on, could survive, or overwhelm her foes.

But there was something new. Something that felt like a switch. Similar to her Ashen Wings, or the Primordial Shift. A new part of her spell that she could activate on a whim. And so she did.

Ilea gasped when she felt the surge of magic. She could hear a thrumming, sizzling sound, could feel her body tense and burn. Eyes opened where she could see the magic around her, the floating Fae, a well of strange power within in. She looked down to see the blue runes of her aura, glowing bright both below, between, and above her ashen armor. The light of her runes left a strange trail, flowing with her arm as she moved it. She grit her teeth, feeling the strong current of arcane power flowing through her very veins, her bones, her skin, and muscles. Enhanced to a degree where her body paid the price, organs decaying under the pressure, muscles straining, her skin burning up from the inside. It felt as if her very cells were being burnt. Burnt to fuel her. Burnt to push what she had become to the very limits.

Her health regeneration did what it could, but she still lost well over five thousand points per second.

This was the testament of what she had accomplished. She could’ve punched something, could’ve used her spells, but Ilea could only stand there and observe the internals of her body, the magic flowing within. Her resistance against arcane magic reduced the impact, as did all of her defensive abilities. All the skills she trained, the auras, her mantle, the Primordial Flesh. It all worked together to keep her alive. To somehow contain the overwhelming arcane magic that now enhanced her form.

She grinned, watching as the runes faded once more, leaving her with a body wracked by arcane energies. Not much unlike when the Baron had channeled the stored up mana below the Descent through her body. It had hurt then, more than most of what she had experienced. It had felt like she would dissolve, like she was a conduit about to burst.

This was different. It felt intoxicating.

Ilea knew that some considered her a goddess. For the first time, she knew what it meant to feel like one. She shuddered, her third tier healing surging up to restore her destroyed internals, a massive chunk of mana vanishing in an instant to heal what had been lost.

She felt drained. Exhausted for the first time in what felt like years. The cost had been described as heavy, but feeling it really brought the point home. Every fiber of her being felt frayed, even after she had healed herself. She could fight, could heal, that she knew, but the feeling was there. And the switch was gone, apparently for twice as long as she had used the skill. A ridiculous limitation. With what she had felt, she would’ve thought the skill incredible, even with a day, or a week required between uses.

Ilea raised her hand and made a fist.

The Fae watched her with its white eyes, no words reaching her mind.

She didn’t blame it. Ilea felt a little lost for words herself. Patiently she waited, a little more than half a minute passed, and her ability was back. Ready to be used once more, the frayed feeling all but memory. Reconstruction indeed. Holy fuck.

She gasped again when she felt the surge, her runes glowing, thrumming with the might of the fourth tier. Ilea took a step forward, then another. She ran three steps and jumped, a shock wave left in her wake, the salt stone cracked where she had tread. Her fist raised, she landed on the ground, Archon Strike impacting the stone where a ripple of blue energies lashed down and outwards, ripples and wide cracks spreading near instantly, splinters exploding in every direction from her at the source. The single strike had eaten up a chunk of her mana, regenerating faster than she had ever seen.

Ilea summoned her ash, the process as easy as ever, though she felt like she was pulling from a well instead of a pond. Huge swaths came to her call, and then they were alight with the white flame of creation, the fires burning bright as if enhanced by burning health. She spread her wings and shot up towards the gray skies, the wind rushing past, as if she had used her third tier. Then she did charge them, the thrumming a slow hum. Her heavy form floated in place and then she let them lose. Her perception wasn’t quite enough for her to keep up, forcing Ilea to stop the flight. She noticed the very air around her burning, a trail of distorted heat left in her wake. An explosion of sound followed.

She shivered when the spell faded, the runes losing their glow as she was returned to the frayed state of her burnt up form. Instantly, she healed herself back up, flying back to the mark of the Baron.

“Pretty cool, huh?” she sent. But even though she felt like talking shit, Ilea couldn’t quite shake the experience. Gotta get used to this thing. And I’ll have to stop it before I reach ten percent of my health, otherwise I’m left pretty vulnerable when it deactivates. Could even go for an auto deactivation at one percent. Not that it really matters. If I need the power, I need the power, for as long as I can have it. And in normal battles, I’ll have to stop it long before.

She switched the deactivation value to one percent. The lowest it would go. And worst case I still have Primordial Flesh activating at one point of health. Not that I plan to let things get that far.

Very

Violent

The Fae nodded thoughtfully.

Ilea could only agree. She pitied the monster who would first get to experience her newfound power.

For the hunt, had only just begun.