The clouds hadn't seemed so thick from the lower regions, but here they had significantly changed. Their thick black and deep grey vapours washed about in the sky. Carried in their waves shone beads of brilliant colour that hadn't shown earlier. Bright colours seemed to catch the eye when they wandered into view. They hooked her attention as their light pushed through the dark vapours. Light icy blue, beautiful in their crystalline appearance, seemed sweet and promising as fresh, clear water. Lush ambers, glowing with welcoming tones, beckoned for attention and called her to come closer. The struggling luminance of a purple which sought to squirm its way free of the cloud's grasp. One handhold after another. Each time her eyes ventured upward, the colours would cry for attention.

Was it the distance distortion playing games? They looked like mist from where I started, but not here. So close to my first checkpoint. I hope this cliff doesn't just keep going up. These clouds have to end, don’t they? Something has to be above them. Doesn't there?

The climb to had led her this far and brought her nowhere except to retreat felt unacceptable. The climb this far without even coming close to being spotted again, for apparently nothing made her so angry.

Spotting a handhold that hopefully would prove reliable, angled motions drew Julia close to the rock. With footholds and the remaining handhold secure, she reached out for the next spot. It felt good under her fingers; the rock curved rather than sharp. A stable depth, it seemed usable for a foothold as well. Fingers grasping the new point and legs braced to lift, as amber flickered and drifted inwards towards her. The welcoming tones brushed the outstretched arm even as her subsequent motion started. A sudden rush of pain, as the colour burst into flames, this time there wasn’t a saving gust removing the fire.

[Fire - Minor (4 -> 5)]

Health: 2 Lost]

Surprise caused a flinching reaction, and unbalanced, she fell. A panicked activation of Flight stopped the uncontrolled descent by nerves still racing, and she let the motion continue. Keeping close to the rock, she scuttled hand over hand, slapping rock as momentum carried her away. As focus returned, the retreat path ended on a ledge about five meters down and at least seven meters to one side. Recent efforts and potentially even the whole climb wasted had her teeth grinding. Examining her arm and flexing fingers, Julia couldn't see bone, but it had charred the chitin through to skin from wrist to elbow.

I climbed all this way. Well, I can certainly get down fast. Yet that plain isn’t a place to risk.

Every time I've taken damage from an Element, I've gained Resistance. How does that work?

Analysis: Resistance

[Resistance: Provides mitigating protection from incoming damage inflicted by the indicated aspect (Energy Type / Material). Entities from other Planes develop Resistance from repeated exposure to energy if it is not oppositional to their form (i.e. Fire vs Water Elemental). The more elemental pressure in their region, the more Resistance they build. A combination of ranks and levels determines the threshold an attacker must exceed before damage bypasses the Resistance. The entity will feel only the excess damage that makes it past their threshold.]

Okay, next questions. How much damage to endure for the next rank? How many ranks would I need before I could handle the cloud bank?

The journey upwards felt like it had come to a dead end. Frustration made Julia grind her teeth. Every moment she considered the cloud above, the Heat inside bubbled and churned. That the climb had led her this far and brought her nowhere except to retreat felt unacceptable. Having spent so much effort, endured the strain of getting this high without being spotted, for it to be for nothing, made her so angry. The emotion spiralled with the Heat feeding on it, spiraling together they amplified each other. The energy pulsed through her bones and against the throb, Julia forced her focus from the cloud to find still and calm.

Ledges up here were fewer, and most flying Demons seemed to prefer the cliff's lower sections. Those patrols mainly appeared to be Succubi, whose behaviour revealed their focus was on the cliff face. The few times other falling Souls had been close enough to trace, the nearest Succubus had always headed towards it. Sometimes groups behaved as if it was a competition, and they didn't play by any rules except to win.

Suppose they go after new arrivals so consistently. Why didn’t any greet me? Maybe I arrived differently? Or was it just none were close enough? The back of my ledge had been more like a tunnel. This one appears similar to an egg's interior curve, just like the others.

Kneeling before sitting back on her feet in Seiza, the dojo's familiar posture helped centre and restore calm. As the beat through her bones eased, Julia put aside distractions and focused purely on the slow flexing of her rapidly healed fingers in meditation. Only when she reached a point of deep stillness did she stop and return her mind to the situation and the options available.

Dretch down below. Succubus patrols. As for this cliff, even with distance distortions, I’ve not seen an end to it. I feel like I've climbed endless kilometres. See what I can find, maybe. Why not?

The distance distorted back and forth almost sickeningly as she gazed across the plains. Julia had seen no apparent reason for the first Dretch to have been slogging towards her spot on the cliff. Maybe it had just been instinct or random choice that sent it in her direction. However, if those patrolling Succubi are looking for newbies to catch, what are the Dretch doing? Had it been heading towards someone or something in particular? Landmarks among the spears were easy to pick out, though gruesome in the extreme, and unfortunately necessary to maintain a search pattern for clues or another option.

The systematic search was far harder mentally than the climb. Trying to keep a mental distance from the torment didn't work. When Julia's awareness was battered beyond endurance, she stopped to rest; each time promising herself just one more time. Shortly after resuming the search following the fourth or fifth break, a frenzy of activity snatched her gaze. Julia wished it hadn't or that she'd never considered looking for clues. Especially not given she’d restored going back down, however reluctantly to being an option. Four Dretch had initially appeared to be wrestling, but it was soon clear otherwise. The primary target was a smaller Dretch, yet the three 'tending' to it didn't seem to care it was one of them. They were stronger predators, so it had become their prey.

The Abyss must have been mocking her, or somehow her horror drew its ire. Even as she went to wrench her gaze away from them, the apparent distance to the Dretch spooled inwards, face planting Julia into the midst of the ongoing violation. One of the Dretch had impatiently finished preparing its entry point and pushed its shaft into the bloodied flesh. Julia snapped her eyes shut and scuttled backwards till the rock denied any further retreat.

Go down? No way! No fucking way!!

Why? Damn it, why? How is this fair? Whoever you are that cursed me. I hope I get my hands on your Soul and can make you pay.

Julia thoughts stopped as she felt the weird Heat running through her. It wasn't a hot flush. Instead, it felt like something alive wiggled and settled further under her skin. Her fear and anger, causing it to react as if she had dumped turpentine on an open flame.

Stop! Focus on now. Not anything but now. What can I control right now?

I can travel along the cliff face or force my way through the clouds.

Too risky to climb, hoping I can make it past the colours, they shift so fast. If I fly up, there is next to no visibility; I could fly directly into one. Without a means to resist Fire and whatever else there might be, neither option is acceptable.

If I use Flight to move along the cliff face, I'll be easier to spot. I'm sure to attract attention from a Succubus. What if one uses Analysis on me? Why hello, baby, come here often?

Steeling herself, Julia ground her teeth for a time before opening her eyes again.

I go up, and if it kills me, then it kills me.

Down is not an option. The capture route will be bad news with either group.

Whoever you are that cursed me, you knew nothing about me. You don't get to win. I control myself. My decisions are my own. And while I hope you fucking pay, my focus isn't getting at you. It's getting out of here. I get to the top. Then I find a Portal or Planer Pool from this torture pit.

Slowly moving with a flight path as close to the rock as possible, her eyes roamed the rock ahead, looking for options. The earlier focus on levelling Climbing was no longer her chief concern. She needed a spot to work from; this might be her new reality. If the 'System' wanted to stack the deck, it made Julia determined to fight.

Whenever a potential ledge showed ahead, then the flight path would adjust to drift towards it. Motion held slow and steady, even though her sense of horror tried to scream inside and wanted results right away.

At first, it had been agony, then usually merely pain, then at times, it might reduce to discomfort or spike to arm chewing again. Julia remained flat with the ledge hard against her back, having discovered this delightful retreat when conducting a fifth vacation spot review. It had a brilliant view of the torture fields and an uncomfortable closeness to the clouds. Their surface washed and swirled about, usually staying just at the limit of arms reach when she lay flat.

Other times it came down far enough to wrap an arm well past the elbow if Julia propped herself up in even the slightest fashion. If it threatened to drop lower, the simple act of rolling off Julia hoped would provide an escape. Julia’s reason for the risky location was brutally straightforward, to push the progress in her resistances. A stable perch seemed more efficient than controlling reactions to pain and holding onto the cliff at the same time.

Push and Grind. More and More.

As her Resistances had risen, the various damages suffered seemed to be trending downwards, matching Analysis' information. However, there had been chaotic surges of intensity that provided numerous close calls. Experimentation with Profile Control had provided some options to monitor critical information. With a health bar and other details, it removed the need to flick open 'Profile' to get the information. The transparent symbols were currently overlaying places in her vision like an FPS heads up display.

Fire Resistance had levelled up out of Minor, with Acid close on its heels, and it now approached the last leg. Experience had also provided insight into the shades' movement near the cliff. The coloured beads that had shown earlier were consistent in the damage inflicted. Yet perched so near the clouds, Julia had seen hints of more colours further from the Cliff. Yet those others had remained distant from the ledge.

It was as if those shadings, for whatever reason, seemed to be avoiding the rock itself. Flying the only option to get close to them meant a random gust could toss her upwards. However morbidly curious she was about what they offered, that took checking any off the agenda. The Fire's amber shading was the most common effect; Acid's lovely blue, floated by frequently enough, the delightful purple of raw Mana, had so far been the least common. That bubbly purple would carve chunks from chitin, flesh and bone alike as if someone had taken an ice cream scoop to her body.

The process so far had also helped her to level other skills along with her resistances in the hope they would keep her alive. Pain Tolerance had unlocked and gone up fast with the few times her judgement had slipped. Then, unfortunately, it started causing problems all on its own. It was always on, deadening her reflex to pull back, which was undoubtedly a drawback. While it had eased the burden on her mind and certainly helped her not scream, it also provided a false safety; Dangerous confidence had caused her health to hit four.

I need to find some way to turn Pain Tolerance off. It doesn't behave like Soul Sight, but there has to be a mechanism. Doesn't there?

Phew, health regeneration is starting at last.

Profile

Name Julia Amanda Diane Earnst True Name Species Least Succubus Level 1 (Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Class Blood Monk Level 1 Defence 22 Health 5 (30) Attributes Strength 16 Faith 5 Endurance 20 Magic 20 Quickness 20 Intelligence 22 Willpower 25 Charisma 16 Resistances

Air - Minor (12), Acid - Minor (17), Cold - Minor (5), Fire (5), Mana - Minor (12), Mundane Materials - Minor (12)

Powers

Abyssal Adaptability (6), Blink (1), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (11), Mana Sense (2), Shapeshift [B](1), Soul Sight (3)

Skills Active -

Acrobatics (11), Analysis [B](19), Climbing [B] (18), Danger Sense (3), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (1), Intimidate (5), Meditation [B] (2), Mental Resilience [B] (3), Pain Tolerance [B] (4), Perception (13), Perseverance (11), Profile Control (9), Sense Motive (1), Stealth (13), Taunt (1), Time Sense (4), Unarmed Combat (7)

Knowledge -

Abyssal Lore (7), Arcane (2), Demonic Lore (12), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (6)

Available Skills Points 33 Available Knowledge Bonus 10 Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English

Inventory:

Julia flexed the fingers on her right hand and continued to meditate, even while assessing the damage taken all along her left arm. The burn had gone deep enough to show the bone at the wrist joint. It had even cooked deep into muscle in spots along the forearm. Fluid wept from the edge of the damage and streamed along the burnt flesh and chitin, leaving gleaming patterns behind. While she had demonic flesh, the liquid appeared similar to what comes from a typical burn. The chitin was slowly filling itself back over again, repairing sections where the heat had cracked it and caused entire parts to fall away.

No J. You are in a demonic form; your soul is not a Demon. This shell can't define you. You need it for getting out of here, nothing more.

Need to be careful how close to the limit I push myself; suppose the darn thing had surged downwards. What would have happened?

So no meditation while you have your arm within the cloud bank. Keep your eyes on health and ready to drop clear. Don't get too confident. Who knows what might happen if health hits zero.

Experiments with the Analysis Skill while working on the Resistance grind had thankfully provided more information about her Powers and Skills. Insights into how each worked had been helpful, particularly in learning that Blink did what she had hoped it would. It provided the ability to shift location up to thirty feet in any direction instantly. It would allow her to land anywhere within range, even if it wasn't in the line of sight. While it was still untested, it had taken a prime spot on the levelling plan. If raising resistances higher didn't allow passage through this cloud bank, then the next option was to bunny hop from ledge to ledge along the cliff. She hoped minimising would be the safest way to travel and reduce the chance for attention.

[Pain Tolerance [B] (4 -> 5)

Meditation [B] (2 -> 3)]

The meditation notification ticked along a few times, and trying different variations finally revealed a way to disable Pain Tolerance. Agony surged as it turned off snapping her teeth together, but the scream that had started its way out didn't get loose. Letting Regeneration do its work, her left arm remained raised as she concentrated on her right fingers' physical sensations. The Regeneration effect reversed the injury, even regrowing the chitin over her flesh, and finally, the last of the pain died away.

[Meditation [B] (10 -> 11)]

Abyssal Adaptability (6 -> 7)]

The last meditation notification was yards ahead. Clearly remaining in control of herself without Pain Tolerance’s assistance was more challenging.

Heal, damn you, heal.

Fuck, that hurt. I need to keep going. After being numb, that was a shock. Not sure if the prolonged buffer made it feel worse or just from cooking my arm so bad. Fuck!

Next thing, you're going to be tossing out Bene Gesserit quotes.

Yeah, talking to myself, I'll just have a two-way conversation to pass the time.

No, it should be three-way, me, myself and I.

[Power: Improved Regeneration unlocked.]

Oh! Cool, a new Power.

I must be turning into a masochist. Next thing you know, I’ll be talking to Sarah for tips or proper guidance.

Slapping her fist against the rock brought Julia's focus back to the moment. Grief for herself, missing family and outrageous friends tried to swamp her focus.

Before she could second guess herself—or should that be the twentieth guess? she turned her body and shifted her balance to lift toward the cloud bank. Bracing herself up with her right forearm, she waited. When she finished healing, she thrust back into the cloud bank without a flinch; despite a bubble of acidic fog, having drifted close enough to touch while she had healed.

Mentally embracing the Pain Tolerance skill, she watched as her health ticked downwards, only after a moment for it to bubble upwards.

[Pain Tolerance [B] (5 -> 6)

Health: 1 Lost.

Improved Regeneration (1 -> 2)

Health: 1 Gained.

Health: 1 Lost.

Health: 1 Lost.

Health: 1 Gained.

Mental Resilience [B] (3 -> 4)

Willpower (25 -> 26)

Endurance (20 -> 21)

Max Health (30 -> 32)]

Ok, so just like Mr Steak Knife Hands.

Now you too can heal while you have your fingers in the garbage disposal.

But wait, there's more if you call now.

[Health: 1 Lost

Health: 1 Lost

Health: 1 Gained]

Plus, his bones would break the disposal unit, not get mauled by it.

The cloud bank lapped its way down her arm and quickly was reaching towards her elbow. Bracing and acting against her self-preservation instincts, she pushed higher still. Her body shivered with pain in what was already a far too familiar sensation.

[Health: 1 Lost

Health: 1 Lost

Health: 1 Lost

Health: 1 Lost

Health: 1 Gained]

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuckity fuck!

Well, look at the mental Mount Druitt mouth on you, bitch.

Don't call me bitch, Bitch!

Eventually, she shifted herself off her braced right forearm and let her weight collapse, carefully not to brain herself. Her eyes took in the health reading of four. As she disengaged Pain Tolerance, she writhed in agony and started focusing on her Meditation. The acid ravaged forearm rested across her torso as she kept on, opening and closing the finger of her right hand in the same regular rhythm.

It wasn't any less risky to do that intentionally, J.

Okay, so I use this to get that Improved Regeneration into the Beginner ranks and then plan again, just like time on the treadmill. Yep, get to the 30-minute mark today, J. Oh, nearly at that next km mark. You can jog longer, can't you? One more kata, just another get those kicks higher.

How much time have you spent on Karate? Reading? Heck, terrible dates? You've certainly had days spending 14 hours grinding mobs in SK MMOs when those didn't work out. You can keep levelling Resistances that might save your life.

The health indicator bubbled up to max quicker than previously. Even the initial levels of Improved Regeneration, were making a significant difference when it wasn't counteracting ongoing damage. The purple tinge in the cloud bank overhead let her know what to expect as she raised herself on her right forearm and stuck her left arm upwards again. The arm rocked under energy impacts that popped chitin and flesh alike, leaving her arm broken and scooped. Even as the wild mana continued to smash into her, she embraced her Pain Tolerance.

[Time Sense (4 -> 5)]

As the Skill clicked up, she got a much better sense of exactly how long she had to endure the pain.

Bitch.

[Mental Resilience [B] (4 -> 5)]

Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat, get knocked down, get back up again.

You're never going to keep me down (ooh).

Come on, health bar, you can do it, up you get, hurray to a job well done.

Now let's do this again. You can do it, J.

It's just a bit longer, that's it keep going.

Take a break, try something with Shapeshift - 10 minutes and go again.

Oh, another skill click, and another Resistance clicked up.

Let's see if we can balance out these Resistance Powers a bit, shall we?

You know you can see another mana clot working itself this way.

Just wait. It's getting closer.

That's it; please come this way, Mr Mana Clot, here, boy.

Now.

FUCK!!!!!

Job well done, more gains, rest up and go again, I can do it.

I can do this. The stronger I get, the stronger I can become, the longer I'll live.

Not even levelled a Class or Species yet, but how much tougher am I now? Not enough!

Just like LDoA, here I come. It's hours and days, but I can do it.

Back to step one, we go, rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat.

As the Resistance kicked up higher, progressing them slowed and then started to trickle to a halt.

Maybe I overdid it.

I was sure I would be seeing the sun peeking in through the window about now.

[Time Sense (5-> 6)]

The system is a troll!

Profile

Name Julia Amanda Diane Earnst True Name Species Least Succubus Level 1 (Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Class Monk Level 1 Defence 22 Health 34 Attributes Strength 16 Faith 5 Endurance 22 Magic 20 Quickness 20 Intelligence 22 Willpower 28 Charisma 16 Resistances

Air (2), Acid - Improved (1), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Improved (1), Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials - Minor (12)

Powers

Abyssal Adaptability [B] (1), Blink (1), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (11), Improved Regeneration (12), Mana Sense (2), Shapeshift [B](3), Soul Sight (3)

Skills Active -

Acrobatics (11), Analysis [B](19), Climbing [B] (18), Danger Sense (3), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (1), Intimidate (5), Meditation [Ap] (5), Mental Resilience [Ap] (10), Pain Tolerance [Ap] (5), Perception (13), Perseverance [Ap] (1), Profile Control (9), Sense Motive (1), Stealth (13), Taunt (1), Time Sense (6), Unarmed Combat (7)

Knowledge - Abyssal Lore (7), Arcane (2), Demonic Lore (12), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (6) Available Skills Points 33 Available Knowledge Bonus 10 Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English

Inventory:

Time to set those ablative goggles in place.

With multiple layers of transparent chitin Julia had worked out to protect her eyes and mouth, she climbed into the cloudbank. The dimness in the cloud meant finding hand-holds, and foot positions were trickier still. The surface of the rock was slippery with the weird contents of the cloud. Continual pinpricks of pain fought to pull her attention away, but still, she needed to climb.

Her Resistance and Regeneration were both now high enough that health would blip downwards, only to bounce up before dipping again.

I just hope there is a top to these clouds.