[Perseverance [Ap] (4 -> 5)

Abyssal Adaptability [B] (4 ->5)

Acid - Improved (2 ->3)

]

The notifications pinged across Julia's consciousness even as she reached over the lip of the cliff. She soon completed twisting and turning the last awkward motions of getting up onto the clifftop and Julia lay sprawled out to look up and wished she hadn't.

Hey J, the ground is comfy under your butt. Any reason you didn't just use Flight to clear that last bit?

Don't have time for any self snark. Go away brain.

Contemplating the sky overhead, compared to the cliff, it was hard to decide which had been worse. The ominous clouds that had blocked the climb, or this mass of roiling flames that reached from horizon to horizon. The flames weren't even the transparent yellow and red flames of a campfire that one could stare into and relax.

No.

Instead, the sky was a mass of burning fury, flames formed from mottled combinations; dark, angry reds and bitter orange raged across above the barren rock. The fire looked corrupted and sickened; blackened edges finished their macabre look as if burning away reality itself. The landscape and things crawling on it had stretched upwards and contaminated the flames above. There was no purification by fire here, nor warmth from them, all it promised was destruction and further anguish. Clearly mocking all that lay beneath as the sky echoed the corruption in the Souls of the damned. It shouldn't have surprised her when everything else in this plane was so rotten and vile. Why should the empty sky be any different?

The last of her regenerating wounds sealed themselves over, but it was a while longer before she felt up to getting to her feet. Taking slow, steady steps, she eased away from the cliff, letting leg muscles adjust to walking instead of climbing. It felt like she had been climbing for eons by now. Yet when her steps steadied enough to allow for a proper examination of her surrounding; it seemed the mockery in this place wasn't just limited to the sky.

The land on the cliff's top was as blighted as its face had been. Black and grey rock stretched out as far as she could see, even with the undulating distance effect. The monotony of it only interrupted by the irregularity of the crevices that scarred its surface. Some seemed so slim and straight as if a razor blade had sliced through the rock. Others zig-zagged and went from hand spans across to semitrailer lengths and back again with no apparent cause.

The only things consistent on this barren Plain was its lack of any growth and the surface's apparent flatness. Julia turned left to right and back again, her eyes sweeping the Plain from close to the horizon. The double-check still made it clear that she couldn't spot any outcropping, or even a stray boulder rising upwards. Crouching, she examined the surface of the rock and ran her hand across it, Shapeshift clearing chitin from her touch.

The rock felt as if someone had attacked it with the roughest sandpaper possible, a concept that was worrying standing out in the open. It would likely take hurricane-like windstorms laden with fine particles to have scoured this stone so flat. The air at present though was still and quiet enough to becalm the smallest of boats. Despite the wind having challenged her continuously on the climb, there now wasn't even a whisper.

[Perception (13 -> 14)]

Thanks!!! So what, I just put up a doom flag?

[Perception (15 -> 16)

Abyssal Lore (14 - 15)]

You are such a troll.

[Perception (16 -> 17)]

So what next? Woot, I climbed a cliff.

Well, I've got a flat place to stand. So J time to pick a spot and work through some techniques. See what you can do. Work through a standard class routine and see how things go.

Stretching to check her body's flexibility, there was no surprise when its capabilities in that regard far exceeded her old. After all, with ten being the mortal average and the profile indicating twenty in quickness. Well, maybe her previous capability might, and only might have rated fifteen, as regular training had provided good flexibility and speed. Julia had never considered herself on the scale of someone with gymnastics training. The ease with which she now executed a full split wasn't something that had been possible in her old life.

She didn't need to make many tweaks to stop the chitin digging into joints and seams while working through the basics. Testing leg and arm motions, step by step, all the standard stretches were checked off from memory. Focused on executing the sequences one after another, Julia was still mindful about keeping alert for any signs of something approaching. After working through all the extremes of motion she tried a quick mental instruction to update the Shapeshift record with the adjustments. Having to tweak it again if she reverted between forms didn't seem like a lot of fun.

Switching into a back stance when the stretching was done, her practice started with alternating between blocks, punches and kicks. First just backwards, then adding direction switching. Paying attention to form as there was no way to tell if this new body had all the muscle memory accumulated over the years. Julia had only recently made it to Shodan Ho (Black belt) having let too many distractions get in the way. Re-grading after a gap of years left one re-doing what they had achieved previously. Each time the process for getting back up to her previous standard had been particularly frustrating. Those disruptions to her prior training now made her wary about assuming what she was capable of now.

Now though things were far beyond, do or die.

Don't aim for speed; aim for proper technique. Speed will come as the body learns.

Does demonic flesh even learn?

No distractions set that aside. Focus on the now.

Whether demonic flesh could develop instincts wasn't the issue though, as she'd judge things on system recognition for now. Her intelligence points seemed to help with the recall of past instructions with ease. Different Sensei might have different teaching styles, but all the ones she had been lucky enough to learn from had their focus in common. The 'pings' from the system as Unarmed combat raised through the initial levels seemed to say she remembered and applied her lessons correctly.

Working through each of the techniques, she remembered the practice continued longer than a typical class. Keeping her movements to the same frequency of beats as the practice session moved its way through various punches, blocks, strikes and kicks. Alternating techniques to ensure the body and the 'nominal' armour would allow for shifting between various position combinations. While avoiding the showy techniques loved by movies, just focusing on the fundamentals first.

Spinning kicks might look great in movies. However, unless she could get enough speed, well, exposing her back to another demon seemed like a bad idea. It was obvious how fast that Succubus had moved and hadn't even been able to see its class. Deliberately putting a demon at her back, seemed like asking for its claws, never mind if it could Blink around the battlefield like her own power.

Oh, need to practise that as well.

Just need to insert a training montage here. Not that this spot is safe. Though heck, what is safe now? Any instant in time where something isn't immediately trying to kill me?

Well, there is a simple way to practice Blink.

Feeling it was time to move on, she returned to the ready stance and then stopped. Hesitatingly and without knowing why, but just missing their guidance, she bowed to the memories of her Sensei. Monks followed their way, she had never trained in any style of Kung fu, but maybe following the Budo, the martial way would ground her properly. She checked on the last of the notifications received and hoped it would be possible to continue to make that sort of progress.

[Unarmed Combat [Ap] (4 -> 5)]

Though it might just have been so quick because of the practice focusing on what she already knew. Last time in the dojo had been just two days before she got here, and the lower belts had been preparing for grading, so everyone had been very focused.

Looking around again, she picked a large crevice visible in the distance directly away from the cliff face and headed towards it. The first time she reached an aperture more than a hand span, it served as an excuse. One moment she was here, and now she was over there, surprised by the ease of it. Though it took her a moment to re-orient herself, it was good to complete a planned step forward as she shifted location. Blink hadn't played the same games as getting Pain Tolerance to turn off. Instead, it just reacted to her wanting it to move to the next spot, almost as if it needed to be used.

[Blink (1 -> 2)]

Oh wow, inner ear magic. Look, mum, I made the world spin around me.

Don't be narcissistic, dear.

Okay, can't puke, but I can still get dizzy, yeah go figure.

Should I play ping pong with myself?

Now now the Nuns said bad girls who play with themselves go to H. E. L. L.

Oops, guess they were sort of right in my case. Hmm, so yeah what was it 'Solo Feline care' for the win.

J. Stop. It.

Great! Now I'm not only talking to myself, but I'm also scolding myself. Yes, cause I'm a naughty, naughty girl.

Insanity isn't talking to yourself; it's arguing with yourself and then losing the argument.

Move.

Well someone sure got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Putting one foot in front of the other, she started onwards again; using each crevice in her path wider than a palm as a prompt to practise Blink. Drawing close to one of the larger breaks in the plain, Julia crouched and attempted to be as quiet as possible while approaching the lip carefully. Leaning forward, to peer over the edge, and slowly taking in more and more of the interior of the crevice as she did so.

The rock along its sides as scoured as the Plain, only gaps in the rock here and there broke up the smoothness. The nominal 'start' and 'exit' of the crevice weren't just the only ones she could see. Starting a few body lengths under the surface, she could spot other holes; most looked to be of a size she could climb into if she didn't care about closed spaces. But a few just at the edge of her vision's limits looked to have gone for the 'super-size me' option. In particular, one was large enough to park a semi in and, concerningly, roughly the same size as the crevice, she'd examined.

Thanks, Intelligence score. I didn't know paranoia was part of your rating.

Oh, dear. Remember, if you're not paranoid by now, then you haven't been paying attention.

Okay, so I'm fortunately or maybe, unfortunately, now better at spatial recognition and comparison. Wonder if I'll no longer need to turn a map to face the direction I'm travelling.

Walking carefully along the lip of the crevice in the direction she had travelled, the latest ping froze her in place. Its contents disconcerting given her observations.

[Stealth (13 -> 15)]

It jumped two points in one go, not good.

[Blink (10 -> 11)]

The world spun as the Power moved her across to the other side of the crevice. The disorientation had fortunately already reduced from the sense of vertigo that came with her original use. That Power was certainly cool in Julia's book, what wasn't so cool to her though was the sound of scraping rock behind her. More tapping than a woodpecker quickly followed, and Julia Blinked again to get further from the pit.

[Blink (11 -> 12)]

The sound continued as Julia turned to wait, but the source didn't keep her in suspense long. It moved faster. Its two front pincers appeared over the lip in a rush, its upper body bending over as it shifted onto the flat. The pincers were like a yabby in their relative bulkiness, especially compared to its body, and the thinner legs that supported it. The outer shell flexed as its legs raised more of its body over the rim of the pit. Its claws and front four legs visible, it already looked slightly larger than a corgi, though far less friendly.

Julia waited for it to gain its footing, as she attempted to learn more.

Analysis

[Demon: Immature Scouring Plains Lurker

Level: 1

Class: None

Health: 30

Mana: 10

Defence: 18

Combat Power: Claws [B] 10

Details: This entity hides in places out of the way of the abrasive winds that randomly sweep its native highland regions. It appears to spawn only on one of the Abyssal Planes ruled by Duke Berith, and there has been no recorded sighting in any other domain. They hunt by sensing both vibrations through various types of rock and an apparent ability to feel mana emanations.]

[Analysis [B](19 -> 20)]

Unfortunately, one wasn't enough as a bigger Lurker raised itself over the lip near to the first. If the ratio of its front end to the first were any guide, it would be more like a cattle dog in size. Though she doubted it would just heel if she whistled at it, maybe it would want to eat her feet, but surely not come to heel.

The first scuttled up onto the Plain and its antennae flickering around as if trying to determine where she had gone. Successfully so, since it quickly headed straight towards her. It quickly shifted into top gear with all its legs churning on the flat ground even as she activated Flight and lifted slightly. Her plan wasn't to fly away, though, and she Blinked with her attention directed towards its reinforcement. Reappearing in midair over the pit, she had changed direction to set herself at its back.

[Blink (12 -> 15)]

As it tried to wiggle around, its pincers already snapping at the air, she was already shaking off the dizziness and driving home a strike. The Flight power's motion added momentum into her turning knee strike, as it smashed into one junction along its back. While its impact jarred her leg, it hadn't cost her any health, and the cracking noise from it hinted likely damage.

Reaching forward, she grabbed for its limbs behind the pincers and lifted. However, the plan almost disrupted when a pain registered from her other foot which had dangled lower. The pain muted by the Pain Tolerance she realised hadn't disabled it after making it out of the cloud bank.

[Health: 2 points lost

Notice: Section of right foot severed.]

Needing to move, she finished closing her hands behind the Lurker's pincers and willed herself straight upwards, triggering Blink. She arrived where she had expected, but minus the passenger she had hoped would be happy to fall for her.

[Health: No blood loss. Wound sealed by Improved Regeneration ]

Damn you Notifications, stop in combat; I have a heads up.

Blink either moves only me, or foes can resist the effect.

From her new vantage, it was easy to spot that the three of them weren't the limit of her troubles as she hovered over the pit. As besides the third foe that had cut short her plan, she could see another two climbing fast. Four of the large, maybe cattle dog-sized ones and a corgi seemed to be all that had come to the party. At least so far, but if she wanted to hurt any of them, she'd have to go down to play.

Analysis

[Demon: Scouring Plains Lurker

Level: 2

Class: None

Health: 44 (50)

Mana: 15

Defence: 28

Combat Power: Claws [B] (16) ]

[Demon: Scouring Plains Lurker

Level: 2

Class: None

Health: 48

Mana: 10

Defence: 24

Combat Power: Claws [B] 18]

Quickly checking the upper two still in the pit, she waited for her health to tick upwards. Pleased with the damage she had managed to inflict, even if she was kicking herself at how badly it went wrong. Oddly enough, even though the secondary was 'better' with its claws, it's maximum health showed lower.

The health bar overlaying part of her sight regained its full colour, as the corgi and the one she had kneed both spat something at her. Their aim was pretty good, and while the smaller missed, it came close. She got a close glimpse of a glob of greenish coloured fluid sailing past her shoulder.

The larger was a better aim through its 'glob', 'dart', 'projectile', 'bile', something or other, impacting her upper shin. Whatever it had expected to occur though, nothing happened, and the fluid slid down her leg with no apparent reaction. Her health bar even finished twitching upwards as the last of it slide away, and a mute sense of pain died away.

Disable pain tolerance, need to know when I take damage.

Now attack the isolated one first, should have just dealt with it instead of playing tag.

This little piggy went to market.

With that thought, she sent herself downwards again, hoping she could make it to the smaller one before the others joined in on the fun. The limited Flight practise she had while on the climb proved to be enough, even though it felt like she was still pushing her luck. Her speed was enough that she got to ground level before the reinforcements finished making it onto the Plain. Landing to one side of the Immature Lurker, she angled herself so she could see the others.

Number two moved with one leg dragging as if she had damaged a joint when she had knee smashed it into the lip. Number Three took its own sweet time, showing itself at the lip as it sampled its snack. It's second pincer passing flesh from the lost section of her foot to its mouth. The two late party guests hadn't even made an appearance as she stomped a foot down on junior's middle two legs. The blow landed at the junction of its main body and her weight flattened it to the ground.

Leaning down, she went to grab the base of the closest pincer, only to need to pull out of range as it's other snapped at her wrist. Not wanting to play games, she dropped her weight on it and struck a clawed spear hand strike into the seam at what would be the base of its skull segment. The blow broke through its protection with a pop, her hand sinking up to the last finger joints. Curling them inwards towards the front of its head, she figured she either hit brain or spinal cord as all motion ceased. No notification 'pinged', but she felt a rush of energy into her arm and hoped it meant it was dead.

So did I get the notifications to stop, or you just don't get told when something dies?

Number two's movements had eased, and as she watched, its leg popped back into position. Its speed picked up, so she mentally pushed her Power to fly her off to one side just in case junior was playing dead.

Don't know how much a Demon can heal, J. You already made one mistake, so be paranoid.

Her shift in direction seemed to present a problem to number two as it continued towards the fallen Lurker. Its antenna twitched in her direction, and then back towards the body, a few times before picking an option. As soon as it reached the fallen Lurker, its reasoning was apparent, and it harvested. It cracked the bulky shell on the fallen open, and it started pushing torn scraps of flesh into its mouth.

Its partner was smitten with her though and, snack over; it wandered over to ask her for a full buffet. The pincer tips of their two 'pit buddies', cleared the lip of the pit, as it made its affections known. A glob of the same green fluid came hurtling at her, signalling its love and admiration, or maybe just that it had an eternal foot fetish. Either way, it didn't float her boat, so she flitted further away from the fallen and rose higher in the air.

Analysis

[Demon: Scouring Plains Lurker

Level: 2

Class: None

Health: 48

Mana: 6 (10)

Defence: 24

Combat Power: Claws [B] 18, Acid Shot [B] 6

Additional Details: The gland that produces these entities' acid is considered a delicacy in some Abyssal towns and cities; the more potent the 'spice', the better. Their Mana feeds the organ's reaction, enabling it to refill whenever it empties in combat]

Well, okay then.

With her airborne, Mr Snippy began firing off repeated Acid Shots at an impressive pace, moving nearer with each shot. The final two reinforcements reached the surface of the Plain as she lured it further from its backup. Both of them seemed to figure a bird in the hand made sense. They headed for the dinner table as she came back closer to a halt, not wanting to get nearer to any of the other pits marking the place.

Waiting as Mr Three finally came to a halt as if taking careful aim, Blink carried her to its side. The instant she appeared it tried to turn at her, she was quicker as she drove a foot down on its near side's rearmost legs.

This thing's pure instinct, maybe? Or is it aware and wants to teach me some manners?

Dropping both knees into the middle of its body, she mentally 'flew' downwards with her Power, adding to the pressure pinning it. The Lurker didn't give up without a fight though; thrashing about, it tried to reach back over the top of its head to get her. It wiggled about, trying to get purchase to stand, with its remaining legs she had forced out of position.

Its body flattened against the ground, the legs closest to her stretched out, while the other side had folded under it. Whatever process had formed the Lurkers, their legs' joints didn't allow it to rise from this position. Shapeshifting to grow long claws, she drove both hands into the highest junction she could access while avoiding the pincers.

Wrenching and twisting against its trashing the section finally gave after some effort. A curved section of shell snapped free in her grasp, and the broken edge looked pretty sharp. Testing it out with a forceful blow, she smiled as its edge severed one of its antennae. With a negligent flip, she tossed the shell off to one side, turning her attention to the pale membrane that showed in the gap.

"How do you like them apples Bugboy, you should have toed the line." Julia quipped.

She hadn't heard the claws of the others approaching, but she didn't want them to catch her off guard while she finished this one. Planting hands lower down on its body, she shot a quick look over her shoulder.

"Dinner bell still has your mates' attention over there, no one cares." She said something further when the sounds of the words she'd said registered with her.

She hadn't been speaking English at all, and the sounds of the words had been about as pleasant as guys said about pissing out a kidney stone. The enunciations had caressed her mind like fine razor blades, making cuts so sharp she hadn't immediately registered how wrong they were. Worse still, she now knew not only what she had said, but the language in which she had unintentionally spoken.

I'm speaking Abyssal now, not talking to myself in English.

Fuck. No, focus on the now. One mistake and Mr Lobster will clip your tail for you. Can figure it out later.

Her eyes looked back down to the membrane and looked over thick black vein-like paths she could see under it. Each thicker than a finger, they were as clear as a cooked prawn's intestinal tract. Aiming, she waited for it to thrash about into the right position. The spear hand strike tipped by the razor nails drove into it till her arm sunk up to her forearm. She felt the same energy rush up along her arm that had come from Junior and figured it would be safe to pull her arm free. Though she still closed her fist and yanked out a handful of seafood takeaway.

Paranoia is your friend.

With a Blink, she popped as high into the air as she could, and arrested her forward motion before changing direction. Looking over the trio sharing their 'evening' meal, she tried to figure out how to separate them while minimising the risk.

They can react fast, so I need to take advantage of how they need to turn their entire body.

Eyes flittered over them as she mentally measured angles and options.

Taking a deep useless breath as she considered her options, she was glad the air up here smelt only of rock, and the recently split blood. She wasn't sure when on the climb she had stopped bothering to breathe, she just had.

With Blink flicking her about the fight, she tried to be selective in the openings she seized; playing attrition and not going for risky hits. Landing kicks to break joints and punches to shatter shell. The tag game was brutal and dirty. She looked for every opening to twist their instincts against them. The Lurkers would turn towards the Blink's Mana pulse even when they got in each other's way. Nor did they care when their attacks struck each other if they thought they could injure her. They might work in packs, but they weren't a team—rather vicious predators using each other to gain themselves a kill.

Not that it all went her way, mistakes, oh yes indeed they were made. She found that even the best tool has its flaws. An overuse of Blink left her especially vulnerable; too dizzy to escape away, and till it faded, too unsteady to dodge. Still, the plan overall had worked, and her mistakes hadn't cost her too much blood. The pincer's business end wasn't the Lurkers' only weapon; as the spikes along their outer ridge stabbed deep. The end of their tail as well possessed a wicked sharp curve, and they'd opened her flesh more than a few times.

As the fighting finally died down, she crouched, keeping the body of the last Lurkers between herself and their crevice as she healed.

So why did you need to learn that lesson in real life?

Don't move somewhere if you can't see what might be waiting for you. Check your corners; don't be reckless.

[Combat completed - Combat Summary:

Acrobatics (11 -> 16)

Blink (15) -> [B] (8)

Demonic Lore (8 -> 12)

Danger Sense (3 -> 6)

Flight (11 -> 19)

Fly [B] (1 -> 4)

Improved Regeneration [B] (4 -> 7)

Tactics Unlocked

Tactics raised ( 1 -> 3)

Unarmed Combat [Ap] (5 -> 8)

Experience gained: 900

First combat survived, pending achievements rewarded.

Achievement: Climbed a really tall Cliff

Achievement: Climbed a really tall Cliff in the Abyss

Achievement: Climbed a really tall Cliff in the Abyss and escaped the recruiters of Knight Forcas.

Achievement: Didn't lose your mind.

Note: The last two are the only ones that give experience, the rest meh, but you go, gamer girl.

Experience gained:

500 exp per recruiter avoided while in proximity (2)

500 exp for gazing into the Abyss and staying sane (well, relatively)

Demonic Shards gained: 9

Monk *cough* Blood Monk Class levelled up.

Willpower increased.

Defence increased

Melee Attack Power increased.

Health increased.

Ki pool gained

Ki Strike unlocked]

I got a level.

Profile

Name

J

True Name Species Least Succubus Level 1 (Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (9 / 20) Class Blood Monk Level 2 Defence 24 Exp (2,400 / 4,000) Melee Attack Power 38 Health 52 Attributes Strength 16 Faith 5 Endurance 22 Magic 20 Quickness 20 Intelligence 22 Ki 20 Willpower 29 Charisma 16 Resistances

Air (2), Acid - Improved (3), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Improved (1), Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials - Minor (12)

Powers

Abyssal Adaptability [B] (5), Blink [B] (8), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (19), Ki Strike (1), Improved Regeneration [B] (4), Mana Sense (2), Shapeshift [B] (3), Soul Sight (3)

Skills Active -

Acrobatics (16), Analysis [B](20), Climbing [B] (18), Danger Sense (6), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (4), Meditation [Ap] (5), Mental Resilience [Ap] (10), Pain Tolerance [Ap] (5), Perception (17), Perseverance [Ap] (5), Profile Control (9), Sense Motive (1), Stealth (13), Tactics (3), Taunt (1), Time Sense (6), Unarmed Combat [Ap] (8)

Knowledge - Abyssal Lore (15), 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: None

Why does my profile say my name is just J now?

[I don't know, J? Why does it, J?]

Troll!