“Think, Sean. THINK!” I growled to myself as I slid to a stop by her battered body. “Lodrano didn’t train you to heal so that you could fall to pieces when someone you love is injured. Start with triage.” Using mana tendrils, I gently probed her injuries, murmuring to myself as I came across them. “Right elbow dislocated. Right radius and ulna each have impact fractures radiating from one point. Likely attempted to block a blow. Bones will need setting, but nothing has broken the skin. Sternum and three ribs have fractures, three more have clean breaks. None have pierce organs. Liver has minor bleeding, already slowing. Right kidney will have heavy bruising, again bleeding is slowing. Shit! Spleen is bleeding heavily, need to intervene now. Tracing back, ok. One major artery is split, add a bit of spirit and health to facilitate healing. Flowing into the platelets, forcing them to coagulate. There.” I slumped down, sighing in relief. The most dangerous of her bodily injuries was fixed. “Right, there might be more. Several minor musculature bruises, those will heal on their own. No more breaks, looks like a mild concussion. Elendria, hey. Elendria, can you hear me?” I asked, slowly stroking her face. “Listen. You are not allowed to die, not yet. You have to be awake when I tell you that I love you. Until then, you just rest here. I have a few things to take care of, namely the bastard that struck you.”

I turned to look at the battle, and it had completely changed. Shalora had several small slashes across her body, while Apophis was unharmed. “Last chance Shalora dear.” He taunted. “Become my concubine. Just know that once I have a bit of your essence, there will be no further offers.”

“Why surrender when I have you right where I want you?” She asked with a grin. “NATURE’S BINDING!” She surged forward, blades set to pierce his chest as vines erupted from the ground, rapidly wrapping around his arms and legs, fouling his reaction.

“SHADOW’S GRASP!” He hissed, using his cobra hood to prevent a rather enthusiastic vine from strangling him. “You aren’t the only one with a binding spell my dear. In fact, snakes like myself rather specialize in them.” He taunted as the shadows gripped the goddess, stopping the tip of her blade a fraction of an inch from his heart.

I took the fight in, and let it ignite my rage. His arrogance, his disregard for everything. Most of all, how he had so casually tried to kill me, only to have my life traded for Elendria’s body getting blasted. He would pay, and I would make sure of it.

Do you seek vengeance?

“Absolutely.” I growled. “I know you can read thoughts system. Is my plan feasible? Will it work? And most importantly, can you guide me?”

Yes. Apophis broke my rules by attacking a mortal. You shall be the instrument of my tribulation.

Knowledge unfolded in my mind, bringing a grim smile to my face. This was going to surprise that scaled bastard, that was for sure. I stepped closer, I needed to make sure he stayed in range and didn’t have enough time to avoid my attack. As I closed in, I started speaking.

Lonesome traveler of the icy void,

Thy new master calls thee to his side.

My will shapes you to my purpose,

For I desire vengeance.

My heart bleeds for it,

I offer you my blood.

My mind craves it,

I adapt you to my plan.

My soul cries out for it,

I infuse you with my pain.

Life becomes the bridge that connects mana and spirit,

Forcing my spell to transcend to heights unknown.

Let my icy rage pierce all,

And strike down even those who dwell in the heavens.

DIVINE COMET LANCE!

As the words flew from my lips, a massive lance of ice formed above my head. Each syllable sent shockwaves through the mana of the world, throbbing through the bones of even those who had no access to mana. While I had no way of knowing it, all the monsters within ten miles found some sort of shelter to hide within.

All I cared about was destroying the god who was bound in vines. A purplish mist left my body, as my mana infused blood boiled out of my pores. It combined with a white light to form a massive lance of ice that came to an incomparably sharp point. It slowly started rotating, gradually picking up speed. Within seconds, I could feel a draft from its spin as it suddenly shot forward.

“This again? I thought we had established you couldn’t - AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!” Apophis screamed as the lance pierced his eye. Throwing his head back in pain, his binding spell on Shalora lost cohesion. She wasted no time, slashing both of his arms out of the way with her right hand blade before lunging forward and piercing his chest with her left. Giving it a savage twist, she ripped it out of his chest sideways before using the force to spin around and use her right hand blade to slash through is throught on the spin.

“One thing I’ve learned, is never to underestimate our mortals.” She hissed.

“This changes nothing.” His voice faded as his body disappeared, leaving a bit of black divine essence. As Lionel’s lifeless body fell to the ground, his staff crumbled to ashes and blew away in a wind nobody could feel. The blackness drained away from the essence left, leaving it pure white. It immediately leapt forward and entered Shalora’s body, healing all her wounds. As my body slumped to the ground in exhaustion, Shalora’s avatar headed towards me.

“Well met Sean. And my thanks for the timely save.” She said with a smile.

“Forget that Shalora. Can you do anything for Elendria? I have no spirit left.” I said, forcing myself to my feet. At least, I tried. My legs were feeling rather like limp noodles at the moment.

“I am forbidden in this form.” She started, holding a hand to me as I started to protest. “However! Bring her to my church, and Frank will be more than able to help heal her.”

“Thank you.” I said.

“No, Chosen one. Thank you. Without your timely intervention, I am certain I would have lost. That would have only hastened the demise of this world. Seeing your attack, and knowing that you are looking for the best evolution you can obtain, I think this will be the best reward for you. My time is short, but once again thank you and please continue what you are doing. For the first time we have dealt Apophis a grievous blow.”

“No problem.” I muttered. “While we are at it, we should head back to their headquarters. They have a powerful altar there. I’m sure Apophis would enjoy getting kicked while he is down.”

“Indeed. But first, take your friend to my church.” She said, before turning into a cloud of motes of light that flew back into the staff of Frank. As Frank came closer, I studiously ignored the flashing of several messages.

“How is she?” He asked.

“Several broken bones, a dislocation, concussion, and major bruising around her body. I managed to stop all the internal bleeding, or at least the one that could kill her.”

“Shit. We have to get her to the church, but simply moving her could kill her.” He said.

“Help me up.” I ordered, and he reached down to help me. I stumbled a bit, but managed to hold myself up. “Thanks.” I nodded, before turning to Elendria. With a bubble of antigravity magic, I levitated her a few inches above the ground. “I can’t hold this for long, so let’s go.” I groaned, and started pulling her body along.

“Alright people! We are done here, but our job isn’t finished!” Frank shouted as we neared the gate. “Track them back to their hideout! There’s likely a few allies still there, so be careful. Above all else, make sure that they can’t remove the altar! I’ll be along to destroy it after taking care of Elendria and Sean here.”

After his words, the group split up. Three in four headed towards the forest, while some of the older ones headed back toward the town. WE followed them in, and immediately headed towards Shalora’s grove.

“There, place her on the altar.” Frank said, walking around to the other side. He placed his staff in a hole in the tree, and it somehow reattached itself. “Shalora, goddess of nature. We ask that you heal the wounds of this valiant woman. Who took a blow from a god to protect the one she loves.” As he spoke, the light that made its way through the branches of the tree grew in intensity, taking on a golden glow. It seemed to soak into her skin, lighting her from within. It concentrated on each of her injuries, fixing them as they absorbed the glow.

“S. Sean?” She asked, eyes blinking. “What happened?” As the light faded, I wrapped her in a hug,

“Never scare me like that again.” I whispered into her neck as my tears flowed freely. “I can’t lose someone I love in front of me like that.”

“Love?” She asked, surprised. “But what about your wife and daughter?”

“I’m sure they’ll come around.” I said, still refusing to let her go. “I’m sorry it took you nearly dying to get me to finally admit to my feelings.”

“It’s ok.” She said, stroking my back gently. “It’s well known that men are idiots when it comes to the heart. Besides, I’m more than willing to forgive you for waiting now that I know you feel like I do.” We stayed like that for a while, relaxing as a gentle wind blew through the park.

“What of your family?” She asked eventually.

“Well, I doubt I can return home.” I said. “Especially after I evolve, I will likely require mana to live. That leaves one option. First we kill Apophis. Then we make two of the three remaining gods summon the rest of my family as their heroes.”

“Do you think it’ll work?” She asked, voice cracking as she desperately hoped I was telling the truth. “I don’t think I could live without you.”

“Nor I you.” I said, gently kissing her. It was chaste, but still full of emotion.

“I love you.” She whispered as her body was rocked with tremors.

“I love you too.” I said, pulling her ight against me. “We should get going though. The others are waiting for us, and we have to destroy that altar.”

“Very well.” She said, though somehow always managed to maintain physical contact with me. AS we walked out, there was an older man sitting in a chair just outside the park.

“Took ya long enough.” He grunted. “Frank vouched for ya, and the Goddess healed ya, otherwise you’d be shorter by a head boyo.” He emphasized by pointing at my chest. “Those two go a long way, but it was still close after seeing you in that there armor. Scariest shit I’ve seen in ages.”

“Is there a point anywhere in the very near future?” I asked impatiently. “We have places to be and friends to help.”

“Aye, I’m getting’ there, just wait. Frank said to wait here in town for them to return. Some of the others were able to find the hideout, and Frank’s there destroying the altar as we speak. He said for you guys to go back and each eat one apple from the altar tree, then just relax.” I started forward, not wanting to obey this random guy when he suddenly had an axe in his hand. “Listen kid, I may be old but I still have a large list of skills that you can’t match in your state. Frank didn’t say so, but he was also going to be checkin on your story and he can’t go and do that with you there. So just do everyone a solid and relax in the church here.”

“All right.” I said after staring at him for a minute. “You have a point, and I can understand Frank wanting to keep us away for now.”

“Praise Shalora, a young one that listens.” He said with a relieved sigh, slipping the axe back to wherever he had it stashed beforehand.

“What should we do?” Elendria asked as we strolled back through the peaceful park.

“Well.” I said, thinking for a second. “First, I’m going to eat one of those apples. Then I plan on finding a nice sunbeam and taking a nap in it with you.” I smiled as I turned to look at her, seeing her beaming back at me.

“A fine plan.” She agreed, and we meandered about. Unsurprisingly, the apple was one of the best I had ever had. It vaguely reminded me of a honeycrisp back home, except quite a bit more intense. We came across the eagzards, who excitedly examined us for a bit before dashing off to frolic somewhere else. After a half hour of walking, we came across a bit of soft moss that had the perfect sunbeam.

“I think we found our spot.” Elendria said, and I silently agreed by pulling out a blanket. I quickly spread it out, and we laid down. Me on my back, with Elendria’s head on my chest as she snuggled in to my side. My arm automatically went around her, and I idly stroked her arm with my thumb as we relaxed. Soon I felt Elendria’s breathing slow down, and I knew she was asleep. I took the opportunity to look at the notifications I had been ignoring.

Title obtained: Divine mage

Only one in ten billion have the ability and drive to figure out how to fuse the mind, body, and soul in order to unleash spells of the highest tier. Devastatingly powerful, you must not get carried away, for they come with a terrible price. Depleting your reserves can cause a backlash so powerful that you could destroy your very soul.

Cost per spell:

X spirit, minimum 5X health, minimum 50X mana

Different ratios can have wildly different effects.

Title obtained: Heretic

It takes a special kind of soul to raise their hands against the divine. Those who do are forever marked as such. Beware, as all priests will be able to immediately tell what you have done.

This title automatically reveals the Chosen of Ariana title, as they will slightly offset each other. Due to their interaction, priests will start out as neutral with you. All positive gains will be halved, and negative gains will be doubled.

Damage versus divine creatures increased by 10%

Trial of the soul passed

Sometimes in life, the very essence of who you are as a person is challenged. Those who fail the challenge will simply go on with life, but those who pass often gain major insights into themselves. They face the fires of life, and reforge themselves into something better.

Spirit increased from 27 to 50

Shalora’s Gratitude

Your aid in the avatar battle has earned you the gratitude of a goddess. As a token of her appreciation, she has chosen to greatly increase your spirit.

Spirit increased from 50 to 100

Spirit regen increased from 0.96 to 1.92 per hour

Once per month, you are able to draw upon the lifeforce of nature surrounding you. Health and Spirit pools will be refilled during the one minute duration. Casts remaining: 5

Name: Sean O’Carrol

Age: 33

Titles:

Chosen of Ariana

Blessed by Lokir (hidden)

Otherwordly traveler (hidden)

Summoned Hero (hidden)

Grandmaster Sage

Divine mage

Heretic

Shalora’s Gratitude

Attributes:

STR – 6 (+11)

AGI – 12 (+4)

DEX – 7 (+12)

INT – 27 (+21)

WIS – 28 (+21)

CON – 15 (+3)

END – 12 (+3)

Health: 40/140

Mana: 13290/13290

Health regen: 0.09/min

Mana regen: 383.39/min

Spirit: 2/100

Spirit regen: 1.92/hour

Class: celestial sorcerer (10,000/10,000)

Available classes: priest (0), Advanced elementalist (18 subs), mender (300)

Secondary class: Advanced elementalist (XVIII) (86,000/90,000)

Unfinished classes: 3/10

Profession: Camp Cook (13)

Available professions: slave master

Secondary profession: Spearman (9)

Finished classes: True elementalist, celestial sorcerer

Level: 25/25

Exp to next level: NA