Seth's eyes widened, his next breath catching in his throat. A Two-Tiered spell-shard with a Epic+ grade.
He stared at it in disbelief. An Iron-Silver spell-scroll at the Academy's shop was being sold for eight gold coins—and that had only been Rare. Excluding Essences and Seeds, this was easily the most valuable object he'd ever found.
Seth nearly pinched himself as the spell's description unfolded before him. For a moment, his mind struggled to process what he was seeing. His attention remained on the second line:
Ignores 20 / 50 Toughness + 15% of the target's Toughness.
His pulse kicked. That was better than Phantom Punch. Way better.
If he brought it to Flawless quality, that would mean 40 flat Toughness ignored at the Iron Tier—plus thirty percent. And at Silver Tier? A hundred plus thirty percent. That was absurd. Armor, scales, crystal plating—it wouldn't matter. The spell would carve through them all.
And that was before factoring in his Darkness Affinity or Arcane Power bonuses. With those amplifiers, the spell would become even more monstrous.
A low, disbelieving laugh escaped him. He could feel the edges of a grin forming on his lips. "This… this is so broken," he muttered, equal parts of awe and eagerness creeping into his tone.
Phantom Punch had been one of the main reasons he had been able to face beasts far above his Rank. But it had been a gift from his father. This one, though… this was different.
He had earned it. Through pain. Through grit.
And it would become his strongest weapon.
After pressing the spell-shard against his Adventurer Vita to register the kill, Seth crushed the spell-shard in his palm. The crystal shattered with the sound of breaking glass, unleashing a torrent of frigid, Dark-aspected aether that plunged into his Well. An instant later, a new complex of grooves began to carve itself into his Well and arms, a sensation like cold steel sliding through his flesh, though it was far more painful than any shard or scroll he had used aside from Link.
He embraced the sensation and focused his entire consciousness on the pure Darkness within, striving to understand its nature. His mind followed the intricate formation of the spell's network—each segment weaved into existence with deliberate purpose. Some parts were meant to draw aether from his Well, others to shape it into blades, and finally, there were a set of grooves to sustain that power in his arms for a fixed duration.
That segment lay somewhere between the one from Phantom Punch, which allowed an explosive single use of the aether, and Iron Fists, which could trap and hold the aether for a longer period of time.
Maybe one day, I could alter these, he thought.
If he could learn to modify that part of the grooves, he could reshape the very nature of his spells: extend their duration, amplify their strength, even turn one-time strikes into sustained powers… or the opposite.
Once Dusk Scythes was fully carved and the powerful energy in his aether channels had settled, Seth looked back at the collapsed stone hut where Nightmare was still absorbing the Seed. He walked to the entrance and let himself fall, his back resting against the cold, solid stone.
The next moment, he began the methodical process of refilling his artifacts while keeping his Well at a low simmer to maximize its natural regeneration. Every trickle of recovered aether was first channeled into his Fine Storing Ring, in case enemies showed up sooner than he expected, then into his Protecting Belt and Swift Eagle Bracelet. Finally, once all three artifacts were fully charged, he allowed his own Well to replenish while he assessed his injuries.
They were minor compared to what Colossus had endured and already begun closing on their own. He didn't need a potion—no, what he needed was to test that new spell.
Pushing himself up, he channeled aether into the freshly carved grooves in his Well. With a surge of cold power, two blades of solidified shadow erupted from the tops of his forearms, extending a foot and a half past his knuckles. He examined them, a low whistle escaping his lips. He could feel their impossible sharpness, their chilling aura that promised a clean and effortless cut.
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He began to practice using them by slashing at the empty air. The movements felt a bit odd, even if the weapons didn't weigh anything. Though before he could even begin to adapt, the blades dissolved back into nothing.
I'll need to train with these, he thought.
The beast-like weapons indeed required a unique form of combat he hadn't even begun to master. And with such a short duration and large aether consumption, he'd need to find a physical weapon with a similar design to practice with once he was out of this Rift.
Still, Seth spent some time moving with imaginary blades, spinning, dashing, and blocking while trying to visualize the full potential of the spell. Then, he turned his attention to the courtyard and the sea of beaststones scattered across the cave's floor.
It'd be stupid not to take them.
With a sigh, he began to move through the aftermath of the Elemental civil war, picking up the black crystal from the dozens of shadow creatures. While his body carried out the dull, repetitive work, Seth threw his consciousness into the teardrop necklace to check on Colossus.
Inside the familiar vastness of the inner domain, the massive scorpion rested beside the Heart of the Brown-Peak Mountains, faint aether trails curling through the air around him. A thin, hazel-colored shell was slowly forming across his raw flesh, inch by inch. Seth could feel how weak his companion was; it was evident the whole process would at least take a full day. Maybe even more.
Still reassured, Seth used Link to turn his focus toward Nightmare. Darkness kept flowing steadily around the direwolf's Well as he absorbed the Seed's power. Yet Seth sensed something strange: a thin stream of that same dark aether was flowing into his own Well somehow through Link.
Most of the Seed's energy clearly remained within Nightmare, but a fragment was being shared with Seth. He looked down at his hand and cast Intermediate Identify.
Seth had already suspected that Phantom Punch and Beastmaster Rage had both improved in quality during the battle. A quick glance through his spell list confirmed it—and made him also realize that with Intermediate Identify and Huntbound Rush, he now had six Iron-tier spells in total.
If his new Two-Tiered spell counted toward the Iron limit, he only had room for one more.
With a shake of his head, he pushed the thought aside to focus on his aether attunement.
"What the hell…" he whispered, before focusing on Nightmare's name on his attunement list.
Seth's eyes widened. Could this be another hidden effect of Link?
If so… no wonder people would kill to tear that thing out of his body.
Marcus had once made it clear that he wanted to know as little as possible about what Seth's father had given him… yet this put him in a tough spot.
Who can I actually ask about this?
He drew in a slow breath, trying to make sense of it all. His gaze then drifted downward, landing on a final beaststone glimmering faintly in the rubble. He crouched, brushed away a thin layer of dust, and slipped it into his pouch.
As he straightened, the aether in the distance seemed to shift—something was approaching.
With Share still connected to Illusionary Emptiness, Seth immediately vanished and turned invisible to the naked eye.
A new patrol arrived from one of the city's gates. Four Dark Elementals escorted two hulking Undead Giants, whose slow, thunderous steps resonated through the cavern. They were hauling a large vessel filled with the refined black liquid. Their overseers froze an instant later.
The hollow sockets in their face snapped upward to the empty spot on the ceiling where the Seed had hung. In a flash, they all four rushed toward the half-collapsed hut with a collective avarice.
Two of the Elementals, driven by a sharper greed, turned on their comrades mid rush. Dark aether shrouded their claws, which they used to lash out and cut down their competitions. Those attacked immediately dissolved into streaks of shadows—not to retreat, but to flow desperately toward the stone building in a final attempt to claim the Seed.
Seth moved to intercept them. Still cloaked in invisibility, he dashed forward and cast his new spell.
The moment the blades of shadows appeared, the two closest Elementals turned to face him, but Seth gave them no time to prepare themselves.
Activating his Swift Eagle Bracelet and Huntbound Rush, Seth crossed the distance with tremendous speed. The blades of solidified shadow extending from his arms sliced through their torsos without resistance. He spun, and in a single, fluid motion, lashed out again, bisecting both of them. To his surprise, their shadowy forms didn't even attempt to reform; they simply vanished, their beaststones clinking as they hit the cave floor a blink later.
Two slashes. Two slashes, and those Mid-Iron beasts were dead.
The two remaining Dark Elementals, having witnessed the slaughter, stared at him in a moment of terrified hesitation. Behind them, the Undead Giants had dropped the handles of their vessel and had already begun turning to flee. The two creatures of shadow wavered for a moment longer, then spun and followed the large beasts.
Seth smiled and immediately dashed forward.
As if I'll let them go so easily.
(UPDATED for Seth):
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21 24!! advanced chapters on !