The Pinnacle Warrior

Astrid screamed as the centaur whip wrapped around her neck. That burned! It tried to yank her to her knees, but she wrapped her left arm around the weapon as she pushed mana into her greaves and held herself still, stopping it from continuing on its path as it ran past. She knew she’d opened herself up to this, she’d planned to open herself up to this, and it still sucked. She screamed again and swung her hammer through the monster’s back two legs. Both snapped like twigs, and the monster fell. Astrid ignored the quest progress notification as she raised her hammer again and smashed it into the base of the monster’s spine, where its humanoid half met its horse half. Its other two legs, scrabbling at the dirt underfoot, went limp at that, and she raised her hammer for the final blow. The monster’s simple helmet caved under her hammer, and the kill notification flashed in her eyes.

Centaur Matron slain. 232 experience gained, split among party.

The centaur’s mate, a slightly larger male with two scimitars in his hands, reared back on two legs as he screamed a strange mixture of a human’s cry and a horse’s whinny. He lurched toward Astrid and she unwrapped the whip from her raw neck as she prepared herself to take the charge. She was getting used to this, which was just as well, since they were about to leave the 10th floor and come in contact with their fellow competitors.

The male rushed forward, ready to run her down or slice her when she tried to escape. She didn’t attempt to dodge, but instead held herself tall, and, at the last moment, ducked low and threw herself at the charging creature’s legs while reinforcing her whole body with her mana through Fortitude. One of its hooves landed on her hip, and she felt the steel lengths of her chainmail shirt rip while a pained grunt burst involuntarily from her mouth. As its front legs broke, it lost its balance and fell, despite trying to continue on its path. Astrid tried to hustle to her feet, but her left leg was slow to respond. Even with Benedict healing her with Song of Vindication, she activated Quick Recovery and stood tall as she ran towards the monster.

He tried to turn and use his blades on her, but she’d already dealt a crippling blow by opening herself up to his charge. She wasn’t going to allow him an easy attack again. Instead, she held her hammer in her right hand and, after hefting it twice, threw it into the monster’s face. He wasn’t expecting that, and couldn’t move quick enough to successfully attempt to evade. With its pitiful attempt at dodging, the hammer smashed into the bridge of the beast’s nose, and it swayed, trying to stay conscious and alive. Astrid refused to give it the time and jumped onto its back. She wrapped both arms around its neck, and with a twist of her whole body, snapped its neck.

Centaur Raider slain. 200 experience gained, split among party.

Astrid stepped away from the corpse, limping slightly as, even with Quick Recovery, her hip struggled to support her weight. Getting trampled by a horse was certainly a lot worse for lower level people, but horses weren’t reinforced by charging Skills, so Astrid couldn’t say that throwing herself at a charging centaur’s legs was a particularly wise choice. But it was what the damned quest required of her, so do it she would.

She looked at the remains of this band of centaurs. Or, were they called a herd? Didn’t matter. There had been five, once upon a time. Unlike other groups of monsters, the monsters of the tenth floor ranged away from each other, and Astrid had taken advantage of that while Skandr experimented with his Skills and spells a little ways off. She’d taken out the first three far enough away from the others that they hadn’t realized that they were under attack until she’d dealt with the bulk of their number. Sure, a large part of her success was due to the fact that the centaurs, though they had Barbarian–looking upper bodies, weren’t all that much more intelligent than regular horses, but Astrid had been careful and took no small measure of pride in having taken out the five monsters herself with negligible help. That the first two were helped by Lightning Reflexes didn’t matter.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. Had she seen a quest completion notification on that last one?? That’d been the plan, at least. She, with her heart in her throat, checked her Class evolution quest.

Class evolution quest: Open yourself up to an attack from an enemy, using that opening to deal a crippling or killing blow to the enemy. Progress: 20/20

Would you like to confirm evolution to: Immortal Warrior (Iron)?

Astrid threw both hands in the air, fists clenched, and cheered. The rest of her party was sure to already know why she was so excited, so she didn’t explain anything as she allowed herself to fall onto her back. She grinned as the aches of opening herself up to attack after attack settled over her. Pain was temporary, and evolution was permanent. Over the past… she didn’t know how long, but it was less than a day because the party hadn’t gone to rest on the second day yet, she’d managed to figure out what exactly the quest was demanding of her. She didn’t need to actually take the hit, but had to truly open herself to it. It was a distinction that she hadn’t understood before, could kind of understand now, and still couldn’t explain. It had to be something to do with her opening not being a feint, but a real opening presented to the enemy. 

Whatever the requirement specifically was, Astrid had taken three solid hits while dispatching these five centaurs, two of them being the whip whose strike still burned on her neck and the other being the trampling steps of the final raider. The first hit she’d taken had been a club to her ribs just under her sternum. That hadn’t knocked the wind out of her, only barely, and she’d been grateful for that. Every breath had continued to hurt until she used Quick Recovery, which had taken that from true pain to a dull ache instead. And now, Astrid confirmed the evolution.

She felt her body change as she evolved, her Skills changing in quality and tier, and, though the evolution didn’t heal her, she could feel that she could use Immortal Warrior’s Body. She spent one charge, and as healing pulsed through her, she could feel that her body was restored basically to top condition. She subconsciously understood how to use the second part of the Skill, that the next hit that she made in the next minute would be strengthened. After that, the secondary effect of Immortal Warrior’s Body would fade. Investigating her own condition, she could tell that her stamina and mana both were still not quite full, and, on a whim, she used another charge of Immortal Warrior’s Body.

Doing so completely replenished her mana and stamina, and Astrid could feel that the next attack she could make was strengthened even further, though the amount of time that remained to use the effect was updated to be only one minute from the time of the latest use of a charge of Immortal Warrior’s Body. Both charges began their cooldown period, and Astrid was left with two uses for the next hour. Seeing this key Skill in action, even without using it in combat, got Astrid even more excited to get into the next fight as a party, where all five had no reason to hold back for the others’ sake.

Once her body was whole, Astrid could feel the other differences in herself. She knew she hadn’t gained weight, but she felt sturdier, as if her bones were made of iron or something. Unable to express the change, she rolled her shoulders and grinned. Did she want to look at her Skills offered right now? Or did she want to see her equipment? Should she instead check on everything that’d changed in her Status? It was all just too exciting!

“Finally! You have joined us.” Muti threw herself on Astrid, who took barely a step back as the larger woman held onto her. “How does it feel? Powerful?”

“You know how it feels.” Astrid grinned back. She pushed Muti gently away, and made the decision of what to do first. She pulled her helmet off, and Muti’s eyes glinted as she stepped forward and helped Astrid with the buckles and straps of her armor. It was strange, she realized, that this armor wasn’t considered her “equipment” to her Skill. Now that she was here, though, she understood the basic ritual of making equipment “equipment”. There was something to do with having the Skill at the time of putting it on, as well as a certain level of recognition of the equipment as yours. She definitely had the second part, but the first part, of course not.

Once Astrid was down to her dark blue gambeson, she held up a finger. She took one of the flasks of water out of her bag and washed her face, her neck, and her arms. The enchantments on the quilted undergarment took care of the rest, and she was basically clean and ready to equip herself with the rest of her equipment after taking the single garment off and putting it back on. Looking into her bag, she could see in her mind’s eye that she was right, there was no other underlayment like everyone else had. Unlike Felix, she didn’t have one full set of armor that needed to be put together all that once in a meticulous, time consuming fashion. Instead, there was a heavy pair of boots that melded with thick, segmented greaves that went up to her waist. She couldn’t really see the details inside of the spatially expanded pouch, but the upper body’s armor was similar in design to the greaves, but there was something different about them. There wasn’t any way to tell from in the bag, and seeing how the items were ordered from greaves first, Astrid pulled her legs’ armor out first.

Felix and Muti were the most helpful in getting the armor on, given that they were the most familiar with armor themselves. In fact, Skandr stayed back while Benedict watched. As their fingers fastened the individual sections of the armor plating all the way up her legs, Astrid could feel the cycle of mana between the mana-blessed metal, which was neither steel nor dusksteel, and her body. As a child, her mana burn had happened so quickly that, paired with her complete lack of understanding of mana, she hadn’t felt anything other than pain. Now that she was, for the first time, wearing truly impactful equipment while having high enough stats to actually recognize the feel of mana’s flow, it was a strangely comfortable feeling.

Once the greaves and boots were on, Astrid pulled the upper body of her armor out of storage. Like the greaves, the armor was made of plates, nearly two centimeters thick, of this metal that Astrid didn’t recognize. Looking at it, they were strapped together perfectly, with an ingeniously attached underlayment of troll hide that made Astrid grin widely. As the armor was belted and cinched together in the back, with a faint hanging trail of chainmail hiding the attachment point, Astrid felt a swell of power as the mana cycled from most of her body into the two separate pieces of armor. Her hands and head were still uncovered, but Astrid could feel the change as her equipment enmeshed itself with her and granted her its attributes.

Despite being thick and made for dealing with heavy damage, the armor she wore fit together and moved so smoothly that it almost felt like wearing heavy clothing, not what she estimated to be at least 100 kilos of metal. She grinned as she held out her hands for the gloves that were coming. The fingers of the gloves were thick, but supple enough to move without difficulty. Along the outside of the gloves were finally articulated sections of the same silvery metal that made up her armor, each one faintly glittering with enchantments that tied each segment of armor together.

Two items remained, and Astrid decided to take out the shield first. As she put her arm through the straps to grab the handle, she appreciated the heft of the heater shield, not heavier than the more ordinary one that she’d been using until now. Not having to adjust to more weight, considering how much heavier her new armor was compared to her old suit, was much appreciated.

Finally, the new helmet came out, and Astrid stopped Muti from fastening it on her head just long enough to see the design clearly as her arming cap was tied under her chin. It was a barbute, but without the typical “Y” shaped hole to see out of. Instead, the face of the helm was basically featureless, without a hole to see out of or a visor to flip. As Astrid blinked, she shook her head and gestured for it to be placed on her head. Darkness enveloped her when the helm was put on, but as soon as the buckles were tightened, light filtered into her eyes. The solid metal in front of her misted until she could see everything in startling clarity, even as the helm remained solid. In fact, she was relatively sure that she could see better through the helmet than she usually could.

Finally, she was done waiting, and pulled her note of explanation out of her spatial pouch.

Most of your equipment is made of Dungeon Silver. In case you didn’t know—Dungeon Silver is immensely valuable and, more than that, temperamental. DO NOT EVER GET THIS REPAIRED BY SOMEONE WHO ISN’T AT LEAST HIGH STEEL TIER AND TRAINED BY THE GUILD. If you do not follow this instruction, they’ll probably ruin it.

Astrid involuntarily sucked a breath between her teeth. Dungeon Silver? She’d heard stories about its value, and how, depending on how deep in the Dungeon proper it was taken from, it was a constant in Dungeon exploration and escalating value. And all of her armor was made of it? She eagerly read onward.

Dungeon Silver platebody: enchanted for self-repair and mana channeling. Will strengthen the effects of any mana channelled through it, regardless of what attribute the mana is attuned to. Provides: +14 to Power, +12 to Alacrity, +20 to Fortitude, +11 to Magical Potency, +18 to Self-Mastery.

Dungeon Silver greaves: enchanted for self-repair and immobility. If mana is channeled through them, will keep the wearer’s stance grounded. Provides: +10 to Power, +15 to Alacrity, +10 to Fortitude.

Dungeon Silver gloves: enchanted for self-repair and Power mana channeling. Will strengthen the effects of Power channeled through them by 10%. Provides: +15 to Power, +6 to Fortitude, +8 to Magical Potency.

Dungeon Silver helm: enchanted for self-repair, enhanced vision, and Self-Mastery mana conversion. Any mana channeled through this helm will be converted to Self-Mastery protective mana. Provides: +11 to Fortitude, +11 to Self-Mastery, +4 to Acumen.

Dungeon Silver shield: enchanted for self-repair and durability. Provides: +5 to Power, +12 to Fortitude, +5 to Self-Mastery.

Total bonuses provided: +44 to Power, +27 to Alacrity, +59 to Fortitude, +19 to Magical Potency, +34 to Self-Mastery, +4 to Acumen, mana channeling conversion to Self-Mastery and Power.

Astrid grinned widely and, as seemed to be a requirement at this point, dismissed the armor with a thought. As soon as she did, she stood in a loose shirt and shorts, the breeze feeling quite nice on her legs and belly when she stretched. Then, with another thought and a negligible cost to her mana and stamina, the armor was back. She smiled widely and checked her Status.

Status

Name: Astrid 

Class: Immortal Warrior (Iron)

Total Level: 21 (0/50,000)

Attributes

Current

Per level growth

Power

120 (+44)

+12

Alacrity

76 (+27) [+34]

+9

Fortitude

121 (+59)

+12

Magical Potency

29 (+19)

+4

Self-Mastery

31 (+34)

+5

Acumen

30 (+4)

+4

Skill List

Immortal Warrior’s Aura (Iron)

Immortal Warrior’s Body (Iron)

Immortal Warrior’s Equipment (Iron)

Boon of Potentiation

Choice Available

Unlocked

With a wide smile, Astrid opened the Skill options while passing the note over to her companions. There were five choices provided, and every one held its own appeal.

Immovable Stance (Bronze): Increases the Skill holder’s Power and Fortitude by 10% while both feet are on solid ground. For a minor mana or stamina cost per minute, makes the Skill holder’s mass quadruple for the purpose of being moved against their will.

Armor Mastery (Iron): Increases the effect and attributes granted by all armor worn by 40%. While wearing armor, the Skill’s holder will be passively assisted by ambient mana to reduce the strain of wearing heavy armor, which can be used in any active use of mana as tied to the Fortitude attribute.

Meteor Strike (Iron): For a Moderate cost of mana and stamina, infuses a weapon of the Skill holder’s choice with kinetic and explosive energy which will be expended upon contact after an overhand blow. Scales with Power and Magical Potency.

Spectre Burst (Iron): For a Moderate cost of mana and stamina, infuses a weapon of the Skill holder’s choice with deathly energy which will expand and burst upon contact with a foe. Scales with Power and Magical Potency.

Then there was the fifth Skill… untiered, but still tempting. Astrid read its description again, unsure of what to choose.