The next two months were spent in intense training with Sotarr, who only left their sides sporadically for a day or two at a time.
They frequently delved into Nivareth, steadily increasing their levels and acquiring a significant number of scales. However, none matched the unique ones they had received for slaying the two eldritch monstrosities. Instead, they found that alongside the silver scales, there were bronze and golden varieties, which typically dropped from boss monsters or as rewards for completing challenges.
They all made significant progress, with Viv advancing the most. Having participated in fewer hunts before, she had fallen behind in levels quite a bit and had benefited from a rapid influx of records that helped her catch up and develop new prepared skills under Sotarr’s tutelage.
To Alistair’s surprise, Viv listened intently to Sotarr’s teachings. There was an unspoken respect between them, and Alistair presumed it stemmed from an instinctual deference beasts like Viv showed toward dragons and other high-tier creatures.
Toward the end of the two months, Alistair had leveled up three whole levels and upgraded his Summoner’s and teleportation skills, and he was just 1 level away from his next skill selection. Riseth’s progress was even more impressive, nearly closing the gap created by King’s Draconic Ascension.
Tier: [Epic]
Skill Name: Summoner
Description: The user's ability to find and connect to a suitable shard of the [Summoner's Planes] in order to store contracted summons within is greatly improved. Overall [MP] cost scales with the level and tier of the summon/s and the summoner's Grade and summoning affinity as well as his [Control] statistic. The summoner's maintenance cost is greatly reduced. The cost of the initial summoning and dismissing a summon is vastly reduced. There is a large reduction in maintenance cost for each additional summon currently active.
The user has a greatly Improved awareness of any summons status and location; the user provides his summons with a copy of his [Akashic Link] skill and its features.
This skill greatly buffs all the summons' stats by scaling off the Summoner's users' own stat total at a high efficiency.
-
Tier: [Epic]
Skill Name: Blink
Description: The user can teleport anywhere within his [Senses] regardless of obstacles other than magical interference at the cost of a minuscule amount of [MP] or [Qi] for each activation, with the cost scaling slightly based on interference and obstacles.
The user's body augmentations, inherent magic resistance, Statistics, and skill level greatly decrease the efficiency of any magical or natural interference, significantly increasing the skill's resistance against hostile abilities.
-
Tier: [Epic]
Skill Name: Switch Teleport
Description: The user can immediately switch positions with another individual who either consents or fails to resist the user's use of this skill. After the skill is used, both the user and the target have their speed greatly accelerated for a short period, unless the target is designated as hostile, in which case they receive no acceleration. The skill's range is limited to the user's [Senses].
The user's body augmentations, inherent magic resistance, Statistics, and skill level greatly decrease the efficiency of any magical or natural interference, significantly increasing the skill's resistance against hostile abilities.
Alistair marveled at his newly upgraded Summoner’s skill. What had once been a mild boost to his summons’ power and a reduction in cost now significantly empowered them. Even more impressive, it now properly shared his Akashic Link skill with all of its functionalities with his summons.
He hadn't expected this to be possible, but now that he knew that it was, he would aim to share more of his skills with his summons; though he suspected not every skill was as compatible and flexible as the Akashic Link skill, he might still succeed sharing some of his skills.
The second set of skills he worked on were his teleportation abilities, which had been stuck at [Uncommon] and [Rare]. His first delve into Nivareth had made it clear how lackluster they had become. While he no longer relied heavily on teleportation due to it being one of the most frequently suppressed and targeted abilities, their shortcomings still needed to be addressed.
Sotarr had put him through a relentless gauntlet, with Riseth and his mother doing everything in their power to suppress his teleportation. Though he ultimately failed to overcome their interference, the resistance of his skills to suppression improved drastically. By the end of the training, both Blink and Switch Teleport had upgraded to [Epic].
While they focused on training and hunting, the rest of the clan had begun work on the grand array. They had designated a strip of land outside Rathos, utilizing a pre-existing natural formation to enhance the array’s power. Melissa had taken charge of the project, her expertise in rituals and arrays making her the obvious choice.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
At the same time, Nessyra was preparing for the upcoming auction, organizing the treasures and crafted items they planned to sell. While many in the clan had wanted to attend, only Alistair, Riseth, Nessyra, and Denodia would be going. Alistair, Riseth, and Nessyra were required for diplomatic meetings, while Denodia’s role was to assist Nessyra in the bidding wars.
The mermaid had been hesitant at first, but Nessyra had successfully bribed her with the promise of rare materials she would get to work with.
"Alistair, you and Viv are up next," Sotarr’s voice rang out.
"Are you ready?" Alistair asked, glancing down at Viv.
"Of course I am," she replied smoothly, before leaping into his shadow, which immediately began to crawl over his form as she activated her Cloak of Shadows skill.
King squared up on the other side of the ring. Alistair could intimately feel the anticipation radiating from the young dragon as cursed flames started to flicker over his form and claws. Alistair met King's gaze with an eager grin of his own.
Sotarr clapped his clawed hand, the sharp sound ringing through the room and drawing their attention back to him. "This battle will be limited to close-range combat, which means no blasts or breath attacks!" he announced, his gaze shifting to Alistair and Viv.
"Alistair, your task is to stay mostly on the defensive. Your goal is to defend against King and extinguish his curse flame using your Fire of Purity. Viv, your job is to absorb and synthesize the cursed energy into something usable for yourself or Alistair."
Turning to King, a small smile tugged at his draconic features. "King, you can go to town now."
King let out a roar that reverberated through their private arena. The intense Dragon Fear washed over them, temporarily freezing Viv in place as she shuddered the shadows across Alistair's body, coiling wildly.
King loped toward them, his flames building to a crescendo. He felt power surge through him as Viv's Energy Convergence skill connected to him. He could intimately sense how the energies cycled and Synthesized inside her body as their energies exchanged and grew more potent at a rapid pace.
Alistair, for his part, activated his boosting skills and began to manually activate his Forcebound Momentum. He needed every ounce of power he could muster, as the stat difference between him and King remained stark. This disparity was only exacerbated by his own Summoner’s skill, which further empowered the dragon.
King clawed his way toward them in moments. Alistair extended his right hand, his Telekinesis enveloping the dragon to stall his charge. But it wasn’t enough. King’s magical weight was far too great, and Alistair, not for the first time, attempted to extend his Chrono Seizing Hand skill through his Telekinesis. The effort managed to slow King just enough for Alistair to sidestep the dragon’s flame-wreathed swipe with ease. He watched as the flickering curse flames were drawn into the shadows crawling over his body.
King spun rapidly, his claws gouging deep furrows into the floor. In a blur of cursed flames and power, his blade-like tail lashed out, the strike coming with lethal precision.
Alistair swiftly activated Telekinetic Death From Above, maneuvering himself over King’s sweeping tail. With precision, he brought his poleaxe crashing down to meet the incoming strike. An ear-shattering clang echoed through the room as sparks erupted, and the air around them was rapidly displaced by the force of the impact. Alistair held firm, kinetic energy surging through his body as two glowing spheres popped into existence around him, their energy crackling in tandem.
However, King’s cursed flames washed over him in the aftermath, their dark magic clawing at his defenses. It felt like a swarm of ants biting and burrowing, each attempting to pierce his skin. Yet, wherever Viv’s shadows flowed over his form, the cursed flames were absorbed instantly, neutralizing their invasive power before they could take hold.
Alistair retaliated with a flash of brilliantly white and silvery flames that washed over King’s body. The dragon let out an indignant roar, the black flames enveloping him surging in response, snuffing out the purity flames in the blink of an eye.
As Alistair descended, his poleaxe lashed out toward one of King’s legs, aiming to hamstring it. King’s head, snaked out with blinding speed, his armored face opening to reveal a maw lined with razor-sharp teeth as he snapped at Alistair. Reacting instantly, Alistair converted both kinetic spheres into raw power, swinging the hammer side of his poleaxe to deflect King’s head, the force of the blow sending it careening aside.
Utilizing the momentum of the swing, Alistair spun rapidly, building momentum before lashing out with his poleaxe. The weapon scraped along King’s tough scales, the force of the swing cracking them and leaving a deep gash.
King let out a guttural snarl of pain, flames licking at the edges of his maw. Yet, at the last moment, he suppressed the instinct to unleash his breath attack. Instead, he beat his wings powerfully, repositioning himself with blinding speed while lashing out with his claws.
Alistair attempted to dodge, but a sudden wave of pain crashed over him as King used his accumulated pain by activating his Accursed Retaliation, forcing Alistair to block the incoming strike instead.
He managed to siphon much of the momentum and channel all of the kinetic energy, but the impact still drove him backward. Another kinetic sphere burst from his body, crackling with power as he steadied himself.
Viv worked tirelessly, absorbing the cursed flames that relentlessly washed over them. She synthesized their chaotic energy into pure mana, channeling it directly into Alistair’s straining reserves.
In turn, Alistair converted the flow of mana into torrents of white and silver flames. They surged over King’s scales, clashing fiercely with the dragon’s Hexfire Shroud. The Flames of Purity proved effective against the cursed flames, unraveling parts of King’s shroud as they collided.
But the sheer gap in power and mastery between the two flames was too great. Even with the support of Viv and the empowerment from Forcebound Momentum, Alistair couldn’t generate enough energy to overwhelm King’s flames completely.
King’s draconic heart beat fast and strong, cursed energy surging through his massive form like an unrelenting inferno.
Even with his ability to convert energy, Alistair couldn’t hope to match King’s ability to regenerate it. This meant he stood no chance of fully extinguishing the flames. But that wasn’t the true goal of this exercise.
He was aiming to acquire Forcebound Momentum and Flames of Purity as full-fledged skills in his upcoming selection.
At the start of their training two months ago, Sotarr had advised him that, now that he had a solid selection of core skills, he could afford to create a handful of abilities that utilized strong affinities outside the web of his core concept.
Taking the advice to heart, Alistair had reviewed his strongest known affinities, searching for clear compatibility that could complement his existing kit.
His affinity for Purity was remarkably strong, bolstered by both his species and his Heavenly Purity Body Cultivation, which significantly amplified its potency.
Nephilim weren’t inherently tied to Purity, as their affinities often depended heavily on their Origin. However, Sotarr had concurred with Alistair’s theory that his Body Cultivation likely played a significant role in influencing his Nephilim evolution path, steering him toward this alignment.
Alistair had primarily used his Purity affinity defensively, integrating it into his skills and body enchantments. Yet, as he considered his affinities and skill options, he realized how well his fire-related affinities complemented Purity.
He often faced opponents he considered corrupted or unholy, including vampires, undead, eldritch monstrosities, and more—all of whom were vulnerable to Flames of Purity. Considering how frequently these races were represented by the Syndicate, it became clear that this skill would be a valuable asset.
Considering this, he started honing the skill while also working on Forcebound Momentum. After months of effort, the results were finally becoming apparent.
Alistair couldn’t help but feel a little pride in King as he watched the white and black flames clash, weaving together in a chaotic dance. He sidestepped and blocked swipes and bites from King, who met his grin with a wicked smile of his own.
