First Encounters
I stood up and patted the non-existent dirt from my coat out of force of habit. The entire hallway looked pristine, dustless. The broken lockers actually lost their doors, disintegrating like the beaten bodies of the creatures that came from them, leaving them open. It's wh The crater the brute left after its attack smoothed over, probably when I was in a meditative state.
It was weird, seeing no evidence of my near death encounters, not even a souvenir.
I saw something glinting on the floor. The same place the [Crystal Brute] died. It looked faintly like broken glass and it was the only thing out of place. Was it some kind of trap? Or loot, maybe?
I approached it carefully. I don't particularly want to be ambushed again, even if it looks small and harmless.
Actually, let's not approach it at all, yeah?
I cast [Observe].
[Purified Shard Fragment (Crystal Brute) - Rare]
Collect 50 to Synthesize: (Purified Crystal Shard – Brute Variant).
I looked at the text box incredulously. What the hell is that? Why would I want to make a Shard? Isn't it the thing that's messing with my head? The primary reason I have to fight to get out of here? I sighed. This System is confusing the hell out of me.
I picked it up hesitantly and put it in my inventory. I'll trust that the words 'purified' in that description weren't tacked on for design. Maybe the mind-fuck abilities were purged from it?
Guess I'll find out when I get fifty of the thing.
Now, how to find the school's canteen?
With great time and effort, apparently. Four hours of continuous walking, bashing lockers open, fighting steadily escalating enemies, getting hit enough times to die thrice, leveling up to level 7 and staying undecided on how to distribute my stat points, leveling up [Mana Bolt] twice- I finally reached a new place.
An intersection of similar looking hallways. I know, pretty anticlimactic, but it's a break from the linear path I've been walking. Actually makes me feel like I'm progressing through life instead of just running the treadmill like an emaciated hamster.
Which way do I go though? I observed my surroundings, looking for some sort of sign. Winslow had directories once, but they were vandalized so much the management decided to just take them away. Let the students find their own way. Nothing teaches independence better than throwing kids to the wolves. And if they run into some Merchants doing drugs? Or run into some E88 or ABB wannabes? Not the school's problem, kid should have known to avoid those sorts of people.
Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but my opinion on Blackwell and her stooges reached the negatives a long time ago. Coincidentally, it has also been that long since I last went to the cafeteria. That was a place I would never set foot in if I had a choice. It was practically hostile territory as far as I'm concerned. To be fair, it was hostile territory to anyone who wasn't included in cliques. Unsurprisingly, that 'anyone' was me.
Hell, even Greg Veder had friends. Greg. Veder.
I sighed. I went off on a bit of a tangent there. Where was I? Ah, looking for signs! There, attached to the wall posts.
Cafeteria, go right. Gym, go left. Library, go straight. I blinked at the last one. Winslow had a library? I probably scratched it off early on as a hiding spot and forgot about it. Emma knew I was a nerd, after all. Nerds hide in libraries. It would also give them some more damaging pranks, like hiding books I borrowed, forcing me to pay for them. No thanks.
I stepped into the crossroad- and instinctively ducked when I heard a bang from the central hallway and three pings from [Danger Sense]. A barrage of crystals intersected into my position, some of the projectiles hitting each other and showering my crouched form in broken shrapnel.
I [Quick Dodged] my way out of the crossfire, eyes roving for the target
There. Hiding in a locker in the middle hallway. I couldn't see anything from the left and right hallways, but I'm betting a similar looking rock-man is there.
It emerged from its locker; tall, thin, and crystalline. I would have mistaken it for a malnourished [Crystal Minion] if it weren't for the color-shifting mace it calls a hand. I looked above its head, hoping to see its name and level, but there wasn't any. Just a line of question marks and an HP bar on top of an SP bar.
I cast [Observe] to identify the creature.
[Crystal Blaster] LVL 10
150 HP
100 SP
A defender of the Shard. Fast long range skirmisher.
Three casts of [Mana Bolt] with my current INT count. I ran towards cover, a line of indestructible lockers, and opened my statistics page. 2 points into INT should be enough to breach 80 Magic Damage with [Mana Bolt], which now does 4 times my intelligence stat as damage.
Crystals barraged the floor near my hiding spot, lodging deep into the concrete before dissipating into motes of light in a few seconds. I poked my head and right hand out of cover, preparing to launch a [Mana Bolt] at the first target I could see.
Two of the bastards were still hidden, probably still in the corridors they came from. The other, the one from the center, was just aiming down the hallway I'm in, its kaleidoscopic fists shifting, collecting sharp needles. Probably to launch at me. That means it has a cooldown before firing its needles at me. I popped out of cover and fired my [Mana Bolt], immediately preparing another. My first bolt hit, staggering it, so I sent the second bolt on its way. It fell and shattered, leaving behind a familiar looking shattered glass behind.
I'll pick it up later, when the fight's over. I cautiously walked towards the edge of the hallway, a few feet away from actually stepping a foot into the crossroads turned crossfire. Sticking my back towards the line of lockers on the left side of the hall, the one I was just hiding behind, I leaned my body left to peek at the right hallway.
Crystalline needles flew straight for my head. All I could do was raise my arm in surprise and defense, trying to protect my eyes from damage.
[GUI Updated]
[Block Skill Gained.]
[-25.5 HP]
I saw my HP bar from the corner of my vision lose some of its red. I heard footsteps rapidly come from my left.
Coming to rescue its friend, eh? I dropped my bat to free up both of my hands, activated [Brave Roar], and launched myself towards the intersection. I turned to the left first, [Mana Bolts] glowing blue on my palms as I activated my [Double Cast] skill.
The moment I saw the monster's stunned form, I released the bolts. I didn't even stop to look at its disappearance, just spun to face the, for the lack of better term, reloading Blaster Crystal. [Double Cast] [Mana Bolt] again- and that's three for three.
I glanced at my nearly empty MP bar. 100 points, down the drain. [Double Cast], while extremely useful, also doubled the mana cost of the spell I'm casting. I also can't cast two different spells, and it also requires me to free up both of my hands, which is why I had to drop my trusty bat on the ground.
Speaking of. I walked back towards where my bat fell and picked it back up. I'll have to rely on it until my Mana replenishes. I've long since ran out of [Water Bottles] in the four hours I've been trudging through that hallway, even resorting to drinking mid-fight.
I take back everything I've said about not eating while fighting. A granola bar saved me from the brink of death once and ever since, I've kept one in my coat's pockets. Fighting a brute was easy, but fighting two of them? My [Mana Cannon] may have obliterated the other one, but against the second... There wasn't much I could do but [Quick Dodge] to save myself getting hit by its [Heavy Swings] and drink water.
Guess it was angry by the death of it's fellow rock-man that it forgot about its [Brave Roar] skill. Either that or its cost was higher than mines. It was a harrowing experience, but I managed to whittle its health down by spamming [Mana Bolt].
Is this what Legend feels? Or, a little closer to home, Laserdream? I would have said Purity but she's a Nazi so... nope.
Now that I think about it, isn't there a new cape with crystal related abilities? Pretty recent rogue and barely has any footage but, from what little there was, she was a red-haired Changer-Brute with minor Blaster powers.
Which involved shooting crystals out of her fists. I frowned. That's probably a coincidence. A rogue she may be, but she was leaning more towards independent hero. Like Shadow Stalker before she got inducted into the Wards. A hero wouldn't attack a random worthless student from a similarly worthless school, right? I mean, there are better targets, like Arcadia.
I sighed. That's a thought for later.
I looked down at the floor again and picked up the broken Shard Fragment.
[Purified Shard Fragment (Crystal Blaster) - Rare]
Collect 50 to Synthesize: (Purified Crystal Shard – Blaster Variant).
All of these special creature drop them, despite the Rare rating it has. That means I now have three [Blaster Variant Fragments], and five [Brute Variant Fragments].
[Post Action Results]
+600 EXP
Level UP!
[Skills Gained and Improved:]
[Block] LVL 1 (Active) (5 SP)
Reduces damage by 5%-10%.
Huh, so that's what it does. I wouldn't try blocking a Brute's attacks with that but against small the small fry, definitely. Helpful in tanking these needle dispensers' attacks and minion punches, as long as they still do the same damage they're doing.
I highly doubt it.
I opened my statistics sheet and invested five points into INT, WIS, VIT, END and STR. 3 points into WIS, just to make things equal at 20 points and... that's all of my remaining stat points.
There, I'm at least equal in health compared to Level 8 Brutes, my bat would deal 40 damage on hit, assuming they don't block it, and I can spam [Mana Bolt] twelve times before needing to recharge. Even then, I'd be able to throw more every minute that passes by with my improved WIS stat.
I pressed confirm and watched my status bars grow.
Time to move on. I turned towards the right hallway and started bashing lockers. Fun.
It took me two hours. Two hours to reach the vicinity of the cafeteria's entrance. I can actually see the doors! By now, it would probably take me 3 hours to go back to the [Safe Zone], monster fights deducted and [Sprint] enabled. That's how deep I am into this dungeon. The lockers petered out about an hour and a half of the way, replaced by crystalline pillars. The walls were covered by a creep of glowing rocks, like those fantasy caves filled with magical crystal outcroppings. At first, I thought it was just a weird design, but the deeper I went into the hallway, the more frequent they popped up until the walls were practically just covered in crystals.
It was beautiful, honestly. Unnatural, but beautiful.
I ducked, avoiding the Brute's wild swing. Focus, Taylor. I launched a [Mana Bolt] from my palm and hopped back. MP's drained. Need to buy time for regen.
You'd think that the lack of lockers would speed up my journey, or at least allow me to take in the breathtaking sights, but no. In those thirty minutes, I only have, at best, 3 minute breaks before another wave gets sent. All of it because of this thing standing guard in front of my goal.
[Crystal Master] LVL 8
100 HP
200 SP
A defender of the Shard. Summoner.
This pest kept on sending hordes of low level minions my way, trying to overwhelm me. Sometimes they were low level minions, like waves of five level 3 [Crystal Minions] that barely gave me any experience points, and sometimes it sent a full entourage of [Brutes] and [Blasters].
There were so many of the bastards that my [Mana Cannon] has leveled up once, now dealing 25% damage to creatures nearby the main target, same goes with my [Mana Bolt] which now releases two bolts for one spell cast but the second bolt deals 50% of the first bolt's damage. Maybe one day it'll start homing in on enemies.
I've collected twenty-five Shard Fragments, fifteen of which were Blaster Variants and ten Brute Variants. That's how many of them were sent my way in 30 minutes.
At least I leveled up twice from the previous encounters.
I had hoped that it, the [Crystal Master], would be the sub-boss, but looking at its level, I doubt it is. At the current rate of things, the Sub-boss is probably behind those double doors that marked the Canteen entrance.
I dodged another swing from the recently summoned level 10 [Brute] with a [Quick Dodge]. My last attack managed to whittle its HP down to half, at about 150 points with multiple casts of my favorite low-cost spell. It was just too bad that I ran out of mana.
You know what, damn it all. I cast [Quick Dodge] multiple times, making distance between me and the murderous rock, and opened my statistics sheet and dumped all of my newly earned points into WIS and hit confirm. 15 MP per minute. I quickly ran the numbers in my head. That means I have 0.25 MP regen per second. 40 seconds to get 10 MP.
I looked at the giant rock sprinting towards me. 10 MP, 153 total damage. I glanced at the SP bar of the [Crystal Master] and smirked when I saw that it was empty. Must have poured its last into this dumb brute.
Just when I thought that, the dumb brute cast [Brave Roar]. Damn it, I'm stunned. Theirs last for 3 seconds, unlike my measly 1. Fuck. If that thing casts [Heavy Swing]-
And it did. Its arm was glowing mid-downward swing.
I looked at it through stunned but narrowed eyes. Focus, Taylor. Don't panic.
Three second stun. It won't make it to me as long as I react fast enough.
Two.
One.
"[Quick Dodge]!" I shouted, kicking my foot of the ground, throwing myself backwards. I watched, as if in slow motion, the fist miss me by mere inches. The shock waves its fist caused threw me a little bit more. Dust flew in every direction, coming from the pulverized floor the crystalline arm hit.
I would definitely hate to be the floor right now. I stood up and waited, preparing my right arm to cast.
I glanced at my mana bar and grinned viciously. I waited for the dust to settle, to get a clearer view on my target. It's arm was still stuck in the floor.
Heh. Time to die, brute.
My bolts hit it, and it shattered into light.
I redirected my attention at the thing that caused me a lot of trouble for the past... forty-five minutes now. I slow walked towards its position and took note of its status. 10 MP, come on.
Its HP bar was still full, but its SP bar barely had anything in it. I watched it scramble back, its crystalline body slamming into the double doors at the end of the hallway. The same doors it was protecting.
It summoned another creature, a...
A level 1 Crystal Minion. I scoffed and swatted it with my bat. The minion flew towards the wall and shattered into light. I continued my approach, and hit it with my bat once. The [Master] staggered and fell down.
If I didn't know any better, the thing actually looked like it was terrified.
Seriously. It has 100 HP, it should at least fight back, like throw a punch or something. I stood over its hunched form and activated [Heavy Swing] to end its miserable existence.
Done.
[Post Action Results]
+710 EXP
I picked up the fragment the Master left, and walked back towards the [Brute] fragment I forgot to pick up.
[Purified Shard Fragment (Crystal Master) - Rare]
Collect 50 to Synthesize: (Purified Crystal Shard – Master Variant).
Great. I turned my attention towards the doors that marked an end to this hallway. If my instincts were right, then every single one of those hallways in the intersection led to a boss fight. I'm not entering that place without replenishing my MP and SP.
What if the sub-boss was a gigantic [Crystal Brute] at like, level 50 or something.
Nah, that's a very gigantic step up from level 10's. I haven't even encountered a level 15 yet.
I sat on the now pristine floor and activated [Meditate]. Just a five minute break.
I stood before the double doors. Last checks of my stuff before I enter. Bat, equipped. Three granola bars in my lab coat pockets, [First Aid Kit] in my first inventory slot, followed by the kitchen knife just in case I can't pick up my bat, then other recovery items... Yeah. That's all I have.
I pressed a hand against the double doors.
[Entering Sub-boss Room]
[Good Luck.]
And entered.
The cafeteria did not look like a cafeteria. It looked more like a very large cave covered by pink and purple quartz. From the floors, to the walls, to the ceiling covered in beautiful stalactites- it's all covered in glowing, glittering crystals. Scattered across the floor were tall crystal obelisks, pulsing with an internal light. The chairs and tables were trashed and pushed aside, piling on the corners of the room. Odd.
The breathtaking qualities of the room felt ominous in the eerie silence. Like the stalactites hanging from the ceiling would fall on my head. There was nothing else in the room. In the far end of the wide room was what I assumed was the kitchen. That's probably where I can get some more recovery items.
I took a step forward, and promptly stumbled when the room started shaking. I ran to cover, behind an obelisk nearby. I peeked my head out of cover to look for the source.
There! Is that a giant crystal descending from the ceiling? Oh no. I swear to Scion, if the sub-boss is the one I joked about, I will get out of this room consequences be damned.
I cast [Observe] on the still descending crystal. How big is this thing? The room was still shaking.
[Crystal Chrysalis] ?
?
Chrysalis? So it's probably not the sub-boss, but the container of the boss. It stopped halfway of the room's height, hanging on the ceiling eerily. I noticed the lights from the other crystals in the room dim, whilst the giant one in the center of the room, the one that already overshadowed everything, glowed brighter and brighter until-
I covered my eyes with my right arm and returned to cover, hiding behind the obelisk. Hiding from the flash of light and the loud sound of shattering crystal, holding on to the crystal outcrop for stability as the shaking of the room intensified.
[Danger Sense] pinged and I instinctively cast[Quick Dodge]. Just in time as a spike dropped from the ceiling, crashing into my previous position. Called it. [Danger Sense] pinged again and I looked up, trying to plan my next few steps.
[Quick Dodge] to the left, right, forward, back again, left, left, stop. A loud crack resounded in the room and the earthquake stopped.
I sighed in relief. Now then, where's this sub-boss? I turned my gaze down, temporarily safe from death by falling spike. I blinked in shock. The Chrysalis was broken open, and directly under it stood a form I can vaguely recognize. I cast [Observe].
[Krystalia - ?] LVL 25
1,500 HP
1,000 SP
Sub-boss of the Emergency Dimensional Shard Space. A teenager infested by the Crystal Shard.
That's Krystalia. The new cape I was talking about. Except, it can't be her. She's an independent hero! She wouldn't attack a- No. No. Calm down. Think. The Shard I'm fighting, the one that's messing with me. It has to be a Trump or, or a Master. That has to be the reason why-
"Taylor. I'm surprised to see you here. I expected to see you cry and wait for someone to rescue you."
Her voice sounding ethereal, interrupted my thoughts. There was something familiar about it. That tone, the way she speaks. The way she said those words with- with false kindness. It all felt familiar. I narrowed my eyes and took in her features. She was wearing a form-fitting white spandex with pink and purple highlights, accentuating her model-like body. Red hair, flowing freely, green eyes glowing in the low light, barely hidden by the black domino mask she was wearing.
I felt [Gamer's Mind] slam down in my brain, but it barely held against the flood of anger that surged through my body.
"Emma." I growled, anger infusing itself into the name. Emma was here. The reason why my life has been hell for the past years. The reason why I'm stuck fighting for my life here. She's here.
"My, you don't sound happy to see me. I thought we were friends, Tay-tay." She cooed mockingly.
"Friends!? You tried to kill me!"
[Warning: Administrator Shard Gaining Influence.]
"Well you're still alive, aren't you? You look stronger too. Maybe after this, we can be true friends again."
"After what you did to me; after everything that you did to me, I'd sooner die than be anything with you ever again."
"Die? And then what, leave your father alone, crying for a week like you did when your mother died?"
Red filled my vision. Unbridled rage filled my mind, clouding my rationality so much that I barely gave a shit about the pings the System was sending me. Maybe if I did, I would have been worried about what was happening to me.
[Gamer's Mind has met a fatal error.]
{Elation}
{Excitement}
[Gamer Inflicted with Berserk.]
But in that moment, all I wanted to do in life was beat the shit out of Emma.
A/N: Thank you so much for the support! This was me trying to actually get to the plot of things, and me trying a slightly different way of writing. Less numbers, integrated skill description, things like that. I'm honestly nervous about posting this, but uh- here. Please review and criticisms are absolutely listened to, but please be kind. I probably messed up the characterization again, so apologies if Taylor is a bit OOC.
Statistics:
Taylor Hebert
Level 10 - 700/2,500
HP: 200/200 (20 HP/Min)
SP: 100/100 (10 SP/Min)
MP: 127/127 (15 MP/Min)
Stats:
STR - 20
VIT - 20
END - 20.1
INT - 25.5
WIS - 30.25
CHA - 12
LUK - 11
Frequently Used Skills:
[Quick Dodge] LVL 4 (Active) (5 SP)
Increases dodge distance per level up.
[Mana Bolt] LVL 5 (Active) (10 MP)
4 * INT damage. Fires two bolts in which the second one deals 50% less damage.
[Mana Cannon] LVL 2 (Active) (Drain MP)
Damage depends on mana remaining. 2 * MP Magical Damage. Deals 25% splash damage.
[Heavy Swing] LVL 3 (Active) (10 SP)
50% Increased damage. Higher chance of stun.
Status Ailments:
Berserk - ?