Spell Upgrade
Arcane Slash
Level 1 -----> 2 -----> 3 -----> 4 -----> 5 ----->
6
Base Damage: 150 -----> 300 -----> 450 -----> 600 -----> 750 ----->
900
Magic Modifier: 25 -----> 50 -----> 75 -----> 100 -----> 125 ----->
150
Affinity: Story Maker
Ability: Unblockable | Echo
New Ability: Trans Smasher (attack ignores existence bonuses of higher growth Magical Girls and Divine Beings, allowing to bypass even the latters' morality barriers which prevent most mortals from targeting them. Technically exclusive to War-Affinities, but this one is complicated;
That Which is Forbidden and direct contact with the deity in question allow to wield it)
There is a certain irony in the fact people keep being right on the milestones despite the fact I made it so they are difficult to predict. Then again, this one was probably because of a lack of EXP to spend
150 EXP spent
11 remain
Seeing the area from up high is decidedly weird; not necessarily because of the perspective, but because a slender arm is slung around your waist. You mentioned earlier that you wondered how it felt to fly, and Lu offered to give you a taste of it.
Most people would have described the sensation instead, but you are not really surprised; your friend is not the talking kind and far more about actually taking action.
"This new spell of yours is interesting," she notes after a while of soft gliding; Angels project force with every feather of their wings to fly, so they do not need to flap them at all. You could say the same to her about all the magical things she can do, but you get what she means.
"Yeah. It's hilariously simple and yet so horribly effective that I don't even really want to use it in our spars." As you found out, it is some kind a spatial manipulation that ensures your strike hits its mark no matter what. May they dodge or try to deflect, or even just to catch it, it phases through all of it. "I can actually see it at work; the spell basically follows your moves and then slaps you. Or, well, it tries to."
Seeing that Lu has an anti-magic weapon, she can at least do something about it. Or rather, she can pulse that property to delete Arcane Slash entirely, seeing that it ignores her cross.
"So I noticed." Lu slows down a little further, though you could follow everything quite well so far, and carefully rearranges you in her hold. "It is no game-changer of its own, but a basically guaranteed strike to the neck can be a powerful tool, especially with those echoes."
You nod at that, watching the colourful flows of mana below; from this far up, you can even see the thick streams of leylines below ground and how they feed into the vast array under the Keep. You had quite a few interesting ideas for what to do with Arcane Slash, though some will be unusable as always and most of the rest is going to be difficult to pull off.
"I'll just have to be careful about when to use it. Argent Star is pretty useful as well, so it's more about choosing the right tool for the job."
"Quite."
The ensuing silence brings you back to your previous session; aside from the warping property, you got a better idea of those echoes the spell does. They are irregular, but also much faster than those of Argent Star. About a heartbeat passes between the impact of the initial attack and its echo; you actually tested it to make sure that something leaving your spell's reach while the echo moves does not stop the hit; every echo will follow no matter what, as long as the target was initially in reach.
What is also interesting, aside from the spell's fast growth, is its corrosive attribute. It is mostly dormant, but you can tell it is there; this one feels off in a way you can not describe, yet achingly familiar. Without ever having used it, you can tell it is not really power but desire. The desire to overcome, to strike that which you shall not strike. This one property, you feel, may be the closest to your nature; raw defiance filtered into a corrosive effect.
You have the feeling it will reveal its true power someday; either if you poke it into doing something like Lu suggested, or if you end up fighting an enemy strong enough to trigger it.
Existence Bonuses, as Trans Smasher targets, belong to Magical Girls of higher growth and comparable existences. The former are the most straightforward about it, though.
Starting at Story, if a Magical Girl's attack or spell carries their growth Affinity, it also carries their Existence Bonus, which is a situational modifier that represents them putting the weight of their very existence into an attack. Story receives +100, Myth +200, Legend +300, Epic +400, and Divinity +500.
If an enemy attacks with their existence backing the attack, one's own existence will automatically move to counter; for Heidi, this would mean if she targets a higher-growth Magical Girl with Arcane Slash, which carries her Story Maker Affinity, their own Existence would move against it and improve the target's defense. Trans Smasher allows for this to be made a non-issue, as it nullifies the bonus.
You just hope it will not be anytime soon. Though now you are wondering whether it would do anything to Elisabeth or Argus; they are certainly powerful.
"Are you considering which of our ideas are worthwhile?" You shake your head against your friend's chest, though you probably should put some more thought into that soon.
"Not really, just wondering what kind of enemy the corrosion might work on. Any ideas what could be strong enough?"
Lu sways in the wind for a moment, almost completely still now as she thinks. You give her the moment and look at the mountaintops in the distance; Sharon's Keep is far away now, though Lu followed the leyline's path to some extent.
When your friend speaks, her response is measured: "I can think of three, none of which you ever want to face. First being Archangels; though their individual strength varies, they are quite a bit more powerful than most anything you could find on this world." You nod understandingly; Archangels are a big deal.
Though you also feel that there is something unsaid about them. "You ever fought any before? Aside from Metatron?" You quickly add the last part with another glance at the mountains, recalling the origin of their name.
"One. They bleed and die like any Angel against me, but you could not take one of them."
Her response is curt and though it makes a bit of anger bubble in your core over being told to be unable to do something, you have to agree with Lu. "Makes sense. What are the other two?"
"The second," she continues while nimbly dodging a flock of birds, "are actual gods. Divine beings, Heidi, should never be on your list of opponents. I do not think many of them would even care about a being as small as you or me, but I know you. Trying to think of a way to kill a god sounds like something you would do."
You make a face, though she can not really see it. "Harsh. But fair." She has a point; on the other hand, you never really thought of Gaia as someone to defy and still do not; she is the planet you live on. Just there, always there. Perhaps she is doing something in the background, but you never even heard about any such thing. And as long as you do not know, you can not get mad about it. Great, now you are curious about what Gaia gets up to. "And the third?"
Lu's silence successfully diverts your attention from Gaia; it holds for an uncomfortable five seconds or so until she speaks a single word: "Dragons."
Her answer immediately fills your mind with large scaled beasts, flying through the air with mighty breaths of fire. "Dragons? There are dragons around?" Now you want to see one.
Lu quickly shakes her head, though. "No, and do not dare to look for them. Dragons are the original reason for the creation of the Archangels. I do not know what stories there are about them on your world, but they are not to be approached. They are the gods' natural predators, as their very presence devours all reality around them. A divine being will die if even one such beast stays around, and even their smallest form, the wyvern, could maul its way through most of the army currently on Sheol."
You pause at Lu's unusual insistence, but her explanation makes it understandable. "Okay, yeah. That sounds nasty. I always thought they made Archangels... well, I never even knew they
made them, but I always thought they were for fighting Hell."
You hear a humourless chuckle while Lu flaps her wings once, not out of necessity but for effect. "They are nowadays. Few Dragons pass through the local dimensional cluster; the Elvin Empire possesses an ancient blade which can kill them, and I know for a fact that the Fairies managed to... devour one. Do not ask me how," she pre-empts your question. "I just heard that it happened long ago."
...'here there be dragons', except with the meaning completely inverted. The thought has you grin, even though you wonder what the Fairies might have done. Or what that sword is.
Well, questions for later. Or someone else. "Anyway, you have a point; I really don't want to fight any of those three." Though you immediately have to stop yourself from thinking that maybe you can give it a try at some point; this is not about your whims, it is about your survival. Living comes before trying to prove someone wrong... is what you think, but your feelings say something slightly different.
Still, the self-control you are practicing does work somewhat; the you back before all of this would have gone and looked where to find a Dragon, or an Archangel. It is difficult, oh so difficult to rein yourself in, but it works. You never thought that possible in the past.
Then Lu suddenly begins to descend, cutting your train of thought short. Before you can ask what she is planning to do, your friend distracts you with another tidbit of information: "Perhaps I should mention that only children of False Heaven become War Angels. The Valkyries have an equivalent, the Selectors, who focus more on single combat than destroying armies with their mere presence." She pauses for a moment as she looks around, then changes direction. "Though I doubt you will encounter any of them; I killed the only one they had about a hundred years ago. They may have appointed some more in the meantime, though."
Her musing is cut short when she lands on a small plateau far up and lets go of you. Flying is fun, but you do like the solid ground below your feet a lot more. The air is a little thin this far up, though. At least thin enough for you to notice, though it does not seem to impact your combat capability. Yay for magic?
"Either way," your friend finishes as she materialises her cross, "you should keep it as an ace up your sleeve. Our general growth is not indicative of opponents we may face in the future, though we often adapt to them a while after such encounters. Let us call it good fortune; if you ever find yourself facing something monstrous like that, you can likely use this spell to disorient them while you make your escape."
Except that you have a time travel spell. Which you would not use outside of mortal danger, but that is neither here nor there. You quietly materialise your own weapon and wait for whatever your friend wants to do now, noting how she takes a defensive stance.
"I just remembered that many spells such as your Arcane Slash can easily be layered over the strike carrying them. It works for many others as well, but those that inherently require an action with your weapon are usually easy. Try it." She motions for herself, though you do not move.
"On you?" With how fast it grew, its echoes would most likely hurt her. You do not like that at all.
However, Lu merely huffs and gives you a slightly mocking look. "Neither do I fear pain, nor will any damage last for long. This kind of spell is best tested on a living, breathing target instead of a dummy due to its fickle behaviour. I appreciate your unwillingness to injure me, but we do not have enough time to set up another session today, so I will have to do."
"I hate that part of you." She blinks at your muttered response, but you take up speed toward her before she can reply. The handle swings and with it and -"
Arcane Slash!"- you cast, magic rushing with your blade as it connects with Lu's bare stomach, bypassing her raised stave despite it being right in the way of your stab. It is bent around it without being out of shape, ugh.
(The Handle: +160 Base Damage, dice suppressed, +900 Arcane Slash, +5 dice, +100 Stomach Blow = 1,165 Total Damage
Echo: 2; Echo triggers!
Arcane Slash: +900 Base Damage, +140 dice, +100 Stomach Blow = 1,140 Total Damage
Echo: 2; Echo triggers!
Arcane Slash: +900 Base Damage, +61 dice, +100 Stomach Blow = 1,061 Total Damage
Echo: 2; Echo triggers!
Arcane Slash: +900 Base Damage, +74 dice, +100 Stomach Blow = 1,074 Total Damage
Echo: 1; No Echo.
4,440 Unified Damage
Lucifer: +50 Base Resilience, +11800 dice, -10 Flat-Footed = 11,840 Total Damage Reduction
Looks like the dice really do not want to see her get hurt. Are they playing favourites? This was the third time or so this happend.)
You had carefully suppressed your inherent magic to minimise the damage, though you can not stop the echo. It surges once, twice, thrice, before fading out; every single slash hammers into Lu's midsection, though a protective flow of her own magic prevents even the smallest of scratches on her form. Lu simply nods, though her expression is a little weird. "I can guess what you mean, but this is who I am," she starts. "Just like you would not, can not change who you are, I refuse to stop being me because of your preferences."
She has a point, though you do not have to like it. "Nobody said I'm not a hypocrite. I don't like hurting you, even if you're fine with it." You do not like hurting any of your friends in general.
"Yet you did. Or rather, attempted to." Lu eyes you with a raised eyebrow, a gesture which you avert your gaze from. "Though I am unsure whether that says something about your respect toward me, or your temper." The nasty look you throw her only prompts a chuckle. "Maybe both."
She readjusts her grip on the cross and closes her eyes. "Either way, what I saw was that it worked, though something about that whole matter was off. Did you notice, or should we repeat the attempt?"
You noticed it too and shake your head, though returning to her previous point is tempting. "The echoes hit without any trace of my weapon. Only the original slash bent it around your counter." But in the end, you feel that the life you live now may require an adjusted mindset. Thoughts for later.
For now, you ready yourself to practice on nearby rocks under Lu's observation; that first strike went well, but you feel a little luck was mixed into it. In other words, time to turn it from luck to skill.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .
That little thing you worked out for Arcane Slash was actually a really neat one. It may give you another edge when fighting someone strong. With the other preparations you make in-between practicing with your team, things may just work out.
Sadly, your sparse conversations with Neverwas make one thing quite clear: the headache from interacting with them will never truly go away. It no longer hurts enough to make an impact, but it remains as a constant annoyance.
They also mentioned that they will not join you on Valhalla and rather remain back at the Keep; the thought of war seems to scare them a little.
In addition, you looked a bit into psychological warfare, mainly using your own words to manipulate the enemy in battle. Dragul and Orux were quite good teachers when you asked them, though you are not half bad yourself. They even had something interesting for you to think about; most people do not know your powers, which means you can set up nasty surprises by keeping as many aces as possible hidden until they are needed.
In retrospect, you are unsure how you managed to do all of this and even fit a training session into it all, but you did.
Now however, there is only a single day left until the invasion begins. You made your preparations and feel surprisingly calm, all things considered. Nonetheless, it is probably time to take a breather before the fighting starts. What to do, though...
-------------
Pick Three:
[] Put in a last training session to make sure you have everything ready
[] Talk to Orux and Dragul; they will come in with the second wave, but in the end it will be all of you in the field
[] Elisabeth has been rather subdued the last few days, perhaps you should have a chat?
[] Paoras is nervous, as is Maya. Take the time to calm them both.
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
Bonus: Heidi had the time to fit in an extra training session off-screen. Vote for what she trained.
[] [BONUS] Pick one exploit
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+15xp Tales of Powerful Beings
+10xp Your Magic is Getting Into it's Own
+5xp Calm Before the Storm
EXP gained: 30
Total EXP: 41
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Unlocked Soft Exploit:
-layer Arcane Slash over a regular attack
Soft Mechanics updated and new exploits unlocked to train
