The monsters continued to burst out of the sandpit until all of them had emerged and because Tom had used Dead Healer’s touch they had gathered and were focused exclusively on him. He couldn’t blame them. You only needed to watch once how the pain his spell generated was powerful enough to lock their muscles and cause a large skin patch to flake away to understand their rage.
There were exactly five!
That was more than sufficient evidence for Tom. That was the same number that Rahmat had warned them about. Somehow, he had sensed them coming previously. He would have been blind to them. Given how his previous domain had worked, the educated money would be on him having gotten it back. They had long since stopped treating the worms as anything other than the most basic and instinct driven of creatures. There was no longer any challenge to defeat them, as they knew how they would react no matter the situation.
As always, they formed a clump and pelted him from afar.
“I got it. I finally did it.” Rahmat laughed in delight. “Let’s see what this does.”
He launched one of his spectral spears that flew almost as fast as an arrow as it crossed the distance separating them and then curved at the last moment to crash into the section of a worm that Tom’s spell had stripped the skin off.
Thunk!
It struck presumably on the bull’s eye. The thin shell just under the worm’s horn crumbled as the spear thrust deep into it. The partially translucent weapon shaft vibrated where it had punched over a foot into the creature’s head. The worm blinked once and then sagged backward, collapsing like all of its muscles stopped working simultaneously. There was another thump as it hit the ground and created a small cloud of dust.
A chaos bolt abruptly sizzled mid flight and got a life of its own and there was a brief glimpse of a demonic horror or, more precisely multiple taloned hands with each of them large enough to encircle a grown man. The fingers ended in a claw longer than a dagger. There were six or seven of the hands in total and they lashed out, tearing into the two worms closest to them. Chunks of worm flesh went flying. One of the worms threw itself desperately away with head sized pieces torn from it and the other one folded over not moving.
Ten rocks shot at him, with three of the five already disabled. Effortlessly, he sidestepped out of the way of nine and almost without thinking about it a bit of his armour detached to intercept the last. Those two projectiles exploded against each other three metres in front of him and the shrapnel, fine slivers of rock stung his face when they hit him.
The two worms still in control of themselves surged forward. Rahmat intercepted one of them, his tier six spear glowing with intense blue. He was grinning and didn’t even bother trying to strike the weak spot Tom had created. Instead, he went straight for the forehead, which was the most defended part of the creature’s skull especially with the skin intact. It would take Tom dozens of blows to get through that and there was no guarantee he would succeed before Power Strike ran out of power.
Rahmat’s spear burst through skin and bone like he was hitting something with a vitality under ten. The weapon penetrated more than fast enough to destroy the brain, but was stopped by the rear bone of the skull. The momentum of the creature jerked Rahmat off his feet and sent him sliding backward. Pushed by the kinetic energy that had existed in the monster when it had been killed.
The final worm futilely attempted to impale Tom. His dodge skills speed boost as always was throttled before he could escape unharmed. The horn grazed his arm and did minor damage.
It skidded to a halt, finishing over five metres from him, and immediately spun like a bull to charge him again.
A massive axe flew and chopped off the head.
They all stood there for a moment shocked at how easily five of the monsters had been eliminated.
Then as one they turned on Rahmat.
“What do you mean?”
“A Domain?”
“Is it a good one?”
The babble of questions made the spear man raise a hand, silently imploring them to hold the interrogation to grant him time to explain. “Yes, I got a domain. No, I don’t know how powerful it is. If you give me a moment, I can, however, find out.”
No one objected, and he took that as consent. His face lost animation and Tom remembered how creepy he had initially found it when anyone had used their system room. Now that wax doll impression that signalled a retreat to a system room hardly bothered him.
They waited almost impatiently for him to return. It wasn’t about how the domain was important to fight the dragon. All of them, instead, were generally excited by his success. It showed how practice, guided by lessons from the tutorial along with fate use could allow them to gain extraordinary bonuses.
The time he was in the system room stretched on far longer than the term ‘a moment’ was supposed to refer to. Tom’s count had started after twenty seconds and despite that it had already reached a hundred, so that was two minutes that had passed. It felt like an excessive amount of time to check the details of a newly acquired skill. It was too much.
Finally, he opened his eyes.
“And?” Michael asked with contagious excitement.
“I think it is best I share.” Tom knew the information had been sent to him, but he stayed on guard when he saw multiple dolls appear around him. “Tom, there’s only one monster type here and those spikes they have, they’re basically spears. I can sense them long before they get near. We’re safe. You can go and check.”
“I’ll wait,” he said simply. Rahmat was right about the risk profile, but he would not compromise routines. They had them for a reason, and getting complacent was a shortcut to death.
As he spun around to monitor the surrounding slopes, he noted that Vidja, Thor and Everlyn had likewise resisted the temptation and stood guard against any potential threats that might be out there.
Michael had life flood into him and with a broad grin shook the spear man’s hand. “That’s a great domain. Is it better than you expected?”
“Tier yes. Functionality no.”
“I saw that, but still, it’s pretty impressive.”
“Yet not enough. It doesn’t have the features we need against the dragon.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Michael agreed. “Good thing you weren’t stupid enough to listen to the opinions that us uneducated dregs thrust upon you about the best use of the evolution potion.”
Rahmat laughed. “Yeah, if I had listened to the experts that gap would have been far more troublesome. Who was the fool who insisted that it would be best used on a scout skill?”
“Can’t say I recall. But I’m sure the culprit was devilishly handsome and unusually wise beyond his apparent years.”
Rahmat snorted. “Sure Michael. Sure.”
One by one people had returned, and Tom decided that it was safe for him to confirm the details personally. He stepped into the system room and looked at the wall.
Skill: Spectral Spear Domain – Tier 6
This is a spear domain and conveys the following skills. Can sense all spear and spear like items within a range of half a kilometre. Spectral spear skills are four times more effective within the sensing domain. Capacity to move spears not connected to a person or skill (Requires strong willpower.). All spear abilities within five metres are six times as strong as normal. Significantly increased scope to use spear skills in non-standard ways.
Tom absorbed the information. As far as domains went, he thought it was strong. Rahmat would be capable of sensing the location of enemies from a significant distance, and his skills were greatly strengthened in close. Spear skills, being six times stronger was a massive boost and explained why he had been able to kill the worm without targeting a weak area.
Surprisingly, there were another two notes attached which explained why Rahmat had taken so long initially.
Effectiveness compared to tutorial spear domain. Sensing distance has been halved by this new domain. This is offset by melee combat bonuses having more than doubled. Spectral spear functionality is completely new. The following is missing from the new domain. The ability to influence weapons being held by enemies and the capability to disrupt spear skills being attempted by opponents.
Tom read the analysis and frowned.
He was surprised by the differences between the domains, as he had been expecting Rahmat to develop exactly what he had in the tutorial. Instead, he had got something that presumably matched more closely to what he had been doing in Existentia and this trial. They had not fought many opponents with spears, so there had been no attempts to influence the enemies’ weapons or disrupt monsters that were using spear skills on them.
He moved on to read the last.
This note is my proposed priority of domain enhancements. (I welcome debate on this. I want to get the best outcome out of the evolution potion as possible, so if I’ve left anything out let me know.) Empower other people’s spears. Improved sensing range. Spread the distance the six times increase in spear skills act on. Enable disruption of opposing spear skills. Influence spears that are being held by other people. (This is useful for making hordes stab themselves)
The first line he knew was because of the dragon threat. If that didn’t exist, then it might not have even made the list. Beyond that, the ordering was sensible as far as he was concerned. The question was were there any other functions that Rahmat should aim to create?
As he pondered the subject, he returned to the real world.
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The debate was already in full swing.
“Five hundred metres is far enough,” Keikain insisted. “You don’t need more. It’s just being greedy and wasteful.”
“For now. What happens if other sapients are stalking us. This will let us know. Most teams will have a spear user.”
Keikain rolled his eyes. “That’s such a niche case, and plus True Dreaming has that scenario covered.”
“Tom might not always be with us.” Rahmat paused and casually pointed at a cliff. “Three more are incoming. I get your point Keikain, but from practical experience the extra range was invaluable in the tutorial and will be even more so here because sapients are trickier than monsters. And there are other benefits. One time it let me discover a buried treasure.”
“If you use fate properly, we don’t need to search for hidden treasure. We’ll stumble into it.”
The worms burst free from where Rahmat had pinpointed. Tom tagged them and a dozen missiles shot at him in retaliation.
“No, the ability used in conjunction with fate makes it even more powerful.” Rahmat continued as Tom spun and twisted through the missiles. “The ancient hidden treasure just needs to have a spear and then it can be kilometres from us, and we’ll still notice it. That is far more probable than literally stumbling into it. That improved probability will lower fate costs.”
The worms gave up on the ranged attacks and charged. When they were ten metres away, one of Rahmat’s spectral spears killed one.
Tom found himself to be to busy dodging the worms that launched themselves at him to listen any further. He ducked and weaved as they made multiple passes while the others wore them down. Rahmat, Vidja, Toni, Michael and Keikain were off to the side, debating the point and not bothering to participate in the fight.
The last of the worms died as his spear finally broke through the weaker bones at the ear. “A little help next time,” he complained.
Rahmat raised an eyebrow. “There were only three, and I killed one.” He turned his attention back to his conversation.
“You’re just being stubborn,” Keikain declared. “But it’s your build. Ruin it forever if you want.”
Rahmat laughed. “Any other serious suggestions?”
Tom stared at the meteorites spinning around him. Their offensive ability in this zone was limited, but he had them out because occasionally they would intercept the rocks that were spat at him. When he got his domain functioning, he wanted it to have similar protections in place. “It’s just a thought, but you want the domain to have defensive properties as well. Maybe extra spears levitating and fighting beside you.”
Rahmat’s bundle of floating spears floated up, spun to point at him, and separated ominously. “I already have that. It was the third point on the description. ‘Capacity to move spears not connected to a person or skill.’”
“I mean an automated defence. Something that doesn’t rely fully on your concentration to work.”
Rahmat appeared curious. “I can see how that would function for your earth concept. Explain how it makes sense for a spear.”
“Well, a spear is not just offensive. We both use it to block as much as we attack.”
The spear man inclined his head in agreement.
“Imagine if you could control a spear like the one in your hands and you could put it five metres in front of you to block any attacks.”
One of the floating spears broke away and positioned where Tom had said. Rahmat focused, and it spun through many spear forms.
“And it did it autonomously.”
“It’s a really good idea and I can try, but I’m not convinced the evolution potion will create something that tailored and powerful.”
“It doesn’t have to be precisely that example, but get a defensive option if you can. Check the store to find what options are available. You just want to get a defence that you don’t need to actively control.”
“Ahh, I see. Yeah, it would be useful. Do you think second on the list.”
“No.”
“Absolutely not.”
Rahmat ignored them. “Tom?”
“Second or third. But if your solution grants four spears that fight as well as you, then I would say it probably should be first on your list. That would be pretty awesome and too good to give up.”
Michael smiled. “Defence is good, but if you’re getting something, then make sure it gives you eyes in the back of your head like Tom has.”
“Exactly.” Tom agreed. “The more automatic lifesaving abilities we get the better.”
They continued to grind the worms in order to get the earth shards and Tom focused on using Remote Earth Manipulation and Throw Rock in combination to get bits of stone orbiting around him. It was an exercise in frustration and not what either skill was designed for. Often he would need to use his spear to redirect the pebble upwards when they dropped too sharply, but sometimes they didn’t turn in time or his spear couldn’t reach them when they fell and when that happened he had to restart.
There was a simple reason that it was so difficult. Remote Earth Manipulation was primarily intended to change the shape of a piece of stone and not for locomotion purposes and Throw Rock only accelerated things in straight lines. He was getting around that by accelerating only a section of the rock. Basically, Remote Earth Manipulation would move that section in the direction he wanted and Throw Rock would accelerate it and make the change permanent. It created a stop start type of orbit on the few times that it worked.
He was sure he had caught the others all laughing at him on multiple occasions, but they pretended otherwise when he looked suspiciously in their direction. It was also currently a technique that was completely useless in battle, but he persisted with it. The words about the domain providing automatic defence rang in his mind and he wanted to develop that.
When they stopped for the night in another crystal bowl, he had a pounding headache.
“Rahmat are you using the potion?” Michael asked.
The spearman shook his head. “My fate is only two-thirds full. I’ll do it tomorrow night just before sleep so I can empty my pool and have some recharged by the morning when I’ll need it.”
Tom ate and then fell asleep. Like previous nights, Everlyn snuggled up against him. Thankfully, given his exhaustion, there were no True Dreams, and they collectively went through the motions the next day. Rahmat’s new capabilities let them see the monsters in advance and sped up their progress. In every engagement, he was now getting multiple kills when previously he had only contributed to a single kill per battle.
The impact of the domain was significant.
The day ended.
There was no talk about a longer day. Everyone was happy to finish a little earlier. They all huddled in the confined crystal bowl and watched as Rahmat removed his potion. The man grinned, winked, and then drank it.
Tom watched the process with all of his senses wide open.
He doubted he would learn anything, but nor was he willing to leave and risk missing it if there was something vital. It was not going to be often that he would get a chance to watch the evolution of a tier six skill.
The moment Rahmat gulped down the liquid he had dumped a flood of fate. It spun for a couple of seconds in a vortex around the spearman, and then it crashed into his mouth and down his throat before pooling in the man’s stomach. Each particle of fate stuck itself to a drop of the elixir, which was it positioning itself in the best spot for it to influence what Tom knew was going to end up as a wave of probability functions. Any other species would have no control over this process, but Tom knew from his own use that humans were different.
Despite the almost universal experience of everyone who had ever lived on Existentia, Rahmat was likely to get the exact outcome he wanted from this otherwise random process.
The evolution was beginning. Strange lights that were difficult to parse played together over the warrior’s skin. Phantom presences shaped like spears that each had their own unique awareness flashed in and out of existence around him. The air seemed to break, and Tom saw one of the spears scour the hard crystal, leaving an improbable scar behind.
The energy rose and crashed; it disappeared totally and then re-manifested more intensely than ever as more phantoms broke into reality. Expressions of happiness, pain, focus, agony flashed rapidly over his face. His mouth opened in a silent scream for a second and the next moment it was tranquil. He was being thrown through a windmill of experiences and was probably experiencing significant time dilation based on the progression of micro expressions.
The phantom weapons kept appearing, but now some instead of vanishing thrust into him. Doing no visible physical damage and Tom assumed nothing to the soul either but he was glad he could not see because if they were hurting him, he would have felt compelled to intervene and he was not sure if he could or if any attempt would be welcome.
He held himself still. There was no way he would jump into help and risk Rahmat getting something suboptimal.
For almost ten minutes, emotions played across Rahmat’s face and energy crested and crashed like waves on a beach just before a cyclone hit. It was fierce and powerful and it was tempting to leave the crystal bowl though they intellectually knew that the power plaguing the spear man could not touch them and even if it did, it would be a bonus, not a negative.
Those that did not use a spear as a weapon withdrew to the rear of those who did.
There was a sense of palpable danger from the process, which just kept increasing.
“Should we leave?” Thor asked right at the back with Bao tucked in behind him.
“No,” Michael said. “Give him time.”
The energy continued to shift and change. For a moment Rahmat was a spear, then a man, and then a spear man. More phantoms manifested. His eyes flashed different colours. A cyclone of probability spun around him and then there was what felt like a rend in reality.
The energy ceased.
Outside the crystal bowl, worms had gathered hundreds of them. The chosen were on the rim of the bowl their magic gathering around them as they prepared to act.
Rahmat sighed, shut his eyes like he was exhausted and then opened them. Sanity shining in their depths.
On the other side of the crystal, flames and ice crashed down on the massed monsters. The crystal rocked as they threw themselves against it, but the magic stone that had been so easily damaged by a glancing blow from a phantom spear was untouched under the onslaught.
“Should we help?” Thor asked.
“Knowledge Distributor, there is no need,” the Elder called down, for once not moving into the formal position they normally took when conversing. “Intervention is not required. The chosen have this fight in hand.”
Rahmat glanced uninterestedly outside at the dying worms. He did not seem at all surprised by what he was seeing. It was like their deaths by the dozens were expected. Physically, nothing had changed and then he shut his eyes and was turned into a bad imitation of a human, a sculpture without a soul.
A minute passed and then life came flooding back. The fight beyond the wall was over and the chosen were collecting the shards.
They all stared at Rahmat expectantly.
He yawned and stretched, milking the moment. “You’re all after the verdict I presume? The answer is that it went better than feared and worse than the best case.”
Tom felt information being sent to him.
“What was the best case?” Keikain asked suspiciously.
Tom felt the same. They had all seen the evolution and felt the fate at work. After that display, he must have got something special.
“Tier eight with multiple sideway evolutions.” Rahmat answered. “And no, I didn’t get close to that, but the result is still welcome. I’ve sent it through to you all to see.”
They were in the crystal bowl, with the chosen standing guard above, so with a shrug Tom checked his domain immediately.
Skill: Spectral Awareness Spear Domain- Enhanced (1) – Tier 7
This is a spear domain and conveys the following skills across the inner and outer domain. The outer domain extends for one and a half kilometres. Within this range:
All spear and spear like items can be sensed Spectral spear skills are four times more effective. All spear skills can be applied to any spear. The following applies to the inner domain Within eight metres of you: Potency increased by seven Significantly increased ability to use spear skills in non-standard ways. Enhanced functionality - Independent Phantom Spear Wielders can be engaged to control a physical weapon. They will be able to use all your skills at your proficiency. An additional spear may be controlled for each level in the domain skill.
Tom nodded as he read the description and opened his eyes.
Rahmat had not gotten all the aspects he had previously possessed. He was missing the ability to manipulate the spears of other people and to disrupt their skills. While that was a loss, Tom was willing to bet the phantom spear functionality over the long term was a far superior outcome. Especially once he managed to get a couple of levels to the skill. An additional two or three spears that were as magically potent as Rahmat’s own spear attacks fighting on his behalf was a tremendous boost. “You didn’t get everything you had previously. Are you happy with the result?” Tom asked.
Rahmat paused at that question. It was clearly something he had not been expecting to be asked. He pondered it for a moment. “In the end, I sacrificed the ability to disrupt a distant opponent for a phantom fighter that can autonomously defend me. I know which one is better, and it’s a not tradeoff or the best of similar options. The phantom fighter is simply superior. It can even use my other spear skills at full strength to supplement my offensive strikes.”
“Hang on just a moment there, boy.” Michael said good-naturedly. “Are you suggesting that you and your phantom can stab something at the same time and both weapons getting all your skill boosts.”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re basically claiming your damage capability has doubled.”
Rahmat made a not quite gesture. “If I had two spears of the same quality, then yes, but as I don’t, then my power is not even close to doubling. You can’t compare a tier six weapon to a tier four or whatever we can afford.”
Michael laughed. “We’re so drinking tonight to celebrate. That’s fucking awesome.”