Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen - 115
Swimming is level 7!
...
Swimming is level 20!
Running is level 25!
Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Running!
You Gain:
+3 END
+3 AGL
+3 VIT
Felix felt like garbage by nightfall. The river was cold despite the humid heat in the air, and he was pretty sure there were giant eel-creatures down in that green water. Something brushed against his legs, at least, and he'd been too out of it to use his Eye.
The mile Rory had them swim was fairly straight, with only a gentle curve near the end. The others had joined Felix at some point, but most of his recollections were foggy. A wet, musty splash of brackish darkness and shouting sailors. Going up-river was the hardest, since Felix had to fight against not only the current, but the riverboats as well. Often times, he was forced to submerge himself completely to avoid the shallow draw of one of the many craft that plied the waters. Abyssal Skein came in handy whenever he was forced to do that, helping him to hold his breath better and avoiding the attention of whatever lurked in the depths.
Felix had pushed on and refused to think about it.
Abyssal Skein hit level 14 during his extended swim, though it hadn't helped the thickening fog that had settled over his mind. When Felix finally climbed out of the river he was a shaking mess, barely able to crawl. Releasing the Void from his flesh had taken more effort than holding it, somehow, and its oily caress did no favors for his mental state. It was with numb fingers and bone-weary mind that Felix hoisted the wooden beam once more and trudged in the direction of the warehouse.
Naturally, that was when the Maw decided to attack.
"Attack" was...not entirely accurate, but it wasn't wrong either. The Primordial let loose a buzzing cry that sent Felix's mind whirling, filling his mind with the sound of powerful, heavy stone splintering under pressure. Its cry deepened, but still retained that unnatural discordance that rattled his inner ear and set the trees around his Bastion to shuddering. The cry gained momentum quickly, until immense earthquakes heaved through his mental structure, sending fissures to spider crazily up the side of the central tower.
A terrible weakness shuddered through him, nearly causing Felix to drop the beam he was carrying back to the warehouse.
A dark, cold fear surged across his mind, that the Maw would manage to break his Bastion Skill as well...
Then there was a swell of righteous horns; Felix couldn't explain it any other way. Like the music of the System, it rose as if from a great distance, crescendoing until it dominated even the snapping groans of his Bastion. Something surged along his bond, something that moved faster than Felix could track. It hit his damaged walls and the discordant buzzing from within was cut off; the Maw went silent.
Rationally, Felix recognized that Pit had done something, but 'what' was a mystery. He sent back a weary pulse of gratitude and sensed the tenku not far off and watching him intently. The door behind him slammed shut as a few more figures stumbled into the warehouse, and Felix's sharpening senses detected the other Humans and Rory.
Rory grunted as Felix struggled to stand again. "Dun worry, lad. The fights over for today. Now ye'll consolidate it all. Take a breath and visualize your core and Skills."
Felix hesitated just a moment before he slumped heavily to the ground. He was probably in someones way, but he couldn't find the energy to care.
"Ye must delve deep into your core and seek out the truth of your Skills," Rory explained as Felix sat there. "Gain insight and ye'll make miracles, lad."
The Dwarf left without another word, and Felix took a shaky breath.
Felix hadn't fully explored his core and Skills therein since Vvim's Tower, but he had seen some limited success with his Mana Skills. More importantly, he believed he had an idea of what Rory was talking about.
Diving into his core, visualizing it via Fire Within, Felix could sense the wide expanse of it all. His core wasn't really a place at all, but a thick, limitless darkness in which several things floated. No, he thought. Revolved. Like a tiny solar system.
The center was dominated by a blazing blue-white bonfire, haloed by the crackling discharge of similarly colored lightning. Above the center, thick and cloying, was an aquamarine vapor. It swirled restlessly above the fire, though it didn't disperse or burn away.
Claude energy, Felix noted. He'd never investigated his core after...feeding. This is weird.
Swimming is level 25!
Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Swimming!
You Gain:
+3 END
+3 DEX
+3 STR
With a sudden, hollow gasp Felix lurched upright. He felt as if he were resurfacing from a deep sea dive, and there was a brief moment of disorientation where the world felt too loud, too bright.
Ugh, what...what was that?
His inner ear felt wobbly, as if he'd lost his land legs. Felix was still sitting on the floor of the warehouse, however. True night had fallen at some point, and the constant sounds of training had faded into the low murmur of soft conversation back toward the cafeteria area. Pit had sidled up to him at some point, and his illusory coat was soft against his legs. Absently Felix pet the tenku, still marveling at what he'd just experienced.
The vibrations of his Skill had resonated with his perfect memory of swimming the river and he'd somehow...relived it? He'd even gained Skill levels from the experience.
How much was from rehashing a memory versus sounding out the Skill? Felix pushed back his shaggy hair. He had gained a few levels from a similar tactic back in the Tower, but nothing so...vivid. He also didn't feel as if he'd garnered any substantial understanding or insights into Physical Conditioning. In that case, how could I gain Skill levels for activities I'd already done? Where would the energy---
Felt felt a distinct gnawing in his gut, a sudden low pitched growl that called to mind unpleasant memories. Diving deep with his Fire Within, Felix envisioned his core once again. Save for his Swimming Skill glowing with the same luminescence as his Running and Physical Conditioning Skills (evidence of their ascension to Apprentice Tier), his core was largely the same. Nothing--no. The blue white fire still burned, but above it there used to be a thick aquamarine vapor. The essence of Claude the Half-Ogre.
It was nearly gone. Even as he watched, the last wisp of it fed itself into the fire and was consumed.
Claude's essence, where'd it go? Then the barest flicker of grey subsumed Felix's vision, familiar enough that he groaned. Why now?
A series of flashing images inundated Felix's brain, too fast and too garbled to make out much. It was over almost before it began, and Felix was thrust unceremoniously back into the world.
Ravenous Tithe is level 3!
Felix panted, the brief, wrenching sense of dislocation scrambling his thoughts. After a moment longer, he had a realization. The vapor was there before he'd had his dream training, but was practically gone by the end of it. Was he...was he using the Half-Ogre's consumed power to fuel his own growth? Was that why he didn't gain a Skill or even coherent memory from Claude?
He thought back to he recent gains. He had "eaten" Mana each and every time: to learn Oathbinding he absorbed the Mana being radiated outward by Harn during the process. When he learned Negotiation he had just consumed a Prismatic Wretch the night before.
What worried Felix the most, however, was that each time he'd given into his Ravenous Tithe, his Race progression bar ticked upward. With a sinking sensation in his gut, he checked his Status.
It hadn't moved at all. It still read 32%.
Was it because I used the latent power to grow my Skills instead?
Ravenous Tithe is level 4!
...
Ravenous Tithe is level 7!
Sudden certainty flooded him at the same time the System inundated his mind with an orchestral echo. He could devour monsters and fuel his Skill growth and acquisition. That sinking sensation had become a giddy excitement, and it sent faint tremors down his arms and legs. Though maybe that was just the exhaustion.
He had a way forward. Now he just needed some monsters to eat.
Or, Felix thought with a spike of excitement. Monster cores.
