A letter from Amaravati of the 10th to his Mentor and Sponsor, Bine the Lesser

Greetings Master, I hope this letter finds you alive. I continue to send these letters as per your instructions. Why we do not communicate using Genesis, a simple process that every inhabitant is able to do from a young age, is beyond my understanding, but who am I to question those who stand above me. Here is the update on our status; I still believe there were others better suited this task. The Primus finds me an agreeable person, an act that makes my stomach churn, and has put me into a position of influence. Once again I must ask, is this truly worth our time? My skill set could be useful to you and is wasted on this simple mission. Your servant, Amaravati

P.S. Give Adoni my regards. Also tell her she is useless and I should be there in her place.

I stand at the edge of Albasalas’s Zone, staring out past the open plain that is home to my next target. Wild grass and large stalks fill my vision for as far as I can see, the only cleared area being a small dirt path that seems to branch off into a host of different directions. If I hadn’t been warned beforehand, I would have almost certainly followed the path only to die in an ambush.

I was warned, however, and that removes the element of surprise. With a smile I conjure up a Wall of Flame and direct it towards the grass close to me, watching as it consume everything in its path. Although the wall is fairly quick to dissipate, the damage has been done. Patches of fire litter the ground, the flames spreading through the grassland at a exponential rate, sending plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky.

The fire continues to spread for another few minutes, finally dying out after having consumed all the wild grass in the area. The ground is now mostly barren and covered by nothing more than a layer of ash. Knowing the nature of the creatures that populate this Zone, I stare at the ash for a few moments before I see some motion. Shaking the ash off of its body, a 5 foot long creature begins to slither towards me, its body a combination of purple scales and burned skin, obviously not having escaped unscathed from my fire. The creatures head has a mass of eyes, almost bug-like, and spikes that appear to go down the center of its body and culminate in a massive spike at the end of its body. The words Helldarvin Assassin [Lvl 35] appear over its head.

It moves quite quickly but, without the cover of the grass, I can see it clearly, its current position approximately 50 feet away from me. Quickly conjuring a Chilling Wind, I watch as the strong wind and frost barely slow it down. Now within 30 feet of me, I conjure a Mana Bullet and fire it at the beasts head. It tries to dodge but the Bullet is far too fast, hitting it in a direct shot. Asmall blast follows and the Assassin’s head explodes, falling dead to the ground.

Huh … that was way easier than I thought it would be.

I walk over to the body and crouch down beside it, conjuring Stone Armor onto both of my hands before I touch it. I then reach down and open its mouth, exposing a pair of upper and lower fangs that are accompanied by smaller teeth. The fangs appear to be coated in a strange and viscous fluid, probably a paralytic or poison, that slowly drips off them. Interested in the effects of the fluid, I rip one of the fangs out and set it on the ground, careful to make sure that none of the liquid touches my skin. I empty my pouch of the days travel supplies and carefully insert the fang into the pouch, crossing my fingers that the liquid doesn’t ruin the only bag that I have.

I repeat this process, minus the collection of the fangs, on another five stretches of the grassland, only one of them revealing a hidden Assassin. I wonder if they are more spaced out the further away from Shssiss I travel or if there just aren’t that many to begin with. Is Shssiss their mother or is she like the Hunter Alpha, a creature that managed to reach the top of the totem pole through age and power?

The next few hours are spent in a similar manner, burning away the grass with Wall of Flame and taking out the occasional Assassin that is unlucky enough to be caught in the fire. I work in a clockwise pattern, slowly closing in towards the center of the Zone so that nothing can attack me from behind. I’m not sure how large the zone is but if I assume that it is a similar size to Albasalas’ then I predict I’ll be close to the center after about two weeks. I initially entertained the idea of just pushing straight in to the center but realized I’d be ambushed on either side and killed.

I encounter another Assassin, my 5th of the excursion, just as I’m preparing to retreat for the night. It hisses at me and slithers in my direction, strange bug eyes giving it a horrific appearance. This one managed to get closer than most of its brethren, but as it coils up to try and leap towards me, I conjure and fire a single Mana Bullet. The bullet hits it directly in the head and it collapses, not having a large enough Health pool to survive the single shot.

If I’m being completely honest, I feel a little guilty pleasure at the ease in which I’m able to kill them. My other opponents, while easier to deal with once I discovered their patterns and methods of attack, had always been a struggle, the specter of death looming over every battle. That just doesn’t seem to exist with the Assassins and it makes me feel as if I’m taking advantage of my knowledge, not giving them a fair shot. I imagine that in an ambush they are unparalleled hunters, able to take down large prey with a single bite, but without that advantage they are the easiest opponents I’ve faced since coming to Helldarvin.

Just as I’m about to leave a unique notification pops up in my vision, causing my eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. It is accompanied by the usual Skill notifications, letting me know I gained 6 levels in Wall of Flame, 3 in Stone Armor, and 2 in Effortless Presence, but I brush those away to focus on the important one.

Mana Bullet (R-4) has reached Lvl 50! You dispatch your enemies with ruthless efficiency and the Skill begins to match your mindset. Let your Bullet be the last sight your enemy sees. Piercing Power and Speed of Mana Bullet are doubled. Cost per Mana Bullet is doubled.

I’m disappointed by the increase in the cost but that is offset as the increased cost is affected by the bonus from the creation benefit. Additionally,the speed and piercing power of a Mana Bullet are its most important aspects, making increases to these aspects incredibly helpful. The speed will make it that much harder for faster enemies to dodge while the piercing power will ensure that enemies with high Physique won’t be able to shrug off the attacks.

Interested in seeing the changes, I conjure up a Bullet at the end of my finger. Immediately I’m able to recognize that it is slightly larger but, upon closer inspection I see a few other changes. The amount of Raw Mana in the explosive chamber has increased, probably resulting in the speed increase. It also appears as if there is a second layer of Condensed Mana towards the point, layered in behind the initial point.

Pointing my finger towards a random field, I fire off a Bullet and watch, awestruck, as it rips forward with a blast, piercing the air in a shrill scream. The secondary charge explodes upon contact, but it is nothing compared to the speed and force of the initial firing.

I smile and whistle a little tune as I walk back towards the novice zone, my thoughts consumed with the possible applications of my upgraded Skill. My curiosity with the whole process also leads my mind down a few strange paths. Thoughts that I am able to explore now that I’m no longer under the threat of ambush. Genesis has just remodeled my initial creation to make it stronger, as a reward for me reaching a certain Skill level. Are Skills able to reach a level higher than 100? If so, are there upper limits to the reward? Meditation had morphed into Effortless Presence when it had reached Lvl 50 but that was due in part to my possession of the Planning Skill. What other Skills could morph or combine into stronger versions? I hadn’t known enough about bullet design to create that sophisticated of a projectile upon creation but what would have happened if I had? Would I have started at Lvl 50 or would I just have received no benefit for reaching that Skill Lvl? Is there a certain acceptable range that Skills can fall under?

These thoughts and questions light a fire in my mind, a burning desire to know the answers. I’d experienced similar feelings back on Earth but never to this degree. Certain topics had grabbed my attention for short periods of time but I’d always lost interest after a few days or weeks as I realized that they weren’t practical uses of my time. Now, however, this topic is directly related to my survival and the survival of those I care about, a combination that strengthens my resolve to grow in power while also filling me with a burning desire to learn the answers.