I sit crookedly humped over to one side with my leg still coming back to me. The ash particulars of my decimation turning back into my thin brittle leg. My body is in several pieces after my fight with Easereal in the Stone Slice they are slowly returning. It seems like all undead unless my head is smashed I self reassemble. My thoughts drift I will wait for my to come back, 'I wonder why the system called it a Stone Stasi. I have never heard of such a Magic Composition but today I'm learning many things. I should stop thinking of this as a game. The system isn't even the one from the game, that system was very friendly and full of useful information.'
[You have lost one experience point!]
"Fine I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that, I just thought it would be really amazing if you the system at least did what the original version of the system did!" I say this knowing full well the system can read my thoughts in Paladins of Nuemria the people who had systems. Players and NPCs alike were considered special and had two protections from the system several other minor functions.
[Analysing...]
[Input of primary function rejected...]
[Secondary function enabled]
[The system has registered your fate, you are now under the protection of the system. All entities are unable to interfere with you.]
[Soul Stone Detected!]
[Level 1: Inventory system activated [10] ]
"Thank you system really you are amazing! Do you have a name?" I ask it softly, it definitely is not the old system, that was optimized for a game. I risked activating the system functions hoping to restore my immortality. The game system would have taken levels to allow me to endlessly revive.
[Please Provide Input to Personal Empowerment Protection Augmentation Utility Device.]
"Shame I guess some curses go beyond space and time. Pepaud sounds stupid how about just Pepa."
[Input successful]
"Well let's get started I'm finally back together Pepa."
'First, I need to secure the heart of Atla World Ruin, I can see it now thanks to my newly improved eyesight. True Sight allows me to see the truth of a thing. Which gives me immunity from some mental control effects and illusions as I can see through them now. It also has an excellent passive which is to give me near-perfect accuracy.' Now that I know Pepa can hear me thinking I try to fill in on my thinking that way she can help me if possible.
The Grand Obelisk had split open into four separate smaller Obelisk. I try standing up the fucking decimation is not perfect it used some of my particulars. My bones look even more run down, 'I swear Pepa I'm going to kill that bastard one day mark my words.'
[Mission Page updated]
[Kill Easereal!]
[Difficulty: Epic ⁂]
[Reward: One Miricale]
'Woman I could kiss you, fuck yeah! I accept Pepa!!! Now to my immediate problem, this decimation of my bones makes them too brittle to walk on. If I was a Bonesmith I could change the material composition of my bones and strengthen that way. I can't even use basic Jointing rights because there are no other bones around. At least Easereal can't mess with anymore but it also means whoever was helping is blocked from doing so. If Jointing won't work what do you think Pepa...Right yeah, I forgot still let brainstorm. My desecration is like the simplest version of Bonesmithing. Since I can change the shape of bones. I'm like a child playing with clay, Pepa that's it!'
"Shit, I'm clay!" I stutter sitting up properly so that I can get to work.
'Pepa, My bones may not be strongest but they can be practical. Right now I need to become what I need. First I shouldn't have stuck to the human form. If I think of myself right now I need function over form. I start as any good builder should start at the base, with True Sight I am able to Desecrate only my bones leaving behind the dirt and grime. I make an exact replica of a Klippa prosthetic leg it's so simple and elegant plus I can extend my soul stone to act like sinew. I sticking to something simple right now because I have a limited amount of magic power and as long as her heart is out in the open anyone can steal it from me. They should be on their way if Easereal should do what I would do? An hour maybe three if I'm lucky.'
My leg turned to mush like clay mainly because of the simple magic structures that I use. Creating a leg is much harder than I thought the process required a lot of iteration. The constant building drains my magic power so I had to build it in blocks the hoof was difficult as I had to make it automatically clip onto the joint. The solid joint piece is good, I'm no scientist so I can't exactly make the articulating joint from memory. At least replicating it was a simple thing. I move it is surprisingly natural to me. I'm even back to my original height of one hundred and ninety centimetres.
Plus now that I got a clear sight of Atla's heart I am in awe. I stand over the base of where the grand Obelisk stood. Atla's Soul Stone makes mine look like cold shit, "she did something?!?"
'I can't explain what exactly I'm looking at it. The Bonding work alone is beyond anything I have ever seen. Pepa when I built mine, I followed the theories of Merlin loosely long story short I have been able to expand on what he did and create a powerful receptacle. Which is amazing if I do say so myself, but this is the science of magic. It's like someone has just given an intro to magic compositions.' I'm shocked and stupefied awed stiff by what I am truly looking at a magic rosetta stone.
'A Soul Stone when crystallised is still a heart at its core. She has somehow taken the parts that make the soul stone and fabricated them in such a way as to make something I will probably need an eternity to understand. This is a huge problem as I can't exactly Desecrate what I can't understand. Pepa I know Of course I could ruin it and get an immediate boost to my power but I can learn from this.' Magic composition is an art as much as it is maths and physics.
I would bite my lip if I could, I even tired only ending up moving my jaw up and mashing my teeth. That's it the vibrations help me think. The Soul Stone Sinew is worked in such a way that everything is interconnected. What I have already done is to use Merlin Magic Pathways to create a magic receptive core while having three power nodes. Not bad as even Merlin only had one. Atla has done something even more amazing if I'm reading this right it is written in Black tongue.
First I need to get a hold of it, there is a layer of magic around the heart that is different from the traps placed here by Easereal and his cohorts. I raise my hand to my mouth as I realise what she has done. The basic structure of any magic shield is to create a triangle about a metre wide then place as many as you need until you are covered. Triangle is a shape that is naturally resistant to damage Easy to manipulate in and otherwise build with.
[Intellgence +5]
Atla has billions of small icosahedrons bonded through the sinew. Together with her weave work of the soul stone chambers to make this layer of magic. I feel like a fool it's not her fault our understanding of magic structures is so limited. A triangle is the strongest occur shape natural shape.
'What she did was to arrange the triangles as a three-dimensional shape. Then bonded them together to create in such a way that it created an even more complex structure able to support complex magic. I never thought it possible and it's infinitely stackable. Which is according to the great Magus Escari Luprical not possible. It's why tenth level spells don't continue on infinitely, a finite amount of magic produces a finite amount of power. Pepa, this is beyond broken.'
[Intellgence +5]
[+1 path point]
I mash my teeth I have been sitting here for over forty-five minutes. The layer is not a barrier exactly it's an artistic equation that is not complete which is causing a feedback of magic power to be expelled as this protective layer. I have managed to identify the fault it sticks out, I have two options push or pull. This will alter the structure of the icosahedron if I'm right it should then return to normal allowing me to pick it up. If not I could expand the layer putting the heart forever out of my reach.
'Pepa please my focus point to my increase regen.'
[Input not recognised...level too low, not class deteced]
'I forgot that I don't have a class as lifeless until level ten. My old self was a farmer before being a paladin. The living are born with classes, I have Alta's heart I know it's not in my hand but shit It close enough.'
I'm shaking this is a pure guess, calculated as best I can. My mind is preoccupied with trying to apply what I have learnt the icosahedron structure is a fundamental shift in power for me. If I can change myself instead of one plus one equals two. It will one equals 4 therefore one plus one equals eight.
My spirit is disturbed as the hymn of layer starts it would cause the living to bleed from their eyes and ear amongst other things. I'm struck by the sound it's an amplifier she has created a Lifeless amplifier. My spirit actual forceable expands beyond my soul stone. The gold of my spirit fills the basin of the Obelisk. The Black tongue runes melt from the Grand Obelisk and merge into my spirit. Shortly afterwards the magic layer is gone.
[Atla's heart inventoried]
Being able to physically touch and see the heart directly helps me understand more. I can't return to my soul stone it is no longer compatible with my spirit. The Black Tongue runes are icosahedronic in nature so my soul stone needs to also be at least as complex to now accompany my spirit. This is distressing as I am separated from the only viable body at the moment. Using a normal skeleton with Soul Stone sinew would be useless. My spirit now unifies as smalls bonded icosahedrons I'm a cloud of them.
Then three men appear, heads shaven, white cloaks, ice forge cold steel, pristine devote fools work in the name Easereal Lord of Lords. They are early they must have run or something to get here so quickly. I can't run I'm pure spirit I guess the benefit is that they can't hit me anymore as I phase into the floor. My true sight allows me to see what they are doing. Like jealous children, they smash my newly reconstructed body into pieces. Unable to find any hint of me they must believe they have succeeded. Easereal must be injured or else he would have possessed one of them even if it killed him.
Kam says, "Let's get out of here, we left lindhurst and the others fight those damned shadows. My god, please guide us with your mighty light. Let us purify this land!"
Elrik says, "By his fire!"
Both Kam and Schatzi say, "In my hands!"
'I hate them all of them, the living are sick. They smashed everything I have been trampled underfoot and pissed on my bone ruins. I worked hard for that body I sacrificed my immortality for the ruin they piss on. If only they knew who it was that I sacrificed for those bones. All the oracles are probably losing it right now. I pulse head pounding as the transformation finishes down to my smallest particular of spirit I am icosahedron.'
My spirit form has always been dull like a barely-there drawing but now I am a full HD imagine of a spirit all the details of my body return to me even the scar I got from him that night. Icosahedronic constructions are apparently emotionally sensitive. Also with this much finer control over myself. After they leave I expand myself all over the place feeling and looking for every part of me. My spirit form spirals pulling every piece of me into the open Grand Obelisk basin.
'I would have expected you to notice the changes but then I guess Atla is rated higher than you Pepa.' My spirit is now an exact replica of my old body I feel like I have organs and a heartbeat. My awareness is expanded I find every piece of me in a few minutes. Now I need to get to work again.
I took the smallest piece of broken bone about the size of half a pinky nail and started to work with it. I started at the Cortical bone I needed to experiment and understand exactly how much am able to manipulate my bone. I apply the icosahedrons pattern on it. The Osteon changes in the response becoming much more compact and oddly they now have magic pathways that are also icosahedronic this is means if I can do this all over my body my magic power would double. This is not just raw power, it is control too! Right now what I am doing is only possible because I'm an icosahedron spirit entity. With each stage, I am becoming more proficient at manipulating myself. This is all happening beyond the Pepa which means beyond God.
Getting down the collagen Molecule took a long time I'm not sure how much time has passed but I don't get tired or need sleep. I'm in a period of heightened I'm growing absorbing natural truths as I reconstitute myself. My bones are finished I didn't even use a human shape. I at having roughly 17×10^25 molecules shaped as icosahedrons I put them together however I like the bonds allow for it. Unfortunately, I can't replicate the weave work Atla used so I only gave myself Soulstone the icosahedrons. This allowed me better contain my Decimation element which is now neatly wrapped around my curse. I created a separate chamber for it so while I cursed it shouldn't be able to trigger anymore. The price is of course half my magic power to run the independent chamber. I have been mulling over the type of Skeleton I can become. While I wasn't able to manipulate the tropocollagen everything is in my power. For now, I am limited to my bones only. It seems to be a system requirement because of my rank and level. I even tried to manipulate whatever the Grand Obelisk is made of I would sooner finish reading Atla heart before manipulating that at my rank and level. Right now that is my biggest stumbling block.
After I'm done I have taken the shape of an extinct Legendary Undead, I have to the best of my ability risen as a Dust Skeleton...
'Pepa Status screen'
[Character Information]
Name: Pluto
Title: Rising Horseman
Level: 1
Rank: [0]
Type: Dust Skeleton [F]
Exp: 1/22
Hp: 146
Mp: 196
[Basic Stats]
Strength: 2
Vitality: 1
Intelligence: 11
Focus: 2
Dexterity: 2
Luck: 2
[Skills]
Death Touch - Level 1
Death Bolt - Level 1
Death Shield - Level 1
Teleport - Level 1
[Passives]
Dust form [Undefined]
Manipulation -[Undefined]
Inpendent Seal - [-50% magic power]
Sealed Decimation - Cursed Level 9
Domination - Control Spirits
Desecration - Reconstruction
Dread - Empty -
[Resistances]
Immune - Mental Effects [Fear, Threat, Confusion ]
[Weakness]
Holy Damage - 400%
Blunt Damage - 200%