Rapidly swapping through the menus in Soul Sight, Aki finally opens the skill menu after nearly two years.
A massive, expansive list detailing skills of all sorts, ranging from the simplest of necessary life skills like 'cooking' and 'cleaning' to the most incredible types of magic that could control nature itself. Aki searches for neither, looking deeper for the skills that directly alter the body.
She finds it there. The Visual Acuity skill. It's already at Lv.0, luckily.
For someone like her who came from a - probably - peaceful world based on what little she remembers, this much would be necessary for her to survive so long. Of course, the skill being at Lv.0 also meant she needn't spend a full 3 points just to acquire it.
Fremont's scythed tentacle crashes down next to her and Aki lets out an involuntary yelp.
"Found you!" He laughs coldly. "Goodbye, Acolyte! May the Reaver drag you to the deepest depths of the Darklands."
Out of time, Aki drops to her stomach and covers her eyes tightly and puts in three skill points then. With only the indelible display present in the corners of her vision to fill the darkness, the blood in her eyelids pulses violently as pain shoots through her head in a fashion Aki was certain that if she hadn't used skill points before, she may have thought it was tearing her apart from the inside out.
Colours swirl and dance in her vision to a dizzying degree. She would have fainted if she hadn't closed her eyes beforehand.
Information rushes to her head as the skill points completely rewire her nervous system to function to this higher degree in an instant.
------------
[Visual Acuity Lv. UP! Lv.0->Lv.3]
------------
Aki feels a warm liquid pour from her eyes and run down her face. At the same time, her precognition activates and tugs at her to jump.
Leaning onto her arms, Aki does a rolling front flip and leaps out of the way at the same time Fremont's tentacles slam into her hiding spot.
She leaps from the dust blasted upwards, and lands several metres away from where she was. Aki opens her eyes and looks toward her attacker. Everything is dyed a deep red and blurry. The liquid she now realises is blood, flows freely down her face.
------------
[Augmented Physique - failed]
[Passive Skill: Augmented Physique cannot interfere with Skill Point effect]
------------
Burning pain and an indescribable amount of itchiness screams for attention.
The blurriness of her vision is dizzying.
Aki pays it no mind.
These are the consequences of using Skill Points.
Unlike natural level increases - even rapid natural changes - that occur from repetition over time or from powerful flowing emotions that demand far more than can be given at one time, Skill Points break the natural order.
There is no demand for greater strength. No honing of skills. No great emotions desperately seeking power. Skill Points just are.
As a repercussion to this violation of natural law, pain and injury that cannot be staved off by any sort of magic or skill assail the user. Death too could occur as a result since Skill Points rapidly condense the progress one could attain with repeated training and refinement by forcefully altering one's body in a fraction of a nanosecond.
In fact, Aki counts herself lucky she didn't get any worse than bleeding from her eyes after using three Skill Points.
Of course, her body and, more importantly her brain, wouldn't be able to handle another dose of skill point usage for at least a month.
Fremont's humourless laugh rings within the marketplace, his tentacles withdraw to his side and split into several more. Somewhat resembling a squid except instead of suckers, rows upon rows of serrated teeth line the flesh with bone armaments on the ends.
"You have Soul Sight." Fremont exclaims with a laugh. "Did you think that would level the battlefield? How are your eyes, eh?"
He swings at her, his tentacles coming from every which way.
Even still, Aki can see his movements.
Blurry, yes, but she can see them.
Rather than being made mincemeat there and then, Aki dodges each one, moving closer to Fremont with every step until she's right in front of him.
"Good enough!" Blood trails line Aki's cheeks. Her eyes are sharp and determined.
Aki's mana rapidly concentrates for a Mana Burst that forms a bright acid green sphere around her fist.
She strikes Fremont square on the chin, creating explosive shockwaves from the impact.
All of the flagstones at Aki's feet crater as she sends the heavyweight changeling off his feet. She feels her muscles strain and bones compress. Her body, empowered by mana to carry out the spell, luckily manages to keep itself from unravelling.
"...to see you."
------------
Aki Title: Witch
LE: 40/55 HP: 114/200
MP: 62/300
SP: 48/50
[Starved: Lack of food dulls sense by a small amount]
[Skill Burn: Use of Skill Points prevents full LE recovery for some time]
[Blurred Vision: Temporary effect. If not healed, eyes will permanently worsen]
More: ⟲
------------
"I've been using too many pure mana abilities." Aki grits her teeth. "I'll need to focus everything on defence and try using the axe from now on or I'm dead for sure."
Acid green light pulses faintly from her hands. She begins to channel her remaining MP to flow through her body. With the title of [Witch] active, an aura of light encompasses and empowers her too.
While mana is a naturally occurring force and easily accessible to anyone, the cost is expensive, exhaustive, and inefficient. However, that is really only the case if the user is expelling it from their body.
By actively channelling mana through one's own body, the MP needed costs nothing and has the added benefit of further enhancing physical attributes. Although this itself does require focus.
Aki ducks behind cover. She didn't see where Fremont landed but it would be bad if she loses focus before doing anything.
"Where are you looking, poppet?" Fremont's resonant voice jeers from right next to her.
Fremont's face hovers in front of Aki's own. His features reflect his humanoid appearance like before but his neck is abnormally long, stretching around the corner of Aki's hiding spot. His smile stretches quite literally from ear to ear as he speaks.
"You aren't the only one that can manipulate a person's mind, girl."
A clawed hand grasps Aki's face and forces her to stay in place.
"Look into my eyes and fall to despair." Fremont says.