Chapter 131

“125 AP,” Luke said. “Just slightly more than what I have available, because of course it is.”

Despite that, he wasn’t upset. Just knowing that there was an option for [XP Cycle] now was enough to take a lot of stress off him. Gaining a single level before he could put it into effect was no big deal, and he immediately started planning out how to abuse insect bombing to his advantage. They just needed to wipe out two or three hives to push up to a high enough level that they could physically overpower anything that even considered fucking with them, and then it was a straight line across the ocean and to the God Machine.

“Zea, are you just about done?” Luke asked.

She grunted without looking up, but otherwise didn’t respond. Luke looked over to see her hunched over the leather so close that her nose was bare inches away. She was carving lines in it in long, straight rows, and it was only half the size it had been when she started. Next to her were strips of leather, each with their own row of runes etched onto them.

Judging by how much leather was left, he figured she was going to need at least another hour, maybe a bit longer. She’d worked through the night to get her project done, and kept on going after the sun had risen. It must have been important to her to skip sleeping, even if she didn’t really need more an than an hour or two each night now.

With nothing better to do, Luke sat himself back down and started working on a new skill. Or rather, he got to the interface and said, “System, I want to make a mace skill that can attack multiple opponents at once, like some of those sword and dagger skills you showed me when I was looking for a way to fight groups of enemies.”

“What skill would you like to base this new skill on?” System asked.

“What was that one sword skill, the one that made copies of the sword and then attacked with all of them at once? Omnicut or something?”

“I believe you are referring to [Phantom Blades],” System said. Luke silently mouthed the skill name and shook his head as he laughed at how wrong he’d been. “That skill could serve as a viable base to generate multiple temporary copies of your current weapon, but I believe you would need to combine it with a different skill in order to account for a change in how the weapons attack.”

“Well how does [Phantom Blades] do it?” Luke asked. “I just kind of figured it would use your [Sword Mastery] at whatever rank to control the extra swords for you.”

“In part, yes. You could scavenge a movement pattern off [Mace Mastery], but that skill wouldn’t provide you with the framework necessary to coordinate so many different weapons at the same time. Additionally, [Mace Mastery] makes assumptions such as that you are the person holding the weapon, so you may run into some positional issues where the weapons miss because they are targeting based off where your physical weapon is.”

“[Phantom Blades] should have the stuff to cover that, wouldn’t it? I mean, that skill has to overcome the same obstacles.”

System considered that for a moment, then nodded. “I believe you are correct. Would you like me to attempt to model the matrix for a mace-based version of [Phantom Blades] used in conjunction with [Mace Mastery]?”

“I think so. What if we mixed [Power Strike] in there as well, just to give it some extra ‘oomph’ with each hit?”

“That may be inadvisable,” System said. “The cumulative strain on your body from so many uses of [Power Strike] at the same time could theoretically kill you.”

“Damn,” Luke said, his fantasies of pulverizing a mountain in one swing vanishing. “’Maybe we could just make it so that it synergizes with [Power Strike] if I use the skill at the same time, but just divides a single use into each phantom mace?”

“That would be possible,” System said. “I believe it would raise the AP cost to acquire the skill by 5.”

“What’s the cost now?”

“[Phantom Blades] costs 25 AP. Your as-of-yet-unnamed version will cost 30 AP if you include the ability to synergize with other combat skills. As it currently stands, you will need to raise [Mace Mastery]to rank 5 and purchase [Mana Manipulation] rank 3 as prerequisite skills for this new skill.”

“Ah, damn it. Is there a way to go around those requirements?” Luke asked.

“I suppose you could, technically, but it would inflate the AP cost of the skill so high that you would be worse off than if you’d purchased the skills to begin with.”

Luke kept tinkering with the idea until Zea finished up her project, but in the end, he couldn’t find a viable alternative. The best he could come up with was a skill that was already in the system, [Burst Step], which just allowed for a brief window, fractions of a second, in which he could move faster to help with positioning for an attack. Even that still wasn’t the same as attacking in multiple places at once, though, not really. It seemed semi-useful at best to him, considering how easily it could be blocked by skills like [Twitch Reflexes], not to mention the extreme amount of perception and agility needed to take full advantage of it kind of provided the same benefits, only without wasting the AP.

“Annnndd…. Done,” Zea announced.

“Cool. What are they?”

“Enchanted restraints,” she said.

“Oh? Kinky.”

“Not that kind of restraint. Although…” Zea trailed off, then shook her head. “No. They’re made to throw at an enemy. They’ll make whatever limb they hit feel like it weighs a few hundred pounds, and if you can tag the same enemy multiple times, they’ll also start to pull towards each other. Ideally, they’ll slow down the person, then make it harder to coordinate their limbs, and eventually stop them completely if enough bands hit.”

“Oh shit, that’s cool. Are they reusable?”

“Unfortunately, no. Each one will last for about three minutes. After that, they’re just strips of leather with fancy squiggles on them.”

Even with that limiting factor, Luke could see how valuable they were. If they could trip up that inquisitor with even two or three of the restraints, Luke would probably be able to score a decisive victory. Then again, considering how fast the inquisitor was, there really wasn’t any guarantee that they’d actually be able to hit him.

“So what happens if you get one of these around a person’s neck?” Luke asked.

Zea gave him a wicked grin. “I imagine it would become very difficult to breathe, or hold your head upright.”

“And the torso?”

“Wouldn’t activate at all. Unfortunately, they only work if the spot they hit is small enough for the band to completely circle it. For any human opponent, arms and legs are good, head is… probably? Maybe. Neck is excellent. I can’t make them long enough to circle a waist or chest.”

“Still, even with those restrictions, that’s pretty awesome. Are you sure you can tag that inquisitor with one, though? That guy’s crazy fast.”

“Not even a little bit,” Zea told him. “But I have faith that you can. All you have to do is hit him with one and it’ll activate on its own.”

“Oooooohhh.” Luke looked down at the bands again. It was tempting to tag himself, just to see what it felt like. He could justify it as needing to know the limits of what it did so that he could use it effectively in combat, but the way he figured his luck ran, as soon as he did that, the inquisitor would burst out of the trees and attack. Then Luke would be fighting at a handicap against an opponent he already couldn’t beat.

As Zea gathered up all her enchanting supplies, Luke told her, “I cracked the XP Madness problem. We made a new skill called [XP Cycle], but I need one more level to have the AP for it. Feel like making some temporary bombs to use on an anthill? What are you looking at?”

Zea just stared at him, her mouth hanging open. “Come on, it’s not that big a deal,” Luke said.

“Not that big a deal!” she sputtered. “Are you serious? If this was a skill everyone could take, it would completely change society!”

“Uh… can everyone take it, System?” Luke asked.

“Not without your bloodline,” System said. “I suppose if you were prolific enough in that regards, you could spread your bloodline so that in a few hundred years, it would a skill that most people could take.”

“Yeah. Um. No thanks. Can we modify it so that people can take it without the bloodline?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Figures.” Luke thought about for a second, then added, “All we’re really doing with this skill is adding a condition to how XP is transferred between the God Machine and everyone with XP, right?”

“Correct.”

“Could we alter the system to do that by default, for everybody?”

Zea’s breath caught and she glanced sharply over at System, who stood there considering the question. “I believe it is hypothetically possible, but I do not know if you will be allowed to. Thus far, the addition of a new skill that is limited to your own bloodline falls well within the bounds of your permissions. Even at the command console, you would not be allowed to make a change this big. You would need to query for system override first. Such requests are sent directly to the Pantheon and must be unanimously agreed upon.”

“So we need the gods’ permission,” Luke said. “And if they wanted the system to do that, they could have just done it that way to begin with.”

“I cannot speculate on the-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Luke said. He blew out a hard sigh and added, “Well, fuck. I guess the problem is solved for us, at least. Wait, I can use [XP Cycle] on someone else with [Remote Access], right?”

“That is correct,” System said.

“Could I use [XP Mask] too?”

“That is also correct.”

“Huh. How about that? Good to know that we can hide your XP too, if we need to,” Luke told Zea.

“When this is all over, I don’t plan on having that much. I still want you to reset me so I can do my own build.”

“Right. I can pick up [Stat Assignment] right now, but, well, that doesn’t reduce your XP. System, just to confirm, [Alter Skill List] will let us remove skills from Zea, correct?”

“Yes, Luke. Removed skills will have their AP refunded. You will need to remove higher tier skills with prerequisites prior to removing base skills in the event that such skills are present.”

“And that’s 200 AP,” Luke said. “So, ants. Pack on a few levels, pick up [XP Cycle], buff some stats and upgrade some skills, punch that inquisitor’s lights out, then got on the boat and bail on this place?”

“I suppose that is a plan,” Zea said. “As long as System is sure this new skill will stop XP Madness.”

“It will,” System assured her. “As long as you receive regular applications of the skill, your XP will be cycled through the God Machine. Once every month or two should be sufficient up through level 60.”

“See, there you go,” Luke said. “Let’s do this?”

“Maybe you should just get that XP yourself,” Zea said. “I think I’ve leveled enough.”

“Why? We just figured out a way to overcome this problem.”

“Sure, but what if you’re not around? We get separated for a few months, and by the time you find me, I’m fucking insane. Whoops, too late. Sucks to be Zea, I guess? Or what happens when you get your family back? That’s it, no more treatments for me? It was a good long twenty-three years?”

“I… I wouldn’t…” Luke stopped himself. “Okay, that’s fair. I get where putting yourself in a position where you’re relying on me to keep giving you your XP Madness pills for the rest of your life, with no other way to get them, and if the supply runs out, you die, is a bad spot. Maybe we can keep working on the skill to make it do it automatically, permanently.”

“If we can, then I’m more interested. Right now, I want to see my XP reset permanently before I commit to going to an even higher level.”

“Fair enough. I still need to get a few more levels to even take the skill though, and I can’t bomb a colony of ants without you.”

Zea sighed and said, “Fine. One bomb. That’s it.”

“Great! System, which way to the closest anthill?”