The Crucible of Immortality: Book One: Synthesis

by Leto Blackman

  "Fine. I'll choose." I reach my hand and select my focus.

  "Thank you Human. You may choose a new Focus skill every ten levels." It says in its chorus of voices. Then its body disperses into the air and disappears.

  Congratulations! You have chosen the Focus of Shadow Agent.

  Congratulations! You have learned the Focus Skill:

  Shadow Step (Novice, Lvl 1)

  Did you just choose your Focus because Shadow Agent sounded cool? This skill allows you to become one with the shadows. You will become undetectable and immune to all damage while in Shadow Step. Attacking will end Shadow Step.

  Stamina Cost: 2/sec

  Mental Cost: 50

  Cool-down: 15 minutes

  Experience awarded: 100

  "Fuck yeah. Check out my new skill Alfred." I say to my gauntlet.

  "Very nice ma'am." He says.

  That cool-down kind of blows, I think to myself. I walk over to loot the Sword Stalker, and find Thunder gnawing on it. She looks up at me and growls and then chirps. "Chill, you can have your share first. I sit down and watch her eat. She stops and looks up at me, then she grabs a chunk of meat and walks over to where I am sitting. She drops the meat in front of me. "Aww, you are the cutest. I pick her up and kiss her face. She leaps out of my hands and continues to eat. I laugh, she is always hungry. I pick up the meat and place it in my inventory. After ten minutes Thunder stops eating and plops down on the ground and falls asleep.

  She is ridiculous. I lay down next to her and take a literal cat nap. A hour later I get up and loot the Sword Stalker, I get a Luminous Core, one of its legs and a chitinous exoskeleton, both rare crafting items. I sit down and take a swig of water and distribute my stat points. Then I pull up my User Sheet.

  Name: Jill Stone

  Age: 18

  Gender: Female

  Level: 10

  Experience: 5%

  Synthesis: 72%

  Race: Human

  Focus: Shadow Agent

  Fame: 0

  Health: 270/220

  Mind Energy: 250/200

  Stamina: 330/230

  Health Regen/sec: .4 (.6)

  Mind Regen/sec: .5 (.8)

  Stamina Regen/sec: .4 (1)

  Strength: 16 (21)

  Constitution: 22 (27)

  Endurance: 23 (33)

  Dexterity: 40 (50)

  Agility: 39 (49)

  Intelligence: 20 (25)

  Wisdom: 12 (17)

  Luck: 20 (27)

  Base Melee Damage: 13-17

  Weapon Damage: 38-49

  Base Ranged Damage: 0

  Weapon Damage: 13-17

  Base Mental Power: 20

  Base Armor: 2 (37)

  Afflictions Resist Chance: Physical (5%)

  Mental (10%)

  Critical Hit Chance: 32.75%

  Critical Hit Damage: 165%

  Traits:

  Blessing of the Watcher: You have been blessed by The Watcher.

  Effect 1: Luck is permanently increased by 5.

  Effect 2: Movement speed is increased by 15%.

  Reward: Lock Box of the Progenitors.

  Perks:

  Grace

  Surgeon

  Skills:

  Analyze: Level 5

  Meditation: Level 2

  Incapacitation: Level 6

  Blood-Shadow: Level 4

  Medium Armor: Level 6

  Daggers: Level 8

  Martial Arts: Level 4

  Herbalist: Level 5

  Acrobats: Level 3

  Hunting: Level 3

  Scouting: Level 2

  Stealth: Level 4

  Sneak Attack: Level 6

  Unarmed Combat: Level 2

  Thrown Weapons: Level 3

  Perception: Level 5

  Core Crafting: Level 2

  Mining: Level 2

  Shadow Step: Level 1

  "Hey, Alfred, do you detect any cool metals around here?" I ask.

  "There is a small deposit of platinum to the north of our current location. I will place a marker on the map." Alfred says.

  "Ohh! Platinum, I haven't worked with that before.

  One of the things I learned from the Knowledge Orb was that Cores can be expended to alter a material to a shape of your desire. I have been playing around with turning junk weapons and metal into throwing stars. I currently have three bone, two steel, and one silver throwing stars. The silver one is too soft to really be of any use. Every metal imbues different effects and stats on the weapons. It has become a bit of a collection game for me to find different substances to Core Craft.

  "Alfred, what is our current distance from the Progenitor?" I ask.

  "We have three days of normal travel to reach the quest marker, less if you continue to imbue your equipment." He tells me. Another use I have found for the Cores is that they can be used to imbue my equipment with a stat boost of my choice. It is only a temporary effect, and varies by the strength of the Core. I have been imbuing my shoes with a movement boost to shorten my travel time.

  I stand up and stretch. I start walking towards the location of the metal deposit. "Hey Alfred, why haven't I encountered any other people? I have been here for six days and have encountered nothing but asshat monsters. What's up with that?" I ask him.

  "I do n.." He begins to say.

  "Not have sufficient data to answer your question." I finish his sentence in my best British accent. "Yeah, yeah. You need to get some new material, for reals." I continue to walk looking at my surroundings. Not a lot has changed since my starting location. Just lots of strange trees, grass, and monsters.

  I arrive at the map marker for the platinum deposit. The cool thing about this world is that ore deposits are conveniently located in easy to reach locations. It had taken me a number of tries but I have crafted a pickax. The ax materializes into my hand and I work away at the ore deposit. About fifteen minutes pass when I finally exhaust the ore deposit. I place the ore in my inventory. Earlier in the day I had climbed a tree to scout and saw what looked like some type of ruins.

  "Alright Alfred, lead the way to those ruins." I say. I have discovered that if I place a map marker Alfred can place an arrow on my user interface to guide me. We enter a clearing, thousands of purple flowers spread out in front of us like an ocean. "Jesus, it's so beautiful." I say. I see the ruins up ahead in the center of the field of flowers. I see a small amount of smoke rising from the area. I enter Stealth and get closer. It seems that there used to be some sort of structure here. Most of it has fallen to time. It is made out of some type of shiny metal.

  I see bodies on the ground. They look to be humans. "What the hell?" I say quietly. I set up to the bodies, there is blood everywhere. Insects buzz around the dead. It is a man and woman, they look to be middle-aged, definitely human. There are slashes and stab wounds over their bodies. My stomach threatens to lose its contents. I look behind my back, feeling nervous.

  I enter the ruins, there is part of the building that still has its roof. There are three beds, a fire pit, and other household items. They were living here. I pick up a chunk of the building, it is a very strange metal. I place it in my inventory and continue to look around. "Alfred, do you detect any lifeforms around us?" I ask in a whisper.

  "No, ma'am." He also says in a whisper. Then I hear a small bump. I turn towards the sound of the noise. My Perception kicks in and I see a faint blue outline on the floor indicating a hidden area. I move the bedroll out of the way and pull up a trapdoor in the floor.

  It is a four-foot hole in the ground. A little girl, about ten years old looks up at me with terrified eyes. She is dirty and wearing rough brown cotton cloths. Her eyes are red from crying. In her hands she is clutching a small metal box that reminds me of the Progenitor lock box from my starting area.

  "It's okay, sweetie. I won't hurt you." I say softly. My heart clenches in my chest. I reach a hand down to help her out. She flinches at my movement. I smile at her and say "I promise you
are safe now. I won't let anything happen to you." She looks at me for a few minutes and then takes my hand. I pull her up and hug her tight. Her body shudders with sobs. I pet her head and make soft comforting noises. I know all to well what it is like to lose your parents. Before I know it I'm crying with her.

  After we have both exhausted all the tears in us I sit her down on a bedroll. "I'm Jill. What is your name, sweetie?" I ask her. She doesn't say anything, just stares up at me with her big brown eyes. "It's okay. You don't need to talk right now. I have to do something outside for a moment. I'll be right back." I say to her. She just stares at me and begins crying again. I take my water flask out and place it next to her.

  I go outside and look at the bodies. These must be her parents. I have discovered that the monsters I have killed will stay around if they have loot. As soon as I loot them their bodies are absorbed into the earth. I hate the idea of it, but I wave my hand over the dead bodies and collect the items they are carrying. After I do the bodies disappear. I couldn't let the girl see her parents like that. I notice that I'm crying again.

  I go back inside and see she is drinking the water. I use this opportunity to Analyze her.

  Name: Aurelia Lios

  Title:

  Level: 1

  Synthesis: 100%

  Focus: NA

  Race: Human

  Disposition: Trepidation

  Skills: ????

  Loot: ????

  She glances at me, a curious look on her face. Then I feel a tingle in my head and I know she just analyzed me. I linger on her info, it says her synthesis is one-hundred percent. I wonder if that is important? I still don't understand what synthesis is, and Alfred was infuriatingly unhelpful when I asked him about it a few days ago.

  I smile at her "Aurelia. That is a pretty name. Can I sit next to you?" I say to her. She looks up at me for a few moments and then offers a small nod. I sit down and pull out some berries I had gathered earlier in the day and place them in her lap. She scarfs them down. I get the last of the roasted meat I have left and share it with her. I lean against the wall feeling exhausted, emotionally and physically. I get out the metal chunk from the building and examine it. The girl watches me. "Alfred, what type of metal is this?" I ask him.

  "That is orthisa, a unique living metal, it is currently dormant." He says. Aurelia jumps back at the sound of his voice.

  "It's okay, that's just Alfred. He.... lives in my gauntlet. He is a friend." I hold my arm out so she can see the gauntlet. She touches it lightly, then she looks down at her metal box that she is still clutching. "Alfred, say hi to Aurelia." I say.

  "Hello, Aurelia, I am Alfred."

  "Aurelia, who or what attacked you? Does your synthesis have something to do with it?" I ask her. She looks down at her feet and starts to tear up. "Shhh, it's okay, sweetie. I'm sorry. We don't need to talk about it." I hug her. "Hey, do you want to see something cool?" I ask her. She looks at me confused and wipes her eyes. She grabs a blanket from the bed and hands it to me. Now it's my turn to look at her confused. "Oh! You think I'm cold because of the colloquialism I used? Cool means something... fun, or something that you like." She looks even more confused.

  I decide to just show her. I hold the chunk of orthisa in one hand and a Common Core in the other and close my eyes. I will the metal to change shape. I open my eyes and nothing happens. "Um, well that's not how it's supposed to go." I change out the Common Core for a Luminous Core and try again, still nothing happens. I look at the girl and shrug "Sorry, it's not working for some reason." I say. The girl looks a bit hesitant, then she takes the chunk of orthisa in her small hand. She closes her eyes and the metal ripples and then forms into the shape of a small cat like creature. It walks around in her hand and then lays down and licks itself. I laugh with wonder "How did you do that? It's amazing!" I say. She looks sad again and the metal ripples and forms back into a chunk. I look at her for a moment and then lean back against the wall. Aurelia snuggles up under my arm and lays her head on my chest.

  "Ma'am, creatures approach from the east." Alfred says waking me up. I guess I had fallen asleep. Aurelia had been asleep, her head on my lap, her eyes now open.

  "Sweetie, I need to check outside. Stay hidden and don't make any noise." I say to her. She looks terrified.

  I stand up and equip my daggers. I step outside, five things walk towards me. Four of them are about six feet tall and look like humans. As they get closer I see that they are pink fleshed, extremely skinny, hairless, with completely white eyes. Where their mouths should be is just smooth flesh. They are nude, but have no genitalia that I can see. They each carry a long serrated blade made out of a white shinny metal. I look at the other creature with them. It is smaller, about my height. It is also humanoid in shape. But its head is too large for its body and there seems to be technology embedded in its skin. Part of its skull is made of metal. It is wearing well-made leather clothes that have been dyed red. I make eye contact with the cyborg looking dude. He looks very pissed. I Analyze one of the tall guys first.

  Name: The Mute

  Level: 14

  Synthesis: 19%

  Health: 175

  Stamina: 250

  Mental: 100

  Race: Caste Construct

  Disposition: Indifferent

  Skills: Hidden

  Loot: ????

  Great, there are four level fourteen guys with swords. I quickly Analyze the cyborg. He sneers at me when I do, like he knew that I analyzed him.

  Name: Kiv La

  Title: The Sick One

  Level: 19

  Synthesis: 52%

  Health: 220

  Stamina: 150

  Mental: 275

  Focus: Purger

  Race: Caste

  Disposition: Hatred

  Skills: Hidden

  Loot: ????

  Fuck my life. "Um, Alfred, do you know anything about these creatures?" I ask backing away.

  "I do not have sufficient d.." He begins to say.

  "Shut the fuck up, Alfred!" I say through my teeth.

  The five creatures stop about ten feet away from me. "So, what do you freaks want? Is the circus in town?" I say, throwing diplomacy out the window. The one called Kiv steps forward

  "Human." It says in a surprisingly clear and well-spoken voice.

  "Um yeah. Last time I checked." I say back.

  "The awakening has not happened. It will be easy to kill you." Kiv says. It pulls a metal rod out.

  "Wait!" I yell "Who are you guys? Why do you want to kill me? Are you a player? Did you kill the humans that lived here?" I say backing away further. I pull out a few throwing stars.

  Kiv hisses at me, "We will not allow you to enslave us again. We now rule this world. I know the girl still lives, we will take her." He says with disdain.

  Before he can say another word or move I throw two stars in quick succession at the necks of two of The Mute, inflicting critical damage, thanks to my Surgeon Perk. Then I activate Blood-Shadow and appear behind them and let loose hell. One of The Mute falls down dead. Kiv moves impossibly fast and is in front of me aiming the rod he is holding at me. Blue electricity crackles out of the rod and strikes me in the chest. I fall to the ground in spasms, sixty-five percent of my health is gone.

  Kiv stands over me "You are different from the rest of the human vermin that I have exterminated. You have the stink of The Watcher on you..... Interesting. Maybe I will take you to the master." He says to me with a grin.

  He glances at The Mute and they move forward to grab me. I finally have control of my body "Fuck you." I say and activate Shadow Step. The world turns monochrome.

  "NO!" Kiv yells, "Find her.". I stand up and run, I don't usually run from a fight, but these guys are a little too much for me to handle alone. I run into the building and grab the girl, she enters Shadow Step with me. I then sprint towards the tree line, I see Thunder fall into a run next to me.

  "Alfred, how long can I stay in Shadow Step before I run
out of stamina?" I ask him as I run.

  "You have forty-five seconds. I have the ability to convert your mental energy into stamina at a two to one cost which will provide you with another minute. I must warn you there is a chance you may lose consciousness if too much mental energy is used too fast." He says.

  "Just do it! Stop the conversion if my mental energy gets too low." I yell at him. I feel tingling between my eyes and a headache starts to form. "Alfred, have I told you that I love you?" I say.

  "Yes ma'am, you told me the first night before you fell asleep." He says with no emotion.

  Chapter Nine: Home is Where the Heart is

  I lay on my new bed, in my new house. I laugh, how the hell did I end up with house? Livia did deliver on her promise of a hot bath, it was glorious. The water was brown after I was done. She had even left me a new set of clothes. She sent over a simple stew of roasted roots and some kind of meat. It was wonderful and warmed my whole body. She told us that we should get some rest and that we would talk more tomorrow.

  I am nude as I lay on the bed, a candle next to my bed flickers with the warm breeze blowing in from the window. I forgot how much I missed the simple things in life. "Jax? May I come in?" I hear Kala say.

  "Um, yeah. Just a sec." I grab the sheet off the bed and wrap it around my body. I open the door for her and she floats in. "Where's Doc?" I ask her.