CH1: Exia and Rituals

They beat at the doors of his car. His shield flickered from dozens of little stone-crushing fists. Experience told him he should press the button soon. If he waited until his shield depleted completely, they would get in. Vergil Dusk didn't expect mercy from them. Each had the mind of a corrupted child. He heard one try the door handle, and a piece of his car came off. The battery was running out of charge. Changing it wasn't an option; the car belonged to his uncle, who wouldn't fear the imps outside, and his uncle didn't keep a spare. Vergil's exile didn't leave him flush with cash. The Imps were too strong to try driving forward.

He was far enough away from Sweet Devil town to not expect help. Verigl had driven Exile road, a fitting name for someone with his punishment. The only reason he could still call himself a Dusk was a matter of law. If he died on this road, no one would mourn him. His uncle's family clarified that when he was exiled to Devil Town.

Vergil touched the button and watched the power drain. Pressing it would eliminate the imps and kill his car's battery. He would have to walk the rest of the way through a monster-infested country. Bands of Gols were rumored to patrol the road for slaves. Without his car, he would be out in the elements.

The young man hoped the imps would lose interest. If he waited much longer, the Imps would get in.

"That isn't your only option," Exia said.

Vergil sucked in a breath. There was no one else in the car. Nolan, his uncle, was a genius, and Vergil killed him.

"I don't believe you," Exia said.

The car's energy gauge was less than a minute from half empty. He should push it and make sure the imps all died. But there was a chance they would find something else and runoff. Imps were known to have a short attention span. A wandering squirrel would work.

Time was up.

Vergil pressed the button. For a moment, nothing happened. Imp claws tore through the metal inches from his face. The car rocked as metal screeched. The shield dropped.

He listened to them claw their way to him. One pulled their claws free to look inside. Vergil saw a bright orange eye. The Imps knew for sure he was inside.

Childish laughter filled the morning air. Vergil's heart hammered in his chest.

It was taking too long for the energy burst to activate. The imps could have cut an important wire.

Older model cars didn't use controlled energy bursts. Ancient Titan model Vs. dumped all their power into a single burst.

He remembered reading a story in enchanter's today. Indra Inc had nice fast cars with thick shields. One of their features includes self-recharging batteries. Colonies of gene-edited self-sacrificing bacteria died by the millions to bolster the battery life. It's why he didn't try and drive all night.

An Imp's hand clawed at him from one of the holes they made. Copper wires hung limply like the intestines of a picked-apart corpse.

He was prepared to run when he felt a buzz in his teeth fillings.

A second later, light exploded. Vergil heard flesh sizzle and pressed his face against the floorboard.

+5 Stat Points For A Decisive Move.

"Your reward system is arbitrary at best," Vergil said.

"My goal is to make you stronger as father's programming intended. Making a decision while you could was better than letting the power die and leaving yourself one choice." Exia said.

"I dislike it," Vergil said.

He played games and, at one time, wanted to be a game designer. When he told his uncle about it, the genius Nolan Dusk showed him his new invention. The tenth iteration of the Generation Inheritance System, or GIS for short. Noble families have made incredible strides to match the intelligence and power of the longer-lived races. But unfortunately, humans had limited life spans, and it took many years to learn everything past generations had to teach. As a result, knowledge could be lost, and lessons were forcibly repeated. GIS was created to allow the seamless inheritance of past generations to ensure the next generation surpassed the one before.

While Exia was a GIS system of the tenth generation, it wasn't uploaded with the Dusk family GIS data. So all Exia could do was start from scratch and attempt to fulfill her programming. Unfortunately, the Dusk family database was locked away by his aunt Serenity Dusk nee Luna, along with the family sword Oblivian.

His birthright as the male heir to the Dusk family was denied him. Ancient protections from greedy spouses had fallen slowly over generations. Oblivian, the blade that quenched its thirst in the necks of thousands of seraphs, was to be used as a political bargaining chip. It would enhance his cousin Greselda's dowry for a senator's match.

A new-age noble would give his family sword to a second or third son and dishonor it. He had only seen the blade once but knew it was right for him. A promise had been made years ago between himself and the weapon to once more open the necks of Seraphs in the Angelus towns. But until he was strong enough to be taken seriously, that wouldn't happen.

To return, he needed three things. Wealth was power all its own, and he wouldn't be able to compete without it. He needed personal strength through numerous rituals to empower himself. The most important ingredient for a comeback was allies. Going back alone, no matter how powerful he became, would be suicide.

Vergil opened the dash, pulled out the Exia operation manual, and turned it to stat points.

The interface used allocatable stat points to make Exia more compatible with him. Nanomachines were injected into his body, enchanted with their own AI to control them. Rituals were formed within his body, crafted on his very bones by the nanites. Killing the imps with no one else the claim the bounty is what gave him the stat points to allocate. The rituals formed from the nanites would use the energy gained from sacrificing those lives to empower him.

"I could have immediately put the points into something instead of rewarding you with a choice," Exia said.

"What are my options?" Vergil said.

"You must understand we couldn't download much from the library. I was considered a minor failure because I couldn't pass on to female descendants for some reason."

He flipped to the page on inheritance.

"You are keyed to Dusk DNA and made to adapt with each new generation," Vergil jiggled the handle on the passenger side and couldn't open the door. "Nolan told me the rejection was due to gender. But, unfortunately, Uncle Nolan only had daughters." Vergil said.

He didn't mention the numerous cousins that should have been given the Exia model. Exia bypassed the need for massive ritual chambers and allowed battlefield upgrades. The general council, senate, and courts want to know about that. Limiting something like the Exia to only the Dusk family was unpatriotic. What kind of Eaglite would keep something like Exia from the military?

"Focus on the stats you need for our journey to Sweet Devil Town."

"What rituals do I have to choose from?"

"I wasn't given many to choose from. After registering as a town adventurer, you must scan ritual books from the Sweet Devil Library. Is that still what you want?" Exia asked.

Vergil felt brushed dark hair from his cold, unforgiving eyes. His heart still hammered in his chest from his recent encounter with death. But he was able to keep up the façade of courage. Cold sweat poured down his face, even in the cool spring weather.

"Give me the choices," Vergil said.

1 Skill Point Rituals

Ritual of Boar 0/5 – A common ritual completed by early adventurers starting their careers. Completion increases the durability of the recipient. Due to the nanites in your bloodstream magnifying its effects, this ritual can be completed 5 times.

Ritual of the Ox 0/5 – A common ritual completed by early adventurers starting their careers. Completion increases the strength of the recipient. Due to the nanites in your bloodstream magnifying its effects, this ritual can be completed 5 times.

Ritual of the Sparrow 0/5 – A common ritual completed by early adventurers starting their careers. Completion increases the speed of the recipient. Due to the nanites in your bloodstream magnifying its effects, this ritual can be completed 5 times.

2 Skill Points Rituals

Ritual of Troll 0/5 – A staple ritual completed by those seeking to survive bloody battles. Completion increases the regeneration of the recipient. Due to the nanites in your bloodstream magnifying its effects, this ritual can be completed 5 times.

Ritual of Ghoul 0/3 – A staple ritual completed by the children of adventurers. Completion increases the number of rituals the recipient can withstand. Due to the nanites in your bloodstream magnifying its effects, this ritual can be completed 3 times.

"Five for the Ox," Vergil said.

"Are you sure you can change your mind? Wouldn't balancing speed, strength, and durability be better?" Exia asked.

"Did I stutter?" Vergil asked.

"No, but why go all in on a single ritual type. I expected you to play it strategically and get two ghoul rituals and one Boar, Ox, or Sparrow. That would increase the number of rituals you can get on by two. Then all you needed to do was get lucky against some imps, and then you could fill out your other rituals." Exia said.

"That is dumb," Vergil said.

He kicked at one of the doors but failed to get it open. Both the doors to his car were jammed, and he needed strength to get out. Unfortunately, there wasn't much time left. Hellhounds would come soon to feast on the corpses of the imps.

Supplementary rituals to increase rituals wouldn't mean a damn thing if he couldn't get out of his car. He wouldn't be any better off than a can of soup.

"Fine, hold on and let me there; your first one is starting," Exia said.

Symbols mixed between those found in quarantined Devil and Zues dungeons appeared on his skin, formed from the nanites. The pain of fire ants biting him from the inside made him want to rip open his skin. He scratched himself like a hellhound with scarabs before he felt liquid glass fill his muscles.

He started shaking and kicking before the door to his car shot open, and he ran out. Vergil tripped over a charred body and caught himself before his face touched the body of one of the imps. Their blood was known to contain an infection that turned men into beasts. People who survive it with their sanity intact become something called an incubus.

"That was a close one. Are you sure you don't want me to use a point for durability? It could make future rituals less painful." Exia said.

"No, keep going," Vergil said.

The next wave nearly threw him off his feet. Vergil could barely believe there were three more. The second wave felt worse than the first one. He only kept on his feet because he was bracing himself for it.

Red eyes from the treeline made him turn back towards his car. Exile road was long, and he didn't see anyone coming up or down the road. He had to think of something, what did he know about hellhounds. It would be easier if he had the Dusk database to lean back on. He wracked his mind for anything while the third round of pain hit him. Exia had focused solely on the rituals and couldn't spare time to look through his eyes.