Theory & Trauma

January 12th, 2022

***

Reed slowly awakened on the other side of the portal. His entire body ached from the strain, feeling numerous tears and fractures that had barely healed. He knew in his heart that Koga was responsible. This was yet another thankless favor.

Pale blue light lit up his face, sourced from several notifications vying for attention. He organized them and squinted, straining to see straight.

[Level up! You have reached Level 11. Attribute points awarded]

[Congratulations. You have acquired your first Transcendent Ability. Continue fighting for the sake of your planet]

'A Transcendent ability?'

"Status."

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[Name: Reed Dill || Mana: 100%/100% || Level 11: 30% XP || Unused Attribute Points: 3]

[Class: Guardian (intrinsic)]

[Attributes: Strength: 27 || Agility: 16 || Constitution: 18 || Magic: 14 || Intelligence 11]

[Abilities: Transcendent Limit Break, Double Strength, Guardian's Skin (passive)]

[Skills: Mist, Barrier]

[8 Copper || 1 Healing Potion || 2 Mana Potions]

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He clenched his bloody fist and grimaced. Reed spent months tracking down information about Transcendent Abilities in Mirage. But they were practically myths, thought to be rumors or concepts that hadn't been put in-game yet. Finally, after so long, he knew they existed. And more than that, he knew how strong they could be.

Along with the new Ability came a flood of information. It offered a basic understanding of how 'Limit Break' worked, but left too many questions unanswered.

For now though, it sufficed. It was time to get up.

He lifted his torso, taking in the metal framework and cold weather.

"You alright man?" Koga stepped forward, peering down.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better."

He reached over and pulled Reed to his feet. The sounds of monotonous drumming drew their attention. They turned their heads to see Rio sitting on a box, impatiently kicking her feet.

"Finally! Now let's go."

The two hesitated, glancing at each other.

"Go where?"

"The fourth dungeon of course. Richter and Brent may still be busy. This is the perfect chance to farm more XP."

"Uh-" Reed performed a few stretches. "-I'm in no shape to fight right now."

"That's fine, you can wait outside. Let's move!"

Rio hopped off the box, busting through a side door to the outside.

"Why's she in such a rush?"

"Perhaps your display of strength made her feel inferior."

Reed cracked a smile.

"Or like she's falling behind the rest of us?"

"Precisely."

"Besides you, she's worse than every one of us, right?"

"Yup."

"Ha! If she only knew. You have any plans to reveal your skills to her?"

Koga gave a wide grin.

"Nope. Though I may have if you didn't cleanly deal with the boss. Who knows what crazy stuff that goblin could do."

Koga and Reed trusted each other wholeheartedly. They were quick to share any new information gained about skills and abilities.

For now, fights could be won solely by relying on mana to boost their physical abilities. Koga planned to hold off as long as possible before revealing his to anyone else.

The soft grunts of fighting raised their nerves. They leaned out the door in time to see Rio incinerate a wandering goblin.

Koga sighed at the extravagant size of the fireball.

"Must be nice to be a Mage..."

Reed nudged him out the door.

"They need all the help they can get. Now come on, might as well see how the city is doing."

They fell in behind Rio, carrying a quiet conversation. Reed explained his new ability, plus a theory he had.

"I think Richter's detection ability might be Transcendent."

Koga scratched his chin, intrigued.

"On what basis?"

"His detection is far too omnipotent, and from what I can tell- well, hold on a sec."

"Hey Rio, when Richter detects stuff, do you sense any mana being used?"

Rio, of course, had been shamelessly listening in on their conversation. She was always interested in learning about Richter.

"Nope there isn't a flicker of it. But more importantly, are you sure Transcendent Abilities exist?"

"Exactly."

He turned back to Koga, ignoring Rio's question.

"He isn't using mana, so it can't be a skill. And I don't know anything else that could be so powerful without a significant drawback."

"Or," Koga pondered, " The drawback is significant, and he's simply become so frighteningly proficient at using it that it doesn't affect him as much."

Rio's eyebrows furrowed as she spoke, "It's been less than a week since everything started. Just how proficient could he become?"

The three let their ideas float around in the open.

Speaking of which —

'how were Richter and Brent doing?' they thought.

***

[Blood Dea-

Brent's concentration dipped as another piece of his body was lopped off.

"There goes another!"

His many pieces weren't pretty, drawing the laughter and mockery of the boss. He lay face down in the dirt, unable to see anything around him.

'Just one chance...'

As quickly as he regenerated, a powerful slice removed his new flesh.

His mind began to crack.

'Make it end.'

*slice*

'Please...'

Why him? Any other class would have died long ago. He was stuck in his own hell, endlessly enduring-

*slice*

The experience of slaughter.

'...'

*slice*

'...'

'....I want to keep going.'

A tiny fire was born in his heart, inching slowly through his body. It numbed his nerves, gave him courage, and spurred his will to live.

He lifted his head, eyes locked on the six-toed feet of the goblin carving him. He phased out everything else.

[Blood Deal – Both Legs, Both Arms, Intestines, Waist, Half Torso]

And like clockwork, the limbs and viscera melted down into red liquid that shot into his body, pumping forth to fix him.

Soon after, Brent sprang up and grabbed his sword off the floor.

It was time to get a little payback. His blade blurred into an overhead chop, slicing clean through the goblin's right arm.

The injury caused it to stumble back in a daze, and it took too long to realize that its sword was gone too. Not to mention that the man was too fast for it to process. How do you fight something you can't react to?

Brent severed through his torso in the next hit and assaulted the boss with dozens of attacks. He sliced and slashed until its carcass fell apart into mere chunks.

It felt good to escape hell. But it hadn't come without a cost.

Brent laid down in the fetal position, with all of the trauma and anguish flooding his mind.

The boss was far more skilled than him; that's how he ended up at such a disadvantage. The stat boost of one arm wasn't enough to solve it.

After several minutes, he stood up, slowly walking toward the portal. His face was heavy. Overcoming a skill gap wasn't a quick fix.

Where would he ever find someone who could teach him? It was something he'd worry about later. For now, he just wanted to get out of this place.

***

"Ah... This is quite a delicate issue."

The wrinkly goblin sat at the back of a large throne room. He leaned over one side, eyeing the long, bloody trail of corpses behind the human. He trained his eyes back at the unharmed and uninterested expression of the man.

"I can feel Dru's mark on you, so killing is not an option."

The goblin felt no threat and took no measures to guard against him. An overwhelming display of confidence... and yet another monster that underestimated Richter.

"Huh," Richter picked his ear. "Well I gotta kill you to open the portal, so no hard feelings."

He walked forward, approaching the wrinkly creature.

'Oh? Interesting.'

A second source of the goblins aura appeared in the left corner behind him. It was eerily similar to the feeling of a Mage's Teleport, except the goblin could exert more control over when he teleported.

'Could monsters receive classes? Or at least acquire skills/abilities related to them?'

He got closer to the throne.

"Mages are a Swordsman's worst match-up. I'm afraid you won't be doing anything to me. This cat and mouse game will continue until Dru comes back."

The goblin spoke with certainty.

By now, Richter had lost all interest. From the beginning, he just wanted to fight the captain again. Unfortunately, it wasn't in this one.

"Try your best," Richter muttered.

He jogged forward to the throne, sighing when the goblin teleported to the marker.

It sneered in his direction. "Although this would be easier if I break your limbs first. You'll have plenty of time to heal up."

A new marker appeared at arm's length from Richter's back.

'What a genius.' he thought.

The final moments were at hand.

He lifted one foot and pivoted, turning to the marker.

[Sunder – 10%]

The goblin looked in horror at the small black sphere that appeared at his destination. Sadly, he couldn't take it back. He already cast the ability.

His body reappeared, ready to accept death. He didn't just 'push' the orb or hit it with his body, the orb was left inside his stomach as he materialized around it. The moment he became solid, his body burst into pieces.

Gore and blood splashed the room, covering Richter.

'Bleh' – He used a sleeve to wipe off his face.

His stomach twisted in knots at the viscera surrounding him, his arms shaking just a little. The familiar sight brought up old memories.

It was just one time, and he was justified. It was all hushed up anyways no one even knows about-

He stilled his arms.

-just forget it.

Richter stepped into the blue portal, erasing his doubts. He disappeared through the other side.

***