Fusing and an Ultimate

We stood there, the five of us, looking at each other with relief and gratitude. We had just faced a tough battle and come out on top, but the fight had left its mark on us. Naomi was limping, her leg bleeding profusely, while I was clutching my side, trying to keep the gash from opening up again. Njoya and Zillah were also nursing bruises and scrapes, but we all knew we had won.

Captain Xander had a smile on his face. "This would have been a lot tougher without each other," he said. He looks over to me before speaking again. "Azarias I honestly don't think we could have pulled that off without you. That fusion ability of yours is pretty powerful."

"Thanks captain but we all played our parts in this fight, and you finished it off." I replied.

I looked at all of them, feeling a sense of pride and camaraderie welling up inside me. These were my friends, my allies, and together we could take on anything. After the sense of satisfaction and the adrenaline wore off the pain in my side made itself known again.

"Hey, didn't someone get a healing skill?" I asked the team with a grimace.

Naomi nodded slowly. "I did," she said. "I can use it on all of us, but it will take a lot of MP."

"Hey Naomi, why didn't you use your skill to heal yourself?" I asked her

She shrugged. "I didn't want to use up all my MP on just myself, in case someone else needed it more," she explained.

Captain Xander gave her a small smile. "That's very selfless of you, Naomi."

Njoya and Zillah nodded in agreement.

I couldn't help but feel grateful for having such a supportive team. "Naomi, I think you should use the skill on yourself first. You're hurt the worst," I said.

She cocks an eyebrow at me while looking at my side.

"I'm pretty sure you are worse off Sergeant; I'll start with you first."

Naomi closed her eyes and focused, her hands glowing with a soft blue light. I could feel the wound on my side start to knit itself slowly back together. It was a weird sensation. I could feel a small pressure around the area that was being healed. It was as though someone was molding my flesh back to the way it was. She then turned to us and used her healing skill on each of us, one by one.

"Thanks, Naomi." I said with a smile. She returned the smile before letting her gaze travel elsewhere.

"We need to keep moving," I said, breaking the silence. "We don't know if there are any more threats lurking around the corner." 'We haven't heard anything from the AI.'

"That's a fair point...but where do we go from here?" asked Njoya.

"Perhaps I can help with that." came the voice of the AI once again.

"You know I'm starting to feel like you only respond when we say or do certain things."

The AI chuckled. "Well, you're not entirely wrong about that. I can only respond when you initiate communication with me or when certain conditions are met. But to answer your question, you need to head north from here. There is a crystal that you can activate by touching it. The crystal will teleport you to your next destination...I will warn you to prepare yourselves before you touch that crystal. The next part is to be done individually. You won't have each other to fall back on."

We all exchanged glances, a sense of unease settling over us. The thought of being alone in an unknown and dangerous place was daunting, but we knew we had no choice. We had come too far to turn back now.

"Thank you for the information," Captain Xander said. "We'll be on our way."

"Good luck," the AI replied, its voice fading away. "Oh, one more thing. Don't forget to collect your essence from your foes. In addition to absorbing the essence you also gain exp, items, gold, and even skills. Also, of note. When you defeat an enemy, the essence will be protected for a short time. This is indicated by a red aura around the essence. During this time only the person who laid the final blow can absorb it."

"How long is the protection around the essence?" I questioned.

"Approximately 60 seconds," the AI answered. "So, make sure to act fast and collect the essence before it disappears."

I look back over the battlefield and can see blue shimmering essence floating in the air. "Well from what I can see the 60 seconds has passed. How should we divvy up the spoils?" I asked.

Captain Xander looked at the essence floating in the air, then turned to the rest of us. "I think we should split it evenly," he said. "We all worked together to defeat the Goblins, so it's only fair that we share the rewards."

"To be fair Captain. You and Azarias had the most difficult opponent. I think at the very least only you two should split that." interjected Njoya. Zillah and Naomi nodded in agreement, and we all walked over to the essence, reaching out to take our share. I stopped before asking the Ai a question.

"What happens when two people try and absorb the same essence?" I questioned.

"If two people try to absorb the same essence, they will both receive an equal amount," the AI replied. "The essence and everything that comes with it will be divided equally between them.

I nodded to show my agreement with the need for precise timing and coordination in collecting essence.

Once we had completed the process, I received a notification.

"You have obtained 1100 exp."

"Congratulations you have advanced to level 4"

"You have gathered 300 essence."

"You have received the passive skill "Fury Crash (level E): When an ally becomes incapacitated during battle, receive a 25% boost to attack until the end of the conflict."

"You have been granted 1,500 gold."

"You have obtained Steel Axe X 1"

"That's some great loot!" I exclaimed excitedly.' I guess the loot is so good because of how strong the Goblin was. I wonder what the captain received.' I looked over at the captain and he seemed to have a very serious look on his face.

"What did you get, Captain?" I asked, curious as to what he had received.

Captain Xander looked up, a grave expression on his face. "I received a skill," he said, his voice low. "It's called Bloodlust (level E). When activated, it increases my attack power and speed, but at the cost of my health. I lose 1% of my health every five seconds as long as it's active."

I felt a shiver go down my spine. "That sounds dangerous," I said.

"It is," he replied. "I'm not sure if I should use it...but I also can't ignore its potential power."

We all looked at each other, unsure of what to say. We had all seen the devastation that Captain Xander's strength could inflict, and the thought of him being even more powerful was both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

"Let's keep moving," Naomi said, breaking the uneasy silence. "We can't stay in one place for too long."

"You're right, ok everyone, gather the rest of the essence and let's get ready to move out." I ordered. Everyone separated to gather the rest of the essence. Njoya and Zillah absorbed the group of four goblin archers, while Naomi absorbed the three goblins that were chasing her down. Doing some mental math, I realized there were two more un accounted for. 'Oh yeah, the Goblin Shamans. I look around and spot their essence at a distance.'

"I'll go get the Shaman essence," I said, pointing to the shimmering blue essence in the distance. "You guys go on ahead and I'll catch up with you."

The rest of the team nodded and started to make their way towards the north, leaving me to collect the last of the essence. I jogged over to the shimmering blue light, feeling a sense of excitement welling up inside me. This was the last of the loot, and I couldn't wait to see what I had obtained.

As I reached out to touch the essence, I suddenly felt a cold chill run down my spine. Grabbing my pistol, I look around briefly before absorbing the essence. Like before multiple notifications appear before me.

"You have gained 500 exp."

"Congratulations you have advanced to level 5"

"You have absorbed 80 essence."

"You have obtained 500 gold."

"You have obtained Mage staff."

"You have obtained Shaman ring (rare)"

I stand there a little shocked at obtaining a rare item so soon. 'Man, my luck has never been this good in games before. I guess in real life I have a bit more luck.' I wanted to fully inspect everything I gained but I knew the rest of the team was waiting for me.

I started running to catch up with the others, the Shaman's ring giving me a sense of warmth and power on my finger. I soon reached the group and Captain Xander pointed northward at a huge crystal structure.

"That's our target," he said. "We need to make contact with it in order to activate it."

"Before we go, we need to prepare ourselves." I reminded everyone. "We have more gold and stat points to distribute. So, I think we should take some time and go over all this stuff. I think we are doing ok right now but like the AI said we are far behind other dimensions."

"That a good idea Azarias." said captain Xander. " Make sure everyone gets more skills.

We all nodded in agreement, knowing that we needed to use our resources wisely if we were going to make it through this dimensional challenge. As we sat down to distribute our points, I couldn't help but feel grateful for this team. Despite our differences and the challenges, we faced, we had come together to overcome some truly formidable foes. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I open the 'Overview.'

Name: Azarias Yelnats

Age: 25

Level: 5

EXP to Level:3200

Rank: A

Class: Pawn

Sponsor: Unknown

Ability: Fusion (Level E): Allows the user to fuse things together.

Temporary fusion 10 Essence.

Permanent fusion 50 Essence

Health: 150/150

Mana: 200/200

Essence: 380

Strength: 6 Attack: 21

Intelligence: 1 Magic Attack: 1

Constitution: 1 Critical Chance %:10

Wisdom: 1 Agility: 10

Charisma: 1 Defense: 10

Speed: 1 Magic Defense: 10

Stat Points: 50

Skills: Stealth (3MP per sec), Shadow Step (10MP), Bullet time (40 MP)

'So, my stats don't increase upon leveling up. But I received stat points. So how much do my stats increase with each point? I think I'll just add one to each stat and see.

Name: Azarias Yelnats

Age: 25

Level: 5

EXP to Level:3200

Rank: A

Class: Pawn

Sponsor: Unknown

Ability: Fusion (Level E): Allows the user to fuse things together.

Temporary fusion 10 Essence.

Permanent fusion 50 Essence

Health: 150/180

Mana: 210/230

Essence: 380

Strength: 7 Attack: 24

Intelligence: 2 Magic Attack: 4

Constitution: 2 Critical Chance %:11

Wisdom: 2 Agility: 13

Charisma: 2 Defense: 10

Speed: 2 Magic Defense: 10

Stat Points: 44

Skills: Stealth (3MP per sec), Shadow Step (10MP), Bullet time (40 MP)

Ok so one point will increase the attack, magic attack, and agility attributes by 3, health and mana increase by 30 and critical chance increases by 1 for each point of charisma. Hmm I think I should purchase some more skills and get some more items as well. Now where can I see how much gold I have?' I look over the system window and see a tab for items. When I swap to it I remembered the items I received from the goblins.

Gold:2000

Skills: Fury Crash (level E): When an ally becomes incapacitated during battle, receive a 25% boost to attack until the end of the conflict

Items: Steel Axe(+15 Att) requires 15 Strength, Mage staff(+7 M.att),

Equipment: Pistol(+3 Att), Leather coat(+4 Def +4 M.def), Leather pants(+4 Def +4 M.def), Leather gloves(+1 Def +1 M.def), leather boots (+1 Def +1 M.def), (R)Shaman ring (+50 mana).

'The Shaman ring has given me a nice increase in mana. Now I'm thinking that maybe I should look into better armor and weapons, or even find an ultimate skill. I've got 380 essence so I can afford to use my fusion ability a good bit. But I'd have to consider the cost of an ultimate skill as well. When I put together the skills from my teammates, the results were powerful. Maybe instead of buying an ultimate skill, I could purchase several lower-level skills and fuse them into something stronger.' With this idea in mind, I began rubbing my hands with excitement as I started planning out my experiments.

Without any further delaying I open the 'shop'. I spend what feel like hours parsing through the available skills. There were so many skills to choose from. The sheer amount was staggering. I decided to forgo purchasing an ultimate skill. I reasoned that I would make that my priority once I have enough gold again. My main focus right now is to figure out the limits and potential of my Fusion ability. I ended up purchasing five low level skills to experiment with.

Scan (Level E): When used allows user to see the HP, MP, Level, Rank, and class.

Absorb Mana (5MP) (Level E): When used allows user to absorb some of the targets mana. Scales with Wisdom.

Fireball (10MP) (Level E): Launches a fireball at the target dealing Magic Attack x 2 damage.

Ice Bolt (10MP) (Level E): Launches an ice bolt at the target dealing Magic Attack x 2 damage and has a low chance of freezing the target.

Heal (10MP) (Level E): Restores Health to the target equal to Magic Attack x 2.

Ok so the first thing is can I fuse equipment with skills. Double checking to see how much essence I have I decide to try some temporary fusions first. Fusion temporary: Pistol and Absorb Mana.

As I focused on my Fusion ability, I felt a surge of power flow through me. The pistol and Absorb Mana skill were surrounded by a bright light, fusing together into a single item. When the light faded, I gazed upon my new creation with awe.

A sleek, black pistol with glowing blue runes etched into its surface was now in my hand. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie. I looked at the new description of the weapon. The name had changed to 'Baesu Pistol.'

(R)Baesu Pistol (+10 Att): Each shot absorbs 2 mana from target. Scales with Wisdom. 'Oh that can be nice!' I grin in satisfaction with my success.

Next, I tried fusing 'Ice Bolt' with 'Leather Coat'. As I channeled my essence into the fusion, the Leather Coat's appearance changed once the fusion was complete. It was no longer brown but now a cool icy blue color.

(R)Kryo Coat (+6 Def, +6 M.Def): When struck by a weapon releases an ice bolt from point of contact dealing Magic Attack x 2.

The Ice Bolt skill was now integrated into the coat, allowing me to launch a freezing attack when struck by an enemy. This modification made my defense stronger and gave me an offensive option when in close combat.

After about 15 minutes of experiments i finally decided on my permanent fusions. I decided to keep the Baesu Pistol and Kryo Coat. And I fused 'Bullet time' with 'Fireball' when the fusion was complete I was shocked to find that the result was an ultimate skill.

Inferno Vortex (100 essence) Level (C): Slows down time for 5 seconds for anyone within a 10-meter radius reducing their speed by 90%, it allows the user to launch several (2) fireballs that deal Magic Attack damage each. Number of fireballs scales with Magic Attack.

The power of the fusion left me breathless. My ultimate skill was something that I had never thought possible. 'This has got to be something that would have cost me much more than 2000 gold. The cheapest ultimate I saw was 1500 gold. I was excited to try it out in battle. I wanted to continue my experiments but I only had 110 essence left.

'Now to distribute my stat points. I definitely need more intelligence so my ultimate can actually do some damage. Then I'll add some to constitution, and speed. I'll save about 10 points just in case.' Looking over my new stats I felt very pleased especially with the improved Inferno Vortex. 'Now this is really my ace in the hole!'

Name: Azarias Yelnats

Age: 25

Level: 5

EXP to Level:3200

Rank: A

Class: Pawn

Sponsor: Unknown

Ability: Fusion (Level D): Allows the user to fuse things together.

Temporary fusion 10 Essence.

Permanent fusion 50 Essence

Health: 400/400

Mana: 230/230

Essence: 110

Strength: 7 Attack: 34

Intelligence: 22 Magic Attack: 67

Constitution: 10 Critical Chance %:11

Wisdom: 3 Agility: 37

Charisma: 2 Defense: 12

Speed: 10 Magic Defense: 12

Stat Points: 10

Skills: Stealth (3MP per sec), Shadow Step (10MP), Bullet time (40 MP), Scan (5MP), Absorb Mana (5MP), Fireball (10MP), Ice Bolt (10MP), Heal (10MP), (P)Fury Crash.

Ultimates: Inferno Vortex (100 essence) Level (C): Slows down time for 5 seconds for anyone within a 10-meter radius reducing their speed by 90%, it allows the user to launch several (12) fireballs that deal Magic Attack  damage each. Number of fireballs scales with Intelligence.

Equipment:

(R)Baesu Pistol (+10 Att): Each shot absorbs 2 mana from target. Scales with Wisdom.

(R)Kryo Coat (+6 Def, +6 MDef): When struck by a weapon releases an ice bolt from point of contact dealing Magic Attack x 2.

Leather pants (+4 Def +4 M.def)

Leather gloves (+1 Def +1 M.def)

Leather boots (+1 Def +1 M.def)

(R)Shaman ring (+50 mana).

With my new skills and equipment, I felt confident and ready to take on whatever challenges lay ahead.