“Darlin, it is the kiddos that get to open them, not you.” Tien places a hand on Lee’s shoulder and drags him away from the table.
“Meanie.” He pouts as she takes him away and sits him down on a chair in the corner.
I look at the pile, ten gear crates and twelve augment crates. A sizable haul from our last hive. We may have completely forgotten about them in our hurry to start our training.
We open all of the crates and review what we found. Two of the gear pieces and ten of the augments were not useful to us. Which is fair enough, not everything is suited to our team. Lucien says we can eventually sell them for money and better ones.
Stephen ended up with an augment that boosts concentration, a pair of boots that make him steadier on his feet, and a rifle with some sort of fancy scope.
Liv got an augment that increases her aether capacity – which is important for keeping her many skills operational. Plus she also got an uncommon shield that reflects a bit of damage to the attacker.
Moxie got an uncommon staff that boosts explosions specifically, a perfect drop for her. In addition, she got a common medical toolbag, which apparently makes her healing better. She also got a witches hat that looks absolutely awesome, though it is purely decorative.
Violet practically drooled when she was handed her brand new sabre, an epic one. Apparently it has an ability to teleport behind enemies, though with quite a long cooldown of course. She also got some uncommon leggings that boost her agility.
As for me, I got a rare dagger that heals me a tiny amount for every hit. As well as a common chestplate that should help me be a bit safer. That is, presuming I don’t try to fist fight any orcs anytime soon.
“Are the gear drops weighted by how much damage we do or something?” Violet asks while admiring her new sword.
“Ha, that is a widely debated topic,” Lucien says, “some think so but some do not. It is really hard to tell, though in my opinion it is just slightly weighted. Whoever contributes the most often finds themselves with a fancy upgrade when all is said and done.”
A smug expression settles onto Violet’s face. “I see.”
“Well, now that you cadets have gotten that out of the way, time for training.” Bellaris announces and we collectively groan. She glares at us, “That better not be about the training, you cadets are still far too weak to be complaining now.”
With that, we exit the conference room and make our way out to a large open field. There is a small white tent setup and Gaema steps out to greet us. “Generals, good to see you. The testing equipment is all set up and ready to begin.”
“Good to hear.” Bellaris says, taking a tablet from the scholar. “Now cadets, first we are going to give you two demonstrations of dragon abilities. Then as Maka and Violet are the only ones with them unlocked, they will test theirs out.”
“And try not to destroy reality.” Gaema adds.
“Wait, what do you mean we are the only ones with abilities unlocked?” I ask confusedly.
Tien slaps me on the back. “Did you not know that the first ability usually unlocks at level 250? You and Violet are just real special kiddos.”
I turn to look at Violet and she shrugs. I feel like I missed something at some point.
“Make sure to watch closely, kiddos.” Lee says, shield and sword in hand. He is a tank like Liv. “I am only going to use my first ability, I wouldn't want to destroy too much of the planet.” He walks out into the field and we all stand and watch behind a protective shield.
A deep shadow appears around Lee and I look upwards. A large dragon, likely a stage 2 adult, hovers high above the ground. The dragon is perhaps sixty meters long, meaning it is probably just at the limit of its ability to survive gravity. It has bright blue eyes that are glowing such that they are visible even from several kilometers away. The blue eyes mean it has something to do with physical enhancement, but I don’t know what that even means.
Lee begins chanting. “Autos, o grand nature of self. I request nought but a fragment of the whole required to service oneself.”
The air stills and cools rapidly. Above us, Lee’s dragon starts to glow like a miniature sun, its scales dazzling for kilometers around no doubt.
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Lee raises his foot off the ground ever so slightly, and then slams it back down.
A shockwave explodes out from the impact, like a small nuclear bomb just detonated. The shield flashes green for an instant as it absorbs the blast and keeps us safe.
Then, the ground starts to open up with a horrifying splitting sound. Almost as if someone is manually tearing a giant tear in the planet.
When all is said and done, there is a giant tear in the ground, about fifty meters wide and extending about three kilometers in front of where Lee’s foot impacted the ground. The hole seems to be bottomless as it descends down into the depths of Volea.
Lee turns towards us, his red eyes still blazing with energy. “Whoops, seems like I didn't use up all the power… Lucien, could I have some assistance?”
Lucien smiles and Blinks over to Lee’s side. Then, Lee punches him right in the chest.
The ground buckles underneath them, leaving a small dent in the ground as a shockwave propagates outwards – though much weaker than the first time.
All of the force goes directly into Lucien’s chest, and nothing happens. Lee steps away and there is not even a single scratch or dent. “Really, is that all you’ve got? Bel can poke harder than that!” Lucien says with a smile.
Lee lets out a guffaw. “I would imagine so. But really, I couldn’t even budge you a nanometer? For fucks sake, I bet my second ability wouldn’t even faze you, would it?”
Bellaris places a hand on Lee’s shoulder. “Probably not, but that just means you still have a ways to go. The road to power is not an easy one.”
A moment of silence stretches.
“Well, you two definitely gave the cadets a bit of a show.” Bellaris says, “Now it is my turn to step in and fix your mess.
“Oh my, Bel is going to get serious! Quick, everyone gather around, you won't want to miss this!” Lucien says excitedly and ushers Lee behind the barrier.
Bellaris’s dragon also appears high in the sky. A brown eyed one, just like Liv’s. We all stand in silence, paying close attention. After all, it isn’t every day you see a rank 13 Dragon Guard use an ability.
“Nonos, o holy nature of time. I request that you make that which was into that which is. Reverse the folly created upon this plane and make it anew.”
Bellaris’s second ability, Reversal. It is practically legendary, able to reverse time itself. And boy, does it.
It is as if the land is a giant lake, and Bellaris just dropped a single bead of water onto its surface. The energy ripples out all around her, and as it passes, time reverses.
The tear closes, every single rock, pebble and piece of dust falling back exactly how it was. Even the shockwave from Lee’s ability is recreated and travels in reverse back to the source of the impact.
But, it doesn't stop there. The ability continues to reverse time, and a few moments later, the entire area is covered in a lush grass with several bushes and trees dotted about.
The ability ends and Bellaris drops to the ground, barely managing to catch herself on her hand. Lucien is immediately at her side and lends her a shoulder to get up.
They walk over, “Pretty neat, eh cadets? I do think I went a bit too far back though… This place hasn't been green for a decade.” She says. A single strand of her hair has turned gray. I supposed that Nonos’s price is aging or something similar. I wonder what cost Lee paid, the nature of self seems like it would take a very weird price for its power.
I raise my hand. “So uh, how exactly does the whole giving power for power work? You two didn't nearly die, but every time I use mine I seem to, and Violet doesn't fare much better.”
“Allow me to explain, cadets.” Gaema says, pulling over a projector screen which he then proceeds to draw a truly ridiculous amount of mathematical equations on. Moxie looks absolutely entranced. “These are our best formula for predicting what we call ‘soul energy equivalent cost’ or SEEC, for the 8 primary natures. We haven’t had much testing for any others, so this is the best we have.”
My head spins as I try to comprehend the formulas that make absolutely no sense. What is the lwarwetrmaw constant? Not to mention the porwarwq principle? Did they let a cat decide the names?
Lucien steps in front of Gaema who is mid explanation about some sciency stuff. “In other words, using abilities costs a form of energy we call ‘soul energy.’ I believe Maka has a rare augment that actually boosts his soul capacity.” I nod. “Each person has a different amount of soul energy that varies based on reasons, and increases as your rank does, usually.”
Bellaris finishes up the last part. “Don’t forget that if you try to borrow over the amount of soul energy you have, the nature can extract other costs. It is dependent on what the nature wants of course. For instance, Nonons aged me slightly, hence the gray hair.” She points to her hair.
So I guess Vixelos really loves limbs. Vixelos really is strange, even Lowe said so. I hope there are some more normal natures. Perhaps Lowe’s price would be having tea and cookies. I don’t think I would be unhappy paying that one.
Liv’s stomach growls.
“Well,” Lee says, “perhaps we should break for lunch before continuing? Food is a great way to nourish the soul as they say.”
We break for a nice lunch, and to my great delight, they managed to bring some nicer food. I pile my plate high with rice balls and inhale them by the dozens.
“Maka, be careful or you will end up being nothing but rice.” Liv quips while stuffing a skewer of meat into her mouth.
“Well then you might turn into some sort of meat monster.” I quip back.
She thumps her fist on her chest. “I'm halfway there already!”
After our delicious meal, Violet and I are all fired up and ready to destroy reality. So we head out to the training field and get hooked up with a bunch of sensors and stuff that track literally everything about us.
Violet goes first and walks three kilometers out into the now lush landscape.
“Alright, whenever you are ready, cadet!” Gaema says from within our practically invincible shield. “Give it as much power as you can without killing yourself, with Lucien here we can be a bit riskier.”
Lucien smiles smugly.
Violet nods, and then begins chanting.
Next Chapter: Rules? No, You Mean Suggestions.
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OP Regression ? LitRPG ? Urban Fantasy
Of course, I chose regression.
But I won’t be.
What to Expect:
- ?? Overpowered main character with a human heart
- ? Full regression with future knowledge
- ?? A hostile System and an unforgiving world
- ?? Dark progression fantasy with ruthless growth
- ?? Epic battles, betrayal, and real consequences