Adrenaline Junkie [Book 2 Complete]

The trees whispered overhead as Archie made his way through the underbrush, the usual crunch of pine needles and snapping twigs underfoot oddly muted today. A crow called somewhere in the distance, then stopped abruptly – like something had spooked it or something.

He scratched absently at the edge of his jaw with the tip of his level 80 Steel Dagger, glancing up at the cloudy sky as the path sloped gently downward toward the ravine. Then, back down at his reflection in the dull steel sheet he held in his hands.

Yeah, he thought, even if I wanted a long, badass beard… with the way it was singed, burnt, some parts longer than others, among other things. I needed to shave.

Archie sighed. Now that I know Aetherglass has a camera in it, the first thing Bralmir would've done when we first met would've been to snap a photo of my ugly mug and hang it up somewhere. Forget if Henry saw me right now… he'd make it his profile picture.

Then he made a noise of uncertainty. Then again, if anything, he'd make his daughter his profile picture, considering his personality.

He let the sheet fall into his Satchel, tugged his headdress up a bit tighter, and resumed walking. The path was one he knew well, winding through crooked roots and worn stones, familiar marks carved into bark still fresh despite the passing weather.

He kept his Mana Bike in his spatial storage, unwilling to even risk the chance of it getting ruined in the rain and potentially damaging the Power Core inside it, as it was his ticket to powering up the teleporter, which he was planning on building next.

I knew I should've etched that Atmospheric Shielding runic script across the whole bike before I left, Archie groaned, trudging toward his base on foot. He followed the faint tingling in his chest, just beside his heart, near the reddish-green orb that marked his connection with Bralmir and how he was able to meet him the first time.

It pulsed… not weakly, but untouchably, almost like how he assumed a mirage to look like from afar.

He'd been feeling that faint tingling for the past three weeks, ever since the Spirit Nucleus had changed its tag to Formed. Since then, the sensation had only grown stronger, evolving from something akin to an ant nudging him to now lightly tugging at him and nudging him toward his base, where he kept the Spirit Nucleus safe.

By the time he reached the stone slab that served as his front door, the tugging sensation urged him to enter his base.

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Archie braced his arms and pulled the stone slab door from off the face of the hill. It dragged slowly across the earth with a low, gritty scrape, revealing the cool interior of the cave.

Glancing inside his third cave base; near the back, nestled in a nest of cloaks atop a large satchel, the Spirit Nucleus trembled slightly.

Oh fuck! Archie mentally shouted in surprised panic as he quickly crossed the distance between them. It's happening!

Crouching beside the Spirit Nucleus, he stared at it for a few minutes in silence, watching as the creature within it appeared to be waking up from its hibernation.

He lifted it.

The orb pulsed once in his palms, and he froze still.

Hairline fractures, thin as veins, webbed across its surface – similar to the fractures he'd see when forging Cores. Almost invisible to the naked eye.

He held the Nucleus up to eye level, watching unabatedly.

It wasn't breaking out.

Not yet.

But it was trying.

Archie didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stared at it for a long, solid twenty minutes, his expression unreadable.

Then finally, softly: Not yet, huh.

The pressure eased slightly, and the trembling slowed. The creature relaxed within the Spirit Nucleus, seemingly exhausted from trying to break out of its shell.

Archie exhaled through his nose, steady, and sat on the cave floor with the Spirit Nucleus nestled atop his lap. His thumb passed over the largest fracture, warm to the touch.

…Guess we wait.

With time to kill, Archie decided to look over at his notifications.

Flawless Evolution
Objective: Reach max level in Race, Class, and Profession before evolving 2/3
Class Requirement: Kill a formidable opponent ✔
Profession Requirement:
Reward: Flawless D-Grade Evolution title.

Skill Upgrade: [Savage Charge (Rare → Epic)]
Savage Charge (Epic):

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
You charge with explosive speed and are able to dodge incoming attacks while building momentum as you crash into a single target with devastating force. Upon impact, the strike deals significant damage, and the next two strikes following the crash deal increased damage. Maximum distance is calculated by half of your Agility stat. The records of the skill have been heavily touched by the records of Adrenaline Junkie.

Oh, it's been a while since Savage Charge upgraded, Archie remarked as he read through its contents.

Looks like the only change was that after crashing into a target, my next two strikes after that are enhanced.

Pretty solid, he shrugged, turning to face his final notification as he began removing his gauntlets and bracers, placing them into his spatial storage.

Skill Upgrade: [Retaliation (Uncommon → Rare)]
Retaliation (Rare):
A warrior endures the pain of their opponent's blow, absorbing the impact with their mighty resolve. In a moment of fierce vengeance, they channel the energy of the attack back at their foe, doubling the force and fury of the initial strike.

I don't think this one changed at all, Archie thought to himself in confusion. It upgraded, so I know it's better, but… maybe I'm missing some sort of upgrade to Identify or some other observational skill or ability to reveal certain changes to it. Similar to how I gained the ability to see the quality of runes on things.

Archie thought about it for a few minutes longer before shrugging – figuring that in about a week and a half, he'd be able to ask Bralmir about it, so there was no need for him to stress out about it.

Glancing down at the Spirit Nucleus resting on his lap, he took out the sheet of steel from his side satchel and his Runic Scriber from his spatial storage and got back to theorizing runes and runic scripts that would go onto the teleporter.

***

Archie sat cross-legged on the cool stone floor of his cave, a steel sheet balanced on one knee. The spatial stabilizing rune he'd etched was finally finished. Glancing at his right-hand side, Archie let his eyes close for a bit as the warm afternoon breeze washed over the cave and himself.

He ran his hand through his clean hair and sighed in contentment. Today is a good day; he killed someone strong a couple of hours back, took a bath, completed a spatial rune, had a couple of sandwiches, and his spirit beast was due to hatch any minute now, considering the number of cracks that were atop the Spirit Nucleus.

He set the sheet of steel down beside him with a dull clink on the stone flooring, his gaze drifting back to the Spirit Nucleus resting in his lap.

Its glossy surface was covered in cracks, and every minute that passed, another was added onto the Spirit Nucleus.

Inside, the creature was moving again - a lot more energetic than before. It pushed against the translucent walls of the Nucleus, one side at a time, trying to find the weakest point in order to escape its prison for the past two months.

Archie smiled, hints of amusement peaking through his eyes as he rubbed his finger over the side of the Spirit Nucleus, just beside where the spirit beast's head was pressed against.

Guess that nap you had did you some good, eh? he mused.

He watched it struggle against the inner shell, pressing its limbs against the inner shell and using the rebound to leap toward another part of the inner shell, and pressing against it.

This one is going to be one energetic spirit beast; it's already bouncing off the walls of its own shell.

Just as he rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe away the exhaustion from having nearly all his stamina drained, a sharp cracking sound resounded from his lap.

His head snapped back down to his lap. What the fuck, did my d-

The Spirit Nucleus let out a thin, crystalline whine as a jagged fracture split across its surface, before another crack followed, this one audible even over the low hum of ambient mana in the cave.

Archie released a loud exhale of relief. Oh, thank god!

Before he could move, the Spirit Nucleus splintered. A section near the top popped outward like a cork from a bottle, and from within its confines, the spirit beast pushed its head out. A narrow head emerged, twitching, crowned by two pale green mandibles that clicked reflexively at the open air.

A centipede.

Its carapace shimmered with an obsidian sheen, as if coated in resin, broken only by vivid green lines tracing each segment. The mandibles looked almost metallic, green, and jagged like daggers.

With one final push, it flung itself once more against the broken walls of the shell and sent itself tumbling out.

Archie lurched forward instinctively, catching it just before it hit the stone floor.

Whoa, whoa, easy there–

The spirit beast twitched weakly in his palms. Its weight was surprisingly lighter than what he expected it to weigh, weighing similarly to a sheet of paper. It curled slightly, its long body wrapping partway around his wrist; suddenly, its body began to shift.

Archie's eyes went wide. Wait, what are you…?

In a flash of light, the centipede's body split down the middle, parting seamlessly along a barely visible seam. With a soft pop, two identical creatures now coiled in his hands, one entirely black while the other green, their antennae flicking outward, tasting the air.

He stared at them, stunned. Well… that's uh, something.

The two centipedes seemed momentarily dazed, still acclimating to their new state, but they began to wriggle gently in unison, curling tighter atop his palms like they were settling in.

Archie let out a breath, low and unsure. Okay… Gonna be honest here… I did not plan for twins.

He looked from one to the other.

They clicked their mandibles at him in eerie harmony. …Yeah. This is going to get weird.

Archie slowly lowered his hands to his lap, still watching the centipedes shift. The black one tilted its head and began lightly tapping its forelegs against his thumb. The green one had already started crawling across his palm and towards his wrist.

He didn't stop it.

Alright… you're a bold one, he complemented, gaze following its progress as it curled around his bare wrist, anchoring itself like it owned the place.

The black one remained in his palm, perched with perfect balance, antennae occasionally flicking toward its sibling. The two kept glancing at each other, as much as creatures with no visible eyes could.

Are they sensing each other via heat? Archie asked himself in wonder as he raised his right palm closer to his face to get a better look at them.

He gently tapped the green one's back with a fingertip. It froze for a moment, then twisted around to face him, clicking its mandibles in what was clearly meant to be a threat. But to Archie, it just looked… cute.

Okay. I see how it is. Archie raised a brow, smirking.

The green one flared its front legs and clicked again, louder this time, while wagging its body in place, like a worm on a sugar high, puffing itself up in a clear attempt to look intimidating.

The black one, not to be outdone, scurried in a lazy spiral across his palm and up his thumb, then did a quick circle around his wrist where its sibling was perched – as if to say I can do tricks too.

Oh, Archie murmured, mouth twitching into a grin as he watched the two centipedes try to outdo the other.