NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74 (Annals)
Angar sank to the cell's cold stone floor, legs crossed, his furred hands resting on his knees. The air almost seemed alive with residual sanctity, like the Sanctuary's hallowed walls whispered prayers etched in iron and blood.
His focus turned inward, plunging deep, then deeper still, further than even Spirit's teachings had taught him to go into the crucible of inner reflection.
Once deep as he could go, he began as Spirit had taught, cycling his energy through channels forged by nearly a year and a half of relentless discipline and prayer-meditation.
His breath slowed. Each inhale became like a bellows stoking the Divine ember that pulsed within, drawing in mana sacra, sacred energy, or just energy, as everyone called it.
Spirit had named it Ignis Sanctum, the Sacred Fire, when she trained him.
This energy coiled in his lower core, the molten orb below his navel, restless after the Grim Ordeals' tempering. He saw it as a spark of God's wrath burning in him, though he doubted Spirit saw it the same way.
He urged the energy upward, forcing it to become a river of fire threading through his body, his spine, chest, arms, skull, and the rest, igniting his flesh.
The Cloisteranage taught a safe ascent method thought to be the most effective. First, stabilize the core, compress it, and breach the second Tier through disciplined effort, like hammering steel into a blade.
Spirit's way was different. It was stranger, more complex, and risky. It wasn't a secret method. His tutor had even mentioned it, along with some others, but claimed only fools attempted any of those.
"Seek an echo," Spirit had instructed him, "Find it, and weave it into your core. Not once, but three times, folding it."
He'd asked her if that had something to do with the Holy Trinity. She'd said, "No, there wasn't a Holy Trinity when I discovered this method."
Angar followed her instructions, his will honed by her lessons and his own. He sought the echo, a faint thump within his core, like a heartbeat not his own.
Once the source was located, his will reached for it. It was slippery, but he got a solid grip, and folded it once, twice, and once again, each fold weaving a cord of radiant power.
The Sacred Fire split into a trinity. One gold, blazing with glory. The next silver, shimmering like sanctified steel. The last crimson, pulsing like blood. They spiraled upward, tripled in power, a helix of fury, and he drove them back into his core with a force that shook his frame and made his bones quake.
The was the riskiest part, where Spirit had warned of cores shattering. One slip and he'd be crippled for life.
His core trembled, like a star on the brink of collapse. Sweat beaded on his brow from the great effort and concentration required, as the cell's air seemed to thicken, charged with unseen power. He cycled faster as his channels burned, stretched to breaking, as the three streams met.
His core fractured in the clash, then reformed into three interlocking spheres, a triple spiral of light spinning within him, with gold searing silver, silver bleeding into red, crimson fusing with gold, each orbit humming.
His body convulsed as the Neurvux nodes flared, sparking in sync with the surges.
This wasn't a gentle rise. It was a storm. His channels stretched as his core pulsed, flooding him with energy that scorched throughout his body.
Images tore through his mind of a golden Trey blazing in a void, then a martyr's skull wreathed in flame, shouting litanies of war as a crimson tide drowned worlds in righteous fury.
The cell's walls seemed to warp. The Trey above glinted as if Holy Theosis itself bore witness.
Angar's breath came only with great effort. A grunt escaped his throat, half pain, half defiance.
He pushed harder, compressing the three cores that were one until it ignited in a supernova within, silent and also deafening, searing and soothing.
Light erupted from his skin, bathing the cell in a glow. The fur on his hands stood rigid as if charged by a storm.
His muscles spasmed, then settled. His mind dulled, then sharpened. His core stabilized, rotating like a ceaseless engine. The colors merged back into a singular energy, glowing with a unified white-hot radiance.
He exhaled, and the light faded, dimming, leaving him trembling, reborn.
Words blazed in his vision.
A Glorious Achievement!
You have ascended to the second Tier, righteous Crusader, Knight-Adept, your soul forged anew in a crucible of faith and unyielding fury. This is no mere step, but a thunderous stride upon the Glorious Path, your spirit honed for the sacred slaughter of Hell's accursed spawn in Holy War.
Your triumph's bounty lies within, not without. Thus, a humble laurel crowns your ascent.
Glory Points bestowed: 4
For God and Empire!
Angar staggered to his feet, the cell's confines seeming too small for a moment. Ascension was supposed to grant a major Glory Points award. He'd been told those ascending well could be granted up to 60 points, sometimes up to 80, but he'd only received 4.
Worried, he opened his Annals. Then, not able to help it, smiled grimly.
He'd surpassed the standard. All his Attributes had risen by 3, not 2, the true reward for his ascent. He assumed that was the reason for the low Glory Point award.
But, while his screens were open, he had more work to do.
Level 34 brought a new Class Option. He had 263 Glory Points with the 4 just awarded. It was time to get his third Ability.
But, just in case, he looked through the Class offerings first. There were a ton of Classes he'd love to have, but none as good as his current, and he needed the Class Option that level 34 granted for another purpose.
In the Glory Store, he purchased an Ability Upgrade for 50 points, leaving him with 213 points, just enough to purchase three Ability Options for 210 Glory Points, one to unlock the Ability, and two for the Sacred Upgrades, leaving him with 3 points left over.
He took care of everything he could, including spending the Skill Points he needed to.
He hesitated before purchasing Acrobatics and training it up to 2, but he really wanted to hop and flip around as Spirit had.
He skipped First Aid due to his new item and how it worked, holding 5 points in reserve, as many chapters required members to have certain ritual or rite Skills, and he was uncertain how best to spend the rest anyway.
With the Grim Ordeals and his ascension to the second Tier, Angar's power surged to new heights.
For Stats, not counting increases from Attributes, his Physique added 3, Endurance 4, Toughness 7, Competence 2, Cognizance 9, Resilience 4, and his Power Level rose by 1.
His Body Attribute increased by 11, his Mind by 7, and his Spirit by 4.
Most excitingly, his Adroitness gained 2 points, 1 from ascending, and the other from the Penitent's Sacrarium of Sanctified Transfiguration.
And that wasn't considering the free increases of what the System considered as Stat Point applications to Resilience and Power Level, which ended up translating to 3 Attribute Points to Mind and Spirit.
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He was much taller now than when he first began the Grim Ordeals, though a score higher than 10 in Physique gave much less size per point, and even less after 20, and so on. If he had to guess, he had gained about 15 centimeters during the Grim Ordeals.
Then, he looked at his full Annals.
ANNALS OF SIR ANGAR MECIA (SAINT KRAKUS, ERIM, ZANAYA, EENGURRA)
Age: 16
Social: Holy Knight, [NA], Lay Rank - Minor Gentry (surviving heir and heir apparent of devastated lands controlled the former city-state of Mecia located on the planet Sulfuron 9 with few inhabitants or subjects, and no income or apparent imperial value).
Chapter: NA
Tier: 2
Rank: Knight-Adept
Level: 34
XP: 0%
Glory Points: 3
Voluvicas Credits: 9
ATTRIBUTES, STATS, AND ADROITNESS
(Each Attribute Point increases all Stats governed by that Attribute by 1. Applying 4 Stat Points to the same Stat will increase the governing Attribute by 1. Numbers in (parentheses) include increases from items.)
BODY (Physical Attributes): With 9 AP applied - 31
Physique (Size/Strength): With 9 SP applied - 43
Endurance (Stamina/Health): 35
Toughness (Physical Durability/Resistance): 43
MIND (Non-Physical Attributes): 24
Competence (Skills/Insight): 26
Cognizance (Awareness/Perception): 33
Resilience (Non-Physical Durability/Resistance): With 39 SP applied - 68
SPIRIT (Metaphysical Attributes): 17
Power Level (PL) (Ability Damage and Effectiveness): With 39 SP applied - 57
Energy (Resource for Powers shown as Energy Points equal to 3 + (Energy Stat x 3)): 17
Charges (Increases the number of times certain Abilities can be used per combat): 17
ADROITNESS (Finesse/Reaction/Speed): 5
RESOURCES
Current/Maximum Energy Points: 54/54
Current/Maximum Charges: 17/17
CLASSES
1 – DIVINE STORM:
This Class has unknown requirements. This Class is reserved. Hidden requirement 1 met. Hidden requirement 2 met. Hidden requirement 3 met. Description not available. Lightning damage has a chance to stun.
SKILLS
(5 Skill Points available)
Acrobatics 2
Armor, Heavy Armor, Power Armor, Crusader Armor 2
Close Combat 2
Close Weapons, Blunt Weapons, Hammers, Power Hammers 2
Close Weapons, Hand-to-Hand, Strikes, Clawed Weapons 2
First Aid
Meditation 2
FEATS
ALACRITY OF ANGULIMALA: Your exceptional agility and swiftness grant you an almost preternatural awareness of impending danger, enhancing Adroitness by 1 point.
BLESSING OF AL-KHIDR: Your intuition blurs the line between the apparent and the hidden, allowing you to discern deeper esoteric truths beyond what is immediately visible, guided by your faithful gut instincts.
RAVANA'S BOON: Your ability to slowly regenerate applies to all injuries that do not immediately kill you. This minor regeneration effect cumulatively enhances (stacks with) most other sources of regeneration.
RIGHTEOUS REBUKER: Your resistance to temptation, reflecting Jesus' obedience to God's will, fortifies against the corrupting whispers, temptations, and influences from creatures of Hell, effectively elevating your Tier by 1 for the exclusive purpose of resisting these influences.
IMPLANTS
Head: Infernus Oculus, Neurvux, Somnoregulator,
CAPSTONES
Glory Thunders
Increase Body, Mind, and Spirit by 3
Select a main and two mirror Stats.
Gain 1 Thunder per hit given, received, and per Energy Point spent, 4 Thunder per Charge spent, and 10 Thunder per enemy defeated.
With 200 Thunder, empower your next attack to create a shockwave, dealing (10 x PL) x Tier damage in a 9-meter long, 45-degree cone. This attack also restores 4 Energy Points and 1 Charge per Tier. All Thunder is lost 3 minutes out of combat.
ABILITIES
(Selected Upgrades Bolded. Cooldown and cost reflect selected Upgrades in parentheticals. Ability description does not reflect selected Upgrades.)
From Divine Storm:
1 – GROUND CURRENT:
Transform into charged particles, allowing near-instantaneous travel through the ground up to 3 + (0.5 x PL) meters. You are mostly immune to damage and effects during this travel.
Cooldown: 30 seconds (15 seconds)
Cost: 2 Energy (1 Energy)
Upgrades:
Enduring 1: Increase travel distance to 3 + PL meters.
Enduring 2: Increase travel distance to 3 + (1.5 x PL) meters.
Fervor: Gain immunity to most attacks and control effects for 1 second after exiting the ground.
Merciless 1: Stun all targets within 1.5 meters of your exit point for 0.5 seconds.
Merciless 2: Stun all targets within 3 meters of your exit point for 1 second.
Mighty: Add 0.1 x PL lightning damage to your close weapon attacks for 3 seconds post-exit.
Rage: Halves cooldown.
Zeal: Halve Energy cost.
Sacred Upgrades:
(A) Geomagnetic Phenomena 1: Strike all targets within 1.5 meters of where you exit the ground with a lightning bolt dealing PL damage, suppressing any permanent regeneration effect targets may have for 1 second.
(A) Geomagnetic Phenomena 2: Strike all targets within 3 meters of where you exit the ground with a lightning bolt dealing 2 x PL damage, suppressing regeneration for 2 seconds.
(C) Geomagnetic Phenomena 3: Lightning damage from Geomagnetic Phenomena 1 and 2 forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting half damage, then forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting a quarter damage. Additionally, for 2 seconds after use, allows an additional use of Ground Current at no energy cost if a target moves more than 4 meters away, but the cooldown is reset and only Enduring 1 and 2 apply to this use.
2 – TEMPEST:
Hold your hands together or your close weapon with both hands and spin rapidly for 3 seconds, dealing an extra PL physical damage per hit to all targets in range. You can move while spinning.
Cooldown: 1 minute (30 Seconds)
Cost: 4 Energy, 1 Charge
Upgrades:
Enduring 1: Spin duration increases to 4.5 seconds.
Enduring 2: Spin duration increases to 6 seconds.
Fervor: No Charge required, but cooldown increases to 4 minutes.
Merciless: Hit targets are slowed by 50% and your speed is boosted by 50% for 2 seconds. Does not stack.
Mighty 1: Deal 1.5 x PL damage per hit.
Mighty 2: Deal 2 x PL damage per hit.
Rage: Halves cooldown.
Zeal: Halves Energy cost.
Sacred Upgrades:
(A) Thunderstorm 1: Lightning extends 3 meters from the tip of your weapon, dealing 0.5 x PL damage every second. Mighty 1 and 2 increase damage to 0.75 x PL and PL respectively.
(A) Thunderstorm 2: Thunderstorm now starts at 0.33 x PL damage, but lightning damage increases by 0.33 x PL each second and range is extended by 1 meter per second. Mighty 1 and 2 increase initial damage to 0.5 x PL and .66 x PL respectively.
(C) Thunderstorm 3: Mitigate 90% of incoming damage and resist 90% of negative effects while spinning. Additionally, lightning damage from Thunderstorm 1 and 2 forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting half damage, then forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting a quarter damage.
3 – LIGHTNING STRIKE:
Empower your hand or close weapon with lightning, causing your next strike to inflict PL damage.
Cooldown: 12 seconds (6 seconds)
Cost: 1 Energy
Upgrades:
Enduring: Requires a Charge to use but empowers your next 3 strikes.
Fervor 1: Lightning forks to 1 additional target within 1.5 meters, but Energy cost increases to 2.
Fervor 2: Lightning forks to 2 additional targets within 2 meters, but Energy cost increases to 3.
Merciless: For every point of Energy spent, increase damage by 0.33 x PL.
Mighty 1: Deal 1.5 x PL damage.
Mighty 2: Deal 2 x PL damage.
Rage: Halves cooldown.
Zeal: If Lightning Strike only damages armor, its damage is doubled.
Sacred Upgrades:
(A) Eye of the Storm 1: A shield envelops your body, absorbing 0.33 x PL damage for 1 second or until removed by incoming damage.
(A) Eye of the Storm 2: A shield envelops your body, absorbing 0.66 x PL damage for 2 seconds or until removed by incoming damage.
(C) Eye of the Storm 3: A shield envelops your body, absorbing PL damage for 3 seconds or until removed by incoming damage. Upon shield expiration, gain damage mitigation equal to PL percentage for 3 seconds (soft cap at 50%).
ITEMS
Primary Weapon: Modulux Striker Maul, Rune-Hafted, V1M0, Graviton X4 Power Hammer, Tier 1.
Back: Vitalulum, Tier 3 –Auto-treats 9 worst injuries post-combat based on First Aid Skill, using items from a superior medkit, accruing 3 minutes of credit towards First Aid training per use; at 50 hours, substitutes a Skill Point for higher Tier First Aid System training (currently 6 injuries, 2 minutes, and basic medkit. Will increase to stated values upon ascension to Tier 3 and equivalent Skill level for kit).
Ring 1: Reliquary of Wrath, Tier 2 – Increases duration of channeled Abilities by 20%.