Icarus Awakens

It was time.

It had been the time for things before, but it was the timeiest time that had ever timed.

A week after the Arcadian's clear started, Daniel was ready to reach level 3. There were arguments against this, such as the fact he'd be leaving everyone on the team besides Khare behind. Every rift fight he participated in would be made significantly harder. Level disparity sucked.

But here was the thing. Daniel had been sitting on the last point needed to get his intelligence to level 3 for a while and had gained an astounding five more by throwing himself into rifts alone while Shuni had been exploring Earth. It sounded suicidal but he could resist corruption entirely, heal what incidental damage he took, and in the worst case that he bit off more than he could chew he could ask Hunter to Flash Jaunt him out of there. With constant mana regeneration from the rift mechanics and the arsenal to take on any threat the astral projections could pose, he'd been personally responsible for a 12% drop in corruption by tackling small to medium rifts. His solo leveling even assisted in Zolyra's handling of Eagle, though he let her worry about those details.

The bottom line was he was beginning to be limited by his level when it came to enchanting. Boosting Arcane Creator to level 3 would not only give him the ability to make level 3 gear, but also assign three affixes to items he made. Followers of Bullet Math everywhere wept at the increased computational burden, though the Artificer himself was done making ammunition of every conceivable type and would either commit to certain variants or hope his upcoming power awakenings would solve that problem for him.

There was also the issue of his team. Wingcraft was breaking up the band for a bit, and those who went to Kallical would be without his particular set of skills. The split was happening as soon as Zolyra had everything she needed to handle the rest of the Arcadian cleanse, and the idea was that key was lying in the bridge they were currently cutting a path towards. He needed to make level 3 gear for them before they left, or they'd be stuck with the old stuff until they reunited. Using level 3 armor for the secret project Padri was making for Khare was also a must.

Finally, they didn't have all the time in the world. The clock Rikoor had given them was ticking down, time passing farther than he'd have expected once the threat of the Spiritualists had been removed. In roughly nine months, Hourglass would return to the world and any god still trapped would surely be dead, or else he would have dragged things out longer. Grave was the ultimate wild card making things complicated, as once the astral god broke into Octyrrum it would become a mad dash for the system hub. There was no sign of whether that would be before or after Hourglass' deadline, but Daniel wasn't optimistic on that count.

He could have done it immediately after making the decision, but there were at least two people who would kill him for not doing it the right way. Daniel had advanced to level 2 in a desperate bid to find a power to save a dying Hunter, but there was no immediate urgency. Instead the team had been informed, a time set, and nothing said in return as to their schemes.

Flying back alone to Pinion's Point, Daniel found a stretch of rock strained by the people on it. Every day more were coming through the Hidden Passage in Cloak's church, along with any stockpiles of magic and other resources. His compound was one of the clearest stretches of land thanks in no small part to Spinner's guardianship. The periphery now had lines of obvious electricity running across it as a deterrent for anyone who wanted to intrude.

Putting concerns of becoming an oligarch aside, Daniel landed in the courtyard as the winter sun continued to descend toward the horizon. There was a singular moment of silence broken only by the faint buzzing of electricity. The otherwise empty courtyard told him something was up, but as he waited nothing happened. Daniel cheated and used Track Merchandise indiscriminately. It only gave him a faint reading for the items he'd given to others a day or more ago, but he could sense a strong collection of these from below.

It was hardly needed as the sunlock opened a moment later. "Daniel!" Khiat exclaimed from the shaded entrance. "We're hosting. Everyone's ready."

"Waiting for me then? Thanks, Khiat. I'm sure Hunter's happy to have your parents' cooking again." The large stone door thudded into place behind him as the dusker swung it closed. "You been doing alright? Haven't seen you since we split up in the Arcadian."

"Of course!" He could hear a little worry hidden by the enthusiasm and Khiat shrank slightly when he gave her a concerned look. "It's the people in Aughal. The rest of my village. They're still locked in the Spires and I'm worried about them."

"They're going to be Zolyra's first stop, don't worry. The Shroud will hold until then." He considered the young dusker as she began to open the sungate's interior door and asked another question he might have sooner if they hadn't been separated for about a week. "What do you think about going to Kallical? I know Evalyn talked it over with everyone but I haven't checked in."

"It… would've been nice to go to Salant, but I have to stay with the team, don't I?" She shook her head to dispel any worry that might have given him. "They'll still have nighttime in Kallical. I just heard I won't be able to do much in their tunnels because of how tall I am."

Damn. And there's no way Hunter would prefer perpetually dark bogs over his literal ideal hunting grounds. It would've been ideal to have had this conversation earlier as the idea that struck him would be harder to pull off with less time, but he voiced it anyway. "If you wanted to wait until we get the Arcadian going, we could send you to Salant with a dusker team to get some experience."

"No." Daniel was a bit taken aback by the firmness in Khiat's tone, though she dropped the intensity as she repeated herself. "No, thanks."

"You're sure?"

Khiat gestured around. "This team has done so much for me. I'm never going to forget that, because you're all in every arrow I draw."

"Me especially, right?" he asked with exaggerated self-importance, despite how true it was. Internally, he settled on the first thing he wanted to enchant with his level 3 power. The interior door yawned open, Khiat ushering him through first. "Don't forget Khiat, you're on this team too. It isn't all give."

"Today it is," she replied, patting him a bit hard on the back to get him moving faster. "Go on, they're waiting."

…

A bit of Daniel's old social anxiety returned when he saw everyone who had come to watch him level. The thing about dusker homes was that they were scaled to the occupant's full height, meaning that a lot of people of his standing could fit in one room. All together was the rest of Wingcraft, Khiat's parents, Alex, Tlara and Willow, Padri, Gtoll, Spinner somehow which made him do a double take, Murdon, Lograve, and Tounaki off in one corner, Gadriel looking pensive after returning to a region he'd been exiled from, Thomas standing next to Quala and looking over to where Silora was already getting into some wine, even a distant-looking William who had promised to go to Kallical with that part of his team to show them the area. The only people of his inner and middle social circles who weren't here were Zolyra who was managing the mercenaries, and Farthest Run who were still mourning the loss of their Druid.

All of those faces hit him in a wave and gave him some trepidation about what living with level disparity to charisma again would be like, but Daniel knew he was a better person now and that attributes weren't everything. If those emotions got to him more than they had before, he'd just deal with it. Smiling, he waved in thanks to the room in general. The crowd parted, and a small Hunter walked up to his side. Further back Shuni nodded at him but let Hunter have the moment. Good to see you again, he thought as Khiat came up from behind them and started to give a small speech thanking everyone for coming. The last week wasn't so bad, was it?

Wasn't, Hunter confirmed. Went on a date.

You what!? Daniel barely stopped a gasp from escaping him though the more perceptive in the room noticed the spike in his heart rate. What- but- who?

Kidding. The ringcat grinned at him and Daniel's near-heart attack was averted. I've been talking with people, though. Normally. It's been… mixed. The earrings help, I think, but people assume I'm dominated at first. The hurt and frustration came across the Empathic Link, but it wasn't overwhelming. Hunter was suppressing the emotions on his side. I'm doing what Tak says, going deep instead of wide. Seeing people who don't turn me away.

Making friends, Daniel continued. Tak can be smart when he chooses to be. I hope Lograve knows the kind of monster of he's making. You should let me know if there's anyone I should meet, either way.

Later. Today's about you.

Doesn't mean it can't be a little about you too, Daniel replied, ruffling the fur on Hunter's head and earning a light growl in reply. Oh crap they're staring again. Khiat had finished her brief introduction already, despite telepathy being faster than verbal speech. He cleared his throat as it was obvious he had to say something and ad libbed as best he could after not having paid attention to what had just been said. "Thanks for coming, everyone. I know some of you have to be busy so I'll keep this short. I'm leveling up. There was a time that if I said that…"

Daniel trailed off, stopping himself from reminiscing on times that had never actually happened to him. He didn't have a past life on Earth, only memories of one, and as each day went by he thought less and less of himself as that person. "It doesn't matter. Everyone in this room means something to me, and I'm glad you're here. To stop us from talking about this all day, I think I'm just going to do it."

He started working his Focus out of the shield, wanting to do this with his hands rather than his mind. Amidst the light chatter he overheard Gtoll rumble to Khiat's parents, "I've seen some of our people reach this threshold before. The time it takes doesn't differ between species. If I'm taking up too much space-"

"Nonsense," Khiat's father assured. Fully extended he came up to about Gtoll's mid-chest, and the Berserker was bending to not rub up against the ceiling. "Though, it is odd. They told us to have the food ready for when he got here. Wouldn't it have made more sense to cook it as he advances?"

Sometimes it was fun to realize that not every secret had gotten out. Lograve had overheard as well and was giving him an evil grin, though the Arcanist withheld any mental prodding. Daniel's finger hesitated over the button, and then he paused. "Shuni, come on. You're not going to watch me do this from over there are you?" His first thought had been that she'd created a shadow clone and was actually watching from the ceiling or something, but he'd observed enough to know that ruled that out.

Shuni teleported into the stairway, the only space free enough for her to comfortably do so, and then stood by him opposite Hunter. "Sorry, I didn't know if you wanted it to be the two of you with how it happened last time."

"No," Daniel said knowingly, "You wanted me to ask." A subtle smile and turn of the head away told him all he needed. With that, it was all in place. The last member of who he'd consider to be his direct family wasn't here, but Daniel knew he wasn't on good enough terms with Alex. Given her fears and concerns about the Octyrrum, he understood the distance she was maintaining. At least she's here.

Daniel looked down at his phone and hit the damn button before he did something dumb like asking all of Wingcraft to do it with him.

Your Intelligence is now 30! Powers acquired with this Attribute will now be Level: 3. Features you have previously awakened from intelligence may be heightened to level 3. You have gained Ability: Zone of Efficiency.

-

By developing a Core Attribute to 30, you have improved your Artificer class to Level: 3! Your Mana Pool has increased, and the Mana cost of Powers below Level: 2 is reduced. You will now awaken Powers at level 2, but will suffer greater effects of Level Disparity when using level 2 powers awakened from Attributes below your current level.

-

Alert: Your Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Wisdom, and Charisma are below your current level. Powers reliant on these Attributes will suffer from Level Disparity until the attribute is increased to your current level.

-

Artificer – Level: 3

You are an artificer, a Class that embodies the Ideals of innovation and creativity. Your Core Attributes are Endurance and Intelligence. Upon taking this class your current Dexterity is halved. Your artificer Focus will take the form of a magical tool.

Attributes:

- Strength: 26

- Dexterity: 25

- Endurance: 26

- Wisdom: 27

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

- Intelligence: 30

- Charisma: 25

Of those not in the know, only Gtoll had the senses to detect what he'd done. The Berserker just stared at him uncomprehendingly, the Arcanist across the room enjoying a moment of schadenfreude at the dusker's befuddlement. Daniel already had a lot to go through, including the level 3 benefits of his intelligence features and his first level 3 power, but he wasn't done. He'd only needed one point in intelligence to get to 30, and he still had 5 left to spend. Doing it all at once may have risked awakening a level 2 power instead of a level 3 one with the other points as he wasn't sure what the order of operations was. Considering how level disparity worked and the powers he had, the next step was obvious.

Your Endurance is now 30! Powers acquired with this Attribute will now be Level: 3. Features you have previously awakened from endurance may be heightened to level 3. You have gained Ability: Dysfunction Ray.

-

Your Dexterity is now 26!

Daniel laughed as Gtoll's jaw grew slackened, the rest of the room beginning to realize something was up. He took in a few breaths before saying anything, using the time to feel out his body for the changes. Of immediate note was the expansion of his mana pool. From what his seventh sense told him, it was more than a 100% boost which was made all the more impressive by a reduction in mana cost of his abilities tied to intelligence and endurance. Level disparity would make the others slightly more expensive than they had been before, but this was offset by his widened pool. The mana flow itself was surging, an initial rush kicked off by his level up that was now settling into a stronger circuit.

It wasn't all upsides. Parts of his body felt weaker, his fingers slightly less nimble, his arms less able to shrug off boulders. The mental changes weren't as obvious but the pressure on him from the crowd now wondering what was going on did increase. It was nothing crippling, but it was still a sign of imbalance he wanted to correct as soon as possible.

"Well, that's the level," he said cheekily. "Thanks for coming everyone. Let's eat!"

"Wait. How?" Gtoll asked, still dumbfounded. "The gods?"

"Lets go with that," Daniel answered easily, taking the dusker's suggestion for a perfect excuse in stride. "I hope you don't mind, Gtoll, but I'm not going to take you up on the offer to spar just yet." He had someone else in mind anyway.

"That… that is probably wise. You are always your most vulnerable after advancing to a new level," the dusker replied self-consciously. Daniel nodded in acknowledgment, thanked Shuni when she congratulated him, and laughed as Hunter immediately began working his way toward the kitchen. He let his new powers rest as the people gathered before him took precedence.

It was hours later that he found himself alone in his room, finally taking a moment to rest after all the talking, and eating, and more talking. So much talking. It'd started with the team and spiraled from there. Trying to think back on it just returned a blur, but a happy one.

If they're still complaining, you can tell them I'm taking a look at my powers now, Daniel told Hunter. He laid back on his bed, staring at the night sky before his eyes returned to his phone. It was still out and wouldn't go back in until this was done. He looked up Dysfunction Ray first as he'd have to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the powers page to find the other one.

Dysfunction Ray (Ability, Endurance, Curse, Domain: Universal, Cooldown, Level: 3)

You possess the Power to fire a short-ranged attack that inflicts the target with a debilitating curse for a modest Mana cost. Damage taken by targets while cursed gives them a chance to cancel one active Ability or reset one Heightened Feature that is sourced from the target. This Effect can trigger multiple times and scales based on the damage dealt by each attack. This effect lasts for one minute, and cannot be used again until it expires. This is a Magical Ability that does not function in an area of Magical Suppression.

Curses? That's… interesting. The power was clearly meant for combat at a higher level than he was used to. The Assassin Mark came to mind, as they'd only been able to pull off a technical victory against him after Thomas had pushed his reset button. As he faced stronger opponents they'd have a wider range of powers to choose from, and many relevant features heightened.

It was good, but it didn't sit entirely right with Daniel. It wasn't the curse part, it just didn't feel appropriate for his first level 3 power in some oblique way. Thankfully, it hadn't been his first level 3 power.

Zone of Efficiency (Ability, Intelligence, Utility, Domain: Enchantment, Cooldown, Level: 3)

You possess the Power to create a small Zone that enhances Magical Efficiency for a major Mana cost. While active the zone will reduce all Mana costs, scaling with your intelligence and inversely with the Level of the affected target. This Effect persists until the next System Reset, you use the ability again, or you willfully dismiss it. This ability has a one hour cooldown. This is a Magical Ability that can not be used in an area of Magical Suppression.

…when it says 'all mana costs', does it mean? Unable to to hold himself back Daniel activated the ability and felt a zone that covered half the house appear. He had an intrinsic sense of where it was but didn't see any glimmering aura. His mana flow did feel slightly different, and anyone who had reached at least level 2 the normal way should be able to sense that as well.

The hit to his sparkling new mana pool was severe, over 10%, and that was after it had been expanded. It was so much it reminded him of the cold feeling after giving blood. Zone of Efficiency far and away beat out Opportune Moment for the power with the highest mana cost.

That reminds me, I need to shift into Beast Mode at some point to find those changes. Unfortunately he didn't have any new powers to speak of there. The method of awakening his unidentified powers through combat was beginning to fall off, leaving him with the options of finding someone to identify them or getting better at the natural awakening process. That was a problem for later.

For now, Daniel wanted to test just how much his zone reduced mana costs. 10% was a steep price, though he could see how insane it would be for a normal Artificer. At least, it would have been if they stood any risk of depleting their mana entirely over the course of the day. Enchanting didn't take that much compared to combat abilities, meaning the only way he'd get a personal return on his investment was to make active use of this in hunts.

I know I'd wanted to make Khiat a bow with this first… but I'm not really enchanting, just testing, Daniel thought as he reached for a piece of bone. I'll even make an arrowhead for her.

He began the process, instantly noting an issue with his methodology. Daniel was making a level 2 blank arrowhead sized appropriately for Khiat. He'd made less of them than the tide of bullets that flew from his hands, but was familiar enough with them to get a good estimate from Quick Mind on how the process had changed. As far as time went he got a clean reading, the original 25ish minutes being cut to 17 thanks to the benefits of Arcane Creator going to level 3.

As far as the mana cost, it had dropped by just over 40% through both that benefit and the zone. Wait, I can work backwards. He already knew that time and mana were linked if all else was held equal from the experiments that had led to the blast bow. Arcane Creator had shaved 30% off the time, which should have translated to the mana cost as well. The only question was if the zone was additive or multiplicative to that, though to get over 40 it'd need to cut a third off. Since that sounded insane, even for a level 3 power, Daniel assumed it was additional which made it out to be…

Over 10%, but not too much over. Close to the percent it took off my mana pool to cast if not exactly. It was mostly coincidence and assumption, but it felt right. He'd never make back what he spent without replenishing his mana somehow, but it wasn't a selfish power. The entire team could benefit, especially if the description said what he thought it did.

Hunter, still figuring things out. Has Gadriel left yet?

No, but he is leaving, Hunter replied. Want me to stop him?

Throw Willow at him if she's free, I don't want to risk him going back to Earth tomorrow. Give me two minutes. There was one last thing he wanted to test, and it'd help him get acquainted with the benefits of his new features. He didn't have a benchmark for the cost of heightening to level 3, but there was a way around that.

I already know what Regeneration does, increased healing rate and resistance to disease and poison. He mentally ticked the feature up and felt his mana flow diminish in kind. That was all he needed to do, but curiosity got the better of him and he spent another minute reading through the other features that had been upgraded.

Ammunition Surplus, Level 3: You may enable a method for Enchanting Items: Ammunition at a far faster rate for a modest Mana cost. Enchanting this way produces up to 10 Items at a time, with Difficulty: Enchanting scaling exponentially with each concurrent item. The primary Effect of this Feature can create multiple items with this benefit activated.

Craftsman's Repose, Level 3: Increase the percentage of rest you are able to ignore to 50% for a moderate Mana cost. You no longer need to perform Crafting adjacent to times of rest to benefit from this feature.

Defensive Craft, Level 3: Grant Items: Armor you can craft the ability to slightly reduce Damage taken by those wearing it for a moderate Mana cost. This Feature must be Heightened while the Item is Enchanted, although this is not required to maintain the Effect on already finished items.

Fortitude, Level 3: Improve the resistance provided by the primary Effect and additionally grant resistance to Forced Movement for a moderate Mana cost.

Map, Level 3: Significantly increases the radius of maps created by this Function for a minor Mana cost.

Music, Level 3: Improves the maximum volume of playback for a minor Mana cost.

Settings, Level 3: Allows all Functions: Focus to resist Magical Suppression of Level: 3 or lower.

Identify Creature, Level 3: Reveal the Health Pool of Creatures at least one Level lower than you for a minor Mana cost.

Quick Mind, Level 3: Significantly improve the rate of calculation for a modest Mana cost. Additionally, you may split the primary Effect of this Feature on two different tasks while this benefit is active.

Reading ahead had been a catastrophic mistake as Daniel was now sorely tempted to try out the new benefits of Ammunition Surplus. Crafting ten rounds at a time would practically eliminate the chunk of his life he spent rearming himself, if he could sustain the enchantment through the difficulty. He would also be dealing with enchanting at a higher level so it wasn't a given despite the gains he'd made.

He had an opportunity to exploit, however. Besides, he wasn't going to break his promise to himself to make Khiat a new bow first. Daniel activated Beast Mode, allowing the shift to come over him, and then cocked his head. Is, is the zone still active? He spent another few precious seconds confirming what his senses were telling him and grinned wildly. Looks like another part of the system my OP bond breaks. Has to be like Elemental Onslaught.

Daniel hopped out of his window, perusing the changes to Beast Mode's features. It took far less time, both because the information was in his head and there were only two that belonged to intelligence or endurance.

Elemental Wildcard, Level 3: Reduce the cooldown to 30 seconds for a minor Mana cost.

Unyielding Tenacity, Level 3: Increases the effect of Attribute: Luck on triggering the primary effect for a moderate Mana cost. If the effect triggers with this enhancement active, the penalty to your Healing rate will be reduced slightly, however the mana spent on this improvement will be permanently reserved until you fully recover.

He ran out, felt the smoothness of his mana flow caused by the zone fade, then heightened Regeneration again. The Mana Conduit effect of his changed Focus reduced that, but he knew the exact amount from its description and worked backward to confirm that the zone also reduced the cost of heightening features by about 10%.

Ahead of him, Gadriel was detaching himself from the conversation with Willow with such grace not even her social skills could get him to stay. He put the huge boon his team had just got out of mind and shouted at the top of his lungs across the courtyard. "Hey, Gadriel! 1v1 me bro!"