NOVEL NEXT 1040. Pain Is Scary
The stats were overwhelmingly in Joy's favor. Even a child could tell this was the case at a single glance. If one were to make a choice between a smaller number versus a larger number without context, then the latter would be chosen most of the time.
Despite this, Joy's stance didn't evoke the same confidence she had back in the Ghost Site.
"Malgam…!" Her heels dug in rather than her toes.
It was a sign that she was ready to dodge rather than to press the advantage. A few swipes of her claws would be enough to shred the Converted Drone to ribbons, but Joy chose to fight on her backfoot.
< "Stab and stab. With these instructions, none shall disobey the Queen." >
Neither was it because she was luring the Corrupted into a trap. If that was the case, then an appropriate measure to perform a counterattack would have been made. Skills aside, Joy had twelve additional hidden arms to take control of the fight.
And yet…
The eyes of the Drone flashed red. It threw itself at Joy, and she avoided it with a swift leap. Her knees were already bent when she landed, and she jumped again as the Drone bounced in her direction for a follow-up strike.
"GAM!"
There was more to combat than simply striking the target until it could no longer move. Joy's eyes scoured the forest in search of something as she dodged close calls with the Converted Drone.
A stick. Despite them being in a forest, there were no sticks, let alone branches to use. The few she found were far too sturdy to break, and she recoiled when her elongated claws met with the bark of the ironwood.
"Gaaaam!"
Pain shot through her arm.
This was precisely what she was trying to avoid at all costs.
Indeed, the reason why Joy did not wish to fight it in close combat was because she did not wish to experience pain again.
And upon thinking of this, the lights in her vision ushered her to abandon the twins. It promised her of a painless future should she choose to follow the light.
"Malga…"
< "Wear their stripes. Wear their skin. Then, make them one of us. For the Queen." >
But Joy could not just leave the twins on their own.
Besides, she needed them more than they needed her.
A spark of conviction burned in her chest as claws shot out from the tips of her fingers. The talon-shaped blades pierced into the stripes of the oncoming Drone, and her knuckles scraped against its fur.
"MALGAAAAM!?"
She winced and kicked at the Drone, only for fresh pain to shoot up her legs. The texture of the fur was far from soft despite its appearance. It was closer to blades of glass, and to her horror, her HP had dropped.
Joy | HP: 70
Converted Drone | HP: 260
Blood dripped from her knuckles as she flung the Drone into the trunk of an ironwood tree. She desperately clasped her hand, her body hunched over as though she was on the verge of vomiting.
"Gam…!" The blood, to her surprise, was not hers. She had thought she had lost her hand again, but her Stats should have made it apparent that this was impossible.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
But she was confused. Her body suddenly lunged forward, and she inflicted the killing blow onto the Drone, this time avoiding going down to the knuckle.
Converted Drone | HP: 0
It soundlessly died, and it calcified into a white egg-like corpse the moment she wrenched her claws out.
"Amalgam…"
Joy winced and uttered the name of the only person who could make her feel safe.
While she wasn't as well versed with the Blessing and how combat worked, she was taught the basics by Nav, the voice in her head. Combat to Joy was a foreign concept that was born out of the necessity to survive and avoid pain.
As a Corrupted, combat came in the form of adhering to the ideals of the Observer Upstairs, rather than drawing blood for the sake of defending oneself.
That said, Joy wore a perplexed look. Her DEF stats were far higher than the ATT of the Drone. Fifteen times higher, in fact. And yet, she had lost 5 out of 75 HP from simply grazing against the fur of the Drone.
Skin did not break either. If HP was representative of one's vitality, then why did she not feel weakened despite losing what looked like a large percentage of HP?
"Nab…"
"P-Factor Augmentation." (Orth).
"It has a strong presence here. It must be why our MP has become our vitality." (Thras).
The twins answered as though they had read her mind. Joy sprinted in their direction and was relieved to find them standing knee-deep in the vegetation. Like Joy, they had also lost a slim amount of HP but for a different reason.
"Prickly plants. Just the graze removes HP." (Orth).
"Unfair. But 1 health point is the minimum amount deducted from 'HP' regardless of the target's DEF and the source's ATT. The Soul's P-Factor can't always defend." (Thras).
"Malgam?"
Joy was understandably perplexed now that she had an answer to why she had mysteriously lost HP. Without their answer she would have tied it to pain, but the answer was much simpler.
One would always lose 1 HP no matter how much DEF they had unless it was explicitly stated somewhere, be it on a piece of apparel or on an Ability, that damage could be outright negated.
The reason seemed to be tied to a phenomenon the twins called 'P-Factor'. Joy didn't know what it was.
After all, this was the first time she had heard of the term.
A blue prompt suddenly appeared in front of Joy.
* * *
P-Factor.
It was the ultimate enabler for superhuman feats, and the miracle that granted life the ability to conjure magic. This was the second Miracle of the Source after the Captured Star, despite having come first.
Scholars of the present age and arcane masters who had dedicated centuries into uncovering the mysteries of magic had rightfully narrowed it down to a Soul-related phenomenon.
However, none in the normal world were aware that magic was fundamentally a lesser version of a power called Arbitration. Where Arbitration allowed Stars to alter reality with their laws, sapient life utilized Magic and Mana to a lesser extent to conjure offensive, defensive, support and utility magic.
It was through P-Factor that Stats could exist, and why those who lacked strength could perform actions beyond what their bodies were biologically capable of. Without it, the flesh would scream with superheated steam, blood would flash boil, and arteries would explode.
Hence, why it was called P-Factor Augmentation.
That said, P-Factor was ultimately what dictated the material part of reality including the living. This was why Mana would become HP when a person entered a domain beyond regular reality, and why it was vulnerable to damage.
* * *
Joy didn't understand numbers well. But she managed to make sense of these words, even though she didn't know what the Miracles of the Source were. She only had a feeling that they were related to the people who had found her.
"Malgam…"
Joy's bleary expression softened when she saw the mention of a 'Star'. The Sovereign Star. That namesake brought her at ease, and before she knew it, she was drawing relieving breaths.
The twins moved close. They swooped their faces into hers, startling the poor Joy who nearly stumbled off balance.
"Gam!?"
"Question. Was it Joy?" (Orth).
"You have a question sister? Is it you to be curious?" (Thras).
"Curious, because she doesn't smell like a Demon." (Orth).
"Oh. You're right. Joy, are you really the child of the Amalgam?" (Thras).
"Deemwon?" Joy had never been called a Demon before, not that she knew what it meant either.
Her answer humored the twins.
An imperceptible grin formed in the corner of their lips. But it wasn't to mock Joy.
Rather, they felt oddly at peace talking to a child.
While the twins were small, Joy would be a fool to think they were in the adolescent phase of their lives. Healers had the tendency to have bodies that matched their expertise in Healing magic.
For example, the Mothers and the Perched were invariably older, whereas Healers who still required Healing Serums were almost always younger. It was also worth noting that Healers were inclined to manifest at a young age.
Just as when Joy was about to say something, a highly reflective claw was raised from the side of Orth. The needles along her fingers converged into a single spot where a bead of white fluid formed.
Bubbles ran through the tubes along her right arm, and Thras mentally scribed a number into the back of her mind.
"Schedule 9.99, a clause from Inflow Direct. May I, child of the Amalgam?" (Orth).
"Is it necessary? Is this a situation where we can use Serum H? We are technically inside of the territory of a Nexus-Aligned Atelier." (Thras).
"Serum H is authorized when our connection to the light is severed." (Orth).
"They were not specific on what this light is. But if it is the Nexus, then, I cannot argue with that logic." (Thras).
"Gam, gam, gam!" Joy rapidly shook her head, declining it with all her heart.
The twins tilted their head, looking somewhat sad.
"No healing?" (Orth).
"Cannot administer?" (Thras).
No way! Joy wanted to shout, but she only produced another: "Malgam!"
This, however, was a mistake.
The droning sound of wings returned. Joy's voice echoed several times, and on the fifth echo red light diffused through the fog.
Joy did not expect the Converted Drones to return.