Beyond Phantasia

Novian’s POV

“Iris, you need to calm down. You didn’t kill anyone.”

“B-but he fell without a parachute!”

“You know the school wouldn’t allow any real harm to the students, right?” I explained. “He’ll be fine — make it up to him later. Right now, we need to focus on the trial, or we’ll be expelled. And by ‘we,’ I mean you.”

“Gosh, Novy, you’re so mean sometimes!” Iris said. “You’re supposed to comfort a damsel in distress.”

“Will a meal suffice?” I asked.

“Deal.”

As expected, I managed to acquire a high-ranking socrilium early on. It was a unique experience — I’d never felt such overwhelming power before. This...It was intense. I felt as if I were battling for control of my own body. Acalon was its name. I needed it to submit to my will before it consumed me, but I already knew that.

I gripped the spherical object in my pocket.

“Are you scared, Songstar?” a deep, ominous voice spoke in my head.

I ignored it.

“Hahaha…you can only ignore me for so long…” it said. “I’ll be waiting, Songstar…”

“Novy…NOVY!”

“Hm? Yes?”

“You were like spacing out. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I was thinking about which socrilium we should find for you.” I smirked.

“Oh my gosh, you’re so right. Let’s make sure it’s cute.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A series of explosions erupted nearby.

“Novy! What’s happening?” Iris screamed.

I scanned the area, materializing my socrillium — a greatsword so wide it could double as a shield.

“I don’t know.”

BOOM! BOOM! GHIISSSSSSSS! A deafening cry followed the explosions. AHHHHHHH! Screams echo from a distance. There was a fight.

“Those sound like students.” Iris said.

I’ll go first. Iris, you need to sync with a socrilium. Meet me where the sound is coming from after you sync.”

“Got it!” Iris said, darting off in the opposite direction. “Be safe Novy!”

I smiled as I watched her leave. As her figure disappeared from view, I shifted my focus to the source of the explosions.

Hoooo... I focused on my breathing. Crackle! Crackle! I could feel my surroundings, and an electric spark flared beneath my foot as I stomped the ground.

<><><><><>

AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH! The amount of pain I had to deal with this week has been ridiculous. It felt like my arm was being torn apart, and it was already broken!

“You’re almost there, human. Keep at it.”

I continued to focus on my arm.

I could feel something coursing through my arm to my body. A low hum resonated in the hollow, and a subtle blue light shone within the tree hollow. The wood hollow began closing on my arm, crushing it. I gritted through the pain. If I screamed anymore, it wouldn’t do us any good.

The minutes dragged on until I finally noticed the hollow beginning to reopen. The pain subsided, and I pulled my arm out. I inspected my arm — it looked as good as new. I flexed it, moving it around, and it was completely functional again.

Just how…

[New Skill Acquired]

Huh?

“Status. Plus.”

[Error! Error!]

[Recalibrating…]

[Error!]

[Recalibrating…]

What’s wrong with the status?

[Calibration Success]

==================

— {[Lucien Crow]} — -

Orphan

Sole Survivor of the Verita Massacre

???

Goal: Defeat the Primordial Giant of Destruction

Age: 16

Affinity: 3.2%

Silvion Academy (Year 6864): Rank 4000

Overall Rating: E

Affinity: E-

Combat: E+

Technomancy: E-

Stamina: E+

Skills:

Jack of All Trades Lvl 1

Allows the user to perform most tasks that they can’t perform at a moderate level.

Allure (Passive)

Your presence is alluring.

==================

What? My affinity increased significantly — by a whopping 2.5%. That's the best progress I've made so far!

I looked at my skills, staring in disbelief.

Useless. I sighed. A passive skill that makes my presence more alluring? That’s more of a curse than a skill. Can I even get rid of it? What kind of nonsense is this?

However, despite the skill being whatever, what really concerned me was the error. I skimmed the status screen and noticed I could no longer access the student count for the academy.

This…this shouldn’t be an issue right?

“Hey, human! How do you feel?” The socrix asked. “Anything unusual?”

"Hm?" I snapped out of my thoughts. "Not really."

I flexed my arm, giving a quick jab at the air.

“Good as new,” I said. “But that’s about it.”

There’s no real reason to let it know about the skill.

"Wonderful. Now, let's turn our attention to our uninvited guest."

I turned to face the creature — or creatures. There were maybe five of them, though it was hard to tell in the dim light. Albians. I hadn’t encountered these creatures before, having never ventured into the ravine in any of my playthroughs.

They were ghoulish creatures with leathery wings like those of a bat and elongated bony fingers. Part of it seemed like it was part hornet, with segmented, insect-like abdomens ending in sharp, venomous stingers. But the head was the worst. A grotesque blend of a fox, bat, and hornet: furry like a fox, yet with compound eyes and twitching antennae. I really couldn’t describe what I was looking at besides gross.

“So, you live down here?” I asked. “With these things?”

"Not my proudest choice, but the scenery's nice."

Chakakaka! The Ablians flew, jumped — whatever the fuck they did — towards me. They came at me with a fierce, buzzing assault. I ducked and rolled as one of their stingers sliced through the air where my head had been. My heart raced as I pivoted to the side, narrowly avoiding another strike that thudded into the ground beside me. I leaped back, feeling the rush of air from a stinger missing me by inches.

“Hey! Help me out here!” I yelled.

“I’m working on it!” The socrix said. “Do not rush a king!”

“What the — when did you get on me? You know what, never mind.”

I crouched low, narrowly dodging another stinger. I then sprinted to a nearby boulder for cover, taking a moment to catch my breath.

“Alright, your royal highness, surely you’ve got something.”

“I do, but I don’t advise it…”

“Does it matter? I’m being stung at with no weapon!”

“I offered to sync.”

“That’s still on the waiting list.”

“Humans are so complicated,” the socrix said, rolling its little eyeballs. “Follow my instructions.”

I followed the socrix’s orders, darting through the cave as the Ablians pursued us.

“Left. Left. Right, ” It said. “Dodge now.”

I barely had time to react as the Ablians closed in, their stingers poised for attack. One of them lunged at me, its stinger slicing through the air with a menacing hiss. I twisted my body, feeling the rush of air as the stinger missed me by inches. I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the creature’s bony fingers that clawed at the space I had just occupied.

As I scrambled to my feet, another Ablians' stinger shot towards me, its sharp tip glinting in the dim light. I ducked low, the stinger grazing the top of my head. I could see the glint of its bony fingers reaching out, trying to grab me. I leaped backward, feeling the sting of the creature's fangs snapping shut just inches from my face. The sharp, jagged teeth smiled at me as I narrowly avoided its deadly bite. My heart raced as I continued to dodge.

We wove through the cave’s terrain. As we pushed forward, the sound of the Ablians grew louder — more of them were coming. Finally, we arrived at a large cavern.

“Ha…ha…ha…What now?” I asked, trying to catch my breath.

“Do you see that hole in the center, the one that’s producing fog, human?”

“The geyser?”

“Yes, step into the center of it.”

“Come again?”

“You heard me.”