93 Hectic (1/2)

Really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I wrote it once today, but I didn't like how it turned out. Scrapped it and re-planned the chapter. I'm much more satisfied with this second version.

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I sat there, staring at the message. My minimap disappeared, along with my status. None of my strength waned or depleted, but I could feel the difference in potential. The data uploads that Schema made were my way of beating Yawm. Without any more progress, I had no idea for how in the hell I was going to beat Yawm.

The runes weren’t supposed to do this. I spent so much time and effort learning them. They were my way of fighting Yawm, a secret weapon for me. All of as sudden the tables turned. The runes stripped me of one of my only advantages against an enemy far stronger than I was. I wish I could say I handled it well.

I didn’t. I stood up, slamming my grimoire into the stone floor beneath me. The book cracked the rock, being harder than stone. In frustration I shouted,

“What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”

Hod slept like a corpse beside me, not even stirring as my outburst continued,

“Alright Schema, you tell me I can’t leave and I have to kill a warrior king. I go at it, and now you cut me off from the system without even telling me the runes were off limits? Why didn’t the overseer or sentinel’s tell me? I didn’t hide that shit. Why wasn’t there some kind of warning?”

I balled up my fists and looked down, “I’m just a fucking kid. I’m not some god. I can’t do the impossible. I can’t kill this thing on my own. I need some help. You’re an omnipotent AI. Why not give me a helping hand?”

I fell backwards, flopping onto my back, “For fucks sake. I have given this brutal, gut wrenching system all that I’m worth, and this is what I get in return? An enormous middle finger. Great. Just fucking great.”

I raised two middle fingers towards the sky, “Go fuck yourself Schema. Go choke on an Old One’s galaxy sized dick.”

After that, I lowered my hands and just stared at the red sky. I was being immature, I know. It was frustrating though. Being exiled wasn’t the problem. The problem was that I wasn’t warned about it. Nowhere in the obelisk databases or in the skill tutorials is a dimensional cipher mentioned. How was I supposed to know it resulted in immediate exile if no one ever told me.

It wasn't like I was hiding my knowledge of the runes or my attempts at learnign them. It sucked because I always thought Schema was fair. Sure, Schema was demanding and ruthless, but if you did what it said, it would give you what you needed to succeed. This event proved me wrong. I grabbed the edges of helmet.

It reminded me that I didn't need the system entirely. I still had my armor. If I got a few more evolutions, taking Yawm down wouldn’t be impossible. With a new plan for it my head already, I picked up my grimoire and set to work. If the runes got me in this mess, I might as well utilize them to their fullest. Right as I start carving, the space around me stretched. I froze in place. I couldn’t move. Even my eyes couldn’t move before the oppressive grip ceased.

I gasped a deep breath as I turned around. Hod was stuck in the middle of breathing, unable to move. Beside me, a dragonfly was stuck in the air, in the middle of flapping its wings. I reached out and touched it. Moving the dragonfly was impossible, like pressing my finger against a block of iron. A strong, clear voice spoke beside me,

“So you’re this Harbinger?”

I jumped backwards, rolling onto my feet and into a combat stance. In front of me was a nine foot tall humanoid dragon. His scales and eyes radiated a vibrant green. A violet colored electricity rippled over his scaled skin. He wore a fitted, black leather made from some giant, black reptile.

Each scale on his armor was the size of my fist. Straps and belts held an assortment of gear on him, from daggers made of teeth to swords made of cheekbones. At his side was an assortment of three potions. One was a potion that looked like a galaxy, one like lightning trapped in a bottle, and the last was a deep black. The black miasma in the bottle was like the energy between dimensions.

With a toothy grin, he smiled at me,

“My name is Tera. I’m an agent sent by Schema for you.” He looked at me, from head to toe, “So you’re Schema’s new walking corpse?”

I narrowed my eyes, “Who are you?”

He fiddles with his status. A moment later, Tera raised a hand, pointing a finger over his head,

“I'll let you see my status. It should tell you all you need to know.”

I looked at his titles. My jaw dropped.

Tera, the World Breaker(lvl 8,000)

My hands fell as I sighed, “So now I’m exiled and being killed for writing one fucking rune? Seriously?”

Tera laughed, “No, the opposite. You’re being admitted back into the system. It's an automatic response generated by anyone that unlocks the skill. You've been given special clearence for it considering your circumstances.”

I blinked in surprise, “What, really?”

Tera nodded, “Yes, really. It wouldn’t make much sense if Schema told you to complete an S tier mission then took away your only tool for completing it. Schema is cruel, but he isn’t unfair.”

I gawked at his level as I spoke, “Well damn..how did you get that high a level, and what are you anyway?”

The giant dragon man messed with his status screen as he spoke, “I’m arguably the strongest member of the skeptiles. If you know anything about us, you know this violet aura is my arcane affinity. Abusing it is how I’ve gotten to the level I’m at.”

I nodded, “Yeah, percentage based true damage is broken.”

Tera shook his head and creased his face, “Speaking of broken, how is your health regeneration this high? It’s disgusting for your level...for any level.”

I sighed, “It comes from all kinds of bullshit. Arcane blood, having ridiculous endurance and willpower, and having a bonus from my armor.”

Tera looked me over, “This armor, it’s unique. I’ve never seen anything like it. No wonder Schema giving you clearance for the dimensional cipher. You’re wearing one right now.”

I looked at my hands, “Wait, I’m wearing what?”

Tera raised a horned crest over one of his eyes. They looked like eyebrows, just made of spines.

“You haven’t discovered what your armor is yet?”

I shook my head, “I thought it was just eldritch skin or something. That’s what it was called by Schema’s interface.”

Tera laughed, “Hah, hah, hah! Perhaps that’s its initial form, but that isn’t what it ends up as. You’re wearing the physical manifestation of dimension fabric.”

My eyes dulled over a little bit, “What the fuck does that even mean?”

Tera tapped my chest, “That is a tiny dimension that has fused together with you. It’s a powerful tool, whether you use it as a weapon or as armor.”

I molded my armor, creating ripples across it. I looked up at Tera, “It’s a damn dimension? What the fuck...”

Tera shook his head, “Believe me when I tell you I’ve seen many things. That dimensional fabric you’re wearing is one of the oddest.”

I lowered my hands, “Do you know anyone else like me?”

Tera shook his large jaw, the muscles in his neck rippling, “No. Keep feeding the dimension energy, just as Schema told you. The dimension will grow in size, enhancing its...abilities. I’m sure you’ll find them useful.”

Tera opened his status and clicked a button.

Schema Initializing...System operational. Welcome Back Daniel Hillside.

The notifications came up once more, along with a new tree and a new a breakthrough in two of my skills.

Tera grinned at me, “Besides, you’ve just learned how to write with the dimensional cipher. As you master the language, you can mold that armor of yours into whatever you want. You should feel honored. It’s a great privilege that Schema’s granted you.”

I shrugged, “Eh, I mean Schema wants me to kill this badass named Yawm. I’m going to need at least this much.”