174: Tribulation (Patreon)

Note: I believe I'm caught up now, with Dungeon Apocalypse chapters releasing daily going forward. Book 3 will be wrapping up next week.

Roland regained consciousness in the middle of a blackened circle. The advance had scorched the earth around him and killed a few trees nearby. It was only luck – or maybe the System’s version of mercy – that he hadn’t triggered a forest fire.

Your Class has Evolved. You are now a Reaper Monarch!

Reaper Monarch (Celestial) 

You are an undisputed ruler of one Territory, but your Monarch honorific also denotes your understanding of and control over Death. You have achieved full F-Grade mastery over the Concept, building the foundations towards Ascension – or assuming the full powers and duties of a Scion of the Reaper of Lives. That is a choice for the future, with ramifications that will not be revealed until reaching Peak D-Grade, but you should put some thought on what you wish to become, for a time of decision is approaching  

Prerequisites: Death Attunement 15% or greater. Spirit Affinity 95% or greater. A Death-related, fully awakened Bloodline. Land Baron and Red-Handed (Epic) Titles and 2 Legendary or better Titles. 

Advancing as a Reaper Monarch requires the expenditure of 1,250 Essence per level at F-Grade and 2,500 Essence per level at E-Grade. 

Attribute Bonuses per Level (F-Grade): +10 to Strength, +10 to Dexterity, +10 Constitution, +10 to Willpower, +10 to Perception, +10 to Intelligence +10 to Charisma +18 Free Points. 

Attribute Bonuses per Level (Includes Title and Pattern Bonuses, F-Grade): +13 to Strength and Willpower, +12 to Constitution, +11 to Dexterity, +10 to Perception, Intelligence, and Charisma, +31 Free Points. 

Characteristic Bonuses (Includes Title Bonuses, F-Grade): +90 Health, +120 Mana and +85 Endurance per level. 

Congratulations! You have advanced your Class (Reaper Monarch) to E-Grade (level 10)!

Your current Attributes and Energy Pools have increased by 100%. Your Class bonuses per level will be increased by 100%, beginning with Level 11.

Reaper Monarch F-Grade Attributes and Energy Pools:

Attribute Bonuses per Level (Includes Title and Pattern Bonuses, E-Grade): +26 to Strength and Willpower, +24 to Constitution, +22 to Dexterity, +20 to Perception, Intelligence, and Charisma, +61 Free Points. 

Characteristic Bonuses (Includes Title Bonuses, F-Grade): +180 Health, +240 Mana and +170 Endurance per level. Vital Energy Remains unchanged but previous Level 10 total has doubled.

“Holy crap,” Roland gasped, wiping his forehead. His hand came out covered in blood. His whole body was drenched in stuff. “That’s new.”

Core Evolution remakes your body in a manner similar to Cultivation. Impurities and obsolete muscle and organ tissue are expelled through your pores and other openings.  

“Great.”

It took three uses of Cleanse to get rid of the goop, which was more liquid than the stuff that usually came out when he improved his cultivation but was still not something he wanted on him.

The pain from the transformation had mercifully faded away, but the memories that lingered were vivid enough. His body and mind had been rebuilt from the ground up.

Roland had gained another two inches in height, and maybe an extra fifty pounds, with most of the gains coming from density rather than growth. He felt more solid, as if his muscles had been replaced by metal strings or radial tire material; his steps on the forest floor left deeper imprints than before. If he jumped in a pool, he’d sink like a stone.

All his Attributes had crossed the next threshold of 500. His Strength 650, for example, let him lift 97,500 pounds – almost fifty tons. His Dexterity now let him operate in just under one millisecond, faster than any being that ever lived on Earth. Until now.

As a reward for the milestone, he gained a Mythic Achievement, Joined the 500 Club: it didn’t give him Attribute bonuses, just 250 Unbound Essence and 2 Legendary Universal Upgrade Tokens. It wasn’t like he needed any more rewards. Doubling his already inflated Attributes was more than rewarding enough.

This is where the Dual Path shines, he thought. I have twenty levels’ worth of stats added up, and then they double when I move up in Grade. And when I advance in Rank, will they double again?

That would be nice, wouldn’t it? Raven said when asked. There will be a doubling of your base Attributes, so you will end up with three times what you started, rather than the four times you would gain if you doubled your Grade-E gains.

“Even so, my stats will be monstruous. Like a peak Copper, without moving up a single stage.”

Yes. That is why Dual Path Ascendants dominate the top rankings. The few who manage to thread the needle and avoid burning out or hitting a bottleneck, at least. And when they rise as high and fast as you have, they also have to deal with Tribulations, which normally do not happen until the transition from Iron to Bronze, from the Mortal Ranks to the Noble ones.

“So, what you are telling me is that going up to Copper is going to suck.”

Raven croaked. You have no idea. And to be honest, neither do I. Your situation is so unusual that even I have only some educated guesses.

“Well, let’s get this done,” Roland said. “Do you think a ritual circle will protect me?”

Against the Heavens? You might annoy them enough to crush you more thoroughly. No, grasshopper, you must meet the challenge without crutches of magic to aid you.

“All right.”

Roland took off his equipment. He’d rather take the punishment himself than lose his gear to a process that wasn’t really supposed to kill him.

He sat in the clearing, on the opposite side of the portal. It would suck if the Tribulation damaged it. He figured the System wouldn’t let that happen, but why tempt fate?

Over the past few weeks traveling through different Lands, he had cultivated almost a thousand Essence already, reinforcing and tempering his Pattern along the way. The lines of power woven into a basket or nest around his Dantians had firmed out in preparation for holding the weight of the Cores he would form.

That time was four Ranks away, of course, but the better the foundation, the better the result.

And maybe I’m so far ahead of the curve that I could afford to cut a corner or two, but what if I need every advantage I can claw out of the System? What if I keep fighting people who by rights should be able to crush me like a bug?

He’d rather not risk it. Circumstances would force him to rush things, he knew that, but when he had the time to get something perfectly right, he would do it.

The remaining 423 Unbound Essence began to flow through his Meridians and Pattern, the motes of pure potentiality shoring up the channels, making them stronger, tougher. He visualized Essence settling into the four Dantians without a Core, making them denser and richer with energy.

Mana circulated as well, both the pure, unaligned kind and the types – of maybe frequencies – dedicated to his favored Concepts: Death, Speed, Spirit, and now Svarga. A new Concept that meant nothing to most people, but which might turn out to be just as important as Death.

He had advanced several Skills and Techniques, had spent time meditating on his improved Daos as well as the new one, and he had communed with several natural treasures. He was as ready as he could be.

You have met the qualifications to ascend to Copper Rank.

Do you wish to advance now?

“Yes.”

The last points of Essence clicked into place. His Pattern was reinforced. All that was left was the final tempering. And that would come from the Heavens.

The first lightning bolt came down from the clear skies above him. A jagged streak of coruscating blue touched his aura and flickered out. It... tickled.

I will NOT think ‘that wasn’t so bad,’ Roland told himself as another bolt arrived, just as unimpressive as the first. The third, fourth and fifth didn’t do any better.

There was a pause, as if the Heavens were considering the situation. And then a solid bar of crackling energy filled the clearing.

Trees on the outskirts that had survived Roland’s ascent to E-Grade disintegrated. Roland’s aura dispersed like water hit by a blowtorch. Every nerve in his body screamed as the energy ran through his body, burning and electrocuting everything it touched.

Through the pain, he saw his Pattern take the influx of energy – and drink it greedily, absorbing it. The tempering had begun.

The massive bolt danced on the ground – and Roland’s body – for several seconds, in utter disregard for physics. When it was over, steam rose from Roland’s body in thick plumes. He felt dehydrated and could smell his hair burning merrily, along with his skin; the latter made him think of frying bacon.

His Health had gone from almost six thousand to below fifteen hundred. His Vital Energy was near full, so he healed up, restoring his cooked body.

His hair didn’t grow back, though: he now had several bald patches and the remaining tufts were blackened and stiff. When he ran his hand over his head, all the hair he touched crumbled into dust.

Thunder rumbled for several seconds. Roland looked up: massive storm clouds had formed right above his position. This wasn’t over.

Three bolts the same size as the first hit him as one. Roland poured Vital Energy into his body as he burned. He felt parts of him popping like so many corn kernels. He healed, got fried again, healed again. This time the bolts lingered for close to a minute. By the time that was over, a third of his Vital Energy had been consumed.

That sucked, Roland thought.

He was sprawled on his back, at the bottom of a five-foot-deep crater, broken glass under him. Breathing hurt. His eyes were closed but his aura senses let him stare at the angry skies above him, still swirling with dark clouds. A new bolt of lightning flew from from one cloud to another. The bolt kept going like a pinball, bouncing from cloud to cloud, getting bigger with each bounce. Way bigger than the previous four. Maybe bigger than all four combined.

Correction. THAT is going to SUCK ALL THE ASS.

Every instinct told him to run, duck and weave, teleport to another zip code or, even better, run through the portal and leave the Tribulation behind. But every tradition and story and the System itself had warned that Tribulations could not be avoided once they started. They had to be endured.

I don’t think I can take that hit.

In desperation, Roland tried to channel Vital Energy into his aura, His aura was an extension of his body, after all. Maybe he could thicken it, reinforce it, anything that might let him survive the mother of all lightning bolts.  

 The Heavens didn’t like him. That much seemed obvious. Or maybe it just didn’t know how to show affection.

System notifications popped up, so whatever he had tried had produced some kind of result, but before he could open them, the full wrath of the Heavens came crashing down.

Everything flashed white and obliterated his senses.

*

Did I die? Shouldn’t my rez abilities kick off by now?

“You are not dead, Webb Roland.”

He opened his eyes when hearing the voice, realizing that his aura senses weren’t picking up anything. In fact, his aura was gone. All he had was his body, floating in whiteness bright enough to hurt a little when he focused on any part of it. Across him, a white-haired man sat in the lotus position floating in the nothingness.

The stranger had long hair and thick eyebrows and wore a robe. He looked a lot like the martial arts teacher from Kill Bill 2. In fact, Roland was almost certain that the guy looked exactly like Pai Mei, as played by Gordon Liu in the movie. The System was a plagiarist. Or maybe it was the Heavens stealing ideas from Roland’s home cultures?

“We do not steal,” the white-haired teacher said, playing with his chin beard. “We merely pluck imagery that your mind can relate to. It makes communication easier, at your lowly stage of development.”

Well, eff you very much, Roland thought.

“I’d rather not. You’re not my type.”

“Reading my mind without asking isn’t very nice.”

“The Heavens aren’t nice, Webb Roland. And neither are you, much of the time. Kind toward your friends, and those weaker than you, yes, but you have never hesitated to be decisive, even cruel, when you thought it was needful.”

“Fair enough.”

“You are here while your body is undergoing the Tribulation. Your body will survive, barely so, and the temper of your Pattern will be fitting to its Celestial quality. It will be appropriate even if you manage to refine said Pattern to Divine tier. Something I suggest you do before advancing to Bronze Rank.”

“Thank you for the advice. And the tempering.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I brought you here because there is a small possibility that you will rise high enough in the System’s order to become an agent of change. Your Primal nature is troublesome but has great potential. Whether it is used to aid or destroy remains to be seen.”

“I’m listening.”

“Here, in the midst of your Tribulation, we can communicate without the System being aware of it. As I’m sure you probably know, the System observes all beings within its purview. Continuously. In excruciating detail. Everyone’s acts, thoughts and emotions are monitored and stored in its vast memory.”

“But here it won’t listen to our conversation. Good. Can you tell me what the System is? What it wants?”

“The System is the creation of one human, possibly with the aid of others. The creator or creators came from an Earth much like yours. Something gave them enormous power. The System is designed to guide humanity toward reaching similar levels of power.”

“By killing most of us. Doesn’t seem like a fair deal.”

“Live five years or live a hundred, a mortal’s existence is so far below the System’s makers that its premature end is of no consequence. Might as well mourn an ant you stepped on, by accident or design.”

“The ant cares. We care.”

“You are free to disapprove of the System. Or the Heavens, which serve a similar purpose. The Heavens are also a human creation, of beings who used arts and crafts to raise themselves to the heights of Immortality, then Godhood, and finally Transcendence. The Transcendent gathered together and combined their wisdom to forge the Heavens, a guiding force that provided rules and structure for humanity to follow in their footsteps.”

“The Heavens made Cultivators.”

The stranger stroked his chin beard. “Not made them, exactly. But they codified the best methods to progress and spread them among many worlds.”

“And one day you encountered the System.”

“There were many such encounters. But when conflict seemed inevitable, the Heavens agreed to remain as an adjunct to the System. The alternative would have been a war that would have laid waste to hundreds of worlds and killed billions if not trillions. And the System itself proved to be better for the vast majority of humankind who cannot progress very far. Better that they gained Classes and rose to whatever heights their paltry drive allowed, than to remain powerless, easily abused by Cultivators.”

Roland had heard how Cultivator-dominated worlds restricted Classers’ choices to low-quality, mostly civilian types. The Heavens were no angels.

“I appreciate the info, although most of it involve things I already knew or suspected,” Roland said. “But what do you want from me?”

“Worlds belonging to a different set of the Heavens have been discovered. Your world, XXI-993, is in relative proximity to some of them. As a Crucible World, it is ripe for invasion from multiple sources, but also to trade and diplomacy. We would like you to investigate the other Heavens if the opportunity presents itself.”

“And you think the opportunity is very likely to present itself.”

“As the most likely Planetary Champion of XXI-993, you will be in a unique position to make contact. Perhaps even to participate in an inter-System competition. Those have happened, with the winners reaping rewards from both Systems and Heavens involved.”

“Okay. Let’s say that happens. I’d be trying to learn as much as I can about them. What do you want me to do about them?”

“We want you to deliver a message, one the System cannot detect.”

“Oh, hell no. I’ve seen this movie before. I’m not playing the pawn in some inter-System conflict. Pawns get killed.”

The Pai Mei clone looked unhappy. “Well, it was worth a try. When you learn more about the System, the time may come you will wish you had accepted our proposal. We will be making a similar offer on your next Tribulations. Perhaps you will be more receptive then.”

“Stranger things have happened, I’m sure.”

“Very well. You are free to go.”

Rolands found himself back in his body, which was cooked to medium well. But he was alive.

Congratulations! You are now a Copper 0 Cultivator!