Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 2: Summoning and Power Metal

Summoning List (Ephemeral)

Name

Material Cost

Mana Cost

Ghost

Tier 1 Circle, Rock Salt

10

Apparition

Tier 1 Circle, Rock Salt

25

Spirit

Tier 2 Circle, Rock Salt, Iron Shavings

50

Phantom

Tier 2 Circle, Rock Salt, Iron Shavings

75

Specter

Tier 3 Circle, Rock Salt, Iron Shavings, Candles

100

Wraith

Tier 4 Circle, Rock Salt, Iron Shavings, Candles, String

150

Poltergeist

Tier 5 Circle, Rock Salt, Iron Shavings, Candles, Blood

250

…

The list of creatures he could summon was immense, though only five were currently within his mana capacity. Each summon required a summoning circle on the ground, unified across all types of creatures that could be summoned. Those went all the way up to Tier 10 and in the other timeline, he’d had a series of metal plates with each one carved into it to be used at will.

For now, however, all he needed was a Tier 3 Circle.

And as for why he was going to focus on Ephemeral Type summonings for a bit, there was a rather obvious reason. Collateral Damage. Those kinds of entities directly struck at the living, often through solid objects, without destroying the battleground. In other words, perfect for summoning directly into his apartment.

Of course, the stronger ones, especially Poltergeists could easily toss around furniture and often did so to devastating effect, but Isaac had neither the inclination nor the mana pool for that.

So, he went to work on the linoleum floor of this living room, laying out the circle in duct tape. Sturdy enough to survive for quite some time, yet still possible to remove them. Cleaning it up would be a pain in the ass as an unfortunate idea in his younger days had forced him to learn, but still doable in a reasonable timeframe.

The [System] provided him with the design of the circle as a matter of course, even helpfully overlaying it into the floor he was working on, though Isaac didn’t need it anymore. He still used it, of course, seeing as any mistakes would be a serious pain to correct.

It took him around twenty minutes, but then he was done.

Now, it was time. Isaac piled the rock salt into the circle, grabbed a file and a piece of iron to add the iron shavings and ended the whole thing by placing three candles on the outside of the circle.

“Being from beyond the veil, I call to you. Specter, I summon thee.”

The chant for creatures this weak wasn’t particularly long, mostly just necessary to signify intent.

Isaac rubbed his temples as he felt a slight headache coming on. He’d just used up almost the entirety of his mana pool, but the summoning was complete. All he had to do now was activate the circle to actually call the creature here.

He’d do that only in half an hour, when all his mana had regenerated. The calculation for that was rather simple, one regained the equivalent of ones mana regen stat, multiplied by ten, over half an hour, which came out to exactly 100 points for him.

Isaac didn’t sit idle during this time, however. He grabbed his knife, some disinfectant from a first aid kit and a band aid.

The mechanics of fighting Ephemeral type enemies were rather simple. Ordinary, mundane objects couldn’t touch them, let alone hurt them. Some of the beings did become solid for a split second to land blows of their own, but even then, only the parts it actually used to attack could be damaged.

Therefore, a different kind of attack was needed. Magic worked well enough, as did [Skills] that required mana to activate, but that would burn through his reserves in short order and he needed to kill as many of these things as he could in a day.

Thankfully, there was also the option of enchanting his “weapon”. True enchantments might require rare components, specialized [Classes] and a fuckton of mana, but there were several temporary ones that should work just fine.

Isaac quickly disinfected the tip of his left index finger and swiftly stabbed it with the knife. It didn’t go deep, but it did draw blood.

Laying the knife on the ground, he proceeded to draw several arcane symbols onto the blade, the wound pulsing with pain as each was completed. Finally, he was done and both the runes and the wound flared in a crimson glow before settling. Then, the band aid went on.

This kind of enchanting was painful and the wounds the used blood was taken from wouldn’t heal except slightly scabbing over as long as the enchantment persisted, but it was somewhat effective. A quick and dirty solution for small scale projects. The unfortunate fact that stronger enchantments not only required more blood but also larger wounds kept the technique from finding all that much popularity amongst all but the most masochistic or desperate.

It would do, for now.

Isaac walked over to his phone, connected it to his blue tooth speaker and put on Sanctified with Dynamite by Powerwolf. The Power Metal wasn’t his favorite kind of music, a friend had made that playlist for him, but it was just perfect for covering up the imminent sounds of combat.

Dressed in his shabbiest clothes, knife held in his right hand, he stepped up the circle and spoke.

“Specter, come forth.”

An unearthly howl that was almost completely swallowed by the bombastic music tore through the apartment, followed by a pale blue form erupting from the center of the circle.

A head wreathed in hair that streamed in all directions in full defiance of gravity turned to face him, blue eyes so dark they seemed black locking in on him. Unnaturally long arms tipped in vicious claws lashed out towards him, but Isaac dodged backwards, completely avoiding the attack.

The Specter floated closer, right hand swiping towards his head. Ducking under it, he flung himself forwards while activating [Piercing Strike]. A yellow glow wreathed the blade just before it stabbed through the robe-like exterior of the monster, white whisps escaping in place of blood.

But that was only step one of the attack. The second began as the runes began to glow so brightly their crimson shapes could be seen even from the outside.

Isaac simply let go of the handle and rolled to the side as the bottomless abyss with razor sharp incisors for outer gates that was the Specter’s maw tried to close around his head.

It wailed, trying to grasp at the dagger, but between the [Skill] allowing it to penetrate so deeply and the runes fusing it with the flesh even as others tore the beast apart, it was an exercise in futility.

All he had to do now was wait for it to die.

He glanced back over his shoulder at the specter to see the right arm shooting at his face and ducked, only to be forced to roll to the side once again as the left hand erupted from the floor to claw at his leg.

Typical Ephemeral Type, attacking through solid object that only their fleshy opponents couldn’t see through, or were impeded by. Despite being solidly outmatched in terms of abilities and raw stats, Isaac still felt he was in a good position to defeat this thing. He’d fought so many of these things, he knew their move set pretty well. This being real life, those weren’t exactly set moves, but rather a general way of moving attacking.

One arm began to flail around, randomly trying to hit him while the second went into the ground while Isaac couldn’t see where it emerged. Uh-oh.

It ended up coming out of the wall behind him. Isaac noticed and threw himself forward, but this time, he was just barely too slow. Four lines of pain burned down his back as the claws tore through his flesh.

He landed on the ground with a pained exhalation of breath, but still dodged the follow-up strike, and the one after that. And that had been the final one as the Specter dissolved.

Specter (Lv. 7) has been slain. 67 XP gained (50 base * 1.35 due to level disparity)

Better yet, the beast had left behind a wad of gunk as it dissolved. An Aspect, a kind of Item one could fuel with XP to gain one of several [Skills] related to the beast, as well as some stat points. Those were always easy to spot when it came to Ephemeral type monsters.

Every human gained one slot for an Aspect every [Class] Evolution and further ones could be purchased for XP, with the cost increasing exponentially with each new addition. Theoretically, Isaac could have reached his previous level of power with just these Aspects, but that would have required more XP than all of humanity, combined, had ever earned. Exponential growth was no joke.

And to put the cherry on top, this thing was why he’d been dead set on killing Specters in the first place. Score! Now all he needed to do was fill it with …

… not score. He had nowhere near the required XP points to activate this thing just yet.

Name: Isaac Thoma

Class: Rogue

Species: Human

Level: 0

XP: 67/100

Health Status: Slightly Injured (see breakdown?)

Mana: 101/110

Stats

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Fortitude

11

Perception

9

Strength

9

Agility

10

Magic Power

11

Magic Regeneration

10

Free Points: 0 Stat, 0 Skill

Skills

Hundred Faces I

Stealth I

Power Strike I

Piercing Strike I

Sundering Strike I

Knives I

Sneak I

Thankfully, one of the many things handled by the status was the assessing of injuries. Slightly injured meant that one was basically still combat capable, though one would probably feel it if one kept fighting. Therefore, he was fine to continue, perhaps level up just once for the healing that happened with each level up.

It wasn’t complete, mind you, dying and levelling up would still see you dead unless one gained a truly powerful regeneration [Skill] in the process, but it would make quick work with those scratches and also give him the edge to kill the next one far easier.

Isaac set the ritual up again, completed the chant and sat down on the floor with the Aspect while waiting for his mana to regenerate. No need to get blood on his couch unnecessarily, after all.

Aspect of the Specter:

This is the distilled essence of what makes a Specter a Specter. Walking through walls as if there were nothing there, a rather loose relationship with gravity and the power to hunt the living with ease.

Requirements for Activation:

1,000 XP

Open Aspect Slot

Grants:

+5 Magic Regeneration

One of the following Skills:

Spectral Shift

Specter’s Flight

Hunt of the Damned

Yep, the cost to activate one of these things, especially below Level 10, was rather prohibitive, but oh so worth it.

One more Specter to kill, then he’d level once. Once that was done, he’d save all the other XP and presumably become one of the first people with an Aspect,

Setting the orb aside for a moment, he went to the first aid kit and wrapped the wound to reduce the risk of bleeding all over the place before sitting down at the kitchen table with his laptop.

‘A treatise on Summoning, Leveling, and the Risks entailed'

In essence, it was a scientific paper about the issues surrounding the Initialization and what could spring from them, based only on information that was currently available to the general public.

He’d initially planned on releasing something like this right at the start, but there were several issues with that plan. The first of those was the fact that he actually had to write the paper before he could publish it, but that was a rather obvious stumbling block. Also, not the real problem.

No one should have already been able to get that level of detail … unless they had known ahead of time. If he started releasing build guides and dire warnings already, then people automatically assume that they were related to the Initialization and the chaos it had caused.

And even if it was merely based on the information that was actually available to the public, then people would be quick to jump on the (anonymous) author and decrying them as the source of all their problems.

People loved to pick on scapegoats when problems arose with no clear culprit to blame for them. Give the issue a face, then punch said face, standard human behavior.

So he’d spend the breaks in between summoning typing the paper and release it in a couple of days when someone could have reasonably compiled all of that information. Of course, they’d have to have done nothing but research to finish it so quickly, but that wasn’t as impossible.

The actual build guides, dire warnings about specific summons would come later, when said summoning said creatures was actually within the realm of the possible.

Thirty minutes passed in no time flat, so Isaac closed the laptop, returned to the summoning circle and activated it.

Unfortunately, this Specter was a little smarter than the last one. It took one look at Isaac’s enchanted knife and sank into the ground. He lunged, driving the knife into its neck before flinging himself back away from it to avoid the retaliatory strike.

It had managed to leave the room almost completely before the knife hit the solid object. The runes flared brighter and brighter until all that was visible of the Specter was a crimson dome protruding from the floor. Simultaneously, the finger he’d pricked to draw the runes began to ache as they drew more and more energy … until the Specter just fell apart.

Specter (Lv. 6) has been slain. 65 XP gained (50 base * 1.30 due to level disparity)

Hopefully, there hadn’t been anyone in the room directly under him. Otherwise, his downstairs neighbor would have gotten the fright of their life. At least this type of enemy wouldn’t leave blood and gore all over the place as it died. Also, it hadn’t had the fortitude to withstand the knife’s power long enough to pull the weapon through the floor.

There was a small gouge taken out of the summoning circle, so Isaac fixed that up before recasting the ritual.

Lastly, he confirmed his first level up.

Name: Isaac Thoma

Class: Rogue

Species: Human

Level: 1

XP: 32/200

Health Status: Healthy

Mana: 12/110

Stats

Fortitude

11

Perception

9

Strength

9

Agility

10

Magic Power

11

Magic Regeneration

10

Free Points: 10 Stat, 3 Skill

Skills

Hundred Faces I

Stealth I

Power Strike I

Piercing Strike II

Sundering Strike I

Knives II

Sneak I

Ten stat points to make himself stronger, as well as three [Skill] points to enhance existing or purchase new [Skills].

Far Strike (common)

Upon the User’s next melee attack with a bladed weapon, the blade will extend by 2+0.5n meters where n equals skill level.

Cost: 20 mana

Sweeping Strike (uncommon)

Upon the users next attack, 5 blades of 3+.3n meters in length, where n equals skill level, will extend from the blade, allowing the user to strike at a large area. Spread of blades must be specified by user, maximum spread is 45°. Length of blades may be reduced to reduce mana cost.

Cost: 30 mana + 5 mana/meter

His [Skill] points only lasted a few seconds as Isaac immediately purchased all the remaining [Skills] he wanted. There were others that might be useful, but the ones he could get once he’d reached Level 10 and evolved his [Class] were far better.

He might have also upgraded his existing [Skills], but he could also improve those through mere practice, as he’d already done with [Knives] and [Piercing Strike].

Alright, so that was done. Now on to distributing the 10 Stat points he’d gotten for the Level up.

Three went into Perception, two into Magic Regen and Agility and one into each of the remaining Stats to bring them all except Strength up to twelve, slightly above average. Not outstanding, but above anyone short of a serious athlete.

He spent the last remaining few minutes to continue with writing his paper, then summoned the next Specter.

Specter (Lv. 8) has been slain. 67 XP gained (50 base * 1.35 due to level disparity)

Specter (Lv. 6) has been slain. 62 XP gained (50 base * 1.25 due to level disparity)

Specter (Lv. 7) has been slain. 67 XP gained (50 base * 1.35 due to level disparity)

…

It took him a while, but eventually, his Status showed just how far he’d gotten.

Name: Isaac Thoma

Class: Rogue

Species: Human

Level: 1

XP: 1007/200

Health Status: Healthy

Mana: 120/120

Stats

Fortitude

12

Perception

12

Strength

10

Agility

12

Magic Power

12

Magic Regeneration

12

Free Points: 0 Stat, 0 Skill

Skills

Hundred Faces I

Stealth I

Power Strike I

Piercing Strike II

Sundering Strike I

Knives II

Sneak I

Sweeping Strike I

Far Strike I

Excellent.

Activate Aspect of the Specter for 1,000 XP?

“Yep.”

It might not be strictly necessary to speak out loud to command the [System], but doing so was what Isaac was more comfortable with unless there were people around to overhear.

Choose one of the Following Skills:

Spectral Shift

Specter’s Flight

Hunt of the Damned

“[Spectral Shift].” Isaac commanded. Being able to selectively ignore gravity via [Specter’s Flight] was an enticing prospect, as was the incredible sensory power that was [Hunt of the Damned], but the [Skill] he’d picked was the clear winner, at least in Isaac’s mind. It had become one of his staple powers in the other timeline, and for good reason.

A little bit of mana let him ignore most attacks or barriers. Mana based attacks or wards could hurt him, but only a small part of the damage would carry over to his fleshy body. And he’d soon get a little something to deal with that.

Spectral Shift (rare)

Allows the User to shift into an Ethereal form, allowing them to pass through all non-mana-infused objects and non-Skill-enhanced attacks. Mana passing through the User’s body will inflict small injuries both on the surface and the inside. Avoiding powerful attacks without a regeneration Skill is recommended.

Cost: 10 mana for activation, 5 mana per second of upkeep

Perfect. And he’d even gained a second Aspect of the Specter during the grinding process.

Name: Isaac Thoma

Class: Rogue

Species: Human

Level: 1

XP: 7/200

Health Status: Healthy

Mana: 120/120

Stats

Fortitude

12

Perception

12

Strength

10

Agility

12

Magic Power

12

Magic Regeneration

17

Free Points: 0 Stat, 0 Skill

Skills

Hundred Faces I

Stealth I

Power Strike I

Piercing Strike II

Sundering Strike I

Knives II

Sneak I

Sweeping Strike I

Far Strike I

Aspects

Aspect Skills

Specter

Spectral Shift

For his next plan, it would be better to get another one, though it wasn’t strictly necessary.

As Isaac made to set up the next ritual, his phone rang. He glanced at it, hoping it was his mother calling, but the display simply read “Boss”. He sighed. He was currently working in a normal office job, hence having been offered the [Office Drone] [Class], while he was working on getting his Bachelor’s degree in economics. That man was an ingrate he’d been promoted past the instant he’d completed his degree.

Isaac sighed. This could only end in disaster.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Scott.”

“I take it that means you’re not planning on showing up like everyone else?” the annoyance tinged voice of Isaac’s direct superior replied.

“In case you haven’t noticed, the world is ending. Nobody is coming in.” Isaac snarked. And in fact, almost nobody was going in to work. It had been so bad that the governments had even had to pass a bill to prohibit people from getting fired over this. It was only the efforts of a few good Samaritans that kept the water, power and electricity going.

“I don’t see any mushroom clouds or zombies outside, so where are you getting that information? Or are you, mayhaps, saying I’m blind?”

“I’d tell you precisely how you can shove the idea that everyone needs to come in despite the situation up your ass …” Isaac waited until he heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line “… but I’m fully aware that that is anatomically impossible, given that your head is already wedged up in there.”

“YOU …”

He just hung up before the tirade could start. Getting fired for a stunt like this would normally be an issue, but Isaac already knew what he was going to do for cash. It was a blob of ectoplasm lying in a bowl on the kitchen table.