Die. Respawn. Repeat.

Chapter 53: Skill Prep

Mari's skeptical of my plan, if only because I don't have any idea where to even begin. Gheraa isn't anywhere near the planet. I speak with a confidence I don't really have, but it feels wrong to do anything else to leave something like this to chance. I need to state the goal so I can try to work towards it.

At least Ahkelios is excited. He pumps his fist in a silent cheer, as if invigorated by my words, and I chuckle slightly at his antics. Tarin gives me a nod, and while Mari scoffs, I do see the look of reluctant respect in her eyes.

"I need your help with something else," I add. It's something I forgot about. I pull the skill shard from the Fracture out of my pocket and hand it over to Mari, whose eyes widen as she runs her feathers over it clearly she senses something I don't. "I think this has something to do with Interface skills. Think you can figure it out?"

"What you take me for?" Mari scoffs, but I see her eyes gleaming. She's excited. I grin at her, and she fluffs her feathers up as she heads over to the makeshift table and chair in the corner, pushing Tarin's head out of her lap; he flails and flops over with a reluctant squawk, and I chuckle at the sight.

"You good," Tarin tells me once he seats himself back on his bed. "...Wish Naru more like you."

I don't know how to respond to that. "...I wish I could help," I say eventually. I doubt I can figure out how to change Naru. Even with a time loop, some people can't be saved, and while I could certainly give it a try...

Tarin shakes his head, as if sensing what I'm thinking. "No. You not help him. It waste time," he says quietly. "You fix Integrators and Trials. Naru our responsibility."

"I might have to fight him again," I say. I don't finish the thought. I'm not in a position where I can fight him while holding back, and I certainly can't do anything less than fight to kill.

"Then you kick his feathery butt, and tell him Tarin say hello," Tarin says firmly. It's so unexpected that I bark out a laugh. Tarin grins at me, delighted by my reaction, but eventually settles back into a more serious expression. "...You do what you need. I not blame you."

That means more to me than I'd expected. I nod at him, and he nods back, though there's something indiscernible in his eyes. A bit of melancholy, maybe. Acceptance that he'd lost his son a long time ago.

I don't know how to feel about that.

"Do you think you'll remember all this into the next loop?" I ask.

"I not know," Tarin answers honestly. "I hope so. But... maybe it bad if I do. If Mari not remember also. Maybe it better if we both forget."

That's an answer I respect, but it's... sad. I've seen so much more of the two of them now, and the idea of talking to them once again, neither of them knowing who I am I don't think I'm prepared for it.

Not that it matters. The Trial is my primary focus. If Tarin's right about what the Integrators want, then I need to find a way to either protect it from them, or take it for myself. Preferably while tricking them into thinking I've passed their Trial.

But that doesn't mean I can't spare the time to figure out a way to let them both remember. I doubt I'll be able to do that this loop, but I do know that I want them as allies. They've proven themselves to me.

"Anyway!" Tarin announces loudly, and I wonder if he knows what I'm worried about. "You need test your skills! You get new skills, yes?"

If nothing else, I have to admit: Tarin knows how to distract me. I do have a lot of new skills, I have credits to bank, and I have an Eye to use.

Time to get started while Mari figures out that shard.

I could start by banking my credits, but I'm not sure I'm ready to see Gheraa again. I want to be ready to extract every piece of information I can including how to get him away from the rest of the Integrators if I need to. That means I have to figure out the right questions to ask, and hope that he answers them.

For now, I have three new skills granted by the phase-shift that I'm eager to explore. Amplification Gauntlet, Verdant Armor, and Intrinsic Lightning. It's fairly clear from their categories and my experience with them in the phase-shift what they do, but I still let Intuitive Analysis take the reigns and give me all the information it can, just so I'm not missing anything.

The Amplification Gauntlet manifests a stream of lilac-purple Firmament around my fist, taking the rough shape of a gauntlet. It's not as defined as it was during the phase-shift, but it does quite literally amplify every movement I put into it. An experimental swing of my fist sends my entire body sprawling after it as it generates more momentum than I'm prepared for, and Tarin cackles at me while I grumble.

Good to know, though. That means I might be able to use it to change my trajectory and dodge things midair. If I use Crystallized Strength and combine it with the Gauntlet, I can probably change directions on a whim. I might even be able to fly.

...I can't deny a small bit of childish excitement at the thought.

"Your skills are so much cooler than mine were," Ahkelios comments, peering over my shoulder at the Gauntlet. "All the ones I remember are about cutting."

"Didn't you say you were focused on a Sword concept or something?" I ask.

"I wanted a consistent build," Ahkelios grumbles. I chuckle a bit.

For the next tests, I have to leave Tarin's hut. Intuitive Analysis tells me that the Verdant Armor is more effective when there's more life-aligned Firmament around me, and that means I have to be surrounded by the forest. It's more of a situational skill than I would like, but I'm sure I can find ways around it.

If nothing else, a small bonus of working in the forest is that Ahkelios is really excited about having the time to look into all the plants he can. He hops off my shoulder and scrambles up the nearest tree, and I think I hear a faint shout about exotic moss.

I roll my eyes and smile.

Verdant Armor manifests around my body as a barrier of fuzzy green. I'm not sure if it's just because of Ahkelios that I think this, but it looks a little bit like having a blanket of moss cover me. It's not my favorite look, I admit.

Tarin who's followed along, on account of being more interested in me testing Interface skills than in watching his wife poke and prod at a small piece of Firmament pottery throws a branch at me, and instead of bouncing off the armor, the branch... sticks.

I stare. So does Tarin.

"Did you infuse that branch?" I ask.

"I use little Firmament!" Tarin says defensively, which makes me wonder how much damage that branch might have done if I didn't have the armor. I stare at him in mild reproach, and the old crow just flaps his wings at me and squawks. "You strong. Branch not kill you."

Well, he's probably right about that.

The branch falls off after a moment, and I pick it up and examine it. It is infused with Firmament not with a 'little' Firmament, but probably not enough to kill me but what's notable is that there's a small hole in its infusion that's slowly leaking out Firmament. That hole coincides exactly with where the branch struck my armor.

Interesting. "I think this armor absorbs Firmament?"

"Oh!" Tarin's eyes light up. "You want me to try punch? I try punch."

"I didn't say" I start, but I'm already bringing up my arms to guard, because I know what Tarin is going to do next. Sure enough, he darts at me in a streak of feathers and cawing which seems kind of unnecessary and a second later, I feel a powerful impact against my forearms.

That's about it, though. I don't even take a step back. Tarin's stopped in front of me, looking up at my armor with interest. It's eaten a small amount of his Firmament, and in response it appears to have grown little flowers along the point of impact. Since it's all Firmament, it really just manifests as small wisps of green floating off in vague, blossoming shapes. "It good armor."

"It should be. I think I got the skill from your wife," I say dryly, and Tarin's eyes gleam.

"Then I hit harder."

"Tarin, no."

Thankfully, this time I manage to say it before he decides to try to crack my armor open. I take the opportunity to run my Firmament sense through the skill it looks like it's a little stronger where it's absorbed Firmament, and it's generally absorbing as much life-aligned Firmament as it can from the surroundings. The efficiency of the life-Firmament conversion is a lot better than what it can do with Tarin's punch or his makeshift branch weapon.

Hmm. Good to know. It doesn't strengthen me, but it does improve my defenses, and I might be able to manually inject Firmament into areas I need to strengthen.

Last skill. Intrinsic Lightning came from Tarin, and it's the one I understand the least. Intuitive Analysis tells me it's a weird skill that should improve both my mental and physical reflexes, for all that it's categorized under Speed.

"This one's from you," I tell Tarin, and the old crow looks almost childishly excited.

"Show!"

Intrinsic Lightning.

A cloak of black lightning surges through me, settling around my shoulders and flowing down my back; of the three skills, this is the one that feels the most natural to me. It's also just cool. There's a certain fun factor in having figurative lightning at your fingertips, and I let myself enjoy it. It's not like these loops give me that much of a chance to enjoy myself, and I haven't actually let myself soak in the idea of being able to do magic.

Everything around me feels like it slows down. Every movement feels clean and smooth and easy. The compounded effects of Mental Acceleration give me even more time to process things, from the falling off individual leaves from the forest canopy to the gleam in Tarin's eyes...

Oh.

The gleam in Tarin's eyes.

He's controlling himself, I can tell. The lightning in him is more subtle, less violent; I get the feeling he can push it further if he wants to, but he doesn't. As a result, I can pretty much see him start to take a step towards me, swinging a fist in a blow that I wouldn't be able to dodge in my normal state.

Now, I just step to the side, letting it swing past me. I let go of the skill, allowing time to resume normally; Tarin spins around and looks absolutely delighted.

"You fast!" he says. "Almost as fast as me!"

"I'd argue I was faster," I say, and Tarin scoffs.

"You phase-shift. That mean you stronger, not strongest," he tells me. "I not strongest. But I fast. My phase-shift foundation is speed. It why I strong enough to fight Interface. Strong foundation, strong core. Understand?"

I'm not certain what I've done to earn the sudden lecture, although I think I understand what he's getting at. Speed is his specialty, and in situations where he can use it freely, he's probably close to indomitable. And the Interface was... presumably attacking his foundation?

That part I'm not entirely clear on. Tarin can clearly see I don't entirely believe him. "You use skill again," he says.

"Sure," I say. Intrinsic Lightning slows the world around me, and Mental Acceleration picks up as I feed Firmament into it. I note that I don't feel tired, even though I've used multiple Firmament skills that would normally exhaust me. There isn't even the beginnings of a headache.

Tarin moves.

I can't actually keep track of him. He doesn't hit me, because I think if he hit me at this speed he'd put a hole through my gut, but he makes it very clear that I still have a long way to go; he bounces from tree to tree, leaving a sharp crack through the wood

I react before I'm entirely conscious of it, springing forward to catch Ahkelios as he falls out of a tree with a tiny cry. Tarin stops, looking sheepish, and Ahkelios looks up at me.

"You know I can fly, right?" he says. I stare at him, and his eyes widen. "I mean"

Too late. I've dropped him, and he barely manages to float up before he hits the ground; he somehow manages to both scowl at me and look sheepish at the same time.

"I mean thanks," he finishes.

"Sorry I dropped you," I say with a smirk. He just flies up to my shoulder, holding a piece of moss he's picked up from the tree. I glance at my Interface.

Now to figure out the Chromatic Threads, and then I'm finally going to bank some credits.