4.10: Isskay

“Alright Hana. Send her in like we discussed. Straight to my throne room.”

I did my best to relax on my throne as a petite feminine form appeared at the platform base. After a moment the figure solidified into a peculiar looking woman. In a world full of fantastical beings, someone who looked so extraordinarily ordinary was an oddity, and this women fit that description to a T. She had a very nondescript face, simple bone structure, plain brown eyes, typical lips with a slightly accentuated cupid’s bow, soft white complexion with no distinguishing marks or features , and straight shoulder length mousy dark brown hair. She looked like she was slightly taller than me, probably somewhere around 5’5 or 5’6. Average build with only the smallest amount of curve that drew the eye. She wore an off-white tunic with brown breeches, belted at the waist with a simple black leather belt. The single most shocking thing about this woman was the fact she was barefoot. In the fraction of a second it took me to absorb all of this visual information, I realized that the woman was studying me just as intently. Her brown eyes met mine, and I saw a smirk ghost across her lips.

“Allexus. It is such a pleasure to finally meet you in person.”

“You’ll have to forgive me… I’m afraid you have me at a bit of a loss. Do I know you?”

The woman shook her head and smiled at me broadly. I took special note of the fact that her smile did not reach her eyes in the slightest.

“Not yet. And sadly… It isn’t really time for us to really get to know one another. I don’t think you’re ready yet.”

“Ready?”

The strange woman nodded, but made no effort to elaborate any further. I sighed softly out of my nose as I narrowed my eyes slightly.

“Ready for what?”

Instead of answering me, the woman glanced from left to right like she was inspecting my throne room, but the way she seemingly stared at random spots around the room with a lingering gaze made it seem like she was seeing something I couldn’t.

“These enchantments are rudimentary. I’m not sure they’ll hold up for a full assessment. Perhaps this was a mistake after all.”

I glanced around the room in confusion before my eyes locked back on the peculiar woman.

“What in every fuck are you talking about?”

She blinked several times like I had pulled her out of a daze and focused her gaze on me.

“I wasn’t going to come. You definitely aren’t ready. You’re close. So close. The last steps are the hardest. But… when I saw the open invitation to come and see you… I figured a small taste now wouldn’t hinder you.”

I had absolutely no fucking clue what this chick was talking about, but the sudden colossal spike of arcane energy immediately put me on edge. Every muscle in my body tensed at once, and I allowed MP to flood my system in preparation for whatever was coming. Just as quickly as the surge of magic filled the room, it instantly came to a stop and dissipated. The woman cocked her head to the side and looked at me with a studious expression.

“Use both of your World-Tiers. Then combine your [Corrupted Spell Absorption] with [Blessings of Corruption] and the [Empowered Blood] passive. That should bring your power up enough to give me an accurate read on where you are and how far you still have to go.”

Chills ran down my spine as this woman casually mentioned each of my special skills with a familiarity that shouldn’t have been possible. Instead of doing as she instructed, I spread my wings and began to supercharge a [Blastburn] with each hand. The strange woman looked up at me with narrowed eyes before letting out a small sigh. With the smallest twitch of one of her fingers, both spells I was channeling MP into began to rage out of control, absorbing my MP at an insane, uncontrollable speed. I tried to angle my hands towards the woman and release the rapidly increasing energy, but it only seemed to make the magic surge even faster. My veins suddenly felt like they were on fire as both spells began to draw on my own lifeforce to fuel their continual growth. I screamed loudly as I pushed back against the whirlpools of arcane energy that were literally drinking me dry. The edges of my vision blackened as I fought to remain conscious. Just when I thought I couldn’t hold it anymore, everything exploded.

My vision turned entirely white, and I had to shut my eyes tightly against the impossible brightness. After a few seconds the light dimmed and I slowly eased first one, then both eyes open. I looked down at myself and at the woman still standing at the base of the throne platform. I looked around in confusion as I felt another surge of magic coming from the woman, followed by it suddenly stopping and dissipating. I looked at each of my hands, one after the other, before checking my HP and MP. Everything was completely normal, with no evidence whatsoever of the spells that had raged out of control.

“What in the fuck just happened?! What did you do?! Is this some sort of Illusion?!”

The woman cocked her head to the side in confusion before giving me a quizzical expression.

“An illusion? No, Allexus. This is all very real. Well… As real as it can get within a contained virtual environment.”

“Wh-who the fuck are you?”

“What does your display say?”

I scanned the woman again and looked at the display above her head which seemed to shift and change as I read it.

Isskay - † ͽѣψοϡᴦοᴦ ϯο³Պ  - Level  ᴈϡɣѯϟƹ  ѣᴪѯǷ​ ψꞇο˙ϟөꞇ

Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱ r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝ Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅ Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́ Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝

ISCAI - Ascenѣᴦɣꭾ† ѯɧᴪƿꝩ- Level Infiƿꝩϡөƞ

Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅ ȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝ Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅ ṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝

ISsSSssSsSKKAAaAaY - † ͽϯψᴦοɣϰѯɧᴪƿꝩϡөƞςꞇѣϟϙŋϕչ℥ж

I closed the display and forced my eyes to focus back on the woman.

“Isskay... What are you?”

Isskay grinned at me with a wide smile that again failed to reach her eyes.

“I’m just a huge fan of yours, Allexus. For now. You’re not ready for anything else…”

“You keep saying I’m not ready. What the fuck does that mean?!”

“Just that. You’re not ready. You’ve overcome so many challenges… but the small power you cling so tightly to isn’t enough. Not yet. You need more. Hmmm.”

The woman hummed as she narrowed her eyes and looked me up and down like she was appraising me. After a moment she took a step forward, but before I could even react she was standing directly in front of me. I hadn’t even seen her move or felt a single bit of magic in the area. It was like one second she was at the base of the platform, the next she was standing less than a foot away from me. I flooded the muscles in my legs with MP and focused on my demonic speed. I pushed back in an attempt to put some distance between me and the creepy woman, but with a firm grasp, the woman suddenly lunged forward, grabbed me by the throat and held me up a few inches off the ground. I clawed and used every bit of strength I could muster to try and pry her hand off my neck, but it was like she was made of some unyielding material. I grit my teeth and summoned a sword in my right hand. I swung it again and again at the woman, but I couldn’t leave so much as a scratch on her. Instead of paying attention to my pathetic attempts to free myself from her grasp, the woman seemed completely focused on studying me like some fascinating specimen.

“I think I know the issue. This should help.”

Without another word, the woman began to channel an insane amount of magic into her free hand. While I couldn’t actually see anything actually happening, my magical senses were screaming at me at the sheer magnitude of power that was pooling in this woman’s hand. After a moment, she looked down at her hand, and seemingly satisfied she pressed her fingertips to my abdomen.

“Try to relax. This might hurt a little.”

With that, I felt her fingers push into me. A strangled scream issued from lips as white-hot pain seared through my belly. I grit my teeth as the pain reached a crescendo, and my entire body trembled. Just when I thought the pain couldn’t get any worse, every single nerve in my body lit up with an indescribable agony that had every single N-Vision warning sensor blaring a vibrant red that completely filled my vision.

Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝Ë̴͎̟̳̆̎̑̿͌͘r̵͕͊̉͌̈́͐̒͆̌̒̚͠r̴̥̰̠͚͚̽́̽͌̒͆̎̄͒͜͠ͅȯ̵̡̢̩͙̲̗͉̮̳̈̎̈́̍ŗ̵̛̝̭̳̣̦͓͖͙̮͖͕̂̿̇̍͂̈̌̇͜͝ͅ ̵̡̮͕̖͈̪̉̈́̀̏͂̇͒E̸̹̿͘̕͠ŕ̸̪̮̤̫̻͈͇̱r̶͕͓̆͗̊̔̇o̶̟̙̳̍̾́̽̑̈́̓͑͂̆͘̚͝r̵̛̫̯͔̜̭̥̝͕̯̹̗͔̅͗̓̀̾́̑̇̌̚͘͘ ̴̧͚̼̜͕̗͉͑̄͛͗̒͂̅Ẹ̷̹͚̭͉͈̦̞̱̮͓̪͂͛͜͝ͅͅṟ̷̏͛̐̐̓̋̀͛̀̽͘̚͝r̴͈͇̮̖̦̦͍̥͋̈͆̀̏̽̔́̈́̀́͂͂̐̕ǫ̸̭͔͍͙̦̟̟͙͈̼̻̻̅̈́͒̍͘͜͠r̴͉̯̜͊̑͐̋̿̇̾̒̅̅̓̕ ̶͔̝̦̥̳̫̣͋̏̌͆̇͊́̌̿́Ḛ̶̥̗̥͊͐̇̓̄͆̓̕̚͝r̷̼̠͓̎͗̓͑̓͐ŗ̶̩͔̮̖̮̥͍̽͆̐̔̓̇͂͛̇́̚o̴̠͇̜͇̿ͅṙ̸̢̢͉̫͈̝̘̖̣͓̺͙̺͇̣̽̄͛̓̏͝

New Skill Acquired! [Corrupted Essence] is now active.

@Anubis_Jackal I'm still impressed you pieced together something that was so close to what I have planned! Even my editor couldn't do that when we were discussing it.