Chapter 11: The Intangible Reaper
[Aspectal Form: Invisibility Activated]
The light around Arthur's figure shifted, the air warping slightly inward as his body slowly lost its color and signature. The worm-like corpse diggers, uncaring about his disappearance—perhaps due to their low intellect—still lurked in great heaps where he had stood moments earlier.
But Arthur was already gone. His form blended seamlessly into the air as he hurtled forward.
[Arthur, how does it feel with 5 knowledge points less? How would you rate your intelligence now?]
Veins popped on his forehead. Was the bot making fun of his decision? But speaking of that... there wasn't as much loss of IQ as he'd expected. Only blank holes lingered in his subconscious, where precious ideas had once been.
Well, he still felt a little dumber...
His body dropped from above, descending with his scythe spinning like a vertical wheel. His eyes targeted the last pair of worms trailing behind the others. This was his plan.
Exploiting the low intelligence of these monsters, he would kill the ones falling behind. The majority surging ahead above probably wouldn't notice. And since he was invisible, he could extract their essence undetected.
[That's an efficient plan, Arthur. Would you like me to assess your current IQ?]
His scythe cleaved through the air, spinning like judgment itself. It sliced one of the paired corpse diggers clean.it's insusceptible form exploded in a burst of ichor, phasing harmlessly through Arthur's body.
The other gigantic worm instinctively reacted to the sudden death of its pair, hurtling toward the empty space. But before it could make a move, Arthur's hands blurred. A dark vertical line followed, severing its body perfectly in half—so cleanly that the severed parts still seemed adjoined.
"Let's see what you can do, Bot."
The monster's eyes widened as death claimed it before its gaze. Its body slumped to the ground, only then cleaving apart fully.
[Test question one: What is the chemical formula of water?]
What the hell? Even school kids knew the answer to that. Was this "bot" enraging him on purpose? He got that his IQ had dropped, but not to the point where he forgot something so basic.
[Awaiting your response, Arthur.]
His figure crouched low, eyes sighting the familiar blue hologram template hovering above the dead monster's body.
"Ugh..." he groaned. "Since you're so serious about it, it's... it's..." His face contorted.
He racked his brain again and again, but nothing came. He didn't know it. Had he forgotten that too?
What the hell...
He didn't know something as basic as the chemical formula for water!
[No need to worry, Arthur. This is just the result of your reduced knowledge. You might have also forgotten the capital of France, or where World War II began.]
Oh...
That was all he could say. He swore his face looked dumb right now. He didn't know the answers to those either.
He was technically a moron!
He had to make this up as fast as he could. He never knew losing 5 points would make him as dumb as... no, probably dumber than a school kid.
His eyes flashed to the screen before him:
Wish to Extract Essence?
Yes // No
His hand shot toward the "Yes" button as fast as he could. His form was shadowed by the distant visage of the multiple gigantic worms—for he was now behind them.
The monster before him dissolved into motes of shadow, swirling up into the night sky before dispersing into golden light, like fireflies dancing in the dark. His eyes traced it, half-expecting the visage of a human, like he'd seen earlier with the cone-head.
But there wasn't...
The fireflies just dissipated and swarmed like rising stars toward the night sky.
"Hey, Bot... why isn't..." Before he could fully form the words, the bot replied.
[I have no data on that. It's outside my functions—an unusual phenomenon.]
"Oh..." His eyes darted to the sky; it was already gone, swallowed by the clouds of the night. Well, it was probably better. At least... his gaze shifted to the other dead one.
It would make his guilt lesser.
*[Updated Stats:]
*Physicality: 21 (+14)
*Intelligence: 17 (+2)
*Attribute Gained: Intangibility (Low)
[How would you like to distribute the new stats, Arthur?]
He sighed.
"Five to strength, same to speed. Two to agility, and one to stamina."
[Processing your request.]
Physicality: 35
Strength: 10
Speed: 18
Agility: 7
Stamina: 6
Intelligence: 17 (+2)
Knowledge: 5 (+2)
Memory: 12 (+0)
Your Form grows Stronger]
Was that last sentence a new feature..??
[It is a new companion protocol. I am providing affirming feedback to bolster your morale.]
His mouth winced slightly as he felt the tearing and reforming of the majority of the muscles within him—a gruesome process. Even his lungs were compressed by the refined cardiac muscles of his heart... and its own.
After a while, it receded. His body felt lighter.
"What the hell was that, Bot? Attempted murder?"
[That's body refinement, Arthur. It optimizes your muscles for the new strength levels. It's necessary for efficiency—and it's free.]
He sighed, defeated. This bot—he had to give it to him. It always provided nice, valid reasons.
His eyes wandered to the similar template lurking above the other dead monster.
He chose "Yes." The body dissipated into motes of darkness before disintegrating into the same fireflies of light, piercing into the clouds.
[Physicality: 35 (+14)
Intelligence: 19 (+2)
Attribute Gained: Intangibility (Low)
Arthur how do you..]
He cut the system off. "Four to strength, two to speed, four each to agility and stamina." His scythe returned in the form of a convoluted mist to his hands. He could see the gigantic leeches had somehow, with their low intelligence, figured out he was above them. Their serpentine forms now slithered in disarray, casting dancing shadows under the moonlit sky.
[Processing Request.]
*Physicality: 49
*Strength: 14
*Speed: 20
*Agility: 10
*Stamina: 9
*Intelligence: 21
*Knowledge: 9
*Memory: 12
[Beginning body refinement...]
The excruciating process repeated itself. Well, it wasn't as bad compared to the earlier one... or maybe because his mind was reeling from the fact that his intelligence was now back to normal.
"H2O,Paris , and September 1, 1939." A smile formed on his face.
[What do you mean by that?]
"The answers to your earlier questions, Bot." His eyes scanned the disoriented swarm. He would begin from the left—that side had far fewer worms. Then he'd cut a curve through the center directly to the right, cleave a little downward, before returning to the concentrated center. It would probably take a lot of time, tanking attacks from multiple corners and draining his physicality.
It would be nice if he had some leverage...
[I see, Arthur. Would you like to acquire Aspectal Form: Mirage?]
Nope. He wasn't messing with his knowledge anymore. But he still needed leverage. Was there really no choice? Then it clicked: *Aspect: Intangibility.*
[No Aspectal Form yet. It's limited to the base Aspect at low level.]
"So... what's the catch?"
[It lets you phase through most physical attacks, but you could still be devoured. At low level, it can evolve—likely by absorbing essence from these corpse diggers. That might upgrade it to medium or high rank, with Aspectal Forms.]
That was ecstatic. He cracked his shoulders, a smile laden on his face. 49 physicality and two new aspects in one night—quite insane, right?
[I agree. You've passed the juvenile threshold. You could reach Apparition rank by day's end... if you survive. And Arthur, you're yet to give me a name.]
He raked his head. He'd damn well forgotten.
[Reminder: No breaking promises, Arthur.]
"Ugh," he groaned. "Okay, I'll think of something suiting—perhaps when I'm done with these." His eyes returned to his leech-like fiends.
[Can I trust that?]
"Yes... I promise." After all this bot had done, it kinda deserved a reward.
[Alright. I'll hold you to it, Arthur. Shall I activate Aspect: Intangibility?]
He took his stance, easing his legs slightly backward. His body released tremors of force that shook the ground slightly. The gravestones rattled in reverberation, while some small stones hovered in zero gravity. His scythe mirrored the same vibration.
Would he be able to control the speed? He gulped.
"Activate..."
[Activating Aspect: Intangibility.]
Then, with a near-sonic blur, his silhouette disappeared, carving a canal of death and ichor along the left line of huge worms... before crashing into multiple trees,a thunderclap of displaced air carving another hollow canal in the dirt.
Yep, he'd lost control.