Chapter 60: Level 30 - The Gift of Power
POV: Sam Barton
The possessed house near Duke looks normal from outside—colonial architecture, well-maintained lawn, the kind of place professors buy when they get tenure.
Then my Sensory clone detects the spiritual pressure radiating from inside, and normal dissolves into nightmare.
"Five spirits," I confirm to Bonnie, who's arranging ritual components on the sidewalk. "Malevolent, ancient, and they're aware we're here."
"They've been trapped in that house for sixty years," Bonnie explains, chalk dust covering her hands as she draws containment circles. "A witch tried binding them for protection and botched the ritual. Now they can't move on, can't escape, and they're furious about it."
"And we're about to walk into their domain," I summarize.
"You're about to walk in," Bonnie corrects. "I'll perform the banishment from out here. Your clones keep the spirits distracted long enough for me to complete it."
My five clones manifest around me—Mind Shield, Defensive Shield, Sensory, Magic Absorption, and Strength. Four months ago, I had zero. Now they feel like extensions of myself, each carrying different capabilities that make me exponentially more dangerous than any human should be.
"Ready?" I ask them.
They nod in synchronized agreement.
I push open the front door, and the temperature drops thirty degrees instantly.
The spirits hit us before we're three steps inside—incorporeal hands grabbing at my throat, spectral screams that would shatter eardrums if my Mind Shield wasn't blocking the psychic assault. The house itself seems to writhe, walls bleeding shadows and floors buckling under supernatural pressure.
My Defensive Shield projects barriers that catch two spirits mid-lunge, trapping them in golden energy. Magic Absorption reaches for the third, draining its ethereal power until it screams and retreats. Sensory tracks the remaining two through the house's twisted geometry. Strength engages physically, somehow making contact with beings that shouldn't have physical form.
And I coordinate it all, my tactical mind processing five simultaneous battles while Bonnie's chanting echoes from outside.
The first spirit dissolves as Bonnie's ritual gains momentum—pulled into whatever afterlife awaits malevolent entities. The second follows thirty seconds later, screaming defiance.
Three left.
They adapt, combining their attacks instead of fighting individually. The temperature drops to freezing. Windows shatter. The floor beneath me cracks and begins collapsing into a basement that shouldn't exist.
My Phasing clone would be useful here, but I don't have it yet—won't until Level 32 when I can afford the MP cost.
Instead, I use Position Swap.
The ability's been growing stronger with practice, and now I can trade places with my clones from across the entire house. I swap with my Defensive Shield as the floor collapses, using the barrier to catch myself. Swap with Magic Absorption to drain a spirit attacking from behind. Swap with Strength to physically tackle the fourth spirit into Bonnie's banishment field.
It screams and dissolves.
Two spirits remaining, and they're desperate now.
They merge—a forbidden technique according to Bonnie's shout from outside—becoming single entity with double the power. The house groans under the pressure, supporting beams cracking.
"Sam, the structure's failing!" Bonnie yells. "Thirty more seconds!"
I don't have thirty seconds. The merged spirit's tearing through my Defensive Shield's barriers, my Magic Absorption can't drain it fast enough, and the house is literally collapsing around us.
So I do something stupid.
I dismiss all my clones except Mind Shield and pour every drop of MP into a single massive barrier—not from my Defensive Shield clone, but from me directly, channeling the System's power without a clone intermediary.
[MP: 750 → 50]
[EMERGENCY BARRIER: ACTIVATED]
[DURATION: 45 SECONDS]
Golden energy explodes from my hands, creating dome that holds the entire house's structure together through pure magical force. The merged spirit slams against it, shrieking fury.
And Bonnie completes her ritual.
The banishment hits like divine hammer—Bennett ancestral magic amplified through preparation and perfect timing. The merged spirit doesn't just dissolve; it's forcibly torn from this plane and hurled into whatever afterlife the universe has prepared for things that refuse to move on naturally.
The house collapses the moment Bonnie's spell completes, but I'm already running with my one active clone, using the last dregs of MP to reinforce my legs for supernatural speed.
We burst through the front door as the structure implodes behind us, dust and debris erupting into a cloud that covers the street.
I collapse on the lawn, gasping.
The System notification comes in waves:
[MAJOR EXORCISM COMPLETE]
[FIVE MALEVOLENT SPIRITS BANISHED]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +2,500]
[LEVEL 28 → 29 ACHIEVED!]
[LEVEL 29 → 30 ACHIEVED!]
[MAJOR MILESTONE REACHED]
Golden light surrounds me—visible this time, not just in my System interface. Bonnie gasps as my body glows with power that rewrites fundamental capabilities.
[LEVEL 30 MILESTONE BONUSES:]
[+10 STAT POINTS (MILESTONE BONUS)]
[GIFT OF POWER: UNLOCKED]
[SIXTH CLONE SLOT: AVAILABLE]
[FOURTH SAVED AFFINITY SLOT: AVAILABLE]
[DAMAGE RELOCATION RANGE: INCREASED TO 150 METERS]
I allocate the ten points through muscle memory: three Vitality, three Intelligence, two Wisdom, two Agility. The power floods through me in ways that feel less like leveling up and more like fundamental transformation.
[FINAL LEVEL 30 STATS:]
[STR 10, AGI 28, VIT 43, INT 43, WIS 48, PER 25, CHA 25]
[HP: 1,060/1,060, MP: 795/795, MP REGEN: 48/MIN]
"Sam?" Bonnie approaches cautiously. "Are you okay?"
"I'm Level 30," I confirm, standing on legs that feel steadier than they have in days. "Which means—"
I don't finish the sentence. I'm already sprinting to my car.
Bonnie follows without question, and we drive to Mystic Falls Hospital violating every speed limit.
Caroline's in Liz's room when I burst through the door, her mother unconscious and looking worse than three days ago. The cancer's accelerating faster than anyone predicted.
"Sam?" Caroline's voice cracks with hope and fear equally. "Did you—"
"I reached Level 30," I confirm, moving to Liz's bedside.
Caroline's hand flies to her mouth, tears already streaming.
I place both hands on Liz's chest, and the System interface manifests visibly—golden text hanging in air that Caroline can actually see:
[GIFT OF POWER: AVAILABLE]
[TRANSFER REGENERATION AFFINITY TO ELIZABETH FORBES?]
[WARNING: PERMANENT LOSS FROM HOST AND CLONE 4]
[COOLDOWN: 1 YEAR]
[RECIPIENT WILL GAIN: SUPERNATURAL HEALING, SLOWED AGING, ENHANCED RECOVERY]
[CONFIRM?]
I don't hesitate.
[CONFIRMED]
The power transfer feels like having something fundamental torn from my soul. Golden energy flows from my hands into Liz—visible, tangible, carrying my Regeneration affinity into her dying body.
Her cancer cells dissolve under supernatural healing. I can see it happening through my enhanced perception—malignant tissue breaking down, healthy cells regenerating at impossible speed, her entire system rebooting under magical influence.
Color returns to her face. Her breathing steadies. The sunken cheeks fill out as her body remembers what healthy feels like.
Liz's eyes snap open—clear, alert, alive.
"What—" she starts, then gasps as the Regeneration settles into her. "I feel... I feel perfect. The pain's gone. Everything's gone."
Caroline sobs, grabbing both of us in desperate hug that threatens to crack ribs.
"You did it," she whispers against my shoulder. "You actually did it."
I collapse from exhaustion—not physical, but the deep soul-weariness that comes from sacrificing pieces of yourself. Caroline catches me, lowering me into the chair beside Liz's bed.
"You gave up your power for me," Liz says, her voice strong again and horrified. "Sam, why would you—"
"Because Caroline deserves her mother," I reply, barely conscious. "Everyone deserves to keep their family."
Liz cries then—not weakness, but understanding what I've sacrificed. She takes my hand, squeezing with strength that proves the healing worked.
"Thank you," she whispers. "For my life. For my daughter's happiness. For everything."
Caroline's kissing my forehead, whispering words I can barely process: "I love you. Forever. Always. You're everything."
The System chimes one final notification:
[GIFT OF POWER: SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFERRED]
[REGENERATION AFFINITY: REMOVED FROM SAM BARTON]
[REGENERATION AFFINITY: REMOVED FROM CLONE 4]
[ELIZABETH FORBES: NOW POSSESSES SUPERNATURAL HEALING]
[COOLDOWN: 365 DAYS UNTIL NEXT GIFT]
I drift into unconsciousness holding the two people who've become my family, knowing I made the right choice even if it cost me power I'll never recover.
Some things are worth any price.
And Caroline Forbes's mother is definitely one of them.
To supporting Me in Pateron .
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