Chapter -2147483636 (Forged)

  The sky was heading into dusk as Ada spent a considerable amount of time staring at her decapitated body. Seeing her own corpse directly in front of her nailed to a tree was a considerable shock, but eventually the novelty wore off. She remembered the class advancement and the multitudinous system messages she had ignored. She called them up.

  

  [*ding!* Congratulations! Divine influence has corrected system identification of your species! [Outsider (Elemental)] has become [Forgeling (Living Construct)]!]

  [*ding!* Notice: this change will not be applied retroactively, but has altered the nature of several racial abilities as the system has identified them.]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Elementalist - Metal] has evolved into [Blademage - Metal]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Blademage - Metal] has leveled up! 32 -> 128! +13 Strength, +13 Dexterity, +26 Vitality, +26 Speed, +117 Mana, +143 Mana Regen, +117 Magic Power, +169 Magic Control from your class! +2 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +5 Vitality, +3 Speed, +2 Mana, +3 Mana Regen, +3 Magic Power, +5 Magic Control for being Forgeling (Living Construct)! +1 Magic Power from your Element per level!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! For reaching level 50, you have unlocked the class skill [Rapid Reforge]!] You’ve practiced shaping and modifying different types of metals into weapons. Now you can do it even faster! Boosted Metal Manipulation speed per level when modifying existing formed metal objects. -1131 mana regeneration.

  [*ding!* Congratulations! For reaching level 100, you have unlocked the class skill [Spell Cutter]!] You have pushed the limit on how sharp a blade can be, and practiced cutting many things, including projectiles and conjured elemental attacks. Now your attacks cut straight through and sever magical bindings. -5,681 mana regeneration.

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Shard] has evolved and become [Dart]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Temper] and [Alloy] have merged and become [Spellforge]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Meditate] has evolved and become [Combat Trance]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Walking] has evolved and become [Endurance]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Soul Bonded] has leveled up! 32 -> 128!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Metal Spirit] has leveled up! 32 -> 128!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Metal Resistance] has leveled up! 32 -> 37!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! For achieving level 64, you have unlocked your 2nd class!]

  [*ding!* You have earned your second class - [Beloved of the Forge] - Fire]

  Beloved of the Forge - A starter class for one who has been blessed by the Primordial Forge.

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Beloved of the Forge - Fire] has leveled up! 1 -> 8! +7 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +7 Vitality, +2 speed, +2 Mana, +2 Mana Regen, +2 Magic Power, +2 Magic Control from your class! +2 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +5 Vitality, +3 Speed, +2 Mana, +3 Mana Regen, +3 Magic Power, +5 Magic Control for being Forgeling (Living Construct)! +1 Strength from your Element per level!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! You can now advance your class!]

  [*ding!* WARNING: Once you start advancing your class, you must pick an advancement.]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! You have received [Blessing of Hephaestus]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! You have received [Blessing of Unknown]!]

  “Fucking. What.”

  Ada remained there for several minutes, just trying to comprehend the wall of text she had just received. Ultimately, she decided that there were more important things to deal with besides simply having a crisis from information overload. Through the [Soul Bond], Ada could tell that Alex was well within fifty miles away, but further than ten, and the approximate direction down to around a fifteen degree arc. This would get more accurate as Ada got closer, but she was still currently a head on a spear.

  She considered this, and consulted the system's updated identification of her species, remembering that Hephaestus had called her a forgeling, which suggested it had been he who was the divine influence that had forced the update.

  

  [Species: Forgeling (living construct)][You are a living construct, born of the primordial forge.]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! The system has generated a new system image based on your idealized configuration!]

  [A living construct is a construct possessed by a living spirit. You have a soul and system access.]

  [Construct Immunities] You do not age. You do not breathe. You do not require food or water. You do not require sleep. You can be healed at a severe penalty when your body is in critical condition.]

  [Biological Mimicry] Your body can perfectly mimic a living creature, with the exception of digestion and metabolism.

  [Reconstruction] Your body will slowly regenerate through two mechanisms: absorbing excess mana production, or by absorbing similar materials from the surrounding environment.

  [Variable Temperature] Your body temperature is variable, though it defaults to match the environment, you can utilize biological mimicry to maintain a specific temperature. Alternatively, you can consciously raise or lower your body temperature, though mana will be expended to reach extreme temperatures outside normal ambient ranges.

  “Huh. Well, that’s a lot more descriptive than fucking ‘Outsider’.”

  Ada considered looking over her new skills, but then her eyes drifted over the two blessings.

  “Ah, fuck. Those two did both say they were giving me blessings. Time to find out what the hell that means.”

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  [Blessing of Hephaestus] The god Hephaestus has blessed you. You have been granted access to the primordial forge. When using [Metal Conjuration] you are able to conjure any metal.

  [Blessing of the Unknown] An Unknown deity has blessed you. This blessing has an unknown effect.

  “That sure cleared things up. I guess that means I can conjure gold now. Great, I’m rich. Except they don’t even use gold for currency here, they use iron coins. But I’m distracting myself from the really important thing -- how the hell does any of this help me get down from here.”

  Ada considered her situation, each of her new skills, and what the system had identified about her species -- her true species. She felt the spear point still lodged in the base of her neck and realized that there was no reason for it to be a spear and not part of her own body.

  It was as if someone had flipped a switch in her mind. The spear point was her body. She shattered it and absorbed the material, and by doing so, her head fell to the ground and rolled, coming to rest against the feet of her former body. But that, too, wasn't accurate. It was still her body, after all. She grabbed onto it with her senses, and utilizing [Metal Manipulation], Ada willed the metal of her body to flow around the solid iron pinning it to the tree.

  The remains of her body, now in several incoherent pieces, fell in a heap around her, and her [Reconstruction] began consuming the material to restore her, slowly at first, but speeding up once Ada's mana pool recovered from the effort.

  She had a few minutes to think while the process was completed.

  Ada had one free class skill slot and two skills to choose from to fill it. She really wanted [Spell Cutter], but she knew she’d get more frequent use out of [Rapid Reforging].

  She slotted in [Rapid Reforge], and decided to put some effort into trying to get [Metal Resistance] and [Resolute] to merge.

  Ada concentrated on the two skills together, and attempted to use them both together, which didn’t work as they were both passive skills. Ada swore. “Fucking system, merge these fucking skills.”

  

  [Unknown divine blessing effect has forcibly unlocked merge function of selected compatible skills.]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! Your [Metal Resistance] skill and [Resolute] skill can be merged! Would you like to learn [Blademage Armor]? Nothing will be lost in the merging of the skill.]

  “Well, this sure is a day. Yes, merge the skills.”

  

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Cynicism] has leveled up! 11 -> 12!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! You’ve learned [Blademage Armor] - Lv 43! ]

  [Blademage Armor] You are resolute and resistant to external forces. Passive skill, +0.5% vitality per level, -4832 mana regeneration.

  Ada then accepted the new skill [Spell Cutter] and it dropped into place in her newly empty skill slot. She then looked down and watched as her toes finally finished forming.

  Now fully recovered, but once again stark naked, Ada fished the piece of paper out of her mouth and unfolded it. It was a slightly smudged note written in what she recognized as Alex's handwriting, and said, "danger Nyssos spooked, don't know what will happen, if all gone go back, contact ranger HQ."

  Ada blinked at this, then stood up and looked around. Her tunic was still hanging from the multiple objects that had pinned her body, and it was now ruined. Whatever had happened, there had been a lot of effort put into it.

  Then she turned around.

  Everywhere she looked showed signs of battle. Ada spotted the remains of what could only be described as a bunker, and all around it was devastated landscape. It was very clear that a massive battle had taken place, though despite the veritable rivers of blood and destroyed landscape, there were no bodies, partial or otherwise.

  “Huh,” she said, mildly incredulous. It seemed that either the attackers had enough healers to keep everyone alive, or they collected all of the dead once the battle was over.

  She walked over to inspect the bunker, parts of which still stood, which plainly demonstrated how resilient it had been when it had been whole. There were three layers to it. The outermost layer appeared to be a hardened clay like material that had clearly been ablative in nature, as Ada found multiple places where it had small craters blasted from the surface. Then there was a layer of stone that appeared to be granite, but she couldn’t be sure. She hadn’t done nearly so well in the single geology course she’d taken in college as compared to the material sciences and engineering classes that she’d excelled in. The final layer felt much more familiar, as it had been a dome of metal, at least as thick as the width of her hand, and quite dense.

  Ada reached out and placed her hand against the metal and activated [Spellforge], trying to get a sense of whatever it was. She felt two distinct types of metal, one of which was definitely iron, and the other was a nearly identical element which was ever so slightly lighter. “Has to be manganese,” she thought, “but how? These people don’t have advanced metallurgy, so how would they know about impact resistant manganese steel?” She frowned. “Oh well, problem for future Ada to figure out. The important thing right now is I can use this.”

  Utilizing [Rapid Reforge], Ada ripped a large chunk of the bunker steel out of the dome, and then shaped it into two forward curving blades in a shape similar to a Dacian falx with tangs the length of her palm and an overall length just shorter than her forearm. She sharpened both to a razor edge, and then stowed each inside the forearm of her dominant left. After practicing using [Metal Manipulation] to extend the blades out through her hands a few times, Ada discovered she could do so quite rapidly.

  She stowed the blades back into her arm, and then ripped another thirty kilograms of metal off the dome. This time, she activated both [Spellforge] and [Rapid Reforge] and wove the metal into a skin clinging suit of 4-in-1 chain and attached overlapping scales across most of the surface, except for where she needed to flex joints. It wasn’t as good as an actual tunic and pants, but would have to do for now.

  

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Rapid Reforge] has leveled up! 1 -> 17!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Metal Manipulation] has leveled up! 32 -> 33!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Spellforge] has leveled up! 32 -> 39!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Rapid Reforge] has leveled up! 17 -> 24!]

  Satisfied with the skill advancements, Ada adjusted her body temp to equalize with the ambient temperature to avoid anyone with a heat sensing skill. She wished she had something that would help her in the dark.

  

  [*ding!* Congratulations! Your skill [Pathfinding] has evolved and become [Expanded Senses]!]

  The world around her became brighter, and she was surprised to see the leaves on the trees begin to glow with a faint red light. Additionally, the remains of the bunker was showing in her vision as a brighter black shade, but she wasn’t entirely sure how that made any sense. Then it clicked in her mind -- she was seeing into both the near ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths. Ada looked down at her hands and scowled. She was shining like a beacon in the night, the armor she had crafted perfectly reflecting the ultraviolet light that was still coming from the sun as it dipped below the horizon.

  “Shit. I guess I have to hope no one can see into the ultraviolet.”

  Ada checked on her mana, and seeing it once again near full, she ripped another three kilograms of the metal out of the bunker wall, shaped it into two rods, and stored them inside her other forearm. She’d be able to shape this into a shield or break off smaller pieces to use as projectiles. Deciding that she ought to just have a sword and shield ready to go, Ada pulled off some more of the steel, forming her favorite type-13 bastard sword and a matching heater shield. Finally, Ada mentally identified each of the metal constructs as part of her body, and felt the system acknowledge this new fact. Each piece would now be reinforced by her vitality and the armor would be further enhanced by her [Blademage Armor].

  Deciding she was about as prepared as she could be with the supplies for a rescue mission, Ada checked her status page one last time and then headed in the direction her [Soul Bond] was telling her she could find Alex.

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  Based on the world from the original work by Selkie Myth

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  You can also find all of the Beneath the Dragoneye Moons volumes on Kindle Unlimited and Audible:

  

  1 - Oathbound Healer -

  2 - Adventures in the Argo -

  3 - Ranger's Dawn -

  4 - Beyond the Wall -

  5 - Moonveiled Journeys -

  6 - Immortal Moments -

  7 - Return to Remus -

  8 - New Horizons -

  9 - Gladiator Gauntlet -

  10 - Under Ashen Skies -

  11 - Mandate of Heaven -

  12 - The Phoenix Peaks -

  13 - Moonfall -