Rembrandt de Vries
Race: -
License: Merit
Level: 5 Experience: 0 / 1600
Class: Error. Not Available.
Challenge Passes: 2
Rem read the line under his name. An error?
His eyes dropped. He was about to pull up his full status when a system message cut in.
Congratulations, you have completed the hidden quest Rejoin the Living. By regaining physical form, you have gained the trait. Reborn. You are now afforded priority queue for same-level reinstantiation.
For being reborn on your own power, without a patron’s assistance you are awarded the title: Self Sovereign. Your access to the system is no longer disabled upon organic death.
Rem flexed his fingers.
Skin stretched across the knuckles.
Warm. Solid.
His hands were smaller than he remembered.
A quick check with essence sense put his body at around four or five.
He turned his attention back to the continued messages.
By experimentally verifying that this challenge’s temporal stasis preserves existential integrity, you have earned the title: Fully Committed.
Error. Your racial traits no longer match your indicated race. Please wait while we investigate this anomaly.
Rem swam down to the control sphere and set himself in place.
Error. Your previous biological template cannot contain newly identified racial traits. Retemplating process initialized. Analyzing.
He checked again.
His body felt larger now. Limbs longer. Strength settling into muscle and bone.
Around ten, he guessed.
He looked mostly the same. Except his hair. It drifted in the water around his face, longer than he had ever let it grow. Nearly to his shoulders.
Congratulations you have discovered a new species! You earn 20 XP for your skill Predictive Inheritance. You gain 20 XP for your skill Trait Stabilization.
This species shares the morphology of the human species with racial bonuses similar to other species.
Racial Attribute bonuses: Essence Control: +2 per level
Intelligence: +2 per level
Vitality: +2 per level
Racial Traits: Continuant: You continually replace damaged or aged cells. Increases metabolism.
These specific racial traits are similar to the following species: Aetherix, Neuromi, Taxeleos, Illumis and others.
Because you discovered this species you can name it. What would you like to call it?
Rem paused.
Human.
A species already exists with that designation. Use Human-Aetherix?
Rem frowned slightly.
Human was wrong.
He lifted his hand in front of his face and spread his fingers. The joints moved cleanly. The tendons pulled tight under the skin.
His merge domain slid outward.
Fast.
The boundary pushed through the water and held. It didn’t wobble. It didn’t thin. It sat where he put it.
Rem kept it there, steady, then pulled it back into himself.
Not human.
The prompt hovered in front of him, patient.
Names came and went. None of them fit.
Then one did.
Aetheric.
You have discovered a new species: Aetheric. You are the only member of your discovered race!
You have changed species. You are awarded the following title.
Self-Discoverer You have discovered the species you are a member of.
And the following trait:
SpeciarchYou have managed to transform your species, making predictive racial scaffolding unreliable.
Rem noticed there was no mention of being enhanced.
Did the new species just assume that his powers were part of his race? Or had he lost access to them?
He pushed with his will.
His merge domain spread out in front of him. Faster than before.
But he hadn’t.
If anything, he had been cautious.
He had tested every theory on his ravens first. Watched how the merges held. Watched which ones failed. Learned what the biology would accept and what it rejected.
Years.
He’d lost count of them.
The path had been clear for years.
And what he wanted was simple.
Maximize his advantages.
Rem estimated his age again.
His hair drifted around his head in the water.
Fourteen. Maybe fifteen.
He flexed his merge domain and nudged the control sphere upward, slipping the blocking stones free with a thought. Then he released it and watched the sphere begin to roll back toward the center.
Biological templating complete. You have acquired a new title and a new trait:
Self-forged You have improved certain attribute calculations beyond their racial norm. You have exceeded the standard deviation. Increasing the quality of your species by one level.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Qualitative Scaling When Intelligence, Perception, Essence Control, or Wisdom increases, the attribute gains the greater of:
? the raw increase, or
? 2% of its current value (rounded up).
Rem read the line twice.
Two percent scaling.
That would grow fast. Eventually.
He was still reading the notifications when the control sphere settled into the bottom of the temporal control line.
His body felt steady now. The size felt right.
Maybe slightly older than he had been.
Impossible to tell.
Close enough.
He brought up his basic status again.
Rembrandt de Vries
Race: Greater Aetheric
License: Merit
Level: 5 Experience: 0 / 1600
Class: Error. Not Available.
Challenge Passes: 2
Health: 11,648 / 11,648 (Stable)
Energy: 544 / 544 (Normal)
Focus: 720 / 720 (Clear)
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 17
Agility: 19
Vitality: 32
Intelligence: 40
Perception: 25
Essence Control: 42
Wisdom: 13
Greater Aetheric.
He ran the numbers.
If he remembered correctly, he was getting +3 per level to Intelligence, Essence Control, and Vitality now.
Rem looked down at his hand.
His ring was still there.
His essence control and intelligence had climbed sharply. His health was five times what it had been before. His focus pool had grown with it.
He formed his merge domain around his feet and found his footing.
Then he pushed the domain upward toward the surface.
Water broke around his shoulders as he emerged.
Cold air struck his skin.
His lungs pulled in a sharp breath.
Too sharp.
Air scraped down his throat. His chest expanded too fast. Muscles seized for a moment as his body tried to keep up.
Water ran down his arms and chest. His muscles felt tight. Heavy. Real.
Too real.
His skin pulled tight across his ribs when he breathed. Pressure closed in around his organs. His heart beat hard against bone and muscle.
His fingers curled.
Something in his chest tightened.
He pulled in another breath. Slower this time. It still came fast.
The weight of his body pressed inward from every side. Skin held everything together. Bones locked him into shape. His lungs filled and emptied without asking.
Too much movement. Too much noise.
His heart hammered again.
His merge domain surged out in a quick pulse before he caught it.
He stopped it. Pulled it back under control.
Above him his ravens circled.
“Rem,” Rook squawked.
The sound hit his ears too sharply.
Rem lifted his arms and flexed his fingers in the sunlight.
His hands shook once.
He forced them still.
Breathe.
In.
Out.
Again.
Air moved slower now. His chest loosened a little. The pressure inside his ribs eased.
His heart slowed.
It took a moment for the tightness to release.
Then another.
The body settled around him.
Muscle. Bone. Skin.
He pushed toward the shore.
“Let’s not do that again,” he said, using his voice for the first time.
The sound came out rough.
His throat tightened on the words.
He stepped on the shore and moved towards his waiting supplies. Rem knelt, took a knife, gathered his hair in one fist, and cut it off.
He dried himself and then began clothing. When he was finally done, he looked back toward the still circling ravens. Then he motioned for them to come down.
For a moment nothing changed. Then the great armored raven tilted a wing and dropped first. Air rolled under it in heavy waves. Each beat drove a low thud through the water and stone as it slowed, wings spreading wide before its talons struck the shore. The others followed in descending arcs. The lean hunter carved down beside it, touching the ground with precise steps. The burning one settled last among the larger birds, embers dimming as its wings folded.
The rest arrived in stranger ways. One raven split apart as it descended, three forms touching down before collapsing back into one. Another flickered into place already perched, runes pulsing once before fading to a slow glow. A patch of air folded and the absence-bird resolved out of it, edges tearing and sealing as it stood beside him. Farther down the shoreline the sickened one landed with a soft scrape of talons on rock, thin green veins pulsing once before going still.
They formed a loose ring along the shore.
Feathers settled. Wings folded. Eyes fixed on him.
Rook hopped forward through them and gave a short caw.
“Good to see you again,” Rook said. His diction—his vocabulary—had improved remarkably over the years. All of theirs had.
Rem nodded, then waved his hand in front of him, summoning the window to his storage locker.
He reached inside and pulled out a golden lantern.
It was about the size of a small brick and heavier than it looked. The body had been built from many fitted plates of gold, each one cut to shape and joined with narrow seams. Bands wrapped around it at different angles, locking the plates together in a tight frame.
The surface carried shallow engravings. Straight lines, circles, and small repeating marks crossed the metal where the plates met, continuing from one plate to the next. The cuts didn’t stop at the seams.
A thick ring rose from the top, set into a reinforced collar of layered metal.
There were no openings anywhere on the lantern.
No glass.
No vents.
No gaps wide enough to peer through.
Every seam was tight.
Whatever sat inside it was sealed away behind gold and careful construction.
“Here is what I promised.” Rem set the object down in front of him, letting Rook inspect it.
“And this will keep us alive?” Rook hopped closer, studying the device.
“This is just a box. It’s what’s inside that will prevent this challenge from closing, even after I leave it.”
“You?” Rook squawked.
“My core. The system sees it as me and will keep this challenge running.” Rem smiled slightly. Duplicating his own core had been one of his better ideas.
Leaving one here as a fallback in case he ever needed it. That part had been their idea.
The others.
Rook tilted his head, then gave a sharp squawk.
The larger raven moved at once. It launched upward, seized the ring in one talon, and lifted into the air with powerful strokes of its wings.
“Then as agreed, we will serve you,” Rook cawed.
The others answered. Their voices rose together, harsh and uneven, carrying across the lake.
“I’ll take you up on that,” Rem said, standing.
Their business was finished.
“You leaving now?” The empty shape of a raven spoke from its perch. Its voice came thin and hollow.
“I still have work to do,” Rem said. He pulled his satchel up and settled the strap across his shoulder.
“But soon.”
Challenge Four Delta
Race: Human (Enhanced) → Greater Aetheric
Level 4 → 5
Attributes
Strength: 11 → 17 (+6)
Agility: 13 → 19 (+6)
Vitality: 11 → 32 (+21)
Intelligence: 10 → 40 (+30)
Perception: 10 → 25 (+15)
Essence Control: 13 → 42 (+29)
Wisdom (Unlocked): 13
Pools
Health: 1392 → 11,648
Energy: 146 → 544
Focus: 180 → 720
Skills
Swimming (Level 8)
Freediving (Level 5)
Wilderness Survival (Level 9)
Primitive Toolcraft (Level 4)
Primitive Construction (Level 8)
Ecology (Level 2)
Aquatic Biology (Level 2)
Arcane Reverse Engineering (Level 5)
Arcane Construction (Level 5)
Greater Field Research (Level 2)
Writing (Level 8)
Arcane Attunement (Level 6)
Greater Essence Perception (Level 2)
Greater Mental Endurance (Level 1)
Emotional Regulation (Level 5)
Micro-Ecosystem Architect (Level 1)
Systems Insight (Level 4)
Tailoring (Level 5)
Hiking (Level 5)
Professions:
Sage (Master)
Homesteader (Apprentice)
Survivalist (Novice)
Wandwright (Apprentice)
Author (Novice)
Tailor (Novice)
Alchemy (Journeyman → Late Journeyman)
Lineage Architect (Journeyman)
Metal Smith (Apprentice)
Paths:
Path of Thrynn
Path of Malthyr
Path of Io
Formula
Healing Potion: 2 → 11 (+9)
Recovery Potion: 3 → 9 (+6)
Restoration Potion: 3 → 8 (+5)
Analgesic Salve (Level 12)
Clean Water Tablet (Level 12)
Stamina Tonic (Level 10)
Wound Poultice (Level 8)
Schematics
Surveyor Pattern (Level 3)
Illusion Pattern (Level 3)
Silence Pattern (Level 3)
Illumination Pattern (Level 3)
Ember Bolt Pattern (Level 3)
Twin Echo Pattern (Level 3)
Emberetching Pattern (Level 3)
Waterspout Pattern (Level 3)
Greater Mana Battery (Level 4 Component)
Greater Ranged Targeting Lattice (Level 4 Component)
Proximal Control Matrix (Level 4 Component)
Twin Echo Stabilizer (Level 4 Component)
Illusion Matrix Mk II (Level 4)
Silence Lattice (Level 4)
Waterspout Mk II (Level 4, Rare)
Wand of Nullveil (Level 4, Rare)
Wand of Everlight (Level 4, Rare)
Wand of Lattice Precision (Level 4, Rare)
Wand of Emberfilament (Level 4, Epic)
Titles Acquired:
Greater Chronophile
The Hermit
Cabinwright
Firekeeper
Wandbreaker
Wandmender
Field Scribe
Solo Archivist
Seedbearer
No Stranger to Pain
Iron Will
Strategic Planner
Greater Skillseeker
Summitwalker
Prime Locomotor
Nociceptive
Self Sovereign
Fully Committed
Self-Forged
Traits Acquired:
Augmented
Self-determined
Used to Pain
Reborn
Continuant
Speciarch
Qualitative Scaling
Tolerances Unlocked:
Pain: 90
Burn: 92
Cold: 91
Pressure: 90
Piercing: 90
Tearing: 91
Corrosive: 90
Electric: 89
Notable Merges:
Elixir of the Zephyr, Greater
Permanent +2 to Agility.
Elixir of Kratos
Permanent +2 to Strength.
Elixir of Aion
Permanent +2 to Vitality.
Elixir of Theia
Permanent +2 to Perception.
Elixir of Metis
Permanent +2 Intelligence.
Elixir of Aether
Permanent +2 Essence Control.
Cores (level 5):
Greater Vitality
Greater Agility
Greater Strength
Greater Perception
Greater Intelligence
Greater Essence Control
Greater Regeneration
Greater Renewal
Greater Stasis
Greater Umbral
Greater Duplication
Greater Corruption
Greater Continuant
Greater Hover
Greater Propagation
Notable Discoveries:
Korvathar
Varganox
Nyxveil
Mordrith
Pyraeon
Raeven
Skathryn
Chronyx
Umbryssar
Aeltharyn
Nullcor
Aetheric
