Chapter 15: Getting Stronger
Silas... Silas, can you hear me?" A frantic female voice echoed, slowly pulling Silas back to consciousness. "We're under attack!" she screamed. The ground shook as a colossal blast tore apart the ceiling above. A rain of splintered wood and dust threatened to bury them both. With sheer force, Silas managed to shield himself, heaving away the debris that threatened to suffocate him. When the dust settled, he saw that the woman who had called out to him lay motionless, her life extinguished in the chaos.
Without a moment's notice, vicious, blade-wielding creatures burst into the wreckage. Two of them hungrily descended upon the woman's corpse, tearing into her. The other pair set their sights on Silas, charging at him with a rabid ferocity. Summoning his Phoenix flames, a blistering aura of fire enveloped Silas. The room's remnants began to melt, and the very air turned scorching. The approaching creatures never stood a chance; they ignited upon contact, screaming as the fire consumed them.
Emerging from the burning remains of the house, Silas was met with a scene of unparalleled chaos. It was as if the world was ending. Dead and wounded littered the streets, their last moments marked by brutal combat against an unfamiliar foe. These alien creatures weren't of this world, and they brought devastation with them. Exhaustion gripped Silas from the constant fighting against the gods'. But this was no time for rest. From the skies above, a titanic entity began its descent, overshadowing everything below like a behemoth skyscraper.
As Silas looked up, a strange sensation washed over him, and his vision blurred. Silas's eyes snapped open, finding himself suspended in a mysterious green liquid. Glancing around, it was evident he was inside some kind of lab. Panic surged as he realized he was submerged. However, to his surprise, he could breathe comfortably in the liquid. But his relief was short-lived. Alarms blared, echoing throughout the lab, and the green fluid started to drain rapidly.
Stumbling forward as the tube's door swung open, Silas tumbled out of the pod, heaving for breath. Adapting from the liquid to now inhaling air felt jarring. As he tried to regain his composure, a recognizable face entered the room: Jack. "You're finally up," Jack remarked with a hint of relief. Dazed, Silas managed, "Where am I?"
"At the moment," Jack began, "we're aboard a hub station, en route to a planet called Antom. It's part of a Type One civilization."
Silas tried to process the influx of information. "How long have I been out? It's all still a blur."
"You've been unconscious for a month," Jack replied. "A month?!" Silas almost yelled in disbelief. Recalling Chaos's warning about his prolonged immobility, Silas hadn't expected it to last this long. He stood, stretching himself out. Surprisingly, he felt no fatigue. In fact, he felt rejuvenated, as if he'd never felt better.
Jack, pausing at the doorway, remarked, "Rest for now, but brace yourself. Once we land on the planet tomorrow, things will shift rapidly." And with that, he left the room.
Silas promptly accessed his status window:
Name: Silas Nightshade, Title: Troll Slayer, Race: Human Fairy, Level: 10, Available Upgrade Points: 35, System Level: 2, Dark Fairy Form Level: 2,
"35 upgrade points?!" Silas blurted in astonishment. The fight with the trolls had significantly boosted his stats, gifting him seven more levels. But there was more: three pending notifications beckoned his attention.
He clicked on the first: Random fairy ability unlocked - Absorb: Permits the user to siphon the life essence from beings, provided they were dispatched solely by the user.
The next notification offered a tantalizing choice: Select one ability from the Troll King to claim as your own.
* Regeneration: Enables the user to mend wounds or even re-grow lost limbs, the efficacy varying with the skill's level.
* Acidic Blood: Transforms the user's blood into a potent acid, offering versatile applications. As the skill matures, so does the corrosive strength of the blood.
* Elemental Breath: Grants the user the power to manifest varying elements in their mouth, releasing them as potent beams. Skill progression unlocks enhanced potency and a diverse range of elements.
Deep in thought, Silas weighed his options. The absorb ability was undeniably valuable, but which power from the Troll King would serve him best? He quickly ruled out the acidic blood. As intriguing as it was, it required him to be injured to harness its potential. Elemental Breath, while unique, didn't resonate with him; the idea of emitting beams from his mouth wasn't quite his style. That left Regeneration. In the throes of battle, the ability to heal swiftly could be a game-changer. And with the potential to even regenerate limbs as the skill advanced, it seemed the obvious choice.
Determined, Silas mentally selected Regeneration. Almost immediately, a system notification appeared: "Congratulations! You've acquired a new ability: Regeneration." Silas knew the importance of setting a strong foundation for his attributes. Pulling up his attribute window, it displayed: "Strength: 11, Speed: 11, Intelligence: 5, Mana: 5."
He thought, "I need a balanced build." His first move was to allocate 10 points to his mana, bringing it to a total of 15.
This would support his reclaimed fire magic. With 25 points still in hand, Silas pondered over the 'Intelligence' stat. Unsure of its benefits, he allocated 7 points, raising it to 12. Suddenly, a system prompt enlightened him: "Enhancing the Intelligence stat accelerates brain function, allowing for quicker processing during daily activities and in combat." Taken aback, Silas said, "Had I known, I would've invested more into this." But he pressed on, deciding to maintain it at 12 for now.
He then distributed the remaining 18 points equally between strength and speed, elevating each to 20. Although tempted to enhance his senses, Silas recognized the immediate importance of his primary attributes. Silas was about to exit the system menu when something caught his eye: the 'Fairy Form' section. However, it was grayed out, unresponsive to his attempts to access it. Only then did he spot a timer displaying, "Fairy form disabled - time remaining: 365 days!"
"A year without the fairy form?" Silas grappled with the revelation. Reflecting on his recent reliance on Chaos's power, he realized, "Tapping into that might have been costly, but at least I'm still alive." Deciding to leave the system for now, Silas shifted his focus to his daily exercises. He needed to be ready for whatever lay ahead.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone