Adam slashed a flowing blade of blood through the green goblin's neck before grabbing it by the head as it died and attempting to activate the Flesh Shaper evolution's power.

The result was horrific.

The skin and flesh shot off from the goblin's head, splattering into the other goblin that was charging Adam. It was struck in the head and bowled over, smacking back-first into the dirt.

Adam tossed aside the bare skull of the goblin he'd been holding and quickly formed a pentagram with his blood, aiming it down at the downed-but-alive creature. Then he punched his left hand through the middle, releasing a close-ranged blast of blood shards that pulverised the goblin's diminutive body.

That was a bit too much… he thought after the fact.

[Excellent! You cleared the Wave within 10 seconds.]

As the upgrades appeared, Adam looked over at the goblin he'd used as an improvised weapon.

I destroyed the collectible ear…

The one that lay crushed by his feet still had its head intact, and Adam reached down to grab its ear. With just a small application of his Mana, he was able to pull off the ear by unmaking the bond formed by its skin, like a seamster unravelling the threads of a shirt.

Adam sent his remaining glob of summoned blood into the goblin's body, swirling and mixing it with the creature's blood, applying more Mana to help take it over.

[Warning! Mana below 30%.]

He repeated the step with the skinned goblin he'd tossed aside, ending up with about 4 litres of blood floating in front of him. He still couldn't control three separate spells simultaneously, but he was able to hold on to two and even shape them slightly.

After spending the last bit of the interim before Wave Two to recoup Mana, Adam went over to where the nearest goblin would appear, preparing the pentagram pattern for Push.

Then he picked his upgrade.

< < Upgrade Selected > >

< Sigil Effect (Rare) >

The moment the blue goblin appeared, Adam punched his control sigil through the pentagram and exploded its torso with the resultant blast. As it died, he swung a liquid blade out from his floating ball of blood to catch the next one through the mouth and popping its skull from within, then he grabbed the first one's right arm, unravelling the bonds of its shoulder joint and hurtling it at the last blue goblin while shaping it into a simple spear mid-flight. It struck like a heavy stone, crushing the creature's face and instantly killing it.

[Excellent! You cleared the Wave within 5 seconds.]

Adam grinned to himself.

Okay, I think I'm onto something here.

Adam tore his way through the rest of the goblin village, going even faster than when he'd used the bow. It was only the Hobgoblin that gave him a second of pause, because it possessed the Fiendbarb that could instantly kill him if it got in contact with his floating glob of blood. But the skill from Gram easily dealt with the boss after it turned into a Hobgoblin Lord.

I need to practise a lot more in the Player House, he decided. Flesh Shaper has so much potential, but right now I have no idea how to finesse it.

His application of the power was crude and messy, but if he could become more precise, then he would be able to perform some truly insane feats of bodily magic. Not to mention, he might be able to use his own body in unconventional ways. He hadn't yet tried to use his blood magic as a way to fly around, but he thought that his efforts were better spent trying to master both blood and flesh magic so that he could utilise them in concert to fly, rather than relying on a vehicle made of his own magic.

< < Wave Five Complete > >

< < Stage Complete > >

< Tallying Score >

< < Score > >

< 55 Seconds Completion Time >

< 500 Point Secret Boss Bonus added >

< 400 Point Flawless Bonus added >

< 250 Point Speedrun Bonus added >

< 150 Point All Secrets Bonus added >

< 0 Damage Received >

< 3870 Points Awarded >

Adam was glad to see an Epic reward amongst the options in the Relic Chest as he kicked it open, and he immediately grabbed it without bothering to check the rest.

< < Relics Available > >

< Avalanche Boots (Rare) — All kicks inflict disorientation on normal targets for 2 seconds >

< Yellow Trophy (Rare) — Increase Player Speed by 15% for 10 seconds. 2-minute cooldown >

< Hobgoblin Pendant (Epic) — Player becomes immune to pain | Survive a fatal hit. Relic breaks if triggered >

< Curse-Giver Necklace (Rare) — Magical attacks inflict Curse, increasing damage taken by 10% >

< < Relic Selected > >

< Hobgoblin Pendant (Epic) >

The pendant appeared around Adam's neck on a string made from hair. Three carved finger bones were attached to it.

It was his first time actually equipping the Relic, but he could immediately feel something was off about it. Or, more precisely, he couldn't feel anything at all. At least not physically. Along with its pain immunity was clearly some kind of numbing of his sense of touch.

This is too dangerous to wear casually, but might be useful if I end up wanting to test flesh shaping on myself, he thought, taking off the necklace and stuffing it in his pocket.

He then went over and picked up the crown that the Hobgoblin Lord had dropped on death.

< < Collectible Relic > >

< Damaged Crown (Uncommon) — With the proper care, even a tarnished symbol may rekindle its former glory | Subordinate allies gain 10% more Health >

Next, after selecting the last pair of upgrades from where the Eye was unfolded into a podium, he was shown the final evolutions for his branch of Blood Mage.

< < Upgrades Selected > >

< Sigil Effect (Epic) — Increases sigil responsiveness by 50% >

< Invocation Power (Rare) — Increases invocation effectiveness by 45% >

< Sigil Effect (Rare) — Increases sigil responsiveness by 35% >

< Sigil Efficiency (Rare) — Reduces sigil activation cost by 15% >

< Invocation Range (Epic) — Increases invocation range by 50% >

< < Select an Evolution > >

< Red Prince — Unique Skill ( Princely Raiment ) | Expend 90% of Health and Mana as well as all collected Blood and Flesh to encase yourself in the Princely Raiment >

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

< Red Priest — Understand the flesh and blood of another when imbued into yourself >

The two holograms showed variations on the sigil Adam already possessed. The Prince version swapped the arrowhead in the trigger sigil's palm for a small stylised splayed hand with a thorny crown above it, while the Priest's control sigil gained swirling patterns of thorns along his fingers. Both sigils were jet-black with swirls of neon-red mixed in sporadically.

I wonder if those names are related to the Flayed Lady somehow. Luvicidix called her the Blood Witch, and Lady and Prince are similar titles. None of the other Absolutes I know of have names like that.

Both of these evolutions are potentially very strong.

Red Priest almost sounds similar to how Alepheria's Mandate worked, though I'm not sure what it means by 'imbue'…

"The Princely Raiment, is it like a suit made of blood and flesh?" Adam asked the Eye.

[Correct. It empowers your physical Damage and Speed, while providing you with a full suit that has its own Health separate from yours. The Princely Raiment will deteriorate rapidly if not continually supplied with more material. Its power varies based on volume of material supplied, as well as the nature of the material.]

So the type of blood and flesh matters, as well as how much I have collected. Possibly it scales with my total Health and Mana too.

It sounds really cool, but it's also very risky given how it nearly kills me just to use it.

If I got the Beast weapon type as a back-up, I wonder if they'd work together. That could be really cool. Like some werewolf hulk type thing.

"As for the Red Priest, what's meant by 'imbue'?"

[To imbue yourself with the flesh and blood of another, you must merge it with your body.]

"Awesome…" he deadpanned.

No way that's healthy.

Brings to mind the Ship of Theseus. After all, if I mix my body with the creatures and humanoids I kill, will it still be my body that's left?

Knowledge is a powerful tool, but I don't know if this sort of sacrifice is worth it.

"I'll pick Red Prince."

< < Evolution Selected > >

< Flesh Shaper => Red Prince >

< < Mastery Shard Obtained > >

Adam winced as the sigils were applied to his hands. It actually hurt this time, as though the iconography was seared into his skin and made a permanent part of him.

Then the Eye vomited out a deluge of black smoke, transporting him back to Interim Island.

He went to the Market with Belamouranthe in tow, selling off the 22 goblin ears he'd managed to collect and activating Weaver yet again, triggering Bel's conversation with the spider about a dress.

I wonder what happens if I give Weaver the Vanity mirror.

According to Nova, Yenna's instrument weapon is really difficult to learn, so I do want to get started on it early, since I'm sure it'll accomplish something awesome when I master it and bring it through Stages.

But still, I feel like other denizens have something cool to offer in exchange for the Vanity.

After ordering a Spidersilk backpack and shirt for a total of 100 Points, Adam went over to Lucca's stall and brought up his currencies while browsing her five Relics. None of them were immediately useful to him though.

< < Player Currencies > >

< Points — 7180 >

< Mastery Shards — 1 >

< Soul Drops — 1 >

Wait, why the fuck do I have a Soul Drop??

Without thinking, Adam ran all the way back to the middle of the island, which took a bit of time since his Speed was terribly low.

In response to his return, Luvicidix fluttered down from above and alighted on the cobblestones in front of him.

"Why do I have a Soul Drop!?" Adam immediately asked her. "I didn't sacrifice anyone!"

"I am not the resident expert on Nwetrou's offerings, but I would presume that it was given to you after you sacrificed yourself to him."

Adam blinked. "Are you serious…?"

She nodded.

"I guess it's better than the alternative," Adam muttered dumbly.

"The Absolutes must follow the rules of the All-Seeing System if they wish to participate in the Trials of Defiance," Luvicidix explained. "Even if it is nonsense to be rewarded for sacrificing yourself, it does fall within the rules governing rewards."

"I guess I'm the only one who could exploit that particular loophole," he mused.

"I hope you aren't serious," Luvicidix replied disapprovingly.

"Are you kidding? That was the worst experience I've ever had," Adam told her. "There's no way I'm willingly tossing myself into Nwetrou's abyss ever again."

"The first time was done willingly?" she asked, a surprised look on her face.

"Well, no. I didn't know what I was doing. I was just following a sudden impulse."

"I would advise you to refrain from such impulsivity in the future," the white moth remarked.

"Yeah, no shit."

"Was there anything else you wished to ask me about? Or are you here to spend your Points on my upgrades?"

"No, that was all," Adam replied.

Luvicidix took to the air and pulled her silvery scales with her, resuming the natural flow of time again.

I guess I'll just hold on to my Points for now. I want to spend the 5,000 Points on the Builder required for the meta upgrade to appear, and then however much it needs to be fully unlocked.

Buying Beast or some other secondary weapon once I've got the weapon rack in my house is also a priority, but I seem to remember weapons of Rare and Epic rarity being pretty expensive in Nelly's shop, so I've gotta save up to afford all of that.

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to buy some general upgrades to Speed and Luck though.

Adam brought up his stats to figure out where exactly his Points were best spent.

< < Player Status > >

< Adam Fischer >

< Red Prince >

< Level 18 >

< Stats >

< Health — 150 >

< Stamina — 50 >

< Mana — 75 >

< Damage — 125% >

< Defence — 0% >

< Speed — 50% >

< Luck — 10 >

< Upgrades >

< — — — >

What I really need are Health and Defence. Those will show up after the next Stage.

I should try and get the Slothling Boots or Fur Coat to boost my Speed, but I really want to get the Blood Mage Choker and both of the rings.

Getting the whole kit is probably unreasonable though.

Adam absentmindedly swirled around the blood he was floating out in front of himself as he thought about what to do.

Even with the Hardmode tripling the number of enemies, I'm not scared of Stage Three. I'm pretty sure I can totally overtake the blood elementals too, so it should make things a lot easier for me. And Princely Raiment hopefully gives me the ability to shrug off any hits I might take during the boss Wave.

Maybe I should just buy the Bone Armour from Lucca, since that gives me 30% more Defence. I might survive a direct hit with that, thanks to my Health points.

Adam returned to the Market, and while he walked he continued swirling around the blood in front of him in three separate globs.

It took him a moment to even realise he was doing it.

Those Effect upgrades I picked were enough to push me over the threshold to allow me to move all three spells independently.

But I think it's mostly system-assisted, since I don't feel like anything about my mind really changed.

He brought up his weapon stats, just to figure out where the magic threshold might've been.

< < Weapon Status > >

< 1 >

< Blood Sigils >

< Epic Quality >

< Level 18 >

< Stat Upgrades >

< Invocation Power +190% >

< Invocation Range +50% >

< Invocation Speed +140% >

< Sigil Damage +10% >

< Sigil Effect +175% >

< Sigil Efficiency +50% >

< 2 >

< Gram >

< Rare Quality >

< Level 0 >

< Stat Upgrades >

< — — — >

Didn't realise I'd actually gotten Sigil Effect all the way to 175%, but it certainly explains why it has become so easy to form the spell patterns.

Adam halted.

I should try and make the barrier again.

He carefully pulled the three separate globs of blood out into strands with meandering lines and interconnecting them as they took on the three-dimensional maze pattern shaped into an orb.

After about three minutes of minor adjustments, Adam was certain he'd gotten the pattern right, but nothing happened.

Maybe it needs more Mana, he theorised and started supplying energy into the blood, using up at least 50 points of Mana.

Then the spell took hold and a large three-metre wide and tall red circular disc formed out of the energised blood, floating in the air with the bottom part barely a centimetre above the ground.

That's way too inefficient…

I won't even have time to cast it between Waves, let alone use it on the fly.

He thought about the abbreviated version he'd been able to cast in 15 seconds with the wand and tried to replicate that. But first he had to meditate to get his Mana back, while also summoning more blood, since it'd all been consumed.

Once ready, he was able to build the abbreviated version in just under a minute, and when he supplied it with Mana, it took a bit less to complete, about 35 points or so.

The resultant barrier was about two metres in diameter.

Still too slow, but I think that's just because I take too long to build the pattern.

He rapped his knuckles on the barrier, producing the sound of hollow glass.

It feels pretty robust at least.

With a finger wrapped in Mana, Adam drew the Push spell pattern onto the barrier, darkening the blood it was made from. With a punch of his left fist through the middle of the pentagram, the entire barrier turned into a shotgun blast of fragments.

Seeing it gave Adam an epiphany.

I don't think I have to draw all the patterns in the air as three-dimensional constructs.

Something like the Push and Bolt patterns should work when drawn on a flat surface, and I'm sure there are other spell patterns that can be drawn like that too. Maybe the three-dimensional patterns like Barrier and Snare can be flattened somehow.

If I can find a way to modify how the spells are activated, then I might be able to make traps by imitating priming.

Adam thought back to the knowledge he'd absorbed from the tomes in Alepheria's study at the bottom of Stage Seven.

There was something…

He started drawing out the pentagram for Push onto the side of a building, finishing it by adding a mouth with an eye inside to the middle, similar to the one that Flesh Shaper had added to the control sigil on his left hand.

With an injection of Mana into the drawing, the blood turned dark.

I think that did it.

But eh… how do I test it without blasting myself?

He looked around for something, but the cobblestones underfoot were firmly locked into the ground.

Guess I'll use my shoe.

He didn't fully comprehend the trap he'd made, but he instinctively knew it only triggered on physical contact, so using his blood to trigger it wouldn't work, but a shoe would.

Before he could really question what he was doing, Adam tossed his right shoe into the side of the building he'd drawn the pattern on.

Bang!

The wall, along with the shoe, exploded in a blast of crystallised and acidic blood shards. Left behind was a hole into the house and the shredded remains of his shoe.

That was quite powerful. I wonder if that's because of my Invocation Power being so high.

Adam peered into the hole he'd made in the building, finding that the house was completely hollow on the inside. It didn't really surprise him that they were hollow, but he was confused about the fact that he could damage them.

Anyway, I think I have quite a useful tool at my disposal now. It's not as efficient as priming and probably takes a while longer to set up, but it's essentially the same.

And being able to lay traps will definitely come in handy.

Adam was about to go to the Tavern to talk to Beck and Gladwyn about his discovery, but then he took one step and stopped, looking down at his right foot and the sock covering it.

I shouldn't have used my shoe…

Adam sighed and went to Weaver's stall in the Market, asking her to make him a new pair of shoes. Fortunately, she made them right there on the spot so that Adam wouldn't have to go barefooted across the island. While he was there, he also bought the Bone Armour Relic from Lucca, putting his Point total at 6780.

Then he went to the Tavern.

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