Chapter Forty-Four

A doorway collapsed inward, opening up one of the mysterious buildings that was close to the obelisk. Most everyone was a little stunned. By virtue of their teleport location, Tyler and his Loap were two of the closest. The beast kin hopped right inside. "Wait!" Tyler cried as the opening sealed shut with that same impregnable stone of the building.

"That's what we won. I don't think it's a death trap." Harmony assured him quickly.

"What if it's a limited-use reward and your pet took one!" Eric yelled.

Owlsley snorted. "I've never heard of a limited-use growth chamber."

With the risk of outing herself as being ignorant, Harmony turned to the prismatic enforcer. "What's a growth chamber?"

Owsley touched the tip of her tongue with her finger. "I suppose locals wouldn't know what one is. A few of the top academies have them for fifth years and top students to book time in. I joined the Ascendant Games to put the experience on my applications. Every point helps. Sorry, I'm off track, but I've only read about them. Growth chambers are rooms to evaluate unused or underdeveloped aspects of a person's path. Great for bottlenecks or blocks to progression."

That didn't explain how. But it was a rare tool, only a few elsewhere had access to.

"Just because those growth chambers didn't have limits doesn't mean the game saddled us with one we could use so freely." Eric continued.

"Once Loap exits, we'll have more information. Someone needed to try it out, and as our resident linguist and obelisk expert, she's probably best suited to do that. We'll figure out a schedule for use and cost with contribution points after."

"But.." Eric started

"Enough!" Harmony snapped with the full weight of her authority, drawing from her position as leader of this little tribe. Eric stumbled back like he was slapped, rage in his eyes, but quiet all the same. Managing rewards was almost as difficult as trying to win competitions. The last half-step potion got snagged a day earlier, disappointing those who were saving up for that boost.

As curious as others were about the chamber, most dissipated to rest, take care of wounds, or work on goals. Tyler stayed, waiting as nervously as a dog waiting for their master to return, rather than the master in this primal bond situation.

"I'm sure she's fine," Harmony assured him.

The door slid open, and Loap hopped out. Tyler's hug immediately squished her some. "Don't jump into random rooms!"

"Ack.." Loap untangled herself. "My Warren has a growth chamber. This one is sparse. I wonder if the obelisk has a way to upgrade it? Its focus on bonds was an interesting side that ours doesn't include."

"But is it safe to go in?" Harmony asked.

Loap cocked her head to the side. "Why wouldn't it be? Your twin cities don't have a chamber, do they? Well, you're in for a treat, Royal. Enter!"

Harmony, half guided by Loap at her side and a slight nudge, stepped into the chamber. Nothing happened in the lightless room.

"Your guide has to leave," Loap called from outside, referring to Hyacinth.

"Greept!" He complained.

Miffed, the toad hopped out, and the door closed.

​

Darkness shifted, and her information bloomed up in the air.

Necrotuned Revivalist - 3% aligning - Root Necromancer 98% sync.

Below that shifted a little to the right.

Rigorous Royal Eraser - 2% aligning - Root Lady Maid - 105% sync.

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More than a hundred percent? Information continued down ,as an advanced status display. It all lined up, so the shift was unusual.

Counting the size of the letters, one missing word would explain the shift. [Recall] reminded her of what she saw when first evolving. Divinely would fit right there. There was no good reason to hide it. The volume of the extra information on herself was intimidating and frustrating. Here she stood without her books to take notes.

Vital Body - Seal (Cap on strength, regeneration, and power) - Underused. * Active power uninitiated- Strength to volume exchange.

"What does that even mean?" Loap might know, since she seemed to have experiences with places like this, but considering how Owlsley stressed their rarity, that only lead to more questions from Tyler's secret keeping pet.

Letting herself chew on the problem. Exchange. Inwardly, she focused her underexplored body. It was strong. Could she willpower it stronger? A shake twitched along her arms, and she felt compressed, but also at a limit. Like straining a muscle to failure. It was not nothing, but why would she want to make herself weaker? Give up some strength and…. Rip. A sharp pain cracked harmony on the top of her head. Reaching up her hands, they touched the ceiling. The already damaged spider armor rested, dangling on her, split where he couldn't contain her body.

"I can get big." She whispered

The vital body section changed to initiate, reflecting the achievement.

Undersized, mistaken as a child, picked last to reach high shelves and first to enter small spaces. She'd even, one time, wasted a copper on a mechanical fortune teller to ask for a change. This was one of the benefits of Maxwell summoning her. Picking up and shaking Countess Maye had been a highlight of her life. But that was inconsistent. Maxwell hadn't even used the skill once in the Ascendant Games. Now she could be the big spoon.

Stepping out and needing to duck to get out might send the wrong message to the others about the growth chamber. As hilarious as that would be, it might be better to keep this a surprise. Flexing her body, she shrank back down to her usual size.

What else could she learn? Harmony dived into the information. Every skill had a synchronization level. A percentage like her class and profession had, it seemed separate from the level. [Manipulate Dead] might be maxed at level twenty-five, but it was only synchronized at seventy-six percent. [Familiar Bond] was the only skill at one hundred percent. The seals were explained, which was a whole new set of valuable information.

[Manipulate Dead] Seal - (Flexibility reduced - Increased energy cost).

[Renew Spirit] Seal - (Restoration capped, reactivation limited).

[Cold Touch] Seal - (Temperature reduction reduced).

The Class skills seals seemed straightforward.

[Beautician] Seal - (external manipulations blocked).

That key change heavily restricted how she'd used the skill to augment and shape hair, nails, and dead skin cells. Blocked seemed a pretty heavy restriction on getting back to what she liked to do.

[Style and Grace]'s seal read (Natural compounding reduced)

That brought up questions, but none were easily answered.

[Mana Rotation] had the boost sealed, [Stride Before the Fall] had the duration sealed, [Keen Investigative Awareness] had the passive epiphanies reduced. With that, the last skill drew all her attention.

Seven seals, each with the potential to provide answers to the mysterious nature of [Eternal Fable's Heart] Synchronized- ??%

Sealed - (Theocratic influence)

Sealed - (External Exchange)

Sealed - (Fate Bending)

Sealed- (Reality manipulation)

Sealed- (Overload)

Sealed- (Sundering)

Sealed- (Ignition).

Each answer provided more questions and required access to knowledge far beyond what she had here.

"Which one of you killed the mimic?"

The growth chamber only responded with silence to her question.

The most extensive information the chamber provided was on the bonds. Primal, Pair, Quantum, and Theocratic.

Primal Bond - Linked to Adric Highsmythe - unique undead - Servant to Master - Dedicated - Accepting - Loyal. Current Condition - Restrained (weak) - Determined.

Pair Bond - Night - (Unique attributes sealed) - (Aura sealed) - Linked to [Small Armor] - Growth - Spatially workshop - Current Condition - Starving (high) - Tired.

Quantum Bond - Harmony White - Linked to [Stride before the Fall] - [Kharmic link duration sealed] - Two of One - Sharing Death - Current Condition - Waiting

Theocratic Bond - ????????? - Dormant -, Current Condition - Bound [Eternally]

The confirmation that Adric really was undead, according to this chamber, hit like a punch to the gut. Maekus's Von Trell's clearing of the prince had felt off. Unique, something the man had never seen and may never see again. The hints were there. Night, starving? How could an armor starve? Loap was right that this was a treat, just one too rich and sweet which sat heavily in her gut.

The words flickered out like they knew they'd been read or her time was up. The door opened to the blinding light of the outside. With a deep breath, Harmony stepped out of the growth chamber with more questions than answers.

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