chapter 187: the power of friendship

    name: isaac thoma

    class: incarnation of the promethean spirit

    species: einherjar

    level: 100

    xp: 54,771/1,010,000

    health status: healthy

    mana: 2,300/2,300

    stats

    fortitude

    215

    perception

    355

    strength

    225

    agility

    415

    magic power

    230

    magic regeneration

    390

    free points: 0 stat, 1 skill

    aura

    aura of the crimson dawn (short range, combat, blood, regeneration)

    aura of the desperate seeker (long range, sensory, mental, projection)

    aura of the eternal warrior (mid range, combat/mental/sensory, armament)

    central skills

    form of horror xxiv

    the chosen weapon xxviii

    i am the sword x

    grave of swords xx

    armory of ancient times xvii

    legacy of a true warrior xii

    skills

    hundred faces xxvii

    stealth xxix

    power strike xxx

    piercing strike xxx

    sundering strike xxx

    blades xxx

    sneak xxvii

    sweeping strike xvii

    far strike xxvii

    manifold strike xxi

    hunter’s gaze xxx

    phantom step xix

    unknown fear xxvii

    bestial regeneration xxviii

    undying focus xxiv

    tools of terror xix

    fleeting presence xvii

    crippling blow xviii

    absolute blade mastery xviii

    compounded impact xvii

    true cut viii

    legendary blow xvii

    fully geared xii

    knightly leader xvi

    analyze person ix

    continent strider viii

    burden of power vi

    expert’s insight v

    general skills

    gralloch xii

    alchemy xii

    death’s embrace viii

    bloodline of the survivor (empower relatives)

    advanced bureaucracy vi

    police procedure v

    healing i

    quest giver i

    omniglot (4 languages known)

    aspects

    aspect skills

    arcane poltergeist (3 stack)

    flight of the poltergeist

    ephemeral form

    haunting pursuit

    greater hydra (3 stack)

    hydra’s regeneration

    redundant organs

    ignore injury

    megalodon (2 stack)

    with that, he vanished in a puff of smoke that stank of rotten fish. yeah, that tracked.

    congratulations, incarnation of the promethean spirit, for uncovering a secret of the world!

    you have helped in the efforts to uncover the secrets of the earth’s souls.

    for uncovering a secret of such magnitude, you have gained 500,000 xp (0.5*1,000,000 reduction for only being a supporter in this endeavor)

    “and there’s level 101.” isaac grinned “so apparently i get xp for making scientific discoveries now.

    “there is an aspect combination that allows for space travel which used the cosmic leviathan, void dragon, and the lord of time and space.”

    nothing.

    “okay, that didn’t work. the gods janus and hermes are the most likely to help humans directly.”

    nothing.

    isaac then proceeded to list a dozen big secrets he hadn’t spilled yet in this timeline but the only [system] message he got was a disappointing clarification.

    no xp is gained for reiterating knowledge held before the class incarnation of the promethean spirit was gained.

    seems like the [system] itself was now fed up with him.

    he sighed heavily and passed that knowledge along to the others.

    “one more thing,” isaac announced in a formal voice, got to his feet, and gave an exaggerated courtly bow.

    “i, isaac thoma, incarnation of the promethean spirit, hereby formally request to join the round table of camelot.”

    arthur rose from the table and replied in the same manner “welcome to the round table of camelot, isaac thoma.”

    would you like to join arthur wells’ skill [my round table]?

    this organization’s stated goal is to save the world, and its past actions and stated future plans show a strong adherence to this founding principle.

    your task would be to support this cause.

    in addition, this skill will create a spectral copy of you which carries with it some of your skills.

    are you are willing to accept these conditions, to strive towards this shared goal?

    y/n

    without hesitating, isaac clicked on “yes”.

    “so, who else already joined?” isaac asked.

    instead of answering, arthur created a [system] window in front of him.

    round table of camelot

    member

    assigned shade

    arthur wells

    none

    elena hightower

    arthur wells

    steff cooke

    none

    adam bailey

    none

    robin pearson

    none

    seon yoo-jin

    none

    franz habicht

    none

    isaac thoma

    none

    [empty slot]

    [empty slot]

    [empty slot]

    [empty slot]

    [empty slot]

    thirteen slots, over half of which were filled.

    thirteen people to fight a nihilistic cult, to overcome human nature, and beat back armageddon.

    isaac recognized the names robin pearson and steff cooke as belonging to other members of camelot, though he hadn’t had any substantial conversations with either of them.

    the rest, meanwhile, were the people who’d been in the starhail with him. even yoo-jin had joined in.

    “we were waiting on you to pass out most of the shades.” arthur explained, “whose power would you like to borrow once every few days?”

    isaac had thought about it a few times. habicht’s investigative powers would come in useful in a wide array of situations, but isaac could cover much of what they did with [analyze person], his senses, and common sense.

    bailey’s physical modification would have been useful as well, but the borrowed [skills] were too limited to be of true use.

    and so on. there were many capabilities that would help, but what he decided on was a powerset that covered his combat weaknesses.

    you have gained the shade of seon yoo-jin, “the shield of seoul”

    you gain +20 in his highest stat (fortitude), +15 in his second highest stat (strength) and +10 in his third highest stat (magic power).

    you have chosen to borrow the following skill(s):

    glacial fortress (one week cooldown)

    the power was rather simple, yet also absurdly powerful.

    [glacial fortress] conjured a mass of spikes and defensive ramparts a hundred meters across and between fifty and two hundred tall, depending on what the situation called for, the whole thing forged from almost indestructible ice which clocked in at almost negative one-hundred-and-fifty degrees centigrade. the cold wouldn’t hurt the caster’s allies, of course.

    it could be shaped however the user wanted during its creation and altered for a couple of minutes afterward, though the longer the fortification had been in place, the harder the change was.

    the whole thing was perfect for protecting a large group of allies in case of a sudden overwhelming aoe attack or trapping a large monster within.

    it was also not something anyone would ever expect isaac to pull out, it simply didn’t match his [class], nor was it available through any aspects. in other words, it was the ultimate ace up his sleeve.

    and if anyone found out about it, well, he could always switch to another shade. anyone who went after a member of the round table would not only have to plan for that person but also every [skill] held by every other member.

    isaac’s own shade would be passed around between the various members of the round table as it held his training [skills], wherever it was the most useful.

    there was also bailey’s powerful healing that could be summoned at the drop of a hat.

    unfortunately, switching shades without being right next to arthur was ... tricky, to say the least. it took an hour to switch out shades and five minutes to send out shades that weren’t bound to anyone to someone who didn’t currently have one assigned either. and they needed constant communication to arrange everything, which would hopefully be included in a future [skill] upgrade.

    but even the basic [my round table] was powerful as hell. arthur could wield the unassigned shades as his own personal army, vastly increasing his own power. and the flexibility it gave to its other members was invaluable.

    “so that’s that.” arthur said, “formalities done, answers wrung out of the prankster god, and we’ve formally agreed to work together.”

    he sighed, seemed to struggle with his self-control for several long moments ... and exploded.

    “canwepleasetalkabouttheutterinsanitylokijusttoldus!”

    “magic was real, humans messed with it until the gods had to delete it and there’s an afterlife.” isaac shrugged “not something we can change, not something we can influence, all we can do is deal. end of story.”

    “how can you be so calm!” arthur exclaimed.

    “i’ve dealt with terrible crap and horrible revelations before.” isaac shrugged again.

    “people can mess with magic to the point where even the gods grew nervous.” elena said, addressing no one “loki didn’t outright say it, but i’m not the only one who heard, right?”

    isaac grinned viciously as he answered “i didn’t hear it, but you might be right. there might be a way to pay them back for everything!”

    what followed were a few hours of spitballing just what the gods might have been worried about, specifically, until isaac hurriedly got up and said he’d be back in a few hours.

    “where are you going?” arthur asked.

    “i’ve got a can of surstro?mming i promised a god i’d relocate. and my off-the-books minion just located the perfect target for that.” isaac said with a bone-chilling smile, flickered, and vanished, streaking away in the direction of heathrow.