Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

881. Beholder Jury’s New Stats

A rumble came from the Northern Alps of the Floor of Amalgamation. There were 8 distinct biomes found in each cardinal and sub-cardinal direction on the Floor of Amalgamation.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Northern Alps; the Northeastern Desert; the Western Forests; the Southeastern Meadows; the Southern Craigs; the Southwestern Islands; the Western Sea; and the Northwestern Mountains. At the heart of it all were the great plains where the Amalgam’s settlement resided.

The Floor of Amalgamation mimicked the general topography and climate of Elysia, only that it was infinite here. Snap confirmed that it was endless. There were no hints of other biomes beyond the vast stretches of land as far as Snap could tell.

Not even moving in a straight line for a day straight at maximum speed (1,200 AGI) revealed any points of interest.

But this was a blessing. What they had in their backyard was a playground for giants.

The distant rumble that echoed throughout the Floor of Amalgamation was the result of countless mountains crumbling apart. Mountain ranges with peaks exceeding multiple kilometers cracked as a bolt of golden-blue lightning passed through.

Colossal avalanches collapsed into deep valleys as the thick atmosphere dispersed, revealing a spotless blue sky.

“Entire mountains. Gone. Just like that.” Frost commented from Snap’s back.

Not even Snap could keep up with Cer’s impressive speed. She flew through the mountain ranges and wove through peaks and valleys all in a split second. The trail of light that followed like the tail of a comet was the only reliable way to track Cer.

[Lightspeed]. It was a Third State Awakening Skill that allowed the user to reach 0.0008% of the speed of light. That small number, however insignificant it seemed, was still over 2,398 meters per second. 2,400 AGI meant that she was moving more at nearly 2 and a half kilometers every single second.

Awakening Skills were as the name stated. They were Skills that only an Awakened possessed, requiring Light rather than Nex like the Beholders or Mana like the rest of the world. It was a glimpse of the final frontier; the domain of the Stars.

What they saw was a Glimmer of that absolute power.

“See that trail behind her?” Jury pointed out. “That’s not electricity.”

“It’s not?”

“Nope. I’m surprised too. It looks like an upgraded form of her [Galvanic Current], but it’s completely different. Sure, electricity is running through it like an arc flash. But she’s creating plasma.”

Frost would never have noticed this. She merely believed it to be a simple trail of light.

An accompanying Nav then added:

“Her speed is superheating the air to the point where she’s leaving a trail of plasma. Coupled with her electricity – it’s still closer to an arc flash. Most metals will melt at 2,000 degrees Celsius. But what about in the presence of 35,000 degrees heat? To call her a Star is not an exaggeration when her heat comes close to the surface of a type G main sequence star like our sun.”

Awakening Skills carried the potential to exceed the power of Beholder Skills. If this was what a Third State Awakening Skill was capable of…

“A Fifth State Awakening Skill was what the Arbiter used, huh. [Vanquish Impurities]. Nav. Can these get stronger?”

“I believe so. To possess a power that rivals the Beholders without possessing a Gift is revolutionary. Cer can only grow. She isn’t at risk of being devoured by her power. It’s not a borrowed strength. It’s her own.”

Frost was a bit sad that she didn’t get an Awakening Skill herself. She was a Star like the Arbiter now; at least what people called her. She didn’t have an Ability called ‘Star’ either unlike Cer who was explicitly called a Glimmer.

“They’re already better than Beholder Skills from an economy standpoint. The cost of a Beholder Skill is anywhere from 10 to 100 times less than an Awakened Skill. But Light can be generated internally. Moreover, we can syphon Light from the Nexus.”

Beholder Skills tended to cost around a million Nex on average. Awakened Skills used Light which were worth a billion Nex each. Additionally, Michaela and her Floor’s Awakening introduced the Light Bank.

The Nexus could generate up to 25 Light per day. Those who had Skills that required Light could syphon it from the Nexus so long as they were within the Nexus or had direct line of sight with it. However, this Light could accumulate over 25, which meant it was better to use the Light when possible.

This wasn’t all. Every vessel that could accumulate Light, such as Frost, Cer and the Arbiter, could have their Light levels passively filled at 1 Light per 30 minutes. The caveat was that they had to be inside of the Nexus to passively gain this amount of Light. Otherwise, one had to wait for a 24-hour period to gain 10% of their total remaining Light.

This meant that it was impossible to fully replenish Light outside of the Nexus without going through the grueling effort of creating it.

From where this Light came from was a mystery, but Dark Memoria – the newest addition to the Nexus’ roster – hypothesized that it came from the Source.

“Awakened Skills will be hard to use in quick succession compared to Absolution.” Frost noted.

Though it was possible to generate Light, it was not an easy process. Absolution already required Nex. An immense amount of internally generated Nex was required to create just one Light. Furthermore, one’s Light capacity rose as their Emotional State increased, allowing them to use Skills they otherwise would not have been able to. In the end, one had to treat Awakened Skills like trump cards.

“We have a lot more room to grow. [Lightspeed] already costs a hefty 6 Light. For reference, Cer can only hold a maximum of 7 Light. Don’t get me started on Michaela. Her capacity is 100. [Vanquish Impurities]’s cost was so high that the Blessed didn’t register it. Awakened Skills can completely alter the world as we know it in the blink of an eye. [Paradise Found] permanently transformed Grandis.”

Frost’s capacity sat at 25. It wasn’t shabby at all, but hardly compared to the Star that was Michaela. Despite this, Frost had the capacity to expand this through merely devouring Light. As for the others, it was not known if their base Light could expand any further than it was now.

Only time would tell.

“Ah, right. Jury. Wanna test something out too before Cer comes back?”

“I might as well show you what I’ve been up to~”

Jury flexed an arm and wagged her tail. The bulbous tip split open, revealing a thick proboscis-like needle at first. When the petals closed again and reopened, a different kind of tip emerged. It was a gland in the shape of a cylindrical muscle that dribbled an acrid goop.

* * *

TECHNOLOGY/GIFT FROM A STAR

Heart of Time (Fragment)

< PROFESSIONS >

OFFENSIVE

BODY VERSATILITY: 100

< Manipulation of your body >

LACERATER: 60

< Your claws must have a use >

TAIL EVOLUTION: 60

< A blossoming organ to carry all your needs >

DEFENSIVE

DIVINE WORKS: 90

< Art of the Angels >

OMNIDYNAMIC: 60

< Excellence in all combat situations >

SUPPORT

ADAPATIVE SYNTHESIS: 0 (NEW)

< Creation of biochemical secretions >

< ACTIVE SKILLS >

OFFENSIVE

Body Manipulation V

Tail Impact V | Previously: Tail Whack V

Heavyclad Body [0/10] (NEW)

Lacerate V | MASTERY: Spatial Tear (NEW)

Bloodrush I [0/10] (NEW)

Extended Stab [0/10] (NEW)

Tail Transformation III [0/10] (NEW)

Douse III [0/10] (NEW)

Inoculation [0/10] (NEW)

DEFENSIVE

Angel Feathers IV [0/10]

Repulsion III [0/10] (NEW)

Divine Ward II [0/10]

Dynamic Resistance V

Impact Negation I [0/10] (NEW)

SUPPORT

Chemical Synthesis [0/10] (NEW)

Harvest Material [0/10] (NEW)

Analyze Synthesis [0/10] (NEW)

< PASSIVE SKILLS >

OFFENSIVE

Sharpened Claws V

Maturing Tail | Previously: Growing Tail

Acrobatics V

Sharpened Fangs V

Neurotoxin IV

Slipstream V

DEFENSIVE

Deflecting Feathers IV

Perfect Physiology V

Projectile Resistance IV (NEW)

Magic Resistance III (NEW)

Physical Resistance IV (NEW)

Qliphoth Resistance III (NEW)

SUPPORT

Taste-Enhancing Enzymes (NEW)

Medicine or Poison? (NEW)

< BEHOLDER SKILLS >

Retrocausality I [0/10]

Retrocausality – Smite

Retrocausality – Angel’s Touch

Retrocausality – Temporal Distortion (NEW)

Localized Entropy I [2/10]

Doppler Strike I [5/10]

Isolation Sphere

Angelic Kiss

Time Seer

Turn Back the Clock

Temporal Stasis (NEW)

< CORRUPTED SKILLS >

Origin of Gluttony

Remnants of Purity

Innocent

< ABILITIES >

Their Innocence

Realized

Amalgam’s Blessing

Beholder

Heart of Time (Fragment)

Qliphoth Corrosion (Minimal) (NEW)