Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 323: New Heights

Level 200. The big one.

Well, technically, Isaac had just reached Level 190 after six months of playing around with his new gear, and then, the Level boost for having made a decisive difference in the Leviathan battle had automatically activated, booting him upstairs.

Hed never reached this point in the other timeline, having stalled out at Level 198. Well, not so much stalled out, as not having had any time to summon monsters he could still gain XP from.

But in this timeline, hed managed it.

Wow. This felt weird. Gratifying yet oddly empty. It had barely been ten years since the appearance of the [System], and yet, hed basically beaten it. Reached the top. And his life would be far longer than the mere eighty years people had gotten before. There was a literal universe to explore out there, but the thing that had consumed his life for the last ten years, twenty-two years if one counted the other timeline, was no longer there. Not really.

Just one more thing the dark gods had screwed up, he supposed. Instead of earning XP for using your [Class], you got to summon a ton of monsters to mercilessly slaughter and blast through the Levels, and with a little luck, maybe someone would use their newfound power to, literally, blow up the established order.

Still, sighing and moping just because hed reached the pinnacle was a little pathetic, wasnt it? This was a reason for celebration, and what was that [System] message?

Congratulations on reaching Level 200, the pinnacle of what the System allows!

As such, youll receive the option to pick a capstone boost. There are four rewards unlocked by default, but depending on your actions and choices, you may have several additional options available.

Name

Unlock Conditions

Description

Physical Limit Breaker

Unlocked by default

Grants +450 Stat points

Metaphysical Limit Breaker

Unlocked by default

Grants +15 Skill Points

Aspect Cost Reset

Unlocked by default

The Cost for new Aspect Slots is reset back to 1,000, Cost will start increasing from there as normal

Racial Evolution

Unlocked by default

Evolve your Race, choose any Race that is currently in your reach and would have been offered, were there an Evolution after the 5th.

Signature Enhancement: Indomitable Defiance

Unlocked by having an impactful Skill that can be construed as being your Signature

This option will upgrade the Skill Final Defiance into Indomitable Defiance, which can retain up to ninety percent of the mana held at the point of activation if the foe is defeated prematurely.

Signature Enhancement: Promethean Flame

Unlocked by having an impactful Skill that can be construed as being your Signature

This option will upgrade the Skill Divine Fire into Promethean Flame, which is capable of damaging more than just the physical, controlling all flames, even those neither self-generated nor fully subsumed, and capable of acting in ways no flame normally could.

Signature Enhancement: Legendary Blademastery

Unlocked by having an impactful Skill that can be construed as being your Signature

This option will fuse Absolute Blade Mastery, Legendary Blow, and all Strike-type Skills into a single Skill, Legendary Blademaster, retaining all effects and gaining powerful synergistic abilities.

5th Evolution Dual-Class

Unlocked by having a 5th Evolution Class based on helping others and fulfilling its purpose

Grants you a second 5th Evolution Class, for which you gain 50 Skill points, that can only be spent on that Class. Only one Class can be active at a time, and when a cooldown Skill is on cooldown, it deactivates a random cooldown Skill belonging to the other Class.

(Final Defiance in its charging cycle does not count as being on cooldown, Aspects of the End is effectively on cooldown whenever it is not fully charged)

5th Evolution Reset

Unlocked by having a 5th Evolution Class based on helping others and fulfilling its purpose

Resets back to Level 150, and all XP limits back to where they were before you Evolved. Youll gain a new pinnacle Reward once you hit Level 200 the second time.

Class Reset

Earned by having 4 disparate legendary Classes

Resets back to Level 0 while retaining all Aspects, resets XP Limits and Aspect Slot cost

Class Re-Roll

Earned by having 4 disparate legendary Classes

Resets XP limits, but locks Aspect slot purchasing until enough XP has been invested to level you to 200. As you gain new Classes, starting with your starter Class and moving through the Evolutions, theyll replace your previous Classes and their Skills, as well as allowing you to redistribute your Stats.

You may artificially limit your power to ensure that your fights do not count as too easy.

Warform

Unlocked by badly injuring a World Boss on your own, thereby changing the course of a battle

Once a year, you may transform into a powerful alternate shape incarnating your path to power. The power of this shape increases as you begin to properly integrate your Classes.

So, that was a thing. Huh.

No, actually, this was a big deal. Holy. Shit!

Big decisions to be made, quite possibly, the last one hed ever make.

Each of these abilities would be useful in some way, but both Mental and Physical Limit Breaker were absolute nonsense compared to the rest.

Aspect Cost Reset could be utterly broken, depending on when you picked it, and would likely overtake Physical Limit Breaker in terms of utility quite quickly, but there were limits even to what that could achieve, and at some point, new Aspects would just be superfluous.

Racial Evolution could be cool, sure, but on the other hand, how far could it really take him? It could be a boon, but even the strongest race was barely worth 450 Stat points, let alone anything more, like literally any of the rewards that hadnt been unlocked by default.

The three Signature Enhancements were incredible, upgrading [Final Defiance] would be a massive boon the next time some idiot decided to summon a [World Boss], fundamentally transforming his swordsmanship would be great, and his flames had become a more essential part of his fighting style than he ever could have expected.

[Final Defiance] in particular would experience an insane boost, retaining most of its mana should he win the fight against an apocalypse quickly. Sure, hed gotten a [Skill] boost after the Leviathan fight, and was now able to retain a full ten percent of the remaining charge, but that was basically nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Meanwhile, the two options for altering his 5th Evolution [Class] were far more tempting than they reasonably should be. [Challenger of the Apocalypse] was awesome, but hed picked it to save the world, the [Class] hed really wanted had been [Asssassin of the Logos Blade].

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He loved the raw power of [Aspects of the End], and even rawer dominating force of [Final Defiance], but it was still just extra power and speed his experience allowed him to use to deadly effect. But it was still just the regular power of higher stats on steroids, rather than a [Class] that perfectly synergized with his fighting style.

The reset would grant him another set of Pinnacle Rewards, but it would completely cut him off from [Final Defiance], and he sadly might still need that.

The Dual-[Class], on the other hand, would allow him to use both powers, let him have the best of both worlds. Not simultaneously, obviously, but it would still give him both. The [Class] that was perfect for him for regular life and the [Class] that would let him kick ass when that was necessary.

The [Class] reset would be cool in theory, maybe, but Isaac had already gotten one do-over and he was perfectly happy with the current spread. Especially since his training and research abilities would give him something to do now that monster murder was less rewarding.

The Re-Roll was another cool thing and a recipe for awesome, borderline overpowered, [Classes] to replace his old ones with. Yet there was no guarantee hed keep various cool capabilities hed unlocked. And he really did like his current build despite how it was all over the map.

And Warform, well, it looked to be a boss buster, but Isaac already had three of those. His left fist, his right fist, and Old Reliable.

Okay, not really, but the point still stood. He doubted Warform would be enough to save the day if [Final Defiance] didnt, and if [Final Defiance] didnt trigger, well, then the situation couldnt be that bad, now could it?

There was an obvious pick here, a choice that could help save the world, and that was to upgrade [Final Defiance]. But honestly, once again, he already had the basic version of the [Skill]. If he needed more than that, things were already really fucking bad.

And hed already done so much, prepared so much, had so many arrows in his metaphorical quiver.

He could make this choice for himself. It was alright to be selfish once in a while, especially given the current situation. [Indomitable Defiance] would shine the greatest in the face of back-to-back apocalypses, and things really shouldnt get that bad. Hopefully. But if they did, would even the upgraded [Skill] help?

No, nope, nein, shut up Isaac.

He first slapped and then shook himself. 5th Evolution Dual [Class] was the right choice.

Congratulations, Isaac Thoma, for choosing your Pinnacle Reward!

Please select the Class you wish to add (you will gain 50 Skill points that you may only spend on that Class Skills):

Judgment of the Inferno (legendary)

Einherjar Champion (legendary)

Assassin of the Logos Blade (legendary)

Teacher of the World (legendary)

Ever-burning Flame of Scientific Ambition (legendary)

Fearless Challenger of Leviathans (legendary)

Germanic Legend (legendary)

For a brief moment, he considered grabbing [Teacher of the World], but honestly, he was doing this for himself, and mastering a [Class] that should fit him like a glove was a nice way to spend eternity.

And lets take a look at those [Skills]

Assassin of the Logos Blade

Central Skills (double cost)

Logos Blade

Knowledge Seeker

Skills

Leaf in the Breeze

Logos Arsenal

Weakness Exploit

Defensive Adaptation

Hunting Log

Contractual Obligation

Perfect Timing

Controlled Menace

Presence Concealment

Impossibly Deep Wounds

General Skills

Aura of Ephemeral Threat

Oh, perfect.

[Logos Blade] was all about charging weapons with energy specialized against specifically chosen foes, or creating them ex-nihilo, exponentially increasing damage based on information provided, while [Knowledge Seeker] was all about picking up more information he could then use to produce even deadlier blades. Both were obvious must-picks. Both synergized with [Undying Wraith], gaining additional boosts based on his observations, as well as whatever energies his Aspects emitted.

And [Weakness Exploit] exponentially increased damage based on how vulnerable a spot he struck, starting with any blow that didnt bounce off bone and would only grow from there. Combined with [Logos Blade], he could do some ludicrous damage

[Leaf in the Breeze] was a practically automatic dodging [Skill] that worked based on his understanding of his foes, with [Defensive Adaptation] working similarly, but granting him a general boost in toughness. Once again, the latter was a must-pick, since he was all about knowing things, and when that ability directly translated to defensive capability, it should be insane.

However, Isaac decided to put aside [Leaf in the Breeze] for [Perfect Timing], which would massively enhance his reflexes and grant him preternaturally perfect timing, as well as accuracy when it came to making those rapid movements. It was greater than [Leaf in the Breeze] in that sense, but lacked the automatic response the other [Skill] had, so it would require him to notice a threat on his own.

Still, [Perfect Timing] applied to a standard human would allow them to pull off the catch a fly with chopsticks trick, and Isaacs [Aura] and general perceptiveness meant that a lack of automatic response wasnt a deal breaker.

Meanwhile, [Hunting Log] was another ability to gather knowledge after the fact, acting as a repository of all kills hed ever achieved, retroactively. It also synergized with his [Hildebrands Heir] and [Grave of Swords], allowing him to summon any monster he wanted to train against.

And the second to last [Skill] he wanted was [Controlled Menace]. In essence, it was the standard killing intent [Skill] taken to absurd heights, both allowing its holder to evade the threat detecting [Skills] of [Bodyguards] and the like by cloaking their intentions, and using their desire to kill someone to empower their [Aura].

[Contractual Obligation] was [Skill] meant for actual assassins, who got paid for their work, helping its holder find clients and ensuring that the clients kept their word, but he didnt need it.

The same went for [Presence Concealment], that, while awesome, had too great an overlap with [Controlled Menace], specializing in stealth at the cost of offensive capabilities.

And [Impossibly Deep Wounds] was useless to Isaac. It would ensure that the empowered attacks from this [Class] [Skills] would basically never heal, but it would only work if an enemy was still alive to heal. Which, if theyd faced him, they wouldnt be.

But, quite possibly, the single greatest [Skill], the must-pick that surpassed even [Logos Blade], was [Logos Arsenal]. It let him pre-apply his boosting [Skills], from his [Strikes] to, well, [Logos Blade], and store the weapons in question until later. He couldnt overcharge any of his weapons, the normal limitation of one [Legendary Blow] or just [Manifold Strike] per blade would remain, but it allowed him to continuously keep preparing weapons until he either needed them or ran out of blades to enchant.

But the thing that really made the [Skill] insane was the fact that the created blades didnt have to be used by him, the [Assassin of the Logos Blade]. He could pass them out to others or use them in his capacity as a [Challenger of the Apocalypse].

So, both central [Skills], [Perfect Timing], [Hunting Log], [Logos Arsenal], [Weakness Exploit], [Defensive Adaptation] and [Controlled Menace], how quickly fifty [Skill] points were spent.

Isaac was pretty sure hed just broken the world records for most 5th Evolution [Skills] bought in an hour, and the fastest time for buying all 5th Evolution [Skills] one wanted.

He also decided to save the sixteen remaining [Challenger of the Apocalypse] [Skill] points so he could later alter his loadout as needed. He had his secondary [Class] for everyday use, he could wait to complete his other loadout when he knew what precisely he needed.

Normally, the thing he would do here and now was run off to Bailey and tell him about the pinnacle rewards.

But right now, there was nothing he wanted to do so much as test out his new abilities.

Dropping [Challenger of the Apocalypse] felt strange, losing a [Class] was something hed never experienced before.

Well, technically, time-traveling had reset everything, but hed blacked out during that.

This though, this was the potential of [Aspects of the End] melting away, the power that could turn him into either one of the strongest, fastest, or most knowledgeable people in the world at the drop of a hat.

It. Was. Weird.

But what poured into him in exchange was knowledge, possibility, potential, and death-dealing capacity. Something that needed to be used right that instant.

Around Isaac, the [Grave of Swords] manifested, containing a copy of the General of Cocytus that he was only able to get because he had [Hunting Log]. It was also the only Tier 10 boss that he had access to since theyd been illegal to summon Earth even before two of them, with a little help, had almost beaten the prides of both the American and British navies. Thered been no way in hell the regulations would change after that clusterfuck.

So really, it was extremely lucky that hed collected this thing when hed had the chance.

The titanic monster rose before him, vast, powerful, seemingly overwhelming, glossy ice armor glittering dangerously, a glaive held ready to carve him apart.

Isaac grinned, drawing Balmung, red light sliding down the shining blade as he activated [Logos Blade] for the first time. It cost 500 points of mana to adapt to a [Raid Boss], but it would be worth it.

What did he know about this thing, hm? His [Aura] gave him a complete picture of its circulatory system and internal organs, its armor, weapons, and everything else that could be visually perceived.

General knowledge of its fighting style, specific knowledge of its strategies, the specifics of how its magics fucked with hydromancy every iota of information he had was combined into a single weapon of incredible power.

But that was just his right hand. He decided to try out ex-nihilo manifestation in his left hand, the cost for the creation doubling for a lack of base weaponry, but that hardly mattered since this was a stakes-less training exercise.

He didnt select the shape of his weapon, it just naturally became something akin to Mimung, thin and sharp but decidedly not a rapier, just a little shorter than the regular weapon. Oh, this would be fun.

The glaive came down, and Isaac didnt move. At all. For a long moment, until the very last second, at which point he jerked to the side, kicked off the ground, and struck the but end of the blades glaive to hurl himself straight at the monsters face, faster than it could react.

Frost built up around him and the very air grew heavy with cold magic, but just beneath his armor, out of sight, a layer of red energy just like his sword had manifested, directly repelling the foreign energies.

And then, he was at the beasts head, thrusting a blade at each eye. There was a helmet in the way, obviously, and the manifested blade bounced off, but Balmung left a deep gouge.

Right, those blades had been adapted to the monster, rather than the armor, specifically.

The monsters palm smashed down where Isaac had been standing a brief second before, the coating on Balmung shifted to a cold blue hue, and a single swipe carved off a massive chunk of the front of the helmet, allowing Isaac to leap inside and shove the manifested weapon into the monsters eye.

Done. Mostly.

The delicate organ popped instantly, erupting into putrid goop, and the blade went deeper and deeper, finding the hole the ocular nerve led into and shoving his blade in there and just kept going.

Isaac realized he wouldnt be able to go much deeper, so he let go of the blade briefly and smacked his palm against the pommel with a [Legendary Blow] optimized for strength, sending it flying all the way through the brain.

Fully optimized [Logos Blade] and [Weakness Exploit] straight to the brain, was there anything more damaging than that?

The [Raid Boss] stumbled, its ability to coordinate having almost entirely fled as its nervous system was annihilated through much of its body.

So that was what exponential damage increase meant. Extra damage in areas that Isaac hadnt even touched, more effective adaptation and targeting, more damage.

Isaac dropped [Grave of Swords] with a massive grin on his face. Oh, this felt good to pull off.

Now he just needed to go look for a place to summon actual Tier 10s. Being able to later use them for training purposes without automatically stealing the corpse should be a sufficient carrot.