Anything ~ 42!

Luke reached the top of the bubble, bent his knees, and pushed downward directly at the center of the face. There was no holding back right now: anything he had was used. His Chain-blade Rope was extended directly in front of him, as it was his strongest weapon currently. He dumped forty percent of his total mana into it and hoped for the best as a wave of power rippled upward.

The ‘Super Friendship Blast’ almost seemed to move slowly as it distorted space. Luke had plenty of time to study it as he closed in on the face: it was a wall of power, and he could divine its purpose easily. This was meant to catch anything in the Domain between this wall and the outer one.

Bluish-white power met the tip of his Rope… then the two mana sources ignored each other. Luke wanted to take a moment to understand this, but the wall was on him and he was… through?

Health: 377/377.

The edge of the mana wall hit Francois, who appeared furious, confused, and terrified as he met the back wall. Quite expressive for a carnivorous horse. Caught between the unyielding forces as they collapsed, the unicorn was flattened instantly, the goo that remained of his body spreading a huge distance in an instant as it was compressed against the outer wall, then sizzling as it dissolved into nothingness.

Confusion attempted to fill the Murderhobo as he passed through without harm, but he ignored it in favor of putting all his attention on the tip of his weapon. The Rope extended a blade that jabbed into the outer ‘flesh’ of the face and spiraled right through it. There was an equine scream of pain and confusion, then the Domain collapsed and winked out of existence.

Damage dealt: 211 piercing.

When Luke’s eyes locked on the unicorn, the beast was cut near-perfectly in half at the midsection. It’s rump and rear legs fell one way, the front and head another. He stayed on the front half, landing gently on the ground next to it thanks to Feather’s Fall. The parasite was rolling the horse’s eyes wildly as it tried to keep its host alive as long as it could. “You… why could you not just leave us alone?”

“Same reason I told the illusion. Loot, and Potentia.” The Murderhobo went to finish the beast off, but pulled back as he saw its eyes light up in glee. He slowly stepped back, noting the despair and desperation filled the dying creature’s actions. “Exterminating you all is the best option for me. I make a profit, get rid of an infestation, get Cookie back, and get to go deeper into Murder World without worrying about an enemy that can replicate itself and follow me through the Zones.”

“How do you have… how could you resist? You were so weak when you were here last. I don’t… understand.” The blood was petering to a stop, no longer flowing out of its wounds; a telltale sign of the struggle coming to a close.

“Not telling.” Luke reared back and hit the unicorn with his Rope until he was sure it was dead, then got closer and started beating the dead horse until he was sure it would stay dead. The Chain-blade Rope shredded the beast, tiny blades appearing and vanishing with each blow. Shattering the horn for good measure, the Murderhobo turned and took in the sight of a large herd of unconscious creatures that had been ejected from the Domain spell. “Look at that! Free quest progress!”

He hurried over and made sure each of the sleeping creatures never woke up, then looked around for any that had escaped the devastation of the morning. By the end of the day, he was relatively certain that there were no other quadrupeds in the Zone. He moved over to the edge of the pool and stared across the expanse that separated him from the only soul that had ever really accepted him without trying to change who he was or insulting him.

The wind wasn’t working in his favor right now, and the small island remained veiled by the blue fog. Looking down, he saw what looked like minnows swimming around the shallows; but this time he wasn’t fooled in the slightest. Over the next few minutes, he activated Source-cerer’s Armory and re-equiped his standard armor, unsure if what he was wearing would grant him the same protection as his standard armor. He didn’t want to have defeated the most powerful of these snails only to end up as their newest host due to a moment of unpreparedness. “Abyss, that takes a minute. Gotta look into that soul-mark junk just to speed this up, if nothing else.”

Taking a deep breath, he sprinted and Bum Flashed up and forward, doing his best to cross the distance to the island in a single hop. He got close, landing in waist-deep water and wading through the remaining distance as snails *pinged* off his lower-body armor. He hurried toward the enormous stone horse as the fog cleared, and finally, finally found what he had been searching for. Luke swallowed hard as he forced back his welling emotions, and reached out a firm hand. “Cookie. I found you. I promised I would. I’m here.”

His hand closed around the grip that he had worn into her decades ago, letting out a shuddering breath as he realized that his hand still fit perfectly. Working the weapon back and forth, he eventually managed to pull her free of the stone that had practically grown closed around her. With his other hand, he pulled her in and gave her a crushing hug that she weathered like no other could. “I missed you.”

*Chime!*

You’ve found a deeply personal momento! Brain patterns observed as calm and neutral! U[datin32g your Brain Ⓒh3m3stry! Please sssttt--and by!

Luke dropped to his knee, unconscious in a flash. He was back up in a blink, looking around for whatever dared to attack him. Cookie seemed to hum protectively in his hand as she, too, looked for anything to reduce to paste on his behalf. “Thanks, Cookie. Knew you had my back. Just like the old days, huh?”

You can think more clearly and rationally! People will respond positively to this! Charisma +4!

You are wielding an impressively concerning weapon! People will… respond to this! Charisma +1 when actively holding [Dragonbone Club].

New improvised weapon registered: Mana-soaked Dragonbone Club. Cannot register weapon damage and abilities, Tier of Source-cerer’s Armory is too low! Would you like to absorb [Dragonbone Greatclub]? Yes / No.

“Again with this?” Luke growled dangerously at the prompt. “I’m not going to eat Cookie!”

Named weapon ‘Cookie’ is a High potency weapon, and is considered your weapon. Requirements met. Would you like to add a Soul Brand to ‘Cookie’? Yes / No.

At this, Luke hesitated. “Will adding a soul brand to a weapon not in my armory damage it? Will it hurt it if I remove the brand? I’m not going to do that to Cookie.”

There was no reply, so he checked the Skill information and continued to hesitate. He looked around and saw a simple glass bottle laying on the ground next to the horse statue, along with a pile of other things that were odd offerings to the unicorn ‘god’. Grabbing the bottle, he held it in his left hand and actively attempted to brand it.

Improvised weapon registered: Glass bottle. Glass bottle is a weapon that can be thrown or swung for blunt damage, or broken for additional bleed damage. Glass bottle is not recommended for a Soul Brand.

“But I can do it, right?” Luke stared at the prompt as it shifted a few times. He started to glare, and what he knew to be his Sigil slowly wrote out the next words.

This… particular Glass bottle meets the minimum requirements for a Soul Brand.

“I want to do it. Why is there not a yes-no thing like there usually is?” Luke had no idea why the Sigil was acting up like this. It was an enchantment. It didn’t get to have snark. He started pushing mana into the bottle, and his Skill practically sighed and worked to assist him.

Improvised weapon Soul Bound: Glass Bottle.

Damage potential: 10 (20, since this is Soul Bound) blunt damage. Durability: 1/1.

Upon weapon durability reaching zero, it will transform into a bladed weapon that deals bonus bleed damage.

Soul Bound: Damage is doubled. Can be recalled for 1 mana per second.

Flavor text: This is a high quality bottle from another plane of the multiverse that once held a delicious refreshment: ‘Mountaindale Mead’. Through the years it was reused, usually for ale, then eventually strong beer. How it came to be here in this place is a mystery, as no connection between the universe of origin and this one has existed in multiple millenia, nor will a connection ever exist due to different means of Ascension being used.

“Flavor text?” Luke shook his head and chuckled despite himself. “That was the most unenthusiastic message I’ve ever read from you.”

Looking over the bottle, he noted no damage that hadn’t been there before, though there was a light holographic on it now that matched his family crest. He looked into the distance, and hurled the bottle through the air. It zipped away, and he tried to recall it at the peak of its arc. It slowed, stopped, reversed, and flew at him in a straight line. He smiled as he closed his hand around the flying weapon. “Sigil, will removing this Brand damage the bottle in any way?”

Finally, he received a proper answer.

Removing a Soul Brand from any item will not damage it in any way. It will simply not be branded.

“That’s all I needed to know. Was that so hard?” Luke then turned his attention to Soul Binding Cookie. “Wait… what if eventually…?”

He looked at the bottle again, and activated his Skill to absorb it. An instant later, the glass deformed and vanished. He lifted his left hand once more, and the bottle appeared, now formed of mana. The Soul Brand mark was clearer than ever, and he looked at the new information that appeared.

Soul Bound Glass Bottle.

• Form 1: Increases damage by 2% (4%, since this is Soul Bound) blunt damage. Can be thrown. Can store contents even when not materialized.
• Form 2: Transform bottle into a bladed weapon that deals 1.5% (3%) slashing damage. 10% of total damage is dealt as bleed damage over 10 seconds.

“Neat. That was totally worth doing. Now I have a transforming weapon that can bring me a drink from the other room. Who doesn’t want that?” Luke grasped Cookie and activated Soul Bind. This time his Skill barely waited for him to activate it, seeming to jump at the opportunity. An overlay once more appeared, though nothing else seemed to change. He tried to look at the information it offered, but even that was… odd.

Soul Bound Dragonbone Greatclub.

• Increases damage by 10% (20%, since this is Soul Bound) blunt damage.
• Must use two hands to wield. (Restriction removed. Source-cerer’s Armory.)
• Deals bonus damage to anything with draconic blood.
• Auto-casts enrage on any fleshy creature with a draconic bloodline.
• Increases Charisma by 1 (2, soulbound) when wielded.
• Any other options are unknown. Skill Tier too low (Source-cerer’s Armory).

“Well, even though I knew you were awesome, I can still be surprised.” Luke ran a hand down Cookie’s smooth length, chuckling as he heard a slight rattling. “Just like that. You still have all those Skill Pearls in you, huh? Nice. Well, I have a bunch of snails to kill so that I can keep this mage-killin’ gear. Wanna help kill off your captors?”

Cookie bobbed up and down as he walked, so he took that as a ‘yes’. After strolling to the edge of the water, he looked for a way to kill everything in the lake. Taking Cookie, he swept her around and slammed her into the liquid, sending up a huge spout of water, but also tearing out a chunk of the lakebed that rapidly filled in. “I don’t think I got anything in there… but… hmm. The water. I hit the water.”

He looked at the hole he had created. Then Cookie. Then the edge of the Zone, which wasn’t very far away at all. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”