Incremental Torture - Chapter 83

The minor cracks exploded outwards and pieces of chitin were blown away when her mighty swing struck true.

Kayla had to lean to the side to avoid one errant piece but her wild grin never left her face. Now this was the angel of fury she had learned to love. It had been a while since she’d seen Evelyn like this. Haven had tamed her, dulled her edge.

It had been difficult for her to watch. It had even led to her spending far more time alone, contemplating why she continued to climb the tower. She had her own goals however, and nothing would stop her from achieving those.

Kayla had been about to make a quip about heavy handed women, but Evelyn didn’t seem to be in a receptive mood. Rather than be satisfied with her successful strike, she raised Spinebreaker above her head once more and pounded at the soft, greyish blue flesh of the beetle once more.

Blue blood spurted from the wound as the hammer carved through flesh, but the furious woman wasn’t satisfied yet. Far from it.

She was a little miffed that Evelyn had stolen her thunder, but she wasn’t about to throw a tantrum over it. There were more pressing concerns, like the number of challengers who had turned fearsome gazes at the pair of them and were starting to close in.

“Evelyn, take a breath darlin’. We’ve got a problem,” she said, placing a comforting hand on her arm, which was surprisingly firm. Kayla smirked and quashed the fluttering heat in her abdomen. “I think the beetle is making the other guilds turn on us, given that we are one of the major threats here.”

It wasn’t just the two of them who were at risk of being swarmed. At the other end of the beetle’s body, T and Eleanor were doing catastrophic damage to the squirming hyper boss. A cascade of magic combined with the raw fury of T’s preferred close quarters combat style was tearing chunks of chitin off with little the beast could do to stop it.

Kyron was doing his best to launch a mixed bag of spells at the beetle too, but his guild seemed to be struggling the most, along with Steelweb.

Those two were formed of mostly weaker members who gathered together to gain some semblance of security by virtue of their greater numbers. It was a comforting thought and an idea that seemed fantastic on paper, but didn’t work out as well in reality. The tower was not prone to letting the weak and unambitious thrive.

Because of that, there was a disproportionate number of their guild members under the sway of Zork’Karu’s mind control and being caught in the middle of his own turncoat guild members meant Kyron and his elites were fighting a losing battle.

For every two or three of their own men they killed or knocked unconscious, ten more swarmed to fill the gap left by their defeat. It was an impossible battle.

And she didn’t feel sorry for them whatsoever. The bastards had tried to kill her and the few people she had grown to care about in this wretched place. Falling at the hands of their own servants was a fitting end for such scum.

When she’d first arrived in the tower, Kayla had been overwhelmed. That soon turned into an overload of excitement as she learned about the system and just how much fun there was to be had. Her only goal had been to cause as much carnage as possible and transform herself into an all-powerful goddess of mischief.

Two major incidents had radically shifted those ambitions into a more civilised set of goals. The first had been meeting Evelyn, and to a lesser extent, Anthea.

On Earth she had been quite unsociable. Anti-social, even. Kayla had actively avoided making friends. There was a good reason for it - most people were boring and unlikeable. However, that had led to growing resentment about her place in the world and despite a thriving career life never felt quite right. The tower had offered her the freedom to change that.

However, something about Evelyn had drawn her in. The woman had a magnetic charm about her. Not everyone could appreciate it though. In fact, Kayla suspected the unchecked fury with which she fought would dissuade many potential allies or friends. It did the opposite for her - it made her burn with passion.

For the first time in her life she discovered beauty in something beyond the natural world. In another person. It fascinated her and so she decided to stay close to the woman and see what would unfold. Along with that came Anthea.

The little girl was boundlessly enthusiastic and though she might claim otherwise, was every bit as violent and powerful as the two of them. They made a fabulous trio and had proven their worth many times over as they smashed through the challenges set by the tower.

Following that, Kayla still wanted to cause carnage. Instead of for the hell of it however, she wanted to be wild alongside Evelyn and bring the rest of the tower to their knees. She wanted to prove herself.

Gaining a muse and whatever Anthea was - thrall? Adoptive kid? - had softened her around the edges. It didn’t make her weak, but rather gave her an appreciation for the beauty of others that her narrow perspective on Earth had never been able to offer her.

The second incident had been when Evelyn tumbled out of the 16th Floor covered in injuries, only a few ragged breaths between her and the clutches of death. Something had shifted deep inside Kayla at that moment, something she hadn’t known existed. The only thing on her mind had been ensuring that Evelyn lived - nothing else mattered, even her own life.

After the adrenaline had faded and she’d had time to consider her actions, she realised that her own goals weren’t really worth considering. They had no substance, no meat on their bones.

She still wanted to achieve something of her own, but what that was remained unclear. So, while she figured her burgeoning new self out she decided to make Evelyn her focus. She would ensure the woman could thrive. And she had enjoyed founding the guild, meeting her parents and playing the dangerous game of politics with the other major players in Haven.

All of those experiences had culminated into this current moment, where Kayla had one life changing decision to make. A decision which would change the course of this battle with Zork’Karu and her own future, as well as the future of perhaps every person in the tower.

You are attempting to synthesise two Unusual skills, please select 1 Unusual, or 3 Rare skills to use as catalysts. Their effects will not be synthesised.

Kayla was taking a risk. One that might prove catastrophic to her own growth and development if it didn’t work out. However, she had weighed her options for a while and she knew this was the right decision.

Hoped it was the right decision, at the very least.

She had pre-selected the three rare skills which she would be using as fuel. If she had a third unusual skill she may have considered burning it, but that would also make her path to the first ascension even more delayed than she was making it right now. Even that was something she had weighed while making this decision.

In the end, she figured that doing this now was of the utmost priority. It might mean her first ascension took far longer to achieve, but she guessed that the second one would come much sooner after than it would for most if she had a skill of the next tier already. It would still hurt to lose some of the best tools in her arsenal.

Pugilism (Rare) - Deal even more damage with your fists.

Lightning Step (Rare) - Move like a flash of lightning. Your steps are so agile others struggle to see how you travel. (Variable Mana Cost)

Blunt Force (Rare) - Your blunt force attacks, whether armed or unarmed, deal far more damage.

Kayla knew she was shooting herself in the foot. Those three were the foundation of her combat style and losing them would mean a huge reduction in her abilities, but that wasn’t a problem.

Her strategy hinged on her giving up her reckless behaviour for good. She planned to take over the administration of the guild, dive headfirst into the political chaos that was sure to follow the World Event and rebuild her personal strength over time.

Besides, she wasn’t going to be completely without weapons. The new skill she was synthesising was quite possibly the first of its tier in the tower. She knew Evelyn didn’t have one and she was one of the foremost challengers in the city.

Synthesising Vital Shift (Unusual) and Reckless Abandon (Unusual)! You have received the following skill:

Scale of Chaos (Extraordinary) - You are able to tap into the fundamental balancing forces of reality and with a bit of sacrifice, tip them in your favour. There is a limit to how much you can meddle, though you are not limited to only influencing yourself. The chance of receiving a more powerful boon or curse is far greater when you act on others, rather than yourself. (Variable Mana Cost, 16 hour cooldown)

Her lips pulled back into a devious grin. She was going to cause so much chaos with this skill. It was almost perfect. Perhaps if she’d been able to spend more time figuring out another skill to add in the mix she might have achieved a perfect synthesis, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

Before she could turn her new ability on her enemies however, she would need to end this infuriating battle. And she knew the perfect target to test Scales of Chaos on. Her eyes locked onto the beautiful, terrifying woman standing in front of her, who even now was still beating her hammer against the beetle’s flesh, sending blood and chunks of muscle and skin flying with every strike.