Sworded Affair

"Someone was in a bad mood when they wrote these system messages." Emma quipped, as she immediately deemed the third option not even worth considering, given it effectively amounted to a deferred level up whilst she was facing her toughest enemy yet.

That just left the small question of whether she wanted to bet everything at a critical moment, in the name of restoring her humanity, or whether to double down upon her current path. Taking the System's warning seriously, Emma gave the question the consideration it was due; ten timeless minutes, spent in silence as she turned the pros and cons repeatedly in her head, but in the end Emma could only come to one inescapable conclusion.

Whilst regaining her human form had been an idea swirling at the back of Emma's mind since the night in the basement, her other goals ultimately took priority where it mattered. She needed to find her family, she wanted to uncover the truth behind the apocalypse, and in order to survive her current predicament, what she needed more than anything else was power. With that in mind? Switching to an unfamiliar class and testing it on the fly against a final boss was a horrendous idea; but even setting aside the immediate tactical situation, what was humanity even worth given the current, dilapidated state of the world? Emma didn't know nearly enough to comment on the metaphysical implications of undeath for her soul, but as far as the material world was concerned?

I've seen my fair share of humans die recently, more than enough to know that mortality is not a virtue in an apocalyptic world.

Her mind made up, Emma locked in the second option and sealed her fate.

[Heartless selected!

Race locked to Undead.

Revenant class progression locked.

Lost Traits - The Wolf and The Ram.

Gained Trait - Wolf, Ram and Heart: All attacks imbued with Death magic, significantly increasing damage dealt.]

Time resumed immediately once her decision was made; Emma wincing at the return of the crowd's cheering, now deafeningly loud given her sudden emergence from total silence. Noticeably absent from the celebration was Romulus, who had yet to reemerge since the last of his wolves were vanquished; though Emma was glad for the reprieve, as it gave her a chance to familiarize herself with the power now burning within, spilling out around her as a midnight corona that portended the end of all living things. Epitaph likewise gleamed with barely contained malice, edge bleeding pitch-black as it thirsted for its next victim. A puff of smoke instantly had Emma on alert, though to her confusion Romulus did not emerge, only his spear, which promptly buried itself into the floor, unmoving. A full minute it stood in repose, steady under Emma's unrelenting vigilance and increasing suspicion.

"Is that supposed to be a gesture of some kind?" Emma called out eventually, fed up of waiting. "I'm afraid I don't have a degree in Roman diplomacy."

[ROMULUS, ONCE, IN TRIAL OF HIS STRENGTH, CAST THITHER FROM THE AVENTINE HILL A SPEAR. THE HEAD OF THE SPEAR SANK DEEP INTO THE GROUND, BUT THE EARTH, WHICH WAS FERTILE, CHERISHED THE WOODEN SHAFT, AND SENT UP SHOOTS FROM IT.]

"Say what?" Emma boggled as true to the System's warning, the spear began to glow a verdant green, filled with the essence of life unbound.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Then the first wooden spike shot up from the ground to skewer her, and Emma had no time left for contemplation. An arc of black light followed her two-handed swing, Epitaph neatly bisecting the offending branch; three more followed, each dispatched in short order to be replaced by six, and at this point Emma was finally forced to give ground, no longer able to keep pace with her assailants. Acting on instinct, Emma leapt backwards, flinging herself to the very edge of the circular arena. The half dozen shoots surged towards her, their differing starting positions creating an impromptu line that she took full advantage of, chopping down one at a time as they came within blade's length. All told, this was a fairly favorable exchange despite the fraught beginning, highly beneficial even if not for the presence of one slight issue.

[Mars Silvanus, God of Vitality has sealed your fate.

Arcanivore trait disabled.

Anima: 90/250]

What had looked like another add phase for Emma to recharge had taken a grim turn; her limitless capacity for attrition was gone, leaving her feeling very vulnerable indeed. Naturally, that was when Romulus emerged, his spear thrust towards her heart. Barely managing to parry the sudden stab, Emma attempted to repeat her earlier successes, only to find her groin kick snarled on a grasping root. Flicking Epitaph down to sever the offender took only half a second: an eternity for a warrior as skilled as Romulus.

[-20 Anima]

The stab through Emma's forearm did less damage than before; testament to the increased durability another level brought her, but Anima was harder to come by now, making the loss hurt far more. Grasping the spear's shaft with her damaged arm and pinning it in place, Emma brought Epitaph back up to skewer the now undefended Romulus. A palm to the face sent her reeling back; dealing no damage but fouling her aim, the narrow slice she took out of her foe's side scant consolation for what was meant to be a crippling blow.

[-20 Anima]

Adding injury to insult, a spike finally found its mark, now lodged straight through where her heart would have been and making Emma very happy she didn't choose to regain her mortality. Going limp, Emma used her dead weight to snap the thin spike holding her in place, dropping to the floor as Romulus pulled his spear free from her arm. Her foot lashed out, missing his ankle but forcing Romulus back and buying a vital second to recover her bearings. As a consequence, when the expected follow-up arrived, Romulus only managed to send Epitaph flying instead of taking her in the neck; the blade flung out of reach as Emma desperately parried a two-handed thrust with his full weight behind it.

[-25 Anima]

Emma had no choice but to re-summon Epitaph immediately; halving her remaining Anima being far preferable to facing Romulus unarmed. Rising to one knee, she kept a better grip for the follow-up thrust, managing to deflect it inches from her head. She almost made it back up to her feet, too, before nature played one final trick and snarled her ankles, holding her still for just a moment.

[-20 Anima

Anima: 5/200]

This is a very strange feeling, Emma decided, as Romulus held her decapitated head by the hair, lifting her up to meet him face-to-face.

The rest of her body fell limp as all sensation faded; leaving Emma with naught to do but except glare back defiantly as burning red eyes examined her. Romulus tilted his head, the way children did when they saw something interesting, and somehow that only made her angry.

"If you're going to finish me off, go right ahead!" Emma challenged. "No need to wait on my account!"

As Romulus refocused and drew back his spear one last time, Emma honestly thought he'd make good on that. Even then, she refused to back down and stared straight back; looking her death straight in the eye. Instead of a final thrust, however, Romulus slowly and gently lowered the spear-tip to her left, then her right. It took a moment for Emma to recognize the gesture, from an old TV broadcast showing the Queen's birthday honors.

"Worthy." Romulus spoke a single word as he knighted her, a very anachronistic gesture indeed for the first and greatest King of Rome.

[Objective - Clear the Third Trial complete.

Quest: When In Rome complete!

Academia Mortalis cleared; you may now leave and re-enter the Dungeon at will.

Fast Travel unlocked!

Fast Travel: Academia Mortalis unlocked.]

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