This is not what I expecting
Seraphina's gaze found the guardian that had impaled her from behind. With a violent thrust, the creature dislodged her, sending her sliding off its arm. She coughed up more blood as she crashed into a nearby wall. A wheezing sound escaped her as she struggled for breath, her body instinctively attempting to reform. Her severed arm, lying uselessly on the ground, began to dissolve into shimmering slime. The only path to victory, she realized, was absorption. Before she could act on this thought, two more guardians lunged, raining down a flurry of blows upon her.
"Are you serious right now?!" Seraphina's thoughts burned, fueled by a visceral hatred of feeling weak. She heard Lyra shriek, but then something else—her protective slime was actively absorbing a guardian that had tried to reach Lyra. Seraphina focused, her eyes piercing the combatants with deep loathing. A dark, ancient anger began to emanate from her, making her eyes glow. The guardians attacking her recoiled, sensing the shift.
Seraphina struggled to her feet, wheezing, her face bloody, one eye swollen shut. Yet, her other eye locked onto them, blazing with defiance. She screamed in pain as her arm regenerated and her destroyed internal organs rebuilt themselves, the gaping wound closing in an instant. Then, she charged, her hands already reforming into razor-sharp claws. She attacked one, intentionally drawing the others to strike her. She absorbed the relentless blows, meticulously observing their movements, their attack sequences, and their subtle tells. Once their pattern was deciphered, she unleashed her counter-attack. Before the guardians could fully react, she commanded her slime, including the slime that had been her severed arm, to surge forth and absorb the other assailants, as she fluidly mixed their blows with her blocks.
With the last guardian absorbed, Seraphina dropped to her knees, breathing heavily. The brutal encounter underscored a stark truth: there were entities in this world far stronger than her. She had to get stronger. Her scattered slime coalesced, becoming one with her once more.
Lyra hurried to Seraphina's side, her face a mask of both deep concern and utter astonishment as she witnessed Seraphina's grievous wounds visibly knitting themselves closed.
A blinding torrent of System Notifications assaulted Seraphina's consciousness, overwhelming her senses with a cascade of information:
Level Up! She surged from Level 14 to Level 17!
Unused Stat Points: Awaiting her allocation were 21 points.
Second Class Acquired: Seraphina gained Guardian Eater, granting her the ability to consume Guardians and absorb their skills, traits, and abilities.
Core Fusion: Her Guardian Core merged with her Golden Monster Core, creating a Golden Guardian Monster Core (Level 4)!
New Physiology: She now possessed four hearts!
Skill Tree Unlocked: The Guardian Skill Tree became available, with 150 points to spend.
Job Titles Acquired:
Monster Guardian!
Mother Slime!
Ambusher!
The sheer volume of new information, the rush of newfound power, and the lingering echoes of pain combined into a dizzying cacophony within Seraphina's mind.
"Allocate 8 points to Defense," Seraphina instructed, feeling a subtle hardening within her very essence. "Allocate 5 points to Agility," she continued, imagining herself moving even faster, leaving no room for ambush. "Allocate 4 points to Strength," she added, envisioning more potent strikes with her claw and dagger. "And allocate the remaining 4 points to MP," she concluded, thinking of the devastating potential of her newly acquired Black Flames.
The System processed her command instantly.
Allocation confirmed.
Defense: 49 -> 57
Agility: 63 -> 68
Strength: 44 -> 48
MP: 60 -> 64
Seraphina felt a subtle, yet significant surge of power course through her, a tangible reinforcement of her chosen attributes. The lingering aches from the battle seemed to recede further as her body optimized itself.
Seraphina Brodior: Current Profile Update
Strength: 48
Defense: 57
Agility: 68
MP: 64
Guardian Skill Tree Selection
With her stats allocated, Seraphina's attention now turned to the other overwhelming notifications: the new Guardian Eater class, the Golden Guardian Monster Core (Level 4), the four hearts, the Guardian Skill Tree (150 points), and the new Job Titles. She still lay on the ground, though her healing was nearly complete.
"Guardian skill tree," Seraphina murmured, her attention immediately drawn to that particular notification from the torrent of information. Her eyes, still closed, focused on the mental interface, prioritizing this new avenue of power over the other revelations.
The System responded instantly, a new, complex branch of abilities blossoming in her mind's eye. Unlike her general skills or Monster Eater class, this tree pulsed with an ancient, protective energy, yet also carried a faint echo of the malevolence she had just fought. It was a tree of both defense and inherent danger.
Seraphina's mind, still buzzing with the recent level-ups and System revelations, plunged into the Guardian Skill Tree. Its branches glowed with potential, displaying a myriad of skills that seemed to hum with the essence of the fallen guardians. She thought of the black flame that had nearly incinerated her, the surprising speed of her foes, and the stealthy guardian that had nearly ambushed Lyra.
She made her choices:
Guardian's Aegis (Lvl 3)
Cost: 60 points (20 per level)
Description: A passive trait that grants increased resistance to magical and elemental damage, absorbing some of the impact from such attacks.
Rationale: Directly addresses the threat of magical attacks like the black flame she just encountered, shoring up a crucial defensive weakness.
Shadow Strike (Lvl 3)
Cost: 45 points (15 per level)
Description: An active skill that allows Seraphina to imbue her physical attacks (dagger, claw, or bite) with shadowy, piercing energy, increasing damage and potentially bypassing a portion of enemy defense.
Rationale: Enhances her primary physical offense, giving her an edge against tough, resilient enemies like the guardians.
Core Resonance (Lvl 2)
Cost: 40 points (20 per level)
Description: A passive trait that enhances the effects of absorbed cores, providing a small boost to all stats derived from them, and making it easier to absorb or fuse new cores.
Rationale: Connects to her core "Monster Eater" class, increasing the efficiency of her primary method of growth and leveraging her new Golden Guardian Monster Core.
Guardian's Sense (Lvl 1)
Cost: 5 points
Description: Enhances Seraphina's passive awareness and ability to detect hidden or stealthy entities, particularly those with a strong magical or ancient signature.
Rationale: Directly addresses the fact that a guardian ambushed Lyra unnoticed, improving her general awareness and preventing future surprises.
Total Points Spent: 60 + 45 + 40 + 5 = 150 points. Remaining Points: 0.
A final series of notifications flashed across Seraphina's mental interface, confirming her new acquisitions. She felt a subtle shift within her, a new layer of power settling into her core. She was ready for whatever lay deeper within the World Tree temple.