NOVEL NEXT 98: Total Recall
Tom felt like his vision was spinning as he laid eyes on the contents of the chest. It was true that he had expected Aleph’s family, the Noble Longstradia family, to leave a sizable amount behind.
But this?
“Oh dear,” Zirel expressed his shock, snapping Tom back into the moment. He gingerly stepped away from the chest, gaze slowly turning to Zirel. Such incredible wealth moved even Tom, who had the ability to mimic any artifact he wanted… well, eventually. Zirel would no doubt be tempted.
If he tried to interfere, if he tried to take away what belonged to Aleph by blood connection after what his family had done to Aleph’s….
Tom himself was surprised by the dark resolve building up in his mind.
Aleph had really come to matter to him. If Zirel tried to interfere then… Tom wasn’t sure if he could hold back. Or, if he even wanted to.
“All yours,” Tom gestured with the flourish of his hands, his gaze taking in Aleph’s trembling lips and shaky countenance.
She stepped forward and reached for a longsword that was nestled in its sheath. Tom had felt it’s presence before Aleph even unsheathed it, it’s weight impressing upon the world reminiscent of only one particular weapon Tom had witnessed before.
The Revenant Claw that he had mimicked in Verranuva’s Artifact to great effect— Aleph’s weapon possessed that same, oppressive aura that had made him covet it.
It was a Rare Artifact.
“This blade,” Aleph began, her voice quivering as she spoke. “It belonged to my great-grandfather. I was told that it was lost, but it seems like they chose to hide it in reserve instead,” She said, as a tear built up in her right eye.
Zirel’s expression was solemn, whilst Tom just seemed sad.
“It lets me designate a target,” Aleph explained, bravely persisting even as a tear streaked down her cheek. “Each time I strike a target that has been designated, it leaves a mark on the enemy. After the first strike that leaves a mark, every subsequent strike increases my speed by fifty percent to a maximum of five marks. If you assume my original striking speed to be a ten, then after the fifth strike, as long as I don’t miss any strikes, my speed will be—”
“Fifty,” Zirel replied before Aleph could complete her statement.
“Wait,” Tom jumped into the conversation, his tone incredulous. “Not fifty percent but like, fifty? Five times her original attack speed?”
“Yes,” Aleph solemnly replied, having wiped away the tear as she looked at Tom. “As long as I don’t miss my subsequent strikes, the five marks will remain on the target I’ve designated. There are limitations, of course, but that is the gist of it.”
Tom took a deep breath of air to calm himself, but he couldn’t.
‘Man, if I had levelled up mimic, we’d have two of those stupid broken blades’ He thought, before dismissing the consideration. Maya had still proven to be far more valuable to him.
Aleph clasped the sword sheath onto her waist belt, before sheathing her newly acquired blade.
There were no complaints or claims made by either Tom or Zirel. Not for the sword, anyway, because even as ridiculously powerful as it was, it was not the real prize within the inheritance.
Her gaze sharpened as she reached for the card. As Tom had suspected, while the emotions coloring Aleph’s visage were genuine, she had not once dropped her guard— not that he would expect her to, before a Nottrakon.
Zirel seemed to understand that too, as he kept his empty hands to his sides, not making any sudden movements that might attract the Longstradia heir’s ire.
Tom sucked in a cold breath of air as he took in the silver trimmed card’s outward appearance. Two sketches of the human body intersected with each other near the middle, albeit with a few differences. The one on the left was missing an arm, had a large gash running across their chest and was badly bruised on both the legs. The one on the right seemed to be perfectly robust and healthy, not injured in the slightest.
‘Some sort of healing card, then?’ Tom guessed, even though he knew that wasn’t the important part. For the card held in Aleph’s hand was almost certainly an elusive Rare card, infinitely more valuable than a Rare artefact.
“Total Recall,” Aleph answered the unasked questions both Zirel and Tom had. “Once in twenty four hours, I can record the state of my physical body. From that moment onwards, if I take fatal damage any time within the next twenty four hours, my physical body will recall to the recorded state.”
“What in…,” Tom trailed off, his expression incredulous. He had gone from regular convenience store worked to not so regular dungeon diver after getting a second shot at life. And now, Aleph was getting seemingly limitless chances?
“What’s the cooldown?” Zirel asked, incisively cutting to the essence of the matter.
“A week, if Total Recall is actually used. I can record endlessly though, as long as I don’t get hit by fatal damage.”
“Thought as much,” Zirel replied, though he still failed to conceal the awe in his tone. “A powerful Rare card, that one. Not enough to be a Mezzanine, but nevertheless, a Rare card that might be more valuable to a Noble Scion than a Mezzanine Rare. The world underestimated— no, still underestimates the Longstradia Family.”
“It is powerful, but also of little use to me right now. Zirel, do you know the Severance Glyph?” Aleph asked.
“Do you know how the process works?” Zirel asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not a topic I was taught until much later.”
“More or less,” Aleph answered, her tone sounding a little unsure. “I know that the severance glyph is used to substitute the Soul Card and I know that the original stats are retained. I’m not exactly sure on the how though, the people I got the information from weren’t willing to volunteer that part.”
“So you know how the concept of authority works, then?” Zirel asked.
Aleph nodded.
“Well, this will make things easier. The severance glyph severs the connection between you and your soul card, but not the authority. The new card, a higher ranked card, is inserted to plug the open metaphysical wound in your heart and your old soul card is added to your deck, since you still have authority over it. However, this was not how the Divine System intended for it to be,” Zirel revealed, his expression sombre.
Aleph wasn’t all that surprised, but Tom definitely was.
“Explain,” She said, through pursed lips.
“The Soul Card is supposed to give you stats. What we’re doing is a stop-gap, essentially tricking the System into believing that you still have a connection to your old Soul Card. However, while the level of the card you’ve incorporated into your deck won’t change, the stat bonuses you get will fade away as soon as you let your new Soul Card rise by even a single level.”
“Is tricking the Divine System really possible?” Tom blurted out.
“Yes,” Zirel replied calmly. “But it’s not really tricking, if you look at it from a different perspective. We’re on the same side, so it’s closer to tolerating our brazenness. Really though, it’s just a stop-gap until you regain enough levels.”
“I see,” Aleph thoughtfully muttered. “Will you do this operation for me, then?” She asked.
Zirel replied with a single-worded question, “Payment?”
Aleph’s lips curled up into a smile as she pointed at the five, frail looking paper cards that had an identical image painted on them— a tower that rose towards azure skies. The last of her inheritance.
“One of those,” She said. “But only after you get the job done.”
“Deal,” Zirel replied in a heartbeat.