Rise of the Devourer

Book 2: Chapter 46 — Terror Resistance

The petrification slowly wore off of Noah’s body as the final level required pinged in his head.

[Paralysis Resistance] has reached level 10!

[Paralysis Resistance] has ranked up to Intermediate!

Skill fusion unlocked.

[Poison Resistance], [Toxic Resistance], [Necrosis Resistance], [Rot Resistance], and [Paralysis Resistance] can be combined into [General Infliction Resistance]

Would you like to combine these skills?

Yes/No?

Yes.

You’ve unlocked [General Infliction Resistance]!

[General Infliction Resistance (Intermediate) - lvl 10]

You’ve suffered through many kinds of inflictions, a varied amounts of status effects, bordering on extreme masochism, and as a result have gained a resistance to most forms of status effects.

Noah smiled, watching the last level kick in, before he flopped down onto the ground, entirely spent and wrung dry.

The past week had been the most intense week of his life, even counting the body modification he’d gone through. He still sometimes wondered how he’d managed to survive it. If there was a form of damage type that the dragon could inflict on him, it did, and it did so with glee.

“Congratulations. Your training is almost done, and at current speeds, it seems like it will only take you thirteen days instead of the estimated two weeks as well,” the dragon replied in its rumbling voice.

Noah wished it was being sarcastic or trying to poke fun at him, but the creature was genuine, which only made it worse.

“Thanks,” Noah replied, pulling himself up before he looked at the dragon. “I can still level this up to its greater variant, right?”

“If you have enough resistances unlocked, the option should appear on its own.”

“Cool cool cool, just wanted to be sure,” Noah said, pulling himself up, before he took out some of the roasted fish he’d kept for himself and began to eat. “Do you not eat?” Noah asked, looking up at the dragon between mouthfuls.

“If the mood strikes, but it is not a requirement. More of a leisure activity,” the dragon said, looking down at Noah. “The same should apply to you for the most part as well, but you seem intent on eating regardless.”

“Well, it feels good to have a full stomach? Even if I don’t necessarily get hungry anymore,” Noah said, finishing off the fish, including the bones. The things he could digest easily had gone up in list very quickly. And he liked the crunchiness of the bones.

Noah took the time to go through his Dimensional Pocket, forming a gateway inside to check in on Bun Bun. His rabbit had almost completely transformed, now looking much more draconic, though still retaining some of his rabbit like features. Noah watched Bun Bun sleeping peacefully.

“Is it normal that he’s sleeping for this long?” Noah asked, looking up at the Dragon.

“With the degree of changes occurring? A week would not be too long either. Your familiar will need time to gather its strength, and in that time, you should strive to do the same.”

Noah nodded. “Alright, let’s get this done then. What’s next?”

“You have already obtained Elemental and Infliction resistance. So now what remains is [General Spirit Resistance]. We know that you already have Soul resistance, and we have leveled your Mind resistance to be sufficient. But do you have any Terror resistance or Mana control?”

“I have Terror resistance level 5 and Mana expulsion at level one, not sure if that’s what you mean by Mana control?”

“Hmm. So not as much work as we had initially thought. Very well, let us begin with terror then, it should be a simple task,” the dragon said.

“Alright,” Noah said, bracing himself.

“You misunderstand, Noah. Unlike everything you dealt with previously, Terror resistance is entirely in your mind. If you cannot handle it, let us know. Do not push yourself against more than you can handle. Keep your limits in mind,” the dragon said, seeming almost hesitant. “And no matter what you feel, Noah, remember. I am not your enemy. I am not trying to kill you.”

Noah paused, looking at the dragon. This was the first time it had told him not to push hard or do his best. He gave a nod, sitting down and taking a deep breath.

“I’ve met an Ascendant before. I have an idea what it’s like. I faced it against you recently as well. I can take it.”

The dragon nodded, and without a word, Noah felt its aura descend upon him.

His mind began to scream.

You feel a dragon’s wrath. Your soul trembles in fear.

[Terror - IV] inflicted.

Noah felt his body stiffen, his heart pounding in his chest as movement became a struggle. The world around him transformed, as he looked into the dragons’ eyes, and saw the true nature hidden inside of it.

Death. It was looking at him. It would not take any effort, a simply swipe, a push of its will, and he will be reduced to nothingness.

“Breathe Noah. Breathe. And resist the fear. Do not run from it, face it down.”

Noah almost didn’t hear the dragon’s words. Everything seemed like a lie. It was a predator, playing with him, toying, before it descended upon him and finished the job.

Why had he agreed to this? He was helpless here. Even in this new world, he was reminded of his reality at every step. He was powerless.

Breathe. Noah reminded himself, and realized that his breath had been stuck in his chest. Slowly, with a lot of effort, Noah took a breath in. His body wanted to hyperventilate, to push him to the brink of panic. Uncontrolled shivers ran down his body, his heart beating erratically. No matter what he tried, Noah found his body convinced that he was going to die.

Noah tried to reach for meditation, to activate the ability and anchor himself, but found the effort futile. He couldn’t focus, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything beyond shiver there in fear at the certain death that was about to descend on him.

He’d asked what the dragon had done to Bun Bun to make it shiver like that. Now he understood. This was no mere fear of Death, but a deep rooted terror of absolute helplessness. Of soul crushing despair at the realization at how little you mattered in front of true power.

The dragon stopped, its aura receding and Noah panted, tears dripping down from his eyes.

“You are not ready,” the dragon said.

Noah grit his teeth, before looking up. “No, no I can do this. I just need to push harder.”

“No, Noah. Terror resistance isn’t about resisting terror. It is perhaps the most unintuitive form of resistance, but to truly be resistant to terror, you must be unaffected by it to resist it.”

Noah looked up at the dragon, his face flushed as he wiped at the tears in his eyes. “But… how? Even when I knew that you aren’t going to hurt me… my body just… refuses to believe. I was looking down into despair and hopelessness. It’s like my mind is outside my control.”

“And that is what terror does. It takes control from you, makes you an observer. But you must wrestle that control back.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” Noah said, sitting back down on the log.

The dragon hummed, before glancing at him. “There is this trick that Ryugan taught us. Of what mortals do when they are faced against hopelessness and despair.”

“What?”

“They pretend.”

“Pretend?” Noah asked.

“Yes, Noah. They pretend. They fake their courage, fake their bravery, hide the shivers and the beating of their hearts, and pretend that they are no longer mortals. That for just a moment, they are no longer hopeless.”

“That’s…”

“I called it foolish to Ryugan at the time. But he merely laughed at me. It took us some time to understand why. You see Noah, be it mortals, or dragons, or even gods. We are all imperfect creatures. And we all strive towards some goal or other in our lives. They call us immortals, but our lives are still finite. Nothing is eternal, not us, not this world, and nor the gods. And so, to live through this life, knowing of our transient nature, we often need to pretend that we are greater than what we truly are. And in doing so, slowly, eventually, we begin to embody the lies that we tell ourselves.”

Noah looked at the dragon, seeing a hidden story reflecting in its eyes. Just what had it seen? With every word the dragon spoke, Noah could see the effect his companion had left on him, changed and morphed him into something better. And for a moment, Noah gained a desire to become the same.

To become that false, perfect version of himself that he knew was simply a lie. But… if a lie is what is needed, then he would lie. To himself, to this world, and to the gods if need be.

“There’s a saying from my home. Fake it till you make it. I never believed in it before, because I alway felt like I was faking everything but never going anywhere,” Noah said, looking at the dragon’s eyes. “But perhaps it was because I never truly believed the lies I told myself.”

The dragon looked down at him, and nodded. “You merely need to lie to the world, and convince it that you are fearless. And it will make you so.”

Noah nodded, taking a deep breath in. “Alright, I’m ready.”

Wordlessly, the aura came, and Noah felt his body clamp up again. Shivers filled his mind, his instincts all screaming at him to run, to move, to do something.

This time, Noah did not try to calm himself down. He simply let the fear go through him, observing it happen, seeing his body respond to it. Slowly, inch by inch, he raised his eyes, meeting the dragon’s. With effort he unclenched his jaws, moving every finger one after the other.

The terror still filled his body, the shivers still broke out against his control, yet Noah pushed through, pretending he was not afraid.

With great effort, Noah stood up on his feet, almost stumbling back down at the wave of terror that washed over him, but he held strong. Slowly, focusing solely on staying upright, Noah walked.

One step. And then another. And then one more. The steps came in a rhythm, as he moved closer, the more his mind screamed. The more his body shivered, forcing Noah to stop, simply to catch his breath. His heart was pounding hard enough that his chest began to ache, but Noah continued.

Time passed in a blur, what should’ve been a distance of mere seconds took hours, as Noah moved with great effort. As the sun began to set on the purple skies, he finally put his hand upon the giant Dragon’s body, looking up into its eyes.

“I’m not afraid,” Noah said, grinning at the dragon.

“No, you are not.”

[Terror Resistance] has reached level 10!

[Terror Resistance] has ranked up to Intermediate!

As the aura retreated, Noah’s legs gave out. The dragon extended a claw, holding him up as Noah panted. “That… was awful.”

“Indeed. But now you will never have to do it again. Unless you wish to gain the advanced resistance at some point.”

Noah shuddered at the thought, before he slowly picked himself up. “Yeah… not for at least a year.”

“Understandable.”

Noah looked up at the skies, as the moons slowly began to rise over the horizon, and glanced back at the dragon. “Alright, what now? Mana control?”

“Mana control, and mana resistance. We believe it should take one day for both, and then you will have every form of resistance that you could need.”

Noah wiped the sweat off his brow, taking a deep breath in. “Alright, let’s get started.”