One week later
After a long night at Catherine's manor, Jace was walking the streets near his apartment building.
The air was thick with a morning fog that turned the world a hazy grey, and shopkeepers were just beginning to open their doors.
It was a pleasant environment, though the growing noise of the city began to fill in the silence.
Just yesterday, he had visited Natalie's place to settle the spoils of war they had taken from Edward the psychopath.
All in all, he had walked away with 2,000 pounds and a Sequence 7 level sealed artifact—the Vambrace corresponding to the Warrior pathway.
The Vampire Bracelet was taken by Natalie; she was quite adamant about claiming it, Jace didn't haggle much and let her have it and accepted the Vambrace.
Jace had no use for the Vambrace as a sealed artifact, but he took it regardless to ensure he received his fair share of the spoils.
On the other hand, the Healing Glove was also found at the psychopath's bungalow.
Since Jace was the one who had discovered it, he hadn't mentioned it to Natalie, choosing to keep it for himself.
It was a bit unethical, but the glove was far too useful for him to feel truly bad about the omission.
Since the Vambrace was of no use to him, he eventually offered it to Catherine.
As it turned out, Catherine was a small-time artifact collector and possessed many sealed artifacts she had gathered over the years.
She agreed to an exchange giving one of her artifacts to jace in return for the Vambrace, but the artifacts she gave jace was of sequence 6 leval and significantly more expensive, but she didn't she didn't mind the slight difference in Sequence levels, handing it over with a graceful shrug.
Jace was excited beyond belief—so excited, in fact, that it took everything in his power to keep from running home to test it out.
The artifact was tucked safely in his breast pocket. He touched the fabric of his blazer, feeling the hard outline beneath, and smiled.
_ _
He hurriedly made his way home and entered his apartment.
After quickly changing into more comfortable clothes, he sat at his desk and pulled out a small, square blue box.
It looked awfully similar to an engagement ring box.
When Catherine had first extended her hand to give the box to him, Jace's eyes had widened in shock.
He had been completely caught off guard, much to Catherine's amusement.
It was the first time he had seen her truly laugh.
Holding the box now, he clicked it open.
Inside was a normal-looking ring, elegant and engraved with several small diamonds around the outer rim.
This, however, was no ordinary piece of jewelry; it was a sealed artifact corresponding to Sequence 6: Polymath, from the Reader pathway.
This particular sequence granted the ability to analyze and imitate the powers of other Beyonders.
When Jace first saw it and heard its abilities from Catherine, he couldn't help but recall the ring used by Isengard Stanton to imitate the Devil's danger premonition.
Perhaps it was the very same ring; regardless, it belonged to Jace now, and he loved it before he had even tested it.
Taking the ring out, he set the box aside and slid it onto his right ring finger. The effect was immediate.
His mind opened up like never before. His capacity for analysis, deduction, and reasoning experienced a significant surge.
His access to the deep knowledge buried in his memories increased exponentially.
For a fleeting moment, Jace felt like the smartest man alive, though he knew that was just the artifact's influence.
Regardless, he got to work.
The primary abilities the ring possessed were "Analyze" and "Imitate."
He could analyze Beyonder powers he had seen or knew about and then imitate them.
The more he knew about a specific pathway and the beyonder power, the better the imitation would be.
However, the replicated power would never truly match the original.
The imitated powers could only reach between 20 to 50 percent of the original's strength.
The percentage varied based on the depth of his information and analysis, but it capped strictly at 50 percent.
Fortunately, Jace—having read the original 'Lord of the Mysteries' books—possessed an abundance of knowledge about all kinds of beyonder powers and pathways.
There were limitations, of course.
Imitating demigod-level powers was almost impossible. Sequence 5 powers would take a long time to analyze and would likely be less than 40 percent accurate. However, powers of Sequence 6 and below could be imitated better than most.
These were the powers of a Sequence 6 Polymath, and though Jace was only using an artifact for a limited time, the potential was staggering.
The first ability he tried to analyze was the fire manipulation of a Pyromaniac, which he had seen Natalie use just a week prior.
After about two minutes of intense mental analysis, Jace raised his left hand. A ball of fire manifested over his palm! The color of the flame was slightly lighter than a true Pyromaniac's fire, but the imitation was accurate and roughly half as powerful.
Jace also realized that while he had imitated the flames, he hadn't imitated the fire-resistant body of a Pyromaniac. It was a useful distinction to note for future combat.
Next, he analyzed the "Placate" power of a Psychiatrist. This was a success as well, largely because he had asked Nyx to use it on him a few days earlier.
The effect was weaker than the cat's original version, but it was certainly better than nothing.
He could also imitate "Frenzy," but he wasn't about to test a mental breakdown on himself, so he restrained his curiosity.
Now that he had analyzed powers he had seen, it was time to try those he had only read about.
He decided to start small with a Sequence 9 power. Specifically, the ability to phase through walls from the Sequence 9: Apprentice.
He searched his mind for the specific mechanics of that power and began the analysis.
Since he had never seen the ability in person, it took him much longer to process. After several minutes of concentration, he got up from his chair and walked toward the closed bedroom door.
Licking his lips in anticipation, he extended his arm. His fingers touched the wood and then, with a slight feeling of resistance, passed right through it.
When his entire hand was on the other side of the door, he wiggled his fingers, marveling at the fact that it was a success.
He decided to go all in. He walked forward, and with a strange, pressurized sensation, he passed through the solid door and emerged on the other side!
Outside the bedroom, Nyx was playing on the floor, scratching at the floor. she looked up in shock as Jace literally walked through the solid door.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her ears perking up in curiosity.
Jace turned his head to Nyx and gave her a wide grin. "Nothing."
With that, he turned around and walked right back through the door and into the bedroom.
Jace chuckled excitedly; he was definitely going to make a marionette from the Reader pathway one day.
However, his expression soon turned serious as the side effects of the artifact began to take hold.
The drawback was simple but punishing: if he used the ring for longer than he could handle, he would temporarily or permanently become mentally deficient—a "retard," in blunt terms.
Currently, Jace could only handle the artifact for about 25 to 30 minutes before his head grew heavy with the pressure of constant thinking. It felt like cramming for a final exam, but several times more intense.
He used his imitated "Placate" on himself one last time to soothe his nerves and removed the ring.
A dull ache throbbed in his head, but he endured it.
He began to dress in his formal suit. It was still morning and the day had just begun; it was time for him to go out and act as a Magician.
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A/N:- Things are getting interesting 😉
Do you guys have any abilities that you want jace to imitate ?
Also if you guys have some interesting ideas then don't hesitate to ask 👍