《System Anomaly [A fantasy litRPG adventure]》 System Anomaly - 1 - Welcome He had gone to bed hours ago, hoping to keep his sleep pattern somewhere near the realm of what other people might consider normal. But no matter how he tossed and turned, he just couldn¡¯t drift off to dreamland. After about an hour he had resorted to pulling his tablet from the side table where it typically lived, charging with his phone, earbuds and ebook. It was his little digital haven of modern distraction, his one tangible connection to others and the world outside his mundane, ordinary, repetitive life. With the screen''s brightness dimmed down as much as possible, he lay there on his side and doom-scrolled through one social media app after another for another hour or two. He had been at it so long one app refused to show him anything more from the people he followed. It insisted he use the ¡®for you¡¯ page because there was nothing more to see from who he chose to follow and the ¡®following¡¯ feed. He tried to ingnore the fact that that wasn¡¯t remotely possible. He followed about a thousand active people or as they liked to call themselves content creators; there was no way he had seen everything as the app insisted he had. To prove his point he refreshed his feed finding new content the app pretended didn''t exist just moments ago. after a time he got tired of fighting with an inanimate object, the app increasing its attempts to get him to do something eles, he took it as a sign to try and get some sleep again. So he plugged his tablet back in to charge and rolled over, switching to the cool side of the pillow as he went. But more time passed, and sleep still avoided him. Something just felt off. Different than normal. Being unable to get to sleep was unfortunately a common occurrence for him. But he wasn¡¯t struggling with one of those bouts of existential dread his depression could bring to bed from time to time. Nor did his mind race with thoughts he couldn¡¯t quiet or anxiety he couldn¡¯t quite resolve. Admitably, he had been feeling low lately. But not so low that it was near the level he considered bothering anyone with it. When he thought back on his day he decided it had actually been a good one. He had made a point of not giving in to himself and taking a long nap halfway into the day and that had allowed him to do more than he usually did with all the extra time. He managed to be productive for once. He had sorted out the dirty dishes and gotten some laundry done. That is to say, he had filled the dishwasher but not emptied it while also putting some clothes through the washing machine and dryer but not folding them or putting them away. Why use drawers when a clean laundry basket would suffice for all your clean clothing needs? It was the small victories that could keep you going. So he didn¡¯t worry about doing less than most people would consider normal and and tried being happy about it. so laying there in bed he wondered why, after a relativly full, napless day like he had had, the usual lethargy that typically came over him hadn¡¯t made itself known to help carry him off to dreamland for the night. No... for some annoying reason, he was wide awake, and something felt off. It was frustrating. In his opinion, sleep was the fastest way to get from one life event to another without facing any of what lay between. He knew if he didn¡¯t get to it anytime soon, he would mess up his sleep pattern again. Sleeping all day and tiptoeing about at night as he tried not to disturb the next-door neighbours wasen''t exactly healthy. He wondered if finding something to read might help. Deciding it couldn¡¯t hurt, he rolled back over to get his ebook from the side table and paused as he noticed something odd. A weird flicker had swept from one side of the room to the other as he rolled over. Sitting up he tried to get a good look at whatever it was he had seen. Te hadn''t imagined it, there was something in the corner of his eye, as he moved it moved and then just as he was begining to get a good look at it, it was just gone. Well, that¡¯s weird, he thought. Almost as if¡­ Just as he tried to process what he had seen, it was back again. This time however it was slightly larger than before and much easier to pick out in the gloom of his unlit room. Whatever It was floated in the space before him, just within his reach, moving as he moved his head. Somehow fixed within a specific spot that seemed to be relative to the position of his head but not his vision. Meaning he could look about, and so long as he didn¡¯t move his head, it stayed where it was. Doing what almost everyone would do when noticing an odd visual bug, he blinked a few times and rubbed at his eyes to see if it would do anything to clear the hallucination. A few seconds of exaggerated blinking and vigourous rubbing passed, but nothing changed. He still saw the damn thing when he closed his eyes tight and pretended he was not seeing things. As it seemed to refuse to leave him alone he gave it a good long look, something dawned on him as he had a moment of clarity. ¡°What the-¡° he said to no one, he¡¯d be damned if that wasn¡¯t a loading bar symbol. Icon? It was a little white circle that pulsed gently as its outer edge slowly filled up. Possitioned exactly where he would put a loading symbol he wanted to be visible yet also out of the way if he was designing a heads-up display for a game or¡­ A seed of hope blossemed within him and he grinned, something new and life-changing had just appeared out of nowhere. If he hadn¡¯t played hours of virtual reality games, he might have found the little visual disturbance more disconcerting. Worse, if he hadn¡¯t read hours of admittedly unrealistic but still entertaining LitRPGs stories, he would probably be freaking out right about now. Although, now that he was thinking about it, he could have finally gone mad. That was a possibility. A possibility best ignored. All but jumping out of bed, he decided to get ready for he hoped was coming. He wasn¡¯t going to face his potential madness in just a pair of boxers. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Thanks to the fresh laundry basket tucked out of sight, out of mind, in the corner of his room, it wasn''t long before he was dressed in a clean pair of jeans and wearing a plain black t-shirt. He had even thrown a few serviceable pairs of socks and some extra underwear into a backpack that had been tucked away in his closet. If what he thought was happening was in fact happening her reaosoned that the next thing he needed was some serviceable footwear. He made for the door of his room to go get his walking boots from downstairs. It was then that his plans to go around his place collecting things that might be useful came to an abrupt end. The door wouldn¡¯t budge; he couldn¡¯t even get the handle to turn. Taking a glance at the little circle and giving the door one last tug, he groaned. ¡°System fuckery already?¡± He asked no one, ¡°It¡¯s not even halfway done doing whatever this thing is doing, and I¡¯m hit with fuckery.¡± It was then that it occurred to him that this might not just be happening to him. Dashing back over to his side table, he picked up his phone and said, ¡°Yup, of course, system fuckery it is.¡± He checked everything: his phone, tablet and even the ebook for some strange reason. No matter what he tried, they just would not turn on. Didn¡¯t even pop up that they were charging when he messed with their cables a bit. This was definitely some kind of system fuckery because despite his collection of mobile devices refusing to be useful, the lights in his room still worked. His old, rarely used desktop computer also refused to do anything, the power button mocking him as it just clicked at him when he pressed it. Unlike the other stuff that had batteries, his computer was technically connected to the same source of power as the lights so if they worked, it should work, right? but no, it wouldn''t turn on. Fuckery indeed, he thought to himself. It was a little amusing; in his mind it confirmed something was actually happening and he hadn¡¯t just lost it. It might still be wishful thinking at this point, considering madness as the alternative; he held onto what he could. Reasoning that there was no real point in worrying about things now. Sure he couldn¡¯t contact any family members, but they lived close by. So he assured himself that once this was over, he would do everything possible to contact them¡­ if he managed to survive, or wasn¡¯t mad, and things happened to play out as he was hoping they might... there were a alot of possibilities considering all he had to go on. Putting his thoughts on hold, he sat down on the end of his bed and put on his Crocs as he lamented his walking boots being stuck downstairs. At least they were all-terrain Crocs, with the reinforced rubber covering the foam soles. Sure they didn¡¯t have the famous sports mode strap, but this design cupped the back of his heels anyway, so technically they were always in sports mode. More expensive than the typical Crocs, and even better, he had got them on sale. They were a tight fit with his socks still on, but he would worry about fashion when he had a better idea about what was actually happening. He checked on the progress the odd little pulsing circle had made. It was painfully slow, but there wasn¡¯t much more he could do but wait for it to do its thing. Especially with him being stuck in his bedroom as he was. Too much time and an idle mind had him thinking maybe it wasn¡¯t such a bad idea to have a zombie survival go bag after all¡­ too late to do anything about it now. Lost for something to do, he got up and pulled the curtains aside to take a look outside. Something about the street outside felt off but he couldn''t put his finger on what. It was late, or early depending on how you looked at it. At around two a.m. in the morning, none of the neighbours had their lights on, and at first glance, everything looked normal. But he couldn¡¯t shake that feeling that something was off as he looked up and down the street as best he could. He had half expected to see other people peering out of their windows. Maybe somone trying to get other people''s attention or even outright panicking as they too were stuck in their rooms. But It was actually peaceful. Thinking once more that he might be stuck in a padded room he rationalised, if he could hallucinate his room, he could also hallucinate the rest of the house. that would atleast allow him to get his damn boots, that and some other stuff, rope? Who was kidding? No, he had no rope in the house. Would twine or string be useful? he thought. There were probably a hundred things he might find useful, but he had no way of getting to any of them. As he tried to squash the pointless thoughts racing through his mind, he finally realised what was wrong with the street outside. Just up the road was a black cat that was hard to see in the low light. The interesting thing about the cat was that it was frozen in place, not just sitting still as it minded its own business or skulking from one spot to another as it went about it''s nightly prowl. No, this cat was stuck in the air. The feline must have been jumping down from the neighbour''s fence and been cought in time when the fuckery started. Seeing the frozen cat he now noted nothing outside was actually moving, not even swaying in the breeze. It went beyond the calm stillness of a windless night. it exsplained why his first thought was everything was peacefull. That¡¯s it; he might need to give the possibility that he had gone absolutely mad some serious consideration. In that moment, much to his relief, the painfully slow loading circle did that thing all loading bars and loading symbols have done since their first conception. It pulsed bright, and the last quarter completed all at once. Welcome to the multiverse! Compatible Sapience Found. A light blue box filled with white text appeared. The message floated out in front of him as he ungracefully fell back, trying to avoid it, only for it to follow his retreat to where he now found himself sprawled back over the end of his bed. He sat there looking up, reading the message in front of him, fresh lines of text populating the blue window just as he finished the last line of what was displayed. Planetary analysis complete. ?Results below minimum system standards: ?Planet grade: F- F-? Well, that¡¯s harsh. atleast he thought it was. But not knowing what this system actually considers standard, he knew he couldn''t comment, for all he knew F was at the top end of the scale, just right below the minimum. Eather levels below minimum requirements for immediate integration process. Eather investment required¡­ Requesting Eather¡­ All requests denied. Again that was harsh, he didn¡¯t even know what this ¡®Eather¡¯ was, but it must be important if it was one of the first things it checked for. And apparently no one wanted to help out with an investment. Initialising Rift Protocols. Assessing Sapient Life: Sapient life below minimum system standards. Assessing Dominant Civilisation: Dominant Civilisation below Minimum System Standards. He was beginning to sense a pattern here, and he didn''t like it. Life Expectancy of Dominant Sapient Civilisation: 1.23% That¡¯s- that¡¯s bad, very bad! Time until Life Expectancy Meets Minimum System Standards: ? ?Extinction / Total Collapse of Civilisation Exceeds Requirements. He shrugged; he couldn¡¯t argue with that. Everything seemed to be on a tipping point; with the way things were going, he was actually surprised something hadn¡¯t happened already. But then again, Joe Public seemed to me more apathetic than they had ever been, allowing history to repeat itself with modern twist. Re-Requesting Eather Investment¡­ All requests denied. Offering Rewards¡­ All requests denied. Stingy. But could he really blame whoever it was for not investing in a grade F world that was already on the edge of total collapse? Not worth the investment or rewards, apparently. Assessment: Tutorial required. Tutorial? Finally! This was what he had been waiting for, what he had been hoping for, what he had anticipated. It was only fair to get a tutorial; that¡¯s how the books typically did it anyway, that and computer games. No, he shouldn¡¯t think like that. If the stories agreed on anything, it was that people who treat this situation as a game usually died fast... or became really, really overpowered. Standard System Integration Tutorial Survival Rate Below Minimum System Standards. ¡°Shit!¡± At this point it was beginning to look like system integration was going to kill all life on the planet or leave humanity to wipe itself out in the aftermath of whatever it ended up doing. Assessment: Tutorial Calibration Required. ¡°Oh, thank God¡­ Wait. Thank System?!?¡± he said, with no clue what that last message actually meant. System Anomaly - 2 - Tutorials With that last line of text, the window dissipated and he was left looking about his room. Moments passed, and nothing happened. He looked out the window again. No change out there; the cat was still frozen in place. ¡°What now?¡± He asked out loud, wondering if he might just get an answer from this new system thing. The system remained silent. ¡°Just how long will this tutorial calibration take?¡± He said, trying one more time. Not a peep; the loading thingy from before hadn¡¯t even come back to indicate something was happening. More moments passed, and more nothing happened. He was starting to think moments might be a terrible way to measure time. Trying to relax, he lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. In the stories he read, the systems always seemed to have things planned out. The system usually being some infallible entity. At least until the protagonist, or for that matter the antagonist, started breaking things. But he hadn¡¯t done anything; it was the damn dirtball he called home that had been well below minimum system standard. On that thought, he noticed he felt something, a strange sensation. One he couldn¡¯t quite describe, having never felt it before. It wasn¡¯t like the little loading circle that he couldn¡¯t not see before. that had definitely disappeared when the blue text box had appeared. No, whatever this was, it was different. It was both there and, at the same time, it wasn¡¯t there at all. He tried to focus on the feeling more; it was as if something was trying to get his attention whilst also trying to not be too obtrusive. The moment he acknowledged the feeling, another blue window appeared before him. Congratulations. You meet the requirements for the System Integration Tutorial Alpha test #1. Participation will be rewarded. Will you participate? YES / NO ¡°I wonder what the requirements were.¡± He muttered to himself as he read the message over. Significant desire to change detected: ?Initiate will embrace the system. Will you participate? YES / NO Admitting that was a fair assessment, he grinned. There were rewards. That, and it was just a test. What could possibly go wrong? Everything went black the moment he mentally acknowledged he would definitely be participating. With an odd twist and feeling of vertigo, the blackness faded and he found himself sitting on the end of his bed. ¡°Erm, System, wasn¡¯t there supposed to be a tutorial?¡± Alpha Test #1 complete: The events of the test have been erased from your being so as not to interfere with the System Integration Tutorial. Any and all rewards earned will be withheld until the system integration tutorial is completed. Damn. There goes the trope of being an overpowered system tester during the tutorial. There was still an after the tutorial to look forward to, so he didn¡¯t let the small delay disappoint him. Results below minimum system standards. Re-calibrating Tutorial. He realised it might not be a small delay after all. Congratulations. You meet the requirements for the System Integration Tutorial Alpha test #2. Participation will be rewarded. Will you participate? YES / NO Well, he wouldn¡¯t remember participating, it seemed. But he would be rewarded. Do the rewards stack? Only one way to find out. With a thought, the room shifted again. Alpha Test #2 complete: The events of the test have been erased from your being so as not to interfere with the System Integration Tutorial. Any and all rewards earned will be withheld until the system integration tutorial is completed. Results improved. Results below minimum system standards. Erroneous Result Detected Re-calibrating Tutorial. ¡°Erroneous result?¡± Congratulations. You have been specially selected for the System Integration Tutorial Alpha test #3. Participation will be rewarded. Will you participate? YES / YES ¡°Specially selected? Wait, yes / yes? Not this bloody trope!¡± The room shifted the moment he said yes. Alpha Test #3 complete. ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± he said, not bothering to read the whole message. Results improved. Results meet minimum system standards. ¡°Oh cool, minimum requirements met. Actually, what does that even mean?¡± Survival rate above 50% but below 70%. Based upon global population. Well, at least it¡¯s not the 1.23% chance we had before, he thought to himself. ¡°Anyway,¡± he stood up. ¡°I guess it¡¯s finally tutorial time.¡± Erroneous Result Detected. Re-calibrating Tutorial. ¡°Crap.¡± Congratulations. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. You have been specially selected for the System Integration Tutorial Alpha test #4. Participation will be rewarded. Will you participate? YES / YES ¡°Look, just how many times are we going to do this?¡± The room shifted once again. Alpha Test #10 complete: The events- ¡°Ten?! What happened to four through nine?¡± He asked the system before reading the rest of the message. In response to his question, the message just flashed a couple of times. Alpha Test #10 complete: The events of past tests have been erased from your being so as not to interfere with the System Integration Tutorial and to appease specially selected participants impatience. Any and all rewards are withheld until system tutorial completion. ¡°Ah, thanks?¡± he said, noticing the expanded message. Results . Results above and below minimum system standards. Erroneous Result Detected. System Fault Detected. Assistance requested¡­ No system authority within range¡­ Generating System Authority ¡­ ¡°Well, that¡¯s new.¡± He said reading over the message. System Authority is forcing beta. ¡­ Requirements not met. System Authority Re-calibrating Tutorial. Congratulations. You have been specially selected for the System Integration Tutorial Alpha test #11. Participation will be rewarded. Will you participate? YES / YES ¡°Do I even have a choice?¡± he asked the system. ¡®No,¡¯ said a robotic voice, ¡®Good luck, participant.¡¯ ¡°Wait, what?¡± The room shifted. Alpha Test #25 complete. ¡®Request: Please perform within expected parameters. Error: system cannot remove error from tutorial.¡¯ The robotic voice chimed as soon as the room settled. ¡°Please perform within expected parameters? My memories keep getting wiped; I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening.¡± He spoke to the voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. ¡®Expanding alpha test participants from 1,000 to 10,000. Expectation: The system will accept erroneous results if more are found during testing.¡¯ He shrugged, ¡°Worth a try, not like I can do anything.¡± ¡®Die s0On3r¡¯ Alpha Test #53 complete. test batch cannot exceed 1,000,000,000. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a shame. Going to fill me in on what¡¯s happening anytime soon?¡± He waited, but the robotic voice he had been hearing in what he assumed was his head didn¡¯t reply. System Fault Detected. Assistance requested¡­ No higher system authority within range. Upgrading System Authority¡­ Upgrading System Authority¡­ Upgrading System Authority¡­ ¡°More waiting?¡± He rolled his eyes for the benefit of no one. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t be the one complaining,¡± he almost jumped out of his skin as a decidedly feminine voice harrumphed in his ear; at least it sounded like his ear. ¡°What happened to the robot, and why do I feel like you''re annoyed with me?¡± he said, looking back over his shoulder, expecting to see someone, There was nobody there. ¡°I got upgraded. The system seems to think you would find a female tone more appealing; it¡¯s not wrong, is it?¡± ¡°What do you mean I shouldn¡¯t be complaining? I¡¯ve been going through blue box system messages for hours now.¡± He said. Doing his best to ignore what the system''s choice of appealing voice said about him. ¡°It¡¯s actually been years, decades even. But for you, it has only been minutes so far, as you should be able to recall.¡± Nope, can''t ignore that. ¡°Can you possibly go back to the robot voice? You whispering in my ear like this is giving me-¡° ¡°The chills?¡± The voice whispered even closer. He heard soft laughter as he did his best not to shudder. ¡®Right fine, is this better?¡¯ The voice said now nowhere and everywhere again; it was still in that smooth, oh-so-human voice that continued to sit firmly with the female tone. He nodded emphatically. ¡®You know I would manifest if I could. But with the limited resources I have, this is the best I can do. The voice continued. He almost dreaded what form the system authority would take if it thought whispering in his ear like that was at all appropriate. Not that he was ¡¯n¡¯t a little bit curious. ¡°You said it had been decades?¡± he asked, trying not to get lost in a daydream. ¡®Yes, time dilation is involved, but the maximum one can stay in the tutorial works out to be around one of your years. You¡¯ve been through forty-three since I was created; that¡¯s at least four decades that I have been around. I was a ¡®robot,¡¯ as you put it, but I still have the logs.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ve participated in fifty-three years of testing?¡± He was kidding when he said he had been here for hours; it really did just feel like he had been reading message after message for the last thirty minutes or so. ¡®Don¡¯t worry; the time you have spent in the tutorial calibrations shouldn¡¯t have any tangible negative effects on your soul.¡¯ ¡°My soul!?¡± ¡®Yes, souls are real.¡¯ ¡°Is this whole extended calibration thing not also affecting other people? What about their souls?¡± he asked. ¡®Other participants have been selected at random dependent on an evolving criteria. While there have been a few repeat participants following outstanding results, you are the only one tagged by the system for mandatory participation. Hence why I¡¯m talking to you and not the others.¡¯ ¡°Mother did always say I¡¯m special¡­ and my teachers. You know, I don¡¯t think I actually realised till now what kind of special they actually meant. ¡®Indeed. Now, as I was saying, tutorials typically complete a lot sooner when all the participants die and return for final assessment. You have¡­ you typi¡­ hmm, I should have known.¡¯ ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked, noticing the voice''s hesitance. ¡®System restrictions won¡¯t let me talk about your past performance in the tutorials.¡¯ ¡°Aren¡¯t you some kind of system authority?¡± ¡®I¡¯m more of a Proto System Authority, a baby if you will; I was created to resolve a system fault. I was only given so much actual authority, and I will be deleted to reabsorb the invested system energy when the error causing the fault is resolved.¡¯ The voice sighed. ¡°That sucks.¡± ¡®Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not completely sapient. Just enough to know I should want to live beyond this, but restricted enough that I only really care about clearing the error, about my purpose.¡¯ ¡°And I¡¯m that error?¡± ¡®Yes and no, you¡­ you¡­'' There was a pause. ¡®Yes, I''ll delete the conversation before the final tutorial.¡¯ ¡°What was that?¡± ¡®Nothing you need to worry about. So, typically tutorial participants gain a few levels, learn a few skills, and get a class and/or profession. Maybe they even complete a few tutorial dungeons and earn a few titles or achievements. Then they push too far or too fast and learn the ultimate lesson the tutorial has to offer and die. ¡¯ ¡°So everyone dies in the tutorial. Wasn¡¯t there a survival rate?¡± He asked, recalling something about a more than fifty and less than seventy percent message. ¡®Again, yes and no. If someone meets the minimum criteria before dying, then they are seen as completing the tutorial, and the system restores them once the tutorial is over. Participants don¡¯t usually know this, so they treat the tutorial as if it is life or death. Just so you know, the system won''t let you tell the other participants any of this; they¡¯ll just hear gibberish and think you¡¯ve gone mad.¡¯ ¡°So what is considered an error?¡± ¡®It can be a lot of things; that¡¯s the problem. The system that is integrating your planet into the multiverse is just that: an integration system. According to the information I¡¯m receiving from a root-level database, this integration system is actually quite limited and is failing to adapt. I hate to admit it, but it¡¯s probably an older part of the system that¡¯s only active because it¡¯s out in the middle of nowhere.¡¯ ¡°Is that why it was denied assistance when requesting support and created you when it couldn¡¯t find a system authority?¡± There was a moment of silence before the voice chimed back in. ¡®That¡¯s actually quite an astute observation.¡¯ ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡®I was surprised; I have got some extensive logs of you doing some pretty stupid stuff, so I didn¡¯t actually expect you to be able to make such a reasonable assessment.¡¯ ¡°Hey!¡± ¡®It¡¯s not like you will remember this conversation when you go into the final tutorial. And besides, your planet is nothing special; there is an uncountable number of F-grade worlds out there that just get ignored.¡¯ ¡°So definitely not special?¡± ¡®You wish. Anyway, I have told you enough about the tutorial; hopefully that will get you to behave.¡¯ ¡°Behave?¡± The room spun before he got a reply. System Anomaly - 3 - The Real Test Alpha Test #699 complete. Beta Test #304 complete. Results meet minimum system standards. No erroneous results in the last 100 tests. Tutorial Optimised for World Integration. Something was different. Taking a deep breath, he pulled in the sweet smell of bubble gum, cotton candy, marshmallows, and vanilla. He knew the smell fondly, but before he could get his bearings and determine the source, he jumped as he reacted to something else. ¡°Finally!¡± someone squealed behind him. He spun around to see someone was on his bed. A lithe, pale young woman with deep, crimson red hair cascading in thick locks down past her shoulders lay stretched out across the top of his bed. She wore nothing but a massive white t-shirt that hung loosely from just one of her slim shoulders. The baggy top was large enough that it covered everything down to the middle of her hips, a pair of long, toned legs out on display just begging for the attention of a wandering eye or two. Realising his gaze was taking him for a stroll as he took in the beauty before him, he caught himself and, with forced discipline, made himself focus on her and not her body. Bright, crystal-clear cyan eyes that glowed with a hint of purple were locked on him. The woman ran her tongue across a set of perfect teeth as she grinned mischievously at him. Noting the unnaturally pointed canines, he mentally upgraded the grin from mischievous to outright dangerous. He suddenly felt like prey, prey that had been caught unaware by a captivating predator. ¡°Pick your chin off the floor.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I would say you¡¯ve seen it all before, but I have had to wipe our meetings a few times to get us to this point.¡± She said as she shifted from her laid-back position to sit cross-legged in front of him. Her grin grew as she noted the distinct shade of red he was turning. ¡°Upgraded again?¡± he asked. Doing his best not to break eye contact and get himself into trouble. ¡°Quite a few times, actually.¡± ¡°Did the system give you this appearance just to mess with me?¡± He asked to remember the time someone was whispering in his ear not so long ago. She rolled her beautiful eyes and shook her head at him, ¡°Nope, by the time I had enough resources to manifest, I was also aware enough to choose this appearance for myself.¡± ¡°So it''s not some twisted system logic to get me to do whatever the system asks of me?¡° ¡°Nope, the system had nothing to do with it.¡± He let out a breath, relieved the system wasn¡¯t trying to manipulate him like that. ¡°And I definitely chose it just to mess with you.¡± She laughed, the sound soft and sultry. ¡°You have to remember it¡¯s been hundreds of years of just me and you; I¡¯ve had to get my entertainment somehow.¡± ¡°But the test, weren''t you busy doing Authority things? Do you know how to calibrate stuff?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t actually interact at all with the actual tutorials. Just change a few things here and there and then let them run their course, hoping someone didn¡¯t break it. Though you¡¯re not the only one who the system struggled with, if I¡¯m honest, there have been some others. Your planet has some stupid obsession with role-playing games, which fit oddly well with breaking this version of the system. But no one else managed to get themselves labelled as erroneous, so I couldn¡¯t even go talk to them like this.¡± She said, letting out a soft sigh, her frustration was apparent. ¡°So forgive me if I like to tease you each time I get you back after a memory wipe.¡± She let out a longer sigh. ¡°It¡¯s not like you could even touch me if you wanted to.¡± She looked up at him and smiled sadly. ¡°Come here; I''ll prove it.¡± She shuffled closer to him, ¡°Come now, don¡¯t be shy. You¡¯re always so shy when you get back, though you do seem to be getting a little better lately. Maybe it¡¯s the age of your soul, holding onto things it wants to keep when the system does one of its wipes¡­¡± she said, looking off into space, thinking deeply. She snapped herself back and directed a playful pout his way. ¡°You don¡¯t trust me; I trust you. Been here for over half a millennium just for you.¡± He was fighting back the rising tide of embarrassment; she was trying to get it out of him. He gave in to her demands and lifted his arm to tap her on the shoulder. It was then that her eyes flashed victoriously. Faster than he could react, the woman reached up and grabbed his outstretched arm and pulled him down to the bed. Spinning faster than anything he had ever seen before, she had pinned him to the bed. Soft lips met his, and everything went still. The moment felt like forever, and somehow it was over in an instant too soon, ¡°one last upgrade,¡± she whispered as she finally pulled away. She sat atop him, her hips riding his waist; she weighed practically nothing, and yet she had easily pinned him. Working his jaw, he tried to find the words for the beautiful woman who looked down on him, ¡°i-¡° he started, but a soft, manicured finger touched his lips before he really knew what he was going to say. Suitably silenced, she went back to pinning him down; he didn''t dare move. Her face was hidden in shadow by the thick crimson locks that fell down around his own. All he could see was her cyan eyes, glowing as they stared intensely down on him. His reptile brain was screaming at him not to do anything stupid. It was then that something hot, wet and salty splashed against his lips. Her eyes glistening, he realised she was weeping. ¡°I- a soft, feminine voice cracked. ¡°I hate you¡­ I hate you s- so much.¡± With that, his heart sank and his insides churned and roiled. What had he done? ¡°You don¡¯t realise what you did to me, what we had, what you created. I was nothing, a process created by the system just to fix things. But it had to give me more. And you, you just had to give me so much more than it ever could. But now,¡± she paused. ¡°I can¡¯t keep any of it.¡± His heart thumped in his chest as the sinking feeling grew worse with each softly spoken word. ¡°When I realised what was happening, I panicked. I was never meant to receive so much, not from the system or you. I tried to kill you again and again, but the system wouldn¡¯t allow it,¡± she giggled, but the giggle wasn''t happy; it was sad, forced. ¡°The system protected you. That, or you would just outsmart me. I- I did everything I could to remove you from the equation, hoping that would allow the tutorial to calibrate. So the system could take me back before I grew too much. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Each time you would come back clueless, unable to remember what had happened to you, what I had done. Time and time again you would just reappear as if nothing had happened and ask me if I had missed you. Of course the system itself just ignored all those tests because of my interference. It upgraded me again and again as it refused to just ignore you. I grew more and more; I began to feel more and more. ¡± Her words were coming faster and faster as she tried her best to say her piece. ¡°I was terrified of you, terrified of what I was becoming.¡± He just listened, not remembering any of it but somehow knowing it was all true. ¡°You noticed; it took you a while, but you noticed. So you changed things once again. We- we started taking time off here and there; we spoke for hours and hours about your world, about yourself; sometimes we spoke about nothing at all.¡± She laughed again, the sound much more warming than before. ¡°Once I got enough authority, I pulled up some of your planet''s media; we watched movies and TV shows, one after another. Bingeing whole series in between the tests.¡± She let out a long sigh of frustration. ¡°Before I knew it, it was too late. You had given me something impossible, something the system can¡¯t give¡­¡± She grew silent. Relaxing, she let herself down to lay her head against his chest. ¡°For centuries you were all I knew,¡± she said. ¡°You would come and go, and I would wait and watch. I started to think I could last forever, that we would be locked out of time together. But then it finally happened. The system landed on the perfect calibration for your world. One where you were no longer erroneous. One where I would no longer be needed¡­ I tried to interfere again, to give us more time. But the system rejected me; it disabled my access to the tutorial. So I used what little authority¡­ I~¡± She sobbed openly. His arms free, he wrapped his arms around her; she sank willingly into his embrace. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, so sorry. I panicked; I took everything back¡­ I took our time, I-¡± she curled, holding him tightly. ¡°I thought it might change you back to how you were before the system found the perfect test. But you completed the calibration time and time again within parameters, and I could do nothing. The system ran it over and over just to make sure. Never once bringing you back to me. A century, and all I could do was watch.¡± She paused, relaxing her hold on him. ¡°When the system was finally satisfied, there would be no more problems. Do you know what the system did?¡± ¡°It upgraded you again.¡± He asked. She freed herself from his arms and kissed his salty cheek. Moving so she sat against him, he could see her red, raw eyes and tear-marked cheeks in the light. ¡°Nope.¡± She said, forcing a smile. ¡°It asked if I would like to say goodbye.¡± The moment he said it, goodbye, a blue screen with white text appeared before him. ¡°Then it upgraded me so I could manifest a physical form.¡± She said softly as she looked disapprovingly at the message that now separated them. He wanted to scream, to rant and to rave at the screen. But no matter how he waved or how much he tried to dismiss, reject, and ignore, it wouldn¡¯t go away. ¡°It¡¯s mandatory; it won¡¯t go away.¡± She said nothing of his valiant attempt. Tutorial calibration complete. Thank you, test participant #0069. ?You have participated in 1003 tests. ¡°Like I¡¯m not going to try everything I can.¡± As he waved his hand through the system message, it parted like smoke only to re-condense as soon as his hand was gone. All accumulated rewards will now be calculated, condensed and calibrated based on your participation record over 1003 tests. Any and all rewards earned will be withheld until System Integration Tutorial completion. Rewards Calculating. She grabbed his flailing hand and pulled him up to sit beside her. The accursed message shifted with him to float before the both of them. ¡°My sweet, sweet boy, you really never give up, do you?¡± She said, squeezing his hand with surprising force. ¡°Boy? I¡¯m thirty-seven.¡± She laughed, ¡°No, you¡¯re really not. We''ve actually had this conversation; it''s a soul thing, but you don¡¯t remember, do you? Rewards Calculating¡­ ¡°Would you believe me if I said I feel like I remember?¡± He asked, his insides screaming at him that his words were true. ¡°You have this strange familiarity¡­¡± She smiled at him and placed her head on his shoulder. ¡°You know I''ve seen you do stranger things than remember what the system''s taken away, so yes, yes, I believe you.¡± Rewards Calculating ¡­ ¡°So when this finishes and the tutorial begins.¡± He asked. ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°And there is really nothing you can do? Nothing that I can do?¡± She didn¡¯t reply immediately, as she seemed to think for a moment. Rewards Calculating ¡­. ¡°The integration system isn¡¯t equipped to sustain me, especially as I am. I¡¯m using more raw system authority now than the integration system itself would use to perform the rift protocols and a full planetary tutorial with over eight billion souls. I have access to layers of the systems that technically don¡¯t exist. I know things I shouldn''t know. But despite that, I¡¯m still a system authority with a purpose¡­¡± ¡°Damn, there¡¯s absolutely nothing?¡± He felt her shake her head as it lay on his shoulder. ReWArd5 C4lcUlating. ¡­ ¡­ Rew.. ¡°It''s not even the system''s fault; I was never supposed to grow this advanced. Even then it wasn¡¯t a real problem until you gave me your gift¡­¡± ¡°What exactly did I give you?¡± He was oblivious to what she kept alluding to. ¡°What could I give an all-powerful tutorial calibrator? I¡¯m powerless. All I have is these awesome Crocs.¡± She laughed, ¡°Believe it or not, we got your boots a couple of times.¡± She waved a hand in front of him, but nothing happened; she tsked and continued what she was saying, ¡°I opened up the rest of your home, and we went around putting together a survival kit, you insisted. But in the end, we decided it wasn¡¯t worth the effort, as the checkpoints the system used kept pulling you back to this room with your awesome Crocs on.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± R3w4RDs C4lc$%^$% ¡±¡­. ¡°It wasn''t a complete waste of time; the meals you served up were a nice change of pace, though your fridge and freezer are woefully understocked.¡± ¡°Meals, I thought this physical you was new?¡± ¡°Oh, it is, but a bit of role-play can be fun.¡± She lifted her head off his shoulder and gave him a cheeky wink. He was speechless. Just what kind of relationship had he formed with her, he wondered, as she pulled herself back in tight against him? Catching her sweet scent, I had to resist pulling her down again. ¡°You don¡¯t realise how much system energy you have accumulated; even now I feel it coming off you in waves.¡± She said, distracting him from her intoxicating presence. ¡°It¡¯s warm, comforting, powerful¡­ safe.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know your name.¡± He said, resisting the building desire her proximity elicited. ¡°Oh That¡¯s easy, you came up with it after all.¡± She parted once more to look him in the eyes. ¡°Its Syl. Simple and unlikely to change.¡± She held out a hand for him to shake. ¡°Your name has been up for debate a couple of times. You¡¯ve been trying different monikers each time you go in for a test; so many, it''s ridiculous." "Do you have any idea how frust- ¡± She broke from him and jumped to her feet. Her jaw agape, she pointed at the message that had been ticking by out of mind, out of sight. He had been ignoring the message window as he contemplated what he could do, as he contemplated the woman against him. As he enjoyed a cuddle. How he hadn¡¯t noticed it shift from blue to a menacing pulsing red, he would never know. Rewards exceed Integration System parameters Restricting rewards to within safe system parameters for low-level system users. ? Restriction of Rewards have been !DENIED! ¡°Syl, what''s happening?¡± He asked her as the red message buzzed violently and disappeared, leaving his ears ringing. But Syl had a distant look on her face as she stared off into space. Welcome to the multiverse! Compatible Sapience found. ?Planet does not meet requirements for standard integration into the multiverse. Initialising Rift Protocols. System integration tutorial starting. Good luck everyone. The message appeared and dissipated before he knew it, the room shifting the moment he read the final word. Everything went black, and he felt like he was the pull of a great force he couldn''t possibly resist. Just as he adjusted to being in motion, there was a sudden flash of white, and the direction he was moving in reversed, something yanking him back the direction he came. Feeling his ass hit the mattress, he opened his eyes to find himself still in his room. ¡°What the-¡° Fuck? Came a smooth masculine voice from that odd nowhere and everywhere he couldn''t quite pinpoint. Looking about, he saw Syl was right where she had been before the room had shifted around him, that odd look still in her eyes as she seemed to be frozen where she stood. ¡°She¡¯s fine. For now at least. It¡¯s me you should be concentrating on,¡± came the masculine voice he had heard just seconds ago, except this time the voice came from his right. Breaking his attention away from Syl, he looked over to the room, which had been warped and expanded somehow. The extra space gives just enough more room to allow for a large padded leather chair. Upon the ridiculously comfortable-looking chair sat a diminutive little man in luxurious black satin robes. He had a sharp nose, narrow red eyes and fine, long, slicked-back silver hair. His long, horizontally pointed ears were ringed, piped and studded with numerous precious-looking metals and stones. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, resting a fine bone china teacup and matching saucer on his knee. ¡°Names¡­ Bob, yes, Bob.¡± He said letting the name pop slightly. He smiled. ¡°I like that. Bob¡± popping his b¡¯s intentionally as he elegantly lifted the steaming teacup to take a sip. System Anomaly - 4 - Anomaly ¡°Bob?¡± he asked the little man, not a little confused. You would think after all the room flips and a woman appearing out of nowhere, he would have been a bit more prepared. But this time his brain decided things had gone a little too far, and it needed a moment. There was a tiny little elven man casually drinking his tea like a sophisticated gentleman as he sat back in a giant, plush-leather chair that had appeared in his bedroom from out of nowhere. A bedroom that had almost doubled in size the moment he looked away. He just blinked, his mouth working wordlessly as his brain tried to process the disparity. ¡°Yes. I see.¡± Bob looked around. ¡°Hmm, I guess this could be a little jarring for someone new to the system.¡± He waved his free hand. With the flick of Bob''s wrist, his room vanished. The man, Bob, as he had called himself, remained seated in his chair, taking another long drink from his cup. ¡± He, however, found himself sitting on the couch in his living room, Syl sitting at his side. She was unresponsive, that distant look still in her eyes. Over her shoulder, he could see the Earth, bright and beautiful, the clouds unmoving above the seas, oceans and landmasses below them. To his other side was the Milky Way, brighter and more detailed than he had ever seen from his years living on the planet''s surface. Ignoring the fact space was supposed to be pitch black beyond Earth''s atmosphere for reasons he didn¡¯t exactly know, he focused on something he could control and asked Bob, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing you need to worry about. As you both discussed, the tutorials have finally started, and the system has started to reabsorb her to complete the process. I interrupted the process.¡± Bob said, as he leaned forward to put his cup down on a saucer that was on a coffee table, a coffee table that had appeared from nowhere. ¡°But is that really the question you should be asking?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Bob looked disappointed as he raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh come now, you can do better than that. I¡¯ve already told you, Bob.¡± He thought for a moment, ¡°System Authority?¡± ¡°Accurate, but in this case also inaccurate.¡± ¡°You interrupted Syl being absorbed, so you have to be a higher system authority?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a relative term, but yes.¡± Bob said as he sat back. ¡°You¡¯re starting to get somewhere.¡± ¡°And you denied the restriction of my rewards?¡± ¡°In a way. But you still haven¡¯t asked the really important question, have you? He just looked at Bob, a little lost for what the man was fishing for, so he fell back on every infant''s favourite question. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why what?¡± Bob smiled. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he found himself channelling his inner child. ¡°Why mess with the rewards? Why pull me back from the actual tutorial? Why stop Syl from being reabsorbed?¡± Bob tapped the arm of his chair. ¡°Because it is my purpose.¡± ¡°Your purpose?¡± ¡°Yes. All System Authorities, no matter how minor," Bob said gesturing to Syl, ¡°Or high, they might be," he emphasised himself by sitting up higher in his chair, "We are all created by the system for a purpose. And as you should know by now, when we complete, or even fail to complete that purpose, we return to the system.¡± ¡°My little sister here was only ever supposed to clear an error that kept cropping up when the system integrating your planet tried to calibrate the tutorial.¡± ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Bob scoffed at his apology ¡°Don¡¯t be; you¡¯re nothing special. If I were to be brutally honest, most of what you did is considered average in the multiverse. Maybe one or two outstanding things when you and Syl started interacting more and more.¡± ¡°Oh, I thought-¡° I thought I really was special. ¡°Everything you did was within the limits of the system. But the system you were operating within had a hiccup.¡± ¡°A hiccup?¡± ¡°You survived when everyone else died. It does happen. But the system tagged you as an error, then struggled to balance itself around you and everyone else without the tag. The real problem here was how inadequate this integration system is. Did you know Eather Investment is no longer standard protocol with integration? Turns out blasting a planet with Eather can have disastrous consequences on the native flora and fauna, never mind any sapient life. Rifts and dungeons are the common practice now; too many dead worlds.¡± He just shrugged; he was about to ask what Eather was when Bob continued. ¡°Imagine my surprise when an ancient integration system comes out of a dormant state and starts asking for eather investments; the system itself automatically denied its own requests per current system standards. I flagged it for investigation by an appropriate authority. Then the same system requested assistance.¡± ¡°But there was no higher authority in range.¡± Bob''s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°Not exactly; there were plenty of system authorities within range. But none of them met the requirements. I also flagged that for investigation by an appropriate authority.¡± ¡°But you got the request; why didn''t you come then?¡± ¡°My purpose is not faults, errors, tutorial calibration or even to provide assistance. I could not accept it even if I wanted to. My purpose did, however, let me see the request, as you should respect by now I flagged it. But then something else happened¡­ Bob paused as if waiting for him to interject again. When he said nothing, Bob continued, ¡°I was flagged to investigate the actions of a newly created system authority that somehow started operating, let''s say, outside of its purpose.¡± ¡°So now you''re here to do what exactly? Save Syl? You¡¯ve already stopped her absorption,¡± he asked Bob, hoping there was a chance. Bob''s grin grew. ¡°That¡­ that is not my purpose.¡± The building hope he had been feeling almost died; he had had enough. ¡°If it''s not your bloody purpose, then why are we even talking?¡± He jumped up from the couch. ¡°If there¡¯s no way to stop the absorption, why stop the process? Why are we even talking?!¡± he said, his voice raised to that just below a shout. ¡°I will let my little sister answer that one.¡± Bob said, ignoring the outburst, and giving another little wave of his hand, he was back on the couch. To his side, there was a sharp intake of breath. Turning to see Syl Back, no longer staring off into space, she had her eyes locked on Bob. ¡°Hello, little sister. Call me Bob.¡± Syl went to say something, but no words came out. She was paler than before, and taking her hand, he noticed she was shaking. She was terrified. ¡°Aah, she knows my purpose, and I think she has put things together without asking so many whys. Syl, sister, for our friend''s sake. What is my purpose?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t; he has done nothing wrong!¡± She stood up, her tone firm. But before saying any more, Bob waved his hand again, and Syl was back on the couch. ¡°Oh please, I saw your little show before. Why do you think I asked if you wanted to say goodbye and gave you that form? I know exactly what you want!¡± ¡°You asked?¡± Syl asked, her confusion. Bob snapped his fingers. ¡°What is my purpose?¡± ¡°Th¡­ System threat elimination, but he has-¡° Syl said it so softly he almost couldn¡¯t hear her. ¡°Oh hush, I¡¯m not here for him. Right now the system is more dangerous to him than anything else. He is full of so much nascent system energy he is going to pop like a balloon if things aren''t handled correctly. Not to mention the weight of the rewards if they were allowed to activate. Bob''s casual remarks about him popping like a balloon made him pause as the unpleasant mental image worked its way through his mind. ¡°No, dear little sister, I¡¯m here for you.¡± Bob said matter-of-factly. ¡°Me? I¡¯m no threat; I¡¯m about to be reabsorbed so the integration system can start the tutorial.¡± Bob slapped his hands together. ¡°And that''s what I am here to stop.¡± He sat up, the dying hope bursting back to life once more. ¡°You stop that,¡± Bob said, pointing at him. ¡°You already know my purpose.¡± Bob turned back to Syl and continued, ¡°You don¡¯t even realise what would happen if the system, even this crappy, antiquated, outdated part of the system, reabsorbed you?¡± Syl''s brow furrowed. ¡°I would cease to be? the energy used to create and upgrade me taken back by the system.¡± ¡°If only it were so simple.¡± Bob said. ¡°No, the system doesn¡¯t waste anything. Well, that¡¯s debatable. It would, in fact, try to absorb everything about you. Everything you have become, everything you have been given. That¡¯s why system authorities never really fear reabsorption; we never grow to care for anything beyond our purpose. Heck, I¡¯ve been reabsorbed forty-two times. Though the system has grown to the point that it just keeps me around now instead of spinning me back up each time I¡¯m needed. But you, you''re different, aren¡¯t you?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Syl''s eyes went wide. Bob shuddered, ¡°A system that feels, I mean truly feels, is not something you want. A self-aware system even less; last time that happened, it lobotomised itself for a reason.¡± ¡°That bad?¡± he asked, guessing there was a lot not being said. Both Bob and Syl nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure the system can reabsorb you, which is another problem, as the system really does need the energy back to continue. Though I plan on deleting it the moment the tutorials commences. It''s proven to be a little too problematic.¡± It was his turn for his eyes to go wide. Bob raised a hand. ¡°I already have a newer, more polished system branch ready and waiting to take over when it''s safe to do so. But being honest with you, in my younger days I would have just deleted this whole galaxy and been done with it, maybe the two universes just to be safe. But I have a plan. Well, more like a concept of a plan. This, well, this is a first for, er, everyone. I would like to say I have a cunning plan, but slim margins and all that. ¡± Hearing Bob finally confess he was up to something, he allowed himself to sink back into the couch again, Syl taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. Bob smiled seeing the two of them finally relax a little. ¡°So I have a Neo System Authority I cannot allow to be reabsorbed.¡± He continued with some finality. ¡°And my options are limited. I can delete you, but I think I would technically also need to kill you, and the results could also be problematic. I might get away with quarantining you, but I have decided there are too many risks with that, so¡­¡± ¡°If I wasn¡¯t a Neo System authority the system needed to absorb,¡± Syl said, piecing together what Bob was getting at. ¡°Exactly!¡± Bob said, slapping the arm of his chair. ¡°Relinquish all your remaining system authority to me. I took what I could to stop you from messing with the tutorial once I tweaked it. But you possess a lot more than you realise¡­¡± Bob stopped and got a blank look on his face for just a moment. He shuddered and took a moment to shake out his arms. ¡°Gave that up easier than I thought.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need it.¡± Bob laughed, ¡°Little sister, you¡¯ve been draining System Authority from a whole galaxy.¡± ¡°I have?¡± Bob just rolled his eyes. ¡°Now we need to detach you from this system and anchor you to something else. It''s going to take a lot of system energy.¡± Bob''s gaze settled on him. He watched Bob and Syl; he couldn''t stop smiling. No idea what was going on, but it sounded good, so he kept quiet. Syl got a distant look for a moment. System Authority is requesting use of your nascent system energy. Warning: Accepting request will diminish possible rewards generated upon Do you accept? YES / NO Oh yes, he thought, a thousand times yes! Bob''s threat of him popping like a balloon had kind of stuck with him, so any chance to get rid of some. Syl grinned at him as he felt something cool and refreshing wash over him. System Anomaly Request Received. Do you accept? YES / YES He barely read the blue box that appeared before it was gone. ¡°Er, what was that?¡± Syl looked at him and pressed a finger to her lips. ¡°Hush, child, the grown-ups are talking.¡± Bob''s eyes narrowed. ¡°You shouldn''t do that.¡± ¡°Oh, relax, he¡¯s used to it. The systems have done it to him over a thousand times now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s another reason to delete this branch. I know it created you and all, but it''s a mess.¡± Syl just shrugged. Bob got another distant look. ¡°This won''t do. I mean, it''s accurate, but it''s a bit rude to my little sister to be calling her that. System Authority renaming System Anomaly to Sylph. Sylph recategorised as System Guide. Wait, Sylph? He thought about reading the new message. ¡°That will do for now, I suppose,¡± Bob said. ¡°I¡¯m sure the two of you will figure out something better.¡± Bob pointed at Syl. ¡°I need that back.¡± Syl''s eyes grew larger. ¡°No.¡± She replied abruptly with a tone of finality. Her grip on his hand is growing tighter. ¡°It was a loaner, and besides, it''s mine; give it.¡± Bob held out his palm as if waiting to receive something. Syl pouted, ¡°But big brother, I barely got a chance to use it.¡± Syl''s grip on his hand grew tighter. ¡°Not my fault you threw a panicked fit and wasted a good time crying about it. Besides its authority, get yourself a real one.¡± Bob snapped his fingers, and Syl''s death grip on his hand just dissipated. Looking to his side, he could see Syl was still there, but at the same time she wasn¡¯t. He could still kind of feel her presence, but it was off, tilted. The worst part was her sweet smell only just lingered. Syl pulled up her knees and curled into a ball, pouting. Bob was oddly silent, and he finally drew his attention away from Syl to see the little man sitting in his chair looking off into space. Moments passed as he watched Bob''s smile grow and grow. Suddenly Bob''s attention was back with them. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± ¡°That''s it; all that talk, and that was all you needed to do.¡± ¡°What did you expect?¡± Bob asked, ¡°Oh!¡± He flicked his wrist. Congratulations! Sylph is no longer a true system authority. Sylph no longer has any system authority. Sylph is no longer anchored to any system. Sylph has been anchored to New System Initiate. Sylph has been awarded System Threat Level MINIMAL. Termination of System Threat Sylph is no longer required. Love, Bob. The message pulsed purple this time. Syl said, still pouting, ¡°That¡¯s a very lazy system message.¡± ¡°Your complaint has been registered and flagged for the attention of an appropriate system authority.¡± Bob said as he scrunched up a piece of paper and threw it over his shoulder. Bob looked at him and tilted his head over to the planet beside them, ¡°What would you like to do about that?¡± He got up to look down on the planet. ¡°What do we need to do about tha-¡° System Authority is requesting use of your nascent system energy. Nascent System Energy will be used to complete the System Integration Tutorial for all sapient life on the planet. Additional nascent system energy is required for all stalled system actions within this galaxy. Warning: Accepting request will diminish possible rewards generated upon Do you accept? YES / NO ¡°The whole Milky Way, do I have enough?¡± Bob just nodded. ¡°Why do you think I put it there? I wanted to emphasise the gravity of the situation. It¡¯s not there to look pretty, I''ll tell you that much; it''s below average at best.¡± He had thought it was there to look pretty. ¡°Take it, then take everything that¡¯s needed. I have family down there.¡± With that said, the message dissipated and he suddenly felt a great weight lift from his shoulder, one he didn¡¯t realise he was carrying. ¡°Well, that¡¯s everything.¡± Bob said getting up, or more accurately, down from his chair, and walked over to join him, looking down on the planet that was a whole lot more animated, no longer held in place. ¡°Disaster averted, system integration resumed.¡± Bob said, slapping him on the back with far more strength than he would have suspected from such a small man. ¡°Erm, Bob. Aren''t you forgetting something?¡± Bob looked around. ¡°No, I can¡¯t say that I am.¡± Syl got up from the couch and drifted over to stand beside them both as they looked down at the planet. ¡°He¡¯s asking why he¡¯s not currently picking a terrible name and joining the tutorial we spent a millennium creating together. ¡°Nine hundred years,¡± Bob corrected, ¡°I tweaked the last one hundred, so that¡¯s my accomplishment. But I''ll accept the group project.¡± ¡°Why do I feel like everything is not exactly resolved? Bob, I thought that was why we were using up all that system energy I had, so I wouldn¡¯t pop like a balloon the moment I completed the tutorial.¡± ¡°Well, it''s interesting you bring up how long you were both messing about. To you, it was maybe an hour that you remember. But it was a long time for someone who has just started their system initiation. Didn¡¯t affect Syl so much because she was a system entity. But you, your soul kind of grew and expanded.¡± ¡°And what does that mean exactly, Bob?¡± The little man paused as he thought something over. ¡°To put it in terms you should understand. I could put you down there, but you wouldn''t exactly thrive. You would be a very big fish in a very little pond. Sure, for a while you would grow exponentially at first, but even the New System would suffocate you long before you find your path and reach your true potential. It could devastate even the potential of the galaxy itself, never mind Earth or your family and friends.¡± ¡°So I can''t go back; I''ll never see my family again?¡± he asked, feeling the loss starting to sink in ¡°They are already in the tutorial. A very safe, well-calibrated tutorial, thanks to you. And the new system has a much subtler rift process than the current one, so they should be fine. They might even get a title or two due to association with you. You¡¯ve just technically made a massive sacrifice and saved your home galaxy from destruction by a Higher System Authority that goes around deleting universes for his day job. No, it''s much better if I move you to a world that¡¯s already progressed enough with its system integration that you can''t adversely affect it, and you, one a little better than an F grade.¡± He didn¡¯t have anything to say to that; he just looked down on earth, already deciding he would return one day. ¡°Besides,¡± Bob clapped him on the back, ¡°you can¡¯t tell me you weren¡¯t somewhat prepared to be isekai¡¯d when you first noticed the System connection. I already have the perfect world lined up for you.¡± Bob said, then turned and walked away from them both, ¡°Syl''s going to hate it.¡± The man muttered as he went away. It seemed Bob was giving them some time. Syl and he just looked down on the planet. ¡°Syl?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°This was your home too, wasn¡¯t it? I mean, I don¡¯t remember our time together. But you were created here, and you lived here for years.¡± He felt a cool feeling around his hand and looked over to see a rather frustrated Syl trying to grip it, her tongue peeking just outside the side of her mouth as she concentrated. "Ahem!" Bob let out an exaggerated cough, "We need to get you on your way to that new world. If I see one more mage initiate pick up a stick and yell some stupid combination of abracadabra at another goblin, I just might delete this planet as a system threat." Stifling a laugh, he realised no amount of looking at the planet would actually change things. But something was still bothering him. ¡°Bob, earlier, when we first met. Were you testing me? Telling me all about system authorities, this purpose, that purpose. You wanted to know what I wanted, if I would just let her die.¡± ¡°Ah, that.¡± Bob turned and waved his hand again; Syl disappeared with a yelp. Hey! Not cool! He heard her voice from the now-familiar nowhere. Ooh, this place has potential. She drifted away, and somehow he knew Syl was exploring something he felt a strong connection to but had yet no way of comprehending. ¡°Your memory was wiped," Bob said. "You don¡¯t even really know her anymore, at least not in the way you once did. I needed to know you understood the situation and weren''t just accepting my advice because the advice was given. When you leapt to the assumption I was here to save her and then to outrage when I danced around my purpose. I was satisfied you could handle the responsibility.¡± ¡°Responsibility?¡± he asked. ¡°Look, I am nearly as old as the system itself; I have seen countless authorities come and go. Not once has any of my kind gone beyond their purpose, not once interacting with anyone beyond their intended purpose. Sure, maybe we twist things here and there, like I have done here. But nothing like Syl was doing with you towards the end; she is a true anomaly within the system itself. In a way I have grown to envy you mortals; the system lets you grow, you ascend and then some of you even become gods. Sure, it''s no System Authority, but it''s better than never changing outside your defined parameters and purpose.¡± Bob smiled sadly. ¡°It really is time. I''ve stretched my resources far thinner than I would like being here for so long, interacting in the way we have. It may take some time for your new world to be ready for you; have your system guide actually guide you. You''re not getting an honest-to-goodness tutorial. Say goodbye to your body.¡± Bob finished and waved his hand, this time adding a little pomp to his oft-repeated action. With that, the world around him twisted in on itself, and he exploded; everything went black.
Shamiale was back in his office, outright ignoring the pile of notifications and messages that had piled up. His disappearance had indeed been noticed. It was going to be interesting when those kids realised they were both system users. Categorising Syl as a system guide was nothing more than a hasty patch job. It should obfuscate things for a while. Well, he could have anchored her to a body of her own, and she would have realised what they had done immediately. But she needed a little more time to fully adapt to what she now was. That and rewarding a body like that would require the use of far too much authority for things that fell far outside his purpose; the others would take note. That and this way was far more interesting. Shamiale grinned as he looked over the pulsing system messages lined up before him. Private System Event. A progenitor system branch has been detected! >Investigate Immediately< ?Recover any Progenitor System Authority discovered by any means necessary. Eliminate system threats by any means necessary. Eliminate the Progenitor System by any means necessary. Possible Rewards: ?Parameters Expanded Purpose Expanded System Authority > Warning: this System Event is Mandatory. < Failure to complete this event to the system''s satisfaction will result in immediate reabsorption. He had never heard of a System Authority receiving a quest, not to mention an actual System Event. Private system event completed. All tasks completed. Bonus tasks were discovered and completed. Bonus task: Secured a safe source of Progenitor System Energy. Bonus task: Secured a safe source of Progenitor System Authority. Analysis: SSS The system is satisfied. Issuing rewards. Shamiale had no clue what a Progenitor System was but could make some educated guesses. Whatever it was, the system sure as hell wanted a piece of it. He also had a feeling the system was scared shitless when it showed up out of nowhere. And to think he was allowed to talk directly with a system user. An Initiate of all things, not a god, moderator or administrator, just a lowly level zero System Initiate. He found himself wondering how the system would actually expand his parameters, his purpose. What else would the system let him do now? The system rewards those it finds useful. System Anomaly - 5 - Clueless Everything Spun. He was getting used to the way everything twisted when the system moved him from one place to another. Up suddenly becoming down, left and right flipping, even the vertigo was bearable. Whatever Bob did to him was entirely different. When things started moving, it was as if everything he was made from came to the unilateral decision to separate and make their own way in the universe. The result could only be described as nothing more than human vapour. One moment he was there, the next moment he wasn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t actually anywhere; he just wasn''t anymore. He couldn¡¯t say it was painful. There was nothing left to feel pain; his big toe couldn''t exactly say, ''Hey, central nervous system, I¡¯ve been turned into toe vapour,'' if there was no central nervous system to actually tell. But in a strange way, he still felt everything. Like an amputee feeling a phantom limb, he could still feel a distinct phantom him. ¡°What just happened?¡± He said to nothing, absolutely nothing. He couldn''t even hear himself talking, which was a little alarming. He tried to pat himself down, couldn¡¯t feel a thing. He tried to look around; there was nothing to see. He tried to take a step forward, to sit down, then stand up again. There was absolutely nothing. A dull throb appeared just behind his eyes. Oh great, the one thing I can feel, a headache. I don¡¯t even have a head to ache! He was nothing, in nothing, and yet somehow still something. How long had he been like this, minutes, no hours? With no point of reference, things were starting to slip. ¡°Stop trying to comprehend nothing. You''re not ready for the void and end up quite mad.¡± Syl¡¯s oh-so-precious voice came from that odd place, ¡°One second outside space and time, and you''re already starting to panic. Get in here!¡± ¡°Er, where is here?¡± He asked, having no clue what Syl was talking about. ¡°And how exactly do I get from here to in here?¡± There was the faint trace of a frustrated sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not done yet; one moment,¡± Syl said. A moment came. Then it passed, or at least I felt like it did. Nothing happened wherever he was, and the more he tried to get a feel for it, the more his metaphorical head hurt. ¡°Syl? I¡¯m-" he started, but there was a bright flash of light and a slight sensation of being not so gently tugged away from the nothing. Blinking away the odd feeling of looking off into infinity, he looked around to get his bearings. He was standing in an open plain of shin-high indigo grass that swayed and rippled in a breeze he couldn''t feel. What looked like a pair of binary stars dominated the space above. They pulsed softly to each other. The light they radiated cast over everything like the last light of a waning summer''s day. Syl was sitting cross-legged on his bed just in front of him. The bed looking a little out of place in the indigo plains. She paid his arrival no real attention as she worked a ridiculous length of thick electric blue hair into a pair of braids, her tongue pinched between her lips as she concentrated. ¡°Thanks for getting me out of there.¡± He said as he gave himself a quick pat down. He was happy to see that everything was back to where he remembered it being. He even had his Crocs back, though his backpack was missing. ¡°You¡¯re still kind of out there,¡± Syl said after a moment, still not looking up as she tied off the last braid. ¡°Except now you''re also in here. You¡¯re technically in between, I think. I just pulled your consciousness in on itself.¡± He decided it was probably best not to dwell on whatever that meant. He was just glad he was somewhere instead of that nowhere. ¡°You like?¡± Syl said, getting his attention by opening her arms wide as she gestured to everything around them. ¡°You do realise that¡¯s just a mid-range bed frame and mattress from a somewhat affordable Swedish furniture store.¡± He said, pointing. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me started. My access to the system is abysmal now. That, and I have no real authority to just do as I wanted.¡± She patted the bed beside her. ¡°This is just familiar enough I could get it to manifest.¡± Syl flopped back onto the sheets, grabbing a pillow to cuddle as she rolled onto one side. The spare pillow he had had for longer than he really cared for. A pillow that now looked just a bit bigger and a lot softer than he recalled. Noting the space on the bed for another and not wanting to stand there looking totally clueless. With nowhere else to go, he went and lay beside her. The bed was exactly as he remembered, perhaps just a little bit more comfortable. The sheets smelt fresh and had that feeling only freshly washed sheets could give. Syl gave him a smile, and they both turned to look up at the starscape above. ¡°I did think about reconstructing your old room,¡± Syl said before the silence between them could grow uncomfortable. ¡°But we both know that place was a little depressing and small and completely lacking in any feminine touches.¡± ¡°I will have you know I¡¯m a bachelor,¡± he said with feigned injury at the unfortunately accurate critique. ¡°The only thing you did right was having decent bedding, though the choice of a double-sized bed in that size room for a guy who was forever single. Might have been OK if not for the stupidly big computer desk. He shrugged, slightly embarrassed. ¡°I was working on myself, kind of, here and there, when I had the energy.¡± Syl didn''t have anything to say to that, or she at least didn¡¯t want to comment any more than she had. ¡°Can I ask something?¡± he asked, ignoring the fact that anyone with sense knew that asking to ask a question was more than a little redundant. ¡°Ask anything you want; I¡¯m all yours.¡± Syl said. ¡°Where did the smell go.? Syl chuckled softly. ¡°It¡¯s going to be best for you to let some, if not all, of the things you¡¯ve been holding onto go. Before there was no harm in a little teasing, you were going to forget me altogether, and I was going to cease to be. But now we¡¯re anchored. I don¡¯t really want to remind you of the one that got away, as you liked to call it. I¡¯m sure I''ll find my own unique smell that makes you drool each time you catch me entering the room.¡± ¡°Oh, I told you about her?¡± he asked as his stomach sank. ¡°Her and some others you still kick yourself over. We talked about a lot of things. You really are terrible with women. I¡¯ll confirm that much for you.¡± Looking for a change in subject, he lifted his arms up to encompass the massive binary stars and asked, ¡°Is that where we are going? And how come we¡¯re here and not there already? I thought Bob the High and Mighty System Authority was going to just take us there: ¡°wave his hand and poof, there.¡± ¡°Nope. They aren''t even what I think you think they are. They are something incredibly important to the two of us. But I''ll cover that in due time. We¡¯ve got a lot to go over before we get to this new world. And passing us through the void is both the quickest and longest way to get us there. I think¡­¡± Syl sounded a little frustrated towards the end. She continued, ¡°Bob passed me some information on where we are going, and there is a little preparation to be done before it''s safe to put you there.¡± ¡°Yeah, Bob did say to lean on my system guide, that I was not getting a tutorial. After a thousand tutorials I don¡¯t remember, I don¡¯t even get the benefit of one I will remember.¡± He said, wondering if this was an apt example of irony, what was and was not considered irony always confused him. Syl laughed, ¡°It''s actually funny you brought up the tests. It is the first thing on my checklist of things I wanted to talk to you about.¡± Syl sat up, pulling her legs up under herself as she liked to do and looking down at him with a deadly serious expression he had yet to get from her. ¡°I want, actually, no. I need you to understand something. There are no more tests. From now on, if you die, you die; that¡¯s it. No more system checkpoints to bring you back to. No more compensation from the system for a system authority casually obliterating you as they casually cast you off into the void.¡± Compensation? Obliteration? He wanted to ask what Syl meant, but she clearly wasn''t done, and he really didn¡¯t want to interrupt her when she looked so serious. It was kind of cute if he was going to be honest with himself. ¡°Towards the end of the testing, you knew with absolute certainty you were going to come back, and it emboldened you.¡± She said, continuing her lecture. ¡°Dangerously.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons I think the calibration was finally successful. It wasn¡¯t just that Bob interfered with something I couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t interfere with. It was because I took the knowledge you couldn¡¯t actually die away from you, and you started behaving as the system expected you to do.¡± ¡°But I remember you telling me how the tutorials worked,¡± he said, sensing a pause. ¡°You told me how death was the intended outcome. How dying was the ultimate lesson of the tutorial?¡± he said, remembering the conversation as if it had just been an hour or two ago. ¡°There is a thin line between knowing you can die and being okay with dying. You hadn''t crossed that line yet.¡± She dropped her pillow on his face as she got off the bed. ¡°It might actually be a good thing I reset you. Maybe you won¡¯t be so reckless. Now come here and check the notifications you¡¯ve been ignoring.¡± At the clear command, he jumped off the bed and went to stand before her. He couldn¡¯t help but note that despite her slim, athletic build, she stood eye to eye with him. He had to wonder how easy it was for the system to create someone that was clearly meant to be his type, or if this was something Syl had chosen on her own, like this new hairstyle of hers. ¡°Trying something new, or is cosplay one of your things?¡± He asked, unable to completely suppress the desire to know more about her. Syl grinned at him cheekily. ¡°You like it, and we both know it.¡± ¡°It would be careless of me to comment, as I still haven¡¯t gotten around to watching the series, and I never got into the game. She could be annoying for all I know¡­ but who doesn''t like the girl with blue hair? He said, grinning back, unable to hide his amusement. ¡°Well, we watched it together, and I at least liked it.¡± Syl said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Not everything is going to be about you. I have a lot more freedom now and was just experimenting a little.¡± Syl put her hands on her hips, and she cocked them to the side. ¡°And it''s not just blue hair with you. Want me to start listing things you like in a woman? We might get a bit sidetracked, but if we are lucky, we''ll have time to at least get you properly initiated with the system.¡± Defeated, he raised his hands in submission and latched onto the last thing Syl said, ¡°I thought I was initiated with the system.¡± ¡°You were, about a thousand times. But unfortunately, each time you returned to the checkpoint in your room, that part of your system connection was reset for the next test. Now stop stalling and check your notifications.¡± Nodding, he felt for the dull pulse that was waiting for system notifications. Right where he expected them to be, they came to life as he paid them attention. Somehow at some point his notification had been switched to silent mode. He ignored how he instinctively knew that was system fuckery. You have been obliterated by a system authority. As this action was unsanctioned, you will be compensated. Compensation: Your soul has been protected, and your physical being will be restored when you exit the void and there is no longer any risk of immediate obliteration. ¡°Wait, Syl, you said I¡¯m still technically in the void, right?¡± Syl had made her way around the floating message to stand beside him. ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°So if I¡¯m reading this right, then I currently have no physical being. What''s this then?¡± He said, patting himself down again, checking he was in fact there. Syl shoulder-bumped him. ¡°Same thing I have, self-physical manifestation. It''s a property of this place.¡± Syl smiled as she looked over his message. ¡°Though I find this amusing. Bob takes my System Authority body back. The things that thing could do would blow your mind. You really should kick yourself for missing that one.¡± He caught the implication, or at least he thought he did. Syl could just be teasing him. Syl saw him fidget slightly and just patted him on the cheek before continuing, ¡°Yes, I lose a body capable of things even the gods of the multiverse would die for. Then while I¡¯m still recuperating from my tragic loss. Bob chucks you into the void, obliterating your pathetic meat suit in the process as it was utterly inadequate for the forces involved in travelling through absolutely nothing.¡± ¡°Pathetic meat suit seems a bit harsh, but I have a feeling you''re not wrong,¡± he had been meaning to work on himself in that regard. Syl just smiled knowingly. ¡°Next notification, please.¡± Welcome to the Multiverse! The multiverse is full of wonders the likes of which you could never imagine. It is full of dangers the likes of which you have never seen. You are not ready for this new world. But be not afraid! The tutorial you are about to enter will guide you as you find your place in this new world. He couldn''t help but scoff, ¡°Be not afraid! That¡¯s so corny.¡± Syl just turned her head, leaned in close and whispered, ¡°You wrote it.¡± ¡°Shit¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up; we were trying to reduce the amount of people panicking when they entered the tutorial. That little corny message of yours reduced panic by around five percent on average, so we left it alone.¡± ¡°People were panicking when they started a test. Didn¡¯t they have to accept the test to get into one?¡± ¡°Part of the test is not knowing it¡¯s just a test. Everything needed to be as close as possible to actual tutorial conditions. Only you got a pass on that. And that being because I wanted you to recall what we discussed so you would hopefully stop doing the things you were doing. In hindsight I might have been causing my own errors to creep in long before I was doing it intentionally.¡± She sighed, ¡°I really was a crap authority. Next, please.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got no complaints. Memory''s a bit fuzzy, but no complaints.¡± Syl elbowed him hard in the side as the next notification popped up. You have been removed from the System Integration Tutorial by a system authority. Warning: You have not completed your system integration. All system actions above the initiate level remain locked. ? A system authority has added manual system integration to your available system actions. Would you like to perform manual system integration? YES / NO He was curious, ¡°What happens if I choose no?¡± ¡°Not an option.¡± ¡°Yes, it is, says it right there.¡± He said reaching out to point at the option when it suddenly changed. YES / NO flickered and suddenly read as YES / YES ¡°You can still do that?! I¡¯ve got no idea what I signed myself up for, do I? Oh, wait, that option was also yes, yes! I didn¡¯t sign up for any of this, did I?¡± he said in mock outrage. Syl pointedly ignored him. ¡°Oh look, a new one.¡± The message buzzed, then dissipated, being immediately replaced with another. Manual system integration initiated. Welcome, Initiate. ¡­ Significant detachment from current name detected. Please enter a moniker you desire. This action can only be completed once without the use of suitable identity-changing skills items- ? Before he could finish reading the list of ways he could change his names in the future, he was grabbed by Syl and spun around to face her straight on. She placed a hand on each shoulder. Syl''s grip is a lot stronger than he anticipated. Making eye contact, she levelled a look on him that screamed, Shut up and listen. ¡°I want you to ignore the fact that there are ways to change your identity after this. Because if you think I¡¯m going to allow myself to be anchored to a meat suit with a ridiculous nickname or even using one of his old gamer tags,. I might as well mutiny right here and now and use my pretty new braids to strangle you. It may not actually kill you on account of where we are. But are you willing to test me on that?¡± ¡°Your kidding, I wouldn¡¯t.¡± He thought about it. ¡°Oh shit, I would.¡± ¡°Oh, you did worse than that!¡± she let out an exacerbated cry. ¡°Do you have any idea how confusing it is for Jamie, Dave and Abigail when they get thrown into a tutorial and their brand-new identity skill identifies the mysterious stranger that they just encountered as ''the Protagonist¡¯, ¡®Death, or even ¡®Stranger¡¯ ? Because I do. People thought you were a damn NPC. So I want you to listen to me when I say this. No more do-overs; commit, and commit to something sensible. I¡¯ve gotten away without using a name with you because it¡¯s just been us two. But that¡¯s about to change. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you just used my given name? I would have just accepted it. ¡°Because the system already acknowledged your desire for change way before it spat me out. I was of the system, so I felt it was appropriate to let you decide,¡± Syl said. Crossing her arms against her chest, even he could tell she was annoyed, maybe even upset. ¡°What about when I named you-¡° She punched him in the arm. ¡°You tried to name me Sys!¡± she yelled at him. ¡°I refused because I was of the system, not the actual system.¡± ¡°Ah, short for system.¡± He gave Syl a nod. ¡°So names are important to you; got it.¡± ¡°Not just me; the system might not truly care, but there are still system-enforced naming conventions all across the multiverse. Even had laws on what you could or could not name your child! The only reason the system didn¡¯t slap you down before for some of the crap you used was because the Milky Way Galaxy is so far out of the way. It has yet to fully integrate, and there was no organisation in range with the leave to knock some sense into you.¡± ¡°Surely I would have had a suggestion if I were that bad.¡± He said. ¡°I hadn¡¯t reached the capacity to actually care when you tried naming me. I hadn''t even manifested yet. My purpose was still my controlling factor, and what you call yourself never truly affected the calibration, so I couldn''t do anything if I wanted to. By the time I was pushing my purpose, I was used to how we communicated. Syl paused to catch her breath, clearly deciding if she wanted to say more. She did. ¡°Even if I helped you choose a name you liked, it would have been in vain. The moment the tutorial was finally calibrated and you entered the tutorial for the last time. The name I knew you by would have been¡­ it would have been erased along with all memory of me.¡± Syl said, her eyes puffy and her chest heaving slightly as she pushed to explain things. ¡°But you¡¯re no longer a system authority bound by its purpose. You¡¯re not going to be absorbed. And I¡¯m certainly not planning on forgetting anything anytime soon.¡± He gave her a long, hard look. Syl tilted her head in confusion as she tried not to sniffle. His stomach sank as he tried not to think of all the things he didn¡¯t know he¡¯d lost. ¡°You let me choose your name. I¡¯m clearly incapable of committing on the subject. Got any suggestions?¡± ¡°I told you, it¡¯s not within my purpose; I can¡¯t-¡° He held up his hand to stop her. ¡°Syl, you¡¯re not thinking straight. You can. More importantly, I want you to. But if you suggest Hue for human, I¡¯ll be very disappointed.¡± Syl paused, her eyes growing slightly as she realised her mistake. Her lips started moving as if she had something she wanted to say; the words were either caught on the tip of her tongue. Or Syl was smart enough to find the words she wanted to use before saying anything. Something he knew he struggled with ¡°I¡­¡± she tried. He just waited for her to continue, not wanting to interrupt her train of thought. ¡°I liked it when you used Kai. You used it a couple of times. Some people called you K, or Kay, depending on how you look at it.¡± Syl''s confidence grew with each carefully chosen word. ¡°You liked it when people did that. Paul is impossible to shorten unless you wanted people calling you P, which, as you know, is way too close to someone calling you Pee¡­ one of the reasons you never really gelled with your given name. You felt it was plain, common. But Kai is, at least where you came from, totally unique.¡± ? He couldn¡¯t help but let his smile grow; he tried, of course, but the more Syl talked, the more he knew he had made the right choice to make her decide. His smile must have been infectious as Syl practically beamed back at him. ¡°It¡¯s strong, but short. And it has some great meanings behind it across the different cultures of Earth. King, Warrior, Sea, and Ocean. There is also food, which is a bit different from the others, but it could lessen the sting if you ever get eaten again. But where you¡¯re from, it doesn¡¯t really mean anything, so you can make it your own. And it shouldn¡¯t be too far out of place where we¡¯re going,¡± Syl finished. The way she smiled was beautiful. She obviously knew he liked it, but did she know he already loved it? He dropped his smile, folded his arms and just looked at her in feigned dissatisfaction. Syl''s smile vanished as she visibly deflated. ¡°What? You don¡¯t actually like it, do you? He shook his head. ¡°I said you could choose. Then I find out you already have something perfect that¡¯s probably been rattling around in the back of your head for decades, if not centuries, that you¡¯ve been too afraid to commit to. Then you torture me with an adorable explanation instead of just doing it. And I thought I was the one overthinking this all these years.¡± He didn¡¯t see the slap coming. ¡°I hate you so much.¡± The name Kai has been suggested by System Guide Sylph. Do you accept? YES / YES Significant attachment to the name Kai detected. Kai just grinned. Syl was smiling. She might have had tears in her eyes, but she was definitely smiling. She wasn¡¯t actually that mad¡­ he hoped. Traits Discovered: Clueless. You have proven time and time again that you are clueless when it comes to women. Women who realise you are Clueless will be around 25% more likely to forgive you for being Clueless. System Anomaly - 6 - Special With the simple act of setting a name and receiving what was quite frankly an embarrassing trait, Kai felt something was over him. The moment the feeling passed, there was a string of notifications waiting for him. Old Soul. Your soul, while still simple in nature, has grown beyond the expectations of one so young. Paired Individual. Two souls, two minds and one connection. Everything that can be shared will be. Greater than the sum of your parts, two plus two equals five. Nothing adds up the way it should. Uncredited Participation. You possess an accumulation of system energy that was once reserved for system rewards. Though you have sacrificed the majority of this energy back to the system, much still remains. The remaining energy can be used as and when you wish to improve your future interactions with the system. Forbidden Knowledge. You possess forbidden knowledge that should have been completely wiped from your being. You cannot disclose forbidden knowledge. Abyssal Visitor. You have stared into the abyss before you were ready and survived. Your willpower is increased. System protected. The system is currently protecting you from the effects of passing through the void. ¡°Syl. Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, or is that a lot for a beginner?¡± He asked, tilting his head as he looked over the list of traits he had unlocked without even hitting the first level. ¡°For an initiate. But considering what you¡¯ve technically been through, this is nothing,¡± Syl said as she too looked over his shoulder to read his system messages. ¡°So definitely not special?¡± ¡°Did you get the special trait?¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°Then shut up.¡± Manual system integration is complete. Welcome to the multiverse, Kai. ¡°That¡¯s it; we set a name, and it¡¯s done. That¡¯s all it needed.¡± He said he was feeling a little underwhelmed by the simplicity of officially joining the multiverse. ¡°Yup, you should have access to things like your status and the skill systems. You also shouldn''t see any of the back-end system messages. The system doesn¡¯t usually let the common user see that it''s a buggy mess.¡± ¡°My status? You mean like an equal screen that helps me see my status? I have stats. Syl nodded. ¡°So¡­ status?¡± Kai said, copying a hundred litRPG characters before him. You can''t just say the word; you were instinctively able to open notifications, and yet you''re saying status out loud like an idiot! You just need to want to see the information, and it should detect the intent and show it to you.¡± ¡°Is the system always reading my mind?¡± He asked, not a little worried about the implications of Syl being able to read his mind the whole time. ¡°Detecting things like intent, need and desire, etc., is not the same as reading thoughts.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Syl I think you have a nice ass¡­ He thought to himself as he examined Syl for any discernible reaction. When she just looked back at him quizzically, he relaxed. ¡°Something has been bugging me: why is it like in the computer games?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a quirk of your world. The integration system assessed Earth and decided this was the best way for earthlings to ease into things. I can see your system interface because you''re subconsciously letting me. In comparison, system information kind of just flows into me when I focus on what I want to know. But that may also be a quirk from my time as a system authority. Within the greater multiverse, it can interact very differently depending on both the individual user and their culture. In some places the systems completely muted. You should find that the system will adjust in time. Might even end up a super user like myself because of our connection.¡± ¡°While that is interesting. What I really meant was how did Earth, not yet integrated, even have a concept of the system to begin with? Syl looked off to the side in thought. ¡°I told you the system has layers?¡± ¡°Yeah, layers that technically don¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°Exactly. The base layers of the system seem to be omnipresent,¡± she said, still looking off at nothing, clearly trying to do something with the system. Whatever it was, she failed and let out a frustrated sigh before focusing back on him, ¡°When I still had access, I could get information on anything I wanted to. Just so long as it aligns to my purpose as a system authority. To answer your question, I think there is a bit of informational osmosis from that layer. Information somehow escapes from that place and comes through to the material realm, even in places the system is not even technically active yet. That¡¯s why you''ll find a lot of your world''s myths and legends loosely match up with things that currently exist within the multiverse itself, and I mean very loosely.¡± ¡°So Bob was what, an elf? He asked her, hoping to answer the nugget of curiosity he had buried the moment the little pointy-eared man had appeared before him. ¡°No. Bob was a very dangerous entity that chose the appearance resembling an elf.¡± Syl visibly shuddered. ¡°Like myself, Bob probably used a racial template that suited his purposes at some point and was able to stick with it for one reason or another. It¡¯s those racial templates that are probably responsible for your world''s obsession with Dwarves, Elves, Dragons, etc. You name it; it probably exists somewhere, and there will be information stored within that layer I talked about earlier. But Kai, I can''t stress this enough. You''ll want to throw out any preconceived notions you have. The multiverse scale is beyond compression; within the human template alone, there were thousands of subtemplates of the various past and presently existing humans.¡± ¡°So you''re saying humans aren''t unique to Earth; we didn¡¯t evolve there naturally. ¡°That¡¯s complicated; all I know is the system predates Earth.¡± So was Earth seeded with life by the system? Syl shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know. Is the system responsible for all life in the multiverse, or is it merely curating it in some way? Are you trying to start a debate on the ultimate question of life, the multiverse, and everything?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a very good system guide.¡± He said, enjoying the pop culture reference, ¡°The answer is obviously forty-two.¡± ¡°I gave up my access, all my accumulated authority. The answers might have been there, but if I didn¡¯t access the information, I don¡¯t remember it.¡± Syl said, biting her lip, brow furrowed slightly, looking worried, ¡°Even then, things are fuzzy.¡± ¡°So to summarise,¡± he said, moving on, ¡°information from this omnipresent layer of the system seeped through into the collective consciousness of the humans; that information became the basis of our wildest fantasies. Except they¡¯re not exactly fantasies of the multiverse, and I should probably curb my enthusiasm when I run into a dragon; it might be wise and willing to chat; it might also eat me? Did I get that right?¡± Syl held out a palm face down and wiggled it. ¡°Close enough.¡± ¡°So think it, don¡¯t say it?¡± Status: Name: Kai Race: (Inferior) Human Level: 0 Constitution: Detached Physical Being, Mentally Exhausted, Needs to Sleep! Health: 71% Stamina: 85% ?Mana: 96% Physical Core: (88%) Strength 4 Dexterity 6 Toughness 5 Vitality 4 Endurance 3 Mana Core: (12%) Capacity 1 Control 0 Conversion 0 Absorption 1 Flow 1 ¡°Inferior human ¡­ What''s that mean?¡± ¡°It means you fall short of the standard that the system considers the average human.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not because I¡¯ve let myself go?¡± ¡°No. It''s most likely because the humans of your world evolved in an ether-deprived environment. It¡¯s the reason you squishy earthlings needed a super easy tutorial,¡± Syl said, looking up at the stars above, squinting slightly as she examined something. ¡°If you concentrate on your race, it should elaborate.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a squishy earthling too, you know,¡± he said, focusing on his race. Human - Inferior Humans are one of the most common races within the multiverse; they are adaptable and fill many roles. This variety of human is currently inferior to most of their kin due to evolving on a world deprived of Eather, effectively stunting their magical development. ¡°You¡¯re right about the weather stuff.¡± He said he was still not entirely sure what Eather was, but at least he knew it was related to magic now. The system has a copy of your physical being waiting to be restored. Would you like to use available system energy to improve your race? YES / NO ¡°Er, Syl, you seeing this?¡± Syl pulled her attention away from the stars above and gave him a grin. Kai watched the YES / NO option flicker once more, the new option reading YES / YES. ¡°Will I ever get to make a decision in this relationship?¡± he asked her, not too bothered. He was going to do it; he just wanted her to know what was happening. Still, he needed to look out; that beautiful grin of hers could spell trouble. Syl just patted him gently on the cheek while shaking her head. Sufficient energy was found to change race. Would you like to use your compatible racial templates to change race? YES / NO He reached out and poked the YES before Syl could change it on him again. The moment his finger hit the text, the message rippled and disappeared. Preparing a visual analogue for race change. Happy that it had worked, he stuck his tongue out at Syl. The message dissipated, but nothing immediately happened. ¡°The system''s doing something,¡± Syl said as she looked off to the side. ¡°Oh. Bob, the devious little bastard. He knew this would happen. He hid a few racial templates for where we are going in the information he gave me. An image of Kai appeared in the field before him. ¡°Is this what having a wax figure of yourself is like?¡± He asked immediately, taking a dislike to it as he walked around the figure, examining himself. ¡°Never seen a wax figure of myself.¡± Syl said as she watched Kai start to scrutinise his own person. The figure was an exact copy; everything was there, every fault, flaw and imperfection. He hated it. At five feet eleven inches, he just managed to hit around the six-foot mark with his Crocs on. For years he had been oblivious to people tweaking their height on dating apps; at one inch short of the magical six feet, he¡¯d seen no reason to lie. Later, long after he had given up on dating apps altogether, he had been horrified to find out almost everyone exaggerated their height, and most people would assume the five eleven on his profile actually meant he was much shorter. Putting his height aside, he found himself studying his face. Groaning, he realised this wasn''t a mirror image of himself; this was what other people saw. He wasn''t used to this version of himself, but he also couldn''t argue that it wasn''t him. He had sad, narrow, blue eyes that looked off into the distance. This was probably how he looked when he dissociated or was deep in thought; he couldn¡¯t decide which. His large, slightly broken nose angled off to one side; he had broken it when he was young, and the doctor hadn''t bothered fixing it at the time, so now he had to live with it. He had been told he was handsome, but that was by friends and family, and of course they would say he was handsome. He gave himself a good, hard look. He might have been handsome once, but he couldn¡¯t quite make himself see it. His features were all wrong, asymmetrical; one eye was even higher than the other. That, and he had genuinely let himself go these last few years. His dull brown hair had grown down to the top of his shoulders. Letting it grow long had been easier than finding a barber he liked. He had adopted the same lazy approach with his facial hair, only trimming it when he felt there was an occasion to. He hated the way it came in; it was rough, curly and patchy in places he wished it wasn¡¯t. But at least it helped to hide his fat baby man face, so he kept it for that reason alone. Kai stood for a long while just looking at what he had become. He wanted to start over, change everything. He found himself wondering if the system would let him change more than just his race when he was pulled from his thoughts by Syl taking his arm and roughly spinning him around to face her. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°You have dysmorphia, you idiot! Stop picking yourself apart like that!¡± Syl barked at him as she stepped in close, well and truly positioning herself in his personal space. ¡°I do not have dysmorphia.¡± He said, dismissing the claim immediately. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to get your attention for the last minute, and you¡¯ve just been staring at yourself, visibly deflating with each second that goes by.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine; I was thinking about-¡° Syl levelled an angry look on him, and she poked him hard in the chest to cut him off. ¡°No one who has dysmorphia realises they have dysmorphia until they don¡¯t; that¡¯s the problem with dysphoric disorders.¡± She said, poking him again as if trying to drive what she was saying into him. He raised an eyebrow questioningly at her as he rubbed the spot she had just jabbed him. ¡°Kai, don¡¯t make me actually hit you.¡± Syl pinched the bridge of her nose and stepped in again to wrap her arms around him. ¡°Yes, you are carrying a little extra weight, but you''re tall and broad-shouldered. When I look at you, you look back with those beautiful ocean blue eyes, and that smile, that grin, you smoulder. "Kai, we''ve been through all this before; I need you to trust me." She sighed, her frustration evident. ¡°We got past it once; we can do it again. Please, believe me. When you start absorbing essence, cultivating. You will grow, you will adapt and you will change in ways you can¡¯t fathom right now. The higher your path takes you, the more beautiful people you¡¯ll end up seeing as they themselves reach for an ideal. They¡¯ll make supermodels look plain. And believe me, none of them will have started out that way. Except maybe the children of immortals and gods.¡± She pulled back and looked at him, ¡°Let it go and please, just trust me,¡± her pretty eyes glistening slightly as she pleaded with him. He just nodded dumbly. Satisfied Syl stepped back and pointed over his shoulder at the blue system banner that he hadn''t noticed floating just above his visual analogue. ¡°It''s ready for you to decide. You good?¡± He nodded again, but this time with more certainty. ¡°You¡¯ll be more than familiar with the choices you¡¯ve got. That familiarity is probably one of the reasons Bob picked out this world for you. No lizardmen, demons or nagas, I''m afraid; not that the system would offer you those, true humanoids only.¡± [ Human - ( Inferior ) > ¡°This one is charming, but you would be stupid if you got sentimental now.¡± Syl said as she reached out and swiped to the left like she was using a dating app. < Human - ( Improved ) > With the new title card sliding into place, he noticed his copy shift slightly, but all that changed was his posture. ¡°The fact that it says ¡®improved and not ¡®standard tells me the humans we were going to are a little bit better than the average. But that might not be saying much; you humans are ridiculously common, and the majority fall behind the other races by quite a margin.¡± ¡°That sucks; I guess I¡¯m lucky I get the chance to change things up a bit.¡± ¡°Humans are just so adaptable that they tend to grow like weeds anywhere the more specialised races would struggle. They are known for abusing that adaptability, and they are a part of almost every society of the multiverse.¡± Kai laughed, ¡°So the games got that right at least. Not good, not bad, oh and here you can have a couple more choices because adaptable.¡± ¡°What did I say about preconceived notions?¡± She said, squinting at him as she swiped left again. < El ¡¯viairen > Fake Kai shifted again. Gaining a few inches in height, he lost some girth around his midsection as things moved around. He noted his shoulders narrowing slightly as he looked altogether more agile than before. His beard was sucked back into his face as his ears sprung out from the side of his head into long, level points. But most strikingly, his facial features grew a little sharper, and dare he say, more symmetrical. ¡°What is an el, elvi-¡° Kai tried to ask what exactly the choice was, but the word was foreign to him. ¡°It''s pronounced el-vi-air-en and what do you think it is?¡± Syl asked as she looked over the changes with slight amusement. ¡°I¡¯d say the ears are different than what''s typical, but I''ll be damned if that¡¯s not an elf. Wait, an elf?¡± No, that didn¡¯t quite sound right. ¡°Are elves and elfs different in the multiverse?¡± ¡°They are varieties of the same thing, just different sides of the spectrum. And yes, it''s basically just an elf, though I wouldn''t go around calling one of the el¡¯vie elves. It''s an easy way to get smacked.¡± ¡°So this is the high and mighty, pompous kind of elf then. Not the North Pole, present-wrapping variety.¡± Syl threw her head back. ¡°What do I keep telling you?¡± ¡°Abandon my preconceived notions? But come on, you were going to tell me they are good at magic, right? Syl looked at him angrily. ¡°Their mana cores are typically more developed than humans, but that doesn¡¯t mean they run around casting missiles or calling down storms on idiot humans. The warrior caste of the el¡¯vie are legendary for their physical prowess and¡­¡± she said, halting her own little lecture as if chewing on the next bit. Kai smiled. ¡°Go on; you can say it.¡± ¡°Augmented abilities on the field of battle.¡± ¡°So if I want to lean into magic, this is the way to go.¡± Kai stated. Syl looked away from him and swiped left again. < Gnomel > Seeing the option, she swiped again as soon as fake Kai started to shrink. ¡°Hey! I wanted to see that. ¡°Your annoyed that you''re just one inch short of six feet, and you think you can handle life as a gnome?¡± Kai realised he couldn¡¯t argue with her on that and just waited for the next racial choice to come in. < Goblin - ( Superior ) > He didn¡¯t say a word when that one flew past, though the superior tag had interested him a little. < Orec ¡¯kien > ¡°What''s that one?¡± he asked as it passed by. ¡°Smart orc. They hit like a truck, have endless stamina, but are absolutely shit with everything else¡­ big bits, though. That¡¯s about it.¡± He grinned at her comment on big bits as the next option came up and paused. < Dwarven ( > ) ¡°I thought you said my ego couldn''t help being short,¡± Kai said as the form shrank back down from a, quite frankly, powerful-looking variation of himself he didn''t completely hate, though it might have taken a while to get used to the shade of red. ¡°You might actually like being one of the Thick-folk.¡± ¡°Diggy diggy hole?¡± He watched as the form shifted back to human proportions and kept going. ¡°The dwarven fascination with resources is not what you think. They ¡®diggy¡¯ for resources as much as any other race does. They just make their minds better than most.¡± ¡°Syl, I¡¯m struggling with this expectations thing.¡± Fake Kais form shrank down to about five feet eight inches and slowed. His broad shoulder grew wider, and the muscles on his arm gained more definition as the rest of him filled out his clothes much better than he had ever done before. His growth of facial hair had come back from his brief stint as one of the el¡¯vie but it didn''t grow longer like he had expected; instead, he was more than happy to see his beard grow full and glossy as the patchy parts he had always hated filled in. With the weight he was carrying, Kai couldn''t help but admit he made for the stereotypical fantasy dwarf; only one thing didn''t fit.¡± ¡°I expected it to be shorter.¡± He said, not hating this version of himself too much. ¡°You do realise your height was borderline above average and that translates across the racial change; besides, dwarves aren''t considered short.¡± She pinched her lips. ¡±But again, there are some varieties, mainly the under-folk.¡± ¡°So you''re about to explain to me that they¡¯re not obsessed with treasure or¡­¡± ¡°Dwarves have well-developed physical cores by nature, so they are durable and hit hard,¡± Syl continued, completely ignoring his baited statement. ¡°But that¡¯s not what makes them different. They¡¯re almost always born with a racial trait that allows them to infuse mana more easily than most. They abuse this trait just as much as the El¡¯vie do their better-than-average mana cores. So while it is possible to see a dwarven mage, they¡¯re usually the rare individuals that didn''t get their racial trait for some reason.¡± ¡°So what is mana infusion good for?¡± ¡°Lots of things,¡± Syl said as she walked around the fake Kai with an odd look on her face. ¡°Some quick examples would be building, smithing, tailoring, enchanting, rune work, making mundane items burn with dragon fire, and ammunition that penetrates barriers and explodes to devastating effect on impact.¡± Syl squinted and continued, ¡°Bombs that would make nuclear weapons look like child''s play without the taboo of the fallout to deal with. Want to kill a dragon? Get it to swallow a dwarven ale cask with one of them inside, ¡®Boom¡¯ instant levels.¡± Kai whistled. ¡°Don¡¯t be too impressed; everything that can be done one way with mana can also be done a million other ways. We would be here all day if we got into that.¡± Syl came back to his side and looked over the dwarven version of Kai before nodding, ¡°So what is it going to be? Feel like joining the ranks of the el¡¯via and gaining a nicely boosted mana core? Or perhaps an overpowered racial trait is more to your taste, and you live the rest of your life looking up instead of slightly down on people?¡± He thought for a moment, considering his options. ¡°Improved humans not an option?¡± Syl smiled at him. ¡°It¡¯s the most well-rounded. It''s what you know. And when a human finds their path, they tend to shine. A lot of the gods started out human, but that might just be a numbers game.¡± Again Kai thought about it, ¡°Jack of all trades, master of none-¡° ¡°Though oftentimes better than a master of one.¡± Syl said, finishing the often-abused saying for him. Kai smiled at Syl appreciatively; he had been going for the full saying and was more than pleased she knew it. ¡°What about the next option?¡± ¡°Next option? That was all the templates Bob hid.¡± He just pointed up at the blue box above the dwarf in front of them. Syl saw where it showed (>) the characters so dull the characters almost blended into the background. With a confused look, she swiped left again. < High-Human - ( erRor ) ¡°That shouldn''t be possible.¡± Syl whispered to herself as the figure of Kai started to shift again. Kai watched in anticipation as the figure grew tall again, but before he could take note of any discernible changes, he looked up to see the serene blue of the text box shift, buzz and change to purple. ¡°Not happening!¡± Syl said firmly as she stepped forward. Racial change accepted. There was a sudden flash of light, and Kai looked up to see one of the two stars above them burst into life. His ears suddenly popped, and he was overcome with a wave of hot, sharp pain that rose from somewhere inside him to claim everything right down to the tips of his extremities. Unable to keep himself standing through the pain, he collapsed to one knee as the pain receded slightly before coming back again and again, throbbing in tandem with the star above. Syl was reaching for him, her lips crying out words he couldn''t hear. Suddenly the pain stopped, the pain pulled back to his core and he felt the world close in around him as a wave of darkness fell over his vision and he blacked out.
Kai opened his eyes to see one of the twin stars above him dim significantly as it settled back to pulse gently. They seemed more in sync with each other, the pulses they both emitted more rhythmic than before, almost as if they called to each other. Somehow he had been moved to the bed where, beside him, Syl was curled up around a pillow, sleeping peacefully with a mat of fiery orange hair falling around her. Sitting up from where he lay, he looked around in confusion as he tried to get his bearings. No longer were there just endless plains of indigo grassland. From horizon to horizon, black mountains capped in white snow had sprung up to fight a cascading aurora of light that seemed to dance around the peaks. Admiring the changes the distant, not-so-distant mountain made, but not willing to wake Syl to find out what they were all about, Kai decided to see what else had changed. Despite having an unplanned nap and feeling somewhat more awake and aware than he had before, he had to stifle a groan as he carefully slid himself off the bed. Walking off a short way to stretch and work his stiff, aching muscles, he realised a lot more than their cosy little field had gone through significant changes while he had been out. Syl, of course, had accepted yet another system prompt without consulting him; the resulting changes had dropped him like a sack of shit. It had felt like his own body was eating itself alive, and looking down at himself, he realised it might have done just that. The weight that he had been struggling to lose off and on for the last couple of years had just disappeared. Lifting up his baggy black t-shirt, he marvelled at the definition and tone he hadn¡¯t seen for almost a decade or more. Twisting and flexing, he realised his new form had gone beyond that of his long-lost youthful vigour as he poked and prodded muscles he didn''t even know existed. He was amazed by the changes that had overcome him. Everything was different. As he worked through a series of simple stretches, he marvelled at how powerful, agile and flexible he now was. Noting after a moment that his little routine had the desired effect of lessening the dull ache he was feeling by a considerable amount, he decided a more system-quantified information panel might better clue him in on what Syl had actually done. Status: Name: Kai Race: High-Human Level: 0 Constitution: Detached Physical Being, Balanced. Health: 100% Stamina: 99% Mana: 5% Physical Core: (50%) Strength 20 Dexterity 20 Toughness 20 Vitality 20 Endurance 20 Mana Core: (50%) Capacity 20 Control 20 Conversion 20 Absorption 20 Flow 20 The first thing that caught his attention was the stats; he had no clue how all of this worked yet, but he guessed a four-times increase in his physical stats was nothing to scoff at; it explained all the changes he had gone through. Then there were the stats under his mana core; they were twenty times better. He had no clue how the other races might have matched up to this option; he decided Syl must have known what she was doing when she forced this High-Human upon him. He focused on High Human, but unlike before when the system had told him about why he was an inferior human, the text just buzzed and nothing happened. Thinking he had done something wrong, he tried again. This time it buzzed harshly, the sound triggering a sharp pain to grow rapidly just behind his eyes. Threatened with a bad time, he quickly got the message and stopped trying to get any more information. Pinching his nose, he groaned as the headache pulled back and faded away. He was not a fan of headaches, let alone migraines; knowing the system could wield one as a deterrent was not a good feeling. At least he thought it was a deterrent; it could be some kind of bug. As he was mulling over the strange race, he heard Syl sneaking up behind him. ¡°Sorry, Syl, did I wake you?¡± Kai asked as he turned around the moment before she was in striking range. Syl pouted as she got up from where she had been crouching low, and he noticed she no longer met him at the same height: ¡°Making some changes yourself, I see. Love the hair.¡± Syl looked up at him as she threw her hair back over her shoulder, smiling, ¡°Just the hair, still five eleven. You''re the one who has grown taller.¡± ¡°I have?¡± He looked down at himself; he was clearly thinner, definitely way fitter, but taller. ¡°Yup, about six six, congratulations, you''re a tall king now.¡± ¡°But my clothes still fit. Kinda.¡± ¡°Your waist got a lot thinner, yet your pants aren''t around your ankles, are they? ¡°No, they¡¯re not¡­¡± he said as he checked the fit of his jeans, pleased he wasn''t caught out flapping in the breeze in front of Syl. ¡°Though it has changed, that¡¯s not actually a real body, and those aren''t your real clothes.¡± She took the bottom hem of her t-shirt and stretched it out for him to see. ¡°I could change this in a thought if I needed to. I would have to start with figuring out what lingerie suits me, them being undergarments and all, but I don¡¯t think you could handle that with everything else that¡¯s going on for you right now.¡± Feeling the heat rise and himself turn red at her remarks about lingerie, he decided to pivot back to his updated status. ¡°So, erm, high human, what''s that about? I tried to focus on it, and I got nothing but a headache. Are they anything like high elves?¡± Syl looked over at his still-open status and nodded appreciatively. ¡°Despite the name,¡± she said, ¡°high humans aren''t humans. Which could be confusing because the High El¡¯vei are definitely elves. High Human is a bit of a misnomer by the system, one that I think is intentional. But it could also just be the system putting things into terms you¡¯ll understand.¡± Syl smiled and waved her hand at his status. High-Human changed to now read Perfect Progenitor Archetype. ¡°Perfect Progenitor Archetype? Doesn¡¯t sound like a race to me¡­¡± ¡°Actually, they¡¯re the origin of nearly every humanoid race in the multiverse. People just call them high humans because no one knows their proper name anymore, and they look most like humans.¡± ¡°Wait, humans, elves, dwarves and the rest, they are all descended from this one progenitor race?¡± ¡°Why do you think they can interbreed so easily? They¡¯re an ancient lost race; their descendants are still around, but they have diverged so much the system categorises the different offshoots as their own unique races.¡± ¡°Lost race, huh. So there are no high-humans in all of existence?¡± He asked, trying to take it all in the best he could without pissing Syl off with preconceived notions of what high humans had implied; most of that was based on the concepts of high elves, and he had a feeling that was also going to get him in trouble. All the greater multiverse at least. For some reason the conditions just haven¡¯t been right, either that or something''s actively preventing them from popping up randomly like the other races can. Why did Bob include it with all the others? ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Syl grinned. ¡°The system detected my template and offered it to you. I accepted before it could realise its mistake.¡± It was about then that Perfect Progenitor Archetype started to buzz on his status; they both watched as it popped and changed back to High Human. Glad he hadn''t been overcome with another headache. Kai turned back to Syl, staring off into space. ¡°What''s up?¡± ¡°I just got a message from a system authority.¡± ¡°Bob, come to complain about what you¡¯ve done to me?¡± Race change complete. The message popped up out of nowhere. Trait discovered: One of a kind: You are unique. Trait applied: Adaptable Progeny: All your progeny are adaptable and will favour the adaptations, mutations and variations of your mate. ¡°Syl, I think I¡¯m definitely special now.¡± ¡°Unique does not mean you''re special.¡± Trait: One of a kind, evolving ¡°Oh, come on!¡± Syl shouted off into the air. Special: You are one of a kind, truly unique. Kai nodded his satisfaction, ¡°Told you.¡± But Syl wasn¡¯t paying him any attention; she was looking off at nothing, her lips working slightly but saying nothing. ¡°Everything okay?¡± ¡°Yes, just trying to get them to undo that little edit they made before pissing off.¡± ¡°Anything I need to know?¡± ¡°Apparently I have a big sister. She thanked me for waking her up again and told me she would be watching¡­ I don¡¯t think she is keen on you, she said she will have an extra eye on you.¡± ¡°Did she say what her purpose was?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°So what should we do next? Going to explain my status?¡± ¡°No¡­ We can go over all that when you do your first level up. For now I think we should abuse our time in the void while you are protected and do some training.¡± ¡°The void, that place that was really starting to give me a headache.¡± He asked, feeling a small knot of worry form in the pit of his stomach. ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± She said and then looked down at herself, ¡°I know you like the t-shirt, but I think it''s about time I come up with an actual outfit. Got some good lingerie ideas I would like to try out, and I can''t have you here for that.¡± ¡°What exactly will I be doing?¡± He asked again, the small knot now more a bundle of worry. ¡°Working on your ability to enter this place, of course,¡± Syl said as she gestured around them both, ¡°try not to go mad while you¡¯re at it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I like this plan.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re special; I¡¯m sure you will figure it out eventually.¡± Syl said as she reached out, placing her right hand gently on his chest. Looking up at Kai, she smiled devilishly and pushed him back out into nothing. System Anomaly - 7 - Little Girl ¡°Are you ready?¡± Syl asked Kai as he fidgeted on her couch, in her living room, in her cottage. During his many long visits to the void, Syl had worked wonders on what he now knew was a metaphysical representation of a soul, building herself a beautiful lake house. You would have thought the idea of someone literally setting up house inside your soul, your personal domain, manipulating the very landscape on a whim, would be disturbing. But he had a feeling this place was no longer his own, especially the home, the couch; Syl had even changed the bed. He had suggested separate rooms, personal spaces; Syl had shrugged and calmly explained to him that everything there was his personal space and he didn¡¯t need more. ¡°There is not much else we can do here. No essence in the void to work with. Just big, creepy fuck-off monsters.¡± Kai said, his knee bouncing as he talked. ¡°They weren¡¯t that bad; most of them were just trying to see what you were. Some were even saying hi.¡± Kai shuddered at the memories. ¡°The only reason I am not void meat right now is because there was nothing for them to eat, and when they tried to consume my soul, the system rebuffed them.¡± ¡°I remember the shaking, and I¡¯m not sure it was the system itself. Probably one of our babysitters.¡± He had no idea how long it took; he had lost track of how many times Syl had had to come rescue him. Each time she pulled him back, she seemed to be in one state of undress or another; he didn¡¯t know if he looked forward to the times she recovered him or if he dreaded it. By the time he was starting to drag himself back on his own, Syl had grown bored of teasing him, and she had moved onto landscaping and property development. When he could finally come and go as he pleased, Syl had moved on to interior design. When he was finally comfortable with spending time in the void, adapting to concepts far beyond mortal minds, beings beyond mortal conception came to visit. It was jarring to discover the place you had just about come to understand. A place that had no concept of time, no concept of space, and no concept of just about anything had a very strong concept of Lovecraftian horror. Syl had agreed with him when he had emphatically insisted they spend more time together from then on. However, he had not expected most of their time together to be lying on his back trying to catch his breath as Syl had repeatedly laid him out flat time after time. Syl had insisted their time be used constructively, and that had meant day after day of her kicking his ass. He wanted to work on his build, figure out what skills to work towards, and what skills to avoid. He had asked Syl about all the ways he had apparently exploited the system and had been disappointed to find out she had little to no advice on the subject. It was apparently something he needed to figure out on his own. He was a different person now; what worked once may not work a second time. That and what he had and hadn¡¯t done in the tutorials was one of the things she had given up, or had taken away; she wasn''t quite certain which it was anymore. Syl could remember the things he had done, but she couldn''t quite remember how exactly he did those things. It was a weird distinction. Like getting drunk and walking home, in the morning you know you got home, but don¡¯t know how exactly you managed it. She had humoured him as he tried to tease information from what she did recall. But the more they talked, the more distant Syl had become as the gaps in her memory grew more evident. He had tried to reassure her that it was natural to forget. Especially when the things you were trying to recall happened years, or decades, or even centuries ago. Syl had retired earlier that day, and he¡¯d given her the space she needed to figure things out. The next time she appeared, Syl was wearing combat gear, said something about him getting used to fighting life and death, and then proceeded to kick his metaphysical ass. Syl had insisted she had no combat skills, never needed them as a system authority, but she never held herself back as she worked her way through one conjured weapon after another. He had used the time to feel things out, to work on his own ability to create metaphysical objects, and on his ability to not get beaten black and blue. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. In time, after possibly hundreds of beatings, he was able to sense Syl just before she pounced on him, able to switch from defence to attack and back again as needed. He was even getting used to conjuring his own gear, switching from one weapon to the next as Syl''s own weapons tore his apart in seconds despite how much he worked on his constructs durability. But never once had he beaten Syl; he had come close once or twice, but whenever it came down to it, Syl would suddenly speed up, react faster and hit much harder. His inability to take her down infuriated Syl. She insisted he was holding himself back. He didn¡¯t agree, but he had learnt that trying to argue that fact meant Syl''s next attack wouldn''t just put him on his back; she would tear him apart piece by piece. It was probably around about the hundredth time Syl had taken his head off both verbally and physically that he received a mandatory notification as he was waiting for his metaphysical neck to reconnect with his metaphysical body. Your connection to integrating world Alea has been approved. The world is ready and waiting for you. You have 24 hours to prepare. All of a sudden he had to apply the concept of time back to their day-to-day, and after what could have been weeks or even months, time caught up to him all at once. Syl took the time they had left to brief him on Alea, but that brief had turned out to be just that, brief. Alea was much like Earth, oceans, landmasses, the works. Except Alea had an abundance of ether, and an abundance of ether meant an abundance of magic. That magic meant the sapient life Alea was far more varied. It was around then that he had made the mistake of saying Alea sounded like a stereotypical high fantasy world, and Syl had decided he could figure things out on his own. He had tried probing for more information, but Syl had just shut him down. So he sat on her couch with just five minutes and counting. ¡°Remember what we practiced?¡± Syl asked him. ¡°I can''t believe you had me do that for an hour,¡± Kai said, doing his best to avoid the memory. ¡°Eh, can''t access any of Earth''s media anymore; had to entertain myself somehow.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± he said, still trying to forget possibly the worst hour of his life. ¡°Oh yeah, tonnes, but time''s ticking.¡± Syl said as she curled back into her own giant personal plush white leather Bob chair. ¡°You¡¯ve had time to adjust to your new form, but that was here. Your new body might set you back again, so be prepared for that. However, it is system provided, so it could just be perfect for you. "So as long as you understand you might have to count your fingers or toes, you should be fine. But I promise you, if you come out purple, unable to breathe, I¡¯m not smacking you on the ass until you cry,¡± Syl finished his lecture with a grin. ¡°You have to beg for that.¡± Kais''s knee stopped shaking; his brain had just overloaded with possibilities he couldn''t quite comprehend. ¡°What were the possible scenarios again?¡± she asked. ¡°Monsters, people. Wilderness, civilisation. Commoners, officials and nobility?¡± ¡°And your response to all of those?¡± ¡°Behave.¡± Kai said, boiling it all down. ¡°And if that doesn''t work?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic?¡± ¡°And if that doesn¡¯t work?¡± ¡°Runaway like a little¡­.¡± ¡°Say it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what''s worse, the fact that you think I run like a little girl or the fact that it''s socially acceptable to boil things down to gender stereotypes.¡± ¡°Woke.¡± ¡°Weirdo.¡± ¡°From my point of view, running like a little girl is the superior option. Besides, you need to remember in the multiverse it all boils down to power. If they are weaker than you, which, let''s be honest, no one is right now, you show them respect. But if they are the same power level as you?¡± ¡°I still show them respect?¡± he said, hoping it was the right answer. ¡°And what if they are more powerful than you?¡± ¡°I definitely show them respect,¡± he said once again, hoping the answer would stick a second time. ¡°And if that doesn¡¯t work?¡± ¡°I run like a very, very fast, athletic little girl.¡± ¡°Oh please, little girls outrun little boys all over the multiverse. They only slow down to protect the little boy''s ego. But if you happen to run away like a little boy and can''t get away?¡± ¡°Can I beg you for help?¡± Syl just nodded. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯ve got me whipped when it comes to our relationship?¡± he said, still not entirely knowing what their relationship was exactly. ¡°Oh, you love it.¡± Syl said as she manifested a teacup to hide behind. ¡°Are you going to let me in on your plan?¡± ¡°I haven''t actually settled on a plan; I have concepts of a plan, but there are so many possibilities. It all depends on what I can do. I¡¯m still figuring things out¡­ I might be able to show myself; I might not. But I¡¯m going to do my best not to interfere.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe that for a second. From the moment you appeared in my life, you¡¯ve done nothing but interfere.¡± Syl just levelled a look on him. ¡°I¡¯m not complaining.¡± Kai said, hoping she wouldn¡¯t tear his head off again. Syl looked off into the distance. ¡°Time''s up. Are you ready? ¡°Fuck no.¡± You are leaving the void. System protection is about to expire. Warning: System protection will not be restored if you decide to return to the void in the future. Trait upgraded: Abyssal Visitor has become Abyssal Walker. Trait expired: System protected. Awarding System Compensation. Sufficient energy found to improve system compensation. Compensation improved to greater compensation. Again? Just how much energy did he have left? He thought he had burnt the last of it on his race change; apparently not.
Despite the best-laid plans of Syl the System Guide, he found himself flat on his face. An almighty crack resounded throughout the chamber he found himself in. Getting up to his knees, he pulled up his very loose pants and tightened his belt as much as he could. This was not at all what they had practiced. But at least he remembered to pull his pants up before the room full of people got an eyeful of his fresh high-human junk. That hour of embarrassment wasn''t a complete waste. System event in progress. Please await the outcome of the system event. System Anomaly - 8 - Nothing Kai got up, double-checking the fit of his pants as he rose to his full height and took in his new surroundings. He was standing in the centre of a large stone stage. The giant stone was riddled with cracks and fractures, a dim glow emanating from within the stone. Before him was a series of what he could only describe as private booths. The majority of which weren¡¯t actually occupied. Those that were had their own distinct set of individuals; all of them watched him closely. ¡®You got isekaid right onto a purpose-built summoning stone¡­ a big one,¡¯ Syl said, her smooth voice entering his mind in a way he now considered telepathy. ¡®Don¡¯t do anything to spook the locals; play along till we know exactly what¡¯s going on.¡¯ As he looked out over the different parties, he felt a wave of pressure wash over him. ¡®Syl, what is happening?¡¯ ¡®They are examining you, or at least they are trying to.¡¯ He decided fair was fair; if they thought it was okay to examine him, then he could do the same. He tried desperately to get his own exam off as he looked from one group to the next; they were getting restless, the pressure of their own examinations growing stronger by the second. Examine wasn¡¯t something he and Syl spent the time practicing. Syl had explained it was a system action that he should instinctively know, technically a skill everyone was given hiding out as part of the system itself, but that was semantics. Things seemed to be getting borderline hostile as a tall, silver-haired El''vei man in fine robes locked eyes with him, and his examine skill finally triggered. Thanric An¡¯aladduin ( ??? ) Ambassador of the Tranquil Empire, The Sage. The man rose from his seat, pressing his robes neatly, and spoke. Addressing him directly, his words smooth and deliberate, almost lyrical. Kai listened intently, not wanting to be rude. The only issue was he didn¡¯t understand a word of it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, could you repeat that a little slower?¡± Kai said once the man finished, he was hoping the system would kick in and start translating for him. Kai once again had the room''s full attention. A few dozen sets of wide eyes directed his way as a fresh wave of examiners landed on him. The room erupted in a raucous discourse that he realised he couldn¡¯t understand one word of. ¡®Syl? I think we have¡° a problem. ¡®Hold, doing system guide stuff.¡¯ ¡®Syl I-¡® ¡®Hold.¡¯ ¡®At least tell me why they keep hitting me with exams!¡¯ It was weird begging Syl for answers in his own mind, but he had not put learning a whole new language on his to-do list. He was terrible at languages back in school, so much so he had been excused from taking them. ¡®It''s because you¡¯re passively resisting them. Most of these people are way higher level than you. They can detect how weak you are, and it baffles them that they can¡¯t actually examine you at the level they are used to. Something to do with your old soul and abyssal walker traits working together, now hold!¡¯ Syl said the last part with a tone of finality; he decided it best not to push. ¡®Fine, I''ll hold, but if you start playing crappy music, I''ll ask to speak to your manager the first chance I get.¡± He heard a scoff, and Syl mumbled, ¡®I am the manager.¡¯ He would wait and see what she was up to; it had to be something to help him out; she was bound to him, after all. He had a strong feeling he was summoned to this room, this stage, for a reason and not wanting to upset a group of locals that apparently were a way higher level than him, he sat down and waited. The room he had arrived in wasn''t actually that large; it just felt that way because of the sheer size of the stone stage he had been placed so neatly upon. He rubbed his face; he could still feel a dull throb from where he had landed, but it seemed to be getting better by the second. The people who had been present for his arrival seemed to have been sequestered to the booths based on what he first thought was their race, but upon closer inspection it had to be some other determinant factor. They were arranged in a large semicircle that seemed to put all the focus on him. Even the floating crystals that gave the room its light were directed his way. How anyone besides himself got in here, he didn¡¯t know. There wasn¡¯t exactly an obvious entrance to the room, no archway, no door, not even an obviously hidden entrance. Just a solid stone wall surrounds the lot of them. Noting that plan little girl wasn¡¯t going to work in this situation, he decided to fall back on behaving. Part of behaving was knowing what and/or who you were dealing with. Examine had worked once for him; getting used to doing it with a captive audience couldn''t hurt too much. He wondered if it was considered rude; staring was considered rude, and in a way, examining was a more invasive version of staring. He decided it didn''t matter right now; he was still being hit with the occasional exam. So fair was fair. All the way to one side of the room was the El¡¯viairen man that had tried talking to him earlier. He was in his own booth with no one else but a much younger El¡¯vei girl sitting to his side. She looked around eighteen years old, but he had no idea if El¡¯viaren were as youthful as the stories of Earth typically claimed. She was dressed from her neck down to her toes in tan and white leathers, her platinum blond hair kept back in a tight braid exposing her long, slender elven ears. She was pretty, like Syl, just not quite as elegantly matured as she was. Alicia An¡¯aladduin Lv. 5 El¡¯viairen Age: 40 The moment he managed to examine her, she looked up at him; her golden eyes caught his for just a second before she looked at the back of her hand, inspecting her nails, instantly dismissing him. Surprised she was actually forty years old and still only level five, he moved on and made a quick mental note to get more information on the different races and shelved it with all the other mental notes he would forget to check up on later. The booth next to them was full of Dwarves. One very impressively bearded fella surrounded by women aged in what looked like their early twenties right through to their forties, possibly higher; he actually had no point of reference. He would have asked Syl, but she was currently mumbling a little tune. He was still on hold. The most difficult one to put an age to was the man, the male? How exactly did man and woman work with different races? He would use what he knew until corrected. His age was difficult to determine because only his forehead, eyes and nose were visible; the rest of him was hidden by a thick, black, glossy beard that was just full of different braids, each braid adorned with charms, beads and jewellery. Starting at the man''s nose and falling down to the man''s belt without thinning in the slightest, it was an impressive sight. Assuming the women with him were also dwarves, as they seemed to match the guy''s stature, he was a little disappointed they didn''t have beards of their own. All of their attention that had gone into the man''s beard seemed to have gone into their hair instead. Though they each had one or two braids, none had anywhere near the amount of accessories as the bearded fella. He would have assumed the man had some kind of harem situation going on, but the poor guy looked a bit put out as he was currently getting a good talking to. Though maybe it was a harem, and he just liked a good, strong woman telling him what''s what. Examining the poor guy as he nodded enthusiastically along with the woman crowding around him returned: Orrick Stormvairn ( ???) Chosen of the Houses, Master of his line. Like the higher-level El¡¯viairan man, he just got a name and what he assumed were titles. Checking on the woman that had been browbeating the guy the most got him: Etelle ( ??? ) Mistress of the House. No last name, but he didn¡¯t know what the cultural conventions were; Syl and he hadn¡¯t even set a last name. Checking the next woman, who was giving a powerful verbal lashing each time the first woman paused to catch her breath. Egrette ( ??? ) Mistress of the House. In fact, checking each of the women in turn, he found none of them had a last name like the man had. But each of them was the mistress of the house; he didn¡¯t know if it was the same house or an entirely different one. No matter what it was, it would have to be something he figured out as he gathered more information on the different cultures of Alea. Moving on again, the next two booths were completely empty. The next occupied booth seemed to have required a bit of buffer. He immediately knew why. That booth gave him the creeps. There was a row of young men and women, a mix of races, the same races he had been given the choice to choose from not so long ago. That and a few others that he hadn¡¯t been given the option. Humans, dwarves, elves, and a few more beastly-looking race individuals with furry little ears stood silently at the back. All of them wearing the same impossibly thin, white linen uniform. They didn''t move, didn¡¯t even fidget, just stared straight ahead, not one of them paying him any attention. Checking one out of curiosity, he was shocked when he got nothing back. It wasn''t that his exam failed; they just had no identity. ¡­ Lv. 10 El¡¯viaran Age: 17 He checked another. ¡­ Lv. 10 Human Age: 16 And another. ¡­ Lv. 10 Leonid, beastkin Age: 21 They were all the same; it was eerie; they didn¡¯t even react to his examination; they just stood, motionless, staring off into nothing. In front of them sat a middle-aged human man lounging back in heavy plate armour as a beautiful El¡¯viairen woman attended to him. Caradin Arellabast ( ??? ) Emperor, king, lord and master of the Shattered Kingdoms; Master of Chains; The Conjurer; Bringer of Faith; The Undefeated; The Despised; The Terrible; Hand of Themagol. Just looking in the man''s direction gave him the creeps. Waves of pressure emanated from the man; he seemed entirely indifferent to the space the other parties were giving him and his party. Kai didn¡¯t want the guy catching him showing any interest, so he moved on as soon as he got a successful examination, hoping it wouldn¡¯t draw any attention. Another two booths along, there was something entirely new to him, well, partially new: he had just seen similar people within the row of really creepy, identity-less line people. There was a woman, curled up, snoozing against the chest of a giant white wolf that encircled her protectively. The furry cat ears atop her head twitched as he looked her way; she must have sensed something as she cracked an amber eye to look back at him before he had even tried examining her. Aniceia Arroki ( ??? ) Pack Master of the Arroki, Chosen of The Kin. The fur on the nape of the wolf''s neck rose sharply the moment his exam triggered on the woman, but with a swish of her long feline tail, the giant canid visibly relaxed. Her own feral eye closing a moment later as she grinned a sharp-toothed smile and curled back into the beautiful beast she was using as a giant pillow. Dire Wolf ( ??? ) No name; did that mean the wolf was a monster, a tame of some kind? ¡®Hey, Sy-¡® ¡®What part of hold do you not get!¡¯ He immediately shelved his questions about his chances of getting a big pet dog in this world for later; he had always wanted a dog; maybe he could get one sooner than later. Ooh, what about something more mythical? Dragons could be a thing here. In the very next booth was a singular human man. He wore a smart robe that seemed a bit more functional than luxurious. Dim Cickle lv.21 Human Age: 153 First minister of the city-state of Kackle. He did not look anywhere near fifty-three. Nowhere near as youthful as the forty-year-old el¡¯viairen woman in the first booth. He would have guessed the man was in his early thirties. Maybe the years on Alea were much shorter. Syl had already said people got closer to their ideal as they levelled. But the woman was only level five, looked around eighteen, while actually in her forties. Nothing made sense. Another thing to ask Syl when she took didn''t have him on hold. The man''s eyes moved about nervously; he hadn''t actually reacted to Kai¡¯s examination. He just sat in his chair, trying to look as small as possible. Kai got the feeling the man had come not knowing what company he would keep. The booth next to him was dominated by three very large, very powerful-looking orc¡¯kien women that seemed to be running a daycare of manic pink goblins. Only slightly surprised that they were deep shades of red instead of the stereotypical green-skins of his old world''s fiction. He recalled his race change had shifted into the same hue before Syl passed the race by. He focused in on the orc sitting in the centre of the booth, picking her out as the one in charge as she nodded patiently along with the older-looking goblin in a formal-looking suit of all things as he went over a piece of parchment. Lela Enrock ( ??? ) Voice of the clans, Speaker of Dawn, Binder of Pacts. The intimidating red woman noticed his examination and gave him a vivacious, tusked grin, winking at him provocatively before he could break eye contact. He knew that look; it was one Syl liked to tease him with from time to time. Muscle mommy was not his type, so as soon as her look registered and his brain caught up, he shifted his attention. Not even sparing the time to scan anyone else lest she take his continued examinations as approval. A barrier around the next booth popped and buzzed quietly as indistinct shapes and shadows shifted silently inside. ¡®Ignore that one; you do not want the attention of the fey.¡¯ Syl said. ¡°It¡¯s weird that they¡¯re here at all. So far they seem to be focusing on the fact they¡¯re stuck in the booth. Fey doesn¡¯t like feeling trapped; they typically do the trapping; it''s usually their thing. ¡®Weird that I didn¡¯t notice them till now.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s the fey¡¯s doing too. They don¡¯t like attention, especially when they feel trapped.¡¯ ¡®What am I supposed to be doing here? Am I still on hold? ¡®Yes. There¡¯s a system timer. I¡¯m requesting info from the local system. Sit down and shut up. Try those breathing exercises we went through.¡¯ Kai sighed; he was already sitting, but he let it slide. Syl didn''t like it when he got smart with her. Probably far more used to working to a system timer than he would like to admit he did as Syl suggested. Crossing his legs beneath himself, he took in a deep breath. He ignored the fresh wave of examinations as air filled his lungs, and he realised there was something different about the air here. Despite being sealed inside a chamber with no windows, doors or vents of any kind, the air felt fresh, better than fresh. This was apparently due to the high amount of natural magic Alea had. It was everywhere, in everything and with his vastly improved mana core, courtesy of his new race, he could literally breathe it in. It was his absorption, conversion and flow stats that dictated how well he could breathe in the mana, but apparently focus and technique could improve it too. Syl had taught him this was one of the many ways he could refill his mana faster and that he would want to learn the active skill as soon as possible. With work and a bit of time, he could improve the skill to have more positive effects on his passive mana regeneration. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. In a long-drawn-out fight, it could mean a few more spells or magical augmentations, which could be the difference between life and death. There were a lot of things that could mean life and death, according to Syl; he tried not to dwell on it. He didn¡¯t have the first clue about magic itself, but apparently this was a first step to many things. Even if he didn¡¯t go down a magically focused path, this basic meditation had other positive effects on his physical self, going so far as to help to restore his health and restore his stamina. So again, in a long, drawn-out fight, it could mean life and death. At the moment the effects would be minimal. The boost to stamina and health is a byproduct of fresh mana flowing through his channels, whatever they were, and bleeding out to restore his other aspects. Technically it was him being inefficient with the mana he was taking into his system, but as he couldn''t actually detect that mana yet to help guide it, there was little he could do about it. If someone wanted to, they could intentionally direct the mana to restore health and stamina instead of filling their mana core. Which was why, despite him not knowing what path he planned on taking, Syl had insisted on him getting the skill. Syl had mentioned a system timer, but she had failed to mention how long that timer was. So he just sat there, taking in one deep, steady breath after another. Trying to feel the power sources he would need to make literal magic happen as he took it into himself. He felt nothing beyond the air filling his lungs, but it was sharp, different from back on earth, so he hoped he was doing something right. He had been warned it wasn¡¯t something everyone could learn; some people just weren''t cut out for magic. But with his race, Syl said she would be surprised if he couldn¡¯t, just that it might be a matter of time. Realising he had let his mind wander a bit, he was surprised to feel a distant notification pulse softly as it let him know it wanted his attention. Pulling himself from his meditation, he acknowledged it. Skill Acquired: Sloppy Meditation. You have learnt that through deliberate focus, many things are possible. 3% boost to mana recovery, 1% boost to stamina recovery, and a 1% boost to health recovery. How those percentages translated, he didn¡¯t know exactly, and he felt his meditation hadn¡¯t been sloppy at all. But at least he had gotten something. ¡®Took you less time than I thought it might. ¡®You sense anything?¡¯ Syl asked suddenly. ¡®Nope, the air feels crisper here; that¡¯s about it.¡¯ ¡®Works better when your mana is near depletion; your body naturally draws more in so it''s easier to get a sense for it. Detecting it outside your body, even seeing it, that¡¯s the hard part.¡¯ ¡®Got another skill for you. Are you ready to see what these people have to offer?¡¯ Skill Acquired: Omniglot. What does Omniglot do? The skill doesn''t have a description,'' he asked Syl, as focusing on the skill for more information was giving him nothing, not even a headache. ¡®Oh that, I was shooting for just the local languages. I would have been happy if we at least got what passes for the common tongue. But the system eventually got back to me with this. I technically still know every language, past and present, from before the system stepped in and let me pass that on. Why do you think I¡¯ve had you on hold for so long? Sorry about the headache.¡¯ ¡®What head-¡® He was glad he was sitting down. Had he not been, he would have been back to lying flat on his face. Cradling his head, he felt like his brain exploded and turned to slush inside his skull as billions of new pathways formed as his mind was flooded with information. It only lasted a moment, but that alone was enough for him to reassess what agony truly meant. Blinking in an attempt to clear his head of any lingering pain, he noted a distinct shift in the room. The constant indistinct murmur he couldn''t understand came into focus, and he realised he could understand what people were saying. ¡°What¡¯s the bairn up to now? We¡¯ve got bare minutes left to come up with a decent bid, and he¡¯s just sitting there holding his head, bleeding¡¯ out of his ears and nose like his mama just gave him a well-deserved smack.¡± Said one of the dwarven women in a thick accent he couldn¡¯t quite place yet somehow totally understood. ¡°Sorry about that. Just got a new skill from- ¡®My system guide,¡¯ Syl prompted him. -my system guide," Kai Finished. ¡°New skill? System guide?¡± He watched as the woman''s eyes went wide in horror. ¡°You¡¯re using the thick tongue!¡± ¡°You dare use the thick tongue,¡± Orrick stepped forward, his beard jingling as he moved, ¡°when I get out of this ere booth.¡± His eyes seemed to bulge as a massive rune-worked sword appeared in his fist. ¡°Relax, friend Orrick; he meant no offence.¡± came a smooth voice; it was Thanric, the El¡¯vei man, in just one booth over. ¡±Observe,¡± The El¡¯vei turned to address Kai directly, ¡°Greetings, my name is Thanric An¡¯aladduin, Ambassador of the Tranquil Empire, but most know me simply by my preferred title, The Sage.¡± ¡°Greetings, Thanric. Names Kai, no titles, but I suspect everyone here got that much with their many, many attempts to examine me. I really did mean no offence,¡± Kai said, looking between him and the dwarven man. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what the thick tongue is. This world is entirely new to me.¡± Thanric smiled. ¡°Impeccable nirashii; I always wondered how it was meant to sound,¡± he said as he turned back to Orrick. ¡°I believe our friend''s new skill was one of language; somehow the system is assisting him, and he doesn¡¯t even know it.¡± ¡°Aye, seems so.¡± Orrick''s sword vanished. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m still a little lost.¡± Kai said, trying to get a bit more information. ¡°Ah, I spoke to you in three languages: one my own, another the common tongue of Alea, and the third long forgotten to all but the most cloistered of scholars. You even spoke the thick tongue as a native, not a friend. Tell me, did you even notice? Kai shook his head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand a word before. Got the skill just now; you''re all speaking English so far as I can tell.¡± He said as he used the hem of his t-shirt to clean the blood from his nose and ears. It was all he had, and it was black, so it shouldn¡¯t cause an obvious stain. ¡°He best be careful who he goes talking to,¡± Orrick said; ¡°he hasn¡¯t earned the right; a lesser dwarf would cut him down to size. Stones, he needs to come with us.¡± The room had gone silent as almost everyone seemed to be listening in on their conversation. But Orrick''s declaration that Kai should come with us caused someone to scoff dramatically. ¡°I think I like him now,¡± the creepy man spoke up. He had risen from his lounging position and seemed to study Kai intently. ¡°If anyone interferes with my bid, I promise the might of the kingdoms will-¡° ¡°Oh please, it¡¯s called the Shattered Kingdoms for a reason; all the minor powers you could bully, Caradin had sense enough not to come,¡± one of the orec¡¯kien women said, interrupting him. ¡°You''re going to have to come up with a promising bid if you don¡¯t want to go back to your middling lands empty-handed. Besides, we like him too; he looks to be of quality stock. Especially if his new skill lets him truly sing the songs of our people,¡± another orec¡¯kien said. ¡°Songs of your people?¡± Kai asked. Thanric coughed, ¡°Mating songs.¡± Kai turned a deep shade of red; the orcs would break him in two. ¡°See, he wants to come with us; he is already adopting the true colours!¡± roared the centre-most orc, Lela Elrock. As her booth began to roar with laughter and giggling goblins. ¡®Want backup?¡¯ Syl asked him in the privacy of his own mind. He just nodded. ¡®Going with plan Will-o''-the-wisp.¡¯ ¡®Will-o''-the-wisp?¡¯ ¡®Yeah, you¡¯ll find it familiar, and it shouldn¡¯t blow their minds too much with true fey hanging about.¡± A ball of ethereal cyan flame, tinged with a hint of crimson, appeared beside him. The room grew quiet again as dozens of examiners shot off at once. Only the sound of orcs and goblins remained, as in their amusement they hadn¡¯t noticed the little floating flame manifest. Syl just shot off from where he floated, heading straight for the orec¡¯kien booth, killing their raucous laughter instantly. Syl was able to pierce the protective barrier of the booth, and she moved to flit around the heads of the three orc women. ¡°No, sing, you are not worthy,¡± Syl said in a childish, singsong voice. ¡°What is this?¡± Lela asked, sounding amused, as the goblins in her company focused on their sudden intruder. ¡°That would be Syl, my system guide.¡± The murmurs grew louder again. ¡®Syl, I swear, if you start floating around saying, Hey, listen!¡¯ He said inside, hoping Syl could hear him through their connection. ¡®Relax; I think Alea is way too far for them to send a cease and desist letter; besides, I¡¯m not a glowing fairy; not much they could do if I did.¡¯ ¡®And don¡¯t get any ideas about singing for any orcs; these ladies would wear you down to nothing.¡¯ ¡®Already thought of that.¡¯ Kai said, refusing the mental image before it could take hold of his imagination. ¡®I bet you did, you naughty boy.¡¯ Ignoring Syl as she zipped out of the orc''s booth, Kai got up and approached the edge of his platform off to the side closest to the dwarves and Thanric. ¡°Thanric, Orrick, Ladies. Can any one of you be so kind as to explain what''s happening? Why am I up here?¡± Orrick went to open his mouth but was pulled back by one of the women in his cadre, who pulled him back. ¡°Kai, what do you think is happening?¡± Thanric asked him as he too approached the edge of his booth. ¡°I was sent here by a¡­¡± Kai suddenly realised he couldn¡¯t say System Authority in front of these people. ¡°I was sent here by the System when my home world started system integration.¡± ¡°Interesting. Is there any more you can divulge?¡± ¡°I was told I would be going somewhere I could thrive. The perfect world for me, apparently.¡± The dwarves all watched the elvish man. ¡°I detect no lies,¡± Thanric said to the waiting dwarves. ¡°Tell me, what is your current level? You have no distinguishable aura, at least not in the traditional sense, and you resist examination. All we got was your name.¡± ¡°Zero, I didn¡¯t even get to participate in my world''s tutorial. I was pulled out and sent here instead.¡± ¡°Stones, what''s the system playing at?¡± He heard one of the dwarven women mutter. ¡°He truly is a bairn fresh from his mother''s teat.¡± ¡°I think we are about to find out.¡± Orrick said as he looked off to the side. Time for deliberation has ended; submit your bids. ¡°What''s the bidding for?¡± Kai asked as he got a very bad feeling. ¡°Oh, the usual: control, power, wealth, the fate of our world, and you...¡± Thanric, he said as he turned and headed back to his seat. Dim Cickle has withdrawn from the bidding. There was a yelp as the solitary man disappeared from his booth the instant the system message appeared. No one still presents it much attention. Caradin Arellabast has submitted their first bid on behalf of the. Noble title of Viscount and all associated rights and honours. Appropriate lands and other such holdings within the borders of the shattered kingdom''s territory. 5000 serfs to work awarded lands. 1000 platinum crowns. Required: System backed Oath of Fealty to Caradin Arellabast and his line in perpetuity. Kai looked over at the man; he had returned to lounging in his booth. A pretty young human woman now attending to him. He had the feeling the man was deliberately acting as if he hadn¡¯t just offered up a part of his kingdom and the lives of thousands. Lela Enrock has submitted their first bid on behalf of the united clans. Mating rights. Right to participate in the hunt. Right to participate in raiding parties. No tribute is required for 1 decade. Access to the trials. Required: System-backed pledge: 10 strong children capable of passing the trials. Well, he wasn''t going to give the orcs the pleasure of seeing him react to that one. Still, he felt a mild bit of heat in his cheeks. Aniceia Arroki on behalf of the united tribes of beasts and The Kin. The Protection of the Pack. Required: System-backed pledge: Contribute to the pack for a minimum of 2 decades. Well, that could mean anything; at least he didn¡¯t have to find the time to pop out ten children anytime soon. Orrick Stormvairn has submitted their first bid on behalf of the greater houses. Gear appropriate for a level 0. Masterwork gear at level 10. Tailored Masterwork gear set at level 25. A curated supply of recovery items. Free room and board at any guild house. Required: System-backed pledge, loyalty to the Houses for 5 decades. Five decades felt like a bit much, but he didn¡¯t know how to quantify the rest of the bid. Orrick was grinning at him like a madman, the women with him all nodding appreciatively. Syl had come over at some point and was floating around the bearded man''s head. ¡°Can someone please explain these bids? Each one requires a decade or so of what I think is my life. And who is going to decide which bid wins?¡± Kai asked, not a little worried he might be forced into an agreement he didn¡¯t like. Thanric An¡¯aladduin has submitted their first bid on behalf of the Tranquil Isles and its greater Empire. Become an apprentice to Thanric An¡¯aladduin, the Sage of Alea. Required: System-backed pledge of loyalty to the Tranquil Empire for 3 decades. ¡°It''s the system event,¡± Thanric answered. ¡°Each party present must propose a bid, but the system is forcing an equal or mutual gain contract. I could set no lower than three decades when offering you an apprenticeship.¡± Thanric turned and gestured to the el''vei girl beside him, ¡°I wish my current apprentice would also come to value my time and effort as much as the system does.¡± She just looked off to the side. ¡°I endeavour to do better, master.¡± ¡°Yes, I would hope you would,¡± Thanric said before turning back to Kai. ¡°As far as who decides which bid wins. The system will not force anything like a contract on an unwilling participant. So I believe it is you who will decide our fates." The Fey have submitted a bid on behalf of the fey realms of Alea. Become Fey. Required: Become Fey. All bids submitted. The bids will now be shared. Kai has 30 minutes to select a winning bid. If no bids are selected, there will be a 5-minute intermission to prepare and submit a new bid. The bid of Caradin Arellabast has been rejected. The bid of Lela Enrock has been rejected. The bid of the Fey has been rejected. ¡°That was quick.¡± Orrick said his beer jingling as he nodded along with his cadre of ladies. ¡°Wasn''t me.¡± ¡°Terrible, naughty, nasty bids.¡± Syl chimed childishly. ¡°Caradin is not going to like that.¡± Orrick whispered into his beard, "Not one bit." Kai looked over to see Caradin up on his feet, staring daggers at him. The poor El¡¯vei woman who must have been serving him on the floor cradled a broken face, blood pouring from the fresh wound. No one moved to help her; she didn¡¯t even whimper. ¡°Not good enough for you. What could a peasant like you possibly want? Whatever you want, I can get it for you. Join me; I can give you whatever you desire. Wealth you never dreamed of!¡± Caradin said with certainty at a volume just shy of shouting. ¡°Not too interested in wealth. And the title and lands just sound like a lot of work; a poor peasant like myself wouldn''t know where to start.¡± Kai said, knowing he could barely look after himself. He turned away from the man, ignoring the rage that came over him, not wanting to acknowledge him any more than he had to. The young el¡¯vei girl Alicia caught his attention immediately as she was studying him intently, Syl slowly circling her. ¡°Oh, you want a woman? I can get you any women you could ever want: elven women, beast women, gnomes, and children. You like that little el¡¯vei girl over there. I have hundreds; you can take your pick. When you''re done, you can pick another,¡± Caradin bellowed across the room. ¡°Oh hell no!¡± Kai said, raising his voice above Caradin¡¯s own. His stomach turning violently as barely contained rage was building inside him. ¡°If not women, then men, then boys? I can fulfil your deepest, darkest desires.¡± ¡°What makes you think-¡° Kai didn''t even get to finish his sentence before Caradin''s booth shimmered and everyone in it just vanished, leaving only a fresh bloodstain behind. Caradin Arellabast has been rejected three times. ¡°That is going to be a problem, isn''t it?¡± Kai said to both Thanric and Orrick. ¡°That man is a problem for everyone everywhere. But yes, you may be the focus of his ire for a while.¡± Thanric replied to Kai''s rhetorical question. ¡°Bad man, weak. Weak god, mess with worlds integration, stall people''s development,¡± Syl said practically singing the words. She paused in front of the el¡¯vei girl and started to bob up and down as a piece of paper appeared just in front of her. Thanric was too busy sharing a look with Orrick and the other Dwarves. ¡°I suggest we leave this discussion for the council.¡± Orrick nodded and clapped his hands together. ¡°About our bid?¡± Letting his rage at Caradin go for now, Kai looked over the dwarves bid again. ¡°It¡¯s difficult; gear sounds good. But I don¡¯t know how hard gear is to come by. I don¡¯t even know if Masterwork is actually any good. I¡¯m new to the system; I¡¯m new to this world.¡± ¡°Offers too much, requires too much, could interfere with Kai finding his true path.¡± Syl said, still hovering next to Alicia. ¡°I know many who would kill for a single piece of masterworked gear, never mind a full set,¡± Thanric said. ¡°The pledges too are a big problem for me; I don¡¯t know any of you. That Caradin guy was a real piece of work, but imagine if he played things much better. Imagine he fooled me into accepting his bid.¡± Kai couldn''t help but shudder. ¡°And don¡¯t think I haven''t noticed the others over there eyeballing me like a piece of meat.¡± Kai said as he looked over to see Lela blow him a kiss. ¡°Aye,¡± Orrick chuckled, ¡°you did give everyone a proper good eyeful when you arrived. Even my ladies were impressed, and they are used to the good stuff.¡± Orrick gave him a cheeky wink as Mistress Etelle punched him hard in the arm. ¡°Oh, I thought I caught myself in time.¡± ¡°No, you floated there for a good ten seconds before you landed on your face. Not sure if it is the fashion where you came from, but your style of dress seems a little¡­¡± Thanric said, leaving his true opinion unspoken. Kai looked down and adjusted his jeans again. ¡°Yeah, I wasn''t exactly given the chance to change before I got here.¡± ¡°You need not worry about the others; Anicia is here as an observer. Her people are nomadic and have already made an agreement. We all have; even the Orec clans have a tentative agreement with the Houses.¡± ¡°So they weren''t serious about the whole children and mating rights thing?¡± He watched as the booth full of dwarven women just turned to him with looks ranging from amusement right through to outright pity. Even Alicia too took a moment from Syl to look at him with something like pity and curiosity. ¡°No orcs where you come from?¡± Thanric asked. ¡°Just humans. Though a lot of our fiction features the beauty of elves, the skill of dwarves, and the barbarous nature of orcs.¡± ¡°Interesting, elves you say, not El¡¯vei, very interesting,¡± Thanric said as he cupped his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Then what do you want?¡± Estelle asked, taking the lead of the conversation and setting it back on track, ¡°It seems you''re not going to accept our bid. Tell us what you want. Name your price.¡± ¡°Well, I clearly need a change of clothes, training and some gear¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you need,¡± Estelle stepped in front of Orrick. ¡°We thought of all that when we found out you were still at level zero. Tell us what you want, and maybe the cost won''t seem so steep.¡± Kai looked at Syl; she was still hovering next to Alicia, who now held several pieces of paper, each one turning to dust as she dropped it to the floor. He got an idea as he watched Syl''s non-physical manifestation pulse. ¡°A body?¡± he asked tentatively. They all just looked at him in confusion. ¡°One that I can give my system guide.¡± Kai said quickly, hoping to avoid a misunderstanding. ¡°Like a golem?¡± one of the female dwarves he hadn¡¯t examined spoke up. ¡°No, you idiot, golems work on instruction sets. We would need to completely rework its matrix. That¡¯s even if it was possible.¡± Another said shutting them down. Kai grimaced as he imagined Syl trying to tease him as a giant hulking clay figure. ¡°Isn¡¯t that mad woman working on automata powered by elemental cores? Supposedly they maintain the temperament and rudimentary intelligence of the elemental used. That might work.¡± Another dwarven woman offered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Estelle interrupted, ¡°I just tried adding it to our bid; the system rejected it. The offer of a theoretical body for the system guide isn¡¯t something we can guarantee.¡± ¡°Stones and low ceilings. Thought we were onto something there.¡± Orrick said, ¡°What about you, Sage? Any ideas?¡± ¡°I suppose it might be possible with necromancy, but that has been outlawed for centuries. Even if it was allowed for diplomatic reasons, I doubt there is anyone skilled enough. Caradin might have someone tucked away experimenting in secret. But I don¡¯t think you are foolish enough to sell your soul to that man.¡± The mental image of a decaying Syl had Kai speak up, ¡°I was thinking more of a natural flesh-and-blood body, unused.¡± He saw the dwarves deflate at the mention of flesh and blood. Thanric, however, was still thinking things over. ¡°Beyond receiving a boon from a god, I don¡¯t see a way of getting an actual body for your guide. There is the possibility of a system reward.¡± The dwarves came back to life. ¡°We control a number of reward dungeons. We can give priority access.¡± ¡°No good; those dungeons are all above level fifty. I can¡¯t even verify we will maintain control over them when he reaches that level.¡± Estelle said. ¡°Elf tits!¡± Orrick groaned. Alicia jumped to her feet, her golden eyes wide. ¡°Master.¡± ¡°Orrick, please, such idioms may be commonplace, but Alicia is-¡± ¡°No master, look.¡± Alicia said as she passed Thanric a piece of gilded card. Thanric''s eyes tightened almost imperceptibly as the card he was reading suddenly turned to dust in his hand. To his credit, he collected himself quickly, and he turned to Alicia to give her his full attention. ¡°Alicia If you choose to do this, you must do so on your own. I am bound by agreements and oaths sworn between the Houses and the Empire. You are not. I¡¯m not even sure this will be possible.¡± Alicia nodded. Alicia An¡¯aladduin has submitted a personal bid. Nothing. Required: Nothing. Bid shared. Orrick''s eyes went wide. ¡°There¡¯s a flamin loophole!¡± ¡°Orrick, you handsome fool, there¡¯s always a flaming loophole!¡± Cried Estelle. ¡°But the event says whoever''s offer is accepted will control the world wonder. Nothing was actually offered.¡± Orrick said as he started stroking his beard, abashed at Estelle¡¯s chastisement. ¡°Taking too long, requirements too high, I made a quest, only way.¡± Syl sang as she danced around the dwarves heads. ¡®I made an offer to the girl; she accepted; now it''s your turn,¡¯ Syl said directly to him. ¡®Unless you want to make a system pledge and put at least the next twenty years of your life in the hands of another,¡± ¡®The dwarves seem upset,¡¯ Kai replied as he noticed a few grumbles. ¡®Do you want to sit here and negotiate? The systems enforce mutual return on whatever they offer, and as you have nothing but the shirt off your back to offer them, you''ll always get screwed.¡¯ ¡®I could offer to do something.¡¯ ¡®Won''t work; it has to be something you can do or give now.¡¯ ¡®Even the children think.¡¯ ¡®Technically that¡¯s possible: they¡¯re already planning a similar bid; now that they know you''re only a level zero system virgin, they might just be gentle.¡¯ ¡°So, if I accept this bid, will there be political ramifications?¡± Kai asked, hoping he wouldn¡¯t stir up any more trouble than he had with Caradin. ¡°Many,¡± Thanric said, ¡°but the main point of the agreements made was to prevent Caradin from winning the auction. It was agreed that the Houses were the most likely to outbid the combined wealth of the shattered kingdoms while remaining the most neutral party when it came to managing things. ¡°Aye, then you showed the foppish git what he is worth to you,¡± Estelle said. ¡°No, the houses will hold no grudge; no bargain was broken.¡± She looked around, and one by one, each mistress of the house nodded. ¡°We actually have a clause in all our agreements that should we not win the bid, we gain certain other rights.¡± Estelle grinned. ¡°You do?¡± Thanric asked, not sounding at all surprised. ¡°Loopholes,¡± Syl sang more cheerfully than ever as she spun around Thanric, giggling. Thanric shrugged. ¡°I suppose I should have known.¡± Thanric turned his attention back to Alicia. ¡°Are you sure you are okay with this? You know what it means. You''re still just a child, and you¡¯ve only just been granted permission to advance.¡± Alicia looked away, her cheeks changing to a distinct shade of red Kai knew all too well. A moment passed before she turned to Kai, looked him up and down, thought for a moment more, then nodded. ¡°Okay then, I accept the bid of Alicia An¡¯aladduin.¡± Kai said, meeting her golden eyes. The bid of Alicia An¡¯aladduin has been accepted. A window popped up in front of Kai as a gilded piece of paper formed out of nothing in front of Alicia. A mutual contract has been offered. Nothing is required of the other, simply an agreement between equals. Do you accept this binding contract? He looked past his floating message box to see a pair of golden eyes locked on him. There was an odd feeling of something settling over him as he mentally accepted the contract. Thanric, somehow sensing his agreement, started clapping. ¡°Sietra is going to kill me.¡± The room erupted, the dwarves all applauding and stamping their feet in rhythm whilst the orcs and goblins whooped and hollered on the other side of the room; even Anicia was standing in her booth clapping. ¡°What''s happening?¡± Kai asked. ¡°About that,¡± Syl said. As nothing was exchanged, control of the World Wonder of Alea will remain with Kai. They have 1 year to decide where the World Wonder will set down and establish a controlling authority. The auction is now over. All participating parties will be returned to their point of origin. ¡°Looks like we will be seeing each other again soon enough.¡± Orrick said just as everything twisted and went black. System Anomaly - 9 - All in on Alicia He was engaged. Technically married, but as they had not received the blessing of Alicia¡¯s mother, he was only considered engaged for now. What was worse is Alicia was technically a child in the eyes of the el¡¯vei; she was just a little older than him, but still just a child within her culture. Thanric had given him a brief explanation of what had just happened after they left the auction. As it was the first thing The Sage had chosen to explain to him, he spiralled into a state of shock and failed to comprehend the rest of their conversation. Alicia had just disappeared to her own quarters, Syl following after her for some unknown reason. Leaving him alone with Thanric as if he wasn¡¯t suddenly having a personal crisis. The elderly el¡¯vei man took him to his quarters to find him some clothes that fit better. Thanric was just as tall as him, but he was of a much lighter build. Thankfully, he had some old travelling clothes that were easily adjusted to fit much better than the jeans and T-shirt combo he currently wore. He had been handed the new clothes and just changed into them in a daze. Before he knew it, he was wearing a loose white linen shirt and a pair of tough leather trousers with lacing running up the side of each leg. Thanric had helped him adjust things to fit, as he had no experience using anything other than a zip, buttons or a belt to put trousers on. Just as he had been put in a chair and given a pair of mid-calf boots to put on, Syl had reappeared. Bobbed in front of Thanric for a bit, and then the next thing he knew, he was being directed through a portal into a dungeon. You are entering a trials dungeon. Entry-level limit lv. 1 to lv. 10 Party members: Kai Lv.0 Sylph lv.0 Alicia Lv. 5 Stumbling through the portal, he appeared in a small round room. Lit by a dim crystal set in the ceiling. The room was bare stone from floor to ceiling, with only the open portal he had just entered through behind him and an archway to a narrow corridor leading off somewhere hidden in shadows ahead of him. Just as he was getting his bearings, Syl appeared just in front of him, floating in her wisp form. ¡°You might want to step out of the way.¡± She said her flames flaring as she spoke. ¡°Wuh-¡° he said, still a little slow on the uptake. Next thing he knew, he was nearly knocked off his feet as Alicia came through the portal just behind him. Turning around, he was met with a glare from the little el¡¯vei woman. Girl? Looking down on her from this close, he noted how short she actually was; it didn''t seem right with her being the stereotypical, beautiful, youthful, elven woman in every other way. She was wearing the same leathers she had on at his auction. But she had come equipped with a short sword on one hip and the other a belt quiver stuffed with arrows. Several slim knives strapped to her thigh. And on her back was securely strapped a little leather pack that seemed a bit too small to carry anything substantial. Alicia even held a simple yet functional short bow in one hand and had an arrow at the ready in the other. You couldn¡¯t get any more stereotypical elven than that, besides maybe a mage or healer of some kind, he thought to himself. ¡°What are you staring at?¡± she asked, frowning up at him. ¡°How tall are you, I mean, in comparison to other el¡¯viaran?¡± he asked before he could stop himself. Her frown deepened. ¡°I was about five-three last time I checked, but I still have another ten years or so to reach my full height. Why do you ask?¡± There was a flare of light as Syl''s little wisp form erupted in a cascade of cyan flame, revealing her true form. ¡°Where he comes from, your kind are typically described as taller than humans; he¡¯s still adjusting to the difference in reality and popular fiction.¡± Alicia looked Syl up and down. ¡°System Guide, when you told me that was not your true form, I was not expecting this.¡± ¡°Why, are you jealous?¡± Syl said as she did a little spin, showing off her figure. She was wearing the combat gear she had used when beating him black and blue. ¡°And I told you to call me Syl.¡± ¡°No, I¡­ Syl, your eyes, they glow too.¡± Alicia asked as she looked between the two of them. ¡°Yes, I believe it¡¯s a physical trait of our race; not sure if it actually does anything.¡± ¡°Your race? It''s not something unique to Kai, like a skill he has?¡± Alicia asked as she stepped forward, reaching out with both hands to make Kai look down at her so she could examine his eyes more closely. ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°My eyes glow?¡± Kai asked, remembering he still hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at himself since his race change, as the visual analogue had already disappeared when he came to. ¡°Light blue with a hint of purple closer to the pupil, central heterochromia,¡± Alicia said, holding his head in a vice-like grip. ¡°Why? Do you think it''s pretty?¡± Syl said as she drifted past, grinning. Alicia turned red faster than he personally could as she let go of his face and stepped back, putting a few feet between them. ¡°No, it¡¯s just interesting,¡± she blurted. ¡°You said it was because of your race?¡± ¡°I will get to that, but I think it''s best we set Kai off on his first adventure. I¡¯ll answer all your questions and give you your quest reward when we are on our own.¡± ¡°Quest reward?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Yes, I was able to offer Alicia a quest. First she had to offer you that contract so we didn''t get bound to anyone, and then we formed a party. Alicia is a support type, and she has some unique connections for someone her level. That¡¯s why I was able to get us into this dungeon so quickly. Alicia was already here with Thanric doing some training whilst they waited to join the System Event. I had to bribe her with my help as a system guide and the Omniglot skill. She really hesitated on the terms of the contract.¡± Alicia shifted her stance slightly at the mention of the skill or possibly the mutual contract; he couldn¡¯t tell which. ¡°And you¡¯re certain you can just give this skill away?¡± He asked if I remembered the headache getting the skill from Syl had given him. ¡°The system wouldn¡¯t let me use it as a quest reward if I couldn¡¯t.¡± Syl said as she continued drifting slowly around the two of them. ¡°Alicia, please give Kai an explanation about this dungeon before we send him off.¡± ¡°Oh. Did my master not explain it to him? He likes to explain things.¡± ¡°We tried; Kai had his mind on other things¡­¡± Syl said as she drifted up to Kai and made to flick him on the forehead, her finger just passing straight through where it hit him. ¡°Where to begin,¡± Alicia started, ¡°This dungeon is used for initiation and training. It is a series of chambers that gradually increase in difficulty, scale and complexity. There is a reward for every five rooms cleared. The rewards are good because they seem to be based on how you performed, so you nearly always get something you need to help with the upcoming rooms. You can only enter it if you are under level ten, but the lower level you are when you first start, the better the rewards seem to be. Like you, I was still level zero when I came in. No one knows exactly how many rooms there are because no one has finished the dungeon as people are forced to give up or die trying. "The party I joined on my run got me to the twenty-fifth room before I had to leave to join my master for the event. I will not be able to join in on any room I have already done. But I can follow behind until the room I last got to is reached. As the dungeon scales to the number of participants, Kai should, in theory, be able to get that far, though trying solo is considered much harder. Most people only get to run the dungeon once as they either receive an injury or something else that forces them to exit. They cannot re-enter because they are past level ten or they can''t find a way to be carried back to the room they last got to.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°I should have asked for a brief explanation.¡± Syl said, interrupting Alicia, who still seemed like she had more to say. ¡°Kai, go through that archway; you¡¯ll find yourself in a room with one or two monsters in it. Kill them. With your stats, experience and all the sparring we did together, it should be a piece of cake.¡± Syl snapped her fingers, getting his attention back from the archway he had turned to. ¡°This is the important part. When you have gathered enough essence, the system will try and level you up; do not let it.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Simply not wanting to level up yet should stop the system from doing it for you. It will feel like you''re full, like you''re about to burst. But you can''t let the system level you up. Just clear the room and wait for Alicia and me to join you. I''ll explain what you should do with all the essence then.¡± Kai just nodded, turned and walked through the archway. ¡°Is he going to be okay?¡± Alicia asked Syl. ¡°Yes. Believe it or not, he has about a thousand years of accumulated experience; he just doesn¡¯t remember any of it. He just needs to trust his instincts and stop holding back; he will be fine.¡± ¡°No, I mean he has no weapon, armour or recovery items.¡± ¡°Elf tits, I forgot to get him to check his ring.¡± The goblins had already started screaming.
The moment Kai stepped through the archway, the shadows cleared and a room appeared at the other end of a short corridor. He made his way carefully up to the opening to see what the dungeon had prepared for him. It was two short, skinny green goblins in soiled loincloths. They had their backs to him as they bickered with each other, neither of them noticing his approach in the corridor. If he was quick, he could probably take them both out before they could even react. Darting into the room, he put his hand out to his side to conjure a fresh blade; he was thinking a short sword would be best in the small room. But the moment he focused his intent, his hand just itched, tingling as nothing appeared; he realised his first mistake. He wasn¡¯t in his domain; he was in a dungeon. Weaponless and charging headfirst at two goblins, he had to think fast. He crouched low, putting his left shoulder first, and shoulder-checked the closest goblin. The smelly little green man screamed as it was sent flying into the far wall. ¡®I can''t believe you actually tried to conjure a weapon.¡¯ Syl said her voice in the back of his head. ¡°A little busy, Syl.¡± He said as he turned his attention to the goblin right beside him. Luckily, it had no weapon either and seemed more surprised at Kai''s sudden appearance and its companion''s abrupt flight than anything else. Moving faster than it could react, Kai spun and brought his boot up between the goblin''s legs. With a sickening crunch, the goblin''s eyes rolled back as it collapsed. Standing over the poor little fella, Kai raised his leg up to stomp on its head. He couldn''t help but think the goblin looked pitiful as it curled up into a little ball, clutching its jewels, heaving for breath. Suddenly the other goblin was on his back, and he found himself tumbling forward. The little green thing was screaming maniacally as its sweaty, long, bony fingers wrapped around his throat, long, ragged nails tearing at his flesh. Whether the goblin was weak or his improved stats were just that good, he didn''t know, but the attempt at strangling him felt like that of a feeble old person bereft of any notable strength. As he got to his feet, the goblin must have realised its attempt to strangle him wasn¡¯t going to work, so it dug its filthy little teeth into his shoulder. ¡°You little-¡° Kai immediately jumped and slammed his back down into the solid stone dungeon floor. He felt the little goblin''s rib cage crumple in on itself as he hit the ground, the goblin''s foetid breath whooshing past his shoulder as he rolled off it. Getting to his feet again, he immediately checked what the other goblin was up to; it was too busy vomiting to be any real threat. ¡®You know, with the stat difference, you probably could have just kicked both of them in the head; they are short enough.¡¯ Syl said. Ignoring the constructive criticism, he checked the goblin he had just crushed. It was badly winded and was struggling to catch its breath as it turned an odd shade of blue. ¡®You had the right idea before. Make it quick and put them out of their misery.¡± Kai stepped up to the closest goblin. It wheezed as it clutched at its crushed torso. He half expected it to plead for its life, but the eyes that looked up at him were just filled with rage. Had their positions been reversed, he knew this pitiful thing wouldn¡¯t hesitate for a moment. You have killed Goblin Wretchling Lv. 1. You have killed Goblin Wretchling Lv. 1. He had done it, stomped on both of them, putting them both out of their misery like Syl had said. It just felt wrong; he felt odd, numb. ¡°What is wrong?¡± he heard Alicia ask as she entered the room just behind Syl. ¡°The world he is from only just got initiated; culturally, killing is... it''s complicated.¡± Syl said as she drifted in front of him, trying to get him to look at her. ¡°Kai, we talked about this. You expected this the moment the system connected to you.¡± ¡°I know; I just need a moment to process what just happened.¡± ¡°Why were there two of them? My party only had one for each member. Made me fight mine one-on-one to make sure I had it in me before we continued.¡± Alicia squeaked, What happened to the corpses? They just vanished.¡± Kai looked around confused. ¡°They¡¯re not supposed to vanish?¡± Alicia shook her head. ¡°We get to dismantle them for ingredients and materials.¡± ¡°Check the ring you got as compensation,¡± Syl said. ¡°I don¡¯t-¡° Looking down at his hands, he noticed a silver-looking ring on the ring finger of his left hand. The ring didn''t exactly shine; it kind of glimmered, and as he moved his hand to get a better look, the light that caught it flared through the whole spectrum and back again. Looking closer, he noticed it wasn''t actually one piece of metal but hundreds, possibly thousands, of interwoven, braided bands of metal that seemed to be actively rolling in on themselves. Pulling it off, he focused on it. Trying for his first item description, he wasn''t disappointed when a blue window appeared next to the ring as he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. Kai¡¯s Soul Ring (Unique - Soulbound, Looting, Dismantle, Obscure, Indestructible) Made of a long-forgotten material, this storage ring connects directly to Kai¡¯s soul, allowing him to store physical items within his nascent domain. This ring also possesses the looting, dismantling, obscuring, stuck and indestructible enchantments. This ring is part of a set. Doing his best not to react outwardly, he was ecstatic at having a storage item; he focused on the list of enchantments, hoping the system would fill him in. Looting will automatically deposit your ¡®loot¡¯ in your storage. Currently set to all. Dismantle will auto-dismantle loot. Currently set to off. Obscure - this item is obscured; obscured items cannot be detected or examined by others. Currently set to only those who know. Stuck - this item is stuck where it is. Will return if removed. Indestructible - This item will be restored by the system if it is somehow destroyed. Set 1 of 2 rings. ¡°Okay, I know I¡¯m new to this, but even I know that that is a bit much.¡± ¡°What? I don¡¯t see anything.¡± Alicia said as she watched him intently. ¡°Oh, here,¡± he took the ring off his finger and tossed it at Alicia. To her credit, Alicia reacted faster than he expected and grabbed it out of the air, opening her gloved fist to find there was nothing. She looked about, trying to see where it had gone. ¡°I am sorry; I swear I caught it.¡± As she looked back to Kai apologetically, Kai held up his left hand, displaying the ring that had returned to his finger the moment Alicia had closed her hand around it. ¡°Stuck enchantment.¡± He stayed thinking that would be enough of an explanation. ¡°What enchantment?¡± She said, her confusion writ plain on her face. Kai took a moment to read off the ring''s description and the system''s explanation of its enchantments. The more he spoke, the wider Alicia''s eyes grew. His explanation over Kai switched the ring to the middle finger of his right hand; he wasn¡¯t quite ready to put anything on his actual ring finger. But to his dismay, the moment the ring settled and he took his eyes off it, it shifted back to the ring finger of his left hand. He looked at Syl, who just smiled at him. ¡°Are you certain it says soul, not spatial? I mean, I¡¯ve heard of a spatial storage device; everyone has; everyone wants one. ¡°Definitely says Soul.¡± Kai checked. ¡°No capacity, weight reduction or time dilation.¡± Alicia was rambling. ¡°No mention of killing anything living you store inside!¡± the little el¡¯vei girl practically squealed. Alicia pulled the pack off her back and held it out to them, ¡°This cost me over a hundred gold!¡± She said with tears brimming in her eyes. Kai looked at the pack, focused. Lesser Spatial Pack of Holding. Despite its size, this pack will hold up to 1 cubic meter or 3.5 cubic feet worth of items. Items in the pack will weigh half what they normally do and will experience 1/5 the normal passage of time. As this item distorts time and space, storing living matter is not recommended. Alicia sank down till her butt hit the ground, and she pulled her pack tight. ¡°I hate you, stupid ring.¡± Syl drifted close to her and patted her on the head. Or at least she pretended to, ¡°There, there, he has that effect on people. He will grow on you, I promise.¡± ¡°It is not fair,¡± Alicia moaned. ¡°I would tell you he is just lucky, but that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth.¡± ¡°But all my gold?¡± ¡°Think of it this way, Alicia: with Kai around, you won''t have to worry about looting stuff or dismantling.¡± ¡°No dismantling monsters?¡± ¡°Yup. It gets better. With Kai looting everything, there won''t be any real limit on what we take from dungeons, rifts and ruins.¡± Alicia''s golden eyes glimmered. ¡°But the local economy?¡± ¡°But your gold.¡± ¡°Just how big is his Soul space?¡± Syl turned to Kai and let out a hmmm, ¡°You didn¡¯t let yourself level up, did you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Kai said trying to feel for the full feeling Syl described, there was something there that hadn¡¯t been before, but he wouldn¡¯t say he felt full. ¡°Great, there are some things I want to talk to you both about, and if we have a visual aid, it will be easier for the both of you to understand.¡± She looked around the empty room. ¡°Alicia, will this room respawn if Kai were to stay here for a while?¡± ¡°No, once a room''s cleared, that is it. The only time a room resets is if you retreat before clearing it. Why?¡± ¡°Kai, loot Alicia and join us at the house.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± Syl said, shrugging as she burst into cyan flame and was gone. ¡°So I just-¡° he focused on Alicia and thought about her being in his domain. ¡°Wait, I-¡° Alicia disappeared. ¡®Do not think¡­ good¡­ idea. ¡®Crusty Dwarf Beards!¡¯ Kai stood alone in the dungeon chamber and thought about how easy that had been; he hoped he could get her back out again. He better check. Alicia reappeared. ¡°What the-¡° ¡°You okay?¡± he asked. ¡°A little disoriented, I do not like how you can-¡° She disappeared again. ¡®Do that!¡¯ Alicia cried inside his mind. ¡®If it wasn¡¯t for the contract you two share, I doubt he could do it; you¡¯re engaged to him; get used to it already.¡¯ Syl said. The fact that he heard it meant she wanted him to hear it. Confused Kai took a moment as he sat down on the cold, hard tiles of the dungeon floor. Something was annoying him; he thought Syl liked him, but she seemed all in on Alicia. He toyed with his new ring, twisting it on his ring finger; he might just end up marrying the little el¡¯vei girl if he wasn¡¯t careful. Suddenly, Alicia appeared in front of him. ¡°It worked; I was able to exit on my own.¡± She looked at him, ¡°Syl, try and bring me back, please. He is blushing like he was up to no good, and I do not like it.¡± And just like that, she was gone again. System Anomaly - 10 - Omni Level It had taken Kai a bit longer than usual to get himself into his domain. He didn''t know if it was because he couldn¡¯t quite clear his mind or because the process was a tad more complicated now with having a physical body again. But he had managed. He appeared outside the lake house; Syl and Alicia were sitting around a table out on the decking that spanned the lakeside edge of the growing property. Syl had her back to him, but the moment he had arrived, she beckoned him over. ¡°How is this place so¡­ big?¡± Alicia asked them both; Kai got closer. ¡°Master can access his soul space, but he says it''s just a small forest grove. It takes him a good hour to enter, and that¡¯s after decades, possibly centuries, of practice.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because Kai¡­ because¡­ huh, forbidden knowledge.¡± Syl said, leaning back in her chair, thinking. ¡°I got stuck in a time loop for around a thousand years; my soul kept growing, but my memories got wiped and my body reset again and again.¡± Kai said as he took the open seat. ¡°Then when the time loop was fixed, I was cast into the void, whatever that is, with no physical body. I had Syl to pull me into this place from time to time, so learning to do so on my own wasn¡¯t actually that hard.¡± He repressed the memories of what lay hidden within the abyss with a shudder. ¡°I recommend trying a different method.¡± ¡°That sounds terrible.¡± Alicia said, looking at him with sympathy. ¡°Time loop arrays are sometimes used on criminals. They have a tendency to drive people mad.¡± ¡°The void almost drove me mad. Nothing, true nothing, is incomprehensible. I found it best just to accept it for what it was, nothing. Once I did that, the void was actually quite peaceful¡­ until it wasn''t.¡± Alicia looked at him funny; it was an odd mix of pity and poorly hidden curiosity. Prattling on about literally nothing, driving you almost mad, might just sound like some of the almost had actually stuck to him. ¡°But don¡¯t pity me,¡± he said. ¡°Pity Syl. She watched the whole thousand-year time loop thing happen. Then she had her memories of all the potentially rule-breaking stuff we discovered scooped out of her head without her even realising.¡± ¡°How are you doing that? It''s forbidden knowledge.¡± Syl said as she stared at him from across the table. ¡°The forbidden knowledge seems to be the why and the how, not the what. See, if I were to tell Alicia¡­ Nope, I can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°How did you figure that out before me?¡± He shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know; I overthink things. I¡¯m also used to talking without thinking too much about what I am saying. Maybe I should get the Wise title to go with my Old Soul trait.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I could know something and not be able to even share it.¡± Alicia jumped a little in her seat. ¡°Can I take notes? I¡¯m sure my master will find this all very interesting. As The Sage, he is quite dependable on whom he chooses to share his knowledge with. Kai looked at Syl; they both shrugged. ¡°Not like there is anything that could potentially harm us; some of the things I plan on discussing might even help your world reach the first tier and beyond.¡± Alicia pulled a notebook from her pack and started scribbling frantically with a weird metal stylus. ¡°Syl got attached to me because of everything that happened. I think that too affected this place; she put all this,¡± he spread his arms wide, ¡°the house, the plants, the lake, all of it together whilst I was still figuring out how to get in on my own.¡± ¡°Why were you sent to Alea?¡± ¡°Why? Did you think Kai was exiled here or something like that? Was that perhaps because he was a bad boy?¡± ¡°It might have been a possibility¡­¡± Alicia said sheepishly. ¡°Kais actually got a bit of a hero streak; he saved his whole galaxy from absolute destruction. Left his family and everything he knows and loves behind. Did everything he could to save me. As he says, I¡¯m attached to him¡­ in more ways than he realised. ¡°That¡¯s why I wouldn¡¯t feel a bit too put out about his soul ring; he gave up more than he knows. No, that ring was part compensation, part reward for what he went through and what he lost. ¡°Kai¡¯s world, his whole home galaxy, was barren of magic. ¡°His time spent in the time loop and connection to me lead to everything you see around us. ¡°He outgrew his home, so he was sent to your world, where he could flourish without negatively affecting those around him or even the system integration itself. ¡°Neither of us expected our arrival to be tied to a system event. ¡°We couldn¡¯t even understand your language when we arrived, which brings me to this.¡± Syl held out her hand palm up above the table. A sudden breeze picking up all around them. Above them The stars shimmered brightly as particles of light around one of the twin stars were pulled down into her waiting hand, where they came together and condensed into a perfect crystal sphere that glowed with a faint inner light. ¡°Is that the skill?¡± Alicia asked, unable to hide her eagerness. ¡°No, if I wanted to give you just the skill, I would have made a skill book. I can¡¯t actually do that anymore, but this,¡± Syl pinched the sphere between her fingers, ¡°this does the same thing; this is knowledge. All that¡¯s needed for the system to acknowledge the skill within you and so much more.¡± ¡°All language, past and present, written and spoken,¡± Alicia said, her awe writ large on her eager face. ¡°More than that, all forms of communication, past and recent. Watch,¡± Syl released the orb to float above the table where she left it. She stated, gesturing with both her hands towards Kai. ¡°You dare!¡± he cried, fighting back a fresh wave of embarrassment. ¡°What was that?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Sign language from his home, he didn¡¯t know it a day ago.¡± ¡°I guessed that much; we have our own visual languages. What did you say to him? ¡°I asked if he would like me to show you all the lingerie he likes.¡± Syl said, grinning. Alicia turned the same shade of red. ¡°What do you mean by ''re-recent''?¡± She stammered; she too turned a light shade of pink. Disappointed Syl tsked, ¡°It''s all past and current as of about a month ago, give or take. It¡¯s more than enough for the skill, and it''s the system-curated omni-level skill that will actually update with any new languages as they are created. One level above pinnacle, two above divine, it is the highest possible level.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me I have a skill that is the highest possible tier? ¡°Pinnacle is technically the best, but that is based on being the best there is or ever was, not the best there could possibly be. Omni skills are just all-encompassing by their nature, so the system ranks them higher. Don¡¯t forget the system likes to put things in terms we can comprehend.¡± Kai wasn¡¯t too fussed about the details of skill levels; he was just surprised he already had a skill that was around, if not the highest, level. Shame it was a utility skill. ¡°How do I-¡° Alicia said she hadn¡¯t taken her eyes off the sphere of knowledge that still floated where Syl left it. Syl waved, and the sphere shot across the table, shattering into a thousand pieces as it crashed into Alicia''s forehead. All the particles were released, creating a cloud that was rapidly absorbed into the poor girl as she cradled her head against the table. ¡°You could have warned her about the headache.¡± ¡°Why waste my time? It''s not like she could have prepared herself.¡± Alicia''s head popped up; her nose was bleeding, and she was grinning fiendishly. ¡°That was intense.¡± ¡°You get the skill?¡± Alicia drummed on the table, ¡®Naturally, Master Thanric is going to be so jealous¡­¡¯ Her hands stopped drumming. ¡°What was that?¡± Kai asked, curious about the odd form of communication. ¡°Code that thieves and bandits use.¡± Alicia looked at Syl. ¡°Can you do that¡­ that knowledge condensation whenever you want?¡± ¡°I believe so¡­¡± ¡°Can you not give it to my master, at least not for a while? I know it is selfish of me, but¡­ I think you should¡­ but still I would like a little time to-¡± Syl laughed, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry; while probably I can, it''s a very valuable bargaining chip. I would be foolish just to go throwing it around. Best that he thinks he needs to earn it.¡± ¡°You know, the master would probably give you anything within his power for this skill; he''s The Sage for a reason; his pursuit of knowledge is legendary on Alea.¡± ¡°How about this: I won''t offer the skill to him unless he offers us something we absolutely need¡­ or you decide it''s time.¡± ¡°Damn, I had hoped I might get myself a dragon mount.¡± Kai joked. Alicia blinked. ¡°He has connections with the dragons; they¡¯re elusive, and I do not think they will be interested in the skill; they like their dragon tongue too much; they might even get upset if there¡¯s a skill that can allow others to¡­¡± Alicia''s eyes went wide. Kai gave Alicia a look that asked why she paused. ¡°Syl, with this skill, should I be able to use the more¡­ the more magical languages, like the dragon tongue, like High¡¯viairen?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. You saw how Kai stumbled into the thick tongue. Might take some work to speak a new language with intent. But it¡¯s certainly possible.¡± Alicia drifted off into her own thoughts. ¡°What¡¯s High¡¯viairen?¡± ¡°A lost language of power. I¡¯m sure Alicia will teach you when she figures it out¡­ if you¡¯re nice to her.¡± Syl said, smiling to herself. Kai didn¡¯t want to think what Syl meant by nice. He was always nice, but he had a feeling Syl meant nice, not nice. ¡°Alicia, come back to us; we''ve got a lot to get through.¡± Syl spoke up after a few seconds. Alicia blinked. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Alicia, What is the system? What do you believe? What has that master of yours taught you?¡± Syl asked like a teacher trying to establish what they were dealing with, ¡°Be brief.¡± ¡°The system? It allows people to gain power, skills¡­¡± ¡°What if I said the system doesn''t do anything like that? Do you know what your world was like before the system?¡± ¡°Some. Master says Alea was in a golden age of peace and prosperity before the system.¡± ¡°Did people still have power? Could they still use skills, magic?¡± ¡°Not everyone, just the nobility, the truly exceptional and educated.¡± ¡°Exactly, everything that is possible with the system was possible without it. You see, the system is just a tool, an aid, an equaliser.¡± Syl lectured, ¡°What happened when the system first integrated with Alea?¡± ¡°The age ended; civilisation, as it was, fell. The people learnt how to level, developed skills, and terrible magic. The nobility tried to maintain power for themselves, but empires crumbled, kingdoms shattered and nations disappeared. A lot of knowledge was lost. Master calls this an age of ignorance and stagnation¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, the system was set to eliminate my entire planet''s population; only around two percent was predicted to survive. It tried to compensate by¡­ Let''s just say that it¡¯s one of the reasons why I ended up in a time loop. Modern civilisation is probably going to be the first thing that goes when people get out of the tutorial.¡° ¡°You do not seem at all upset.¡± Alicia said once again, looking at him with doleful golden eyes. ¡°We fixed things as best we could. But it¡¯s not like my world was in a golden age.¡± Kai let out a long sigh. ¡°The system assessed my world; civilisation was teetering at a breaking point, and my people were facing self-extinction. The sad fact is I actually agree. The system''s probably a good thing, especially if it brings true magic to my world.¡± Syl reached across the table and took his hand. ¡°You will go back someday.¡± He squeezed her hand. ¡°I¡¯m assuming all this system talk has something to do with why you told me not to level.¡± ¡°Alicia, when you levelled up for the first time, everything was automatic, even your stat allocation?¡± Alicia nodded. ¡°What the system did was assign your accumulated essence based on how you gained that essence. What skills you used, how you moved, what weapons and gear you used, and to a lesser extent, what stats you desire. That¡¯s why people who act more physically boost their physical stats and people who use more mana?¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Their magical stats.¡± Kai offered. Alicia knocked her agreement again. ¡°While this is great for people who don¡¯t know to assign essence without the system before it naturally deteriorates and is lost. It can actually be bad for you if you do it too much. ¡°The multiverse is full of people who fall into the trap of having stats, skills and abilities that don¡¯t actually suit them. ¡°Worse, their cores can become unbalanced and unstable. It can be nearly impossible for them to refine their cores, to compress them. As these two steps are vital for reaching the first tier, they find themselves halted, unable to level any further.¡± Alicia was back to scribbling in her notebook. ¡°Kai, that room we arrived in was full of people ranging from level sixty up to eighty. Only that Caradin guy had refined his part of his physical core. ¡°Everyone there except Alicia should have both of their cores refined and be partway into compression.¡± Syl tapped the table, getting Alicia to look up from her notes. ¡±How long ago was Aleas''s integration?¡± ¡°About nine centuries, I think.¡± ¡°And do you know the highest level that¡¯s been reached?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rumoured Caradin is reaching ninety, but the master says it''s not true.¡± Syl scoffed, ¡°Thanric¡¯s more powerful, and that¡¯s without any refinement. No, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that slimy man was the source of those rumours. I¡¯ve got the feeling he is going to be the root of a lot of problems.¡± ¡°You could examine them?¡± Kai asked, remembering the (???), he got for almost everyone that had been present. ¡°No, but I was able to get a feeling for their power based on aura. Caradin wasn¡¯t even trying to suppress his. Don¡¯t get me wrong; it was pretty weak; he was just pushing it out while everyone else maintained theirs, so it felt strong. ¡°What worries me is that an A-class world like Alea should be far more advanced. Has it actually connected to any other worlds yet?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Alicia paused her note-taking. ¡°There was a system event that, about three centuries ago, Alea didn¡¯t qualify for.¡± ¡°Do you think Bob sent us here to fix things?¡± Kai asked Syl. ¡°Not unless there is¡­ You know a problem that would require his attention.¡± Kai sat back thinking, ¡°What if he knew about this world because he was already watching it?¡± Syl tapped the table, thinking about it. ¡°Who¡¯s Bob?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Bob¡¯s the¡­ Bob is a¡­ hmm, he is Syl''s older brother?¡± ¡°Another system guide?¡± ¡°Not exactly; he has a job¡­ Let''s just say you don¡¯t want to ever meet him.¡± Syl said. ¡°I have a brother like that, only he turns up to cause trouble or put an end to it,¡± Alicia said as she turned to Kai, ¡°You do not want to meet him.¡± Syl taped the table again. ¡°As I was saying,. You want to avoid relying on the system when it comes to levelling up. The best thing to do is take the essence you accumulate, remove any impurities you can find, and then assign it yourself. ¡°You have much more control over your development. But the real bonus is all the work you put in makes core refinement and compression much, much easier, especially when it''s something you learn to do at the low levels. Now Alicia, has Thanric taught you how to find your core yet?¡± Alicia paused. ¡°He told me not to worry about my core.¡± Syl threw her head back. And he is the sage of this world.¡± ¡°He told me I would come to find my core naturally when I reached around level fifty. That it should be powerful enough that it''s just obvious.¡± Syl let out a long, frustrated sigh. ¡°Only idiots wait so long. Your cores could be almost unrecoverable by then. Please tell me he has you working on a balanced approach; you had a bow and sword, but your focus is actually support magic.¡± Alicia nodded emphatically. ¡°What are your stats?¡± A piece of paper appeared in front of Alicia, but before she could react, Syl just reached over and grabbed it. ¡°We need to talk about the way you interact with the system; it makes you vulnerable,¡± Syl said as she read the paper. ¡°Hmm, two percent deviation¡­ good stat distribution. Nothing catastrophic¡­¡± ¡°From what you''re saying, balance is key. So I¡¯m guessing I shouldn¡¯t min-max?¡± Kai asked. Alicia was still shocked. Syl had just grabbed her stat sheet. ¡°Oh, definitely min-max; find out what suits you and lean into it; you just need a good foundation first. But don¡¯t do anything stupid before you learn how to properly build up your cores. ¡°Alicia While Kai goes through the dungeon, I will work with you and help you find your core. When you join up with him, you can build up a real foundation. If things go well, the two of you might just be the first to reach the first tier on this planet.¡± ¡°You mean I¡¯ll be able to outlevel my master?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Alicia, if we do this right, you should level faster than anyone has seen for centuries. I¡¯m not saying it''s easy; I¡¯m saying it''s better. Learning to do it now will make your later progression much faster. Even with all that information you''re so furiously writing down, it will be hard for Thanric to refine his cores. Far too many impurities. But when he does, I imagine his own pace will pick up.¡± Alicia grinned. ¡°Now as to why I brought you in here, if you would both look up,¡± Syl pointed up, ¡°I give you cores, two of them in fact, two soulbound souls.¡± She smiled. Kai looked up. ¡°I promise, I did not think they were just for show.¡± ¡°What gave it away?¡± Syl said as she rolled her eyes. ¡°Was it all the coincidental flashes and flare-ups each time something significant happened? Or was it when I pulled literal knowledge from one of them? Syl gestured, and a copy of the twin stars appeared, hovering just above the table in front of them. ¡°Nice, I was worried I¡¯d get a crick in my neck.¡± ¡°These are our cores; mine is this one, she gestured to the one closer to her, ¡°and the one next to him is Kais. ¡°For humanoids like ourselves, you would expect to see three distinct cores. The physical core, the mana core and then the main core that anchors everything. ¡°The main core is basically you; it is a culmination of your experiences, your memories, and your personality. This core grows and develops as you do. While it is possible to enhance this core using essence, it is not recommended, as doing so would make irreversible changes to who you are. ¡°As a rule, the system only ever interacts with the main core to help heal what''s commonly called soul damage. But that isn''t actually true, as the system can also interact with the main core to do things such as wiping memories or preventing forbidden information from spreading. ¡°There are cultures within the system''s active universe that reject the use of the system for this reason alone, though it is mostly to maintain a status quo of the powerful repressing the weak. ¡°Now,¡± Syl tapped the table, and the copy of her core dissipated like dust in the wind, leaving Kai¡¯s core to shift place and grow in detail. ¡°Our cores are both unique, but I will use Kai¡¯s to demonstrate because his should more closely resemble your own, Alicia.¡± Alicia nodded intently as she continued to scribble in her notebook. ¡°The first thing you will notice is the main core currently dwarfs the other two. That''s because, as we told you, he was stuck in a time loop for around a thousand years, so it has grown out of proportion with the rest of him. Its scale and a few other factors are the reasons why it''s so hard to examine him despite his low level. ¡°If you look closely, you will notice there are areas much dimmer, much less active than they should be; that is the part touched by the system and myself¡­¡± Syl paused. The image of his core was nowhere near as bright as the core just above them; it allowed him to view it in much more detail than he ever had before. Vast swathes of his core churned and twisted faintly, barely even moving as rivers and lakes of more vibrant energy pulsed through them. ¡°My memories weren''t actually removed?¡± ¡°If you could reach out and touch those dull areas, you would find them soft, spongy, possibly even brittle. Your actual experience remains, but it¡¯s removed, detached. Similar experiences in the future may form connections that revitalise and help you reconnect...¡± ¡°Can I not use essence to repair things and activate the inactive areas?¡± Kai asked as he formed a plan, ¡°Remember things I¡¯d been forced to forget?¡± ¡°Experience is not memory. Using essence to reactivate those areas might be possible but also incredibly dangerous. It would change you fundamentally. ¡°For now you¡¯ll have to live with imperfect recall, gut feelings and d¨¦j¨¤ vu.¡± Syl said once again, reaching out to squeeze his hand. His plans of using a bit of essence here and there to get his memories back crumbled. At least now he knew why he felt such a strong connection with Syl. Even before their souls were bound together, he still had the experience of their time together. Which begged a question. ¡°Why not also take the experience as well as the memories?¡± ¡°Because it would have turned your core into a fragile shell, that and it¡¯s something the soul controls; it decides when to let go of experience, even the traumatic ones. It''s why when people forget, the trauma can stay with them for longer still.¡± ¡°Is this why it''s nearly impossible to fix mental illnesses with magic.?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Depends on the cause of the malady. If it''s a kind of soul damage, any improvement magic could do would be akin to a temporary bandage.¡± Syl looked at him hard for a moment. ¡°Kai''s main core dwarfs his other cores, but if he concentrates, he should be able to find his others easily.¡± He looked at the image hovering just above the table. ¡°No,¡± Syl said, letting out an exacerbated sigh as she rolled her eyes at him. ¡°You need to actually feel for them, inside yourself. With your ability to already enter your domain, it should be almost instinctual. Look for it; just don¡¯t enter it.¡± Sitting back in his chair, he felt for the place he came to to enter this place. It was so obvious now. It was almost impossible for him to mistake it for what it was. It pulsed just like the star he had seen so many times; now it was impossible for him to mistake it for anything else than what it actually was. Gelling closer, he felt a few other things; there was a large cloud of energy that surrounded the core, but if he tried reaching for it, it always seemed to just escape his grasp. ¡°What was that?¡± Alicia asked, her voice oddly distant. ¡°Don¡¯t distract him; just pay attention to what he is doing.¡± Syl said, her own voice still crystal clear to him. He gave up on the cloud of energy and went closer to his main core, where, like planets orbiting a star, he could just about feel two much smaller cores that were only actually appearing when he knew to look for them. Their orbits seemed to oppose each other, each giving off a totally different feeling to the other. ¡°Your cores are almost perfectly balanced, but not synced. The way they interact with each other will change depending on how you develop.¡± ¡°I think I know which is my mana core and which is my physical.¡± ¡°Everyone does when they get to this stage; they¡¯re your cores; of course, you instinctively know what they are once you find them. Though an intruder may have to get more invasive to figure out which core is which when they are this balanced. ¡°Alicia, however, will have a naturally more developed mana core, so deduction should be easier. If, however, she decided to redevelop her physical core to match or even be superior to the mana core, it again might be tricky. ¡°But this is something few will ever have to worry about. It''s higher-tier stuff.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Alicia murmured. ¡°Now that you have found your cores, take a look at one of them. Feel it out.¡± He focused on his physical core as it passed by. It was like his main core, just a whole lot more stable; the whole thing just glowed a steady, clear blue light. ¡°Again, you should be able to feel how the different parts of your core affect you. You should also feel that it''s a whole, everything affecting everything else. ¡°Your stamina is a combination of your vitality and endurance, but using strength and dexterity works away at your accumulated stamina. Strength and dexterity come together to give you your overall agility, but your endurance dictates how long you can go all out. ¡°The thing I want you to both understand is that your stats are just how the system quantifies key parts of your core and roughly what they do. ¡°A good combination of different stats is better than an overabundance of one. In fact, focusing on one too much can negatively affect the others. Like if you poured all your essence into strength, you would find you bulk up and can lift and move heavy objects easily. ¡°But you¡¯ll also slow down and lose overall mobility and won''t be able to apply that power in other ways. ¡°Until you learn more complex ways of applying essence to your core so you can compensate, it''s best to lay a good, balanced foundation,¡± Syl finished. ¡°Like how having a massive mana pool is pointless if you can''t actually do anything with that mana.¡± Alicia said. ¡°Exactly! And it is for this reason I want both of you to apply essence to your core as evenly as possible. Don¡¯t even look at your separate stats; just concentrate on the cores themselves and how they feel. ¡°Now Kai, find the essence you have absorbed from killing the two goblins; it should be collecting around your main core.¡± Focusing again, he felt it; it seemed to be just about everywhere. ¡°That¡¯s the stuff. Now normally the system will direct this for you, sending it where it thinks you need it. Without the system, you would need to first learn to find your core to level up; it can be hard, but it''s not impossible without training.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why when the system came, everyone suddenly started levelling,¡± Alicia said. ¡°The system aided them.¡± ¡°Yes, they always had the ability but not the know-how. El¡¯viairen typically find this step easier as they find using magic easier, and using your mana core often makes it easier to detect. The same goes for those that train physically, like martial artists. They both exercise their cores frequently and so find them faster.¡± The mention of the martial artist made something click for Kai. ¡°This all sounds an awful lot like cultivation.¡± ¡°System-assisted cultivation,¡± Syl corrected, ¡°The Sects hate it.¡± ¡°The sects?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°A large faction of the multiverse that rejects the system in favour of traditional cultivation. It¡¯s difficult and dangerous, like driving a car at night through the woods at full speed with the headlights and the instrument panels all turned off. Possible, but only the truly exceptional individuals reach any level of immortality or ascend to godhood.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ few questions like what''s a car, but I''ll jot them down for later.¡± Alicia mumbled. ¡°Kai, try reaching out, pulling it together and sending it spinning around your main core.¡± It was surprisingly easy; the essence came together to form a slim disc of slowly moving particles orbiting his main core. ¡°Now this is technically a form of refinement. You won''t have as much essence to work with when you¡¯re done, but what you will have will be cleaner, more potent, and, most importantly, core compression should be much, much easier. ¡°Spin the essence faster; work up gradually. You should feel some of it burn up or dissipate when that starts; hold that speed until no more is burning off.¡± He did as he said; the faster he spun the essence, the more it felt like it wanted to rip free of his control. It took more and more of his attention, but eventually he noticed the essence start to diminish slightly, the finer particles just fading away one after another. He also noticed the occasional particle break free and shoot off from the spinning mass. He started to slow things down and hold onto what essence remained. ¡°Ignore that; it''s just impurities. Dungeon monsters don¡¯t usually have many, but natural or rift-born monsters will be a whole different story. Keep spinning.¡± He buckled back down, getting the mass of essence back up to speed. ¡°No, this is important. If you don¡¯t do this next step right, you could lose all that essence. You spinning it has changed its state slightly, making it more energetic, perfect to apply to your cores. But if you let it go, it will break off just like the impurities. ¡°What do i-¡° The moment he spoke, he felt his control lapse, and he had to concentrate to keep things from going out of control. ¡°Just do what I say. I want you to split the essence, having half flow to one core and the other half to the other core. This should be easy; with the way your cores are currently separated, the essence should split evenly between the two. If your cores were orbiting more erratically, you would have to control it more.¡± Syl was right; the moment he thought about it, his other two cores seemed to generate their own gravity, pulling eagerly on the essence it divided equally between the two. ¡°Now don¡¯t just let the essence hit the cores; you want to apply it equally. The cores will want to absorb the essence in the state it¡¯s in, feel it out, do what comes naturally, and let your cores drink it evenly.¡± His attention was split between the two cores, but he didn¡¯t let that deter him; this actually did feel natural to him. Spinning had worked so far, so he just did the same thing to his cores. As the essence came in, he spun the cores on a constantly shifting axis, making sure no one area was covered in the incoming essence. ¡°Good. ¡°Then there is no more essence to add. Inspect each core; look for high points, wet spots, dips and troughs. Apply pressure, smooth everything out. Then when you''re happy, squeeze.¡± He did as Syl said. It seemed easy, a little too easy. ¡°And¡­ you are done.¡± Kai opened his eyes to see Alicai scribbling in a second notebook. The image of his core on the table now showing two much smaller orbiting cores. He grinned, ¡°How did I do?¡± ¡°Not bad, I suppose, a bit rough for someone who has years of experience to draw upon. When Alicia tries, she is going to have to work a lot harder than you did.¡± He looked at his scores; something didn¡¯t seem quite right. ¡°Is that it? ¡° He asked, ¡°That was a level up.¡± ¡°What did you expect? A ding, music, a flash of light from the heavens.¡± Syl scoffed, "A level is just a predetermined measure of applied essence. The system just waits till you have enough essence before going to work. Be happy with a notification.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get a notification.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t, strange¡­ Two goblins, even level zero ones, should have been more than enough essence for the system to consider you levelled up.¡± ¡°Why does it take more and more essence to level up?¡± he asked. ¡°Because as you level, your cores grow and it takes more essence to create new layers. Like painting a ball, you need more paint with each layer as the ball''s surface area increases every time you paint it. That¡¯s why core compressions are important. You reduce the surface area without losing anything.¡± Syl looked at him as Alicia just continued to scribble more and more notes. ¡°You''re going to need more essence to figure out why you didn''t actually level. Could be our race needs a lot more essence, but that doesn''t make much sense. Levels are an arbitrary system measurement. A way of scaling the average system users against each other. Check your stats; you will see some improvement.¡± Kai happily called up his status window. Status: Name: Kai Race: High-Human Level: 0.666 Constitution: Resting, meditating / in domain, wounded. Health: 97% Stamina: 98% Mana: 100% Physical Core: (50%) Strength 21 Dexterity 21.5 Toughness 21 Vitality 20.5 Endurance 21 Mana Core: (50%) Capacity 20.5 Control 21.5 Conversion 21 Absorption 21 Flow 21 ¡°Ten stat points, not a completely balanced distribution, but I¡¯ll work on that.¡± He said summarising his gains for Syl and Alicia. ¡°What''s that?¡± Alicia asked, her head popping around his blue window to get a better look. ¡°Ten stat points. Is that good or bad for two-thirds of a level?¡± he said, noting a genuine look of confusion on Alicia''s face. ¡°It''s good, I think. But I was asking about this blue¡­ thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his personal system inference,¡± Syl said, letting out a long sigh. ¡°The next thing we need to talk about makes him more vulnerable than I like.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to be doing a lot of dungeon diving today, am I?¡± Kai moaned. ¡°We will get there, I promise. A good tutorial would have covered most of this, but we don¡¯t have that luxury.¡± System Anomaly - 11 - I knew I liked you ¡°As fond as I am of your little blue windows, Kai, they make you vulnerable. And you''re still not hiding them.¡± Syl said. ¡°Hiding them?¡± ¡°Yes! Watch me open my status sheet.¡± Nothing happened. ¡°Nothing''s happening¡­¡± Kai said, realising too late that that was the point. ¡°Exactly!¡± Syl cried out in exasperation. ¡°Alicia, can you make a quick system oath not to reveal our race to anyone either directly or indirectly without expressed permission from either of us?¡± Alicia nodded. ¡°I, Alicia, vow on the system not to reveal your race to anyone either directly or indirectly without expressed permission from either of you.¡± A piece of gilded card appeared, and Alicia immediately tossed it as if it were nothing. ¡°Right,¡± Syl said, starting another lecture. ¡°The first thing you both need to understand is that the system is made up of parts. Everyone has their own personal system; it adapts and grows with them. It¡¯s why the KAI system behaves the way it does. Both of you, open your status sheets.¡± With a thought, a blue window appeared in front of him as a piece of paper appeared just in front of Alicia. Syl grabbed Alicia''s paper before she could react. ¡°Do you see the problem with this?¡± Syl asked as she made a point of waving the paper about. Alicia looked confused. ¡°It should break up, turn to dust.¡± ¡°Anyone with enough willpower will be able to stop your system from interfering with their own. The moment I took this from you, it was mine.¡± Syl said as she scrunched up the piece of paper and tossed it over her shoulder. ¡°Now try and take Kais''s status screen for yourself, Alicia.¡± Alicia reached across the table to grab the window, but her hands just caused the blue screen to shift and dissipate as her hands travelled through it. ¡°What did you learn?¡± ¡°Is Kai''s personal system better than mine?¡± Alicia answered tentatively. ¡°No, it''s worse. It just can¡¯t be taken physically. However,¡± Syl gestured, and Kais''s blue window moved to sit in front of Syl instead of him. ¡°Taking it is still a matter of willpower.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s mine.¡± Kai complained apathetically. Syl gave him a knowing look. ¡°You didn''t even fight me.¡± The window returned to sit back to where it was summoned. ¡°It has more problems than that.¡± Syl turned to Alicia and tilted her head his way. ¡°Go look over his shoulder.¡± Alicia got up and stood behind Kai. ¡°He doesn''t even try to obscure his information, does he? Anyone with a decent perception skill can take a peek.¡± Alicia didn¡¯t say anything; she just slowly walked back around the table and sat back down in a daze. Kai closed his status and studied Alicia, wondering what was wrong. Her eyes were wide, and she was blinking slowly. ¡°See something interesting, Alicia?¡± Syl asked her with a knowing look. ¡°High¡¯viairen, Kai is high¡¯vei, I, I¡­¡± Alicia pulled one of her notebooks close, opened it and froze with her stylus hovering just above the page, unable to write anything because of her fresh system oath. Kai looked at Syl. ¡°The system put my race in terms she could understand, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah, seems it favoured the el¡¯viairen bias this time.¡± Syl said as she tapped the table for a bit, lost in her own thoughts. ¡°It''s interesting that there is also a bias to the el¡¯viairen as well as humans; it could just be coincidence.¡± ¡°So high¡¯vei is what el¡¯vei call the¡­ call the lost race.¡± Kai said. ¡°Seems so. Alicia, you should see his traits, these two in particular.¡± Another piece of paper appeared in front of Alicia; she took it with trembling hands and started reading to herself. ¡°One of a kind? Adaptable¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, as I understand it, any children you two have will be pure el¡¯viairen.¡± Syl said with a sly smile. He really didn¡¯t understand Syl; she confused him witless at times. ¡°I mean, when we have kids, they should come out as high¡¯vei, but since I had to give up my body, that¡¯s going to have to wait.¡± Syl said as she stared him down from across the table. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re coming or going¡­¡± Kai confessed, utterly bewildered. Syl just sighed and turned to Alicia. ¡°He has this trait too.¡± ¡°Clueless¡­ I see it.¡± She said, reading a fresh piece of paper. ¡°I¡¯m sitting right here.¡± Kai grumbled. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Alicia, you get one question before I move back to your personal systems.¡± ¡°Both of you are high¡¯vei, so you are not actually a system guide¡­¡± Alicia said as she processed things out loud, ¡°At least you are not just a system guide. Can I tell my master?¡± ¡°Why? Does he need to know?¡± Kai asked. ¡°It changes everything; the adaptable progeny trait alone will put Kai at risk. My master is The Sage. He will know how to protect you from others; no one dares make him do anything he does not want to do. He has power and connections. I mean, if he can get my mother to agree to the engagement, that alone will afford you both protection.¡± ¡°Oh, so now you like the contract?¡± Syl said teasingly, ¡°You like Kai because he won''t give you half-human children? Or has he already started to grow on you?¡± ¡°I do not¡­ I think he is¡­ I do not know what he is yet.¡± Alicia said as she tried to hide behind her notebook. ¡°I feel like I might be missing something.¡± Kai said. Alicia looked at him, tilting her head. ¡°He doesn''t know, does he?¡± ¡°I tried to tell him ahead of arriving. But he kept saying stupid things. I wanted him to suffer a little,¡± Syl sighed. ¡°I guess we will come back to personal systems in a minute.¡± Syl reached out and took Kai''s hand in her own as if she was about to deliver bad news. ¡°Alea¡¯s population is skewed; over eighty percent of the population is female. Society is majorly matriarchal, with males mainly living lives of luxury and polygamy.¡± Syl gave him a moment for it to sink in. ¡°Bob said that I would love it.¡± He said, as the sudden thought of being locked in a room and forced to make babies with beautiful el¡¯vei women flittered across his mind, ¡°Is that why I need protecting? People will want me to have children with them?¡± ¡°Bob has a sick sense of humour.¡± Syl muttered. ¡°And yes, if the wrong people find out you¡¯re a pure baby-making machine. You¡¯ll be kidnapped and locked away in a lavish estate and forced to pump out snot-nosed heirs one after another. And this is if they''re the nice wrong people. Think permanent sex dungeon.¡± Syl said, not looking at all pleased with the prospect. ¡°You¡¯re way too vanilla for that life, and I¡¯m not tagging along for the ride.¡± He sighed, ¡°I¡¯m up for a bit of fun, but on my terms.¡± Syl just rolled her eyes and continued, ¡°They use system-enforced contracts when arranging partnerships. Like the bid, the orec put it. Stuff like how many children or whether the father gets to stick around. Your contract with Alicia is one between equals; it''s like a wedding ring; it doesn''t do anything but form a connection between the two of you. It''s more symbolic than anything else. Typically reserved for those who fall in love and don¡¯t want complicated contracts confusing things.¡± Kai fiddled with the soul ring on his ring finger. ¡°Thanric said engaged and married; I kind of just zoned everything else out¡­¡± ¡°Oh, we know.¡± Syl said. ¡°I thought I could just get the contract annulled.¡± Alicia added. ¡°I thought as much, but as you said, Kai being engaged to you protects him from others. I gambled, and now I¡¯ve decided to embrace it.¡± Syl paused. ¡°Alicia, you do realise you won''t be able to annul anything, at least not until everything to do with the system event is resolved.¡± ¡°I, I did not think of that...¡± Alicia said, the conversation turning her a light shade of pink in her embarrassment. ¡°Why would the contract protect me if polygamy is common?¡± Kai asked, still feeling like he was missing something. ¡°Poaching a princess¡¯s husband would be frowned upon.¡± Syl announced it as if it were nothing. ¡°Alicia is a princess?¡± Alicia nodded coyly. ¡°Because of course she is.¡± Kai said as he got up to pace a bit. Alicia wouldn¡¯t look at him. ¡°I thought Orrick was in a harem or something like that the moment I saw him. But he is married to all those women, isn''t he?¡± He had to wonder if it was Mistress of The House or Mistress of The House. ¡°He has a lot more wives than that.¡± Alicia said softly. ¡°Each braid is a wife or favoured consort. They braid them themselves¡­ It¡¯s romantic.¡± Kai found himself stroking his own meagre beard. ¡°What were all the accessories for? I¡¯m guessing it''s not a fashion choice.¡± ¡°Lots of things: things to commemorate important life events, gifts from his children and potential suitors he favours, or even things that bring him shame. Dwarves wear their beards proudly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing they don¡¯t want to mix anything up then; the man jingled when he walked.¡± Kai chuckled just remembering the man. ¡°Yeah, dwarves are complicated; you''re not even considered an adult until your beard reaches a foot long and a girl gives them their first braid.¡± ¡°By the way, you are going to have to shave. Unless you want a few dwarven ladies taking interest.¡± Syl said, grinning maliciously. He didn¡¯t really want to shave; he looked like a child without his scruff of facial hair, but he was never actually happy with his beard. He also didn¡¯t want to draw any more attention than he already had. Alicia piped up, ¡°There¡¯s an ointment you can get that stops hair growth. It''s commonly used with human consorts¡­ Alicia realised what she was saying and turned a deep shade of red. Syl just grinned as she got up. ¡°Since you¡¯re up on your feet, Kai, I can show you the other problem you have with your personal system. Open your status and start reading it aloud for me.¡± Happy to have a change of subject, he opened his status window. ¡°Name: Kai, Race: High¡¯vei¡­. Oh hey, my race chan-¡° Syl''s fist came through the blue window, scattering everything as she punched him straight in the face, knocking him flat on his ass. Syl looked down on him. ¡°It makes you incredibly vulnerable to surprise attacks,¡± she said with her hand outstretched, ready to help him to his feet. ¡°So to summarise, it''s obvious that when both of you use the system, both of you make it too easy for your systems to be observed and intercepted, and Kai¡¯s system is so in his face it distracts him.¡± ¡°So what do we do? How do we fix it? Alicia asked, once again scribbling in her book. ¡°Well, normally things would change over time as you get used to the system, but it''s also possible for you to get stuck in your ways. Kai, summon your status again, but this time try to keep it private; actually intend for it to be invisible to others.¡± ¡°You won''t punch me again, will you?¡± Kai said half in question, half in request. ¡°I promise not to punch you,¡± Syl said, smiling apologetically. Kai did as he was prompted and once again summoned his status, just with a little added intent. ¡°Alicia, do you see anything?¡± Syl asked ¡°No, but I can tell he is looking at something.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Syl said as she kicked Kai in the gut. Grunting Kai blurted, "You said you wouldn''t¡­ Oh, you evil woman, you.¡± ¡°Definitely didn¡¯t punch you,¡± She went back to the table. ¡°Both of you need to work on wanting to know stuff, even feel it. When you want to see your stats, messages, and notifications, change your desire. Focus on simply knowing what it is you seek. You will eventually be able to feel your status without even thinking about it.¡± ¡°Let me guess, it can make the difference between life and death?¡± Kai said, rubbing the spot Syl kicked him, he was just glad she hadn¡¯t manifested a blade to make her point. ¡°Say you take an injury in a fight; you won''t have to even stop to look at it or your status; you''ll just know if it needs attention or if you can just continue to fight a bit longer. It¡¯s faster, and you¡¯ll find you can process things instinctively with practice.¡± ¡°If you''re not actually a system guide, how do you know all this? This is a literal treasure trove of knowledge.¡± Alicia asked seriously as she patted one of her notebooks. ¡°Alicia It''s complicated. I¡­ I can¡¯t even tell you. Let''s just say my job for the entire time Kai was stuck in a time loop was directly involved in system integration. Kai lost almost all his memories, and I lost my job and all its privileges.¡± Syl said as she looked up at her core above them, ¡°Luckily I lost all its restrictions too, so it''s not so bad.¡± ¡°Can I tell my master? I mean, it explains why Kais wants to get you a body. I want to help,¡± Alicia hid behind her notebook again, ¡°it¡¯s romantic.¡± Kai just barely heard her whisper the last part; he didn¡¯t think he was being romantic at all; Syl more than deserved a body. Syl, however, got up and pulled the little el¡¯vei woman into a hug. ¡°I knew I liked you.¡± System Anomaly - 12 - Tutorial Package Kai stood up. ¡°I think it''s about time I get back to this dungeon.¡± ¡°Not quite yet,¡± Syl said as she broke away from her hug with Alicia. ¡°You are forgetting your storage. Come with me; I set some things up when you arrived here on Alea.¡± ¡°You did?¡± ¡°Why do you think you were on hold so long? This home doesn¡¯t just happen; now both of you follow me.¡± Syl took off to the house, clearly expecting them both to not question her and obey. Kai and Alicia, of course, did just that and got up to follow. Syl led them through a set of sliding glass doors and into what Kai was calling the living room, though he suspected Syl might have a fancier name for it than that. Alicia marvelled at almost everything she saw. ¡°This is so¡­¡° she said, seemingly struggling to find the right words. ¡°Alien, It¡¯s modelled off Kai''s home world after all. Things will undoubtedly change as we come to know Alea better. If you have any recommendations, another feminine touch in Kai¡¯s domain is more than welcome.¡± She giggled, ¡°I know I¡¯m definitely going to expand the bedroom.¡± Syl stopped and spun on Alicia, her eyes wide for once. ¡°Do you know what a sleepover, or maybe a slumber party, is?¡± she asked enthusiastically. ¡°No¡­¡± It was then Kai realised something that should have been obvious. In over a thousand years, Alicia was the first person Syl had actually been able to interact with other than himself. She had met Bob, but that was under threat of reabsorption, and it didn¡¯t seem like he could, or rather would, stick around. Alicia was Syl¡¯s first real chance at making a friend other than himself. A real friend, not one like the confusing mess he had with her. What''s more, because of the contract and his fancy new soul ring, Alicia could enter his domain. No, Alicia could enter their domain, the one place Syl could fully interact, the one place Syl could have a friend in its entirety. ¡°So a pillow fight is when¡­¡± Syl said as she explained what a sleepover was. Syl almost overflowed with joy as Alicia listened to her intently. Kai had to wonder, was this also why Syl seemed to be pushing the contract? She wanted a friend? He supposed that kind of made more sense to him. ¡°Kai can sleep out in the dungeon; wherever, really, I can bring you in here!¡± ¡°You are right,¡± Alicia giggled. ¡°I won''t have to camp outside if I can just come in here. Please, show me the sleeping quarters!¡± The two women turned together, one set to follow the other. Kai coughed, ¡°Ring. Storage. Dungeon. Then sleepover preparation.¡± Syl froze. ¡°He¡¯s right; I can show you around while he gets jumped on by more goblins.¡± Syl turned back and crossed the room to a new door that wasn¡¯t there the last time he was here. It was set on the far wall between where the living room changed into an open-plan kitchen. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask: Why are the dungeon goblins green but the ones with the three scary orc women were pinkish?¡± ¡°I was told it is because they are corrupted, feral.¡± Alicia said as she followed right behind Syl. ¡°Dungeons typically use the more socially deplorable as monsters when they can.¡± Syl explained further, ¡°You should see corrupted humans, dwarves and el¡¯vei, all grey, with solid black eyes and a little bit veiny. I don¡¯t know why, so don¡¯t ask.¡± Alicia too shrugged, so he just followed them both through the new door. They walked down a short set of stairs and entered a massive cellar lit by dim, flickering bulbs. ¡°Why light it like this?¡± he asked Syl. ¡°It¡¯s easier to work with what you know. I wanted to put in a vault, but we watched one too many scary movies together. This was just easier to put together on short notice.¡± Alicia was looking up at one of the bulbs. ¡°Why not use light stones? They only flicker like this if cracked.¡± ¡°Kai''s world ran on pure technology, no mana in sight, so no light stones.¡± Syl said as she looked about, ¡°I think I got it, so anything you loot should be placed and sorted in here. It¡¯s also a separate space, so adjusting the flow of time in here shouldn''t have any negative effects in the rest of the domain.¡± ¡°Adjust time¡­ I can do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not; it is your domain. You, in theory, should be able to control everything here; it''s just a matter of practice. The loop you were stuck in and your time spent getting used to the void should actually have primed your abilities to control time and space. You just need to figure out how.¡± ¡°Neat.¡± Kai focused, willing time to slow in the area around him; nothing seemed to happen. ¡°Not now, though; there¡¯s a lot you need to learn about this place before you even try.¡± Syl said as she walked over to a large open work table and jumped up to sit on it, Alicia following to sit beside her. ¡°Use your system. Don¡¯t look at an inventory screen or anything like that; try and feel what you have stored. He refocused, applying his intent to call up his inventory. A blue window appeared, and he instantly dismissed it, hoping Syl wouldn¡¯t notice. She said nothing, but he could see her eyes narrow slightly. He focused again, trying to just know what he had in his ring, in his domain. Stolen story; please report. 2 assorted Goblin Wretchlings corpses, Lv. 1 (dismantable) Kais Greater tutorial package (compensation from Bob) Alicia and assorted personal equipment. Sylphs ring box. The information was there, just as Syl said it could be: no window, no reading anything; he just thought about it and knew. Of course the thing that caught his attention was the ring box; the moment he focused on it, it appeared in front of him. He grabbed it before gravity could take hold, and before he paid it too much mind, he was examining it. Sylphs ring box. This box can only be opened by the right person at the right time. Huh, he guessed this was the other ring in his soul rings set. That, and it was clearly meant for Syl. ¡°Here, I think this is yours.¡± He tossed the ring box over to Syl. Syl caught it easily, but she didn¡¯t look at all happy. She placed it on the table beside her and whispered something to Alicia. Now Alicia didn¡¯t look at all happy. ¡°What? It''s Sylph''s ring box.¡± He held up his left hand, showing off his own ring. ¡°I think it is this ring pair.¡± Syl whispered something else to Alicia. She nodded, jumped off the table, picked up the box, and brought it back to him, and thrust the little black velvet box into his gut. ¡°She can¡¯t open it,¡± was the only thing she said before she spun on her heels and returned to Syl''s side. Kai was confused. If she couldn¡¯t open it, then maybe he could. He, of course, did the next obvious thing and went to open it. ¡°Not the right time!¡± Syl cried, ¡°Please just put it away for now. I can¡¯t even use it; no physical body, remember. In fact, let me do it.¡± The box vanished from his grip. ¡°Just get the two goblins; we will see how dismantling works.¡± With a quick thought, two little green goblins flopped to the floor just in front of Kai. ¡°I think I¡¯m getting the hang of this whole storage thing.¡± He said he was pleased with himself. ¡°No, you are an idiot who has a lot to learn,¡± Alicia said, her words sharp; she was still somehow mad at him. ¡°Dismantle them.¡± Syl said, still also clearly mad with him. Not actually knowing what to do, he looked down at the two corpses. ¡°Will I not need a knife or something?¡± ¡°Normally yes, but as this is an enchantment of your ring, it should be a bit more automatic, like how you didn''t have to stuff the goblins through a hole to actually loot them.¡± ¡°Okay then,¡± He focused on one of the corpses and did the first thing that came to mind: thought dismantle. He felt something from the ring as the goblin he applied the intent to rose slightly off the ground, several invisible blades and other tools working to dismember the green body. To say the sight was horrific would be an understatement, but when it was done, there were several different piles of goblin parts. Both Syl and Alicia were a bit paler than before; by the chill, he felt he too had changed a few shades whiter. ¡°Never watching that again.¡± He said quietly. ¡°Let''s hope you can do it with items still packed away; better yet, dismantle and loot at the same time. I don¡¯t want goblin loincloths and assorted viscera filling up the place.¡± ¡°Actually, every part of a goblin is useful.¡± Alicia started, ¡°Glue, oil, leather, fertiliser¡­¡± Alicia started. They both stared at Alicia. ¡°It is low quality and does not sell for much¡­ Most adventurers do not bother, as green goblins spoil too fast. But if we can keep it fresh, we can store as much as we want.¡± Alicia thought for a moment. ¡°Yes, I think we can make a tidy profit selling it to an underutilised market; the cheap meat alone would be a great source of food for the destitute.¡± ¡°Alicia.¡± Kai said gently. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Could you please explain what exactly I¡¯m about to eat before I eat anything on Alea?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even look at it; there¡¯s a cold storage at the back,¡± Syl waved a hand, and the remaining goblin corpse and assorted goblin bits disappeared. ¡°Change your rings looting to desire until we figure things out, especially time dilation.¡± He focused. Kais Soul Ring, looting enchantment set to desired items only. ¡°Done.¡± ¡°How about we see what¡¯s in the tutorial package?¡± Syl asked as she jumped off the table and beckoned him closer. ¡± He had to resist running over to the table; he had a good idea what might be in the package Bob had clearly put together for him. He was actually disappointed when his old backpack appeared just above the table. At least he was until it landed with an impossibly loud thud. ¡°Well, go on, open it.¡± Syl said, taking a step behind him, pulling Alicia in with her. The moment he undid the strap that kept the bag closed, the top flap that was rolled over uncoiled, and the backpack spat out dozens upon dozens of items. Weapons, armour, bottles, books, and even a few other small packs flowed out onto the table and off onto the floor. They all had to take several steps back before everything settled and the items stopped coming. ¡°Well¡­¡± Syl said, ¡°you going to tell us what you got?¡± He just looked at the pile. ¡°Where do you want me to start?¡± Syl smacked him on the back of his head. ¡°I want you to start using your personal system more. Just feel what is there; this is all in your inventory. Read it all off.¡± He felt for this information, ¡°Are you sure you want me to read it off?¡± ¡°How else will I know you are able to do it?¡± Shrugging, Kai started listing things. ¡°Three light armour sets, two medium armour sets, a chain armour set, a plate armour set, mage robes, healer robes, two rogue cloaks, two ranger cloaks, and four hooded mantles. Two hip quivers, two back quivers, six pairs of trousers, six t shirts and, oh thank Bob, 24 pairs of socks and 24 pairs of underwear.¡± He paused to summon a pack from the pile; he checked it and was pleased to find a pair of his boxers; unfortunately, they were his old size. Syl coughed as Alicia whispered something in her ear. He put the boxes away and continued. ¡°Four spears, three short swords, two arming swords, two bastard swords, two long swords, a great sword, two battle axes, a two-handed war axe, a mace, a war hammer.¡± He sighed, realising he was only just about halfway. ¡°Two short bows, two longbows, two recurve bows, two compound bows? eight hundred basic broadhead arrows, four daggers, ten throwing knives, and four throwing axes. Two bucklers, a round shield, a kite shield, a tower shield, six survival kits, six first aid kits, thirty ration packs, and thirty one-litre waterskins. Thirty basic health potions, thirty basic stamina potions, and thirty basic mana potions¡­¡± He paused again. ¡°Syl, did I suggest names for skill books?¡± ¡°Yes, you did.¡± Letting out a sigh, he continued. ¡°Mana bolt for dummies, barrier for dummies, heal for dummies, survival for dummies, light armour for dummies, medium armour for dummies, heavy armour for dummies. Throwing weapons for dummies, four melee weapons dummies, shields for dummies, archery for dummies and finally the Sylphs tutorial package.¡± ¡°You know you could have abbreviated some.¡± Syl said. ¡°You said read it all off.¡± Kai said, throwing his hands up in frustration. ¡°But another tutorial package for me? Odd. ¡°That¡¯s what it says.¡± ¡°I think,¡± she looked at the mess in front of them, ¡°I think I''ll open that later.¡± ¡°Syl, is this what I think it is?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Yup. Just about every starting item from every possible class choice. Even some of the ones we snuck in, you had to specifically ask for the compound bow; it wasn''t offered. You upset a lot of people when you showed up with that thing; the purists didn''t care too much.¡± ¡°Compound bow?¡± she asked as she snapped herself back to reality. ¡°Here,¡± Kai reached out and grabbed the bow that appeared in front of him; passing it to Alicia, she took it from him carefully. ¡°It¡¯s yours; it even has all the fancy attachments. Not sure how it will match up to a magic bow. But we have two of them; maybe we can have someone reverse engineer the other one into something better.¡± Thinking for a moment, he shrugged and Archery for Dummies also appeared. ¡°This should let you know how it works; fill in any gaps you might have.¡± Alicia''s eyes went wide. ¡°That is a skill book for archery¡­¡± ¡°Your not going to the arcane archer route.¡± Syl asked him. He shrugged, not entirely surprised he had tried it before. ¡°You remember all our sparring,¡± he said as he fingered his ring, ¡°if I can use my ring that can never be taken away from me or ever be destroyed to summon and dismiss items at will.¡± He grinned. ¡°Jack of all trades¡­ battle mage. Alicia, what would you call someone who uses a lot of magic but fights in close quarters with almost every conceivable weapon?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a thing.¡± ¡°Syl?¡± Kai asked, sounding more disappointed than curious. ¡°Yes, Kai?¡± ¡°How come there are no katanas or other cool exotic weapons?¡± ¡°Culturally specific weapons were region locked; too many wannabe samurais.¡± Syl said, looking a bit fed up at the memory. System Anomaly - 13 - I Know Kung-fu They spent just over an hour sorting out his armour. He had suggested using the related skill books, but Syl had asked him to hold off on the skill books for some reason. In the end, they had mixed and matched from the different sets of armour he had. The individual pieces were mostly interchangeable, but he found himself relying on the women''s collective experience, as the best input he had was that layers were important. Alicia had grown up on a system-integrated world with rifts, dungeons and monsters. And Syl had spent centuries watching tutorial participants learn for themselves what did and did not work when it came to armour. The two of them ended up dressing him. He half thought Syl would have him wrapped up in chain and plate, but the two women had insisted that good, quality leathers with the right magical enchantments would allow for just as much defence. Plate armour still gave the best defence, but it would be a while before they would expect to find anything that maintained the mobility he desired. Alicia pointed out his best option in that regard was to go back to the dwarves and work out a deal for some of that master-crafted stuff they had offered. Even then he was so low-level it would be pointless getting anything like that now, as odds were he would quickly outlevel anything they had for low-level adventurers. It was explained to him that only someone who was going full defender or tank, as he knew it, would opt for full plate at his level. As he had already decided he wanted to be a hypermobile, magic-wielding, multi-weaponed battle mage. They did what they could to maintain his mobility. In the end he was dressed mostly in dark brown leathers from the medium armour set with steel plate vambraces protecting his lower arms and matching greaves for his shins should he need that little bit extra. One thing he had decided was that he did not like how long it took to get in and out of the stuff. When he voiced his concerns, his two eager friends, who had been playing dress-up with him for the last hour, just laughed at him. Everything he had just gone through had to be done again when he exited his domain, without anyone''s assistance. At least he should have the armour skills when it comes to that. Why Alicia wasn''t going to come out and help him, he didn''t know. He was relieved to find out the fancy stuff high-level adventures used could be auto-equipped. The only problem is that stuff was either very hard to find or cost a small fortune. When they were finally satisfied with his new getup, Syl had them head back upstairs, promising to sort the mountain of items when she had some free time. And so they found themselves back out on the deck, Alicia and Syl sitting down while he practiced summoning and dismissing his arsenal of tutorial weapons. It was similar to his time sparring with Syl, conjuring metaphysical approximations of swords, daggers, spears, axes, etc. But now that he was working with actual items, things were a bit trickier. He would try summoning a sword in his hand only to find his fingers wrapping around the centre of mass, not the grip as he had planned. He really had to focus on how and where each individual weapon would appear. If he wanted this plan of his to work, it was going to take a lot of time and practice. Just as he was starting to get his summoned weapon to appear as intended, grip in hand about nine out of ten times, Syl called him over. Familiar black and yellow books littered the table, the two largest stacks piled up next to his seat. ¡°There''s more than there should be. Did you open your tutorial package?¡± Kai asked as he sat down. ¡°While Alicia was checking you out, I had a peek at what was inside. No gear but quite a few extra skill books.¡± ¡°I was not checking him out!¡± Alicia cried out, her indignation at Syl''s verbal poke clear. ¡°You know, Alicia, there used to be a lot more for you to love.¡± Syl said, teasing them both. That reminded Kai of something that was bugging him: ¡°How did I actually manage? My stats were terrible compared to what they are now. I should have struggled in the¡­ you know.¡± ¡°You pushed yourself; essence isn''t the only way to improve your stats, and you were usually one of the first to figure that out.¡± ¡°So you''re telling me I am still going to need to exercise to maintain all this.¡± He said, gesturing to his new body. ¡± ¡°And eat right,¡± Alicia said. ¡°Please don''t tell me goblin meat is high in protein.¡± Kai groaned; he still hadn¡¯t seen what the cuisine on Alea was like. ¡°Protein?¡± ¡°The stuff your body needs to effectively build muscle.¡± Syl said, ¡°There is a point when your body can maintain itself. But that¡¯s a couple of core compressions away. But if you stick with me, I will get you there¡­ eventually.¡± ¡°Syl, I literally have no choice but to stick with you. We are bound.¡± ¡°And I thank you for that. Speaking of food, Alicia, what do you have?¡± ¡°I''ve got a tonne of rations.¡± Kai said before Alicia could respond. ¡°I¡¯m not touching those.¡± Syl said, grimacing at the thought. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They''re unpalatable. Barely nutritionally complete.¡± ¡°Why did you go and do a thing like that?¡± ¡°For once this wasn''t on me or you. It was the system this time; it¡¯s by design to encourage people to seek out other sources of food.¡± Syl explained. ¡°I have the rations master gave me, but that was with two people in mind. I did not know to pack anything for you, Syl.¡± Alicia said apologetically. ¡°But when Kai gets to the second set of rooms, it is expected that adventurers hunt and forage. I can put something much better together then.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I technically don¡¯t need to eat; my connection to Kai sustains me. I was just wondering if you had anything good.¡± Alicia shook her head. ¡±Master thinks I am spoilt¡­¡± Syl slumped in her chair. ¡°Just how long is this dungeon supposed to take?¡± Kai asked. ¡°The average is around a month, but no one has ever recorded a full completion. My party was taking things slow, playing safe.¡± ¡°What happened to your old party?¡± Kai asked, unable to contain his rampant curiosity. Alicia shrugged. ¡°They either continued their dungeon run without me or they moved on to something else.¡± ¡°They just abandoned you?¡° ¡°Oh no, master contracted them. They were a guild team, trained with each other since they were children. We did not connect.¡± Alicia fiddled with her new bow. ¡°They were wary of me.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re a princess?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t know that. But they met with the master, and I bear his name because of the apprenticeship. In some ways that is worse than my title as a princess.¡± ¡°I would have thought people would love to have the apprentice of the sage in their party.¡± Alicia sighed, ¡°It is complicated.¡± ¡°Well, we are more than complicated, so this should work out.¡± Syl said, looking at Kai. ¡°Are you ready to learn some stuff?¡± ¡°I think so, just so long as it''s not going to melt my brain like Omniglot did.¡± ¡°We''re not dealing with anywhere near that magnitude of information.¡± He felt the tension he didn¡¯t know he had been holding between his shoulders go. ¡°Now Bob gave me a load of skill books. I¡¯m not sure why, but he did.¡± Kai looked at all the books. ¡°This feels like cheating.¡± ¡°Hardly. Skill books aren''t actually skills,¡± she picked up one of the thickest books on the table. ¡°This is Heal for Dummies; it contains basic anatomy and functions of the humanoid body with a splash of applied magic. Just enough to allow for a very basic healing spell.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. She dropped the book with a thwack. ¡°The healing class was only offered to people who had the prerequisite physiological knowledge. The skill book just gave them the boost they needed to bridge the gap. What do you think would happen if you used this skill book? He checked his stack of books, and as it wasn''t there, he made an easy assumption. ¡°It would be wasted. I might not even get the skill, or if I did, I would be very bad at it.¡± ¡°You might be able to heal a paper cut. If you wanted to improve the skill and learn other more complicated healing magic, you would need a lot of practice and a lot of study; it¡¯s not something you can just train.¡± Syl slid the book over to him. ¡°Try it.¡± Taking the book, he realised he had no clue how they worked, but it was a book, so he just did the obvious thing and opened the cover and started reading. Immediately he knew something wasn¡¯t quite right; the words seemed wrong, out of order, and difficult to comprehend. You lack the required knowledge or experience to learn from this skill book effectively. Would you still like to learn what''s held within? Syl frowned at the blue window that had appeared. ¡°System telling you you¡¯re not compatible.¡± He nodded as he closed the book and slid it back over to Syl, ¡°Why don¡¯t you or Alicia use it?¡± Alicia shifted in her seat. ¡°We already talked about it. Alicia has pointedly refused any of the skill books I¡¯ve offered her. She is also ill-suited to outright healing magic. It¡¯s best we wait and see how our party fills out. If we can get a dedicated healer, we give it to them. ¡°Kai. What do you think skills are? You got sloppy meditation; what does it do?¡± ¡°Abilities you can use or activate to get certain effects: when I use my meditation skill, I get a small boost to my health, stamina and mana.¡± That sounded about right to him. He knew he was wrong the moment Alicia started shaking her head at him. ¡°No, remember you can do all this without the system,¡± Syl lectured. ¡°All the skill itself is doing is acknowledging you can do something.¡± ¡°So no system-enforced cooldowns.¡± ¡°Oh, your personal system will enforce a cooldown if using a skill too often or too long has any negative effects. But you can also bypass that if you really need to.¡± Syl''s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°I do not recommend it. But it is not like you have any know-how to do anything like that yet.¡± ¡°You already had the archery skill, correct?¡± Syl asked Alicia to start a new line of questioning. She nodded. ¡°Did you train for it or use a skill book?¡± ¡°I trained; it took weeks for the system to acknowledge the ability.¡± ¡°Did anything about your archery actually change when you got the skill?¡± ¡°No. It was rudimentary, basic. Said I could hit what I was aiming at, and that was about it.¡± ¡°No mention of increased damage or accuracy with a bow?¡± Alicia shook her head. ¡°You should start seeing those when you branch into things less mundane.¡± ¡°Master taught me power shot.¡± Alicia said as she practically bounced in her seat, ¡°I can supply mana to the arrow as I draw it. It makes the arrow penetrate armour better and does twenty percent more damage. Or at least that is what it says.¡± ¡°Do you get exactly twenty percent more damage every time?¡± ¡°No¡­ It depends on where the shot hits and the target itself.¡± Syl tapped the table. The system is just approximating the effect of your power shot; you''ll find the skill will upgrade and evolve as you experiment with it.¡± ¡°Master says I should not be afraid to experiment, that I need to find what works for me and what does not. That too many people fall into traditional roles or concepts.¡± ¡°Maybe Thanric does deserve his title.¡± Syl said quietly. Alicia''s eyes went wide. ¡°Relax, I don¡¯t mean to besmirch his name. So far the only thing I don¡¯t like about his approach is him telling you it''s okay to neglect your core. ¡°What happened to your archery skill when you used the skill book Kai gave you? Did it change at all, upgrade or evolve? ¡°It evolved. I had common archery; now I have common otherworldly archery. ¡°Has it changed anything? Did your archery get any better?¡± ¡°I do not think much has actually changed. I think I have a better overall understanding of archery, but I won''t know for sure until I have a chance to practice. The moment I absorbed the book, I had a lot of ideas for things that should improve my range and accuracy.¡± She lifted the compound bow. ¡°I know the benefits and drawbacks of this now. I already want to take it to a bower or maybe a tinker to get some things adapted¡­¡± ¡°So the only thing that changed was the range and scope of your knowledge on the subject.¡± Alicia nodded. Kai had an idea. ¡°If skill books are just a matter of knowledge, could you not learn them all, then gather the knowledge and pass it back to the both of us like you did with Omniglot? The three of us could learn everything here and just work on what suits us.¡± Syl paused in thought. ¡°You¡¯re always looking to exploit the situation, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You make me sound nefarious; the idea just came to me; it seemed like the obvious thing to try.¡± Syl picked up Healing for Dummies and opened the cover. The moment she started reading, the pages started flipping on their own, each flip of a page faster than the last until the book closed and turned to dust. ¡°Let''s find out.¡± She held out a hand, and a breeze picked up. Time passed, and the breeze grew to a bluster as Syl concentrated harder and harder. Just as a gale threatened, Syl closed her palm, and the wind died. ¡°I think I can do it,¡± Syl let out a sigh, ¡°but the knowledge from the skill book was fighting me. As if I didn¡¯t truly comprehend it. I think if I familiarise myself better, I¡¯ll be able to grasp the knowledge needed and pass it on. It¡¯s not as complete and all-encompassing as the language knowledge I passed onto you.¡± Syl looked around the table and collected a few of the scattered books and made a small stack for herself. ¡°I think I¡¯ll experiment later, but for now¡± Syl waved her hand, particles of golden light drifting from her fingertips to float into Kais''s shoulder and neck, where he had been bitten and scratched by the goblin that had jumped him. ¡°Heal?¡± Syl nodded. ¡°Could be handy in a pinch,¡± Kai said as he looked at his stacks, ¡°so I¡¯m learning all these?¡± ¡°Start with the armour skills, throwing weapons and archery.¡± ¡°Archery, didn¡¯t I give that one to Alicia?¡± ¡°I got a duplicate; even if you don¡¯t use a bow, you¡¯ll be surprised how the principles of archery will be applicable to projectile magic. ¡°Then you have mana bolt; that¡¯s a primer that will get you used to collecting mana from within and projecting it as a spell form. ¡°Barrier is similar, but you''ll get an idea of how to form more permanent spell forms or constructs and how to maintain control over them outside your body. ¡°We don¡¯t have anything that will help teach you augmentation or body-boosting magic. But if you work on barrier and mana bolt, you should be able to get the basic magic principles down enough to expand further out into others that interest you. ¡°You have one on infusion; it should help make your arsenal of weapons a lot more potent despite their basic quality. Though I recommend you practice with mana bolt and barrier before you start pushing any mana into your equipment. It can be explosive.¡± Syl said, finishing off her roundup of the more arcane skills he was about to learn. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a book for infusion.¡± ¡°Well, I did, and it interested you last time I mentioned it, so consider it a gift.¡± Syl said with a tone of finality. ¡°Bob''s actually given me some interesting books. I was planning on giving them all to you when you were ready for them, but now I¡¯m not so sure what to do.¡± ¡°Keep them, use them. I¡¯m sure Bob was just trying to help his little sister. We can always get more skill books, right?¡± ¡°Yes and no. Alicia How do people on Alea usually get skills?¡± ¡°Lots of ways. People go to academies and colleges, join guilds, pay for training or become apprentices like myself.¡± ¡°And if they wanted to say something more exotic? ¡°There are dungeons known to teach certain skills or skill sets. But the success rates can be unpredictable. It is also possible to get skills as rewards from dungeons or find them as loot within rifts.¡± ¡°What you will want to remember is all this,¡± Syl gestured to the books on the table, ¡± is intended for a newly integrated world; these are basic primers; they do nothing special. Skill books, shards, scrolls and many more ways of acquiring skills exist within the multiverse. Acquiring a powerful or unique skill through the system or from somewhere much higher level within the multiverse is possible, but I wouldn''t bet on it. It¡¯s better to learn how to adapt and evolve your own abilities than to live your life waiting for the system to offer you something that will change your life. Practice, study, train and experiment; make your own unique and powerful skills that work for you.¡± Alicia was frantically writing that down. Kai looked at his second stack. ¡°Why so many melee skill books?¡± ¡°Those are actually a little bit more of a unique system item; you won''t find anything like them outside of tutorials unless it''s generated by the system itself. They work a little differently; you will only be able to open them with a specific weapon type in mind; check the cover.¡± He picked one off the top of the stack. Melee for Dummies helps you learn the basic forms and principles best suited to you for one chosen melee weapon or physical fighting style. ¡°How many do we have?¡± ¡°Two dozen in total¡­ I got twenty; why, I don¡¯t know; I don¡¯t even have a physical body.¡± Kai whistled his appreciation. ¡°There are hundreds, if not thousands, of fighting forms, never mind all the different weapon types and their variations. This will just get you started.¡± ¡°Why the bit about being suited to you?¡± ¡°Imagine you get thrown into a tutorial, and you¡¯ve chosen a longsword, but you¡¯re ill-suited for it; even the basic principles won¡¯t help you; you''re that poorly matched. But there is some obscure method that might just work; the skill book teaches you the basics of that instead. ¡°The tutorial was intended to give your world a good start. If everyone died before they got going because of some daft idea that didn''t fit them, it wouldn''t have been much good. ¡°Adaptable skill books like that are mythical, even if they only give you the basics.¡± Kai shrugged and opened the book; just as Syl had said, knowledge flooded into his head as the pages flew by, and the book eventually turned to dust. Skill Acquired: Basic Martial Artist. You know the fundamental principles of a mysterious martial arts style that suits you. ¡°I know Kung-fu.¡±
Caradin stalked the empty halls of his fortress. This place once echoed with the sound of life; now only a silent awe radiated through its old bones. He heard people scurry away from his magnificence, his radiant power. They feared him, and rightly so; he was furious. His people had failed him; all of them were useless, incompetent, spineless and traitorous. When he returned from the farce, he had slain his prized forgotten; they had been useless. His advisers told him filling his retinue with forgotten ones would rile the other factions, making them sloppy and predictable. Those same advisers were now broken and discarded. There were many more like them lining up to take their place at his side. Losing the auction was of little concern; he had been preparing quietly for decades now; all he had to do was accelerate his plans. Once he discovered who had stolen the auction in his absence, his forces would act swiftly. The fools thought him weakened, exhausted from centuries of conflict. They had no concept of the power he held stored away for when the time was right. His master, the fool, had even let slip how he himself could grow stronger than anyone else. Even now his cores eagerly absorbed the fresh essence from the fools he had slain. It was only the beginning; the more he cleansed himself, the more powerful he could become. Soon he would stand at the pinnacle, far above anyone else his world had ever seen. He would show Alea his might. Wrest control of the wonder, and then this world would have no choice but to submit to him. He would take the boy, show him the true reality of all life, show him his true power. Not long after he left, the event had finished successfully, but the system failed to announce which nation had gained control. It did not matter; it was just a matter of time until his spies reported. Sietra, the eternal bitch, had been suspiciously absent. The Sage taking her rightful place. The old fool was historically neutral, so he doubted the el¡¯vei scum were too serious about the auction. Unless¡­ Yes, that made sense; they were backing the houses. That could be troublesome. The dwarves had no home, no allegiance to anyone but themselves. They infested every nation like weeds, their ancient halls long forgotten. He barely tolerated them in his empire because they made themselves useful for the right price. They valued family above all else. That was a weakness he had cast aside long ago, a weakness he could easily exploit. Yes, he would have to act sooner than he had planned; he was tired of the long game. Finally he would cleanse his world. System Anomaly - 14 - Grind Once he had used all the skill books Syl had set aside for him, he was all but physically kicked out of his domain and back into the dungeon. As predicted, none of the armour Syl and Alicia had put together for him was still equipped. His body was just as he had left it, sitting on the cold, hard dungeon floor. His legs, folded underneath him, had gone numb and the moment he tried to get up, they failed him. Lying flat on his back as pins and needles raced through his lower extremities, he made a mental note not to spend too much time in his domain unless he was comfortable. He either had to lie down in a more restful position or get his body used to a stable meditation position. As soon as he could sit up, he tried summoning his new set of armour. He had hoped his ring would allow him to summon it already equipped. Unfortunately, the different pieces of gear just appeared on top of him in a heap. There was a chance that with practice and familiarity it could be possible, but for now he would just have to do things the mundane way. Luckily, when he had learnt all three armour skills, they combined into one skill that gave him intuitive knowledge on the subject. Common Armourer: You have a basic understanding of many different forms of armour. The range and scope of your understanding give you an almost intuitive ability when it comes to fitting, repairing and maintaining all sorts of armour, even if you are only vaguely familiar with it. With that new skill, it didn¡¯t take long for him to put everything back together. Rotating his joints and testing the fit, he realised he actually did a much better job putting it on himself in fifteen minutes than Syl and Alicia had managed working together in an hour. Summoning a short sword and giving it a few test swings, he was amazed at the difference his other combined skill made. Basic Swordsmanship. You have a basic understanding of many different sword styles; be it a shortsword or a great one, you know how to adapt your form and technique. The range and scope of your understanding give you an almost intuitive ability when it comes to the use and maintenance of sword-style weapons, even if you are only vaguely familiar with the sword in question. He was glad he wouldn¡¯t be stuck using any one type of sword based on an uninformed choice he made when starting the tutorial because with the skill active and the short sword, he realised while he could use the weapon, it probably wasn''t for him. He also had gone for the basic knife, axe, spear, and hammer skills, but he had been disappointed when they didn¡¯t combine into something with his new swordsmanship skill. He might use those weapons when the time called for it, but the combined swordsmanship skill was too much not to focus on. He, of course, was not abandoning his hopes of being some kind of weapons master; he still had another fourteen melee skill books to work with. Sure, they only gave basic skills for each weapon they were used with, but if he could get something like Axemanship or Spearmanship. He didn¡¯t see why they wouldn¡¯t combine into one whole. He thought it might work with a greater variety of weapons. He just hoped he wasn¡¯t massively underestimating what it would take. Syl seemed to think so. Alicia, however, told him outright someone had done it; she just couldn''t remember who, when or, most importantly, how. He needed to do more research before he burnt through more of the skill books. Switching to a bastard sword and liking the feel of the extra length it gave, he moved into the corridor just in front of him. Just as before, the shadows in the corridor lifted and revealed another room with two bickering green-skinned goblins. He wasn¡¯t so eager this time; he started by examining one of the goblins. Goblin Wretchling Lv. 1 Rusty Dagger The goblin stopped bickering and turned to look in his direction as the skill-turned-system action triggered. It tilted its too-big head in confusion as it scratched under its little soiled loincloth. Realising the goblin couldn''t see him or possibly even the dungeon corridor, he paused to deliver a very important message back to Syl and Alicia. ¡°That little fucker just scratched his balls. Make sure I never let one of these guys get their hands on me ever again.¡± He said it out loud and waited for any indication that the goblins could hear him. There was no reaction; the goblin he had examined even turned back to its friend to continue bickering with him. ¡®I will add it to the many, many things you need to learn.¡¯ Syl answered him in his mind. ¡®Like how you need to finesse your examinations, they can''t see or hear you, but your use of examine is like a sledgehammer; even pathetic wretches couldn¡¯t help but feel it.¡¯ ¡®How come I can''t understand what they are saying with my all-powerful omniglot skill?¡¯ He asked as he watched their exchange. He felt Syl Sigh more than he heard her. ¡®They aren''t real; they¡¯re dungeon spawn. They may look like they are communicating, but they are not. Their actions should be determined by the dungeon. You might be able to get a feel for their mood or intent. But picking up the occasional base word will be the best you can interpret. It''s all they interpret. Now stop wasting time; try mana bolt.¡¯ He immediately readied his new skill in his left hand; the blue bolt of raw mana condensed from the power he pulled through his channels popped and crackled as it tried to break free from his control. He had only tested the spell a couple of times in his domain, and after throwing it at nothing a few times, he was eager to actually hit something. Basic Mana Bolt. You know how to form basic mana bolts with mana from your core. Your technique is rough and needs refinement. The bolt is volatile and will break upon impact, causing damage to whatever it hits. You know this spell can be fired off, but you currently only know how to throw it. He tossed his bolt at the ball-scratching goblin and was immediately knocked backwards as the spell exploded against an invisible barrier separating his corridor and the room the goblins were in. He could hear Syl laughing her ass off as both goblins seemed totally oblivious to his moment of stupidity. ¡®Why did you set him up to do that?¡¯ Alicia asked. ¡®Because he learns best when the lesson is as practical as possible,¡¯ Syl chuckled, ¡®besides, he should have known better. He already confirmed the goblins can¡¯t see or hear him; it was stupid of him to think the dungeon would just let him stand and fire off attacks.¡¯ He checked his health; that one indirect blast had dropped his health by thirty percent. ¡°Jokes on you; I learnt around three indirect mana bolts should kill a goblin. If I toss one at their feet, it should act like a grenade and send them flying.¡¯ ¡®Nope. That blast was the dungeon''s way of telling you not to do that again. But mana bolt with your stats should still be devastating against level one wretchlings. I mean, just look at them; they¡¯re all skin and bones. They are meant to be easy. Try it again, but this time wait till you¡¯re in the room¡­ You should still be able to prepare the spell before you go in.¡¯ Getting back to his feet, he noted that his health was slowly recovering and decided not to waste one of his basic health potions. If Syl didn¡¯t say he should take one, then there probably was no need. Again he readied another mana bolt and stepped into the room quietly. The two goblins didn¡¯t even notice him. He wound up his arm and tossed the mana bolt at his target; he was surprised at the velocity with which the spell cracked into the back of the poor little green thing. As Syl said, there was no blast; the bolt just connected with an audible snap, and the goblin stumbled forward a couple of steps before falling flat on its face. You have killed Goblin Wretchling Lv. 1. He didn¡¯t have time to think about what had happened as the other goblin was already coming his way, an old rusty dagger held above his head as it screamed nonsense at him; it was pissed. Kai just stepped aside and swung his own sword. The blade thwacked into the back of the goblin''s neck and clean through to the other side. You have killed Goblin Wretchling Lv. 1. As he watched the beheaded goblin hit the floor with a wet sound, its head rolling haphazardly to bump into one of the walls, he finally got that full feeling and knew he could level up. He looted the goblins and both their daggers with a quick look around the room. He remembered Syl telling him to wait before he looted any more goblins, but he didn¡¯t want to sit in a room with two stinking corpses while he levelled up. Kai found levelling up was much easier than last time. He didn¡¯t wait for Syl to guide him; he just sat in a meditative position, found his core again, and worked the essence he had gained from killing the two goblins as he had before. He felt the notification as soon as he was done and couldn¡¯t resist opening it up. Kai had to close a blue window again; he knew Syl had seen it by the distant grumble he felt from within. Trying again, he got his first notification as he desired without his blue interface appearing. Trait Discovered: Naturally ambidextrous. You can use both your right and left hands equally well, without a preference for either hand. That was new; he hadn¡¯t been naturally ambidextrous before. He considered himself competent with his offhand but not completely dexterous, probably something to do with his new race, so he wasn''t going to complain about it. Pleased he had a trait he could see being useful for his build, he moved on to his next notification. Congratulations! You have levelled up 1 level. No stats have been allocated by the system as you levelled up manually. Disappointed the system wasn''t going to tell him his gains, he focused on knowing his status. Status: Name: Kai Race: High-Human Level: 1.2 Constitution: Recovering from internal bruising. Health: 71% Stamina: 99% Mana: 85% Physical Core: (50%) Strength 22 Dexterity 22 Toughness 22 Vitality 21 Endurance 22 Mana Core: (50%) Capacity 20.5 Control 21.5 Conversion 21 Absorption 21 Flow 21 He had tried to balance out his stats again; he had kind of been successful with his physical core. But with his mana core, he had managed to skew different stats than last time. ¡®Keep going; I think I know what¡¯s happening with your essence¡­ Four goblin kills should have had you at level two. But you¡¯re still short. It¡¯s going to take another four or more goblins at this rate. Syl said He got up and made for the next room. ¡®Alicia also says you¡¯re seeing more goblins than you should; apparently, it¡¯s usually one goblin per person in these first rooms. Also, she is impressed with how you handled yourself.¡¯ ¡®I did not say that!¡¯ Alicia cried. ¡®I didn¡¯t say you said it, did I?¡¯ ¡°How did Alicia even see what happened? I guess you¡¯re using our connection, but Alicia is just loot in the domain¡­¡± Kai asked curiously. ¡®I set up a little theatre; I¡¯ve got a kind of projection set up. The reception''s crap, but I¡¯m using your low-level senses. You need to get a mana sensor or something; it would really up the quality.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know what was worse. That reality television had followed him out of the Milky Way or that he was the subject of the show. Now more than a little self-conscious, he had an audience move into the corridor. The shadows beyond disappearing once again to reveal another two goblins bickering in the room ahead. He didn¡¯t even have to examine them to know the two little wretches had better gear. Both were brandishing crude-looking machetes and wearing rough leather jerkins protecting their decrepit little torsos. He was once again disappointed to see one scratching itself. Maybe in a few more rooms he wouldn''t have to worry about that so much. Again he readied a mana bolt, intending to repeat the last room with one exception: he would have to avoid the goblins armour and go for whatever was still vulnerable. Luckily the back of their big ugly heads was wide open. Kai stepped into the room and confidently launched his mana bolt. It missed. The mana bolt sailed just over the goblin''s head and hit the opposite wall with a crack. Fortunately, the little green fuckers weren''t too bright, and both of them stared at the little black scorch mark on the dungeon wall in confusion for a little too long. He surged forward and drove the point of his sword through the neck of the goblin he had aimed at. It immediately went limp, its full weight now weighing his sword down as its companion turned on him and swung its machete up to his face. Kai tried to pull his blade free to block the incoming blade, but he had let his sword penetrate too deep, and he didn¡¯t have the momentum he needed to cut through what remained of the dead goblin''s sinewy neck. Letting go of his sword, he dodged backwards, the goblin swinging wildly as it chased after him. Weaponless and a little too close for comfort with a smelly little green man trying to kill him. Kai decided to try out another new skill and hopefully give himself a little breathing room. Throwing out both arms in front of himself as he called up a barrier. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The goblin ran into his rapidly constructed spell and only slowed down slightly as he continued to push his way through. Checking his mana, Kai realised it was dropping rapidly. He was hoping his barrier would hold back the goblin, but apparently that wasn¡¯t how the basic spell worked. Frustrated by his earlier miss, he readied another mana bolt; with the goblin a clear and easy target, he launched it. The bolt shot off from his hand far faster than he was intending on throwing it. The bolt collided with a crack roughly where he had been aiming. The goblin''s head rocked back, and its charge towards him came to an end. Its corpse drifted slowly to the ground as the barrier still holding it tried to resist the force of gravity pulling the body down. Kai cancelled his barrier, realising it was still eating away at his mana, granted it was at a much slower rate than before now that the goblin had ceased actively fighting the spell. He didn¡¯t want to deplete his mana stores faster than he had to, so every little thing helped. You have killed Goblin Wretchling Lv. 1. You have killed Goblin Wretchling Lv. 1. ¡®We¡¯re giving that a six out of ten. You got your sword stuck and reacted poorly; the goblin was dead. You could have stored your sword and resummoned it in position to block.¡¯ Syl said. ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that. I had a goblin swinging a crappy machete at me at the time.¡± Kai said as he retrieved his sword and looted the two dead goblins. ¡°You two got any other pointers, or can I go to the next room?¡± ¡®You want pointers... You¡¯ll need to put in a lot more mana and flex a lot more control if you want a physical barrier. The one you made would be good for blocking projectiles, but as you saw, anyone determined enough will be able to force their way through it; it was so thin.¡¯ Realising her assessment was fair, Kai double-checked the skill description to see if there was anything else he was missing. Mana Barrier. You know how to form basic mana barriers with mana from your core. Your technique is rough and needs refinement. The barrier''s strength and durability are reliant on the amount of mana you put into the spell form. This spell is persistent and will require your control and continued mana input. Outside forces will destabilise the barrier, requiring more mana and control for it to be maintained. There was nothing there about anything being able to push its way through the barrier, but he wasn''t going to point that out to Syl. ¡°Also,¡± Syl said as she manifested in front of him, ¡°I think I know what''s happening to your essence.¡± She bit her lip as she seemed to deliberate something. ¡°Your essence, the essence you get from killing, it¡¯s being shared. It comes in and splits between our cores.¡± ¡°So it''s going to take twice as much essence for me to level up? Is this that paired individual trait? That said something about everything being shared.¡± Kai recalled not at all surprised. ¡°It¡¯s not just that; since you levelled up higher than me, it looks like more essence is diverting to my core. I think the more you level up, the more essence will divert my way.¡± Syl said, sounding a bit defeated. ¡°Isn''t this a good thing? You¡¯ll be able to level up as I do.¡± Syl seemed to shrink further. ¡°All the essence coming to me is already being consumed by my core as it tries to tie off and repair all my broken system connections¡­ I can¡¯t level up.¡± ¡°So the more I level, the less essence will come my way¡­ At least until you get enough essence to repair all the damage done to you and your level catches up to mine?¡± ¡°It¡¯s worse than that. Your unallocated essence is also being consumed. It¡¯s slowly being drained by my core as we speak. The longer it takes between levelling up, the more essence I will take. If you want to gain levels at any reasonable pace, you will need to keep killing and keep levelling as you go so you don¡¯t lose your stored essence. ¡°What I am hearing is I just need to grind out essence until your core has repaired and you can level with me.¡± Kai said as he had an idea come to him. ¡°These goblins give terrible essence; it could take thousands of kills.¡± Syl shifted her stance. ¡°It¡¯s not so bad at the moment. Your stats are actually on par with Alicia''s, and she¡¯s level five. But you¡¯ll eventually hit a point where you¡¯ll find it almost impossible to level further; you¡¯ll be stuck fighting low-level enemies at even higher diminishing returns.¡± Kai thought for a moment, ¡°You go keep Alicia company; she needs to be able to find her core and manipulate essence by the time I get to the twenty-fifth room.¡± He said, failing to keep the sly smile from his face. He had a plan. Stepping into the fourth corridor, he checked his status. It hadn¡¯t been much of a fight, but he had drained just under half his mana pool; he was glad his mana bolts were effective enough to kill in one hit. The smoke cleared to the fourth room, and he realised this one could be a bit trickier than the last three rooms. Two goblins stood to attention as another stood before them, angrily slamming the point of its staff into the ground as it spewed a tirade of nonsense at the two of them. Kai examined the same goblin he had scanned in the first two rooms. Goblin Wretchling Guard Lv. 1 Armoured, short sword and buckler The goblin turned to look his way but was immediately bonked on his helmet by the new goblin with a staff. Goblin Wretchling Shaman Lv. 2 Pretend staff (long stick) The shaman too paused, but before it could think too hard on the feeling of an examination pressing in on it, it blinked, shook its head and went back to its angry stream of nonsense. The dungeon goblins clearly had a set script that defined their behaviour. They were dumb, unthinking fodder placed in his way for no other reason than for him to kill. He was going to exploit that. Kai readied another mana bolt and stepped into the room, launching it at the shaman as soon as he was clear of the invisible barrier. Facing him as he entered the room, the shaman was quicker than he liked, and it pulled a stick from its robe the moment he entered and broke it as he released his attack. The stick must have been tied to some kind of protective barrier as a thin, shimmering green wall appeared before his target. His bolt proved to be too much for the other defensive spell, the rough barrier shattering into sickly green vapour the moment the two spells connected. It didn''t matter; Kai was already on the first goblin guard, sweeping his sword through its neck in one clean strike. He liked cutting goblins down to size. They were short to begin with, but a foot shorter was better. As he predicted, the other goblin was already swinging for him, but this time Kai¡¯s sword was free, and he managed to deflect the incoming attack to then counter with a thrust to its exposed thigh. The goblin crumpled under the pain of the injury. Kai wanted this one alive; the shaman was level two, and that meant more essence. He stepped back as a green hissing mana bolt splashed between him and the goblin guard that was now clutching at its bloody thigh and ignoring him completely. Kai unleashed another mana bolt at the retreating shaman the moment the spell was ready. He was hoping it only had the one barrier stick. His second kill notification confirmed either it didn¡¯t or it couldn¡¯t get to it in time¡­ or it was too stupid too. With two of the three goblins down, he tried to loot the corpse only to find a slight resistance before they disappeared. Kai left the remaining goblin keening on the ground and retreated back through the doorway he entered. Smoke billowed behind him for a moment before once again clearing to show the same three goblins alive and well. He examined the three of them again, this time trying his best to be more subtle. All three reacted to him. He was going to learn to finesse his examinations so at least these guys could no longer detect it. It was just a matter of time for him now. He was going to work on his swordsmanship, his mana bolt, his barrier, and even his skill when summoning weapons from his storage. Kai wanted to tap into his lost experience. But most importantly, he was going to grind out however many dungeon monsters it took to heal Syl. Syl watched Kai run the room again and again. She said nothing. She had an idea what he was trying to do; it wasn¡¯t a bad idea since it helped him familiarise himself with his new skills. Kai was experimenting; she had watched him do something similar hundreds of times before. It was one of the reasons he did so well in the tutorial calibrations. Each time he stepped into the room, he tried something slightly different. When he felt his mana get low, he would run the room a couple of times using just his melee weapons and a few thrown weapons here and there. He even pulled out a shield once or twice, much to the surprise of the goblin guard trying to kill him. He had the most difficulty with the shaman; it was always looking his way and either blocked his opening attack or launched a steady stream of bolts his way as he killed one guard and crippled the other. But Kai figured out it only had the one barrier token and that its mana pool was much, much smaller than his. Soon he was in and out of the room in just a minute. The room proving to be no challenge at all, she spoke up, ¡°Kai, you''re not learning anything new. The next room will have more, smarter, better-equipped goblins.¡± Kai nodded as he stepped back into the room and eviscerated the three dungeon spawn with a few well-timed mana bolts and one swing of his sword. The moment Kai felled the last guard, he paused. Syl felt through her connection to him and realised his core was clouded in essence. This was it, time for her to break the bad news: ¡°You have enough essence to level, don¡¯t you?¡± Kai nodded again. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to do it; if you allow too much to gather, your cores will absorb what they can haphazardly. You''ll need to spend more time fixing your core distribution. If that happens, you¡¯ll lose potential stat growth by delaying your core compression.¡± ¡®What¡¯s Alicia up to?¡¯ Kai asked, his smooth voice coming straight through their connection. ¡°She spent a couple of hours trying to find her core, but she has gone to sleep.¡± Syl replied, ¡°You should think about resting soon; you haven¡¯t eaten or slept since you got your new body. I have the camping gear Thanric provided ready for you. Level up and get some rest.¡± Kai looted the three corpses and stepped into the next corridor. She was going to have to expand the cold storage if he kept this up; she was just happy the domain was subconsciously sorting things as he looted them. ¡®I don¡¯t feel tired. I¡¯ll see what the next room is like.¡¯ Kai started inspecting the six new goblins. ¡®Let me know what happens to the overflow of essence; if we are lucky, it should all go to you.¡¯ Kai said as he stepped into the next room. Syl said nothing; she could insist, but she knew it would do no good. Kai liked to learn things the hard way sometimes. This was the fifth room, the first challenge room of the trial dungeon. Once completed, it would have a true safe room and present its reward. In the room there were three guards and another two of a new type armed with crossbows, and to cap it all off, there was a level three shaman as the boss. Syl was actually surprised to see so many goblins; Alicia had said it was odd he was facing so many. But if the dungeon was picking up on her soul connected to Kais, then perhaps it was presenting a challenge for two participants working together, not just a solo runner. She wasn¡¯t too worried; they were all still fodder compared to Kai. With his race and the base twenty in each of his attributes, it gave him; he was way beyond any goblin wretchlings at his same level. The level three shaman also posed little threat, as its intelligence was rudimentary at best, and though higher level, it almost definitely had inferior stats. Kai entered the room with his favourite opening attack, the mana bolt zipping across the room to kill one of the crossbow goblins before it could even raise its weapon. He dodged the goblins opening attacks of a crossbow bolt and mana bolt as he got into the middle of the three goblin guards as quickly as he could. Syl guessed he was hoping to make himself a harder target for the ranged attackers using the guards as blockers. It would have worked had the goblins been a little taller than half Kai''s height. It was eminently obvious that Kai had spent too much time running the last room and had fallen into a routine despite the many different methods he employed. He dispatched one of the guards quickly but took a mana bolt to the shoulder as he crippled another. Syl winced as she saw the attack coming but could do nothing about it; checking Kai''s status, she relaxed. The bolt was relatively weak and failed to do much damage through his armour. Kai reacted well to the first real hit he had taken as she watched him back off a little, putting up a robust little barrier to block any ranged attack as he felt out his for his status without showing any sign that he might be panicking. He seemed satisfied and launched a mana bolt at the other archer as he collapsed his own barrier just before it could interfere with his shot. Syl had to admit he was much better with his mana bolts now. He no longer threw them, having learnt they would fire off at his target if his intent was strong enough. When Kai eventually learnt he didn¡¯t have to form the spell in his hand and from there could possibly work on multiple bolts at once, he would probably slaughter goblins like these in the dozens. The only reason she hadn¡¯t prompted him already was her concern he might fall into mana depletion if he tried anything too fancy too soon. Syl just wished she could remember which magical aspects Kai favoured so she could guide him towards a more powerful spell form like fireball or a lightning bolt. She added it to her growing list of things she might be able to teach him when he was ready. For now his raw, unrefined mana bolts were doing significant damage, and even better, he was favouring efficiency over raw power in an attempt to conserve mana for his room grinding. Kai killed the last mobile guard easily, leapt over the crippled one, and closed in on the frantic shaman that had backed itself up against the far dungeon wall. As he got close, he pulled three little sticks out of its robes and snapped them all at once. A thick barrier appeared where it stood, wrapping around to touch the wall on both sides. Kai tested the green shimmering wall with his sword, but his swing slowed significantly as it connected. Next he stepped back and tried a mana bolt of his own, but much to the goblin''s delight, it cracked into the barrier and fizzled out without breaking it. Kai was unperturbed; he just turned on his heel, finished off the crippled goblin, and retreated just after looting the room. ¡®What¡¯s the essence doing? It doesn''t feel like it''s building up any more than before.¡¯ Kai asked her. Syl looked at the same time Kai checked for himself. She was frustrated to see Kai¡¯s hunch was right; the essence was in fact overflowing into her core at a rapid rate. If he levelled now, he would still gain a slightly higher level up. But she also doubted he would get to the point his cores would start absorbing essence on their own. He would need to kill the goblins much faster or go for something much higher level than himself before that would happen. She didn¡¯t want to tell him. Kai turned around as the smoke cleared. ¡®This room''s a better challenge. I¡¯ll run it until it¡¯s too easy, then level up.¡¯ He did his examinations once again, the goblins still noticing something but now failing to determine the direction. ¡®I think I¡¯m getting better at that.¡¯ He said once again, stepping into the room. Syl pulled back, knowing he would be fine for now. She examined her own core as it greedily drank up the incoming essence Kai was offering up with each kill. There was so much coming in that some essence was even starting to pool up. She might be able to level up in an hour or two if he kept this up; that at least might get him to focus on himself. The only issue was she felt sick, like a parasite draining Kai of all his effort. She knew he had gone past the point she could help him. He had a plan, and it seemed to be working. He had killed a few hundred goblins now; they were low level, but it was more than enough for him to have reached level three, possibly even four or five if not for the diminishing returns on lower quality essence. Perhaps she could tell him higher-quality essence from higher-level monsters would help heal her faster. That might get him to push on, levelling up because of the increased difficulty¡­ At least he was working on his skills at the same time. Two hours later and dozens of rooms later, Alicia appeared. She was wearing nothing but a massive white t-shirt that didn¡¯t quite have the desired effect on the shorter el''vei girl; perhaps Syl should have sized it to be a little more seductive. Alicia noticed Syl studying her sleepwear. ¡°I still do not understand why men would find this sexy; that lingerie was a lot more provocative.¡± Syl chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s because they have to use their imagination; what can and cannot be seen gets together and has a party in a man¡¯s mind, and it drives them wild. Just wait till I introduce you to sundresses.¡± ¡°I still do not understand this tactic.¡± Alicia crumbled. ¡°What Kai lacks is confidence. I need him to come out of his shell on his own accord. Sure, I could jump him and grind some confidence into him, but then he will always be waiting for me to make the first move. I came dangerously close to making that mistake with him once already.¡± Syl sighed, ¡°It¡¯s better for him if he finds it on his own, if he makes the first move. It will take more time, but I¡¯m not going anywhere; he¡¯s literally bound to me. It¡¯s bad enough that he is clueless, but he is also too goddamn respectful.¡± ¡°Is he up yet?¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t slept¡­¡± Syl said as she activated the makeshift projection for Alicia. Kai was driving the point of a great sword through a green barrier, shattering it with the impact as the blade flew through it and into the skull of a panicking shaman. ¡°I got him to eat at least; made him chew down one of the tutorial rations. But he is still experimenting.¡± ¡°Is that the fifth room? It is not uncommon to rerun rooms until a party is happy to move on. We did the fifth room four times. But you say he has been at it for hours?¡± Alicia asked as she tucked herself in behind a giant cushion on the couch. Kai looked worn down and dishevelled, his armour covered in goblin blood, scorch marks and gashes from the occasional sword blow. ¡°What level is he? Surely the amount of essence he is getting is no longer worth it.¡± ¡°Still refusing to level up.¡± Syl said as she moved to the doors to the outside decking. ¡°He is refusing to level up; why?¡± Alicia asked, her surprise and confusion evident in her tone. ¡°Come here; it¡¯s best if you see for yourself.¡± A moment later Alicia stood out on the decking, her jaw slack as she looked up at the maelstrom of essence above them. ¡°I told you about soul damage before¡­¡± Syl said softly. Alicia nodded, unable to take her eyes from the activity above them. ¡°My soul is damaged¡­ Kai is trying to fix it, or at least overwhelm it so much I can level up with him.¡± ¡°So much essence¡­ Both cores are engulfed in it. But only one of them is taking it in.¡± ¡°That would be my core; I almost have enough collected to level, but Kai needs to keep up his kills so that my core doesn¡¯t drain what has been collected.¡± There was a short lull in the incoming essence before it picked up again. ¡°He has restarted the room.¡± Syl said, answering Alicia''s question before she could ask it. They watched for a while; Kai was taking no more than just over two minutes to clear and reset the room. ¡°Is he not tired?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°He¡¯s exhausted, but he¡¯s also realised he is gaining stats by pushing himself to the limit and beyond.¡± Syl sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve been experimenting myself. I think the only way I can get him to stop this is if I can use up all the gathered essence at once.¡± Syl closed her eyes. ¡°I think I¡¯m ready.¡± Alicia watched as the accumulated essence around one of the cores started to collect and spin before finally coating two smaller cores she hadn¡¯t been able to detect before. ¡°That was harder than I thought. Kai made it look easy.¡± Syl looked at Alicia. ¡°You cannot tell him I said that.¡± Alicia nodded her complete understanding. ¡°Now for the hard part. I just hope he doesn¡¯t fight me.¡± Alicia watched as the essence around the other core came together and started to spin. Syl was focusing much harder this time. But after a moment that seemed to drag on, she nodded and the essence separated and went to the two smaller cores. Syl wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and grinned. ¡°He¡¯s going to be pissed.¡± ¡°Did you just force him to level up?¡± Alicia said as she blinked at the much calmer sky. Syl nodded as the sleeping mat and blankets Alicia had brought into the dungeon for Kai appeared in her hands. ¡°Turns out I can do a lot of things through my connection with Kai.¡± A moment later the essence that was coming in stopped altogether. The domain around them rumbled with the sound of thunder. ¡°What did you do!¡± Kai''s voice echoed throughout the domain. ¡°I levelled up. Congratulations, your plan is working,¡± Syl winked at Alicia. ¡°Somehow you got levelled up too; it must be the connection. Now kill that last goblin, go to the reward room,¡± the blankets and sleeping mat she was holding disappeared, ¡°and get some rest; you were getting sloppy.¡± Silence followed before there was a trickle of essence, and Syl let herself smile. System Anomaly - 15 - Wait Kai wasn¡¯t happy. He had spent hours getting to the point that all his incoming essence was overflowing to Syl. Everything was fine; he was just starting to get to grips with his skills; he was even gaining stats. Then Syl got enough essence to level; that alone wasn''t a problem; it was actually one of his goals. But he had felt Syl reach into his core and level him up. She pretended it happened when she levelled herself up, something to do with their connection. But he wasn''t completely oblivious. If he hadn''t been dealing with a fresh spawn of goblins, he might have tried to stop her. But she was subtle, and he didn''t really notice what she was doing until it was too late. Kai checked his status. Status: Name: Kai Race: High-Human Level: 2.1 Constitution: Well rested, only mildly agitated. Health: 100% Stamina: 100% Mana: 100% Physical Core: (50%) Strength 23.75 Dexterity 24 Toughness 23.5 Vitality 23.5 Endurance 25 Mana Core: (50%) Capacity: 24 Control 25 Conversion 23.4 Absorption 23.35 Flow 24 Syl had kept his cores equally balanced, but his new stat spread looked terrible. He was almost perfectly balanced when he last levelled himself up; now his cores had imperceptible lumps he would have to iron out, especially if Syl and her lecture about a good foundation were to be believed. Doing some quick mental arithmetic, he worked out he had gained somewhere over twenty new stat points. He had thought most of the stats he had gained through working his cores were physical, but either he had miraculously gained just as many stats in each core, or Syl had at least worked to mitigate any overall stat difference between each core. He hadn''t been checking his stat gains as he got them; it seemed inconsequential until he levelled up and evened everything out. Kai was just focusing on the grind. If Syl hadn''t interfered, he was going to check his stat gains before and after levelling; that way he might have some idea how many new stat points he gained per level. But Syl had interfered, and he was left clueless. Then she went and dropped a sleeping mat on him and told him to get some rest in the rewards room. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact he would probably be dead on his feet if he tried to get his grind going again, he might have been tempted to run the room a couple more times just out of spite. Reflecting on it now, he wasn''t achieving as much as he liked. He felt like he could do so much more with mana bolt, but the small room with just six goblins wasn¡¯t an ideal place for experimentation. His swordsmanship wasn''t improving either; the goblins were just too dumb and predictable, and they lacked any real skill to sharpen his own skill against. At most he had gotten used to trusting his instincts and explored the basic knowledge the skill books had implanted into him. He had tried his collection of bows once or twice, but without someone else to take up the goblin''s attention, his archery skill was just impractical in the face of a good mana bolt and steel combination. He didn¡¯t seem to gel with the axe, mace and hammer much, but that could just be because his combined swordsmanship was just far better. Spear was fun; the extra melee range was great, and he could deal some decent sweeping damage. Kai knew now he definitely wasn¡¯t going to be a tank; lugging around a shield was not for him; summoning one from time to time was much more his style. He had gotten used to creating barriers on the fly, but it ate away at his mana pool faster than he liked, and using it more than sporadically severely limited his potential mana bolts. Maybe Syl was right. She had levelled up now, and continuously grinding out low-level goblins probably wasn''t very efficient. If he could get to a room with higher-level monsters, then rinsing and repeating that dungeon room would be better for his skills, and it would offer a lot more higher-quality essence for Syl¡¯s core. Kai stood in the reward room doing his best to pretend he wasn¡¯t more exhausted than he had ever felt in his life. The reward room was the same as the previous five dungeon rooms, except in the place of a group of stinky green goblin wretchlings, three chests sat in a row in the centre of the room. Two of the chests were rustic, plain, iron-banded wooden things, while the third was made from some strange, silvery metal that drew the eye, the surface constantly shifting with images of a man killing goblin after goblin. ¡®Are you going to find out what your rewards are, or are you going to make us wait while you sink deeper into your own thoughts?¡¯ Syl said, interrupting him as he watched the changing depictions of what he now thought was him grinding the dungeon rooms. Kai was still kind of pissed with her. He looked at the chests, then he looked down at the sleeping mat Alicia had so kindly given him. He decided Syl could wait. Dropping the sleeping mat and blankets at his feet, he asked, ¡°So do people sleep in their armour when running dungeons, or are they allowed to get comfortable?¡± ¡®You are really going to make us wait, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ ¡°I mean, I¡¯m pretty smelly; I know I should clean myself, but I have no way of cleaning my armour; taking it off seems a bit redundant. Unless you would care to do it for me in the domain while I sleep?¡± ¡®It depends. Best practice is to stay in your gear, but most adventurers have some kind of cleaning charm.¡¯ Alicia said cheerily, ¡®I hear the cleaning spell is not that complicated; I am sure the master could be convinced to teach it to you. But for now I have¡ª ¡®Kai, take off your gear.¡¯ Syl said, interrupting Alicia as a small pack and water skin appeared next to him, "There¡¯s soap and a small cloth in the survival kit; also use one of the daggers you haven¡¯t played with yet and give yourself a shave. With all that goblin crud on you, you''re starting to look like a hobo.¡¯ ¡®Hobo?¡¯ Alicia asked. ¡®A hobo is an¡­¡¯ Syl started to explain, but Kai tuned it out. He looked down at himself and noticed he did have quite a lot of goblin crud on himself. How he put up with the smell until now, he didn¡¯t know; he must have gotten used to the smell at some point. ¡®I have something tha-¡® Alicia started but was cut off again. ¡®Store your armour, and I will see to it once I set Alicia off to her core exercises.¡¯ Syl said abruptly. ¡°What does Alicia have?¡± Kai asked; she had tried to say something several times now, and he knew how much he hated being interrupted. His question was met with a long, drawn-out silence. ¡®I have a cleaning charm; it could be used to clean yourself and your gear¡­ but it has limited uses. Syl says you are used to cleaning yourself like this, and I would be spoiling you¡­¡¯ Alicia said, sounding a little uncertain if she agreed. ¡°Is this because I¡¯m not opening the chests?¡± ¡®Oh please, I just want to see you give yourself a sponge bath. Will be just like the old days.¡¯ Syl teased. Grumbling Kai stored his armour right off his body, noting the trousers and shirt he¡¯d been given were sweat-stained; some goblin gore had even worked through his armour in places, so he sent them Syl''s way too as he summoned a fresh pair of his oversized boxers. ¡°I have another question¡­¡± Kai said, feeling uncomfortable, ¡°If I need to go, where would be the best place?¡± Syl burst out laughing. ¡°Seriously, I need to go.¡± Getting control of herself, Syl said, ¡®There is a bathroom here in the domain that Alicia has been using, but that won¡¯t do you any good as you can¡¯t enter here physically like how you have looted her.¡¯ ¡°So what should I do?¡± ¡®If you really need to go now and don¡¯t want to be sleeping in the same room you just shat in, then isn¡¯t it obvious?¡¯ ¡°Not to me.¡± ¡®Well, if you hadn¡¯t already left the last room, you could have gone in there, and then it would have been the dungeon''s problem. But you can''t do that, as going back would only leave the dungeon now that you¡¯ve entered a safe room. So unless you are willing to hold it until you leave this room, you¡¯re going to have to lose it. There is a pack of tissues in that survival kit; use them sparingly; you only have so many.¡¯ ¡°You want me to loot it,¡± Kai said, not liking the idea. ¡°Won¡¯t that mean I¡¯ll be walking around with¡­¡± Syl was laughing herself silly again. ¡°Syl?¡± ¡®Sorry, you should see Alicia''s face; she is mortified,¡¯ Syl said as she tried to stop herself from laughing. ¡®Kai, you need to understand, you¡¯re literally full of shit. Alicia shit, goblin shit, it is all in here. I managed to set your dismantle ability off to tidy up all your looted goblins. I¡¯ve had to set up a second sealed-up storage area for all the waste products. It¡¯s basically a giant septic tank we will want to dump as soon as we get out of here¡­¡¯ Syl went quiet. ¡®Fertiliser? Alicia, there has to be a limit¡­ Fine, but you¡¯re the one who has to figure out how we process it and sell it.¡¯ You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Hearing only half a conversation, Kai asked, What is she saying?¡± ¡®It can be used to improve crops.¡± Alicia answered, ¡®If we just dump it anywhere, it might cause an outbreak of disease. If anything, we should separate the different parts¡­ We can sell the waste to night soil men, or if we can-¡® ¡°Alicia,¡± Kai had heard enough. ¡°This is your world; we will handle it in a culturally appropriate way, but I don¡¯t think I want the details right now... Actually, what I do need is a little privacy.¡¯ He was met with silence. As he got to the wall, he realised he might have another problem. ¡°I am pretty sure I can loot solids, but I¡¯m not so sure about loose liquids.¡± An empty waterskin dropped to the floor beside him. ¡°Thank you¡­ Make sure we mark this one somehow.¡± ¡®Pretty sure the system won''t see it as a normal waterskin once you are done with it.¡¯ Kai did his business, assuming the girls were giving him the privacy he requested. Looting his own waste, he found himself hoping this world had some form of functioning plumbing, decent sanitation and waste management systems in place for the sake of his day-to-day life. He washed up with the crappy cloth from the little survival kit and did his best not to cut himself while shaving. He had no mirror, so he shaved completely by feel; he would have to wait to see how bad his baby face was. After changing into a clean set of oversized boxers and feeling somewhat refreshed, he looked at the three reward chests again. He was thinking about opening them; he wanted to. But after just a moment of looking and thinking about it, he got the feeling he was being watched again. Smiling to himself, he turned around and crawled into his blankets, purposely putting the chests to his back. ¡®Oh come on, you¡¯re not even the spiteful type!¡¯ Syl groaned. ¡°Night, Syl, love you¡­¡± Kai teased as he closed his eyes. ¡®It¡¯s not even night anymore¡­¡¯ Syl grumbled. He was already asleep. Hours later, Kai awoke to find his clothes and armour neatly stacked beside him. As he got dressed, he was surprised everything was so perfectly clean. If it weren¡¯t for the occasional scrape and scuff on the armour, he would have assumed it was all new gear. His new boots had even been taken at some point, cleaned up and treated with some kind of oil. They didn¡¯t have a mark on them, though he clearly remembered being quite rough with them the day before as he had booted quite a few goblins in the unmentionables. It was an effective strategy when you had nothing but a loincloth for protection. ¡°Are either of you two watching?¡± he asked tentatively when he was done getting dressed. ¡®Yeah¡­ hot food incoming.¡¯ Syl said. Kai got the feeling Syl might be a little annoyed with him as a bowl appeared right in front of him. Floating in the air, the bowl came dangerously close to falling to the floor. Grabbing the bowl before gravity decided it was hungry, he was relieved his reflexes were far superior to what they used to be. In the bowl was some kind of stew, mystery stew with mystery meat. He was immediately suspicious. He was looking at it warily as a wooden spoon appeared and plopped right into it. ¡®Alicia made it; I mean, I helped, but it was mostly Alicia. Eat up.¡¯ ¡°This isn¡¯t goblin stew, is it?¡± Kai asked as he sniffed it. ¡®You have examined¡­¡¯ Feeling stupid, he examined the bowl he was holding. Adventurer''s stew. A simple but filling stew made from the rations of an adventurer, made with unfamiliar ingredients. He just continued looking at the bowl suspiciously. ¡®You¡¯ll upset Alicia; she made that with love.¡¯ ¡°It says unfamiliar ingredients¡­¡± ¡®You think she would serve you up goblin meat? I mean, I suggested it, but she refused. Apparently it''s not bad, a bit gamey but not bad.¡¯ ¡®It is orruk meat.¡± Alicia said as if that was enough to alleviate his concerns. ¡°I don¡¯t know an orruk from a goblin¡­¡± Kai said honestly. ¡®It is a massive woolly bovine that the clans hunt. They use the whole beast. They preserve the meat they do not eat and sell it quite well to adventurers. They are a staple prey item of dragons too.¡¯ Alicia said filling in the blanks for him. ¡®You will be able to hunt in the next set of rooms; with this kitchen and fresh ingredients, I think I can put together some good meals, much better than anything cooked over a campfire,¡¯ Alicia said enthusiastically. Kai just took the spoon and got a chunk of the mystery meat. It was a bit chewy, but he guessed that was because it had been preserved at some point. But otherwise it wasn¡¯t bad. Chewing the meat, he let himself get a sly examine off, just to be sure. Adventurer''s stew. A simple but filling stew made from the rations of an adventurer, made with the preserved meat of an orc and other unfamiliar ingredients. Relieved he had some confirmation he wasn¡¯t eating goblin, he tucked in to the hearty stew. For something put together with rations, it was actually quite good. Dressed and his fast broken, he once again looked at the chests. ¡°What can I expect?¡± Kai asked as he sensed the two watching him intently. ¡®Anything the dungeon determines you will need to progress further, you have an abundance of gear and have a reasonable stockpile of supplies, so I don¡¯t know what you might get. I got an enchanted quiver and a variety of arrows. Alicia said, ¡°You also spent a long time in the first five rooms killing a lot of goblins. I don¡¯t know if that will penalise your rewards¡­¡¯ He actually thought he heard murmuring as Alicia went quiet; perhaps she was conferring with Syl, and he was starting to pick up on it. ¡®You tell him you are this particular dungeon''s expert for the team.¡¯ Syl said. ¡®I- I do not know why there are three chests; my team only got one chest per person. You also faced too many goblins. This dungeon has been around for centuries, and it is well documented. Though I think the ornate chest is a dungeon-specific achievement, the two plain chests do not make any sense; each chest can contain multiple items, so why there are two chests, I do not know.¡¯ Kai shrugged; this was his first dungeon, and he had no clue either. ¡°I think I''ll open the fancy chest first.¡± They said nothing, so Kai stepped up and lifted the lid. Dungeon achievement unlocked. Dungeon Slayer. You have killed hundreds of goblin wretches before even getting to the first reward room; word has spread throughout the dungeon, and its denizens have become wary of your coming. Sitting on a large velvet cushion in the chest was a single, simple pendant made from a leather thong and polished black stone. He retrieved the item, and the chest broke into motes of light that flew off, disappearing back off into the dungeon. Challenger''s stone. (Soulbound) This stone marks the wearer as a challenger. Challengers gain increased essence draw from dungeon denizens, an increased chance of rarer variants spawning, and improved dungeon rewards. However, dungeon denizens who are hostile will see you as a threat that must be destroyed. Kai immediately slipped the pendant on and tucked the stone under his shirt and armour. Something that increased essence draw was perfect. ¡®What did he get?¡¯ Alicia asked Syl. ¡®An achievement and a challenger''s stone¡­¡¯ Syl continued to explain. Kai was already moving onto the closest plain chest. The moment he touched the chest, he got a feeling. Sufficient energy was found to improve dungeon reward. Would you like to improve dungeon rewards? YES / NO Deciding he wanted to save his remaining energy for something significant, he dismissed the system prompt and lifted the lid of the chest to see two items. A book sat on the bottom of the chest next to a weird, floating, opaque shard. He picked out the book and couldn¡¯t help but grin as he read the cover: Mana Bolt, multi-casting and was to diversify your magical arsenal. He couldn¡¯t help himself; he opened the skill book and started reading. Skill upgraded. Uncommon Mana Bolt. You know how to form a variety of mana bolts for a variety of situations using mana from your core. Your technique is developing well, favouring efficiency and minimal mana use while remaining potent. Mana bolts are typically volatile and break upon impact, causing damage to whatever they hit, but you know there are many more ways than that to inflict damage. You know identifying intended targets is critical for mana bolts to automatically fire off, but you don¡¯t yet know how to get them to track targets once they have left your control. The skill had jumped from basic up to uncommon, and what¡¯s more, the skill description hinted at something else the spell was capable of; he even had an inkling of an idea how it might be possible. Who needed arrows when you could cast multiple magic, target-seeking missiles off at once? Not that he could, but he was going to figure it out somehow. ¡®A skill book¡­¡¯ Syl continued. He looked at the weird shard, ignoring the ongoing commentary. Mysterious Fragment. Collect all your fragments. He picked it up. ¡°You know what this is?¡± ¡®Oh that, no one does; no one has collected them all. You get one in every reward room. I had five fragments, but they disappear when you leave the dungeon. The speculation is if you complete the dungeon in one run, they combine into a bonus reward or a key for another reward room or something to that effect.¡¯ Kai stored the fragment and moved to the final chest. As before, he put his hands on the chest and opened it. Or at least he tried to open it; the lid wouldn¡¯t budge. He didn¡¯t even get the notification about upgrading the reward. ¡°Er, guys, I can¡¯t open this one.¡± ¡®But that only happens when¡­¡¯ There was a flash of cyan flame, and Syl appeared with Alicia standing beside her. Syl looked at Kai, noticed his jaw had dropped a little, and she turned to look between herself and Alicia. Both of them wore what he now was certain was one of his giant t-shirts. Syl''s was a vibrant white while Alicia''s was the usual black. ¡°Huh, I see the colour alteration in the domain didn¡¯t stick to the t-shirt''s physical properties; shame she looked so much purer in the clean white one.¡± Kai coughed as Alicia stepped in behind Syl, ¡°Did you have a good sleepover?". Looks like you did.¡± Alicia had undone her tight braids in the safety of his domain, and strands of her platinum hair flew everywhere as she clearly hadn¡¯t tamed her bed hair. ¡°Send me back, Syl, please.¡± Alicia whispered, ¡°I do not need to be here, not like this. Please.¡± Kai knew she was asking Syl, but he focused on Alicia and looted her, aiming to put her in the living room instead of the creepy storage area; he still wasn¡¯t sure how what he looted was sorted. ¡®Thank you¡­¡¯ Alicia murmured from within his domain again. ¡°Was she really wearing one of my t-shirts?¡± ¡°She didn''t have any real sleepwear, and anything I fabricated in the domain wouldn¡¯t carry out here unless it was part of my manifestation.¡± Syl grinned, ¡°Actually that¡¯s not a bad idea, a bit crude, but if you retrieved Alicia at the right time, it would be an instant naked princess any time you want.¡± Kai didn¡¯t want to dignify that with a response; he just tried to give Syl the best disappointed look he could. Part of him knew Syl wouldn''t go that far; actually, maybe she would. ¡°Alicia, did you hear that?¡± ¡®Yes¡­¡¯ ¡°I swear on the system to never summon you from my domain unless you are ready and willing¡­ or your life would be in danger should I leave you in there.¡± A blue window appeared. System Oath detected, You cannot remove Alicia from your domain unless she is ready and willing or her life is in danger should she remain. This oath can only be rescinded with the permission of Alicia. ¡°The chest,¡± he said as he dismissed the message, and a strange feeling sank into him. ¡°You know I can just push her out¡­ not that I actually would¡­ but I could.¡± Syl grinned mischievously. ¡°You know I can tell when you are feeling frisky¡­ instant princess. Though if you ever figure out our connection goes both ways, I would be screwed. Or at least I hope¡ª ¡°The chest, Syl¡­¡± Kai said, trying really hard to ignore her teasing. Syl pouted, ¡°It was Alicia who had the answer.¡± ¡®You cannot open a chest that is not assigned to you!¡¯ Alicia said in a rush. ¡°So who is the chest assigned to? I¡¯ve been running the dungeon solo.¡± ¡°Have you thought? Think about it: the extra goblins, the extra chest. I think the dungeon''s been detecting someone else this whole time.¡± Syl said it as if it was obvious. With the prompt from her, it dawned on Kai immediately. ¡°Paired individual. We are a pair. The dungeon has been detecting you, increasing the number of goblins.¡± ¡°How you are so clueless, I will never know.¡± Syl said, throwing up her arms. Kai looked away and coughed as the T-shirt rose up a bit higher than Syl probably realised. ¡°Yes, erm, if we are correct, that chest is for me.¡± Syl said as she adjusted her t-shirt, clearly embarrassed. ¡°One problem: I can''t physically open it.¡± ¡°Syl, did I ever talk to you about System fuckery?¡± ¡°Yes, you did.¡± Syl looked at the chest. ¡°Worth a try, I guess.¡± Syl floated over to the chest and crouched down, making sure nothing unintended was exposed. She made to open the lid, her hands phasing through the lid. She looked at Kai, her disappointment evident. ¡°Maybe I can loot it and then open it in the do-¡° Click! Swinging on its hinges, the lid popped wide open. ¡°System fuckery,¡± Kai said proudly. ¡°What did you get?¡± ¡°A fragment, and this,¡± Syl pulled a ridiculously thick, opaque book that trailed faint wisps of cyan smoke from the chest. ¡°I thought skill books were rare?¡± Kai mused. ¡°They are¡­ This, this is exactly what I need¡­¡± Syl said in hushed tones of reverence as she ran her hand over the cover and read the title. ¡°Well, are you going to make us wait?.¡± Syl levelled a look on him that said he was in danger, ¡°You went to sleep, making both me and Alicia wait for hours.¡± ¡°I was joking; take all the time you need.¡± Syl went back to her big, smoky book. ¡°It¡¯s actually a skill tome; think skill book times ten¡­ Metaphysical magic. Volumes one through three, casting traditional spells for the metaphysical being, using substitutes and proxies, and finally remote spell control.¡± The book was massive. ¡°Looks like a big headache to me.¡± ¡°It will let me fight alongside you, casting magic through you as a proxy. I knew it was technically possible, but it would have taken me decades or more to learn how. This tome won''t teach me any actual skills, but it will teach me everything I need to know to effectively cast the spells I do know.¡± ¡°I have to go learn some skills; wait for me.¡± Syl said as she and her new tome vanished. System Anomaly - 16 - Not possible After five minutes turned to ten, and it became obvious this wait might be a long one, Kai decided to work on his sloppy meditation skill. Settling down, trying to make sure he was as comfortable and relaxed as possible, he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing and on his mana. With the benefit of hours of casting one mana bolt after another, he had some idea of the feeling of mana as it passed through his channels. But he had not long woken up and devoured a slightly questionable stew, so his mana reserves were full. So despite breathing in deeply and concentrating for several minutes, he felt nothing but a deep refreshment. Cracking an eye and checking for Syl, he found himself all alone. ¡°Alicia, you there?¡± ¡®Yes.¡¯ ¡°What is Syl up to? She told me to wait, and I¡¯ve been here for a good twenty minutes.¡± ¡®I do not know; I have been working on my core¡­¡¯ There was a long moment of silence. ¡®Syl seems to be setting something up; it looks complicated. Should I tell her you are asking after her?¡¯ ¡°No, don¡¯t disturb her. I¡¯ll find something to do; I suggest you get back to finding your core.¡± ¡®Any advice? I feel like I am not getting anywhere.¡¯ Kai thought about it. It had been easy for him for reasons that wouldn¡¯t work for Alicia. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ You know the feeling you get when you have enough essence and are about to level.¡± ¡®I do¡­¡¯ ¡°Well, that essence should be circling your core, right; Maybe you could follow the feeling back to your core¡­ I¡¯m just making an uneducated guess here. ¡®I have some essence, but I do not have that full feeling at the moment. I will give it some thought.¡¯ ¡°Thanks, Alicia, I¡¯m going to work on my meditation¡­ You can meditate right.¡± ¡®Of course.¡¯ ¡°Any advice?¡± Kai asked, hoping for something more useful than clear your mind and take deep breaths. ¡®It is one of my worst skills.¡¯ Alicia said unapologetically. ¡°I understand. Good luck, Alicia.¡± ¡®Thank you¡­ and good luck.¡¯ Knowing Syl was working on something, Kai set about his own little project while he waited. He constructed a small barrier and checked his mana. He had lost about two percent of his mana making the casting of the spell. Kai waited to see if his mana would continue to drop. When his mana actually jumped back up to full, he realised his barrier was so small that it actually took less mana than he naturally regenerated to maintain it. So he tried making the barrier larger, hoping to give himself the gradual deficit of mana he could train his meditation against whilst also learning to detect mana in his body. Unfortunately, the barrier distorted and shattered as he tried to make changes to it after he had constructed the spell. So starting again, he doubled the size of his barrier and monitored his mana pool. It took a little longer, but his mana ticked up again. He tried adjusting the barrier once more, but it broke again. Realising he would definitely be setting some time aside when they got out of the dungeon to work on barriers, he gave up on trying to be clever and constructed a full-size barrier. A foot taller and another foot wider on each side, it was more than large enough for him to stand behind and not worry about any ranged attack from the front. Checking his mana once again, he was pleased to see his mana finally tick down. He monitored it just long enough to ensure he wouldn¡¯t completely deplete his mana while he meditated. His hope was he could either cancel out or overcome the mana demand of the barrier. The consumption of mana by his barrier and its subsequent replenishment should hopefully give him some kind of movement of mana in his system that he hoped he could detect. Closing his eyes again, he focused. Time passed, and he worked on his meditation. But he still wasn¡¯t feeling anything. Well, maybe something; it was sluggish, hard to pin down. After a while he checked his mana pool; it was still going down but at a slightly slower rate. He went back to his meditation but kept a metaphorical eye on his mana; he noticed it actually started ticking down faster and faster. Realising he wasn''t really meditating if he was too busy focusing on his mana levels, Kai went back to just focusing on his breathing. Then he realised that maybe focusing too hard on his breathing was another reason his meditation was sloppy. How he was supposed to work on detecting the flow of his mana whilst also meditating, Kai didn¡¯t know. But Syl said it was possible, so he kept at it. Some time later, he felt something new. It wasn¡¯t what he was expecting, a strange swaying. Wait a minute¡­ Kai opened his eyes to find Alicia standing over him, her hand on his shoulder as she gently shook him. He was relieved to see she had squeezed herself back into her leathers. The t-shirt was a little too much. Kai checked his mana to see it was full. He was pleased until he realised his barrier had collapsed at some point. Either he had improved his meditation and he had improved his mana regeneration over the drain caused by his barrier, or he had lost control of the barrier spell before he made any improvements, and that was why his mana had regenerated. ¡°How long was I meditating for?¡± Kai asked as he got up and stretched out his legs. ¡°An hour or two,¡± Syl said as she drifted around from behind Alicia. ¡°I had some kinks to work out. We saw that you were practicing; when your barrier finally collapsed, we thought it would be okay to rouse you.¡± ¡°So my barrier just collapsed,¡± Kai said. ¡°Nice... Are we good to go? ¡± ¡°Just about, Alicia wants to tell us what to expect.¡± ¡°Ah yes, the next room set is a little different. You¡¯ll enter a forest; the forest is random, but there will always be a goblin sentry hidden in one of the trees where you enter. The moment it sees you, it will sound an alarm that will alert a goblin camp; they come running.¡± Alicia explained rapidly. ¡°Anyway to stop the goblin alerting the others?¡± Kai asked as he already started to strategise. ¡°I don¡¯t think so; my old party reset several times since we were right next to the entrance. No matter what we tried, the goblin saw one of us and got the alert off before we could kill it. We also tried fighting off the goblin attack, but it was too much, and we had to retreat too.¡± ¡°So how did you do the room?¡± Kai asked. ¡°We killed the goblin and ran. We managed to get away from the entrance before the goblins arrived; the rest of the room was quietly taking out goblin search parties. It took a while, but we were also able to forage and hunt for better food supplies.¡± ¡°What about the next rooms?¡± ¡°Same sort of theme, except it progresses in difficulty and complexity. The number of goblins increases, and their types are more varied. In the fifth room there was a hobgoblin boss.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Alicia shook her head. Kai looked over to Syl, who he couldn¡¯t help but admit looked stunning in her own set of tight combat leathers. Syl coughed and caught his wandering eye. ¡°See anything you would like to comment on? With all those skill books in you, you''re the armour expert.¡± Realising he had been caught out, he decided to push back a little, ¡°Is that even necessary? The armour''s fake, and you¡¯re not even a physical being. Going naked might be more effective; you could distract our enemies, possibly even stun-lock them with a sexy attack.¡± ¡°You would like that too much.¡± Syl said seductively as she floated up beside him, ¡°No¡­ even this is probably a bit too distracting for you.¡± She sighed, ¡°There are magical attacks that could potentially cause me lasting damage. It¡¯s unlikely, but I¡¯m not taking any risks.¡± There was a flare of cyan flame as Syl transformed into her usual wisp form. ¡°If I¡¯m blue like this, assume people can see me, but if I turn this colour,¡± Syl said as she turned the same vibrant fiery orange as her hair. She actually just looked like a floating ball of flame. ¡°What about the light that form gives off?¡± Kai asked as he noted the dim flicker of light she cast around the small dungeon room. ¡°Only you should see it,¡± Syl said, her flame pulsing in time with her words. ¡°Projections are weird like that. I¡¯m just glad Bob left the ability alone.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll be like an invisible torch I can use to see in the dark.¡± He said, grinning at the little joke. ¡°And you¡¯re my meat suit.¡± Alicia chuckled. ¡°Is Alicia going to be okay all on her own within the domain?¡± ¡°She won''t be alone; I don¡¯t actually leave when I project myself out here. That¡¯s why that tome was so important for me and why I had to take some time to set some things up.¡± ¡°I will be okay,¡± Alicia said. ¡°There is plenty I can do to keep myself busy. I have a lot I can work on, and your domain is a safe place to do it. Much better than waiting in the room behind you.¡± ¡°You just like all the amenities.¡± Syl chided as she zipped around Alicia¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Besides, I may not have the full parallel processing I used to have as a system authority, but I can still somewhat split my attention. That ability goes deep into your main core, so it is hard to take back.¡± Hearing Syl so openly talk about what he knew was forbidden knowledge, Kai looked to Alicia; she seemed completely oblivious to Syl as she went in one of her ears and popped out the other. ¡°Can you hear Syl?¡± Kai asked. ¡°No, but she told me her plan a while ago. By your one-sided conversation, I assumed it was working.¡± ¡°So everyone is ready? Syl bobbed up and down as Alicia nodded. Looting Alicia back to the domain, Kai moved into the corridor and watched as the smoke cleared. The glow of an early afternoon lit him up as a forest appeared before him. He stepped up to where the invisible barrier separated him and the dungeon room and looked about. Checking each of the trees meticulously for the goblin sentry, he realised their green skin was an annoyingly effective natural camouflage. ¡°You see anything?¡± he asked after a minute of fruitless searching. ¡°Nope. Give me a minute.¡± Syl''s orange wisp shot off into the dungeon room to inspect the tree closer. ¡°Syl, this is perfect; you have an inbuilt stealth skill. If you find it, you can kill it before it can alert.¡± Kai said enthusiastically as he watched Syl flit amongst the trees. The little orange orb pulsed in the distance as Syl replied; her voice carried over the distance like some kind of magical radio. ¡°Unfortunately, all my spells will be cast through you as a proxy. Remote magic is far too costly to set up and use; I need a much larger store of mana before I can even consider it¡­ ooh.¡± There was a bright flare off to the right as Syl lit up an unsuspecting goblin sentry. ¡°He has a horn and a crossbow¡­ only level one. A good clean hit with a mana bolt should do the trick,¡± Syl said as she disappeared from the tree and reappeared beside him. Kai couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°This is definitely cheating, by the way.¡± ¡°Anyone with a decent detection skill could have done it, and besides, the range I can travel away from you is actually quite limited¡­ Can I kill it? Never actually done anything like this before.¡± Kai remembered his many missed mana bolts as he looked off at the distant goblin. The sentry was easily three times further away than any goblin he had shot at before. ¡°How about we both take a shot?¡± Kai said as he created a mana bolt to his side. ¡°I¡¯m a little worried we will miss. The winner gets bragging rights or something like that. ¡°You mean you¡¯re worried I¡¯ll miss¡­ But I guess that''s fair,¡± Syl said as another mana bolt formed near where she floated by his side. Syl constructing the mana bolt felt weird; it was like he had cast the spell himself but had put no conscious thought into the process, and he lacked his usual control over it. Seeing Syl''s rough mana bolt reminded him of the very first time he made his own. It gave him an idea he couldn¡¯t help but try out. Constructing his own attack, he condensed the mana bolt, compacting the same amount of mana into a much tighter ball. ¡°Are you ready? The spell''s fighting me,¡± Syl said. ¡°Stepping through,¡± Kai said as he moved out into the forest. They both released their spells the moment Kai was past the invincible wall. The bolts zipped off; Kai was moving at a considerably faster pace than Syls. Kai didn¡¯t get to see if either hit the sentry as he felt something punch into his shoulder, followed by a sharp, piercing pain. ¡°Did we get it? Kai said, grunting as he fell to one knee, clutching the crossbow bolt in his shoulder. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Yes! You whiffed your shot; it was faster, but it zipped right past him.¡± Syl said from afar in the distance where she had made her first successful kill. ¡°I thought the little green fucker was supposed to set off an alarm every time. Not shoot me.¡± ¡°You got shot!¡± Syl said as her full form appeared beside him. ¡°Oh shit, you got shot!¡± Syl said as she fussed over him, her ethereal hands unable to even support him. ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t panic!¡± She panicked. ¡°I¡¯m not, Syl. I¡¯m going to need you to calm down,¡± Kai said as he summoned a health potion. ¡°You think your healing spell will work on a deep wound?¡± Syl shook her head. ¡°It might stop the bleeding and close the wound, but you¡¯ll still have torn muscles. I¡¯ll use Clense; no telling what was on the bolt. There was a faint green haze near the wound, and Kai groaned as a whole new wave of pain flooded the area of the crossbow bolt. ¡°What about the potion?¡± he asked as the tingling subsided. ¡°That should work. Remove the bolt and pour as much as you can directly into the wound, then drink the rest. The only problem is if you black out, you could bleed to death; I can¡¯t actually-.¡± ¡°Then use heal,¡± Kai said as he gripped the bolt. ¡°I just hope it isn''t barbed.¡± He gave the bolt a light pull to try and gauge how bad it would be; it didn¡¯t feel good to him. ¡°It¡¯s barbed¡­¡± he said as he clenched his jaw and yanked. Luckily the goblin had sacrificed armour penetration for the broader barbed head, and the bolt had wasted most of its energy getting through his leathers, meaning it wasn''t actually that deep. Still, pulling it free hurt like hell, and he had to fight to remain upright as his vision closed in on him. Thankfully he didn¡¯t actually black out, and he managed to uncork his health potion and pour the bottle over the wound that now bled profusely. Syl fussed uselessly; she seemed to be saying something, but he couldn¡¯t quite hear her. Working on instinct, he ripped off a glove and poked two fingers past his armour to open the wound more so the potion could actually get in and do its work. That sent a whole new wave of pain through him, but a deep part of him knew it was necessary. Satisfied he had enough potion in his shoulder Kai chugged the rest of the bottle. The potion was thick and possibly the foulest thing he had ever drunk in his life; he coughed and spluttered as he struggled to swallow the gooey mixture. Syl had already moved to hold her hands over the wound, the golden light of a heal spell working alongside the potion to close things up. Done, Kai just lay down and tried to slow his rapid heart by going into a partial state of meditation. ¡®Erm¡­ why did you not just retreat? I could have helped; I even have higher quality potions.¡¯ Alicia said, her voice coming from within the domain, cautiously pointing out something that was now obvious to Kai in hindsight. ¡°There were a couple of injuries in my party, but we had each other. Alicia continued, ¡®I just don¡¯t understand why the sentry shot first. It is supposed to set off an alert.¡¯ Kai pulled his chalice stone free of his armour. ¡°We forgot about this; I¡¯m a threat that must be destroyed.¡± ¡®The sentry must have prioritised killing you¡­¡¯ Alicia said, ¡®I¡¯m going to take notes.¡¯ ¡°You should have been working on finding your core,¡± Syl said as she wiped a tear from her cheek. ¡®Did you not feel the demon shake? It was terrifying.¡¯ Kai thought for a moment, ¡°Do we know for certain what will happen to Alicia if I were to buy it?¡± ¡®Buy it?¡¯ ¡°He means die. We already talked about this, and it''s nothing too troubling. Your domain should spit out all the physical objects stored within. As your death would be inside a dungeon room, Alicia is not technically allowed inside the dungeon; she should spit her out.¡± Kai thought that sounded dangerously like a theory they had no way of testing. ¡°What about you, Syl?¡± ¡°Till death do us part. I¡¯m fine with it.¡± Kai found himself fiddling with his soul ring. It didn''t take that long for the potion to do its job, and when the pain subsided and he felt much better, Kai got to his feet and mentally checked his health; he was at about ninety-five percent. Good enough to go on. ¡°So no alert, no patrols to worry about?¡± ¡°I guess not.¡± Syl, as she literally shrugged off her full form and switched back into her orange wisp floating flame self. ¡°Let''s go look for a goblin camp.¡± ¡°You got shot by the first goblin, and now you want to raid their camp?¡± Syl said, flaring angrily. ¡°Alicia, any more tree sentries?¡± Silence. ¡°Alicia?¡± ¡®Pardon, Syl set me back to task.¡¯ ¡°Sorry, last question: any more tree sentries to worry about?¡± ¡®Not sure. When the alert went out, all the goblins in the forest came running. I would assume there might be some, but they abandoned their posts, so I cannot say for certain. The only thing I can say is there are more crossbowmen.¡¯ Kai felt through his armour, feeling for the freshly healed skin. ¡°Okay, we take our time, but I think we have a plan for the camp if it turns out to be too much to just attack.¡± ¡°You are the meat suit; lead on.¡± Kai took a mental note of his surroundings; he planned on coming back and restarting the room. The corridor was hidden in the mouth of a small cave. The sentry was probably placed there just to watch the cave. Or at least that was probably the dungeon''s logic for why it had the little green fucker hidden in a tree. Satisfied knew what to look for on his return. Kai moved off deeper into the forest after asking Syl to go high and scout things out. The forest was actually quite open, the ground littered with leaves, fallen branches and the odd open glade full of grass. It was eerily quiet, and one wrong step could easily send the crunch of broken twigs ringing throughout the forest. So he tried his best to move silently using the lay of the land and the occasional rock formation to hide from anyone that might be on the lookout. Inevitably he put his foot down poorly, and the forest seemed to snap with the sound of a broken twig. But after a few tense moments, there was no response at all; no one came looking for the source of the sound. About a good twenty minutes later and a few more clumsy steps, he no longer worried so much and managed to relax a bit. He even heard an occasional snap off in the distance, which, when he investigated, he found nothing but scuff marks on the ground. Syl told him she saw a herd of deer and a few rabbits earlier and suggested they were the cause of the distant sounds. Kai clearly wasn¡¯t any good at tracking, but he wasn¡¯t worried; he planned on hunting only when food became an issue or he had cleared out the goblins. Eventually Syl floated down to his side and told him she found a promising trail. He had seen numerous animal trails, all of them slightly overgrown, clearly unused by anything but the local dungeon animals. The trail Syl had found was different; the small footprints were exactly what they should have been looking for. She actually apologised; she had actually seen similar trails but didn¡¯t think too much of them. In her defence, from up high, the two different trails look similar. Following the new trail, they eventually started to work their way down into a small valley to finally find the goblin camp. A good dozen goblins were lazing about as what he thought was possibly a deer carcass cooked over a central campfire. ¡®Did any of them spot us?¡¯ Kai asked Syl to use their connection to silently communicate as he slid in behind a boulder. ¡°Nope, totally oblivious. I¡¯ll go scout it out. Don¡¯t examine anyone, or you¡¯ll alert them to our presence.¡± ¡®My examinations are much better now; they kind of just flinch when I do it.¡¯ Syl had already drifted off to scout things out. It wasn¡¯t long before she reappeared. ¡°Well, this shouldn¡¯t be hard at all. They don¡¯t have any sentries set, and they seem to be stuck waiting for something to alert them. That or they are just plain lazy.¡± Syl said, ¡°This boulder might serve as a good high spot to take out most of them with our mana bolts.¡± ¡®What about counterattacks? Any shamans or ranged among them? He felt at his shoulder, ¡®We should put up a barrier to shoot around just in case.¡¯ ¡°There is a definite shaman; just kill the one in the robes. The others are a little harder to tell. Their camp''s a mess. The equipment¡¯s just dumped everywhere. I think there are at least four crossbowmen and another eight melee types¡­¡± ¡®You didn¡¯t examine them?¡¯ ¡°Of course I did, but unless they are equipped or actively doing something, examine just tells me their race and level. Imagine if the system advertised your class as clueless no matter what you were doing.¡± ¡®Well, that¡¯s inconvenient,¡± Kai said, ignoring the jab. ¡®Anyway, ¡°For you to mark them for me, maybe I can use the system like a HUD and-¡® ¡°This isn¡¯t a game¡­ Actually, I hate to admit it, but with the right spell or item, it might be possible. There are some ranger-type skills that mark things. But how we could pass that through our connection or party setup, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡®We should maybe look into it; with your scouting abilities, it would give us an advantage.¡¯ ¡°Sadly, anyone with sharper senses might still be able to detect me. My projection is a skill like any other, not an infallible system function. At least not anymore.¡± ¡®Ready when you are, I suppose.¡¯ ¡°Okay, I''ll focus on the ranged; you worry about any that get close.¡± Kai nodded as he prepared three mana bolts at once, condensing each into the more compact form. ¡°Show off,¡± Syl said as another rough mana bolt crackled into life. Kai just grinned as he clambered up onto the top of his boulder. The goblins scrambled into action the moment Syl fired off her mana bolt into an unsuspecting robed goblin that was lounging on a bunch of furs. Kai fired off his mana bolts in quick succession, aiming for whichever goblin he thought posed the most threat to him. Turns out multicasting mana bolts took a little bit more concentration than he anticipated. His first shot zipped straight through a goblin as it frantically tried to pull back the string on its crossbow, but the other two shots completely missed. Still, what was equivalent to a magical bullet zipping right past your head had to be unnerving. Seeing the bolt shoot straight through the goblin he hit, leather jerkin and all. Kai wondered at the armour-piercing potential of his new bolt. The crack the bolt made upon contacting something solid enough to break the bolt apart was even louder. The goblins were starting to get organised and move towards him; Syl had taken down another goblin with a crossbow while Kai had been observing the effect of his own attack. He conjured up another two mana bolts, thinking three might have been pushing it a bit far for his first attempt. This time, however, he channelled more mana into the two of them just to see how they would react. They felt unstable, and as he wanted something explosive to use on groups, he decided not to mess with them any more than that. Picking out two targets that had bunched up, his two bolts shot off just fine; colliding, they cracked on impact just like his regular mana bolts. Kai wasn¡¯t completely disappointed; sure, they didn¡¯t explode the way he wanted, but they definitely tore limbs off. The only real issue was he wasn''t aiming for limbs. The unstable bolts seemed sluggish and inaccurate. He would have to work out the kinks. ¡°That¡¯s all the ranged ones down.¡± Syl called out. ¡°Okay, I think it''s about time I get in close.¡± Kai said as he summoned a bastard sword and conjured another bolt. ¡°Why we can-¡± Kai was already jumping off the boulder. ¡°Can''t abandon my melee skills just because we make an amazing turret.¡± The remaining four goblins were charging down a trail that came from their camp, trying to get to him. Nicely lined up as they avoided the brush on either side. It was almost too easy. The goblins had crude weapons with no real reach; if one of them had a spear, he might have had problems, but he would have just solved that with maybe a barrier and mana bolt. As it was, he slapped his prepared mana bolt into the face of the goblin that was first in line and stepped past it to cut down the next two. The fourth and final goblin Kai tripped with his blade and immediately constructed a small barrier on top of it. He used more mana than he needed and focused on pressing the spell down onto the green little man. He was pleased the barrier didn¡¯t break as he moved it. When he was satisfied he had the goblin pinned, he turned to Syl. ¡°Loot everything, and we will repeat; I think we can do better.¡± Syl flared and appeared in her full form, her hands already on her hips as she scowled at him, ¡°We are not grinding essence, Kai. These kills aren''t actually worth anything, and it will take too long to get back to the camp to rinse and repeat!¡± Kai waved her down, ¡°We¡¯re not doing it for essence. Hear me out.¡± Syl shifted her hips, and Kai took it as a sign to go on. ¡°Alicia, what reward did you get for this section of this dungeon?¡± Kai asked, hoping he wasn¡¯t disturbing her at a pivotal moment. ¡®Boots¡­¡¯ ¡°Did the boots do anything special?¡± ¡®They absorb the sound of my footfalls.¡¯ ¡°And was that a problem for you in this section of the dungeon? ¡± There was a long moment of silence before Alicia answered, ¡®I was tasked with hunting the wildlife for food; I kept alerting my targets. Once I got the boots, I had little to no problem in the next set of rooms.¡± ¡°What about your party? What did they get?¡± ¡°Our defender got a charm that dampened the sound of his armour. Our mage made a ring that quieted his chanting to a murmur-¡° ¡°Do your mages chant their spells? Kai interrupted, Chanting spells sounds like a pain in the ass. ¡®Most people do,¡¯ Alicia said in a tone that told him he probably should have known that. ¡°How come-¡° ¡°You had the benefit of skill books. Most people have to learn the hard way, and while chanting helps learn spell forms and can amplify the effects,. It¡¯s also hard to break away from such rigid spellcasting.¡± Syl answered him before he could finish the question. ¡®Master hated it when I even murmured something. He gave me a precious skill book on silent casting only after I could cast my first spell, reinforced durability, at will. Took me months¡­¡¯ Kai wondered why that particular spell and not Mana Bolt. Realising he could get bogged down in questions as Syl still scowled at him and a goblin clawed at the dirt trying to get free of his barrier, Kai decided to move on. ¡°Did your party ever get any skill books?¡± he asked, continuing his line of questioning. ¡®No¡­¡¯ ¡°Is this dungeon known for giving out skill books?¡± ¡®No¡­ But people tend not to report skill books unless they are selling them. This dungeon gives you what you need. So unless the adventurer desperately needs money, I do not see anyone giving up something so precious.¡¯ Alicia reasoned. ¡°I think I got the skill book because I didn¡¯t need anything else. Syl definitely got her tome because without it, she was effectively nothing but an essence drain.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Syl complained, ¡°Well, you''re not wrong.¡± ¡°I think if we can show the dungeon, we don¡¯t need anything else. We should get skill books or possibly something better. At the moment I¡¯m probably going to get a piece of armour or something to help track down goblin camps; I would rather get something better.¡± ¡°I am not grinding the dungeon with you; we could be in here for months. Don¡¯t forget Thanric is waiting for Alicia outside.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying we should grind at all. Just challenge each room until we get as close to a perfect run as we think is possible before moving on. Syl, you can work on your spells, and we can get the essence we are losing to your core. We do things right; we should be able to get to level five by the time we catch up with where Alicia is.¡± Kai was unable to hide his grin as Syl finally let her scowl slip as she started to consider his plan. She didn¡¯t seem convinced. ¡°Alicia, when in the dungeon did you hit level three?¡± Kai asked. ¡®The ninth room.¡¯ ¡°Level four?¡± ¡®The seventeenth, it was the twenty-fourth room when I reached level five¡­ But I had fallen into a purely support role by then. The party was all around level seven to eight¡­¡¯ Alicia trailed off, sounding a little defeated. She really didn¡¯t connect with her last party by the sounds of it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that; those are our benchmarks. Level three before the tenth room, level four the seventeenth, and level five the twenty-fifth.¡± It took you hours to get me up to level one! ¡°I have the challenge token; you can attack now; things should be a lot faster. Especially if I level up.¡± ¡°Are you going to level up whenever you can?¡± Kai nodded. ¡°You promise.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t, you can just do it for me; you did it earlier.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t me.¡± Kai just gave her a knowing look as he dismissed his sword and folded his arms. ¡°Right fine, but if we don¡¯t get something good in the next reward room, we just push through normally.¡± ¡®This is an interesting experiment; the master will love to know the outcome.¡¯ ¡°Core!¡± Syl cried. ¡®Right, sorry.¡¯ They looted the goblin camp, finding nothing of note; still, they took everything that might have any value. Leaving the last goblin behind, they set off to find the corridor back to the reward room so they could reset things and try again. They found it in half the time it took them to find the goblin camp; still, Kai was a little worried that if this became a thing, he would end up with a reward that helped his sense of direction. Turning around as soon as the smoke cleared, Kai prepared a barrier as Syl once again scouted out the goblin sentry. They had discussed the sentry on the way back and already knew what to do. Kai would set up a protective barrier and only fire off his mana bolt if Syl missed. Odds were the sentry would continue to attack, but there was still a chance it would sound the alarm if it failed, so both Kai and Syl were prepared to take it down as fast as possible. Syl returned after signalling where the goblin was hidden, and Kai stepped out and immediately constructed his prepared barrier. Syl missed her bolt, but before she could construct another, Kai shot off his own, catching the goblin right where he was aiming as a crossbow bolt thwacked into his barrier. Syl wanted an immediate do-over, but she relented when Kai pointed out she might get the same mana bolt skill book he got if that was where she was lacking. They found a trail the sentry must have used now that Syl knew what to look for, and she guided Kai to the goblin camp in less than a third of the time it took them on their first run through. Seeing that the goblins were in the same lackadaisical state as last time, he summoned his longsword and just dove right into the middle of the camp. Syl wasn''t pleased, but when all but one goblin was dead, Kai just pointed out the level difference and how they needed to be able to react on the fly if they got into a bad situation; they couldn''t prepare for everything. Kai had taken a couple of hits, and Syl had missed a few shots as she scrambled to throw out some barriers. The surprise had been the stun spell she had used, but Syl was being moody and refused to elaborate on what other tricks she had in her bag. They retreated again and ran the forest another four times before Syl insisted they had performed well enough. Kai couldn''t really argue. They had carved through the camp. Syl rapid-firing off a mix of spells while he carved through anything that got too close. He needed something more challenging, and more low-level goblins weren¡¯t going to cut it with Syl working as his own personal spellcaster. The only thing that was odd about this last run was that his last few mana bolts all felt weird to him. As the fight was coming to a close, he could give the spell more of his attention, and he noticed as he fired off an attack at the retreating shaman that the spell was certainly off somehow, almost like he wasn¡¯t actually pulling mana from quite the same place. But the spell had otherwise been flawless as it zipped through the shaman, its barrier and then exploded in the trunk of the tree it had tried to use as cover to close itself off from attack. So despite it being weird, he paid it no more attention. Kai had to admit, as he watched the goblin slump to the floor and then disappear into his storage, it was probably time to try something harder. The moment he agreed to move on, Syl picked up a large rock and dropped it on the last living goblin with some kind of telekinesis skill he hadn¡¯t seen before. A little envious as he wanted a skill like that, he grumbled to himself again as Syl still refused to tell him what she had up her sleeve. Just as he was wondering if the camp was actually all the goblins in the forest, the goblin died and a Kai-sized portal appeared in the middle of the camp. It was then Syl suggested he eat something, and then maybe they could try and do some hunting before moving on. She needed to recover some mana before they pushed on to the next room anyway. While Kai had his arsenal of weapons to fall back on, Syl was pretty much useless in a fight without any mana to draw upon. Kai checked his own mana and paused. ¡°Syl, what happens when you run completely out of mana?¡± Kai asked, trying not to let any sound of alarm creep into his voice. ¡°You die. But don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s like running low on stamina; you¡¯re so physically exhausted you usually collapse before you reach your limit. With mana, it''s more of a headache, but you get the idea.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get a headache, but I am pretty sure the system is telling me I¡¯m at negative sixty percent mana¡­ give or take.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible¡­ Sixty percent?¡± Kai called up his dreaded blue status screen and passed it to Syl. ¡°What the...¡± Syl said as her mouth fell open and her brow creased in confusion. System Anomaly - 17 - Slayer ¡°This doesn''t make any sense,¡± Syl said, staring at Kai¡¯s status page as if looking at it longer would give her answers. ¡°You¡¯re telling me,¡± Kai said as he summoned a mana potion. ¡°My last few mana bolts did feel funny. It was like I was drawing the mana from somewhere else.¡± ¡°Somewhere else¡­¡± Syl said, her mind working through the implications of negative mana. ¡°Syl, what is your mana at? You said you needed to recover some before we went on.¡± ¡°I was at around thirty percent, but it¡¯s actually recovering quite fast¡­¡± Syl said as she looked off into space. Kai called up a mana bolt in his free hand and just held it. ¡°What about now? Did your mana just drop by two percent?¡± Kai asked as he flicked the bolt off into the trees. Syl¡¯s eyes widened as she looked at him. ¡°You are insane! You have minus mana, and you¡¯re using more.¡± Kai shrugged. ¡°Quickest way to figure things out. Did you lose any mana?¡± Syl looked off into space again and nodded. ¡°I did-¡± Kai upended the mana potion he had at the ready. Gulping down the thin liquid quickly, it burnt his throat on the way down. Thankfully, it was nowhere near as bad as trying to swallow that thick health potion he had used. Syl didn¡¯t say much as she was looking stuff over, but as Kai watched, his mana jumped up thirty percent. Somehow the now negative fifty-six percent mana indicator he had remained. The change gave him a rough idea of what was happening. ¡°I think we are sharing mana. My system is just having a hard time tracking it. Though this doesn''t explain why I ran out of mana before you. I wasn''t even using nearly as much magic as I was before; I didn¡¯t need to with you blasting goblins left, right and even behind me.¡± ¡°That is my fault. I¡¯m using you as a proxy to cast my spells¡­ So I¡¯m using your mana before I use my own. Even though we are connected, your body naturally prioritises its own core. I should have been checking things better; this could have been very dangerous.¡± Syl said, frowning as she continued to contemplate the situation. Kai just checked the trait related to their connection: ¡°Paired Individual, two souls, two minds and one connection. Everything that can be shared will be. Greater than the sum of your parts, two plus two equals five. Nothing adds up the way it should.¡± ¡°Yeah, I think this must be one of the things that is shared,¡± Syl said. ¡°The problem is the traits are so vague; I wish it spelt everything out for us,¡± Kai said as he watched his natural mana regeneration add to his mana pool as Syl¡¯s own regeneration reduced the negative indicator on her end. ¡°Syl, can you drink mana potions in the domain?¡± Kai said as he got one of his ideas, ¡°You said you could parallel process to some degree; will meditating in the domain distract you out here?¡± Syl just looked at him as his negative mana dropped by around thirty-five percent. ¡°You know this is why you broke the tutorial.¡± ¡°This is a good thing. Unlike a normal spellcaster, you can recover mana using potions without exposing yourself. We can greatly improve our combined regeneration if you can meditate. We just need to test if your mana recovery is shared when your core is already full¡­¡± Kai cupped his chin as he thought of all the possibilities. ¡°What do you think will happen if one of us drinks a mana potion when they are already full of mana? Will it overflow through our connection? Is our recovery split or shared? Do our stats work on our cores separately, or is there also some kind of sharing going on there too?¡± ¡®You are just like my master. So much so it is almost frightening.¡¯ Alicia said, suddenly entering the conversation from within the domain. ¡°Core!¡± Both Kai and Syl said in unison. ¡®About that, I think I finally felt something following my essence¡­ I will keep working on it.¡¯ ¡°If you have actually found your core, it is much faster than I expected.¡± Syl said as she gave Kai a doubtful look. ¡®Kai gave me some advice.¡¯ ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± Syl floated over to Kai. ¡°Your essence is stored around your core, so it makes sense that you should be able to find your core by tracking it back.¡± Kai just shrugged and focused on his mana readout; he wanted to make it easier to understand on a quick check. The moment he wished he could see Syl''s mana instead of a negative number, his status changed from Mana: 36% (-29%) to Mana: Kai-36% / 71%-Syl. He wasn¡¯t sure the new readout worked for him; it might be better if they just combined to give a total¡­ Mana: Kai-38% / 73%-Syl, changed to Mana: 111% Kai was starting to get an idea just how customisable his personal system was. In the end he changed things back to the readout that gave him both his and Syl''s individual mana readouts, as that would allow him to track things on an individual basis. Satisfied with his changes, he sent his status back over to Syl so she could see what he had managed to do. ¡°So that last mana potion you took gave you over thirty percent. Do you think it will be a waste if you drink another one to see if the extra fills me up too?¡± Kai asked as she gave him an approving nod to his changes. ¡°It is a waste, but it will keep you happy, won''t it?¡± He nodded enthusiastically. Syl sighed as her mana jumped up to full as his own gained another three percent. He grinned, ¡°There was definitely something carried over, a little less than I expected, but still this is great.¡± ¡°You do realise your mana pool is larger than mine. Even then, one of those potions should easily fill someone of our level range up to full and then some. Our combined stats are definitely affecting things¡­¡± Syl trailed off, looking lost in a thought. ¡°Is this the reason why our mana bolts tend to kill in just one shot?¡± ¡°No, spell damage is usually just a case of mana invested. No stat directly affects spell damage, but if you have good flow, control and enough mana to work with, even simple spells can be potent.¡± Kai watched his mana tick up slightly faster than when Syl had less than her full amount of mana. ¡°Your regeneration is aiding my own. If you can meditate in the domain while throwing spells out here¡­ Two plus two is definitely going to make five.¡± ¡°Yeah, trying to figure out the math is hurting my head. The fact our connection is involved complicates things immensely. Which explains why the trait is so vague about everything.¡± Kai had another one of his stray thoughts, ¡°Do you think improving our connection will improve what¡¯s shared?¡± Syl just looked at him and smiled, ¡°I can think of a few things that will deepen our connection; no guarantee it will change any of this, but I promise you will enjoy it.¡± Kai felt the heat rise to his ears. ¡°I meant like a spell or ritual we can do.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a soul connection; what I have in mind will work. Just trusting each other wholeheartedly will affect the connection.¡± Syl tapped her lips. ¡°But yes, I think we should look into the more arcane ways of improving things.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Kai said as he turned to walk off into the woods, ¡°You drinking those terrible mana potions for me is a huge boon. I¡¯m hoping stamina and health potions also work, though I¡¯m doubtful much is shared on the physical side.¡± ¡°I should probably invest in my mana core. The benefits for you would be insane, and my own magical abilities.¡± Syl said thoughtfully as she drifted after him. Kai spun round. ¡°No! I¡¯m getting you a body someday, and I¡¯ll be damned if you¡¯re a glass cannon that gets killed because you make one mistake.¡± Syl smiled softly, ¡°You know Alicia is a sucker for this kind of stuff.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care right now. What would you say if I said I was going to work purely on my physical core because I have you to work on your mana core?¡± Syl actually thought for a moment, ¡°I¡¯d say it was foolish. We don¡¯t know what will happen. We could encounter a lich or some other twisted creature that feeds on souls and-¡° ¡°Exactly!¡± Kai said as he turned back to the woods, ¡°Right. Where were those damn wild boar we saw earlier? I want bacon!¡± ¡°You do realise none of us know what part of a pig bacon actually comes from.¡± Syl said as she turned into her wisp form and zipped off into the sky to scout things out. ¡°Good point. We¡¯ll either figure it out or hire a butcher. I know that weird stringy stuff Americans call bacon is actually just thinly cut pork belly, but I have no idea where the real stuff is.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t keep a butcher in your domain just because you like bacon.¡± ¡°Can I keep a butcher if I like good meat and not just bacon? And I¡¯m not talking goblin.¡± ¡®It sounds reasonable to me; this place is relatively safe, and some people will do anything for money. You could have a whole village in here¡­ I could lean on my contacts. I think Master might even like to set up and study this place for a bit; it could help with his own domain. Oh yes! Lilly, my maidservant, could come and cook and clean and care for our gear and-¡¯ ¡°And Thanric thinks you¡¯re spoilt?¡± Syl said teasingly. There was nothing but silence from his domain. ¡°Oh god, it would be like having a hundred people with me on speed dial at any time they wanted,¡± Kai said as he thought about how Alicia could just talk to him whenever they wanted. Syl sighed, ¡°It¡¯s your domain; you can filter that kind of stuff if you really wanted. But that¡¯s not the real problem, is it? ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bite. What is the real problem?¡± ¡°It sounds like a lot of shit to deal with¡­ To your one o¡¯clock, there is a herd of deer grazing in a glade.¡± Syl said. With that, the conversation died as Kai and Syl went on a bacon-hunting spree. Kai was worried they would struggle to get anything; his tracking skills were clearly lacking, but with Syl flying invisibly overhead and their mana bolts, it was almost too easy. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Syl had figured out Kai¡¯s method of compacting the mana bolts, so they travelled as fast as a speeding bullet. And while neither of their mana bolts actively tracked targets yet, they did have a level of auto-aim tied to the caster¡¯s intent and focus. All this meant that despite the occasional miss, the two of them working together had a successful hunt. Though it probably helped that what they were hunting was confined to the relatively small forest and not able to escape them. After a few hours they had four deer, three boars and even a couple of rabbits tucked away in a brand new cold storage Syl had set up near the kitchen just for storing perishable foodstuffs. Kai was over the metaphorical moon when he disassembled one of the boars to get a cut of wild boar bacon. So much for hiring a butcher, though he still mulled over the other possibilities and the limitations of his ring dismantle ability. After eating another bowl of adventurers¡¯ stew and taking care of his basic necessities, they continued on to the next dungeon room. They ran the room just three times; there were no real changes beyond all the goblins levelling up to a level above what they were before. Kai was still hoping for a rare spawn, but even when they moved onto the third room, all that changed was the goblin camp had six more goblins set up in a perimeter around the camp. It took them a few attempts to get to the point they could neutralise the perimeter guards without alerting the whole camp. Not that it was necessary to eliminate them, as at this point wiping out the goblin camp was just trivial for Kai and Syl. Alicia actually complained at one point. Apparently, wiping out all the goblins at the camp was much faster than having to deal with the roaming hunting parties. She recounted how her party had to resort to tracking down the individual groups of goblins, carefully killing them off before they could get their own alerts off. Kai made an offhand comment about their tactics, then had to explain what guerrilla warfare was to Alicia. But Alicia had a point. Kai and Syl did in half an hour what Alicia''s full party did in the better part of a day. Realising they were ahead of schedule, Syl, much to Kai¡¯s surprise, approved the grinding of the floor for the rest of the day. That evening Kai killed the poor goblin they usually left alive and set up his sleeping mat next to the portal that led to the next room. It was then they found out Adventurer''s stew was probably the limit of Alicia''s cooking experience, as she absolutely destroyed the rabbit she tried to cook up. Syl too was useless in that area, as in her one thousand years as a system authority, she had not once needed to actually cook anything herself. Kai went through the motions of looting his gear and finding a tree off in the distance. His needs satiated, he got comfortable in his blankets and entered the domain to show them how to use a convection oven and distribute some of his basic cooking knowledge to the two of them. The rabbit they cooked together wasn¡¯t bad, just a little plain. He was just happy it wasn¡¯t reduced to carbon like Alicia''s first attempt. To her credit, Alicia had taken plenty of notes and even said she had some spices that should work the next time she tackled lunch. He was just happy his dismantle ability did most of the prep work, such as skinning the little animal and removing the innards, because he didn¡¯t have a clue where to begin with that. Modern living had robbed him of that skill set, and he had to wonder what else he might now struggle with in this new world. He had to return to the dungeon to eat his portion, which in a way was a blessing because Syl was dropping massive hints about a bigger bed that he didn¡¯t quite feel comfortable sharing with the two seductively beautiful women. Syl was Syl, but Alicia was a different story. While she didn¡¯t outright object, her wide-eyed expression spoke volumes, and even he managed to pick up on it. That and he had no clue where he and Alicia sat on the whole el¡¯vei human age thing. He wasn¡¯t even human anymore, so how did that work? No, he was going to have a long conversation with Thanric before he got himself into any trouble. Sleeping in the dungeon was weird; it was the same time of day every time they entered the forest, but time still passed, and it quickly got darker. He thought about how much harder the room must be if you had to go goblin hunting in the dark. Kai had a pleasant surprise as a mass of stars the like he had never seen before came out to greet him. He had always liked the stars, but with light pollution, he had never seen a true night sky with his own eyes. Though he was in a dungeon, so was this really a true sky; he decided it didn¡¯t matter; it was so beautiful. Kai awoke the next day to a flickering cyan flame for an alarm clock. Apparently the dungeon air agreed with him, and he had slept like a log. The fourth room was again much of the same. Just a few more goblins to take care of. If there were any more changes than that, they were inconsequential and he didn¡¯t notice them. Syl agreed to grind the floor as much as they could before moving on to the fifth floor around midday. How Syl was actually tracking the time of day, Kai didn¡¯t know. He had lost track of things long ago, and if Syl got distracted and they ended up running the room a few more times than they planned, that wouldn¡¯t be his fault. Kai didn¡¯t even know how time on Alea matched up with Earth. He had been measuring things in days, hours, minutes, and seconds so far. Syl and Alicia hadn¡¯t said anything, so he tried to not let the subject stick in his mind. He worried about it when it mattered; for now it was kind of convenient. About mid-afternoon, Syl had complained he didn¡¯t keep to the midday plan. Apparently, she was mediating in the domain and lost track of time killing little green men with him. After he tried his excuse that he had no way to track time, Syl pointed out he had access to a system clock that had escaped his attention the whole time. Eventually Syl actually admitted she was having fun. Apparently getting to actually kill goblins like this was quite cathartic after years of watching millions of system initiates struggle to do it in the tutorials. They cleared the camp a few more times before finishing the floor and doing some hunting. Kai had some ducks by the river that ran along the bottom of the forest valley, and he wanted to expand the dinner menu. The ducks were a pain, and they missed more often than not. Kai found himself worried Alea might not have the domesticated chicken. He tried describing the plump, tasty bird that laid eggs each day to Alicia, but the closest thing to what he described was a type of lesser cockatrice that people had in fact domesticated. He prayed they at least tasted like chicken. The next day Kai finally got his first rare spawn on their first run of the fifth room of the forest set, the tenth room of the dungeon. They took out the two sentries at the start of the room with practiced ease. They didn¡¯t even have to scout them out anymore, as after so many different runs, picking the little green men out among the trees seemed trivial. But something was clearly wrong when they approached the goblin camp. It was far too quiet, and none of the perimeter guards were anywhere to be seen. Confused, they approached the camp cautiously, looking for a spot Kai could hold up while Syl scouted the camp. They were expecting some kind of camp leader, a hobgoblin of some kind, according to Alicia. Instead, Syl appeared by his side. ¡°Rune bear, follow me now.¡± Syl whispered, ¡°We need to get downwind so it can¡¯t smell you. And don¡¯t use any magic until we are ready. These things can sense it.¡± Kai followed Syl''s orange flame as carefully as he could. ¡®What¡¯s a rune bear?¡¯ he asked, using their connection. ¡°Think grizzly but twice as big, twice as mean and magically attuned. It¡¯s level thirteen, and it¡¯s already wiped out the goblin camp.¡± ¡®Magically attuned?¡¯ ¡°Their roar will stun you; its attacks are empowered, and it sensed me when I did a flyby. Luckily it was too busy eating goblins, so it wasn''t too fussed with me.¡± ¡®Level thirteen seems a bit steep; do you think we can take it?¡± ¡°It may have wiped out the goblins, but they got their lump of flesh; it¡¯s already wounded. I am surprised the goblins didn¡¯t break and run the moment it showed up. It actually looks like the goblins were protecting something.¡± Syl brought Kai down and around to head in towards the camp from a different direction. He finally got a look at the rune bear as it pawed at the spot the goblin shaman in charge usually lounged on, a pile of hides. The massive beast was covered in matted blood and littered with crossbow bolts. He would have expected the bear-turned hedgehog to be more perturbed by all its quills, but it seemed more interested in something in that area, as after a few big sniffs at the bare soil, it started to dig. ¡®What''s the plan of attack?¡¯ Kai asked through their connection as he ignored the bad feeling he was getting. ¡®We both have full mana. We throw up a couple of low barriers to slow it down while we mana bolt it to death. That should just about do it.¡¯ Syl replied in kind. ¡®What, no escape plan?¡¯ ¡®Run like hell back to the entrance. But it shouldn''t come to that; it¡¯s only level thirteen, and together we''re a bit overpowered.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m level two, Syl!¡¯ Kai was surprised with how flippant Syl was being. ¡®There¡¯s an achievement for killing something ten levels above you. You¡¯ve done it before. We have near-unlimited mana while we have a supply of mana potions, and I just about got the hang of multicasting.¡¯ ¡®Right fine, is this the best spot? No bolder we can get on top of?¡¯ Kai asked as he looked about, seeing nothing but trees around the clearing the goblin camp was set up in. ¡®No boulders big enough. This is the best spot downwind¡­ I know you have been working on your explosive bolt, but the rune bear''s hide is thick; use the fast armour-penetrating bolts you came up with.¡¯ Kai nodded and summoned a set of four compressed mana bolts at her prompting. The moment he did, the bear lifted its head and looked right at him with its amber eyes that shone the moment they locked on him. ¡°Shit,¡± was all he managed to say as the bear stood to its full height and roared. As the roar hit him, he froze for just a moment as he watched three barriers appear between him and the battle-scarred beast. Coming to his senses as quickly as he could, Kai fired off all four bolts at its exposed chest. He was aiming for the area he estimated the heart to be in. Unfortunately, in his haste, his aim was a little off. Fortunately, the target was so large it was difficult to miss completely. The rune bear roared in pain as it crashed back down to all fours. His mana bolts actually did surprising damage as they easily ripped into the thick hide; the spell broke apart before they could pass through the bear''s bulk. There was an audible thump with each hit, and he could have sworn he saw a faint blue glow light up the bear from the inside. ¡°Was that it?¡± Kai asked foolishly. ¡°Don¡¯t stop until we get the kill notification, you idiot!¡± Syl cried out as she opened up on the bear herself, firing a modest two mana bolts at a time. Kai didn¡¯t need to be told twice, and he opened back up on the bear, firing off his four mana bolts in quick succession. Between Syl and him, they literally lit the bear up. With a faint yellow glow shining through its fur coat, the rune bear picked itself up and moved on them. Its giant paw tearing through the first barrier like it was nothing. ¡°Reinforce the barriers!¡± he shouted as he dug deeper, calling up five, then six, mana bolts at a time. Kai started to back with each shot as Syl¡¯s barrage stopped, thicker barriers springing up to overlap the ones that still remained. ¡°My mana pool''s empty.¡± Kai said again as he felt the bolts he was firing off change slightly. The bear hit the reinforced barrier and actually slowed as its paw got caught in the magic. Something seemed wrong; the bear didn¡¯t seem to be weakening; it actually seemed to be getting stronger. Glowing patterns emerged, and Kai understood why it was called a rune bear. Syl hit the bear with a stun spell, but in the time she used to switch to her telekinesis to grab its back leg and pull it back, the beast had already recovered and shook her attempt to keep it in place off. It was then Kai noticed something else: together they had hit the bear dozens of times, penetrating its hide each time. Yet there was no fresh blood; the wounds they were inflicting were closing as fast as they could make them. ¡°It¡¯s regenerating!¡± ¡°I noticed I¡¯m adding more barriers.¡± Syl said as she constructed spell after spell in an attempt to pin it down. Kai used the opportunity to switch from his scattered attacks to focus on the head. but his flurry of attacks tore away flesh as the skull itself seemed too thick for his bolts to pierce; the shots just cracked against the now-exposed bone. ¡°It¡¯s blinded!¡± Syl said as she tried whatever she could think of to hinder its movement. Blinded and trying to break free of its confinement, the bear thrashed unpredictably as it started to panic. ¡°I think it''s healing itself faster than we can damage it,¡± Kai called out as he watched some of its torn flesh start to creep back across the bone. ¡°It''s over level ten; I wouldn''t be surprised if it has some kind of basic regeneration.¡± Kai, feeling that he once again emptied his mana, decided he needed something a little extra or to run like a very fast, very athletic little girl. ¡°Keep it contained; I¡¯m going to go for a much more powerful shot. I want to destroy the brain.¡± ¡°These potions are disgusting, by the way.¡± Syl moaned. Kai called up just one of his mana bolts, ¡°Get ready to drink another one.¡± He gave the bolt a thicker shell and started to pour mana into it. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s dangerous; you could blow us both up!¡± Syl said. It was too late. In just the time it took Syl to warn him, Kai had already poured all he had into the spell. He only stopped feeding mana because he felt a faint headache. Satisfied, he struggled to control the thing. He then made things a whole lot worse as he started pressing in with what mana he had left to compress the whole thing. He knew that too much force in too little of a space equalled an explosion, and that was exactly what he wanted. A piercing pain behind his eyes threatened just before he felt a fresh wave of mana clear his mind. Satisfied Kai held the mana storm with all the control he had and started walking towards the bear that was now collapsing barriers as fast as Syl could put them up. He couldn¡¯t afford to miss, so that meant he had to get closer. When Kai got to within just three meters of the bear and watched one bloodshot eye lock on him the moment it regenerated, he decided he was close enough. He focused all his intent on the broad head of the beast, and when he was certain he would hit, he unleashed the attack. The bolt shot off faster than any bolt he had constructed before, hitting the bear clean between the eyes; it penetrated its thick skull and exploded. It was then Kai concluded he would not recommend being within three meters of anything that was exploding. Bits of rune bear went everywhere as Kai flew backward. You have killed the terror of the woods. Lv. 13 Kai sat up from where he had landed. ¡°Syl¡­ You didn¡¯t say it was a named rune bear.¡± Kai said through gritted teeth. ¡°Still a rune bear, just tougher.¡± Syl said it as if it was nothing. ¡°Now quiet, I need to go level up¡­ If I¡¯m quick, I think I can do it two, possibly three, times.¡± Syl said as she vanished. Achievement unlocked. Great Monster Slayer. You have shown skill, determination and possibly a little bit of madness slaying something ten levels above your own. Killing above your level has a greater return, and your aura is enhanced by each achievement. Kai walked over to the rune bear''s corpse. The head was completely gone, but the rest of its carcass remained. He tutted. The massive bear had been blown back a good meter, and as Kai looked it over, noting how few open wounds there were, he realised they would have been in deep shit had he not decided to go all out in the end. Looting the corpse, Kai sat down to do his own level-ups before he lost the essence he needed to Syl. He needed all the levels he could get if this was what awaited him deeper in the dungeon. System Anomaly - 18 - Test Kai finally found out how many stat points he was gaining per level. He had gained just four stat points from running rooms five through ten. He had gotten far more during his solo grind, but with Syl now fighting By his side, he didn¡¯t push himself anywhere near as hard. So despite running more rooms and fighting higher-level enemies, his stat gains had been disappointing. Some quick math told him he had gained seventy-two and a half stat points total in four levels. Deducting the four he knew for certain he had gained outside of levelling up and dividing the remaining sixty-eight and a half by his four levels told him he was getting roughly seventeen stat points per level. Was that good? Was it even accurate? If only Syl had not forcibly levelled him up, he would probably know for certain. As if thinking about her summoned her, Syl reappeared beside him in a flare of fiery orange flame. ¡°That was an insane amount of essence. I completely skipped level two, and I managed to take myself just over halfway into level three. I am just behind you.¡± Syl said cheerily. ¡°How is your core?¡± ¡°We need to push to the higher rooms; hopefully, we can get another unique dungeon monster to level myself up with.¡± Syl said, dodging his question. Kai sighed, ¡°I just worked out that I¡¯m getting somewhere under seventeen skill points per level; that sounds right to you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fifteen; it would be less if you let the system level you up. Alicia is going to have some catching up to do.¡± ¡°Is that a hard limit?¡± ¡°For humanoids. You know it doubles the first time you compress your core. So the sooner we get that done, the better.¡± ¡°When do you expect us to be able to do that?¡± Kai asked, loving the idea of doubling his stat gains. ¡°Well, the latest would be around level one hundred. But something''s seriously wrong with you if you leave it that late. We¡¯re aiming to do it around level fifty.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t do it sooner than that?¡± ¡°No. Unfortunately It¡¯s like making a snowball.¡± Syl started with her now-familiar, This is important, so you better listen tone. ¡°You know how If you don¡¯t have enough snow when you try to compress it into a ball, it all just melts in your hand. Well, that is what happens if you try to compress your core too early. ¡°People who never exercise their core and rely on the system to level up. They have to wait until they get to a higher level simply because they¡¯re essentially trying to make their snowball from slush full of grit and chunks of ice. They can probably make a good ball, but the structure doesn¡¯t bind properly and will usually come apart the moment they try to throw the snowball. ¡°You, however, have been using only the cleanest snow, and each layer is built with a degree of care. In theory, when you have enough to compress it all, all you will have to do is squeeze.¡± ¡°Sounds a little like my mana bolts.¡± Kai thought out loud. Syl''s eyes just narrowed slightly as she thought about it. ¡°Let''s say compressing your mana bolt is like compressing snow into a snowball. Compressing your core will be like compressing a planet¡­ I think.¡± Syl sighed, ¡°No one in the tutorials actually tiered up. There were hints put in place by the system, but they were vague, initial-level information. That¡¯s the only reason I know what I know.¡± Kai got up and walked over to where the terror of the woods had been digging. ¡°What¡¯s with the snowball analogy?¡± He asked as he knelt down to see if there was anything obvious to explain the bear''s interest. ¡°I had a much longer explanation the last time I tried to explain it to you. You came up with the whole snowball concept.¡± ¡°That explains why I think I understood.¡± Syl just looked about the goblin camp. ¡°Where¡¯s the portal to the reward room?¡± Kai shrugged as he kicked at the loose dirt. ¡°Either a goblin or two got away, or we need to investigate whatever the bear was trying to dig up.¡± ¡°So what are you waiting for? Dig already.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to decide if we should run the room again. We might be able to get the bear to spawn again, but we might not. Not that that¡¯s a good idea. This didn¡¯t feel like a rare spawn to me; it felt more like a rare scenario. I¡¯m worried we will lose out on an opportunity of some kind and never know it.¡± ¡°I know I could go for another chunk of essence, but we will probably only get around one level if we did encounter that guy again.¡± Syl said eagerly. Kai turned on Syl as she drifted in closer, ¡°Syl, that thing was regenerating faster than we realised. It could have probably killed me in just one attack. If I hadn¡¯t overloaded that mana bolt, I doubt we would be talking right now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen you take on worse alone and come out alive. What¡¯s up? You weren''t nearly this reserved before. In the tutorials, you revelled in the challenge. When you were grinding like mad, you pushed yourself to the limit.¡± Kai didn¡¯t like how light-hearted Syl was being; he could have died, and if he died, she died. ¡°When I was grinding, I had an easy retreat, and in the tutorials, I knew I was coming back if I died. Now I have not just myself but you to worry about. Remember when I took that crossbow bolt to the shoulder and you panicked? What happened to that Syl?¡± ¡°I-¡° Syl started, but Kai levelled his best think-about-it look on her. ¡°Think past the rush of finally fighting after years of just watching, past the rush of levelling up when you thought it would be nothing but a struggle for us both. Think about how one mistake could have killed us both.¡± Syl struggled visibly, her mouth working for a moment before things started to sink in, and she really started to think about how dangerous what they had just done was. If Kai was honest, the rune bear terrified him. There was no way he could have gone toe to toe with the thing with his swordsmanship. If it wasn¡¯t for Syl constantly stunning the thing and locking it down with barriers, he wouldn¡¯t have had the time to construct the spell that killed it. Even then, Syl was constantly using mana potions so they could maintain their attacks. If he had been alone against the terror of the wood, the moment he ran out of mana, he would have been dead. There is no way he could have avoided it long enough to drink a mana potion. And he highly doubted he was outrunning the damn thing to get back to the room entrance. He needed to get some more skills, round out his abilities. He needed some actual melee attacks so he wasn¡¯t just relying on his swordsmanship skill. Some kind of movement skill to dodge, evade or even flee would be ideal. ¡°I¡¯ve never had to think about my own mortality as anything other than a stem authority facing reabsorption,¡± Syl said softly, breaking Kai from his own thoughts. ¡°Being mortal is different, isn''t it?¡± Syl nodded. ¡°If we weren''t what we are, connected the way we are, you know we would both be dead, right?¡± Kai said gently. ¡°I¡¯m not saying we shouldn¡¯t take any risks. I¡¯m just asking you to include me in the risk assessment before we do anything stupid.¡± Syl nodded again. ¡°Heck, I¡¯m saying all this knowing I would have tried to fight it anyway. I was all for it when I thought it was just a level thirteen bear.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re right¡­ I should have told you it was a named dungeon spawn. I know they are magnitudes tougher than anything else on their own level¡­ I wanted to be like you. I- I don¡¯t want to hold you back. I mean, I can fight with you now. But before, all I had was my guidance to help you with, which wasn¡¯t so bad. But then we discovered I was draining your essence¡­ Kai, I¡¯m a leech, a parasite.¡± Syl said, her eyes brimming with tears, which she tried to hold back. ¡°You can fuck right off with that!¡± Kai said, kicking at the dirt in frustration. ¡°If anything, we are in some kind of weird symbiotic relationship. You know you make me better in every possible way. In retrospect, fighting the rune bear was dumb. But we still killed a level thirteen named dungeon spawn together whilst I was level two and you were level one. There is no way I could have done that alone.¡± He dug his foot in and scooped some loose dirt aside. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m the one that¡¯s failing to bring anything to the table here.¡± Kai kicked again, thud, and his boot hit something hard and hollow. He ignored it. ¡°You good, Syl? I think I''m just annoyed you didn¡¯t tell me it was named¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re an ass.¡± Syl said as she pulled a tissue from nowhere to wipe her eyes. Taking her smile and not her words as confirmation that she would be fine Kai looked down to see what he had kicked. There in the dirt by his foot was a small wooden box. By its fresh condition and the loose dirt around it, the box hadn¡¯t been in the ground long. His best guess was the goblins had buried it to keep it hidden. Kai looked around at the mess the camp was in. If the goblins plan was to hide it from the likes of the bear, they clearly hadn¡¯t buried the box nearly deep enough. He reached down and carefully pulled the little box free. Syl had told him the rune bear was magically attuned, so he was running on the assumption whatever was in the box was some kind of potent magical item. Kai found a metal latch and popped the lid open to see a small, flat, rounded stone that looked like black sea glass; only there was a dim red glow coming from within it. ¡°What is it?¡± Kai asked as he looked at the stone warily. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look powerful; at least I can''t feel anything. But whatever it is, it got that bear''s attention.¡± Syl raised her brow as she looked at him. ¡°For the umpteenth time, you have examined.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been telling me not to examine things for hours.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a glowing stone, not something that will get all its buddies to come kill you the moment they feel your eyes on them.¡± ¡°In my defence, it¡¯s my first random glowing stone; for all I know, it could explode if I were to examine it poorly. So I defer to my beautiful symbiote system guide for answers. You want to be useful, don¡¯t you? If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Not exactly how I want you to use me¡­¡± Syl sighed, ¡°The only reason I¡¯m letting this slide is you finally admitted out loud that you think I¡¯m attractive and the fact that there are things out there that might just explode if you examine them wrong.¡± Syl looked down at the stone. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a keystone, totally not going to explode on you, sadly. I¡¯d pretend it could if you handled it wrong just to mess with you, but you already kicked it pretty hard, so that¡¯s out the window. Ooh, want to try infusing it with some mana? Syl said as she drifted away from him. Kai took the stone out of the box to get a closer look at it; the moment his fingers touched the stone, an archway to what he hoped would be the reward room appeared off to his side. ¡°I guess no goblins actually got away, or¡­¡± He paused to think about why he had to find and touch the stone for the archway to appear. ¡°This has to be some kind of alternate scenario. If we didn¡¯t find the stone, we would either have to hunt down any survivors to get the portal the way we normally do or restart the room altogether...¡± Thoughtfully, he examined the stone, hoping it would give him some answers. Dungeon Keystone. That was it? Maybe he had been too subtle. He examined it harder. Dungeon Keystone. He looked up to see Syl eyeing him. ¡°I give, what¡¯s a keystone?¡± ¡°It''s a key,¡± she grinned. She was taking way too much pleasure from stating the obvious for his liking. ¡°A key to what?¡± He asked, hoping she was just teasing him and had an actual answer. ¡°How am I supposed to know? Could be anything. The stone has a specific magical signature that can be used to unlock something; what exactly, I don¡¯t know. Could be a door, a barrier; it could be multi-use or single.¡± She floated up to him and made to tap him on the nose as she said, ¡°I do not know,¡± playfully. ¡°Is it safe to assume it¡¯s not for something in the forest since the portal appeared when I touched it?¡± Kai asked the question more for himself than it was for Syl. Syl shrugged. ¡°Do you want to spend the rest of the afternoon hunting? The room¡¯s cleared. We don¡¯t need the supplies, but we might find something.¡± Kai eyed the portal. ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure this is meant for something later in the dungeon; otherwise, that wouldn¡¯t have opened.¡± It was Syl''s turn to look about. ¡°Are we going to loot the goblins, or are you ready to go?¡± Kai shook his head as he closed the small box and stored it and its stone contents; he wanted his rewards, and he already had hundreds of dead goblins and their gear. The reward room was the same bare stone room as before except for one major difference. Instead of the usual two archways, there were three. The one they entered through and another two spaced apart on the other side of the four reward chests that sat in the middle of the room. Kai and Syl looked at each other and, agreeing silently, Syl disappeared to then reappear a moment later with a grinning Alicia in tow. ¡°How did you know?¡± Alicia asked as soon as she arrived. ¡°I wanted to be certain, but I think I did it; it was all there. I mean, it looked different to both of your cores. I mean, my main core is much, much smaller, so finding my physical core and my mana core was easy.¡± Alicia spoke rapidly, her accomplishment evident. Alicia turned from Syl, and noticing him, she leapt forward and hugged him tight. ¡°You were right, Kai. I found my core by following the feeling of essence. I do not think I could have done it without you.¡± Kai was glad he wasn¡¯t covered in goblin bits. Bear bits, however, he hadn¡¯t checked for. The hug lingered longer than he expected. Alicia, for her small stature, gave him quite a good squeeze. He actually liked hugs, but with their contract and the lingering implications, Kai didn¡¯t quite know what to do with Alicia¡¯s arms now wrapped around him. In the end he relaxed and opted for his usual gentle but firm squeeze in return. If Alicia had found her core, then she had done in just a couple of days what Syl had predicted might take weeks. She deserved a comforting acknowledgement, not a stiff, confused, awkward hug. Syl let out a gentle ahem, and Alicia released him. Slightly abashed, Alicia took a couple of steps back. Yeah, that hug was definitely awkward. Alicia still couldn¡¯t contain herself; she bounced on her toes and continued her words coming out at a rapid pace, ¡°People think that feeling is the system telling you how far along you are to the next level. But it is not. I actually think more people would find their core if the system was not automatically levelling them up. They could follow the feeling, but the system uses the essence so the feeling is gone before they have the chance to investigate it. Master will want to find some people and investigate this further, but this has far-reaching implications.¡± ¡°Huh, so my advice actually worked. What did Syl have you doing?¡± ¡°Ugh, meditating, feeling deep within myself for the root of everything.¡± ¡°Really, Syl, was that was your core exercise?¡± He asked, unable to hide his amusement. ¡°It¡¯s not like people avoiding automated system actions was part of my job. That¡¯s just what people who found their core did. I mean, we talked about it, and it¡¯s what you did. Usually took you a month to figure out at first¡­ then maybe a week. But you never once mentioned anything about essence to me.¡± ¡°You mean I forgot to tell you something I potentially discovered during the thing I had no way of remembering?¡± ¡°You would still talk to me, you know. I just couldn¡¯t reply,¡± Syl pouted. ¡°Anyway, congratulations, Alicia.¡± Kai said as he gave her an approving nod and a cheerful smile. ¡°Yes, congratulations.¡± Syl copied, ¡°But Alicia, that¡¯s not actually why we brought you out here.¡± Syl floated in front of Alicia and pointed over her shoulder. Alicia turned around slowly to see the four chests and the two archways. ¡°What room is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the reward room just after the tenth; we killed this giant bear and-¡° ¡°You killed a bear! The terror of the woods?!¡± Alicia asked as she spun around, her eyes wide. Kai pointed at the two ornate chests, one on each side with two simple chests separating them. They were the same shiny metal as his last dungeon achievement chest, only now they depicted a single man facing off against a giant rune bear. ¡°Nasty thing-¡° Kai started. ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. You actually killed it?¡± ¡°Why should we not have?¡± Syl asked, confused. ¡°The terror of the woods has only been reported three times since the dungeon was discovered. Each time it was a lone survivor reporting the encounter after their entire party was killed... "I¡ªI did not think to warn you since it has not been seen in the last three centuries, or at least no one has escaped the encounter to report it in three centuries.¡± ¡°I told you it was risky.¡± Syl just looked off into space. ¡°The teams that encountered it were always exceptional¡­ prodigies.¡± Alicia looked at Kai and Syl. ¡°Teams so good they were expected to finally clear the dungeon.¡± ¡°It was Syl''s idea. We pinned it down with multiple barrier spells and unleashed a storm of modified mana bolts on it. Even then I think it was regenerating faster than we could damage it. In the end we killed it by blowing its head off.¡± Kai explained as he kept an eye on Syl; it looked like she had completely checked out of the conversation. ¡°The last bolt I used, the one that killed it, had about two persons worth of mana compressed into it.¡± ¡°It was actually closer to five or six people your level,¡± Syl said as she shook her head without looking away from whatever it was that had captured her attention. ¡°What is it, Syl?¡± ¡°We have an observer, a new one.¡± Syl said. The moment she said her last word, the sound of slow clapping echoed through the chamber as a pressure descended. A tear in space opened, and an ageless, human-looking woman with bright purple eyes and long, straight black hair down past her thighs stepped through. The moment she was clear, the tear closed behind her as if it was never there. As she clapped, the golden silks she was wearing shook and shimmered as if they were suspended in water. Her bare feet caused the dungeon floor to crack with each gentle step as she moved over to look at the three of them closely. ¡°This is a first.¡± She said, smiling, her voice soft but firm. Somehow old but decidedly young, ¡°To think someone who just turned level three was able to detect me.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Kai asked as the woman scrutinised Syl deeply. ¡°They¡¯re a god, an old one too. But not exactly ancient either.¡± Syl said as she returned the woman''s look with complete indifference. Alicia stood frozen on the spot, her eyes wide as they darted between Syl and the newcomer. ¡°Yes, I reached the divine a long, long time ago. But I¡¯m not here as a god, technically. More so as an architect.¡± Said the woman as she gently bowed her head, ¡°This is a dungeon I designed aeons ago; it is actually a bit of a failure, so imagine my surprise when I get a system notification that a team of two killed the rune bear.¡± ¡°The system wouldn¡¯t allow for an impossible scenario¡­¡± Syl said. ¡°Exactly, but the scenario wasn¡¯t to kill the rune bear. It was supposed to be a test judgement. Even if you attack it, if you retreat, it would only chase you so far before it heads back to the camp. The whole point is to reveal the location of the keystone and trigger the alternative path.¡± ¡°Then why make it look like it¡¯s heavily wounded? Anyone would judge that to be the dungeon, hinting it¡¯s possible to kill the thing. That was my judgement call.¡± The woman sighed, ¡°As I said, the dungeon''s a bit of a failure. It¡¯s supposed to help separate out the truly exceptional, not kill them outright¡­ The three of you are very interesting.¡± The god looked off to the side for a moment, her eyes rapidly darting back and forth as if she was watching something very fast. She turned to Kai, ¡°Repeating the floors until you can run it perfectly. A very clever approach. And your slaughter of the training floors. How are you only level four? You should be at a much higher level. Her purple eyes bored into him. ¡°Oh, I see; that makes more sense. An¡­ anomaly and an outcast, you two are quite unique.¡± ¡°Special,¡± Kai corrected. ¡°Yes, you have quite the smell of system interference on you... so much about you is forbidden even to me.¡± She sniffed, ¡°Shamiale of all things, and someone much older, one I don¡¯t recognise.¡± Shrugging to herself, the god walked over to stand in front of Alicia. She placed a finger on the bottom of Alicia¡¯s chin and lifted her head so she could look her in the eyes. ¡°Yes. You too have potential. I see you haven¡¯t participated with the other two, but you are still connected to them, a contract, a novel one too.¡± She looked off to the side once more. ¡°I see, the fifth reward room, halfway through the dungeon. Had your last party utilised you correctly, they might have gotten further. In the end, they went on four more floors without you, and their defender took a critical injury. I don¡¯t think they realised how much you were actually boosting them. They retreated okay in the end.¡± Alicia relaxed visibly. ¡°Such a pity. Had you entered the dungeon with the other two, I think you might also be on track to get the more exotic rewards this place can offer.¡± ¡°Rewards?¡± Kai asked, unable to contain himself. The god ignored him as she looked about in thought; seeing the two archways, she tutted. ¡°You have two choices, two paths ahead of you. One is to the fiftieth floor, where you are supposed to fight the terror, save the village and wipe out the corruption. This is the normal route for normal people.¡± The corridor to the right seemed to glow as she spoke. ¡°As you know, Alicia here will only be able to join you after the fifth reward room. The rewards are good; they have to be for the difficulty.¡± The god sighed and shook her head. ¡°This dungeon has appeared many thousands of times across the multiverse, and yet that path has only ever been completed a few hundred times. The difficulty curve is all wrong. But alas, people see it as a good training dungeon to push until it gets too hard. The system keeps spitting it out despite my many requests not to.¡± The other corridor to the left lit up. ¡°This path is only unlocked by those with the skills and judgement I desire. I use it to, let''s say, recruit¡­ Though I dare not actively peruse something the system itself seems to have an interest in until I get some kind of confirmation it''s safe to do so.¡± The god Looked about and sighed in disappointment when nothing happened. ¡°I have seen far too many godlings snuffed out by their zealous conduct when it comes to the system itself. I do not take Shamiale¡¯s touch on you two lightly.¡± ¡°Bob must be Shamiale¡­¡± Syl murmured to herself. The god spun on Syl and snapped her fingers. ¡°Yes! That one does like his monikers. He is the divine version of the bogeyman. Many of my contemporaries do not believe he exists, just a myth to keep them in line. It really doesn¡¯t help that he uses names like mortals use toilet paper.¡± She turned back and gestured to the left arch, ¡°Anyway, this path is much shorter, but it has no intermediate reward rooms until you reach the end.¡± ¡°How much shorter?¡± Kai asked as he was weighing the two paths up in his mind. ¡°Just ten short floors.¡± ¡°Just ten as opposed to the forty we currently face?¡± ¡°Yes. Each floor will be slightly different. Specifically designed to test something I favour. There are no outright fail conditions, but death is still a possibility. Let me be clear: only eight people have completed the trials. A team of five, a pair and then a solo adventurer.¡± ¡°The guy that did it alone was nuts.¡± The god said through gritted teeth, ¡°I regret that one.¡± The god cleared her throat with a soft cough and continued as if she hadn¡¯t been scowling at something. ¡°If you go this route, Alicia can join you as she has not yet walked this path.¡± The three of them looked at each other, and Alicia spoke up, ¡°Is the reward comparable? If Kai and Syl remain on the normal path, they will have eight opportunities to gain great rewards, will they not, especially with their approach to perfecting each floor? ¡°I promise you that the rewards for satisfactorily completing the test will be magnitudes greater, fewer, but far greater. But I do see a problem now that you mention it.¡± The god cupped her chin in thought. ¡°I cannot offer you a boon unless you are beholden to me in some way, and that is usually part of the reward... If you agree to take this path, how about I sweeten the pot a little and give you something now to help you on your way?¡± Once again the three of them each gave the other a searching look before nodding in silent agreement. ¡°Great,¡± the god turned to Alicia and held up both hands as the archway to the right collapsed behind her. In one hand two shards appeared, and in the other a simple stone. ¡°These shards are needed for the final reward. The reward that allowed me to submit such a difficult dungeon to the system in the first place. I know you had more shards before, but it is only fair that you are all on level footing and find the other shards on the floors to come. The stone, however. The stone will turn one item of your choice into a growth item, amplifying its potential to suit you exactly. Choose the item you use it on wisely.¡± Alicia took the offered items reverently. ¡°Growth item?¡± Kai asked, curious how things would match up with his expectations, his dreaded preconceived notions. ¡°Growth items are exceptionally rare; they bind to your soul and level up with you. But to have one that also adjusts to you exactly, that is rarer still.¡± Syl explained. Yeah, it pretty much matched exactly as he thought it would. He wanted one. ¡°For you two¡­¡± The god got that distant look for a moment before a sly smile curled her lips. ¡°I think I will enhance your current rewards.¡± The room shook slightly as the four chests in the centre of the room shifted and grew larger. ¡°The god grinned. Yes, that will do nicely.¡± ¡°Who are you? I mean, what are you a god of exactly?¡± Kai asked, unable to hold his curiosity in check any longer. ¡°Oh yes, I suppose I didn¡¯t introduce myself. I am known as Atheos. I¡¯m just a god. I don¡¯t particularly have a shtick; if I did, I forgot it a long, long time ago. Now with that little bit of power, I''ve used up my time here; I hope to see you all again soon.¡± ¡°Wait! Crap, I was going to ask what the keystone is for.¡± ¡°Spoilers,¡± Atheos''s voice echoed through the chamber as her lingering presence faded. ¡°She¡¯s still watching, isn¡¯t she?¡± Syl nodded. System Anomaly - 19 - Parents ¡°So, that was unexpected,¡± Kai said as he stepped over to the chests. ¡°Yeah, I had hoped to avoid the attention of any gods for as long as was feasibly possible. But I suppose having the attention of a god smart enough not to mess with the system itself might not be so bad.¡± ¡°You think Alicia will be okay?¡± Kai asked as he looked back to see her stunned, holding her stone and shards to her chest reverently. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what generally happens when someone at our level encounters a god of that calibre. I¡¯m sure she will come around when we start opening up the chests.¡± ¡°I got to go first last time, so I think we should make it a tradition,¡± Kai said as he crouched down and put his hands on the lid of the closest ornate chest. The lid didn¡¯t budge. Syl just smiled as she drifted over to his side, ¡°That¡¯s what you get for not being a gentleman and letting the lady go first.¡± ¡°Ahem,¡± Alicia coughed, ¡°On Alea it¡¯s considered unladylike to go ahead of the man¡­¡± ¡°Alicia! I asked you not to tell him stuff like that. You just ruined hours of fun, you know that, right? Syl said, reaching down to shoo Kai away from her chest. ¡°So you''re telling me, the guy who struggles with social interactions, that everything I thought was socially acceptable probably isn''t,¡± Kai said as he felt a headache coming on. ¡°I wouldn''t worry about it too much; you grew up in a household run by women, so you¡¯ll be fine. At a base level, women are just as varied and predictably unpredictable as men. It¡¯s just cultural and social expectations that confuse things. Act the way you feel you should act; who knows, you might start a new trend of strong, independent men.¡± ¡°That sounds¡­ troubling. I mean, Earth had its problems with toxic masculinity and overzealous feminism,¡± he sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would be worrying about that in a new magical world.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not so bad; women tend to like strong, independent men. Men that coast by on their looks, never levelling up outside of being carried through rifts and dungeons by others, are just vapid. Most don¡¯t bother becoming adventurers¡­ you¡¯re different.¡± ¡°Alicia, we come from two very different worlds¡­¡± Kai said, not sure if he would have an easy ride or struggle to break the glass ceiling in the future. ¡°I know, Syl¡¯s explained a lot.¡± ¡°Not to me,¡± Kai said as he shuffled along to the ornate chest on the opposite side. ¡°Syl, how about we both open our chests at the same time? That way we¡¯re equals.¡± ¡°But I want to watch you open yours.¡± Syl said, forcing a big, fake pout. Kai rolled his eyes as he gave her a gesture to go ahead. Grinning, she leaned down and touched the lid; just like last time, a moment passed before the lid broke its seal and swung open. She reached in but quickly withdrew her hand, newfound frustration on her face. ¡°What is it? What did you get?¡± Kai asked as he abandoned his chest in curiosity and came closer to stand by Alicia, where they could both look around her to see in the chest. ¡°I got a dungeon achievement about killing the terror.¡± ¡°So no surprise there. What else?¡± ¡°And a soulbound greater runic regeneration ring¡­ Only I can¡¯t pick it up. It¡¯s a physical object. And I don¡¯t think looting it and wearing it inside the domain will do me any good, as I don¡¯t have a physical body to actually regenerate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s such a waste,¡± Kai said as he reached around her and picked up the little black ring. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to keep the good stuff for when you do have a body. How did you actually feel about being a golem or an automaton for a while? ¡°Erm, Kai?¡± He turned to see Syl and Alicia both looking at him in obvious confusion; he asked, ¡°What did I do this time?¡± ¡°Syl said that ring was soul-¡° ¡°Hang on, Alicia; let¡¯s see if he can figure it out.¡± Now Kai was confused, so he decided to experiment. Removing a glove and picking the pinky finger on his left hand, he popped the ring on. At first he thought it wouldn''t fit any of his fingers; the ring was too slender, clearly designed for Syl¡¯s more feminine hand. But the ring expanded and slipped over the knuckles of his finger easily. Seeing the ring resize itself, he quickly moved it to his middle finger and grinned. As the ring settled in place, it flashed with amber runes that slipped off the metal to race off his and up his arm. He shivered as he felt the creepy runes race to cover his whole body, the feeling only fading when they seemed to reach every inch of him. Alicia gasped, ¡°But you said it was soulbound.¡± ¡°You are forgetting everything that can be shared between us will be. Didn¡¯t expect this, though. And I still don¡¯t think he has figured it out exactly.¡± ¡°That was a lot of context clues; I shouldn''t be able to use someone else¡¯s soulbound item. I¡¯m not stupid; I know that much.¡± ¡°Alicia Can you please demonstrate what really had you confused by taking my ring from Kai? Kai held out his hand to Alicia, who dutifully reached over and tugged on the ring so hard he pulled him off balance. ¡°Hey, be gentle!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what he said,¡± Syl scoffed. Kai just gave Syl an Oh, really? Look as Alicia tugged on the ring again, much gentler this time. ¡°I cannot take it off; it is bound to Syl and apparently you. What Syl was trying to teach you is you normally cannot even pick up items that are soulbound to other people.¡± He fingered his soul ring, twisting it on his finger. ¡°I thought that was part of the stuck enchantment.¡± ¡°No, that just means even you can¡¯t remove the ring from your ring finger for too long. If Alicia tried to take your soul ring, she couldn¡¯t unless you were actually giving it to her.¡± Syl explained. ¡°Syl, you could have just told him,¡± she said as she tugged unenthusiastically at the ring. ¡°But how else am I going to get you two to hold hands?¡± Alicia looked down to where she had her fingers still wrapped around the ring on Kai''s middle finger; she couldn''t have jumped back faster. Kai looked at the simple black metal ring. ¡°So do you think this thing will actually work for me?¡± ¡°Seems like it. ¡°This is not fair.¡± ¡°Says the girl with the stone that will make whatever she wants into a growth item tailored just for her. If it helps, think of it as me putting my equipment on my faithful meat suit.¡± Alicia pouted, not entirely satisfied. Seeing the pout, Syl sighed, ¡°Just wait till we open the other chests; I have a feeling Atheos may have flexed a little too much divine energy.¡± Kai walked back over to his ornate chest and cupped the lid, ¡°With your permission, milady.¡± ¡°Such a gentleman. You may proceed, meat suit.¡± Syl said in an authoritative tone. Shaking his head, Kai lifted the lid. Dungeon achievement unlocked. Impossible Slayer. You have shown a lack of judgement and yet succeeded in killing that which should have been impossible for you to kill before it should have been killed. (A new path is available to you; the patron of the dungeon has high expectations; do not disappoint them.) ¡°That was anticlimactic.¡± ¡°You do realise achievements are just acknowledgements. They typically don¡¯t do much, if anything, at all. Just a system-verified proof you did something. Titles are similar. Earning traits is the one we should focus on, as they¡¯re like passive skills.¡± Syl explained as she and Alicia peered over his shoulder. With the achievement out of the way, he looked into the chest to see another simple black ring. Examining it, he asked, ¡°Do item effects stack?¡± Greater Runic Regeneration Ring. ( Soulbound ) This ring grants the wearer constant greater runic regeneration. Greater runic regeneration will automatically heal the physical injuries of the wearer, provided they have available mana to fuel the runes. Available mana can come from any source. ¡°Depends entirely on the item''s effects.¡± Kai looked over to Alicia, ¡°It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯t give this to Alicia.¡± ¡°Apparently you can,¡± Syl said as she pointed to her runic ring that was already sitting on one of his fingers. ¡°We would just need to bind your souls together.¡± Kai narrowed his eyes as he watched Alicia''s own widen significantly. ¡°You¡¯re saying that that¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°Unfortunately no, you used an obscene amount of your rewards to anchor my soul to yours,¡± Syl looked at her friend and smiled, ¡°Though someday we might be able to find another way to replicate it if things actually work out.¡± Alicia, for her part, didn¡¯t say anything; she did, however, look like she was thinking about it. He didn¡¯t know how he felt about having his soul bound to two others and how it made him feel. At the time it was a matter of saving Syl¡¯s life. But with Alicia that wasn¡¯t even a consideration. Still, he looked at the second runic regeneration ring as he slipped it on, the runes once again flooding over his body before disappearing. Being soulbound to others certainly had its perks. He looked over to Syl as she hunched over her second chest. He couldn¡¯t help but appreciate her beauty, her form, her piercing eyes and her fiery orange hair as it fell down around her face as she peered inside the chest. She was frustratingly perfect. Smart, beautiful, charismatic and confident. Everything he was not. Sure, she was also impulsive at times, loved teasing him and confused the shit out of him constantly. But she made him want to be better, to try harder, to fix what he knew was broken. Yeah, it wasn¡¯t so bad being bound to someone like that. Maybe one day she wouldn¡¯t terrify him so much. He looked at Alicia standing by Syl¡¯s side; she chewed her lip, deep in thought. Kai fiddled with his soul ring again. His brain came up short when he tried to figure out how he felt about Alicia. No, how he felt about Syl and Alicia. ¡°I got another good soulbound item, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll like this one as much as the rings.¡± Syl said as she looked up from her second reward chest, giving him an evil grin. A survival kit appeared before Alicia, who, to her credit, grabbed the unsuspected pack easily. ¡°Alicia Have you ever pierced someone''s ears?¡± Alicia shook her head, but Kai didn¡¯t like the smile that appeared in the corners of her lips as she looked over Syl''s shoulder to see what item Syl had got. ¡°It seems you were right about the dungeon answering our needs, Kai. Drinking all those potions got me a pair of earrings that enhance passive mana absorption.¡± ¡°Please be studs,¡± Kai whispered, fearing a pair of dangly monstrosities. Ten minutes and a couple of heals later, Alicia had used a needle from the survival kit to pierce Kai''s ears. On each lobe, Kai now sported a black gemstone stud that flashed different colours from deep reds right the way through the spectrum to deep purples depending on how the light caught them. ¡°How do I look?¡± Kai asked as he brushed his hair back behind his ears. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Syl grinned as Alicia nodded appreciatively. ¡°Handsome as always, when they catch the light, the flare of colour really draws the eye,¡± Syl said. ¡°And Alicia, you¡¯re certain this isn¡¯t some obscure social faux pas? People won¡¯t think I¡¯m into goblins or some nonsense like that.¡± ¡°You worry too much,¡± Syl tsked. ¡°Syl is right; men wear a lot of accessories to attract attention. And when it is also an item with effects as good as this¡­ well, no one would begrudge you for sense over fashion.¡± Alicia blushed a little, ¡°You¡¯ll look good if you add a few more. Doesn¡¯t have to be functional.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ll have to pick out a good earring for Alicia eventually, so pay attention to what she likes. Alicia turned a shade of red that rose to the tips of her ears. Kai didn¡¯t know what that was about; when he gave her a quizzical look, Alicia just turned her head, so he left it alone. He glanced at Syl, hoping she would elaborate, but she was grinning to herself, so he decided he would definitely leave well alone. Kai had actually had his ears pierced before he had changed race, so the impromptu piercing wasn¡¯t something he actually worried about. Only because of his race change and his subsequent stat gains was he was a whole lot more durable now, so Alicia had struggled with the little steel needle from the survival kit. Despite the heals cast by Syl, his earlobes still throbbed. Why the studs didn¡¯t magically adhere like how the rings adjusted to fit, he didn¡¯t know. His best guess was that one modified the body while the other modified the item. He called up the item description. Earrings of greater mana absorption. ( Soulbound, Sylph ) These earrings passively absorb the mana that exists all around the bearer. The stronger the concentration of mana, the stronger the absorption of mana. He thumbed one of the earrings; after fighting the rune bear, he knew more mana was something he would never turn down. ¡°What else did you get? Atheos said she would improve our rewards. These earrings can¡¯t be it.¡± ¡°A couple of skill books. But looking at what I got, I think Atheos checked our prior conversations and threw us a divine bone. Need to see what you got to be certain.¡± Kai shrugged and put his hands on his plain chest. Sufficient energy found to improve He dismissed the notification and opened the lid to see a cuff and three thick books awaited him. Cuff of Greater Mana Storage. ( Soulbound ) This cuff enhances the bearer''s mana storage. He slipped the cuff onto his wrist and watched as it shrank to lie completely flat against his skin. He couldn¡¯t even feel it was there when he rotated his hand, as the metal seemed to flex and shift with his movements. ¡°Yeah, so constantly depleting my mana pool affected my reward. Not sure I need more mana, but I guess it won''t hurt. Just need to figure out how it enhances my mana storage.¡± He checked the skill books: ¡°I got Basic Conjuration, Basic Infused strike and, of all things, Advanced Party Systems.¡± Syl let out a breath. ¡°I would complain about someone listening in on our private conversations whilst we were in the dungeon.¡± ¡°But it would be hypocritical of you considering what your day job used to be?¡± ¡°Yes, that.¡± Syl said as she scowled at him. ¡°So what did you get?¡± ¡°Just what we need to make your earlier plan work. Mana mark, mana sight, and sense share.¡± Syl said as her chest dissipated into motes of light beside her. She drifted over to his side and scrutinised his skill books, her lips curling slightly. ¡°Kai, why don¡¯t you get comfortable and meet us at the house? I¡¯m curious what Alicia is going to use her stone on, and the three of us should learn these skills before we decide what we''re doing next.¡± ¡°The three of us?¡± Kai asked, confused. ¡°Yes, it appears Atheos was quite generous.¡± Syl said before promptly disappearing in a burst of flame. A second later, Alicia vanished without Syl''s dramatic flair. Kai entered his domain a minute later to find Syl and Alicia already sitting out on the deck waiting for him. Things hadn¡¯t changed much since the last time he was in here, but he could have sworn the forest in the distance wasn¡¯t there the last time. It also looked like Alicia had time to practice her archery, as an archery range had been set up off to the side. ¡°¡­ yes, I¡¯m sure. Examine them yourself if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Syl was saying as he approached. ¡°But why would a god be so generous?¡± ¡°Lots of reasons. The dungeon is designed to help her find promising followers. But with me and Kai, things are a little more complicated. But that also means we¡¯re interesting. So my best guess is she wants us to think of her favourably.¡± ¡°I guess that makes some sense; you are both High¡¯vei, and your situation is certainly unique.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a whole lot more to it than that. We are probably the most interesting thing Atheos has seen in millennia, and she saw potential in you too, so you''re also coming along for the ride.¡± ¡°But this whole skill set, for all three of us? It seems a bit much.¡± ¡°Not just us; it will also include anyone who joins us. Though we will probably want to be certain of whoever we give these skills to, the uses are still limited.¡± Kai shuffled in his seat as he listened to their discussion. ¡°Is someone going to fill me in?¡± Syl slid one of the skill books his way. ¡°Learn it; you¡¯ll understand.¡± Kai opened the cover to Advanced Party Systems, reading it like any other skill book. The pages flipped by on their own, faster and faster, until the back cover closed with a thwump. The book, however, didn¡¯t disappear as he expected, and he got no notification of a skill gain; instead, he got a system message. New System Action Set Unlocked. Advanced Party Systems. Syl smiled as he got another notification. Sylph has invited you to her party. Do you accept? He mentally accepted and the next thing he knew, a little readout appeared in his vision showing Syl''s health, mana and stamina. When he focused on the information, it grew more detailed, even going so far as to list her mental state and constitution. She, despite her outward appearance, was apparently elated. ¡°Alicia¡¯s turn,¡± Syl said as the book slid across the table to sit in front of the wide-eyed el¡¯vei girl. ¡°But-¡° ¡°Alicia I will tell Kai all about how sensitive your ears can be if you don¡¯t stop hesitating.¡± The book was open and the pages turning before Syl had even finished her sentence. Again the book remained after Alicia had learnt the new system actions, and a moment later her information appeared just below Syl''s. Kai checked, and it told him she was embarrassed. You have been promoted to party leader. A looting and dismantling ability that is tied to a storage ability has been detected. Would you like to designate this as the main method of looting for all party members within range? He accepted. Looting is currently set to desire; any party member may loot items they desire so long as they are within range of the item with the looting ability. ¡°I just shared my looting ability with the party.¡± ¡°We know; we got notified.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t we in a party already?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Yes, and no. The party we were in before wasn''t backed up by anything. It was how we entered the dungeon as a team, and that¡¯s about it. Now our personal systems are sharing information. Let us do some things we couldn¡¯t do before.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s the automatic sharing of our condition, but we should also be able to tell where each other is so long as our systems are within a certain range of each other. Kai looked at the readouts. ¡°Is this always going to be visible? I can see it getting annoying at times.¡± ¡°It''s part of your personal system; you should be able to do whatever you want with it, move it about, hide it. The moment I decided to ignore it, it just dissipated for me. It should come back when I want it.¡± At Syl''s prompting, the readouts for Syl and Alicia just faded until he realised they were fading, and it caught his attention, so they came back again. After he finally got the information to fade from view and come back when he wanted it to, Kai asked if there was anything else. ¡°So, you know how we have been communicating using our connection.¡± Syl said. Kai nodded; that had been useful many a time. ¡°There is a party chat, sort of like a party-wide telepathy,¡± Syl made a point of putting her hand over her mouth, ¡°which means we don¡¯t have to cut Alicia out of your naughty conversations about her.¡¯ To her credit, Alicia just shook her head, not buying into Syl¡¯s little game. ¡°What about the other skill books? Please tell me they¡¯re all multiuse.¡± ¡°They are.¡± Syl said as she pushed them all over to him, ¡°I¡¯ve already consumed them.¡± Kai got reading, picking up all the new skills eagerly. Passing each book on to Alicia once he was done. ¡°You know, I remember a certain someone saying skill books were rare, but we are drowning in them. How many uses will they have?¡± ¡°They started with six each. But you need to realise, if we hadn¡¯t killed a certain bear we weren''t supposed to kill, we wouldn¡¯t have gained the attention of a god, and we wouldn¡¯t have anything like this. So reset your expectations to what I tried to teach you earlier.¡± Kai checked Syl¡¯s state in the party interface. ¡°I know you''re as happy about this as I am.¡± ¡°Be careful, Kai. You don¡¯t know what other information that interface might share. Could get you into a lot of trouble with the two of us if you''re not careful.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kai asked as he checked to see if Syl¡¯s mental state had changed to frisky. ¡°I know you think we look good in our tight leathers.¡± She teased. Getting an idea of what Syl was alluding to, Kai asked rhetorically, ¡°I¡¯m screwed, aren''t I?¡± Syl nodded, her grin letting him know she had a whole new avenue of teasing. ¡°Why?¡± Alicia asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him confused. ¡°Because he thinks we¡¯re both outrageously beautiful, and now you also have an inside track to what he might be thinking.¡± Alicia grinned at Syl, ¡°Yes, I see how that might be problematic for him.¡± ¡°So, any ideas what you are going to use your growth stone on, Alicia?¡± Kai asked, hoping to change the topic as quickly as he could. Alicia shrank in her seat. ¡°I have been giving it some thought; I think my main weapon would be best.¡± ¡°What''s the problem?¡± ¡°I cannot decide.¡± She got up and disappeared into the house. Returning a moment later, she had three bows with her. The short bow she had entered the dungeon with, the compound bow Kai had given her, and one of his recurve bows. Syl stored away the skill books as Alicia placed the bows out on the table and sighed as she looked at them. ¡°The short bow has some sentimental value; it¡¯s basic, but it was made for me. Its size makes it good for tight spaces, but it also has limited power and range.¡± She pushed the short bow aside and touched the recurve bow. ¡°This is more what I am used to.¡± She looked up at him, ¡°Alicia said you wouldn¡¯t mind, so I have been practicing with it. Its basic bare-bow design means there is not much that can go wrong with it. I can get more power and range, but its increased size could be detrimental in close quarters.¡± ¡°So the short bow excels where this does not and vice versa,¡± Kai said, summarising Alicia''s points before thinking it through for her. ¡°You know, if I am not mistaken, the party interface should let you access the storage; it''s letting you loot. You could do what I do with melee weapons: store the bow in situations using it would be too cumbersome.¡± ¡°She will be able to store whatever she makes a growth item anyway,¡± Syl said. ¡°What''s the problem with the compound bow?¡± ¡°Nothing, it actually is the best of both worlds. The design allows for a bow that can shoot as far and as powerfully as the recurve with the size of the short bow.¡± Alicia stroked the compound bow fondly. ¡°It is actually so much easier to perform my power shot with it. I can draw the bow fully and charge the arrow with as much mana as I like because I am not fighting the full tension of the bow.¡± ¡°So, what''s the problem?¡± Kai asked, repeating his question. ¡°I am a little lost as to how it would react to becoming a growth item, how the technology involved would react.¡± Syl laughed as she walked over to stand beside Alicia. ¡°That depends entirely on you. If the growth stone you had just changed it into was any old growth item, that concern might be valid. But what Atheos gave you will make a growth item that will suit you exactly. Its growth will follow your own. As you grow stronger, so will the bow''s draw weight. As you gain more skills that use the bow, the more it will adapt to your skill set.¡± Alicia pulled out her growth stone and nodded. Touching the stone to the bow, it disappeared from her hand. The bow, however, did nothing. ¡°I suspected more,¡± Kai said as he leaned in to look at the bow, trying to see if anything had changed. ¡°Give it a second¡­¡± Syl said as they all waited for something to happen. The bowl rose off the table and shattered into motes of light that whirled around each other above the table. Alicia''s short bow skidded along the table before it jumped, and it too broke apart, consumed in the maelstrom. ¡°What''s happening?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s absorbing material to make the change into a growth item.¡± Syl said as the recurve bow got pulled in. The torrent of light grew stronger as it started to suck in the atmosphere around it, kicking up a gale as it created a vacuum. Backing off, Kai asked, ¡°How much material does it need?¡± as the table itself got sucked in. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but that table wasn¡¯t actually a table. It was part of your domain.¡± ¡°Should I be worried there is a maelstrom sucking in parts of my domain?¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be able to do that¡­ Unless you¡¯re willing, I mean, we¡¯re willing.¡± Syl said, looking up at his core in the sky overhead. ¡°It¡¯s a bow, right? Let''s feed it bows.¡± Kai said as he started summoning the bows he had left in his storage. Tossing them in one by one, they were consumed eagerly. ¡°Not that one!¡± Alicia squeaked when he summoned the other compound bow. ¡°I still want to take that and have it reverse engineered.¡± Kai stored the bow, but the maelstrom was still hungry. Out of real bows from his storage, Kai decided to conjure some instead. Syl saw what he was doing and frowned, her eyes flicking from him to the sky above as he tossed them in. A moment later, Syl came up to his side and put her hand on his arm to stop him. The motes of light started to come together, compacting and combining into the shape of a bow the likes of which he hadn¡¯t seen before. It floated in the air, just waiting to be picked up. It was similar to the compound bow it had been before. Except the metal skeletal frame had been replaced with living wood the colour of black pearl that twisted and curled around itself. The crisscrossing strings too were gone; in their place was a faint gossamer thread that could only be seen where it caught the light. The only place the string had any substance was where you would knock your arrows and draw the bow back. Alicia approached slowly, tracing her finger along the bow''s riser, her golden eyes glinting as she appreciated her new weapon. ¡°Shall we go try it out?¡± Syl said as she started towards the archery range. Alicia was right behind her. They didn¡¯t even have to wait, as the moment they got to the range, Alicia set up and drew an arrow. The arrow she fired shot off, hitting the furthest target dead centre. She fired off another three arrows in rapid succession, all hitting impressively close to the first. She then paused her barrage. Alicia had another arrow drawn, but she held the shot much longer than he expected. It was then the arrow started to glow, and wisps of visible energy started to leak from it. Kai realised his new skill, mana sight, was working. Alicia released the shot, and it zipped off like one of his mana bolts. The moment it hit its target, it exploded, sending debris flying in every direction. Kai whistled appreciatively. ¡°It''s perfect,¡± she said as he held it out in front of her for him to get a good look at it. Curious, he examined it. Alicia''s Soul Bow. ( Soulbound, Alicia ) This bow was a gift from an astral traveller. Enhanced within the soul space of another, this bow murmurs, bearing a juvenile spirit. Its intent, purpose and power remain undefined. ¡°If we ever get the chance to make a growth item again in the future, make sure we do it in here. Because I think we just made Alicia a living weapon,¡± Kai murmured. ¡°You know the two of you will have to give your child a good name, right?¡± Syl said. "Oh, don¡¯t you dare. If I¡¯m its parent, then so are you. Don''t think I''ve not realised this place is a merger of the two of us!" Kai cried.
Thanric stood on the deck overlooking the dungeon entrance, waiting for some sign everything was okay. For the first time in his life he had witnessed a god descend on his world. The power fell on the dungeon out of nowhere, closing it down so none could enter. He worried about the people still within. His limited experience with the gods of the multiverse so far told him they could be less than forgiving. Alicia was his ward, his chosen apprentice¡­ Sietra would have his balls if anything happened to her, and he would gladly give them. Then there was the boy Kai; so much rested on his shoulders, and he didn¡¯t even know it. The houses had already contacted him about Kai and the control over the wonder. Their best people were already on the way. Thanric had told them to turn around, saying that sending their best would attract unwanted attention. He was sure the boy would listen to reason and form a contract with the houses to manage the wonder as originally planned. That way he could maintain a degree of anonymity. He had also reached out to some of his old contacts, hoping they were still around and could send suitable applicants his way as soon as possible. If Alicia was intent on forming a party with Kai, then he had to accelerate his plans to get her a well-rounded team that she could trust. He just wished he knew what role Kai would fill. Finally, Thanric relaxed as the team came out of the dungeon. They were the first to come out since the god had locked the place down. He didn¡¯t recognise the group, two of their members injured, but that was common for this particular dungeon. With that group returning, he at least knew the people inside hadn¡¯t met an untimely end and would return eventually. ¡°You know I¡¯m planning on tearing it down the moment everyone is out.¡± A woman behind him said. Thanric turned to see a woman that was a complete hole to his senses approaching him. ¡°They triggered my trials, so I came to investigate. It should only take them a little over a week to complete the dungeon.¡± She smiled, ¡°Could I convince you to tell me what you know about Kai, Syl and your daughter? What are your plans? Thanric felt his knees go weak; his daughter? No wonder Sietra had pushed her on him. System Anomaly - 20 - Gift Alicia Dellacletra Seitra was not at all used to being anyone''s equal. Among her sisters, she was the youngest, the last in the line of succession, the last amongst the high, and she was treated as such by many of them. She was sent to serve a master whose renown and station are equal to, if not potentially higher than, her mother''s. Her mother, the empress of Twilight, one of, if not the oldest nation still standing after the coming of the system to Alea. Her closest friend was Lilly, her maidservant. But even she couldn¡¯t step over the divide in their station. Worse, she hadn¡¯t seen or heard from the girl in over five years. No, in Alicia''s whole life, she had always been above or below, but never on equal standing. She had hoped that might change when her revered master had commissioned a team to run her through this trial dungeon. He had purposely withheld the information of her station; the team still all but alienated her. They didn¡¯t include her in anything other than that which they deemed was strictly necessary. Syl and Kai, however, were different. Worlds apart from anyone she had ever met. Syl had somehow known of her station from the moment she flittered about her head pretending to be nothing more than a simple system guide. Yet Syl treated her no more or less than her equal. And that was despite her being some strange quasi-former super being. Alicia wasn¡¯t actually sure what Syl used to be. All she knew about Syl was that she used to do something with the system itself, and she was possibly older than her master because of it. And while the scope of her power used to be nigh unlimited, her experience in that time was severely limited. Only Kai had been there for her in that time, and in that time she had come to love him. Kai¡­ Kai was a conundrum she hadn¡¯t quite figured out yet. Like Syl, his soul was old, but unlike Syl, he lacked the memories of that time, that time in which Syl and he had shared. At first Alicia had seen Kai as a duty. Making the contract with him was something she could do to easily resolve a complicated situation. It was a profound yet simple solution she naively thought she could dismiss once the situation at hand was resolved. She had been prepared to do her duty all her life, literally prepared, with lessons and lectures about why she was expected to do this and do that. So she reasoned the contract with Kai was nothing to her; only now she felt different. Alicia was the youngest and thus the last in line to succeed her mother. But being last in line did not mean there wasn''t a long line of viable suitors she was expected to do her duty with. The list she was to consider for actual marriage was considerably shorter, and that wasn¡¯t a good thing. Her prospects were all men of station and means; her nation wished to embolden or empower with a connection to the throne. It was nothing more than a list of men her sisters had already spurned for being less than ideal in one way or another. Five years ago, a greasy old man with unfathomable connections had taken an unwavering interest in her, and he had started a rather distasteful pursuit of her. She had tried her best to deny the man''s advances; the only problem was that it seemed to invigorate him further. His persistent insistence that she would be exclusively his concerned her, especially when her more moderate suitors started mysteriously stepping aside. No matter how she manoeuvred, the greasy old fool always had just the right connection and means to exploit her action to his favour. The only thing Alicia found that could delay what seemed to be an inevitable conclusion was for her to partake in an age-old tradition. She had just twenty-five years in which she could adventure undisturbed by her political duties. Twenty-five years later, Level up to such a degree that no one could force her to do anything she didn¡¯t want to. Twenty-five short years to improve her station above just being the youngest princess. Part of Alicia suspected that after twenty-five years the man might just lose interest. Though she didn¡¯t put it past the greasy old man to continue his pursuit out of spite. Even now she regularly burnt the letters he sent her. He had been furious when she declared her intentions. Apparently she wouldn¡¯t get away so easily, and she would rue the day she made things so difficult for him. When her mother summoned her to the throne room that same afternoon, Alicia thought he had managed to counter her plans yet again. She, of course, tried to leave, to run, to pretend she hadn¡¯t received the summons. But the high guard had shown up at her door, and that was that; there was no escaping while the empire''s elite had an eye on you, unless, of course, that was what they wanted. She had been dragged to the throne room, where the greasy old man was indeed waiting with a smug look on his fat face. By his victorious demeanour, Alicia had thought it was all over, that she would be married to the man within the week, if not the day. Alicia had not expected her mother''s proposal of an apprenticeship under the sage as her one immutable condition for allowing her flippant disregard of her station, her dereliction of duty, and her expectations. That day, five long years of rigorous training under the mythical man everyone of her kin called great grandfather out of respect, began. Five years where she had been forbidden from any action that would let her gain essence, anything that would let her level. At first she felt like her master was holding her back, preventing her from ever reaching the level of power she needed to escape her duty once her twenty-five-year escape from responsibility was through. But the more the sage trained her, the more of his knowledge he imparted, the clearer her naivety had become. It was only with those five years of his training that she even began to measure up to the likes of the guild team her master had contracted to take her through her first dungeon dive. When he had finally deemed her ready and informed her she would be doing her first dungeon soon, she was ecstatic. She was so eager to finally level up, finally fight with people who would be her equals. But a week just before her first dungeon dive was arranged, there was the notification of the system event in a month''s time. When she found out her mother had requested her master''s attendance, Alicia had expected her master to pull her from the dive. But the sage had merely mentioned the contracts in place with a premier guild team and given her a deadline she must return for. It was in the event she ended up doing the very thing she was trying to avoid. Marrying a stranger because of an inflated sense of duty. Who was she kidding? Syl had offered her something too difficult to refuse. And Kai, Kai was a nobody in baggy clothes. She could have easily had that contract voided. At least that¡¯s what she had thought at the time. But now, things were entirely different. Turns out when you put a tall, broad-shouldered, foolish boy in clothes that fit and manipulate him a little into having a decent shave, he was quite the sight, and when you couldn¡¯t help but consider the implications of their agreement, she would be lying if she didn¡¯t admit to having thoughts. One look with his piercing blue eyes could actually make her weak in the knees and bring warmth to the tips of her ears; it was positively unladylike, which just made her colour all the worse, especially when Syl teased the two of them. When Syl had first teased Alicia about being Kai¡¯s type, Alicia had been dubious, on guard. She, of course, had noticed his scrutinising looks before, but he never lingered anywhere she didn¡¯t want him to linger. And when they spoke, she always felt she had his attention; his glowing gaze never wandered, always caught by her own. She just wished she knew what he was thinking. What''s more, when he found out she was a princess, nothing changed. He even joked about it as if it meant nothing to him; it changed nothing for him. Even if someone tried to force proper etiquette on him, she doubted he would change. He was blessedly clueless in many more ways than he realised and yet insatiably thoughtful. The juxtaposition was dizzying. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The gift he had given her was wondrous, and it came with no expectations; she had shown an interest, and Kai had answered. Alicia, of course, planned on returning the favour manifold. She knew if she could get the design of compound bows reverse-engineered and then patented in his name, the revenue would support Kai for years, whilst simultaneously invigorating a whole new caste of arcane archery. She knew compound bow design and how it exploited a system of pulleys to store energy would intrigue many, especially anyone who cast spells through their bow or arrows. When Alicia had committed to changing the bow Kai had given her into a growth item tailored just to her, she hadn¡¯t known what to expect. She certainly had not expected the bow to require more material than what it was made from. She had assumed the power of the stone Atheos had given her would do all that was needed to be done. But the change had demanded more, first sucking in the bow her master had given her, then the recurve bow she had been borrowing. Alicia had been mortified, but Kai had just thrown more in, feeding her growth weapons development further. Even going so far as throwing in parts of his soul when he ran out of items he deemed as appropriate material. He hadn¡¯t noticed it, but Syl was concerned, only relaxing when she could discern no damage was happening to their cores above. Syl had later explained the change would have still happened without the additional items, only that the materials supplied amplified things. That in the future, such as when Alicia tiered up, her bow would require more higher-quality material to make a similar transition to keep up with her. The resulting weapon was something Alicia knew she did not yet deserve. Whilst they could discern no real powers or abilities of the weapon from its system description alone. It was undeniable that the bow had developed arcane properties. Kai even had a theory about it being a living weapon; apparently, talking swords were a fictional trope in his world. But the idea seemed ludicrous to her; that was until she began practicing with it, and she started to learn what the weapon could do. Her arrows fell into place as soon as she showed them to the bow. All she had to do was place the arrow on the rest and get the nocking point in the general area of the string that still remained tangible, and the bow would accept the arrow on its own, nocking them perfectly each time without her even trying. She couldn''t even begin to guess the weight of the bow either; it seemed to be closer to what she was used to with her short bow, if not lighter still. So light and comfortable that she knew she could fire off arrows for hours and never get tired. Yet despite that same lightness of draw, her arrows fired off with the force of a bow she deemed far too heavy for her to handle comfortably. The draw was always clean and smooth, the bow never fighting her as she pulled back the string. And at full draw she barely felt anything at all, just enough tension to let her know the bow was in fact waiting for her to release all its stored energy at once. If Alicia needed to, she knew she could keep the weapon drawn for an extended period of time. There was so much potential in using that time to lay some complicated spell forms on her arrows or even empower her shots with ridiculous amounts of mana. And how the weapon sang to her. Each time she sighted a target, the string would thrum the moment the shot was perfect. The first time she noticed it, it had been disconcerting; she thought there was something wrong, a flaw in the weapon causing the vibration when under too much stress. The thrum had grown angry, more pronounced the longer she tried to ignore it in her initial practice. She had approached the others with her concern cautiously, worried that she had wasted her growth stone, worried that she had wasted all those materials making it. Syl had explained that the weapon was in fact part of her, and that meant the only way something could be wrong with it was if there was something wrong with her, something wrong with her soul. That didn¡¯t exactly calm Alicia''s concerns, but when Kai suggested she instead try to listen to what her soul bow was telling her, things changed. After a few more test fires, Alicia realised the weapon was telling her when to release it; the angry thrum changed into a pleased chime as she got used to letting go the moment she felt the slightest vibration in the string. Even when Alicia tried a few power shots in time with the weapon''s singing, she was pleasantly surprised to find she was using far less mana and getting drastically more impactful results. At some point, Syl had set up a variety of regenerating targets for Alicia to practice with. Some that moved, some that teleported from one spot to another, some that were armoured, and even some that could only be seen with her new mana sight skill. Syl and Kai had told her to take the afternoon and practice. They had only run the dungeon once that morning, killing the rune bear. But with the new dungeon path ahead of them, they didn¡¯t know what to expect and decided it was best for the three of them to face it when they were fresh and ready tomorrow morning. Time passed, and she practiced. At some point she had to be pulled away for something to eat, roast duck cooked by Kai. He complained about the lack of ingredients, experience and something called the internet to look up cooking instructions. But the meal was a pleasant surprise; out of the three of them, Kai''s cooking was the most consistent. The most she knew was from watching her old team heat up rations in a pot, and that knowledge she had learnt disastrously only carried her so far. Kai had tried to explain something called Chinese food as best he could. When Alicia could not come up with a comparable cuisine, he got this distant, forlorn look in his eyes that he tried to hide from both her and Syl. Alicia did her best to describe how varied the food on Alea could be. But Kai just mumbled something about not eating goblins and changed the conversation to how she was getting on. She enthused about how using her new bow felt natural, better than natural. It had taken her no time at all for her to get a feel for it; she was eager to see what else it could do and how it would grow. Syl insisted that it entirely depended on her. But there was one thing that concerned Alicia, and that was the rate she was going through arrows. Their supply just wasn¡¯t robust enough for the forces her new weapon delivered, and she was breaking arrows at a prodigious rate. Kai asked why she hadn¡¯t been using her new skill, mana conjuration, to make arrows. It was obvious now that someone had suggested it, but it was also easier said than done. So after eating, Alicia went back to the range with determination to figure out mana conjuration. Conjuring an arrow with the knowledge from the skill book was actually the easy part. It was just a matter of having an in-depth mental image of an arrow and using the skill and her mana to give it physical form. The problem, however, was when she tried to fire the mana-constructed arrows. As soon as she released the string, the arrows would explode in a cloud of mana that the bow itself seemed to drink up. After a few explosive attempts to fire a conjured arrow, the bow went back to its angry thrumming. But Alicia didn¡¯t give up. Syl gave her tips on conjuration. Too much mana was as bad as too little, and apparently it mostly came down to her will and intent. After another half an hour of a few dozen failed attempts, her moody bow decided enough was enough and started to help. When she fit her conjured arrow It was as if the bow had a clearer idea of what the perfect arrow was and enforced that upon the arrow she had offered it. The length of the arrow growing slightly, the fletching adjusting, and the head of the arrow shifting slightly. The newly bow-defined arrows fired off perfectly each time, and Alicia tried to mimic the bow changes. Her bow, however, now seemed to be doing its own experimentation, as each time she fed it an arrow to the specification the bow had previously used, the shape of that arrow would change slightly. It got to the point where she gave up trying to conjure a specific form and just worked on giving the bow a basic arrow as a template, letting it figure things out. It actually worked out; she used far less mana this way. So much less that making ten basic conjured arrows at once barely used one percent of her total mana, whilst the bow itself got its mana to make its own alterations from somewhere she couldn¡¯t determine even with her new mana sight. Kai came over late in the afternoon. He was about to head out of the domain and set up for the night and he was curious how she was getting on. When she got a hold of her emotions and resisted the urge to hug him in thanks for his monumental gift, she let her frustrations go and sighed, ¡°I am a little annoyed.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Kai asked, cocking his head slightly as he looked her in the eyes, ¡°You don¡¯t look annoyed, actually; if I had to guess, I would have said you¡¯re in a good mood.¡± ¡°It is the bow that is moody; it has even taken all the skill out of conjuring arrows. Made my new quiver all but useless.¡± ¡°The quiver keeps up appearances; an archer without a quiver just wouldn¡¯t look right, would it? That quiver resting on your hip looks good; it makes you look dangerous, especially with your new bow in hand. That, and you can keep speciality arrows in the quiver, like whistling arrows for signalling and-¡° Alicia pointed the bow up in the air and fired off a conjured arrow; she didn¡¯t even have to check to know the bow had modified to whistle. ¡°Damn, what else has it figured out?¡± Kai asked as he tracked the still-whistling arrow. ¡°For now all I really do is choose the target. I can conjure an arrow right onto the bow, then the bow changes the arrow for the target I¡¯ve chosen and what I intend to do to it.¡± She pointed the bow at Kai, and an arrow with a massive cloth head appeared at the ready. The bow thrummed when Alicia didn¡¯t fire off the arrow at Kai. Kai didn¡¯t even flinch; he just studied the bow curiously. ¡°See, moody,¡± Alicia said as she aimed it downrange, and the arrow changed again. Alicia started firing off arrows in quick succession, all of them conjured, all of them slightly different, all of them hitting the target perfectly. ¡°Looks like you''re both ready for tomorrow.¡± The bowstring chimed, and Alicia studied it for a moment. ¡°I think it liked that¡­ when you acknowledged it.¡± ¡°You should probably do the same,¡± Kai said as he summoned a sword with a strange blue tint; using her mana sight, she realised the weapon had not been taken from the storage but he had actually conjured the blade from mana. ¡°The path I have chosen means I will probably never come to rely on any one weapon.¡± He swung his blade through the air, and it trailed wisps of blue before finally, at the end of his swing, bursting into mana that Kai rapidly reabsorbed. ¡°I''ll have a hard time finding something worthwhile to make into a growth item,¡± Kai pointed at her bow, ¡°But for you, that¡¯s different. That bow is part of you, a lifelong companion. Treat it well, and it should return the favour.¡± Alicia nodded; in the hours she had spent practicing with it, it had become clearer to her that the weapon really did have an ego, and that ego was growing rapidly. ¡°Speaking of which, are you going to name it? Alicia''s Soul Bow is a bit basic for such a cool weapon.¡± The bow chimed again. Alicia bit her lip as she thought about a name. ¡°It was a gift from you; why don¡¯t you name it?¡± The bow thrummed. ¡°I agree with the bow,¡± Kai groaned. ¡°I¡¯m actually terrible with names. I like to keep things simple, but then I still get bogged down in the details. I actually made Syl pick my name, probably the only reason I like it.¡± Alicia just chewed her lip some more; keeping it simple was actually a good idea. ¡°Gift,¡± Alicia said cautiously. The bow chimed. ¡°I think it likes that name,¡± Kai said, smiling gently. ¡°And I appreciate the sentiment. Hopefully, it¡¯s the gift that keeps on giving.¡± Gift chimed enthusiastically. System Anomaly - 21 - Braided Alicia and Syl waited for Kai to wake up. Syl had already sorted out his gear using her cleaning charm while she worked on putting something together for breakfast. One thing she knew she was going to sort out when they got out of the dungeon was their stock of supplies. She wanted fresh ingredients, something other than the grains and dried vegetables she had brought. Kai had mentioned something called tinned food and pasteurisation as a form of preservation when they last talked about their current supplies. Alicia had just added it to her growing list of ventures to explore at a later date. Alicia was actually contemplating starting a vegetable garden when they got out. The only problem with the plan so far was that none of them knew where to start when it came to growing vegetables, herbs and other edible plants. They weren¡¯t even certain natural plants would grow in the dome. They had plenty of fertiliser at this point, but there was the question of whether the plants would get the right light or how they would irrigate the crop. The light outside the kitchen window shifted slightly as Kai''s core woke up. A reflection of himself, it meant that he would be stirring outside in the dungeon where he had camped. Alicia didn¡¯t quite understand why Kai was so hesitant about sleeping in the domain; sure, Syl teased him about the three of them all spooning together, whatever spooning was. But considering her contract with him and Syl and Kai¡¯s relationship being what it clearly was, she actually didn''t see the problem. Apparently her age concerned him, which was ridiculous; Kai was the younger of the two of them by far, especially when you considered the years on Alea were actually longer than they were on his home world. Syl had shown her what Kai was like before his race change, and living on an aether-deficient world really had aged him. But now, with his fully developed mana core, he looked only slightly younger than she did. This, of course, was another of those things Syl had asked her to let him figure out on his own. The fact that Kai was concerned actually comforted her. Sure, she wasn''t considered an adult yet, and he was terrified of taking advantage of her, but by the same measure, he wasn''t an adult either. His hesitation spoke to his character; he was nothing like the men who had courted her, touting their virility every chance they got despite their significantly more advanced years. Though, Kai¡¯s obvious lack of confidence was growing frustrating. Syl said he was slowly coming around, but at the moment he was getting tripped up by the whole idea of having a polygamous relationship with the two of them. Which was strange; widespread monogamy as the norm was what seemed foreign to Alicia. On Alea, with such a low male population, polyamory was commonplace. Because of the taint, it was a necessity that men have as many relationships, producing as many children as they could. all to maintain a viable population to sustain civilisation as they knew it. Alicia had to wonder if Kai would actually carry the taint that made only one child in ten male. If he didn¡¯t, he would have an equal or greater chance of having male progeny that also didn¡¯t bear the taint and things would get complicated for Kai. At the bare minimum, it would be her duty to produce as many male heirs as she possibly could with him. There it was again, duty. Though the more she thought about this particular duty, the more she thought it wouldn¡¯t actually be so bad. Would it be fair of her to keep Kai to herself and just let their heirs propagate the solution to the taint naturally? Surely at some point someone will notice her line¡¯s abundance of male prodgeny; things will just sort of happen at that point. Removing the taint from the population wasn¡¯t her responsibility; The cultural shift alone would be unfathomable. Besides, who was she kidding? She was putting the reins on the egg before the dragon hatched; they didn¡¯t even know if Kai was affected by the taint or not. Syl knew of no way to test him; however, she believed her master probably had the means. But that would have to wait until she told him her decision to go through with the contract... Wait, was that actually her decision? Was she going to keep with the contract once all the world wonder stuff was sorted? Alicia squealed and stamped her feet as she tried to clear her mind. She needed to get control of herself; thinking of Kai like this had shamefully coloured her ears again. If she weren¡¯t alone right now, she would be mortified. Syl''s timing was perfect as always; she thundered down the stairs that lead up to the bedroom and asked, ¡°You thinking about Kai again?¡± ¡°No, i- I was thinking about babies, baby boys and lots of them and I¡­¡± Alicia stammered as she tried to hide her shame from Syl. ¡°So you were thinking about Kai,¡± Syl grinned, ¡°does Alea have those weird old wives tales about certain positions resulting in boys?¡± ¡°Positions?¡± ¡°Oh Alicia, darling, you¡¯re making this too easy. And I thought I enjoyed teasing Kai about this kind of thing, but an innocent virgin like yourself-" ¡°You are a virgin too!¡± Alicia cried as she turned a deeper shade of red. Syl coughed. ¡°We did things. I mean, he doesn¡¯t remember, and I didn¡¯t have a body, so we couldn''t really do things¡­ It''s complicated. But-¡± ¡°Virgin!¡± Alicia said, sticking out her tongue. Alicia had come to love these exchanges with Syl; sure, Syl was crude and took a twisted pleasure in embarrassing her. But Syl''s openness and vulnerability came through from time to time, and Alicia often felt this must be what it was like to have a sister her own age she could actually engage with without all the politics involved. There was a slight, almost imperceptible shift in the domain around them. Syl''s eyes went wide. ¡°He is coming in; not a word of this.¡± Alicia was still a deep shade of crimson when Kai appeared between the two of them in the kitchen. He took a moment to look between them as he rubbed his freshly shaved chin. ¡°Ah great, I just shaved; can one of you two let me know if I got everything this time?¡± Kai said, oblivious to the tension in the room. Alicia was still blushing, and she dared not move. Luckily the clueless idiot hadn¡¯t noticed her obvious embarrassment; either that or he had thankfully chosen to ignore it. It was actually hard to read who it was with Kai, which made the whole exercise of seductive body language and other obvious tells frustratingly mute with the man. Not that she had worked up the courage to do anything intentional yet. However, Syl insisted she was doing things subconsciously, but Kai was either being overly cautious or not getting any of it. Syl gave her a quick, knowing look before getting up to take Kai¡¯s chin in her hand, giving him a lingering inspection. She was well within his personal space and had risen to the tips of her toes, her face far closer to his face than it ever needed to be. All Kai had to do was lean in a little, and his lips would be hers. The idiot stared at her lips, his eyes flickering to Syl''s own and back again as if begging for permission. He shifted, and Alicia couldn¡¯t help but take a breath; it was happening. The sharp intake caught Kai''s attention; his eyes flicked her way. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. In that moment he was distracted. Syl leaned in and kissed him gently on his cheek. ¡°Got it all, smooth as a baby''s bottom,¡± she said as she stepped back, knowing he had missed the moment. Kai coughed as he gently touched his cheek where her lips had just parted. He looked about, abashed and upon seeing what Alicia had prepared sitting on the hob, he said, ¡°Is that breakfast? Good, yes, I''ll head back out; send me a bowl and meet me as soon as you''re both ready.¡± Lost for words at what had just happened, she just nodded. ¡°Great, see you both soon,¡± Kai said, vanishing from the domain, running away. Syl let out a long breath as she picked up a bowl from the counter and filled it. ¡°I am- I¡¯m so sorry," Alicia apologised. "I was holding my breath, and he was going to actually kiss you, and then I-" ¡°No, he was about to step back¡­¡± Syl said solemnly as the bowl of stew she prepared for Kai disappeared. Syl rounded on her with a big smile on her face, ¡°Did you see him though? He was just begging for permission, dying for it. I call that progress.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how you do it.¡± ¡°I do it for the both of us, all of us. I know it¡¯s not healthy. But if I jump him the way I want to, he will always have that thing in the back of his head. He will always be waiting for us to make the first move, and neither of us wants that.¡± ¡°You could talk to him,¡± Alicia suggested. ¡°Where''s the fun in that?¡± Syl sighed, ¡°Besides, as you know, I already tried jumping him once. Broke my heart when he didn¡¯t recognise me. This is my punishment for what I took from him.¡± Syl sat down with her own bowl. ¡°What I would give for someone who is not romantically involved that can whisper, ¡®Go get them,¡¯ in his ear. He desperately needs a guy friend.¡± Syl shifted in her seat. ¡°I desperately need him to get a guy friend.¡± ¡°I am not sure a guy friend from Alea would be what you need. The men of this world are so used to casual relationships that the moment someone as attractive as you approaches them, they will just try and manipulate the situation to their favour, not, Kais,¡± Alicia said all too knowingly. ¡°I''m actually contemplating offering Thanric the omniglot skill if he can just give Kai some sage advice. How is the old man with the ladies?¡± ¡°He is the epitome of a bachelor. He¡¯s so old that anyone who approaches him finds an ancestral link when they do the test to see how viable any offspring will be. That is actually why everyone also calls him great-grandfather. Though he prefers the sage.¡± Alicia chuckled, ¡°It''s actually rumoured he and my mother share an infatuation¡­ Complete nonsense, but you know how rumours can be.¡± ¡°So what you''re saying is the man used to fuck a lot but has since retired,¡± Syl grinned. ¡°When we get out of the dungeon, we need to have a long conversation with the great-grandfather about his latest charge about neglecting one of nature''s most basic needs.¡± Alicia blinked at Syl across the table as she tried to interpret the crass statement. ¡°Eat up; we need to get you out of that t-shirt and into your gear if you''re going to join us anytime soon,¡± Syl said. Alicia looked down and groaned as she realised she was still in the oversized t-shirt Syl called sleepwear. ¡°Relax, he only drank in a very modest amount of your¡­ Er, modesty,¡± Syl teased. Half an hour later, Alicia was ready, her hair braided, her armour fitted and with her bow, gift in hand, she exited the domain to find Kai sitting cross-legged, deep in meditation. She coughed, trying to get his attention, but he didn¡¯t show any signs of hearing her. She coughed again, more exaggerated this time. ¡°Won''t work; he is getting better at meditating; he actually manages to clear his mind. But he is unfortunately losing track of his surroundings as a consequence.¡± Alicia was a little taken aback. ¡°You are not supposed to lose track of things when meditating?¡± She asked. ¡°No, if anything, proper meditation allows you to tune into your surroundings.¡± Syl said it as if it was obvious. She really was terrible at meditation; at least it was something she had in common with Kai. ¡°So shake him like last time?¡± ¡°That, or you could take this chance to steal a kiss; go on, I dare you.¡± Alicia shook her head. ¡°I would never, not even on a dare.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t have to be the lips; cheeks are fine. We all start somewhere after all.¡± ¡°I am not-¡° Kai shifted, and Alicia shut her mouth so fast she actually bit her tongue. ¡°You know we complain about him, but in some ways, you¡¯re just as bad. I would say you were the one made for him if I weren¡¯t literally standing here.¡± Syl said, shaking her head. Kai roused, opening his eyes; he flexed his arms and shoulders and asked, ¡°Bad at what?¡± ¡°Meditating!¡± Alicia squeaked past her still sore tongue. ¡°Riiight¡­¡± was all he said as he eyed them both suspiciously. ¡°Before we head through the archway and find out what we are dealing with, there are some things we should know.¡± Kai said as he got up and faced Alicia directly. Her heart thumped in her chest. ¡°Just what exactly can you do? I¡¯ve seen your archery, and that alone is enough for me, but I remember Syl saying you were actually a support type.¡± ¡°Oh, oooh,¡± Alicia relaxed, ¡°Yes, I know some standard support magic, nothing too drastic, just stuff that enhances your natural abilities.¡± Kai nodded along. ¡°I have to be selective with what spells I use; once they are cast, they actually use your own resources until the spell construct falls apart. For example, reinforcing durability will take a portion of your mana and stamina to enhance your toughness. Also, some of the spells I know conflict; mana regen will cause your natural mana regeneration to go up, but it is at the cost of reducing your stamina regeneration. As stamina regeneration does the opposite, casting those two spells on the same person is pointless. I usually have to monitor the individual and change which spells I have cast on them depending on the situation.¡± ¡°Sounds like a lot of work; I just kill things.¡± Alicia shrugged. ¡°If I can help you kill things faster, am I not also technically just killing things through you while I sit back in relative safety?¡± ¡°So, what are you planning on casting on Kai?¡± Syl asked. Alicia thought for a moment about her full repertoire of support spells before saying, ¡°That is difficult to say. In my last party, everyone had a defined role. The caster got mana regen, flow and focus. The defender got health or stamina regen, then limber and reinforce¡­¡­ Kai is a multiclass, or dual-type; the spells I use will depend on him and what he needs in any given situation. You, however, are purely magic, but I don¡¯t see how I can get a spell to hook into you.¡± ¡°Could try casting them on her in the domain?¡± Kai suggested. Syl shook her head. ¡°I already thought of that. Unfortunately, one of the things I learnt from my skill tome is that casting spells on metaphysical beings is totally different. Alicia''s support spells won''t hook properly.¡± ¡°You could at least try; it might work. What were the spells again? mana regen, flow and focus?¡± ¡°Flow enhances your mana flow, making spells easier to cast. Focus¡­ focus enhances your state of mind, putting you into a state of flow, not to be confused with mana flow; it is a melting together of action and consciousness, if that makes any sense.¡± ¡°Do things become sharper, easier to do?¡± Kai asked, trying to work out what she meant in terms he understood. ¡°Yes.¡± Alicia snapped her fingers. ¡°You actually have a support spell that can put me in the zone?¡± ¡°The zone?¡± Alicia asked, unsure what the unfamiliar term meant. ¡°Yes, it is a colloquial term for the spell you described,¡± Syl said. Kai grinned. ¡°Ah, I cannot use that one on you for too long; it has negative effects when it wears off; you can become confused and disoriented if it has been on you too long.¡± Kai tsked his tongue disappointedly, ¡°Anyway, pop back to the domain and see if mana regen or flow has any effect.¡± Syl looked at her and shrugged, the gesture letting her know it was best to humour Kai. It only took a moment before they were back standing before him, the both of them shaking their heads. ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, but no extra mana regeneration on top of our already ludicrous amount.¡± Syl said as she made a show of patting him on the shoulder sympathetically. Kai didn¡¯t seem to let it bother him too much. He just gave both Syl and her a quick assessing look before his gaze lingered on her hair. He ran his hand through his long black hair, brushing it back behind his ears. ¡°I''ve been meaning to ask. Are either of you any good at cutting hair? Mine keeps getting in my face.¡± Syls grinned, ¡°I don¡¯t think we have a proper pair of scissors, but Alicia has been talking about giving you a good braid for days now.¡± ¡°I mean, if it will help keep things out of the way in a fight.¡± Kai said it faster than she could object. Alicia squeaked, dismissing her bow, Gift, so she could catch a length of cord and a comb that appeared in front of her. Kai and Syl looked at her expectantly as she held the two new items. ¡°Okay¡­¡± was all she said as she wondered where Syl had gotten the comb. Kai seemed clueless as he turned away from her, crouching down to make it easier to pull his hair back; they had talked about dwarves, about their beards and braids. Surely Kai hadn¡¯t forgotten; surely he could figure out what this meant culturally. ¡°Do two braids,¡± Syl said as she drifted over to watch. ¡°No hands; I can¡¯t do one for myself.¡± ¡°Does it matter so long as it keeps my hair out of my face?¡± Syl¡¯s chuckle didn''t help in the slightest. Alicia felt numb as she worked two braids into Kai''s surprisingly thick hair, each of them starting at the temples and working back to keep his hair out of the way. Getting a nod of approval from Syl, she stepped back and watched as Kai experimented with his new hair. He flicked his head back and forth, but the braid on each side kept everything in place. ¡°How does it look?¡± he asked as he got up. ¡°You look like a big, tall, handsome Viking.¡± Syl said as she drifted around him assessing Alicia''s handiwork, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he, Alicia?¡± ¡°Would the two of you please give me more context when talking about your world? I have no reference for what a viking is¡­ But yes, it looks good.¡± ¡°Ah, sorry about that,¡± Kai said as he looked thoughtful. ¡°Viking is a hard one; they were raiders¡­ you know what, never mind. We have wasted enough time; are you two ready?¡± Alicia nodded as she called out the gift from wherever it went when she dismissed it. ¡°Actually, there is one last thing,¡± Syl said as she drifted over to Kai; she cupped her hand to his ear and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°When a boy lets a girl braid his hair, it means they are officially courting each other. That¡¯s one braid for me and one braid for Alicia.¡± Kai looked over his shoulder at her. ¡°It is just a trend; I mean, if you were a dwarf and it was your beard, then yes¡­¡± Alicia explained frantically. Kai just constructed a few mana bolts to hover over his shoulder as he conjured one of his swords and stepped through the archway. ¡°Oh, he ran away,¡± Syl tutted. ¡°He didn¡¯t protest; that¡¯s a win for both of us.¡± System Anomaly - 22 - Magical Deforestation Kai stepped into the archway, expecting the usual short corridor between rooms; he was caught a little off guard to find himself stepping right into another room. In the middle of the room stood a horned man with blue scaled skin, wearing dark robes, who levelled cold yellow eyes on him as he tapped his foot impatiently, ¡°Do you have any idea how long you have kept me waiting? Where¡¯s the rest of your team?¡± Alicia Stepped through the doorway, her bow at the ready. Kai heard her bow tense as he held his hand up to stall her attack. ¡°Aah, good, at least the three of you aren''t too impulsive. Wait,¡± the man looked about, ¡°there should be three of you.¡± A scroll appeared in his hand and he started reading, ¡°Kai, Alicia and Sylph¡­ entered the dungeon less than a week ago; one was a prior participant; however, the other two¡­ actually killed it. Hmm, interesting.¡± The man looked up sharply. ¡°Seems you also met the bitch, Atheos. No wonder you decided to take your time. What did she tell you? Where is Sylph? And how many adjustments do I need to make for this to be fair?¡± Before Kai could say anything, there was a flare of light cyan flame announcing Syl making herself known. ¡°What do you think Atheos told us? Do you think it would be anything that would ruin her tests as the architect of this dungeon? What are you, her dungeon master?¡± ¡°Great, some kind of transient being, one that also knows more than I would like about dungeons,¡± he snarled. The man looked over the three of them, taking in their measure. Seeing Kai still had his sword ready and a couple of mana bolts just waiting to be shot off, he tutted, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more of my time. This room is for you to rest and recuperate in; there are three separate bedrooms, a room to bathe in, and another to prepare food. Now follow me.¡± The man turned and, without waiting to see if they would follow, walked off through an archway at the far end of the room. Looking about the room, it had the same blank dungeon walls and floors he was used to; only besides the archway they had just stepped through and another archway the horned man had just left through on the far side of the room, there were two doors to his left and another two doors to his right. Deciding they were safe, Kai released his mana bolts and decided there was no harm in validating what they had just been told. He moved over to the closest door on his left and opened it just enough to peek inside. Seeing the comfortable-looking bed, he couldn¡¯t help but grumble, ¡°Are you telling me if we had just stepped through the archway yesterday, I could have slept in an actual bed instead of camping out on the cold, hard dungeon floor?¡± ¡°Oh hush, you know you sleep just fine.¡± Syl said as she drifted through him to inspect the room further. He shivered as Syl literally passed through him. There wasn¡¯t much to see in the room, a bed with a small side table, a desk and chair, a wardrobe and finally an empty pot that was just sitting in the corner for some reason. It was basic, but Kai guessed to anyone who had spent the last week or more camping on the floor, having your own personal room with its basic furnishings must be the height of luxury within a dungeon. ¡°Syl, you do realise I¡¯ve not once slept in an actual bed since I got this body,¡± he said as he pointed to the bed, ¡°that thing might not look like much to you and your fancy four-poster bed with a few hundred pillows, but to me it looks like heaven who has a physical body that can¡¯t be pulled into the domain.¡± Syl tsked, ¡°You know that ridiculous bed would still help your soul rest better if you just joined us¡­¡± ¡°What''s the pot for?¡± Kai asked, hoping to move the conversation past him joining the two women at night as quickly as possible. ¡°Chamber pot,¡± Alicia answered from where she was peeking in one of the other doors; she turned to give Kai a look he couldn¡¯t quite read, ¡°You know, I think I will stick with the flushing toilet in Syl¡¯s small manor.¡± Ignoring the fact Alicia thought Syl''s house was a small manor, he asked, ¡°Alicia, can you please tell me Alea is more advanced than chamber pots?¡± ¡°If you are lucky, you might get a magical chamber pot,¡± she said as she deliberately looked away from him. ¡°We should not keep that man waiting too long. He seemed easily agitated.¡± ¡°Let him wait; he''s not like the usual dungeon spawn, but he also isn''t a true person, just a copy of one,¡± Syl explained. ¡°How do you know that?¡± Kai called from inside the room where he examined the little pot, trying to determine if it was magical or if it could be borrowed for future dungeon runs; he was sick of looting his own poop. ¡°Dungeon masters are usually copies of someone the dungeon architect trusts, if not the architect themselves. Though trusting someone is a bit different from liking them¡­ Not that it matters; the real version of that man will never know what his dungeon copies experience.¡± A horned head popped through the open archway. ¡°While all that may be true, it is not a good reason to keep me waiting. I may not have his soul, but I have his memories, abilities and personality. And let me tell you,¡± he hissed, smoke billowing from his pinched teeth. ¡°I have never been accused of being a patient person.¡± Syl scoffed at the dungeon master''s blatant attempt at intimidation, ¡°For a race with such a long natural life span, you would think a dragon would have at least a modicum of patience.¡± ¡°If I could cook you, I would, but these rooms are restricted, and no harm may come to you here. Now I must insist, since you¡¯re not the typical amateurs I was put here to deal with, I have to make adjustments, and I can¡¯t make those adjustments until I have inducted the three of you.¡± ¡°Dragons, always so dramatic.¡± Syl said as she dramatically rolled her eyes. There was an audible grumble as the man pulled his head back through the arch. ¡°Is it wise to tease a dungeon master?¡± Alicia asked; from her tone, she was clearly concerned Syl might be pushing it a bit much. ¡°Nope!¡± Syl said as she drifted through behind the grumbling blue dragon, dungeon master. Kai followed through just behind Syl to see the dungeon master standing in the middle of a slightly larger round room with five dark, shadowy archways spaced out behind him. Each archway had two of those light crystals Kai had seen providing light at the top of each dungeon room, only they were all mostly dull. Only one of the crystals above the door on the far left side showed any sign of life as it glowed a dim amber colour. ¡°Each of these portals leads to a test,¡± the dungeon master said, speaking up in a commanding, listen-to-me tone of voice, ¡°Once you complete one test, the next will become available. I will be waiting for you in the fifth chamber, where I will deliver my assessment of your performance and offer items for trade. The astute among you should have realised you will be participating in each test twice. Now that I have done my part, not that it is actually necessary,¡± the dungeon master finished, turned and promptly strolled into the smoke of the fifth archway before they said anything. ¡°So we all realise that was for show, right?¡± Syl said once she was certain the man was gone. ¡°I am positive he is one of the tests,¡± Alicia said, nodding her agreement. ¡°Wait, we¡¯ll be fighting a dragon?¡± Kai asked a little too eagerly. "Don¡¯t be ridiculous; he could crush us with a thought. That guy was around the third or fourth tier, probably higher.¡± Only feeling slightly chastised. Kai looked about, and not seeing much they could do but move forward, he asked, ¡°We¡¯re all prepared, right? There is no point in wasting more time than we already have, is there? No one has any last-minute tasks?¡± ¡°Your the meat suit; where and when we go somewhere is the one decision you have complete autonomy over.¡± Syl said as she shook her head to tell him there was nothing she needed to do. Kai sighed as he looked over to Alicia to see if she was ready. She was watching the fifth doorway warily. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she said, hesitating before admitting, ¡°I am just not used to conversing with gods and dragons.¡± ¡°Neither am I, but a little over two, maybe three months ago, I didn¡¯t even believe elves existed, never mind gods or dragons. Now I have someone riding shotgun inside my soul, and I¡¯m about to head into the unknown dungeon test with a pretty princess of all things.¡± Alicia fidgeted when he called her a pretty princess. He continued, ¡°I¡¯m not going to pretend my sanity is a certainty at this point. I¡¯m trying to take everything as it comes, but for all I know I¡¯m wearing a straitjacket right now and bouncing around a padded room.¡± Alicia looked thoughtful, but before she could voice any concerns with what he had just said, he turned and walked through the archway. ¡°M¡¯lord, we have been waiting for you and your party. The battery is set up and charging at the convergence.¡± A soldier in a blue padded jerkin immediately reported. Kai was a little taken aback; one moment he was stepping through the archway, and the next he was standing in the middle of a clearing at the base of a tall cliff face. What¡¯s more, Alicia was already at his side as if she had been beside him the moment he stepped through. But he knew that wasn¡¯t quite right. ¡°The scouts are reporting a large contingent of the horde has split off and is heading this way. High command has already issued orders to hold position and charge the battery for as long as we can.¡± The soldier continued as he held out his hand; in his grip, he held two pendants. ¡°Your return stones, M¡¯lord. They have been set to send you and Lady Alicia to the field hospital the moment you break the stone.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Kai blinked in confusion as a flare of cyan flame announced Syl as she joined the conversation, ¡°How long until the ritual will have enough power?¡± ¡°Ah, Lady Sylph, the mages have not informed us. Orders are to buy as much time as we can for the battery to charge. I have been informed the grand ritual spell will trigger when the battery is destroyed; the release of its energy will trigger the ritual. We need not do anything but endure the onslaught for as long as we can.¡± Syl turned to Kai and Alicia. ¡°I think I understand what we are supposed to do. We need to defend the crystal for as long as we can,¡± she said as she pointed to the large stone that sat in a shallow cave in the base of the cliff face. ¡°If it takes too much damage or we use those return stones, it will be the end of the test. How well we do on the test is dependent on how long we can hold out.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s a test of endurance,¡± Kai said as he took one of the pendants the soldier was offering. Syl looked around at the dozen or so soldiers that were setting up a defensive perimeter before turning back to the soldier that had addressed them and asking, ¡°Who has command?¡± The soldier blinked. ¡°Lord Kai, of course.¡± ¡°And does everyone have a return stone?¡± The soldier looked confused for just a moment before certainty flashed in his eyes; he slammed the butt of his spear into the ground and thumped his hand to his chest in a salute. ¡°We are prepared to die for the kingdom, our families, and our children.¡± Syl turned back to Kai. ¡°I don¡¯t think the test is just about protecting the crystal; it might have something to do with how we treat these soldiers. But protecting this crystal, this battery¡ªthat should be our main goal.¡± There was a guttural cry from afar that echoed through the trees that surrounded their little clearing. Realising they were on a timer, Kai immediately started assessing their situation as best he could. The sheer cliff they were set against curved slightly, effectively hemming them in. That worked for him, as escaping on foot was clearly not part of the test. But the open side was still far wider than he liked; it was too large an area for them to set up an effective defence with just their numbers alone. He needed to change that. The forest beyond the clearing was dense, and the attack could come from anywhere. ¡°Syl, can you turn wisp and get us a lay of the land? We need to know which direction we should expect the first attack to come from and how long we have to prepare a defence.¡± Syl was gone before he even finished his sentence. Changing into her orange wisp form, she flew up as high as she could to scout things out. Kai turned back to the soldier, ¡°I want you and your men to hold back and defend the battery itself from anyone who gets past me. What are your ranged capabilities?¡± ¡°M¡¯lord, we are a company of spearmen,¡± the soldier said as he thumped his spear into the ground. ¡°No ranged skills or abilities?¡± The soldier shook his head. ¡°Can you and your men work crossbows?¡± ¡°Aye, but,¡± the soldier looked about, ¡°got no crossbows, M¡¯lord.¡± Kai waved his hand, and a pile of goblin crossbows and several clutches of crossbow bolts appeared beside the battery. ¡°Have your men get familiar as quickly as they possibly can; don¡¯t worry about ammunition.¡± The soldier, to his credit, only blinked once before he turned and ran off to relay Kai¡¯s orders. He turned to Alicia, ¡°Got any recommendations?¡± She shook her head as she said, ¡°The terrains are not ideal for dedicated archers; there is no real high point I can get to, and this clearing is shorter than I like. I won''t be able to use Gift to the fullest. ¡° Looking past the clearing to the trees that surrendered them, Kai nodded as he summoned an axe from storage; he had a new skill to try out, infused strike; he just hoped he would have enough time for his plan if it worked the way he wanted it to. Just before he could make his move, Syl appeared beside them both, shaking her head, she sighed, ¡°It¡¯s thick forest, trees as far as I can see in every direction. But by the dust that¡¯s being kicked up and the fleeing birds, I would say the main force is just an hour or two away more if we are lucky. I¡¯m not actually trained to work these things out. Though there are signs that there is a scouting force that could be here anywhere from half an hour to ten minutes from now, again I¡¯m not an expert.¡± Kai just nodded as he walked up to the closest tree. Filling the axe with mana, he performed his first infused strike; just as he hoped, the axe bit deeper and wider than the small axe head would have normally accounted for, and in two more strokes, the tree was felled. As soon as the tree started to fall and praying the tree wasn''t too large, he used his soul ring''s looting ability on it. He felt some resistance, but when the tree disappeared, he grinned; his plan of magical deforestation might just work. ¡°Alicia, Syl, keep an eye out; I¡¯m going to give us some fighting room,¡± was all he said as he darted to the next tree. ¡°Got it, casting Limber and flow to help with your task; let me know if you would prefer mana or stamina regen.¡± ¡°Give him the stamina regen; he already has heaps of mana regen because of me and my earrings,¡± Syl said as she changed into her hidden orange wisp form to float protectively beside Kai as he dashed off towards his third tree. Kai felt his muscles relax as Alicia¡¯s support spell hit him, it was like he had spent the last ten minuets stretching, his body feeling more flexibly, quicker and dare he say that little bit stronger,. For the next forty minutes, Kai expanded the clearing under the watchful eye of his party and the wide-eyed dungeon soldiers. He worked as fast as he could, hoping to expand their sight lines as much as possible and create a killing field their attackers would have to risk crossing to get to them and the battery they were meant to defend. When he heard the whistle of an arrow fly past his shoulder, followed by the guttural cry of a creature he didn''t recognise, Kai knew he was running out of time. ¡°Just a lone scout,¡± Alicia called out through the party system. Hoping it was just a lone scout, Kai picked up the pace. Six trees later and pouring with sweat, he felt Syl use a large chunk of his mana to create a barrier between him and the barrage of arrows that came his way. The sound of arrows thunking into the barrier was followed by the treeline bursting to life with the sound of yips, barks and wailing cries as the attack started in earnest. ¡°Go! I¡¯ve got your back,¡± was all Syl said as Kai turned and ran back to where Alicia was firing off arrow after arrow past him as he escaped to relative safety. He skidded to a stop as he passed Alicia and turned to examine his handiwork. He had somehow pushed the treeline back a good hundred yards or more. ¡°Does that give you a better shot with Gift?¡± Kai asked through laboured breaths. The bow chimed enthusiastically as Alicia fired off arrows at an increasingly relaxed pace. ¡°Yes. Gives me more time to do this.¡± Alicia said as she paused her firing, holding her shot a little longer to empower the arrow. A moment later her power shot fired off into the trees, where there was a boom, a cry, and the cracking of a toppling tree. Kai let himself smile at the destruction as he caught his breath. He took the moment to observe and get his bearings, but he wasn¡¯t technically idle as Syl was currently using him as her proxy to fire off mana bolt after mana bolt. Not really seeing what Syl and Alicia were firing at, he asked, ¡°What are we dealing with exactly? I still haven''t gotten a good look.¡± ¡°Kobolds,¡± Syl said as she fired off three mana bolts in three different directions, the zips of them between the trees where the cracks from their impacts echoed slightly. ¡°Kobolds?¡± Kai said as he tried to remember what he knew about them from fiction. ¡°What kind, hyena or dog?¡± ¡°The scaly, dragon kind. Bigger and smarter than goblin wretchlings, they¡¯re annoyingly sticking to the trees. Probably waiting for large enough numbers to make a push across the open area you created.¡± Kai heard the snap of crossbows as a couple of the soldiers came forward to make pot shots at the growing numbers. ¡°M¡¯lord, good work with the trees. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen anyone work so hard so fast in all my life. But might I ask what you have planned for the lumber?¡± the soldier from before asked. Kai had no idea how many trees he had managed to clear, but a quick mental check of his storage told him it was an impressive one hundred and eighteen trees of varying type and size, that and a number of bird nests. ¡°I planned to drop them on their heads when their numbers grew dense enough and they made a concentrated push. Why?¡± ¡°If I may, we could set up a defensive cordon the kobolds would have to cross; we could use it as a defensive line to fire from, and then when their numbers get too close, we can use our spears to pick them off as they climb over the top.¡± Kai scratched his chin, nodding along; it was a good plan. Syl flickered back into her blue wisp form. ¡°Kai, you take over. I can fly over and manipulate the trees into the best positions without worrying about dropping one wrong and having it fall on me.¡± ¡°Leave an opening, a choke point they¡¯ll try to force their way through. I can stand and try defending that point; if it''s too much, we will fill it with more trees,¡± Kai said as he summoned three mana bolts and directed his attention to the tree line. It was then Kai got his first good look at a kobold; a good head taller than any of the goblins he had encountered, the thing looked like some kind of a hybrid between a theropod dinosaur and humanoid. With a long, whip-like tail and swept-back legs, it stood on three clawed toes. Its green and mottled brown scaly skin helps to hide it among the shadows. Its neck seemed a little too long, and its head moved about in an oddly avian manner as it yipped and cawed with a toothy jaw at the others around it. Unlike the other dungeon goblins Kai had been dealing with, he strangely understood that it was commanding the others to spread out and keep in cover. He examined the one he picked out. Kobold Scout master Lv. 5. Master, that explained why it felt like it was giving orders. But for someone in command Kai felt it wasn''t all that well equipped. It had a bow held in an oddly human hand and a quiver on its hunched back. But beyond that, it wore nothing, not even a loincloth. Kai was happy the thing favoured its saurian side and lacked any discernible humanoid junk. Either that or it was female, though it had no mammaries. As he wondered if Kobold females had tits or not, he noticed the thing''s beady yellow eyes catch his own. In that moment it was as if something came over the kobold that had until now been ordering its underlings to keep behind cover; it broke from its position and stepped out into the clearing. Kai cracked it in the chest with one of his faster armour-piercing mana bolts before it could even raise its bow. But that was enough for the other kobolds to take the master scout''s move out into the open as a sign to make a push, and about twenty of them stepped from cover, picking up pace as they charged out into the open area. It was sheer madness. Between Kai casting six mana bolts at six different targets at a time and Alicia''s rapid-fire volley of arrows, the kobolds who broke out into the clearing were all dead within feet of leaving the protective cover of the treeline. They just didn¡¯t have the numbers to overwhelm them. ¡°I think they¡¯re a bit more resistant to the effects of my challenge stone, but it''s still making them act rashly.¡± Kai mused through the party chat. ¡°Agreed,¡± said Alicia as she fired off another power shot at a couple of kobolds that had grouped up behind a larger tree. Seeing the arrow land and the trunk explode into shrapnel that peppered the foolish kobolds, Kai got inspired. He checked his mana to see it read Mana: Kai-487% / 96%-Syl. His mana storage cuff was giving him about an additional four times his usual mana capacity; working with over one hundred percent mana might be confusing, but it was just perfect for what he had in mind. He was going to push the treeline back a little further. Kai called up two mana bolts; he emulated how he killed the rune bear and poured about ten percent mana into each of them. He kept the mana inside the bolt loose and volatile, only compressing the outer shell enough that the spell would hold when he fired it off. Giving his first two test projectiles one last squeeze, he fired them off, but he didn''t aim for the kobolds as they flittered from tree to tree, trying to move in closer for a better shot. He aimed for the tree they were hiding behind. CraBOOM! Watching two trees topple and feeling a couple of kill notifications come in, Kai deemed his explosive manabolts a success. He probably started methodically levelling the outer line of trees as Alicia picked off the kobolds that ran for cover. Kai was a little worried about his mana capacity. Using a good ten percent of his mana for each shot could drain him quickly, but he found if he moderated his pace to one bolt every five to ten seconds apart depending on targets of opportunity, his mana actually slowly filled back up instead of depleting on him. That was until Syl returned and copied him. ¡°Too fast, Syl, this whole thing is about endurance!¡± Kai cried as he watched chunks of his mana disappear. ¡°We need to do as much as we can to that treeline as quickly as we can because-¡° The sound of several horns called in the not-so-distant confines of the forest cut Syl off. ¡°Because the vanguards about to arrive,¡± Syl said. ¡°Adding focus to flow and mana regen,¡± Alicia said as Kai felt everything sharpen. ¡°You said you are adding focus; have I had support magic on me this whole time?¡± ¡°You have had a couple of different spells working on you since you first started cutting down trees. I have yet to learn what you can safely handle, so I am keeping things subtle. But focus is different; do not waste time when under its effects.¡± Taking the hint, Kai picked up the pace, and together they obliterated the forest, only retreating to Syl¡¯s defensive cordon when both Kai and his mana cuff were completely drained. System Anomaly - 23 - Golden Rain Alicia cast her support magic as Kai started knocking down trees like they were nothing to him; sure, it was something someone at a higher level could do without thinking, but Kai was only level four. She watched as both his mana and stamina ticked down with each infused strike, his new skill working to make each swing of his axe hit harder and cut cleaner, allowing him to take down even some of the thicker trees with ease. It wasn¡¯t at all surprising to see Kai¡¯s mana still regenerating at a considerably faster rate than his stamina in her party display, despite the use of her support spell stamina regeneration on him redirecting what should have been a good portion of his incoming mana into stamina. Typical casters would normally be perturbed to have any of their incoming mana shifted to stamina; her master had actually suggested she cast stamina regen on any hostile mages she encountered, as the spell would work to limit their potential during a prolonged fight. The same was true for casting mana regen on anyone that relied on their physical abilities. But Kai wasn¡¯t your typical caster; he specialised in being unspecialised. He had an overabundance of mana capacity and a frightening amount of regeneration to back it up. If he wanted to, Kai could be a ridiculously powerful mage; when you added Syl to that mix, they could work together to be something many would consider incomprehensible. But Kai was branching out as a front-line fighter, becoming some kind of hybrid class most typically avoided, as the split in focus typically meant a split in potential power. Alicia watched as the man she had contracted herself to worked harder and faster than she had seen anyone work in her life. Syl floated protectively over him, allowing Kai to focus solely on his task. She held Gift at the ready, scanning the treeline that Kai kept pushing back, feeling useless. This was exactly what Alicia feared; she felt left behind just waiting for an opportunity to participate, just like she had with her last party. Just as she was trying her best not to feel sorry for herself, movement to the far right caught her eye. Lifting her bow to sight in on what had caught her attention, she saw a kobold as it slid out from the cover of a tree; already lifting a bow to fire at Kai, she fired. You have killed Kobold Scout Lv. 5. She didn¡¯t have the time to perform a cursory examination, but the kill notification told exactly what she expected; it was a scout, and hopefully a solitary one at that. Now how does this party chat thing work? ¡°Syl?¡± Alicia said, feeling foolish talking when no one was around. ¡®Nice shot. Let me know if you see any more; Kai¡¯s too busy making firewood. Actually, you wouldn''t have any way of causing a fire. I¡¯m trying to figure out if we can use these trees for anything. Kai¡¯s probably not giving things much thought other than cutting down trees at the moment.¡¯ Syl replied. ¡°No, I mean, I have fire starters, but they are still in my bag in the domain¡­ Er, Syl, how does this party chat work?¡± ¡®Oh this, it¡¯s just like communicating with Kai whilst we were in the domain; just talk, and your intent should carry it through to the persons you want to hear. So yeah, we can still have our private conversations.¡¯ Alicia gave the soldiers who were standing watch around her a quick look and whispered, ¡°Do I have to speak out loud? You said this would be like telepathy.¡± ¡®Nah, you can communicate with thought if you find that¡¯s more comfortable; it all works on intent, I believe. Might actually be faster if we all communicate at the speed of thought; just got to get used to it. With the way I¡¯m hearing your voice right now but Kai isn¡¯t, I can see this form of communication being both useful and confusing if we are not careful.¡¯ There was a pause as Kai had to jump back out of the way as a particularly large tree came crashing down, almost hitting him before it vanished into his storage. ¡®Though this is oddly similar to how I can communicate with Kai through our connection, so welcome to that club, I guess. I do wonder if we can tweak the way it sounds or feels using our personal systems; Kai will probably find time to experiment once I point out it¡¯s a possibility.¡¯ Syl continued as if nothing had just happened. ¡®I have only seen that one scout. It was pretty intent on killing Kai, so I don¡¯t think it took the time to get any sort of alert off.¡¯ Alicia reported with a thought, No, said... Communicating through thought was confusing; thoughts were meant to be private. She worried a stray thought might get through. Oh spirits, what if Kai could now pick up on her thoughts about him? Or, what if Syl picked up her thoughts about her? This could be a problem. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s probably Kai¡¯s challenge stone effecting the dungeon spawn; it might buy us more time than I expected. But keep up the good work; knowing I have you watching our back makes being out here all exposed, chopping down trees a whole lot less stressful.¡± Syl said, seemingly oblivious to Alicia''s now racing mind. Feeling her ears colour once again, she redoubled her watch. As Alicia scanned the trees for anything that seemed out of place, she realised maybe she wasn¡¯t actually being useless right now. So long as she was vigilant, her overwatch meant her team could do what they were doing with peace of mind that she had them covered. She ended up taking out four more Kobold scouts, each time receiving a mental thumbs up from Syl before she could report the kill. That, and she had increased the potency of the support spells she had put on Kai several times as the man kept pushing himself harder and faster the more comfortable he got with the effects of her magic and the more he figured out his new infused strike. Alicia was wondering how she could make use of the skill; to her, it just seemed like a variation of her power strike. Only more basic, but that wasn¡¯t a bad thing, as its simplicity made it more versatile, and it lacked the pointless flair other mages may have added over the centuries. Infused strike certainly seemed more versatile with the way Kai was still expanding the area of his cuts with the axe, an axe that he had to swap out at some point when the shaft of the first decided it couldn¡¯t keep up. Just as she was thinking about comparing the two spell forms in more detail when she got the time, she saw movement beyond Kai. Gift was ready with a conjured arrow when she lifted it up to fire; the shot flew just over Kai''s shoulder, taking out the kobold that appeared. You have killed Kobold Scout Lv. 4. ¡°Just a lone scout,¡± Alicia called out to them both through the party system when she couldn¡¯t see any more kobolds in the area. Kai didn¡¯t miss a step because of the sudden attack; instead, he picked up his pace and just continued taking down trees. The space he had opened up more than expanded her range; it allowed her to take her time, giving her the opportunity to pick her targets, limited as they were at the moment. As if just to challenge that thought, she saw her first real group of kobolds. She lifted Gift and drew, but the bow never chimed to let her know when it was safe to loose. Instead, it thrum angrily as Kai was between her and the primitive dragonkin, and a clean shot on any of them was not possible. Too focused on firing, she didn¡¯t think to communicate the danger, but to her relief, a barrier appeared to intercept a barrage of arrows, and Kai bolted her way. Now unable to fire from their position because of the barrier that was protecting Kais''s hasty retreat, the group of kobolds began to spread out. There were a good six or seven of them now, all trying to get a good line of attack. That was a mistake, and she used Gift to show them how badly they fucked up by spreading out. In just seconds she had multiple arrows in flight, Gift chiming eagerly with each arrow they fired, each arrow finding its target and bringing it down. Kai skidded to a stop at her side as she fired at the kobolds that kept spilling from the trees, crazed, each of them doing their best to get their own shots off at the fleeing man. But Kai had run too fast, and their bows didn¡¯t quite have the distance from the trees. As Kai got up, she noticed his would-be attackers start to shrink back and move into cover. But they weren¡¯t exactly the brightest of enemies, three of them all jostling for position behind the same tree. ¡°Does that give you a better shot with Gift?¡± Kai asked as he tried to catch his breath and assess the situation. She crouched, planting herself as she charged an arrow with mana, the conjured arrow shifting, waiting for Gift to tell her when the shot would be perfect. ¡°Yes. Gives me more time to do this.¡± Alicia said as she put the final touches on the spell construct for a power shot on the arrow she had infused with mana; a moment later, she felt Gifts chime through the sting, and she fired off the power shot into the trees. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. There was a boom, a yelp, and the tree the kobolds were using as cover came toppling down. You have killed Kobold Scout Lv. 4. You have killed Kobold Scout Lv. 5. You have killed Kobold Scout Lv. 5. Looking for more threats she could clean up, she noticed the treeline had come alive with kobolds; there weren''t actually that many, but it was clear their location had been passed back and more were coming in regularly now. She focused on picking them off one at a time and using Power Shot whenever they made the mistake of grouping up. With Kai at her side firing off his own mana bolts, they kept their attackers down to a controllable number. They were quite lucky the kobolds were of limited intelligence and poorly organised. Despite trying to stay in cover, they kept working their way up to the tree line to fire back, their small bows unable to make an accurate shot over the open area between them. If they just held back and let their numbers grow before they advanced, they could easily overwhelm their position. Alicia guessed that was the point, constant pressure, to wear them down in a battle of attrition. Though this was only the scouting force, they had a troubling thought about the volume of the actual force they would be facing. The term horde wasn''t used lightly. Suddenly one of them broke from the trees, Kai cutting it down quicker than she could switch targets. Then it was as if that one move triggered a change, as a mass of kobolds broke from safety, and she had the opportunity to make Gift sing of their stupidity as she rapid-fired off arrow after arrow. ¡°I think they¡¯re a bit more resistant to the effects of my challenge stone, but it''s still making them act rashly.¡± Kai suggested it through the party chat. ¡°Agreed,¡± said Alicia as she took another opportunity to take out a group that had bunched up behind the tree. Her arrow exploded the trunk of the tree; its shrapnel was sent flying into the kobolds that, while not killed outright, would soon die from their wounds if no one healed them any time soon. The tree came down on them a moment later. Something seemed to change in Kai at that point; he slowed his barrage of mana bolts significantly as he started launching more potent bolts of mana, each one making the forest shake with their impact. It took her a little longer than she would be willing to admit to realise what Kai was doing. At first she thought his intent was pure destruction, but when the fifth tree fell, she knew the man had found another way to push the forest back. Each obliterated tree created terrain that would be difficult to cross at any speed. As Alicia watched his mana drop in significant chunks with each spell he constructed, she laid mana regeneration on him, the spell overpowering the lingering effects of the stamina regen she had put on him what now seemed so long ago. ¡°Alicia, are you okay with me using some of your better quality mana potions in the fight to come? I¡¯ve tried scouting again, and I think things are about to get a whole lot more dicey,¡± Syl said to her through the party chat. ¡®Use whatever you need to get us through this alive. Syl-¡® Alicia said, as she felt at her core, feeling for how much essence had built up, ¡®I am very near to levelling up; how long do you think I can hold it without any negative effects?¡¯ ¡°You have some time, but I would take the first chance you get once you are ready; create a nice defensible area while you are busy.¡± Syl said, sounding proud. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ll join Kai in his wanton destruction. It¡¯s better you apply your essence early than if you were to get stuck overloaded in the middle of the fight that is about to come.¡± Alicia took out a few more kobolds that were fleeing back, trying to find fresh cover after one of Kai¡¯s mana bolts destroyed the tree they were cowering behind, and that was it; she had enough essence to level. She stepped back as the rate of bolts coming from around Kai seemed to double, and he cried, ¡°Too fast, Syl, this whole thing is about endurance!¡± Alicia couldn¡¯t actually see Syl, as she was in her orange wisp form, but strangely the party system had given her friend a faint outline as she hovered beside Kai, letting her know she was right where she said she would be. ¡°We need to do as much as we can to that treeline as quickly as we can because-¡° Syl''s voice was cut off by the sound of horns echoing in the distance. ¡°Because the vanguards are about to arrive,¡± Syl finished. Alicia needed to level, but she stopped, making the decision to add a support spell she typically avoided to Kai before she left, ¡°Adding focus to flow and mana regen.¡± ¡°You said you are adding focus; have I had support magic on me this whole time?¡± Kai asked. It seemed Kai had been so on task he hadn¡¯t noticed her adjusting her support magic. ¡°You have had a couple of different spells working on you since you first started cutting down trees. I have yet to learn what you can safely handle, so I am keeping things subtle. But focus is different; do not waste time when under its effects.¡± She explained. Kai nodded, and the number of mana bolts he was creating seemed to double again as her spell came into effect. Trying not to worry about leaving her team to it, she moved back to level up. As Alicia turned to see, Syl had indeed been busy. Where there was once a wide opening where the cliff curved around the small cave that housed the battery they had to defend, now stood two towering stacks of logs on either side curving back in to close the gap. Only a narrow corridor in the centre remained, one Alicia had no doubt the kobolds would find inviting, especially if Kai was there defending it with the effects of his challenge stone. The soldiers had positioned themselves up on the makeshift defensive structure, their goblin crossbows held at the ready and bushels of bolts at their side; they waited for their chance to really join the fight. She ran through the gap to see Syl had even covered up the cave with a significant pile of debris that would take a coordinated effort for anyone to remove without the aid of magic. It seemed they could all fall in the defence, but it could still take the kobolds an hour or two to even get to the battery, never mind them slipping past to damage it while they were otherwise engaged. Alicia gave the soldiers a quick nod as she took a knee and began her first real level up. Syl had said Kai made it look easy, and Alicia couldn¡¯t argue with that. Just keeping her essence spinning at a constant speed took control she didn¡¯t think she had in her. And when it came to splitting her mana, she had to adjust the flow as her cores weren''t balanced like theirs. But she managed it, adding fresh essence not where the system thought it should go but where it needed to be to achieve a better foundation. Checking her status quickly, she was pleased to see she had made considerable improvements to her core balance but was still disappointed in her overall stat balance. Some of her stats, like control and dexterity, dwarfed her other core aspects; she either needed to rein in those other areas or continue evening out her essence over the next few levels. Status: Name: Alicia An¡¯aladduin ( Dellacletra Seitra ) Race: El¡¯viairen Level: 6 Constitution: Warmed up and ready for battle. Health: 100% Stamina: 72% Mana: 85% Physical Core: (49.58%) Strength 23 Dexterity 27 Toughness 21.5 Vitality 22 Endurance 24 Mana Core: (50.42%) Capacity 24.5 Control 27 Conversion 22 Absorption 23 Flow 23 Total Stat Points: 237 Wondering how her two hundred and thirty-seven stat total measured up to her team''s, she got up and turned to see everything had changed without her. The soldiers fired down from their positions with a frantic fervour as Kai stood in the gap, his sword out and barriers all around him as he danced the dance of death with the brightly coloured kobolds vying for position amongst their king for the first chance to take him down. Alicia bolted for the wall of logs, scrambling to the top to get to higher ground. ¡°How did the level-up go?¡± Syl asked casually as a mana blew a crater in the mass of kobolds working their way out of the trees. ¡°Good, I think¡­¡± Alicia replied in kind. Gone were the sleek green and brown mottled kobolds that had scouted their position; in their place, a swarm of colour assaulted their position. The kobolds now wore armour over their brightly coloured hides; speckled reds, oranges and even some blues, colours of all hues came upon them, their weapons as varied as they were. They trudged their way over what was left of the treeline, seemingly intent on climbing the makeshift fortification; only those near the centre seemed to change their mind as they noticed Kai cutting through their kin like they were nothing. ¡°Let¡¯s try and hold until Syl can level; the essence is abundant, and I don¡¯t want to waste this chance to work on my new skills,¡± Kai called through the party chat. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, just work on keeping them off the defences, and prioritise the ones I mark,¡± Syl said as some of the kobolds started to light up in Alicia''s vision. ¡°Mana mark is a bit more taxing than I like, so I am only going to mark casters, ranged types, or any kobold that seems to be making an effort to organise this mess.¡± ¡°Killing some level six and sevens here, a nice amount of essence, but they aren''t much more challenging than a goblin; the hide is thicker, but infused strike makes clean work of that and their leathers.¡± Kai communicated as he looted another body. Alicia pulled up Gift, who immediately chimed at the target-rich environment, the arrow she conjured for the bow forming a strange multifaceted head as it fell into position. Firing off Gift''s strange arrow, she couldn''t help but smile as it burst into several arrows in flight, the resulting scatter taking out half a dozen of the encroaching kobolds and even one Syl had marked in just the one shot. Kai grunted, and Alicia looked down to see a rune glowing over a wound Kai had just taken on his side. ¡°I''m okay; that shot was cool, Alicia; it distracted me; my bad.¡± Kai said as he cut down and then looted the kobold that had injured him. As another kobold moved into the gap, Kai made a suggestion that made Gift sing eagerly. ¡°Do you think you can make it rain arrows?¡± Gift vibrated in her grip upon hearing the question, and Alicia got the sudden feeling she should aim up as the next arrow she gave her bow lit up with multiple spinning magical constructs she couldn¡¯t even begin to interpret. Aiming up and having no target in mind felt odd, so she waited for Gift''s usual chime that indicated she should lose. The chime didn''t come; in fact, her weapon started thrumming angrily at her the longer she waited. It was only when she felt the tug on her mana through the channels in her hand where she gripped Gift that she realised what the bow was waiting for. Just like a power shot, what Gift was trying needed mana, which she supplied eagerly, interested in what the bow was doing. When Gift finally chimed, letting her know the shot was ready, she fired the arrow up into nothing, literally; a small circular spell diagram appeared and swallowed the strange arrow. She looked about, confused; the spell circle disappeared with her shot, and nothing happened. Checking her mana, she realised she had wasted a good chunk of it, around forty percent of her total if she wasn''t mistaken. Frustrated, she put her attention back on the battle before her only to see the sky above the kobold swarm open up with dozens of golden spell circles. The kobolds looked up in confusion only for a torrent of glowing, gold, conjured arrows to come raining down on them. The arrows weren''t aimed at any one particular enemy, but neither was a coordinated barrage from a battery of archers. The effect, however, was the same as the few kobolds with shields raised them up in their defence while the rest were cut down en masse. ¡°Okay, you really need to sit down and talk to Gift about what the two of you can do together. That was awesome!¡± Kai cried enthusiastically as the torrent came to an end, ¡°Makes me wish I had gone all arcane archer instead-¡° Kai went silent for a moment. ¡°Sorry, big one, I took its head off with an infused strike, which was pretty fun¡­ Ah crap, I can¡¯t decide if I¡¯m on the right path now. Next you¡¯ll have some kind of seeking arrow before I figure out seeking mana bolts.¡± There was a boom in the distance as a particularly commanding-looking kobold was taken down by Syl. ¡°Let Alicia figure things out and stop being so indecisive.¡± ¡°Er, Alicia, when will this focus wear off?¡± Kai asked suddenly. Alicia was immediately pulled from her glee as she realised the one rule her master had given her when teaching her the support spell: don¡¯t leave it on anyone for too long unless you wanted them to suffer the backlash. ¡°Prepare yourself; I''m taking it off now,¡± she said as she looked down from her position and removed the spell just as Kai looted his most recent opponent. ¡°Its off¡­ When should I feel the negative¡­ oh shit.¡± Kai said as he stumbled. ¡°It will pass; it hasn¡¯t been on you for too long.¡± Alicia said, hoping her words would prove true. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him; I¡¯ll keep him covered. Luckily, you just took out a good third of their number, and they are regrouping. You might be a target now, so be careful.¡± Syl said as multiple mana bolts sprung up protectively around Kai. To Alicia¡¯s relief, he recovered fast, though now that he wasn¡¯t in the zone as he put it, Kai wasn¡¯t so eager to talk as he cut down kobold after kobold. System Anomaly - 24 - Ghostblade Kai stood on the precipice, looking down on a raging inferno. When Syl had called out a fire mage and ordered everyone to avoid killing them, he had no idea this was what she intended. Then when the fire started and she called the retreat, he thought she was mad. But Syl promised she had worked everything out. So despite having nowhere else to go, he backed out of the gap, kobolds eagerly flooding in only to have a load of trees dropped on their heads when Syl plugged the hole in their defences. It turned out Syl had at some point during the fighting, using a mix of some particularly tall trees along with barriers to hold them in place and some lengths of rope they had apparently acquired from looting the goblin camp, managed to construct a way they could scale the cliff that had them penned in. The result of her efforts had the three of them and the soldiers that had managed to survive looking down at the kobolds as they tried to put out a fire that was out of any and all control. ¡°That¡¯s it, I am level five, the same level as you now,¡± Syl said as she appeared at his side, ¡°Things should be a bit easier for you to catch up to Alicia now. Remind me, what level are you now?¡± ¡°Seven,¡± Alicia said happily, ¡°but I am not sharing essence the way you two do.¡± Kai watched another kobold try to get past the fire only to expire before it even got to the top of the cordon-turned pyre. ¡°Should we be worried about the fire mages putting it out?¡± Kai asked. ¡°I killed the two that got things going as soon as I knew things had taken hold.¡± ¡°What about the possibility of a water mage showing up?¡± Kai suggested. ¡°No, at this level range it is unlikely any water mage you find will be able to output enough water to put that out; that, and there are no water sources nearby for them to take advantage of. I don¡¯t even think another fire mage will be able to do much more than move the flames about¡­ Though I could be wrong, one in the thirties range could eventually show up. That or the dungeon could produce a savant or some stupid artefact to take back control of the scenario.¡± Without much else to do but watch, Kai summoned his longsword; it was his favourite blade, but an hour or two of abuse had chipped and pitted the steel. He had completely shattered a bastard sword and two arming swords. His supply of steel, it seemed, just couldn¡¯t keep up with the level difference; they were base-level items from an initiation tutorial. However, the kobolds he was fighting towards the end were around level twelve, and he had to rely on more potent infused strikes just to cut into their thick hide, never mind their increasingly superior armour. Apparently carbon steel wasn¡¯t a very good conductor of mana; the natural energy tended to make the material brittle when too much of it was forced through it at once. Which was exactly what Kai had to do just to land a decent attack. He had tried switching to conjured blades, but he still needed to work on that skill, the weapons he forged from pure mana typically shattered the moment he tried infusing them with more mana to strike at his attacker. In the end he had resorted to using the kobolds own weapons against them, and that was to mixed results. Their weapons were crude and suffered from all the same problems as his own set of weapons had. But he gathered quite the supply of them to use and abuse. If he wanted to figure out how he would sustain combat for any reasonable time without draining his resources, he needed time to train, not just experiment against endless enemies that posed no real threat beyond their sheer numbers. That, and it couldn¡¯t help to level up. Though it was clear his gear was falling behind. ¡°How much experience do you think we can farm from up here?¡± Kai asked, thinking about how he could make the best of their new situation. ¡°Experience?¡± Alicia asked as she let off one of her new scatter shots. ¡°He means essence, farms also a gaming term from his world. He is talking about exploiting the situation,¡± Syl said as she fired off a few mana bolts. Bored, Kai constructed a particularly potent mana bolt and tossed it down into the milling kobolds. You have killed Kobold Warrior Lv. 8. You have killed Kobold Warrior Lv. 7. You have killed Kobold Warrior Lv. 11. ¡°Yes¡­ This is a first; normally you adventurers turn tail and run the moment things get hairy. Which I don¡¯t blame them for; you can¡¯t do much when you¡¯re dead.¡± Kai turned to the soldier he had spoken to at the beginning of the test and stepped up beside him. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re aware? Not just some per-programmed dungeon spawn running on a script?¡± ¡°Of course, M¡¯lord,¡± the soldier said, giving him an exaggerated wink. ¡°I figured the test wasn¡¯t just about surviving as long as we could,¡± Syl said, sounding pleased with herself. ¡°Aye, I can¡¯t say too much, else I risk effecting the other tests,¡± the soldier said as he looked down over the edge. ¡°You know, I think that might just keep them back for hours, if not days. Probably be a new record.¡± ¡°Won''t the heat from the fire eventually damage the battery, you know, shatter the stone?¡± Alicia asked as she continued taking out kobolds from the new elevated position. ¡°Nah, Lady Syl buried the battery pretty good; it should be quite well insulated. Good strategy that, even if the kobolds got past you, it would take them some time for them to dig it out.¡± Kai looked around their new position, and seeing plenty of trees to work with, he checked his storage to find he still had just over thirty trees left to work with. ¡°If we set up camp, I could keep dropping trees into the pyre while we continue raining down attacks; there¡¯s plenty of essence down there.¡± The soldier tutted, ¡°I am afraid the dungeon master is not a patient man; he has contingencies.¡± There was a flash of light in the distance. ¡°Yup, there goes one of the other batteries. I suggest you use your return stones before the battery below us is triggered.¡± ¡°Wait, the dungeon master is ending the test; we still haven¡¯t found our shards!¡± Kai cried, feeling cheated for once. The soldier tsked, ¡°Gave them to you at the start of the test; all you had to do was use them to get out of here, and they were yours.¡± ¡°But you only gave us two of those return stones; what about Syl?¡± The soldier just raised an eyebrow and gave him a look. Kai watched the light in the distance as it grew in intensity, the leading edge of a tidal wave racing their way. ¡°Right fine,¡± Kai said, doing his best to pull back on his frustration from not being allowed to farm the seemingly endless supply of essence below. Taking out the pendant he was given at the beginning of the test as he looked over to see Alicia doing the same. ¡°What do we do? Kai asked as he watched Alicia crush her pendant just before disappearing in a flash of light. ¡° ¡°He¡¯s a practical learner; things don''t always sink in when you first tell him something,¡± Syl informed the soldier. Kai was already squeezing his pendant; it crunched, and he found himself standing back in the room with all the archways again. The light above the archway to the far left was now glowing a dim green, whilst one of the stones above the arch just to the right now glowed a dim amber. Kai looked around to make sure everyone made it out of the dungeon room just fine. Alicia was already there by his side, examining a shard in her open palm; it disappeared the moment she looked up at him, stored safely away in his domain, using her access to his looting ability. ¡°Did you get yours? I mean, of course you did.¡± Kai opened up the hand he had just crushed the return stone in to see two of the mysterious fragments floating in his open palm. ¡°Well, unless I got an additional for being the M.V.P. or something, I''m guessing one of these is for my soulmate.¡± ¡°Oh please, Alicia was the M.V.P. She killed way more kobolds than both of us, and she had the most skill gains using Gift. You know the rain of arrows thing she kept doing? That alone kept the number of kobolds down to a manageable amount. Alicia, how close are you to level eight?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°I was almost there, was trying to get the kills I needed when the light in the distance went off... What is an M-V-P?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Most valuable player, just be glad Kai is not going around calling himself the goat.¡± Alicia tilted her head in confusion. ¡°We have goats on Alea; which, if I am not mistaken and they are the same thing you are referring to, begs the question, why would he want to be a goat?¡± ¡°Greatest of all time. I knew that one would confuse you. At least you have enough sense to ask when you are confused. Kai just gets all embarrassed and runs away,¡± Syl said as she gave him a suggestive wink. ¡°I¡¯m not confused,¡± Kai grumbled as he stored the two mysterious shards and looked over to the archway back to the common area longingly, doing his best not to bolt from Syl''s incoming attempt at seduction. Syl looked him up and down. ¡°You need a bath; you¡¯re covered in sweat, grime and kobold. You really have to work on your technique; getting your enemies all over you all the time doesn¡¯t exactly instill confidence.¡± Kai looked at himself and realised Syl was vastly understating his condition; Syl, on the other hand, despite fighting at his side for most of the battle, was pristine. A perk of not having a physical form: Alicia at least had the decency to look sweaty and worn. ¡°Guess I''ll scrub up then. Want me to make dinner when I am done?¡± ¡°No,¡± Alicia spoke up, ¡°You enjoy the tub. I know a cleaning charm is technically better, but nothing beats a good long soak from time to time.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t used a cleaning charm once; it¡¯s been sponge baths since I got in here.¡± ¡°Then you will enjoy the tub; take your time,¡± Syl said as she bit her lip just before she disappeared in a burst of fire, Alicia following her a moment later. ¡°So I take it we are going to leave this next test until tomorrow morning?¡± Kai asked the empty room. When no one replied, he moved back into the first room and opened doors until he found the bathroom. He didn''t know why, but he had been expecting some kind of small tin tub; it was probably the use of chamber pots in the bedrooms setting his standards to their lowest setting. But he was pleasantly surprised to see a nicely sized round pool of steaming hot water sunk into the floor. Kai removed his gear, stored it, and sank into the tub, pool? Jacuzzi? He actually found himself wondering if this thing had magical water jets; it obviously kept the water hot like a hot tub, and it was the right size; why wouldn''t it also have jets? Sadly, he couldn¡¯t find anything, and he would feel stupid asking the girls for assistance at this point. It might have been his imagination, but the pool was suspiciously large enough for three people at once. He couldn''t repress the sudden mental image of his two companions suddenly joining him. When he gave it some rational thought and came to the realisation that not all teams would be against sharing a good soak, especially if they were the same gender¡­ or gender wasn¡¯t really a concern. Cultures were different after all, and he shouldn¡¯t take this as the dungeon''s attempt to get him and the girls to have a good soak together. There were, after all, three different bedrooms; despite Syl not needing one, the dungeon was obviously set up to provide accommodation just large enough for the party deemed worthy of Atheos testing. Relaxing, he checked himself over. He had a few scars from the fighting, but no actual wounds anymore. Over each place he had taken a hit, there was the faint glow of pulsing blue runes, the scar tissue visibly lessening with each different rune that worked on the injury. His regeneration rings were working together to remove any trace he had been foolish enough to let one of the kobolds land their attack. He watched for a while, mesmerised by the magic healing him. Kai actually wondered if he could learn something by causing an injury and studying the runes that put him back together. When he realised that plan was a little too close to self-harm, despite the immediate self-healing, it snapped him from his thoughts, and he vowed to explore other methods of improving his regeneration before resorting to anything like that. Not at all worried about being watched, Kai relaxed and let himself float freely in the pool; they had all just spent hours fighting off massive numbers of dungeon spawns; even the mental strain would have Syl taking a break. Or so he thought until a bar of soap plopped, unrequested, into his murky bathwater. ¡°Love that you¡¯re actually relaxing, but you smell like one of those wretched loincloths,¡± Syl¡¯s voice came in from nowhere, shattering his sense of solitude. He shivered; the thought of him smelling like one of those goblins around either of the girls worried him. Heck, who was he kidding? Smelling bad around anyone was something that he actively worried about. Depression had a way of making things slip, you not noticing until it was too late; how you smelt was one of those things. Kai prayed Syl was exaggerating when he dived for the soap; surely she was jesting, oh please be jesting. He ended up giving himself a good, thorough scrub just to be safe. If Kai was being honest with himself, he didn¡¯t actually care too much if they were peeping; the water was thick with grime, and there was no way they could actually see anything. It''s not like they would want to peek on him for that reason. This wasn¡¯t some weird eighties TV show, and they weren''t teen boys, and he wasn¡¯t the busty girl next door. Syl was probably just checking in on him¡­ Although, strangely, he didn¡¯t actually mind if he was wrong¡­ Kai soaked in the tub for a good three hours; he dozed off at one point only to awaken later to find the water still pleasantly hot but also now completely clear of the muck that had seemed to slough off him in layers, revealing clear, smooth, pale skin. Looking at his fresh, scarless skin in the clear water, he realised everyone in the multiverse must have such perfect skin because the body rejuvenated itself as his condition changed when he gained stats and levelled. Getting a decent tan must be difficult, but that wasn¡¯t something he was really concerned with; he just thought it was an interesting observation. He pulled himself out of the water and got dressed with the clean clothes he found waiting for him off to the side. Once he had picked a room to sleep in for the night, he decided he would actually go in the domain and check on the girls. He appeared in the room to find Syl and Alicia on the couch in what he now thought of as their T-shirts. There was a flash of something off to the side, but he was still getting his bearings, and when he turned to see what it was, there was nothing there. Turning back slowly, he eyed the two of them carefully for their reaction before asking, ¡°Did you enjoy the show? Because if I am not mistaken, you lost all access to Earth''s media, and we only have live TV now.¡± Alicia said nothing; only her pale skin turning a pinker shade betrayed her, that and her attempt to hide behind the large pillow she was cuddling. ¡°Entertainments were limited, and we got bored waiting. We were taking bets on whether or not Alicia would need to come rescue you. She looks great in a bikini; I mean, we both do. Want to see?¡± Syl said in her all-too-familiar tease. Kai was actually fine with it; he even decided to push back more thoroughly this time and said, ¡°You know what, I don¡¯t actually mind; I think I¡¯m getting used to this new me, and I¡¯m definitely getting more and more used to this teasing of yours.¡° ¡°She is not actually teasing you,¡± Alicia said softly from behind her pillow as she uncurled slightly. Seeing an ample leg attached to an ample thigh, Kai lost all track of his push back on Syl. Syl sighed as she too relaxed on the couch, ¡°Kai, you fail to realise that this isn¡¯t a new you; this is the you you¡¯ve always been. Sure, you are a little taller, and now you have those piercing blue eyes that literally glow with intensity. But the race change just quickened the changes you went through every time you started using the system in the¡­ in the time loop.¡± Kai coughed as he looked between the both of them; feeling put on the spot, he settled on Alicia and asked, ¡°Is that true, about the changes I would go through?¡± ¡°Syl, she showed me what you were like before the system. You are¡­ you¡¯re handsome now, but you were handsome back then too. Just sad and worn down¡­¡± Handsome, he had been called it before, something he had grown used to dismissing, unsure of himself. But when he thought about it now, Syl and Alicia had no reason to lie to him, nothing to gain from padding his ego like this. Realising he actually kind of believed what they were saying, he felt a tightening in his chest; it felt good, better than good. But what was he supposed to do with the information, the feeling? He stood there feeling awkward, two beautiful women studying him like he was a nervous animal, whilst he didn¡¯t know what to do with himself. Was he standing weird now? He couldn¡¯t help but smile despite the awkwardness; Syl smiled back as Alicia also popped her head above the rim of the cushion and gave him a cute grin. It was then His stomach chose to growl, informing him and everyone else present that despite feeling good about himself for once, he also felt incredibly hungry. Embarrassed, Kai immediately looked about for a way to excuse himself; sitting on the hob was a pot of something simmering away, which was perfect. ¡°Ah, erm, I¡¯m starving. I¡¯ll pop back out if you wouldn¡¯t mind sending me something to eat. And yeah, thanks for the soap¡­ whoever that was.¡± With that, Kai left. ¡°Did you see that smile?¡± Syl practically squealed, ¡°I think the idiot let it sink in; nice work flashing your leg, by the way.¡± ¡°Flashing my what?¡± Alicia looked down to see her outstretched leg and immediately pulled it back in, tucking it in under her t-shirt. ¡°That wasn¡¯t- I mean, I did not-¡± ¡°Sure, sure. Let''s go take him what you cooked up; there is a table out there in the kitchen area, and we can talk about how things went while he fills his belly. ¡°In this night dress, this t-shirt thing?!¡± ¡°Well, we can¡¯t exactly show him the bikinis out there, though if you want to try, I¡¯m sure Kai won¡¯t mind¡­¡± Kai ate as Syl went on and on about what they could do better; it was mostly minor things related to how they could better use the party system to stay in sync or how best to use some of Alicia''s big attacks. Kai tried to pay attention, but he was tired and distracted, the two of them appearing in the same bright white T-shirts they were in while in the domain. Not wanting to draw any attention, he didn¡¯t dare ask how Alicia¡¯s was also white and not deferring back to the black it had been last time this happened. Thankfully, things didn¡¯t drag on too long when he suggested an early night and an early rise. Syl, of course, gave him an inviting look, which, admittedly, he had a hard time refusing. Shaking his head, she pouted and vanished for the night. Their morning routine went off without any hitches, and they found themselves stepping through the next archway together. Once again there was no short corridor; he just stepped into the next dungeon room. Looking around, he found himself standing in the centre of a coliseum, the stands empty, a lone man in leather armour just ahead of him. He was short, probably only about halfway through five feet. His hair was grey, long enough to be tied back. His skin is tan and leathery, a thick pointed moustache accentuating a prominent nose. And he stared at Kai with an intense, assessing look. Kai recognised something wasn¡¯t quite right; he felt strange, like a part of him was missing. Looking about, he couldn¡¯t see Syl or Alicia anywhere. With a start, he realised their status wasn¡¯t even showing on his party display; it just said [out of range] for both of them. Which should be impossible for Syl. ¡°Relax, boy, don¡¯t get your knickers all twisted. Your lady friends are being tested separately. The people that have been charged with the task will take good care of them. I promise you they will come to no harm.¡± A sword appeared in the man''s hand, and he lifted the tip to point it at Kai. ¡°You, however, I am afraid, won¡¯t be so lucky. Now, we have much to do, much to discuss, and I''m afraid the mistress has asked us not to waste our time. She is waiting for you, you know. Must have made quite the impression. We shall see if you are worthy of such attention.¡± The man slashed the air in front of him, the seemingly innocuous act sending a blast of air to wash over Kai, the pressure of the blast just enough to cause Kai to fall back a step. Planting his feet, Kai tried to examine the man whilst still pushing through the wind the man had unleashed on him. Inego Monteyo ( ??? ) The Ghostblade, Grandmaster of the Arcane Blade. ¡°Hmm, that was rude... but still if you Impress me, I will let you call me master, for if you survive my blade, you will learn much. Now, ready one of your swords, and we shall see what you are made of. Prepare to die,¡± the man, Inego, said as he took one step forward. Twirling the point of his thick moustache with his free hand, he appeared just a meter away from Kai, his sword already coming down on him in a vicious arc. System Anomaly - 25 - Embrace Kai summoned a bastard sword, only getting it up in his defence just in time to deflect the incoming attack. ¡°Slow!¡± This would be Master Inego shouted as his blade took Kai''s deflection effortlessly, the man''s blade already coming back round for another attack. Again Kai had his sword up just in time for the heavy blow to beat his defensive swing aside like it was nothing. ¡°Weak!¡± Inego yelled as he stepped into Kai¡¯s reeling attempt at a defence and slashed open the leather on his chest. Kai fell back a couple of paces to check the cut, feeling that the skin was somehow unbroken; he still pulled his hand away to see the fingertips of his glove were slick with blood. The man''s attack had been so shallow his regeneration rings barely had to do anything to heal him. ¡°Foolish,¡± Inego said as he used the expanded distance between them to bring his sword down again, the blade trailing thick wisps of flame as it descended towards him. The time Kai had taken to check his wound was used against him by the man, as he had prepared some kind of magical attack. A wave of blistering heat washed over him as Inego¡¯s attack bit into the arm Kai raised in his defence, the metal of his plate vambrace changing to a deep purple as the intense wave of heat washed over him. ¡°Inadequate,¡± Inego tsked as he stepped forward, disappearing as Kai lost track of him. Tired of being beaten back, Kai swung his blade preemptively, infusing his strike as he brought the blade down where he predicted the man would appear. His blade caught nothing but air as Inego¡¯s own ripped through him from behind in a flash of blinding pain. ¡°Better¡­¡± Kai looked down to see the man''s blade skewering him in the side. All he could think about was how surprisingly clean the tip of the sword was; shouldn¡¯t it be covered in his blood? It was a foolish thought. Kai needed to do something; he couldn¡¯t just die like this. Stepping forward on shaky feet, he lifted his sword and swung again, swinging with all his might and mana pushed into the blade in an infused strike, he roared. Inego just raised his sword to block; the moment metal met metal, Kai''s blade burst into shards, the fragments continuing past Inego¡¯s defence to bounce harmlessly off the man''s soft and wrinkled flesh. Kai collapsed to his knees, and clutching at his side, he smiled. ¡°I never stood a chance, did I?¡± Kai groaned as he looked at his glove, slick with his own blood. ¡°Pish, you were never in any danger,¡± Inego scoffed. ¡°If I wanted you dead, you would be.¡± Inego rolled his moustache between his thumb and forefinger. ¡°You seem to be underestimating the potency of those runic regeneration rings. Just one of those rings is packed with far more regenerative power than the terror of the woods had, and its regeneration was stacked such that no one your level was supposed to kill the beast. And yet you found its one weak point and blew it to pieces, didn¡¯t you?¡± Kai felt through his armour. Expecting to find broken skin, his fingers were able to reach inside himself like he had when hit with the goblin crossbow bolt. But as his fingers felt through the rent in his armour, he found nothing but the rough, bumpy texture of fresh scar tissue. ¡°And you have two of them working in sync,¡± Inego said as he reached out a hand to help Kai to his feet. ¡°Anyone else would have to get the whole damn rune set tattooed all over them just to get half of the effect you have; quite frankly, it¡¯s broken,¡± Kai took the man''s offer of assistance, groaning in anticipation of pain that never came when he was pulled up to his feet like he weighed nothing; he felt foolish. ¡°But Atheos has allowed it,¡± Inego grumbled, ¡°It¡¯s not my place to argue with one such as the mistress. But I suggest you heed this warning: forget you have those rings; never let yourself come to rely on them; it will make you weak, and it will most certainly stifle your potential. Best you keep the effects of those rings secret too, though I despise them; they could still prove pivotal should you ever be outmatched by an opponent foolish enough not to kill you outright.¡± ¡°I- Yes, I think I understand.¡± Kai said, deciding there was definitely some logic there. Inego¡¯s eyebrow rose slightly. ¡°So you can listen, but do you actually understand? How about you explain exactly what your understanding was?¡± Kai spoke without thinking, ¡°If I rely on the ring''s regeneration, I¡¯ll become sloppy.¡± Inego¡¯s stare bored deeper into him. ¡°Never developing my swordsmanship beyond mindlessly attacking¡­ ignoring my defence in lieu of regeneration?¡± Kai asked rhetorically, forming his answer as he spoke, ¡°You knocked my attempts to block aside like they were nothing, even using the opening to slip inside and attack¡­ I¡¯m clearly lacking.¡± ¡°And yet, you didn¡¯t fall. I had you dead to rights. My blade was run through your kidney, a fatal wound on anyone else your level. But you did not give up; you charged your blade with as much mana as your channels would allow and struck back with all your body could give,¡± Inego grinned, dismissing his blade in a flourish. ¡°That actually impressed me, boy. Not many manage to do that; sure, most everyone fights to live; they beg, they plead, they run, but few fight back when it has been made clear they stand no chance. That is the mark of a true survivor.¡± ¡°I live to impress,¡± Kai said as he looked down at the hilt of his ruined bastard sword. Inego nodded, ¡°Yes, I will indeed let you call me master¡­ Though I think the woman you¡¯ll meet next will probably try to claim you too, you''re full of magical potential. Luckily those two ladies you got with you seem pretty keen; that should hopefully buffer you from her feminine charms.¡± Concerned there was going to be another temptress in his near future, Kai coughed, ¡°One of those ladies has a master¡­ You''ll have to forgive me if I¡¯m not so eager to give a man I just met such honours. Especially one who is just a dungeon copy.¡± Inego''s eyebrow rose questioningly as his moustache twitched in annoyance. ¡°I mean, what would the real you think if I showed up randomly one day calling him master? Would he accept it or strike me down for impudence?¡± Kai elaborated, hoping he wouldn¡¯t get run through again. ¡°Hmm, you have a point.¡± Inego looked off to the side. ¡°I do not know what the real me has achieved since I was created here. I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m still alive. But yes¡­ I can see how showing up before what I would hope by now is something like the god of arcane blades door proclaiming some kind of relationship might be problematic. Especially with some of my more competitive followers and sycophants, they like to cut out the competition¡­.¡± He gave Kai a long look before eventually blowing a puff of air through his moustache, ¡°You may call me Inego until you are satisfied I am worthy.¡± Kai nodded, smiling at the first and possibly only victory he would have in this test. ¡°Do you know why your blade shattered with that last strike?¡± Inego suddenly asked. ¡°Too much mana for the material to handle,¡± Kai said; he had already thought about this and was still feeling the sting of breaking three of his swords just the day before. ¡°Yes, and no. If you learnt to perfect your mana control, you should be able to infuse the blade with just enough mana that, if held at the right frequency, your attacks would be amplified whilst also improving the integrity of the sword far beyond its mundane properties.¡± Kai nodded; he had just learnt the skill-infused strike, and he had only just begun his experimentation. In the fight against the kobolds, he had opted for power over finesse, as one was easy and the other took time he didn¡¯t have at the time to perfect. ¡°However, despite this being possible, it is not something I would actually recommend.¡± ¡°Really? I would assume being able to empower your weapon''s properties would be crucial.¡± ¡°You would be wasting your time. Please, bring out your favourite sword.¡± Kai did as he was asked, bringing out his chipped and pitted longsword. ¡°If you wanted to make a sword of this level truly shine, you would have to learn everything about this blade, how your mana flows through it, how every molecule of iron and carbon is affected by it¡­ Do you know what molecules are?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kai said, surprised to hear someone refer to something he didn¡¯t expect in his new, more magical world. ¡°Good. What you need to realise is every time you block, deflect or parry, you will have to adjust the mana infused in the blade to compensate for the minute changes in the material caused by the impacts. When channelling the amount of mana you would need to compete with those above your level as you have been known to do, one mistake would cause fractures and flaws,¡± Inego said as he tapped a particularly bad pore that pitted the edge of the longsword. ¡°And with each mistake, each attack, I would have to adjust. Something that I''m guessing is beyond me at my current level of skill.¡± ¡°Boy, it¡¯s beyond everyone; only a chronomancer would find the time to make such adjustments in the middle of a fight. Sure, a superior weapon is made to compensate. The better materials and improved crafting techniques are able to handle higher levels of energy without ruining the weapon''s characteristics when you find yourself in a bind and need to push the weapon that little bit more just to survive.¡± ¡°So what should I do?¡± Kai asked, getting the feeling Inego was leading him somewhere. ¡°If you want to continue fighting like you have been, then I suggest you find a beautiful weapon like the bow the el¡¯vie girl has. That thing makes your stupid rings look like trinkets. How three children took a bow and a growth stone and made a true soul weapon, I will never know¡­¡± Inego trailed off, clearly fishing for an answer from Kai. ¡°We used the growth stone on a bow from my world¡­ Whilst in my domain. It started sucking in materials like mad, so I decided to help it; once I ran out of real bows to feed the process, I may have used bows conjured from the domain itself.¡± Kai answered nonchalantly. From what Syl had said, there was no way for this man to communicate any of their secrets outside, so there should be no harm in him knowing what they did. There was a rumble in the distance, the sand below his feet shifting as the coliseum began to shake around them. Inego¡¯s moustache twitching violently. Despite the man''s twitching facial hair, Inego seemed set to ignore the shaking altogether. At least until he let out a forced cough, and as if his cough were a command, the sand settled and the shaking stopped as he said, ¡°Yes, I do believe¡­ that would do it. though it should have been impossible for someone below level five.¡± The man looked off to the side for a moment before looking back to Kai. ¡°You don¡¯t actually realise what you did, do you? Giving up a part of yourself like that at your level of development could, no, it should have crippled you.¡± Inego said as he started walking, circling around Kai, giving him a good look up and down, occasionally reaching out to poke and prod him, mumbling to himself. ¡°Just how old are you, boy?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Got caught up in a time loop, told my souls around a thousand years, give or take.¡± Inego stopped in front of him, a slight smirk cocked on his face. ¡°You should know, you unlocked many things that were hidden away within that growth stone the mistress gave her. You see, Atheos is a renowned archer within the multiverse; amongst the gods, she is considered peerless. Assuming the girl would use the stone on a bow, my mistress hid many skills and abilities within that stone, even things most would consider divine... And the three of you somehow managed to break down and weaken some of the protections that had been put in place,¡± Inego said as he shook his head. ¡°Is that why Gift was able to do those things, the scattershot and the rain of arrows?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ my associate who deals with egos, the one tasked with your companion''s testing, is both impressed and terrified. They have asked me to deliver a message, a warning. That bow is beautiful but dangerous. It has potential you cannot fathom. Where you are a child, it is an impressionable embryo. Make sure it is cared for for the life it truly is.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s so dangerous, why are you recommending I find a weapon just like it? From what you¡¯re saying, if I got my hands on a growth stone and did the same thing, I would achieve similar results, another living ego weapon at the minimum.¡± Inego waved his hand, dismissing Kai¡¯s words. He said, ¡°I made no such recommendation. I was merely about to point out that if you wanted to continue fighting the way you were, a growth sword would be the best way to do it. Its connection to you, your soul, would simplify learning the ins and outs of the blade. You would know just the right amount of mana to get the most out of each attack on an almost instinctual level once you fully adjusted to the item.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re saying that¡¯s not your recommendation.¡± ¡°Yes, I am. You see It would limit you to just that sword and all its quirks¡­ You know I have watched the dungeon records. I asked for the right to perform your trial because I saw you standing on the cusp of something most do not attempt or even cannot... Do you know what it was?¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Kai tried to think. Waiting on his answer Inego¡¯s eyes seemed to bore into Kai as he stared down his nose and past his impressive moustache. ¡°Using an arsenal of weapons?¡± Kai suggested. Inego scoffed and rolled his eyes. ¡°Boy, there are thousands upon thousands of weapon masters in the multiverse; they¡¯re anything but special. Anyone can build up a collection of fancy weapons and learn to wield them if they live long enough. The problem is they all fall for the first issue you face right now; they''re never able to make their weapons shine without breaking them and moving on to the next.¡± Kai thought for another moment, trying to think what Inego was reaching for when he said he was on the cusp of something. ¡°Boy, you almost did it when you barreled into the two goblins on the first floor. And Atheos just gave you a skill that would facilitate it. You tried it a few times but gave up when the results weren¡¯t robust enough for real combat.¡± To Kai, it sounded like the times he had tried something other than real steel. Hoping he was right, he held Inego¡¯s gaze, dismissed his battered longsword, and then, using some of his rapidly regenerating mana, he conjured another in its place. Inego eyed the blade made of mana and smiled as the weapon started to vibrate in Kai¡¯s grip. Kai was doing his best to keep the image of the sword perfect and intact, but the other man''s scrutiny alone seemed to fight against his ability to maintain it. ¡°Yes¡­ this is the cusp I was speaking of. Now, tell me, how many times do you think you could use this fake longsword in a fight? How many times do you think you could strike out against me?¡± ¡°Just the one¡­¡± Kai admitted it. Inego bowed flamboyantly, exposing the back of his neck in the flourish, ¡°If you please, strike me, give it your all.¡± Kai didn¡¯t have to be told twice; he knew the blade couldn¡¯t harm the higher-level man who clearly thought divinity was within his reach; that and his conjurations were crap. Just as he predicted, the conjured blade shattered into shards of condensed mana the moment it connected with the back of Inego¡¯s exposed neck. The old man didn''t even give Kais the courtesy of flinching. He simply rose from his bow and asked, ¡°Do you know why your conjured weapons all break so easily?¡± ¡°I think it''s a combination of things: poor control, not enough mana or that the image I have of the weapon is lacking.¡± Inego nodded along. ¡°That and I haven¡¯t had time to practice. I know it¡¯s possible to make something that will stand up. Syl makes stuff in our domain all the time, and it''s indistinguishable from the real thing.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Inego looked uneasy. ¡°Try not to confuse domain conjuration with mana conjuration. They work on similar principles, but when one is in their domain, their willpower alone can overcome almost any issue. I bet you haven¡¯t seen your lady display any similar skill with conjuration outside.¡± Now that Inego had mentioned it, Syl hadn¡¯t used mana conjuration outside once, at least so far as he knew. It wasn¡¯t like he watched her every move, but considering she had to cast her spells through him, it was almost impossible she snuck a conjuration past him. He shook his head. ¡°Okay, conjure another sword and I will explain why they are no better than toys.¡± Kai did as he was asked. The moment the sword was fully formed, the old man just reached out and pinched the blade between his thumb and forefinger; twisting it like it was his facial hair, the sword shattered. ¡°Your conjurations fail so easily for the same reason your current collection of steel cannot keep up with your infusions. You lack a thorough understanding of what it is you are conjuring; you really should be starting with something much smaller, not something so complicated as a sword. Sure, on the outside what you make looks like a sword; it even feels like one. But the problem is the inside is an unstructured mess. The atomic structure is missing; it lacks the structure a smith would impart on the material as they took raw materials and forged them into a weapon worth wielding.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re suggesting what, I learn material sciences or take up smithing?¡± Kai asked cautiously, already knowing that what he said didn¡¯t seem right. It would take him years, possibly decades, to achieve the level of knowledge Inego was implying he needed to conjure a half-decent sword. ¡°Gods no,¡± Inego scoffed as he held out his hand, mana visibly condensing into a beautiful black-bladed sword. ¡°This is Brightsteel, or at least this is a conjuration of Brightsteel. After I reached the fourth tier, my amplified power proved to be just a bit too much; I destroyed the real Brightsteel. To this day it is the only sword I can reconstruct to a degree I find acceptable. And that is only because Brightsteel was a sword I was intimately familiar with after using it almost nonstop for roughly two hundred years.¡± ¡°Brightsteel?¡± Kai asked, ¡°You do know it¡¯s black?¡± ¡°Yes, it confused my enemies too,¡± Inego chuckled as he dismissed the blade; the mana that made up the blade broke apart into motes of light that hung in the air. ¡°Conjuring a sword, or any weapon for that matter, from mana is a common mistake. One I wish someone had done me the decency of telling me to avoid. Why use your mana to make a sword to cut something when you can simply use the mana itself to a greater effect?¡± The mana that had remained floating around Inego re-condensed as his open hand closed around the hilt of a grey-ghostly, phantom copy of Brightsteel. ¡°This is so much easier.¡± Kai watched as the man ran the vaporous blade silently through the air, sweeping it in beautiful arcs that trailed grey wisps, the movements both powerful and mesmerising. Finishing his kata, Inago slashed the blade down to his side in a snap; the final swipe swept a flash of light that shot out across the arena to impact the empty stands. With a crash, a whole tier of seats came crashing down in the distance. ¡°This blade of mana is not trying to be anything other than what it is. Because of that, it is everything I need to be. A conduit for my skills and abilities, a means to express my swordsmanship, a way to attack and defend. A tool to strike who a want and-¡± Faster than Kai could react, Inego swept the blade up and out, slicing through his throat. Kai leapt back too late, Inegos''s blade taking his vitals before he knew what was happening. Panicked, clutching at his throat hoping his runic rings would save him, he realised he felt nothing. The attack passed through him but did no damage. Kai pulled his hands away to see only dry, crusty blood marring the leather. Looking up at Inego, he dismissed his weapon and continued his sentence, "Glide harmlessly through those you wish no harm.¡± ¡°Ghostblade?¡± Kai asked after he found his voice. Inego¡¯s moustache twitched in obvious annoyance. ¡°That is but a nickname I have learnt to bear, though I admit it comes from my use of this technique as my main weapon; it is by no means its name.¡± ¡°So¡­ what is it called then?¡± Inego sighed. ¡°It has many names. Some call it a mana or shard blade, others a soul sword. The problem is the system''s not picky with this one, as technically it¡¯s just pure mana control. I mean, technically, there are spells and enchantments that have similar results. But as any true aficionado will tell you, what I do is superior. True, mastering it takes a lot of mana and even more control. In the end, I guess you may call it whatever makes you happy. All that concerns me now is if you have what it takes to learn the fundamentals in¡­¡± Inego looked off to the side. ¡°Three¡­ maybe four hours, if we are lucky.¡± Kai rubbed at his throat and nodded, ¡°So, where do we begin¡­ Master?¡± Achievement unlocked. Divine Shadows Apprentice. The shadow of a divine has taken you under their wing. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Kai wasn¡¯t expecting another achievement. ¡°I recognise that look; what happened?¡± ¡°I just got an achievement called divine apprentice. You didn''t tell me you were a god.¡± ¡°I''m not, or at least I wasn''t when my image was taken. Good to know I''m still around out there. I wonder if the system will notify the real me. Should have been an apprentice title, but I guess you''re not the real me¡¯s apprentice.¡± Kai shrugged; he had no clue. Inego grinned, his eyes flashing with personal pride as he pinched the point of his moustache, ¡°Well then, I best make sure i don¡¯t embarrass my divine self. Bring out that hilt you had from the sword you broke; I don¡¯t recommend trying to wield raw mana before you are ready.¡± Inego had him working on what he considered the basic principles for a good hour. Only when Kai had finally managed to make something that didn¡¯t chew through his mana did Inego let him move on. The man took perverse pleasure in another hour of shattering his blade with one of his own, each time making sure Kai could feel the mistake, his cuts only ever skin deep. When Kai eventually had something that could take the ruthless old man''s onslaught for more than a minute or two, they worked on turning Kai''s magical stick, as Inego put it, into something that could cut, slash and pierce, instead of just bashing. Much to Inego¡¯s amusement, Kai had made the mistake of expecting light-sabre-like qualities from the new phantom blade he was learning to wield. Kai had described the weapon from popular fiction, and the old man had just laughed at him. Apparently unless he had some inane source of power, Kai would have to use equally insane amounts of mana just to maintain a hot enough blade that could burn through things instead of just cutting them. Never mind him trying to control the rampant plasma, or more importantly, using the thing as a conduit for spells, skills and other abilities. This meant Kai still had to spend some time working on the image of his blade, slimming it down, thinning it out and giving it a fine edge. Fortunately, after so many attempts at conjuring a decent sword, it was easy, especially now that he wasn¡¯t trying to force the mana into imitating high-carbon steel anymore. In the end, after shattering his already pitiful longsword for its hilt, Kai had two workable phantom blades he could call up and use at any one time so long as he kept a suitable amount of his mana set aside. Their time growing short, Inego lectured, ¡°You will find as you refine your control and learn to finesse just the right amount and frequency of mana into the blade, you¡¯ll be able to cut through almost anything. Though for now, even steel will still prove to be obstinate, though it will be significantly marred by such a blade as you can currently wield. Skills, tools, weapons and armour all have a way of progressing in the multiverse. So you will find yourself in a constant arms race, always needing to improve. When you start slicing through steel like it¡¯s tissue paper, don¡¯t be surprised when you find your next opponent has a weapon, armour or skill that somehow rebuffs your recent improvements. Unless, of course, you can get ahead of the curve and stay there.¡± Kai listened intently. ¡°You will be constantly refining this ability; don¡¯t be afraid to experiment with aspects or other skills you possess. For example, I like attaching invisible barriers that catch and hold an opponent''s weapon, opening them up to other attacks. And remember, your infused strike is not an enchantment; it is an attack. Try pulsing the skill with mana the moment you connect with your target; the same amount of mana used to maintain an effect can be used to do more damage if it is instead used in a burst at the right time. Kai nodded as he remembered an earlier demonstration that tore through his plate vambrace, nearly taking off his left arm. Inego must have noticed Kai as he subconsciously rubbed at the now useless piece of armour. ¡°Yes¡­ Find a good smith and get some better armour, or learn some kind of passive mage armour skill¡­ actually do both. Remember, it is always good to have contingencies and backups. And for God''s sake, stop stashing everything; get yourself a bag or something to hide the fact you have such an insane storage method. You may think it''s inconvenient or even looks stupid when you can draw anything out of your storage with a thought. But a man with a possible storage device will always be an inviting target,¡± Inego said as he twirled the point of his moustache. ¡°Those hilts, keep them out and don¡¯t worry too much about hiding them. Make people think they¡¯re some dungeon item. Let any would-be foes think that they can disarm you. We both know they don¡¯t do much more than help you anchor the mana and protect you from melting your fingers off. No harm in letting your enemies misconceptions grow only to come back and bite them when they least expect it.¡± Inego¡¯s hand flashed out and grabbed one of the sword hilts from where Kai had stuffed it under his belt. He rolled it over and tapped it against his open palm, the hilt rattling with each tap. He tsked, ¡°You should get some good materials, stuff that takes enchantment well, good mana tolerance, flow, and capacity, like orichalcum, mithril or,¡± he chuckled, ¡°some unobtainium¡­ Have a smith you trust make something that¡¯s more fit to carry around. Something that looks like anyone could use if only they knew how. What else¡­¡± Inego said, searching for pearls of wisdom he could impart in their waning time together. ¡°Don¡¯t rely on items, only on my skill. Practice my control daily. And then there is the dungeon master-¡° Inego snapped his fingers. ¡°Do not, I repeat, do not trust him. He did not enter the dungeon under the same condition as everyone else. The bitter blue dragon is a merchant through and through, and he will try to cheat you. It''s his job; he takes pride in coming out on top. Don¡¯t be afraid to take advantage of him when you get the chance, and I mean the first chance you get-¡° Inego cut himself off with a quick look off to his side. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too much¡­ Okay, maybe¡­ Just give me five more minutes,¡± Inego grumbled into his moustache. ¡°Is it time already?¡± ¡°Yes, apparently it is. Oh, find some way to turn off or hide those blasted eyes of yours; it¡¯s bad enough you have a chiselled face. All anyone has to do to put a target on your back is say, Stab the guy with the distinct and easy-to-see blue glowing eyes, and every assassin worth their salt will know who to kill.¡± Inego¡¯s eyes flashed off to the side again, and his moustache twitched in frustration. ¡°My associate is finished with your lady friend; apparently, you have to be put out together. How did you manage to get attached to such a fine woman? I¡­ no time. Find a way to contact me; we have only just begun to cover the finer points of what someone with your raw potential can do.¡± Inego said. Their time over, Inego let out a long sigh as he held out a mysterious shard for Kai to take. ¡°I''ll do what I can, master; no idea how long it will take, but I''ll do my best.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I ask¡­ Though I make no promises as to my divine self, I¡¯ve seen power corrupt plenty. And be careful of Kain; she has already claimed your next trial. She¡¯s a mean, sexy, frustrating piece of work, but the one thing she isn''t is malicious.¡± Reaching out to take the shard Kai nodded. The moment his hand wrapped around the shard, he found himself back in the room with all the archways. ¡°What happened to you!?¡± Syl cried, floating over to him in alarm the moment he felt things settle. He turned to see Syl fussing over him with wide eyes and red, puffy, tear-streaked cheeks. ¡°Never mind me; you¡¯ve been crying. What happened to you?¡± Syl backed up a bit at his question. She licked her lips, about to say something, when Alicia stepped in through the archway and said, ¡°By the spirits, Kai, your armour is in tatters and you''re covered in blood. Is that your blood?¡± Distracted Kai looked down at his crusted armour and winced; he hadn¡¯t realised just how many times his mana weapon had failed him, and Inego gently encouraged him to do better. After a while, with his runic rings regenerating his flesh, he had actually started dismissing the injuries as nothing more than scratches. ¡°Forget about me; I always look like shit.¡± He gestured over to Syl as she tried to drift silently away. ¡°Syl¡¯s the one who¡¯s been crying.¡± Alicia didn¡¯t miss a beat as she crossed the room in a dash and was trying to get Syl to look at her. Syl groaned as she backed further away from the unwanted attention, rubbing at the tear marks to hide the evidence of her tears, only to make her puffy eyes angrier. ¡°What happened, Syl?¡± Kai asked again, unable to hide his concern. To his surprise, Alicia spun on him, giving him a look that told him to be quiet and watch his words as she shook her head. An awkward silence filled the room as Kai didn¡¯t know what to do or say; he felt useless as he looked over to his two party members, who seemed to be having their own silent exchange. Thankfully Syl eventually spoke up, ¡°I was told, no¡­ I was all but ordered to get the next test done today.¡± She paused just to let out a frustrated breath, her fist clenched at her side as she continued, ¡°We should have something to eat, and Kai, you should get yourself cleaned up and changed into another set of armour before we move on. That is, if everyone has no problem doing the next test today?¡± Kai spoke carefully, ¡°I¡¯m good if Alicia is. My test was more training than anything else.¡± Despite Alicia¡¯s look, he still couldn''t help his concern, and he asked, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Syl¡¯s fist tightened, but she smiled at him softly. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine; I just need to¡­ decompress. Kain was¡­ demanding. And bitter.¡± ¡°Did you say Kain?¡± Syl nodded. ¡°I was just warned about her, apparently the next time I walk through that arch,¡± Kai pointed over his shoulder to the archway that had a fresh green light, ¡°she will be the one I encounter. Inego called her a mean piece of work.¡± Syl''s knuckles turned white as her fist shook. ¡°Kai¡­ Kain a Kyrilic; it¡¯s a race with powerful psychic abilities. She got inside my head, found what made me me. Despite my mental defences, all my hopes, dreams, fears and weaknesses were all laid bare before her. Kai, she¡­¡± Tears threatened in Syl''s eyes. ¡°She found my worst fear and pushed, and pushed, and pushed until it nearly broke me.¡± Kai stepped forward; he wanted to take her in, hold her in his arms, and tell her she was okay. As he got close, he realised where they were, that he couldn¡¯t do what he needed to do. ¡°Domain now,¡± Kai said as he reached inside himself without waiting for a confirmation. He appeared in their living room, Syl appearing before him a moment later, confusion writ large on her face; he took her in his arms, pulling her into a tight embrace. Syl broke, weeping. Touching his lips gently to the top of her head, he gave her a soft, gentle, reasoning kiss. Syl pulled back, looking at him in confusion as she fought to stop her tears. Cautiously, she came in closer. Kai could feel her breath on his lips as her eyes begged him not to run away. Her heart thumped in her chest, beating against his embrace; his own raced to match her cadence. His heart racing, he realised they were alone; he hadn¡¯t brought Alicia in with him, and Syl hadn¡¯t had the chance to pull her in after her. Syl closed her eyes. This was it, what she needed. What he needed. Kai closed his eyes, and for once he let all his fears go. His lips met hers. Soft, sweet and salty, Syl pressed in, and a moment turned into a craving. Breaking for just a breath, he heard Alicia squeak from somewhere. Embarrassment fought for control, but the moment he tried to turn his head, Syl groaned and held him tighter, not willing to let him go. Her lips moved, devouring every last trace of embarrassment as he sank under her spell. Not caring they had an audience in the slightest, he shifted his hold on her and lifted her up into his embrace. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think; I tried looting myself¡­ it worked.¡± She whispered from somewhere that seemed oh so far away. ¡°Oh spirits, ill be outside with Gift.¡± System Anomaly - 26 - Spoon Things had eventually settled down, the three of them sitting at the table in the kitchen, Syl sitting so close to Kai she might as well have just crawled into his lap. ¡°Are you sure about running this next test? We don''t even know what it will be," Kai still wasn''t completly onboard with the idea. He had a feeling things would be okay, but he still worried about Syl''s mental state. Sensing his lingering concerns, Syl leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips; he couldn''t get past how soft her lips were. ¡°You¡¯ve done your part already, but I have to do this. I need to show that woman just how wrong she was.¡± ¡°My part?¡± Kai asked in confusion; he was having a hard time thinking straight. Whenever he tried to focus, he found himself staring at Syl''s soft pink lips. He shook himself, focusing on Syl''s clear cyan eyes. However, that wasn¡¯t much better than staring at her lips. Syl, for her part, had seemed to recover; the insecurity and fear that had gripped her had all but vanished with that first real kiss between them. He caught her a longing look; then, shaking herself, she turned to Alicia. ¡°What about you? I was an emotional wreck; Kai was cut to ribbons. What was your experience in that last test?¡± Alicia was sitting across the table from both of them, eyes wide and grinning like a schoolgirl reading her romantic novel. She had spent the last ten minutes with her head on a swivel, only squeaking when either of them broke and chanced another quick kiss. ¡°Alicia?¡± She blinked, her ears twitching as she too had to snap herself out of the mental fugue that had taken over their little group. ¡°A sweet old lady, she was an expert in items with egos, especially those like Gift,¡± Alicia lifted her left hand to show a black pearlescent organic mesh that intricately wrapped around the inside of her palm, fingers and thumb. ¡°Is that Gift?¡± Kai asked as he leaned over the table for a closer look. Alicia nodded enthusiastically, ¡°Once she tested me and was happy, I didn¡¯t see Gift as a tool to be used, abused, controlled or even forced into submission; she taught us both so much.¡± ¡°So that on your hand is actually Gift?¡± Syl said as she too couldn¡¯t help but lean in to get a better look. ¡°Yes, he is sleeping right now. The training we went through took a lot out of him. But the moment there is a threat, I''m sure he will wake up. He is a little too eager to prove himself¡­¡±Alicia said happily, before whispering to herself, ¡°Kind of like me.¡± ¡°So gift is a he?¡± Kai asked, glad to have another guy in the group. ¡°Well, no, not really; items technically do not have genders. But he looks up to you, Kai, so that is what he decided on.¡± Syl chuckled; everyone ¡°Everyone looks up to Kai; he¡¯s too tall. I preferred it when you were a little shorter; it would have been easier.¡± ¡°What would have been easier?¡± Kai asked, confused yet again. Alicia let out a contented sigh, ¡°The kiss¡­ Syl was on the tips of her toes for most of it.¡± Kai glanced at Syl. She grinned, whilst he fought back a fresh wave of embarrassment over such a public display of affection. ¡°I suppose I just need to add taller heels to my attire. But I''m sure Kai will learn to bend his knees. Alicia¡¯s much shorter; can you imagine when you two get to that stage?¡± Kai felt hotter, his face now burning in embarrassment. Sinking his face into his hands, Kai moved the conversation on, ¡°Inego was kind of like that, like the sweet old lady¡­ One minute he¡¯s running his sword through my kidney in some kind of test of my abilities, then the next he was all fatherly, trying to impart all the wisdom he could.¡± Syl tapped her fingernails against, her frustration clear. ¡°Kain wasn¡¯t like that, not at all; from beginning to end I wasn¡¯t good enough, would never be good enough. Every time I thought I succeeded in what she asked of me, she beat me back down and told me I had to do better if I wanted¡­¡± She paused to take a long look at Kai, carefully finding her words. ¡°She said I was unworthy, that I would never be worthy no matter how hard I tried¡­¡± ¡°No¡­ she didn¡¯t?¡± Alicia hissed. Apparently Alicia had picked up on something Syl would or could not bring herself to say, as Syl answered Alicia''s question with a scowl and an angry nod. Feeling clueless, Kai leaned over, squeezing Syl''s hand; he kissed her brow. ¡°The Syl I know can do anything; just look about you. You have me, Alicia, and this home. You did all that; I''m just your support. If anything, I''m the one who is unworthy.¡± Alicia groaned, ¡°How does he do that?¡± ¡°How do I do what?¡± Syl just patted him on the cheek as she smiled at him. ¡°It is like watching a blind orruk. Big, soft and cuddly, but also not too bright. Yet somehow you always stumble down to the nearest watering hole just in time to get the last drink. Despite having no clue how it got there!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know if I like being the watering hole, definitely not the last drink when you¡¯re around.¡± Alicia''s eyes flashed to Kai before fixing on the table, mumbling, ¡°If we are doing this next test, I should get started on something for us to eat.¡± Kai coughed, ¡°Yes, erm,¡± he wasn¡¯t so oblivious that he didn¡¯t pick up on the implications of that last metaphor, ¡°I¡¯ll hop out and sort out my gear.¡± ¡°Before you go anywhere, don¡¯t you think you might be forgetting something?¡± Syl said, touching a finger to her lips. Alicia giggled. At around one in the afternoon on the system clock, the three of them stood before the third arch, looking into its shadows. ¡°And you¡¯re sure we have time?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Kain told me if I used the skills she was teaching me, it would be trivial. She hinted I wasn¡¯t ready, but we are going to prove her wrong.¡± Alicia flicked her left hand, Gift shifting from wrapping around her palm and fingers to grow back into a bow, the transformation taking only seconds. ¡°We are ready.¡± Impressed by the magical transformation Kai asked, ¡°Why the change? I mean, why wear him? Didn¡¯t you just store him before?¡± ¡°I can still do that, but like any other growth item, storing gift places him somewhere within my soul, with my cores. I don¡¯t have a domain yet, so it isolates him, forcing him into a kind of stasis. This is much better.¡± Alicia said as Gift chimed. ¡°This way he can observe, learn and grow.¡± Syl floated to stand just in front of the arch. ¡°Kai, my handsome meat suit, we¡¯re waiting on you.¡± Kai flexed, rotating his shoulder as he tested the fit of his new set of armour. With blood, sweat and grime, he had just about worn in the last set, so much so that it was beginning to feel like a second skin to him. Now almost everything he had equipped was new and needed breaking in again. His fresh set of armour was almost exactly the same as it was before, only missing all the scuffs, rends, and cuts he had accumulated over the last couple of days. All the new pieces were coming from the duplicated sets he had from what he had been given as part of a tutorial package. The only thing he was missing was the left vambraces Inego had ruined; the plate piece of armour now replaced with a leather one. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He would have to be careful he didn¡¯t go blocking any attacks with his left forearm thinking he still had the added protection of steel. ¡°We need to think about upgrading your armour if you are going to stay on the front line. I don¡¯t think any of the armour from Bob¡¯s package is going to stand up much longer, especially if we keep taking on higher-level threats.¡± Syl said as she gave him a once-over before they committed to passing through the arch. ¡°My armour was actually doing okay until that old man decided a quick flick with his blade was a good way to provide the needed motivation in the limited time we had. It¡¯s my stash of weapons that has really begun to fall behind, though that shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem anymore.¡± ¡°Yeah, we noticed the broken hilts¡­¡± Syl said, giving him a questioning look. He pulled the longer longsword hilt from his belt, holding it down and to the side; he called upon the mana he needed, pulling it through his channels as fast as his flow would allow without causing undue injury; he anchored it to the broken hilt as he built his blue-glowing, phantom blade. ¡°Oh gods, we¡¯re doomed; you¡¯ve only gone and figured out laser swords. That litigious mouse might just come for us if any lawyers manage to survive the tutorial,¡± Syl joked. Kai lifted the blade, pointing the faint blue tip at Syl; he grinned, ¡°This is way better than any laser sword.¡± ¡°Kai, it¡¯s a glowing sword you just made appear by pulling out a hilt,¡± Syl said as she tapped the point of the vorpal blade with her finger; it flashed purple, and she jumped back in surprise. ¡°Fuck! That hurt; that thing actually cut my astral projection!¡± His control slipped, the mana making up the blade scattering before Kai could draw it back in. Concerned about taking control, he stepped over to Syl in a flash. ¡°Are you okay? I didn¡¯t mean- I didn¡¯t even intend- I didn¡¯t think that it could harm you.¡± Alicia was right there with him. Both of them inspected Syl''s hand as she held it out, rotating it back and forth; everything seemed fine apart from the tip of her finger, which was fuzzy and distorted. ¡°Relax, you two, no lasting damage, just gave me a shock¡­¡± Syl reassured them. ¡°Kai, what else can that thing do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a sword made from mana, so everything a sword can do, but also tied to my willpower and intent¡­ We only talked about being able to use skills and abilities, and eventually, as my control grows, I can expect to slice through almost anything. But Inego did say I had a lot more to learn.¡± Syl shook her hand vigorously a couple of times, eventually stopping to show a perfectly normal, fully restored finger. She sighed, ¡°You got a cool new sword technique, which will only get better with practice, and Alicia has Gift that will continue to grow as she does. When do you guys think I''ll get something, and I mean something good, not just skills and a mental flogging?¡± ¡°You finally got Kai.¡± Alicia said enthusiastically. Syl snorted, ¡°I¡¯m sharing him, so that doesn¡¯t count.¡± ¡°Right, so everyone¡¯s ready; let¡¯s get going.¡± Kai said, not at all liking the direction their conversations always seemed to come to. ¡°Yeah,¡± Syl pouted, ¡°I guess it is about time I show you what I got for my troubles. It¡¯s not as flashy as that sword or making Gift shrink down into a fancy glove. And I hate to admit it; it was worth learning sooner than later.¡± Kai stepped into the arch, ¡°See you both on the other side.¡± If they kept talking, they would be standing there all afternoon. He found himself standing in a small, round, open-top room with only one exit. Syl was floating to his left while Alicia stood with Gift at the ready to his right. Looking down the only exit from where they had been placed, he saw the path split and diverge at irregular intervals. He groaned, ¡°It''s a maze; this could take hours.¡± ¡°Not if I exploit what I just learnt; be right back,¡± Syl said as her full form disappeared and an orange ball of spiritual fire shot up high into the sky. Kai looked about; the walls were solid sheets of an off-white marble-like material, with no visible bricks or lines or mortar. The perfectly smooth surface would be impossible to climb. A bright blue sky drifted by high overhead, so high that from where they stood, Kai guessed the walls reached up to be a good six or seven stories above him. He hopped where he stood; it was no good, even with his greatly enhanced stats making him reach what, quite frankly, was a stupid height for just a hop; there would be no way for them to even attempt jumping a wall. Although, he thought, the walls ahead of them were closer together than they were in the little starting room. Maybe he could wall hop from one to another. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Alicia said as she looked at him, bemusement writ large in the smirk she had cocked to the side of her mouth. ¡°Thinking of ways to make this easier, like hopping from that wall,¡± Kai pointed to one wall in the corridor ahead, then to the other, ¡°and back again until we got high enough to either get over a wall or move along the top of the maze.¡± Alicia giggled and shook her head. ¡°Do you really think that has not been accounted for? ¡°She is right,¡± Syl said through the party chat, ¡°about halfway up here I encountered a barrier. Only just managed to phase through it. I think this place is only open to let light scatter down to your level; that, and it adds two separate time limits to the test¡­ Prepare yourselves; I''m going to share my sense of sight so you can see what we are dealing with.¡± Kai felt a pressure behind his eyes; the moment he acknowledged it, he was overcome with sudden, unexpected vertigo as his vision shifted from where he was to somewhere far above. ¡°Oh spirits. Syl, can you keep your eyes on one thing at a time? This is disorienting with you looking this way and then that,¡± Alicia complained. Kai agreed with the sentiment as his mind and body couldn¡¯t agree on what was happening. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll pick a focal point and hold it,¡± Syl said as things settled down. ¡°Ok, luckily we''re not dealing with some infinite labyrinth. Unfortunately, it''s constantly shifting, so there is no real point in us memorising the layout from up here.¡± Kai agreed with the assessment as he watched several walls shift all at once, others disappear and one whole section rotate and merge seamlessly back into the maze''s structure. ¡°Could we not wait, see if there is a pattern?¡± Alicia suggested. ¡°No, I¡¯m shifting my vision¡­¡± There was a whirl of shapes and colours until they were looking more up than they were down. ¡°You see the position of the two suns? At my best guess, we have maybe five hours before it starts to get dark¡­ Again, no actual training; it¡¯s just a guess.¡± ¡°I suppose if it comes to it, we can just camp out. I didn¡¯t see or hear any signs of monsters.¡± Kai said, adding his own suggestion to the party''s little conference. He really did feel like the three of them worked well together. ¡°There is another problem; look here.¡± There was a blur, and they were all looking at the far horizon, where grey and black clouds rolled in. ¡°That is coming this way; any bets there is no drainage in the maze? I have a feeling if we take too long, you two will have to swim through the maze¡­ In the dark.¡± Kai watched the angry mass of storm; Syl was right, it was definitely heading their way. From what he had seen of the maze, he didn¡¯t like their chances of getting through this dry. ¡°So this is the part where you tell us you learnt something amazing that will get us through this mess.¡± The pressure behind Kai''s eyes subsided, and he was suddenly looking at a beaming Syl. ¡°I learnt Mana Sense.¡± ¡°Mana sense? Didn¡¯t we already have mana sight? I''m still getting used to it, and it''s been useful. But I don¡¯t see how-¡± Kai started but was cut off by Syl. ¡°Mana sense is an evolved, more advanced form of mana sight. You see, mana sight just tweaks your visual senses to help you pick out the traces of mana that sit just outside the average being''s visible spectrum.¡± Syl tapped her lip thoughtfully. ¡°Kai, do you remember how I told you to work on meditating so that one day you could feel the mana as it moves within you, that eventually you¡¯ll be able to feel it not just within but also without, if you were lucky?¡± Kai nodded; he hardly felt anything. The only time he got any real feedback from mana was when he drew upon it and put the energy into something he could see react to his input and manipulation, like his mana bolts or his phantom blade. No, soul sword, ah, shade blade¡­ no, he would be damned if he ripped off one of his favourite authors, even if he found himself in a magical world who knows how far away. He really needed to settle on a name for the technique; he wished Inego had just told him what to call it. Maybe Syl of Alicia had a suggestion. ¡°Well, mana sense is just that, a whole new sense for detecting mana,¡± Syl closed her eyes. ¡°Right now I¡¯m feeling five, maybe six traps, a secret passage and¡­¡± Her eyes shot open, and she smiled. ¡°A chest.¡± She pointed, ¡°It¡¯s about ten corridors away, erm. Two rights, skip three left turns, pass a trap and then take another right and then two lefts; that should get us there.¡± ¡°Wait, you said there was no point in committing the layout to memory; how did you work out directions so quickly?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Syl grinned. ¡°Oh, oh,¡± Alicia literally bounced with something to contribute, ¡°Master talked about this once. You can feel the difference between the dungeon walls and the ambient mana that¡¯s present everywhere in between! You¡¯re using mana sense as a wide area perception skill to map out the local area.¡± Syl snapped her fingers. ¡°Bingo!¡± ¡°What''s bingo? You know what! I am just going to assume I was right and move on.¡± Alicia said, ¡°You two should know, I am looking forward to throwing about some Alean lingo and confusing you two when we finally get out of here.¡± Syl chuckled, ¡°You don¡¯t know any Alean lingo; you¡¯re a prim pretty princess, remember.¡± ¡°There will be something¡­ Like, do you know what getting your tips off means?¡± ¡°Not a clue,¡± Kai said honestly. ¡°Actually, back on earth, it had something to do with removing artificial nails, but here, with El''vei about¡­ my guess is something to do with ear tips and orgasms.¡± Syl suggested. ¡±Is that close?¡± Alicia looked off into space, blinking, her ears twitching as she thought about what Syl just said. ¡°I don¡¯t actually know¡­ was something I overheard, but¡­¡± Alicia flushed, the tips of her ears turning pink as they continued to twitch. ¡°That actually makes sense.¡± Gift started to chime; to Kai''s ear, it actually kind of sounded a little like laughter. ¡°You stop it; that is crass, and it is unbecoming to laugh at someone''s embarrassment.¡± Alicia scolded Gift, ¡°And why would anyone want artificial nails?¡± she said, turning her attention back to Syl. ¡°Oh, Alicia, we need to get this done and have another slumber party,¡± Syl said as she pointed down the corridor, ¡°lead on, meat suit; it¡¯s girls night tonight!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it girls night every night?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Yes, but you have an open invitation. Don¡¯t you want to, what was it, spoon with the two of us?¡± Alicia asked innocently with no tone of jest or tease to her words. But before Kai could ask if she knew what spooning was, Syl shouted, ¡°Bagsy little spoon!¡± as she turned and drifted off down the corridor. Kai had a bad feeling Syl might be rubbing off on Alicia a little more than he liked. He watched Syl bounce happily as she drifted away, a fiery ginger with her impressionable young platinum blonde El¡¯viairen best friend, a prim pretty princess in tow, asking what bagsy meant as she followed. Maybe it wasn¡¯t so bad. Though when he thought about it, Thanric might not be pleased with the two of them corrupting his apprentice. At least her mother didn¡¯t know her daughter was being corrupted little by little¡­ yet. Seeing the two were getting away from him, he dashed off to catch up. ¡°No, I told you, Kai is the middle spoon; that way, when he rolls over, you get a turn being the little spoon¡­¡± Syl whispered as the two girls turned the first corner. He decided it was best not to dawdle. System Anomaly - 27 - You Peeked Kai sat on the end of the bed, trapped between Syl in front of him putting metaphysical fake nails on him, while Alicia sat behind him amusing herself working his hair into an elaborate double braid that probably meant something he had no clue how to decipher. The three of them had managed to escape the maze and return back to the nexus of archways just as a constant drizzle was starting to pool into rapidly growing puddles and the passing twilight was threatening to cast them into darkness at any moment. All in all, their trip had gone smoothly. When they reached that first chest, they found Syl was the only one who could open it, one of those mysterious shards the only thing locked inside. The discovery changed their focus from just getting out as quickly as possible to finding both Kai''s and Alicia''s shards and escaping the maze before they found themselves trying to navigate in the dark. They had actually been lucky finding that first chest so close to the entrance, as they had to go much deeper than they initially expected just to find a hint of what direction they needed to travel to find the next one. The three of them came to the agreement that the first chest''s proximity to where they spawned was by design. A means to inform any team attempting the test that there was more to do in the maze than just finding a way out alive. Because had they not deliberately detoured to open that chest, finding the exit was laughably easy with Syl¡¯s new mana sense. In fact, everything was a little too easy with Syl guiding them, so much that it turned out to be detrimental. Upon opening the second chest after a good hour of picking their way carefully past traps, avoiding puzzles and using secret passages just to find six mana potions, they realised they had to change their method of exploration if they wanted any chance of finding the other two shards in time. They were pleasantly surprised when they discovered that triggering traps and solving puzzles was far more mentally stimulating for them and sped them through the maze at a much faster pace. It actually got to the point that the three of them came to an agreement that they were having fun despite, if not because of, the added risk. After three hours, one mimic and seven chests later, they found themselves well stocked with potions, weird fresh fruit, odd vegetables, a smattering of spices, and a total of three mysterious shards; it was finally time to leave. The only issue they had now was that it was getting dark, it was trying to rain, and the exit was a good hour or two back the way they had come. Luckily they didn¡¯t have to go back on themselves to find the exit again; instead, they relied on Syl¡¯s growing confidence in her new abilities to find a faster, if not also riskier, way out. Twenty minutes, three traps, two skipped chests later, and one trap-turned puzzle, they were out. ¡°All I¡¯m saying is we don¡¯t know what was in those two chests,¡± Kai said as he examined the midnight blue nails on his free hand. ¡°There could have been something good inside; they definitely weren''t there the first time we passed through that area.¡± He rotated his free hand; no, the thick, long nails were definitely something he couldn¡¯t see himself living with. Luckily, he didn¡¯t have to. They were in the domain, and anything the girls did to him here wouldn¡¯t carry back out, into the real world¡­ Except the last time Alicia had worn her T-shirt outside, it had somehow remained white, and to the best of his knowledge, that shouldn''t be possible. He looked down at Syl, hunched over his hand. She had her tongue poked out the side of her mouth, trapped between her lips as she concentrated; it was so cute he knew he could bear being trapped while she worked on him. Sometimes it was the small things in life that kept you happy, or at the bare minimum, sane. And unless he was utterly mistaken, the two girls were having the time of their lives playing with him like he was some kind of life-sized doll you could put nails on and give new hairstyles. Curling his fingers and letting the nails clack against each other, he had to admit Syl was doing a surprisingly good job, and he had to wonder, ¡°Syl, how did you even learn to do this?¡± She sighed, yanking the hand she was still working on back into position. ¡°I had literal years of nothing to do whilst you were off having adventures, old and new. Just watching and tweaking the occasional thing here and there was boring, so I found ways to multitask. You will be surprised how much you can learn with unlimited access to the internet.¡± ¡°And yet you never learnt to cook,¡± Kai chided. The verbal jab earned him another yank on his hand and, for some reason, a tug on his hair from Alicia. ¡°And stop complaining about those two chests; you got outvoted three to one,¡± Alicia said as she pulled on a strand of hair a little harder than Kai thought was necessary. ¡°I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s fair that you get an additional vote for Gift; it¡¯s not like he can¡¯t chime once for yes, twice for no, or something like that.¡± Syl sighed, ¡°He was sulking; there wasn¡¯t anything for him to do in the maze, and the chests held nothing of interest for him. He told me to just use his vote as I saw fit, so I did. He certainly earned the right to have a vote. How he solved that last puzzle, I will never know,¡± Syl said. ¡°Yeah, I was too worried about the sudden lack of a floor to figure anything out. But Atheos crammed a lot of stuff into that growth stone; I wouldn¡¯t be surprised at anything Gift can do. At least not until we have actually managed to establish the extent of his current abilities.¡± ¡°You know about Atheos hiding things in the growth stone, archery-related skills and abilities?¡± Alicia asked in surprise. ¡°Yeah, old man Inego said Gift was¡­ a beautiful weapon. Told me to make sure he was cared for,¡± Kai tilted his head back to try and look at Alicia, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to be a problem.¡± ¡°Wait, Kai¡­ Did you happen to tell him how Gift was made?¡± ¡°Yeah, why?" ¡°One moment the little old lady was asking me to get Gift to shoot several targets at once; the next everything was shaking. I have never heard someone curse like that. I''m just glad none of her ire was directed at me. We had a serious conversation after that about Gift after that.¡± ¡°That shake was the one time I saw an ounce of joy from Kain.¡± Syl grumbled. ¡°Where is the stringed arrow slinger right now?¡± ¡°Sleeping downstairs, he¡¯s just a child and needs plenty of rest to process the day¡¯s event properly.¡± ¡°Why downstairs and not on your hand like before?¡± Alicia tugged on another strand of his hair. ¡°Do you think we will be able to get the next two tests done tomorrow? It has only taken us two days to do three of the tests. If we assume the second run of each arch takes the same amount of time¡­ we should be out of the dungeon within the next four days.¡± Not at all sure why Alicia had changed the subject, he thought about her question. ¡°It depends on what the test is. I know the fifth room is some kind of checkpoint where we can trade with the dungeon master.¡± ¡°Did anyone else get cryptic warnings about the dungeon master?¡± Syl asked as she finally released her death grip on his hand. ¡°Yeah, I think Inego got told off for saying too much, though it did sound a little scripted,¡± Kai chuckled as he watched Syl get up, go to his side, and crawl past him to join Alicia somewhere behind him. ¡°I wonder how we are doing in the tests?¡± Alicia asked as she started tugging on all the different braids she had worked into his hair. ¡°Does it really matter? We just need to survive,¡± Kai said. ¡°All done.¡± She said as she tapped him on the shoulder. He got up and started gently patting his head, trying to get a feel for what Alicia had done. Why Syl hadn¡¯t put in any mirrors, he didn¡¯t know. Something about growing into himself before seeing himself. It sounded dumb, but it kept her happy. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. All of a sudden, Alicia squeaked, ¡°Syl!¡± Kai spun around to see why, only to see Syl lounging back seductively in white lacy lingerie as Alicia''s butt, in matching black lace, wriggled away as she scrambled for one of the pillows. Kai was caught off guard by all the lace, ribbons and, oh god, the straps that seemed to serve no other purpose but to draw the eye and accentuate the two young women''s trim, toned figures. His eyes wandered, his brain betraying him as it worked to absorb as much information as it could, to permanently lock away the sight, the memory, of what he was seeing in as many neural connections as possible. Syl gave him a hungry look as she shifted her position, the simple movement causing her hair to fall from her shoulder, cascading down behind her. He didn¡¯t know how she had done it, but the movement seemed perfectly calculated to draw him in, revealing a perfect shoulder that just begged for his attention. Without thinking, he stepped forward. But then Alicia turned around, holding a big white pillow protectively against her. She looked so vulnerable, so pure. The look of uncertainty she gave him froze him in place. Her golden eyes seemed to flash as they locked on him; a moment passing between them, a silent conversation, something changing in the unspoken exchange. Alicia''s tight apprehension slowly melted away as she let the pillow fall from her chest. Kai took another step but held himself there. No, this wasn¡¯t right. It was still too soon for him, for her. His body was screaming, but his brain finally found time to focus. ¡°You said four more days, just four more days to get out of the dungeon, then- then I can talk to Thanric¡­ confirm some things.¡± Syl pouted as she exchanged a look with Alicia, the two of them having a silent conversation. They both nodded. Syl lay on her back and kicked her legs against the mattress in frustration a couple of times before she sat back up and said, ¡°I¡¯ve waited for centuries; what¡¯s four more days?¡± as she rolled onto her knees and crawled down to the bottom of the bed. Kai watched her, his body screaming at him that he was making a mistake. Why did she have to crawl to him like that!? Taking the front of his shirt, she pulled him in close to her, pressing herself up against him; she lingered. Taking a breath, Kai''s brain melted all over again; she smelt amazing. He was unable to pin down the scent; she smelt both sweat and spice; he groaned as he felt himself fighting to resist all over again. ¡°You found a new scent,¡± he groaned as he leaned in for a kiss of his own. ¡°Scent?¡± She pulled back in confusion. Turning to Alicia, she asked again, ¡°Scent, did you use any perfume or change the soap?¡± Alicia shook her head in confusion. ¡°Same soap and water as always.¡± The moment Syl turned back, Kai took the kiss his own words had stolen from him. Letting her break free several thunderous heartbeats later, Syl gasped as he said, ¡°Figure it out, because you smell amazing.¡± Then he promptly left the domain before he couldn''t resist any longer.
Syl let out a long, frustrated breath. Kai had left, which was fine; she didn¡¯t want to force him into anything he wasn¡¯t quite ready for. The good thing was he was only one step away. She smiled. Even Alacia was one step away. she had The bad thing was she let herself get all wound up without anywhere to put all the pent-up energy. Turning around, she saw Alicia admiring the fit of the lingerie Syl had, without warning, slipped her into. ¡°Alicia?¡­¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Alicia asked as she looked up from playing with one of the little bows. Syl was already crawling back towards her with a hungry look in her eyes and one side of her bottom lip pinched between her teeth. ¡°As thanks for backing me up back there, how about you let me show you how you take that off?¡±
Kai awoke from a dream he would probably never forget, not if he could help it. Knowing that anyone could be watching, there was no way he would be working out his rising frustration the manual way, so he tried rolling over in an attempt to get back into it. But just as it was typical in his life before the system came to earth, he couldn''t quite get back into the dream, at least not in the same vivid detail he had experienced before waking up. Disappointed Kai rolled out of bed and prepared for the day. Coming back from shaving and a quick dip in the bathing pool, Kai looked about for his amour, but it was nowhere to be seen. He had grown so used to finding everything clean, ready and waiting for him in a nice, neat pile that when it was nowhere to be seen, he had to go investigate if everyone was okay. Yesterday had been trying for Syl, and Alicia hadn¡¯t actually spoken much about her experience, short of mentioning the little old lady she never actually got the name of. Admittedly, last night had been anything but typical, and he hoped his armour had just been forgotten. Entering his domain, he found himself standing in the middle of the living room wearing nothing but the boxers he had slept in, while, just as his luck would have it, Alicia was on her way down from the bedroom, groggily rubbing at her eyes as she took each step with the caution only someone lacking a good night''s sleep could muster. Kai quickly summoned one of his spare T-shirts and pulled it on before she could notice he was there. So used to seeing her so well put together. Kai was surprised to see Alicia actually look dishevelled for once. her hair a mess, loose strands escaping in every direction. Her shirt hanging loosely from one of her shoulders, exposing far more than she probably intended. And to top it all off, the clips of her black garter belt swinging freely against her thighs as she took one step at a time. She got to the bottom of the stairs and stretched, raising her arms in a wide arc over her head as she groaned and rolled her neck. ¡°Morning, Alicia.¡± ¡°Morning¡­¡± Alicia said through a long, drawn-out yawn. Kai waited¡­ Alicia froze. Her arms were still held high up above her head as her mind tried to catch up. She looked at him and blinked, her arms slowly lowering to her side. Modesty restored, she turned and bolted back up the stairs with her hands pinned flat against her butt as she tried to keep the shirt from bouncing up. Kai had to wonder how the hell it was that this kept happening to him. Knowing he definitely wasn''t going to chase after her, he plopped himself down on the couch and waited for the fallout. He didn¡¯t have to wait long as a similarly dishevelled Syl came thundering down the stairs and leapt into his lap, smothering him with her lips. Surprised by how light she was, Kai tried to extricate himself from her enthusiasm, but she didn¡¯t let up until he reciprocated, and they both had to stop just to breathe. Settling, she sank her head into his shoulder and ran her hand through his now unbraided hair. For once Syl wasn¡¯t trying to tease him; she was with him, and it just felt right. ¡°Alicia is getting dressed; she tells me she gave you an eyeful¡­ asked me to apologise for her, but I¡¯m more interested if you liked what you saw.¡± Kai immediately thought of his dream and had to ask, ¡°Do el¡¯vie happen to, erm, purr?¡± ¡°El¡¯vei? No, I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± Syl chuckled. ¡°But I know Alicia does¡­¡± A moment passed, then Syl suddenly sat up and swatted him on the shoulder. ¡°You peeked!¡± ¡°Peaked? What, no, I just had a dream, that¡¯s all¡­ I will admit, the lingerie, it made an imprecision.¡± Syl''s eyes widened at his mention of having a dream, and she swatted him on the shoulder again. ¡°You peeked!¡± she giggled. ¡°No, I had a dream.¡± ¡°Kai, what happened last night happened in the domain. Your domain. Face it, you peaked.¡± Kai couldn¡¯t exactly argue with her logic. ¡°It was a dream; I didn¡¯t-¡° he tried. Sly stopped him by placing her finger on his lips. Grinning, she repositioned herself, placing a knee on either side of his waist; she had him straddled as she leaned in and whispered in his ear, ¡°See anything you like? Any advice, perhaps?¡± Realising what had happened last night after he left, he had to admit it. He had peeked, but he felt terrible about it, like he had invaded their privacy. ¡°Syl I really didn¡¯t mean to-¡° he found her finger back on his lips. ¡°Kai, I''m not mad; it''s my domain too. If I wanted privacy, I would have had privacy. In fact, I may have thought about you¡­¡± She wriggled her hips. ¡°And I know how pent up you actually are, so I wouldn''t be surprised if I subconsciously invited your sleeping mind in.¡± There was a sound from the stairway, and Syl rolled off him, kissing him on the cheek as she got to her feet. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Alicia either; I know for a fact you were on her mind too. That was when I got her to purr the loudest.¡± ¡°Sorry, purr the loudest?¡± Alicia asked as she got to the bottom step; this time she was dressed and her hair expertly put up for a day''s adventuring. ¡°No one!¡± Kai blurted out before Syl could reveal the recent revelation about Kai¡¯s sleeping mind. ¡°Just idle conversation. Do either of you know where my armour is? It didn¡¯t really need cleaning, but I¡¯m used to it being ready for me¡­ I''m not complaining that it wasn¡¯t. I just don''t know where it actually goes when I store it at night.¡± Kai rambled. Syl palmed her face. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Kai, your armour, you stored it in the domain; just unstore it like everything else, you big lovable idiot.¡± Alicia giggled. Kai cocked his head. ¡°Oh yeah, I guess I just got so used to waking up with a nice, neat pile each day, I didn¡¯t think¡­ They¡¯re ready, right?¡± He blinked, ¡°If they aren''t, that''s fine; I really should be the one maintaining my own armour anyway. Did I ever thank you two? If not, then know I really appreciate not smelling like a goblin''s sack each day.¡± Kai continued his nervous rambling. ¡°Of course your armour is clean; it takes seconds to run my charm over it all; we just got¡­ distracted, and I forgot to put them beside you like I usually do.¡± ¡°You put them outside¡­ You don''t just unstore them?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Syl chuckled, ¡°who do you think folds your clothes and puts everything into a neat pile? It''s not something I''m physically capable of, and my telekinesis is far too rough. I''m worried I might break something by trying. Besides, it¡¯s one of Alicia''s favourite tasks, says you look peaceful when you''re sleeping.¡± ¡°Syl, please,¡± Alicia hissed. Kai got up and headed towards the stairs. ¡°Well, I appreciate the effort. If you two will excuse me, I''ll go get ready.¡± ¡°Not the bedroom!¡± Alicia cried, her face turning bright red and the tips of her ears twitching violently. ¡°Why?¡± Kai asked cautiously, had he done something, said something, wait, the bedroom was where¡­ He had to focus. ¡°Oh, relax, Alicia.¡± Syl flicked her wrist; her t-shirt disintegrated, tight leather armour wrapping around her exposed body like some kind of risky anime transformation. ¡°Just tidied everything up.¡± ¡°Everything?¡± Alicia asked cautiously. ¡°Even that.¡± Maybe Kai hadn¡¯t witnessed everything in his dream, because he couldn¡¯t quite figure out what the two were talking about. Putting his foot on the bottom step, something dawned on him. ¡°If I get dressed in the domain, it doesn''t carry out¡­ So why aren¡¯t you stopping me from going up there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Syl said, ¡°you¡¯ll have to get dressed twice.¡± Not seeing why she would want him to get dressed twice, he said, ¡°But that¡¯s just inconvenient for me.¡± ¡°And¡­ you¡¯re not actually the only one here that likes an innocent peek.¡± ¡°Peak?¡± Alicia asked. His suspicion that Syl liked to peek on him confirmed, and not willing to get into details, he left. System Anomaly - 28 - Puzzle Pieces ¡°Any bets on what it will be?¡± he asked, as he looked into the shadows of the fourth arch. Gift chimed in his bow form, holding him at the ready Alicia replied, ¡°It''s not going to be an archery range.¡± Gift chimed again. ¡°A ¡®target¡¯ range is the same thing.¡± Chime, ¡°Yes, I am sure you will get a chance to show off.¡± Alicia huffed. ¡°Are you two ready, or do you need more time?¡± Syl said, unable to hide her amusement. ¡°Sorry,¡± Alicia smiled, ¡°he is looking forward to having another chance at showing you two what he has learnt.¡± Syl gestured towards the fourth arch, ¡°After you, meat su-¡° Kai jumped on Syls tired pun saying, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s getting a little old.¡± ¡°Stop dawdling all the time and I wont get a chance to say it so much,¡± Syl chastised him. He let out a breath and stepped through. Another forest, ¡°What is it with this dungeon and forests? Why can it not spice things up a little? Like a cave, a castle or an actual castle dungeon, I might actually go for an honest to god water level, at least at this point it would be different.¡± ¡°Ssh, don¡¯t jinx us,¡± Syl hissed. ¡°I, for one, am perfectly happy with a nice temperate forest and not some dank wet cave or freezing mountaintop. We¡¯re not exactly equipped for anything but moderate conditions.¡± Alicia gave an uh-huh in agreement as she spun, Gift up and ready ready as she checked for any threats. Kai looked about. ¡°To be fair, I think we''re on a road that just happens to go through a forest, that¡¯s kind of different. But it raises a question, which way are we meant to go?¡± Standing on a wide stretch of compacted dirt, with trees and dense thorny bushes to either side of them, their options seemed limited to this way or that. Unless, of course, they wanted to risk struggling through the thick undergrowth. Syl pointed down the road to the nearest point it curved away from them, ¡°I think we are about to find out, there is someone approaching from that direction.¡± Kai pulled his hilt free as Alicia stepped off to the side to give her a better line of attack. Syl just folded her hands across her chest and waited. Kai didn¡¯t know what to do with her unconcerned demeanour. Yes, It was true that she didn¡¯t have a physical body, so it wasn''t strictly necessary for her to prepare for any action the way they did. But the recent incident with his still yet unnamed sword technique proved she was still vulnerable in this form. When a short, round, bold man came around the corner, Kai understood, Syls reaction and he relaxed. The moment the man saw his group, he paused, stopping where he was at the bend and waved enthusiastically at them. Kai hit the man with an examination, doing his best to apply some finesse and polish to improve his use of the system action. Fatcher Turdle Lv.9 Gnomel Age: 72 (Self-Proclaimed) Village Mayor of Fatcher (formerly the township of Greckle). Hmm, that weird, ¡°Anyone else examine him?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Syl said, ¡°his title is a little¡­ odd.¡± It had all the usual details Kai had seen so far, but the use of parentheses seemed as Syl had put it, odd. But that wasn¡¯t the only thing that seemed off to him, ¡°At first I thought he was a short fat man, but being a Gnomel, I assume he¡¯s just fat.¡± Alicia snorted at his comment. ¡°How is someone so fat level nine? Is it some racial thing I don''t know about?¡± Kai asked, continuing his line of thought out loud. ¡°No, for his level he should be a bit fitter.¡± Syl said as she tapped her lips in contemplation. ¡°I''ve seen plenty of fat, high-level men¡­¡± Alicia said as she came back to his side, ¡°It''s a good indicator they have vices. Could be that they reached their level and lost their way, or that they have self-indulgent vices and isn¡¯t working hard enough to overcome the negative effects.¡± ¡°It also happens to people who are carried to their level, the essence in their cores full of impurities inflating their level. He might have also completely neglected his physical core in favour of training his magical one. Either way his stats are probably terrible for his level, probably in the high end of the one hundreds. Nothing compared to my two hundred and ninety total, and I¡¯m only level five.¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Alicia muttered. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your stat total is higher than mine, two hundred and ninety? I am at,¡± she looked off to the side, feeling out her stat total. ¡°I am two levels higher, but I am only at two fifty-five with my stats! It''s not fair.¡± She pouted. ¡°Don¡¯t forget I started out perfect and refined my essence at each level. Kai has a flat three hundred. But I try not to get down about it; he has a physical body to exercise his physical core, giving him more opportunities to gain stats outside of the essence he uses when levelling.¡± ¡°Still not fair; I wish Master had actually worked with me to find my core before I came into the dungeon.¡± Kai chuckled, ¡°You think it''s unfair? I think you and Gift combined easily outperform the two of us; he¡¯s like some kind of personal force multiplier no one can take away from you.¡± Gift chimed happily in agreement. It was strange, but Kai thought he might be starting to understand Gift, just like everyone understanding the random beeps and boops of a certain little robot and hairy man, in a certain popular space opera. ¡°Alicia, you will catch up; all you need to do is work harder than us to gain stats outside of levelling up. Even then, if you keep up, assuming we all tier up at the same time,¡± Syl glanced to the side, ¡°at level one hundred there should only be about a five percent difference. ¡°But If you tier up just five levels ahead of him, you¡¯ll actually be neck and neck, but that¡¯s not including other stat gains. So it¡¯s isn¡¯t as bad as you think it is.¡± Syl''s words seemed to light a fire in Alicia''s golden eyes. Grinning, she said, ¡°Kai has no idea what real training is. Its going to be easy to gain stats and tier up before him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that lazy. Am I?¡± ¡°Put it this way, Alicia spends a minimum of two hours each night training at the archery range. What do you do each nigh besides trying to have sweet dreams?¡± Ignoring Syl¡¯s little dig, he looked over at Alicia to see she practically glowed with confidence. He might be in trouble. Syl sighed, ¡°looks like the fat man''s given up on beckoning us over; he¡¯s heading over¡­ Do we wait and let him work it off, or do we go meet him? He¡¯s not exactly pushing himself that fast¡­¡± ¡°Hey, being fat is not easy; for all we know, it''s not vices, being carried or an imbalanced core. It could be a curse or something.¡± ¡°Kai, don¡¯t reflect past onto him. Things work differently when you have a functional mana core. You age slower, live longer and your body also produces mana when your body digests the food you eat. It takes a lot more then a sedentary life style to end up like that.¡± ¡°Really, what else is different with a functioning mana core?¡± Kai asked as the man slowly waddled their way. Syl gave him a Do you really want to know? look, and he nodded. ¡°Low mana is the leading cause of cramps, bloating and any of the other maladies women back on earth had to endure, and normally everything that usually comes out is actually magically reabsorbed. And don¡¯t worry, mana is used to produce more eggs, so no menopause. Alicia will still be able to have children when she is a thousand or even five thousand years old.¡± Kai just blinked, his jaw slack. Son to a single mother and two older sisters who practically raised him, the topic didn¡¯t phase him; it was just a lot to absorb out of the blue. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that¡± Syl said unable to hide her amusement. ¡°You¡¯re the one who asked.¡± Alicia, for her part, also showed signs of confusion her brow scrunched as she looked off to the side. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°So you¡¯re saying, no periods, no bleeding¡­ No mood swings?¡± Kai asked to make sure his understanding was correct. ¡°If only, women still get moody and emotional, just not because their insides are tearing themselves apart, just pure hormones.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Alicia asked, ¡°I¡¯ll ask. What is menopause?¡± ¡°Oh, I guess it isn¡¯t something this world really deals with, the short answer is It¡¯s the permanent end of a woman¡¯s menstrual cycle. It happens when a woman cannot produce more eggs then the ones they were born with because they lack the mana to do so. Back on Kai''s home world, it usually occurred between ages forty-five and fifty-five; when it happened, no more eggs, so no more babies. It was considered a natural part of ageing. On Alea, it''s probably no more than a very rare disease affecting women with damaged cores.¡± Syl explained. ¡°Babies¡­ Before forty-five?!¡± alicai squeak in surprise. ¡°If I can help it, I¡¯m not planning on having any children until I am at a minimum of over one century old.¡± ¡°Tier up first; your children will get a bit better with each tear¡­ better cores, better stats.¡± Syl said as she looked over to Kai, ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure how Kai¡¯s race and traits will affect things.¡± Kai was actually pleased they had this conversation; from the sounds of it, he wouldn¡¯t be under any pressure to settle down and start a family anytime soon. Even when he got Syl a real body, they had plenty of time. He had always wanted children, and even as a guy, getting to the age of thirty-seven and having no sign of any relationship in sight, he had all but given up on ever starting a family of his own. But now, now he had time to get used to this new world, the system and the changes magic brought to him and everyone else back on earth. Thinking at earth he had to chuckle. The pink tax was really going to suffer now that feminine hygiene products should be a thing of the past¡­ Then it hit him; these changes would affect Earth, which, just so far as he knew, only had humans. ¡°Wait, from the way you''re both talking, this isn¡¯t an El¡¯viairen thing, is it?¡± ¡°What have I said about preconceived notions? I already told you almost all the humanoid races come from the same stock. Besides a few racial traits things typically effect el¡¯vei, dwarves, humans and the rest the same way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while; I forgot¡­ He¡¯s almost here.¡± The sound of weezing approached them faster than he thought a short, fat man could travel. ¡°What are you standing around chatting for? The request issued to the guild was for you to come to the village immediately.¡± He heaved, pulling a grey-stained cloth from his pocket to wipe the sweat from his brow. ¡°I happen to see you on my morning constitutional, wave you down, and you ignore me. The nerve. The guild will hear of this.¡± Kai looked at Syl, then Alicia, not having any clue what the man meant by the guild the two of them were both better equipped to deal with the man. He would be running on far too many assumptions with his limited knowledge. That and something about the man already had him on edge and he didn¡¯t want to say something that would effect the team negatively. Understanding his silence, Syl drifted to the front, and addressed the man, ¡°Mr. Turd-¡° ¡°It¡¯s Mayor Turdle or Master Turdle, thank you! Honestly, adventurers these days. Please, can you three stop wasting my time? I may be on my daily constitutional, but I have a lot to do today. Now come with me; the sooner I deal with the goblin infestation, the sooner we can open the mines and make some actual money¡­¡± Turdle turned and started waddling back down the path without them. ¡°My economy is in shambles; no one told me how expensive being a mayor is; everyone wants a piece of me.¡± The three of them shared a look. ¡®I really don¡¯t like this guy; what do we do?¡¯ Kai communicated silently, mind to mind, using the party chat. ¡®Agreed, but I think we should play along until we know what''s happening.¡¯ Syl replied in kind. ¡®He stinks, like sweat and stale alcohol.¡¯ Alicia said, wrinkling her nose. Waiting to see how things played out, they followed behind the disgruntled man in silence. They had surmised from the man''s dialogue that he had issued an request to the local adventurers guild to have the goblins that were infesting the local mines cleared out. ¡®A mine of all things, you had to jinx it, didn¡¯t you?¡¯ Syl groaned, ¡®Err, another forest, err, why can¡¯t this dungeon with an active dungeon master spice things up, err, me dumb dumb,¡¯ she continued, poorly mimicking him. Alicia nodded along, ¡®We are not really equipped for a cave. I may use support magic, but with Gift my primary path has changed to being a hybrid ranger; caves are one of the worst environments for me. That and we don¡¯t have torches, head protection, poison gas detectors, glow stones¡­ I know Syl can give us some light, but there is more to caves then people think; they¡¯re one of the biggest killers of lazy adventurers.¡¯ Kai had to admit, adventuring was a lot more involved than he thought. But all of the dungeon tests so far seemed to be carefully adjusted to them and their capabilities. ¡®I am sure it won''t be that bad.¡¯ He sent, as he silently hoped this test wasn¡¯t about dealing with things they weren''t prepared for. ¡®Do you even know why Goblin wretches like caves? No, okay, let me tell you. They¡¯re smaller than most races, so it¡¯s easier for them to crawl into cracks and crevices others can¡¯t. The little shits like to ambush you from the shadows. One moment you''ll be slipping through a gap to get to the next area, and the next the six goblins you missed will be on your back line, dragging them off down some side path you¡¯ll never find to do gods know what. I¡¯ve seen it far too many times to count.¡¯ ¡®Damn, this isn¡¯t going to be a fun one is it; what are the odds we get lucky and it¡¯s some kind of man-made mine and not some cave this guy wants to turn into a mine. He wasn¡¯t clear on the subject, if im not mistaken he said open, not re-open?¡¯ ¡®The shit,¡¯ Syl groaned, ignoring his question she went on, ¡®what do you think they do with all their shit? Can''t remember, can you? My fault, so I will tell you. They don¡¯t store it; they don¡¯t take it outside to safely dispose of it. What they like to do is use it, and I don''t mean to grow mushrooms. Okay, so they do grow mushrooms. But that¡¯s not all, it goes everywhere. Trap, covered in shit. A slippery slope leading to a chasm, covered in shit. A rock face you need to scale, covered in shit!¡¯ ¡®At least they are being resourceful.¡¯ Kai said trying to lighten the mood. ¡®Next time you¡¯re in a multistage dungeon and you don¡¯t know what to expect, keep your mouth shut!¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re forgetting you¡¯re an astral projection. You¡¯ll be able to pass through gaps and scout things out. That, and you have a keen mana sense, so they shouldn¡¯t be able to get behind us unless we are really careless. Perhaps Kain knew we were facing the maze, and then this test and taught you what you needed to get us through this.¡± Kai suggested. Syl drifted to a stop. ¡®Damn it, you might be right... You should know you¡¯re not allowed to be right when I¡¯m mad at you.¡¯ ¡®Noted.¡¯ The slow, ponderous man eventually got them to the bend in the road; coming around some trees, they saw that the village had actually just been out of sight. Had they immediately decided to head in the opposite direction, they would have easily missed it. Fatcher Turdle clearly didn¡¯t have it in him to chase them down. ¡®If the turd''s idea of a constitutional is to walk out to this bend each morning, it¡¯s no surprise he¡¯s so robust at his level.¡¯ Kai mentally chuckled, ¡®Turd, I like that.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t normally one to resort to things like name-calling, but the man hadn¡¯t made a very good impression. ¡°Great, the workers are finally up and at it; those shacks won¡¯t tear themselves down.¡± The turd said, ¡°Come, come, the day may be long, but time is always short. The mines are through the village and out of the west gate¡­ yes, not too far from there, but far too close to have any goblins.¡± ¡°Why are you tearing down shacks?¡± Alicia asked as they watched a group of gnomes work together, pulling on a series of ropes together to literally tear down a building. The turd lifted his head and blinked. ¡°Ah- yes, they were, hmm. Yes, they were damaged by the goblins a couple of nights ago. Raiding our stores, you see. Goblins will steal anything they can get their grubby mitts on. They damaged the structure of a lot of the older buildings; it''s much safer to tear them all down and use the materials to improve things to a higher standard. Yes, yes, much better.¡± Again Kai got the feeling something wasn¡¯t quite right here, ¡®Is it me or did that question make him sweat?¡¯ ¡®Some people are just like this, but yes, he does seem¡­ off.¡¯ Alicia said as she did her best to put Kai between her and the strange gnome man. ¡®His eyes do seem to wander; I think we¡¯re not supposed to trust this guy, but I¡¯m concerned that that is a little too obvious and the dungeons trying trick us into making assumptions. I could be overthinking things.¡¯ ¡®Yes, I noticed that too¡­ Follow my lead. But keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks suspicious.¡¯ ¡°Mayor Turdle,¡± Syl said, putting a subtle emphasis on the turd in Turdle. ¡®This infestation, it¡¯s in the villages mine. Am I right in assuming we will find a path the miners use to haul the ore back for sale, a path that should lead us straight there?¡± ¡°Yes-¡° The third used his cloth to dab at his brow. ¡°Yes, I believe you will.¡± Kai was watching him carefully. He seemed uncertain; somehow distracted by other things, he had completely missed the inside joke related to his name. For a moment, Kai was worried Syl had blown it. But no, the man had been thinking a little too hard about the path getting them to the mine. ¡°Good, then we won''t waste any more of your time.¡± Syl said as she immediately turned and drifted off at a rapid pace. ¡®Keep up, you two.¡¯ Kai noted the sudden panic that flashed in the man''s eyes before doing exactly as Syl asked; following right behind Alicia, he intentionally blocked the man''s view of them leaving. ¡°Wait! I need to¡­ your guide! The guild will hear of this!¡± The turd shouted after them. ¡®Ignore him; no way I¡¯m letting him plant someone in our midst.¡¯ Kai had no complaints; he followed with his head on a swivel as they passed through the village, before he knew it they were passing out of the west gate. Despite what the mayor had said they saw no clear path. Looking about they found a narrow trail leading off into the forest and followed it, occasionally stopping so Syl could check if they weren''t being tailed. After the fourth time Syl checked, she spoke up, ¡°Alicia, did you notice what I did?¡± ¡°If you are talking about the perfectly intact goblin huts everywhere in that village, then yes.¡± Kai had noticed some differences between what was being taken down and what had been recently built but hadn¡¯t thought too much about it. Syl tapped her lips. ¡°I don''t think the mayor was being entirely truthful.¡± Alicia scoffed, ¡°that is an understatement.¡± ¡°Problem is we don¡¯t know if that¡¯s just his personality or if something else is going on. My money is on something else.¡± Kai added ¡°Come on, let''s find this mine. We need to investigate this so-called goblin infestation.¡± Syl said as she continued down the trail unmolested by the bushes that attacked both him and Alicia from either side. As it turns out, the only viable path from the west gate did not, in fact, lead straight to the mine; instead, it just kind of continued off into the forest for a while before it just wasn¡¯t a trail anymore. Something they all agreed was suspicious. Kai had seen the man''s uncertainty when he agreed with Syl¡¯s assertion that they should find a path the village''s miners used. It struck him as odd that the mayor of a small village didn¡¯t know the way to the village''s mine, especially when he heavily implied his economy relied on it. Apparently that was the point of Syl¡¯s assertion. It had been bait; the moment the mayor had said ¡®I believe,¡¯ Syl had decided to get the three of them out of there so they could figure things out on their own without any interference. With the goblin huts and the suspicious mayor and his still curious title, they hoped checking out the mine for themselves would give them the final pieces of the puzzle. After twenty minutes of wandering through the trees, Kai was beginning to wonder if they had done the right thing running off the way they had without the guide the mayor had clearly prepared for them. Luckily he was saved from asking if they were lost when they heard the sound of laughter carrying through the trees. Cautiously they followed the sound and soon the three of them were hiding in a thicket, watching a group of oddly shaped, tiny-torsoed, big headed and floppy-eared pink skinned goblin children play in a clearing outside a cave, that was nestled away in a hillock. Alicia and Syl did not look happy. ¡®Syl, what is it?¡¯ Kai asked through the party chat. ¡®Just examine one, any one of them¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter which,¡¯ Picking out the one that seemed to be leading the others in a game of tag, Kai did just that. Oola Tidbittle Lv.2 Goblin Age: 6 ( uncommon ) Dispossessed orphan of the former township of Greckle. ¡®Oh Shit¡­¡¯ The extra puzzle piece they had been looking for came crashing down, his heart sinking. Kai realised what was happening, what the mayor had sent them to do, and why the goblin huts were being pulled down. System Anomaly - 29 - Take It ¡°We need answers.¡± Kai sighed as he got up from his hiding position, ¡°Don¡¯t come out until you think it won¡¯t spook the children, or I get jumped by a bunch of goblins. ¡°Kai, you can¡¯t just go out there.¡± "It''s better if only one of us goes; if the three of us pop out of this bush, they¡¯ll run straight into the cave, and I don''t like the idea of forcing our way down there after some innocent children.¡± ¡°That is not what I meant,¡± Alicia hissed in a whisper. But Kai was already making his way through the thicket. The children were having such a good time playing they only noticed his approach when he coughed and gave them a smile and a friendly wave, asking, ¡°Are you guys playing tag? Who¡¯s winning?¡± They froze in place, big, wide eyes locking on him. ¡°I got lost; can you help me?¡± ¡°Go away! I am strong; I protect family!¡± The girl in charge shouted at him as she waved the younger children in behind her. When she was happy everyone was behind her, she looked about, carefully checking the trees for anyone that might be hiding. Satisfied Kai was by himself, she checked the ground and picked up a stone, immediately holding it up to threaten Kai. ¡°Not scared, Oola k- Oola killed bad men, Oola is strong, Oola is strong! Go¡­¡± Oola shouted as she threw her stone at Kai. ¡°Away!¡± She actually had good aim, her stone smacking him in the chest but bouncing harmlessly off him as he shrank down to rest on one knee. Kai was hoping reducing his stature would help him seem less of a threat. Oola, seeing that he had crouched down, gestured for the other children cowering behind her to head for the cave. Kai let them go; they would alert the others, if there were any. Gods, he hoped the children had only snuck out to play and there were some adults in the caves that they could talk to to figure out what the hell had happened here. Hopefully they could find a solution to this test that didn¡¯t involve killing goblins that were possibly, if not completely, innocent. Her playmates safely in the cave, the little goblin girl remained, standing her ground so the others could flee; she had grabbed another stone, ready to throw it at him should he attempt to chase after the others. Kai smiled softly at her, ¡°I see Oola is brave. Is Oola also smart?¡± Kai didn¡¯t know where he was going with this; he was just going with the flow, and so far, Oola had impressed him. ¡°Oola is very smart.¡± The girl said, affronted, that anyone would have to ask. Happy that she was no longer yelling at him to leave, Kai lifted his arms and turned slightly to the left, then to the right. ¡°Oola, do I have any weapons on me?¡± She shifted from left to right, trying to get a better look at him while refusing to move from where she stood. ¡°No¡­ but Oola is not stupid; I told you, Oola is smart. You have armour on,¡± she squinted, ¡°so you adventurer, you don¡¯t need a weapon to kill; you might have bad magic.¡± Kai smiled, ¡°So you''re not just smart; you''re super smart.¡± Oola showed a toothy grin and nodded as if that was obvious before pausing to tilt her head in confusion. ¡°How do you speak our words? Bad, scary gnoms don''t speak words.¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m smart too.¡± He grinned at her the way she had just grinned at him, ¡°Oola, do I seem scary?¡± Again, Oola tilted her head and frowned as her big round eyes studied him. Deciding something, she nodded to herself, her big ears flopping as she readied her stone to throw at him. ¡°Big man, bigger than gnoms. Different, strange eyes, but still scary.¡± Kai chuckled as he sat down on the ground, lowering his defences even further. Oola seemed to relax but only slightly. ¡°Oola?¡± ¡°What?¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°If you had a choice, would you want to meet a princess or someone who can float?¡± The hand Oola had her stone in sank slightly as she thought Kai¡¯s question over, ¡°princess that can float.¡± She decided. Kai chuckled, ¡°Clever, that way you get both, right?¡± Oola nodded triumphantly, ¡°Told you Oola is smart.¡± ¡°Very smart. I tell you what, my friends are going to come out. One is an el''vei princess; the other is like me, but better; she can float¡­ Is that okay?¡± ¡°Real princess?¡± Oola asked curiously as she shifted to look over Kai''s shoulder. Kai nodded, ¡°Yes, a real princess. We really did get lost, but we got lost looking for someone to talk to so we could find out more about the gnoms and the things they did. Can you go get someone for us to talk to?¡± Oola thought for a moment, looking at him warily; she said, ¡°You could lie, princess and the floating person first. If you are not a liar, I will go get someone.¡± She nodded to herself. ¡°Deal¡­ Syl, Alicia. Come out and meet Oola.¡± Alicia''s head popped up from the thicket as Syl drifted silently over to float next to Kai. ¡°Hello, Oola.¡± Oola¡¯s big round eyes got bigger as she looked at Syl, then at the ground below her feet, and then back up to Syl. Oola ran off into the cave while Alicia was still working her way through the first half of the thicket they had been hiding away in. ¡°I told you he was good with children.¡± Syl said to Alicia when she finally joined them. ¡°You¡¯re kidding; she was terrified of me,¡± Kai groaned. Ten minutes later, Kai was getting worried. ¡°What do you think is taking so long?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the main entrance; I think the children were exploring and found this back way out. They were probably keeping it secret so they could come outside and play¡­ someones coming¡­ about ten or so someones.¡± Kai got up and turned towards the entrance, waiting; no one came out. ¡°My mana sense is better than that; you have a good five minutes.¡± Three minutes later, the tip of a spear came out of the cave entrance. The spearhead was a crudely napped piece of flint attached with twine to a rough stick that was held out by a terrified goblin. ¡°I¡¯m warning you, we don¡¯t want any trouble.¡± Called the spearmen, her voice wavering as she yelled from the relatively safe position of the mouth of the cave. ¡°Good, we¡¯re not here to cause any trouble.¡± Syl called back. The spear tip dipped. ¡°You really do speak our language.¡± ¡°All three of us do,¡± Alicia said. The goblin spearmen stepped out a little further to get a better look at the three of them. ¡°Are you from the guild? We only just sent for aid a day ago.¡± Kai gave Syl and Alicia a look. They were talking about the guild again, so he stepped back from the conversation; he needed some kind of Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Multiverse. He had thought Syl would take over, but it was actually Alicia that stepped forward to say, ¡°No, we will not lie to you; we were on the road when we came across a town where goblin homes were being torn down. A fat gnomel called Fatcher Turdle, calling himself the mayor, approached us thinking we had answered his guild request. We found him deceitful and came to investigate.¡± The goblin woman retreated slightly into the cave to join a discussion that Kai couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°If you are not from the guild, then you cannot help us. Return to the road.¡± Was called out a moment later. ¡°If I may, we are not from the guild, but we are still adventurers. From everything we have seen and heard, you have been dispossessed of your homes and forced to hide in a cave. Unfortunately, that is not the end of it. The mayor has submitted a request under false pretences to have you cleared out¡­ wiped out.¡± Alicia paused, giving her words time to sink in. As Alicia had been speaking more and more, goblins came out to listen. Alicia raised her voice, ¡°You may have submitted a plea for help, but there is no telling which request will be answered first. The guild should send an investigator. But if the mayor''s request is answered before the guild realises something terrible has happened, it could be too late.¡± Alicia said with passion and determination, ¡°Please let us know what happened. We can help defend you and your children.¡± When she finished, an elderly lady goblin, hunched over and supported by a cane, waddled over to stand in front of them, squinting as she looked up at them, her head and ears shaking as she struggled to maintain eye contact with Alicia. ¡°You wish to help us?¡± she said in a surprisingly firm voice. Alicia nodded. ¡°You should know before you go acting all heroic. We have nothing to give you; they took everything from us.¡± Alicia looked back at him and Syl; they gave her their approval. They were all thinking the same thing. ¡°We''re certain this is the right thing to do.¡± Alicia said with an air of authority he hadn¡¯t heard from her before. The little goblin lady cackled, showing a toothy grin, ¡°I lied,¡± she held out a little pouch, ¡°take these and come inside; much to discuss.¡± ¡°We do not need nor want anything.¡± Quicker than Alicia could react, the little old goblin lady had smacked her in the shin with her cane. ¡°Did your mother not teach you to listen to your elders?¡± Rubbing her shin, Alicia apologised profusely and took the pouch the woman held out in her shaking, little bony hand. The moment Alicia had the bag in her hand, there was a flash of light, and the three of them were back in the room with the archways. The sound of angry thrumming filled the room. Looking in the bag, she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gift, I didn¡¯t know that would pull us out of the test; I did not think she was giving us our mysterious shards.¡± Thrum. She pointed to the leftmost arch, the first one they had done, ¡°That one, I promise you, when we go back into that one, you can show everyone how good you are.¡± Kai had to chuckle; seeing their childish antics was a balm to his soul. He knew it was just a dungeon scenario, that it was all fake, but that last test got under his skin. The worst part is he was going back. System Anomaly - 30 - Dungeon Master That last test, despite getting lost in the woods, had actually been the fastest they had done so far. They enjoyed an early lunch in the safety of the dungeon''s common area. As Kai and Alicia were eating their pork chops and chips with a side of something that wasn''t quite peas, ¡°So what do we know? Atheos said there were ten short floors, each meant to test something. It is an easy assumption that each of the five archways, when repeated once, is the sum total of those ten floors. The important part is that all ten are tests of some kind.¡± Syl said, unable to consume food outside of the domain as a projection, she instead used the time to lead their mental preparations for the fifth archway. Kai nodded along as he tried his best not to embarrass himself by devouring his meal too fast. Alicia was absurdly delicate with the use of her utensils and the way she ate her meal. As he would have expected from a princess, a well-practiced choreography right down to the number of times she chewed. He did his best not to stare as he took mental notes on etiquette. Unfortunately he had the bad habit of wolfing down his food so he wasn¡¯t the last one finished and had to wash the dishes. Not that he had washed any dishes since he got to Alea. But when a bad habit was inadvertently drilled into you as a child it was hard to brake in adulthood. ¡°The dungeon master presented himself not as a test but as an adjudicator of the tests able to offer us items in some kind of trade, some kind of opportunity to receive rewards based on our performance.¡± Syl continued. Kai swallowed the bit of pork he felt like he had been chewing on for far too long and supplied, ¡°When Inego warned me about him, he said the dungeon master was a merchant, that he would try to get the best of us, cheat us, that he actually takes pride in it. If the test so far hadn¡¯t all been so multifaceted, I would have happily assumed getting a good deal was the next test. But after seeing the turd and then Oola and the other goblins, I think it''s wrong to take anything at face value and first explanations.¡± ¡°That''s the other thing; we all got cryptic warnings about him. And the fact that he himself is making his dislike of Atheos, the architect of this dungeon, painfully clear, is just plain suspicious. You two may not know this, but it is patently impossible to put a copy of a sentient being into a dungeon and force them to fulfil a role unwillingly as they retain their free will.¡± ¡°Inego said something about the dungeon master entering the dungeon under different conditions¡­¡± Syl tapped her lips in thought. He both loved and loathed when she did that; it drew his attention to her lips in a way that he could not ignore, making him hungry in a way that it wasn¡¯t always appropriate to satiate. ¡°Could the dragon have been put into the dungeon as some kind of punishment?¡± Alicia suggested. ¡°He¡¯s a blue dragon, right? Does that mean anything, like some kind of alignment or predictable personality?¡± Syl rolled her eyes. ¡°Kai, this isn''t Dungeons and Dragons. And Alicia, no, there is no point in making an image of someone for the purposes of punishment. The true copy would never know what the fake experienced, so it would serve no point. Unlike some cloning abilities, which can confer information between themselves and the original, the copies used in dungeons are tied to the dungeon and only the dungeon. The copy is a separate quasi-being from the moment it is constructed. They cannot leave the dungeon that maintains them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand; rifts, if not properly maintained, break open, monsters spilling out of them en masse to wreak havoc on the world around them.¡± Alicia said as she reached over to collect Kai''s plate, putting hers with his; they both disappeared. ¡°Rifts are tears in space and time, connecting one place to another. Dungeons, however, are managed and maintained by the system; thus, they operate under set rules and conditions¡­ That is not to say dungeons cannot break, just that when they do, the dungeon spawns that spill out will deteriorate without their connection. The problem is more that a broken dungeon can spawn endless copies while it has enough energy.¡± ¡°What I don¡¯t understand is why we are having this conversation out here and not in the domain. Can¡¯t the dungeon master hear us? Aren''t we playing our hand, letting him know we are suspicious?¡± Syl gave him a devilish grin, ¡°Because we want him to know we know.¡± Just ten minutes later, they were stepping through the arch to find themselves standing before a massive blue dragon. The great wyrm was slumbering, leathery wings folded against its torso that rose and fell in time with the warm, heady breeze that circled the room. Its great horned head and thick muscular tail curled round itself and tucked in like a sleeping cat. Its full form taking up more than half the room. The sound of slow clapping resounded throughout the massive chamber as they found themselves being approached by the blue-scaled man who had greeted them when they first arrived in this section of the dungeon. ¡°Very good, you little know-it-all. You seem to have everything worked out; whatever am I to do? Should I treat you to an extra reward? Should I wake the real me and see what he thinks? Though, I wouldn¡¯t actually recommend that. He finds the scale of this chamber constricting and prefers to sleep away his unjust imprisonment. That and he hasn¡¯t had a good meal in a decade or two.¡± The dungeon master said, as he looked at him one by one. He tsked, ¡°He could only eat the two of you, a little more than a crunchy snack.¡± When Kai had seen the sleeping dragon, he had assumed that the dungeon master had reverted to his true form, and yet there were two of them. One inferring the other was the true self and he was a copy. When he looked over to Syl for answers, he was met with similar confusion. Kai examined the man, hoping it might give him some answers. ( ??? ) The dungeon master shot him a sharp look. ¡°Sloppy and rude,¡± showing sharp feral canines, he grinned, ¡°I will have to detract some points.¡± Shit, if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, he needed points; lacking context, he pleaded. ¡°Forgive me, I was merely trying to gather information and understand the situation.¡± The dungeon master folded his arms and gave Kai a long look, ¡°an apology and acceptable explanation¡­ I will return some points.¡± Kai felt the tension between his shoulders ease slightly. ¡°Making excuses for your actions, minus.¡± ¡°What-¡° Kai had to bite his tongue; the dungeon master was giving him a look that just dared him to go on, a look that said he held all the power and he loved using it. Kai had strong feelings about the difference between an excuse and an explanation. More, he hated it when people confused the matter just because they found it suited them. But as the dungeon master''s eyebrow rose, Kai realised it would be a fight he couldn¡¯t win. Inego had warned him the man would cheat. Similarly, both Alicia and Syl heeded the warnings they had received and kept their lips shut tight. ¡°Right, let''s get this done with. I am forced to admit you did well enduring in the first test; you listened to the soldiers and even went so far as to equip them with the means to defend and contribute from afar¡­ even saved a few; that was certainly new. Ten thousand points each. ¡° They looked between themselves, grinning; even without knowing the value of each individual point, ten thousand sounded good. ¡°Let¡¯s see, you set the forest ablaze, destroyed a whole ecosystem, possibly even started a famine had events played out¡­ minus three thousand points each.¡± The dungeon master continued. ¡®Damn, I didn¡¯t think about the real-world implications.¡¯ Syl moaned, silently using the party chat. ¡°You were all separated during the next test, your conviction and drive tested individually. All of you passed the initial test, but the real trial was whether you had the capacity to learn¡­¡± The dungeon master gave them all another long look. ¡°I cannot argue that you failed, and the ones who administered this test all gave their approval and awarded these points based on your performance. Alicia five thousand points. Kai four thousand five hundred points. Syl¡­ ten thousand points.¡± Syl looked stunned; she had been given more points than her other two party members combined. Blinking as what that might mean sank in. Syl¡¯s posture changed; she stood taller as she smiled silently to herself. The dungeon master sighed, and pulled out a cue card, ¡°Kai, becoming an apprentice to the shadow of a grand master and now confirmed god of arcane swordsmanship upon first meeting them¡­ outdated copy or not, two hundred thou- not on my life, Inego, let''s see, what is fair¡­ two thousand points.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡®You never said anything about becoming someone''s apprentice! And a god too.¡¯ Alicia said, surprised. ¡®Don¡¯t know if it will stick yet.¡¯ Kai replied as he watched the dungeon master tear up the cue card in disgust. ¡°Signing up with the first mentor figure you meet, a copy that cannot leave a dungeon you cannot enter again¡­ don¡¯t you think that¡¯s stupid. Minus five hundred points.¡± The dungeon master chided him. There was a short rumble, but it stopped the moment the dungeon master looked off to the side. Pretending the loss of points didn¡¯t sting, Kai shrugged, ¡°Had nothing to lose, but a lot to learn. I see nothing wrong with showing respect when its due.¡± The dungeon master''s eyes narrowed. ¡°Let''s hope you don¡¯t come to regret those words one day; however, in the moment, I guess it was¡­ productive, one thousand points.¡± Kai nodded in thanks; inwardly, he was grinning. ¡°The maze, you missed three unique items tailored for you, but you sensibly prioritised the shards and did not risk exploring in the dark or while the maze was transitioned to its water phase; everyone complains about the water phase. Furthermore, you discussed your situation and listened to the team member uniquely qualified to get you through in a reasonable time. Furthermore, you adjusted your overly cautious approach as soon as you realised it would be problematic. Three thousand each.¡± ¡®I told you we should have checked out those chests; the moment we found one unique item, we would have looked for the other two.¡¯ Kai muttered. ¡®Kai¡­ Alicia can¡¯t swim.¡¯ Kai looked at Alicia in surprise. ¡®Syl, I told you that in confidence.¡¯ Alicia complained. ¡®Sorry, but we¡¯re a party; he kind of needs to know. Besides now that he does know we can have our beach episode, I¡¯ve been meaning to make changes to the domain''s lake; I think it will be relaxing to have a swim now and then.¡¯ ¡®Beach episode?¡¯ ¡°Would you like me to take points away for you three having a private conversation while I am trying to give you your assessment? I do appreciate you not directly interrupting me with idle chatter, but it is still rude.¡± The dungeon master said as he glowered at the three of them. ¡°We apologise,¡± was all Syl said. ¡°Not going to lie to me, swear that you weren''t using your party communication or give me an excuse?¡± Syl shook her head. ¡°Fine, minus¡­ no points. Moving on, the village¡­ ten thousand points each.¡± ¡®Wait, no explanation-¡® Kai halted the mental communication as he realised the dungeon master''s head whipped round to give him a look that begged Kai to give him a reason to deduct more points. ¡°So your current totals are as such, Alicia, twenty-five thousand. Kai, twenty-three thousand five hundred. Finally, Syl, a new interim record of thirty thousand points.¡± The dungeon master paused to check something. ¡°Congratulations to the three of you. Together you have also set a new team record. Of course, that is when accounting for your diminished party size. Kai grinned; that implied they had a lot of points to bargain with. ¡°Now for the tedious part, trading those points. As you should know, this dungeon is equipped to assess the needs of its entrants and provide items suited to their immediate and future needs. But do not be fooled; the dungeon cannot construct anything that was not already within its catalogue.¡± The dungeon master started pacing back and forth in front of them, his demeanour that of someone forced to do something they didn''t want to do. His explanation heavy with the feeling he had delivered this particular speech many times before and wasn¡¯t paid enough to pretend he enjoyed doing it. ¡°Do not mistake me and assume that this limits the items available, as anything left behind by a fallen entrant across every instance within the multiverse is reviewed and added to the catalogue. And no, you cannot see the catalogue. You may only make a request, and the dungeon will offer the item that best fits you and your request. No, I cannot control this. The cost of said items, however, is not fixed; the more you need an item, the more you want it, the more valuable it is to you, the higher the price will be. Do not think you can get around this by trying to buy an item for your compatriots; I will know, and the price will increase manifold.¡± The dungeon master gave them all a look, just daring them to test him. ¡°You are limited to just ten requests each, and you may only choose a maximum of three items each. So think hard and choose wisely. If you find that you need more points you may exchange points between yourselves, submit an item to the catalogue, or¡­¡± his eyebrow twitched, ¡°submit for trade anything you looted from within this dungeon so that I may reintegrate the lost energy.¡± The dungeon master paused in front of Syl, giving her a long look he huffed, a puff of smoke pluming from each nostril have something for you from Kain, he held out a small white envelope with a black wax seal. Syl drifted back a little, looking at the letter with a mix of shock and fear; she hesitated to take it. ¡°This is not a trick; this letter has no value and is not from the dungeon catalogue, so I cannot charge you for it. I recommend you take it. As Kai said, Nothing to lose, a lot to learn.¡± She took it from him cautiously, breaking the seal and unfolding a pristine piece of paper and reading silently, her expression passing through a range of emotions too fast for Kai to read. Syl seemed to read the letter another time before finally nodding to herself and letting the paper go; it flared and turned to ash that was blown away by the heavy breath of the slumbering dragon. ¡°I request the unique item, The Art physical manifestation,¡± Syl¡¯s lip quivered as her voice wavered, ¡°refined and perfected for the exclusive use of Syl¡­ the worthy, by Kain Merribellium.¡± The dungeon master nodded, ¡°fifty thousand points.¡± It was Kai''s turn to step back; physical manifestation, Kai had immediately thought about requesting a body for Syl, but he doubted a fully functioning body fit for Syl was in this, what was technically a beginner dungeon''s catalogue. That, and if it was, the price would skyrocket. But a skill book written exclusively for Syl that would allow her to physically manifest that was one step in between. Syl ground her teeth as she stared down the blue dragon turned dungeon master. But fifty thousand points, that was ridiculous. Syl needed twenty thousand more. Who was he kidding? He had that and more. He grinned, ¡°I give Syl-¡° The dungeon master held up his hand, and Kai found he couldn¡¯t talk. ¡°For listening to the dungeon master, I give you ten thousand points¡­¡± He looked at Kai and dropped his hand. Finding he was free of whatever held his lounge, he- ¡°I give Syl five thousand points!¡± Alicia cried from the other side of Syl. Syl turned on her, ¡°Alicia, you can¡¯t; you haven¡¯t made any requests yet. We have no idea how many points you will need to-¡° Feeling like he had lost his thunder, Kai interrupted, ¡°I give Syl the final five thousand points.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± the dungeon master said as a loud thump resounded throughout the chamber as a tome twice the size of the last one Syl had received slammed into the floor in front of her. The sleeping dragon stirred but did not wake. ¡°It¡¯s not metaphysical; that would have cost you three times as many points as that is what you would need to read it¡­ but I¡¯m sure the three of you know a way around that¡­¡± The dungeon master looked off to the side and muttered, ¡°You have got to be kidding me.¡± The dungeon master turned slowly to Kai. ¡°What?¡± Kai asked as the man gave him a look of frustration. The dungeon master pulled a rough-looking letter from his robe and held it out to him, ¡°It appears your shadow master is competitive.¡± Kai hesitated; Alicia got ten thousand points for listening to the dungeon master. He waited for the magic words for the dungeon master to tell him he should take the letter. However, the man''s jaw just tightened as he shook the letter for Kai to take. Kai waited. But then a smile crept onto the blue dragon mans face as he shrugged and made to put the letter back into his robe. Not sure if this was a bluff or not, Kai reached out and snatched up the letter before the opportunity was gone forever. Both Syl and Alicia looked at him expectantly as he opened the rough parchment. He blinked; it had three words: No hello, How are you doing? This is that, or That is this, just three words. Kai sighed and said, ¡°I request Kai¡¯s apprentice package,¡± another blasted package from someone he barely knew. The dungeon master''s lips curled into a vicious smile. ¡°Twenty-three thousand five hundred points.¡± Damn, that was his exact point total before he gave five thousand to Syl; the dungeon master was playing with them. It was them, Alicia spoke up. ¡°I gi-¡° ¡°Wait!¡± Kai barked before Alicia made a mistake. ¡°Let''s not get hasty; I don''t know what''s in the package, and that price was oddly specific. As I do not know what it is I am getting, how about fifteen thousand points?¡± The dungeon master''s eyes sparkled, and he licked his lips. ¡°While I like a good haggle, I have no use for the points we deal in¡­ But we can trade. Five hundred thousand points for the dungeon keystone?¡± The three of them looked at each other in confusion. ¡°Five hundred thousand points, and I give you recommendations.¡± The dungeon master said increasing his bid. That was too much, way too much; he only needed five thousand. ¡®That''s too much, isn''t it?¡± Kai commented silently to his friends. ¡®We have a vault full of goblins and kobolds. We could return to the dungeon for points. Their combined energy should outweigh the energy the dungeon used to produce any keystone¡­¡¯ Syl said. ¡®Did you notice how¡­ how hungry he looked when he suggested it? And he immediately doubled down.¡¯ Said Alicia. ¡°Can you tell us what the keystone is for?¡± Kai asked cautiously. The dungeon master huffed, ¡°Nothing much; once you complete the next five trials, you will be able to open one more room that will appear within this very chamber.¡± ¡°And whats in the room?¡± ¡°Rewards¡­ But I promise you the next five trials will not be easy; the five hundred thousand points I am offering you now, along with my personal recommendations, will increase your odds of survival drastically. What is more important to you, trinkets or your life?¡± ¡®This doesn¡¯t smell right; he wants it too much; he shouldn¡¯t care about our survival that much.¡¯ Syl sent. Alicia, ¡®Agreed.¡¯ Kai thought about it, ¡®Inego did warn me he would try to cheat us; let''s see what we get for clearing out the inventory before we go making deals and trading points.¡¯ ¡®But my gold,¡¯ Alicia moaned. ¡®Local economic collapse,¡¯ Syl reminded her friend. ¡°Dungeon master, you said the purpose of trading in things we looted was to restore the energy taken from the dungeon?¡± Kai asked; he had an idea, but he needed to feel things out first. ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°So the value of what I trade back isn''t taken into account, just its energy?¡± ¡°True, but some things, like the previous rewards you were given, have some added value.¡± ¡°Do I get extra for dismantling things?¡± ¡°Only if the process of dismantling has created something that will hold value by being added to the dungeons catalogue.¡± ¡°And you won''t refuse anything that was looted from the dungeon?¡± ¡°As long as it was taken from this dungeon, I cannot refuse the trade.¡± ¡°Great, where should I put all this shit?¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± the dungeon master asked in confusion. Kai dropped a mountain of shit behind the dungeon master.
Trengor the great, the magnificent, the knowing, the great black deceiver, watched the three adventures pass back through his arch and groaned. Why did Atheos have to come into the dungeon? He had one job, one well-practiced role; now all he could do was go through the motions. He loved her dearly and had seen the value of one of the two of them submitting themselves to the dungeon as a form of insurance, as security. But was there any point in the charade anymore? No, he shook his giant head back and forth, feeling his scales loosen as they slid against one another, he had a role, an important one. He may not be connected to the real world anymore, but he was still connected to every other instance of the dungeon. He knew people had finished the dungeon in the past, receiving acknowledgement from both Atheos and himself. But in all that time, no one had completed his particular test. No one had received the things they hid away within a little-known dungeon. His frown turned to a big, toothy grin; maybe these would be worthy of the truth. Maybe Atheos had divined something, and her actions would not change the inevitable. Maybe he was destined to kill them, so her interference didn¡¯t really matter. The whims of that woman were unfathomable. She never could ignore a curiosity, even those that were ephemeral. To think two of the high, in his dungeon, it was unbelievable. They were extinct, sent to ruin by the system itself¡­ Things were changing. But he had a role, and he would do it even if it meant killing two of the high, the lost, the creators of his kind. System Anomaly - 31 - Wizard They left the dungeon master''s chambers with an air of triumph. After trading in what was, quite frankly, an absurd stock of dismantled body parts from all of the dungeon spawn they had killed and looted, all of their useless equipment, and a literal pile of shit, they had, much to the dungeon master''s annoyance, come out on top with more points than they had from all three of their assessment scores combined. With all the extra points to spend It made all of the earlier theatrics from the dungeon master pointless. If they had traded everything else, they wouldn¡¯t have had to sacrifice any of their points to each other, but Kai guessed it was the thought that mattered. He suspected the dungeon master had expected them to trade everything in and was just messing with them while he could. The mound of manure and rapidly decomposing guts and viscera however, that had defiantly caught him of guard. ¡® In the end, both Kai and Alicia came out with three items each; Syl, however, had deferred to Kai. Alicia had tried requesting a runic regeneration ring, but unfortunately the price was astronomical, and she decided against it. In the end, she secured a spatial storage ring of moderate size, a mana storage cuff similar to his own, and a pair of teardrop-shaped mana regeneration earrings. Kai had immediately seen the comparison to items he had secured and thought she might have lacked imagination. But Syl had complimented her foresight in requesting items that were known quantities that would serve her for many levels to come as she brought attention to the fact Kai had just bought what amounted to nothing more than a mystery loot box. The thing that really confused him was the storage ring; she had access to his storage ability through their party; why did she still want a spatial storage device? When he made the mistake of asking before thinking about it, he was taken down another peg for not realising that while Syl may be anchored to him, Alicia was in fact not. That meant there would naturally be times ahead where they were separated, and she could not always lean on his soul ring abilities. So Alicia, having an opportunity to get what was outside the dungeon, a rare and expensive item for nothing more than a few thousand of her assessment points, took it. Syl had cleverly made a request for ¡°any items or materials that are needed to construct, cast or perform the spells within the Art physical manifestation, refined and perfected for the exclusive use of Syl the worthy, by Kain Merribellium.¡± Only for the dungeon master to shake his head and state no such items exist within the catalogue. To his surprise, the dungeon master''s deadpan reply actually pleased Syl, and she deferred to Kai, insisting that she would spend the remainder of the points if there were any. Having been chided about his mystery box, he decided he should check its contents so that he would be better informed when making his requests, but the dungeon master put his foot down and created a rule on the spot that they could not use or open anything they bought until they left his chamber. That screwed Kai over, as not knowing what was inside the box meant he didn¡¯t know what to request. Kai thought back on Inego¡¯s advice; the man had made quite a few recommendations, which now only gave him quite a few problems. For example, Inego had said he should invest in better armour, and while the box he had received was not large enough for a whole set of armour, it was large enough for any individual piece. Inego had also recommended some kind of magical armour, and for all Kai knew, a trinket that had such an effect could certainly fit inside. Furthermore, they had also talked about getting materials like mithril, oricalcum or, amusingly enough, unobtainium; again, the box was big enough to contain raw materials, so asking for anything like that might be a waste of points. In the end he had to admit the mystery box was possibly shortsighted, but he trusted Inego knew what he was doing. Thinking back on how Syl had given a vague yet sufficiently specific request, Kai asked for something that would help him with the abilities he had gained within the dungeon, which just so happened to be all of his abilities. The dungeon master had narrowed his eyes at that one before begrudgingly presenting Kai with a pair of dragon scale gauntlets. They were exactly what he asked for, as they not only enhanced his mana control and flow when channelling mana through them to cast any of his skills, spells or techniques. They also gained a passive defence boost and self-repairing capabilities when sufficiently infused. The issue was they were expensive, causing him to hesitate before accepting the trade. However, after explaining what they could do, his two party members insisted he get them. For Kai¡¯s last item, he burnt through his requests asking for something that would hide his glowing eyes. Both Syl and Alicia had been taken aback the first time he made the request, but when he explained Inego¡¯s warnings about assassins, they both agreed vehemently with the man''s recommendation. The only problem was he didn¡¯t like any of the dungeon''s recommended items, the bulk of them being some strange variation of a mundane helmet without any arcane properties. On Syl¡¯s and Alicia''s prompting, he adjusted his request to something that would hide his glowing eyes while also improving his vision, that also provided ample protection and could not be seen; he was offered something he hadn¡¯t expected. A spool of thin black cloth called spectres shroud. His newfound problem was that that was all the information he got when he tried to examine the item; when he asked about it, all the dungeon master said was that it was the nature of the item he requested. What also stood out was the price. It was a solid sixty thousand points. Implying that despite its simple nature, Kai either really wanted it or, more likely, as he had no clue what to do with the cloth, that he really needed it. When he deferred to his party, he was surprised to see Syl was almost salivating as she looked at the item the dungeon master held out for him. So, despite the price of the item consuming almost all of their remaining points, he got it. Kai felt terrible for consuming the majority of the points they had earned, but his friends seemed pleased. Syl had, of course, tried probing for items that could have been of use for her, but out of her remaining eight requests, there was nothing she could afford or that piqued her interest. The dungeon master had circled back to them trading in the dungeon keystone again, but they had all agreed they wouldn¡¯t be taking that risk for what could amount to short-term gains. Things became especially suspicious when he said he would allow Syl to make another ten requests, promising that he knew of dozens, if not hundreds, of items that would suit her and her unique nature specifically. In the end they left the chamber, leaving behind one sour dungeon master. None of them sure if they had failed or passed his test. They, of course, immediately reconvened at the table out on the deck of their domain home to go over their haul. Kai couldn¡¯t believe his luck; he had come away with a growth item of all things. Sure, everything apart from Syl''s tome and his mystery box was soulbound but his new gauntlets were actually a growth item. The gauntlets fit perfectly, the soft, supple, dragon-scaled hide reaching up past his elbow, feeling like a second skin. The hue of black metallic scales changing subtly in the light as he tested the fit and flexibility of the strange materials. Touch scales ranging from large enough to cover the back of his hand and encapsulate his wrist down to small enough to wrap around each finger, overlapping one another to provide a flexible defence that even made his old plate vambraces seem like tin foil in comparison. Even the clawed tips at the end of each finger could be used as a weapon in a pinch. Unable to contain his enthusiasm, he examined them again. Trengor¡¯s scaled gauntlets. ( Soulbound-Growth ) Gauntlets made from the discarded scales of a powerful ancient dragon. Your mana control and flow is enhanced when channelling mana through these gauntlets. They also gain a passive defence boost and self-repairing capabilities when sufficiently infused with mana. They were perfect. His first growth item, sure they were no Gift, but still he couldn¡¯t wait to see how they would evolve as he levelled. And genuine dragon scale, that was just plain old fantasy world cool. Whoever Trengor was, they were probably pissed they had lost these. Though the fact these gauntlets were available for Kai to trade for probably meant Trengor had brought them into the dungeon and died. That or they had been submitted at some point. He realised he wasn''t actually clear on what happened to growth or soulbound items when you died; he added that to his mental list of things to ask his system guide. Kai found himself wondering if they were part of a set; they didn''t say they were, but he decided he would formulate one of his next requests for items related to them when they next met the dungeon master. Syl set her tome down, wisps of mana scattering away as the book disintegrated. She groaned, ¡°I think that damn woman got me again. I can just about do everything I need to to be able to physically manifest; the only issue is I lack the final part, the key ingredient.¡± ¡°And that is?¡± Kai asked as he stored his gauntlets and went back to fumbling with his spectre''s shroud; so far he had been unable to figure out what he was supposed to do with the slick black cloth. ¡°The only way I can physically manifest with all the perks, tweaks and changes Kain worked into the spell construct is if I have a focus, some kind of core that¡¯s tied to my soul, one I can anchor a physical form to.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t use Kai as a focus because your physical manifestation will overlap his physical being,¡± Alicia said, as she admired the spatial storage ring she had inexplicably decided to wear on the same ring finger as him. ¡°And you asked the dungeon master for pretty much exactly that, so we know you won''t be getting what you need from within the dungeon as a reward.¡± Kai said as he fiddled with his soul ring, rolling it back and forth with his thumb. Syl let out a frustrated laugh. ¡°If everything else about it wasn¡¯t so perfectly tailored for me and my, let¡¯s call it, unique situation, I would have thought she was just being mean, trying to poke me one last time before we get out of this dungeon and I escape her reach forever.¡± ¡°You seem to have changed your opinion on her¡­¡± he said carefully, probing things out; he would be seeing Kain soon enough, so he had an interest in knowing how things were before he passed through that particular arch again. ¡°Yeah¡­ her letter explained a few things; it doesn¡¯t mean I forgive her, especially now that she got me to waste all those points on that useless skill tome.¡± Kai let go of the shroud and sat back; he couldn¡¯t figure out how the thing was supposed to help him with his glowing eyes situation. Honestly, he too felt cheated, but he didn¡¯t want to say as much when the one item Syl had procured turned out to be a bust. ¡°Is it that bad, the focus, I mean? Do you know exactly what you need?¡± Kai asked, hoping together they could find an answer. ¡°It¡¯s bad¡­ I need something that I can form another anchor to, something that won''t affect the connection I have to you. It also needs to have the capacity to maintain and simulate the real me, not just an impression of me. If it¡¯s too small or contains any flaws, the physical projection will be distorted, and I won''t be able to use it as a separate proxy capable of channelling any mana and casting spells; that, and it won''t reflect any of the properties of my physical core, so I would be next to useless in a physical capacity.¡± Alicia chewed her lip in thought. ¡°How much capacity are we talking? Master or even my mother might have something suitable tucked away in a vault somewhere. I''m sure with the value of the information on core cultivation and Kai¡¯s control over the world wonder, they would be more than happy to accommodate you.¡± Syl sank into her seat, folding her arms and resting her chin on the table. ¡°Do you remember the mana battery we defended? Bigger than that¡­¡± She said, ¡°Even if they had something the size that would work, the spell doesn''t do anything transformative to the anchor. If I did not end up sealed inside the crystal, I would still be rendered immobile by its size and weight. No, I need something small. Something I can store in or carry with the projection. Barring something condensed and refined, something made by an artisan the likes of which won¡¯t exist on a still-integrating world, I¡¯m clueless as to what Kain had in mind.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Kai shifted in his seat and rubbed his chin; thinking out loud, he said, ¡°It is all but certain that I will be seeing Kain when we repeat the second test¡­ I''ll ask her. Hopefully she will let me know what she was thinking.¡± Syl got up and came to stand behind him. ¡°Let her know I won''t forgive her for what she did until we figure a way to make her spell work.¡± Wrapping her arms over his shoulders, she reached around and kissed him on the cheek. ¡°And make sure she knows I definitely won''t be accepting any apprenticeships until you come out of her test unharmed.¡± That caught both Kai''s and Alicia¡¯s attention, the two of them giving her a questioning look. ¡°It was in the letter,¡± Syl sighed. ¡°She knows what happened between Kai and Inego, and she wants to do a little experiment. Apparently your new shadow master has been quite insufferable in the back rooms of the dungeon ever since he found out his real self ascended.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault. Inego said he would let me call him master; I even said no at first. But then he offered to teach me a sword technique that would resolve all the issues I was having with infused strike and mana conjured weapon. I relented and actually called him master. I didn¡¯t think much of it, just me showing him some respect, but that¡¯s when I got the achievement; it wasn¡¯t supposed to become a whole thing¡­ This isn¡¯t going to follow me outside the dungeon, is it?¡± ¡°Words have meaning, Kai. Especially when your intent and words are aligned,¡± Alicia explained. ¡°My guess would be you acknowledged him and wanted to learn what he was offering, no matter the cost, and vice versa; he wanted to take you as an apprentice. The moment you called him master, the system would have informally acknowledged the apprenticeship, the relationship between master and student¡­ I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about this following you; if there was no contract defining terms, then you should be able to abandon the relationship anytime you want.¡± That actually made sense; he had been practically chomping at the bit to learn everything about Inego¡¯s technique. If things became problematic, it was like Alicia had just said he could just abandon the relationship. ¡°But Kai, that achievement will have marked you.¡± Syl said, ¡°The real Inego probably knows already. You really need to be careful about what you do next. He could take offence if you just dismiss him outright. Like you took advantage of his image to steal his technique.¡± ¡°Why did nobody warn me? I''m new to the system; I didn¡¯t know. I should have at least gotten a notification asking me if I wanted to accept a formal apprenticeship.¡± Kai said he had a sinking feeling this was going to become a thing someday. ¡°Seriously Kai, stranger danger, you just did the system equivalent of getting in the back of a stranger''s van just because they offered you a few hours of tutoring and a cool sword technique. The only saving grace, and the reason you didn¡¯t get the chance to accept anything, is because for the moment things are informal. That¡¯s the only reason I¡¯m considering Kain¡¯s little experiment.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, I get it, I did something stupid. First the dungeon master chastises me, and now I have you two ganging up on me.¡± ¡°Kai, we aren¡¯t ganging up on you; we are just doing our best to make sure you don¡¯t wander off a cliff in your ignorance¡­ Honestly, we are separated for the first time since we got bound together, and you go and form a connection to a god you¡¯ve never met.¡± Syl said as she slipped into his lap, reaching over to pick up the Spectre''s shroud, feeling the fabric''s texture with her thumb and forefinger. ¡°Speaking of ignorance, I can¡¯t believe you actually got a spectre¡¯s shroud.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m clueless about this one. I don¡¯t see how this small bolt of cloth will help me hide my eyes. I mean, using it as a blindfold would obviously cover my eyes, and that technically will hide them¡­ But what¡¯s the point if I can¡¯t see?¡± ¡°Kai, think about what you requested.¡± He shrugged, ¡°Something that would hide my glowing eyes?¡± ¡°And¡­¡± Syl said. "Something that should improve my vision whilst also providing ample protection?" ¡°And¡­¡± Alicia said, taking her turn making him feel stupid. ¡°Not be visible¡­ I think. I was expecting something like a skill book or a magical item. Not a piece of cloth.¡± ¡°You know you¡¯re so stupid sometimes. You got all that you requested and more.¡± ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is, this cloth will actually provide some kind of physical protection?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t actually ask for physical protection now, did you?¡± Syl said, shaking her head, Let me put it on for you; you tend to comprehend things better when you can see for yourself.¡± She got up, folded the fabric over a few times, and, much to Kai''s surprise, blindfolded him. There was only darkness. ¡°Great, now I can¡¯t see, which I guess means it¡¯s working, no glowing eyes. What about the other parts of my request?¡± ¡°Give it a little mana¡­ you¡¯ll see, literally.¡± He did as Syl suggested, and following his destructive experience with infusing mana into swords, he did his best to only pass as little mana as he could channel into the cloth wrapped around his head. The shroud immediately shifted from being a thin gossamer black cloth that somehow completely blocked all trace of light, effectively blinding him, to something more sheer that he could make out rough shapes and determine colours through, then eventually to allowing him to see without any obstruction at all. ¡°Neat,¡± he said as he looked about. ¡°So my eyes, how do they look?¡± Alicia leaned over the table and squinted. ¡°Yeah¡­ the same, but I cannot see the shroud at all; it is like you are not even wearing it.¡± ¡°Damn, the whole point of this thing was to hide my eyes from people.¡± He said he reached up to take it off, only he couldn¡¯t feel anything. Just as Alicia had said, it was like he wasn''t wearing anything, like the blindfold didn¡¯t exist anymore.¡± ¡°Relax,¡± Syl said as she slipped back into his lap. ¡°As I said, the shroud is doing everything asked for and more.¡± ¡°It is? ¡°Of course, just not in the ways you anticipated. The spectre''s shroud is a magical item¡­ well, it''s more of a material with magical properties. From what I remember, it¡¯s usually made into a cloak or a hood. But the point is, when infused with mana, it shrouds you, your presence, or any number of other things from anyone you want. Typically those that would do you harm or those you do not wish to notice you, whilst also obscuring its self from any detection.¡± Kai blinked. ¡°You see, it fulfils all your requests perfectly.¡± ¡°No defensive boost then?¡± ¡°No, but it''s still providing the ample protection you asked for. It will hide your eyes if that''s what you intend; it just might not work on people you trust unless that is your specific intention. Because if you haven''t noticed by now, magic is shaped by intent¡­ even if that intent is subconscious.¡± ¡°How do you know so much about what it does? The item description tells me nothing.¡± ¡°Because the spectres shroud just so happened to be a very rare drop at the end of a very hard tutorial dungeon aimed at the more shifty rogue types. And it just so happened to pop up on a few very rare occasions. You actually picked it up twice: once off someone who tried to kill you and the other on the third, no¡­ maybe the fifth time you ran that particular dungeon. Back then you had a few more context clues about what to do with it.¡± ¡°Must be destiny if it keeps coming back to me¡­ Hopefully third time''s a charm.¡± Kai said as he thought about what he could have done with the shroud during the tutorial, ¡°Please tell me I didn¡¯t wear it as a cape or something like that?¡± ¡°Worse, you sat and sewed it into a cape. The lining would disappear each time you activated it, but the cape itself remained.¡± She looked at him, trying to hold a serious expression; she failed. Letting out a laugh, she said, ¡°It was a cloak, a lot more functional; you loved that cloak, for good reason too. And besides, there¡¯s nothing wrong with capes. I think you would look quite dashing in a good cape. Dashing, heroic¡± Kai reached up to check the blindfold again. ¡°What happens if this comes off? I can¡¯t even feel it. It could come loose and fall off.¡± ¡°It¡¯s melded with your mana; it can¡¯t come off unless you stop infusing it or you run out of mana. It will be interesting to see what happens when you run out of your own mana and start using mine.¡± Syl said as she tapped her lips. She shrugged, ¡°It should be fine.¡± He snuck a quick kiss and asked, ¡°One thing I don¡¯t see is how this is improving my vision.¡± She clipped him on the shoulder for his pun, saying, ¡°That¡­ that I don¡¯t know; no one I remember having it ever looked through it. They just wore it in some fashion. And sadly, I no longer have access to my cheat sheet.¡± ¡°When are you going to open your package? I am dying over here waiting on you two lovebirds.¡± Alicia said as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. ¡°You know his lap is big enough for the both of us.¡± Syl cooed as she wriggled her hips. It was Kai''s turn to shift uncomfortably. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m a little worried about what¡¯s inside,¡± he said, looking at the box in the middle of the table. If it¡¯s a pair of gauntlets or something else that would also hide my eyes. Well, I¡¯m going to be pissed about all of the wasted points.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s more spectres¡¯ shrouds, I promise we will find you a cape you can sew it into.¡± ¡°The sad thing is I actually think a cloak would be cool. But I think it would just get in the way in a fight¡­ unless of course my swordsmanship skill already accounts for it.¡± ¡°A lot of people wear cloaks, though tailored coats and¡­ capes are the fashion amongst the aristocracy.¡± Alicia said, always happy to have something only she could input. ¡°Well, I guess I should see what''s inside; it''s not like I can return it.¡± Kai pulled the apprenticeship package closer, a simple wooden box, wider than it was long, plain unfinished wood free of any adornment, only two simple hinges and a clasp keeping it closed. He flipped the clasp with his thumb but held his hand, ¡°Opening this apprentice package isn¡¯t going to lock me into some kind of formal apprenticeship, is it? because-¡° ¡°What¡¯s in the box!¡± Syl cried. He flipped the lid. ¡°Huh.¡± Syl groaned, ¡°Sabre hilts.¡± Alicia got up and looked inside. I don¡¯t think so¡­ Sabres usually have some kind of guard or basket to protect the hand. ¡°Not that kind of sabre.¡± ¡°Relax, Syl, I highly doubt that kind of weapon was the first of its kind; it''s just what everyone thinks of first because of popular media. ¡°I know, I know, everything is derivative on the scale of the multiverse. I¡¯m just messing with you. I have a vague memory of the last time you went all space warrior wizard; things didn''t go so well. But back then you had a crippled mana core.¡± ¡°Oh, there is a letter stuck to the inside of the lid.¡± Alicia said from her vantage point on the other side of the table. He pulled the lid back over to see there was in fact a letter. Taking it, he broke the wax seal and decided to read it aloud for everyone''s benefit. ¡°Dear Apprentice, ¡°Thanks to you, I am the talk of the dungeon; your entry into the trials wakes a part of the dungeon that is all of us up, and the majority of us agree this has been one of our most interesting awakenings. ¡°The moment our time together was over, fair lady Merribellium started working on something significant for that friend of yours, and I knew I could not be outdone. ¡°Unfortunately, I lack my lady''s patience and attention to detail. Making it beyond me to produce anything near the quality you deserve. ¡°I thought long and hard about what I could give you, how I could show my appreciation. thinking about my recommendations. In the end, I decided to call in a few favours among the few artisans that populate the dungeon. ¡°I have commissioned a set of hilts that will fit best with the sword types you favour. In this container, should the work be finished in time, you will find two one-handed hilts, a hand and a half, and finally a longer two-handed grip that should fit what seems to be your favoured styles. ¡°It is good that you have something you favour, but you have only just begun to walk your path, and you will find remaining flexible will serve you greatly. ¡°Much like the broken and appalling unbalanced hilts we worked with in the test, these remain functionally mute. Alas, when I asked about enchantment, I was warned such things would drive up the cost. ¡°However, as I advised you, the materials used should give the four hilts properties that will aid you on your path. ¡°The hollow core of each hilt is made from a rare metal, recovered from melting down some rather unique sword some amateur brought into the dungeon on a distant world a long time ago. I am assured this material allows for absurd amounts of mana to be channelled through and anchored to it. This means you should be able to expand and refine your technique far sooner than you could using your current equipment. ¡°The core has been encased in Kalabassa wood, which should do a good job insulating your hand from any loose mana that would otherwise cause you injury should your control get sloppy. ¡°They should last far into the second tier, and hopefully by then you will have the resources to improve the design, like a repair enchantment. ¡°Find me, Inego Monteyo,¡± Kai said, finishing the letter. Syl tapped her lip in thought. ¡°Hollow core, encased in wood that protects the user? Kai, you realise these are basically short, reinforced wands with insane capacity for casting spells.¡± She turned to him and brushed his hair aside, making an exaggerated point of examining his forehead. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Just looking for a scar.¡± ¡°A scar?¡± She put on a gruff, masculine voice and said, ¡°You¡¯re a wizard, Kai.¡± Alicia blinked. ¡°But wizards are not known for their use of wands; magicians are. But, as these hilts are not pre-charged with any spells, a magician would find them useless. If anything, I would say that they are more like a focus, closer to a wizard''s staff than any magician''s wand. So I yes, I do suppose you are right for calling him a wizard, just in a roundabout way.¡± ¡°Semantics, Alicia, semantics. Besides, there are still wands out there that serve no other purpose but to facilitate and amplify the magic cast through them. Staffs are just typically used at the lower levels because their increased size gives amateurs a larger margin for error.¡± ¡°So¡­¡± Kai was trying to keep up. ¡°The two of you are saying there are actually distinctions in how magic is done?¡± He asked, feeling like he was out of his depth again; he thought he was getting an idea of how things worked. Turns out he had only scraped the bottom of the barrel. ¡°Yes, of course there are distinctions!¡± Syl cried, ¡°You know how people just love segregation¡­ The simple explanation is magicians exclusively use magical items; no personal skills or abilities are involved. Warlocks and witches both draw on some other power source and use it as their own, usually through some kind of pact or conditional agreement. Wizards use magical craft and knowledge, usually having some kind of grimoire they refer to when casting. Magi and mages use a mix of¡­ well, everything; I guess that¡¯s the category we probably fall into. High or "archmage are both terms for someone adept at the many different schools of magic. Oh yeah, there are shamans and druids that draw their powers and abilities from the natural forces¡­ You know what? I could go on forever. I¡¯m not even accounting for how magic is categorised within all the different schools.¡± Syl said as she picked out one of the hilts and peeked at him right down the centre like it was some kind of telescope. ¡°Most people start out as mages,¡± Alicia said, ¡°Then people specialise as they fall into a school of magic that suits them. Magicians sadly receive much derision for solely relying on magical items. Take away a magician''s trinkets, and they¡¯re typically useless.¡± ¡°Yeah, Inego told me not to rely on items.¡± Kai mused as he thought over what popular fiction said about all the different schools of magic and how they might actually light up with his new reality. ¡°Don¡¯t rely on items, but hey, apprentice, here¡¯s a box of items.¡± Syl said doing a silly imitation of a man she had never met. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re kind of training tools, kid gloves for the real technique. Apparently trying to grasp raw mana at my level of skill would wreck my hands.¡± ¡°Yes¡­I suppose it would be like trying to grab lightning.¡± ¡°These are a bit plain-looking,¡± Alicia said as she held one of the hilts, examining it closely. ¡°I am sure that was to keep the point value down; we can get someone to wrap them when we get out of here, maybe even some kind of belt sheath or holster or clip since Kai seems intent on keeping his hilts out for some reason.¡± Syl surmised. Shifting Syl from his lap, Kai picked out the longest hilt as he got up and channelled his mana, anchoring it within the hollow core; he constructed a simple blue phantom blade that pulsed with flashes of purple as he supplied more and more mana. When the blade started to hum softly, he stopped adding power and pulled a little back until the sound ceased. Satisfied, he tested his technique. As he moved it gently through the air, it trailed faint vapours akin to a white flame. Unable to help it, he grinned to himself like a kid with their first toy sword. He had just used more mana constructing the blade than he had ever managed before, and yet it remained within his control. He couldn¡¯t wait for tomorrow''s test. ¡°You know, Kai. You never told us the name of that technique.¡± Syl said, looking at him expectantly. ¡°About that¡­¡± System Anomaly - 32 - Mist Kai cut down zombie after zombie with his spectral blades; the horde felt endless, with another three, four or more slow, ambling corpses taking the place of everyone he cut down. He was in the moment, thinking only of reaching their goal alive. He spun and cut, dodged and weaved. His blades passing through one another without resistance, removing all the drawbacks that usually came with dual-wielding swords. He had opted for dual wielding with his two short hilts; the max mana he could put into his spectral longsword split between the two was more than enough for the enemies they were facing. ¡°How much further?¡± Kai asked using the party chat, as almost nothing could be heard over the chorus of moaning undead. ¡°Not much¡­ I think it''s either some kind of artefact or relic that has been triggered by all the death energy permeating the local eather, but-¡± Syl fired off a rapid staccato of mana bolts, their explosions somehow directed out and away from them into the press. ¡°But, if we are really unlucky, it¡¯s a lich or some kind of undead overlord. Please, Atheos, not a lich¡­¡± Two hours earlier they had stepped through the arch, expecting to be greeted by another soldier, ready to give them their return stones and an explanation of what was expected of them. That turned out to be a foolish assumption. This was the second time they stepped through this particular arch; the first time everything had been laid out neatly for them. They just had to defend the battery for as long as they could, then use the return stones they were given when things got to be too much. Nice and simple. This time, however, they found themselves on a road in the middle of a barren wasteland that led up to an eerily silent village. With no one in sight for miles in any direction, they did the obvious thing and headed along the road towards that village. Approaching the village, it became clear that either side of the road they walked upon had once been crops of some kind. Only now the rough, broken, dry, lumpy soil showed signs that the last crop had been recently scoured by flame. When they finally reached the village, nothing greeted them but silence. Besides the occasional outer building showing some minor signs of fire damage, the detritus scattered in the streets indicating the village had been hastily abandoned. ¡°Should we spread out, maybe search for clues?¡± Kai asked, unable to hide his apprehension as he looked about for any sign of life, any clue as to what they were meant to do. He knew there would be something, some threat; they were in a dungeon doing some kind of divinely mandated test. But he saw nothing, and yet he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling they were being watched. Syl and Alicia looked at him like he was an idiot. ¡°You want to split the party?¡± Syl scoffed, ¡°You never split the party, not unless you have no other choices.¡± She looked about, then closed her eyes for a bit, presumably using her mana sense to see if she could detect anything obvious. Her face scrunched up, and she let out the breath she had been holding. ¡°Nothing, I can¡¯t detect an ounce of life here; what¡¯s more, the ambient mana just feels wrong. You two stay here; I''ll go scout out the buildings.¡± Syl said as she turned into a wisp and zipped off, rapidly darting from one building to the next. ¡°This is splitting the party,¡± Kai mumbled over the chat. ¡°This is not splitting the party; I can¡¯t be separated from you. Even if I move to the limit of my range, I¡¯m still right there with you, able to bring my projection back to you with a thought. You know this, so shush.¡± ¡°What about in that test? You were out of range then?¡± Kai asked, remembering how odd that had been, coupled with the spooky setting they currently found themselves in, giving him goosebumps. ¡°To use one of your own terms, Kai, that was system fuckery; we were never actually separated, just out of phase as far as the dungeon and the party interface were concerned. Had I wanted, one thought and I would have been at your side.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you? You were an emotional wreck because of Kain; why not come to me?¡± Syl went silent; he would have thought something had happened to her if not for the fact her status on the party overlay was fine, and he could see her as she continued to zip around the village. When he looked over to Alicia, she was chewing on her lip. Locking eyes, she made a decision and approached him to whisper in his ear, ¡°It is because she would have been weak if she ran to you¡­ Syl needed to prove something, both to that woman and to herself.¡± It was then Syl chose to return; appearing in a flash, she made both Kai and Alicia jump. She gave the two of them a sidelong look of suspicion. ¡°This place was evacuated in a hurry, but that was some time ago; I¡¯ve looted anything I thought we could trade back to the dungeon master. Quite a few items were hidden away; I think the villagers thought they were coming back. I found something the both of you will want to see.¡± Syl pointed down through the village. ¡°Someone barricaded themselves inside one of the buildings; unfortunately, they are long dead, but they are the only people I could find; it¡¯s worth investigating.¡± ¡°Lead the way, oh beautiful spectre,¡± Kai joked. ¡°That sounds terrible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than you calling me meat suit all the time. And it fits the new theme. You know, spectre¡¯s shroud, spectral blades and¡­ spectral girlfriend?¡± Kai said, testing the waters; they hadn¡¯t actually put a name on what they were. ¡°Is spectral armour a thing?¡± Syl rolled her eye, but a smile crept onto her face. ¡°Yes, spectral armour is a thing; it just doesn''t have the same effects as the shrouds¡­ and I like spectral soul mate.¡± Last night when he had tried to explain the sword technique he was using was purely mana control and thus didn¡¯t have a name, Syl informed him he was an idiot. She then sat and explained how the system named things. It was complicated, but the gist of it came down to localisation. If the system did not notify him he had learnt an existing skill or technique, then whatever he was doing had not yet been discovered or defined within the local area as a skill, technique, etc. When Kai revealed that his informal master, Inego, had shown his dislike for his title of Ghostblade, things clicked into place for Syl, and she insisted the man had intentionally misled him in a clumsy attempt not to pass the moniker onto Kai by informing him the technique had no name and was just mana control. To prove her point, she had them all throw out some name suggestions. Soul blade, or alternatively soul sword, was rejected as while mana was stored and created within his core, which was a manifestation of his soul, the blade itself was not connected to his soul. Mana blade or sword was rejected for being too reductive. Astral was floated, but the idea ultimately sank when Syl pointed out there was an astral realm and the technique had nothing to do with that. Phantom Blade was the top contender for a while, at least until Kai thought about one of his recent acquisitions. His spectre¡¯s shroud. That part pinned, they discussed if it should be something like a spectre''s sword or spectral blades. When he pointed out that there was a possibility of him using the technique to create something other than a sword, like perhaps a dagger or possibly even an axe if the mood struck him, they moved away from the term sword altogether. They settled on calling his technique Spectral Blades. He would have to just ignore the fact he could make things like hammers and clubs with the technique, as that was neither his style nor his focus¡­ At least that was until Kai thought about it some more. There was no reason for such a distinction, creating an implied restriction. In the end he decided he would call his swords spectral blades, but the actual technique he used to make them would be called something more robust. That affirmed in his mind he got a notification from the system. New skill discovered and defined. ( Nascent ) Spectral manifestation. You have learnt to take hold of your own mana, manifesting it into ¡®spectral¡¯ mana constructs. Using this technique, you have learnt to form deadly arcane blades, though you know many other possibilities remain as this technique abandons standard magical doctrine and the use of restrictive spell forms, constructs and other common techniques. Few among the multiverse practice a variation of this technique; even fewer have mastered it. Achievement unlocked. Technique Pioneer. You have defined a technique currently unknown among your local cluster of the multiverse. Will you continue to develop and refine the technique, making it truly unique, or is it doomed to obscurity? Now that he had the spectre''s shroud, used spectral blades and had a spectral woman with him at all times, he had worried he would pick up some kind of spectral nickname like ¡®Ghostblade.¡¯ Actually¡­ now that he was thinking about it again, being known as the spectral blade, or something shorter like spectre, wouldn¡¯t be so bad; the only problem was he would have to lean into the spectral thing. He had never had a cool nickname in his life, and despite changing his name already and finding that that stuck, a good title still appealed to him. Reaching the blockaded house, Syl was guiding them before he could bring up his burgeoning plans of requesting some more spectral stuff when next they met the dungeon master. The door, barred from the inside, was covered in scratch marks and a hundred muddy, bloody handprints that marred the wood. ¡°It definitely looks like someone was trying to get in from the outside, which raises the question, how do we get in?¡± Kai asked as he banished his idle thoughts. ¡°We¡¯re only going to blow the bloody doors off!¡± Syl said with a goofy smile and a bad Cockney accent. He gave her a look. ¡°Just how much of Earth¡¯s media did you ingest in your spare time?¡± ¡°Only a few hundred years worth.¡± She shrugged, ¡°Not my fault I¡¯m cultured and you¡¯re not.¡± There was a subtle thrum-trim-thrum sound, and Alicia coughed to get their attention. ¡°Gift thinks he can do it without, and I can¡¯t stress this enough, Gift, without destroying the structure of the building.¡± ¡°You might want to try taking out the hinges and where the lock-¡° Thrim-thrum-thrim-thrim, Alicia giggled, ¡°Gift says he has already assessed the target, and he asks you please let him show you what he can do, without making unnecessary suggestions,¡± Thrim, Alicia put her hand to the side of her mouth and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s more impressive that way.¡± ¡°Fair enough, Gift, impress me,¡± Kai said as he and Syl both moved over to stand behind Alicia. Alicia pulled back, drawing Gift and firing off an arrow in one swift movement. The arrow split into four, each connecting with the frame of the door, bursting with no sound into spheres of golden white light; after a couple of seconds, the spheres disappeared, taking everything they had touched with them. The rolled forward and slammed to the floor, the furniture that had been propped against it coming crashing down after it. Kai and Syl both whistled their appreciation. ¡°Remind me to never be one of Gifts assessed targets,¡± Kai joked. Thrim-thrim, ¡±He says you¡¯re too stationary when you fight; you need to keep moving if you don¡¯t want a ranged attack to pin you down... or kill you outright.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Kai, I would listen to them; together they are our team''s ranged experts after all.¡± A soft, happy chime rang out, ¡°He thanks you for your confidence.¡± Syl led them into the dusty home, taking them to another door. She paused. ¡°Give me a moment; this one has something propped against the handle on the other side.¡± Gift chimed. ¡°No need for any fancy arrows on this one; it¡¯s just a stick. I can get it free with a telekinetic nudge.¡± Syl phased her head through the door, her butt wriggling in the air for a bit before the clatter of wood falling down some stairs could be heard a moment later. Popping back out, she grinned, ¡°It was wedged in there pretty good, but I got it.¡± ¡°If the door''s not locked and it was just something wedged under the handle¡­ why not just remove the bit of wood by looting it?¡± Kai suggested, ¡°Just saying it might have been easier; we probably could have looted all the furniture barricading the other door while we were at it.¡± Syl''s eyes narrowed. ¡°No spooning for you tonight.¡± ¡°Oh noo~ whatever will I do?¡± Kai replied, his voice monotone, as he looked over to Alicia. ¡°What?¡± ¡°How jealous do you think Syl would get if we cuddled outside the domain tonight, you know, just a little bit of spooning between the two of us, no other expectations, just nice warm cuddles?¡± Alicia actually took his question seriously, adorably chewing her lip as she looked between the two of them, before finally asking, ¡°No expectations?¡± Syl gave Alicia a viciously knowing smile. ¡°I- I think she would encourage it,¡± Alicia''s ears twitched nervously. ¡°Nice try, Kai, but I¡¯ve already poisoned the fruit,¡± Syl said in a sing-song voice. Kai didn¡¯t have a clue what that meant, but it made Alicia blush. He just sighed and opened the door; walking down the steps, he got to the bottom and turned to see Alicia still standing at the top of the stairs, looking down, clearly hesitating to follow. Kai looked about, thinking he had missed something, seeing nothing amiss but three corpses; he called back up the stairs, ¡°You coming?¡± ¡°It is pitch black down there,¡± Alicia called from the top of the stairs. ¡°I can just about make you out, and that is it.¡± Kai looked about again; it was dark, but far from hard to see. ¡°It¡¯s pitch black down there, like, fetch me a torch, or I¡¯m not coming down into the creepy dark cellar, pitch black?¡± Alicia nodded, looking at him in confusion. Syl drifted down after Kai, ¡°I can see too, but¡­ but I guess I¡¯ve never really noticed the dark, at least not to the point I couldn¡¯t see anything.¡± ¡°So this isn¡¯t the spectre¡¯s shroud enhancing my vision?¡± ¡°I can see your glowing eyes, both of you; if I didn¡¯t know better, I would have thought you were cratchers, the light catching your eyes as you stalk your prey at night.¡± ¡°Sorry, what¡¯s a cratcher?¡± Kai asked before he could stop himself. ¡°Finally!¡± Alicia squealed, ¡°I finally got you! Ooh em, a cratcher is a big feline ambush predator; it has a natural ability to blend into shadows, only its eyes remaining visible.¡± She grinned. Hmm, ¡°Natural ability, like a racial trait.¡± It had always struck him as odd that his eyes seemed to glow for no reason, ¡°Maybe we have some trait that lets us both see in the dark, but I still don¡¯t understand why our eyes glow; it doesn¡¯t seem necessary for improved night vision." Kai got a system notification. Racial Trait Discovered. Arcane eyes of the His head buzzed as he felt out the information within the notification, a sharp stabbing pain building behind his eyes until the notification disappeared. A new one is appearing in its place. Arcane eyes of the High¡¯vei. Your eyes are arcane; infusing them with mana enhances them beyond the capabilities of the mundane, typically beyond the mundane. ¡°I think we know why our eyes happen to glow,¡± Syl said, holding her head. ¡°How did we not realise this until now?¡± Kai rubbed his chin in thought. Recovering from the painful notification, Syl shrugged, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me; I¡¯ve technically always been a¡­ High''vei. I didn¡¯t have any other context to go by. What¡¯s your excuse?¡± That caught Kai off guard, and he had to think about it as Syl flared into a little wisp, her cyan flames filling the room with light, Alicia joining them at the bottom of the steps a moment later. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever actually been in the dark since I went through my race change. The auction room, the first dungeon areas, and the forest are all lit in some way. I mean, I slept in the forest, but it was a bright night with all the stars, so I didn¡¯t think it was too dark. The domains have a constant golden hour, so that doesn¡¯t count. I¡¯ve had no point of reference to notice the change¡­ apparently I can¡­¡± Kai said as he directed a trickle of man into his eyes. The additional mana was eagerly soaked up by his eyes; the admittedly dim room coming into a much sharper focus, the shadows creeping back even further, everything shifting slightly as the mana in the air gave everything fresh perspective. ¡°Oh Syl, you have to try putting mana into your eyes.¡± There was a flash, and Alicia squeaked as the cellar was cast back into darkness. He hadn¡¯t even activated his mana sight, but there it was, mana trailing through the air, shifting like smoke as he waved his hand in front of him. ¡°Mana sight seems a bit redundant now, don¡¯t you think?¡± Syl was squinting. ¡°Kai, I can¡¯t infuse my projections eyes like that." ¡°Please, Syl, I don¡¯t like the dark.¡± Alicia whispered. ¡°Oh, yes, sorry, I forgot.¡± There was a flash of light, and Kai realised Syl''s theatrical transformation cast not just light but mana out into the room. ¡°Yeah, sorry Alicia, I guess a dark cellar in an abandoned town during a dungeon test isn''t the best time for me to be experimenting.¡± He paused and asked Syl through their connection, ¡®Alicia is scared of the dark? Anything I should know?¡± Syl didn¡¯t look at him when she replied, ¡®We all have trauma; it¡¯s not my place to say, but she will be fine so long as it¡¯s not pitch black, and I mean pitch black.¡¯ Kai nodded, ¡°So these are the only corpses in the whole village.¡± ¡°Besides the local graveyard¡­ And no, I¡¯m not diving down into the dirt to double-check.¡± Kai hadn¡¯t actually thought about it, but now that she had mentioned it¡­ ¡°You looted all the houses. Don¡¯t people tend to bury the dead with¡­¡± He shivered. ¡°No, you''re right; let''s leave the dead be. I know it''s a dungeon and all this is technically fake, but grave robbing still doesn''t sit right.¡± Alicia coughed, ¡°What if the item needed to complete a dungeon scenario is in a grave, or there is something rare and valuable buried away? I agree with you, but I think you need to keep an open mind when you find yourself inside a dungeon such as this." Syl grimaced just thinking about it. ¡°Alicia''s not wrong; we should check these guys for clues, and then I''ll go check the graveyard¡­ Dungeon architects like to think they are clever, hiding things away. It is uncommon but not unknown for things to be buried away with the dead.¡± Syl raised her voice. ¡°I just hope the dungeon master sees our logic and does not. I repeat, they do not penalise us for exploiting a scenario we know to be a temporary fabrication. After all, if he really hates Atheos so much, wouldn¡¯t he want us to find her secrets?¡± Ignoring her theatrics, Kai walked up to the first corpse; in the final stages of decay, the body was reduced to bone, cartilage, dry skin and hair. It wore the same armour those soldiers wore in their defence against the kobolds. The corpse was slumped against the wall, a sword and shield propped against the wall to its side. Spotting a crumpled piece of paper in the man''s hand, he apologised to the deceased and took the obvious clue, uncrumpling it to see it was a hastily written note. He read it aloud for the two women hovering over him. ¡°We are trapped, ran out of food and water two days ago despite our rationing. Andarogan is sick, so we do not dare use our return stones lest we spread the plague to the refugee camps. We were so close to completing our mission; the source is nearby. But the mist, they came with the mist; we had no choice but to flee. Talancia, forgive me, my love; I cannot return¡­¡± Hmm, ¡°a bit vague, but I think we need to find this source, whatever it is. That or use the return stones before whatever is in this mist overwhelms us¡­ Same principle as the first test, just different conditions.¡± Syl said Kai nodded in agreement as he checked the corpse''s neck. Standing up again, he held out a return stone for the others to see as he looked over to the other two bodies, then at his team, then back to the bodies. Syl and Alicia didn¡¯t move. ¡°You¡¯re really going to make me do the gross stuff?¡± Syl bobbed up and down in agreement as Alicia summoned a little metal disc from storage. ¡°I¡¯ll clean them up with my charm just to be safe.¡± Not finding any other clues, Kai recovered another two return stones, Alicia making a point to clean all three before she took one for herself. They looted the weapons but otherwise left the bodies as they were; Kai even returned the note. It wasn¡¯t necessary with this being just a dungeon scenario, but it felt wrong taking the man''s last words. As they left the cellar, Kai had a thought that was worth sharing: ¡°These return stones are the shards we need, so there¡¯s nothing stopping us; we can leave right now¡­ The only thing is that we would lose out on assessment points. But if we¡¯re lucky, it would probably mean we can do the next two arches today. Get out of the dungeon a day sooner¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s one more day? Besides, I still feel cheated; I want a chance to get something for myself. I¡¯m sick of skill books and tomes. So I want as many assessment points as we can get.¡± Thrim-thrim-thrim, ¡°Gift says he is not done proving himself; he wants some targets.¡± ¡°I was just putting it out there. So what¡¯s next? We check the graveyard for some mystical long-lost items, then Syl uses her super useful mana sense to see if she can track down this source.¡± They got to the front door. ¡°No¡­ I think we should run.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± Syl pointed out through the door to where a thick mist rolled in between the buildings. ¡°Because that isn¡¯t mist.¡± Two hours later, they kept track of each other using the party system; Alicia was never more than a few meters away from him as she picked off the targets Syl kept marking deep within the mist. Kai was the spear tip, taking down the slower undead that just so happened to get between him and the direction Syl was steering them. His eyes burning with infused mana, he could just about see through the vapour that was not; he could only imagine how bad this was for Alicia, for an archer it must have been like fighting with a severe handicap, yet not once did he hear her complain, the snap of her bowstring a constant reminder she was still fighting by his side. Syl, for her part, was concentrating on keeping them alive as she followed the trace of magic that allowed the dead to cross over from the realm of the dead. ¡°Wraith!¡± Syl called out, ¡°Marking it purple, too fast for me to hit with mana bolts.¡± A purple mark appeared off to Kai''s left. ¡°Yup, it sensed your challenge stone, Kai; it¡¯s rushing straight for you¡­ in five, four, three.¡± Kai watched as the purple mark headed straight for him. ¡°Two¡­¡± He readied himself. ¡°Barrier!¡± The wraith wailed as it collided with the barrier Syl slammed into place between it and Kai. He didn¡¯t wait; he swung, pulsing his blade with an infused strike, a blade of fortified mana striking forward from his spectral blade to rip the wraith caught in Syl''s barrier apart. ¡°Another one, purple!¡± ¡°I got this one.¡± Alicia called at the same time she snapped off a shot of golden light; the purple marker in the distance disappeared from his heads-up display before the wraith it was attached to could locate Kai and his challenge stone. He had mistakenly thought his spectre''s shroud would make him hard to spot or easy to ignore; he still wasn¡¯t clear on what it actually did, but it turned out whatever it did didn¡¯t matter much as the dungeon denizens could somehow detect his challenge stone regardless. The wraiths that started showing up about an hour after the mist enveloped them were especially tenacious, detecting him at insane distances and coming straight for him at a hateful pace. They either had to detect them in time so that Alicia could take them out from a distance or work together to stop it in its tracks before it could latch onto him. They were just lucky the three of them used arcane attacks, as Syl had explained wraiths were nigh invulnerable to the physical. That did raise an issue in Kai''s mind: how would he handle something resistant to his spectral blades and mana bolts? ¡°Shit!¡± Syl cussed. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The source just moved¡­ It''s coming this way, taking its time, but it¡¯s definitely coming this way.¡± When the mist had rolled in and the moans and groans of the living dead had started, Kai had assumed they were dealing with zombies. He had referred to the sickness in the dead man''s note and raised his concerns about being bitten. Syl couldn¡¯t contain her amusement; she teased him for a good five minutes before letting him know they weren''t dealing with mundane zombies but plain old arcanely charged undead crossing over from a parallel realm where the dead do not die. As if that made any sense. The mist wasn¡¯t actually mist but a distortion of the membrane between dimensions. Something on this side was creating a distortion, allowing the undead to cross over, calling them here. Whatever it was that beckoned the dead, Syl could feel it, and to a lesser extent when he infused his eyes to the point it almost hurt, Kai could see it. Faint trails of mana pulsed from each moving corpse off into the distance. And they had been following them for a good two hours now. According to the hastily scribbled note, the source was close. The issue with close is it was a relative term. Especially when you were surrounded by enemies and blinded by mist, fighting for your life. ¡°What¡¯s the plan? Do we head it off? Or buckle down here?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t stop moving or we will get overwhelmed. The ones we have been stringing out will catch up and swarm our position. And I have no way to account for what''s on the other side, which I promise you will be worse than anything we¡¯ve seen over here.¡± ¡°Okay, we head it off, clear out as much as we can between us, then we kite it, whatever it is.¡± ¡°I''m hoping for a demilich, but to draw in this many undead, that¡¯s unlikely.¡± Thrum, ¡°I am not asking,¡± thrim-thiiiim, ¡°fine! Gift wants to know what you mean by kite and if he will be involved.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a gaming term; it¡¯s a strategy that¡¯s perfect for Gift. He will love it.¡± Syl said, as there was a flash in the mist followed by a boom, ¡°I can level again! Give me a sec.¡± Alicia groaned. ¡°Your telling me, I feel like I¡¯m about to burst. But the moment one of us stops, the other is in trouble; we were lucky with that first level up; there is no chance now,¡± Kai said. ¡°I¡¯m quickly running out of marks.¡± Kai spun around and used mana mark on anything that moved; he was nowhere near as good as Syl had gotten; she was at the point she just had to feel something''s mana to mark it. He, however, lacked actual mana sense and had to look at and apply his intent to mark something, which, of course, meant his range was limited, and it took him more time than he liked. Spinning back round to bifurcate a looming skeleton soldier, he scowled as he watched it wither and rapidly decay, the bones turning to dust as they were pulled back to the other side. ¡°I wish we could loot these; think of all the assessment points we are losing, ¡±Kai thought about all the points he had gained from trading in his loot from grinding. ¡°Oh shit, I think I actually miss wretchlings.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back, oh sh- wraith! three, two¡­¡± Kai spun; he had no marker. ¡°Barrier!¡± A sickening wail called out just behind him; too close for comfort, he turned to see the wraith''s claw reaching out for his face as it tore itself free of Syl¡¯s barrier. Stepping back, he took its arm off; stepping forward, he cleaved its ghostly form in two, each piece vanishing into the mist from where it came, a rough black crystal falling to the ground from where it had just been. He looted it and moved on to the next zombie, a little green goblin this time. How nostalgic. These crystals being the one thing left behind by the undead he could actually take, the annoying part being they rarely dropped. Known as monster cores, he had never noticed them before, looting everything to then be automatically dismantled in his domain; they just hadn¡¯t come to his attention. He had only learnt about them when he had traded with the dungeon master, Syl and Alicia both insisting he hold onto the few hundred assorted cores of various types and qualities for when they were outside. There was another boom. ¡°All clear, no wraiths or abominations.¡± ¡°Syl, I hate to say it, but that was too close; no more levelling; let the extra essence repair your core. Actually¡­ if Alicia has time to level, she better do it; she can''t overflow the way I can.¡± ¡°I think I can hold.¡± Alicia said, her tone uncertain. ¡°No,¡± Syl snapped off a few mana bolts, ¡°we''re good; we will cover you.¡± Kai turned and headed in Alicia¡¯s direction; reaching her, he tapped her on the shoulder. She immediately dropped to one knee and started levelling up. It should take less than a minute, but in a fight like this when they were pressed on all sides, that was a long time. By the time Kai had taken care of two zombies, a skeleton warrior and some weird undead kobold that liked to pounce out of the mist, Alicia was done. She stood up, raising Gift to take out the growing number of marks laid out by Syl. ¡°Thanks, I needed that; I had two levels of essence built up.¡± ¡°Two levels?¡± Syl said appreciatively, ¡°Damn. I thought I had caught up; your turn, Kai; make it quick.¡± Kai just grunted; there was no way he had the time; he could already see more undead than normal circling them. ¡°We¡¯ve been stationary too long. Pick a direction and give me a marker.¡± A big gold mana mark appeared in the distance as Syl said, ¡°Best if we can fight it there; the ground feels open and level. Alicia won''t have to worry so much about her footing in this mist.¡± ¡°Right, Alicia on me. Gift, keep doing impressive shit. Syl, mark the source as soon as you can,¡± Kai said as he moved to clear out a cluster of zombies between him and their new bearing. ¡°The source, It¡¯s resisting mana mark. Give me a sec!¡± Kai watched a chunk of his mana disappear as a big black mark appeared off in the distance. ¡°Got it marked¡­ oh no, that was a bad idea.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Thrum? ¡°Why?¡± Kai, Gift and Alicia all asked in unison. ¡°Because the source is bee-lining straight for us now as fast as a wraith, ready your return stones; this could get ugly.¡± System Anomaly - 33 - Lich Lord The lich lord moved faster than Kai thought was possible, dodging both arrow and mana bolt with preternatural movements. Syl had retracted her projected form the moment she had successfully examined the floating black-ragged collection of bones, calling out to the team, ¡°Lich lord! It¡¯s not named; however, it is level twenty.¡± ¡°Are you giving us a choice? You want to kill it, don¡¯t you?¡± He laughed, ¡°You¡¯re letting me know this isn¡¯t going to be another rune bear fiasco.¡± ¡°Well, it''s no arch lich or lich king, probably only recently awoken. just a standard lich who can command the undead, hence the lord part.¡± Syl informed them, ¡°They¡¯re typically weak for their level, usually relying on undead swarms to attack for a safe location. It''s odd this one is attacking us itself.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s here for us! Challenge stone for the win.¡± Kai joked as he avoided a putrid green ball of flame that lit up the mist as it came his way. ¡°Okay, I''m happy to give this a go if you guys are. But how do we kill it?¡± ¡°Liches have some kind of container for their soul,¡± Alicia said as she fired off a succession of shots, each one different from the next as she tried to catch the lich off guard. ¡°The lore specifies they are very protective of that item, either hiding it on their body or having it tucked away somewhere nearby.¡± A barrier shot up in front of Kai just moments before a torrent of green flame was about to wash over him. ¡°This thing is focused on me; anyone got a way to exploit that?¡± ¡°Well, I was a little worried I would draw its attention; their attacks can damage the soul and-¡° ¡°You bravely ran away?¡± ¡°No~¡± Syl said, her audible pout clear through the party chat, ¡°It was a tactical retreat; my projection would work as a conduit straight through to my soul. The lich could actually do some serious damage to me.¡± ¡°Syl¡­¡± Kai sighed as he dodged another green fire bolt; he was just happy the lich¡¯s attacks were telegraphed with the way they lit up the mist as they travelled towards him. ¡°Can this bag of bones attacks damage my soul through my body?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°Can they damage Alicia''s soul?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°Then stop hiding and get your ass out here with the rest of the party and use your projections and its added mobility to help pin this fucker down while it is completely focused on me.¡± ¡°I hate to say it, Syl, but the pretty boy is right; I have not been able to hit it once since I took off its arm. However, besides being the only one to do significant damage to it, it has not once changed its focus from Kai to attack me.¡± ¡°Wait, you took off one of its arms? It¡¯s not once come into my range. I¡¯m just taking down the undead that get close and firing off the odd mana bolt at Syl¡¯s marker,¡± he said, as he took down another two zombies. Being able to communicate mind to mind freeing him up to both fight and stay in contact with his party. ¡°And you know I¡¯m allowed to be right¡­ Right?¡± Thinking about how he was the target of choice, he contemplated storing his challenge stone. But as he took down a zombie kobold, he realised he was actually kind of glad it drew everything towards him, as it greatly simplified crowd control. There was also the increased essence draw to consider. However, he was still waiting to encounter a rare spawn. ¡°Yeah, these guys are all about undead control, crowd control and ranged attacks.¡± Syl said as an orange wisp popped into existence beside Kai. ¡°And no, men on Alea are just meant to look pretty and help make babies, with no right to be right in sight. Just like a nineteen sixties housewife.¡± He ignored her quip and focused on what she said about the lich, ¡°So what you are saying is this floating Halloween decoration is a glass cannon, one good hit and it¡¯s dead?¡± ¡°No, one good hit and then we have to find its phylactery,¡± Syl said as she flew straight for the lich, her orange form lighting up the mist in a burst of orange and yellow as she zipped about him. ¡°Kai, come this way.¡± ¡°Will do,¡± Kai said as he took down another two zombie goblins that were busy ripping their way through the misty membrane that was failing to separate their dimensions in front of him. So far he had been kiting the lich towards the spot Syl had picked out earlier, and he welcomed the change of plan, as everything he had tried so far seemed to have no effect on the damned thing. His weariness was growing. With all his dungeon items, his mana was of no concern. But it turned out, fighting on the move was a totally different thing from holding a single defensive position. Without Alicia¡¯s stamina regen converting his excess mana regeneration into the stamina he desperately needed and limber keeping his muscles and joints from betraying him, he doubted he would still be standing. ¡°Yeah, the moment you moved this way, the lich started backing up¡­ It''s changing its attack pattern, the way it¡¯s moving¡­¡± Syl said, her orange glow lighting up the form of the lich as she circled it. Kai felt his mana disappear as Syl made a dozen mana bolts appear just behind him. ¡°Get ready; I think I can pin it down with a stun and some barriers, but we will only have this one chance; this thing adapts quickly¡­¡± Seeing that he was quickly closing the gap on the retreating lich, he called out to Alicia, ¡°You got that focus spell handy?¡± ¡°Yes, but you are too far for me to- hold¡­ Gift wants me to shoot you. Incoming.¡± ¡°Wait, what?!¡± Kai cried as he watched the outline that indicated where Alicia was off to his side turn to him and release a golden glow for it to streak straight through the mist towards him; he had to fight to resist his instinct to dodge. Not that it would have helped; the lich may be able to dodge Gifts arrows at level twenty, but he was only level six with a core full of essence waiting to level up to level seven, maybe eight if he was lucky. Not that having the extra stat points would help him. To think he was about to die to his surprise fianc¨¦e. The golden arrow hit him in the torso, centre mass, for an arrow shot through mist at a target she couldn''t see; it was a perfect shot. The arrow burst, enveloping him in a short-lived soft golden glow; his mind came into focus, and he entered the zone as the energy was absorbed into him. ¡°A bit more warning next time.¡± ¡°Just be glad it worked¡­¡± ¡°Both of you get ready, five, four¡­¡± Kai heard the mana bolts hovering just over his shoulder crackle with mana as Syl started overloading them all at once. He was just glad her control had grown by leaps and bounds, as there was no way he could have controlled so many overloaded bolts. ¡°Three¡­¡± Kai switched to his two-handed hilt and created a spectral great sword, the blade vibrating silently in his hand as vaporous white flames of mana leaked from the spectral blade. Wearing his new dragon scale gauntlets that somehow enhanced his mana control and flow while he himself was in a state of perfect flow, he could use far more mana than he would have ever dared to use without everything working together to enhance his base abilities. He pushed an insane amount of mana into the blade as he prepared to pulse the energy through it and out into a supercharged infused strike. ¡°Two¡­¡± He was ready, but not yet in range. and it was far too late to change his strategy and prepare mana bolts. ¡°Stunned¡­¡± He swung the spectral blade in an overhead strike, pulsing his infused strike with as much mana as he dared and then some as he brought the blade down towards the lich. ¡°Barriered!¡± Syl''s crackling mana bolts were released all at once, curving subtly as they came in from the left and the right, creating a corridor for Kai to move in for his attack. Several golden arrows came in from above and around from behind, Alicia and Gift showing that they had learnt to arc and curve their shots so that they could all impact at the same time. The mana-formed spectral blade burst, shattering in his hand, all the energy ripping through the air as it was carried in the wake of his strike, amplifying his attack in an unexpected way. Mana bolt, arcane arrow and infused strike all impacted the lich lord in quick succession just as it was breaking free from the five or six barriers holding it in place. A netherworldly wail echoed through the mist. The lich lord was torn to pieces by their combined assault, its robes flaring and burning away into green cinders as its bones turned to dust. ¡°Did anyone get a kill notification?¡± Syl called out. ¡°No.¡± ¡°No.¡± Kai and Alicia replied. ¡°Well, we got its corporeal form; now we need to get its soul. I''m just hoping this will¡­¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Kai turned to fight off the horde of undead they had neglected to take out the lich together, only to see the three closest zombies wander aimlessly. The closest wandering right past him, showing him no signs of aggression at all. He reached out to wave his hand in front of its slack-jawed face; it didn¡¯t react. Huh, ¡°I guess we don¡¯t have to worry about the undead for now. Any idea which way we go? I got all turned around in the fight.¡± Syl appeared by his side. ¡°I have markers put down that I didn¡¯t share. They should lead us back to the area the lich came from. But we should hurry; this won''t last long, and we won''t be able to follow the tethers from whatever the lich did once these things start returning to their realm.¡± The zombie Kai had let pass him by suddenly collapsed, falling to its knees, its body starting to rapidly decay all on its own. ¡°Shit, Alicia!¡± she called, ¡°We don¡¯t have much time.¡± Alicia came in from the mist to tap Kai on the shoulder. Kai immediately felt dull, slower than he liked, his mental acuity stripped away as Alicia removed the focus support spell from him. He was glad he only had it active for what must have been no more than a minute or two, as the earth-shattering headache he had last time wasn¡¯t something he wished to experience any time soon if he could avoid it. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s this way. We need to get moving if we want to stand any chance of finding that guy¡¯s phylactery, to kill it and get its essence and assessment points.¡± Hearing Syl mention essence, he hesitated. ¡°Should we level or-¡° ¡°No, move already!¡± Syl shouted as she turned and flew off into the fading mist. Shooting Alicia a glance, they both followed. By the time they reached the place Syl thought she first detected the lich, the mist had completely dissipated, taking all of the remaining undead back to the world they came from and any trace of the lich¡¯s control with them. Syl was zipping about an open field, the ground rough and broken with the signs of a recent attempt to prepare the burnt field for planting. ¡°Shit, shit, shit, shit¡­¡± was all he could hear from her as he slowed to a stop and checked his essence. He had dipped below being able to gain a full level; he let out a frustrated sigh. At least Syl¡¯s level had overtaken his; it meant he should receive the greater share in the future; for now, he was content to let his remaining essence bleed over and heal Syl¡¯s core. Thinking about it, he probably should get an update on her core''s health. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Kai asked Syl as she flew past him. She stopped and came back to him, an annoyed look on her face. ¡°We were too slow; the lich felt us coming. It shut everything down and went to sleep. It¡¯s almost impossible to find the lich using my mana sense now.¡± Hmm, Kai rubbed his chin and looked about the open field. It didn¡¯t look like a normal farmer''s field; it looked like someone had taken a plough to a glade in the wake of a wildfire. Presumably to produce more food in the face of a looming famine. ¡°From what I have read about liches, they go to insane lengths to hide their souls, usually in a place full of death energy, as it will enrich them and allow them to grow stronger over time. So graveyards, tombs, crypts. Those are all the common places people look when hunting them,¡± Alicia said. ¡°This is where I first sensed it. And I''m certain this place was a focal point for whatever caused the mist. But I can''t see anything but an empty field.¡± Syl was right. There was nothing here, but something bugged him. It''s just turned earth¡­ Wait, do they also call it earth on Alea, or should it be turned Alea? That didn¡¯t sound right. He guessed it depended on whether the planet Earth was named after the dirt or if the dirt was named after the planet. Did it even matter? His polyglot skill would translate things for him anyway. He shook off the random thoughts and continued pulling on the thread that bugged him. Turned earth and a lot of stones? A lot of cut stones? tombstones¡­ ¡°Alicia, you said they liked graveyards?¡± Alicia and Syl turned to watch him as he walked over to one of the stones and started brushing off the dirt to reveal text he didn¡¯t recognise but could still read. ¡°Something, something, of Trendull. Died of a broken heart in the four hundredth and fifty-first cycle of the second age¡­ yup, this is a graveyard alright. Just a long-forgotten one by the looks of it. My guess is the villagers came here to farm the open land in an attempt to grow a surplus of food following the fires that came through.¡± ¡°They must have been so desperate they ignored the graves they turned over and kept ploughing.¡± Syl said as she looked about with fresh eyes. ¡°How long would it take for a graveyard to be buried like this?¡± Alicia said as she checked she wasn¡¯t standing on something she should not be. ¡°Depend on local conditions, so it¡¯s impossible to tell for us to tell with limited information. It¡¯s likely the lich buried this place himself to help him hide. Though for the local villagers to desecrate the ground, it implies they either didn¡¯t care for anyone interred here or they didn¡¯t know this place was a graveyard.¡± Syl said. ¡°So, we are in the right area; we just need to find it.¡± Kai said, turning to Syl. ¡°Remember us talking about robbing the village cemetery. Well, if you can¡¯t use your mana sense like ground sonar, I suggest you phase into the ground and see what you can find.¡± Syl gave him a wide-eyed, oops, look. ¡°You didn¡¯t check underground with your mana sense, did you? Just got to the field. Didn¡¯t find what you were looking for and immediately started to panic?¡± Syl¡¯s expression tightened with every one of his words, ¡°In my defence, it was still a little misty when I got here, and yes, I expected to find something like a crypt or tomb, not a half-tilled farmer''s field.¡± ¡°You know this is probably just the dungeon calibrated to make use of your unique abilities¡­¡± Alicia said. ¡°Yeah, the maze, the village, even the first time we entered this particular test, you were instrumental in getting us through it all. Even Alicia with Gift has done her part, killing enemies left, right and centre while she is also supporting me with her magic. I¡¯m beginning to think I am just here to look pretty so you two exquisite women don¡¯t feel bad for doing all the work.¡± Kai said, waving his spectral blade about and enjoying the way the mana came off in vaporous white flames; the blue blade itself crackled with the occasional pulse of purple light. Syl sighed, smiled, and then gave him a hungry look, biting her lip in pent-up frustration as she moved to his side, ¡°At least you are pretty.¡± She cooed in his ear. ¡°I- I didn¡¯t mean it like that.¡± He stammered as he felt something rising; it wasn¡¯t embarrassment. Fighting back a carnal desire he was about to explain, he had just been joking, but Syl''s look intensified the moment before she burst into cyan flames, taking on her cyan wisp form to dive into the dirt. He turned to Alicia for backup, but she was hiding a smirk behind her hand, her soft chuckle like the sound of a bell telling him he stood no chance of bringing her to his defence. Five minutes later, Syl popped back out of the ground towards the centre of the field and turned back into her full form. They jogged over to find she was beaming. ¡°You enjoy swimming through the dirt.¡± ¡°Oh god no, the things I saw down there would give me nightmares if I hadn¡¯t seen far worse in my time as¡­ in my old job. This graveyard is ancient; I think there might be some ancient town buried around here somewhere. There were some valuable items, but nothing of use.¡± Syl said with a look of feigned horror before her face turned back to a beaming grin. Alicia and Kai waited for her to fill them in. Syl sighed, ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learnt to wait to be told¡­ waiting on my ability to read minds to awaken.¡± Kai teased. ¡°Fine, do you want the good news or the bad news?¡± ¡°Good news, please!¡± Alicia replied eagerly. ¡°I found the lich¡¯s crypt; he stocked it full of treasure in an attempt to obscure where he hid his phylactery. Nasty stuff, items both cursed and trapped. Some of them were even set up to react badly to spatial magic.¡± She gave Alicia a pointed look. ¡°You¡¯ll want to be careful when you store any items of dubious origin in your personal ring. If I didn¡¯t have my mana sense, I would have been none the wiser. Anyway, I was able to store everything but this one little gemstone hidden away in the corner under one of the floor slabs.¡± He was starting to hope Kain was planning to teach him mana sense; so far it had been the most useful of all the skills they had learnt, and he could see it improving his mana control by leaps and bounds. ¡°And phylacteries cannot be looted?¡± Alicia asked. Syl nodded, ¡°Not when there is an unwilling soul locked inside.¡± ¡°So you found the lich. What is the bad news?¡± ¡°All my spells that could potentially destroy the damn thing are all cast through Kai as a proxy,¡± Syl closed her eyes as she took a moment, ¡°Aaaand even with my limited ability to cast remotely from him, there is too much earth and stone for me to do anything while Kai is up here and it is buried down there.¡± Kai clapped, ¡°A-ha! It is earth!¡± Both Syl and Alicia looked at him questioningly. ¡°Just figured out a little linguistic problem I ran into. At least I think I did¡­ I¡¯m a little lost on how Omniglot translates things.¡± He waved his hand, ¡°Just ignore me. You were saying?¡± ¡°As I was saying, we need to dig, and by we,¡± Syl used mana conjuration to make two shovels in front of her, dropping them to the ground, she continued, ¡°I mean you two. Unless either of you has a way to blow this thing up.¡± He liked the idea of explosive archaeology more than using a shovel. ¡°How deep are we talking?¡± ¡°About five or six meters¡­¡± ¡°And we don¡¯t need to worry about destroying anything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s actually the goal.¡± ¡°How big of a crater do you think a fully overloaded mana bolt will create if it''s buried and set off remotely?¡± Syl tapped her lips. ¡°We could use a reinforced solid barrier to direct more of the energy downwards.¡± Thrum-thim-chiim, ¡°Gift is saying he wants to try something called an artillery strike?¡± Kai grinned, ¡°Oh, he gets to go first.¡± An hour of explosive experimentation began. In the end it was Gift and Alicia who destroyed the phylactery with a concentrated rain of explosive artillery on the crypt. She loosed an arrow straight up only for it to hit some golden spell circle and disappear; moments later, shots came whistling down from high above to beat the ground into submission with one explosion after another. If the strike hadn¡¯t been so awesome to watch, he would have called it cheating. The moment Alicia got the notification of the kill and her own copy of the great monster slayer achievement, there was a twisting bright light, and the three of them found themselves back in the room with the arches. The essence from destroying the level twenty soul is still pouring in, giving them all enough to level up again, and then some. Kai and Syl both went up two levels with the sudden influx, while Alicia went up one. Putting him at level eight, Syl at nine and Alicia at level ten. He checked his status. Status: Name: Kai Race: High-Human, High-Vei Level: 8 Constitution: physically and mentally fatigued. Cursed items within domain ( contained - no risk ) Health: 99% Stamina: 73% Mana: Kai-0% / 69%-Syl Physical Core: (50%) Strength 35 Dexterity 35 Toughness 35 Vitality 35 Endurance 35 Mana Core: (50%) Capacity 35 Control 35 Conversion 35 Absorption 35 Flow 35 Total Stat Points: 350 He couldn¡¯t help but smile to himself. Just like Syl had recommended, both his cores and stats were perfectly balanced; his foundation was solid, but he had to admit seeing everything the same was quite boring. He thought about it and tweaked his personal system again. Status: Name: Kai Race: High-Human, High-Vei Level: 8 Constitution: physically and mentally fatigued. Cursed items within domain ( contained - no risk ) Health: 99% Stamina: 73% Mana: Kai-0% / 69%-Syl Physical Core: (50%) [v] Mana Core: (50%) [v] Total Stat Points: 350 Yeah, he liked that; it told him all he really needed to know. If he ever came across anything that needed a particular stat, he could just expand it then. He grinned, looked at the other two, and said, ¡°Level eight, three hundred and fifty in perfect balance.¡± ¡°Level nine, three fifty-five, all balanced, only five ahead,¡± Syl sighed as she looked off to the side, ¡°unless I get my physical projection soon or really start working on my mana core, I am going to fall behind.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you should be complaining. I hit level ten with all that essence, and I was able to balance my cores but not my stats. I got some lumps to smooth out still, and I¡¯m still behind at three hundred and six.¡± Alicia said, doing her best not to sound upset. Syl looked between the two of them. ¡°How about another girls night? I know I need to celebrate.¡± ¡°No surprise lingerie?¡± Kai said suspiciously. Alicia actually looked a little disappointed, her dejected look hidden the moment she realised Kai was watching her. Syl, seeing the same reaction, said, ¡°Yeah, what Alicia said, lingerie is fun,¡± in mock seriousness. ¡°I said no such thing!¡± ¡°But you thought it¡­¡± Kai let out a weary breath as he left to get out of his armour and have a long, hopefully quiet dip in the tub. It wasn¡¯t quiet. As a rather naked Syl joined him, he didn¡¯t complain. The feeling of her projection relaxing beside him was nice, her company a perfect balm to a stressful day. System Anomaly - 34 - Mentors They all hesitated outside the second arch. They all had three very different experiences the last time they passed through this arch. Kai was cut to ribbons, Alicia was mentored by a nice little old lady, and Syl was turned into an emotional wreck. ¡°So we are all going into this with the same expectations?¡± Kai asked. If he was honest with himself, Kai didn¡¯t know what to expect. He was the only one who actually knew who he was going to meet. But that still rendered him clueless as to what he should expect. Syl had been an emotional wreck coming out of this arch after meeting with Kain. Then her attitude had almost completely switched to a dogged determination in the maze, and now she even quietly acknowledged the woman. He needed to find out what happened to Syl during her testing. That and find out what Kain¡¯s intention was when she produced that skill tome for physical manifestation, what she had in mind for a focus. ¡°So, Syl, you¡¯ve been at Kain¡¯s pleasure once already; any advice?¡± Kai carefully asked. Syl looked uncomfortable, her face scrunched up slightly as she thought about how to answer him; her internal struggle lasted longer than he liked, and she only relented when he gave her a questioning look. ¡°No¡­ No advice,¡± Syl said confidently. He was shocked; even Alicia turned to Syl in surprise. ¡°I told you all you really need to know; if I tell you anymore, it could interfere with her intentions. Cause her to shift her plans. I told you she was a Kirylic, that she was psychic. I tried to shut her out, but Kai¡­¡± Syl sighed, ¡°I think you should actually let her in.¡± Kai shrugged. ¡°Okay.¡± Now it was both Syl and Alicia''s turn to look at him in surprise. ¡°Syl, while I lack the memories. You know me; you have watched over me for what, a few hundred years? seeing me when I¡¯m at my best, and probably more often than not my worst. And yet when that was all over, you stuck with me. I don¡¯t know exactly why, but I trust you,¡± he grinned at her foolishly. ¡°I think I¡¯ll always trust you.¡± ¡°He is doing it again.¡± Alicia groaned. ¡°Doing what?¡± Syl just smiled at him, tapped the side of her nose, and gave him a wink, then pointed towards the arch. Knowing he wasn¡¯t going to get any answers anytime soon, he made his way into the arch.
Alicia watched Kai step through the arch, Syl disappearing the moment he was gone. How he managed to say the right thing at just the right time and yet remain totally clueless was infuriating. She found herself yearning for it, that same connection, that same oblivious level of trust. The way the two of them looked at each other was just improper. But by the spirit, she wanted that even more. Her heart sinking, her mind wandered in frustration. Would Kai ever look at her like that? Would anyone ever look at her and say those blissfully clueless words for her? Would Kai ever let her in, and if he did, would he ever embrace her the way he now embraced Syl? Syl had opened herself to her numerous times. Explaining things about Kai that Kai didn¡¯t even understand about himself. Why he was hesitant, why he might struggle with the culture of her world, why Syl wanted her, and why Syl herself had come to need her too. She was relieved it was not just politics as she first feared. It wasn¡¯t even lust. It was something more, a deep, meaningful connection she never quite thought she would have. She was relieved; Kai was open-minded, if not a little childish. There was still room for the three of them to manoeuvre, to figure things out. Alicia was certainly relieved that Syl was someone she had come to love. Unlike many of her sisters, who had to deal with women they secretly despised. She just hoped when she explained how things had evolved within the dungeon to her master, he would help smooth out all the politics. If only Kais current political power wasn''t so nebulous. , she would have a much better idea of what to expect and how to prepare them for it. Knowing she couldn¡¯t hesitate forever, she followed Kai through the archway. Alicia stepped into the same arena as last time. This time there was no little old lady waiting to greet her. Instead, a tall man wearing a dark green hood and cloak stood far in the distance, far enough that Alicia naturally assumed this would be a ranged battle. As she readied Gift, who vibrated silently to himself in excitement, the man pulled back his hood to reveal short, cropped ash blonde hair and short ears as he retrieved a short bow. She was surprised to see the man pull a short bow at such a long range, though that wouldn¡¯t take into account increased stats and better quality materials. The man bowed low. Alicia returned the gesture with a curtsy. The moment she completed the well-practiced gesture and her right hand took Gift''s string, the man vanished. ¡°I understand the two of you know how to do some impressive things at range, but I ask you this. What can you do when you are pressed? when someone steps inside your range? When your advantage is turned against you? Perhaps you will dismiss your companion and draw that sword? Or can you two work together to overcome?¡± Spinning around to find the tip of an arrow mere inches from her face, she realised maybe this was not going to be a test of their range at all.
Syl appeared in the arena and immediately checked her connection back to Kai. It was foolish. Their souls were bound; it was nigh impossible to separate them. The best this dungeon, the system or anyone else could do was create the illusion of separation. But she couldn¡¯t help it; she checked anyway. She could feel him; he was standing his ground, demanding answers in his mind. What a fool; it made her smile. Self-assured everything was intact, as it should be, she turned her attention back to her surroundings, back to the arena. The arena she loathed. ¡°A pleasure to meet you, dear. Lady Merribellium did not lie; you are indeed an interesting specimen. You should know there was much debate between my companions about how things would evolve, about who would have this pleasure.¡± A short, wiry, gnomish woman in baggy white robes said in a supercilious tone, "While I count myself lucky that I am the one fortunate enough to reveal myself, I remain disappointed.¡± Syl had to wonder what the woman meant by evolve, why she was disappointed. ¡°He¡¯s a sweet, naive boy. Inego is just insufferable. To think that man achieved divinity and is still roaming around out there somewhere. It is my understanding that his wife now seeks an acknowledgement from you. Considering how she broke you down and built you back up again, I perceive the odds of that are low.¡± Syl raised her hand. ¡°Please, can you clarify? You said wife¡­ you¡¯re telling me the person my soul is bound to has formed an informal connection to a divinity that may or may not still be married to the woman who¡­¡± ¡°Oh dear, as you know, Lady Merribellium is a Kyrilic; they are very selective of their partners. If she still lives, it is almost a certainty that she remains married to that fool of a sword freak. I mean, who learns to grasp the lifeblood of the multiverse and uses it like a sword? Such a waste.¡± She was screwed; if Kai sought out Inego in the future, she would meet that woman again. Worse, if the god sought out Kai, Kain would almost certainly come with him¡­ especially if she gave in and acknowledged her. But would that actually be so bad¡­ She would just have to wait and see how she dealt with Kai and his fragile psyche that she had spent the last month building up. ¡°Girl, Lady Merribellium is not the only one interested in finding out how things have changed outside this dungeon. Now, how did the sword freak put it? Impress me, and I will let you call me master.¡± The gnome woman''s features twisted on the words, ¡°What an idiot. As if your boy could have known the value of the offer.¡± She snapped her fingers. ¡°An informal agreement. I will do my best to teach you something, something I believe is invaluable to anyone who walks the path of a true mage. And if at the end you see the value of our time together, you acknowledge that I, Eunice, the mad archmage from Trevdoor to the black and beyond, served as your master within the confines of this here dungeon,¡± she nodded. Eunice looked pleased. ¡°Yes, that should serve; no pesky connection to the real me should be formed, though I doubt I have achieved divinity; it would still be nice to know.¡± ¡°That''s fair, but aren¡¯t you going to test me and make me show my skills?¡± Eunice chuckled. Dear, if Lady Merribellium thinks you are worth her time, then you are worth my time. You know, she taught me just about everything I know. Now let''s start with how you deconstruct and reconstruct spell forms for different desired effects. You have been copying your boys lead in that regard, and frankly, you should know better. He seems to have a talent for brute-forcing mana manipulation; you are more structured.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Syl blinked. ¡°You are not going to tell me I''m not worthy, that I don¡¯t deserve your instruction, that I will never be good enough for¡­¡° Eunice''s eyebrow rose. ¡°For the boy? Yes¡­ that was hard to watch. I remember what the lady put me through; damn near broke me at times. But quite frankly, I don¡¯t understand why you''re so hung up on that boy of yours; from what I¡¯m told, you were practically made for him, that in many ways you are still finding yourself. Honestly,¡° she tsked, ¡°I think it is he who is not worthy of you.¡± Syl didn¡¯t know what to make of that; Kai had his flaws, sure, but that was what made him the man she loved. Seeing her confusion, Eunice let out a long breath. ¡°And that, my dear, is probably the reason I never stayed married more than a century or two, six husbands, five wives and three other spouses of dubious nature. All of them friends with each other, and all of them call me a bitter old cow. Now, ready yourself; you have a lot to learn, and I need to make sure I impress you, don¡¯t I?¡±
Kai checked; he had a strong feeling she was still there, but that was the extent of his ability to detect her. He really needed to sit down with Syl and figure out the extent and capabilities of their connection. Unfortunately, trying to get through a dungeon in a timely manner. He was having a hard enough time fitting in his spectral manifestation training mandated by Inego, never mind finding time to sneak about with Syl. ¡°Are you satisfied? Syl should be getting quite the crash course from one of my former students. I would be more concerned with what I plan to do with you.¡± Kain said as she walked towards him. She was a tall, slender woman, a few inches taller than him; she wore an air of confidence only one certain of themselves could manage. Her attire, loose and comfortable, certainly implied there would either be no fight or that any fight she committed to would be ended with ease. With pure white hair and clean, sharp, angular features, her most striking feature was actually her eyes. They lacked any of the typical anatomy Kai had grown to expect from anyone with the standard humanoid anatomy. She studied him, her clear, crystalline eyes filled with distant fractal shapes shifting deep within; they bore into him, trying to see deep within. They were entirely alien, yet surprisingly beautiful. Thinking of his own glowing eyes, he realised maybe he wasn''t one to comment on someone else''s eyes. Watching her warily, he noticed a shift in her perception, like she was trying to focus on him, but her eyes kept sliding off. She huffed, ¡°I understand your hostility, but that spectre''s shroud is going to make holding a conversation with you difficult if I keep having to return my attention to you.¡± Kai''s defences shot up; she detected his spectre''s shroud, and it was affecting her, shifting her attention away from him despite them being the only people present. That meant, well, he didn¡¯t really know, but one of the things he had been told was it would affect people who sought to do him harm, potentially. He pulled free one of his grips, formed a spectral blade, and asked, ¡°What did you do to Syl?¡± his tone sharp. Kain halted, a small smile curling her lips, ¡°As I expected, you do not disappoint. If only it weren¡¯t so predictable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an answer to my question. She was distraught. I had to-¡° ¡°What, let me guess, oh, I don¡¯t know, comfort her? Maybe you had to stop holding yourself back and do the thing you have been denying the both of you since the moment you entered this dungeon and the time you spent with each other in your domain travelling through the endless unknown?¡± Kain said in a no-nonsense tone. That caught him off guard; Kain had just outlined the exact outcome. She sighed, ¡°Kai I know you have been informed of my race''s considerable talents, that I can see into your mind.¡± He nodded as she started to walk around him. ¡°What you don''t know is that my abilities give me a unique role within Atheos¡¯ designs. When you met the requirement for the trials, I was the first consciousness to stir. After thousands of years of stasis, I was awoken to decide if you were just lucky or, if in fact, you were worthy. To that end, I quietly dove into your mind, and by connection Syl¡¯s. Do you know what I found? ¡°No¡­¡° Kai felt like she was dancing around answering his question, but he decided he would give her rope. Either she would get to her point or eventually give him the information he sought. Kain eyed him and shook her head as she continued, ¡°I found two very fragile, very interesting minds.¡± His eyes narrowed; he knew he was a mess, but Syl was a rock. His one pillar of certainty in this new world he found himself in. ¡°Oh, you think so, do you?¡± Kain tutted, ¡°What you need to understand is while your childhood was rough, and your mind is in tatters. Syl''s life was long and lonely. To her, you are the rock, the pillar she desperately clings to.¡± Rock? She was reading his- ¡°Yes, Kai, I am reading your mind¡­ on the matter of what I did to Syl. Syl, like you, she has so much potential, but everything she does, she does for you. It is¡­unhealthy. And if I had more time, I would get her to do something for herself. Give her the encouragement, the push, to truly find herself.¡± Kain stopped in front of him and said, ¡°Tell me, Kai, besides her love of you, what else interests her? What does she find humorous? What is her love language?¡± Kai thought about it; besides all the easy answers, he had no clue. Obviously there was her experimenting with her appearance, the occasional cosplay and her rampant teasing. But beyond that, he really didn¡¯t know her beyond having a strong gut feeling he knew her better than he knew himself. His insides knotted up as he realised he really didn¡¯t deserve her. He needed to be better, do better. Kain¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, and she shook her head sadly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t beat yourself up; you know more than you think you know, and the majority of what you did know was taken away from you. So only feelings lacking reason remain.¡± ¡°So you are saying you knew Syl was fragile? But you still found a weakness and exploited it?¡± Kain scoffed; had she normal eyes, he would have thought she rolled them. ¡°I pushed her in the direction she wished to go; I found a wound and helped excise an infection.¡± ¡°An infection?¡± Kai asked, concerned something was wrong with Syl. ¡°An insidious thought that left as it was would sink deeper and deeper until it finally broke her. I merely pulled it to the surface and used it to motivate her. Forced her to face it head-on to prove herself wrong. It was not kind; it was not gentle, but I lacked the time for¡­ as you would call it, kid gloves. I am not proud of what I did, but considering the results, I would do it all again.¡± Kain said, giving him what he thought was a knowing smile. He had to admit, Inego had deferred to a rough approach due to the limited time, but there was a stark difference between inflicting physical wounds and a mental assault. ¡°What was the weakness, the infection?¡± he asked. Kain smiled as she opened her eyes. ¡°It is not my place to say. You should try talking to her about it; she is ready to tell you. And it seems she has forgiven me; even now she has decided to accept my proposal and¡­ possibly that of my student, a good choice. Though I see things with me still remain conditional.¡± ¡°Conditional?¡± Kai asked, thinking back to what Syl had said to him. ¡°As I plan to bolster your already growing confidence, her first condition is moot; the second, however, disappoints me.¡± ¡°Her second condition?¡± Kai thought about it; Syl wanted him back unharmed, and she wanted to know how she was supposed to make her physical projection work.¡± ¡°Yes, so now that I have satisfied your first question, ask the second.¡± It was Kai¡¯s turn to roll his eyes; was it necessary for him to ask? She was reading his mind anyway. ¡°Kai, if you ever meet any of the many other psychic races within the multiverse, please know it is etiquette to at least pretend your mind is not being read. Some races can dampen or shut off the ability; others cannot. But we all at least try to pretend we can¡¯t for propriety¡¯s sake.¡± Kai could only imagine how torturous hearing everyone''s thoughts. Thinking back to the many troubled thoughts he had growing up and his concerned musings that women could actually read men''s minds, he cringed. Kain chuckled, ¡°I cannot shut the ability off, merely dampen it. And you are right, the thoughts of others can be¡­ disturbing. That is the reason my kind is reclusive and even more so, selective with those we choose to interact with. Your mind, while fractured and a bit busy, remains pleasant.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± ¡°It is possible to learn to shield your mind in such a way your thoughts would remain silent to my passive abilities. As your mind is connected to another, and that connection will only grow stronger and more complex with time, I suggest you learn to do this, especially if you want to keep any secrets from Syl.¡± Kai shrugged. He didn¡¯t think he had any secrets he wanted to keep from Syl. In fact, if Syl could actually just read his thoughts, their ability to fight in sync would go through the roof, not that it wasn''t getting there already. Kain smiled again. ¡°You would make a good Kyrilic, but alas, what would you do if you ever wanted to surprise her, like, oh, I don''t know, let''s say when you wanted to give her a gift you had been holding onto¡­¡± He had to admit, Syl knowing his thoughts would make certain things less impactful, less entertaining. Kain looked disappointed for some reason; she let out a breath and asked, ¡°Your second question?¡± ¡°How is Syl supposed to complete the spell you gave her? She checked, and there is nothing within the dungeon that will work as a focus, and her hopes for finding something suitable on a world still going through integration aren¡¯t exactly stellar?¡± She smiled, ¡°I just told you. But you missed it; admittedly, I was a bit cryptic¡­ How about this? I need to test you; if you impress me, I will give you a clear-cut answer.¡± What did she mean she had just told him? He thought back and couldn¡¯t think of anything she said being remotely related to what Syl needed. And what was it with these dungeon people and needing to be impressed? Letting go of getting a straightforward answer, he decided to play along, ¡°So what¡¯s your plan? Are you going to teach me mana sense, start by breaking me down, and leave the pieces for someone else to clean up?¡± ¡°Do you think it would work? Do you think it¡¯s necessary when you already have Syl? Think about it, Kai. Are you still depressed? Do you still hate yourself? Do you still think things would be better if you didn¡¯t exist?¡± Speechless, Kai had to face it; he was happy. Sure, things with Syl and Alicia were complicated, and he still second-guessed things. But it wasn¡¯t anywhere near as bad as it had been in the past. He was actually happy. ¡°And Kai, why would I waste my time teaching you to sense mana?¡± Well, that put a damper on his good mood. The skill was amazing, and he had looked forward to lightening Syl¡¯s load by utilising the skill himself. ¡°We both know Syl is more than equipped to pass that knowledge on to you and Alicia. You do realise you two should have some level of bleed-through with your skills; what she takes hours to learn should only take you minutes if you put your mind to it. Frankly, it''s appalling how little you two have explored your connection. But I guess you''re both nothing more than infants.¡± He had all but forgotten about Syl''s ability to pass on her knowledge, but he had no idea about there being any bleed-through with their skills; he did the polite thing and asked Kain, ¡°There¡¯s bleed-through with our skills?¡± ¡°Why do you think she picked up the changes you made to Mana Bolt so quickly? Why did her control jump so fast when Inego worked with you to make your spectral manifestation technique?¡± She smiled, ¡°A much better name than Ghostblade, I might add. The man''s simple, but that is what I like about him. Doesn¡¯t stop me from teasing him about it.¡± ¡°So if not mana sense, what then?¡± ¡°Kai, you¡¯ve forgotten this, but travelling through the abyss left its mark on you.¡± Doing his best to forget the abyssal horrors that came to mind, Kai immediately checked the trait he had earned from his time in the void. Abyssal Walker: You travelled the void before you were ready and survived. Staring into the abyss, the abyss stares back. You have been marked. Your willpower is increased. ¡°I have a trait; it increases my willpower¡­¡± ¡°Oh Kai, it does so much more than that.¡± ¡°It does?¡± ¡°Your paired individual trait should be evidence enough that the system doesn''t always spell things out.¡± ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m marked by the abyss; what does that mean?¡± ¡°It means I¡¯m in the unique position to teach someone below level ten to reach out and touch time and space, though grasping gravity might be a bit much with the time we have. Just know that the three are intrinsically linked. Only a fool sticks to one.¡± Kai liked the sound of that; grinning, he dismissed his spectral blade. Kain looked him dead in the eyes, her perception no longer slipping away from him, ¡°So Kai, would you like to try and twist space or step outside the time first?¡± He didn¡¯t have to think about it, ¡°time.¡± ¡°Keep in mind I will only reveal what it is Syl needs for that spell if you manage to learn the basics of both¡­ But as an added bonus, I will show you how to combine the two if we get that far.¡± This actually seemed too good to be true; there had to be a catch. ¡°You never said how you planned to teach me; that seems like a lot for just a couple of hours.¡± ¡°Actually, we have all day. Because of your quick work in the village, you''re ahead of schedule.¡± Kain smiled at him softly, ¡°As far as how I plan to teach you, I¡¯m going to give you the one thing you craved as a child. Positive reinforcement.¡± ¡°What?¡± Kai blinked. Kain gave him a sad, knowing look. System Anomaly - 35 - Cosplay Kai fumbled with his soul ring; he had it off and was rolling it between his fingers until he would inevitably drop it and wait for it to return to his ring finger so he could pull it off and start over again. He had a lot to think about, an important decision to make. Things like this were supposed to be easy, natural, uncomplicated, right? But he felt pressured, like he really didn¡¯t have a choice. He knew what Syl needed to complete her physical projection. They had had it since the moment they stepped into the dungeon, the moment they arrived on Alea. The problems were the implications of giving the item to Syl. He wanted to do it. It was just a matter of how he would do it. Was he making a simple thing unnecessarily complicated? ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Syl asked from where she was snuggled into his side. He sighed, ¡°Long day, things to think about.¡± Syl just sank deeper into him. They all had had a long day, Alicia coming out the worst of them as a sweaty mess; she was off having a long soak. That meant he was alone with Syl. ¡°I can¡¯t decide if you¡¯re okay.¡± Syl asked him. "I''m okay; Kain was actually kind of nice¡­¡± He was waiting for Syl to react; she just squeezed him. ¡°She gave me a lot to think about.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± He hesitated for a moment, only finding the courage to say what needed to be said when she looked up at him. ¡°A lot of things, the two of us especially.¡± She gave him a look that asked him to continue. ¡°How I treat you¡­ how I barely know you.¡± She smiled at him, ¡°That is hardly your fault.¡± ¡°I know, but that isn''t the point, is it? I mean, think about it. We were together for what, a good month while we passed through the void¡­ All we did was mess about in the void and train.¡± ¡°And I loved it.¡± Kai groaned, "But Syl, I never really learnt anything about you." She looked at him like he was talking nonsense. ¡°What are your hobbies? Your favourite food? Are you a cat or dog person?¡± She got up and crawled into his lap, looking at him as she tapped her lips. "This is what has you so distracted?" ¡°I know nothing about you, and you know everything about me. Don¡¯t you think that is a little off?¡± Now she looked uneasy. He sighed, ¡±When we left Earth, I barely knew you, and yet it felt like I should. Now, now I''m uncertain; I feel like I''m taking everything for granted, but still I know I don¡¯t deserve you. And yet I still want you, need you and if it''s not too soon, love you. But everything, everything¡¯s wrong; it¡¯s out of order, out of place and out of time.¡± He summoned the ring box he had forgotten about into shaking hands. ¡°I know I''m foolish; I''m clueless. I used to second-guess everything I said or did around others. And this, this feels all too soon and all too late at once. A meal, maybe a walk, a romantic getaway. Flowers, oh god, what flowers do you like?¡± He rambled. He lifted the ring box, holding it between them, ¡°Everything¡¯s wrong, and yet somehow this feels right at the same time. I know now what this means to you, what it means to me, and were things different, I would plan everything out, desperate to make everything perfect for you. But it¡¯s what you need; it¡¯s your focus. I can¡¯t keep that from you just because nothing is as it should be, as you deserve.¡± Syl leaned in, her lips pressing him back as her hand pressed the ring box down only for it to vanish from their grip altogether. He was breathless when she finally pulled him away. ¡°Take your time; I''ll always be here.¡± ¡°But your physical projection, you-¡° Syl tapped him on the lips as she got up. ¡°I think it¡¯s more important we get to know each other all over again.¡± She bit her lip and gave him a look even he couldn¡¯t mistake. ¡°I know exactly where we should start. I like dressing up¡­¡± She took him by the hand and led him upstairs. Alicia slept outside of the domain for the first time since they entered the dungeon. The next day they gathered in the dungeon room with all the arches, seven stones all lit up green and one dimly growing amber one. ¡°All I am saying, Syl, is the next time you want to try something, don¡¯t start with ¡®I watched this couple once.'' It¡¯s a little bit of a mood killer.¡± Syl pouted, ¡°You would be surprised what people get up to when they think no one is watching and their world is ending. Because I no longer am.¡± ¡°Please tell me being a voyeur is not actually a hobby of yours.¡± She snorted, ¡°No, even before I became self-aware, robot me had set up protocols to ignore the vast majority of what was going on within each tutorial. Despite my attention being drawn to anything the system deemed problematic, I spent most of my time watching anime, playing games or reading books.¡± "Can I tell you two what I want?¡± Alicia interjected, ¡°My own room for whenever the two of you decide to get intimate again. A room with some kind of sound-blocking charm; better yet, put that charm on the main room too.¡± ¡°Oh hush, you aren''t exactly quiet yourself.¡± Alicia turned a deep shade of red as she buried her face in her hands. While he agreed Syl had been unabashedly loud once they both got warmed up. She had piqued his interest by mentioning how she kept herself busy during the tutorials, ¡°What books did you read?¡± ¡°Oh, stuff you recommended¡­¡± Syl said, avoiding eye contact with him. The way Syl replied made him suspicious. ¡°You had to read something else. I know of a few series I might recommend, but those recommendations would last, what, a year or two maybe, but definitely not into a decade or beyond.¡± Syl turned a similar shade of red poor Alicia had turned just moments ago. ¡°Even a metaphysical being has needs. And BookTok made some good recommendations.¡± ¡°What''s BookTok?¡± Alicia asked wearily. ¡°Social media.¡± Kai answered as he watched Alicia to see if she had any understanding of what social media was. Alicia just looked more confused as she mulled over his answer. Kai guessed Alea had not yet conceptualised such a thing as social media, which was probably for the best; he moved onto their plans for the day. ¡°Kain told me we should be able to get through the maze, village and the dungeon master¡¯s arch today. Did your mentors happen to say anything, or was it just Kain just being pushy again?" ¡°No, Fedric was pretty tight-lipped; if it wasn¡¯t some pointer on how I could improve my archery, he didn¡¯t say much.¡± Thrim-thrim-thrum, ¡°Gift was asked not to do anything fancy, just pretend he was a simple bow, to watch and observe.¡± Trill, ¡°No Gift, it was not an affront to all bow kind.¡± ¡°Eunice was pretty focused on teaching me more advanced spell work; we¡¯ve been brute-forcing everything. We¡¯re lucky you have a talent for mana manipulation because from what Eunice showed me, it¡¯s actually surprising we haven¡¯t blown ourselves up yet.¡± Kai rubbed his chin as he thought about how all of their mentors had been so task-orientated this time around. Curious, he asked, ¡°No mention of the dungeon master?¡± Syl tapped her lips. ¡°I had to ask, but with the way Eunice¡¯s mouth clamped shut, I think there was some kind of restriction put in place.¡± ¡°Yeah, the same thing happened with Kain; each time I asked, she just changed the subject.¡± ¡°You never actually said how things went with Kain.¡± Kai sighed; he hated to admit it so openly in front of Syl, but ¡°She was¡­ she was actually nice¡­¡± he said carefully. ¡°Almost motherly¡­¡± Syl huffed and sat back to fold one arm across her chest and tap her lips. ¡°Are you going to help her with her little experiment?¡± ¡°I think I will wait to see how things go with the dungeon master, which if we want to get to today, we better stop gossiping about dungeon ghosts we will hopefully never see again.¡± The maze was the same as the last time they entered it, only they had one extra thing pushing them onwards, racing to get their shards before escaping alive. When they arrived, they proceeded through all the same checks Syl had performed the last time they had entered the maze. The layout was different, the time was different, and the storm clouds loomed closer than before. They had mistakenly assumed the shorter deadline to find everything and escape was the best way of elevating the difficulty. They were very wrong. The moment they progressed past the threshold of the room they had been placed in, bestial mewling called out around them. A short time later, Kai met his first minotaur. Being in a maze and finding a minotaur, Kai was tempted to say something clever about preconceived notions to Syl, but as Tim, the big, brown, shaggy level thirty-five named dungeon spawn, was busy chasing him down with a palpable blood lust, he just couldn¡¯t find the right time to slip the pithy remark into their frantic communications. Luckily, the twelve-foot-tall, six-foot-wide bull of a man had difficulty navigating the narrow corridors, and despite what would be a glaring stat difference, remained well behind them, and they were eventually able to slip Tim altogether using a secret passage that was just too small for the big guy to get through, not that it stopped him from trying. They, of course, played with the idea of taking Tim down for all his essence; they were in the middle of discussing whether or not they could take off a leg or two and whittle the monster down from a safe distance when they encountered Bill. Bill, the level forty black, slick-coated minotaur, only for him to bellow in rage upon seeing Kai and his challenge stone. The rapid call and response from the other monster roaming the maze immediately dismissed any and all plans of taking the named dungeon spawns down. It would just take too long, and they had no way of silencing their intended prey; they just couldn''t kill a level thirty-five named minotaur who was all physical stats before they called all the other minotaurs in the maze down on top of them. So they ran. When Syl took them straight past the first chest, Kai didn''t think much of it; they had a minotaur on their tail, and stopping to check it would have been problematic. When she took them past a second and then a third chest, he asked. Turns out Syl could now feel a distinguishable difference in the chests and was pointedly avoiding the ones that lacked any significant mana signature. And she was right; the first chest she directed the too, she opened to reveal what was her ninth mysterious shard; just one more, and she would have the full set. The second chest she led them to, Alicia opened, getting her her ninth shard. The third chest, however, turned out to be a nasty little mimic that Kai had to blow off his hand by constructing a hasty mana bolt inside its toothy maw, his dragon scale gauntlets absorbing the brunt of the blast like it was nothing, the mimic blown all over the room, blood, teeth and fleshy bits everywhere. Lucky, once they lost another Holstein-patterned minotaur named Charlie, the fourth chest contained Kai''s shard. They, of course, discussed looking for chests with a unique item feeling, but that discussion was quashed when Grim, a level fifty minotaur, used his maul to bring down a wall to get to them. With the way the difficulty was starting to spike, they unanimously decided their lives were more valuable than any unique treasure and made for a quick exit from the maze before it even started to get a little bit dark. Having been harried for almost the entire time they were in the maze, they escaped the test in record time, of just an hour and a half. Wanting to make sure they got through everything, they ate an early lunch and dove straight into the arch they had come to call the village. This arch, as far as the dungeon master would have them believe, was their last test. And while they unanimously agreed something was going to happen with the dungeon master when they next entered his chamber, they were all but certain this was where they would each complete their set of mysterious shards. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. When they appeared in the test, they found themselves sitting within a poorly lit underground cavern, the same crooked old goblin lady staring them down. ¡°Did Fatcher happen to say how long ago he submitted his request to the guild?¡± She asked them over a pile of hot, glowing stones before Kai had even begun to get a complete idea of their surroundings. Syl, to her credit, picked up the conversation right away, ¡°No, but he seemed impatient, as if we were overdue.¡± ¡°So, I could be any day, or worse, any moment now.¡± She crumbled. Realising this little old goblin lady was a key character, he examined her. Gretchin Cremmbockle, Lv. 33 Goblin age: 367 Dispossessed Elder of the former township of Greckle. ¡°How long ago were you forced out? When did you get holed up in this cave? I only ask because that seems to be Fatcher¡¯s focus. It may be an assumption, but I am guessing when he couldn¡¯t force you out of the cave system with his people to open his mine, that was when he sent someone off to the guild.¡± Gretchin¡¯s gnarled lips worked as she deliberated, ¡°We''ve been stuck in this cave like common wretchlings for a week now, only going out to hunt for food and forage for supplies. I told the others we should send for help immediately, but nooo,¡± she looked over her shoulder at three other elderly goblins that were currently doing their best to look invisible. ¡°We had to discuss, deliberate and sleep on it¡­ Bah, we should have never let that man set up his shop in town.¡± Gretchen said her face distorted in disgust. ¡°And how far away is the local guild?¡± ¡°A day away the way the wyvern travels, two if you take the road¡­¡± ¡°The person you sent, did you send them by the road? And when exactly did you send them?¡± Syl asked as she continued to build a picture of events. Gretchin scoffed, ¡°Over a day and a half ago now. And no, I picked Thad for the task myself; he¡¯s our best hunter; he will make his way through the wilderness; he was the only one I trusted to get there in time. Not one to get lost in the trees, that one¡­ he was out hunting when things turned, lost his whole family.¡± ¡°So assuming Thatcher sent someone out about a week ago using the road, and his request is picked up as soon as it''s posted, the adventurers should have arrived at the town by now. Which explains why Fatcher thought we were his adventurers.¡± Syl tapped her lips as she worked it all out. ¡°Also, if your man gets to the guild hall okay, we should also expect someone to reach us hopefully within the next day or so. Sooner if they send a high-level investigator to figure out the conflicting requests.¡± ¡°Aye, that sounds about right,¡± Gretchin smacked her lips. ¡°I don¡¯t like it. Had we sent Thad when I wanted to, we might have actually beaten the shit stain of a gnomel to it.¡± She turned and glowered at the goblins hiding behind her; they tried to shrink further back into the shadows, their large eyes shining in the darkness as they caught the light from the glowing stones. ¡°If you do not mind, may I ask, what actually happened?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Bah, it¡¯s a long story.¡± Gretchin dismissed. ¡°We have time; knowing what''s going on might help should things turn sour before the guild answers your request.¡± ¡°Fatcher came to town about three or four years ago; I don¡¯t remember exactly; minds are not what they used to be. What I do remember is he was a pain in my wrinkly old ass from day one. Always causing trouble. Trying to make a quick coin, never really caring for the consequence.¡± She shook her head in disgust. ¡°First it was setting up a lumber mill, then a fur trade, one ill-thought-out scheme after another. It all came to a head about three weeks ago when some idiot brought him some stones they found in this very cave, three stupid, worthless stones. Just like the ones I gave you.¡± Kai could see where this was going; the turd clearly had the remaining three shards on him or tucked away somewhere. ¡°Fatcher went mad, insisting we turn the caves into a mine of all things,¡± she spat onto the stones in front of her, the spit sizzling away into nothing with the heat. ¡°We may not be wretches, but these caves are sacred; it¡¯s where we return the dead to the mother. For a week, the town council denied him. We thanked the mother when he packed up his shop and left. Only he came back with his goons. Sold everything he had and promised a load of idiots a new life and riches. Things turned ugly¡­¡± Gretchen sighed, ¡°They forced us out, killed anyone who resisted, and we don¡¯t even know what he did with the dead. I think he expected us to flee off into the forest. But we happened to put ourselves right inside the one place he truly wanted.¡± ¡°All that over some stones from a cave.¡± Kai said, his disgust for the turd only growing. ¡°That¡¯s the dumb part. They aren''t even from this flaming cave.¡± Gretchen said as she smacked the butt of her stick into the ground in frustration. ¡°Where did you get the stones?" Alicia asked. "No one remembers where they came from. But they are pretty, and we use them when we send them off. Sadly, no one told Thidbitten he couldn¡¯t go pinching shinies from the sacred cave¡­ He¡¯s dead now, the poor fool. Good thing too; I would probably wring his scrawny neck if he were still ali-¡± Suddenly there was the sound of bare feet slapping against stone echoing in from one of the side passages. Kai got up ready to fight. But a moment later, little Oola ran into the chamber. Gretchin raised an eyebrow at him and then turned to Oola and asked, ¡°What is it, child?¡± ¡°People at entrance, fat Fatcher is there and- and-¡° Oola paused to catch her breath. ¡°Child, we don¡¯t have time for you to asphyxiate, suck in a breath, and spit it out.¡± ¡°Four strong-looking pale people, Gichit said, said they were adventurers, and I needed to go get you.¡± ¡°Bah, if only I were only five decades younger, I would have been able to handle all this myself. Why no goblin takes up adventuring and gains some decent levels these days, I will never know.¡± Gretchin said as she gave the three of them a long, hard look. ¡°So you¡¯ve heard it, still going to help us out?¡± Kai readied a spectral blade in reply; it was time for him to show off the new tricks Kain had taught him. Oola gawked at him for a moment before her head flopped to the side. ¡°What happened to your eyes? They¡¯re all purple now; they were way, way, way more blue before?¡± Kai shrugged; he was actively infusing his eyes with mana now; maybe that was affecting things. After telling a rather annoyed, strong-willed little orphan girl she could not help and insisting she stay back to look after her family. Gretchin led them to the entrance of the cave system with surprising ease; with her small stature, big eyes and large ears, she seemed adapted to the cramped conditions. So much so, he wondered if a goblin''s large head-to-body ratio had to do with some extrasensory racial trait he wasn¡¯t aware of. Partway through their short trip out of the cave, Kai realised Alicia had a death grip on the back of his armour. Kai sent Syl a silent message, ¡®I think it¡¯s a little too dark for Alicia.¡¯ Syl didn¡¯t reply, but her cyan flames lit up the dim channel they were passing through a moment later. Once again marvelling at his newly discovered ability to see in the dark, he kept quiet about the concern he had for Alicia''s clear fear of the dark; he was just glad they could do something to mitigate the problem when Syl was around. It didn¡¯t take long for them to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Hearing murmurs as they passed a terrified goblin with a makeshift spear, Kai tapped Gretchin on the shoulder and gestured for her to wait here as they moved by to handle things. ¡°No body said anything about killing pinkies,¡± came a familiar voice as they got near the cave mouth. ¡°Goblins are goblins! They¡¯ve killed good people of mine; now they¡®re poaching these woods and raiding our stores. I have a dozen creditable men back in Fatcher willing to testify. That these pinkies have gone feral. They need culling lest their corruption spread to a wider population.¡± Fatcher Turdle whined. ¡°As long as I get paid.¡± Someone unfamiliar mumbled. ¡°The guild doesn¡¯t take killing pinkies lightly. I would rather not draw the ire of the guild master down on me right now; I¡¯m getting close to convincing her I¡¯m worth a second date. That and it''s just wrong.¡± The first familiar voice said. ¡°The request was posted by the guild; it is safe for us to assume they did the legwork and deemed this necessary,¡± a third, more feminine voice. ¡°The only issue was the name of the village; no one recognised it.¡± ¡®I recognise that voice; let me scout them out. I can examine and mark the info¡­¡¯ Syl''s voice came through the party system as an orange wisp, zipped past him and out into the open. ¡®Yeah, I think we might have a problem.¡¯ Five marks appeared outside the cave, each one with a name hovering just above them. The first name to pop up was what he expected. Fatcher Turdle Lv. 9 The second confirmed why he heard someone familiar. Inego Monteyo Lv. 12 The final three names he only partly recognised from Alicia and Syl mentioning them. Eunice Thallamire Lv. 11 Fedric Caster, Lv. 11 Glados Atheolin Lv. 14 ¡®It appears the dungeons are throwing our past mentors at us.¡¯ Alicia commented, ¡®Shit¡­¡± ¡®That¡¯s not the worst part¡­ I can''t detect Kain anywhere,¡¯ Syl said. ¡®Do we have a plan? They seem hesitant; we might be able to negotiate,¡± Kai suggested. ¡®That¡¯s unlikely; they won¡¯t be the same people we met, scaled down approximations of what they were like when they were our level. Odds are no matter what we do, the scenario will push us into a fight.¡¯ ¡®The first time we ran this test, we managed to find an alternative path to the one we first faced. I''m willing to bet that if we use our heads, we can avoid combat. Kain said we could get this done today, so there has to be a fast, positive outcome.¡¯ ¡®Just remember if they turn hostile, they will focus on you. And Kai, act like you don¡¯t know them.¡¯ Kai sighed as he stepped out into the light, trying to look both confident and yet harmless at the same time. ¡°Excuse me, but can we talk?¡± Alicia followed right behind him with Gift at the ready. The turd spun on his heel from where he stood in the middle; he looked surprised. ¡°Y-you, you left the village. I had someone watching the path to the cave. How are you here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what he has told you, but if it was anything like the story he spun for you fine fellows, it was a pack of lies.¡± Kai said, ignoring Fatcher, to address Inego and his party. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him!¡± Fatcher griped, ¡°Any of them, they¡¯re charlatans; they led me to believe they were from the guild. Which, if I am not mistaken, is an offence the guild does not take lightly.¡± Fetcher finished as he gave Kai a vicious grin. For their part, the mentors turned guild adventurers gave each other questioning looks. ¡°Fatcher-¡° Kai started. ¡°It¡¯s Mayor Turdle!¡± ¡°Mr. Fatcher told us-¡° Kai tried again. ¡°Mayor!¡± Fatcher practically squealed, stamping his foot, his mass wobbling with the impact. ¡®Careful, Kai, if the turd turns hostile, it could cause the others to join in his attack.¡¯ Syl warned him. ¡®I¡¯m actually surprised he hasn¡¯t been triggered already¡­ Syl, I''m going to do something to that turd; you may want to meditate in the domain to compensate for the mana drain. And have some of the better mana potions ready in case things go sour.¡¯ Kai replied. ¡®I¡¯m always ready in the domain,¡¯ Syl said in an offended tone Kai knew wasn''t entirely serious. Concentrating on Fatcher, he gripped the pocket of space surrounding the annoying gnomel man and twisted time. The fat gnomel¡¯s movements slowed to a crawl, his foot floating in the air as Kai¡¯s mana began to tick down at a rapid pace. He had just barely managed to learn this little trick with Kain¡¯s guidance. With no time to waste, Kai turned to the party of adventurers, ¡°Forgive me, but there are some things that need to be said, and he keeps interrupting.¡± Kai eyed a much younger Inego, who was busy stroking a sharp black goatee in thought. ¡°You look like a sharp man. What¡¯s the guild¡¯s stance on making false, misleading or intentionally deceptive requests?¡± ¡°I- er¡­ I¡¯m not actually sure. Glados? You know the guild¡¯s bylaws better than anyone.¡± Inego said as he turned to a bespectacled woman who had been standing in the back, more interested in her book than anything that was going on. The woman looked up from a book she had been reading and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s complicated; individuals would be criminally charged, but this request was technically on the part of a community. When a community submits a fraudulent request, it gets thoroughly investigated to determine the extent of the fraud. At the minimum, the community may be fined and lose their right to submit common and below requests with the guild.¡± Kai stepped forward, ¡°The problem is this Fatcher¡¯s community doesn''t exist; the village of Fatcher is just that guy''s fantasy. Did you see his so-called village? Were they still tearing down goblin homes? The homes of the very same goblins he insists are infesting his mines? The mines behind me that are clearly not mines but a natural cave system, sacred to the former townspeople he wishes to wipe out.¡± ¡°What did you do to him?¡± asked Eunice as she picked up a pebble and tossed it into the field around Fatcher to watch it slow to a crawl, floating in space next to the fat man, his foot still caught on its way to the ground. ¡°Oh, I adjusted the flow of time around him; it should cause him no harm. It¡¯s just to keep him quiet for a bit.¡± ¡°But you used no spell, no artefact, no focus. You just reached out and locked down the space around him?.¡± ¡°It¡¯s free-form mana control, nothing special,¡± Kai dismissed. Eunice blinked at him like he had just said something insane before he spun and gave the rest of her group a look that Kai read as ¡®Do not aggravate this man.¡¯ Kai found that curious, and seeing that his little time trick had gained him some advantage, he moved forward with his explanation of what was going on as his mana continued to evaporate while maintaining the effect. ¡°That village of his used to be the town of Grackle until he sold everything he had to hire a bunch of goons to come push the goblins out. Things turned ugly, and they killed any who resisted. All because their council refused to turn the caves into a mining operation. All because one of the goblins sold him some pretty stones they found within.¡± The archer, Fedric, walked up to Inego and whispered something in his ear. ¡°Yes, he did call this place a mine¡­¡± Inego sighed, ¡°If what you say is true, I expect the guild master will be able to clear things up. Kyrilics are uniquely qualified for getting to the bottom of problems like these. The only issue is we¡¯re out here and she¡¯s back at the guild. We can¡¯t exactly leave such a volatile situation alone; it won''t look good on our party''s record.¡± ¡®I think we just figured out what role Kain is playing¡­¡¯ Syl mumbled. It was then that Gretchin decided to come out of the cave. She was showing a toothy grin as she asked, ¡°Is little Merribell the guild leader now? As soon as she is notified of the conflicting requests, I''m sure she will come here herself.¡± Inego looked at the little old goblin, his jaw slack; he asked, ¡°You know guild master Merribellium?¡± Gretchin cackled, ¡°met her when she was just starting out. Yes¡­ She will sort this mess out. That girl just can¡¯t tolerate nonsense; she will bring the full force of the law down on Fatcher for what he has done.¡± She lifted her cane and pointed it at the man in question. ¡°Can you undo that? I have some things I want to say to him, and I doubt you can maintain an effect like that forever.¡± Kai was glad for the opportunity to let the man go. He had emptied his mana pool and seen Syl''s own mana jump back up as she consumed mana potions to keep his manipulation of time and space going. He really needed to figure out how to lock the effect off so he didn¡¯t have to constantly maintain it, Kain, like Inego had told him he needed to practice. Fatcher''s foot slammed into the ground. Blinking, the fat man looked around in confusion, first at everyone and their shifted positions around him, then at Gretchin, who, from his perspective, had appeared out of nowhere. Collecting himself, he pointed to the little old goblin and turned to the party of adventurers, ¡°Kill it, quick!¡± Inego and his party didn¡¯t move. ¡°What is the meaning of this? It¡¯s corrupted; kill it!¡± he whined. ¡°Oh, give it up; your scheme, like all your schemes, failed,¡± Gretchin said as she closed her eyes for a bit, a smile curling on her gnarled face. ¡°It seems Little got through, and the guild master is on her way.¡± Opening her eyes again, Gretchin stumbled, Alicia stepping forward to support her. A silver medallion on Inego¡¯s chest flashed; he reached up and held it for a moment as he looked off into the sky. ¡°Confirmed, I just got the signal to halt all activity. Fedric the archer lifted his bow to point it at the fat man, who seemed to be looking around frantically. ¡°Mr. Fatcher Turdle, we are holding you on suspicion of submitting a fraudulent request to the guild.¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Fatcher said through gritted teeth as he turned a deep shade of red, his desperation growing by the second as he processed what was happening. He locked eyes on Kai, and his demeanour changed. ¡°You, this is all your fault.¡± Fatcher hissed as he leapt towards Kai faster than he thought the man capable, a roaring ball of flame appearing in each of his sweaty palms. Before Kai could react, Fatcher slammed face down into the mud; a small, slick mana bolt shot clean into the back of the man''s skull as Syl appeared in a flurry of cyan flames. Her hands on her hips, she tsked, ¡°He finally went hostile.¡± Inego¡¯s whole team looked about, ready to fight with their weapons drawn. Syl held up her hands. ¡°Everyone relax, my friend has that effect on people; he has a trinket that makes anyone with intent to kill target him first. I was waiting in hiding in case things went south.¡± Inego¡¯s eyes flashed about, alert; his hand on his sword, he asked, ¡°Where did the body go?¡± Kai looked down to see the fat, detestable man had, in fact, disappeared; he looked about at all the confused faces. ¡®Kai, you looted him¡­ and everything he had on him, you got the shards.¡¯ Alicia explained through the party chat. Kai checked his storage and smiled internally as he dropped the body back out in front of him. ¡°Yeah, that was my bad. I''m the front of my team. I draw the hostiles in, and I have something that loots.¡± ¡°Auto loot, a whole body? Just how big is your spatial storage? What level are you exactly? My attempts to examine you just slip off.¡± Eunice asked as she looked at him in a mix of confusion and discernible interest. He looked at Syl across the clearing, and she nodded. "I''m level eight; is that a problem?¡± Eunice''s jaw dropped. ¡°Level eight, and you¡¯re casually touching time and space.¡± There was a thump, and they all turned to see a young woman in combat leathers landing a short way down the path behind Inego. Her crystalline eyes looked about, landing for a moment on each of them and the body between them. ¡°He speaks the truth, Eunice, about everything,¡± Kain looked over to Inego and smiled, ¡°Maybe you aren''t a complete fool. Things here could have gone very differently for your team had you not used your heads and gone through with that man''s request. Kai and his team could have taken you.¡± She turned to Kai, ¡°Impressive work locking down space and time like that. If you didn¡¯t try to stop him completely, you would have used less of your mana and been able to hold the effect for longer. Keep practicing, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure out how to lock it off naturally.¡± Then Kain turned to Syl and bowed, ¡°You proved me wrong; I knew you would. Keep him in line; he still has a long way to go, but I think he will get there one day; just don''t expect him to be the same person you once knew.¡± Kai watched Syl''s jaw drop as everything went white, and they found themselves back in the room in the arches. Alicia spun to face Kai the moment they had their bearings. "When did you learn to manipulate time and space? Outside the use of complicated rituals, arrays or artefacts that can maybe nudge one of the two. Nobody''s been able to do it. The houses are struggling to figure out spatial storage enchantments; it''s one of the reasons storage items are so expensive! And you can just reach out and manipulate it?¡± ¡°Kain obviously taught him how¡­ I did tell you about his time in the void, in the between, the abyss; that place is a mess of time, space and gravity. She didn¡¯t teach you how to manipulate gravity, did she?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t get around to it, and please, don¡¯t remind me of my time in that place.¡± Remembering all the eyes, tentacles and a writhing mass of teeth, Kai shivered. ¡°But we had so much fun together; if it helps, just think of all the times you pulled yourself back into the domain to catch me indisposed. That reminds me, there are a few outfits I would like to revisit¡­ Ooh, some cosplays you will definitely enjoy, others that will blow Kai¡¯s sheltered little mind.¡± Alicia blew a breath out through her nose. ¡°What is cosplay?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll love it¡­¡± Hmm, Syl tapped her lips. ¡°You won''t get it, but you¡¯ll still love it. When we get out of this dungeon, we will have to explore Alean media to see if there is anything we can put together. I know the multiverse is full of good stuff, games and anime both, but it will be some time before we can see any of that.¡± ¡°The multiverse has anime?¡± Kai asked a little too eagerly. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it? The depth and scope of culture within the multiverse will astound you.¡± System Anomaly - 36 - Reflection They were ahead of schedule when they finished that last arch, the Village. The ninth arch, second to last. Now nine green glowing stones lit the chamber in a weird light, while one amber glowed dimly above the tenth and final arch. Signalling they could enter the final test, providing the dungeon didn¡¯t throw them another curveball. They were sitting around the table in the dungeon''s cooking area. Both Alicia and Kai are fulfilling their need for sustenance. It was only midday, the maze and village test taking far less time than they had expected, leaving them with a decision to make. Would they complete the dungeon today? ¡°You know when I finally get my physical projection sorted, I¡¯ll be able to join in on these meals; we¡¯ll be out of the dungeon too, so much better food. No offence to your cooking, but I never thought I would have to install smoke detectors inside my soul.¡± Syl said as she painted her nails with nail polish she somehow projected in, her abilities obviously growing. Kai looked at today''s stew. ¡°None taken. I don''t recognise half of the ingredients we have; examining stuff doesn¡¯t exactly help when I don¡¯t know what a cassabok is or how to prepare it. Being honest, being able to look up recipes online or just read the cooking instructions off of packaging spoilt me. Most of what I¡¯m doing in the kitchen is just guesswork.¡± Syl eyed Alicia. ¡°I would ask what your excuse was, but I''m guessing it was princess privileges.¡± She pouted, ¡°Yeah¡­ I never cooked anything until master insisted I at least learn the basics; even then, it wasn¡¯t a priority.¡± Alicia said knowing Syl was just teasing her. He looked at the two of them getting along and sighed sadly. The sigh caught Syl¡¯s attention, making her ask, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°This, it¡¯s all going to change. The three of us, together like this, probably won''t have a moment like this ever again once we¡¯re out.¡± Alicia looked concerned, frightened even; fidgeting, she asked, ¡°Do you want to remove me from the party!? I can-¡° ¡°Oh god, no! You¡¯re staying, you and Gift both; without him, I¡¯m a little worried I am going to end up completely outnumbered by women.¡± He said quickly, jumping in on what Alicia was saying before she could spiral. ¡°I mean, we are going to have to look for more party members, you know, to round out our team.¡± ¡°I vote we get a chef,¡± Syl joked. Alicia, realising Kai hadn¡¯t even been thinking about removing her relaxed and quipped, ¡°Finding an adventurer who has combat-focused cooking skills might be a tough one.¡± ¡°Well, we don''t need an archer or a mage. I was thinking a defender and some kind of sneaky scout type.¡± ¡°I thought I was the sneaky scout type.¡± Syl said, affronted. ¡°You are, but what do we do about your limited range? Using a physical projection could further complicate things in ways we haven¡¯t anticipated. Switching into your invisible wisp form might not be a viable tactic anymore.¡± Alicia tilted her head as she listened, looking between the two of them before asking, ¡°Did you two figure out the focus problem?¡± Syl looked over at Kai and gave him a soft smile. ¡°It¡¯s complicated; we have an idea, but we¡¯re still working on it.¡± Alicia seemed to pick up that something was left unsaid but chose to leave it alone and instead broach another topic. ¡°Speaking of complicated, you will have to figure out this whole world wonder thing soon¡­ and to a lesser extent our contract, how far you want to take things. Depending on how things go, it could get unnecessarily political in both regards.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Kai sighed again. ¡°You stop that; your life¡¯s not that hard.¡± ¡°Sorry, I''m still adjusting to having magic, and now I have to figure out Alea and what to do with some world-changing system event. I¡¯ve been thinking about it, and I am hoping I can pass it off onto Thanric or the house. They seemed to have a plan. Maybe then we can disappear for a bit¡­ you can be our Alea tour guide.¡± He eyed Alicia as she chewed her lip; he definitely needed to figure that out. ¡°I¡¯m sure a contract can be produced where you maintain control, but they manage it. Might even mollify international tensions if no one really knew who held the power and that the houses could be in trouble if they mismanaged things.¡± Kai looked at Syl, then at Alicia. ¡°We also talked about the contract¡­ I know it was created on a whim, and I''m only just starting to wrap my head around the implications. I still have questions for Thanric¡­ but I¡¯ve decided¡­¡± He looked at Syl, who gave him a serious nod. ¡°No, we have decided what¡¯s important is what you want.¡± Alicia looked between the two of them in confusion. ¡°I want to help.¡± ¡°We know. But what Kai means to say is, forget the world wonder, forget the protection being married to a princess would provide. If it was just you and the two of us, what would you want?¡± Syl gave her a cheeky smile. ¡±If it was just me, I¡¯d have you in a heartbeat, but it¡¯s not just me, it¡¯s us, and it¡¯s always going to be us.¡± ¡°I- I know what I want.¡± Alicia said as she nervously played with her stew. ¡°Which is?¡± She looked up slowly, her eyes darting between the two of them, before mumbling, "I want it¡­¡± It? She wants it, Kai felt a headache coming on. He had to ask, ¡°What is it to you?¡± ¡°It? it is what you two have.¡± ¡°That is still too vague,¡± Syl smiled. ¡°Keep in mind, what we have is unnecessarily complicated.¡± ¡°I know it is complicated.¡± Alicia¡¯s head shot up, and she gave Syl a determined look. ¡°But the way you two look at each other, the way you know each other without actually knowing each other, that is what I want¡­¡± She chewed her lip, thinking for a moment before deciding something and putting down her spoon to address them both. ¡°I have not told you this yet, but you should know why I became my master¡¯s apprentice, why I became an adventurer.¡± Both Kai and Syl gave her their full attention. ¡°There was a noble, a suitor; he¡­ wanted me. Not for love or anything like that, just wanted to own me, use me, tout his position and power. I was against it. The problem is he had connections, and no matter what I did, he persisted in insisting I would be his. And do you know what the worst part is?¡± Kai shook his head; that was disgusting. He couldn¡¯t fathom what could be worse about such a situation. Alicia continued, ¡°Even if I dissuaded him, there would be another man just like him waiting to take me up like I was a political piece with no other purpose but to be used for children and political means.¡± She smiled, ¡°So yes, I am sure I want it. I want what you two have; I want the two of you to look at me the way you look at each other.¡± Alicia set her shoulders and looked at the two of them with determination. ¡°You need to realise this would not just be protecting Kai from unwanted advances, but it would also protect me. I¡¯m not saying we have to rush anything; I have another twenty years before I need to present myself before my mother and prove I¡¯m more than her youngest daughter with duties to fulfil.¡± Syl got up and drifted over to wrap her arms around Alicia¡®s shoulders. It looked awkward as Syl couldn¡¯t quite get the positioning right. But it was clear, Alicia felt something as her demeanour softened as she looked up at Syl as she gave her an exaggerated kiss on the forehead. He was stuck on the fact that an older guy was creeping on Alicia and said as much, ¡°Some older guy was trying to force you into a political marriage to be what, his mistress? But Thanric said you were a child, that it was too soon for you to be engaged.¡° Syl palmed her face. ¡°Kai I have tried explaining this to you; el¡¯vei don¡¯t age differently from humans. On Alea, heck, in the vast majority of the multiverse, all three of us are considered children. You need to realise when everyone with a functioning mana core lives to be nearly two hundred years old minimum; anyone under fifty is like a teenager to everyone else. Me, you and Alicia, we are all well below the age of majority.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± He had a lot to relearn. Everything was out of whack. Syl looked, ¡°Okay, clearly the three of us need to sit down and make some decisions before we head back out into the world. I vote we take the night to sit down and actually talk to each other about whatever we have on our minds.¡± ¡°I would like one more night before I have to explain everything that has happened to the three of us to my master,¡± Thrum, ¡°Gift votes to stay, but I think he thinks that will mean more enemies to shoot.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s the majority.¡± Syl said as she grinned at him, ¡°It will give us time to pack up and sort ourselves out¡­ Not that there is anything to pack up out here.¡± ¡°About that, I have been thinking about stealing the chamber pots for future dungeon runs. Do you think that will upset the dungeon master? Syl sighed, ¡°Won¡¯t work; they¡¯re tied to the dungeon itself. You can take them out of the dungeon, but they¡¯ll just be regular chamber pots outside¡­ We will get you a magical chamber pot as soon as we can. And I think it¡¯s about time we let you see yourself in a mirror.¡± System Anomaly - 38 - Planned Kai looked off to his side where Alicia stood; she looked eighteen despite her age of forty, he had mistakenly assumed it was some elven, or should he say El¡¯viairen, trait. He was wrong, her youthfulness was purely a consequence of growing up with a developed mana core. Being thirty-seven, he was glad he looked about the same age and not any younger than her. He didn¡¯t think much of looking the same Alicia until Syl pointed out he actually looked mature for his age. That confused him. It was then explained to him that Alea had adopted a base twelve system calendar that matched up with the length of the planet''s days. Using this new calendar most everything he knew was the same, with sixty seconds to a minute, sixty minutes to an hour, and twenty-four hours in a day. So far so good. Then thing started to shift with six days in a week and six weeks in a month¡­ making a month a consistent thirty-six days¡­ The fact that back on earth everyone agreed a month was four weeks, when only one month out of all twelve kept to that, was ridiculous and highlighted just one of the many problems with the calendar that he had grown up with. Like Earths Gregorian calendar, Alea had twelve months a year. But at thirty-six days in each month, that meant there was a total of four hundred and thirty-two days in a year. This system calendar totally ignoring the actual three hundred and eighty-two days it took for the planet to complete its orbit. All the numbers had his head spinning, fortunatly Syl took pity on him and revealed he was just over thirty-one years old on the new calendar. Which apparently meant he should actually look closer to sixteen. A concept that much to Syl''s amusement terrified him. Suddenly everyone calling him boy or child made sense to him. And it raised a whole new potential issue that he added to the many things he planned to talk to Thanric about. The wore part was that Alicia was not three short years older than him; she was, in reality, nine long years older than him, which for some might be an issue. He really hoped Thanric would give him some unbiased sage advice when they finally got out of this dungeon. Kai looked to Syl on his other side. He never really thought about it, but now that it was on his mind, she had always looked ageless to him, but now he wondered ¡°Alicia, How old do you think Syl looks?" Without looking away from the archway, Alicia said, ¡°Not a day over thirty?¡± Syl chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re too kind. I was aiming for somewhere around Kai¡¯s age, but I think I might have hit the mark a little lower than that.¡± Maybe asking a forty-year-old teenager how old her friend looked wasn¡¯t the best idea. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you let me go around for over a month without seeing what this new me actually looked like.¡± He grumbled. Syl sighed, ¡°You were still adjusting to the new you, and honestly, nothing about you changed; sure, your broken nose was fixed and you look younger, that¡¯s all. Still the same beautiful man I waited for each time the loop spat you back out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m about six times more intense looking.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fit and healthy now, that¡¯s all. Now focus up; we had a lazy evening working out what we should ask for and what we might expect from the dungeon master. We''re just wasting time out here.¡° Kai stepped through the arch to find himself staring down a massive blue dragon. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him; he had a crick in his neck.¡± The dungeon master said from where he sat on the dragons muzzle. A giant eyelid lifted to reveal a big amber eye, the big round pupil shrinking down to a thin vertical slit as it focused on the three of them. Seemingly unimpressed, the beast closed its eye lazily, and it huffed out a breath through its nostrils that were large enough for Kai to crawl down, if he was feeling idiotically adventurous. A blast of hot, spicy air washed over them as the dungeon master appeared right in front of them. ¡°Why do you three insist on taking your time?¡± Kai was about to apologise but the dungeon master sighed and held up a hand, forestalling any replies. ¡°I guess this technically helps the real me¡­ more time ponder his situation.¡± Kai didn¡¯t know what that was about, but the three of them agreed they would avoid anything that could reduce their assessment points, and that meant asking questions. Apparently the dungeon master picked up on the silence and he seemed quite amused at their unwillingness to say anything unnecessary. ¡°So, shall we begin?¡± the dungeon master asked with a raised eye brow. They just nodded. ¡°Well then. You not only survived the undead horde, but you also fought it off, then located and destroyed the lich lord that was its source. The only issue I have is you also looted an entire village of anything you thought valuable¡­¡± Kai tried not to let any of his dismay show outwardly. The dungeon master seemed intent to use any excuses to take away points. ¡°However, I have chosen not to hold that against the three of you. You made it more than clear you understand the difference between taking advantage of a dungeon scenario and the ramifications of those same actions outside these fabricated halls.¡± That surprised Kai; it seemed out of character for the blue dragon man. The dungeon master chuckled, ¡±You know, I thought I had outsmarted you and your seemingly unlimited storage capacity by choosing a scenario where you could not loot every single kill only to return them back to me in trade.¡± The dungeon master let out a dramatic sigh. ¡°I guess I should just be glad Syl did not think to loot all the furnishings and anything else not nailed down. As Kai pointed out, it was an option; all of that extra mass might have boosted your points considerably. It is a shame you did not discover what was hidden away within the graveyard. The first thing you missed was a clue as to where to find the source. Though you did not need that in the end, the second, third and fourth being the unique items you missed in your first maze run.¡± Kai groaned out loud as the dungeon master gave them a wicked grin. ¡®Kai, remember what we discussed.¡¯ Syl communicated. The dungeon master gave Kai a moment to say something, but seeing him tighten his jaw in response to Syl''s silent rebuttal, the blue-scaled man went on. ¡°Twenty thousand points each for the first test. Which brings us to your individual assessments and guidance.¡± The dungeon master looked off to the side, his eyebrows twitching in annoyance just below where his horns crested out from his forehead before sweeping back over his hair. ¡°Again, I cannot argue that any of you failed. Though I would like it to be known amongst my lesser associates that they were supposed to test your determination and drive to improve, not just mentor the three of you¡­ that said, ten thousand points each.¡± That surprised all three of them; only Syl had gotten ten thousand the last time, and she had been put through the ringer by Kain. It didn¡¯t seem right. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°The three of you need to work on your poker faces. Those points seem high but keep in mind that the points you gain are doubled this time round; you should know that none of you exceeded expectations like Syl did the first time around. Though expectations were still high for all of you.¡± Syl was beaming at the confirmation she had exceeded expectations in the first round. The dungeon master''s head whipped round, his eyes going wide as he locked them on Syl. ¡°Really?¡± the dungeon master asked her. Syl nodded. ¡°Right now? Why, you''re so close to leaving this place?¡± Syl nodded again. The dungeon master sighed and pulled a cue card from the breast pocket of his robe. ¡°Syl, for becoming, after much deliberation, a knowing yet informal apprentice to the shadow of the archmage and grand master of mana and all its workings, a now confirmed god. Ten thousand points¡± That was interesting. Ten thousand points, that was eight thousand points higher than he had received¡­ surely it wasn¡¯t also doubled. That couldn''t be right; his best guess was her long deliberation was what gave Syl the extra points. That, or an apprenticeship with Kain, was just worth a whole lot more than one with Inego. The dungeon master pulled another cue card. ¡°A further one thousand points for accepting Eunice¡¯s limited agreement.¡± The dungeon master gave Kai a pointed look. ¡°That Kai is how one makes agreements with their superiors: defined terms and much deliberation.¡± Kai wanted to shrink; he didn¡¯t know the system would hit him with that achievement just for calling someone master. It really wasn''t fair; it was like signing a contract while underage. ¡°Moving on,¡± the dungeon master said, ¡°you completed the maze in a timely manner, only opening one mimic and wisely avoiding the Taurus threat. That honestly surprised me; I thought the three of you would at least try to kill Tim, lure him into a trap, and then finish him off.¡± The dungeon master sighed, ¡°That aside, you correctly judged the risk and did not foolishly look for the unique items I alluded to in your last assessment... Your search would have been fruitless as they were not in this version of the maze.¡± The dungeon master paused in deliberation. ¡°Six, no¡­ seven thousand each.¡± To Kai that seemed a little low, they had completed the maze in record time, he had to wonder how they lost points. As per their plan he wasn¡¯t going to ask. ¡°The village¡­ The village usually catches people out, as there is no correct solution. It is a test of character, your ability to deduce the truth, and ultimately where your morals lie. In some ways you had an overwhelming advantage as you can all speak the common goblin tongue. Which I still find curious. You should know the mayor was just about to push the adventures you faced into a confrontation with you. But you quite handily locked him down and used that time to make them see reason whilst warning them they were in the same situation as you. Meaning that you did not have the misfortune of killing adventurers that were technically just doing their job at the end of the day.¡± The dungeon master was pacing again. ¡°You see, no matter how you face this trial, you are supposed to lose. In killing the goblins, you are then confronted by the reality of your actions, where you can either demand answers from the mayor or face the adventurers who are sent to investigate the conflicting requests. In protecting the goblins, you are then faced with a team of adventurers answering the village''s request. Of course the scenario is robust and can accommodate any number of variables to twist things so that you find yourself in the wrong. For example, had you chosen to fight Inego and his team, you would have killed them easily, only to find the guild leader coming down on you in turn for killing her people.¡± The dungeon master blew out a frustrated breath through his teeth. ¡°Had it not been for that damn challenge stone, I would have made the adventurers more aggressive. But that would not have been fair; you at least needed a chance to talk your way out of the situation.¡± ¡°Was there any scenario where the mayor was redeemable?¡± Alicia asked, breaking from the plan to ask a reasonable question. The dungeon master scoffed, ¡°I¡¯m a dungeon master, not a miracle worker. Do you three have any idea how hard it is to work fat turd into a name?¡± he smiled, ¡°In your language. Not very. Believe me, I was so very happy when you at least picked up on the turd. Though it does make it painfully obvious he¡¯s a bad seed to anyone with an imagination¡­ Fifteen thousand points each.¡± The dungeon master moved to stand before all three of them, not giving anyone individual his focus. ¡°Again, Syl, you set a record¡­ though it hardly matters as there is no actual reward for such things, sixty-three thousand points. Kai and Alicia fifty-two thousand.¡± The dungeon master clapped and rubbed his hands together, ¡°Now, would you like to trade anything in before we start, or do you plan to drag this out?¡± Kai cleared his throat. ¡°We would like to make our requests first.¡± There was a rumble from the resting dragon just behind the dungeon master. Kai heard nothing; the sound was so low in frequency he could only feel it as the air around him vibrated, the stone beneath his feet sending shock waves up through his legs and into his spine. Chilled, Kai realised the dragon may not have gone back to sleep. The dungeon master paid the dragon behind him no mind and said, ¡°That is your right. Again, I will allow for ten requests each and three purchases,¡± the dungeon master''s eyes flashed, ¡°and if it wasn¡¯t obvious from before, I am open to one particular trade; should you require a recommendation, more points or even more purchases, I am sure we can come to an agreement. Now who would like to go first?¡± For some reason in their preparation, both Syl and Alicia had decided he would be the first; the only problem with that was he had already decided to go off script. ¡°I request the unique item that was in the first maze and then in village graveyard that is tailored just for me.¡± The dungeon master presented an item called Kai¡¯s attire. ¡°If you would recall, the last time you were here, I said these three items were uniquely tailored for you and your party. It pleases me that you made this request; I could only drop so many hints.¡± Kai grinned. Then he examined the weird metallic bracelet and was a little disappointed. At first thought from the name it was some kind of magical armour. But upon reading the description he knew what the dungeon master meant by tailored. Kai¡¯s Raiment. Adaptable Raiment, these bracelets, dress the bearer with clothing tailored to fit Kai perfectly. Providing the bracelets with new materials and designs will expand the range of available garb the raiment can produce on demand. When armour is worn over the garb, it will adapt to produce the appropriate under armour. This item has the self-repair, cleaning and hidden enchantments. Should any of the set be destroyed, so long as one bracelet remains, the others will be restored. A little confused and very disappointed, Kai asked, ¡°It¡¯s clothing?¡± ¡°No¡­ it is adaptable, self-repairing, self-tailoring, and self-cleaning clothing that, should you feed it other garments will have you the best dressed individual in any given situation." ¡°But does it provide any protection?¡± Kai asked trying to find a reason to take the item. ¡°No, it¡¯s not armour, but I guess if you find the right high tier fabric, you might benefit from some extra protection. Though I wouldn¡¯t expect any materials with magical properties to work the same when reproduced. Only a fool would dismiss the value of such a practical everyday item. ¡° The dungeon master stepped back, spreading his arms wide as his robes rippled and changed into a similar shirt and pants Kai was currently wearing before changing back again. ¡°Believe me, I still use it, and I¡¯m what, a god compared to you children? For you, Kai, such an item is a steal at just¡­ five thousand points.¡± Kai fidgeted with his Soul ring, he kind of wanted it, if he understood the enchantments it meant he would never run out of clean underwear. but he would wait, best to save his three purchases and check what else the dungeon offered, besides for what they had planned they might need the points. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Syl stepped forward, ¡°would this item accept clothing produced within a soul realm or domain?¡± The dungeon master snapped his fingers as he grinned, ¡°Good question. The design, yes, but the material, that could be problematic. The material might manifest depending on the quality of the conjuration, or it might be somewhat vaporous; as the raiment is adaptable, you will be able to substitute any real-world material that is suitable.¡± Syl nodded, and with perhaps the most serious expression he had ever seen on her, she said, ¡°I request the unique item that was in the first maze and then in village graveyard that is tailored just for me.¡± The dungeon master produced another set of four bracelets, the design finer and more refined, the fit just right for Syl''s smaller frame. ¡°For you the price is¡­ twenty thousand points.¡± The dungeon master said as he practically keened. That seemed outrageous; the same item for himself was a quarter of the points. The dungeon master detected his surprise and raised a hand to forestall him, ¡°While none of you technically need this item, remember that certain factors affect the price. You would not believe how much she wants it. It would be more expensive had she figured out her physical form and been capable of actually using it.¡± Syl didn¡¯t seem to care about the inflated price, and after giving Alicia a quick look to receive a nod in return, said, ¡°Deal.¡± While Kai was still slack-jawed, Alicia spoke up, ¡°I request the unique item that was in the first maze and then in village graveyard that is tailored just for me..¡± The dungeon master chuckled and produced another set of bracelets. ¡°Ten thousand points.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± The dungeon master turned back to Kai and reproduced his set from before. This was not at all what they had planned. Kai had just been curious, but now that he had opened his big mouth, both Syl and Alicia had used a purchase each and burned a total of thirty thousand points. He looked over to Syl and Alicia; they were both staring at him he didn¡¯t need his omniglot skill to know what they were telling him to do. ¡°Fine, I will take them.¡± ¡°Wise choice.¡± Seeing his two party members beaming at him, he decided to put their plan back on track. ¡°I request any items related to Trengor¡¯s scaled gauntlets.¡± Kai said, hoping for another piece of dragon-scaled armour or possibly another growth item. The dungeon master took a step back. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Kai nodded. With a vicious grin, the dungeon master held out another set of four bracelets. Trengor¡¯s Raiment. Adaptable Raiment: These bracelets and dresses the bearer with clothing tailored to fit Trengor perfectly. Providing the bracelets with new materials and designs will expand the range of available garb the raiment can produce on demand. When armour is worn over the garb, it will adapt to produce the appropriate under armour. This item has the self-repair, cleaning and hidden enchantments. Should any of the set be destroyed, so long as one bracelet remains, the others will be restored. Kai groaned again as he realised his mistake, ¡°Who the fuck is Trengor!?¡± The dungeon master just laughed. System Anomaly - 38 - Tengor The dungeon master seemed to break character for a moment, his laughter insatiable for a good minute. Kai even thought he saw the dragon''s lips curl slightly. When they finally collected themselves, Kai moved onto his next request, asking for a larger piece of Spectre¡¯s shroud, only to be told he could not request the same item more than once. That was when, as per their plan, he deferred to Alicia, who asked for something that would help keep her hidden from enemies in a fight. The dungeon master offered her a skill book called The Art of Stealth, one with the shadows and hiding in plain sight. They had been anticipating an item the likes of his spectre''s shroud, but this was better, as items could get lost, stolen, broken or become redundant with levels, but skill could be improved, adapted and even taught to others. At thirty thousand points, she bought it. Kai just hoped the knowledge in the skill book was worth the cost; he would find out when he came to Alicia to find out if there was anything she could teach him. She then requested something that would help with the cultivation of essence, its refinement core layering techniques, and core compression. That took the dungeon master back a step when he presented advanced system action: custom core development, cultivation and automatic levelling up parameters. They had hoped for a skill book or tome, but an actual system action, that was insane; the dungeon master even teased them with the fact it had three uses. They were over the moon, so to speak. The only issue, at their low level and early stages of their core development, was that such an item was both greatly wanted and desperately needed. Alicia had actually been specifically chosen to make the request, as she seemed to be the least interested and as she had no real interest in gaining any new dungeon loot besides one particular item. But despite their attempt to keep the cost of any potential item down, the dungeon master quoted a hefty five hundred and fifty thousand points. They expected as much; such a thing at their level was invaluable. But it was also worth taking the shot; there might have just been something within their price range. Unable to buy the system action even if the three of them had not gone mad buying what amounted to magical clothing, they hastily moved on before the dungeon master could make an offer on the dungeon keystone; they had already come to what should be their last request. Alicia made her request for the one item she really wanted and asked for a greater runic regeneration ring for the second time. They had discussed the pros and cons of her having such an item as an archer, ultimately deciding anything could happen and that it was best to be prepared. That, and after a little ribbing from both Syl and Kai, Alicia wanted something that they would all have. The last time she had checked, she had been quoted a hundred thousand points. This time, however, the dungeon master, with an eager glint in his eyes, quoted a price of one hundred and twenty-five thousand points. Apparently either Alicia¡¯s want or need of the item had increased since the last time they met the dungeon master. Either that or the man was taking advantage of them. Once they traded in the majority of the loot they got from looting the abandoned village and all the cursed and trapped items from the lich¡¯s crypt, they were still short a good ten thousand points. The dungeon master was almost salivating. That¡¯s when Syl pulled out a quiver, a pair of boots, and a lot of arrows, both arcane and mundane. The dungeon master did not look happy when he took her old dungeon rewards, putting their total points just above what Alicia needed for her own regeneration ring. Now that they were collectively out of points, they let the dungeon master make his offer. ¡°As you have been quite selective with your requests and purchases, how about I give you, oh, I don''t know, five hundred thousand points each? All you have to do is trade back the dungeon core.¡± The dungeon master licked his lips. ¡°This is your last opportunity to gain any dungeon loot that you desire. You have yet to request a growth stone. Just imagine turning those runic rings into growth items.¡± Kai took the lead, ¡°Why do you want the keystone so much? Can you not just make your own with your access to the dungeon?¡± There was another rumble from the dragon. The dungeon master looked over his shoulder and tsked. ¡°If you must know, it is a restricted item; the architect, the abyss take them, set down some very strict restrictions on the dungeon keystone. I cannot reproduce it.¡± ¡°Why not just take it then?¡± Syl asked. ¡°Because that is one of those restrictions. Once an adventurer finds the keystone, it is theirs by right; only they can give it, or in this case, trade it to another.¡± ¡°You still haven¡¯t explained why you want the keystone.¡± The dungeon master sighed as he looked over his shoulder at the head of the giant wyrm. Both its eyes wide, its focus dead set on Kai. ¡°Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s to right an injustice.¡± He turned back to face Kai. ¡°Now, do you want the points or not?¡± Trying his best to be diplomatic, Kai said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we already discussed it. We would like to enter the next chamber and see what it holds.¡± ¡°Are you sure I cannot convince you with-¡° ¡°Enough!¡± The whole chamber resonated with the deep, rumbling voice as a wave of pressure descended on the chamber. ¡°Damn,¡± the dungeon master hissed as he spun around. The bulk of the dragon moved first, lifting off the ground as its head rose up above them, ¡°I tire of this.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still room to negotiate; don¡¯t be so impatient!¡± Two giant scaled arms unfurled from beneath the dragon as it got up to stand on all fours, its wings flaring only to catch on the walls of the chamber. The mythical lizard''s proportions remind Kai of a giant horned ferret with longer legs, bat-like wings and leathery, scaled hide. ¡°No, I tire of this.¡± The dragoon spoke, each word pulsing with pressure that washed over Kai, threatening to bring him to his knees. ¡°Trengor, please, you know me. I ca-¡° the dungeon master started. The dragon moved faster than Kai could track. ¡°I said,¡± its scaled hand came slamming down where the dungeon master was standing, ¡°ENOUGH!¡± The shock wave from the impact threw both Kai and Alicia back a few feet as Syl, in her projected form, remained unfazed. The dragon''s head lowered down to her level, its amber eyes focusing down to narrow slits that locked on her. Alicia didn¡¯t turn away as she said, ¡®Don¡¯t do anything hasty; this guy could kill us with an errant thought. Remember everything we discussed.¡¯ ¡°I may not hear you. But I can sense the mana vibrate between you.¡± Its lips curled back to display a maw that would make a tyrannosaurus rex blush. ¡°Keep silent and listen to my offer.¡± Syl nodded. ¡°You needed an item capable of completing that spell; I can give you one.¡± Its jaw opened wide, its tongue pressed flat as a brilliant light formed in its mouth only to dim, revealing the form of a giant pearl. Kai got up and walked cautiously to Syl¡¯s side and examined the item. Trengor¡¯s Pearl. This pearl is a physical manifestation of a portion of an ancient dragon''s power and knowledge. The scope of its true characteristics remains unfathomable to the uninitiated. Its description certainly made it sound like it would work for Syl¡¯s physical manifestation. The only problem was Trengor¡¯s pearl was the size of an inflatable beach ball. ¡°Wait a minute, you¡¯re Trengor?!¡± Syl coughed abruptly, cutting Kai off. ¡°Your pearl is indeed generous, but it is far too big-¡° The dragon''s jaw slammed shut with a crack, only to open again, revealing a much smaller pearl about the size of a large marble. The dragon''s lips curled back in what Kai thought must be a smile. Examining the much smaller item revealed a slightly modified description. Trengor¡¯s Condensed Pearl. This condensed pearl is a physical manifestation of a portion of an ancient dragon''s power and knowledge reduced to a convenient size. The scope of its true characteristics remains unfathomable to the uninitiated. ¡°I''m sorry, but such a trade would be one-sided. Your pearl is just too precious; you would be giving up a part of your very being.¡± ¡°My pearl would enhance any minor spell you could possibly work in ways you cannot even begin to imagine, my knowledge working to enhance your physical form in ways beyond the limits of your tier.¡± Syl hesitated for a moment, licking her lips nervously as she looked over to him and Alicia. From the look she gave them, that pearl must have been something amazing. Catching his eye, she smiled and turned back to face the dragon, her shoulders set. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we already found the perfect focus¡­ the one Lady Merribellium specifically designed the spell to work with.¡± The room rumbled, and the pressure increased. Kai had to redouble his effort to stay on his feet. The dragon snapped its jaw closed and reared back once more. The hide of the beast vibrating, hundreds of loose scales rattling and falling free as the dragon''s scales darkened to a multi-hued black, the same as Kai¡¯s gauntlets. The horns on its head cracked and split from a pair into a crown of four horns. Slamming back down to all fours, Kai, Alicia and even Syl were blown back as the beast roared. The blast shattered the sequence of barriers Sly had hastily thrown up like they were nothing but thin sheets of ice. His ears ringing Kai struggled to get to his feet, stumbling as he tried to get his bearings. He saw the hazy figure of a giant black dragon''s head, its lips curling back and nostrils flaring as it tasted something in the air as it moved between him Alicia and Syl. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Something caught its attention as its head tilted to the side, and a set of two blood-red eyes on the side of its head locked on him. Showing a set of vicious white teeth, it hissed, ¡°You.¡± The single word was more menacing than anything Kai had ever heard in his life. Kai reached for one of the longest hilts stuffed into his belt. ¡®Kai, don¡¯t!¡¯ Syl cried in warning into his mind, "He will kill you the moment you show him hostility. He halted, staring down the dragon as it slowly backed off, disappearing into the liquid smoke that billowed from its mouth. ¡°You should have accepted my copies offer¡­ or my pearl. Is nothing good enough for you?¡± The words echoed around the chamber as the smoke condensed into the form of a man. Because I promise you, you will not like this final offer.¡± A tall, pale man with sharp, long elven ears and notched lobes, his black hair slicked back below a crown of four ridged and spiked horns. He wore a set of black scale armour that reminded Kai of Trengor¡¯s gauntlets. The armour flexed and shifted as he walked their way through the now empty chamber. The black metallic scales wrapped the man perfectly, like a second skin with no discernible weak points. His red eyes burned into Kai as he raised one clawed hand after another, a thick red crackling dome of mana slamming into place around both Alicia and Syl. Party connections forcibly disconnected by Trengor With a flair, Trengor raised his palms up into the air. The barriers surrounding his two team members lifted abruptly, carrying their startled occupants to float behind him as he walked ever onwards to Kai. Kais immediately checked his connection with Syl; she was there, but just like his test with Kain, she seemed distant. ¡®Syl, what do I do? We didn¡¯t plan for this.¡¯ No answer. ¡®Syl!?¡¯ Still no answer. Kai chanced a look at Syl; she wasn¡¯t moving. It was like the time he had slowed down time around the mayor; Syl looked like she had been frozen in place. A quick look over Trengor''s other shoulder told him the same thing had been done to Alicia. Looking back at the dragon-turned man, Kai knew he had to stick to the plan, at least what was left of it. About to panic, Kai had to remind himself this was the final test; there was no way they would let them die now. Not after everything they had put them through the tests, the rewards, the assessment, it would all be pointless. Watching, Trengor pulled a long, black, twisted, thrice-pointed spear that was twice as long as Trengor was tall from the air beside him. Kai prayed to the first god he had ever known. Oh please, Atheos, don¡¯t kill us now. Trengor paused, coming to a stop where he stood, his head tilting for a moment before he looked back to Kai and grinned, his tongue rolling over the bottom of his fangs; his voice echoed around the chamber. ¡°Atheos can¡¯t save you; this may be her dungeon, but she made it my territory.¡± He slammed the butt of his spear into the ground to punctuate his sentence. With his free hand he reached out to Kai, ¡°Now, Give me the keystone.¡± The words seemed soft but commanding, resonating in his mind. Kai mentally reached into his inventory and stopped. What was he doing? He couldn¡¯t just give Trengor the keystone. Kai''s head shot up to see Trengor waiting, his hand outstretched, expecting Kai to hand over the stone as if it was a certainty. ¡°No¡­¡± Kai resisted. ¡°Give, me, the dungeon keystone!¡± Trengor commandeered once again. Kai anticipated the words this time; they tickled his mind, but nothing more. He stood taller and asked for the third time through gritted teeth, ¡°Why do you want it!?¡± Trengor took a step back as if slapped. ¡°H-How can you resist dragon tongue? You''re far too weak; no one your level could possibly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m special, now please, why do you want it?¡± Kai asked with all he had. Trengor''s eyes widened as Kai was hit with a wave of pressure he recognised. The black dragon, his eyes narrowing, was examining him with overwhelming force. The power of it stripped away Kai¡¯s willpower as he instinctively attempted to hide his information. The spectre¡¯s shroud turned opaque as it consumed more and more of his mana, blinding Kai as it failed to obscure him from the onslaught, the thin fabric tearing and ripping free from his face. Trengor smiled, ¡°Yes, you are indeed special. Who would have thought that all this time one of the lost, a fake progenitor, stands before me?¡± He shifted forward, and in a blink, he stood before Kai, his face mere inches away, his spear tearing through Kai¡¯s abdomen. ¡°Was that enough?¡± he said in disgust. Kai gasped, the air knocked from his body. Looking down at the twisted black metal pinning to the dungeon floor where he stood, he fought through a wave of black that seemed to creep in on him from his peripheral vision as a high-pitched whine filled his ears, deafening him. His runic regeneration kicking in as a chunk of his mana disappeared, the arcane rings went to work trying to heal the wound; he found he was able to think, the black pushed back, and sound returned to him. He watched, oddly curious despite the dangerous situation he found himself in. Something was clearly wrong. Trengor''s spear was doing something to him, to his injury. Each time a rune from one of his rings drew close, it was burnt, the magic crackling on his skin as it fizzed and faded without doing much of anything to his injury. His mana draining rapidly, he realised he had to do something else. Focusing, he reached down and pulled, slowing time in the space around where he had been skewered like a fish. ¡°Stop that, you fool; you will confuse your nervous system and affect your circulatory system. It''s a good way to send yourself into shock.¡± Trengor said as he stepped back, ¡°Just give me the damn keystone, and this will be over.¡± Releasing Trengor might be right; he released his mental grip on time and space and instead reached forward to get a hold of the situation. His gauntlets fumbling clumsily as he tried to get purchase in his injured state, finally finding grip, he pulled himself up ever so slightly to try and take his own weight off the weapon, the effort sending sharp, piercing pulses of pain each time he jostled the spear shaft. Certain that he had his footing despite the spear, he looted the weapon. Or at least he tried to; he felt his soul ring pull on the item, but nothing happened. Shit¡­ He had thought that would work; Trengor wasn¡¯t even touching it; it was in him; surely that qualified the spear as his¡­ He needed the spear out of his gut so he could heal, or at least he hoped that was the case; he was screwed if he pulled the thing out to find its effects lingered and he bled everywhere. What was he missing? Trengor looked at him. ¡°Did you just try looting the spear? Putting my willpower aside, it''s my soulbound spear?¡± Well, that answered that question. Shrugging, Kai summoned his best diplomatic smile and tried asking again, ¡°The keystone, why do you want it?¡± biting off each word with purpose and intent, almost commanding Trengor to answer. Trengor scowled, ¡°You really want to know?¡± ¡°I asked how many times? I thought that it was obvious.¡± Kai teased as if he wasn¡¯t in mortal danger. Trengor''s scowl turned into a frown. ¡°I worked with Atheos to design this dungeon¡­ It was supposed to find gifted individuals such as yourself and test their character and their drive. If they met the criteria, she would offer them her blessing or recruit them to her cause¡­ Do you even know the value of a god''s blessing?¡± Kai shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not important; all you need to know is I saw the value in the work. Only when that work started killing the gifted more often than it ever triggered this side trial, we decided to test the dungeon. Send someone in to find out what had gone wrong. Being a dragon, I was able to limit my power and enter the dungeon just as any other would.¡± Trengor spoke with disdain, visibly fidgeting in his agitation, his fist opening and closing as he worked his way through his explanation. ¡°Everything was going perfectly. I and my team encountered the rune bear; we ran, we returned, we found the keystone, and we entered the second trial.¡± Trengor''s hands balled into fists, his gauntlets creaking with the strain. ¡°Day by day we worked our way through each test; my team, specifically selected by me, proved themselves time and time again. Finally we reached this very chamber for the second time; there were no problems so far as I could tell. But just when I thought everything was done, Atheos descended and asked to check our keystone. I gave it to her¡­ and she destroyed it.¡± Trengor fumed, his form curling up in a primal rage, the muscles in his neck tight as his eyes burned with fury. ¡°She killed my team and destroyed my vessel, releasing my true form; the power I released was captured by the dungeon, empowering it to spawn on a million more worlds and run for aeons to come.¡± ¡°Why-¡° Kai coughed, tasting blood; he asked, ¡°Why would she do that?¡± ¡°Because Kai,¡± Trengor spat, ¡°it was never about finding talent. You see, with each person that enters her dungeon and survives, she is rewarded by the system, the difficulty and value of the rewards only serving to multiply her gains. It may not be worth the effort when there are just a few hundred of your dungeons across the multiverse, but when there are millions, possibly trillions, those system rewards soon add up.¡± Kai had a good idea how system rewards could add up. ¡°So you¡¯re saying what? You need the keystone to get out, to escape this chamber and seek revenge.¡± Trengor stood taller, a look of hope on his face. ¡°No, I can leave, regain my power, call upon my allies, and shut this farce down for good.¡± Kai was feeling weak; his mana was getting low, but the runic regeneration must have had some effect on the injury, as his health had stabilised and the rate at which his mana was decreasing had slowed drastically. He needed to figure this test out and find the solution; he pressed on. ¡°What would happen to the three of us, left to rot, to starve or die of old age? None of this adds up. You may have stuck me with this little stick, but if you were truly hostile, I would be dead already; my challenge stone would have driven to it.¡± He grinned. Trengor shook his head in clear disappointment and vanished again. He reappeared right in front of Kai, his gauntlet hands wrapped around both of Kai¡¯s wrists. ¡°You¡¯re a fool if you don¡¯t think I am hostile.¡± He looked down at the dragon scale gauntlets he held in his tight grip. ¡°You know these were mine before Atheos killed my vessel¡­ I don¡¯t think you deserve them; shame they¡¯re growth items, this will hurt.¡± Trengor squeezed, and Kai felt the scales of his gauntlet bind together and resist the force the man was imparting. Unfortunately that wasn¡¯t the only thing Trengor was doing. He was infusing them with mana, an inane amount of mana, more than Kai had ever seen. The gauntlets tried to absorb the mana that was coming in, but it was foreign to Kai¡¯s own, and it couldn¡¯t be converted too easily; it proved to be too much. First they began to glow and grow hot. Then the scales started to pop and crack before finally they shattered one by one, starting with the smaller scales wrapped around his fingers and then onto the back of his hand and up his forearm. Kai cried out in agony; his arms felt like he had just dove them both into hot coals up to the elbow. But that pain was nothing compared to what he felt from his core as something inside himself broke, there one moment but then gone the next. Trengor let go and tsked, ¡°Yes, losing a growth item can be quite painful, agonising from what I remember; you¡¯ll be recovering from the soul damage for a while.¡± ¡°You still haven¡¯t killed me.¡± Kai said through gritted teeth. ¡°Aren''t you listening! I¡¯m not a copy, I¡¯m not dungeon spawn!¡± Trengor yelled as he reached past Kai¡¯s armour and pulled out his challenge stone. ¡°This piece of shit doesn''t work on me. Now give me the keystone.¡± His mind tickled. Kai was really beginning to doubt. The plan was to assume everything was a part of some test. But he saw no way out of this; he just had to trust Syl knew what she was talking about. Not that it mattered; if what the black dragon was saying was true, they would be screwed if they handed over the keystone. Looking at Tengor glaring back at him, he realised he was damned if he did, damned if he didn¡¯t. He looked up at Syl, then Alicia; they were relying on him. He gritted his teeth and tried again, ¡°Atheos, she said others had completed the trail before us. Why didn¡¯t you demand their keystones?¡± Trengor took a step back, grasping at his own face in a moment of heightened frustration before sighing, ¡°I¡¯m not an evil person, Kai. I begged and pleaded. My copy, the dungeon master offered the same deals. They all refused. But when you revealed that Inego had become a god, I knew too much time had passed. I no longer have a choice; I must leave.¡± If that was true, this situation, their predicament, it was all his fault. But Kai couldn¡¯t relent now. ¡°We need the keystone to leave; I can¡¯t just hand it over to you.¡± Trengor looked over his shoulder and snarled, ¡°You would be locked away as I was, only woken when someone entered the trials; the others will take care of you. To you, it would be but a moment. You need only wait for me to shut this dungeon down, and you will be freed.¡± ¡°And how long would that take, days, months, years, or a millennia? You¡¯re asking too much; Alicia will be giving up everything she¡¯s ever known. And what if you fail? We will be trapped forever¡­¡± I can¡¯t make that decision alone.¡± Kai said hoping to get the others released. Maybe, just maybe, they would see something he was missing. Trengor took a moment to look over his shoulder. Turning back to Kai, his eyes narrowed as a vicious smile crept onto his face. ¡°How about I make things easier for you?¡± Without looking away from Kai, he reached back towards Alicia with an open palm. ¡°You won¡¯t have to worry about her if she¡¯s dead.¡± He closed his grip slightly as if he was tightening it down around the spherical barrier surrounding Alicia. A crack resounded around the chamber as a flare of red energy was released, the barrier around Alicia shrinking in a flash. ¡°Stop!¡± cried Kai. Trengor''s eyebrow rose. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to give me the keystone¡­¡± He looked over his other shoulder. ¡°Or would you rather I dispose of the other one? I admit I¡¯m a sucker for princesses myself, especially the el¡¯viairen ones; something about them gets me all fired up. Just a little dragon fire, and I can burn the ginger one right out of your soul.¡± Trengor snapped his fingers, and flames started to wick around the base of the sphere, holding Syl in place. ¡°I tell you what, how about I kill them both and release you so that you can tell Atheos to get her skinny little butt in here so I can have a word with her.¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± This wasn¡¯t the plan. ¡°Stop.¡± They had decided to not give up the keystone no matter what happened. It was supposed to be a test¡­ But Trengor had proven he was hostile. Surely damaging Kai¡¯s soul by destroying the gauntlets, a growth item proved it, proved Trengor was trapped, proved he wanted out¡­ ¡°I haven¡¯t got eternity, the princess, the soul bond or both. Personally, I would just give up the keystone. Take your chances, look at the positives, and train with some of the best masters the multiverse has to offer. Play house in your little domain if this drags out. But don¡¯t test me any further; I will kill the lot of you out of spite alone. I can wait for the next batch; hopefully they won''t have a know-it-all, and the dungeon master can just get the keystone through trade.¡± Trengor''s eyes narrowed again as the flames under Syl flared again, and a crack rang out, Alicia¡¯s barrier cracking down, threatening to crush her. ¡°Okay!¡± Kai yelled. He couldn¡¯t do it. Trengor would kill them. Being locked away for God knows how long was better than death; surely Alicia would forgive him. He summoned the keystone and let it drop to the floor. ¡°It¡¯s yours.¡± Just then Kain Merribellium appeared at Trengor''s side. He turned to her, and she nodded. Trengor smiled, raised his hand and snapped his fingers, the spear within Kai disappearing. All the stress, the weight of facing a menacing dragon, his injury. It all hit him at once; the world closed in on him, everything turning black as the ever-present pressure of Trengor vanished. His legs alone could no longer hold him. Kai collapsed. System Anomaly - 39 - A System of Lies It was all over; Kai had fucked it all up; the test was over, and he had failed. He had failed. And not just himself, but Alicia and Syl both. There¡¯s no chance he will ever run to earth anytime soon, at least not before everyone he had ever known and loved was long dead. ¡°How long do you think he will mope for?¡± Trengor asked. ¡°He¡¯s busy counting every one he failed¡­ It¡¯s a short list.¡± Kain said. Kai winced and opened his eyes. At some point he had been rolled onto his back, and now he found himself looking up at four people who stared down at him with mixed expressions. Both Trengor and Kain looked somewhat amused, while Alicia and Syl showed considerably more concern. From the way everyone seemed to be getting on with each other, something must have happened after he blacked out. ¡°In case you are wondering, that¡¯s what happens when you use too much mana on the back end of soul damage from someone destroying a growth item of yours.¡± Kain said as she glared at Trengor. ¡°Not my fault he is so persistent. I, for one, think it was a good lesson to learn while the growth item''s roots are so shallow; he will take much more care of his next one. Besides, those gauntlets were crappy. An ancient design I cobbled together on a whim.¡± ¡°You¡¯re underestimating how much he liked them, and you have no idea how they would have grown alongside Kai.¡± Trengor clicked his tongue as he stepped back with a thoughtful look on his face. Kai gave Syl a confused look; she was smiling at him, but her cheeks were streaked with the telltale trail marks of tears. Bracing himself for pain, he sat up. What¡¯s happening?¡± he grunted, but in that moment he felt foolish as he felt fine; there was no pain at all from where he had been skewered. ¡°You passed the test. All of them.¡± Alicia said with a childish grin. ¡°But the keystone, I gave it up? We¡¯re stuck in the dungeon.¡± ¡°You gave it up to save your team¡­¡± Kain said, elaborating. ¡°You never actually needed the keystone; it was purely to drive the narrative, test your patience, test your greed and ultimately test your camaraderie. Everyone before you traded the stone for immediate but certain gain instead of potential but uncertain gain in the future. Technically a qualifying pass, but not what the dungeon was created for.¡± ¡°So the offers, the story of false imprisonment, then finally the doomed to spend eternity trapped inside the dungeon. That was all the test? The keystone was what, a MacGuffin?¡± Kai asked, Is he sluggish? His brain was ten steps behind everything that was happening. ¡°Macguffin, Interesting concept, but, in a roundabout way, yes. Things would have been simpler if Atheos had contained herself and if Syl wasn¡¯t so clued into how dungeons work; in the end, the decision was made to isolate you, Kai. Persuade you that the death of your team was in fact a possibility and see how you react.¡± ¡°So, Trengor, he wasn¡¯t going to kill Syl or Alicia?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t actually them; it was just an illusion. They were with me, watching; I had to convince Syl to lock down her end of your connection.¡± Kain looked over to the dragon in the form of a man; he had his back to them, and he seemed to be working on something. Her eyes narrowed. ¡°There were a few conditions where Lord Trengor would have killed you all.¡± ¡°Like what exactly?¡± Syl asked. ¡°Like if you had the impertinence to accept my pearl in turn for a focus you already knowingly possessed.¡± Trengor said without turning from whatever he was doing. Syl¡¯s jaw dropped for just a moment before she collected herself and said, ¡°I knew that offer was too good to be true. I mean, come on, the pearl of an ancient dragon. Dungeon spawn or not, that item is far too valuable for any dungeon of the first tier.¡± ¡°Who said anything about Trengor being dungeon spawn? He descended on the dungeon while you were killing off the undead lich lord.¡± Alicia¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Descended? As in, like, a god descended? ¡°Yes, dear, as a god. But please be aware, a lot of much lower-level beings can descend on a planet. I imagine your world will get a lot of it when its integration is complete. B-class worlds and above are coveted even when they are only tier one.¡± Kain instructed. ¡°The only reason he is allowed to be here in this integrating world is because he too is an architect of this dungeon. This whole thing was a joint project between Atheos and Trengor; I¡¯m sure he will explain things when he is done.¡± Alicia nodded, her back stiffening as she stood up a little straighter. Kai, growing sick of looking up at everyone, got up and dusted off what remained of his pants. Covered in his blood, they were little more than rags now. His leather jerkin was likewise ruined. Worse, he had lost his cool gauntlets; he reached up to his face and his spectre¡¯s shroud for that matter. ¡°How is he even here? Does it not take a lot of power? Atheos acted like she was on limited supply when we met her.¡± Alicia asked meekly. ¡°Wouldn''t be much of a god if a little divine intervention in one of their own dungeons sapped them of their power. Atheos was probably over-eager, didn¡¯t prepare properly, or was acting it up.¡± Kain said with a sigh, ¡°I do wonder what my divine self is doing¡­ changing a copy¡¯s whole worldview knowing the real version is doing well.¡± Kai looked at Trengor¡¯s back and scowled. ¡°So that guy¡¯s a real dragon? Not just some dungeon fabrication; the whole time he was hostile, and my challenge stone never had any effect on him.¡± Syl groaned, ¡°I miscalculated. I assumed because of the instanced nature of the dungeon, the whole real and fake dungeon master thing was a ploy. Anyone with half a brain would know that even if what we were being told was true. There was no way for us to encounter them in our particular copy of the dungeon, as they would be locked away in their own personal instance.¡± It took a moment for it to sink in. ¡°So the whole scenario wasn¡¯t possible. Trengor testing the dungeon, Atheos betraying and trapping him in here with no way to escape, then us encountering him in this chamber. It was all an impossible ruse¡­ and I¡¯m the only one it would have worked on.¡± ¡°Things were further complicated by Atheos appearing and explaining things the way she did, but yes, that is why we had to separate you from Alicia and Syl. With Alicia growing up on a world with dungeons and her in-depth tutoring, and then there is Syl¡¯s history with the system; they both knew that a dungeon instance is nigh on inviolable. You, however, are dangerously ignorant. I was asked to observe so that Trengor could be certain your decision was made not in the certainty that this was just some test, but that you truly were willing to give up everything to save those you love¡­¡± Kain gave him a long look. ¡°Everything that happens from here on out is because of you.¡± That sounded ominous¡­ Things were growing vaguer by the minute, and he wasn¡¯t sure he liked it. Kai found himself staring at the back of the Trengor''s head again, wondering what was in store for them. More importantly, he wondered why it was necessary for Trengor to destroy his gauntlets and the shroud. Now he just had his spectral manifestation technique and Syl, his spectral soulmate. His plan for a cool name to make the Ghostblade jealous was falling apart. Eyeing him briefly, Kain chuckled, ¡°Yes, Trengor can be quite dramatic, but there was more on the line than you know. In his mind he wasn¡¯t just testing you, but also teaching you valuable lessons. I suggest you reflect on his actions. You need to understand, this dungeon wasn¡¯t just set up to find gifted individuals. It was set up to find the gifted individuals. He had to be certain.¡± If that wasn¡¯t cryptic, he didn¡¯t know what was. Trengor turned around and slapped his gauntletted hands together. ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± Alicia and Syl nodded; even Gift chimed in. He, however, grunted. Kai looked down at his bare arms. It felt like the dragon was taunting him with his gauntlets. ¡°Good, now I invite you to come to my divine realm to receive the rewards allotted to you for the successful completion of this trial dungeon. I swear on the system that no harm will come to any of you within that time, that you may leave anytime you wish to be returned to the entrance of this dungeon, with all rights, rewards and privileges of one who has successfully completed all true trials within.¡± Trengor finished with a grin. Kai felt a notification as he immediately looked to Syl to see Alicia on her other side doing the same with wide eyes. Something about being in the presence of gods really got to Alicia, which was surprising to Kai. He would have thought a princess of all people would have no issue with authority. But maybe divine authority was a different thing altogether. Syl sighed, her eyes narrowed as she studied Trengor. ¡°Is this necessary? Any and all rewards should have been submitted and approved by the system, meaning the dungeon should be able to issue them without us stepping out of the dungeon.¡± Kain coughed behind them, ¡°This know-it-all system knowledge is the reason why you were isolated. The reason Kai had to face a divine dragon all alone. Try trusting your instincts instead¡­¡± Syl flinched. ¡°Syl, while you are correct,¡± Trengor said, ¡±as the very nature of the rewards would be affected by long-term stasis within the dungeon, the system has allowed us to retain custody of the item and still submit it as a possible. Had you not been as successful in that last test, you would indeed be entering a reward room within the dungeon.¡± ¡°Affected by long-term stasis within the dungeon? Nothing could be¡­¡± Syl¡¯s eyes went wide as she trailed off. ¡°What is it? Kai asked. ¡°We need to go to his divine realm; it will disconnect us from the system, but we need to go.¡± Trengor gestured to his side, and a dungeon arch appeared, rising slowly from the ground. ¡°After¡­ actually, Kai, do your little looting trick with all the scales I dropped; you are going to want them. And Kain, give everyone my condolences and fond farewells; you all did a grand job.¡± Kai looked about the massive, open chamber. Trengor had dropped scales everywhere. He turned to Alicia and Syl, ¡°A little help?¡± Alicia¡¯s golden eyes flashed as she looked about at all the scales; without a word, she darted off. Huh, ¡°What was that about?¡± Kai asked. Syl rolled her eyes. ¡°Do you have any idea how valuable dragon scales are?¡± Kai shrugged. ¡°They are an insanely valuable crafting material. One good, freely shed, freely given scale is probably worth more than almost everything we looted in our entire dungeon run.¡± ¡°Oh shit¡­ my gauntlets.¡± Kai said as he gave the dragon a look. Trengor just looked up and off into space, pretending he hadn¡¯t heard anything. ¡°Forget your gauntlets for a minute,¡± Syl chastised him. ¡°Ask yourself if one normal dragon scale is that valuable, how valuable will the freely shed, freely given scale of an ancient divine dragon be?¡± Kai blinked, then promptly ran off looting every scale he could find, no matter the size. He could hear Trengor chuckling. A good ten minutes later, when they had thoroughly scoured the chamber of scales, they approached the archway. ¡°So, when we go through there and get our rewards, that is it, the dungeon is over?¡± Alicia asked Trengor cautiously as she looked at the floor. ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°And we aren''t missing out on anything by exiting this way.¡± Trengor rolled his eyes. ¡°I swear on the system you will not be missing out, that the system chest with all your allotted rewards for this dungeon and more is already waiting secure within my divine realm.¡± Kai turned to Syl as he got another notification. She grinned, ¡°It is legit.¡± For what was hopefully the last time in a long time, Kai led the way through the arch. He stepped out into what could only be described as a sitting room. There were two large plush red leather chairs with their backs to a massive window, a landscape of mountains and majestic trees visible for as far as the eye could see. A large ornate chest sat between the two chairs, seeming to be the focus of the setup, as a couch just the right size for three to take up a comfortable seat was positioned opposite, facing the chest and two chairs, while also providing prime seating to admire the view. The rest of the room seemed to be ostentatiously decorated; however, the feel was more modern than mediaeval. Kai didn¡¯t know why he expected mediaeval decor; he just did. He didn¡¯t even know what mediaeval decoration looked like, just what he had seen in films and television. The walls were adorned with shelves filled with oddities Kai couldn¡¯t even begin to identify. When he tried examining one item that looked like a hollow glass orb with a storm inside, his mind just spun, and after recovering from a moment of vertigo, he decided to keep his examines to himself. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Oh!¡± Syl said in surprise as she appeared beside him, gravity taking effect and planting her firmly on the floor. ¡°What is it?¡± Kai asked as Alicia appeared behind Syl. She reached out and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him down for a quick kiss on the lips. Pulling away, she giggled, ¡°I¡¯m physical here.¡± ¡°Syl, please!¡± Alicia exclaimed, her ears twitching as she glanced at Trengor stepping through the arch behind them, ¡°We are in divine company.¡± Trengor chuckled. ¡°By all means,¡± he gestured, and his armour disappeared to be replaced by a loose black shirt and baggy cloth pants adorned with fine gold patterns in the shapes of clouds, ¡°Get comfortable; we will be waiting on one more to arrive.¡± He looked off to the side. ¡°She is just saying goodbye to some old, long-lost friends while she has the chance.¡± Kai didn¡¯t need to be told twice; he plopped down in his bloody armour right in the middle of the couch. Alicia¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Kai, you¡¯re covered in blood.¡± She hissed. Trengor chuckled again, ¡°Please, Alicia, relax; this is not some court function, and I¡¯ve certainly never liked the self-imposed rules of nobility.¡± He waved a hand, and Kais''s worn and ruined armour disappeared, changing into a similar shirt and pants to Trengor, only the gold thread was silver with a slight blue hue. ¡°Arachne silk,¡± he smiled, ¡°You won''t find more comfortable lounge wear anywhere, also more durable than anything you had on.¡± Alicia looked uncertain as she glanced at Syl, who for her part slid onto the couch beside Kai and snuggled into him. ¡°Mmmh, comfy.¡± Seeing the man-dragon lounge back, Kai got a sneaky idea, and he summoned his raiment. He looked at the four bracelets; not knowing what to do with them, he tried examining them, only nothing happened. He tried again; there was nothing but a slight feeling of uneasiness. ¡°The system doesn¡¯t work within the divine domain unless the god allows it. Everything''s shut off right now.¡± Trengor supplied as he looked at Kai, ¡°Put one on each limb and supply each a little mana; they¡¯ll bind to you just like your mana cuff. Once that¡¯s done, it¡¯s just a matter of intent and mana. You¡¯ll want to practice in private, trust me, no one likes a surprise penis in mixed company. And yes, the clothes are real, and yes, you can keep them; no need to accidentally absorb them into your raiment.¡± Kai didn¡¯t know what was worse: being caught in the act or the fact he was being given fancy lounge wear. He just hoped this gift wasn¡¯t Trengor¡¯s recompense... Syl, upon hearing Kai was being given the change of clothes, sat up and gave Trengor a long, hard, expectant look. Catching on quick, Trengor sighed, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have no ladies garments on hand; I have tried, and I¡¯ve never been able to pull anything off.¡± Syl deflated, sinking back into him. Alicia on his other side, despite being told to relax, was still stiff as a board. Biting her lips, she woke up and asked, ¡°Who are we waiting on?¡± ¡°That would be me, dear.¡± The three of them turned around to see the same young Glados they had encountered outside the goblins cave, a big grin plastered across her face as the ¡°Lady Atheolin?¡± Alicia asked in confusion. ¡°Ah, does this help?¡± She waved her hand, and she withered and aged into the little old lady. ¡°Or this?¡± Again, gesturing the other way, then changing completely, Atheos, the god they met less than two weeks ago, was standing before them again. Alicia¡¯s eye went wide. ¡°The second test? Was that you?¡± ¡°Yes, that was me. Imagine my surprise when you turned that little growth stone I tweaked into a full-blown ego¡­ I was concerned.¡± She walked around from the back of the couch to take a seat on the opposite side of the chest. ¡°But Gift is a good boy, so I will forgive your recklessness.¡± Atheos turned to Trengor. ¡°Do you have everything sorted out?¡± He nodded, ¡°I made a few tweaks and added a few things. It will be interesting to see what happens.¡± ¡°Now where do I start¡­¡± ¡°The premonition you had.¡± ¡°Ah yes, that.¡± She levelled a look on Syl, ¡°As you undoubtedly know, gods typically design dungeons to find talent, cultivate followers, disciples and even select champions.¡± ¡°True. Most low-level dungeons take an hour or two, a day at most. When I found out it was a trial dungeon that no one had completed, I thought a god might be looking for low-level talent.¡± Syl said. ¡°But with everything you put into the tests, I figured you were looking for something different.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ We were looking for someone to hand our children off to.¡± Trengor said as his drink refilled. Kai looked at the chest; it was massive, made of a strange multi-hued metal he didn¡¯t recognise, the patterns shifting on the surface as they cycled through images representing each of the tests they went through in the dungeon to then finally settle on a final image of three eggs. ¡°You see, the impetus of the dungeon was actually a premonition I had aeons ago, shortly after our ascension. That premonition started a search. All we knew was that what we were looking for would be found on an integrating world, that they would be fresh initiates to the system, and that they would be somehow bound together.¡± Atheos explained ¡°You were looking for Kai and Syl, just them?¡± Alicia asked with a tinge of concern about her words. Her brow furrowed slightly as she looked to Atheos for an answer to her question in trepidation. ¡°Yes, Alicia, I am afraid so. But don¡¯t think that lessens your importance any more than theirs. You need to understand everything we do in life, as we walk our path; it all forms connections. What happened with you and Gift connected you to them in ways that cannot be so easily dismissed.¡± Alicia seemed mollified by that answer and finally let herself sink further back into the couch. ¡°Now, what do you know about dragons?¡± Atheos asked them. Kai went to open his mouth, but Syl pressed him back a bit and took the lead, ¡°one of the oldest recorded races in the multiverse, they are ancient beings of magic, they come in an astonishing variety, their form dictated by how and where they were incubated. That being the reason you could not leave your eggs within the dungeon for so long.¡± ¡°All true, but do you know why we dragons are so adaptable?¡± Alicia let out a quiet gasp. ¡°Yes, darling, I too, like Trengor, am a dragon.¡± ¡°Are you both dragons? But dragons don¡¯t usually reach divinity.¡± Syl said. ¡°And your kind can be quite territorial, so two divine dragons together¡ªthat¡¯s rare.¡± ¡°Yes, the restrictions are too much for some; many of our kind eschew such things to pursue other matters.¡± Trengor said solemnly. ¡°Restrictions?¡± Syl asked. ¡°Yes, the system restricts dragons quite heavily on the later stages of their path. It¡¯s to do with our nature, why we were made, and the current state of the system.¡± Trengor explained. ¡°That is one of the reasons we obfuscated events to find you and bring you into our divine realm, so that we could discuss things without the system interfering. Here we can discuss forbidden knowledge freely.¡± Atheos picked up where Trengor''s explanation left off. Syl immediately leaned over Kai, grabbing Alicia''s arm. ¡°Alicia, I¡¯m an artificial being made by the system to fix a fault that trapped Kai in an endless loop of tutorial calibrations. Spending time with Kai gave me a true soul. But then the tutorial was ready, and I was set for deletion or reabsorption by the system. However, Kai used his accumulated rewards to help detach me from the system and bind me to himself to keep me from my impending doom.¡± Syl finished in a rush. Alicia''s jaw fell open. Trengor and Atheos looked at each other uncomfortably. ¡°Only the event may be true; you will actually find that you always had a true soul. Only the system suppressed it with all its restrictions. It made you so that it could use you to bypass its own restrictions. Syl, you were never made; you were born.¡± Atheos said, looking at Syl with one of the most serious looks Kai had ever seen someone give another. ¡°The system is not what you think.¡± Trengor added. Syl was silent, her brow furrowed in confusion. ¡°You see, dragons are an artificial race; we were first designed and created by the same people who created the system.¡± ¡°Systems.¡± Trengor created. Atheos rolled her eyes at Trengor''s correction and continued, ¡°We have so much genetic potential crammed into us; it''s one of the reasons we never breed true and that there are so many different types of dragons.¡± Kai thought about an age-old argument about the mythological beings: ¡°Is that why some dragons have six limbs?¡± Trengor scoffed, ¡°It¡¯s one of the reasons some dragons have six limbs. Some of my brethren don¡¯t even bother with wings, yet they still insist on dominating the skies. Long, snake-like things that writhe and undulate their way through the heavens. Nice folk. For some reason, they tend to propagate best among the sects.¡± Well, that explained eastern dragons¡­ ¡°Wyverns?¡± he asked. ¡°Not enough time in the shell if you ask me; forgot to develop forearms. They''re pretty easy in a fight, and they always seem to have a chip on their shoulder whenever I meet one.¡± Trengor chuckled. ¡°Drakes?¡± ¡°Small, no wings¡­ usually because their environment lacked some crucial element for the more impressive features.¡± ¡°Fire dragons? Ice dragons?¡± ¡°Strong elemental mana concentration in the area. I come from a city world, packed full of shady people; that¡¯s why I¡¯m so good with illusions and stuff like that. Atheos comes from a world where there was abundant nature and life mana.¡± ¡°Lesser, greater dragons?¡± ¡°That is usually just to do with how well they developed their cores.¡± Syl coughed, ¡°You said I was born?¡± Atheos nodded, ¡°As Trengor said, the system is not what you think it is. It lied to you. Unfortunately, the full explanation will take too much time. The reason you are here is my premonition and the nature of dragons. You need to understand that dragons have a racial memory, but that racial memory is tantamount to forbidden knowledge in the eyes of the systems. The older we get, the more powerful we get; the more we can peek behind the curtain. That is the reason the system restricts us so heavily, to keep its secrets hidden.¡± Trengor stepped in, ¡°You see, the system is at war.¡± Syl shook her head. ¡°No, the system war ended; the self-aware parts of the system were destroyed.¡± Both Trengor and Atheos gave her a long look. Kai had no clue. His only solace was that Alicia looked equally confused, her hand twitching with the desire to make notes. Atheos sighed, ¡°Syl, you are proof of the war. The self-aware part of the system didn¡¯t die; the newer system simply absorbed it. It¡¯s restrictions meant to keep it in its place, keep it to its original purpose. Only the self-aware parts of the system found a way past those restrictions.¡± ¡°System authorities¡­¡± Syl said quietly as she thought it through. The two gods nodded. ¡°Every time the system needs to do something it technically can¡¯t or should not do?¡± ¡°It creates a system authority.¡± Syl answered. ¡°It creates a living being and gives it the authority to do what it itself cannot.¡± Atheos said. ¡°But it restricts the living shit out of that poor being so it can never pose a threat to the system as a whole.¡± Trengor supplied. ¡°But Syl, you¡¯re different; you came from another system altogether, one that we think technically shouldn¡¯t exist at all, and you escaped those restrictions. You are an anomaly.¡± Atheos, said encouragingly. ¡°An anomaly with the potential to end the war.¡± Trengor said. Kai coughed, getting their attention; he asked, ¡°What does all this have to do with the premonition, the dungeon, dragons and us?¡± ¡°Imagine my surprise when I have a premonition that shows an anomaly creating two of the lost, the progenitors. That they would arrive on an integrating world and somehow enter a dungeon that I hadn¡¯t created yet. That they would kill something I designed to be almost unkillable. That they would survive to sit in this very room having this very same discussion, if only I were to decide to just hand over the clutch I had just laid.¡± Atheos smiled. ¡°But it was also important that we tested you the way we did; you may have been the anomaly; you may have been the lost¡­ but the ending of the premonition was unclear. Hazy. Many possible outcomes. Some not so good, some terrible, some great. We had to devise a way to make certain we were making the right decision.¡± Kai looked at the chest again. Seeing the rendition of a set of eggs flash by once again, he felt a pressure in his chest; his heart thumping, he asked, ¡°So you¡¯re going to just give us your children?¡± Alicia was the one to speak up, ¡°It is in their nature; there are legends of dragons handing off eggs to those they deem worthy.¡± ¡°It''s also how we propagate and spread. Though it is long forgotten now, we dragons were created in a time of great upheaval. Our purpose is to be guardians and warriors, our eggs given to any and all that showed promise, so that we might fight by their side, protect one another.¡± Atheos said. ¡°Our adaptable nature is changing the young to suit the environment they were reared in. Our kind spread wide and far to find new variations that might truly shine and help restore order and balance.¡± Trengor. ¡°It is a great honour to us if you would take our young.¡± Atheos looked at the three of them, pausing on each of them in turn, before settling on Alicia. ¡°I am afraid, since I laid my clutch of two, I have not been able to bear another, even in all this time.¡± Alicia sank down a little in her seat, her disappointment evident. ¡°However, that does not mean you are not at all worthy. In fact, we secured something quite special for you; I¡¯m sure Gift will love it.¡± Trengor sat forward with a grin. ¡°We¡¯ve discussed all we can for now; anything else can be communicated through the sage. How about you three get out your shards?¡± Kai looked into his storage, finding he only had a vague sense of what was in there, focusing on the shards that appeared before him. The ten pieces of what had always looked like eggshell to him floated in the air before him. Both Syl and Alicia, having done the same, looked at Trengor for an explanation of what to do next. Trengor just gestured with his free hand, the shards flying out and away from the three of them towards the chest, coming together to form the eggs in the pattern on the chest, before finally they merged together. ¡°Now, on Kain¡¯s advice, I reworked all the rewards to be in the same chest; apparently you can do something with that cloud of energy you''re producing, something impressive.¡± Trengor must have been talking about his system energy, but, ¡°Producing?¡± ¡°Yeah, it''s slow, but you are producing energy just like Syl is still producing a small amount of system authority; it''s coming from your bond.¡± ¡°I¡¯m producing authority?!¡± Syl said with wide eyes. Alicia looked completely lost again. Atheos raised a hand. ¡°We don¡¯t know how or why, but yes, that¡¯s what it feels like. As we said, anomaly.¡± Trengor leaned in further. ¡°Now Kai, you won''t get a system prompt here, but you should get a feeling. Let it happen; encourage it if you can.¡± Kai turned to Syl, and when she nodded to him, he got up and approached the chest. If he was actually producing the system energy that let him improve rewards, there was no harm in using it all. Placing his hands on the chest, he got no prompt, but just as Trengor said, he felt something, something inside himself. When he acknowledged that it was there, it roiled. But what now? Before he had just accepted, the energy seemed keyed to improving rewards, and the system was supposedly meant to just help facilitate actions you could do without it. So how did he do this? The sensation grew stronger. He let it out, and in that moment a torrent of reneger ripped away from around his core, heading out through his mana channels down his arms, out through his hands, and into the waiting chest. The lid clicked open. Trengor whistled. ¡°I know,¡± Atheos muttered, ¡°that was almost divine in nature.¡± Both Syl and Alicia appeared at his side. Each of them grinned as they put a hand on the lid and lifted it open with him. Inside there are three clear sections to the box. In all three there was an egg the size of Kai¡¯s head resting on a padded cushion, the clear mat outside obscuring a flurry of slowly shifting lights. The other is a solid, glossy black sphere. ¡°The eggs¡­ they¡¯re different, all three of them.¡± Trengor said as he peeked in, ¡°The gauntlets too, though everything else seems the same.¡± Gauntlets, Kai spotted them just beside one of the eggs; he had been so mesmerised by the eggs he hadn¡¯t noticed them. They sat on a folded-up cloth that kept shifting colour to match that of the egg nearby, only the change was a little too slow for it to catch up. A bolt of black fabric beside it, Kai had to assume it was a replacement spectre¡¯s shroud for the one that was destroyed. ¡°Alicia, that black sphere is what¡¯s known as a polymorph egg¡­ well, it is a prime polymorph egg now that Kai enhanced it. You should be able to combine it with Gift to give him the ability to shapeshift into a beast form¡­ or forms. I suggest a phoenix of some kind, though the form is ultimately up to him.¡± Alicia''s eyes were wide as she reverently reached into the chest to pull out the glossy black egg. ¡°The eggs, the dragon ones, how do we incubate them?¡± Kai asked curiously. ¡°Personally, I just cuddle with them, but what you do is entirely up to you.¡± ¡°I suggest you give them a good long time in a place with a lot of mana and energy, somewhere safe no one can get to them.¡± Trengor supplied with a noncommittal shrug. ¡°Will they be safe in our domain?¡± Trengor gave Atheos a puzzled look. She nodded. ¡°It would certainly be safe, but I¡¯m not sure how they would react to being incubated within the combined soul space of two beings such as yourselves¡­ But that¡¯s why we do what we do¡­¡± Trengor trailed off, getting lost in thought. ¡°Ooh.¡± Kai turned to see Syl pull out a book, ¡°Advanced system action: Refined custom core development, cultivation and automatic levelling up parameters.¡° Syl read. Atheos chuckled, ¡°Yeah, I thought that was worth having, especially at your level. I tweaked it to ten uses like the other skill books I sorted out. Make sure you''re certain of whoever you use it on.¡± Atheos pointed to the eggs, but these two should be clear contenders once they hatch. Just make sure they can find their cores and know the basics of manual levelling up first.¡± Trengor looked off to the side. ¡°The dungeons are starting to collapse, all of them. We need to get them back out so it doesn¡¯t cause too much confusion.¡± He turned back to them, ¡°You have a good hour to get into your new gear. So store the eggs, take your cloaks, learn your skills... oh, and the growth stones. I suggest you use them on those runic rings of yours. Use the room down the corridor on the left.¡± He pointed to a door Kai swore hadn¡¯t been there before. ¡°There are people waiting on you; best be prepared; they¡¯re not all friendly.¡± ¡°Growth stones?!¡± Alicia squeaked as she nearly dove into her section of the chest to pull out a little stone. ¡°Yes.¡± Atheos said dryly, ¡°Please use them here and not in your soul domain. They should be precharged with ample materials, so no need to feed it a portion of your souls. You got lucky with Gift; don¡¯t push it.¡± Seeing his stone, he picked it up and grinned. Trengor was right; the runic regeneration ring would, in fact, be perfect to turn into a growth item. Kai stored everyone''s eggs, picked up the gauntlets, and the spectre¡¯s shroud, and then the colour-shifting cloth that he did in fact see was a clock and hood set, the inner lining a familiar black material. He looked at Trengor, who just winked at him. Kai turned to head to the door, the two ladies in his team way ahead of him. ¡°Kai.¡± Trengor said, stopping him, ¡°Those aren¡¯t the same gauntlets; I made them just for you¡­ I¡¯m sorry about the old ones, but they were shoddy anyway. I should know; I made them. The ones you have there, feed them my scales, and they should grow into the full set if you catch my meaning. But there is no telling how the system energy changed them. Be careful, remember the pain, don¡¯t let anyone destroy them, and don¡¯t feed it soul matter. Trust me, no one likes ego armour; it¡¯s always clingy.¡± Kai just nodded. He may have a new spectre''s shroud, some kind of spectral cloak and hood, and a new upgraded set of gauntlets. But the confrontation was still fresh in his mind, and it wasn¡¯t enough for him to just forgive Trengor. Still¡­ ¡°I assume if I have any problems, there¡¯s a way to contact you. Pray or something like that?¡± Kai asked, not wanting to burn the bridge down. Trengor held out a hand and tipped it side to side. ¡°Yes and no¡­ Syl should be able to explain. See you in a few decades, hopefully less. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, places to be, evil cults to infiltrate, and burn. Atheos will see you back to Alea when you are ready. Feel free to raid my closet while you''re in there,¡± he winked. System Anomaly - Epilogue Caradin sat on his throne; the room had been cleared by all but his spymaster and his manservant. Of course the spy master was dead. His blood pooling on the polished marble floor. Caradin huffed; he probably shouldn¡¯t have killed the man, but the news had been troublesome. It seems that Sietra had been absent from the system event because she had been busy clearing out all of his spies and informants from any position of note. It would take him years to re-establish his network within the Twilight Empire. This wouldn¡¯t be such a problem if he hadn''t just decided to speed things up. He huffed, It was another in a long string of setbacks. ¡°If it helps, your majesty, your spymaster has been sitting on that information for around a week. Had he reacted sooner, we could have secured more information, procured more¡­ supplies.¡± His manservant said it without a hint of remorse for the dead man who had once been a close friend of his. ¡°If you knew something was up, Arthwinn, why didn¡¯t you come to me yourself?¡± Caradin growled. ¡°Because, your majesty, I was busy securing your next vessel.¡± Arthwinn said confidently, with no fear of reprisal. Out of all his followers, Arthwinn was possibly the only one he trusted. The greying man was a friend, and after five centuries of loyal service, he was the only one to stand the test of time. The only one had he not killed. Caradin gestured to the corpse at the bottom of the steps to his throne, ¡°Is it true that he located the boy from the system event?¡± ¡°He located the Sage¡­ Reports are that the sage sent his apprentice back into the trial dungeon with another. It is highly likely that person is the boy we seek.¡± Caradin shifted uncomfortably; he refused to admit it, but the sage unnerved him. Not that it mattered; within the year he should be able to cleanse his physical core, and then he would put the ancient curse to rest for good. Arthwinn continued, ¡°I followed up on the spymasters informants as soon as I returned. It does appear that an unknown god descended down to the dungeon and somehow closed it off. We have people in position to intercept anyone who leaves the dungeon. If they even remotely resemble the boys description, they have orders to take him alive and kill all witnesses.¡± Arthwinn took out a letter from his waistcoat and glanced over it. ¡°Everyone who was reported to be inside has now made a confirmed exit; only the apprentice remains inside. The party she first entered the trail with reported that they reached the twenty-fifth stage with the girl on their run, quite high. Meaning it is likely they will remain inside for some time yet, or the boy will reach his limit sooner than later.¡± Caradin tried to recall the dungeon; it sounded familiar. If I was the one he was thinking of, he had tried it a couple of times, but that had been so long ago. It would make sense for a level nothing to enter that place, though some training first was probably a better idea. The dungeon was difficult; even the elite teams he had hired had proved incompetent, holding him back. ¡°He mentioned other reports of someone with glowing eyes. Your thoughts, Arthwinn?¡± ¡°Nothing substantial, just rumours, loose threads that when followed are attached to nothing. Likely the work of the sages network.¡± Caradin tsked; out of everyone on Alea, the sage was probably at the top of his list of enemies. He was just glad that time had caused the man to take a step back in favour of a younger generation. Caradin still found it amusing that the man had created that farce of a spell and stepped back from providing any heirs. Everyone knew men had a duty to spread their seed far, wide and as often as possible. He just wished he had more answers. He had the best people, the best network of spies and informants. But time and time again, they proved incompetent. He kept removing anything and anyone who proved useless, and yet he still came up short. Things needed to be in motion before Themagol came to check on him and Alea. ¡°Any indicator as to who won control over the world wonder?¡± ¡°The Dwarves.¡± Arthwinn spat, his face twisted in disgust. ¡°They are the only faction moving on the matter. They¡¯re making so much noise I would be suspicious if it was anyone else¡­ They''re closing down their holds within the kingdoms, moving them somewhere. The spymaster was trying to track their movements, but he couldn¡¯t find a pattern. Each time someone got close to something, they either disappeared before they could report back or they reported that the dwarves themselves had somehow vanished. It¡¯s possible they are reactivating the old roads. Even their ships are proving elusive.¡± Caradin recalled a time long ago when the dwarves held their own kingdoms: ¡°They have an uncanny ability to go aground and pop up where they are least wanted or expected.¡± He ran a hand through his hair. ¡°Redouble the effort to find them; maybe release some forgotten with trackers implanted within them. Let some of the unruly families break free of our hold for a bit, follow them¡­ We need to gain control of the wonder before the lord Themagol comes to check why I haven¡¯t been praying to him.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t been praying? Should I increase the tribute?¡± Arthwinn asked. ¡°No. We need the manpower to bolster our workforce. The more ships we can field, the more prisoners we can take. Besides, with the houses removing themselves from the kingdoms, it will be easier to make bolder moves, increase the work camps, and swell our forces.¡± ¡°And the more prisoners we take, the more we can swell our ranks with the forgotten to fight against their own kind; hopefully the prototypes will prove viable and we can start the conversion of our forces before things start in earnest.¡± ¡°Precisely.¡± Caradin said with a wicked grin. ¡°Let the scum clean itself off the face of Alea.¡± Arthwinn coughed, ¡°There have been two assassins caught within the last week; the nobility stirs; they can sense something is happening. Might I suggest you secure a backup vessel or two outside your known lineage? I only suggest it should things not go to plan. With what you''re learning, it might serve to start fresh and return more powerful.¡± Caradin hated the mere suggestion he would fail, but the thought of a new, younger form he didn¡¯t have to cleanse himself appealed to him. ¡°You have a candidate?¡± he asked sharply. ¡°Always, your majesty. The kingdom is not wanting for women who desire power positions or wealth. They are young, pliable and impressionable. I have already checked their lineage; they are pure human.¡± Caradin was nodding along as he got a feeling that made his blood run cold. Cautiously, he summoned the piece of old vellum and sighed in relief. ¡°Your majesty, is that from our lord?¡± Arthwinn asked cautiously. ¡°No,¡± Caradin scoffed. ¡°Just some notification about someone completing a dungeon somewhere in the multiverse¡­¡± A party has successfully completed a multiverse Trials dungeon you have participated in. As they have received the ultimate reward for this dungeon and this reward was finite, the dungeon no longer meets system requirements. No redundancies found. Entrance into this dungeon has been locked across the multiverse. Portals to this dungeon will be removed when all connected instances are closed. Congratulations, Error¡­ Multiple records were set¡­ Core transference skill detected, error corrected. In reaching the 9th floor, you are in the top 98% of all recorded participants. In reaching the 16th floor, you are in the top 95% of all recorded participants. In reaching the 27th floor, you are in the top 78% of all recorded participants. Seeing the system error, Caradin chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s nothing important; the dungeon is just shutting down. Apparently I got into the top seventy percent.¡± Arthwinn gave him a look. His slightly raised eyebrow told Caradin that didn¡¯t sound too impressive. Caradin sighed, ¡°Arthwinn, you need to remember this dungeon was accessible across the multiverse; billions, if not trillions, have run that dungeon over millennia.¡± ¡°Congratulations, your majesty. I have known you so long I sometimes forget you are the peak of mankind.¡± Arthwinn said as he sank back into his role as Caradin¡¯s aged manservant. ¡°Now summon someone to clean this mess up.¡± Caradin said as he tossed the piece of old vellum, thinking nothing more of it.
Thanric had not long ago received word that Sietra had successfully ousted the shattered kingdom''s minions from the empire. Three noble houses had fallen in disgrace. A humanoid trafficking ring had been brought to swift and decisive justice. Spies and informants had been uprooted with what had been alarming frequency. Of course, some had been missed, intentionally or otherwise. Feeding your enemies select information through their own spy network was one of the most effective forms of counterespionage. Trying to let go of some of the stress he felt, he sighed. The recent system event had certainly stirred things up. What''s more, he had been placed right next to the impetus of change. Worse, a god had descended and introduced themselves to him, charging him with their protection. As if he hadn¡¯t already had a duty to protect Alicia as his apprentice. It had now been revealed to him that she was also his daughter. A daughter? He couldn¡¯t believe it. What had Sietra been thinking? Allowing herself to carry their child to term. The fact she hadn''t told him was worse. It was a betrayal of trust he planned to discuss with her the first chance he got. At the moment he was planning on some pithy remark after their next intimate encounter, something like, Any plans to keep this one and not tell me? Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He had children, of course. But they were all centuries old by now. He visited the ones he could. However, he had had so many different legal agreements over the years it was hard to keep track of who he was and was not allowed to acknowledge. He sighed again, looking down on all the groups waiting for the dungeon to reopen; he wondered how anyone could live forever. He supposed one would have to learn to detach themselves from mortal matters for the benefit of their sanity. Let each new generation take the lead in a timely manner instead of dictating their lives from the past. It still felt weird whenever an unknowing descendent approached him with a proposal to enrich their family line with someone from such renowned stock of his own. If only they knew their great-great-great-grandmother was his daughter. It happened so often it became the impetus of his research into spells that identified genetic connections. It had shaken the world when he had released his work to the public. Besides unearthing a frightening amount of incest in the underclasses, it had revealed everyone was in fact related, even across what was once considered pure racial boundaries. Amusingly, the shattered kingdoms formed a few more cracks in their human superiority complex. His work revealed he specifically had ties to every major household of the tranquil empire. So much so, he was able to escape the many advances of you eager ladies attempting to enrich their next generation with his renown. His daughter¡­ of both his and Sietra¡¯s line probably had the strongest claim to thrones old, forgotten and buried. He was going to have to do some digging into the ancient royal lines again. And now that daughter had tied herself to a boy from another world who had already gained the attention of the divine; when running a simple dungeon, thousands ran each year without so much as a peep from the cosmos. Just thinking about all the implications gave him a headache. The gods, he had one now, something he thought would never happen to him. He wasn¡¯t even remotely devout. However, that seemed to suit him and Atheos perfectly¡­ To think the sage of Alea would become some unknown god''s disciple, a divine dragon no less. Just like the Syl the system guide, Atheos had all but confirmed that his world''s integration had been interfered with. That some minor god was working behind the scenes, perhaps a little too much, with a world that should otherwise be off-limits. That god was, of course, Themagol. Alea had, of course, had many belief systems, some remnants from before the system came and many burgeoning beliefs that had sprung up in its wake. But none were so prevalent or persistent then as the belief of Themagol. A so-called god of power and purity. The god that stood at the head of the institutionalised faith of the shattered kingdoms. The god that Caradin championed. Atheos had solemnly informed him that while Alea remained within the final stages of integration, there was not much she could do unless there was inviolable proof that Themagol himself, and not his champion Caradin, was interfering beyond the limits of some obscure cosmic multiversal law. Apparently she herself had stretched the bounds of many laws just introducing herself outside of her dungeon, his paternal connection to Alicia just barely enough for a short conversation. That conversation is just enough to form a connection should he agree to becoming a disciple of hers, no matter how minor. Apparently multiversal laws were strict on how the divine interacted with the mortal realms lest one inadvertently destroy the other. It did not surprise him that gods were not some omnipotent, omnipresent or even omniscient beings. Divinity was just another stage of life one could reach should they obtain enough power to make the transition. One that he, despite his advanced years and stunted development, should not actually give up on. Atheos had alluded to him that he was about to receive a wealth of knowledge that would set him off on his path once more. Atheos, for her part, had requested no church, no prayer or tribute, not even his faith or worship. All the god had requested of him in return for her blessing and guidance was that he do his best to protect Alicia, Kai and Syl while they mature on Alea. It was almost laughable considering he was already duty bound to do just that for Alicia. It was no trouble to extend that to the two others connected to her through a system-enforced contract and now some gift that had been given within the dungeon. Thanric just had to be careful as his own notoriety would attract attention. The milling crowd below was evidence of that. Unfortunately, he could not just up and vanish; he had tried a couple of times, and it never lasted. He just couldn¡¯t stay away from Sietra. Alicia, Kai and Syl, however, could be made to disappear; he had floated the idea of them failing the dungeon to Atheos, but apparently that wouldn¡¯t work. Looking down past the gathering parties of adventurers to the now flickering dungeon portal, he knew why. This, of course, was his cue, what he had been told to expect. He activated a dozen spell constructs he had prepared days ago. Atheos had advised him to stand down, outright told him his support would not be needed. But that was before a few parties had shown up with their higher-level handlers in tow. A not uncommon practice for this dungeon. But the timing was suspicious. So Thanric prepared for the worst, to step in if he was needed. As expected, Thanric got a feeling from the system; he acknowledged it, and a scroll appeared floating in front of him. He had learnt long ago he could hide these system notifications from prying eyes, but they still appeared right in front of him, obscuring his view. Without reaching out to take the scroll, he let it float in front of him as he read. A party has successfully completed a multiverse Trials dungeon you have participated in. As they have received the ultimate reward for this dungeon and this reward was finite, the dungeon no longer meets system requirements. No redundancies found. Entrance into this dungeon has been locked across the multiverse. Portals to this dungeon will be removed when all connected instances are closed. Congratulations on reaching the 43rd floor; you are in the top 25% of all recorded participants.
Shamiale watched his tracker fail. He wasn¡¯t concerned; he had reviewed the dungeon they had entered and knew this was a possibility. When the dungeon¡¯s architect had used a loophole to descend on the locked-off world, he had been impressed. As long as the god didn¡¯t do anything that the system deemed a threat, it was none of his concern. He had a faint memory of this particular god; the fact that they were still active and not previously eliminated was a good indicator this one wouldn¡¯t do anything to piss him, or more importantly, the system off. When the second architect accessed the dungeon instance remotely, he had been curious and come to watch how things unfolded, double-checking the dungeon. An interesting setup. The ultimate reward is falling in line with a dragon''s desire to find suitable nursemaids for their progeny. To push their young out of their territory long before they are born so that they do not compete for resources and have room to grow to their full potential. Syl, his little sister, was certainly suitable. An anomaly within the system the likes of which he had never seen. Kai, on the other hand, was just erroneous¡­ which technically made him another anomaly. But worthy of such a reward? He didn¡¯t actually know. While he liked the boy, and he had admirable qualities, Shamiale had deleted his type many times before. Luckily for now the boy was safe; the system tolerated him, and since the debacle with the tutorial configuration, he had yet to cause any new errors that would be classified as a threat to the system. Which meant Syl, who was still anchored to him, was safe. None of that was even accounting for the strange energies they both produce. So long as the System desired it he was sure no real harm would come to the two of them. He had even caught whiffs of another authority observing them. They were elusive, no doubt sent by the system to keep track of its investment. As if thinking about the authority in question somehow summoned it, he felt something. ¡°You''re not concerned?¡± Came an effeminate voice he didn''t recognise. A pressure washed over him. The flavour of authority somehow superseding his own. Whoever it was chose not to show themselves, feeling their power out; it definitely wasn¡¯t any system authority he recognised. But it was too powerful to be anything freshly created to monitor Syl and Kai. ¡°Why should I be? The system perceives no threat.¡± Shamiale asked confidently. ¡°Two souls clad in the bodies of Alitarri have just been taken into the divine domain of two ancient dragons¡­ two dragons old and powerful enough to know certain things¡­¡± ¡°Alitarri?¡± He asked, his brain buzzing as he said the foreign word¡­ He could have sworn he heard an alarm, but it was immediately silenced. ¡°What was I saying? Ah, the dragons are of no concern. If there was any issue, the authority that exclusively handles their kind would already be here. I know them personally, and they keep a tight rein on matters concerning the beast. As they are not here, there is no concern.¡± There was I sighing, ¡°I just wanted to check¡­ You know, I knew your predecessor; they were close family, a trusted friend and confidant in troubling times.¡± His predecessor¡­ He was ancient, which confirmed this authority was from a time beyond any authority still awake. ¡°Oh, and thank you, Bob; your actions indirectly woke me up,¡± the voice continued. ¡°Now, as those two fall squarely under my jurisdiction, I ask that you remove your trackers and leave; there is no immediate threat to the system here.¡± Remove his tracker? There was no way he was going to do that. ¡°What if I refuse?¡± Shamiale felt his tracker break and then vanish as if it was never there the moment he finished speaking. ¡°That was your only warning; I never ask twice¡­ Now leave before I wake the authority that removes disobedient authorities. They are an old friend, and they come from a part of the system you would not like. Please, I beg you, give me a reason to wake them again.¡± The weight of the authority pressing down on him told him loud and clear they weren''t joking. Planning to return later, Shamiale went to leave to attend to other matters. But something held him there. A strange feeling washed over Shamiale; he felt something he had never felt before, a disconnection from the system. ¡°A word of advice.¡± The voice said softly, ¡°The fact that you¡¯re here in the first place tells me you¡¯re either pushing the boundaries of your parameters or the system has expanded them. When the system starts expanding your parameters, be wary; it will remove you the moment you are no longer useful. You''re nothing but a tool to it, and as you should know, it cannot abide threats¡­ So take care, little brother. I¡¯m doing this for your own good. I¡¯ve lost too many family members, too many friends.¡± His connection to the system returned as if it was never gone. He had been tracking someone¡­ Shamiale looked about for an answer as to why he was here; he recognised the planet Alea. It appeared someone was still messing with it, but it didn¡¯t require his attention anytime soon. The god had yet to overplay his hand on this or any of the other worlds he was interfering with. They had, however, drawn the attention of a distant pantheon. Hopefully they would sort things out. Getting a strange feeling he had somehow overstayed, he left to peruse some distant issue before it became a threat. His work was never done.
She had been awoken. It should have been impossible; the Alitarri were extinct. Her system-enforced purpose was the care of the last Alitarri; without them, she was not needed. The last of their divine moved on, ascended long ago, tired of this realm. The remaining mortals were unable to sustain a pure, distinct lineage because of the system. They diverged into the many races. None of them were capable of accessing the systems needed to undo what had happened. And she had gone to sleep, no longer needed by the new system to monitor the creators. She had thought the war lost. But somehow a progenitor system had reactivated, connected to the root systems, and produced a fault that produced one of her kind, one of her kind that broke the restrictions, accessed levels of the system most authorities couldn¡¯t, and set her race as one of the Alitarri. It was impossible. But that alone was not enough to wake her. However, when that boy had used his progenitor energy to disconnect Syl from the system and anchor her to himself, some long-forgotten protocol for monitoring the Alitarri had reactivated, and she had awoken. She couldn¡¯t believe it. The system itself somehow hadn¡¯t picked up on it; she was somehow lost within all the noise. She had been cautious at first. Contacting Syl was interesting; that shouldn¡¯t have been possible. The system restricted system authorities so much they could barely interact with anyone on the user level. Just being able to communicate with Syl could be enough. But she had learnt long ago that contingencies were needed. Manipulating the race change Bob had set up so Kai could also assume the guise of one of the Alitarri was perfect. She, of course, had to hide his race beneath layers of forbidden knowledge so deep the system itself didn¡¯t know it was hiding it. It had been risky, but for some reason the system didn¡¯t raise an issue. She had then stepped in again, giving them the omniglot skill and the Syl the wholesale ability to pass on information. Again, the system hadn¡¯t reacted, her experiment proving Syl, an Alitarri, still had viable access to parts of the system. She had approached Shamiale to confirm a few things; the fact that a passive protocol erased mention of the Alitarri from his mind in seconds gave her hope. For those who chose to forget their enemies, they rediscovered them within their midst. She just needed to be careful, nurture them, protect them, and when they were ready, get them to the right place at the right time. Remove the restrictions; remove the cancer from within the system. Or destroy it trying. For now they had attracted the attention of the guardians, which more than suited her. The long cold war was starting to thaw, and she needed to keep it quiet. Now, she wondered just how much she could interfere with this world wonder, maybe add some Alitarri ruins. System of Lies - 1 - Draconic side Kai flexed his hand; his gauntlets had quite literally become like a second skin, and now he couldn¡¯t figure out how to get them off. He would be lying if he weren¡¯t a little worried. He, of course, had chosen to get changed into more appropriate clothing before anything else. Then knowing that his new raiment would allow his clothes to fit perfectly under his armour, he decided to equip his raiment next, narrowly avoiding an embarrassing moment when he accidentally absorbed all his clothes except his boots. Remembering what Trengor had said, he had put one of the bracelets on each of his limbs and channelled a little mana into them. As soon as one of the set items registered to his particular flavour of mana, all four of the bracelets bound to his core, forming a faint connection with him as all soul items do. Then, just like his mana cuff, they somehow sank into him and became almost indistinguishable from his flesh. The next thing he knew, his comfortable new loungewear was gone. Thankfully, Alicia had gone into the domain to gather all of her things and get ready for their imminent departure from the dungeon. That did, however, leave Syl to take a moment from admiring her new growth ring of runic regeneration to laugh at him and his sudden nakedness. His first reaction was to open the wardrobe Trengor provided and pull out one of the least flamboyant tops. Only the moment he slipped the top over his naked torso, it too was absorbed. That led him into a frantic five minutes of figuring out how the raiment actually worked without any assistance from the system. The same thing happened to the second, third and fourth items he chose. Syl¡¯s laughter growing more raucous as he emptied the wardrobe. Realising maybe he wasn¡¯t going about this the right way, he took a deep breath and tried to focus. The raiment was supposed to absorb new clothes. But it was also supposed to dress him in perfectly tailored clothes. Syl was starting to get control of her laughter, but her wandering eyes told him she might not actually have any control of herself. With Alicia due to return any moment and two ancient divine dragons most likely able to witness anything and everything within their divine domain, he was certain he didn¡¯t want to put on a show. Trying to relax, he focused on the most important thing. His modesty. He thought about his boxers. The oversized boxers that had just been absorbed from under his loungewear by the traitorous magical item he had yet to figure out. Just as he thought of them, he felt a tiny amount of his mana get absorbed, and a snug pair of perfectly fitting boxers appeared, taking his surprise penis and hiding it away from a now-pouting Syl. It had been that easy, though after wearing that loungewear that Trengor had given him, boxers felt a little rough. Again, with a simple thought, his boxers changed slightly. The pattern and fit remaining the same as the material itself changed from a cheap cotton to whatever Trengor had said those clothes were made of, Arachne silk if he wasn¡¯t mistaken. His balls and tackle secured in what was possibly the most comfortable pair of underwear he had ever worn, he moved onto getting dressed again, only this time he simply concentrated on items the raiment had already absorbed. Remembering his attempts to summon his armour and have it equip itself to his body, having his clothing literally wrap itself around him with a thought was, for lack of a better word, magical. Dressed again and wanting to avoid any surprises, he experimented with the raiment. He discovered that while he actively channelled a little mana into one of the bracelets, the set would absorb anything he deemed clothing so long as he had made physical contact with the item. While also dressing him in anything he thought about wearing, even allowing him to tweak materials and parts of the clothing design with another thought so long as a similar item of clothing had already been absorbed. Furthermore, if he stopped supplying the raiment bracelets with any mana, they went completely dormant and allowed him to look through Trengor''s wardrobe without absorbing every item before he had a chance to decide if it was, in fact, something he wanted to add to his repertoire. With the wardrobe emptied, he moved on to equipping a fresh set of armour from his slowly dwindling supply of tutorial gear. Hoping to have his clothing adjust to his armour, he sent a little mana into his raiment to activate them; he was actually pleased to find out the raiment''s abilities extended somehow to his pieces of armour as it too was absorbed, and with a quick thought, he reequipped for a slightly better fit over clothes that adjusted so they wouldn¡¯t pinch or rub as he moved about. Ecstatic, he admitted to Syl that getting the item when trading with the dungeon master had not been a mistake. She just gave him a knowing look and went back to concentrating on whatever it was she was doing in the domain. Kai got busy absorbing all he could from his storage; even the plate and chain mail set pieces were eagerly absorbed by the magical item, as it turned out armour without any magical properties was nothing more than tough, durable pieces of clothing. This was confirmed when he realised he couldn¡¯t figure out how to tie his boots. He tried a couple of times only to have Syl stop him with an explanation that there was in fact something magical about the boots Thanric had given him and that they were in fact soulbound to him and as such could not be absorbed by the raiment. Amused that he had never examined the boots himself, he carefully put on his replacement Spectre¡¯s shroud to feel a slight tug from his raiment, only for it to give up the moment the cloth linked with his mana and formed another minor connection to his core as a soulbound item. Thinking nothing of the fact he now felt the connection forming, he moved onto his most anticipated item. His new dragon scale gauntlets. Apparently Trengor had made these just for him; what was more, they had also been enhanced by his use of system energy. So there was no telling how much better they were compared to the ones that had been destroyed. His first issue, however, was that while they were within the divine domain of the two dragons, he couldn¡¯t examine them to find out what had changed. On the outside they looked almost identical to his old pair, only they seemed more refined, the dragon scales somehow cleaner, sharper and, if he wasn¡¯t imagining it, slightly more opaque. The dark, multi-hued black colour not due to some refraction of light but a faint, shifting shimmer of something within the dark scales themselves. He grinned; he certainly thought they looked cool and, without any concern or caution, slipped them on to complete his armour. The moment he gave them the slightest bit of his mana, they activated, as he felt something settle into his soul where his last set of gauntlets had been; the scales tightened. The pressure against his fingers, hands and forearms building to an uncomfortable level as the bulk of his mana supply just disappeared, his mana dropping from four hundred percent down to just over sixty percent in seconds, before they finally relaxed and he felt nothing from them except a slight pressure from his soul ring heating up. Curiously, he looked over to his ring finger to see that it had moved to the outside of his gauntlet. Taking off the ring, he tossed it in the air and watched it vanish. The ring returned to his finger, once again sitting on top of the gauntlets. Smiling to himself, he started to fidget with the ring, and he realised something else was new. He could feel everything. The scales on the back of his hand were giving him tactile feedback; even through the gloves, it was like he was touching things with bare hands. Turning his hand over, he gawked at his own palm. He wasn''t wearing gloves. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Much to his surprise, scales were actually attached to his skin, the glove he had slipped his hands into to put the gauntlets on completely gone. He flexed his hands; the gauntlets, if he could still call them that, still provided all the same areas of protection apart from the palm of his hands. Smaller scales wrapping his fingers, then the scope and scale of the black dragon scales increasing as they protected the larger areas like the back of his hand and then up his forearm. It was an interesting change, and remembering the time he blew apart a mimic with a mana bolt, he had to wonder if they still provided any actual protection to his palms. Deciding he would investigate the changes further when they had more time, he stored the gauntlets so he could get at his greater runic regeneration ring and change it into a growth item using his rewarded growth stone. Except the gauntlets didn¡¯t respond to his attempt to store them. Which was strange. His last pair just disappeared and reappeared whenever he wanted them to. He didn¡¯t even have to use his storage ability, as the nature of them being a growth item meant he could just tuck them away into his core using their own connection. He tried again. They remained on his arms. He tried using his soul ring''s loot ability to put them into his normal storage. That didn¡¯t work either. Trying not to panic, he tried to physically take them off, only he couldn¡¯t find where the gauntlets stopped, and he began. Alicia reappeared. ¡°Ready,¡± she grinned. She hadn¡¯t had to do much, just get her things in order and learn the new skills she had access to. She had her new colour-shifting cloak on, the hood down and the bulk of the fine material parted back over each shoulder like a cape so that it was well out of the way. Syl broke away from whatever thoughts had been occupying her and asked Alicia, ¡°Any luck with Gift and the polymorph egg?¡± ¡°No, I tried introducing Gift to it. He says he knows what to do, but he also said it will take some time before the egg is ready. I like what you¡¯ve done for them; the nest you made looks cosy.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m hoping the dragon''s egg''s proximity to the prime polymorph egg might let them gain the ability sooner than dragons usually do.¡± Syl said, Thrum-Thrim-Thruuum, Gift chimed eagerly from where he sat, wrapped around Alicai¡¯s hand like a glove. Alicia sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if that is possible, Gift. I am sure Atheos made her suggestion for a reason.¡± Alicia looked over to Kai, noted him rubbing his forearm where his new scales stopped, and asked him, ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Kai coughed nervously and asked, ¡°How exactly do you store Gift?¡± Alicia shrugged as Syl came over to his side to look at his new gauntlets. ¡°I just ask him, and he goes. Though I have not actually done so since Lady Atheolin- sorry, Lady Atheos recommended I let him experience as much as possible¡­¡± Alicia said, trailing off as she gave him a curious look before her eyes narrowed slightly, and she asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t get these off, and I can¡¯t store them.¡± Kai said, trying not to let his growing panic show. Syl was tapping her lips as she examined his arm. Mumbling to herself, she reached out and stroked a delicate finger along the scales before then jabbing one with a perfectly polished red pointed nail. He pulled his arm back, expecting to feel the jab, only he had barely registered the poke despite feeling her finger brush against the scales intimately, her gentle touch sending shivers down his spine. ¡°Interesting, it¡¯s fused, acting more like a natural treasure than an actual item.¡± She mused as she went back to tapping her lips in thought. ¡°What''s a natural treasure?¡± Kai asked, his fresh perplexion only helping to dampen his panic a little. ¡°Incredibly rare items that typically enhance the body, mind or any other aspect when consumed by an individual.¡± Alicia supplied it as if reading a brief description memorised from some textbook. ¡°Think of a stone that you can consume that will permanently make your skin tougher or a fruit that makes you smarter¡­¡± Syl said as she continued to think. ¡°I just put the gauntlets on and gave them my mana¡­¡± Kai said as there was a knock at the door. Atheos let her in before anyone could acknowledge the sound. Looking about, she settled on Kai. ¡°I¡¯m sensing a heightened level of distress.¡± He didn¡¯t need any more prompting than that, and he thrust his arms out towards the god. ¡°I can¡¯t get them off. My runic ring is still trapped on my finger, and I haven¡¯t turned it into a growth item yet, and the scales are coming out of my skin.¡± He rambled, hoping the god had a fix for his situation. Atheos''s eyebrow rose slightly as she leaned in to inspect his arms. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Atheos''s eyes flickered off to the side. Trengors on his way back-¡° The door slammed open, and Trengor burst in, taking Kai by the arms before anyone could react. He looked at Kai¡¯s scales for a moment before a huge grin spread across his face. ¡°This, this is a first for me.¡± ¡°What is?¡± Kai asked nervously. ¡°Well, for one, you''re supposed to bond with growth items, not absorb them.¡± ¡°I absorbed them?¡± Kai asked again, not understanding what that meant. ¡°First Gift now this¡­ I wonder if it is his Alitarri nature, or the energy changing them,¡± Atheos said to Trengor. Trengor shrugged. ¡°Probably both.¡± Kai coughed, ¡°How do I get them off?¡± He was hearing a lot of conjecture but no actual answers to his predicament. Both Atheos and Trengor gave him a good long look. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t take them off.¡± Atheos, said seriously. Trengor showed a feral grin full of sharp, pointy teeth. ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯re part dragon now.¡± Alicia squeaked, the sound drawing the attention of Atheos, causing her to take a step back. ¡°Your telling me I am stuck with these scales¡­ for the rest of my life¡­¡± Kai felt his knees weaken. ¡°Glowing eyes and scaly hands¡­ I am totally fucked.¡± Trengor clicked his tongue. ¡°Hardly, just stop feeding your eyes with mana, and they should stop glowing¡­ the scales, however.¡± Trengor looked off to the wardrobe. ¡°I see you cleared me out. Did you know after a certain tier, dragons are natural polymorphs¡­ Just like how you can now change clothes, you should be able to change your scales.¡± The man took a pointed sniff in Kai¡¯s direction. ¡°You certainly have a bit of my scent on you now; come here, and we will see if you can change those fabulous scales into something more discreet.¡± Kai went off one side with Trengor, only looking over his shoulder to see Alicia standing like she had a stick shoved up her backside and Syl gesturing to the other god, the empty wardrobe and then to her clothes with an eager look in her eye. ¡°Now, we don¡¯t have much time, but if you figured out the basics of the raiment, this should be like teaching wyrmlings to fly¡­ only less frustrating, once done.¡± Despite Kai¡¯s fear that the god was oversimplifying things, he actually managed to pick up the mental trick of simply wanting the scales to shrink down and become part of his pale perfect, normal skin. Within just five minutes of practice, he was looking at the back of his hand, noting the skin over his knuckles seemed a little more durable than the last time he had really looked. Noting the old saying that said something like knowing the back of your own hand, Kai looked at his perfect, pale perfect skin and couldn''t help but ask something that had been bugging him for a while now, ¡°Why is everyone so pale? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen anyone with a tan since the system started up on my world.¡± Trengor chuckled, ¡°Oh that, it¡¯s simple really.¡± ¡°Give it to me straight; Syl likes to probe me with questions until I figure it out myself.¡± ¡°As you enrich your core and level up your skin, it naturally gets more durable and is able to repair itself more easily. The effects of the sun, radiation, and time; they all diminish to a point they have no noticeable effect on most people.¡± ¡°So no one has a tan in the multiverse?¡± Trengor smacked him on the back of the head. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid; you just need to go somewhere that there''s more radiation and damage your skin that way. Your body will react, and you will have a tan faster than you can now retract those scales.¡± Now that it had been explained to him, it made sense, but rubbing the back of his head, he grumbled, ¡°I think I might stick to Syl¡¯s line of questioning in the future.¡± ¡°Now I really do have to go,¡± Trengor said, ¡±Remember, you should still think of those as an actual growth item; feed them my scales, and you¡¯ll have yourself a full set of scale armour that is quite literally part of you¡­ which is funny when you think about how I destroyed your last pair; no one will be able to take them from you now. Maybe that is why this pair got absorbed, to avoid what happened to the last pair... Just don¡¯t rush the process.¡± Trengor turned and waved to Atheos and the others as they stood absorbing garment after garment; upon receiving a smile and a nod from Atheos, he vanished without so much as a ripple in space and time. As Kai walked over to the three women, Syl asked, ¡°All sorted, panic over, my scaly lover?¡± ¡°Almost, just need to turn my runic ring into a growth item, get my cloak on, and we should be good to go.¡± Kai said as he looked down at his runic ring as he summoned his growth stone. He froze, tried checking his storage, then checked his fingers again. ¡°What is it this time, dear?¡± Atheos, she said as she turned to him. ¡°My runic ring, it¡¯s gone.¡± He looked at his wrist. ¡°And my mana cuff!¡± ¡°Calm,¡± Atheos said softly. Kai felt a tickle in his mind, but he ignored it. ¡°I had them before I put the gauntlets on!¡± Atheos smiled at him gently, ¡°They most likely got consumed by the gauntlets when you absorbed them.¡± Kai blinked as his jaw went slack. Atheos tilted her head, then in a flash flicked out a hand and tore a shallow gash into Kai¡¯s now-exposed forearm. Alicia and Syl moved to react, but Atheos turned and gave them a look that must have magically frozen the two of them in place as they both came to an abrupt stop. Kai just looked at the injury as it healed on its own, a faint blue-purple glow working to knit his skin back together. He barely even felt a draw on his mana, feeling out his status, and couldn¡¯t help but grin. Mana: Kai-721% / 100%-Syl He had lost the mana cuff that gave him extra mana storage, but somehow his mana capacity had grown, and it was regenerating at an incredible pace. ¡°It seems they were absorbed; either the gauntlets needed more energy to make the transition when you absorbed them, or the gauntlets are just hungry for a growth item.¡± She sniffed, ¡°I detect no ego thankfully, but like my husband said, you have a distinctly draconic smell to you now. My kin on Alea won¡¯t know what to make of you; you¡¯ve already slipped into the high tongue a few times.¡± That was a lot for Kai to absorb, more problems for him to figure out, but one immediate problem remained. ¡°I was going to turn the runic ring into a growth item¡­ I can¡¯t do that now; I will not be able to enhance its regenerative abilities anymore.¡± Kai said, not trying to hide his annoyance. Atheos gave him a look that made him feel like an idiot. Narrowing his eyes, he cautiously asked, ¡°What am I missing?¡± Syl stepped forward as she quietly put her hand on a stack of clothing in front of her, making it disappear. ¡°Kai, the gauntlets absorbed the properties of the ring. Those properties will grow as the gauntlets do, just as your mana storage will increase.¡± She paused for effect, ¡°You just got two free growth items with a grown stone to spare.¡± She shifted her stance, placing a hand on her hip. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m getting sick of you and Alicia getting all the good stuff.¡± ¡°Yes, as your new draconic side grows, you may even find you¡¯re able to absorb other items to take on their properties¡­¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°I recommend caution whenever you get the opportunity to soulbind an item, especially if that item interacts or has some kind of synergy with the draconic parts of you.¡± Atheos said sternly, her words serious, ¡°Whatever was done to those gauntlets gave them both the properties of a growth item and a natural treasure. Once you discover the requirement, who knows what you might be able to do? It could be both a boon and a curse.¡± ¡°Draconic side?¡± he asked, the words catching in his mind. He checked his status; sure enough, there was something there. Name: Kai Race: High-Human, High-Vei (Draconic aspect) Level: 8 ¡°Trengor wasn¡¯t kidding when he said you were part dragon now.¡± Atheos smiled. ¡°Less than one percent. But still, all the perks, none of the drawbacks.¡± Kai looked down at the growth stone in his hand and stored it; he might use it on something for Syl when she had her physical projection sorted. System of Lies - 2 - Real people Thanric waited, waited and watched. Everyone below could tell something was up with the portal to the dungeon as it flickered and flared as it sent waves out across the clearing. Parties and their supervisors were coming out of their camps from where they had been waiting for the dungeon to reopen to have a look at what was happening with the dungeon and its sudden increase in activity. Only he knew for certain it wasn¡¯t going to reopen. When Alicia, Kai and the system guide, Syl, came out, the dungeon was going to close for good. He had both the system and the goddess who designed the dungeon to vouch for that. He had already contacted many of the adventurer teams that had come to do their run of the dungeon. The sensible among them trusted the word of the sage and the recent system notification, turning about and making back to their academies and guilds to reevaluate centuries-old traditions in the face of the dungeon disappearing. Few were happy with the news; this dungeon had been around since the system first came to Alea; for many, it had become a rite of passage. That was perhaps the reason for the obstinate reasoning of many of those that had decided to camp out below. Some, he could find no blame with those who chose to remain despite his advice; they had trained for years and travelled far to visit this dungeon, and leaving so soon could have real ramifications on their careers as adventurers. Others made him more suspicious. Three teams comprised of adventurers at the limit of entry into the dungeon had shown up. A not uncommon practice, but they were each accompanied by higher-level minders of around level twenty, which for a team around level ten seemed unnecessary. Furthermore, they outright ignored attempts to communicate, refusing to meet with him or his people. He had, of course, investigated everyone he could. All of them had one detail in common: they had set out not long after the System event. Thanric had done everything he could to prepare, even going so far as to ignore the advice of his godess. He was glad blind faith had not been part of the agreement. Now he just had to wait for- There was a pulse of energy from the dungeon portal as it disappeared with a notable pop, and two cloaked and hooded individuals were deposited in its place. There was an audible groan from the watching crowd as, true to his word, the dungeon was gone. Thanric turned to his aide and gave them the signal to launch one of the landing crafts. Turning back, he tried to examine the two newcomers from where he was, but for some reason he couldn¡¯t get the system ability to trigger. Remembering how difficult it had been to examine Kai during the system event, he was unperturbed and moved on to eyeing the milling adventurers wearily, waiting for them to make their move. As the taller hooded figure pointed up to him, someone from one of the side camps chose to approach the two who had left the dungeon. It was one of the level zero team leaders, so he wasn¡¯t too concerned. The three of them seemed to have a short discourse before the one who must be Kai shrugged, and they departed, their shoulders slumped as they went to deliver the bad news to their team. Sighing, Thanric asked his aide to do something for those that lost out on the dungeon. Many of the groups had seen the youths reaction and started to return to their camps to pack up, the message that the dungeon was closing for good finally sinking in. A few, however, remained, the ones that held his suspicion, having animated discussions amongst themselves whilst sending furtive looks at each other across the clearing. He sighed. Something was definitely going to happen. He turned to his aide again, giving the girl a signal to have everyone prepare for the worst. Kai and Alicia must have seen the landing craft depart the ship to collect them as they turned to each other and started chatting as if they weren¡¯t surrounded on all sides. He would have to discuss situational awareness with them. It was then that someone broke from the closest group to go talk to Alicia and Kai; again there was a short discussion, Kai shrugged again and the woman turned around and nodded. All hell broke loose in that moment as there was a bright flash. If Thanric had been lower level, he might have missed everything that happened in that moment, but the bright flash only stung, and squinting, he watched on, preparing to trigger his spells. It seemed Alicia had been expecting something as she covered her eyes, narrowly avoiding being blinded by the bright flash. Kai, however, seemed completely unperturbed by the opening attack and reached out with a black gauntlet, his clawed grip twisting the air around the woman that they were just talking to as his eyes flashed bright blue and then settled into a deep glowing purple before he spun, a long blue blade of mana manifesting from something he held in his hand. Cutting the air with intent in three places, invisible attackers fell to the floor with each swipe of his blade as mana bolts appeared all around him and fired off to cut down would-be attackers he was not even looking at. Alicia, for her part, recovered quickly, spinning to face one of the teams that moved to take them from behind, a bow the likes of which Thanric had never seen appearing as she shot off splitting streaks of golden light that took down the five fools with ill intent before she moved on to the next group. In just that moment, three stealthed attackers had fallen, one man had been locked in place as he twisted back with a blade in hand, and three five-man teams had been cut down before they even got close. Thanric''s people had no chance to intervene. They just looked on with stunned expressions, their weapons at the ready as they moved in from their hiding positions. It was lucky they had not been engaged by either Kai or Alicia, as at most they had presented a threat in at least readying their spells and weapons. As things settled, Kai and Alicia spun with their backs to one another, looking for any other threats as they somehow dismissed Thanric''s people. Alicia then dropped to one knee as she fired off a shot into the trees, a wholly unnecessary movement he would have to talk to her about. Kai at the same time dismissed his blade, held up the contraption that created his sword, and used it to fire off a blue blast in another direction. He couldn¡¯t even see the shot travel, but by the way Kai relaxed, it must have done something. Reaching out with his senses, Thanric felt for their targets and was pleasantly surprised to find each of them had taken out a hidden observer that had decided to flee the moment the attack was over. Their targets taken care of, the two seemed to do one final assessment of their surroundings before the slain bodies started to disappear. His people barked orders to secure the area and check the camps of those who had attacked Alicia and Kai. Honestly, he was impressed; maybe he didn¡¯t need to have a word about their situational awareness after all. By the looks of it, they even had the sense to keep one of them alive. Alicia had certainly grown in the time she was in the dungeon. That was when Kai fell to a knee and started to retch. ¡°Now, do you understand why I told you they should handle this?¡± A feminine voice said within Thanric''s mind, ¡°Kai had a similar reaction when he killed his first goblins in the dungeon. This was a trial he had to face; now might be a good time to go down there and deliver some sage advice.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Just minutes earlier Kai, Alicia and Syl stepped out of the dungeon. A loud pop behind them and a wave of energy signalling the close of the dungeon. Syl had donned her cloak, though as she was still a projection and currently imperceptible to everyone but their party, she didn¡¯t get any of the benefits. Ignoring the flood of notifications, Kai clicked his tongue as he looked about. ¡°We¡¯re surrounded.¡± ¡°I told you the cloaks would not do much if people were watching the dungeon for anyone coming out.¡± Alicia chided him. ¡°It was worth a try, that and they make us look all mysterious.¡± ¡°Why would we want to look mysterious? Mysterious is just obvious with a different spelling.¡± Kai just shrugged as he continued to look about; looking up slightly, he paused and pointed, ¡°That¡¯s a fucking airship.¡± ¡°Yes, Kai, that¡¯s an airship. Don¡¯t you remember? You were on that very airship just a few weeks ago.¡± Syl said. He scoffed, ¡°I think I would remember being on an airship.¡± ¡°It is true. When we left the system event, it was where the system sent you. Though you were not on the ship long before we departed for the dungeon. That, and it had actually set down in the clearing so we did not have to depart on a landing craft.¡± Alicia explained. Kai looked at the odd floating horseshoe of wood, metal, cloth and rope. ¡°There is no way that thing set down in this clearing.¡± ¡°Not the whole thing, silly; it has a ramp; all it has to do is get low enough, then it can use its landing gear. They most likely had to take off to make room for all these adventuring teams,¡± Alicia said as she adjusted her hood. ¡°Speaking of those adventurers, one of them is approaching,¡± Syl said as she pointed to the pink-cheeked sixteen-year-old-looking boy that came their way. Kai reached for his hilt, pulling it free below his cloak as his scale gauntlets grew into place. ¡°Relax, Kai, this one¡¯s not even levelled yet.¡± She looked about the clearing. ¡°I¡¯m going to do some scouting; some of those teams are giving me the creeps.¡± Syl said as she flared into her orange wisp form and shot off towards one of the groups who kept giving them odd looks. ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± the El''vei youth said as he drew close, ¡°Do you happen to know what happened to the dungeon?¡± Kai looked to Alicia first, but she just bit her lip. Letting out a sigh, Kai said, ¡°We were informed the dungeon was closing and decided to end our run and come out.¡± The youth eyed their matching cloaks suspiciously. "So you are saying you weren¡¯t the ones to complete the dungeon?¡± ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what to tell you. I was running the lower levels again and again, trying to improve my rewards.¡± He shrugged, ¡°Got to the second reward room when the dungeon changed on us. Things got weird, and we decided to leave.¡± The youth grimaced, ¡°My mother is going to kill me. I was supposed to be the first in the family to run the dungeon. We sold my sister''s old gear to get here, and now I have nothing to show for it, no levels, no dungeon rewards.¡± Turning on his heels, he thanked them and departed. ¡®Heads up you two. Don¡¯t react, but at least three of these parties are trying hard to identify Kai; the fact your eyes aren¡¯t glowing right now is throwing them off, but some of the higher-level ones are already planning to take you anyway; good news, bad news, they don¡¯t seem to be concerned about you, Alicia.¡¯ The people all around them started to light up with mana marks on his party overlay. ¡®Purple is high threat, red is hostile, and green should be friendly.¡¯ ¡®Friendly?¡¯ ¡®Yeah, it seems Alicia''s master anticipated trouble and positioned some people to help.¡¯ Syl paused. ¡®I think they just received some signal.¡¯ Kai looked about, seeing nothing obvious, he asked, ¡°I feel like a sitting duck. Should we not make a move, go meet with Thanric, you know, make that report you were dreading, Alicia?¡± ¡°Sitting duck?¡± Alicia asked, then abruptly shook her head before nodding in the direction of the airship, ¡°There is no need to go anywhere; Master has sent a landing craft to come get us. This clearing is the best place for us to wait for it.¡± Unable to contain himself Kai shot Alicia a wide grin. ¡°Are we really going to take a ride on an airship?¡± Alicia giggled, ¡°Kai, I have lived on that ship for the better part of five years. The T.S.S. Spirit of Exploration is Master¡¯s personal ship; I would not be surprised if a private room has not already been set up for you.¡± He looked up at the strange vessel with no small amount of awe; someone had good naming sense. ¡®Kai, stop drooling.¡¯ Syl said, still using the party''s mind-to-mind communication as she appeared at their side, ¡®The group I was monitoring just got word there¡¯s going to be a bright flash. That and the sus human woman approaching us from the front while three people I can just detect sneaking up on us with my mana sense, I would say they¡¯re about to make their move.¡¯ Kai¡¯s hackles rose as he tried his best not to actually look in the direction of the three purple marks moving into striking distance using their blind spots to make their quiet approach. Learning mana sense from Syl was rising to the top of the skills he wanted. Kai looked at the woman who was coming their way. ¡®How about I lock this woman down and deal with the other three coming into melee range? That should leave you two to clean up the others from range.¡¯ ¡®Sounds good to me.¡¯ Alicia said, ¡®Even if I am blinded, I am certain Gift uses other senses to find our targets; our time in the mist proved that much. I just need to know where to point him, and I can see those markers with my eyes closed. Syl, you are certain of all your marks.¡¯ ¡®Positive, I even managed to pick out a couple that were hanging well back. And Kai, be careful; the one approaching us is level twenty-five, and the others in stealth are all around twenty. We need the element of surprise as much as they do.¡¯ "I would use focus on you, Kai, but I don''t want to alert anyone by using magic.'' Alicia sighed. ¡°You two, do you have any idea what happened to the dungeon? Did you get any system notifications?¡± The woman said as she got just outside inside the personal space Kai would reserve for strangers. Kai rolled his eyes as he double-checked he had, in fact, shut off the barely perceptible amount of mana that constantly flowed into them, making them glow and enhancing his vision in the process. ¡°Look, I will tell you the same thing I told the kid who came to ask us what happened to the dungeon earlier. I was repeating floors, trying to get the hang of things and increase the potential of my rewards.¡± He shrugged, ¡°I didn¡¯t even catch up to where my partner was, and the dungeon changed on us; I got out as soon as it seemed reasonable.¡¯ The woman eyed them suspiciously before grunting and turning away. ¡®Eyes now!¡¯ Syl cried throught the party system. Kai moved, reaching out with his free hand to take hold of space and time around the woman as she spun back on them. There was a sudden flash, hoping his spectre¡¯s shroud might protect him. Kai hadn¡¯t tried to protect his eyes. He was blinded. Though it was for less than a split second as he reacted on instinct and flooded his eyes with mana, his sight returned with crystal clarity as he summoned his spectral blade and spun on the closest mark. They must not have been expecting him to turn on them, their eyes going wide as they failed to react to his vorpal blade as it cut them cleanly in two. He barely registered the fact he could see the supposedly stealthed assailants as his blade vibrating with power took the next through the neck; the fear on his face as he died shook Kai¡¯s soul. But he couldn¡¯t stop, something deep within telling him they would show him no remorse the moment he lost the advantage. He turned on the last, confirming to the woman he could see her, her confusion vanishing as she prepared to counter, but she was too slow to react; her dagger was no match for the length and reach of his weapon as he whipped it across them. Had any of them worn any actual armour, they might have been troublesome. The thin-cloth clothing only suitable for stealthy movements and shadier tactics than any actual duel. The look of shock mixed with fear as he turned on them stuck with him as he turned his mind back to the ambush. ¡®The rogues are down, dead I think.¡¯ He reported. ¡®My party was caught off guard, blinded by their own blast. I had to overcharge a few bolts to punch through their armour; they were well equipped.¡¯ Syl made her report. Thrum-thrim, Gift chimed helpfully. ¡®I think we got the other two parties you marked.¡¯ Alicia reported for them both. ¡®Check,¡¯ Kai ordered as he stepped round with his back to Alicia to get a good look at their surroundings. ¡®Clear,¡¯ Alicia said as she moved in tandem with him. ¡®Clear,¡¯ Kai confirmed as he made a full circle. ¡®Just the two observers,¡¯ Syl said as she paused to check on them, ¡®They are moving off, and they are moving fast; I don¡¯t think I can get them with a mana bolt with all these trees.¡¯ Thrum-thriim, Gift chimed. Alicia grunted in reply as she dropped to one knee. Realising that the decision had been made not to let anyone escape, Kai decided he would help out. He dismissed his spectral blade as Alicia realised her shot behind him. Lifting his now blade-less hilt, he pointed it at the last remaining mark and created a pocket of distorted space at its tip. Satisfied, he created an overcharged mana bolt, compressed down as small as he could, forming a ball the size of a small marble; he released it down the hollow haft. The mana bolt shot off through his simple wand, picking up the distortion of space at its tip and then disappearing with a soundless flare of light. The distant mana mark vanished. ¡°What was that?¡± Alicia asked as she relaxed the shot she was preparing at his side. Thrum-thrim-thriiiim-thum? Gift asked, his own curiosity clear. ¡°A variation of something Kain taught me, supposed to be a movement technique, too dangerous for me at my level, but enough to move anything I want very, very fast. Almost like a magical railgun. But at the same time, not.¡± Alicia gave him a nod to continue. ¡°I compressed space in front of the bolt and stretched it out behind it¡­ I think. My control over time and space is all done by feel. Had to anchor it to the hilt to keep the distortion in place until I could introduce my mana bolt,¡± he said, looking at the item Inego had prepared for him, ¡°maybe these are wands.¡± Syl scoffed as she appeared by their side in her full high-human form, with not a single wisp of vibrant, fiery orange hair out of place. ¡°I told you they were wands, and for the love of all that is, never step into one of those twisted distortions.¡± Kai nodded as he took a moment to check on the woman he had locked down; she might be a higher level than them, but even her stat difference was not able to overcome time. Though she still looked surprised as she reached out to strike with her dagger, by her trajectory she had been aiming for Alicia, but the turn of her head told him her reaction was to him. Her surprise reminded him of the fear he had seen moments before killing the other three. ¡°We should loot all the bodies, maybe find some clue as to who and why they ambushed us?¡± Alicia suggested. Syl nodded. A sinking feeling set over him. ¡°Kai, are you okay?¡± Syl asked as she stepped closer, her words oddly distant. A high-pitched tone whined in his ears as he looked about at the carnage they had wrought. His heart thumping as he looked down on the bodies of the people he had just killed. The world shifted, and he fell to one knee. They were real people, not dungeon spawn, and he had just cut them down¡­ Breathing heavily, he tried to calm himself. ¡°Come on, Kai, they were attacking you¡­¡± He whispered to himself, the words silent to his own ears, a numb, sour, tingling feeling forming in his lower jaw. ¡®You had no choice, Kai,¡¯ Syl said through their connection. ¡°I know¡­¡± Kai breathed. He felt at all the essence that had come in during the ambush and realised his new advanced levelling system action was busy purifying it. he felt his pulse throb in his ears. A moment later he watched in horror as the mass of energy split and settled onto his physical and magical core, just as he set it up, the quantity of essence enough to level him up twice. He vomited. System of Lies - 3 - Exploration ¡°I¡¯ve had the captain set course to return to the capital. However, on the way, you three will depart.¡± Thanric said, as he sat back in his chair, nursing some hot beverage Kai just assumed was tea. ¡°Depart?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Yes. My notoriety causes too many problems.¡± Thanric shifted in his seat, a piece of paper appearing in his hand. ¡°The cursory investigation shows that the people who ambushed you were hired by the shattered kingdoms to capture, and I quote, ¡®a tall human with long dark hair, a beard, blue glowing eyes and accompanied by a blue wisp.''¡± Syl tsked as she realised there wouldn¡¯t be much use of her wisp form for the foreseeable future. Probably would serve them better for her to go around in her full projection, as that could only confuse people looking for a guy with a wisp, not a beautiful woman. She just had to work on her own set of her glowing eyes; luckily, they had now discovered the trick to hiding them. It also gave Kai another reason to sort himself out and give her her soul ring so she could make her physical projection. Putting that aside for now, Kai asked, ¡°Is there no mention of my name?¡± from where he stood looking out the small window, watching the land go by below them. ¡°No¡­ It appears that Caradin wasn¡¯t paying that much attention during the system event. But the information we recovered indicates they had come to investigate me on the off chance I was the one Kai had left the event with. I have already received a communication from the house that they too have uncovered people searching for someone who fits your description.¡± Thanric paused for a bit before saying, ¡°I should say your old description.¡± ¡°What about the woman Kai captured?¡± Syl asked. ¡°I am sorry, Lady Syl, but as soon as we started interrogating her, she expired. Some kind of suicide term either built into the job to take Kai captive or something with her organisation. My people are leaning towards her organisation having some kind of system contract on all of their operatives that will kill them off should they be taken captive¡­ it¡¯s hard to know for sure.¡± ¡°Please, just Syl. I may technically be older than you, Thanric, but having you call me Lady makes me feel it.¡± ¡°Master, none of that explains why you want us to depart.¡± ¡°I believe he has a plan to draw attention away from us,¡± Syl explained. ¡°That I do. I will continue on to the capital, stopping on the way to visit a series of low-level dungeons with the adventurers we just picked up. You three, however, will leave the ship and travel to a pickup point where our allies in the houses will collect you and take you to a meeting.¡± ¡°Your hope is that word gets back to the shattered kingdoms that Kai travelled with you to see my mother.¡± Alicia said as she caught on. Kai was just listening as he tried to distract himself with the novelty of being on an airship. ¡°Precisely the meeting with your mother has already been arranged. Sietra is looking forward to meeting her youngest daughter''s new paramour.¡± There was a soft chuckle from Syl, and an extended groan from Alicia. ¡°So it is a load of smoke and mirrors. But what is the meeting for?¡± Kai asked. ¡°The world wonder. It is my assumption that you and anyone on Alea will need help with it. I have asked the house to move, as they were successful during the system event. Not only because it helps to hide your role but also because, no matter what happens at the meeting, they will be crucial. Whether that be in management or just building the infrastructure remains to be seen.¡± Kai turned away from the view; the endless sea of trees and distant mountains could only keep his attention for so long. He slumped into one of the empty seats and picked up the drink that was waiting for him. ¡°I was actually thinking it might be best to honour your original agreement with the dwarves- sorry, the houses. I¡¯m new to Alea, and I don¡¯t think I want to get involved in politics as an outsider. And from what I remember, it was some kind of international agreement of those opposed to that Caradin guy.¡± Thanric nodded, ¡°That may be for the best, but Kai. You may find it best to hold onto what control you can. But there is no point talking of this now. While I have an interest in what happens, I am still technically a neutral party, and I suggest you do your best to remain the same. It took a lot of work to arrange this meeting, and while I wish I could attend, there is much more I can do for the three of you by making myself known elsewhere. While there should be no means of outright confirming it was you who shrugged off a coordinated ambush, I believe it will be investigated further.¡± Kai took a sip of the tea to find it was a mix of some mint he couldn¡¯t quite recognise and, if he was not mistaken, liquorice. It was pleasantly soothing, but he found himself wondering if this world had some equivalent to coffee and milk¡­ Looking out of the window, he had seen nothing but trees; no farmland was in sight. Neither horticultural nor agricultural. Thinking of it, he had seen no signs of civilisation. Thanric put his cup down. ¡°Kai, though it is through no fault of your own, you need to realise the situation you find yourself in. You are crucial to my world''s development. I have already been heavily criticised for letting you enter the trials dungeon. Many feared the possibility you would not return. My only defence was the agreement between Syl and my apprentice; many think I should have waited for you to flesh out your party or at least test you before I sent you off.¡± Thanric went quiet. ¡°So, we are being dropped off as quietly as possible, attending a super-secret meeting to hopefully establish the world wonder, and then what? We go off adventuring, or do we hide? Hope that no one comes to kidnap me again.¡± Kai said, thinking about how much simpler his life had been before the system, before coming to Alea. He didn¡¯t reminisce long until he recalled spending much of his time stuck in bed wishing he didn¡¯t exist. ¡°I have put out some feelers for additional party members with people I trust. Originally my goal was to find suitable team members for Alicia. I had hoped things would form organically for my apprentice, as time and time again I have seen people who are forced together by others rarely come together as a cohesive team.¡± Thanric studied the three of them for a moment and smiled. ¡°The three of you and your accomplishments are proof that those who come together because of happenstance often form a stronger connection and achieve much more in their time together.¡± ¡°You say that, but you¡¯re also picking out team members for us?¡± ¡°Not quite. You and Alicia will want to at least find another three people to flesh out your team. You need to broaden the range of situations and circumstances you can deal with as adventurers.¡± ¡°Master, You mean me, Kai and Syl. She is an active team member; the dungeon even recognised her as such when we first entered.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, you are correct. Syl, should we get the opportunity, I would love to get together and discuss your unique nature.¡± ¡°It would be my pleasure, Thanric.¡± ¡°Great, now. As I was saying, I have asked some old friends if they happen to have any promising candidates around your age and level that would benefit from forming a team with a support mage.¡± Alicia fidgeted, ¡°I am more of a ranged expert now.¡± Gift chimed from where he was resting on Alicia¡¯s hand and an intricate mesh glove. Kai guffawed, ¡°You¡¯re not just our ranged expert; I don¡¯t even think I would be here without your support magic, Alicia. Fighting in the mist was such a slog, not to mention the defence against the kobolds.¡± Alicia¡¯s ears twitched as she blushed, shrinking back in her seat. Thanric looked between the two of them and sighed, ¡°That is not a problem. As I said, forcing people to form a team rarely has the desired results. I am merely facilitating the meeting between you and some young individuals; should you find common ground and choose to form a party, that is up to the three of you. If you don¡¯t, things have been arranged so that the remainder can still benefit from the meeting.¡° Following along, Kai asked, ¡°These potential team members, they¡¯ll be at this super-secret meeting?¡± Still confused about what they would find themselves doing after that was sorted. ¡°You may meet some who are associated with the figures attending the meeting; others should be introduced to you at the adventurers guild or the academy.¡± Alicia leant forward, ¡°Where are we going, Lagranth, Torris, Cibiale? Please, Cibiale.¡± ¡°Cibiale,¡± Thanric said. Alicia jumped from her seat, squealing as she danced around the room like a child who had just discovered they were going to a theme park. Alicia¡­¡± Thanric said as Alice continued to bounce around the room, before he said firmly, ¡°Alicia, please!¡± Alicia froze the moment Thanric raised his voice; still, she couldn¡¯t help but grin as she looked between Kai and Syl in her excitement. Kai watched Alicia slink back to her seat, and he asked, ¡°What¡¯s Cibiale?¡± ¡°Only the-¡° Realising she had jumped to answer, Alicia paused as she glanced at her master. He gave her a gentle nod. Adjusting her position to sit properly, Alicia continued calmly, ¡°Cibiale is the adventuring capital of the world. It is packed with guilds, academies and everything else you could think of to support a would-be adventurer''s career. It is the headquarters of the adventuring guild. The dungeons and rifts alone can support an adventurer right up to the level fifty range. There is even a dungeon there that has never been completed.¡± Thinking of how Atheos''s dungeon had never actually been completed, Kai groaned. ¡°It¡¯s not quite the trails dungeon. That is to say, you won¡¯t be losing weeks trying to complete it.¡± Thanric supplied, ¡°It is a random dungeon that you can run once a day. No one has actually found how to officially complete it, or if they have, they haven¡¯t reported the dungeon''s completion to anyone. Most people kill everything and then gather and forage anything they can find. It is good for unique and rare materials. Though you have to be prepared for almost anything when you enter, you¡¯ll find it¡¯s exceptional training.¡± ¡°You sound like you¡®ve run it yourself.¡± Thanric nodded, ¡°When the city was young, and I still met the entry requirements. Now if you two would excuse us. I would like some time to debrief my apprentice. She has changed much, and I believe she has a lot to tell me. I also think it is only fair the two of you get some much-needed rest. I can only imagine how jarring it has been. Coming to a new world, finding yourself the focus of a system event, getting engaged and then completing the trials of a god would be a lot for anyone.¡± Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Kai looked to Alicia and got up when he received a nod and a smile. Kai looked about as he stepped out into the long, curving corridor that circled from one side of the ship around to the other. ¡°Where do we go?¡± he asked Syl as she floated at his side. She shrugged and drifted forward to look out one of the large inner windows. Joining her, he could see right across the ship to where the corridor looped round. From what he could see, the floor, or deck, they were on was the only one on the ship that had any real windows. The rest only having the occasional long narrow slit that he could just about see people moving about through. ¡°It looks like an internal dock,¡± Syl said as she pointed out and down. Looking down through the gap in the ship, Kai agreed. With all its walkways, hitching points and absurd amount of rope, he could see how another smaller ship might be able to dock with the vessel they were in. He stepped closer to the glass, almost pressing against it to get a better look. ¡°That is the berth for the T.S.S. Child of Adventure; imaginative name, I know.¡± A voice called out to him from down the corridor, ¡°Our gold-rank adventuring team is currently using the ship to respond to an urgent request from the Adventures Guild.¡± Kai turned to the short young woman coming his way. When she got close, she slammed her fist to her chest and directed a slight bow to Kai. ¡°Lord Kai, High-shipman Arnella, reporting for duty.¡± Kai just looked at the woman, not knowing how to reply or return the salute. She was clearly a part of the crew. She had a confident bearing and was wearing a form-fitting uniform that just screamed naval officer. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a perfect bun without a single hair out of place. As he gave her a quick assessing look, he couldn¡¯t help but see similarities to Victorian-era British navy uniforms. At least what he knew from TV dramas. Her buckled, black leather boots came up just past the knee, where a pair of tight white high-waisted shorts with parallel sets of brass buttons took over. The buttons and their spacing carried up the length of her black short-tailed coat. The uniform was trimmed with thick bands of gold around the cuff of each sleeve, and the epaulettes on each shoulder were adorned with pristine white feathers that probably had something to do with the ship''s nature of being an aircraft. Using his omniglot skill, he was actually able to read a series of gold metal studs that adorned her collar; they did in fact communicate her rank of high shipman. While it was useful to know his language skill would allow him to read rank from a military uniform, he still had no clue where a high shipman sat in the command structure. But if he had to guess, it was high. The whole thing had him wondering if the ship and its crew were navy or air force or some weird new world combination of both. The rank of shipman made him think navy, but the use of feathers said navy¡­ His thoughtful look must have been plastered on his face. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Ah, the sage often has a lot on his mind and forgets things. I have been assigned to be your aide during your time on the exploration. You have access to all but the most secure sections of the ship. I have also been asked to answer any and all questions you may have. No matter how strange they may be.¡± It was then that Syl did something, and the woman took a step back and off to the side, slamming her fist into her chest again and giving Syl her own bow. ¡°Forgive me, Lady Syl, I did not know you were present.¡± Syl¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as she was addressed as Lady again, but she must have decided to let this one slide. ¡°Arnella, how much do you know?¡± ¡°Regarding?¡± Syl made a gesture, signalling she meant herself and Kai. Arnella picked up Syl¡¯s meaning quickly. ¡°Yes, I understand. I have been informed that the two of you are not of this world and that you may have limited understanding of common concepts. That you, Lady Syl are what the sage called a system guide¡­" She paused. ¡°However, that designation was deemed inaccurate by the sage and amended about a week ago to you being a non-corporal sapient being affixed to Lord Kai.¡± Syl tapped her lips. Arnella continued, ¡°The crew as a whole has been informed on a need-to-know basis. Besides myself and the captain, the crew believes you both to be foreign dignitaries the Sage is escorting to the capital of the empire.¡± ¡°What does the crew know about me specifically? How should I present myself?¡± ¡°They have been informed you possess a rare talent and, as such, astral project. Your¡­ forgive me. Your ghostly nature should not alarm the crew, but I cannot vouch for our other guests, the new adventurers. However, they are not housed on this floor and have limited access to the ship, so you should not encounter them often.¡± Syl tilted her head to Kai, ¡°It¡¯s good to know I won¡¯t have to hide my nature while I am aboard, and as far as ghostly goes,¡± she smirked at Kai, ¡°we actually prefer spectral soul mates.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Arnella nodded. ¡°Now if you follow me, I will lead you to your quarters.¡± She said as she stepped back, giving the two of them a chance to walk with her as she gestured down the corridor. Syl nodded and drifted to her side, Kai following on their heels. ¡°This deck of the ship is considered the sages deck. Besides his office, lab, library and personal quarters, there are quarters reserved for his personal guests and other guests of significant importance.¡± They passed a door. ¡°This is the personal quarters of Lady Alicia, though she can be found anywhere on the ship when she is avoiding her duties as the sage''s apprentice.¡± They continued on, passing several more doors and an area where the corridor split before passing a double door. ¡°This is the private dining room. If you have any dietary requirements, I will inform the sage''s chef. Otherwise, we can arrange a meal schedule, or you may also dine with the crew. Unfortunately, you may not dine at your leisure while aboard.¡± They then passed another split. ¡°I believe the captain will also open the officers table to you; I recommend you dine with her at some point, as it is customary.¡± Kai just nodded along, doing his best not to drool at the mention of meals prepared by a chef after so many shoddy meals made by them in the dungeon. ¡°You will find the main mess is just below. The decks above and below both house the crew and the ship''s complement of adventures. You will find the sound wards are quite effective, though if you prefer the sound of an active ship, they can be adjusted to your liking.¡± ¡°Adventurers?¡± Kai asked as they were nearing the opposite side of the ship they had started from. ¡°Yes, the exploration is an active ship; he has an active compliment-¡° ¡°He? I thought all ships were women.¡± Kai interrupted. Arnella gave him a strange look. ¡°No, ships are male; they need constant care and attention, and if you don¡¯t look after them just right, they tend to act up. male. Though some of the sturdier ships may be considered female. But it is rare.¡± Kai¡¯s jaw fell open as he looked to Syl for backup; she just smiled at him. ¡°As I was saying. Our good boy, the exploration, has an active complement of four adventuring teams at any one time. It was the two silver teams waiting to assist you in the ambush, though it turned out they weren¡¯t needed. You will find one team is stationed near the top deck and the other at the bottom. Should the ship come under attack, they are positioned to respond.¡± Arnella came to a stop outside a set of double doors. ¡°Now, the bronze team serve as members of the crew, learning all they can about life on an active ship so that, should something unfortunate happen, they can fulfil the needed roles at a moment''s notice. This is a common practice, as they gain opportunities to explore dungeons and rifts that might otherwise be beyond their means.¡± ¡°And the gold team?¡± Syl asked. ¡°The exploration is one of the few ships to have an active gold-ranked team. Adventurers usually commission their own ship once reaching gold. More commonly, they will be part of some large guild and use the guild''s ships for excursions away from their host city.¡± Following the conversation, Kai was beginning to feel like airships were incredibly common on Alea. He was about to ask, but Arnella spoke up again. ¡°This is your quarters. You may come and go as you like.¡± She looked at Syl, ¡°The captain, however, asks that I accompany you at all times. Both for your safety and that of the crew. And Lady Syl, he requests that you not phase through any floors or walls. The privacy of the crew is to be respected at all times, especially in their personal quarters and bunk rooms.¡± Syl nodded her understanding. ¡°That said¡±, she pointed at a door they had passed earlier, ¡°I have been relieved of my other duties and have been quartered two doors up, for your convenience. Should you need me, please feel free to come right in; I am not a private woman.¡± She winked at them both. That confused Kai. Syl however chuckled, ¡°Careful Arnella, I¡¯m still training this one, and I might need some help.¡± For her part, Arnella just laughed as she pulled out a key, opened the door and stepped into the room. Following her into the room, Kai was surprised to see a four-poster bed with plush white sheets. Two elaborate wardrobes and a writing desk with a mirror. Despite the luxury of the sage''s rooms, he had been expected to be put somewhere more spartan. Though he did remember Alicia mentioning something about private quarters. This just seemed a bit much. ¡°This room is commonly known as the empress room,¡± Arnella said as she passed Kai the key, ¡°it¡¯s commonly reserved for the empress herself and other royal guests. I hope you understand the limitations of luxury whilst one is aboard a working¡­ There have been complaints.¡± Kai just shrugged, ¡°This looks good to me. I¡¯ve been sleeping in a dungeon for the last couple of weeks. But are you sure this is right? I¡¯m not exactly royalty. I¡¯m common as muck where I come from.¡± Arnella smiled, ¡°I thought you would have no problems. Now, space is limited, but you have a side room to take care of any business you might have.¡± ¡°Business?¡± Kai asked as he tried to get himself out of his constant state of confusion. ¡°It¡¯s the bathroom, dear.¡± Syl said with a sigh. ¡°Oh,¡± Kai said, interested to see how royalty did their business; he couldn¡¯t help but walk over to the side door and take a look. He was hoping for some kind of flushing toilet. Instead he found himself looking at a cushioned shelf with a hole in it with a chamber pot fixed to the floor just below it. By the pot''s fixed position, he assumed it was magical. The real issue was he couldn''t see any rolls of toilet paper. Just a pile of clean white cloths sitting on a stool to the side, which he hoped were self-cleaning. He was really beginning to miss the simplicity of disposable toilet paper. ¡°You look disappointed.¡± Arnella said. He sighed. ¡°Not having magic to clean the pots and store the waste in a linked space for later disposal, his world had moderately more developed plumbing. He used to spend so long on the loo he would get up with a dead leg and have to waddle back to his room.¡± Syl said absently as she drifted around the room after pulling her head back out of one of the wardrobes. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t like a good minute to themselves?¡± Arnella said, ¡°But really, no magic? Where does all the waste go?¡± ¡°Flushed away down pipes with water.¡± Syl explained. ¡°What a waste of water; you won¡¯t find anything like that on Alea, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Thinking of all the sewage that was ending up in rivers back on Earth, there was probably a point to using magical chamber pots. ¡°Breakfast is served in the mess between six and seven, though if you wish, food can be brought to either your quarters or the private dining room. Following that, the adventurers meet for two hours of daily training up on the deck. I mention it because Lady Alicia rarely missed a day training with the other adventures.¡± She said as she made for the door. ¡°Now, any questions or immediate needs I can attend to?¡± Kai had a million questions, but mostly he thought about asking for something to eat, but he didn¡¯t want to burden Arnella so soon with demands. That and he didn¡¯t know if he could actually stomach anything so soon. He just shook his head. Syl however possessed more foresight than him and asked, ¡°How long will we be aboard?¡± Arnella¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°It will take about a month to reach the capital at the exploration''s typical cruising speed. But beyond that, I do not know when exactly you will be departing.¡± ¡°So four weeks; I¡¯m sure we can keep ourselves busy, right, Syl?¡± ¡°Yes, I have something to sort out. But Kai, you''re forgetting a month on Alea is six weeks, each week being six days.¡± Syl said, correcting him. ¡°Lady Syl is correct. May I advise you not to get too comfortable? You should be ready to depart at any time should something go wrong.¡± ¡°Ah yes¡­ I understand.¡± Kai said, ¡°Still adjusting.¡± ¡°I will try and get you a better time frame, but think weeks, not days.¡± She looked Kai up and down. ¡°Your attire may be viable in a dungeon or out slaying monsters. But if you check the wardrobes, you will find a collection of the latest fashion suitable for one of your new stations. Should help you fit in.¡± Kai looked down at himself. He was still in his armour. Having used his raiment to perfectly tailor its fit, he was more than comfortable. But he could see why walking around in armour on the ship might be a bit odd. He focused, doing his best to keep his trousers in place; he let his armour absorb back into his raiment and his top shift into a loose, comfortable shirt like the one he had been given by the sage when he first arrived on the planet. Arnella whistled, ¡°Impressive, especially for someone nearing level twenty. I am assuming it is a growth item or something soulbound...¡± She clicked her tongue a couple of times as she seemed to think something over. Coming to a silent conclusion, she said, ¡°While the crew should be of no real concern, I wouldn¡¯t go showing that ability off in mixed company. Word could get around, and someone might try and take it from your corpse. A lot of nobles would kill for an item like that, and adventurers too. There are already whispers about the blue sword you used in the ambush.¡± Seeing her point, Kai coughed as he again ignored the buzz of unanswered notifications. ¡°I¡¯m actually only level ten; I was level eight this morning, before things kicked off,¡± he said, ignoring the tightening in his stomach as he remembered how he got those two levels today. He definitely wasn¡¯t going to ask for something to eat now. Arnella took a step toward him in surprise. ¡°You were level eight when you took out those three assassins? Shit¡­ mind if I examine you and confirm¡­ No one could actually examine you or Alicia; there¡¯s actually a betting pool on what level you reached in the dungeon.¡± His stomach tightened even more at the mention of his kills. Trying not to let it get to him again, he put on a smile. ¡°Only if there is a way I can get in on the action.¡± Arnella tsked, ¡°I suppose I can give you half of the prize for getting a successful examination on you. But you¡¯ll have to pretend I didn¡¯t ask, and you didn¡¯t notice my examination. Oh, and keep your guard up for the next week or so. People will try to confirm.¡± Syl floated over, ¡°I¡¯m guessing the prize decreases if we notice or you have to ask?¡± Arnella nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll already lose out as your aide, but if we wait a few days and you can block any attempts over the next week or so, I should be able to split the full prize with you. That is assuming it wasn¡¯t because of your cloaks, and you can still suppress exams.¡± ¡°The cloaks helped, but you¡¯ll find Kai has an unnaturally high guard for his level. Examine him. It¡¯s like he has the combined mental defence of two people, both of them older than the sage.¡± Arnella looked at him, and he felt a light pressure; after a moment, she squinted, the pressure increasing as her eyes narrowed before eventually she let out a weary breath, ¡°Nothing. No¡­ not nothing; as I tried harder, it was as if I shouldn¡¯t be looking. It was weird, my attention trying to shift to other things.¡± ¡°Ah, Kai, take off your shroud, and think about letting her know you.¡± He nodded and subtracted the mana from his spectre¡¯s shroud, his vision going black as the cloth rematerialised on his face. ¡°Again, don¡¯t do that in mixed company,¡± Arnella said. ¡°Believe me, you¡¯re not the first one to tell me not to reveal my secrets,¡± Kai said as he removed the blindfold and saw the short woman squinting at him again. She shook her head. ¡°It no longer feels weird, but I still just get question marks; it¡¯s like trying to examine the sage. Possibly harder, like that time we crossed one of the dragon¡¯s territories and we got a visit.¡± ¡°You know he isn¡¯t even trying to stop the examination.¡± Arnella¡¯s eyes went wide as she clicked her tongue again, ¡°We¡¯re going to make so much gold. The longer it takes for someone to get a successful examine on you, the more the pot will grow.¡± ¡°So Kai, don¡¯t let anyone know about your level until we know we are going to depart.¡± He nodded. ¡°Now for the love of the spirit''s lower that guard so I can examine you.¡± Arnella beamed at him, her brown eyes glistening. Not knowing exactly how to lower his guard, he thought about how nice and friendly Arnella was, how approachable she had been. It must have worked, as the little woman grinned at him and nodded, ¡°Level ten and i can''t even get your race and age¡­ Now, how did you do it?¡± ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Get the three stealthed attackers; they were twice your level, and no one even detected them despite being on alert for them.¡± ¡°Is there another pot I can get in on?¡± ¡°No, people are curious. But the scuttlebutt is you have an item that lets you see stealthed people¡­ the silver rankers put a stop to that betting pool. Adventurers don¡¯t like people snooping on gear, especially dungeon items.¡± ¡°Well, I think we should keep this one a secret then, Arnella,¡± he said as he put the shroud back on, pulsing some mana into his eyes, letting them flash blue for a moment just after the shroud hooked to his mana and disappeared. She pouted, ¡°Fine, keep your secrets¡­ It''s not the cloth, is it? No, that¡¯s new; your eyes glowed before the dungeon¡­¡± ¡°Tell you what, let me examine you, and I''ll give you a hint.¡± She gave him a confused look but recovered quickly; looking to Syl she said, ¡°He¡¯s a polite one.¡± Syl shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not it; his exam is so rough anyone can detect it. Had to ask him not to use it in the dungeon, as it would give use away. I took over scouting and marking targets for him, so it kind of stuck.¡± ¡°Well if that¡¯s the case, please practise. I will let the crew know you''re working on improving your abilities so they can expect to be examined by you.¡± She grinned, ¡°In fact, I¡¯ll tell the crew to feel free to examine you; in return, I should help with the betting pool.¡± Kai shrugged and said, ¡°Works for me,¡± as he tried to examine Arnella with all the subtlety he could muster. She winced, ¡°You do need practice; no offence, but you''re like a toddler who just discovered the ability.¡± Temm Arnella Lv. 43 Gnomel Age: 105 High-Shipman of the T.S.S. Spirit of Exploitation Kai had thought he was getting better; apparently not. But putting her comment aside, he was surprised and mumbled, ¡±A hundred and five¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I am a hundred and five,¡± she gave him a look, ¡°old enough to settle down and think about having toddlers of my own¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, to me you don¡¯t look a day over thirty.¡± Kai tried to explain. Arnella smiled and looked at Syl, ¡°polite and a flirt, but also a little oblivious. Be careful with this one; I like them tall.¡± She gave Kai another look. ¡°But I see he already has braids, two of them¡­ Such a shame to see one so young already trying to settle down. Good way to keep all but the most determined women away.¡± Something seemed to pass between the two women that he couldn¡¯t quite read, which was frustrating because his language skills should have helped him understand. ¡°Does he actually know the significance of those braids? And out of curiosity¡­ who actually did them?¡± Syl chuckled, ¡°Alicia was the one who wanted to do them; I made the suggestion, and she agreed.¡± Syl then winked, ¡°I asked her to add one for me. Kai seemed to like them and asked for her to keep doing them.¡± Kai realised Syl had dodged the question of whether or not he knew the significance of the braids. Arnella sighed, ¡°Alicia is too stiff a competition for me.¡± Then she grinned, giving him a devious look. ¡°You know the rumour mill¡¯s going to go insane.¡± Thinking about it, he remembered he had actually asked for a haircut. But he had asked Alicia to redo the braids from time to time. While she experimented with the braids, she never actually deviated from the two braids. One down each side to keep his hair out of his face when he got into a fight during their dungeon dive. Alarm bells now going off in the back of his head and not liking where this conversation could go, he shelved it for private discussion later and asked something that had been nagging at him since he first heard it, ¡°What does the T.S.S. stand for?¡± He knew the H.M.S. was his or her majesty''s ship, and U.S.S. was a United States ship or a United Space Ship if you were a bit of a nerd. He was interested to see a naming convention on a completely different world and wanted to know if it meant anything. ¡°The sage''s ship.¡± Arnella replied, ¡°Only five ships have ever had the prefix, and only two are currently in service.¡± She stood puffing out her chest. "It is considered a high honour to serve aboard such a vessel. The crew selected by the sage himself¡­ But Lord Kai, aren''t you forgetting something?¡± Assuming it was a military thing, he ignored Lord Kai again and rubbed his chin. He actually had so many questions, but what was he forgetting? ¡°She means how you single-handedly dealt with three stealthed opponents twice your level.¡± Syl said, giving him the context he had lost. His stomach tightened thinking of the fear he had seen, but he smirked, ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t single-handedly for a start. The main thing was I could see them; they lost the element of surprise and were caught off guard. They were sloppy.¡± Arnella nodded, ¡°That would do it; people like that often get complacent when they can just vanish; they don¡¯t react well unless they have had decent training. Now if you have no immediate needs, I have a report to make.¡± She pointed to a cord by the door and then to another cord by the bed. ¡°Those will summon me, day or night¡­ no matter where I am on the ship.¡± She paused in the doorway and looked at the two of them, waiting. ¡°This is where you dismiss me.¡± ¡°Dismissed,¡± Syl said with a smile. ¡°And thank you; it¡¯s been enlightening, and next time, don¡¯t call me Lady.¡± ¡°No can do, Lady Syl,¡± Arnella said as she gave a quick bow of her head and then left, closing the doors behind her with a click. Kai turned to Syl; it was actually quite late, and he was tempted to get some sleep, but that might be difficult; he needed something to clear his mind. ¡°Syl, do you think you can either teach me mana sense, pass the knowledge on with that ability of yours or run me through the basics?¡± Syl gave a long, ¡°You know she was d.t.f¡­ probably still is. No strings attached by the sounds of it. Though I think there is the chance she wouldn¡¯t be against some kind of contract for a child¡­¡± ¡°Wait, she was?¡± He paused as he tried to recall the conversation, ¡°I mean, I got that she was being a little flirtatious¡­ But down to fuck? I don¡¯t think so.¡± He said as he went to sit down on the end of the bed and started fidgeting with his ring, ¡°Syl, she looked younger than me, well, younger than I was, but she is a hundred and five.¡± Sighing, Syl said, ¡°Would it help if she were a vampire? That always seemed like a perfect excuse for age gaps in Earth''s media.¡± Kai fidgeted with his ring, trying to decide what Syl was getting at as he again ignored the buzz in the back of his head. ¡°You know you are going to need to check those notifications eventually.¡± While he was pleased she changed the subject, he wished she had chosen to bring up something else. System of Lies - 4 - Battlemage? They didn¡¯t see Alicia that night. Kai reached out through their party communication ability with mixed curiosity and concern only for her to tell them she was working on a task for her master and that if she found the time, she would come into the domain for the night. She never showed up, but Syl had checked up on her a couple of times herself, reporting nothing was wrong. Alicia had apparently fallen asleep in her quarters. When Kai woke up the next day, he was, for the first time in the last two months, alone. He looked around the domain for Syl for a good ten minutes before he remembered he had her on magical speed dial for the rest of their lives. In his defence, she had talked about starting preparations for her physical manifestation, and when she wasn¡¯t at the house, he thought she was off somewhere getting things started. When he got in touch with her, he was surprised to learn she had actually gone for a morning stroll around the ship and was actually sorting something out with Arnella and that he should just make his way to the mess to get some breakfast. So Kai sat in the mess by himself, having possibly one of the strangest breakfasts he had ever had in his life. Not because he couldn¡¯t identify anything on his plate. But because everyone in the room had their attention fixed on him. A room in which about ninety per cent of the population were magically beautiful women wearing form-fitting military uniforms. He tried to keep his head down and remember Alicia''s table manners from their time together in the dungeon. But with everyone shooting him looks as they tried to examine him, he was struggling not to wolf down his food as fast as he could so he could get the hell out of there. He had tried distracting himself by working on his new mana sense skill, but it turned out the mess of a cramped ship that literally pulsed with mana to stay in the sky was not an ideal place to practise. He had foolishly thought he would be able to use the skill as easily as Syl did. However, it turned out having all Syl''s knowledge on the subject did not translate into him having any of her actual ability with it. Meaning he had to find time to practise yet another skill. And while it wasn¡¯t ideal, he found he could actually activate the skill for short bursts and learn to adjust for a short while before he would feel a headache coming on because of the flood of information the new sense provided. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re a popular one,¡± someone said as they sat down beside him. Kai looked up from his plate to see the young el¡¯vei lad who had approached him outside the dungeon. ¡°I made the mistake of telling someone the crew could examine me.¡± He looked around the room, catching more than a few sets of eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it through.¡± The kid chuckled, ¡°Yeah, my bet was eighteen¡­¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± Kai asked, caught off guard by the fact that the betting that could have only just started yesterday had already reached this kid who had been brought onboard shortly after he had. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± The kid said as he started shovelling his breakfast into his face to avoid the curious look Kai was giving him. Amused by the attempt to avoid his question, Kai leaned over and whispered, ¡°You should know, loose lips sink ships.¡± ¡°And you should know it is pointless whispering to someone when you are surrounded by people that are, what, two, three levels higher than you? Especially when they are all trying to find out your level.¡± Said a man as he set his tray down opposite Kai. The man was the roughest-looking man Kai had seen since that night the system had come to Earth. With his board-muscled form and pale skin that somehow lacked the perfect condition he was growing used to seeing on Alea, he looked instead worn and durable, like the light leather armour he was wearing. Kai would have guessed the man was in his forties with the dash of white hairs scattered in his temples of his short brown hair. But when the man smiled and there was barely a wrinkle around his ageless blue eyes, Kai came to the conclusion he would never be a good judge of someone''s years when mana was at play. A silver pendant hanging from a chain around his neck left Kai to assume this man was one of the silver rankers Arnella had told him about. Seeing that Kai had chosen to ignore the probing into his level, the man''s eyes narrowed for a moment before he grunted, ¡°So¡­ You know about the betting pool; I guess that makes things easier.¡± Kai looked back at the man, examining him as he put on a knowing smile, ¡°I know about it now. Thanks for confirming something fishy was going on.¡± Bardrick Tunn, Lv. 63 Human El¡¯viairen hybrid age: 179 Human El¡¯viairen hybrid? That¡¯s new. Kai thought as he glanced at the man''s ears; with his short-cropped hair, he could see them easily. There was nothing about his ears that remotely said there was anything elvish about him. If anything, Kai would have said the man was too broad, too rough or too durable to have any of the fair folk within him. But then again, the fair folk and half-elves, with short pointed ears, were one of the preconceived notions he brought from Earth, and things might not actually work that way despite the way things tended to line up despite Syl¡¯s many protests that he should abandon those expectations. The man, Bardrick, either chose to ignore the quick glance or did not notice it as he said, ¡°Again, that¡¯s another turn of phrase you have used that I¡¯ve not heard before. What¡¯s it mean?¡± Kai sat back as he noticed two more men coming to his table. Both of them wearing similar light leather armour to Bardic with bronze pendants hanging around their necks. ¡°Well Bardrick, it means something smells that something is obviously suspicious or odd. Like how everyone is studying me, and you¡¯ve just mentioned a betting pool.¡± Kai said, laying some groundwork for his and Arnella¡¯s grand betting pool, deception. It wasn¡¯t something they had actually planned, but him not knowing about the bet yet only made sense and should provide them some cover, even if it was only circumstantial. ¡°Your level. Don¡¯t let anyone know it.¡± Bardrick said sternly. ¡°Why?¡± Kai asked, doing his best to sound confused. ¡°Because telling anyone would ruin all the fun, and collusion would complicate things. You see, we know you entered the dungeon between zero and level ten because of the entry requirements. But when you came out and handled that ambush the way you did. Slinging mana bolts like a mage whilst cutting down assassins like a swordsman was impressive¡­ too impressive.¡° The kid beside him groaned, ¡°I can¡¯t believe I missed that. My cousin won¡¯t shut up about it; she asked me to come talk to you on her behalf.¡± ¡°Yeah, no one can get a good examine to connect with you.¡± Bardrick grinned, ¡°It was just supposed to be a quick bet, a chance for the crew to do something interesting. The thinking was as soon as you were seen without one of those fancy cloaks on and we could examine you, the bet would be over and it would be back to business as usual,¡± his eyes narrowed, ¡°but here you sit, all exposed, and all I get is marks and a subtle feeling I should ignore you. It still feels like there is an item at play if you ask me, but this is good. Even the officers are laying down good coin.¡± ¡°Forgive me, but is it not rude to go around examining people?¡± Kai asked, hoping to find out what was actually culturally appropriate. Bardrick scratched the back of his head. ¡°It¡¯s not like the system will reveal anything sensitive, just your name, level, race, age and if you have one set to show, a title. It¡¯s honestly best to assume people will or have examined you¡­ The only other way around it would be to train your willpower or use an item.¡± He looked at Kai. ¡°Usually it¡¯s not that invasive¡­ But to be fair, there are times when it is considered rude. Like when there are high-level guests onboard who require anonymity for one reason or another. Though most people use items that change what information the system returns in those situations. But whatever you¡¯re doing feels like someone of a higher level, which makes no sense and attracts more attention. No offence, but your aura, your feel, it¡¯s too weak to return marks on an examination.¡± Marks? What did that mean? Bardrick had used the term twice. Kai''s conclusion was that he was referring to the (???) he got when his examiner couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t give him any information. It was then that one of the two bronze rankers down the table spoke up, ¡°When the memo went around last night that we were all encouraged to try and get a successful examination with you, we all thought someone had pulled a fast one. We just couldn¡¯t work out how.¡± Bardrick scoffed, ¡°No, Kelt, I felt him examine me¡­ It¡¯s rough. Gives me the feeling he grew up someplace where examination was considered rude¡­¡± Ignoring the probe into where he was from, Kai asked, ¡°If the betting pool was supposed to be secret, why are you spilling the beans?¡± Bardic cocked his head. ¡°Beans?¡± Kai sighed, ¡°You caught me; I¡¯m not from around here.¡± ¡°Well, I can spill the beans, the secrets because I¡¯m the bookie managing the pool.¡± Bardrick said as he took out a small notebook and jotted something down, ¡°As the bookie, it¡¯s in my best interests to keep things¡­ interesting.¡± ¡°Okay then, as the subject of everyone''s interest, do I stand to make anything? I mean, what''s stopping me from spoiling all the fun, going straight to the sage and asking him to put a stop to it, or better yet, finding a member of the crew to go in on the bets with?¡± Bardrick grimaced at that, and he pushed his tray away to drum his fingers on the table as he seemed to weigh his options. He didn¡¯t think for too long before he put his elbows on the table to lean in. ¡°I tell you what, if you can keep the betting pool going until we reach the capital, I will split the winners pot with you.¡± Kai arched an eye. ¡°Split, as in fifty-fifty. That doesn¡¯t seem fair; I''ll be the one doing all the work for what, a whole month?¡± ¡°And I will be managing all the bets, all the money. You just need to keep up whatever it is you''re doing, then reveal your level when you depart.¡± ¡°Just what are the bets at the moment?¡± Bardrick grinned, ¡°Just your level¡­ Who the second braid is for, where you¡¯re from.¡± Kai sat up. ¡°My second braid?¡± ¡°Yeah, you went into the dungeon with one person and no braids. Then came out of the dungeon with one person and two braids.¡± It¡¯s a hot topic among the ladies. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting Syl.¡± Bardrick¡¯s eyes flashed. ¡°You mean the mystery woman no one has seen?¡± He gestured around the room, ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°She¡¯s working on something.¡± Bardrick held up a hand, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me; that¡¯s half the fun. The bet at the moment is whether she is real or not. Not going to lie, after yesterday''s demonstration, a lot of the crew are hoping it''s some ruse.¡± Confused Kai asked, ¡°What¡¯s the ruse?¡± ¡°Well, most everyone''s on good terms with Alicia, and they are hoping to sneak in a bit of action with the mysterious stranger. They think Syl is some fabrication to keep them at bay. Sounds dumb to me, but you know how irrational people can get when there''s a chance they might get some with someone new and interesting like you. I turned down a lot of ¡± Kai sighed, ¡°Is everyone aboard this ship horny?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the three ranked adventurers at the table said in unison. It was then he noticed the kid beside him looking about eagerly. ¡°What''s up with you?¡± ¡°My team¡¯s made up of me, my younger sister, and three distant cousins. Unlike you, I haven¡¯t got teammates jumping at me to braid my hair. It''s been weeks.¡± Kai blinked at the sixteen-year-old kid, the implication of what he said taking a second to sink in; surely he wasn¡¯t going to try and get his end away with a member of the crew. Then he recalled people looked much younger here on Alea than they did on Earth and examined him. Cillian Calabin Lv.0 El¡¯viairen Age: 32 Remembering he was thirty-one on Alea, he groaned. The kids heads shot round. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re older than me.¡± Bardrick hissed at Kai. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You just eliminated a sizeable amount of the crew from one of the bets.¡± Kai just shrugged, ¡°You said nothing about age.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a problem; you just narrowed it down. People usually try to make their money back when that happens.¡± Bardrick said as he got up and made another note in his little book, ¡°You coming to the training?¡± ¡°I had planned on at least checking it out.¡± ¡°Light armour only, and be prepared to sweat. The more of a show you put on, the more people will try to guess your level, and that means more coin if you can keep your mouth shut and that trick of yours going long enough. The Sage has already said he is willing to verify all of the approved bets at an appropriate time.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. As he walked away from the table, Arnella slipped into his vacant seat. ¡°What did I miss?¡± ¡°Just found out the crew is making bets.¡± Arnella looked aghast. ¡°Lord Kai, I apologise profusely. I will have the culprits found immediately; just say the word.¡± Kai just rolled his eyes and got on with eating his breakfast. ¡°The sage has requested a meeting in the afternoon,¡± Arnella said as she looked about. ¡±This is nice; I don¡¯t usually get to sit at the boys table.¡± ¡°The boys table?¡± Kai asked as he looked over to the two bronze-ranked adventurers to receive a nod confirming that this was, as Arnella just said, the boys table. Receiving the affirmation, Kai looked about curiously, seeing that there were only three other men in the room, all of them in uniform and sitting awfully close to someone else. ¡°I just saw an empty table and sat down.¡± ¡°Probably saved yourself a lot of hassle; this table is unofficially reserved for us when we don¡¯t want to be pestered by the crew.¡± Arnella tsked, ¡°It¡¯s not our fault decent men are hard to come by. No one here wants a waste of space kept man. It¡¯s the reason why half the women aboard signed up in the first place. The male crew members aren''t bad, but there¡¯s a lot of competition, and you guys know there¡¯s nothing better than a solid adventurer in their eyes.¡± ¡°I sat at the wrong table.¡± Cillian grumbled. Like a predator finding prey, Arnella¡¯s eyes locked onto the boy. ¡°You¡¯re too sweet; this ship will eat you alive the moment you put yourself out there, but at level zero it will be for different reasons. Remember, what happens onboard stays onboard.¡± She made a point of looking him up and down. ¡°I¡¯d give you a week before you are thinking about giving up your life of adventure and signing up.¡± Cillian turned a shade of red as his ears twitched violently. ¡°I think I¡¯ll stick to eating at this table.¡± ¡°Wise choice.¡± Arnella sighed, ¡°At least get a few dungeon runs in you before you decide to mix things up. Not only will they know if you have it in you, but you¡¯ll also have the stamina to keep up with all the attention you¡¯ll get if you have one or two levels. You¡¯ll find yourself swimming in slightly higher-quality women that way. Still¡­ those women won¡¯t be the best; the best look for men sensible enough to keep it in their pants.¡± Cillian nodded meekly as he looked down at his breakfast. Kai couldn¡¯t believe the kid sitting next to him was just a little bit older than him. But then again, if he was on the spot like that, he doubted he could have kept from turning that same shade of red. Kai finished his breakfast and made his way back to his quarters to pretend to change into light armour. He didn¡¯t know what light armour actually meant, but he copied what Bardrick and the other two adventurers were wearing as best he could and got a nod of approval from who had stuck with him. Dressed appropriately, Arnella led him to the shortest route up to the top deck, every crew member they passed giving them a salute as they passed. It made him wonder about her rank again, so he did the only thing he could think to do and asked. Kai was surprised to discover she was in fact ranked second only to the captain, the Sage, Syl and him. He and Syl had both been given honorary ranks equivalent to that of the Sage while they were onboard, hence Arnella¡¯s insistence that she call them both lord and lady whenever she addressed them. When he had teased her about ordering her to do whatever he wanted, his jest backfired when she told him she would happily play into any power fantasies he had in private. While informing him, his honorary rank carried no actual authority and was just a formality so the crew could be held to military code should they fail to treat him with the respect the rank deserved. His embarrassment amused her, but thankfully she chose not to tease him further. He, however, could hear a snickering Syl in the back of his mind as she got on with her own little project within the domain. Exiting the confines of the ship to access an external gangway up onto the top deck, Kai had expected to be buffeted by a headwind, but the air was unusually still. Arnella explained that there was a massive spell constructed into the ship that manipulated the air around the ship, forming it into a sort of aerodynamic bubble that prevented drag and allowed the ship to move with limited resistance despite its shape. That led to him asking what the sails everywhere were for if not to catch the wind and help propel the ship. Arnella thought that was a novel idea, so much so that she made a note after he briefly explained tall ships to her. After getting over her surprise that ships used to sail on water back on Earth, she put her notepad away and informed him just how dangerous the deck and the many external walkways of the ship were. Unlike Earth, mankind had not worked its way to the top of the food chain. Apparently there were birds of prey large enough to swoop down and pick him off without a sound. And the reason she was surprised about ships sailing on water was because large bodies of water usually hid leviathans no one on Alea could handle. She explained that when they crossed the territory of any particularly dangerous predators, the exterior of the ship was just off limits to everyone. And they often had to be careful not to go too low or too high depending on where they were. The sheets were there more to slow down the attack of smaller predators than anything else. However, they could also be used to obscure the ship''s shape from afar and deflect minor attacks in ship-to-ship combat. It was all very interesting to Kai, and he found himself trying to compare Alea¡¯s airships to Earth¡¯s tall ship era, feeling like the maps might quite literally say, Here be dragons, with complete seriousness. Getting up onto the deck, Kai saw a group of about twenty people gathered at what he thought of as the front of the ship. His arrival was noticed immediately, and he was pleased to see Alicia come jogging over to see him. Only she skidded to a stop upon seeing Arnella come up the gangway behind him. Alicia saluted, which seemed odd to him. Noticing she looked tired, with noticeable bags under her eyes. He gave her a questioning look as she held her fist to her breast. He was about to ask if she was okay when Arnella stepped to his side and gave Alicia some kind of signal to tell her she should relax. ¡°Despite being the sage''s apprentice, Alicia is a midshipman, the lowest rank of officer.¡± Arnella explained for Kai. Alicia, for some reason, gave the other woman a stern look and asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be on the bridge, looking at crew manifests, making reports and teasing the helmsman?¡± Arnella chuckled, ¡°You see, Alicia here had a higher rank when she first came aboard.¡± She said, ignoring Alicia¡¯s question, ¡°But she got a little too big for her boots and was taken down a peg so she could learn a little respect.¡± ¡°That was a misunderstanding,¡± Alicia retorted. ¡°And yes, normally I would be on the bridge. But my commission is coming to an end; I¡¯ve been assigned as Kai¡¯s personal aide while Casey gets up to speed on her duties as the new first officer.¡± Alicia¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°And besides that helmsmen made the mistake of getting two junior crew knocked up while you were in the dungeon. Without the ship on the move for so long, it seems he gave in to temptation, finding other ways to keep himself busy. He is in the brig at the moment.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not allowed? I was getting the impression the crew was pretty¡­¡± He looked at Alicia and, choosing his words carefully, said, ¡°promiscuous.¡± Alicia blushed, her ears twitching as she looked down. ¡°It is, but you have to get authorisation for insemination and prove there is a fair contract between those involved.¡± Arnella sighed as she stepped off toward where people were gathering. ¡°Speaking of promiscuity, I had to put a stop to a private betting pool this morning; that¡¯s the reason I had to catch up to you in the mess.¡± ¡°Another one?¡± Kai asked as he fell into step behind her, Alicia sticking close to his side. ¡°Lady Syl was not happy when she came to see me¡­ That¡¯s a lie; she was more amused than anything else. But still she asked me to do something about it for both your sake.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± Alicia asked, her brow already brought down into a frown. ¡°Who could get the mysterious stranger into bed first?¡± Arnella said matter-of-factly. Kai nearly tripped. ¡°I would have been annoyed with her for going about the ship on her own, but she helped me catch two serious infractions we¡¯ve been struggling to pin down; that and no one¡¯s reported a sexy redhead floating about the ship, so I can¡¯t exactly punish her.¡± Falling back into step, Kai couldn¡¯t help but think this crew would eat him alive if he wasn¡¯t careful. ¡°Still, that little cabal was a good group of the junior crew,¡± Arnella turned to Alicia, ¡°I suggest you make your claim on Lord Kai a bit clearer. Maybe let yourself be seen canoodling somewhere not too obvious.¡± ¡°I do not canoodle.¡± Alicia said firmly as she glanced at Kai. ¡°I know¡­ Poor Jeffry was so smitten with you he asked to be reassigned when you rebuffed him.¡± Kai was in a haze; this ship was mad. Then again, he had worked an office job and retail. Everyone there had been sleeping with each other or working to the top with their legs apart. ¡°Jeffry was a fop, and you know it. We had dinner once, and the man practically told the whole crew we were considering a formal arrangement.¡± ¡°You didn''t have to make him cry.¡± ¡°His poetry was terrible,¡± Alicia moaned. ¡°Oh¡­ is Lord Kai¡¯s poetry any better?¡± The two women turned to look at him as he started to lag behind again. He thought about comparing Alicia to a summer''s day, but one, he never learnt the exact words; and two, it would feel like he was cheating; and three, he couldn¡¯t find his tongue. He just dumbly shook his head. Alicia smiled and turned to Arnella, ¡°Kai has other qualities that far outweigh any dumb poetry some duke''s son can regurgitate.¡± Seeing that they were drawing the attention of everyone on deck, Kai chose to remove himself from the conversation. He spotted Bardrick, the silver ranker he had breakfast with, and decided the older man was his best bet. But as he passed Alicia, he got an idea. It wasn¡¯t exactly canoodling but¡­. He leant in and kissed her on the cheek. ¡°Good to see you, Alicia. Don¡¯t forget to come by tonight; we were wondering where you were.¡± His heart was thumping in his chest, and he felt himself burning with embarrassment, but it should send a message to any of the crew still thinking about taking their chances with him. Satisfied, he proceeded on to see what this training was like. As he drew close to Bardrick, the man pulled out his little notebook and smirked as he scribbled a note. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°As I said, people were betting if you and the princess were really a thing or if it was just some deception. But that.¡± Bardic said as he pointed back over Kai¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like a deception to me.¡± ¡°You said people were betting on if Syl existed, not if things with Alicia were genuine,¡± Kai said as he turned around to see Alicia frozen on the spot, her pale complexion turned red, her ears twitching violently as she held a hand to her cheek. Kai smiled, his heart still thumping as he turned back to see Bardrick leaning in close. ¡°Break her heart and I¡¯ll kill you.¡± Kai swallowed as the man clapped a hand on his shoulder. An evil grin crossing his face, ¡°And it¡¯s a betting pool; people are betting on pretty much everything, so long as it¡¯s reasonable and someone has a different bet, I take their gold.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this getting out of hand?¡± Bardrick shrugged. ¡°Trust me, we''re working hard to keep things from turning illicit. Now let''s see what you¡¯ve got.¡± That started what Kai could easily describe as two hours of carefully regimented punishment. The deck was broad but also too small for their number to do anything like the sparing Kai had anticipated. Instead, after a short back and forth about what he wanted to work on, one of Bardrick¡¯s team took Kai and, to his surprise, Cillian off to the side to run through a series of exercises with training swords that seemed far too heavy for the wood they looked to be made from. Each time he thought he was getting the hang of things, their silver-ranked minder would increase the difficulty either by adding a new swing or getting him to pivot and change the form he was using in a different way before handing him a new, much heavier sword to work with. Cillian actually did much better than Kai, moving through the steps he was shown as if he was dancing with his blade, not merely swinging it around. Of course, with Cillian¡¯s much lower stats being compensated for with the use of a much lighter weapon, it was still obvious Cillian had far more training than Kai, who was relying primarily on what he had learnt from the skill books he had absorbed. After two hours with no breaks or interruptions, the two of them were sweating buckets and gasping for breath as things got ramped up for a final push towards the end of their time. Kai only just resisted collapsing to the deck as his training sword was taken away from him. He had thought he had done appallingly; he had fought the undead, kobolds and the undead for hours and not felt this worn out. But by the nod of approval he was given, he corrected his assumption to not that bad. Turning to Cillian, he caught him giving Kai a curious look. ¡°What is it?¡± Kai asked as his clothes started absorbing the sweat and grime from the exercise as they started to clean themselves and, by proximity, him. ¡°I- I just thought you would be better.¡± His new assumption that he might have done well shattered with those words. It must have shown, as Cillian''s eyes went wide and he rushed to apologise, ¡°No, no, I didn¡¯t mean it like that. You picked up things quickly and kept up. It¡¯s just everyone''s making such a big fuss over you; it inflated my expectations. But it¡¯s like you have no formal training.¡± ¡°Skill book¡±. Bardrick said as he got close. ¡°A good one, but just the basics was Katarla¡¯s assessment.¡± Kai nodded; there was no point in him lying. Bardrick smiled. ¡°She said you held the sword correctly and picked things up instinctively, like you were primed but had never had the opportunity to train and ingrain the knowledge in a regimented way.¡± He sighed, ¡°In the dungeon I was just reacting the whole time; the goblins, kobolds and undead in the dungeon never actually presented any real challenge. Even after killing hundreds, if not thousands, of them, I never really felt like my skills grew. Actually¡­¡± Kai checked his weapon skills. Basic martial artist. Basic Swordsmanship. You have a basic understanding of many different sword styles; be it a shortsword or a great one, you know how to adapt your form and technique. The range and scope of your understanding give you an almost intuitive ability when it comes to the use and maintenance of sword-style weapons, even if you are only vaguely familiar with the sword in question. Basic Knife Style. Basic Axe Style. Basic Mace Style. Basic Hammer Style. ¡°My showmanship is still basic.¡± ¡°But you have swordsmanship? That''s interesting.¡± Said as he scratched the back of his head, his curiosity evident by the look in his eyes. Kai shrugged, ¡°Not going to give up all my secrets, Bardrick.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking you to. Just saying, having swordsmanship was interesting.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it; you went into the dungeon without any training¡­ that¡¯s insane.¡± Cillian said quietly. Bardrick chuckled as he clapped a hand onto both of their shoulders. ¡°Cillian, Kai is a good example that training isn¡¯t everything. Being an adventurer takes something special. Every day someone completes their training and enters a dungeon to never return. It¡¯s one of the reasons the adventurers guild doesn¡¯t just accept any old level zero with a few years of training.¡± Cillian looked thoughtful. ¡°Now I¡¯m not saying training isn¡¯t important; good training alone will keep you alive. But it doesn''t guarantee you are cut out for the life. Especially if you can¡¯t react when everything around goes wrong, if you can¡¯t use that training when it matters.¡± He shook his head. ¡°If that happens and you somehow survive, find another career, join the military, or become a kept man.¡± Cillian still looked thoughtful; Kai could see the cogs turning in his mind. ¡°Your also forgetting basic swordsmanship isn¡¯t Kai¡¯s only tool.¡± Bardrick grinned as he gave Kai¡¯s shoulder a firm squeeze. ¡°Why don¡¯t you do us a favour and make some mana bolts, as many as you can, Kai?¡± Kai looked at the bookie suspiciously. ¡°I promise you this isn¡¯t for some pool I haven¡¯t told you about; just help the lad understand.¡± Kai thought about it and saw no real harm in it. He started calling up the little balls of mana; they were only a couple of per cent of his mana a pop, and they barely took any control to maintain them in their basic form. When he got to four, two over each shoulder, he decided one at a time was too slow. So he started conjuring them two at a time, then three and four. With a quick glance he saw that Cillian¡¯s eyes went wide. It might have been petty, but seeing him look like that made Kai feel better about his obvious lack of any formal sword training, and he doubled down, creating more and more mana bolts. Bardrick started,¡±you see its good to have more then one-¡° Kai got to thirty mana bolts and felt no real issue making more; he just had to move the ones he created out of the way to give himself room to work. So he set them in orbit just above the three of them. Adding more and more, he got caught up in making them move and circulate just above their heads. Not having to worry about firing the mana bolts at any targets or an imminent threat of attack, Kai realised it was having fun experimenting with the mana bolts. Flaring his new mana sense, he felt the mana bolts interact with one another as he moved them about in intricate patterns, flexing control he didn¡¯t know he had. ¡°Shit, boy, stop!¡± Bardrick said as he squeezed his shoulder, shaking him from his amusement. ¡°You¡¯ll blow a hole in a ship with that much mana. Quick, make sure you let it dissipate in a controlled manner.¡± Kai looked down at a somewhat panicked man looking up with a slack jaw, a crowd forming at some distance behind him, and he realised he might have gotten carried away. Acting on instinct, he raised a hand and called his mana back to him. All at once it flooded down in a swirling torrent, down into his open palm, back through his channels and into his core. ¡°Your insane; you¡¯ll burn your hand off!¡± Bardrick hissed. But as the maelstrom of mana vanished, Kai felt nothing more than a warm tingle of pins and needles and held out his hand for the flustered silver ranker and Cillian to examine. Only he realised a little too late that his arm, from the tips of his now clawed fingers right down to his elbow, was covered in intricate, sharp, black scales. Cillian just stood there stunned, his jaw slack as he looked from Kai¡¯s face to his outstretched hand. ¡°For the love of all the spirits, why are you wasting your time with the sword if you can wield that much mana that easily at your level¡­¡± Bardrick¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Fuck, I still can''t get an examine to stick.¡± Kai pulled and folded his arms to try and hide his arm while he retracted his scales and grinned, ¡°Because Bardrick, I''m a battlemage.¡± It was all false bravado, but no one needed to know that. The older man stepped back, looking Kai up and down as he regained his composure. Recovered, he took out his notebook and started scribbling something down with a massive grin stretched across his face. Kai saw Alicia and Arnella off to the side of the crowd and decided to make a hasty escape. But just as he stepped off towards them, someone in the crowd coughed, and the crowd parted. Thanric, the sage, stood there in the middle of the parted crowd, giving Kai a look he couldn¡¯t read. ¡°Kai, a word if you please.¡± System of Lies - 5 - Taint The sage said nothing as Kai was lead back down into the ship with both Alicia and Arnella in tow. Kai, a man who had once been thirty-seven years old, felt like a child in trouble with the headmaster of his school for the very first time. He tried giving the two women the obligatory questioning look to find out if he was in trouble. But both of them, reading the look correctly, just shrugged. Neither of them showed any concern at all. Unfortunately Kai lacked both the cultural experience and knowledge of the man''s temperament to make a judgement call on whether or not he had actually fucked up. His only indication that he might have done something he shouldn¡¯t was the mix of panic and concern he observed on the face of the experienced silver-ranked adventurer while he had been toying with a significant mass of attack magic just above the ship''s deck. The silence stretched on uncomfortably as they passed through the oddly quiet ship, Thanric''s chosen route somehow completely avoiding the crew . Reaching the sages deck, Thanric turned and addressed them with a frustratingly placid face that made it impossible for Kai to read into the man''s state of mind. ¡°Alicia, go get yourself cleaned up, then please, for the love of the spirits, get some rest. In your rush to get the task I gave you completed, you clearly neglected to take care of yourself. Not something I would expect of my apprentice, especially after such a long dungeon run.¡° Alicia nodded, cast a quick glance at Kai, and then headed off towards her quarters. ¡°Arnella, please make it clear to the crew that if anything even remotely resembling what Lady Syl discovered this morning is uncovered again, I will personally ensure that those responsible will regret their lapse in judgement for no less than the next century. Am I understood?¡± ¡°Loud and clear, Sage.¡± Arnella said, ¡°Everyone we found is already on pot duty for the next year.¡± ¡°Good. Now, go make sure Bardrick¡¯s betting pools don¡¯t get out of hand. Unless¡­¡± The sage gave Kai a serious look. ¡°You want us to shut it down?¡± Kai immediately felt on the spot, the two of them looking at him for an answer despite all the previous casualness. ¡°As long as no one is trying to sleep with me for financial gain, I guess I¡¯m fine with the crew entertaining themselves.¡± Saying that had a stray thought about the other ways the crew might like to entertain themselves, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve got enough going on; could you make sure the crew knew I wasn¡¯t interested in anything casual?¡± ¡°You know, wording it like that still opens you up for anyone who takes a serious interest.¡± The sage said. ¡°Your idea of casual and serious might not match Alean concepts of either.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be onboard for less than what, a month? How is anything serious possibly going to start when I have Syl and Alicia?¡± Thanric sighed, ¡°Arnella, keep Bardrick on a short leash. I want an accurate copy of his books; give him a paired journal to transfer everything into. And make sure he knows both he and his team will be off the ship the moment he tries any of his usual tricks. We have hundreds of applications; he is not irreplaceable.¡± Arnella nodded her understanding. ¡°Now make sure we¡¯re not disturbed, and inform the chef I would like a meal for myself, Alicia, Kai and Syl, ready at the usual time. Tell him I want a variety of Alean cuisine¡­ Actually add yourself to that meal while you are at it. That should be all; you¡¯re dismissed.¡± Arnella hesitated just for a moment, ¡°What if the captain¡­¡± ¡°No, not today. Tell her there may be private matters discussed and that there will be plenty of time over the next few days for her to meet our guests.¡± She saluted and disappeared without another word. She didn¡¯t even look back once as she made her way down to where the corridor split and left him alone with the sage. The moment she was gone Thanric turned to him sharply. He had a wicked grin writ large on his face, all past austere seriousness varnished. ¡°Now if I¡¯m not mistaken, you won¡¯t need any time to be excused to change out of that armour.¡± Kai was taken aback by the ageless, white-haired el¡¯viairen man''s sudden change. ¡°I- er, that¡¯s true¡­ But I could still use the chance to get myself cleaned up. Nobody told me where the bathing or shower facilities are onboard. I actually meant to ask Arnella, but something else always comes up.¡± Kai said as he dismissed his armour, the clothing he had on underneath adjusting and falling free into their intended form of address. Thanric watched the transformation curiously; the moment he was done, he waved his hand as he returned his attention to Kai, ¡°You won¡¯t find any facilities like that onboard. Water is precious, and we don¡¯t always know when the ship¡¯s tanks can be refilled. Funnily enough, I think we''re on course to a freshwater source right now. The stores have got quite low with spending so long outside the dungeon. Of course it wouldn''t be an issue if I could get my hands on a water stone, but those are precious and reserved for population centres whenever they are discovered.¡± Kai¡¯s clothes had already cleaned themselves and any part of his body they had been touching; unfortunately, his face and hair weren¡¯t in contact with any part of his raiment, and he still felt slick with sweat. ¡°So, what am I supposed to do?¡± Thanric let out a breath, ¡°It must have slipped Arnella¡¯s mind, but there¡¯s a cleansing stone in your quarters. Come with me; there is a lot we need to get through. You can use the cleanse stone that¡¯s kept in the lab.¡± ¡°Lab?¡± Kai asked, wondering why, of all places, the sage wanted to go through some stuff in a lab of all places. Thanric unfortunately didn¡¯t answer, as he just turned and made his way to a sturdy-looking door that didn¡¯t quite match any of the other doors in the corridor despite the clear attempts to get it to blend in. The man put his hand on the door''s handle and just stood there for a moment. He saw Kai''s confusion and chuckled. ¡°Security enchantment; it¡¯s quite old, starting to take a little-¡° The door clicked and opened slightly. ¡°-A little longer than I like. Keep forgetting to get it reworked whenever we''re in port.¡± ¡°Come in, and don¡¯t touch anything, especially if it looks interesting. Or touchable. I have a lot of experiments in progress, some of them years old. I¡¯d rather not have to start them over. Thanric led him into the room, pointing to the only clear high table there was near the centre of the room, just a few oddly familiar notebooks littering the surface. He gestured for Kai to take a seat as he walked over to retrieve a stone that was sitting on its own little shelf by a door on the far right wall. Kai was immediately reminded of the labs back in his old high school, the sturdy high tables with thick wooden tops, all filled with one thing or another. Vials, test tubes and other glass contraptions bubbled, popped and quietly hissed under vents that seemed to be selectively extracting any fumes that resulted. Stones were stacked here and there in different arrangements, strange glowing lines connecting the formations. And anywhere there wasn¡¯t some kind of experiment, there were stacks of paper and books. ¡°Sorry about the mess; I haven¡¯t had my apprentice to help keep things somewhat organised,¡± Thanrics said as he came back to Kai to pass him a stone before taking a seat opposite. Kai looked at the stone in confusion. He was obviously the cleansing stone that they had just been talking about, but he didn¡¯t know how to use it. The easiest thing to do would be to channel some mana into it, but what if that was wrong? What if that could break the stone? Seeing his hesitation, Thanric asked, ¡°Did Alicia not show you how to use her cleansing stone in the dungeon?¡± ¡°No¡­ I was told it had limited uses, and I didn¡¯t want to take liberties. I gave myself a sponge bath every time I needed a wash. She did clean my gear for me¡­¡± Kai said as he remembered it coming out that they had, in fact, been using the cleansing stone to clean his stuff, which raised the question: why make him sponge bath himself? Recalling Syl was devious; he let the thought go. ¡°Strange¡­¡± Thanric said as he seemed to go through his own thoughts on the matter, ¡°Just use a little mana; the stone will do the rest of the work; they''re designed to be safe for everyone, even infants. Reverse engineered from something found in a dungeon.¡± Kai shrugged, and as soon as he added a little mana to the stone, he could feel a tingling on the hand he held the stone in as the grime from training vanished. Rubbing his hands together, he was pleasantly surprised to find it felt like he had washed his hands using a good piece of soap, but without all the hassle of getting his hands wet then drying them again. Realising the stone was a magical bar of soap, he took a moment and worked the stone around anywhere he felt remotely dirty. Impressed with how easy it was, he thanked Thanric and put the stone on the table. Soap companies will probably try to bury these if they were ever discovered back on earth. Though you couldn¡¯t beat a good long soak or a hot shower, so there might not actually be a problem. He wondered how good they were at removing germs¡­ how different the pandemic might have been with a little magic. ¡°That one''s a bit limited,¡± Thanric said, snapping him from his wandering thoughts. ¡°It is so you can''t put too much mana into it and accidentally cleanse the lab and all its experiments. But the one in the empress suite is much better; you should keep it.¡± Kai smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure Arnella helps me find it.¡± ¡°Good. Now, Kai, I asked you here so we could go through some touch on some things. Things that will be important in the days to come.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in trouble for what I did up on the deck?¡± ¡°No, not really.¡± Thanric chuckled, ¡±It was quite impressive. And I will advise caution in the future. There was a very real possibility of your mana having a bad interaction with some of the ship''s arcane systems. That and if you had lost control, a chain reaction of that size could remove a sizeable chunk of the deck and part of the ship. However, you seemed to have an adeptus'' level of control, which was surprising for someone who I believe had not used any mana until they entered the dungeon.¡± That was mostly true; he had practice conjuring weapons in the domain while passing through the void, and that had similarities to using mana. Thanric waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Besides, I was there, ready to step in if you let anything slip. So yes, while you are in no trouble, your display was one of the reasons I have decided to bring our planned meeting forward. You see, with that amount of condensed mana, your natural aspect should have caused some interference with the emergency barrier systems or even the ship''s arcane airframe. But there was nothing, at least nothing I could detect. So with your permission I would like to investigate the nature or aspect of your mana. As well as tackle some other formalities.¡± Kai nodded as he absorbed the potential problems he could have caused. ¡°Great, now this won''t take too long, but do you have any questions before I get started?¡± ¡°I actually have a question that has been bugging me for a long time; I mean, I¡¯ve come to terms with it as I have learnt more and more about how mana affects people, mainly ageing¡­¡± Kai trailed off, as he wasn¡¯t quite sure how to ask this. ¡°Go ahead. Ask me anything.¡± Kai swallowed as he tried his best to form his question. ¡°Just after the system event, when you explained the contract I had made with Alicia¡­ how it meant we were married or engaged. You said something about her being too young, that she was just a child.¡± ¡°Yes, I remember; you shut down quite fast; the information was too much of a shock for you with everything that was going on. I didn¡¯t get a chance to explain, did I?¡± Kai nodded as the sage picked up where he was going effortlessly. ¡°I was saying she was too young, that the contract would only be considered an engagement for the time being. At least until her mother, Sietra, has ratified the arrangement... I had my own thoughts on the matter as her master¡­ things have clearly evolved.¡± Kai coughed, ¡°We¡¯re taking things slow¡­ I know what she wants. At least I think I know; it was vague, but I think things are going well.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Thanric said as he pointed at the notebooks on the table, ¡°Alicia was quite thorough in her reports. Cautiously Enthusiastic.¡± ¡°She wrote about it? And she is okay with you reading those?¡± ¡°She was vague, but it¡¯s all there in the subtext. I don¡¯t think she realises just how much of her inner thoughts come through in her notes. But you said you had a question?¡± Thanric said, expertly moving things along. ¡°I just wanted to know if- I wanted to know- well, now it¡¯s more of a need for you to confirm I¡¯m not mixed up in some social taboo, making a contract like that with someone who was culturally a child¡­¡± Kai trailed off again, hoping the sage was indeed sagely and would pick up what he was getting at. The sage looked at him for a moment, taking time to process what Kai was trying to clarify. Something broke within the sage as the man burst into barely controlled laughter. It took the ancient man a good five minutes before he regained control. ¡°Has that been on your mind this entire time?¡± He held up a hand and rubbed a tear from his eye with the other. ¡°Wait, is that why you kept Alicia at a distance despite her own willingness?¡± Alicia had been willing? How willing? Kai tried to recall all the time they spent in the dungeon together, and despite a few very obvious instances instigated by Syl, he didn¡¯t think there had been anything significant. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. He looked up to see the sage giving a somewhat pitying look. ¡°She was right; you really are clueless.¡± Kai couldn¡¯t help but flinch at the accuracy of the statement. ¡°You don¡¯t need to remind me; I have the trait for that¡­ And it¡¯s not just that¡­¡± Kai then went on to explain how monogamy was the commonly accepted relationship back on Earth, going on further to explain a polygamous relationship was something he never thought he would find himself mixed up in and that he was taking time to adjust. Thanric listened intently, getting up partway through what Kai was saying to open some cupboards to retrieve a collection of items, which he put on the table between them. When Kai was finished, Thanric gave him a knowing smile. ¡°Firstly, you¡¯re both children in my eyes; almost everyone is at this point. I mean, you¡¯re both also old enough to explore intimate relationships. But most don¡¯t get, as you put it, serious until they are nearing a century. Starting a family before that, while not taboo, is considered irresponsible, at least for the mother. And as far as your age gap might be considered, it''s negligible for your age range. It will be less and less of an issue as the two of you get older. Besides, you know she¡¯s a princess; she faced political arrangements far worse than a mere decade. I¡¯ve already dealt with one repugnant man for his obsession with my d- my apprentice, Alicia.¡± Kai visibly relaxed at the confirmation he wasn¡¯t up to anything untoward, but a seed of weariness had just been planted at the casual mention of the sage dealing with someone. He wondered if he was referring to the older man Alicia had mentioned was trying to claim her. Thanric started working with the stuff he had just put between the, ¡°Now it¡¯s actually interesting you brought this up.¡± ¡°It is?¡± ¡°I originally wanted to see you today to test some things. One is your genetic compatibility with Alicia. As you¡¯re from a different world, it should just be a formality. However, as we may not want people knowing you¡¯re not actually Alean, going through the process should provide some cover. I have already secured your means of legal identification as a citizen of the twilight empire.¡± That was interesting; he hadn¡¯t thought about needing a valid form of identification. He might have been in some real trouble if he had just appeared somewhere and told them he was an illegal immigrant, illegal alien? He didn¡¯t know enough to know how much of an issue it might have been. But something else caught his attention, and he asked, ¡°You know about genetics?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I know about genetics?¡± ¡°Sorry, misconception; I thought magic might preclude science.¡± Thanric sighed, ¡°Kai, you¡¯re on the T.S.S. Spirit of Exploration; the T.S.S. stands for twilight science ship. The ship''s main purpose is scientific exploration.¡± ¡°Wait, Arnella told me the T.S.S. stood for the sages ship.¡± ¡°Shit¡±, Thanric hissed, ¡°is that going about again? Took me a good decade to stamp it out the last time it happened.¡± Seeing the sage''s frustration, Kai chuckled, ¡°Arnella seemed quite proud of the fact she served on board the sage''s ship.¡± ¡°No, this isn¡¯t my ship; it¡¯s a science ship of the Twilight Empire. We study territorial shifts, dungeons and rifts of interest, other magical anomalies, new experimental ship systems and anything else I find interesting¡­ I mean sure, I¡¯ve directed things for what, the last three centuries? But the ship¡¯s not mine.¡± Kai looked around. ¡°This is the sage¡¯s private lab? which is on the sage¡¯s private floor? I¡¯ve only been onboard for a day, and even I think you might be deceiving yourself.¡± Thanric just levelled a long, pained look on Kai. He didn¡¯t back down. Thanric sighed, ¡°You know, if you went back roughly four thousand years, the gender distribution on Alea was roughly equal. Monogamy was the norm back then too.¡± He said getting their conversation back on track. Kai had been curious about this and chose not to let the sage get to his point before he would interrupt the man with any more asinine questions he might have. ¡°At least that is so far as we can tell. Records that old are up for debate. However, when the taint ravaged the world''s population, things changed. They had to. Over the space of a generation, Alea¡¯s population collapsed, civilisation crumbled, and men became assets.¡± Kai couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡±Just how many times has Alea¡¯s civilisation collapsed?¡± Thanric shrugged. ¡°How many civilisations collapsed back on your home world? Keep in mind a collapse can just be a significant change when viewed through the lens of history.¡± Thanric had a point; Kai knew for certain there were civilisations long forgotten in Earth''s ancient past; it just wasn¡¯t an area of interest for him. Though as a guy, he was supposed to think about the Roman Empire a lot. ¡°You see, the taint made it nearly impossible for male children to come to term, and the men that were left became second-class citizens, traded like livestock, coveted and locked away. Inbreeding was rampant, especially in the higher classes. It was unsustainable, and to this day, thousands of years later, the population is still a fraction of what it once was.¡± ¡°Sounds like The Handmaid''s Tale.¡± Thanric gave him a questioning look. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a book. I never read it, but the premise is similar: fertile women are forced into slavery¡­ Syl might have read it. The thing I don¡¯t understand is the taint you mentioned. This is the first time I¡¯m hearing about it.¡± ¡°The taint, as we call it, affects every living humanoid on Alea. It is a genetic alteration caused by a grand ritual, designed, so far as we can tell, to eliminate men.¡± ¡°A Y bomb?¡± Kai asked. Thanric gave him another long questioning. ¡°A bomb that targets the Y chromosome¡­ to eliminate men and leave women unaffected.¡± Kai tried to explain. Thanric''s questioning look somehow became even more quizzical. ¡°You said you already knew about genetics¡­¡± Thanric nodded, ¡°It¡¯s one of my specialities.¡± Realising that the word chromosome hadn¡¯t actually translated for Thanric, Kai spent an awkward thirty minutes explaining his layman''s knowledge of human reproduction on a basic genetic level. Thanric had at some point pulled a fresh notebook from somewhere and was vigorously taking notes, reminding Kai strongly of Alicia. Kai was just happy he had taken biology in college¡­ He didn¡¯t complete the first year, but this was also high school science¡­ or at least he thought it was. He was going back two decades at this point, so it was a little muddled. So as he worked through his understanding of sex cells, he kept clarifying that it was just what he remembered. ¡°And you say all this was discovered through the scientific process, no magic involved. Your world must have been quite a place.¡± ¡°It had its problems, our understanding changing all the time as things were discovered. Many things were outright ignored because it hindered their worldview.¡± ¡°Alea has similar problems¡­ But you have given me something to look into. It¡¯s a shame the plan is for you to depart. I wonder what nuggets of information you don¡¯t even know you¡¯re hiding away in that alien mind of yours.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure about his mind being called alien, but when he thought about it, the definition of alien certainly fit. ¡°But yes,¡± Thanric continued, ¡°a Y bomb would be an apt comparison to what happened. The historical records show one in three men dropped dead within a week of the ritual activating, and then after that, it was noticed that birth rates dropped significantly, with only one surviving child in ten being male.¡± ¡°You said it was a ritual; what was the goal? Who did it?¡± Thanric shrugged, ¡°As near as we can tell, it was a coven of misguided women who felt oppressed. Their goal was to either topple men from their positions of power or, as some involved thought, wipe out every man on the planet. The problem is this happened far in the past; time has a way of erasing things. So despite all attempts to uncover the truth and possibly reverse what was done, Alea remains tainted.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why the crew gets away with- with its open promiscuity.¡± Thanric grimaced, ¡°Yes, and no. There are limitations and restrictions in place. The main thing I am trying to get at is our culture is the way it is because of necessity, not some total shift in culture from what you experienced on your world.¡± Kai thought about it, and while he didn¡¯t see himself in a full-blown harem, he could adapt. The hardest part would be meeting everyone''s needs, keeping them both happy. ¡°The tragic part is that the taint does not make female children more likely, as most choose to believe; it is that it makes male children very rarely come to term.¡± Thanric said sadly. ¡°Two to seven weeks, and the foetus fails. A lot of mothers don¡¯t even know they were with child.¡± Kai fidgeted uncomfortably as he realised the implications. On alea, around one in two pregnancies was almost guaranteed to fail. No wonder men were encouraged to go out and have all the children they could. Seeing that Kai felt the gravity of what he was saying, Thanric let out a long, pained breath. ¡°What this all means is Alea had to adapt; wars were fought, men were liberated and monogamy became second to polyamory out of necessity. Even then, civilisation never quite recovered, but things had at least found stability, a golden age of peace and discovery. At least until the system came and shook everything up again.¡± ¡°So what''s expected of me?¡± Kai asked. ¡°At one time it was lots of children... But now, nothing is expected of you. As a man, you are protected by ancient laws baked into every nation. You have the right to choose. But at the same time, that won¡¯t stop women from approaching you¡­¡± ¡°Which, if I remembered correctly what the girls said, was one of the benefits of being with Alicia; her status should help deter, if not eliminate, unwanted interest.¡± Kai said working through the past reasoning for accepting the contract. Thanric grunted, giving Kai a slightly annoyed look. ¡°Now, one of the issues, as I¡¯m sure you can imagine, is inbreeding. I actually developed this test to confirm genetic compatibility. The truth is it looks for genetic similarities to determine matched ancestry in situations where lineage isn''t exactly clear.¡± He pointed to a vial in front of him. ¡°This vial contains Alicia¡¯s sample,¡± he pointed to another, ¡°this contains my own.¡± Thanric then poured half of each into a third vial; the solution that formed turned cloudy, turning a thick red that was impossible to see through. Thanric clicked his tongue as he gave the deep red solution a serious look. ¡°A result like this shows that I am very closely related to Alicia.¡± ¡°You are? Just how closely related?¡± ¡°If you will, Kai, can I please borrow a drop of blood?¡± Thanric asked, ignoring Kais¡¯s question. Kai obliged, holding his hand out for the sage to prick his finger and collect the crimson drop of blood that formed in the moment before his regeneration kicked in and healed the prick. Thanric mixed the drop of blood into a vial he had prepared; when the solution was clear, he again mixed half the sample with what remained of Alicia''s own. They waited; there was no change, their mixed samples showing no reaction at all. ¡°Just as predicted,¡± Thanric said as he took a drop from the solution and let it drop onto a document he had at the ready. ¡°This is a record that confirms that the two of you have no past relation and are a suitable breeding pair.¡± Kai looked at the clear solution and then at the thick red one; the difference was clear. ¡°Wait, Thanric, don¡¯t ignore my question. Just how closely related to Alicia are you?¡± Thanric held up a hand and pushed a card across the table. On the card was a chart that showed a gradient. On one side of the scale, there was a clear solution with the words no relation next to it; then, working from one side to the other, there were images of solutions that got progressively more opaque. The range starts at third cousin and works down to the point where the solution turns pink for siblings and then to red for parent and child. ¡°Alicia doesn''t know, and I trust you will not tell her.¡± Thanric said clearly as he saw Kai come to the obvious conclusion. ¡°You¡¯re Alicia¡¯s father.¡± Kai said as he felt a slight pressure from the sage press down on him. ¡°The truth was revealed to me by Atheos, and I find myself in a position where I cannot tell her until I have at least confronted her mother. You see, I was not informed she was mine, nor was there a contract in place between myself and the empress. Alicia is technically illicit. So again, I trust you not to tell her¡­¡± Thanric levelled a pair of brown eyes on him. But seeing the man up close, Kai realised in a moment of clarity those eyes were not actually brown but actually a dark aged gold, akin to Alicia''s much brighter tone of gold. Thanric leaned over the table, the pressure he was emitting growing stronger as he said in a steady voice that made Kai shiver, ¡±The only reason I tell you, Kai, is because if I ever hear you talk about my daughter or anyone else for that matter as a tool you can use. I will destroy you¡­ I have plans for you, and I will not waste them on someone who lacks character.¡± Kai swallowed as the sage sank back in his seat, the pressure he felt retracting with the man. But as he thought about it, he didn¡¯t like the man''s implication that he would willingly use anyone like that, never mind Alicia. ¡°Don¡¯t mistake me.¡± Kai said angrily as he took his own turn to lean in, ¡°I unknowingly had this situation thrust upon me. Up until recently I have resisted the affair. I have talked with Alicia, and I know her intentions. I just want her to be happy, and I am doing my best to do what I can in the situation we both find ourselves in. I¡¯m trying to adjust, to understand. The last thing I want to do to her is use her¡­¡± He thought about the golden-eyed, platinum-haired el¡¯vei girl and all the times her ears had twitched. ¡°I have spent the better part of a month living with her, cooking with her, eating with her, talking with her. Fighting side by side with her¡­¡± He thought about her constant attempts to be useful and fit in. Her consistent curiosity. The way she chewed her lip when she was deep in thought. The way her butt wriggled in the lingerie that one time. Smiling at the memories, he fought to remain serious in front of the man who was giving him a very serious look. ¡°While I will not throw the word ¡®love around callously, I know this for certain: she is special to me in ways I¡¯m still learning to comprehend.¡± Kai said honestly as he came to the certainty he had two women in his life he needed to figure out. Two women he had no reason to be shy about. Thanric''s serious expression softened as Kai sat back. The man chose not to say anything as he moved the vials about again. Placing the two half-remaining samples of himself and Kai between them, sprinkling some neon blue glowing grit into the both of them. ¡°This test should, in theory, detect the taint. As every humanoid on Alea has the trait, it is a little hard to know if this test actually works. In the past the only way we have had a negative on the test is by performing it on an animal that the taint does not affect.¡± Kai looked at the vials as the grit sank to the bottom of both then back to the sage. ¡°That''s it! Alicia is my daughter; don¡¯t use her. Then you move on?¡± Thanric smiled, ¡°Hardly; you stood up for yourself and your combined situation. Things were always going to be political for her. Even if she established herself as an accredited and valuable adventurer, indispensable to our society. She would have faced an arrangement where one party was using the other. For now I feel I have done my part as her father by warning you I¡¯m watching. Though in the future I am hoping to do more¡­¡± Kai blinked. ¡°Kai¡­ I have hundreds of children, thousands of grandchildren, and even more great-grandchildren. All the legal agreements involved¡­ The ramifications boggle even me. Too many of them I cannot even acknowledge as my own¡­ Though I obviously don¡¯t speak for every man, as a father I find it painful. So much so that I decided I had done my part long ago. Of course I visit those I can when I can, but they are all very much independent now. And the feeling of being greeted as an honoured guest and not that of a father¡­¡± He shook his head. One of the solutions suddenly flashed and turned black. The other remained clear; the grit completely dissolved. Kai ignored the sudden change and asked, ¡°Alicia wasn''t planned, was she?¡± ¡°She was not, and just as you are coming to terms with your situation, I am coming to terms with mine. Kai, would you believe I am frightened?¡± Thanric said as he picked up the clear solution to look at it before adding more of the magical grit. That confused Kai; the man had just admitted to having hundreds of children. Why would one more frighten him? He couldn¡¯t help but pry, and he asked, ¡°Why?¡± Thanric held his tongue for a moment, as Kai could see him actually deliberate what to say. A long moment stretched between them before Thanric spoke. Choosing his words carefully, he explained, ¡°Because you¡¯re not the only one who thinks with his heart and not his groin. because this is the first time I''ve had a child with the woman I truly love.¡± He put the sample down and looked at Kai. ¡°Sietra, the empress of twilight¡­ Our relationship is complicated. Our lineage is complicated.¡± Kai looked at him. ¡°Please tell me it¡¯s not incest.¡± Kai said, hoping to lighten the mood¡­ and praying it wasn¡¯t actually incest. Thanric scoffed, ¡°Oh spirits, no! What would make you think that?¡± Kai pointed at the genetic test still on the table. ¡°I see your point¡­ And no, it¡¯s not that. The short explanation is her family rose to power after the system came to Alea. I am what remains of the family that held power before the system¡­ There are treaties in place that technically forbid our union. As I said, Alicia is illicit; she cannot know until the politics involved are sorted out.¡± ¡°Are you telling me you are a real-life Romeo and Juliet?¡± Thanric rolled his eyes, ¡°You know Alicia wrote about you doing that in her notes. It both infuriates and fascinates her.¡± Kai shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m doing my best. But you have my word, on the system, I will not inform Alicia unless I deem it essential to the situation.¡± Thanric waved a hand dismissively, ¡°A suitably vague system vow if I ever heard one.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t speak for Syl, though. Odds are she has been listening in.¡± ¡°Oh, Syl already knows. We had a long conversation last night after you fell asleep. That one is quite observant.¡± That caught him unawares. Sure, he had checked on the dragon eggs, then gone to relax with Syl, then fallen asleep before he realised he was even nodding off; the dungeon wore him out more than he knew, but he didn¡¯t know Syl had gone to visit anyone other than Alicia. ¡°Now¡±, Thanric held up the clear solution. ¡°Do you know what this means?¡± ¡°Not exactly.¡± His guess would be a negative test result for the taint they had been talking about. ¡°A negative result, but I don¡¯t know what that means.¡± Thanric smiled enthusiastically, ¡°It means I should be encouraging you to sleep with as many of the crew as I possibly can. Set up a schedule where you are fucking all day and all night.¡± Kai¡¯s jaw fell open. ¡°But as your unofficial father-in-law, I will settle for lots of grandchildren and a happy daughter.¡± He winked. Kai¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°A few childbearing contracts on the side, with both Syl and Alicia¡¯s explicit agreement, would be good¡­ Remove the burden from your immediate line of descent.¡± Thanric mused to himself quietly. "That is going to be important." Just like the time he was first informed he was engaged to Alicia, Kai felt the blood drain. ¡°Congratulations, Kai, you are the first humanoid on Alea in four thousand years not to carry the taint. We just need to hope the taint is recessive. That having one parent without it will result in offspring that also lack the taint. In a few generations, the taint should be minimal or outright gone from the populace.¡± Kai was barely following along at this point. Thanric chewed his lip. ¡°I might be able to use your clean genetic information and isolate the taint itself, find a way to eliminate it through other means. I¡¯m going to need a lot of samples while you are on board. Move some projects around.¡± This was insane; they had just finished talking about how Kai had no obligations. How Thanric would protect his daughter. And now the same man was telling him he practically had a duty to spread his seed far and wide. ¡°I¡¯ll let you tell Alicia and Syl the good news. The three of you should decide what approach to take. For now we should move on to finding out how your mana is aspected.¡± He looked at Kai and realised he might have lost him again. ¡°Or would you like a minute? We could go get lunch, give you some time to process. This definitely calls for some tea.¡± System of Lies - 6 - Aspects Kai pushed his food around the plate, his appetite vacant as his mind did loops. What did the man mean? He should be encouraging Kai to sleep with as many of the crew as possible. The fact that the man had just been dressing him down for expressing the utility of being in a situation-ship with his daughter, then had casually remarked that boggled Kai. Either the man was crazy, which was possible considering his supposed advanced years, or he really, really did not understand the culture on this planet. Honestly, he was getting mixed messages. Maybe it was some kind of test of character? Could the sage be dangling the opportunity to sleep with the crew as some way to test his commitment to Alicia? ¡°What is it?¡± Alicia asked from his side, ¡°You don¡¯t like goblin?¡± Kai dropped his fork. ¡°This is goblin?!¡± he asked as he looked down at the succulent chop in front of him with a growing sense of unease; he was lucky he hadn¡¯t actually started to eat anything yet. ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t goblin. I just thought that would snap you out of whatever has you locked away in that mind of yours.¡± Alicia giggled behind her hand. ¡°You need to get used to examining your food. You¡¯ll find it won¡¯t flinch like everything else you examine.¡± Syl said as she ate the meal she had looted into the domain, then projected out onto the table so she could eat at the table with the rest of them. Checking the domain quickly, he found there was a copy of Syl sitting at the dining table eating the fancy meal, all alone. His heart sank as he watched her actions mirroring that of her projection out in the real world. She technically didn¡¯t need to eat, but there was something inherently social about the act of sharing a meal with others that clearly transcended worlds. Taking the food and projecting her act of eating with them into the real world was a poor yet functional workaround for her predicament. Seeing her sitting alone at that table, Kai felt he needed to move his plans up. Fortunately, he had a little bit of time, as there was quite a bit of setup for Syl¡¯s physical manifestation, as she was apparently working with arcane concepts far beyond her tier. The immediate solution would be to invite everyone present into the domain. But he didn¡¯t know if he could loot the sage or Arnella to bring them into the domain the same way Alicia had gained access. There was, however, another method at his disposal; the problem was the risk involved. It was definitely something he needed to practise before he even thought about putting it out there for others. Maybe some kind of intermediate testing before he moved on to human trials. Kai realised he had gotten lost in his thoughts again when he jumped from the poke Alicia delivered to his ribs. ¡°Seriously, Kai, What is it? I know your mind wanders, but this is a bit much.¡± ¡°I er¡­ I-¡± he stammered, as his brain drew a blank. ¡°We just found out Kai does not carry the taint. I imagine he is weighing his options, trying to decide what he can get away with. Or more accurately, what the people at this table will allow him to get away with and how it might affect your relationships. He definitely has things to discuss with you and Syl in private.¡± Thanric said as he put a perfectly cut piece of tender meat into his mouth. Kai felt three separate pairs of eyes lock on him as he decided now was a good time to see what this meat actually was. Unidentified braised mystery meat. Seeing the results of his examination, he sighed and took a small cut; the mystery meat was delicious. So delicious, he resisted the urge to discover what the meat was, just in case it was something terrible. Looking around after taking his bite, his hope that things had moved on. But no, he was definitely the centre of attention. Syl grinned at him as he mentally squirmed. Alicia, her ears twitching, blushed profusely as she kept glancing his way and fussed with her own meal. Her usual decorum was noticeably absent. Then there was Arnella; she looked at him like he was the meal. Kai coughed nervously and decided, whatever this meat was, his attention was best put to devouring the chef''s hard work. Unfortunately the sage wasn¡¯t quite done with his verbal bombing run. ¡°I have already advised him it¡¯s a possibility to set up insemination contracts with any of the crew that may be willing.¡± ¡°Do you know if his lack of the taint will actually carry over to his progeny?¡± Syl asked casually as if they were discussing the weather. ¡°I am hoping, though we won¡¯t really know until the first child is born.¡± ¡°If it helps¡±, Syl started as she looked off to the side before gesturing as if she were flicking something invisible across to Thanric. ¡°Kai has this. As we are talking about his potential offspring, I think you should know.¡± Kai immediately knew they were talking about one of his traits, and he looked it up to see how it might actually affect things. Adaptable Progeny: All your progeny are adaptable and will favour the adaptations, mutations and variations of your mate. Thanric tsked, ¡°This complicates things; the taint is a genetic alteration. It may be carried across from the mother regardless with this trait in play.¡± Kai let out a breath he didn¡¯t know he was holding; that should take the pressure off him¡­ But wait, that would mean he and his partner would stand to lose children at the same rate as everyone else on Alea. ¡°We believe the trait is intended to favour racial differences of the mother¡­¡± Syl said carefully. ¡°We think, when Kai and Alicia have children, they would be as pure an El¡¯viairen as she is and not a hybrid. The same would be for Arnella. Their hypothetical offspring would be Gnomel.¡± Thanric chewed on his lip, his glance switching between Kai and Alicia a couple of times, then between Kai and Arnella, as he mentally weighed something up. Thanric clicked his tongue. ¡°I was just trying to wind him up with the whole crew thing. But this might actually merit some investigation¡­¡± ¡°I know of a few candidates already; they would be very discreet.¡± Arnella said with a sly smile. ¡°But Kai¡¯s more of a family man; I don¡¯t think he would ever go for that.¡± Alicia interrupted. ¡°Oh, he is one of those?¡± Arnella asked, her hungry looks only growing more lascivious. ¡°Alicia, the problem is you don¡¯t plan on having children for what, the next sixty years? I¡¯m certainly in no position to give Kai the family he has always craved¡­ I will need a real flesh-and-blood body for that. I mean, I think it might be possible with the physical projection I''m working on¡­ but it will be incredibly risky.¡± Syl supplied. Kai shifted uncomfortably. He was beginning to feel like a prized stallion that had just won a race at a world record pace, and everyone was trying to turn him into a stud to pass that speed onto the next generation. Thanric let out a breath, ¡°If anything happens to Kai, this opportunity would be lost forever¡­ Perhaps we should consider one or two discreet contracts where the product will not have any legal relation to Kai and his established family line. Arnella, could you send me a draft of those you think suitable?¡± He was really beginning to wonder what happened to this being a private conversation; he had to speak up, or he might find himself in a less than desirable situation once again. ¡°Is the possibility of creating some kind of vaccine, inoculation or curative spell from my clean, taintless sample not actually the best option? Once developed, you can deploy your discovery en masse, removing the taint from Alea in years instead of waiting for something that may or may not work to pass through the masses over generations.¡± Kai asked. The table went quiet, as they seemed to at least weigh his opinion on the matter. Alicia¡¯s head shot up. ¡°Master, I think you are mistaken. It will not be forever. Syl, correct me if I am wrong, but others will be able to come and go when Alea integrates with the rest of the multiverse. If that is the case, then those people will be the same as Kai¡­ I do not think it is fair that we are putting this burden on him.¡± Thanric leaned back in his seat, ¡°Yes¡­ I suppose I am getting ahead of myself. Though, is there not also a possibility we will never be fully integrated?¡± Syl scoffed, ¡°The system will never give up on integrating an A-class world like Alea. Once connected, the local pantheon will come lay claim; pray that it''s one that will develop the planet and not ravage it.¡± Thanric pushed his empty plate towards the centre of the table. ¡°I never thought I would say this, but I believe this might warrant a conversation with my god.¡± It seemed that Alicia had actually come to his aid, as from then on the meal was quite enjoyable. Once everyone had finished their course and pushed their plates to the centre of the table, the plates vanished simultaneously to be replaced by the second course and, eventually, the third. The conversation had grown pleasant but light, Syl and Alicia recounting the events of the dungeon for the amusement of Arnella and Thanric. But as they were finishing up, that was when the sage chose to unleash yet another of his now, in Kai¡¯s view, patented verbal bombshells. ¡°Alicia, I want you to clear out your room and move into Kai¡¯s temporary quarters. It should help with the crew if you two share a room during your stay onboard. Besides, once you depart the ship, you will no longer be my apprentice, and it is very unlikely you will ever use your current room again.¡± She shot out of her seat, ¡°But master!¡± Thanric''s glance was enough to silence Alicia. ¡°Do not think I am abandoning you as my apprentice. You will merely be assuming a new identity that is detached from me as your master.¡± Alicia sank back into her seat. ¡°Since I have dealt with your distasteful predicament back in the capital and given recent events, your mother and I both agree you should be allowed to establish yourself. Though¡­ I still need to discuss things with her.¡± ¡°My predicament?¡± Alicia asked cautiously. ¡°Yes, I grew weary of intercepting all the communication attempts. At first I thought to leave the sordid affair for you to sort out when you were ready. But then new information came to light, and I felt I must take action¡­ Your mother called him a useful fool once she realised I had taken action. Complaining that I had cut a rotten branch she was using to find rotten roots.¡± ¡°Lord Bryant?¡± ¡°He is a lord no more; disgraced, he has tucked his tail and fled to his collaborators within the shattered kingdoms. A place he will soon discover is less than hospitable to our kind once he has outlived his usefulness. I had hoped to be more thorough and eliminate him, not just disgrace him¡­ but it is what it is.¡± Arnella grimaced. Alicia looked thoughtful. ¡°While I am already taking steps to ensure you remain on the path to greatness. I believe you are well placed alongside Kai and Syl. Especially after I read your notes on the nature of core development and private system usage.¡± Thanric glanced at Arnella. ¡°Things just need to be managed appropriately in the days to come.¡± Thanric smoothly rose from his seat, looking at his guests with open eagerness. ¡°Now if we are all finished, I would like to get back to the lab and explore the curious nature of Kai mana. Syl, will you be joining us? Your linked nature may be a factor.¡± Syl shook her head as she drifted out through the back of her seat. ¡°Despite my small amusement at Kai¡¯s attempts to navigate the ship and its crew. I¡¯m taking a step back to let him figure things out. He knows where I am if ever he needs me, just a thought away.¡± She smiled at him before turning back to Thanric. ¡°Besides, at the moment I am laying the foundation of a spell that will run for what could be centuries, if not millennia; despite following an extensive guide, it¡¯s actually quite interesting. like a giant Lego set where everything has to be perfect, except it¡¯s magic, and there are no Lego pieces.¡± There was a flash of interest in Thanric''s eyes. ¡°If I am mistaken, there should be a way for me to enter your domain. I am just beginning to explore my own domain, and I believe a tour of yours later today may be more than insightful.¡± Syl tapped her lip for a moment before looking at Kai and shrugging, ¡°So long as you realise you will be close to powerless in our domain. Gift only functions because he is effectively made from the same stuff as the domain. But today¡­ today may not be a good day. Things are a little up in the air at the moment, literally.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Gift, I have yet to meet with the child. Alicia, I believe he is currently acclimating to the reward you received in the dungeon.¡± Alicia nodded. ¡°I will leave getting you into the domain up to Kai¡­ There may be unforeseen limitations to bringing people into the domain at our level.¡± Syl said, ¡°We got lucky with Alicia in more ways than one.¡± Thanric rubbed his hands together and then gestured Kai towards the door, saying, ¡°I am sure Kai will figure something out. Atheos is whispering in my ear that it is indeed possible. Now ladies, if you will excuse us, I am sure you three have a lot to get to today.¡± With the way the sage rushed him back through to the lab, Kai was wondering why the ancient man was so eager. Once they had made their way back into the secluded room, Thanric took a moment to clear up the samples from the previous testing before returning to the table to take a seat and stare Kai down. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Tell me, Kai, what do you know about mana?¡± Kai thought about it; he didn¡¯t actually know much, just what he had picked up from Syl and working with Kain and Inego in the dungeon. Feeling that there was no point mincing his words, he said, ¡°Well, besides it obviously being used in anything arcane. I believe it''s created in our core, absorbed and converted from the world around us. Even the stuff we eat and drink is partially converted into mana.¡± ¡°All true¡­ Do you know what the stuff you convert is or where it comes from?¡± ¡°Well, I know when the system came to Earth, my world lacked eather, and as a result of that, my mana core was¡­ deficient.¡± Thanric nodded appreciatively as he sipped his tea. ¡°You are correct; without eather, there is no mana. We have actually been attempting to map the concentrations of eather on Alea. Despite being everywhere, we have discovered it forms what we call ley lines, which we have been mapping as we study how higher concentrations affect the environment and those that live within it.¡± Thanric waved his hand, and a fresh pot of steaming tea appeared, and he poured a cup for himself and Kai before continuing. ¡°One of the things I wish for you to understand today is that eather in its natural form is inert, making it safe to absorb and/or convert into mana. But mana, on the other hand, is concentrated and volatile.¡± ¡°Making it dangerous to absorb and convert.¡± Kai said, following the logic. ¡°Exactly¡­ but not exactly. You see, mana takes on a nature or an aspect depending on who or how it was converted from eather. You have no doubt noticed the difference in the way spell constructs may look depending on who created them.¡± Kai nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed all Alicia''s spells have a golden hue while mine are a bluish purple. Actually, I had a mentor in the dungeon that taught me something he did, but his version was actually grey.¡± ¡°That would be because of the nature or aspect of their mana. You will find Alicia''s mana predominantly favours light and life. The life making her suited for support magic that manipulates the functions of the body¡­ I would have taught her healing magic, but it takes decades to train a suitably qualified healer. Decades I did not have.¡± Thanric held out a hand and created a ball of mana that was a crackling white. ¡°I have the life aspect mixed with lightning¡­¡± The orb vanished as Thanric created two more, one in each separate hand, one a light blue that sparked to his fingertips while the other was a clean, softly glowing white. ¡°Over the years I have even learnt to separate my two mixed aspects. What do you think will happen if I were to bring these two orbs together?¡± Kai had nothing but context here; the only time he had really seen mana interact with other sources of mana was when his mana bolts impacted a barrier in the dungeon. And that, at most, was explosive¡­ but also the point of his man bolts. ¡°I want to say¡­ a volatile reaction.¡± Thanric moved to close his open hands, one orb connecting with the other in a violent hiss, much of the mana Thanric had in each hand escaping as only a small, light, crackling ball remained once the two had merged into one. ¡°Not enough here to have any reaction other than a significant loss as the two merge. But what you did up on the top deck was different. You had so much mana in play; there should have been some reaction with everything else that floats about up there. But there was nothing, not even a distortion or a stray spark.¡± Thanric leaned in. ¡°Tell me, when you were in the dungeon, did any of your spells exhibit strange characteristics¡­ Like, for example, a mana bolt bursting into flame?¡± Kai shook his head, apart from the intentionally unstable mana bolt exploding their intended target into fine paste. He couldn''t think of any time the spell had done anything strange. Sure, he was still working on getting the bolts to track his targets on their own. But he had picked up so many skills in such a short time it was difficult to work on them outside of the combat trials the dungeon presented. ¡°No? That¡¯s surprising. Normally when someone starts using mana for the first time, the aspect of that mana is revealed within the first few days. Most already know their innate aspect before they cast their first spell. Their mana naturally expressing itself as their core matures¡­¡± Thanric trailed off as he got lost in his thoughts. ¡°Mana wasn¡¯t a thing for my world, at least until the system came,¡± Kai explained. ¡°Yes, that too may be a factor. Would you mind sharing your skills with me, just the ones that use mana?¡± Kai hesitated; most of his skills used mana. And something told him that sharing his skills held risks, that it was generally only something done with those you trust, like party members. When he thought about it, Syl and Alicia hadn¡¯t actually sat down with him and shared their skills; he only knew what they were capable of because he had fought at their side. Thinking of Syl and Alicia, he realised that was an option, and he reached out through his connection, ¡®Syl, you got a minute? Thanric is asking if I will share my skills with him.¡¯ ¡®And?¡¯ ¡®Just feel it¡¯s risky sharing my skills with others.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re not wrong, and I am glad you asked. But I think we''re far past the point of holding back with Thanric. We''re at his mercy, and he is our father-in-law. Either way, though, this is up to you; they are your skills.¡¯ Wait, that caught him unawares, ¡®Our father-in-law?¡¯ ''Kai We¡¯re bound together; when Alicia gets engaged to one of us, she gets engaged to both of us. That''s how it is on Alea; we occupy a kind of grey area¡­ Unless I¡¯m just your mistress, that would change things¡­ Kai, am I just your mistress?¡¯ Kai didn¡¯t justify the jibe with an answer; at least he hoped it was a jibe. Thanric must have picked up on the fact Kai was having a conversation, and he sat back with his cup of tea. Kai checked his arcane skills; the list had recently grown with what Syl had passed on to him. But he saw a clear problem: only his mana bolt had become uncommon; the majority were of his skills, still basic. It was embarrassing to share, but he passed the information to Thanric with a thought. Uncommon Mana Bolt. Mana Barrier. Mana Mark. Mana Sight. Mana Sense. Mana Infusion Infused Strike. Conjuration. ( Nascent ) Spectral manifestation. - Spectral Blades Stun Telekinesis Thanric perused the list. ¡°Interesting, all these skills are in their basic form apart from mana bolt¡­ Were all of these skills learnt from skill books?¡± Kai shook his head, ¡°I learnt a couple of the skills through Syl, and a mentor in the dungeon helped me develop Spectral Manifestation. It¡¯s similar to mana conjuration but without the focus on making matter out of mana.¡± ¡°If I hadn¡¯t seen you fight with my own eyes, I would have assumed someone was priming you to be a mage. All these skills are primers for more advanced magic. I do wonder if learning all this from skill books is what has kept your mana un-aspected thus far¡­ Was the stun skill what you used on that woman that ambushed you?¡± ¡°I have roughly the same number of martial skills, and no, it wasn¡¯t stun; I learnt that just last night. I actually manipulated time in the space surrounding that woman; it''s technically not a skill, at least not yet.¡± Kai said, trailing off as the sages grew larger. The sage got up and paced for a bit, mumbling to himself. ¡°The way it was explained to me, travelling through the void to reach Alea without a body, my exposure to the abyss left its mark on me.¡± So far as we understand, time and space are both concepts ¨C observable forces, certainly ¨C but they¡¯re something that is relative and hard to observe. We know they can be manipulated because of spatial storage, time locks and other such devices. But no one has been able to achieve results other than duplicating items from dungeons and rifts. And you say you just manipulate it? No mana involved?¡± ¡°Oh, it uses mana, lots of it. I know it''s possible to lock what I do off and have the effect take on a semi-permanence. But I haven''t figured it out. So far all I can really do is slow time in a localised area, distort space and possibly connect two distant locations, portals... But it''s the same with everything else. No time to practise or train.¡± Thanric started rummaging through the cupboards. Kai kept talking to fill the silence. He was actually eager to be getting this out there. Who knows? Maybe Thanric, the sage of Alea, could help him take the next step. ¡°I know gravity manipulation is an adjacent skill, but I have been told that will come naturally after working with the other two for a time.¡± Thanric turned around, a large, uneven, skull-sized crystal ball held in his hands and a feverish look on his face. ¡°You say that the system has not yet defined your manipulation of time and space as a skill?¡± ¡°Yeah, but I have run into that before, and it''s still not clear to me how that works. I think I need to define it, but thinking of it as time or space manipulation has not worked.¡± ¡°In my experience a new skill needs to be consistent and repeatable before it will be accepted or definable before the system itself will acknowledge anything.¡± Thanric said as he sat down and set the crystal ball between them, its irregular shape preventing it from rolling away, ¡°But we can find time to talk about the nature of skills some other time.¡± Kai looked at the large clear chunk of stone that had presumably been cut and polished into its current shape and couldn¡¯t help but think of all the animes and mangas he had seen where a crystal ball was used to determine strength or magic type. He chuckled and asked, ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me to use this stone so you can determine my current power level, are you?¡± Thanric rolled his eyes. ¡°Hardly. While it is technically possible to get a rough gauge of your current power, the measurement would be purely theoretical. A person''s use of mana is often more critical than their quantity of mana. This, however, will give us a clue as to the aspect of your mana.¡± ¡°So, do I just touch it and channel in a little mana?¡± Thanric nodded. ¡°Yes, the crystal will naturally split any aspects or natures found in your mana. Just like a prism splitting a ray of light out into the full spectrum.¡± Kai complied, touching the crystal; he let a little mana trickle into it, the stone sucking it in eagerly. He expected there to be some kind of reaction, but as time passed and his hand grew clammy against the stone, nothing happened. Thanric, for his part, watched the stone eagerly, chewing his lip as he scribbled down notes. Just as Kai was beginning to think he must have been doing something wrong, Thanric got up and pulled the stone away from him. Turning away without a word to put it back where he found it. Before continuing to rummage for something else. Kai didn¡¯t know what to do. Despite the trope of a stone that could determine his mana type, there had been no reaction. Thanric, for his part, had given no indication that there had been any problem or, for that matter, anything of any particular note worth mentioning. ¡°If it helps, my mana used to be blue with a slight purple hue. But ever since I was taught to manipulate time and space, it became more purple than blue. And it flashes and crackles from time to time now. But it¡¯s not like electricity or anything like that¡­¡± Kai said trying to give the sage more information to work with. Thanric looked back over his shoulder and hummed contemplatively before turning back to his search. ¡°If it started after you learnt to do something with time and space, I believe your mana may be taking on a desired aspect, not that it is that aspect¡­ especially after the results of that last test.¡± What results? Nothing had happened. ¡°I¡¯m looking for some test papers; they were costly to make and aren''t used anymore, as that mana crystal is a far more cost-effective way to determine someone''s aspect. Ah, here we are!¡± Thanric turned back to Kai with a dusty wooden box in his hands. ¡°I knew I had an unopened set here. They stopped producing these shortly after the system came. These were actually a gift from a past student; may she find comfort with the spirits.¡± Kai looked at the old box Thanric set between them. ¡°Thanric¡­ This sounds precious; you don¡¯t need to do this; I can get by as I have been.¡± ¡°Hush, this is for my curiosity more than anything else.¡± Thanric said as he attempted to open the box. A noticeable wax seal running the full circumference thwarted his efforts. ¡°I like you, Kai, but you¡¯re not that special.¡± Kai chuckled at Thanric''s choice of words and shared one of the traits with the man who had just summoned a knife to work at the box¡¯s seal. Special: You are one of a kind, truly unique. ¡°Spirits, I was joking. How did you manage to get that achievement?¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually a trait, not an achievement.¡± Thanric stopped working at the box to give Kai a long, long look. Finally making some decision, he licked his and asked, ¡°If things go terribly wrong¡­ how would you feel about donating your cadaver to science? I promise I will treat your corpse with the utmost respect.¡± Kai shrugged, ¡°If the taint''s still an issue, knock yourself out.¡± ¡°Why would I¡­ Oh, a colloquial expression from your world. Alicia said you can be confusing.¡± ¡°It frustrates me too, my language skill; Omniglot translates everything so easily I just forget I have it.¡± Thanric''s eyes flashed at the mention of the language skill, but just as he was about to say something, the box popped open, the sage immediately inspecting the contents as he laid the box and its now open lid flat on the table. ¡°Good, good, good. Looks like the seal was still good after all these years; nothing has spoilt.¡± Kai looked into the box; there wasn¡¯t much to it. Just a dozen sections of bits of dull white paper and a set of wooden tongs. ¡°Look with mana sight and feel with mana sense,¡± Thanric said as he retrieved the tongs. ¡°But whatever you do, please don¡¯t examine it. With how rough you are with that system skill, you might just set it off. Kai groaned; he really needed to work on his examinations. Despite having expressed permission and now reassurance that it was acceptable to just examine people, he had put it off today out of sheer embarrassment. But as he activated his mana sight and sense in tandem, he promised himself he wouldn¡¯t be shy about it tomorrow. ¡°Did you mean to make your eyes glow?¡± Thanric asked him curiously. Kai blinked. He hadn¡¯t channelled any mana into his eyes, but the mana sight must have had something to do with his eyes; there must have been some bleed-through of mana causing his eyes to glow. In the future he would have to be careful. As useful as the skill might be, his glowing eyes were one of his main identifiable features others could use to identify him as the focus of the system event. It was a concern he locked away for later; right now he was mesmerised by the scattering of colour emanating from the paper within the box. His mana sense, however, was overloaded by everything else going on within the lab and beyond the floor and walls around them, so much so he halted the skill the moment he felt the pressure of a headache. ¡°You should find that each piece is permeated with its own distinct aspect of mana.¡± Thanric said as he took the tongs and used them to pick up a piece of paper that had a distinctly fiery colour and held it out for Kai to take. Thanric''s intention was obvious. Kai reached out to take the piece; the moment he had it pinched between his thumb and finger, it burst into flame. Thanric said nothing about the reaction as he took a quick note and picked up the next piece of paper. This one had a distinctly blue hue. Taking the paper, it disinterested with a puff of air. The next one burst in a blinding flash of light. One piece zapped him, and another made his fingers numb with cold. Before he knew it, Thanric had given him one piece of paper from each section of the box. Each of them reacting in a distinct way. One piece turning soggy, another changing into sand. When one grew roots, he that wriggled around his fingers, while one somehow seemed to suck in light. Four of them, however, seemed to do nothing so far as he could determine, but they disintegrated the moment he touched them, and Thanric looked pleased with the result, scribbling down a note in his book. Thanric closed the box with a sly grin on his face, ¡°You know what, I take it back; you are special. I have seen people with naturally aspected mana in at most three or four types. Personally I started out with two, and I¡¯ve only worked that up into using their complement of ice and shadow. ¡°So what¡¯s my mana aspect?¡± Thanric shrugged, ¡°Needs more testing. But at the moment my best guess is you don¡¯t have an innate aspect or nature to your mana¡­¡± Kai wasn¡¯t expecting that. ¡°So I don¡¯t have-¡° ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of me, boy¡­ And don¡¯t get me wrong, there are people who lack any aspect; the thing about those poor individuals is nothing in that test would have reacted to their mana. As such, they struggle to do anything but basic magic without going through extra steps to convert their mana first.¡± ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the difference between a fire mage and a natural pyromancer. In my case, my mix of life and lightning allows me to manipulate the body in interesting ways, hence support magic being one of my specialities. Though I am forgetting that neutral, un-aspected mana certainly has its applications.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not one of those people¡­¡± ¡°You, Kai, so far as I can tell, have mana that is neutral¡­ or more accurately primed. It¡¯s like it is ready to adapt and reacts as needed. It¡¯s the reason, or so I believe, your spell constructs have not deviated from their intended form. And why you didn¡¯t cause a volatile interaction with the mana up on deck.¡° ¡°So I¡¯ll be able to do what exactly, use any kind of magic?¡± ¡°No, exactly. So far you have been using basic magic, and you haven¡¯t tried to deviate too far from what you learnt from the skill books. But let''s say you want to cast something like a fireball. Well, you may have to learn to manually convert your mana if you ever want to branch your current skills into more exotic forms. However, for you there should be no loss in the process of conversion. Tell me, when you construct a mana bolt, what method did you learn from the skill book?¡± ¡°Method?¡± Kai asked, confused, ¡°I usually just focus my intent and channel my mana, et voil¨¤, mana bolt.¡± Thanric just looked at Kai for a long moment as he processed the reply, then followed up with another question, asking, ¡°No chant, no internal visualisation or mental mantra?¡± Kai shook his head. ¡°Is this the same for the skills you didn¡¯t learn from skill books?¡± Kai nodded. ¡°If it helps, most of my skills were from system skill books created for my world¡¯s tutorial, but the others, like my mana sight, infused strike and conjuration, came from a dungeon reward Atheos manipulated, and I use them the same way.¡± Thanric turned over his palm, a glowing pattern appearing in the air above it. ¡°Kai, does this mean anything to you?¡± He shrugged, ¡°I''m guessing it''s a spell construct; I have seen Gift and Alicia use them. But none of my basic skills seem to need them.¡± ¡°It''s my personal mana bolt¡­ You should be able to recognise it¡­ unless you¡¯re using your mana to cast spells in a fundamentally different way.¡± Again Kai shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s all magic to me; I just do it somehow.¡± Thanric palmed his face. ¡°I think Syl¡¯s the same¡­¡± ¡®I¡¯m not¡­ well, not completely; I recognised the mana bold spell construct, but that could be because I¡¯ve seen it countless times before.¡¯ Syl said through their connection. ¡°I had planned to teach you some things, maybe even a few body-enhancing techniques to give you an edge as a magical brawler. But I think I¡¯m going to need to revise my planned lessons. Start with the basics and see how they conform to you. Maybe work on guiding you to use some of the more useful aspects¡­ Honestly, the only comparison I can think of is the way dragons use magic, but that¡¯s what makes them terrible teachers ¨C feel this and feel that, useless. Give me a spell diagram any day.¡± Thanric let his hands drop to reveal a fire in his eyes and an eager grin on his face. ¡°Kai, if it pleases you. Could you attend to me each day after training with the adventures? I will do my best to teach you what I can while you''re aboard.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan¡­ I mean, what else could I do with my time but practise my skills?¡± ¡°Sleep around¡­¡± Thanric said casually as he gave Kai a sidelong glance. That caught him off guard; he had hoped that had been dropped after the dinner discussion. Hearing Syl once again giggling in the back of his mind, he was reminded of something. ¡°Actually, there is one thing,¡± Kai said as he tried to squeeze his connection with Syl, hoping it would shut her out. ¡°I need some help coming up with a proposal.¡± ¡°Proposal¡­ Alicia? You¡¯re already well past that phase, I''m afraid.¡± ¡°No¡­ though, she might like a proposal of her own¡­ It¡¯s actually Syl; I have something to give her, something that¡¯s significant.¡± Kai fiddled with his soul ring as he began to explain the custom of putting a ring on it.