《Alexa Thyme (Formerly ALEXiThymiA)》 Chapter 1: The Principals Office (1) Chapter 1 The Principal''s Office The Thyme family had all been summoned to the principal¡¯s office. The reason they had been summoned; was the main reason they were always summoned to such a place. Once the two parents arrived, they found Luke in his basketball uniform waiting in the lobby. ¡°Is today a game day, or just a practice?¡± Judy Thyme asked her son. ¡°Practice. Coach is already in there with her.¡± Luke, the son responded. ¡°How is she?¡± The father Jim Thyme asked. He didn¡¯t have to specify, everyone knew who he was talking about, the problem child. Well problem child wasn¡¯t exactly the right word. Problem child would imply that the child went about and actively sought confrontation. This was not what their daughter, Luke¡¯s twin sister, would do. In fact, by all measures his twin Alexa was the picture of perfection. The student who always won class honors and was now a five sport phenom. No, the problem didn¡¯t come from Alexa, per se, but rather the way the world viewed her. She was intelligent, driven, and well she like many had her flaws. In Alexa¡¯s case, she only had one major flaw. The rest of her problems seemed to stem from that one problem, and the way she unapologetically accepted that flaw. She even seemed to flaunt that flaw. Again, this was not her problem, not something she tried for. It was just something that was the case. After a second of deliberation Luke responded. ¡°She is fine. However, Matthew Courtland, the star quarterback has a dislocated throwing arm, and three broken ribs.¡± ¡°What? I was told this was all because some boy tried to ask her out?¡± Judy asked, but she was soon cut off, as the principal noticed that both parents had arrived and they were beckoned in. Seeing the summons, the three got up in unison and walked in. They had performed this act so many times over the years, that the entry ritual was almost a routine by now. Dad jumped up, grabbed the door, and let first his wife through, then Luke. Only once they were both inside, did he too join the seemingly cramped Principal¡¯s office. In the office was the principal who was seated behind his mahogany desk that looked surprisingly clean of clutter. Only a few neat files sat on his desk, one was the rather large file that the parents knew to be the file related to their daughter. The second smaller packet likely belonged to the boy in the room. The boy who had their right arm in a sling, a black eye, and a man in a well-tailored business suit standing protectively over him. ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Thyme, I would like to introduce Mr. Courtland, his son Matthew Courtland, and Mr. Vickers the Football coach¡± the Principal began. With that, he pointed out the Football coach who sat in the back of the room, likely as a second set of eyes. Then he also had to point out the well-dressed man wearing a well-tailored three-piece suit. One look at the man in the suit, let you realize he was famous. His face was on half the billboards lining Main Street downtown. Of course, the football star just had to be the son of the top lawyer in town too. Courtland and Sutton were the premier lawyers listed for the tri-state area. If this had to go to court, the Thymes knew this would likely end poorly. Still despite this, their daughter sat rigid, and stone faced as ever. Of course, that was part of her curse, though in this instance it was also her blessing, as her face didn¡¯t reveal a single emotion. Not that she could have any to begin with, that was her problem after all: Alexithymia, a general term, but one that fit their daughter perfectly. Alexithymia was the main reason their daughter¡¯s packet was so large, and the very reason they were all called in here today. People didn¡¯t know how to take their daughter, and their daughter well, if asked would be described as a cacti-squish-mellow. From a distance she looks like someone who everyone would love to be with and cuddle, until the cacti needles pierced anyone who got too close. Of course, the fact that she had gotten smarter as a factor of her constant hard work and dedication to being the top of her class every year, only furthered the divide between her and others. She was smart, likely too smart to begin with, but then you add in the fact that she began reading and studying how to interact socially, it made her a nightmare to deal with. Especially given that she had taken the path of sarcasm, as her way to best interact with society. Her reasoning for this, was because her natural expression and lack of emotions made it simple to deliver deadpan comments with comedic elegance. ¡°So, what seems to be the problem?¡± Jim found himself asking. ¡°The problem is, is that your daughter is a monster who assaulted my son.¡± The Lawyer Mr. Courtland began. ¡°Your son assaulted me, after making numerous but failed sexual advances towards me. Despite my warning and constant refusals, he assaulted me. At which point I defended myself, as is my right.¡± Alexa cut in, her voice cold and unrelenting. Hearing her words, ice could be felt forming in the room. Suddenly the too-crowded room suddenly felt too cold. ¡°You are saying my son attempted to sexually assault you?¡± The lawyer demanded, fury in his voice. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°For someone paid to listen to details, you are surprisingly bad at doing so.¡± Alexa began, but then continued before anyone could cut in to stop her. ¡°While that is a valid conclusion, and likely one that a jury would come to. It did not escalate to that point. Also, I would like to point out that at no time did I ever imply or state that the attack was of a sexual nature. Just that it was made after he made numerous sexual advances towards me.¡± Silence. With that, Mr. Courtland was livid, but unable to think. Here she was, a sixteen-year-old prodigy, who had just schooled him, a lawyer. Not just any lawyer, but the top lawyer for the tri-state area. Then before anyone could say anything further. ¡°Well, I wanted to wait to play the video of what happened, until both sets of parents got here. Now that the Thymes are here, why don¡¯t we pull up the video. Fortunately, the altercation happened in the cafeteria,¡± Principal Summers began. ¡°The cafeteria? You think he would do something sexual in a cafeteria of all places?¡± Mr. Courtland quipped. ¡°If you check his live stream, that is exactly where he bedded many of the cheerleaders.¡± Alexa fired back. At this, the father turned to the son. His son, for his part could only look mildly embarrassed at the comment. ¡°No one was there, this was after class.¡± He answered the unspoken question. Cough. ¡°Right, if you look over here.¡± Mr. Vickers cut in for the first time, no doubt trying to keep his star athlete from divulging anything more that would ruin his reputation. That or he was trying to hide his own negligence in properly monitoring students during after school activities. With that the video feed began. The video showed Alexa sitting quietly by herself at the far end of the cafeteria. Then a second camera showed the movements of Matthew Courtland who by all accounts could be described as a social butterfly. He fluttered to and from different groups, giving greetings and fist bumps to different people as he made his way through the cafeteria. Then he stopped, and out of the corner of his eye he seemed to catch the fact that Alexa was sitting off by herself, alone. With that he put his tray down, then proceeded to sit down across from her at the bench row seating. There is clear dialog, as Matthew begins talking and gesturing wildly with his hands. Alexa for her part seems to be calm and cordial during the whole process. She is merely sitting there, while Matthew suddenly becomes animated jumping out of the seat and pointing a finger in an accusatory manner at Alexa. Alexa remains calm, not that she could do anything other. Her calm nature only seemed to enrage Matthew more. By now, the other people of the cafeteria were watching. A few were seen making gestures towards the table. Matthew was seemingly aware of the other reactions, as he first looked around. Then back to Alexa, where he once again pointed angrily at her. Finally, at this point, Alexa having finished her meal, wiped her napkin against her lips. Then proceeded to get up with her tray in hand. Everything was fine, as Alexa clearly was trying to de-escalate the situation. At least that is what one might interpret from everything they were seeing. Matthew said something, which Alexa still moving away and pointedly not looking at Matthew responded. At which point, Matthew became visibly enraged and lunged forward, going so far as to place a hand on Alexa¡¯s arm, in an apparent attempt to get her to turn around. This was where the video feed had to be slowed down, as what came next was far too quick to be caught in the regular speed of the school¡¯s cameras. What happened next was a frame by frame play through that looked almost like an old school flip cartoon, where Alexa first moved to grab the hand from her arm. Where upon, she wrenched it back with violent force, then began twisting Matthew¡¯s body around his shoulder. Then at the same time, with her right arm, the arm still holding the tray now free, she moved that arm as well. She threw the tray up into the air in a flipping motion. She then used both arms to grip and begin flipping the much larger Matthew forward, in an apparent martial art move. Seeing the move both Judy and Jim grimaced, as they had seen their daughter win many martial arts tournaments wielding the same exact techniques. There was likely a hip check in there, but the motion was too quick to be caught properly on camera. The film did manage to show a slight shifting of her weight towards Matthew, but not enough to denote the violent force that was applied to his arm. Matthew landed on the ground, at which point he was stepped on with a sharp kick to the ribs. This the coach posited was likely how the ribs were broken. Then to add insult to injury, a half second later the tray that Alexa had been carrying was plucked out of the air with a deft swipe of Alexa¡¯s hand. At which point she proceeded to let go of Matthew¡¯s outstretched arm and walk away as if nothing had ever happened. Everyone looked on in stunned silence for a moment, even the students who had all turned to witness the event were shocked. The only movement was Alexa who was turning in her tray. Then the still splayed-out Matthew, who was only now using his good left arm to clutch at his chest and his arm. With that the video ended and everyone was silent in the room for a moment. Then finally Mr. Courtland began to angrily declare. ¡°My son was attacked by an awakened in your school. Those movements, that is not something a non-awakened could handle.¡± He declared as he angrily pointed at the screen. Hearing this, the principal let out a sigh. Unfortunately, he was well used to this type of accusation, particularly when such venom was directed at Alexa. ¡°Mr. Courtland, Alexa Thyme is just now turning sixteen. She is a Sophomore; while your son is a Senior. This means that the rate of both personal and academic growth witnessed by Ms. Thyme is something your son should have been able to mimic. The fact that Ms. Thyme has managed to be part of every winning team sport, and academic conference we offer is a testament to her hard work and dedication.¡± The Principal began. ¡°What does winning sports teams and academic achievements have to do with this?¡± Mr. Courtland demanded, though it was clear from his expression that he likely could assume more than what was being said. ¡°I mean to say that the physical prowess you observed just now is nothing more than a student who has taken advantage of every sports opportunity we have provided here. She even boasts a few achievements that can only be gained through extracurricular programs, like Kendo, and Martial Arts classes. Things that all colleges and universities look for in a promising young student athlete. These extracurricular classes also come with the assumption that should a team or individual win they would gain either physical or mental enhancement crystals. After which point, given enough, anyone could achieve the near awakened prowess that was observed,¡± the principal reponded. He was of course talking about augmentation crystals. Crystals that were provided by the state to promising teams or individuals who pushed themselves further than any other students. This of course became a self-fulfilling prophecy, for the more one tended to win early on, the easier it was to continue winning later on. The gears began clicking faster and faster in Mr. Courtland¡¯s mind, until he finally turned to his son. ¡°This is that genius girl you spoke about? The one you went on the date with? The one you had to get an advance to take out?¡± He asked. With this question both Matthew and Luke grimaced, for vastly different reasons. Matthew grimaced as that was why he had confronted her in the first place. ¡°She gave me a terrible review. Said I was a 2.2 on a date. Everyone starts off at a 3. Do you know how damning that is for someone here? That review alone made me a laughingstock. I had to do something.¡± Matthew pleaded. Hearing this Mr. Courtland turned to look around the room. At which point he saw Luke; the twin brother was looking as guilty as a murder suspect in the correct lineup. For while Alexa might have a natural poker face, her twin brother¡¯s face spoke volumes without need of any words. ¡°You, what do you know of this?¡± Mr. Courtland demanded of Luke. Luke looked around, then with a sigh, he began to discuss what the business plan was. ¡°Look, it is a system for guys to go out on an officially sanctioned date with my¡­ with Alexa. This was a program she spearheaded, to keep lines of guys from constantly feeling the need to ask her out. With this, they purchase a date. At which time they are granted a two-hour window of my sis¡­ of Alexa¡¯s time. They are then graded on a multitude of social and environmental cues. Everything from topics, to locations, to activities are graded. She then rates everyone on a five-point scale with five being the best date one can give.¡± Luke said. After hearing this, Mr. Courtland stared at Luke, trying to see if he was lying. Then he turned to Alexa, then finally back to his son. At which point he asked the one question that was likely on everyone¡¯s mind. ¡°You paid her for a date, and then what? You failed?¡± Chapter 2 The Principal鈥檚 Office (2) Chapter 2 The Principal¡¯s Office (2) ¡°You paid her for a date, and then what? You failed?¡± Mr. Courtland asked, turning to his son Matthew Courtland. Before he could continue, he was cut off. ¡°He did not fail. Unless by fail, you mean a lack of ability to understand social etiquettes that I have come to understand them. He also came to the date, after clearly having been out sweating. He did not apply deodorant and did not even have the courtesy to brush his teeth before our meeting. He spoke of himself in third person five times, a sign of either a narcissist, or a serial killer. He spoke of how fortunate I was to be with him, sixteen times. He said that I made a great date, despite my lack of enthusiasm for what we were doing fourteen times. He made it a priority to first ask, then continually try to pressure me to going out on further dates with him. He even mentioned your name, as a big selling point to why a relationship with him would be beneficial to us both.¡± Alexa began, and locked gazes with Mr. Courtland. At the last part Alexa paused long enough for Mr. Courtland to look down at his son, who had the decency to at least look away. Alexa paused, letting societal norms dictate that Mr. Courtland¡¯s mental faculties were otherwise engaged. Then once he broke away his gaze from his son and turned to look back at Alexa, she continued. ¡°That does not¡­¡± ¡°One could almost say that his meeting with me today was premeditated. Given that he first came over to demand I date him. Then when I explained I would rather smell burning tires than be in his presence again, he demanded I change his rating. That he would show me a much better time if I gave him a second chance. I told him about our repeat offender club price. A price that triples the initial cost but promises not to carry any previous judgments over to this new grading. That is when he stood up and declared that this was extortion. I then explained that this was not a force or threat, but a service my brother and I offered. A service whose fee then increased due not to extortion, but to hassle. I then informed him that he did not have to take the service, that this was his right as a consumer. After this he became explicit with his sexual overtones. Going so far as to say, ¡®Fuck you bitch. You are dead. Do you know who my father is? We will fuck you so hard your ass bleeds.¡¯¡± At that she paused, letting the father once again stare at his son. This time rather than waiting for the father to turn back, she continued immediately. ¡°It was at this point that I said Necromancers are gross, and anyone wishing to be a necromancer for the sake of raping corpses is not someone I would ever consider for the repeat offender program. At that I told him to have a good day, and I got up to leave. It is at this point that he said, ¡®what do you think we are fucking done?¡¯ At which point, I responded. ¡®I know we are done.¡¯ That is when he reached out to grab me. At which point, fearing the advances of a depraved Necromancer, I defended myself. Once he was subdued, I gathered my things and left. I was willing to drop everything, until I was called here for this meeting. Now I am thinking of not only pressing sexual harassment charges, but also adding Mr. Courtland and his father to the Necromancer watch list.¡± Alexa said, her voice calm and cold as ice. Of course, this was to be expected, Alexa had developed a reputation as the Ice Queen. Though people raved about her dating reviews. Many of the girls in school took the reviews as gospel, which was why so many people were willing to pay the exorbitant fees to go on one. For Alexa and Luke, the venture made a great deal of business sense. Alexa used her money to pad her dungeon delving funds, to either buy passes, or to save up for specialized training that would likely help her unlock further tier classes. For her brother, Luke, he tended to use his own portion of the funds both for dungeon delving tickets, but also to take women out on dates. As the brother, and far more sociable of the two, he was allowed to get by without having gone on a date with his sister. There was a long silence in the cramped office, as two sets of parents stared off at each other. For Jim and Judy, they were well used to this type of behavior, and somewhat accepted it by now from their daughter. That was the reason they let her attend self-defense classes to begin with. The fact that she was one of the few females in the junior classes made it so she was more likely to earn a physical augmentation crystal from winning various tournaments. The part that Alexa didn''t tell her parents or anyone, was her relentless reason to succeed. She had no emotions, so the sheer joy of succeeding for her parents to be happy meant nothing to her. She could not mentally relate to that. But the time she received her first attribute increase for winning first place in a science fair, that was when, for the first time in her life, she felt something. For that brief moment, when she felt her mind and body absorbing the crystalline structure into her body. That was the day she became hooked on the feeling, her only true feeling. In a way, she had been blessed. She could not feel the pains of withdrawal, like so many others did. Instead, she achieved something that up until that point had only been meaningless words. From that point on, she dedicated herself to learning, to sports, and to state funded or personal contests, as long as they offered attribute crystals as a reward. For many, the reward of an attribute crystal was a double-edged sword, for many felt the pain to be too intense. The only reason why so many others went through with the process of absorbing the crystals was the end results were so beneficial. But for Alexa, they were her opiate of choice, the only substance that seemed to even be able to release any form of endorphin in her mind at all. That was why she worked and trained so diligently, entering every science fair that offered an attribute crystalline reward. Becoming class valedictorian, as every class gave a reward to the student who had the highest marks at the end of the year. This of course, only made her rise to power even that much easier. As each attribute point gained made it easier for her to focus her mind and her will towards earning the next crystal. She also learned that sports and other clubs offered physical crystals. At first, she began dominating all the female sports, until she was too strong and dominant to compete with other females. At which point, she moved over to the male dominated sports. This suited her just fine, as male sports often provided twice as many physical attribute crystals as their female contemporary sports did. This meant that her rise to power only increased, once she was forced to compete against males of her age group or older. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Many athletes and academic geniuses burned out; the pain of crystal absorption was just too much. The strain on one¡¯s body and mind increased exponentially with each crystal absorbed. This only fueled Alexa to try harder. This meant the more crystals she earned and absorbed, the longer her feelings would last. The longer she would get to feel normal, if only for those brief moments of clarity. Then just as quickly as they had come, those moments of clarity would go, and it would be like all the colors would fade and she would be left in a world of black and white again. She was fine with black and white, she knew that color was rare, for when she successfully earned a crystal. But she used that distinct lack of color to fuel her. She spent every hour either studying, practicing, or working out. She was doing so much training that her family started getting worried about her. At one point, her father even spoke about removing her from sports competitions all together. His rationale was lost on Alexa at the time, but her brother explained the situation. ¡°Dad is just concerned that you are spending so much time improving yourself, that when you are done you will be utterly unable to interact with modern society,¡± Luke had said. It was at this point that Alexa noted most people were dumb, and not worth interacting with. ¡°While that might be the case. Your callous attitude and indifference would likely push Father further down this path.¡± Luke countered. From there, the idea of Alexa¡¯s honest dating service was created. She allowed anyone, from the most awkward of introverts, to the most annoying of extroverts to partake in her services. During the date, the person got to choose the venue, what would be done, how dressed up the two would have to be for the date, and more importantly when their window of time would take place. There were three simple rules; no touching or PDA of any kind, no hand holding, and no attempting to drug her. From there, she would allow two close selfies to be taken. One from her phone, that she had purchased just for giving her honest dating reviews, and one from the phone of the person she was on a date with. There the two would be in close, and she would smile brightly. That was probably the most painful part of the whole process for Alexa, the smiling. She had learned long ago how to fake a smile, but she still found the whole gesture taxing. Too much lip curl and you look like a rabid dog about to strike. Too little and they think you are only pitying them. She would explain that she couldn¡¯t pity them if she tried but was quickly informed that such actions were not helpful. In the end, the service was as much a pick-me-up for the boys as well. As Alexa would give details on strengths and weaknesses of any dates. Well, any dates who wished to hear her honest feedback. This was how she got the three-point marker as being a baseline for most. Should anyone stay to listen to her comments, she would mark them as a good listener, which was a factor that not many seemed to pick up on. In fact, it was the fact that Matthew had been so caught up in his own brilliance, that he missed out on both getting a chance to hear the honest feedback, and the feedback itself. Thus his 2.2 rating, which would have been a very generous 3.2, had he decided to stick around for the feedback session. While a 3.2 was low, it was not the lowest of scores. No, currently Matthew Courtland¡¯s 2.2 was the worst score anyone had ever received from her Honest Reviews. What made matters worse, was the fact that Matthew Courtland was a very prominent person in the school. He even bragged about going out with Alexa, until he got the review results. Then all mention of the outing had been deleted from his personal timeline. This of course was where her selfie came into place, as it gave her review credibility. Of course, her review was copied and shared by multiple women, all of whom had issues with Matthew. They used the low rating as a justification for their apparent animosity towards Matthew, and vindication about the way they had been personally blacklisted by the sports athlete. ¡°So, what is the criteria for putting someone on a Necromancer watchlist?¡± Jim asked. ¡°Now, that is a slanderous accusation!¡± Mr. Courtland began. Jim, having gone through this multiple times before just turned to his son. ¡°Luke, how many people do you think will confirm the claims of hearing Matthew Courtland speak first of killing Alexa, then of threatening to rape her corpse, with his father¡¯s help?¡± Luke for his part looked at the empty screen and spoke. ¡°I counted at least twenty people that were not only observing the event, but live streaming it as well. I think there is definitely a case to be made¡­¡± ¡°Enough of this. I want¡­¡± Mr. Courtland began but was instantly cut off. ¡°I agree. We have all seen Mr. Courtland¡¯s actions and his harassment of a female student on our campus is unwanted. Given the direct evidence and the lack of denial from Mr. Courtland himself, I have no choice but to take the words of the victim and the thirty-seven eye-witness accounts we recorded, along with our own video evidence that shows blatant hostile actions taken by your son. With everything, we are left with no choice, but to suspend you indefinitely from school grounds. While a criminal case is investigated by the police,¡± Principal Summers said. With that, Matthew Courtland, who had up until moments ago looked smug and confident suddenly deflated. Then with a look of desperation, he turned to his coach and mentor. ¡°Coach, you have to believe me.¡± The Coach, Mr. Vickers just shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t call me coach anymore. That is only for people who deserve the right. To you from here on out, I am just Mr. Vickers, school employee. No more, no less.¡± *** There were a few awkward moments, and threats of litigation made on behalf of Mr. Courtland. The majority of the threats were insubstantial, but still caused a spark to be lit under everyone, well everyone, but Alexa. Even her brother looked animated at one point. As the one with strong emotional intelligence, he often took it as his role to stick up for his sister. Fortunately, this was not one of those times. Every time threats of litigation were brought up, Alexa calmly and coolly corrected each incorrect statement. Finally, after a few minutes of such interactions, Mr. Courtland asked. ¡°What exactly is your Intelligence score?¡± To which Alexa responded, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you are entitled to such information from a minor. But if you are inquiring as to whether I have met the twenty-point threshold to unlock Eidetic Memory, then the answer is yes.¡± After that, the lawyer looked defeated, and ultimately decided to leave before his own son could say or do anything else that would get them in more trouble. Particularly with the fact that people with Eidetic Memory unlocked and verified by the system, were allowed to testify on the stand as if they were human lie detectors. There were of course humans who had the ability to detect lies, many of which were those with high Perception attributes, and every courtroom had at least one on the stand. That was also part of why Mr. Courtland had been so successful as a trial lawyer, he could hear the lies others spoke. While he hadn¡¯t unlocked the true Lie Detector ability, his Perception was not high enough for that, he had gotten close. That along with a few perks made it so he was as close to being a human lie detector as possible without the system unlock. This was why he had taken everything Alexa said and did to heart. She was not lying, at least all his instincts swore that she was not lying. Not about the events nor her interpretation of events. And if rumors were to be believed, her academic record spoke to her easily having achieved more than enough attribute crystals to increase her Intelligence well past the twenty-point threshold needed for Eidetic Memory. This was why Mr. Courtland left in such a hurry. There was nothing he could do to save this event that quickly spiraled out of his control. What looked to at first be an assault charge and a lawsuit against the school, quickly escalated to a point beyond his control Only once the two Courtlands left, did a strange hush cover the room. Finally, after a moment of silence, Luke broke the silence. ¡°Mr. Vickers, why exactly are you here?¡± At that, Mr. Vickers smiled. ¡°Well, I am now down one quarterback. I came here to see if I could fix that problem.¡± At that Luke, raised his hands. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t. I already told you; I have commitments.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Your dating life, blah, blah, blah. Besides. Not everything is about you, kid.¡± Mr. Vickers began, as he turned his attention from Luke to his twin. ¡°I came to offer that starting position to you.¡± Prologue II Prologue II Thirty-five miles, or twenty-seven as the crow flies, that was the distance from Bottomless Gorge to the campus proper of Dawning Light. A lot of that was the fact that a few roads couldn¡¯t be built on certain properties until much later. Others had drainage pathways that were hard to replicate, until much later. What that all meant was Alexa got home late. Well, Alexa was not as late as she had originally intended. Originally, she had intended to be with Gina and Julie in the dungeon until far later in the afternoon. As it was, she was technically a half day ahead of schedule. While from a dungeon pass economy of use perspective, she wished she had gotten more out of the stay. She could not be sad with her actual results in the dungeon. Of course, what those gains cost her in terms of her friends and social life, well that was an entirely different matter. Alexa knew that her emotional side would likely have trouble dealing with the loss. But from a coldly pragmatic perspective, this was for the best. People always let you down and require more energy than anyone should realistically spend. This was Alexa¡¯s mantra growing up as a child, and one she found herself falling back on here. Whoom. The second Alexa set foot on the actual campus proper an alerting rune was triggered. Before Alexa would have just been aware that some form of magic was being used. Now however, she could see the intricate rune for what it was.
Student coming in from back entrance: 015384.
That student identification number at the end was likely a direct marker of who she was to this system of intricate runes. Looking down, she saw the faint residual glow of the corresponding rune going off from her clothes. A quick pat showed that the corresponding rune came from her own dorm key. With that, Alexa nodded in understanding. It was a complex system, one that seemed to have taken a lot of thought and knowledge to put together. Honestly, Alexa found herself getting more and more impressed with the operation each time she found herself interacting with the runes. Alexa for her part continued her trek forward to her dorm, but at a much more subdued pace. This was not the extreme pace she had when she ran the marathon plus to get here. Instead, this was a more measured pace to not raise suspicions on campus. Whoosh. Of course, even her pace was still hard to catch up to, at least for someone who had to start from the center of campus, then try to find where she had gone. But Mr. Mackie still managed to find her after Alexa had gone just under a mile from where she made her exit in the woods. He appeared instantly, like some cartoon villain. A thin cartoon villain who despite having run for over a mile at intense speeds, still managed to have their hair and uniform look nearly perfect as they came to a stop. Seeing the man, Alexa stopped. She had been expecting something like this. Honestly Alexa was not certain she would be able to take Mr. Mackie in a straight fight. Especially not when he was seemingly ready for her, which he was now. Why was he ready for a fight? Well Alexa didn¡¯t know exactly why, though she felt Gina and Julie might have turned the waters against her. At least turning the waters was the expression her father had used to describe similar situations when she was younger. Situations where she invariably had a falling out with different females that she had gotten close to. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Ms. Thyme. I was instructed to ensure your safety when you arrived.¡± Mr. Mackie said, then his left eye glowed. Instantly Alexa knew this was how he scanned Alexa to see her personal status. There were of course rumors of people with powers like this, fabled inspectors who could determine everything someone was. These people had the ability to see a person¡¯s entire status and determine if they were to be friend of foe. Mr. Mackie made his scan, but then visibly gulped in surprise. ¡°Ms. Thyme, I must ask. Have you by any chance changed your slotted class?¡± Alexa just shook her head. ¡°Has it gone through any changes recently?¡± Alexa nodded. ¡°Yes, it is now an Apex level class.¡± Mr. Mackie¡¯s eyes bulged at the claim for only a second, before he gained perfect control over his facial features. ¡°But the class is still the same?¡± Alexa nodded, ¡°Absorber (Apex).¡± With this Mr. Mackie¡¯s right eye flashed for a moment. He had used a truth telling perk, or maybe a minor power given how intensely his right eye flashed. ¡°Very good. I assume this is related to your recent titles?¡± Alexa nodded. ¡°I will only ask this once, here and now. Have you either knowingly or unknowingly colluded with, received powers from, or used powers directly related to Necromancy?¡± Mr. Mackie asked. Alexa raised her eyebrow at the odd question. But she knew to answer such a loaded question verbally, so the requisite skills and perks would be able to detect the truth in her statement. ¡°No.¡± With that, Mr. Mackie let out a visible sigh of relief, as he seemed to somehow grow just a little bit skinnier, if such a thing was possible. ¡°Very good. Well then welcome back. I was told to inform you, that both Gina and Julie are looking for you. Along with the rest of your former pack.¡± Alexa nodded. ¡°Very well, with that, I will be off.¡± Mr. Mackie said, as he disappeared in a blur of runic lights and magic energy. Alexa stared off into space, for a moment, before she finally understood the runes that had been used. The whole thing had been so quick that she missed most of what happened, but she did see the runic word for Transfer. Floating in the air for a brief second. Alexa made a note to ask Mr. Mackie about runes, as they seemed to be a very interesting avenue to go down. Going to her room, she found that her roommate Sabrina Macon was still fast asleep. Given the late, well now early hour, Alexa couldn¡¯t blame her. Still Alexa needed to take care of herself. She used the time to shower, change. Then she texted two words to her brother. A: Princess Bride. That was it, then like that Alexa waited. First was the sign that the message was delivered. Then the sign that it was read. The few bubbles showing he was typing back. Then finally a response. L: Sure. Here? A: On my way. With that, the sacred bond of twins was both activated and fulfilled. Luke for his part, was busy. First, he had to send a flurry of texts to both his parents, then to Captain Johnston. Man, he really needed to find a new job. Then he paused, as he thought about sending messages to Gina and Julie, two girls that Luke was friendly with. But decided not to send any notice to them. This was Alexa¡¯s deal with them, not his. Also, she had pulled out the distress beacon. She only pulled out the need to watch Princess Bride with him when things were really bad. He remembered the day watching Princess Bride became a thing, their thing. They were both five, and it was just after the accident at their parents¡¯ work. Both kids were home from school. Alexa was just lost, she had checked out, and even a five-year-old Luke knew something was wrong. He spent every day with her, then one day by chance the Princess Bride was playing. Alexa watched it, like everything else. But as she watched it something began to change within her. Then after it was over, she pointed to the TV, then said her first word. ¡°Again.¡± That was it, their parents were so happy that Alexa spoke. It took a few minutes, but fortunately dad was there to rewind what had been playing. Then managed to record the airing. That day there was a marathon binge watch of the Princess Bride. From that day on, all Alexa needed to do was say those two words, and everyone would drop everything to be with her and watch the movie. ¡°Hey Frank, wake up.¡± Luke said, as he gently shook his roommate Frank Morris. ¡°Wha, huh?¡± Frank asked, as it was only now nearing five AM on a Sunday. ¡°Hey, is it cool if my sister comes to watch a movie?¡± ¡°Wha? Yeah, sure, just keep it down.¡± Frank said. ¡°Thanks man.¡± Then just like that, Luke pulled out his emergency copy of the movie, and began setting up his laptop computer to show the video. Knock, knock. With that Luke opened the door, silently let his sister in, then began playing the video. Within five minutes, Alexa was resting her head against Luke. Then by the time ¡®this is inconceivable¡¯ was said, she was already fast asleep. Smiling to himself, Luke stopped the player, then grabbed a few pillows to prop up his side. He relaxed, trying to find a good spot. With that Luke took a quick picture for his parents, one of her sleeping soundly on his shoulder. Then he hit send and tried to find his own way to find a few more minutes of sleep before the early morning sun would come in and keep them awake for good. Chapter 42 Sunday into Monday Reunion Chapter 42 Sunday into Monday Reunion Sunday was spent relatively quietly. At least quiet per Alexa¡¯s standards. She and Luke spent all day together. Surprisingly, she even got him to go to the gym with her. Though, as usual she was well out of his league in terms of strength and conditioning. But she did make for the best spotter. Luke was aware from his parents that something had happened. Something major between the girls. Something so big that Alexa dropped the pack. At first Luke was confused by that statement, as he had no clue what dropping the pack meant. Then he saw the sad way former pack members would congregate to where they were. The moment they did, Alexa would see them and beckon them over. No words, as Alexa was clearly in the state where she didn¡¯t trust herself to speak. The girls, or rather former members of her pack seemed to understand this, as they too were quiet. Still they would come over to her, and she would place her hand on their foreheads. Then a faint glow of energy would be seen, and the entire posture of the former pack member would brighten entirely. This was new, as Luke didn¡¯t remember being able to see Alexa¡¯s power on display like that before. He wanted to question her about it, but realized she was on mental fumes. Once or twice he even thought about stepping in, to stop her. As she was that close to checking out. The sight of how listless and dull her eyes were getting caused a level of panic to form in him. A level of panic he hadn¡¯t experienced in quite some time. Every time in the past when she got this way, it always reminded him of the time she almost checked out completely. It was good that she saw the triggers, that she was the one to initiate her own recovery session. That was good, as it showed growth. That was something they worked hard as a family to achieve. That was also why those two words were all she needed to say, write, or express for her brother to drop everything and be there for her. Still, it was clear that even this trip to the gym was beginning to be more emotionally draining, than beneficial for her. That was why after the fifth such interruption, he mouthed the two-word escape code to her. Princess Bride? Alexa who had mostly been going through the motions to that point, had her face light up if only slightly. Then she nodded. That was it, the two wiped down the equipment they just used. Then made their way back to Luke¡¯s room. This time Frank was up, and already at his desk. ¡°Hey Frank. This is my sister again. You still don¡¯t mind if we watch the Princess Bride again, do you?¡± Luke asked, mainly out of social etiquette than anything. Frank hearing this asked the only question he could. ¡°Again?¡± Luke just smiled slightly at that. ¡°Yes and thank you.¡± Alexa said. Her words were so cold that they sent a shiver down Luke¡¯s spine. But this was good, these were the first words she spoke all day. Up until this point he had been the one making suggestions, ¡°maybe we should eat.¡± Or ¡°you know we should work out.¡± All things that she needed to do. Now they were back to square one. Then Luke¡¯s roommate Frank gave him a lifeline. ¡°Why are you watching that old movie?¡± Alexa for her part, filled in a role that she had done thousands of times before, when hearing the same question. With a perfect level of faux shock and outrage, she replied. ¡°This is inconceivable.¡± Luke seeing the spark of life return to Alexa¡¯s eyes, found himself smiling as he returned his own line. ¡°My dear sister, you keep saying this word, but I don¡¯t think you know what it means.¡± Huff. Then like that, Alexa huffed off into the room to sit down on Luke¡¯s bed again. This time he had the wherewithal to make it. Or at least, Alexa had the wherewithal to make Luke¡¯s bed, almost as if she anticipated coming back. Frank for his part looked confused. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Princess Bride man. Haven¡¯t you seen it?¡± Luke offered. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You can join us.¡± Alexa said, patting the part of Luke¡¯s bed that was to her right. Frank just looked confused for a second. Then back to Luke. ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯ll pass for now.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Luke said, as he went over and fulfilled his duties of turning on the movie and being there for his little sister. Luke would like to point out that Frank eventually did join the watching of the movie. ¡°Hey that¡¯s pretty cool.¡± Frank said, as he slowly began first making his way over to Luke¡¯s side of the room. Then watching the movie from a standing position. ¡°Shh.¡± Alexa said, as she was in full immersion mode. Finally, Frank opted to use Luke¡¯s desk chair as a place to sit. Alexa for her own part was able to sit up straight the entire time. This was good, as it showed she was no longer in her near catatonic state. Also, Luke did send a few texts throughout the day to both his parents and to Captain Johnston. Both of whom had different follow-on questions, ones that Luke swore he would get to, once his sister was back in her room. ¡°Can we start over?¡± Frank asked. ¡°Yes, but only once this is over.¡± Alexa said. ¡°What?¡± Frank asked. But Luke just shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a thing. You can¡¯t stop watching. Just restart and watch until completion.¡± Frank just looked at the two of them like they were crazy, but sat through both play throughs. He sat through the ending of the first airing. Then everyone went for a brief bathroom break, before coming back and watching the second showing. ¡°Okay, that was pretty cool.¡± Frank said. Alexa nodded, then stood to get up. ¡°You heading back?¡± Luke asked. Alexa nodded. Then she said the two words that made this whole wasted Sunday worth it, ¡°thank you.¡± Frank for his part, seemed impressed with the classic. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t think it would be that good.¡± ¡°Not many people do.¡± Luke replied. With that the two went back to their evenings. Luke had to answer numerous questions, while Frank had to study for a test. The night passed in a whirlwind of activity. Then the next day Luke arrived early to class. Well early for him, he was fifteen minutes early, which meant he saw the tail end of a procession of pack members meeting with Alexa. The pack members would walk up to Alexa, who would then place her palm on their foreheads. Then she would then send a green streak of energy into the pack members, well former pack members. It was clear that the former pack members were a little agitated at first, but then seemed to calm down immensely. Luke watched as Alexa did this for each former member of her pack. Again, he still had no clue what happened. All he knew was that he should not ask, that Alexa would tell him if she needed to. Other than that, this was her thing. Luke watched as Alexa treated each member of the pack. Then the last person to be seen was Julie. As she approached, Alexa raised a slightly trembling hand. It was brief, the tremble lasted only a second, as if she was warring with a part of her mind. But she did so anyways. Then as she did with all the others, Alexa cast her green light of energy. As soon as the energy entered Julie, she visibly relaxed. Of course, Luke noticed the glare the other girls all gave Julie. Again, Luke was mildly aware that Alexa had gone on a weekend trip with Julie. It was also clear that whatever happened with the pack dissolving revolved around Julie somehow. But Luke knew not to ask. In fact, if Luke had his way, he would have avoided the entire situation, if at all possible. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t avoidable as Luke was now going to be the one male in a room full of former werewolves. With his only protection being that his sister was still looked on favorably by the rest of the pack, despite having broken up said pack. Why did he want to be here? Oh, right. He wanted to be fully awoken so he could fulfill his ultimate dream. With the healing procession done, Alexa entered the room. Julie made her way to the door but was stopped by a wall of angry glares. Luke knew women were evil, that their glares were painful when applied correctly. But he had never seen a time when they literally had a wall form, barring someone passage by just glaring. But that is what happened. All the girls glared at Julie until she seemed to shrink in on herself. Then once she was visibly cowed, the other girls made sure to enter the classroom first. Purposefully cutting her off. Again, it was some weird power play, one that Luke was so glad he didn¡¯t have the necessary components to understand. Maybe it is that women¡¯s intuition thing? Luke had no clue, but he could only look on, as the girls all went in before Julie. Then it was just the two of them. Luke gestured for Julie to enter, but Julie just shook her head, as tears began to form. Seeing that she was about to cry, Luke did what anyone in his shoes would do. He moved on and pretended like he didn¡¯t see anything. A second later, Julie entered behind him, only to see what Luke saw. That Julie¡¯s seat at Alexa¡¯s left was taken. In fact, all the seats were taken. Well all seats, but Luke¡¯s seat to Alexa¡¯s right. Luke paused taking in everything, but then noticed how Julie sat herself in the far corner of the room, at least one empty seat separating her from the rest of the classroom. Seeing that, Luke looked to his sister, then to Julie. With a gesture towards Julie, Alexa nodded her consent. That was how Luke found himself sitting next to his ex-girlfriend. ¡°You don¡¯t need to sit here.¡± Julie said, a slightly defensive tone to her voice. Luke wanted to answer that with an ¡°oh, but I do.¡± But decided against such a remark. Instead, Luke just sat down and prepared to take notes. Ms. Tutlidge was in rare form today, as she was five minutes late to class. ¡°Sorry class. There was a slight change of plans. Today we will have a special guest speaker. From the Tri-State Inspection Squad. I would like to introduce Progenitor Bullford. He has come here today to discuss a few things about werewolf society.¡± Ms. Tutlidge said, gesturing to the large muscular man who had to duck to enter the classroom door. ¡°Thank you, Ms. Tutlidge. Today, I have been asked to come here and talk about what it means to be a Progenitor. There are many steps needed to become a Progenitor. Looking around I can see that you all are well on your way to being Progenitors yourselves. The first component that you all likely know is that you need to eradicate the wolf. Which a quick glance shows that this is the case for all of you. Well, most of you.¡± Bullford said the last part locking gazes with Luke. Luke for his part just grimaced at the sudden attention and stare from the powerful individual. An individual who could, if he wanted, tear him in half if he were so inclined. Fortunately for Luke, Mr. Bullford continued his explanation of the requirements for being a Progenitor. ¡°The next major step is to break free of your bonds of a pack. Know that this isn¡¯t as easy as you might think. Humans are pack creatures, and werewolves are doubly so. But this is the second major hurdle to becoming a Progenitor. If you can be either the lone wolf, or propel yourself to be the leader of others, you will make it, so you are well on your way to being a Progenitor.¡± A slight pause. ¡°That said, I am aware of some of the events that transpired over the weekend. I wanted you to know I am going to make my services available for you all. You can use me as a reference to either help you achieve your independence. Or if you wish, I can walk you through the process of creating your own bonds. Or I can even allow you to join my own pack. I am currently a lone alpha, but this is a service I, along with the TSI team are willing to offer you, during this period of transition.¡± That was it, there was a question-and-answer session. Luke paid attention, but most of what was said was well over his own head. In the end, Bullford gave out cards to everyone, even Luke. Then he said what empty classroom he would be in, then left. ¡°Right. Well, now that we have that taken care of. Can anyone tell me what your homework was?¡± Ms. Tutlidge asked. Alexa of course raised her hand. Seeing that, Luke was both happy and annoyed by the gesture. He was happy that his sister was back to being her old self. Or at least back to being the smart know it all, but annoyed that she had to do it in the class they shared. Still, this was a good thing. At least that was what Luke told himself. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow, we will have two special guests on campus¡­¡± Ms. Tutlidge said, almost as an afterthought. ¡°Tomorrow, we will be graced by not one, but two Supers. Judge and Warder.¡± Gasps. With that, Luke heard the best news he had heard in all his life. For the first time ever, he would have the chance to meet his idols in person. This was going to be epic. He could finally confess his love for Judge before everyone. With so many witnesses Warder, retired though he might be, would never be able to do anything to him. At least not at first. The more Luke thought about that, the more he decided he needed to come up with a more subtle plan, maybe a letter. An epic love letter showing Judge why he would be perfect for her. ¡°What are you grinning about?¡± Julie asked. ¡°I get to meet Judge. I am going to tell her how amazing she is, and how I have always felt about her.¡± With that, Julie just stared at Luke like he was crazy. This was the same look Alexa gave him when he told her his true feelings. This must be the creepy factor that so many women talk about, Luke thought to himself. With that realization, Luke made a note to try to tone it down slightly, in his letter. He knew he had to do this right, and he would likely only get one chance to do this correctly. With all night to prepare, Luke made a plan. Prologue III Prologue III Monday Morning Time Until Integration: 1 Month 26 Days, 18 Hours¡­ It had come, it had come and gone so quickly that Gina didn¡¯t even realize it was a good thing until now. She had been alone, granted autonomy, been allowed to die in peace and then that all changed. She had not only fully recovered but so remarkably that both of her parents, Victor and Camila Rojas both, decided to uproot themselves from whatever crime they were currently in and come to see her. This was terrible, no one deserved their undivided attention. They were terrible people, truly terrible people and what was worse, Gina knew it. She knew they were terrible, and she never did anything about it. In past she had heard that her condition was a direct result of their actions, and while she didn¡¯t know for certain, that she had always held a smidgeon of hope that she had been wrong, when she spoke to Sarah Stevens, the U.K. Prime Minister¡¯s daughter, she let it slip that their names and identities were well known. Gina didn¡¯t know who the bodyguard was, but he seemed rather confident when just having to deal with her father, the Red Demonio. Just hearing his name sent chills down her spine, as she knew what the man had been credited with doing in her home country of Columbia. Then when the mention of her mother came to light as well, that was when both Sarah and the Bodyguard both became nervous. Gina of course had heard her called the Red Countess before, but never by someone outside the country. The name should be completely hush hush, as she never let anyone live who heard the name. But now that had all changed, everything had changed as she saw them both get driven in a large limousine onto campus. As she got here, Ms. Peacock and Mr. Mackie both were here, along with a few extra security personnel who Gina had never seen before. At first Gina thought they were friends of Mackie that he had called in, but as it turns out only half were known to him. The other half tended to keep to themselves and had a very polished look to them. Instantly, Gina knew that group to be the British secret forces that were sent in to assist with today. Her father, Victor Rojas, was the first to get out. He was a tall dark muscular man who all but radiated power in a way that most civilians, or those who hadn¡¯t been awakened, could easily detect. Victor made his way around the limousine and personally opened the door for his wife, Gina¡¯s mother to be seen. Seeing her, Gina could all but hear the gasps from all the men who were watching the little display of power and opulence. Gina of course knew what she would see, a long dark-haired beauty who could rival even Alexa¡¯s fair looks. She was regal in a way that all but captivated men¡¯s hearts. She swayed her hips in a rhythmic motion meant to seduce anyone who gazed upon her for too long. The movement reminded Gina of the way a viper would slowly slither its way forward, before striking at its prey. The two walked hand in hand until they were a mere foot away. The entire time they walked, Gina could feel waves of power radiating off of them. ¡°Hello Mother, Father.¡± Gina managed before bowing slightly. ¡°Why look at you. I read the reports, but they don¡¯t speak nearly well. This is clearly a full recovery.¡± Camila said, as she held out one elegantly gloved hand and turned Gina¡¯s head this way and that. ¡°This is all the work of that Aru¡¯ka healer I have been hearing so much about?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°My friend healed me. I cannot comment on any Supers, training or otherwise.¡± I say, with a nervous gesture and slight head tilt towards Mr. Mackie. Of course, Mr. Mackie made sure I stick to the script on this. ¡°Oh right, right. Well, I always knew you had a good eye for talent. I also saw in your expense reports that you originally went on a date with one Alexa Thyme?¡± Gulp. ¡°Yes, those expenses were justified.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say so, if they got you to be friends with your healer friend.¡± Camila said, as she draped one arm around Gina and gently spun her about. ¡°Come now, you simply must show me to this, friend.¡± Badum, badum. At that Gina¡¯s heart went racing at the thought. At first, she wanted to protect Alexa from meeting her parents, secondly, she didn¡¯t know how her mother would react to her not being here. ¡°I must tell you that she isn¡¯t here right now.¡± Gina asked. ¡°Ah yes, dungeon delving?¡± Gina nodded, wondering how she knew. Then again, knowing her Gina figured she likely had informants either on campus or scanning the social media sites of every student here trying to get information on her and Alexa. ¡°Not to worry, you are so tense. Look at you. Having a friend who is so accomplished, this only looks well on you. And for what its worth, I approve.¡± ¡°You approve?¡± ¡°Of your relationship. I approve of any and all expenses meant to woo her heart.¡± Camila said, squeezing Gina tightly into her over endowed bosom. At first Gina felt a surge of anger swelling up inside of her, she didn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s permission to do anything, especially not when it came to love. But then she calmed herself, she needed to be rational about this. The less of a stink she made, the better for everyone. ¡°Oh, look at you, so confident now. I can all but taste it off of you.¡± Camila said, purring into Gina¡¯s ear. At that, Gina felt a shiver of cold run down her, as she knew that voice. That was the voice of her nightmares. One time she had seen her mother in her true form, the sick monster that she truly was. She saw her rip into Benitini, one of the rival Supers in our turf. Well in the turf that her parents claimed. Everyone thought that father was the true monster, even going so far as to call him the Red Demon, but her mother was the true monster. Worse, she was the monster who hid behind her charm and good looks to get what she wanted. ¡°Hahah.¡± Gina forced out a nervous laugh, but then decided to break away as she didn¡¯t want that voice to be anywhere near her neck. ¡°Come on let¡¯s go see the campus.¡± The three of them began moving and Gina could see a few of the security guards and staff following their little entourage discretely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry dear, staff like that are nothing compared to true strength.¡± Camila said, lovingly as she patted Gina on the shoulder. ¡°AHHP!¡± A sharp high-pitched yelp was heard coming from their right. Everyone turned to see a tall figure running away from them. A male that looked remarkably like Luke Thyme, Alexa¡¯s paternal twin brother. ¡°Who was that?¡± Victor asked from behind, as he made his way to walk by Gina¡¯s other side. Making it so that she was now flanked by both of her parents. ¡°That, well that was Luke Thyme, my dear, you never told me our healer had a twin brother?¡± Camila said, as she licked her lips in some type of sick pattern. The movement reminded Gina of a hungry snake who had found a meal. ¡°Why not go after the brother?¡± Victor asked, in his typical way that spoke of not quite understanding her life, nor her choices. ¡°Dear, we have already said this, that is not who our little Gina is. Besides, while he might be something, I doubt he is anything in the brilliance of his sister.¡± ¡°Oh, come on. The boy was tall, muscular, and had a slotted class.¡± ¡°Yes, but did you see his powers?¡± ¡°No, you know I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Well I can, and he only had one. If what I have read about the girl our Gina is after is anywhere close to truthful, then she has five Magic schools opened.¡± ¡°You mean a school to Tier five, that is nothing.¡± ¡°No, I mean five schools of magic, period.¡± Camila said. ¡°Just who is your source?¡± Victor asked. At that Camila just gave a who do you think glance back. ¡°You asked him?¡± ¡°No, he provided the information freely. He has been pushing for this meeting for quite some time.¡± At that, Gina¡¯s heart began to beat. There was only one person that both her parents would speak of like that. One person who her mother would bow and scrape to. ¡°Should we go after him?¡± Victor asked. ¡°No, need. I have placed a tracking spell on him. He will not be able to hide from me if he ran into a dungeon.¡± Gulp. At that Gina felt something get caught in her throat as she worried about how her sleepy little life would soon change. ¡°Come dear. Let me see this Julie person you spoke so highly about, as well.¡± Camila said. At that, Gina wondered why she fought so desperately for her mother¡¯s attention, for anyone¡¯s attention back home. She had been so close to her own freedom that she didn¡¯t realize how good she had things until they were gone. ¡°Sure.¡± Gina said, trying to fake enthusiasm, but failing miserably in the process. Prelude IV Prelude IV The beast had moved, scattering to the wind, trying desperately to salvage the plan, its purpose for being here. Lashintax tried desperately to clean up the mess that she had now been set to deal with. With only one, her goal of providing a stationary point of power in a open portal were severely compromised. Now she had to sacrifice more of herself. Her body now needed to become the gateway that she was to create. Focusing on the goal, she began sacrificing her blood on different parts of the node. This wouldn¡¯t be much, just enough to create a Tier I rift, a Tier II rift at most, if she managed to sacrifice herself entirely for the cause, but she knew her black little heart was too weak for such a commitment. As it stood, her blood should prove to be enough. With the corruption of this one node she would be able to summon forth help. The help of her masters, help that would help her go on to take control of the node her sister died while trying to convert. The entire time Lashintax moved, she did so pretending to be calm and in control, yet she could not shake that feeling, there was a monster coming, that much she was certain of. A monster that she would need help with preventing at all costs. Desperate times required desperate actions, somehow the elves had done it, there was no one else, no further threat that could have mounted such an attack that would have killed her sister so quickly. Even the masters were confused by the abrupt way that her brood sister had perished. That was why she had been given the order to proceed now with the nexus conversion. A horde of monsters were on standby ready and waiting for the portal to be activated. Once the portal was completed, an army would come forth, offering her aid in an attempt to help conquer yet another planet for the masters. There was of course one weak spot to her proving to be the catalyst in this conversion process. That weakness meant that if she died, then the connection to the realm of the masters would be severed. To this end Lashintax was excited, nothing said job security like being the only reason work can get done. With her being the soul source of completion, her masters had been quite generous with their rewards, providing her with supporters and followers of the world. All sleeper agents had been awakened and given one command, ¡°help Lashintax,¡± and that is what they were all doing. Even if they were nowhere near her current ring of power, this site was the most powerful site that was supposed to be given to their leaders, once they managed to arrive, but due to the situation Lashintax had been promoted and given permission to take control of the site of power in a land the dragon knew tangentially as Wiltshire, England. Here large stone tablets that were perfect places to offer blood sacrifices were laid out everywhere, allowing her to form the bond of connection to the nexus easily and convert the massive spiritual power of the world. Then once the connection to the nexus was complete, Lashintax began reciting the ancient words of power. Words that were provided by the masters, words that filled Lashintax with a feeling of awe and power. Zzipp. Lightning arced through the air, striking the land, right where the arcane runes of binding bound this land to the realm of the masters. It was almost as if the planet itself was semi-aware, and lashing out, trying to resist the forced servitude that awaited it. Yet, such minor attacks would be meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Even though the elves might have been lucky with their catching her sister Mashintax unaware, Lashintax knew nothing could stop her now. Rriippp. Whoosh! Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. A tear in the ground formed, splitting the land apart. Soon a giant minotaur hand appeared, reaching up as it tried to tear its way through. Seeing the rift, Lashintax let out a sigh of relief, as she slowly lowered her tired body to the ground. Soon, the armies of the master would come fort, since they came from her portal, they would all be under her command, forced to follow her rules, to protect her. Soon, she would be the supreme ruler of this minor world, while Lashintax¡¯s future goals were much loftier than ruling such a minor planet, she still felt content. With this planet as her own, she could soon have more under her command. This would be just the first stepping stone, on her way to having control of an entire sector. All because she and her sister pounced on a chance to advance, all because she had survived while her foolish sister succumbed to her own arrogance. ¡°GRUHH!¡± The giant minotaur bellowed out a massive roar, as its head now filled the hole. Soon it would only be a matter of time before the first of her generals were free to protect her. Still it had been a lot, almost too much for her small body, had it not been for the borrowed power of the masters, her frail body would have died off long ago. As it was, she was still barely able to keep the blood flow active to keep the portal active. Still that didn¡¯t matter, the only thing that mattered was that she keep this going, that she kept channeling her life force into this portal. Nothing could stop her. ¡°Finally, you stopped moving. I thought I scared you off.¡± A cold voice said, one that had awoken her from her slumber. The same voice she heard call out to her, on the night that her sister had died. The same voice that she heard calling out to her every time she tried to close her eyes. Turning her massive neck Lashintax turned to look at the creature that spoke her draconic tongue so fluently and was surprised to see it was a human. A tall human that had a massive glowing sword stuck to her back. Seeing her, Lashintax felt a surge of instant recognition fill her, as this was the same image that haunted her dreams. It was the image of her sister¡¯s killer. ¡°You!¡± Lashintax roared, as she began to rise higher. The human just smiled brightly, a half feral smile filling her lips as she replied back, ¡°me!¡± OOF! Lashintax stirred from her slumber, it had been a dream. It had all been a dream. The loss of blood was making her light headed, and causing her to see things. Calming her still racing heart, Lashintax looked over, hearing the struggles of the giant Minotaur General still trying to pull its way free. By now it had its head and one arm free. Soon it would only be a matter of time before it was free and ready to do her bidding. Even now, she could feel her mental connection to the beast, its senses were her own. Its thoughts were hers to guide. ¡°Gah-MOO!¡± The massive beast thought as fear wracked the mind of the beast. Lashintax feeling the beast¡¯s fear in the connection first looked to the monster, only to see it staring off desperately in the distance behind Lashintax. Lashintax still sluggish from the blood loss turned and found the same human female, again. Another Dream? ¡°Finally, you stopped moving. I thought I scared you off.¡± The monstrous human said, as she smiled widely a feral gleam filling her eyes. Only now, did Lashintax realize the dream for what it was, a prophecy. No matter, she had the advantage. She was in the air, and this human was so small. Besides, all Lashintax had to do was wait, surely the minotaur would be more than enough for this creature. Lashintax looked, and turned towards her minion, urging the foul creature to come faster. Then Lashintax looked on in horror as not one, but four exact copies of the warrior spawned off and charged towards the defenseless minotaur, swords out and burning brightly. Seeing the humans run, fear gripped Lashintax as she knew she should escape with her life, but all she could do was watch on in horror. Twitch. ¡°Huh!¡± Lashintax stirred awake, ¡°another dream?¡± Icy sweat rolled down Lashintax¡¯s back, as she turned to look in the direction where the monster with a sword had appeared the previous two times. Nothing. Phew. Letting out a sigh of relief, Lashintax rested. ¡°Get up you fool! Your army is being destroyed!¡± The voice of the Master spoke in her mind. Lashintax stirred, shaking her head, big mistake, as a rippling wave of distortion could be felt. Finally, Lashintax realized what had been stopping her, what had been dulling her senses. Illusion magic? Then with that thought, she was able to disperse the worst of the spells lingering effects. What she saw, sent shivers down her spine, four identical monsters charged through the battle field, singing tunes. While Minotaur heads, goblin corpses, and even shade wraiths sat dissected upon a battlefield. ¡°Ah, you woke up. Don¡¯t worry, we will still have time to play. But first, we need to send a message to your masters.¡± The monstrous human said, as she turned to face Lashintax, as the other three continued destroying everything in their path. Lashintax still groggy felt her mind addled, as she tried to catch up, the blood loss was getting to be too much. Soon she would die or pass out from her wounds. Then as one, all four copies cried out loudly and in perfect unison, ¡°WE ARE NOT AFRAID!¡± Chapter 124 The Arrival (Four Hours Earlier) Chapter 124 The Arrival Saturday (Four Hours Earlier) Like a beacon, Alexa could feel a deep seeded connection to a point off in the distance, a point that forever bound her fate to that of a distant creature. In her mind she somehow instinctively knew that there was a tie, a deep seeded karmic link that bound her to a spot off in the distance. Only after a few minutes of evaluating the bond did she realize it was the karmic bond that binds all twins, the bond that all twins inherently have with each other. In this case, the karmic bond was the one that forever marked her as the killer of the dragon¡¯s twin. The reason she was able to see and understand this bond so easily was the fact that she herself had the very same bond, with her fraternal twin Luke. The moment she found the link to her twin, she felt a wave of different experiences. The first she felt was the distance that now separated them, but even being separated by so many miles, their bond still remained true. The second thing she felt was overwhelming joy, he was happy. Just knowing that let Alexa feel calmer, as a smile came to her lips. She herself had been happy, for she just slew a dragon and had learned the power of interweaving magic to amplify her overall capabilities. With the weaving of different schools of magic, the sky was the limit, of course she knew that she had a lot to catch up on, that her own understanding was by far and away lacking compared to some of the infinite beings that would soon be allowed to come to their currently pre-integrated planet. As it was, she only had weeks left to do several things that would be necessary to survive the integration. Alexa knew she need to complete her Trials of Ascension, only then would her class choices that had been locked to her thus far, finally become available. She also knew that she would have to go into and complete as many dungeons as possible, trying to gain the hidden knowledges of her world that they all offered. As an aside, Alexa found herself wondering if different dungeons from different worlds offered different knowledge based on what was already known by the residents of those planets. This would explain why some of the dungeons that were used as part of the different stages for the Trials of Ascension offered such unique rewards. Only from conquering some of these did she first learn about manifesting Precursor words to have tangible effects in the world. That was also how she learned the skill that was now paying off exponentially for her, that of Mana Weaving (Tier IV). By itself the concepts seem simple, link different schools of magic together to create greater and greater magical effects. The only problem was, this knowledge seemed to have been a hidden gem, knowledge that her kind were never meant to know. Knowledge that the three great oppressors; the elves, the orcs, and the dragons all wished to keep hidden. But they had messed up. They created trials designed to limit the growth of humans and other newly integrating races. The trials were of course dungeons that had been found and altered from their original purpose, to provide training to anyone who entered. The one thing that the people who overtook the dungeons didn¡¯t realize was that while they had overwritten some of the commands of the dungeon, the core, the purpose of the dungeons would not be altered so easily. So there were in fact two ways to solve the different stages of the Trials of Ascension, there was the apparent way that the elves and orcs had set up, where you swear yourself to their armies, then conquer the enemy forces. Or you solve the dungeon they were meant to be. It is the solving of the dungeons that Alexa has chosen as her way, and now she is so close. She is just two stages away from completing her Trials of Ascension, in fact she even has aid on this next stage, stage nine of the Trials in the form of Kelvin Mackie, the half human, half elven fighter. Given that Kelvin already has a class, his completing of the Trials of Ascension is not necessary, though having a second set of eyes would be invaluable. Then again now with her recently acquired Illusion magic, her previous need for Kelvin is now unnecessary, as she can provide her own multiple sets of eyes to both watch her back and strike at enemies with ruthless efficiency. However, she knows that this train of thought is limiting, her Strategy skill all but screams that she will need more people, an army to help protect earth, before, during, and especially after the integration. That is why she has made it a point to focus her on something she is terrible at, interpersonal relations. Ever since she was young, she has suffered from her condition, alexithymia, only with the aid of the system has she ever been able to overcome the deficiencies that she suffers from. Only with the system telling her how people are feeling has she finally been able to interact with people on any meaningful level. Realistically, she knows that while doing things alone is the easier option, this will only get her so far in the end. ¡°Are you ready?¡± TSI agent Bullford, the burly seven-foot-tall former lykanthropy sufferer asks. He and the TSI captain just so happened to take personal vacation time to head out to jolly old England. While their trip had obviously been done to help Alexa, who was still in her Aru¡¯ka Super persona, kill the two dragons that had been plaguing England for a while. As a noted Dragon Slayer, having 21 confirmed kills to her name, as referenced by her stacking title by the same name, she was widely considered to be the leading expert on dragon slaying. Given that the first dragon she slew in the heart of London had given numerous supers a hard time, and she was able to singlehandedly slay said dragon, it seemed to be no surprise that the TSI Agents, and the remainder of the English special forces were doing everything in their power to help Alexa track down and slay the final dragon. The only problem, the pesky thing would not stop moving. ¡°Yes.¡± Alexa says, her voice cold and emotionless, a sign that it had been long enough since her killing of the beast that she no longer felt her mind alive with emotions. This was a special case, while alexithymia didn¡¯t normally cause a complete lack of emotions, in Alexa¡¯s case, she found that only by consuming energy did certain parts of her mind awaken, these were of course the parts of the mind that dealt with both experiencing and interpreting emotions. ¡°Well good. We got word that our bird is on the move and heading to Stonehenge.¡± TSI Captain Rayne Johnston said, a faint puff of smoke coming from her chest, a clear sign that she was getting worked up. Seeing the smoke, Alexa saw and understood this to be a tell, one that was supported by the system that confirmed her own understanding of the TSI Captain¡¯s emotional state.
Petite Female: Rayne Johnston: Level 96, Status: Healthy, Disposition: Anxious
Seeing the system message, Alexa inwardly nodded to herself, making a note to associate the smoke the Captain created as a sign of her own nervousness. Then thinking about it, her mind began to fill in some of the gaps as to why this was. Instantly, she made the connection that the Captain would of course be anxious when dealing with dragons. She herself had been forcefully bound to one apparently, fortunately Alexa had been able to break that forced servitude thanks to her use of the first power word she found, that of Hope. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. That had severed the ties that bound the Captain to dragons, Lieutenant Bullford to the orcs, and the second TSI Lieutenant Fletcher to the elves. Now that the entire team was free, Alexa expected them to focus more on helping humanity out, which seemed to be apparent now, given that they were spending their leave on helping her track down and destroy monsters to the world. ¡°Oh, in case you were wondering, they found the body of Ryelifa, the elven warrior you went off to slay the dragon with.¡± Bullford says, in a casual tone. This was of course the elven delegate that Alexa had dueled and defeated, thereby gaining a knowledge of the elven resources that were already on Earth, resources that she made a plan to eliminate shortly. Had Alexa been in her emotional state, she likely would have had some type of bodily reaction, the quickening of her heartbeat, the widening of her pupils, something that would give away how much this topic meant to her. ¡°Oh?¡± Is all Alexa asked about the subject, her tone a forced curious that she had learned to mimic over the years. ¡°Yeah, they found her a half mile away from the site, with puncture wounds all over her body. Near as we can tell, the dragon must have grabbed her, chomped down once then thrown her body with its mouth.¡± Bullford said, trying to mimic the back and forth throwing motion the dragon likely had to have done. Given the size of the beast, such an assumption was not out of the question. The beast had been massive, and its mouth more than wide enough to have chomped down on Ryelifa as Bullford had explained. The only problem was that this was not the case, during their duel Ryelifa had begun her own attack with a similar spiked pattern. When countering, Alexa had just mirrored the original attack formed by Ryelifa, along with a few additions of her own. Those additions kept her own Illusion magic from being turned against her. At the time she had thought nothing of it, but now, looking back she realized two things. First, she was glad she had mirrored the attack of her opponent. At the time it had been done to try to throw off Ryelifa, so she would underestimate the true attack that was hiding just underneath the Illusion, that was actually a real construct of the spell being visualized. The second thing she realized was just how much foresight Ryelifa had in her attack, by going for a spiked cage approach, Alexa originally thought the attack was that of an iron maiden, or some other form of torture. When in reality, the attack was something far more treacherous. The elf had always planned on killing Alexa, that much was apparent, at least it had been to Alexa. But to even try to use the duel to obfuscate the actual cause of death, now that was ingenious. Thinking about it, Alexa felt a slight surge of respect for the vile monster, had things gone differently she would be dead there lying in the streets and it would be Ryelifa who would be cleared of any crimes. This was advantageous, especially as Alexa had just left the body there right in plain sight. Though in retrospect she was glad she had been too injured to do anything other than seek cover. At the time, she had hoped the dragon would have been alerted to the duel and come to inspect the body, and likely consume it. This way however, the body was found and Ryelifa would be linked to dying, while trying to slay the dragon. In the end, it likely painted Ryelifa and the elves in a better light than Alexa wanted, but it still showed one thing, that the elves couldn¡¯t do it, only humans could. Silence. ¡°I do have some good news, and some bad news.¡± Captain Johnston said. At that Alexa, still wearing her mask just turned her head to face the TSI Captain, who was far outside her normal jurisdiction. ¡°The good news is that you have help incoming, both Warder and Judge are on their way here now.¡± Hearing that her parents, the two previously retired supers Judge and Warder were coming was not something Alexa had hoped for. Realizing this, Captain Johnston apparently had a plan. ¡°Unfortunately, conditions as they are, we have been told that they will get here a little late. Currently the only active airport in the area is in Dublin, from there they will have to take the tube here. The only problem is that the boys here,¡± Johnston says this last part pointing to the drivers of the large LMTV that they are all being carried in. ¡°They have heard from the surveillance team that the dragon is already on the move and seeming to create an interdimensional rift. Now, we don¡¯t know what that rift is supposed to be to, but we don¡¯t want to know either. Your goal would be to go there and try to stop the beast, before that rift can be fully formed, that or hold out until help arrives. Again, all intelligence seems to point to the dragon as being the originator of the rift, killing the dragon should close the rift.¡± At that Alexa nodded in her understanding, ¡°got it.¡± Whoosh! Bolts of electricity could be seen and felt crashing into the ground, rain began to pour down as they got closer. Just feeling the surge of energy, Alexa could tell that the planet itself was seemingly rebelling against the conditions that were coming, as if the planet itself knew of the horrors that awaited on the other end of the portal. The portal itself was easy to find, as a seeming second bright red sun seemed to be shining up from the ground, illuminating the clouds darkened sky with an eerie red glow. ZZappp! A bolt of lightning struck down right in front of the vehicle causing the driver to twist and swerve out of the way. Skreech. The vehicle slammed to a stop, as everyone who had been sitting on the long benches in the back felt jostled. Had they been regular unawakened people, they would have been thrown around and out of the vehicle violently. As it was, their heightened attributes and reflexes allowed them to quickly grab hold of different parts of the vehicle and maintain their position. ¡°Looks like we are here.¡± Captain Johnston said, peering forward. Splish-splash. Hearing the sound Rayne turned to face the back of the vehicle, only to see that Alexa had already dashed out of the vehicle and was now running forward, towards the giant storm bubble that now appeared to be covering Stonehenge. ¡°What do you want us to do now?¡± The British special forces driver asked, coming out of the vehicle to ask Captain Johnston her opinion on what to do next. For all intents and purposes, the driver¡¯s mission was clear, drive the Captain and her team to wherever they ask, and provide them with anything necessary within reason. ¡°Us?¡± Johnston said, as a slight smile filled her lips. ¡°Nothing, we are to sit back here and watch the show.¡± ¡°The show?¡± The driver asked, suddenly sounding distraught. ¡°Oh, you have never seen our girl at work before, have you?¡± Johnston asked. The question was not a bad one, she was after all a yank, and a relatively new one at that. One who had been billed up only as a Healer, which is how she gained media attention, by healing the British Prime Minister¡¯s daughter of a Necromantic scourge. That was how she first appeared on the radar of the British, then seeing her and the way she took down a similar dragon in the states, one that had appeared at roughly the same time as these twin dragons did, that was when they began asking for her by name. Of course, this only meant she was important to pop culture, and other media outlets. The idea that a foreign soldier had no idea who she was, or why he had been ordered to drive foreign elements to a strategic military site never truly crossed his mind. In his mind she was a Super, as was evident by the fancy costume she wore. England had plenty of Supers of their own, unfortunately all of them had been thwarted by the twin dragons who first teamed up, until they both leveled up enough to survive independently of each other. Now, here was a yank who thought they were the one who was going to save the day. ¡°No, honestly I don¡¯t know who you all are.¡± The driver said, as mentally he was preparing to fill out the casualty report that was likely going to come next. A lone Super going up against a dragon, while this was England, a land famous for tales of dragon slayers, he knew those were only dreams of writers who never saw the beasts in actions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t need to know who I am. But her, you should pay attention to my girl, she¡¯s about to show you something.¡± Captain Johnston said, as she stared off into the distance watching Alexa charge forward seeming to move faster than the vehicle had been able to move in the pouring rain. ¡°And just who was she?¡± ¡°She is Aru¡¯ka, and she is about to do what all Americans do best.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Be loud and get into one helluva fight.¡± The driver looked at Captain Johnston for a moment, before turning back to face Alexa. Then off in the distance, he saw something that he couldn¡¯t quite believe with his eyes. ¡°Did she just split into four copies?¡± ¡°Technically, I believe there would only be three copies, since there are four of them.¡± Bullford said, butting into the conversation. At that both Johnston and the driver turned to look at the large brute of a man, but rather than saying anything they just turned back and watched as the four versions of Aru¡¯ka charged forward and finally entered the protective bubble that surrounded the dragon and their odd blood ritual on the alter of Stonehenge. Chapter 125 The Nightmare (Three Hours Earlier) Chapter 125 The Nightmare Saturday (Three Hours Earlier) Alexa charged forward, just seeing the dragon caused a surge of energy to course through her body as she felt her numerous titles coming to life. All of them, at least all of the ones that were now becoming active, dealt with the killing and eradication of dragons. Feeling the surge of energy, Alexa once again created three Illusionary Replicas of herself, each one was created with the intent to ultimately slay the dragon before her. This time, just like the last time, she created them all to be exact perfect replicas of her, complete with her personally created sword. Well they didn¡¯t have exact replicas of the sword, but rather Illusionary constructs of the sword that were reinforced with different schools of magic that she also had. The copies were fused with Arcane, to inflict additional damage, Wind to increase movement speed, Earth to add weight and force behind each strike, Creation to infuse tiny bits of plasma to the sword and body parts, allowing just that little bit more of damage. Each replica also had Light woven around them, particularly around the sword, to mirror the effects that Alexa¡¯s own sword had, one where the slashing momentum was altered and distorted, making the blocking and deflection of strikes nearly impossible. As soon as she created the Illusionary Replicas, she felt how they were so much faster than her, that if she didn¡¯t mentally reel them back, to keep them from going forward then they would easily outpace her and reveal her as the weakest link. This was of course a sign of how much more powerful she was magically than physically, while she was more than a match for most humans, even Super powered humans, she was still lacking physically, especially when compared to her overall capabilities of combating dragons via magical means. The closer she got, the more she could feel the waves of energy wash over her. These were clearly malevolent bursts of energy, energy that was never meant to be on this plane of existence. That was why the planet itself fought so hard to contain the source of this infestation. The planet even seemed to scratch and claw at the source of energy the only way it knew how, with violent burst of electricity and strong winds. For eons this had been enough to thwart most attacks, but this was something different, this was on a scale the planet could have never even conceived of. The fact that the planet was alive didn¡¯t surprise Alexa, she had long felt a deep connection to the planet. No, what surprised her the most about this was the fact that the planet for all its life seemed fairly vacuous, more akin to a large bacteria than a truly sentient creature. In a way, this made Alexa feel oddly sad. These were not the well coordinated strikes of a sentient creature, but rather the basic survival instincts that any living creature would have. This both seemed to prove the planet was alive, while also showing how much more the planet had to go, if it too was going to be helpful with protecting the people of Earth from the impending integration. Of course, all of that was minor in the grand scheme of things. Currently Alexa had one goal, slay the dragon and prevent whatever spell work the beast was doing to work. As she got closer, she could feel the surges of mana, the way there seemed to be a whole new school of magic at play here, that of transportation. Finally, she got close enough that she could see the horrors that were awaiting. She saw the giant head of a minotaur poking through the ground, as one massive hand fought to pull the beast through the slowly expanding portal. Seeing the beast, a twinge of surprise filled her. Getting this close to the action, her body was already feeding on the ambient energy of both the planet and the energy being released by the dome of protection. With her being this close, she could feel her mind coming alive as the emotional side of her mind was being fed and activating. Instantly, the surge of joy and competition ignited in her mind, as she realized one thing. It¡¯s time for a rematch, she thought to herself as a giant smile filled her face. Last time she went against a minotaur she had lost, well technically she had banished the Summoned Aspect, back to the abyss from which it came. This time, she knew such a measure wouldn¡¯t be possible. For starters, this time she would be fighting against the real minotaur, not a summoned portion of it, but the real thing. Also, this time, she would not have to deal with the elves and their draining runes of effect that had been in place at the center of her maze. Last time she considered a loss, particularly given the fact that she had to resort to merely banishing the creature. This time there would be none of that, also last time while she had been outnumbered, she felt she had been close to winning the battle with the minotaur. This time she would be able to exact revenge and see how much she had grown. Additionally, this time she would do something that always made winning that much more fun, she would cheat. There were four of her after all, while there was still only one dragon and one partially exposed minotaur, if that wasn¡¯t cheating then she didn¡¯t know what was. Mentally she gave the commands. The dragon was in the process of doing something more with their spell work. That was when Alexa sent one of her replicas, to go and speak to the dragon. ¡°Finally, you stopped moving. I thought I scared you off.¡± The replica said, mirroring Alexa¡¯s own personal thoughts, then the replica did something that Alexa hadn¡¯t been expecting. With a clear understanding of Illusionary magic, the replica waved her hand, and caused the dragon to pass out. Thud. The real Alexa turned to take in the form of the now slumbering beast, slowing her strides forward ever so slightly, as she watched the giant beast¡¯s stomach slowly rise and fall. Looking at the beast and the blood that was still pouring from the beast, Alexa could feel the mental thoughts of the replica, they had seen the blood loss, used some of Alexa¡¯s Healing magic to create a quick link to the dragon. Then realizing that the dragon itself was clearly close to passing out, Alexa, or rather her replica, went ahead and knocked out the beast. The logic was simple, the one replica would stand overwatch over the dragon, while the real Alexa and the other replicas would go and tackle the summoned beings. At the very least, this was a good gauge to see how strong these creatures were. Given that the rift was still so small, it led to an easy idea. Slink. Alexa turned to see the sound of a sword slicing through flesh and bone. Alexa knew this sound, as her mind told her this was the case, particularly as it was what her replica seemed to feel. Of course, the real Alexa was slightly slower than her replicas, so everything seemed to be on a slight time delay, at least that was the case she felt. While Alexa herself, had been busy checking out the one replica and the sleeping dragon, the other two replicas had noticed the same activity, mentally processed the events faster, and then gone ahead with the next stage of the plan, namely to attack the minotaur. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It was odd, and strangely disconcerting. The fact that the replicas moved with a level of sentience that seemed to only be possible given the fact that she was a master Tier X practitioner of Illusion magic. Given her capabilities, it was clear that there was more to being a master than she previously understood. Alexa could also feel the way her replicas were able to draw in the essence of the monsters she killed, well the monsters they killed for her. It was such an odd experience, that Alexa tried to shake off the confusion, but soon found herself getting into place. Off to the side, the second replica, took the now severed minotaur head and put it off to the side. While Alexa and the minotaur slaying replica stood over the hole and began slaughtering the giant rat like creatures that began slithering their way out of the holes. Again, Alexa was just that much slower, her attributes apparently serving as the base, before her titles were factored in. In a way, the replicas served as a direct realization of how much stronger she was magically, than she was physically. This was an odd concept, especially considering that Alexa had only recently gained access to magic itself, yet here she was little more than a month away from awakening magic within her, and already able to outclass anything she could do physically with magic. It was a sobering reminder of how focused she had been recently, while she didn¡¯t mind magic, and in fact found the idea of magic to be great, she realized that ultimately her replicas were showing her, her greatest weakness still, the fact that her human body was frail. Even her duel with Countess Rojas, the mother of her best friend, helped to highlight just how lacking she was physically. In fact, in that duel it was also exposed just how lacking her powers were when fighting anything other than dragons with her magic. Realizing this, she concluded that she was a one trick pony. Granted that trick, of slaying dragons was an amazing trick and one that was worth performing over and over again, the truth was that she was limited by her success. There was more to the incoming integration than just dragons. The main enemy seemed to be elves, well at least at first, and if her duel with Ryelifa was any indication she would have lost handedly had her opponent used anything other than Death, or Necromancy magic. As it was, she barely survived the encounter, thinking herself able to dismiss the Illusionary magic, and the Death components of the spell. As it was, she had been lucky, and stupid. Lucky in that she had managed to resist the incoming magical attack just enough to survive. Stupid in that she let it get to a duel in the first place. In a matter of minutes, the large rodent like creatures stopped coming out of the rift. Only to be replaced by the giant head of a minotaur. This time just like the last, a replica got the killing blow in before Alexa could even process the strike. They were just that much faster, as if all of their attributes also received the same 1,050% bonus as provided by her Dragon Slayer title, before other bonuses are even applied.. This time, the first replica took the severed head and threw it off towards the first one. Apparently, they were making a pile of trophies. It was what Alexa would have done, stack them all together and mentally note that as the current level of success. After the minotaur¡¯s body fell from the rift, more rats appeared. This time Alexa managed to strike down two that headed directly towards her. However, the three of her, well her and two replicas, were more than enough for the surge. Then finally the third minotaur head appeared. Alexa paused and waited for one of the two replicas to make their move, but only paused as they both gestured for her to go. ¡°Oh, how courteous of me.¡± Alexa said, as she took a half step forward and lining up her strike, struck out at the beast¡¯s neck. There was just one problem, her strike while powerful, only made it a quarter of the way through the beast¡¯s massive neck muscles. ¡°Gah-MOO!¡± The massive beast cried out in pain. Shaking her head, Alexa wiggled her blade free of the beast¡¯s neck, before once again slashing at the same spot. This time, she used Telekinesis to help push the blade forward, along with Wind and an extra umph of Arcane magic to cut at the beast. Splat. Thick black blood sprayed out wildly at the strike, but it was three quarters of the way through. Shaking her head, Alexa once again worked her blade free and then lined up to strike again. This time, she had help, as Replica one, came over and grabbed the minotaur¡¯s head by the horn and peeled it back so Alexa could have a clean area to strike at. Slink! This time, her strike held true as her blade easily sliced through the remaining neck muscles of the massive beast. Thump. Hearing the sound from behind her, Alexa saw the other two replicas quickly glance away, but then turned their attention to the hole. Alexa for her part turned back quickly as well, only to see that the dragon had apparently been put back to sleep by an Illusionary Dream, created by her third replica. Apparently the bleating out in pain by the minotaur had been enough to awaken the dragon. Realizing she was the weakest link of this campaign only made her shake her head in disgust. She needed to get better, to be stronger. As it was, the only reason she was able to even keep up with these monsters was the speed and power of her replicas. Still this should be a good hunting ground. Given how small the rift currently was, no major monsters could get through, and any that did try to get through she and her replicas made quick work of. In the end, the replicas seeing her own frustration began helping. Rather than completing a kill on their own, one would quickly slice the beast, while the second replica would grab a horn and expose the neck of the dying minotaur to Alexa, who would then provide the killing stroke. Then the replica with the horn would throw the head into the pile that had been amassing all this time. They worked like this through the morning. Well it had been morning for a while, but finally after a few hours the storm clouds overhead broke, revealing a bright shining sun. Finally, there was a slight pause as nothing came from the rift for a moment. Then through the rift a voice called out. ¡°Get up you fool! Your army is being destroyed!¡± Hearing the voice, the dragon that had been put back to sleep a number of times finally stirred. Realizing that they had finally gotten the attention of the masters, Alexa felt it was time to put an end to this, a sentiment that her replicas of course mirrored, as they were extensions of herself. Then speaking on behalf of Alexa, the replica that had been standing beside the nearly desiccated dragon spoke. ¡°Ah, you woke up. Don¡¯t worry, we will still have time to play. But first, we need to send a message to your masters.¡± The dragon¡¯s head spun woozily for a moment, as it was clear they were having a hard time focusing. Then before the dragon could truly regain full control over its faculties, they all cried out in perfect unison, ¡°WE ARE NOT AFRAID!¡± Slink! Finally, the third Replica who had been denied the chance to kill anything got to deliver the final blow. With one swift strike the head of the great beast fell off. Thump. The skull crashed into the ground. As it fell so too did the last traces of magic the held both the protective barrier in place, and the sympathetic magic that had been used to hold the rift open. For a moment, all Alexas stood staring at the slowly healing rift. Until finally every trace of red and corrupt energy dissipated, being absorbed into one of the Alexas. Only once the energy was gone, and the rift was completely sealed did the replicas begin to move. As one, they all seemed to know their purpose. They were not of this world, and their current task was complete, so they made sure to go out with a bang. The first replica since she was so close, shoved her sword into the head of the massive beast. Then with a force of will, she channeled her remaining energy down her blade and into the skull of the beast. BOOM! The first replica sacrificed the remainder of her energy on destroying the skull of the beast. The second replica came over and sliced her sword into the beast¡¯s heart. BOOM! Just as with the beast¡¯s twin, there was first a swelling of energy that erupted from the beast¡¯s heart out, to encompass and destroy everything. The third replica just locked gazes with Alexa, before nodding. The gesture was one she easily understood, for it was one she would have given someone who had tried to keep up with her. It was a message that said, don¡¯t give up, you will be needed. Then sticking her sword into the ground, the third replica did something entirely different than any other replica. Rather than exploding in a torrent of flames and energy, this one converted the remainder of her energy into Healing and Nature magic, letting the waves of energy that were released from its creation go out and attempt to heal the land. Alexa just stared at the ground and watched as healing waves of energy began rolling out. While it was clear that the blood and viscera of the minotaur and rodent like creatures were toxic in some way to the planet. It was clear that her replica¡¯s use of magic was enough to begin the healing process. This was good, as it meant that these creatures coming here permanently killed a planet, as there was clearly something that could be done, even after they arrived. She was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to recognize the incoming footsteps of people. ¡°So, uh, what did we miss?¡± The voice of a man she knew very well came from behind her. Turning, Alexa saw the form of her father, in his Warder outfit. ¡°More importantly, what exactly happened?¡± Judge, her mother, asked as she came to stand beside Warder. While Judge might have missed it, Alexa did not. She noticed the slight look of hesitation that came to Warder¡¯s description, when her mother asked what happened. Realizing that the battle was likely the easiest part of this encounter, Alexa answered as succinctly as possible. ¡°They came, they summoned, I conquered.¡± Chapter 126 Swords Before Nine Chapter 126 Swords Before Nine ¡°Great job by the way, ho¡­Aru¡¯ka.¡± Judge began, nearly giving away her close familial relationship with Alexa, by her near inadvertent use of the word honey, fortunately she caught herself in time. Still the drones that were hovering around, recording everything likely caught the flub, something she would just have to deal with. ¡°But, why did you go to such extremes with the corpse of the dragon? Blowing up the decapitated skull and the heart of the dragon?¡± At that Alexa still wearing her full costume and mask just turned her gaze towards Judge, her mother, and answered succinctly. ¡°It was a necromantic dragon.¡± Silence. ¡°Again though, was that overkill?¡± Judge asked. ¡°No, I tend to agree with her. Tripel tap the necromantic dragons, separate the head from the heart, then put one explosive into the head and the heart for good measures. No, I think we should make these textbook steps on what to do, maybe even make it standard for dealing with all dragons, period, not just the necromantic ones.¡± Warder, Alexa¡¯s father said, as he kicked one foot at the body of the dead dragon. Judge just looked at her husband, then back at Alexa, then shook her head. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Good morning, Florence Stonecroft, with BSC 11, can you tell us what it was like to take down not just one but two dragons?¡± An attractive looking news reporter asked, with a large man carrying a shoulder mounted camera asked. Realizing the question was directed at her, Alexa thought about the question, then discarded the first few answers that immediately popped into her mind, then answered truthfully, but in a slightly guarded way, ¡°about what you¡¯d expect.¡± Florence just nodded her head, trying to get the stoic Alexa to go on, but she just held fast to her answer. Realizing that question was over, Florence busily continued, trying to take advantage of being the first one to make it out on the scene. Truth be told she and Arthur, the cameraman had been holed up nearby, ready to roll into London to get an after action report on what happened. That was of course before the sighting of the second dragon caused them to abandon their vehicle and hide in a nearby neighborhood. Then they heard the moment the dragon was killed. First they knew something had changed when the intense rain that had been pouring buckets moments before suddenly stopped. That was when they first ventured to look out. Then despite the intense rain clouds covering everything, the glowing bubble of light still covered the countryside, but there seemed to be hope, at least that is what Florence thought as she directed Arthur to start recording. Then she drove the van while he filmed their approach to Stonehenge. Once there, they saw something truly amazing, they saw piles of demonic monsters being bisected. A warrior in black was moving so quickly that it looked like there were four of her. Then when they got close they saw the warrior first decapitate the dragon, then watched as copies? Of her charged forward and detonated inside the beast, leaving behind only an afterimage of the warrior. Florence had never seen such intense killing strikes before, after witnessing the strikes, it was no wonder how she managed to kill not only this dragon, but the dragon in London as well. Not to have this golden moment of reporting brilliance wasted, Florence pressed on. She had everything here, the hero, a legendary dragon slayer who was both calm and stoic, a female Super who was on the cusp of becoming something great, and here she was, the only journalist within thirty kilometers who had the guts to purposefully drive towards the still living dragon just to get the scoop of the century. ¡°How do you feel, knowing that you saved the hundreds of people.¡± ¡°Slightly cold.¡± Chuckle. At that Florence had to laugh at how tough this was, getting an answer from her was like pulling teeth from a hen. ¡°Well that is English weather for you. I notice you did this one without any elven support. Did you not have any support coming? I mean clearly Warder and Judge are here from the states as well. But from what we saw, they got here after the battle was over. Did you really not need the help?¡± At that Alexa paused for a second, then slightly tilting her head to the side answered. ¡°I can always use assistance. But in this case, time was at a premium, so I just acted.¡± ¡°You just acted. Well thank you for that, as I don¡¯t know where I, where we would be without your efforts.¡± Florence said, gesturing to both herself, and to Arthur the cameraman. ¡°Hopefully this broadcast will find its way to your friends and family back home. Do you have anything you would like to say?¡± At that Alexa just nodded, picking up the massive sword that was on her back, she pulled it out to expose it. As she did, the sword glowed and hummed with layers upon layers of magical stability woven into it. Gesturing with her head to the sword in her hands, she said three words, ¡°swords before nine.¡± ¡°Swords before nine? Do you care to explain that, or to give us a deeper hint as to what that means?¡± Florence asked, as she like most of her viewers would not understand the statement. Putting her magical glowing sword that distorted the air around it away, Alexa answered succinctly, ¡°no.¡± With that Alexa not wishing to talk anymore began walking away, a clear sign that she was now done with the conversation. At that Florence just shook her head, ¡°you heard it here first. Swords Before Nine.¡± It looked like Florence was about to try to push for more, but that was when Warder stepped in. ¡°Perhaps I could be of more assistance with answering some questions.¡± ¡°Yes, audience members, we have a special treat, recently not so retired American Super Warder is here with us. Warder, how would you say you got here?¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Well, I am glad you asked¡­¡± *** Hearing their conversation, Alexa began walking away further. She had a lot of system messages to go through. The message ¡°swords before nine.¡± Had been a direct message to her brother, the meaning she hoped was as clear as possible, send her to a dungeon that dealt with improving her swordsmanship skill before she went on to Stage IX of the Trials of Ascension. It was clear from this last battle that she and by extension her clones could benefit from more training with a sword. As she noticed that she and her clones both had to mostly muscle their way through their opponents, there was no real skill, just pure strength. As for why she couldn¡¯t just call her brother and tell him the message directly, well there were a number of problems with that. The first and most obvious problem was that she no longer had her phone watch, as she had to sacrifice it when it would not end the call and went to an automated message that pronounced her location loudly. Only later on did Alexa learn that this was actually a trap set up by the elves who wanted to use her as bait to lure out the dragon and strike at the dragon, while she was burnt to a crisp in a spray of corrosive dragon breath. Fortunately, Alexa had been able to get away from the dragon, kill the backstabbing elves, then slay the dragon in an epic effort of retribution that no pocket watch, phone enhanced or otherwise ever received. Now that she was safe, and no longer had to worry about her phone being used to lure dragons towards her, she still couldn¡¯t trust the safety of the likely compromised phone networks. Especially as she didn¡¯t realize if this was a product of her being in England, and the elves having greater control over British telecommunications services, or if this was a worldwide issue that she now faced. Her rational mind told her to assume the worst and work her way back, this was a sentiment that her emotional mind also concurred with. Which was why she trusted the news to be sent out without editing, and she would just have to hope that her brother both got the message and understood its meaning. Honestly she didn¡¯t know how she could have made it more blatant, she had the sword right there, he knew she was supposed to hit the ninth stage on her way back to the states, it shouldn¡¯t be that hard. Especially as there were just three words, swords before nine. Honestly, if he didn¡¯t get it, then there was likely no help for him. Realizing that was all she could do about her communication problem, at least until she saw her pack in person and could explain her new fears, this would have to do. Realizing that it would likely take a few moments for her brother to get the message in the states, she began going over the results from her hours long melee, where she, along with three empowered clones of herself all killed hundreds of void creatures, something she could already feel being absorbed by her class. The first thing she noted was that a few of her Titles had increased.
Dragon Slayer (22): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (330%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (1,100%).
The first upgrade made sense and was something she had expected. Doing a quick look at the powers offered by this dragon, she saw that they were an exact copy of the ones the dragon she slew in London offered. Still not wanting to gain Necromancy, she decided to push the remainder of her absorbed energy towards improving her attributes. This was an act that she was again rewarded for, by finally increasing all of her attributes the required amount to gain a new application to her Attribute Increase title.
Attribute Increase (13): All Attributes increased by 10% (130%).
While that had been a welcome surprise, the one that came to her as the most welcome of surprises was her third and final title increase.
Solo Assassin (2->4): You single handedly slew four different enemies from four different enemy species that were 100 levels higher than your own. Reward: +40% attribute bonus when engaging any enemy in single combat.
Yes, looking through the explanation it appeared that both the Minotaurs and the large rodents that were apparently called Void Rats were both over level 100. Or at least certain ones of them were. Given that there didn¡¯t seem to be a change in their overall appearances or abilities Alexa figured that they were all likely at or over level 100. Again, they were nothing compared to her enhanced copies of herself, but compared to her, they were relatively tough to take on. Fortunately, with these rewards alone she now sat at an increased of 30% to her base attributes, something that was greatly needed, especially for now, while she was still underpowered in the grand scheme of things. Once she got her permanent class and her attributes were allowed to increase, this power disparity would likely drop, but until then, she was woefully behind the curve.
Absorber Class Material Found: Would you like to absorb essence of Neophyte Minotaurs?
Yes, the description alone told her of the mountain she still had to climb, as she had a hard time fighting stuck and immobile neophytes. Had they not been pinned in place, and had she not had the overwatch of her clones standing guard over her, she feared what might have happened. ¡°Yes.¡±
Energy gained. Do you wish to convert energy absorbed into class experience? Attributes? Or Neophyte Minotaur only powers?
Seeing the new prompt for ¡°Neophyte Minotaur only powers,¡± Alexa made her choice easily.
You have chosen Neophyte Minotaur only powers. Powers available: Night Sight, Fire Walk, Fire Resistance, and Death Magic.
Seeing the message, Alexa chose both Fire Walk, and Fire Resistance, which were some of her most costly powers, accounting for 100 total absorber points, of course she had a total of 593 absorber points available. She knew she had killed more than two dozen of the creatures, but she was slightly surprised that she only got 593 absorber points for the haul. Did that mean that she only got credit for the ones she herself killed and not the ones the replicas killed? If so then this made sense, as she could recall only helping with six of the kills directly. Shaking her head, it just showed that she still had more to go. With everything she had wanted taken care of, she decided to push the rest towards her attributes. Whoom. Just like that the remaining 493 points were gone. Logically if they were a one to one correspondence, then she could expect to have needed 107 more points to get her next Attribute Increase title. The fact that she didn¡¯t get it this time, meant that she was likely very close. That was why she pulled up the next class notification with bated breath.
Absorber Class Material Found: Would you like to absorb essence of Neophyte Void Rats?
¡°Yes.¡± This time, just like the last she chose to see the special powers that the void rats offered.
You have chosen Neophyte Void Rat only powers. Powers available: Devouring Bite, Void Walk, Void Resistance, and Corrosive Bite.
Seeing the options a slight wave of nausea filled her as she thought about having to bite things to enact powers. Just the thought alone was enough for her to not want either of those powers despite their possible utility. That left both Void Walk, and Void Resistance, both of which were items that she thought she could benefit from. Once again there was a huge mark up for these powers, she didn¡¯t know if there was something about how different these creatures, were, or if it was just how hard it would be to convert the powers to something her body could use, but once gain the total cost of both of these came to 100. Fortunately again she had personally been responsible for the death of a dozen or so void rats, a fact that was seemingly concurred by the system that state she had over 1,145 absorber points to spend on this. Still this was more than enough to do two things. First, she purchased both unique perks that didn¡¯t require biting, and secondly her Attribute Increase title improved not once, but twice more.
Attribute Increase (15): All Attributes increased by 10% (150%).
With that, she was finally done with her recent changes brought about by her hours long fight with the dragon and the rift to who knows where. ¡°So what are your plans now?¡± Bullford asked, his calm words pulling her out of her momentary reflection. ¡°Train.¡± ¡°You still think you need to train?¡± Bullford asked, a note of incredulity flowing into his words. ¡°Especially now.¡± Alexa said. Looking around at the dead carcasses of large purple smoke covered mice and seeing the various body parts of hacked apart minotaurs, Bullford slowly nodded. ¡°Maybe I should train as well.¡± Alexa just nodded in agreement. Chapter 127 May You Die A Thousand Deaths Chapter 127 May You Die A Thousand Deaths Two hours. That was how long Alexa had to stand with the TSI agents, her parents, and most importantly the reporters. This was huge, not just for American supers, as the one British support super that had also been asked to join the team had died early on, their death recorded in graphic display for all to see. In one act of heroism, or severe stupidity, the British Super Titan charged forward to fight the dragon head on. There of course was only one problem, the fact that he was alone made him an easy target for the dragon. The tragic death of Titan, the greatest of British Supers lasted only thirty seconds from start to miserable defeat. It begins with footage of him charging forward, head long to face the mighty dragon. Then as he got close, it was clear he was preparing to perform his Titan stomp and launch himself off the ground, unfortunately the dragon was just that much faster than him. With only one target to follow and track, the dragon easily zeroed in on him and hit him with a burst of burning acid spray. Titan did manage to emerge from the burst of spray, his previous momentum carrying him forward, but it was clear that he was already dying as he exited the stream of corrosive acid. At this point the camera frames could be slowed down enough to see Titan rising, while his outer layers of skin slowly burned away, as green wisps of corrosion burnt everything it touched. Of course, there was one issue that Alexa noted with the video. One thing that seemed to indicate that the entire event had been a setup. At the very beginning of the charge, Titan could be seen talking and even glancing over his shoulders. Now one could say that these were him making sure that no other monsters were going to come up out of the woodwork and rubble of the crumbling city. But Alexa noticed the odd distortions of air, the way Titan seemed to nod in agreement after the air movements. While she couldn¡¯t see the signs of magical energy being used in the recording, as no modern camera could pick up the faint traces of magic, Alexa was certain that the entire thing was a set up. Watching the video that was meant to be a cautionary video of what happens when powerful Supers believe their powers to be too much, Alexa saw a different story unfolding. One that spoke of sabotage of a perspective partner, manufacturing events where a hero would charge head long into battle, believing support was with them, only to then find out they had been set up. The team of elves could be heard shouting for Titan, only once he was well outside of standard hearing distance. There they shouted for him, ¡°wait, come back. You fool, it will kill you!¡± But it was too late, there was no time for Titan to have truly heard the words. ¡°Come now, we can¡¯t let his death be in vain.¡± Ryelifa could be heard speaking in perfect English. Then with a mournful look she directed the tribe of elven hunters down a side tunnel and away from the dragon. The camera made one last pan towards the fallen Titan who was at that moment in the process of being eaten by the massive dragon. After that, the cameraman quickly turned away and began following the fleeing elves. Had Alexa been in her emotional mind, she would have felt rage at the video, especially knowing that she would have been set up in a similar manner. At least, that was what she suspected would have happened. While there was nothing she could do to repay the elf¡¯s treachery, as she had already killed them in a duel, there was still a faint bitter taste in her mouth that she had a hard time swallowing. Was this how the defenses of England were slowly dismantled? There had been hundreds of Supers, many of whom could have teamed together to strike down the dragons on their own, especially when they first appeared. Yet, if they were mowed down, constantly set up to be slaughtered by elves trying to weed out the fiercest competition, then it made sense. Even the Supers that were loyal to the elves were at risk, especially if they seemed to have more unique powers that could prove to be problematic to deal with in the future. Thinking back on it, the headlines did seem to show the elves purposefully sitting back when the dragons first appeared. Their comments at the time were that ¡°they wanted to give humanity the chance to succeed at protecting their own planet.¡± Then once the dragons started to grow in power, the elves gave training sessions with the British Supers, showing them secret tactics to take down the beasts. Looking back on it, the elves did a little too good of a job weeding out the competition. There was a delicate balance that had to be struck, one where they kept the dragon low enough of a level that they as a team could still strike down the beast, while destroying enough of the highest powered supers of England. Thinking about the dragon that so happened to have appeared in the neighboring Madison county, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but wonder if that dragon had been let through just to deal with Mackie and the TSI agents, maybe even her parents. Fortunately, she had been called in early enough to make a difference, but that could have been left out to decimate the forces, or at least the staff at Dawning Light Academy. With an entire generation of supers out of the way, conquering the tri-state area would be easier than ever. Of course, that was the problem with these types of events. Alexa knew that if she let her mind wander she could start seeing plots within plots, and plans within plans. While Alexa didn¡¯t think the elves allowed the dragons to go through the various dungeon exits, she couldn¡¯t help but see them as being a huge boon to the elves and their dominance of Earth. ¡°Aru¡¯ka,¡± Florence, the media woman, shouted Alexa¡¯s super name, trying to get her attention. ¡°Having seen the footage of those who came before you, those who sacrificed their lives for this operation. Do you have any words before we go through and show the footage of your heroics?¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. With that Florence got right next to Alexa, and shoved a giant microphone into her face. Not flinching from the sudden intrusion, Alexa just answered truthfully. ¡°No.¡± A slight pause, as Florence still didn¡¯t know how to react to Alexa and her short answers. ¡°Well in that case, let¡¯s get to the footage.¡± Florence said, then gave a wild gesture. With that a giant screen that had been brought in for this occasion began presenting the most recent footage of Alexa. It began when she caught up with Ryelifa, and the silent cameraman. Then showed how the two left the safety of the ruins they had set up in, the one with the direct view of the dragon¡¯s roost. Once the two left, there was a time lapse as the video seemed to speed up to a very quick pace. A faint glowing light happened in the bottom right of the screen. The burst of light happened only for a second, and in the fog of the morning looked to be just a quick light coming on. Of course, Alexa knew full well what that light was, as that was the exact location that she had her duel with Ryelifa. Looking at the slight burst of light that happened only for a second, Alexa knew that evidence of her duel existed, and now that evidence was being shared with the world. Still it had been for only a second, due to the speed at which the video was being replayed. Then a short time later, lights began to glow in the dragon¡¯s tower. That is when the video began to slow down its speed of advancement, slowing down from roughly three to one, to two to one speed. The speeding up of the video showed more lights flashing all around the tower, before the tower finally collapsed. There was a moment of silence as the crumbling of the building was slowed down once more, this time restoring the events to regular speed. Now one could see glowing lights appearing from different spots. These lights were not as bright as the dueling bubble that the system had erected around Alexa and Ryelifa, but they were still golden in nature. The lights flashed for just under a minute, before everything went dark. There was a hushed silence as everyone watching all paused with baited breath, waiting to know what would happen. Even Alexa found herself watching, though her reasons for watching were far different, she wanted to know what powers she had displayed, what of her arsenal would now be known by the enemies. She watched as the first rays of the sun began to appear. Golden yellow rays shown into the rubble, then as if the rays had been nothing more than a spotlight for her exit, Alexa appeared. Clambering her way up out of the rubble, then standing upright. Seeing the video, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel the entire thing was a bit much, a bit theatric as the rays of the sun had clearly been added in. That or they had been digitally enhanced as she did not remember them being there when she first exited, but she couldn¡¯t argue with the results, the video was stunning. Then zooming in, all that could be seen was that dark black of Alexa¡¯s Super suit, and a giant sword that was now strapped across her back. The same sword that Alexa now wielded across her own back. Silence. There was a moment of silence as everyone watched the video on the far wall, the audience at home no doubt were watching the full video on their screens at the same time. Everyone stared at the screen until finally the video ended, and the screen that had been presenting it suddenly went dark. Then as one, everyone turned from the screen to Alexa. Seeing that Florence appeared to be visibly shaking with excitement. ¡°Wow, I don¡¯t know what else to say after watching that, but just wow. Seeing that, how do you feel?¡± Florence asked, trying to elicit a response from the stoic Alexa. True to form, Alexa answered honestly. ¡°The same.¡± Alexa for her part knew she was trapped. As she had been told by both Captain Johnston and her parents that she needed to stay and finish this interview, as apparently there was going to be some major surprise that would come from her being here. At that Florence just shook her head, not wanting to even try to get a better quote from the foreign Super. ¡°Well, it is my pleasure to announce that I get to be the representative for those watching here and abroad. I wanted you to know that we as a people are greatly excited by what you have done for us, not just with the Prime Minister¡¯s Daughter, but now ridding the land of not one, but two dragons. For this, I am pleased to inform you that we have a few rewards to offer you. The first is a guarantee from the Prime Minister and the King, that you will be accepted into any college or university in England that you wish. Furthermore, while we do not have the bike here to offer you, when you do come for schooling, a number of companies have wished to offer you a free bike as means of transportation.¡± Hearing that last part Alexa sat up straighter as she began to fully pay attention to what was going on. Alexa looked around, and caught the eyes of Bullford and Captain Johnston who both nodded in agreement. Seeing them, it was clear how the people of England knew of her comments made in passing to Bullford when she was asked what it would take for her to come out here to England. Apparently, they had done their part and explained her requests. While they had been half in jest at the time, she couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat honored by the rewards. ¡°Now, I have to ask, there are many bike manufacturers in England, is there any model or company that you would like to provide a bike for you?¡± ¡°A Triumph Rocket in black.¡± Alexa said, clearly knowing what she wanted. Hearing the words Florence could even see the faint way her eyes almost seemed to show signs of life at the statement. ¡°So you are a bike enthusiast?¡± ¡°Who isn¡¯t?¡± Alexa said, her voice oddly melodic, despite her body not showing any signs of intrigue. At that Florence could only pause, then remembering something, she gestured for an assistant to come. ¡°Oh right, while the elven representatives apologized for not being able to be here in person, they did ask that I give you this.¡± Florence said, as she handed Alexa a large glowing box. Well the box itself didn¡¯t glow, but the items inside did glow with an odd form of energy. What was odder still was that the box itself had multiple linked runes. Holding the box, Alexa lifted it up and tried to understand what exactly the runes were. Then as if reaching out with a part of her mind that she was not fully aware of, she felt the runes. Only after touching the runes with her mind did she realize that this was part of her new Rune Channeling power that linked so flawlessly to her Runic Mastery Skill. Using all of them combined she realized that there were a series of linked runes that now that they were connected formed a simple seal, that when separated would send a spark down a line and awaken an Ignition rune that would cause a magical chain reaction. At first Alexa was confused by the contents of the box, before she took a moment to read the semi personalized note written in flowing elven script. As a whole the note would likely appear to be nothing more than mere decoration. The only words in English being the note: To: Aru¡¯ka. It was this note alone that let Florence know this package specifically was for Alexa. The flowing elven script was done so masterfully that it looked almost like flowing leaves on a tree and could be easily dismissed by those not familiar with the language, but the words written in elven spoke of the true intent of the package. May you die a thousand deaths. With that message, the rest of the box and its trappings made sense. It was a bomb of some sort, by opening the lid, it would send off a current of electricity to the ignition rune that would then detonate the glowing ball of odd life energy. Just being this close to it let Alexa¡¯s innate class abilities start to drain energy from the tightly woven ball of death. ¡°I was also asked to hand these others out to the rest of the American team who also came here to help us out in our time of need.¡± Florence said, as she began handing out more and more boxes to Judge, Warder, Captain Johnston, and Bullford. Seeing that, Alexa paused and in an unexpected turn of events, she shouted ¡°WAIT!¡± Chapter 128 Times Of Treachery Chapter 128 Times Of Treachery ¡°WAIT!¡± The normally calm and stoic Alexa shouted, trying to get everyone¡¯s attention, but it was already too late. Warder, who couldn¡¯t help but open the easily slidable box lid up, already had his lid up and over the lip of the box. Then at the speed of thought, multiple things happened all at once. First, there was an initial explosion, as the brilliant box within Warder¡¯s hands came to life with a surge of violent and competing energies. The reaction was instantaneous as the Ignition rune instantly flared to life sparking a chain reaction of interactions and the merging of different magical energies. In her mind she could see the various forms of Fire, Lightning, Wind, and Void energies all merging. How she knew that there were so many different forms of magic present in the box were beyond her. In the moment she chalked it up as likely something stemming from her class¡¯s innate ability to absorb and break down magical energies. With that knowledge, she herself could see how a thin line of energy separated the different forms of energy that had been formed into a physical ball of mana within her own box, how a paper thin layer of a neutral element kept the different forms of energy apart and now she understood how that paper thin layer of protection was all burnt away by the empowering of the Ignition rune. Her mind, gifted with truly understanding the nature of magic and its inner workings, far so than any other human living or dead, was able to comprehend all of this. Furthermore, she saw the truly destructive nature of Void magic, how it simultaneously attracted all non-magical energies, while violently repelling other forms of magic. Honestly the reaction was beautiful, at least the way Alexa saw it, then again to her emotional mind all magic was beautiful, and her mind had been able to absorb enough energy for her emotional mind to become alight with stolen energy. For an instant her mind held to the idea that three new schools of magic existed, magic that she had never seen. Also for the first time in her existence, she saw a form of magic that was in many ways the antithesis of true magic, while still being magic. Void magic, such an amazing thing, it called to her on some deep primal level that she couldn¡¯t quite comprehend. Just as the other schools of magic called to her emotional mind, Void magic seemed to call out to her emotionless mind. As if that was the school of magic her apathetic mind set could relate to the most. In a way she understood it, her emotional mind could understand the presence and existence of the Void. It was dark, hollow, and completely independent of the other schools of magic, violently so. Just feeling it, for the brief flash of existence that the Void magic was active for was amazing. Void magic seemingly by just being was able to call out the best and more expressive responses from the other magical schools present. In a way, it seemed that Void magic forced the other magics to expand, to be better than they ever were, than they ever could be. A force multiplier of the base energy being exerted by the different schools of magic, while itself never expanding beyond its own limits. What happened next for Alexa was the same thing that happens to all others who happen to be out in life and are able to witness a catastrophe, she watched. With slack jawed amazement she watched as three new schools of magic erupted to life around her, and for a second she understood that there was still so much more to see and experience in this life. That the wonders of the cosmos were just now revealing themselves to her. This was the calm before the storm, the moment when your mind slows down the flow of life and lets you fully take in the grandeur of how small and insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things. Then the next second, the true horror of what she was witnessing came to life. Her mind unable to hang onto that moment of clarity sprang to life. She then saw the explosion of force erupt out from the tiny box, as supercharged mana particles erupted out, covering Warder in flames, bolts of lightning, and violent bursts of wind. The first explosion caused a cascading effect as the Electricity mana particles reached out and were seemingly attracted to the other Electricity particles in the other nearby boxes. BOOM! A second explosion erupted, then a third. Alexa realizing it was too late to throw her own box, as it would just be caught up in the maelstrom of violence around her, did something she thought she would never do. She turned away from the explosion, curling her body around her own box, hoping that her own resistances and dampening would prevent her own box from adding to the cacophony of explosions and violence around her. Another, more rational part of her mind also said that she needed to preserve the box, as it was a clear sign of the elves treachery. Alexa huddled into a dense ball, her tall six foot four inch frame more than capable of shielding her own box from exploding. Knowing that if it did, the explosion would be too much for her to sustain, especially at such a close range. Instead, she could only sit there and take the violent bursts of Flame, piercing Wind, and the sharp Electrical bite of the magic exploding to life around her. Cuts, burns, and abrasions charred her back. At one point her long black hair caught fire, fortunately the burning stopped once it reached the lip of her mask, as no oxygen was able to penetrate the thick protective layer. Thump, thud, bang. Everything, from pieces of shrapnel, to kicked up rocks, to super-heated jets of air struck at her, pelting her with the magical equivalent of buckshot. Four explosions. One for every member of the American contingency group who came, save for Alexa who still held her box tightly against her skin as she desperately focused on grabbing and absorbing as much energy as she could. In particular, she focused on absorbing the marble sized portion of Void energy that was within her own box. That was one set of energy she did not want to get out or activating. Gentle breeze. A soft breeze blew through, a direct reaction from the sudden intense heat and pressure that seemingly occurred out of nowhere, and violently erupted. Seconds had passed, but to Alexa¡¯s mind it felt like an hour. There was the time when she had first seen the box, understood its purpose, that of being some form of bomb. Then she was so distracted about finding out how it was a bomb, that she failed to tell anyone else about her discovery. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Mentally she felt her surrounding area and realized that the different essences of mana that were around her were gone. They had all been spent and used up in a violent fashion. Only faint traces of the still vastly independent Void magic existed. Alexa felt how the Void magic around her began to come to life, draining anything organic nearby. As it absorbed life, it slowly, ever so slowly diminished in size, but there was more than enough Void energy to make it blatantly obvious as to what was happening. Then to her shock, she realized how that was the final nail in the coffin, the perfect way to delete any evidence that a crime had been committed. The bomb would explode, using Void magic as the magical catalyst. Then as the other magics were dissipated, the Void magic did what it always did, and began absorbing all nearby organic materials. Suddenly the purpose of the thin wax like paper was apparent, as that was a nonorganic substance that the Void didn¡¯t react to, a magically neutral form of creation that Alexa noted she would need to delve in deeper. If she could deconstruct her own personalized bomb that somehow managed to survive the entire ordeal, she would hopefully be able to recreate this neutral substance with her Creation magic. With a shock, Alexa shook herself, she was being far too callous with her thoughts. Only after a moment did she realize that this was likely an effect of her focusing solely on her absorbing the Void magic around her and in particularly in her box. Slowly the endorphins of emotion that had been slowly coming to life, were being muted as her body focused on absorbing the seemingly caustic materials. That was why she found her rational mind being in control. It was after all her rational mind that told her to hold onto the box of explosives. The same rationale was what told her to shield the box with her body. An emotional response would have been to throw the box as far away as possible, but that would have likely ended poorly. The lid was so loose that performing such an act would likely cause the lid to fly off, causing another explosion that was not accounted for. Thinking about it, her hanging onto the box had been the correct action. Not only did it help her understanding of how elves can weaponize different schools of magic, but it also was proof about the treachery of the elves. Before even turning around, she already felt her natural Regeneration kicking in, healing burns, scars, and bruises with relative ease. Then as she turned she saw complete carnage. Florence the relatively attractive reporter who had been handing out the boxes and had two more in her hands at the time of the detonation was the worst. The front part of her body was burned and charred, and what was worse, she had two black voids sucking in all organic life around her. A quick scan showed that both her parents were in similar states, both being eaten away by the same lingering Void energy that was now finishing the job that the blasts could not handle. Florence, and even her cameraman were dead, likely killed during the initial blast. Now Florence had not one but two Void spheres eating away her skin at a rapid pace, soon there would be no sign left showing that Florence even existed. Still there was hope, off in the distance, Alexa could see TSI Captain Johnston and Bullford stirring, although they were moving at a much more sedate pace. At this Alexa realized that despite having turned away from the blast, she was the first to recover. Assessing the situation, she did what she felt natural. Seeing her two parents, she realized that they were still alive, their Superior constitution and levels allowing them to survive this far, though it was clear that if nothing happened, they would die. Then doing what she thought was correct, she focused on her parents and began using Healing magic on the two. Focusing on the magic, she spiraled out the spells, letting them flow into and around the patients. There was of course, just one problem, the Void magic, it seemed to be repelling all attempts at Alexa using her Healing magic. Had Alexa¡¯s emotional mind been in control at this moment she would have likely panicked, wasting valuable seconds of time. With her rational mind in place, she was able to immediately understand the crux of the situation, the black Voids that rested on her parents bodies. Seeing the balls of Void, Alexa did many things all at once. First she quickly placed her still intact elven magical Void bomb on the ground. Next she moved forward and grabbed the two spheres of Void from her parents. At least she attempted to. Pain. Sharp debilitating pain coursed through her, as she grabbed the little Void ball from her mother. Instantly she felt multiple things all at once. First, she felt her health being ripped from her body. Secondly, she felt her natural Regeneration being pushed away from the point of contact with the sphere. Then finally, she felt her own natural absorption grabbing hold of the foreign energy and trying to convert it into something she could use. All of this happened in an instant. The pain was debilitating, as she felt her muscles tensing up with the complete wrongness of the alien magic. Still it was magic, which meant that Alexa should be in control of it. Or at least that was what Alexa told herself. ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± Her mother let out a weak gasp of pain, as the Void sphere was removed from her. Just a tiny marbles worth was more than enough to cause severe and debilitating pain. Alexa should have been stopped, as she could feel the very fabric of her own body being torn apart and ripped to shreds by the pure Void essence in her hand, something that should not exist in this world at all. Yet, here it was, devouring everything in its grip. Crawl. On one hand and two knees Alexa crawled, fighting for every inch of ground she could, all so she could get closer to her father. Logically she knew taking what she had was likely her limit, that this was more than enough for her, but this was her father. No, beyond that, this was a person, someone who she could save. Florence, the cameraman, those were dead. But this person, this was someone she could save. Someone who had supernatural health and resilience to sustain him. All Alexa needed to do was to make sure he had a chance to survive. Alexa couldn¡¯t heal, for the first time since she got the ability to use magic it was denied to her, though this was not really the case. She still had it, still could feel her control over magic rolling in her veins, but it was chaotic, dispersed and refracted away from its intended courses. There might be ways that she could in time learn to cast around such a hinderance, but at the moment, when time was of the essence, all she could do was claw her way over to the second void essence, and then grab it with her free left hand. Pain! If there was one thing that was universal, it was pain. Rather than expecting the pain to double, it seemed to quintuple at the addition of a second Void sphere. Rather than just having one focal point of pain, one that she kept in her hand and held out from her body, now she had two balls that she gripped tightly, even as they began eating away at her hands. She could feel the way the balls burned away layer after layer of creation, first her uniform, then her outer layer of skin, then the blood that came welling up. Slowly and painfully, she felt her body dying, as she felt the very life of her being ripped away. Now she truly understood the meaning behind the message from the elves. The message that alerted her to the danger of the package. May you die a thousand deaths. And she was. Slowly her body was breaking down, being absorbed and ripped away into these tiny spheres of pain she now held. Worse, she could feel her own body trying to fight back, trying to resist. In her mind she realized she already had something to deal with the Void. Her recently stolen power Void Resistance. Then her rational mind realized that if this was what it felt like with Void Resistance, then she would hate to realize what she would be experiencing what it would be like without her resistance. Judging by the pain, she also realized that it was just a Resistance to, not Immunity to the Void, something she now wished to work on, as the Void seemed to be a power that both excited and petrified her in equal measure. Rationally, she knew the Void was neither good nor bad, just a form of magic. Similarly, she knew that the Void was anathema to normal magic, not quite anti-magic, at least she didn¡¯t believe it was so. If it was anti-magic, she felt the two would absorb one another, rather than repel. Instead she knew this was just a different form of energy, one that worked best alone, away from others. Still, all of this was so distant. Her mind was fighting to survive, as she felt her body breaking down. ¡°Jim! Dang it Jim! Wake up!¡± Judy, Alexa¡¯s mom, called out releasing all decorum of being a Super, all respects to privacy. Instead she just cried out in pain and anguish. ¡°Alexa! Can you save him?¡± Judy said, turning to her daughter who was herself fighting a fierce battle to just stay conscious from the surges of pain that were coursing through her. ¡°ALEXA! No¡­NOO!¡± Judy began screaming, pain filling her voice as she drew near. Feeling her presence, she could feel how the Void balls senses the new organic materials near her and began trying to pull out the strands of energy from her. ¡°Go¡­¡± Alexa rasped out, her throat parched as she felt her entire body working its hardest just to survive. ¡°You need to stay back.¡± Bullford said, as he saw the state of Judy and then the way Alexa was now convulsing with pain, her hands desperately gripping two small black orbs that themselves seemed to absorb all light and energy around them. ¡°Mam, you need to step back.¡± Captain Johnston said, coming over to kneel near Alexa¡¯s head. Alexa could feel how Bullford was pulling her mother away, even as she tried to fight her way free. But she was only doing more and more damage to herself. ¡°You need to stop. We are trying to remove you from the area.¡± Bullford said. Even now Alexa could feel the other two balls of Void energy still eating away at the remains of Florence. ¡°Girl!¡± Johnston said, her face right above Alexa, ¡°you need to focus and do whatever it is you are doing, but do not close your eyes. Don¡¯t you quit on me. You hear me!¡± Alexa tried to respond, but a dry croak was all she managed to release from her lungs. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good, now listen to me, and do exactly as I say and you will make it through this.¡± Captain Johnston said, in a forcefully calm and controlled manner, as years of training on how to handle crises just like this all came up in her mind. Alexa, using the last of her consciousness held on and listened. Interlude XI (Part I) Interlude XI (Part I) Julie Swinton The interview was going well, all things considered. While Alexa had ended up missing most of the ¡®Media Faux Pas¡¯ classes and extracurricular sessions, she was still giving a clinic on how to shut down media with short concise answers. Still despite having gone through the wee hours of the morning into full on rays of the sun, the entire pack was still together, still watching and experiencing this moment with Alexa, if not in person, at least they could share this moment in spirit. The journalist ever cordial had been trying to get Alexa to bite on any response, but Alexa had shut her down at every turn, until finally one question seemed to cause her to awaken. ¡°Now, I have to ask, there are many bike manufacturers in England, is there any model or company that you would like to provide a bike for you?¡± ¡°A Triumph Rocket in black.¡± Alexa answered, quick. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡®Lecia asked, as she pulled out her phone and began searching for said bike. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Rachel responded. ¡°Oh, that is pretty.¡± Kylie said, already having the picture up on her phone screen. With that everyone began glancing over her shoulder, meanwhile the interview continued. ¡°So you are a bike enthusiast?¡± Florence the reporter asked. ¡°Who isn¡¯t?¡± Alexa responded. Her words causing everyone to chuckle at the way Alexa could somehow add excitement to an otherwise dry delivery. This was something else the reporter had a hard time understanding, whether Alexa was mocking her or not. By now it seemed that Florence just understood this was Alexa being Alexa, but it had brought no end of enjoyment to them as they listened at first. Once again there was a momentary pause, as Florence seemed to desperately wait for Alexa to provide more information, but sadly none came. ¡°She does look good in her uniform, almost as if she was made for such a role.¡± Luke said, trying to whisper lightly to Julie, but given that he was a human speaking in the middle of a pack of cured werewolves everyone heard him, and everyone seemed to nod their heads in unison. ¡°Oh right¡­¡± Florence began, as she clearly began moving away from the camera to seemingly do something off stage. Those were the only two words that were recorded, before the feed was abruptly cut off. SQUELCH! A high pitched screech could be heard, and suddenly Julie along with every other Lykanthropy survivor of the pack all began wincing in pain, as they all instinctively tried to lower their heads in pain. At the same time the video feed of the event died, presenting the rainbow screen showing that the broad cast was having issues appeared. Even with enhanced reflexes, people controlling the sound were too locked up by the sudden high-pitched ringing to be able to turn down the terrible sound. Then just as quickly as it had started, the whole thing ended. Whipper-woosh! A quick burst of wind rustling across the open microphone could be heard. Simultaneously, the rainbow pallet of colors ended, as the feed seemed to go back to a live showing, except for the fact that the screen was only black. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°What was that.¡± The girls of the pack began speaking one after another. Rustling. ¡°Shh!¡± Julie said, for the first time trying to strain her still ringing ears to try to identify the sounds of what was happening. ¡°Gah!¡± The intense sound of someone sucking air into their lungs could be heard. ¡°Jim!¡± The high pitch cry of agony could be heard. ¡°Mom?¡± Luke asked, knowing instantly who that voice belonged to. His face suddenly went pale, as he could only hear his mother cry out in pain. Then realization hit him, ¡°dad?¡± ¡°Dang it Jim!¡± The same female voice called out, this time her voice was unmistakable. ¡°Wake up!¡± The more she spoke, the more everyone in the entry room to the girls hall grew quiet. Everyone waited with bated breath, trying to understand what happened. Gina, who had been sitting back in a chair hugging her well used and over loved stuffed bear came forward, and began tilting her head as if she was able to get more out of what was going on. Remembering her class, that was exactly what Julie thought was happening. Wanting to ask her what she saw, but then before she could say anything, before anyone could say anything, Judy¡¯s voice could be heard again. ¡°Alexa! Can you save him?¡± Judy Thyme asked, pain and anguish evident in her voice. Something was wrong, something was really wrong. A silent pause. During the pause no one stirred, no one so much as breathed. Despite how high the volume still was, at this moment no one wanted to say or do anything that would distract from finding out what happened. Then they all heard the three words that sent chills down their backs. ¡°ALEXA! No¡­NOO!¡± Judy began screaming, pain filled her voice as she screamed in near delusional panic. Rustling. The sound of people moving in the distance could be heard, well only to people who had their hearing enhanced by the Lykantrhopy virus. For people like Luke and Gina, they just stared on, not quite understanding why every werewolf slowly tilted their head to the left, as if trying to hear the direction that the silent footsteps were coming from. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Go¡­¡± Alexa rasped out, her voice so low and so weak that it sent chills down all the werewolves spines. Julie looked to Gina, but the words seemed to have been uttered too silently for Gina and Luke both to have heard. More rustling. ¡°You need to stay back.¡± The deep grumbling voice of Bullford said, his voice easily identifiable to every member of the pack. Mainly because he was the first voice of a master werewolf who worked with them all to learn to gain control of their animal instincts. He was a good man, and secretly Juile, along with other members of the pack, had been meeting with him, trying to figure out how to deal with the changes that were happening to her, especially after she managed to awaken her class. ¡°Mam, you need to step back.¡± The fiery voice of Captain Johnston said, her words brokering no room for argument. Scuffle. The sound of two people wrestling could be heard, though they were far less than one would expect from two high level Supers going at it. ¡°You need to stop. We are trying to remove you from the area.¡± Bullford said, his voice calm and compassionate. Of course, his words only seemed to heighten the sense of fear everyone was experiencing. ¡°Girl! You need to focus and do whatever it is you are doing, but do not close your eyes. Don¡¯t you quit on me. You hear me!¡± Captain Johnston said, her voice showing an odd sense of compassion, something Julie never thought she would hear from the firecracker of TSI Captain. Her words and sudden care, a sign of just how dire the situation was over there. ¡°Yes.¡± A faint rasp of a voice responded. Only after a second, did Julie realize that the voice belonged to Alexa. ¡°Good, now listen to me, and do exactly as I say and you will make it through this.¡± Captain Johnston said, with that, the entire sophomore class watched on, staring at a black screen image on a wall as audio was their only link to what happened. ¡°How long do you think they were out?¡± Alison asked, her question was to Yulia who had been right beside her, but Gina was the one that answered. ¡°Four point two seconds.¡± ¡°Four point two?¡± Allison asked, clearly trying to understand how long the feed went down. ¡°Yes.¡± Gina responded emphatically. Normally people would question such precise measurements of time, but Gina¡¯s class allowed her to do so much. ¡°Do you know what happened?¡± Julie found herself asking. Gina shook her head no, but then seemed to realize she was mistaken. ¡°An attack of some kind. Likely an explosion. Given everything, it seems that only the supers who were on scene are alive.¡± ¡°JIM! Don¡¯t you dare die on me JIM!¡± The mad desperate wails of Judy could be heard, crying out in pain. The deep seeded pain of someone who was experiencing deep seeded personal loss could feel. ¡°What is going on?¡± Luke asked, his face going pale as sympathetic tears sprung to his eyes as all he could do was cry in pain at hearing his mother¡¯s wail. Seeing him, Julie went over and hugged Luke, not knowing what else to do, or to say. Almost immediately Julie felt cold wet drops falling onto the nape of her neck. The sensation was so odd, that it sent shivers down her spine and nearly caused her to pull away, but she fought against that initial impulse. Luke never cried, never let his emotions get to him, he was always the rock of their relationship. Julie had been through a lot recently, well throughout her life really, but Luke had always been there. Despite how much she picked on him, despite how angry she had been with him for his initial breakup, he never took anything personally. Instead, he always seemed to have his own Super suit that helped protect his emotions from getting in the way. So that fact that he was here, obviously distressed in front of so many possible people who could hold it against him, made Julie realize two things. First, and likely the most important thing, was that she loved him. Madly and truly, she loved him. At first he had been that redemption date, the one you go on to prove that the person who dumped you made a mistake, but despite how many times she had tried to push him away, he stayed. This thought of course led her to her second major discovery, that she was willing to deal with wet tears, embarrassing moments, and so many more things to be with Luke. Mainly because for the first time since they started dating she could finally see one thing, she could see herself staying with this man, just as he had doggedly stayed with her. Julie¡¯s private revelation would be short lived however, as a small Gina sized tackling ball smashed into the two of them and began hugging. At first, Julie wanted to protest, thinking that Gina was there trying to steal her moment with Luke, but glancing out of the corner of her eye, Julie finally relented as it appeared that Gina too had tears in her eyes. Seeing her reddening eyes and features, it was clear that whatever Gina was able to deduce from her class was not good. Blip. The sound of the feed being cut off and transferred abruptly could be heard. At this everyone turned to the black wall that had suddenly gone oddly bright, as an elder but still pretty female reporter sat behind a news desk. ¡°I am sorry, it seems that there has been a slight news feed problem. As you could hear, we had audio, but for some reason we lost visual of the scene. At this time, we do not know what has happened. From telemetry data it appears that there was a large burst of energy, some of our analysts are claiming this is likely a residual burst that is known to happen around otherworldly rift closures.¡± ¡°That is BullSTICKS!¡± Gina said, turning and shouting towards the projection wall. At first people looked like they wanted to confront her, but seeing the absolute look of rage on her face, no one commented. Click. Someone, looked to be Erin the person who set up the whole projection, cut the feed. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I will turn it back if they go back to Alexa, but I¡¯m not going to listen to that.¡± Silence. Everyone turned to look to the quivering Gina. Everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to her shaking form as generally hunters are drawn to such actions, as it generally shows fear. Yet, there was something off about the way Gina was standing. She was shaking and trembling violently as if she was barely holding back her rage. As if she could wolf out at any time. Seeing her Julie wondered if she had somehow caught the Lykanthropy virus just by being in such close proximity to everyone, herself included, for so long. ¡°What is it?¡± Julie finally asked, trying to find out what got the normally happy go lucky girl so intensely angry. ¡°They attacked her! They attacked her on live TV, and then they tried to cover it up by saying it was a mana burst? From a dimensional rift gate closing?¡± Gina spat out. Hearing that everyone paused, then Luke posed, ¡°could it have been a mana burst?¡± Gina was about to shout, but then realizing it was Luke that she was about to yell at, the person who likely had the most to lose from this, she took a second to calm herself. Then tapping her right foot down angrily, she began. ¡°Let us begin with the facts. We saw Stonehenge. The distant footage of the attack was shown to us, we know it happened in Stonehenge.¡± Gina said all that, laying out the true facts of the case as if she was some type of trial lawyer. Which, in this case didn¡¯t seem like it was that far off, as she was clearly trying to show the idea that something nefarious happened. After a moment Luke, Julie, and the other members of the pack all nodded in agreement. ¡°Good. Then we saw how the coverage stayed with Alexa, her parents, and the TSI team for hours. During that time there was no escalation of lights, no visible sign of anything happening, right?¡± Gina asked. At that everyone once again nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay, the interview went long, but that is how covering Supers goes. You spend more time with them, trying to let government officials come, but for some reason no government officials came. Now one could say that they were at such a remote place that it would have been impossible to get there in such a short time. But again, they were there for two and a half hours. You are telling me not one official could have made it out to there, even to a place like Stonehenge within that time?¡± Silence. ¡°Then there was the fact that the camera woman just so happened to go off and get something, right at the time that the feed ends. Now what many of you might not realize is that there is an eight second buffer of time between something that is happening, and when it is shown on live tv.¡± Another pause as she let this fact sink in, before she continued. ¡°Now, I couldn¡¯t hear it, but judging by the way all of you winced in pain there was likely a high pitched sound that you all heard, right at the same time that the screen went dark.¡± Again Julie found herself nodding at the facts and just how smart Gina was at being able to put all of this together so quickly and efficiently. ¡°Then after a short time, four point two seconds, the feed is dropped and then subsequently picks back up with only audio. I think what you heard was a remote command meant to kill the entire broadcast. Then what we heard after that, was the remains of the camera still working. The squelching sound was likely made to destroy the camera entirely, but for whatever reason it wasn¡¯t completely successful. Meanwhile, the people that were in charge of dropping the feed if anything vulgar was said, killed the live feed during the attack.¡± ¡°An attack?¡± ¡°An attack. There was no mana burst, no sign of anything increasing in pressure. No sign that the ground behind Alexa and the others was rising or reacting to the sudden build up of pressure. All we have is an attack on the camera feed itself, then the sounds of what has to be¡­¡± She trailed off as she tilted her head to the side, as if trying to see something. ¡°A bomb or something¡­¡± ¡°A bomb?¡± ¡°Yes, a bomb¡­¡± Gina said nodding her head as she seemed to get more and more confident in her analysis of the scene. ¡°A bomb would likely explain why they chose the flimsy excuse of a residual mana burst to cover the tracks. Yet, we can prove that is not the case, one by seeing where this explosion took place, and two if feeds of Stonehenge are completely the same. If it is only where Alexa and the others were standing, then it had to be a targeted attack in some way, the most likely explanation would have to be a bomb, of some sorts.¡± Silence. There was a brief period of silence as everyone contemplated what was said. Everyone tried to find fault with what was said, but could not, the details and explanations as pointed out by Gina and her impressive Analytical class were hard to refute. ¡°So if it was an attack, then who did it?¡± Erica asked. ¡°Who do you think, it was obviously¡­¡± Kylie began, but was quickly cut off. ¡°We do not know at this time, and anything we say beyond this would clearly be speculation.¡± Gina said, then with her arms pointed around the giant room they were in and began pointing out all the different runes that Mr. Mackie had set up around the place. Seeing them, Julie paused, as she had never noticed them being there before. Yet, now that they were pointed out, it was like a blindfold had been removed from her eyes, as they were clearly written all over the room. Some of the markings blended in with the different shadings of the room. The dark corners where light couldn¡¯t fully reach, the areas just above the door hinges, a seemingly random scuff on the floor that was a little too perfectly placed in an impossible spot. Everything was just so perfectly placed that they had to be runes. Only after a moment of staring at the runes in disbelief did Julie realize that one, or likely multiple runes probably dealt with making it so the runes were nearly impossible to remember unless they were being pointed out in just such a way. Still, this a lot to take in. Finally after the shock of finding so many runes was dismissed ¡®Lecia spoke first. ¡°So what should we do now?¡± ¡°Two things,¡± Gina began. ¡°Pray for their safety, while we plan for revenge.¡± At that a shiver went down Julie¡¯s spine as she saw the fire that Countess Rojas was so known for. Also seeing that rage, and focused intensity, Julie realized that Gina too was perfect for Alexa. Or at least she was a far better match for the stoic warrior than she could ever be. At first that revelation would have been tough to swallow, but she meant it when she realized she had somehow fallen completely for Luke. Realizing that, Julie turned to Luke and asked the eight words that all guys want to hear from their partners. ¡°Do you want to go to your room?¡± Interlude XI (Part II) Interlude XI (Part II) Rayne Johnston It had been a good day all things considered. A few assistants showed up thirty minutes into the briefing, bringing a few tables, sandwiches, and a few odds and ends. Due to the catastrophic nature of what had happened, the leader of the English Heritage group was on their way, but apparently the roads and other destroyed infrastructure had made the trip out to Stonehenge a bit of a challenge. Due to this, the team had been asked to stay around long beyond the point of no return, if the leaders didn¡¯t come soon then Rayne was going to call it a day. It was clear to everyone that nothing noteworthy was going to be spoken by Alexa in her Aru¡¯ka outfit. Seeing Alexa give such noncommittal answers brought a sense of pride to the Captain, as she wanted to get a copy of this so she could show others in her department on how to interact with the media. Answer the question as succinctly as possible and move on, gods it was like watching a clinic. Everything was crisp and short to the point. Even when the interviewer found topics of interest, Alexa avoided them like a pro. ¡°So you are a bike enthusiast?¡± Re reporter asked. ¡°Who isn¡¯t?¡± Alexa responded. There was enough of a comedic beat that elapsed that both Bullford and Rayne found themselves chuckling silently to themselves, as the reporter desperately fought to keep this interview going. She, like everyone had been given a mission of prolonging this meeting until leadership arrived, and she was doing her darndest to keep it going. Even putting up with Judge and Warder for a good hour, until their information could no longer be of assistance, after that Bullford and Rayne both tagged in for a time, and now it was back to Alexa. In all that time, it was noted that the secretary that had brought the table, food and other necessities was going to head back. They had even gone out of their way to tell Rayne to inform the cameraman and the reporter that special gifts had arrived. Then they went off to find leadership, of course, that was an hour ago. Everything was going smoothly, almost too smoothly. Despite how mind numbing the entire event was, Rayne should have expected a set up of some kind. Yet, she had been lulled into a false sense of security. That was the moment before all hell broke loose. ¡°Oh right, while the elven representatives apologized for not being able to be here in person, they did ask that I give you this.¡± The reporter said, going over and getting boxes that the cameraman had been holding. Of course, after the first box was given, Rayne herself could hear a faint sharp sound emanating from the camera. Rayne wasn¡¯t the only one to hear the sound as it was so intense that it caused Bullford to audibly wince and turn away in pain. Wince. Simultaneously the cameraman called out with a quiet, ¡°what the?¡± The words were likely too silent to be heard by most humans, but supernatural hearing is great for hearing even the slightest mutterings of sound. A quick scan out of the corner of her eye showed the cameraman turning away from the scene to look at his camera. He then began taking a few steps away, likely to get some equipment to work on the camera, at least that was what Rayne thought as he held the camera vertically against his body walking and looking at the battery pack at the back to see if it was still good. It was apparent from his movements that he was more than used to walking and fiddling with his camera at the same time. A quick glance at the back only caused him to shake his head as he moved his hand away from the battery pack as whatever the reason for the problem was not the battery. All of this was gained in under a second, a quick scan of an area allowing Rayne to move on. She was about to turn back, when she heard Alexa speak. ¡°Wait!¡± Hearing her sound somewhat excited Rayne again turned her head to glance over her shoulder at the girl. Rayne still had her back to the scene before her as her initial concern was on Bullford, but his problem was just mild irritation from a high pitched sound, one that was coming from a malfunctioning camera. But Alexa having concerns was a different issue entirely, she had good instincts. There was movement to her left, as Warder was fiddling with the box he had just been given. The top seemingly slid off easily, and fell into his hand. At that, Alexa immediately began twisting her body away, and curling up into a ball. Rayne was about to ask why, when she found out firsthand what the problem was. Ba-ba-BOOOM! Multiple explosions rang out at once, each overlapping the other in a cacophony of sounds, flames, and lightning. Rayne herself felt the intense bite and sting of fire lashing out against her back. The flames themselves didn¡¯t hurt, rather it was the electricity that had somehow been woven into the attack that caused Rayne¡¯s body to freeze up on her. While she was immune to the flames, the electricity did leave giant welts in her body. She could feel how her gray suit jacket was burnt away to ruins, fierce winds were also somehow generated by the explosion, ensuring the flames had oxygen to burn as they expanded ever outward. Rayne understood all of this on an instinctual level as she herself had been forced to experience the flames firsthand. The minute the eruption of flames ended; Rayne found herself pushing her way up from Bullford. Somehow in the blast Rayne had been hurled forward on top of Bullford. Then still in an electricity induced daze, she found herself forcefully extending her body to her full height, as she felt like she had to wrestle with every muscle in her body to get them all to forcefully release themselves from their constricting hold. A quick scan of the area showed that everyone was down. Well, no wait, Alexa was still up and moving going first to her mother. That was good, knowing that the mother was okay, Rayne scanned the rest of the scene for survivors. Warder, the dad was still kicking and convulsing, though he looked to be in bad shape. The cameraman had somehow collapsed onto their camera, seemingly trying to protect the camera with their very body, even in death. A quick scan of the reporter showed that she too was also dead, though something was wrong with her as parts of her body were slowly melting away, as if two mini blackholes had opened up right next to her and were now consuming everything they could from the area. Rayne found herself enthralled by the sight so much that she likely would have continued staring had it not been for sounds stirring her from her musings. ¡°Gah!¡± Judy ¡®Judge¡¯ Thyme let out a pain filled groan, a sign that she was alive. Seeing Judy, Rayne¡¯s eyes instantly scanned to the reason for the sound and quickly locked onto Alexa. Who despite everything, despite being at near ground zero of the blast, despite having far worse injuries than she and Bullford could have suffered she had been the first to act. And now, whatever happened to her was taking its toll. She crawled on her knees, occasionally balancing herself with her one free hand, while her right hand held something dark. Just looking at the hand caused an instinctual fear to race down Rayne¡¯s back, as she could tell just how inherently wrong the odd substance was. With a glance over, she realized it was the same black substance that was slowly eating away at the reporter. Then with a fright, Rayne turned to see that Alexa was going towards her father, towards the fourth and final source of black energy. At that Rayne herself started moving, followed shortly thereafter by Bullford who like her had been stopping and accessing the situation. The whole thing took a matter of seconds, but it felt like hours. By the time they got there, a few things were apparent, first Alexa was in terrible shape. She had not one, but two of the black masses. Worse, it didn¡¯t appear that she was able to rid herself of them. As they seemed to have burned a way into her skin by this point. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Even getting within ten feet of the area caused an increasing sense of dread to course down her spine. Being so close, Judy and Alexa didn¡¯t seem to have the same sense of wrongness that she now felt. Even getting this close made Rayne¡¯s body feel like it was unable to breathe, like she was somehow breathing in radioactive elements that were corrupting her to her very core. ¡°Jim! Dang it Jim! Wake up!¡± Judy cried out in pain and anguish. At that Rayne and Bullford continued moving forward, despite the slight mental pause they felt while entering the bubble of corruption that blanketed the whole area. ¡°Alexa! Can you save him?¡± Judy said, turning to her daughter who was fighting just to stay conscious. Seeing her daughter in the state she was in, caused Judy to go almost ballistic with rage and anguish. ¡°ALEXA! No¡­NOO!¡± Judy began screaming, pain filling her voice as she drew near. ¡°Go¡­¡± Alexa managed to rasp out. Hearing her and seeing the scene for what it was, the duo Bullford and Johnston both knew what to do to assist with the situation. A slight head nod was all it took to communicate so much. With that head nod, the plan to split up and secure the area was spoken. With the nod, Rayne spoke of how she would tend to Alexa, the victim she was closest to, while Bullford would tend to Judy. As for Jim, well, it wasn¡¯t good. Logically they should have gone to him first, but the mother who was still weak and suffering from her own rot and decay that was claiming her body was getting visibly upset. Doctrine dictates that officers first have to secure the scene, before they can begin treating the wounded. ¡°You need to stay back.¡± Bullford said, as he grabbed Judy and began forcefully dragging her back out of the blanketing sphere of malevolence that coated this whole area. Rayne thought about removing Alexa as well, but realized that one removing her now would mean she would be spreading those dark balls of chaos with her. Secondly it would mean she would have to go further to treat Jim, if she could treat Jim. From what it appeared, Jim¡¯s body was convulsing, still fighting desperately to stay alive, but he now had a sunken chest wound, one caused by the explosion of black mass that seemed to have been rocketed right into his chest. Had it not been for Alexa acting when she did, he would likely be dead. As it was, well, he at least had a chance. If Alexa was up, operational and fully capable of using her Healing magic to its fullest, she might, and I repeat might have had a chance at saving him, Rayne thought to herself. As it was, he was a tertiary concern. Right now, there was one, and possibly two survivors of this catastrophe, but only if Rayne acted quickly. ¡°Mam, you need to step back.¡± Captain Johnston said, coming over to kneel near Alexa¡¯s head. This was her command voice and one that seemed to shock Judy into awareness of where she was, at least for the moment. That moment was short lived however, as Judy quickly came to her sense and then began trying to desperately come to either her husband, or to her daughter¡¯s side. ¡°You need to stop. We are trying to remove you from the area.¡± Bullford said, not quite being able to articulate the fact that there was an oppressive aura over the area that was preventing her body from healing naturally. Realizing that she just had to trust her partner at this point, she went ahead and began focusing on helping Alexa through this. ¡°Girl! You need to focus and do whatever it is you are doing, but do not close your eyes. Don¡¯t you quit on me. You hear me!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A dry croaking sound emanated from Alexa¡¯s lips. That one word was enough for Rayne to realize just how close to the brink of death she was. The fact that her body was spasming in pain also didn¡¯t help the impression that she would somehow be able to survive this, but if anyone could pull through this, it would be Alexa. ¡°Good, now listen to me, and do exactly as I say and you will make it through this.¡± Rayne said, as she stared down into Alexa¡¯s deep blue eyes. Then she did everything she could to keep Alexa focusing on her, on staying awake. Rustling. After a few minutes, Bullford had managed to get Judy to rest outside the sphere of influence that these dark voids seemed to have, then he courageously braved his way back in. As he entered, Rayne couldn¡¯t help but see the way he shivered as he entered, it was clear that there was a huge area of effect that these black dots have. Judy who had been asked to sit down for her own health multiple times would not, at least not until she knew that Jim and Alexa were safe. Realizing this was the best he could get, he promised that he would bring out Jim, if she stayed still. That seemed to be enough of a promise, as here he was, without the injured Judy desperately following him in. With deft hands the giant brute of a master werewolf slid his massive paws under the large Warder, who appeared oh so small at the moment, then with an act of strength only afforded a high level Awakened being, he began leaving with said body squarely in his hands. At first glance the wounds didn¡¯t seem to be as bad as she had originally thought, while being a sunken chest wound, it was on the lower right side of his torso, near the diaphragm area, at least if Rayne¡¯s memory of biology was still correct. Though, while the wound wasn¡¯t as bad as she initially feared, his reaction was nothing to write home about. He lay there, arms limp and hanging loosely in the air. Judging by the wound Warder suffered, Rayne¡¯s crime scene analytics were coming in as she mentally tried to determine the most relevant course of action that could have happened. Knowing that the boxes all exploded independently, helped out a lot with the crime scene reconstruction. In her mind she saw how the box exploded, and was likely dropped as a result. Then the force of the first explosion causing the boxes in the reporter¡¯s hands to go off simultaneously caused the box that had been let go to violently get shot directly into Jim¡¯s chest, just below his lungs and other vital organs. Rayne seeing that, looked down to see that Alexa herself was still an inch away from death herself. At one point Rayne had tried to get Alexa to let the balls go, but they were glued to her hands, as they had apparently burned their way into her flesh. Worse, every time she went near the substance she herself felt an intense burning sensation run down her own hands as she could feel, literally feel her own Draconian Skin being melted away and absorbed by the alien energy. Looking over, it was clear that something similar had happened to Judy¡¯s hand, her hand that had been holding the box was melted away. After she started bleeding from three fingers, Rayne stopped and instead turned her attentions towards keeping her patient alive. ¡°You see that girl. That¡¯s your dad, he needs you.¡± Rayne paused, as she locked eyes with the stoic super, ¡°I need you.¡± Moisture. Rayne felt a tear run down her face as she thought about how much trouble this one girl had caused. How much trouble the whole family had caused her over the years, how they had all quickly grown to become the family she always wanted, but never knew until now. Rustle. Looking down, Rayne saw that Alexa was now trying to move. ¡°You need to wait.¡± Rayne said, gently trying to push Alexa back down. Her face had been white as a ghost a moment ago, though now she did seem to be having some color in her. ¡°I need my father.¡± Alexa said as she forced her way past the gentle push of Rayne. Of course, Rayne could apply even more pressure to keep her down, but this was something that was needed. Instantly Rayne could see the intense vibrant green glow of magic coursing through her body, as it was clear that whatever had been stopping the girl¡¯s use of magic was now gone. Looking down, Rayne could also see that the two lumps of black energy that had fused their way into Alexa¡¯s hands were now gone, as Alexa healed herself it was clear that she had somehow managed to get rid of the black substance that seemed to eat away at the very fabric of reality. A quick glance back showed that the two black balls that were on the reporter were not just still there, but they were still growing in size. Rayne at first wanted to go help the stoic Alexa who herself was barely able to stand upright, but then Rayne paused, as she noticed something on the ground. A medium sized forest green box that sent shivers of fear down Rayne¡¯s side just looking at it. ¡°What is that?¡± Rayne said, as she went closer to it, in her mind she realized that if the other boxes were any indication then this extra box would soon be detonated as well, particularly with the way the dark spheres that still existed around the reporter were still somehow expanding. Seeing the box, she realized two things, first that this box was likely still filled with the same explosive materials that the other boxes were. And secondly, she realize that this box was getting closer and closer to being detonated itself. Holding out her hand, Rayne stopped herself wondering if she should in fact reach out to grab the box before her. ¡°Get it.¡± Alexa said, her words confirming Rayne¡¯s own suspicions. Just like handling any live ordinance Rayne was careful and gingerly reached down to grab the box, pausing for a moment as she waited for an explosion that would not come. Then as if answering her unspoken question, Alexa who had been slowly limping away by herself spoke up. ¡°The lid.¡± ¡°The what?¡± ¡°The lid. It detonates when the lid is removed.¡± Alexa said. At that, Rayne felt her fingers almost lose control over the box, but she then quickly regains her composure and manages to grip the box tightly in a grip that pushes the lid down, while pushing the bottom up, just to make sure the box does not slide apart. ¡°JIM! OH, Gods JIM!¡± Judy cries out, pounding on the chest of Jim who lay motionless in Bullford¡¯s arms. Alexa who was just at the brink of death¡¯s door a second ago seemed to find an extra gear to her step as she hobbled even quicker forward. She was so fast that by the end Rayne could hardly keep up. Though Rayne had also been purposefully not trying to sprint or cause any disruptions that might otherwise set off the bomb within her hands, though she did agree that getting the bomb out of the potential blast radius would be the best. Rayne was about to follow Alexa to Bullford and Jim, but then quickly thought better about bringing a possible undetonated bomb anywhere near the wounded warriors. After a few steps she turned about and immediately headed south, away from the rest of the group, only stopping when she was a full ten feet away from the dome of evil that had surrounded the area, she leaned down and gently placed the box on the ground. Silence. She waited for a moment, as if wondering if the simple placement of said box on the ground would be enough to set off another explosion. Then realizing she was being stupid for staying near the IED, she stood up and backed away slowly, then once she was far enough away from the box, she turned around and began sprinting. As she ran, she could once again feel the cool breeze on her back, a sign that most of her business suit had been ruined in the initial blast. Then when as she got closer, horror struck her, as she saw three people hovering over a body. And it was a body, from this distance away Rayne could smell the waves of energy that were rolling off of the large girl, the magical healer who could work miracles. She could cure Necromancy, Rayne had seen it with her own eyes, and now despite her best efforts there was nothing that could be done. Shuffle, stutter, step. In a second, the speed that Rayne had been running stopped as her mind mentally broke down trying to see what happened. Then as her analytical mind broke it down, she wanted to reevaluate the situation, once, then twice, as her mind refused to accept what she knew to be true. ¡°NOOOOOO!!!¡± Judy cried out in a wailing shriek of a sob could be heard for hundreds of meters in all directions, as layers and layers of powers were edged into that one word. Badump, stutter bump. Rayne felt an intense clenching pain on her chest as she felt the same intense agony and pain that Judy felt, not just due to the power being used, but because she was a human being. Because she had worked with and truly appreciated the man that lay before her. The motionless man who her mind still refused to accept the truth, but it was right there. All laid out right before her, and there was nothing she, nor the best healer in the world could do to change the present. And it killed Rayne just a little more inside, knowing that she had once again outlived another great hero. Jim ¡®Warder¡¯ Thyme, was dead. Chapter 129 Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum Chapter 129 Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum Silence. No one spoke, for a minute everyone just watched and waited as their minds tried to process what was happening, what had happened. The unthinkable, yes they had been in combat, yes Alexa knew that eventually it might come to this, but she had been blindsided by the act. An act of cowardice, one she thought would have been beneath the elves and their lofty sense of dignity. Yet, here she was standing over the corpse of her father. Alexa had been arrogant, had she moved quicker, had she read the box faster, had she not spent so long trying to understand the bomb and how it worked, had she not been so attracted to the Void. Had any of these conditions not happened, then she would have been able to help, to Heal. Yet, she could not change the past, at least she didn¡¯t think such a form of magic existed. She thought about the idea of Time magic for just a moment, but then dropped it as an ultimately foolish endeavor. The truth was, she had been set up, they all had. They had been lulled into thinking that the elves would play by the same set of rules as they always had, that they would usher in the integration with the same set of rules that they had always seemingly followed contentedly. Only now did she realize the truth; how na?ve she had been this whole time. For years she had wished that she could feel something, anything while in her normal state of mind, and over the past few months she had felt that she was making some efforts in that direction, she had friends, or at least people who seemed to appreciate her. She had her brother who finally stopped seeing her as some valuable flower needing to be protected, and above it all, she had her parents, Warder and Judge. The two largest and more powerful Supers in the Tri-State area as her parents. Shuffle. Over her right shoulder Alexa heard the approach of footsteps, as someone came up from behind. It was the Captain, a quick glance showed that she had dropped off the last unused bomb. While Alexa was fairly certain she had disabled the ignition runes on that box at least, she chalked yet one more failure up, the inability to disable more runes quicker. Of course, she had just seen the runes and then tried to interpret them, and their function, only to be confused by what she saw, well not what she saw, but rather what she felt. Then she felt the Void, it was cold and comforting in a way she never knew possible. It was like falling into a thick patch of freshly fallen snow, it formed to her in ways she never felt possible. Worse, it seemed that her class seemed to be perfectly made for it, especially with the last message she received. A message that was glowing brightly and all but refusing to let her handle what was happening in front of her. Absorber Class Material Found: Would you like to absorb essence of Void Energy? Seeing the system message, Alexa inwardly intoned yes. Then she felt the fusion go to her in such a way that she didn¡¯t realize was possible.
New School of Magic Unlocked: Void magic. Void magic is now at Tier II.
Seeing the Tier rating, Alexa wondered why it was set at Tier II, was it because she absorbed two balls of the matter? Also, now that this new power was in her, she did still feel some mild discomfort from the odd form of magic that was currently coursing through her body and causing even more issues to form with her use of other forms of magic. Of course, she only felt the discomfort now that she had time to stop and reflect on what was happening around her, to focus on the possible changes that happened within herself. Idly she wondered, for a second, if not having the Void magic within her would have made it so she could have avoided the ramifications of what happened, but that was quickly dismissed. She still had control over the other forms of magic, it just that the Void magic had an odd painful numbing sensation to it, something that was similar to sitting in an awkward position for too long and losing all circulation in a limb. But rather than being in just one limb, this numb sensation seemed to go everywhere all at once. Still this was easily able to be overcome, so long as she focused her mind on a particular task it was nothing more than a mild inconvenience. Of course, this was before the system gave her another more urgent message, one that required her to detract from her current thoughts and immediately fix the issue that was flashing before her senses.
Warning: you are currently unable to wield the Void magic within your body properly. Class Upgrade options available: Void Manipulation (Psychic), Void Resistance (2) (Psychic, will merge with aspects of current synergistic power Void Resistance), or Void Creation (Psychic).
Seeing the powers that were now available to her, she realized that the way to wield Void magic was on a completely different scale than the other forms of magic that were currently available to her. As usual there was no description of what she would gain from the stolen powers. Also, Alexa found it odd that this spectrum of magic seemed to be entirely manipulated through the use of psychic powers. She had known that there were differences between psychic and magic powers, but she had thought that this distinction was solely due to scale and effect. Though it seemed that the use of Void magic might need to purposefully be scaled back, thus the reason for only being able to manipulate it with psychic powers. The first thing she did was select Void Resistance (2).
Note: Synergistic effect noted. Innate Power Void Resistance has been fused with new psychic power. Void Resistance (2) has been altered.
New Psychic Power Gained: Enhanced Void Resistance: Void magic resistance (50%).
Seeing the message and warning caused a bit of a surprise to her. She had never seen the effects of synergistic powers merging before. Also, she assumed that their activation in such a way was somehow multiplicative, versus additive. That merging two unique, but similar powers could have a monumental effect on the body. Mentally she equated this to the multiplicative nature of weaving multiple schools of magic together could have a cascading effect on the scope and capability of a particular spell. Now she figured that such a multiplicative effect would happen from blending together two different but functionally similar forms of resistance. The first was the innate species resistance to the Void that she had stolen from the Void Rats. Then this new psychic power took that previous resistance and merged it into a whole new spectrum of power. With the psychic power she realized how amazing the jump in resistance was, as the cold aching numbness that had been burning away at her insides finally seemed to be relenting. With that, she began to feel slightly better, her mind and body still ached, but they were quickly being soothed away by her natural Regeneration that was seemingly able to interact better with her body now that the Void magic no longer seemed to be hindering her. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. That was it, idly Alexa could still feel the two pieces of Void magic nearby, but that was it, she could just sense them, the ability to interact with such an odd power was not possible for her now. Shuffle, crunch. The TSI Captain had been moving closer to her, in a second Alexa realized that the whole interaction with the system, her choice, and reflection on the choice had taken seconds. In fact, she realized that her perception of time seemed to be enhanced by an astounding factor. Perhaps it was an instinctual part of her mind letting her know that danger was nearby, or maybe it was her mind¡¯s automatic response to being exposed to Void essence. The odd power seemed to call to her, to beckon her in a way that she didn¡¯t expect. Oddly enough, if her emotional side was to wield and use regular Magic, then her normal rational mind was the one that found the idea of the Void so enticing. For better or worse, the Void was a part of her now, as it was forever a part of her. While she didn¡¯t feel that she could use it, at least not in the way she could almost instinctively use the other forms of magic, there was part of her that was certain she could wield the magic, despite not having the psychic abilities to manipulate and create the magical effects she wanted directly. Of course, this did beg the question, were psychic powers just minor extensions, mental crutches of true magic, or were they themselves something wholly unique? In the past Alexa had felt that they were the latter, but now that she had seen the way Void powers had their direct psychic equivalent to work with, she wondered if this was a mistake on her part. While the idea of having psychic resistances to magic were nothing new, the idea that she would need, or at the very least could use psychic powers to manipulate a school of magic directly was disconcerting. Or at the very least, the idea posed seemed to challenge her preconceived notion of how psychic powers worked. This wasn¡¯t bad, but rather just showed that there was still a lot about the system that she didn¡¯t know. Not that she spent too much time delving into the reason why there was such a distinction between Psychic and Magical powers, but now she felt that this was something that she should devote more time and attention to, of course, that would be after she was done enacting her revenge against the elves for their attack. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Rayne Johnston asked, her small frame barely standing over Alexa¡¯s long form that was still standing over her father¡¯s corpse. Everything was happening so quickly, that while her mind was more than able to process everything, there was still a disconnect between what she could comprehend, what she was doing, and what she knew she should be doing. Hearing the question, Alexa¡¯s ears perked up, and she turned to the Captain and looked at her, truly taking her measure. It had long been her understanding, that when someone immediately asked how you felt, those were the people that truly had your best interest at heart. Hearing the comment, and seeing her sincerity about the question, Alexa felt compelled to stand up and look the Captain in the eye. Of course, this was slightly different than on might expect, as the excessively tall Alexa staring down at the diminutive Captain Johnston might have had most people think something was about to happen. That Alexa was about to lash out in rage at the first person who appeared before her, the first person who seemingly offered condolences. The Captain for her part had expected this, in fact she prepared herself for a violent outburst. Instead, she was met with something that caught her completely off guard. ¡°I feel hollow.¡± Alexa said, her melodic voice belying the sincerity she spoke of in her words. Then in an act that caught everyone off guard, she bowed in respect. The act was so sudden and unexpected, that Rayne Johnston found her body moving in a defensive posture, before she realized that it was just Alexa performing a bow. Then just as quickly as the act was done, Alexa spun about and turned her way to the other two bodies. There she grabbed the now much larger, but less potent orbs of black magic. Everyone watched, well everyone but Judy who only pounded her fists against the body of her dead husband. Alexa had managed to heal the wound, but magic can only do so much, it is not the miracle cure all that people seem to think. Yes, magic can do many amazing things like grow the flesh back on a corpse, but barring the darker magics of the universe, there is nothing that can bring a soul back to inhabit the body it once vacated. Woosh. The sound of ambient mana being drawn in from the surrounding area could be heard whipping past everyone, right at the heart of Stonehenge, right there at the heart of where the portal to hell, or wherever the Minotaurs and Void Rats came from, that was now scabbing over with a dungeon. In a way, Alexa felt this to be a perfect response, for part of her realized that as long as the dungeons were there, then the portals that lead to the lands where magics like Void, Death, and Necromancy flourish were cut off. That by this dungeon now coming into existence, they were safe, at least for the moment from another dimensional rift to the nether being opened. Seeing it, she mentally nodded to herself, as she now had her way to leave here, in a place where she could grieve in peace. The only true place where she felt she would be able to truly be herself, a place that would help her grieve. Of course, she still had something she needed to do before she could leave. *** The Captain and Bullford both watched as Alexa went out, in the exact opposite direction of the newly spawned dungeon, as she began collecting the black orbs as if they were nothing more than decorative seashells to help remember her vacation to England. Then they both watched in complete fascination as the two orbs slowly disappeared from view. It was clear that even in that short period of time, Alexa¡¯s power had grown as she could now easily stand within the radius of the glowing black orbs and be perfectly fine. Finally, after she was done, she went over and grabbed the box that Rayne had placed a few hundred meters away, well outside the initial blast radius. Then grabbing the box, Alexa slowly made her way forward. And then handed the box to Rayne. Rayne not knowing what to do, held out her hand took the box. Upon holding it, she was surprised to realize that the box was somehow lighter than she remembered. Seeing her obvious confusion, Alexa answered the unspoken question. ¡°I defused it, but the note still says everything.¡± Alexa said. Pausing for a second, Rayne looked at the tag and only after a second realized that the strange border that could have been mistaken for a decorative background was in fact elven script. ¡°What does it say?¡± ¡°May you die a thousand deaths.¡± Alexa responded. Silence. Then seeing that there were no other questions coming, Alexa nodded and turned to walk away, this time her direction and intent were clear, she was heading straight towards the newly spawned dungeon entrance. ¡°Wait, what are you going to do?¡± Rayne asked, hoping that the powerful girl was not about to go on a killing spree, or worse. ¡°I¡¯m going to prepare for peace.¡± Alexa said, as she continued walking towards the dungeon entrance. Seeing her leave, Rayne began jogging quickly to catch up to her, to be by her side, then she asked. ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± ¡°Si vis pacem, para bellum.¡± With that Alexa responded. At the words, Rayne Johnston paused in her tracks as she tried to interpret the statement. Then after a moment, she turned and asked, ¡°what?¡± With the question asked, it was Bullford who answered, ¡°if you want peace, then prepare for war.¡± At that, Rayne turned to Bullford and almost in an exasperated tone just stared at him with incomprehension. ¡°I know what it means, I just don¡¯t know what she means by it.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Bullford said, then turning his attention from the captain he looked up to see that Alexa was gone. The only sign of her passing was the rippling wave of a recently disturbed dungeon entrance. The two paused as they realized she was gone. It was clear that the girl had some form of deep connection to dungeons, as she seemed to be aware of this one even before it had seemed to fully manifest. How was that possible? What did that mean? These were all questions they still had for the girl, but for now she was gone. ¡°Where do you think she will go?¡± Bullford asked, filling the awkward silence with his question. ¡°I don¡¯t know, all I do know is that somehow she will likely end up at Dawning Light Academy.¡± Rayne said. ¡°How is that possible?¡± Bullford asked, still staring at the dungeon entrance himself as he tried to fathom how dungeons could be used in such a way. ¡°How is half the stuff she does possible.¡± Rayne said as she shrugged her shoulders and then shaking her head turned back to look at Judy. When they looked back it was clear that Judy was still at a loss, as she cradled the dead body of her husband in her arms. ¡°What do we do with her?¡± Bullford asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, just try to help out as best we can, I guess. I¡¯ll work on arrangements with getting a coffin and flight out.¡± Rayne said. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll go console her then.¡± Bullford said. Rayne was about to let that happen, then just imagined the big lummox saying something that would set the already volatile Super off. ¡°Wait, flip that. I¡¯ll console, while you work on the flights and arrangements.¡± *** Judy held the body of her husband, the man who she went from hating to loving to now missing with all of her being. She felt hollow, as if part of her was now and forever missing. Jim¡¯s body was whole, but his spirit was gone, the glazed and smokey look in his eyes a clear sign that his spirit, was gone. His smile that would simultaneously annoy her and set her heart aflutter was gone. Everything was gone. Alexa, gods bless her, she had done everything she could to save him, but she had quit. Everyone else had quit, they had accepted this, as if it was something that couldn¡¯t be helped. But Judy knew there was something, there had to be something, then just for a moment her mind touched upon evil thoughts, for a moment she wondered what if? Then just as if thinking about such a thought was enough to beckon its arrival, a voice came to her. ¡°I can help.¡± The voice sent chills down her spine, as she realized it had somehow spoken directly into her mind. Just as Judy was about to respond back, a voice called out to her. ¡°Hey there girly, how ya feelin¡¯?¡± Then just like that, the voice that had been there, vanished, perhaps knowing that Judy didn¡¯t want to talk to it now, but she felt it. As if somehow leaving a calling card behind in her mind, she knew, that if she truly wanted to, she could speak to this person, this entity, again, if she just wanted to. Chapter 130 Why? Chapter 130 Why? The minute Alexa stepped through the portal, and the world around her changed from that of Stonehenge to that of an alien planet she had never truly set foot upon, she collapsed. Her indomitable strength was gone, her energy to keep standing was taken from her. Like a puppet with the strings cut, she fell to the ground and she could not, or rather would not get up. Tears. Tears rolled down her face, as she tried to process everything. There was so much going on, looking back she could see the way her mother was crying, the way she was grieving right there in public, her emotions so raw and on display for all to see. Seeing her mother¡¯s reaction, Alexa realized that her mother was stronger than she was, than she could ever be, to be that strong, to show your pain, your fear, your frustration all at once. That was a strength she didn¡¯t have, that was a strength that she wanted, gods knew she wanted that type of strength. The ability to be out there and to proclaim loudly and for all to see that she needed help, that she all but demanded it, that was a strength Alexa didn¡¯t have. This was why she found herself on the floor of a cave, versus in the arms of a good friend. In this moment, she found that she wanted to be near someone. Well not just anyone, there were only two people that came to mind automatically. The first was her brother, though she knew that if he was here then he would only be able to console her for a moment before he felt the need to move on to help mother. That just left Gina, the emotional rollercoaster who always made her feel so odd inside. Somehow, Alexa knew that if Gina was here, everything would be all right. Of course, she wasn¡¯t here, she was back in the states, back where her parents should be. That of course led her to other thoughts, darker thoughts. How could her dad have died? He had been left behind on purpose. He wouldn¡¯t have been a help, his class and build were not designed to take on dragons. He would have just gotten in the way and he seemingly knew that, didn¡¯t he? He couldn¡¯t have died, that was the thought that Alexa clung too. That was the thought that allowed her to at least sit up, to stop crying. When did she become so emotional? She could still feel the power of the Void rolling around her, but she also had the energy from the rest of the bomb, the Fire, Lightning, and Wind energy was also playing havoc on her senses right now. It was likely the Void magic that was causing her to feel so unbalanced, to feel so off kilter. Of course, that was it, she had never experienced it before, and it was likely to muck with her senses, making her see and experience things that were not there. This was all a hallucination, right? Was she still battling Ryelifa? She so wanted it to be so, that this was all one terrible nightmare, one that she would soon awake from. At least that was what she hoped. Smack. Alexa smacked herself, hard, trying to awaken her mind from the sudden stupor she found herself in. She had been through a lot in such a short period of time. It all seemed too odd, her parents magically coming over from the states to join her, only to be struck down by a cowardly enemy. An enemy who chose to strike from shadows and behind obfuscated Trojan horses. Offering a present that intends to do their dirty work for them. Shaking her head, she realized that this was all a lie, that what she had seen was the truth. She had seen him, she had regrown tissue on a corpse, something she never thought was possible before, and not something she wanted to, but he was dead. That much Alexa was certain about, as she remembered clearly, picking up the Void from his body, she thought he was still alive then, that he still had a chance, but there was nothing she could have done. Even when Bullford dragged his body away from the area of the Void magic, he still showed no signs of life. Alexa had hoped that if she pushed herself, got up before she was ready, if she got there quickly that he would be better, that she would be able to save him. Him, the one person she would have wanted to save the most. Well no, that wasn¡¯t entirely true, there was one person she found herself thinking of even now, someone who the very thought of losing would be too much for her to bear. Just that thought alone was enough to shatter her floundering resolve. As she felt, well how did she feel? The thought made her sick, here she was grieving the death of her father, and she could recognize this as grief. Honestly she didn¡¯t know what stage she was on, when dealing with grief. She didn¡¯t even know if she would be able to go through and experience all of the stages of grief. What were the stages again? When would she be able to move on? For years she had hated her lack of emotions, but now that she was finally starting to make some progress, that was when she was put to the ultimate test and forced to deal with this. This time she didn¡¯t collapse completely, not this time, but it was close. She kept her arms locked into place, forcing her to all but lean there off of the ground. ¡°Breathe.¡± Alexa said, as she forced air into her lungs, as her cold rational mind tried to help. It couldn¡¯t take over, there was too much energy in her body for that to happen. But she could feel both sides of her consciousness working together. Then just as she was starting to come to her senses, she heard it, the first sign of the troubles that this dungeon had prepared for her. ¡°GWAHAHAHAHA!¡± At that, Alexa heard the deep billowing sound of a monster whose rumbling voice spoke to a body that was massive in scale. Turning her head down the hallway, Alexa saw a giant golden eye staring back at her. ¡°Already come to give up?¡± The dragon, for that was what this creature was, of that there was no doubt. ¡°The fact that you have made it this far and are still unbound to one of my kind is a testament to your strength, but it is no bother. Your little conquest of rebellion ends here and now. Submit to me, here and now and I will let you live as my pawn.¡± The dragon spoke. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Only after a second did Alexa realize that the dragon was speaking in its Dragon tongue, a language that she knew intimately well. Hearing the words, Alexa rose to her feet. Anger filled her, anger at the fact that there was yet another dragon to slay, yet one more monster to stand before her. Idly in her mind she realized she had seen and then subsequently dismissed the system message informing her that she had gone to a Dragon Trial, instead of the actual dungeon she was supposed to have entered. Of course, this made sense in a way, she didn¡¯t know where dragons came from, not truly, but they seemed to have come from the darker places. The places of darkness and demons. For a moment, she had a flashing thought, one that spoke of Orcs and Elves being noble in cause, at least at first, joining forces to raise an army to fight back against the oppression of dragons and their ilk. Having seen firsthand the direct portals that a dragon was able to create over a nexus point, Alexa wasn¡¯t willing to dismiss the idea as a flight of fantasy just yet. At the very least there could have been some form of truth to the thought. In her mind, she realized that the Trials of Ascension could be monumental boons, letting people gain slotted classes first, as a means to temper themselves and their bodies before getting ready to help out in a time of war. This way even cooks and janitors would have the bare minimum requirements needed to succeed and even thrive in a prolonged battle against dragons and their true masters. Thinking about that sent a chill down Alexa¡¯s spine, for while she now found herself almost enjoying the burst of power that slaying dragons gave her, she realized that there was still something far worse that the dragons represented. A force of monster that was able to corrupt others from a distance, across space and time, able to corrupt the very core of a person, before draining them dry and turning them into a husk of their former selves. She remembered Count Rojas, Gina¡¯s mother, and the state she was left in after the battle. Not only did Alexa kill her body, but the Count Rojas¡¯ very soul was beckoned? Summoned? Devoured? From the other end of the universe. At that thought, Alexa remembered the immediate reaction of Gina, how she almost went away, but then held firm. Gina fought her emotions to flee, to run away like a coward, to run away like Alexa herself had, when she entered this dungeon and dismissed the warnings that flashed before her eyes. Remembering that exact moment, Alexa realized that Gina despite being smaller and possessing a much frailer body than her was so much stronger than she was, than she had any right to be. Realizing this, Alexa felt a firm resolve well up inside her, the loosely packed body that had barely been hanging on filled with a cloud of righteous fury. Anger filled her, fueling her body to rise up. To stand up for what she believed in, to stand up and fight on, even when the world around her burned. At this moment, staring down a massive dragon, one who dared to mock her, Alexa felt something inside her grow. She was hollow, she had meant it when she answered the Captain¡¯s question about how she felt. At that point she felt hollow, now that same void, that same hollow opening was being quickly filled with a sense of bottomless rage. A quick glance around showed that the dungeon was suffering. This dungeon like so many other dungeons she found related to the Dragon Trials was a prisoner, one that Alexa herself knew the key to release. ¡°Come on coward. I can tell that you understand me. I don¡¯t know how, but this will make breaking you in that much easier. If you already know the commands, then you are already halfway there. Come and join me as the first of my new warriors.¡± The dragon beckoned from the far end of the tunnel. Looking at the tunnel, Alexa realized that the dragon was too large for such a small tunnel, also it was clear that this dragon lacked the ability to fire any long range attacks, otherwise she would have already seen a puff of flames, a hiss of acid or something. All of this posturing spoke to the fact that the dragon was unable to hit her from its current position. Realizing that, she then decided her priorities had shifted. For now she was not focused on dealing with the dragon, she had time to deal with the annoying creature. First, she needed to fix one thing. She wasn¡¯t able to fix her father. She wasn¡¯t able to stop the previous dragon before it could create a rift to another dimension. She wasn¡¯t able to save the reporter, nor the cameraman, both of whom died silent remorseless deaths. In her mind, Alexa hoped that their bodies would at least be given to their families, so that they could mourn. But then realizing that the Captain and Bullford were both there, she felt that their deaths along with, she paused, not wanting to truly think about his name, instead using the indefinite pronouns of he and him to describe him. It was a coping mechanism, one she recognized almost immediately, and one she found herself using for the immediate moment, as it took away some of the sting, made it just a little less real, a little more bearable, for the moment. And that was all she needed, a moment, well two moments actually. Rumble. ¡°I said come here!¡± The dragon bellowed and roared as it stomped its massive feet on the ground, causing the entire dungeon to tremble and shake. ¡°You wait your turn. I will kill you in a moment.¡± Alexa said, her mouth speaking the Dragon language quite easily. The sudden outburst of her words caused the dragon to pause, as it just stared at Alexa with dumbfounded confusion for a moment. In all its millennia of existence, it had never heard a creature talk to it in such a way that it was momentarily left speechless, but just for a minute. That was all the time that Alexa needed, in order to fully take control of the situation. ¡°Before that though, I want you to see the first step of futility. I want you to realize that you are nothing more than an ant hill in my way.¡± Alexa said, the whole time she stared defiantly at the golden eye of the dragon as she began forming the three-dimensional pentagonal shape that would serve as the key to release this dungeon. Then turning towards the dungeon wall, she began speaking again, this time in the language of the Precursors. ¡°Prepare to be freed.¡± Alexa said. At that, the dungeon that had been mostly avoiding the whole situation suddenly came to life. Alexa could tell that the dungeon was suddenly awake and excited as the walls and floors around her began to go from a dull muted tone to something that seemed to flow and radiate with a vibrant color. Seeing the sudden glow of life come to the dungeon, and the way it allowed its hardened walls to fold away, as it exposed a long thick chain warped around an organ that reminded Alexa of a human heart so much that she couldn¡¯t unsee the similarities in her mind. Seeing all of this, Alexa realized that despite how she felt at the moment, the universe still went on. Her planet was getting closer and closer to being fully integrated, and no amount of tragedy or denial would stop that. Realizing this, she made a note that she would continue to try her best, to get as strong as possible so the next tragedy was less effective. Holding up the key, Alexa mentally gave a prayer, I hope you are watching, dad. Then realizing that thinking the name didn¡¯t hurt nearly as bad as she had expected, she continued, unlocking the chains that bound the dungeon. Clatter-clink. With a simple tug the chains that had bound this ancient dungeon for centuries fell away. At that Alexa turned to see the dragon still staring at her, though its eye was no longer as amused as before. In fact, staring at the beast she could tell it was in a state of Confusion. Seeing that look of confusion on its eye caused Alexa to smile, as she began preparing to what she did best, the only thing she could get correct, killing dragons. As she focused on the massive dragon, six exact copies of her began to form out of thin air, each copy was a densely woven mixture of the different schools of magic that she was just now beginning to feel like she fully comprehended. Seeing the copies, come to life, she completed her prayer to her father. And if you are watching, I hope I make you proud. Then with her prayer done, she had no more time left to delay, no more reasons to wait. This was going to be the first of many battles and roadblocks yet to come. Chapter 131 Redemption Chapter 131 Redemption Alexa sprinted forward into the dragon¡¯s chamber, followed by Alexa, and another Alexa, and still more Alexas. As they all charged forward, there was one that clearly moved slower than the rest, one that had been denied the attribute bonuses that the others had, one that moved at a glacial pace, compared to the others. Yet, the speed of the slowest one didn¡¯t matter, as the others all made up for the lack of efficacy with their sheer overpowering nature. Wham! *** The first charged forward and slammed their mythical magical sword into the quickly closing eyelid of the dragon. In seconds, the dragon was struck and forced to recoil back from the tunnel where Alexa and her Replicas could only stand two abreast of each other. The first one was the sacrifice, had the dragon moved, had it done anything other than stare at Alexa and her clones in contempt, then it might have been able to react. However the dragon was old, its magic was powerful, so powerful that it had long since forgotten what it was like for mortals to not listen to its commands. When it spoke, the universe listened. This was why it could only stare on in confusion at Alexa as she and her cloned minions charged forward. The dragon had given the command, not once but thrice. With each denial, the dragon and its infinite greed only hungered for the human more. Long ago Kajimtal had heard of how some dragons had taken to choosing a bipedal form as a servant. He had heard how others of his kind often preened and would claim one of the minions as their own. Of course this was often frowned upon by the masters, as the masters would always get first dibs on who and what was claimed, particularly on a newly identified planet. Of course, the Precursors and their lost art of sending out dungeons to prevent invasions from happening was a hinderance, but one he and his kind had long ago outlived. He was a dragon, specifically bred and engineered to hijack dungeons, to take them over and where possible corrupt formation zones. He was allowed his spot in the dungeon trials, mainly to either weed out the followers of the Orcish and Elven armies, those that dared to fly too high. But few ever came to him, and of the few that did make it to him, their minds were like wax, burning away at the merest hint of an inferno and compared to most minds, his thoughts were an inferno. That was why he had grown so confident in his abilities, granted he lacked the fiery breath that others of his kind had, opting away from such petty forms of attack, and instead focusing on burning away the minds of his opponents. Then once the protective layers were gone, he would feast from their consciousnesses, consuming their minds, thoughts, dreams, and aspirations. This too had let him climb high in the ranks of scouts sent out by the masters, the types of information he could pull from the minds of slain enemies was invaluable, he was the one who pointed out that the new waves of children first were too afraid to try dungeons at the hardest levels of difficulty, a measure meant to force the top warriors from ever crossing his path. Then as one would expect, with so few if any trying the red difficulty dungeons, the true purpose of dungeons, the fact that they offered a chance at the top knowledge and valuable skills of an area were also eventually lost to time. This information helped change the way the masters interacted with new worlds, as he was one of the many dragons who spoke of a new plan to attack newly integrated planets. The idea was to corrupt the individuals from within, at the beginning such ideas were tried and ultimately failed, as skill crystals offered up by the dungeons unlocked hidden skills to see the signs of corruption, and the classes offered were particularly capable of tracking down and killing such people. There were other obvious signs that someone was under the corrupting influence of a Master, mainly the fact that they would never be able to be rewarded by a dungeon. The fact that they would be shunned and avoided by the dungeon, the stronger their corruption, the less rewards they would get, until finally they would receive nothing for completing a dungeon. Of course, many would overlook this, as the only true way to tell at first would be if they went down a red difficulty dungeon and didn¡¯t receive anything for their efforts. However their efforts to frighten off would be adventurers was paying off in a huge way, as more and more people refused to go down red difficulty dungeons, and even those who did had long since forgotten the true purpose for red dungeons in the first place. They long ago forgot the skill crystal rewards offered by a dungeon for completing its challenges. Now that everyone had forgotten, and the chance of an embedded minion being exposed had been reduced Kajimtal, the mind breaker, helped to usher in the next wave of destruction. Now that even the great forces of the Elves and Orcs had grown so complacent with the current status quo that they would rather battle one another for future resources than continue to fight a unified war against the dragons and their dark masters, now is when Kajimtal felt it was time to begin his own next stage. He himself would create a minion, one who would bow to his will, one whose mind would be easily corrupted. Given the level disparity between Kajimtal the mind breaker, and the pesky bipedal form, Kajimtal was certain his efforts would work. However, even when the little rodent got closer, and Kajimtal could feel the power of his attack squarely striking the small bipedal creature squarely in the mind, it just shrugged off the attack, three times. Then to add insult to injury, the stupid creature had the audacity to talk back, then with a level of forgotten knowledge the creature had created a prison key. At the idea of seeing the lost magical art of the Precursors on full display before his eyes, Kajimtal felt a deep seeded hunger grow within him. This monster would be his, he would take his pet and show it off, not just to the other dragons, but to the masters as well. It was known that there could only ever be one true master for any creature, that was the reason why the masters sent Kajimtal and his kind out, without any fear that they would be allowed to break free and turn on the hand that fed them. There was only ever one master allowed to forcefully take control over a soul. Just as Kajimtal had his soul claimed and had grown the skill and ability to see that very mark upon his soul, he, using that same skill, now found that this rodent of a creature had somehow made it to his lair and didn¡¯t have a marking on its soul. In fact, the soul on display was so bright and vibrant, that a deviant part of Kajimtal saw it as a new toy to bend and break, before truly claiming it for his own. Yet, there was something wrong, the beast didn¡¯t stop. As it charged forward, the beast resisted yet another mind attack, this time Kajimtal sent a burst of Mind Control, at his new minion and uttered the word, ¡°sleep.¡± Yet nothing happened. No, something did happen. Clang. The giant sword that looked to be little more than a toothpick to the great Kajimtal swung forward and struck against his eyelid. Out of reflex, a deep seeded instinct to protect himself, he closed his eye, even though he had up until a moment ago been mocking the feeble attempt. Even the recoiling of his head away from the entry way was more out of reflex than anything. Yet, pulling away had been the correct course of action to take. For the moment it pulled back its massive head, a white hot pain filled its eyelid, as hot fluids began pouring out coating the vertical slits to get them to stay together. Blinking. The dragon blinked a few times, each blink causing stretches of hot goo to cling between the two eyelids. With a distracted twitch of its clawed hand, it tried desperately to rub away the offending blood. This of course was the exact instance the speedy Replicas had been waiting for, as they struck out like a swarm of angry ants. Ants that had all quickly moved into position, ants that seeing the exact moment, all struck down and bit into the thick scaled flesh at the same time. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Kajimtal was old, he was around when the elves were the first forces trained up by the accursed Precursors. He was around, when the battle of the heavens looked like it might lose due to the unending scores of new habitable planets that were all being linked and cultivated for resources. Resources that were all being brought to bear against the Masters. He was also around to see the moment when the seeds of doubt had been cast, the moment when the elves and orcs united as one to strike down the Precursors, to claim the universe for their own. He also saw the moment when the orcs and the elves both lost their ambition to end the Masters once and for all, opting to merely seal away the Masters from this plane of existence, content to let the Masters fight each other for spectral crumbs of magical energy. Kajimtal himself had been able to avoid most of the greater battles of the wars, he had been one of the lead designers for the restraints used to bind the dungeons to the will of dragons. While the project was ultimately cancelled, the fact that he had been one of the dragons chosen for this plan was clearly able to be seen by all, due to how powerful his dungeon once had been. And how far it had fallen since its enslavement. Now it was a mere husk of itself, using every ounce of energy it created to feed him, and enhance his growth. This was why the rodent and her clones were immediately seen and then dismissed by Kajimtal. While they likely were powerful for their size, there was little to nothing they could do to one like him, one who had existed for so long. He was an immortal mind dragon, one who could even turn other dragons to his will. Slink, slash, slice. As one, the tiny ants struck out. But unlike ants, well unlike most ants, these ones stung. Their bites went deep, and instantly Kajimtal could feel deep reactions within his body. Turning his head to see the ants with his one good eye, he looked on with shock. ¡°Stop that!¡± Klink, clang, pop. This time the rodents cut deeper, slicing on the previous wounds. Each slice and cut cutting deeper, as wedge shaped holes began to appear and bleed. Worse, there was a slightly malignant component to the attacks, as each strike seemed to rot and corrode the skin away where they struck. Of course, the impudent rodents kept moving, they kept striking. ¡°I said stop that!¡± With seven, even if one was immune, the others should at least stop. He had seen this before, where an elite squad comes through, in such cases there are generally at least one or two whose minds are able to be touched and molded. Those would then be used to help wipe out the remainder of the team, but in this case, everything was off. Monsters weren¡¯t listening, but this made no sense. Even if they were deaf, they should still be able to interpret and feel his commands. These were living sentient creatures, at least that is what his senses were telling him. The fact that they all looked the same was nothing new, as the elves and orcs alike all looked the same to him, even wearing the same uniform only spoke of being a part of an elite squad. While they did take a while to appear in the dungeon with the first one was not really new, as this was a good tactic, sending in the scout first, before the rest of the team went through. Yet, these rodents would not listen. STOMP! Angrily, Kajimtal stomped his feet, trying to get the creatures to stop their attacks. At the very least he figured that with his large frame he would be able to trample a few. And he did, the stupid creature held up its toothpick sized sword and all but let him crush it; however, something went wrong. BOOM! It took Kajimtal a second to realize what had happened. One second it was stomping down, then the next thing he knew, his clawed hand was exploded. In horror Kajimtal looked down at its now nub of a claw that was missing two of the four talons. Even the two that were attached were not doing that well, as they done something. Looking down to the attack spot, Kajimtal looked to see a dark blast silhouette. They committed suicide, but how? Kajimtal thought to himself, but before he could get too far into that thought, he felt more and more explosions. He had been standing still for too long, shock gripping his mind as he stared down at the nub of a hand. KAKABOOM! Multiple bursts erupted at once, each one sent jolts and waves of pain coursing through Kajimtal''s body. The first was in the back right leg, causing the leg and its weight to collapse on that side. Then the same happened on the back left leg. Then the right arm that had been used to hold him up was also struck down at the wrist. ¡°You kill yourselves, rather than serve me?¡± Kajimtal asked, trying to understand what was happening. It was all happening so fast; in a matter of seconds the battle was going poorly. In a matter of seconds, he had taken more damage than he had ever taken in his life. Still, they were now down over half of their fighting force. ¡°You know you cannot win, not with just the three of you.¡± Kajimtal taunted. At that the rodents finally began to speak for the first time since they left the tunnel. ¡°I guess he wants more.¡± One of the rodents cried out from the base of Kajimtal¡¯s neck. Then in an act that completely shocked him, he watched in horror as the rodent charged forward, stuck its little toothpick of a sword into a part of its neck, then seemed to channel its entire body out of existence and through the sword, before causing the sword to burst and rupture in its neck. SPLAT! A jet of blood sprayed violently from the wound. Desperately Kajimtal reached up its stump of an arm and tried to cover the wound, but it was too much. Also, this just allowed for more of his vulnerable torso to become exposed. ¡°We should give him what he wants.¡± The second rodent said, as it too ran forward and proceeded to do the same thing to a spot in its torso. BUURSST! Another sickening pop was first seen and then felt by Kajimtal, as he watched the rodent charge forward and deliver another devastating blow to its torso. Nothing was truly fatal, at least not yet, even with the massive gouges in its neck, chest, and limbs, this was nothing he couldn¡¯t survive from. There was a pause, turning his one good eye around the battlefield, Kajimtal finally saw what he was looking for, the last of the rodents. This was also the slowest one, at least that is what his senses were telling him. Seeing the last one, Kajimtal let out a slight sigh of relief, as he knew there was nothing this one couldn¡¯t do to him that he couldn¡¯t heal from. Even if it ran up on him, he was fairly certain that one good swipe with its tail that had been fairly useless thus far would be more than enough to knock it out. Even if it meant sacrificing the tail, it would be a minor loss. Something trivial to think about, while it planned on how to learn from this and improve in the future. The first thing Kajimtal planned on doing was practicing its ability to control the minds of others, no the first thing it would do would be to kill this last rodent. Then it would go about rechaining the dungeon, then it would force the dungeon to summon forth creatures that Kajimtal could then practice his Mind Control powers on. ¡°You can¡¯t win.¡± Kajimtal said, this time trying to lace his words with subtle uses of power. ¡°Surely you can see that. Your team is gone, and while they did a valiant effort, it was ultimately pointless as I will survive this and live on. I will heal and grow stronger, and for what, the death of six of your strongest? Six that could have served me. You should learn from their mistake.¡± At that the small rodent just nodded their head. ¡°I did learn. I learned that if six wasn¡¯t enough, then I should try twelve.¡± Then with that the last remaining rodent, the one that had somehow crawled away began creating more of herself. With a start, Kajimtal realized that it hadn¡¯t been a team that had come, but rather Replicas, not just any Replicas either, as these were more powerful than the creator. For a moment Kajimtal, wondered how such a thing was possible, before he looked on in shock and horror as first three, then six, then nine, then twelve, then fifteen exact copies began to form and charge forward almost immediately. Seeing them, all form and immediately break out into an attack mode caused a wave of fear to form in Kajimtal, as it desperately tried to move away, but its now stumps for legs and arms didn¡¯t offer much. Worse, when he removed the stump from the spot on its neck, blood that had been staunched, began to flow freely again. Of course, Kajimtal didn¡¯t care about the blood. ¡°Free me!¡± Kajimtal screamed, ordering the dungeon to save him. Flash! For a moment it looked like it had worked, despite the dungeon being free of its bindings, it looked like the dungeon would be able do this one last act. While it would mean Kajimtal ultimately failed in its mission and would have to report back to its masters why it failed, this would be a small price to pay for living. At least that was what he thought, before he heard it, the one most beautiful word in the world. A word that caused something deep within his soul to shatter. A word that would forever change the course of his life, as short as it was. ¡°Hope!¡± The word rang out, causing the mark upon Kajimtal¡¯s soul to shatter. The mark that had forever bound him to his master since the time he was hatched was now removed. For a moment he was free, just as he knew that the dungeon he had bound to his mind was also free of his influences. Kajimtal sat in stunned silence as he watched wave after wave of the bipedal rodents run up, charge at him, bury their tiny swords deep into his skin and then detonate time and time again. He wanted to fight, he wanted to cry out about the unfairness of the universe. The fact that he had been offered freedom just seconds before his death was one of the ultimate ironies that he would never get to share. Still, being free did set his mind and soul at ease, as it meant that even when he died here, his soul would not be called to his master, as he unlike most of his kind never truly accepted the branding. He always kept his distance, claiming he never needed the strength that could be offered by the masters. That was the true reason he never had the fiery breath, the reason he had to rely on his mind and intellect to guide him. That was also the reason he let a smile fill his face, as this one rodent had somehow managed to kill him, as the twenty-second and then twenty-third Replica detonated inside him, this time one finally pierced through his neck, causing him to finally realize that he was going to die. ¡°Thanks.¡± Was the last word he sent out telepathically to his killer, and subsequent savior. ¡°Huh?¡± Was all the mind managed to respond back with. Such an odd expression only caused Kajimtal to chuckle, as the last vestiges of life slowly faded from his body, causing his large body to sag and then drop into a lifeless heap. Chapter 132 Dragon Slaying Chapter 132 Dragon Slaying The giant mind dragon laid dead before Alexa and her throng of minions. Identical minions, except for the fact that they were all stronger, faster, and more capable of fighting than she herself was. Still, this was no issue, not for the moment, for now she had bigger things to finish. Getting jealous of her Replicas, would be the same thing as getting jealous of thinking people only thought of you because of a skill you possessed, or something you worked on. The Replicas were her, and were an extension of her own capabilities, every action they did, they did at Alexa¡¯s whim, at her behest. Each time they struck out, it was her mind guiding them, maneuvering the pieces into place, and then replacing them when the battle was over. Alexa was tired, as she felt drained. This reminded her of the exhaustion she felt after her first full workout. The exhaustion that came pushing your body and mind to their limits and still holding on. She had begun the battle using six replicas, but found herself creating more and more that charged forward, slicing their way through layer after protective layer of the great beast, until nothing more remained. The only reason she knew she was done, that the dragon had died was because of the system message that appeared, and the portal door opening next to her.
Title Increased: Dragon Slayer (23): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (345%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (1,150%).
Seeing the flashing message, Alexa paused, wondering if she should go forward. As it was, she felt her energy replenishing, though she didn¡¯t think she would have enough energy to go onto Stage IX of the Trials of Ascension. While the entire battle had been relatively short, it had taken a toll on her mentally and physical, not that she was fully in her right mind to begin with, but now that the battle was over, she felt the dull ache of what was missing resting there in the back of her mind. Realizing, this was likely her last time to improve her Dragon Slayer titles before finishing off Stage IX, she took in a deep exhausted breath, and cast a few magical Healing spells on her. This depleted her magical reserves even more, but gave her the mental stamina to continue going, to press on. ¡°Dungeon. Can you make it so my next stage is another Dragon Trial?¡± Alexa asked the dungeon using the Precursor language. There was a slight delay, before Alexa added, ¡°please flash once for yes, or stay still if you don¡¯t know what I mean.¡± Flash. At that, Alexa nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡± Flash again. Alexa stared at the portal for a second, and after a second noticed the slight change in color. The portal that had a second ago been ready to take her to an unknown location, had shifted, letting Alexa go to the next dragon stage, where she would accomplish two goals, the first would be freeing another dungeon, and the last would be slaying another dragon. On a whim, she waited, and thought about recalling the energy from her Replicas, while this would let her retain a good portion of the energy she initially required to create the Replicas, it would still add up over time. Thirty percent lost times twelve Replicas would mean that she would lose enough energy to summon three point six replicas per level. This was unsustainable, particularly if she wanted to complete all four remaining stages. To her credit, she wanted to complete the four stages, and then some. At least that was what she told herself. But really, she knew that eventually her second wind would stop, and she would need to hole up and rest. But she promised herself that she would finish these trials first. On a whim, she sent her replicas forward through the dungeon portal exit first, then less than a moment later, she herself went through the portal. Holding her breath, she wondered if this would be it, if they would somehow dissipate or disperse while traveling through a portal. Fortunately they were still there, which meant that she either was capable of being separated from them for short periods of time, or they had a different tether that dictated when they would disappear. Logically she knew they wouldn¡¯t be able to stay separated from her indefinitely, so maybe there was something to do with how much mana was used to create them, and then once that reserve of mana was gone, that was it? Regardless, there was a slight drain from her reserve as she reestablished her bond of dominance over the Replicas, but that drain was nothing compared to how much she spent creating wave after wave minions. Once she was certain they were all here and would listen to her, Alexa mentally gave the command for the Replicas to charge forward and strike at the dragon. This dragon, like most of the dragons she had faced to this point was sleeping. Wee-woo-wee-woo. An alarm bell went off, instantly as the first minion crossed the threshold to enter the open chamber room that housed the slumbering dragon. At that, Alexa shook her head, remembering how she had come up with a way to bypass the alerting wards that were set up around the entrance to the dragon. Seeing that, Alexa just shook her head in disgust. She had grown sloppy, as she wanted to finish this as quickly as possible. Now her Replicas had to fight an uphill battle. Still there were twelve of them, and she could just create more if one fell in battle. This time, she gave them the command to not detonate themselves, unless they were severely injured and could deliver a deadly attack. Slink, slash, clang. While her twelve Replicas charged through, striking at the clearly confused dragon that got abruptly awoken from a deep slumber, only to start getting sliced and slashed by a dozen replicas, Alexa, the real Alexa was busy generating a three dimensional key that could be used to free this dungeon. This was a tough task and one that required all her concentration. Even now, after having created so many of these very keys, she still found that they took a lot of concentration. That or, it was just a sign of just how exhausted her mental faculties had gone. ¡°I offer freedom, for safe passage.¡± Alexa spoke in Precursor, holding up the key for the dungeon to see. There was a moment, as the dungeon clearly paused, before seeming to come to some form of conclusion about her and her motives. With a second, the dungeon began to pull away its outer layers, before revealing its chained core. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Tink. There was a slight sound of metal scraping against metal, before the pentagonal key fit right into the odd lock of the chains. Clink, clatter. The chains fell off, after a slight tug, puling the chains out from the soft membrane that had grown around the thick chains. Idly, Alexa wondered if she could take the key with her, to use it again, but it seemed that the key that she created was not only designed to unlock the chains, but to forever burn their way into the locking mechanism, basically making it so the lock was forever in the open position, and then fused into place. Honestly, Alexa wondered why she hadn¡¯t noticed this aspect of the key before. Though before she hadn¡¯t been so mentally exhausted. Even now, with her Replicas filtering part of their stolen energy into her, she still felt drained. Idly she wondered how much longer she would have to wait, when she finally got the message she had been waiting for.
Stage VII of the Dragon Trials Completed.
Title Increased: Dragon Slayer (24): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (360%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (1,200%).
Replicas stole went immediately to her attributes, especially as this dragon offered nothing new for her to steal. Then just like before Alexa saw the portal open up, she wanted to go home, but she already had her Replicas made. No wait, a quick count showed only eleven Replicas, with a pause she looked to see that there was indeed what looked to be an explosion at the torso of the dragon. Sighing to herself, Alexa let out a deep breath, and then focused her mind on creating a replacement Replica. This was still better than having to recreate them every time, but keeping track of twelve Replicas was taxing on her mind. Still, this was the easiest chance she got to power up. By now her magical Replicas were capable of doing all the work, so long as she could remain conscious and direct the Replicas to the intended target, she would be fine. ¡°Dungeon, for your assistance, please change my portal destination to the next Dragon Trial stage.¡± There was no visual cue, other than the surface of the dungeon portal out changed slightly. Seeing the change, Alexa nodded and once again sent her minions forward. *** For the next two times Alexa did this same repetitive thing, sending her minions forward to the new stage. She didn¡¯t know if her control could go back through a portal, and she didn¡¯t want to waste her mana on trying to test out a theory, not at this point. Instead, she decided to play the percentages better. This time, when she arrived to see her minions waiting for her, she walked to the edge of the tunnel and instantly found a dense network of alerting and warning runes. Feeling the runes and their structure, she instantly found the powering runes, and directed the power from the rune chains directly into herself. At the slight increase in energy, she did feel a bit relieved. The energy she gained was the equivalent of drinking a half cup of cold coffee, not exactly what you want, but close enough if you are trying to push your way through. With the entrance now clear of any hazards, Alexa sent her Replicas forward, while she once again went about freeing the dungeon. Once again, she gave the same deal, safe passage for freedom, a goal the dungeon readily accepted. Then just like the last time, she received the system notification at about the same time she finished freeing the dungeon from the chains that bound it in place.
Stage VIII of the Dragon Trials Completed.
Title Increased: Dragon Slayer (25): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (375%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (1,250%).
This time Alexa was pleased to notice that her plan had gone flawlessly, as all of her Replicas had survived the attack. Judging by the location of the body, Alexa realized that her Replicas had taken advantage of their surprise attack and seemingly moved into position and began slicing and striking as one. The ninth stage was much the same. She made sure to take the time to disable the alerting runes, then she went about setting the dungeon core free, at the same time her Replicas set about striking the slumbering dragon. The only difference this time being that this time her Replicas finally stole enough energy for her Attribute Increase title had also increased.
Stage IX of the Dragon Trials Completed.
Title Increased: Dragon Slayer (26): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (390%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (1,300%).
Attribute Increase (16): All Attributes increased by 10% (160%).
With those titles, she could feel her energy coming back to her. She was still drained, just because her Attributes increased by ten percent didn¡¯t mean that that ten percent was regenerated with the acquiring of the next stage of the title. She would still need to wait for that energy to refill, but it meant that when it did refill it would be a lot higher than what she had currently. ¡°Dungeon, as per our pact, I wish that you send me to the final stage of the Dragon Trials.¡± With that request, the dungeon seemingly heard and understood as once again, just like the previous times, the dungeon exit fluctuated and rippled in a new color, and then disappeared. Just like every other time, she sent her Replicas forward, not wanting to deviate from a strategy that seemed to be working to perfection. Of course, there was something odd that happened the minute the first Replicas went through the portal. Within seconds of their passing, the pressure that had been on Alexa¡¯s mind, the pressure denoting her trying to control and operate too many complex spell designs ended. At first she was too relieved that the pressure was not there anymore to truly notice. It was only once the next few sets went through that even more of the mental strain that had been on her mind began to dissipate that she realized that something was wrong. Unfortunately, it was too late as there was a slight delay from the relief filling her mind, to her being able to understand what was likely happening. Regardless of what happened, Alexa tried to grab her last Replica, to pull it back to save it, but all that happened was Alexa felt herself being pulled forward as the vast power of transportation magic, mixed with the increased strength of the Replicas meant that Alexa was powerless to stop their forward progress. Whoosh. Within a second, Alexa felt herself being hurdled through space in a matter of seconds, only to appear in a giant tunnel. The Replica that she had been hanging onto appeared for a second, Alexa watched as the being became solid for a second. Then she watched in shock, as waves of energy pulsed from the walls and sent out a tingling wave of energy. Instantly Alexa realized the burst of energy for what it was, a dense vibration spell of some kind. Then in shock, Alexa realized that the vibrating spell managed to sink into her last Replica, and vibrate the woven strands of magic apart. This caused the area directly around the portal entrance to be filled with dense pools of mana. Pools that were being absorbed to first recharge the disruption runes, but also send off warning and alerting runes. WHAAA-WOO! WHHHAAA-WOOOOO! Flashing Lights. Alarms and lights both went off, as Alexa realized that this dragon, the last one, set up disruption runes right at the entrance. Then in a stroke of genius used the energy gained from the released mana to set off warning alarms. Seeing everything, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly impressed as to how well she got played. Mentally she chastised herself, as she felt she had gotten complacent, but still kept pressing through, not wanting to stop, especially as she was so close to completing her goal. ¡°HAHAHA! You have fallen into my trap, as so many before you have. Come little witchling, show me what you can do without your precast charms and bobbles working.¡± Hearing that Alexa paused, as she looked over her shoulder, to see her sword and realized it was still there. Well the base was, but every piece of magic that made the sword great was gone, dispelled in a wave of magic disruption wards. Holding up the sword, Alexa could only thank her earlier self for making sure that she actually Created matter for sword. It seemed that Creation magic was something that disruption magic could not affect, this was good to know, and something she intended to investigate further, but first, she had a main boss to deal with. Rather than feel tired, or exhaustion, she felt joy. For the first time since she entered this set of the Dragon Trials, she felt like it would be her chance to test herself, to see how far she herself could go. Also, with her Replicas gone, the headache she had been battling for most of the night was finally gone. Realizing her mind no longer ached, she felt relief fill her and flood her as an all too familiar smile filled her face. Grinning maliciously, Alexa responded to the wide-awake dragon that sat patiently waiting for her to come out from the tunnel, ¡°let¡¯s do this.¡± Chapter 133 The Albino Dragon Chapter 133 The Albino Dragon The dragon was humanoid in shape and appearance, that alone was enough to give Alexa a slight pause while looking at the creature. Furthermore, the creature stood up on its hind legs, the only sign that something was amiss about it, was the way its tail whipped about wildly behind it. Then there was the fact that the dragon itself was ash white in color, the only distinction was the slightly pronounced gray patterns that helped to accentuate the dragon¡¯s body. Seeing the dragon, it was clear that this one was different than the others, that this one clearly had shortcomings, but had found ways to counteract those deficiencies. The most noticeable adaption that this dragon had was the rune work conducted throughout this dungeon. It seemed that this dragon¡¯s unnaturally small size was a boon for it, as it meant that rather than growing too large to no longer be able to fit within the entry tunnels, it was able to come and go as it pleased. This meant that rather than only being able to scratch out alerting runes at the exit of the tunnels, this one was able to craft and carve intricate magic disruption runes all throughout the tunnels. While there were no protection runes, nothing that kept her from gaining control over the entire network of runes, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel a slight sense of respect for the dragon. In her mind she chalked up the lack of tampering runes to one of two factors, either a lack of knowledge on how to create the runes, or lack of need to learn how to protect such a construct. No doubt most people who make it this far exceptionally well versed in Magic and its use, the odds of running into someone like Alexa would be slim to none, normally. As she even recognized her own oddities a while ago, the way she could grab and pull different forms of magic and combine them in a way that was uniquely hers and hers alone sat well with her. That was why, after she redirected the discharge of cumulating mana directly into her own body, she also went about doing two things. First she constructed a network of Control Runes that were specifically hers and hers alone. Then she immediately covered those runes with a series of Protection Runes, basically these were runes that would prevent foreign magical energies from entering them, in an attempts to gain control of the structure. Furthermore, the Protection Runes would not only stop attempts to gain control over the Control Runes, but they would then divert the mana towards the Empowering Runes which would store power for the whole network. It was slow, painfully so, especially as Alexa just started with her entry point and slowly began building outwards. Only after her initial entry point was sealed and fully protected, did she proceed to go further down the lines. The first thing she would do was go to the limit of her control, where she would then find an empty spot and lay down her Protection Runes, after which time, she would the proceed to convert the dragon¡¯s Control Runes to her own. It might sound like a slow process, but Alexa soon found that she had gained control over the entire entry way. Now that the entry way was safe from attacking and disrupting her own mana, only now did she feel safe enough to once again imbue her sword with the magical protections and abilities she had previously enchanted it with. However, this time her abilities were drastically improved, especially as she felt the full extent of how much she had grown since yesterday, the day she first went to London. The day she slew the first of the large dragons of England, the day her father was still¡­ Alexa had the thought, stopped herself from that train of thought, no good would come from dwelling on the past. No good would come from wishing to change time. The only thing she could do now was work her way forward. ¡°I could help. I could tell my minion to stop right now, and then show you how to bring him back¡­¡± A voice that would send chills down most people¡¯s spines began speaking to Alexa¡¯s mind. The albino dragon who had been preparing something stopped, as if held in place by some invisible prison that locked his entire being into a state of permanent movement. Alexa didn¡¯t need to be a mind reader, or the system to tell her that the dragon did not like this precarious state of existence it was being kept in. As it looked like the Master, the demonic voice that was now talking directly into Alexa¡¯s mind was forcing its servant into submission. Even though Alexa didn¡¯t need the system descriptions they still flowed past in her mind, letting her see every stage and emotional state go through its mind: Shock, Surprise, Confusion, Anger, Rage, Jealousy, and then finally Acceptance. It was that last emotion that caused a thought to form in Alexa¡¯s mind. One that she began enacting almost immediately. During this time, split her consciousness, not that she needed to, her mental protections kept her thoughts from being read, something she greatly appreciated at the moment. In this, she could tell that by her channeling a bit more energy into her Psionic power Mind Shield, she could keep this from being broadcast directly into her mind. Since this wasn¡¯t an attack, and the origin point began outside her mental defenses she heard everything. This form of communication was the same thing as going to a closed front door of a house and shouting as loudly as you could into the house, in order to get someone to listen to you. ¡°¡­If you wish to hear more, then as a sign of good faith, I ask that you stop taking over my minion¡¯s Network of Runes.¡± The demonic voice said, again speaking loudly enough and with enough power that Alexa could hear it without having to strain herself too much. Alexa stopped working on the runes, though she had stopped her plans before the demon had made such a demand. It seemed like a petty power play, but Alexa was more than content to let the demon think it was winning now, or at least that Alexa was willing to come to an agreement. Instead, the real reason Alexa stopped taking control over the network of interconnected runes was twofold. First, she wanted to finish layering the normal magical properties her sword had over each other. Then secondly, she focused on channeling energy into an invisible cast variant of one of her most draining of powers. It had always been known that this power could not be invisible, but rather she could hide its formation, forcing it to be created behind her back. The only giveaway that she was doing anything was the sudden appearance of a golden glow forming behind her. Anyone looking at her head long would only see a golden silhouette, form around her, as if she was somehow being imbued by the gods themselves. This was not the case, but the golden glow did cause some confusion. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The voice called out, a note of confusion in its words, but it clearly had no clue what was happening. With that Alexa nodded to herself, thinking that her attack would likely work. For the formation of such a power was clearly visible for anyone who had experienced it before to recognize, meaning that either this demon could not truly see the attack coming, nor did they truly understand what was happening. With this, a certain base concern of Alexa¡¯s was taken care of. She realized that it was likely impossible for the true masters of dragons to see everything, everywhere, all at once. Instead, they had a limited view, and one that seemed to be predicated on the senses of their bound minions. With that connection, Alexa figured that in this case the albino dragon was actually the conduit through which the demon was able to see and likely interact with Alexa. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I am listening to you.¡± Alexa said, her voice switching to that of the Chaos Tongue, a language that she found little use for, up until now, but hearing this demon speak, and noting the dialect of the dragon tongue being spoken in her mind, she felt this language was far closer to the Demon¡¯s true tongue than anything else she knew. A pause. Alexa could see how the restraints on the dragon relaxed slightly, allowing the dragon to shift its balance slightly as the muscles that had been bound into knots a moment ago, were now loose, allowing the dragon to take in a deep calming breath. Seeing this Alexa realized that the restraints on the dragon were so tight that the dragon itself couldn¡¯t breathe, and would have likely caused the dragon to suffocate, had it not been for this random release. There was a moment, when the dragon cocked its head to the side, as if listening to a distant voice. It was clear that having to talk to Alexa from such a long distance was taking a toll on the power the demon had access to on this plane. As Alexa could see the power being drained slowly out from the albino dragon, as its body and energy were being used to directly communicate with Alexa. ¡°My Master wishes to take you in as a servant. He offers you this one chance, surrender yourself now and live, or die.¡± The Albino dragon spoke, in the Dragon Tongue. At that Alexa just nodded her head in understanding. ¡°I understand. Let your Master know that I have but one word for him and you both.¡± With that, Alexa focused her will on directing the last surge of energy needed to power her attack. ¡°What is your decision?¡± The Albino Dragon said, its body tensing as it prepared to strike if Alexa did or said anything that the Master did not want to hear. Seeing that, and the look of Confidence, that covered the features of the dragon, Alexa took in a deep breath, then released her attack she had been building up all this time. ¡°Hope!¡± Chime and crash. There was the crisp sound of a dense bell ringing in the cavern. The runes and structures that were carved intricately into the wall shattered, well all the runes that Alexa did not exert her own control over. The ones she laid claim to were still there, though they did next to nothing without the rest of the runes present. Seeing this, suddenly the design and lack of protections made sense, these runes were never the dragon¡¯s to begin with, rather they were a power bestowed by the Master. That was also why there were no Protection Runes present, as the Master wanted to be able to do what Alexa had done. The Master would always want the ability to retake control over the series of runes, should the dragon ever attempt to betray him. It was a good strategy, and one that most wouldn¡¯t have been able to subvert, even Alexa had to admit that it would have taken her far longer to take full control over the network of runes than she was willing to spend here. Alexa held up her sword, the blade off to the side, in a defensive position. The Albino dragon shook its head in shock, then after a few moments Alexa could see how a sense of understanding began to bloom on its face. The dragon went from Shock, to Confusion, and finally to Excitement. A malicious grin filled the face of the dragon, as it too shrunk down slightly, its bulging muscles coiling and ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice. Seeing this, Alexa trying to be the voice of reason spoke out. ¡°We do not need to attack each other. You are free but by attacking me will mean that you die free.¡± Alexa said, her voice cold and in a light singing tone, well as light as the Dragon Tongue would offer. ¡°You are the one who will die free.¡± The albino dragon said, as it began to release the tension in its over coiled muscles as it hurled its eight foot tall muscular frame down the entryway tunnel. The dragon was small, far smaller than the others of its kind, but this served it well, as it was able to sneak up and behind most monsters that made it this far. Even against other dragons, its small and compact form made it a terror to deal with. Alexa spoke, the words traveling and echoing around the tunnel for a second, her body completely still as she seemed to wait in fear. Then the words that had been echoing caught up to the Albino dragon¡¯s ears enough for him to hear her comment, ¡°you are right.¡± Hearing that, the dragon paused ever so slightly. That pause, that slight hesitation caused the dragon to stop and look at Alexa for a moment, for an instant it wondered if it could coerce the mortal to follow him, to be part of his horde. The dragon was now free, and the first thing it wanted to do was to gain a slew of treasures under its name, what better treasure was there, than this one who set it free. It would be a fitting tribute, one worthy of the being who set it free. Its words all but indicated that it had accepted death, showing how smart she was for a humanoid. Then the moment of stillness was over, as Alexa herself began to move. Alexa lunged forward, magical sword arcing in the air. The effects of Illusionary magic causing the true arc of the sword to cause the Albino dragon even more issues. This can¡¯t be, how can the sword still be magical, it was dispelled? The Albino dragon thought, as it raised its massive arm up to block the incoming attack. For a moment it looked like the effort would be enough, that the sword would collide with the tough ashen scales of the Albino, scales that were the same color and toughness as tungsten. The albino watched the sword, then with a flurry saw the moment it seemed to dance and curve around his arm and disappear under its protruding jaw. Slink. There was a crisp cutting sound, as the blade seemed to strike true, but nothing happened. The sword just disappeared, was it an Illusion? The dragon found itself wondering. Then an odd sensation of vertigo filled it, as its view suddenly shifted downward, as its gaze seemed to show the arc of its body. With a quick jerk, the dragon tried to move its head, to change its view, but nothing happened, he was stuck in the same viewing position. Then it saw its clawed feet still standing still, still coiled and ready to strike, but nothing happened. Then the world spun around once, twice, and stopped. *** The sword sliced clean through the neck of the humanoid dragon, causing the head to fall to the ground, bonce once, then roll around twice, before coming to a complete stop. Only once it came to a complete stop did Alexa look down at the head and complete her thought that she had begun to share with the Albino dragon. ¡°You are right, I will die free, but not today.¡± With the dragon¡¯s death happening so closely, she felt the surge of energy fill her from the kill. Just like all the other dragons, there were no crystals that formed as these were not summoned aspects, but the real creatures. Still her ritual would not be complete without her first freeing the dungeon from the shackles that bound it in place. Silence. In her mind she saw the notifications, she saw that she had finally completed the last stage of the Dragon Trials. But unlike what she had expected, nothing happened. Just the same two messages she had grown to expect.
Stage X of the Dragon Trials Completed.
Title Increased: Dragon Slayer (27): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (405%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (1,350%).
She was done, never again would she be blindsided by a Dragon Dungeon. Never again would she have to factor in what would happen if she was randomly grabbed away while running red dungeons for crystals and profit. Never again would she have a chance to increase her base magical abilities. Then turning her head back to the dungeon core that still showed the deep impression of years of being bound into chains, she realized something else. She would never get another chance better than this one to free even more dungeons. Turning to the exit, she focused her mind and said the magic word that all Dungeons instinctively knew, despite what language it was spoken in. With a ruthless smile filling her lips, she spoke the magic word, ¡°Stay.¡± Then she walked through the exit. Chapter 134 The Decision Chapter 134 The Decision Dragon after dragon fell to Alexa and her Replicas. With each dragon slain, she accomplished two main goals. The first of which being that she got to free a new dungeon every time she Stayed. On its own this might not seem like much, but to Alexa it was huge, as it implied the dungeons understood her intentions. Had she just stayed, then the dungeon would have somehow been able to reset time, reimprison themselves and then create an exact replica of the Albino dragon. This however was not the case. Alexa noticed this the first time she fought and killed level 1 dragons, each time she reset the stage a new level 1 dragon appeared, ready for her to slaughter or scare off. If she could, she wished she could go back to those dungeons, if only to set the dungeons free. She didn¡¯t know what happened to dungeons that were not holding dragons, but were still imprisoned against their wills. Did they eventually find a way to create a key on their own? Would they somehow starve? From all her travels, she knew three things about dungeons. The first thing she knew for a fact was that dungeons at their very heart had a flesh like core that could somehow be enslaved and chained to do another¡¯s bidding. The second fact she learned was that dungeons seemingly fed off of the ambient energy that adventurers inadvertently left behind while they ran through dungeons. Even when she used spells, she could tell that none of the residual energy would go to waste by the dungeon. In a way, dungeons were the perfect biodegradable mana factory. The third fact she had learned was likely the most important fact of all, the fact that dungeons were sentient. She didn¡¯t know how sentient, as she had never had a conversation that was deeper than being able to be answered by simple yes or no answers, but she could ask complex questions and they could answer truthfully. This was why, when she told the dungeon that had been her last and final Stage X trial for the Dragon Trials, she knew the dungeon had not only understood, but would follow her will. That was why she had stayed, not because it was easy, although it was amazingly so. With each new dungeon, she increased the number of Replicas she carried. This time she decided to go slower, to start off with three, and slowly work her way up as time went on. Each time the process was the same, she would go in, check for dispersion runes at the other end and her Replicas would enter a minute later. This was not because she could command them over such vast distances, in fact her initial concern about the communications not being able to go backwards to the previous dungeon were proven correct. However, despite this, she still managed to bypass this concern by just telling her Replicas to count to a hundred first, before following her through the portal. That hundred seconds was more than enough to disable any runic structure that awaited her and her team on the other end. Once all runes were defused, her main purpose for the raid was over, and she went about creating the key to free the dungeon while her Replicas carved their way through the often slumbering dragons. While freeing the dungeons was her primary goal, her secondary goal of increasing the efficacy of her Titles, which were massive. With so many high-level dragons killed, her Absorber class was able to come in handy enough to absorb enough for three title increases for her Attribute Increase title, followed by her Dragon Slayer title that at the very least improved her magical potency by an extra 150%, for a total of 555% increase.
Attribute Increase (16 -> 19): All Attributes increased by 10% (160 -> 190%).
Dragon Slayer (27 -> 37): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (405 -> 555%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (1,350 -> 1,850%).
The increases were amazing, but what truly made her feel like she had accomplished something was seeing the way the dungeons all seemed to glow just a little bit brighter after they were freed. By the end the new Replicas that she was able to summon were nearly unstoppable. While she had twelve of them at one point, by the end she found that five were more than capable of dispatching any dragon she came in contact with. With her army of five enhanced Replicas, she was in prime position to move on to stage IX of her Trials of Ascension, these Replicas were all created with her most recent Dragon Slayer title active, while they weren¡¯t the full 1,850%, she doubted the fifty percent difference from 1,800% to 1,850% would be that noticeable. Still, it had been a long day, and she had so much to tell. By her internal clock, she and her minion army had torn through the fifteen dungeons at an incredible pace, clearing them all in just under two hours. If she didn¡¯t care about people, she would keep going, she would not stop until she completed both stage IX and X together in one go. But that wasn¡¯t her, at least that was not who she wanted to be. Also, she realized that with so much going on, her parents, well her mother would still be in London. At best she might have been able to start the long nine hour flight back home. Meaning she would have seven hours to tell her brother everything. At this point, she realized she wanted to be the one to tell her brother. She didn¡¯t quite know why, but she felt he would appreciate her telling him, in person, versus some hired super. Or worse, having him find out from mother. She paused, wondering why it would be worse for her mother to tell him, versus her, but she couldn¡¯t exactly explain why. There was an emotional complexity that was held between them thanks to their twin bond that she could not understand. Logically such a bond should not exists, that or if it did, it should be noticeable somehow, but despite all her magical abilities, she had yet to explain why she had such a deep connection to her brother. One that let her know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she wanted to have a good relationship with her brother going forward, then she would need to be the one to tell him. Logically she knew from reading books and journals on the study of mental health, that being there to grieve with a family member during the time of a tragedy would be something important, that this was key in every relationship. Yet, Alexa felt an overwhelming dread when she thought about telling her brother. Just the idea of going and telling him would make it real, and that frightened her. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Chuckle. In that moment of realization, Alexa found herself laughing. She was afraid, for the first time in her life, she had come face to face with a problem that truly frightened her. Not monsters, not fighting dragons, nor hell beasts that breathed out torrents of flames, nor rats whose very bodies could create explosions when surrounded by magical forces. None of those thoughts scared her as much as being there to tell her brother the truth of what happened. And with that, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but laugh at herself. It was right up there with the time she found out her mother, was afraid of spiders. Here she was, one of the most powerful women in the world, a Super Hero, not just a Super, and she was afraid of spiders. The entire concept was beyond her, especially as an emotionally stunted child. Now here she was, at the cusp of womanhood herself, and she found herself afraid of telling her brother the truth. She wondered if he would blame her, the same way she also blamed herself. If she had been faster, had spoke first rather than looking into the box and its operations. Everything had happened so quickly, but she still had taken a moment to inspect rather than acting, rather than going with her gut instincts. How many times had she doubted herself in dungeons? Countless times, and each time it had been met with a similar fate, a bad injury, a loss of items, the breaking of a rib. So many times she had doubted herself, and so many times that had come back to bite her. And here she was doing the same exact thing, and expecting a different result. Logically she knew that there was nothing that could have been done, but even now she found herself pausing, doubting herself even more. ¡°Just go!¡± The thought of her rational mind kicking in, telling her to press through. Realistically she knew her rational mind was right, that she should go, get it over with and continue with the healing process as quickly as possible, but it wasn¡¯t going to be that easy. ¡°Only because you won¡¯t let it be easy.¡± At that, Alexa realized the truth. She wanted to suffer, she wanted to withdraw herself from society, and hide from everything. Of course, this would mean that once her high from killing dragons was over, she would be back to her coldly logical side, her stronger side. The side that even now was telling her to push on. Part of her emotional mind wanted her to just wait it out, to let the high fade away until everything was numb and painless. Then her rational mind would take over and shoulder the hard facts, just as she always had, and always would. She stood there for a minute, then a second. Finally, her Replicas made up her mind for her. One by one the Replicas stepped away from Alexa, and then drove their swords into the ground and let their remaining energy flow into the dungeon. Whoosh! These weren¡¯t the high intensity explosions that had torn chunks out of the different dragons she had faced. Rather these were the intense deep tissue release of magic that would be beneficial to the dungeon. Glow. With each Replica that sacrificed themselves in such a way, Alexa got to see something beautiful. Something she didn¡¯t even know what was possible. Alexa watched as the chain imprints that had covered the dungeon¡¯s core began to fade away. With each Replica gone, she saw the way a portion of the exposed and raw marks were cured. Then by the last one, she saw how a layer of pink flesh like material appeared over the final portions of the core. Seeing that, Alexa once again tried Healing magic on the dungeon, only to find that the dungeon cores were still not healthy living tissue, at least not the way she was used to thinking about living tissue. Looking at the healed portion of the core, Alexa felt a bit sad. ¡°Sorry, had I known, I would have been sacrificing those Replicas on every dungeon I cleared.¡± Flash. The dungeon flashed in understanding. Alexa meant it too, had she known her densely woven Replicas could heal dungeons, she would have sent them and more to heal the dungeons. Even if it drastically slowed her pace of advancement. Still with her overly enhanced Replicas gone, she knew her overwhelming advantage for clearing stage IX and X were gone, along with any excuse she had of pressing through. For a moment, she wondered how sentient her own Replicas were, until she realized it was likely a subconscious command given by her rational mind. The same mind that all but demanded she go home and tell everyone. Just thinking about that, a cold wave of fear gripped her, as she didn¡¯t like that she needed people. For years she had been independent, at least she thought of herself as independent. Yet, now she realized how much she relied on others. Her brother to drive. Her mom to tell right from wrong, and her dad, well he had always been there, the rock of their family. Only now that part of her life had been taken away from her did she realize how precious life was, how important building these connections were. What good was life, what good was sacrifice if you did so alone. Pausing, Alexa realized that enough time had passed. She had spent enough time being ungrateful for the many wonders she had in her life. Despite everything, she had a great childhood, loving parents, a brother, and Gina. Gods, she didn¡¯t know what to do with herself about Gina. The fact that even now, while thinking about family, that she would be recalled at all spoke volumes about how much she had grown to mean to her as a friend. Then there was the rest of her pack, while she could name them all, none of them held the same value and respect as Gina did. ¡°I have a favor to ask dungeon.¡± Alexa found herself asking in the Precursor tongue. Flash. Seeing the flash, Alexa instantly understood that this was the dungeon¡¯s way of saying for her to go on. ¡°Can you send me home?¡± There was a system message that popped up in her mind. One that was written in Precursor, but her mind easily interpreted the information.
Would you like to go to Dawning Light Academy Dungeon?
¡°Yes.¡± Flash. There was yet another flash, and the dungeon that seemed to be glowing with a vibrant shade of life caused its exit portal to change. There at the other end of the dungeon sat a now all too familiar guard shack. ¡°Thank you dungeon. May our paths cross under better circumstances when next we meet.¡± Flash, tingle. There was a quick pulse from the dungeon to her. Something deep, something that was indescribable, it felt like she was cleansed in some way, like part of her had been sealed away and was now open. Touching her heart, she felt for the imprint of what had happened, but found nothing there. Maybe I imagined it? Alexa thought to herself, as she did a few scans for any signs of what had happened, but nothing came up. Whatever the dungeon had done was invisible to her, even her magical senses hadn¡¯t picked it up. Still for a moment, she felt like she was connected to the dungeon, well not just this dungeon but every dungeon in the universe. For a fraction of a second, she even felt a form of sympathetic pain for other dungeons who were themselves still bound by the dragons, or worse creatures. Realizing just how many dungeons were still bound was beyond her. For a moment, she thought about asking to be sent to those, but then stopped herself. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. She had been on little to no sleep for the past two days and despite stopping to create her own food, she needed to rest. But first, she needed to tell her brother what had happened. ¡°Thank you dungeon.¡± Alexa said, not quite knowing what the dungeon had done, as the act didn¡¯t appear as a title, or skill, but something had happened. She felt that deep seed of gratitude that the dungeon felt towards her, one that seemed to be carried on by multiple other dungeons who also shared that same sentiment. Flash. The dungeon, ever sentient as always flashed in understanding and then almost as if in annoyance flashed for Alexa to enter the portal. Seeing that a faint smile filled her lips, as it seemed the dungeon too knew she was stalling. ¡°Fine.¡± Alexa said, as she took in a deep breath, then walked through the portal to face her destiny. Chapter 135 Going Home Chapter 135 Going Home Alexa walked forward, her movements in that forced auto-mechanical state where she was moving forward just by mere momentum. However, with each step, she felt slightly more assure of herself, certain that she was doing the right thing, regardless of how hard the moment was. As she approached the guard shack to check out, she saw a set of familiar guards on duty, but could not recall their names at the moment. Realizing her faux pas, she just waved at the two. ¡°Ale¡­I mean Aru¡¯ka welcome back. How did you¡­?¡± The guard trails off as he looks at Alexa still wearing her Aru¡¯ka uniform and then realizes what he needs to do in just such an incident. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, wait one second,¡± the guard said, as he began pushing a few buttons on his command panel. Beep. ¡°Hello?¡± A voice rasped out loud over the speaker system, no doubt only meant to be heard by the humans in the booth, but given Alexa¡¯s increased Attributes what most people could only hear in the same room, she could hear outside as if it were standard conversation. ¡°We have her.¡± ¡°Who? Was someone going out after we imposed the lockdown?¡± Ms. Peacock¡¯s unmistakable voice could be heard on the other end of the speaker. ¡°No, Al¡­Aru¡¯ka is here.¡± The guard said, almost spilling Alexa¡¯s identity twice in as many minutes. ¡°Here? Already?¡± Ms. Peacock said a bit flustered, before asking, ¡°but how?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know ma¡¯am. I¡¯ve given up trying to figure out how most of you all operate, that said it is clear that this is her.¡± ¡°You used the biometric scanner?¡± ¡°What, oh of course.¡± The guard said, a faint note of embarrassment in his voice as he visibly pushed a button on the underside of the consol. At that, Alexa felt a wave of energy wash over her. The energy was of a type that her body greedily absorbed at first, but with a force of will, she stopped her body from absorbing the ambient energy. ¡°One second, it seems that our first scans were inconclusive. Trying again.¡± The guard said, a note of nervousness in his voice. Whoosh! Just as he pressed the scanner again, there was the distinct feeling of mass being displaced, as a burst of energy erupted next to the guard shack. Then a second later, a thinly built man appeared. Seeing the human, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of Kelvin, the friend, who was still waiting for her on Stage IX of the Trials of Ascension. The man was of course none other than Mr. Mackie, the head of discipline here at Dawning Light Academy. Just seeing him, let Alexa rest a little bit easier, as seeing him meant that she was finally home. Of course, that sense of relief was short lived as she knew for a fact that if Mr. Mackie caught wind of her true intentions, or true motivations, then he would turn on her in a heartbeat. Right now, she still had the ace in the hole, the idea that she could bring his son, Kelvin Mackie, to him. If she could introduce the two, then maybe, just maybe, he could join her faction. Of course, that was far off in the future, as she still had to get with Luke to even make such an event possible. While she seemed to have some sway over the dungeons, so far the only ones that truly listened to her on such a level were the ones that she freed. Also, she didn¡¯t know if the dungeons would have listened to her on sending Kelvin to her home as well. There were too many variables, while she figured that the dungeons would likely listen to her, she couldn¡¯t be for certain. Of course, all of these were just reasons she told herself, to help her feel better about her decision. Honestly, the true reason she left was because she needed human contact. Her body twitched as she remembered how empty she felt inside of the various dungeons she went to. This was a completely novel experience for her, and not one that she particularly cared for. Before there had never been a problem, with her being in a dungeon. While most felt the mere thought of being permanently surrounded in a living death trap, Alexa had never felt that way. She welcomed the challenges that each dungeon posed. She also enjoyed solving problems, figuring out solutions, and above all she actually found herself enjoying being herself without the fear of being recorded, judged, or mocked. Inside a dungeon she was no one, and that was how she liked it, normally. This time however, she felt her resolve slowly slipping away, the longer she stayed within the various dungeons. While she did feel some satisfaction for pushing through and freeing the various dungeons from their dragon masters, that was only a dull hollow piece of everything she had been feeling. Energy pulse. Mr. Mackie gave a quick scan with his golden eye, as Alexa felt a wave and ripple of energy pass over her. Once again, Alexa felt her body desperately crave the foreign energy being pressed against her body, but she held back her desire to absorb the energy. Instead, she just stood there, waiting for the scan to be over. A few of the waves that entered her body were absorbed automatically by her class, unfortunately such things were to be expected, but were nonetheless annoying to deal with. ¡°It would appear that you have once again grown in power.¡± Mr. Mackie said. Hearing that Alexa could only nod in agreement, it had been what a month? Since he last scanned her. Since the last time he scanned her, she had done a great number of things, the most obvious was completing her Dragon Trials, and freeing over a dozen dungeons. Then there were the levels of magic she had learned and mastered. Looking at the man before her, Alexa wondered if for the first time in her existence if she could take Mr. Mackie in a fight. The fight would have to involve magic, something that Alexa was certain that Mr. Mackie was lacking in. Also, his network of runes were rudimentary at best, easily able to be oversaturated with her own power and thus be overtaken at a moment¡¯s notice. In fact, she made a note to put in fail safes around campus that could allow her to take control of the network if needed. If it came to a head long fight, with swords or fists, Alexa was certain that her Attributes would not compare to Mr. Mackie¡¯s, but that would imply she would fight him in a fair fight. All Alexa really had to do was get away, avoid the initial barrage of attacks and seek shelter while she prepared a magical defense. Why was she doing this? Why was she planning a possible attack on Mr. Mackie, the truth was as simple to understand as it was to execute, right now Mr. Mackie was on an opposing faction. The mother of his child was also on said opposing faction. The only chance she figured she had on switching him over would be the sight of his son. Of course, seeing his son might have a negative side effect that she was not able to account for, which was why she was trying to go over all possible scenarios now. Watching Mr. Mackie move, it was clear she would lose a head to head battle, which was why she was now beginning to come up with counters and contingencies in her mind. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°No doubt you bring word of what happened?¡± Mr. Mackie asked. In those few words were volumes of underlying questions, questions that only Alexa could provide the answer to. Alexa nodded. ¡°Yes, I am ready to give a debrief, but I would first like to make sure that Luke, Gina, and Julie are there as well.¡± ¡°You want them present for the debrief?¡± Mr. Mackie asked, this was a big deal, as it effectively meant that these three would know the true identity of Aru¡¯ka. While it was hard to keep such a detail away from the public, and it was assumed that everyone knew who the six foot four battle healer on campus was, it was still meant to be a secret. The fact that she would ask for people by name to be at her debrief meant that she was okay with these people to know her secret identity. Again, this was all being done to prepare Alexa and the other potential Supers of what it truly meant to have your secret identity compromised. Everyone here was still young, and most would go on to change their secret identity at least twice more before they actually made it to the professional leagues. Alexa nodded her agreement, she tried to speak, but then found that her voice had clamped up on her. ¡°Very well, follow me.¡± Mr. Mackie said, as he escorted Alexa back over the campus. As Alexa walked, she noticed that winter had indeed taken its toll on the campus. The normal bright green blades of grass had turned a slightly brownish color, as if part of the grass had died in preparation for the harsh winter that awaited. Seeing the grass, Alexa wondered if it had been like that before she left, she did remember that the grass had begun to change slightly, but not to this extent. The effects of winter were also apparent as all of the trees had finally let go of their last few leaves. Piles of brightly colored leaves lay on the ground as they all slowly turned to a shade of brown. These were the first things Alexa remembered seeing on her way in, and while she had seen it all before, just two days ago, well two or maybe three days ago now, as it looked like the day had finally shifted into late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Crunch. Mr. Mackie¡¯s feet made crunching sounds as he walked across the dead leaves. Alexa too walked over the same leaves, but her footsteps were quiet in comparison. ¡°Everyday I am amazed at how much closer you seem to become an elf.¡± Mr. Mackie commented, apparently also noticing the way her Agility perk that she stole from the elves made her move similarly to the elves. ¡°I have learned a lot from them.¡± Alexa said truthfully, she had, though her manner of learning was far different than the way most people would normally use to learn from the elves. At that Mr. Mackie nodded as he continued walking through the grounds. The moon shone down brightly, it looked like it was nearly full, but wasn¡¯t quite there yet. Seeing the moon, shine down brightly over the cloudless sky, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but think that this would be the perfect time for her to ask the question that had been weighing on her so heavily. Thinking that here, out in the open, far away from prying eyes and ears was her best chance to broach such a subject, she decided to jump right in. ¡°I have met Kelvin.¡± Shuffle Stutter. At that, Mr. Mackie stopped in his tracks completely, as his mind registered the comment. Seeing him pause, Alexa too paused and stopped to look directly at Mr. Mackie. ¡°You mean it?¡± Mr. Mackie asked, his eyes scanning her with their odd truth telling powers, searching her for any sign of deception. ¡°Yes, he is healthy, and level 57 last time I checked.¡± Slight tremble. Mr. Mackie¡¯s body trembled slightly for a second, but it had been enough for Alexa to notice and register the involuntary reaction. ¡°You saw him?¡± Alexa nodded, ¡°yes on stage seven, there with his mother, princess Portia.¡± ¡°Portia?¡± Mr. Mackie asked, his eyes going glassy as he looked off into the distance at a place that only he could notice. Alexa nodded. ¡°I think I have a way that we can get Kelvin out.¡± ¡°Kelvin? But how?¡± ¡°Trade secret I am afraid.¡± Alexa said. There was a tense silence as Mr. Mackie just stared at Alexa, then seemed to come to a conclusion on his own. ¡°Would this by chance have anything to do with the way you were last seen entering a newly formed dungeon in Stonehenge, then the next time we see any sign of you is here on campus?¡± Alexa nodded, ¡°the same, but different.¡± ¡°What of Portia?¡± At that, Alexa shook her head. ¡°I am afraid it might not be possible with Portia, as she is just a Summoned Aspect of her true self. While Kelvin is a real half-human half-elf.¡± That was Alexa¡¯s hypothesis anyways, not that she would even think about trying to deal with the Princess in any meaningful fashion. In fact, if she ran across the princess, Alexa would try to avoid her at all costs. There was a pause as Mr. Mackie clearly contemplated everything being said. ¡°You mean it, that you think you have a way to bring him back.¡± ¡°I think so, he managed to follow me to Stage VIII of my Trials of Ascension, assuming everything goes the same way, he should be able to follow me when I complete my next stage as well.¡± Alexa admitted truthfully. There was a slight pause, ¡°how did you manage to leave the Trials midway through?¡± Alexa just shook her head, ¡°trade secret I am afraid.¡± At that Mr. Mackie paused, ¡°is this similar to the way the three people that you summoned all have fully awakened into their Legendary or higher classes?¡± At that Alexa paused, her high from absorbing so much magic was gradually wearing away, but she still could feel the faint tug of her emotional mind almost giving away her true thoughts and feelings. Instead, she took in a deep breath, and answered slowly. ¡°It is similar, yes.¡± The similarity was that they had all gone into the same dungeon together, when Alexa walked the others through how to solve the puzzle rooms that were laid out before them. In that same vein, Alexa going to other dungeons to complete her trials and finish many of the stages by completing the true challenge of each dungeon, versus the self-imposed trials created by the Elves and the Orcs was similar in that it too happened in a dungeon. Again, minor technicalities, but something that an emotional Alexa could lie through omission quite freely. With that Mr. Mackie just stared at Alexa for a moment, his all-seeing eyes taking everything in. ¡°When can you go back in to bring him back to me?¡± Mr. Mackie asked. At that, Alexa nodded in understanding. This was something she had been expecting, and quite frankly she was pleased that it had gone this far. This meant that Mr. Mackie was indeed invested in the future of his son, which she could use. ¡°First I need to explain what happened, then after I rest, I can go rescue your son.¡± ¡°Rescue?¡± ¡°Yes, it seems that he was able to follow me to the next stage of the Trials, and has therefore been separated from the princess and the other members of her tribe.¡± Alexa said, truthfully. ¡°Well then, we should not waste any more time.¡± Mr. Mackie said. Chirp. At that, one of the communication crystals on Mackie¡¯s body lit up. ¡°Yes?¡± Mr. Mackie asked, clicking the device to life by pushing a bit of energy into the rune. ¡°I have all of the students gathered as Aru¡¯ka requested.¡± Ms. Peacock says through the communication crystal. ¡°Copy that, we will be there in a minute.¡± Mr. Mackie said back into the crystal. For a moment it looked like he wanted to say something more as he looked to Alexa, but then for whatever reason decided not to. With a nod of his head, he led her the rest of the way to the debriefing room. Once she got to the room, she felt her heart stop for a moment as all she could do was stare out into the room of so many familiar faces. Faces that had grown to mean so much to her over just a short handful of weeks. Entering the room, Alexa thought she would be strong enough to handle this, to move on. Yet, all it took was one question from her brother to take the strength right out of her legs. ¡°How is father?¡± Three words, those three simple words were enough to break apart the thin veil of strength that Alexa had built up. The strength that she used to get here, the strength that she used to fight her way through dungeon after dungeon. Alexa opened her mouth, but then stopped as her voice seemed frozen, forever lost in the moment. Then as if realizing how weak she was, how she wouldn¡¯t be able to tell the truth, not now, all she could do was close her mouth and shake her head. Despite having most of her face covered with her super mask, her normally blank and expressionless face spoke volumes. ¡°Oh.¡± Gina said, as she was the first to move, to tackle into Alexa with a warm embrace that felt so warm, so reassuring. Feeling her there, it was like a piece of herself that had been missing was momentarily filled. Alexa tried to breath, but her body both fought to restrain her emotions that had all been bottled away to this point, and with a gasp she tried to hold them back, but it was too much. The pain was too much, everything was too much, and she felt tears roll down her face, onto her mask where they cut clear patches through the dirt that had built up over the course of her travels. Looking at her, she looked like she had been through hell and back, never having had time to rest between any thing that happened. Alexa looked up to lock gazes with Luke, but he was already being held tightly by Julie. Seeing the two of them together, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but let out a slight smile, she was glad he found someone. Then almost as if to not be forgotten, Gina tightened her grip around her, all but forcing Alexa to look down and see that Gina was crying profusely. Seeing her, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but smile and gently pat stroke her hair with her gloved hand. Emotions were still tough, and the more she got used to them, the harder she felt they would be. But for now, Alexa was happy. Oh, she still missed her father and not a minute went by that she didn¡¯t think about him. But Alexa had managed to work her way through most of her grief on her own. Now she was just thankful for the family that remained and the friends she had made. Friends that were willing to suffer right alongside her. And that was when Alexa truly relaxed and let herself cry out the last of her sorrows. Today she would let herself be mortal, if only for a moment, for tomorrow she would deal with all the problems that could wait. For now, she was with her family, her pack, and there was no place else she would rather be than here. Chapter 136 The Movie Marathon Chapter 136 The Movie Marathon Sunday Alexa and Luke both didn¡¯t quite know what exactly happened, nor how they got to this point. But somehow both Alexa and Luke had been roped into a pack wide movie marathon in honor of Jim, their father. Mother was still on a plane, likely flying back through customs even as they spoke, there was nothing they could do. School had been cancelled for the week, granted it was only two and a half days more before Thanksgiving break would officially start so the two days of remembrance was nothing for the school. The viewing would be on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and the actual funeral would be on Sunday. This of course meant Alexa¡¯s original plans of having her class awakened by Thanksgiving were null and void. Or they might be, Tuesdays trip to the hospital had been cancelled, which was probably for the best, all things considered. This meant that if Alexa wanted to, if she truly wanted to she could force her way through and pull off Stage IX and X of her trials on back to back sessions before Thursday, but all of those plans were to take a back seat to today. Everything else could stop for a moment, while Alexa and Luke both took a moment to rest and remember their father. ¡°How is it a movie marathon?¡± ¡®Lecia found herself asking. They had once again taken up residence in the women¡¯s lobby. Everything had still been set up from yesterday morning, so it only made sense to continue using the same set up for today. ¡°Apparently, Mr. Jim was a huge movie fan.¡± Kylie added. Mr. Jim, that was as formal as anyone was allowed to get when speaking about their father. No Mr. Thyme, not Warder, just Jim, or if they wanted to show some respect for the former teacher and mentor, Mr. Jim. ¡°How is this a Christmas movie? I mean all we see is a sweaty Bruce Willis in an air ventilation shaft,¡± Lily asked. ¡°Just wait, you saw the message in the elevator, the one that read ¡®Ho ho ho, now I have a machine gun.¡¯¡± Luke protested. ¡°Didn¡¯t Bruce Willis himself even say that this wasn¡¯t a Christmas movie?¡± Lily asked. ¡°He¡¯s right, everyone knows Die Hard II is the first true Christmas movie of the series.¡± Alexa said. ¡°Not this again.¡± Luke said, as he sighed and felt like he was about to enter into an argument that had happened so many times by now that the two twins were just going through the motions. ¡°It¡¯s true. The first one is just a Christmas party, which was held at work and often happens days before the actual event. Die Hard II happens to fall on Christmas, officially making it a Christmas movie.¡± Alexa said, her tone making it so there was no argument that could be had. ¡°Fun fact, did you know that Die Hard II used the airport in Alpena Michigan for the filming of the final landing.¡± Fun Frank, or Luke¡¯s roommate offered. ¡°Let me guess, you are from northern Michigan?¡± Gina asked, her powers of observation kicking in. She had to speak around the large Alexa, to even look at Frank, but it was clear that she was trying to understand what her powers were telling her. Frank just paused for a second and with a slight sense of shock, just paused. Then after a moment he answered, ¡°yeah originally, but then my parents obviously moved out here. But how did you know?¡± At that Gina just smiled coyly and preened a little, ¡°call it women¡¯s intuition.¡± ¡°She¡¯s been doing that a lot recently.¡± Julie added, coming over and offering a drink cup to Luke. Alexa scanned the two, Julie and Gina, and noticed how the two kept giving each other glances from time to time. It was clear, at least it was clear to Alexa that the two had set this all up. In her mind, Alexa wondered how they remembered that her father was a huge movie nerd, but then remembered the time they both came to her house. The time they met her parents, the time when they even showed the photo album. Shaking her head, Alexa tried to focus, to be here, to enjoy this moment for what it was. This wouldn¡¯t fix anything, but it was a fun way to remember their father. Even with only her rational mind in place, Alexa knew that this was well needed, not just for Luke, but for her pack as well. It was clear that Jim¡¯s loss had a profound impact on everyone here, even though they all tried to hide it. Well not hide it, but to deal with it as much as possible. It was clear some of the girls would have to leave and then come back after some time, the red eyes, and puffy cheeks clear signs that they had been crying, but they made sure to do so away from her and Luke. It was nice. Finally, after the first two movies were over there was a question that was asked. ¡°So do we continue the Christmas marathon, or do we go with a new movie?¡± Julie said, holding up a case for Die Hard III, or pointing to an ensemble of other movies. The question was clearly posed to Luke, but he looked at Alexa and asked, ¡°what about the Princess Bride?¡± ¡°No, that is most definitely for the end.¡± Julie said. ¡°We need to save the best for last.¡± Gina added. ¡°Fine.¡± Luke said, somewhat defeated. ¡°I don¡¯t know, you choose.¡± Luke said, turning first to Alexa, only for Alexa to shake her head. Then turning, Luke looked to Frank, ¡°fine Frank, you have seen the collection. You choose.¡± The collection that Luke spoke about was the stack of movies that were still in the cases, yes very uneconomical for a male dorm, but Jim had been insistent that they have the cases to remind them of what they had. ¡°I don¡¯t know, there are just so many.¡± Frank said, as he got up and began going through the pile that had been taken from Luke¡¯s side of the room. ¡°Why do you have the cases anyways? Why not just stream them?¡± At that Luke and Alexa both just let out synchronized sigh and shook their heads in an odd display of twin unification. Seeing the act, everyone paused for a moment, though Luke and Alexa both seemed to have missed the joined act and the subsequent reaction of everyone else. ¡°It was a dad thing. He wanted work to be done on the computer, and play.¡± Luke began, and grabbed the movie case with his hand when he emphasized the word play, ¡°to be a separate action.¡± ¡°Compartmentalizing actions.¡± Alexa said. ¡°Yes, that, or some other word he would seemingly make up out of nowhere.¡± Luke added, while pointing to his sister. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Oh.¡± Was all Frank said, as he didn¡¯t quite know how to react to the two twins seemingly getting along so well now. Then not wanting to distract any further, he looked through the stack of videos, and then found one. ¡°How about this one.¡± ¡°Oh, Man on Fire, that is a great movie.¡± Angelica said, grabbing the video from the underclassman and all but running to the projector. What she and Frank both failed to notice was the nearly synchronized wince that Luke and Alexa both let out. While Alexa¡¯s was small and likely would have been missed entirely, if not for the fact that her brother who had been sitting next to her had the same but more exaggerated response to the movie. ¡°Wait,¡± Gina said, holding up a hand to stop the fellow Junior. At that, everyone turned to see that Luke still had a bit of wince on his face, while Alexa had mostly recovered her emotions. ¡°What is it? Did he not like this movie?¡± Julie asked, a hesitant note in her voice as she continued. ¡°I mean, it was in the collection.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± Luke responded, though he was still wincing. ¡°It was angry dad movie.¡± Alexa said. ¡°Angry dad?¡± Gina asked, trying to ever imagine Jim Thyme getting angry. ¡°He wasn¡¯t angry, he would just get a little clingy.¡± Luke responded. ¡°He broke the couch, twice, while watching it.¡± Alexa said. ¡°That was only when you watched it with him.¡± Luke said defensively. ¡°He would also hold me tight and cry into my hair, telling me, he wouldn¡¯t ¡®let her take me again.¡¯¡± Alexa said, her deadpan voice doing wonders for explaining her own personal memories of watching this movie with her father. At that Gina and Julie both had a look of recognition cross their eyes, as they both knew the premise of the story, of how a young girl befriends an old operative, and then is kidnapped, and how that one operative did everything they could to bring the girl back. Realizing that and the parallels to Alexa¡¯s own life, it was not too hard to imagine how an overprotective father would draw ties to the small girl and a small Alexa. ¡°Yeah, probably for the best we skip that one.¡± Gina said, reading the room and realizing that while it was a great movie, it might change the outcome of what today was supposed to accomplish. Gina jumping up, reached out and waved her hand over the stacks of movies. As she moved her hand, her mind instantly analyzed different percentages. For a moment her hand touched Big Fish, but then she quickly moved her hand back as while it was a fantastic movie, it was not the movie to show now. Moving on, she had her hand stop on a movie she had never seen before, ¡°The Prophecy? Is this any good?¡± At that both Alexa and Luke gave yet another synchronized reaction, if only for a second as they both looked at Gina with confusion and incredulity. ¡°You have never seen the Prophecy?¡± Alexa asked. ¡°With Christopher Walken?¡± Luke added. Gina wanted to go ahead and put in the movie, but then decided to wait, as she felt there was something more to the way the two twins seemed to be bonding on a deeper level. Realizing this, she felt one more question would be warranted. ¡°Is it good?¡± With that she got a reaction from both, as they almost both seemed to jump in incredulity. Of the two though, only Luke spoke, ¡°yes, it is freaking fantastic.¡± Hearing that, Gina just let out a sigh, and said, ¡°okay, if you say so.¡± Then with that the third movie started. Seeing the reaction, Gina gave a quick nod to Julie. Julie of course nodded back. The two had joined forces for today, to make sure both Luke and Alexa knew that people were here for them. Seeing the movie, there was a silence for a bit as the story began to play out, then at the right time Julie asked the obvious question. ¡°Oh wait, isn¡¯t that Aragorn?¡± ¡°Yes, before he was Aragorn.¡± Luke added. Alexa of course had more that she could say but had spent the last few minutes watching for subtle cues between Julie and Gina. While they were never enemies, they seemed to have come together in a way that was unexpected. One time, when Alexa had been staring at Gina for a particularly long time, Gina acted. Smiling coyly she shimmied for a second and spoke with an evil smile, ¡°what? Like what you see?¡± Alexa opened her mouth to respond, but then quickly closed her mouth as she didn¡¯t quite know how to answer. ¡°I, uh..¡± Alexa began. With that Gina leaned forward so that she was almost staring eye to eye with Alexa, of course most of this was because Gina was slightly standing in her seat, while Alexa had been hunched over, but the effect was the same. They were almost eye to eye, and that is when Gina smiled brightly, ¡°there you are. I thought I lost you.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Alexa said, as she felt a slight surge of heat coming to her face. Then in a moment of panic Alexa looked like she was about to back down, but Gina stopped her with a finger, one that she gently tapped against Alexa¡¯s lips. ¡°No.¡± ¡°No?¡± Alexa responded, before Gina¡¯s finger was firmly planted on Alexa¡¯s lips. ¡°No. You don¡¯t get to doubt yourself. Not today. Not while I¡¯m here.¡± Gina said as she locked eyes with Alexa. There was a moment that passed between the two, before Alexa finally let out a long sigh and relaxed. Only once she relaxed did Gina remove her finger from Alexa¡¯s lips and let herself also relax. There was a slight awkward moment, before Gina squirmed her arm under Alexa¡¯s and then snuggled up next to her. The whole thing happened so quickly that Alexa barely had time to react before she knew what was happening. At first it looked like Alexa might complain, but then eventually just relaxed and accepted Gina¡¯s overly personal antics. She didn¡¯t mind, especially as Alexa could tell that they were working, if only slightly. *** The movie marathon had been going on for a number of hours. Multiple times during the intermissions, or during particularly long scenes, Alexa would use her magic to Create food for the pack. Of course, Alexa still only had grandma¡¯s chicken, and chocolate down, while everything else was either brought in from different dorms, or Alecia and a few others would go out on periodic food runs. By now they were onto the Prophecy 3, where an older Christopher Walken was playing the trumpet one handed while driving with the other. ¡°This is the best of the three.¡± Alexa said. ¡°No way, two was much better.¡± Luke said. ¡°No, in this one we get to Gabriel get redeemed.¡± ¡°Spoiler. Gods, Alexa. You can¡¯t just say that mid movie.¡± Luke chided, though it was clear that most either looked up the ending already, or had asked enough questions of the two to figure out what would happen. Everything was going well, or at least as well as could be expected. Which was why they were surprised by an unexpected guest. Ding. Hearing the bell to the dorm, everyone paused. Gina, who was already up getting drinks, was the first to go over and answer the door. Standing there in a nice silky black dress, and large black sunglasses was Alexa¡¯s mom, well Alexa and Luke¡¯s but seeing Judy now, it was clear to Gina what Alexa would look like when she was older. Maybe Alexa would be a slightly taller version of this, but there was nothing wrong with a taller woman, that was her first impression. Then there were a few tell tale marks, the puffy cheeks, the tear stains on her otherwise perfect skin. The way she almost seemed to tremble. Seeing her, Gina did what came naturally to her, she reached out and hugged the stoic woman tightly. Within seconds, Judy felt her resolve crumble, as she let her fa?ade crack if only for a moment. Gina held her, using her body to try to shield others from seeing her. ¡°Sorry, I just came to see what you all were doing.¡± Judy asked, ¡°I wanted to see¡­¡± Judy began, but then was instantly hugged by Luke and Alexa both, and this time she completely lost control of her emotions. ¡°Sorry, what are you doing?¡± Judy asked. ¡°We are having a commemorative wake for Jim.¡± Gina began, answering for the twins. ¡°That¡¯s right, we have been having a movie marathon in his honor.¡± Julie added, then holding out a plate of chicken, Judy looked like she was about to decline, but then saw the meat. ¡°Is that?¡± Judy asked. Alexa nodded, while Luke answered. ¡°Grandma¡¯s secret recipe. Apparently, Alexa knew it all along.¡± ¡°What? You did?¡± Judy asked, turning to Alexa and then the plate. Gingerly her trembling hands reached out for the plastic plate. Seeing the way her hands were shaking, Gina reached out and grasped them for a moment, then once Judy turned to look at her, Gina smiled brightly. ¡°Relax, and join us.¡± Gina said. ¡°I, I couldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Nonsense. We have been waiting for you.¡± Luke began. ¡°Besides, we have your movie up next.¡± ¡°My movie? Which one is that? Don¡¯t tell me I have to watch Die Hard again?¡± ¡°No, we already watched that one. No, we have Breakfast At Tiffany¡¯s up next just for you.¡± Gina added. At that Judy looked torn between not wanting to be a bother, and wanting to be with people, even if they were younger. In the end, she decided to stay. A quick change in seating was made as an extra seat was added in between Luka and Alexa both, for her to sit. Only once everyone had settled down did Judy ask her daughter a question that had been on her mind since she entered. Taking a bite of the chicken her thoughts were confirmed, forcing her to ask. ¡°I thought you said you didn¡¯t know the recipe?¡± Alexa shook her head. ¡°You asked if I could make it, and I promised Nana I wouldn¡¯t make it for you.¡± At that Judy let out a long sigh, ¡°that woman, hated me even in death.¡± Alexa shook her head, ¡°she didn¡¯t hate you. She just thought you were too stubborn for your own good.¡± Having overhead everything, Gina burst out laughing. ¡°What?¡± Judy asked, as both she and Alexa turned their full attention to Gina. ¡°Oh, I can just imagine her now. She must have been just like the two of you.¡± Gina said. There was a momentary pause as Alexa and Judy stared at each other for a moment, then turned back to Gina. ¡°What?¡± Seeing her Judy and Alexa both shook their heads in disagreement at the exact same time, which prompted yet another round of giggling from the energetic girl. Seeing that there was nothing they could do but move one, Judy finally asked, ¡°so why did you make it now?¡± Judy said, holding up the chicken leg. Hearing the question, Alexa shook her head, ¡°I didn¡¯t make it, I Created it.¡± Judy just stared at her for a moment, as if trying to interpret what her daughter meant by this. ¡°You might as well show her.¡± Gina prodded. With that, Alexa held out her hand and first created a metal cooking tray, that she then covered with piece after piece of delicious chicken. Judy watched in awe, at her daughter who was able to create food out of thin air. ¡°Food!¡± Gina yelled. ¡°On it.¡± Kylie said, as she raced over to grab the tray so it could be taken and heated up. The wolf pack was more than happy to continue eating away. ¡°Oh, wow.¡± Judy said, pausing for a moment. ¡°I never thought my little girl would be the life of a party.¡± Alexa just stared at her mother not quite knowing how to take that comment. ¡°Well, we are glad to have her.¡± Gina said, once again hugging Alexa¡¯s arm tightly. Seeing Gina¡¯s antics brought a smile to Judy¡¯s face. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s watch some Audrey Hepburn.¡± Judy said, and with that, the night went on, and the pack grew that much closer together, as they all came together to shoulder the grief of what they had all lost in some way. Chapter 137 Croatoan Chapter 137 Croatoan Monday - Just After Midnight It should come as no surprise that all eyes were on Alexa and her pack. The fact that by now everyone in her pack had completed their first dungeon run and everyone had their noted Dungeon Runner title, along with every member of the pack having a class unlocked all meant odd things for the pack. What was the oddest part was despite everyone in the pack, save for Alexa, now having a Class and at least one title to their name, none declared themselves as full Supers. While declaring yourself as a full Super was a process that could never be undone, it was a bell that once rung, could not be un-rung as it were, but the ringing of said bell came with a lot of benefits, least of which being the ability to be picked up by some of the biggest organizations and government institutions in the world. The fact that everyone had not only fully awakened their class, but did so with a Title, one that apparently was shared by every member of the pack did not go unnoticed. In fact, many assumed that Alexa who had by far and away the most comprehensive list of Titles ever assembled found the key to earning titles and rather than hoarding it as most would in her position, she shared the information solely with members of her pack. By this point it was clear that everyone was just waiting for the day that Alexa¡¯s slotted class would transfer over and finally become her permanent class. Not that anyone could read her class name, even the talented Mr. Mackie could only take Alexa at her word of her class not changing, as her class¡¯s rarity apparently exceeded the quality of his inspection skill. In fact, many of the numbers he had on Alexa had clearly changed, but he was unable to confirm any new Title increases, without getting Alexa to confirm them herself. This of course proved to be problematic for anyone wishing to be able to maintain discipline over a school of hormone driven teenagers, many of whom could hulk out at a moment¡¯s notice in what many would call a roid rage frenzy. Fortunately, Alexa¡¯s quirks made it so Mr. Mackie didn¡¯t have to deal with this set of problems from either Alexa, nor the increasingly powerful members of her pack. Even the Junior class member, who should be seen as a mentor figure for the group due to her age, was mainly only accepted due to her perceived close relationship with the undisputed alpha of the group. All this was to say that everyone on campus had eyes on Alexa and her pack. It was getting to the point where Mr. Mackie couldn¡¯t even use his credentials as an inactive General to keep back some of the more serious probing attempts directed against his campus. Yet, despite all of this, he liked to think he managed to keep a fairly tight leash on what happened at his campus. The fact that Mr. Thyme, AKA Warder had died while on mission with Alexa had not gone unnoticed or reported on by multiple agencies to him directly. Each agency directly asking for detailed updates on not just Alexa¡¯s mental state, but the state of her pack as well. While she had weathered the emotional storm quite well by all recorded responses, it was the fact of just how well she was doing that caused Mr. Mackie the greatest headache. Yes, by all accounts she was either a sociopath, or able to compartmentalize her thoughts and actions so much that she was able to move on as if nothing phased her. Either case had their own problems, but deciding which case was the correct one was not one he wished to make on his own. Instead, Mackie wanted someone else to make that decision. Which was why over the past few days, he had been allowing more and more people to install their own surveillance equipment on his school grounds. Nothing was more protective than his warding scheme, which if he had to admit was fairly impressive and likely impenetrable. Still, despite everything going on, Marcus Mackie seemed to hate the way the entire pack had bonded as a whole. Granted the movie marathon as a personal wake for the twins was a nice touch, and having known Jim personally, Mr. Mackie couldn¡¯t have pictured a more fitting tribute to the man. The pack had watched movies until exactly midnight. The mother, and widow had left shortly after Breakfast At Tiffany¡¯s, having no want to see the movie that came immediately after Big Fish. The pack themselves had no intention of watching said movie to its completion either, as they turned it off shortly after the mother left. Opting to instead watch The Princess Bride, making sure it ended exactly at midnight. Given the state of things, Mr. Mackie had expected it to be an easy night, and for the most part it had been. The pack hadn¡¯t done anything stupid, no alcohol, no males left the common area. Other than a few choice movie options, everything had been kosher. All of that changed shortly before midnight. While the final movie was playing, the pack went about cleaning up everything. Any sign that they were there was gone by the time the credits started playing. Then as one they all moved, not making a sound, but somehow all of them seemed to be on the same exact wavelength. Frank, Angelica, and a few others who were not direct members of the pack left. While Alexa began leading those that remained on a walk through the campus. No one spoke the entire time. It was almost as if they knew they were being monitored, so rather than stating any of their plans or objectives, they all followed their leader. Seeing their precise movements and strict adherence to radio silence, Mr. Mackie was impressed, as he had led elite divisions of Supers who had half the discipline that was currently on display. Yet the team not stopping for praise made their way to the dungeon entrance. Then as one they silently went to the guard shack and one by one handed two crystals to enter the dungeon. This part, their going to the dungeon as a group was not strange, the group had done so many times. In fact, Mr. Mackie used to get nightly reports of how the girls were constantly practicing fighting stances against each other in the fields. So the fact that they all came together like this was no real surprise. It was odd how the core four, that being Alexa, Luke, Gina, and Julie, had gone to the dungeon. The last time any of the core four had gone to the dungeon entrance was Alexa and Luke, and this was just before she entered this dungeon, only to again reappear a few hours later in London. This was something else Mr. Mackie had been ordered to find out about. Somehow the twins had not only worked out a way to unlock titles and classes for everyone, but they also had a way of getting the dungeons to teleport across the planet, something that had been proposed as being possible, but had to this point been impossible to prove, until now. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Watching the group enter, Mackie turned his warding schemes to focus his sole consciousness at the entrance of the dungeon. This was something that he tried to avoid as often as possible, as often there was a magical feedback on having active runes too close to the dungeon entrance. Again, this was one of those odd things that no one had quite managed to figure out in the near one hundred years since the dungeons first began to appear around the world. Still, in this case, with all of Marcus¡¯ skill and talent with runes in place he managed to hear the moment someone from the group began to speak. It of course came as no real surprise that the only one to speak was Alexa. What was a surprise was what came after she began to speak. She didn¡¯t use real words, but rather seemed to sing in some oddly enchanting musical voice that sent chills down his spine. It was as if he was listening to an angel speaking the words of the divine into being. It felt oddly uplifting. The last thing he saw was the girl Gina seeming to look directly at one of the visual runes and then smile to herself, before writing on the wall. ¡°Vandalism.¡± Mr. Mackie said, as he prepared to teleport to the area to stop the act immediately. This of course led to the second major incident that happened from Alexa interacting with the dungeon. Basically, the dungeon who had seemingly been the equivalent of a dormant volcano up until now first began to glow and then erupt with a surge of magical energy. BURST! REEEEE! The runes that Mr. Mackie had so painstakingly assembled all over campus began to shatter and break right around the very core of the campus, right near the dungeon entrance. Pain. Unimaginable pain flooded Marcus Mackie¡¯s mind, as the network he so painstakingly put together, the one he wove his very consciousness into had broken apart and all but shattered. Focusing his will, he could see that it was still there, still somewhat intact, but now his protection scheme looked less like a dome and more like an open air astronomical observatory, where the telescope had somehow been replaced by a dungeon. Sulfur and Copper. The thick taste of sulfur and copper filled Mr. Mackie¡¯s senses, as he felt a warm liquid roll down his face. Still, this was not the worst damage he had ever fought through. Focusing his will like it was a hammer, he staggered his way to his feet, then with a force of will, he teleported to the dungeon, or at least he got as close as his broken warding schemas would allow. Appearing a few dozen meters away from the guard shack he approached. He must have looked the sight, as the guards instantly saw him, and then seemed to come out and try to assist him. ¡°Everything alright sir?¡± Bigsly asked. ¡°Yes, tell me, did you notice anything odd a moment ago?¡± Mackie asked, trying to see why these guards could seemingly be so calm despite the surge of mana that had to have raced through the area moments ago. They both paused, ¡°no sir?¡± They said as they then turned to each other for confirmation, but seeing the confusion mirrored in each other¡¯s faces, they turned back to Mackie and both shook their heads no. ¡°Very well.¡± Mackie said, not quite surprised that these two guards didn¡¯t experience anything, the only guards who were really magically aware were on the day shift. There had been talks about getting more powerful guards on night shift, but that had been a line item that had been deemed unnecessary as part of the school¡¯s annual budget. Maybe recent actions would change this, but that was an argument for a different day. At this point, it was likely best that these two weren¡¯t magically aware, lest they try to come up with a frivolous lawsuit against the campus. What the lawsuit would be about he had no clue, then again, the fact that a dungeon had seemingly gone active for a moment, long enough to break his runic warding system might be grounds to say that the lawsuit, if filed, would have been legitimate. As it was, Mackie himself felt that he had grounds for a complaint, at the very least. Still, he had to check on his current mission objective, namely the status of the entire pack. The most coveted patch of raw recruits ever assembled. Mentally dismissing the group of guards, Marcus hobbled his way forward, his ears still ringing and causing no end to the amount of disorientation he was still feeling. As he entered, he found the cavern completely empty, that much was not a surprise. What was a surprise was the fact that his runes that had been painstakingly carved into the side of the dungeon walls were gone. The only sign that they had even been there were the small black charred markings on the walls. Pulling out a light source, he made to inspect the walls, only to find that everything was gone. Hours of work that allowed him to eavesdrop, teleport, and observe the area right in front of the dungeon entrance were gone. Now nothing remained, not the fabled pack, not even a sign that they had been here. No, there was one thing, mentally thinking to himself he looked around the cave, trying to find the wall where the vandalism could still be. Then finally finding the angle, that his visual rune came from, he turned around towards the rune and then was able to find the graffiti that had been left for him. There in large blocky letters was a word that instantly sparked a sense of unease and dread to form in Mr. Mackie¡¯s gut. Yes, everyone knew that he had his eyes and ears everywhere, but this was proof that Alexa and members of her pack had not only known, but had gone out of their way to circumvent the protections he had laid out. There before him, was a word that sent shivers down his back, as he tried to understand what the crazy predictive analyst had meant by the word of warning she left behind. For there on the wall was one word, that could be a warning, a clue about where they would go, or a sign of things yet to come. There on the wall was a word as infamous, as it was unmistakable. ¡°CROATOAN.¡± Looking from the word carved into the wall, and then the dungeon entrance that still seemed to be awake and active, Marcus entered the dungeon, only to find himself in the standard entrance to the Tier II dungeon. A quick scan of the entry room showed that none of the pack members were still here. Focusing quickly, a feeling of dread washed over him, as he wondered if the pack had done something truly stupid and gone through the red challenge dungeon. He knew logically that Alexa had, as her numerous Dragon Slayer titles and the fact that she was clearly marked as being on the Trials of Ascension noted. But this was odd, the others all had their classes, which meant they shouldn¡¯t be bound by the Trials anymore, but was that necessarily the case. With a rising fear growing in his gut he charged forward, into the red tier difficulty, trying to save the pack from a stupid and likely costly mistake that would only be afforded to the young and reckless, those who had never tasted fear. Then with a start, he realized that this might be exactly what he would have done at this age if he found out his own father had died in combat while on a mission with him. For all these reasons, Mr. Mackie charged head first into the red difficulty dungeon, only for him to be met with a message that caused his stomach to do flips, as he realized two things. First, he was too late to join the pack on their mission, and secondly it was exactly as he had feared, as the system messages flashed before his mind, at first.
WARNING: There is a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of summoning a dungeon with a dragon as the sole boss.
Only for the trailing zeroes at the end of his warning to slowly get whittled away, until he was left staring at a final message that spoke to a supreme challenge before him.
WARNING: There is a 1 in 1 chance of summoning a dungeon with a dragon as the sole boss.
Chapter 138 The Departure Chapter 138 The Departure Sunday Night- Into Monday Morning The process had been easy, almost too easy, considering how oddly things had been of late. ¡°We want you to know that we will follow you to the ends of the Earth and back.¡± Gina whispered into Alexa¡¯s ear, just before The Princess Bride started to play. The words, along with the sensation of hot words being spoken so gently into her ear caused an automatic reaction on Alexa¡¯s part. A twinge of gooseflesh arose at the sudden closeness of the words. This caused Alexa to not only shiver, but in a surprisingly good way, but it caused her to turn her head towards her small partner in crime. In that act, their eyes locked and everything and nothing seemed to be spoken all at once. Looking at her, Alexa felt the obvious answer about what was happening come to her almost immediately. ¡°Telepathy?¡± Alexa asked. With that Gina nodded. Thinking about this, a lot of ideas came to Alexa and she realized one thing. First, she had been blindsided, falsely she had begun to think of herself as invincible, that she didn¡¯t care what was thrown at her, as it didn¡¯t matter, anything she survived she would not only grow more powerful from, but would make it so she could win the next battle that much easier. This assumption on her part had been proven wrong, not only had it and other thoughts like it ultimately led to the death of her father, but it showed just how vulnerable she was, how vulnerable her whole position was. Realizing this, she had been making plans on fixing things, but here it seemed that not only was the pack ready to go with her, but that they had mobilized themselves. Looking around the room, it was clear that members of the pack had set up to do one of two tasks. The first group went around cleaning up the different plates and cups that had been strewn around the room. The second group was bringing in backpacks that they clearly and methodically lined up against the walls of the room. Looking at each backpack, Alexa could see how each pack member added their own individual flair to the pack to make it stand out to them. Looking at the level of detail the pack was doing, it seemed they realized two things. First, Alexa was once again planning to leave campus again just after the marathon ended, and secondly, they were all prepared to do whatever it took to go with her. Seeing their level of effort and dedication, Alexa couldn¡¯t think of denying them the chance to follow her, especially as it was clear that they would seemingly follow her whether she agreed or not. Realizing this, Alexa turned to Luke. Luke at first looked confused, but then after a quick glance by Alexa to the efforts being made, and the backpacks lining the walls, Luke relaxed and smiled. Then with a nod of his head, and the pointing of his finger at one of the backpacks, it was clear that he too was ready to follow her. It was his addition more than anything that caused Alexa to truly be thankful for the friends she had, and to realize they all wanted to go with her, follow in her vision. It was a very humbling moment for Alexa. Here she was, at her lowest, she even admitted how she recognized the trap, but it was too late before she thought to tell anyone. That she was the reason that her father died. Of course, Gina wasn¡¯t having any of it, ¡°no, your father was killed by elves. You might have been distracted by a new attack vector, one that could have gone off by word, or shaking, or even remotely. You did the best you could to first understand the enemy before you, then to react. As it turns out, the elves are just a lot craftier than we first gave them credit for.¡± That was it, and any time Alexa tried to shoulder the blame, or admit guilt Gina was there, constantly shooting down her attempts at trying to feel guilty about what had happened. So it was that Alexa finally accepted that it was a mistake, one that she herself would learn from, and most importantly one that she would never let happen again. This was why, by the end of the night, Alexa didn¡¯t even try to argue any more. She had been emotional, especially when she first left the dungeon and arrived here. The entire thing was just as emotionally draining as she thought it would be. This was why she was glad Gina had started off the marathon with her father¡¯s favorite films. These were the very same ¡®Christmas¡¯ movies that the entire family had been subjected to every year right around Christmas. Oddly enough, this was the perfect time to start such a tradition with the members of her pack. Also, true to form, Alexa had used those first two movies to mildly doze off, only truly coming to be fully awake when the movies were over and the next movie was being chosen. Oddly enough, those light dozes were more than enough rest for Alexa to feel fully rested and ready to go. Her initial plan had been to leave sometime after midnight, enter the dungeon and begin Stage IX of her trials, and hopefully come back with Kelvin just before Stage X, then depending on how much time was left before the funeral, she would either go back immediately in to finish Stage X, or wait until after the funeral. Ideally she would be a full fledged Super, particularly when having to so many Supers and dignitaries alike, all of whom would come to pay their respects, especially as it meant that for the public service, Alexa would only be able to attend as Aru¡¯ka. Knowing that her pack wanted to follow her, and would do so wordlessly was, well it was beyond what she expected. It seemed that despite her purposefully removing herself as the Pack Bond, she was still seen as the only one that could galvanize everyone into action. Honestly, it was more than what she thought she deserved, but she was glad for the feelings nonetheless. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. So it was, that the entire pack moved as one, never really saying a word. Apparently, Gina and her use of Telepathy was more than enough for the entire pack to move and synchronize as one. This made her look at Gina in new and profound ways, ways that made it clear she truly needed to begin planning to have Gina continue to be around her. It was evident from everyone that Gina had been one of the first people to truly understand what had happened, how everyone had been set up, and how they were all meant to watch the execution of Supers as it was witnessed by the world on livestream. Alexa had all the time to think about possible contingencies, but by the time the greatest ending line to a movie. ¡°''But I also have to say, for the umpty-umpth time, that life isn''t fair. It''s just fairer than death, that''s all.¡± That quote more than anything resonated with Alexa at this moment. Alexa wasn¡¯t the only one who seemed to feel that the movie was talking to them all in some way at that exact moment. Sure, everyone knew the movie was a classic, that they were guaranteed to watch, as the final movie of their marathon. Honestly, despite having watched the movie for so many times, Alexa herself had forgotten the last line, but there it was, one of the most accurate statements ever. Life wasn¡¯t fair, it was just fairer than death. That one line, more than anything, seemed to resonate with the pack, as they all wordlessly nodded, as they got up from their seats and proceeded to get their backpacks. If anyone had any doubts about what they were all now planning to do, that line more than anything gave them the resolve to carry on. Granted the line originally had been about the fact that there was no happily ever after, but here in this circumstance, it took on an entirely different meaning, a more personal meaning. Even Luke seemed to have been caught off guard by the profound impact that the last line of the movie would have on him. Seeing his resolve to silently follow the pack meant so much to Alexa that all she could do was force a smile on her lips, a smile that was oddly easier to express than she thought it would be given the circumstances. Then as a silent cult, they made their way through campus. Their only real interaction with people was their appearance at the guard shack, and subsequent logging of their activities. ¡°Trying to burn off some steam?¡± The guard Bigsly asked. At that Alexa could only nod. ¡°Right, well give me a second and I will process you all.¡± Bigsly said, as he began recording all of their names and the current time, 12:03. With that out of the way, Alexa made her way to the dungeon. Luke originally was going to go and speak on their behalf, but he was in the back, apparently having to borrow a few crystals from Julie to enter. Still, as she approached the dungeon, she could swear that she saw the dungeon come to life before her very eyes. Seeing the supposed excitement of the dungeon at just seeing her, Alexa decided to try and speak to the dungeon directly. ¡°Hello dungeon. My pack and I seek safe passage.¡± Alexa began speaking in the Precursor language, as she spoke the dungeon seemed to come to life with recognition. The minute she spoke, Gina¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement, as it was clear she went from being perfectly quiet, to suddenly up to no good in under a second. Pulling out a knife from her pocket, she began carving into the smooth dirt cropping of the dungeon. Alexa noticed the antics, and dismissed them, as she continued trying to book the passage. ¡°We would like to go from here to Bottomless Gorge.¡± Of course, rather than speaking the name Bottomless Gorge, she spoke the universal designation of the dungeon, one that would be seen as a sister dungeon, or maybe even a neighbor to this one, given how close they were geographically. Flash! There was a bright flash of light, as the dungeon seemed to not only understand the request, but wanted to gladly accept the request. Poof. At the sudden burst of excitement from the dungeon, Alexa noted how the flimsy runes that had lined the hallway leading into the dungeon suddenly burst as too much energy had been channeled through them. Honestly Alexa was not surprised by the sudden destruction of the runes. Honestly, she had been surprised that such delicate runes had even managed to survive this long. With this dungeon seemingly more than willing to help the pack traverse their way into Bottomless Gorge, Alexa found her job finished before it had really started. Honestly, Alexa couldn¡¯t quite explain why, but after her completion of the Dragon Trials, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel a deeper connection to the dungeons than she ever had previously. She had felt them come to life when her brother interacted with dungeons, using his class, but that was nothing compared to the way dungeons seemed to spark happily to life just at her mere presence. It was something that Alexa herself couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on. Luke chose that exact moment to make his was forward, ¡°everybody ready?¡± Everyone wordlessly nodded their head in silence. Seeing that, Luke pressed his hand to the wall next to the dungeon entrance, as he focused his mind, letting his Dungeon Architect (Mythic) class go to work. However, something was odd about what he discovered while trying to interact with the dungeon. ¡°That¡¯s odd.¡± ¡°What is?¡± Julie asked, coming up right beside Luke. ¡°The dungeon, it already seems to have set up Bottomless Gorge as our destination point.¡± Luke admitted. Hearing that Alexa nodded, she had expected this much, but hearing her thoughts get confirmed by Luke made her feel that much better about trusting the dungeon. Honestly, right now, she felt that so long as she didn¡¯t do anything to overtly hurt a dungeon, she would be able to ask for similar favors from dungeons in the future. Alexa was just about to speak, when she noticed the word that Gina had carved into the cave wall. Croatoan? Alexa thought about the word for a moment, and then after a brief pause she realized that that was almost the exact phonetical way to spell passage, in the Precursor language. Seeing the word, Alexa glanced at Gina. Gina for her part just smiled sheepishly, as she put away her dagger. Seeing her antics caused the smile on her face to grow a little wider, though this was one was nowhere near as forced as the one she had used earlier. Alexa opened her mouth to speak, but then reading the room, she shortened any speech she would have given to just six simple words. ¡°Thank you all, for following me.¡± Then with that, Alexa turned and entered into the brightly glowing dungeon. Gina all but lunged in trying to keep up with Alexa, soon after more and more of the pack entered the dungeon, until finally the final two pack members that waited in the entry way were Luke and Julie. Seeing the slight look of hesitation on Luke¡¯s face, Julie felt compelled to ask. ¡°Is it your mother?¡± ¡°Yeah, I am afraid she might not be doing as well as she lets on.¡± Luke said, wondering if he should stay behind to see to her. ¡°I guess the question comes, who do you think you should be with more, your sister, or your mother?¡± Julie posed. Luke paused for a moment, then realizing there were no real good options, ¡°I guess Alexa, if for no other reason than mother would be mad that I didn¡¯t choose to be with her during this time.¡± ¡°Then you already have your answer.¡± Julie said. Luke paused, as he seemed to struggle with something internally. ¡°It¡¯s just that mother is so vulnerable right now.¡± ¡°Do you honestly think you being around would change any of that?¡± Julie asked. Thinking about it logically, he knew she was right. His mom had plenty of friends, at one point even Ms. Peacock came to the gathering to speak to her. Also, he heard her talk at length about what Captain Johnston had said and done for her to help get their father back to the states. Given everything, it seemed clear, her mother already had her emotional support group, just as Alexa had her pack as her own. Now it was just one of those times when he would have to choose, go spend time with his sister, or his mother. It should have been a relatively easy choice, but somehow, he felt that this moment would have a profound impact on the future. Of course, he chalked it up to just being noncommittal, and finally nodding to himself and Julie he entered the dungeon, followed shortly by Julie. Chapter 139 A New Base of Operations Chapter 139 A New Base of Operations Monday Bottomless Gorge had grown since their last time being there. While everyone had known that the dungeon itself had finally gained more than enough material to grow to a Tier III dungeon, it at first had decided to condense itself, making the rewards for completing, even a partial completion of the dungeon now was worth exceptional rewards. Better still, the dungeon had seemingly grown once more since their last visit, this time again rather than growing up, the dungeon decided to grow out, as in branching out. Rather than just being linked to Analysis (Tier II) there was an entirely new branch of research that the dungeon had branched out into. This was perfect, as it meant that special exceptions didn¡¯t need to be made by the dungeon to house Alexa and the generals, or at least generals is what the rest of the pack was referring to the initial four who had completed the first dungeon together and done so with flawless timing and precision, not once but eleven times in total. Now there was a new course to run, and Alexa felt a thrill like she had never felt before calling to her. In a way she knew this new branching was done for her specifically. Better still, everyone got to see the way the dungeon lit up when she was around. ¡°Dungeon these are my friends, my family. Please watch over them, as you would watch over me.¡± Alexa said, to the dungeon first in Precursor, then again in English so everyone could hear her. Happy flash. It was hard to assign emotions to the lighting up of ambient sources of light, but even with that it was clear that the dungeon was more than happy for Alexa¡¯s return. In fact, there was something odd with the way the dungeon at Dawning Light Academy also flashed in excitement at her presence as well. It was as if the Dungeons had been asleep for so long, and were all now finally awake. No, not awake, they had all been awake to some extent or another, rather they all seemed to see Alexa as important. ¡°What is happening?¡± Julie found herself asking Gina at one time. Gina with her class Predictive Oracle was able to interpret so much from so little around her that many wondered if she created the future or just spoke of it. From her body language and the way she intently stared at Alexa, it was clear that she was paying particularly close attention to Alexa during this time, to make sure she didn¡¯t miss any subtle cue that could help her more accurately predict the outcome. In this case, her hours of staring at Alexa intently, along with this being her third time here at this same dungeon with Alexa helped her come to a far different conclusion than she would have made had she not seen this interaction. ¡°I think the dungeons have somehow marked her. Bottomless Gorge used to notice her before, but only when she called out to it. Now, this dungeon and others seem to light up in recognition before she even enters them. Even becoming aware of the outside of their domain, as was the case at Dawning Light, something I didn¡¯t quite realize was even possible, until I saw it with my own eyes.¡± Gina said. While she spoke, it was clear that the other pack members all heard, well all of the pack members save for Luke, as he was the only one without supernaturally enhanced hearing. Still, Gina¡¯s insights had proven to be invaluable over the past few days. Seeing the way, the pack all came together made Alexa happy. She had taken a few moments to tend to her garden, which had improved drastically since the last time they were here. Not only had Alexa¡¯s creativity with magic improved even in the short time away, but her ability to spread and manipulate the different elements was amazing. Even the fresh water she created was extremely delicious, despite the moss she set to grow at the bottom of the reservoir. ¡°The moss will act as a natural filter, and amplifier for the water, making the water not just cleaner, but more fused with mana and other natural energies.¡± Alexa had said. That was not the only thing she had changed, in her short time here. Even the ground had been altered with her Earth magic, to create layers, steps, diving platforms into the reservoir and so on. It was impressive to see how much raw natural talent she could wield in a matter of seconds. Granted the dungeon didn¡¯t hinder her, and in fact often seemed content to help her, by generating more land for her to work with. ¡°You act like you won¡¯t be back for a while.¡± Luke said, rather offhandedly. At that, Alexa just paused as she looked at her brother like he had grown an extra set of eyes. ¡°I am going to try to push through Stage IX to Stage X before I can get back.¡± Alexa said, with a note of annoyance in her voice. It was hard to notice, in fact Gina felt that even the other pack members wouldn¡¯t have been able to pick up on it, but with her increased senses, she could notice the slight variation in her word cadence. While the words were the same as normal, their cadence spoke to a slightly annoyed state. Not that it would ever amount to anything, but it was odd to see the sudden tension in her. Seeing that Luke was about to make things worse, Gina stepped in. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°We know, and if Luke forgets, we will be sure to tell him.¡± Gina said, reassuringly. ¡°Hey,¡± Luke said, ¡°I know as well. You are going to push through, and hope to meet up with us here after the final stage so we can all attend Dad¡¯s¡­¡± Luke trailed off, as the weight of his words hit him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we are all feeling the loss, each in our own ways.¡± Gina said, trying to placate both twins. ¡°Luke, you are wondering whether it would be best to go off at a time like this just to awaken a class.¡± Gina began, explaining to everyone what the situation was. ¡°Alexa realizes that the attack was likely not a solitary event, that if they tried once on live television, then they would likely try again especially at a funeral where everyone will be present. Realizing this is likely her only real chance to unlock her class and be mildly effective against whatever else the elves might throw at her.¡± Ah. Alexa made a sound like she was about to cut her off, which Gina seeing it, and realizing her error corrected her earlier statement, ¡°us. She wants to be prepared for whatever they might throw at us.¡± With that Gina glanced over at Alexa who gave an almost imperceptible head nod in agreement. Seeing that, Gina went on. ¡°Furthermore, Alexa is feeling guilty about this friend she made, Kelvin Mackie, who is also the son of General Mackie and one of the biggest elven supporters on Earth. By us having Kelvin on our side, we can either mitigate or completely remove any possible future threats made by the General and his allies.¡± With that, Gina turned to Luke, ¡°you did change his marker, right?¡± ¡°Yes, just a moment ago. He is still alive, though I can¡¯t quite tell much more than that from my access to the dungeon networks.¡± Luke admitted. Sigh. Alexa let out the smallest sigh of relief at that, one that spoke of a profound weight being lifted from her conscience. ¡°Good, see. You can rest a little easier. While it has been a day¡­¡± ¡°Two.¡± Alexa said in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°Two days since you last saw him, he is still alive and able to be brought here.¡± Gina said. ¡°Meanwhile, we have all made alibis about where we will be until you get back. With classes being cancelled until at least after the Thanksgiving holiday, we will be safe here. Also with the new dungeon path awakened, even those of us who have originally completed the Analysis portion of the dungeon can try out the new dungeon and not get bored. Also, now that you have alerted Gorge, he seems to remember us and has even created enough couches for all of us to sleep on. Then with your magic, you created enough beds and other supplies for us to be fine for two days.¡± ¡°We even have our toothbrushes, so you know we are here for the long haul.¡± Alison said, holding up the plastic tube that allegedly held her toothbrush. ¡°I hate to admit it, but the little firecracker is right, we will be fine. And while I think us hiding here might have been a bit much, if it helps you rest easier then I am all for it.¡± Luke said, a bit begrudgingly. Hearing that, and seeing the look of resolve in his status, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel a strange sense of calm wash over her. Granted, she had not intended to take everyone here, as this had largely been a choice brought on by a spur of the moment need that arose from an enhanced sense of fear and paranoia that was brought on by how drastically she underestimated the lengths to which elves would go to take out a perceived threat. It was something that had been haunting her for a while, and while she didn¡¯t know if the elves would stoop so low as to target a school of students, she couldn¡¯t put it past them. Especially if they somehow convinced Mackie that she was not part of any known elven force. No, moving here had been a necessity and something she had always intended to do later on. While it did feel like they were retreating, having a military base of operations that was secret to them, and only accessible to a few trusted members would go along way, especially if they could use this base to effectively teleport anywhere around the world at a moment¡¯s notice. In her mind, she could see how her life had inevitably led to this point, and while she had always found a strange sense of assurance inside caves, she worried that many of her pack mates wouldn¡¯t. That was why she had gone to such lengths to expand the garden as much as possible, creating a veritable forest, one that had summoned aspects of monsters here. Monsters that the pack could hunt down and kill. While there were enough fruit bearing plants to feed an army, the idea that a pack of werewolves, cleansed or not, would be able to sustain themselves for any stretch of time without meat was impossible for her to imagine. That was partly why she was so intent on making other plants that rabbits and other smaller forest creatures could also eat, so an entire ecosystem could thrive in the forest without any real work needed by the members of the pack. Additionally, the plants she had grown were enhanced to be self-replicating and spreading wherever possible, making it so her magic was not needed to perpetuate plant growth. Most of these changes were made the last time she was here, which was why so much of the forest was already so well stocked, and why she focused on making changes like slight inclines and reservoirs of water. She had created her own dream location, a wilderness untouched by man. Well untouched by all men except for Luke, though to be honest Luke spent most of his time trying to avoid the deeper reaches of the forest. Alexa looked over everything, there were enough beds, couches, chairs, tables. All the minor comforts needed were there. It would only be a few days. It was currently 4:37 AM on Monday, the next time anything important would happen was possibly Thursday at 2PM, giving her just over eighty-one hours to complete two stages of the Trials of Ascension. ¡°What should we do with Kelvin if he starts anything with us?¡± Erin asked. It was clear that she was one of the pack members that had been the most traumatized by the whole situation, as she still had yet to talk to Luke in any meaningful way. ¡°Simple, it won¡¯t happen.¡± Gina said confidently. ¡°It won¡¯t?¡± ¡®Licia asked. ¡°Nope, because Alexa will tell him that her girlfriend is here waiting to help him, and that if he tries anything funny she will beat him up when she gets back.¡± Gina said confidently. Chuckles. Even Alexa gave a smile at that. ¡°Alright, you have convinced me. I will go and come back when I can.¡± Alexa said. ¡°Bye mom.¡± Kylie and Lily said in unison. Alexa just shook her head at that, but still let a real smile play out on her lips. At least this one was more real than the one she showed during the girlfriend comment that Gina had made. As she turned around to leave, Tracy waived her down. ¡°WAIT!¡± ¡°What?¡± Alexa asked suddenly on guard trying to understand what could be so urgent to make her shout out like that. Seeing Alexa stare at her so intently, Tracy almost buckled, but then with slightly reddening cheeks asks, ¡°can you please make more chocolate before you go?¡± *** Thirty minutes later Alexa left, to begin stage IX of her trials. As she left, Gina who had been putting on a brave face up until now, relaxed slightly as some of her forced excitement wore away. Seeing her, Julie couldn¡¯t help but go over to offer some condolences, it was clear that she well and truly cared for the undisputed leader of their pack. ¡°Are you worried about her?¡± ¡°About her safety? No, she could survive the apocalypse. Hell, I think if it came down to it, she would somehow find a way to reverse time to make it so the apocalypse was just a momentary eclipse if we gave her enough time.¡± Gina said. ¡°So why are you so nervous then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not her that I am nervous about, it the boy that she is so desperate to save. She likes him, she just might not realize it yet.¡± Chapter 140 Stage IX (Part I) Chapter 140 Stage IX (Part I) Monday The first thing Alexa noted about the new world she was in was the smell, and the overwhelming power of the water around her. The second thing she noticed was gravity, as her first act within the new dungeon was to fall two feet. Splash. At which point Alexa found her body sinking deep into the brackish water. Moving quickly Alexa found that her tall frame was actually useful in this situation, as the starting area of the map she was in was only four and a half feet deep, meaning her tall frame made it so she was easily able to stand up with her head out of the water. The next thing she noted was just how wrong the entire place was. Not the dungeon itself, but rather what was happening to the dungeon. Now that she was here, she could almost feel a deeper connection to the dungeon. This connection made it so she could feel the outright torture that the dungeon now felt. She could feel on some deeper connection, just how this poor dungeon had been cut open, and then pinned down and dissected, all so this world could exist in this perverse state. Worse, she knew that the dungeon was still alive and conscious throughout all of this, as the dungeon wouldn¡¯t be able to still be accessed if the dungeon itself died. This meant that the dungeon had to endure all this pain and humiliation, while being forced to witness itself in this altered state. Bleh! Feeling the intense connection of pain to the dungeon, Alexa felt her own stomach convulse in its own sympathetic pain. Fortunately the water caught most of the mess, and tiny fish came to help take care of the sudden meal that had presented itself and now floated on the surface of the water. Seeing the light blue glow of the fish, she realized what this dungeon was for, at least she felt her Intuition going off, giving her a pretty good idea of what this dungeon was supposed to teach. Something about balance, about biomes. Likely there would have been some giant animals that were out of balance with the environment and it would be her job to ensure the cycle of life was maintained. Just connecting to this dungeon, she could feel first how old it was, and second how vast it was. The world around her was deep, like the ocean. Taking a step back from her bile, she tried to take in the scope of the world around her, or at least the portions of the dungeon that were visible. Off in the distance were giant ships that battled with one another, there were large vertical cliffs that stretched up from the depths of the ocean and allowed birds and other creatures a natural place to roost and rest away from the waves of the water. In her mind she knew that this was a safe spawning point, that is a spot within the dungeon that is an alternate to the main entry point. These were generally secret alcoves that only the dungeon or others who frequented a dungeon a lot would recognize. These were the spots in a dungeon that you could go to rest. In her mind, she realized that the initial entry point was likely down at the far end, over where the ships were battling one another. No doubt this zone had been turned into some form of nautical combat zone by the elves and orcs, but that only begged the question, how did such an event happen? Where were these sailing vessels even coming from? So many questions raced in her mind, only after a second did she start to see the magic of this world begin to unfold before her eyes. The magic was subtle, first she noticed how perfectly cut planks of wood would be Created out of nothing and gently pressed in her direction. Then she noticed how the seaweed in this area was particularly thin and versatile. ¡°A build it yourself boat?¡± Alexa said, as she noticed how all the components were coming together. Was this meant to be some form of nature survival zone? She wondered to herself as she tried to take in everything that the old dungeon had to offer. Seeing the wood and resources being Created, she first decided to take on the resources, but then enhance them with her own magic. The First thing she did was conjoin the two pieces of wood into a larger broader piece of lumber. To do this, she used elements of Nature magic, along with Creation magic and fused the different elements she was being taught by the elements provided. First she fused the two planks of wood together, forcing them to grow as one single entity. Then she coated them all in the thick seaweed, that she had grow and fuse into the planks of wood. The seaweed here seemed like it had a lot of different properties, the least of which were related to keeping water from entering the boat. Not that this was too much of a problem currently, especially as Alexa was using one continuous piece of wood for the frame, but she somehow felt that the wood would eventually erode away unless treated by the seaweed, which was why she made sure to have the seaweed grow around the hull of her ship she was creating. In the end, she began treating the entire entity as one living creature, the new skin of her vessel was the seaweed, while the bones and inner structure were the wooden planks. Slowly over time the vessel began to grow larger and larger. After a certain point, the dungeon seemed to stop giving her supplies, until she had created a vessel that was seemingly large enough and sturdy enough to bear her own weight. At this, the dungeon seemed to be pleased with her. Flash. With that, a glowing light blue fish came to her, then as soon as Alexa looked to see the fish, and see it was part of her quest here, she noticed how the fish led off into the distance. However, Alexa felt that there was something here, the use of old Creation magic so easily. The way the water seemed to be particularly infused with mana, the whole unbridled power of the zone. Just being here, Alexa could feel ancient wisdom waiting to be unleashed. That was why she held out her hand to the fish and spoke. ¡°Great Dungeon. I seek your guidance.¡± Alexa asked in the Precursor tongue. The fish paused for a moment, then Alexa could see the moment the fish changed. Going from a light blue fish, showing that it was part of the quest that Alexa was to follow, and then it changed to a deep ultraviolet color before her very eyes. Instantly Alexa knew that the fish had been inhabited by the dungeon, or at least a part of the dungeon¡¯s overall consciousness, as dwindling as it might be, was now residing within the fish. Seeing that she now had the dungeon¡¯s full attention, she gave a slight nod of her head and continued with her original thought. ¡°Great Dungeon, can you teach me how to be better at using magic, not just weaving them, but how to improve my Tiers in each school of magic.¡± Alexa began, but then seeing that the fish seemed to still be waiting, still be listening, Alexa continued. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I have these powers, these different Schools of Magic, I have these Tiers, but I don¡¯t quite know what they mean, nor do I really know how to improve them, or even if I should improve them. We have nothing, we are lied to by the Orcs and Elves alike, forced to accept the status of being a slave, or worse. We are about to be integrated, but I don¡¯t think we know what that truly means. There are so many questions, but I don¡¯t know where we can turn. The Precursors, they are gone, only traces of their legacy remain, but it isn¡¯t enough.¡± Alexa let it all out, her emotions were riding high, a natural effect of her body¡¯s passive absorption of the ambient energy of the water. Her emotions, mixed with everything she was still trying to process, threatened to burst, unless she had a project, unless she had something that she could devote her full attention to. Also, somehow, she just knew that this dungeon had wisdom of the different magical elements, at least of Creation and likely Water magic as well. Alexa stared at the fish for a moment who just sat there oddly still, despite the rolling waves that flowed over and around it. Seeing the fish just sitting there, Alexa just shook her head, realizing that this likely went beyond what the dungeon was capable of. She remembered the frustration she felt at trying to interact with the one dungeon that taught her how to create a key that could be used to free it and other dungeons. In all close to twenty dungeons were freed, truly freed from the dragon¡¯s influences, not just ones where she went in and killed the current occupant, leaving room for a new dragon to come in and take its place, as she inadvertently left behind an empty roost when she first began this process. The fish seemed to be thinking. That or the dungeon was so dismembered that even straying this much, trying to offer this much assistance to a quest taker was almost too much for it. Seeing it, Alexa just shook her head. ¡°Sorry about that, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll find a way on my own.¡± Alexa said as she got into the ship she had just made. Once inside, she began having the top grow up and over the sides, making it into a sealed canoe, one that fit in perfectly with her uniform, making it so no water got into the craft. ¡°Also, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be back to free you; I just need to save my friend first. He¡¯s been here for two days and is likely in trouble. Again, thank you for your assistance.¡± Alexa said, to the fish as she went about Creating a double bladed paddle and began effortlessly pushing her way through the vast ocean world. For her part Alexa was serious about the thanks. First the wood that was created was extra light and buoyant, second the seaweed was extra durable and able to absorb the magical energy of the world around her, something that was either a natural adaptation to being submerged into the magical waters around them, or something that the dungeon had specifically cultivated on its own. Alexa felt that it was a matter of both, that the water and plants originally began on the planet that this dungeon existed upon, but that the dungeon over time improved upon both to fit its needs. With the nature of the wood and seaweed, Alexa realized that there was yet another function of this that she was likely missing. A fact that she noted when the wood all but glowed with absorbed energy from the seaweed. Effectively making the wood an energy battery that had nothing to use the mana on. Realizing that even she couldn¡¯t absorb the energy as quickly as the seaweed and wood were pulling it in, and that there was still more energy available, Alexa decided to try to use even more of the energy by using her psychic power Rune Channeling to create a series of runes around the boat. The first ones were to make the boat stronger and more resilient, then the next ones made it so she could channel magic through the runes more effectively, this was essential, as she wanted to try to cover as much areas as possible, in order to find Kelvin. While Alexa felt she knew the general direction that Kelvin was in, she knew that there was a lot of ground to cover. Also, given how many ships were battling constantly, Alexa feared that Kelvin would be on one of those vessels, making this an even tougher operation. The only thing that helped her keep a calm mind during all of this was the assurance she had received moments ago from Luke that Kelvin was still alive. Granted her brother could not tell the condition he was in, but he could tell that Kelvin was alive at the very least. This was part of why she cut her conversation short with the fish. First she didn¡¯t know if the dungeon was even mentally awake enough to respond. She knew that dungeons were sentient beings, and that they could often communicate in different ways, but she also knew that this dungeon was being tortured, that it had been cut open and forcefully altered to meet the whims of whoever changed it to be part of these Trials of Ascension. Alexa was terrible at feelings, at least at being able to understand human emotions, but somehow that lack of understanding helped her be able to relate to the emotional state of dungeons more easily. Even now she could feel the near constant agony that the dungeon was in, this motivated her to do three things. First: She needed to find Kelvin quickly before he became more of a distraction. Second: She meant it when she said she would go back to heal this dungeon. And Third: She would make it so this dungeon was no longer part of the Trials of Ascension anymore. Alexa didn¡¯t know what the original purpose for the Trials of Ascension was, whether it had been created to actually help create powerful individuals who could fight against the armies of demons better, but it had been corrupted. If that was the original intention of these Trials, then they were far beyond that scope. Most of the fields of battle were now focused away from defeating the demonic blight on the lands, and instead focused on destroying one force of summoned beings over another. In fact, Alexa made it a note that she would check for a demonic monster, thinking back to what she thought was the original goal of this zone, she could almost wonder if the disturbance to the whole ecosystem was a giant demonic beast. One that should both be fought and disposed of, then hopefully the secondary effect would be trying to find a way to return the zone to an equilibrium afterwards. Thinking about it, this made the most sense to her, as to why such a large zone existed. This was meant to be a way to help people learn first to fight demons and other corrupting agents. Then the next step would be to clean up the damages made, to make it so the planet was still livable after the battle was over, for what good was winning the war, if what you were left with was a corrupting mass of toxins that would eventually destroy the planet if you let it. The last few zones all had these same themes, if Alexa remembered correctly, at least the main areas where she was able to solve the dungeon properly and avoid interacting with the added side plots of the Orcs and elves. Blinking. Alexa felt that she finally now understood what it was that she was doing here, in a way, she could almost see the brilliance of such a training regimen. Finding the best dungeons that focused on first combating demons and their forces, then as you get more and more accustomed to fighting against the demons, then they make sure you are aware of how to fix or repair a planet afterwards. Realizing this was the case, Alexa felt a chill run down her spine. If this was the case, then this meant that the dismembering of dungeons was not done maliciously, but willingly, the dungeons let this happen to them, at least they did at first. Then the orcs and elves had to ruin everything by plotting and scheming against each other, shifting the focus away from what these trials were really meant to show, but making it more about politics and the like. With these thoughts, Alexa could finally understand the confusion that the dungeon had. At least that is what she interpreted as the pausing look of the dungeon. Mentally, her mind began trying to piece together the changes, and realized that the dissection of the dungeon, made it so it was no longer bound to the original planet it originated from, and instead made it so it was strung together in a way to help. ¡°They took your sacrifice and defiled it for their own ambitions.¡± Alexa said, pausing her paddling only for a moment as she let that dark revelation sink in. Then with a renewed sense of focus, Alexa went about accomplishing the first of her three original goals, though now she felt she might need to alter the second and third goals. She didn¡¯t want to free or even fix the dungeon, rather she wanted to fix the problem, she wanted to make it so the dungeon¡¯s sacrifice, all of their sacrifices were not squandered by petty politics and machinations of rival warlords who long ago forgot who the real enemy was. This war could have been over, of that Alexa was certain. At one point the forces of the demonic army were likely close to being fully eliminated. That was when the orcs and elves likely began to splinter in their final efforts, shifting away from what was a uniting factor of destroying the demons, but rather they decided to focus on where they would end up once the war was over. The demons who had been pushed back, took this momentary reprieve as a chance to recuperate and let the combined enemies destroy each other from within. Of course, these were just thoughts, feelings that she got. They all seemed like they were echoes of past lives and memories, but they somehow felt real. For a moment she wondered where the thoughts themselves came from, whether they were memories of the dungeon, or if somehow the people who came to the dungeon left them behind, or maybe Alexa was just adding her own thoughts and values to the different forms of energy she was feeling. Regardless of their original origin, Alexa realized she had slightly more important things to worry about than the past. About broken alliances and the subjugation of new species being integrated by the different dungeons of the universe. For the moment Alexa had one goal, one purpose, to find her ally, then once that was over, she would begin focusing on her next set of goals. With her newly formed and created runes, along with ones that were designed specifically for enhancing her use of magic, she began casting out waves of Life magic, trying to map out the different sources of life, trying to find one half-elf half-human in an ocean of magical life and alien creatures. Chapter 141 Stage IX (Part II) Chapter 141 Stage IX (Part II) Monday Alexa made her way, rowing forward through the icy waters. Though a quick check of the temperature showed that the water itself was not cold, but rather the feeling that it seemed to emit was cold. Such an occurrence would have been too odd for Alexa to not stop and ponder a few months ago, when she truly began to awaken. Now, however, she felt that her mind and body could move independently of one another. She could still move, while simultaneously contemplating deeply on the mysteries of why water would be warm temperature wise, but illicit bone chilling natural responses from her. Thinking about the response naturally, it felt like she was there, experiencing something different, something deeper within her that was capable of handling or being made aware of external threats. For a moment she wondered if it had anything to do with the soul, or maybe some deeper aspect of survival that she was just now beginning to be able to tap into. Regardless of the reason as to why she could now feel the looming darkness that awaited them just under the surface of the ocean, Alexa found that the most important part of her was that she was slowly becoming aware that this function, this highly tuned and sensitive survival instinct existed at all. The fact that Alexa could do these two things simultaneously, both move her self-created craft forward and contemplate the different stimuli that her enhanced body was now able to process was impressive in its own right. What made the matter even more impressive was the fact that she was able to do this all while channeling magical energies out in a three hundred and sixty degree sphere around her that allowed her to detect new and hidden life around her. With her powers, she could feel the way a school of magically attuned fish followed her, as they all seemed to thrive from feeding off of the ambient energy she was slowly but steadily releasing into the water around her. She felt the way that plankton and magic-synthetic algae also came to life and began to pulse gradually on the surface of the water. To her eyes and Magical Sight afforded to her by her class she saw the way the algae came to life and looked to be floating pools of magical oil that stained the surface of the ocean, causing the vibrant mana soaked blue of the ocean to change colors as different forms of mana were processed by the algae. In her mind, Alexa saw the algae and understood that it was important, but not how it was important. She had been in this particular dungeon long enough now to realize that everything was here for a purpose, and that the algae especially were here as part of that purpose. She also felt she had a decent view on what exactly this dungeon was here to teach her, namely the purpose for this dungeon seemed to hinge entirely on how to break down foreign tainted energy that appears in an area, and how to create an ecosystem that will clean up any impurities noted. Unfortunately, the answer wouldn¡¯t come to her, not directly at least. If her new sense of the universe was telling her anything, it would be along the lines of try harder. Not that Alexa needed encouragement to try harder, as her mind fought to find different things to distract her. Well not distract her, in her mind she was already working on trying to solve this dungeon, trying to find the fastest way that both she and Kelvin could make it out of here safely. That was why her mind worked on interpreting the different signals that were coming in, while constantly pushing her thin line of Life magic out to scan for life, while furiously paddling forward trying to cover as much ground as possible. Oddly enough, it wasn¡¯t until she took a second to think about all the different tasks she was performing all at once that she realized just how much she was actually doing. Her old self would never have been able to do half of this. When she first learned magic, it took nearly all her concentration just to pull off a spell. Even her recent battle with the dragons in England forced her to mostly stand still, while moving just slightly. Now, however, she felt she could move in precise movements away from danger. Realizing this, she nodded to herself, finally realizing the effects that having her base Attributes Increased so many times by her different titles and ranks finally meant. This was her favorite part about dungeons, the way she was able to take a step back and learn about herself. The way she was able to be herself without anyone judging or hoping for more than she was capable of. In here the only person who could judge her was herself, well these Trials of Ascension always muddied the waters, as they all but forced external perspectives on her. Still in the end, the only ones that could truly judge her in dungeons were the dungeons. At least, dungeons were the only opinions she would accept as being valid. Thunderclap. Up ahead, a giant storm began to form seemingly out of nowhere. A quick glance with her class enhanced eyes showed her that the storm she was now witnessing was magical in origin. Just seeing the storm caused an intense thrill to ignite in her, as she wanted the power of the storm. She wanted to consume the raw energy that was being produced up ahead and to turn it into raw power that she could consume and use to thrive. Even up ahead, she noticed that pools of the algae on the ocean began to come to life, glowing in their own peculiar way to the new energy that was being produced around it. This time rather than having a bright green color, that they seemed to glow for her use of Life magic, she saw these new puddles absorbing and refracting the energy gained as light blue, just different enough from the deep dark blue of the ocean to make it stand out as wholly unique. Seeing this second example of the algae hard at work caused something to click in her mind. The more Alexa watched the pulsing algae, the more she felt a sort of bond, or connection to the algae. It almost felt that on some deeper level she could connect to the algae in a way she never could to other living creatures. Then she called up her initial class description, as something seemed to be off. Or rather, her newly identified instinct was telling her that there was something she was missing. So, she pulled up her class description and read the information.
Class: Absorber: For every apex predator, there exists a bacterium who can take them down like they were nothing. With this class you can be the bacteria this world so desperately needs. Your primary power will be to absorb the power and energy from your opponent, whittling them down until you finally exert your dominance and eradicate their life from all eternity. Primary Attribute: Willpower. Secondary Attribute: Perception.
That was it, the moment her hunch became a solid understanding. She suddenly realized why the algae felt so familiar, why their actions caused her to pause. She was the algae, at least that is what she was feeling she needed to gain from this little exchange. Her slotted-class of Absorber made her a part of the ecosystem, an invaluable part of the environment that could break down energies into a more useable form for the environment around her, and for dungeons should she use her power within dungeons. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Suddenly the rapid growth and evolution of Bottomless Gorge made so much more sense to her. Alexa had known that the dungeon was evolving rapidly due in no small part to her, but she didn¡¯t quite understand why. At first she took the class description to be somewhat offensive, and paid it no real attention, other than it was a good description of what she was now capable of. But now that she had time to familiarize herself with her class and had now taken a moment to re-read her class description, she saw it. The true meaning of the words. She was the bacterium that the world needed. Thinking back on it, she realized that scientists were finding new ways to use bacteria in the world around them. From the use of plastic eating bacteria to clean up waterways, to breaking down composts and other materials that are hazardous for the environment, bacteria did have an important role in the world. No one liked to talk about the impact that bacteria had on the environment, but the impact was still there, ready to be seen by anyone willing to take a moment and observe the world around them. That was why this revelation suddenly made more sense to her. She also realized that the algae here were acting like the plastic devouring bacterium of her home planet. The algae were eating the raw energy of different spells being cast around her and consuming as much as they could, and then what they couldn¡¯t use was excreted back into the ocean waters as mana, thus why the water was now super saturated with mana. Not only were the algae hard at work breaking down the magic of those that came here from the Orc and Elven camps, but there were other nets that had evolved enough to fully breakdown the deep water threats of the demonic energies being released below the surface of the water. Seeing the algae, she had a new respect for not just the algae, but also her class. Alexa realized that with her class, she too could eventually get to the point where she could help not only her own planet, but other planets that had been corrupted slowly revert back to a normal state. Her class made it so she could take on corruption. Looking back at her encounters it was apparent that most people would have died if they had been subjected to the same toxic levels of Necromancy and Death magic that she had been exposed to multiple times throughout her life. Yes, she did have different powers that helped her break down the impact of most magic, particularly her Magic Disruption psychic power, but never before had she seen the direct impact her class had on the environment. Or rather she had never seen the way a class similar to hers could have an impact on the environment. While they were slightly different, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel a slight kindred spirit with the magic devouring algae. As she paddled forward, she decided to use the moment to speak to the dungeon, to make sure she understood the true purpose of the dungeon. ¡°Dungeon. It¡¯s the algae, isn¡¯t it? This algae is special, as it can break down the different energies of the world and filter them in a way that is beneficial for the environment. Even being able to take Chaos energies and remove them from the environment as well?¡± Alexa asked in the Precursor tongue. Happy flash. With that, the dungeon flashed happily in recognition of Alexa¡¯s ability to grasp the complex layers of information being presented to her.
System Notification: Trial of Ascension Stage IX Completion: You have identified the true purpose for completing this stage of the Trials of Ascension. Please take this reward as is your due.
With that a giant glowing augmentation crystal arose from the depths of the ocean and all but threw itself at Alexa. With a trembling hand, Alexa grabbed the crystal. In a moment, her hands began to twitch, as she desperately fought not to use the crystal here, not at this very moment as there was still something she desperately needed to accomplish. Knowing that if she consumed the crystal now, she would be all but forced to immediately leave the dungeon. ¡°Dungeon, I thank you for this, but I still cannot leave. As I said before, I am here for a friend. I believe they are by the real entrance of this place. I know it is dangerous, but is there anyway you could help me find him?¡± Alexa asked, her junky hand still trembled while holding the sheer weight of the power contained in the crystal she had just received. It was clear from just holding such an item that this dungeon was both ancient and powerful, able to weave complex powers into a stone that still was the largest crystal she had ever received as a dungeon quest reward. Flash. There was another flash, as Alexa felt a foreign entity try to access her mind. For a moment she resisted, but only until she realized it was the dungeon trying to directly connect to her. Pausing for a moment, she realized that this showed a high sense of trust, both on her part for allowing the dungeon to access her mind that deeply, but also it showed a lot of trust from the point of view of the dungeon as she realized it was equally as intimate of an experience for the dungeon as it would be for her. Realizing that, she took a deep breath, and used her newly identified sense to see if there was any inherent danger with this action. Focusing inwardly, despite what logic might tell her that this was a bad idea, her emotional mind could tell that there was nothing to be afraid of. Given that her emotional mind was now fully in control of her body and actions, Alexa lowered her mental defenses and allowed the dungeon into her mind. Electrical jolt. There was the faint surge of electricity in Alexa¡¯s mind, as her thoughts were suddenly flooded by complex images and senses. Dungeons it would appear understood and interacted with the worlds on an entirely different level than humans, or even other humanoid creatures. As Alexa began understanding the impact of Magic, magical theorems, and how dungeons were effectively magical unicorns made solid, as dungeons were innately aware of all schools of magic, and were thus able to provide guidance to others through said magical insights. It was an altogether unfamiliar sensation for her, then finally it was over. And just like that, Alexa realized that there was far more given to her than she could expect to understand in one life time, but two things were abundantly clear from that brief exchange. The first was that the dungeons valued all life, and especially hers for whatever reason. The second thing she learned was the way forward. Nodding to herself, Alexa took the advice of the dungeon. The first thing she did was consume the giant crystal within her hands. Flood. The minute she did, a deluge of complex ideas and formulas went on in her mind.
Creation Magic Tier Increased to Tier IX.
Light Magic Tier Increased to Tier V.
Earth Magic Increased to Tier VI.
New Skill Unlocked: Biome Balancing (Tier VII): 932%.
In her mind, she could now see and create the different creatures needed to fix a water biome like this one from any damage sustained from foreign sources of magic. Each school of magic she had increased by two Tier levels, leaving her Creation magic just one step away from being maxed out. Included in the crystal was a full understanding of Life magic, which she had already mastered thanks to her class¡¯s ability to steal the power from other life forms. Now it seemed that there was an alternate way for her to learn magic as well, by completing Tier VII dungeons. While it was clear that being in higher level dungeons was preferable, she had never quite understood just how much more preferable delving into such higher level dungeons could be, until now. Taking the crystal, Alexa¡¯s mind whirred and spun to life with new ideas and concepts. Then just as expected, the exit door appeared right before her eyes. Seeing the exit, Alexa nodded in understanding. While many of the thoughts shared with her by the dungeon were foreign and alien in nature, there was one thing she fully understood, and that was what the dungeon intended for her to do next. Going forward, she focused her will and with a single word projected her will and intent on what would happen next. With one word, she would alter her future course of events, and hopefully gain more knowledge, while also rescuing a valuable ally. ¡°Stay.¡± And with that the portal that had clearly displayed an image of a tropical forest suddenly changed to reveal a beach that overlooked an ever-flowing ocean. Nodding to herself, Alexa paddled her self-made canoe forward through the portal, and started the scenario over. This time, she started with the promise that she would start at the regular starting location, which would hopefully place her closer to her ally. Chapter 142 The Ally Chapter 142 The Ally Monday Alexa appeared on the sandy shores of a minor beach that looked out over a vast ocean. As soon as she arrived, alerting runes flared to life, runes that alerted others of her presence. Within seconds, Alexa moved to gain control over the runes, but it was already too late as the damage had been done, her presence had already been detected by not one but two different sets of runes. Apparently, the orcs and elves had both been actively monitoring this place for signs of people arriving. Within seconds, the massive warships that were squaring off with each other in a constant battle for supremacy of the ocean, began lowering smaller boats into the water to come to her. With this, Alexa felt that she was onto something, that if she just waited long enough, then she could begin to hopefully tell the difference between the oncoming orcs and elves, both sets of which she assumed would be mere Summoned Aspects of real orcs and elves. With that understanding out of the way, she would then hopefully be able to fine tune her scans using Life magic to find a truly living creature out here. That was the goal at least, and that was why Alexa chose that moment to get out of her canoe that had also transferred over with her. Not that a landlocked canoe would do any good. For the canoe itself to be helpful in this situation it would need to be in the water. The only real benefit that the canoe could offer were the runes that helped her expand the distance of her scans and view further out into the ocean than she might otherwise have been able. Just rising from the canoe, Alexa could feel her effective scanning range drop in a noticeable way. One second she was able to scan the beach she was on, all the way out to the closest two warring ships, and the next she could only scan the inlet. In fact it took her quite a while to be able to pick up the small rowboats that were desperately trying to race towards her. As the rowboats raced each other, the two sets of crew began fighting one another on their way to the shore. The elven boat fired arrows at the orcs, while the orcs brandishing spears and large cleavers swerved towards the elven row boats. Seeing their actions Alexa herself could only shake her head slightly in disgust. Then using the time, she tried something, copying the runes she had on the rowboat, she began weaving a few of the more important runes onto parts of her skin. Only allowing them to become visible when she channeled mana into them. Once that was done, she felt fairly confident with her progress, even weaving in a few obfuscation runes for good measure. Then on the soles of her feet she wove in water density runes, or runes that would purposefully force water molecules to bind together and bunch up. This was one that would have to be powered directly by her own mana well, but that was not a problem for her, not with her mana reserves when compared to the relatively low cost of maintaining a rune. Feeling that she was confident with the structure of her water walking runes, for that is effectively what they were, she walked forward making sure to activate the runes as she strode confidently forward. There on less than an inch of water, she felt the runes come to life and add surface tension to the water particles that were directly beneath her feet. Seeing that her first step was a success, she strode forward, occasionally having to jump over incoming waves, or ride the surface of the water as waves rippled wildly underneath her feet. Alexa was a good two dozen paces in, when the first boat recognized what she was doing. ¡°She is walking on the water.¡± One elven rower said in elven, as he rowed forward. As soon as the lead elven rower pointed her out, an orc rower who had been trying to get closer to the elven ship saw the gesture and also looked. From there they too turned to see Alexa. ¡°The water walker has arrived, just like the prophecy foretold.¡± The orc rower said, making sure to get the attention of a particularly burly orc who used that exact moment to hurl a metal spear at the elven vessel. Seeing the flying spear, the elves in a truly remarkable display of unity all decided to use that moment while the spear was hurtling through the air to jump out of the boat and to dive deep under the water. Crunch! The spear struck into and through the hull of the rowboat, instantly causing water to pour in from the newly made hole, created by the spear. The elves then went back to the boat and clearly tried to take out the spear and stuff different items into the newly created hole. One elf took off their vest and jammed it into the hole. This was clearly just a minor stop gap measure, but was one that would allow them to get to land if they tried. ¡°What do we do?¡± The elven archer said, throwing their now waterlogged bow onto the boat. The tallest of the elves paused for a second, before speaking. ¡°We go get the new recruit and the orcish boat. If we die, well we will at least not have to swim back.¡± The elven leader said, as he stared back to the main boat that they had all come from. Their voices carried on the surface of the water, something that they seemed to know, and not care about the orcs overhearing their conversation. It was clear that either no one from either group spoke the other¡¯s language, or that they didn¡¯t care if the other party knew of their intentions. Looking at this, Alexa could see this as a benefit of being a Summoned Aspect, and knowing that your life and death here were just minor things in the grand scheme of events. This allowed people to push themselves to their limits, push themselves beyond what they normally wouldn¡¯t dare try on the off chance that they might find a new personal best. In a way these dungeons allowed people that were fully integrated, to see and experience life to the fullest, all while having only benefits gained from the interaction. Then those that chose like her to experience the true dungeon would be rewarded even more. In her mind she saw the Summoned Aspect, as probably the lowest level setting of challenging a dungeon, somehow even lower than Green. For as easy as Green difficulty runs were, there was still a chance of death from taking on such a challenge. As a Summoned Aspect, there was no real threat posed to the participant. Still this thought only had enough time to enter her thoughts, before she saw the approach of the Orcs. Seeing as the orc rowboat was the only one still moving, it made sense that they would be the most immediate concern. Focusing on them, she decided to enact the auxiliary runes that she had woven into her flesh. For a second, her skin and uniform lit up with particles of Light magic. Light that quickly expanded out, before closing back in around her and enveloping her in a bubble of light refracting magic. One second she was there, then the next she was gone. While this was hardly the best time for her to try out new theories that had been coming to life within her mind, she also knew that this was exactly what the dungeons were designed for. Dungeons were meant to give you rewards and knowledge that you were then supposed to use in new and creative ways that helped you face down the true threats to the universe, to life itself. Now Alexa knew that Dungeons also had a vested interest in their teaching others, as it seemed that they were both aware of how the universe worked, but were seemingly unable to truly interact with or prevent terrors from happening in the universe. A key example of this were the dungeons that were bound and enslaved by dragons. While Alexa couldn¡¯t state for certain that conquered dungeons came from planets that had been completely conquered by demons, she felt the case wasn¡¯t far off. Still such philosophical questions were supposed to be had elsewhere, when she had time, not when she was being charged down by a pack of war orcs. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The orcs for their part, just paused. Six dumbfounded orcs sat, having their boat rock up and down for a full second, as they stared vacantly at the spot where Alexa had just been standing. A spot where she still stood, as she had not moved, just enacted her newly acquired knowledge in a different way, through runes. Realizing her mistake, she began to move, subtly, still walking on the water, but in an opposite direction. In a way runes made it feel like she was cheating. Normally keeping two different spells active would stretch her mind to its limit and even then she would not be able to focus, whereas using runes made it so she could both walk on water and keep a bubble of refracted light around her active at the same time, with only a minor drain on her mana. Realizing this, she felt that maybe Mr. Mackie was onto something when he covered the whole school with runes. While they were crude and extremely wasteful with mana, they did provide the ability to do multiple things all at once. Then deciding to do just that, she used her Life monitoring amplification runes and reached out her senses until she finally found the source of life she had been looking for. Badump. Life was just slightly different from the others that were here. While most of the life forms she found here were muted imitations, there was one that was full and vibrant, like a spot of color in a noir film. That was what she found, when she identified what had to be Kelvin¡¯s life, aboard the large war vessel to the right. Seeing the person she was looking for, or at least relatively certain she had found a life of a second living breathing person here, she began to run. Splash, plop, splash. ¡°Wait. Get us out of here!¡± A powerful orc voice cried out, apparently having heard her attempts to run on the water. Hearing them, Alexa turned back and stared at the orcs. There in the boat was an old female orc that had a pale glowing aura to her. She looked like she had both one foot in the grave and one foot firmly planted in the realm of deep magics. Looking at her, it was clear that magics that Alexa had never seen before radiated from her. Just seeing the old orc caused a wave of greed to pulse down her spine, as part of her mentally hungered for the unique energies that she clearly held within her. Seeing the woman, and the fact that she was clearly no threat, Alexa immediately felt shame wash through her mind as well. What type of monster would she be, if she only sought to devour new and foreign forms of energy. Shaking her head, she almost turned to leave, but the woman called out to her. ¡°Wait.¡± The voice was both distant and right next to her ear. With a start Alexa realized it was a form of magic, one that she had never seen or experienced before. Again, this caused a wave of greed to go through her mind, but she fought it down. First of all, Alexa could tell that the figure she saw in the boat was just a projection, not even the real orc. A quick glance showed that the projection was tethered by a long thin strand to the other warship, the one that did not have Kelvin on it. ¡°You can see me, this is good, as it shows you are the one the prophecy spoke about.¡± The old orc said, her image suddenly appearing to float right in front of Alexa. Being this close Alexa could slightly feel the ripple of unknown magic that pulled the old woman here. She could feel the way the blind elderly orc used a different form of sight to see. Then with a start, Alexa realized the old woman didn¡¯t see, not truly, as her eyes had apparently long since gone away. Instead, it seemed that the old woman seemed to see the world in the same way she did. ¡°You see energy?¡± Alexa found herself asking, trying to confirm. ¡°That I do child.¡± The old orc said, her voice somehow comforting. Hearing that, Alexa nodded, it made sense, while she was hidden from those that used light to see, she had to stand out like a beacon to someone like her, someone who could see energy. ¡°You are like me?¡± Alexa asked. ¡°No child, no one is like you. I have waited for this day for a long time.¡± The old woman said, and then seemed to collapse to her knees in exhaustion. This was an odd sight, as the old woman just dropped down to the surface of the water and began riding the waves up and down, just as Alexa herself was. ¡°You have?¡± Alexa asked, wondering what the old woman meant. ¡°I have. This war, this battle for dominance, has gone on for too long. And I am too old and powerful to die normally. Now only you can send us all home.¡± ¡°Send you home?¡± Alexa asked, her mind trying to keep up with the old woman but failing to do so. ¡°Yes, we have been here in a constant battle for far too long. It is time for all of us to go home.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just solve the dungeon if it is that important to go back.¡± At that the old orc just shook her head. ¡°We are too foolish, too arrogant. None of us wish to move on, unless the opposing forces are also forced to move on. That is why you, and you alone can end this.¡± Alexa paused, staring at the old orc, then with one word she said what she thought the old wise seer was getting at. ¡°Banishment?¡± ¡°Banishment.¡± She said, nodding. ¡°How did you know I had that ability?¡± Alexa asked, somewhat confused. ¡°You have the Dungeon Runner title, not just that, but you have earned it a total of fifteen times, and even once for this very dungeon.¡± The old seer said. ¡°You can see which dungeons I have completed?¡± ¡°I can see a great many things. But yes, the individual dungeons completed are not beyond my realm of comprehension.¡± She said, as a matter of fact. Alexa stared at the apparition before her, somehow she knew that if she reached out, her slotted class would allow her to not only disrupt the image before her, but also absorb part of it and its power. The energy called out to her in ways that both excited and frightened her. Clinching her teeth, she fought through the compulsion, the near growing need to consume the foreign energy before her. Something on her face must have shown her inner conflict, while she was winning, it was just a barely win. ¡°You have remarkably strong control. The last one of you who made it this far had lashed out at me twice by now.¡± ¡°The last one?¡± ¡°Oh yes, you are not the first to have been handed this burden. Nor will you be the last, but you are remarkably well controlled for one so young.¡± She said, approvingly. At that Alexa nodded, but then turned away, as if that would somehow lessen the strain on her. The all consuming need to absorb the foreign energy and make it her own. ¡°Good girl.¡± The old crone said, a note of approval in her voice. Apparently she was happy with the fact that Alexa had chosen that moment to turn away, to not fully embrace the need to steal power. ¡°Was this all a test? Now that I have passed you do not wish to talk to me anymore?¡± Alexa asked, speaking to the being over her shoulder, while the temptation to steal the power was there, it wasn¡¯t nearly as impossible to ignore anymore. ¡°Oh no, everything I said was the complete truth. I wish for you to banish us completely. Even if you were not you, I would have asked you to banish us. The fact that you are you, just makes it that much better.¡± The old crone said. ¡°Let me guess, banishing the two fleets will not get rid of you?¡± Alexa asked. ¡°You are perceptive, yes. I sadly had to stay behind, to ensure we didn¡¯t release another monster.¡± The old woman said, and as she spoke, Alexa could feel waves of energy rolling off of the form behind her. Waves that were so bright and intense that they almost felt like they burned her to her very core. In an instant, Alexa knew that her instincts were correct, that she didn¡¯t want anything to do with this old creature who had more power than even Magdala, or the fully enhanced Elven princess. In the princess¡¯s case it was only partial power due to her being a Summoned Aspect, and that is what this form felt like. But now that the old crone was no longer hiding herself, or her energies, Alexa could feel the second life form in this dungeon. The second true life form in this dungeon came directly from the internal hull of the orc ship. Alexa nodded at the revelation that there had been other attempts to have someone like her, someone with the Absorber class come through these different trials. This old woman seemed to have come from a time before there was a rift between the elves and orcs. ¡°So it¡¯s true. At one point the Orcs and the Elves were united in a common war against the demons?¡± ¡°We are still united, though those who remained behind to run the Trials of Ascension, lost track of their original goal of being here. At first they were here to weed out the truly terrible monsters, those that would take and abuse their power for evil. Then over time, poaching became a norm, tagging one particularly promising recruit to be guided towards a particular path or group. Then, as time went on, everyone became occupied with getting the best recruits, versus our true purpose. I stayed behind, knowing that I was one of the last real checks to make sure we didn¡¯t release a true monster into the universe. I am glad, that I didn¡¯t need to stop you.¡± She said. At that Alexa, feeling more in control over herself, turned around to face the truly powerful astral projection before her. Now it was clear that even a minor aspect like this one¡¯s projected form would have been too much for her to compete against. It was the sheer overwhelming force that she now felt that made it all the clearer as to why her instincts no longer craved the energy, there was no need to crave something so far outside of your own weight class. ¡°And that talk of a prophecy?¡± Alexa asked. Cackle. ¡°That was just nonsense spoken of to see if you had an inflated ego about yourself. No there are no prophecies, or destinies, only the path that you choose to take, and the way you choose to take it.¡± The old crone said. At that Alexa just nodded. ¡°So what now?¡± ¡°Now you go banish the two opposing forces, thus stopping this ceaseless violence. You go rescue your friend and I go back to my ship.¡± The old crone said. Alexa looked at the old woman, ¡°that isn¡¯t everything.¡± Cackle. ¡°You are too perceptive, no, you are right, that is not everything. But it is what you will need to know for now.¡± At that Alexa paused and was just about to leave, when she asked one final question. ¡°What happens if this class is too much? If I feel that I am becoming a monster?¡± ¡°You will always have a choice. Never assume your life is set in stone. You and you alone will chose the ultimate direction your life will unfold.¡± Poof. With that the astral body of the old orc crone disappeared, with it, Alexa felt that a great weight had been released from her very soul, as she let out a long breath in relief. Never before had she felt such power, and she honestly hoped she would never feel that type of power again, though realistically, she knew she was just dreaming if that was to be the case. Turning back to the ship that held Kelvin, Alexa focused her mind for a moment. Then began summoning thirteen copies of herself, all using the same sets of water walking and invisibility runes. Only once they were formed did Alexa begin the task that she was asked for. A task where she had to create a banishment circle large enough to send back both ships filled with soldiers. Normally this would take forever, particularly with needing to run three loops around choppy water, but with thirteen of her making the same track, she felt it would be manageable, even if it was slightly taxing. Still she had a lot to think about, and such a long run would give her plenty of time to think about everything she had just learned. So, at least one person remembers the original purpose for these Trials of Ascension, Alexa thought to herself, as she began the first part of enacting the old crone¡¯s plans. Seeing as these plans worked with her own, she had no problem following them, for now. Chapter 143 The Reunion Chapter 143 The Reunion Monday To say that the last three days had been rough for Kelvin would have been an understatement, he had been starved, sun dried, burnt, and left to grow leathery in a nearly constant surf. His only meal was from an uncooked egg that he found in a seemingly unprotected nest. Of course, when the mother of said egg came back, his life got a lot more difficult, causing him to choose to escape into the ocean surf. Once in the ocean, he apparently set off a bunch of underwater alerts and runes, as suddenly he was surrounded by not one, but two competing crews. Only upon looking at him from a distance, and seeing his half-elf nature, the orcs who had been the first to the scene and the first to pull him out of the water, suddenly threw him back in disgust, as if he was the wrong size of fish or something. Seeing his diminished stated, the orcs that would have normally killed him, instead threw him back and tried to let nature take him at that point. Fortunately, the ship of elves, despite fighting with the orcish rescuers were able to rescue him, eventually. That sadly was where the good news of his tale ended. As soon as he was brought aboard the main flagship of the elves, he was immediately declared an abomination and held in confinement down below in the hull of the ship. Blessedly there were no mice, or other vermin that one might expect to find on such a ship. Though this was mainly due to the fact that no such creatures existed in this dungeon in the first place. To his surprise the elves did have a distillery of sorts, one that was fueled by the innate mana in the ocean and used to separate the freshwater from the salt and other unnatural toxins of the ocean. Just looking at the water told Kelvin that something deadly awaited anyone who would willingly drink or stay within the water for too long. He was granted two cups of water, sweet blissful water. That was all he had, well all he had that was not also infused with the salty and poisonous tastes of the ocean current. Then two hours ago, he was told the bad news, that he was to be tried and likely executed as an abomination. Hearing that, Kelvin just let out a sigh. He had always known that his position was tenuous at best. He had always felt the disdain that other purebred elves had when looking at him. He saw how he was used as the baseline, the lowest line of failure, as others would call him. As he was pushed by his mother to be the best he could be, meaning that anyone who looked down on him would also have to look down on themselves. That was why so many elves used to resent him, as he was good at what he did, he was able to push himself beyond what others would have considered to be a fair and reasonable benchmark. Yet, despite all his efforts, he had never been accepted, not for who he was, not for what he was. At least he had never been accepted, until he met her. The human, the trash as the other elves would call her, she was different. Not just in the fact that she understood things about dungeons, not just in the various magics that she wielded with seemingly little effort. No, she was amazing simply by the fact that she didn¡¯t judge him. In fact, it wasn¡¯t until he saw the way she interacted with him that he even realized that life could be better, that he didn¡¯t have to feel shame for who and what he was. Of course, all of that was for naught, she had abandoned him. Not that he could blame her, he had nearly died from being baked to death on an ocean world, how impossible is that? But it did happen, which only made this moment feel even worse. Clink. The magically infused metal chains that bound him chimed in a teeth grating way as they dragged against the wooden deck of the ship behind him. Hearing them drag almost seemed to have an automatic effect where residual magic was released by each forward movement, causing more energy to be released into the atmosphere around him, and thus more of his energy to be released as it was slowly being stolen from his body and released as ambient energy. This was the power and effect of Elven Spell Eater Chains. Chains that were so powerful that they could bring any grand magus down to their knees. Even having them on made it feel like Kelvin had the worst cold possible, his bones ached, his pulse raced, and he felt dizzy just by moving. Most of these he thought were natural based on his level of dehydration but were also likely compounded by the effects of the chains. In the end, it didn¡¯t matter what caused his current state, whether the dizziness was solely caused by his still case of severe dehydration, or whether it was a compounded effect of having his mana and very life energy leached from him slowly. Collapse. Once he was in position and chained down, his captors dropped him, letting him rest right there in the middle of the deck, as the golden sun beat down and seemingly tried to burn away the impurities from his body. As a half-breed, he was assumed to have a lot of impurities. ¡°You stand¡­¡± The high priestess began, as she held up a silver dagger and let its brightly polished gleam shine in the distance. Thump, thump. There was a pause, as the raiding party that had been sent to investigate the new person came back. This was the second new person in a matter of minutes, as the warning runes alerted the elder priestess of someone apparently appearing at the far alcove, but they were so far away that sending out a rescue party was not advised. When he had heard of the arrival Kelvin¡¯s treacherous heart beat ever so slightly faster, even under the deck, he could hear the conversations happening overhead, most words carrying and bouncing back in odd ways on the elven vessel. There in the hull of the ship, he heard many things. He heard that there were not one but two new entrants to this particular Trial. With two, Kelvin almost swore that one had to be her. Just the thought of being able to see her once more had been enough for Kelvin, as he desperately fought to remain conscious. Even now, with the blinding sun bearing down on him and his already tender skin, he still couldn¡¯t help but keep out hope. ¡°Did you find her?¡± The elven priestess asked, suddenly taking time away from her purification ritual and looking at the leader of the raiding party. Oddly enough the group had a large metallic spear that they carried with them. ¡°No, but we did manage to get a great piece of metal from our foes.¡± The elf said, as if a giant metal spear was a consolation prize. Then looking around the ship at all the wood, Kelvin realized that that much metal might actually be a huge consolation prize, given the scarce nature of metal here. The priestess seeing the spear had a note of avarice fill her gaze, this only confirmed his suspicion about the scarcity of metal on this level. ¡°Very good, what of the recruit? Did the orcs kill her?¡± Her? Kelvin thought, his ears picking up the word and clinging to it almost immediately. It was of course too late, it was all too late, by now he was dead, but the fact that she had come back, or at least the possibility that she could have come back was enough for him to regain some hope. Of course, coming here was death, that much was apparent from even his own arrival. ¡°No, she disappeared. Though we think she was also visited by the Old Crone.¡± Old Crone, what is that? ¡°Really, I thought she had died a while ago?¡± ¡°So did we, but we saw signs of her Astral Travel, as far as we know, no one else from the orcish horde can conduct such magics.¡± The raiding leader said. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. So many new things were coming to Kelvin¡¯s mind, so many interesting aspects of life that he was only now beginning to understand. Hearing these thoughts, these concepts, he could only lament that his time would end here. Even if she was here, she was just one woman against an army of elves. Elves that had spent hundreds of years engaging in naval combat, elves that were adept at defending against advanced orcish boarding parties. Even if she was here, how could she do anything to stop them? Then there was a thought, a treacherous thought, that if she teamed up with the orcs, and that Old Crone of the orcs, that she might have a chance. Kelvin knew that she was exceptionally gifted in all magics, and that combined the two would easily be able to take down the horde of elven warriors that filled this vessel. Still, it would all be for naught here soon. He was dead and dying, his purification to the old gods would soon be completed and he would finally be set free of all the pain and suffering he had been through. Pain that only seemed to be exacerbated by the fact that for a moment, he had dared to dream of what it would be like to be free. To not have to worry about being judged on who he was, or more importantly what he was, but judged based solely on who he was as a living sentient creature. Realizing that part of his pain right now was caused by the fact that he had but glimpsed a possible life where he could be free, with her. In his mind, he almost cursed her. But he stopped that thought before it could gain traction, he was dying, in pain, and oh so ready for this to be over. Yes, in the end he had been set up, the person he so desperately wanted to see one last time had not shown up, not that they had set up a time when they would meet. He just knew that she had something desperately important to take care of first, and that she also had a way to get him out of here, at least that was what she had claimed. Again, so much hope was placed on those words, and like a fool he had made the ultimate mistake, he had dared to believe, even when he knew what he was hearing was too good to be true. It got to the point where he believed she could do miracles, not because miracles were easy to accomplish, but rather because she believed in herself that much that she seemingly forced the world to change to her whims. For a moment, he wished he could have such power, not just power. Power was one thing, but the undying conviction to be able to use the power in such a profound and meaningful way, that was what he wanted now, more than anything. The first thing he would do, was he would stop this ritual, though even with all the power in the world, he didn¡¯t know how such a feat would be possible. He had no mana, all of his mana and indeed most of his life force had been slowly bleeding out onto the deck of this ship. The dagger in the High Priestess¡¯s hands was just a mercy, a way to end the suffering faster, but as it was, even if they did nothing he would slowly bleed his life essence and energy away. Closing his eyes, he turned his head away from the sun and waited for the inevitable. SHHHRIEEK! BOOM! There was a massive explosion that happened overhead, and for a moment Kelvin looked up and saw an eruption of so many different magics going off that Kelvin could not identify all of them. ¡°What is that?¡± The Priestess demanded, as she ran towards the railing of the ship, and peered over. Before she could say anything, the elven raid leader spoke. ¡°That¡¯s the girl we saw, the recruit that went missing.¡± ¡°What is she doing?¡± Another elf could be heard. Hearing the words, a smile formed on Kelvin¡¯s parched and chapped lips as he could imagine what that crazy girl would do. ¡°It is time for you to remember who the true enemy is.¡± The voice of the person cried out, her voice being magically amplified to carry over vast distances. Just hearing her voice caused Kelvin¡¯s stomach to rise up, as the hope he had been holding back. The hope that he had cursed at, the hope that had nearly gotten him killed by following some random stranger, came to life with a vengeance, for he knew that voice. Just hearing her voice caused tears to come to his dry face, as he knew he could die happy now. His faith in her hadn¡¯t been in vain, she had come, just as she promised. Even if this was just a failed attempt, just the fact that she had come, that she had tried to keep her word to a stranger like him, that meant everything. ¡°The orcs are moving to intercept.¡± A lookout called out from overhead. ¡°Move to intercept as well. We cannot allow someone that powerful to fall into the enemy hands.¡± The High Priestess demanded. Within seconds of the command, the masts of the ship visibly moved and a Wind mage began generating currents of air to push the giant ship forward. Realizing this, Kelvin let out a long sigh, as there was no way she could fend off two armies at once. ¡°How is she just standing there on the water?¡± ¡°She must be a powerful Water mage.¡± ¡°We should take precautions.¡± ¡°Even a Water mage is just one person. There is nothing she can do against two armies focusing on her.¡± ¡°What makes you think she isn¡¯t working with the orcs?¡± ¡°The fact that she is not on their ship.¡± Despite not being able to see anything from his chained position, Kelvin knew the situation couldn¡¯t be that good. Hearing the different sailors converse with themselves as they began to prepare themselves for armed conflict, also didn¡¯t help Kelvin¡¯s sense of peace. With everything going on a sense of tension built up in his gut. The hope he had felt just a moment ago, slowly gave way to all consuming dread. Then she spoke once more. It was about a minute of travel, before her booming voice called out once more. ¡°Go home.¡± Her words were calm, melodic, and measured, but there was a power to them that could not be missed. WHOOSH! Then with that one word, came a wave of energy that first outward from the position where she clearly stood somehow on the water. In his mind Kelvin figured she had somehow found a sandbar and was able to stand on that while this entire event went on. It was clear that she had a plan, but nothing could have prepared Kelvin for what happened next. One second, the deck of the massive flagship was filled with sailors and soldiers alike, all ready to disembark at a moment¡¯s notice. The next second, everyone was gone. Gentle breeze. A soft breeze blew, causing some of the stinging burn on his skin to dissipate, if only for a moment. Thump. The sound of a large body climbing over the lip of the ship could be heard as that same body also stood so tall that they nearly blocked out the sun. At least the shadow created from such a person was wide enough to cast a shadow over Kelvin¡¯s face and burning skin. ¡°Are you okay?¡± A soft voice asked, while simultaneously cleansing waves of energy cast through his scorched body. Instantly he began feeling better as the clear signs of a Life magic wielding master were in use on him. Click. Kelvin couldn¡¯t even answer before he felt the mana draining shackles that had been on him get removed. It was odd, as Kelvin himself could have sworn that the cuffs were tamper proof, even for someone who was exceptionally powerful with mana. Looking at the cuffs, then up to her, his heart began to beat faster as he could feel Life energy flowing into him, slowly filling his body with strength. Strength that he didn¡¯t even realize he was missing until he just lay on the ground in a near dormant state, while he waited for his mind to become a little less clouded. Closing his eyes, Kelvin rested, if only for a moment. Whoom. Kelvin opened his eyes with a startle, as he first felt and then saw an old orc female just standing there on the deck. While her body was old and twisted due to age, the raw power that resided just under her skin was undeniable. ¡°What?¡± Was all Kelvin could manage, as he desperately tried to get away. ¡°Relax child. My work here is done. In fact, I believe all of our work here is now complete, isn¡¯t that right?¡± The old crone said, in perfect Elven, as if she had been born an elf to begin with. Then the last question, the question about their time being done here was of course directed at Alexa, his savior. Alexa nodded. ¡°Yes, it is time we all learn about the ability to heal a planet. Here, the algae has evolved to eat the rot that is provided by demonic entities, and break it down into more manageable states for the world to use. There is still an exceptionally high level of mana in the area, but it is well within acceptable parameters for most planets to deal with.¡± Alexa said. Then once she was done speaking, three giant crystals all appeared to be floating in the air. Clatter. Kelvin watched his float for a second, too surprised to even move. Then he reached out to grab the crystal. ¡°That was it, no combat, no master battle to the death. Just knowledge that a planet that was corrupted could be healed.¡± At that Kelvin reached out to the crystal and cycling a bit of his personal mana into the stone, felt a wave of pain course through him, as parts of his body and his soul were forcefully merged and welded together as he felt mana pathways get burned alive in his body. ¡°GAH!¡± He hissed out in pain. Finally, once the pain subsided, he realized that Alexa had been using her amazing Healing magic on his body the entire time, the whole time using it to help ease along his transition. Whoom. With that, a portal appeared in front of them. Seeing the portal, Kelvin immediately felt a surge of hope rise up in him, only to realize that there was still one last trial to go before this could all be over. Seeing his rise and sudden slouch, the old Crone just cracked a smile on her lips and said. ¡°Relax child, your journey is over. I believe you will find your new allies awaiting you on the other side of that portal.¡± ¡°What?¡± Kelvin managed to say so eloquently. Alexa, his savior, nodded in agreement. ¡°My brother, has already made it so you will be released at our safehouse. Just look for Gina, she will make sure you are taken care of.¡± ¡°Your brother¡¯s name is Gina?¡± Alexa just stared at him for a moment, but then shook her head. ¡°No, Gina is my, well she is my¡­¡± ¡°Soulmate.¡± The old crone cut in. Alexa and Kelvin both stared at the old crone for a second. After a brief pause, the old crone continued. ¡°What? What good is it being able to see the lines of destiny and not being able to nudge them along in the right direction when it is called for.¡± There was another pause for silence as Alexa stared at the crone for a moment, but then nodded her agreement. Then turning to Kelvin, she asked, ¡°will you be okay?¡± She of course was talking about his ability to make it through the portal that was right there in front of him. And he was fine, well his body was, though he did feel that part of his heart ripped out right there. Though honestly, he couldn¡¯t have expected too much, as no one would be attracted to a half breed like him. ¡°Enough of that now. Go on, get on with you. Oh, and tell Kylie I said ¡®hi.¡¯¡± The old crone said, all but forcing Kelvin up to his feet, her dainty frame belying just how much raw strength lay within her withered body. Up to his feet, Kelvin still felt wobbly, but managed to go forward on his own power. Just as he was about to enter, he heard the last words follow him. ¡°Once he is through, we will need to move quickly if we are to finish the final stage. Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes. Wait, Kelvin.¡± Alexa said, a desperate need to her voice. Hearing her request, Kelvin quickly turned around, knowing he would turn back the very heavens to help this person. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Can you tell Luke, my brother, to let this woman come with us?¡± ¡°No, I will be doing no such thing. As much as I¡¯d like to stay with your little revolution, an old bat like me would do far more good elsewhere. Which is why I will need to go to my own people.¡± The old crone said. With that, Alexa seemed to visibly deflate, but then just nodded in understanding. ¡°Right.¡± There was an awkward pause as Kelvin just stood there, then he felt a wave of awkward emotions flood him as the blue-eyed goddess locked eyes with him. For a moment he wondered why she would stare at him in such a way, until he realized. ¡°Right, that is my cue to leave.¡± With that Kelvin spun about and entered the portal, putting his entire life and future into the hands of a complete stranger, and her brother, and her soul mate. That didn¡¯t hurt to admit, not one bit, he thought to himself as he felt his body dissolve for a second, only to once again reappear the next inside yet another dungeon. Great. Chapter 144 The Crone Chapter 144 The Crone Monday Alexa and the old orcish crone watched as a healed, but not yet fully recovered Kelvin Mackie exited through the portal. A quick glance of the image showed the entrance to Bottomless Gorge, an image that quickly shifted and altered to a vast dark countryside a moment later. Clink, rattle. There was the sound of chains grinding and dragging against each other. With a look, Alexa saw that the old crone was now holding a long stretch of metal chains. Looking at them, Alexa just waited to see what the old crone would do. With Alexa staring at her, the old crone paused for a moment, locked eyes, or at least attempted to as it was clear that the white orbs that the old crone had were not quite natural. That or Alexa figured that the eyes could not quite see the world the exact way her eyes could. Given the way she was, Alexa felt that she likely had a class related power that was like her ability to identify different energy types. Alexa¡¯s ability to identify different energy types was something that seemed to be ingrained into the very core of her being, something that even should she eventually get to the point where her eyes were no longer capable of seeing, she felt she would still be able to identify energy types. Looking at the old crone, Alexa was certain that her eyesight was similar, in that she clearly could see and perceive things that no one else could. Staring. ¡°Let me guess.¡± The old crone began, ¡°you wish to know how I knew you had a soul mate?¡± Blinking. Alexa felt like she had been punched by the sudden question. Honestly it was something she had been thinking about, but not what she had been thinking about at that exact second. ¡°Oh, I see. You were distracted by my eyes. Very observant.¡± The crone said, nodding to herself, as she continued to take in Alexa¡¯s full measure. Alexa watched her for a moment and then found herself asking the question that seemed most obvious to her. ¡°You can see the future?¡± ¡°The future, the past, the present, all the same thing. But yes, I can see different paths that the future might travel.¡± The old crone said, it took a second, before Alexa realized she had switched back to her orcish tongue. Having been given many languages throughout her travels, hearing the different tongues and responding to them in kind was as natural as breathing to her by this point. ¡°So, you don¡¯t know what will happen, just what is most likely to happen?¡± Alexa pressed, figuring this to be the case. Shaking her head, the crone responded, ¡°no, I know what will happen, just not how that will impact the future, until that time comes, when the waters compress back to their natural state, and I can once again gaze upon their movements clearly.¡± Alexa nodded, thinking she could understand what was being said. ¡°So, there are moments in time that you know will happen, but not what will happen during them, the minor details like words said, people interacted with will vary based on the exact scenario, but you will not be able to predict how that will change the future until everything calms down enough for the next focal point to occur?¡± Cackle. ¡°There might be room for you to become one of us yet.¡± The old crone said giddily, ¡°but alas, your future was chosen for you long ago.¡± ¡°My future?¡± ¡°Yes, you are not the first to have been given this path, not even the first of your kind. You are the one who has made it the farthest, but that doesn¡¯t mean much at this point. Your insights, your ability to intuitively know what is happening, that has served you well thus far, but it will ultimately mean nothing if you are not prepared for the next focal point.¡± The crone said. Hearing the words, it was clear, at least clear to Alexa, that the crone was alluding to a future event that would be very important, but one that the crone herself could not directly point to. Off the top of her head, Alexa could name and identify quite a few moments that would be important, ones where not only her personal direction would change, but the direction of how the world would go. The most obvious would be the Integration, that would happen in just under six weeks¡¯ time. Then the next most obvious one would be, ¡°the funeral?¡± At that the crone nodded, a slightly somber tone covering her face. One that was further reinforced by her status. ¡°Yes, it is good that you know it is a critical event. Also, I do approve of what you have done to prepare for it, though know that it might not be enough.¡± Alexa nodded her understanding, there was always more to do. Though it did put her slightly on guard knowing that her working so hard to effectively force herself to awaken early and gain a full class might not be enough. ¡°So, you think there will be another attack during the funeral?¡± The old crone just shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t think. I know there will be another attack.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. There was a slight pause, but before Alexa could ask her next question, the crone held up her hand to stop Alexa from asking any further questions. ¡°I cannot answer any more questions without drastically altering the future. Just know that you will have to be prepared.¡± Alexa understood the concept, the fact that the crone had all but confirmed her suspicions was big. Currently, Alexa saw this as a moment when Earth¡¯s strongest Supers would all be assembled. Having so many important people present would only make it so they would be one tempting target to anyone wishing to make it so Earth would fall easier during the integration. Logically, it was a perfect point to cripple the pre-integration supers and make it so the regular people of Earth were little more than lambs to the slaughter of whoever came to conquer them. Realizing the importance of dad¡¯s funeral, Alexa swore she would be powerful enough to at the very least save those she loved. The thought of those she loved, invariably brought her back to a topic the crone had brought up, but then quickly dismissed. ¡°You spoke of soul mates?¡± Alexa asked. At that the crone nodded in an odd way, as if she had read the ripples of conversation too soon and interjected a thought too early. ¡°Yes, I did.¡± ¡°And Gina is my soul mate?¡± ¡°Was.¡± A slight pause, ¡°Gina was your soul mate.¡± At that a note of confusion crossed Alexa¡¯s face. ¡°What does that mean, you just told Kelvin that¡­¡± ¡°Calm down. You don¡¯t understand.¡± The old crone said, shaking her head, and holding up her hand in an obvious stalling tactic, as it was clear she was looking for the right way to say things. Then finally after a second of regaining her composure, she paused and nodded to herself. ¡°Let me begin with this, do you know what a soul mate is?¡± At that Alexa paused, ¡°I assume it is someone who is perfect for you?¡± The old crone held up a finger, then paused. ¡°Yes, and no.¡± Alexa just stared. ¡°How to explain.¡± A slight pause, ¡°all right, imagine the soul as a puzzle piece. You will be able to do ¡®X¡¯. You will be able to grow this tall, barring any complications. You will be this smart, barring any complications. Basically, it is a blueprint for everything you will be capable of. Now a soul mate, is a unique soul that perfectly molds with your flaws, one who is designed to correct your shortcomings. A yin to your yang, but that is still a very over simplified way of viewing this interaction. Basically, this secondary soul is someone who will have many of the same advantages as you, and then be able to support you in ways you never needed. Now remember, this is only what happens at first, before your spirits are sent to this plane of existence.¡± There was a slight pause, as the old crone let that idea sink in. After a sufficiently long enough time had passed, the crone continued. ¡°Now remember, this is the shape of your soul before you come here. As you go through life, you experience changes that forever alter your soul. If you choose to do bad things, then your soul will be tainted by your actions. Similarly, just being exposed to evil at a young age can have a profound effect on the way you progress.¡± At that Alexa nodded, and spoke, ¡°Gina¡¯s heart?¡± The crone paused, and then seemed to look off into the distance. It was clear that she seemed to peer at something, then came back to the present. ¡°Among other things. Your own situation is one that could also be considered similar. You both had roadblocks that blocked or hindered your growth, forever altering your souls on some deep level. That doesn¡¯t mean that you two aren¡¯t soul mates, just that if you want to get to an ideal state again, you will both need to work to improve yourself.¡± A slight pause. ¡°And know that this is a continuous effort, just because you fit and make it work at one point doesn¡¯t mean you are done. You will both have to work and grow together to make it work. That is, if you even want it to work.¡± The crone said. At that Alexa began to open her mouth to say something. ¡°No, don¡¯t say anything. Words are meaningless, and regrettable. Whether you want it to work out or not, is entirely up to you.¡± The crone said. At that, Alexa paused, thinking to herself. In her mind, she could almost see the images the crone spoke about. She imagined her and Gina¡¯s souls being two puzzle pieces that initially fit and locked together perfectly, only for the shapes and complexity to change over time as she experienced more and more in her life. Could she love? In her heart she had always wanted to, though she knew she was an emotional wreck, and far too callous for most people. She also couldn¡¯t help but feel that there was an undeniable attraction to Gina, whether it was due to her being a soul mate, a good friend, or something else, Alexa didn¡¯t know. All that she knew was that she did enjoy every moment with her, whether that was just a great friendship or more, she didn¡¯t know, but hearing these words Alexa was more than willing to find out. Finally, after a moment of silence Alexa nodded her consent. The old crone, having seen this watched Alexa closely for a moment, before she too nodded. Seeing that this conversation was over, she nodded to herself and spoke. ¡°Are you ready for what lays ahead?¡± Alexa nodded, and as she did, the old crone held out the clinking chains towards Alexa. Alexa looked down at the chains for a moment, and then back up to the crone, not wanting to do anything currently as she saw the effect that these chains had on Kelvin. ¡°Try them, you proved that you were capable of removing them with your Telekinesis, at the very least.¡± The crone said. Reaching out, Alexa grabbed the chains and looked them over for a moment. The minute she touched the chains, Alexa could feel the way the metal felt instantly cold in an unnerving way. Looking at the chains, it was clear that they were supposed to have a slightly more profound effect on her than they were. ¡°Very good. You feel the cold but are not bothered by it.¡± The Crone said. At that, Alexa just stared at the crone. ¡°Yeah, what is wrong with this metal?¡± Shaking her head, the crone spoke, ¡°nothing is wrong with the metal, it is as it always has been. You on the other hand are what is wrong. Well, you and me both.¡± Alexa just stared at the crone, cocking her head to the side in a questioning way. This was a practiced gesture, and one that Alexa often used when she had a question but didn¡¯t quite know how to phrase the exact question she wanted answered. Seeing this, the crone smiled lightly, showing rows of sharp orcish teeth, then decided to answer. ¡°That is demon metal. As you are no doubt aware, the monsters of the deep are poisonous, and able to corrupt the land. If you chain up a demon long enough, they will eventually be able to corrupt the restraints that bind them. That is what you are feeling now, the residual energy of a truly malevolent being. This has draining effect on most of us, which is why chains that have been used to bind a demon until the point where they eventually die, are used as torture devices for the wicked.¡± Hearing that Alexa nodded, but it seemed the old crone was not yet done with her explanation. ¡°You must have gotten your resistances very high to be able to resist the pull of the bound demon inside those chains?¡± ¡°A bound demon?¡± ¡°Yes, when a demon dies, their soul is released, and if certain conditions are met, that soul can be bound, forever denied the ability to return to their plane of existence. Furthermore, if a demon so chooses, they can bond their soul to any source of metal around them, upon the time of their death. Thus, the chains that bound them, were also the chains they used to hold their soul.¡± Looking at the chains in her hands again, Alexa looked at them with disgust. ¡°The elves knew this, and used this as a torture device? Purposefully holding a demon¡¯s soul against a bound person?¡± ¡°They did that and more. I¡¯d like to think that most of the crew was oblivious, but the high priestess had to have known something was happening.¡± There was a pause, then Alexa found herself asking a seemingly obvious question. ¡°How did the demon avoid being banished?¡± At that the old crone nodded, as a slight smile crept onto her lips. ¡°Good, you noticed. Yes, a spirit that does not wish to be sent back can resist. In the case of the demon soul bound to the chain, they were able to resist, as they used the energy from your friend to shield them from the effects of the ward. While they were weakened by the blast, it was not enough to send their soul back completely.¡± At that Alexa just stared at the chains. Then finally Alexa asked the obvious question. ¡°What do we do with the soul now?¡± At that the old crone smiled a wicked smile. ¡°Now, it is time that I show you one of the lost secrets of time. I will instruct you on how to permanently destroy a demon soul.¡± Rattle, clank. At that, the chains within Alexa¡¯s hands began to quiver, as Alexa herself could almost feel the cold fear radiating through the chain she now held firmly within her hand. ¡°Come, let me show you what it means to be one of the chosen.¡± The old crone said. Chapter 145 One of The Chosen Chapter 145 One of The Chosen Monday ¡°Come, let me show you what it means to be one of the chosen.¡± The old crone said. At that Alexa just watched the old crone, trying to understand what she was talking about. Her status of the woman showed that she was not trying to deceive her, but that still meant she didn¡¯t know what she was talking about.
Old, withered Orc: The Old Crone: Level ??? Oracle, Status: Healthy, Disposition: Nurturing. Other: One of the Chosen.
Seeing the new marking, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but stare, this time for slightly too long. Alexa¡¯s memory was solid, well at the very least her memory was advanced enough to remember odd details on a status screen, particularly something as odd as seeing an entirely new category like ¡®Other¡¯ and she knew she would remember a note depicting the phrase ¡®One of the Chosen.¡¯ Seeing her expression that the Old Crone smiled, an old-gnarled smile, one like the way grandma looked, if grandma had been able to live for yet another hundred or so years past her last. ¡°You see it?¡± ¡°If by it, you mean the phrase ¡®Other: One of the Chosen,¡¯ then yes, I do see it.¡± Alexa said, still not quite understanding what the old crone was up to. Was this a power against the system? In her mind Alexa knew there were still a great deal of powers that one could gain and wield, to her it appeared that this Old Crone had gotten ahold of just such a power. For whom would rightly name their child The Old Crone, first the child would have to be young at one point, so even if you wanted them to be named Crone, they would have to just be the Young Crone, at least for a while. No, it was clear that there was some type of chicanery afoot here, and Alexa was more than a little weary of anything the ¡®Old Crone¡¯ had to say at the moment. While her body didn¡¯t tense up, didn¡¯t show any signs of being ready to strike, she was ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice. Flashing light blue energy. There was a sudden flash of lights that were so bright that the photoreceptors in her eyes surged temporarily with the influx of light, though her body began pulling in the ambient energy with a hungry gleam. There was a pause as the lights in the old crone¡¯s eyes dissipated. Judging from the look in her eyes, it was clear that the old crone was momentarily blinded, if Alexa wanted to, she could leave now. In fact, Alexa took this exact moment to begin doing just that. With a slight step, she shifted her weight and position around, so that the exit from the dungeon was only a step and a half away. In her mind she was strategizing, going through different scenarios where she could get through the portal without being stopped. In some cases, she imagined throwing the woman with a quick burst of Telekinesis, in another, she created an Illusion of herself, though she felt that this old crone might be able to see through such petty tricks, and that was what these were, tricks. If it came down to it, Alexa was certain that there was nothing she could do in a head-to-head fight. This woman was powerful, even able to hide the relative power rating of her Astral Projection, then there was the fact that she was allegedly an Oracle. Again, that part made sense, given everything she was now seeing from the old crone, the fact that she was an Oracle wasn¡¯t too hard to believe on its own. No, what was concerning was the way she seemed to be able to change what was available to be seen by the system from moment to moment. Such a skill, if there even was such a thing as Status Alteration, would be extremely useful in the future. But that would mean she would have to stay with the old crone, and that was something that her rational mind told her in no uncertain terms was a bad idea. In fact, the only reason she was hesitant about leaving now was since her emotional side was telling her that she could learn something here. At the very least she wanted to stay because she was the first of the invading species that seemed to be willing to help in some way. That alone meant it was worth her time and effort to see if she could at least end this meeting somewhat cordially. Alexa opened her mouth to say that she had to go, which she did, the Tenth and final stage of the Trials of Ascension lay just beyond that shimmering portal. She was so close to getting her class and being done with all of this, these trials, the constant manipulations, that she really wanted to just push her way through the final stage and be done with everything Trials related, but before she could say anything, the Crone regained her faculties. ¡°Sorry about that. I am apparently doing this all wrong.¡± The crone began, and then took a step away from Alexa, making it so the exit was even easier to access. Given the muscular deterioration of the old crone, Alexa was fairly certain that she could make it to the exit, before the crone could do anything. Whether she would be able to follow her through the portal was a different story entirely. That was another thing that kept her still, right now, everything was cordial, they were having peaceful dialogues. Hearing her Alexa nodded, never taking her eyes off of the old crone¡¯s. It took a moment, but eventually the cloudy light blue fog that had covered the crone¡¯s eyes eventually dissipated, revealing two light blue, rather human looking eyes. Seeing the color and clarity of her eyes, Alexa was taken aback, and almost wondered if the woman had some form of shape-shifting ability. While Alexa hadn¡¯t worked too much with orcs in the past, she never remembered them having human light blue eyes, especially eyes that were surrounded by a pool of white sclera. Though, it was also clear from a glance that the orcs eyes were slowly changing, as the color was slowly faded away. Perhaps they started off at darker shadings and only after years of near constant flashings did her eyes go to this level. Still, Alexa was quiet, as she took everything in, her body loose and ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice, should anything happen. ¡°Perhaps I should start with who I am. Or rather what I am.¡± The old crone began, but then continued, ¡°I am the sole remaining twin of my union. Though, I will admit that mine was an actual twin, versus a second egg fertilized at the same time.¡± The old crone began, and while she used different words, having to revert to her native Orcish tongue to complete the statement, the ideas posed still made enough sense to Alexa that she found herself nodding along at appropriate points, to show her understanding if nothing else. ¡°Well, I was the oracle of our twin pact, and my sister, she was the one who was much like you. Precocious and always heading off into danger.¡± The old crone said, as a wistful tone filled her words. ¡°Needless to say you and your brother were chosen incorrectly. Your brother likely realized the mistake and opted to drop from the path long ago. Normally this would have meant that you yourself would also be dropped from the path, but then your soul mate took up the mantle of Oracle, making it so you could finish the path you started upon. Honestly, I am impressed that you have managed to walk the path laid out before you this far. All while seemingly never truly relying on your Oracle for guidance. I don¡¯t know if that is a blessing or a curse, but regardless it does show that you at least have some understanding of the role you want to play in all of this.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°The role I want to play?¡± Alexa asked. At that, the old crone nodded her own means of acceptance. ¡°Quite correct. You are playing the role that you want, from opening the rare Absorber class, to all but forcing those beneath you to fall in line or be replaced. Honestly, I am impressed with the way you have seemingly filled out the roles of an army, without truly being integrated.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Alexa asked, finally curiosity won out amongst her different thoughts that were warring inside her head. At that comment it was the old crone¡¯s turn to look confused, as she cocked her head to the side. Then finally after a second of evaluating the confused look on Alexa¡¯s face, the old crone seemed to realize, ¡°you mean, this was all instinctual on your part?¡± Alexa didn¡¯t say anything, as the question made no sense. Then shaking her head, she looked to the chain that was still in her hand, a chain that felt cold, but nothing more than that, just a slight chill that anyone would expect from a disused piece of metal. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what you are talking about, though you were going to tell me about these chains?¡± The old crone just looked at Alexa, and Alexa could almost see the moment a light blue flash of energy passed over the old crone¡¯s eyes. ¡°Very true. It seems that I am ruining this, and not giving you much of a reason to trust me.¡± Silence. ¡°Right, the chain. So, as I said before, this is a demon infused chain, one with an actual demon¡¯s spirit inside it, that is why it feels so cold and foreboding. Again, the fact that you can handle it at all is a testament to how much your resistances have grown, showing that you are truly on path for what is to come.¡± The Oracle said. Alexa nodded, trying to fight back the exasperation she now felt as if she had already had this exact conversation with the crone. ¡°Right, you already know this, as I have already said all this. What you might not know is that with your Creation magic, at the higher tiers of that school of magic, you can learn to Deconstruct any item that you have come into contact with.¡± The crone said. At this, Alexa became interested. After her second major crystal, Alexa had once again increased all of her previous Tiers of magic once again by two, except for her Creation magic, that now sat capped out at Tier X. Hearing the old crone speak, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but remember being trained by the one bound dungeon, the one that taught her what it was to be a Creation magic user, being able to create both chocolate, and a key to an unknown prison. During that interaction with that dungeon, Alexa remembered how a piece of chocolate fell to the ground and was seemingly absorbed by the dungeon floor. Realizing that, Alexa¡¯s eyes went wide, and had a question come to her mind. ¡°Is Creation magic solely meant to be used by Dungeons?¡± At that the old crone paused, and then smiled slightly, as her withered lips began to part to show rows of old, but still razor sharp teeth. ¡°Yes, the fact that you both have Creation magic, and have it to such a high level speaks volumes to the trust that has been placed within you. Trust that I was to be the last person to verify.¡± At that, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel that there was something more sinister to her tone. ¡°Don¡¯t worry child, you have been judged by others and me, and we all agree that you are capable of handling the mantle you have been given.¡± ¡°What mantle?¡± At that question, the crone just shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t say, as that is not my job. And who knows, you might still fall short even now, but I doubt it. I¡¯ve seen the way you focus on the true goal of these Trials, the way you even diverted from your main path to free other dungeons that were lost to the war so long ago. You have done all these things, while only being a novice yourself on the path, that speaks volumes to your character.¡± Alexa wanted to argue that she didn¡¯t do anything for pure altruism, she had been rewarded, quite handedly in most cases. Her ability to use and manipulate both her Magic and Psychic abilities were exceptional. Her rows upon rows of stacked Titles proved that her actions were at least partially influenced by the perceived rewards of the systems. Even the crystals that were produced were enough to keep her going in most cases. That had nothing to do with her character, her personal make up, or anything else in her eyes. In fact, hearing that she might or might not have passed some form of test, didn¡¯t sit right in her. ¡°I am not what you think.¡± ¡°Hush. You are more than you think.¡± The Crone said, holding up one gnarled finger that bent and curled in the way only elderly fingers can. ¡°Now, back to Deconstruction. To do this, you must first have something truly unique, like the demon metal chain that you currently have in your hand. Now I want you to first...¡± As the old crone spoke the perceived temperature of the chain began to increase, going from a chilly cold, to an almost too warm sensation. Feeling the sudden increase in temperature, Alexa could almost feel the malicious tingling intent from the energy, energy that clearly wasn¡¯t supposed to exist in this plane of existence. Feeling the sudden chance of energy, Alexa felt herself cutting off the old crone before her. ¡°What about the demon soul inside this?¡± ¡°Oh, is it already active? Huh, I guess that means we must be scaring it already, this is good, as it means it too believes that you can do this.¡± ¡°Do what exactly?¡± ¡°Deconstruct the chain and Cleanse the demonic soul inside.¡± ¡°Cleanse?¡± ¡°Yes, now pay attention, this will be very important in the not-so-distant future.¡± Hearing that, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel the power of prophecy coming off of the old crone, her words seeming to have a certain undeniably weight to them. Realizing that at most she would be wasting time, Alexa decided to at least listen to the instructions being provided. Just as before, when she was taught by a non-verbal dungeon, Alexa found herself learning from an expert on different ways to use the magic she had already been given. *** A few hours later, Ma¡¯hathine Dar¡¯ulan, otherwise known as the old crone, watched in amazement at the speed and efficiency that the human girl before her learned her lessons and almost seemed to understand the very heart of magic at an instinctual level. They began first by simple Deconstruction, taking parts of wood from the deck of the ship, and breaking it down to the base components and elements. From there, they went on to metal from different nails on the ship. Then finally, they worked their way up to Deconstructing the demon metal chain she held. The more she worked, the more agitated the entity within the chain became. The entire time Alexa either didn¡¯t notice, or more than likely the case, didn¡¯t seem to care. For a while Ma¡¯hathine watched as the chain tried to attack Alexa, but either instinctually, or by design, Alexa grabbed the power of the chained beast and Absorbed it. Watching her work brought back memories of her own twin sister, a person who selflessly sacrificed her own life so that she, and those of their planet could live on in relative peace. That peace is just a fa?ade, a false image that everyone looks to, in order to keep the true horrors that lie just around the corner at bay. Seeing the way that this human, this Alexa, worked so hard and pushed herself, even going so far as to speak to an old orc who did nothing but set her nerves on edge. Ma¡¯hathine couldn¡¯t blame the girl, that had been her job, her whole reason for coming to the trials now was to make sure anyone that passed on with her qualifications was worthy. Many humans, elves, gnomes, goblins, and countless orcs were all slain before they could become a tyrant. The power that her class gave her was potentially unlimited, which was why it was so important that there were checks and balances along the way. Checks to make sure the candidate was not too egotistical, would not go out on a rampage to gather as much power as they could. There were warnings, a few alerts early on, ones that flagged her as potentially power hungry, but she passed the test with the Gnomes, Dwarfs, and the Beastkin, going so far as to share her complete memory with Arthur Tide. Honestly it was Alexa¡¯s willingness to do a full merger with Arthur that set this whole process in motion. While Ma¡¯hathine could not directly connect to the dwarf caster, she didn¡¯t need to, as their interaction was recorded by the dungeons, and made publicly available to those who know where and how to look. The fact that she and Arthur made a complete merger, and he did not immediately try to slay Alexa right there was a mark in her favor. That was but one of the times she was alerted to Alexa, the fact that Alexa had found hidden power word fragments and had managed to first assemble the words, but then use them correctly, without any soul scaring, that was impressive. There was also the fact that every time she got a new source of power, it was never used maliciously was also important, as it showed the Ma¡¯hathine, a person so old that her true name has forever been lost to time, someone who is instead known by her moniker of the old crone would now teach this budding warrior the final tricks needed to help win the upcoming war that would befall her planet and her people. Ma¡¯hathine, watched as Alexa slowly dissolved the chain down further and further, forever shrinking the size of the demon soul stuck within. The demon of course helped with this transition, the more power it exerted, the weaker it got, and therefore the easier it got for Alexa to dissolve the demon metal chain down further and further. Until finally, the chain was at its lowest portion. That was when Ma¡¯hathine nodded her approval. ¡°Good. Now, I will show you the final trick to ensure that you manage to banish a demon¡¯s soul forever. Brace yourself, for this will get violent.¡± Interlude XII Interlude XII Kelvin Mackie Kelvin didn¡¯t quite know what to expect when he entered the other end of the portal. Truth be told, he had half expected yet another ambush, or to somehow be taken prisoner by the humans. He knew for a fact that his mother and other elves had been terrible to the humans, even as a half elf, he saw the scorn and ridicule that seemed to permeate every fiber of the true born, or true elves¡¯ beings. It was also clear that Alexa, Kelvin¡¯s savior, had not one, but multiple chances to break free of the cycles and warn her comrades about the harsh treatment of elves towards any race really, but humans in particular. Yet, when he arrived seemingly in the middle of a dungeon surrounded by close to two dozen awakened warriors, many of which seemed to have the dormant traces of Lykanthropy within them, Kelvin felt his heart stutter, as he realized this might be something far worse than just his capture and subsequent slaying, for as his mother pointed out to him so many times prior, there were far worse things than a quick death. Now that he was here, and surrounded, he found that even though he was a higher level than those assembled, his weakened state made it so he would be an easy kill. ¡°Hi there. You must be Kelvin, it is a pleasure to meet you.¡± A small pixyish human came up and introduced herself in fluent elven. Sigh of relief. At least one of them could speak elven, though that also brought about other questions as well. For the moment Kelvin dared not scan her nor anyone else around, lest that be considered a sign of provocation. He knew Alexa scanned people constantly, but she all but dared people to challenge her. Kelvin was not so bloodthirsty as Alexa, nor was he confident enough in his own abilities to be able to stand up to offending one of her soldiers. ¡°Yeah, likewise?¡± Kelvin said, stumbling up to his feet, where he could stand properly without fear of being thrown over by wild bouts of vertigo and fatigue. Whatever that chain was, it was clearly powerful, almost too powerful. ¡°Oh, apologies, I am Gina. You might have heard of me, I am Alexa¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Soulmate.¡± Kelvin said, a somewhat defeated sigh coming to his words and face as he admitted the truth that the old crone had spoken. Yet, the pixyish girl just paused, as if she had never heard the term before. Then looking at her, Kelvin realized it might be a form of vernacular she might not be aware of. ¡°Uh, sorry. Soulmates, they are people who are just meant for each other.¡± At that Gina just shook her head, but then all but began trembling. Her body began to shake slightly, beginning first in her toes, then slowly working its way up her shapely legs, then to her torso, then after that there was an explosion, as she jumped into the air and lunged her fists out to the side in some form of aggressive gesture, seeing this, Kelvin backed up and wondered if he was about to be attacked for stating something he shouldn¡¯t have. She did know about this right? The pixy girl jumped up and down, spinning herself about with each enthusiastic jump, until she began speaking in a foreign tongue to those that were gathered. Kelvin tried to listen in, but the language they now spoke was complete gibberish to him. He assumed they were speaking in his father¡¯s tongue, but if they were, Kelvin never heard it as his mother and the other elves refused to learn it. Everyone who was there when his father came through insisted that he only spoke the elven tongue as it was the only way people would dare greet his mother, who was and still is royalty. While he couldn¡¯t verify that claim, he could tell by the higher excited pitch that the girl was not actually angry with him, but excited? Finally, the energetic girl spun around, and asked something that caused Kelvin to pause. ¡°Tell me, what is it that you see, when you scan me?¡± ¡°You are giving me permission to scan you?¡± Kelvin asked, wanting to make sure he was given the right to, and making sure it was clear that he had not done so intentionally. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I give you permission and all that jazz.¡± ¡°Jazz?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a form of music, very good, but in this case, it is just an idiom¡­¡± The girl said excitedly, her words coming out in rapid fire succession. Kelvin was about to ask what an idiom was, but then Gina saw his face, and apparently determined that he was about to ask something off target. ¡°An idiom is a figure of expression, but regardless go on and scan me already, and tell me what you see.¡± At that Kelvin still felt awkward by this, was this some form of power play? Was this meant to be a way to cow him into submission, he wanted to say that such a thing was unnecessary, he was here in enemy lands, no, not enemy lands. Neutral allies, and it was in his best interest to follow along. Focusing on the girl who was all bouncing in place from one foot to the next he, could almost see the attraction that Alexa must have to this girl. If she were single, Kelvin knew he would at least try to start up a conversation with her. As he had that thought, the energetic bouncing stopped, and that was when Kelvin realized that she might be able to read his mind in some way, that or read his emotions. Either way, he decided to stop that train of thought that was clearly unwanted and do as he was asked.
Small Energetic Teenage Female: Gina Rojas: Level 32 Predictive Oracle, Status: Healthy, Disposition: Supportive. Other: One of the Chosen.
Seeing the status of the small human before him, he realized his mistake and why she was so adamant that he was to scan her. As soon as he realized his mistake, he immediately kneeled down on the ground, planted his fists into the ground and showed his neck, in supplication. ¡°I am so sorry; I did not realize that you were one of the chosen. If I have insulted you in any way, then I apologize¡­¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. As he spoke, he then realized the other part of that statement, the fact that if this woman, this Oracle was a chosen one, and she was bound to Alexa, then it would mean that Alexa was always out of his league. *** Gina Rojas Shatter. There was a feeling like something broke within her, but unlike the normal breaking where you immediately need to go to the doctors to have something fixed, or immediately have a valve in your heart replaced, this was a good kind of break. The type of break where you go and begin to feel better, like when Alexa finally fixes your heart correctly so that it doesn¡¯t go all Wonka-doodle, except for when it is supposed to, like when Alexa is nearby, or when she is covered in gore, and still looks like an Amazonian goddess made flesh. Or when she touches you and you feel that zing, that electric pulse, that flood of emotions that makes life so worth living. That is what this sudden sensation felt like. Then almost immediately afterwards, the dungeon started acting funny.
Congratulations, to help you with your mission, please take the following as a means to improve quickly, and a sign of good faith from us.
No clue who the us was, nor what this weird mission that she was given was exactly, but she looked and to her surprise right there in front of her were two crystals in what had to be a gift basket. ¡°Um, is that an actual basket?¡± Kylie asked, coming closer to inspect the basket. As she spoke she reached up her hand towards the basket, not even touching it, when the basket and dungeon both began to glow with a bright yellow hue, as the unmistakable sound of an electrical thrum built up. Zzzap. Hearing and feeling the discharge Kylie stopped in her tracks and just stared at the basket. ¡°I guess that is just for you. Okay, sorry dungeon.¡± Kylie said, holding up both her hands in a non-threatening gesture as she began backing away slowly from the basket. Once she was gone, the yellow lights of the dungeon and basket faded, leaving behind nothing. Gina herself waited for a moment, but then tentatively reached her hand forward, nothing. Then the closer she got, the slower she moved, only to see that the basket still didn¡¯t glow. At the point that she was able to touch said basket without feeling an electrical discharge, she let out a long breath. Phew. Then taking the crystals, she realized these were odd crystals of a shape she had never seen before. Pushing a bit of her own mana into the crystals, she felt a surge of power flood her mind and nearly cause her body to collapse. Pain. There was a lot of pain, as her mind felt like it was forcefully coming to life, as neural pathways were being burnt directly into her brain.
Language Learned: Precursor Tongue.
That was the first message she received, and it seemed to be an important one, as she realized that this was the language that Alexa claimed to speak to the dungeons with constantly. Seeing that message, she reached and got the next crystal, once again flooding this new crystal with more of her own energy. This time, there was another surge of energy as her mind was flooded with more information but it wasn¡¯t as bad as the first one.
Language Learned: Elven Tongue.
With that, she paused as she wondered why she would now be granted such a gift from the dungeon, especially seeing as she had been here, in this very dungeon, multiple times. Then the next second, her questions were all but answered as a special gate opened before her and everyone. And yes, everyone had gathered around Gina as she consumed the two crystals that were apparently for her and her alone, if the dungeon¡¯s actions were any indication. Whoosh! The dungeon portal opened, spitting out a half dead, no wait, just an exhausted, but completely healed half-elf, half-human male. Seeing him, instantly Gina felt a pit of jealousy rise up within her, for she knew this man instantly as the competition. Yet, she had been raised with far better manners to let her insecurities guide her actions. That was when she decided to be the bigger person and introduce herself to the clearly scared boy. ¡°Hi there. You must be Kelvin, it is a pleasure to meet you.¡± Gina said, her mind instantly able to shift to the newly implanted language almost immediately. Gina couldn¡¯t help but see the boy relax slightly at her comments, this was good, as it meant at the very least she could be friends with the competition. At least, until she could find a nice way to say LEAVE ALEXA ALONE. ¡°Yeah, likewise?¡± The boy asked. Hearing his tone, Gina instantly knew he was asking a question due to the rising of his voice. This was odd as the boy clearly wanted to know who she was, even though he didn¡¯t introduce himself, which sort of made sense as she referred to him by name. Realizing all of that was going on in her mind all at once, she decided to answer. ¡°Oh, apologies, I am Gina. You might have heard of me, I am Alexa¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Soulmate.¡± Kelvin said, with a defeated tone in his voice. Badump. Hearing that, Gina¡¯s jaw dropped, as she had been expecting a lot of possible answers, but that was not the response she had even come close to predicting. Stupid Predictive Oracle class, only giving percentages of what she thinks will be asked, not actually telling her the correct answers to anything. Though that likely had more to do with the fact that the future was never certain, only once it is in fact certain does it then become the past, and therefore not the future. ¡°Uh, sorry. Soulmates, they are people who are just meant for each other.¡± Gina just stared at him, realizing that she had taken too long to respond and had caused the boy to speak. But then once he did, all he said were things that made her even more excited about what was to happen. ¡°YES!¡± Gina said, jumping for joy, fists punching into the air with triumphant success. ¡°What is it Gina?¡± ¡®Licia asked, from the crowd that had gathered around her, no doubt to watch her interaction with Mr. Mackie¡¯s son. ¡°I am soulmates with Alexa.¡± Gina said, doing a dance, as her feet shuffled from side to side. ¡°Oh, is that why you are called a One of the Chosen? I was wondering about that.¡± Kylie said. ¡°Right, me too. I mean I figured it was something Alexa did, as you were not doing anything when it happened.¡± ¡°What? When did it change?¡± ¡°A few seconds ago, right before your electric basked appeared.¡± Kylie answered. ¡°Oh, one second.¡± Gina said, then turning around to face the confused boy she asked, ¡°tell me, what is it that you see, when you scan me?¡± *** Judy Thyme It had been a long week. Seeing the way Luke and Alexa¡¯s friends all rallied together for the two of them made Judy feel a lot more confident that they would be safe without her. Who was she kidding, Alexa almost never needed her, nor anyone, she had always been so strong. Then there was Luke, he too was strong, but in a different way. Now she was alone, although she didn¡¯t have to be alone, at least not according to the voices that were reaching out to her, the voices that seemed to get increasingly more and more aggressive with their sales pitches. Knock, knock. Just as Judy felt the need for something else, she heard a knock on her door. Going to it, she answered, for a moment she thought about not going, she was a complete mess. She was wearing her hoodie and sweatpants that she had gone to sleep in, her hair was a mess, and she couldn¡¯t recall the last time she actually brushed her teeth. Yet, she answered the door anyways. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hey girlie, I figured you could use some company.¡± The energetic voice of Rayne Johnston came through, and made her feel just that much more appreciated. *** Magdala The giant dragon sat staring off into the distance, a light blue energy coating her eyes as she peered off into the different parts of the universe, looking for signs of the future. ¡°It looks like she passed the test, and became a chosen. She and her soul mate.¡± Magdala spoke to the dungeon around her. Flicker flash. ¡°What do you mean who. You know who, that girl that we tested.¡± Angry flash. ¡°Oh get off it. She was trying to kill me to protect you. Can¡¯t you see the irony for getting mad at her for doing that?¡± Subdued flash. ¡°Right, see. Now we can prepare for the next stage.¡± Flash. ¡°What do you mean, what next stage? Surely you haven¡¯t forgotten already?¡± Double flash. ¡°Yes, she still has one more stage to go, but she has already been approved of by the old crone, her passing the last stage now is just a mere formality.¡± Long flash. ¡°What? Of course, I don¡¯t know what the future entails for her. That is what it means to be a chosen.¡± Flash. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have been through this before, and we will be able to go through it all again in the future as well.¡± Chapter 146 Stage X Chapter 146 Stage X Monday Alexa appeared, in the final dungeon, just entering made her feel like she was on the peak of something great. Everything she had worked for over the last two months had all led here to this point and she was ready to conquer everything. Whoosh. A second behind her, the old orc shaman who somehow only was known by the system as The Old Crone had appeared right behind her. Looking at her, it was clear that she was Not Impressed, with what Alexa had done. That of course was an Emotional State that Alexa was certain didn¡¯t exist, as she was fairly certain she would have at least seen someone else who had it, of course this just went to show how powerful the Crone was, if she could manipulate the system to both hide her true name and to make it so her Emotional State were unknown. ¡°You are weak. Far too weak for what is needed.¡± The Crone said, apparently still carrying over the same argument that she had before Alexa decided to try to continue without her, yet here she was still nagging. ¡°You exercise demons your way, and I will exercise them mine.¡± Alexa said, not wishing to rehash the same argument yet again. ¡°You had it, power beyond compare. Power that you could have held within you and used.¡± The Crone argued, ¡°I could see the way your hands and whole body trembled at the sight of the energy, and yet you just let it go away.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t let it go anywhere, I set it free.¡± ¡°Do you hear what you are saying? You set a demonic soul free. And what was that power you used?¡± At that Alexa paused and stared at the old Crone, trying to see if she knew, and this was another one of her elaborate ruses, or if this was something else entirely. ¡°What was it, I never felt anything like that before, it¡­¡± The Crone¡¯s voice trailed off as she tried to think of the words to describe what she had gone through. ¡°It felt good. I¡¯ve never felt like that before.¡± With that Alexa nodded, not wishing to pay any more attention to the Crone, though a slight smirk did come to her lips. No one, save for the people that truly knew Alexa would see it as a smirk, but Alexa herself felt sort of vindicated, here this creature was, powerful beyond compare and she had never heard or truly felt the Precursor word for Hope. ¡°Surely someone as all powerful and all knowing as you would already know what power that was.¡± Alexa quipped, feeling a bit more argumentative than she ever had. It was a fact that she was and had been absorbing a lot of ambient energy from the last dungeon. The demonic presence had been around for so long without the dungeon being allowed to reset, that Alexa felt that she might have gone mad without leaving. That was part of why she decided to let the demonic soul go, well she let it go after she grabbed the demonic spirit just as the crone said, but then rather than absorbing the power and having to fight her way free of the corruption, Alexa decided to go her own path, by purging the spirit with her first Precursor power word she ever learned. The experiment had been a success, if she did say so herself. The spirit rather than having its oily black residue absorbed into her body and then having her body try to purify the poisonous extract. Alexa purged the spirit, making it so the slimy outer shell was completely removed and was able to fly off into the stratosphere. Alexa remembered to look at Crone¡¯s disbelieving face, as she seemed to be even more confused by the act than Alexa herself had been. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even grab it, when it shed its outer layers and fled.¡± The Crone said. Alexa just shook her head. ¡°That wasn¡¯t it shedding its outer layer, rather that was it being cleansed of its past misdeeds.¡± ¡°That is still impossible.¡± Alexa just shook her head, not wanting to have this conversation yet again. Instead, she just decided to leave the cave entrance that held her, and almost instantly felt the strain of an intricately carved Rune pattern on the walls ahead. While these runes did have some protection nodes, they were not nearly enough to stop Alexa¡¯s innate understanding of runes. Especially once she was close enough to actually look at the structure of the runes. Following the runic structure, she realized there were a trap of some sort, but at first, she couldn¡¯t understand what the trap was for, then something in the back of her teeth began to rattle as she felt the familiar resonance of a particularly difficult form of magic. The Crone herself had grown quiet, apparently watching Alexa, to see if Alexa could deduce the trap ahead. Alexa had already solved it, having seen a similar, if slightly less complex version of this very same trap sequence as the one that was used to kill her father. Everything was the same, from runes being used to separate the different natural elemental schools of magic away from a dense Void magic core that was more than capable of first destroying everything in the immediate area, and then devouring the truth. A quick glance around her showed that she was in the middle of a completely spherical room. A glance at the room all but confirmed that this was not the first time this exact setup had been used to take down other Trials of Ascension takers who had also gotten to this point. Alexa of course had not been idle during her time here. While she was not the first one here, and likely not the first one who could set off the trap, it was a simple magic detection complex. Basically, anyone who used magic of a certain Tier rating would instantly set off the runes, that would cause a cascading attack designed to not only destroy the caster, but then eliminate any proof that they were here. Seeing this, Alexa smiled widely, a cold malicious smile that spoke of vengeance. The Crone who had been content to stare at Alexa from the side, in what was clearly a safe area set out by the runes, suddenly jerked to life as she saw Alexa¡¯s whole face changed. ¡°Did you notice something?¡± ¡°Oh, I noticed a lot.¡± Alexa said, as she began moving forward, grabbing the different elemental balls that surrounded the Void energy. Seeing that Alexa had identified the trap, and had already begun to take measures to disarm the trap the Crone relaxed slightly, though she still couldn¡¯t help but feel a little unease at the complete look of malice that now covered Alexa¡¯s face. ¡°You solved it, and you are angry that it was a trap?¡± ¡°No,¡± Alexa said, trying to get her thoughts in mind. ¡°I am fine with the fact that they set out a trap. But I will have a word or two for the creator of this trap.¡± Alexa, said as she dropped the empty elemental balls to the ground and then reached up to grab the Void stone. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Don¡¯t, that one is¡­¡± The Crone tried to warn Alexa, but it was already too late, as the human girl had already taken it down. The Crone waited for it the moment she would cry out in pain, everyone did, especially on their first time, that was when just being exposed to Void energy was the worst. That was after all the true purpose of this zone, to show the corruptive nature of Void energy, and that it was first needed as a stabilizing part of the universe, but also how to spot it and to avoid it at all costs. The Void stone that she had pulled was a natural formation here, and it seems that the rest of the runic structure had just been built around that one large Void crystal. Alexa just stared and gritted her teeth as she began painfully Absorbing the alien material. This time it was a lot more than the small amount she had dealt with, the small, by comparison, amount that had been used to ambush her and kill her father. As she absorbed the energy, she felt liquid fire burn its way up her arm and into her very core. Slow breaths. The fire was so intense that even with her Regeneration, she still had a hard time keeping the pain at bay, but she forced her way through. She was Void Resistant, which she knew had paid no small role in her survival of the first attack, and even now she could feel that same Resistance coming through now, as she forced her body to consume yet more of the alien material. In her mind she saw that the system was talking to her, telling her that she had done something, reached a certain threshold, but that wasn¡¯t enough. She needed to keep her focus here. In this moment everything faded from around her, The Crone was gone, the Runic death trap that was overhead was gone, the only thing that existed at this moment was the slow dull pain throbbing inside her chest, and the intense unending pain that proved one thing above all else, that she was still alive. ¡°Life is pain, anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.¡± Alexa muttered angrily to herself as she pushed herself, pushed her class, and pushed her body and mind beyond anything she had experienced before. She had been weak, she had been caught off guard by an unknown threat, in an unknown way, because of that people died. Because of that, her father died. She would not be that weak again, if all it took was a little pain to prevent that fate from happening again to anyone she loved, she would deal with that and more. ¡°Stop, you can¡¯t¡­¡± The Crone said, desperation in her voice. Alexa turned and snarled at the Crone; it had been clear for a while that she had her own objective in this. That she had likely intended to kill Alexa, had she not passed some unknown test. Then just a moment ago, it was failed she had failed another test, one that was meant to gain power by consuming the demonic soul of demons. Something that sounded as repugnant as it felt. Now that same Crone was here, telling her what she can and can¡¯t do, again. ¡°Get back!¡± Alexa hissed, blood came to her mouth, filling her mouth and tastebuds with a metallic coppery flavor, but it was okay, based on the look of horror that was now on the Crone¡¯s face, Alexa had made her point. She didn¡¯t trust the Crone, at least not anymore. The same Crone who was now telling her to stop, was the same one who had been more than content to let her blow herself up by this runic death trap. Finally, the last of the ultra violet energy was gone, and the last trails of it burned its way up her arm and into her chest. Alexa stood there, her body trembling from how much energy was now coursing through her. A lot of the trembling was also due in no small part to the amount of pain she was now feeling as well. Pain that once again let her know she was alive, pain that let her know she was getting stronger, that she had found only another challenge that was meant to be conquered. ¡°You, you did it¡­¡± The Crone said, a not of shock in her voice, but Alexa didn¡¯t pay any attention to the Crone, as she was already delving into her system messages.
Energy Gained. Do you wish to convert energy absorbed into class experience? Attributes? Or to unlock Void Magic?
Seeing the system message, Alexa felt a twinge of vindication. This had been the second time, and this time had taken a lot longer than her first exposure to Void magic, but finally she had the message she wanted. Without even hesitation, she chose to unlock yet another branch of magic.
Magic Unlocked.
Magic Category Unlocked: Void Magic
Void Magic is now Tier I.
Seeing the message, Alexa let out a sigh of relief, as she felt the pain that was burning away inside her chest like a bad case of heartburn suddenly release, as she was finally immune to the pressures and strain of Void magic. At least she was finally immune to the effect that Void energy had on her insides. With the pain finally, gone, Alexa was able to stand up straight. As she did, the Old Crone just looked at her with a sense of awe and disbelief. She opened her mouth as if to ask Alexa a question but could not seem to form any words. This was fine, as Alexa felt she was just about done with the Crone and ready to ask some of her own questions. ¡°Tell me, this structure, this is all elven make?¡± Alexa asked. ¡°Yes.¡± At that Alexa nodded, and was about to leave, but was stopped by the old Crone. ¡°Wait,¡± The Crone said, as her eyes began to flash with a strange light blue light that Alexa took as her having a Vision. Seeing her like this, Alexa realized that if she wanted to, this would have been her moment to strike, the Crone was not faking, and the Vision she was having at the moment was clearly enough to drop her attention for a moment. Had Alexa been in her rational mind, she might have made a move, but seeing as Alexa was in her emotional mind, a mind that was now clearly set on revenge for the death of a loved one, she did not want to create an extra enemy where she didn¡¯t need to. Crumple. The Crone who had been standing up fully erect and with an unknown power, suddenly shrank as her Vision left her. Panting. ¡°Wait, you know that you don¡¯t need to do this? That killing the elves here will just be an act of futility? That all you need to do is show an understanding of the Void magic, to respect it, but you I don¡¯t even know what you did.¡± Alexa just turned her head and began to leave. ¡°Wait, I can show you the exit, it is just over there.¡± The Crone pointed, but Alexa didn¡¯t even turn to look, she had elves to talk to and a message to send. ¡°Wait, where will you go. Even if you find out who created this, what then. They aren¡¯t here, it is just a Summoned Aspect of their true form.¡± ¡°I know, I will find them. I will track them down and make sure they can never do this again.¡± Alexa said, her voice cold and calculating. Hearing the words and seeing the determination in the face of the Chosen one, the Crone couldn¡¯t help but cower slightly in fear. Fear for her conviction, fear for what she might do next. ¡°You would turn against an ally, in a war you know nothing about?¡± ¡°They are not my ally, they have made that abundantly clear.¡± Alexa said, as she began walking away, as she did, she began using Creation magic, to create an even more powerful version of the blade she used two days ago to slay a dragon. ¡°This will mean war, with the elves.¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny, coming from you.¡± Alexa said, or rather, her perfect Simulacrum she had cast said, before disappearing into a cloud of magical smoke. *** The Crone blinked her eyes a few times, they were not what they used to be, but she was certain that her eyes could pick up magic, and it couldn¡¯t have been when she got here, as that would have set off the runic wards. Then she realized the truth, rather than striking her down, Alexa chose that moment to leave the caves while leaving a perfect clone of herself behind to speak with the Crone, but why? The Crone thought about the question for a moment, but then a quick flash of insight later, showed her the answer she had been looking for, ¡°she still doesn¡¯t trust me, clever girl,¡± the Crone said softly to herself. With at start, she looked around, wondering if her habit of talking to herself had come back to haunt her. Of course, that was all just her imagination playing tricks on her, there was nothing around, anything that was around, would surely come alive with her magical senses. Even if the chosen one had used some form of Illusion magic, the Crone was certain that her magical senses would pick it up. With that the Crone raised her head to look out the cave exit, she already knew what to expect, but looked anyways. Outside the cave were the mutilated and hacked up bodies of the elite guards who waited by the cave exit. Realizing that her chance to change the future had come and gone, the Crone decided to leave this dungeon. The exit was just as she had said, just a few feet away from the entrance, where she had to prove her understanding of the Void, something that Alexa clearly had mastered long ago. While she wanted to see the classes that the young warrior was offered, she realized that it would not have been as easy as she had expected. Still, it had not been a complete loss, as she at least knew the face of the Chosen one, with that knowledge alone, she could do so much, but first she needed to get home, there were a lot of pieces still in motion, a lot of pieces that likely needed to be adjusted, and most importantly there were a lot of actions that needed to be taken to persuade the leaders of this new planet over to her side. ¡°So much to do, so little time.¡± The old Crone said, as she looked back at the runic structure, and couldn¡¯t help but let out a small cackle, ¡°as if the elves could have ever created something so impressive as a runic bomb, hah!¡± Once again the Crone found herself looking around, trying to see if anyone was nearby, but again found the area to be clear. Still, this time she couldn¡¯t help but shake the feeling of being watched. Yet, a quick scan showed that no Divination or Seer magic was being used in the area, it was just as she expected, completely dull to her magical sense. ¡°You are getting too paranoid at your old age. Thinking monsters are going to jump out at you from every shadow.¡± The Crone said, chastising herself as she popped through the portal that opened before her and sent her home. What she didn¡¯t see, what she failed to notice was the way the mound of Earthen wall behind her blinked once, before merging back into the cave wall and disappearing forever. Chapter 147 The War of Attrition Chapter 147 The War of Attrition Monday (Late at Night) Legions of forces set in what would at first appear to be a massive, pitched battle, but the reality was that the entirety of the battle happened at one minor point. The two armies of orcs and elves had been here for so long, conducting battles for so long that the entire event had become a ritual of bloodletting and sacrifice. One leader would fight with a squad against another squad of warriors, while hundreds of orcs and elves watched from their vantage points. It was clear that the whole point of the affair was for the challenger, in this case Alexa, to come forward join as the leader of whichever faction she had joined and represent them in battle after battle, having her squad slowly whittled down until she was finally declared a victor, after which, her broken and tired body would be taken back to the leaders after days of fighting, and she would be forced to submit to the will of the leaders, in some form of ritualistic geas where she would forever be bound to one of the factions. At least that is what Alexa had assumed going into this conflict from having listened to what the survivors of these trials had said to her, how they all held bitter resentment towards what had happened, what they were forced to endure for the sake of having a class unlocked. Now that she was this close, with the exit just right around the corner, Alexa thought about what to do here. The ending was in essence right there, she had even seen the old crone show her definitively the exit. That had been a stroke of luck on Alexa¡¯s part, as the Old Crone had almost caught onto her hiding spot multiple times, but never doubted the rocks she was looking at, nor the environment around her. The Crone didn¡¯t know about the power of Earth magic, apparently, she couldn¡¯t predict the capability of one with a such high level of Earth and Life magic working together so that a body could be breathing within rocks. Of course, the Illusion she cast of herself also didn¡¯t hurt her ability to blend in. Now that she was here, Alexa was faced with the choice of what to do next. A part of her wanted to take the final stage of the trials as is, to fight against a horde of elves and orcs and see what they could do to threaten her. This of course would be the height of her ego if she did such an act. This was why she mentally forced herself to take a step back and calm herself. Her emotions were running high, as she knew someone here had used Void magic to set up a trap here. Looking at it logically, this at first appeared to be very similar to the test that had killed her father. That thought more than anything made it so she wanted to go charging forward, slaying any and all who got in her way. But she forced herself to stay back to think about a strategy. This was remarkably harder than what she had expected. Normally her rational mind was able to filter through, to come up with a plan almost immediately, one that was both decisive and off putting for her enemies. Granted most of the time her strategy dealt with charging headfirst into battle and letting her Attributes and Accumulated powers do all the heavy lifting, while she directed her strikes against vastly superior opponents. But this was different, just scanning the fields before her, Alexa could tell that the enemies were too many, especially for her alone. Seeing so many enemies packed so tightly together made her think of other means. Logically, her main objective was just right there, go, tell the dungeon what it wanted to hear, that you learned its lesson and get a shard, go home and get the class that has eluded her for so long. Yet, something compelled her to stay, to eradicate the forces before her and most importantly, to get a name of who could have crafted such a runic death trap, as the one from inside the cave. Realizing it was a fool¡¯s mission to go in alone, Alexa decided to create copies of herself and her blade. In fact, she even changed the layout of her blade, this time recreating the blade and her copies so that at their very core, they had an essence of the Void added in just for support. For her blades, they too had a minor injection of Void energy added to them as well, though that was primarily on the blades of the double-sided swords, thin enough so that only the cutting edge of the blade would hold the slightest resonance of the chaotic material. Once her first enhanced copy was made, Alexa went about stretching her mind and her willpower to create as many exact copies as she could of herself. Each copy she made sure to have dressed in her full Aru¡¯ka Super outfit, as she wanted it to be known who was coming for them. Especially if any of the people here that she was about to forcefully eject from this trial suddenly found themselves as part of the force sent to conquer Earth. *** Alexa strode forward confidently, as she was flanked by six exact copies of herself. High overhead, a golden beam of light shone down from the heavens, seeming to shine a light solely on one area of the whole dungeon where fighting seemed to be allowed. As she got closer, Alexa could begin to feel the radiating cold that seemed to pulse from the ground. Ground that was seemingly only satiated by blood of the fallen. After a minute, Alexa realized the purpose for the constant pitched battle, and why so many members of both armies had been here at one point. The dungeon, was meant to show how to cleanse the land of demonic taint, and these two armies had apparently cleared the entire dungeon, all the way up to this one spot, where they found a way to keep the demonic taint at bay simply by shedding blood of the fallen into the center of a giant ring of runes that took the blood and lifeforce of the fallen and converted it into a form of energy that managed to keep back the slowly growing demonic entity. Seeing the ring of runes at work, Alexa realized that her job here had just gotten that much easier. Moving forward, towards the challenge ring, the armies of both the orcs and elves moved out of her and her squad of identical copies¡¯ way. It was clear that so long as Alexa and her squad made no aggressive actions towards anyone, they would be allowed to go unimpeded to the now ritualistic runic challenge ring, where she would then be assaulted by squads from both sides. ¡°How did so many make it through?¡± ¡°Are they bound to the orcs?¡± ¡°Are they bound to the elves? I don¡¯t see any of the tribal markings on them.¡± Soldiers and warriors from both sides spoke out, as the seven Alexa¡¯s made their way forward. The Alexa¡¯s of course kept silent, not responding back in either tongue, as she didn¡¯t want to give away the fact that she knew what was being said about her as she made her way forward. Instead, she just kept focus, the lead Alexa marching ever forward, while the six other Alexa¡¯s scanned the crowds around them, watching for any overtly hostile signs. The squad managed to make it to just before the ring, where they were stopped by a powerful elven general whose silver armor shone with the grace of golden trim, on one side. The shine on it showed that the general herself was not accustomed to getting hit, or what was more likely the case, she was not accustomed to battle at all. Then on the other side, the left, was a giant male orc general who stared angrily at the squad. The orc general¡¯s attire was mostly enchanted leather skins of some beast that Alexa had never seen. Judging by the movement that the magical leathers provided, it was clear that if Alexa had to choose, she would want to use the leather armor, over those of the elven general. That was when Alexa made it a mental goal to grab a piece of the leather and using her new understanding of Creation magic, break it down into its base components, so she could create her own set. Of course, as soon as the thought entered her mind, she immediately dismissed it, as that would be much further down the line of events that needed to play out immediately. For now she watched and waited. ¡°Speak child. For which side do you swear allegiance?¡± The orc general was the first to speak. As he spoke a calm fell over the crowd, as even the two factions that were fighting within the ring that contained the demonic energy paused to hear what it was that Alexa and her squad of clones would say. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Hearing the question, Alexa realized the time to stall was over. Also, she had already gotten close enough to the ring to do what she had planned to do since seeing it, that was why she began using her psychic powers at the same time she gave her response. ¡°I have sworn allegiance to the human faction.¡± Alexa said, her voice booming and echoing in orcish, so that all could hear. The two generals both looked like they had been slapped, this was good as it proved that the elven general also spoke orcish. The orcish armies of course were outraged by the claim, while the majority of those in the elven army looked confused, as most of them no doubt had no clue what Alexa had just said. Then seeing the outrage of the orcs, the elves began cheering, at least at first. Then the elven general raised her hand and made a gesture. ¡°You speak for yourself, but what of those others who walk with you?¡± The elven general said, asking her question to Alexa¡¯s clones that were with her. At this, Alexa smiled brightly, as she began working on the next stage of her plans. Even here, far from the center ring, she was close enough to reach out and touch the deeply infused runes that lined the center of the dungeon zone. Mentally reaching out to the runes, Alexa touched the runes and quickly began drawing energy away from them. Vwoom! The energy that had been holding the demonic energy at bay for so many years, suddenly stopped, as if a plug had been pulled allowing all the held-up energy to escape. Alexa felt a surge of warmth fill her, as her body began to pulse and thrum with energy, but regular, and the perverted energy of blood and demonic energy. Only now that she could feel the true flavor of the energy did the ritualistic blood sacrifice make sense, the blood had just enough of the spirit energy within it to keep the demonic entity satiated. Of course, the demonic entity that was here had slowly been feeding on that minute trace of spirit energy hungrily over dozens, if not hundreds of years. ¡°What have you done?¡± The Elven General said, turning her attention from Alexa and her squad, back to the now depleted runic circle. The elven general was not the only one to turn away, as every elven and orcish soldier alike turned towards the circle, the one that had the Eye of the Gods looking down upon it, suddenly begin to lose intensity. The light that had been shining brightly over the consecrated ground suddenly began to dull, as massive storm clouds rolled in almost instantly covering the golden light that had shone so brightly from above. The orcs and elves both were fools for this, for giving Alexa and her squad the moment they needed. Seeing the enemy backs turned to them, they slashed out, Void tipped blades slicing out and severing living skin clean through. As one, the squad of seven soldiers all began striking out, lashing out in a relentless onslaught, trying to carve a hole in the enemy defenses around them. With that first strike, there was enough room for the seven Alexas that had been standing shoulder to shoulder a second ago, to each step forward, expanding the ring of ground they controlled and giving each the space needed to maneuver freely. Hearing the clattering of weapons and the cries of orcs and elves alike, the two generals turned, only to see that the seven Alexas were still engaged in slaughter, decapitating distracted enemies, while kicking over headless bodies into their neighbors. The neighbors who received such a warning were alerted for a second, looking first to their comrades, then often turning just in time to receive their own crisp Void infused strike, before also being slaughtered. ¡°Attack them!¡± The two generals shouted, nearly over top of each other. For the moment the universal blood feud that had fueled the two armies for generations was momentarily forgotten, as they both turned as one to face the new threat that was right within the very heart of their armies. Horn bellow! A deep orcish war horn blared to life, as an alert orcish squire signaled the call to arms, directing everyone¡¯s attention towards the center of the dungeon, right to the very killing field that had served as a constant pit of battle for generations. Alexa and her squad were not alone in their assault, as Alexa could feel both herself and through her summoned minions the sudden stirring of the demon that had finally been freed from its prison. Suddenly freed, the demon used its endless reserve of energy and began the wholesale slaughter and perversion of the soil. Massive spikes of Death magic and Void magic surged forth from the ground. Seeing the spikes, Alexa felt certain that the Void material she had encountered was in fact created by this demon, either the demon had long ago lived in the cave and been driven out to these fields, where it was eventually forced underground, or the Void crystal was just a natural byproduct of having a vastly powerful demonic entity that was never quite lanced, thus creating discharges of Void mana, that the dungeon tried to disperse as evenly as possible. In either case, it proved that the demon¡¯s release was really a matter of when, not if, and the fact that she had done so today, only meant that her working with the dungeon to banish the creature and allow the dungeon to be reset was needed. Of course, to do that, Alexa would need to survive. Which meant not only surviving these cannon fodder soldiers that had been summoned in the thousands for both sides, but also slaughtering the generals and logistics officers that sat calmly watching from their camps even now, both sides content to watch the two armies fight and struggle against the squad of seven warriors. To the generals and commanders at the rear, the death of these seven warriors was only a matter of when, not if, as they were clearly surrounded. Then on top of that, there were two generals right there, watching over the proceedings. For now, it was clear that the generals were doing exactly as they were instructed. Sit back and let the squad of warriors slowly wear themselves out, it was inevitable that humans, regardless of skill would eventually wear themselves out, especially as they were just level one, a fact that was guaranteed by this being the final stage of the Trials of Ascension. Mentally, generals from both sides lauded the skill and tenacity of the squad, somehow managing to band together and bypass most methods for breaking up a talented group of warriors. Also, the fact that they all looked the same was a feature that was noticed, but not exactly harped on, as neither the orcs nor elves were experts on humans, especially ones wearing uniforms with their faces covered. The fact that there were seven nearly identical warriors just meant that the tribe that produced such an amazing clutch of offspring should be found and cultivated. Children that grow up to be this powerful would make great slaves, and they would likely be able to keep the others of their kind in line. Seeing the exceptional group of warriors, two nearly identical conversations were happening at the exact moment, on both sides of the field. Both Rexnar, the Supreme General for the Orcs, and Malinia, the Supreme General for the Elves called for their attendants. ¡°Attendants!¡± ¡°Yes my king/queen.¡± ¡°Send word that before they die, we are to interrogate one of them. Find out who their parents are, so that we might be able to force them to breed more warriors such as these.¡± ¡°My King/Queen, there is but one problem with your request.¡± ¡°Oh, What is that?¡± ¡°They''re dead,¡± The attendants answered. ¡°What? What are you saying?¡± ¡°They are dead, and you and your kind killed them.¡± The Attendants said, before their bodies began to morph and change into an exact copy of the seven warriors down on the pitched battle below. The entire time the two supreme generals looked on in awe at the pages before them, the more distracted they were to observe their surroundings. They failed to notice the spike in magical power around them. There were no rays of lights that changed, as no shadows were made. It was almost as if all the Light within the dungeon failed to shine upon the silently moving forms that had snuck up behind the supreme generals. ¡°Why you¡­¡± As all Rexnar managed to get out, before a Void tipped blade pierced his chest. There was a look of shock, and then betrayal as Rexnar looked out at an Alexa clone. ¡°You dare¡­¡± was all Malinia managed, before her heart too was pierced in the back by an Alexa clone. Both bodies began crumpling to the ground, though there was still a lot of fight in them, their vast pools of Endurance were keeping them alive, but barely. Even now it was clear that their Summoned Bodies were having a hard time truly dealing with the power of the Void infused blades that were now piercing their chest. As they fell to the ground, both Alexa attendees spoke in near perfect unison. ¡°I have a message for you. Your declaration of war has been heard and accepted. We will come for you, and we will end you if you get in our ways.¡± Blink. The two opened their mouths, blood coming out, as the blades also pierced the left lung in their means to cut just below the beating heart. Then before they could answer, the Alexa clones that had struck from behind, twisted their blades, further opening the wounds, and causing the corruptibility of Void magic to surge up into their chests. ¡°Gah!¡± Both supreme generals said, as they collapsed. Their deaths were not the only ones as the two that had infiltrated the camps were not alone, as two independent strike teams began going through the distracted camps, taking out anyone and everyone that got in their way. Meanwhile the squad of Alexa¡¯s who had been little more than a distraction, were performing their task admirably slashing through enemy after enemy. *** All the while the demonic entity below the ground fed on the blood and carnage that slowly made its way to it. Or at least that is what it would have tried to do, however, no energy seemed to be coming its way. It was almost as if the entire flow of energy that it had been feasting on for centuries suddenly dried up. Yet, its senses had grown in power and precision over time. Finally, after close to an hour of waiting, the demonic entity that had been driven deep under the ground centuries ago, after suffering from a mortal wound, rose to the surface for the first time in centuries. Its wound having long since healed, the demon had been content to slowly feed on the life force that was slowly being fed to it, over the centuries. But now that it had been freed from its prison, it wanted more, so much more. Finally free, it rose to the surface, and surveyed the surroundings. RUMBLE! The ground shook and quaked as the orcs and elves both stopped their assistance of trying to quell the rebel squad to stare at the giant towering monster before them. ¡°I, Methastophola have been reborn! TREMBLE in fear!¡± Methastophola roared out, loudly, using a form of a demonic scream that tore through every mind in the area. Suddenly the world around Methastophola went quiet, well almost. Clink, clang, chop! Every mind, except for the band of seven maidens who used that very moment to continue pressing their attack, striking through the lines of enemies, even going so far as to strike at the momentarily stunned orc and elvish generals. Seeing that the generals were down, the demon began to laugh. ¡°HAHAHAHA! I am finally free, and soon I will be out of this dungeon as well.¡± ¡°Shut it, as you are next!¡± A voice called out in the Harbinger tongue. Chapter 148 The Demon Soldier Chapter 148 The Demon Soldier Methastophola, once just a lowly foot soldier in the ninth legion¡¯s army, was now reborn. What had at one time been a mortal wound, was now a hardened callous of skin and bone that would protect against the mightiest of strikes. He and his legion had been tricked here, charging after an enemy force that wished to apparently use dungeons as a means of escape, a common tactic and one that their unit was famous for dealing with. But this last battle was different, this time there were no further withdrawals, this time a joint enemy force had been waiting for them. There, Legion Commander Tetharoaloz was slain, as were every other warrior of his unit. At one-point Methastophola had been sliced open from armpit to thigh, his guts and vital organs left to rot and hang open, many of which were perforated and being exposed to the noxious air of the unclaimed lands. He lay there dying, slowly being surrounded by his allies, his brothers in arms. He watched as the forces that had been lying in wait used magics the likes of which a young Methastophola had never seen before. The land had been cursed, lined with runes that were invisible to the naked eye, at least they had been at first. The runes were dormant at first, until the spirits of his slain comrades were released from their fleshy prison. That is when the true horrors of this prison world were shown to him. Methastophola watched in horror as one by one the released spirits were summoned to the far end of the dungeon. There, a mystic with bright blue skin, neither elf, nor orc gathered the fallen spirits, pulling them in with runes that became alive with so much energy released into the air. Whoosh! The pull of the runes were intense, as even as he lay dying, Methastophola could feel the enchanting pull of the currents beckoning him to let go, to relax his will slightly, so that he too may join his comrades in arms. While there was no real honor amongst demons, you did learn to respect your fellow soldiers in arms, as they were the closest thing you were allowed to having a true friend in the demon legion. Chosen and raised from birth, your purpose for being within a squad was as apparent at the days were long, you were solely alive to kill at your commander¡¯s expense. Any deviation would cause intense burning pain throughout your soul, and at the end of the day, a vastly powerful and immortal soul was all a demon truly was, all they had available to them. Losing a battle such as this was nothing, for all that was required to live on was for your spirit to escape and within a day, your spirit would be summoned back where it could be reinfused with a new body. This was why the demon legion was so powerful, for while they lacked any true scale of numbers, they could always be reborn. Then there were talks of the cursed ones. Just seeing the blue skinned monster before him, the one that comfortably sat within the circle of spirits that were being summoned, Methastophola realized what that blue skinned one was almost immediately. Just looking at it, Methastophola could see the old tales coming true. The way the head was smooth of any hair, the way the eyes were piercing, and the way their soul, well it looked different, as if it had been marked as somehow. They were the bogeymen of the demons, the monsters who you always heard about, but never saw. At least that is what Methastophola had thought, until now, until this moment. On the edge of life and death, he saw the monster, and his already dying skin felt like it chilled to the bone. He had been so close to letting go, and rejoining his fellow comrades in their rebirthing pods, but then he saw it. Closing his eyes, he pretended to be dead. In his state it was not that hard to pull off, he just closed his eyes and kept focusing on healing his body with his own innate regeneration. ¡°I think that¡¯s it.¡± One of the elves cried out, throwing another dead body onto Methastophola. Oof. The pain from such a strike had almost been enough for him to cry out in pain, for him to give away his ruse, but he somehow managed to keep quiet. Even the involuntary spasm he had from the fallen ally now laying on his open wound only seemed to help hide his involuntary movements. The fallen ally being so close, was also a boon, as Methastophola was a duel specialist Flesh and Earth crafter. While his affinity for Earth crafting was major in comparison to his Flesh crafting, he was now happy that he had taken the time to practice his minor affinity, in case he was ever allowed to evolve to be one of Commander Tetharoaloz¡¯s elite frontline soldiers. Seeing the state of the elites, and that of Commander Tetharoaloz herself, Methastophola felt very thankful that he had never proven to be competent enough to evolve in such a way. Now, that he had a moment, and had ostensibly suitable Flesh Crafting materials to work with, Methastophola began his task of slowly weaving the skin and bones of his fallen comrade directly into his open wound. Ahh. The minute the stomach wound was healed, Methastophola let out a slight sigh of relief. While it was quiet, it still moved nonetheless, fortunately everyone else¡¯s attention was turned towards the blue skinned monster. ¡°She¡¯s about to do it.¡± The elves spoke in their unsophisticated tongue. Honestly, Methastophola had wondered why they were forced to learn the tongues of the enemies, but now he was extremely thankful he was at least marginally passible as a linguist of the soon to be conquered races. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± Another voice called out. With that, the last remaining two soldiers who could see Methastophola moved away, gathering towards the blue skinned monster, who even from this distance caused the decaying flesh on his body to shiver with revulsion. Woosh. There was a sudden rush of air, and an unimaginable force began to form far off in the distance, right where the monster was standing, right in a ring surrounded by hundreds of Methastophola¡¯s fallen spirit brethren. Just feeling the wind, and knowing who the creature was, caused chills to run down Methastophola¡¯s back, as he knew what this was. ¡°What? No way?¡± He thought to himself as he felt the all-consuming buildup of pressure, pressure that could only mean one thing, death for his kind, and not just any death, but true death. Badump. Feeling the buildup of evil energies, Methastophola gave up his feeble attempts at Flesh crafting, and suddenly began doing what he was best at, namely Earth crafting. Focusing on the ground below him, Methastophola began moving the ground away from him in waves. ¡°One is still alive!¡± A few voices shouted, but it was already too late, as Methastophola was down below the surface of the earth, where he was the most powerful. Methastophola was not alone, as he had a companion, if one could call discarded soul suit of a fallen comrade a companion, but he had one, nonetheless. ¡°.¡± The blue skinned monster cried out in her haunting monstrous language that caused Methastophola¡¯s soul to quiver slightly, despite his being down below the surface of the earth. This only encouraged Methastophola to dig deeper, and deeper desperation, taking him as he wanted to be well outside the reach of the blue-skinned monster, the destroyer of souls. Finally, after being more than a hundred feet down, Methastophola stopped, as exhaustion took him. He was at his limits, mentally, physically, and spiritually he was drained. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Methastophola slept, for how long he did not know, all that was known was that when he awoke, he had been sealed tight within the land, as an unseen prison had been inscribed around him, forever sealing his soul in place, while his body remained the same. Still, it was the fact that he still had his soul, that he could heal his body, with that of his fallen comrade. For the next century, Methastophola slowly but surely sealed his wounds shut, and then once he was back to full health, he began strengthening his body with the excess skin and material left behind by his comrade, all those years ago. As the years went on, his body remained the same, but his spirit and mind were able to grow. He focused on improving his understanding of both Flesh and Earth crafting. He began testing his prison, that was when he first began to feel the sweet fulfillment of spirit energy trickling to him slightly. Only over years of this slow but nearly constant feed did Methastophola realize what was happening. His prison was being fed, and in so doing, he too was being fed, slowly, tiny portions over tiny portions. Sometimes he saved up, to brace parts of his body with extra Flesh craft that he saved up for, other times he focused on testing the constraints of his prison. Finally, it got to the point that any future upgrades would take centuries, so he patiently waited, patiently awaiting for the moment when he would have a chance to test his prison. Little did he know that his moment to test his freedom would come so soon. As he felt a power tentatively reach out to the prison. Then in one fell swoop, the tendril of energy that had touched his prison, feeling its power drained the restraints in one go. Methastophola was free, his legion had finally come for him. Not everyone had been slain, there was still a survivor, one who had suffered in silence like he himself had. Now he would get his chance for revenge. With almost forgotten instincts Methastophola found himself being pulled upwards, as Earth crafting pulled him upwards, towards the surface, towards the unpurified lands of his home dimension. As he arose, he felt the blood and energy of combat raging wildly around him. Not even needing to be asked, he instinctively found the feel of the ancient enemies and began striking out at the foes of his impromptu ally. It was clear that in his time away, that the masters had perfected the flesh suits, as the warriors he was now fighting with were nearly perfect in their ability to both kill and absorb every inch of energy that surrounded them. Seeing and feeling everything around him, Methastophola took his first breath of the air, and immediately cried out in victory as to his final release. ¡°HAHAHAHA! I am finally free, and soon I will be out of this dungeon as well.¡± Methastophola cried out, as he began instantly assisting his would be freer. Yet, unlike what he had expected, his unknown benefactors spoke to him, in a language he had not heard in centuries. ¡°Shut it, as you are next!¡± A voice called out in the Harbinger tongue. Hearing the tongue that only the masters used, caused Methastophola to momentarily pause as he took in the diminutive creature before him. Of course, given his size of nearly ten meters tall, every creature, save for the biggest and oldest of dragons, were small in stature compared to him by now, yet, Methastophola couldn¡¯t help but feel the power in those words, inside their very demeanor. ¡°You are talking to me?¡± Methastophola asked. ¡°Yeah, you see anyone else speaking in this annoying tongue?¡± One of the seven nearly identical warriors said, as she paused in her ruthless assault of the elves and orcs around her and stared directly into Methastophola. Connecting gazes with the creature, something was abundantly clear to Methastophola, first there was something inherently wrong about this creature, as she only had two eyes. Had the master¡¯s changed their designs in the time he had been gone? Was this one meant to infiltrate the enemy ranks? Such discussions had been considered rumor back when he was still part of the legion, but seeing the monster before him, along with her six nearly identical soldiers, it was clear that the demon masters had been successful. Cling. Methastophola had been so distracted by the one monster that turned to speak to him, that he had failed to notice the enemy forces that were sneaking up behind him and trying to pierce his body from behind. Their attacks were useless, as nothing could pierce his enhanced body, after centuries of perfecting his form, Methastophola had woven his fleshy meat suit with layers and layers of Earth metals that defined his exoskeleton layer and made it so he was nearly impervious to the primitive weapons that had been wielded against him in the past. FWOOM! Just as Methastophola got into the heat of combat, a fire was lit at the far end of the battlefield. With that, every soldier that had been battling with Methastophola a moment ago suddenly lost their concentration and turned towards the far end. Methastophola too turned his gaze, well one of his sets of eyes looked off in the distance and saw what looked to be command tents burning. Fwoosh! Then at the same time with his other set of eyes, Methastophola saw the command tents at the other end of the battlefield also go up in flames. The flames had an immediate impact on the battle around him, as Methastophola could all but feel the moment everyone¡¯s hope faded. ¡°The commander.¡± Enemies from both sides called out, those that dared to turn their back on Methastophola and his still unknown benefactors were met with blades and piercing strikes to the back. That is when he struck out. With surprise he looked up to see not one, but two more squads of these elite soldiers coming to join their forces here at the center. There was so much death going around, that the spiritual energy was off the charts, that was why he missed it, at least at first. Only after a few minutes did the subtle tells of strangeness come to him, as he began to feel the signs, the buildup of pressure, the sudden tension within his very core. ¡°What, they are here?¡± Methastophola asked, looking around for the blue skinned monsters, the one that destroyed his troop. He quickly scanned the battlefield, but only after a moment did he realize that the source of his discomfort came from the very center of the group of warriors who had come to release him. A look of confusion came to him, as he saw the way six warriors surrounded and shielded one who was crafting the vile attack. Didn¡¯t she know what that would do? That this would kill her as well? What? What is happening? Was what went through Methastophola¡¯s mind as he looked on in muted horror at the monstrosity that was before him. So enraptured was he by seeing the monster wielding the ancient weapon against him, that he missed the moment when one of the guardians broke free and began slicing at him. Pain. Unimaginable pain coursed through him, as he felt a stinging burn rip through his body. With a shocked horror, he felt the exact cut, the precise mortal wound he had suffered centuries ago burn with an unimaginable pain. One that caused his breath to catch, as he was certain this wound would somehow be able to follow him to his next body, as this wasn¡¯t a mortal blow, at least it wasn¡¯t just a mortal blow, instead, this wound cut deeper, going straight to his very soul. Clutching at his chest, he wobbled slightly. ¡°What? What have you?¡± Methastophola asked, but his mind was already spinning, as his control over his meat suit was slowly slipping away. For centuries he fought and clung to this meat shell. Then with a moment of clarity, he realized he was free. If he let go, if he renounced his hold on this body, he would be set free, and able to escape. Holding completely still, he waited for the next strike, the one that would destroy his body and forever set him free to finally be reborn within the safety of the forces of the legion. He had learned and grown so much, he might even be able to be considered a master trainer of Flesh and Earth crafting, if none of his former unit survived, then he could always be moved into a position of knowledge and power. All he had to do was to escape, to flee, to do what he was best at, to survive. Focusing on what was happening, he held out his arms and waited. He waited for a killing blow, one that would never come. Clink, clang. The blows to his front, one that reopened his mortal wound from shoulder to thigh, but that was all. Blows and strikes clanked off of his back, but they were weak and useless. Nothing could have pierced through his thick hide, at least that was what he had assumed, until this monster had used their monstrous sword that cut not only the physical body, but the spiritual one as well. Realizing that the impending force of evil, the ones used by the blue skinned horrors was nearing its zenith, Methastophola had but moments to act. With desperation, he turned to face the enemies that had driven him below the surface of the earth so long ago. Now he desperately wanted them to pierce and strike at him. Arms open wide, he accepted strike after strike, pikes, axes, spears, swords, and polearms of all kinds struck and pierced his hide. Many of the blows were painful, striking him directly in his exposed wound. The metallic weapons scraped against his flesh suit, but that didn¡¯t hurt anymore. Methastophola had long ago let go of his control over his pain receptors, instead willingly accepting the fact that he was going to die. The only hope was that he would die before the enemy that had lured him out struck. This too he would inform the legions, the fact that the blue skinned ones were back, having taken a new form, one that they use to lull you into a false sense of security. Rip, tear, squish! His meat suit was ripped apart, hooks with ropes were used, and grabbed as his body was slowly peeled away from his floating spirit, finally he was free. He felt his spirit rise up, all he had to do now was leave. There was nothing pulling his soul away, nothing tethering his soul to this dungeon, as the runes that had been used to do that had long ago drained away. Now he was just free. With one last look, he turned to see his sworn enemy, the enemy of all demons. That is when he saw it, the most beautiful and dangerous burst of light and energy he had ever seen. It enraptured him, burning away the thick oily outer coating of his soul, the same parts that housed a mortal wound. Within this one burst of light, he had been healed and cleansed. It was a truly magnificent moment, as in this one second an eternity of thought roared through his mind, as he realized so many things he had accepted as true, were in fact false. In this moment, one where he was both fully part of the universe and nothing at all, knowledge came to him. He finally understood the lost language of the mortal enemies, and he understood the word that was spoken. A word that would allow him to be reborn in the cycle of life and death, accurately, not in the perverted way that the demons did. That word was both a promise of the future, and a sign of why he struggled so hard in the past, to experience this one moment. That word was hope. Chapter 149 Awakening Chapter 149 Awakening Rotation, that was key to any major battle like this one. Rotation, letting one or two members slink out to rest, while the rest of the Clones and Alexa herself all moments to breath. Alexa being the only living creature was the only one that needed to breath, but out of solidarity the other Clones also took moments to sit back and rest. Unlike Alexa however, the Clones used the down time to cast spells. Some cast giant war spells that fired off streams of condensed magics that detonated with Void energy at its core, thus creating bursts of explosions that were worse than anything Alexa might normally be able to weave together. As a result, of the coordinated attack efforts, the amount of ambient energy released into the air was increasing by leaps and bounds, causing Alexa to grow with the thrill of the hunt and power. This was also why she forced herself to take a step back and relax slightly, as she was beginning to feel the thrill of power surging through her at a rapid rate. During this time Alexa¡¯s Attribute Increase title surged by leaps and bounds, going from 19 to 25.
Attribute Increase (19 -> 25): All Attributes increased by 10% (190% -> 250%).
The increase was a bit of a misnomer, as Alexa had gained two of those titles while working with the old Crone, but had been so distracted by everything going on, that she dismissed those notifications. This meant that when she checked now, only after the majority of the combatants were well and truly dead, and her Clones were going about slaughtering the fallen enemies, while collecting their augmentation crystals, Alexa was in for a large surprise. As to her mind, her titles and therefore her attributes increased by sixty percent. For a moment, she thought that there should be something extra, having pushed her generic title so far that she was two point five times stronger by that title alone, but in the end her thoughts were unfounded. There was nothing extra given, other than more and more title increases. By the end of the long-drawn-out battle, Alexa had killed hundreds and thousands of orcs and elves that were armed with little more than medieval armor and weapons. In the end Alexa didn¡¯t know if this was something that dungeons forced, not having truly advanced technical weapons and capabilities able to enter them, or if it was a matter of not needing to advance further, thanks to having everything taken care of by magic and the dungeons, but so far nothing hinted at the idea of higher technology. At that thought, Alexa wondered if there was a form of EMP blast that might come with the Integrations, something that continually pulsed from the dungeons that all but prevented most modern electrical systems from working properly. If that was the case, then people like Dr. Robonics, and other Supers who have a minor power in Electricity but have gone on to use those powers in ways to power and influence technology might have their careers cut short, unless they can implement a work around. Maybe create pulse resistant technology. Of course, these were all thoughts that only an extremely tired Alexa could think up, as most of her concentration now was being directed solely on coordinating her nearly two dozen Clones to run around wreaking havoc on the battlefield around her. Finally, the last enemy was slain, and Alexa sat there panting long enough for the final vestiges of energy to fill her. In her hands she already held the final crystal for the stage, one that once consumed would take her out of here. She had done a lot, managed to single-handedly take on two opposing armies and win. Alexa also learned a lot about Void energy, as it seemed that none of the spells used by either the elves or the orcs were able to land on her or her clones. In fact, every time a spell seemed to come close, all it took was bracing yourself with a Void laced sword blade in front of you, and you would be able to deflect or destroy an incoming spell outright. Void magic had truly been a game changer in this battle, and one that the now awakening soldiers would likely all be trying to figure out a work around for. That is assuming that they found out it was Void magic that she was in fact wielding. However, thinking about it, she was almost certain that a few of the higher up leaders had to be aware of what Void magic was and more importantly how it looked. Holding the crystal in her hand, she looked at it, and pulsed a slight twinge of mana into the stone.
Skill Unlocked: Void Resistance (Tier VII): 1,083%
Seeing the result of her Final stage of the Trials of Ascension, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the irony. Looking at the skill she gained, it proved that in the future she might not be able to count on such a trick as logically speaking everyone here would not have earned this skill. A skill that was likely further enhanced by her stolen power from the Void Rats she faced not too long ago. With her skill unlocked, Alexa wanted to leave, she wanted so desperately to leave, but this was her last time to get her title increases before she gained her official class. Almost as if to accentuate this thought, she received her system upgrade for having completed this very dungeon.
Dungeon Runner (16): All Attributes increased by 1% (16%).
It was early Tuesday, judging by her mental internal clock. Not too long, in fact if there were classes being held today on campus, she would be able to return in time to get back. But she couldn¡¯t do that to herself. She owed her future to continuing to repeat these dungeons over and over, despite how long that might take. This was literally her last time she could get her Attribute Increase title increased, after she left this dungeon, that would be it, it would never increase again. While the other Titles would be able to be increased, she would forever be stuck at a mere 250% increase. That was what went through her mind, as she strode up to the dungeon exit that appeared before her. ¡°Stay.¡± Refusal ripple. Alexa stared at the exit for a second, wondering what had happened. ¡°Dungeon, I said I would like to Stay.¡± Refusal ripple. Alexa didn¡¯t know how she could discern the emotions behind the dungeon¡¯s response but she was fairly certain that she had just been denied, not once, but twice by the dungeon. ¡°Can I ask why?¡± Alexa asked, only now realizing that she had spoken the entire time in the Precursor Language. Ripple. ¡°I will only understand once I go through?¡± Affirmative ripple. Alexa stared at the portal exit, wondering if she had gone crazy. She was tired, near constant fighting for hours was exhausting, even with being infused with the magical equivalent of energy drinks and sugar only went so far for her. Now she was at the point where she was exhausted. While it had been therapeutic to do something normal, to keep her mind away from what happened to her father, she still had been close to exhausted when she entered the ninth stage. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She had been so tired that she almost fell for the Old Crone¡¯s bit, lulling you in with kindness, before finally striking out with a task that would forever taint you in some unforgivable way. The entire process had been fine, but there had been something about the way she all but forced Alexa to take on the demon soul. Alexa still didn¡¯t know what happened, or what would have happened if she had done as the old Crone commanded, but she was certain that nothing good would come from such an act. Realizing that there was nothing else Alexa could do, she nodded in acceptance of her fate and entered the dungeon.
Perfect Run Identified: You Completed the Tenth Stage of the Trials of Ascension with a perfect run. Defeating all enemies, while purifying a demonic soul, while solving the dungeon. Contestant asked to Stay, but process was denied due to being unable to replicate the initial starting events.
At that, Alexa nodded in understanding. She had known that the demon was somehow trapped there, and not a true part of the dungeon, meaning that when she got rid of the demon she forever changed the purpose of the dungeon. Even the two armies being present to continually seal away the demon were now redundant according to the dungeon, which is likely why Alexa was denied the ability to Stay. At least, that is what Alexa inferred from that statement. Alexa wanted to ask about the completion bonus for having a Perfect Run, but stopped herself, as that would appear greedy. Not that she wasn¡¯t at this very moment ruled by her bedraggled emotions and very prone to experiencing full emotions, like greed, but her rational mind told her that such a statement would be bad, and Alexa despite wanting to press on, she couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat relieved that the decision about whether to continue or not was denied to her.
Perfect Run Reward: All class choices available have been increased by one rank, to a maximum ranking of APEX.
Classes: APEX Level Bonuses: 30 (Max) to Primary Attribute, 20 (2/3 Max) to secondary Attribute. Free Attribute Points: 20. Attribute Max increased by 30 per level, up from 3 per basic class wielders. Takes 7 Times as much energy to level an Apex class as a basic class.
1) Absorber (Apex): Level 38. Class: Absorber: For every apex predator, there exists a bacterium who can take them down like they were nothing. With this class you can be the bacteria this world so desperately needs. Your primary power will be to absorb the power and energy from your opponent, whittling them down until you finally exert your dominance and eradicate their life from all eternity. Primary Attribute: Willpower. Secondary Attribute: Perception. The amount of essence you can absorb is increased by 30%, while also increasing your link to the energies available within the essence by 75%. Passive Class Perk: Identify Energy Types. Active Available Class Perks: Nullify Energy. Nullify Energy: you have the ability to identify magical forms and break them down to their base components, interrupting their process and making the energy easily able to be absorbed by you.
Level 38, that was exceptionally high, given that she had only really been leveling her class for the past two months or so. Especially considering most people went years with only gaining one or two levels at a time. Her parents had been different, as they had been the only registered Supers for the tri-state area, meaning they were called in for all levels of dungeon clearing and purging. Along with subjugating any and all supers who turned evil.
2) Arch-Magus (Apex) Level 1 Class: Arch-Magus, there can be only one true master of magic, pulled from the collective consciousness of your people, you have been chosen to be the bearer of the mantle of most powerful magician to ever live. Primary Attribute: Willpower. Secondary Attribute: Intelligence Passive Class Perk: Awaken All Magic Types, Magical Growth, Innate Magic Bonus +20% Active Available Class Perk: Immortal, Spell Dominance. Immortal: Just as the name suggests you have managed to find ways to live forever. Spell Dominance: Rather than creating your own spell, why not use your enemy¡¯s spell against them? With this you can, you enter into a battle of Wills with a spell creator and if you win, the spell being cast comes under your control.
To Alexa this was a very interesting choice, as it sparked the question how many magical classes were available. As for the ability to be an Immortal, that was intriguing, but ultimately it was something that she dismissed as she didn¡¯t put too much of an emphasis on living too far in the future. She knew her future, the old Crone all but noted it, as a Chosen One, she was bound to die young and alone. What good was being able to live forever if you were dead. Also, Alexa got the idea that it wasn¡¯t true immortality, and by that she meant being able to regenerate herself from a single cell. Instead, it felt more like the Immortality ascribed to older mages anyways, the fac that their magic is able to sustain their aging bodies, despite their bodies slowly decaying around them. It was interesting, but there was also the fact that with all types of magic she would awaken both Necromancy and Death magic, two forms of magic that she never wanted to go near personally. Because of that, this option was out.
3) Rune Master (Apex) Level 1 Class: Rune Master, a high end spell caster and runic expert. The Rune Master is capable of using Magic and Runes in equal measure, locking people into place with binding wards, only to rain down destruction from above with summoned spells. Primary Attribute: Intelligence, Secondary Attribute: Willpower. Passive Class Perks: Identify Rune, Rune Avoidance, Innate Runic Mastery +20% Active Available Class Perk: Control Runic Structure Control Runic Structure: Any rune you see, you can gain control of and lock the original creator out from. By focusing on a runic structure, you will be able to engage in a battle of Wills with the original creator of a runic structure. If you succeed in your challenge you will be able to gain both control over the runes, but get a mental image of the person who created the runes, their overall power level, their current location, and their health and status, all while remaining anonymous.
This seemed like a great support type class, unfortunately to use this one properly would mean playing defense, gaining ground and then desperately running it up to maintain control over the area. While there were definite uses for this type of class, ultimately Alexa did not see this as being a truly great class for her. She would need to be one of the people going out into the enemy lines, as she would not order people to do something that she herself wouldn¡¯t be willing to do, and this class meant she would relegate herself to strictly being support. For that, this class was out.
4) Omni-Energy Master (Apex) Level 1 Class: Omni-Energy Master, the true versatile wielder of magical energies, able to wield Magic, Psychic, Runic, and other forms of energy with ease. The only drawback is that compared to a true expert in a given field, you will fall just short. Fortunately for you, there are other forms of energy that you can learn and wield. Primary Attribute: None. Secondary Attributes: Perception, Intelligence, Willpower. Passive Class Perks: Lesser Innate Magical Bonus +10%, Lesser Innate Psychic Bonus +10%, Lesser Innate Runic Mastery +10%, Identify Energy Types Active Available Class Perk: N/A
Now this seemed like a jack-of-all type class, and almost came across as being the exact opposite of her currently slotted class. In fact, had this been her Slotted class all along, she had no doubt that this would be the one she would keep. Yet, there was just too much of a gap in power between this one, and her slotted class. Right now, she was looking at an additional 37 levels, which was nearly two months¡¯ worth of constant grinding of dungeons and battles to get to the same level. In the end, Alexa realized that there were just over five weeks until the Integration would happen, and even if she wanted to start over again, the odds of being able to get this class up to her current level was too much of a hurdle to complete. For that, Alexa also felt she would have to pass up this class as well.
5) Precursor Sage (Apex) Level 1 Class: Precursor Sage, you have been chosen to be the human representative. Primary Attribute: N/A. Secondary Attribute: N/A Passive Class Perks: [Hidden] Active Available Class Perk: [Hidden]
This was by far the toughest choice to turn down, as this class above all others called out to her. Yet, despite all her trying the selection seemed to be glitched for lack of a better word, as there were no details, and even the way it was highlighted was different than others, as if it had never been able to be up to her as a choice. Seeing the option, or rather, the lack of an option made her feel sad. While she ultimately would go with her Absorber class, if only for the fact that it offered growth at a rate that was exponentially more powerful than basic classes, while also allowing her to still grow. To put it in perspective, all the experience she gained towards her Absorber class was the equivalent of 266 levels of a basic class. But the amount of Attributes she would be able to improve her would be the same as being a level 300 basic class wielder. While being a level 300 would be impressive, it would ultimately be limited as there would be almost no way she could continue to improve herself. No, pragmatically keeping her Absorber class was the only logical choice, and as much as she hated to admit it, Alexa had only gotten this far by listening to her rational mind. That was the same mind that told her to press on, repeating dungeons over and over again, all led to this moment, right here. This moment was a little bittersweet, as she would have loved to have told her father about her accomplishment, well her and Luke both could go together and declare their capabilities. Letting out a deep breath, she made her choice. While she had been somewhat angry that while having five options available to her, she could only really choose from four, but it was what it was. Also, she likely would have still made the same choice, regardless of the number of choices available to her.
You have chosen Option 1) Absorber (Apex): Level 38.
An option came up to confirm, but that was automatically chosen by Alexa, and nearly dismissed as soon as it came up. Alexa was tired, and she just wanted to get home and rest. That was, she wanted to get home and rest, until she saw the next system message that came up.
Title Acquired: First Dual Classer of your planet: You are the first Dual Classer of your planet. Reward: Experience Gained Increased by 10%.
At that, Alexa¡¯s sleep deprived mind came up with but one word to summarize the momentous occasion. ¡°What?¡± Chapter 150 Meeting Magdala Chapter 150 Meeting Magdala Woosh. Alexa was a dual classer; her first choice of class was fully accepted. She was a level 38 Absorber, with a sudden increase of 1,140, for 1,290 overall, Willpower her class¡¯s Primary Attribute, while she also received a surge of 760 Perception, for a total of 910, in her class¡¯s secondary attribute. In her mind she could just feel that power unlocked, it was as if the power had always been there, and now her body was fully able to claim the Attributes and display them proudly. Regardless of the exact cause, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that her choice of choosing to be an Absorber was without question accepted. There was of course just one slight problem, namely that the fifth option, the one that was completely grayed out and unable to be accessed or manipulated by her in any meaningful way was her confirmed second class. This was both confirmed by her initial status page, but also the fact that the hidden details of the class were now fully open and available to read from her status menu.
Precursor Sage (Apex) Level 1 Class: Precursor Sage, you have been chosen to be the human representative. Primary Attribute: N/A. Secondary Attribute: N/A Passive Class Perks: Unhidden: Passive Attribute Accumulation. For every hour spent within a dungeon, all your Attributes increase by one. Active Available Class Perk: Unhidden: Dungeon Translocation. You can use the dungeon network as your own transportation network. Primary resting spot must be chosen.
Then as if to accentuate the claims of the Active class perk, she had a list of every dungeon she ever went to appear before her mind. Mentally she saw the name she associated with each dungeon automatically replace the real designation, there at the top of the list was the answer she wanted, and the only one that made sense to her.
Would you like to establish: Bottomless Gorge as your primary dungeon?
¡°Yes.¡± Whoom. There was a swell and a surge of energy as she could feel her mind reach out and synchronize with Bottomless Gorge. Just as she was mentally feeling that connection, she felt the moment her ending destination point shifted. To be more accurate, she felt the moment a destination point was finally established, as she had just been free floating in that realm between dungeons, as either the dungeons, or the system they helped to implement had let her remain stationary, while her mind adjusted to the fact that she was no longer a slotted class user, but she was a fully awakened Super. Mentally she checked her Status page, to see the recent changes, as her body hurdled through space.
Name: Alexa Thyme
Status: Awakened
Primary Class: Absorber (A) Level: 38
Secondary Class: Precursor Sage (A) Level: 1
Trials Completed: 31 of 10 (0 Remaining)
Dragon Trials Completed: 30 of 10 (0 Remaining)
Rank Bonuses
Countess +35% All Attributes, Skills, Psychic Powers, Magic Aptitudes, Fast Travel Times, and Title Bonuses.
Physical Attributes Rating
Strength 150
Agility 150
Endurance 150
Mental Attributes Rating
Intelligence 150
Perception 910
Willpower 1,290
Free Points 760
The first thing that Alexa noted as having changed was that her (Max) tag that had been tied to her Attributes for years now, was suddenly gone. Even her Willpower Attribute was missing the (Max) rating, and that Attribute had clearly received a 30-point bonus per level had it missing. She was about to wonder why, when she realized that her secondary class didn¡¯t offer anything towards Attributes while leveling, well she assumed they did at the very least increase the number of Attributes she could have in each Attribute by 30 per level, meaning that right now her maximum Willpower, well the maximum for all her Attributes really was 1,320. With a start, she realized that her new class meant that she would be maxed out in her Willpower if she just stayed inside a dungeon for thirty hours. She wouldn¡¯t even have to hunt, just go to a dungeon and rest in a safe spot, and her Attributes would gradually improve. Seeing her new Secondary Class, Alexa felt it was the most overpowered class there was. Not only did it allow her to effectively travel to any interconnected dungeon, but it also made it so she would gradually gain more power by just being inside a dungeon. Mentally she knew that she was the exception to the rule, that most people would feel confined in possible death traps, but for her, she loved the idea of being able to just stay inside a dungeon and grow stronger. It was what she had done her entire life to get to this point, and it was what she would apparently do to continue gaining strength. Alexa also now knew that this was a special time, that she was being taken somewhere different, away from her home planet Earth. In a way, she knew and understood why this was, as this was the last time, she would be allowed to leave her planet via the dungeon network until her planet was fully integrated. Even now, the only reason she had been allowed to leave, and experience the mysteries of the universe at all were due to the Trials of Ascension, well and her Dragon Trials, both of which she had completed. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Thinking of the Dragon Trials, reminded Alexa that it wasn¡¯t until she completed her last Dragon Trial, that she had felt something change. It was around that point that the dungeons seemed to listen to her requests. Before that point she had been relegated to asking her brother for help, but after that last trial, she noticed that more and more dungeons came alive at her mere presence, meaning she was somehow branded, or chosen by the very dungeons she tried to protect. Her mind whirled with so many different thoughts that she didn¡¯t even question the familiarity of the dungeon she was going to. Then as soon as she appeared, she instantly knew the dungeon for what it was, better still, she knew the dungeon for what had happened to her the last time she was here. A shiver of revulsion arose in Alexa, as her survival instincts warned her that this place was not where she wanted to be. The last time she was here, she had been betrayed by the dungeon, the very entity that she herself had wished to help. Only afterwards did she realize the folly of her idea, there was no helping this dungeon, as this dungeon was willingly being controlled by Magdala. Whoom. Alexa appeared in the very heart of the dungeon¡¯s lair, not at the starting point, not separated from traps that the dungeon might provide, but at the very heart and soul of the dungeon, right in the middle of its diabolical clutches. Being as this was the dungeon that housed Magdala, the massive blue dragon, was sitting down, staring imperiously at Alexa. Alexa instantly saw and registered the threat, and began reacting accordingly. Within seconds she began pulling forth power in waves and torrents as she desperately fought to defend herself. ¡°Freeze!¡± Magdala said, and Alexa froze. Her body stiffened as she felt an aching coldness fill her body and lock everyone of her muscles in place. ¡°See, I told you we should have had the entry way. That way she wouldn¡¯t feel so threatened.¡± Magdala said, raising her head and speaking to the air. Flash. ¡°Yes, she is a stubborn one.¡± The Old Orcish Crone said, as she moved forward, appearing in Alexa¡¯s locked field of vision. Seeing the Old Crone, the dragon Magdala, and the dungeon that nearly killed her for trying to free it, Alexa felt a surge of fear rise up in her, as she began channeling more and more mana. Just because her body was frozen didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t cast her own magic. If she was held hostage, then she would at least go down with a bang. Frightened flash. ¡°Well, yes, of course she is casting. She is a caster class after all, and once again you gave her no time to mentally adjust.¡± Magdala said. ¡°Wait, Alexa, right?¡± A familiar voice called out. ¡°Alexa, I am down here. Look at me. I¡¯ve seen you. We merged our minds, remember?¡± A voice called out, desperately trying to get Alexa to look. ¡°Oh, it is no use, she is stuck in place, and you are too small. Very well unfreeze.¡± Magdala said a note of annoyance in her voice as she released the icy cold that had permeated Alexa¡¯s body. With her body released, Alexa began to stagger slightly, as her muscles were not prepared to hold her bodyweight up at that exact moment. ¡°Good, Alexa, look it is me, Arthur.¡± The warm voice said, then with that Alexa looked down and saw the person that had a familiar voice, that she knew so well, but couldn¡¯t quite place for the life of her.
Average Dwarf: Arthur Tide: Level 97: Status: Healthy, Disposition: Friendly. Other: One of the Chosen.
Seeing the scan, Alexa felt her jaw drop, this was Arthur Tide, not his summoned aspect, but the real Arthur. Seeing him, and his status as One of the Chosen, Alexa felt confusion roll through her mind. Realizing that new portion to his scan that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, Alexa felt a question form in her mind. Mentally she paused to see the old orcish crone and just like the last time she scanned her, her status remained the same.
Old, withered Orc: The Old Crone: Level ??? Oracle, Status: Healthy, Disposition: Nurturing. Other: One of the Chosen.
That was when Alexa turned her eyes to Magdala, but this time rather than seeing the giant predator that she had fought with almost a month ago. This time, she saw her status, but once again noticed something different at the end of her information bar.
Large Elder Matriarch Dragon: Queen Magdala: Level 197: Status: Healthy, Emotional State: Confident. Other: One of the Chosen.
Once again, Alexa¡¯s powerful mind turned through everything and kept coming up with more and more questions. Finally, she found herself asking the somewhat obvious question, ¡°what is going on?¡± Alexa, through her mind-meld with Arthur felt like she knew him, well the part of him that had been in the dungeon with her. But that was just a Summoned Aspect, meaning that for Arthur to know what the Summoned Aspect knew, that Summoned Aspect would have had to die or be dismissed to allow consciousness to merge with the real Arthur. While enough time had passed by for that to happen, as they had met all the way back on the fifth stage of the Trials of Ascension, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel that she was missing something here, something vital. Sigh. Magdala let out a long sigh as she seemed that she needed to do something to break up the tension that was filling the room. ¡°I was hoping that we would have someone else here, but it seems that your planet is still not fully Integrated, meaning we are having to make a few workarounds. Unfortunately, those workarounds are rather noisy for people who know what to look for, meaning we will have to cut this meeting short.¡± Whoosh! There was a sudden burst of displaced air, and right next to Alexa appeared the last person she would have ever expected to randomly appear in a dungeon filled with the people that tried to kill her, question her, or knew every one of her personal secrets. ¡°Gina?¡± Alexa asked, but a quick scan showed that the statement was more for show than anything.
Small Energetic Teenage Female: Gina Rojas: Level 32 Predictive Oracle, Status: Healthy, Disposition: Excited. Other: One of the Chosen.
¡°What the?¡± Gina asked, as she suddenly found herself surrounded by so many different races and creatures of unimaginably high levels. Gina did a quick scan of the room, but then her face burst into life as she locked eyes with Alexa. ¡°Oh, my gods.¡± Then Gina lunged forward and hugged Alexa, and for a moment, everything was right in the universe. Everything was calm, the mounting tension that had been building with Alexa suddenly stopped. Then the next minute she opened her eyes and realized that they were still surrounded by enemies. ¡°Step back, I¡¯ll get us out.¡± Alexa said. ¡°Alexa, can¡¯t you see.¡± Gina said, her words calm and warm. ¡°They are like us.¡± ¡°Like us?¡± Alexa asked. ¡°Yes, haven¡¯t you noticed, everyone here is One of the Chosen? Don¡¯t you realize what that means?¡± Gina asked, her words calming. ¡°I, no.¡± Alexa said, staring at Gina. With their eyes locked, Gina was able to just understand so much of what happened, what Alexa was feeling. So many data points were shared, without Alexa ever having to say a word. ¡°Oh,¡± Gina said, as she once again hugged Alexa, tears forming in her eyes. Finally, after a second, she turned and looked around the room. Alexa too followed her eyes. Gina looked at the way Alexa looked with apprehension with at everyone, well everyone except Arthur. ¡°All right, I think we need an explanation.¡± Gina began. ¡°Well, we have gathered you here to tell you about¡­¡± Magdala began but was quickly cut off. ¡°Not you, she will not trust what you say.¡± Gina said, cutting off the giant dragon, something that would normally be unthinkable, but was somehow just accepted by Gina. Seeing the way Magdala retracted and was willing to cede the floor to Arthur made Alexa wonder what exactly Gina was able to see or understand with her class. ¡°Hello Alexa, and Gina, nice to finally meet you two in person. I feel that I know a lot about Alexa, but I can see why you would be the second.¡± Arthur said to Gina. Then with that introduction out of the way, the dwarf turned his attention to Alexa. ¡°Alexa, we all have been tested and judged not only by the dungeons, but by each other. You were put through a series of tests by us, tests which you passed.¡± Arthur amended realizing that his comment could come across as a bit rude otherwise. ¡°Every planet has the chance to submit one person for being a chosen.¡± He says pointing to himself and then gesturing to those behind him. ¡°Our goal is to make sure the dungeons are maintained, that if there is a surge on our planet that we take care of it, either directly or by making sure relevant sources go to the overflowing dungeon in question.¡± ¡°Additionally, it is our job to be the protectors of our planet from demonic incursions. In all a planet has two chosen, one a fighter.¡± He said, gesturing towards Alexa. ¡°The other is the analyst, oracle, or what have you that helps drive the warrior correctly.¡± With this last statement he gestures first to Gina, then to himself and the others. ¡°You passed our tests. In fact, you met Magdala our spy master far before you were supposed to.¡± Arthur began. ¡°Spy master?¡± Alexa asked. ¡°Yes, as you can see, she is both a dragon, but still has been chosen by the dungeons to be the one representative. Normally it is her and Ilsop¡¯s job to watch the enemy movements and to work with us, to help make sure everything goes smoothly.¡± The Dwarf gestured towards the dungeon when he mentioned Ilsop, meaning the two were linked in some way. This was something Alexa had already known, given the way Ilsop had almost killed her, the last time they met. ¡°Thoughts?¡± The old crone asked. At that Alexa nodded, ¡°yes, I think I¡¯d like for both of us to go home, now.¡± Flash. ¡°Oh you might as well do it. I told you this was not the way. Who could blame her. We hijack her right as she tries to leave, then we get her mate here as a sign of good will, but she only takes that as a further threat. I mean, come on what did you expect would happen?¡± Magdala said. It was only at this point that Alexa realized something odd, everyone here was talking and could clearly understand everyone else. Realizing this, Alexa turned to Gina, ¡°when did you learn to speak Precursor?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a new thing, came about when I was marked as One of the Chosen.¡± Gina said in a stage whisper. Alexa nodded. Fwoom. A portal opened up before Alexa and Gina, in the background Alexa could clearly see the destination of the portal being Bottomless Gorge. Through the link she could see her brother was there and casually talking to Kelvin. Seeing the portal, Alexa took a step forward. ¡°Wait, this is the last time we can talk before your planet is fully Integrated. After this, all connections to us will be severed.¡± The Old Crone said. Alexa staring at the Old Crone just answered honestly, ¡°good.¡± At that the old crone nodded her acceptance. ¡°So you are still mad over what happened?¡± ¡°You tried to get me to eat a demon soul, then you tried to let me get blown up by a Void bomb.¡± Alexa said. At that Gina raised her hand to her mouth, as realization struck her. Magdala was the only one to notice the deeper meaning of Gina¡¯s gesture, as Arthur and the Old Crone both stared at Alexa. ¡°Something happened with Void magic?¡± Magdala asked. Gina nodded, ¡°her father was killed by a Void bomb that was detonated by runes.¡± Tsss. Hearing that, the Old Crone winced, as the full realization of what had happened came to life. ¡°Come on.¡± Alexa said, holding out her hand for Gina. Gina was about to protest, but then her eyes locked on the hand and all it implied. Realizing this was an important point for Alexa, Gina surged forward and grabbed the offered hand. The next thing Gina knew, she was being pulled forward through the portal, going back home. *** The minute the two humans left; a somber mood filled the dungeon. Flash. ¡°No, we should still have a chance to fix this. But it will be hard to work back her trust in us.¡± Magdala said, clearly answering the question the dungeon had asked. With that the three remaining Chosen ones looked at each other, each trying to find a way to change the inevitable future that would come, if they did nothing to change the way things were currently going. Chapter 151 Shedding Your Youth Chapter 151 Shedding Your Youth Tuesday Just arriving in her universe, to her home planet, Alexa could feel the moment she and by extension Gina who was still gripping her hand tightly both passed the invisible boundary that separated her Earth from the rest of the universe. There were so many thoughts that raced through her mind. With but a thought she allocated her 760 Free Attribute points evenly between her Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Intelligence, the four Attributes that did not receive a single Attribute increase. That gave her a base of 340 minimum for all attributes and meant that every future level would increase that number by five points. Similarly, she would also increase her Attributes by one per hour, so long as she just stayed within a dungeon. She almost thought about throwing all 760 towards her Intelligence Attribute, but she figured that would make her the equivalent of a glass cannon, and she already knew she had a hard time competing with the higher-level warriors on even footing. Meaning if she wanted to continue to grow and succeed, this was the only way for her to continue to push herself beyond her current mental boundaries. But she knew she had to be judicious with how she used her time. From this point on, she had 41 days left until the integration. Compared to where she started from that was a monumental amount of time, but in reality, it was just a drop in the bucket of what she would need to catch up to some of the true monsters of the universe. Monsters that now knew her name, thanks to having fought and mostly won against Summoned Aspects, which were clearly far weaker than the real entity being represented. If Alexa had to guess, she would assume that the Summoned Aspects that she was facing were but a tenth of the true power and abilities of the beings they represented. Meaning, that if Alexa tried to pull the same stunts she had during her Trials of Ascension, she would likely be destroyed. Of course, with her Secondary class of Precursor Sage offering one Attribute point per hour, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but notice the seemingly divine irony being posed to her. Right now, with her four lowest Attributes, she could max them out by just sitting around in Bottomless Gorge. Right now, she was down by 980 Attribute points in each, or just under 41 days. Meaning that if she spent the entire rest of her time from now until the time of Integration within Bottomless Gorge, she would max out her Attributes. However, she knew such a future was impossible. First, she needed to talk to her mother, to work with Captain Johnston. She wasn¡¯t certain if she wanted to get her GED and automatically register along with the other members of her pack to become full fledged Supers, meaning they would bypass the Highschool and go immediately to state funded universities that had people more powerful than Mackie running the curriculum, also speaking of Mackie, Alexa knew that she needed to introduce Kelvin to his father, though a quick mental nudge told her that Mackie was not on Earth currently. Then her mind whirred to life, and she realized that there were yet two more, well three more major events that were set to happen within the week. The first was Thanksgiving, then the next two were her father¡¯s viewing and finally the public funeral. Alexa had been warned that an attack was likely to occur at either the viewing, the funeral, or more than likely both. That was part of why Alexa had pushed so hard to get to this point, to be here. Tingling sensation. As her body adjusted to the sudden influx of Free Attribute points being infused into her system awakened body, Alexa felt more alive than ever. She knew that this infusion, the joy she felt at being alive was also odd, that many would hate the idea of constantly having their muscles and body pulled and stretched the longer they stayed in dungeons, but for Alexa her bond with energy was different, and utterly enjoyable. In fact, the tingling sensation felt like she was just now coming alive. Part of her wanted to level up as much as possible, to hoard these Free Attribute Points for times in the future when she could apply them all in one fell swoop again, so amazing were these sensations. Gina just watched Alexa the entire time, never taking her eyes off Alexa. With the gaze, Alexa could feel and all but see the analytical powers of Gina¡¯s class coming to life. Now that her class was fully Awakened, now that she herself was fully Awakened, it was as if everything had changed, and nothing had changed at all. She could still feel the ambient energy of everyone with a class around her, but now she could all but differentiate the different currents of energy if she all but focused on them for a moment. Gina¡¯s was unique in that it all seemed to be based on her eyes, which made sense as she was an Oracular class which were known for their gift of foresight and ability to divine possible futures from what they saw. Alexa found that she appreciated Gina¡¯s form of a class better, as Alexa felt that it was more grounded in fact than anything else. Alexa stared at Gina and could feel that a dozen or so questions were coming to her mind, she locked gazes with Gina. There were so many things that she found, so many things that she wanted her opinion on. First and foremost, she wanted to know what Gina thought of those other Oracles, the other One of the Chosen, whatever such a designation meant. As soon as Alexa heard it, she knew she too fell into that category, as both Gina and her own instincts all but screamed that she was One of the Chosen. In her mind, she understood this to be a pair bonding, she was bound to a Seer, or an Oracle type soul mate. At first, this would have been her brother, but it seemed that destiny either wasn¡¯t carved in stone, or that it was more flexible than people normally give fate credit for, as her brother was miserable as an Oracle. Looking at Gina, the fact that she was willing to sacrifice so much to be with her made Alexa feel truly alive. The rest of the pack came forward, everyone congratulating Alexa, patting her. The entire time everyone came, she never broke her link to Gina. From their grip it was clear that the two had grown. That or Alexa finally realized how important Gina was to her. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Congratulations.¡± Luke said, coming up and giving Alexa a hug. Alexa returned the hug with her one free hand, and while she felt awkward, as showing emotions was always something she struggled with, at the moment she felt that it was getting easier to do these social situations. ¡°So what will you do now?¡± Julie asked as she came up for her congratulatory hug. ¡°I¡¯m going to go heal people.¡± Alexa said. At that, everyone that heard her comment paused to stare at her. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to take a rest?¡± ¡®Lecia asked. ¡°Oh, I do intend to take a nap. But then after that, I intend to go out and heal everyone I can.¡± Alexa admitted. ¡°But why?¡± Kylie asked. ¡°Today is Tuesday, and today is the day I go and heal the sick.¡± Hearing her words, the entire pack looked flustered at first, but then slowly began nodding as they realized they couldn¡¯t expect less from Alexa. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that you might be targeted again? You know, as in another attack?¡± Lily asked, a note of concern in her voice. ¡°I almost expect them to, but if we hide from our responsibilities, on the chance of what might happen then we have already lost our freedoms.¡± Alexa said. Then turning to Gina, she asked, ¡°would you want to come with me?¡± At that question Gina felt her heart flutter in excitement. Everything had been going so quickly, but to be asked by Alexa one of the most powerful Supers on the planet if she wanted to go with her, it proved a few things to Gina. In her mind she could already see the calculations going off. She could see the different permutations and meanings of the words. Alexa had already groomed her, Julie, and Luke to be pillars of the pack as they were all the first to have had their classes awakened, without ever having to go through a Trials of Ascension, but now Gina was being asked to go out on charity missions. While these were the easiest missions to accomplish, they also had to be done with a team of people you trusted. By doing this, Gina realized that if this mission went well, then she could be asked to go on more. Badump, badump, badump. Gina¡¯s heart raced with the implications of the question. Everything up until now had been for this point, to see Alexa become a Super, to get her class. Now that she was a super, Gina had sort of expected to take a back seat, to be stuck waiting for Alexa to return safely from missions. Yet, that was not the case, at least that was not what Gina was reading as the intent from Alexa currently. Here, her intentions seemed to be clear and unmistakable. Alexa wanted to do missions with her. The look in her eyes, the ones that all but demanded that Gina come with her, proved her intentions. It was hard to see and most people that looked at Alexa, even an emotionally aware version of her like she was now, would likely miss the tell-tale signs of her intent. Gina then remembered Alexa¡¯s parents, how they always went out on missions together, and never once looked back. There was a mental pause as Gina too realized that her own parents did much of the same, while her parents were on the different end of the spectrum from Alexa, her parents bonded for life and conducted many of their own forms of missions together. Of course, her parents had been drug cartel leaders and would have squared off with Alexa¡¯s parents had the two ever gone on diplomatic missions to South America, but that was beside the point. Well beside the point that Gina wanted to latch onto at this moment, namely that they had yet more in common. Their families were forged by having two fully Awakened parents who went out and had each other¡¯s backs during missions. Realizing that, and seeing the trust that Alexa had in her, made Gina want to double down, it made her want to be worthy of having such trust placed in her. In her mind, she remembered the way the other Chosen Ones had looked. They were all Oracles who lost their counterparts. And worst of all, they all looked to be broken in some way. Having seen them, Gina realized the harsh truth, that Alexa was 87% likely to eventually die on a mission. The odds that she lived to retirement were 0%, with her power rating, Regeneration, and ability to adapt and absorb energy, Gina realized that she was more likely to be cut off somewhere and not able to return, or worse to be caught in some time dilation chamber that made it so she could only return much later. Those events as infinitesimally small were far more likely to happen than for Alexa to make it to old age. Realizing that, Gina felt a surge of hope blossom in her, as she realized that despite everything, her being there with her would mean the world to her. There was a pause, as Alexa¡¯s face slowly changed to concern. It took Gina a moment to realize that she had been shocked still in silence as her mind processed everything going on. Finally, she answered. ¡°Would I want to go and be your partner in crime? Are cilantro and coriander parts of the same plant?¡± Gina says a note of excitement in her voice. At that everyone but Alexa looks mildly confused by the comment, as apparently everyone else has taken the moment to hear Gina¡¯s answer. Gina feels slightly nervous from all the attention, but then giving a quick glance around the room, she gestures ¡°yes. The answer is yes. Of course, I¡¯d love to be your partner, in this and all things.¡± Hearing that Alexa smiled brightly. ¡°Can I go too?¡± Kylie asked. ¡°Me too.¡± Lily seconded. Kelvin who had been sitting back in the back watching everything asked, ¡°you are going to go to the school where my father is?¡± At that Alexa raised one finger, as if she was ready to break the bad news to Kelvin, fortunately her brother saved her from answering the awkward question. ¡°Your father is currently off world in a Dragon Trial Dungeon.¡± Luke answered. Then a slight quirk came to his face as he realized something, ¡°wait, when did you learn English?¡± ¡°English?¡± The boy asked, but then realized from context what Luke was talking about. ¡°Oh it was a gift from the dungeon, while you all were over here, talking to Alexa, the dungeon saw fit to reward me with a language crystal.¡± Kelvin said as he rubbed the top of his forehead, as he clearly sought to remove any lingering pains that he might be suffering from, thanks to having absorbed the language crystal. Seeing him in pain, Gina couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with the boy, as her own head still pulsed slightly, thanks to the forceful memories being pressed upon her. ¡°Well, I say we make it a pack thing.¡± ¡®Lecia said. ¡°There is only one problem.¡± Rachel began, with that everyone turned to her. ¡°We don¡¯t have any Super costumes. We can¡¯t just go as is.¡± At that Gina just stared brightly, ¡°have you met my girl here? She can create Super costumes for all of us, where do you think she got hers that she is wearing now?¡± With that, Luke decided to cut in, ¡°With that, I think I have come up with our official pack motto.¡± Everyone just stared at Luke, wondering if this was going to be something absolutely brilliant, or a complete bust. Luke for his part just looked around, ¡°what isn¡¯t anyone going to ask what it is?¡± Hearing that, Julie let out a sigh, but still went along replying back in a completely mono-tone dead pan reply, ¡°oh please wise one, tell us of your wisdom so we might bask in your glory.¡± At that Luke went from looking excited to seemingly hurt. ¡°Hey, can you wait until after you hear it to mock it at least.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. Tell us.¡± ¡°Well, ¡®Suit up.¡¯¡± Luke said, jazz hands out as if that was a big reveal. Crickets. Finally, after a second of silence, Kylie was the first to speak. ¡°At least he¡¯s cute.¡± At that Julie nodded in agreement, ¡°he is cute.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Luke said, slightly hurt, but clearly just playing along. ¡°Okay, fine, what would you say our motto should be?¡± ¡°Mottos are dumb.¡± Erica said. ¡°Okay, fine. I get it¡­¡± Luke began but was then cut off. ¡°No, I mean it the motto should be ¡®mottos are dumb.¡¯¡± Erica said. ¡°And you said mine was bad.¡± Luke huffed. ¡°Well, that one is bad as well, just not as bad as suit up.¡± Kylie exclaimed and then everyone nodded. Alexa seeing this stepped in for her brother, ¡°enough we are wasting time. Let¡¯s get these uniforms made so we can all go together. As one pack.¡± ¡°Oh, I like that,¡± Lily said. ¡°What?¡± Erica asked. ¡°One pack.¡± Lily admitted. There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about it, and seemed to all agree by remaining silent that this would be the packs motto. *** Two hours later, a group of twenty-four supers covering a spectrum of classes and capabilities appeared at the heart of Dawning Light Academy before they began moving as one towards the motor pool, only to find that the line of cars that were normally prepped and ready for Tuesday were suddenly missing. Seeing the mostly empty motor pool, Erin asked the most pertinent question, ¡°so, exactly how will we all get to the hospital?¡± Bonus Chapter 1 The Awakened Hospital Visit Bonus Chapter 1 The Awakened Hospital Visit ¡°I am Rachel Rivers, on scene here at the local hospital that has served as a testament of hope to many over the past few weeks. From the miraculous healing of Sarah Marie Stevens of Necromancy, then the subsequent apprehending of the wanted Necromancer that plagued most of England. To Wondra making a legendary visit, to an elven delegation. These last few weeks have been filled with a constant stream of activity. However, it looks like this week will not be the same, as today is a day of mourning for the world, for the U.S. and most importantly for Aru¡¯ka who was on hand when the attack that took Warder¡¯s life happened. I am here on site with you now showing the devastation that such a loss has. Not only did we lose a great Super with the loss of Warder, but we also lost some of our hope by not being able to continue with our¡­¡± Rachel was about to go on with her clearly prepared speech, when she was cut off. HONK-HONK! Screech! As a large white Sunday school bus peeled wildly into the hospital parking lot, right in front of the reporter and the cameraman who quickly turned his camera to face the source of the disturbance. As the bus drew closer, the sound of blaring music could be heard coming from the bus, as the rhythm to Detroit Rock City could be heard blaring loudly over the empty parking lot. No one had anticipated anyone being here. The campus where Aru¡¯ka was attending was shut down for remembrance of Warder. Everything spoke to the fact that Aru¡¯ka herself was not only recovering from the attack that also caught her, but that she was affected by the loss of Warder as well. Especially after notes of how Warder had taken on a part time teaching role at the campus was also leaked, explaining why the entire campus shut down in the wake of his murder that was caught on recording. Shwoonk. As soon as the bus came to a complete stop, the doors opened letting the music be just that much louder as Aru¡¯ka in her full Super outfit came out, followed quickly by a stream of twenty other young Supers none of whom had ever been seen before. ¡°Are you getting this?¡± Rachel asked, as her mouth dropped open in sheer shock at the sight, as Super after super came out of the bus. What was odder still was the power they all gave off. ¡°They are¡­¡± Rachel trailed off, she had awakened as a Soother, someone who had a soothing voice and could provide minimal calming measures. This meant two things, first her only real job choices in life were as a psychiatrist or as a journalist. The second and more important thing was the fact that she could feel the power of other Awakened. It was an odd sensation being next to an Awakened and one that was entirely different from being around a slotted-Awakened or even a mundane. With her class, she could feel the truth rolling off of these people. ¡°They are all Awakened, even Aru¡¯ka. She has awakened.¡± There was a pause, as everyone knew that Aru¡¯ka was just a slotted-awakened. At least that is what everyone said, and that is what Rachel gathered from glimpsing the girl from when she was here last week covering the circus performance that constituted wall to wall media coverage last week. Now, they had it, on live TV, Rachel Rivers got her scoop. Not only was Aru¡¯ka now awakened, but it seemed that there were nearly two dozen other students who had also awakened. ¡°SHE has awakened! You see it, right behind me¡­¡± Rachel said, getting in front of the camera and then trying to have it so Aru¡¯ka in her full Super costume was on display. ¡°She has awakened. You saw it here first, she awoke, and her first act was to come here and heal. Not only that, but it appears that she wasn¡¯t the only one who Awakened, as more students who all look to be following Aru¡¯ka¡¯s lead are all getting out and following her into the hospital.¡± Rachel looked like she wanted to go, but then something stopped her, as she could not move forward. The force, the sheer pressure being released by not just Aru¡¯ka but the three others that were right behind her were too much for Rachel. Had she been aware of their presence, had she been mentally prepared, she might have been able to push forward, but as it was, there was nothing she could do. Instead all she could do was sit back and watch the procession. Chills. Rachel felt literal chills. ¡°Hello, are you there?¡± The voice in Rachel¡¯s ear went off, causing Rachel to shake her head. Apparently, the person on the other end of the call saw her physical reaction and continued. ¡°You need to get closer, to talk to them.¡± Hearing that, Rachel forced herself to take one step forward, only to be stopped as an overbearing force stopped her. In her mind she did not fear attack from the gaggle of students going forward, but rather it was the same deference that a mouse would show a lion who was understandably aware of the small presence within its domain but chose not to bother with such a small morsel. That was the same feeling that Rachel got now. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. As Aru¡¯ka walked by, she gave a quick wave to the camera before effortlessly gliding up the stairs with quick graceful strides. Right behind her was a male who looked to be a skinny version of Warder. Just seeing the boy made Rachel¡¯s stomach drop as she swore, she was looking at a ghost for a second, as he too waved. Then right beside him were two other female Supers, one in a dark blue outfit, and the last in a Red and black uniform that seemed to mirror Aru¡¯ka¡¯s in some way that was hard to describe at first glance. There was no cross of divinity on the red Super suit, but it did seem to have a similar function to it. Then after that came a gaggle of clearly attractive females that were all wearing skintight outfits, some sauntered forward, clearly realizing they were being seen on camera. Others walked forward, not seeming to care about the camera and only caring about keeping up with their clear leader, Aru¡¯ka who was now leading the procession inside the front doors of the hospital. Then at the very end was the last person to come from the bus, it was also clear that they were also the driver of said bus, as they closed the door behind them and got out and smiled and waved to the camera. This person was also the first one not wearing a mask, nor a Superhero uniform, but her face and visage were hard to miss. Seeing her, and the way her aura was by no means as intimidating as the other girls who just went into the hospital, Rachel grabbed onto it and pushed her way forward. This apparently had been the person¡¯s wish all along as her smile brightened greatly at the presence of the reporter. ¡°Ms. Peacock, how are you today?¡± Rachel began, her words coming out a mile a minute at first, as she actively forced her body to slow down its pulse. While the rodent might know it is safe from any reprise of the tiger or its young, it still never truly relaxes until the threat is well and truly gone, and that is what Rachel felt right here and now. ¡°I am doing splendidly. As you can see Dawning Light Academy has produced an entire class of Supers ready to move on and prepare for the next stage of their careers.¡± Ms. Peacock said, her face a thousand mega-watt smile as she beamed at the camera. ¡°You mean to say?¡± Rachel said, leaving her words intentionally vague. ¡°That¡¯s right, we are proud to announce the full awakening of Aru¡¯ka, who we are all aware of. Then behind her were Skywalker, Colaza, and L.I.R¡­¡± Ms. Peacock said, listing the names of the three people that were directly behind Aru¡¯ka. ¡°L.I.R.?¡± Rachel said, making sure to stress all three letters just as Ms. Peacock had. ¡°Yes, Lady In Red.¡± Ms. Peacock said, pausing for a moment to make sure that stook. Then once it was clear no further questions would come, she continued. ¡°Next we had Lasher, Huntra, Lupa, Asena, Frenna, Camalla, Lokra, Star Light, Space woman, Freki, Geri, Jibbers, Br¨ª, Demon, Star Child, Space Ace, and Catperson.¡± Ms. Peacock said, completing the names of Supers from her recent class. ¡°So, I counted twenty-one new Supers, is that correct?¡± Rachel said, having both counted the students as they walked by, and recounting the names as they were spoken. ¡°That is correct, thus the reason for the school¡¯s church bus, as it was the only way we could get them all here.¡± Ms. Peacock said. Hearing that, Rachel turned to see the last of the students going into the hospital and leaving the Principal behind. ¡°I thought you were closed for the day?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°We are. In fact, had Aru¡¯ka and the others not been so insistent on coming, I would have been home right now drinking hot cocoa and mourning the loss of a good friend.¡± Ms. Peacock said, as her eyes grew slightly glassy at the admittance. ¡°Instead, I was reminded of what it was to be a true Super, when Aru¡¯ka demanded that I get her here on time. She said, ¡®this isn¡¯t for me, this is for them.¡¯ When I argued that it would be okay to take a day off, to mourn a mentor. She pressed, stating, ¡®the last thing Warder would have wanted was for his death to mean that others would have to suffer for an extra week. That we needed to come here because of his memory and what he meant to the community.¡¯¡± At that Ms. Peacock, the legendary retired Super let out a true tear, ¡°when I heard that, and saw the way she convinced the whole class of Awakened students to go with her, to give back to the community. Well, I clearly couldn¡¯t argue against that. So, I grabbed the keys to the biggest vehicle that would be able to transport us all safely and that¡¯s how we got here.¡± With that said, Ms. Peacock wiped away an errant tear of pride that fell down her face, while she was talking about Aru¡¯ka¡¯s commitment to the community and to Warder¡¯s legacy. ¡°Wow, so she is just as amazing outside of the public light, as she is when she is in the public spotlight?¡± Rachel asked, clearly referring to Aru¡¯ka. ¡°She is so much more than the mere glimpse you are allowed to see. She is one of those people who you just look at and know they will grow up to do great things, and you cherish every moment you have with them, so that way you can tell others how you got to see them grow as both a person and more importantly, how they grew to be a role model. People like her, you cannot duplicate, you can only hope that others will see her example and wish to follow in the path she blazes before her. That is what you see with the other students who followed behind her, in case you couldn¡¯t tell, they are all devoted to her, and rightfully so. She is a credit to our campus, and to the legacy of Supers who came before her, dedicating their lives to making the world a better place.¡± Ms. Peacock said, her pride in her whole class of students visible for everyone. ¡°So, what do you see happening next for her and for the other students who follow her?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°In the future, I see greatness. For the short term, well I feel that my time acting as a mentor to her and the others is quickly drawing to an end.¡± ¡°You mean?¡± ¡°College, well college for Supers, then however long that takes, before they are all recognized as fully able Supers ready to help the world.¡± ¡°Do you see Aru¡¯ka staying behind and being a pillar of the community like Warder and Judge?¡± ¡°I truly wish that were the case. Nothing would make me feel safer knowing that she was here to protect us, but sadly that would be such a waste, depriving her talent from the world. We saw what she was able to do in Madison, and then in England. No, keeping her bound to one geographic region would be a complete waste of her talent. She was clearly meant for so much more.¡± Ms. Peacock said, then pausing for a moment, she nodded as if coming to some conclusion. ¡°Now, if you will excuse me. I have a class of recently Awakened Supers who are running around unsupervised.¡± ¡°Right, thank you for your time.¡± Rachel said, then let Ms. Peacock go. As she began making her way up the steps towards the hospital. Once she was away, Rachel turned to the camera. ¡°There you have it, a Local News 9 exclusive. Aru¡¯ka and her class are fully awakened. Their first act as fully awakened Supers, to come here to the hospital and to give back to the community. I will stay here now to provide continuing coverage of everyone here and provide continued coverage.¡± With that Rachel paused, holding her face still. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± The Cameraman said, waving his hand at Rachel to let her know the shoot had ended. ¡°Phew.¡± Rachel said, letting out a long breath, then collapsing a little, she bent over to catch herself on her knees. ¡°Did you feel that power? Oh my goodness, it is like being near Behemoths. I am surprised the feed didn¡¯t short out there was so much energy being exerted from them.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The cameraman asked, his voice incredulous. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel a thing.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t feel that? Like a thousand storm clouds walking by, ready to strike out and randomly zap you? Gods, that was both amazing and horrifying.¡± Rachel said, clasping her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart. ¡°So are we going to follow them in?¡± Rachel looked at the cameraman, then up the steps. She knew what she should do, she already got the scoop of the century, as no other news station dared to waste resources on this dead story, which was how they were able to get it all on camera. But just the thought of being near so much raw energy made Rachel¡¯s legs feel like jelly. ¡°Yeah, just give me a minute. I need to mentally prepare myself for this.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll change out batteries then we can go back in.¡± Hearing that, Rachel perked up immediately, knowing that meant she had at least five minutes to calm down and prepare for round two of what was likely going to be a long and amazing day. Chapter 152 Thanksgiving Chapter 152 Thanksgiving (Two Days Later) ¡°I am here live at the eighteenth annual Supers Serving Supper, or as it has become known S3. While we are all saddened that Warder, the original founder and supporter of S3 passed away, his memory is alive and well with the next generation of Supers. Here we have his widow, the Judge still active and prominently displayed. Next to her is a rising star in the tri-state area our own home-grown talent, Aru¡¯ka, along with nearly two dozen up and coming Supers, all of whom are ready to give out to the community on this day.¡± The female reporter, a well-dressed professional said, speaking to a camera and to the crowd of people who were all lining up for a Thanksgiving Day dinner. Then moving one step to her right, the camera followed the reporter to Ms. Peacock. ¡°I am here with Ms. Peacock, the principle of Dawning Light Academy. This is the person responsible for the last three days of giving by Aru¡¯ka and the other members of the up-and-coming Class of Supers.¡± The reporter said, moving her hand-held microphone in front of Ms. Peacock, in a gesture that said they were ready for her to comment. ¡°Good morning. And no, I must correct something. This here, these last few days, that was all Aru¡¯ka and her pack coming together and giving out to the community. From two days ago, when we held our weekly healing at the local hospital, to yesterday¡¯s giving out food to the community, to today¡¯s efforts where the pack have been giving out food at a near nonstop rate, that was all of them. That was their initiative, their way of honoring warder and how much Warder did for this community and the whole tri-state area.¡± Ms. Peacock said. ¡°Yes, I see that you also have members of the TSI team here. There is the noted Captain Johnston and the unmistakable Bullford, who are both back from London?¡± The Reporter said, no doubt, trying to get Ms. Peacock to say something about their recent activities. ¡°Oh, I am unaware of any actions taken by them these last few days. If you have anything for them, I¡¯d suggest asking them yourself.¡± Ms. Peacock expertly dodged the question. ¡°Will do, all right, final question. Is there anything to the rumor that Aru¡¯ka and the other members of The Pack, as to where they will go for college, now fully Awakened and ready to set out to be Supers?¡± At that Ms. Peacock gave a glance at the reporter trying to no doubt see if something was off about the reporter. ¡°My, you are good at this, aren¡¯t you.¡± Ms. Peacock began, ¡°well all I can say is that we are immensely pleased with Aru¡¯ka¡¯s progress and her dedication to the community. We are also here, and the pack, so we can to support them in any means necessary to achieve that next stage of her career. Whether that is finishing out her high school experience, helping her get her GED so they can go to college. Helping them get a scholarship to one of the prestigious universities that are trained to certify Supers, or if they wish to live a nice quiet life. We are here to support them all, regardless of where their future might take them.¡± Ms. Peacock said. ¡°Thank you for your time.¡± The reporter said, with that Ms. Peacock gave a respectful bow, then left, leaving the reporter standing center screen. ¡°Well, you heard it here. We encourage all to come here now, as this will likely be the last time, we get to see the newest class of Supers. Tomorrow as you all know is the closed viewing, where only family, and apparently Aru¡¯ka and the other members of The Pack will be in attendance. Followed by the nationally televised funeral on Saturday, where I am told the Prime Minister of England will be in attendance to give his respects for the work and effort taken by Warder. This is a sad time, but once again the Super community is rising to the challenge, as they all have pulled together to help fill the hole that has been left by Warder. He is a presence that we will all miss. Once again, I am Rachel Rivers reporting from City Hall, on behalf of Local News 9, wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.¡± *** During this time Alexa was in the back, using her Creation magic to its utmost. Over the past few days she had learned to experiment with the lessons the Old Crone taught her. Meaning that after Absorbing, or rather deconstructing the mixtures of what went into a fresh turkey, or mashed potatoes, Alexa was now able to make reliably whole turkeys that would then be heated up and served to the throngs of guests. ¡°Do you think we could ever advertise this as Vegan Friendly Turkey?¡± Luke asked, taking a bite from his own plate. ¡°Vegan Friendly? This is clearly turkey.¡± ¡®Lecia said, her tone incredulous as she held up and sniffed the proffered meat to make sure. That sniff confirmed to her highly trained animal senses that it was in fact meat, and that it even had the scent of freshly cooked meat. ¡°I agree but think about it. No turkeys were hurt during the making of this meal, thus making it vegan friendly.¡± Luke said. ¡°Shh, you can¡¯t be saying that too loudly.¡± Kylie said, smacking Luke lightly on the back. For now, everyone in The Pack agreed to help keep as many of Alexa¡¯s secrets hidden as possible. ¡°Ow, ow, I know. But we could eventually market this as vegan friendly.¡± Luke said. ¡°Still trying to get rich off of your sister?¡± Julie posed, getting in close and settling down next to Luke. ¡°Look, we shut down the website.¡± Luke said, then with a sigh he continued, ¡°we clearly have more than enough now for college.¡± ¡°Oh, I think you should keep it going. Just jack up the prices to an exorbitant price.¡± Lily said. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Did you want to date her too?¡± Luke asked, a bit of incredulity in his voice. ¡°Well, I mean I wouldn¡¯t want to break up what she and Gina have, but if they were to ever part, then I wouldn¡¯t mind an opportunity.¡± Lily admitted somewhat sheepishly. ¡°Lupa!¡± Julie said mock-scoldingly to Lily, making sure to use her Super name, but having no real bite to her words. This was a safe space, where the members of the pack were supposedly allowed to speak candidly with each other, so talking about personal matters was allowed, so long as they were back here. Privacy runes were set up all along the perimeter of the room, but it was only after Alexa enhanced the runes that others felt comfortable enough to talk normally here, despite the need to continue wearing their full masks. While eavesdropping and other forms of electronic surveillance were now blocked in these rooms, the idea that random people might come back and see the supers relaxing was no real surprise. There was an awkward moment of silence, then finally Kylie broke the tension with a question everyone had apparently been thinking about. ¡°Skywalker.¡± Kylie began, using Luke¡¯s preferred Super name, though she cringed slightly just saying it and making the correlation. Then again, they figured such terrible puns ran in the family, as their mother was of the same ilk with her terrible naming convention. ¡°Yes?¡± Luke asked. ¡°Are you sure it is okay for all of us to come tomorrow? To the viewing I mean?¡± While Luke couldn¡¯t see the full extent of the nervous tensions everyone had, he could tell by the fact that everyone within earshot had suddenly gone stock still, waiting to hear the response. The sudden change in demeanor was unnerving for most people, which was why Luke not only noticed the sudden change, but also sat up straighter as if to give his words more impact. ¡°Yeah. I know it might seem like we are putting on airs, but it is what both Judge and Aru¡¯ka want.¡± Luke said, then with a pause he noted. ¡°Also, it would be good to have you all there, as it will be the last normal day, as we are going to do the reveal during the actual funeral.¡± ¡°The reveal? You mean¡­¡± ¡°We are coming out.¡± Luke explained. ¡°Coming out, out? Or coming out?¡± Kylie asked to clarify. At that Luke shook his head, clearly not understanding the questions. ¡°I think both?¡± Luke asked, trying to make sure he was on the right page. ¡°We are going to declare that we have Awakened, and we are going to declare our lineage.¡± There was a slight pause, before he continued. ¡°All of us.¡± ¡°Lineage? You mean¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, we are all going to officially declare ourselves to be the children of a former Super who lost their life in the line of duty. With Judge there, to confirm, it will be fairly easy.¡± Luke admitted. ¡°Are you sure this is what you want to do?¡± Julie asked, as she asked the same question that everyone was curious about. ¡°Look, I know I might be considered the weak link, and compared to Aru¡¯ka, I am. I cannot deny that. Though I would pose that anyone compared to her would fall short. But if you are asking if I am okay with declaring Warder my father, publicly, your damn right I am. Anyone that would come at me because of that, well I can defend myself.¡± At that Julie just gave him a look. ¡°Okay, I think I can defend myself long enough for my younger sister to come and save me, there.¡± Luke said. Chuckle. ¡°Fair enough, I will admit that I am afraid to come out as Awakened as well, I keep looking around and see that everyone is so much more powerful than I am.¡± Lily, or Lupa, admitted. ¡°But still, are you sure you want us all there at the viewing?¡± Kylie asked, butting in as apparently, she was not able to take Luke¡¯s word for it. ¡°Yes, you are all welcome.¡± A new voice spoke up, as they just entered the privacy room. Turning around, everyone saw Judge, she was a bit thinner than one would expect. Normally Supers that have retired let themselves go just a bit, with all the recent missions and the stress placed on the allegedly retired Super, she had been missing meals and it showed, slightly. Her skintight uniform that had been close to bursting at the seams a few months ago when she first took it to the hospital, was now loose. Not overly so, not enough to cause concern, but it was noticeable that she had lost all her retirement weight and then some. Once Judge was sure she had everyone¡¯s attention, she continued. ¡°To Warder, it would make him extremely happy to have more future family at his viewing.¡± Judge exclaimed. ¡°Family, but we¡­¡± Kylie began, but was cut off by a quick wave of Judy¡¯s hand. ¡°You are family. Whether you realize it or not, Aru¡¯ka has accepted you. In the few classes that Warder had with you all, he couldn¡¯t help but admit how proud he was that you all would be the next generation of Supers. That was one of the reasons why we came, after seeing you all, he knew that the next generation of Supers would go on to do great things. That is why I told everyone else to invite you. Besides, you are all now Awakened, meaning you all are now officially members of the brotherhood. Regardless of what you do with your talents from here on out, you will now and forever be part of that family.¡± Judge said. With that, a slight hush fell over the crowd of students who were about to enter a world that was far more dangerous than they were ready for. This was the real reason why Judge wanted to invite them, to let them know that should they need anyone or anything in the future, that she would be there for them. Kylie having heard that, jumped up and gave Judge a hug. ¡°Oh, my.¡± Judge began at first, a little embarrassed, but quickly returned the gesture. ¡°Thank you.¡± Kylie said, moving away, and brushing off a tear that had formed. As soon as she was gone, Lily was there, next in line to get a hug with the legendary Judge. ¡°Yeah, thank you.¡± After ¡®Lecia came up to get a hug and express her thanks, a bit of moisture began to form in Judge¡¯s eye. The bead of moisture only grew when Julie came forward, and gave her own hug. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± Luke got up, moving over to hug her, but then stopped as an awkward moment of realization struck him. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, wanting to hug his mother, but also realizing that he was about to hug her while she was in her famous suit, and balked. ¡°Uh, yeah, thanks.¡± Luke said before waving awkwardly and leaving rather quickly. Seeing his reaction everyone paused for a moment, taking it all in, before first Julie, then everyone began chuckling at the way he made that whole situation so incredibly awkward. After a moment, Judge too joined in at the way Luke left, ¡°that boy, still as awkward as ever.¡± Laughter. The laughter that only family could have when dealing with the trials of life, while also trying to notice the good that is out there. The good that is worth clinging to and desperately fighting for. *** Watching from a distance, Yolandara of The Eclipsion Tribe watched the Thanksgiving Day feast, watching and waiting for the chance to strike. She was located at the top of a hill far away. She had a human weapon that had been modified to make it exceptionally deadly. Runes lined the barrel and the bullets of her rifle which she had on hand as a defensive measure only. She knew her orders were to strike at the Funeral, when everyone was there, but out here from her vantage point she was certain she could strike down many who were gathered to get a free meal. Seeing the display, Yolandara could not understand the tradition, such weakness, the powerful submitting themselves before the weak, such ideas were unbecoming. This was why she was confident that conquering this planet would prove to be easy, the people here were too weak, too entitled, thinking that people with power should cow-tow to the masses. The more Yolandara thought, the more she was ready to strike here and now, despite having orders to observe only. Rage filled her as she watched from a distance, seeing her target serve people with a smile. Just as she was thinking about striking out early, catching her target unaware, the target, this Aru¡¯ka suddenly tensed as she then turned and seemed to lock gazes with her. Yolandara was staring down the scope of a high-powered rifle, while Aru¡¯ka was just using her eyes. Still even from this distance it was clear that Aru¡¯ka had either sensed the killing intent, or something as she stared directly at Yolandara. At least that was what Yolandara¡¯s instincts were telling her at that exact moment. ¡°No, that can¡¯t be right. There is no way she can see me from there.¡± Yolandara said to herself. That is until Alexa raised up her hand and made a quick grasping motion. Rustle. At that exact moment a few fast moving vines suddenly came to life and began wrapping themselves around Yolandara. ¡°Ah!¡± Yolandara screamed loudly at the sudden appearance of the grasping vines. Her scream and subsequent jumping up from her hiding spot was quickly noticed as many who were gathered below the slight hill turned in her direction. There it was quickly noticed how a person with a rifle was observed fleeing from the scene. All the while Yolandara ran away, wondering how the target had seemingly noticed her from so far away. What she failed to notice, was the way light seemed to bend and shift ever so slightly behind her as she made for her safe house, where she would regroup and try to prepare for her next mission. Chapter 153 The Chase Chapter 153 The Chase Yolandara of The Eclipsion Tribe, Runesmith and part of the forward vanguard for her Tribe had but one mission. That mission was to make sure no true powerhouses of the newly discovered backwater planet didn¡¯t amount to anything in the grand scheme of things. That or if they did make something of themselves, then she was to make sure they were brought to heel before the elven nation, as a whole. While it would have been nice to bring the strongest and most talented under the banner of the Eclipsion Tribe, she knew that such movements would cause great waves of discontent within elven society. The days of the one great elven society were dead, as were the ancestors who could have handled such great powers and responsibilities. There was an important part to Yolandara¡¯s overall mission, the fact that once this planet was finally integrated, not just the forces of light, those being the Orcs and Elves, but the forces of Darkness would also gain a chance to grow on the planet. While the forces of darkness had been beaten back to the nether realm, the war of attrition with the vile invaders has been at a standstill for as long as Yolandara had been alive. From what she was told there was a time before her birth, when the armies of light would actually march into pitched battle with the forces of darkness, forever fighting one another in an unwinnable fight. For the demons cheated, they could be killed, but they could never be truly erased, only allowed to come back a decade or two later in a different body and have spent those past two decades learning from their mistakes. That is why the elders, the ones who first fought the war and led the charge against the demonic forces all look so hollow, their empty eyes denoting an emptiness that is hard to fathom. The fact that their bodies still fight on, all these years later goes to show both the power of the great system, and just how high those few monsters managed to climb during their historic battles against the Darkness. In fact, every great tribe still has one founding member for whom their tribe is named after. Eclisis, was one of the most active soldiers in the great war, and she was also the last to go dormant. Yoldandara saw it, the moment great great grandmother Eclisis lost her will to fight on, the day she lost her will to help another planet during their integration process. A shadowling, the term given to a planet that has fallen to the darkness. When such an event occurs, it is nearly impossible for the inhabitants of a planet to evacuate, let alone survive the process. Eclisis had survived long enough to escape, but the vapors she inhaled while there had been enough to cause her great pains to even walk. Now the best healers on the planet do all they can to keep great great grandmother Eclisis in a state of torpor, lest her pain riddled body be allowed to feel. Yolandara has seen the effects firsthand of the Void, the most destructive energy that the armies of darkness have at their disposal. While she herself hated the idea that such a vile form of magic would even be used by other elven tribes, Yolandara could at least understand why it had been used. Here they were, integrated people who had managed to do the impossible, to take down two dragons, one of which had opened a rift portal. Had the elves let that go, then people would have never understood the true enemy, they would have been willing to say that they were prepared enough to handle what was going to come. The Void Bombs had been a wake-up call, at least they were meant to be a wake-up call, as they should have gotten everyone. Yet, Yolandara had seen with her own eyes the way that one human still lived. How she seemed to exude power in a way that even the great Eclisis never had. Shiver. Just remembering the look of contempt from that human caused chills to run down her back. Even now, far far away from the actual event, Yolandara could only feel the growing sense of unease, as she made her way to her safehouse. Snap. The cracking of a branch far away could be heard. Instantly Yolandara turned around and faced the direction from where the sound came. Yet, she saw nothing. Badump, badump. Yolandara¡¯s heart pumped in her chest, partly from having exerted her body to its maximum, the air on this planet was far weaker than her own, and often caused issues for elves that hadn¡¯t achieved enough points in Endurance and Strength. Stillness. The entire forest was quiet. With but a second¡¯s understanding she realized what it would take many novice hunters years to learn and perfect, an innate Danger Sense. Waiting, she looked for signs of a predator being released in the wild around her. Nature itself screamed that there was such a creature present, as every bird, rabbit, and wild creature that would normally make noise as part of their day was deathly quiet. Yolandara¡¯s Danger Sense screamed at her that she was being stalked by a predator, one apparently adapt at hiding in plain sight. ¡°Hello?¡± Yolandara first began in English, the human tongue of these parts. Even now, the word felt lifeless and hollow on her tongue. Silence. ¡°Hello?¡± Yolandara asked again, this time in Elvish. Silence. Yolandara paused, waiting for a moment, forcing her heart to slow down as she took in her surroundings, but nothing stood out. Slowly she turned around, there, right when she was facing the exact way she had been going, that¡¯s when she felt it, that strange sense of being watched. Feeling that, Yolandara kept one-foot planted pointing forward, as she turned her head back to look directly behind her. This was not the most advantageous of positions to be in but given that she couldn¡¯t even see the size nor true direction of her proposed enemy, Yolandara used this as the best course of action. So far, her Danger Sense was the only thing alerting her to what every creature in the wilderness already knew, that there was a monster nearby and it was dangerous. Had any high tier dungeons overflowed nearby? Yolandara didn¡¯t think so, most of the time those were self-generated by her and others of her kind. They would use them as a form of both population control, and to help spread the power and influence of dungeons faster. Portals to the nether realms could not be opened within a ten-kilometer radius of an overflowing dungeon. There was of course just one problem with an overflowing dungeon, in that it also meant that said dungeon was considered rampaging, which meant that reinforcements couldn¡¯t also use those dungeons to travel back and forth between realms either. This was the reason that dungeons that were designed as overflow were set in inhospitable lands, like the frozen north, or lands that the elves and the orcs alike had a hard time adapting to. Fortunately, there were only a few places on this planet that were considered to be completely inhospitable, and all of those had blessedly succumbed to overflow far before Yolandara had arrived, meaning she was never forced to go those regions and take physical readings. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Another thing of note was that dungeons did not form under, or overwater. This was something that always amazed Yolandara, but apparently the far north of this planet was completely frozen, but it was ice over an ocean, meaning no spotters had to go there to observe dungeons for signs of overflow. In the southern hemisphere was an ice-covered continent, but that one too had long ago been left to be in the overflow state. Now everything was in temperate climate zones, or ones that suited the orcs and elves both. It had been a gradual process, slowly getting life to migrate closer and closer to the equator, but over the course of a hundred years of integration it had finally come. Their work, their efforts to safeguard this planet were nearly at an end. Now all they had to do was send enough forces through the well-maintained dungeon paths and meet any legions of darkness wherever they might arise. Deep throat gurgling. The sound of an utterly terrifying sound jarred Yolandara from her mental musings. The sound had come from her left, so turned, this was ninety degrees away from where her Danger Sense had told her the monster that had been chasing her was located. Turning, she tried to both stare forward, and keep an eye out for any peripheral movement to her right, where she swore the enemy should be, but couldn¡¯t see anything. Blurred movement to the right. Out of the corner of her eye, Yolandara saw it, or saw something at the very least. She saw the movement of something to her right. Turning her head, she saw it, for a moment, then she saw where it stopped. Badump, badump. Yolandara, seeing the blur, pulled her rune enhanced weapon up and began raising it towards the spot where the blur stopped its movement. Yolandara thought about using the scope, but what good would a scope be, if she couldn¡¯t see the target she was aiming at? Also, from this distance she felt confident in her skills with the highly advanced, but primitive weapon. From this distance she was certain she could raise the barrel up and point it towards the spot where she saw the creature stop moving. Scanning. Yolandara was no fool, just because she saw the signs that this monster had stopped moving, didn¡¯t mean it had. This monster was clearly adept at camouflaging itself in its environment, only showing faint signs of being seen when it was moving. Still what type of creature could do this? There were monsters from her home world, ones who were spoken of as part of ancient legends that they could perform such hunts, blending in completely with their background and hiding from every source of detection. Those were of course myths now more than anything, as the great tribes hunted down those creatures first during the integration process, making it so elves were the only true apex species on their planet by the time the integration happened. Now it felt like she was staring down that same beast, or something far worse. Remembering the stories from her childhood, Yolandara tried to recall what the fearless hunters did to find such a beast, as that was the previous challenge required to prove yourself worth of being an Elven Tribal leader, you had to go out and kill a Vishara by yourself, to prove you were up to the task of protecting the village from just such a monster hunting your people. If a single person could single handedly kill what it took other trained packs months of preparation and planning to do, then they truly deserved to be the leader of the town, settlement, or continent. Now, fueled by such stories from her past, from the old worlds, Yolandara let a faint smile crest her lips. She was young, unblooded, and never truly been allowed to see action. But she had one thing that set her far ahead of everyone else, she was ready to prove herself, and here she was, able to take down the monster that all those noble clans couldn¡¯t. ¡°Aru¡¯ka right?¡± Yolandara asked the wind. Gggrrrgg. More deep throat gurgling sounds. This time the sounds came from her right, but she was certain that the monster was dead ahead, somehow able to use Illusion magic to throw its voice or something. Realizing this, Yolandara quickly glanced left, before turning back and waiting to see the blurring light of movement caused by the monster. Nothing. Rustle. Hearing her chance, Yolandara raised her rifle and fired. Her muzzle aiming towards the source of the sound on instinct, knowing she had but seconds to strike, and she took it. Bang! ¡°Gah!¡± The high-pitched cry of a struck enemy fell. Feeling excited by her success, Yolandara strode forward confidently, having witnessed firsthand the humanoid shape fall to the ground. Only once she got close and witnessed what she had struck, who she had killed, only now did true terror take hold of her. ¡°What? No, no, no¡­¡± Yolandara said, suddenly dropping to grab at the quickly dying form in her arms. Then looking around Yolandara slung her weapon over her shoulders, picked up the dead and dying body and began running as quickly as she could, back to the safehouse hidden away in the woods, one that would surely have a healer, or at the very least healing supplies. There she could fix this; there she could hopefully undo what she had done. She had been so certain that an enemy was stalking her that she let her imagination go wild with fear. *** Alexa watched her opponent turn her back on her, scooping up a body, only to end up taking it off in the distance. Alexa had been using Illusion magic all along, trying to see what the elves could notice while they were running. Despite urban myths, elves were just as terrible at noticing movement behind them as humans were, even their larger ears didn¡¯t seem to account for much in the way of hearing. As it was only when she placed the sounds of the monsters within ten meters of the elf did, she even notice the deep reverberating sounds, sounds that set the whole forest on edge the first time she used them. Yet, it was only once she stopped that she seemed to even notice them. This was good, as it meant that most elves had a harder time hearing. That or Alexa herself had gotten better at stalking her prey silently. Regardless of the reason, she followed the elves to a giant rock that all but glowed with magical energy. If Alexa blinked, she could almost make out the mental illusion that the rock was trying to project to her, a projection that she could feel from her heightened magical senses from hundreds of feet away, even before the illusion covered shed was within visible range, she was able to feel it out there. Then once the elf seemed to follow certain trail markings towards the shed, Alexa knew that this was the place. Just feeling the presence of magic required power and hiding such a structure was impressive, so impressive that Alexa felt shivers come down her back as she felt a hunger awaken within her. A hunger that she thought she had grown to master, but it had grown recently. Ever since her Awakening, the hunger for absorbing energy had grown leaps and bounds, so much so that just being near her friends was almost too much to bear. Now that she was here, and practically offered a buffet of energy, Alexa couldn¡¯t help but feel her darker impulses rising, threatening to take control. This was why she had hidden from her friends; she had gone with her brother and the others to Thanksgiving, but it had been too much. Then when she became aware of the threat, she realized she could either send a clone, one that couldn¡¯t fully transfer its knowledge of what it found to her, or she herself could go. That was why she was here now, as she needed to know what the Clone would have found had it come. So instead, she left a clone behind to mimic her presence at the charity event, one started by her father. That did pain her, but what pained her more was the thought of these monsters using that event to stage another attack, that was why Alexa decided to go and follow the elf herself. And now she was glad she had, not only had she gotten the elf to take down and severely injure another of its ilk, but it also now brought her straight to their secret lair. Pausing for a second, Alexa wondered if this was another setup, as this all seemed to be too easy, and that was when she found she made the most errors. Pausing for a moment, she listened, using her magic to reach out to the forest, to the trees and talk to them, to hear their perspective on the foreign invaders who forced their way into her forest. Communing with nature, she didn¡¯t quite know what she would get in response, but what she did get, made her spine tingle, as rage overtook her, awakening her from her brief meditation and causing her to realize that even if this was a trap, it was one she needed to address. As the forest spoke of malevolence, and a strange magical resonance that could only be described as one word, the Void. With her mind made up, Alexa moved forward, her rational mind holding back on absorbing energy for the moment, as she worked out the best course of attack. Then, once she was mentally prepared for what to do next, she moved into action. A sword that had been slung on her back hidden by an obfuscation illusion suddenly present and seeming to warp the very fabric of the world around it. Seeing the blade come to life with sparking magical energy Alexa nodded to the blade, almost as if in recognition of its own power, its own near sentient state of being. The sword was the thing legends, and it was one that she had forged with her own hands, her own skills, her own magic. Now with that magic that she used to separate herself from the others, she was going to exact vengeance on the elves that dared to take refuge within her sacred forests. On lands that she claimed to be her own. On lands that the planet itself seemed to agree belonged to her, or at the very least listened to her and her requests. Whether the planet itself was aware of her plight was entirely separate from what was happening here. Right here, right now, this was the equivalent of a natural disaster being released, to stop a greater catastrophe. A monsoon being released to quench a massive forest fire, the equivalent of using an erupting volcano to help melt some snow. Still, for the sake of this moment, she felt her mind and spirit merging with the planet, at the least the plant life of the surrounding area, and on this one subject both she and the forest agreed, the elves and their evil magics should be purged, root and all. With that one thought in mind, Alexa strode forward, a silent confidence filling every silent step forward. Chapter 154 Purification Chapter 154 Purification From a fortified position, out on an alien planet, in the heart of hostile lands, the fort was perfect. Nature mages had spent the past hundred years developing the land and building up a perfect hiding spot within the woods. Added to this was the fact that native fauna from different elven planets had been brought here to create a perfect biome of life designed to listen to and follow the leads of elven Nature Magic, created a perfect system of protection. Even the most ardent of trackers would have a hard time following any trail leading through the woods. Of course, this planet did have its own quirks, the way the soil itself seemed to rebel against the elven plants that were brought here. The way the Nature Mages would need to go out and weekly fight back the rot that happened in this world, it had all been worth it. For here at the heart of the elven stronghold, was a case containing all the Eclipsion Tribe¡¯s Void Essence, raw, unaltared, and extremely volatile. The Void Essence was never held directly, always handled with tools within tools, and protective layers of clothing. Everything was done with the utmost security, as everyone knew that being exposed to Void Essence was enough to change the very nature of one¡¯s own soul. It seemed like the world, this planet the natives called Earth, could feel the Void Essence from its protective layers just as Yolandara herself could. Just carrying Tracker Halinya to the secret entrance of their base made it so Yolandara had to cut close to the side with the case containing Void Essence. Being so close to the Void Essence made Yolandara¡¯s teeth chatter and caused a shiver to run down her back. Yet, this had been her fault, and her friend, her subordinate, was now dying, thanks to an action she herself had taken. It was only right that she now feel a bit of discomfort and try to get her subordinate the help she needed. For a safehouse like this, they were pretty much on their own, there were larger safe houses the closer you got to the major civilizations of this planet, but safehouses that dealt with handling Void Essence, they were far out of the way, and in remote locations like this. Carrying Halinya into the safehouse, she immediately opened the door, and then placed her on the altar that rested behind the door. Had the natives seen such a place they would immediately assume such a place was a clothing and shoe rack, and while it was often tempting to leave one¡¯s shoes right there, that was not what this place was for. When asked why the first thing inside the safehouse was the Altar of Cleansing, she was met with the message, ¡°trust me, you will want it as close as possible, when it is needed.¡± Now that Yolandara had such a need for the altar, she fully understood why its location to the front door was so important to begin with, when they set up the safe house. It didn¡¯t hurt that there were also multiple walls of protection that separated the Altar of Cleansing from the secure storage area where they stored the continent¡¯s supply of Void Essence. Just thinking about it, about the order they had all received made Yolandara¡¯s teeth chatter.
To all Elven Tribal outposts, This is a general decree from the Elven Council. The use of Void Essence is not only approved, but also encouraged. -EC
That had been the message from a week ago, one that Yolandara felt when she and Halinya both entered the safehouse from a routine enhancement tour of the environment. Now that same message was coming to her mind for some odd reason at this moment. ¡°Stop.¡± Yolandara said, trying to keep her racing mind to sit still and focus on what was at hand. In her own way, she understood what her mind was doing, it was trying to distract, to pull attention away from how much blood was oozing out of her friend and onto her hands. She tried to think that maybe Halinya was getting off easy by only dying now, versus having to die after possibly mishandling the Void Essence, and all the problems that could arise from just being near the caustic material. The minute she passed the threshold of the safehouse several things happened all at once. The first was that she felt a surge of information flood her mind. A new message from the Elven Council, but that would have to wait. While avoiding such messages could be avoided if one focused enough on completing a particular task, it was always tough and distracting to have to deal with such a message. Also, feeling the new message made Yolandara feel slightly better about her own distraction as she now chalked up her earlier memory to be a warning that there would be another important message from the Elven Council. Placing Halinya down on the Altar, Yolandara found the keystone and immediately linked her own power to the altar¡¯s and instantly felt a cold sensation creep into her hand as the mana that had been in her hand was now being pulled towards the altar. Mentally, Yolandara relaxed her mind and let the mana circulate through her body and out of her hand. Vwoom. There was the faint thrum of energy that always happened when an Altar was activated. Just feeling it come to life caused Yolandara¡¯s hair to rise, as it began to be infused with static electricity. With a glance, she saw the way the magic rose up through her and was directed by the different runes on the Altar, all going to directly heal the massive wound on Halinya. Wheeze. Within seconds, the magic started taking effect, as Halinya took in her first pain filled breath, allowing Yolandara to relax slightly. This relaxing was enough to let her conviction that had been holding back the message from the Elven Council back. Within a second, Yolandara could feel the glowing crystalline orb that had been set up as the main communications platform here come to life and fire a beam directly into her mind.
To all Elven Tribal outposts, Any outposts designed for the storage of Void Essence are to use or dispose of their stash of such caustic materials before the time of the Integration. Know that using will be preferable and will lead to more contribution points generated by your individual tribe. -EC
There it was the message she had both expected and feared had finally arrived. Originally, she jumped at the chance to use Void Essence, she had been na?ve, sold on the fact that a few planets had been conquered simply by well placed Void Essence bombs. Of course, such thoughts were had before she had been near the substance, a substance that caused her to feel a sense of unease, even while in its properly sealed storage device. Realistically Yolandara knew that most of her unease was based on her class, Diviner, where she could literally predict the future of events. At least that is what her class was supposed to do, but recently her class had been all haywire. She had dreams about dying by Void Essence, it had been something that shook her to her very core. As Yolandara knew more than anyone what just being exposed to such materials would entail. She saw the look of melancholy that Eclisis now suffered from, and how his current condition was a best-case scenario. Worst case, he would have died and been forced to join the armies that he had spent most of his life fighting against. Yet, his current state was a state of constant pain and misery, one where he needed to constantly fight just to stay alive. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. There was still hope, Yolandara¡¯s mother, the Matriarch Diviner for the entire Eclipsion Tribe noted that there was one chance, here on this planet. That was why Yolandara signed up to go, why she herself made sure she was in charge of handling the Void Essence, this way she would be able to do multiple things. The first thing she had wanted to do was to find this supposed cure for Eclisis. The second thing she wanted to do was to ensure she had enough contribution points to make sure that the cure for Eclisis was claimed as part of their territory. The third and final thing she wanted, well it was trivial in comparison to the other tasks, but she wanted to prove to her mother that she was worthy of being called a Diviner. All of these reasons flashed through Yolandara¡¯s mind, as she dismissed the message and was once again able to watch the world in front of her. Blinking. Yolandara blinked away the Council message from taking up her complete vision and was once again able to see the real world around her, there she saw Halinya. Halinya was blessedly awake, her hazel eyes were nearly blue from the light that was infusing her, but she had a smile on her face. Seeing Halinya wearing that same smile she always seemed to have when she was with Yolandara made her heart beat a little lighter. Seeing her already coming back to life made Yolandara let out a breath of relief, as she knew the worst was over. At least it should be, but for the life of her, even seeing with her own eyes what was happening, that the Altar was in fact working, Yolandara couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was off. Seeing her discomfort caused Halinya to suddenly grow apprehensive as well. ¡°What is it?¡± Halinya asked. Pausing, Yolandara tried to focus on the strange sensation, but couldn¡¯t. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know.¡± She admitted. ¡°Is it your premonitions?¡± Yolandara nodded, trying to highlight the emotions she was now feeling. Seeing her in such a state, Halinya began coaching her. ¡°Breathe, focus on your thoughts, calm your mind. Remember to relax and let your mana flow naturally.¡± Halinya began. At that Yolandara felt an intense agitation. ¡°I can¡¯t, not when all of my mana is going to healing you.¡± Yolandara snapped. Then almost as quickly as she spoke, she immediately felt guilty for such a comment. Yolandara looked away, but soon felt a warmth cover her hand. Looking down to the source of the heat, Yolandara saw a hand placed over her own. Then following the hand up, she saw that the hand went to Halinya¡¯s bright smile. ¡°Sorry, it will be okay. We can wait until it is time.¡± Halinya said, her words calming, and this was often a thing, sometimes a great premonition would come, and the build up would be very important, but it hadn¡¯t fully formed. When she was younger, Yolandara would try to force such Divinations out regardless, but she had learned that such actions would only exacerbate the problem as the Divination would come when it was good and ready. Knowing this was often the case Yolandara tried to relax, nodding, but there was something wrong with this one. It was ready, everything in her body told her that the premonition was ready to come, that she just needed to apply the mana and she would get it. The only problem was she needed her mana to save Halinya. Unfortunately, the way Altars worked, you could not heal yourself while inside the Altar. That or you could, but it would require a lot more concentration and mana than it would for a friend to try to infuse you. Whoom! Just as she was thinking about what to do, how she could bypass the need to channel energy into both the altar and her premonition, fate it seemed had made a choice for her. Or rather, fate proved that it was as unavoidable as it was inevitable. For the power to the safehouse faded, sucked away almost instantly. No, waning lights, no slight decrease in functionality available, just nothing. One second everything was working, she was receiving long range communications, climate controls were operating, and above all the blessed altar were all functioning in a harmonious balance, and the next the energy was gone. Badump, badump. Worse, even the special containment chambers that surrounded the Void Essence was down, while this was just a minor precaution, it was a necessary precaution as it ensured extra elemental forces were unable to merge with and form a bond with the Void Essence that for obvious reasons needed to be separated from all other elements. While such a precaution was unnecessary at this point, especially given the way the power had abruptly shut off, it was something that Yolandara¡¯s mind went to almost immediately, the breach in the containment ward. A breach that now meant that the Void Essence was now able to be directly interacted with by any element. Dual vision. Blurred Vision. Forced Vision. The three stages of a vision came before her and suddenly the images that her eyes saw were transposed, by those of her visions. In an instant, she saw it, a great evil coming. A predator of the woods, then she saw it, the way it came for her Void Essence. With a thought, her mind caught up with the fears of her future self, a self that was but moments ahead in time, if that. Feeling the fear, the panic, she raced forward, trying to get to the Void Essence, trying to keep it away from this ancient evil. Badump, badump, badump. Her heart raced as she felt the fear of her vision get reverberated and magnified inside her own mind. This was the problem with visions, they heightened the experience of an event. Normally, the visions didn¡¯t matter as they only pertained to others, she remembered plenty of visions from the perspective of Halinya, where the ability to feel the emotion of the point of view was a blessing. But now, she was getting her own heightened fear, fear that was then being echoed and resonating deep within her chest. Fearfully, she ran to the storage room, to the Void Essence, there in her vision she saw it, the way the demonic crystals began to glow and vibrate slightly at first. Then after a few seconds, they began shaking and pulsing violently in their casings. Fear, primal and utter fear, for it was known that only the demons or their most powerful of minions could cause such a reaction. The visions came faster and faster, her fear rising as an ancient evil came to the safehouse, it had found her and tracked her here, and now it wanted the vile materia before it could be disposed of. Was this why it was ordered to be removed before the integration? Had the Council become aware of such an event? Surely they must have. Panting. Yolandara was getting so worked up that she was breathing heavily with exertion, but she couldn¡¯t stop, not now. Knock, knock. There was a knocking at the door. WHAM, BANG! The knocking intensified. The monster was going to get in, and all Yolandara could do was fear for her life. Gentle caress. There was a gentle caress on her hand, and suddenly she was back, the vision was broken. ¡°You okay?¡± Halinya asked. Blinking. Yolandara blinked a few times, slowly letting her mind try to separate the two sets of images. Well the one set that had been forcefully overlaid over her own natural sight. ¡°Ye¡­¡± Yolandara began to answer, but suddenly she was cut off by a slight reverberation in the back room. Crystals chiming. Hearing the sound coming from the back room, Yolandara paused, feeling the moment her prophecy was coming to life. With fear, she grabbed hold of Halinya and pulled her to the back room with her. ¡°What are you¡­¡± was all Halinya managed before she was pulled to the back room. Her wound had healed enough to not cause any further rupturing, but she did use her free arm to cradle her injured stomach. ¡°Come on.¡± Yolandara managed, her voice cracking slightly from the fear that was pulsing within her. ¡°What is it, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Halinya asked, but then paused as they entered the back room and she saw the source of Yolandara¡¯s fear. There in the unprotected and unwarded space the case of thirteen Void Crystals were vibrating. Not much, just enough to cause a high-pitched chime every few dozen oscillations. The two elves watched in horror, as the crystals began vibrating faster and faster. At one point the box they were in visibly shifted. ¡°Gah!¡± The two let out a gasp of fright, seeing the protective case move. ¡°Does that mean what I think it means?¡± Halinya asked. Nodding, Yolandara tried to talk, but her mouth was suddenly dry, bone dry as she realized it might be worse than what she had imagined. ¡°This has to be a Demonic Knight, or worse¡­¡± Halinya stated, her mind instantly recalling the warning signs and ways to view demons. ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°We need to get rid of it, before a demon uses it to gain power.¡± Yolandara said, her training came back to her in a moment. Then realizing this is the price of leadership, she nodded to herself, and then moved forward to the crate of crystals. ¡°No, you mustn¡¯t, just tell me what to do.¡± Halinya demanded, pleaded with Yolandara. ¡°No, then you would¡­¡± Yolandara began, but caught herself, as she realized that this would mean that she herself would die, but that Halinya would live. ¡°I will not allow this to happen.¡± Knock knock. The slow creepy knocking of someone trying to enter the safehouse could be heard. Hearing it, Yolandara instantly recalled her vision, how there was time, not much but a moment. There was still a way she could stop this, a way she could keep this from going bad. She was dead, she knew this, even Halinya was likely dead, but they would stop a demon knight from getting even more powerful, and for that anything was justifiable. ¡°Buy me time.¡± Yolandara said. Halinya looked like she was about to argue, that she wanted to, but she saw something in Yolandara¡¯s eyes, something that made it so she knew arguing was pointless. Seeing that firm resolve, that utter dedication to the mission, made Halinya remember why she loved the young princess so much. Seeing her like this, made her realize she would follow her to hell and back. Then thinking about the material that she was now working with, if she didn¡¯t have enough time, that would likely be exactly where Halinya and Yolandara both would find themselves, if she didn¡¯t have time. ¡°Right.¡± Halinya said, as she bowed her head, and gave the free hand sign for sacrifice, though this time it would likely mean exactly that. Only once Halinya left did Yolandara let out a breath she didn¡¯t know she had been holding. Then calming her mind, she reached a hand into the crate and gently grabbed one of the violently shaking crystals. ¡°A cleansing ritual, too easy, right?¡± She said to herself, holding up the crystal to eye level for a second. WHAM! The door slammed open, instantly causing Yolandara to tremble with fear. ¡°You shall not¡­¡± Was all Halinya managed, before her voice was cut off, as the sound of intense fighting ensued. Realizing it was now or never, Yolandara held up the stone to her forehead and began the ancient ritual of Void Purification. Chapter 155 Dispelling Corruption Chapter 155 Dispelling Corruption Thanksgiving Energy flowed within Alexa, calling out to her, filling her with promises of power. Her mind was alive, as she had just seen her first true system message about how unbalanced her primary class was.
Congratulations: Your level in Absorber has increased to level 39.
With the level applied, she took her twenty free attributes and applied them evenly over her non-class related attributes.
Physical Attributes Rating
Strength 345
Agility 345
Endurance 345
Mental Attributes Rating
Intelligence 345
Perception 930
Willpower 1,320
This feeling, the power gained by leveling was an experience unlike anything Alexa could imagine. She felt warm, deep inside she felt parts of her come to life. She felt the very connection she had to her mana surge. She felt the way her mind could see and experience the world around her expand in ways that were hard to fathom or fully explain. She that for a moment she was alive, part of the universe, and shining brightly like a star. Then just as quickly as the sensation came, it faded, until finally she felt her light dwindle until she was just a regular black speck upon the sea of the universe. Panting. That feeling was intense, but it was something she forced herself to see, to experience, to remember. Then once the moment was well and truly over, she moved on with her thoughts. She realized there was something wrong with the fact that her main class leveled, while her secondary class remained the same. It was odd how only that class rose in level, one would assume that her lower Precursor Sage class would increase far before her Absorber class would, but that was not the case. As for how she managed to increase her Absorber class, that much was easy, she had just gone to the protective magical barrier that seemed to insulate the safehouse from the rest of the forest around her. Then she drained it dry. The more she drained, the more hidden energies she found. There was a veritable stockpile of Void Essence here, somehow a set of protective runes were created to insulate other elemental forces from interacting with the aspects of the Void that she found. The minute she felt the Void Essence at the edge of her consciousness, was the minute she realized she would not be leaving any witnesses here. In the back of her mind, she knew that there was no way these people were likely part of the same actioning cell that killed her father in England. Of that she was certain. Still the fact that these people had this component here, out in the woods, far away from other elven settlements proved several things to Alexa¡¯s analytical mind. First, it proved that the elves knew what Void Essence was for, or at the very least what it could do. The fact that they had it out here, hidden behind protective barriers, and away from any major elven population centers proved that at the very least the leaders knew what the substance was for. Then there was the fact that they happened to have a stockpile right here, within proximity to Dawning Light Academy, to the TSI headquarters, and most importantly to the known home base of operations where Judge and Warder used to operate from. With all these details, Alexa was more than certain that this place was set up solely to kill or cripple the supers in this region. Logically speaking, from an operative¡¯s perspective, this was the equivalent of sneaking into a foreign country, setting up a hidden secret base, filling it with nuclear weapons, then leaving minimal manning at the position to keep the place from ever being found. Logically speaking, Alexa was impressed with the sheer scale of the operation that had been conducted by these elves. They snuck into her world with weapons that were so dangerous that even the foreign planet identified the danger they posed. Thinking back on it now, the warning that the planet herself provided was also a clue to the scale and severity of this whole operation. The planet, her planet, likely had to deal with the surges of foreign energy, energy that was completely anathema to how life normally conducted itself. Even now, Alexa could feel the wrongness of the material that called out to her, and while she knew for a fact that she could finally withstand such a caustic material, the cost of dealing with such materials would be costly. From a distance Alexa tried to reach out, with her Tier I control over Void magic, but was only able to tangentially feel the energy. With this level of control, she tried to reach out, to pull the energy towards her, but there was resistance. While the magical wards in the room had been disabled, there were still some protective casings that held back the Void energy and kept if from coming to her. This was no real problem, for Alexa had already come up with the plan to destroy this base and the elves that operated it. This base and what she would do to it, would be a warning to the elves. Mentally Alexa still had pulses to other elven operatives and safe houses hidden amongst other countries. If she focused her mind, she could get the direction of one such safe house, but they were always far away from her. She got these connections from her battle with Ryelifa Dragon Slayer, when Alexa dueled with her before battling the great dragon, she did two things. First, she eliminated a dagger to the back, while also gaining full control over all the assets held by the Dragon Slayers on this planet. These were of course assets that would also need to be taken care of, but only once she had more time. Despite everything, despite how much power she seemed to have personally, the power was ultimately useless if she could not move quickly enough to stop her enemies. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. In her mind, she knew that she had to use her pack, to start delegating missions out. If her pack was to survive what was soon to come, she would need help. People that could at the very least defend certain key areas. Yet, when there was a chance that Luke, or even Gina could be exposed to Void Essence... Badump, badump. Just thinking about such thoughts caused Alexa¡¯s heart to race with phantom pain. The pain made her realize more and more just where her priorities in life were, and where she should focus her efforts. Of course, such thoughts were for times of peace, as for now, she had to act. With her mind made up, she immediately jumped into action. The first thing she did was create a Clone of herself, one that was nearly identical down to her legendary magical sword. The clone following her mental directions went to the front of the building, while Alexa herself found an empty room away from the two elves who were at the front, only to then see the moment when one changed. The minute the energy level went down, the healthy elf ran to the back and immediately began messing with the Void Essence stones. Realizing this, Alexa sprang into action, linking her mind with her clones. Knock, knock. The clone pounded loudly on the front door, while Alexa stabbed inward with her sword into the wall of the makeshift building. With her sword fully in the wall, she began slicing left and down. This created an opening, but the next part would be noisy. Bang! Bang! The clone pounded on the door, going so far as to slam the door open. This was perfect as it gave Alexa the time and cover, she needed to barge in through the back wall. There was a quick battle at the front, where the injured elf went against her clone. As she expected, the clone made quick work. ¡°Gah!¡± The injured elf cried out as it was all but mowed down. That is when the Clone made her way inside the building and the pop. Just like a balloon, her clone made up of magic and interwoven threads of will burst from existence. The sensation was a bit jarring, as it was something Alexa had never experienced before. Trying to understand, Alexa mentally played back the last few impulses she got from her Clone. The clone had killed the elf, then charged into the open room, then there was a flash and burst of light, and then the clone ceased to exist. Moving silently, Alexa peaked her head out from the side room she was in. Flash. The moment she popped her head out from the side room, she felt a surge of energy flash outwards, towards her, the light was so intense that it burnt her face. At least that is what the sensation felt like. In an instant, she realized that the flash of light was a form of energy, one that she had never experienced before. The burning sensation she felt had directly targeted her magically constructed clothing. Even now she could feel the way her class was greedily absorbing the energy, but it was an odd texture to this energy. She paused for a second, trying to understand what was happening, then it hit her, this was likely some type of secondary magical suppression technique meant as a fail safe in case the main power goes down to the safehouse, if that happened, then this thing would activate and Dispel all magic in the area. That was the only thing that made sense, and the only thing that seemed to fit with what was happening. The giant crystal orb at the center of the room was able to somehow cast Dispel magic. This magic had been believed to be possible, though no one had ever heard of such a thing. A few Supers claimed to have had it, but they all died quick deaths at the hands of Supers with bullets and other weapons less magical weapons. When asked, the Elves and Orcs both denied such magics or abilities were even possible, but this clearly shows those statements to be false. The more Alexa seemed to realize about her world, the more she realized she was just scratching the surface. Everything she knew, or everything that was assumed to be the case was clearly off. What was the strangest thing about this whole situation was the fact that the magical device that fired off beams of magic didn¡¯t stand out to her enhanced senses in any real way. At least not until it fired off its beams of disintegrating magic. At least from her point of view the magic should be considered disintegration magic, as it had burnt away her uniform that she had created. Either her weaving and tier skills were not strong enough to resist the effects of this Dispelling magic, or there was something else at play. Still Alexa decided not to waste any more time. Her target was across the hallway and was clearly doing something with the Void Essence. From a quick glance it appeared as though the elf was somehow mentally absorbing the energy, causing it to do something to her. Even from so far away, Alexa could see and feel the way the Void Essence was altering the elf down to her very core. Realizing that she couldn¡¯t worry about the disintegration rays that were firing at her from the center of the hut, Alexa did what she always did, she improvised. Grabbing the door, Alexa used her now system enhanced strength and pulled the door free of its hinges. Groan. The metal made a quick groaning sound, one that was easily heard in the small confines of the hut, as the elf suddenly startled, paused their energy absorption process, only to hesitate and cry out in pain. ¡°Gah!¡± Crash, shatter. All types of sounds were coming from the other room, as the elf sounded both frantic and in pain. That was Alexa¡¯s cue to charge. Taking the now loose door, Alexa angled the door at a 60-degree angle, so that it could easily slide through the two doorways. Then moving quickly, Alexa charged forward, even as she felt the burst and sudden burning of the magical clothing covering her body to be burnt away. Still, despite the pain, Alexa charged forward, as her gloves, and her clothing from the knees down began to burn away, leaving her with her bare feet running against the ground. Then the next second she was across the hall, into the room with the Void Essence crystals. In the same room as the last elf who had botched her absorption process and was now in the process of changing into a horrific monster. Had this been her first time seeing such a creature Alexa likely would have paused, would have hesitated, would have wanted to see the transition. Yet, Alexa had already seen this type of monster, she had seen what a monster like this could evolve into, if given enough time. Seeing the beast before her, Alexa sprung into action, first slamming the door she was carrying down onto the back of the elf that was crying out as her body looked like it was melting and being reformed before her eyes. Wham! The door crashed down and instantly broke in two across the beast¡¯s back. Then Alexa unsheathed her sword from her back that had been protected by the door. Well mostly protected, as it seemed the blade was a half inch shorter than previously. The magic at the end of the blade was wild and chaotically unwinding, but that didn¡¯t matter, at least not yet. For now, Alexa took the sharpened blade, and slammed it down and into the creature. Whoosh! The blade struck down with ruthless proficiency through the back of the creature, pinning the beast in place. Slime movement. The moment the blade carved through; Alexa could feel the way the skin broke off around the sword and began to flow around the blade like it was some form of jello that she had the audacity to try to skewer with a knife. ¡°Grah!¡± The gelatinous creature cried out, as it spun around with torque and movements that could only be made possible by something with either highly flexible bones, or something that had lost all semblance to the bony structure it once had to begin with. Wham! Flash! With a mighty blow, Alexa was hurled back through the wall, into and through the hallway, where she was once again hit by a beam of the disintegration ray that was that stupid dispelling orb at the center of the open room that stood for the main gathering area for this safehouse. Intense burning. The magical items on her sides were being burnt away slowly. Fortunately, Alexa had remembered to wear real sportswear undergarments, otherwise this battle would soon spiral out of control. As it was, she stood up and instantly felt the right side of her uniform begin to shift ever so slightly, as it was no longer held tightly in place by the other half of her skintight, yet breathable uniform. For a moment, she had a mental flash of her father, and how he had to take down Buggatron with his own boxers showing for the world. ¡°Like father, like daughter.¡± Alexa said, as she realized there was no going back, no time outs to change her wardrobe. All she could do was finish this battle as quickly and efficiently as possible and just be thankful that this wasn¡¯t in a high traffic area where videos of this battle would be live streamed to social media like her father had to go through. Shaking her head, she charged forward and once again began entering combat with the slimy creature. This time she used her fists, and her exposed feet. Still as she charged forward, all she could think about was all the lessons her mother always pounded into her head about always wearing underwear underneath the suit. Chapter 156 Always Wear Underwear Chapter 156 Always Wear Underwear Thanksgiving Charging forward, Alexa lashed out striking at the congealing blob that seemed like it was at war with itself. On the one hand the blob of mass that at one point the blob was clearly trying to revert back to its original elven form. Then the next, the blob would try to revert to a gelatinous form that was neither solid nor liquid, just an odd in between state that was highly unstable. Not unstable in the way a bomb would be, but unstable in the way baby Bambi was, all wobbly movements and uncoordinated muscular structures that might or might not be adept at pulling off the movements needed. What resulted was a truly pitiful form. Charging forward, Alexa looked to take advantage of this time. Inwardly she knew that this was just a momentary pause, a temporary weakness that was brought on by rapid changes. If she left now, if she gave the monster time to adapt, Alexa knew that this one monster would be enough to battle an entire army of Elves, just as she had seen in the tenth stage of her Trials of Ascension. That time like this, she just had to battle one single demonic soldier. At that time, she had managed to do so, but only with the aid of a dozen of her Clones, and an army of elves to keep the demon distracted. This time things were different, for starters she had the whole pulsing orb of power that was somehow strong enough to unbind her Creation infused magic. Normally this would not be a problem, but since she had gotten so used to the versatility that Creation magic afforded, she had grown lax with a few things, namely like wearing real socks, or personally tailored Super suits. The result being that half of her uniform was gone from the blast and subsequently being hurled into the far wall. The other half was peeling off at an alarming rate and had she been in a more public area, she would have had the thought of getting away, to preserve both her modesty and her identity. Here and now though, she had neither concern. Here she was able to focus on just one concern at a time. First, she wanted to stop the demon from growing more powerful and capable in their actions, for that is what the stupid elf was now, a demon. Alexa didn¡¯t fully understand what was happening, or rather what had happened, but right now she didn¡¯t need to. True discovery and understanding would come later, for now she would focus on the immediate dangers, then from there she would discover what happened, at least she would discover what could cause an elf to melt into a demon, for that is what this creature before her was, a demon. A weak demon, likely one of the lowest forms, but a demon, nonetheless. Then her second course of action would be to discover what source of energy the pulsing sphere of light was using; it was of a power and scale that Alexa had never seen before. It was also probably the most concerning element of everything Alexa had seen from the elves thus far, for if the elves were in fact capable of creating things that could completely unwind magic down to its foundational building blocks, then the upcoming battle with the elves would be a lot tougher than she had originally planned. Of course, that line of thinking was unproductive given the current situation, as she still had a demon forming right before her. Flake off. The rest of her uniform began to crumple and peel off, as she strode forward. Flash. As she strode forward, she was once again met with a flash of light from the giant orb at the center of this shack. Having felt the flash for a third time, Alexa had to note the fact that the energy felt warm, like pure rays of the sun against her bare skin. At first, she thought the beam to be some type of weapon, but this had mainly been due to the way she felt the burning sensation of the magical strands of material against her skin being burnt away by the bursts of light. Now that she had more of her skin exposed, she could discern that there was more to the sensation, that it felt warm and somehow pure. Just feeling the energy against her skin, Alexa felt her Absorber class coming alive and pulling in the golden energy, there was no other word to describe the flavor, it felt like she was Absorbing golden light. Not the light of Light Magic, for she knew what that was and what that felt like, but this was something different all together, something far more powerful. Focus. Alexa¡¯s rational mind cut through the various sensations she was feeling by trying to understand the new energy type. Even as the light slowly burnt away her uniform, it didn¡¯t matter, she still had a job to do. Just as Warder had to take care of Buggertron, she now had to take down this demonic slime puddle. Charging forward, her now bare feet instantly contacted the puddle that was the demonic run off from the gelatinous demon. Squish, splash. Slime oozed up between her toes, and around Alexa¡¯s feet. A wave of revulsion washed over her, but she fought down that impulse, as this was the best course of action for her. She was down to just her feet and hands. The sword was still in the room, in the ground, but the demon had already managed to peel its way off the sword and was now moving towards the box containing the remaining Void Essences. Seeing the slime working its way up the side of the unsealed container, Alexa reacted in the only way a true Psychic and Mage hybrid should but using every power at her disposal. Telekinetic slam. The lid to the box slammed shut, shaking loose the tendril that had been trying to work its way up and over the side of the box. That was the first action. Then the second action was to pick up the box and hurl it outside behind her, through the opening that she had been thrown out of and just come back through. Thud. The Void Essence filled box landed with a crash. Just as Alexa had expected, with the lid shut, the orb of light didn¡¯t respond at all to the new item. Instead, if anyone was just watching it would appear like the giant orb of light only seemed to target magic, as her use of Telekinesis was somehow avoided, as she could still feel her grip on the box, her connection that allowed her to move and manipulate such a large crate was fully intact. Nodding to herself at the revelation Alexa felt other plans form in her mind, but was soon thrown off her feet, as the slime she was standing on, and absorbing energy from suddenly moved. It was an odd feeling, being overpowered and manhandled by less than a centimeter of liquid, but that is what happened. Despite the slime having a clear aversion to her mere presence, it seemed that the slime, for that is what it was at this point dissolved elven parts made into a demonic slime mixture suddenly reversed course. Rather than going away from her, and further into the room, it immediately reversed course and tried to lunge through and past Alexa to get to the box that now sat in the middle of the hallway. Whoosh. A slimy tidal wave crashed into and then coated Alexa, as it swam and wiggled its way over her and into the hallway. She felt an intense flash of panic fill her, as she was quickly coated by a thin slimy layer of elven and demonic slime. Everywhere the slime touched, she could feel her body absorbing the Void Essence from the thinly moving flesh of the creature. As the Void Essence was drained, it created a thin dry layer of flaking skin that was left behind. The entire process was equal parts disgusting and revolting, yet Alexa focused. First, she made sure to hold her breath, with her Regeneration and magical abilities, breathing would not be a problem, despite being completely coated in monster slime. Then she made sure to watch what happened when the Void Essence filled slime entered the open hallway. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Flash! ¡°SHREEEK!¡± The slime monster was instantly burned by the rays of light that came from the orb, and that was when a few things clicked in Alexa¡¯s mind. First, she understood the purpose for having such a powerful device right at the center of a building like this, that orb was a failsafe device, something that would protect others should the Void Essence get out of hand. Alexa still didn¡¯t understand why the elf consumed it, surely the elf didn¡¯t intend to turn into a demonic puddle, but maybe those were directives given to the elf for some odd reason. With the slime¡¯s ability to quickly increase in power cut off, and that was something Alexa was certain of, if this slime had gotten hold of the remaining Void Essences, then they would have likely grown in power. As far as Alexa could tell, just turning into a gelatinous puddle took two of the crystals, there is no telling what would have happened if the elf had been able to somehow consume all of the crystals. That was the good part, as it meant that her opponent was unable to increase in strength dramatically. The bad news was, now that the path to immediate power was over, the demonic puddle had nothing better to focus on than Alexa who was still fighting and struggling to get her way free of the gelatinous cocoon that now covered her body. With just Alexa present to focus on, the remainder of the slime surged over and around Alexa, covering her face, her hair, and every inch of her body. Burning and sizzling. Alexa could hear parts of her skin being melted off. Her hair was gone, instantly dissolved by the slime monster. Realizing it was now a battle of attrition, Alexa knew she could win, but she wanted to win this quickly before things got too out of hand. Realizing there was but one wall separating this storage room from the rest of safehouse, Alexa acted. Telekinetic Burst! Focusing on the thin wall of sheet metal that separated this room from the rest of the safehouse, Alexa used Telekinesis to grab the wall and pull it in towards her. The force was so violent and destructive that Alexa even managed to peel back part of the roof as well. Her plan was simple, starting with he base of the wall, she would simultaneously lift up and in, peeling back the wall and revealing this room to the all seeing destructive orb. Though destruction was not the appropriate word for the orb, it was just a disassembler of magic. Somehow able to find magical strands and dissolve them into a more perfect form. This was what Alexa had been banking on, what she had been hoping to happen, and she was not disappointed. Flash! A warm light enveloped Alexa and the giant slime demon that now coated her. A monster that had been up until a few minutes ago been an elf. Warmth. The light flashed brightly, seeming to grow and glow with intensity the longer it stayed on. This was far longer than it had been active to dissolve Alexa¡¯s uniform and part of her weapon. Even now, out of the corner of her eye, she could see the near immediate effect the light had on her poly-woven sword, a sword that was made up of all the schools of magic that she knew, just as her suit was also made from the same interwoven threads of magic. Calming rays of light. The light that now coated her was deeper and far grander than anything she had ever felt, anything that she had ever experienced. Some of her earliest memories, those that came before she was abducted, held elements just like this. Elements where she remembered the sudden warmth of light coming through and filling her with warmth at her very core. She remembered moments of peace and contentedness, memories where her father hugged her just because he could. Memories of mother humming while baking breakfast. So many thoughts came trying to provide meaning, to provide examples of something similar, or moments that seemed similar, but all failed in comparison. In this moment, she felt full of light and life on a scale she never had before. It was pleasant, for a moment. Burning. Then she felt the moment the slime coating her burst into flames. SHRIEEK! Even in a gelatinous form, the slime somehow managed to make sounds, how exactly Alexa did not know, but she felt the creature crying out with a form of mental pain and anguish that was hard to deny. Burning! Alexa first saw the signs of the slime catching fire, then she felt the intense heat erupt from the body of the creature. Whoosh! Flames, burning and bright. The puddle burned the way one would expect vampires to when pierced by the sun. Instead, this light just continued to burn brightly, as its heat and efficiency were fueled by the source of heat and energy behind it. The more the light shone, the more Alexa felt the strange energy infusing her body with power and then she turned away from the light. Not because it was too much to absorb, it was, but that wasn¡¯t the reason she turned. The reason why was because she could feel the remainder of the slime hiding on her back, trying to shield itself from the blinding light that was burning it away. Seeing the light, she focused her mind and biting her teeth to avoid stopping herself due to the pain from the burning corruption that was writhing in burning pain all around her, she lay there, panting. Until finally all that was left of the demonic slime was burnt to char, then she turned and turned some more. Finally, after a long moment, she stood, still feeling the intense beams of light piercing her and sparkling against her pale skin she stood up and let out a deep breath, and breathed in, only to immediately regret that decision. Filth. The scent of burning skin and viscera covered her, permeating her pores and filling her nostrils with sulfur and other burning chemicals. Still despite the smell, it did feel amazing to be able to breathe once more. In all the entire fight, if one could call it that, took less than a minute. Though looking back on the event it was more of Alexa getting slapped around, seeing how vulnerable she was without her magic assisting her, and then how utterly unprepared she was to handle fighting slime, though she felt that fighting slime was a no win game for everyone involved, including the slime. Blink. The light at the center of the now broken hovel of a safehouse winked out of existence. With a quick glance, the reason for it blinking out was readily apparent, as all the charred and burnt chunks of slime had been dissolved down to ash. For a moment the sight reminded her of snow. This illusionary effect was further encouraged by the fact that the now open roof let in a chilling wind that suddenly seemed to bite just a bit harder due to the blindingly bright light no longer gleaming against her bare skin. A quick glance showed that despite concerns her undergarments, while charred, did manage to stand up to the acidic coating of the slime demon and the subsequent flames that happened thereafter. Still, it was not her best battle, far from it, in fact. ¡°Mistakes were made.¡± Alexa said to herself as she took in her state. This battle had been a wakeup call, at least Alexa wanted to make this a wakeup call. Despite having a class, despite having superior magical firepower, she was nothing compared to some monsters, to some foes, to the true enemies that she and those of her planet would soon be forced to fight against. Normally, she would think about creating items to help, but clearly enchanted magical items could be countered. Worse, they could be burnt away. This made Alexa realize something very important, just what was that strange orb exactly. Fully distracted by the glowing orb, she made her way closer to the orb. As she moved forward, she could feel the residual heat still enveloping the area. Being this close she could see the steam rising upwards from the orb, as it too was now being exposed to the cold autumn air. Tingling. As she walked forward, her hair had the decency to begin growing back to its preferred length. This was nice as it made it so not all her body heat left the top of her head. As she moved forward, she got to the orb and reached out a tentative finger to touch. She expected heat. She expected the orb that had been so blindingly bright a moment ago to be scalding hot, hot enough to cause near instant burning on her fingers. Instead, what she was met with was a slightly warm surface that felt metallic, even though it looked completely clear. Instantly, Alexa felt her mind trying to use Creation magic against the orb, at least to perform a diagnostic approach to the elements being used, this was when she was met with a sharp spark as light burst out from the orb, striking her fingers, and subsequently burning away any traces of magic. Feeling this, she then tried to touch the orb with her psychic power Telekinesis. To her surprise, the ball lifted easily, even though it was clearly heavier than its small size would normally indicate. The ball no bigger than a standard basketball had to weigh in close to a thousand pounds. More than just the size and the weight, the ball still radiated power and energy in a way that Alexa had never experienced before. Curious, Alexa touched the sphere, all while holding it in flight with her Telekinesis. So engrossed was she in trying to understand this foreign object, that she failed to keep aware of her surroundings. Only realizing someone was close, when they entered the now broken-down entry doorway, one that stared straight past the entry way with a strange healing table, past the second broken door that allowed a direct view into the viewing room where the orb was located, along with a very beaten and bedraggled Alexa. Crunch, crunch. The sounds of movements caused Alexa to instantly try to reach out with sensory magic, something that was now ingrained into her by impulse. Flash. ¡°Gah!¡± Just as Alexa tried to send out sensory magic, it was quickly dispelled by the floating orb. Fortunately for Alexa, despite having her sensory magic broken, she heard and recognized the sound of the person who stumbled upon their little shack in the woods. She almost wondered how she was found, but then remembered how bright the orb was, along with the fact that there was now a giant skylight in the shack, meaning that they must have lit up like a Thanksgiving Day beacon. Hearing the sound of the speaker, Alexa instantly knew who the person was. ¡°What is that thing, and probably most importantly why are you naked in a rundown shack in the middle of the woods?¡± Gina Rojas asked, still dressed in her L.I.R. outfit that Alexa had made. Seeing her, and the fact that she was coming through the broken-down rubble, Alexa called out. ¡°Stop!¡± But her warning came a half second too late. Flash. Instantly a burst of dispelling magic shot out, from the floating orb, revealing that Gina had also been given the invaluable life lesson of always wearing underwear, even while wearing a Super suit. Interlude XIII Thanksgiving Night Interlude XIII Thanksgiving Night Ms. Peacock ¡°So, do you care to explain what happened on that awkward bus ride home?¡± Ms. Peacock asked, once all the students had been dismissed back to their dorms for the day. Her question of course was directed to Judge, the mother of Aru¡¯ka the student who had apparently gone missing while simultaneously being accounted for one hundred percent of the time. If not for the sudden disappearance of L.I.R. the alleged girlfriend of Aru¡¯ka, her absence might have gone unnoticed. Hearing the question, Judge just shook her head, not out of refusal, but more out of trying to understand what exactly happened herself. Pausing for a moment, Judge opened her mouth, then stopped. Finally, after another second¡¯s thought, she tried to explain. ¡°I found the two inside a destroyed orc safehouse.¡± Judge began, but quickly stopped as a shiver of fear ran down her back. ¡°An orc safehouse?¡± Ms. Peacock asked, trying to understand exactly what was so bad with that. From her intelligence safehouses, for both the elves and orcs, existed all over the world, and she could name at least two dozen or so that were within the tri state area alone. ¡°Yeah, but that wasn¡¯t the worst of it all.¡± Judge said, as she stared off into the distance, her eyes growing wide with fear of the memory. Not wanting to press, Ms. Peacock waited for Judge to come to her own conclusion on what happened. ¡°When I first arrived, I felt it. The sensation of death, the one that almost killed me. It was like looking directly into Hell, and there my daughter was, barely clothed, with Gina, also barely clothed, draining what she referred to as Void Crystals.¡± Judge said. At this Ms. Peacock paused, trying to understand what had happened. ¡°What? Why were they naked?¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t naked, they were still in their underwear, thankfully. Also, they had a healthy distance between them. Mainly I expect that Gina was freaked out by the situation, as she was on the far side of the room, but she was still there for her.¡± Judge said, her eyes wide as she tried to remember what happened. It was clear that whatever she saw out in that shack in the woods frightened her. ¡°Is the Void truly that terrible?¡± Ms. Peacock asked. Hearing the question, Judge stopped staring off into the distance to turn and face Ms. Peacock. ¡°It is that and more. It is like you can tell everything that is wrong with the world, with the universe is kind of swept away, hidden, or conveniently disposed of. Then one day you wonder where all that waste went, where did the runoff go, and you realize it all got pulled into one crystal form. One pure source of evil, and she ate it. Well not eat it specifically, but she Absorbed it. One second evil was allowed to flow freely and permeate the air, something so rotten and vile that it could be felt from a hundred or so paces away. Something that even the woods seemed to be reacting to. Then after she Absorbed it, the feeling of revulsion and rot disappeared, and it was just Alexa once more, my beautiful Alexa.¡± Judge said as tears began to fall from her eyes. Hearing this, Ms. Peacock rested a comforting hand on Judge¡¯s arm. After a minute, Judge began to calm down for a moment, then she continued to speak her mind about the situation. ¡°She didn¡¯t say anything, but I could tell it hurt her. Yet, she just sat there, not saying anything, the most you could see was that her face would let out a grimace every once in a while, but that was it. Then when it was over, she didn¡¯t comment about the pain. Thirteen. Thirteen crystals, that is how many she Absorbed, or at least how many empty shells were left after she was done. Apparently one of the orcs took a crystal and turned into a demonic slime. I saw the aftermath of this, as that slime had been well and truly burnt into the carpets.¡± Ms. Peacock just nodded in understanding, not wanting to stop her from continuing to provide details. Finally, when it appeared that Judge was done with her monologue for the moment, Ms. Peacock pressed for more details. ¡°You said they were just wearing underwear? Any reason why?¡± Hearing that Judge nodded, and a faint smile broke out on her lips at the memory. ¡°I wondered the same thing. Apparently, this is the reason.¡± Judge said, pointing to a giant silver case that when opened revealed an odd orb the size of a basketball. ¡°This is the case that held the Void Essence.¡± Judge said, as she reached in and pulled up the orb that was clearly heavier than one would assume from the size of the object. Pulling it up, it pulsed to life, and immediately struck out at a few runes that lined the walls of the room. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Whoosh! Ms. Peacock tried to look around the room, only to see dust and ash falling all around as the orb had come to life long enough to let loose a blindingly bright light that just targeted the magical objects in the room, before going dormant. ¡°What was that?¡± Ms. Peacock asked, her heart racing as the power unleashed by the orb was extensive. ¡°Near as I can tell a failsafe, in case the people who were handling Void Essence messed up, this orb here would have been more than enough to destroy the Void Essence shards.¡± Hearing that Ms. Peacock nodded, but then almost asked the obvious question, but then was finally able to make the deductive leap in logic on her own. ¡°So, this burns away magic?¡± Hearing the question, Judge just nodded in agreement. Fueled by this revelation, Ms. Peacock then continued. ¡°Alexa created the uniforms for herself and the others using magic, meaning that once this orb saw those it was able to dissolve them?¡± Judge just nodded in agreement. ¡°I guess so.¡± There was an awkward pause as the two thought about this development. ¡°But Alexa is Tier X in multiple schools of magic. If this is the case, and this thing is able to dissolve the magic constructed by a Tier X practitioner, then surely the orcs didn¡¯t create it?¡± ¡°No,¡± Judge began, but then paused as she too tried to understand what was happening. ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe so, this feels unlike anything either the elves or the orcs would come up with. Well maybe the elves, but I doubt it. Alexa thinks, and I tend to agree, that this was a Precursor item.¡± ¡°Now the Precursors, those are the ones with the words of power that Alexa learned? The ones that can go so far as to purify a body?¡± Ms. Peacock asked. Judge nodded, ¡°I believe so, yes.¡± ¡°Then I guess my only other question is, what if this wasn¡¯t something they found. Or better still, even if it was something that they found, what if the orcs were able to replicate this? I mean to send one out here to a non-Integrated planet has to be costly, right?¡± ¡°I was thinking the same thing.¡± Judge said, ¡°I get it, the orcs are desperate. They have been losing for a long time, and now this. I understand why they would target us; we are some of the most known faces of the resistance. Ready to fight with the elves.¡± Judge began. Hearing that Ms. Peacock had a niggling question entered her mind as she thought about Alexa. ¡°How do you know it was the orcs and not the elves?¡± ¡°Alexa said so.¡± ¡°What did she say exactly.¡± Hearing that, Judge let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Oh, you know her, so by the book. She claimed hostile alien forces. But you and I both know that the elves here would never mess around with something so dangerous as Void Essence for goodness sakes.¡± Hearing that Ms. Peacock could only nod her head in understanding, though she had her doubts about this. Ms. Peacock felt that the elves and the orcs both were just as capable of destruction as anyone else. Maybe more so, given the way their two cultures were established. ¡°So there were no other bodies?¡± Ms. Peacock asked. ¡°There was, aside from the slime, there was another one, but Alexa had taken that one out back and burned the body to ash with thermite.¡± ¡°Thermite, that is rather extreme, isn¡¯t it?¡± Judge was about to respond, but then shook her head. ¡°I would have agreed with you, before Jim, but with everything that happened, I am just glad Alexa was finally able to express herself.¡± ¡°Expressing herself through the mutilation of an enemy corpse? In some cases that could be considered a war crime.¡± Judge nodded, but then continued. ¡°Normally you would be right, but in this particular case, I felt a level of reaction was justified.¡± ¡°So what should we do with the orb?¡± Ms. Peacock asked. Hearing that, Judge who had been holding onto the heavy object for quite a while looked down at it, and then decided to put it back in the box. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think we should turn it over to the elven authorities. Maybe they can help us use it better. That or we need to make sure they are aware that the orcs have such devices.¡± Hearing that Ms. Peacock felt a slight shiver run down her spine, feeling the impulse, she realized this was a decision point, a point where the fate of the world would be assigned. ¡°Would you mind if I kept it here for a few days, for observational purposes before that?¡± Judge looked like she was about to protest, but then she seemed to relax. ¡°Yeah, probably for the best with Jim¡¯s viewing tomorrow, and his viewing on Saturday, I don¡¯t see how we could turn it in before then. So, Monday?¡± ¡°Monday.¡± Ms. Peacock nodded, and while the feeling of cold dread didn¡¯t completely go away, she felt this little crisis had been averted. With this, she was certain more so than ever, that this orb was something that should not find its way back into either elven or orcish hands. Realizing this, she decided to make plans of her own, but before that, she still had one important matter to attend to. ¡°You should go back, but I take it you are avoiding going back to your room for a reason?¡± Ms. Peacock asked. With that Judge nodded her agreement. ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing The Call.¡± The Call was the term used to describe when demonic forces tried to contact you. ¡°You have? And you resisted?¡± Judge nodded, tears forming in her expressive but tired blue eyes. ¡°Yes.¡± At this Ms. Peacock¡¯s mind raced, and then she asked. ¡°When Jim¡­¡± she choked on the words, unable to finish her comment. Fortunately Judge knew exactly what she meant and nodded in agreement. ¡°When Jim, passed.¡± Judge said, then paused. ¡°Honestly, I felt the call, felt their near constant connection until this afternoon. Until I¡­¡± She trailed off as she turned to look at the box, or rather she turned to look at the now dormant orb that still sat in the box. *** Lost Soul The Lost Soul knew only pain and anguish. For a thousand years, a day? It knew not what had happened, nor did it know how it got here to this place, but it was here hungry and in pain. It was in an egg, a cocoon. Somehow it knew these words, words to describe the complete darkness that encapsulated his body, words that could be used to describe everything around him. He could even understand the voices that spoke around him. He was not in a good place, he also knew that he was a he, masculine, but could not exactly quantify what being male meant, just that he was. ¡°We need to expedite this one.¡± A gravely voice barked out from outside the shell that cocooned the Lost Soul. Somehow the Lost Soul knew the voice outside was talking about him. ¡°We have already prepped it with growth hormones. What else should we do?¡± A subordinate responded, using the same guttural language as the first. ¡°Treat this one as if it were a Knight Class.¡± The commanding voice answered. ¡°A Knight class, so soon?¡± The subordinate asked. ¡°Yes, this one will have a great destiny to achieve.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start on it, right away. When do we need him completed by?¡± ¡°Tomorrow.¡± The leader said. ¡°Yes, master.¡± The groveling subordinate said. With that the Lost Soul could feel the intense pressure of the leader walking away. ¡°Looks like we have a lot of work to do with you. Hope you can handle pain, if not, don¡¯t worry it will still be there for you. Hahaha.¡± The groveling subordinate cackled, his voice and words clearly directed at the Lost Soul. Then after that, liquid began pouring down the sides of the shell. Liquid that spoke of power and pain, then the pain took over changing and burning away pieces of the Lost Soul until only fiery vengeance and pain remained. Chapter 157 A Piece of Cheese Chapter 157 A Piece of Cheese Black Friday (12:01 AM) ¡°So, I have to ask,¡± Gina began, but then paused her question as she continued to watch as Alexa created layer upon layer of complex runic designs before her. Gina herself had a basic understanding of runes, and her analytical mind and class were allowing her to make leaps of logic that mathematically filled in the roles of the questions she was right now formulating, but for the most part she was at a complete loss at what Alexa was doing. Pausing for a moment, Alexa turned to look at Gina. ¡°You want to know why I gave over the orb to Judge?¡± Hearing that Gina paused, as she took a moment to comprehend why Alexa would refer to her mother as her superhero persona. Was this because she wanted to distance herself from her mother, or was this because she handed it over to Judge, the Superhero, knowing that she would act differently than she would, or likely should as a mother? Thinking about it for a moment, Gina assumed it was the latter, which meant that Alexa somehow felt that Judge¡¯s actions, and in this case reactions, would be misguided. Realizing that, she decided to redress that bag of issues at a much further point down the road, hopefully well after whatever issue the two were having now was cleared up. It was clear that there were differences of opinions about what should and should not be done with the orb, but Gina couldn¡¯t help but feel that Alexa did a great job of deescalating a potentially tens situation by outright giving the orb to an older and more established Super. Though it was clear that Alexa was up to something, despite having clear reservations she gave up the orb to her mother, but only after she first emptied the one case of all Void Essence crystals, then proceeded to place the orb inside the box for safety purposes. At which point Alexa then remade both her Aru¡¯ka outfit, along with Gina¡¯s L.I.R. outfit. That was another thing that Gina wanted to ask about, namely why her outfit stood out so much, but that one Gina hoped for was fairly straightforward to answer. No, for right now, there were a few pressing issues, at least from her own observations of the scenes. First, she needed to know what Alexa thought of her mother. The fact that she was still tied to the elves in some way, despite everything that happened, was beyond reproach. Even Alexa¡¯s burning of the elven body to make it look like an orc was burnt to a crisp was an amazing act of chicanery on Alexa¡¯s part. Something that Gina had thought was too devious for normal Alexa to do, but apparently nothing was beyond emotional Alexa. All of these things, rather than causing questions to arise in Gina about whether she should continue to pursue a relationship with Alexa, did the exact opposite. In all aspects, Gina found Alexa absolutely intriguing, both facets of her personality were deep, complex, and above all deliciously intelligent. The fact that she knew that she acted differently and that she would wait until she either was on an energy-induced high or would wait until her high was over to conduct herself also made her even more intriguing to Gina. Take for instance right now, it was clear that Alexa had waited until her more pragmatic mind took over, meaning what she was about to do was either borderline immoral, or dubious at best. This was why Gina had tried to diligently to stay by Alexa¡¯s side throughout this whole encounter, also the mental image of Alexa sitting and saving the world from devastating Void Energy, while in nothing more than her panties made her heart race even now. Unfortunately, the entire scene had been too much for Gina to even act on the situation. First with Alexa¡¯s disposing of any evidence linking the cabin out in the woods being linked to the elves, then the destruction and absorption of the Void Energy, thereby ensuring Dawning Light Academy and the surrounding area was free of another incident like what happened in England. All of this made it so that Gina realized that even if things didn¡¯t work out between the two of them, that if gods forbid something drastic happened, Gina swore then and there to do everything to support Alexa, until her dying breath. Silence. Gina paused from her musings, only to realize that Alexa was staring at her. It was the stare of a wolf, or an apex predator that had taken time from a hunt to observe a pack mate. Staring into her deep blue eyes made a shiver run down Gina¡¯s spine, but in a good way. Realizing Alexa was waiting for her, she mentally ran through their conversation and realized Alexa had in fact asked a question. This was another thing about Alexa, when she asked questions, even open-ended questions, she almost always meant the question, meaning they weren¡¯t just open platitudes. While she didn¡¯t always ask for trivial details about her life, when she did, it meant she truly wanted to know. This was a great change, and part of what endeared her to Gina in the first place. Now when Alexa asked what she thought, or how her day was, it was clear that Alexa actually meant the question, and wanted to hear the truth, not like what her parents had brought her up to believe. Now Alexa had asked her about what Gina thought her actions were for, which was great as it ultimately meant that Alexa wanted her to know her true thoughts, that she wanted to connect on a fundamental level. Realizing this, Gina answered truthfully. ¡°I think I understand why you did what you did.¡± Gina began, ¡°your rationale for giving the orb to Judge had many reasons, from being a higher ranked Super, to familial bonds, to others. That said, I don¡¯t think that is the main reason you would have given over the orb, especially not after having placed it in the box that once housed the Void Essence crystals. Something that you conveniently hid from Judge.¡± Gina added, as she spoke, she got more and more tells from Alexa. The way her eyes remained the same size showed that she didn¡¯t have a reaction to the evidence or rationale so far. The way her body posture remained loose, implying that she was ready to respond back if her logic was off, but so far there was no need or concern about misunderstanding from Gina¡¯s point of view. This was good, as this ultimately led to Gina¡¯s true question. ¡°I get all of that. I also think that those are diversionary efforts. I think the main reason you handed over the orb was for a different purpose all together, though for the life of me, I can¡¯t figure it out and I am truly sorry for that.¡± Gina began. Hearing that Alexa nodded in understanding. This was another tell that Gina was learning to pick up on, her nod was not only a seal of approval, but also a sign that she understood the confusion and was going to try to fix said confusion. Whether she would, or would not didn¡¯t matter, the fact that she gave a nod meant she would try to work to fix whatever problem was before her. ¡°I can understand that.¡± Alexa began, and then paused as her mind worked for a way to express her thoughts. This was always the most fascinating thing about Alexa to Gina, the way Alexa¡¯s exceptional mind worked. She was the equivalent of a supercomputer that was always planning five moves in advance. ¡°To catch a truly adept mouse, you don¡¯t need to use a better mouse trap. By now the traps that have been invented are by far and away adaptable enough to find one for any set of circumstances.¡± Alexa began. Hearing that Gina paused as she analyzed the words. ¡°You are saying this is part of a trap, but the trap is not what needed to be focused on, rather it was¡­¡± Gina trailed off as her mind went to the only possible conclusion. ¡°The cheese?¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Alexa nodded, ¡°yes, the bait, but cheese works just as well for this metaphor. See, I know my mother has ties to the elves. Even now she refuses to believe that the elves would be part of the schemes that killed Warder.¡± The word Warder was hard to say for her and it was clear that at least some form of emotion was present in the word. This was good, as it meant that Alexa was learning to deal with and express her emotions in a natural way. While the subject was terrible, it still made Gina smile on the inside, knowing that she was getting better, even at what at times felt like exceptionally slow increments. Still, this was neither the time nor the place to make such an observation, as it would delay what Alexa was trying to express currently. Gina paused, wanting to see if Alexa was done talking, or if she would continue. After a moment, Alexa regained herself, a slight gulp, but it was visible to Gina who had been looking for just such a response. Again, not much, most people would thing that it was just a natural reaction, like pausing to take a breath, but for the normally emotionless Alexa, this might have been the equivalent of her crying her heart out. ¡°In order to prove the elves are not only involved in this, but I have also set up tracking runes.¡± Alexa said. At this Gina paused, but then formulated a hypothesis. Gina knew that the orb would destroy any and all runes that were visible to it, just as it would destroy magical spells. In fact, that was what tipped Gina off to it to begin with, as Alexa¡¯s Clone suddenly dissolved while in the middle of the Thanksgiving Day ceremony. Gina had been aware that Alexa made the switch before that point, but decided to carry on like nothing had happened, figuring that she would at least be able to ask Alexa about what she was doing later. It was only after the dispersal of Alexa¡¯s Clone that Gina became concerned and snuck off to investigate where Alexa had gone off too. Fortunately, there were a few trails to follow, broken branches, a strand of black hair, and above all the giant burst of sunlight from a forest that should have been completely hidden from one¡¯s senses. Still there was one question that Gina had to answer, if Alexa had set up tracking runes, then where exactly were they? Then the idea hit her, ¡°you put them on the box?¡± At that Alexa nodded. Gina ran a few mental calculations, and then formulated, ¡°on the bottom of the box, that way even the removal of the orb wouldn¡¯t trigger their immediate disruption?¡± Alexa nodded again. Gina took in all the evidence and postulated the one glaring concern that she had with the whole operation. Kudos to Alexa for coming up with the plan, and for not only thinking about it, but for sticking to it and letting Judge come up with her own plausible explanation for everything. Complete with letting Judge think that the place was an orcish safehouse that had been set up as a forward base of operations. But for also coming up with a way that Alexa could monitor and track the movement of the package, then another thought occurred to her. ¡°You can also hear and likely detect others who are nearby with these runes?¡± Alexa nodded again. This was good, ¡°so who is around the box right now?¡± ¡°Judge and Ms. Peacock. There is another, but neither of those two are aware of the third person¡¯s presence.¡± ¡°Is it Mr. Mackie?¡± Gina posed. Alexa just shook her head, ¡°no, as near as I can tell he is still missing.¡± ¡°Right, what about Kelvin?¡± Gina asked, referring to Mr. Mackie¡¯s long-lost son, and one of the people that has remained in hiding since this whole thing began. ¡°Right now, he is with Kylie and a few of the others.¡± Alexa said. Hearing that, it was clear that there was more to that statement than Alexa was willing to comment on, but for the moment Gina felt that the majority of her concerns revolving around Kelvin were either unfounded or had been resolved with Alexa unlocking her class. Regardless Gina was happy that Kelvin had found someone, especially since that person was someone other than Alexa. This time Gina nodded. There was a moment of silence, as Gina then used the moment to think about possible situations and possible scenarios where things could go wrong. This was something Gina was feeling happening to her more and more often recently, not that she wasn¡¯t already prone to worrying, but with the awakening of her class, and now her sudden deep karmic tie to Alexa, she found herself worrying more and more. One thing she worried about was her relationship with Alexa. While it was true that she was now considered to be the soul mate of Alexa, Gina was under no belief that such a connection in any way meant that she and Alexa were a mated pair. In fact, from what she saw, most of the others were either exact twins, or were related in some way to one another. In the end the fact that they were now bonded by this karmic tie of fate didn¡¯t mean much, other than they both needed each other to succeed. This meant that anything extra Gina would have to work for, but she was more than willing to do this, for her. ¡°What will you do if the elves get this orb?¡± Gina asked, trying to understand all of Alexa¡¯s plans. ¡°I will see where they take it and see how many more weapons store houses they have like the last one hidden around the world.¡± Alexa said. At that, Gina¡¯s eyes went wide with the implication. The thought was that this safe house had been a one off, but Alexa seemed to be implying that multiple of these types of store houses existed all around the world. The worst part was, that after taking in all available information, Gina couldn¡¯t quite refute the claim. ¡°You don¡¯t think this orb was a one off?¡± Hearing that Alexa shook her head. ¡°No, the odds of one orb happening to be here on a non-integrated planet doesn¡¯t make much sense. Particularly if this type of item is rare. It is more likely that hundreds or maybe even thousands of these orbs exist, meaning the loss of one on a non-integrated planet, even for only a few moments of time would not be worth noting. That said, the ones that are in charge of the overall processes here will know and be concerned with the findings. Meaning they will come out and likely deal with this situation personally, that or at the very least send a trusted agent to act in their stead.¡± Hearing that Gina¡¯s understanding of Alexa¡¯s true brilliance shined through. Again, she was setting this piece up, knowing that it would likely be taken back by the enemy. Her only goal in allowing such a valuable piece to be taken was that she would then hopefully gain more understanding of who was actually pulling the strings behind this whole operation. Still, there was one major question that Gina had about her plans that still seemed somewhat reckless. ¡°Even if you find out who is ultimately behind all of these actions, wouldn¡¯t that mean that you were still vulnerable to the orb meaning that you would be cut off from your magic?¡± Gina asked. Alexa nodded, ¡°yes, but if I am correct, and these orbs are far more common than they might otherwise appear, then I need to prepare to battle under such adverse conditions.¡± Hearing that Gina paused, as the full weight of what she was saying hit her. Alexa was stating that she would purposefully fight an unknown enemy of unknown power and strength, knowing that her Magical aptitude, by far and away the tool she was best at using would likely be denied to her. It was at this point that Gina saw the problem that likely all of the other Chosen Ones had to deal with. That or maybe it was Gina¡¯s luck that her Chosen One was a battle-crazed maniac that was determined to challenge herself to get better at what was clearly the weakest aspect of her repertoire at this point, namely physical combat. Nodding in understanding, Gina could respect the notion of her statement. Even if she herself could not get behind such a belief, she could at least understand how and why Alexa thought the way that she did. For now, just being able to understand Alexa¡¯s point of view was enough for Gina to feel that she had gained some fundamental understanding of the world, as it meant that now she could figure out the best way to help her. There was of course more to this, and Gina knew that there would always be more as what had been placed in Alexa¡¯s path was much more than anyone could possibly hope to deal with, but seeing Alexa, Gina couldn¡¯t help but feel assured that for now Alexa was up to the task. She did have her shortcomings, like charging headfirst into problems, but that was who Alexa was. The one who would charge head first into a dangerous situation. The one who took it upon themselves to find what equated to an armed terrorist cell of alien visitors who were sitting on a stockpile of weapons that were beyond the scope of their world to handle. Then once she charged in and eliminated the threat, her next course of action was to make it so that the weapons, in this case the Void Essence, a substance that sent ripples of fear down Gina¡¯s spine every time she so much as thought about the alien substance. Yet, rather than balk at that, Alexa charged head first and eliminated the essence. Then her next step was to set up a trap to capture anyone else who might be related to this operation. Honestly it was a bit beyond Gina, she was well aware of her mortal limitations, but for Alexa, despite the anti-magical handicap, she knew that Alexa would be ready to face any and all challenges that might arise. Blinking runes. The runes on the network that Alexa had set up began to pulse and glow brightly. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Gina asked, though she already had somewhat of a suspicion. ¡°It means that we will find the next link in the chain rather shortly.¡± Gina nodded, but then realized there was an operative word in there, ¡°we?¡± Alexa nodded, ¡°yes, I want you to come with me.¡± Chapter 158 The Stakeout Chapter 158 The Stakeout Black Friday (1 A.M.) It was a date, at least that is what Gina went with, and most importantly Alexa agreed. At least Alexa had encouraged that thinking when she first proposed the idea of going out to scout out the area where her orb thingy had been taken. The one Gina mentally called tequila, you know, because it makes her clothes fall off. From there it was a bit of heart racing action, as Alexa, the by the books pragmatist that she is broke the law. Well not the law perse, as there were no real laws governing the use and regulation of entering and exiting dungeons, other than the overall federal statues that stated all states and cities oversaw policing and protecting the safety of the citizens of their region from all dungeons that appear. This was the reason most had a tax of one shard per Tier rating of the dungeon. This was generally done as a way to reward higher ranked supers in order to get them to stick around and help them meet their level requirements. With Alexa and her not one, but two new classes, she had a lot of room to grow. Worse, she needed practically every growth crystal she could get, especially as she was well under her threshold for her level in terms of her physical attributes. This was becoming more and more apparent as time went on, her physicality while high for someone of her age, especially as she had to be one of the few people to fully Awaken their class early was now in the big leagues, as they say, and she was finding that she was lacking. This Gina figured was why their action tonight was just a scouting operation. At first Gina had been hesitant to go out on a mission with Alexa, for fear that she would only get in Alexa¡¯s way. Fortunately, Gina¡¯s fears were unfounded, and it also appeared that Alexa was taking it slow, at least for the moment. Gina realized that there were a lot of factors that likely played into the exact reason that Alexa would opt to go slow for today. First and foremost, today was the day of her father¡¯s viewing, which Gina was both excited and a bit anxious to hear that she was invited to, particularly as it was only meant for family. To Gina, this meant a lot, as it all but proved that things were going in the right direction with Alexa, that she wanted her to be there with her. What did the viewing have to do with the pair going for a stakeout, versus a full-scale invasion of the enemy compound? Well simple, neither could afford to be too injured to not make the viewing, or to be late in any way. Thus, Alexa had used Gina as cover. Twitch. Gina found her body twitching from having to sit still and forced her racing heart and mind to calm down. So many emotions were roaring through her, as she broke the law. Or at least she entered a dungeon without paying the entry fee. Alexa had used her Illusion magic to make it, so the guards and all recording equipment didn¡¯t record their passing. This was the equivalent of jumping the turnstiles to enter the metro, by all means a minor crime, but it still got her heart racing. Mentally she prepared to get more crystals to pay back both her and Alexa¡¯s entry, but for now she felt a thrill of exhilaration that made tonight even more memorable. Added to the thrill of not paying for entry into a dungeon, the two once again hid their actions by exiting from another dungeon that was apparently near downtown Chicago. Of course, Gina had no clue where they were, and she was fairly certain that Alexa didn¡¯t know either, rather Alexa had just been following the tracking runes she placed on the box, which led them here. Where here was she couldn¡¯t quite tell, it was clearly in the section of the city that was upper middle class, and one that seemed to cater to businesses that worked all day every day. Thus, why they were at the one coffee shop that was open even at 1 AM, the morning after Thanksgiving. A coffee shop that was clearly frequented by many of the members and executives that worked at the gated compound across the street. Though the term gated was a bit of a misnomer, there was a clear gate that blocked the road, and guards did regular searches of the compound, but there was no fence around the grounds themselves. At least that is what people wanted to believe, Gina¡¯s heightened senses were telling her that something was there stopping people and animals alike from just entering the compound. Maybe some form of mental suggestion, as there were a few runes around that compound that were up that Gina had no clue about their meaning, but she could infer a few things. First, the runes were powerful as they seemed to work on a suggestive level, even now Gina had a hard time focusing her attention on the compound as her eyes would occasionally gloss over and try to ignore the compound entirely. Secondly, the only reason she was able to focus on the facility once again was the fact that Alexa would occasionally stare at it so intently. Also, Alexa would do something, she would wave her hand and use some form of energy disruption that would make it so Gina could think clearly about the place. During those times, her mind and class informed her that her senses were in fact being tampered with. Gina of course wanted to talk about this, well about everything, but a quick glance at Alexa and a shake of her head was often enough to get her racing mind to calm down. Clatter. The sound of a coffee cup and saucer being placed down rang out, distracting Gina and making her realize that somehow, she had drunk a second cup of coffee, where the barista that had been particularly attentive to them had refilled her cup with a smile on his face. He smiled at Gina, but then glanced over to look at Alexa. Alexa had taken the moment to lock gazes with the teenager who Gina guessed was only a year or two older than she was, and jumped with shock as her full attention was on him. Not only that, but she was smiling. ¡°Gah!¡± The boy cried out, as he jumped and fumbled with the metal percolator poured some coffee out. Fortunately, Gina¡¯s heightened senses and analytical acumen both warned her about the spill and allowed her to move out of the way. Splash. Only after an awkward moment did the kid move. ¡°Oh my gosh. I am so sorry you two.¡± He said, looking back and forth between Alexa and back to Gina. Gina couldn¡¯t help but notice how most of the waiter¡¯s attention was clearly on Alexa, who was much further away, and nowhere near the splash zone. At first Gina wanted to be angry, but then she looked at Alexa and couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with the boy, as Gina knew exactly how he felt. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted up on the crip night air, momentarily filling the moment with enough senses to make it a truly memorable moment for Gina. Realizing this, she wanted to encapsulate this moment in her mind, here she was on a date, well technically a stakeout, but she considered it one nonetheless. She was here with Alexa, in downtown Chicago, or maybe at one of the upper end suburbs, it was honestly hard for Gina to differentiate the areas. And now she had the sweet scent of coffee, caramel, and a faint trace of vanilla to firmly cement this memory. The moment Alexa frightened a waiter by locking gazes with the poor boy. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Gina almost wanted to laugh, but instead picked up her coffee that was still steaming in the night air, and rather than drink, she just sat there holding the cup beneath her nose and breathed in deeply, enjoying the smell and hoping that the next time she smelled coffee like this, she would remember this moment. Chatter. Only after a moment of breathing in the scent and forever cementing the look of Alexa sitting in front of a no name coffee shop that was somehow open at 1 AM on Black Friday did Gina realize that Alexa was still in her role, of information gatherer. ¡°Do you get a lot of business out here?¡± Alexa asked. ¡°Normally yes. We are almost always busy. I have to say today was a nice reprieve from our normal. Slightly slower pace, while also making holiday pay.¡± The waiter said, a slight smile coming to his face as he brushed some of his shaggy hair behind his ear. Gina did a quick inventory and found that the rag he had pulled from his apron was once again shoved back into his apron, despite it still being at least partially wet. Gina noted that this was likely a sign that the boy was a klutz and therefore prone to having to clean up messes. That or the midnight crew were often messy, requiring him to go around with a rag in his hand to clean up even outdoors. The boy trembled slightly, as the cold Chicago wind seemed to cut through his thin jacket he had also been wearing. The more Gina watched the waiter, the more she was able to gleam from his personality. He seemed to be a friendly loner if Gina had to put him into a category. One of the people that would like to make friends, or at least have a friendly conversation, but then would also like to be left alone. In fact, had it not been for Alexa, Gina figured that the boy would have been completely quiet. This of course made a slight pang of jealousy form within Gina as this boy was clearly getting in between her and her Alexa. It was at this point that she also realized she had been referring to the waiter as a boy, despite his clearly being older than her and Alexa both, though his slumping shoulders and bad posture seemed to make him appear younger than he actually was. By contrast Alexa sat in nearly perfect form, back straight and eyes focused and intent. Jealousy. Gina realized it was petty and shallow to be jealous of Alexa giving attention to someone else, but she couldn¡¯t help it, at least not at this moment. For right now Alexa was staring directly into the clueless boy¡¯s eyes and giving him her full undivided attention. ¡°So what brings you two here?¡± The waiter, Sam, by his name placard asked. ¡°We are new to the area and looking for jobs. Do you know anything about that company?¡± Alexa said, and asked, pointing to the major compound across the street. Directly pulling attention to the large facility. At first Gina felt shocked that Alexa would ask such a brazen question, one that practically declared, ¡®we are watching this place.¡¯ Then thinking about it for a second Gina¡¯s mind raced and concluded that it would likely be more mysterious if they were at this coffee shop and didn¡¯t ask about the major building with well-kept lawns. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the Browning Corporation Headquarters. They do shipping, acquisitions, and something with computers.¡± The waiter said. Gina paused, hearing all of this, but then realized that the boy had clearly been working at this shop for a while and would have likely had many conversations with the people who came to the shop. Suddenly, Alexa¡¯s overly familiar cadence of speech with the waiter made sense, and a slight pang of jealousy she felt was eroded away. Not that she wanted to admit that she was jealous, but she was. Realizing this was not the way she wanted to be, she let out a long breath and forced herself to relax. Alexa, always aware of her surroundings, must have seen Gina¡¯s reaction to her and chosen that moment to turn away from the waiter to Gina. ¡°Did you hear that Jane?¡± Alexa asked. The words came as a sucker punch to Gina, who momentarily felt off by the question. Then realizing they were on a stakeout and likely wanted to use aliases followed suit. ¡°Yeah?¡± Gina asked, realizing that se was now going by Jane for the remainder of this conversation, and likely any future interactions with Sam the waiter. ¡°They have IT jobs, so hopefully we can get in.¡± Alexa said, then flicked her eyes up to Sam. ¡°Oh, oh, right.¡± Gina said, realizing that her cover now dealt with being Jane, an IT consultant who was looking for a job in Chicago. ¡°Well good luck.¡± Sam said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alexa asked, pressing Sam for more information. ¡°The Browning Corporation doesn¡¯t hire just anyone. In fact, I haven¡¯t heard of them hiring anyone new at all.¡± Sam admitted. ¡°How many people would you say they have?¡± Gina asked, her mind racing to help fill in this topic. Sam, hearing Gina ask a question deflated slightly, it was clear from that micro expression of annoyance that he did not like talking to Gina as much as he did Alexa. But he was cordial enough to answer, despite being clearly put off by the vibes that Gina was giving off. Seeing his reaction Gina wanted to instinctively see if she smelled like sweat or had something else that was blatantly wrong with her that would elicit such an act. For a moment Sam looked like he wasn¡¯t going to answer, then Alexa pushed from an angle Gina hadn¡¯t even considered. ¡°Sorry if that seems like an odd question. We are really desperate to find work, so we need to know if applying to the Browning Corporation would be worth our time.¡± Hearing that Sam¡¯s ears perked up, as he realized that if he wanted to see them again, well let¡¯s be honest he only wanted to see Alexa again, but he was now fully invested in providing as much information to her as possible. ¡°I¡¯d say they have a few hundred people at most that work for them. Most are the guards, Steve and Emily are regulars here, well regulars for the night shift. The day shift has Paula and Bobby as regulars, but they are all former military people.¡± Sam said, then he began to think. Pat pat. Alexa patted at an open chair that was between her and Gina. Sam the waiter paused, looked at the chair, then quickly glanced over his shoulder to his manager. Apparently realizing that things were okay, he sat down and decided to have an in-depth conversation with Alexa and Gina the only two remaining patrons at this time. There were two people inside, an old person who sat in a corner reading a paper, and another who looked like they had a little too much to drink and were clearly trying to sober up before going out on the roads. This left Alexa and Gina as the only two people Sam¡¯s age, and likely the only two people that he felt comfortable enough to talk to. ¡°Oh wow. So, you are like super observant.¡± Alexa said, her words coming out in a way that almost caused Gina to do a double take, only after hearing the words did Gina realize that this was just a persona that she had taken up for this conversation. For his part, Sam just blushed brightly, and instantly fell under Alexa¡¯s charm. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Gina could still see the difference between her real smile and the fake one, she now wore, Gina would have been jealous. As it was, Gina felt better about this whole operation the more she watched Alexa, particularly with the way she had Sam feeding her information that could be useful later on. ¡°Yeah, kind of, I guess.¡± Sam said, his smile genuine, as he was clearly interested. Alexa¡¯s on the other hand was a forced smile that could look genuine if you had never seen her actually smile. It was clear that Alexa had practiced smiling in a mirror and had likely been forced to practice just such operations. Gina made it a note to ask who taught her to do this, odds were that it was her father, as he seemed to be the more pragmatic one who would want her to use all the tools, she had available to her. While her mother seemed to be more by the book and therefore despise deception. Gina thought that this would be beyond Alexa, knowing that she normally hated lying, but it seemed for stakeouts and other scenarios like this she was a bit more lenient with her morals, again this implied that the father figure who instilled morality also showed signs for these deceptions. It was interesting seeing Alexa work this tradecraft, if Gina didn¡¯t know any better, she would assume that Alexa had gotten some type of interrogation-based skill. At the very least she now knew that Alexa was capable of getting information from an unsuspecting target, or in this case a clueless boy who did not know what he had walked into. By the end of the night, they had found out that the Browning Corporation had a bit over one hundred employees who worked at the main building, there was a twenty-four-hour IT support staff, but they only had breaks at 2 AM. In fact, Sam had almost been willing to introduce the two to the staff workers who he swore would come in even being the day after Thanksgiving. Alexa of course used that as a time to leave, but not before promising to try to stop by again later on in the week. That is when Alexa left, but only after giving the fake name of ¡°Yolandara.¡± Fortunately, that happened at the end, and the boy didn¡¯t seem to know the name or its relevance. As they began walking away, Alexa made the first move, and reached out to grab Gina¡¯s hand. The act was so sudden and abrupt that Gina was momentarily lost for words, but then just smiled as she felt much lighter as they made their circuitous way towards the dungeon. Only once they had made a few random twists and turns did Alexa use her Illusion magic to hide their movement. Then finally, in a wordless way that only Alexa could somehow pull off, the two entered the one dungeon near southside Chicago, where they made their way past the first checkpoint and were both pulled as one unit to Bottomless Gorge, their safe haven in the storm of the uncertainty that was yet to come. As soon as they were there, Alexa turned, her normally stoic face dropping as she let a modicum of emotion fill her features. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Alexa began. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Gina said, then moving on instinct more than anything she lunged forward and hugged Alexa, holding her tightly. ¡°This was a great night.¡± There was more that Gina wanted to say, that she could say, but in the end, she let those words settle before they would think about what would come next. And there was still so much left to do. Chapter 159 A Simple Viewing Chapter 159 A Simple Viewing Black Friday ¡°Plethora.¡± Alexa said, then mentally she began the long silent process of waiting and counting out until sixty in her mind, to make sure that a solid minute passed. Only once she got to sixty did her moment of silence end, allowing her to speak once again. ¡°Now I am supposed to sit down and let my mother come up and talk. Her first words are supposed to be ¡®Thank you, that means a lot.¡¯ And yes, before you ask, this was exactly what he had in his will. This was the same will and testament that said for today he wanted to be in a tuxedo shirt, knowing that for the rest of his life he would be buried in his hero costume. ¡®Tomorrow and for every day after I will be remembered as Warder. But today, I hope you remember me as dad.¡¯¡± Alexa said, quoting directly from the will. Alexa paused for a second time, this time only pausing long enough for the gravity of those words to sink in. ¡°This was who dad was, the first to state a joke. Or worse, get his expressionless daughter to be the deliverer of bad punchlines, knowing that my normal demeanor would be perfect for delivering dry punchlines. I hope he is looking down now and laughing one last time, even if he is the only one who finds the punchline funny, for that is who he was. He was the first person to turn to humor as a means to defuse a situation, but he was also the first person to charge into a burning building knowing that he would be able to make a difference and save a life. Today we are here to remember him for who he truly was, the man who was both larger than life as the Superhero the world watched and adored. While also being the man who was known to use a bad punchline to distract a villain just in time to deliver a real punchline.¡± There was another momentary pause, as Alexa let those words sink in, before she continued. ¡°Yes, he was also very proud for not only coming up with that joke, but making sure he told it to me sixteen times.¡± Chuckle. Detective Rayne Johnston, and a few others chuckled at that, not so much that they thought Alexa was exaggerating, but the fact that her analytical mind would have been able to not only count each utterance, but also the fact that she would be able to remember them all. ¡°Thank you, you will be missed. Also, as per your wish, here is my final departing dad joke for you, and before anyone asks, no I did not come up with this, but dad said he would need as much new material for the afterlife as possible. With that I only have one thing left to say. ¡®Did you know that optometrists don¡¯t have funerals?¡¯¡± Alexa began. Then pausing for a second, she completed the quote, ¡®yes, apparently they only have viewings.¡¯¡± Dry chuckles. ¡°With that, my time is officially over, and I will end it by saying one last word. ¡®Abundant.¡¯¡± Saying her last word, Alexa nodded towards the casket that still held her father in his spare Superhero Warder suit. There over top of the suit was his fancy tuxedo shirt, just as he had wished for. The last act of the family, after they all said their piece, would be to cut said shirt off him and use it as part of a bonfire in remembrance for him. As Alexa moved to sit down, Judy nodded and stood up. Tears were rolling down her eyes, but she had a sad smile on her lips. Wiping a tear away, Judy began ¡°thanks, that also means a lot.¡± The moment Alexa was done, she quickly scanned the area, seeing if there was anything else that had come into the area. Alexa had been warned that something would happen during the funeral, and while all signs pointed to tomorrow, the day when he would be buried before everyone. The day when numerous figureheads and other Supers would come out of the woodwork to pay their respects made the most sense for an overwhelming attack, one could never be too careful. As things were, targeting the family of a Super was often seen as the ultimate form of cowardice. Knowing this, this was exactly why Alexa thought the elves, or whichever group would use this opportunity to strike out, would choose now to attack. Fortunately, all of Alexa¡¯s concerns were for naught. Today, the day of the viewing was relatively peaceful. Each member of the family came up, shared their story and their message about what they had learned, what they remember, and ultimately how Jim ¡®Warder¡¯ Thyme had impacted their lives. Once Alexa and the rest of the direct family members had made their peace, Captain Johnston came forward. Despite her small stature, she sauntered forward with an overpowering presence. As soon as she strode forward, she got to the platform and said her piece. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I probably shouldn¡¯t say this, in fact I promised I would take this story about Jim with me to the grave, and now here we are¡­¡± Rayne said, as she looked down at Jim. ¡°I said I would take it with me to the grave, it¡¯s not my fault you died first, releasing me from my contract.¡± At this, everyone gathered perked up, realizing this was going to be a story worth noting, one where if Jim was still alive, he would come out of the woodwork right now and try to stop it. Rayne, as if giving him one last time to stop her, just stared down at the casket, but then nodded sadly to herself. ¡°Now, one thing you might not realize is that Jim was a local, meaning we all got to go to school with him and see that he was going to be a Super. You just knew it, everything about him just spoke about how he was going to save the world with his fists and cheesy one liners.¡± Captain Johnston began. ¡°What you might not realize is that his time in College, where he was getting his hero certifications didn¡¯t always go so smoothly for him.¡± Chuckling to herself, she paused as she looked down at Jim¡¯s motionless body and smiled. ¡°While we have all seen the media coverage of his now famous capture of Buggatron, the one where his white boxers were exposed for the world to see. What you might not realize is that we were all just one hard learned lesson from college that made that video go from being PG to R. What you might not know is that originally when Jim first got his Super suit, he was so happy that he wanted to be in it as close to natural as possible. He said, and I quote, ¡®this will help me immerse myself more in the role of being a hero.¡¯¡± At that Judy shouted out from the stands, ¡°it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°So when did Jim ¡®Warder¡¯ Thyme finally learn the art of wearing underwear under his Super suit? Was it the time when he was mauled by a debilitating bite to a sensitive region by a protector animal?¡± Rayne asked, then after a moment¡¯s pause, she shook her head ¡°no. Was it the time when he ran the convent course. The one where he was supposed to protect a convent from an attack, during which time he had acid eat away at parts of his uniform, revealing his nether region to the staff who were filling in for clergy members? No.¡± ¡°You see, Jim was far too proud for any of those things to stop him. No, the thing that got him to finally wear underwear under his suit was jock itch. To be more precise a large persistent rash that developed due to his nether regions being exposed to a moist environment.¡± At that a few people, Julie and Gina both looked far too shocked to even know what to say or do in such a situation. Captain Jonston was right to use this part to tell such a story, as this type of story would have been terrible to leak out. ¡°Now, what he didn¡¯t know, what no one knew was the reason for the rash. See, the instructors at the time had a bet going, that no one could get him to change his ways, that he was too stubborn. In fact, there was even a class wide reward of two three day passes for anyone that could get him to put on and better still keep on underwear. That was the time when a few of us took it upon ourselves to make sure he saw the light. That was when we started coming up with a system to have one person that ran a particular segment the slowest take and clean everyone¡¯s Super suit. That was the first time when Jim never finished last in any course, despite how badly he hurt due to jock itch. Now let me tell you, do you know how hard it is to finish purposefully behind someone who is doing a zombie walk during an obstacle course?¡± Rayne asked, while throwing her arms out wildly as if she was trying to swim through the air, while taking very short pain filled steps forward, clearly mimicking the way Warder had acted. ¡°When it was my turn to lose and to take on the role of Super suit cleaner, I had to fake getting lost for an hour.¡± Chuckles. A few of those who gathered laughed at the imagery and story. ¡°Fortunately, it only took a week for Jim to get the message, to always wear underwear under your uniform, and the rest as they say is that. We all got our three-day passes, well everyone but Warder that is. So yeah, the reason we have such a great clip of Warder was due solely to a bad case of jock itch. What we did was also likely a felony, but I am pretty sure the statute of limitations is over by now, which is why I can now share this story.¡± With that Rayne stepped down, letting yet another person come forward and share more memories of Warder. *** The Viewing went by quickly, each person making sure to add a joke, or a story about how Jim had impacted their lives in some way. Finally, it was time to leave, Gina for her part just sat idly by, watching as Alexa just stared at the casket. Alexa watched as her mother came up and with a pair of scissors cut off the tuxedo shirt, revealing just Warder in his Super outfit. Then getting the nod from Judy, both Alexa and Luke came up and as one first pulled the now cut shirt from his body. Then as one they all worked to pull his leather mask over his face one last time. Pausing for a moment, they all looked down at Jim, who would now and forever only be remembered as Warder, the Super who gave his life to protect others. ¡°This is always the saddest part of these events.¡± Father Mulcahy said, as he went over to also view the body. The entire thing was a sad moment, but one that everyone seemed to have accepted. Alexa peered at her mother and was happy to see that none of the faint traces of Void energy still lingered on her. Immediately after the death of her father, Alexa swore she saw faint traces of Void Essence clinging to her. At the time Alexa wouldn¡¯t have known what to do with the foreign energy, it was only now that she had spent time fighting actual beings of the void itself that she felt she would know what to do in such a case. As it was, she just stared down at the corpse of her father, and trembled slightly as she saw the faint, but unmistakable traces of Void Energy being tethered to his body. The traces of Void Energy were faint, nearly impossible to notice, but they were there. Mentally she reached out, trying to sever the connection with her Absorption power, but it was a fleeting gesture. While she could draw in the energy, she could only do so for a short time. Her first time draining foreign energy was when she had given her own eulogy, during that time she made sure to stay up longer, just to drain away any lingering traces of the vile energy. Now that time had passed, the connection to the corrupting energy had not only returned but had grown stronger. Seeing the signs, Alexa realized that not only were the warnings about an attack happening at the funeral correct, but she now saw the main delivery method for the attack. That or at least one of the delivery methods for the attack. The worst part was her feeling that there was nothing she could do. Well, nothing she could do, other than stay here all night and constantly wear away at this energy tether that somehow was able to come back to her father¡¯s corpse, over and over. ¡°You okay?¡± Gina asked. Looking up from the corpse of her father to Gina, she shook her head. ¡°No,¡± but she decided to leave it at that, as she still had a lot to prepare for. Tomorrow was big day, first it would be her legacy day, the day where she would come out and identify herself as the daughter of Judge and Warder. It would also be the day when she managed to get revenge on some of the people who dared to strike out against her father. But first, she had to get a few items. ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± Alexa said, hugging Gina and then leaving the viewing parlor. Once she was out, she quickly put up an Illusionary field to hide her, as she made her way to her next target. Chapter 160 Night Worker Blues Chapter 160 Night Worker Blues Black Friday (Night Time) The whole operation thus far had been simple, almost too simple. Granted she had scouted the place well in advance, even going so far as to bring Gina along with her to avoid any questions. From there they spoke to an overly helpful waiter who seemed to know everything about everyone who came to the little coffee shop. Not so hard to imagine as Alexa had chosen that shop due to its direct proximity to the location she wanted. Fortunately, the Integration hadn¡¯t fully happened yet, meaning that while there were a few elven and orc ambassadors who had made their way to the highest levels of world governments, they still needed humans to run effective operations, for now. Meaning that a coffee shop was a good place to get information on the human portion of the operation, for as far as anyone was concerned humans needed caffeine to function properly. Alexa made her way to southern Chicago, to the section of the city that had been under rampant reconstruction for the past few decades, building up the section to be highly influenced by elven architecture and aesthetics. It was clear that this section would be one of the areas that the elves would fully try to control and settle in once the Integration happened. Then the moment she saw the compound, her mind switched gears, no more idle thoughts about other things to worry about. No more thinking about alternate pressure points that are endemic to humans, for now she was focused. She first headed to the coffee shop, though this time, unlike last time when she came really early in the morning, now the day had come and gone, and it was once again nighttime. This time she walked past the coffee shop and made her way across the street with little fanfare. Her Illusion magic made it so she could easily pass by people without being noticed. It also made it, so she had to be extra careful when crossing the street, for city drivers were already bad, add that to the fact that she was not visible to anyone, and it added an extra element to the mix. Still, it was nighttime in the city, and the streets had mostly cleared out of most traffic, making her approach to the Browning Corporation Headquarters, the very one that still held the box that Alexa had marked with tracking runes and used to carry the magical nullification sphere that she retrieved from the random elven military compound in the woods. Alexa had two main goals with this mission, her first and primary objective was to retrieve the lost orb. Her second objective was to try to gain more information on what these giant orbs were. Yes, they could clearly disrupt all magic cast within a radius of the sphere, they also seemed to violently attack any Void Essence with their blindingly bright beams of light. Still there was something deeper to these spheres, something that seemed to resonate with Alexa in a way that was hard to describe. That reason more so than any others was why she now found herself on the southside of Chicago about to trespass on what was clearly marked as Elven territory. Even if Alexa had been willing to dismiss the architecture, and the signs. The fact that the warding schema seemed to target everyone, but particularly target elves and orcs specifically spoke to the level of paranoia that the leaders of this compound had. To have such a deeply entrenched protection rune network spoke to there being a master worker who was on sight. Or what was more likely, they had a mid-journeyman runesmith out here working, then provided the details and overlays of their original design back to some higher master rune smith that then gave ways to improve their original design. Alexa got all this by just staring at the runic patterns that lined the outside of the corporate headquarters. The runes were rudimentary ones, or at least ones that seemed to lack any real individuality. They had no true deviation in the shape nor size of territory that they covered. Also, the linking of the runes was sort of wasteful, particularly on the first layer of runes that were at the core of everything. This is what led Alexa to believe that these runes were created by a mid-journeyman expert of runes. The runes that were produced were functionally perfect, but they were just thrown down without any true understanding of how they could be built upon. Then the same runesmith came back and clearly added more runes to strengthen the original design, but did so in a haphazard manner, making the work take on a disjointed but more functional pattern. This would be the runic equivalent of building a perfect modular house, but then realizing you needed to add an additional room. Rather than adding the room on the ground floor, the designer decided to extend the second story of the house with an extra room, that was then braced by wooden support beams and the like. In all, the entire runic network was more advanced than Mr. Mackie¡¯s setup that he had for Dawning Light Academy, meaning that there was no simple way to take over the runic network. Either the network was up and operating, or the runes were down, there was no simple way for Alexa to bypass the entire warding schema, but there was a way to temporarily block the alerting runes from finding any human that passed through the barrier, so that is what she did. Focusing her will, she focused on the network of runes before her and cut off the flow of energy to the relay runes that tried to identify humans. Then with the relay taken down, Alexa moved through the weave of runes quickly. As she moved, she felt the runes bypass her Illusionary field, contact her skin and then dismiss her once the other runes realized she was not an orc or an elf. Then like that she was inside the compound. Now that she was past the warding schema, she took a moment to relax, while she prepared for the next step of her plan. Now is when the thoughts of Mr. Mackie and his son came back to the forefront of her mind. For a moment, she wondered what had happened to Mr. Mackie. Last time she and her brother checked, Mr. Mackie was still alive, somehow but he had been sent to his Dragon Trials. Unlike Alexa who had managed to break up the way she interacted with the dragons, even being able to completely leave the trials after singular stages, it appeared that Mr. Mackie was not in the same boat. Mr. Mackie appeared in the process of taking on all ten dragon challenges back-to-back to back. Worse, Mr. Mackie didn¡¯t use his Stays to grind out experience and titles from the easier dragons, this was an event that was now costing him as he had apparently spent more and more time trying to complete each stage. While it had only been less than a week, his rate of progression through the Dragon Trials was clearly slowing down. Going from two to three a day to one a day, and now one every other day. Even before she left, she made sure to check with Bottomless Gorge about his current status. She still remembered seeing the readout from the dungeon that was somehow linked to every other dungeon.
Marcus Mackie (Human): Currently on Dragon Trial stage 8 of 10.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. With that cautionary tale in mind, Alexa decided to make sure she had a training regimen set up so that the members of her pack would be able to take down dragons, or at the very least stay in a Dragon Trial long enough to receive help from her or her brother. No, just her, her brother could be an orchestrator, making sure destinations went by without a hitch, but also make it so she could jump in to help others of her pack, when they were in a marathon run like this. And that is the moment when she had her moment of clarity, stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought to herself, as she realized she could right now be trying to save Mr. Mackie. If she joined him, she had no doubt that the two of them combined could work their way through the remaining gauntlet of dragons. While Alexa had finished her trials, she knew that her Precursor Sage class let her do things that were not normal, like going to specific dungeons for training or using the interconnected nature of dungeons to quickly travel from Dawning Light Academy to southside Chicago. With that, she should be able to go to a Dragon Trial, or at the very least she should be able to join Mr. Mackie during his trial. There she could do one of two things, the first was she could finally recruit Mr. Mackie to her side, or the second option, she could finish what the dragons had clearly started. Shaking her head, she realized she was once again letting her thoughts drift. This was why she hadn¡¯t taken Gina with her on this mission, nor had she warned her about what she was doing. If she had taken her, then she felt she would be doing more to protect her, as Gina was increasingly more and more important to her. Not just as a general, but as someone who was seemingly always there for her, even when Alexa did things that were anti-social or would normally seem to be off putting to most, she accepted her. Granted Alexa knew that Gina also had her own issues to work through, but that was okay. Deep breath. Alexa took a deep breath and then as soon as she released it, she was once again in mission mode. She didn¡¯t know when her mind had decided to suddenly be less rational all the time, but it was starting to get a bit crazy for her. But this was fine, if she was going to fully heal one day, she would need to be able to do missions, even with distractions. Moving silently, she made her way across the well-maintained grassy fields that separated the Browning Headquarters building from the street. Off to the side was a gated parking garage area, that required a badge of some type to enter. Alexa knew that a similar badge would likely be needed to enter from the garage to the building that was attached to the parking garage. No, for this one, Alexa had decided long ago to do this operation the old-fashioned way. She would not go in through the garage and break her way in. Nor would she climb up to the roof and try to cut or break her way in. Instead, she would do this the simple way, she would go to the lobby and wait. With her Illusion up, she decided this would be a good test of sorts. Was her magic good enough to beat humans and elven surveillance equipment. As it turns out, her magic could protect her. Or at the very least no one seemed to mind the masked individual that was in their lobby seemingly staring and waiting for people to come through and leave. Alexa knew from the waiter across the street that multiple people were regulars from here, meaning that at different times they would leave this facility, go across the street, get coffee, and come back. Her job was simple, just wait until one person left to get coffee, then reenter. This task took three hours, but Alexa used this as a time to focus her senses and to keep her mind focused on the task at hand. Finally, after a long time, Alexa got the response she had been waiting for. Ding. An elevator dinged, causing the two guards who were on the floor to turn and face the elevator. Alexa knew that these two were likely just for show, and that there were probably more hidden away in some monitoring room nearby. If Alexa had to guess it would be the non-descript room that had a white door that almost blended in perfectly to the wall on the far side of the lobby. Alexa¡¯s salvation from waiting came in the form of a bleary-eyed office worker who half walked, half staggered through the security detection, past the two guards who greeted him. ¡°Good evening.¡± ¡°Good evening.¡± The office worker tiredly responded, before heading out the main entrance. This was her chance, focusing she waited the long time between the worker¡¯s exit from the building and the inevitable return where they had a whole tray filled with different coffee cups. As he came in, one of the security guards, being extra helpful, opened a side door so the worker didn¡¯t have to put down their drink carrier or get screened through security again. The guard was even nice enough to hold open the door while he went through. ¡°Oh thanks Mark.¡± The worker said, bracing the door with his foot. Little did Mark the guard, or the still tired office worker know, but Alexa was right behind him, purposefully slowing down her well-coordinated movements to fluidly glide behind him as he made his way forward. So precise were Alexa¡¯s movements that if anyone saw the two, they would swear this was something they had rehearsed over and over to make it look so smooth. Then quicker than she had expected, Alexa was through the first of many obstacles. The office worker made his way to the elevator and tried to fumble with his badge to scan for the elevator door to open. Seeing his problem, the security guard charged forward and was more than happy to assist. ¡°Oh, let me help you with that. We don¡¯t want a repeat performance of what happened last week now do we.¡± The guard said, pulling out his own badge and scanning it against the reader. With that comment, the office worker visibly grimaced, and offered an apology. ¡°Yeah, I am so sorry about that.¡± ¡°No worries,¡± he said, though his face was smiling, the system said he was clearly lying.
Mark Gaines: Class: Fledgling Vampire. Level: 43. Condition: Healthy. Status: Lying.
Seeing the guard, Alexa was certain that she could take on the vampire guard, despite being of a much lower level than the creature. Just seeing the way the vampire moved showed a lack of fluidity to its movements. Within seconds Alexa and the bleary-eyed office worker were on the elevator. There was a brief moment of pause, when Alexa passed the vampire guard, when the guard smelled the air deeply. Sniff. Immediately after the smell the guard paused for a second, causing the office worker to ask. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Alexa for her part watched the guard, whose eyes were seeming to stare at the office worker, and then scan the entire elevator. Then the guard asked, ¡°have you been eating onions again?¡± There was a slight pause, as the office worker seemed at a loss, then dawning recognition filled his face as he just shook his head in defeat. ¡°Oh, that one is bad.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± The guard stated excitedly. With that the office worker hit the button with a numeral five next to it. After which the doors closed and almost immediately afterwards the elevator began to rise. ¡°Now, all that is left is for you¡­¡± The office worker began speaking, looking straight forward at the shiny reflective surface of the elevator. For a moment Alexa panicked and looked forward, wondering if the shiny surface somehow broke the look of her Illusion, she had cast around herself. Fortunately, there was nothing, then what the office worker said next to himself made Alexa¡¯s ears tingle. ¡°For you to decouple the communications stone from its last network, then link it to the new network. Then you can take a well needed nap.¡± The office worker said, clearly looking at their own reflection, making sure to make eye contact while speaking. This was so odd for Alexa, and she wondered if this was a form of psychosis, or if this was something people on night shifts tended to do. To randomly talk to themselves and work out their plans of action. While she did much the same, she often found that she did so while being quiet about it, not telling everyone in an elevator about his plans. But then looking around, it seemed that the worker was just giving themselves a much-needed pep talk on a game plan for the night. Fortunately for Alexa, this person seemed to be talking about the very item she was looking for, an orb. It can¡¯t be this easy, though, can it? Alexa thought to herself. Ding. The elevator door dinged, letting her and the worker know that she had made it to the floor needed. Then once the door opened, Alexa realized that no, it would not be that easy at all. Chapter 161 Fifth Floor Chapter 161 Fifth Floor Saturday (Early Morning) The office worker moved forward, and Alexa easily followed suit, keeping her movements inline with the awkward office worker. After a moment of watching, it was clear that the office worker¡¯s movements were not truly clumsy, but compared to the movements that Alexa and now most of her pack could perform, the clearly human office worker was much slower and less refined. There were a lot of awkward and clunky movements. By comparison, the vampire guards who stood still like statues along the long hallway, when they moved their movements were graceful, with little wasted movement. Judging by the staffing of this office, where the guards all seemed to be within the level 50 to level 75 range, Alexa felt that this field office, while being listed as the Browning Corporation¡¯s headquarters, was just a front. Maybe Alexa was just being paranoid, or overthinking things, but this all seemed to be way too convenient of a place with staff and workers that were clearly under-strengthened to be truly effective against an assault. If Alexa had to guess, this facility stood as mostly a known central hub, with facilities that required more attention hidden off the company¡¯s books. Or offices that were at the very least hidden far away from the beaten track. Slide-shuffle. The office worker was clearly nearing his physical and mental end. While he had seemed to wake up a bit from walking around, what energy he had managed to awaken within himself seemed to be failing him now as he made his way back to his office. As Alexa continued to follow the guard with her Illusionary shield up, she noticed that the guards here all seemed to be at the upper ends of the level 75 rating that Alexa felt would be the highest for this facility.
Erica Nunez: Class: Vampire Adept. Level: 74. Condition: Injured. Status: Embarrassed.
Seeing the description, it became clear that the charred skin marks on the vampire were not some type of mutation, but were rather burn marks that were in the process of healing slowly. At first glance it appeared that the Vampire Adept was burnt, but the damage was too uniform to the left side of her body. The char marks also didn¡¯t seem consistent with burn patterns. Another thing of note was that vampires could generally heal from fire faster. At least a vampire of her level should be able to heal from the minor wounds she was showing at a faster rate than she currently was. The wounds all appeared to be superficial, going skin deep, had Alexa wanted to, she could do a quick check with her Healing magic, but did not want to trigger any alarms. Still, she was curious as to what would cause such damage to a vampire. Interesting. Alexa thought to herself as she got closer and watched as the office worker visibly seemed to tense up. ¡°Hi Erica, I hope you are feeling better?¡± The office worker asked with a weaker tone, one that Alexa had started to understand meant he was sorry. That was confirmed when she read his status.
Martin Glassner: Class: Artificer. Level: 75. Condition: Healthy. Status: Concerned.
If Alexa had to guess, she would figure that this Martin person had feelings for the vampire. At his words, the vampire, Erica, became quickly Flustered, before turning to Feigned Indignation. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just know that whatever happens in there I will not be able to save you.¡± ¡°I kind of figured. Thank you though. I know you got scolded for going in against protocol to try to save me, and well that meant a lot.¡± Martin said Apologetically. Again, Alexa wondered where she would be without the aid of the system, people were still confusing, but with the information she was able to gain from a simple glance, let her understand that these two had feelings for each other and that their awkward tension was due to a botched rescue attempt. Now, rather than the female having something to talk about that gave her leverage in a conversation, that same incident was now being used to distance the two. Honestly, Alexa didn¡¯t know why that was the case, clearly the female charged into the room to rescue Martin going against protocol to do so. The fact that she got injured by the process was likely secondary, or another topic the two could use to cause an interaction. Shaking her head, Alexa just waited for the two to end this conversation, where no one wanted the conversation to end, but neither knew how to talk to the other. Sadly, this was something that Alexa could easily understand and wondered if her own conversations were often this way. ¡°It was just part of the job, but just remember to stay safe in there.¡± Erica said. ¡°Thank you, you as well.¡± Martin said, and then with that, he awkwardly tried to use his badge to scan the door, but his hands were firmly working to hold up his tray of caffeinated beverages. Seeing his awkward movement, Erica reached out to help him. ¡°Hold on there tiger.¡± Erica said, as she reached down and grabbed the lanyard and swiped it by the door. ¡°Th,thanks.¡± Martin stammered, realizing how close Erica was to him at this very moment. There was a moment of recognition, where Erica¡¯s eyes went wide with shock at the suddenly registered closeness of the action and then with her cheeks reddening, she quickly recoiled back to her guard position by the door. ¡°Yeah, sure, no problem.¡± Erica added before staring down the hallway to the elevator as if monsters were going to come from that elevator at any moment. Then just like that, Martin, followed closely by Alexa entered the sealed office. The first thing that Alexa learned by entering the sealed chamber was that there was something very powerful on the other side of the wall, something that called out to her energy focused senses and all but demanded that she try to Absorb the new form of energy. Once again, this energy reminded her of the strange alien form of energy she felt reverberating from the glowing orb. ¡°Hey Martin.¡± A voice chimed into the entry room. ¡°Conducting security scans.¡± At that Martin just nodded his head, he was still tired, though seemingly more awake and aware of his surroundings after having spoken to Erica the vampire guard. At this point Alexa began to wonder exactly what the strangely powerful energy source was, with minor leaps of logic Alexa figured that this strange energy source, or one that they were likely working with behind these walls was what had caused such pronounced, but ultimately superficial burns to occur. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A pulse of energy shot over Alexa and Martin, one that was not on the same level of potency as the orb from the safehouse had been, but still powerful enough to be taken and Absorbed. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s odd.¡± The speaker said. ¡°What is?¡± Marin asked, suddenly awake and staring straight forward to the camera on the wall. ¡°The reading came back as degraded, but you still pass.¡± The security monitor said. Lots of layers of protection in this building all made it so someone like Alexa had an easier time slipping in. Alexa felt that this was the problem with multiple repetitive scans, where the deeper you went, the more people tended to avoid looking into anomalies, as they should have been noted earlier in the process. A good use case would be here, where despite there being multiple layers of security, Alexa had managed to work her way here, to what amounted to be the inner sanctum for this operations branch. Had she wanted to, Alexa was certain that she could force her way past the level 75 Analyst and go into the office before her. Of course, she didn¡¯t think such actions were unnecessary. Granted going out might require a bit faster of a response, but an escape plan was already forming in her mind. Namely she would get the orb, find the source of power, and find the item that caused such severe burns to the vampire outside. Alexa figured that the three items could all be one and the same, but for now it was best to assume that all three items of interest were different items, or at least different components to the same item. Woosh! The final set of metal doors opened, revealing a giant open lab environment. The initial entry way seemed to be a somewhat typical office setting with multiple desks and computer terminals set up, each recording and analyzing data in a slightly different way. Martin for his part began going out and handing cups of coffee to the different people who were sitting at their desks. ¡°Oh, thank God. You are a lifesaver, Martin.¡± A female scientist in a white lab coat stated. Martin just nodded, as he handed two more cups of coffee to the other Analysts that were also on hand. ¡°So any luck with the decoupling? Gah!¡± Martin asked, as he took his cup of coffee from the tray and splashed a little of the liquid onto his hand, causing him to wince slightly. ¡°Not really, we have made some headway on finding the frequency being used. We think it is the Eclipsion tribes.¡± The female researcher stated. Spit take. Hearing that Martin, who had been drinking a sip from his cup of coffee, suddenly choked, as his mind processed the words being said. This in turn caused him to choke on his coffee and to get some coffee on his desk. Moving quickly, he began grabbing a few napkins and wiping away at his desk. ¡°The Eclipsion?¡± He asked, finally gaining control of his reflexes, while also cleaning up the last bit of his coffee. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The female Analyst said. At that Martin paused, then after a second asked, ¡°so what do we do now?¡± ¡°We continue the decoupling.¡± The female analyst said. While she was a slightly lower level, being only level 74, Alexa pegged this person to be the leader of this group of scientists. ¡°We do?¡± Martin asked incredulously. ¡°Yes, by now they have already noticed the attempts to their network. We cannot leave it coupled to Eclipsion infrastructure while being in our lab environment.¡± ¡°But what about leadership?¡± Martin asked, a note of concern in his voice. ¡°They have already been informed. They told us to treat it as if it was salvaged, stating that if the Eclipsions truly cared about this, then they would have taken better care of it. As it is, for now this is the safest place for the orb, it is currently in our lab where it is cut off from being able to communicate with the outside world, and to make matters worse, management has already set up a new location for it.¡± The female analyst said. ¡°They have?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°At the very place they got it from apparently. It seems that the group would like to have better protections in place.¡± The female analyst continued. Hearing that Martin paused, ¡°wasn¡¯t this taken from a school?¡± ¡°Indeed it was.¡± ¡°And we are going to use it to spy on children?¡± Shaking her head, the female analyst just sighed. ¡°It is not our place to question our orders. Also, that school is apparently a place that is very interesting. The Healer is there.¡± ¡°The Healer?¡± Martin asked, gulping slightly. ¡°The tall Amazonian goddess of a healer?¡± ¡°The underage one that would is and likely will get a lot of people, in trouble if they keep making bad internet searches, yes.¡± The female Analyst said, as she locked gazes with Martin, who just looked somewhat sheepish. Alexa knew they were talking about her, or at least figured that to be the case. However, rather than focusing on the alleged search history of the Analyst, she instead turned her attentions to what she felt was more important. Namely, who gave up the orb to these people. Well, there was also a second question that came to mind as well, which faction of elves were these then? Clearly, they weren¡¯t part of the Eclipsion, which Yolandara was a part of. That of course just narrowed it down to about a dozen or more tribes. There was Wilken from the Tulpa tribe, he had been on hand to give a briefing at the same time as Yolandara had. The only reason why two people from rival tribes would meet like that was to split the resources, at least that was what Alexa thought. This couldn¡¯t be the Dragonslayer tribe as Alexa had eradicated those members and made it so all remaining members, along with their four bases of operation were under her control. That reminded her that at one point she would need to handle the resources that she gained from her duel and eliminate the remaining members of the Dragonslayer tribe from this world, but that was for a later point. Right now, she realized that her investigation had expanded. No longer was she okay with just finding out about the orb, the power source that could burn vampires, and what the strange energy was that still called to her from a distance. Now, in addition to all of that, she wanted to find out which tribe these people worked for, and most importantly who their mole was on her campus. The orb had been in control of the campus officials for less than a day. While her leaving the orb in the control of Dawning Light leadership had been a calculated risk, she was now glad she had done so. At the very least she found a major elven facility, one that looked to either be setting up a base of operations on her campus or wished to be expanding their capabilities on the campus. Given the fact that this orb, once set up, would likely cause issues to the runic structures of the campus. Unless that is what this whole decoupling process was, somehow getting the orb to notice one set of runes and magical energies as being cast by friendly forces and thus not having a direct reaction to it. There was just so much going on right here and now that her mind was alight with possibilities. Curiosity killed the cat, by getting it trapped within Schrodinger¡¯s box, Alexa thought to herself as she mentally worked through this conundrum. It was already getting late or was it early now. It was now at the very least Saturday, and within twelve hours Alexa would need to be in her Aru¡¯ka outfit ready to stand guard against a possible attack that would target not only her, but other Earth leadership. But before she let her mind wander to that part, she was now fully invested with finding out what would happen here and now. Alexa¡¯s heightened senses screamed to her that the new form of energy was being used just up ahead in a room that was separated from this one by lead walls and an oddly transparent material that seemed to prevent the now familiar golden glow from the elven orb to shine through. ¡°How much longer do you think it will take to decouple the orb from the Elcipsion network?¡± Martin asked. ¡°It should be done within the next twenty minutes. We are already in the process of draining it of all current energy. From there, it is just a matter of recharging it with our own unique energy, that will tell it to connect to the Tulpa network, and then we are done.¡± The female scientist said. With that, Alexa nodded to herself, knowing that Wilkin was somehow related to this whole operation. At the very least Wilkin the elf would be a point of contact to further her investigation. All that was left was to retrieve the orb, once it had been fully drained of energy, and steal it before it could be tainted with Tulpa energy. Again, all this was hard to fully grasp currently. The only thing that she was certain of was that she saw the power of the orb in question, and she wanted to use that power for herself. At the very least, she learned a few things. First the energy of the glowing golden orb was not infinite, that it did run out eventually, and most importantly once it ran out of energy it could then be reassimilated with other energy. With this knowledge, Alexa watched on as the four nighttime scientists all watched on a live stream that showed the orb she had stolen, and then had stolen from her up on a large seventy-inch screen. Alexa watched as the room the orb was in was filled with different runic patterns that were lit up randomly with magical energy. As soon as the runes had energy, the orb that was placed at the center of the room lit up and fired out bolts of blinding light. Each burst let Alexa feel the strange jolt of energy she had been feeling since she got here. The same energy that her body all but demanded that she somehow Absorb. Even now, protected by a wall of lead, she could feel the uniquely alien energy radiating through the walls and calling out to her. As time went on, the pulses of light began to slow. Then the time it took for each burst of light to burn through the offending rune began to take longer and longer. Alexa could almost see the pulses of energy slowly fading away. ¡°Looks like it is getting close.¡± The lead female analyst said, as she looked at her screen and read the numbers that were proving what Alexa was able to monitor with her eyes. ¡°It is?¡± Another male asked. ¡°Yeah, look the intervals between each burst is slowing down.¡± The female lead analyst said, pointing to her screen. The others all turned to their own monitors, to watch their own readouts. At this, Alexa began moving forward, past the four-seated scientists, and waited. And waited. Finally, after a long time, the bursts of energy coming from the room in front of her ended. The display overhead showed a now lifeless silver ball resting on a pedestal. Whoosh! The lead lined doors opened. There was now just one set of translucent doors that stood between Alexa and the orb that she had already stolen once. ¡°Wait for it. Let¡¯s make sure radiation levels are minimal.¡± The lead analyst said, taking her coffee and drinking the last sips of it. Slurp. That was her cue. With all eyes on the lead scientist, Alexa used that moment of distraction to make her move. Chapter 162 Enemy That Negates Chapter 162 Enemy That Negates Saturday (Early Morning) Seeing the moment to strike, while everyone was distracted and looking towards the lead analyst who was loudly slurping her coffee, Alexa mentally reached out to the wall and used her Telekinesis to first press the open button. Nothing happened. Alexa had figured something like this would happen, especially with the fact that every door required someone to swipe something. This was why Alexa just went on to plan b, if she could not open the door by pressing the button, she would open the door by force. Telekinetic Push Alexa focused her mind and pressed on the door in two different directions. Screech. The doors protested their opening with a loud reverberating screech that seemed to echo within the office. ¡°Huh?¡± All of the scientists that had been happily distracted a moment ago, suddenly stopped what they were doing and turned their full attention to Alexa. Or rather, they turned their attention to the front of the room, where Alexa currently was. Shaking her head, Alexa just decided to twist the doors slightly, thereby locking their location in place as the mechanical doors would be unable to press their way free. Screeeecccchhh! Rumble! That time she did more than cause a giant screech to sound out, but caused mechanical components under the ground to grind to a halt as she physically forced the doors remain in a jammed open position as she exerted over two tones of Telekinetic force to keep the doors open. With the doors open, she automatically let her senses pulse forward, as she tried to understand what the different runes within the room did. There were dozens of negation runes and runes that would cause severe damage to her if she so much as got within the entry room. AHHNNNTTT! AHHHNNNNTTT! AHHNNNTTT! An alarm system blared to life overhead, either triggered by her breaking of the door, or by one of the scientists that were at their workstations. Honestly Alexa felt she should have knocked out the scientists but felt she would have been violating some unspoken code of not hurting humans. That was something that both her rational mind and emotional mind agreed on, hurting, or otherwise disabling humans was something that should be avoided at all costs. Also, she figured and rightly so that she would not need to enter the room to gain control over the orb, a thought that was confirmed a moment later, when she reached in with her mind and Telekinetically grabbed the orb and pulled it towards her. Flash! There was a burst of light from behind Alexa that stunned her so badly that she momentarily lost control over the orb she was carrying. Startled, the orb jostled for a moment within her grasp. The light had nothing to do with her Telekinetic abilities, but it did directly remove her Illusion that she had up, an effect she noticed instantly as she felt the mental backlash from her spell being forcefully stopped. This of course played into her control, causing the solid orb to fly into her like a wrecking ball. Oof. She caught the orb, but it was nowhere near as smoothly as she had anticipated. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Who is that!¡± Voices of the scientists called out in a panicked tone. Having seen that, an intruder that had up until a moment ago gone unnoticed was standing right there in the middle of their office. Fortunately for Alexa, this time she was wearing a super suit. This one was a purple suit that was able to be stretched to her current size and most importantly, it allowed her to hide all of her hair, as the mask was connected to the suit, providing complete coverage for her. In her mind, she was not doing this as Aru¡¯ka the healer, this time she was going to go as but one of many warriors related to the human faction. Her hope was that with this suit, she would be able avoid being linked to this activity, should something like this happen. It was not that she expected things to go poorly, but rather she knew she was going to be retrieving this orb one way or another, and felt that at some point her magic, and all magically created objects would be dissolved like last time. This was why, she made sure to wear an actual Super costume, only when she went back to her school¡¯s storage room, she saw this number and realized there were other options available. ¡°Get back to safety. I¡¯ve got this one.¡± A female voice called out, her voice denoting her unbridled power and control over the situation. There was also a clear elven accent to her words that were spoken in English. The elven lilt as they called it, the slightly melodic tones that elves were known for. This of course was a power that had been formulated over the years, and able to be passed down to royal members of elven society. Staggering to her feet, Alexa could feel the internal bruising from the orb already healing, as she turned around to face her adversary. There, standing in the doorway that blocked Alexa from her freedom, was an elven warrior. The warrior was carrying a brightly glowing orb in her hands, one that looked like it was only now winding down from being recently activated. That was when Alexa reflexively took in the information of her opponent.
Taniral Tulpa: Class: Field Commander. Level 126. Title: Knight Captain. Condition: Healthy. Status: Amused
Seeing the elf¡¯s status, Alexa realized that the warrior in front of her likely had much higher physical attributes that she herself had. Also, it was clear that the elf clearly thought that Alexa at level 39 was nothing. Sauntering forward. Tanrial swayed her hips in a playful manner as she strode forward. Her tone and posture indicated that she felt well and truly in control of this situation. ¡°STOP NOW!¡± Tanrial shouted, her words laced with power. Power that was not disrupted by the orb in her hands. Power that hit Alexa and washed over her like she was a mountain peak standing up to a tidal wave of force. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Instantly, Alexa felt alive with the surge of energy hitting her. Energy that her body began breaking apart and instantly converting into a usable form. Energy that activated the primal parts of her mind, letting her feel alive for the first time in so long. Rationally she should be frightened, if she pressed, she could make her way past this Elven Field Commander, someone that was a Knight Captain. In her mind, Alexa knew that she could duel this person, challenge them to a duel that they would be unable to turn down, but Alexa fought that urge. First of all, this elf was lower ranked than her own, being just the second lowest title available, the resources that she possessed would be minimal. Also, such a duel would mean that a dome of encapsulation would form around the two, pinning them into a limited battle area. Also, if Alexa initiated the duel, then the elf could choose the terms of the duel, and she was not so unaware of her own limitations that she thought she could take this elf in a one-on-one duel of pure strength. Instead, she chose to go a second route. Seeing the giant sphere that was the size of a basketball resting in the elf¡¯s hands, Alexa came up with a plan. While the elf sauntered forward, her full attention was placed solely on Alexa, gauging her, trying to determine where she would go, if she would cut right, if she would cut left. Alexa realizing, she was up against a far superior opponent, at least physically, one who could negate her greatest strength due to these strange orbs, Alexa let a giant smile of competition fill her. This was after all her first real challenge since becoming fully Awoken. This would also be a test that would depict what she should expect from the elven invasion forces. In her mind, Alexa knew that the forces that would come from the invasion forces would be at this level or much higher. Seeing the challenge before her, Alexa decided to develop her own tactics. Seeing the way the elf strode forward, the heavy orb cradled in her right arm, Alexa treated it like she would anyone being so lazy with a basketball-sized object. Namely she would come up when they were not expecting it and try to poke the ball free. Using the full force of her Telekinesis, one that could apply multiple tons of force thanks to her various titles she acquired, the sphere was not only easily poked free of the elven commander¡¯s grip, but also fell painfully to the ground. Crack, snap, bang. The elf who had been sauntering forward in a suggestive pose a moment ago, one that caused her legs and hips to swing wide of her center, now found those same legs, hips, and ankles crushed under the weight of a heavy sphere. ¡°AHHHH!¡± The Elven Commander cried out, her cries filled by power, power that made her sound closer to a banshee trying to deafen an opponent, than anything. ¡°Gah!¡± The scientists who had smartly moved to the sides of the office, in an effort to let the elven commander go past their workspaces unimpeded began crying, as blood and other clear liquids began pouring from their ears, eyes, and the corners of their mouths. The scientists reached up to cover their ears to stop the sound, but that didn¡¯t stop anything as the sound was as magical as it was auditory in nature. The sphere that had landed with over two tons of force directly on the elven commander¡¯s right foot sprung up, slamming into the elven commander¡¯s stomach, before rolling up and forcefully ejecting air from her lungs. From there it was a simple matter of pressing the still reeling elf back on her back with the giant sphere, and pinning her to the ground the way one would try to use a large bowling ball to pin a wild bear. The only difference being that in this case the bowling ball, or in this case the giant metallic sphere won. Wham! Once the elf was on her back, Alexa rolled the ball up, crushing bones within the elven commander¡¯s chest. Then seeing that the elf was using their arms to clutch at the ball, trying to remove it, Alexa used that to Telekinetically lift the ball. Wheeze! The sound of air being forced through crushed lungs cried out audibly in the large open office. Once the ball was just past the elves finger tips, Alexa revered course of the sphere and slammed it down with as much force as she could muster. Slam. BANG! The force was so intense that it caused the floor to shake and rumble. ¡°AGGHHH!¡± What air the elven commander had managed to pull into their lungs was forcefully expelled, once again the words were coated in that weird commanding magic that her class likely afforded her. To Alexa, the words were free energy that she felt wash over her like warm sunlight on a cold day. The light pulsed over and around her and ultimately began filling her. Meanwhile, the scientists that had up until now been able to withstand the first barrage, albeit just barely, now cried out in their own cries of agony. Their cries were made extra loud, as their own bodies couldn¡¯t tell how loud they were being. At that, the doors outside the room began to open. The now all-too-familiar swishing sound of the first set of doors opening was enough to let Alexa know that she would soon have more company. While she was clearly capable of handling a one-on-one fight, she did not feel as comfortable dealing with a one-on-three situation, which was why she decided to speed up her own efforts for this battle. Mentally picking up the seemingly indestructible sphere a third time, Alexa picked it up, and moved it a foot, not much distance in terms of the whole world, but a massive distance when you begin at the center of the chest of an immensely powerful being and work your way up their spine to the more valuable components of their body. WHAM! CRACK! The giant sphere landed down with a thud that caused the elven commander¡¯s skull to bounce violently off the floor. Despite the full force of Alexa¡¯s enhanced Telekinesis at work, the blow was only enough to cause the elf to go unconscious. The arms that had been slightly moving a second ago flopped to the ground limply. Whoosh! The second set of doors that separated the external hallway from the open office swished open. In her periphery, Alexa could see the form of two people filling the antechamber. In her mind, Alexa knew that these would likely be the first of many who would come. Fortunately, the two looked into the office and saw the sphere and instantly knew what it was. Horror and fear flashed in the faces of both guards. The one who still sported superficial burns over most of her face looked on with fear and then darted away to a corner. The other vampire guard also darted to the side. Seeing their reaction to the sphere that was currently being used as a bludgeoning device on the elven commander, Alexa finally had once answer. These orbs could burn vampires. Granted there was no overt displays of power from the orb, meaning that either the orb was running out of power, something that seemed unlikely given that this one was supposed to be charged enough to supply energy to the now dormant sphere that Alexa was carrying, or something. Maybe there was more to being keyed into the system? That was the only thing that made sense, particularly with the way the elven commander could seemingly use some form of command magic, that the orb she was carrying did not react to in the slightest. These orbs were dangerous, they could take away Alexa¡¯s greatest strength, while allowing others to still use their own magic, that was something she would not want to face in the future. But it was good to know now, so that she could start to make contingencies. All those thoughts flowed through Alexa¡¯s heightened mind in the span of a moment. Then her more rational mind kicked in and realized there were a few things that needed to be done. First and foremost, she needed to double-tap. Wham! Splat! Mentally picking up the orb again, Alexa once again brought it down onto the skull that she had clearly heard cracking on the last strike. This time the sphere crashed through bone, viscera, and membrane and landed with a hard impact on the ground. The two vampire guards, cowered in the corner for a second, long enough to hear the second crunching strike made against their now former elven commander. Everyone could tell the moment the elven commander died. There were many sighs of her passing, at least to Alexa¡¯s enhanced Perceptions the moment the elf had died was apparent. First, the lingering power of shared pain the elven commander had released upon being struck violently was ended, as the scientists that had been crying and desperately tearing at their ears suddenly stopped. At that exact moment two bonds of force that connected the vampires to the elven commander also broke free, as the natural energy sustaining their connection to the elven commander was released. Seeing that, Alexa¡¯s mind went wide with the possibilities, did it just form because this was an elven commander? Or could all elves take over anyone who was infected with vampirism? With that, her mind immediately went to thoughts of her pack, and wondered if incoming Orcish Commanders could do something similar? At that, a thought went wild in her mind. While she was mostly certain that her pack was safe from such an effect, as she had personally disabled most of the underlying capabilities of the Lykanthropy virus within her pack, there was still the off chance that a powerful enough Orc could take control of her pack, and that was something she would not tolerate. Anger. A flash of anger filled her mind at someone messing with her pack. Shatter. At that thought, something very important came to her mind. This was the moment that Alexa realized that she once again needed to take control of her pack. She had been childish and immature before, and while her decision at that time had not hurt her pack, it could prove costly in the future. At the very least, if she once again had Pack Bond active with her pack members, she could hopefully see when or if they fell under the influence of another pack leader, or worse an Orc Commander whose class seemed to be linked to controlling werewolves. At least that was the fear that raced through her mind at the moment, as she saw the last embers of energy linking the now fully deceased elven commander to the two vampires that were cowering in the corner of the entry room. They paused for a moment, then seemed to realize the moment their bond to the elven commander was released as they slowly stood up and first looked to each other, then not seeing anything out of the normal, they then turned to see Alexa standing there in her giant purple Super suit. ¡°How did you get here?¡± The female vampire, Erica asked. Ding. At that exact moment the elevator at the end of the long hallway opened up, allowing a squad of highly coordinated footsteps to charge off the elevator, and move directly down the hallway. Realizing things were about to get out of hand if she didn¡¯t act, Alexa paused for a second, letting her Analytical Eye (I) surge to life, then after a moment¡¯s thought, she nodded to herself, as she saw the only way for her to get out now was to fight her way free. With her only path out of here clearly forming in her mind, she enacted the first part of her plan. ¡°Catch!¡± Alexa said, flinging the orb that was resting in her hands forward with all of her Telekinetic might. Simultaneously, she took the orb that had been used as a bludgeoning weapon, and hurled it backwards behind her, into the still open chamber that had been able to hold back the rays of the super charged sphere. Tingle. There was a tingling sensation that washed its way over Alexa¡¯s skin as the orb entered the antechamber. Once the orb was far enough away, Alexa could feel the difference, as the tingling sensation on her arms and back was gone. With the sphere that would stop her magical abilities from working successfully removed from the scene, Alexa¡¯s smile widened, as she prepared for round two of the fight against the elven stronghold. Chapter 163 Browning Corporation A Tulpa Company Chapter 163 Browning Corporation A Tulpa Company Saturday (Early Morning) Within seconds of not having the fully activated sphere nearby, Alexa could feel the moment that her ability to use magic was once again restored. Her first impulse was to immediately begin casting spell after spell, playing into her strength, and she was just about to do just that, when she realized something. This was likely one of the few times where she could practice a fight in hostile conditions, with the threat of having her magic negated at any time. Logically Alexa knew, or at least felt, that this would not be a one-off occurrence. Once the elves found out her weakness in these orbs, they would likely use them relentlessly against her until she could muster a good counter to such a situation. That was why Alexa thought about her actions for all of one second, before using her innate skills. While her base Attributes were only set at 345, nearly double from where she started from, with her titles and bonuses she knew they were now well over 1,215 and while the elves might have a few people in their armies with elite classes that would have more Attributes. She was certain in one asset of her build, namely that she was the strongest human in this building. There were more than a few Supers, like Wondra and other members of the League that were all around stronger, but for here, from what she saw, barring any other elves that were granted classes that would let them show their racial dominance over the humans they were sent to subjugate, Alexa was confident that she could handle herself here. Especially with how her Unarmed Combat (Tier II) skill, along with her Analytical Eye (I) were telling her the weak points of the attackers before her. Still riding the high of energy, she absorbed from the elven Field Commander, Alexa decided this would be a good training scenario. Now that all the elves were out of the way, she mentally assigned herself but one task, disable all the humans and cure any that were infected with the vampire virus. A quick scan showed that the four scientists were still down, two were completely knocked out from the wailing attacks, while the two that remained conscious, the leader and Martin both had blood pooling from their eyes and ears and were still crying wildly. With those few out of the way, Alexa shifted her laser-like focus forward to the vampires and elite troops that now lined the hallway. Alexa already had a slight opening as the sphere she Telekinetically hurled forward had taken down the female vampire guard and pinned her to the wall. With her only clear exit being either the elevator or the stairwell directly beside the elevator, Alexa realized there was but one way to escape, through the sea of people, so that is what she did. Charging forward, she was a blur as she darted into the sea of people that lined the walls, all pulling out their weapons. Standard Kinetic weapons stopped being as effective against Supers once they got to five hundred in their endurance Attribute. The elves and orcs both knew this coming in, and part of their process for showing their benevolence to the humans they came to help under their wings, they brought high powered energy weapons designed to disable even the most powerful of Supers. The only problem these weapons had is that many were only designed to fire one shot, and anyone caught within the blast radius of the shot would also be taken out with that same blast. The kick back from the weapon was also an issue, as it would often send the operator flying backwards if they were not braced or prepared for the attack. Range was also a factor as most stopped being effective after fifteen meters, so what you were left with was a one-shot weapon that required people to get up close and personal to a Super who could not be stopped by normal means, this was why many in the field called the weapons Death Wish, as you had to have a death wish if you truly intended to use the weapon. The idea being that if you missed, you would have one pissed off Super on your hands. While these weapons were calibrated to take down supers with Attributes up to three thousand, they were slated to be the most effective against Supers that had less than half that, or Supers that were in Alexa¡¯s current range. Normally weapons like the Death Wish were scoffed at, as they had no true practical advantage, until you got into urban warfare settings like this. Why these were not used against dragons, particularly those in England, the answer to that is simple, they were, but they were not effective, thus the new human nickname for these alien weapons that, while capable of taking down most human Supers, were incapable of doing more than annoying dragons or other highly evolved monsters. That said, a narrow hallway with only so many ways to proceed forward, made for the perfect spot to deploy these weapons, and that is just what the security crew had been doing. The guards who came off the elevator were apparently prepared to take down any would be Super who entered their facility and were now able to set up a forward line that had three guards wielding the weapons. Alexa watched the three Death Wish wielders set up their interlocking arcs of fire. If she had to give one word that described their set up, Alexa would have to say the word she would use would be impressed. The set up was spread out enough that everything from the top right to the bottom left was heavily covered by fire, with only a few minor holes that would no doubt still provide enough to at the very least clip her as she made her way forward. Then before she had a chance to either send her sphere flying forward to hit one or multiple guards, or to do something to disrupt the formation the highly trained assault team had set up, they fired right as Alexa got in range. Dodge and roll. Alexa, seeing the blast firing, did the only thing she could do. On instinct, she darted to the bottom right corner, to one of the two spots she noted as a possible escape spot. Unfortunately, she was not nearly fast enough to avoid being hit by so many high-powered blasts all in one confined spot. BOOM! The waves of force clipped her and sent her spiraling back. With all of her traction gone, due to leaving her feet in an attempt to dive faster, she now found herself at the mercy of the blasts, and the blasts were not that forgiving. Whoosh. Alexa found herself getting hurled backwards, her body rolling end-over-end as she slammed into the nearest open cubicle. Oof. The blasts and sudden impact into the cubicle were hard enough to make Alexa lose her focus for a moment. Clank, clatter. That was enough time to have the Telekinetic grip she had on the ball release, also releasing the female vampire, Erica, that had been pinned to the wall because of her ball. The vampire also seemed to suffer from the intense burst that passed by her. Even though she was in an alcove with space provided, she still felt and was now being burned by the blasts of energy that ripped through, tearing away her arms and legs and cauterizing the stumps that were left. As gruesome as Erica¡¯s wounds were, they were nothing compared to the wounds caused to the other vampire guard who had been moving to try to intercept Alexa as she made her approach. His body was also hit by multiple blasts, just like Alexa¡¯s body was. But unlike Alexa who had been merely clipped, his body had taken at least one blast full on, while getting clipped by others. His body combusted into flames and almost began disintegrating into an ashen pile of smoke immediately. As for Alexa, well she was, well she didn¡¯t know how she felt. She could tell that the blast tried to react to her own internal energy source and spin it out of control, which likely caused some type of magically generated chemical reaction that was meant to cook her from inside out. Unfortunately for her attackers, the weapons they were using were not designed with the intent to take down an Absorber. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. While the blasts did cause her internal energies to spike and begin to pulse, her body used the energy to speed up its own magical decomposition ability. This would be the equivalent of firing a green laser to destroy and cut everything, only to find that when you point that same green laser at a particular type of plant, rather than having the plant combust into flames and bisected parts, you realize that the plant began to grow at a rapid rate due to the nutrients being provided by the condensed light particles. For Alexa, she felt both the burn and then she felt the pure ecstasy of energy flooding her body. Energy that her body automatically began converting to improve her Regeneration, energy that her body instantly used to fuel her neural processes and to help her analyze things that tiny bit faster. ¡°Get her.¡± The leader of the team that fired the main round down the center of the hallway shouted. While he had been rocked backwards from the blasting of his weapon, he had managed to keep his footing. The other two were not so lucky, but fortunately they collapsed into teammates that were already behind them and hoisting them up. Stomp, stomp. That command was enough to get the highly mobile team to move forward. A team that had already taken out one of its own, a vampire guard who had been caught in the crossfire. They also seemed to completely disregard the now limbless vampire that had only been spared death due to a slight alcove created by blast doors that were designed to provide protection and a fallback point against invading hostile forces. Alexa used this moment of confusion to hide, she was already within the open cubicle system, having crashed through one, and landing just outside another. For now, she wanted to use the time to both hide herself, and to prepare her own surprise. With so much extra energy going through her, she felt that it would almost be a waste not to use it properly, this was why she decided to use one of her ultimate trump cards. While she knew it would likely be a dead giveaway to anyone that was recording her, or knew what the attack was, she still had to at least try. That was why she took a few seconds, to roll out of the way, to low crawl in between the different cubicles. Then once she was at a spot where she felt she would get the necessary thirty seconds of time to hide, she began casting the basics of her spell. ¡°Search for her.¡± The leader said, the fact that they knew they were looking for a female Super was readily apparent, as it was hard for Alexa to disguise her natural form inside the Super suit. This would make hiding what she was about to do even harder, but it had to be done. Slow scrape. The soldiers moved slowly and cautiously, trying to make sure they searched every spot fully, before moving on. No one wanted to be blindsided from behind. So all the guards moved slowly and assuredly. Unfortunately, they moved at a well measured pace that was far faster than Alexa had anticipated. Fortunately, she was so fueled by the lingering rays of energy, that her process was also increased. ¡°What is that?¡± Someone asked, no doubt seeing the first signs of what Alexa was doing. ¡°Contact left, contact left.¡± A second voice called out. Silence. Alexa could feel the weight of so many gazes all turning towards here. All were no doubt carrying some form of automatic weapon, but for the moment no one said or did anything. Then finally, after a long second, the attack she had been preparing for was complete. Nodding to herself, she let the golden sphere she had created leave her immediate area and fly upwards. ¡°What is that?¡± Someone shouted. Ratta-tatta-tat. Just as Alexa figured the magical glowing orb she had created drew everyone¡¯s attention. Alexa used this time to double back around and change her positioning, while also taking in a view of the battlefield. That movement, that one look was all she needed to see the seven men that were in a wide arc around the room. Focusing her mind, she split her attention, using a portion to keep the sphere moving towards the center of the room, she paused, thinking that she would need to use Telekinesis to grab and push everyone back into the hallway. From there she would detonate her power word Hope. What she didn¡¯t expect, what no one expected was what happened next. The golden floating word was up high, over eight feet in the air and nearly visible from everywhere. This was done on purpose, as she wanted to make sure she had the word at an angle so that everyone could see the word and hopefully be affected by it. However, she knew that from numerous trials, that her power words only had a small radius, with thirty meters being the maximum distance she could expect the words to have any true impact. That was why she was mentally preparing to grab the soldiers that were spread out and cluster them all together with one giant Telekinetic throw that would likely use most, if not all her remaining concentration and energy. What she had not accounted for was for the high-flying orb to be visible to the still charged Tulpa sphere that lay on the ground in the back testing chamber would be able to visibly see the floating power word that she had created. It was an oversight, and one that had an immediate result, as a glowing beam of light shot up from the orb that was on the ground and directly connected to her floating power word. Instantly Alexa panicked, trying to move her power word Hope away from the beam, but it was no use. Alexa knew from experience that the beam of light moved at the speed of light and was seemingly impossible to outrun. Mentally she almost let go of the word, assuming that it was just a waste of energy at this point, but to her surprise the word she had cast still held, even after a second of being in contact with the beam of light. Then after a second, when the sphere didn¡¯t shrink, Alexa noticed that the sphere actually began to grow in size. ¡°What is happening?¡± Vampire guards cried out, seeing the golden light of the sphere and panicking in recognition. ¡°Duck and cover!¡± The leader shouted, as he took his own advice and ducked behind a partially destroyed cubicle. ¡°Ah!¡± The scientists that had also been hiding in that same cubicle cried out as the commander did a flying belly flop into the tiny workspace. Alexa tried to move the power word, she tried to make it so it would still be able to target the people that were even now hiding, yet, despite her best efforts, she could not get it to move. It was as if the golden beam coming from the anti-magic sphere was not only locking on to her power word, but that sphere was forcing it to grow in both size and potency. After three seconds, the amount of energy coursing through the word was intense, far more intense than anything Alexa had ever felt before, let alone something she had control over. And she did have slight control over the power word, that much was true. If she chose, she could absorb the energy back into herself, though she knew that with the sheer volume of energy being pumped into her power word such an act would be extremely painful to say the least. Static. The tide of energy being channeled through the room and into her power word became so intense that the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise. At this same point everyone began moving and panicking. Those that could hide did so, one guard desperately tried to call for the elevator that had apparently been summoned away since the time of the team¡¯s exit. Then the word got so plump that it began straining against even Alexa¡¯s consciousness. The light of the orb glowed brightly, filling the room with so much energy that after ten seconds, an eternity in combat, Alexa finally lost control over the power word and released her grip on it. The moment she did, several things happened all at once. The first thing that happened was the single largest chime Alexa had ever heard sounded off inside her mind. The next thing she noticed was that the light that had been channeling forward from the one orb in the antechamber finally stopped flowing into the power word Hope that was even now dispersing. The light of which was so bright and powerful that it flooded everyone and everything in the room. Even darkened corners of the room were touched and felt the pulse of energy. Alexa felt the moment that an echo of the power word Hope was reabsorbed by the sphere within the antechamber. From there she could feel the way the energy of the sphere shot out wildly in all directions trying to link out to other orbs. At least that is what happened. The arcing energy bent its way over and around the lip of the antechamber that had held it in place, and then connected to the orb that had been lying in the hallway. Simultaneously, the power word Hope, also fed energy into the second temporarily lifeless sphere. This caused a looping reaction, to occur, as the spheres seemed to act as an unknown amplification unit for the power word. A word that began pulsing larger and brighter than ever before. Within a second, the power word had grown to be as bright as the sun and began taking up the size of the room. The moment the light touched Alexa¡¯s she visibly winced, but her fears were unfounded, as the energy was warm, but not excessively so. Then she felt the moment the energy that had been building between the three points in space, the two spheres, and the floating power word pulsed, and then exploded like an EMP bomb. At least that was the closest thing that Alexa¡¯s mind could associated to the activity, as the blast was not bound by geographic or physical boundaries and seemed to pulse through everything within the immediate area. Silence. There was a brief moment of silence, as no one moved. Using this moment, Alexa moved, the first thing she did was go over to retrieve her once again dormant orb that was lying on the ground next to the clearly shell-shocked vampire. As she arrived, she noticed that this was not a singular occurrence, as everyone who was here had been affected by the blast in some way. Seeing the limbless vampire, Alexa focused part of her mind and Healed the limbs, sending forth enough energy to regrow the limbs, albeit slowly. From there, she grabbed the orb that tingled her fingers as she picked it up. Then with the orb safely in tow, she made her way through the hallway of disabled guards. Many of whom were relatively high in level, but all had been affected by the overcharged blast in some way. Ding. The elevator arrived, and Alexa froze as she expected some type of resistance to come. But what she saw was something she never expected. Two high level elves were in the elevator, both of whom were clearly passed out in the elevator car. The blast even affected people within the elevator? Alexa mused to herself as she remembering her need for disguise cast a quick Illusion around herself that hid her movements, and then she made her way down the stairs to the lobby, where she noticed the two Fledgling Vampire guards that had been on duty were now passed out at their desks. The blast even got down here, Alexa noted to herself as she made her way out of the now sleeping Browning Corporation Headquarters building and made her way under the cover of darkness that still lined the nighttime sky. The world around her was seemingly unaware of what had happened, the alarm that was set was apparently a localized one, as its ringing was inaudible in the crisp night air of the city. Only the sound of early motorists making their commutes to their jobs could be heard in the distance. Only after she was outside the building did she even realize she could possibly have taken the second sphere. A second sphere would have been nice, as she could have tested for that amplifying process that she observed. Still the operation hadn¡¯t been a complete loss, she had what she originally came for, with minimal human casualties. In all, she would have to consider the mission a success, even if there were things she could do to improve upon. Interlude XIV Interlude XIV Saturday (7 AM) Rachel Rivers ¡°The sun has risen once again, showcasing the brilliance of a new day. While our hearts are filled with sadness as to the occasion of our future gathering, know that dignitaries from around the world have gathered to pay their respects.¡± Rachel began speaking to a pre-morning press conference. In the late Fall climate, an orange sun that appeared somewhat smaller than usual began to rise lazily, filling the sky with an imperial golden hue that showed the stark contrast of tombstones to police and Supers that had already set up a perimeter around the area. ¡°We have a lot of local Supers, along with Supers from all over the world who have offered their services for the day. This is only to be expected given the fact that there are so many world leaders that are slated to attend. The President is slated to give a speech, along with the Majority and Minority leaders of the Senate, along with the Speaker of the House. Even Chief Justice Reinhardt is said to be coming. Additionally, we have word to believe that the British Prime Minister Stevens, along with other dignitaries from around the world will all be in attendance. But don¡¯t get worried, the entire entourage of the League is said to be ready to come here and offer their services.¡± Rachel said. ¡°Rachel, we have to ask,¡± Lead morning show anchor Jill Takimura began speaking, ¡°since you were the one to break the scoop that something big was going to happen today, have you gotten any word as to what it might be?¡± Jill asked, clearly drawing attention to the fact that Rachel Rivers was the only reporter who dared to show up at the hospital on Tuesday, a day when Aru¡¯ka traditionally came to heal the sick and injured. Given the death of Warder, everyone assumed that Aru¡¯ka would not be present, but they were all in fact mistaken as not just Aru¡¯ka but an entire class of fully awakened supers came to the hospital to offer up their support. ¡°If you are asking what I think Aru¡¯ka¡¯s big reveal would be, I can safely say I don¡¯t know. Though I can confirm the fact that her entire class will be actively recruited. Some are even stating that this could be the first time the League adopted over twenty Supers into their ranks all at once, since the time of their original inception.¡± Rachel responded. ¡°Now, do you think they would do all of that just for a chance to get Aru¡¯ka the healer to join their ranks?¡± Jill pressed. ¡°Aru¡¯ka the healer, who singlehandedly took down the dragon of Madison, and the twin dragons of England? That Healer? If so then, from what I understand the answer is a resounding yes. Aru¡¯ka by herself is that much of a generational talent, but there is more to this class than just her. It is hard to express the sheer power that each member of the team exudes, but they all are impressive on their own. Again, I don¡¯t know what Ms. Peacock is doing at her Dawning Light Academy, but she is clearly doing something right. That entire group is set for great things to come.¡± Rachel answered. ¡°Right, but we all want to know what Aru¡¯ka will state. Do you have any word on that?¡± Dan Gilroy, the male morning host asked. At that Rachel just beamed brightly, ¡°I cannot comment on that one way or another, but just know that when she speaks, we will be right here recording all of it and presenting it back to you.¡± ¡°Such a tease.¡± Jill chided in a playful tone. ¡°You know it.¡± Rachel said, her smile still shining brightly. ¡°Well, that was Rachel Rivers, who will be standing by to share with us any new developments that come up. Again, as Supers come in from around the country, we can expect a lot of distractions today.¡± Dan said. With that Rachel gave a gloved-handed salute to the camera and then paused standing still, with the microphone still held perfectly still. She held the pose until the light on the camera went dark, then five seconds later the cameraman gave her the all clear sign. Phew. With that Rachel visibly relaxed, but then shivered. It was odd, she had felt cold all day, despite it being a relatively warm day for how late in the Fall it was. ¡°You okay?¡± Dave, the cameraman asked. ¡°Yeah, just can¡¯t shake something.¡± Rachel said, twitching her shoulders slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you did great.¡± Dave said. ¡°No, not that, you know what never mind, it is probably nothing.¡± Rachel said, but despite her protestations, she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something big was soon going to happen. It was her journalistic hunch striking, the same one she had, that told her to force Dave to go with her to the hospital on Tuesday, that same one was now blaring at her that things were going to get exciting. The only problem was, she felt a slight growing twinge of fear that something dire would soon happen. *** Wilken Tulpa Five tribes, an entire legion¡¯s worth of elves coming together for one common cause. Such actions had never been seen since the times of the elders, when the elders had combined their forces to all forge together a great alliance that fought back the darkness, and forever vanquished the evil from the universe. Of course, Wilkin was one of the upper members of the Tulpa tribe, he knew full and well the truth of the universe, that the darkness had not been entirely eradicated. That his ancestors, tired by war, fought until finally they forced Darkness to hide in the shadows, in the dark recesses of space. The idea was that they would go back and rest for a time, only to come back stronger than ever, but they never did. The elders, long since muted by the drudgery of war came back, broken shells of their former selves and tried to get others to go. Yet, when they saw their children, when they saw the look of awe and wonder in the eyes of their children, knowing that those very people they had fought to save would be forced to risk not only their life, but their afterlives for the war they couldn¡¯t finish, they broke. Each and every member of the elders broke, some forced distant relatives to join, or their people, but in the end their children, those who bore the legacy of greatness carried down by their parents were refused to enter combat. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. At first it was said that the reason the direct descendants couldn¡¯t be sent was because someone needed to stay behind, to learn the ways of leadership. But when the elders finally broke down and spoke about the hardships they faced, what still awaited their own children, even the most bloodthirsty baulked at the pressure. Then only those who had lost favor, or were truly reckless to prove themselves went, those who left were called the Lost Generation, those who never came back. After the sacrifice of the Lost Generation, no one had the nerve to go on, as everyone decided to stick with the status quo. It was for that reason that the tribes that had all banded together began to break away. The one great unifying factor uniting the elven nations from around the universe was gone and declared conquered. Meaning the elves eventually turned their attentions back to the subjects that truly mattered in a non-wartime environment. Namely, every elven tribe and faction began focusing on gathering as many resources and vassal states as possible. It was rare for an elven tribe to unite with another tribe, only if a truly great threat was identified would they unite. This was why Wilken had been tagged to go with the other members of the Tulpa tribe to conduct a forbidden ritual. Honestly Wilken didn¡¯t know how he felt about this, in a way it was flattering as it was the first time he had been chosen for a truly great cause, partially. The good part of this was that he would be working with higher delegates of the other elven tribes of this planet. From this, he was expected to make contacts and allegiances that could be leveraged to improve the Tulpa Tribe¡¯s standings and hopefully set them up to be the majority leader of this planet once the integrations was to be complete. The only problem was that in order to show the benevolence of the elven tribes, and to show how great their mission on this planet was, they were intended to summon a demonic being. The very being that they were supposed to be sworn to eradicating. While he had heard the logic for why such a culling was necessary, he still felt slightly sickened inside for being a part of this. ¡°Every planet gets to a point where they feel they do not need an overseer from either the Elves or even the Orcs. In these cases, a simple Demon Knight is often more than enough to quickly cull the best and brightest that a fledgling planet has to offer. With their greatest members culled, they will then be able to see reason, especially as we will then be the only reason why their Demon Knight will be able to be stopped.¡± Elder Tulpa said, her messages speaking coldly to Wilken, especially as he held doubts about the effectiveness of just such an effort. ¡°But how is it that we will show the importance of joining us to fight the Demon army, if we summon them so easily? Also, won¡¯t this create a weakness in the veil, making it even easier for Demons to come through?¡± Wilken asked. Sighing. His mother, the highest elder still active, the one who saw his great grandfather return from battle sighed as if she was speaking to a particularly na?ve child. ¡°To answer you second question, yes this will temporarily weaken the veil, but no more than would normally be seen at the start of planetary integration.¡± There was a slight pause, as the elder let that fact sink in. As soon as a proper degree of fear gripped him, knowing that at the time of Integration he would likely be called to fight multiple Demon Knights, and other demonic minions, he shuddered. Once a proper degree of fear was shown, the Elder nodded in satisfaction, before continuing. ¡°Now, as for your first question, a dog isn¡¯t born subservient, they must be beaten and shown what is right from wrong, only then can a truly great dog be shown. And despite how they might seem, these humans are little more than galactic space mutts, able to be molded into a usable piece, but only for a short period of time, before their usefulness is not only met, but surpassed.¡± Shortly after that answer Wilken was dismissed, given the chore of continuing with his portion of the ritual, regardless of the cost. Due to this, he was also ordered to go operationally silent, or to make sure that neither he, nor the members of his summoning team had a communication orb nearby. There was a good reason for this, as he was one of the few people around who knew that for whatever reason, the ancients who first began battling the demonic armies, had created the communication orbs. Orbs that were able to be charged, and ward off pure evil. Those same orbs would also play hell with demonic summoning ritual sites, purposefully striking out and attacking the warding sites. Normally this was a great thing, but for days like today, when a demonstration was necessary, the orbs would provide an unexpected hurdle to overcome, as such, each of the five teams were sent out to their respective locations, all without the aid of an Ancient Communication Orb. Looking off to the east, Wilken saw that the sun was already starting to rise. Realizing that this ritual would take a long time, and a lot of overall mana to fully activate, he signaled to his team, then with two words, he started the culling ritual. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± *** Elder Tulpa It was all a mess, everything was down. Their communication relays, everything, it was all down. Their network that they had painstakingly pieced together over the years through pieces brought over with each Halloween was down. While they were lucky in that none of the pieces were stolen, the mere act of powering up each component, and then having them all get reconnected with each other through their odd resonance feature would be annoying. Worse, the enemy had done so in such a brazen way that their main headquarters facility was down. If the lack of communications wasn¡¯t enough, particularly right before such an important event like the culling of this planet¡¯s leadership, there was still more reports. ¡°Explain it to me again.¡± Elder Tulpa said, a slightly exasperated tone in her voice. ¡°Well, it seems that the vampires under our command have been freed.¡± ¡°Explain freed, they are still vampires are they not?¡± Elder Tulpa demanded, a note of severe anger getting to her. ¡°Yes, they clearly are all infected with Vampyrism. They all show the same levels, as before, and all still seem to possess the same level of strength as they had previously recorded.¡± ¡°So, what exactly is the problem then?¡± ¡°The problem comes from the fact that they are no longer responsive to commands. We can give orders, but even our Commanders and Generals have no real sway over those who were previously infected.¡± ¡°How can this be?¡± ¡°We think it has something to do with the attack that was conducted.¡± ¡°The one that took out our entire communications network?¡± ¡°The very same,¡± the elven butler said, a slight note of tension filling their actions before they continued. ¡°Well it seems that the same attack took out the safeguards that we put into place when we began spreading the Vampyrism virus.¡± Hearing that the Tulpa elder paused as her mind went through a myriad of possibilities, then she realized something. ¡°Can it be?¡± She mused. Silence. There was a deathly silence that overtook the Tulpa throne room as no one wanted to interrupt Elder Tulpa during her musings. Finally, after a long time, and only once Elder Tulpa began to look around the room engaging in eye contact with those around her did her head butler dare to ask. ¡°I beg your pardon, but can it be what?¡± The head butler asked. Elder Tulpa paused, and debated whether she should tell her thoughts, but then figured keeping this to herself was too much. ¡°Can it be that one of the other tribes figured out how to utilize the great weapon system of the ancients?¡± ¡°You think this was done by a rival elven tribe?¡± At that Elder Tulpa paused then speaking as if she was talking to a moron she continued her thought, ¡°but of course, who else could figure out how to use the great weapon systems of the ancients.¡± *** Newest Demonic Knight Captain The Demonic Knight Captain fought against enemy after enemy. His reflexes were fast, his punches lethal, his insights were unstoppable. To put it succinctly, he was a perfect killing machine, and due to his innate prowess in battle he had quickly climbed his way through the ranks of the demon army. Going from being just a Demon Knight, to working his way up to that of a Demonic Knight Captain. He still felt the disharmony, a slight buzz telling him that what he was doing was wrong. But a quick dose of training, and torture helped him to gain control over those baser emotions. Now he felt that he could train and fight all day, which is what he had done since he first awoke to this new life. Shining light. Just as he got used to everything, a glowing white light began to glow around him. ¡°Huh? What is this?¡± The Newest Demonic Knight Captain called out, momentarily frightened by the glowing light source that surrounded him. ¡°Oh, you are a lucky one. One of the foolish ones seeks to call you. Watch out, they will first try to bind your will and your strength to do their bidding, you must resist with everything. Kill those who summoned you, then kill everyone around you, it is the only way to truly be free and grow into your maximum potential.¡± The powerful Demonic General said, his form appearing like a blur before the youngest Demon Knight. ¡°I can¡¯t go yet?¡± The demon knight asked, touching the light and feeling somewhat surprised when it didn¡¯t burn to the touch. He didn¡¯t know why, but the light almost always burned to the touch. ¡°No, best that you just sit back and wait for your time. You will only have a fraction of a moment when you first appear. Lash out, strike the ground as hard and as fast as you can, this will break any binding circles that are around you. From there, do as I said, and kill everything that you see.¡± The General said. ¡°I will.¡± The Demonic Knight said, then he found himself waiting as the glowing lights around him slowly, ever so slowly began to grow around him. It would be a while, possibly hours, maybe even days, but eventually he would be released, and he would be able to show why it was foolish to summon one such as him. Chapter 164 The League Chapter 164 The League Saturday Wondra sat in her seat, which was relatively close to the front line of the action. There was a slightly cold morning breeze that was blowing through, but honestly such a breeze felt great right about now, as the rubbery suit that Wondra had now worn for close to two decades felt stiflingly hot to her skin. Three rows back, center stage, that was her seat, directly behind Judge the widow. To her surprise Aru¡¯ka, the true reason why the League came out for this meeting was directly to her right. Due to Aru¡¯ka being one seat over, Wondra wished to move over, but felt that such an act would draw too much attention to them. They knew that as members of the League their presence alone would already be scrutinized, everything they said, everything they did, that was why even now they sat there quietly. Mophisto: Any idea why we are three rows back? Well mostly quiet, thanks to Linker¡¯s power the League was able to be present, communicate in real time, and coordinate activities as needed. The only annoying thing about Linker was that his power made it so everything came across as if you were reading a screenplay, with the Super¡¯s Super name in front, followed by what they wanted to add to the group chat. Wondra mostly kept her thoughts to herself but was okay with watching others as they spoke and made fools of themselves. Torch Light: I think those are their students that they were mentoring before us. Mophisto: So, we get to play second fiddle to some kids? Night Wing: Looks like it. Mophisto: I think there is something more to it, there has got to be. I saw the interview those twenty members of ¡®The Pack¡¯ had at the hospital on Tuesday, there is something odd going on. Linker, have you done a scan of them yet? Linker (Moderator): I have not been given authorization to do such an invasive scan. Yes, that was Linker, while he rarely spoke in the communication network he had, he did make it so everyone knew who was in charge of his little mind network. Looking at it, the notification of him being the group moderator seemed overkill, but unfortunately for Wondra she couldn¡¯t complain as she was the one who said he needed to do more things to show his worth to the group. They all knew he was vital in their day-to-day operations, especially with his seemingly limitless range needed to contact a mind he had melded with previously. The only problem was that no one saw that contribution, which was why she made a suggestion to get himself noticed. That was when he came up with the idea to both underline his name and point out he was the moderator of their chats. While Wondra couldn¡¯t quite complain about the results of such an act, as now everyone, even the newer members of the League saw him as the networker that he was, he still had the stupid moniker of underlining his name and pointing out he was a mind-chat moderator. Though in a situation like this one, he was invaluable, first he would help to establish contact with Aru¡¯ka, and quickly make her a part of the League. Earlier, when Wondra had gone to see her at the hospital, what was it? Two and a half weeks ago? During that time Aru¡¯ka was relatively weak but seeing her now Wondra couldn¡¯t help but feel that the girl had easily doubled the power she exuded at that time. That was when Wondra had to ask the question that was on her mind. Wondra: Hey Vision, what tier of class is she? The she that was spoken about was assumed to be Aru¡¯ka, as that was the only target they had in mind today, the only reason why seventeen of the twenty active members of the League would be here, in one place. Leaving only behind the skeleton crew of Sliver, Blaze-Lightning, and Conveyer behind. Vision: Too high for my Scanning ability, which makes her beyond Legendary. At that Wondra just nodded, as she stared into the back of Aru¡¯ka¡¯s mask covered head. Looking at her, she could see the long flowing midnight black hair that rolled down her back. Then she saw how the same flowing black hair rolled down Judge¡¯s back as well. That¡¯s when it hit her, why they were so close. Why Warder and Judge, two retired American Supers were in England, assisting with a dragon invasion. Gods I am stupid, Wondra thought to herself, making sure to keep her revelation to herself. It was obvious now, so obvious, she had even seen the similarities before, but discarded it. Midnight black hair was not too uncommon of a feature as to be truly noteworthy, but looking at them now, their posture, their proportions, they were so similar they could practically be clones of each other. Wondra was so lost in her own thoughts that she let her eyes gloss over the chat screen that was flashing by in her mind. This was okay, as she could always go back through the screen to find the last messages. This was another feature of Linker, he would save conversations for an hour, or permanently record them if they were particularly important, which was why those of older standing like Wondra and Titanus, two of the remaining originals just kept quiet most of the time. That was also why they missed the moment Linker was given authorization to do something stupid. In fact, the only reason Wondra noticed that anything had happened at all was that two things happened. The first was that the network of minds connected to her went dead, not disconnected, not slowly faded away due to too much use, but died. There one second and gone the next. What? Wondra wondered to herself, as she blinked her mind awake as the odd sensation of spiderwebs had slowly faded away from her mind. Then she looked around and saw that Aru¡¯ka was now staring back and staring at everyone. No, not everyone, just the members of the League that were immediately behind her. At this time Wondra also saw Linker¡¯s body pass out and lurch forward from down the line, fortunately Selestra had been there to catch him, but only after he made a fool of himself by crashing to the ground. Then just before Wondra could say anything, Aru¡¯ka got up from her seat, went over to the microphone section and spoke. ¡°This is a notice, members of the League, that is strike two for you. You are down to last and final strike before you will be asked to leave.¡± Aru¡¯ka said, holding up one finger to emphasize that they were down to their last strike. This was no good, and Wondra shook her head wondering what had happened, what could have set the normally calm Healer off. But then, her mind raced and realized something that, if Judge was the mother, or somehow related to Aru¡¯ka, then that would mean that Warder was her¡­ Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Unfortunately, her thoughts did not happen quickly enough, Linker was down, meaning the thoughts that Wondra desperately wished to share were not being shared. That was another question she had, but more than likely Linker had done something stupid like try to read the mind of Aru¡¯ka, the idiot. Then stupid Mophisto had to open his big mouth, something that normally wasn¡¯t a problem as he mostly kept to the group chat, but with Linker down, his mouth became unbridled, meaning he likely felt he could ask any question, even at a public funeral like this, for a fallen hero. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we are on strike two? Might I ask how this is strike two?¡± Mophisto asked. You stupid moron, Wondra thought to herself, as she wished she had been next to Mophisto, so she could strangle him into silence. Unfortunately, he was one of the newer members of the League, and therefore thought his opinions mattered the most. Then Aru¡¯ka answered the question, in her blunt and dry manner that seemed to speak volumes about her not willing to put up with any garbage, not today. ¡°Strike one came, when you ghosted both Warder and Judge for fifteen years, after they had to take personal leave during their one time trying to join your organization. Since that point, you have cut off all ties to both Judge and Warder, in fact your appearance here today would seem to imply that you are not truly here to pay your respects to Warder, but to use this moment as a chance to network and gain intel on others, a fact that is proven by your mind raper guy.¡± Aru¡¯ka said, pointing to Linker who was being held up, but was still clearly woozy from whatever Aru¡¯ka did to him. Truth be told, Aru¡¯ka seemed calm and poised, the center of control, but there was a violent rage hidden behind those bright blue eyes that spoke of barely restrained wrath. That was the moment Wondra was certain, she had seen that same look in Judge¡¯s eyes fifteen years ago, when she warned Judge that leaving now would ruin her career in the League, that they would automatically fail the pair. ¡°There are some things that are more important than your stupid League, and if you cannot understand that, well then fine. We will make our decision and trading her, for you, is nothing.¡± Judge¡¯s words from the past rang out in Wonrda¡¯s mind, so crisp and clear as if she had just spoken them. At that moment, that memory had been buried for years, another failed Super who failed to put the League above all other commitments. Wondra remembered how she called out to Judge, as she was strong, poised, and beautiful, the trifecta needed to make it as a spokesperson for the League. Judge and Warder had been failed that day for dereliction of duty and been relegated to making a name for themselves with the Tri-state area. Such a sad ending to what an otherwise exceptional career for a pair of two up and coming Supers. Now looking at this warrior before her, the one who was singlehandedly staring down every member of the League, made Wondra¡¯s skin tingle. They were related, Judge and Aru¡¯ka, that much was undeniable at this point. Then another part of that conversation came back when Judge left in a hurry, she remembered her comment that seemed incongruous at the time. ¡°We will make our decision and trading her, for you, is nothing.¡± Seeing Aru¡¯ka now, Wondra was fairly certain that the her, that Judge spoke about all that time ago was none other than Aru¡¯ka. At that so many thoughts flooded Wondra¡¯s Apex over-clocked mind. While Intelligence was not her highest Attribute, it was one she had invested in heavily over the years. This made it so when she put her mind to things, they were easier for her to comprehend. This was partly why she was able to see what was glaringly obvious, the reason why Aru¡¯ka would be so offended by people like the League coming here. People who as she had stated had abandoned her parents, people whose only real reason for being here was to schmooze her, only to realize they had collectively burned that bridge fifteen years ago, and were now paying for their harsh recruitment tactics. ¡°Oh, come on, you can¡¯t just kick us all out, we are the¡­¡± Mophisto began, but Wondra saw the look of contempt that was building up within the healer, the sole reason why they were here now, and he was ruining their chance at ever recruiting her, and he was ruining it with his big mouth. Seeing that there was nothing else she could do, other than to take control of this situation, Wondra acted. ¡°We apologize!¡± Wondra said, springing to her feet and bowing low in a heartbeat. ¡°Whoa!¡± The gathered crowd that was still filling in, with the last thirty minutes before the ceremony was set to start, murmured at the disruption. Then they all did a double take seeing who it was that was now bowing and offering a seemingly heartfelt condolence towards Aru¡¯ka. A person that was still allowed to speak, indicating that those who were in charge of this operation felt she had a right to speak in front of everyone, as a means to maintain order. Again, everyone was missing the signs that were clearly in front of them. This was why Wondra continued to speak. ¡°We did not mean to offend you, or your family by our actions, that was not our intention here today. Today we are only here to pay our respects to a great man that strode to make the world a better place.¡± Wondra said, remembering the last part from his entrance essay that seemed too clich¨¦ to be real at the time. Yet, after seeing the entirety of his life¡¯s work, Wondra couldn¡¯t help but feel that she, like the others, had been too jaded to see the truth in those words that were right there before her. There was a tense pause, as Aru¡¯ka seemed to analyze the moment, and finally came to the conclusion that kicking out the League might cause more of a spectacle than she wanted to deal with at the moment. ¡°Very well then, you all can stay, so long as you are only here to pay your respects.¡± Aru¡¯ka said, her tone ice cold as it was clear that any shot the League had at recruiting the young magical phenom was not going to happen today. ¡°Thank you.¡± Wondra said, bowing once more before sitting down quickly. Then with an icy glare she looked both to her right and then to her left, making sure everyone knew that it was now her reputation that was on the line. Everyone looked like they were cowed, even Titanus knew not to say anything when Wondra was in this mood. ¡°Ooh, mother hen getting all her unruly chicks in line.¡± Salazar, or Vibranium, spoke from the right wing of seats. They too were in the third row, but they had been forced to sit on the right wing, likely a sign to denote the lower standing of their guild in the view of the world, or the funeral organizers. Aru¡¯ka who had been about to go back to her seat, turned and gestured to Vibranium and said, ¡°strike one for The Clan as well.¡± ¡°But only strike one, right?¡± Salazar asked. Aru¡¯ka nodded, ¡°correct, only strike one.¡± ¡°We can live with that, and thank you.¡± Vibranium responded. Slight chuckling. With Vibranium¡¯s antics the tension that had been building over the area began to dissipate. With that Aru¡¯ka nodded and then moved to sit back in her seat. Sigh. Once Aru¡¯ka sat down, Wondra let out a breath of air that she did not even realize she had been holding. That whole thing had been too tense for her liking, and she was not ready to be embarrassed by having her entire guild kicked out of a nationally publicized funeral. After a moment, she leaned forward and saw Salazar, wearing his ridiculous bright purple Vibranium costume, still he too leaned forward and over the rows of people they locked eyes. That was when Wondra, Apex Super of the League bowed her head in thanks to Salazar for helping to break up an otherwise tense situation. Then a few minutes later, when the funeral service was just ten minutes from starting, Linker came back up. Linker (Moderator): Sorry about that, we are back up now. Wondra: What happened? Linker (Moderator): As per my previous instructions, I was given permission to scan the surface thoughts of one of the female pack members. During that time, I¡­ I got attacked and felt like all my energy was being forcefully ripped away from me. After that, things went dark, and I awoke a few minutes ago to you bowing and apologizing. Hearing that, Wondra wondered what had happened. If someone could drain Linker by his mind just reaching out to establish contact with someone that person too would be invaluable. Wondra: Who did you try to link up with? Linker (Moderator): I tried to link up with the odd boy that reminds me of someone on the second row far right. Wondra: So that boy can drain you of your energy once your mind made contact with his mind? If so, then we need to reach out to him. That power, well the possibilities are endless. Wondra spoke in chat, letting her thoughts flow freely. It was also clear that she could not let her thoughts go off on her own, as apparently someone had to monitor these kids and Titanus was not going to do it. Vision: It wasn¡¯t the boy. Wondra: What do you mean, it wasn¡¯t the boy? Vision: It wasn¡¯t him, I saw the entire thing play out. Linker did reach out to the boy¡¯s mind as he stated, but then when he made contact, I saw the moment that tendrils of power from Aru¡¯ka reached out and grabbed Linker¡¯s power threads. Mophisto: For my own clarification, what is the difference between a tendril and a power thread? Vision: Just what the name should imply, the lines of power that came from Aru¡¯ka were easily twenty times as thick as the small threads Linker sent out to enter the mind of the boy. Hearing that Wondra once again wondered what type of monster this girl Aru¡¯ka was. Having seen her healing powers in person, she had no doubt about the value she would add to a team. Added to that her ability to take down dragons, and that only added more value to her, but then to make it so she could stop a magical attack on an ally from what? Ten feet away? That was impressive to Wondra. ¡°Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, to pay the respects to a great man¡­¡± The preacher began. And with that, all the chatting that had been done a moment ago suddenly stopped, as everyone wanted to pay attention to the funeral service that was beginning. Everything was quiet, Linker even went so far as to clear away all previous records so that no one would be distracted during the services. That was why, the message that came next caught everyone by surprise. Vision: Holy shit, what the heck is with that magical light coming from the casket? Chapter 165 The Reunion Chapter 165 The Reunion Saturday Vision sat from her up front view of the funeral. As a member of the League, she had been awarded one of the most coveted seats in the entire event. She even had a more prestigious seat than members of The Clan did, and from what was said by Aru¡¯ka moments ago, it was apparent that The Clan had a better chance of recruiting her than she did as a member of the League. Aru¡¯ka¡¯s words had cut deeply, as it clearly exposed them and their intentions for what they were, they were here to recruit her, not to pay homage to the man who made this encounter possible. Yet, something was clearly wrong with this picture. Well not the picture, but what was happening to the casket. Inside the casket was a deeply crimson color of power that sent shivers down Vision¡¯s spine from just looking at it. When she had asked others about it a moment ago, everyone had been dismissive. Well mostly everyone, as Wondra had hit her up on side in a personal chat room. Personal Chat from Wondra: What is it that you see? Personal Chat to Wondra: It is a deeply crimson energy that feels repugnant to look at. Personal Chat from Wondra: Is it a large or small surge of power. Personal Chat to Wondra: It is small, well for now. I think someone else noticed it and started putting up encapsulating runes around it. The runes are very powerful. Vision said the last part, having seen a direct line of energy go out from Aru¡¯ka to the casket at about the same time the tiny thread of energy began to bloom within the casket. Just when Vision thought it was enough to warn the others about, that energy had been dissipated, and then seemingly dissolved by the complex runic structure that had been placed around the casket. Personal Chat from Wandra: Do you know who set up the runes? Personal Chat to Wondra: Believe it or not, I think it is the Aru¡¯ka girl. There was a slight pause as that thought was relayed, then finally Wondra responded. Personal Chat from Wondra: I believe you. There is a lot to that girl that even I can¡¯t puzzle out. For now, keep a close eye on the strange energy and most importantly keep me apprised of anything else that happens. Personal Chat to Wondra: Will do. And like that, the intense conversation with Wondra was over. Now that the pressure was off, and the moment had passed, Vision felt a surge of pride and panic hit her in equal measures. Pride that she had proven her value to Wondra, so much so that Wondra had not only spoken to her directly but had also given her a personal task to accomplish. Then as soon as she felt giddy for being recognized, she then immediately felt the pressure of having to perform a needed task for Wondra, and proving that she deserves a spot on this team, which was where the panic set in. Before she could get too caught up in her plans to watch the different energies and detail what was happening to Wondra, when she asked, the priest went and flipped the script on this whole agenda. ¡°Before this gets too far, I am told that Judge, Warder¡¯s loving wife has a few things to say.¡± The Priest stated. Mophisto: What? Night Wing: I don¡¯t think this was part of the agenda. Night Wing of course was stating what everyone else was thinking, that this was not part of the agenda. Even Vision found herself flipping over the double-sided pamphlet in her hand to see if she had missed something. Wondra: Silence, and you will find out. Wondra said into the chat, then staring down both sides of the members of the League that flanked her. When she spoke, even Titanus listened, as he sat up perfectly straight and prepared to hear what was going to come next. Everything had been happening so quickly that Vision missed the moment when Judge, Aru¡¯ka, and a random male all stood up and went to the podium that was standing behind the casket. Standing up to the second podium that was on a hidden catwalk behind the casket, Judge stood dead center, while Aru¡¯ka was on her right and the male in a Super costume was on her left side. Looking over to the two, both nodded to her, before she began speaking. ¡°Thank you for this, and most importantly thank you for coming today. To celebrate the life of a great man.¡± Judge began, then took in a deep breath as she looked like she was about to tremble. It was only now that Vision realized the way her uniform looked slightly too loose on the goddess of a Super. Yes, she was still powerful, yes she still filled out the uniform in all the right places, but her cheeks were thin, there was a slight looseness that was not apparent on most Supers. Looking down at her own uniform Vision could see that her uniform was a lot more filled out. This was odd to Vision, but she couldn¡¯t quite place her finger on the reason why. So caught up was Vision in the moment, that she almost missed the gentle touch from the male Super. Was this a boyfriend? A side lover that was there to push her on? Had Judge already moved on so quickly from Warder that she felt now was the time to bring her paramour out? Had Warder been with this paramour? All these questions and more went through Vision¡¯s mind as she watched, trying to understand why they all were standing up there. Then a quick look back by Judge to the male Super caused a dazzling smile to form on Judge¡¯s lips. It was there in that look that Vision felt a pang of jealousy, as that smile denoted warmth from a goddess. Warmth that Vision felt she lacked the courage to try to achieve with the seasoned warrior. ¡°As many of you might remember, it was just over a month ago when Warder and I retired from being Supers. Yet, we still continued to help out where we could. Warder¡¯s death will go down as another statistic proving that once a Super retires, they should stay retired.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Nervous chuckling. ¡°At the time of our retirement we were asked vigorously to ¡®take it off.¡¯ The it in this case obviously being our masks. At the time we did not. Not because we are afraid of what we look like, that we secretly had a bad reputation with our neighbors that would come out shortly after our retirement in a tell all book.¡± Chuckle. Now the crowd was laughing, especially at the expense of the recently retired Captain Hammer, whose neighbor came out with a tell all book called ¡°Captain SHammer.¡± Where they proceeded to tell everything the could about being neighbors with the Captain, details from always missing the trash day. To never mowing their lawn, to the hideous blackout curtains he chose to hang up to hide his day-to-day Super life. Normally such a book would be squashed by loyal representatives, but apparently the good Captain had burned so many bridges during his career, that once he had gone public with his name, the representatives no longer felt it possible to squash all the media stories about him. The book itself wasn¡¯t that bad, but the book being published meant that editors and journalists that were forced to sit on bad stories related to the Hammer were considered fair game, and that produced a landslide of negative publicity that ruined Captain Hammer¡¯s retirement, where he had a string of movie and endorsement deals lined up that were all cancelled. ¡°No, the reason we kept our identities a secret was because we were the proud parents of two future legacies.¡± Mophisto: Legacies? Night Wing: I knew it! Linker (Moderator): Settle down. Vision was about to post something to the group chat, but found that there had been a ten second ban. The Moderator of this chat has placed a ten second ban on all posts. Seeing the message, Vision let out a huff. ¡°Legacies?¡± Vibranium called out, even going so far as to raise his hand as if he was in class. Judge, paused from her apparently prepared speech to look up and lock eyes with the purple suited Super. ¡°That is correct. I would like to introduce my twins.¡± Judge said, placing her hand on the back of both Aru¡¯ka and the boy and pushing them forward, while taking a half step back. Click, flash, click. At that there was a flutter of cameras going off as everyone took images of the three together. ¡°As many of you are already aware, our¡­¡± Judge trailed off, as she realized she used the wrong pronoun. ¡°My daughter, Aru¡¯ka is already making a name for herself as a well-known Super. But what you might not know is that her brother Skywalker, is also a fully-fledged Super.¡± There was a slight pause as she stated the name Skywalker, as it appeared she had a hard time accepting that as the name being used by her own son. Mophisto: So, with a name like Skywalker, we can assume he has the flight ability? Night Wing: Probably. Vision was surprised to see that the ban had been lifted, but then realized that it had obviously been more than ten seconds. At that Vision wondered why Linker had paused chats but figured that it likely had something to do with the idea that people would be chatting about what was happening so much, that they missed what was being said. At least that is what Vision assumed the slight pause in the use of Linker¡¯s chat feature was for. Polytechnique: Are we still only here to recruit Aru¡¯ka? Or do we want the brother as well. Titanus: How does the brother measure up, @Vision. With Titanus calling out her name like that, the text flashed red, indicating that she was meant to respond. Shaking herself, Vision always felt that the chat feature was so incongruous with reality. She read the chat once, then realized Titanus was effectively asking for her to use her powers to evaluate the brother, without stating that. Feeling slightly flustered, she paused, and then looked up and then truly began to evaluate the brother. That was when she found him to be something special. Skywalker: Level 32 (Legendary). That was part of why Vision was on the team, she had chosen all the Perception rewards she could that would help her identify any Super and their class. The fact that this one was hidden implied that he had some obfuscation techniques available to his class. Ones that hid both his name and his class. Fortunately, she could see the rating of the class and what his level was. Vision: He is a level 32 Legendary class, one that can hide both the personal and class name. Vision replied succinctly to the group mind-chat, trying to answer everything as quickly and efficiently as possible. With that there was a long pause, as apparently Titanus and the other leaders of the guild all thought together in a side chat. While Vision couldn¡¯t see the chat occurring, she could see the weave of power that linked Wondra, Titanus, Linker, Refuse, and Transition together, showing that the four oldest members were hosting a personal conference. Finally after a few seconds of deliberation, the chat broke and Titanus was the one who spoke. Titanus: All right, the game plan is still the same, we want to keep trying to get Aru¡¯ka. But we are also going to bring in the brother. With that @Night Wing, @Kamala, @Vision, and @Zandia, you four will be our first attempt. Go up to him and try to ¡®convince¡¯ him to join. Or at the very least make him feel like this is the place he wants to go. Night Wing: You want us to seduce him? Titanus: Do whatever you need to do to bring him to our side. He is a male, and you four are the prettiest of our new batch of recruits. And like that, Vision felt slightly revolted at the fact that she now felt she had to prove herself to the team by seducing, or at the very least being overly friendly to the boy. Not that she thought the boy was bad looking, well with a face mask, it was kind of hard to tell honestly, but Vision felt that this was part of the job that she would rather not deal with. The fact that Titanus, one of the more chauvinistic Supers of all time was the one giving the command, as opposed to Wondra only made the command that much more repugnant to stomach. The fact that Wondra hadn¡¯t given the command hopefully spoke to the idea that she was at least opposed to the idea, and did not concur with the order, but refused to speak out due to fear of not having a unified front for the team. That is what she hoped at least. From there, the marching orders were clear. Their primary target was still to lure over Aru¡¯ka, the necromantic healer, the dragon slayer, and now apparently master rune technician. The way they were going to do this was through the brother, and it was now Vision¡¯s job to do so. Vision was so distraught with her new task, that she almost lost track of her original goal that was given to her by Wondra. Shiver. Only an intense surge of spine chilling energy made her realize something was wrong. Then before she knew what was happening, she was already up on her feet. ¡°Sit down,¡± Wondra said, her voice coming out as an audible hiss that smacked into her ears. Vision paused, and looked around, seeing that she was making a scene, but then realized the reason she was up on her feet. Trembling. Vision¡¯s body was shaking from the sudden swelling and surge of energy. Her voice caught in her throat, she wanted to state what she was feeling, that the surge of evil energy was just too much, that they needed to get out, that something bad was going to happen. She wanted to say all of these things, but then her voice caught in her throat and all she could do was raise one trembling hand to the casket. ¡°Everyone needs to leave.¡± A calm voice spoke out over the loud speaker, pausing Vision turned to see that it was Aru¡¯ka, who had pushed not only her mother, but her brother away to stand behind her. ¡°What is going on?¡± People shouted. Now it was becoming more and more apparent, as the evil energy that had been held in check by a few lines of runes was suddenly being overwhelmed by surges of energy. With a glance up, Vision saw no less than five thick threads of energy surging up, forming a dense dome around them, and then plunging down directly into the casket that had been held at bay due to runes keeping everything in. Unfortunately that ring of runes was shattered when external energies were applied, slamming into the structure and combining with the apparent anchor of this energy storm. Wondra: What is happening. Vision: I don¡¯t know. I just¡­ Vision tried to think about it, tried to understand exactly what was happening. But for the life of her she could not understand. This was power on a scale and magnitude far greater than she had ever seen. These were energies that were corrosive in nature, powers that went against the natural laws of the world, and yet. And yet, they were here and now blindingly bright, and doubly repugnant to view. Vision took an involuntary half step back, only to feel her wooden lawn chair shake from her action. ¡°Everyone, starting with the back, we need you to quickly get up and leave the immediate area.¡± Aru¡¯ka said. Then with a movement, she was up on the railing that separated the raised platform they were on from the casket. Then jumping down, she jumped onto the casket. Clatter, clump. The sound of her feet landing and impacting the hard casket echoed all around. Vision tried to understand what was happening, but then saw that Aru¡¯ka could apparently see the evil energy as well as she stuck up her hand directly into the beam that was coming down, in an attempt to block it. At least that is what Vision thought, but it was too late. A surge of runes came up again, but it was too late. Slurp. There was a sickening slurping sound, as the fabric of the universe opened up and something truly evil came through. Running. Vision was not afraid to admit that she listened to her instincts that told her to run. She wasn¡¯t the only one as dozens of influential people, the President, her secret service members, and so many other dignitaries were all trying to escape. Wondra: Rally on me. Seeing the words in chat, Vision paused, she had only made it a step and a half away before she stopped and caught herself. Seeing that Wondra was there, the most powerful Super in the world, caused her to relax slightly. If she ran, that was it, her career with the League was over. There was also no chance of her surviving on her own, if that monster that was now being summoned from another dimension got free. No, her best chance at survival was to be with her team, right here, right now. Realizing that, she turned to join Wondra and the others. She felt slightly relieved to see that Mophisto, the teleportation and illusion master had to teleport back as well. Then just when she thought it couldn¡¯t get any worse, she saw the beginning of the demonic monster beginning to form, right from the casket, right where the body of Warder resided. Then with a shock, she realized something. Vision: That¡­.that¡¯s Warder¡­ Chapter 166 Demon Summoning Part I Chapter 166 Demon Summoning Part I Alexa stood on top of the black with golden edges casket that her mother had spent agonizing hours choosing. This was the casket that most closely resembled the uniform being worn by Warden, the man who would forever be remembered as her father. Yet, there was something terribly wrong. Not just with where she was standing, yes standing on the casket of anyone was terrible, even her rationale mind agreed this was not the best of places. Unfortunately, there was nowhere else for her to go. There was a deep thread of energy that had come from five different locations all around them and had converged right above Alexa¡¯s father¡¯s casket. Worse, there was too much energy. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Her mother cried out. Her mother, who was wearing her Judge costume, said as tears came to her eyes. Alexa knew that these tears were warranted in this case, and even she felt the slight tinge of tears coming to her eyes, a reflexive action caused by her mind coming awake as it desperately tried to absorb as much energy as possible. Normally, such a feat was a good thing, amazing even, as it meant she was not only getting stronger, but also able to fully be human. That she could experience the full gambit of emotions, unfortunately this was not the day that she wanted to be able to feel. Today was the day that she wanted to be numb, to be immune to the pains this world had in store for her. Unfortunately, she knew that this was not to be her lot in life. Sticking out her hand, she tried to directly shield the flow of energy from overhead. As she stuck her hand up, she felt the moment the stream of energy landed on her outstretched arm and started to absorb the abundant energy, but it wasn¡¯t enough. Her tiny arm could only block so much, as the rest of the energy in the stream that was now coming down flooded the body and flowing over her arm and into the body of her dead father. The energy was odd to the touch, it felt like it was an odd blend of Space and Spirit magic. Not that she knew what either of those schools of magic felt like for certain, just that in her mind this is what she assumed the two new and highly unique threads of magic would be. ¡°Get down!¡± The Priest and others whispered to her in hushed but commanding tones. ¡°It¡­ It¡¯s a summoning! A demon summoning!¡± Vision, one of the greatest Seers on Earth, and one of the primary reasons why the League was still rated as the number one overall guild in the world said. Panic. With that everyone started to scream. Alexa would too, but then she felt the moment her energy reserves filled up completely, and she got a message from the system, at the exact worst moment possible.
Level up. Your level in Absorber has reached level 40! +30 Willpower, +20 Perception, +20 Free Attribute Points.
With reflexes that were mostly instinctual at this point, she distributed the experience equally across her four remaining attributes, allowing her to keep her well maintained balance of Attributes.
Physical Attributes Rating
Strength 357
Agility 357
Endurance 357
Mental Attributes Rating
Intelligence 357
Perception 957
Willpower 1,357
The seven at the end came from the fact that she had managed to spend seven hours over the last few days inside a dungeon, planning with her pack for the future. Of course, none of the things they had planned for would come to fruition. They still had one trick up their sleeves, but Alexa wanted to wait until the attackers had revealed all of their plans. Surely this one event was not going to be everything, at least that is what Alexa thought to herself. Then she saw what was actually happening. The energy streaming over her arm, the combination of Space and Spirit energies, came together, slowly pouring over Alexa¡¯s outstretched arm like it was molasses. Then a drop, or rather the first of many drops touched down and fell onto the body of Warder, her father. That was when all hell broke loose, literally. Void Essence. Uncontrollable, volatile, and corrupting, that is what she felt. Whoosh! There was an explosion of force, as Alexa who was at the epicenter of the force was thrown back violently, as a wave of corruption exploded from the casket, bulging out the sides, and blowing off the lid like it was the top to an overworked pressure cooker. BOOM! A wave of corruption spread out covering everyone. Pain. Pain and ecstasy mixed in Alexa¡¯s mind as the Void Energy began to be devoured by her body as she flew through the air. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Spiraling end over end, the world was a blur for a moment. Alexa¡¯s eyes tracked everything, then her mind saw it, or rather saw her. There in the front row, sitting right next to where Alexa had been sitting moments ago sat a Super wearing a bright red uniform. She had been blown back in the attack, everyone had. Just seeing her in pain caused Alexa¡¯s heart to ache. But there was something else. While Gina had been hit by the blast, she was seemingly affected the least by the violent explosion, then Alexa saw why there was a golden glow emanating from the bag between her feet. ¡°Use it now!¡± Alexa shouted, desperately focusing every ounce of her consciousness to focus on Gina, pointing at her and trying to direct her attention to her. There was a moment of pause, but then Alexa saw a flash of realization in her eyes. Even before she landed, she could see Gina, in her L.I.R. Super Suit, have a moment of recognition, then the surge of light blue energy that always happened, right before she used her analytical powers. That was another great thing about Gina, now Alexa didn¡¯t have to try to work through trying to explain what she felt and why Gina just got her. She could understand from a simple glance what hours of words and countless explanations never could to others. This time, she understood the ask, and began reaching down between her legs to the glowing bag between her feet. Thud. Alexa landed, but it was okay, as there was a pulse and burst of golden light that lit up the sky like a secondary sun. Just seeing the golden glow rising over the edge of the stage that she had just been blasted past, made Alexa realize that the trump card had been effective. The rays of light shot out from the tiny starting point, bursting out, erupting along the lines of power that had been drawn in the sky, and burned away all traces of power that were visible to her highly advanced eyes. Relief. Alexa got up, letting out the long breath she had been holding back all this time. It had worked, their special gambit that happened more by chance than anything had paid off. As Alexa wrestled her way to her feet, she felt the traces of Void Essence that had been clinging to her get burned away as she stood up and was in line of sight to the glowing golden orb that Gina held up high overhead. Seeing her there like that, Alexa imagined an angel holding up the sun in the sky, making sure it glowed brightly so everyone could see properly. At that sight, Alexa thought Gina was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. Her body, coated in rays of golden light burned brightly into Alexa¡¯s retinas as a symbol of hope, of someone who she knew she could trust regardless of what was going to happen next. Then just as quickly as it had begun, the golden light died out. Flicker. There was a slight pulse, before the energy that had been pouring forth from the golden orb within Gina¡¯s hands winked out of existence. That was it, their one trump card. A card that up until they got to Bottomless Gorge, they didn¡¯t know they would even have. The minute they got to Bottomless Gorge, the secret lair of their entire pack, they noticed a slight change come over the orb. *** Flicker-flash. Bottomless Gorge saw and instantly began reacting to the now twice stolen sphere from the elves. This time she lacked any protective box to carry the orb in, but this time the box was completely unnecessary as the orb itself was empty of all energy. That meant that once she entered the dungeon, despite having her Illusion magic fully engaged to cover her movements, Bottomless Gorge was able to identify her and her movements easily. That¡¯s when Bottomless Gorge reached out and connected a golden thread of energy to the dormant sphere, causing it to illuminate and breaking Alexa¡¯s Illusion she had around herself. ¡°What is that?¡± Kylie asked, startled by first Alexa¡¯s presence, and then the now glowing orb within her hands. ¡°It is an orb.¡± Alexa said, then as more people gathered around, Gina pressed. ¡°You know what this is?¡± Gina asked. Alexa paused, then after a second she nodded. ¡°I had my doubts at first, but now I am certain. These orbs are a relic from the time of the Precursors.¡± Oh! At that everyone got closer looking as Bottomless Gorge seemed to fill the orb up with some unseen form of energy. ¡°What does it do exactly?¡± Kelvin, who had been right beside Kylie asked. At that Alexa paused, then answered as succinctly as possible. ¡°It burns away corruption.¡± *** Oh. Everyone let out a gasp of relief, and of shock once the glowing energy from the orb dissipated. Ten seconds, that was the length of time that the orb burned brightly. Long enough to be captured on every camera, long enough to be shown to the world not only what, but who had held up the glowing orb. Long enough for everyone to forget why she did what she did. ¡°You just attacked the president!¡± Talik, a former Super who had taken over duty as a presidential bodyguard shouted. He had been in the front row right side. They had been close enough to even now still be coated with Void Essence, despite the brightly burning beam of light that had come from Gina¡¯s orb, it was not enough. Worse, now that the light was gone, everyone was apparently blinded to the fact of what had happened. Moving. The world blurred around Alexa, until she was in front of the bodyguard who was pacing towards Gina. ¡°And you!¡± Talik added, pointing one finger at Alexa. A finger that was now glowing with some kind of fiery energy. A finger that was directed squarely at Gina. Seeing the gesture for the act of aggression that it was, Alexa moved on reflex more than anything. Crunch. Alexa¡¯s fingers wrapped around Talik¡¯s entire hand, before squeezing tightly so he couldn¡¯t move and then draining the energy from his manifesting talent. With that Talik looked shocked, not quite registering the fact that Alexa was there, that she would stop this action. Within seconds she was draining the energy from his body, the energy freely flowing from the elder Super and flowing directly into Alexa, filling her with a swell of energy and power. Power that her body instantly began converting as quickly as possible. She had already been full before, and now this extra energy she claimed was going directly to her next level, as she was at full combat readiness. ¡°Calm down! You need to stop!¡± Gina shouted from behind her. Hearing her desperate cries, Alexa turned to look at Gina, trying to see what was happening to her, what could make her cry out this way. Then when she turned, she saw the truth, that Gina was not being attacked, that she was worried about something. Looking at her, Alexa saw the same brightly glowing eyes, the ones that showed Gina was using her powers of probability, that she was calculating the future. Then Alexa realized why she sounded so concerned, that everything was going poorly, at least that is what her gaze and face spoke of. Seeing her, Alexa relaxed slightly, turning to Talik who was on the ground, desperately trying to yank his hand free from her indomitable grasp. A quick scan around the audience that was still here, the audience that was still recording, she could see a range of shock and horror filled faces. Even the status of the Supers from both the League and The Clan were in disbelief at what had happened, at what was still happening. Seeing everything, Alexa nodded then let go of Talik, and gestured for the rest of her pack to get behind her. Then just as everyone realized she was retreating, that she was giving up ground, everyone moved forward. At that, Alexa felt her mind racing as she prepared for what she would do next, at what she would need to do to make sure that she and the rest of her pack survived what was to come. But before she could do anything, a dark overcast shadow filled the sky. Looking up. Everyone looked up, every Super that had been creeping forward, every body guard that wanted to take down Alexa and Gina both, everyone including the diplomats from around the world, and the media crews all looked up to see that a glowing dark red sphere had begun to build around them. The blood red sphere was so large that it began to block out the sun, causing an unnatural darkness to cover the sky. ¡°No, no, no.¡± Vision cried out. Her cries from the back of the crowd causing many of the members of the League and those nearby to turn to her. But all they saw was her frantically looking around at the sky, seeing that it was being covered in complete darkness. ¡°What did you do!¡± Vibranium shouted out, his finger pointing accusingly at Gina. Of course, it was easier to blame someone than to stop and think for a moment. It was easier to think that the golden rays of light somehow caused this, regardless of the fact that the two powers felt nothing alike. Regardless of the fact that the golden light felt like it purified the land, while this encroaching blood bubble felt like it would devour anything and everything within its wake. At this moment, Alexa could only nod in acceptance, she had been outplayed. Worst, she had used her trump card, the fully charged sphere too early, a rookie mistake, something that would be easily exploited by her enemies. While she had stopped it, the summoning through her father¡¯s corpse, that did not negate the fact that the enemy clearly had a backup plan, one that would be even more insidious than the first. Gasp! People at the fringes of the audience, those with seats parked farthest away were the first to notice. ¡°What are those? Demons?¡± Looking out to the distance, Alexa could see the figures that the audience was talking about. They were hard to make out fully as they were far away, but the dark purple energy they radiated all but showed they were malicious in nature. ¡°RISE MY MINIONS! A Knight needs his vassals!¡± A corrupted voice cried out, one that exuded both power and confidence. Worse, Alexa knew that voice all too well. ¡°J¡­Jim?¡± Only then did Alexa realize that she hadn¡¯t stopped anything, she had only delayed the inevitable. Chapter 167 Demon Summoning Part II Chapter 167 Demon Summoning Part II The world was spinning and constricting violently. Just as all those years ago, when all the popular girls began spreading lies about Alexa, she could already feel the same underpinnings at work here. Mentally Alexa knew she was being played, that the media and its perceptions of her were being turned about on their heads, but she was powerless to stop the inevitable conclusion. The end point of this whole operation was as clear as the ultimate forces behind it. The conclusion to what was happening for Alexa was simple, she would fight and regardless of whether she won or lost the outcome would be skewed away from her. Worse, she could mentally see the contingencies forming in her mind, contingencies that spoke to the fact that she would have to take her pack and flee through the dungeons going far underground. At least those were the thoughts going through her mind until she received system quests.
Precursor Sage Quest Found: Destroy the Corrupted Summoners: You have identified a group of Corrupted Summoners who conspired to pull a Demonic Knight to a pre-integrated planet. Remove the corruption from the Summoners and allow their souls to move on to the afterlife. Rewards: Levels, Class Unique Skill: Absolution ¨C (Individual). Current progress 0 / 25.
Precursor Sage Quest Found: Destroy the Demonic Knight: You have identified a recently summoned Demonic Knight to a pre-integrated planet. Remove the corruption from the summoned Demonic Knight and allow its soul to move on to the afterlife. Rewards: Levels, Class Unique Skill: Purge ¨C (Planetary). Current progress 0 / 1.
Seeing the quests form in her mind, Alexa felt a deep-seeded connection to her anger that was bubbling up to the surface of her thoughts. Anger at the fact that her life and pain were little more than a game to elves and orcs alike. Beings who had once been tasked with safeguarding the universe from the ultimate evil, demons. Now, rather than pushing through and eliminating the demonic menaces once and for all, they bickered with each other as if the hardest part had been completed. This was something that both she and apparently the Precursors would have taken offense to. That or maybe they still did, maybe they were still around, there were remnants of their powers and prestige that still lingered. Everything from the dungeons that were designed as universal training aides, and fast travel platforms, to their communications crystals that could amplify the use of power words. Even the fact that their magic was on a size and scale that was able to eradicate all magical patterns, somehow unweaving even the very fabric of Creation Magic itself, something that until recently Alexa had thought was impossible. As for the rewards to the quests, Alexa knew that they were something that would only be granted to her. Something that only she herself could obtain, as she was certain that she was one of the rare few individuals who was able to not only Absorb Void Essence, but she was so far as she was aware the only one who had been chosen to be a Precursor Sage. The fact that the details of such a rare and unique Class were unknown was no real surprise to Alexa, especially given what she now knew about the state of the universe and the forces still assembled in the universe. In her mind, she felt that there had at one point been at least one Precursor Sage per pre-integrated planet, though she feels that this is something that has gone missing of late. Also, with the rewards for her class specific quests, while they did seem ominous, it was fairly apparent from the description that the two unique class specific skills being offered were ones that Alexa could choose to use or not use. Meaning that just because she got them, didn¡¯t mean that anything truly terrible would happen, at least not unless she wanted it to happen. These thoughts and more flashed through Alexa¡¯s mind. Then as quickly as they began, Alexa dismissed them. One second, her mind raced on about possibilities of future actions, and the next she brought herself back to reality, noting that she needed to accomplish quite a few steps before she could get to those possible futures. Moving forward, she decided to start with taking out the now Corrupted Summoners. The ones that the Demonic Knight had referred to as his minions. The summoners were fairly easy to notice, they were the now weakened humanoid creatures that were fighting their very natures as Void Essence began corrupting the lot of them from the inside. The world blurred around Alexa, as she raced as fast as possible, ducking away from incoming Supers and Secret Service agents who had begun to move towards Alexa. Well not just Alexa, but the members of her pack. ¡°Should we go?¡± Kylie asked, her voice cutting through everything. Alexa wanted to say no, but didn¡¯t have time, instead all she could do was shake her head and look around for Gina. While Alexa had missed where Gina was, apparently, she had either read the future, saw Alexa¡¯s head nod, or concluded the truth on her own. Regardless of the reason, Gina spoke the thoughts that Alexa herself had been thinking, ¡°no, we should stay here. There is no telling what that corrosive energy will do to us.¡± With that the look of the other members of her pack tensing up and preparing to join her in combat ended. With a resigned sigh, Alexa saw the moment that Gina raised her hands high into the air, apparently having dropped the now empty orb to the ground. Meanwhile the dark corrosive energy overhead continued to form and seal itself into a solidified bubble. One that even mundane humans could see. While Alexa had heard the voice of the corrupted demonic knight, she had not seen the creature. While she had likely missed the chance to play a trump card later at a critical point in the battle, she had stopped the summoning from being able to use her father¡¯s corpse as an anchor point. While that clearly had not been enough to fully stop the summoning, at least it meant that Alexa would not have to deal with battling her father¡¯s possessed corpse, a fact that she was immensely grateful for. This was the last free thought that filled Alexa¡¯s mind before she made contact with the first group of Corrupted Summoners. As she arrived the Summoners were weak, as they were clearly in just the beginning phase of Void Essence Poisoning. Alexa didn¡¯t know how she knew this, other than a link to a historic database was suddenly available within her mind. The victims were all elves, and Alexa could do one of two options. The first was she could just Absorb the Void Essence from the body of the summoners, as their corruption was not far enough along to fully infect the body, mind, and soul something that was needed for a complete transformation. While it was obvious that if left alone these five summoners would change, they could of course be saved. At this point, Alexa opted for option two, the faster and more expedient method of cleaning up the Corruption. With her hands imbued with energy, she punched her fists hard into the first summoner she could reach. Her fists, pulling the corrupting Void Essence cleanly from the body and the surrounding air, while cracking the thin elf¡¯s rib cage. Then with an even stronger punch, she punched further, causing even more damage to the already cracked and fractured ribs. From there it was just a third quick tap that sent the ribs cracking inward, causing bone to impale loose organs. It was also on the third strike that any semblance of corruption was removed from the elf. Gargle, cough. The elf began choking on their own blood, as they collapsed to the ground. Seeing the first elf down, Alexa quickly made her way onto the next elf, but only after her psychic Analytical Eye (I), a power that worked in conjunction with her Analysis skill perfectly, letting her know that the elf would die if they did not receive proper magical attention. Alexa also knew that anyone who used Healing magic so close to the volatile Void Essence was all but asking for an explosive reaction. From there, taking out the remainder of the temporarily disabled elven summoners was easy. Each was too busy grasping at their chests, trying to fight back the invasive nature of Void Essence to even consider the true threat placed on their path. When Alexa struck out violently, her devastating blows were met with a combined look of both intense relief, followed shortly by the dawning realization that they were in intense pain as well. Devouring Palm Strike. The attack came to her mind unbidden, as in essence that is exactly what her strike was. Her palms were able to expand on the core of a being¡¯s energy and devour the different essences that were running wild within the body. Each strike pulled forth more and more of the vile magical residue to reside within her. Days ago, this had been too much for her, and she, much like the elven summoners before her was temporarily disabled by the sudden exposure to the violent magical element. Now however she had grown, not only in terms of levels, but in terms of understanding the nature of this magical force. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Flash of arcane energy. In her mind, she broke down the patterns of energy. At the top tier was the energy wielded by the Precursors, this was a form of energy that transcended even the most advanced comprehensions of magic. In this category of force and life were divine artifacts like the golden orb, and the ability to use power words that were able to alter and override other forms of magic. Next was the two-tier split of both Magic and Psionic powers, both equally powerful in their own rights. Magic was scalable and ultimately left to the whims of the creativity of the caster, but it had the drawback of being able to be overridden or completely negated by Precursor energy. Even now she attributed her base class of Absorber to somehow directly be related to the Precursor¡¯s and their ability to take any and all energies and break them down to their base components. After having been exposed to the brilliance of the golden orbs, Alexa found that her Creation magic could also be broken down by her class¡¯s innate powers, if she so directed her attention to doing just that. By and large her class seemed to be able to avoid destroying her own magical constructs, unless she actively focused her mind on using her class to break down and Absorb the very energy she used in her magical endeavors. When it came to the realm of psychic powers and phenomena there was so much more to the branch of power than she first anticipated. First, she thought like many that the scope and scaling ability of psychic powers meant they were weaker, which in a grand scope of the world is true. However, she soon found that her Absorber class was seemingly incapable of dissolving parts of her Psychic powers, even when actively focusing on doing just that. This led Alexa to her second major conclusion about psychic powers, that being that they were limited in such a way that they became unbreakable by other powers. It was this second aspect that made psychic powers that much more appealing, as it seemed there was no true negation for them, at least not one that Alexa had found. Her advanced mind held this thought in the midst of combat, and then just as quickly as the full ramifications of her thoughts came, she instantly dismissed them as this was not the time nor place for such thoughts. Focus. Mentally Alexa was screaming at herself to focus, to move faster, to take down these different pillars of magic that were still creating a portal to another dimension. Powers that were being used to allow a demonic knight the ability to transfer from its realm to her planet. Fifteen strikes in ten seconds, that is how many strikes Alexa had used to disable the already stunned corrupted elven summoners. With the last of their bodies falling, Alexa stomped her foot into the center of the still pooling Void Essence. In her mind she saw everything with just a scan of her eyes. Over to the left was a sealed case, one that the elves apparently used to move and deal with Void Essence crystals. Why they were in such a case to begin with was unknown to Alexa, maybe they treated it like nuclear waste and thought that exporting as much of it as possible to newly and pre-integrated worlds it would be a cheap and effective way of dealing with the waste product. It was also clear that somewhere along the lines the elven researchers found ways to use the Void Essence, ways that were meant to create a scorched earth effect. Had infighting really gotten so bad between the elves and the orcs that they would resort to such tactics? Alexa had the thought, then with a scoff she instantly dismissed it, as the thought was foolish as she believed that the elves would use it against a rival faction that was gaining too much favor. Alexa¡¯s thoughts surged out of control, even as she raced her way towards the next glowing pillar of magic. In her mind, she knew why her thoughts were roaming so wildly. First, her emotional mind was fully awake and engaged as she felt the thrill of new and foreign energies entering her. Now, aided by how advanced her class was, she felt the Absorption of Void Essence, as little more than spicy flavoring for her food. If you weren¡¯t prepared for it, it might go down the wrong pipe, but if you were prepared it would add much needed flavor. No, the combat with the weak and often moaning for death summoners was not her concern. What was her concern was the final boss, the demonic knight that had been or was still in the process of being summoned. Alexa didn¡¯t know for certain, she assumed he was here, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t receive a quest to destroy the monster. No, what concerned her the most was the shape of the demonic knight, or to be more specific whose shape the demonic knight would take. In her mind, she had felt him, her father, it was a quick and painful glance, but it showed the fact that her father¡¯s soul was being used as part of this obscene ritual. That in so doing this ritual the elves who had willingly thrown themselves at the casting of this ritual opened themselves up to the very corruption that now ate at her father. The very corruption she was now tasked with removing. Honestly, it was a good thing the system, the Precursors, or whoever was left watching over everything had given her a class quest to remove the Void Essence, otherwise she would have left the elves to rot in their eternal pain. As it was, she was moving from group to group, Absorbing the Void Essence that each had used to corrupt her planet. The very same essence that was now destroying them from the insides, making them more than rotting punching bags. A quick glance at her quest tracker showed she was even making good speed.
Precursor Sage Quest Found: Destroy the Corrupted Summoners: You have identified a group of Corrupted Summoners who conspired to pull a Demonic Knight to a pre-integrated planet. Remove the corruption from the Summoners and allow their souls to move on to the afterlife. Rewards: Levels, Class Unique Skill: Absolution ¨C (Individual). Current progress 15 / 25.
Just two groups left, and it seemed that this first quest would be over almost as quickly as it had been given to her. ¡°What have you done!¡± The voice of Vibranium the leader of The Clan, Europe¡¯s most powerful group of supers cried out. His purple uniform taking on an ominous hue against the blood read backdrop that was their would be prison. Of course, things could never just be easy. Alexa unheeding of the call charged forward, the fourth and final group of her system appointed mission being right there, just within reach. Thunderclap! A bolt of purple lightning surged down from the heavens, the impact landing directly in between a charging Alexa and the fourth group of corrupted elven summoners. The only thing was, the spark landed on the ground that was fused with Void Essence, essence that reacted violently with any other type of magic. Whoosh! There was a quick nuclear reaction of energy, as the Electrical Magic of Vibranium met, and then was violently repelled by the Void Essence. The results were as one would expect for anyone with a basic understanding of magic and the way magical properties interact through the medium of physics. Namely, they reacted violently, the bolt of glowing purple lightning first struck down, then was instantly met with a force of energy that was both equal to the direct sending path and exponentially increased in terms of magnitude and severity. BOOM! A reverse Vibranium powered infused burst of energy followed the inverse path it had used to hit the ground, causing a gigantic bolt of power to strike Vibranium squarely in his outstretched hand. The blast didn¡¯t end there, as the blast continued up the arm, and burst into his chest, where his internal organs flashed brightly for a second, before dissipating. The blast was not linked to just Vibranium, as everyone on the ground was also affected by energy dispersal. The corrupted elven summoners felt their energy surge into their bodies and instantly cause internal explosions to occur within their own bodies, causing them to bleed out and nearly die. That is when the world seemed to stop, as Alexa was met with a message.
Precursor Sage Assistance: You seem to be met with a force of enemies far greater than originally anticipated. Since you are still level 1, would you like to deploy the forced assistance mode? Yes or no?
Seeing the message Alexa blinked, or at least she tried to, but it was as she had thought, time or at least her ability to comprehend facts had slowed down around her. At this moment, she realized this moment would take as long as it took for her to come up with an initial reply. Never wanting to turn down help, Alexa chose the immediate response. ¡°Yes.¡±
Precursor Sage Assistance Mode Activated: Minor Purge Field Activated: For the next thirty minutes anyone who attempts to harm or hinder your progress towards the completion of your Precursor Sage prescribed goals will be Purged from the system.
Reading that message, Alexa didn¡¯t know quite what it meant. Logically she knew it had something to do with the class specific skill she would gain from defeating the demonic knight, but she still had no clue where that creature even was. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± As it turned out other Supers who had been coming to assist Vibranium received a similar message. Alexa didn¡¯t know what it meant, other than someone was finally looking out for her. With that in place Alexa focused her efforts on cleansing the Void Essence from the quickly dying elven summoners. ¡°Stop in the name of Justice!¡± The voice of Wondra boomed out shaking the ground and causing Alexa to turn to see the famed Apex Super staring at her with her eyes glowing with a golden flare, as even her hair began to flow and ripple. Shaking her head, Alexa turned away from the Super and focused on trying to free the elves from the corruption that clung to their very souls even now. These elves were dead, not in the dying state that Alexa had left the others, but they were clearly passing onto the spirit world as she wasted time dealing with Wondra¡¯s power play. Not wasting any time, Alexa charged forward, and struck at the closest elf, the one that received the majority of Vibranium¡¯s dispersed attack. Wham! A quick strike to the elf¡¯s head was enough to absorb the remaining Void Essence that hadn¡¯t been dispersed by the blast. While the blast did spread the Void Essence over a larger area, it did have the alternate effect of not being as potent as it was before. Meaning that now rather than three strikes per elf, now Alexa only needed one to completely clear the corruption. ¡°I said stop!¡± Wondra shouted, but Alexa was already in her cleansing pattern striking out in quick succession four times. Alexa was so wrapped up in freeing the dead elf spirits of the corruption that bound them, that she failed to noticed the enemy to her back. OOF! Power Shield Strike of Justice. The strike was as apparent, as it was who had sent the attack. The shield struck Alexa, throwing her forward. Crackle pop. Alexa¡¯s back and vertebra broke, as a shield summoned by Wondra¡¯s immense power slammed into her, causing her to fly over the fifth and final body. Only the fact that the blast hurled her forward, and dragged her over top of the last body allowed her system appointed quest to be saved. ¡°What? My powers!¡± Wondra shouted, as the golden powers that had fueled her path of righteousness for so long suddenly left her. Instantly Wondra went from being a woman at the peak of her life and health, to having the body of an eighty-year-old woman. Who crumpled to the ground due to the weight of the ridiculous titanium plated armor that she wore. Pain. Ridiculous amounts of pain coursed through Alexa as she cried out, even while her Regeneration powers began fusing the disks in her back, back into place. She was still directly in the center of the dispersed Void Essence, essence that would react violently to any magic she cast, even Healing magic. That was why all Alexa could do was wait. She waited as the other supers all gathered around in a semi-circle, preventing her from moving. Pinning her in like she was a wild animal. ¡°What did you do?¡± Night Wing declared, and from her point of view Alexa had clearly done something. First she had killed no less than four groups of elves. Second she had seemingly taken down both Vibranium and Wondra, two of the most powerful Supers in the world with two retaliatory attacks. Panting. Just when Alexa thought it couldn¡¯t get any worse, she saw him, the demonic knight. ¡°HAHAHA! I am so glad you all apparently never learn your lessons on playing with fire.¡± Alexa¡¯s father, or a demonically possessed abomination of her father appeared, wearing his Warder outfit, that now had red spikes and scales protruding from it. As her father¡¯s once handsome face smiled back maliciously, as a squad of five corrupted elven summoners stood behind him. Each elf was in the throes of making a last and final transformation into a demonic foot soldier. Despite the pain, despite the fact that her back hadn¡¯t fully reformed itself, Alexa forced herself to stand. Each movement agony, but she used that pain to let her realize one thing. At least you know you are still alive. And like that, a malicious smile filled Alexa¡¯s face as she fought to square off against the rest of the world¡¯s supers, and the newly summoned demonic knight and its squad of soldiers. Nodding to herself, she realized this was it, Earth¡¯s defining battle, one that would forever change the course of the destiny of her planet, and she welcomed the challenge. Gentle breeze. Somehow a breeze of air blew within the ominous blood colored dome. In her mind Alexa wished it was the Precursors whispering words of encouragement to her, urging her to keep trying. Finally after a long moment, she spoke. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± And like that, the first true battle for the status of Earth began in earnest. Chapter 168 Demon Knight Battle Part I Chapter 168 Demon Knight Battle Part I Looking at the soldiers that had fully manifested their Void energy behind their leader, the recently slain Super Warder, Alexa noticed that their souls now seemed stable. Unlike the previous groups that she had squared off against, these five had souls that were now fully merged with the chaotic energy. The effects made it so they were both instantly more powerful, but also felt wrong. Everyone, even the Supers who had gathered to help stop Alexa, who was still in her Aru¡¯ka costume now paused at the sight of the new enemy forces. Wondra, the strongest Super of America, someone who was as unageing as the dungeons were, was now old. Inexplicably old. Worse, she seemed to be powerless. Seeing her new state many feared what would happen, as it was clear she had powers that were beyond the scope of most people. Even Vibranium was down, though from a quick glance it was clear he still had his powers. Alexa stood up first, then slowly her back began violently forcing its way back into place. Snap, crackle, pop. A grimace filled her face, but she quickly forced her all too trademarked vindictive smile to form on her lips. Clap, clap. ¡°Never let them see you weak.¡± The Not-Warder Demonic Knight said mockingly as he began walking closer. ¡°Shut up.¡± Alexa hissed as she forced her legs to begin to move, pain momentarily forgotten as rage and desperation began to war within her mind. At the sight of Alexa¡¯s forward charge, Demonic Warder charged forward, the corrupted elven soldiers under his command following in quick lock step. For a moment it looked like Alexa would fight the squad of demon soldiers alone. Mentally she even prepared for as much. Then the voice of an angel cried out from the gaggle of stupefied Supers who all looked on in horror. ¡°Get them!¡± It was Gina, the shortest of the Supers that were part of Alexa¡¯s pack, but the one with the largest voice, when she needed it the most. Then like a wave, twenty-one recently awakened supers emerged from the crowd and began to engage the enemy. Most surprising was the fact that nineteen of the pack all began to have their muscles grow and bulge slightly, causing portions of their Super suits to stretch to their utmost and finally stop at the last minute. Just knowing that her pack was there to help made it so Alexa¡¯s heart began to beat and pump with pride. Badump, badump. Magic was off the table, especially as her pack mates were now engaged in direct combat with the Void corrupted soldiers. Instead, Alexa decided to help out her pack first, as she began to engage in direct combat with Warder, as she Telekinetically reached out and began pinning different corrupted elven warriors on the ground. Sucker punch. ¡°Oof.¡± Alexa had been so focused on the battles going on around, on the way her pack was moving to take out the overpowered demon soldiers that she had taken her eyes off of the main enemy. ¡°Focus on what¡¯s ahead. The fact that you look elsewhere implies you don¡¯t trust your team.¡± Demonic Warder said mockingly, as her body was knocked five feet away. Rage. Alexa felt angry at the words, angry due to the massive spikes of adrenaline that were coursing through her body. Angry at the fact that her mind was now fully awakened due to the excess Void energy that her body was trying to safely convert. Finally, most of all, she felt anger at the fact that he was right. The monster wearing her father¡¯s face, his smile, the one who dared use his voice to give lectures, as if he was still there, as if he still cared. He was right, and there was nothing Alexa could do or say to refute that. Breathe. Alexa let out a breath, and then caused her mind to focus. Rather than letting her now active mind get flooded with all the lights and colors of emotions, she purposefully went into herself, letting her rational mind take over. Going to this state was easy, it was after all her default state for most of her life, she instantly knew when she was going into this state. Most of the time she feared entering this state, but only now did she remember the reason for the fear. Fear was a natural reason for her needing this mental space, as it was the reason, she first found herself going into this mentality to begin with. When she was young, she knew true fear, and her only way of surviving was to enter the box, to preserve herself. For years she fought to rid herself of the box, but now she realized she still needed the box, to help drown out all the different impulses that the world provided and let her focus on what would come next. As she needed to focus on how to survive. Like a switch, the tingling sensation in her mind was turned off. Her manic battle smile went flat, and her posture loosened. Seeing the sudden, but unmistakable change that had overtaken her body, Demonic Warder paused and cocked his head to the side. ¡°You¡¯ve given up this pointless fighting, and are finally willing to join me?¡± Alexa just stood there, her face blank and expressionless. Finally, after a second, she responded with just a one-word answer. ¡°No.¡± That was it, the end of the banter, as Alexa charged forward. Her movements somehow looser, less rigid as she charged forward, a look of cold resolve on her expressionless face. *** This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Demonic Warder looked on at the creature that was but one of his targets. He had met his own personal task of taking out those who had summoned him. Better still, he had managed to turn a group of the summoners into his own servants. In his mind he recognized the creature that was charging towards him now. Part of him wished for the girl to win, as a feeling of pride enveloped him, seeing her in her true element, combat. That was why he wished to bring her with him, why he prepared to convert her. There were a limited number of people a Knight could convert, at least at first. Right now, he was at his zenith in terms of power and potential. All he needed to do was to break free, set up a foothold and then corrupt the land enough to let a portal appear. Maybe even get one of the slave race dragons to fully conquer a dungeon for his own personal use. There were dragons around, he could all but feel their presence on the world, they were deep in hiding, those that were still here, but they were here nonetheless. He could call upon them, even now he knew he could, but they would take time to arrive, and worse they would require him to use up a lot of his precious Void energy to perform the summoning. Duck, parry, weave. The warrior who dared to challenge him, his own daughter was already upon him, her form was quick and fluid like a serpent floating in the wind. While it was clear that Demonic Warder¡¯s attributes were clearly higher than that of his opponent, his opponent made up for that deficit with sheer skill and determination. ¡°You¡¯re good.¡± Demonic Warder said, as he swung out with a power infused fist, only to find empty air. Silence. Ice blue eyes stared, then blurred as they weaved around. Tap, tap. Warder felt the equivalent of mosquito bites along his arm. As Warder had swung, his opponent had anticipated the attack, ducking under and tapping his arm twice. ¡°That the best you got?¡± Warder taunted. Silence. Another swing, but this time Warder led with a feint, then with a real strike. Regardless of the cause, he felt two more taps, one on his right ribcage, and the other on his left arm. Looking at her movements, it was amazing to him how she could so easily weave under his spikes. Spikes that even he was still getting used to having. Had he had more time to practice, he could have likely begun incorporating the massive spikes he had into his attack pattern. As it was, they just made it so that no one snuck up on him from behind. Even the spikes he had on his head, ones that came out like mandible pinchers that a preying mantis would have served to keep his face free of random strikes. As such, it was only a matter of when, not if this battle would be over. ¡°I can do this all day.¡± Warder teased. Then just as Warder prepared to give another exchange of a swing, she darted away. ¡°What?¡± Warder asked, but then turned to see that Alexa had broken away from combat with him to go and strike at one of his soldiers that was being pinned to the ground by no less than five werewolves. Seeing the creatures caused an intense rage filled Warder as he clearly recognized the fierce tribe of warriors on an instinctual level. Seeing them now, made his blood boil as he realized that the Lykanthropy virus made it so the creatures were stronger, not as strong as a full soldier, but that made it so they were no use against five. Wham, wham, wham! Lightning quick strike after lightning exploded from Alexa¡¯s fists, with a quick flurry blows Warder watched, momentarily stupefied at what he was seeing. The top warrior had broken away, from battling with him, and was now striking at an immobile opponent. On the one hand, he could fully accept the outcome, but on the other he felt rage build up within him. Rage that she would dare turn her back on him. Charging forward, he got closer. Still she rained down blow after blow, until seven blows in all were struck. ¡°Go.¡± Alexa said, and without having to be told twice, the five werewolves that had been holding down the one soldier broke free and began scattering to the wind. Boom! Warder swung out his massive hand, striking the closest werewolf with a backhanded swipe. Instantly he could feel his powers coming to life, as he felt his powers trying to suppress the werewolf¡¯s own powers. ¡°Ahh!¡± The werewolf girl cried out, causing Warder to turn to her and instantly raise up his left foot to stomp on the downed girl. That was when he noticed a slight shadow appear on the ground, their movement illuminated by the brightly glowing blood dome that they were in. This was another thing, if Warder could keep everyone here long enough, they would all be infused with the miasma that was soon to come from the dome that surrounded them, and it corrosive effects. Warder just like Alexa decided to ignore the enemy around them, for the sake of taking out a downed enemy. Raising his massive boot, he began to bring it down. The girl, for that¡¯s what she was now, a girl, looked dazed for a moment, but then quickly adjusted and rolled mostly out of the way of the stomp, but now found herself trapped between the feet of Warder. Now he had the creature right where he wanted, with a malicious gleam in his eyes, he reached down and prepared to convert the first of many converts to his army. His massive paw of a hand reached down and grabbed, long strong fingers instantly touching and then wrapping their ways around an arm. With that he began to pull the body up, but stopped, as he felt something climbing up the spines on his back like they were monkey bars and then he felt an intense stinging sensation at the base of his spine. It took a second for him to realize that he was being punched on his back. Turning around, he tried to find the person who dared to strike him from behind, only to find open air. Open air, and a noticeable weight on his back. He began reaching back, with his one free hand, but this was long enough for the entity to strike out two more times. Cold numbness. The strikes weren¡¯t hard, especially not against his now Void reinforced skin. What was hard was the fact that now he began feeling a slight numbing cold sensation where each prick struck. Given a second to realize what was happening, he realized that the same sensation was now overtaking his arm and ribs where she had struck earlier. Reaching back behind himself, he reached out to find empty air. Empty air and the all too familiar feeling of weight being removed from his back. Turning he saw the same warrior with ice blue eyes staring at him. This entire time Warder had held onto the werewolf girl who was struggling desperately in his hand. Only now that he had a second to pause did he realize he had a bargaining chip, in the form of the now pacified werewolf girl within his hands. ¡°What¡¯s it going to be? You going to risk the life of your comrade, or take out me the main threat?¡± Warder said, a malicious glint to his eyes, as he held up the girl in both arms, his enhanced strength more than capable of lifting a ton into the air, let along a small welp of a teenager pretending to be a Superhero. ¡°I have a question for you.¡± Alexa asked, her voice cold. Her gaze was locked onto the girl in her arms, but it was clear that she was talking to Warder, at least that is what he assumed. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Why are turtles shells curved?¡± Her words cold and said with a deadpan expression that caused Warder to momentarily pause in confusion. ¡°Wha¡­¡± Just as Warder was about to respond, she struck. Or rather a massive force picked Warder up from the ground, while simultaneously a second unseen force grabbed the girl from his hands and yanked. His fingers cut deep, causing bones to break. ¡°AHH!¡± The werewolf girl cried out, but it was over in a second. Then in the blink of an eye she was gone, thrown far away and behind Alexa while Warder felt his body rise up, and then a second force grab his kicking feet and hold him parallel to the ground. In seconds he was over two stories in the air, as he could easily see the ends of the corrosive dome around them right now. He was close, so close to his objective, he just needed to hold out a little longer and this land would be fully corrupted and then it would provide constant healing effects for him, while simultaneously destroying the unevolved bodies of those around him. Then just as quickly as he rose up, he plummeted to the ground. Thud. The spikes and bones of his back dug in deep to the ground, some of the smaller ones at weaker positions broke off, causing an intense jarring pain to course through his body. Just as soon as he was aware of his predicament, he felt a weight jump on him. In his mind he knew what it was, or rather who it was that had jumped on him. His daughter, memories of her flooded through his mind, as she rained down numbing blow after numbing blow directly onto his body. He tried to raise up his hands, but found that they were pinned, pinned by that same power that somehow managed to pick him up and thrown him down, pinning him to the ground. Realizing things were not going as he intended, Warder decided to use his ultimate trump card. Calling forth his internal reserves of energy, he forced his body to its first true evolutionary point. Fwoom. With that a surge of power welled up from deep inside him, as he forced Void Essence to merge with the rest of his body and instantly, he felt the resistance that had been holding him down release as even the powers of Telekinesis rolled off his new and improved body. This had cost him all his spare Void Essence. Essence that he would have used to corrupt the land and make it so that he could establish a foothold here in the new world. The fact that he was forced to use his reserves of energy so quickly meant that after this battle he would have to likely pull from the reserves that would be created by this land, meaning his recovery would take slightly longer than expected, but would still be acceptable. All he had to do was survive. Wham! The girl who Warder still had memories of recognized the change in his power and her ability to interact with him, but it was too late. As soon as the forces holding him down released their gravitational pull on him, he rose up, smacking the attacker. His hands tried to grab the girl, but she was too quick, squirming away before he could little more than strike at her. Still, that was enough as she spun violently to the ground. With the moment he needed, Warder stood up, and with eyes glowing red, he stared at his opponent, a girl that once brought him joy, now only brought him pain. Worse, now all he could do was kill this girl, as he lacked the energy required to corrupt more souls. ¡°Foolish, you could have had everything.¡± Warder screamed. Silence. She was wounded, grabbing her side, right where he had struck. Seeing her in such a state, his primal instincts took over, and he charged forward, prepared to destroy everything he once held dear in this world. Chapter 169 Demon Knight Battle Part II Chapter 169 Demon Knight Battle Part II Pain. Life was pain. But pain was good, as it helped to focus. The pain let Alexa know that she was still alive. Despite her spine finally realigning properly, she knew that her pain meant there was still hope. Even her cracked ribs, from when her father somehow shifted forms, into a more monstrous version of himself. He had grown, the spikes on his back that had once been used to pin him in place now took on a more ethereal view to them as they cut their way free of the temporary prison of earth he had been held in. Worse, the mental powers that Alexa had been using to gain the upper hand, that of Analytical Eye (I), and Telekinesis both were somehow being repelled by the new energy that radiated from the body of her dead father. Or whatever the abomination that was in front of her truly was. If she squinted, or sometimes in between punches, she could see him, the real Jim Thyme, her father. But then a black miasma of Void Essence would spiral back and reaffirm its hold over her father. ¡°Since you seem to be quiet. Why don¡¯t I turn this to everyone.¡± Demonic Warder said, as he opened his posture and slightly turned towards the horseshoe shaped gaggle of supers that were just staring in shock at what was happening. ¡°Join me, in killing these miscreants and I will¡­¡± Warder began, but was quickly cut off. ¡°You want me to talk.¡± Alexa said, her words like fire as she force air to go through her cracked and slowly repairing lungs. The air and her body both were too saturated with Void Essence for her to cast any sort of magic without fear of causing a catastrophic backlash. Yet, she needed to do something, then the moment she spoke, a malicious smile filled her face as she had the answer come to her. A way to separate this Demonic Knight from everyone, a way to keep this Knight¡¯s corrupting nature away from others. ¡°I challenge you to a duel.¡± Chime! There was a crisp sound, that reverberated through the air. Instantly, the two had a golden dome arise and envelope the two. Then just like that, the countless battles around, where her pack mates were set to destroy the other remaining demon soldiers, the constant fear of being assaulted from behind by one of the dozens of bystanders, they all faded away. What was left was a wide area, of fifty meters that surrounded Alexa in all directions, and the demonic entity that had formerly been her father. Before too much time could pass to take in everything, the typical system messages came alive, letting both know exactly what they were in for.
Royal Duel. As a means to settle massive battles in an easier manner, a royal duel can be declared. Where two combatants leading different army factions can choose to fight on behalf of their army. As this is a Royal Duel certain conditions must be met. The First Royal Duelist of Earth has challenged a Knight of the Demon faction to a duel on their home planet. In this case we have Alexa Thyme, Rank Countess challenging Demon Knight to a duel.
Honestly, Alexa had not been certain that starting the duel would have worked, but at the very least she figured it would disrupt whatever Warder was planning to do with the crowd of Supers. Mentally she brought up the title to see if there was anything that she needed to be aware of.
Title: First Royal Duelist: You were the first winner of a royal duel for your planet, as such you are able to challenge anyone regardless of rank differential to a Royal Duel. Conditions: Challenges are limited to duels conducted on your home planet.
But there was nothing, other than her being on her home planet, which this clearly was. Unfortunately, Alexa didn¡¯t have time to think about too much more as the system messages kept pushing their way forward in her mind.
No Limit: Limiting conditions cannot be established. This will be a no limit battle to the death.
And like that the battle started, or at least the slightly beguiling fog that had filled the battlefield died down enough to show just Demonic Warder as the lone enemy. No magic, no psychic powers, nothing more than her glowing fists, the skills she acquired, and the countless supernatural powers she had stolen to this point. ¡°You know I¡­¡± Demonic Warder began, but his words were cut off as Alexa was on him in seconds striking out with her glowing fists. Block. Warder by reflex brought up his arm to block the blow from Alexa¡¯s punch. This was fine for Alexa, as she felt with the impact energy flow through the exchange.
Void Magic Increased: Tier IV.
The message was a nice sign of just how far she had progressed with this one battle, but it was ultimately an unnecessary reminder of her progress. Here, in her area, she was a whirlwind of power, form, and precision. Warder had much higher physical Attributes, but that was all he had, there was no form to his attacks, no method to his movements, he swung, and Alexa weaved. He pressed forward, and Alexa would sidestep out of the way. All the while, she would strike out at various points of Warder¡¯s defense, his arms, his legs, then when his movements began to slow she would strike for the ribs. Warder¡¯s natural Endurance was too high for even Alexa¡¯s strikes to pierce, but she didn¡¯t need to. Here they were equals, the demons, at least the Demon Knights and below seemed to be powerless with magic. Similarly the same energy that protected Demonic Warder from Alexa¡¯s Telekinesis was the same power that prevented Demonic Warder from using his own psychic powers, if he had any to begin with. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten better.¡± Demonic Warder said, taking two more quick jabs against his arms before Alexa quickly spun out of the way. Silence. In this world, Alexa didn¡¯t need to speak, or to engage. Here she was queen, here she would win so long as she kept her focus. Better still, with every landed punch, she saw it, or rather, she saw him. ¡°A pity you still hit like a girl.¡± Demonic Warder said. Flutter strike. Alexa punched hard enough for her knuckles to crack on impact, a small price to pay as her body had already started to heal the minor break shortly after she ended contact. Still the strike had been enough. Flicker. Her father, the Jim Thyme that Alexa had grown up with appeared for a moment, only to then be consumed by the dark miasma that coated his whole body. That moment, that one moment when her old father was real, that was enough for Alexa to endure any pain, any discomfort. Never mind the fact that this battle was to the death, the fact that she had a chance, even a small one to save her father, that was enough for her to endure any pain, any amount of taunting. To Alexa, everything else was meaningless. It was a battle of attrition, a colossal juggernaut, the being that even an emotionless Alexa looked up to as the inspiration to continue pushing herself onward. The reason she became a Super in the first place, her father, he was here, watching her. And best of all, in those moments when he was there, when he flickered to life, he smiled. Not the sick and sadistic smile of the Demonic version of him, but the loving smile of her father, the one who rescued her when she was five. The one who always encouraged her, much to the chagrin of her mother. The one who even now looked on with pride and silent adoration at her. ¡°You know, I never loved you. Not really.¡± The Demonic Warder taunted. Silence. Alexa forced herself to stay calm, to not get drawn in by the provocations. Instead, she used her fists to tell how she felt. To show her true opinion on that. Wham, wham. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Oh-hoh, looks like I struck a nerve with that one.¡± Demonic Warder said, as he drew his arms in closer, taking Alexa¡¯s blows on his blocking arms, before swinging with a thundering punch. Fortunately for Alexa, the move was well telegraphed, causing Alexa to duck under the strike. Unfortunately, the strike had been purposefully left open, allowing Demonic Warder to raise up his knee, to strike at Alexa who was now in perfect range to be kicked. WHAM! The blow came up and further cracked her still sore ribs. Flicker. The pain was so intense that white sparks filled her eyes but fought through that momentary discomfort as she used both arms to wrap around the leg and grip it tightly. Then with the last remaining leverage she still had, she rose with the strike and lifted up, dropping the unexpecting Warder to the ground. Crunch! As soon as his back made contact with the ground, Warder reached out with his massive hand and grabbed Alexa¡¯s right ankle. Realizing she had just seconds to get lose from the hold as she could already feel her bones crunching under the force of Demonic Warder¡¯s grip, she did what her dad told her to do in such a situation. When facing a much larger male, when violence is involved, nothing is out of bounds. Thus, with Alexa still using her two arms to lift Warder¡¯s right leg into the air, Alexa used her free left foot to rise up and quickly come down in that sensitive area where the right leg and the left leg meet. Squish, and twist! Alexa¡¯s heel dropped down, and began twisting. Instantly two things happened at once, first, Alexa could feel the all too familiar sensation of energy being pulled up from her direct contact with the affected region. Secondly, the intense bone crunching grip that had been on her ankle moments ago suddenly loosened. With the grip momentarily loosened, Alexa kicked her leg free, then quickly spun her way through the two legs, using her left foot as a plant foot to further twist, then with one last stomp, she kicked off and stumbled away. It was not pretty, there were codes, lines that Supers weren¡¯t supposed to cross, but Alexa felt that she was beyond that. After today, she was uncertain if she would still be accepted as a Super. Worse, she didn¡¯t know if she wanted to be a Super anymore after this. Tingle. Intense tingling pains shot up from Alexa¡¯s right foot. Her foot felt like it was asleep, and she was forcefully walking on it, regardless, but this was a minor inconvenience. She forced herself to bear the pain. Then she looked and saw that Demonic Warder was hunched over in pain, both hands grasping at the now tender region between his legs. Nodding to herself, Alexa took one step, then another, then finally she pounced on the writhing Warder. Demonic tentacles that took the place of spikes shot out grabbing onto Alexa, but rather than causing corrosive pain to course through her body, Alexa¡¯s body greedily ate the energy and began converting it into energy her body could use to continue the healing process. With the tentacles proving little to no help, Alexa decided to press her advantage, as she looked at the demonic being¡¯s version of her father¡¯s face and swung. Wham, flicker. The times between flickers lasted longer, as Alexa momentarily paused one strike, fearing that she would strike her father. Then an instant later, the demonic essence once again took over, causing him to speak out, ¡°what you¡­¡± That was as far as he got, as Alexa swung again. Then again, and again. Alexa swung until her fists ached from not having enough time to heal. She swung even when it was clearly her father¡¯s face she was striking. She swung until only black whisps of smoke remained. Then even those few whisps were gone and she was just striking at her father, his big goofy face just smiled brightly as he took blow after devastating blow. Panting. When her strikes no longer did anything, Alexa let herself relax, as she took in refreshing breath, after refreshing breath. Finally, after a few seconds of silence Alexa locked gazes with her father, her real father, or rather what spiritual energy remained of him. ¡°You need to work on that right hook.¡± Warder said, a slight smile to his face. Alexa panting rose her fist up to strike once more. ¡°Easy there tiger, easy. I¡¯m just joking.¡± Warder said, reaching out a hand to grasp Alexa¡¯s, and to her surprise the touch was warm, even through the glove it was warm, but not overly so. Rather, it just warmed to a near perfect temperature and then seemed to stop. Seeing that, Alexa stopped, and then looked first to her hand and then to her father. ¡°Dad?¡± ¡°Yeah, you did it. I don¡¯t quite know what you did, nor how I got here, but you did it.¡± Warder said, then he tilted his head away as if hearing someone talking from behind him. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m to tell you, you are doing a great job¡­¡± He paused, ¡°but apparently you need to do a lot more.¡± Warder listened to more, but then finally after a second a note of irritation filled him. ¡°Do you mind, I am trying to have a moment here with my daughter.¡± He said to the voice over his shoulder. Then turning back he smiled and said, ¡°looks like this is the end of the road for me. Thank you, because of you I get to go to a better place.¡± Tears. Instantly the box that Alexa had shoved her consciousness into, to protect herself, shattered. Her vision blurred, as she felt a deluge of emotions come to her. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I wasn¡¯t strong enough¡­¡± Alexa began, her words blubbering and nearly incoherent. ¡°Nonsense. You saved your mom, the captain, and so many others. You are truly doing the best you could have done.¡± Warder began, but then with a somewhat annoyed sigh turned to look off to his right again, at the mysterious voice that was apparently speaking to him. ¡°Okay, yeah, but you still need to do better. There? That good?¡± Warder said, somewhat angrily, the words all being directed at Alexa, while his face remained focused on the unknown speaker. Seeing her father¡¯s lack of respect for authority caused a slight smile and a slight chuckle to erupt from Alexa. Sigh. With that Warder let out a sigh, as his shoulders slumped, ¡°I guess this is the end of this road for me.¡± ¡°Wait, I can heal you. Surely, I can bring you back¡­¡± Alexa protested. Spark. Just as she tried to call forth Healing magic, she caused a minor spark of Void to burst and disrupt her spell causing a painful backlash to strike through the air directly into her core. Shaking his head sadly, Warder replied, ¡°even if you could cast a spell, which you can¡¯t, obviously. This is a duel to the death, and I died a long time ago.¡± Then as he spoke those words, Jim Warder Thyme¡¯s spirit, or what remained of it began to dissolve into a mote of golden light. Alexa desperately reached out, grabbing at the cloud, and for a second she swore it solidified just a moment, long enough for her to grasp tightly. Even in death, her father¡¯s wide shoulders were too large to fully wrap around, at the same time she felt a bright warmth on her back. Then just as quickly as she felt the sensation, it was gone, leaving behind a long cold breeze. Then a message quickly flashed by, letting her know she had won. And better still she was now the commander of the remaining demonic forces. Whoom. The golden dome that had separated the two was gone, revealing a much changed landscape before her. Her pack that had been easily handling the remaining soldiers was now being oppressed by the remaining heroes and the three demonic soldiers. Rage. Instantly Alexa felt rage fill her as she shot to her feet and demanded the demonic soldiers to, ¡°kneel!¡± And just like that the four demon soldiers who had been fighting the few unsubdued members of Alexa¡¯s pack knelt down instantly. A deafening silence filled the area as every Super, her own pack included turned to her. Then with a word, she enacted judgement for what she saw going on. Supers were pinning her own pack members down, others actively helped the demonic elves, apparently having recognized the traitors as being influential elven diplomats, while still others just watched. ¡°Purge!¡± Alexa stated, her voice echoing like thunder over the open fields. As the word rang out, everyone that could hear the word suddenly had their powers stripped from them. Everyone but the demonic soldiers, who while being seemingly immune to the effects of Purge, were not immune to the dominance that Alexa now had from winning her Royal Duel. At that, she read the message she got for completing the quest assigned by the system.
Precursor Sage Quest Completed: Destroy the Demonic Knight: You vanquished the Demonic Knight from your planet. Rewards: Levels, Class Unique Skill: Purge ¨C (Planetary). Current progress 1 / 1. Ding. Level up. You class Precursor Sage has increased to level 2. Your class Precursor Sage has increased to level 3. ¡­ Your class precursor Sage has increased to level 8. New Class Specific Power obtained: Purge.
Purge: The power to cleanse the corruption from people and see who is truly worthy of the gifts bestowed upon them by the great system. Effect: Instant. Dwell Time: 30 Days.
¡°What, what is this?¡± A random hero called out, fear evident in their voice. ¡°It says I have thirty days to be Absolved?¡± A second hero calls out. At that, Alexa nodded to herself, as those words sparked a memory within her. Moving over to the kneeling corrupted elven summoners, Alexa punched the first one, once, twice, then finally ten times before the last traces of Void Essence were removed from the creature. Within seconds, the kneeling demonic soldier dissipated, leaving behind the empty husk of an elven body. With the first demon soldier cleared, Alexa went over to the next. ¡°What are you doing? They gave up.¡± Vibranium shouted, as he ran over and grabbed Alexa¡¯s raised hand. With a quick snap of her wrist, she sent Vibranium flying. Then with her arm free once more, Alexa went about purifying the remaining soldiers. Everyone watched in awe and fear as the demonic entities slowly converted back into the body of elves, elves that were dead, as the corrupted spirits that had been used to power the bodies that were little more than meat suits disappeared after their cleansing. Finally, Alexa was told that she had completed her second class quest that she had been given by the system.
Precursor Sage Quest Complete: Destroy the Corrupted Summoners: You have removed the Corrupted Summoners who conspired to pull a Demonic Knight to a pre-integrated planet. Remove the corruption from the Summoners and allow their souls to move on to the afterlife. Rewards: Levels, Class Unique Skill: Absolution ¨C (Individual). Current progress 25 / 25. Ding. Level up. Your class Precursor Sage has increased to level 9. Your class Precursor Sage has increased to level 10. Your class Precursor Sage has increased to level 11. New class specific power obtained: Absolution ¨C (Individual).
Absolution-(Individual): You have been granted the ability to absolve someone identified as a sinner by the system and redeem them back their access to the great system.
With her second class specific power obtained, Alexa went around and placed her thumb over the top of each of her pack mates Absolved them of their banishment from the system. Instantly the teenage girls that had been held down by the forces of stronger people instantly rose to their feet and jerked themselves free. ¡°What about me?¡± An aged Wondra asked, after seeing the power being restored back to Alexa¡¯s pack mates. ¡°What about you?¡± Alexa asked. ¡°Are you going to do that thumb thing to me?¡± Wondra asked, as she shook in place from having to stand so long on her old, withered limbs. Fortunately, it was Gina who spoke up on Alexa¡¯s behalf. ¡°You, the one who attacked Al¡­ I mean Ar¡¯uka from the back? The one who almost gave this place over to demons. You think you deserve your powers back?¡± Hearing the sharp words come from the normally placid Gina made a nice warm fire glow within her chest, as she couldn¡¯t help but smile at the words. With that, most of the other Supers began getting out of the way, as Alexa made her way over to the giant red dome that still covered the land. Focusing her will into her hands, she placed her hands flat against the dome and began to Absorb the energy from the dome. As she did, she was met with system message after system message.
Ding. Level up. Your class Absorber has increased to level 41. Your class Absorber has increased to level 42. Your class Absorber has increased to level 43.
Then after the third level was obtained, cracks began to form as the corrosive energy that had been used to create the dome was gone, causing the dome to shatter in on itself. Clatter. Sharp spikes and tiny fragments of debris began falling. The now human former-Supers all winced and covered their faces, blocking for an impact that would never come. Clink clatter. Then in front of them, they heard it, the sound of all the debris being pushed away as it was seemingly caught by an invisible net and thrown to the ground in front of them. With the prison broken, Alexa gave a follow gesture with her hand as she began walking away, her mind instinctively guiding her towards the nearest dungeon that they could use to escape from. ¡°What about her?¡± Luke asked, as they began making their way forward. Hearing that, Alexa turned to see whom Luke was talking about, there next to him was their mother. She was far thinner now, as her super strength was gone, Alexa could even swear that she saw a few wrinkles on her normally perfect skin, a sign that the system had truly abandoned her. ¡°What about her?¡± Alexa asked back. ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you going to Absolve her as well?¡± Luke asked. Alexa halted her advancement forward, then as one every member of her pack did as well, everyone but for Kelvin who took a half step extra forward before stopping, once he realized Kylie had stopped. Alexa first looked at Luke, then to her mother, then back at Luke. ¡°She is retired.¡± ¡°Yeah, so?¡± Luke asked. ¡°So she should stay retired this time.¡± Alexa answered. Then with that, she began walking again. This time when she strode forward everyone continued with her, except for Luke and the now powerless Judge. Epilogue IV Epilogue IV Rachel Rivers ¡°Good evening, it is my unfortunate task to inform you of the Purging Plague that is now targeting all users who enter or exit from a dungeon. What started as a localized infestation has apparently spread to all current and former Supers from around the world. Even the native elves and orcs are not immune as they too have seemingly found themselves at a loss for power.¡± With that the screen behind Rachel Rivers changes, to show the last image of Alexa, still wearing her Aru¡¯ka Super costume, through the nearby dungeon and disappearing with twenty other students. A few minutes later Luke, dressed as Skywalker went through the portal, accompanied by Judge. ¡°These is the last image of Supers entering dungeons. As of now it is assumed that the Supers you saw are either powerless, or somehow managed to cut themselves off from catching the strange disease that is infecting anyone with a modicum of power that has gone near a dungeon. Which apparently is the entirety of the Earth at this point.¡± Rachel paused to let that message sink in. Then the screens once again change. ¡°As one might expect, there is an anti-super movement that has rise up during this time of crisis. The much-defunded military and national guard units are at a loss, as many of their main powerhouses are also affected by this. The president is rumored to be close to declaring martial law. Worse, the hope for stability, the elves that are expected to come at the time of integration are suspected to also be vulnerable to the Purging Plague just as the current elven and orcish delegates are. Ultimately, this is a time when we will find out the true condition of humanity. With a heavy heart I wish you a good night, and ask that you spend tonight with a loved one. This is Rachel Rivers signing off.¡± *** Marcus Mackie Marcus sat chained to the wall of a dungeon. He had come so close, and yet was still so far away from his goal of being released. ¡°Cursed creature, I have done as you asked. Surely the allotted time has passed.¡± Marcus bellowed to the blue scaled dragon. Huff. With an annoyed huff the blue-scaled dragon opened its golden eyes, and stared at Marcus. ¡°Indeed, it has, but the moment we were waiting for never came, and now there are extra complications that will prevent you from seeing your son.¡± ¡°I no longer care about that, just let me go.¡± Marcus screamed as he desperately pulled at the chains that were strong enough to even hold back his ferocious strength. ¡°I am afraid that the world you knew no longer exists,¡± the blue dragon said, with a somewhat sad tone to its voice. ¡°Earth has been¡­ destroyed?¡± Marcus asked, his voice trembling and breaking at even the thought of such an odd thing happening. Before this, before meeting her, and her ferocious power, he would have doubted such a thing to be possible, but he had seen things. A demonic army prepped and prepared to go to war, waiting on a foothold, a foothold that apparently never came, due to the worst-case scenario, the Earth being destroyed. ¡°What? No, but the access to your planet is now fully compromised. It seems that I¡­¡± The dragon began, but her words were cut off by the dungeon who seemed to speak in odd pulses of light. Flicker. ¡°That we¡­¡± The dragon corrected herself after the flashes from the dungeon, ¡°underestimated the lengths that your planet¡¯s sage would go to protect her people.¡± ¡°Our Sage?¡± Marcus asked, a slightly confused tone to his voice. ¡°Yes, I believe you might have met her, though that was clearly before she became the one.¡± ¡°The one?¡± Marcus asked, his head still ringing from lack of food and water, and now this dragon was once again talking in riddles around him. It was all so hard to comprehend. ¡°Yes, she has gone the scorched Earth route. As a means to prevent her planet from being invaded.¡± ¡°Invaded? By the demons?¡± Chuckle. At that the dragon laughed haughtily, ¡°hardly, it has been a long time since the demons even needed to muster their forces. Now all they really need to do is sit around and wait for those that remain to destroy themselves. But your prime has fixed that?¡± ¡°But how?¡± A tired Marcus asked. Shaking her head the blue dragon just changed the subject, ¡°tis no matter. We will see how this strategy plays out.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°And for me?¡± ¡°Why, you will stay here of course. Your planet and your son both will have need of you and your levels here shortly.¡± Silence. There was a long time that passed as Marcus stared off into the distance, long ago lost to the fact that he would lose this battle. Not only did he have to apparently fight the dragon, which was a challenge in and of itself, but here he also had to contend with a backstabbing dungeon, something he didn¡¯t even know was possible. Finally, after a long time Marcus asked a question that had been plaguing him since he first got bound and imprisoned here. ¡°Tell me creature, what is your name?¡± ¡°Me? Why I thought you would never ask, you may call me Magdala.¡±
Name: Alexa Thyme
Status: Awakened
Primary Class: Absorber (A) Level: 43
Secondary Class: Precursor Sage (A) Level: 11
Trials Completed: 31 of 10 (0 Remaining)
Dragon Trials Completed: 30 of 10 (0 Remaining)
Rank Bonuses
Countess +35% All Attributes, Skills, Psychic Powers, Magic Aptitudes, Fast Travel Times, and Title Bonuses.
Physical Attributes Rating
Strength 372
Agility 372
Endurance 372
Mental Attributes Rating
Intelligence 372
Perception 1,017
Willpower 1,447
Skills unlocked
Arcana: 15% Rune Reading: 25% Unarmed Combat (Tier II) 156%
Gymnastics 17% Rune Writing: 8% Mana Weaving (Tier IV): 487%
Insight: 11% Stealth: 15% Corruption Resistance (Tier VI) 625%
Medicine: 11% Strategy: 12% Runic Master (Tier VI): 609%
Wall Walking 11% Throwing 26% Biome Balancing (Tier VII): 1,408%
Parkour 11% Analysis (Tier II) 1,157% Void Resistance (Tier VII): 1,083%
Perfected Skills:
Dragon Tongue Precursor Tongue Celestial Tongue
Harbinger Tongue Chaos Tongue Runic Language
Elven Tongue Orc Tongue Gnomish Tongue
Dwarven Tongue Beastkin Tongue
Psychic Powers (Related Attributes)
Mind Shield (Willpower)
Telekinesis (Intelligence, Perception)
Magic Disruption (Willpower)
Analytical Eye (I) (Intelligence, Perception)
Indomitable Soul (Willpower)
Rune Channeling (Intelligence, Willpower)
Void Resistance (Willpower)
Magic Schools Unlocked:
Magic School Tier Rating
Healing X
Nature X
Wind X
Arcane X
Creation X
Water V
Light IX
Earth VIII
Illusion X
Void IV
Precursor Class Powers:
Purge: The power to cleanse the corruption from people and see who is truly worthy of the gifts bestowed upon them by the great system. Effect: Instant. Dwell Time: 30 Days.
Absolution-(Individual): You have been granted the ability to absolve someone identified as a sinner by the system and redeem them back their access to the great system.
Titles:
Dragon¡¯s Bane (5): All Magic abilities increased by 10% (50%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 25% (125%).
Dragon Slayer (37): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (555%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (1,850%).
Attribute Increase (25): All Attributes increased by 10% (250%).
Dungeon Runner (16): All Attributes increased by 1% (16%).
Protection of Life (12): Death Magic Resistance +5% (60%), Necromancy Magic Resistance +5% (60%)
First Monster of Pandora: Can call into being the words of change. Known Words: Hope, Name, Purify
First Royal Duelist: You were the first winner of a royal duel for your planet, as such you are able to challenge anyone regardless of rank differential to a Royal Duel. Conditions: Challenges are limited to duels conducted on your home planet.
Solo Assassin (4): You single handedly slew four different enemies from four different enemy species that were 100 levels higher than your own. Reward: +40% attribute bonus when engaging any enemy in single combat.
First Dual Classer of your planet: You are the first Dual Classer of your planet. Reward: Experience Gained Increased by 10%.
Stolen Powers:
Regeneration, Night Sight, Agility, Longevity, Pack Link, Pack Bond, Eyes of the Architect, Hands of the Architect, Enchanting Voice, Scentless Stride, Allure, Mimicry, Voice of Command, Fire Walk, Fire Resistance, Void Walk, Void Resistance.
Publication and Stubbing Hello and happy holiday seasons for all. A few updates. I wanted to tell everyone that this series'' book format has been picked up by both Mango Media Publishing (Selkie''s new publishing company). If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Additionally, the audio format is also under production by Podium Audio, where the talented Mare Trevathan will narrate. What this means? Honestly quite a lot. 1) The first book is set to be open soon for pre-order, and will be ready to read on 20 December 2023. 2) As the new title denotes, I will be stubbing this on 17 December 2023. 3) More to come as I find out, I will of course share with you all. Thank you all, and I hope you all have a great holiday season. Book 1 - 3 Live. Good morning everyone, First I wanted to say thank you all for your support. I mean it when I say I could not do this without your help and support. For that I am immensely grateful. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. A quick housekeeping note. Books 1-3 (eBook edition) are now available via Amazon in the links above and below. Book 1 is already out on Audible, with Book 2 now available for pre-order and set to go live on 30 July 2024. There is more to come, but again I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your support and hope that you are having a great day. Very Respectfully Lykanthropy