《Syphon: Armageddon Academy》 1 HEARTBREAK If there was one thing Synn hated, it was the post. The only letters he ever received were overdue notices from his landlord. In fairness he wasn''t a bad guy, he had a job to do, and Synn knew he was stopping that from happening. Still, it had resulted in the argument he was in right know so he was still annoyed at the guy. "Sy, I don''t care. I''m done, I''m breaking up with you!" "Danika. I can change our fortunes." "You''ve been saying that for two years. You barely go to classes; I don''t know how you''ll graduate." "Honestly, I can feel a change coming." "Well,¡± she sighed ¡°I hope for you it does. I''ve been scouted, a minor guild is willing to pick me up and put me through college and¡­ I''m taking it." "That''s great. We should celebrate." "No Synn, you need to listen. We''re done. I''m moving into the guild lodgings." She moved towards the door with a pack slung over her shoulder. Hesitation kicked in as she brushed past his hand. She turned and looked up at him, his 6ft2 athletic frame dwarfing her lean 5ft5. "It wasn''t all bad, we had a lot of fun." She said kissing him gently on the cheek before she turned and walked out of the apartment and his life. Furious, Synn started to throw furniture around. His rage bubbling over. He¡¯d always had a short temper, and this wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯d broken up it was just that he knew, this was the last time. It hurt; he¡¯d suspected it was coming. Danika had closed herself off more than usual recently. It was so she could focus on her studies and meeting the minimum requirements for a college, or so she said. But really it was just a way out of this life and he understood and supported that. They¡¯d met at age fourteen and bonded over their difficulties in class and that had somehow become dating. It was also the same time that Synn had started combating the rifts. No longer were you considered an adult at eighteen. The huge loss of life when rift breaks started happening meant that children became self sufficient at age fourteen and therefore less of a burden on the aid of the state. Their difficulties came in how problematic it was to level their starting skill and stats, well for Synn it was impossible but for Danika she had to put ridiculous amounts of energy in compared to everyone else. To get a class and be considered eligible for one of the elite Academies or Colleges you had to level your primary skill to level 10. For Danika it was a time and effort issue but for Synn his skill was locked at the first level as that was also its maximum level. He couldn¡¯t increase it through continued use like other people or apply experience to the skill or his stats. It was rare but there were some broken skills that prevented people from progressing. Luckily it was still useful enough that he could join rift delves and that was how he made enough money to almost pay his bills. Luckily, he didn''t destroy the apartment and furniture in his heartbreak tantrum as that would cost him money he really didn¡¯t have right now. His notification buzzed, just as he was about to start tidying up, to let him know a high priority message had come through. Urgently calling all local adventurers. A new rift has appeared in an unstable format. We require as many of you as possible. This isn''t a drill; real lives will be lost if you refuse to act now and the rift breaks. Location will be uploaded to your map on acceptance. Accept YES/NO? Mentally clicking ¡®Yes¡¯ Synn thought to himself ¡®Great, now I get to go be ridiculed by my peers too.¡¯ He changed into his delving gear and messaged his friend Lance ¡®Any chance you¡¯re off to the rift and I can grab a lift?¡¯. Lance lived in the same block of apartments and was also a delver, he just hoped that he was also heading to the rift or he¡¯d have to spend a chunk of his money on public transport. The reply was quick, ¡®Sure Dude, see you in the garage in 5.¡¯ Synn was truly grateful that he wouldn¡¯t be late to the rift. The ride was in awkward silence after Lance had asked if Danika would be joining them and Synn had to explain that they¡¯d broken up. As the car pulled up Synn thought he saw the back of Danika¡¯s head moving behind a car after alighting a guild coach. ¡®Surely, she wouldn¡¯t come here today, would she?¡¯ But as they moved to the gathering point, he realised just how wrong he had been. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Danika stood with ¡®The Venomous Stingers¡¯, a guild group that specialised in poison strikes. This was part of why Danika had been slow to progress, her skill required her to build up a poisonous core through the absorption of atmospheric poisons and unless you discovered a truly poisonous area within a rift it was hard work to draw the natural poisons from the air outside rifts. The worst part was that she wasn¡¯t standing alone, she was holding on to the arm of someone else wearing the emblem of the Venomous Stingers. ¡°Danika?¡± He called out. ¡°Dude, don¡¯t.¡± Lance put his hand on his shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s clearly not worth your time if she¡¯s already moved on.¡± He tried to be sympathetic as he¡¯d seen the pain on Synn¡¯s face during the drive. ¡°Sy,¡± She was shocked to see him there ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t expect to see you so soon.¡± ¡°Clearly, didn¡¯t expect you to have moved into a new relationship in less than an hour.¡± ¡°It, it¡¯s complicated. Brad and I, we synergise. I met him when I went to try out for the guild, and we went for a few coffees after to talk about our skills and his skill creates a poison mist when fighting that strengthens him. The longer he spends in it the stronger he becomes.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re what? Dual cultivating now?¡± ¡°No, no. He just gets me.¡± ¡°Problem?¡± Brad stepped up pressing his hand into Synn¡¯s chest forcing him to take a half step back. ¡°There will be if you don¡¯t take your hand off me.¡± ¡°Synn, please don¡¯t start anything? This is my first outing with the guild. A chance to prove myself.¡± She pleaded. ¡°Oh, so this is your useless ex that you couldn¡¯t wait to get away from.¡± ¡°Brad, you¡¯re not helping. Go back to the group.¡± ¡°No, I think he needs reality to give him a gentle reminder his fist turning green.¡± Lance stepped in between ¡°Back off unless you want to be done before the delve starts.¡± ¡°From this useless punk? I doubt it.¡± ¡°No Brad, he¡¯s right. Synn might not be able to level but in a one on one he can beat anyone close to his level and none of us have opened a class or second skill yet.¡± Synn smirked at Brad as he was pulled away by Danika. ¡°How are you feeling Dude?¡± Lance asked when they were alone again. ¡°Like someone is still twisting a knife in my chest.¡± ¡°Maybe sit this one out?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t, I need the money. More so than before now it is just me and not Danika and I sharing the bills.¡± ¡°You can always give up the apartment and crash with me for a while.¡± ¡°Thanks, you¡¯re a good friend. I might have to do that anyway if I don¡¯t get anything useful from this delve.¡± ¡°I know. And don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve got your back in there so there won¡¯t be any sneak attacks from Brad for you to worry about.¡± ¡°Damn, I am off my game. I didn¡¯t even think of that.¡± He worriedly chuckled wondering if they would try something underhanded like a sneak attack. Just then a dark black van with a white ¡®R.O.R.T.¡¯ emblazoned on the side pulled up and a young lady stepped out dressed more for a court room job than a rift delve. She had high heels, tights, a pencil skirt and a white blouse. ¡°Please gather round everyone. I haven¡¯t all day, this is a serious risk to the local area.¡± She called out. Everyone stopped their conversations and began to congregate around her. ¡°Good, good. Now I¡¯m from the Rift Office Response Team as you¡¯ve probably gathered, and this rift here has been classed as a category four. That means it¡¯s low level and able to be taken up by anyone with a combat or a combat adjacent skill, but it must be completed in a timely manner.¡± ¡°How come you haven¡¯t brought a team then? Brad called out. ¡°Our teams are spread thin this week and are currently out on other assignments. That doesn¡¯t however, mean that we are neglecting the risk that this rift poses to the built-up area and as such we have called in support from Armageddon Academy. Luckily, they have a team already heading out this way and they should reach here within three to four hours.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no help. We could witness a full rift break by then with all the beasts inside storming out and turning the residential district into a nest.¡± Brad continued to poke at the Rift Officer. ¡°Indeed, and your incessant whining is only making that possibility more likely. Now for those who haven¡¯t had a basic education or just forgot what causes a volatile rift like this is when a single monster has exceeded the maximum level of the rift, the energy it emits overwhelms the stability and cause the entrance to become an unpredictable gateway to our world. It takes a much more cohesive and powerful force to come in and collapse the rift should that happen so I need you all to be my first wave and reduce the number of beasts that could break out should Armageddon Academy not make it in time. Okay, now let¡¯s break off into teams and get ready to enter.¡± 2 RIFT ENTRY ¡°Come on Dude, you are with us now.¡± Lance said as he dragged Synn off with his group ¡°Don¡¯t even think about Danika. We¡¯re all going to be so rich and powerful after this delve, you¡¯ll have girls queuing up to spend time with you.¡± He joked. ¡°I¡¯d happily spend some time with you now.¡± One of Lance¡¯s friends winked suggestively. ¡°Those emerald eyes and the matching hair paired with those rippling muscles. Yes, please.¡± She said hooking her arm round Synn¡¯s as she sidled up alongside. ¡°Sophie, we talked about this. No teasing the new members in the group until after we delve.¡± Lance mock scolded. ¡°Sorry Lance, it¡¯s just a unique look. I was beguiled by it.¡± Sophie replied but didn¡¯t look at all apologetic still staring at Synn like she wanted to devour him. ¡°It really is, I¡¯ve never thought about it before. How did you end up with the hair colour?¡± ¡°Gift from my mother was the best guess when I was growing up. She is very much aligned to nature, and I think that is where my talent and looks came from.¡± Synn shrugged answering. ¡°You certainly look like you¡¯re carved from a tree, I would love to¡­¡± Sophie started. ¡°Enough Sophie. Susan, douse your sister please. I think she really is beguiled by Synn¡¯s eyes, and yeah well, all his other features too thanks to his mother¡¯s earth nature.¡± Sophie sputtered as Susan fired a half-powered water cannon at her sister instantly drenching her through. ¡°You could have waited a minute or two Sis. I was not prepared for that.¡± She scolded Susan before turning to Synn. ¡°I really am sorry this time. It is a side effect of my innate skill that I¡¯m drawn to people and objects that are closely linked to nature, the more attuned they are the stronger the pull. It¡¯s never been as strong as that though, it was quite liberating and terrifying all at once to just be a passenger in my own body." ¡°Anyway¡­¡± Lance rolled his eyes. ¡°Let me properly introduce you to squad C who you will be working with today. You¡¯ve met Sophie our nature mage and her sister Susan is a water mage who fights with me in squad A. Just so you know we have smaller teams that we break down into as it can be helpful with a group like ours for clearing mobs at a quicker rate. Up next is your shield, Tommy here is one heck of a Shield Knight in the making and that is the class he is hoping to unlock if you were wondering. He¡¯s piled everything into strength and vitality so he can withstand the life ending hits that would otherwise kill us all off. Any questions so far Synn?¡± ¡°Nope, think I¡¯ve got it.¡± He smiled ¡°Now who else have we got in the team?¡± ¡°Just one more for squad C. Come on over Samson¡± he beckoned another of the group ¡°Samson here is our resident ranger although he is aiming to be a sharpshooter we prefer his tracking talents.¡± ¡°Is that a skill or just a lot of camping as a kid?¡± ¡°Bit of both really.¡± ¡°Cool, I look forward to working with you three. Who is taking point of squad C?¡± ¡°That would be Samson.¡± Lance quickly answered, ¡°he has the best view of the field from his position and probably the most experience.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool with me. So as for my intro, I like melee but my talent allows me to borrow skills and stats from my opponent. So I can end up becoming back line very quickly depending on the skill I borrow. When I take the skill it also stops them utilising it so if they have an overpowered skill hope I get that one.¡± He chuckled at the end. ¡°Isn¡¯t that unpredictability hard to work with in a battle that your very life may depend on?¡± Samson asked. ¡°That¡¯s your question?¡± Sophie asked ¡°Not how unfairly overpowered is that ability?¡± ¡°Well to answer you both it has definitely made me very adaptable and as for overpowered, I wish! The borrowing is temporary and if I¡¯m up against multiple opponents it can end up switching halfway through an attack. Yes it¡¯s great in a boss battle as I can make it easier for all of us but skirmishes it can leave me pretty vulnerable sometimes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let his modesty fool you.¡± Lance chimed in again as he listened in on their conversation. ¡°His skill with those short swords is up there with most talent holders.¡± ¡°Had to have something that was always mine. Besides it¡¯s what my grandfather trained me with the most too.¡± He looked almost melancholic as he remembered his time with his grandfather. ¡°Okay, so our standard approach will be Tommy up front, with Synn behind ready to engage if they¡¯re within his capabilities and Sophie and I to attack from range. Synn, if you steal a skill that means dropping back shout the skill name as you do so and then we can prepare too.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Sure thing¡± he acknowledged while also giving a thumbs up. ¡°Alright everyone.¡± The rift office called out ensuring all attention converged on her once more. ¡°You¡¯ve had some time to prep your teams so all that¡¯s left is to enter. Now you know the drill, scan your ID tags as you pass me on your way through the rift. Hopefully you have all kept your next of kin details updated.¡± Synn felt a gaze land on him at this point and turned to see who it was, Danika! She must have had the same realisation as him, they were both still listed as emergency contact for each other. ¡°Don¡¯t worry man, we¡¯ll get it changed after this rift. I¡¯ll drive you over myself.¡± ¡°Thanks Lance. You¡¯re a good friend.¡± ¡°Woah, don¡¯t misunderstand me. I just want first dibs on your swords.¡± They both burst out laughing at this as they walked forwards scanned their tags and stepped through the rift. Entering the rift, Synn felt like his entire body was quickly plunged through an icy vacuum and at the same time as you stepped out the other side you were instantly refreshed. It was like you¡¯d had a good nights sleep, a hot refreshing shower and that perfect first cup of coffee. ¡°Oh how I love that feeling.¡± Sophie giggled as she stepped out just behind. Synn had drawn his swords the second he stepped out but the others seemed to be just milling around continuing their chats from before. ¡°Come on Lance, get the squads together. We need to start this search, there is too much at stake behind us if we fail.¡± Synn called across to his friend. ¡°I hear you, just clarifying our strategy.¡± ROOOAAAAARRRR!!! ¡°I¡¯d say your time is up.¡± Synn said running forward with a hastily prepped squad C following behind. ¡°Synn, the formation.¡± Samson called out. ¡°Sure, as soon as you¡¯re all ready to step in that¡¯s our default but Tommy still has his shield belted to his back. I¡¯ll buy us a few extra moments. ¡°Do you even know what you¡¯re fighting?¡± Samson called to Synn but he was already entering his first combat 200 metres away. Synn did know exactly what he was fighting, it was a low level elemental in the form of an ice troll. Being elemental they had a small core inside that allowed them to regenerate and replenish as long as their corresponding element was in the air. He¡¯d spent a lot of time studying as a child before his innate skill turned out to be fairly useless to his parents and they had shunned him. Still Grandpa had looked after him and made sure that he could protect himself and those around him, at least until he¡¯d disappeared in what should have been a standard dungeon run. His home life had become far worse at that point due to the grief and blame running rampant in the house. So, he¡¯d packed a rucksack with some clothes and food and left, determined to make something of himself without any input from the family. The only keepsake, a signet ring, etched with a red tree and shield, given to him by his grandpa that he wore on his right pinkie finger. The ice troll brought it¡¯s club of ice straight down from above its head but Synn was ready, he slipped to his left his right sword swinging low and cutting straight through the right leg of the troll just below the knee. The troll started to fall forward, swirling ice around the cut already trying to form a new limb, but Synn was already behind it. His left sword flashed out this time stabbing straight through the troll and pushing a small core out of its body that shattered at the tip of his sword. ¡°Ice elementals, go for the core in the chest like you just saw with my attack. It¡¯s the only way to finish them off. They¡¯re fairly resistant to magical attacks and poisons as I¡¯m sure you already know.¡± He told squad C as they closed in on his position. ¡°Now let¡¯s stick to formation and try not to get surrounded a chunk of the Venomous Stingers are going to be useless so we¡¯ll have much fewer fighters in this battle.¡± ¡°Synn, I don¡¯t think we have an option about being surrounded. Look to the right.¡± Samson called out. Looking right Synn could see a towering ice troll king leading around another 100 ice trolls. The Venomous Stingers were already being forced back in their battles. The ice troll king was probably a level 10 elemental where as the normal ice trolls were levels 6 and 7. ¡°Damn, should have known that would be too easy for a potential rift break. Okay, new plan I¡¯ll go after the big guy, you work with Lance and the other squads to keep the minions at bay.¡± ¡°Are you sure? It doesn¡¯t look an easy fight even in a group.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be it¡¯s limiting factor remember. All being well it means I can keep you safe from any wide ranging attacks.¡± ¡°Okay. Go ahead.¡± Samson agreed ¡°Come back safe.¡± Sophie called out while Tommy just nodded at him. Sprinting towards the ice troll king Synn adjusted his grip on his two short swords and two steps away he darted casting a glancing blow on the troll king. Syphon activated ¨C Skill Glacial Prison acquired! Stats boosted! The advantage to borrowing skills through syphon? He instantly knew how to make use of the skill. ¡°Everyone withdraw.¡± Synn yelled over all the battles. ¡°I can end this quickly!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not listening to you. You just want to keep the loot for yourself.¡± Brad called back. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not arguing. I¡¯m activating this skill in 10 seconds. If you¡¯ve not cleared a radius and you get caught up don¡¯t blame me.¡± Synn argued while still dancing round the troll kings giant club and wildly flailing arm.¡± ¡°We should back off.¡± Danika loudly spoke up in his defence. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t jeopardise those around him for a reward of any size. If he says he has a skill to end this he¡¯s serious.¡± Brad growled before giving the order to fall back. They were gradually moving back to the others when another troll king started to appear in the radius of his planned attack but cutting a path towards those he was trying to keep safe. ¡°Go Synn!!! This is our only chance to get them all.¡± Sophie and Lance shouted at the tops of their voices. Glacial Prison activated. 3 ONWARDS AND DOWNWARDS The ground around Synn turned icy as a frosty cold blue wave rushed out with him as the epicentre. Whenever it reached an enemy troll, it would rush up them, encasing them in a thick wintery tomb. Nothing was safe, the two troll kings were also wrapped in layer upon layer of ice. Unfortunately, two of the members of the Venomous Stingers were also caught up in the edge of it unable to exit the danger zone before Synn had been forced into releasing the skill. ¡°Pull them out quick before I lose control of the skill.¡± Synn¡¯s gritted teeth as he focused to hold his enemies in place. The Venomous Stingers pulled their colleagues to safety and Synn gave them a bit of extra time to go out beyond the boundary of the skill before he pulled his open hands into tightly clenched fists. Cracks started to appear on each of the low level trolls and then, like the sound of glasses shattering in sequence they started to burst apart turning into smaller chunks that tinkled to the ground and a mist of fine powder sprinkled throughout the air, shimmering in the bright light shining down from the sky. The two troll kings were cracking a lot slower than the minions who had already been shattered. ¡°Synn? are you okay?¡± both Lance and Sophie called out. ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re. Just. A. Little. Bit. Tougher.¡± He panted out in reply. The two ice statues began to vibrate, rattling against the frozen ground as they did so. Finally, they shattered just like the lesser ice trolls before them, and Synn slumped to the ground. His breathing heavy, brow dripping with sweat, and his limbs shaking from the physical and mental drain operating the skill had taken. ¡°Synn! That was amazing!¡± Sophie cooed. ¡°Dude. Major respect. That was one heck of a finishing move.¡± Lance held his hand out to fist bump. ¡°What the hell was that you prick?¡± A foot came flying in catching Synn in the arm as he¡¯d realised with just enough time to pull his arm close to the side of his body and defend. He rolled with the blow reducing the force and quickly popped up to his feet despite every part of his aching body screaming at him to lie down and take a nap. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Lance stepped in pushing his fingers into Brad¡¯s collarbone. ¡°He just put himself on the line to keep us all safe.¡± ¡°Convenient that two of mine were injured in the process. Don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Aww, did they get a little chill in their toes? We saw that Synn managed to hold it back in that area meaning it barely touched their boots. They could have ended up in ice coffins like all those trolls.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that is what he was hoping for!¡± Brad spat at Synn, who had finally relaxed his combat ready stance with Lance acting as his personal guard. Danika came over and put a hand on Brad¡¯s upper arm. ¡°Leave it Brad, everyone has survived, and we all got a decent chunk of experience points to help us level. I know for a fact that Synn gets nothing due to his broken skill.¡± ¡°Ha ha.¡± Brad started to laugh. ¡°You got nothing for that? Oh, this is too brilliant. You really are a waste of an individual. Oh, thank you Danika. I really need that laugh¡± He leaned in, kissed her in front of Synn and then turned to walk away. Sophie wrapped Synn up in a hug from behind. ¡°You okay?¡± She whispered. ¡°I will be. Thanks Sophie.¡± ¡°Hey, its what friends are for and if you want to make them jealous? I am more than happy to go even further than a kiss, right here, right now.¡± She chuckled while pinching him in the side. Tensing from the pinch but also chuckling reminded Synn just how much pain he was in. Seeing the wince on his face Lance called over their healer. The healer was only a level 5 but that was all that was needed for a continuous healing spell which was then followed up with a refresh spell. It was far from a perfect patch up but for battlefield first aid it was practically exemplary. Healers could make a fortune by working from the safety of hospitals, churches, and guild halls so very few were willing to actual brave rifts and dungeons. Synn made a mental note that whatever rewards he got he would make sure that the healer got a bonus payment from him. ¡°Okay, that is plenty of healing for you. Stay still any longer and I¡¯m sure Sophie will have changed into a nurse outfit to personally take care of you.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Sophie pouted. ¡°I¡¯m not that bad! Am I?¡± Her eyes pleading Synn to offer her a reprieve. ¡°Your good Soph. It¡¯s nice to be surrounded by people who care about me.¡± ¡°Ooo, a pet name. I knew you liked me Synn.¡± She nudged him with her hip as they strolled back to the group. Before Synn could respond Lance was calling out to the squads to form a new plan of attack. ¡°Okay scouts, tell me what you¡¯ve found.¡± He beckoned to them to speak. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be many other beasts wandering the rift which is surprising.¡± The first scout answered ¡°Agreed.¡± Supported a second scout. ¡°If this is going to break and turn into a nest it should be respawning at a phenomenal rate about now ready to flood our downtown area.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I have another hypothesis.¡± Samson interjected. ¡°We have found a stairway leading down several hundred steps to a subterranean level. Based on the elaborately carved and inlaid bronze doors at the base of the stairs I¡¯d speculate it is a gateway to a dungeon. Now, if this is the case, I¡¯m guessing that whatever got too big for this dungeon is drawing in all the ambient energy leaving none for respawns and¡­ that to me is even more frightening.¡± Leaving the group in stunned silence. After a short moment Lance attempted to introduce some levity. ¡°Wow, way to bring the mood down Samson!¡± chuckling at his own line. ¡°Well,¡± Sophie sighed ¡°I guess we know where we¡¯re heading next. Thanks Samson.¡± Her eye roll emphasizing her mocking which brought laughter to the rest of the group. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯re all smiling again but this next part is serious. If Samson is right then this dungeon is, I¡¯m going to say guaranteed to be dangerous.¡± Lance began to outline his plan. ¡°So, with that in mind. I understand those who don¡¯t wish to continue but, for those who do we are going to tear this dungeon down.¡± His fist thrown up in the air for dramatic effect. ¡°Hell Yeah!¡± the others chorused in response. They kept their guard up as they swept the riftscape on the way to the dungeon entrance, but they found no new foes and so decided that, with their backs clear they should enter. There were 350 steps going down to what was two gigantic, sculpted dragons either side of the tall, ornate bronze doors. The dragons were amazingly lifelike to the point that everyone almost expected to have to battle them the next moment, although if they did it would be while retreating up the steps. Reestablishing the squads, Lance had the teams move in and start pushing the doors. The left door was reluctant to move but the right door slowly began to creep open, so he moved an extra squad across to support and before long they had a way in. ¡°Okay people. This is it. We¡¯re going in as cautiously as possible. Nobody moves away from the entry until we have an idea of what we¡¯re up against. All understood?¡± Cries of ¡°Understood¡± and ¡°Yes¡± went up as they acknowledged the instructions. They filed into the room a squad at a time while the full group from the Venomous Stingers almost rushed in as a single unit, having now joined them at the dungeon. The room opened into a large chamber. It was a huge, hollowed cave with decorative pillars spaced at regular intervals to reinforce the ceiling. Apart from all the jaw dropping architecture, the room was empty. People started testing walls and the pillars for secret passages when suddenly, a loud hot snort was heard behind a group from the Venomous Stingers. Panic crept in and they slowly turned around as out from the shadowy walls stepped a 15-metre-long drake that had begun to glow with an eerie purple hue. ¡°It¡¯s evolving.¡± Synn shouted. His childhood education kicking in once more. ¡°Based on its length and the horns sprouting from it¡¯s head it¡¯s about to turn in to a full-blown dragon.¡± ¡°What can we do?¡± Lance worriedly asked. Fear for his friends evident in every feature of his face and voice. ¡°We can back up slowly and leave, wait for support before we come back, or we can engage it now and be in for the fight of our lives.¡± ¡°Got ya! All squads on me! We¡¯re falling back to the doors.¡± All the members from their squad agreed with the assessment and began to slowly step away. Walking backwards so as not to invite an easy attack. Instead of being sensible like Synn and Lance the Venomous Stingers instead decided it was a great time to provoke the drake. ¡°Oh no, be ready to scatter.¡± A panicked Lance cried out. And just as he finished the drake roared and started to fire out laser like shots at the entire room before jumping towards the fleet-footed member of the Stingers who had tried to stab it in the eye before heading to the doors with super speed activated. Fortunately, everyone from the squads had managed to avoid the incoming shots but a few had ended up circling round the drake and were now deeper into the room. This group of 5 included Lance, Sophie, Danika, and two other Stingers that Synn hadn¡¯t had the pleasure of being introduced to. Synn wasn¡¯t one to watch his friends being injured so he stormed at the drake clanging his swords together to create as much noise as possible. The drake however refused to turn around, even with the din that Synn was making. Well, that was until two swords slashed into the flesh of the drake¡¯s tail. Synn fired a newly acquired void bullet at the left hind leg of the drake as he sprinted down past the drake to draw its ire towards himself. ¡°I¡¯ve pulled the aggro so head to the doors now while you can.¡± He called to the trapped group. Not wasting any time Lance led the rescued party towards the doors while Sophie and Danika both let their eyes pause on Synn as he fought the drake to protect them before their very eyes. ¡°Come on you two. You can thank Synn properly by getting a move on so he can start his own retreat.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. That¡¯s for the best. He will be okay, won¡¯t he?¡± fear evident in Sophie¡¯s voice. ¡°If anyone can find a way it would be Synn.¡± Danika reassured her as they both started moving again. The doors were already beginning to close as Lance, Sophie, and Danika ran through. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s too much. We need to keep a gap for Synn to escape through¡± Lance called as he turned to see the door about to fully close. He put his hands on it but the momentum was to great and it clicked into place. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Lance roared as he turned on those left from the Venomous Stingers. ¡°We were thinking bigger picture. We¡¯ve lost too many already today and if that gets loose it would be us and the outside world turned into energy for it to finish evolving to a full dragon. Nobody wants that. Do they?¡± Brad stared back at Lance a smirk starting to form. Danika stepped up and slapped Brad. ¡°No. Get that door open now. Synn has... he must come out.¡± Tears running down her cheeks already. Behind Brad one of his cronies spoke up. ¡°Not sure this one is a good fit for us Brad.¡± ¡°No, she is! She¡¯s just having a bit of trouble letting go of her past. Isn¡¯t that right dear? Even you must see that there would have been more casualties if we¡¯d allowed the door to stay open.¡± ¡°Funny how you weren¡¯t willing to fight to save Danika.¡± Lance shoved Brad away. ¡°Okay squads. Clear these limp stingers and get this door open. I want it opened asap so we can get Synn out in one piece.¡± No matter how they tried to push the door, it just wouldn¡¯t open, even with energy and super strength being used the door wouldn¡¯t budge. Lance¡¯s best guess at this point was that it was a timed mechanism. He just hoped Synn could hold on long enough for it to reset and help to arrive. 4 REWARDS Synn was dodging the drakes tail swipes and claws as he dodged between pillars firing off shots of the newly acquired void bullet. He¡¯d been heading to the exit when the doors clicked shut barring his escape and as a result had almost been caught by the drakes¡¯ tail swiping low at his upper thigh. Having thrown himself low to the floor as the razor-sharp scales of the tail scraped along his lightly armoured back, he¡¯d just about managed to stay in the fight although blood was now running down the back of his left arm making the hilt of his sword slick in his grip. Slowly he was working to turn the fight back to his favour. The biggest benefit to the stolen skill was it stopped the drake from using it. The second benefit, the void bullets that he was using to return fire actually had an effect. This had been the most surprising part to Synn in all honesty. He¡¯d thought with a powerful skill like void blast the drake would have some sort of natural immunity to that element, but it turned out the drake was just as vulnerable as everyone else. The drake wasn¡¯t done yet though. Along with it¡¯s tail it still had a breath attack which is used to fire dark flames at Synn. This was a skill it was able to use approximately every 30 seconds and when used it was like a flamethrower engulfing everything within a section of the room where Synn could hide and take a momentary pause to plan his next steps. The battle had become a war of attrition. Synn was firing nonstop at the drake and its armour was gradually fading away. It¡¯s scales barely visible as the void energy ate away at its existence. The drake gave up on chasing as one leg visibly ceased to be and instead of swiping at Synn it tried to pin him in the corner or force him to stop hiding by ramping up the level of its dark flame breath technique. The flames now clung to the floor, the pillars, and the ceiling. Even without a fuel to burn they continued to trap Synn. ¡®I guess my luck finally ran out.¡¯ He pensively groaned as his inner dialogue became louder than his short breaths and booming rapid heartbeats. ¡®So much left undone. Grandpa, I¡¯ve failed. I promised myself I¡¯d find out just what happened to you in that dungeon, but it looks like I¡¯ll never be strong enough now. I left without telling my family where I was going or that I planned to surpass all of them and their ridiculous stats and skills. Become a bigger name than all of them and push them into obscurity. They didn¡¯t even blink when Grandpa disappeared, are they really that numb to the loss of human life after so many years of delving. Guess if I survive this, I should try to enjoy life a little more and appreciate those around me more. Synn was crouched behind one of the flaming pillars, he could feel the searing heat probably destroying his skin and a sneaky look back showed another blast of flame coming in but in a pleasant surprise, half of the drake¡¯s chest had a huge hole appearing in it and within that hole a shimmering purple orb. ¡®It has its dragon core exposed now. Maybe there is time for one last heroic move before the flames devour me. If I can just get my sword into that opening.¡¯ Synn ran from behind the pillar as the flame blast ended, jumped a line of fire burning on the floor and quickly closed on the drake. Both swords were in hand, and he used an underhand throw to flick one sword like a throwing knife straight at the drake¡¯s open maw. The drake turned away slightly to protect its mouth, and this gave Synn just the opening he needed, he dove to knees like a kid on the dance floor at the end of a party and slid towards the drake with the sword locked in both hands pointing directly at the purple core. Time seemed to slow as the first sword bounced off the side of the drake¡¯s lower jaw, and it started to round on Synn once more. It bared its teeth looking ready to cut him in two with those sharp fangs. Still Synn was sliding towards the drake. He had no intention of being roasted alive so bitten in two was a slightly better alternative although still not on his list of things to do today. The drake¡¯s jaws snapped just behind Synn, he¡¯d done it, the final defence had been passed and now the tip of the sword connected with the orb. The initial contact felt like he¡¯d hit a solid metal wall but the sword continued, penetrating the core and shattering it. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Synn had no energy left and he was directly underneath the drake, ¡®Oh no. Instead of burnt to death I¡¯m going to be squished to death. Why can¡¯t this day just end already!¡¯ The drake roared, pushing up onto its two half existing hind legs, ready to drop down and crush Synn with its dying breath. But rather than come straight down the void energy finally removed one of the hind legs and it toppled sideways just missing Synn as it drew its final breath. Synn just lay still on the floor for a moment. With the defeat of the drake the void bullet skill left Synn and as a result the damage it was inflicting also stopped leaving a half-ravaged drake corpse next to him. The flames had wilted and winked out of existence at the drakes demise too. The last thing that happened as the drake died was a golden light flashed into existence right next to him leaving him feeling partially blinded but as it faded away it left behind a beautiful, gleaming golden chest. ¡®A rewards chest!!!¡¯ Excitement bubbled over within Synn so that he felt he could dance for joy despite the lack of energy within him right now. ¡®I knew my luck was changing. I just knew it!!!¡¯ Unable to wait he dragged his tired and damaged body over to the chest and threw open the latch, lifting the lid. As the lid lifted more golden aura spilled out revealing a plush golden cushion upon which sat three items. Two of the items he immediately knew just from a cursory glance. One was a pouch filled with golden coins that spilt out over the drawstring top, obvious enough. The second was a silver crystal and from what Synn had read this was a dungeon creation crystal. On the rare occasion a guild managed to find one they could instantly propel them to a level several ranks higher. It allowed them to create a dungeon entrance in the place of their choosing. It could be their guild hall or on their land but regardless of where they chose it would allow them to delve on a regular basis and thus gain more experience for their members. The number of dungeons and the levels they were at was a great way of advertising for the guilds. More dungeons at a range of levels meant more opportunities for them to level up and obtain rewards. Synn¡¯s hand hovering over the crystal instantly gave him the information that it would create a level 15 dungeon. If he could retain ownership of the item, it would be of tremendous benefit to him in the future when negotiating with a guild. And there in lay his dilemma, first pick of the rewards would usually go to whoever had slain the boss of the dungeon and this was a reward that could set him up for life, but the final item was calling to him even more so. The last item looked like a skill crystal that could be absorbed into the body and would instantly grant them the skill and sometimes if the one absorbing it was lucky a slight stat boost. This crystal varied in colour though, a skill crystal would normally be in the shape of a pentagonal pyramid with a light blue shade, like that of a clear sky on a summers day. This crystal still had the pentagonal pyramid shape but instead had a vividly sizzling, deep purple, amethyst hue. Synn knew he could absorb this crystal, but he didn¡¯t know what it would do for him as no information was given when he held it. ¡®Okay, it may seem greedy but I¡¯m going to take a chance and absorb you now before the others come back in the hope that I can then retain the dungeon creation crystal when dividing up rewards later. Well providing someone manages to get that door open.¡¯ Synn held the amethyst crystal in his left hand and after a brief ¡®here goes nothing¡¯ he pressed it into an open wound on his right forearm. The crystal dissolved which is what a skill crystal would do, and the energy it generated then flowed into his bloodstream. From what he¡¯d read and been told, absorbing a skill crystal would just imprint on him the new skill and the knowledge to go with it and then he would be done. Not this amethyst crystal, this roved around his body almost sizing him up before seeming to find where his soul was tethered to his body and pausing, next thing he knew notifications began to appear. Evolution Crystal Absorbed. User and Skills analysed¡­ Detrimental innate skill discovered. Analysis shows level locked and with limiting factors. Suggesting a rebuild of innate skill as no other options currently available. Does user Synn accept? Yes/No? Synn¡¯s pause was nonexistent. ¡®Yes, all day long YES!!!¡¯ User acceptance recognised. Beginning innate skill restructure. As this is a key part of your being side effects may include numbness, loss of consciousness, temporary loss of movement in limbs, temporary stopping of the heart. ¡®Stopping of the heart? You can¡¯t be serious!¡¯ 5 CONFLICT Stopping of the heart? You can¡¯t be serious!¡¯ Was the last thought to run through Synn¡¯s mind as he did in fact black out. Luckily, he hadn¡¯t had the energy to pull himself up too high when opening the chest, so he was still close to the floor as he dropped down. Coming to, Synn realised he hadn¡¯t been out cold for very long, maybe 10 minutes at most but he did have a notification going off in his mind that was desperate for him to read it. Syphon Skill Successfully Restructured. Please review status screens to see all changes. Next upgrade to innate skill at level 15. ¡®Okay. That sounds great. Status!¡¯ He commanded in his mind.
Name: Synn Age: 16
Level: 1 (0/100) Unused Exp: 0
Affiliation: None
Class: None Subclass: None
Professions: None
Innate Skill Syphon Lvl 1
Stats:
Strength 16 Endurance 14
Vitality 18 Intelligence 17
Agility 15 Wisdom If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. 18
Dexterity 14 Charisma 12
Skills Lvl
None
Synn focused on his Syphon skill to gain further details. Skill - Syphon: The passive ability to syphon stat points and skills from those around you, any stolen stats are a permanent gain. Stat points can only be stolen from defeated foes and are randomly syphoned at a random rate between 0.1-0.2 per successful strike up to a maximum of 3 strikes. Upgrading the skill will boost the syphon rate. Skills are not stolen in their entirety and must reach Lvl 0: 100/100 for the skill to become useable. Maximum of 1 skill point per defeated foe. Skill can be activated manually outside combat but only skills can be syphoned and must be in contact with the target to successfully steal. Note that stealing skills from living targets doesn¡¯t have any impact on their knowledge or capability to use the skill. ¡®Finally. I have a skill I can level, and I can level up too although it doesn¡¯t seem to be automatic. There is hope for me to get into an Academy or College.¡¯ Cheered in his mind, elation giving him a slight boost in his very depleted energy levels. ¡®Guess I¡¯ll just need some dungeon time. Luckily, I have a bag of gold coins and a crystal that will hopefully help me to pay for it.¡¯ Realising it was time to exit the dungeon he slowly put his hands on the floor and pushed himself to his knees and then gradually straightened into a standing position. He dusted off his tattered and scorched clothing, not that it did much good, and slowly limped towards the doors. As he closed in he could hear a muffled thudding on the door like people trying to break it down but as though they were doing it with cotton wool. Placing his hand on the back of the door it reacted and steadily swung open. In rushed Lance, Sophie and the rest of their friends with Sophie immediately wrapping him up in a hug. ¡°We were so worried about you. And then when it went quiet¡­¡± She sobbed. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m alive, just a little worse for wear unfortunately.¡± He half returned the hug and half supported himself on her as caringly tapped her back to reassure her that all was now okay. Behind this group was the Venomous Stingers led by Danika, who looked relieved to see him alive despite everything that had happened between them in the last few hours, and Brad. ¡®Fucking Brad¡¯ he thought when he saw him. He didn¡¯t think of him as a nemesis as frankly he wasn¡¯t worth his time, but he was akin to a splinter that got under the skin and annoyed you until it was taken out. Bringing up the rear was a new group. From the matching emblazoned insignia Synn guessed this was the team that was deployed by Armageddon Academy at the request of the Rift Office. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be dead.¡± Brad snarled, getting right up close to Synn as he was supported by Sophie. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry to disappoint you!¡± Synn laughed in his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the chance to run off peeing my pants like you did. Thought I¡¯d defeat the drake while I waited around.¡± ¡°You defeated it?¡± A tall, lithe woman from the Academy group stepped forward brushing a strand of her loose auburn hair back behind her ear. She was beautiful, there was no denying it but she also put Synn on edge. Seeming to sense it she instantly tried to reassure him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not here to take credit for your hard work. I just need to know the job is done so I can collect the promised fee and start our trip back to the Academy.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not aware of any other rooms coming off this one and what remains of the drake¡¯s carcass is lay just over there so hopefully that is job done as I¡¯m not sure anything but a hot bath is what my muscles demand of me right now.¡± ¡°I would recommend an ice bath first. It will decrease any inflammation and reduce muscle soreness allowing a faster turnaround in our recovery. But before that, would you mind walking me through the battle and what you faced.¡± ¡°Never mind that.¡± Brad piped up. ¡°He should handover the rewards he got for us to share.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why you came back? To leach the rewards?¡± Synn answered Brad with a mocking tone. ¡°I¡¯m more than happy to take them from you. There is far more of us than you and your so-called friends.¡± ¡°Believe me Brad, I¡¯d love for you to try. It would make me so happy if you were to try and steal from me now the rift is complete.¡± Brad drew a dagger looking ready to attack Synn immediately, but Synn was ready, and he knew he wouldn¡¯t have to lift a muscle as he fully expected the leader from the Academy to intervene and just as Brad pushed forward that was exactly what happened. A brief nod from the leader and two of the males from the group had grabbed one each of Brad¡¯s arms, hoisted him into the air and then slammed him into the ground, forcing him to massively exhale, which left him wheezing, unable catch his breath. ¡°I appreciate your assistance¡­ sorry, I don¡¯t know your name.¡± ¡°Reagan, Reagan Starfrost.¡± ¡°Oh, any relation to Garrick Starfrost?¡± ¡°My great uncle and also my master as I¡¯m considered his successor.¡± ¡°The Starfrost Legacy. Very impressive. No wonder you have the credentials to lead a team from the Academy.¡± ¡°You seem very well informed¡­¡± ¡°Synn, just Synn! And I have my sources although, everything I know is about 2 years out of date as it has been a while since I travelled near there.¡± ¡°Are you planning to come back near the Academy any time soon?" "I wasn¡¯t but after today I¡¯m reconsidering.¡± ¡°Good, anyone who can defeat a void drake at level 1 is someone I well think worth recruiting," she leant forward whispering into his ear while giving his eyes plenty to avoid. ¡°You can see my stats?¡± ¡°No, just a family skill that allows me to sense the level and threat a person puts out.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite the useful skill to have.¡± ¡°Indeed. Now about this drake?¡± Synn, quickly recounted his experience with the drake to Reagan while not holding back on details building up to it which fully exposed the actions of the Venomous Stingers. Something they hadn¡¯t been very truthful about when they resurfaced earlier from what Synn was learning. As he had been recounting, they had ended up outside the rift. After the last person exited it, the rift began to shimmer and shrink down until nothing remained. ¡°Thank you all for your help today. We at the Rift Office truly appreciate everything you do to protect those who live nearby.¡± ¡°Now I believe there were some rewards that need distributing?¡± ¡°I am keeping this crystal as is my right being the one to fight and slay the boss.¡± Synn stated while staring around the group almost daring anyone to step forward and claim it for themselves yet as he did, he continued. ¡°And despite my fight with the drake ending up a solo battle I¡¯m more than happy to share the bag of gold coins with all who entered according to contribution. I believe the pouch holds around 700 gold coins.¡± Each gold coin held value of around ¡ê10,000 although the old currencies had long since collapsed and now everyone dealt in the dungeon currency of precious coins, which also happened to be dungeons frequent reward - copper, silver, gold, and platinum were the coin denominations available. Having counted the coins and heard from the leaders of each party the Rift Office finished her calculations and invited everyone over for the distribution announcements. ¡°Now good work again everyone. So that you¡¯re all aware we have 727 gold coins to distribute, Armageddon has a minimum fee of 500 gold coins whenever they show up plus bonuses for those in the delve so they take away 650 gold coins today. Up next was Lance and his squad friends. They were awarded 50 gold coins. Then came the Venomous Stingers who received only 20 due to their erratic delvers. Finally, after what seemed like a ridiculously long wait Synn¡¯s turn came and he was awarded 7 gold coins. Synn was so happy. He could clear all he owed in regard to his outstanding debts and start afresh with a new home. The Venomous Stingers, disgusted, want a bigger cut of the pie but arguing with the Rift Office is a sure-fire way to be blacklisted from all future delves so they bite their tongues. As the distribution was wrapped up Reagan came over to him. ¡°Mind if we have a word in private Synn?¡± 6 RECRUITMENT Everyone stares as Reagan and Synn step aside for a private chat and whispering strikes up among all the groups. Danika shows envy with a scowl in their direction while Brad and his cronies are discussing the dungeon crystal and when best to take it from Synn. Lance is joking with Sophie about Reagan getting a hook up with Synn before her, to which Sophie is fake pouting while her sister who has been calm and professional until this point can¡¯t help but finally break into hysterical laughter. ¡°Looks like people are gossiping about us now.¡± Reagan smirked. ¡°Any jealous girlfriends I should be worried about?¡± ¡°The one scowling is my ex. She broke up with me this morning to join Brad and the Venomous Stingers as I have zero prospects.¡± Synn let out a slightly pained laugh. The events still raw from that morning. ¡°Well more fool her. I sense something has changed in you today which makes you a hot prospect. Even I¡¯m interested in the future you. Want to know more?¡± ¡°I¡¯m all for being looked after by an older woman. How many conditions are we talking?¡± Melodic laughter rang out and a friendly dig struck his arm but friendly for Reagan wasn¡¯t necessarily not going to leave a bruise on level 1 Synn. ¡°I¡¯m not that much older cheeky. I¡¯m just about to start my third year at the Academy.¡± She pouted flirtatiously. ¡°Missions like these gives us extra merits which can be spent. But anyway if you take up my offer you can learn about that more in the future.¡± ¡°And the offer is?¡± he quizzed further. ¡°I¡¯d like to sponsor you to enter the academy.¡± She stated, nothing hidden. Straightforward, open and honest which Synn truly respected. ¡°Consider me interested but I¡¯m not yet at the minimum requirements. I¡¯d need level 10 wouldn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°You would, it¡¯s just a formality in most cases but can you achieve it in 12 days?¡± ¡°As you noted, something changed today. If I can get some dungeon runs in, which, with my new found wealth shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, I can definitely pull it off.¡± ¡°Confident but without the arrogance. I like that.¡± ¡°Okay, here¡¯s how it works. It¡¯s not officially me sponsoring you, only faculty and some high ups within each faction can sponsor you directly but they can proxy the sponsorship so that I can gain benefits through the system. That is as you hit certain milestones or have an outstanding achievement I also gain a reward. Following so far?¡± ¡°Yeah, you get benefits when a selected student does well because you gave them a start but really it is your Master deferring his rewards to you.¡± Synn summed it up quickly. ¡°Exactly! Now I¡¯m offering you the option now but my Master can withdraw the offer if he thinks I¡¯ve picked rashly once you reach the academy.¡± ¡°You keep saying Master, is this your Great Uncle Garrick?¡± Synn cautiously interrogated. ¡°It is! Is that a problem?¡± She stood up straighter, her hands on her hips. ¡°No, I just never expected the greatest legend of the Starfrosts would end up one of the faculty at the Academy.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Her eyes turned sad as she continued. ¡°You¡¯re right. I guess it was just over two years ago. He lost one of his closest friends to a dungeon. He spent 6 months repeating the dungeon in the hopes of finding answers but nothing came of it. It almost broke him. I¡¯m not sure he slept in that time, only passed out between occasional delves.¡± Her fists clenched in front of her chest. ¡°He sounds like a great friend. There aren¡¯t many people who would do that for those they supposedly care about. He is definitely worthy of your admiration.¡± Synn, reached and wrapped his hands around hers to reassure her and they bonded a little over that shared belief and respect. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m not sure why I told you all that? I rarely share anything emotional with anyone.¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s because of our new relationship.¡± ¡°What new relationship?¡± She demanded shaking his hands off hers. ¡°You¡¯re my mentor aren¡¯t you? Or is it Master Starfrost who is my Master? Does that make you my big sister?¡± he chuckled mischievously. Reagan followed suit and burst out laughing along with him. ¡°Okay, okay. You win that one. Thank you for breaking that melancholy mood I found myself in.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°So the last bit I¡¯m still unsure of is why your Great Uncle ended up teaching?¡± Synn asked. ¡°He doesn¡¯t, at least not very often. His lectures are rather sparse and¡­ well I think people want to oust him from his position as he stands against them a considerable amount of the time on all important matters. I think you can change that.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a lot of pressure to put on a new recruit?¡± Synn put a shocked face on for amusement. ¡°Very funny but no! I honestly think your presence will revive his love for delving.¡± She smiled affectionately. ¡°Now before the rumours get any more out of hand here is Masters token. Anything else you wish to ask me before my team and I depart?¡± she asked. ¡°This dungeon crystal I have. Any chance you¡¯d take it for safe keeping till I come to the Academy?¡± Synn withdrew it from his pocket and offered it to her. ¡°Smart, I was going to tell you to deposit it with the bank but this means you can travel without worry between safeholds.¡± ¡°Exactly, I trust the Keyhold Bank but I¡¯d still have to get there and if I¡¯m going to be ready for the academy trials I don¡¯t have time for harassment.¡± ¡°Okay, I accept.¡± She happily swiped the crystal from his open palm and stored it away. ¡°But only on the proviso that you still open an account with them and I deposit it at the Academy¡¯s Keyhold branch.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll open one today after I¡¯ve seen a healer¡­ and maybe an outfitter. These clothes and armour are ruined.¡± He said looking himself up and down.¡± Good, well here is your recruitment token which shows you as being sponsored by Master Starfrost, and my contact details. If you send me the account details I¡¯ll deposit your crystal and you can always turn it into the Academy for merit points. Considering what they can generate I¡¯d imagine you¡¯ll get a boat load. Anyway, looks like the team have finished handing out recruitment notices so I¡¯d best be off. Don¡¯t be a stranger and I¡¯ll see you at the Academy.¡± She beamed a genuinely happy smile. Walking back to his group Synn saw Lance smiling. ¡°Soooo, I guess Mr. Dragon Slayer also received an invite to try out for Armageddon?¡± ¡°It was a drake but, yes. I too received an offer to go try for the academy.¡± ¡°Hell yeah. We are going to show them all who¡¯s the best at the Academy.¡± ¡°Pretty ambitious considering there are legacy students who are descendants of the eight who are automatically trained from a young age and given every benefit.¡± ¡°True, but no head start is going to stop me.¡± Lance bragged causing Synn to shake his head while trying not to laugh. ¡°The progenies of the eight are practically worshipped, they are literally a level above due to twin innate skills. They say that the only reason our region survived was thanks to the eight. Their contribution alone was greater than fifty percent during the end of days battle and that was with twenty other delve teams standing with them.¡± ¡°Okay, you paint a pretty picture with your words. Are you sure you aren¡¯t meant to be a bard. Maybe you should give us a song. Just to prove you are a fighter obviously.¡± ¡°Very funny. Anyway, have you still got room for me to crash at yours? I¡¯m going to settle my bill and give the landlord the keys back. Hoping to be out tomorrow. Not like I ever had many personal items anyway.¡± Synn enquired. ¡°Sure Dude, although Sophie has claimed the sofa for tonight after we party so you¡¯re on the floor if you come down.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see, I have a lot to sort if I¡¯m going to be ready for Armageddon.¡± ¡°Dude, why are you stepping all over my party vibe?¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m all for a party but you know I need to make more effort than anyone else if I¡¯m going to stand a chance of getting in.¡± Synn threw his hands up in air to express frustration. ¡°True, but I have faith. Especially after the miracles I witnessed down there. Your training and adaptability really are off the charts. Always amazes me when you become a one-man army.¡± ¡°That really is luck. I have no say in how it picks up the skills and stats.¡± With everything settled at the delve site people began to pack up and move away. Synn asked Lance to drop him in town which he begrudgingly agreed to but only after getting a promise that Synn would at least pop his head in at the party later. In town Synn did as he¡¯d promised and opened an account at the Keyhold Bank. He sent the details to Reagan who joked about him missing her already, which he couldn¡¯t really deny so he deflected with a few wind-up messages of his own. From there he dipped into his coin rewards and paid for a full heal along with a trip to the outfitters for some basic leather armour, and a few new sets of clothes ready to take to the Academy and a bigger backpack to hold it all. Having reequipped the next item on his list was dungeon delve slots, so he called up a few of his contacts at the local guilds on his bus ride back home and got them to put in a good word for him to take the late-night dungeon runs. It benefited them as most people didn¡¯t want those slots anyway, but still they charged him the standard outsider fee for the slots. Not that it was problem to Synn with his newly gained wealth that was quickly diminishing. As he got back to the apartment block, he bumped into the landlord. He informed him of his decision to give up the apartment and settled his overdue rent and bills. Heading up the stairs he could hear the music blaring from Lance¡¯s apartment. He wasn¡¯t ready for that yet, today had really taken a lot out of him and he still had to pack up his belongings. He began packing when his phone rang, he very much expected it to be Lance or Sophie telling him to come down to the party, but he was surprised to see it was Danika. He ignored the call and let it ring through. A moment later a message popped up on the screen. I miss you¡­ Then a moment later another came through. Please can we talk? There was a longer gap this time. A few of us are trying out for Armageddon. I don¡¯t want things to be awkward between us if we both end up being accepted. ¡®No, this is a new chapter. I¡¯m focused on me and getting into the Academy. I¡¯ve not got time to lose over what could have been.¡¯ 7 RELEARNING THE SYPHON SKILL Synn hadn¡¯t had the best night¡¯s sleep as at 3am Sophie had come knocking on his door begging for an escape from the overly affectionate duo that was her sister and Lance. Unable to sleep but unwilling to accept Sophie¡¯s offer to share a bed, Synn had plonked himself at the dining room table and thrown himself into his research doing his best not to think about Danika and her words from yesterday or Sophie and her over the top advances. Don¡¯t get him wrong, she was attractive but even if he was drawn to her it would be too soon. He wasn¡¯t the kind of guy to go looking for a rebound but then there had been Reagan, he had to be honest there. He had been instantly attracted to her and had felt connected at a much deeper level. It was part of why he trusted her and if he got into Armageddon as the one who sponsored him, he was more than willing to share all his secrets with her and her Master. So that led him back to his research, while Danika said he was rubbish in class it was actually the opposite. He attended because she¡¯d wanted him to but he¡¯d actually gained all the necessary qualifications and graduated two years earlier before he turned 14. That had been one of his parents¡¯ expectations but the main reason he hadn¡¯t rebelled against the idea was because studying with his grandpa had been fun. He¡¯d also been the one who taught him to properly research any dungeon delve so here he was analysing the delve he had planned for approximately 21 hours from now as according to his phone it had just passed 5am. He''d picked an easier dungeon for his first delve with the newly changed syphon skill. He didn¡¯t want to be caught unaware by it and it gave him a large margin of error. Following looking into the dungeon he then proceeded to review the details about Armageddon and its dungeons. Armageddon was one of the few places with a permanent dungeon that existed within the world. That meant that no matter when you entered you could bump into other adventurers and an area may have been over farmed so there was nothing to battle. This was the opposite of the dungeon he had his delve planned for. That dungeon had a new instance every 30 minutes. So, if you entered 30 minutes after another team you would have your own monsters to battle without interruption and could focus on yourself and your skills and no lack of opponents. This was why dungeon crystals were so lucrative to the guilds. If they had an instance every 30 minutes that was 48 slots per day. While they would keep around 70% for themselves and their members as it was a great sales tool when trying to entice people to join their guild the other 30% would be offered up for sale. The price for the dungeon Synn was delving tomorrow was 20 silvers, and that was only cheap because 2am was a time slot nobody else wanted. Still the time of day didn¡¯t matter to Synn as the beasts and experience gain was the same no matter which instance he ran. To stop the guilds completely monopolising the dungeon instances the Rift Office policed their sales to ensure that a minimum of 20% was offered for sale. Their members could however queue up and take the instance if nobody showed 30 minutes prior to the slot initializing. No point having wasted experience for delvers. After reviewing Armageddon, he was amazed to find that the deepest level anybody had reached and fully mapped to date was floor 36 where the beasts hit level 56. Each floor had beasts and monsters increasing in level incrementally meaning that more and more power was required for each new floor. Synn was definitely looking forward to exploring that one and part of the academic curriculum included a monthly expedition into the dungeon in teams with teams being capped at 8 members based on the founding delvers team, ¡®The Armageddon Legion¡¯. Synn continued to research the Academy until long after the sun came up and only stopped when he heard stirring in the bedroom before the shower fired up. Deciding he¡¯d done enough he made a large breakfast for himself and Sophie knowing that Lance and Susan would no doubt appear shortly after. He wasn¡¯t wrong and soon enough the four of them sat devouring stacks of pancakes coated in syrup with a small mountain of bacon. Following breakfast and shipping everyone out of the apartment Synn moved all his belongings down to Lance¡¯s and then gave it a final clean before handing the keys into the landlord. The landlord was happy to be done with Synn until he discovered that he was actually crashing at Lance¡¯s for 10 days before they both left in the hopes of joining Armageddon. With everything that he had planned ticked off for the day Synn went and took a nap, a good long seven hour nap. He woke up feeling much more refreshed and ready to take on the dungeon. He packed and repacked his rucksack three times just to make sure he hadn¡¯t forgotten any of his delving essentials, not that he expected any trouble. Belted on his twin sword scabbards and borrowed Lance¡¯s car to drive over. Inside the dungeon it was exactly as Synn had expected. Open plains of grasslands that had waves of mutated boars, it started with a single boar at level 1 and over the first ten waves it would increase to 10 mutated boars at a time where it would then hold at 10 through to the end of the fifteenth wave. The opponents also gradually increased in power from level 1 to level 3. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. It was definitely a change of pace for Synn, in the past he had been able to become super powered in an instance and borrow fight ending skills however, that had all gone away now. Now he was able to steal stats and skills on a regular basis and keep them after the fight. On top of that he would also gain levels and could further upgrade his skills in the future. The first mutated boar had charged him, and he had dropped into a combat ready stance immediately, he only drew a single sword as he wanted to gauge how syphon calculated his gains from each fight. As the mutated boar closed in, he briefly held position and then, at the last minute, he quickly stepped to the left his sword raking down the side of the mutated boars toughened skin. Not being able to boost his stats from their former state was liberating but it meant victory was going to be even harder. The mutated boar was back alongside him as he sliced downwards with all his might, delivering a shallow cut to the neck. Realising that a single cut wasn¡¯t going to be sufficient he aimed for the same cut on the mutated boar¡¯s next pass. While he once again struck the neck the wound was slightly off from the first and insufficient to slow the mutated boar. Whilst his training had given him an advantage against the boar it still had the greater stats, and he was sure that even being clipped in the slightest by one of the tusks would leave him with a terrible wound he¡¯d struggle to recover from while in the dungeon therefore he was even more cautious when the mutated boar showed signs of becoming enraged. In total it takes 5 sword cuts and one evasive roll, which only served to look silly as the boar wouldn¡¯t have gotten him even if he sidestepped once more. But the mutated boar was finally no more, and he rushed to pull up the notifications before the next wave appeared. He wasn¡¯t used to seeing notifications like this as it was an experience formerly denied him, but he changed it around to show an updated summary of all his notifications whenever he reviewed them. Level 1 Mutated Boar Defeated: 5 Exp Gained. Syphoned Stats: 0.2 Strength; 0.2 Vitality; 0.2 Dexterity. Syphoned Skill Points: Tough Skin (Passive) 1/100. Elation ran through him, and he had to resist the urge to jump around as the next wave of two boars had just appeared. Ah well, there would be time for celebrations later. He methodically worked his way through the numerous waves and his footwork became well practiced as he faced more and more mutated boars with each wave. Luckily as they became stronger, he did so too, the slight increments in stats slowly building up to something bigger. Laying down on the ground to recover he pulled up his notification summary. As he hadn¡¯t removed the first notification it was included in his summary for the entire dungeon delve. Level 1 Mutated Boar Defeated: 45*5 = 225 Exp. Level 2 Mutated Boar Defeated: 30*10 = 300 Exp. Level 3 Mutated Boar Defeated: 30*20 = 600 Exp. Syphoned Stats: 17.5 Strength; 14.9 Vitality; 10.1 Dexterity; 6.3 Agility Syphoned Skill Points: Tough Skin (Passive) 105/100 = Lvl 1 - 5/200. A passive skill that boosts physique making it slightly more impervious. Being under levelled certainly had its perks as each level between him and his opponents doubled the amount of experience he gained. Most people would see their xp points automatically set them off levelling, but Synn seemed to have to do it manually meaning he could choose when he levelled up. A great boon for circumstances like these where the reward could be increased. Especially as he got the stat points without levelling. Most people would gain 3-4 stat points per level, so he was already ahead of the curve after a single dungeon. He looked at what it would take for him to level up his syphon skill and was shocked to discover that it was tied to his actual level. He had to level them both together and it came at a cost of xp and stat points. To Level Up: Lvl1 = 100xp (base level) & 100xp + 1 stat points Lvl2 = 200xp (base level) & 200xp + 2 stat points Lvl3 = 300xp (base level) & 300xp + 3 stat points ¡®Maybe hitting level ten ready for Armageddon will take a bit more effort on my part after all¡¯ he decided after realising that he didn¡¯t even gain enough experience from this run to go from level 3 to level 4. 8 DUNGEON NUMBER TWO Synn spent much of his downtime after the dungeon delve considering what the future held for him. Sure, he was going to have a lot of stats and probably a fair few skills but what kind of build was he going to go for. Many adventurer¡¯s out there had their build decided purely by their innate skill and acquired skills but he would pretty much have free reign. He also wasn¡¯t sure how long he could go on acquiring skills for. Many people found themselves capped until they grew stronger, some people believed there was a hidden stat called spirit that dictated how many skills an individual could hold although it had yet to be confirmed. Also getting rid of skills wasn¡¯t a cheap option either, it required specialised crystals that either stored the skill or completely removed it. Most people went for the resale option as it at least gave them some funds back or if it was a rarer skill some profit. His research into his next dungeon showed it randomly generated to one of the primary elements. Most commonly it would be earth aligned and the next common was flame. He was secretly hoping for earth as that had been one of his grandpa¡¯s elements and he had seen him utilise it in sparring on many occasions. Synn once again went supply shopping. He wanted to be better prepared for all types of opponents. He didn¡¯t spend a fortune on enchanted equipment but just the basic stock that was suitable for low level delvers. He picked up a pair of axes and a belt to hold them in place. Then there was a sheath for his swords to strap to his back. The straps also acted as a bandolier for throwing knives, so he had stocked up on those too. Seeing his reflection in the outfitters he looked ready for war with twin swords on his back, twin axes at his waist and knives strapped across his chest. He also picked up two slight longer daggers as backups which he stowed away in his boots. The axes were to give his strikes a bit more heft against better armoured opponents. They had a thick edge and a counterweight on the back side that would also provide blunt damage if needed. Synn stood before another dungeon entrance just 24 hours on from his previous run. He had decided against levelling his innate skill and level so that he could gain more exp. If he was struggling, he would level up, but he figured that would actually leave him more vulnerable as he¡¯d have less stats bolstering his abilities, so this seemed the best course of action. He stepped through the entrance, his mind repeating ¡®earth¡¯ over and over again. A mantra to hopefully bring himself some luck in the manifestation of which dungeon run he would get. The first thing he saw as he entered was a mine and mindless dwarves excavating the walls for rare minerals and gems. It was as exactly as he had hoped, it was the rare earth variant of the dungeon with respawning enemies. The standard variant was an open plain of mindless dwarves but this one allowed him to collect ores and gems that were also very valuable on the outside and it also allowed him to keep hunting monsters till he had his fill. It would save him a fortune in the long run. These dwarves weren¡¯t true dwarves as the suggestion of the name said, their free will had been stolen so even though they were considered quite an intelligent race in this instance they were slow to react and to form tactics. This was extremely fortunate for Synn as he could quickly sneak up on the dwarves as they were spaced out and with two or three quick strikes defeat them even though they were at level 5. That meant for every kill he was gaining 20 exp. and would soon be able to race up the levels and keep pace with his peers. He had just reached the end of his first tunnel and having killed around 35 mindless dwarves was already feeling his enhanced stats although he wouldn¡¯t be touching his notifications until the end. He was just about to turn around and head back up the tunnel and look for another branch and more exp points when he saw a glint from the wall, a silvery ruby glint where the last foe had just been mining. ¡®It couldn¡¯t be, could it? There is no way that would be here in this mine, or they would be charging a fortune for people to delve here. Maybe even taxing the profits on exiting.¡¯ Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but Synn was about 80% sure that a silvery ruby glint usually indicated Sianzin ore. This was a very precious metal, and its rarity was off the charts. A single ingot could buy a noble lord¡¯s estate. It was discovered and named by one of the eight, Crystal Sianzin. She had been a master crafter who controlled both fire and ice. When properly smelted and turned into a metal it gave swords and armour an intimidating silvery-red look and the best part besides being stronger than other known metals was that it was super conductive to magic. Her enchanted armour had allowed her to walk unharmed through many battlefields wielding summoned forge hammers of frost and flame. It had earned her the hero¡¯s name of ¡®Frostfire,¡¯ Crystal Frostfire Sianzin. Synn picked up one of the fallen pickaxes and began to strike at the stone around the wall. It would slow him down carrying a large quantity but luckily his new pack had a minor spatial enchantment giving him about an extra five percent space so he could carry a few chunks around with him without becoming too weighed down in his upcoming battles. It took about four hours, but he now had a dozen decent chunks of the metal ore now stowed away in his backpack. He¡¯d have to be careful where he had it appraised but if he could get it to the academy, he was confident of being able to forge a fantastic set of armour from it. Well not him exactly but paying someone to forge it for him was the same thing. His self-assigned mining side mission completed Synn got back to hunting mindless dwarves for their stats and skill points. Before he knew it he had been on the first floor for nearly ten hours and slain many, many mindless dwarves. Deciding this was enough he located the entrance to the 2nd floor and reviewed his notification summaries. Level 5 Mindless Dwarf Defeated: 277*20 = 5,540 Exp. Syphoned Stats: 9.2 Strength; 24.8 Vitality; 33.1 Intelligence; 27.6 Wisdom. Syphoned Skill Points: Metal Manipulation (Active) 107/100 = Lvl 1 - 7/200. An active skill that allows the caster to freely shape and summon metals within a certain radius. Radius and power grow with skill level. Earth Manipulation (Active) 67/100 = Lvl 0 - 67/100. An active skill that allows the caster to freely shape and summon earth within a certain radius. Radius and power grow with skill level. Appraise (Active) 103/100 = Lvl 1 3/200. You can see the true nature of items and with practice their value. Increasing level increases the rarity and level of items that you can appraise. Studied knowledge of the items and their uses can lead to more accurate valuations. He couldn¡¯t deny it was one hell of a gain but at the same time he was disappointed that the multiplier capped out at three tiers above your own. More than he had expected even if it was mostly helped by the fact the dwarves were slow to react. Still, it was a vast amount of unused experience added to his totals along with stat points equivalent to probably twenty levels of growth. Happy with his gains so far Synn headed down to the next level which turned out to contain earthen worms. These were slow moving creatures that slowly tunneled through the level making it look like Swiss cheese. As they were slow moving Synn was able to take his time ensuring his strikes were fast and low damage allowing for a faster succession of steals and as a result when he exited the level he once again had maxed out his stat gain. Level 7 Earthen Worm Defeated: 43*20 = 860 Exp. Syphoned Stats: 10.6 Strength; 11.3 Vitality. Syphoned Skill Points: Earth Manipulation (Active) +43 = Lvl 1 - 10/200. With the earthen worms defeated Synn prepared himself for the descent to the final level. It was time to face the boss! 9 DUNGEON TWO – BOSS BATTLE Synn stood within a vast room of pristine, untouched earth. There was no vegetation, no water, no plants and no monsters to battle. ¡®This isn¡¯t looking good¡¯ he thought to himself. He wandered across the vast room his eyes scanning back and forth as he progressed. Just as he¡¯d gone past an area the ground began to quake and shake. As the earth was shaking and sifting it began to pull and grow upwards forming a humanoid shape. This hadn¡¯t been in any of the scenarios he¡¯d discovered when he studied the possibilities for the dungeon. ¡®You have got to be kidding me. A Lesser Earth Elemental¡¯. Already he could feel a suppression kicking in from a monster so many levels above him. So he quickly took the opportunity as it filled out it¡¯s shape to allocate some stats and xp points to his levels and as he hit level 7 he could feel the relief as the pressure from the boss dropped and as he hit level 8 he felt back to himself. ¡®This is really not going to go well for me.¡¯ The realisation that the boss must exceed level 10 playing on his mind. It had cost him 7200xp and 36 stat points and he knew his loss of stats would affect his ability to harm the boss. As the boss finished forming its eyes glowed yellow and locked onto Synn. An ominous shiver ran down his spine as it stared into his eyes before it glowed an earthy yellow and three more opponents sprouted up from the ground. These three looked like warriors clad in armour and all holding spears. ¡®Scratch that,¡¯ he thought as they pulled back their arms into a throwing stance, ¡®javelins¡¯ as they assumed a throwing stance. His twin axes in his hand Synn prepared to dodge the volley of spears, all three came at him with slightly different timing and one clipped his calf, albeit slightly, as he failed to move quick enough. ¡®Great, need to adjust to being hampered by that loss of stats, don¡¯t want to push off and find I¡¯m still in the way of one of these projectiles.¡¯ Having dodged the wave of missiles and with the summoned soldiers empty handed he ran at the closest one looking to smash it back into the earth. Closing in he noticed a new javelin forming in its hand. ¡®You have got to be kidding me. How is this dungeon passable solo with cheats like this, I¡¯m supposed to be the biggest cheat in here!! Fine, time for some aggression!¡¯ He roared as he swung his axe cleaving the first opponent in two, so it crumbled back to the ground. He was already whirling into the second dust warrior his offhand axe coming round in an arc that slashed through the head and throwing hand of the second. The third launched its javelin from close range and it was the smallest margin that it missed by but Synn had already thrown his axe and it impaled the warrior in the head. He used metal manipulation and pulled the axe back towards himself thinking himself quite clever but it came at him with an awkward, slow spin and the sharp edge currently aimed at his hand. ¡®Okay, no throwing the axes and summoning them back, at least not until I¡¯ve had some blunt objects to practice on.¡¯ He sauntered towards the lesser earth elemental now that it¡¯s guards had been. Just as he was about to start cleaving chunks from the elemental it glowed once more and three more guards sprouted up around Synn. ¡®Come on! How is this fair?¡¯ He internally asked nobody in particular. He made his way through the summoned warriors once more and this time quickly moved into the boss. He managed to get a few axe strikes against the boss before he had to turn his attention to the next round. The slow progress continued and before Synn knew it he had already faced 10 rounds. At this point he switched to his swords as his arms had become heavy from fighting the summons for so long. Luckily the accumulation of damage was evident on the lesser earth elemental. That was until a new skill appeared, as he was fighting three new summons it drew energy from the earth and some of the damage began to be filled. ¡°NO!!!¡± He yelled. ¡°I am not going to be defeated by a worthless pile of sand.¡± A throwing knife moving quickly from his chest strap and striking the elemental a moment later in the eye. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. It wasn¡¯t a kill strike, but it disrupted the spell and that¡¯s all he could hope for as he finished the three summoned warriors. Synn felt he had been fighting for several hours, and he wasn¡¯t wrong. Every time he failed to disrupt the Lesser Earth Elemental from healing it seemed to take twice as long to defeat the next three summoned warriors due to his drop in morale. The boss was on its last legs but so was Synn, his right arm now hung slightly lower, he¡¯d been caught in a trap at one point and taken a javelin to the shoulder. It had torn through flesh and muscle and Synn was pretty sure that the bone itself was in a bad way, if not fractured then at least chipped. He¡¯d managed to pull the javelin out and taken a minor healing potion to plug the bleed and undo a bit of the damage, but the arm was still barely functional. His defence and attack were at least 40% slower when he did have to resort to using and that was only because not gritting his teeth and forcing the arm up to block blows or strike would mean certain death. He was in front of the boss at it was struggling to hold its form together following his last strike, but it still glowed yellow once again and summoned three more warriors. Synn decided to take a gamble on the three disappearing the minute he defeated the Lesser Earth Elemental and dived into his opponent with both swords out, penetrating it as they both tumbled to the ground. A cloud of earth exploded around him, and the three fast approaching spears disappeared just in the nick of time. He forced himself into a sitting position and spat out the mouth full of dirt that he had unfortunately been awarded when defeating the elemental. On the ground was a glowing yellow pouch that was his reward for the dungeon so he picked it up and stuffed it deep into his backpack under the Sianzin ore before carefully limping his way out. The two guards and the party waiting for their slot to begin starred at Synn as he exited, his top shredded and many open wounds showing. ¡°Laddie! You okay there?¡± A female voice called out with a tinny voice from under the heavily armoured guard to the right of the entrance. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you have a healer on standby within the guild? Do you? I could do with a patch up.¡± ¡°We can send for the healer, it won¡¯t be cheap at this time of night, they are very protective of their sleep and charge accordingly.¡± She nudged him with a friendly elbow that pushed at least one more broken rib around and left him keeled over to try and recapture some of the air that had been expelled from his lungs. It cost 15 silvers but it was worth it. It wasn¡¯t a full heal as the young lady who had performed it was merely an apprentice but her knowledge seemed spot on and she had picked up on all his injuries. While they couldn¡¯t all be 100% she restored him well over 80% and it made him realise that he definitely needed to find some healing skills he could syphon in the near future. Restored, Synn grabbed his backpack and headed back to Lance¡¯s apartment. Lance had been off with his usual groups getting some last minute experience and growth ready for the Academy entrance trials. Synn had been tempted to join them but then he¡¯d have to explain how his entire skillset had changed. Between dungeon runs Lance had also spent time packing up his apartment so that he and Synn were living on the bare minimum. What he could box up and store back at his parents he had done and everything else he was slowly trying to sell. Lance was confident they were both going to be living it up at the Academy in just over a week and that they were taking the girls with them. Unfortunately, Tommy, Samson and most of the others had already missed the age cut off for trying to enter Armageddon. Still Lance hoped that if he made it into a faction at the Academy, he could have them join one of the external forces and work alongside them all again. Synn flopped onto his sofa and pulled out his reward. He¡¯d had zero energy earlier to examine the reward, but the small pouch felt amazingly powerful in his hand. ¡®Was it a blessing or curse to find such a good reward.¡¯ He wondered ¡®Maybe he¡¯d used up all his good luck.¡¯ He tipped the contents of the pouch into his hand and gasped excitedly ¡°A seed, an elemental, freaking SEED!!¡± Elemental seeds were exceedingly rare as they were forged by nature usually only in the most saturated of areas and over hundreds of years if not thousands. ¡®I guess that¡¯s why my dungeon variation was so abnormal, it was reshaped by the seed! I wonder if it has been searching for a suitable successor?¡¯ he pondered but unfortunately most of his previous studies and research hadn¡¯t told him much about situations like this. He held the seed to his bare abdomen at the midpoint between his heart and belly button, he knew enough that this was where rare treasures like seeds would be absorbed into the body. Elemental seed detected. Would you like to merge and assimilate with the seed? Accept YES/NO? ¡®Hell yeah!!¡¯ he answered instantly. 10 FINAL PREP The seed began to slowly sink into his flesh and then disappeared without a trace. There had been no pain, just an odd tingling sensation. Elemental seed ¡®Healing Terra¡¯ detected at seed level. Three scribed spells already etched. Growth and evolution possible. Hidden Stat Accuracy +5. Would you like the Accuracy stat to now be visible on your status screen. YES/NO? ¡®Yes¡¯ Innate skill Syphon adapting¡­ Elemental energy can now be syphoned. Elemental Syphon slot 1 set to Earth element. Slot 2 opened. Evolve elemental seed further to unlock new slots. Earth spells can now be scribed on to elemental seed. 3/5 slots currently filled, upgrade or evolve seed to unlock further spell slots. Current spells: Terra¡¯s Domain (Active) (E): Lvl 1 0/200. Terra¡¯s Regeneration (Active) (E): Lvl 1 0/200 Summon Earthen Warrior (Active) (R): Lvl 1 0/200 Earth related spells scribed on seed can now be upgraded outside syphoning points. Example Lvl 1 to Lvl 2 costs 200xp, 1.5 stat point per rarity level and 1.5 elemental points per rarity level. ¡®This is great, oh wait. I should have some new stats and skills from the waves I faced. Let¡¯s check those new stats.¡¯ He thought to himself before pulling up his notifications. Level 9 Summoned Warrior Defeated: 249*0xp = 0. Syphoned Stats: None Syphoned Skill Points: Earthen Javelin (Active) 136/100 = Lvl 1 36/200 An active skill that summons a javelin made of solid earth to throw at enemies. Can be thrown with mental energy or by hand. Levelling the skill changes the composition of the javelin and the number that can be summoned. Earthen Armour (Active) 113/100 = Lvl 1 13/200 An active skill that summons armour to the caster. Starts as just a breastplate but levelling increases the number of pieces and the composition of the armour. ¡®Okay so I gained no experience or stats from fighting summoned monsters. Well, that is good to know! But at least I could still steal their skills. Or I could in this instance. I guess I might not always have that benefit. Let¡¯s see what we got from the boss then.¡¯ Level 13 Lesser Earth Elemental Defeated: 1*1500xp = 1500xp Syphoned Stats: None (Due to difference in tier and skill your three counted strikes were unsuccessful.) Syphoned Skill Points: None (Skills came from an external source.) Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡®I suppose I can¡¯t be too greedy. I did already gain those three new skills and a new way to level up.¡¯ Synn checked the apartment after he¡¯d finished looking at his recent changes and discovered a note from Lance. ¡°Gone delving and after partying with the girls. Don¡¯t wait up and drop me a message if you want to join in.¡± ¡®I suppose he¡¯s working hard and playing hard. No harm in that. I¡¯d probably be doing the same if I didn¡¯t have too much to do.¡¯ Synn had already realised before receiving the seed that having his innate skill at lvl 10 wasn¡¯t going to be enough. Everyone around him was going to have offensive abilities while his would be stuck at whatever level he had syphoned enough points for. Because of this, Synn had decided to focus on his mental flexibility and his sword skills but now a new path had opened up to him. ¡®Okay, what¡¯s it going to take for me to power level as an earth mage?¡¯ He grabbed his trusted pad of paper and started to consider his options. He already had a dungeon run planned for the next day filled with a massive quantity of archers and ninjas. He¡¯d seen some people talk on Armageddon Net Service (ANS) about unlocking the hidden stat perception. If he could unlock it and level it his survival rate would jump up. That left him approximately five days and five more runs to get the necessary boost he was after. He found two earth element aligned dungeons with respawns and a high number of enemies as those worked out best for his syphon skill to take from and booked two slots on each leaving day five to pick his preferred dungeon to run a third time. It was a tough few days but Synn finally made it through and felt like he was ready for whatever the academy trials may throw at him. So much so he¡¯d even agreed to a final party with Lance and the girls although he¡¯d had to wrap a huge bandage around his chest several times to stop any blood seeping into his shirt. Still, he¡¯d woken up this morning on the floor with the bandage soaked through and a splitting headache. He was going to regret choosing the last night before the trials to party with them and even more so regret those shots that Lance had been pushing. He didn¡¯t say what they were, but they were made from a strong dungeon fruit that was, based on last night, extremely potent. Synn, having done all his packing the previous day was all set and ready to head for the coach pick up, as were the girls, once he¡¯d had a shower and changed his bandages. The person delaying them who had put them on the verge of being late was Lance, he¡¯d drunk even more of his new favourite drink than the others and was suffering. So much so Synn ended up driving while Lance slept in the back of the car. Personal vehicles weren¡¯t allowed at the Academy, or they could have driven themselves there directly, instead Lance had arranged for his little sister, Terri, and parents to meet him at the coaches to pick it up so she could have it when going to college next term. Terri¡¯s ability was horticultural, and she had already been offered an apprenticeship with a guaranteed job for five years following the completion of her training. With limited space ensuring there was sufficient food to feed an entire civilization became hard work and people with abilities like Terri¡¯s were worth a fortune. Depending on how she developed in the future she would never want for money. Lance had boasted how happy he was for his sister on many an occasion and that he couldn¡¯t do any less with his abilities. To him helping protect the people who stayed behind to provide for them was as noble a profession as he could think of. After pulling into the carpark Lance made his goodbyes to his family while Synn went off to find out what transport they¡¯d been allocated to. Luckily, he found that the four of them were on the same coach, so he was happy about that, the tough part was that he noticed that Brad and Danika were also on their coach. Getting the girls and Lance on to the coach using their tokens was easy and they sat far enough back that not many people would need to pass them. He stayed out of sight when Brad and Danika stepped on but somehow Brad still honed in on him. ¡°Well, well. If it isn¡¯t our own little hero.¡± Brad mocked while clapping. ¡°How should we refer to you? Perhaps ¡®O mighty worm slayer?¡¯¡± he looked to his friends for laughter who joined after a slight hesitation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about talking to me Brad. I won¡¯t be wasting my breath on you. Actually¡­ I suggest you go take your seat so we can set off soon.¡± ¡°Just you wait till we get to the academy trials. I¡¯ll show you who is the strongest. I¡¯ll leave you so broken they can¡¯t take you in.¡± Brad threatened. Lance stood up to defend him, but Synn put his hand in front. ¡°Not worth it Lance. He¡¯s just hoping to get us riled up to start a fight. That way we¡¯ll be disqualified before the trials start. All this is being monitored already if I¡¯m not mistaken. They¡¯re fine with minor rivalries but nothing that risks the overall cohesive nature of the academy.¡± A slow clap sounded out from the back of the coach and a slightly older male and female stood up. The male spoke, his voice smarmy. ¡°You had your chance Brad, now come and join me on the other coach. You¡¯ll be joining our faction anyway.¡± ¡°Yes cousin.¡± Brad nodded his head. ¡°As for you.¡± The smarmy male turned to Synn. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get too comfy at the academy. We may not be the founding family of the faction, but the Morozov family has enough pull to end you.¡± Synn laughed ¡°I think the pull you have will have a better chance of pulling down the academy than removing my support.¡± ¡°Your support can¡¯t do anything if you lose in a fair challenge.¡± Smarmy Morozov sneered. ¡°True! But Brad is too scared of anything and everything to take me on in a challenge.¡± Synn flashed Brad a winning smile. ¡°You¡¯ve had your fun Morozov. Now get off my coach.¡± The female finally spoke up. ¡°Okay!¡± She called down the coach after Brad and his friend had exited along with a few of the other Stingers, including Danika. ¡°We¡¯ve got a long trip ahead of us so make yourselves comfy. I appreciate you¡¯ll want to relax and recharge before the trials start and that most of these roads are safe. But don¡¯t rule out attacks. It¡¯s happened before and you will be expected to help defend. Failure to support in such an event will be considered an immediate zero in your trials and you will not enter the Academy. Everyone understand?¡± When everyone was affirmative be it a yes, a salute or a nod of the head she turned to head to the back of the bus before stopping on Synn again. ¡°You come with me, you¡¯re bleeding through your top and it won¡¯t look good on me if you¡¯re injured before you show up.¡± Looking down Synn realized he had indeed ruined another perfectly good top and muttered to himself. ¡°Dammit, this is going to cost me isn¡¯t it!¡±