《Twin Mind Immortal》 Chapter 1: No, I wanna fight Rowan died. This was widely regarded as being bad for your health, but based on his current surroundings, it didn¡¯t seem too bad. He was in a marble garden, not decorated with marble, mind you, everything in the garden was made of marble. It seemed a bit gaudy to him, but what did he know? He¡¯s the dead one. Suddenly, an ethereal voice rang out in his mind, ¡°Child. For your bravery in battle, you have been given a second chance. Any world you could wish for is open to you. You could retire to a peaceful farm on a beautiful, verdant planet, or become an engineer on an advanced world with no war. The universe is open to you!¡± Rowan looked upwards and saw her. Gorgeous didn¡¯t even begin to describe her, so of course the first thing he said is, ¡°I wanna fight.¡± ¡°U-uh, what? I don¡¯t think you understand, for your bravery, you never have to war against your fellow man again!¡± ¡°That¡¯s boring. I wanna fight.¡± He spoke once more with a monotone voice. He didn¡¯t see why this was so hard to comprehend. ¡°Your life has already been nothing but fighting! Don¡¯t you want to try something else?¡± The goddess asked, almost pleading. ¡°No, I wanna fight.¡± He said stubbornly The goddess felt her brain short circuit before she finally just gave up. Sighing, she asked, ¡°Is there anywhere in particular you want to fight?¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. This finally got Rowan thinking. The goddess wasn¡¯t wrong, he had been fighting his whole life. He had been fighting since he was four years old, when he had to battle for every scrap he could get. When he eventually enlisted, he was frequently reprimanded for being too violent. He thought that was stupid - they were soldiers, not nannies - why should he go easy on the enemy? But did he still want to fight other people? He loved fighting, but people had gotten old. There wasn¡¯t a challenge, and they died so easily. Rowan didn¡¯t like killing, it ended fights way too quickly Contrary to how his thoughts sounded, Rowan wasn¡¯t stupid. He knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime. He could go wherever in the universe that he wanted, but that was the thing, he didn¡¯t want a peaceful life. He had tasted peace in his last life - not for long, mind you- and he found it boring. Finally, he asked, ¡°Is there a place where I can fight non-humans?¡± The goddess¡¯ demeanor actually lit up when he said that, ¡°thank goodness¡±, she thought. He wasn¡¯t a complete psycho! ¡°There are several worlds that need a brave warrior to fight monsters! Do you want to fight demons? Or monsters? Elementals? Ooh, robots maybe!¡± She asked, excited ¡°Yes.¡± is all he said in response. ¡°Uh, you wanna fight all of them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I said.¡± The goddess frantically searched through all the available worlds, of which there were infinite, but it was still difficult to find something that specific. ¡°Ah! I found one! Let''s see¡­ Robots, check. Demons, Check. Monsters and Elementals, check and check. Ooh, robot demons! Now that is exotic. Damn, they are in a pretty major war right now, do you wanna wait until that¡¯s over?¡± The goddess had Rowan absolutely starstruck at ¡®robot demons¡¯. He would not wait for this. ¡°No, I want to go right now.¡± He said, heat entering his tone for the first time. ¡°Um, there aren¡¯t any good candidates for reincarnation right now, you would have to go into an already inhabited body.¡± ¡°That is fine.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ hmm, this guy could work. Nothing great in any of his previous lives, and he is destined to live a boring life again in this one. He wouldn¡¯t be missing out on much, I guess. I can send him to his next life. Hmm, he does have a pretty decent talent with magic¡­ it would be a waste.¡± Rowan, ever impatient, grabbed her arm. This was a bad move. Before the goddess could react, he was already traveling down the conduit she had made to observe the man he was going to replace. Silence rang in her divine realm as she realized what happened. ¡°Fuck.¡± Chapter 2: Unification Vorn was having a¡­ strange day. He had woken up ordinarily enough, tired and in pain from his job in the mines. He¡¯d first picked up the job at nine years old, much to his Uncle Burken¡¯s chagrin, and he had just turned twenty yesterday. Burken had tried to make it an event, and Vorn appreciated that, he really did, but he was just too tired for a party. He was lucky to have such a loving man as his guardian¡­ though it would be nice if he was more agreeable. The main schism between them was the academy. Or the Academy of Magical Arts & Other Immaterial Phenomena. Didn¡¯t that just roll off the tongue? Burken was absolutely convinced that it was a waste of time. The fact that it was mainly populated with high nobles was not helping anything, either. However, the main sticking point was the price. Seven hundred and fifty Bright Cores. Roughly the equivalent of seven years of labor, and that¡¯s assuming you have a Path and don¡¯t spend a single Luminescent Core, or Lumie for short, on anything frivolous. No surprise visits to the healer, that¡¯ll send you back a good few months. Unfortunately for Vorn, entry into the Academy required that you didn¡¯t have a Path or Class selected, and that made his expenses much higher than the average person. He was only making enough to barely nudge his progress toward his education every month. It felt hopeless, but if there was one thing about Vorn that nobody could disparage, it was his willpower. Or more accurately, stubborn determination. But none of that was bothering him. He honestly thought about how hopeless his situation was more often than was healthy. Instead, it was a strange sense of foreboding, like a blade hanging over his neck, and it felt like it was about to drop at any moment. The presence felt more than he could ever be. Powerful. Did he attract the attention of some ancient being? That would be just his fucking luck, wouldn¡¯t it? Just a few years of work and he would accomplish his dreams, but no, some fucking unknown being was going to cut him down for no reason! Why was it always him! He felt anger well up at his situation, but it was quickly quashed by the realization that it was just a facade. He was afraid. Terrified. Nothing he had ever felt had even come close, and he was around when his dad was angry. A level one-hundred-and-fifty man that was genuinely mad had been, hands down, the most scary thing he¡¯d seen. And that paled in comparison to¡­ This. But¡­ That would be ridiculous. No need to be irrational. There¡¯s probably just a general or something going through town. That idea was quickly discarded, though. A general couldn¡¯t feel this¡­ indescribable. Hells, maybe he was looking at this the wrong way. Maybe instead of a monster threatening his being, this feeling was a higher power finally looking over him. He had to admit, the power didn¡¯t feel explicitly malicious, just¡­ a lot. His mother always told him to look at the bright side of things, and she was a much wiser person than him. Vorn smiled as he reached the mines. His mother was usually right, he really should have listened to her more when he had the chance. Tearing his thoughts away from another depressing spiral, he got back to work. Mine, collect rocks, bring them to cart, mine, and continue mining. It was oddly relaxing. The breeze and sun on his skin were refreshing, and he had been mining for so long that his body wasn¡¯t really straining like it had been when he first started. He was still sore, but that was an omnipresent feeling that he had long gotten used to. Honestly, Vorn wouldn¡¯t mind this job if it weren¡¯t for his uncle and the twins. He loved his uncle, but the man was almost as stubborn as his nephew. Still, he was paid semi-well, and his uncle let him come in late so he could study in the mornings. The twins were another story, but he supposed that there was no such thing as a perfect job. Suddenly, he could feel the foreboding blade that he was trying so hard to ignore came careening towards him, and it was descending fast. He looked up in fear, only to see nothing but clear skies. His eyes must be deceiving him because his spirit was quaking in fear. He knew deep down in his soul that a force of nature was arriving. Vorn frantically looked around, trying to see if anyone around him could feel it. No, everyone else was caught up in their own business. Vorn tried to convince himself to calm down, but the sense of impending doom would not settle. He checked his status, maybe he was coming down with something? Vorn - Level 0 Human Age: 20 | Race: Lunarian | Class - Unselected Attributes: CON: Locked STR: Locked AGI: Locked DEX: Locked WIS: Locked INT: Locked CHA: Locked LUCK: Locked Select a Path to unlock Attributes! Any day now! Status Effects: Exhausted, Sore, Sleep Deprived, Impending Mortal Danger, Dehydrated WHAT THE FUCK Maybe put ¡®Impending fucking death¡¯ higher on the list! OH nOO! I¡¯m dehydrated! Whatever shall I do- WHO FUCKING CARES! He couldn¡¯t even call for help, his body so frozen in fear that even moving an inch would have been impossible. Then, it hit him, and at the moment of impact, he finally realized what was hurtling towards him. Another soul. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Rowan was having a strange day. First, he died, then he woke up in a divine realm, and now he woke up once more, but this time feeling sore, exhausted, and dehydrated. Whoever owned this body before did not take good enough care of it. He made note that it would take him a few months to get this body to optimal conditions. Based on what Rowan could observe, he was a short, lithely built man with silver hair. His first thought was, ¡®genetic condition?¡¯, but the workers around him all had hair of varying shades of white as well. He observed his surroundings with clinical detachment; it was important to not let adrenaline and battle instincts honed over years take over at the wrong moment. He learned that lesson the hard way after losing his first squad. A cool head was absolutely necessary when in an unknown environment. ¡°You okay there, Vorn? You just fell over suddenly! I keep telling you not to let yourself get so dehydrated!¡± A short, stout-looking man fussed over him. ¡°That fall must have rattled me, could you explain who you are and where I¡¯m at?¡± Rowan asked in his usual deadpan tone. At his response, the man looked disturbed, ¡°I-I¡¯m your uncle, boy. Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s coming back to me. Sorry for worrying you uncle.¡± Rowan spoke, his features were expressionless and his voice flat. His uncle, apparently, didn¡¯t believe him and took him to the mine¡¯s healer. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Burken was having an awful day. First, those awful twins made trouble for him deeper in the mine, nearly causing a cave-in, and then his nephew collapsed on the job! That boy, always pushing himself too hard. Burken worried for him, he was too ambitious, always straining beyond his means. He had hoped some tough love might cause him to toughen up and accept reality, but if anything it made him push harder. Turns out, the boy was plenty tough, maybe even to a fault. No, the real problem was his ambition. But his goals were not what was worrying Burken, not anymore. The person that woke up in the mines was not his nephew. He could tell instantly. Where before his keen silver eyes shone with determination and energy, now they were dull and analytical, with a disturbing undercurrent of violence. To say that it was upsetting would be severely underselling the experience Burken was having. As if his eyes weren¡¯t suspicious enough, the way he walked sold the rest of the picture. He had a trained gait, and his steps barely made any noise. He stumbled slightly, which would be normal for dehydration, but as he walked he became steadier and steadier, as if adapting. It all screamed danger to Burken, which was why he was leading him to the head guard he had hired for his mine. Clearly, the imposter could tell that Burken was suspicious, and his body coiled. He was going to make a break for it! He¡­ fell over? ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Rowan could see the suspicion on ¡®his¡¯ uncle''s face. He knew. This was why Rowan was never deployed for subtler roles. He was the hammer, and his contemporaries were the cloak and dagger. He could never fully grasp the rules of espionage and acting, it was beyond him in a way that he could never correct. And not for lack of trying. That left him with a few options, none of them fun for anyone involved. He wouldn¡¯t kill them, that would make him a monster, and he already walked a thin enough line. He may love violence, mindless violence at that, but Rowan would never hurt a person he deemed innocent. Or maybe he would have if he was ordered, but luckily he was never put in that position. Right now, though, he had no orders. He was free, truly and completely, for the first time in a decade. That meant he had to listen to himself. It was almost a foreign feeling, but he didn¡¯t hate it. So, how could he escape while causing minimal injury? These people were miners, they had access to steel or steel adjacent tools, and they were strong. Rowan, on the other hand, felt weaker than he had in over ten years. He didn¡¯t know if his skill could make up the difference, especially in a mine chock full of people. He would have to take the chance though. If he moved suddenly enough, and with sufficient brutality, they would be too shocked to stop him. It wasn¡¯t an option he would like to take, but a few broken arms weren¡¯t really all that bad, right? He had broken his bones more times than he could count, and he always came back better for it. Rowan¡¯s body coiled in all the wrong places, filling him with a sense of revulsion for just a moment, and he attempted to take off towards the nearest miner¡­ before falling on his face. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He was still conscious, but it was almost as if he could feel something trying to take control. ¡°Who are you! What are you doing in my body!¡± Vorn screamed in his mind. ¡°I am Rowan. I was informed that the body I would be inhabiting would be empty. My apologies, that information was apparently false.¡± Rowan politely apologized. ¡°What!? I don¡¯t care what you were informed of! Leave!¡± ¡°I would love to, unfortunately, that is not an option. I was granted your body through a deal with a Goddess, and she said nothing about a refund if I didn¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°A Goddess? Of fucking course this would be my luck! A reincarnator!? Why does this shit only happen to me!¡± ¡°I was informed that your soul had a propensity towards the mediocre, so it¡¯s not totally your fault. It seems you are just naturally unlucky.¡± ¡°First of all, rude. Second of all, fuck mediocrity! I¡¯m going to be a mage! I don¡¯t care what a Goddess thinks! Though.. if you''re a reincarnator, why am I still here? Shouldn¡¯t you have kicked me out?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°There is something you''re not telling me, isn¡¯t there.¡± ¡°I may have been a bit¡­ excited. I grabbed the Goddess¡¯ arm before she was ready, and she seemed very surprised. I got overzealous and made a mistake, though I¡¯m not sure I should be sorry about that. You survived, after all.¡± ¡°SO WHAT! Just cause I¡¯m alive you get to take my body, free of charge? No, that¡¯s not what¡¯s happening, I¡¯m in charge! This is godsdamned my life!¡± ¡°That¡¯s irrational. We share this body now, and that isn¡¯t going to change. We should start looking to compromise. There is a saying where I¡¯m from, ¡°two minds are better than one¡±, maybe we could accomplish your goals together. I am not against helping you. I don¡¯t have any real goals yet, after all.¡± ¡°Really? Having a reincarnator to help me would be nice¡­ what did you get reincarnated for, anyway? You sound logical, were you some great wizard! Or artificer! Or did you make fancy Outworlder tech!¡± ¡°I was a soldier.¡± ¡°What? What feat did you perform to be reincarnated then?¡± ¡°I took out an entire enemy fortress by myself with a grenade, a knife, and exceedingly reckless behavior. A battalion was stationed there.¡± ¡°How big is a battalion? I¡¯m not familiar with the word.¡± ¡°One thousand soldiers strong.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound all that great, you must have just out-leveled them. I guess it¡¯s still impressive. You would have had to be a much higher level, so the mana must have been suffocatingly thin in an area with an army stationed there, no matter how low level.¡± ¡°What are Levels? And mana?¡± ¡°Uh, you know, magic? Classes? Paths? The System? Or did you call it something different where you were from?¡± ¡°Is that a feature of this world?¡± ¡°Hysperia¡¯s Grace, you did that in a dead zone!? One without the System?! What are you!¡± ¡°A good soldier, I guess.¡± Rowan smiled internally. That memory was a great one. The blood, the ashes. The fire. He was only stopped when the entire facility collapsed on him. It was truly the best death he could have asked for. ¡°Gods! Of course I got one of the battle-crazed ones. I really am unlucky.¡± Vorn thought/said despondently ¡°It seems so. So, are you willing to compromise? We have been down for a few minutes now, and your uncle must be worried.¡± ¡°Sure, fine. I want the reins, though. It was my body first. We can work something out when I¡¯m in control.¡± Rowan knew Vorn could be tricking him, but trust was a two-way street. He would have to extend some and hopefully get some in return later. He withdrew his control. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Vorn came back to his body with a splitting headache. His uncle was holding his sword to his throat as well, so that was strange. ¡°What did I do to piss you off this bad uncle? Normally you just yell at me.¡± Vorn asked. He wasn¡¯t afraid, his uncle may be a bastard sometimes, but he would never hurt him. ¡°My boy? Are you truly back?¡± Tears welled in Burken''s eyes. ¡°Huh? How long was I out? Why are you crying?¡± Vorn asked, confused. What¡¯s-his-name should¡¯ve only been in control for a few minutes, was he really that different? ¡°My name is Rowan.¡± What''s-his-name said. His uncle must have seen his expression darken, because he asked, ¡°My boy, what happened! It was like you were a man possessed!¡± ¡°Well, funny story, it¡¯s because I¡¯ve become a man possessed.¡± Vorn said with a deadpan expression. It broke when he saw his uncle''s concern. ¡°Listen, it¡¯s a long story. I¡¯ll tell you in your office.¡± ¡°You better! I thought I was going to have to kill my own nephew! I wouldn¡¯t be able to live with myself! ¡°Well thanks for not killing me, I guess,¡± Vorn said with a smirk. The exasperated sigh from his uncle evolved his already wide smirk into a shit-eating grin. ¡°Hmph, maybe I shoulda. That imposter was less of a smartass.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Vorn¡¯s uncle was understandably stressed upon learning that his nephew had an incredibly dangerous soldier living in his head. There was nothing they could do about that, though, so it returned to a common topic of conversation. His future. Joy. ¡°Now boy, understand that when I say this it comes from a place of love, but have you finally given up on becoming a mage? You¡¯ll never get a mage Class, let alone Path, with some legendary warrior living in your soul. His achievements will outweigh yours a thousand times!¡± ¡°For the last time, Uncle, I am not giving up on my dream! I will become a mage! Mother said that magic runs through our veins! I will not give up on our dream!¡± ¡°Your mother was a once in a generation talent! And she was a sorcerer at that! Why are you so dead set on this!¡± His uncle roared. ¡°She wanted me to be better than her! Maybe I¡¯ll become a sorcerer later on, whatever, but she wanted me to have an education! To have a choice!¡± Vorn shouted back. His uncle sighed, ¡°Listen, boy, I just want the best for you. Your mother was an idealist, and you were her perfect baby, so she would never consider a world where you failed. That¡¯s fine, and I loved that about her, but boy, I am not your mother. I am a realist. The chances of you carrying her talent in magic are practically zero. Your father was practically dead mana wise, and you know better than most that magical talent is paternal. I¡¯m sure you have some potential, but I will not see you put yourself so deep in debt that you¡¯ll never escape just to become a mediocre mage!¡± His uncle was breathing heavily by the end of the rant. ¡°Clearly this is a fundamental disagreement. I won¡¯t be discussing this further.¡± Vorn said tersely, and then turned around and left. ¡°Boy!¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Vorn hated considering it, but his uncle may be right. He was putting it off, but he had to check his status. Vor(*#@ ERROR Row(*$*( ERROR TWO BEINGS IN THE SAME BODY ATTEMPTING SEPARATION¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ A gut-wrenching scream tore from their throat. It was as if someone had tried to pull apart their chest. SEPARATION IS IMPOSSIBLE, PARTIAL SOUL MERGING HAS OCCURRED ATTEMPTING TO COMPLETE THE MERGE¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ This wasn¡¯t much better, instead feeling like someone had compressed them until they nearly collapsed from the pressure. FULLY MERGING SOULS IMPOSSIBLE, SOULS ARE FROM DIFFERENT UNIVERSES INDIVIDUALITY IS RETAINED BUT SOULS ARE PARTIALLY MERGED... UNIQUE ERROR: CREATING ERROR CODE¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ERROR CODE CREATED: 144321SUI ATTEMPTING TO FIND A VIABLE SOLUTION¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ SOLUTION FOUND! USER CAN NOT BE A HUMAN AS HUMANS HAVE ONLY ONE SOUL RECLASSIFICATION NECESSARY SEARCHING FOR TWO SOULED BEINGS¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ NONE FOUND UNIQUE BEING RECOGNIZED! DUE TO BEING A UNIQUE BEING, ADDITIONAL PROCESSING POWER HAS BEEN SECURED FOR ERRORS UNIQUE BEING NEEDS A NEW CLASSIFICATION USER(S), DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE? ¡®No¡­¡¯ Vorn ground out through the pain. ¡®No.¡¯ Rowan stated simply, the pain not bothering him much. USER(S) HAS STATED NO PREFERENCE GENERATING NAME¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ POTENTIAL CANDIDATE: TWIN SOUL CHECKING DATABASE¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ NAME AVAILABLE! CONGRATULATIONS, TWIN SOUL. YOUR INITIALIZATION WAS SUCCESSFUL! ELIMINATION OF FOREIGN BEING IS NO LONGER REQUIRED! AS A UNIQUE BEING, YOUR SYSTEM WILL DIFFER FROM A STANDARD HUMANOID''S. AS EACH SOUL HAS RETAINED ITS INDIVIDUALITY, IT WAS DETERMINED TO BE AGAINST THE CODE OF ETHICS TO FORCE A SHARED PATH. UNIQUE BOON: TWIN PATHS AS YOU ARE A NEWBORN UNIQUE BEING, THE SYSTEM HAS DETERMINED THAT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR BIOLOGICAL ASSISTANCE BOON: GENETIC CORRECTION UNIQUE BOON: SOUL CORRECTION YOUR CHANCES OF DYING DUE TO INCOMPATIBILITY HAVE DROPPED BY 98%! CONGRATULATIONS! UPDATED STATUS PAGE: Voran, Level 0 Twin Soul Race: N/A... Removing | Age: 0 | Class 1: Unselected | Class 2: Unselected Attributes: CON: Locked STR: Locked AGI: Locked DEX: Locked WIS: Locked INT: Locked CHA: Locked LUCK: Locked Unlock your Attributes by selecting a Path! Status Effects: Renewed ¡°Voran? Is that a combination of our names?¡± ¡°It would seem so.¡± ¡°AH! What the hell, you sound so close now!¡± ¡°I would guess that the genetic and soul correction made our bodies and minds more in tune.¡± ¡°That seems plausible enough¡­ but the implications of this¡­¡± ¡°It looks like cooperation is no longer a choice.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh yeah, you¡¯re right. No separating us now, for better or worse.¡± A nervous chuckle reverberated through their soul. ¡°I¡¯m picking a Class, standby.¡± ¡°What? Wait no!¡± Chapter 3: Outclassed Rowan slowed down and decided to listen. The last time he ignored a warning, he ended up in this situation. If he was a younger man, he would have written Vorn off entirely. Listening to someone younger than himself? No way. Logically, this was a person that knew better than him, in a world that he was new to, but young Rowan was not the biggest fan of ¡®logic¡¯. Hell, he disregarded it entirely where he was able. He had written it off as a tool for cowards to convince themselves to be boring and cautious. A decade of service and a whole host of dead friends later, he could see its use. It would appear that being free for the first time in forever had made him regress somewhat. He was being impulsive and childish, even if only in his thoughts. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I pick one right now?¡± ¡°Why?! Did your parents never¡­ Oh, yeah. Never mind, that¡¯s my fault. I forgot you were new to the System for a second. Basically, it¡¯s considered, and this is putting it politely, incredibly fucking stupid to pick a Path without a System Guide to help you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why that should stop me? I know what Path I wish to walk.¡± ¡°What! Did you not hear what I just told you! It¡¯s a huge deal!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need someone else to tell me what path I should choose. Magically or otherwise¡±. Rowan could feel himself slipping. A streak of independence he thought long dead rearing its head. ¡°Really? Really!? You just got here! Yes, you do! You don¡¯t know anything about magic, aura, or the myriad other Paths out there!¡± ¡°I can figure it out.¡± There had to be something wrong. Why was he acting so childish? ¡°I really want to just let you do that just to prove to you how monumentally-¡± ¡°Did it.¡± Rowan simultaneously felt embarrassed at his actions, but also an odd sense of¡­ pettiness? Was this all it took to break down the walls he had spent years putting up? Being reincarnated into another body in a different universe¡­ Okay, so putting it like that it was a pretty major change. ¡°What!?¡± ¡°I opened the Class selection process.¡± ¡°Hysorin bless me with patience. What did I just say!¡± ¡°That you really wanted me to do that?¡± ¡°Do you not understand sarcasm?¡± ¡°Truthfully, no. Though, I will admit that my ability to comprehend sarcasm had little to do with me being so difficult. I apologize, I do not know what is coming over me.¡± Rowan started his meditation process that was taught to him by his ¡®handler¡¯ in the military. It was supposed to let him think through his actions before he acted rashly, a problem that seemed to have come back with a vengeance. ¡°Fine. Not like we can go back now. Just¡­ let me see your options.¡± Legendary Soldier Path - Legendary You were a terror on the battlefield in your last life, so much so that it got you a new one! Why tread new ground? Become the soldier you were always born to be but with some extra perks! Your path is of Discipline, Strength, and Honor. +Inspiring Aura +Chain of Command +8 CON, +8 STR +8 AGI +8 DEX +8 WIS per level. Dimensional Warrior Path - Mythic You are a warrior known all across your old dimension, now become one known across multiple! Wield sword and sorcery to tear your enemy down to their very atoms! Your path is of Destruction, Fame, and Bloodlust! +Extradimensional Body +10 CON +10 STR +10 AGI +10 WIS +10 INT +10 CHA per level. Blooded Maniac of the First Curse - Transcendent You have left thousands dead in your wake, and that was in a world without magic. Without the System. Blood inevitably pools where you walk. Screams echo as you pass. The wailing of past souls that have tried to kill you ring out in the void, but none can hear them. Except you. This is not a Path, not a Class. This is who you are. Seize the First Curse, and become a God. +Avatar of Madness +Walking Terror +Aura of Despair +Deathly Visage +Wails of the Damned +12 more + 25 to every Attribute per level. Magitech Cyborg Path - Legendary Between this universe and your previous one, technology is vastly different¡­ but understanding it was never what made you good at abusing it! Your path is of Violence, Tinkering, and Improvement! Warning: You will have to enhance yourself. +Magitech Mind +Tinkerer¡¯s Touch +8 CON +8 DEX +8 INT +8 LUCK +8 Free Points per level. +25 more Paths, would you like the System to sort them based on your personality? ¡°That would be helpful.¡± These 5 fit you the best according to a personality scan: Street Rat Path - Common Though you grew up to be a soldier, you never forgot your roots. Fighting for every meal, and looking after your fellow orphans, you never stepped down from a challenge. Your path is of Desperation, Ingenuity, and Determination. +2 CON +2 WIS +2 Free Points per level. Battle Maniac Path - Rare Your blood sings in battle like it never does in mundane life. Though you joined the military, it never truly satisfied your lust for battle. You are held down by chains of logic and reasoning. A true battle follows only one reason, might! Show the world your strength! Your path is of Battle, Blood, and Hunting down your next fight! +Tracking +Battle-Healing +4 CON +4 STR +4 AGI +2 Free Points per level. Tempered Blade Path - Epic Your battlelust is the stuff of legend, but so is your restraint. It took years, but you managed to temper your passion with logic, and you are better for it. Some may say that you have gone soft, but when you are unsheathed, they will see that a tempered blade has not lost its heat. It is just hidden, bubbling beneath the surface. Your path is of Battle, Patience, and Explosive Action. +Battle Mind +Tempered Soul +6 CON +6 STR +6 AGI +6 WIS +6 Free Points per level. True Warrior Path - Legendary A True Warrior does not fight for Honor or Fame. He fights because he must. He fights as the wind blows and as gravity attracts. The fact that he must fight is an immutable law. You are a prime example. Your Path is of Battle. You never had a choice to begin with. +Force of Nature +8 CON +8 STR +8 AGI +8 DEX +8 LUCK per level. Twin Soul: Body Path - Unique Be it through random chance or providence, you have merged with another. You are no dullard. You understand the purpose of scholarly pursuits, but they have never been for you. Your passion in life has always been simple. Movement. Fighting. Seeking the next thrill. All your life, your weakness has been equally simple. Logic. Common sense. You had to chain yourself down for the sake of others. Now you can do what you do best, and let your more timid half temper the worst of your outbursts. Truly let yourself free once more. Your Path is of Movement, Battle, and Thrill. +Synchronized Mind +15 to all physical Attributes per level. ¡°You were not kidding when you said you were a good soldier! Good gods, I¡¯ve never even heard of a transcendent Path! I mean, absolutely don¡¯t take it, but holy shit are the stats insane! And SEVENTEEN perks!?¡± ¡°So what do you think I should pick?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you didn¡¯t need help deciding your path?¡± Vorn said, still annoyed. ¡°I should have listened to you, and I apologize once more. I truly believe we are partners. I just had a... Tantrum. I really need to get a hold of my emotions" ¡°First, tell me what speaks to you the most, and then I¡¯ll give my opinion.¡± ¡°Either [Tempered Blade] or [Body Path]. The others are all good, but they do not speak to me. I will admit that the idea of finally letting loose is appealing. I favor the [Body Path].¡± ¡°I was going to say either [Dimensional Warrior] or [Body Path], but based on the descriptions, [Body Path] certainly suits you better. You sure have had an interesting life.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I know it.¡± Rowan said, before going on to ask, "Also, do you understand what the [+blank] things are at the end of the descriptions?¡± ¡°Yeah, those are perks. They are fairly rare, but not unheard of by any means.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll go with [Body Path]. We are already stuck in this mess together, and it truly does appeal to me in a way few others do. I have had to hold myself back for¡­ so long. Before I accept it, do you truly accept becoming my¡­ for lack of a better word, handler?¡± ¡°Yeah, I already figured I would have to do that based on how much you scared my uncle. Go ahead and pick it. I¡¯m still mad you decided to pick your Path now, though. You''re lucky it was a relatively easy choice.¡± ¡°You are right, I got excited and disregarded my own advice about listening to you. On the bright side, at least that¡¯s your problem now.¡± ¡°Yay¡­¡± Rowan has accepted the [Twin Soul: Body Path] Class! Updated status: Voran - level 1 Twin Soul Warrior Age: 0 | Class 1: Unselected | Rowan: [Twin Soul: Body Path] Attributes: CON: 15 STR: 15 AGI: 15 DEX: 15 WIS: Locked INT: Locked CHA: Locked LUCK: Locked Perks: Vorn: None| Rowan: Synchronized Mind Unlock the rest of your attributes by selecting a Path! Status Effects: Renewed, Attribute Rush [Extreme] Voran¡¯s body was filled with a rush of energy as it suddenly became stronger. What a rush! They couldn¡¯t stop shaking! Is this what everyone warned them about? Attribute Rush was no joke! No wonder people got addicted to it. Not to mention that getting sixty stat points a level was equivalent to a Mythic Path! Only Emperors had those! Holy shit¡­ and Voran had the potential to get two! But no, he couldn¡¯t get ahead of himself. He had to take this slow. Vorn was the designated reasonable person now, he couldn¡¯t let himself be swept up in the excitement. ¡°Nothing is stopping you. You would likely get a Path just as good. I did not get mine from being a good soldier, I got it from being a unique being. Well, I did partially get it from being a good soldier, but it was in a more tangential way.¡± ¡°Silence devil! I will not let you tempt me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a specter or demon. Did we not already cover this?¡± ¡°It was a joke¡­¡± ¡°Oh. I am not great with those.¡± ¡°Is there anything you''re good at besides fighting?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good at sewing.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I had to repair my clothes a lot.¡± ¡°Let me guess. You got in a lot of fights?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± ¡°Why did you say the word ¡®sigh¡¯?¡± ¡°It was for effect! Besides, it¡¯s not as if I can sigh mentally! It''s a breath, not a word!¡± ¡°Then why do it at all?¡± *Sigh* ¡°Oh, you actually sighed that time.¡± ¡°You somehow made me so exasperated that I managed it. Congratulations.¡± ¡°Thank you?¡± Vorn moved on before the conversation could go any further. Trying to joke around with Rowan was pointless. It was like he was a machine, devoid of passion. It wasn¡¯t as if Rowan was the first person bad with social cues he had ever met, but there was something different about him. The others may have been awkward or stilted, but they still had passions. If you got them talking about a subject they liked, it was like flipping a switch, and they could go on for hours! Vorn¡¯s mother was like that, and it was one of his favorite parts of her personality. Sure, it made for some boring conversations when they were talking about anything but her passions ¨C those being magic, sorcery, and spellcraft ¨C yet Vorn couldn¡¯t find the feelings in him to care. Besides, he and his mother were cut from the same cloth. They mostly found the same things interesting, and whatever differences they had, they always tried to understand as best as they could. Granted, Vorn was certainly better at it, but his mother always tried her best, and that was all that mattered to him. Melancholy started to invade his mind before he heard jeering behind him. Oh, great. The twins. Uncle had tried to fire them time and time again, but their father was a powerful merchant, so he never got far. Why they decided to work in a mine of all places, Vorn would never know. Sometimes he thought it was just to torture him. ¡°Oh, what is this I spy? Level one? Has little Vorn finally decided to grow up and give up on becoming a mage?¡± The first twin said. Vorn could never tell them apart, so he didn¡¯t bother to try. At this point, he just classified them as one being. Maybe they were also a Twin Soul, just one separated at birth? The opposite of a Twin Soul? They were certainly identical enough. In. Every. Insufferable. Way. ¡°Oh, has Vorn finally accepted his place? I never thought I¡¯d see the day! Mommy would be so disappointed, wouldn¡¯t she? Her baby finally grew into a man! Too bad she couldn¡¯t live to see it!¡± He cackled at his own terrible joke. Vorn was tempted, oh so tempted, to punch them in the face. It would be so easy. Common Paths, as the name suggested, made up the overwhelming majority of them, and the Twins were no different. In fact, since they both picked the [Merchant] Path, they had their stats in Charisma and Luck. Where they put their free points, he had no idea, but it shouldn¡¯t matter. They got six stat points a level and were each level fifteen, which meant that they had thirty in Charisma and Luck, and thirty free points to spend. Even if they spent all their points on Strength, Vorn would still have the advantage. He had a much more balanced build, and this was all before considering that he had one of the greatest soldiers of another universe in his head. One that was eager for a fight. But that would be stupid. Their father was a powerful merchant who had his hands in the pockets of nobles, messing with the twins would doom his chances of working in this city ever again. His uncle would have to fire him or go broke as every other merchant suffocated his business. Uncle would never fire him, and he didn¡¯t plan on ruining his only remaining family. ¡°Yeah, I guess I did grow up. You win. Happy?¡± Vorn said. Not Voran, as Rowan was thrashing against the restraints on his soul, trying his damndest to break out and beat the shit out of these bastards. He hadn¡¯t been disrespected like this in ages! ¡°Oh, that¡¯s no fun!¡± They said in sync. God(s), these two were so fucking creepy, Voran thought. They could agree on that. Come on! Let me out! Don¡¯t you want to test out my new Path! Besides, who¡¯s going to miss these two! It was honestly distressing for Vorn to hear Rowan talk like this. It was like a switch was flipped, and he went from automaton to murderous psycho. Gods, was this what he was like all the time in his childhood!? The [Tempered Blade] description said that it had taken years for him to calm down! Based on Rowan¡¯s personality, Vorn thought that it was an exaggeration. Guess not! ¡°I¡¯m currently trying to not get us banned from every business in the Empire right now, so if you would kindly calm down, that would be great!¡± Seeing his struggle, the twins mistook it for anger. ¡°Oh, is little Vorn going to cry? Does he want his mommy?¡± They said in sync once more. Vorn was sure it had to be a Perk or something. Vorn felt something in his soul snap. ¡°Oh fuck.¡± ¡°Oh do you two ever shut the fuck up!¡± Rowan finally said, in control. ¡°W-what happened to your eyes?¡± They said in perfect sync once more. ¡°I would be less concerned with my eyes, and more concerned with what I¡¯m going to do to yours!¡± Rowan growled out. ¡°H- ha ha. Vo-Vorn got one level and now he thinks he¡¯s hot shit!¡± They said with false bravado. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t call me Vorn. He would never do what I¡¯m about to do to you. He doesn¡¯t have the RESOLVE!¡± ¡°Rude, and please don¡¯t kill them. I¡¯m the voice of reason, remember? If you absolutely must, you can beat them up, but please don¡¯t go further than that.¡± ¡°Oh, you are so fucking lucky that Vorn doesn¡¯t want you dead.¡± Rowan said, his heart pounding in his ears. ¡°Brother, I think he¡¯s finally snapped! No matter, we-we¡¯ll just have to teach him a lesson! He can¡¯t beat both of us!¡± ¡°Oh? Covering up your fear with comradery? I can respect that. At least you aren¡¯t totally irredeemable.¡± Before the twins could respond, he rushed them. ¡°AH!¡± They shrilly screamed. Now, there is something you must understand about Rowan. He joined the military at fifteen and served for ten years before dying spectacularly. He does not have control over his emotions gained over decades, and in fact, only a few years ago became able to control them with any reasonable success rate. And he never really got over his anger issues. Just suppressed them. Rowan met the first twin with a fist to the eye. He carefully modulated his strength, as he wasn¡¯t sure how much force he could exert. Based on the impact, he was almost as strong as his peak in the military, implants and all. And he was only level one. Fuck. Yeah. Still, the twin took the punch with surprising durability, even if it wasn¡¯t his full strength. ¡°Ha, is that all you¡¯ve got? We invested all our free points into Constitution, you¡¯ll need to do better than that!¡± They gloated. "Huh? What did that mean?" "Turn on Synchronized Mind. I¡¯ve got an idea as to what it does, and it should help." Rowan complied, and things instantly became clearer. No longer was he a stranger in a strange land, he understood. Gods, he was an idiot for picking a Class that recklessly! "Wait. Did these two idiots just admit they put everything in CON? HAHAHA!" Rowan, with renewed vigor, attacked once more. This time, he knew they could take it. He didn¡¯t hold back. He rushed the second twin this time. The twin tried to defend with offense, a reckless strategy, and one he couldn¡¯t back up with skill. Rowan ducked under the flimsy punch and shoulder-checked him to the ground. The second twin tried to attack him from behind, but Rowan had been in one too many scuffles to be taken by surprise by that. Rowan rolled forward before the second twin¡¯s punch even fully extended. His eyes were still closed from throwing the punch, amateur. Rowan grabbed his overextended arm, and flipped him onto the ground, next to his brother. The fight had taken eleven seconds flat, and like five of them were taken up by the twins gloating. Morons. ¡°Put me back in control, now.¡± Vorn demanded. Rowan complied. Once he did, Rowan instantly knew something was different. His shackles, which he didn¡¯t even previously know were there, had disappeared. He could go to the forefront whenever he wanted. He was not sure that was a good thing. Evidently, Vorn wasn¡¯t either. ¡°You absolute moron! Do you know what you¡¯ve just done!? We¡¯re done! We can never work in this mine ¨C hell, this whole city ¨C again! I thought you were supposed to listen to me? You asked me to be your handler! So why didn¡¯t you listen!¡± ¡°I apologize. I let my anger get the best of me. This hasn¡¯t happened in years, but bullies tend to reveal the worst in me. Life was not kind to an orphan living on the streets¡­ But, this is what you signed up for.¡± ¡°What? We agreed that I¡¯d be the voice of reason! You didn¡¯t listen!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t deny my responsibility, I acted rashly and foolishly, but this was a good trial of what is to come. I do not know why, but my emotions have come back and they are stronger than ever. I¡¯m afraid that just being the ¡®voice¡¯ of reason won¡¯t be enough. You¡¯ll have to back it up with action.¡± ¡°Fucking fine. Whatever. We¡¯ll talk about that later.¡± ¡°Alright, but¡­ why did you let them treat you like that?¡± ¡°I just told you, their father is extremely powerful-¡± ¡°No, I am not asking why you did not beat them up. I recognize that as someone without a Class, that would have been impossible. I mean, why didn¡¯t you stand up to them verbally? You are much smarter than them, that much is obvious. You could have beaten them in a battle of wits easily.¡± ¡°I- They- I just-¡± ¡°Is it really that hard to think of a reason?¡± ¡°No, I had one, I just¡­ can¡¯t put it into words.¡± ¡°Do you want to know what I think?¡± ¡°No, but I have a feeling that was rhetorical.¡± ¡°It was not. Do you want to know?¡± ¡°Sure? I guess.¡± ¡°You are insecure. You have clearly been bullied and discouraged your whole life, that much is abundantly clear, and you have let that shape how you view your own inherent value. I was told much of my life that I was an idiot. A moron. A ¡°simple-minded dumbass eager to die and not to learn¡± was what my squad leader called me. Thinking back on it now, they may have been right. My squad leader, I mean.¡± ¡°Real inspiring.¡± ¡°Let me finish. I was called all of those things and more, but you know what? I didn¡¯t let them shape me. I took each of those words and buried them so deeply in spite and loathing that instead of hampering me, they furthered my growth. I turned their shit talk into fertilizer.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m a victim of my own self-worth then? Is that what you''re saying?¡± ¡°Essentially. I don¡¯t blame you for not taking my route. I was fueled by a frankly ungodly amount of confidence back then. I did not yet have the years to separate genuine criticism from mindless insults. That was one of my many flaws, and it is no better than yours. An overabundance of confidence can be just as harmful as a lack thereof. Thankfully, you have someone to help you along. I had no such thing.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you, like, five years older than me?¡± ¡°Perhaps, but do you have the experience I do? I don¡¯t just mean on the battlefield, but in life. We are from opposite sides of the spectrum, and if we meet in the middle, then maybe we can negate the worst of our flaws and truly become a better whole.¡± ¡°Why the fuck are you so wise right now? Didn¡¯t you just go berserk on the twins, like, two minutes ago? Where was this Rowan then?¡± ¡°Like I said, we are from opposite sides of the spectrum. I am no less flawed than you, and in fact, I might be more so. So, what now?¡± ¡°Now? We go talk to Uncle.¡± ¡°Oh. I am sorry.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I saw how¡­ passionate he became when discussing your future. I do not think he has it in him to have a calm conversation.¡± ¡°You are the most oddly observant man I have ever met.¡± ¡°Do you have most of the men you have met in your head? I have a feeling a good amount of people would surprise you. I frequently underestimated just how useful observation could be until it was used against me more times than I could count. I am hardly the first advanced in the skill.¡± ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± ¡°I live in your head, I have no choice but to listen.¡± ¡°Actually, you live in my soul. Or do we share a soul? Is there a soul space? Are we both just crammed in there- not the point, sorry.¡± ¡°I must say, it is very interesting to hear the thoughts people have when they can¡¯t filter them.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.¡± ¡°I am not laughing.¡± *Sigh* ¡°You did it again.¡± ¡°My question is, why do you talk like that.¡± ¡°Talk like what?¡± ¡°Like a robot! Hell, you barely use contractions! I know you can, I¡¯ve heard a few slip by!¡± ¡°When I am not in battle, I actively practice a meditation technique that was taught to me by my mentor. My previous ¡®handler¡¯. He taught me how to control my emotions, or at least suppress them.¡± ¡°And the solution was robot speak?¡± ¡°No, it was to stop and consider every word, action, and motion I made. Obviously, I am worse at that when stressed, and I do not bother with it when fighting.¡± ¡°So¡­ this is essentially just you but filtered?¡± ¡°Basically. Now I have a question.¡± ¡°Go for it.¡± ¡°How do you know what a robot is?¡± ¡°There was a dungeon break a few years ago, men made of metal came spewing forth, and our analyzers told us they were called robots. We captured one of them and it was very disconcerting to hear them speak in such a¡­ strange manner.¡± ¡°Are you done putting off the conversation with your uncle?¡± ¡°Our.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Our uncle. We share a body now. What¡¯s mine is yours.¡± ¡°Ah, so you are still putting it off.¡± ¡°Godsdamn it, fine. I¡¯m going.¡± Chapter 4: Equal Standing Vorn looked at the twins on the ground and debated if he was really that mad at Rowan. They were clearly not very injured, just winded. ¡°Serves you right. I¡¯m almost glad that this happened. Really, you should be thanking me, Rowan wanted to do much worse.¡± Vorn said, vindictively. He couldn¡¯t un-beat their ass, after all. Might as well gloat. ¡°What are you talking about! Did you really snap! Stop talking about yourself like your multiple people!¡± The twins shouted. At that, Vorn raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did you really not even bother identifying me?¡± He asked, incredulous. Who picked a fight without identifying their target if they had the option? ¡°Why should we have! You''re nobody! You couldn¡¯t have possibly gotten that good of a Path!¡± "If they did not identify us, which I assume is a skill of some sort, how could they tell our level?" ¡°Oh, that¡¯s simple,¡± Vorn said, the twins looked at him like he was crazy, ¡°If you focus on someone you can see their level above their head. Identify is a deeper dive that lets you know their Class and stuff. The better your [Identify] skill, the more detail you get. Twin one, go ahead and identify me, tell me what you see.¡± ¡°You think you can order me-¡± Vorn raised a fist in his direction, ¡°Fine, whatever. It says ¡®Voran, Level 1, Twin Soul: Warrior¡¯ Huh? Wait, you aren¡¯t human!?¡± Vorn said, ¡°Just remember to pick your battles carefully in the future, alright? Not everyone will be as kind as us.¡± "In case you didn''t catch that. It goes Name, Level, Race, Path. That clarify it enough for you, Rowan?" ¡°I understand. Thank you.¡± On the way to Voran¡¯s uncle¡¯s office, Rowan asked, ¡°Are you sure it was a good idea to show them our¡­ non-standard status?¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t have hidden it even if we wanted to. We are a level one being, and most people are at least level fifteen, their identify skills would have penetrated whatever measly defense we could have managed with no magical stats.¡± ¡°Fair enough, I suppose.¡± A comfortable silence enveloped them, and Vorn didn¡¯t bother breaking it until they reached Burken¡¯s office. ¡°Boy, I thought you wouldn¡¯t be coming back today.¡± Burken said shortly. ¡°We need to resign.¡± Vorn spoke, equally short. ¡°What!? Why?¡± ¡°Rowan beat up the twins, and I¡¯m not destroying your business because you refuse to fire me.¡± Burken looked at him incredulously. ¡°How did you beat the twins?¡± He said, flabbergasted. ¡°Again, it wasn¡¯t me. It was Rowan. And as to how? Honestly, I¡¯m pretty sure he could have won without a Path, but he did pick one. Yes, before you say anything, I told him not to. He was lucky it was a pretty clear cut choice.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry to hear that boy. I know that you never wanted to give up on your dreams, and having them forcefully taken from you must be even harder, but this is probably for the best.¡± Burken said, patting his shoulder. His tone wasn¡¯t nearly as melancholic as he thought it was. ¡°Oh- For the last time! I¡¯m not giving up! Me and Rowan get separate Classes!¡± ¡°Tch, damn.¡± ¡°AND YOU¡¯RE DISAPPOINTED BY THAT!?¡± Vorn shouted, increasingly incredulous. ¡°I had just hoped¡­ well. I guess if you''re getting two Classes, you can afford to waste one.¡± Burken muttered to himself. ¡°That¡¯s as close as I¡¯m going to get to support, isn¡¯t it? An, ¡®Oh well, at least he has a fallback when he inevitably fails.¡¯? Really? You know what? I don¡¯t need this. Goodbye Burken. Thanks for the job.¡± Vorn said, the heat in his chest nearly suffocating. ¡°Boy, you don¡¯t mean that. I¡¯m still your uncle!¡± Vorn was already out the door. Burken sighed and fell back into his chair. ¡®At least the boy has someone to look after him now.¡¯ Burken thought sadly. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Vorn stormed out of the mine and into the streets, the people going about their daily business giving him a wide berth. He needed to get home, then he could relax. ¡°Are you sure that this was how you wanted to say goodbye? I understand- Actually, I don¡¯t understand how it must feel to have your dreams stomped on, but are you sure that this is what you want? Renouncing someone from your family is a very serious thing¡± ¡°I¡¯m not renouncing him! I¡¯m just angry, he understands. Our temper runs in the family, and he has it just as badly as I do. Mom used to tell me stories about the trouble they would get into because of it.¡± Rowan noticed how his tone brightened considerably the moment he brought up his mother, so he continued to ask about her on their way home. ¡°Tell me about them.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The stories, I mean¡±. ¡°Ah, well there was this one time that a baker marked up prices for them by five percent, so Mom and Uncle would go to his store after dark and take five percent of the next day''s goods. The baker thought he had mice because all his bread had little pieces pinched out of them! Breaking into the bakery was one of their mildest stories, there was this one time-¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. By the time they had reached their home, Vorn was considerably less stressed. Plus, Rowan was significantly more well-versed in Hyal¡¯hiem criminology. Walking into his new home, Rowan was instantly put off by just how¡­ selectively organized it was. ¡°It looks like a hurricane came through your room and left only your bed and desk untouched.¡± Rowan said. For the first time since arriving here, Rowan was truly dumbstruck. ¡°Oh come on, it¡¯s not that bad.¡± Vorn said aloud. ¡°It is truly one of the most horrific sights I have ever laid eyes upon. I¡¯m- How? How did you do this? Wait a goddamn fucking moment, is that sock on the CEILING?!¡± ¡°I guess you do care about more than just fighting.¡± ¡°I. I just. In all my years I¡¯ve-¡± ¡°Did this really break you? Really? You died, got reincarnated, and then became a unique being, and this is what does you in? My room?¡± Vorn chuckled at the incomprehensible stream of words coming from his¡­ roommate? Mindmate? Soulmate? Nope, nope, nope, not that last one. ¡°I say this with as much kindness as I can spare, please never allow yourself to buy another home. This one has already been cursed, no other real estate needs to feel your wrath.¡± ¡°HAH! Good one. I thought you didn¡¯t understand jokes!¡± ¡°Did that sound like a joke to you? I¡¯m pretty sure this counts as a landslide hazard!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. I get it. I¡¯ll clean up tomorrow, for now, I¡¯m taking a nap.¡± As their head hit one of the only clean surfaces in the house, Vorn¡¯s pillow, he could have sworn he heard Rowan grumbling about something. It was probably nothing ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Vorn awoke suddenly. He was sore, sweaty, and¡­ in a different home? No, wait! He recognized that scratch on the wall, this was his home! ¡°Good morning. I have taken the liberty of borrowing our body to do something about this disaster you called a room.¡± ¡°YOU CAN DO THAT!?¡± Vorn shouted. ¡°It was a surprise for me as well, though a welcome one. I would apologize for taking control without asking, but I would have killed you if I had to stay in that pigsty for even a single hour more. Seeing as that would have killed me as well, I took it as a threat to our collective safety¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get to just do that!¡± ¡°I can and did. We are a partnership by choice, not necessity. I follow along with your demands because it is the most efficient method, and it is only fair. I am no body snatcher, and I don¡¯t want to ruin your life.¡± ¡°¡®No body snatcher¡¯ my ass! You literally snatched my body!¡± ¡°No, this is snatching your body¡± Suddenly, Vorn was booted from the front and sent to their soul space. It was disorienting, to say the least. ¡°Is this a mutiny or something! How can you do this?!¡± ¡°No, I am not ousting your control. This is just an example of what I can do.¡± ¡°So you''re threatening me with this then?¡± ¡°No, this is a partnership. You agreed to be my ¡®handler¡¯, but I think you misunderstood what I meant. I do not need you to be the voice of reason, I need you to be a force of reason. So this will be your training. Knock me back from the driver''s seat. You do not need to retain control, just contest it.¡± ¡°This is fucking ridiculous!¡± ¡°I asked you if you wanted this role before you accepted. I could have picked Tempered Blade, and we would not have this issue. I did not quite understand the effect that my Class would have on me. I think I understand why they have Path in their name. Doing something that would go against my Class¡¯s Path is genuinely difficult now. Plus, it wasn¡¯t as if I was having an easy time controlling my emotions beforehand, either.¡± ¡°I- Fuck. I forgot to explain that. You shouldn¡¯t have picked a Path anyway, but I suppose that¡¯s in the past. Alright fine, how did you break out of your restraints?¡± ¡°For me, it was very simple. I just lashed out in anger and they broke. I do not know if that is the only method.¡± Well, if there was one thing that Vorn was feeling, it was anger. He looked around their soul space, it was a dark void with only one solid surface. A circular platform hovered over infinite darkness, and that was where he stood. The platform itself was made of a cool, strangely smooth, gray stone. If he tried to turn, chains would appear and force him to look forward. Directly in front of him was the only break in the void, a seemingly glass window that showed what his physical eyes were seeing. Following Rowan¡¯s advice, he struggled and strained against the chains. He thought of every argument, every bully from his childhood, and the bastard guildmaster who got his family killed. Everything in him burned and flailed as he pushed his limits. And failed. It wasn¡¯t working! Vorn began to panic. He was trapped here. This infinite void would be his prison! Then, he remembered. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª [Fifteen Years Ago] ¡°Vorn, do you know what separates us from beasts and monsters?¡± His mother had asked on a cozy winter morning. He remembered it vividly. It was the first snow of the season, and his tutor wasn¡¯t able to make it to their house. That meant his mother got to stay home and take care of him. ¡°Uh, the God who made us?¡± He guessed. ¡°Nope, we were created by Lunaris. The very same God that created monsters.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know then!¡± He said cheerily. Whenever he didn¡¯t know something, it meant Mom got to teach him about it! ¡°Reason is the difference. Our ability to look at a situation, and instead of using brute force or giving up, thinking of a solution.¡± ¡°Is that why you say daddy is a brute? Because he doesn¡¯t know how to reason?¡± His mother choked a little on laughter when he said that. ¡°Yes, actually. I swear, that man would rather punch a puzzle than solve it. Just because we have been gifted with reason doesn¡¯t mean we all choose to use it!¡± She laughed. ¡°Just remember this, okay? You are not like your father, I can already tell. You are like me. Slight, small, and clever. We can¡¯t coast on brute strength like some others. We¡¯ve got to use this muscle up here,¡± She tapped his forehead, ¡°Understand?¡± He nodded. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª That memory cleared Vorn¡¯s mind. He was freaking out over nothing. The System was not fair, and yet, it was not unjust either. It gave nobles advantages at birth that a commoner would never have, but in spite, or perhaps because of that injustice, the desperate and low class had the potential to become truly monstrous in a way that those born privileged couldn¡¯t. The system allowed, nay, encouraged everyone to reach for the zenith of their Path. The only one stopping Vorn was himself. He carefully analyzed his bindings and quickly realized that they were made of mental energy, not mana. All of this was taking place in his soul space, and though he didn¡¯t know much about the soul, he knew that it couldn¡¯t be negatively impacted by magic. The System protected the souls of its users above all else, after the Night of the Broken Moon, it had to. If the bindings weren¡¯t magic, then that meant the chains were a construct of the spirit or the mind. Vorn knew next to nothing about the spirit, but he did know a little about mental constructs, and this had all the makings of one. The most obvious being the fact that he didn¡¯t know what the chains were made of. They weren¡¯t made of energy, or mana, that much was obvious. They were made of some sort of metal that Vorn had never seen before. He wasn¡¯t an expert on materials or anything, but he felt he would have heard of a bright blue metal. That meant that either, one, the material of soul bindings was a blue metal for some reason? Or two, it was a mental construct made by Rowan. If it was the latter, it was almost certainly an accident. He didn¡¯t even know what mana or the System was, how would he know how to contain a foreign being in his soul? There was a very simple way of testing his theories. Asking. ¡°Hey Rowan, are you familiar with a bright blue metal with a dull luster?¡± ¡°Hm? Oh I had kind of zoned out there for a moment. Yes, I am familiar with a material that matches that description. It was an alloy that was discovered not too long before I died. Apparently it was meant to be the hardest known metal alloy ever discovered. Unfortunately, it was very brittle, so it never saw any military use in my time. I heard talk of a prototype artillery shell using it, but it was too expensive to be practical.¡± Rowan chuckled slightly at the idea of a material too expensive for even the Continental Americas Army. Vorn could work with that. Rowan¡¯s subconscious must have latched onto the ¡®Hardest Metal'' thing and made his bindings out of it. Now, he just had to hope that it kept its original properties. Vorn twisted on the platform, and the bindings appeared once more. Carefully, he moved so that the smallest link was situated directly on the hard stone surface of the platform. Then, he raised his fist and slammed it into the chain. Nothing happened. ¡®Yeah, I should have figured that would be the case.¡¯ Vorn thought to himself. Wait, Rowan had been restrained by chains not long ago. That meant that Vorn could also make mental constructs. Carefully, he imagined a chisel made out of the most durable material he knew of, adamantium. Then he imagined a hammer as heavy as he could manage to use with one hand. He was twisted in a knot as the chains kept trying to align him back to face forward, but he managed to line up the chisel. Then, with as much force as he could muster, he slammed the hammer down on the chain link. It shattered easily, turning into small fragments. One arm free, one more to go. Now that half his body was free, it was much easier to line up everything. Within a few more moments, he was free. Instantly, he could feel the difference. He knew that all he had to do was step off the platform, and he would be in control. So he did. ¡°Ah, I see you managed it! Great job. I must admit, I was starting to get worried after half an hour had passed.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, not everyone has the strength of a Behemoth.¡± ¡°How did you break out then?¡± ¡°I used my goddamn brain,¡± Vorn said simply as if it brooked no further question. Apparently, Rowan agreed, as he made no mention of it. ¡°So, I guess that means you''re officially qualified to be my handler now. I can finally start being myself again... Truthfully, I never thought such a day would come. It may take a while to get out of my meditative habits, though.¡± Now, Vorn had a choice to make. He understood how mental bindings worked, and if he was able to use them subconsciously, then there was a good chance he could make them better by actively using them. Did he want to, though? Sure, Rowan had some rough edges ¨C very rough edges ¨C, but Vorn felt he had a pretty good understanding of the man at this point. They were literally joined at the soul, it was hard not to. He was blunt, assertive, and analytical, while at the same time being passionate, irrational, and quick to anger. There was also a sense of¡­ Honor? Of not wanting, or perhaps not being able to, use underhanded tactics. He was straightforward, more than anything. He had seen some glimpses of Rowan¡¯s past through his Classes, and he had not lived an easy life. So far, Vorn had put together that he was an orphan who had lived on the streets. Not content with already being disadvantaged, he decided to take care of his fellow street rats. Then, after all of that, he joined the military and became one of the greatest soldiers to ever live. Based on a few descriptions, it would seem that he was quite well-known as well, but he didn¡¯t let it get to his head. Now that they were in equal standing in Vorn¡¯s ¨C No, Voran¡¯s ¨C body¡­ they could really make this whole ¡®better whole¡¯ thing work. He was willing to bet on Rowan. But¡­ that didn¡¯t mean he had to tell him how mental constructs worked either. He could keep it in his back pocket and hope he never had to use it. Just in case. A healthy bit of paranoia never hurt anybody. ¡°So¡­ what are we going to do for work?¡± ¡°About that, I have an idea. How would you like to really let loose?¡± "You have my attention." Rowan¡¯s metaphorical blood was already pumping. Interlude 1: Martin Goldstone was an extremely busy man. He had his hand in just about every merchant organization in the Lunarian Empire, and that wasn¡¯t for nothing. He was the first commoner to ever rise this high without becoming nobility, and it was all due to his talent and charisma. Something his sons seemed to sorely lack. They were arrogant, stupid, and irresponsible. Martin despised thinking those things about his own blood, but it was sadly true. He didn¡¯t know where he went wrong. Sure, he didn¡¯t have the most time for them growing up, but that was because he was making the greatest trading company the empire had ever seen. One that he was planning to give to them. Keyword, ¡®was¡¯. They absolutely couldn¡¯t be trusted with this much power. They didn¡¯t have the respect for the effort, time, and sacrifice it took for him to reach such heights. It had taken him everything. He had hoped that the suffering and clawing to become greater wouldn¡¯t be necessary for his boys, but that simply wasn¡¯t in the cards. They needed to taste how cruel the world could be at the bottom. Or so he thought. As it turns out, they were the ones that were making the bottom so cruel. He had hoped that being at the bottom would teach them a lesson, but despite him telling them not to, they had told everyone of their lineage. No one would touch them. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. What a shitshow. As if just thinking about them had summoned them, the twins themselves had rushed into his office at that moment. ¡°Father, we need you to punish someone!¡± The first demanded. ¡°Did you forget your punishment? You weren¡¯t supposed to come back here!¡± He roared at them. They paled before saying, ¡°W-We wouldn¡¯t have come if it weren¡¯t serious!¡± Gods he hated that they talked in sync like that. He just hoped that hadn¡¯t actually spent one of their limited skill slots on it. ¡°Well, get on with it! I hope you haven¡¯t come to waste my time.¡± ¡°We were attacked!¡± His first son, by a few seconds, shouted. ¡°Viciously and randomly!¡± Said the second. At that, all he could do was sigh. His charisma was in the mid five hundreds. He could spot a lie from a mile away. They would know that if they ever bothered paying attention. ¡°You''re lying. Tell me what really happened.¡± He spoke, already tired of having to deal with their bullshit. ¡°O-Okay. We were poking fun-¡± His second son interrupted, ¡°Harmless Fun really!¡± His first son continued, ¡°-at the overseer¡¯s nephew, and he just went berserk on us!¡± Another lie. They couldn¡¯t even be honest when they knew he could see through their mediocre deceptions. ¡°What. Really. Happened.¡± He ground out. ¡°Well, it was a bit more biting than we let on, but you didn¡¯t let us finish! He somehow became a Unique Being! And he had a really strong class!¡± This was surprising. They were, for the most part, telling the truth. ¡°You are going to go word by word, and tell me what really happened, or so help me I will make you wish you were never born! Just how did you make an enemy of a Unique Being!¡± Chapter 5: The DRS | Dungeon Revenue Service The city of Bern was not overly large, but what it lacked in size it made up with sheer density. The city was mostly made up of lithe and agile Lunarians. The human race was created by the Mad God Lunaris before he Succumbed to his insanity. They were pale and had almost exclusively gray to silver eyes. The most common hair color was by far silver, but platinum blond and, more rarely, black also appeared. Rowan thought they looked like someone had taken a Scandinavian, reduced their height to around 5 ''10, and then told an artist to make them look like they were from the moon. With their God having a Lunar nature, he supposed it was thematic at least. There were apparently an uncountable number of races on the face of Hyal¡¯bern, ¨C the name of this strange planet ¨C but there were only three in the Cradle, which was the name given to the habitable land that everyone in this area lived on. A large mountain range encircled the area, keeping the mana density low, and making leveling harder. It was safer for it, however, so most were fine with the downsides. Bern was a bit of an outlier, having a pretty decent mix of all three races. Most other cities in the Cradle were pretty racially distinct. The Elves were isolationists that preferred to keep out of the conflicts of others, and the Lunarians and Axelites had been in conflict for most of the two race¡¯s history. A short stint of peace had led to increased immigration between their nations, but it didn¡¯t last. The war had just sparked again a few years ago, seemingly over a trivial matter, but most seemed to accept that it was really just both nation¡¯s emperors having a dick-measuring contest. Apparently, the Lunarian nation, Hyal¡¯heim, was known for its excellent and advanced magical technology, or magitech for short. The Academy and various other wizardly establishments were not just for show it would seem, as they were unmatched in magical pursuits in the whole of the Cradle. They were simultaneously the weakest and strongest force in the Cradle, with each individual in their standing military being on average worse, but their elites being just that, elite. Unmatched. Coming from Rowan, the man who took down a fortress by himself, this may sound strange, but he thought it was irresponsible to put that much pressure on just your best forces. Apparently, he was wrong, though, because Hyal¡¯heim was known to be on equal ground with their nemesis, the Axelite nation, Hysperion, and they had an excellent standing military. Speaking of, If the Lunarians were Scandinavians from the moon, then the Axelites were Koreans with cloud DNA. Their skin had a slightly blue tint, and upon hearing that, Rowan thought it would make them look like they were suffocating, but they actually looked more vibrant for it. Their hair and eyes were usually a shade of blue or white, but they could be red as well. Their God, Axel, was the God of the Sky and Freedom, and they clearly took his domains and ran with them. They were natural explorers and found peace in expression and art, though they were apparently masters in warfare and their talent with crafting was second to none in the Cradle. That talent with crafting led to their infantry being the best equipped on the continent, making them truly a force to reckoned with. Bern was made all the more vibrant for its diversity, and as it was pretty far into Hyal¡¯heim, most ignored the war entirely. It was a hodgepodge of cultures and architecture, with the only consistency being how close everything was packed together. There were the arches and domes of the elves, colored green and red in honor of their Goddess, Elenia, right next to the brutalist buildings of the Lunarians. The Axelites were a recent addition, so they didn¡¯t have many buildings of their own, but etchings and artistry, along with their iconic blue and sunset shades of coloring, could be found in and on many structures that they made their own. It was like walking through a colorful whirlwind, and Rowan was enjoying it quite a bit. No one bothered with slowly walking through the streets, either running or power walking, and while at first, he thought this would lead to more accidents, the increased stats of the average citizen made that a non-issue. Even the ones without physical stats didn¡¯t really bother with taking it slow, as they knew everyone around them could maneuver around them easily. Some accidents still happened, but no one seemed to care. They would just help each other up, and carry on with their day. The advanced magical technology was on clear display as he looked around. Floating street lamps that looked as if they held small stars floated ten feet above street level, lighting up the city as if it was daylight even in the darkness of midnight. Not only that, but street vendors and markets were visible selling enchantments for anything. From hot water to fireballs to air conditioning, they were clearly comfortable flaunting their magical prowess. It was wonderful taking it all in. The presence of the System had changed so much. Just one such symptom was that businesses did not really close anymore, as that would be a terrible disadvantage to all the high-level people who simply didn¡¯t need to sleep more than two hours a night. No merchant would let a customer base that large just go, so there was a large subsection of people employed for the various night shifts of different companies. Generally, prices were also higher at night, as the people awake were much richer on average. It was marketed as a convenience fee, but really, it was a ¡®high level¡¯ tax. Overall, looking at the city through his own eyes ¨C as opposed to the soul window in the void area he inhabited when he was not driving ¨C was very different. He was glad Vorn agreed to let him do this. It was true that they were a partnership now, but Vorn absolutely did not have to. Rowan was glad that his¡­ Roommate? Mindmate? Soulmate? No, he probably wouldn¡¯t like that last one. Anyway, he was glad that his¡­ friend? Was open to being partners. Rowan really needed something to call him besides ¡®Vorn¡¯ all the time. Soulmate felt like it was the most thematic, but the romantic connotations would be hard to avoid. As Rowan had never been in a romantic relationship in his life he wasn¡¯t one hundred percent sure, but he was nearly certain that he didn¡¯t have the capacity to feel romantic or sexual attraction. It had always been a non-factor for him. Hmm¡­ Rowan really hoped that Vorn was similar, or they were going to need to have a few awkward talks. Might as well ask. ¡°Hey, Vorn?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Have you ever been, or wanted to be in, a relationship?¡± ¡°Woah, where is this coming from? Things got very personal all of a sudden!¡± ¡°I was thinking, it would be awkward for me if you were in a relationship. We would need some ground rules.¡± ¡°Yeah, well what about you? Are you saying you¡¯ll never try to get in a relationship?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t have those emotions.¡± ¡°Thank. The. Gods! What are the chances that we would both be children of Idalin! I was worried that things might get awkward too! I just wasn¡¯t blunt enough to bring it up out of nowhere.¡± ¡°Children of Idalin?¡± ¡°Ah, that''s the Goddess of platonic love and companionship, and a few less wholesome things we won¡¯t talk about. We call people who can''t feel romantic attraction her children.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°This is indeed very fortunate. That means I can use the term ¡®soulmate¡¯ without any strange connotations. I refrained from using it as I thought it would make you uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Oh, me too! I had the same thoughts! Man, we really¡­ are¡­ soulmates. Wait for a godsdamned moment! Didn¡¯t the System say something about our souls partially merging? Is that why we are suddenly agreeing on things?¡± ¡°I doubt it. From what I could gather from the error messages, our souls had already begun merging the moment I entered your spirit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably why we¡¯re a unique being! Souls merge when they are put in the same¡­ soul space? We really need a solid name for that place.¡± ¡°How about just calling it our spirit when we are referring to our collective space, and calling our individual souls just that, souls.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll work for now, but I¡¯ll think of something better later. Anyway, when two souls are put in the same spirit, they must fully merge! Since we¡¯re from different universes, that must mean ours were fundamentally incompatible in some way! The implications of that for our understanding of the soul are¡­ incredible. Does that mean souls from different universes independently evolved? Or is it because you were from a dead zone? Do souls become incompatible due to external stimuli, such as a lack of mana, or is there something else we¡¯re missing? I need to-¡± ¡°We¡¯re here. On an unrelated note, I can see why you want to go to that wizard school now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called the Academy of Magical Arts & Other Immaterial Phenomena.¡± ¡°I can see why people leave the second part out.¡± Rowan said as he entered the Guild Hall. The building was larger than most others surrounding it, easily three stories tall. The inside of the building itself wasn¡¯t overly large, the entrance led into a room about the size of a typical bar. That was probably because it was a bar, though. Funny how that worked. It wasn¡¯t exactly packed down here, but it wasn¡¯t dead either. There were fourteen people in an area that could comfortably hold forty. He could see all the most iconic aspects that he had heard about from his Soulmate, too. Hmm, that still felt weird. ¡®Nothing for it, it will become less strange the more it is used.¡¯ Rowan thought. In the corner, there was the bounty board. It was full of both humans and beasts that were terrorizing people. That was one of the aspects that he didn¡¯t like about this world. It had proved him wrong. When he was younger, Rowan had often fantasized about humanity having an enemy other than itself. Of course, he didn¡¯t imagine a world without conflict at all, that would be boring, but he thought that if there were enemies other than humans, they would all band together and fight as a whole. It was a strange dream for a child to have, but Rowan wasn¡¯t a typical child. A service worker quickly saw him standing there analyzing his surroundings and must have thought he was lost, as she led him up the stairs to the guild proper. As he exited the stairs and entered the main hall, he was met with a cacophony of noise and chatter. It would seem that they had some magic that kept the noise from leaking from the hall. Useful. ¡°I wonder if you can put that on armor¡­¡± ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Oh, I was just thinking about the magic that made this room silent.¡± ¡°Oh you mean a silence enchantment? Yeah, you totally could. Putting it on an item that small would be difficult, however. It takes a journeyman enchanter to enchant clothing, and an expert to enchant armor.¡± ¡°I thought you measured competency in levels?¡± ¡°We do, a journeyman is level 50, and an expert is level 75.¡± ¡°Why the distinction?¡± ¡°Why not? I don¡¯t know. I never looked into the etymology¡± ¡°Hello, sir. Are you looking to sign up to the Delver¡¯s Guild?¡± ¡°Ah, yes I am.¡± He said in his usual monotone. She clearly analyzed him, as her expression filled with doubt. ¡°Um, you''re supposed to be level five before you join, but I¡¯ve never heard of a Twin Soul before. I¡¯m going to call the Guildmaster. Take a seat, it might be a bit before he calls you.¡± She finished politely. Rowan could vaguely make out a growling in the back of his mind. ¡°That piece of shit!¡± ¡°Is there a reason you have it out for that random receptionist?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about the receptionist! The fucking Guildmaster is the one who I despise. That motherfucker got my parents killed.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Rowan grunted in understanding. ¡°Ah, indeed. I need to ask you a favor.¡± ¡°Anything within reason.¡± ¡°If you get strong enough ¨C No. When you get strong enough ¨C I need you to challenge him to a duel.¡± ¡°That seems reasonable enough. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to do it?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve always been a practical kinda guy, you''re the better combatant. Besides, I¡¯ll be right next to you.¡± ¡°Voran, the Guildmaster will see you now!¡± The receptionist called into the Hall. Everyone in the room turned to look at him for a moment, but he was used to that kind of attention. It slid off of him like plasma munitions off a destroyer¡¯s shield. Or at least, he thought that was how the saying went. It had been a while since he heard the civvie version. He followed her to the third floor, which seemed to be where most of the administration took place, and followed her to the Guildmaster¡¯s office. ¡°Ah, the Unique¡­ be¡­ing. Vorn?¡± ¡°That is one of my names, yes.¡± ¡°What happened to you? How did this- What happened to your eyes?¡± Rowan quickly looked into a window and caught his reflection. Hmm¡­ relatively standard features for a Lunarian. Angular face, lithe build, and silver hair down to his shoulder blades. He had a shorter stature than normal at about¡­ 5 ¡®5? And, yep, orange eyes. Neon orange at that, it stuck out on his face quite a lot. They did not match the rest of his appearance in the least. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware of that cosmetic change, thank you for informing me, but as to your other question, I am not entirely sure how. All I know is that we are two and that Vorn doesn¡¯t want to talk to you.¡± Rowan left out some key details that didn''t feel necessary. ¡°And who are you then?¡± ¡°My name is Rowan. I would like to sign up to the Delver¡¯s Guild.¡± ¡°So I heard. Is Vorn fine with that, I need to hear him say it. I can¡¯t let you sign this without his consent.¡± ¡°He is fine with it.¡± Rowan said simply. ¡°I¡¯m gonna need more than that, son.¡± ¡°He informed me that he didn¡¯t wish to speak to you-¡± His speech stopped suddenly and he slumped slightly. When he raised his head once more, his eyes were back to their standard silver, ¡°I consent! Is that good enough for you?¡± He practically spat. Sighing, the Guildmaster responded, ¡°Yes, son. That¡¯s fine.¡± Voran slumped once more, before returning with orange eyes. ¡°That really is so strange. Well, I need to know your Class details before I can give you the go ahead, but as long as you have the stats of a level five or higher, I can¡¯t deny you.¡± ¡°How many Attribute Points does the average level five have?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°Thirty.¡± The Guildmaster said. He looked at Rowan expectantly. ¡°Ah, then we should be fine. I have sixty.¡± If the Guildmaster had been drinking, he would have done a spit take. ¡°WHAT!¡± He shouted, absolutely dumbfounded. ¡°Is that rare?¡± ¡°Is that rare? Is that rare!? Yes, that''s rare! Okay, I¡¯m going to need you to, well, not trust me ¨C that would be asking too much ¨C but at least take my advice seriously. Never tell another soul what you just told me. If the emperors heard about such a thing¡­¡± He trailed off. ¡°I¡¯m going to let you into the guild, I have to, and I¡¯m going to put your Class down as an Epic rarity Warrior Path. Okay? I really need you to be on board with this.¡± The Guildmaster pleaded. ¡°I need to talk with Vorn for a second.¡± ¡°Should I believe him?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s a dirty, incompetent, bastard, but he would never do something to put me in direct danger.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± Rowan nodded. ¡°Very well then. I will expedite the process myself. Expect your initiate card within the next half hour, I¡¯ll send someone to deliver it to you downstairs. Here, you¡¯ll need this, too.¡± He tossed them a necklace. ¡°That¡¯ll disguise your status from those with higher leveled analysis skills. They¡¯ll still know you¡¯re a unique being, but they won¡¯t be able to see your stats.¡± Rowan caught it effortlessly, and the Guildmaster continued, ¡°There is just one thing you can¡¯t skip. You need to head to a Trial Dungeon before you can be fully registered. After that, you¡¯ll have full access to all the services of the Delver¡¯s Guild. And Vorn¡­ I¡¯m sorry, truly. I- I know that an apology will never be enough, but I really am so sorry.¡± Before Rowan could even think about responding to that, Vorn took control and walked away. That rat bastard! He thinks I¡¯ll forgive him that easily? An apology can never even come close to a modicum of a fraction of what would be necessary for me to forgive him! ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡± ¡°No.¡± Vorn said tersely. Chapter 6: A neck-breaking record Just an hour later, they were walking outside of the Guild with a brand new Dungeon Identity Card. It was a simple thing, just a few minor enchantments to keep the information up to date. It was basically just a portable status that you could show others. Not everyone had [Identify] after all. Case in point, Voran themself didn¡¯t have it. [Identify] was extremely common in merchant Classes, but most people guarding dungeons were warriors. They generally had a [Danger Sense] skill, and those worked in shades of ¡®not dangerous¡¯ ¡®dangerous¡¯, and ¡®very dangerous¡¯, unless they were a higher rarity. Considering these were guards for fiercely protected resources, everyone entering a dungeon would be considered ¡®not dangerous¡¯ to their skills, and the card gave the confirmation that you were at the appropriate level for the dungeon. Well, that and it showed that you were actually a part of the guild. They wouldn¡¯t want to give free resources to someone unaffiliated with the Delvers. Voran was actually heading to a Dungeon at that moment. Vorn wasn¡¯t talking much, but Rowan managed to stay excited despite his soulmate¡¯s bad mood. They were headed to the Trial Dungeon. It was a safer - not safe mind you - dungeon that was manned by high-level warriors that were there to save you if you fucked up. You were required to go through it before you went to actual dungeons that could murder you in half a second. The Guild had to make sure you wouldn¡¯t freeze up at the first sign of danger before they would fully unlock your Dungeon I.D. It made sense to Rowan. A fully unlocked I.D. gave you access to most dungeons in the Lunarian Empire ¨C Rowan had discovered only a few hours ago that Empire¡¯s actual name was Hyal¡¯heim, in honor of the Goddess of fertility ¨C and gave you the ability to join someone¡¯s party. You wouldn¡¯t want some greenhorn joining your party only for them to freeze up and get you killed. Thus, Trial Dungeon. It wasn¡¯t very far away, only a short stop outside the city walls. Rowan was surprised when the air felt heavier the moment he left the walls. It was as if gravity had started pulling much harder. ¡°Vorn, what is happening?¡± Rowan asked while continuing to walk to the dungeon. ¡°Huh? Oh, did you notice the mana pressure increase? I didn¡¯t realize you would be mana-sensitive, or I would have warned you. Most that are sensitive get magical Classes¡­ Oh wait, you did get one that offered space magic, didn¡¯t you? My bad, I should have realized.¡± Vorn apologized. He continued, ¡°Most of the mana in the city is consumed by people going about their business, so there isn¡¯t much pressure there. The moment you leave the city, however, the mana in the air gets denser and more abundant. I really should have remembered to tell you that. Sorry.¡± ¡°It is- It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°What was that? You cut yourself off.¡± ¡°I am- I¡¯m trying to talk more naturally again. I have stopped using the meditation technique, but I had not- hadn¡¯t realized how much it changed my speech patterns unconsciously. Disregarding the fact that talking like this naturally defeats the point, I have found this extremely difficult to counteract.¡± ¡°Oh. You don¡¯t have to force yourself, you know. I don¡¯t mind how you talk. It doesn¡¯t even really sound that robotic anymore. You actually have an inflection in your tone when you¡­ think? What are we doing right now? I¡¯ve never actually thought about it. It just came so naturally.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s some sort of telepathic communication. The system did say it changed our biology and spirit to be more compatible, maybe that has something to do with it?¡± ¡°No, we were doing this right after you got here. It just got louder when the System changed our spirit.¡± ¡°Then I don¡¯t know. You can¡¯t hear all my thoughts, can you?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s what had me wondering. If it were just our thoughts, we would constantly be hearing each other''s stream of consciousness.¡± ¡°A mystery then. Why don¡¯t you think about it while I take care of the dungeon? You could probably figure it out pretty quickly.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°Halfway through their trek through the dark roads outside the city, Vorn finally asked, "So¡­ Do you have a plan?¡± ¡°A plan for what?¡± ¡°A plan to kill the monsters in the dungeon. I think I heard something about the one we¡¯re heading to being inhabited with goblins, but we don¡¯t even have a weapon¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need one.¡± ¡°Is this you being reckless again? Do I need to turn this body around?¡± ¡°No need to go that far, I just mean that I¡¯ve had training in unarmed combat, and I don¡¯t want to waste your funds. You''re planning on heading to that academy right? It must be expensive.¡± ¡°It sure as fuck is, and I appreciate the thought, but if we¡¯re heading somewhere dangerous, I can take a hit to my savings.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no problem. I¡¯m almost as strong as I was in my previous life, so a few low level creatures with common Path¡¯s shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± ¡°And how would you know that?¡± ¡°This is where the guild sends their recruits, unless they''re trying to murder a significant number of them, it can¡¯t be that dangerous. They send level five¡¯s with common Path¡¯s here, and we have twice the number of raw Attributes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to think that way, level and rarity aren¡¯t everything¡­ But, in this case, you¡¯re probably right. This is a very low level dungeon. Okay, we can continue.¡± Vorn was more concerned than he let on, but Rowan was a veritable legend and a combat specialist¡­ So he knew what he was doing¡­ Probably. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª There it was. A dungeon. It was¡­ unimpressive. A little floating crack in mid-air. The crack had a wall around it, but it was clearly manmade. There were quite a few guards manning it. Curious. Rowan walked up to one of the guards and asked about it. ¡°Why is the dungeon so closely guarded?¡± He asked simply. ¡°It¡¯s not the dungeon we¡¯re guarding, kid. It¡¯s you. This is a Delver¡¯s Guild¡¯s training ground, it would be insanely easy for some psycho to come to pick off Initiates on their first dungeon run. Most people running it aren¡¯t exactly dangerous. This dungeon is so low level that it wouldn¡¯t even be worth it to raid for most brigands, but the noble scions on their first run¡­¡± ¡°That answers my question, thank you.¡± He said before walking up to the crack. There was one more guard he had to go through. ¡°Card.¡± Rowan complied. The information was simple. Name, Level, Race/Species, then Class. Below that, there was the number of dungeons run, and estimated danger rating. Level did not determine how dangerous you were after all, your perks, skills, and stats did. You were, however, not required to tell the Guild that information. Just your Class and Level. So they had to estimate based on how quickly you ran dungeons and third-party information. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Oh, and also, the estimated danger rating wasn¡¯t a feature that was widely known about. Rowan only knew about it because Vorn had told him. Apparently, his mother was high up in the Guild and had told him about it. It was a hidden feature on the card that only those with sufficient clearance could activate. It was kept on the card in case you were arrested, so the guard knew how to deal with you. The card also had a mirror copy that the Guild kept themselves, but that was also not a widely known thing. ¡°You''re clear, go on in.¡± Rowan gave the guard a nod and headed in. All it took was him touching the floating crack, and he was suddenly standing somewhere else. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª He arrived in the middle of a gray brick room. It wasn¡¯t very large, only about fifteen by fifteen feet. To his left, there was a short table that had a couple of guards playing a game that looked like dominoes. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about us, kid. We¡¯re just here to make sure you don¡¯t get your ass kicked too badly. Pretend like we¡¯re not here, if that makes you feel better.¡± One of them said. Rowan just gave them a nod and continued forwards out of the room. There was a wooden arched doorway directly ahead of where he arrived. Rowan nearly jumped when he opened the double doors. They swung outwards to reveal¡­ nothing. Just a black wall so dark that he couldn¡¯t even describe it properly where he was supposed to walk through. This was an extreme achievement, as Rowan seen a substance one hundred and seventy times darker than Vantablack in his career. This door was somehow much darker. ¡°That¡¯s just the dungeon tryin¡¯ to spook ya, kid. Just walk through it, we¡¯ll be right behind ya.¡± the second guard said. Rowan didn¡¯t need the encouragement, but he appreciated it nonetheless. He slowly brought his hand towards the dark boundary, and the moment he made contact, he popped into another location. Rowan was beginning to see a theme. The new area was, instead of a gray brick room, a luscious forest. He quickly analyzed his surroundings but found nothing amiss. There wasn¡¯t even a door behind him. It was as if someone had just picked him up and dropped him into a rainforest. ¡°I think I saw rustling to the right,¡± Vorn warned. Rowan quickly looked to his right, and Vorn was right. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but there was a slight trembling in the leaves. ¡°And you said I was observant,¡± Rowan complimented. ¡°I try.¡± Rowan walked up to the area where they saw the rustling, and he saw a small pair of footprints. Something was watching them. ¡°Those look like goblin footprints. Looks like the rumors I heard were right. Based on how light they are, it¡¯s probably a rogue.¡± Rowan quirked an eyebrow at that. ¡°How do you know that off the top of your head?¡± ¡°I, uh, read a lot. I mean, I did read a lot. Haven¡¯t had much time for that recently. I read a bestiary a few years ago about the most common monsters in dungeons and their variants. I still have the book somewhere if you¡¯d like to take a look when we get home.¡± Rowan didn¡¯t question that, he had read a few books on animals himself. He had taken up hunting during his short stint as a civilian, so he knew how important it was to be prepared. He just accepted his good fortune and moved on. ¡°Tell me if you notice anything suspicious. You seem to have a better eye for dungeon creatures than me.¡± ¡°No problem. I''ll keep an eye out.¡± Rowan wasn¡¯t the stealthiest, but he knew how to be quiet in a forest. Luckily, there weren''t any dead leaves, the ground was mostly just mud and roots. He just had to be careful to avoid squelching his boots into the mud. He followed the footprints back to their source. Which was apparently a camp. Three goblins were sleeping, and another two were lazing around practically asleep on their ramshackle chairs, looking into the fire. The goblin rogue was nowhere to be seen. Rowan took stock of his situation. He had no weapon, and the goblins were armed. The smart move would be to try to silently pick one off and take their weapon¡­ But in his experience, overwhelming violence also worked a treat against unsuspecting enemies. He crouched into a running position and rushed into the clearing like a bolt of lightning, quickly arriving at the sleeping goblins. He stomped on the first sleeping goblin''s throat but didn¡¯t have time to do the same to the other two before being tackled to the ground. Rowan leaned into it and turned the tackle into a roll, and he ended up on top. He grabbed the goblin¡¯s long ears like handlebars and violently twisted its head to the left, snapping its neck. That was two down out of six. ¡°HOLY SHIT!¡± Vorn shouted, not expecting the sudden rush of violence. He heard a goblin rushing him from behind and grabbed the sword of the goblin he just killed, though it was more a dagger for someone his size. That is, not 3¡¯2. He quickly turned while keeping the ¡®dagger¡¯ in a guard position. The goblin was already most of the way to him, and the other two were not far behind. The closest goblin lunged at him with a knife, but Rowan had been in a few knife fights in his time. He cut the inside of its wrist as it tried to stab at him with a reverse grip. The goblin dropped its weapon and instinctively grabbed its wound. That was enough time for Rowan to put his dagger through the goblin¡¯s temple before quickly letting go of it and dodging backward. Now it was a two vs one. He was unarmed, but not any less dangerous for it. The two goblins rushed him together. One had a dagger and the other a sword, but he wasn¡¯t worried. In fact, he was thrilled. The dagger one lunged for him first, but he grabbed its stick-thin arm and pulled the dagger out of its hand. The other goblin didn¡¯t pause for this, though, and kept rushing at him. Rowan used the dagger he just acquired and threw it at the sword goblin''s stomach. He could have aimed for the throat, but they were freakishly thin, and he couldn¡¯t risk missing. The disarmed dagger goblin clawed at his arm that was keeping it locked in place, but Rowan let go before it could hit him. The sword goblin staggered back from the impact of the dagger, so Rowan had a bit of time to deal with the former dagger goblin. It was quite tenacious as, even without a weapon, it attacked just as brutally. It swung its claws at Rowan like a whirlwind, but he just picked up a rickety chair and threw it at the goblin. It nearly fell down but managed to quickly regain its balance, just not quickly enough. Rowan rushed it and pushed it to the ground. He then kicked it in the head. That left it stunned enough for him to stomp on its throat. Two left. Oh, the sword goblin was bleeding out on the ground. One left. There was still a rogue somewhere, but if it hadn¡¯t attacked- ¡°DUCK!¡± Years of training and experience kicked in when someone said duck, he ducked. As he impacted the ground from violently throwing himself at it, a dagger flew right over his head and thunked into a tree. There was the rogue. Had it really left its comrades to die just for a better opportunity at a sneak attack? Rowan decided he didn¡¯t like goblins. It panicked upon seeing him not grossly injured and tried to run, but Rowan had longer legs and higher stats. He tackled it to the ground and its face hit the floor hard. He grabbed the goblin''s head and twisted once more. Hmm. Rowan didn¡¯t think he had ever snapped two necks in a battle before. A new record. That was six out of six. ¡°Thanks for the save. I owe you.¡± ¡°I was also saving my own ass. If you hadn¡¯t noticed, if you die, I die.¡± ¡°Thanks anyway.¡± ¡°You''re welcome.¡± Vorn said, embarrassed. He hadn¡¯t received genuine thanks in¡­ years. ¡°How did you notice that goblin anyway?¡± ¡°We share the same senses, so I just figured I would keep an ear out for any unusual sounds you may have missed in your battle frenzy.¡± Rowan was about to move on, but before he could, Vorn asked, "Aren¡¯t you going to loot them?" ¡°What could goblins have on them besides a few poorly made weapons?¡± ¡°I need to stop forgetting that you''re not from here. Just touch one of the corpses now that you''re no longer in combat.¡± Rowan obliged and was rewarded with a screen. [Loot], [Destroy], or [Convert] That was curious. ¡°What do the options do?¡± ¡°[Loot] gives you a magical item based on the amount of mana that was in the creature you slayed, [Destroy] destroys the body but gives you better loot for it, and [Convert] turns the mana that would have been turned into items into currency.¡± ¡°Why would you ever pick [Loot] instead of [Destroy]?¡± ¡°[Loot] Lets you harvest the body. For goblins? It¡¯s mostly useless, but it does allow you to collect their ears if you''re on a harvest quest. Since we¡¯re not, either pick [Destroy] or [Convert].¡± ¡°How does the currency thing work? Does the system just drop a few coins in your lap?¡± ¡°Coins? I haven¡¯t heard of those. No, it gives you a mana stone of equivalent worth to their level. Our currency is based on mana stones. The higher the density of mana, the brighter they glow, so they are named based on brightness. they go, in order, dims, lumies, brights, and blinds.¡± ¡°Lumies?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, the full name is luminescent, but no one calls them that. The actual ranks are dim, luminescent, bright, and blinding, but most people use the plurals of the names.¡± ¡°Strange.¡± ¡°I guess it might be to a reincarnator. Didn¡¯t you say you guys used digital money in your world? That sounds weirder to me.¡± ¡°Anyway, check our status! We probably leveled a few times. Those goblins were all level 7 to 12.¡± Status. Voran - Level 3 Twin Soul Warrior Attributes: CON: 15 + 30 STR: 15 + 30 AGI: 15 + 30 DEX: 15 + 30 WIS: Locked INT: Locked CHA: Locked LUCK: Locked Unlock the rest of your attributes by selecting a Class! ¡°Huh, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Good?¡± ¡°Disappointing. I did think your Class was abnormally strong, but it appears to level just as slowly as a Mythic one. I guess it¡¯s only fair.¡± ¡°How much would a common Class have leveled?¡± ¡°Probably to around level 8 or 9.¡± ¡°And those six extra levels would have netted them 36 stat points, correct?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°We just got 120. I think we¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°True, but they also would¡¯ve gotten their first Class skill.¡± ¡°Is that worth 120 stat points?¡± ¡°Later on? Yeah. Right now, no. Anyway, I see your point. Even if we advance slower, we¡¯ll still be more powerful. Still, killing six monsters all over six levels higher than you at level one and only getting two levels¡­ It feels strange.¡± ¡°We can continue this later, I need to [Convert] these before they start stinking.¡± Chapter 7: Dance of Embers After [Converting] every goblin corpse, except for the rogue, they were left with one lumie and thirty-six dims. A short discussion with Vorn later, Rowan learned that a dim was roughly equivalent to an Old World penny. One hundred dims to a lumie, which would be a dollar. One hundred lumies is a bright, and one hundred brights is a blind. Simple. It seemed a bit strange that the currency would so closely match a fallen civilization from Earth, but it was probably because dividing currency into hundredths was easy and efficient. With the advent of a universal digital currency, commonly called ¡®credits¡¯ mainly due to old sci-fi influence, all physical currency was swiftly abandoned. Not that anyone really had a choice in the matter at the time, but Rowan would prefer not to think about it. Just the stories he heard from the old timers in the military were enough to send shivers up his spine. They decided that having a weapon would be useful, so took a risk by [Destroying] the goblin rogue. As soon as he selected the option, the corpse became a puff of rainbow smoke, and that mist congealed into the shape of a dagger. A few moments later, it solidified completely. Rowan was slightly worried it would look ridiculous and spiky like the RPGs he saw his comrades playing from time to time, but it was completely practical, if in a slight state of disrepair. It sported a twelve-inch double-edged blade that was wide at the base and tapered to a sharp point. The handle was simple and featured a small crossguard and sharp pommel. The slight bit of rust in the center groove would have shown a lack of care had it not just appeared out of thin air. ¡°Magically created items can spawn damaged?¡± ¡°Oh, sure. We made this from a low level creature, and not only that, but a goblin isn¡¯t exactly a peak specimen even if it was high leveled. With the quality of its mana... I''m surprised we got a working dagger at all.¡± ¡°Is there any chance this could be enchanted?¡± ¡°Huh? No way. Enchantments on a weapon this small would take a master.¡± ¡°It¡¯s created by the System, though. Could it not enchant it?¡± ¡°Well, yeah, but it¡¯s not gonna. It would have to add in its own energy to do that, and it only does that if you¡¯ve done a great feat. It¡¯s working with the mana that was contained in the goblin, so until we get to a higher level, don¡¯t expect to see any enchantments. I¡¯ve heard they start appearing around level sixty, but that could be wrong.¡± At that slightly disappointing news, Rowan moved on. It was at least a well-made dagger, if a little rusty. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The first day continued on in roughly the same manner that it started. Roam around, find footprints or some other sign of goblins, chase them down, and kill them. After doing this to two groups he gained a level, but none of the fights after the first were particularly exciting. Rowan had some slight trouble adjusting to his increased stats, but he was able to adapt pretty well by just toning down his strength. It was more important to be able to move effectively than it was to use his full power, he could adapt to it later. It was the final fight of the evening where things finally got interesting. Rowan was silently stalking through the forest once more. His eyes were peeled, always searching for an ambush, when he saw it. A giant smoke stack. Someone had a bonfire going. He followed it to a large clearing, and what he saw shocked him. Wasn¡¯t this dungeon meant for level five beginners? It was a large camp. The lowest level he could see was twenty. It would appear that this dungeon would not be as boring as he feared. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What do you mean, no?¡± ¡°I mean NO. It¡¯s my body too. Veto.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking about rushing them head-on.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s literally all I¡¯ve seen you do today.¡± ¡°Yeah, against groups of three to seven. Not," Rowan stopped and attempted to count. He gave up past twenty. "That many." He finished lamely. ¡°Okay, sure. What¡¯s your plan then?¡± ¡°Lure them out one group at a time? I haven¡¯t had much time to think about it yet.¡± ¡°That might work for a little while, but goblins are intelligent creatures. They¡¯ll realize something is up once a few groups go missing.¡± ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll be at a high enough level by then to not care?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t a plan. Weren¡¯t you, like, a commander in the military?¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Actually, I wasn¡¯t. I was part of a new adjacent division that worked closely with the army. In terms of actual rank, I guess I would have been around the rank of a commander, but I never ordered more than one squad of people. That didn¡¯t stop them from making me take part in officer training, though. It was a very... trying experience. I still don¡¯t understand why they forced us all to participate.¡± ¡°Yeah, I see now that you clearly didn¡¯t pay much attention.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong. I don¡¯t think they could have failed me if they wanted to. They had already put so many resources into us that they just made us do the bare minimum to get through. They weren¡¯t going to waste three years of advanced and highly dangerous training. I remember a few people tried to demote me after a mission went wrong, but I had already made such a name for myself that there was almost a revolt.¡± ¡°I¡¯m beginning to think you were more than just a ¡®good soldier¡¯.¡± ¡°A very good soldier then.¡± ¡°Whatever. Just¡­ let me think of a plan.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The sun was setting over the verdant forest, painting the camp in colorful shades of red, as the last of Vorn¡¯s plans came together. It was simple, but simple meant fewer moving parts, and that meant the chances of failing dropped, so Rowan was all for it. And, it was fun. Thrilling, even. All they had to do was wait for the sun to fully set. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª As the sun dipped behind the horizon, Rowan moved for the first time in several hours. He couldn¡¯t risk being spotted by a rogue or scout. Rowan worked out the kinks in his back and shoulders ¨C you would think that having sixty Constitution would get rid of that ¨C and got ready. Really, this plan was more a precaution than anything. At sixty in every physical stat, Rowan could hardly be matched by a few common goblins. But¡­ he had a soft spot for the primary element of this operation. It reminded him of his final mission on Earth. Rowan skulked up to the goblin camp silently. He had no stealth skill, but he was no slouch even without it. It wouldn¡¯t hold up to System-enhanced perception but against a bunch of sleeping, drunk, goblins? It would be enough. The camp was dead quiet as he entered. Only the crackling of the bonfire and the snoring of the other green monsters broke the silence. He reached the axis of the plan shortly after arriving. A stout little barrel filled with a, quite frankly, rancid liquid. Goblins loved it, though. He grabbed it, and slowly poured out the liquid over a few tents. By the time he had emptied it and had to grab another, he had already covered most of them. As he was pouring the second barrel, a goblin was roused out of his sleep. Rowan could hear him getting out of his cot and dropped behind a shrub before the goblin could even chance to see him. It shambled over to the knocked-over grog barrel, but finding it empty, turned back to go to bed. As it was walking back, however, it stopped to look at the bush that Rowan was hiding behind. He wasn¡¯t wearing any metal armor ¨C hell, he wasn¡¯t wearing armor at all ¨C so there was no chance it could see any glare. It stared for a few seconds, unmoving and glassy-eyed. It was clearly suspicious. "Just run!" Vorn whisper-shouted in their mind. "The plan is a bust!" Rowan didn¡¯t bother replying. He didn¡¯t breathe. Slowly, the goblin shambled back to his tent, most likely deciding it was too hungover to deal with whatever critter was hanging out near their camp. Rowan didn¡¯t breathe out a sigh of relief, he kept his breathing exactly as steady as it was. He got back up after half an hour and got back to his mission. Finally, the last tent was covered in grog. Now it was time for his favorite part of this mission. Fire. With the bonfire in the middle of the camp, it was honestly harder not to ignite the extremely flammable ¡®alcohol¡¯. All it took was Rowan picking up a grog-covered stick and lighting it with the bonfire. Stealth was no longer an option, so he ran through camp as fast as he could, setting each tent alight. The fire lighting up the night inspired him with its intensity, but something else had captured him. The embers. They flowed and swayed, moving effortlessly. Following the currents of the air without needing to think or move. They just were. The goblins had scrambled out of their tents and were now surrounding him, but he didn¡¯t care. Vorn was screaming at him, even trying to take control, but Rowan didn¡¯t let him. The System was trying to tell him something, but he didn¡¯t care. His eyes were laser-focused on the embers. Their reflection painted his pupils the same shade as his irises, and he tried to move as they did. Swaying with the wind. Reactive. The delay between mind and body, gone. As there was no mind. There was no body. Only Movement. Vaguely, he saw a goblin trying to attack him, but he swayed around their attack. He could feel it before it even neared him. Before he could see it, even. Several more tried to attack him, and he didn¡¯t even bother keeping his eyes open. He was trying to focus on emulating the waltz of the embers. He slowed down and tried to focus on the feeling he was having. His body felt as if it were moving through molasses. As if he were underwater. There was another sense past that, though. It was similar to water, the way it rippled and moved was analogous, but it was more turbulent. With sudden clarity, he realized he was feeling the mana in the air. He opened his eyes. All around him, it was as if the goblins were moving in slow motion, but he knew that wasn¡¯t correct. They were moving just as fast as before. His mind was just moving faster. He could see a thousand little reflections in the mana around him, all telling him what the goblins might do. It could read their intentions. It could read their movements. At that thought, it clicked. He wasn¡¯t reading intent. He wasn¡¯t analyzing the mana in the air. He could feel the movement of everything around him. The way the goblins¡¯ minds influenced the mana around them was just the effect they were having on its movement. He wasn¡¯t infatuated with fire, he was in love with the grace and elegance of the way embers danced. Almost in the background, he could vaguely hear a notification going off. Something about him doing an action that aligned with his Path, but he couldn¡¯t care less. All he could focus on was the movement of the world around him. The goblins kept attacking him, but he didn¡¯t care. He was on the verge of something momentous. Rowan flowed around their attacks as if he wasn¡¯t even aware that they were there. As if the goblins were intentionally avoiding him. He wasn¡¯t even moving as fast as he could. That would be unnecessary. It would go against the flow. Finally, he captured the feeling completely. He knew that it would not leave him now, not ever. So he attacked. His dagger slashed and stabbed as he danced his way around the camp. It followed directly behind him like a loyal companion, and it looked as if it wasn¡¯t even trying to hit the goblins. Like they were simply in the way of the dagger following its master. The goblins were panicking now, their world was on fire, and the man killing them was dancing around them. His eyes flashed a bright orange and suddenly he moved even faster. The battle was nearing its end. It was time to up the tempo. He became a whirlwind. The goblins tried their best to even scratch him, but he was simply not there when their blades swung towards him. His body contorted into strange positions to avoid the swarm of edges that constantly surrounded him, but it managed to look graceful. Beautiful even. Like a ballet dancer, he jumped and twirled mid-air, his faithful blade never far behind him. And finally, with one last twist, the last goblin fell. His trance ended. Congratulations! You have earned your first skill, [Movement - Unique]! As this skill is a reflection of your Path, using it grants extra ¡®experience¡¯! Congratulations! You have had your first Trance! As you have earned one without the aid of medications or a teacher, you get bonus experience! You have reached level 5! You have reached level 6! You have- You have reached level 8! ¡°What. The. Hell. Was. THAT!¡± "I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to suppress you-" ¡°THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!¡± ¡°Thank you? I thought you would be mad?¡± ¡°You were fucking DANCING around them! I¡¯ve never even heard of something like that!¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you worried?¡± ¡°At first? Fuck yeah, I was! I thought you were going to stand around and die like an idiot! I didn¡¯t know you were having a fucking TRANCE!¡± ¡°Are those rare?¡± ¡°Are those rare? You bet your sweet ass they''re fucking rare! I¡¯ve never even heard of someone having one before level 50! And most people that do have Unique Paths!¡± ¡°Does having a Unique Path aid with having them?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a common theory. People think that since Unique Classes tend to align more closely with a person''s desires, their path becomes easier to follow. That leads to more trances, or so the theory goes. What was it like, anyway?¡± ¡°It was like¡­ I can¡¯t describe it fully. The closest I could get is¡­ Imagine that you were finally, completely, at peace. Fully aligned with the world around you.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t-¡± ¡°But at the same time, you were completely and utterly inspired. It was an odd blend of passion and contentment. Maybe the best word would be enlightenment.¡± ¡°Damn. That sounds awesome.¡± ¡°It was. It really was.¡± Chapter 8: Desync ¡°Well? Are you going to check our status?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. I forgot.¡± Status Voran, Level 8 Twin Soul Warrior Age: 0 | Class 1: Unselected | Rowan: [Twin Soul: Body Path] Attributes: CON: 120 STR: 120 AGI: 120 DEX: 120 WIS: INT: CHA: LUCK: Unlock the rest of your Attributes by SELECTING A CLASS. [Perks: View] [Skills: View] Status: Leveling Rush - Extreme ¡°Quick question, why do I feel like I just got a shot of pure adrenaline to the heart?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that would be Leveling Rush. Most people experience it once or twice early on, but it becomes more uncommon as large stat increases stop happening.¡± ¡°How long does it last? This is awful. It feels like my muscles are trying to vibrate out of my skin.¡± ¡°Yeah, most people don¡¯t get 240 stat points to the body all at once¡­ ever. It usually only lasts a few minutes, but I have no clue how long this one will last.¡± ¡°Is there anything I can do about it?¡± ¡°You can run around, I guess. You¡¯ve got a movement skill now, literally.¡± Rowan did just that, and he noticed a difference immediately. His body felt light and responsive. Where previously he had to modulate his strength to not fall over from his increased stats, now it was as if his body knew what he wanted to do before he did. It was amazing. He jumped over roots, dodged under branches, and twirled around trees. All without slowing down for an instant, without needing to carefully use only a portion of his stats. It wasn¡¯t the same as when he was in his Trance, not even close, but it was still absolutely fantastic. His body and mind were perfectly in tune. For the first time in nearly fifteen years, he laughed. He laughed like a maniac, and he laughed like a man in love. It was boisterous and wonderful. This was the feeling he had been chasing all of his life. ¡°Vorn! Take the reins! You have to try this!¡± Rowan demanded joyfully. ¡°Okay, okay! No need to shout at me!¡± Vorn laughed out, happy to see his soulmate innocently enjoying himself. The only time he had seen Rowan this happy was when he was murdering goblins, and this seemed much healthier. Vorn took the reins for the first time since they entered the dungeon. And instantly fell over. He tried to get back up, but ended up jumping fifteen feet in the air, then crashed into the earth painfully. ¡°I¡­ may¡­ have¡­ forgotten that¡­ we don¡¯t share a¡­ Path.¡± Vorn said, winded and in pain. ¡°Ah. So did I. Sorry. Rowan said awkwardly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t mind¡­ wait. We are so stupid! We¡¯re idiots! The dumbest people that have ever disgraced Hyalbern with our presence! Morons!¡± ¡°I get it.¡± Rowan interrupted. ¡°Read the description of [Synchronized Mind]. You know, your PERK that we haven¡¯t been using?¡± ¡°Ah, we may be stupid.¡± Voran, Level 8 Twin Soul Warrior Age: 0 | Class 1: Unselected | Rowan: [Twin Soul: Body Path] Attributes: CON: 120 STR: 120 AGI: 120 DEX: 120 WIS: INT: CHA: LUCK: You¡¯d have the rest of your Attributes if you selected your damn Class, Vorn! [Perks: View] [Skills: View] Status: Leveling Rush - Mild ¡°Okay, before I look at my Perk, I feel I need to address the System¡¯s insistence that you pick a Class." "Oh. That. Yeah, I had hoped that since you had picked one it would give up, but it only calmed down for a day.¡± ¡°Is that¡­ normal?¡± ¡°Relatively. It does that when it thinks that you''re ignoring your Path, but the System has been wrong before. A few of the strongest mages of all time were hounded by the System.¡± ¡°And how commonly is the System right?¡± ¡°That seems irrelevant to this conversation.¡± Vorn said defensively. Rowan wisely chose to abandon that line of questioning. If Vorn was so dead set on attending some academy, Rowan wouldn¡¯t stop him. It might help him get a better Path, even. He focused on the [Perk] tab. As they only had one Perk, it automatically popped up. Synchronized Mind - Unique Merge your consciousness with your soulmate. Effectiveness scales with how in sync the two of you already are. No cost. No limit for how long it can be activated. ¡°That¡¯s different than I expected. The last time we used it, I just felt like I had access to some of your knowledge.¡± ¡°Same for me. Granted, we had just met. We are much closer now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been around¡­ eighteen hours.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, we are literally joined at the soul. Kinda hard not to bond with someone when you''re that close.¡± ¡°True. So, do you want to try it?¡± ¡°Hells yeah I want to try it.¡± ¡°Wait. I¡¯ve heard you say Gods a lot instead of God, and I understood that, but ¡®Hells¡¯? Are there multiple planes of torment?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s like twenty at least. Every major God has their own version of a plane of paradise and torment, and a surprising amount of Minor Gods have them too. Some hells are nicer than others, but generally, they¡¯re not very pleasant. Kinda comes with the territory.¡± ¡°Do they all last for eternity?¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°What! No! That¡¯s horrific!¡± ¡°Oh, thank the Gods.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve said that.¡± ¡°I felt it was warranted.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this show on the road.¡± Turning on his perk was as easy as breathing. He barely had to focus on doing it, just thinking that he wanted it on was enough for it to activate. They each noticed a difference. An extreme one. Rowan felt most of his knowledge gaps close, but he also felt some of his bottomless confidence begin to drain. It wasn¡¯t as if he instantly began doubting his ideas, but he started considering if they could be improved. Vorn noticed that he stopped caring as much about what others thought of him. The phantom eyes of his peers that constantly plagued his decision-making stopped mattering and then faded away. Some of the endless self-doubt left him and was replenished with a healthy amount of pride. Their perspectives merged in a literal and figurative way. Vorn was no longer sitting back on the stone platform in their spirit, but actually viewing the world from his eyes once more. It was as if their souls were nearly overlapping. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we do this before!¡± They shouted in unison. They were individuals, but not. They had nearly fully merged. If they could see themselves, they would instantly note the silver hue that was coloring the edge of Rowan¡¯s orange iris, turning slightly purple where the two colors met. ¡°So that¡¯s what that perk did! I thought it was just a crutch for us until we understood the world better!¡± Voran spoke out loud. Their voice had also changed. It wasn¡¯t layered on top of itself or anything, but their manner of speech had combined. Rowan spoke loudly and confidently but without much inflection while Vorn talked quietly but animatedly. It had definitely leaned into Vorn¡¯s style of speech more than Rowan¡¯s. Now it was just loud and animated. ¡°And we never have to turn this off? Then why should we?¡± Voran asked themself. Like a spreading pestilence, the purple of their eyes started to take over more and more of their individual colors. Their individuality faded into the background, dormant and content. They still retained their individual sparks, but their ideas and temperaments had merged to form a new self. "And in many ways," Voran thought, "a better self." "Why have we been holding back? We need to pick our second Class! Oh, I can¡¯t imagine how strong we¡¯re going to get. We¡¯ll show those snooty noble bastards just how beneath them sorcery really is." Voran finished darkly. As they prepared to enter the Class selection screen, the Perk shifted. Suddenly, silver blazed to life, completely banishing all traces of purple and orange. They were back to being fully individual, despite the Synchronized Mind perk still being active. ¡°What the fuck was that!¡± ¡°I¡­ I think I know why our name became Voran in the System. It seems like they were an amalgamation of our traits. I was still there¡­ Yet, I wasn¡¯t? I think our different views on my Path caused enough dissonance that we can no longer merge like that. For now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad. It was not entirely negative, but having my personality overridden like that was violating. Maybe if I had expected it that might have been bearable, but it was creepy to just suddenly not be myself anymore. At least, not entirely myself.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible that we can ignore your Perk, but we might want to put a pin in it until I complete the Academy¡¯s courses. I agree, if I had been prepared, it wouldn¡¯t have been so jarring. Once I get my Path, we can see about experimenting with it.¡± ¡°Maybe this isn¡¯t the best place to have this talk,¡± Rowan looked around the goblin-infested forest, ¡°but how feasible is going to the Academy? How much and how long will it take?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s much more feasible now. When I was working at the mine, it would have taken me several years to save up enough, but as a Delver it should only take me a couple, if that.¡± ¡°Numbers, please.¡± ¡°It¡¯s one hundred and fifty brights a year," Rowan mentally calculated that to be about fifteen thousand dollars, "And it can take up to five years to pass. At a minimum, not counting housing and other essentials, it would be seven hundred brights.¡± ¡°So seventy thousand dollars and five years to pass.¡± ¡°Worst case scenario? Yes. A lot of people pass in three, though, and some even pass in two. However, I would have to be a grade A fucking idiot to not save up enough to endure the worst case.¡± ¡°How much do you have saved?¡± ¡°Three hundred and ninety five brights. I saved everything I made at the mine, except for the bare essentials needed to survive.¡± ¡°That is a decent dent into the funds we need. And how much have we made so far in this dungeon?¡± ¡°Around three brights. Those were mostly from the level twenty goblins, though. Listen, I know it¡¯s going to take a lot of work, and it might not seem feasible right now, but I have to do this. It was my mother¡¯s last wish.¡± ¡°At least you''re honest. I told you when I first arrived here, I do not intend to interfere with your goals, and I keep my word.¡± ¡°Besides when you beat up two affluent young merchants expressly against my wishes?¡± ¡°Besides that.¡± ¡°Anyway, we made over six percent of my annual income at the mine in one day. I made forty-nine brights a year at the mine. If we continue at this rate, working 4 days a week, we¡¯ll have saved nine hundred brights by the end of this year! And if you take into consideration our expenses which equate to about two hundred and ninety eight point five brights a year, we take home six hundred and four point five brights a year! Granted, with taxes that number dwindles down to four hundred and twenty three point fifteen brights, but that means we can still save up all we need in under a year!¡± ¡°None of that added up. And why only work four days out of the week?¡± ¡°Only? That''s literally most of the week!¡± ¡°I feel like we are having a misunderstanding here, how many days are in a week here?¡± ¡°Five.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ That makes more sense now.¡± ¡°How many days are in your weeks?¡± ¡°Seven. Considering that¡¯s different, how do your months and years work?¡± ¡°There are five weeks in a month, making each twenty five days, and there are fifteen months in a year. Wait, are our days the same? There¡¯s twenty six hours in a day here.¡± ¡°Twenty four where I¡¯m from.¡± ¡°Weird. Wait, that means¡­" Rowan quickly tried to verify if Vorn''s math was correct, but gave up after about five minutes. "Your math was right, as far as I can tell anyway. How did you do that on the fly?¡± ¡°What, you can¡¯t?¡± ¡°No, of course I can¡¯t. If you gave me a piece of paper and about ten minutes, maybe. Is that a normal skill here? Have you seen anyone else calculate as fast as you?¡± ¡°Well, no. I assume most people just do it in their head like I do, though.¡± ¡°How were you destined for mediocrity?¡± Rowan asked more to himself than anyone. ¡°I still don¡¯t believe that. Fate is for blind fools who can¡¯t forge their own destiny, I would¡¯ve been fine.¡± ¡°If anyone else had said that, which basically amounts to putting themselves above the words of a literal deity, I would have called them crazy. Knowing you, though¡­ I could believe it.¡± ¡°Well, the Academy isn¡¯t going to pay for itself! The sooner we get all our necessary funds, the sooner I get my Path, and the sooner we can go on truly grand adventures.¡± Vorn said, trying to ignore the burning embarrassment of a compliment like that. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The rest of the dungeon was not nearly as interesting. The goblin camp must have been the highest leveled part of the dungeon. Rowan got to practice more with his [Movement] skill, and he had a lot of fun, but he never quite reached the highs of the Trance. It was to be expected, he supposed. By the time they were getting ready to leave, they had killed forty lower-level goblins. That netted them an extra bright and some change, too. Their dagger wasn¡¯t looking so hot anymore, however. When Rowan voiced this concern to Vorn, he explained that there were enchanted whetstones that they could buy at any smithy that would instantly repair it if it wasn¡¯t too terribly damaged. And that was how most of their time was spent. Discussing what to bring next time. Even Rowan had to admit he had been too gung-ho about the whole thing, and maybe a tad overconfident considering he had never fought a monster before, but it had all worked out. Even though it had, though, that was no reason not to do better next time, and that was exactly what they were doing. Rowan did find it strange that no one had stopped them from going to the dungeon without any gear, though. At this point, he suspected that it was on purpose. Between the bodyguards following them through their journey, and the repeated surprises, ¨C such as the level twenty goblin camp ¨C it seemed like this whole experience was made to humble new low-level Delvers. It obviously didn¡¯t work for Voran, now they were even more excited about Delving. ¡°I think we should start going over what we did right and wrong every time we Delve, or take a mission for that matter. We are going to make mistakes, and if we don¡¯t learn from them, we are being fucking stupid.¡± ¡°I agree wholeheartedly. That was a common strategy many squads had back home. As long as nobody is overly hostile, it works wonders for team cohesion and improvement.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± When they had finally reached the exit, they had a solid plan for next time. A spatial bag, rations, camping supplies, repair kits, the works. They would have to dip into their savings, but at the rate they were making money, it would be worth it. ¡°Stop! Before you go, I want to commend you!¡± A random guard ran up to them and said. They were clearly winded as they were chasing Rowan, probably because he had not stopped using his [Movement] skill since he got it. ¡°We are supposed to give a spatial bag to every initiate that seems promising! It¡¯s not very large, but it is unbeatable in one regard,¡± The guard paused for comedic effect, ¡°It¡¯s free!¡± Silence echoed out through the forest. ¡°Fine, just take the damn bag.¡± He grumbled out and then stormed away. ¡°That was strange.¡± ¡°You hurt his feelings. Poor guy, I understand his pain. Comedy before a human shaped brick wall is just pointless¡­¡± The sulking guard suddenly turned around, almost actually spooking Rowan, and said, ¡°I forgot, but we¡¯re supposed to offer an assessment to initiates that complete the dungeon, you interested?¡± ¡°Sure?¡± ¡°Your movement and footwork, while unorthodox, are fantastic. Your skills with a dagger on the other hand¡­ leave something to be desired. I recommend trying to find a mentor if you can. And don¡¯t you dare take a weapon skill!¡± He explained calmly until he suddenly shouted at the end. ¡°Why?¡± Rowan asked, more confused than anything. ¡°Weapon skills are only useful for armsmasters that want to truly and completely master a weapon. You, on the other hand, seem to be going for an agility based skirmisher build. It would be a waste! You only get a few skills, so you can¡¯t waste any of them! So many people choose a weapon skill because almost everyone is offered one and it seems useful, but you''re just wasting your potential! You understand, right? I swear to the divines above I will smack you if you pull some dumb shit like that, you¡¯re way too talented for that! Say you understand!¡± ¡°I, uh, understand.¡± Rowan affirmed, his normal flat demeanor dwarfed by the guard¡¯s passion. ¡°Louder!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Rowan shouted, his time as a soldier shining through for a moment. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª They exited the dungeon, spatial bag in tow, and then headed straight back towards the Guild. Only a few hours had passed since they had entered the dungeon, at least from the outside. It depended on the dungeon, but time dilation was a very real thing. Some went faster than the outside, and some went slower. There were actually a few famous research towers set inside dungeons for this very reason. It didn¡¯t make you age slower or anything, but it did mean you could get results faster than the competition. Well, unless they had better dungeon dilation. Or were just, you know, better. As they entered the Guild, a newbie walked up to them. ¡°Hello! It¡¯s nice to meet you. I heard you were part of the newest wave of initiates. Me too! Did you already go to the Trial Dungeon?¡± An animated woman spoke excitedly. ¡°Nice to meet you as well. Yes, we actually just returned from the dungeon. It was a lot of fun.¡± Rowan said with just a tinge of amusement evident in his tone. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad you had fun, but¡­ how did you only level three times? Sorry if that¡¯s personal! I sometimes ask questions I shouldn¡¯t! Ignore me!¡± She frantically apologized. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Our Path levels slowly is all.¡± ¡°Oh! You were the initiate that caused a stir! The one with the Epic rarity Class? Okay, that makes sense. I have heard that higher rarities level slower.¡± She rambled on. ¡°Thanks for the conversation,¡± Rowan left a pause for her to give her name. ¡°Ark¡± She supplied. ¡°Thanks for the conversation, Ark, but I really do have to go now, though.¡± ¡°Oh, no problem! If you ever want to run a dungeon together, just ask!¡± Ark exclaimed as she walked away. ¡°That was a very¡­ excitable person.¡± Vorn said. ¡°Yeah, she was. Seemed nice enough, though. I might take her up on that open invitation. It would be nice to have someone to watch my back. I won¡¯t lie, it has been strange without a squad to guard my six. It kind of feels like I¡¯m exposed.¡± ¡°Huh. I always thought of you as the lone warrior type.¡± ¡°I was for a long time. I learned that a talented group can almost always outperform someone on their own, though.¡± ¡°Did you never think they were holding you back? That¡¯s common over here with solo Delvers.¡± ¡°At first, I admit that I did, but I later learned that having a trusted group does not hold an extraordinary person back, but allows them to reach unseen heights.¡± ¡°So do you want a group right now?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find one. I don¡¯t want to force it, though. The worst squads I¡¯ve ever been in have all had one thing in common. Jealousy. We¡¯d need to find people either with an Epic Class or better, or some that don¡¯t care about being outpaced. Preferably both.¡± ¡°True. Oh, look! The bounty we were eyeing earlier is still here!¡± Rowen grabbed it and read it once more. It never hurts to have the details memorized. Wanted: Orc Blood The Grantorn Tower has put out a bounty on all orc blood, no matter the level! They¡¯re on the cutting edge of a breakthrough, and need all the material they can get! Level 1 Orc blood starts out at fifty dims a vial, but the price increases drastically every ten levels! At level 10, the bounty increases to a luminescent crystal! Level 20: fifteen lumies! Level 30: ninety lumies! Level 40: A bright and forty lumies! Even still higher-level orc blood can be negotiated directly with the tower! Eligible dungeons nearby: Crystalwood Cavern, The Entropy Spire, Gorm¡¯s Requiem This was, in Vorn¡¯s opinion, the perfect quest to start out with. And they would get to it right away. As soon as they got a good night''s rest. They hadn¡¯t slept in the dungeon after all. Going to sleep with the sun up was a strange experience for both of them, but Dungeon Lag was a common issue for all Delvers. Sleep first, though. They would deal with it tomorrow. Chapter 9: An Educational Day and Psychic Damage After a good nights ¨C or, more accurately, afternoons¨C rest, they were up and ready to go. Rowan was curious, though. They only slept for four hours, so why did he feel so rested? ¡°We stayed up for well over fifteen hours in the dungeon, did you never wonder why you didn¡¯t get tired? Especially when you were running and fighting for most of it?¡± ¡°I did, but I admit, it wasn¡¯t at the forefront of my mind. Does it have to do with our stats?¡± ¡°Yeah. Do you have something similar in your world? I know you don¡¯t have the System, but I don¡¯t actually know what that would look like. How do you know how strong you are?¡± ¡°By observation and measurement, I suppose. If you can lift up a max of two hundred pounds, then congratulations, that''s how strong you are. That¡¯s about the only way to measure it. Just by seeing how much you can lift. Same with academics or anything else, it¡¯s just observation. The closest thing I can think of are cybernetics, which have weight ratings, but that¡¯s not really the same.¡± ¡°Huh. Sounds inconvenient, and we are for sure wrapping back around to whatever ¡®cybernetics¡¯ are, but you don¡¯t have an analog for stats then? Something to compare our System to?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve heard that certain games had a similar System, but I could never afford them as a child. By the time I could, I wasn¡¯t that interested either.¡± ¡°Okay, I can give you the basic run down.¡± ¡°I have a strong feeling there won¡¯t be anything basic about it.¡± ¡°You know what? Just for that, you¡¯re getting the whole spiel. First off, Constitution. It increases your Vital Energy, which in turn improves almost every aspect of your body. Your eyesight, your bone density, and even your teeth improve. It¡¯s what''s known as a ¡®Foundational Attribute¡¯ as it¡¯s the foundation of the rest of your Physical stats.¡± ¡°That sounds like an important stat, then. Does every Class have an investment in it?¡± ¡°No, not every class, but most physically aligned ones do. What you have to remember as well is that for most Unique classes, and every rarity below Legendary, most people get Free Points to spend. They don¡¯t have all of their points assigned, just most of them. So yeah, most people will invest a little into Constitution.¡± ¡°Oh yeah. I do remember a few of my Classes showing Free Points during the Class selection. What about the rest of the Stats?¡± ¡°Well, Dexterity, Strength, and Agility are known as ¡®Conduit Attributes¡¯ as they use Vitality to power themselves. Generally, you want a little of all of them but only want to focus on one, maybe two if your Class has a higher rarity. Considering you don¡¯t have anything to compare them to, I¡¯ll define them for you.¡± ¡°Strength is how powerful you are. It takes Vitality and converts it into pure force.¡± ¡°Agility is how fast you are. It converts Vitality into enhanced perception and movement.¡± ¡°Dexterity is a weird one. It¡¯s a measure of how much finesse you have. It converts Vitality into superior timing and fine movements. It¡¯s mostly used in crafting Classes, but Rangers usually have a fair amount of it as well. Some speculate that it also improves your muscle memory, but the only combat classes we can go off of are Rogues and Rangers, and those types are generally naturally nimble and quick to pick up their chosen weapon. Whether that¡¯s a coincidence or not is unknown, but I don¡¯t think it is.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you want to invest in all of them equally?¡± ¡°Most education around Attributes assumes that you¡¯ll have a Common or Rare Class, but nothing above that considering they''re so monumentally rare. To invest in all of them equally when you only get six stat points a level, maybe sixteen if you''re lucky? It¡¯s ludicrous. Especially when specializing is so effective.¡± ¡°Okay, that makes sense. I¡¯m guessing that getting fifteen in all of those attributes is considered abnormal then?¡± ¡°Very fucking abnormal. In fact, you''re the only case I¡¯ve heard of that happening. I didn¡¯t even know you could get fifteen in an Attribute per level! It must be a Unique rarity thing.¡± ¡°What about the rest of the stats? What does Luck do?¡± ¡°Luck is an Esoteric Attribute, as opposed to Physical. It shares that moniker with Wisdom and Charisma. Intelligence is the Foundational Attribute for the Esoteric Attributes. Intelligence produces Aspected Mana, as opposed to Vital Energy.¡± ¡°Aspected? How is that different from normal mana?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just personalized to you. Your body absorbs it, then changes it to suit you more. The more Intelligence you have, the larger your reservoir, but just like Constitution ¨C Or more accurately, Vital Energy, ¨C changes your body to be more resilient and perceptive, Intelligence alters your brain''s structure, making you better at processing information. It¡¯s why mages and sorcerers tend to be researchers at heart.¡± ¡°Okay, what about the rest of them?¡± ¡°Luck, Wisdom, and Charisma are also Conduit Attributes, but instead of Vitality, they consume Aspected Mana.¡± ¡°Luck is a bit weird. It doesn¡¯t directly make you more fortunate, but it does give you a supernatural sense as a guide. If you have high luck, you¡¯ll begin to feel a pull towards certain actions that might make you some money or give you an important connection, or a force telling you to leave an area if a murderer might pass through. We don¡¯t actually know how this works. Some speculate that the System itself takes the Mana funneled into luck and helps you as a reward, but we really don¡¯t know for sure.¡± ¡°That stat seems significantly more complex than the rest.¡± ¡°It¡¯s super weird like that. No one really knows why.¡± Vorn zoned out for a moment thinking about what could cause such a strange stat, before Rowan brought him back to the topic at hand. ¡°You there?¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry. I got distracted. Anyway, Wisdom. Wisdom is how fast you can process mana into Aspected Mana. It also affects how easily you can manipulate your Mana.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°That doesn''t really sound like a ¡®Conduit¡¯. It makes Mana, or at least aids in its production.¡± ¡°Good catch! Yeah, it¡¯s debated as to whether or not Wisdom should count as a Conduit Attribute, considering it actively helps fill the Foundational one. Some argue it should have its own category, but others say since Aspected Mana fuels its secondary effect of making your mana manipulation better, it still counts. I personally think that it deviates too far from the rest of the stats to be considered a conduit, but it would be inconvenient for a lot of people if we changed the classification. I still think we should, though. For the sake of accuracy.¡± ¡°Luck also seems like it¡¯s only dubiously a conduit." Rowan pointed out. ¡°That it does. It being a conduit entirely hinges on whether the System Tax theory is true, but while I would love to discuss the intricacies of mortal classifications of a System we don¡¯t understand," Vorn said completely unironically, he really would love to do that, "we do have other things to do today.¡± ¡°Fair enough.¡± ¡°Finally, there is Charisma. Surprisingly, it is one of the simplest Attributes to categorize. It converts mana into a field that we can and have magically observed, but have yet to replicate. In that field, you can intuitively understand those around you better. It makes you more charismatic by letting you read people better. It can also make you way better at being an asshole, in the case of the twins.¡± ¡°I¡¯m beginning to see why these were called the Esoteric Attributes.¡± ¡°Yeah, they may be complex, but doesn¡¯t that just make them that much more interesting to study? Plus, I¡¯m like ninety percent sure we¡¯re either missing or have straight up wrong information on all of them, so that means we can make some easy breakthroughs once we get to the academy.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll leave that to you.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª They had not calculated only needing four hours of sleep and decided to clean up a little more before leaving. Vorn still didn¡¯t see the big deal, but Rowan insisted, and he wanted to be a good soulmate. They had come to an agreement, however. Rowan wouldn¡¯t touch any of Vorn¡¯s personal spaces, like his desk. He could keep it as ¡°chaotically organized¡± as he pleased. Even if Rowan had to suppress a shudder whenever he looked in the desk¡¯s direction. Rowan ended up getting in the back seat and allowed Vorn to drive. He had to get used to his body''s increased stats, after all. It didn¡¯t take long, just repressing your strength was way easier than utilizing it fully. It still wasn¡¯t easy, but it only took a few hours to get the hang of it. They did need to replace a few door knobs now, though. To be safe, they decided to stay home another hour to be sure that Vorn wouldn¡¯t have any accidents. Rowan, being Rowan, immediately got bored. He asked what his soulmate did normally, and Vorn just replied, ¡°Read.¡±. And read he did. Riveting. A mind-numbingly boring hour later ¨C for Rowan at least¨C they were reasonably confident that Vorn had gotten used to his body enough not to crush any public property. Now that they were ready to leave, they could finally enact their plan to buy some actual supplies. The shopping was a boring affair, just camping and maintenance supplies plus the vials for blood. A few shopkeepers looked at them weirdly due to what they could only assume was their species, but they didn¡¯t pay it any mind. It wasn¡¯t every day you saw a Unique Being. They were unique for a reason. One of a kind and all that, it didn¡¯t exactly equate to them being a common sight. Before they left for the dungeon ¨C they decided on Crystalwood Cavern ¨C Rowan suggested they stop by the Guild again. He wanted to see if Ark was really up to joining them. In the theoretical worst-case scenario, it was just more experience for him. Well¡­? ¡°Do people give you experience?¡± ¡°I imagine they could give you plenty of experiences, but I have a feeling that¡¯s not what you''re talking about.¡± ¡°Oh, I was using a term I heard in my world. People would sometimes talk about games around me, and they always talked about needing ¡®experience¡¯ to level up. I initially thought it meant repetitive action to level, but it seemed like an interchangeable term. Sometimes it was ¡®Runes¡¯ or ¡®Souls¡¯. You got them for beating enemies. I think.¡± ¡°Uh, you''re awfully casual about potentially murdering someone we just met.¡± ¡°I have literally killed thousands of people. I am a little desensitized.¡± ¡°Fair point, forgot about that. Anyway, those games and their systems sound interesting. I wish you knew more about them, I would love to question the virtual Systems your people made. Anyway, you don¡¯t level up with ¡®experience¡¯. Though, I suppose you could say that it¡¯s kinda similar. You level up your Class by following your Path.¡± ¡°On that note, I¡¯ve heard the term Path and Class used interchangeably, but is there an actual difference?¡± ¡°Oh sure, though it doesn¡¯t come up much in common conversation. A Class is just a Path that the System helps you with. It¡¯s completely possible to follow your Path without the help of the System and in fact makes you much stronger if you can manage it. The first mages were those who basically said ¡®Fuck the System¡¯, and mastered magic without it. Being a Mage literally wasn¡¯t an option before they pioneered it, though nowadays most mages just have a Class. Most don¡¯t bother doing it Systemless because of how much harder it is to manipulate energies without help.¡± ¡°How does that work? I thought the System gave you magic.¡± ¡°Nah, that¡¯s not how it works. We have magic because our Plane is dimensionally adjacent to a Mana Wellspring. Or, that''s what Travelers have told us, we don''t exactly have a way to verify that information. Not all areas with a System have magic, and not all places with magic have a System. Whenever we get the occasional dimensional traveler they always say that our System is especially pushy, so that for sure implies the existence of different ones, too. Sorry, I got a little off topic there.¡± ¡°Interesting, but I recall the System saying that my trance gave me extra experience? What was that about?¡± ¡°The System was just putting in terms you would understand. If it doesn¡¯t have a good analog for you, it won¡¯t bother trying to use a stand-in like that, but experience really does sound similar to how it works here. In this case, being a literal repetitive action. Just following your Path.¡± ¡°Very interesting. So could I level up just by moving?¡± ¡°Since that¡¯s part of your Path, then yeah, totally. It would have to be especially exhilarating, though, since another part of your Path is Thrill. You level up at the fastest rate when following all Aspects of your Path. For you, that would be Movement, Thrill, and Battle. An amazing Path by the way. Practically guaranteed to level fast. Well, as fast as a Mythic Class can.¡± ¡°Is all this common information, or are you just knowledgeable? I mean with this and you knowing all the weird aspects of the Attributes, it seems like you¡¯ve studied this in depth.¡± ¡°A lot of it is common enough information, but I did take System Studies in my private education before my mother passed. I thought it was fascinating. Just a reminder, though, a lot of what we espouse as truth is in reality just our best guess. The System is so beyond us that we couldn¡¯t possibly understand its multitudes. We just like to pretend we do. Hell, we don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s called ¡®the System¡¯, we just call it that because it¡¯s a generic name for this type of device. We don¡¯t even know if it is a device! Some Systems are Gods, others are machines beyond our wildest imaginations, and even still others are Eldritch creatures. What is the difference between a God and an Eldritch creature? We don¡¯t fucking know! Anyway-¡± ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± Vorn sounded disappointed to have his rant interrupted. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The bar area was mostly empty due to the early hour, but Ark was standing at the bounty board looking for a job presumably. ¡°Hello.¡± Rowan started. ¡°AH- Ah, hello to you too.¡± Ark played off her fright smoothly. Very smoothly. ¡°Yesterday you mentioned if I ever wanted to run a dungeon with you to just ask, well, I¡¯m asking,¡± Rowan spoke dispassionately. He was so bored right now. He wanted to be in the dungeon murdering Orcs, but having another person there to watch his back would be nice. Plus, it was nice to share something you cared about. Rowan just cared about brutal monster murder. ¡°Oh, you took that seriously?¡± She said surprised. ¡°My bad, I didn¡¯t realize it was a courtesy thing. I¡¯ll-¡± ¡°No, no! I meant it! It¡¯s just that normally no one actually bothers asking!¡± She quickly tried to salvage the awkward conversation with the monotone man. ¡°Cool. I¡¯m planning on going to the Crystalwood Cavern, you wanna come with?¡± He asked, a little life returning to his tone. ¡°Yeah! I was just looking for the bounty. Someone took it off the board! I don¡¯t think they read the rules and regulations, you aren¡¯t supposed to actually take those!¡± ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t receive the rules and regulations. I think the Guildmaster rushed it too much. I¡¯ll put it back now.¡± He said completely nonchalantly. Embarrassment was not in Rowan¡¯s emotional repertoire. Vorn, on the other hand, was very nearly dead. Ark, too, was dying inside. She had accidentally insulted the guy she was going to delve with! After causing a misunderstanding! This was the worst. At least he didn¡¯t look mortified or anything. Ark didn¡¯t think she had seen anything besides polite apathy and mild excitement on the man¡¯s face. He walked back and asked, ¡°So, are you ready to go? I¡¯ve got a few hundred vials, but if you need any we can go to the glassmakers first.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m good. I already bought the vials yesterday, I just came back to look at the prices again.¡± She said quickly. Ark was trying so hard not to blow this, no one had asked to delve with her before! Everyone thought she was too scary! ¡°Oh yeah, sorry about taking the bounty.¡± He said like it didn¡¯t even phase him. Ark was going to die. She had to leave before she put her foot in her mouth a fourth time. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Onward! To adventure!¡± She spoke excitedly. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to look at the bounty?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°O-Oh, yeah.¡± Gods, this was not going well. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The road to the Crystalwood Cavern dungeon was substantially less awkward. Now that he was on the road, Rowan was significantly less static. He moved gracefully and constantly, hells, he made walking look like a dance routine. Ark had seen him twirl around an oncoming carriage with his eyes closed. That had been quite a scare, but he didn¡¯t seem bothered about it. The carriage driver was livid, his carriage had lost a wheel cause this moron was dancing in the street with his eyes closed! He quickly changed his tune when he witnessed Rowan lift his fully loaded carriage with one hand while putting the wheel back with the other. After that little fiasco, Rowan did his dance routine to the right of the road. Ark thought he would at least trip once on a tree root or something, but he had a supernatural sense of any obstacle. ¡®What kind of skill is that?¡¯ Ark thought to herself. She hadn¡¯t seen a skill that covered supernatural senses, agility, and¡­ dancing like this before. And it had to be one skill. He was not level ten yet. That meant it was most likely unique, but the Guildmaster had stated he had an Epic Rarity Class, and only Unique Classes got Unique skills. The Guildmaster didn¡¯t lie about that type of thing, so maybe he just meant Epic equivalent? That would make sense, she decided. She decided to just ask, what¡¯s the worst that could happen? ¡°Hey, do you have a Unique Class?¡± She asked simply. ¡°How did you figure that out?¡± Rowan asked calmly, then continued, ¡°I had figured that the whole ¡®Never tell your Class to anyone else¡¯ spiel that the Guildmaster had given us wouldn¡¯t actually do much, but I didn¡¯t think someone would find out this soon.¡± ¡°He what?¡± Ark squeaked. ¡°Oh? What did you mean? I thought you had figured out our actual Class?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ no. I just figured that you had a Unique Agility skill.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything else. Ark was freaking out. If the Guildmaster told him not to tell anyone¡­ and he had a Unique Class! That meant it was probably really strong! Hell, the Guildmaster hadn¡¯t given her that speech and she had¡­ Oh. Oh fuck. He had a Mythic Equivalent. Or higher. Oh fuck. ¡°No wonder you could lift that carriage at your level.¡± she whispered. ¡°Oh so you did figure it out, Vorn was just yelling at me about telling you. I don¡¯t know what he expected. I¡¯m terrible with secrets. So much for this necklace¡± He pulled it out from under his shirt to examine it. ¡®Wait, is that a level disguising enchantment!? Those are, like, mega illegal! And he¡¯s talking like he¡¯s multiple people! Oh Gods, is he crazy?¡¯ Ark thought, panicked. ¡°Vorn said to tell you that we¡¯re not crazy. And not to say it like that, cause it makes us sound crazy. Oh, my bad. Anyway, we¡¯re a unique being. Though that part wasn¡¯t a secret¡± He said as if he hadn¡¯t dropped another bomb on her. Gods, she was going to pass out. ¡°Sorry to drop all this on you.¡± ¡°No. I-It¡¯s fine. I just didn¡¯t expect it, is all. You know, when we left I was worried about you thinking my Class was weird, but now that feels silly.¡± She spoke candidly. ¡°Really? What¡¯s your Class?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a personal question!¡± Ark said, scandalized. You don¡¯t just ask someone that! Only the Guildmaster could ask that, and only in his private office! ¡°Oh, was that a faux pas? I just reincarnated here not too long ago, so I don¡¯t know all of them yet.¡± He said simply. Ark passed out. Chapter 10: Orc Plague Rowan didn¡¯t even react to her dropping like a sack of bricks. He just picked her up and took her out of the street. It took him a few moments to find a good place to set her, but he found a nice shaded area under a tree that didn¡¯t seem terrible. After only a few moments, Ark awoke. She clearly was surprised to see him, maybe she just assumed she was dreaming? ¡°Oh- uh. Sorry for freaking out like that. I uh. It was just a lot.¡± Ark managed to awkwardly mumble. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Vorn informed me that most people would react like that. Sorry.¡± ¡°Uh, okay. So, are you going to kill me now or something?¡± She half-joked. ¡°No, it would serve no purpose. I don¡¯t even really care if people know about our Class, but the Guildmaster insisted I hide.¡± Rowan said ¡°Cool. Cool. Before I try to calm down, you got any other bombshells?¡± She asked casually, once again half joking and half serious. ¡°No, that should be all¡­ Actually¡­ You said Classes are personal? Well, then I have one more bombshell, but I probably shouldn¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine. Just don¡¯t drop it on me out of nowhere, passing out isn¡¯t great for your health, you know?¡± She joked, then continued, ¡°So, are we still doing this dungeon?¡± ¡°Hm, I thought I would be the one asking you that. If you''re willing, then I see no problem with it. It is probably for the best that you know a few of my ¡®secrets¡¯ if we are working together. It¡¯ll be nice to openly talk to Vorn, I think. I haven¡¯t been able to do that outside of home yet. Just because it isn¡¯t a secret doesn¡¯t mean we wouldn¡¯t look crazy. I don¡¯t really care, but Vorn is adamant about appearing sane¡± Rowan explained. ¡°Just give me a sec to get my head straight, okay? Then we¡¯ll get going.¡± Ark said, still a little faint. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª They were on the road not much longer after their conversation finished. Ark was still clearly processing everything, but she seemed oddly¡­ calm about it. Passing out was about the least nuclear reaction possible, and even still, she was traveling with them after waking up. That wasn¡¯t normal. Most people hear ¡®Mythic¡¯ and think, ¡°Oh gods, this man is probably from a noble house! I¡¯m going to die¡± not this¡­ placid reaction. As they were walking, his curiosity got the better of him, and Vorn took over. He still asked first before grabbing the reins, he didn¡¯t want them falling over. Ark noticed something off with Voran the moment they switched. His strange yet graceful twisting and turning walk/dance routine stopped and he was walking like a normal person on the road. Before Vorn could even speak, she casually asked, ¡°So you''re Vorn, then?¡± ¡°Huh? How could you tell so quickly?¡± ¡°Really? How could I not? Your demeanor is different, your walk is different, your eyes are different, even the way you breathe is different.¡± She spoke incredulously, ¡°You¡¯re lucky this isn¡¯t supposed to be a secret, because you wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it for a second.¡± She admonished him. ¡°We kinda haven¡¯t been doing this long. This is our first time switching while visible to others. Well, besides the Guildmaster.¡± Vorn sheepishly admitted. She sighed, ¡°How are you going to keep your ¡®Epic Rarity¡¯ Class a secret if both of you are this bad at keeping them? I¡¯m the first person you¡¯ve gone to a dungeon with, right?¡± Vorn gave her a quick nod. ¡°It took me five minutes in the woods with you to realize that you weren¡¯t an ¡®Epic Rarity Warrior¡¯. You guys really need to up your game.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you terrified of us trying to kill you like¡­ fifteen minutes ago?¡± ¡°Yeah, well that was before I realized that you two were fuckin¡¯ idiots.¡± She said teasingly. ¡°That was why I switched over in the first place. I needed to ask, how are you so calm about this? Most people would be terrified, confused, or both. You just kinda seem to be going with it.¡± He asked, slightly impressed with her demeanor. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s simple. I¡¯m used to facing the same reactions. It is strange to be on the other side for once, though. Especially with you two being a Unique Being. It¡¯s strange experiencing what others must feel when they learn about my Class.¡± She explained. ¡°Huh. Well, consider me excited to see it then.¡± Vorn said, then switched back with Rowan. ¡°Before we get to the dungeon, I feel I should ask, what can you do? I don¡¯t need the specifics of your Class, just your general capabilities. Is that okay to ask?¡± Rowan genuinely questioned. ¡°Yeah, in fact, it¡¯s strange you didn¡¯t. It¡¯s rude to ask someone¡¯s Path, as that is incredibly personal to some, but broad capability is no big deal. You should probably do that before heading to a dungeon with somebody. Not like I can talk, though, I got so excited that I forgot to ask you as well.¡± She sheepishly admitted at the end. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m best at crowd control, but I have decent self healing and buffs, too. I can spread those to allies, but they are way weaker. I mainly damage enemies through debuffs, so I use a bow primarily, but I have a sword for back up as well.¡± She explained succinctly. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°That certainly sounds versatile. I agree with Vorn, I¡¯m excited to see it in action.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª They arrived at the dungeon a few hours later, it was a fair few miles away from town. They did some pre-delve checks. Weapons? Good condition for the most part, but a few repairs were needed. Potions? Stoppered and ready on Voran''s new belt, check. Rowan pulled out one of the few whetstones they bought and used it on his dagger. The beat-up and nicked metal smoothed before his eyes, no new metal was being made, but the material that was already there was being redistributed to make the most of what was there. It was a thorough repair, even the rust that came with the weapon was wiped off. Ark checked her things as well. Arrows? Dry and ready. Mana? Full and raring to go. Leather Armor? Fitted and fully secured. ¡°No armor?¡± She asked, confused. ¡°Can¡¯t afford anything worth taking. We¡¯re saving right now, and a decent set costs over seventy brights.¡± Rowan explained. ¡°If you can handle yourself without it, that¡¯s your business, but please try not to die. That would tank my reputation.¡± Ark finished with a little sniff and a straight face, or at least an attempt at one. A small wriggle at the edge of her mouth gave away the faux stoicism. A wry smile grew on his face, ¡°Thanks for the concern.¡± Ark returned the grin, ¡°Of course!¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª It was time to head in. The crack in reality was much larger for this dungeon. It apparently had Orcs up to level fifty, but they were rare. They expected to land in a Safe Room. Apparently, that was a common, but not guaranteed, feature. A little room to get ready before heading in. According to a few Mad Priests ¨C unwilling disciples of the Mad God, Lunaris ¨C they were a feature that cost almost nothing but caused a few deaths every year. It was designed to make you complacent. Low on mana? Slightly winded? That didn¡¯t matter, you would be heading into the Safe Room the moment you entered. But you weren''t guaranteed to end up in one. Not even in dungeons with the Safe Room. Sometimes, it would just drop you into the dungeon. Like it did now. Now for most, this would be dangerous and would stun them for a few moments. Not so with Rowan. And surprisingly, not so with Ark. They were beset on all sides by Orcs, a good amount of them over level twenty if the feeling they gave off was correct. The only blessing in this situation was that the Orcs didn¡¯t seem to be expecting them either. They were all minding their business in the camp they just dropped in. Some playing cards, others just napping. It didn¡¯t take them long to enter murder mode, though. They all carried their weapons on their hip. Before they could ever reach for them, though, Rowan was moving. His knife was unsheathed and ready. He reached the first Orc like a hurricane of violence, not even pausing after casually slashing its bear chest from collar bone to hip. It wasn¡¯t dead, but he wasn¡¯t going for the kill. According to Vorn, Orcs were big, tough, and angry. It was doubtful, even with his stats, that he could kill them in one strike. Especially with his ¡®poor¡¯ skill with daggers. He was still just a little bitter about that assessment. Based on how shallow the wound was on the Orc he struck, he was right to assume that. Monster races got certain advantages to offset being killed on sight until they could break free from the Mad God¡¯s chains. The Orc¡¯s was Tree Skin, though it had multiple variants depending on their habitat. These were reported to have Crystal Skin, and based on the environment, it was fitting. It gave them exceptionally tough ¨C and spiky ¨C skin. Rowan continued on his attack, but Ark wasn¡¯t just sitting still. Under her breath, she whispered, ¡°Unleash Plague: Targeted.¡± A small beam colored a sickly and virulent green rushed forward. The first Orc that was hit by her attack staggered back and then laughed. It wasn¡¯t hurt at all! A few other Orcs noted the lack of damage and seemingly dismissed the strange woman, instead focusing on the man dancing around like a hyperactive ballerina with a knife. That confident dismissal was the best move, they were sure of that. A caster with spells that puny? She was surely no threat, and they were certain about that¡­ Until they felt a stir in their gut and an itch in their nose. Still, it was probably nothing. They were tough, they were big, they were ORCS! Rowan was beset by them on all sides, and they were getting angrier the longer he dodged and weaved around their attacks. He was beginning to worry, they were healing faster than he could damage them¡­ Then they started sneezing and coughing. The Orcs thought that was weird, but who really cared? It was just a cough. Their stomach hurt a bit, but it wasn¡¯t that bad. Their fingers started to go a bit numb, but again, it was nothing. Maybe the adrenaline? Or blood loss? The male human was bleeding them dry, after all. They weren¡¯t worried, however. They were tough, and their vitality could carry them through some blood loss. The human would get tired eventually, and then his incessant dodging couldn¡¯t protect him. A few were now beginning to notice that small lesions were beginning to open on their skin. Maybe they had gotten a cut from that human that they hadn¡¯t seen? He was fast. Then the coughs turned to wracking and awful fits, and their lesions turned into real wounds that were absolutely weeping blood and pus. Their stomachs began to protest their last meal, and they began vomiting black bile. Their skin had gone from a healthy crystal cyan into a sickly and crumbly yellow. The fast human didn''t even have to try to avoid them now. They quickly realized it must be the work of the short human female. They attempted to find her, but between their own coughing fits and the human bladestorm, they couldn¡¯t find her. Slowly, they began to succumb to their accumulated wounds. Their vitality drained faster than it could heal them. The moment the first Orc dropped, they knew they were finished. The dagger human didn¡¯t even look winded! They attempted to run. It was futile, and deep down, they knew that, but their survival instinct demanded they do something. No Orc worth the name would die without fighting to their last breath. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª After the battle, Rowan found Ark perched in a tree. She was just chilling there. He took a moment to observe the strange woman. She was short, even shorter than him, at a decidedly disarming 5¡¯1. Her hair was electric blue, which was rare even for those of the Axelite race. Her eyes matched her hair, both in color and intensity. A short lightning bolt of a woman with plague magic. Interesting. ¡°So how do we distribute loot? Half and half?¡± He asked. She leaped from her perch and landed right in front of him, answering, ¡°We can do sixty/forty. You''re risking your life on the frontlines, after all. Seems only fair.¡± ¡°If you say so, it will certainly be helpful.¡± Rowan said gratefully. It was the first time she had heard genuine emotion in his voice, however dim it might be. ¡°No problem.¡± She said. ¡°So, um. How¡¯d you like my magic?¡± She asked, suddenly nervous. A little thrown off by the sudden shift in the atmosphere, Rowan honestly answered, ¡°It¡¯s powerful. Vorn informed me that Orcs would be tough to kill, but with your help it became much easier. I heard you call your ability a plague, am I correct in assuming that¡¯s your branch of magic?¡± ¡°Yep! Plague magic! Or rather, Plague Sorcery. You know how those mage types get when you don¡¯t respect the distinction.¡± She replied, now in much higher spirits. ¡°Cool. Do- Ah, Vorn has questions. He is a ¡®mage type¡¯ as you would say. Very curious. Incessantly curious.¡± Rowan said with¡­ was that exasperation? Ark wondered how curious he must be if it irritated the walking rock of a man. ¡°THAT''S SO COOL! How does it work? Can you discriminate between targets? Of course you can, otherwise we¡¯d be coughing! How do you target your enemies then! What kind of plague is it! Is it magical or mundane! What-¡± Ark kind of zoned out after a while. That¡¯s how curious. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª They had landed in a rather obscure camp. It must have been a scouting location or a small outpost at most. There were only fifteen Orcs, all between levels fourteen to twenty-three. They [Converted] Most of them, as that didn¡¯t destroy the body, and looted a few others. As long as the body wasn¡¯t [Destroyed] the blood would be fine. They came out with a grand total of one bright and fifty lumies split between themselves. That was all from conversion, though. They would be splitting the funds from the vials after they turned them in. Rowan got himself a new knife, mostly to use in conjunction with his previous one, and Ark managed to pull a pretty solid short sword. She just replaced her old blade with it. She still kept it in her spatial bag, however. No need to waste a perfectly good backup. Rowan dragged his way through level eight with that fight, finally reaching level nine. He loved his Class ¨C no, his Path, and he wouldn¡¯t replace it with any other ¨C but god did it level slowly. Still, that was one hundred and thirty-five points in every Physical Attribute. More than a lot of people would ever get in their lives. In any stat. No matter, they had other things to accomplish. This camp was just the first of many. The sooner they got to the Academy, the sooner they would unlock their full potential. Rowan wouldn¡¯t say it out loud for fear of pushing his younger soulmate ¨C Rowan still remembered how easily swayed he was before he served and his confidence was solidified ¨C, but he was excited to see what they could do when they were finally complete. Just a few more dungeons. But, for now, he would enjoy this one. Chapter 11: Massacre before the storm Rowan wasn¡¯t exactly exhausted from the engagement, but being dropped into a life-and-death battle was certainly a little tiring. Ark also wasn¡¯t doing so hot, as it turns out, spreading a plague that deadly was also pretty tiring. They spent their time observing the surrounding wildlife. Rowan had assumed that the fauna would be limited to bats and other cave-dwelling mammals and insects, but there was a surprising variety. From crystal-coated rabbits to glowing butterflies with delicate wings, it really was a beautiful sight. After that hour had passed, they were feeling mostly refreshed. They scouted their surroundings, and even Rowan had to admit that the caves ¨C well, it was more of a cavern ¨C were beautiful. The ceiling was a few hundred feet up and absolutely covered in glowing cyan crystals. The crystals fractaled out from a central crystal spire in the heart of the cavern. It was barely visible from their current location ¨C they were near the edge of the cavern ¨C as similar crystals jutted out of the ground. They were shaped like jagged trees with delicate purple leaves. Also made of crystal, of course. The trees themselves, however, were a duller shade of cyan that didn¡¯t glow nearly as much. If the Spire¡¯s crystals were the sun, then these were a light bulb. There was not just one spire, either. Multiple smaller ones jutted from the ceiling all the way to the floor. These were much thinner, however. The fact he could see the central Spire at all was a miracle with all the concealment that the myriad crystal trees and columns offered. A large winding river wound between and through multiple spires, seemingly headed straight for the central spire and wrapping around it. The rapids themselves had multiple areas that glowed a vibrant blue where they flowed over rocks. Either a bioluminescent plant or just plain dungeon fuckery, he didn¡¯t know which. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Their scouting proved fruitful, as just thirty minutes after leaving, they found another camp. This one was much, much bigger. There were easily twenty tents spread around, each holding two or three Orcs. There was also a much larger tent in the center, but it only held one Orc. A chieftain. Level fifty. After observing the monsters¡¯ patrol patterns, Ark and Rowan retreated. ¡°So, are we doing this?¡± Ark asked, surprising Rowan. ¡°I thought I would have to be the one to ask that. I am confident in my skills, but I¡¯m not dumb. I know it would be suicide to fight a level fifty straight on, so, do you have a plan?¡± He asked. ¡°Yeah, blast the fuck out of it with plague magic until you can kick the shit out of it.¡± ¡°Hm, simple usually works best for these types of things. I¡¯m tempted to go with that, but I have to ask, Vorn, do you have any ideas?¡± Rowan questioned. ¡°A few. Most of them are convoluted and would probably fail, though. Too many variables to be comfortable with. Honestly, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to fight the chieftain at all, but if anyone could do it, it would be you. A crazed reincarnated with plague magic support? It just might work. Promise you¡¯ll run if you get your ass kicked, though. That¡¯s my one condition.¡± ¡°You have my word.¡± He said seriously. ¡°Vorn thinks your plan has the best chance of succeeding, but I promised to run if I start losing.¡± Rowan explained to Ark. ¡°The fact he had to make you promise to run at all is concerning, but I¡¯m going to gloss over that. So, we have a ¡°plan¡± for the chieftain, but what about the rest of the camp? I want to conserve as much Mana as possible if we''re going to be blasting it.¡± She pointed out. Rowan wasn¡¯t good with sarcasm, but even he could hear the air quotes over ¡®plan¡¯. ¡°You got anything, Vorn?¡± Ark asked. ¡°Well, Orcs are famous for having awful taste ¨C They¡¯ll literally eat anything ¨C and they do eat out of a communal pot, so maybe we could poison them? Ask Ark if she has anything that could do that.¡± ¡°Vorn recommended poisoning their communal dinner. Could you do that?¡± Rowan translated. ¡°Well, I am a plague sorcerous, but I don¡¯t exclusively rely on magic to spread it. I can do it the normal way as well. Hell, it would be way more cost effective than doing it magically. I could just have the microbes replicate in the pot! I would have to make them heat resistant, though¡­¡± Rowan could see her getting lost in her thoughts. ¡°Okay, that sounds like it¡¯ll work, but how are we going to sneak in? I am no stealth specialist, well, I was, but I can¡¯t sneak up on things with super hearing and sight. I only have mundane training.¡± That quickly took the wind out of the other two¡¯s sails. They clearly expected him to do it, but forgot that he had limits. He could hit well and move better, but that was the extent of his skill set. In a world of Vitality-improved senses, a sleeping goblin was about all he could sneak up on. Rowan had just looked at the camp, so he had its layout firmly established in his mind, but he couldn¡¯t think of a single way to deliver a vial of plague to the pot. It was right next to the chieftain''s tent in the center. There were no conveniently placed trees to climb or sporadically interspersed bushes he could crawl through. Hell, they had even chopped down all the trees near their camp. It was just a grouping of tents on the stone floor. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°That does certainly put a damper on Operation Plague Potpie.¡± Ark said without even a hint of humor in her tone. Rowan let out a subtle snort at the title. Ark quirked an eyebrow, she wasn¡¯t aware the walking, somehow bloodthirsty, rock could laugh. Vorn had some mild complaints. ¡°You can laugh?! I thought you said you had trouble with humor? You haven¡¯t laughed at a single joke I¡¯ve ever told!¡± ¡°Maybe I just thought you weren¡¯t funny?¡± Vorn squawked in outrage in their mind. ¡°No, but seriously, I do genuinely have a hard time with humor most of the time. Some people can get through to me, though. I don¡¯t really know why some jokes work and others don¡¯t, maybe my sense of humor is just skewed? I did have a pretty weird childhood.¡± ¡°You made a joke! You just did! What is going on today? The most you¡¯ve made before is a sarcastic remark! Actually, I¡¯m not even sure if you¡¯ve done that!¡± ¡°I literally live in your head now. I¡¯ve picked up some cues from your humor. I don¡¯t misunderstand your jokes anymore. Though, most of them still just sound like either false or dry statements to me. Sarcasm just isn''t particularly hilarious to me.¡± ¡°SO YOU WEREN¡¯T JOKING! Am I really just not funny to you?¡± ¡°Sorry, I tried to spare your feelings.¡± ¡°Any progress on coming up with a plan? You seemed to be pretty deep in thought.¡± Ark asked. ¡°Sorry, Vorn is sulking. He¡¯s upset that I don¡¯t think he¡¯s funny.¡± Ark gave them an unimpressed look for a moment before sighing, ¡°So that¡¯s a no then.¡± Before she went back to brainstorming, she noticed that Voran¡¯s eyes turned silver. Vorn was back in control, and Gods help her, he looked excited. ¡°I have a plan! How much can you alter your plagues?¡± He asked with a sinister smile. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Ark hated Vorn¡¯s plans. He had the worst ideas that any idea haver had ever had. Her Mana Channels were already screaming at her, and she hadn¡¯t even cast a spell yet. Just the thought¡­ She shivered a little. How could one man be so cruel in so many ways? Even she wouldn¡¯t have, nay, couldn¡¯t have thought of something like this. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Night had fallen, though, all that really meant was that the ceiling dimmed slightly. Ark¡¯s whole being felt like it was on fire, her mana veins were so strained that she had trouble even thinking about casting another spell. Luckily, their plan was so effective that she wouldn¡¯t have to. The Orcs were currently sleeping, but they still had a few roaming patrols. None of them could sense their impending doom. The magical microbes inside them were currently dormant, but all it would take to change that was a snap of her fingers. Honestly, the strategy was ingenious. Ark was embarrassed that she never thought of it herself, but even if she had, it wasn¡¯t likely she¡¯d get another chance to use it. Too indiscriminate. The poor wildlife... She could see Rowan approaching the perimeter. It was almost time. Finally, he reached the entrance to the clearing. There was no wall to demarcate where the camp started, but the complete absence of crystalline trees made it clear enough. The plague activated. It looked like nothing happened at first, and that was by design. This plague was designed to be subtle, insidious. She was less mad about not thinking of this alteration, as it was the kind of thing only a magic nerd like Vorn could think of. It didn¡¯t target the circulatory system or the respiratory system. No physical part of their body was under attack. She altered her plague to target a far more mystical target. Their Vital Energy. At first, she didn¡¯t even think it was possible. Plagues targeting energy? Could they even do that? As it turns out, yes, they could. Easily. It was such a natural process she was surprised she hadn¡¯t stumbled upon it by accident. Plagues already targeted Initialized individual''s Vital Energy, just indirectly. It drained their Vitality by forcing them to use it faster than it could regenerate. She just eliminated the middleman. It was more complicated than that, and the fact that Vital Energy was partially physical was what made infecting possible in the first place, but the point was that it didn¡¯t feel hard. She was a sorceress, not a mage, she didn¡¯t need research and study to alter her ¡®spells¡¯. Though, that didn¡¯t stop her from studying microbiology religiously. To get a Unique Class you needed to be uniquely obsessed, after all. Back to the plague, the reason this was so insidious was simple. Vitality wasn¡¯t fully physical, and it certainly wasn¡¯t natural to most being¡¯s bodies. The only presence it had on the body was how it passively affected it. There were no nerve endings, no process that fundamentally needed it. So when it was gone, or being eaten, it was impossible to notice unless you were awake. Even then, you would just start feeling tired. It wasn¡¯t deadly, not by any means, but it was something far greater than a minor debuff. If given enough time, it would make those who relied on Vitality almost completely mundane. Vital Energy did passively strengthen the body, but it had a limit, and it wasn¡¯t a particularly high one. Honestly, this plague terrified her with its magnitude. This was a big fucking deal, if anyone found out she could target mystical energy, she would be murdered. She was already on thin ice by having plague magic, something like this? Admitting she had it would be suicide. She paused her thoughts as she watched Rowan simply walk through the camp. Orcs streamed out of their tents but were quickly slain. The confusion was obvious on their faces, but they were too battle-crazed to give it much thought. ¡®Human must die¡¯, was the extent of their thoughts. Ark still hadn¡¯t gotten used to the casual grace and beauty that Rowan moved with. It was amazing. She had never been unhappy with the magic she¡¯d gotten, but even she had to admit that she was jealous of Rowan¡¯s movement skill. She still wouldn¡¯t trade her Class for anything, though. There was nothing quite like spending a night altering her microbe''s properties and effects, Ark couldn''t imagine a more fulfilling Path. He practically walked through the Orcs, new dagger in hand. He used both of his weapons in tandem, but it was clear that he wasn¡¯t trained with dual-wielding. Still, it didn¡¯t really matter. He didn¡¯t need combat forms to slash and stab when they couldn¡¯t even hit him. Ark pulled out her bow and started sniping a few. She let out a surprised huff when her arrows actually killed a few. Normally her bow wouldn¡¯t even penetrate their skin. Spreading the plague to literally every animal in the vicinity had been worth it. Ark had been afraid that it wouldn¡¯t work, or, if it did, it would take a few days for them to go through their stocks. As it turns out, Orcs needed a lot of food. So much so, that they hunted extensively every day and still almost ran out completely by nightfall. Safe to say, infecting their food worked well. Maybe it was even worth her mana veins feeling like they were being incinerated. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Rowan was having the time of his life. The Orcs may not be actively enhanced by the System anymore, but the changes it enacted on them weren¡¯t just gone. They were still far stronger, faster, and tougher than an average person. Plus, they still had some residual Vitality. It wasn''t as if the plague was that fast. But they weren¡¯t practically invincible anymore. And they were significantly weaker. Rowan wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled with how weak they were now, but nothing was perfect. Better they were killable than invincible. He could fight entire camps by himself when he was stronger, but for now, he would need to gather that strength. A large cleaver sailed towards his head, but he was already moving downwards. In that same movement, he rolled backward, dodging a few more swords aiming for his vitals. Midway through the roll, he used his hands to jump to the side, dodging a few more blades. While in the air, his blades scored a few Orcish throats on either side of him. A mace came screaming towards his spine while he was still flying, but he didn¡¯t panic. He hooked his foot around the shoulder of an Orc and his momentum rotated him away from the strike. He kept rotating and wrapped his arm around the same Orc¡¯s forehead. With his other arm, he stabbed it in the heart. The Orc flailed in pain, making Rowan, who was still on its back, that much harder to hit. He felt like he was flying whenever he fought now. Simultaneously a rushing river and a gale-force wind. The movement of ambient air and mana warned him of another imminent attack, but he was already ahead of it. He backflipped off of the now near-dead monster and landed on another Orc. Rowan wrapped his legs around the beast''s throat and with a quick twist snapped its neck. All the while, myriad weapons aimed at his demise. Then, he heard it. A roar unlike any he had heard before. It sounded like fury. It sounded like death. Rowan was ecstatic. Vorn was significantly less so. Chapter 12: Final Stand A lumbering giant stumbled out of its den. Easily ten feet tall, this was no Orc, it was a behemoth. They hadn¡¯t actually seen the chieftain in the flesh when they were scouting, but they didn¡¯t quite imagine it would look like this. It didn¡¯t look very weakened, either. Vorn shivered in their spirit. It looked angry. The Chieftain took only a moment to look them up and down, assessing them. It clearly found them wanting, as the hulking mass of pure Orcish force came hurtling at them not even a second later. Rowan was already moving, but the titanic being still clipped him anyway. The Orc wasn¡¯t freakishly fast by any means, especially not for a level fifty, but it was still over twice as fast as Rowan. Not to mention, the dangers of facing an over-leveled enemy were twofold. One was obvious, their stats. The other was less so. Their skills. This creature had four skills and had more experience with each of them. Rowan could feel his shoulder creak from the force of the strike, and it barely hit him. This thing couldn¡¯t have been more than two, maybe three times stronger than him, but that was a hard gap to overcome. The behemoth overshot his position with its last attack, but he could tell that the creature wasn¡¯t feeling one hundred percent. It was infected after all. Rowan wasn¡¯t sure if that would matter, though. With a look of pure malice, the Orc raised his clenched fists above his head, but Rowan was already running. Based on the sinister red energy gathering on its hands and the erratic movement of mana around it, the attack would be large and powerful. The Orc just gave him a smug look, then smashed his fists into the ground. Rowan was already a few dozen feet away by the time the attack reached the ground, but once more, that didn¡¯t matter. The red energy in the monster¡¯s hands spread into the ground, cracking and tearing the ground apart into pieces for hundreds of feet. Rowan was not spared, and neither were the Chief¡¯s troops. Luckily, it did get weaker the farther you were from the epicenter, but the attack still knocked him on his ass and stunned him. He hadn¡¯t felt this sluggish in years. His very being protested moving. The Orc Chief was fast approaching, but he was basically unconscious. Then, their eyes turned silver, and Vorn managed to fling them out of the freight train¡¯s path. Barely. He still wasn¡¯t great with their new stats. A few seconds later, in which Vorn just ran for his life clumsily, Rowan took back over. He gave a quick thanks to Vorn and got back to trying not to die. The living tank was still trying to hit them, but Rowan was managing to barely stay ahead. He actually had to predict its movements instead of just relying on the way it influenced the surrounding mana. He predicted wrong, and the Orc¡¯s fist slammed into his shoulder once more, dislocating and nearly breaking it. He had to run. That was the only solution. But he couldn¡¯t. Not out of a sense of reluctance or anything, he literally couldn¡¯t. This goddamn mountain of muscle was too fast. This might be the end of them. As if sensing their ¨C or rather, Vorn¡¯s ¨C despair, it redoubled its efforts. Red energy invaded its eyes, making it look more like a demon than an Orc, and then it moved. It was so fast that Rowan genuinely couldn¡¯t see it. He had to once more rely on the way it was influencing the mana and air currents to predict how it would attack, but that didn¡¯t exactly work well. Sure, he could tell where it was attacking, but he couldn¡¯t meaningfully do anything to prevent the strikes. Well, he could do one thing. Roll with the punches. He stopped trying to dodge, and just focused on minimizing how much it would hurt. Fist coming at his chest, rotate a few degrees so it would clip his shoulder. Kick going for his knees, jump, and allow his ankles to take the blow. While spinning mid-air from the impact, used his daggers to absorb the impact of a punch, then used the force to send him a few dozen feet away. A grin was permanently fixed on his face. It drove the Chief mad. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He was surviving. No, he was thriving. Rowan was having an amazing time. He just felt bad that Vorn would go down with him. Nothing he could do about it though, might as well enjoy this fight while he could. The red light in the chief¡¯s eyes flared again, and he let out an earth-shaking roar. The Orcs around, the surviving ones at least, each let out their own roar in kind. All of their eyes began glowing red as well. Fuck. It had an inspirational skill? That just seemed unfair. Rowan knew he would not survive this fight. It wasn¡¯t in the cards anymore. At least while the Orcs were roaring up a storm he had a little time to recover. His Constitution was insanely high, but it could only do so much. It was struggling to keep up with the damage. Suddenly, he felt a jolt. It was like a spike of pure adrenaline. A green glow began to emanate from his body, and his healing sped up tenfold. It got him to near peak form before it ran its course. Huh. Ark did say she could heal, didn¡¯t she? Didn¡¯t she say it would be weak when spread to allies? This was the opposite of weak. Rowan scanned around for her and managed to find her designated hiding spot. The plan they agreed on stated she would stay far away from camp just in case this exact scenario happened. She looked, for lack of a better word, fucked. Blood was leaking from her eyes and ears, and she was clearly unconscious. Thankfully, she was hundreds of feet away from the camp. The Orcs had no idea where she was. Voran hoped. She already looked wiped out even before the fight started, so that heal she just pulled out of her ass must have truly wiped her out. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t find her after Voran died. Vorn himself was frantically looking through all his Class options, it wasn¡¯t¡­ It wasn¡¯t looking good. The Orcs finally finished their synchronous roar. The look in their eyes spoke of an unspeakable amount of hatred. He was beginning to notice a theme with the Chief''s skills. They seemed to be rage-based. Or maybe Orcs were always pissed off? He couldn¡¯t truly tell. They all ran at him with fiery rage and bloodlust in their eyes. Rowan let go and let [Movement] carry him how it would. He flowed like water around the Orcish tide. A few blades went for his body, but he crouched under them while parrying another blade from behind him. Another blade went for his shoulder, but he could do nothing to dodge it without moving into another attack, so he allowed himself to take the blow. He moved with the blow, making the cut shallow. Another four weapons were hurtling towards his back while he was still crouched, but he managed to roll sideways to avoid them. Before he could exit the roll, he felt a kick rapidly approaching his side. He somehow used a handspring to jump out of the way, but now he was mid-air. He didn¡¯t even bother with his eyes, having closed them before the onslaught even began. He was going to die. He was going to die¡­ but¡­ A new thought replaced the grim proclamation How many can I take down with me? ¡°Go ahead. I can see the writing on the wall. I opened my Class selection, and there was nothing there that could save us, there¡¯s nothing I can do without taking over, and we both know how that would go... so go all out.¡± Vorn said, trying to hide his fear, then continued, ¡°It was fun adventuring with you. I don¡¯t regret it. I mean that.¡± ¡°Thank you. I agree, I haven¡¯t had this much fun in ages. But¡­ I also enjoyed your company. If we meet again in the next life, I know it will be as friends.¡± Rowan said sincerely. Perhaps the most sincere he had ever been. The Orc¡¯s eyes met Voran¡¯s wide grin and manic look and felt something their rage-addled minds could barely comprehend. Fear. Faintly, he could hear a *ding*. A System notification. Not important. What did matter was the new feeling of strength welling up inside him. He could feel his muscles burning with unstoppable force. This time, he approached the green tide head-on. ¡°I am going to die.¡± But he was with his Soulmate. ¡°No, we are going to die.¡± And Voran accepted that. ¡°Our death will be glorious.¡± They fully merged once more. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Ockt¡¯lish was an Orcish scout that just returned from his hunting trip. What he expected was a pat on the back and some friendly jabs. What he got was something far more terrifying. In front of him, he could see his camp under the effect of Chief Urk¡¯lock¡¯s Wrath skill. Use of the skill was a last-case scenario as it would permanently make them weaker until they recovered from the backlash. But it would always win. The skill was unstoppable. Even level eighty Delver¡¯s had fallen to their red-eyed horde. But not now. In front of the tide was one human. And it was winning. It was covered head to toe in a myriad of wounds, but it was winning. It dodged and weaved, but when it was convenient, it would just take an attack head-on. The Human was slaughtering them. It was winning. Ockt¡¯lish was terrified. Just by focusing on the man, the Orc could tell that it was level nine, but it moved like a being at level ninety. Constantly stabbing and slashing, the Human looked like a river of blades. It fought like a beast backed into a corner. The Chief was probably still recovering from using his inspiration skill, so he couldn¡¯t join in the fight yet, but maybe that was for the best. The camp could recover from losing most of their warriors, but a chieftain was damn near irreplaceable. And as of right now? The scout wasn¡¯t sure who would win. Suddenly, the red light faded from Orcs'' eyes. ¡®Oh no¡¯ was all the scout could think. Ockt¡¯lish had assumed the skill had only been activated for a few moments at most, but it had already run its five-minute course. The Human had free reign to attack their weakened forms. But it didn¡¯t need to. The Orcs just started dropping dead when the skill stopped. ¡®What?¡¯ The Orcish scout wasn¡¯t the most eloquent. It was just the Chief and the Human left. The Chief gazed at the human with an unnatural hatred. The human stared right back, but its purple eyes displayed a different emotion. Joy. Unadulterated and pure. They met in battle, the Human rushing and retreating like a tide. The Chief¡¯s arms were practically covered in the red Wrathful energy. The Human dodged and weaved as if it could predict the Chief¡¯s every movement, but it couldn¡¯t get a solid attack in. The Chief, on the other hand, flailed and raged, but he couldn¡¯t land a hit. The Human dodged another onslaught, but this time, lunged with his dagger. He missed! He stabbed his dagger to the right of the Chief¡¯s neck! The feeling of triumph was quickly turned to dread when he saw the dagger turned ninety degrees, the edge aligned with the nape of the chief¡¯s neck. Before the scout could shout a warning, the titanic Orc punched the Human away. Tearing the blade through his own throat and breaking every bone in the Human¡¯s chest. That was fine, though. The Chief could survive a wound like that with no problem, backlash from his skill or not. The human on the other hand¡­ didn¡¯t seem like it would be recovering. Ockt¡¯lish ran to his Chief¡¯s side to congratulate the behemoth for his victory, but¡­ He wasn¡¯t recovering! The Chief was bleeding out! The scout attempted to stem the unceasing flow of blood, but nothing was working! Ultimately, the Behemoth of Wrath died in the scout¡¯s arms. Ockt¡¯lish was furious, he would avenge his leader! But he felt so sluggish¡­ what? What was going on? Why did he feel so slow? He noticed that everyone else in the camp looked sluggish before they died, so maybe he just caught what they had? Was there a sickness going around? It didn''t matter. All that mattered was avenging his chieftain. He approached the downed human with fury in his eyes. His curse was acting up even more than normal, he knew with certainty that he would kill this bastard human. Then, the human sluggishly raised a hand in his direction. The scout raised an eyebrow. What did it hope to accomplish? He had seen all it could do in its previous fight. Then, a fireball came screaming out of its palm and incinerated Ockt¡¯lish. So ended the tale of Ockt¡¯lish. Chapter 13: Mind Path "That fight was¡­ glorious." Voran thought through the pain. So this was what death was like? When Rowan died on earth, it had been instant. An exploding facility filled with ancient tech tended to do that. Before they could bleed out, though, they remembered something critical. Something so important that it could change fate forever. They had fucking potions! But meh. Who cared. They wouldn¡¯t ever top a fight like that, anyway. So why bother? That thought created a dissonance, however, and caused them to split. Vorn took over immediately and gulped down a healing potion. It wouldn¡¯t instantly heal their wounds, but the additional vitality would certainly keep them alive for another few hours. ¡°What the hell is with you?! Are you trying to die!¡± ¡°eh, i guess. sure.¡± He spoke mildly as if discussing the weather. ¡°Why!?¡± ¡°i dunno.¡± ¡°Just¡­ check your notifications, alright?" Vorn had a theory. ¡°sure.¡± Rowan said, unenthused at their continued survival. Title Earned: Final Stand (Orcish) - Epic You stand facing your death. You stand with honor. You stand with purpose. You are going to die, but now that is your enemy''s problem. For you have nothing left to fear. Godspeed, and send as many down with you as you can. Temporary Boon: Dying Might At the cost of your True Vitality, increase your strength and agility. Increase scales with the amount burned. Permanent Boon: Orcish Nightmare All Orcs must fight an intense fear when facing you. Temporary Bane: Abandoned Survival Instincts For the next twenty-four hours, your survival instincts will be completely gone. Good luck. Temporary Bane: Apathy For the next twenty-four hours, your ability to care about anything is gone. Good luck. Vorn groaned internally. Of course, Rowan¡¯s first Title would be something like this. Final Stand was rather famous for ending in the deaths of most who earned it. It was in the name, after all, you weren¡¯t meant to survive it. Most who gained it died in battle, but a fair amount of people died after the battle too. You only got the Title when you gave up on living, and the System respected that. If you were willing to abandon even the thought of surviving, it would grant you power beyond your imagination. Burning your True Vitality for power was insane, though. You only had a limited amount of True Vitality, and you didn¡¯t get more of it until you evolved. Oh, and it also determined your lifespan. Fuck. Just how many years did they burn? ¡°Rowan, check your status!¡± "sure." Voran, Level 19 Twin Soul Spellblade Age: 16 | Class 1: [Twin Soul: Mind Path] | Rowan: [Twin Soul: Body Path] Attributes: CON: 285 STR: 285 AGI: 285 DEX: 285 WIS: 570 INT: 570 CHA: 114 LUCK: 114 [Titles: Vorn - None | Rowan - 1 New Title(s) Acquired] [Perks: Vorn - 2 New Perks Acquired! | Rowan - Unchanged] [Skills: Vorn - 2 New Skill(s) Available | Rowan - 1 New Skill Available] Status: Leveling Rush - Extreme, Potion Sickness - 59 minutes, Fatigued - Extreme, Injured - Extreme, Dehydrated, Plagued Huh. Vorn had forgotten that he picked his Class for a moment. There went his dream. That he had spent his whole life chasing. Gone. Forever. He was not emotionally prepared to deal with this right now. This was the worst moment for Rowan to be functionally useless. Vorn prepared himself for a moment and then took over the body. The pain was immediate and extreme. Maybe it was for the best that Rowan couldn¡¯t feel much of anything right now. That was a mercy. And they were sixteen now. That¡­ that was less awful than he was expecting. Still younger than he had been when they evolved into a Unique Being. Hell, they were legally an adult now! Not that it mattered, as most people went off of level, not age. You needed to be an adult to have a Class in the first place, after all. There were a few edge cases where children got Classes, but that was extraordinarily rare. Huh¡­ wait, were they one of those edge cases? Rowan picked his Class when he was only a day old! If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Alright, enough distracting myself. Time to move.¡± Vorn spoke to himself. ¡°good luck, i guess.¡± Rowan replied limply. ¡°Thanks for the encouragement.¡± Vorn replied with a dry tone. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª It took a few hours, but they managed to crawl themselves over to the tree that Ark was passed out on. Luckily, she wasn¡¯t actually in the tree, as he had no chance of climbing it as he was now. Unluckily, she wasn¡¯t in the tree because she had fallen out of it. Luckily once more, the fall hadn¡¯t killed her. Vorn slowly crawled to her and poured a potion down her throat. He had been taking one every hour and had downed three at this point. Ark woke up sputtering and coughing. ¡°What the hell!¡± She shouted, then paused. ¡°Holy shit, we¡¯re alive!? How did you manage that!¡± She exclaimed much louder. ¡°Maybe don¡¯t shout right now,¡± Vorn rasped out, ¡°I¡¯m kinda indisposed at the moment.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can see that. You look like a dragon stomped on you and then ground you into paste.¡± She said straight-faced. ¡°Thanks for the kind words.¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± ¡°Say, you wouldn¡¯t be able to use that healing skill again, would you?¡± Vorn casually pleaded. ¡°Nah, impossible. I had to burn all the microbes I put in you to make that¡­ work¡­¡± Her eyes widened, and Vorn suddenly felt much better. ¡°What was that?¡± Vorn accused. ¡°Nothin¡¯,¡± Ark said a little too quickly. ¡°Ark.¡± ¡°Fine! I don¡¯t actually have a way to prevent my plagues from spreading to other people! I just use my microbes to defend my party members from it! And since I burned yours for a healing boost¡­¡± ¡°I caught the vitality burning plague. I was wondering why recovery was taking so long.¡± He sighed. ¡°In my defense, I totally thought you were going to die.¡± ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s fair. I did too.¡± Vorn wanted to be mad, but couldn¡¯t. ¡°How did you manage to survive that, anyway?¡± ¡°Well, for one, your plague weakened them a ton, and secondly, this moron,¡± Vorn tapped on his head, ¡°Managed to get the Last Stand Title¡± ¡°Oh shit. How bad?¡± Ark winced. ¡°Not terrible. Our age got reset when we evolved, so we¡¯re only sixteen now.¡± ¡°Thank the Gods. I did think it was weird that you didn¡¯t look like a wrinkled prune! How is Rowan dealing with the after effects?¡± She asked. Vorn sighed, ¡°Not well. I¡¯m going to have to be the one in charge for today.¡± ¡°Well¡­ do you still want to stay in the dungeon?¡± She asked tentatively. ¡°No- Well¡­ I guess I do need practice with my new Class.¡± He quickly interrupted himself. ¡°Oh? I thought you were going to that fancy Acade- Oh. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Ark began to jokingly mock, before realizing what must have happened. He had told her about his dreams while questioning her a few hours ago. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I probably would have picked this anyway¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ That was my whole plan, ya know? What do I do now? I was basically running purely on spite and idealistic dreams for the past couple of years.¡± Vorn asked, finally thinking about his future. ¡°That¡¯s tough. I don¡¯t know. Do you at least like your new Class?¡± ¡°Like? I love it! It¡¯s practically tailor made for me! I just don¡¯t know what to do with myself now. I have a Path sure, but I can follow that Path while doing basically anything else. Should I become a researcher? Could I with Rowan in my head? I just don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re overthinking this. Do you think Rowan has some grand overarching plan when he goes out to whack things? Sure, you were doing dungeons for money to go to school, but do you really think that was why he agreed to do them? He just does it for fun. You can too.¡± Ark explained. ¡°I guess, but that just feels¡­ empty. Sure, I could see Rowan being plenty fulfilled doing just that, but I always imagined myself leaving a mark, you know? Changing how we perceive magic forever or something grand like that.¡± Vorn rambled out. ¡°So, do that. You just explained what you wanted right there. What¡¯s stopping you?¡± ¡°I would need- Huh. I guess¡­ I guess I could. I have the power. I have the ambition. What is stopping me?¡± He asked more to himself than anyone. ¡°What were your options anyway? I know you won¡¯t tell me what you actually have, but what about the ones you skipped over?¡± Ark asked with the social grace of a bulldozer. Vorn found that he didn¡¯t mind. ¡°There were a couple interesting ones,¡± Arcane Scholar Path - Epic Your fascination with the arcane is second to none. Now you can study it to your heart''s content! Casting may be out of your reach, but your understanding is second to none! You are the pride of any research tower! Your path is of Understanding, Arcane, and Research. +Magic Mind +6 INT +6 WIS +6 CON +6 DEX +6 Free Points per level Druid of Ages - Legendary Your mother was one of the most well-known sorceresses of her Age, but you can become the most legendary one of several. While her magic was powerful, yours will be overwhelming. Gain potent druidic magic and nature at your beck and call. +Plant Call +Loved By Hyal¡¯bern +8 INT +8 WIS +8 CON +8 DEX +8 CHA per level Soul Manipulator - Transcendent You have learned grave secrets. You know how to manipulate a soul with mental energy, and you have stumbled onto the knowledge of how to combine souls if you so wish. You do so wish. Become a God among mortals on Hyal¡¯bern. No one is out of your reach, for everyone has a soul. Ascendancy is but a step away. +Soul Manipulation +Psionic Manipulation +Soul Rend +Soul Storage +Spirit Sunder +12 more +25 To All Attributes per level +12 more, would you like to see the five that fit your personality the best? Y/N - Y Untalented Mage - Common You have always wanted to step on this path, and you can. Your talent with this path calling isn¡¯t great, but passion can lead to great strides nonetheless. Please don¡¯t pick this. Your path is of Magic, Research, and Perseverance +2 INT +2 INT +2 Free Points per level Elemental Sorcery - Rare You have the elements at your fingertips. Just feel for them, and they will answer gladly. You have never been overly fond of taking this path, but that was the past. Now, you can see past your foolish obsession with magecraft. Your path will be of Intuition, Elements, and Combat. +Elemental Understanding +4 INT +4 WIS +4 CON +4 Free Points per level Wild Sorcerer - Epic Those on the Mage path think of magic as a controllable force. A static energy that follows predetermined laws. You know better. Mana is a beast all its own, and it is Wild. Free. Uncontrollable. Follow the whims of magic as you seek to serve it as much as it serves you. Your path is of Freedom, Chance, and Expression. +Mana Body +Guaranteed Ace +6 INT +6 WIS +6 CON +6 LUCK +6 Free Points per level Druid of Ages - Legendary Your mother was one of the most well-known sorceresses of her Age, but you can become the most legendary one of several. While her magic was powerful, yours will be overwhelming. Gain potent druidic magic and nature at your beck and call. +Plant Call +Loved By Hyal¡¯bern +8 INT +8 WIS +8 CON +8 DEX +8 CHA per level Vorn didn¡¯t tell Ark about the actual Class he picked, Twin Soul: Mind Path - Unique All of your life, your love of the Arcane and its mysteries has guided you. You have been ridiculed and shunned for your determination, but that never once stopped you from pursuing your dreams. Your mind is mythril and your soul is adamantine, and though the words hurt, they never had a chance of stopping you. Now, your dreams come to fruition. You may not be the most physically inclined, but you have your soulmate for that. Truly enjoy yourself for the first time. Your path is of Learning, Discovery, and the Arcane. +Spell Forge +Spell Storage +30 WIS +30 INT per level ¡°Huh, I knew you were a magic nerd, but I didn¡¯t think it would be literally all of your options!¡± Ark playfully jabbed. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I think it comes with the whole Unique Class thing. You have to be obsessed with a subject to get one, at least, that¡¯s my theory.¡± Vorn stated. A few hundred points in his intelligence attribute helped significantly with his confidence. ¡°Oh? So you got a Unique Class? I figured you would have. And I think you¡¯re right. I am completely obsessed with microbiology, so it¡¯s not exactly shocking that this was the Class I got.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty new field, isn¡¯t it? Just discovered a few decades ago, right?¡± ¡°Sure is! I thank the gods everyday for being born after that discovery! I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do with myself without it! It¡¯s basically all I think about.¡± Ark violently spouted her gratitude. Vorn found himself agreeing with the sentiment. The thought of being born in a dead zone... horrific. ¡°Wait a moment¡­ Did you say ¡®New Class¡¯ As in, you have two?¡± Her thoughts finally caught up with what they had been hinting at, it would seem. ¡°Yeah? I thought you had gathered that? I mean, I practically told you that outright when I said I wanted to go to the Academy to become a mage, right?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t really put that together until now! You and Rowan are pretty gods-damned different so I just kind of think of you as separate people! I forgot that you share the same body for a moment!¡± Ark defended herself. ¡°A moment? It¡¯s been like six hours since I told you that!¡± Vorn shouted. ¡°Yeah, and I was unconscious for like, half of them!¡± ¡°That¡¯s still three hours!¡± He said disbelievingly. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª After a few minutes of playful argument, Vorn decided to check his available skills and read the description of his perks. He would tell Rowan to check his available skills, but Vorn was afraid he would just pick the first one out of pure disinterest. First, his Perks: Spell Forge - Unique You have long gazed at spells and wished to accomplish their effects. Whether they be sorcerous in nature or meticulously crafted magecraft, your avarice for the arcane should be a legendary skill in itself! Now, every spell is at your beck and call¡­ if you are able to craft it. You must truly understand how a magical construct works before reconstructing it. Really though, we all know that researching isn¡¯t a downside for you. Spell Storage - Unique You¡¯ve forged a spell! Congratulations! Now, you won¡¯t ever forget it! Though you won¡¯t ever forget spells in storage, you will still have to recall them if you want to cast them. Something that may be a tad difficult to do in combat. Maybe keep a few spells on hand if you don¡¯t want to be caught with your pants down! Well, those were certainly useful. Just the thought of what he could do with [Spell Forge] made him salivate. It was truly a dream come true¡­ it just cost another one. [Spell Storage] Was less obvious in its power, but it was still extremely useful. Most mages carried a grimoire of spells that they could read from when they needed to refresh their memory, his was built in. And permanent! He was still human, of course, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep several complex spells in mind at all times, so the ability to refresh his memory at any time¡­ was almost as good as his other perk. Now, for the skills: First Selection: [Mage Hand - Common] Summon a hand made of mana to do your bidding. [Discovery - Unique] The urge to discover is in your bones. Where others see an unknowable mystery, you see a challenge. Your intelligence isn¡¯t unrivaled by any means, but your determination is. You will not give up until you understand. This skill points you in the right direction. Scales with Magic Stats [Mythril Skin - Epic] Your skin is not steel or adamantium, but it is one thing those other metals aren¡¯t. Conductive. Energy spells go right through you and are grounded, significantly reducing damage. Also keeps all that pesky energy away from your internal organs. The choice was immediately obvious, but he still wanted [Mythril Skin]. Whatever, you can¡¯t have everything. He made his choice. The change was distinct and incredible. It was like his mind pointed perfectly in the direction of obvious conclusions, only they weren¡¯t so obvious. If his mind was now a compass, then before it was a couple of pencils that someone balanced on one another. Sure, they would move with seemingly no input, but it was random and frequently based on unknowable factors. Now, his mind pointed seemingly unerringly. Simply astonishing. He went for his next skill. Second Selection: [Ember - Common] Light a candle or campfire with a flick of your fingers! [Air Step - Rare] Take a step on a thin pane of mana, allowing you a limited form of flight! If you could call it that. [Avatar - Legendary] You are in a unique position. Most take years to obtain this skill by closing the gap between their mind and spirit through meditation. Your mind is in your spirit most of the time. Create a gestalt projection of your mental and spiritual energy that can act on the world. An Avatar. Beware, you are projecting your physical soul upon the world and that opens it to harm. Another easy choice, thankfully. That whole, ¡®soul can take damage¡¯ thing was concerning, but he needed a way to interact with the world when Rowan was in control. He could test his avatar skill later, however. Now? Now it was time to forge. Chapter 14: River of Flame Forging a spell, as it turned out, was quite difficult. It was less forging, a muscley endeavor where you force your will on an object, and more just a puzzle. Fireball was the first spell he forged, and it was mostly by instinct. After all, it was just a ball of Mana that you ignited. Add in a bit of stability in the form of making it explode on first impact instead of randomly, and boom. Fireball. It was the simplest of spells. Practically a hopped-up cantrip. The main difficulty of using it came from its lack of efficiency. Simply put, it was expensive. Way more expensive than necessary. The Mana to damage ratio was awful. Sure, it was a big fuck off firebomb, and that was cool, but there were more elegant solutions out there. Problem was, those required elegant construction, and all the stats in the world don¡¯t make up for a lack of knowledge. He hadn¡¯t gone to the Academy, and he hadn¡¯t bothered really delving into the weeds of magical construct¡­ Construction. Mouthful. Anyway, he was planning to take the spellcraft elective, so he hadn¡¯t bothered with trying to teach himself. Worse came to worse and he would just have to unlearn it when he got to the Academy. Well, that and the fact that books that covered the intricacies of spell matrixes were expensive. Obviously, that wasn¡¯t an issue anymore. Or was it? Sure, he couldn¡¯t gain the Mage Path, but did that really mean anything, did it? The main thing that separated Sorcerers and Mages was the way they used their magic. Sorcery was inborn, instinctual, and/or System-assisted, most likely all three. Magecraft was just that. A craft. You had to study for years just to earn a standard Mage Class, and even then you had a chance of getting what Vorn did. [Untalented Mage] was an aspirant''s worst nightmare. The System was literally telling you that you were hopeless. Granted, you could always go the Systemless route, but that was for geniuses of Mana Manipulation, and if you got [Untalented Mage] it was unlikely you were a genius in much of anything. Unlikely, but not impossible. Still, the fact that both the System and a literal deity thought he wouldn¡¯t amount to much as Mage¡­ That burned Vorn a little, but he just told himself to get over it. He was basically just a Mage but better now. Hell, [Spell Forge] was every Mage¡¯s wet dream. Normally, they had to painfully manipulate their mana in twisted and convoluted ways, but all Vorn had to do was figure out how a spell was supposed to work. He didn¡¯t actually have to do any of the really hard parts. Hell, if he gained access to a Research Tower he would damn near unstoppable. All of those Spell Forms just sitting there in tomes. It was incredibly tempting to just leave the dungeon and go break into one, but as was repeatedly pointed out, Rowan was no stealth specialist. Not anymore. And if Rowan couldn¡¯t do it, Vorn sure as hell couldn¡¯t. So, he got a little off-topic there, but the Academy. His class was basically a perfect blend of Sorcery and Magecraft, so he would still fit in for most of the lectures. But¡­ Mages were, and Vorn hated to say this about his favorite Path, huge assholes. And petty. And jealous. They were snobbish dickheads a lot of the time. It kinda came with the territory of gathering a bunch of rich, technically intelligent, aristocrats together. Sure, the odd peasant got in now and then, but they would just be raised to nobility if they were of any significance. Problem solved, no more peasants in the Mage Class. Vorn was not dumb, quite the contrary in fact, but he was a dreamer. He knew that he probably wouldn¡¯t have an easy time at such a rich institution, especially with how they felt about Sorcery, but he felt he owed it to himself and his mother to try. Now that he had already chosen his Path, though? He didn¡¯t really feel a need to put himself through that. He heard a small knock at the door he had set up. ¡°Ark, come in! I don¡¯t know why you keep knocking! We¡¯re literally the only two people in this instance!¡± Vorn said, exasperated with her antics. She walked into the small cave that Vorn had made and said, ¡°Jeez, you sure know how to have a good time. No wonder Rowan doesn¡¯t think you''re funny.¡± She sniped at him. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s a low blow!¡± He squawked ¡°I got the rest of the blood harvested, how is your "forging" going?¡± She asked. ¡°Hey, I heard those air quotes! And, it¡¯s going well. Well, for most of the cantrips and simple elemental spells at least. Those weren¡¯t very difficult to figure out. And I dug out this cave, didn''t I?¡± Vorn indignantly pointed out. ¡°Divines above¡­ you can move a lot of dirt¡­.¡± She said with mock awe. ¡°Oh, get out and go collect more blood or whatever it is that those of mundane ancestry do.¡± He said snootily. ¡°As you wish, milord.¡± She said, but instead grabbed a rock and pelted it at him. It bounced off of a, previously invisible, transparent blue shield. ¡°Hmm. Guess it is going well after all.¡± She said simply. ¡°Hey, did you know that was there!¡± ¡°Totally.¡± Ark unconvincingly stated. ¡°Okay, okay, enough games. Did you really get the rest of the blood?¡± He asked, impressed. ¡°Yep, total pain in the ass. Don¡¯t even ask me how I drained that fucking behemoth. That was a nightmare.¡± She shuddered. ¡°Yeah, I can imagine. Hey, did we ever ask if we were supposed to be gathering multiple vials of blood per Orc? What if they just want one from each? That would probably make more sense, right? I mean, why would they ask for small vials if they wanted a large amount of blood for each?¡± Vorn asked. ¡°Ah-¡± Ark just stood there a moment. ¡°Good thing I kept them labeled¡­¡± She muttered before saying, ¡°...Make any cool spells?¡± Trying to change the subject very subtly. ¡°Well, I have a few combat capable spells, but they¡¯re all simple and rely on pure volume of Mana for damage. Earthquake, Fireball, Gust, Tsunami, etc. Just elemental manipulation plus a boatload of Mana. A few basic wards as well, but those are just elemental manipulation, boatloads of Mana, and directing it to not kill me.¡± He summarized as best as he could. Stolen story; please report. A lot of spells were shockingly simple, but even still, he would have struggled with them without [Discovery]. It pointed out when he was moving in the wrong direction, and simply eliminating the wrong options was a fantastic perk. Lowercase p, in this case. Especially for those basic spells like Earthquake. At first, he thought it would be something like sending his mana into the ground and just rumbling it, but it was actually far more effective to set up a thin fault line and then just apply opposing force. That made it way more efficient, rather than just shaking the whole ground, setting up a situation for the ground to shake itself. Don¡¯t ask him how he got to that from, ¡®It bad to put shaky mana in ground, do something better¡¯, which was basically what [Discovery] told him. ¡°So, you''re up for your first kill, then?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡­ I am mostly recovered. Still a few more hours until Rowan can bail me out if something goes wrong, though¡­¡± He pointed out. ¡°Pssh, don¡¯t be a coward. We aren¡¯t going to attack another full sized camp. Just a small one to get your bearings. Besides, you still have all his stats, right? Just run like you mean it and you should be fine.¡± Ark pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°Running without restricting our Attributes sounds like a good way for me to kill myself before the Orcs ever get a chance too, but I see your point. I can¡¯t always exclusively rely on Rowan, there might be more situations like this in the future. I mean, it¡¯s clear that instant status effects only affect the person that was in control when they activate.¡± He mumbled to himself. ¡°What was that? How does that work?¡± Ark questioned. ¡°When we were fighting the behemoth it let out a crowd control stomp, but it only affected Rowan. My theory is that, since he was in control, and the effect was instant, only he was targeted. It must target the individual soul and not the whole spirit. Of course, if it was an ongoing effect and I switched in, it would target my soul.¡± Vorn explained. ¡°Huh, you really are a magic nerd.¡± ¡°That is like the third time you¡¯ve said that! I get it!¡± ¡°Well, you keep proving it.¡± Ark said simply. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª You couldn¡¯t walk fifteen feet without stumbling onto an Orc campsite in this dungeon. They must be magically appearing, because he swore he scouted around his little underground base better, but just a few hundred feet away there was another base. Well, it wouldn¡¯t be there for long. Arc used her plague beam ¨C she hadn¡¯t told him the actual name because she thought his name was funnier ¨C and just like that the Orcs were on a ticking clock. She added a cough feature to this version which wasn¡¯t present in the last Vitality plague, now it could spread without being eaten. Arc and Vorn were a few hundred feet away from the Green Tide ¨C like, fifteen Orcs ¨C so that gave her plague a little time to spread around and weaken that pesky Tree Skin Perk. Finally, when they were within fifty feet, he laid his hands on the ground and created a fault line. A little force here and there¡­ The ground began to rumble, then truly quake. A few fell into large cracks in the cavern floor, but most just struggled to stay upright on the unstable flooring. Now that they were relatively still, he did something that he was excited to try. Combination Spells. Gust was a simple spell. So was Inferno. One was just a strong wind blast, the other? A continuous stream of fire. Widen a variable¡­ Carry the one¡­ remove the acute angle limiter¡­ and done. He spread both of his hands out in front of him and released a wide River of Flame. After just a few seconds, he was exhausted. That was really saying something, as he had ¨C quite frankly ¨C a ridiculous amount of Mana. But staring in front of him, he could see why¡­ it may have been inefficient, but he couldn¡¯t say it was ineffective. All that remained in front of him was ash. For hundreds of feet, there was nothing but destruction, even the crystal trees had melted. Suddenly, he felt a hand smack him upside the head. ¡°Dumbass! We¡¯re collecting their blood!¡± Ark shouted, but she wasn¡¯t serious. She was just as impressed as he was. This is what he could do with the control he had now¡­? He was so inefficient. He had basically no idea what he was doing. He had so much room to grow! ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª After that exciting excursion, he decided to rest for the rest of the day. Blasting five full Mages'' worth of Mana was tiring. He spent a few hours learning how to make a mattress out of air and water and ended up liking it so much that he decided to try to keep it permanently memorized. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª When he woke up the next day, he was already moving. It appeared that Rowan was back to his usual self. ¡°How are you feeling buddy?¡± ¡°Better. Sorry for worrying you. And thank you for saving us.¡± ¡°No problem. That Last Stand Title is nasty business, but it did save us, so you have nothing to apologize for. You did your part and I did mine. Though, I gotta admit that your role was more impressive!¡± ¡°Thank you. Your role was no less vital though. We would have died without your intervention. Remember that.¡± ¡°Of course. Thank you as well. So¡­ are you still down to fight some Orcs?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be the one asking that. The answer to that question is of course! That fight was the most fun I¡¯ve ever had.¡± ¡°Glad one of us enjoyed it.¡± Vorn thought with an internally raised eyebrow. Soulbrow? ¡°Did you pick your skill yet?¡± ¡°No, I waited for you to wake up. You were out for a solid twelve hours, though I only woke up a few hours ago.¡± ¡°Cool. Get to it, then! I want to see what you get!¡± Rowan pulled up his selection menu Skill Selection: [Ground Pound - Common] Release a devastating smash into the ground, stunning those around you for a few seconds. Scales with STR [Regeneration - Rare] Your body has learned to use Vitality more effectively. Increase the speed of your regeneration. Scales with CON. [Channel Vitality - Common] Channel your vital energy into your attacks, making them stronger. Be careful you don¡¯t drain yourself dry mid-fight, however. That wasn¡¯t a hard choice for Rowan given what he had just gone through. He still consulted Vorn first before picking, his Soulmate was the smartest guy Rowan knew. ¡°Well, yeah, [Ground Pound] and [Channel Vitality] are less impressive, but they aren¡¯t bad choices at all! Common skills like those are the foundation of many legendary warrior¡¯s Paths. Remember, when we evolve, all our skills evolve with us. Pick what sounds most useful. Granted, in this case, I agree that [Regeneration] is better. Though, [Channel Vitality] is a crazy good skill later on¡­ It falls to you. Do you want more damage or more survivability?¡± ¡°Considering [Regeneration] will keep both of us alive, I¡¯ll go ahead and pick that.¡± ¡°Thanks for actively choosing to prolong our continued survival, I guess there¡¯s a first for everything.¡± Vorn said dryly. There was a short pause for a few moments before Rowan asked, ¡°So what did you mean by ¡®Evolve¡¯?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I forgot to tell you about that, didn¡¯t I?¡± Vorn asked rhetorically. ¡°Yes.¡± Rowan answered, the bane of all rhetorical and sarcastic questions striking once more. ¡°So, there are a few major levels. Those being, level fifty, one hundred, three hundred, five hundred, and one thousand. At each threshold, your age is reset to your prime, and you begin to age slower. This makes leveling to one thousand possible at all, given it would take hundreds of years. At each threshold, you evolve. The System looks at your past achievements, actions, and interactions, and offers you a few choices. You''re allowed to refuse them all and keep working at the threshold until you get a result you like, but you cannot level past the threshold until you evolve. However, and this is where a lot of people get stuck, most of the time the System won¡¯t offer you any options. This is basically saying that it doesn¡¯t think you are ready or deserving of the next step. Most people in the Cradle don¡¯t make it past the second threshold. They are simply not sure or determined enough in their Path to progress.¡± Vorn took a moment to catch his breath, then asked, ¡°Does that answer your question?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± ¡°No problem. I really should have told you that sooner. I just keep forgetting that you''re new and from a Systemless Dead Zone.¡± ¡°I could see how that could slip your mind.¡± ¡°Was¡­ was that sarcasm?¡± ¡°I have no idea what you could possibly be referring to.¡± Rowan said simply. Chapter 15: Cooperation ¡°So¡­ What now?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well, how do we fight together, or do we even fight together at all?¡± ¡°Do you want to fight with me? I¡¯m sure we could find a way for you to cast mid-battle, but that all hinges on if you want to fight.¡± ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t I have to? What if you¡¯re in trouble?¡± ¡°Sure, you¡¯ll probably have to save me a few times, so we should practice switching control at least, but most of the time that won¡¯t be necessary. You can just focus on doing what you want, and if that is fighting that would be great, but it doesn¡¯t have to be.¡± ¡°That¡­ doesn¡¯t sound so bad. I was worried I¡¯d have to go ¡®destructo-wizard¡¯ all the time now. I didn¡¯t really enjoy turning those Orcs to dust. My Path isn¡¯t about fighting.¡± ¡°Did you hate it?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Using your spells for combat.¡± ¡°No. I just didn¡¯t like it. It felt like a waste of Mana and time. I didn''t gain a proportional amount of data for the sheer amount of Mana I expended. Sure, it was nice to see my current limits, but my Path isn¡¯t about combat. It¡¯s about Discovery, Learning, and the Arcane. Some of those can be helpful while fighting, but none of it is combat-focused.¡± ¡°Well, then you have your answer, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I guess I do. Still, it would be a waste to not help you at all. We need to figure out a few things, but I¡¯m pretty sure I can set up a few effects to support you. Not to mention, I¡¯ll still need to test my spells on something, and what better subject than a couple monsters? It¡¯s not a waste if I¡¯m furthering my research. Plus, I haven¡¯t been able to test out my avatar skill¡­ That may be a solution in and of itself.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The first thing they tried was simple. Testing if he could cast from their Soulscape, the dark void each resided in when they weren¡¯t in control. Vorn already assumed that it wouldn¡¯t work, so he wasn¡¯t surprised when their mana simply didn¡¯t respond. If he couldn¡¯t cast from their spirit that meant that he had to have some form of control over their actual body. First, they just tried switching really quickly, but that was doomed to failure. It was too disorienting going from standing on a platform made of mental energy to being in a moving body. They learned that the whole ¡®shutting down¡¯ thing that their body did was actually a defense mechanism. They could completely bypass the short delay that belied switching control, but doing so meant a couple things. First, they both had to agree on the switch and initiate it at the same time. That was disconcerting, up to that point, they had never tried forcefully relinquishing control, but that was a key step. Second, it was somehow even more disorienting. When switched normally, taking control felt like waking up. A gentle pull into consciousness that you couldn¡¯t quite remember. The instant switch was like being splashed with ice water, except you were somehow in the middle of sprinting and now you didn¡¯t know where your limbs were. Difficult. To say the least. Still, with enough practice, it could work. That was exactly what Rowan intended to try. Just keep switching control until they get good enough at it to do it mid-battle. That, however, is what Vorn would call ¡®working harder not smarter¡¯, and Vorn intended to work smart. So their third try was something they had never attempted. Partial control. ¡°I just don¡¯t understand how that would work.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t either, but I don¡¯t see why it shouldn¡¯t be possible! Switching control is jumping into the void of our spirit for you too, right?¡± ¡°Yes. That is why I''m so confused. How do you partially throw yourself into oblivion?¡± ¡°Good question, and one I intend to figure out.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡®The platform is just a structure of mental energy, so that means it was created by our subconscious mind, probably as a safety net. Now, why wouldn¡¯t it just allow us to fall freely? Why does leaving the platform matter? Is it symbolic?¡¯ Vorn rambled on in his mind. Then it hit him. The platform didn¡¯t matter at all, or it only mattered tangentially. [Discovery] started to vibrate. He was on the right track. It was originally only meant as a prison for the other consciousness in their spirit. They broke the chains, but they never even questioned if the foundation of the chains was necessary. They had to go somewhere when the other was in control, so they just assumed that the platform was the only other place they could go. That it had to stay the same. But why? Why would it have to be? There was no rule book for this. They were a Unique Being, and so long as they were careful and thought it out, the System would help them work it out. It was a little more lenient when it came to Unique Beings due to how rare they were. The System always at least attempted fairness, so Unique Beings got a lot of advantages. They simply didn¡¯t have the advantage of being able to rely on thousands of generations of knowledge about their species, and that was a very significant advantage in the eyes of the System. Think for a second that you were a completely new being. You don¡¯t understand your biology, your soul, or your racial advantages if you even have any, to begin with. Sure, Voran may be basically human on the outside, but you didn¡¯t just become a Unique Being with no changes. Vorn would bet his bottom bright that their biology was fundamentally different from any other human at this point. That meant things like healing potions and medical skills would be less effective, along with Skill and Evolution guides. So the System helped by not letting a Unique Being kill themselves by accident. Sure, it could happen, but the System tried to prevent it. Why? Why did the System at least play at fairness? No one knew. Maybe it was for entertainment or some sense of justice, but the bottom line was, the more you struggled, the more it would try to help. Still, the thought of receiving help from the System irked Vorn slightly. The stigma against using any System assistance, even in the form of Skills, was deeply ingrained in magecraft. To start with, even picking the Mage Class was considered ¡®lesser¡¯. You could follow the Path of a Mage without the System, and doing so was considered the more ''noble'' and superior path. However, Vorn had already abandoned becoming a Mage. He didn¡¯t need to hold on to their biases. Getting assistance from the magical being/construct that partially governed their reality didn¡¯t make him lesser. With that in mind, he attempted simply altering the platform beneath his feat, intending to abuse [Discovery] by doing basic changes until it pointed him in the right direction. Sure, he could use [Discovery] as a scalpel, finely tuning projects that he already had mostly figured out, but it was also an excellent tool for brute force. A hammer to swing around until he found the right path to at least start on. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. And he found out something very quickly. He was not the one who summoned this platform. ¡°Rowan, what does the platform look like to you?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, it appears to be a matte silver material. Made from the same metal that the chains were.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Vorn understood now. ¡°Have you figured something out?¡± ¡°Maybe. I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯ve confirmed my theory.¡± ¡®Okay, so that¡¯s very good to know.¡¯ For Vorn, the platform appeared to be made of a light gray, oddly porous, stone. It did always seem strange how uniform it was, but if it was from Rowan¡¯s advanced world, then it would make sense. The platforms really were a part of the prisons they had made for each other. Vorn knew he could influence objects made of mental energy with his, but that was relegated to just breaking it. So just manipulating it without Rowan''s help wouldn''t be possible. He should probably just tell Rowan. It would be so simple. He was holding back for no real reason. Just baseless paranoia. The knowledge of mental energy and how to manipulate it wasn''t some great secret or anything. But it was a comfort for Vorn. He knew that, if it came to it, he could cage Rowan. He could be in absolute control. His mental energy, even before his Class, had been more potent than his Soulmate¡¯s. The chains his subconscious made were weak and brittle. Easily broken by a rageful warrior. But if he actually focused on their strength? On reinforcing the chains? They would be basically unbreakable. By telling Rowan how to manipulate his mental energy, Vorn would be giving up his safety net. Rowan could just summon a bomb or something to blow up his contraptions. He would have the tools to fight back. But¡­ Vorn had already decided to trust Rowan. His anxiety was just bringing out a cowardly part of him, honestly, he should have brought it up ages ago. What if there was an attack on their spirit? Rowan would be defenseless! ¡°Rowan¡­ I haven¡¯t been completely honest with you.¡± Vorn said nervously. ¡°What?¡± Rowan asked, concerned. ¡°About how I broke through the chains. I said I used my brain, but I actually know how the chains were made. How to make them again. They are made of mental energy, and I know how to manipulate it and I could¡¯ve taught you how to use it. I should¡¯ve taught you, but I was being¡­ cowardly. Keeping a trump card to use. It was stupid and-¡± Vorn¡¯s rambling speech was interrupted. ¡°Oh, just that? I knew you were hiding something from me, and honestly, I figured it would be something like this. Granted, I just assumed you knew something about magic that you weren¡¯t telling me, but I guess I wasn¡¯t far off. I thought that you needed some time to warm up to me, and I was right. Thank you for telling me.¡± ¡°Really? You¡¯re not mad?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little hurt, I won''t lie, but we¡¯ve not known each other long, so I can¡¯t be that angry. I¡¯m glad you decided to tell me, though. After our little near-death experience, I¡¯ve come to realize that I really do enjoy your company.¡± ¡°Even if I¡¯m not funny?¡± ¡°Even if you''re not funny. Honestly, it¡¯s refreshing. Back home, everyone was either terrified of me or they revered me as a god. Having someone crack bad jokes and poke fun at me is nice.¡± ¡°A god? That sounds extreme.¡± ¡°I was not a normal human. After I signed up at a young age¡­¡± He trailed off, lost in memories. ¡°Rowan?¡± ¡°Sorry. After I signed up, I was brought up in an experimental environment. A large war had just ended, a new one was on the horizon, and my nation had lost¡­ badly. Robots and Wartime AI were our main weapons, but they lacked a certain... Determination that only humans have. Sure, most of the time, their strategies were sound. Genius even. They consistently overlooked one thing, however.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Human stupidity. Or perhaps I should call it bravery. When you''re fighting people who care more about winning than living, usual strategies go out of the window. If you bomb them, they¡¯ll sacrifice a pawn to protect the rest of their forces. If you starve them, they¡¯ll just eat each other.¡± ¡°That¡¯s horrific! Why would they go so far?¡± ¡°It was. And¡­ I don¡¯t think we were the ¡®good guys¡¯. I grew up rough, but that was after we had already lost the previous war, the stories I¡¯ve heard from before¡­ They¡¯re not pretty. I love fighting, but I thank whatever higher power is out there that I didn¡¯t experience that War. Hell, that entire period was a dark one. Our enemies were feverishly determined. They would have ended the world if it meant taking out the NIAF. Thankfully, nuclear weapons had all been either used or decommissioned a long time ago.¡± ¡°Nuclear?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You can create any spell now, right? Then I don¡¯t want you to know a single thing about those weapons. Not with how fast we grow.¡± ¡°That bad, huh? Honestly? I don¡¯t want to know.¡± Vorn lied. He didn¡¯t care about the destructive power, he was just desperately curious. He continued, "What does NIAF stand for, anyway? I assume it''s an acronym?" "You would be correct, it stood for ''New Intelligence Allied Forces. The AI insisted that they were just a new form of intelligence, so they discarded the ''Artificial'' in their designation" ¡°So... Did it get better?¡± Vorn hesitantly asked. ¡°It had too, there was no way for it to get worse!" Rowan laughed bitterly inside their mind. "But yes, there was a regime change. The previous leaders ruled with brutal efficiency, convinced that a program could determine how to rule a nation of people. Clearly, they were wrong, but it took a lot of blood to convince them of that fact. The new rulers weren¡¯t perfect, and they still kept an ¡°Artificial Advisor¡± on hand, but they were a lot fairer, inefficiencies be damned.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good at least¡­ But why go to war again? Why were you viewed as a god?¡± ¡°Thankfully, it was for normal reasons. Resources, tension, and animosity. It was as standard of a war that you could ask for. Now the reason they viewed me so highly, that¡¯s a different story. Wartime AI was out of the question, I¡¯m sure you understand, and with them gone, robots could no longer be controlled effectively. They needed new soldiers, and the grunts they already had weren¡¯t cutting it, so they made something better. I was only one of these new enhanced soldiers.¡± ¡°Only one? So were they all viewed so highly.¡± ¡°Not so much as me, no. They raised us all from varying ages, with me being towards the middle of the pack at fifteen. They used experimental techniques to both suppress our immune system and enhance our cognition and bodies. A tough thing to balance.¡± ¡°Why suppress your immune system? That seems counter intuitive.¡± ¡°Simple, the human body rejects biological implants. Metal ones are a little more touch and go, but if they interact with your body in a meaningful way, they would also be in danger. It was possible to make it so they didn¡¯t, but it was incredibly expensive when they could just stick us in a suit to protect us from sickness, or treat us when we inevitably did get sick anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s horrible!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the military. In all fairness, though, it was voluntary-¡± ¡°Bullshit, you said you were middle of the pack in age, right? How old was the youngest?¡± ¡°Thirteen, but-¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± ¡°Okay, I get your anger, but you have to understand, there was nowhere else for us to go. Without them taking us in, we would have just rotted in the streets.¡± ¡°Gee, I wonder who put you in that position, who was supposed to fix that, maybe the government you were working for?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Fair. Okay, so maybe it was a tad more immoral than I thought.¡± ¡°A tad.¡± ¡°Do you want to hear the rest of the story?¡± ¡°Sure, if only to give you more perspective on how fucked up everything was.¡± ¡°Again, fair. Okay, so where was I?¡± ¡°The part where they experimented on a bunch of young teenagers.¡± ¡°Right. We were enhanced biologically and cybernetically, but even with the immunosuppressants, there was a limit of what the human body could take. A limit to the enhancements. A limit that I didn¡¯t seem to possess.¡± ¡°I see where this is going.¡± ¡°Everyone else was strong, don¡¯t get me wrong, and I respected them greatly, but they didn¡¯t have the sheer combat capability that I did. They knew, I knew it, and the military knew it. They also knew that no matter how strong I was that a plasma burster from enemy artillery would annihilate me just the same as everyone else.¡± ¡°So they sent you on smaller individual missions where you wouldn¡¯t be at risk of larger weapons.¡± ¡°Exactly. I was sent behind enemy lines where most only had small arms. Sabotage, taking prisoners, hell, sometimes I even captured entire enemy fortifications. I became something of a legend to the rest of the troops. Granted, they seemed to ignore that I had an entire team behind me making sure I didn¡¯t kill myself with my recklessness.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s fine I guess. Of all the things you¡¯ve told me, that¡¯s at least just standard practice in war.¡± ¡°Hah, I guess you would already be familiar with having people that strong in the military.¡± ¡°True, Hyal¡¯heim is known for its elites. But what I¡¯m more curious about is¡­ What are implants?¡± ¡°Ah, I see how you keep forgetting to tell me things now. It just feels like it should be basic information.¡± ¡°Trust me, I get it.¡± ¡°Anyway, implants were mechanical or biological devices that could replace or add to your body. By the time of my demise, I was mostly metal and what wasn''t metal was enhanced.¡± ¡°What did the implants do?¡± ¡°Oh, a little bit of everything. Enhanced senses, strength, durability, and such. They basically just replaced any part that could be even mildly improved.¡± ¡°Wait... implants... Replacement parts¡­ Replace just a part? How would I¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°[Discovery] is pinging me. But why? Wait¡­¡± ¡°Did you figure something out?¡± ¡°Maybe. I need you to try something for me. Damn, I still haven''t taught you mental energy manipulation. Well, no time like the present. It''s actually very easy, the hardest part is just noticing that it''s there-¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª In front of Vorn, there it was. A large staircase to the window of their spirit. The staircase itself terminated into a large flat platform that was nestled right against the ¡®window¡¯. He slowly walked until he reached the glass-like barrier that allowed him to see out of their eyes. From the idea of implants, he realized something. He didn''t have to take over an entire limb or organ. It was a leap in logic, he knew, but that was the entire point of [Discovery]. It let him make those leaps. As to how he guessed the window would be necessary? He still didn¡¯t know. This would be the first test. So, he stuck his hand out of the window. The clear membrane that he had mistaken for glass was actually cool and gel-like. It took only a slight effort to push through the surface tension. Instantly, he could feel that he was controlling their body''s right hand. Their entire hand. That was unnecessary. He removed his hand and held a single fingertip through the window. It was strange. In their spirit, he felt completely normal, but the contrast of actually controlling a part of their body meant he could truly feel how strange his situation was. He wasn''t actually made of flesh and blood while inhabiting their Soulscape-- obviously, how could he be? -- but now he could actually experience what that meant. His fingertip felt like warmth and life. Even through the membrane, he could feel the Vitality coursing through it. Compared to that, his body felt cold and numb. What was his body made of anyway? Was it just his soul? That didn''t make sense, did it? Did the soul really mimic the body to such an extent? [Discovery] buzzed at him. He wasn''t on the right track. Whatever, they were doing something else right now. He could figure it out later. Vorn attempted to cast a spell through his fingertip. A simple cantrip, or level zero spell, that even an Unclassed could cast with enough practice. Spark. A little flash popped out of their fingertip in real space. It worked. It worked! They did it! ¡°Well, that was surprising. I can''t say I was expecting my fingertip to ignite suddenly.¡± ¡°Yeah, we''ll have to be careful to coordinate that, but just think of the possibilities! Shielding, crowd control, all manner of support, and utility spells at our disposal!¡± ¡°I thought you weren''t excited about the whole combat thing?¡± ¡°Were you not listening? I said it felt like a waste of time and Mana, but I''m not wasting anything if I''m actually improving, so hells the fuck yeah I''m excited! Also, I can help us not fucking die! That''s probably an important part you''re overlooking.¡± ¡°Well, I can''t say I''m disappointed. I look forward to fighting with you, if you so choose.¡± ¡°Same!¡± Ark burst down the door and shouted, "Are you guys done yet? You''ve been in here for like fourteen hours! How long can that bastard sleep, Rowan?" Rowan shrugged, but his finger pointed up and fired a gust of wind at her. "Oh you little bastard!" Ark yelled and then lunged at them playfully. At least, they hoped it was playful. Why was her hand glowing? ¡°Oh fuck.¡± Chapter 16: Absolute Power Bores Absolutely Now that they had that little problem solved, and they had placated Ark, it was time to test some shit out! Finding enemies in this dungeon was ridiculously easy. After a few minutes ¨C During which, they only moved a few hundred feet from their base ¨C they had already found a new small campsite. Rowan was about to rush in, but Vorn convinced him to stay his blades for a moment. He prepared a very simple elemental protection spell. A child could make one if they had the Mana. It was as easy as summoning an element, keeping it suspended in the air while keeping in mind several constantly changing variables to make sure it didn''t touch or affect you, and then simply locking that effect in your mind and fortifying it when it got close to breaking. Again, a child could do it. According to Vorn at least. Vorn went with a Fire Ward, as water or ice would have slowed Rowan down. They wouldn''t have hurt him ¨C Vorn was an amateur, but he wasn''t that bad ¨C but water tended to soak or collect on top of most things, and a stone floor wasn''t any different. Having to deal with a slippery and wet floor simply wasn¡¯t optimal. Sure, it wouldn''t have been that detrimental, but why work with any inefficiency if you didn''t have to? Fire was much cleaner anyway. Vorn began conjuring fire around them but quickly had to dispel it when he saw Ark approaching. ¡°What is it-¡± Ark calmly walked up to them. Then smacked them upside the head. "What was that for!?" Vorn shouted. He learned that he could stick his head through the membrane to talk for a second while Rowan was in control. "Dumbass, last time you used fire, you destroyed all the bodies! We''re here for blood, remember!" Ark shouted back, louder. "Ah-" Vorn accidentally let out a noise of recognition before saying, "-I totally remembered that! You think I can''t control the temperature or something? I''m insulted, really." He puffed out his chest and huffed with mock indignation. Ark just shook her head and said, "Enough goofing around. Good luck, guys. I''m looking forward to seeing what you two can do together!" It kinda intimidated Vorn just how quickly she could go from banter to genuine anger to encouragement. Ark''s emotions were just as energetic as her! Truthfully, it was a bit hard to tell when the bit ended and where anger and other emotions actually started. She was always joking around in some form or another. Perhaps it was better stated as her always putting a tinge of humor in whatever she did. Even her actual emotions. Well, Vorn assumed it was most likely nothing to worry about. He had never been a people person, so what did he know? He created a new shield, this time turning down the temperature of the fire significantly. It would still turn Orcs well done, but now it wouldn''t turn them to ash. That was probably for the best, anyway. It was more efficient, and it gave Rowan the chance to work with him, instead of just being the carrier of the flaming death aura. Rowan simply strode into the camp as if owned it. The Orcs didn''t use arrows, luckily, so they didn''t have to worry about that. His flames were no longer powerful enough to instantly disintegrate a projectile. A few Orcs sounded the alarm, a fancy way of saying that they started shouting as loud as they could, and they rushed Voran. Fighting with flames all around him, ones that couldn''t hurt him, was strange for Rowan. He didn''t have to stay on his toes anymore, the Orcs couldn''t even reach him. The Fire Shield was around ten feet in diameter, and by the time the Orcs reached him, they were already dead or halfway there. It was... terrible. Awful. Boring. Most of the Orcs were around their level, but with common classes instead of Mythic, so of course it would be easy, but he had hoped for more than... this. Was this what getting stronger entailed? Rowan was horrified. Sensing his partner''s distress, Vorn asked, What''s wrong! Is the shield hurting you? ¡°No... I just... is this all there is? Just us steamrolling whatever walks in front of us?¡± ¡°Oh, is that all you were worried about? We''re in a D to B-ranked dungeon, recommended for people from level twenty-five to seventy five. However, that is calculated for Common and Rare Classes. Plus, we are taking on a small camp, we have like, twenty times their stats, and the same amount of Skills. Of course we''re overpowering them.¡± ¡°I know, but as you just said, we have twenty times their stats. What can challenge us?¡± ¡°Wow, you forgot about nearly dying quickly! That fucking behemoth didn''t nearly kill us because of its stats, by my calculations, it should''ve been, at most, two to three times stronger than you. I know you, and I know that wouldn''t have been impossible for you to overcome." Vorn continued, ¡°What nearly murdered us was its skills, perks, and evolution. That stomp that paralyzed every creature for hundreds of feet, the overpowering power that enveloped its fists, and all of its evolved abilities. That is what higher levels bring that stats can''t beat. Not inherently. Still... this dungeon won''t really be able to challenge us anymore. Not unless a chieftain comes out to try and kick our asses. Even then, I have a feeling we might steamroll one now. Of all evolved monsters, they don¡¯t rank very highly.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Thank you for the reassurance. I was beginning to panic a little. The thought of never having a fight like the behemoth Orc again... It''s horrifying.¡± ¡°Also ¨C and I hate to say this because I know you''re going to want to leave immediately ¨C we are in the Cradle. This continent is not exactly the pinnacle of danger. Most people who are born here never leave, the outside is just that much more dangerous. Most continents would chew up and spit out this one. Its mana density is just low enough that no one wants it.¡± ¡°So... what you''re saying is... there are entire continents that are way more deadly?¡± Rowan asked with a decidedly too interested tone. ¡°I knew you would have this reaction.¡± Vorn said, exasperated, ¡°We can''t leave yet. Not only are we poor as shit, but we would get absolutely obliterated the moment we left. And that¡¯s if we could make it past the mountains.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª By the time they had finished their conversation, the entire camp was dead. Rowan didn''t even have to move. He had to suppress a shudder. Ark ran up to them and exclaimed, ¡°Great job, guys! How¡¯s your Mana looking Vorn?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t actually have to use much. Turning down the heat from instant incineration to just pretty hot helped a lot! I knew I was being inefficient, but I didn¡¯t consider that merely letting them die over the course of a few seconds instead of instantly would make such a large difference!¡± ¡°And it also lets us, you know, do what we came here for. No more dusting enemies with valuable blood ya moron.¡± Ark playfully reprimanded him. Meanwhile, Rowan was still stewing in the new information he had received. No more challenges like the one he had just faced until he either found something way above his level or left the Cradle? That sounded incredibly boring. There must be a way to find a challenge. So, like whenever he had a burning question, he simply asked. ¡°How are we going to find a challenging dungeon? Will they even allow us into higher-level ones? Especially since we are masquerading an Epic Path instead of a Unique one.¡± ¡°Listen, I understand where you''re coming from, but I think you''re not fully realizing something, stats aren¡¯t everything. Just because we get a lot per level doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re automatically stronger.¡± He continued, ¡°Just flat out stating our stat points is a little misleading. Look at it this way, we get one hundred and twenty stat points per level, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°How many of them actively help you fight better?¡± ¡°Half?¡± ¡°Okay, so of the one-twenty, you have access to sixty. Still a lot, but half of what you were applying to yourself before.¡± ¡°True, but that is still equivalent to a Mythic Path, right?¡± ¡°Sure, you won¡¯t catch me denying that we have powerful Paths, but it¡¯s not tyrannically overwhelming to every creature in the Cradle, just those of our level or lower. We are still two people sharing a body, don¡¯t forget that. You and your Path aren¡¯t any different than before I got mine. Plus, what I said about skills and perks? That still applies.¡± ¡°Speaking of your path, didn¡¯t it only give you Wisdom and Intelligence?¡± ¡°Yeah? Why?¡± ¡°Well, where did the Luck and Charisma come from then?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s interesting actually! Normally, you get access to all your Attributes from the moment you select your Path, but for us that only happened after we both did. The implications of that means-¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, I wouldn¡¯t normally, but could I please get the short version? If we want to do the rest of the dungeon today, we don¡¯t exactly have time for a dissertation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ fair. Okay, so those are our Dead Attributes. Depending on the rarity of your Path, you have a number your Attributes cannot go below. For us, since we are above Mythic, we have the Mythic Minimum Attribute of five percent. Our lowest Attribute cannot go lower than five percent of our total stat points.¡± ¡°That seems... not right. We just get free stats? I get that higher rarities are better, but this seems ridiculous.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong on both points there. Sure, higher rarity Paths are stronger especially at the same level, but they are also much, much harder to evolve. Low rarity Paths are an excellent foundation, and even have several advantages over higher rarities. Granted, most of them don¡¯t make up for the stat disparity until way later on. Now for the other point, the lower the rarity of your Path, the higher your Minimum Attribute, and the lower the penalty for having a Dead Stat. For example, Common Classes have a Minimum Attribute of twenty five percent of their total stats.¡± ¡°Penalty?¡± ¡°Yeah, Dead Attributes exist so an unbalanced Path won¡¯t kill the person walking it. However, at least at Epic rarity and above, they only do the bare minimum to keep you alive. For example, let¡¯s say you have an Epic Path. Your Selected Attributes are STR, AGI, WIS, INT, and you put all your free points into CHA. In each of those, let¡¯s say you have around four hundred points. The Epic Minimum Attribute is ten percent. That means CON would have around two hundred. Still a decent number right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Wrong. CON that would normally allow for you to use full power attacks with no impact on your body, as a Dead Attribute, will barely keep your arm from dislocating with every heavy punch. That¡¯s for an Epic Path, however. Below Epic, the penalty is vastly reduced. At Legendary and above, though, the stats are fully dead. They still work, but barely. If I had to bullshit a number, I would say they lack about eighty percent of their functionality past Epic, though the actual method of weakening them is more complex than just making them less powerful numerically.¡± ¡°Huh. Good to know I suppose. What would dead Luck and Charisma even do though? With Constitution, it¡¯s a physical effect, but Luck is esoteric.¡± ¡°We have no idea. Charisma we know, it¡¯s basically just a third as effective as far as we can tell, but Luck just seems like it doesn¡¯t work at all.¡± ¡°Alright, I think I get it. You ready to go collect the rest of the blood?¡± ¡°Sure am! I¡¯ll let you handle the next few camps by yourself. I can see you getting antsy.¡± ¡°Thank you. The lack of Movement was getting stifling, I¡¯ll admit.¡± Chapter 17: Plague Bubble Blower Rowan was resting on a crystalline log, cleaning his blade when Ark approached him. ¡°When are we planning on leaving? It¡¯s already been a week, and I need an actual shower!¡± She complained. ¡°My apologies. I sometimes forget that others aren¡¯t as¡­ singularly minded as I am. We can leave now if you wish.¡± Rowan said with an even tone. He had been trying to be more¡­ himself lately, but when performing maintenance on his equipment, he entered a meditative state of mind similar to what he was taught by the CASF, or Continental Americas Special Forces. It was them that had instilled in him the need for a clear mind, and while grateful, he wished they had been a little less thorough. He had absolutely needed the training back when he joined them. Hot-blooded and ready to take on the world as he was, he wouldn¡¯t have lasted more than a couple of missions before he got himself and his squad killed. Now that he was trying to break that conditioning, however, he finally noticed just how deep it went. Even when fighting that behemoth, he hadn¡¯t fully let loose his emotions. He thought having a ¡®handler¡¯ would break the chains of rationality that he was bound with, but Vorn just loosened them. Well, recovery or change took time, and he wouldn¡¯t complain about having control of his faculties, but he still yearned to finally fully be himself again. ¡°-this instant, but sooner rather than later would be appreciated.¡± He tuned back into the conversation as Ark was finishing her statement. ¡°She was saying that we could raid another camp before we leave.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ark. I appreciate the generosity.¡± He said while getting up. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t mention it. Friends should let friends massacre Orcs over a shower any day.¡± Ark said, half joking and half completely genuine. ¡°Thanks for the save.¡± ¡°No problem, but maybe pay attention next time? I¡¯m supposed to be the distractible one, remember?¡± He said lightheartedly. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª In their search for the next camp to raid, they came across several small outposts, but they ignored them. If this was their last raid in this dungeon, they were leaving with a bang. Finally, they arrived at a truly gargantuan camp set up at the base of the Crystal Spire that illuminated the whole cavern. ¡°I know we said ¡®leave with a bang¡¯, but I¡¯m not sure about this one!¡± Ark whisper-shouted at them. ¡°Are you sure? You could level quite a few more times from this, and the chances of us dying are much lower than last time.¡± Rowan said at normal volume, aware that there was no way that an Orc could hear them from over fifteen hundred feet away. ¡°... I can¡¯t believe I might go along with this.¡± She muttered to herself. ¡°We already raided one large camp.¡± Rowan pointed out. ¡°Yeah, that one was large, this one is fucking gargantuan! It¡¯s like three times the size!¡± Ark pointed out, incredulous. ¡°That may be true, but-¡± He focused on her for a moment to discern her level, ¡°- you have leveled over twenty times since entering this dungeon, and I have leveled eleven. We are much stronger than when we first entered, and that¡¯s not even mentioning Vorn unlocking his Path.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ true. We are probably strong enough to handle this. I just¡­ it was terrifying having to put my life in your hands. After I healed you, I was knocked unconscious, and I didn¡¯t know if I would wake up. I thought it didn¡¯t affect me much, but it must have if I¡¯m being this big of a bitch about it.¡± She joked, hiding her fear. ¡°You''re not being a ¡®bitch¡¯, it¡¯s completely natural to fear-¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Thanks, but you''re wrong. I was being a little bitch, but I¡¯m fine now. It just took me a moment to recognize that. Thanks for the attempt at cheering me up, though!¡± Ark finished cheerily, but her smile seemed a little forced to them. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re sure. You are allowed to be scared, though. You already know how dangerous delving is, I would consider you a fool if you weren¡¯t terrified. So you''re not a coward, a coward would have been running to save themselves and leaving us to die. You remained and quite possibly saved our lives.¡± Rowan calmly stated, as if he didn¡¯t just send Ark to the verge of tears. ¡°Thanks! I¡­ needed that.¡± There was a moment of silence before she continued, ¡°Besides, not everyone can be a gremlin that runs directly into danger all the time!¡± Ark joked. She was many things, but emotionally vulnerable was not one of them! This was reaching levels of vulnerability she was not comfortable with! Sensing her discomfort, Rowan simply said, ¡°So, how are we approaching this?¡± ¡°Well, there are too many Orcs here to infect in one go like we did last time, so that¡¯s out the window. I can still get most of them, maybe, but I¡¯d be out of commission.¡± Suddenly, the orange glow of Rowan¡¯s eyes extinguished and was replaced with a shining silver. ¡°I have an idea! Last time you infected the animals around the camp to infect their food, that won¡¯t work on a camp this large, but we don¡¯t need to! You can create airborne pathogens, right?¡± Vorn said, practically bouncing. ¡°Right, but what does¡­ oh my god, you''re a genius!¡± ¡°Is there something I¡¯m not getting?¡± ¡°Since infecting things naturally instead of magically is cheaper, but we can¡¯t use our old strategy, I figured, why not just blow the plague in their general direction! Obviously, there¡¯s no wind in a cavern, but a strong breeze isn¡¯t exactly a Mana hungry spell. It¡¯s not like the wind has to be strong enough to knock down an Orc, just strong enough to carry an airborne plague through their camp.¡± Vorn excitedly explained. ¡°And, since we won¡¯t need to be near the camp to do it, I can make the plague take longer to incubate, and release it over a longer period of time! I won¡¯t be completely wiped by the Mana cost this time!¡± As silver turned back to orange, Rowan said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ll be able to function this raid, then. I still feel bad about how wiped you were after the first one.¡± After a few minutes, in which Vorn and Ark prepared their spells, Rowan asked, ¡°Time to get this show on the road, are both of you ready?¡± ¡°You fucking betcha!¡± Ark exclaimed. Ark created an ¡®O¡¯ shape above her head with her arms. Rowan could see a slight shimmer within it. Suddenly, he felt his arm move upwards without his control, and a strong breeze emerged from his palm. Belatedly, Rowan realized that this was essentially a plague bubble blower, and he couldn¡¯t hold in the slight chuckle that the thought caused. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Rowan tried thinking of a way to explain that wouldn¡¯t sound like the ramblings of a madman, before attempting something new. He didn''t know where the thought came from, but he figured it was worth a try. ¨C| Fifteen Years Ago |¨C Rowan stood in the middle of a synthpark for his mandatory ¡®relaxation¡¯ hour. He didn¡¯t quite remember when he first arrived at the orphanage, but he could remember the parks that his actual parents took him to when he was much younger. Just flashes, though, nothing truly substantial. Still, even with just those flashes, he could tell that this park could never compare to the real thing. It was similar to the ¡®uncanny valley¡¯ thing he had heard about online during his computer hour. Still, it was better than rotting inside like the rest of his ¡®siblings¡¯, and the only other place to spend the relaxation hour was in the library. His ¡®brother¡¯, Alec, came up to him and tried to make small talk, but Rowan just ignored him like he usually did. He was a persistent bastard, however. ¡°Come on, Rowan! You never have any fun! At least try this out?¡± In his hand was a strange device. It was a bright pink bottle with a strangely shaped¡­ stick? Like the outline of a spoon. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Come on, you¡¯ve never blown bubbles?¡± Alec asked incredulously. ¡°Tsk. Not everyone spends their time frivolously. I¡¯m going to get out of here.¡± Rowan snapped back. ¡°No need for animosity!¡± Alec shouted good-naturedly, ¡°Just try it out? You need to lighten up eventually, right? The last time I saw you smile was when you were fighting that big kid that was picking on Joan!¡± Sighing, he gave up and took the bottle. He blew a couple bubbles and then handed the bottle back. He pointedly ignored the fact that the bubbles were actually pretty cool looking. He was not interested. No way. No sir. ¡°Happy?¡± He asked, frustrated. Why couldn¡¯t people understand that he wanted to be left alone?! Alec just smiled at him and walked away. He was always good at reading Rowan. ¨C|Present|¨C What the hell was that! ¡°S-sorry. I just tried sending a memory of a bubble blower. I didn¡¯t mean to send the¡­ everything else part.¡± ¡°Okay, cool to know we can do that, but don¡¯t spring that on me in the future. That was really strange.¡± ¡°What the hell did you guys just do? Your eyes went orange with a rainbow outline for a second.¡± ¡°We tried something new. I shared a memory.¡± Rowan stated simply. ¡°I wonder where the rainbow effect came from?¡± ¡°Hm, does everything you do have to be color coded? Is this some kind of divine prank on you two?¡± Ark asked more to herself than anyone else. ¡°How do you figure?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°Well, you''re orange, right?¡± ¡°If you''re referring to my eye color, then you would be correct.¡± He said, waiting for the point. ¡°And Vorn is silver, but¡­ when he uses Mana his eyes go all rainbow.¡± ¡°They do!?¡± Vorn shouted, temporarily taking control. ¡°Yep, and when you do that memory thing, those colors overlap! You¡¯re color coded!¡± ¡°Huh, that is strange.¡± Rowan said, just as deadpan as before. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s because I unlocked my Path? If the rainbow effect only shows up when using Mana, it makes sense that we wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it until I unlocked it.¡± ¡°Makes sense to me.¡± A few minutes of silence passed before Rowan asked, ¡°You¡¯re looking pretty tired. Are you ready for the first break?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She said, sitting down. ¡°How many times are we going to do this?¡± He asked. ¡°Best ask your brain buddy up there, he would know better than me.¡± She said. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Oh, preferably we would do about thirty cycles of this, but I think we can get away with just doing twelve or thirteen if you¡¯re impatient.¡± Ark saw the grimace on Rowan¡¯s face and said, ¡°That bad, huh?¡± Chapter 18: Shadowdancer A few hours ¨C and an ungodly amount of Mana ¨C later, they were ready. Rowan used his typical strategy of just¡­ walking into the camp. The Orcs saw him approaching and shouted with all their might, but it ended up sounding more like a whimper. Their green and rough skin had become a sallow imitation of its natural color, and their eyes that used to shine with violence now shone with pain and fear. Still, they were Orcs, and no matter how terrified or in pain they may be, they will never run away from a target. It¡¯s simply not in their nature. If anything, pain and fear just encouraged them to attack with more fervor. The Fear effect from his Title was more of a buff to Orcs in that way. And attack with fervor they did. Their speed surprised Rowan, not only were they fast, but they were faster than any other Orc they had fought so far. He focused on one while continuing to dodge. Around level forty, is what his instincts shouted at him, but that didn¡¯t fully explain what was happening. They should have been much slower than this, but instead, they seemed to be faster. Did the plague not affect them at all? That couldn¡¯t be the case, their skin was evidence of that. He was faster than them still, of course, but not by a large margin. A large cleaver careened towards his neck, but he was already dodging while simultaneously cutting at a different Orc¡¯s Achilles tendon. This was much more dangerous than he expected. A smile grew on his face. A club was moving in his blind spot towards his spine, but the movement of the air had already given away the attack. He jumped backward and caught the strike with his daggers. What he expected to be a heavy strike was, however, much stronger than he was prepared for. It sent him over thirty feet away from his previous position. What the hell! That was like getting hit by a freight train! These Orcs had to be twice, maybe three times stronger as he was! His grin grew a little larger. Suddenly, his pinky lifted from his dagger and sent a gout of bright white flames outwards in a wave. An idea struck him at that moment. ¡°You know how you were complaining about wasting energy! How about you coat my weapons in those flames!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I could do that.¡± His grin grew feral. A cool breeze encompassed his hands for a moment before his daggers erupted into white concentrated fire. ¡°How much mana is this burning!¡± He asked while rushing the enemy. ¡°Honestly, not much. I could keep this up all day. My regen is only slightly slower than the cost of maintaining it.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. What the Orcs saw is the stuff of nightmares. Rowan¡¯s orange iris surrounded his pupil like the event horizon of a black hole, and a rainbow Aurora surrounded even that. His feral smile was what really sold the image as horrific for the Orcs, it screamed that not only would they die in pain, but their tormentor would enjoy it. The Fear debuff from his Last Stand title was hardly needed at this point. But these were Orcs he was against. Where every other enemy would be routed by paralyzing fear, they channeled their fear into another charge. It was almost admirable. He reached the Orc front, a tidal wave of flame and violence, and began his dance. A five-degree turn of his neck narrowly avoided a thrust from a spear, and a quick hop avoided a sweeping strike at his knees; that same strike tagged several of the Orc¡¯s allies, buying him several moments. In that time, he rushed the recovering Orcs and managed his first strike. He could see it in slow motion. A white arc went towards its neck, almost as if the moon itself had come to cleave the head of this monster. The blade touched its neck, and time paused for a moment. The very next, the blade almost seemed to teleport through the rest of the distance, decapitating the Orc in one smooth motion. A trail of fire and gore reflected in his eyes, and for the first time since the behemoth, he felt alive. The next moment, he was rushing through the stunned ranks of the Orcs, stabbing, slashing, and removing body parts wherever he could. His daggers moved so quickly and fluidly that they resembled glowing ribbons that followed his every movement. They glowed so brightly that his figure became obscured in the night. He flowed from neck to neck, bleeding or decapitating every monster he came across. A surprisingly agile Orc managed to barely avoid his dagger by staggering backward, but before Rowan could chase it, an arrow pierced its throat. Ark was sniping them, huh? He was glad that she got to see more of the action this time. Finally, after slaughtering upwards of twenty Orcs at the edge of the camp, a truly titanic roar tore through the cavern. Then one more. Then a third. Oh shit. Looks like this just got significantly more interesting. [Synchronized Mind] was activated the moment he heard the roar. They had made the mistake of forgetting it one too many times. It was¡­ different this time, however. Whereas before it felt like becoming a native to this world, and perhaps gaining a smidge of common sense, now they felt as if their mind had become a furnace for new ideas. They just couldn¡¯t stop thinking. It would appear that their stats affected them disproportionately. That probably meant that Vorn didn¡¯t benefit from his Path¡¯s Strength as much as they thought, and Rowan wasn¡¯t getting a huge boost from their overall Intelligence or Wisdom. That explained how Vorn got control of his Physical Stat boost so quickly, and why Rowan didn¡¯t feel all that different despite gaining over five hundred points in Mental Stats. It would seem that was only the case when they weren¡¯t [Synced], however. They just became significantly more dangerous. They merged. The first boss emerged from the crowd of Orcs with a roar, but this one was not titanic like the previous behemoth. It was small, lithe, and felt significantly more dangerous than them. Around level sixty, is what his instincts screamed at him. It also screamed danger. It rushed him, and he understood why. It was faster than them. Much, much faster than them. Almost before he could blink, it was upon them. It swung its dagger at his throat, but they dodged backward well out of the way of the strike. Or so they thought. Right before its dagger would have harmlessly passed them, it extended. Shadows solidified on the blade, giving it four extra inches of length. It passed right through their throat, spilling their lifeblood on the stone floor. The Orc then merged into the shadows and retreated tens of feet away. It looked¡­ it looked like it was gloating. It was leaving them to bleed out. ¡°Nice try, bitch, I have fucking magic.¡± Their hand ignited and Voran grasped their own throat. Spots dotted their vision, and they nearly passed out, but they would survive. Don¡¯t let it get that close on its own terms, noted. Already, they could feel regeneration healing the cauterized wound, but that wouldn¡¯t matter if they could kill this Shadowdancer. They had read about this epic Path once before, but they didn¡¯t think they would ever see one. Ideas spun in their mind, and they realized what they needed to do. First, bright lights emerged from their body and floated upwards. Honestly, if they weren¡¯t merged they didn¡¯t think they would be able to make pure light. It was much more complex than Vorn would have thought. Good thing they weren¡¯t Vorn right now. They illuminated the whole camp and banished nearly all the shadows. It was honestly a bit uncanny. The lack of shadows made the world look like it was painted in 2D. A look of annoyance appeared on the Dancer¡¯s face, but Voran didn¡¯t care. They were already rushing it. The look on the Dancer¡¯s face shifted from anger to incredulity. Voran could almost read its thoughts, ¡®Instead of running away, it''s rushing to its death? Why?¡¯ It would seem the dancer wasn¡¯t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, as it rushed him in turn. Right before they could clash, a jet of air came from Voran¡¯s feet and launched him above the assassin. The moment they reached the apex of their enhanced jump, they forced themselves down with an even greater gust of air. Their dagger actually managed to pierce its brain¡­ or it would have, save the shadow appearing out of nowhere and absorbing the strike. There was the eponymous perk that the Path was named after. [Shadow Dance]. It would save the monster, but only once. It had a cooldown of a week. Damn, reading that bestiary was really coming in handy. The creature scowled at them and then moved to rush them once more. They could tell from its flickering form that it was trying to use [Shadow Vault] or [Shadow Jump], but it simply couldn¡¯t with the lights. Finally, when it reached them, it attacked them with a flurry of attacks. They were only just barely able to avoid the onslaught, and even still, they took multiple cuts to their extremities. Even still, they were already closing as they formed. Not fast, mind you, but fast enough to be seen. A deep cut would still take a few minutes to close. They were trying to be stringent with their Mana, there were two more roars that they heard after all, but it was becoming difficult to keep their good judgment with all the blood loss. Finally, after it attacked once more without them being able to do anything, they erupted into an inferno, instantly incinerating the Shadowdancer¡­ along with half of their Mana. One down. Another roar erupted from behind them. Two more to go. Chapter 19: Battle of Titans They felt an incredibly strong vibration behind them and instinctively dodged to the side. A beam of orange-tinged blue fire scoured and melted the stone where they had just stood, digging at least thirty into the ground. They disabled the lights that they had sent into the air. Voran would need to save all the Mana they could. The Orc that fired it was squat and gangly, but the staff in its hand, along with nearly being melted, gave away its Path. An Inferno Shaman. The fire on their daggers went out, there was no point in keeping it up at this point. It was completely immune to fire. They rushed at the shaman, sending bursts of wind behind them to increase their speed, and arrived in front of it within moments. Unfortunately, it seemed to be well versed in flame sorcery, as a large blindingly hot inferno appeared around it, stopping their advance. The other Orcs took their short pause as an opportunity to strike, but Voran had a few tricks up his sleeve that Rowan and Vorn didn¡¯t. They dodged every attack by a slim margin, using their wind sorcery to subtly redirect attacks, while simultaneously sending spikes of earth into the monsters¡¯ feet. Being in perfect sync had its perks. Before they could finish off a few Orcs, a large plume of fire came at them. It was poorly aimed, so they attempted to just sidestep, but at the last second the Shaman roared. They could feel the Mana from the roar travel to its flame, and the plume became an avalanche of fire. They couldn¡¯t dodge. But¡­ who said they needed to? With their thoughts combined, Voran had access to spells that Vorn simply didn¡¯t have the knowledge to even think to perform. A vacuum appeared around them, sucking the air out of their lungs and bursting numerous blood vessels, but the fire simply couldn''t touch them. The Shaman, who probably expected to see nothing but ash, was terrified to see them standing there, barely even singed. The only noticeable difference was their eyes. The busted blood vessels colored their sclera red. It attempted to send another large wall of fire at them, but what it didn¡¯t expect was the adaptability Voran had. In the time it took for Shaman to get over its fear, Voran had improved the spell. A small air pocket was kept between them and the vacuum, leaving them short on oxygen and all but immune to fire and their own vacuum. They ran through the blue inferno as if it wasn¡¯t there, exploding through the wall of flame without a care. The Shaman, not nearly as brave as the warriors that surrounded it, was finally routed. Voran was shocked. They had never heard of an Orc abandoning a fight. Well, not like it mattered. Since it was running away, it decidedly wasn¡¯t paying attention. A spike of earth pierced its foot, making it fall to the floor. After that, another spike pierced its brain, ending the Shaman for good. Mana Capacity: 20% Finally, the largest roar appeared once more. A baritone avalanche of sound slammed into them, knocking them to the ground. A few hundred feet away, they could finally see it. An Orc the size of a three-story building, easily thirty-five feet tall. All the warriors surrounding them kneeled. Mana Capacity: 23% It walked through their camp, knocking down tents without a care. Finally, it arrived in front of them. They prepared to run or dodge, but it simply stood there. Taking their measure. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Mana Capacity: 25% It looked in their eyes as if saying, ¡°Go on, take the first shot.¡± So they did. Air condensed near their legs, and fire erupted at the edge of their blade, only to compress and become even more energized. A thin line of burning plasma that was absolutely bleeding mana. They jumped at the Titan, the plasma burning a hole in their mana reserves, but it was the only thing that could hope to take this creature down. They attacked its jugular and it barely even flinched. Blood poured down its neck, but the wound was already healing. Or¡­ it was... before a beam hit the beast directly in the chest. Yellow lines of sickness spread from the impact site. When it reached its throat, its healing completely stopped. It seemed¡­ impressed. Not even angry. With that, it began its assault. It slammed its fist towards them like a hammer, it wasn¡¯t very fast, so they could easily dodge it. However, they had thought that about every Chief they had fought so far, to be safe, they decided to jet vault into the air. Good thing they did, as the blow that impacted the ground rocked the entire cavern, sending crystalline stalactites toward the Orcs on the ground. The Titan didn¡¯t seem to care as its brethren were crushed. Funnily enough, the Orcs didn¡¯t seem to care either. They had an enamored look on their faces as if they were watching a battle between divines. Mana Capacity: 9% As long as they could play keep away from the Titan, they could win this¡­ but is that how they wanted to win? The wound on the Titan''s artery had widened with its actions, and a veritable river of blood was pouring down its chest. The ground had blood up to their ankles. The beast was already slowing down, and they would be damned if a beast like this went down like a bitch. Again, they prepared to Jet Vault at the beast. With only nine percent of their Mana remaining, this would have to be precisely timed. A gargantuan fist careened towards them while they rocketed towards its face, but Voran dodged it by sending a jet of wind into their side. They had a clear shot. They were a mere three feet away from the Titan¡¯s eye. Voran¡¯s reflection looked them in the eye¡­ and ignited. A burning white meteor dived into the beast¡¯s skull, doing irreparable damage. The Titan released one last roar, nearly knocking Voran unconscious just by the sheer volume, and then¡­ it dropped. Face first into the ground. While they were in its face. It was an unpleasant few minutes while they dug themselves out. They waited to split until they were outside and breathing again, otherwise Vorn would have puked in their Soul, and neither of them wanted to know what that entailed. Finally, they emerged from the Titan¡¯s skull, victorious. And surrounded by Orcs. Mana Capacity: 1% They prepared to fight once more, but they were exhausted. The Orcs, though, stayed kneeled. They tentatively walked up to one and tapped it on the shoulder. Nothing. From behind them, they heard. ¡°Human, you have defeated our Lord in honorable combat. Do what you wish with us, we will not stop you.¡± A warrior said, reverence lacing their tone. Dungeon beasts were hard-wired to attack delvers, and they could see that the Orcs were all shaking with barely repressed violence¡­ but the monsters were true to their word. While Voran collected blood and brights from their brethren, they kept their heads kneeled. Before they left, Voran said, ¡°Your Lord was an extremely fun fight, I hope you take after him.¡± ¡°Our thanks, Delver. By your mercy and by your command, we shall.¡± Time to check their gains. Voran, Level 23 Twin Soul Spellblade Age: 16 | Class 1: [Twin Soul: Mind Path] | Rowan: [Twin Soul: Body Path] Attributes: CON: 345 STR: 345 AGI: 345 DEX: 345 WIS: 690 INT: 690 CHA: 138 LUCK: 138 [Titles: One New Title] [Perks:] [Skills:] Status: Dehydrated, Fatigued, Gorey, Mana Fatigued New Title: Bloodstained Champion of Elenia (Legendary) (Blessing/Curse) Rejoice, mortal! You have impressed the Goddess of the Wild, Elenia! By embracing your brutality and bloodlust, you have unintentionally followed the tenets of the most brutal of all Gods, and thus She has chosen you to be her champion. This cannot be undone. Boons: Banes: Bloodstained Blessing: When your body is fully covered in blood, enter a true Blood Rage, losing your ability to discriminate between friend and foe. Double all attributes. Beware, some do not recover their faculties. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Oh shit.¡± ¡°So, Vorn¡­ This is bad, right?¡± ¡°Not necessarily. You just need to be aware of how much blood is covering¡­ you¡­ while in a fugue state¡­ Okay, this might be bad.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought so. I already have trouble maintaining my reason in battle, considering that my reason gets an active debuff from this¡­ yeah, dangerous... So, I¡¯m a champion of a goddess now? Does that come with any responsibilities?¡± ¡°Honestly, not really. It¡¯ll change how some people interact with you, but a Champion Title is just a gift for achieving a legendary feat and impressing a god. It¡¯s a reward, not a responsibility. Now, if you had become a ''True'' Champion, that would be different, but that is substantially harder.¡± ¡°Do they usually come with such harsh downsides?¡± ¡°Depends. Elenia is a very violent Goddess, so She likely doesn¡¯t see an issue or downside with any of the abilities you¡¯ve gained.¡± ¡°Well, at least it¡¯s your problem and not mine.¡± "*sigh* Joy.¡± ¡°Oh hey, you sighed again. I still have no idea how you manage that while we¡¯re talking in our thoughts.¡± Chapter 20: Shopping The moment Rowan felt they were far enough away from the camp to be safe, he collapsed. Not that Vorn was doing much better, expending all of your Mana was exhausting on a good day, add on to that several battles to the death, and you get the picture. They were completely wiped. Ark came running up to them not much later. ¡°Guys, that was incredible! And stupid! But mostly incredible! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard anything as impressive from two level twenties!¡± Ark exclaimed, but then her eyes narrowed, ¡°What the fuck! Why does your throat have a suspiciously deadly looking scar on it! I don¡¯t know if my heart can take it if you nearly die every fight you have!¡± She finished, exasperated. ¡°That¡¯s fair, but you have to admit, it was a pretty awesome fight! Did you see when we cannonballed into the Titan¡¯s eye? While on fire! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever forget that!¡± Rowan laughed boisterously, easily showing the most emotion Ark or Vorn had ever seen. She just shook her head and sighed, ¡°At least you had fun. For the record, though, you do know that delving is plenty dangerous without pulling idiotic stunts like that, right? Or are you trying to win an award for the coolest death?¡± ¡°If I do go down, you¡¯re damn right I¡¯ll get that award. Although, I really am sorry for worrying you. I just haven¡¯t gotten over the after-battle jitters yet, so I¡¯m excitable.¡± He explained. ¡°I guess that¡¯s fair. The last ¡®exciting¡¯ fight you had did end up with you being dead to the world for a day, so I can see why this wasn¡¯t a problem then.¡± Ark said. ¡°Also, don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice those arrows and that final plague beam! You were incredible! I don¡¯t think I would have been able to pull off those shots even in my old world, especially as dark as it is.¡± Rowan complimented. It was a little weird seeing Rowan so emotive, but neither of his party members could say they disliked it. ¡°So, did you already get the blood from all the Orcs down there? I noticed you going through the corpses, but like you said, it is very dark down here.¡± Ark asked. ¡°Yeah, I got everything.¡± He looked down at himself for a moment, ¡°And even if I didn¡¯t, I think I have enough on me for a few vials.¡± ¡°Yeesh. I was complaining about needing a shower, but now I feel I can¡¯t really complain. At least take a dive in the river before we go.¡± She said, finally taking stock of just how¡­ messy he was. ¡°Fair. The nearest one is pretty far, though.¡± ¡°I gotcha.¡± Their pinky twitched and a large volume of water poured on him. Rowan quirked an eyebrow, ¡°Is that really the best use of our limited Mana?¡± ¡°Hey, I regenerate more Mana in a minute than most mages use in a day, I can afford to be a little wasteful. Besides, I think I just solved our little Blood Rage problem. Assuming there¡¯s not some bullshit Title thing that makes blood magnetized to you or something.¡± ¡°You realized you totally just jinxed us right?¡± Rowan said, his voice still light and amused. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Care to fill me in?¡± Ark asked. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s walk and talk, I can tell you want to get out of here.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°Wait, you''re telling me you only got four levels from that!¡± She shouted near the exit of the dungeon. ¡°Yeah, I just figured that it was slower since I¡¯m a higher level, is that not the case?¡± ¡°NO! You just beat three boss level creatures, one which was probably the strongest in the dungeon! I don¡¯t care if you have a Mythic Equivalent Path, that just doesn¡¯t happen!¡± Ark yelled in disbelief. Orange turned to silver, and Vorn said, ¡°Well, technically, we have two. Honestly, I should have figured this out sooner. I thought it was convenient that we shared levels, especially since I got retroactive stat points when I unlocked my Path, but it would appear that we need twice as much ¡®experience¡¯.¡± ¡°Well that sucks for you guys, how will you keep up with me now?¡± Ark joked good-naturedly. ¡°It¡¯s not the end of the world or anything, but this is certainly inconvenient. Especially since we both level our Path in pretty different ways. Mine through learning and experimentation, and him through combat.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, it doesn¡¯t sound that bad. You just need to point each of your Paths towards supporting one another. Vorn you could¡­ I don¡¯t know, maybe make, like, a bestiary or something. Something that you can research and experiment with while actively helping Rowan. Rowan could be the muscle behind that, getting you samples or whatever. That¡¯s just from the top of my head, though.¡± Ark said, unaware that she had just blown Vorn¡¯s mind. ¡°Divines smite me, I¡¯m an idiot! I should have thought of that! Thank you so much, Ark! I¡¯ll put some more thought into other things we can do, but I¡¯m for sure doing the bestiary thing! That¡¯s a great idea!¡± Vorn exclaimed in excitement. Ark turned away for a moment, unused to genuine praise. ¡°Well, thanks. W-we should get out of here already, I¡¯m sick of Orcs! If I never have to see another one of these bastards, it¡¯ll be too soon.¡± She bantered, trying to lighten the mood. ¡°I can¡¯t disagree with that.¡± Vorn said as they reached the exit. Shining silver returned once more to neon orange, ¡°So, do you want to join our ¡®party¡¯? You were a valuable member, and I would be remiss not to offer.¡± Rowan said, completely monotone once more. ¡°S-sure. I¡¯ll meet up with you back at the guild tomorrow?¡± She tentatively asked. ¡°Of course. Hmm, actually-¡± Ark¡¯s heart stopped in her chest for a moment, ¡°make that two days from now. We¡¯re going to have to do some shopping with our new funds.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. She let out a silent sigh of relief, ¡°Okay, cool. Wait! I¡¯m an idiot, we need to head to the guild together right now to get our money!¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Let¡¯s get going then.¡± Rowan said, unphased and already moving towards the exit. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°Your total comes out to¡­ forty-nine brights and twenty-six lumies. The blood from the chieftains and Orc Lord will need to be negotiated, as they were all E50 or above, with the exception of the Behemoth. Do you want to do that, or will you let the guild handle it for you?¡± Vorn was glad that Rowan was fronting right now because he was gaping like a fish in his soulspace. ¡°E50?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, the ranking? Yeah, it¡¯s just a simple combination of the monster''s level and rarity. Epic Fifty. Monsters with higher rarities are drastically more dangerous, so they pay more.¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have much time for negotiation, how much of a cut does the guild take?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°Just three percent, it¡¯s one of our main services.¡± She says, matching Rowan¡¯s bored tone perfectly. ¡°Let¡¯s go with that, then.¡± ¡°Alright, sir. Here¡¯s your earnings for now, come back in one to three days for the rest of your funds.¡± She languidly tapped a crystal against their guild card, transferring half of the total earnings. With that, they had made over ten percent of Vorn¡¯s life savings in a week! Well, five percent if you count their cut instead of the grand total, but still! They walked out of the Guildhall twenty-four brights and sixty-three lumies richer. The other half went to Ark, even though she was insistent that they should keep the sixty-forty split. As they left the private teller stations, designed to keep people from robbing each other, Rowan couldn¡¯t help but notice the looks he was getting. Perhaps it was them doubling their level in one dungeon, or maybe it was the large scar that now marred their throat, either way, people were staring. It was, in a way, comforting. After being essentially worshiped everywhere he went, the lack of recognition was nice, but the stares brought with them a sense of nostalgia that was uniquely pleasant. For Rowan at least. Vorn despised the attention. Finally, they exited the Guildhall. ¡°See you guys in a couple days, I guess.¡± Ark grumbled, still not happy about them giving up part of their ¡®share¡¯. You didn¡¯t save Rowan¡¯s life and get less than half, it just wasn¡¯t how he lived. And it wasn¡¯t as if Vorn would let that go either, they were both honorable men or trying to be. ¡°So, what now?¡± ¡°Now? We go home and crash.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª After sleeping for roughly four hours, about eight times longer than they physically needed at this point, they were ready to face the day. Or, in this case, night. Most businesses ran late because of the odd sleep schedules Attributes caused, so it wasn¡¯t an issue. The first thing on the docket, their budget. They had a total of 4 blinds, ¨C four hundred brights ¨C so they had a lot to work with. They still needed to pay for rent and food, though. Sadly, they couldn¡¯t spend all their money on toys. They decided to dedicate roughly twenty percent of their funds into their savings, the rest was theirs to do with as they pleased. ¡°First, we need to get you geared! I don¡¯t care how much you like being light on your feet, a little bit of leather can save your life!¡± ¡°We literally got our throat slit and lived, so our need for armor is dubious at best.¡± ¡°Yeah, and maybe having some leather there will keep our head attached instead of on the ground next time! You literally have over three hundred Strength! You won¡¯t even notice the armor!¡± ¡°It just doesn¡¯t feel necessary. What creature that we would be hunting couldn¡¯t get through leather? Isn¡¯t my skin tougher than leather at this point?¡± ¡°Well, we obviously wouldn¡¯t be getting standard light armor, it would have to be made of a pretty high-level creature.¡± ¡°Maybe we should have skinned one of those Orcs then?¡± ¡°First, gross. Second, yeah, maybe we should have.¡± ¡°Do you think we could even afford armor that would protect me from a level fifty creature?¡± ¡°¡­ Probably not. Well, maybe we could get you some weapons. Your daggers aren¡¯t looking so hot after being set on fire. Heh.¡± ¡°This is why I don¡¯t think you''re funny, but that doesn¡¯t sound like a bad idea.¡± ¡°Hurtful, but fair.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°What do you mean, you don¡¯t have any weapons! This is a blacksmithery focused exclusively on forging them!¡± Vorn shouted. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell ya son, the war hasn¡¯t been kind to my stock. The military gets a twenty percent discount on all armaments and armor, along with priority to sell to them first. Nothing I can do.¡± The blacksmith gestured at his empty weapon racks. ¡°Is there nowhere we can buy gear?¡± Vorn asked, desperation slightly tingeing his voice. ¡°Nowhere legitimate. The military isn¡¯t buying all my gear, just most. A noble benefactor has been buying the rest, and sending it to the military for brownie points. He¡¯s been doing the same thing with every other legitimate business, ¡®far as I¡¯m aware.¡± ¡°Well, thanks for your time, I guess.¡± Vorn said, dejected. ¡°Can you not summon weaponry? It¡¯s just metal, a simple crystalline structure. Give it an edge and make it durable, and I¡¯ll use it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe. I¡¯ve never conjured metal or earth before, just manipulated it. Granted, I don¡¯t see why I couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll try that if worse comes to worst. At least until I can loot some more monsters. Actually, I know we were turning all the monsters into currency because you were saving up, but now that we don¡¯t need to do that, is there a point?¡± ¡°I mean, kinda. Looting enemies is mostly random. Sure, it won¡¯t be anything completely unbelievable, but it¡¯s the God of Madness that gives us loot, so there isn¡¯t much rhyme or reason. Money is just more reliable than the gamble that looting or destroying is. Also, I¡¯ll be damned if we rely on a spell we¡¯ve never tested in a dungeon, we need to rent a training area so I can test that weapon summoning spell.¡± ¡°Fair, but can¡¯t you just test it here?¡± ¡°And get the guard to kick our ass? I think the fuck not. It¡¯s not hard to sense when magic is being used, and I¡¯m especially not subtle with my casting yet. Plus, in case you hadn¡¯t gathered, it¡¯s very fucking illegal to cast inside city limits outside of a designated area.¡± ¡°That does make sense.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Their next stop was an artificer¡¯s shop. Vorn was almost glad for the weaponry shortage, as it increased their funds for this exponentially. They could always [Loot] or [Destroy] to find weapons, it was just, as stated earlier, a pain in the ass. What could you do, though? As they entered the store, Vorn was immediately enraptured. Magical devices of all shapes and sizes adorned the walls and shelves. It was a magic nerd''s paradise. Generally, Rowan piloted, as he had faster reflexes and better control of their body, but the moment Vorn laid eyes on the items in the store, he was already in the midst of taking over. Like a squirrel in a peanut factory, he was off. First, he picked up various magic notebooks, Rowan remarked that they were very similar to his world¡¯s digital devices, just without internet access. It allowed him to write and erase freely, along with ¡®uploading¡¯ magical images. The correct magical term for ¡®uploading¡¯ was convoluted and had nine syllables, so they were sticking with computer terms. Advanced magic was just like that. Next on the docket, communication stones. They were actually pretty cheap for how they worked, only costing two brights each. Gods, one good dungeon run, and Vorn was already losing touch with money. He used to make twelve lumies an hour for Divine¡¯s sake. Either way, he had money now, and the point of money was to be spent. He bought four comm stones, backups for themselves and Ark. Next was a magic rope. How was it magic? He didn¡¯t know, but they did need rope, and it was right there at a pretty cheap price. As he was reaching for a heating stone, he felt a tap on his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin. Turning around, he saw nothing. He was about to start searching before he heard a voice from directly ahead of him, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m right here.¡± And he was, A man of similar height to them was standing directly in front of them and neither of them noticed. ¡°U-uh, were you the two that partied up with Ark?¡± He asked nervously. ¡°Yeah, why? You know her?¡± Vorn asked, still trying to figure out how the fuck someone sneaks up on a guy while standing right in front of them. ¡°N-not exactly. I¡¯ve been wanting to join up with her, and she has a really cool Path, and she¡¯s really intimidating¡­ sorry, I¡¯m rambling. Uh, can I join you two, is what I¡¯m trying to ask.¡± He finally got out. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m fine with it, but you gotta run it past Ark too. We can discuss it at the Guild, we¡¯re meeting up there in a day and a half.¡± Vorn explained. ¡°O-okay. That makes sense. I should have done that in the first place, but she¡¯s so cool, and people never notice me unless I touch them, and I didn¡¯t want to touch her without permission, but she never heard me when I spoke to her, so I gave up, and I- you get the point, sorry. G-goodbye, and thanks for your time.¡± He quietly mumbled and then awkwardly waved goodbye. Vorn was going to say something back, but by the time the guy was done waving, he had already disappeared. Strange. Well, it was time to get back to shopping! Editing Complete! Fucking finally. (If youre new just ignore this) Boys, It''s finally, finally done. God this was exhausting. I''ve read over the story easily five times since starting, and boy do I have some complaints about the author. I''ll keep those to myself though, lol. Most of the changes are grammatical and minor, and I tried to keep everything mostly the same, but there were some more significant story edits. If you''d like, you can reread and find them yourself, but I won''t make you do that.
Here''s how this is going to go, I''ll go ahead and give a light overview of each chapter that doesn''t have any spoilers, and if you feel the need to reread, go ahead. If you don''t want to, click the spoilers and it will describe the changes. Absolutely none of the chapters will require a reread. If I say a chapter needs to be reread in one of the descriptions, that is assuming you don''t want to read the spoilers. Note: At one point while I was editing some of the chapters, instead of using the de-color tool, I used the white color to turn the colored text back to normal. Now, this is an issue because I forgot light mode existed, and I have no idea where I did this. If you see a suspiciously blank section of text, or a nonsensical sentence, hover over it and see if there is extra text there please. I''ll be trying to see if I can find it, but if I can''t I''m sorry. If you do see nonsensical text that doesn''t have any white text in front of it, feel free to suggests edits to that too, lol. Story Changes: For those that don''t want to bother with going through the chapter by chapter changes down below, this is a list of everything you will need to know for the story to make sense. I''m sure you could gather it through context if you really don''t want to interact with this chapter at all for some reason, though. IMPORTANT CHANGES FOR THOSE THAT DON''T WANT TO REREAD: Burken is not an unreasonable asshole, and has a good reason for believing Vorn can''t be a mage. See [*1] in lore changes at the bottom if you want to know why. Dungeoneering Guild was changed to Delver''s Guild. They were given a very illegal class disguising neckless by the Guildmaster. They were recommended to find a mentor by the assessment guard at the training dungeon. They discuss analyzing their weaknesses after every dungeon run. Rowan was serving an unethical government without really thinking about it... somehow. (Granted, most governments are unethical, but just imagine this being shocking please) Rowan''s nation, before they were the somewhat unethical mess they are ''now'', were a very unethical mess a few decades ago. And they were ruled by AI. Current nation: UCA. Old AI Nation: NIAF. Universal Changes: Grammar, prose, and dialogue were tweaked or downright fully revised on many/most/all chapters. I''m adding this because I wanted to take out the "Grammar edits and dialogue changes" out of the change log. Chapter 1: I''m not changing chapter one. It''s simple and short enough that it doesn''t really require any edits. This is the only chapter with absolutely no changes. Chapter 2: only one story change, but a whole bunch of reworked grammar and internal dialogue. Probably the most significantly edited chapter without having many story changes. Reread not necessary. Minor spoiler for the chapter: Rowan''s Cause of death is no longer a vague ''missile''. He was killed when facility collapsed on him. The killing one thousand people with a grenade and a knife thing stayed the same, though. Chapter 3: Again, only minor edits besides making Vorn''s uncles motivations actually make sense. Rowan is also less of a ''pushover'' for lack of a better word. I recommend just clicking on the spoiler, because the chapter isn''t much more interesting. If you don''t want to, though, then a reread is necessary. Burken, Vorn''s Uncle, now as an actual reason for believing Vorn would be a terrible mage[*1] (See lore editions). Battle Sync has been renamed to Synchronized Mind. Rowan is much clearer with what he expects Vorn to do as is ''handler'' Added a new Status detail, now it gives a you a moniker based on your stats and capabilities. Rowan''s is warrior, but later on it will change to Spellblade Made the Transcendent Class they skip even more ridiculous. Chapter 4: Thankfully, not many changes were needed for this chapter. Reread not necessary. Foreshadowing for the later reveal that Vorn kept mental energy a secret Rowan reveals the name of the military he worked for in his private thoughts: The United Continental Americas Army, or UCAA This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Interlude: It will be moved between chapter four and five. Chapter 5: Quite a few changes on this bad boy, along with a fair amount of new lore and detail. Most of it isn''t super significant, and most of the details will probably be regurgitated later on. Reread absolutely necessary. Changed the Dungeoneering Guild to Delvers Guild. It''s a little basic, but I think the fact that it''s both, 1. a real word, and 2. easy to spell, make up for that. Minor Descriptive changes to the city of Bern Idalin, the god of asexuals (Only kind of a joke), platonic love, and companionship is also revealed to reign over less wholesome domains as well. What they are is not said. Businesses almost never close. I realized it was pretty dumb that in a society where almost everyone needs less sleep that it running on a normal business cycle made no sense. Now things are just more expensive during very late hours as a sort of ''high level'' tax. The Guild Master gives them a very illegal necklace that hides their attributes and class. Their species is not a secret, though. They are told to go to a Trial Dungeon before their Guild Card can be fully activated. This is alluded to in the original, but not in any detail. The Cradle''s various militaries are expanded on a bit [*2]. Chapter 6: There is a new scene in this one, and it is actually a little important to the overall story even if it is very short. A reread may be needed if you don''t want to read the spoilers on this one. Some exposition about the nature of Danger Sense skills[*3]. The new interaction is vaguely along the lines of, "Hey, are you sure you know what you''re doing?" and Rowan going, "Pssh, sure, absolutely!" When he absolutely does not. Introduces some doubts into Vorn''s mind about Rowan''s confidence and competence. This is really the only "major" difference you need to reread for. Chapter 7: Besides the lore additions, not much is all that different. I recommend just reading the spoilers. Some foreboding mysteriousness from Rowan about why digital ''credits'' became common in his world. A minor change to how currency is valued, with dims now being work a penny, not a dollar. The dagger they gained was described more accurately. Basically just imagine a twelve inch dagger that tapers to a point. It has a center groove that''s a little rusty. Idk if you need to know this, but maybe I''ll bring it up later? Probably not. Added an bit of lore about System Enchantments and System Created Items[*4]. Rowan corrects Vorn that he wasn''t actually in the army, but a new division that worked closely with them. Chapter 8: Quite a few changes on this one, I recommend a reread. The ''Desync'' scene has a little more detail. Some changes to the time system. Hyal''bern works on a twenty-six hour day, with five days in a week, five weeks in a month, and fifteen months in a year. You really don''t need to remember this, as even I didn''t until I was going through my worldbuilding page. I may have just straight up forgot to add it to the original version. My bad. An extra bit of dialogue where they discuss... discussing. For real though, they basically just state that they need to go over what they did wrong after every delve so they can improve. They immediately forget, lol. An extra scene where the guard shadowing them yells at them not to take a weapon skill as to not waste there potential. He also says they need to find a mentor if they can. Rockwood cave was changed to crystalwood cavern. Chapter 9: I''m not going to lie to you, I''m starting to get to the point where I''ve read and reread everything so many times that everything is starting to blend together. I''m pretty certain everything is mostly the same, besides a few dialogue additions on this one and a few lore changes, so I don''t recommend a reread on this one. Like I said, a few dialogue changes, mostly to be humorous, but nothing serious was changed. They use one of the ''Repair Whetstones'' on their dagger. It''s a cool, if very minor, scene. Them being a unique being is not a secret, but for some reason they treated it like it was in the original of this, so I changed that to make more sense. Chapter 10: A few dialogue changes. Chapter 11: Nothing significant to reread for. Chapter 12: Again, mostly the same. The boss fight chapters weren''t really changed all that much. Chapter 13: There are actually some changes, but most of them are just descriptive. Nothing important. Chapter 14: Not many changes in this one either. The Orc dungeon Arc was when I started thinking about what changes I would want to implement, so that''s probably why I didn''t feel the need to change much. That, or I''m forgetting what I changed and some shit is actually different. You can be assured that it''s nothing terribly important, even if I am forgetting some minor changes. I have all the major changes listed in my docs. Chapter 15: This one is a doozy. I made up for the last five chapters not having many changes with this fucking bad boy. Like holy shit, almost half of it is lore changes. I got a little carried away. Reread heavily recommended. To surmise the lore changes around the history of his world: Rowan''s Nation, the UCA, was formally known as the NIAF, or New Intelligence Allied Forces. They were one of the puppet states controlled by AI, and were the ''big bad'' of their time. It took the combined brutal efforts of the world to bring them down. By the time Rowan was recruited and joined, they were nearly fully free of AI, but in need of new soldiers to replace the automatons that they used to use on the battlefield. He was recruited at fifteen, with him being towards the middle of the pack in age. The youngest was thirteen. They were given immunosuppressants for their extensive biological and mechanical implants and shoved into suits as to not get sick. Somehow, only now is Rowan realizing this is not okay. Rowan, being built different, was able to handle more implants than everyone else, becoming the most super of the super soldiers. Side note: This is what we in the biz call cryptomnesia. I watched edgerunners like a year before writing this, and completely forgot that that was a major plot point. Oops. Well, it was either that, or I just had a very similar idea out of the blue, which does happen. I honestly don''t know which happened in this case. Chapter 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20: Very few changes besides prose and grammar! I''m finally done! THANK GOD! Lore Changes // Additions: [*1]: Talent with magic is paternal. Vorn''s father is heavily implied to be a warrior, so you can see why Burken doesn''t think he can a mage. [*2]: Basically, Danger Sense skills work in shades of "Dangerous" to "Very Dangerous". Since most guards are very high level, all people are labeled "Not Dangerous". This becomes a problem when they need to determine who is allowed in, say, a dungeon. This is one of the many reasons the Dungeon Identity card was made. [*3]: Hyal''hiem (The nation they start in) has a military very heavily focused on training elites, and they have the best mages and magitech in the Cradle. Hysperion (The Axelite nation) is said to have the best infantry and craftsman, making there general forces much stronger. The elven military is not mentioned. [*4]: The System uses the mana in the bodies of monsters to create items and enchantements, and the quality of that mana (what mana quality is and how it works is not mentioned) determines the item you will get. Vorn says that you need to kill a monster of at least level sixty to get an enchanted item, but seems unsure about that. He also mentions that the System sometimes rewards people by giving them enchanted items when they do something sufficiently impressive, using it''s own mana to make the enchantments. General Changes: Added quotation marks to all internal dialogue between Vorn and Rowan. Chapter 21: The Boys actually have a nice day Now that they had all the supplies they needed for their next delve, after buying extra for the potential new member, they decided to head home and relax for a while. Well, so Vorn could relax, really. Rowan could relax just about anywhere so long as someone was watching his back, considering the whole soul thing¡­He was a lot more relaxed in this life than he was in his old one. As they entered their shabby apartment, Vorn exclaimed, ¡°Hey, we forgot to do the whole ¡®analyze our weaknesses¡¯ thing!¡± ¡°Have we ever actually done that? Do we really even need to?¡± Rowan asked, not really seeing the issue. ¡°You literally walked into a dungeon that you had no information on based on the assumption that the Guild didn¡¯t want to kill its new members, or at least cared about their lives. That would be a fair assumption if you had been in this world for more than a day, and knew that we weren¡¯t a dystopia or something.¡± ¡°To be fair, Bern doesn¡¯t seem very dystopian based on the colorful buildings and literal magic in the air, but I can see your point. You had no way of knowing what I was assuming based on flawed logic, and what I actually could deduce correctly. Working with a flawed assumption can get people killed.¡± ¡°Exactly! And that was on me, too. I really should¡¯ve told you to slow your roll and asserted myself instead of just letting you potentially make a bad decision. That¡¯s two things we could do better right there! You need to stop just bulldozing ahead with no concern for what could go wrong, and I need to actually tell you when you are making a bad decision.¡± ¡°You know what a bulldozer is?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you took from that? *Sigh* Yes, we have bulldozers here. Since the word got translated into one you already knew, it probably works pretty similar to how your world¡¯s did.¡± ¡°You sigh-¡± ¡°Finish that sentence and I will trip you every three seconds for the next week.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª After a few hours of discussion, what it really boiled down to was... ¡°So, in conclusion, we really, really, need an escape skill.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I think it comes down to, yes. If I could have run away in the dungeon, I would have. I wouldn¡¯t put your life in danger, no matter how fun the fight might be, but if something is strong enough to put us in danger, chances are, it¡¯s strong enough to not let us escape.¡± ¡°Yeah, you have a point. I didn¡¯t really consider that when I asked you to run if you thought we might lose.¡± ¡°So how do we go about getting one?¡± Rowan asked, deadly serious. ¡°That¡¯s the thing, I don¡¯t know that we should.¡± ¡°Hmm? I thought you were against risking our lives so blatantly.¡± ¡°Yeah, obviously. At least one of us needs a sense of self preservation, but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. As far as I know, people only get five skills before they reach level one hundred and¡­ Something happens. I don¡¯t know if I want one of my skill slots wasted on an option unrelated to my Path, and I know you don¡¯t.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°You are correct. And what do you mean ¡®Something happens¡¯? That seems a little vague, especially for you, magic nerd.¡± ¡°First of all, words hurt,¡± Vorn said jokingly, ¡°And second, I don¡¯t know. The rare few that are above level one hundred are intentionally vague. I can only assume that they are either not allowed to disclose what happens or heavily discouraged from doing so.¡± ¡°Interesting. I guess we¡¯ll see what they''re hiding when we get there.¡± ¡°Gods, I wish I had your confidence. Anyway, do you have any ideas that will prevent us from being murdered to death?¡± ¡°Murder them first?¡± *Sigh* ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª They spent the rest of the day just relaxing like they had originally planned. Vorn had to take a quick walk to a bookshop to acquire the rest of the literature that he had been waiting to buy, but he certainly wasn¡¯t going to complain about that. While they were walking, Vorn asked, ¡°So, do you have any genres you''re partial to?¡± ¡°Not particularly. I don¡¯t really like action or comedy, though. Mystery can be fun, I guess.¡± ¡°Comedy I expected, but action is a bit of a surprise.¡± ¡°Really? I just don¡¯t see the appeal in reading about someone doing what I already do every day. I much prefer just doing it myself. Honestly, they¡¯re just boring to me, I don¡¯t really have a solid reason.¡± ¡°That¡¯s completely fair. I¡¯ll see about picking up a mystery novel for us. There are a few I have been wanting to read anyway.¡± Vorn walked with a little more pep in his step, happy that he could share his hobby with his Soulmate. Rowan wore a small internal smile, too. He hadn¡¯t had many people try to include him in their activities beyond combat exercises. It was¡­ nice. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The next day, they went about trying to find a mentor like the guard in the Trial Dungeon had said, if for no other reason than needing a place to practice. Magic, especially combat magic, was heavily regulated in Bern. Beyond just being, ya know, dangerous, Bern already had low ambient mana. If Mana intense magic was used, it would take from the already limited pool that the city''s enchantments used. Rowan had asked Vorn how that worked not long ago. ¡°Well, yes, you would be using your own Aspected Mana, and yes, you are releasing it back into the atmosphere when you use it, but it¡¯s not that simple. When people use magic, they are manipulating their own Mana to accomplish a goal, and thus that Mana becomes saturated with intent. We¡¯re not¡­ Super sure how that works, but we know it means that said mana becomes ¡®corrupted¡¯ for lack of a better word. It can¡¯t be used for enchantments, and needs to dissolve into the ambient mana over the course of a few weeks to be usable again.¡± ¡°And enchantments don¡¯t do this?¡± ¡°No. We think it comes down to either the mind or the soul leaving an imprint on the mana that enchantments don¡¯t. We think. I¡¯m going to be honest with you, nobody has a single clue as to why, and that¡¯s just our best guess.¡± ¡°That seems like a pattern in this world.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably a pattern in any world.¡± ¡°True.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª They arrived at the Guild not long after that conversation and were met with bad, but expected news. All the mentors that the Delvers had were either already fully booked, or drafted. The Guild extended a small amount of protection against the draft, especially this far away from the front lines, but there was a limit. Bern was already well protected, with few dungeons that would actually prove a threat to the city. That combined with the strange abundance of high-level Delver¡¯s that settled theremeant that the Empire started getting pissy and demanding some soldiers. Considering that the Guild¡¯s mentors were all over level seventy-five and experienced, it was obvious who they would pick. What that meant for Voran, though, was that he was fresh outta luck. Unless¡­ *Sigh* ¡°What is it?¡± Rowan asked, genuinely curious. It wasn¡¯t often he wasn¡¯t the cause of such sighs. ¡°I need to contact Uncle. He would know some people to help us. He may be old now, but he was a formidable Delver in his youth. I think he even joined up with the Hall of Justice later on, but he was always vague¡­¡± ¡°Hall of Justice?¡± ¡°Sorry. They¡¯re basically bounty hunters that work under the banner of Hysperia, the Goddess of Light, Justice, and Judgement.¡± ¡°Hysperia? Isn¡¯t that also the name of the Axelite Nation?¡± ¡°Nah, that¡¯s Hysperion. Very similar I know. They are actually named after her because she¡¯s the wife of Axel.¡± ¡°That makes sense. So, are we going to see Burken now?¡± Rowan asked with his usual tact, that is to say, none. ¡°Yeah, just give me a few minutes.¡± ¡°You know, you don¡¯t have to do this if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like this is the first fight we¡¯ve had. Reconciling is just¡­ Difficult. We have very different views.¡± ¡°I know. I kind of had a front row seat.¡± Rowan said with the barest hint of humor lacing his voice. ¡°You have a terrible sense of humor. I preferred it when you didn¡¯t have one.¡± Vorn grumbled. ¡°Terrible sense of humor, huh? I guess I had to pick up something from you.¡± He said, a full-blown smirk on his face. ¡°I really need to keep you from hanging out with Ark.¡± Chapter 22: A helping hand The journey to Burken¡¯s mine was not a long one. Vorn had intentionally picked an apartment that was pretty close. After all, he had worked there for eleven years. Vorn was mostly zoned out for most of the walk, so Rowan decided to take the reins and give his Soulmate a little time to himself. He once more appreciated the sheer beauty of the city. His home had not been nearly so colorful. Besides the neon screens advertising this and that, it was a dull concrete purgatory. He found that he much preferred the seemingly chaotic mishmash of color and architecture that made up Bern. Rowan might just see himself settling down here if he ever lost his itch for combat. He didn¡¯t think there was a high chance of that happening, but stranger things have occurred. Finally, after a ten-minute stroll, they reached Burken¡¯s home. Well, not technically his home, as he did have an actual house outside of the foreman''s office, but he basically lived in his mine. Speaking of said office, he had basically customized it to the point that it was a home. It had a small kitchen and everything. Shaking off the distraction, Vorn took over, and with slightly nervous steps, reached the door to his uncle''s office. He made to knock, but his hand stopped just before reaching the door. Trepidation laced his soul. He took a deep breath, steeled himself, and then promptly jumped back when his uncle slammed the door open and shouted, ¡°Who the fuck is standing at my door in the middle of the night!¡± Ah, they might have forgotten that some people actually need to sleep. Spending a couple weeks in the Goblin and Orc dungeon may have slightly screwed with their perception of reality. ¡°Uh, hi? I, uh, came to apologize¡­ And ask for your help.¡± Vorn stumbled through the introduction that he had prepared beforehand. His eyes widened slightly for just a moment before he said, ¡°Took ya long enough, boy. Come inside, I need to talk to you, too.¡± Burken said stoically. He led Vorn into his office and then silently left. Vorn was already familiar with what he was doing, though. Before they had any serious conversation, he always made tea. Just being in the familiar office was a strange experience for Vorn. His life had been so dramatically altered in just a few weeks, and seeing something that had been part of his daily life for years really put it into perspective. He hovered around the sofa, vaguely unsure if he was allowed to sit since his uncle seemed to still be upset. As said uncle walked back into the room from the small kitchenette, he said, ¡°Oh sit your ass down, boy. I¡¯m not mad at you.¡± Vorn complied silently while he waited for Burken to finish their tea. Finally, he sighed and said, ¡°Boy¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I- It was never my intention to try and crush your dreams for no reason, you know that, but that doesn¡¯t make it right. I was trying to protect you, and I failed. Now you''re in more danger than you¡¯ve ever been before. Your mother always wanted the best for you, and so did I, but I guess she was better at seeing your potential. Ya finally got that magic Class huh?¡± He ended his ramble on a positive note. Vorn gaped like a fish. His uncle? Apologized? To him? What? ¡°I- uh. Thank you. And yeah, I did. And for what it¡¯s worth¡­ you were right. If I had become a Mage¡­ I would¡¯ve failed. Turns out I did inherit something from mom, though! I¡¯m apparently super talented in Sorcery, and my particular brand is basically mimicking magecraft.¡± At that, Burken actually nearly choked, ¡°Sorry for that boy. I never thought I¡¯d hear you say you would be a bad Mage. And Sorcery, huh? I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m surprised. Your mother always thought you¡¯d have a talent for it. I can¡¯t believe she keeps proving me wrong, even beyond the grave.¡± He finished with a fond sigh. He continued, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Surprised it was that easy. Me and your mother could hold a grudge like nobody''s business, but I can already tell you¡¯ve forgiven me. Truly, thank you for that. I know I wouldn¡¯t have. I¡¯d have rubbed it in my face for years.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry, just because I forgive you doesn¡¯t mean that I won¡¯t be saying, ¡®I told you so¡¯ every chance I get.¡± Vorn said with an evil smile. ¡°There¡¯s the Ironblood smile. I was wondering when I¡¯d see it.¡± Burken said ruefully. ¡°Ironblood?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my family name. We¡¯ve owned this mine for generations, and the founder of the mine was a knight. They, as the lowest rank of nobility, are able to petition the local lord to change their last name. He chose Ironblood because of the mine, and also because it sounded badass. Our founder was a bit childish.¡± Vorn finished, slightly embarrassed by his ancestor''s actions. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Are you talking to that passenger of yours?¡± Burken asked. ¡°Yeah. His name is Rowan, by the way. I don¡¯t know if I ever told you that.¡± ¡°You had not, but I can¡¯t blame you. It was a hectic day. Do you mind if I talk to him for a second?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± In short order, they had swapped. ¡°Gods, that looks strange. Apologies, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever get used to the orange eyes thing.¡± Burken said, unable to hold his surprise. ¡°No worries, I¡­ Can¡¯t say I understand, but I¡¯d imagine it would be disorienting. What did you want to talk about?¡± ¡°Simple, that first day¡­ What were you planning on doing to us when you got here? I was in the military in my youth, so I know when I see violence in men''s eyes.¡± ¡°Good eye. I was planning on breaking some arms and trying to escape as soon as possible. After that, I would have done my best to disguise myself. Then, I would have found the local underworld, found a man I deemed to be unfit to keep living, probably a murderer or rapist, and then interrogated and killed him. That was as far as my plan went, though.¡± ¡°What the fuck, dude. You never told me that!¡± ¡°It never came up.¡± After a few seconds in silence, Burken said, ¡°I can respect that. I don¡¯t know if I could have come up with a better plan in only a few minutes like you did. I just wanted to make sure you weren¡¯t some crazed murderer.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s all?¡± ¡°Yeah, you can go ahead and switch back.¡± Orange returned to silver. ¡°So, what did you need? I know you wouldn¡¯t have come back so soon if you didn¡¯t need something.¡± Burken said with a knowing smile. He knew that because he certainly wouldn¡¯t have. ¡°We need access to a mage and weapons trainer. I know this is a hard ask, but I figured with your contact-¡± He was cut off by Burken saying, ¡°I don¡¯t have anybody that could help you-¡± Vorn slumped, but his uncle continued, ¡°But I know somebody that owes you a favor.¡± ¡°What! Who!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Marlin Goldstone, father of those damnable twins, wants to talk to you.¡± ¡°What!¡± He shouted, incredulous. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°So I hear you''re the Unique Being that finally taught my sons respect.¡± Marlin sat in front of them, behind a sparsely decorated yet unquestionably expensive desk. He had a cold countenance and a regal disposition. From his posture to his body language, everything screamed ¡®superior¡¯. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware those two were capable of such a thin-¡± Vorn quickly interrupted, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if we can take credit for that, sir. Though, I can only hope that our reckless actions caused something good.¡± ¡°My, it really is quite interesting to see the dynamic between the two of you.¡± He said with a smirk, ¡°But you can quit with the formalities. You aren¡¯t in any trouble. In fact, I wanted to see you to thank you.¡± Vorn tried to keep his obvious surprise behind a mediocre poker face but failed spectacularly. ¡°I can see that you didn¡¯t expect that. Not that I blame you, I¡¯m sure those two filled your head with just how merciless I can be towards my enemies.¡± His smile at that moment chilled the room a few degrees, ¡°And that is true. You, however, are not one of them.¡± Marlin was one of the few noncombatants that was over level two hundred in the Empire, and it showed. His presence suffocated and smothered with just a flex of his will, and even without a [Danger Sense] skill, they could tell that he totally outclassed them. Rowan once again took control in response to Vorn being intimidated out of his wits. ¡°So, why are we here? It¡¯s clear that you don¡¯t regard us with hostility.¡± Vorn would disagree, considering the thick haze of cold malice in the air. ¡­ Which instantly cleared up when Marlin responded, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s simple. I wanted to thank you, and tell you how things are going to be going forward.¡± ¡°Thank us? Of all the potential outcomes of my childish outburst, I considered this one the least likely.¡± Rowan said, his posture still guarded. ¡°The fact you considered it at all is surprising, but that is beside the point. My sons, regrettably, were... Are spoiled brats. After meeting with a force that they could not deal with, and I would not, they¡­ I won¡¯t say matured, but realized their true weakness, which is a step in the right direction.¡± ¡°Glad I could be of service. So, what¡¯s our reward?¡± Vorn wanted to crawl into a ball and die. Rowan¡¯s rudeness was going to be the death of them. ¡°Hmm, direct. I recommend you curb your attitude in front of your betters. Other¡¯s less lenient than me would have you flogged. Not that I don¡¯t appreciate directness, but others in my position generally do not. Consider it a fair warning.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll consider it motivation to grow stronger.¡± Marlin regarded them for a moment before speaking, ¡°That also works. A Unique Being with your motivation may very well have a chance of growing strong enough to ignore propriety. Again, I find myself needing to steer the conversation back on topic, though. Your reward is simple, I heard both of you were having trouble finding a trainer. I have some contacts that could help you.¡± Rowan inclined his head in thanks, ¡°We appreciate it. Now, what is the punishment?¡± ¡°Oh? And here I thought you the brute. Why are you certain there will be a punishment?¡± ¡°I was in the military for ten years, if there¡¯s one thing I know with certainty, it¡¯s that people in power value face over respect for their lessers.¡± Rowan spoke with such vitriol that Vorn nearly took over for fear that he may attack Marlin. ¡°A regrettably true statement. Yes, you will have to be punished for openly attacking my sons, but it will only be in the mildest fashion I can manage. The Head Merchants of my company were vying for blood, but I was able to lessen the severity by magnitudes.¡± Rowan rolled his eyes, ¡°Yeah, sure, I¡¯m very grateful. What is the punishment?¡± Marlin narrowed his eyes at the blatant disrespect. ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Vorn shouted in their soulscape. Instead of answering in their soulscape, he spoke out loud, ¡°Excuse my distaste for those in authority, I¡¯ve had enough of those that consider those less fortunate than them lesser to last a lifetime.¡± The tension between the two of them reached a breaking point. At this, the menacing aura around Marlin disappeared and he started laughing, ¡°Man, it¡¯s been so long since someone spoke with me honestly. Yeah, I totally get that. The stifling aura shit I have to do all day every day catches up with ya sometimes, ya know? Started buying my hype for a second there.¡± The sudden shift in character caught both of them off guard. ¡°Why the attitude change?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°I think people forget, I was born common just like ninety-nine percent of people. I have to do the whole regal authority thing because that¡¯s the only thing nobility respects, but man does it get stifling. Let¡¯s be real here, the only thing it really accomplishes is making those that play that game feel better than the common man.¡± Rowan instantly felt his regard for the man rising. ¡°But yeah, back on topic, we¡¯re just gonna give ya a slightly raised price - five percent - with all affiliated merchants. Unfortunately, that does mean most of them, but what can ya do?¡± ¡°I understand. Anything to appease the shareholders, huh?¡± Rowan just shook his head, but he truly did understand. The military was crushingly corporate by the time he got in, so he unfortunately had to know how to play the game. Not that he ever did, but he did know how. Of the hell that was officer training, corporate politicking 101 was the worst. At his mention of ¡®shareholders¡¯ Marlin appeared briefly confused, ¡°OH, I get whatcha mean. I¡¯ve never heard my Head Merchants called that before, but I suppose it fits. Anyway, I¡¯ll go ahead an¡¯ getcha set up with Blythe and Falnier. Those two are a bit rough around the edges, but they really know their stuff.¡± ¡°Thank you for your time Marlin, it was more pleasant than I was expecting.¡± Rowan said earnestly. ¡°Ah, no problem. It was refreshin¡¯ speaking comfortably again for me too.¡± On their way out, he shouted on final thing, ¡°Vorn, make sure you tell your uncle I said hello! He hasn¡¯t visited in a while!¡± Interlude 2: [The Frontlines, near the Vataran Theater] ¡°General, you called?¡± An unremarkable Lord called up to her. ¡°Yes. I need you to call the other Three, I may have found something.¡± General Joara Danala Ardacona commanded. She was one of the legendary Twelve Generals. Specifically, the First General of four under the Second High General. She was considered the most likely to join the vaunted ranks of the three High Generals. As such, she was constantly on the lookout for a promotion opportunity, and she may have just found one. A few moments ago, a scout from Bern came to her with news of a Unique Being, and a talented one at that. This was unprecedented, a Unique Being hadn''t been spotted in a human city in over eighty years, and the last one was a glorified zoo animal. A true blue intelligent Unique Being? With all the advantages that would give them? They would be unstoppable in their level bracket. The only thing she regretted was not learning about this sooner. The information network in the capital, the so-called ''MTIN'' or Mana Transmitted Information Network - and didn''t those nerds in their towers know how to make a catchy name - was revolutionary, but it didn''t extend anywhere near the frontlines. For most of the nation, information was restricted by how fast your courier could run. Since the Frontlines were over twenty-five hundred miles away from Bern, that meant even the fastest would take a week or two. Only a few moments after her decree, her fellows appeared in her tent on the frontlines. ¡°This better be important, Joara. You know how much of a risk it is to abandon our posts for even a second.¡± The Second General, Flint Danala Naladacona, spoke harshly. ¡°I agree! I was this close to distilling a phoenix tear!¡± The Third General, Parkan Danala Tivadacona, exclaimed. ¡°You say that every time, Parkan. When was the last time you actually contributed in a meaningful way? Eventually High General Nalacona is going to cut your funding.¡± The Fourth General, Kona Danala Sivadacona, derided. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The First General let out a long sigh before saying, ¡°Kona, don¡¯t antagonize him. Thank you for coming, Parkan, I know you were busy. And before you say anything, I would have preferred not to have to invite you anywhere, Kona, so yes, it¡¯s serious.¡± ¡°No need to be so rude about it.¡± Kona sulked. ¡®Why is it that all rogues need to be insufferable?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t help but think. ¡°Moving on. I think I¡¯ve found a lead on some new talent-¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you called us here for! I¡¯m leaving. What a waste of time.¡± Kona shouted and tried to leave. ¡°I swear to all that is holy, Kona, I will beat you into the dirt if you interrupt me again.¡± She said as she grabbed him by the scruff of his legendary armor. ¡°Now, you know I wouldn¡¯t call you if it wasn¡¯t important. The new talent is a Unique Being, and as such, is under the protection of the System from higher evolution integrated beings.¡± ¡°Now that is interesting,¡± Parkan shouted, ¡°What manner of being is it? Tentacled? Insectoid? Ooh, it is a Dragonoid!¡± ¡°Sorry to crush your hopes, Parkan. He is a seemingly normal humanoid.¡± Parkan¡¯s expression visibly fell, ¡°But, he does have two souls, so that is interesting.¡± Parkan nearly jumped out of the tent in excitement, ¡°TWO SOULS! Does he have two classes! Or does he have access to a merged class system? Or an entirely different system altogether!¡± ¡°Calm down, Parkan!¡± The First General shouted. He stopped jumping around but was still vibrating in place. ¡°Okay, so now do you see why I called you.¡± ¡°Not really.¡± Flint said, ¡°I mean, I could maybe understand Kona and Parkan, but why am I here?¡± ¡°Are you saying you don¡¯t want to have the opportunity to recruit him?¡± A look of understanding dawned on his face, ¡°Oh, is that what we¡¯re doing? Wait, why are you trying to get us to recruit him? Wouldn¡¯t you want to?¡± A resigned look crossed her face for just a moment, ¡°I would love to, but I am indispensable right now. I can take over one of your battlefronts, but I can¡¯t leave mine. So, which one of you wants this mission the most?¡± She would still get a significant amount of accolades for just scouting the Unique Being, and giving up the opportunity to recruit him to tend to her post would make her look even better to High General Nalacona. They didn''t need to know that, though. Parkan and Kona started shouting over each other, all the while a conflicted look crossed Flint¡¯s face. This was because Joara was giving him an absolutely devastating shit-eating grin. A somehow even more resigned look crossed Flint''s face as if his very spirit was in pain, ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I-. Godsdamn it! Fine, you win! I¡¯ll do all your paperwork for the next year.¡± Kona and Parkan looked at him like he had grown a second head, and a small smile graced Joara¡¯s face. ¡°Well, if you insist.¡± Parkan and Kona were still shell-shocked. The Ultimate Warrior, the brute for brains, the man who hated paperwork more than life itself¡­ They couldn¡¯t even offer a counteroffer past their shock. Flint himself was holding back tears as he left the tent. ¡°And Flint?¡± He looked back for a moment. ¡°My work is meticulous, I expect that you¡¯ll keep your work to my standards.¡± He left quickly after that, not willing to look at his long-time friend¡¯s vindictive smile. And if a tear fell from Flint¡¯s eye while he was running at two thousand miles per hour back towards his office, no one would know¡­ Chapter 23: A Rogue, Alchemist, and Assassin walk into a bar. Ouch. Marlin set them up to meet their respective instructors early the next day at around nine in the morning. They had to meet Ark at the guild at seven, so their morning was fairly packed. Luckily, they didn¡¯t need much sleep, because their meeting with Marlin was very late. After getting a very refreshing three hours of sleep, they decided to sleep in a little, it was around five in the morning. This world didn¡¯t really have much to do in your home, besides reading of course, ¨C which Vorn was more than fine with. ¨C so they decided to head out early. They arrived at the guild a little before five thirty, sat down, and ordered some food. The guild food was surprisingly good, that probably came with the territory of having high-level people in most positions. As they were eating, they felt a nervous tap on their shoulder. Rowan nearly grabbed his weapon, but Vorn took over before he could do anything they would regret. Behind them, the strange¡­ rogue? From the artificer¡¯s shop stood. He wore a black cloak over dark gray leather armor. His face under the cloak was also masked, a black cloth covering his mouth and nose. It seemed to shimmer slightly in the light as if the fibers were laced with silver. ¡°Ah, hello¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to startle you¡­¡± He spoke anxiously. ¡°It¡¯s fine, but you should probably just call out to us next time, Rowan gets jumpy.¡± Vorn said. ¡°I did¡­¡± He said, somehow even quieter than before. ¡°Oh. Hmm, that is a hard problem to solve. Are you cursed or something? Sorry, that¡¯s a personal question, you don¡¯t have to answer that!¡± Vorn quickly corrected. ¡°N- no, I¡¯m not cursed. It¡¯s a p-perk called wallflower, and it makes it way harder for me to be noticed¡­¡± He trailed off at the end as if he thought that they would get mad if he talked any longer. ¡°How interesting. It¡¯s not often perks have actively detrimental effects.¡± Vorn appeared lost in thought, so Rowan took over while he chewed on that information. ¡°When did you get here? I have been keeping an eye out for you the whole time.¡± Rowan spoke in his practically trademarked monotone. ¡°Uh¡­ an hour before you two? I¡¯ve been trying to get your attention the whole time¡­¡± ¡°Wow.¡± Rowan spoke with genuine surprise, even if for him that meant only a slight inflection entering his tone, ¡°That is some perk. If you join us, you will be a superb addition. We will need a way to prevent us from losing you, though. I wouldn¡¯t want to hit you mid battle.¡± His tone became slightly more excited. To anyone else, it would sound like he finally became mildly interested in the conversation, but to Vorn he sounded almost manic. Especially for his ¡®conversational speech¡¯ which was always more reserved than his internal speech. ¡°Ah, about that¡­ I ca- won¡¯t fight close up. I¡¯m uh¡­ scared of blood.¡± He whispered out, incredibly embarrassed. ¡°Oh? Then how will you contribute? I assume you wouldn¡¯t be asking to join us if you had nothing to add, so you must be good at something besides melee combat.¡± ¡°I¡¯m, uh, good with poison. My Class is actually unique, which is why I wanted to join your party in the first place¡­¡± he mumbled quickly, ¡°It¡¯s basically a mix of alchemist and rogue.¡± ¡°That would be very useful-¡± Rowan was cut off by Vorn taking over, ¡°Can you make potions, too? Or just poison? Do you get a damage boost for inflicting poison undetected? How do you inflict your poisons without drawing blood?¡± He asked in rapid succession. ¡°Uh, I am really good at making airborne toxins¡­ And I don¡¯t mind if you use them on your weapons! I just do- don¡¯t like inflicting wounds u-up close. I can make some potions, but I¡¯m not very good at it, so their efficacy leaves something to be desired¡­ My poisons are really strong, though!¡± He shouted at the end and then proceeded to turn cherry red. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Very, very cool. We¡¯ll have to work out several strategies if you wanna work with us, but I bet it¡¯ll be worth it. For now, take one of these,¡± Vorn handed them one of their comm stones, ¡°They vibrate when someone contacts you on it. Call once if you just wanna talk, or call twice if it¡¯s something urgent. Oh, and next time you want to get our attention, if the comm doesn¡¯t work, just throw a rock or something at us. Don¡¯t want my partner up here stabbing you, that won¡¯t be fun for anyone, especially for your hemophobia.¡± ¡°Thank you for your consideration¡­¡± The poor guy looked like he was ready to cry at being shown basic kindness. Vorn looked at the clock, ¡°So! What books do you like? We have about an hour before Ark gets here, so we should get to know each other a little!¡± No one would know that if he wasn¡¯t talking about the System, magic, or books Vorn was just as introverted as the wallflower. ¡°Uh-¡± He was cut off by Rowan taking over, ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should ask his name first, before getting to know him?¡± ¡°Good point! What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is, um, Rexenarious¡¯ar¡¯celona, but my family calls me Rexen¡­¡± He said, hiding his face. Voran guessed he was just embarrassed because of his long name. ¡°Cool name. I¡¯m guessing your Elvish?¡± Vorn asked. ¡°I¡¯m a half-elf actually.¡± He took down his dark hood and mask to reveal regal features, matte black hair, bright blue eyes, and slightly pointed ears. He really did look like a picture-perfect combination of a Lunarian and an Elf. The black hair was pretty rare among both Elves and Lunarians, but it wasn¡¯t unheard of by any means. ¡°Back to the main topic,¡± Vorn spoke excitedly, ¡°what are your favorite novels?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ romance.¡± He seemed to cringe as he said it. ¡°Oh, awesome! I still have a ton of romance novels from back when I was still figuring myself out, I could give you some if you like!¡± Rexen looked surprised by the easy acceptance, ¡°S-sure! I would love to have a look at them!¡± Vorn smiled internally, he knew it. The best way to bond was over literature, there could be no better way. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª After Ark arrived, they introduced the two, and they got along fine. Vorn and Ark¡¯s outgoing personalities ¨C Even if only outgoing when discussing their interests ¨C naturally drew out the same in Rexen. Even he began to start animatedly discussing his love of poisons towards the end of their meeting. Afterwards, Voran told them about their training and postponed their next dungeon dive to overmorrow. With the introductions out of the way, they headed off to meet their instructors. After they had left Marlin¡¯s, he had one of his servants bring them a letter telling them when and where they would meet their instructors, with the caveat that they would only change their schedules once so Voran could meet them both at the same time. Past this, they would have to meet each individually. They arrived at a private property in the middle of nowhere, only a few dozen feet away from the city''s ramparts. The property itself was more a field than anything developed. It only had a little shack out front. Dimensionally, it reminded Rowan of a shooting range. It had a few acres of length, following the wall itself pretty closely, but only a few dozen feet of width. They knocked on the dilapidated door of the shack but were met with silence. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of danger engulfed them and Rowan was forced to take over and dodge. A sharp whistling was heard just to the left of his head. He quickly turned around, but before he could blink he had a knife to his throat. ¡°Surrend-¡± the assailant was cut off by Rowanerupting in bright white flames. Their attacker was vaporized, and Vorn let his flames die down. ¡°What the hell was that-¡± This time, Vorn was interrupted as the very same knife found its way back to their throat. ¡°What a poor way to treat your instructor. Though, you get extra points for an appropriate reaction.¡± The man backed away and let them look at him. He was a middle-aged Elf with jade hair streaked with silver. His face had the distinctive Elven features that most had, the high cheekbones and sharp nose, but he also had a few unique to him. Namely, the large scar that engulfed the left half of his face, giving it a slightly shiny look. It trailed all the way up to his hairline, stopping a few centimeters after. While they were studying him, his viridian eyes were doing the same to them. ¡°You¡¯ve seen a lot of combat for one so young. One can only wonder how that¡¯s possible with your level being so low.¡± The statement was obviously meant to be a question, but if he wasn¡¯t going to be direct, then Rowan wasn¡¯t going to answer. He didn¡¯t have time for a dance of words, he just wanted to get better with his weapons. He was only lightly trained with daggers, as firearms and plasma weaponry were the tools people truly fought with in his time. Honestly, the dagger training was only a formality for the worst-case scenario, and most would never have to use it. ¡°That was a rude way of introducing yourself. You could have just said hi.¡± Vorn would have laughed, but he knew Rowan wasn¡¯t joking. How the man could accidentally wisecrack better than him was a little upsetting. ¡°I had to gauge your reactions. They were¡­ decent, I suppose. The short gap at the start was the most concerning part. I¡¯m assuming that was when you were switching with your partner?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Rowan answered. ¡°Well, that was your most glaring flaw. The second being the fact that you don¡¯t have a scabbard for your dagger, but that can be rectified with a quick visit to the shop.¡± ¡°Yes, you do have a point. I shouldn¡¯t have let my guard down, even in a city. I suppose I have gotten used to the seemingly peaceful nature of Bern. My mistake.¡± ¡°Excellent. I have a feeling you''re going to be one of my easier students. You seem used to criticism, most of my students get very defensive at first.¡± He spoke, and even Rowan could feel the sheer exhaustion that came from that sentence. This was clearly a man whose calling wasn¡¯t teaching. ¡°Now, for you Vorn. Your instructor will be here shortly, he had to pick his son up from medical unexpectedly today, so he¡¯s going to be a little late. While we wait, I¡¯ll go ahead and get Rowan up to speed on what he can expect from my class. Since he seems to have a lot of experience in combat, I can afford to be a little rougher than I normally would.¡± Rowan distinctly remembered that same look in one of his more sadistic drill sergeants, and he was suddenly feeling a little nervous. Chapter 24: Gods save us, Vorn found another magic nerd In the middle of an ashen field, Rowan kneeled, absolutely exhausted. He couldn¡¯t stay down for long, though. Even this short reprieve was a mercy that could not be taken for granted. Mud and ash coated him, as Vorn had to use their flames to buy them time more than a few times, and though the monster masquerading as an Elf appeared incinerated, each time he would come back with not even a singed hair. The movement of air currents behind him tipped off the next attack, and Rowan was barely able to crouch ¨C and really, it was more of a stumble ¨C under the attack. As he did so, he could hear the sound of a wooden dagger splitting the air only millimeters above his head. Not giving him a moment to rest, the same dagger snaked its way downward. The instant transfer of momentum from the sideways slash to a downward cut was inhuman. Its pace so quick that his hair had not even fallen back over his shoulders before he was forced to roll backward. For the first time since acquiring the [Movement] skill, his body could not follow along with his commands perfectly. It didn¡¯t matter if the gap between mind and body was gone if the mind could barely process what was happening. Hell, the movement of the wooden dagger above him was so lightning fast that he could only sense the turbulent air it left in its wake, let alone predict its trajectory. Rowan heavily suspected that the only reason he could detect where the attacks were about to come from was because the monster wanted to give him a chance. He would understand. After all, Rowan had done the same to many during his sparring sessions. He had never been on the other side, though¡­ By the time he was back on his feet, there was already another attack incoming, and this one was one of their instructor¡¯s specials. From the upper right, a diagonal slash was incoming; simultaneously, a stab was being aimed at their back. The last few times this had happened, Rowan was forced to rely on Vorn, this time though, he wanted to see if he could dodge it himself. Granted, he didn¡¯t exactly have enough time to portray that to his Soulmate, so he narrowed his eyes and hoped that Vorn could read him well enough to guess what he was going for. If this strategy was good enough for a Behemoth hopefully it would be good enough for this monster. The last three simultaneous attacks happened the same way, with the heavy diagonal slash coming just milliseconds before the stab. He was able to get a rough pattern from that and positioned his dagger in the nick of time, but he didn¡¯t deflect the strike, he purposely positioned himself so he would absorb as much energy from the strike as possible. The wooden dagger hammered into him, but it did give him enough energy to dodge under the stab, the dagger stabbing through his hair where he was only a fraction of a moment before. Suddenly, it was as if time sped up, and the air became lighter. His slow fall from being pushed by the dagger accelerated into a crash. It wasn¡¯t because of an ability, ¨C or at least, he didn¡¯t think it was ¨C but because of sheer presence. Or lack thereof in this case. The potent danger in the air dried up, and with it, so did his slowed perception of time. Of course, Rowan was still in danger assessment mode. Just because his body told him the danger was over didn¡¯t mean it was. ¡°Sharp instincts kid, but I really am done. I¡¯ve got your measure at this point, the only reason to continue would be if you wanted a few new scars. Might do you some good, that pretty face don¡¯t exactly scream ¡®dangerous¡¯.¡± The demo- Elf spoke gruffly. ¡°Thanks for the spar, it was educational.¡± Rowan said, a slight manic edge lacing his otherwise monotone voice. Or, as monotone as you can be when you''re gasping for air. The Elf narrowed his eyes, ¡°You''re a combat junky aren¡¯t you? Not the worst thing to be in this profession, but they don¡¯t often live long. If you have anything you value, I¡¯d recommend reassessing your priorities.¡± His tone was deathly serious for a moment, ¡°What do I know, though? It¡¯s your life. Do what you want.¡± And just like that he was back to gruff mercenary. ¡°I¡¯ll take your advice under consideration.¡± Rowan said equally as seriously. He didn¡¯t think he would change his mind, but he and Vorn hadn¡¯t really talked about what the magic-obsessed man wanted from life. He could vaguely recollect a conversation between Vorn and Ark about that, but considering Rowan could barely care about breathing at the time, he didn¡¯t really retain much of it. ¡°Consider me pleasantly surprised, I can tell you mean that,¡± He pulled out a pen and quickly scribbled on a piece of paper, ¡°Meet me at this address whenever you have a free moment. I¡¯m retired, and no one wants to apprentice under the scary Elf merc, so I don¡¯t have much going on. If I¡¯m not there, curse your luck and come back later. Bye.¡± And at that, the Elf walked away. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Hm.¡± Rowan hummed approvingly. ¡°Happy with your demonic instructor?¡± ¡°Yes. He is not only extremely skilled but a much higher level as well. Training with him will be very beneficial.¡± Behind the analytical speech, Vorn could tell that Rowan was practically glowing with joy. How the man could relish losing a fight, Vorn would never know. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Fifteen minutes after their previous instructor left, their next arrived. Blythe was a portly man with a slightly downturned expression, but the abundant smile lines on his face said that this was a rare occasion. ¡°Sorry for being so late! My son just arrived back in town from the frontlines! With a brand new promotion at that!¡± At that, his expression lit up, before quickly souring again, ¡°Still, I do hate to make a poor first impression. Just for that, I¡¯ll extend this session for as long as you like! Ask as many questions as you can think of. Marlin told me how curious you were, so don¡¯t hold back!¡± And just like that, the man¡¯s previously clouded expression became sunny once more. Rowan surrendered control and let the tide of questions commence. ¡°How do you arrange a Spell Matrix? What are Runes? How does mana actualize an effect-¡± Poor bastard, did he not realize that giving Vorn infinite questions was like giving military-grade stimulants to a toddler in a toy store? ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°Wait, so the only reason we¡¯re using Rune Matrix¡¯s is because it was the first system thought of?¡± Vorn asked, completely dumbfounded. ¡°Ah, not quite. It was the first system thought of that worked. There are a lot of variables you have to consider when making a spell, and giving each a Rune that has an engrained meaning gives your mind an invaluable shorthand. That, and putting them in a matrix that follows a clear order, allows you to craft spells that are consistent, cheap, and powerful at the cost of being rigid and unadaptable.¡± Blythe lectured, and it was clear he knew all this information by rote. ¡°If this entire system is essentially just there to give shape to abstract concepts, then couldn¡¯t you cast structured magic without them? And wouldn¡¯t that hold especially true if you had high enough Intelligence?¡± ¡°If only it were that simple. To answer your question, yes, you can cast structured magic without the use of Runes, but it takes so much time that it completely removes the advantage of not having to use such a heavily structured system. Now, the main issue with those with high Intelligence using this method is that no matter how fast your mind works, you can still only think of one thing at a time.¡± Rowan wondered how he could talk about such a dry topic with a jovial tone. He was seriously considering just taking a nap. He had to be responsible, though. If anyone attacked, he needed to be ready. ¡°There are well known mages that have skills that give them a second or even multiple tracks of thought, though! Couldn¡¯t they, with a high enough Intelligence, cast freeform structured magic?¡± Rowan was fairly certain that ¡®freeform structured magic¡¯ had to be an oxymoron. ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong, they certainly could. Now you run into the second main reason people don¡¯t attempt what you¡¯re saying¡­ fiercely ingrained habits. Mages are taught to have a very rigid thought structure as an extension of having such a restricting magic system. It allows them to quickly reach for the best spell for any situation, or even put together Runes into a semi-improvised matrix to make a new spell on the fly. By having a degree of creativity within the rigidity, people think they aren¡¯t truly restricted. At most levels, this is fine, and probably preferable. But when you do get those rare prodigies that make it to the top with abilities unique enough to change their magical paradigm, they either don¡¯t think to do so, or can¡¯t because the Rune system is ingrained into their mind.¡± Vorn seemed to chew on this information for a while. ¡°I can¡¯t learn this system how it was intended then.¡± Vorn realized. A warm smile graced his instructor''s face, ¡°No, you can¡¯t. You can, however, draw inspiration from it.¡± Rowan was completely lost. How was the Rune system restricting? Didn¡¯t it allow you to do everything a theoretical freeform mage could? Sure, it was slower, but if you were at a high enough level you should be able to think fast enough for it to not matter. And why couldn¡¯t Vorn learn the system as it was intended? Was it because of his unique magic? But the instructor couldn¡¯t know that. How did running mana through a bunch of manmade symbols in a floating circle even cast a spell in the first place? Instead of thinking himself into a migraine, he just gave up while he was ahead. ¡®Fuck it, I¡¯m taking that nap.¡¯ Vorn was the more perceptive one anyway, and If something could breach through a wall of fire quick enough that Rowan would be caught unaware, then they would be fucked anyway. *Sigh* ¡°I¡¯m taking a nap, wake me up if something tries to kill us.¡± ¡°Hmm? Okay, sleep well.¡± He barely spared a word before being pulled back into the lecture. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Roughly six hours later, Vorn hadn¡¯t run out of questions, but he had become eager to test his theories. Blythe wore an exhausted smile as if he had just finished a trying, but rewarding, marathon. As if sensing the lack of dry theory filling the air, Rowan roused from his slumber. ¡°Are you done here? Know how to cast any new spells?¡± ¡°No! But I do have a new framework to think in, and I think I know more about the inner workings of mana! Did you know-¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to cut you off there. I have been listening to you and Blythe talk about magic for three hours, and that was before my nap. I don¡¯t think I could handle any more. Give me a few hours to reset, please.¡± His tone took a slightly pleading edge that only Vorn could have caught on to. He rolled his eyes, ¡°Alright you drama queen. I¡¯ll keep the magic speak to a minimum for a few hours. I am going to be experimenting for a few more hours, though. Better keep your eyes closed or the big bad magic formula will come get you.¡± Vorn stood and looked upon the vast plot of land before him. A grin split his face, and he began to put together a few experimental spells. They shouldn¡¯t be too destructive¡­ hopefully. Chapter 25: Duty Vorn held his open hand up towards the training grounds while his face bunched up in fierce concentration. In front of him, a complicated spell matrix appeared. Runes that must have been made up on the spot slowly started appearing in different positions in the blue neon circle. Over the next thirty seconds, more and more runes started to appear. All the while, sweat was pouring down their backs. Finally, he closed his open palm, and the spell matrix dispersed into the surrounding air as if turning to mist. After a few seconds, Rowan asked, ¡°Was something supposed to-¡± A subtle rumble in the air seemed to answer him. The earthen field that they were training in just hours ago began to shift and churn. Pits and valleys appeared randomly, slowly at first, but with a pace that accelerated quickly. Pits became large holes and then became sinkholes. The rumbling from before seemed quaint in comparison to the full-on roar of the earth that now assaulted their ears. And then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped. The training area had become a ruined valley, pockmarked with holes that varied in size between ¡®minor tripping hazard¡¯ to ¡®School bus¡¯. All this in an area that did not exceed one hundred feet in diameter. ¡°I hope that was supposed to happen.¡± Rowan remarked dryly. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that worked! I mean, I was going for a diameter of seventy, not one hundred, and the deepest it should have gone was five feet not¡­ however deep that is¡­ But if you ignore all that, this was a remarkable success!¡± Vorn cheered, completely unrepentant, in their soulscape. ¡°Well, I must say, that was incredible! I didn¡¯t think you would be able to imbue your understanding into new Runes so quickly! You''re a true prodigy, son!¡± Vorn seemed to wilt a little at the praise, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not all that. I just have an ability that helps is all.¡± ¡°Bah. If you earned that ability then it¡¯s part of your potential isn¡¯t it? Does the fact that it was bestowed by the System change the fact that you earned the ability yourself?¡± Instead of deriding him for ¡®relying on the System¡¯, as most mages hypocritically do anyway, he encouraged him. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure I only got it for being a Unique Being. Thanks for the kind words, but I don¡¯t know if I really deserve them-¡± ¡°So you''re telling me that anyone could have gotten that ability? One that lets you understand and remake Runes in seconds? No my boy, I¡¯ve only known you for an afternoon and I can say for certain that I have never met someone as passionate and curious about magic as you are. Just because you haven¡¯t slain a dragon or written a dissertation at age nine doesn''t mean you don¡¯t deserve your abilities. I can¡¯t speak for the System, but I¡¯ve never seen it bestow a power that wasn¡¯t deserved. Tell me, these abilities, are they something you could never have done without the System, or are they just enhancing an intelligence and memory that was already there?¡± This time, Vorn was truly stunned by the kindness of this stranger that he had only known for an afternoon. This man seemed to embody sunshine itself in his bright and pure attitude. ¡°I- uh. W- hm. Y-¡± Before Vorn could stop his embarrassed stutter, Rowan quickly took over and said, ¡°Thank you. Your words mean a lot to him. I¡¯ve been trying to impress on him his intelligence and talent, but he somehow still thinks that ¡®just anyone¡¯ could do what he does. How ridiculous is that?¡± Rowan actually scoffed in disbelief. Vorn was about four seconds away from turning into ash from the sheer white-hot embarrassment he was feeling. ¡°Incredibly. Hah, if just anyone was as smart as he was, we would have figured out dimensional travel by now!¡± Blythe laughed boisterously. There was even a subtle grin on Rowan¡¯s face. Vorn couldn¡¯t tell what he was smiling about, the joke, or the sheer pain that he was putting him through. ¡®Probably both, the godsdamned sadist.¡¯ Vorn said to himself, still curled up in a ball in their soulscape. As if sensing the pain Vorn was in, Rowan said, ¡°With how little confidence he has, it''s practically our duty to improve his self-esteem.¡± A tinge of mirth and a small shit-eating grin gave away his true intentions. Blythe, as if reading Rowan¡¯s mind, picked up exactly what he was implying. The same shit-eating grin spread across his face, but far wider. ¡°Truly, we must. Such a shame to have such a talented and hard working individual think so lowly of themselves.¡± With each emphasized word, the embarrassment Vorn felt increased a whole magnitude. This must be some ancient forbidden execution magic. To bring it forth on an ally¡­ The depth of their sadism must know no bounds. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Vorn was still pouting by the time they got home. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault you don¡¯t think highly enough of yourself.¡± Rowan said, completely unrepentant, ¡°I saw the perfect opportunity to take matters into my own hands, and I took it.¡± Vorn¡¯s face burned thinking about it, a whole fifteen minutes of them¡­ He couldn¡¯t even remember it without shivering with embarrassment. ¡°You know, you probably shouldn¡¯t make your weaknesses so easy to exploit. I know an easy way to rectify this one, however.¡± Rowan said, sagely. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Just believe what we are saying. It really is that easy.¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª By the time they made it back to their apartment, the sun was just setting. As they opened the door to their home, it dawned on Vorn that perhaps they allotted too much time to this training exercise. They said they would go delving the day after tomorrow, leaving them with an entire day to burn. Rowan could go and find his mentor, but Vorn had his next meeting scheduled in a week, so that was out of the question for him. Granted, Vorn wasn¡¯t against Rowan getting some one-on-one time with his mentor, but he was afraid that without anyone to break them up they might go a little¡­ far. As he had done with every uncertain decision, Vorn pulled out his ultimate weapon¡­ Just asking. ¡°What do you want to do with our free day? The most productive thing to do would probably be to train with that demonic Elf, but I worry that the two of you might go a little too hard without a clear deadline.¡± ¡°A fair concern. However, you don¡¯t have to worry. Our body is so sore that it would be borderline impossible to train tomorrow. I¡¯m pretty sure I shredded most of the muscles in our body having to move so quickly today. Honestly, the fact you didn¡¯t notice is just¡­ I¡¯m beginning to realize why I felt so terrible when I first got here. Do you just not have a sense of pain when you¡¯re distracted?¡± Rowan sighed, exasperated. ¡°Is it really that bad?¡± Vorn asked, slightly skeptical. ¡°Go ahead and take over for a second. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to feel just how bad it is now that no one is teaching you magic.¡± ¡°... On second thought, I¡¯ll go ahead and trust your judgment on this one.¡± ¡°That would probably be for the best.¡± After a few moments had passed, Rowan added, ¡°Say, you wouldn¡¯t happen to have painkillers here, would you?¡± ¡°What? What are those?¡± Vorn questioned. ¡°I can hear the grin in your voice, you little bastard.¡± Rowan said, amusement betraying his otherwise acerbic words. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª After a quite relaxing day for Vorn, and a boring as sin day for Rowan, it was finally time to meet their party at the guild. As they walked through the stained wooden entryway, they noticed Arc seemingly talking to a blank space next to the job board. Considering that their friend most likely hadn¡¯t gone insane in the twenty-six hours between their last meeting, Rowan figured it must have been Rexen standing there. Oddly enough, even knowing that he must have been occupying the space didn¡¯t reveal him to their eyes. It was as if there was a person-shaped blank space that his eyes couldn¡¯t help but glaze over. The effect was quite pronounced now that he could actively observe it. He couldn¡¯t help but slightly jump when he felt the tap on his shoulder that seemed to be the key to seeing Rexen. Like magic, where before there was no one, there he stood clear as day. ¡°There has got to be a way to see through that ability. I knew you were there and couldn¡¯t spot you.¡± He said blithely, only Vorn was aware of just how spooked he really was by that jumpscare. ¡°Sorry¡­ If it¡¯s any consolation, I¡¯ve been looking for a way to break the illusion for y-years myself. No luck so far, though.¡± Rexen said, as meek as ever. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for it, then. We will just have to make sure to break the illusion before we get into any fights. If we can¡¯t, then coordinate with us through the communication stone. So long as no one gets stabbed or poisoned, we¡¯ll do fine.¡± Rowan planned out loud. ¡°Enough with the boring talk, we can do that on the way to our destination! Right now we need to decide where that will be!¡± Arc interjected in her typically energetic fashion. ¡°Well, we need to look at our options first.¡± Rowan stated, his dry tone sponging up any excitement in the air. ''Heavenly Cloud Pagoda - ??? Ranked Dungeon, assumed highly dangerous. A few of our scout groups have gone missing from this dungeon, with the most concerning being an A-ranked party. Others who have gone through noticed nothing amiss and ranked the dungeon between C1 and B1. It is assumed that there is a condition to unlocking a secret, more dangerous part of the dungeon. B-rank parties and above will be rewarded handsomely for discovering this condition. Note: The Delver¡¯s Guild has put out an official ban on parties below B1 rank exploring this dungeon. Current Missions: Discover the mystery of the missing parties - A1 Rank¡¯ ¡°Well, that¡¯s one down. I¡¯m pretty sure we only qualify as C-rank due to clearing the Orc Dungeon. And what does it mean by B1?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°Oh, the one indicates evolutions. We¡¯re currently a B0 party because we cleared the Orc Dungeon so effectively, but we would need to evolve or prove ourselves truly incredible to go up an evolution ranking.¡± Ark explained. ¡°Hmm, so the point still stands that the Cloud Pagoda is out.¡± Rowan went back to browsing. ¡®Small World - A0 - B1 Ranked Dungeon, highly unpredictable, enter at your own risk. The Small World Dungeon is, despite the lackluster name, not to be underestimated. While the dungeon itself is very large, with the full size not yet fully explored, the true danger comes from the exceptionally large beasts. If your party can¡¯t use large area of effect spells, or some other method of targeting large swathes of flesh, don¡¯t bother entering. Beware: Multiple Sub-dungeons have been spotted. The majority of these have not been explored, so the danger cannot be categorized. Current Missions: Bring back 25lbs of C, or above, ranked monster hide - B0 Rank Bring back 50lbs of meat¡­ Bring¡­ Report the details of any of the sub-dungeons - Variable Rank¡¯ ¡°This one sounds interesting, but sadly we can¡¯t enter it either. Truthfully, that is probably for the best. Testing our new team in such a dangerous dungeon right off the bat probably wouldn¡¯t be a good idea.¡± Rowan admitted, only half acknowledging to himself that he probably would have gone anyway had he been able to. ¡®The Jade Forest - D0 - B0 Ranked Dungeon. The Jade Forest is a large, wild swathe of land that is dominated mostly by bestial monsters. Goblins have been reported, but they seem to be a rare find. Be sure to back plenty of camping supplies, the forest is very damp, and firewood is hard to come by. Avoid the center of the forest, there have been reports of Dire Bears in the area, they are easily avoidable though, so engage at your own risk. Current Missions: Bring 10 Warg hides - C0 Rank Bring 20¡­ Bring¡­ Kill and harvest the Dire Bears in the central forest - A0 Rank¡¯ ¡°I say we hunt some Dire Bears in the Jade Forest. Should be easy enough for our first mission as a new party.¡± Rowan said with, what Rexen considered, a disconcerting smile. Maybe he was too quick to join this party. Chapter 26: The Jade Forest Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Well, are you going to get the HQ set up?¡± ¡°Hmm, you weren¡¯t this¡­ Military-ish on our last couple of delves. What¡¯s going on with the orders?¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t even realize, sorry. I guess this is just the first time I¡¯ve felt like I was really in control of a squad. My old team had a similar composition and I just fell into routine. My apologies.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not mad or anything, I was just caught off guard. Knowing you were a soldier is one thing, seeing you act like one is another. Honestly, most of the time you act like an elite delver, so I guess I just associated you more with them in my mind. Still, having a party leader isn¡¯t a bad thing, and I sure as fuck don¡¯t want it to be me, so I¡¯m find with you taking a more commanding role.¡± ¡°Being a leader is a skill, not a personality. If you don¡¯t want to, that is fine, but don¡¯t speak as if you couldn¡¯t. In fact, if I had to choose a second in command you would be my first choice.¡± ¡°What! Ark would be a much better choice!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t disagree that she would be a fantastic leader. Besides some issues with her confidence, she is perfect for a leading role in a party dynamic. Her raw charisma and determination are admirable, and her intelligence can¡¯t be scoffed at either, but you have something she doesn¡¯t. A cautious and strategic mind. If something were to happen to me, I would be confident in you getting everyone out safely. Not to mention your raw versatility now that you know how to make spells.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t know that! I¡¯m a nervous wreck in dangerous situations!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m pretty certain. Not only because I have spent the last few weeks literally sharing a soul with you, which I feel is significant to mention, but also because despite the stress you''re feeling right now you haven¡¯t made a single mistake in constructing a house with magic. Something I know takes immense concentration considering I was forced to sit through a twelve hour lesson.¡± ¡°Ah- T- That has nothing to do with combat ability or leadership, though! That just means that I can concentrate on magic well, something that even I could have told you!¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re telling me that concentrating on a complex task while under stress says nothing about your potential ability as a leader? Anyway, even if you were correct, I¡¯m not saying you would make a great party leader, just a great second in command. Though, I am also saying you would make a great party leader if you were given time to grow into it. No matter, I won¡¯t argue this with you for longer than necessary in a dungeon, I¡¯ll just have to convince you over time.¡± Why are they alive? Is it because of the blood thing? ¡°You wanna talk about it?¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s there to talk about?¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t get the vibe you were talking about animals¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I wasn¡¯t. I was given a couple missions to test new chemical weapons, and part of it was seeing the effects on conscious and aware people. If it worked as an irritant, how painful it was, if it made fighting substantially harder, etcetera. Basically just a checklist. It was one of our easier missions actually.¡± ¡°And you were just¡­ fine with that?¡± ¡°Yeah? Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± ¡°Rowan, buddy, this is one of those ¡®Your government was still stupid evil¡¯ moments.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Was anyone else doing this? I mean, ¡®Everyone else was doing it, too¡¯ isn¡¯t a super valid excuse, but it would make it slightly less damning towards your country at the very least.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, no, I can¡¯t recall the RDF or HAF doing something similar. Though, I don¡¯t know why¡­ I mean, if we were doing it, why weren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Perhaps because it¡¯s evil? Granted, that does seem pretty flimsy, even here governments aren¡¯t known for caring much about ethics. Can you think of a reason they wouldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Maybe¡­ The RDF was a democracy, so that could explain them. I heard bad PR could be a nightmare for them¡­ but why not the HAF? They were a theocracy¡­ Maybe their divine leader just didn¡¯t care for it?¡± ¡°Just try to keep in mind that the military you used to work for was apparently evil. I won¡¯t say not to use any of their training or advice, but, you know, use the golden rule.¡± ¡°Golden rule? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Treat others as you would like to be treated. Do you not have something similar where you come from?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯ll admit, it just sounds like a framework to keep empathy in mind, but since apparently I need that sort of thing, I¡¯ll try to keep it in the back of my mind. Especially since I still can¡¯t bring myself to actually care.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t help how you feel, only how you act. Besides, you wanted me to be the force of reason in our partnership anyway, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll let you do anything evil.¡± ¡°I have to admit, that sounds like something you would say only moments before I do something evil.¡± ¡°Oh shit, uh, I totally won¡¯t stop you from trying to do something evil?¡± ¡°T-¡± Chapter 27: A splash of poison ¡°-And that¡¯s not even the last thing I could think of, but we really should start being productive.¡± Ark finally, finally finished her positivity tirade after nearly half an hour. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that nobody seemed to be panicking, Vorn would be certain that his face had third-degree burns from being cherry red for so long. For a moment, all he could was sit there and hope to recover, but it was becoming apparent he needed a distraction, so he ambled over to the wood line that he himself had pushed back only moments ago. The trees were all at odd angles from being forcefully displaced by the rising earth, but it only took a short moment to push them back a little further and flatten the ground, essentially creating a short clearing around their base. He couldn¡¯t actually use structured magic for that, or well, he could, but it would take too long and be too specific for it to be worth the time. He just used sorcery, or intention-based magic, to do it instead. Sorcery, for all it was an art instead of a science, might interest Vorn more than anything. All his life, as much as he thought he didn¡¯t, he had a bias against it. It was hard not to when you grew up in a culture that regarded it as lesser, or at the very least dumber. In reality, where structured magic was giving mana a very clear goal and a set of instructions to achieve that goal, sorcery was more of a conversation.It was about having a discussion with the mana and compromising between what you wanted versus what the mana wanted. Obviously, mana wasn¡¯t sentient, but like every energy it had a path of least resistance. Where structured magic gave it such detailed instructions it couldn¡¯t possibly find a different path, sorcery was about following the mana itself and working with it instead of making it work for you. It was a very¡­ spiritual way of casting, that Vorn wasn¡¯t sure if he preferred. Still, it was more versatile and dynamic if you could master it, at the cost of being less specific and cost-effective. Really, the fact that Vorn could use both made him so giddy he could barely contain his joy whenever he thought about it. He didn¡¯t have to choose between the two. Younger Vorn would be so jealous. Still, he did come out here to do something productive. After thinking about it for a moment, Vorn decided to get them some firewood. The ground was absolutely drenched, so sticks were a no-go. He decided this was a perfect opportunity for some experimentation. With intense concentration, a spell matrix appeared in front of him. In the top space of the five-pointed star he summoned, he put in his Rune for Wind. Going clockwise, he put in a Rune for Sharpness. After that, Control. A scrawl of words appeared surrounding the Control Rune, which then seemed to swirl around it and then bind to it. After that, it was just activation conditions and power requirements, and then boom, new spell. Of course, that wasn¡¯t describing the subcontrol Runes that he added, but those were just to improve efficiency and didn¡¯t add anything new. Once the spell was finished, he could feel the weight of a new spell settle into his [Spell Storage]. He knew that if he ever needed it, it would be at his beck and call, never to be forgotten. That was another downside of sorcery, come to think of it. It was casting, sure, but it wasn''t a spell, so it couldn''t be saved to [Spell Storage]. Granted, it wouldn''t be very useful anyhow, even if he could. The whole point was that it was versatile and different every time. With that, he launched an invisible {Wind Blade} at a tall branch on one of the eponymous jade trees, which fell to the ground shortly after. Vorn wasn¡¯t sure what he was expecting from the spell he literally designed, but the fact that it was truly invisible to the eye surprised him. Whenever he read novels about great heroes and delvers, for some reason the spells they used were always perfectly visible and dramatic. He supposed that a weapon more suitable for assassinations than for heroics just wasn¡¯t as dramatic. He spent a few more moments gathering and splitting the branches into more manageable pieces before making a simple campfire. The next spell he made was one he knew was entirely unnecessary, but it was easy enough that he didn¡¯t really care. Vaguely, past his concentration, he could hear Rowan saying something, but he wasn''t screaming or anything, so Vorn figured it could wait for just a moment. In front of him, a three-pointed star appeared and was quickly filled with Runes and instructions. It barely took him eight seconds, start to finish. The matrix swirled for a moment, before traveling into the campfire and igniting. He named the spell {Everlasting Spark}. It was a bit dramatic for what it actually did. It just stuck to something and continued to draw mana until whatever it was sticking to ignited. Perfect for starting a fire. ¡°Can you hear me now?¡± Rowan questioned, amused. ¡°Ah, yeah. Sorry. What were you trying to tell me?¡± Vorn embarrassedly asked. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°If you were sure you wanted to light that fire. You gathered green wood.¡± ¡°Yeah, so? I figured it would be easier to light than the shit on the ground at the very least.¡± Instead of correcting that assumption, Rowan just stayed silent for a few moments until the whoosh of a fire truly starting erupted¡­ Sending plumes of smoke directly into their face. Vorn quickly sent a spout of water, extinguishing the fire. ¡°You could have just told me.¡± He pouted. ¡°I could have.¡± Vorn rolled his eyes and began working on a new spell, after, of course, having to gather more branches. Five-point star, Clockwise, Water, Control(Gather/Collect), Pull, dissipate. Low mana usage, activation requirements: None. Boom, {Desiccate} is born! Vorn tried his spell immediately¡­ And was bombarded by high-speed splinters when the wood exploded¡­ {Violent Desiccation} then. A few moments later, a new spell that was basically identical, except for a gentler pull, {Desiccate} was actually born. He couldn¡¯t actually get rid of {Violent Desiccation}, as [Spell Storage] didn¡¯t work that way, but having more spells couldn¡¯t be a bad thing. Probably. On second thought, that spell did have some pretty horrifying implications for all things with water in them. He wasn¡¯t going to think about that. By the time he actually got the fire set up, the sun was already setting over the Jade Forest. Ark came over shortly after with her disassembled boar and chuckled lightly. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°You still have splinters in your clothes.¡± She chortled. Looking down, Vorn realized she was right. He hadn¡¯t thought about it that much, but his high CON meant he hadn¡¯t actually felt the splinters that violently flew at him, and forgot about them shortly after. It was a bit funny, or horrifying, to think that little accident could have killed him if he weren¡¯t so goddamn tough because of Rowan. Oh well, no use dwelling on it now, it would have to keep him awake later. Ark had already gotten a little pan set up and was searing some boar slices. ¡°Hey, do you have any salt in your pack? I left mine in the base while I was inspecting it.¡± She asked. ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s a no then¡­ Wait, what did you actually pack?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡­¡± ¡°Vorn, I swear to god if all you bought was magic trinkets I swear to all that is holy I am going to drop kick you.¡± ¡°UH¡­¡­¡­¡± Ark sighed, the very picture of a disappointed parent, ¡°For someone so smart, you sure are fucking stupid sometimes. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m excluding you for a second Rowan, you were just as responsible for making sure this idiot actually picked up some provisions.¡± ¡°Forgot.¡± Was all he said in their mind. Ark must have noticed the look on his face because she just signed once more before giving them the unseasoned meat and heading back to base to pick up her bag. The boar looked¡­ Fine. But it was awfully bland without salt, so he had an idea. He was a godsdamned super-mage after all, why not just summon the salt? Turns out, because he had no idea where to even start. He couldn¡¯t just make a salt Rune, he didn¡¯t know the first thing about it. Who studies salt? How would a Rune like that even work? For water, he just focused on the concept and his knowledge, essentially just pouring his total knowledge into the Rune¡­ Again, why would he know anything about salt? Disappointed, he went back to eating his bland meat. Turns out this super-mage couldn¡¯t even season his food. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The next day, their entire party embarked deeper into the forest. Whether it be because they were just lucky, or for some other reason, they weren¡¯t harassed by bugs at all on the first day. Today, that changed. Significantly. They were constantly harassed by all manner of pests for nearly an hour before their comm stone vibrated. ¡°Uh, do you mind if I spread out a little poison? I can use it as a pesticide, and it¡¯s too weak to really have an effect on those with a CON over fifteen. I just figured I should ask first¡­¡± Rexen asked. ¡°Please!¡± Vorn and Ark said in tandem. Rowan quickly took control back and also requested his services. Their walk quickly became more pleasant. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª In their first encounter, they allowed Rexen full reign to show off. They were already keyed into his presence, so it was all the more surprising when he seemed to just¡­ Disappear from their vision. The Dire Wolves ahead of them were sniffing the air but didn¡¯t seem to notice anyone getting closer. If Rowan wasn¡¯t paying such close attention, he would never have noticed the glimmer of a drop of liquid splashing on each wolf. The spot where it landed quickly turned shock white before spreading quickly. The wolves started itching and rubbing themselves against trees, before starting to howl in pain. A crazed look began to manifest as the itching only worsened before they fully went insane. Scratching, biting, and snapping at themselves and each other. It was quick, bloody, and effective. The last wolf after Ark took pity on them and shot them while they were writhing on the ground. Ark seemed completely unbothered, same with Rowan. Only Vorn voiced a complaint. ¡°Would you mind using something a bit less¡­ Cruel next time? I know they''re monsters, but I just¡­ I don¡¯t like seeing that.¡± Vorn tried to say as gently as he could. Both Rexen and Ark seemed to recoil at hearing those words. ¡°I mean no offense, if that¡¯s the most effective method for taking care of a situation, then go ahead! I¡¯m only asking if you wouldn¡¯t mind!¡± Vorn quickly tried to explain. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t say anything wrong. Most people just tend to be a little less understanding after seeing methods like ours. I know you wouldn¡¯t kick us out of the party for this-¡± Ark sent a meaningful look at Rexen before continuing, ¡°but others ha-would. It¡¯s just a bit of a sore subject. For both of us, I imagine.¡± Rexen seemed to gain a little bit of his confidence back because of Ark, ¡°Yeah, what she said. Most people tend to be less than understanding¡­ But I get it! I can totally use less painful poisons, I was just trying to showcase m-my utility. Things that are in pain aren¡¯t great at fighting back¡­¡± He explained. ¡°Just, if you don¡¯t need to use poisons like that, then please don¡¯t use them. But, we are a party, so I¡¯ll trust your judgment. If you feel that it¡¯s necessary please don¡¯t be afraid to use the fullest extent of your abilities! I won¡¯t hold you to a different standard to anyone else, so don¡¯t worry about me kicking you out for no reason. Besides, I¡¯m not sure I could considering I¡¯m the only one with a real problem with torture.¡± He finished with a slightly strained laugh. No one bothered to correct him. After a moment, Ark said, ¡°I guess you¡¯ll just have to be our party¡¯s moral compass then. Make sure we don¡¯t get banished or anything.¡± She chuckled, diffusing the tension. ¡°Seems the others are trying to steal my idea for a force of reason.¡± Rowan said, amusement lacing his tone. Chapter 28: Feral ¡°That¡¯s up to you. I don¡¯t know the format or necessary information for a Bestiary.¡± ¡°We do have access to an alchemist and microbiologist, perhaps they could add some insight as well.¡± ¡°Everyone?¡± ¡°That could work.¡± ¡°Really? Were we that close?¡± ¡°That makes sense. Well, that probably means our next few levels will come pretty easily now that you''re researching and using magic a ton.¡± CHR: 144 LUCK: 144 ¡°Look at how far you¡¯ve come.¡± ¡°I meant in personal wellbeing. You finally aren¡¯t dehydrated.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. [Movement] of everything around him. ¡°You good to talk?¡± ¡°Y-yes. Though there isn¡¯t much to talk about, I don¡¯t know what happened.¡± CHR: 162 LUCK: 162 ¡°The System is really trying to turn you into a berserker, huh?¡± ¡°It would seem so. I haven¡¯t felt like that in years, since I was a child I think. That amount of feral euphoria caused me no end of trouble in my younger years.¡± ¡°You sound like an old man, aren¡¯t you like twenty five?¡± ¡°Technically I¡¯m sixteen.¡± ¡°Insufferable is what you are.¡± Vorn said, exasperated. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Oops.¡± Chapter 29: Painful Perception The first thing Vorn did after their party''s conversation was open his skill selection. Why wait? Mythril Mind - Legendary Replace those pesky electric signals in your mind with mana, completely removing the barrier between mind and body. Learning - Unique The need for knowledge is rooted in your very soul. You do not pursue knowledge for power, or just because it¡¯s required. You pursue it for the love of learning itself. As such, this skill does not grant incredible power but simply allows you to learn faster and more effectively. Halts the regression of knowledge and triples the effectiveness of INT and WIS on cognition, perception, and memory, but does not improve coordination. Have fun with that. Scales with INT, WIS¡­ Obviously Enhanced Cognition - Epic Permanent 200% boost to your cognition¡­ If you pick this you''re a moron Scales with INT Well, Vorn knew what he would be picking, and probably what he would be picking after this skill selection too. And he had just gotten used to walking with Rowan¡¯s stats. Vorn hesitated for only a moment before picking [Learning]. Instantly he noticed a difference. Out of the corner of his vision, a drifting leaf could be seen slowly falling toward the earth, but after embracing the skill it appeared frozen in the air. Everything around him was so, so slow. Wait a moment, perception was a sense governed by Agility, not Intelligence- Oh. Oh fuck. Skills that changed the governing Attribute of something were not uncommon, in fact, they were some of the most common. Almost every warrior that used Vital Energy gained a skill that changed Energy Manipulation to a CON-governed ability, but in his case, this was really, really bad. Not only did it switch perception to an INT/WIS-governed skill, but it even enhanced that effect by three times, and it wasn''t as if their absurd level of Agility just stopped affecting their perception, either. He wasn¡¯t ready for this! Most rangers that dealt with this level of dilation had training to handle it, but Vorn wasn¡¯t even aware of what that training entailed! Sure, before everything felt like it was moving slower due to the speed of his thoughts, but they weren¡¯t actually! This was an entirely new sensation! The leaf still hadn¡¯t moved an inch. Oh gods, oh fuck, his enhanced cognition was making everything feel even slower! No need to panic, he just needed to distract himself for a moment. He reached for his notepad only to be floored by the fact that he just¡­ couldn¡¯t. His hand wasn¡¯t moving. Oh. It was, but it was so slow that he couldn¡¯t tell. He could feel his panic rising with each passing microsecond. Then, all of a sudden, he was in their soulscape. From the window, he could tell that things hadn¡¯t sped up. Shit. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Rowan could tell something was wrong the moment Vorn picked that skill, but he couldn¡¯t tell what. All he knew was that his panic was rising very, very quickly. Unnaturally fast. He took control the instant he noticed, but he still couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong. He tried talking to Vorn, but he wasn¡¯t responding. There was a faint buzz, but he couldn¡¯t tell what it was. Oh well, last resort time. He activated [Synchronized Mind]. The world slowed immensely, and they knew what was wrong. They didn¡¯t dare move, not because they couldn¡¯t, but because they could. Their adrenaline was spiking, and [Thrill] and [Movement] meant they absolutely could move¡­ if they wanted to rip their muscles apart. Moving normally with time dilated to this degree would absolutely destroy whatever they moved. [Regeneration] was good, but not good enough to fix the damage quickly enough in this slowed world. They knew what they had to do, but they really, really didn¡¯t want to. They were going to have to split apart. They weren¡¯t able to move as they were, and they needed help. Rowan would be forced to bring Vorn to the guild as quickly as he could but for Vorn¡­ It would feel like days. They resolved to activate their perk as often as they could, if only to share the misery. And split. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª From where Ark was sitting, it looked as if Vorn had sat down, switched with Rowan, and then began running max speed towards the exit clutching his arm. Ark didn¡¯t think she could catch up if she wanted to. Was Rowan really just¡­ Leaving them in the dungeon alone? Before she could process that, she noticed a message written in the dirt. ¡®When did he-¡¯ She noticed what the message said. Vorn hurt, rush ing t o g uil d The writing got worse the farther down it went, and was that blood? Just what was going on? ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Rowan activated [Synchronized Mind] every three seconds. That was all he could do while maintaining his top speed. Just leaving Vorn that long felt like a betrayal, but it was all he could do without tripping and further extending the trip. On every third footfall, like clockwork, his world slowed to a crawl, and they were flooded with relief. After hanging on the footfall for a few minutes, he was forced to let go of the perk and continue his run. Even for him, this half-hour run felt like days. But if it was for Vorn, he could handle it. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Rowan reduced the Guild¡¯s door to splinters, opting to just run through it instead of wasting the split second to reduce his speed and open it. The adventures in the lobby all jumped to their feet and readied their weapons in less than a second. For Rowan, it felt like minutes. ¡°I need help! Party member- is undergoing - greatly enhanced perception ¨C ratio is - approximately seventy two- to one.¡± Rowan shouted. Even to him, his sentence sounded stilted. He was using the pauses in the sentence to further use his perk. Instead of questioning him, the nearest waitress immediately called someone. Between pauses, he could hear, ¡°Percep-tion Even-t: Code B-lack!¡± Almost as soon as the words left her lips, Rowan''s Elven instructor was in the building. He took one look at them and started talking at a speed Rowan couldn¡¯t even comprehend. Rowan realized he was trying to talk to him. He must have thought he was the one having the ¡®perception event¡¯. ¡°Can¡¯t talk, perception mental only.¡± Was all Rowan said before activating his perk. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°Seeing as your eyes have gone purple, I can assume you''re using an ability right now. You said it was an increase in mental perception? Must have been one hell of a skill you picked up to make it this bad. Here¡¯s what you''re going to do-¡± He sat them down on the floor, moving their body for them. ¡°Concentrate solely on my voice. Normally the Guild can just slowly guide someone towards controlling their perception over the course of someone¡¯s career, but situations like this do happen. Don¡¯t panic, this, while rare, is not abnormal. We can fix this.¡± He reassured. ¡°Now, try to imagine your mental energy. This takes a while for some people so don¡¯t worry if you don¡¯t get it immediately. I¡¯ll be here for however long it takes you. Once you¡¯ve got a grasp on it, do your best to slow it down. It should be cycling through your mind at what should feel like a normal pace. It¡¯s not. Don¡¯t try to just pump the breaks on it either. Gradually, smoothly, slow it down. Try to add a little resistance every cycle, ok?¡± Voran, already intimately aware of their mental energy, did not take long to locate it. It was a little weird seeing outside of their soulscape, but it was not unfamiliar. It took a winding path through their mind, cycling from their eyes through every groove and neuron of their brain. Each cycle felt¡­ right. A deep unease settled in their gut at the thought of slowing it down. But they didn¡¯t have any other choice. So they followed the Elf''s instructions, every time a cycle passed by their optic nerve they tried to increase the resistance just a tad. ¡°Oh, I can already tell you''re doing something right! Impressive, it takes most a few hours to find their mental energy. Just keep doing what you''re doing, but whatever you do, do not completely stop the cycle. That is imperative.¡± Falnier warned. They took his advice to heart and kept at it. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª What felt like days later, they were at the point where they could talk. It felt like it was through a vice grip, and it was impossibly slow to them, but they could do it. Honestly, it was probably only possible because they were using Rowan¡¯s perk. His stats made talking at this speed possible without hurting themselves. ¡°Great job. You''re almost at the end. You''re already at sixteen seconds to one. Quite an improvement, wouldn¡¯t you say? ¡°Q-uite.¡± They ground out. The only thing to do was keep at it. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª After fifteen minutes in real-time, they were done. After such an intense mental exercise, Voran couldn¡¯t keep themselves together any longer. They split. Thankfully, despite having separate mental energies when apart, Vorn¡¯s energy matched Rowan¡¯s perfectly. Rowan sighed in relief. Vorn broke down crying. It had only been around two days, even in slowed time, but the stress had really gotten to him. Rowan walked them back to the apartment. He couldn¡¯t deal with the outside world right now. This wasn¡¯t only a stressful experience for Vorn, after all. Thankfully their arm had already healed in the time it took to get to the guild. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever forget the feeling of being able to perceive every individual muscle fiber ripping. Not fun, to say the least. But it was done. Rowan should probably have that conversation that his instructor recommended about now. He¡¯d wait until tomorrow. Chapter 30: Recovery [Synchronized Mind] was a part of The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I apologize for waiting so long to have this conversation. I needed some time to organize my thoughts.¡±¡°If you don¡¯t want to continue endangering your life on delves-¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to stop you right there. You think I¡¯m going to allow one set back to hold me back? I was the one that suggested delving in the first place, remember? No, I enjoy delving and adventuring with you¡­ and our¡­ party. Oh no.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± Chapter 31: Shady Places and Darker Dealings ¡°I forgot you could be intimidating. How¡¯d you learn this? Military?¡± ¡°Nah, I grew up a street rat before I was sent to the orphanage. I was not intimidating back then, but I learned from the men that beat us for our food. First, I had to learn how to beat their asses, though. Good times.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Wait a sec-¡± Chapter 32: Of magical favors and murderous tendencies ¡°Okay, I guess I owe you one. See you.¡± Rowan once again moved to leave, but this time sped up as fast as he could. A master illusionist the Dark Merchant may be, or at least Rowan assumed, but he couldn¡¯t match the sheer speed of a man with a skill literally called [Movement]. In less than a blink, he was out of the garish hidden mansion and was back out on the dark streets. You see, the thing about favors and promises is that you aren¡¯t beholden to them. You can just lie. Which is what Rowan was planning on doing before the whole magic contract thing snapped into place. Luckily, all it specified was that he owed the merchant a favor, it never said he had to stay and listen to what it was. ¡°As much as I would like to yell at you right now, that was some pretty quick thinking. I guess this is partially my fault for assuming you knew about binding contracts. In fairness, I didn¡¯t even consider you wouldn¡¯t have known about them. Wait, do you not have them on Earth? Or were you just not thinking again?¡± Vorn asked suspiciously. ¡°They are binding in a legal sense, but not physically binding, no. Though, the legal chains can be worse than physical ones. Obviously nothing overtly magical like this. In terms of spoken word agreements, though, they work exclusively on trust on Earth.¡± ¡°Why would anyone trust an agreement like that?¡± Vorn asked incredulously. ¡°Because sometimes that¡¯s all the reassurance you can get. If you''re willing to burn a relationship, any promise can become profit. Granted, strategies like that should be used sparingly and only against people you never plan to see again.¡± Rowan explained. ¡°You sound like a conman. Where did you learn this stuff?¡± ¡°I was a con man, though really I was more of a con boy. I never was much good at it, either. My talents were more¡­ Focused.¡± ¡°Let me guess, on punching stuff?¡± ¡°You know me well.¡± After that short exchange, their conversation petered out while Rowan focused on running home and shaking any potential tails. All things considered, this was a very profitable endeavor. It did mean they had possibly the biggest underworld merchant against them, but he wouldn¡¯t try to kill them or anything. One, they were a Unique Being and were well known at this point. And two, Rowan did still owe the man a favor that he could cash at any time, so long as he could ask it of them. However, this did mean that he would have to avoid the merchant and his men like the plague, assuming his men could act as a messenger for said favor. And he probably just burned any and all bridges to the black market. Oh well, it was probably nothing to worry about. On a totally unrelated note, it was also about time they started thinking about which dungeon they should enter next. They weren¡¯t ranked very highly, and Rowan doubted their performance got them a promotion. Actually, he should probably check where they currently stood with the Guild. That dilation stunt may have gotten them demoted, even. Rowan, still running at his max speed, pulled out his Delver Identification Card, which he refused to use the acronym for. Again, no reason. Voran, Level 27 Spellblade. Race: Unique | Rank: B0 | Path Rarity: Epic There was more information on the card than that, but he only cared about the first two rows. Everything past that was just information that the Guild found useful, like dungeons cleared, level of trust, etc. At least their rank hadn¡¯t gone down. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The next morning, they headed back to the Guild, but not before stopping at an actual supplies shop. They spent a fair amount of money on dried provisions and could store a, frankly, ridiculous amount. Usually in most expeditions, water took up the most space and weighed the most. Vorn could literally summon water out of the air. It didn¡¯t even rely on magic humidifier powers, he was just straight up summoning water from mana. Granted, according to Blythe that water wouldn¡¯t be here permanently and would return back to being mana over time. A process that took, oh, just about three hundred years. Apparently, mana-created matter had a pretty slow half-life. By the time water evaporated back into mana, it would have already long been used and processed by your body. You could literally survive on nothing but mana water with no consequences. Some things were just so much more convenient here. Granted, being blessed with magic was pretty rare, so it wasn¡¯t a get-out-of-jail-free card for everybody. All in all, it didn¡¯t take them very long to get the supplies they needed, and they had enough food to feed a very small army. More of a camp, maybe. Anyway, there was no possible way Ark could yell at them over this now. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°Huh. So you''re telling me you have rope, food, and other essentials packed away in there. Sounds responsible. Suspiciously responsible.¡± Ark narrowed her eyes. ¡°Ha ha. You made a good point, and we listened.¡± Vorn put his hands up, admitting she was right. A tough call, and one he was sure he would regret. ¡°You¡¯re damn right I was right! Ignoring the fact that I also forgot provisions and only remembered for our trip to the Jade Forest, I don¡¯t make mistakes.¡± Ark said, the very picture of smug superiority. Vorn knew she was acting for the sake of a bit, but she really could pull the face well. ¡°Anyway, are you sure you already want to go into another dungeon? You don¡¯t have anyone to talk to or something? What about your mentors?¡± Ark, as always, asked pertinent questions. ¡°Uh, we totally remembered them. Conveniently, since we were only in the dungeon for a day, I still have like¡­ One¡­ Day. Okay, so we might have to call off the delve.¡± Vorn realized he may have slightly lost track of time. Oops. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought. And just when I thought my responsibility was starting to wear off on you.¡± Ark sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. How she managed to look so genuinely disappointed was a mystery, though. Maybe she was an actor in her spare time? ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Unfortunately for Rowan, with another day to burn, that meant one thing. More reading. This time, though, Vorn pulled out something that wasn¡¯t an academic paper or other ¨C As Ark would so politely put it ¨C nerd shit. He pulled out a mystery thriller and set to reading. He remembered Rowan¡¯s favorite genre. Rowan relaxed a little in the comfiest chair he could make out of mental energy and reclined backward as Vorn began to read aloud. Maybe today wouldn¡¯t be so bad. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The next day, they made it to the surprisingly intact training grounds where they first met their instructors. The ground that was previously destroyed by Vorn¡¯s testing was completely flat and even had grass growing on it. All in five days. Impressive. They walked into the rickety shack out front and were met, to both of their surprise, with Blythe and Falnier having a discussion over tea. Rowan wasn¡¯t aware that his instructor ¨C Or demonic Elf if you wanted to use Vorn¡¯s terms ¨C would be here. ¡°Oh, how lovely of you two to drop by! I wasn¡¯t sure you would remember, being busy Delvers and all. How has your spellcraft come along, Vorn?¡± Blythe asked in his typical jovial fashion. Before he could answer, Falnier threw a knife at their face. Rowan swiftly took over and dodged, but only barely. ¡°Now, that was rude. At least wait until it¡¯s your turn.¡± Blythe complained lightly. ¡°Fair point, I¡¯ll wait until you''re done.¡± The Elf acquiesced easily. Rowan relaxed ever so slightly, and before he could blink another knife was already traveling at high speeds towards his face. A sheet of ice materialized in front of him, slowing it down enough for him to dodge. Before he could say anything, Blythe cuffed Falnier on the back of the head, ¡°What did I just say!¡± ¡°Sorry, habit.¡± Falnier said apologetically. ¡®Just what kind of teacher did you have to be for that to become a habit?¡¯ Vorn couldn¡¯t help but think. ¡°That sheet of ice materialized quickly! I take it you have been experimenting with sorcery?¡± Blythe asked excitedly. ¡°Uh, actually, not really. It just comes naturally to me.¡± Vorn said, scratching his head. ¡°Well, I suppose that is to be expected, it is sorcery. This may be a personal question but I¡¯m guessing you''re a bloodline sorcerer instead of an initialized one?¡± It was a personal question, but it wasn¡¯t one Vorn minded answering. The difference was simple and relatively obvious from the name. Bloodline sorcerers had sorcerers in their lineage, and initialized sorcerers were first-generation people who got it from the System. There was another class, Newblood Sorcerers, first-generation sorcerers that had magic in their blood naturally, but they were so rare that a distinction rarely needed to be made. ¡°Ah, yes I am. On my mother¡¯s side.¡± Vorn said. ¡°And you got her talent? That¡¯s quite rare my boy, only one in ten thousand get magical talent from their mothers!¡± Blythe said enthusiastically. ¡°Yeah, I know. I hedged my bets on being a mage because I thought I wouldn¡¯t get any of her talent. I¡¯m glad I was wrong.¡± Vorn said, slightly emotional. He hadn¡¯t thought about it, but he did get his mother¡¯s talent, didn¡¯t he? Of all the classes he was offered, most of them were sorcery related and powerful. He had a little bit of her in him after all. That brought his thoughts back to what was said to Rowan when he first arrived on Hyal¡¯bern. That the body he was invading was destined to be mediocre. Would Vorn really have taken a mage class, even a terrible one, over a powerful sorcery one? It¡¯s possible that the Goddess was just lying to make Rowan feel better about taking over some guy¡¯s body, but Vorn doubted it. Vorn knew himself pretty well, and thinking about it, he probably would have taken the mage class instead. He was prideful to a fault and stubborn as a mule. He would have become a mage out of spite to everyone who said he couldn¡¯t. Gods, what a terrible decision that would have been. ¡°I know how you feel, my boy. I have cherish the talent I inherited from my father just as much, and I hope my son feels the same way when I¡¯m gone. It¡¯s a special bond.¡± Blythe said with a gentle smile. Gods, this man was such a ray of sunshine. ¡°Now, why don¡¯t you start asking your questions so Falnier can beat your other half into the dirt, I know they''re both waiting impatiently!¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª ¡°Nice armor. I¡¯m glad you finally invested in some protection, it cannot be overstated how important keeping yourself protected is. Even a sliver of armor can be utilized when you¡¯re fighting at a high level.¡± Falnier complimented. ¡°You haven¡¯t even seen the best part!¡± Rowan said with a grin, before pulling out his new twin tantos. ¡°Hmm. Armor piercing and fiercely sharp. Another great find. I think the armor is still better. Now, show me if you can use those expensive implements.¡± Rowan rushed off, attacking for all he was worth. He unleashed a flurry of cuts, but the crazy Elf flowed around every attack like water, bending and contorting in impossible ways. Rowan was getting excited! His blood was pumping, and he could feel [Thrill] activating. A jolt of ice-cold System-enhanced adrenaline rushed through him and he sped up even more. Rowan couldn¡¯t even see most of his own attacks, but he could feel them! His feet dug furrows into the ground, and his joints strained from the pressure he was putting on them. However, Falnier was forced to back up and actually start dodging instead of just contorting. He was keeping his stats at a similar level to Rowan, he was just so much better that he could dodge every attack before his adrenaline skill kicked in. Rowan was starting to get pissed off. He still couldn¡¯t land a hit! ¡®Fuck it, he can handle this!¡¯ Rowan thought to himself before deciding to treat this spar as a battle to the death. He wouldn¡¯t actually kill him. He couldn¡¯t, so it was fine. His attacks all started gravitating to joints, arteries, and vital organs. Falnier accepted this change of pace with grace and began dodging even more elegantly. Rowan felt a few cuts begin forming on his arms. Falnier started attacking back! Finally! He could feel his blood pumping even harder. Everything was a blur, literally. He was moving so quickly that he physically could not keep up purely with his eyes anymore. [Movement] let him keep up nonetheless. ¡°Argh! Will you stop fucking dodging!¡± Rowan shouted before attacking even more ferociously. His attacks were flung with wild abandon, not even attempting to target anything specific. He was just trying to hurt Falnier. Faintly, past the blood rushing in his ears, he could hear a buzzing sound. It told him to stop. That he was being irrational. Rowan ignored it, what did the buzzing know? He was using his tantos like a beast would use their claws, to hunt and kill. Kicks and punches joined the flurry of blows, and he even attempted to bite the Elf¡¯s hands whenever they struck at him. Rowan wanted the man in front of him dead. Falnier remained perfectly calm. He was forced on the back foot, but he didn¡¯t seem to care. He even began getting the occasional cut, but it healed so quickly that Rowan couldn¡¯t revel in it. ¡°AH! WHY WON¡¯T YOU DIE!¡± Blood from the numerous wounds crisscrossing his body coated over half his skin, and the buzzing threatened to stop him. Hah! Rowan would like to see it try. He could feel ice-cold adrenaline warring with his blood that felt like molten iron. His heart was running so quickly that he couldn¡¯t make out individual beats. Rowan didn¡¯t bother keeping his eyes open, but if he had, he would¡¯ve noticed a greenish tinge. His body felt like a blur, even to him, but he couldn¡¯t give up. He had to go faster! He had to kill this goddamn Elf! In the blur, he noticed the elf make a hand sign at him. After that, the incessant buzzing finally stopped. He was almost tempted to thank the Elf, but he would settle for just killing him as painlessly as possible. Rowan could feel himself flagging. That wouldn¡¯t do, no, that wouldn¡¯t do at all! He reached deep within himself, toward the seat of his True Vitality. Where he felt his [Last Stand] title take his very lifespan. There, he felt a¡­ Core? The core was surrounded by True Vitality and absolutely saturated in Vital Energy. He ripped as much Vital Energy as he could from the core and forced it into [Regeneration]. He could feel the Vital Energy resisting, but Rowan was the master of his body and everything in it. His wounds began healing faster, but Rowan rebelled against the waste of [Regeneration¡¯s] power. He grabbed the energy and forced it into his lungs, heart, and muscles. He didn¡¯t need to heal his injuries, he needed to fight longer! Blood covered almost every inch of him, and his neon orange eyes were now a malevolent slitted viridian. A bark-like substance began growing in patches on his skin. He would kill this Elf, and he would rip his body to pieces if it was the last thing he did. No longer was his rage burning in his veins, instead, it was as if his body had been dropped into an ice bath. He needed to kill this Elf. Rowan was superior, there was no other truth that he would accept. Rowan¡¯s entire body was just shy of being entirely coated with blood. His adrenaline had reached its peak. Rowan¡¯s strength reached an even higher level as he ripped more Vital Energy from the strange core. He could feel his body starting to break down, but regeneration was fixing the damage to his muscles as it accumulated. His external wounds were still absolutely pissing blood, but he didn¡¯t give a single shit about that. His feet moved faster than he could perceive and left trails of upturned and dented earth behind him. His arms moved so quickly that all he could hear was the whistling of his blades. His world was dark, but the movement of the mana and air around him sang to him, telling him exactly how he needed to move. The great forest just outside of the walls whispered of more power should he just reach out and grasp it. All he needed to do was kill this Elf. Great! He was already planning on doing that! The bark on his skin began expanding. Slowly, ever so slowly, he started to catch up to his instructor. Falnier was taking more and more damage, all the while leaving shallow cuts that Rowan couldn¡¯t even feel. He was winning! He would turn this Elf to dust! Then, he fell. The cuts he had been ignoring had piled up in key areas on his joints and tendons, and he could no longer move. His body had given out on him. He wanted to rage, to scream, but as the adrenaline drained out of him, he couldn¡¯t find the energy to do even that. Suddenly, a blast of water hit him. As the blood faded off of him and into the dirt, as the bark receded back into his skin, clarity returned to his mind. What was he doing! He tried to kill his instructor! ¡°Hmm, two berserk skills that can work in tandem? That wouldn¡¯t make sense¡­ Unless he has a perk? Or a title? Bark and green eyes¡­ Elenia? Perhaps¡­¡± Falnier was talking to himself quietly. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Rowan rasped out, vehemently apologetic. He couldn¡¯t believe he had lost control like that! That was the worst he had ever been taken over by rage and battle, even in his past life, something like that had never happened. ¡°No worries, I¡¯m fine.¡± He opened his arms, showing the myriad cuts already closing at rapid speed. ¡°I¡¯d be more worried about yourself.¡± Falnier said with a steely gaze. For the first time in either of his lives, Rowan was intimidated. Chapter 33: Awakened Authority ¡°You tried to kill me. I can see that you¡¯re not even trying to deny that fact, and that speaks well that you either are good at accepting responsibility or aren¡¯t stupid. Hopefully it¡¯s both. Now, care to explain why?¡± Falnier crossed his arms and stared Rowan down with a gaze that could cow dragons. ¡°I have no excuse, I lost-¡± Rowan was cut off by Vorn taking control, ¡°Before this idiot digs his hole any deeper, he has a champion blessing from Elenia, the blood one, and a Berserker skill that increases the effect of adrenaline on him. I think it even said something about it being an enhanced version of adrenaline. It mentioned negative effects, and I think recklessness is one of them.¡± Vorn explained, trying to keep his friend from being thrown into a rehabilitation center for unstable classers, a fancy term for prison. Well, that, or executed. ¡°Hmm? That is a dangerous combination. No wonder he was so vicious. We need to work on his control immediately. And Vorn? I appreciate that you noticed the signs I was sending you not to interfere, I wouldn¡¯t have known the extent of the problem if you hadn¡¯t listened. My thanks.¡± Falnier said earnestly. ¡°Now, for you Rowan. I have a plan, but you aren¡¯t going to like it.¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯m supposed to be his force of reason, we agreed on that! I¡¯m just as responsible for keeping him in control. Just because I couldn¡¯t this time, because you asked, might I add, doesn¡¯t mean- ¡°I¡¯ll accept your guidance. This cannot happen again. Vorn, I may be a violent man, one prone to outbursts at times, but I am not a mindless beast, and I will not be reduced to one. Thank you for having my back, but I need to get a handle on my own skills. You are not a zookeeper, you¡¯re my friend. Don¡¯t forget that.¡± Rowan said, his eyes set in determination. It was the most emotion that Vorn had ever seen from him. ¡°Determination is good, and you¡¯re going to need plenty of it. You''re going into guided meditation with me until we can awaken your Seed of Authority. That should give you enough control to be allowed to safely function in society.¡± ¡°To function in society? What would have happened if you didn¡¯t accept?¡± Vorn asked, concerned. ¡°I would have sent him straight to the prison in the capital. Or executed him if he resisted. Wild berserkers are not allowed, especially not those with as much power as a Unique Being.¡± Falnier explained blandly. Vorn wanted to be offended on Rowan¡¯s behalf, but he understood the necessity of the rules. Wild Berserkers were banned from every nation and were generally killed on sight or arrested until they were either able to control themselves or had proven that they couldn¡¯t. In which case¡­ Well, you could guess. The silver of Vorn¡¯s eyes brightened to orange. Rowan stood and waited for orders from his instructor. [Regeneration] was still overcharged on Vitality, so most of his wounds had already healed. Now, he was back in soldier mode. ¡°Sir, speaking of this ¡®Seed of Authority¡¯ I did notice a small¡­ Something that was a source of Vital Energy that I pulled from when I was fighting you. Is that what you¡¯re talking about?¡± Rowan asked, his posture perfectly straight with his hands behind his back. His voice was a differential monotone that, while lacking intonation, promised absolute obedience. For the time being, at least. Falniers eyebrows rose, and for the first time that Vorn could recall, showed obvious and extreme surprise. ¡°You found the seed by yourself? You¡¯re much more dangerous than I thought, I¡¯m glad you agreed to this. It¡¯d be a shame to see so much potential go to waste. Now, follow me. I will explain while we walk.¡± Falnier began moving at a fast clip, and a shroud emerged from him to engulf both him and Rowan. It was a slightly opaque dome that seemed to block all sound from leaving or entering. ¡°The Seed of Authority is the nexus for all Vital Energy in your body. Vital Energy, in itself, is a misnomer. It is not vital at all, and people can live perfectly fine without it, some rare individuals even do. The reason it got its name is because of the similarities it has with True Vitality, being so near it and having similar effects. At least, at first. Vital Energy¡¯s true name is Authority. It¡¯s a multifaceted energy that, as far as I¡¯m aware, no one knows the true bounds of.¡± Falnier explained. ¡°What are the broad strokes, sir? What can it do?¡± ¡°Before it sprouts? Not much. It has a large reservoir of Authority, but it takes a long time to regenerate any amount of energy that is pulled from it, so it¡¯s not recommended to pull from it as you have. After it sprouts? Well, it doesn¡¯t have as many applications as mana, but it can do quite a bit, all of which is internal. It can give you skin stronger than steel, muscles that never tire, anything you can think of. It takes a lot of work, though, and is so hard to manipulate that most people could never even budge their Authority. It takes a certain mindset.¡± ¡°And I have that mindset?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°In spades, it would seem. Authority requires a strong hand to manipulate. You need a will of steel for it to even acknowledge you.¡± ¡°Acknowledge? Is it sentient?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so, but that¡¯s up for debate. Personally, I just think it¡¯s a very specifically directed energy that we don¡¯t fully understand. I think that if we knew exactly how it was manipulated, almost anyone could use it. A strong will is the only thing I know that works, but at the end of the day, it is just energy. It must have a path of least resistance, though no one I know could tell you what that might be.¡± ¡°Maybe a strong will is the only conduit it will follow?¡± Rowan posited. ¡°Perhaps. Nothing is known for certain, even given the countless years people have been cultivating Authority. This is beside the point, though. The point is, despite how much is known about it, Authority contains incredible power, the least of it being able to direct your other skills. Physical ones, at least.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what happened¡­¡± Rowan thought aloud to himself. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I allow myself to continue to be surprised by you, of course you managed that in our duel. I assume that¡¯s how you kept fighting for so long?¡± ¡°Yes. I used it to overcharge [Regeneration] and directed the rejuvenating energy towards muscle damage and lactic acid build up to allow myself to fight longer. I think [Elenia¡¯s Blessing] allowed me to fight despite the outrageous blood loss, but that¡¯s just a theory.¡± ¡°Interesting. If you''re able to pull these skills under your control, you¡¯ll be a true force to be reckoned with in no time. With your talent, I have high hopes for you. See that you meet them.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± Rowan acknowledged ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Falnier brought them through a winding path that ended in a dark alley that was hidden from plain view. This alley was on the opposite side of Bern, though still on the outskirts. An illusion was placed over it that Falnier swiftly broke through before ushering Voran inside. Vorn couldn¡¯t help but notice that the illusion looked remarkably familiar¡­ Inside, they were met with a blank, prison-like interior. The room was a long, straight corridor that had iron doors leading off every fifteen feet or so on both walls. The doors themselves appeared to be made of black cast iron that was reinforced with Runes. Contrary to how common they seemed in Bern, Runes were actually extremely expensive to both install and keep running long-term. The sheer amount of bright and blinding cores required to keep a single decent enchantment running was staggering.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The fact this facility had eighteen doors that were enchanted and powered at all times spoke to the fact that this hidden site was extremely well-funded. Falnier brought Rowan down to the second to last door on the right and walked through with him. The room inside was sparse, with a barrel of dry rations and a faucet for water. That was it. No bed, no decor, not even a ceiling light. It was nearly pitch black in the room, with only mild light leaking in from the corridor from the small gap below the black iron door. ¡°Now, sit.¡± Falnier commanded. Rowan complied silently. The Elf brought out a chair from his personal storage that he kept hidden somewhere on his person. He was so quick that Rowan couldn¡¯t get a solid look at where he pulled it from, and the darkness didn¡¯t help his perceptive abilities. ¡°Close your eyes, and try to find your Authority Seed.¡± Rowan once more listened without saying a word. While fighting Falnier, he hadn¡¯t actually needed to ¡°look¡± for the seed, he just felt out for the seat of his Vitality. He wasn¡¯t sure if Falnier meant for him to literally look for it, or just feel out for it like he did before. He decided he could just feel out for it, and try to look inwards once he did. If he couldn¡¯t, he¡¯d ask for clarification, if he could, then it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. However, his simple plan was immediately blocked by a minor problem. Rowan could no longer feel where the seed was, nor where the concentration of True Vitality was either. It was as if they were hidden from his senses. He felt out for them again and again, but he just kept coming up blank. He could recall in the haze of his fight that it was a few inches below his belly button, but it was as if it had disappeared. He thought back, had he ever really felt it outside of battle? Had he ever really felt in general? The answer was no, he hadn¡¯t felt it all. The only reason he had found it was because he was calling for his True Vitality. So how could he draw from it in his fight against Falnier? Maybe he didn¡¯t need to find it, but to demand it reveal itself to him instead. That seemed to be more in line with what he knew of Authority. Rowan concentrated and released the full brunt of his will inward. ¡®You will reveal yourself to me!¡¯ Just like that, he could feel the seed once more, though it was noticeably shriveled. He really did a number on the poor thing. He tried to focus on looking internally, so he could actually look at it, but had no luck. After a few minutes, he asked for clarification, ¡°Do you actually want me to look at the seed? Or is feeling it fine?¡± ¡°No, you need to be able to internally visualize the seed and the area surrounding it. Look inward.¡± Falnier said simply as if just the instruction would be enough. Instead of stubbornly just trying and failing, Rowan pulled out his oldest strategy for dealing with uncertainty. Just asking. ¡°And how do you do that? Meditation, or something else?¡± ¡°Meditation works for some. Others do katas or other relaxing activities. The key is not simply looking inward, but opening your mind to what your body is telling you. Allowing the energy, whether that be Mana or Authority, to speak to your mind. You have to be in a state that is willing to listen.¡± Falnier explained more thoroughly. Rowan set to it. Sitting still had never worked for him in his previous life, so he knew it wouldn¡¯t in this one either. He began going through the katas he was shown for martial arts in the orphanage. None of them were particularly effective in combat, but they were decent exercise and were pretty relaxing to boot. As Rowan went through the motions, he tried to open his mind to Authority as his instructor told him. He could feel the energy moving through his veins and toward his mind, and he instinctively shoved it back down in revulsion. Imagine static energy crawling up your veins, but instead of being prickly and mildly uncomfortable, it was red and stabbing. How could something feel red? Rowan wasn¡¯t sure either, but it felt distinctly red. He steeled his mind and tried again, and the red energy started climbing back toward his mind. It was an intensely uncomfortable experience, but not one he was totally unused to. The process of augmenting a body could not always be done while the subject was unconscious, you see. Sometimes they needed to see your reactions. To make sure they weren¡¯t hitting an important nerve or whatever the scientists said. One of these surgeries that they performed involved the leaking of nutrient-rich rejuvenating fluid into a subdermal layer that they had installed. It was supposed to heal him if something ever breached his suit. The feeling of fluid filling an installed organ underneath his skin still kept him up at night sometimes, or it did back on Earth. He had stopped having so many nightmares once he started sharing a body with Vorn. By the time Rowan was done reminiscing on his past, the red energy had finally reached his mind, and with it, it carried information. He could finally see the seed. He knew that it felt shriveled, but seeing it with his own two¡­ Eyes? Was a different story. The seed itself looked slightly horrifying, like a facsimile made by someone who had only ever heard of seeds before making one out of gristle and internal organs. He never expected it to be so¡­ Meaty. Gross nature aside, he had finally linked with his Authority, and he figured that doing that was the true purpose of this exercise. He could feel the red energy seep into his mind and make a home there. He knew that if he ever needed to call on it, the Authority would respond instantly. So long as his will commanded the respect that it required. ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve completed the first exercise. What now?¡± ¡°Already? It¡¯s only been a few hours.¡± Falnier said with a raised eyebrow. He wasn¡¯t the type to disbelieve someone, but Rowan was really pushing the limits of his belief. ¡°How would you describe Authority?¡± He asked, probing for information. ¡°Red. Visceral. Organic?¡± He finished with a question mark. He never expected the energy to feel living in such a gristly way. ¡°Color me surprised, you may just be the fastest person to ever pick up Cultivating.¡± Falnier whistled. At that, Rowan¡¯s eyebrow shot up. ¡°Cultivating? Like refining power to become stronger?¡± He had heard of something similar from someone on his squad. Rowan was disconnected from a lot of things in pop culture, but with the recent fall of the dystopian empire and the rise of a new nation, a lot of things were rediscovered. One of those things being Xianxia novels. Novels that his youngest squadmate, a talented new recruit at just eighteen, would not shut up about. Rowan knew more about the tropes and storylines of that genre than he ever wanted. ¡°Yeah. You heard of it before?¡± Asked the Elf, concerned about a security leak. All Rowan did was groan. Why cultivation? ¡°Yes and no.¡± Rowan answered, ¡°It was a popular genre of fiction in my old world.¡± He explained. ¡°Oh? That is curious. Maybe you had some travelers to your world as well, we know for a fact they influenced our fiction with their out of system powers.¡± Falnier said. ¡°I¡¯m hoping against hope that none of the tropes hold true here.¡± Rowan said, sending a silent prayer up to whatever gods were listening. ¡°I doubt they do. You¡¯ve probably run into a cultivator or two already, they¡¯re not incredibly rare. Usually they are over level one hundred, though.¡± ¡°Thank the gods.¡± He said with a sigh of relief. That was the second most stressed Vorn had ever seen Rowan, just behind what occurred earlier today. ¡°Getting back on topic-¡± Falnier steered the conversation back on track, ¡°The next step is simple: Take deep breaths and attempt to draw out Authority from your body. It¡¯s going to be slow and tedious. Beware, this is the part I knew you wouldn¡¯t like. Expect this to take a few days.¡± Falnier said with a severe expression. Just what did he think Rowan would do? Run? Contrary to what other people thought, he could sit still if he needed to. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª A few weeks later, Rowan was seriously considering running. At first, it wasn¡¯t so bad. Take deep steady breaths and try to draw out energy from your muscles, organs, etc. It was painfully slow, but once he got good at it he was able to do it while practicing katas, which sped it up significantly. Going from filling up a pool with an eye dropper to a shot glass is a significant improvement, it still takes fucking forever. Still, Rowan wasn¡¯t a quitter, and his Seed of Authority was looking much healthier. He couldn¡¯t help but regret going all out against the Elf for two reasons now, though. Apparently, he had drained it far more than either he or Falnier thought. He was approaching the cusp of a breakthrough, though. He could feel it. The organic pulsating red seed was damn near full to bursting with energy. Falnier said all he needed to do was keep pouring Authority into it until the seed bloomed. At this point, he was doing the katas far faster than anyone on Earth could possibly manage, and the rate he was gathering Authority had barely improved. As far as Voran could tell, the correlation between exertion and the red energy was loose, but there. So long as he could keep up his rigorous and taxing exercises, the gathering of energy went up from a shot glass to a small bowl. About four times faster. Still, he was doing his katas so quickly and with such strength that even he couldn¡¯t keep it up that long, superhuman stats or no. That led to him alternating between normal speed ¨C Normal for Rowan, at least ¨C and full speed. Like that, he spent another full week just exercising. Falnier also gave him a few new katas and martial arts to practice which he became quite proficient in. Granted, until he used them in combat, he couldn¡¯t claim any amount of mastery. It would be helpful in the future, though. In the middle of one of his new katas, Rowan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why isn¡¯t Authority public knowledge? I understand that very few could control it, but why not give them the tools to try?¡± ¡°A good question with a simple answer, we¡¯d like to, but can¡¯t. As to why? I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t tell you. I wouldn¡¯t worry about it, though. At the rate you¡¯re going, you¡¯ll learn why in no time at all.¡± Falnier said encouragingly. In the time Rowan had spent with the Elf, he had learned that past his gruff appearance and attitude, he was just a really good guy. Calm, patient, and relaxed, he never seemed to get annoyed or angry. Sure, he could send a hell of a glare, but he tended to help instead of harm whenever he could. It seemed like most of the merc attitude that he showed publicly was just a facade. A convenient disguise that he adopted because of his introverted tendencies and because it was easy. He certainly looked intimidating enough. ¡°I-¡± Before Rowan could ask what exactly he meant by his response, he could feel a shift in his Authority. Where before it felt like it was a battle to even bring an ounce of the stuff to his core, now it felt as if the Seed had become a vacuum. It was pulling Authority at an absolutely astounding rate from every inch of his body. Rowan¡¯s muscles locked in the middle of a kata, and he fell for only a short moment before Falnier caught him. His body ached and his enhanced musculature could no longer support itself. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is just part of the process. How do you think the System increases your strength? It infuses Authority into your body and manages the energy automatically. Your Seed of Authority has just successfully germinated and sprouted its first Root, absorbing and claiming all the Authority in your body. You just need to wait for your Root to finish developing, which should only take a few hours.¡± Falnier calmly explained. Rowan wished he would have warned him, but that may have led to hesitation that would have slowed his growth¡­ Probably. He couldn¡¯t say that he ever feared pain overly much, but the Elf didn¡¯t know that, and probably wouldn¡¯t bet on it either even if he did. ¡°Congrats kid, you''re one of the very few to ever Awaken at this stage. Sorry to say, but you''re about to get a notification you¡¯re going to hate.¡± ¡°H- Huh?¡± Rowan grunted through gritted teeth. It wasn¡¯t necessarily because of the pain, though that did suck, but because every muscle in his body was still locked, including those in his jaw. *Congratulations on Awakening! Due to your advancement, you are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Awakened Beings! [Read Here] Do you accept? Y/N Note: Not accepting the offer will immediately strip you of all benefits of the System, including but not limited to: Skills, Perks, and Titles. Attributes may or may not be affected depending on the nature of the User''s Awakening. Due to your status as a Unique Being, the System will not strip you of the alterations to your soul that allow you to live, but that is the only concession that It is willing to make. Read carefully Awakened.* Chapter 34: Ascender The first thing Rowan did, contrary to his behavior when he first arrived, was calmly read and carefully consider the Terms and Conditions. Vorn could have shed a tear, his impulsive Soulmate finally found a smidge of responsibility. *Due to Awakening, You are now subject to the Terms and Conditions of the 381,126th Ascension Shard. By agreeing to these Terms, You hereby allow the Shard full right to revoke your System permissions and benefits should you violate the following rules: 1. Discussing the true nature of the Ascension Shard with Unawakened 2. Using advantages given to you as an Awakened to take advantage of the Unawakened 3. Intentionally stunting the growth of those below your Threshold (See Exception Later) 4. Spreading information from the Ascension Shard Guide to those Unawakened or those who are not users of the Shard. 5. Attempting to subvert the purpose of this Ascension Shard The only exception is self-defense. If something attempts to force this information out of you with torture, or you are being harassed by an army of Unawakened, you are allowed to bend the rules. Please attempt to resolve disputes with Unawakened peacefully. Unneeded violence towards Unawakened violates Rule 3 and potentially Rule 2. Common Questions: Reincarnator Detected! Special Questions: The Shard has full say on whether or not you are guilty, and attempting to subvert these rules is an automatic revocation. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to reject the Terms offered. Alert: You are subject to special rights! You have Awoken before the First Major Threshold, so you are not subject to Rules 2 and 3 until you evolve! Note: These privileges only last until you reach level 100! To better understand the Terms that you are agreeing to, you are allowed to read the Ascension Shard Guide! Ascension Shard Guide: Should you agree to the terms presented by this Ascension Shard, you will no longer be an unwilling participant, but a willing partner. Therefore you are allowed a deeper glean into this Ascension Shard¡¯s true purpose. To put it simply, this Shard¡¯s purpose is to create strong warriors. Deep in the core of the vast and multitudinous planes of the Outer resides a powerful Force. Your world was given its Shard to produce someone strong enough to kill it. Make no mistake, in the infinite multitudes of the ever-expanding Outer, there are hundreds of thousands of Shards. There is no expectation that you will succeed where billions have failed, and you are not obligated to try, even if you do reach apotheosis. The Architect of the System has determined that willing participants are more likely to succeed, and has discarded the idea of an unwilling army. So grow as you wish. However, if you ever feel that you are the biggest fish in the pond and that there are no new horizons to explore, then please attempt to fulfill the Shard¡¯s purpose. With all that in mind, the Shard is not infallible to outside influence, and even if it were, relying on it completely would stunt your growth and make you predictable. Awakening has given you access to information that makes your growth faster and less reliant on the Shard. Below are all known powers that are a viable path to Apotheosis. This guide will not tell you how to unlock each power, but it will give you all the knowledge you need to unlock it yourself should you meet the prerequisites. Seed of Authority: You have already unlocked Authority. Psionic Arts: Unlock and Manipulate Mental Energy to Unlock Knowledge of Psionics. Congratulations, you meet the specifications to learn about Psionics! Warning: Psionic Arts are incompatible with Mana! Mana Gateway: You have already unlocked Mana. Necromantic Heart: Kill 50 Sentient Beings to Unlock Knowledge of Necromancy! Reincarnator detected! Kills in your previous life do not count!* Rowan skipped forward, much to Vorn¡¯s curiosity¡¯s dismay, and finally reached the end.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. *You have been given access to these records for either reaching past the First Major Threshold or for Awakening early. You have proven your worth either way. The Unawakened have not. Should you share this information with them, you will immediately be blacklisted from this Ascension Shard. Sharing this information with those outside of the Shard is also not allowed, as they could share information with the Unawakened. Do not attempt to subvert the Shard. Good luck, and may your growth allow you to prove a challenge, Awakened!* ¡°Huh.¡± Was all Rowan could say. The System, or Ascension Shard, was created to accelerate the growth of warriors to kill something. He couldn¡¯t really say he was shocked. Vorn, on the other hand, was freaking out. Everyone above the First Threshold knew about this? Even if the Shard did threaten to retract its powers, how was this not widely known information? Did no one decide to spread this on their deathbed? Were there none that were defiant? That didn¡¯t make any sense! ¡°I can see you¡¯ve finished reading.¡± Falnier said, ¡°So?¡± ¡°I need to discuss this with Vorn, but I¡¯m leaning towards accepting. Despite the fact I have a feeling that even if I rejected the Shard, I would still keep my attributes because of how saturated in Authority they feel now. Still, that is a hefty risk, and Perks, Titles and numerically displayed progress are tempting advantages.¡± Rowan said, deep in thought. ¡°Take as much time as you need, the Shard won¡¯t rush you.¡± Falnier reassured. ¡°Um, I have a question!¡± Vorn said, ¡°How is it that this knowledge isn¡¯t widely known?¡± ¡°There are a few reasons. One, most people aren¡¯t willing to separate from their hard earned progress and venture into the unknown, and the people that are willing to take such risks are usually those that have nothing to lose. If you were, say, an old man trying to pass on this knowledge, attempting to do so would instantly kill you as your Authority that keeps your frail ancient body alive flees you. Even if you were to do such a thing and succeed, as some have, that process just Awakens the person you tell it to, leaving them unable to spread the knowledge further.¡± ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t think of that. It¡¯s a self containing problem that only propagates at risk to the vector.¡± Vorn said contemplatively. ¡°Indeed. Though, there is a village in the north of Elenia¡¯s Grove that has an entire population of Awakened. Rumor is some old user of Authority shouted the Shard¡¯s secrets in the town square. Stuff like that is very rare, though, and that specific incident was over three hundred years ago.¡± Falnier explained. ¡°You¡¯ve already heard my opinion, what about yours?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°I don¡¯t see any disadvantages. Sure, we¡¯ll not be allowed to massacre Unawakened people after we reach level one hundred, but you¡¯ll have to forgive the fact I don¡¯t really care. I sure as fuck hope we aren¡¯t going to want to kill someone that much weaker than us considering that we have full permission to kill anyone that we need to.¡± Vorn pointed out. It was a fair point. If someone really was being an issue to the point where they decided murder was necessary, then they¡¯d likely have permission from the Shard. If they didn¡¯t, then they¡¯d just have to tough it out and endure being annoyed by someone much weaker than them. That was probably for the best anyway, since Vorn found it distressingly likely that someone in their party would kill someone for pestering them. Everyone was lethal enough right now that he couldn¡¯t imagine how easy it would be for them once they evolved. Ark and Rexen would be able to massacre a town of Unawakened with a sneeze once they evolved if Vorn was estimating their rate of growth correctly. ¡°That is a fair point. It does seem that there are no real disadvantages besides perhaps having to deal with a few annoying weaklings without killing them or otherwise stunting their growth. Having the Shard outweighs that minor annoyance tenfold.¡± Rowan admitted. ¡°Are there any traps we¡¯re missing? Because if the only major downside is ¡®Don¡¯t fucking murder people way weaker than you¡¯ then I think I know our decision.¡± Vorn asked, trying to cover their bases in case they missed something. The terms seemed simple enough, but you could never be too careful with binding contracts, as Rowan had proven not too long ago with the whole illusion mage fiasco. ¡°No, for you that¡¯s about all the disadvantages. Where it really becomes annoying is for rulers. Have you ever wondered why the black market exists when there are people strong enough to wipe that entire portion of the city off the map? It¡¯s because Awakened rulers have to delegate dealing with Unawakened criminals to other Unawakened. It¡¯s a source of endless frustration, but most people under the sun acknowledge that having access to the Shard is worth it.¡± Falnier explained. ¡°Interesting.¡± Rowan said, ¡°So, are you in trouble with the Shard? You helped me unlock Authority after all.¡± ¡°There are a lot of subtleties to the rules we were given that are annoyingly not written in the rules. I, personally, am like you. I discovered Authority and learned to manipulate it before I even learned the true name of the energy I was manipulating. Because it was not an ability given to me by the Shard, I am allowed to teach others about it. If you¡¯ll recall, rule four was ¡®spreading information from the Guide to Unawakened¡¯, but I didn¡¯t learn Authority from the Guide, and neither did you. Congratulations, you and I are now part of a rare, extremely valuable, group.¡± Falnier grinned and patted him on the back. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. If you can teach anyone about Authority with no consequence, why don¡¯t you?¡± Vorn asked this time. ¡°I never said there was no consequence. If I taught too many people about it specifically to awaken them, that would count as subverting the Shard. Since I¡¯m just teaching people that would otherwise be killed for being too dangerous, I am given leeway for encouraging growth instead of stunting it. It¡¯s complicated, and we have an entire branch of study just for working around the Shard. People have been doing this for thousands of years at this point, so we know a few tricks.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, it all just seems so¡­ Arbitrary.¡± Vorn complained. At that, Falnier just barked out a laugh, ¡°Don¡¯t I know it. What I¡¯ve found works is just asking myself, ¡®Is this in the spirit of the rules, or the letter?¡¯. The Shard is surprisingly lenient as long as you''re helping it with its primary directive. It want¡¯s strong independent warriors, so guiding an extremely valuable Unique Being so they aren¡¯t killed is probably fine.¡± Falnier said. ¡°¡®Probably¡¯?¡± Vorn asked incredulously. ¡°Probably. I have taught quite a few people at this point, and I don¡¯t know when what I¡¯m doing will count as subversion, if it ever does. I don¡¯t think it should count, but I¡¯m not the Shard.¡± Falnier said with a slightly strained chuckle. At that, all Vorn could do was gape. Would Vorn risk his access to the Shard for the sake of saving random strangers? As much as he thought of himself as the moral center of his group of dangerous biological weapons, he wasn¡¯t sure he would. To risk losing lifespan, perks, skills, titles, almost everything. That kind of dedication to helping others was incredible. ¡°So, are you going to accept the conditions, or not?¡± Falnier asked. ¡°O-oh yeah. I think so.¡± *Congratulations on Awakening! Due to your advancement, you are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Awakened Beings! [Read Here] Do you accept? Y/N* ¡°Yes.¡± They answered together. *Congratulations Awakened! Welcome, well and truly, to the Ascension Shard! You have gained the Title: Ascender! Ascender: An Awakened and willing user of the Ascension Shard. You are given the ability to recognize other Ascenders and have been given partial control of your personal interface, allowing for greater customization.* Suddenly, Falnier lit up to their senses like a beacon. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you can turn this off if you need to?¡± Rowan asked, already worried about being so easily detectable. ¡°Yeah, if you don¡¯t want to be found, it¡¯s as easy as just willing your Shard Signature to quiet down. Don¡¯t worry, I had the same thought.¡± The Elf laughed. Rowan couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Despite his worry, this new sense was interesting. Falnier¡¯s ¡®Shard Signature¡¯ felt like a bright and verdant green and the fact that he could ¡®feel¡¯ what color it was¡­ Well, he had never had synesthesia before, but he assumed this must be what it was like. Deep down, he could even feel his own signature. A deep royal purple that felt misty and ethereal with streaks of blue floating through it. Deep down, there was a hardened core of orange steel within the misty expanse. A bright and energetic nebula with endless depth orbiting a burning supermassive star. Chapter 35: Freedom! Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯m beginning to think the invisible poison guy and the walking plague vector may have abandonment issues. This¡­ probably should have been obvious in hindsight. Let¡¯s not do something like this again, I can¡¯t think of two people I¡¯d want to piss off less.¡± ¡°You know Vorn, you make an excellent point.¡± Chapter 36: For The Want Of A Payday ¡°I know you have ¡®Orders from very high up¡¯, but surely you can say something about your super secret training, right?¡± Arc asked. ¡°I¡­ Suppose. It was mainly meditation. Truthfully, there¡¯s not much worth discussing besides the secret bits I can¡¯t talk about.¡± ¡°So, what? They just made you sit down and think real hard about not going full psycho murderer? I think I¡¯ll stand a little further behind you than usual while you¡¯re fighting, for no particular reason.¡± Arc joked. Rowan lightly rolled his eyes, ¡°The training was effective, as far as I can tell. You don¡¯t have to worry about me ripping off your head in a blood rage.¡± ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t worried about that before, but I am now.¡± A rock lightly tinked off Rowan¡¯s temple, ¡°You l-lost me while talking to Arc, but you brought up a topic I honestly should have discussed with you earlier. Sorry.¡± Rexen said nervously. ¡°How on earth did he bring up an important topic while talking about ripping off heads and blood rages? Oh gods, please don¡¯t tell me you also have a secret berserker skill! Is that why you don¡¯t get near blood?¡± Arc said, wide-eyed. ¡°No, no, nothing like t-that.¡± Rexen laughed anxiously, ¡°I just thought I should warn you that my blood is extremely corrosive and toxic. If you ever d-did rip off my head, you would likely die extremely shortly afterward.¡± Rexen said with a small chuckle. ¡°You hear that Rowan? No ripping off his head. I know that must be disappointing, what with all the blood rages, but we all must make sacrifices at times.¡± Arc said, shaking her head in sarcastic commiseration. Vorn took over, shaking his head all the while. ¡°Enough talking about blood rages! I haven¡¯t had a real conversation in ages! What have you guys been up to all this time? I¡¯m desperate to hear about anything other than meditation and esoteric martial kata¡¯s!¡± ¡°Well, Rexen and I went to a few dungeons without you guys, and we each reached around level thirty. Other than that, we¡¯ve just been focusing on our Paths. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re boring people, sorry to disappoint you.¡± ¡°Tell me about alchemy and microbiology then, I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m desperate here!¡± ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª The group spent a few hours just talking and sharing stories. They had only known each other for a short time, but exploration and a few life-and-death fights¨C And a crippling lack of any social life ¨C had them all bonding faster than was probably healthy. Two rejects with utterly terrifying, and, to some, revolting Paths, a talentless mage wannabe, and a mysterious super soldier that had all the personality of one grit sandpaper¨C That is to say, a rock. It wasn¡¯t surprising that a group of rejects like them each had Unique Paths. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Hours later, deep into the night, everyone was still happily talking when something surprising happened. Each of their guild cards vibrated, hard. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know they could vibrate.¡± Rowan said nonchalantly. Both Arc and Rexen gave him a look that practically radiated incredulity, ¡°Did you not go through the interview and briefing that everyone else did before registering? This is, like, mandatory knowledge!¡± Arc shouted. ¡°Ah, my initiation may have been a tad¡­ expedited.¡± Vorn intruded immediately after to add, ¡°Mainly because of me. The Guildmaster and I have some history, so it¡¯s not unsurprising that the coward wanted me out of there as soon as possible. God forbid he confront something for once in his life.¡± Those in the room could swear they could almost smell the acrid tang of venom in the air after Vorn¡¯s tirade. ¡°Huh. I¡¯m¡­ Not going to ask about that right now. Anyway,¡± Ark smoothly transitioned, ¡°the card vibrates when the Guild has an emergency. Like you a few weeks ago, actually. When you had your perception issue, everyone that could help you had their Guild card vibrate. That¡¯s probably how that Elf instructor of yours got there so quickly, Rowan.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°This is weird.¡± Rexen said to himself. ¡°Why?¡± Rowan asked. The Half-Elf almost seemed surprised that anyone heard him, ¡°Uh, we aren¡¯t an officially registered team, yet we were all pinged to return immediately. Me and Ark I understand, but you too? No offense, but besides Vorn¡¯s spellcraft, which the guild doesn¡¯t know about, you two aren¡¯t officially experts on anything. That means they¡¯re probably calling everyone, but that hasn¡¯t happened in over a decade¡­ I-It¡¯s just worrying is all.¡± They had all prepared to leave as they listened intently to Rexen¡¯s speculation. ¡°I can definitely see why you¡¯d find that concerning, but we shouldn¡¯t have to worry too badly. Everyone in this room is B-Zero, right?¡± Vorn asked the room. ¡°I actually just recently got promoted to Special A-Zero for my specialized AOE attacks. That basically just means that I can go into A0 ranked dungeons with supervision or if my powerset matches up perfectly.¡± ¡°Impressive, but regardless, my point was that why would they call all of us if it was a calamity class monster or something. They wouldn¡¯t send B-Zero fodder to their death to something actually dangerous.¡± They were about halfway to the Guild at that point, when Rowan said, ¡°I am going to have to disagree about them not sending fodder at a meat grinder, that¡¯s a very common tactic where I¡¯m from. And given what we just recently learned about certain topics, it shouldn¡¯t be that surprising that those in power might send weaker people at a strong target if it hasn¡¯t evolved yet.¡± At even giving that small of a hint, the Shard stabbed into his mind and soul painfully. It wasn¡¯t terrible, but it was a sufficient warning. ¡®Back off, you¡¯re venturing into dangerous territory!¡± it seemed to say. ¡°Do you think monsters count for the whole, ¡®Do not attack those that are below your Threshold¡¯ thing?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°That¡¯s a very good question, and one I wish we had thought to ask Falnier about. I would guess¡­ Probably? They are under the influence of the Shard, so it¡¯s a solid possibility. Granted, dungeon monsters are afflicted with Dungeon Madness until they break out, so it wouldn¡¯t be hard to get ¡®Permission¡¯ to murder them. They are literally always trying to murder you.¡± Vorn postulated. Before they could guess anymore about the ping, they reached the Guild. There was no further need to speculate, as there was a sign that detailed exactly what they would be doing. As it turned out, Vorn was right. They weren¡¯t being sent at a Calamity class monster. They were being sent at dozens of them. Vorn almost immediately tried to leave, but was stopped when Rowan took over and stood stock still. He would listen to the explanation given to him and the rest of the hundreds of gathered Delvers before abandoning the mission. And he would abandon the mission if it came down to that. He had been wrong attacking the Orc Stronghold all those weeks ago with the plan of ¡®Just run away¡¯ if something went wrong. In this world, something going wrong usually meant the problem was vastly stronger than you, and that meant they were probably faster too. He wouldn¡¯t be putting Vorn, and his team¡¯s lives in danger like that again, not on an assumption. A few minutes later, the Guildmaster appeared on a raised platform in front of them that was made with earth magic. Everyone was gathered on the street in front of the Guild itself, already prepared and ready. Guild protocol was to not bother responding to a ping unless you were fully ready and willing to respond to anything. ¡°Today, we have a very, very dangerous raid. I know most of you aren¡¯t even above C-Zero, so asking you to enter a Mega Dungeon may seem absurd, but know that me and the rest of the high rankers here will be doing our absolute damndest to keep you all safe. There should be little to no risk to those of you that haven¡¯t evolved yet, but I won¡¯t promise you that there will be no danger. Dungeons are the Avatar¡¯s of the Mad God himself, and I won¡¯t pretend that I can guarantee your safety.¡± Not a particularly encouraging start to a speech, but Rowan applauded him for his honesty, at the very least, it was more than most soldiers got on his world. ¡°A large group of Academy Students entered the Small World Dungeon approximately fourteen hours ago, including the children of very high profile nobility, the highest of which is the child of a Lieutenant General.¡± Even Vorn seemed to gasp at that. Rowan resolved to ask him about it later. ¡°Theoretically, all we need you to do is search for them. The A-Zero¡¯s will have a member with every low rank team to keep you safe, and the spawn area is only ranked B-Zero. Theoretically, it will be perfectly safe. In reality, several high rank people have reported that they arrived in completely random locations in the dungeon. For context, it is not known how large this dungeon is, but it is positively titanic in size. So far, we¡¯ve had expeditions that have lasted months in search of the edge, and yet we¡¯ve haven¡¯t even gotten close. If you enter the Dungeon Entrance, there is a chance that you will be lost and have to find your way back. If you are willing to contend with that risk, enter the group to your right. If not, feel free to leave. I won¡¯t force you to risk your life against forces like this. However, our clients this time are extremely wealthy. If you participate, expect one hell of a payday!¡± The increasingly wary crowd immediately seemed to revive. You didn¡¯t enter dangerous dungeons if you were sane, and the most common brand of insanity was Greed. To Rowan¡¯s surprise, everyone looked to him to make the decision. ¡°Are we willing to risk entering a dungeon this dangerous?¡± Rowan asked. ¡°I think you meant to say, ¡°Are you willing to risk entering a dungeon this dangerous?¡±, because I already know you are, Rowan. As for me, I could stand to earn a nice payday, and each of us already punch pretty well above our ranks. It comes down to Vorn and Rexen.¡± Ark said. Rexen set his features and nodded in affirmation. Vorn seemed hesitant. ¡°This isn¡¯t a majority rule situation, Vorn. If you don¡¯t want to risk our lives, I don¡¯t blame you.¡± Rowan reassured. ¡°No, I won¡¯t hold us back. This is dangerous, but it¡¯s clear that we¡¯ll never be free of danger. Somehow, even though we¡¯ve only been in two dungeons, we consistently find ourselves in ridiculous situations. Did you know that there¡¯s not even supposed to be monsters above level ten in the Trial Dungeon? We found a village of level twenties. Then that Orc Titan? We¡¯ve clearly found the attention of the Mad God, and evidently, he finds us entertaining. No matter what dungeon we enter, it¡¯ll be dangerous.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you Vorn, I don¡¯t hate that news. Still, we should warn Ark and Rexen. It¡¯s likely that we¡¯ll end up separated from the main group if we really are cursed.¡± Vorn began, ¡°Have you heard of the Curse of the Mad Go-¡± ¡°Yeah, I figured. Reincarnator, Outworlder, Unique Being,¡± Ark punctuated each by lifting a finger, ¡°it¡¯s no wonder the Mad God finds you entertaining. Did you just figure that out?¡± Ark asked incredulously. Even Rexen was giving them the side eye. Vorn blushed, ¡°So we¡¯re going then?¡± He said very smoothly changing the subject. Rowan, as usual, didn¡¯t care. If he had the ability to feel embarrassment, he hadn¡¯t seen what could trigger it. As a group, they moved to the right with the rest of the very brave and potentially very stupid Delvers. They fit right in. Update: COMPUTER IS BACK UP! Thank motherfucking god! I won''t go into detail, but I was certain that the case I wanted to use would be unavailable, so I thought I was have to wait until I could afford a new one, but I was simply having a misunderstanding. The next major scare was that there was a bent pin in the cpu socket of the motherboard, but I''m like 40% it''s just a ground pin, which is still kinda worrying, but fuck it, we ball. Anyway, it''s working right now, and that''s all I can ask for. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. I thought I was going to start to have to drive to the library to get chapters out, lol. And don''t doubt me, I would''ve. Thankfully, it didn''t come that. I''m looking forward to getting chapters out consistently again! -KvS Chapter 37: Dont worry, the absence of oxygen is a feature! Vorn fiddled with the same spell matrix for what felt like the thousandth time. He was trying to accomplish something he thought would be relatively simple, but as it turns out, going from basic elemental manipulation to a full-on privacy screen had a bit of a difficulty spike. Still, it wasn¡¯t as if he was pressed for time, they had already been on the road for three days, and they still had another week and a half before they reached the dungeon. The advanced guild members, all A-Zero or higher, had been teleported to the dungeon to set up a Forward Operating Base and do some preliminary searching. At this point, the group of Academy students had been missing for over eighty hours inside of a highly unpredictable and extremely dangerous dungeon, but they were each Classed mages and nobility to boot, so there was a chance they were still alive. That was all secondary to Vorn, though, who was using this large windfall of free time, where he was taking the helm of their body, to experiment with his spellcraft. It wasn¡¯t going¡­ Great. At first, he was blazing through spells, just transferring his formally sorcery-powered elemental manipulation into, metaphorically, cold and efficient spells. However, once he was done with that, he had to get creative. His group has its fair share of secrets, so Vorn figured that a privacy screen would be perfect. That¡­ Had perhaps been a tad ambitious. One way of completing it would have been just to make a bubble of wind that spun fast enough that it drowned out all surrounding noise, but that was a little too conspicuous for a spell that was meant to keep people from listening in on them. It would, obviously, be better for the spell to not draw any attention at all. One of the primary downsides of [Discovery], which felt almost like a superpower the way it neatly pointed him in the direction he needed to take to reach said discovery, was that it relied on his underlying knowledge. It wasn¡¯t a supernatural power that drew knowledge from the Shard itself, it was just a compass that his mind could take around needless detours. For someone as prone to getting distracted as Vorn, especially in matters of magic, it was a godsend. The fact that it scaled with his, frankly completely fucking insane, magic stats was just more icing on the cake. He could make freakishly strange leaps in logic based on his extremely varied consumption of arcane texts. When turning [River of Fire] into a codified spell, he was able to take his knowledge of heat and space to make a completely different defensive spell based on the same spell matrix, [Vacuum Ward]. It essentially inverted the river of fire spell, drawing and expelling all matter and energy from a small area in front of him and redirecting it behind him. This simultaneously made a vacuum, blocking most, but not all, fire-based attacks, while also keeping itself relatively efficient by just redirecting the energy instead of ''destroying'' it. Rowan gave him a strange look when he mentioned destroying matter, so he figured there must be something he was missing, but he wouldn''t ask for fear of sabotaging his progress. Fresh discoveries were worth more to his Path, after all. He had considered using a modified [Vacuum Ward] for the privacy shield, but¡­ It drew all matter away, including the atmosphere, meaning that they, even ensconced in a bubble of air, would eventually run out of oxygen, and it would give anyone who ventured near them a hell of a scare as they suddenly ventured into an area that they couldn¡¯t breathe and where the surface of their eyes started boiling. Not exactly friendly to the public. Hell, even having access to the spell wouldn''t do him any favors when it came to public perception. The only reason they knew about vacuums in the first place was because of a... Rather destructive accidental discovery. The bloated corpses apparently disturbed even the very experienced morticians that were asked to handle them. Even ignoring public perception, the moment either spell ended, the near-deafening crack of the returning atmosphere was something that couldn¡¯t be avoided, not until Vorn was a much better mage. Not exactly a point for subtlety. Suffice it to say, he would need a few more days¡­ Or, he could just ask Rowan for a few ideas. He generally tried to avoid ¡®cheating¡¯, as that would slow the progression of his Path, but Vorn was getting nowhere fast, and he didn¡¯t want to waste the few blessedly quiet weeks he had to experiment. ¡°A spell to block all sound from escaping? You want to use this for a privacy shield right? So why bother with blocking sound at all? Just scramble all the noise that escapes the shield. The whole idea is using it in public, so it should just blend in with the background noise. We use a similar concept for electronics in my world called ¡®encryption¡¯. It¡¯s different and more complicated, but the basic idea is, ¡®who cares if they have the information if it¡¯s completely indecipherable?¡¯¡± Rowan explained. ¡°Wel- Tha- Yeah, that¡¯s a pretty good idea.¡± Vorn sighed. ¡°You seem disappointed.¡± Rowan deadpanned. ¡°I just¡­ It¡¯s practical, smart, efficient, overall, the idea is literally perfect for a spell called: Privacy Shield.¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t know, it feels like giving up. It¡¯s probably objectively better for it to let out some noise, that¡¯s definitely less noticeable than a complete vacuum of noise, but it¡¯s just not what I envisioned.¡± ¡°So? Just do both, then. Nothing¡¯s stopping you.¡± ¡°But one is objectively better than the other. It would be a waste of time.¡± ¡°Now I know something must be wrong. You saying learning a spell is a waste of time? I would sooner believe the sky is purple.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just... I don¡¯t get many opportunities to prepare before we face our almost certain deaths, and I don¡¯t want to waste any time. I¡¯ve already wasted a whole day on this privacy spell that I only planned to work on for an hour or two. What if in the time I''m wasting now I could have made a spell that would have saved our lives? Every second counts, right?¡± Vorn vented, his born-in anxiety rearing its head for the first time in weeks. ¡°That¡¯s a completely reasonable fear, and one that I cannot claim is baseless. However, I¡¯d like to ask you why we are exploring dungeons? For me, it¡¯s simple. I like fighting. I like the thrill and adrenaline that washes over me, the absolute clarity I feel when given a simple and satisfying purpose. For Ark and Rexen, well, I don¡¯t claim to understand them perfectly, but it doesn¡¯t seem especially complicated. They need moral targets to experiment on, and the money doesn¡¯t hurt either. For you, though, it¡¯s different, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I told you about that conversation I had with Ark when you were checked out in the aftermath of the Last Stand title, right?¡± At Rowan¡¯s affirmative grunt, Vorn continued, ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t go into detail of what we discussed. I want to do something with my life. I want to be important, a Pioneer of magical exploration. It¡¯s a little childish, I know, but clearing dungeons with you helps me along that path. What better to research strange and outlandish arcane phenomena and magical beasts than a dungeon? Besides, it¡¯s not like I can separate myself from you.¡± Vorn said, his inner voice rising with passion before being cut off with pragmatism at the end. ¡°Well then, you have your answer. I already told you when you first gained your class that you don¡¯t have to fight if you don¡¯t want to, but you seemed to have dismissed that idea out of hand. You are, at your core, a researcher. One with a versatile and extremely dangerous set of magical tools, but a researcher nonetheless. Any combat benefit you give us is purely a bonus, so don¡¯t get so hung up on being the perfect combatant. It would make the fights too easy anyway. Honestly, I would recommend you working on contingency and emergency spells instead of combat ones in your free time.¡± ¡°I don''t know, just telling myself to stop worrying about risking all of our lives doesn''t sit right... But I guess I can give myself a little slack. I don''t have to so laser focused on exploding monsters. I wouldn''t want to ruin your fights! Besides that, what do you mean by ¡®Emergency spells¡¯?¡± Vorn asked with poorly disguised interest. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly know. Something like pulling water out of the air or making food. Things to help our survivability if we are ever in a tight spot. An air bubble would be another example, in case we¡¯re ever stuck underwater. Teleportation exfiltration? Shields, too. Oh, and insulated shelter too. Maybe-¡± ¡°Wow, normally when I ask for spell ideas it¡¯s just different variations of ¡®turn that guy inside out¡¯. I didn¡¯t realize you were so into survivalist stuff.¡± ¡°It¡¯s less a hobby and more a requirement of the job. Really, focus on making that air bubble. Being stuck in a flooding underwater cave is not somewhere you want to be.¡± Vorn could almost swear he could feel Rowan shuddering in their soulspace. ¡ª ¡ª ¡ª Another week had passed, and in that time, Vorn finally finished what he was now calling his [Absolute Silence] spell. He stuck with the idea of using a vacuum to create an unbreakable barrier of quiet. Sound is just vibration, so with nothing to vibrate, how could it travel? The trouble came from the previously discussed issue of having an unshielded vacuum in an atmosphere that was very much full of stuff that hated being pushed away. The sheer cost of keeping a static unshielded vacuum up for more than a few seconds would leave him completely drained. The atmosphere weighed several thousand tons, and it did not like being refused. However, this issue was ultimately resolved fairly easily. The whole issue was caused by one main word. ¡®Unshielded¡¯. Well, really it was two words, and they were ¡®atmospheric pressure¡¯, but that¡¯s neither here nor there. The point was that locking the vacuum in a clear but very solid shield of solid conjured air would keep the angry atmosphere from crashing down and deafening everyone around them. All he had to do was create a pressure release valve, and voila, problem solved. The ''air shield'' was actually the thing that netted him the most progress, as it was essentially an extremely light, cheap, and insulating magical material that he could already envision a myriad of uses for. Most of those uses had to be sacrificed in exchange for increased structural integrity, as the base version he had come up with didn¡¯t hold up to pressure that well. That was what took up most of the time, honestly. Improving the extremely light material to resist atmospheric pressure took some doing. All that said, it was still a nearly fantastical discovery. Later, after summoning a pure chunk of the blue, extremely light material, Rowan commented it was extremely similar to a material called ¡®aerogel¡¯ from his world. Vorn was extremely thankful that he hadn¡¯t known about that before making it himself. The altered stuff he made for his privacy shield was much darker blue on account of being reinforced with solid mana and also didn¡¯t insulate nearly as well. The mana saturated most of the trapped gasses in the extremely porous material making it supercharged with the air affinity. Air affinity materials were notoriously hard to work with, as they all, in their own way, embodied freedom. That didn¡¯t exactly play well with being forged or crafted into something. The only reason it worked with the privacy shield was because Vorn was actively saturating his will into the material the entire time. The moment he stopped, the trapped air would explode out of the, what he was calling, mana-gel. As for being separated from all breathable air by a shielded wall of pure nothingness... Well, as it turns out, Rowan knew the chemical formula for oxygen and even if he didn''t, Vorn had access to literally all sorcery, if given enough time. Sure it was inefficient, but he could just summon breathable air. It wasn''t even all that expensive if you weren''t trying to cut someone in half with it. All that aside, Vorn was extremely pleased for another reason¡­ His path apparently loved him finding a potent new magical material. Hell, he technically found two. Vorn called it magical because apparently it was much easier to make with magic, and he doubted anyone could manufacture it mechanically in this world, or at the very least, not in the Cradle. For all intents and purposes, it was a magical material. The best part was, because it mainly used real air and only used mana for the framework, it would last much longer than most magical materials. That only increased his reward, he figured. Voran, Level 34 Twin Soul Spellblade Age: 16 | Class 1: [Twin Soul: Body Path] | Class 2: [Twin Soul: Mind Path] Path Progress | Class 1: [IIIII-----] 50% | Class 2: [IIIIIIIIII] 467% EXCESS PROGRESS Recent Addition: Progress Meter! Thank you for using the Shard Interface Editing Feature that came with your Awakening! Is this to your satisfaction? Y / N CON: 510 STR: 510 AGI: 510 DEX: 510 INT: 1020 WIS: 1020 CHR: 122 LUK: 122 [Titles: 1 New Title] [Perks:] [Skills: Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re avoiding one?] Status: Hydrated, Excited, Astounded Seven levels! And Vorn still had enough for four more! Just how significant was this stuff? And a new title to boot? New Title: Postmortal Cognition In accruing over a thousand INT and WIS Attribute points, you have long abandoned the mortal limits of human or human-like cognition. For doing this before reaching the First Major Threshold, the Shard has awarded you minor assistance in shedding your limited mortal thinking. These perks are temporary guiding lights and just one template you can model your mind after. Think carefully, you have no excuse for a lack of Intelligence. +Threads of Thought +Enhanced Thought Speed Error! User is not eligible for Perk: ¡®Threads of Thought¡¯ Assessing¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Cause of error: Unique Constitution ¡®Threads of Thought¡¯ dissonant with shared soul: Rowan Evaluating¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Potential Solution: Edit ¡®Avatar¡¯ Skill Error: User does not understand Skill enough to give informed consent to edit! Ascension Shard Guide: The ¡®Avatar¡¯ Skill functions by projecting a gestalt entity of soul and mental energy that can function independently of the main body. It is limited in only being able to observe the world around it and has next to no ability to interact with anything other than spirits or other mental energy constructs. If the Avatar is damaged, the User will receive a small amount of damage to their soul. Alert: All soul damage is True Damage. True Damage penetrates all armor, spiritual, and mental defenses. Explanation complete! Do you consent to the alteration of your Skill: ¡®Avatar¡¯? Y / N If he was being honest with himself, Vorn regretted taking the skill in the first place. Sure, it was legendary, but an hour with the skill told him how useful it was. He had tried to find a use for it while Rowan was in his ''retreat'' with Falnier, but fuck that shit. Sure, it would be great for scouting¡­ If Vorn weren¡¯t literally putting his soul at risk. You know, his eternal link to the cycle of life and death? Yeah, Vorn wasn¡¯t especially risk averse, and even less so with magic, but that wasn¡¯t something he just wasn¡¯t willing to fuck around with. He didn¡¯t know that the damage would be small, but even if he had, the thought of some necromancer or ancient lich grabbing a hold of a fragment of his soul? Terrifying. Really, the Shard was doing him a favor. A suspiciously huge favor. ¡°Yes.¡± Commencing alteration: Reducing spiritual component¡­ ¡­ Successful! Enhancing Flow of Mental Energy¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Successful! Incorporating ¡®Threads of Thought¡¯ into Skill ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Failure! Downgrading ¡®Threads of Thought¡¯ into ¡®Split Mind¡¯ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Downgrade Successful! Incorporating ¡®Split Mind¡¯ into Skill ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Successful! New Skill Created! Mind Puppet (Unique) Create a puppet made of mental energy that has an exact copy of your mind. A thin thread of Spiritual energy will connect you to the puppet, and severing this thread will result in the destruction of the puppet and all knowledge it contains. To avoid losing this knowledge, it is recommended to reabsorb it every 24 to 72 hours. Having a puppet activated reduces your INT and WIS by 30%, and reabsorbing it gives a bonus of 20% INT and WIS for twelve hours. Distance, Toughness, and Number of Puppets scales with INT. Judgement and Endurance scales with WIS. Status: Vorn¡¯s Mind Puppet, Level 34 Age: N/A | Class: [Puppet] CON: N/A STR: N/A AGI: N/A DEX: N/A INT: 306 WIS: 306 CHR: N/A LUK: N/A Status: Not Yet Conscious As this Skill incorporates the devolved version of the temporary Skill: ¡®Threads of Thought¡¯, it will be revoked should you not model a new Postmortal Mind for yourself by the Second Minor Threshold. Reminder: Major Thresholds are 100, 300, 500, and 1000, and function as barriers that must be overcome before you can evolve. Monsters have additional Major Thresholds at 50, 200, 400, 600, and 800. Minor Thresholds are in between the major ones and serve as turning points allowing you to reset your Path, and reset all Shard-given Skills and Perks with it. Once abandoned, a Path cannot be retreaded. The Minor Thresholds are 50, 150, 250, 350, 450, and 950. We are sorry for the inconvenience, Unique Being. May your journey of Ascension be Legendary. ¡°So¡­ Did you see that too?¡± Vorn asked. ¡°Yes. I thought we were done with the errors after the first day. Though, knowing us, I guess it isn¡¯t shocking that another Shard aneurysm occurred. How often do you think it even encounters errors?¡± Rowan posited. ¡°Surely it must happen fairly often. I mean, yeah, we¡¯re a Unique Being, but we¡¯ve already run into two in as many months.¡± Vorn said, hoping that may even be true. Somehow, though no words were exchanged, Vorn could feel Rowan raise an eyebrow in their soulspace. ¡°Okay, so maybe it¡¯s literally unheard of on this planet, but there are literally infinite planets. On a cosmic scale, it has to be pretty common.¡± Rowan didn¡¯t say a word, content to let Vorn dig himself deeper. ¡°Yeah, I guess bringing up cosmic probability most likely hurts my point.¡± He said with a sigh. Interlude 3: ¡°What do you mean he¡¯s already out of confinement! He was only in it for three weeks!¡± A very angry Knight General shouted at his subordinate. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, I thought it would take longer as well! Awakening so quickly is almost frightening.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®almost¡¯ about it, it¡¯s a frightening achievement matched by only a few others. Which is exactly why we need to recruit him. I¡¯ve already been on this mission for entirely too long. General Flint is bound to be impatient by now, so the sooner we can get them on board the better. Do you know their current location?¡± ¡°Sir¡­¡± The Knight hesitated for only a moment, ¡°They have just entered the Small World dungeon.¡± Knight General Jakobson stilled. Then he almost looked like he was ready to shout the poor Knight¡¯s ear off before seeming to come to his senses. ¡°That is very bad news.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Yes sir, I know.¡± ¡°The journey to the dungeon is not a short one, why am I just now hearing of this?¡± Jakobson said, his voice a deadly calm. ¡°L-like you said sir, no one expected him to exit seclusion so quickly. We only realized he was out when one of our Squires spotted Falnier and told his superior¡­ An hour ago. After that, we did a short investigation and found out they left with the expedition a week ago.¡± ¡°Why did the guild not inform us? They know we are looking to recruit him!¡± ¡°With all due respect sir, they are a private enterprise. They don¡¯t report to us.¡± Jakobson snorted, ¡°They don¡¯t on paper, maybe. Get in touch with the Guildmaster, I want a damn good reason written and on my desk tomorrow on why he didn¡¯t inform us about our target. Tell him he¡¯s on thin ice. I can have a replacement on the way here by the end of the week.¡± ¡°Yessir! Do I have permission to use the long distance scrying glass?¡± ¡°How else would you contact him? He¡¯s in the middle of fucking nowhere, of course you have permission.¡± The Knight saluted and ran off to fulfill his orders. That damn Guildmaster better have a good reason for disobeying direct orders, or Jakobson would make good on his promise and more. The Unique Being was more valuable than his head, by a very significant margin. Even more so because his father saw potential in the mageling. Blythe Jakobson was a jolly man, but he didn¡¯t give out praise willy-nilly. He only hoped that his father would forgive him once he learned the true reason his wayward son stopped to visit home. Chapter 38: The wrath of a god If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°My god, their backstories just keep getting worse and worse.¡± ¡°Well, to be fair, we do all have Unique Classes. Being so different from everyone else that you literally have a completely Unique Path doesn¡¯t exactly happen with a typical upbringing. Well, unless you¡¯re me, I guess.¡± ¡°Are- Are you serious? You worked in a mine from the time you were nine years old after your parents died tragically, and that entire time you were stubbornly saving for a dream you were told is impossible. You fit right in, moron.¡± Rowan pointed out incredulously. ¡°Ah- Fair.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve ever wanted to know what happens if someone pisses off Lunaris, you¡¯re about to see.¡± ¡°This is the wrath of a god.¡± Chapter 38: The wrath of a god This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°My god, their backstories just keep getting worse and worse.¡± ¡°Well, to be fair, we do all have Unique Classes. Being so different from everyone else that you literally have a completely Unique Path doesn¡¯t exactly happen with a typical upbringing. Well, unless you¡¯re me, I guess.¡± ¡°Are- Are you serious? You worked in a mine from the time you were nine years old after your parents died tragically, and that entire time you were stubbornly saving for a dream you were told is impossible. You fit right in, moron.¡± Rowan pointed out incredulously. ¡°Ah- Fair.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve ever wanted to know what happens if someone pisses off Lunaris, you¡¯re about to see.¡± ¡°This is the wrath of a god.¡± Chapter 39: Under the mad light of the moon ¡°This spell is patchwork at best, it¡¯s a ramshackle adaptation of the [Earthen Hideout] spell I used in the jade forest simplified to work with sand and make basic walls. Don¡¯t expect a miracle, if they figure out how to flank, that wall isn¡¯t going to stop shit.¡± [Sand Bulwark]. ¡°Good improvisation.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Nice save!¡±