《Starlight Necromancer》


 Chapter 1 - Foster

    Covered in a cold sweat, with heavy breaths and gasps, Foster jumped up from his sleep and grasped his chest. His mind was filled with absolute fear, but he had already forgotten what that nightmare was about. He just knew that it was absolutely horrific.

    "Fucking... shit..." Foster slowly swung his legs to the side and pressed his feet onto the cold floor. He looked through the slits of his blinds, seeing the club''s neon lights on the other side of the street. Under his window, a bunch of drunks were either pissing at the wall or making out, or both for all he knew.

    He stood up from his bed and walked a few steps forward, soon reaching his kitchen. He squatted down and opened the mini-fridge that came with the apartment, and pulled out a bottle of water. His pipes were too rusted for him to drink tap-water.

    With a deep sigh, Foster turned his head and looked at the busted AC unit that he couldn''t afford to have repaired before drinking half of the water bottle in a few gulps. Foster dropped back onto his bed as he pressed the half-full bottle onto his forehead to cool himself down.

    He felt the music''s beat from the club in his whole body without even hearing the rest that made up the song. This happened every night, even during weekdays. Well, even if the music wasn''t as horrifically loud as it was, Foster wouldn''t be able to sleep anymore anyway. Whatever nightmare he had woken him uppletely.

    Afterying there for a little longer, Foster pushed himself off his bed again and walked over to his small closet. He pulled out a light shirt and some shorts and then pushed his feet into his run-down shoes.

    He decided to go on a bit of a walk to calm himself down. Just as he was about to leave, he turned to the side and saw his reflection through the mirror of the small adjacent bathroom. He pulled on his messy hair that was hanging down into his face.

    "I should get a haircut soon..." Foster thought to himself but didn''t really care enough to think more about this right now. He pulled his door open and stepped outside, quickly locking his door. The lock was already so rusted that it seemed unnecessary to do, though. Through a push with just a decent amount of force, anyone would be able to crack the door open without any problem. Not that there was anything that one would want to steal in there anyway. The only thing of value that he had were his headphones, and he was already wearing those around his neck.

    Foster plugged them into his phone and put on a track with a rxing beat to it, something that could distract him for now. Loud creaks traveled through the whole building as he walked down the stairs, and he had to push himself through the drunkards that somehow made their way into the entrance-way of the apartment building again. It was like the front door was just for decoration.

    As he made his way outside, Foster bumped into one of those drunk guys. He was here every Friday night with his friends, although it was more than obvious that none of them were 21 yet. This kid was probably a whole foot shorter than Foster, but he acted like he was the king of the block.

    "Watch where you''re going, dickhead." The kid snarled at him, who just rolled his eyes, "Sorry, dude."

    "Yeah, you better be. Now fuck off." With a smug grin, the kid pushed him away. The kid was definitely trying to provoke Foster, but he didn''t care about fighting some high-school kids. Especially those that just wanted to look tough in front of girls they wanted to fuck that night.

    "Sounds like a n." Foster replied without much emotion in his voice and swiftly stepped out through the door. The smell of urine immediately prated his nose, but he ignored it. He was used to it already anyway.

    He pulled his headphones over his head and enjoyed the music while walking through these dirty streets. It took him only about twenty minutes until he reached the small, quiet bar that he wanted to head to in the first ce.

    Foster walked inside and greeted the other regrs before dropping down onto one of the stools right in front of the actual bar. He ced his head down onto the surprisingly clean surface in front of him.

    "Dude, the fuck are you doing here again? I thought you weren''t paid yet?" The barkeep, Jon, pointed out, and Foster slowly raised his head while rubbing his eyes, "I wasn''t. Just couldn''t sleep."

    "Need something to help you with that?" Jon asked, while his eyes finally focused on him. Foster looked at his friend with a smile that soon turned into a grin. With a loud sigh, Jon pulled out a liquor bottle and prepared some shots for both of them.

    "Tonight''s on me. But when you get paid, you better pay for a few rounds."

    The two of them grabbed the shots and hit them together, "You always say that, but I never do it anyway."

    "And you always say that you''re only gonnae back once you get your pay, but you ain''t ever doing that either." Jon pointed out. Foster grinned and shrugged as he downed the shot. Shivers ran over his body, and he ced the ss down onto the table.

    "Hah, I think that''s doing the opposite. I feel more awake than before."

    "Give it half an hour and five more of those, and then try telling me that again." Jonughed as he ced a bottle of beer down in front of Foster, who was ying around with his empty shot ss.

    With a worried expression, Jon held his hand against the back of his head, "Foster, listen... If you need to, you can always stay with us for a while. Ma''s talking about how much she misses you all the time anyway... You can stay and find a different job than... working for him..."

    Foster looked at his own reflection in the bottle of beer and slowly shook his head, "Nah, can''t keep intruding on you guys."

    "Man, you ain''t intruding, you''re basically family. We grew up together, don''t act like we''re strangers now." Jon tried convincing his childhood friend, but he didn''t answer.

    Jon let out a mix of an annoyed groan and a sigh, and rolled his eyes, "Fine, but at leaste over for some cake sometime. It''s Gammy''s 90th soon. You don''t wanna miss that, do ya?"

    "Of course, I don''t wanna miss that. I''lle, don''t worry." Foster replied as he took a sip of his beer before pointing to the other side of the bar, "Now go do your job, you''ve got other customers."

    While Jon turned around, Foster''s phone started buzzing. He was sent a message by someone. And as he was reading it, Jon continued talking.

    "Don''t you dare tell me how to do my job, man. I''ve had ten times as many jobs as you did, remember?" Jonughed. And as he turned around after giving that other customer his drink, all he saw was Foster rushing out the bar with the beer in his hand.

    "Dude!" Jon eximed, but it was already toote. Foster had already practically left out the door. Frustrated and not knowing what to say, Jon simply yelled whatever came to mind, "You''re not supposed to take the bottles outside, man!"

    Foster didn''t hear his friend anymore. Instead, all he heard was the music sting through his headphones as he was running through the streets to where his next job was.

    It took him just a couple minutes to get there after running at full speed. It was actually somewhere in between his apartment and the bar, where he was supposed to wait for one of his ''clients'' together with his ''coworkers''.

    And when he turned around into the alley, Foster could already see both parties there. One of his coworkers was currently holding the client, that drunk teenager Foster ran into before, by his cor.

    "Oh! There he is! Dude, the hell''re you doing? This little fucker nearly got away." The thug, Foster''s coworker, eximed with a somewhat excited grin.

    While groaning loudly, Foster ran his fingers through his hair. He ced the bottle of beer onto the trash-container next to him and quickly pulled his headphones onto his neck again. He pulled the hairband off his wrist and tied his way too long brown hair into a ponytail. Once he was done, he grabbed the bottle of beer and finished drinking its content.

    "What am I doing? I think I should ask what you''re doing." Foster pointed out in an angry tone that already made the thug shiver, "I thought I told you we don''t deal with teens."

    "Teens? What''d you mean? He came out of the club!" The thug eximed, and Foster couldn''t help himself but groan while taking some steps forward, "You mean the club that illegally lets in even some dumbass middle-schoolers? Open your eyes, you blind bastard. These kids are obviously like 16, 17 years old. 18 at most."

    "W-Well, they still owe us some money! They bought from usst time, and we gave them the loan, so they''ve gotta pay us back!" The thug tried defending himself, but Foster really just didn''t care.

    "You weren''t supposed to sell them anything in the first ce, you piece of shit. I don''t want that on my conscience." He groaned, and the thug seemed to be really fed up now.

    "Ya know what? If you don''t shut the fuck up already, I''ll slit your throat! I get that you''re the boss'' favorite, but you''re nothing but some dumb fuck that thinks he''s better than all of us!" The thug eximed, throwing the teenager away to the side. The kid''s hand started bleeding after falling onto some shards of ss.

    Foster looked back at the thug, his patience finally having run dry. It wasn''t the first time that he had to deal with people like this in his line of work, but it was even more annoying when they were his direct underlings. He tilted his head to the side, ying along and action confused, "Eh? What''re you talking about~?"

    "What am I talking about? You fucking reta-" The thug yelled out, ready to pull out a knife and push it right into Foster''s throat, but he was swiftly interrupted by a recently-emptied ss beer-bottle being broken on his skull. Like a bag of wet sand, the thug fell to the ground as blood poured out of the cuts on his head, dyeing the thug''s blond hair a dark red.

    The teenagers that had been gathered by the thugs were shivering in fear. They acted tough, but it was clearly the first time that they had seen something like this in their rather young lives. Even the other thugs, more ''coworkers'' of Foster''s, froze up and simply had to watch Foster discipline their friend.

    "You know exactly what I''m talking about, bud." With a broad grin, Foster squatted down in front of the thug he just knocked out. He luckily already woke up halfway, so Foster ran his hands through the thug''s dirty hair and pulled his face up so that they could lock eyes for at least a few moments, "You know exactly that I''m better than you. That''s exactly why I''m an executive, and you''re nothing but a useless fucking goon. The kind that you can find at every street-corner. The only reason you''re even still here is because I like charity, and you''re the biggest charity-case I''ve ever seen. But if you can''t even follow the simplest fucking rules, then I guess that''s that."

    With enough force to once more knock the thug out, Foster mmed this guy''s head into the ground. While hitting the dust and dirt off of his hands, Foster spread around the blood that had sttered onto his hands just now.

    "You kids..." The small group of teenagers could feel a deep, angry re directed at them. The ''lead'' teenager didn''t even care that his hands were bleeding from the ss shards anymore, "Get the fuck out of here already. And stop going to that bar or taking drugs, it''s not good for you. You don''t wanna end up like this piece of shit there, do you?" While pressing his foot onto the half-unconscious guy writhing in pain on the ground, Foster locked eyes with each of the teens, one after another.

    "What''re you doing? I told you to get out of here." With thatst warning, the teens immediately rushed out of the alley as if their lives depended on it, "Oh, and stay in school!"

    Still somewhat annoyed, but feeling better after taking his anger out, Foster climbed onto the trash container standing behind him so that he could take a break. He just spent the past couple of minutes sprinting here, thinking he was called for an emergency, after all.

    "And you guys, don''t just do what this moron tells you to. Just start using your fucking heads for once. Now get rid of him. Bring him to our ce on 5th street, I''ll take care of himter. Don''t tell the boss about it yet either, I wanna deal with it myself." Foster warned tehm, leaning back onto the dirty brick-wall behind him. It didn''t take long until he heard the familiar grumbling of a car''s engine,

    "Guess I''ll head back to meet Jon again..." Foster grumbled. With his eyes still mostly closed, Foster pushed himself off the trash-container. He opened his eyes as his feet hit the ground. But to his surprise, his feet didn''t touch the trash-covered cocrete, but moist dirt. And when his mind caught up to what he was seeing, he realized that he wasn''t in that alley anymore.

    Instead, clean wind sted into his face as he saw nothing but nature stretch out in front of him.

    Foster was no longer in that dirty alleyway, but on a goddamn mountain in the middle of nowhere.

 Chapter 2 - He Who Is One With Death

    "What the fuck...?" Foster muttered as he looked into the distance. In front of him, he could see nothing but a forest stretching out for miles, before hitting an unfamiliar mountain-range.

    "Was there something in my drink..?" Confused, he rubbed his eyes, hoping to maybe wake himself up. Maybe he was just staring at some kind of random poster on the wall in front of him and didn''t notice. Clearly, that was just an empty wish. He somehow ended up on a mountain. Maybe he went back to the bar Jon worked at and got so drunk he cked out and forgot most of the night.

    But as he was thinking about all of this, Foster noticed the fresh blood that was still smeared around on his hands. It was still a bit wet, and in the exact same spots as when he smacked the bottle over that moron''s head. If this blood was still fresh, then not more than a few minutes could have passed.

    Foster''s mind started running at high speed as he tried to figure out what was going on. And that was when he noticed something going on right behind himself. It was a growling noise, that immediately made Foster think of some kind of wild animal. He turned his body around without hesitation, but what he saw wasn''t an animal.

    It was... not something that Foster was able to understand. This creature was standing on four legs with a beast-like body, but it didn''t have any fur and instead a slick, slimy skin that was giving off a faint glow. It was as if this was an animal created through some kind of atomic fallout.

    Foster''s whole body had frozen up as he stared at this creature. Slowly but surely, it opened its maw, revealing shark-like rows of razor sharp teeth. The creature unhinged its own jaw, as if trying to make sure it could swallow Foster whole.

    To sum it up... Foster was fucked. Losing control over his own body, he took a few steps backward in fear. The creature kept proceeding forward while creeping toward him, until he lost his footing.

    He had been standing at an edge this whole time, but now he no longer was. Instead, he was now dropping down the edge.

    "Fu- oh, shit- goddammit!" Foster freaked out as the fear of this monstrous creature was swiftly reced by the panic that came with another feeling of imminent death. Having to face that creature felt unreal, but Foster certainly knew the feeling of falling.

    His body felt weightless for a while, until all of that weight crashed down onto his leg at once. Foster could hear his bones cracking throughout his whole body as he tumbled down the edge. The blood that had been stuck on his hand soon gotpany, but this time, it was Foster''s own.

    The world twisted around and around, over and over again, until it stopped with a loud thud. Foster wasying there, staring up into the sky. He was unsure about what exactly just happened. He seemed fine, at least he wasn''t in any pain right now.

    "Of course!" Foster thought to himself, "This is just another nightmare... hah... haha... how silly of me..." He tried to mutter out.

    "I guess it''s... just about time... I woke up..." Foster chuckled inwardly, but nothing happened. For a few moments, at least, until he was able to hear the ringing of a bell in his ears.

    ---

    [Ping Received]

    [The system is attempting to connect to the Archaic Records]

    ---

    "Huh..?" Foster wasn''t sure what exactly was happening right now, "This dream is kinda weird..."

    ---

    [Attempting... Attempt failed]

    [Attempting... Attempt failed]

    [Attempting... Attempt failed]

    [The system is requesting a full diagnostic]

    [Requesting... Request epted]

    [Scanning... Scanplete]

    [Warning: Fatal damage to host detected]

    ---

    Foster couldn''t believe his eyes. Or rather, he couldn''t even see all that well in the first ce. But he knew what exactly was written on those floating, translucent boxes. Fatal damage? Was Foster the host? If that was the case, then did that mean he was really about to die?

    "N-No, that can''t..." He muttered with his broken jaw, trying to move his mangled body. But he couldn''t, of course. Simply because his body was not in a state that allowed him to move.

    ---

    [The system is requesting a recovery of the host to safe vital levels]

    [Requesting... Request epted]

    [The host will now be recovered to safe vital levels]

    ---

    "Re... covery..?" Foster muttered. That was something good, right? Did it mean that he was going to be healed?

    His mind was racing as he was trying to figure out what exactly was going on, but he was interrupted by the sound of cracking branches. It seemed like someone, or something, was approaching him again.

    Or rather, there were quite a few... The cracking didn''t seem to stop, after all.

    "Ah..." Soon, Foster realized what was going on. It wasn''t that there was someone approaching him. The sound wasing directly from himself. The sound of cracking was created by his bones setting themselves back into ce. Somewhere in the middle, he recovered his sense of pain, although he really wished he hadn''t. This seemed even worse than breaking every bone in his body in the first ce.

    But that was nothingpared to when his flesh started to heal. It felt like Foster was burning alive, or being stabbed a dozen times a second.

    His whole body soon cramped up, twisting him deeper into the blood-covered dirt he wasying on, and making it quite literally impossible for him to breathe.

    And then, it suddenly stopped. Just like that, he had been healed somehow. At the very least, Foster''s pain subsided to arge extent, and he could move his body around just so slightly again.

    ---

    [The host has been recovered to safe vital levels]

    [The system is attempting to connect to the Archaic Records]

    ---

    There it was again, the same thing from before. That floating, translucent pane. The writing on it said something about ''Archaic Records''...

    "The knowledge of... everything? Was that it..?" Foster muttered, exhausted. He tried to slowly sit up, as his mind really caught up with the situation.

    "Hah... Hahah..." Nervously and unsure what else to do, Foster started tough. This situation was ridiculous, and ridiculous things were supposed to be funny, right? So what else should he do butugh?

    Foster''s voice echoed through this thick forest, and he was uncaring about what that noise might end up attracting.

    ---

    [Attempting... Attempt failed]

    [Attempting... Attempt failed]

    [Attempting... Attempt failed]

    [The system is requesting a full diagnostic]

    [Requesting... Request epted]

    [Scanning... Scanplete]

    [Warning: Mental Deliria in the host has been detected]

    [The system is requesting a full recovery of the host''s mind for safe connection to the Archaic Records]

    [Requesting... Request epted]

    ---

    Those transluctent, floating message-boxes kept appearing and recing each other, barely giving Foster enough time to even realise they were there in the first ce. Not that it mattered, since Foster hadn''t even stoppedughing yet.

    ---

    [The host''s mind will be fully recovered]

    ---

    And just like that, everything stopped. Foster''s mind went practically nk. He felt no emotions, and not a single thought crossed his mind. As if he just underwent aplete mental reset. Slowly, Foster''s thoughts returned, but he still had no idea what was going on. And then, more of those messages appeared.

    ---

    [The system is attempting to connect to the Archaic Records]

    [Attempting... Attempt sessful]

    [The system will now connect to the Archaic Records]

    [Connecting...]

    [Connecting...]

    [Connecting...]

    [Connection established]

    [The system will synchronise with the Archaic Records]

    [Synchronising...]

    [Synchronising...]

    [Synchronising...]

    [Synchronisation sessful]

    ---

    Raging pain suddenly flowed through Foster''s mind, as if his mind was melting and turning into goo. Blood started pouring out of his nose as if it was a water-tap, and his eyes twisted around to show nothing but white.

    Foster''s whole body started shivering and shaking, until it suddenly stopped, all at once. And that was when his mind finally faded away, while those message boxes kept on appearing in front of him.

    ---

    [The system is requesting information about the host to feed to the Archaic Records]

    [Name: Foster Odin Locke]

    [Age: 23]

    [Race: Human]

    [ss: None]

    [Health Points: Error]

    [Mana Points: Error]

    [Stamina Points: Error]

    [Attributes: Error]

    ...

    ...

    ...

    [Numerous Errors have been recorded]

    [The system will draw on information from the Archaic Records to rece the recored Errors]

    [Recing Errors... Reced]

    [Congrattions! The Archaic Records have found a unique feat and are endowing a title onto the Host {Foster Odin Locke}]

    [Unique Title {He who is one with Death} has been received]

 Chapter 3 - Silhouette

    Foster saw the starry sky above him, framed by the crowns of the trees he was surrounded by. Everything seemed just so unreal, but he himself felt surprisingly calm.

    "I don''t know those stars..." He whispered, trying to figure out if there was anything he could recognize up there. But there was nothing. No constetions, no familiar patterns, nothing. But at the same time, Foster didn''t feel anything like panic or fear in response.

    "Is it because of that... mental recovery?" Thinking back onto what those floating message boxes told him, he pushed himself off the ground. Foster''s whole body was stillpletely covered in blood, most of which had dried at this point. He felt some pain in his chest, and bruises and smaller cuts were still covering his arms, legs and torso.

    "Some broken ribs... a bit low on blood... Eh, I can live with that, I guess." With a load groan, heeding from the pain caused by his movement, Foster stood uip. His clothes had been mostly ripped up, but at least he wasn''t running around naked.

    Foster''s mind felt eerily calm. It was a bit unsettling in itself, but he really didn''t mind. Rather, he weed it. After all, if he were to start freaking out, he might have a tougher time figuring out what''s happening.

    "Is this that thing Jon was always into..? He made me watch some anime with him, but I never really paid attention." Foster thought to himself, "But if it is that thing, then... Erm... ''Status''?"

    He felt a bit silly for trying this out, but it was the first thing that came to mind when he thought about those weird floating message boxes. And to his surprise, it actually worked. In front of his eyes, a translucent, slightly glowing rectangr pane appeared. It was like something in a game.

    ---

    [Name: Foster Odin Locke][Age: 23]

    [Race: Human][ss: None]

    [HP: 11/25][MP: 10/10][SP: 17/30]

    [Attributes]

    [STR: 13][AGI: 15][END: 16]

    [INT: 11][WIS: 10][CHA: 14]

    [Titles]

    -[He who is one with Death]

    -[Otherworlder]

    ---

    "Huh... It fucking worked..." In an attempt to see the information a bit better, Foster leaned forward and nearly pressed his face against this floating pane.

    "I have no idea what any of this means. Is that high? Low? Average? And the fuck''s with that title bit... ''He who is one with Death''? And ''Otherworlder''?" He focused on both of those lines the most for now, and it didn''t take long until he saw something pop up in front of him once more. Two more of these message boxes.

    ---

    [He who is one with Death]

    [Rating: Unique]

    [Description: A title specially created for Foster Odin Locke in response to the special circumstances under which he synchronised with the Archaic Records. He was brought close to death and recovered through it with the help of the system.]

    [Effect: ???]

    -

    [Otherworlder]

    [Rating: Legendary]

    [Description: A title belonging to all those whose souls and bodies originated in another world.]

    [Effect: None]

    ---

    Foster looked at the two boxes one after another, but that didn''t help all that much when it came to his confusion, "Alright, I get how I got the first one, but what''s up with that second one... Fucking ''Otherworlder''? Another world? How''s that even-" He was just so confused. He was trying to say that this was clearly impossible, when he remembered that creature that he encountered earlier. It didn''t seem like anything that existed on earth, at least. Did that mean that this really was another world? The stars seemed foreign to Foster as well, although he would like to call himself quite knowledgeable in that field.

    "Maybe I''m just super fucking high?" He suggested to himself, but that didn''t make much sense either, it''s been a while since he had taken anything like drugs. The boss would get pissed if he tried their wares, after all, "The stars seemed unfamiliar as well..."

    Foster tried to think about what he was supposed to do, and in the end, just let out a deep groan, "Ah shit... Guess I just gotta go? Erm... I don''t think there''s gonna be anyone looking for me here... But maybe there''s some kinda ranger station around or something. Must be a way to find it." With heavy, exhausted steps, Foster started to make his way forward. That was the only way he could really go, after all. He had to find his way out of this forest somehow. Maybe finding a river would be a good first step.

    With such thoughts, he made his way through the thicket that made up the forest. There were no paths, so he got stuck plenty of times.

    "God fucking- ow!" He eximed, hitting a bug off his arm. It was some kind of huge beatle or cicada. But when Foster hit it away, it was like he hit a rock, "What the fuck was that?"

    Curiously, he looked at where the bugnded. He managed to spot it a few meters away, as it was trying to roll over onto its stomach again. Foster squatted down and picked it back up to take a closer look. To his surprise, the bug''s exoskeleton was really incredibly tough. It was a dirty white color, and from inbetween the cracks of its exoskeleton and its weaker parts, something like a blood-red color shone through.

    "Huh, looks like bone and blood. Neat." Foster said with a light grin. He looked at this beetle with a light smile as he let it go. It flew off immediately andnded on the side of one of the trees.

    "There''s all kinds of stuff here, huh?" His confusion slowly being reced by curiosity, Foster continued through the forest. He found many interesting things. Weird bugs he''s never seen before, and nts that seemed absolutely crazy. Although, the further he continued forward, the more things took on a certain theme.

    Those bone-beetles became more frequent, and the trees seemed withered and dead. There were nts that looked like they were drenched in blood, covered with sharp thorns.

    "Maybe I should turn back." Foster muttered, "Maybe walk into some other direction..."

    He sat down on a decently-sized rock nearby, and started to think. It had been brightening up for a little while now, and it was around then that the sun finally hit Foster''s eyes directly, "I haven''t even been walking around for that long... I was really out for a good while, huh?" He muttered to himself as he rubbed his eyes, "Maybe I should find somewhere to sleep? But that''d be a dumb idea if there''s more of those weird fucking dogs are running around..."

    Foster closed his eyes in thought. A few minutester, he came to a conclusion for what he should do, and opened his eyes as he stepped off the rock again. But all the thinking that he just did turned out to bepletely useless, since he then saw something that changed everything.

    He saw a person''s silhouette! They were standing inbetween him and the sun, so they were hard to see, but it was definitely a person. Immediately, Foster started running over toward them with a broad smile, "Yo! You''re a life-saver, I''mpletely fucking lost!"

    He ran over toward this person while waving his hand. However, instead of approaching Foster as well, or even just waiting there, the figure turned around and began to walk away.

    "Hey dude, just wait a second! I really need your help right now!" Foster eximed, getting somewhat pissed off. It seemed rather rude to just walk away when someone obviously needed your help. Luckily, however, it didn''t take long for him to catch up to this person. He ran up beside them and turned his head.

    "Again, could you maybe help me or something? I don''t have any money with me or anything, but... but..." Foster finally looked into the face of this person, but it took him a moment to register what exactly he was seeing.

    This wasn''t a person. Maybe it used to be, but not anymore. All the skin and flesh that used to be on its face rotted away, leaving nothing but a boney skull. The empty eyesockets were illuminated by the sun, showing that there wasn''t even a brain inside through a small crack on the inside.

    "Holy fucking shit... What are you?" Foster asked, "Is this like an animatronic? Or a puppet or something?"

    Confused, the young man pressed his hand onto this creature''s chest to pull away the shirt of the martial-arts uniform that it was wearing, trying to see whoever was carrying this fake upper body. However, all that he could see were more bones, with a glowing ss orb floating in the center of its torso where its heart was supposed to be.

    Without a moment''s hesitation, Foster pulled the shirt back over this creature''s chest, before staring into its eye-sockets.

    "Are you, like, an actual skeleton? Is that even possible?" He asked confused, before squinting heavily, "Maybe I am high after all..."

    This creature, the skeletal man, turned its head toward Foster. It was just staring at him, or it would have if it had any eyes to do so. Its lower jaw slowly split from the rest of its skull, as a voice with an impossible source flowed out of its nonexistent throat.

    "?%!&$��/`��&///(..." This voice echoed through Foster''s mind. It was in anguage that he didn''t understand in the slightest.

    "Ehh... What?" He asked, startled and confused. It was able to talk, even if Foster didn''t know thenguage. And it seemed fairly reasonable to him, or at least the skeletal man didn''t seem aggressive in the slightest.

    Slowly, the creature raised its hand and pointed its palm at Foster. Once more, it said something, but it didn''t seem directed at him directly this time, although Foster didn''t know how he knew that. A few momentster, a voice could be heard in his mind. The voice was the same as the one he heard from the skeleton just a few moments ago..

    "=&��(��!^." This voice no longer could be heard outside in reality, but instead was something that simply echoed through his thoughts like an internal monologue, even if it wasn''t his own. And he quickly knew what those words he didn''t know until just now meant.

    "Do you understand me?" The voice asked, and Foster stared back a bit taken aback, "Yeah, I understand you..." He muttered, and the skeletal man slowly nodded his head and continued walking.

    "Come with me. We shall speak as we walk." The voice added. Clearly, it muste from that skeletal man, although Foster still had no idea how this was possible.. But this was the first ''person'' that he had encountered here in this forest, so it felt like a good idea to at least try and talk to him for a while.

 Chapter 4 - Skeleton

    "How did you get into this forest?" The skeletal man asked, in a somewhat curious tone. Foster scratched the back of his head, still not quite used to this telepathy type thing.

    "I don''t know, I just woke up here. Fell off that fucking mountain over there, and nearly died. You know... the regr." Foster exined, and the skeletal man stopped walking for a moment. He turned around and looked into the direction that Foster hade from, and then turned back around to continue walking.

    "I see. What do you wish to find here?" The skeleton asked, and Foster just shrugged, kind of frustrated because he didn''t have an answer to that question, "Well I- I''m not trying to find anything, I just need to get to like a town or something. Or a road at least, where I could hitchhike... You know, figure out where I am?"

    "You do not know where you are?"

    "No, as I said, I just woke up here. I was... well, working, took a short break, and then suddenly appeared here. There was this weird fucking dog up there, and I fell down, and then I saw these floating boxes, and- and I sound like a freak, don''t I?" Foster asked, before he remembered that he wasmunicating with a walking, talking skeleton in a martial-arts uniform via telepathy.

    "Hm. I see." After this, the skeleton became somewhat more quiet, and the air became awkward. Foster didn''t know what he was supposed to say next, but he didn''t have much time to think about it either.

    Because soon enough, Foster and the skeleton reached a run-down, old cabin. The wood had rotten so much that it was clear this ce would soon fall apart. However, the skeleton simply walked up to the door and pulled it open without a moment''s hesitation.

    "Come in. And take your shoes off." The skeleton instructed Foster, who slowly nodded his head and hesitantly followed him into the cabin. He pushed his shoes off his feet, noticing that his socks were basically rock-hard after bing soaked in his own blood... Foster would probably need to get some new shoes soon as well.

    "...Take your socks off as well, please." The skeleton said after noticing the state of Foster''s clothes, and the young man slowly nodded his head and did as told. After cing his shoes and socks down outside of the cabin''s door, Foster was able to really take a look at the inside.

    Completely different to the outside, the inside of the cabin was actually in a pretty good state. It was clean, and everything in here was sorted. There were plenty of nts set up here, as if this ce belonged to someone with some kind of cottage-core fetish. The skeleton walked over toward a wooden barrel in the corner of the room, and scooped out some water into a cup before cing it on a table in front of an empty chair. He motioned to it, as if telling Foster to take a seat.

    And of course, he did. The chair let out a loud creak, but it was fine. It was still ratherfortable.

    "Please drink, you must be thirsty." The skeleton told Foster through telepathy, and he slowly nodded and grabbed the cup. The water seemed really quite clean, so he just went for it. It was cool and refreshing, despite how hot it was outside.

    Actually, this whole ce had a surprisingly cool air about it.

    "Ah, you must be wondering about the temperature, correct? This ce is naturally humid, so I make use of some special children to help me out. My body is befallen by mold rather easily, you see? I want to keep myself clean as well." The skeleton said. This was the longest thing that he said in a row so far. But Foster really wasn''t sure what he meant with ''children'', until he noticed the small nt ced onto the center of the table again.

    He moved his hand toward it, and could feel a cool air emanating from this nearly white, small flower, "The nts make this room cooler?" Foster asked, and the skeleton swiftly nodded his head. He moved his hand toward the flower, and gently stroked its petals with its hand made of bones.

    "Indeed so. This one, at least. Some of these children pull water from the air, and then feed it to that barrel. And others... are simply regr nts." The skeleton said, "They are all quite special in their own ways, however."

    Foster looked at the skeleton, still controlled by that unnatural calmness that took him over a while ago. Despite this situation being utterly ridiculous, he got used to it already. The skeleton didn''t seem to mind it that much, however.

    "It has been a while since I have been able to speak to someone. Everyone thates into this forest is usually here to kill me." The skeleton exined, "Ah, I have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Thiodrus Argomna."

    "Ah, I''m Foster, nice to meet you." He replied, smiling at the skeleton as he said so. And that surprised him even more.

    "My name doesn''t seem to ring a bell with you... Interesting. You are not from here, are you? Those clothes, the fact you don''t speak a speck of Ardian... Are you by chance from the west? Or south?"

    "Ardian..?" Foster asked, "I... Listen, man, you''re right when you say I''m not from here, but I think at a different level than what you think. I''m from another world, at least I have a ''title'' that says so."

    The skeleton pressed his hands onto the table, leaning forward, "An ''Otherworlder''?"

    "That''s what the title says, at least..." Foster replied, and the skeleton slumped down onto his chair.

    "How intriguing. Please... tell me your story. How did you get here?" Thiodrus asked, his excitement being clear as the question echoed through Foster''s mind.

    "I mean, it''s not much of a story... As I said, I was working. I just reprimanded one of my coworkers because he messed up colossally... I sat down on a trash-container, and when I opened my eyes, I was up there on that mountain. I didn''t know what was going on, and when I turned around, I saw that... weird thing. No idea what it was, but I was terrified... I fell down, nearly died, probably broke every bone in my body, and then those messages appeared." Foster exined, and Thiodrus interlocked his fingers with each other as he curiously listened.

    Foster scratched his cheek as he continued, "There was this thing about me being a ''host'' and the ''system'' connecting to the ''Archaic Records''. But it couldn''t, because I was about to die, so the system healed me. It was fucking painful, but it worked. Here I am, with just a few broken bones. I''ll live... I hope." Foster exined, and Thiodrus still sat there. Foster was sure that if he could, this skeleton would be grinning broadly in excitement right now.

    "The system intervened with your body directly? Interesting... How truly interesting! Please, may I have a look at your body? Your broken, and healed bones? Don''t worry, I am quite adept at recovery magic, believe it or not. I will of course heal you in return." Thiodrus told Foster, although he was just sitting there a bit perplexed.

    "Did... you just say magic?" He asked, although the moment he did ask, Foster realized something, "Of course you fucking said magic, you''re an animated skeleton!"

    "Well, technically I''m something more than just an animated skeleton, but yes, I am a being animated through magic, if that is what you meant. Was there no magic in your former world?" Curiously, Thiodrus stared at Foster, who simply shook his head, "No, not that I know of... I mean, the concept exists, but magic itself isn''t actually real. It was kinda an umbre-term for stuff we couldn''t understand, and when we could understand it, it became... eh, other stuff."

    "I see, I see! Interesting!" Thiodrus swiftly stood up from the table, "Now, Foster, please tell me more as I inspect your wounds. We don''t want to waste any time, now do we?"

    Foster felt shivers running all over his body from Thiodrus'' weirdly prating stare, "Eh... S-Sure..." Foster replied, as he slowly took off his shirt. He could feel pain throughout his chest, and it was a bit tough to breathe, but it was fine. Mostly. Underneath the dried-up blood that was still covering his skin, dark blue and green bruises could be seen. His body looked like some kind of weird smudgy rainbow.

    "Those seem like quite painful injuries. I''m surprised that I barely noticed anything in your expression." Thiodrus pointed out, and Foster just shrugged in response, "Eh, I''ve felt worse. Been stabbed a few times. A guy once shot me because my boss owed him money."

    "Oh?" Thiodrus looked at Foster surprised, but he quickly shook his head, "Don''t worry, he might have shot me, but now he''s dead!" Heughed a bit. Usually, he wouldn''t have joked about this, but his mind was way to calm in regards to anything he was thinking about.

    "Ah, no! It wasn''t me that killed him... he... he had cancer. That''s why he needed the money back... to pay for medical bills..? It''s actually a pretty sad story..." Foster replied with a wry smile, while Thiodrus simply chose to ignore Foster''s rambling for now.

    "I will begin with your treatment now, if you don''t mind." Thiodrus said, and Foster quickly nodded his head, "Oh, yeah, please...."

 Chapter 5 - Corrupted

    Foster looked down at his nowpletely healed body. It was like he was never injured in the first ce! Well, if you ignored the blood that he was still covered in right now.

    "You have quite a few scars on your body. Were those there even before you came to this world?" Thiodrus asked in a curious tone that echoed through Foster''s mind, and he quickly nodded his head.

    "Yup. From those stabbings and gunshots I mentioned. Well, one of them is because of a regr surgery as well, but nevermind that." Foster exined, while Thiodrus slowly nodded his head.

    "I see. From what you have told me, your life has been filled with quite some danger and misfortune as well. You seem to have a surprising affinity for drawing death to those around you as well." Thiodrus pointed out, and Foster couldn''t but shrug in response.

    "Eh, I guess. Not a big deal, really, but... yeah." Foster replied, unsure what he was supposed to say in response to Thiodrus'' statement. He was right, Foster''s life really hadn''t been the easiest. But it felt weird to say it was incredibly hard as well. Foster knew plenty of people that had it a lot worse than him.

    "Erm... Anyway, you don''t think... I''ll be able to get back home, right?" Foster asked. He was nervous, the first time in a few hours now. Despite already knowing the answer, he still had to ask, for that tiny chance.

    "I am sorry, I don''t think there is a way for you to return. However, I do believe that you should be able to find a ce for yourself here in this world as well." In a kind tone, Thiodrus tried to cheer Foster up a bit, even realising that he didn''t have the answer that Foster wanted to hear. Surprisingly enough, this animated skeleton was one of the kindest people Foster had met in a while.

    "I... I guess. I mean, I feel bad for leaving Jon behind... Oh, Jon is... was... my best friend. His family took care of me for a while, you know? He got a job at a bar near where I lived, probably just so that he coulde check in on me whenever he felt like it." Foster exined with a soft smile on his face, "It sucks knowing that I can''t go back to talk to him again... And that I can''t go to Gammy''s 90th birthday party... It... it''s just..." As he spoke, Foster noticed that it was getting harder and harder for him to speak.

    It wasn''t like he was too exhausted, or like he was in pain, it was simply getting harder.

    "Huh..?" Foster let out, realizing what was happening, "What am I, fucking 12? Crying over something like this..."

    He pressed his hands onto his face, trying to get rid of the tears, or at least stop them froming out any more. It had been a while since his face felt that hot.

    "Shit, sorry... I don''t know what''s happening... I must be looking pathetic to you, huh?" Foster asked with a wry smile, turning away from Thiodrus with embarrassment mixing into his so suddenly returning emotions.

    Soon, Foster felt a cold touch on his shoulder, "There is no need to apologize. Tears are natural. You are weeping for the loss of your loved ones."

    Foster turned toward Thiodrus and stared at him with a nk expression for a few moments, before suddenly breaking out intoughter, "This is so damn ridiculous... Thanks, man, I appreciate your concern. Well, is there something like a river nearby where I can wash up or something?"

    "There is a river, but..." Thiodrus began, ignoring Foster''s intense mood-swings for a few moments, "...it is not a ce where you may clean yourself. It has been corrupted, like the rest of this forest, and myself, even."

    Foster looked at Thiodrus confused. Of course, he had a rough idea. The further he had walked into the forest, the more the life around him seemed to disappear. As if something had drained everything it could out of the nts. Foster had just witnessed magic a few mere moments ago, and although he was unable to really see the skeleton do anything, it was a fact that his body recovered. And if healing magic existed, then maybe the opposite existed as well.

    Magic that did not repair life, but damaged it instead. That might exin why exactly Thiodrus looked like this. If his ''life'' was taken from him through magic, it could be possible for him to keep walking like this... Maybe.

    "Could I... see the river anyway? I think I want to know more about that corruption thing..." Foster exined to Thiodrus, who immediately shook his head in response. He turned away, letting Foster calm down and fully stop crying without his admittedly creepy gaze on this young man.

    The skeletal man once more used telepathy and spoke to his guest, "I am unsure if that is a wise path to take. That ce is too close to the core of this ursed forest. The water is acid, and the mud will try to devour you itself. I think you should rest here for the night to recover some strength, and then leave. This is not a ce for a young man like you." Thiodrus was practically pushing Foster away to try and get him to leave at this point. Although it was him that brought him deeper into this part of the forest in the first ce.

    ''But is that really all true..? How does a river turn into acid..?'' Foster thought to himself. The telepathy between him and Thiodrus wasn''t active at the moment, so he didn''t have to worry about the skeleton hearing his thoughts. Or so he hoped. That''s how it was exined to him, least.

    "I mean, I guess I am pretty tired..." While stretching a bit, Foster followed his host to the back of the cabin. There was a bed here, but it didn''t seem like it has been used for quite some time. With a wave of his hand, the bugs crawling on and underneath the sheets, as well as the nts climbing up the side of the bed were swiftly disposed of by Thiodrus.

    Foster wasn''t able to see what exactly was happening, to him it just seemed like everything moved out of the way the moment the two of them entered the room.

    "You can use this space for the night. I will give you a bucket of clean water to clean yourself, so stay in here and rest. When you wake back up, I will bring you to a safe ce away from this part of the forest." Foster heard Thiodrus'' voice, as calm and gentle as always, echoe through his mind. He nodded his head as he slowly dropped onto the bed. It was hard and rough. To an extent, even more so than the forest ground, although it was obviously much cleaner.

    "Really, thank you." With a smile on his face, Foster looked at the skeletal man, who, without another word, turned around. Through the door, Foster could see him grab the small bucket next to therge barrel of water, filling it up with one swift movement.

    Now that he got a proper look at him, Thiodrus'' movements were weirdly beautiful. Somewhat janky, probably due to his skeletal body, but smooth at the same time. He didn''t make the slightest of noise, and the leaves of the nts just an inch away from his body didn''t wave in response to his movement.

    It was like Thiodrus was no man or skeleton, but a ghost that was not even really here. He ced the bucket of water down in front of Foster''s feet, but there weren''t any ripples on the t surface. That was when he managed to connect something in his mind.

    "Are you... like... a really strong martial artist, or something?" Foster asked with a genuine expression. Thiodrus was wearing a martial arts uniform, but that might have been all he had to wear. But now that Foster noticed this thing that seemed to be the principle of ''no wasted movements'' that''s kind of cliche in a lot of martial-arts-based entertainment, it seemed like the obvious conclusion.

    With his arms crossed, and his body shaking as if he wasughing, Thiodrus nodded his head, "Something like that, I assume. Ibined my talents in the one way I could, studied for centuries to reach where I am.. I hope that is enough to call me a ''really strong martial artist''."

 Chapter 6 - Intruder

    Foster woke up in the middle of the night. Or at the very least, he was able to see the stars through this room''s window.

    "Urgh... Did I really just sleep all fucking day..?" He thought to himself, annoyed by what was going on with his body. He was certainly extremely exhausted when he went to bed, but sleeping for this long was weird even for him.

    So, whileying here in bed, Foster decided to just look at the sky. There was one particr one that he noticed earlier tonight as well. It was a bright one that was easily visible because it stood high in the air, "Hm, is that, like, the northern star? Wait, nah, I doubt that''s actually north from here... That would be pretty unlikely..." Foster quietly whispered to himself. As he was thinking, he managed to spot the moon hiding behind some trees, "That''s a lot bigger than the moon I know..."

    For a while, Foster''s mind wandered as he thought about the stars. Since all of them were just so different, then it was clear that all of the knowledge that he umted of the stars had immediately be useless. Although, at the very least he still understood the principles, and those shouldn''t be all too different. Maybe he could find someone to teach him about the stars of this world when he had the chance to. Thiodrus didn''t seem to have a particr interest in them when Foster tried to talk to him about them.

    Foster soon rolled over, now facing the wall so that he was only able to see the window from the corner of his eye. He didn''t know why, but despite sleeping for so long, the only thing that Foster wanted to do right now was continue to sleep. But when he did, he suddenly felt his stomach grumble loudly.

    "How am I this hungry, Thiodrus even made me some food just before I went to sleep..." Foster groaned loudly as he sat back up, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. He quickly stood up and walked out the room. It was a bit awkward, because he wasn''t wearing his clothes beside his underwear, due to the fact that they had beenpletely ripped up anyway.

    Foster looked around the room, but Thiodrus was nowhere to be seen. On the table just a bit in front of him, a pile of clothes was stacked up. Well, ''clothes'' may sound a bit misleading, considering that it was just another martial-arts uniform, somewhat simr to Thiodrus''. It had a simr ck base color, but instead of a bone-like white, the details ced onto it, including the symbols stitched onto the chest, were colored a deep blue instead.

    Foster guessed that these were the clothes that Thiodrus promised to set out for him. Really, that random skeleton was incredibly nice and an amazing host. With a smile on his face, Foster ced the clothes right onto his body. It fit perfectly, although Foster''s build was rather different than Thiodrus''. For one, the skeleton was about a full head taller than him.

    "He didn''t adjust his own stuff just so that it would fit me, right..? An animated skeleton that can use healing magic, speak, cook, and even sew? Isn''t that kind of unfair..?" Foster muttered with a wry smile his face. But it wasn''t like he was in any position toin right now. Only good things were happening to him through Thiodrus right now, after all. Foster had no idea what might have happened to him had he note across him somehow.

    Once he was dressed, Foster started to walk around this cabin to try and find Thiodrus somewhere. He was nowhere to be found on the, admittedly quite small, ground floor. So instead, Foster chose to walk up the stairs to the second floor. The wood creaked loudly as he stepped onto the stairs, but that wasn''t even the worst of it.

    When Foster reached the top of the stairway, he was surrounded by nothing but darkness, "Err, Thiodrus, you up here?" He asked somewhat nervously. This situation was more than just creepy, after all.

    And that was when Foster heard a voiceing from the darkness.

    "&(��$(��$%)!" A voice eximed, in the samenguage that Thiodrus'' voice. It was a woman, standing there on the other side of the room.

    "Yo, erm... I can''t understand you, could youe out for a second?" Foster asked nervously, and the woman kept speaking in thatnguage Foster didn''t know in the slightest, "(&)%��?``?+#-..." She said, but of course not knowing what she was trying to tell him, Foster couldn''t do anything but groan loudly.

    "Come on man, just fucking... ehh... No hablo espanol?" He tried, but of course that wouldn''t work. But at the very least, from his tone, the other person seemed to understand one thing. That Foster wasn''t the one that she was looking for.

    "%))%��&5..." She muttered as she finally stepped out of the darkness of the room beyond where Foster was standing right now.

    With slow, calm footsteps, this woman walked forward, and soon came into sight as she stepped near the window. She was tall, and held arge sword in her hands. Her long, vibrant red hair was tied into a ponytail, and she was wearing something like leather armor. That in itself already remembered Foster of those shows that Jon would watch, the ones that gave him the idea to call out ''Status'' earlier. In those, most of the time, that other world was a ce where society and technology hadn''t developed nearly as much as on earth.

    More often than not, it was a world with a medieval society. Since this woman was carrying a literal sword and was wearing that sort of armor, Foster figured that this fact at least wasn''t that far off for this world either.

    Foster slowly raised his hands and showed the woman his palms to make sure she didn''t find him threatening, and slowly walked forward toward her.

    "Are you looking for... Erm..." Foster tried to remember the exact way that Thiodrus'' name was pronounced in that weirdnguage that him and this woman were speaking, "Th-Thiodrus Argam... Argomna?"

    The woman seemed clearly surprsied, and immediately nodded her head. She seemed to have understood that there was anguage barrier between her and Foster, and instead chose to hold that, seemingly quite heavy, sword in one hand while pointing at the ground. Or rather, she was pointing at this whole cabin.

    "Thiodrus? ��$6$(?" She asked, and Foster immediately nodded his head. Luckily, nodding one''s head seemed to mean the same thing here, and the woman began to grin. She was quite excited over finding where exactly Thiodrus seemed to live. However, Foster had a rough idea why she was here. Otherwise, why would she be holding that sword so threateningly?

    She was here to try and fight Thiodrus. But to Foster, one thing was clear. If this woman were to fight Thiodrus, she wouldn''t have the slightest chance to win. He''s seen many people that acted like they were extremely strong fighers in his time as a member of the... organization. But even so, most of the time, those guys ended up being people that were more than easily taken care of.

    The ones that were truly dangerous and threatening, those that were truly strong... Foster knew those as well. Throughout the years, he had be able to differentiate between the two, gaging the strength of people rather well. And amongst all of them, Thiodrus was by far the strongest person that Foster had ever met. It wasn''t even a contest.

    If the difference between the second and third on that ranking, the former first and second, was a single degree, then the difference between the second, Foster''s boss, and the new first, Thiodrus, was like the difference between water freezing and boiling. Not just anyone would be able to fight someone like him.

    Slowly, the woman lowered her sword and instead extended her hand toward Foster, looking at him with a determined re. He figured that she was trying to shake his hand, and quickly followed along and took a step forward, shaking her hand as well.

    He wasn''t an idiot, after all, she had a fucking sword. No need to antagonize people for now.

    After the two of them shook each other''s hand, the woman raised her sword. She pointed her finger at Foster and then at herself, "%��, (%..." And then, she swung her sword downward, "Thiodrus?"

    "Ah..." Foster had a rough idea what she wanted to ask him. Did she want Foster to help her fight against Thiodrus?

    "No." He shook his head without a moment''s hesitation, "Thiodrus is a good guy, why the fuck would I fight him?" Foster crossed his arms before letting out a deep, bothered sigh. The woman understood that Foster didn''t want to fight together with her, however, she seemingly misunderstood it in a whole different way.

    She grinned a bit and closed her eyes with a smug expression, before holding her fist forward for a fist-bump, "&($)$. )&!!%)%56!" She eximed. Foster didn''t know what exactly she wanted from him, but he simply epted the fist-bump as the woman stepped past him, keeping up her smug expression as she headed toward the stairs.

    "What...?" He muttered, before looking down at his body again. Foster was wearing a martial-arts uniform... He looked like he was also here to fight, so... "Did I just suggest a contest to see who would be able to fight Thiodrus first? After finally meeting the first actual other person in this ce...?"

 Chapter 7 - Black Bolt

    "How the fuck is she that fast?!" Foster asked with a loud groan, trying to run after that swordswoman. She had left the cabin after she finished searching it. Foster was following her around, since he had nothing better to do for now. However, all of a sudden without a warning, the woman started running off deeper into this ''corrupted'' forest with a determined expression, as if she knew exactly where she needed to go.

    Foster was usually confident in his own speed, but this woman was running at literally inhuman speeds, "Does that have anything to do with those attributes?" Foster thought to himself. If there were attributes like in a game, then it was fairly reasonable to assume that those attributes could somehow increase, right? Then that meant that this woman increased one of those attributes to make it she could run this fast.

    And the worst part was that right now, Foster wasn''t even able toe after her. The ground was littered with sharp rocks and weird bugs, and his shoes were... well, unusable. They had been filledpletely with blood when hest took them off, and Foster was pretty sure Thiodrus chose to throw them away along with his other clothes.

    "But maybe I can..." Foster muttered quietly, as he quickly returned back into the cabin. He rushed over toward one of the back-rooms, which was filled with clutter. But amongst that clutter were Thiodrus'' clothes, as well as shoes.. He had found this room while searching for Thiodrus earlier. Foster quickly grabbed a pair of shoes that seemed to be in a rather good condition and slipped his feet into them. Surprisingly, they fit pretty nicely. Since Thiodrus wascking skin and flesh on his feet, he most likely had to wear shoes that were somewhat tighter than he would usually need. So maybe that made up for the difference in shoe-size between those two.

    The moment that Foster was wearing these shoes, he rushed out of the cabin and started to run in the same direction as that woman. Foster didn''t know why exactly he was doing it, it simply felt... right.

    Thiodrus warned him not to return after leaving this ce, and especially not to head deeper into the forest than they already were, but in this kind of situation, it felt like Foster had to do something to help Thiodrus out. After all, it didn''t just seem like that swordswoman wanted to have a ''duel'' with that skeleton, but rather that she wanted to kill him.

    And while Thiodrus certainly seemed stronger to Foster, after seeing how fast she was running, he wasn''t all that sure anymore. He had to help him out in any way that he could, he owed Thiodrus one, after all.

    However, after running for a few minutes, the difference between the part of the forest that he was in earlier, and the part of the forest he was in now was astronomical. The trees weren''t just dead, but they seemed so dry they were petrified. The bugs that were crawling around became moremon and farrger, and Foster even spotted some other animals that seemed extremely creepy.

    "Is this what that ''corruption'' did to this ce..?" Foster muttered quietly to himself as he continued running. And soon, something else finally came into sight. Foster wasn''t sure what exactly it was, but he he was soon able to see something blood-red stretch out and cover the sky not too far away from here. It seemed like a tree''s autumn-leaves, but they gave off a much more sinister vibe. After running for a few more minutes, Foster reached arge clearing, and was able to see that tree from much closer.

    It was huge, four or five times the size of all the other trees. So much so that Foster had no idea how he wasn''t able to see it more easily from a distance earlier. Its bark was the same yellowish white, bone-like substance as what was covering those bugs. Like a much dirtier version of actual bones. Thiodrus'' seemed much cleaner, but that was probably because he was taking quite good care of his body. Or rather, that which was left of it.

    Those red leaves that Foster saw earlier didn''t just seem to be regr leaves though. They were blood-red, and from a distance, it seemed like they were pulsating. Blue and purple lines were running over their surface like veins, as if the leaves of the tree were just flesh.

    There were even some fruit hanging off of it, but Foster had no interest in taking a closer look at those. They were nothing butrge red orbs the size of someone''s head. Inbetween himself and that tree, a thin river flowed by. The water inside of it was nothing but a ck sludge giving off a rancid smell. Foster understood why Thiodrus didn''t want him to use this water to clean himself... Or else he would have joined the skeleton-club, just most likely without the ''animated'' aspect.

    This tree seemed simply so unreal. It seemed like something that wasn''t natural, a monstrosity that simply took the form of a tree. And Foster could hear some voices on the other side of this... thing. One of them belonged to Thiodrus, yelling out loudly. Another belonged to that swordswoman. But beside those, there were two more that Foster didn''t know.

    With determination, Foster ran around the tree and this ck water that was surrounding it. Bit by bit, that group of four came into sight. Two people were standing on Foster''s side of the ''river'', the swordswoman as well as a man with short silver hair holding a bow in his hand. The arrow nocked on it was aimed at one of the two on the other side of the river.

    One of them was a tall, somewhat bulky man with ck hair. And the other one was Thiodrus, the target of the arrow. The animated skeleton was standing in front of that ck-haired man, who was kneeling on the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth. Foster didn''t know what exactly was going on, but it didn''t take long until he was noticed.

    ")%%&/��7?!" The silver-haired archer asked with a loud yell while staring at Foster, while the swordswoman replied in his stead, exining the situation as far as she seemed to have understood it. Although there seemed to be something else going on, as the Archer pointed at Foster and then Thiodrus.

    Thiodrus'' head turned toward Foster, and his hand, formed into a fist just before, loosened up. Thiodrus raised his hand and pointed his palm toward Foster. The three other people all looked at him nervously.

    "Ah, why''re they worrying? That''s just for that telepathy thing." Foster said with a light sigh, before his thoughts were partially confirmed just a momentter.

    "I apologize for this, young Foster." Thiodrus said, but Foster was simply confused about what was going on. He looked at Thiodrus'' boney palm, and saw a mass of ck gather there. It was as if ink had appeared out of nowhere and was now floating in front of his palm. The ink-like substance turnedpressed into a spike, and the next moment, it simply disappeared.

    Foster was confused because the swordswoman was running toward him all of a sudden. Her sword hung loosely by her side, while the Archer suddenly shot an arrow at Thiodrus. Unsure what exactly was going on, Foster looked around. That was when the pain started hitting him.

    That ck spike that was floating in front of Thiodrus'' hand earlier was stuck inside of Foster''s shoulder. It happened so fast that even his body didn''t realize what happened, until he saw it. Pushing his teeth together to handle the pain better, Foster ced his hand onto the spike to make sure that it wouldn''t fall out of the wound. He didn''t suddenly want to bleed out, after all.

    "Shit!" He yelled out angrily, ring at Thiodrus angrily, while a message box appeared in front of Foster.

    ---

    [You have taken 1 Damage]

    [Bleeding Effect was suppressed by external forces]

    ---

    "Eh?" Foster let out. The ''bleeding effect'' was suppressed? And ''1'' damage seemed quite little for this kind of thing. A bit confused, Foster looked back at the spike, starting to see a light glow within it. He could swear it was shrinking as well...

    ---

    [Your body is absorbing a mass of pure magic. A corresponding magical effect will be applied to you]

    [The {Trante} Spell will be permanently applied to you]

    [Understanding of the Argian Language is being established]

    [Progress... 2%]

    ---

    Foster was even more confused by these messages. What the hell was going on right now.

    "See? I- &(&)=((&)945!" The swordswoman eximed while looking at the archer. For a moment, it seemed as if Foster actually understood what she was saying.

    ---

    [Progress... 5%]

    ---

    The ck spike kept shrinking further and further, until it fully disappeared, but even so, his wound didn''t blead. The clothes that he was wearing were getting weirdly tense around his shoulder, and the loose threads were starting to wiggle. The percentage on the message box floating in front of Foster only kept growing while all this was happening.

    Foster knew it, Thiodrus didn''t attack him, this was just something to help him out. And while Thiodrus was looking at Foster, the tall, ck-haired man behind him pushed his fist through the skeleton''s body, pushing out therge crystal orb that Foster saw floating within him.

    "It has been an honor to get to know you before passing on." Thiodrus muttered through telepathy, as him and Foster stared at each other. Thiodrus fell to his knees, practically unable to move his body anymore. The orb was slowly rolling toward the river with cracks covering its surface.

    Was this it? Was Thiodrus going to die? That ck bolt must have been his parting gift...

    "Don''t..." Foster muttered, and the swordswoman, who had finally reached him, stopped moving a bit starteld, "Don''t fuck with me! You think I''m going to let you help me and then watch you die before I can even thank you, you absolute piece of shit?! What, you think I''m some little bitch that can''t take care of himself?!" He yelled out as loud as he could, his finger pointed directly at Thiodrus, who was looking back at Fosterpletely stunned.

    But he wasn''t the only one, those three other people beside those two were also unsure what to do. That was, before the swordswoman looked at Foster with a wry smile, "I-I thought you didn''t speak Argian?"

    ---

    [Progress.... 34%]

 Chapter 8 - Legacy

    Foster turned his head toward the swordswoman and groaned loudly, "Well, I didn''t until now! Fucking hell, I don''t even know how I''m speaking thisnguage! That weird spike made me be able to or something, I don''t know how this shit works!" He eximed loudly. But his eyes were just focused on the orb slowly rolling toward the ck sludge while he was doing so.

    "You... Are you on Thiodrus'' side?!" The swordswoman asked, cing her hand onto the handle of her sword. Foster turned his head and rolled his eyes, "What, you think I said all that shit to that other dude over there? Of course I''m on Thiodrus'' side!"

    "You! You tricked me!"

    "I didn''t trick you, you''re just an absolute moron! I''m wearing the same clothes as him, you think that''s a coincidence or something? Jesus Christ... Just, what the fuck is going on here?" Foster asked. The ck-haired man standing beside Thiodrus red at him and answered that question, "We''re here to kill this monstrosity, what do you think?"

    "Yes, but why?"

    "Why..? What do you mean, ''Why''? This is Thiodrus Argomna!" That guy replied, and Foster let out another loud groan, "Yes, I''m aware of his name, but why are you trying to kill him?!"

    "...What are you even talking about?"

    "Urgh, this isn''t going anywhere..." Foster ground his teeth together as he pushed his feet into the ground, pushing himself off as he started to sprint forward. Once he reached the edge of the river, he kicked off and soonnded on the other side, near where that ss orb was currently stuck in the mud.

    "Young Foster, please be careful!" Thiodrus eximed with clear worry in his weak, shakey voice, startling everyone beside Foster.

    "Did Thiodrus Argomna just tell a human to be careful..? In a non-threatening context..?" The archer asked confused. But the ck-haired man wouldn''t have any of it, and he simply formed his gauntlet-covered hand into a fist. The metal screeched and ttered as the sheets of metal rubbed against one another.

    Foster looked at Thiodrus, whose body was slumping down, the impossible connections between his bones and joints seemingly dissipating as parts of his fingers were falling off.

    "What does it matter, just means we have another monster to kill!" The man eximed, preparing to hit Thiodrus in the same way as earlier, just this time, the attack was aimed at his head.

    Foster rushed over toward where those two were standing, but it was toote. The ck-haired man pushed his hand forward, hitting it against the back of Thiodrus'' head. It was pushed off his boney neck, and flew until dropping donw right in front of Foster''s feet. Thiodrus'' jaw was still ttering, as if he was still in there.

    Dropping down onto his knees, Foster picked up Thiodrus'' head, holding it in his hands.

    "F-Foster, I apolo-pologize that you had to... you had to see this..." Thiodrus said in an honest tone, "The corr-corruption made me... weak... Or else I... I could have kept on. Please leave... before... you end... end like me..." The skeletal head told Foster, but he didn''t hear anything. He was just staring into the deep, dark ck eyesockets.

    A broad grin appeared on the ck haired man''s face, "I did it! I killed Thiodrus Argomna! I killed the Superior Lich, Thiodrus Argomna!"

    "Rule 18. Always repay your favors." Foster muttered quietly, holding Thiodrus'' ttering head in his hands. He ced Thiodrus'' head down onto the ground, and stood back up. Slowly, he approached the ck haired man.

    "Ah, right~. You were there as well! Now, guess I can take care of you as well, as a little bonus!" With his broad, smug grin, the ck haired man stared at Foster. He stretched his hand out forward, while Foster did just a small thing. He noticed that this guy was standing very straight, basically flexing with his whole body out of excitement.

    So, rather easily, Foster kicked his foot against the man''s knee. But not only once, he pulled his foot back and kicked again and again within just a moment. Just once usually wasn''t enough to break someone''s leg like this, after all.

    "What the fuck- you little piece of shit!" The man eximed, losing his bnce after his leg was clearly injured, albeit maybe not fully broken, and Foster quickly grabbed him by the cor and pulled the man forward, making use of this guy''s lost bnce.

    As he was falling forward, Foster pushed his hand forward and punched the man''s throat as hard as he could, pushing his middle finger''s first joint forward a little to hit the adam''s apple straight-on. While the man was trying to hold onto his throat because he was unable to breathe, Foster kicked his other, fully working, leg away. Soon, the man wasying on the ground after just a few moments. Foster was using dirty tactics, but he honestly didn''t give a shit about that.

    While he was squatting down earlier, Foster grabbed a rock, and now that he had the chance to do so as the man''s face was mostly unguarded, he hit the rock right onto the side of his forehead. Not just once, of course, but multiple times, until his skin ruptured and blood started covering the man''s face.

    He was tough, unnaturally so. The man didn''t fall unconscious, so Foster threw the bloodied rock to the side and grabbed the man by his deep ck hair, which was now turning slightly red from the blood.

    Foster pulled him forward toward the edge of the river, and held his head over the water. This whole time, the archer wasn''t able to shoot at him because of the fact the ck haired man was inbetween him and Foster, and now he couldn''t shoot because that would mean the guy would be dropped into that ck acid sludge.

    "Wh-Who the fuck are-"

    "Who am I? I''m the guy that just kicked your ass way too easily. Didn''t you just beat up a real expert martial artist? And then you''re suddenly beat up by a fucking thug? Hah, how funny, don''t''cha think?" Foster asked, staring deep into the man''s eyes, "Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn''t just drop you in there right this moment."

    "I-I-... Joyce, Aaron, do something!" The man eximed, but Foster turned toward the two other people, "Don''t you dare move even a single step."

    "Young... Foster..." Thiodrus'' voice could be heard quietly from behind Foster, "You must hurry... and leave before... it is too... toote..."

    Foster turned his head with a re, "Toote for what?"

    "Before the... the seal is..."

    "Seal? What seal?" Foster asked. But at exactly that moment, his question seemed to be answering itself. From the corner of his eyesight, Foster was able to see something else entirely. He was able to see another eye. But it didn''t belong to any person, rather, it was just floating above him.

    Turning his head to look up immediately, he realised what that eye was. It was one of the ''fruit'' hanging from that huge tree. And it wasn''t the only one either. All of them were opening up one after another, staring down at the group of people standing below it.

    "What the fuck...?" Foster muttered quietly, as he slowly let go of the ck-haired man. Of course, not in a way where he would fall into the acid. He was able to pull himself back onto his legs, and also stood there, staring up at the tree.

    And then, without warning, one of those eyes fell down toward them, hitting the ground with a loud thud. The head-sized eye wasying there on the ground in front of Foster and the ck-haired man, both of which had no idea what they were supposed to do about this. But that eye wasn''t the only one that fell down. One after another, all of them fell. Somended in the ck sludge, sshing it around.

    Some of the water hit the leg of the man beside Foster, and a loud sizzling sound could be heard a few momentster. All of the flesh on the leg started simply rotting away near to instantly.

    But that wasn''t where all this ended. The bone-like bark of the huge tree started forming arge crack on its surface. From beyond it, numerous of those bone bugs came crawling forward.

    "Thiodrus!" Foster eximed, running over toward the skull, "What do we do? How do we stop this?"

    "You... don''t... But I... I do..." Thiodrus replied, "To atone... atone for my sins... I came here, and... tried to seal... this being away... It drained my powers, but... I think I can... stop it..."

    "And how do you do that?" Foster asked, and Thiodrus'' jaw kept ttering, "Bring me... the... core..."

    "Core? Do you mean that ss orb?"

    "Y-Yes, b-bring it to... me..." Foster immediately nodded his head as he rushed over toward where the orb wasying. He quickly picked it up, not hearing Thiodrus'' warning before he did so.

    "What now?" He asked, but Thiodrus stayed silent for a moment, "You are... holding it... in your bare hands..? How are you not..."

    "Just tell me what I''m supposed to do next!" Foster eximed loudly, and Thiodrus'' skull started bouncing around a bit. It was kind of unnatural and technically impossible, of course, but it did. The skull swallowed the ss orb and held it inside of its mouth. Thiodrus strained his jaw, and soon managed to widen the cracks on the orb, before it shattered into pieces.

    A deep ck mist surrounded Thiodrus'' skull, as all that was left of the orb soon disappeared into nothingness, not even leaving dust behind.

    "Throw... my head... into one of the cracks..." Thiodrus instructed Foster, "Now truly... this will be thest time... thest time we speak... It has not been... long... but it was an honor... an honor to know you."

    "...Likewise, Thiodrus." Foster said with a light smile. Even he realized that it was necessary to somehow stop what was happening to this tree, and it didn''t seem like Thiodrus would be able to recover from the state he was in.

    Foster stood up, and approached a ce where he could throw Thiodrus'' head into the somehow hollow inside of this tree through one of the widening cracks in its surface.

    Thest thing Thiodrus said while looking at Foster and before being thrown was something that the young man really didn''t understand.

    "I leave my... legacy.... with you."

 Chapter 9 - Necromantic Invincibility

    Foster looked at Thiodrus, seeing somethinge out of the small crack inside of his skull. It was something like a metal chain, that was slithering out of the skull like a small snake. It moved onto Foster''s fingers, and wrapped itself around his arm to form a bracelet tightly wrapped around him, but not in an ufortable way.

    "I... don''t know what this is, but... thank you." Foster muttered, before he looked at the crack he had to aim for. He took a deep breath as he swung his arm forward and let go of the skull. The bugs scattered away as the skull hit against the crack, soon finding its way into the tree.

    Now that this was done... Foster could turn his attention to the other stuff that started happening. The huge eyes that wereying there on the ground were starting to change. The whites of the eyes turned into a dark red that bordered ck, while their surface started to split up. Spider-like legs were slowly being pushed out of those split areas, as the eyes started to crawl around.

    "What the actual fuck...?" Foster asked with a wry smile. That was certainly one of the creepiest things that he''s ever seen. Most of the eyes were here on this side of the river, so he had to get away from here as quickly as he could.

    He started running toward the river again, and when he did, he once more took notice of that ck-haired guy. The rotting that started in his leg didn''t stop there. It was growing up the rest of his body, his veins visibly bulging and turning deep ck in color.

    It was good that Foster didn''t slip while running toward the river earlier... And hopefully, he would have the same luck this time.

    The ck haired man was crying in pain, snot that mixed with blood pouring out of his nose while foam gathered in his mouth. Him and Foster locked eyes for a moment. It was clear that this man was pleading with Foster to get help.

    But why should he? Foster wasn''t a saint. He wasn''t the good guy in this story. He wasn''t even a good person in general. In the past, he did a lot of horrible things. He hospitalized people much weaker than him simply because they annoyed him. Sold drugs to people who only ended up dying of an overdose a few hourster. Foster ruined lives, families,panies... All for his own gain.

    Foster was a viin.

    So why did his feet do what they were doing? Why did they turn his body away from the river, and toward a ce that would only bring him into more and more danger?

    "Aaargh, fucking bullshit!" He yelled out angrily. He wasn''t angry at that man or even whatever that tree was, but rather himself. Why would he ever put himself in that kind of danger for someone he didn''t even know?

    One of those eye-spiders was in his way, but it was one whose legs didn''t fully sprout yet. That way, Foster was able to kick this creature away like a ser ball, and it soonnded in the water, rotting away with acidic bubbles rising from the ck sludge running through the river.

    "Give me your gauntlets." Foster told the ck-haired man, whose body hadpletely gone into shock at this point. He was trying to do as he was told, but being too impatient due to the situation he was in, Foster instead pulled the gauntlets off the guy''s hand as soon as they were even slightly loosened up.

    After pushing his own hands into the gauntlets, them fitting over that weird bracelet surprisingly easily, Foster looked around himself. The regr bugs didn''t seem to be too much of an issue, although they were still kind of annoying.

    The only real issue were the eye-spiders. The first one that he saw immediately jumped at Foster. Swinging his fist to the side with proper timing, Foster hit the hardened surface of that eye-spider. A loud cracking sound could be heard as a bile-like liquid spurted from the cracks on the eye''s surface. It gave off an acidic scent, but at least it didn''t seem to be the same kind of liquid as the one running through the river.

    "What the fuck are you two doing?! Find something we can use to get over there already!" Foster yelled out, noticing that the archer and the swordswoman were just standing there as if stunned. Hearing this young man''s voice, the swordswoman immediately turned around and tried to find something to create a makeshift bridge.

    In the meantime, Foster kept on fighting off those weird creatures. Somehow, it didn''t seem like their numbers were dwindling. Rather, more and more wereing along. And the worst part was that they still kept on changing after growing their legs.

    Soon, their body split horizontally, creating a disgustingly horrific maw with sharp teeth. Luckily, the gauntlets this guy had with him were rather thick and stable, so the teeth weren''t able to prate them. It was still a weird feeling to have one of these creatures try and bite Foster''s hand off, though.

    Luckily, it only took a few minutes until the archer and swordswoman found a solution. With ridiculous, brutish strength, the swordswoman was dragging a literal tree behind her toward the river. Foster was in so much disbelief over what she was doing that he was stunned and nearly had his head bitten off for a second there.

    With that same incredible strength, the swordswoman was able to push the log over the river. Immediately, Foster pushed the creatures right beside him away and ran over to the dying man by his side, before pulling him off the ground. He wasn''t able to walk on his own anymore, after all.

    Practically carrying him, Foster stepped onto the log. It was then that something else started changing in the tree. The cracks that had formed on it earlier started to grow and spread out,rge chunks of its bark simply dropping off of it. This spread out to the top, with the branches cracking under their own weight.

    One of them fell down, and hit the ground just a few momentster. It was so heavy that the ground at the edge of this thin river started cracking and sliding down into the water, together with one end of the log. At the same time, more of the ck water sttered onto the man Foster was holding up, making him scream in pain once more.

    And then, the man dragged Foster down into the river together with him.

    He could feel the water touching his skin. It was hot, painful. Truly horrifying. The man''s flesh disintegrated nearly instantly and his bones dug into Foster''s skin.

    But... that was it. Foster felt some sort of irritation all over his body, but it was at the level of water that was a bit too hot. The ck water wasn''t affecting him otherwise. It felt heavy on his body, dragging him down. However, all that did was make it tougher for him to stand back up. And even that was rtively easy in the end.

    "What the actual fuck..." Foster muttered confused, standing in the ck sludge. The eye-creatures weren''t bothering him anymore, since even they would die on contact with him. Slowly, he climbed out of the sludge, and although most of his clothes had also been disintegrated, they were repairing themselves rather quickly again. Meanwhile, a message box appeared in front of Foster''s eyes.

    ---

    [The effect of the Unique Title {He who is one with Death} has been discovered: Necromantic Invincibility]

    ---

    "Necromantic Invinci- what the shit is this supposed to be?!" Foster looked away from the message and instead turned toward the archer and the swordswoman, both of which were looking into the river where theirrade had just disappeared.

    "H-How did you... But he...." The swordswoman muttered in utter disbelief, and Foster looked back at her with a bitter frown, "I don''t know, but... For now, stand back... I think something is happening to that tree." He pointed out, looking at the huge tree that was still falling apart piece by piece.

    Foster really hoped that it was dying because of Thiodrus'' influence, and not because it was going to release some new monstrosity.

 Chapter 10 - Destruction

    The tree of bone and flesh continued cracking apart, and soon began to give off a feint glow. And with that, Foster roughly knew that this was something caused by Thiodrus! It was working, he was most likely destroying this tree from the inside now!

    But at the same time... something rather bad happened. All the parts that fell off the tree after it started cracking, now began to move as well. All those flesh-like leaves rolled up and turned into maggots or leeches. The bone-like bark of the tree started cracking up into more pieces, and were forming into skeletal versions of different animals. But in absolutely horrific ways.

    The shards of bone weren''t really shaped like they were supposed to. They simply gathered in the roughly right positions so that the resulting masses looked like beasts, but these certainly weren''t actual skeletons left behind by animals. And the worst, somewhat most disturbing part was that all these bone-shards were shifting, fusing together in some parts and cracking apart in others, creating loud, ufortable sounds with every step they took.

    "Erm... I... I guess we''ll have to figure out a way to get rid of them..?" Foster muttered with a wry smile, looking at the ck sludge, "I''ve got it! We need to try and push them into the sludge! Bones decay slower, but they do also decay! That''s the only-" He turned around toward the archer and the swordswoman, but he was only able to see their backs as they entered the dead forest.

    "What the hell are you still doing there?! Come on, we need to leave!" The swordswoman eximed, seeing that Foster was still there, and the young man slowly looked back at them, "Right... That actually seems like a much better idea."

    And so, Foster pushed his foot into the ground and started to run forward at the highest speed that his body could muster. He still had some of that sludge stuck to parts of his body, so whenever he ran into some branches or happened to touch a bug on ident... it started to wither away immediately.

    It seemed like the sludge was slowly but surely disappearing from Foster''s body, as if simply disintegrating on its own. Luckily, the gauntlets were doing perfectly fine, though. The sludge could probably only affect biological matter.

    Either way, that wasn''t something that Foster should keep thinking about. For now, he should just keep running. Sadly, it seemed like all those bone-creatures were thinking something simr, and started working together with the flesh-leeches, since those guys were crawling all over the bone-creatures'' bodies, as if the two were trying toe together to create actual, living beings.

    It looked kind of disgusting, even from afar. And that was a good enough reason for Foster to not want to look at them from closer up. As much as he could, Foster kept on running and running, even though he was growing exhausted with every step. He just had to keep going.

    And after about twenty minutes of sprinting through this forest, a loud crash could be heard in the distance. Foster turned around for a moment, since that sound clearly came from the huge tree. And there he saw it. A beam of light stretching into the sky. The sea of clouds that had formed above them in the dark sky immediately disappeared, showing the stars.

    Foster just stood there, even ignoring all those bone-creatures. Somehow, he wanted to go back. He wanted to be there. Foster wanted to-

    "Hey! Why are you stopping?!" The swordswoman yelled out, and Foster turned around toward her, "I think... The tree is gone?" He said, and that was when the swordswoman took a closer look into the distance as well.

    She saw the beam of light, spreading out at its top. As if it was turning into a tree itself. But not a tree of death like what stood there before, but a tree of life. Something that gave hope instead of despair. It was beautiful to not only Foster, who had arrived here in this world just a day ago, but also the swordswoman who had lived here her whole life.

    This was a sight that neither of them had ever set their eyes on, and might never see again. And while they were standing there, one of the creatures finally caught up to the two of them. It made sense, since they were only standing there, staring into the distance.

    However, before the creatures were able to reach the two of them, something like a shockwave spread out, its source seemingly being the ce where that tree formerly stood. It seemed to nearly push Foster backward, although the swordswoman stood steadily on her feet.

    But not only Foster reacted to this shockwave. So did these bone creatures and the flesh maggots. And when they were hit by the shockwave, they simply... died. If that was the right term for whatever happened to them, at least. The shards of bone that their bodies were made of simply stopped sticking to one another, creating nothing but piles of shattered bones.

    Meanwhile, therge flesh maggots melted into a red, bloody sludge, turning these piles of bone shards into a rather horrific scene that could usually only be seen after a demented serial killer did their thing.

    "What... just happened?" Foster asked, turning his head toward the swordswoman. She looked back at the man standing next to her, shaking her own head, "I... don''t know..."

    "Do you think that we''re safe now?"

    "Maybe? I''d honestly hope so..." The swordswoman replied, finally squatting down to catch her breath. By now, the Archer noticed that neither hispanion nor Foster were following him anymore, and had turned back after realizing that the situation had be better.

    The archer looked at the two people standing next to each other, but even upon seeing that they were safe, he didn''t slow down.

    "Ah, you''re safe as well! Good, then-" Foster spoke with a light smile on his face, his breathing rather heavy. He would say that he had good stamina, but even he wasn''t able to sprint for this long without it showing at least to an extent. However, maybe it was this exact fact, that he was just so exhausted, that made him forget about one important detail. A detail that he remembered upon feeling the archer''s fist on his face.

    ---

    [You have taken 2 Damage]

    ---

    "You piece of shit!" He yelled out, "Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

    "What, I-" Foster held his hand onto his nose. Luckily it didn''t seem to be broken, but it still hurt quite a bit. But even though Foster wanted to speak, the archer continued.

    "Don''t you dare answer that question. You... you sided with a cmity, you sided with Thiodrus Argomna, a Superior Lich. Because of you, our friend died. You killed Simon." The archer said. Foster silently looked back at the archer, who was seething with anger.

    "You done?" He then finally said, "Listen man, I''m... I''m really, legitimately sorry about your friend. You saw that I tried to help him, right? Like, even I understood that something beyond what I knew of was happening. But still, he killed the first friend I made in this world, you expect me to not be pissed off about that?" Foster asked angrily, and the archer and swordswoman looked at each other for a moment.

    "You''re like... what, 20..? 25..? And your first friend was... Thiodrus Argomna..?" The archer asked, holding his bow in his hand in a way that would let him react immediately if necessary.

    "Well, not my ''first'' friend in general, but my first friend in this world. I''m not from here." Foster said, "I''m an ''Otherworlder''."

    The moment that Foster said what he said, he had the de of a sword held in front of his throat while the tip of an arrow pointed at his forehead, "Y-You''re an otherworlder? Is that why you were speaking that weirdnguage before?"

    "Weirdn- Bitch, that was english. To me, yournguage, whatever we''re speaking right now, is fucking weird. So don''t judge me. And put these away, they''re not toys. Listen, I get that you don''t trust me, and I don''t trust you either. But sadly, you''re amongst the top five most trustworthy sentient beings I''ve met in this world. I get that you had some kind of grudge against Thiodrus, I really do, I worked in that kinda business for years myself. But at the end of the day do you and I have a grudge against each other? No, so let''s talk. Aight?" Foster suggested. The archer and the swordswoman looked at each other for a moment again, although this time it was just a nce respectively.

    "Fine. But if you make just one more suspicious move, I swear I''ll shoot this arrow through your skull." The archer threatened Foster in a growling voice, and of course, the young man nodded his head. He understood that he was being serious, after all. Foster looked around for a moment, soon seeing the mountain that he most likely fell off of.

    "Should we... head back to the cabin and talk there? Feels like a good a ce as any for that." Foster suggested to the two, and the swordswoman was the first to nod her head.

    "Alright. I''ll lead the way." She said, swiftly turning around to make her way back to the hut. But before she was even ten meters away, Foster pointed something out.

    "It''s in the other direction."

    "Eh? You sure?"

    "I''m fairly sure, yeah...."

 Chapter 11 - Introductions

    Foster slowly pushed open the wooden door leading into the cabin, causing it to creak loudly. He walked over to the table that him and Thiodrus sat at together just yesterday, offering the other two chairs to the archer and the swordswoman.

    "Erm... do you two wanna drink something?" He asked with a wry smile, unsure what to say exactly, but the other two simply stared at him silently.

    "Right... Erm... Should we start with some basic introductions?" Foster suggested, but once more, he was only met with silence, "Alright, sounds good. Then I guess I''ll start us out. I''m Foster, I''m 23... I like working out, I''ve recently started picking upic-books because work has been pretty boring... I''m from another world, and just arrived yesterday in the early morning. Oh, and I''m really, really into anything rted to space,s and stars, that kinda thing."

    The swordswoman let out a deep sigh, still tightly holding onto the handle of her sword, "I''m Joyce, 25, currently A-Rank and part of the Golden Kobold guild. I like swords, swords, and swords. That''s it."

    "My name''s Aaron, I''m 87, and also currently an A-Rank within the Golden Kobold guild. I like forests, animals, and silence."

    "Eh?" Foster let out confused, hearing that Archer''s introduction, "Did you just say you''re 87? You look younger than me, the hell''re you talking about? Did you mean to say 17 or something..? Is it thenguage barrier..?"

    "What, no, you moron, I''m a Half-Elf." Aaron replied with an annoyed expression, while Foster stared back with a wry smile, "Elf..? Holy shit, seriously..? That''s kinda cool, we don''t have you guys in my world. I mean, we know of you, kinda, but Elves aren''t actually real there."

    Aaron was perplexed after hearing Foster''s words, "Wait, what? How is that supposed to be possible?!"

    "Dude, don''t ask me. All I know is that ''Humans'' are the only species of people around. I mean... I hope, I''m starting to believe that all those rumors of Lizard-people are real..."

    "You have Lizardfolk, but you don''t have Elves? Are you kidding me?!" Aaron yelled out, seemingly quite upset over this information, and Foster looked back at him nervously, "Sorry dude, that''s just how it is, it''s not my fault. Also, that was more like a joke... We don''t have Lizard...folk... I think at least. Anyway, that''s not important. All that''s important is that I''m not from this world, I appeared here yesterday, and Thiodrus was the first person that I met. Can you two at least tell me why you had to... kill him?"

    Foster crossed his arms in a mncholic manner. He didn''t really know Thiodrus at all, he only spoke to him for a few hours. At the end of the day, he was a stranger. And while Foster was certainly upset over the fact that such a kind man had been killed... Thiodrus had most likely epted his death long ago. Foster wasn''t close enough to him to enact some kind of revenge because he''s been killed, especially if Aaron and Joyce had a good reason for their actions.

    Joyce and Aaron looked at each other for a moment, "For now, let''s believe that you really are an Otherworlder..." Joyce said, "Let''s go over this for now. Here in this world, there are those beings that held so much power and malice toward the living that they cause immense chaos. To the extent where they''reparable to a natural catastrophe. We call those beings ''Cmities''. And Thiodrus Argomna was one of those Cmities. People tried to fight him, but then he suddenly disappeared. Over the years, he was tracked down to this ce, where he erected a barrier. Some invaded that barrier, and while many never came back, the ones that did reported that Thiodrus was getting weaker."

    "...He mentioned something like that. That the tree was corrupting him, and he was growing weaker." Foster exined, "At first I thought the ''corruption'' was what turned him into that skeleton, but..."

    "Thiodrus was like that long before he came here. He was a Superior Lich, a powerful Undead mage. But nevermind that." Aaron exined, before continuing to speak instead of Joyce, "The three of us searched for this ce and came here to kill Thiodrus. It... was a bad idea, we knew, but... If he was getting weaker, and a B-Rank was strong enough to get back, then us three A-Ranks should have been able to take him out. And in the end, we were right. We did take him out. And then you came, and ruined everything. If you hadn''t been there, we could have left by now, and everything would be fine!"

    Aaron jumped up, hitting his hands onto the table. The small flowerpot in the center of the table fell over, touching Foster''s hand. It was cold, basically enough to give him frost-burns, "I know that you''re upset at me, and reasonably so, because of me your friend died, but... He probably would have died anyway. Thiodrus was holding back that tree from bing whatever it was supposed to be. If you had just killed him without letting Thiodrus get rid of the tree altogether, it would have turned into those creatures and probably even worse, and most of you would have died. If Thiodrus was so powerful, then the thing that he dedicated his life... or rather, afterlife to hold back must be even more horrible. Right?"

    "I-" Aaron red back at Foster, seeing his serious expression. In the end, he realized that Foster was probably right, and dropped back down onto his chair, "Fuck..." He let out with a loud groan, pressing his hands onto his face.

    "He... Simon, he was our friend... Why did..." Aaron cried out, while Foster awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He definitely felt bad. If Foster hadn''t hit Simon like that, then he might''ve been able to dodge that sludge.

    "In the first ce..." Joyce started, "How were you able to get Simon like that? And why would you hold his head over... that?"

    "Well, I fucking had to hit him because I was pissed off that he literally killed my friend, and the rest was scare-tactics. You think I want to kill people? Fuck no." Foster replied in a blunt voice. Joyce was still confused, "How can you call someone like Thiodrus your friend, even after knowing what kind of being he was..?"

    "Huh? Ah, I mean, I''ve been around horrible people my whole life. I''m not a particrly good person either. He was nice to me, and helped me out, so why wouldn''t I call him a friend? Shit, he healed my body, gave me food, clothes, a bed to sleep in, and even did something so that I can understand you. That bolt he shot at my shoulder? Yeah, that was some kinda magic. I think it said the... ''Trante'' spell would be permanently applied to me, and then I started understanding and speaking Argian. That''s what it''s called, right?" Foster exined to them, "He did so much for a stranger from another world, so how could I not even call him a friend in return?"

    Joyce, who had ced a hand onto Aaron''s back tofort him, although barely holding back her own tears, looked back at Foster with a light smile, "We... we work in this sort of business. At the end of the day, it''s not your fault that Simon died. In the first ce, we came prepared for it. We both know that you tried to help Simon out in the end. But... How were you able to survive falling in that sludge that immediately killed Simon..?"

    Foster scratched the back of his head. He himself was unsure about this already, "Erm... I guess it''s because of a ''Title'' I have? One of my titles is ''Otherworlder'', and the other is... Well, when I came to this world, I fell from that mountain, nearly died, but then the ''system'' tried to connect me to the ''Archaic Records'', and repaired my body and mind. And in return, I was given the title ''He who is one with death''." Foster exined, and both Joyce and Aaron were listening attentively, "And when I fell in there... The title''s effect was shown to me, and it was ''Necromantic Invincibility''."

    "I... I see..." Aaron muttered, rubbing thest of his tears out of his eyes, "That would exin it. That stuff immediately made Simon''s body rot, like immense magical feedback. If you''re immune toward necromantic feedback... it makes sense."

    "Magical feed-what?" Foster asked with a wry smile, and Aaron groaned loudly, "Magical Feedback. Why, what''s your term for it?"

    "Err, iunno, we don''t have magic..."

    "You what..?" Aaron let out surprised, "You don''t have magic in your world? Then how are you even alive? You-"

    "Listen dude, we could probably keep this up for a while. We just don''t, aight? Let''s just keep it at that." Foster suggested, interrupting Aaron, "So just treat me like I know nothing about whatever you''re talking about, because I don''t. What''s Magical Feedback?"

    Aaron was already annoyed with the way that Foster was talking, so Joyce exined in his stead, "I don''t know much about it myself, but magical feedback is... well, just that. The feedback to using magic. It''s not a big deal with lower-leveled magic, but starting at around... fourth or fifth level I think, if you''re not careful, you can experience ''magical feedback''. In the case of necromancy... Your body basically starts to slowly rot away. That''s why many powerful necromancers end up turning into Undead themselves, because that rot won''t matter at all. And if you were to be immune to an element''s feedback, then you..."

    "You''d be able to be probably one of the most powerful mages specializing in that element."

 Chapter 12 - Legacy Artifact

    "...Mage?" Foster asked with a wry smile on his face, after hearing what Aaron and Joyce had told him just now, "I mean, magic seems kinda cool and all, but it sounds like something for smart people."

    "I''m not saying that you should be a mage, I''m just saying that you have the chance to be powerful if you do it. Although in the first ce, necromancy is rather frowned upon. It''s illegal in a lot of ces in the first ce, and in those where it''s not, it''s illegal to create undead out of people. So you shouldn''t do it in the first ce, it''s probably way too-"

    "I mean, can''t I just kinda hit people with magic?" Foster asked, interrupting Aaron, who looked back surprised, "I mean, you can, sure, but that''s a bit risky... There are those that fight while wielding lower-level magic, but it''s still kinda risky to do. You need high concentration to cast spells, and that''s not a good mix with martial arts."

    "Gotcha, then it''s really not for me." Foster replied, when he remembered something else. He finally stripped the gauntlets off his hands and ced them onto the table in front of him, and then looked at the bracelet that had wrapped itself around his wrist all on its own. It was something like a metallic chain in the form of a snake biting its own tail. It looked pretty neat, so Foster didn''t mind wearing it, but it seemed to be some kind of weird item that he wasn''t all too sure about.

    "You guys know what a ''Legacy'' is? Thiodrus told me he''d give his to me, and then this came out of his skull." Foster exined, and both Aaron and Joyce immediately jumped up from their chairs, "A legacy?! Thiodrus had a Legacy ss?!" Joyce eximed, and Foster looked at them confused.

    "Guys, please... I literally don''t know what the hell it is, so just tell me." He pleaded with them, holding his hand toward them so that they could look at his bracelet.

    "Urgh, how bothersome... Don''t tell me you don''t have sses there either?"

    "...Do you mean sses like lessons in school?"

    "...No..."

    "Then yeah, we probably don''t have those." Foster pointed out, and Aaron was already growing too annoyed with what this guy was saying to really question him anymore, "Fine... Alright, basically, sses are... like your job. My ss is a Brimstone Archer, Joyce is a Swordsmaster. We started out with respectively the ''Apprentice Archer'' and ''Apprentice Swordman'' sses. They''re basic sses that basically anyone can get after they practice for a while. We leveled our sses up further and could soon advance to higher versions, until we got here." Aaron exined.

    After listening curiously, Foster already figured why this ''Legacy'' thing could be a bit more special than that, "And a Legacy ss is just... given to you by others or something?"

    "Basically." Joyce replied, "Like, it''s a generational thing. A Legacy ss is given from one generation to the next. It''s not like they''re particrly stronger than others, just... rarer. A Legacy ss is one of a kind,pletely unique to the one that has it."

    "Eh? It''s that kinda special thing?" Foster asked with a slightly excited grin on his face, "So, what''s this one?"

    Aaron rolled his eyes as he took a closer look at the bracelet, "No idea, but it''s clear that it has something to do with this thing. This artifact is most likely the legacy taken shape. Through it, you should be able to get a hold of that ss."

    "Hm, neat." Foster replied, looking at the bracelet. He slowly turned his head away, though, to look out of the window near him. In the distance, Foster was still able to see that huge tree of light, stretching far beyond where that weird one reached to earlier.

    "To change the topic to something else for a second... Do you two think we should stay here for now, or should we leave as soon as we can?" Foster asked, mostly looking at Aaron since he was clearly the one with more experience. If he was a half-elf, then it must be true that he was 87 years old, so he should have more answers to things than either Foster or Joyce.

    "I think we should be fine staying here for the night, but we should still be careful. If anything happens, we need to leave immediately." Aaron suggested, and Foster quickly nodded his head with a light smile.

    "Got it, then you two head to bed, I slept like 18 hours yesterday. I''m good for now."

    "You really expect us to just go to bed while you''re here with the capability to kill us in our sleep?" Aaron asked with a suspicious expression, but Foster simply stood up and let out a deep groan, "Man, why''d I wanna kill you? I just found some stuff earlier that I wanna look through... Might be useful. I don''t really care about either of you, y''know?"

    "Fine. But the moment I notice you''re trying something, you''re dead. Now, where are the bedrooms?"

    "There''s one right down here. There''s just one bed though, so you''ll either have to share, or one of you is gonna have to sleep on the ground." Foster pointed out as he showed them the bedroom, and it was clear who of the two was going to get the bed. After finding a keyying around near there that seemed to belong to this bedroom, the two of them even locked the door just to make sure that Foster wouldn''t be able toe in. They didn''t really trust him yet, after all.

    Understandably so, but Foster was still a little hurt. But in the end, since he didn''t care for either of these two, he just made his way to where he found some more interesting stuffying around.

    "Oh, now take a look at this." Foster smiled as he stood in the storage room. There were some pouches holding what seemed to be kind of weird-looking coins, which Foster assumed to be currancy. Of course, he grabbed those, since Thiodrus wouldn''t need them anymore.

    Beside those coins, Foster grabbed another pair of shoes that seemed to fit him, as well as a seemingly quite old bag. It had the kind of smell that old things had, at least. So, Foster put the things that he grabbed into that bag, until he was barely able to close it anymore.

    "Kinda heavy..." He groaned loudly, and kept looking around the room. There weren''t many more things that really interested him, though, and nothing that seemed like it could be helpful beyond what Foster already grabbed.

    So instead, Foster made his way upstairs. He didn''t have the chance to fully look around up there, seeing how he ran into Joyce when he tried, so he chose to do so now. The floorboards let out another loud creak while he walked up the stairs, making Foster slow down as he tried to get upstairs.

    He grabbed a smallntern from the storage room earlier. And although Foster had no idea how it worked, since he started to doubt that electricity and batteries were a thing here, since it did work, he really didn''t care. He wasn''t the kind of person to look a gift horse in the mouth.

    Foster curiously looked around the top floor, therge room only lit up through thentern. There were a few interesting things here. Mostly, there were weapons here. Knives, swords, staffs, all those sorts of things. However, all of them were highly rusted, many being cracked into pieces. So as weapons, they were useless.

    Even so, Foster opened up one of the disys that was holding a small throwing-knife. It looked pretty neat, although the outermostyer immediately crumbled away as soon as his fingertips touched it. It didn''t seem likely that you would be able to throw this thing more than once.

    Although it was still surprisingly sharp. Maybe Foster should bring these with him after all, just in case. One of the guys he worked with, another executive actually, was really into throwing-knives, and tried to show Foster a few tricks here and there. He had surprisingly good aim, so he might be able to use these in an emergency.

    Foster held the small knife in his hand and yed around with it a little, trying to remember how exactly he was supposed to hold these things. But when he did, a small splinter of metal scratched up Foster''s finger.

    It wasn''t painful or anything, nor did he bleed much, but it was still kind of bothersome, "Goddammit... Those literal monsters weren''t able to hurt me in the slightest, and now I cut my finger on a knife I myself am holding..?"

    Foster ced the throwing knife to the side and took a closer look at the scratch by holding it near thentern. But when he did, another source of light appeared by his hand. It came from the bracelet. The eyes of the snake''s head suddenly started glowing, and it felt like it started shaking around.

    The snake released its own tail and started slithering over Foster''s skin. Logically, it should have fallen off, but it was practically glued to his skin. The metallic chain-snake slithered onto Foster''s hand. Before he knew it, the snake swallowed the tip of Foster''s finger, as if sucking on it. If it wasn''t so creepy, it would have actually been kind of cute.

    Foster figured that it was trying to suck his blood for whatever reason, and he didn''t even know why he was letting it happen just like that. But then, something appeared in front of him that let him know it was probably the right choice.

    ---

    [The Legacy Artifact {Snake of Death} has been activated by offering blood of the Legacy holder]

 Chapter 13 - The Martial Necromancer

    Foster looked at the message box floating in front of his eyes, and then back to the ''Snake of Death'' that was still suckling on the tip of his finger, "Erm... what?" He let out in confusion, unsure what this exactly meant. He had heard the exnation from Aaron and Joyce earlier, but he didn''t even think about whether or not he wanted to go for this yet. Although it did seem like it was a littlete for that.

    ---

    [The Legacy Holder has activated the first phase of the Legacy]

    [The Tier 1 ss {Martial Necromancer} has been acquired]

    [The ss Skill {Martial Necromancy} has been acquired]

    [The Legacy Quest {Path of the Martial Necromancer} has begun]

    ---

    "Well, shit." Foster said with a wry smile on his face, looking back at the message windows floating right in front of him. He was unsure what all of this meant, though... He literally had not the slightest clue.

    It hadn''t been that long since Aaron and Joyce headed to bed, so maybe he should just wake them up and ask them. Foster didn''t want to do anything that could be dangerous to him now. He quickly turned around and rushed down the creaking steps as he watched the metallic snake slither back around his wrist. Foster made his way in front of Aaron and Joyce''s door, when he heard the two of them talk to each other.

    "...can be trusted?" Aaron''s voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere. As if he suddenly unmuted a TV or something. When pulling his head just slightly back, he couldn''t hear him again. Just when Foster was a step in front of the door was he able to hear their voices.

    "Is this some kind of magic as well?" Foster thought to himself, as the other two continued talking. Joyce responded to Aaron.

    "I''m not sure, but... he does seem genuine, right?"

    "Genuinity doesn''t mean anything, Joycye. First of all, we can''t read minds. He could be some kind of psycho that''s particrly good at acting. And he was given a cmity''s legacy! I don''t know why we didn''t just kill him right then and there when finding that out..." Aaron groaned loudly.

    Joyce replied after a few moments of silence, "Because you didn''t want to? We just lost Simon, and Foster clearly didn''t want him to die either... He still seems like a good guy, right? Shouldn''t we just trust him? I mean... If he just got to this world yesterday, then he couldn''t even have gotten a ss yet. We''ll stay around him, make sure to watch him, and don''t underestimate him like Simon did."

    "Just understimating someone doesn''t let you get beaten up by someone in that way. He''s an Otherworlder, Joyce, you can''t look at him the same way as you would other people. Simon was a martial artist himself, he-"

    "He just fatally injured a cmity, he wasn''t thinking. He was gloating, and Foster used dirty tactics on him. Listen, I get that-"

    "No, you obviously don''t, Joyce! I know what I said out there, but fact is, without that asshole, Simon might not be dead right now!"

    "We don''t know that! You saw what happened, and that would have happened anyway, like Foster said!"

    "We could have dealt with it ourselves! If that guy was able to fend them off, it couldn''t have been a big deal!"

    "It needed a fucking cmity to seal it away! It couldn''t ''not'' have been a big deal!"

    "Don''t you care for Simon at all, Joyce?!"

    "How could I not?!" Joyce yelled out in an angry voice, "He was as much my friend as he was yours, Aaron. Do you think I don''t care for his death? Do you think I don''t feel angry at Foster?! Of course I do, but both of us know that we need him! He''s an Otherworlder! Sure, they can be fucking terrifying, but do you really think that Foster is the bad kind? If he was, then we would already be dead by now, right? Chances are that he''s been sent here for a reason, and that reason might be to help. He might be a ''Hero-type''..." Joyce said, yelling through the tears that she had been fighting back this whole time.

    "...I know. I know it, alright? But... Fucking god dammit..." Aaron muttered quietly, before he went quiet for a while, "But how about... How about we make up for it? Listen, he hasn''t activated the artifact yet, so if we kill him and take it from him, it could be ours, right? A Legacy artifact in the hands of two A-Ranks will make up for the loss of a ''Hero-type''!" Aaron eximed, and Foster felt a chill run all over his body.

    "Shit..." He whispered quietly, as he took a step back. Foster looked at the snake on his wrist, "They want to... kill me?"

    Immediately, he turned around, running back up the stairs to go get the bag that he dropped upstairs, as well as maybe some extra knives or other weapons that were in an at least decent state. Once more, the staircase creaked loudly once Foster stepped onto it, just that this time, it somehow gave way. Foster still ignored it though, he was kind of in a rush.

    He made his way upstairs and quickly grabbed the things that he needed from here, before making his way downstairs again. But when he did, the step that gave way a bit suddenly seemed to glow in a dim light.

    "Is there...?" Foster muttered quietly, as he jumped over the missing step. He pulled it away to see what was behind it. After all, he wanted to grab anything that he could from this ce before heading off. And when the step was fully removed, which was really quite easy to do, a secret, hidden room was revealed to him. It was a space in the basement, that immediately made Foster think of some kind of secret stash, filled with things that could be useful somehow.

    He quickly rushed down there and hid the entrance with the steps, just in case. If Aaron and Joyce decided toe attack him right now, then he had a good ce to hide, at least. Foster made his way down the new steps, these ones carved into the hard dirt and rock the cabin had been built onto. He descended, far deeper than he thought he would.

    Soon, he reached a cave-like room that had been hidden underneath the hut. There seemed to be a rather long tunnel on the other side of the room, that was stretching out far into the distance. Something like an emergency-escape tunnel... and it was something that Foster could really use right about now. He wouldn''t need to go back upstairs and risk running into those two again. Instead, he could grab whatever he needed to grab from down here, and then make his way out through the escape tunnel.

    Now with his rough n of action taken care of, Foster could really take a look at what was down here. There were some shelves, more weapon-disys, and a bunch of maps and paintings on the walls. Thetter of those things were the most interesting to Foster.

    He rushed up to one of therger maps and took a look at it. The notes written onto it seemed to be anything but english, but most likely through that ''Trante'' spell that was ced onto him, he was able to read it anyway. He learned anguage instantly... Foster really owed Thiodrus for all he did for him in that short time they knew each other. He didn''t care if those other two called Thiodrus a ''cmity'', they were the ones possibly thinking about killing him.

    Foster looked at the notes on the map. While it didn''t seem to include this forest, a map was always useful. He took down the frame that the map was in, and smashed it onto the ground to break it out. He pulled the map out from underneath the shards, and then moved on to the next. Most of them seemed to be useless to him for now, but he still grabbed all of them. And then, Foster finally found the right map, one that showed this forest on it as well.

    "Perfect." Foster muttered, and added this one to his collection. He rolled all the maps up and tied some thread that he found around it to keep them like that, before moving on to the other objects that wereying around.

    There were bottles filled with liquids that Foster couldn''t identify, as well as books that seemed to be hand-written. Rather than just being hand-written, they were notebooks created by Thiodrus, in which he noted down martial-arts techniques. Foster grabbed another empty bag that he found here and stuffed as many of the books that seemed useful in there as he could, and just for the sake of it, since they mighte in useful at some point, Foster also grabbed some of the different bottles here. In the end, he had no idea what these were, though, so he had to be really, really careful and find someone that could tell him about them.

    But until then.... he first had to get out of here.

 Chapter 14 - Chase

    Foster made his way through this long tunnel. Even after walking for about 20 minutes, the end of the tunnel only just barely came into sight. He really hoped that there was actually an exit, and this wasn''t just some dead end...

    "Come on, please..." He muttered quietly, as the wall at the end of the tunnel came closer and closer. And when he stood in front of it, he saw another small indent right to his left, where adder was somewhat hidden. Or at least Foster thought it was adder, it looked like one despite being made of roots. Since it did lead up through a hole in the ceiling, it seemed like a fair assumption, though.

    Foster quickly climbed up there and soon reached the top. There was a small hatch there, that he quickly pushed open. It was incredibly heavy, but he was still able to somehow get it open. A bunch of dirt was piled on top of it, most likely to hide it from the outside. He climbed out of the hole and looked around. There didn''t seem to be anything around here for now, so first, Foster had to orient himself. He pulled out the map that included this forest.

    The tree of light had disappeared from Foster''s sight, so he couldn''t orient himself based on that as a mark. The ces where the tree and the cabin stood were marked on the map, though, so that would have been perfect to figure out the direction that he had to go.

    "What else could I..?" Foster thought to himself, when he turned his head and looked at the sky. That same bright star stood there in the sky. While he had no idea whether or not this was really a ''northern'' star like on earth, that didn''t matter. It was enough to figure out his rtive position. Foster remembered the direction that he saw this star when looking out the window in the cabin, and he remembered which direction he ran to get to the tree.

    "When I turn this way... If the cabin was where I''m standing, then the tree will be straight ahead... And the star will be too my right, so..." Foster muttered quietly, as he looked at the directional cross on the map, helping him figure out the cardinal directions, "...that means that star is... perfectly north? That... is kind of unlikely, but I won''tin." With a grin on his face, he looked back onto the map.

    Luckily, that really did seem to be a northern star, so Foster was able to navigate based on it like he normally would have, instead of having to constantly remind himself of the actual position. But now, Foster had to figure out roughly where he was on the map. There didn''t seem to be a scale on the map, but at least he did travel quite a distance already that he could reference, considering that Foster knew how fast he could run.

    "That means, I''m roughly... Here?" Foster muttered quietly. He wasn''t entirely sure, but it did seem right enough, at least. He looked at the small metallic snake wrapped around his hand, "You don''t coincidentally have a GPS built into you, do you?"

    After letting out a deep sigh, Foster looked around. There wasn''t anything like a town here on the map, but a small bit to the right of it seemed kind of familiar, "I think... I saw it on another map as well?"

    Foster unrolled the maps he had, seeing if any of the terrain or the marked points seemed to be the same. Luckily, he was right. There was a bit of an ovep between most of the maps. And if he was right, then within three maps, Foster would have built a connection leading him to a town. In writing, it said ''Great Food'' right next to it, so it seemed like a good enough ce to head to first. There didn''t seem to be any closer town than this either, at least not on the maps that Foster had with him.

    And so, just like that, Foster had managed to figure out a rough n of action, and he didn''t need to think about what to do next until he actually reached that town. With the map in his right hand, and a knife he took from that basement cave in his left, Foster made his way through this forest, ready for anything that mighte his way.

    ---

    Alright, maybe not ''anything''. Foster wasn''t prepared for a horde of those glowing, weird wolves to suddenly hunt him down.

    "Shit, shit, shiiit!" Foster grumbled to himself under his breath as he was sprinting through the dark forest. Luckily, those monsters were easy to see, and as such to avoid, but since they were much, much faster than him, they would probably catch up to him sooner orter.

    "Come on, man! I didn''t do anything to you! Just go do something else already, will you?!" He yelled out in annoyance. It was then that Foster''s mind wandered over to something that he hadn''t explored yet. He didn''t know why this happened, but it did. So he responded by engaging with that thought, and tried to call up the information for that ''Skill'' that he got not too long ago.

    Before Foster even had to say anything, the information window appeared in front of his eyes.

    ---

    [Martial Necromancy][Level �C 1]

    [Rating �C Legacy]

    [Description: You use your body as a conduit for necromantic magic, inflicting harm upon those around you.]

    [Martial Skills]

    -[Single Strike]

    [Magic Spells]

    -[Chilling Touch]

    ---

    "Inflicting harm upon those around you... I can use this to fight?" Foster thought, as his eyes wandered down to the two things at the very bottom. ''Martial Skills'' and ''Magic Spells'', and as he thought about what those were, two more information windows appeared in front of Foster. Luckily, the information flowed into his mind without even having to read what was written on there.

    ---

    [Single Strike][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Hit your target with a single strengthened strike]

    -

    [Chilling Touch][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Through your hand, you let Necromantic energies flow into your target, making them feel the chilling cold of death]

    ---

    "Single Strike and Chilling Touch?" Foster knew what those two things would do, he understood it beyond what was just written onto those information windows. However, there was still one issue. The only thing that he didn''t know about yet was how he was supposed to activate these things. They would definitelye in quite useful right about now.

    This magic stuff seemed a bit beyond Foster right now, since he didn''t even know where he was supposed to start with that at this point. The martial skill portion, however, seemed like something he had a bit more of a grasp on already. It was what he was used to to an extent, after all.

    Foster took a deep breath and focused on his fist. He thought about the information he received from that ability, and tried to strengthen his fist using it. He imagined his fist to be something else entirely, something stronger. A thick hammer that could instantly smash someone''s skull. That was when a weird tingling filled his hand, and it started to heat up in an unnatural way. It was nearly painful, but only in the way like when the water in the shower was too hot.

    Foster wanted to release this heat from his fist. And the best ce to do that was the creature currently following after him. He immediately stopped running and twisted his body around, looking at the beast that was currently running at him. There were more, of course, but only this one seemed to be directly aiming at him. As if it got first dibs somehow.

    Foster looked at this weird creature and swung his hand to the side in a hook-like motion. His fist connected to the creature''s skin, and the heat released all at once. Foster knew what a regr punch of this strength would look like, and this one seemed much, much stronger than that. It was as if a small st went off the moment that he managed to hit the side of the creature''s head.

    It let out a loud yelp as it lost control over its body, starting to slide over the ground. Itid there for a moment, and soon stood up from there while shaking off the damage that it had received.

    "Eh?" Foster looked at this creature with a wry smile on his face, realizing that despite his incredibly heavy, surreally strong punch, this creature was still perfectly fine at the end of the day, "Well, shit..."

    He immediately turned back around and continued running, since that just now clearly didn''t work out. Now, Foster had to keep on running, all the whilst figuring out a way to get away from these guys. Luckily, there was a family of deer not too far away from him now. These monsters reminded him of wolves, so maybe he was able to shake them off in a simr way as well.... At least that''s what he was hoping for.

 Chapter 15 - Out Of The Forest

    Foster kept running forward, steering just so slightly away so that he wouldn''t run directly into the deer. He was able to move around them without the deer being too bothered, and then, he pped his hands together and created a loud sound. Immediately, the deer looked in his direction. Some of the glowing monsters changed their focus onto them instead. But it wasn''t all of them.

    Foster needed another tactic for the other ones, but at least this was easier to deal with now. Or at least, that''s what he thought. Until he heard a loud yelping sounde from behind him, before the other monsters all stopped and turned around. Foster also turned around to see what was going on, and saw the stag''s antlers piercing through the body of one of the monsters. It had been able to kill the monster with ease.

    Only then did Foster realize that this was no regr stag either, but that its antlers were rather special as well. Instead of the simple branch-like structure, they were... des. Sharp and thin, and clearly able to pierce flesh with ridiculous ease.

    Maybe that was why they didn''t run away from Foster earlier... because they simply weren''t startled by him. Instead of running away quickly, they might have evolved to fight back instead. Which was a rather horrifying idea.

    "Well, shit..." Foster grumbled, as he picked up speed again. He didn''t want to trade one monster hunting him down for another, so he had to get out of here while they were fighting each other instead. It took him a while, but soon, Foster managed to reach a distance at which he was more than positive that he got away from them.

    He leaned against a tree and let out a deep, heavy breath that had been stuck in his throat for the past couple of minutes, "What the fuck is this ce..? Urgh..." Foster looked around himself, as he was trying to figure out where he was. He tried to mostly run in a straight line, but he did have to turn away a couple of times while running away from those monsters.

    Luckily, he was still barely able to see the northern star in the sky, despite the fact that everything seemed to be brightening up a bit. He looked at his map, trying to orient himself properly, "I should be able to get out of the forest for a bit over here... Looks to be nds at least?"

    From there, Foster would be able to head to the town in a mostly straight line, at least if the maps were properly up-to-date. There was a river running by in the middle, but if it was near a town, there was most likely a bridge nearby as well, considering that there was a road that wasn''t that far away from that bridge either.

    But first, Foster had to get out of this forest, or else he would end up dying one way or another. Either by being killed by those monsters, or just through a heartattack because he was absolutely terrified. The good thing was that those glowing monsters weren''t able to sneak up on him... being luminescent, and all.

    ---

    Foster stepped out of the thick, tall grass and pressed his foot onto the ground. The t ground, with traces of hoofs, amongst other weird footsteps, on it, together with some trails that seemed to be from a cart or carriage of sort. At least that seemed more likely than a car in this sort of world. Either way, Foster had finally found the street. That meant that now he only had to turn right, follow it, and he would reach the town sooner orter.

    Even though noon had already passed just to reach this ce, Foster was confident that he would be able to reach the town on the map soon. They were all of a surprisingly small scale, luckily enough, at least when Foster went in a straight line to get to their edge. Although it made him wonder why Thiodrus had these maps hanging in frames down there. For now, though, he knew he just had to keep going, even if he was really quite curious about these things. After all, he knew nothing of this ce, so maybe there was some reason for every little thing that people did, even if he himself wasn''t able to understand it directly.

    Treading on this road, Foster continued making his way to the town, although there was one more thought that was stuck in his mind no matter how much he was trying to get rid of it.

    "I wish my headphones still worked..." He groaned loudly. His phone and headphones were still with him, and he could still vividly remember hearing some music as he stood atop that mountain. Just that everything stopped the moment that both his phone and headphones hit some rocks as he fell down there. Just in case, Foster already disposed of the battery in his phone. It seemed to have started swelling up because of the damage it took, so he threw it away before it had blown up. And his headphones... well, they simply cracked in half while Foster''s neck hit a particr edge at the side of the mountain, together with his neck itself.

    "Well, they''re basically useless now, huh..? Especially without even a phone or something to y music from..." He grumbled to himself, as he continued walking somewhat annoyed. Foster would probably really miss good music from now on, "Like, what kinda stuff would they listen to in the middle ages..? ssical music..? Urgh..." Since he really wasn''t the type to listen to those kinds of things, Foster was somewhat annoyed. He figured there were other types of music besides just ssical music in these times, but he had no idea what it could be, if he was totally honest.

    In the first ce... Foster really didn''t know much about these times in the first ce. And even if he did, there was no guarantee that everything was the same as on earth. Any of the knowledge that he might have left from the bits and pieces that he learned about in history ss could just bepletely and utterly useless to him now. That idea was even more annoying... But also kind of exciting at the same time.

    "Earth was kinda boring, so I guess a world like this might be a lot better." He thought to himself out loud. And that was when he suddenly heard something in the distance. It had been muffled by his own footsteps and breathing up until now, but it just came close enough for Foster to be able to notice it. Immediately, he turned around, scared that those deer ended up following him out here somehow. But instead, he was met with a rather positive, weing view. Foster was able to see a carriage! It was a wooden, drawn carriage, but it was something that only people could drive! Or well, he hoped... Maybe it was some kind of monster that looked like a carriage to lure in lost, hopeless wanderers...

    With a somewhat suspicious expression, Foster stepped to the side of this road, when he finally saw the man sitting at the front. And at that point, he was also able to see the... thing that was pulling the carriage. It certainly wasn''t a horse. It didn''t seem to be any sort of mammal, actually.

    "Is that a big fucking lizard?" He asked himself with a wry smile. It really did seem like it. It had dark green, bordering ck, scales and was running on its thick hind legs. It was like some kind of tiny t-rex, just with a thinner, slightly cuter head.

    Foster stood there, waiting for the carriage toe closer, and it soon came to a halt in front of him, "Oye, what''re ye doin'' out here?" The cart-driver asked, and Foster looked back at him with a light smile, "Ah, I''m just trying to get to the nearby town. I''m... a traveler."

    "On foot?! The nearest town is a three-day walk away!" The cart-driver pointed out, and Foster looked back at him with a wry smile, "Well... I had a ride, but I... lost it?"

    "...A monster attack, eh? I feel ya, lost more than one ''orse in my days that way." The cart-driver said with a deep sigh, "Come, hop on. The town ain''t that far away."

    "Wait, really?"

    "Aye! Just don''t touch anythin'' back there, or ye''re gonna have to pay for it." The driver said with a smile, and Foster let out an exhausted, grateful sigh, "Perfect, thank you."

    "Although..." The driver muttered, "I''m surprised ye ain''t sweatin'' in this heat, walkin'' out here and all."

    "Oh, I just took a break and cleaned up a bit. Trust me, I was sweating like hell."

    "Haha, I feel you. I bet ya can''t wait to get to town, eh? Get a nice inn to rx in?"

    Foster nodded his head with a smile, "Right, exactly." He said, as he slowly climbed into the back of the carriage. There were some barrels and boxes in here, so much that Foster had to practically squeeze in. Of course, he tried to make sure that he hid the small, cooling flower that in the vial, filled with some dirt at the bottom, that he wore like a ne. Foster wasn''t sure how normal it was, after all. But even then, another thought stayed in his mind.

    If the town they were heading to was the closest town... And the other one was a three-day walk away... Then it was possible, if not likely, for Aaron and Joyce toe to this town as well.. Which meant that Foster had to get further away, as far as possible.

 Chapter 16 - Val And Kiras

    Foster sat there in the back of the carriage, finally able to rx for a while. He looked at the scenery through therge opening in the back that he climbed through earlier, and before long, the carriage came to a halt again, although Foster was able to hear some more things in the distance. Were they finally there?

    He leaned his head out of the back and took a closer look, soon seeing a thick, tall stone wall as well as arge gate that fit the wall''s size, "Eh..?" He let out somewhat surprised, not having expected to see something like this. It did seem pretty cool though, if he was totally honest. It didn''t take long for the carriage to be let in, and they entered the short tunnel that would lead them to the other side of the wall.

    It was exciting, really exciting. This would be the first time that Foster would see a city of this world in any capacity, so there was no way that he wouldn''t be somewhat excited.

    Right after they left the short tunnel, the carriage came to a halt again right next to it, and Foster could hear the driver jump off the front. He came around to the back, and looked at his guest with a light smile, "We''re ''ere now. I''m gonna have to stay ''ere to get my cargo checked, but I''m sure ye can just head straight to an inn." The driver said, and Foster slowly climbed out. He felt the paved ground underneath his feet and felt somewhat happy and that familiar feeling.

    "Actually, I''m mostly here to travel through. Can I hire someone here to drive me somewhere else?" He asked, and the driver seemed rather surprised, "Oh? Where are ya headin'', boy?"

    "Well... have you heard of the ''Golden Kobold'' Guild?" Foster asked with a somewhat wry smile. The driver just began tough, "Ah, I should''ve known from yer outfit! Yer tryin'' to be an adventurer for that guild, eh? Well, good luck with that! But... wait, that means that yer goin'' in the wrong direction? Tobald''s in the direction where ya just came from."

    "Ah, that... I... am bad with directions?" Foster said awkwardly, although that was the biggest lie that he had told here in this world so far, and the driver seemed to have caught onto the fact that he was hiding something. He was rather clever, it seemed.

    "Well, if ya wanna get to the Golden Kobold Guild, ya definitely don''t wanna ''ead to Arcadum. It''s in thepletely opposite direction, and while it''s an ''uge dungeon city with a bunch of other good guilds and plenty of work for anyone, the Golden Kobold Guild ain''t there." The driver exined to Foster, "And that means that ya also definitely don''t wanna talk to my buddy George at the ''Hignd Company'', who''s nnin'' on deliverin'' stuff there in a couple of days."

    Foster looked back at the driver rather surprised. With a grin on his face, he looked back at him and nodded his head, "Alright. I definitely won''t do that then. Thanks for the advice. I really owe you one."

    "Ah, don''t''cha worry ''bout it. It''s our role as elders to take care of the young''ins, eh?" The driverughed, "Now go on, before they close up for the day. Ya just gotta go follow this street, and when ya reach the market, go down the street to the right. Yer gonna recognize it right away, it''s the building with the huge star on its sign."

    Foster stretched his hand out toward the driver, who did the same, "Good luck, boy."

    "Thank you. I appreciate your help." Foster replied, and then slowly turned around. That was when the whole vibe of the city finally hit him. Certainly, if this wasn''t a medieval city, then Foster didn''t know what was. While everything was built tightly together like in a modern city, it was clear that this was anything but ''modern''. For one, there were no special streets for cars or anything like that, and everyone was walking around everywhere. The carriages were driving in the middle of the street.

    And most importantly... Plenty of people here were carrying weapons with them. It looked like Foster was at an executive meeting for the syndicate... Just that these guys weren''t carrying guns, but swords or bows. There were also plenty of people in metal armor walking around, like ssic medieval city guards. It was a surreal sight, overall.

    Foster started to walk through the streets. There were a few people that looked at him, most likely because of the outfit that he was wearing, but for the most part nobody seemed to really care about him. It was kind of surprising to see this kind of calm, collected city so close to something like that horrendous tree and someone that was said to be a ''cmity''. Soon, Foster reached the market, and he was immediately able to see a few sights that he never saw before.

    For one... different people. It was full and bustling out here, and there were all sorts of people here. Foster assumed that different ssic fantasy races were a thing, since Aaron said he was a half-elf. That meant that the people that he spotted were some elves, what seemed to be dwarves and maybe some gnomes. For the most part, that seemed to be it, though. There were probably others, not that Foster was able to confirm that idea right now, though.

    But beside the people, there were some other interesting things here. Stalls that were just selling swords, pieces of armor, and other kinds of martial weapons right here in public. Plenty of kids were gathered there, ying around with some of the blunt weapons. It seemed kind of irresponsible, though... Beside those, the stalls selling actual food, like one would expect from a market, were all selling things that Foster never saw before.

    Purple, wart-covered apple-shaped things. Cubic, spiked fruit. And Foster didn''t even want to think about what those mushrooms looked like to him... And when it came to the meat as well, some of the half-butchered animals were just unrecognizable as well. Foster liked to get his meat fresh when he had the chance to, so he saw plenty of different animals in all the different stages of butchering, but none of them looked like this. However, there was one other thing that Foster was focusing on... the money that was being used.

    Foster grabbed as much of the coins that he saw in Thiodrus'' cabin as he could carry, but that didn''t mean he had any idea how much they were worth. So, he just stood there for a moment and waited until one of the random people here bought one of those purple apple-things. It seemed to be a small copper coin, although it looked a little different than the ones Foster had with him.

    Well, he should be able to ask, at least. After seeing that guy walk off while biting into the purple apple he bought, Foster walked up to the stall. There was a small sign right in the middle of them reading ''5 Val'', probably the currency of this ce.

    "Erm, excuse me, but I''m new around here, so..." Foster said while looking at thedy behind the stall, "Do you take these coins?" He asked, holding forward a couple of those small copper coins toward thedy. She took a closer look at them with a squint and then raised her head to look at Foster.

    "Never seen those kinda coins before. Where are you from?" She asked, and Foster smiled wrily, "I''m just a traveler from the west."

    "Hm, I see. Well, can I have a look at those?" She asked, and Foster handed the coins to her. She took a closer look at them and made sure to feel them in her hand, "Well, they''re copper pieces, for sure." She muttered, "They''re just a bit heavier than the ones we use around here. Three of these should be worth 2 Val."

    "Ah, then..." Foster looked through the bag filled with more of these, pulling out one of the actual coins, "And how much is this worth then?"

    "Also a bit bigger. One of ''em is 15 Val, I would say. Might be worth it to go exchange them at the bank, though, gonna be easier to handle." The woman suggested to Foster, and he slowly nodded his head, "I see. Got it. Then... Three of these here, please." He said, pointing at the purple apples. The woman nodded and gave Foster the copper pieces back, while keeping the coin. She packed three of the purple apples into a small jute bag and handed it to Foster.

    "Here you go. Enjoy your Kiras, mister traveler." The woman said with a smile, and Foster turned around with a light nod, "Thanks. Have a nice day."

    He turned around and made his way toward the street that was described to him earlier. He still didn''t know what those other coins were, but at the very least he now knew both where to go to get money that he could actually use here, and he also knew a bit more about the currency.

    These purple apples were rather big, in total they seemed to be about two pounds. That meant that each was worth maybe a dor? If hepared them to regr apple prices at least, "So 5 Val are a dor, meaning 1 Val is about 20 cents? Hm... should be easy enough to remember." Foster muttered quietly, as he pulled out one of the ''Kiras'', and bit into it with a smile on his face, although he was somewhat nervous about it. It didn''t look particrly appetizing at least, although that guy from before ate it without a worry in the world.

    It was juicy, incredibly so... Sweet, with soft flesh, "Huh.. Tastes like a pear."

 Chapter 17 - George

    Foster kept on eating the kira as he made his way to that ce the carriage driver was talking about earlier. If they were able to bring him to that city, Arcadum, then Foster would be able to rx, at least. In this sort of world, he figured that it was close to impossible to actually find someone when they were actively trying to hide from you.

    There was no technology here, somunication between far-away ces must be rather hard. Sure, there were other ways to find people than just the inte or by texting around, Foster knew that. He himself had to work with information brokers quite a lot to find people, but it usually took a while to find his targets in the first ce, at least that was so until he had constructed a properwork of brokers that he could freely ess.

    And before that was the case, it was often so that his targets ended up knowing about him already. Of course, Foster wasn''t a hitman, so people didn''t really care that he came to visit, but plenty of higher-ups at other syndicates or organizations would put on an ''I have expected you'' show for him when he tried to invite them to the syndicate, or when he tried toe to them to set up particr deals.

    So as long as Foster connected with the topyer of the criminal underworld in Arcadum, he should be able to be prepared even if Aaron and Joyce were to go so far as to hunt him down like that. By the time he reached the ce he headed to, the building with therge sign of a star hanging in front of it, Foster had finished two of the kari. They were surprisingly tasty, and it''s been a while since he ate anything as well.

    Foster stepped into the entrance to thepany, therge open, barn-like door, and looked around until he saw someone actively working here. It was a well-built, tall guy carrying a huge wooden barrel on his shoulder as if it was nothing. Even if it was empty, which it quite honestly didn''t seem to be, that thing must weight a shitton.

    "Hey, sorry, could you help me for a second?" Foster asked somewhat awkwardly, not wanting to interrupt this guy while he was working, but he simply turned toward this young man with a smile on his face, "Hm? Ah, of course! What can I do for ya?" He asked in a weing tone, simply holding the barrel on his shoulder like it weighed nothing.

    "Erm, I''m looking for a ''George''?" Foster asked, and the man''s face quickly turned into a frown, "And what do ya want with him?"

    "I''m trying to get to Arcadum, I heard that George could bring me there?"

    "And who told you that?" The man asked. Foster looked back surprised, since this guy suddenly seemed rather intense. Scratching his cheek, Foster replied, "His name is Christoph, he''s a merch-"

    "Oh, Christoph sent ya?!" Before Foster was even able to finish speaking, the man ced down the barrel that he was carrying, "Well in that case, you''vee to the right ce! I''m George!" With an energetic tone, he locked eyes with Foster.

    "So, what can you do?" George asked curiously, "Ya look to be a fighter, so that means you could be an escort? Or just some regr muscle, if ya''d rather."

    Foster looked down at his clothes, and let out a light sigh. He was d that he was going to be able to get there, but he wasn''t aware that he was supposed to help out while that was happening. Although, it did make sense, if he was honest. He couldn''t expect to just be helped out for free all the time.

    "I''m a decent fighter, but not when ites to... erm, monsters? If you need someone, then it''d be great if I could help out by just carrying stuff when you need me to." Foster suggested, and George quickly thought about it, "Well, I honestly think we might have enough workers with us, but having more can never hurt. And really, just having more people with us that even look like they can fight is gonna help us avoid bandids, so... As long as ya don''t mind being used as part of a deterrent, then you can tag along."

    "Oh! Perfect! Yeah, that''s totally fine, actually, I don''t mind at all. So, when are we leaving?" Foster asked, eager to get out of this town as soon as possible before Aaron and Joyce somehow ended up here soon. They should have at least realized that he left the cabin by now, even if they had slept for a few hours after that conversation.

    "We''re leavin'' tomorrow morning, around sunrise. But better be here an hour before sunrise, if ya can. Just to make sure we can really leave on time."

    "Alright. Is there anything that I can help with already?"

    "Quite eager, aren''t''cha? I appreciate the thought, but there''s no need to worry about that." George said, "We''ve got everything that we''re taking from here already loaded up. But we are meeting with a caravan from ourpany in a town a few days away, so we''ll be taking over a few of their things. You''re probably mostly going to need to help out there. And of course, at night when we set up camp, or when we''re givin'' our barias a break."

    While Foster had no idea what a ''Baria'' was, he simply agreed to help out that way. Although, from the way that he was talking... "How long is it going to take us to reach Arcadum, if you don''t mind me asking?"

    "Hmm... Just five, maybe six weeks depending on the weather. Absolute worst case should be seven, no need to worry." George exined in a blunt tone, as if these numbers were absolutely normal. Although, maybe they were normal, and it was just that it seemed weird to Foster''s standards.

    "Alright... Well, seems like I''ve got pretty lucky timing, huh?" He pointed out, and George simplyughed for a moment, "Really does seem that way!"

    "Do you know a good ce where I can stay for the night, then? I''m honestly kind of exhausted."

    "Ah, right. Well, walk back out through where you came from, then go left, and on the next main-street go right. Walk for a minute or so and you''ll reach a decent inn to stay in for the night. They always have some open rooms, so you should be good to go right away." George exined. Foster took his advice and smiled back at him, "Great. Then I''ll be heading off for now. Ah, although... Is there any way I can exchange some of my money with you guys here before then? I don''t have the same currency as what you guys use."

    George immediately nodded his head as he walked over to the side of the room. He grabbed a bag and then looked back at Foster, "I''m guessing you need just enough for a one-night stay in the inn, and some food?"

    "Yup, exactly." Foster replied, pulling out some of the coins that he had, "Although I really don''t know how much that costs..."

    "Oh, you should be fine with 150 Val for a night at the Inn, so if you have that much, let''s just exchange for 300, maybe 350?"

    "Alright, perfect." Foster quickly handed George the coins that he had, and he took a quick look at the pieces of copper that were nowying in his hands, "Oh, they''re kind of big... One of these should be worth about 20 Val."

    "Wait, 20?" Foster replied with a wry smile, "But she told me it was worth 15... That goddamn..." Foster let out a loud groan as he realised one of his first interactions with people in this world was him getting scammed.

    It felt familiar at least, but Foster was sure that this wasn''t a great sign for what else he was going to experience in this world.

 Chapter 18 - Heading Off

    Foster quickly rushed out of the inn that he spent the night in. He had a pretty good sleep, so good that he actually nearly overslept. Although, he didn''t really know howte it was in the first ce, and he wasn''t able to see the town''s clocktower from his room.

    But luckily, since it was still dark out, he knew that he at the very least wasn''t toote, and quickly rushed toward the ''Hignd Company''. He could see a couple of carriages standing in front of it, most likely the ones that they were going to be heading off from here with. There were about a dozen employees working and making sure that everything was fine, as well as a handful of people that clearly weren''t direct employees, but were most likely people meant toe protect the carriage out on the road.

    At the very least, they were the only ones carrying weapons or wearing anything resembling armor. They were all talking to each other, until one of them noticed Foster approaching with his bags around his shoulder and on his back.

    "Yo! You another adventurer that was hired for this trip?" He asked. Foster approached him while shaking his head, "Ah, no, I''m not an adventurer. I''m just here to help out a bit in exchange for a ride." He exined, and the group of four standing in front of him looked him up and down with surprised expressions.

    "But you look like you''re a martial artist?" They replied to Foster.

    "Yeah, I know, I''m just not particrly strong, you know? More of a beginner, I guess?" Foster said, trying toe up with an excuse that made any kind of sense.

    "...Are you going toe along for the whole trip, then? All the way to Arcadum?" One of them, the oldest of them, asked. With a slow nod, Foster replied, "Yeah, that''s the n. I heard it''s a good ce to find work."

    "Well, it is growin'' pretty fasttely." Another of the group pointed out. She looked back at Foster with her arms crossed, "So what kinda work are you going to be lookin'' for then?" She asked him.

    "Anything that I can use to make a living to start out, I would say? For now my goal is just to get to Arcadum, I''ll figure it out when I''m there."

    "Seriously? You''re going to Arcadum without even a n for what you want to do? What''s your ss even?"

    Luckily, Foster already thought about an answer for this question. Since he saw that Aaron and Joyce reacted in such an extreme manner, it made sense that there were some things he should try and hide for now, at least until he developed a bit of amon sense for this world. And one of those things was his ''ss'' that he received through this metallic snake wrapped around his wrist.

    "I''m an Apprentice Martial Artist. As I said, I''m just a beginner."

    "An apprentice, at your age?" One of the group members said, before closing his eyes with a light smile, "I see. Must''ve been a pretty sheltered kid growin'' up, huh? Well, I guess Arcadum is a good a ce as any to be independent."

    "H-Huh? Right, yeah... Anyway, it was a nice talk, but I think I have to go talk to George for a second." Foster exined, trying to get out of this conversation since it was taking a somewhat bothersome turn for him right now.

    "What, you don''t wanna keep talkin'' to us?" One of the others asked with augh, and Foster scratched his cheek awkwardly, "I mean, we''ll be traveling for a month, I doubt we won''t have other chances to talk."

    "Right that. George''s in the back, you can''t miss ''im."

    "Perfect, thanks." Foster smiled at the group of adventurers and then made his way inside. The employees were looking at him somewhat curiously, but that ended pretty quickly as well. And it didn''t take long for Foster to see George either

    "Ah, there he is! You''rete!" George eximed with a frown on his face, and Foster looked back at him apologetically, "Right, sorry, I just kind of overslept."

    With a sigh, George pointed at one of the carriages, "Put your stuff in there, you''ll be ridin'' in there for now. It''s mostly empty for now, but you''re gonna be sharing the space with some of our wares, so be careful in there."

    "Of course, thank you. Is there anything I can help out with after that?" Foster asked, but George quickly shook his head, "Nah, I don''t think so. Not right now at least. Just introduce yourself to the others and then wait for us to head off." George exined. With a quick nod, Foster turned around to get to that immediately, although he was quickly given one other small task before he left.

    "Ah, and if you see another adventurerin'' in here, a bit shorter than you, wearing a cloak and a mask, send him to me. He''ste as well." George added. While that seemed like a rather loose description, for some reason Foster figured that he would know exactly who George was talking about when he ended up seeing him.

    Either way, for now, Foster brought his things over to the carriage that he would be riding in. It felt a bit weird to just leave his things in there, but he figured that it was fine, since there were personal belongings of some people in the others as well. Since there was nothing in here, it looked like Foster would be riding in here alone, which he really didn''t mind at all.

    That left him enough time to do whatever he wanted at least. And after putting his things away, Foster started to walk around the ce and introduced himself to the employees, since he was going to be working with them for the next month or so. That in itself was still somewhat baffling to Foster... that this trip was going to take a full month. But it wasn''t like Foster had anything better to do right now anyway. He just wanted to get as far away from Aaron and Joyce as possible, so something like this might actually be the the perfect thing.

    And more importantly, Foster would get something to eat, had a ce to sleep, as well as the people and time avable to him so that he could slowly figure out a few more things about this ce. Just as he was dwelling in his thoughts, Foster was told that they were going to head off soon. Those small t-rex like things were attached to the carriages and everyone got into their respective carts or got ready to walk beside them. Those adventurers from earlier belonged to thetter, apparently.

    Foster got into the carriage he would be traveling in and sat down, just leaning against one of the boxes as he could feel the bumpy ride begin. George came to check in on him for a moment, and then they really headed off. And just as that was happening, Foster, who was in the hindmost carriage, saw the guy that George was talking about just earlier. Or at least, it was a rather unique look.

    Just like George had said, he was wearing a dark cloak over his whole body, as well as a wooden mask that covered every bit of his face, not revealing anything of his body at all. He stepped up to thepany''s building and was looking around. With an annoyed expression, Foster stood up and leaned out the back, "Hey, you there! You''re supposed to be with us, right? Come on, we''re leaving!"

    That cloaked man turned his head and looked at Foster, and started to run forward toward the carriage, catching up within just a few seconds, and was now walking right behind the entrance to the carriage, "George is at the very front, just go and talk to him real quick... Maybe next time you shoulde a bit earlier to a job." Foster suggested, and the cloaked man silently nodded his head, before rushing past the couple of carriages to go meet with George.

    "Well, that guy''s kinda weird, huh?" Foster muttered quietly as he looked at his bracelet. It moved around as if it was moving just yesterday, so it wasn''t that weird to talk to it... right?

    Either way, for now, Foster opened up one of his bags and pulled out a couple of the books that he had stuffed in there. The first one that he wanted to read was this general book about ''Martial Necromancy''. In the front, the writer noted down who it was for. ''For the one who will inherit my legacy''. It was probably written by Thiodrus, then, for whoever he chose to take on his legacy. And that ''whoever'' was Foster.

    He already flipped through it a little bitst night, but this book seemed to describe the basics of this ss to the reader, and then had general instructions for movements that were a good fit for this ss, ones that Thiodrus himself probably used.

    However, before any of those instructions, that were paired with sketches to actually allow the reader to figure them out, there was a clear message written down.

    "Martial Necromancy is not a school ofbat... it is a tool ofbat. It can and may be paired with any and all schools of martialbat the user may choose. This action will be fully supported by my legacy.." Foster read, and when he then turned his attention to the instructions once more, he saw the eyes of his snake bracelet glow with a dim light.

 Chapter 19 - Legacy Training Mode

    "''This action will be fully supported by the legacy''... the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Foster asked himself with a wry smile, looking at the writing in the book, "You gonna help me learn martial arts or something?" He turned toward the metal snake wrapped around his wrist, before letting out a light sigh. And as he did, he saw someone else that he didn''t expect to see again so soon. It was that guy, clothed in a cloak with a mask pressed onto his face. He threw his bag into the carriage that Foster was in and jumped into it without a moment''s hesitation himself.

    "Erm... hi?" Foster said with a wry smile, and the guy in front of him just stayed silent, "Does that mean you''re going to ride in here with me for a while?"

    Slowly, the cloaked man nodded his head. At least he didn''t fully ignore Foster. With a light smile, the young man looked at the figure in front of him, "You know, you can take all that off if it''s ufortable. Don''t need to keep wearing stuff like that. Breathing with a mask on your face like that must be pretty hard, eh?"

    Foster was hoping to be able to at least talk to this guy a little bit... He would be the perfect person to inconspicuously ask for a few details about this world. But even so, he didn''t answer, and simply sat there silently.

    "...Right. I''ll just get back to my book, then." Foster suggested, turning back toward the book to keep on readiong instead of trying to keep talking to him. Obviously that wouldn''t end up going anywhere anyway.

    The movements that were described in the book were ratherplex, and Foster wasn''t sure if he was going to be able to figure it out just like this. They were going to take a break every single night, so maybe Foster should try and figure something out tonight when they stopped to camp somewhere.

    "Hm..." He muttered quietly, mentally trying to go through these movements. In his head, it didn''t seem that hard, but it was always like that. And while Foster did learn a little bit about different martial arts after picking it up from some of the other members of the syndicate, it was just one or two very basic techniques from whatever martial arts those guys were trying to teach him.

    It wasn''t like they were able to beat Foster even when using those, so it never really felt necessary to learn anything like this. But now that he was in this kind of world... Maybe it was worth it to invest a little bit of time into training after all.

    At the very least, being able to do martial arts would be kind of cool... Although probably rather hard to do without having something like a teacher. Not that Foster didn''t understand the basics of fighting already, though. It was just that his style was rather... dirty. It wasn''t something that you would see any sort of martial artist do. As proven by the way that Foster beat down that Simon guy before he died.

    Foster kept reading through the book, trying to properly remember the sketches as well as the writing that was describing them in more detail. He tried to imagine what they were going to be like, so that he wouldn''t have to start from that point when testing it outter tonight.

    However, before Foster knew it, half the day had already passed. He was just sitting there, reading through the books he brought, while that cloaked guy was sitting there without saying a word or even moving an inch. As far as Foster was concerned, he could have died sometime in the middle of the ride. But that was quickly disproven when the carriage came to a halt. They were going to take a break, letting everyone relieve themselves while those creatures drawing the carriages took a break and got something to drink. The cloaked guy immediately jumped up and left the carriage, as if he had been waiting for this before he even entered it.

    "...Do I smell or something?" Foster asked himself quietly, looking at the metallic snake, "Eh, who am I asking, you literally lived inside of a dead guy''s skull."

    Thinking that this was a good chance to get rid of that ufortable stiffness in his legs, Foster also quickly jumped up and climbed out of the carriage. He stretched a bit, and then walked to the front of the group of carriages to talk to George for a second. He seemed somewhat busy, so Foster wanted to ask his question real quick so that he wouldn''t bother him for too long.

    "Excuse me?" Foster said, and George quickly turned around toward him, "Yeah?" He asked in a somewhat annoyed tone. As figured, George was really quite busy right now.

    "I just wanted to ask if I can help out somehow?"

    "Don''t worry about it. We''re just taking a short break, nothing special. Just wait till tonight, and help set up camp. Just go take a piss for now, take a short walk, and thene back. We''re heading off again in an hour or so." George exined, "Ah, and this area is decently safe, but don''t wander off too far."

    "Got it. Thanks." Foster smiled a bit and turned around, quickly doing just what George suggested he did. And after relieving himself by the bushes, Foster once more pulled out the book that he was reading from all day. He took a deep breath, and attempted one of the movements.

    It was clear to him that the way he was moving was absolutely not the way that this was intended to be done, but at least, something did happen. The eyes of the metal snake started to glow, and something unexpected appeared in front of Foster.

    ---

    [Legacy training mode has been activated]

    [Argomna Style �C Basic Stance �C 0% Progress]

    [Argomna Style �C Basic Footwork �C 0% Progress]

    [Argomna Style �C Basic Forward Strike �C 0% Progress]

    ---

    "Basic forward strike..? I mean, that''s what it''s called, but... This thing is actually going to help me out? Like actually?" Foster muttered with a wry smile. And more than that, Foster was slightly focusing on the fact that this martial art seemed to be called ''Argomna Style''. Was this invented by Thiodrus himself?

    Somewhat curious about what this meant, Foster stood there for a while, before he then saw something appear in front of his eyes again. Just that this time it wasn''t anything like this message box, but something different. It was like there was someone else standing in front of him, but also not at the same time. They weren''t really there, it was just... like a rough silhouette surrounded by chaotic scribbles. Somehow, Foster knew that he was supposed to move into there, though. He would fit perfectly into that silhouette.

    He held his body in the exact way this silhouette told him to, and to an extent, it was as if his whole body just slid right into ce. Foster took a deep breath and kept this position for a while, before he saw something else that was new to him. More scribbles appeared, just that this time they extended from his limbs. From his hands and feet. Once more, Foster knew what these scribbles wanted him to do.

    Following allong with the scribbled lines floating in the air, constantly shifting around and revolving around each other, Foster pushed his fist forward to repeat that ''Basic Forward Strike''.

    The scribbles that were in front of his right hand all disappeared, since that was what he had hit with, but those in front of his legs and his left hand were still there. Foster pulled his hand back, and the scribbles appeared once more. And he really understood what this all meant right away, even though he saw it for the first time.

    These scribbled lines wanted to show him exactly how he was supposed to move his body. That silhouette was for the ''Basic Stance'', and those forward-squiggles were meant to show him all that he had to do for the forward strike.

    And that wasn''t all. When Foster wanted to see more about the footwork, squiggled circles appeared on the ground, where he was supposed to step while executing the general movements for the strike.

    Of course, while his body wasn''t moving on its own like he was somewhat hoping, he still had something that he could use to help him learn all this. And Foster just knew that this was the power of the artifact wrapped around his wrist. With a light grin on his face, growing more and more excited as he saw these scribbled lines floating in front of him, he pushed his body forward, again and again.

    For the full hour, Foster kept on repeating the same movements, over and over again.

 Chapter 20 - Lynol

    Taking a deep breath, Foster stepped back into the carriage and leaned against the side-wall. He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and rubbed his arm a bit. It was somewhat sore, since the only thing he had been doing for that full hour just now was repeatedly go for that single specific motion to try and practice it. He did seem to make some form of progress, at least, so maybe it was kind of worth it.

    As he was trying to figure out how much actual progress he had made using that training mode, the messages simply appeared in front of his eyes.

    ---

    [Argomna Style �C Basic Stance �C 2.1% Progress]

    [Argomna Style �C Basic Footwork �C 0.9% Progress]

    [Argomna Style �C Basic Forward Strike �C 3.8% Progress]

    ---

    "..." Foster looked at the information in front of his eyes, and couldn''t believe what he was seeing, "What the actual fuck..."

    The percentage was disappointingly low despite the fact that it felt like he made some real, proper progress the whole time. But then again, he had only worked for about an hour. Considering that, maybe this was actually decent progress after all. Even though the numbers still made him feel somewhat weird about it. Although, at this speed�� Foster should be able to at the very least ''master'' the basic forward strike by the time they reached arcadum.

    While Foster was thinking about that, the cloaked guy also came back into the carriage, "Wee back." He greeted him, but all that he got in return was a nk stare through that weird mask. With a wry smile, Foster simply got back to reading through the book, to see what things he should try learning sooner than others. And while he was trying to do that, he heard something that he hadn''t expected to.

    "You... Are you a martial artist?" The cloaked guy asked, and Foster raised his head with his brows raised in surprise, "I guess so, yeah. Why are you asking?"

    "Just saw you train... Your movements are sloppy." He pointed out, and Foster red back at him "Ah... thanks for letting me know."

    "What style is that?"

    "It... It''s a style that my teacher came up with. These books are describing it, so I''m using them to learn the style." Foster exined, and the cloaked man quickly replied, "Where is your teacher from? It looks northern."

    "I don''t actually know, sorry... Are you also a martial artist?"

    "No." The man replied in a quiet voice, "I''m a swordsman. My n is one of martial artists, however."

    "Let me guess, you''re from the north, and that''s why you say it looks nothern?" Foster asked, actually somewhat curious about him. For some reason, Foster thought that this guy was a bit older than him, but that didn''t seem to be the case at all. They seemed to be about the same age, or at least that''s what Foster figured judging from their voice. In this world, since there were things like elves and dwarves, he probably couldn''t determine age for sure for everyobne. He didn''t even know whether humans had the same lifespan here... Or how long a year was.

    Either way, the guy slowly nodded his head, still seemingly quite focused on Foster, "Do you want me to help you train?"

    "...And why would you do that?" Foster asked, surprised by the unexpected offer.

    "...painful..." The cloaked man replied quietly, and Foster looked back at him with his head just so slightly tilted to the side, "You''re aching to train someone? Well, in that case-"

    "It''s painful to watch you be so bad at such a beautiful art..."

    "Eh?" Foster let out confused, "Did you just say what I think you said?"

    "If you think I told you that you''re bad at martial arts, then yes."

    "Oi, just for the record, I was the strongest guy where I used to work."

    "Just being strong doesn''t mean that you are good at this art. A mammoth is strong, but it still can''t master martial arts." The cloaked guy exined, and Foster was slowly growing annoyed, "Did you justpare me to a mammoth?"

    "Ipared the focus of your abilities to a mammoth. Not you yourself. You have too little hair on your body for that."

    "...Those are brave words for someone whose name I don''t even know..." Foster pointed out with a wry smile, and the cloaked guy stayed silent for a few seconds before finally replying.

    "I''m... Lynol." The cloaked guy exined, and Foster let out a slight sigh, "Alright, nice to meet you then, man. I''m Foster."

    "...That''s a weird name."

    "Well, Lynol isn''t all that normal either, now fucking is it?" With a loud groan, Foster rolled his eyes and dropped his weight onto the wall behind him, "And you know, I told you before, but you can go ahead and take that mask off and stuff. I doubt that''sfortable."

    "...Are you sure?"

    "What, yeah, of course!" Foster practically yelled, "I mean, we''re literally travelling for a full month... If you can''t even take off a mask for a little, that seems kinda ufortable."

    Slowly, Lynol pulled his hand out of his cloak and pressed it onto his mask. At that point, Foster could already see why he seemed nervous about taking his mask off. Lynol''s skin was red.

    And that didn''t mean the kind of red that a white guy''s skin could turn sometimes, but just fully red. A t, deep red tone, not the kind that you would be able to see on anyone on earth. It kind of reminded Foster of Hellboy.

    Lynol took off his mask, showing his face to Foster. As he thought, his face was also that same red, while his short hair was a dark red tone that bordered on ck at this point. His eyes were a clear gray, so much so that they nearly seemed to glow. And on his forehead, Lynol had two burgundy horns growing from his skull, while dark patterns the same color as those horns were covering the left side of his head, just barely advancing onto his face.

    "..." Foster stayed silent for a few moments, unsure what he was supposed to say. He really never saw someone like this. Of course, there were no people like Lynol on earth, so it would have been weird if Foster hadn''t been surprised in the slightest.

    Lynol seemed to be somewhat nervous after letting this total stranger see his face, and practically wanted to press the mask back onto his face more and more the longer this awkward silence continued on. Until Foster finally broke that silence.

    "Those are some rad fucking horns." He said with a light grin on his face, and Lynol looked back somewhat surprised that he didn''t say anything else about his appearance. Foster scratched the back of his head awkwardly, unsure how to phrase this properly, "So, I absolutely don''t mean this in some kind of offensive way, I just don''t know... a lot. Or anything at all, really. You''re not human, right? You said your ''n'' was one full of martial artists, so are they all..."

    "Sigrid... It''s the Sigrid n... I''m a Lorgran, we''re the descendants of the Demon God." Lynol exined, and Foster looked back with a wry smile.

    ''The descendants of a god..? That sounds kind of like a cult...'' He thought to himself, but replied to Lynol with a genuine smile, "That''s pretty cool. Yeah, I''m... just a human, I don''t think that was hard for you to see, though."

    "Well, you could be a particrly tall Gnome, or an incredibly short Giant." Lynol suggested with a nk, serious expression.

    "...Right. Nah, I''m just a human, as I said."

    "That would exin why you''re so bad at martial arts."

    "I''m gonna kick your face in if you keep saying that."

 Chapter 21 - Northern Styles

    Foster woke up early in the morning, even before sunrise. He was already used to that at this point though. It''s been a bit more than half a week since this trip started, and it''s been like this every single day. The good thing was that no matter when he needed to wake up in the morning, he could keep sleeping in the carriage if he was tired. Not like there was much else to do anyway.

    After waking up, Foster got some breakfast, just some oatmeal that had been prepared in a big pot for everyone, and after he was done he helped clean the campsite up. And just like that, it was already time to continue traveling.

    Lynol climbed into the carriage, following Foster, and slowly took off his mask. It seemed like he wasn''t particrlyfortable taking it off around the others, so the two of them would usually eat together away from the others.

    While Lynol''s voice was rather monotone, and he generally seemed somewhat unenergetic, the more time Foster spent with him, the more he loosened up, even starting to fully smile around him.

    "Yo, you sleep well?" Foster asked, and Lynol slowly shook his head, "I was the night guard. I barely slept, actually."

    "Huh? Why didn''t you tell me, I could''ve stayed up with you a while longer."

    "That is exactly why. I was doing my job, and the lives of everyone in this group could have depended on how much attention I could pay to the surroundings." Lynol exined, and Foster stayed silent for a few moments. He was right, although it still seemed unreal.

    Foster hadn''t seen any monsters at all ever since this trip started, so maybe he just forgot about the situation they were in a little bit.

    "Eh, right, sorry. Well, just sleep for now, I guess. We''re meeting up with the rest of the caravanter today. I think George told me that they have a ton of other adventurers with them, so maybe you can rx a bit?" Foster suggested, and Lynol lightly shrugged as he closed his eyes, "Maybe. We will see."

    "Yep, sure will." Foster closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about what those other adventurers could possibly be like. Lynol showed him some really impressive stuff already, things that seemed like they would be impossible anywhere but in a world like this.

    Maybe he would be able to see some other really cool things from those adventurers. Foster felt like a little kid, but he kind of hoped that they were fun people to be around, like Lynol was.

    ---

    And of course, despite Foster''s hopes, the other adventurers weren''t anything but ''fun'' to be around.

    "Oi, you there, bring us some more mead, will ya?!" With a loudugh, one of the adventurers ordered Foster around once more. He was a big guy, apparently the leader of one of the parties that were apanying the other part of the caravan, and acted like the king of the world.

    While most other people were still busy working, actually organizing things in the different carriages and protecting the caravan out here on thisrge camp, this guy and some of his party members were just sitting around a campfire someone else had to make for them, enjoying alcohol.

    Of course, since George told Foster to just do what they said so that they wouldn''t cause any trouble, Foster had been acting as their servant for the past couple of days. And they were really starting to piss him off.

    He filled up another stein with mead, and brought it over to the leading adventurers, "There you go, Octer." Foster said with a nk, annoyed expression, holding the stein over toward him.

    Octer grinned a bit and locked eyes with Foster, "What, d''ya have something to say?"

    "Of course, but I won''t say it to your face. I''m considerate like that." Foster replied as he turned around without a moment''s hesitation. From behind him, he could hear Octer and his adventuring partyughing at Foster, but he really didn''t care. They seemed happy for now, and Foster was done with his work, so he swiftly made his way over to the spot where he and Lynol would end up training together.

    Or rather, where Foster trained while Lynol hit him with judging stares.

    "Show me your stance again. I think I know what might be off with it." Lynol said immediately.

    "Yes, hello to you too, my dear friend. My evening has been absolute shit, thank you for asking."

    "I didn''t ask. Now show me the basic stance again." Without even reacting to what Foster said, Lynol started instructing him again. With a wry smile, Foster took a step forward.

    ---

    [Legacy training mode has been activated]

    ---

    Foster concentrated on one specific part of the Argomna style, the basic stance, and swiftly slid right into position.

    "I was right. I know what the issue is." Lynol said, and immediately proceeded to take out his sword. It was quiterge, it seemed far, far toorge for his body. It seemed to be some kind of special item as well, though, since Lynol was able to make it shrink down to just the handle. Even the weight changed, which was both weird and straight-up impossible. Apparently it used some kind of magic to make it weigh less in this form, and although Foster didn''t understand how it worked, the fact that there was magic like that made him somewhat excited.

    He was clearly able to use spells as well, right? His ss gave him a spell to use already, and he even had some mana. Just the idea of being able to manipte gravity like that made Foster''s space-nerd heart go wild.

    Either way, what Lynol did then was quite surprising. He put some cloth around the sword, and proceeded to wrap some of that cloth around his body so that Foster was practically wearing the sword on his back for extra weight.

    And it seemed nearly impossible for him to stand up the moment Lynol let go of the handle, "Dude, what the fuck..." Foster let out, "You trying to kill me or something?"

    "Not particrly, but..."

    "Did you just say ''not particrly''..?"

    "More importantly, I think was right. This style really seems to be a northern kind. I basically already knew, but I didn''t connect everything together. Up north in my home, we always need to wearyers uponyers. Even for a short trip, we need to bring much more provisions than we normally would, sinec it often happens for a path to be blocked by a mountain of snow, or for another path''s ice to crack apart. And of course, the beasts we encounter are different as well. Many are quite a bitrger and bulkier, so we need thicker armor as well." Lynol exined, but Foster didn''t know exactly what he was trying to say, until Lynol exined it in a more direct way.

    "The weight we have to carry around is much higher than normal. We can''t move as fast as in other regions of this world, so our fighting styles rely on power, control, and nning instead of fast reactiveness like you are treating this style. Your body was focusing on the wrong muscles for the stance this whole time. While the form is correct, the final stance is not."

    "...So I''m supposed to fight with a shitton of stuff on me?" Foster asked with a wry smile, but Lynol quickly shook his head, "Of course not. Once your body is used to the motions in the correct way, which should happen rather quickly, we can either reduce the extra weight or get rid of it altogether. You just need to make sure you train the proper muscles in your body. Northern styles rely on a sturdy base, exchanging mobility for power."

    "Ah, so that''s why you carry such a huge, practically unusable sword around with you?"

    "...Something like that." Lynol replied, and Foster squinted as he red back, "What do you mean exactly?"

    "....I chose this sword because I thought it looked cool."

 Chapter 22 - Drunk

    Foster stood there with a wry smile, but tried to ignore what Lynol just said, "...Right. Well... for now, I guess I''ll just try and stand in the stance properly."

    "Good." Lynol replied, with his ever-nk expression. And while Foster wasn''t sure whether or not it was more effective to train like this, it was certainly a lot harder to do. A whole bunch of other muscles were being strained, whenparing this training to the kind he underwent before.

    "Now, slowly start practicing your footwork. You don''t need to go the same speed as you normally would, just try to be urate." Lynol exined, "Circle around that rock over there, as if your target is standing there."

    Slowly, Foster nodded his head. He concentrated on the footwork practice and soon saw scribbled lines extending forward and in circles around the rock, just like Lynol told him he should try and do. Foster carefully moved his feet forward, trying to keep his knees at the right angle and his hips at the intended rotation. This was pretty hard to do just regrly, but with this huge, heavy sword bound onto his back, it was even harder. At the very least Lynol said that he didn''t have to go the same speed as normal.

    "You are arching your back too much." Lynol instructed Foster. He slowly nodded his head in response, trying to straighten his back and shoulders. It felt like his spine was going to crack in half any moment now, though, so that wasn''t really all too pleasant.

    However, with some deep breaths and plenty of patience, Foster was able to get this done. For a good ten minutes, he did nothing but this one thing, circling around the rock while trying to keep up the proper motions. Lynol corrected his mistakes that he spotted ording to the book, which Foster showed to him while keeping out the aspects about the legacy and the necromancy bits, simply showing him the pages that actually described the style''s motions.

    Soon, though, Lynol approached Foster with a waterskin and held it over to him, "You can take a break now. Your legs seem somewhat shaky."

    "Urgh, you''re right..." With a loud groan, Foster grabbed the waterskin and drank something, before dropping down onto the rock he had been circling around just earlier. He took a deep breath, and as he sat there in silence, collecting his thoughts, he heard someone approach.

    "Yo~! What''re you two doin'' here?" Octer asked, clearly a lot more drunk than he was earlier. He was holding a bottle of liquor in his hand that Foster seemed to recognize from somewhere. He thought that they were only allowed to drink the beer and mead that they brought in those huge barrels, so why was Octer drinking something like that? At first he thought that Octer might have brought it himself, when Foster realized where exactly he had seen that bottle.

    "Wait, that''s one of our wares!" Foster eximed, "What the fuck are you doing drinking the merchandise of our employers, you absolute fucking idiot?" He jumped up without a moment''s hesitation, locking eyes with Foster with a deep re.

    "Eh? They had... had dozens and dozens of these... No way they''re gonna miss these, not like they were... were gonna be able to drink''em all alone anyway..." Octer pointed out, clearly overwhelmingly drunk right now, so much so that he wasn''t thinking straight.

    "Jesus Christ..." Foster groaned quietly, and swiftly pulled the bottle out of Octer''s hand. It was practically empty at this point, "You absolute dumbass. Come on, we''re going to George so that he can take the price for the bottle out of your pay. But you should be aware that this is probably one of the more expensive ones, so it''s going to cost quite a bit."

    "Why''d we do that, bitch..?" Octer asked, his whole body waving from left to right as he tried to lock eyes with Foster. Confused how a huge guy like him got so insanely drunk off this kind of thing, he took a quick whiff. And just smelling it a little nearly made all of his nose-hair fall out.

    "What the fuck is this stuff, urgh..." He let out, but while Foster was concentrating on the alcohol, Octer seemed to be getting somewhat annoyed, "Oi, I''m talkin'' to ya!" Octer practically yelled, trying to take the bottle away from Foster again.

    But of course, he didn''t let this drunk guy do something like that. With a deep sigh, Foster stepped to the side and grabbed Octer''s wrist, rapidily pulling him forward while kicking away his legs. Just like that, Octer fell to the ground. It was always super easy to bring drunk people like this to the ground.

    "You ready toe talk to George with me now?" Foster asked with a nk stare, not really wanting to deal with this whole thing right now. He turned his head over toward Lynol, who was curiously watching what was going on.

    "And are you ready to help me the fuck out? He can''t even stand on his own, let alone walk. Help me prop him up at least... and take this big ass sword away from me." Foster told Lynol with a wry smile. With a quick nod, he came over and took the de away from Foster, which made him rx a little immediately. It literally took quite some weight off his shoulders. And so, the two of them quickly pulled Octer off the ground, and started to bring him back over to where the others were. All the whilst Octer was loudly groaning, talking about wanting to fight Foster and Lynol. And the two of them let him down right in front of George, who was still working thiste into the night.

    "Huh? What''s wrong with him?" George asked, and Foster quickly held the bottle of liquor that Octer drank from in front of him.

    "...How long has it been since he drank this?" Nervously, George grabbed the bottle from Foster, seeing that it waspletely empty now. Foster shrugged, "At most 15 minutes?"

    "Shit... Quick, we need to get him to throw up, now." Immediately, George pulled Octer away from Foster and Lynol, and turned toward one of the employees in a hurry, "You, go ask around the adventurers if any of their magic-users know ''Detoxification'', immediately."

    "Detoxi- Wait, what''s going on?" Foster asked confused, and George started to exin while he stuffed his hand down Octer''s throat, while this big guy was justying there already nearly unconscious.

    "This? This is Dwarven Spirit. It''s... a special brew. Don''t know how it''s made, don''t care either, but it''s both expensive and can get a grown man go from sober to drunk within a single shot." George exined. Meanwhile, Foster took a step back to make sure Octer''s throw-up didn''t get on his shoes, "Wait, seriously? It did smell kind of strong..." Foster groaned, as suddenly a mage ran up from the side, "I know ''Detoxification'', what''s going on?" She asked, and George exined the situation. Heid Octer down onto his back, before the mage seemed to cast a spell on him.

    "This is going to take a while. Thanks for bringing him here, you two." Still helping Octer throw the rest of the alcohol up before his body continued processing it, "But honestly, why''d he have to drink something this expensive? He could''ve just kept drinking that damn mead."

    "..." Foster looked at Octer as he wasying there unconscious, and listened to Georgein about losing wares while his hand was half inside of Octer''s throat. That wasn''t something that you saw every day, of course, but it also sadly wasn''t the first time that Foster saw something exactly like this happen... Some of the other executives were really straightforward sometimes.

    "Erm, we''ll just head back for now... Let us know if you need any help.." Foster said with a wry smile, and swiftly turned around and made his way back to where him and Lynol had been training earlier.

 Chapter 23 - Homesick

    Foster woke up in the afternoon, sitting inside of the carriage that had been his home for the past three weeks or so, not counting the rare exceptions that were the days where they could all actually sleep inside of an inn when they managed to reach a town by the end of the day, and quietly looked around.

    "Urgh..." He groaned loudly, trying to stretch at least a little bit in here. Foster turned his head and looked out of the carriage''s back, "Huh? Wait, when did we reach the forest?" He asked confused, "I thought we were only supposed to reach it by tomorrow?"

    "We are apparently a bit ahead of schedule. There was a new bridge that was built, so we were able to cross over the river a lot earlier." Lynol exined, and Foster smiled lightly as he leaned out of the back a bit, "That so?"

    The sceneries that he had been able to see over the past three weeks while riding through here were really incredible. This world seemed just so... untouched. Wherever he looked, there was nothing but nature. Sure, there were towns and viges every once in a while, but they were never anything like what Foster knew. They weren''t concrete jungles. They were small,fortable ces that seemed like the kind of quaint town one would want to retreat to to spend the rest of their life in.

    And not only that, the natural sceneries themselves were amazingly beautiful. Thinking back on it, Foster''s first sight of this new world was rather beautiful as well, seeing that forest in the middle of the night from the top of that cliff-side. Of course, he was worried about different things at the time, so he didn''t really notice.

    But now he had the chance to really take this new world inpletely. Talking to Lynol started giving Foster a rough understanding of this world. Lynol would answer any question that he had without even a moment''s hesitation, and without questioning it. He was the kind of guy that one didn''t meet often, but Foster knew that he could trust him, although they''ve only known each other for about three weeks now.

    Together, they sometimes went on walks around the campsites, because both Lynol and Foster simply weren''t used to the sights they were seeing. Lynol came from the frosty north, and Foster from another world. Right now, they entered a special forest. The trees were huge, truly gigantic. All of them could bepared to skyscrapers, as if someone took the term ''concrete jungle'' and took the ''concrete'' away from it.

    Foster wasn''t even really able to see the sky above him anymore. From inbetween these giant trees, he could see some floating lights deeper in the forest. This was just a magical forest. Quite literally. This forest was supposedly grown through an Arch-Druid''s magic first when people first became able to use magic some millennia ago. And ever since then, plenty of magical beings had gathered here in this forest.

    Most of them were harmless to travellers, but plenty of others were incredibly dangerous as well, which is why travelers had to stick to a few specific paths that were outside of the breeding grounds or territories of certain beasts here in the forest.

    Because of that, and the sheer size of this ce, the caravan had to spend another two weeks in here, and then another few days to reach Arcadum. At this point, Foster really wanted to just go explore this ce a bit. Again, he felt like a child in the face of these amazingly fantastical things that could be seen in this world.

    "Are you alright?" Lynol asked him, seeing Foster''s expression as he stared outside. Slowly, he turned toward his friend, and nodded his head, "Yeah, I''m good. I just never saw something like this before."

    "...It certainly is quite beautiful, isn''t it? It makes all my homesickness disappear immediately." Lynol replied with a soft smile on his face, and those words made it feel like someone stabbed a knife into Foster''s stomach.

    "Homesick, huh..?" He let out, slowly dropping back into his seat with an emotionless expression.

    Lynol looked back at Foster, and with a curious tone asked, "What is your hometown like, Foster? I told you about mine, but..."

    "Oh... Erm..." Foster looked back surprised, before turning away with a wry smile, "I..."

    "You don''t have to talk about it if you don''t want to."

    "No, it''s fine... I... absolutely and utterly despise the ce I grew up." Foster exined, "It was dirty, I was constantly hungry... I had to search through trash to get my dinner, and the onlypany I had were cockroaches and rats. I didn''t even know what a ''home'' actually was until I was 12, so I don''t know if I can call that ce my hometown. Well, from that on, I was taken in by a wonderful, loving family. They were... everything that I could hope for. I loved them, but I hated that ce. Which is why I left sooner rather thanter. I came back to that town pretty quickly though, and then... I just lived day by day. I have not a single good memory of that ce... But somehow, I do still feel homesick sometimestely." Foster exined to Lynol, staring at the ceiling of the carriage. Lynol smiled lightly, as he looked back at his friend with a nk expression. He didn''t know what he was supposed to say.

    "Don''t worry, I''ve been dealing with this stuff for a while. It''s nothing new, so... But anyway, now I''m in a situation where I couldn''t return home even if I wanted to, so it''s the perfect chance to start a new life." Foster pointed out with a forced grin on his face. Lynol was about to say something, but he abruptly stopped and jumped onto his feet.

    While pressing his mask onto his face, he grabbed the handle of his sword and made it ''grow'' to its actual de form. At that same time, the carriage seemed to stop rather abruptly, while Lynol jumped out of the carriage, "Hide."

    With his absolutely insane, ridiculous speed and physical abilities, Lynol jumped onto the carriage. Foster sat there, confused, when the situation caught up to him. This was a monster attack. It happened a couple of times during this trip already, but it was never something too serious. Lynol never reacted like this, at least.

    Just a few momentster, Foster could hear people yelling, and monsters screech out in response to being injured or killed.

    Pressing his hand onto his chest, Foster thought about what might happen if one of those monsters reached the carriage here. His heart was beating so hard that it nearly jumped out of his chest. His breathing became quicker and he started to feel light-headed.

    He was used to fighting against people, and sometimes dogs... and that one time when that crazy dude brought a fucking tiger, although Foster obviously wasn''t able to beat thatst one... But monsters? Actual monsters? Wasn''t the word used to describe them proof on its own that they weren''t something that he should deal with in the slightest? And it wasn''t like he was heading to Arcadum to fight monsters either, he was just going there because it was his best chance at finding any sort of job... But...

    The longer Foster sat there, the longer he just waited this whole ordeal out, the more he started to feel pathetic. He was letting his friend fight, he was letting his friend protect him because he was too scared, now that the effects of the system''s influence on his mind from the first few days had disappearedpletely.

    Foster was disgusted by himself. He was always the strongest one around. He was always the one protecting his men... But now? He was just sitting there, waiting for someone else to do all the hard work.

    While grinding his teeth, Foster stepped out of the carriage and formed his hands into fists, with the gauntlets that he took from Simon back then warpped around his hands. He was dedicated to help out, he was ready to fight whatever monster would stand here in front of him.

    That was when he thought when somethingnded in front of his feet. It was the head of a giant wolf, its cold dead eyes staring into Foster''s.. And that was when he saw that the fight was already over, while he stared at Lynol standing there with his huge, bloodied de in hand.

 Chapter 24 - Nature Spirits

    ''It''s already over..?'' Foster thought to himself, seeing that everyone was trying to rx, with the dead bodies of giant wolvesying in front of their feet. Some of the adventurers were walking around and trying to see if there were any others around, while some of the Hignd Company''s employees started taking the beasts'' corpses apart for the valuable materials that could be gathered from them.

    "What are you doing out here? I told you to hide in the carriage." Lynol said, approaching Foster while cleaning his sword. Foster stood there and looked back, unsure what exactly he was supposed to say. It felt kind of awkward.

    "I..."

    "You were trying to help, right? Sorry, but right now, you are too weak." Lynol said in a blunt tone, as he picked up the wolf''s head that hadnded in front of Foster''s feet. Without another word, Lynol turned around and brought the head to one of the employees that would pull the wolf''s teeth from its jaws.

    Meanwhile, Foster just stood there. Slowly, he turned around and climbed back into the carriage. He pulled the gauntlets off his hands and threw them to the side.

    "The fuck am I doing..?" He quietly asked himself. Sure, he hadn''t been nning on doing any sort of fighting or hunting in this world... He nned on stopping even when he was still on earth. But in the end, that was the only thing he was good at... Since all his knowledge of the stars was useless in a world where the stars were different, all that he had left was his fighting. And if Foster was ''weak''..? Then he had nothing. Nothing at all.

    "...It would be great if you could talk in these situations," Foster whispered as he looked at the snake bracelet wrapped around his wrist. He sat there for a while, before Lynol returned to the carriage and sat down on his regr seat, as if nothing just happened. The two new friends sat in here in silence for a few minutes. Before the carriages started to move again.

    "So you got all of them?" Foster asked, and Lynol slowly nodded his head in response, "We assume so. There might be more of their pack out there, but they let us be, it seemed. They must have noticed that they are no match against us."

    "...Right." Foster replied, slowly looking up at the ceiling again, "That''s good."

    ---

    Foster hammered the thick nail into the ground like he did every night, finishing the construction of therge tent together with the other employees.

    "Good work." One of the others said to Foster, who smiled lightly in response. He ced the mallet down onto the ground, as he noticed something in the corner of his eye. It was a small shadow that was moving around quickly.

    Foster snapped his head to the side, and then saw the source of the shadow. It was a small... monkey-like figure. Its fur waspletely ck, and it seemed to be wearing a white mask on its face as it was hanging down from the side of that tree.

    "What is..." Foster let out confused, when he suddenly noticed the surprise from the man next to him, "Ah! It''s a nature spirit!" He eximed. The other employees turned toward the small pitch-ck creature as well, and their faces all turned curious and excited immediately.

    "I''ve never seen one of them in real life... They look really neat, huh?"

    "It''s kind of cute!"

    "Haha, too bad that you can''t keep them as pets."

    More and more people started gathering around, curiously looking at that thing... It didn''t seem to be dangerous, and Foster had no idea why it was supposed to be so special. Although, with the name ''Nature Spirit'', he could just guess what kind of being it was supposed to be. Foster slowly turned around and left as more people gathered.

    And to his surprise, more of those nature spirits appeared all around the camp.

    "Wow, I heard they don''te too close to people..." Foster heard someone say as they tried to squat down in front of one of the nature spirits. But the moment they tried, the spirit simply disappeared. It was as if their bodies were made of smoke that dissipated the moment someone tried to make physical contact with them.

    Foster was a bit confused as to how that was possible, but considering that he was in a world where magic existed and plenty of people seemed to have abilities that were at a superhuman levelpared to what he knew of from earth, maybe that was something surprisingly normal. None of the others seemed weirded out by it, at least.

    Foster even spotted Lynol looking at one of the Nature Spirits. It was actually a pretty funny sight, since they looked quite simr to one another, with Lynol wearing his cloak and mask. It was like the two of them were just staring at each other, like they were looking into the mirror.

    After letting out a slightugh, Foster noticed that one of the nature spirits was right next to him. Like, ''right'' next to him, maybe just a meter away from his head. It was staring at him, or at least it seemed that way. Although, it was kind of different whenpared to the others. Foster might be imagining it, but he could swear that he could see some small white dots hidden in the Nature Spirit''s fur, although they disappeared just a moment after Foster noticed them, even before he could really fully acknowledge them.

    Foster stretched his hand out toward it, but didn''t touch it of course. He would be an idiot to try and touch a wild animal. He simply held his hand in front of it, and tried to see if it would do something itself. And just like Foster had hoped, this Nature Spirit slowly pushed its hand forward toward his own, its small paw that seemed like its hand could just barely be wrapped around his finger. It was really quite cute.

    For just a moment, Foster''s finger touched the spirit''s hand, and it felt like a slight tingle traveled through him on top of his skin. But before the spirit did anything further than that, some big oaf absolutely ruined it.

    "Yo, what''re you doing there?" Octer asked as he approached Foster. The Nature Spirit flinched and pulled its hand back, immediately climbing higher up onto the tree that it was hanging from just now. With an annoyed, wry smile, he turned his head to the side to look at this probably 7 feet tall idiot that just ruined this cute moment for him.

    "What do you want, Octer?" Foster asked, clearly bothered, when Octer scratched the back of his head, "Don''t treat me that way, man... I just saw you were yin'' with that Nature Spirit, so I wanted to..."

    "You wanted to scare it away to suck all joy out of this trip for me?"

    "...I wanted to y with it as well, aight?" Octer replied bluntly, and Foster rolled his eyes, "How can you go from a big fucking dickhead that does nothing but get drunk, over to someone that wants to cuddle a nature spirit in a matter of minutes? Did that Dwarven Spirit mess with your brain or something?"

    "Hey hey, you''re being a bit mean... Aren''t we friends now or something?"

    "...Something like that. I wouldpare our rtionship more to... Meat shield and-"

    "Right, right, I get it already..." Octer groaned with a wry smile, looking up the tree, "It''s just been a while since I''ve seen a nature spirit. And even then, I''ve never seen this many at once. They''re super cute, right?" He pointed out with a broad, borderline disgusting grin on his face, although Foster didn''t know how he was supposed to reply.

    "I mean, they do look pretty cool. I''ve never seen one of them before... What even are they?" Foster asked bluntly. Lately, he noticed that while people ended up looking at him somewhat weird depending on the exact question, but overall he could ask anyone anything about this world and they would diligently answer if they knew about it. That was the benefit of a medieval level of information essibility, nobody judged him for not knowing anything.

    Octer crossed his arms and thought for a moment, "Well... They''re just nature spirits, y''know? The incarnation of... nature."

    Well, that was the case at least when people knew what they were talking about.

    "I''ll just ask Lynol." Foster rolled his eyes.

    "Oi...."

 Chapter 25 - Fear

    For the next few days at the caravan traveled through this magical forest, a small group of nature spirits chose to follow them out of curiosity. Amongst them was that single ''special'' one that had just slightly touched Foster''s finger. They were mostly just climbing from tree to tree, or jumped onto the carriages to get a ride. Either way, everyone was quite happy to see them around.

    After all, when they weren''t mistreated, they were great travelpanions that increased morale, even if they didn''t do much beside look cute. Although they didn''t really have to do anything else in the first ce.

    "By the way, I''m kinda wondering... But are there different kinds of nature spirits?" Foster asked as he looked at Lynol, who slowly nodded his head, "Of course there are. There are numerous kinds, actually. Most have some kind of rtion to a sort of element of nature. Earth Spirits, Fire Spirits, Air Spirits... They''re all a thing. I managed to spot Snow Spirits around my vige a few times." Lynol exined, while Foster stayed quite curious about them.

    "Huh, really? So what kind are these ones that are following us around?"

    "...As far as my knowledge goes, they are a ''null'' type. Basically, they do not have a connection to a specific element of nature, but to the concept of nature itself. And while there is an element in magic indeed called ''Nature'', these are still different. It''s hard to exin properly, since my knowledge of them is quite limited as well." Lynol replied, staying humble although his exnation was still quite interesting and told Foster all that he needed to know. And it was a hundred times better than what Octer would be able to exin to him.

    "That''s pretty cool though. I never saw something like spirits before. I mean, I guess I kinda know about them, I just never really... saw them." Foster exined, and Lynol slowly opened his mouth, "Foster, you-"

    And that was when their conversation between these two friends was interrupted by an ear-shattering howl. It was loud, insanely so. As if someone sted a concert speaker on full volume right next to Foster''s ear. And at the same time, a message appeared in front of him.

    ---

    [You have been ced under the influence of the {Fear} effect. You are unable to move for 60 seconds]

    ---

    ''Eh?'' Foster thought, unable to speak. Even Lynol seemed to be just stuck in ce, as if they were both frozen. The carriage suddenly stopped as if they crashed into something, and the growling of numerous wolves could be heard from outside. And Foster was just sitting there, feeling like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He was shaking, he was rolled up into a ball while cold sweat ran down his body and soaked his clothes.

    Somewhere during this excruciatingly horrifying minute, Lynol was able to jump up. He pressed his mask onto his face and ran outside before his sword fully ''unfolded'' from the small handle. It took another thirty seconds or so until Foster was able to move again, which was when he started to take in the screams of the adventurers and wolves as they fought one another.

    But somehow, Foster''s heart was still beating rapidly. His state hadn''t changed much from when he was under the direct influence of ''Fear'', but one small fact did change. And that was that Foster was able to actually stand up now. This time he wouldn''t just wait it out until it was over.

    He pushed his hands into the gauntlets and rushed out of the carriage without a moment''s hesitation. And there he saw a pack of giant wolves sorge that it was iparable to that one from a few days ago. But this time, Foster wouldn''t just let everything happen without helping.

    He ran forward, seeing one adventurer that was being pushed back by a wolf. While running, Foster started using the footwork of the Argomna style and was properly holding his body with the right stance. He reached the wolf, and his body nearly acted on its own. Foster chose an attack that was especially heavy and powerful ording to Lynol, simply because he had the chance to do so.

    Using his momentum and the weight of his own body, Foster''s fist swung forward. And as if it was an instinct, something else was added on top of that.

    Foster''s sole martial skill. ''Single Strike''. He could feel his hand and arm heat up as he swung his fist forward. And soon, it made impact. The metal of the gauntlets pressed into the fur and flesh of the giant, horse-sized wolf, and a strong st was let out. It was like an audible bang with some cracking and tearing mixed into it, as the wolf lost its bnce and was pushed away a couple of meters. The attention of some of the nearby adventurers and employees, and some of the wolves, was pulled toward Foster. That bang was loud enough to drown out the sounds of the battle around Foster. But that was just for a moment, as the fight continued on not even a secondter. The wolf that was hit by Foster managed to return back onto a stable position on its legs, and loudly growled at him. It spread its weight in preparation for a jump, but its opponent was already prepared. He knew what to focus on when fighting a dog.

    Foster still made use of the techniques from the Argomna style, but his instincts took over to an extent as he tried to fight this giant wolf, in the sense that his body mixed the Argomna style with his dirty street fighting. While it might simply seem like sloppy execution to outsiders, Foster''s body knew that this was the best way to survive this fight.

    He pushed his fist forward one more time. The adventurer behind him tried to warn him, since Foster was swinging his fist right toward the wolf''s wide open maw, which was a bad idea for quite obvious reasons, but Foster just didn''t listen. His aim was the snout, just something a slight bit above its mouth.

    The wolf''s and Foster''s momentumbined during impact as ''Single Strike'' was used once more, and metal crashed against the wolf''s nose. It was like the giant wolf''s snout was pressed in a little bit, as it yelped loudly. Its body was stunned for a few moments, which was enough time for Foster to grab the sword of the startled adventurer behind him and press it deep into the wolf''s throat. And with a punch onto the handle empowered with ''Single Strike'', that sword quickly pierced through the wolf''s body.

    It tried to keep standing up on its legs for a moment as its body stiffened up, but then it simply copsed onto itself.

    ---

    [33 Experience Points rewarded]

    ---

    Foster pulled the sword out of the wolf''s throat and handed it back to the adventurer, "Sorry for borrowing it without permission."

    "E-Eh? D-Don''t worry about it!" The adventurer replied, but at that point, Foster already ran forward to keep helping out.

    Although, Foster''s heart was still beating so rapidly. He was still covered in cold sweat. He still felt light-headed. But after killing that Giant Wolf, Foster realized something.

    What he was feeling wasn''t fear by any means. It was excitement. Excitement to fight. Or at least that''s what he thought when faced with those horse-sized wolves.

    But when Foster saw that giant, elephant-sized wolfe out from inbetween the trees, the one that the fear inflicting howl earlier probably came from, he wasn''t so sure about that anymore.

 Chapter 26 - A Helpful Cocktail

    It was huge. Its dark, thick fur in itself seemed like a natural armor that would be hard to get through. At the very least, it would be tough to damage it by punching it like what Foster just did with that other wolf.

    Overall... it seemed impossible to beat this thing in the first ce. It was huge, incredibly so, dwarfing all the other giant wolves. But there were a few people that didn''t hesitate fighting againt it for even a moment. Lynol and Octer. Lynol attacked the wolf with his huge sword, while Octer somehow kept its attention on itself, with his huge tower-shield inbetween his own and the wolf''s body.

    But no matter what they did, the wolf didn''t even seem to react to Lynol''s attacks. Chunks of fur fell to the ground, sure, but every attack that seemed to hit its skin was nothing but a scratch to its huge stature.

    Many of the employees lost hope, thinking that this was it, but the adventurers all kept on fighting eagerly to make sure the other wolves were taken care of. That way, they could join the fight against the huge wolf.

    And Foster? He just stood there, trying to figure out a way that he could help. He wasn''t scared anymore, after all. But he knew that he wouldn''t be much help like this. Foster looked around, trying to see if he could find a ''regr'' giant wolf to fight instead, when his eyesnded on a particr carriage.

    It was the carriage filled with the Dwarven Spirit. And that was when Foster got an idea. He immediately ran over toward one of the other carriages first, however. In there were some clothes that they were transporting to sell as well. Luckily, they all seemed to be 100% cotton. As he grabbed as many of them as he could carry, he looked at a particr magic-user.

    "You! Come with me, I need your help!" Foster eximed, and seeing that he seemed to have a n, the mage followed him immediately, unsure what else to do. After grabbing one of the bottles of Dwarven Spirit, he pulled the cork and poured just a gulp of it onto the grass.

    "Use fire magic to see if you can burn it." He instructed the mage, who slowly nodded his head. And as Foster thought, the moment that the mage''s conjured mes hit the spot soaked in the liquor, the ground went up in mes. The mage quickly got rid of them, of course, but now Foster knew that his n would work.

    "Wh-What are you trying to do?" The mage asked, and Foster grinned as he started ripping apart the cotton, "Just wait and see. It''s a bit of a trick from... my hometown."

    Foster ced the pieces of cotton onto the ground and poured the Dwarven Spirit all over them, making sure that they would properly soak it in. At that point, George noticed what Foster was up to.

    "You! What are you doing with our war-"

    "Shut the fuck up, I''m trying to help out. If you want to, I''ll work off all the money I''m wasting with this when we''re in Arcadum." Foster said immediately, not caring for what George was saying. Instead, he picked up the cloth and pushed it into George''s hands.

    "Grab a piece of cotton and roll it up, like you''re trying to wring the alcohol out of it, but don''t ''actually'' wring it." Foster said, as he grabbed another bottle of Dwarven Spirit. He pulled the first ready piece of cloth out of George''s hand, and pressed one end tightly into the bottle until that end was fully submerged in the extremely mmable alcohol.

    And just like that, Foster had invented the Molotov Cocktail.

    He made a few more of them, until a full crate''s worth were finished. He grabbed the crate and carried it close enough to where the fight against that enormously huge wolf was happening.

    "Let''s just hope that these trees are as fire-proof as I was told..." Foster muttered with a wry smile, as he looked over at the two adventurer''s fighting that monstrosity, "You two, get away from it! Now!" He eximed.

    Lynol heard his friend, and saw him standing there with a determined expression. He ran away from the wolf and grabbed Octer''s arm to pull him away as well.

    "Oi, what''re you doin''?!" Octer yelled out, since he didn''t know what was going on. But as he was being dragged away, he was able to see that rather familiar bottle of alcohol flying toward the wolf at high speed. Luckily, its fur was dirty and filled withrge rocks all over, so the bottle had a surface to break on, if Foster was lucky enough.

    Well, sadly, he wasn''t, and the bottle bounced off the wolf''s fur, insteadnding on the ground underneath its feet. And that was when it broke. The moment that the ss bottle shattered, a huge explosion of mes appeared underneath the huge wolf''s feet as it let out a loud yelp of pain. And that was when the next bottle came flying at it. This time, it broke on the wolf''s body instead, dousing its body in the Dwarven Spirit before it went up in mes a momentter.

    "It''s working!" George eximed, d that this tactic at least wasn''t a total waste of money, since it seemed like it could turn out to save them.

    "Yes, it is, but more importantly..." Foster said, looking at Lynol and Octer, "We need to lure this thing away from the caravan, it''s too dangerous here. If that thing ends up killing the animals or destroys the carriages, we''re fucked."

    "Aye, sounds like a n!" Octer eximed with a broad grin, "Just gotta make sure it won''t attack me while it''s burning like that." Without another word, Octer started running around the spot where that huge wolf was currently standing. Surprisingly, it was able to withstand that immense pain and damage the mes were doing to its body, although its fur was already melting and fusing into its flesh.

    While he was running past it, Octer started hitting his shield with a metal mace that he was carrying on his hip while yelling loudly to get the wolf''s attention. It seemed like it was working as well. The wolf was slowly moving away from the caravan.

    And without a moment''s hesitation, Foster and Lynol followed Octer and that enormous wolf. George and the mage stayed behind to help take care of other things, since that healer was one of the few that could also use healing magic. Luckily, since the wolf was already on fire, even the unlit molotov cocktails would do fair damage.

    "You should have stayed inside the carriage." Lynol said in a cold tone, but Foster just turned his head to the side with an angry re, "Eh? Shut the fuck up, you think you''d be able to beat that fucker without these things?"

    "I can throw them as well, so-"

    "No. Lynol, I don''t give a shit if you think I''m weak or something. I''m not as weak as you think I am." Foster said with a deep stare. Lynol slowly turned his head away as the two of them kept chasing after that huge wolf. It took them a while to get to a safe distance, which was when they could really start.

    Both Foster and Lynol started throwing the molotov cocktails at the wolf while Octer distracted it, to get as much initial damage in as absolutely possible. But soon, they ran out, and the mes soon subsided.

    The wolf was in a horrific state. Its fur was nearlypletely burnt off, its skin was bubbling because of the mes. It was just barely able to even keep standing on its two legs, so the group of three quickly got to work.

    "Focus on the left hind leg!" Foster eximed, seeing that it was especially injuredpared to the rest of its limbs, and both Lynol and Octer quickly did as told. Octer mmed his shield against the leg, Lynol cut it up, and Foster hit it with all of his might. Soon enough, the wolf copsed, but stood back up not long after only using its three usable legs.

    "Good, now-" Foster was about to tell the others to move onto the next ''tactic'', but before he could, the wolf let out a loud howl once again, even if it was clearly weaker than the first one.

    ---

    [You have been ced under the influence of the {Fear} effect. You are unable to move for 30 seconds]

 Chapter 27 - The End Of The First Battle

    Foster stared at the message in front of his eyes for a few moments, before he could feel his body practically copse under his own weight. At that point, he noticed that Octer had already escaped the influence of this ''fear'', and was trying to distract the huge wolf as much as possible. Soon, Lynol had be able to move as well, and the two of them were fighting against this monster together, while Foster was just squatting there on the ground, unable to do anything yet.

    This wolf was strong. So strong that despite all the damage that it had taken so far, it was still able to fight back, hurting both Lynol and Octer quite a bit in the process. Slowly, the fear affecting Foster faded away, but instead of letting him return to a normal, calm mindset, he was feeling nothing but anger.

    He was pissed that it didn''t seem like he would be able to help his friends out during this fight, and he was furious that this monster attacked them in the first ce. And of course, he was also incredibly angry at the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he wasn''t able to use the abilities that were given to him properly.

    And as Foster was thinking about that, an idea popped into his head. He wasn''t sure if it was going to be as helpful as he hoped it would be, but it should do something at least. He slowly closed his eyes and concentrated on his arm as he propped himself up on a tree next to him.

    When using the ''Single Strike'' martial skill, Foster imagined his hand as something of a hammer, something that could cause intense damage with just a single strike, as the name said. So maybe if he wanted to use ''that'', then he just had to think of a particr thing.

    It was something that he had seen and felt plenty of times before. Foster thought back on when he was just a child, when he saw and touhed a dead body for the first time. That disgusting coldness that gave him the chills just thinking about it... That exact feeling was concentrated right into Foster''s body. It flowed through his arm and poured out of his hand onto the giant tree next to him.

    However, the tree gave way. The part that Foster touched suddenly rotted away in the most disgusting way. The feeling of that muck on his hand nearly made Foster gag, but he had seen and felt worse than that.

    But that wasn''t the important part right now anyway. He managed to use a spell. Foster managed to cast the ''Chilling Touch'' spell. It felt like his hand was freezing over after he held it into a freezer for an hour straight. He was able to ignore the smell as he rushed forward.

    He approached the giant wolf, and while he was running jumped onto arger rock so that he could have a better angle for this attack. Foster leaped toward the wolf, and used his momentum to strike it one more time, with the ''Chilling Touch'' spell active and covering his hand. And Foster managed to hit the huge wolf''s eye.

    The moment that the cold flow of this spell flowed out of Foster''s hand, the wolf let out an incredibly loud yelp of pain as it pressed its eye shut.

    Both Lynol and Octer were staring at Foster, unsure what exactly he just did, "I''ll exin itter! Just keep going!" He yelled out toward the two of them, and immediately afterward, all three of them attacked the huge wolf once more.

    Attack after attack hit the wolf, but Foster noticed that he wasn''t able to use that spell too much more. Just two more times before he ran out of mana, so he would have to save that just in case. Instead, he used the Single Strike martial skill. It seemed to exhaust him a bit every time he used it, but it was usable much more often than that spell.

    Octer made sure to keep the wolf''s attention as much as possible, blocking any of the strikes that could have injured either Lynol or Foster.

    Lynol''s heavy strikes at the wolf''s body did extreme damage, even stunning the wolf every once in a while.

    And while Foster''s attacks seemed to do the least amount of individual damage, the speed of his attacks was the greatest, and still ended up inflicting a good bit of damage every time.

    But there was one thing that surprised Foster the most. The way that these three were able to fight together was incredible. With just a few words or even just nces, they were able to understand each other, and reacted ordingly so that they could make sure the wolf was going to go down soon.

    And then, at some point, the wolf just stopped moving altogether. It still stood there, it was still breathing, and its heart was beating faster than it had ever before during this fight. Before Foster knew it, the wolf focused its weight onto its front legs, preparing to let out one more of those ear-shattering howls. But he wouldn''t let it do that.

    Foster ran forward, his own legs nearly giving in under his own weight, but soon reached the wolf anyway. He jumped just one more time, with both Lynol and Octer right behind him. Foster focused on his hand, and soon felt the cold spell return to his fist. But that wasn''t where it ended. It seemed tough, as if Foster was forcing something together that wasn''t supposed to be together, but he added the Single Strike martial skill onto the Chilling Touch spell.

    With all of the force that Foster had left in his body right now, he swung his fist forward as he slid slightly under the wolf''s body, and struck at its throat. He let out a deep grunt as his fist hit the wolf''s skin, and could feel all energy leave his body.

    Foster stumbled to the side and fell to the ground. Slowly, he turned his head, and saw Lynol stab his greatsword into the wolf''s throat, right where Foster''s attack had weakened its flesh and skin. And while he was still holding onto it, he moved to the side and made way for Octer, who was holding his huge, incredibly heavy shield on just one edge, his fingers buried deep into the bent, damaged metal. By twisting his whole body around, Octer managed to swing the shield at the handle of the sword

    It was pushed further in, and with a loud crack, pierced the wolf''s spine. And while the huge wolf''s body dropped to the ground, so did Lynol and Octer''s. They fell to the ground right next to Foster, incredibly exhausted after this excruciating battle.

    Somehow, in an impossible feat, the wolf was still able to move. But it was nothing but a reflex, and its body fell to the ground again the next moment, as a message appeared in front of Foster''s eyes.

    ---

    [428 Experience Points rewarded]

    [You have leveled up!]

    [You have leveled up!]

    [You have leveled up!]

    [Your {Martial Necromancy} Skill has leveled up]

    ---

    Foster let out a loud groan as he slightly turned his head, looking at these two that he just fought a battle that they could have very well died in together. And he didn''t know why he felt this sudden urge to say this, but he did. He didn''t even really care about those messages, even as his body started aching even more than before the moment they appeared.

    "Octer, Lynol..." Foster let out quietly, and he noticed that the two of them were listening. They only let out light groans, but it was still enough.

    "I''m an Otherworlder." He exined in a blunt tone.

    "...Cool." Lynol replied, just as blunt, and Foster couldn''t help himself but startughing at that reaction.

    "Eh? Wait, what''d you just say? Oi, Lynol, what did he just say?!" Octer yelled out, but his confusion was drowned by Foster''sughter.

 Chapter 28 - Secrets

    The group of three, Foster, Lynol, and Octer, soon made their way back to where the caravan was before. It luckily hadn''t left from this spot yet. And the other wolves had all been taken care of properly as well. The moment that they approached the caravan, a group of people came sprinting up to them. The three were barely able to still walk, after all.

    Even if Octer was able to take most of the attacks with his tower-shield, all three of them had been decently injured. Of course, in no life-threatening ways, just things that might take a while to heal.

    "What happened to the-" George came running up to them as well, immediately asking about the state of that monster. It was the caravan''s main concern right now, after all. With a grin on his face, Foster looked back at his current employer, "Don''t worry, we killed it. It''s somewhere in that direction." He exined, but George just looked back at him with a frown.

    "...What direction?"

    "That direction."

    "You''re not pointing anywhere..." George pointed out, and Foster raised his brows, "What do you mean, I-" He slowly turned his head to the side, and noticed that his right arm was hanging a bit lower than his left arm.

    "Ah shit, not again..." He groaned loudly, before grabbing his dislocated arm.

    "Wait, don''t touch that, I''ll-" The mage from earlier, who could use healing magic, started telling Foster. But a momentter, a popping sound could be heard as he pushed his arm back into his socket without as much as a flinch.

    "Erm... We know where you guys came from, so we''ll send some people there to take the body apart... After you ended up like this, you deserve something in return." George sighed deeply, before looking at the three men in front of him, "But really, the three of you took care of that yourselves? And here ya went tellin'' me that you weren''t a good fighter." With a slightugh, George hit Foster''s back as he pushed him and the others forward.

    Just like that, all this chaos from just half an hour ago slowly dissipated. It seemed like nobody had died, even if many of the people here had been injured quite intensely. Inparison to some others, Foster, Lynol and Octer ended up fine. So, they slowly made their way over to the side of this spot where the caravan had settled for now, and sat down on some rocks.

    It was time for these guys to talk to each other for a bit.

    Octer was the first to mention the elephant in the room, "Aight, so..." He let out with a loud groan, "You''re a fuckin'' Otherworlder? And you want us to just believe you?"

    "I mean, kinda." Foster replied bluntly, "Why would I make that up?"

    "There are plenty of people that do so for the possible fame thates with that title." Lynol exined, "Of course, people are careful when ites to them because of how dangerous they can be, and many are scared the moment that word is just used around them, but if you can show yourself to be the good sort, you will be able to rise up quite far."

    Foster leaned back a bit and let out a slight hum, "Hm... Wait, title?" He said, "Is there a way to show your, like, actual titles to others?"

    "...I mean yeah, but that''s kinda risky. You''d have to show your whole status for that. Although it''s the only way for you to prove you''re really an otherworlder... I mean, you sure you wanna show us whatever stuff you umted during your time here?" Octer exined to Foster, who shrugged in response.

    "Eh, I''ve been in this world for less than a month, I''m gonna be fine. And you basically know all about my skillset at this point anyway, especially after you guys saw... ''that'' before." Foster exined, quite clearly referring to the fact that he used necromantic magic right in front of them.

    Either way, he slowly opened up his status page and then looked back at Lynol and Octer, "So, what do I do now?"

    "The simplest way is to just say ''Reveal Status'' and then think about the specific people you want to show it to." Lynol instructed, and Foster quickly did as told.

    "Cool. Reveal Status." He said out loud, and a momentter, the status seemed to be visible to Octer and Lynol as well. They looked at the window in front of them, and then looked past it back at their friend.

    "The fuck is this?" Octer asked with a wry smile, and Foster shrugged in response as he properly looked at his status as well.

    ---

    [Name: Foster Odin Locke][Age: 23]

    [Race: Human][ss: Martial Necromancer][Level �C 4]

    [HP: 13/35][MP: 4/25][SP: 3/40]

    [Attributes]

    [STR: 18][AGI: 20][END: 22]

    [INT: 15][WIS: 14][CHA: 16]

    [Titles]

    -[He who is one with Death]

    -[Otherworlder]

    [ss Skills]

    -[Martial Necromancy �C Lvl. 2]

    ---

    "You really are an Otherworlder..?" Octer asked with a wry smile, "I mean, it seems like you''re the good kind..."

    "Of course he is the ''good kind''... I hope." Lynol pointed out, "Although, I have to say, considering your attributes, the way you fought back there is rather impressive."

    "My attributes? Wait, I think they increased since thest time I looked at them?"

    "...Did you level up?" Octer asked, trying to somewhat move the conversation elsewhere as both him and Lynol were trying to figure out what to do with all this information. Although that was just the start of it.

    Foster quickly nodded his head, "Yeah, I did. I was just level 1 earlier..."

    "You fought that beast as a level 1? With your attributes even lower than this?" Lynol asked, for the first time really showing anything resembling surprise to Foster, and he grinned lightly as he nodded his head, "Heh, yeah... Sounds kinda impressive when you say it like that."

    "It doesn''t just sound impressive, it ''is'' impressive..." Octer groaned loudly, but at this point, his curiosity caught up to him, and he just had to ask, "Aight, the fuck is up with this ''death'' theme in your status? Necromancer? And ''He who is one with death''? I''ve never even heard of that title!"

    "Oh, that... Erm, I''ll exin the necromancer bit to you guys some other time, since I honestly don''t even know that much about it myself, but as for the title... Well, I actually don''t know what to say about that either, it''s a unique title, y''know, cuz I practically died right when I came to this world even before this sytem stuff was put into me." Foster exined bluntly, and Octer and Lynol looked at each other surprised.

    "You have a unique title?" Lynol asked as he seemed to look back at he window floating in front of him, but Octer quickly shook his head, since he was wondering about something else, "Wait, no, more importantly, why are you telling us all of this now, man?"

    "Honestly... I don''t know. It might be naive... no, it definitely is, but I guess just wanted to have some people around me that I didn''t have to lie to about practically everything. And after we killed that thing together, I just kinda felt like I could trust you guys with that sort of thing. If that makes sense." Foster tried to put his thoughts into words for these guys, although he wasn''t sure if that was enough to fully convince them.

    He really had no idea how they were going to react... Although their initial reaction was already a lot better than that of Joyce and Aaron back then, so maybe things were going to be fine. That''s what Foster was really hoping for. And then, Lynol did something that showed Foster that he was right. He slowly took off his mask and ced it to the side, revealing his face to Octer, who for some reason seemed even more surprised now than when Foster revealed his identity.

    "I''m a Lorgran. But not themon type that you might see every once in a while. As my red skin shows, I''m a lesser Lorgran. My n was one created by the greater Lorgrans to be their defenders. I escaped the very that my n was put under, and am now here." Lynol exined, and Octer let out a loud groan as he looked to the side.

    "Shit, you two are fucking annoying..." Octer grumbled, "I ain''t got a secret like you two do... I''m kinda normalpared to the two of you...." He pointed out while scratching the back of his head, "But the two of you can be sure that I ain''t gonna tell anyone about you two. I mean, without ya, I''d probably be dead now..."

    Foster lightly smiled as he looked back at these two, "I''m d to hear that. You know, when we reach Arcadum, what do you two think about-" He was speaking, when he suddenly felt something on top of his head. It was a weight that certainly wasn''t supposed to be there.

    "Erm..." He muttered, while Lynol and Octer stared at the thing on top of his head.

    "This keeps getting more and more extraordinary." Lynol whispered, but Foster was still confused, when he suddenly felt two small hands press onto the sides of his head.

    Before he knew it, a familiar Nature Spirit was looking down into his eyes after leaning forward from the top of his head.

 Chapter 29 - Contract

    Foster sat there, practically frozen up, as he locked eyes with the Nature Spirit currently sitting on top of its head.

    "Erm, hello there?" He said with a wry smile, as he looked at Lynol and Octer, "Could you two maybe help me out for a second?"

    "...Right." Octer stood up with a loud groan and walked up to Foster, trying to grab the Nature Spirit that was sitting on his head with a light grin. He still thought that these guys were incredibly cute, after all, and it would be a good distraction from his wounds after that battle just now.

    However, the moment that Octer tried to grab the spirit, it turned into mist and his hands went right through it. When he then pulled his hands away, the mist gathered back on Foster''s head and turned back into the nature spirit, sitting in the same position as just before, "Eh?" Octer let out. He tried to grab it once more, but the same thing happened.

    With a deep re, Octer took up abat stance. Foster looked up at the already huge man, and slightly backed away, "Dude, what''re you doing? Just grab it..."

    "I''m trying... so sit still already!" Octer eximed, as he swung his arm forward to try and catch the nature spirit. Again and again, he tried to grab it from Foster''s head.

    "Aaargh, just stay still you fuckin''-" He yelled out angrily, before a loud smacking sound could be heard, while Octer finally felt some resistance in his attempts. And then, he felt a kick in his stomach and fell back onto his behind. Foster really didn''t like being hit on the side of the head by a massive man like that, after all.

    "Fucking dickhead..." Foster groaned as he rubbed the side of his head annoyed, "I think you should have noticed after the tenth time that it wouldn''t fucking work out!" He pointed out angrily, before he felt something lightly rubbing the side of his head where Octer just hit him. Once again, it was the nature spirit that was trying to help Foster get better.

    Somehow, it really seemed quite cute. Foster held his hand toward his head and spoke, "Hey there, buddy. Could youe down there for a second?" He asked. After a moment or two, the answer came in the form of the nature spirit climbing down his arm. It climbed all the way down to hisp, where it then sat almost smugly.

    Octer''s hand turned into a fist as he turned his head away, "How unfair..."

    "Well, I guess it''s because you have such a scary face." Foster replied with a smirk, as he noticed the nature spirit grab his finger with its tiny hand. At this point, Foster looked back down at this spirit, noticing that he had interacted with this specific one before. He noticed those tiny white spots appearing and disappearing within its fur.

    "Looks kinda like stars." He smiled, rubbing his hand through the spirit''s fur. It was just incredibly soft, so much so that Foster thought he could be addicted to feeling something like this. But then, Lynol said something that distracted him from this wonderful moment, "This is absolutely abnormal."

    "Eh?" Foster let out surprised, "What do you mean, ''abnormal''? Then why is it doing this?" He asked, and Lynol ced one of his hands into his other and thought about it.

    "The spirits that I happen to know of are reclusive from society. It makes sense, since us people are the ones with the ability to defy nature by constructing cities, which means we are defying the spirits of nature themselves. Most aren''t bitter, but that doesn''t mean that they would end up sitting on a person''sp like a pet." Lynol exined with a squint, but surprisingly, Octer immediately shook his head.

    "I mean, it ain''t totally abnormal. It just wants to form a contract with ya, or at least that''s what I''d guess... You lucky bastard..." He groaned loudly. Foster looked down at the spirit, which turned its head toward him as well. He looked through the eye-holes of the mask with a smile on his face, and rubbed the spirit''s head.

    "That so? You want to form a contract with me?" Foster asked with a light smile, before raising his head after the spirit nodded its own. He looked at his friends for a moment, before asking, "The fuck''s that supposed to mean, though? Like, what kinda contract does it want to form? Does it want to sell me something?"

    Octer rolled his eyes as he squatted down annoyed, "I can''t believe it... it wants to form a contract with someone that doesn''t even know what it is..? Fuckin'' hell..." He grumbled to himself, "Listen, with ''contract'' I mean somethin'' like a familiar contract. You will be turning it into your familiar, yourpanion."

    "...And why should I do that?" Foster asked with a wry smile, and Octer swiftly exined, "Well, you know, there are some benefits to it. Like, you can always summon your familiar, no matter where you or it is. There are spells that you can only cast with the help of a familiar that are pretty useful, and then there are of course the unique abilities that a familiar has that you''re gonna have ess to, y''know?"

    Foster looked down at the nature spirit with a light frown, "Well, I guess that''s pretty neat? Then how do I do that contract thing?"

    The moment that he asked Octer this question, the nature spirit reacted, realizing that Foster seemed to want to form a contract as well. It turned around and climbed up Foster''s chest. It pressed its own forehead against his, before a message window appeared in front of him. And sure, while he wasn''t able to see it, he still got all the information of what was written on it within his mind instantly.

    ---

    [A {Familiar Contract} has been initiated. Do you wish to continue?]

    ---

    Foster thought about how he wanted to proceed with this, and the message was reced with something else just a momentter.

    ---

    [To begin the formation of the {Familiar Contract}, it is required to name the to-be familiar]

    ---

    "Ah..." Foster let out, and immediately started thinking about what he could name this nature spirit. It had those star-like white dots in its ck fur, so to him it seemed like just a mass of space. A cluster of stars.

    "...Aster. That''s your name, bud." He said with a smile on his face. Immediately, the message window disappeared, and Foster could feel something flow in through his forehead. It was a warm sort of energy, but at the same time it made his whole body feel kind of... weird. Like having one of your limbs fall asleep, just in your whole body. And then, a momentter... the nature spirit disappeared. Mostly, at least.

    Its body was simply gone from one moment to another, but the small mask that made up its body before was still there, and fell down onto Foster''sp.

    ---

    [You have sessfully formed a {Familiar Contract} with the Nature Spirit {Aster}!]

    ---

    "...What just happened?" Foster asked with a wry smile, "D-Did it die or something?"

    "Oh, no, no!" Octer eximed, "Don''t worry, it''s nothing like that. It just went back into its ''neutral'' state... I didn''t expect ya to do it right fucking now, so I didn''t exin it yet, but a spirit practically ''resets'' when they form a contract... It''s being reborn at level 1, or something."

    "Octer, how do you know this much about such things?" Lynol asked, something that Foster also wanted to know about. Octer turned his head away with a wry smile and scratched his cheek, "Erm... Growin'' up, I wanted to be a... a mage... and every good mage needs a familiar, right? So I did a little research on this stuff..."

    Foster and Lynol looked at each other for a moment, before both smiling. Foster grinned a bit as he stood up with the small mask clutched in his hand, "Well, I guess that''s a good enough secret in exchange for ours, don''t you think?"

    Octer turned back around with a deep re, "Fuck off, mate...."

 Chapter 30 - Encounter

    Foster sat in the back of the carriage, looking at the small porcine mask. And ''small'' really meant ''small'' right now. Over the past few days, the original mask that was on Aster''s body started crumbling away around the edges, shrinking bit by bit. It had stopped changing when it reached the size of his thumb''s nail.

    It was so small that Foster was kind of worried he was going to end up losing it somehow... Although he still really wasn''t sure if this was really supposed to happen. But for now, he just made sure to pay extra close attention to it. Since him, Lynol and Octer had been amongst the most injured people after their fight against that extremely huge wolf, George allowed them to just take a break for the next few days, so he didn''t really have to get out of the carriage at all and could just focus on recovering while being healed by that mage a little bit every day.

    While Foster sat there inside of the carriage, looking at the tiny porcine mask, he noticed that the carriage was slowlying to a halt in an unusual way. That usually just happened when something was going on outside, but Lynol seemed surprised as well, so it didn''t seem to be monsters again.

    To see what exactly was going on, Foster leaned out of the back of the carriage. In the very front, he spotted George talking to a few people that hade from the opposite direction. They were all heavily armed and some of them were wearing thick armor.

    Sometime in the middle of the conversation, Foster noticed George point right toward him, and a young woman, who seemed to be the leader of that group, came rushing toward them. Of course, he immediately sat back down, because he really didn''t want to deal with it, "Lynol, put your mask back on. And Octer, wake the fuck up." Foster groaned as he lightly kicked Octer, who wasying on the ground, just taking a nap in the middle of the day. He drank quite a bit of alcohol yesterday, so he was trying to sleep off his hangover.

    "Who here fought the Colossal Wolf?!" The woman yelled out, and Foster looked back at her while rolling his eyes, "Who wants to know that?" He replied, and she crossed her arms with an annoyed frown.

    "So it was you three? Who do you think you are to steal someone else''s prey?" She asked with an annoyed re, "We''ve been preparing for this for months!"

    "Eh? Months for that thing? You seem decently strong, though? What, were you too scared to actuallye out here to get rid of it before it fucking attacked our caravan?"

    "Even if that happened, you don''t-"

    "Shut the fuck up..." Foster replied in disbelief, "You weren''t just about to tell us that we still shouldn''t have killed it? Are you fucking with me right now? No, you know what, I know you aren''t fucking with me, because I know people like you. Get the fuck off your high horse and listen to me, you stuck-up bitch. If we''re attacked, we''ll fight back. Next time, just do your job better if you don''t want someone else to do it for you!"

    The woman looked back at Foster absolutely perplexed, "Y-You could have just run away! Just because-"

    "I just told you to shut it." Foster was done, and stepped out of the carriage. He stood in front of this woman, this utterly stuck-up adventurer, and red down at her. She took some steps back, and Foster pointed at the rest of the adventurers that were waiting at the front of the caravan, "Now go back to your friends, turn around, and leave us the fuck be."

    The woman in front of Foster slowly stared down at the ground, and a momentter, the young man realized that he maybe, just possibly, was a bit too harsh talking to her like that. After all, considering that he just made a grown woman, even if she just seemed to be around 19 or 20 years old, cry like a little kid, it was Foster that seemed like the bad guy in this situation. Even though she was the one that acted like Foster, Lynol and Octer were at fault for literally saving everyone in the caravan.

    Noticing that she had started crying, another member of her group came rushing over, ring at Foster in the process, "What have you done to her?! She just came here to talk to you to confirm whether or not you killed that beast!"

    "...What?" Foster replied with a deep re. This guy was wearing things that seemed to be extremely expensive, with shining armor and a decorated sword on his hip.

    "What do you mean ''what''? She came here to confirm if what the leader of this caravan said is indeed the truth!"

    "...She told us that we''re thieves for killing her prey before her, and judged us for defending ourselves and the other people in this caravan against it." Foster exined to him, more than just annoyed at this situation. The man turned his head and looked at the woman next to her.

    "Silvia, is he telling the truth?" The man asked, and the woman, Silvia, kept staring at the ground silently, tears still running down her cheeks. He squatted down in front of her, and looked her into her eyes, "Silvia, answer me please."

    Slowly, Silvia nodded her head in response to this man, "B-But... We''ve been preparing for this for so long! It... It''s unfair that they just-"

    "Alright, just stop talking. And apologize to him right this second." The man said, while Foster turned around to look at Lynol and Octer. The three were all in just in utter disbelief right now.

    Silvia carefully raised her head and looked at Foster, rubbing the tears out of her eyes, "I''m sorry... I just felt really frustrated..."

    "Good. Now go back to the others, I''ll deal with this." The man said, and Silvia silently nodded and walked away with her head hanging low. When she was gone, the man looked back at Foster.

    "I sincerely apologize for my sister''s behavior." He said with a genuine expression, "And I of course also apologize for snapping at you like that. I am somewhat protective of her, but it is still inexcusable."

    "...You''re good, don''t worry about it. I was probably also a bit too harsh."

    "Probably? You fuckin'' yelled at ''er." Octer said from within the carriage, and Foster quickly swung his hand behind him and held his middle-finger toward his friend, while his face was still concentrated on this guy in front of him.

    "Erm, anyway... If you prepared for this that much, I kinda get being frustrated... But again, we couldn''t just ignore it, you know?" Foster pointed out while scratching his cheek, and the man in front of him smiled back

    "Of course. But if I may ask, did you harvest anything from its corpse? Because even if we aren''t the ones to beat it, it is still necessary for us to prove that it has been in. Just to show that it is no longer a threat to worry about." The man exined, and Foster slowly nodded his head as he turned around, looking past the carriages, "Yeah, just go over there to that third carriage in the caravan. It''s where the materials from the different monsters hunted during the trip are kept, I think. Just talk to George about it if you need anything like that."

    "I see. Thank you for the advice." The man finished speaking with a smile, and although Foster thought that was it, the man just kept standing there for a while longer.

    "Can I help you with anything else?" Foster asked with a wry smile, and the man quickly shook his head, "Sorry, I was just... surprised. You three have in that beast on your own?"

    "Yup, what about it?"

    "Oh, nothing! But I was wondering, you three... Are you a member of a guild right now?" The man asked, "I mean, even if you are.... I think you three would grow quite well within our Lost Sparrow guild."

 Chapter 31 - Arrival

    "You''re asking us to join your guild?" Foster replied, and the man in front of him quickly nodded his head, "Of course! If it was just the three of you that managed to y that beast, then you definitely are incredibly promising candidates."

    Foster slowly turned around to look at Lynol and Octer, thetter of which was kneeling inside of the carriage with a look of disbelief.

    "Erm- What- Did you just say ''Lost Sparrow''...?" Octer asked, and the man quickly nodded his head with a light smile, "So you''ve heard of us, I see."

    "Could I... ask for your name..?" With a nervous expression, Octer stared back at the man, whoughed slightly in response, "I apologize, I should have introduced myself earlier. My name is Romeo Karidis."

    Inside of the carriage, Octer was just sitting there,pletely stunned, "Y-You are Romeo Karidis from the Lost Sparrow guild..? That... I..." He muttered, although he felt like something was wrong, "Wait, why would someone like you take on a request like this..?"

    "Ah, I''m only here to supervise in case of an emergency. This would have been the first request my sister took on, and it was my role to judge how well she''s doing to determine a few things now that she''s joining the guild." Romeo exined, "It''s why this request was so important to her."

    "I mean, I guess that makes sense?" Foster replied with a wry smile, "Erm, just wondering, but where is your guild? Like, in what town?"

    "We''re in Arcadum, of course. It wouldn''t make sense being anywhere else these days." Romeo exined immediately, and Foster turned around toward Lynol and Octer. They all looked at each other for a moment, and seemed to alle to the same conclusion.

    "In that case, we mighte by sometime. We''re all looking to get work there anyway. Those two are independent adventurers right now, and I''m not an adventurer at all, actually."

    "Hm? What do you mean you''re not an adventurer?" Romeo replied surprised.

    "Well, I''m just not an ''official'' adventurer, rather. I can fight pretty well though, but I just didn''t sign up at any guild yet. You know... circumstances?" Foster said, using the exnation that he came up with together with Lynol and Octer. Having two people that knew he was an otherworlder and that would help him out so that he could seem ''normal'' in this world was really incredibly helpful.

    "Ah, I see! Well, everyone has those, isn''t that right? You can take your time for now, it''s in no rush. Settle in when you get to Arcadum, and if you''re interested, juste to our main office. If you exin the situation, they should help you out there." Romeo exined, "Oh, but first... What are your names? Even if you choose not to join our guild, I would love to see how you strive within Arcadum."

    Foster, Lynol and Octer quickly introduced themselves, and even quickly spoke to Romeo about theirbat specializations. But after that, Romeo chose that it was just about time for them to leave again. He made his way past the caravan to start speaking to George about the situation, and so that they could figure out a good way to prove that the wolf had been taken care of, while Foster sat back down inside of the carriage.

    He looked at Octer and Lynol, and the three had a long, thorough conversation about what they were going to do once they reached Arcadum.

    "You aren''t going to stick to your current party?" Foster asked as he looked at Octer, and he slowly shook his head, "Nah, they''re not really my party in the first ce. I just sometimes teamed up with them... I''m a bit loud, so I can look like the party leader, but we''re mostly just acquaintances."

    "Lynol, what about you? Did you have any ns when you reached Arcadum?"

    Lynol looked at the ground after hearing Foster''s question, and slowly answered, "Not particrly. I just hoped to reach a ce where I could live a new life. Free from my n''s status. A ce where I could strive and grow, uninhibited by the red color of my skin."

    Foster smiled lightly as he looked down at the small porcine maskying in his hand, "Then I guess it''s settled. We''re gonna party up officially, right?"

    "Huh?" Octer replied perplexed, "I thought we already established that."

    ---

    Foster woke up in thete afternoon after taking another nap in the carriage. Like usual at this point, he checked on the small porcine mask. At this point, he wasn''t sure whether or not it was going to turn back to normal anymore.

    It had stopped shrinking, but after that, nothing else happened anymore either. He was really kind of worried. And he wasn''t even able to see any information at all about Aster beyond the fact that it was ''currently in the form of a tiny porcine mask''.

    But for now, Foster probably had some other things to worry about anyway. As he looked out of the back of the carriage, he noticed that there were some fields being worked at. The streets were partially paved, and you could spot some farm buildings scattered around. They were getting closer to a city. They were reaching Arcadum, finally.

    It had been nearly 7 weeks since they started traveling now. Foster was honestly getting really sick of this carriage''s interior. And his back was practically killing him, because he spent most of the time he was asleep in here, on the harsh wooden floor while the carriage was moving around wildly.

    At the very least he had been nearly fully healed by now. These injuries would have probably usually taken a few months and a lot of extreme effort to heal, but now he was already only left with a few bothersome bruises. Seeing how tought it was for that mage to heal him throughout these few weeks to even this extent made Foster realize just how amazing Thiodrus'' healing magic was. It worked basically instantly, after all.

    Foster got his things into his bags and stretched a bit, as the caravan finally came to a halt in front of the city gates. And he swiftly jumped out, followed by Lynol and Octer. The three of them swiftly approached the front of the carriage.

    George was there, handing out different documents so that the adventurers could go collect the reward for this request they took on. And when it was finally the turn of Lynol and Octer, George gave the group of three something else.

    He gave them an address.

    "Come here in a couple of days, three or four maybe. We''ll see to it that the materials from that annoyin'' wolf are sold, and then all of you are gettin'' a bonus. You said ya didn''t want any of the materials yourselves, right?" George asked to confirm one more time, and Foster quickly smiled at him, "Yeah, don''t worry about it." He said.

    And although they probably wouldn''t need money for the next little while, considering the amount of money that Foster took from Thiodrus'' hut back then, they simply also didn''t have a use for the materials. ording to Lynol and Octer, the hyde from monsters like that could often be used to make armor, so that would have been something useful, but that wasn''t really an option after the wolf''s skin had been burnt to a crisp through a dozen Molotov Cocktails.

    "Alright, you guys can ''ead off now. If any of ya need some work, be sure toe to the Hignd Company." George said, as Foster Lynol and Octer walked away from the caravan.

    They slowly approached the thick, towering walls that surrounded the city, and made their way through therge open gate in the front.

 Chapter 32 - Red River

    Foster looked around, once more feeling like just some little child, just like when they first entered that forest with the towering trees. Just that this time it all felt a little bit different. These walls were actively man-made. The gate was so thick that it seemed impossible for any person to move, which is why there were different of those small tyrannosaurus-looking things were hooked up to it, so that they could pull it open or push it closed in case something happened.

    The entrance into the town felt more like a tunnel, it was that thick. And once they reached the end of that tunnel, Foster, Lynol and Octer were practically stunned by what they were seeing in front of them right now. This city was absolutely beautiful. The architecture was somewhat ssic, but felt weirdly unique at the same time. It wasn''t anything that Foster had ever seen before, at least. It was like the buildings were supporting each other, like one of them was holding up the two that were built directly next to it.

    The buildings were tall, not necessarily skyscraper-sized, but certainly higher than anything else that Foster had seen in this world so far. Many of the buildings had bridges connecting each other, and there were different levels to the streets, as if this ce was some sort of huge shopping mall, just that it was actually an enormous city.

    Right beside the wall stood two enormous statues. Like protectors, they were standing there, staring at the entrance with a huge shield in one hand and a sword in the other.

    The streets on the bottom level, the base that the three of them were currently on, were something that Foster would expect from a main street in New York City, or maybe even bigger than that. The huge animals that were walking across these streets could bepared to elephants in size, although they were definitely anything but elephants.

    Now that Foster was standing here, he was also able to properly acknowledge the absolutely ridiculous size of the walls. And that didn''t mean that he was once more surprised by their height, but rather that he was surprised by their length. They were stretching out into the distance, so much so that Foster wasn''t able to see their end. This city must be absolutely enormous. And then on top of that it had these multiple levels of streets and buildings stacked up on one another?

    This ce was really incredible. It was just... amazing. This was one more time that Foster actually realized that this wasn''t earth. It wasn''t something that everyone else that was still living there would be able to see at any point in the future. This absolutely and utterly unique sight. It made him more than excited at the prospect of living in this world. At starting from zero, just like Lynol.

    With a broad smile on his face, Foster stood there in the middle of the street, until he felt someone pushing him to the side from behind him, "Don''t just stand there, other people need to get through there as well." Some random guy said with a loud groan, walking past him quite annoyed. It seemed like Foster had quite literally been stunned by this sight, something that had never happened before in the 23 years that he lived. He was stunned by fear before, plenty of times, but never by excitement.

    And even though they both lived in this world, Lynol and Octer seemed to react in a simr fashion. Neither of them had ever gotten the chance of seeing something like this, showing Foster that this ce was absolutely magical even in terms of this world.

    "Alright... Where to next?" Foster asked with a smile on his face, excitedly looking at his friends, and Lynol quickly pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small booklet that he liked to take notes in. He swiftly flipped it open, soon finding the page that he was looking for.

    "At the public guild where I took the request to apany the caravan I was told about a decent, affordable inn to stay at. It''s called ''Red Riverside Inn''." Lynol exined, and Foster raised his brows excitedly, "There''s even a river here inside the town? That''s kinda cool..."

    "I''m not sure that''s it..." Octer said with a wry smile, "You two might now know about it, you know... because of your guys'' circumstances, but... In big cities, there''s quite often a particr district... It''s usually where you''ll end up finding official duel stadiums, and things like ''feats of strength''... Shows where people fight monsters for entertainment."

    "Eh..?" Foster replied, surprised to hear this, "And those ces are called..."

    "Red Rivers..." Octer finished the sentence, staring ahead, "They''re usually quite brutal districts to find yourself in..."

    "Then is it really a good idea to head there?" A bit confused, Foster looked at his friend who quickly shrugged, "Maybe. I mean, it was rmended to Lynol, so probably?"

    "Alright. Then... let''s go ask someone where we need to go."

    ---

    Foster climbed up the stairs to the second level above the ground level of this city, to this somehow rtively normal street. People were passing by, sitting by restaurants, having fun in the bars. And then, right below on the ground level, there was Arcadum''s red river.

    Him, Lynol and Octer were walking through this street up here, and soon reached the ce that seemed to be the ''Red Riverside Inn''. It was a quiterge building, and it seemed pretty decent. It was in a nice area, for the most part. Although, it did have a rtively unique architecture. Instead of having a regr entrance, it had just an archway that seemed to lead into some kind of archway in the center of the building.

    "Should we just head through?" Foster asked, but as him and Octer were looking at each other, Lynol had already rushed through. For some reason, he seemed kind of excited. So, of course, the two others quickly rushed after him to see what he was so excited about.

    And when they reached that ''courtyard'', it was clear why exactly he was so excited. Lynol leaned over the railing in front of him, looking down into the deep hole in front of him. When Foster reached it, he saw that it seemed to be reaching down all the way to the ground level. And at the bottom were a bunch of people just fighting each other, slugging one another with their bare fists.

    "Eh, you''re the kinda guy that actually enjoys watching this stuff?" Foster asked with a grin on his face, surprised to realize this fact. Lynol, without even turning his head, swiftly replied, "Yes, and if you judge me for it, you can join me down there when the next round starts."

    "...Not judging, not judging... Got nothing to judge you for... I did use to go to a lot of boxing matches as well. I mean, not for my own entertainment, mostly to collect some debts and stuff." Foster said, before starting to lightly smirk, "Heh, that one time, there was this really huge heavyweight guy, he was probably like 300 pounds. Knocked his opponent right out in the first round. Kinda fun to watch, but thing was, he was supposed to lose. So of course, I''m standing in front of this guy that could very well have been like 7 feet tall, and he''s scared, just... just fucking shitless. It was kinda funny to be-" He went on a light rant with a broad grin on his face, and finally turned his head back to the side, where both Lynol and Octer were staring at him for a few moments.

    "I think we''re gonna have to talk about that... You say some kinda terrifying shit sometime, Foster... Right, Lynol?" Octer pointed out, and Lynol slowly turned his attention back onto the fight going on in the bottom, and as a very rare asion, quietly chuckled, "Hah... That one guy just lost some teeth...."

 Chapter 33 - Tournament Entry

    Foster threw his bags onto the ground next to the bed in his room, followed by his body hitting the mattress. And to his surprise... It wasn''t just a hay-filled mattress. It was actually really damn soft. To him, this feeling that he by now considered to be natural was just divine. He pushed his feet out of his shoes, and pulled the small vial that he turned into a ne out of his shirt.

    The flower that he ced in here at the start of this trip naturally withered by now, so he just tried to gather the seeds from it with Lynol''s help. He was surprisingly pretty good at that sort of thing. The seeds fully dried and were now ttering around inside of the vial. Foster now just needed some soil and a flowerpot to start growing more of them.

    He really wasn''t sure why exactly he wanted to do that, it just felt... right. Slowly, Foster sat back up, cing the vial to the side, as he instead took out Aster''s tiny mask. Maybe he should just give up hope at this point, although that was kind of annoying, and quite sad in his opinion.

    Careful not to drop it, he ced the tiny mask down next to the vial, and chose to instead do a little bit of training. Lynol and Octer were pretty exhausted because they weren''t able to sleep in the carriage earlier, and Foster didn''t particrly feel like exploring this town alone, so he had a little bit of freetime to spend here in this room this evening.

    And the sort of training that he wanted to do during that freetime wasn''t the technique-training that he did every single day, at least before they encountered that wolf, together with Lynol anyway, but rather some skill training. After all, when his ''Martial Necromancy'' skill leveled up back then, Foster became able to do some new things. He opened his status and looked at the information on these two extra abilities.

    ---

    [Block][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Defend against iing attacks by protecting your body with internal energy]

    -

    [Dead Sight][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Through your familiarity with death, you are able to let Necromantic energies flow through your eyes to spot the death hidden within your target]

    ---

    The Martial Skill ''Block'', and the Spell ''Dead Sight''. Since Foster was still pretty injured that whole time, he didn''t have the chance to try out his new martial skill, and when he tried using Dead Sight, his mana started draining so fast that he couldn''t particrly figure it out either.

    But now, Foster was in great condition again! So, he jumped off the bed again, even though he justid down on it a few minutes ago, and slid into the basic stance of the Argomna Style. And from there, Foster went into the ''Basic Block'' position. It required him to set his feet into stable positions while slightly shifting his weight forward, all the whilst somewhat curling his body up while protecting his vital organs. It was rather straightforward, really.

    Either way, now that Foster was in this position, he tried to use the ''Block'' martial skill. He already knew what he had to do, since he yed around with it at least a little bit before, but at the time it really didn''t make any sort of difference to him.

    And now, Foster tried it out once more. He imagined his body as a wall of sorts, a wall that could easily withstand any sort of attack that woulde for him. Foster could feel his body stiff up a bit, his muscles flexing slightly as his whole body heated up. Certainly, it was working, but he still had one more issue... He wasn''t able to test it out without having someone or someting actively attack him.

    It was kind of annoying, Foster clearly wouldn''t be able to do anything about it like this. And that was exactly when he got a bit of an idea. There was a perfect ce for him to test this stuff out right there... And at the same time, he should be able to figure out just how strong he really waspared to the people of this city. When Foster, Lynol and Octer were watching everyone before, while they did seem strong, they didn''t seem unbeatable by any means. With a light grin on his face, Foster stopped using the ''Block'' martial skill. It felt like something invisible and now intangible was cracking off him, as if he was covered by some kind of super thin, hardenedyer of... something, just now.

    He walked over toward his bed and picked up the tiny mask. He really didn''t want it to be stolen or anything, although he didn''t particrly care about the other things he was with him. But having Aster stolen from him was a quite horrible idea.

    And then, Foster walked out of his room, locking the door behind him. He walked through the hallway and down the stairs, making his way into the open hall that was the entrance of the Red Riverside Inn. And not too far away from him was already that deep hole where people were fighting each other. Unsure about where he had to go, Foster simply stepped up to the front desk. The young woman there looked at him with a smile. It was the same one that helped him check in just earlier.

    "Hello there, how can I help you?" She inquired with a smile on her face, and Foster pointed over his shoulde towrad the deep hole, "Do you by chance know how I can take part in that?" He asked immediately. The employee quickly nodded her head in response.

    "Of course I do, sir. You will have to return to the ground level of this street and enter the ''Red Riverside Tournament''s building. Simply head to the main desk you will find to your right, and ording to the general evaluator, you will be allowed to enter one of the first-round battle royals so that you may take part in the overall tournament. There are only three more instances of that battle-royal, so you should hurry before all the spots are taken up." She exined immediately, "Since you are already paying for one of our services here at the Inn, you will not be required to pay the fees to enter the tournament itself."

    Foster smiled back at her, happy that she was able to tell him all of this so concisely and in a clear manner. She seemed to be really good at her job, "Perfect! Thank you, then I think I''ll head down there right away. Have a good rest of your day, then."

    He turned around and made his way to the building''s exit. He walked down the stairs to the first level above the ground, and then to the ground itself. It was kind of busy in front of the building in question, with plenty of people moving both in and out of there. Some of them were clearly just people that came to watch the fights, not seeming like fighters themselves, but there were also plenty that seemed to just return from the fight Foster saw just earlier today. There was even the guy that lost some of his teeth, walking with a bloody cloth pressed against his mouth.

    "Ouch..." Foster muttered with a wry smile, but quickly walked past him and entered the building himself. And it didn''t take him long to find the front desk either, there were plenty of people queuing up in front of there. So, being the good citizen he pretended to be for most of the day, he stepped to the very end of the line.

    Some of the... rougher looking fighters were messing around with each other, and were doing some dumb stuff like talking a kid down from participating in the fight, saying that she wasn''t ''respecting the sport well enough''. Luckily Foster was actually one of the taller people there, and he had a decent build as well. And while he was on the young sidepared to some of the others, he by far wasn''t the youngest. It felt nice not having to deal with thugs like that here in this world... He had to deal with people disrespecting him due to his age plenty of times when he first became an executive for the syndicate. Of course, they would only do it once, because they quickly found out that Foster wasn''t just some ''lucky kid''.

    Either way, soon enough, after about half an hour, it was Foster''s turn at the front desk. He looked at the employee with a smile, "Hello there, I would like to sign up for the tournament, please." He said in a kind tone. The employee seemed nearly surprised, because most of the other people he was talking to all day were probably quite rude and rough.

    He immediately nodded his head and looked down at the sheet of paper in front of him, "Of course, sir. I just need some basic information, for further evaluation as well as to determine the exact tournament type you are allowed to take part in. Do you know how to read and write?" He asked, and Foster quickly nodded.

    "Yeah, I do."

    "Great! Then just fill your name in here, although you can just use an alias if you wish. Then over here note down your ss type, and of course we don''t need anything specific, we just need to know what base ss you have; Martial Artist, Swordsman, Spearman, et cetera. And then right here, please note your weapon of choice. Then down here-"

    "Ah, sorry, but if I use gauntlets as weapons, does that count?" Foster asked.

    "Of course, don''t worry. Anyway, down here, please cross off the general range for your attribute levels. We don''t need specific information for these either, of course." The employee exined thoroughly, and Foster smiled as he quickly got to it.. It didn''t take long for him to fill everything out, and then handed the piece of paper back to the employee.

 Chapter 34 - Battle Royal

    Foster stood in the waiting room, ready to enter the ''Intermediate''bat tournament. Luckily, his attribute levels were perfectly at a point where he could either go to the Beginner or the Intermediate tournaments, and the choice was left up to his own discretion. The employee tried to stop Foster from entering the intermediate tournament, but he really didn''t care about what he thought.

    He knew that these attributes weren''t everything that went into a fight. And while many would think that all there was to a fight was to actively beat others up, Foster knew that the fight had already started now that they were here in the waiting room, just about to enter the arena.

    Foster was looking around at the other people, judging their actual ability. Just their bodies weren''t anything to particry look at, of course. There were plenty of people that were superior to him just from a raw, physical standpoint, that would never be able to even dream of beating him in a fight. There were a few people that he figured he should pay particr attention to, for different reasons.

    Some that he had to be careful around, and others that he should try and beat through straight-up tactics. At the same time, he did everything he could to make sure he didn''t somehow be someone else''s target, like that one kid from earlier, who was in this group as well, rather surprisingly. The same thugs that were bothering her earlier were still stuck to her, while she was trying her best not to take notice of them.

    That kid seemed to fight using knives, or at least she had two of them ced on her hips. She seemed rather collected, although those thugs were still clearly getting to her. As far as Foster was concerned... She would probably end up dropping out of this fight quite soon. While he knew that there was more than size to these fights, she would have a handful of huge guys gang up on her the moment the fight started. And since this was a mixed-style tournament, they were able to use any weapon they wanted to... Clearly, she was at an extreme disadvantage.

    But on the other hand, it would give Foster enough time to gather the points he needed to move on. Of course, while he didn''t join this thing to win, he still didn''t feel like having to drop out this early on in a tournament such as this. It was a matter of pride to him, at this point. And for that, he needed some form of tactics.

    By the time that therge gate into the actual arena opened up, he managed to get some rough clues for how he should act in regard to the tougher opponents. As for the ones that seemed weaker... He just ignored them, for the most part. All of the participants made their way into the arena, and stood there in random configurations. Basically, everyone tried to be as close as possible to the ones they wanted to fight first.

    There were two or three out of the 50 or so participants that seemed like they had set their sight on Foster, and he was nning on energetically answering their will to fight him. The announcer counted down from ten, and nobody was allowed to take a single step during this time.

    Three, everyone slowly prepared to slide into theirbat stances.

    Two, their grip on their weapons'' handles became more intense.

    One, with as much force as their bodies could spare for this, they began to set themselves into motion.

    And zero, the fight started as a loud bell was rung at the top of the arena. Out of the three people that showed clear interest in Foster, two attacked him immediately. One swordsman, one martial arist. Their movements were... rough, to say the least. And not even in Foster''s way of ''rough''. He was still able to control his body however he wanted, but these guys seemed absolutely shakey.

    Foster''s body entered the basicbat stance immediately, and he twisted his body around. The martial artist was the first to reach him. He was clearly quite young and inexperienced. He tried to jump at Foster for some reason, quite literally leaping into the air in front of him. However, since that was the case, all that needed to be done was for Foster to slide his front foot forward while shifting his weight and imbuing his hand with the Single Strike martial skill.

    Of course, Foster asked to make sure that these were allowed... multiple times before he even officially entered this tournament. Otherwise, it would have been useless to enter this. He entered here so that he could test himself against other people in the first ce.

    Either way, the martial artist that wasn''t able to dodge in the middle of the air was soon hit in the center of his chest by Foster''s gauntlet-covered fist. A loud bang sounded out, as one of the first impacts within this part of the tournament.

    The martial artist was pushed away and fell onto his back, while Foster rushed forward as he dodged the swordsman that also targeted him. He reached the martial artist that just fell down, and pressed his left foot into the ground. With the momentum he built up, Foster kicked the side of this guy''s torso. He flew meters away immediately.

    While he knew that his attributes had increased, and ording to Lynol and Octer, things like skills and attributes really did affect one''s actually physical body, Foster did not have the chance to discover his new physical capabilities yet. But now that he did this... he realized that he was certainly a lot stronger than before. From one moment to another, he became a lot stronger than before. If this was the power of leveling up... He really couldn''t wait for that to keep on happening.

    With a grin on his face, Foster twisted his body around and swung his fist forward once more, this time at the swordsman that followed him. Because he didn''t seem to expect Foster to attack so suddenly, he could only press his sword in frront of his body, defending against the punch with the t side of his de.

    The metal of Foster''s gauntlets hit against the metal of this swordsman''s de. A loud ng rang out, and the swordsman was pushed back a few steps. While he didn''t fall over, his arm was pushed to the side, and the sword wasn''t fully held in front of his body anymore. So, Foster swung his other fist at him, once more hitting the de. Just this time, on purpose.

    Once again, the swordsman was pushed back a few steps, albeit a bit further this time. And just like before, his arm swung slightly to the side. And Foster began to hit the t side of the de again and again, continuously pushing the swordsman further away from where they started. Foster pushed him through the crowd, until the swordsman bumped into some people.

    He turned his head around just so slightly, which was the exact moment that Foster went for a bit of a finisher. He pushed his hand toward the swordsman''s head and grabbed his hair, before pulling this guy toward himself. While he fell forward, Foster pushed his strengthened fist into the core of his body, and the air was pushed out of the swordsman''s lungs.

    He keeled over as Foster couldn''t help himself but grin, kicking him away into a group of other people.

    Of course, in any other situation, Foster would have been a bit more... subtle. A bit kinder to people that he didn''t even know. But why should he worry about this sort of thing right now?

    After all, before he entered the tournament, he was ensured that everyone that needed or wanted it, could receive ess to a skilled healer.

    So there was no need for Foster to worry about going all-out against another person for the first time in a while.

 Chapter 35 - First Round Winners

    Foster could feel the bodies of the people around him give in as they were pushed away. The sheer power of his ''single strike'' was really quite surreal. Even Lynol and Octer said that it was a lot stronger than it normally should be, probably because his Martial Necromancy skill had a ''Legacy'' rating. Special skills like that were apparently stronger than normal. Not that it was something for Foster toin about.

    It''s been a while since he''s had this much fun fighting other people. There was no reason to feel stressed out at all. Nobody would be trying to kill him, and everyone here was ready and prepared to be beat up even beyond where Foster would usually stop fighting them.

    Using these martial arts was incredibly fun, even though he was kind of bastardizing them with his dirty fighting. It was still really damn exciting though. The feeling that coursed through his body every time he punched someone with single strike was really weirdly pleasant.

    And now that the majority of the people taking part in this ''battle royal'' had been beaten to the point where they couldn''t continue fighting, there were only four people beside Foster himself left. Once the total number of participants left within the arena reached three, this round would be over.

    One of the other people that were left was that girl from earlier. Foster saw her get rid of the guys that were messing with her within the first couple of minutes, rather surprisingly. She was definitely strong, and incredibly fast. She was the one that Foster was most worried about out of all the other participants.

    And while she and another strong participant were fighting, the other two seemed to be quite interested in Foster. They were both martial artists, so it seemed like they wanted to show their skill by beating those with simr skill-sets.

    As they ran at Foster, he first focused on one of them. He would reach him first, and was the one whose attacks seemed like they would have the most raw damage. He pushed his hands in front of his body while leaning forward some, entering the defensive block position as he finally saw a chance to use the martial skill that he entered this tournament for in the first ce.

    Foster used ''Block'', and could feel that sort of shell wrap itself around him tightly. The martial artist in front of him saw the chance and swung hisrge, heavy fist at Foster. On impact, that shell shattered apart and let the fist through as he was pushed back a few steps. At first it seemed like the block martial skill did rtively little, but when he thought about it for a moment, Foster realized that any other attack from that guy without the block skill intervening would have been incredibly tough to deal with. From his momentum and weight, the attack should have felt like it had a lot more impact than it ended up having, so the block seemed to really do something.

    Either way, Foster didn''t have much time to think about this. He had been able to test the martial skill out just like he wanted to, and figured out that it really did seem to make a decent difference. That was enough for him for now. So, he moved from the blocking stance into an attack stance as the martial artist in front of him tried to attack him once more.

    It seemed like he thought Foster was an easy target as he left his defensive stance, and in an attempt to finish him quickly, he pushed his hand out forward. But he apparently didn''t ount for the fact that Foster was pushed back a few steps, so he had to stretch his arm out too much. A chance that his opponent happily took, of course.

    With a grin on his face that he was practically unable to get rid of at this point, Foster swung his fist upward in an arch, targeting his opponent''s elbow. And the punch strengthened with single strike as well as the heavy gauntlets he was wearing really ended up doing quite a bit of damage. Audible damage, as the martial artist''s arm broke and twisted in an unnatural way.

    As that guy was dealing with the damage from the attack, Foster twisted his body around and went for the other, weaker but faster martial artist. He slid his foot over the ground and punched toward the spot where the martial artist would end up being in another moment. But with his quick reaction speed, the martial artist was able to dodge, and slid past Foster.

    He twisted his whole body around as he attacked, pushing his elbow into the side of Foster''s head. It was a surprisingly heavy attack. The martial artist probably realized that Foster''s martial arts were based on power instead of speed.

    But there was one thing that he couldn''t have known. And that was that Foster''s ''agility'' attribute was higher than his ''strength''.

    Foster managed to withstand the elbow that was pushed into his face surprisingly easily, as he quickly twisted his own arm upward and grabbed the martial artist''s arm. Since his body was twisted around, Foster could easily pull him forward and trip him over so that he was about to fall onto his back. And although the martial artist tried to catch his fall somehow, it was toote. Foster was already towering over him, and struck downward with high speed, and his punch once more empowered with single strike.

    And as the martial artist''s body hit the ground, Foster struck his shoulder, fully pushing through and pressing him into the ground. The air escaped the martial artist''s lungs as he clutched his shoulder.

    Meanwhile, Foster stood there in front of his two opponents. One with a broken arm, and another with a clearly dislocated shoulder, on top of all the other damage that they had umted throughout this round of the tournament.

    Both of them yelled out that they were giving up as they stretched their respectively working arm over their heads. Meanwhile, Foster stood there and could feel some blood dripping down his face. He turned around with a bloody nose, grinning as he looked at the two people left in the arena. They were fighting each other, but stopped in surprise when they realized that Foster had beaten two other people while they hadn''t been able to even beat one other person during that same amount of time. And on top of that, his face waspletely covered in blood, and he still stood there with that broad, nearly demonic grin on his face?

    It was a sight to behold at the very least.

    "What an amazing fight,dies and gentlemen!" The announcer yelled out, "But sadly, that wraps up this round for the Red Riverside Tournament! Let me introduce you to the ones that will advance to the next round!"

    As the three of them gathered in the center of the arena, the announcer continued, "The young, beautiful ''Scout'', Jasmin!" He eximed, seemingly talking about the girl next to Foster. She was pushing her daggers into her sheaths, as the announcer continued.

    "The Spearman from down south, Argo!" The announcer said next. The spearman was grinning lightly, seemingly enjoying the attention. Either way, next, it was Foster''s turn.

    "And the star of this round, the brutal Martial Artist, Foster!" The audience pped their hands loudly, but Foster was just focused on something else. He raised his head up a bit, just to see how big this ce looked from down here... And seemed to see Lynol staring down at him from up there. Or at least, that''s what it looked like. There weren''t that many people wearing such mask around here, after all.

    "Well, shit..." He said with a wry smile, somewhat embarrassed. Foster was ready to walk up there and have his entry into the tournament be mocked for the next couple of days. And just when he was walking out of the arena, the two others that advanced further stopped Foster, staring at him intensely.

    "You, stop. During the next round, don''t run rampage like that, got it?" The girl, Jasmin, said with a deep re, while Argo stood next to her in agreement with this young girl, and Foster looked back at the two with a wry smile.

    "I''m not gonna be fighting in the next round anyway, don''t worry...."

 Chapter 36 - Waking Up

    "Huh?! What do you mean, you''re not gonna be fighting in the next round?!" The young woman in front of Foster, Jasmin, red at him as if he had just insulted her honor or something. But he didn''t really care, he mostly just entered this so that he could test himself a bit, and well... He did. While these ones that Foster had fought with right now probably weren''t the strongest in the whole tournament, he really didn''t care about winning something like this.

    While he wasn''t nning on stayingpletely low-profile, he didn''t want to put himself out there to make it easier for Joyce and Aaron to find him either.

    "I said what I said, I''m not gonna be fighting in the next round. So be happy, one less guy you''ve gotta fight with or something." Foster rolled his eyes as he stepped out of the arena, ready to return back to his room and head to sleep for the night. But both of the people beside him were trying to stop him.

    "Are you fucking dumb?! The next round is a teampetition! We''ll have topete ''with'' each other, not ''against''!" Jasmin eximed, and Foster looked back at her with a light frown, "And how is that my problem? I specifically asked, and I was told that I was allowed to drop out at any point throughout the tournament without repercussions."

    Jasmin stared back at him, angry at this situation, until she realized something. Her angry expression turned to a light grin, "You know, that might be the case officially, but... There are plenty of people that wouldn''t be all too happy to see someone drop out so easily in such an important part of thepetition... if you don''t wanna deal with the real big shots of this town, then-"

    "Oh, you mean like the criminal underground? The guys really running this city from the shadow? Actually, that''d be a great chance, I wanted to meet those guys anyway. So, everything''s working out for me in the end. Thanks for the tip." Foster said bluntly as he turned back around, walking toward the exit. But suddenly, he stopped. He could feel something... moving inside of his clothes. Did a bug get inside of them or something?

    "Hah, are you reconsidering it after all? What, you scared all of a sudden now?" Jasmin asked with a grin, and Foster let out a deep sigh, "Listen, just figure this shit out yourself. I genuinely don''t care, and even if you manage to somehow force me topete, I''ll just fake being beaten by the first people we meet. So just shut it, and-"

    "You really are a horribly selfish man, are you not?" The spearman, Argo, asked, and Foster immediately nodded, "Yup, you got it." He was still burrowing through his clothes, trying to find whatever was moving around inside there, but he just couldn''t see it at all.

    "Then how about we deal with it like this? You and I fight, one on one. If you win, then you don''t have topete, and if I-"

    "Do you think I''m actually dumb or something? There''s genuinely no reason for me to do that. As I exined earlier, you have no leverage to keep me in thispetition. If I win, I gain nothing, and if I lose, I have to do something I don''t wanna do. There''s literally no way for me to win." Foster said with a deep sigh. He had to deal with plenty of idiots like this before, people that thought they could annoy him into doing whatever they wanted.

    "But you-"

    "Ohe on, I told you already, I''m not going to keep taking part in this fuckingpetition. Just get off your high horse, will you?" Foster groaned out loudly, clearly beyond just annoyed because of these two people behind him as well as whatever it was that was crawling through his clothes. At least thetter of those things finally disappeared just now, but he still had to deal with the other two pests somehow.

    "What... What is that?" The girl asked, looking at Foster''s face. Or rather, she was looking to the top of his head, "It''s called hair. What, do you have Alzheimer''s or something?"

    "She means that... bug, or whatever it is, on your head!" Argo replied with a deep frown, and Foster raised his brows, "Bug? Huh..."

    Thinking that whatever it was that had crawled through his clothes before now made his way to his head without knowing, Foster simply tried to grab it without letting it escape. But when he did, he felt something surprisingly familiar, just... a little different.

    Loosening his grip, Foster pulled it off his head, and grinned broadly when he realized he was right, "Aster!" He eximed, "I thought you weren''t gonna wake up, buddy! What did you do, scaring me like that?"

    "...You know what that thing is?" Jasmin asked with a wry smile, and Foster immediately nodded his head, now suddenly incredibly happy, "Yup, it''s my familiar, Aster. Sorry, but I have to head off and take care of him for a second."

    Since both Argo and Jasmin seemed incredibly confused all of a sudden, Foster was able to leave this part of the building quickly without them bothering him any further.

    But where Foster was standing just now, the two of them slowly looked at each other, "Did that Martial Artist just say he had a Familiar?"

    ---

    Foster made his way back up to the Inn, where his friend was already waiting for him. He was standing by the entrance, just waiting for Foster to get inside, standing there silently.

    "Yoo, how you doing, man? I thought you were gonna head to bed or something..." He said with a wry smile on his face, and Lynol slowly turned around, "Nothing, mister Brutal Martial Artist."

    "Oi..." Foster said nervously, following his friend, "It ain''t like that, alright? I just wanted to finally test my ''Block'' martial skill out, that''s all!"

    "Huh, really? It looks like you were really enjoying yourself, though." Lynol pointed out, a fact that Foster didn''t know how to respond to. So instead, he used a skill he learned during the time he started actually going to school... tantly changing the topic when people asked him about what he was up to.

    "Ah, here! Aster woke up!" Foster pointed out, pushing the Nature Spirit forward. Lynol looked at him, and then raised his head to look at Foster again, "He shrunk down a bit."

    "Well, yeah, but... You know, I kinda figured that might happen." He replied immediately, looking down at the tiny version of Aster that was currently sitting on his palm. The body that had now formed around the tiny porcin mask had scaled down properly as well... So Aster''s body was no bigger than Foster''s index finger right now. But that kind of made him cuter.

    As they were heading toward where their rooms were, Lynol turned back toward Foster, "Well, I guess it was kind of to be expected. But also, you never exined to us what that name was about."

    "Ah! Ites from ''Asterism''. It''s like a generic version of a ''constetion'', basically any grouping of stars is referred to as an Asterism. And his fur kinda looked like that." Foster exined with a smile, nearly about to geek out again, when Lynol stared at him for a few moments. Foster looked back with a wry smile.

    "...What?"

    "Oh, nothing." Lynol replied, "I just thought it was funny how your familiar''s name is based on stars. You know..."

    "Don''t you fucking say it..."

    "...you being the star of the tournament, and all."

    "Go fuck yourself, Lynol...."

 Chapter 37 - Plan Of Action

    "Yoo, morning..." Foster said, tiredly letting Octer and Lynol into his ro om early in the morning as he tied his hair up so that he didn''t have to deal with it right now. And after he put his hair up into a ponytail, Aster proceeded to use that part of his hair as a small nest, burrying himself inside of the pir of hair.

    Octer sat down on one of the chairs, seemingly quite tired himself, before he leaned back, "Alright, now, we gotta figure out what we''re doing next. Do either of you have any suggestions?" Octer asked.

    Foster immediately shook his head, "You two make the choice, I don''t care at all... I literally don''t know what we even could do, besides meet up with that guy from the whatchamacallit guild..."

    "Lost Sparrow." Lynol added without a chance in his expression, "But nevermind that. Since we wanted to figure things out on our own, I suggest we help Foster sign up at the public guild and head into one of the beginner dungeons, and work our way up from there."

    "Yup, sounds like the best idea, honestly." Octer agreed, as he tiredly started scratching his beard, "Did you hear anythin'' about the dungeons near this town, though?"

    "There is the Tower, of course, but I''m not sure if that''s the best choice for now. Otherwise, I don''t really know anything about the dungeons near here, however." Lynol exined as he closed his eyes in thought, all the whilst Foster was stillpletely confused about what they were even talking about.

    "Guys, what the hell is a dungeon?" He asked with a wry smile, and both Lynol and Octer looked at him confused, "Wait, what? You didn''t even have dungeons over there?" Octer said in disbelief.

    "...I can''t answer that question until you tell me what it is..." Foster said with a wry smile, and Octer sighed deeply, "Fair enough. Well... A dungeon is like... a ce designated by the system as such? It''s hard to exin, because there''s like a shitton of different kinda dungeons... But the simplest way to describe it would be... some space that''s infested with monsters? Things like oldbyrinths or mines... a lotta them have stuff like traps to be careful of, but they usually have some treasure in them, and like, a theme?"

    Lynol rolled his eyes as he looked at Foster, "That''s a rough way to exin it, but that is basically it. At the center of each dungeon is a ''Dungeon Core''. Nobody really knows how theye to be, but they simply pop up in those special ces. Usually, that makes those ces change to what they were earlier, and monsters and traps are usually created, repaired, and managed by the dungeon''s core itself. More often than not, they extend through space in a way that''s abnormal. I heard that they''re supposedly in a pocket dimension created by the Dungeon Core using the space they are ced into as a temte."

    "...Alright, I guess?" Foster replied with a wry smile, "I''m not sure if I get it, but I guess so?" He said, thinking about the word some more. He didn''t know if that was really it before, but from what he could tell, it sounded a lot like the ''Dungeon'' in games.

    He never yed those sorts of games too much himself, but he came across the term a couple of times before, at least, so he had a rough understanding of what it meant. But since he really didn''t know anything about the dungeons here in this world, he didn''t want toe to any conclusion about them just yet. He would wait until he saw them. If both Lynol and Octer said that they should gof or that, then it was probably fine.

    "Alright, then let''s get dressed, eat something, and take care of everything we need to do for the day. ''Cause, y''know... You and I have proper equipment, but..." Octer said while looking at Lynol, before slowly turning his head over to Foster, "But he really doesn''t, huh?"

    "Wait, what do you mean? I''ve got my martial arts uniform, I have the gauntlets, some knives... and I''ve got a buncha... random bottles with liquid that I cannot identify. What else do I need?" Foster asked with a wry smile, and Octer grumbled quietly to himself as he walked up to the table, where Foster''s uniform wasid out. He grabbed it and took a closer look.

    "Alright, this stuff ain''t good armor." He said, burying his fingers in the cloth as he pulled to the sides, trying to rip it apart, "It''s just cloth. You''re a melee fighter, it''s not gonna protect you from anything. If ya were a normal mage, then maybe, but you''re just not."

    Foster was unamused as he looked at Octer, although he was expecting to be yelled at. Although, for some reason... The cloth wasn''t ripping. So, Octer put some more force into it. His muscles bulged under his shirt, until the cloth suddenly began to rip apart just so slightly.

    "I''ll give you that, it''s stronger than it seems, but... It can still be just cut apart by a sword. And it definitely ain''t gonna protect ya from blunt damage." He pointed out, continuing to rip the cloth apart, "Especially now that it''s broken. Seriously, just get some better armor than this. You can still keep it designed this way." Octer exined to Foster, simply just worried about him getting seriously hurt during a fight, when Lynol looked at the martial arts uniform.

    "Erm... Octer?" He said, pointing at the outfit. Octer turned his head, and looked back at it, seeing the cloth slowly mend itself back together as if nothing was ever wrong with it, "What the... That''s like a really weird feature..."

    Foster rolled his eyes a bit as he walked up to his friend, grabbing the clothes from him, "Listen, this uniform was given to me by the guy whose legacy I took on... If a legacy is that special, then obviously this kinda thing is gonna be special too, right?"

    "If a Legacy Holder gave this to you, why the hell can even I rip it apart?" Octer asked with a wry smile, when Lynol walked up to take a closer look, he simply shrugged, "In the end, we can just get armor that fits over this. If it can mend itself, it''s a pretty decent item to keep underneath. And clearly, it''s a magic item, so we could just bring it to an appraiser to see what else it can do. Because Octer is right, the martial arts uniform of a Legacy Martial Artist should be a lot tougher than this."

    "Well, as long as I can keep it, I don''t really care. I really like the look of it.." Foster said with a light smile on his face, as the party continued speaking about what they were going to be doing next.

 Chapter 38 - Expensive

    The group was walking along the streets, in the area where most of the popr shops were. They were at the topyer, so everything was particrly bright up here. Everyone was happily buying things from any of the shops, or just sitting around at some restaurant while bathing in the summer sun. It seemed rtively nice up here, as if Foster was going on some shopping-trip with friends.

    And in the end, that''s basically what it was. It didn''t feel like they were going to buy things for some kind of medieval adventure in a dungeon filled with traps and monsters... Especially when they entered the first shop. There wererge, bright windows in the front, and everything wasrge and open. All the items were set up neatly along the walls, the prices were disyed underneath them perfectly, and the employees walking around made everything seem like some sort of... weird shop on earth.

    He turned his head to look at Lynol and Octer, both of which were looking around surprised themselves. It seemed like this wasn''t normal even for this world.

    "So, what now?" Foster asked, watching the two of them try to figure everything out themselves. But not only Foster saw their struggle, but so did an employee. They walked up to the group of three with a broad smile on their face, "Wee to Tessa''s Armory, may I be of assistance?"

    "Yeah, erm... We''re kinda looking for some armor that I can fit over these clothes? Do you have anything like that?" Foster asked. He was kind of used to this sort of thing already from earth, so he was able to handle it rather easily. The employee quickly nodded their head, "Of course! Our armor section is right over here. It seems like you would be looking for a lighter sort of armor, correct?"

    "Something like that, yeah."

    "Then right over here, this is our most popr light armor collection!" The employee exined, leading the group of three right through the isles, until they stood in front of a few mannequins that were wearing different types of armor.

    "Personally, I think this would fit you the best." They said, pointing at one of the mannequins. It was a pretty impressive armor, honestly. It wasn''t a sort of full suit like some of the others. It seemed to just be tes covering the most important areas, leaving the right areaspletely open to allow forplete movement. And the metal seemed incredibly sturdy as well, even if it was just thin sheets. And the style seemed neat as well. The armor seemed somewhat sharp and rigid, and weirdly... modern at the same time. Like some kind of modern art piece on earth.

    Foster slowly grabbed one of the parts of the armor, and took a closer look at the material. It was super light, but it didn''t seem to bend in Foster''s hands in the slightest. Not even a little bit.

    "This seems really amazing, honestly... Just how much..." Foster looked past the armor and soon saw the price-tag for the whole suit of armor.

    560000 Val. Thinking about how 5 Val was roughly around 1 Dor... Foster very quickly put this piece of the armor back down as his face went pale.

    "This..."

    "-is one of our cheaper models, yes." The employee replied, and Foster slowly turned around toward the others, slowly shaking his head, "Yeah, I don''t think we can afford it..."

    Since the other two had heard the price as well, they quickly agreed, and the group of three swiftly made their way back out of the shop.

    "Come on, let''s look around, maybe we can find a slightly... cheaper ce." Octer said with a wry smile, as the group walked around this incredibly busy street. At some point, however, Foster noticed Aster jump out of his hair.

    "Hey, where are you going, bud?" He asked with a frown, "We need to find a ce to buy some armor." Foster squatted down and tried to pick Aster back up, but the tiny nature spirit instead started running further away. There was a rope hanging inbetween this street and the part on the other side of the gap, and Aster was just running on top of it.

    "Come on! Please, buddy! We don''t have time for this..." Foster sighed deeply, as his friends walked up behind him, "What is he doing?" Lynol asked, but Foster just shrugged.

    "No idea, but he''s probably just ying around a bit..." He grumbled, "Sorry about this, I know there''s a lot we had to get done today."

    "Don''t worry about it, it''s not your fault." Octer told him, and Foster smiled lightly. He looked back at Aster and tried to reach over the railing a bit, since Aster wasn''t standing that far away right now, "Come on, jump up."

    Aster stood there, his tiny mask facing Foster, before slowly turning away as if looking deeper into the gap. Naturally, Foster''s eyes wandered for a moment, until he spotted something down there. For the most part, the bottomyer was used as housing for some, or as factories and storage facilities for others. Further toward the center of town, things opened up a bit more ording to the employees at the Inn he talked to, but right here, that was a fact. It wasn''t particrly... fancy down there.

    But right in Foster''s sight was curious building. It was... weird. It was the only building that really didn''t seem to fit in at all. Like a normal house just standing there, as if a clean break from the surrounding buildings. The structures were tightly built around it though, even bridging above it at some point. It made it seem like this building was simply slid into an open spot at some point, even though it seemed a lot older than most of the other structures around here.

    "I think... Aster wants us to go down there..." He muttered, "Sorry, could we... take a look at what''s down there? It seems kinda interesting..."

    "Down there? What is there to see?" Lynol asked, leaning over the railing as well. He soon spotted the weird building as well, and quickly seemed just as intrigued as Foster was, "So Aster was trying to bring your attention to that?"

    "I think so, yeah... That must mean something, right? You know, him being a nature spirit and all..." Foster pointed out, and Lynol swiftly nodded his head, "I would think so.. Let''s go."

 Chapter 39 - Item Shop

    The group of three stood in front of the entrance to that out-of-ce building here at the bottomyer. It really did seem to be some kind of shop instead of just a house that someone lived in, so Foster chose to take initiative and pushed open the door.

    The moment he stepped into this cold, dark space, he had to press his hand in front of his face. The air was nearly unbreathable in here, with so much dust floating around everywhere.

    "Urgh..." He groaned loudly, but before he could take a proper look, Aster jumped off of his head and started running around one of the shelves. Compared to that store from up there, this ce certainly looked a lot more like what Foster had imagined.

    Everything was cluttered, with stuff just thrown wherever there was space. But that didn''t change that these things definitely looked pretty cool nheless, with a bunch of different weapons and armors set up all over the ce. It seemed like Aster just wanted to show the group to a different store that they could use. Not that Foster had any idea how he knew about this ce.

    Foster walked to the other side of the room, trying not to fall over anything, to see if he could find someone in here. And a few momentster, he heard something cluttering around in the corner of the room. The hairs on his neck nearly shot out of his skin as he turned around immediately. His eyes still didn''t get used to the darkness here in this ce, but he was still abe to see a rough figure moving around in the darkness as the cluttering continued.

    "Whooo''re ya fuckers?!" A deep, raspy voice yelled out, clearly slurring their speech.

    "Erm... We came here to just take a look around? Maybe buy something?"

    "I ain''t sellin'' to ya bastards! This shop is mine, ya hear?! Ya hear?!" The man eximed even louder than before, throwing something at Foster. It missed, since the man was clearly drunk out of his mind, but Foster slowly turned around. The light shining in through the door just barely illuminated that item, which turned out to be a particrly sharp knife that now had its tip buried inside of the wood of the shelf behind him.

    "We''re not trying to buy the shop, we''re trying to buy some items! I need some armor..." Foster tried to exin with a wry smile, as he awkwardly turned his head back toward his friends, who were slowly entering the shop as well.

    With a deep grumble, the man stepped over the clutter and soon reached a table in the back of the room, where he quickly sat down, "Where''d I put that fuckin''..." He muttered, but before he was able to do anything, Aster did something that Foster hadn''t seen him do before. Aster jumped from the shelf right onto the table in front of that man. No matter how dark it was, Foster was able to see, or maybe ''sense'' was more urate, where that small nature spirit was at all times.

    It leaned forward, and as if it was as bright as day, Foster could see Aster''s mask shift in shape just so slightly. It morphed from its t form over to forming a slight lizard-like snout. It kept shifting and the snout slowly opened up, and a small me appeared in front of the mask''s mouth. It traveled far enough to burn up the candle''s wick, and the room started being somewhat illuminated.

    "The hell''s this lil'' thing..?" The man asked as he leaned forward closer toward it, making it possible for the group to luckily see him a bit more easily. He was a short, stout man with a broad build. His face had rough edges and was covered in soot, at least in the areas that weren''t covered by his thick graying beard.

    "It''s a Nature Spirit. He''s my familiar." Foster exined, as he stretched his hand out to pick Aster up again. The man raised his head and stared back at Foster with a light frown, "Yer familiar? Ain''t''cha a fighter or somethin''?"

    "...What, is it weird for fighters to have familiars?" He asked with a slight sigh, and from behind him, he swiftly heard the answer.

    "Oh yeah, it definitely is." Octer said bluntly, "Remember how I told you that I always wanted to have a familiar? The reason why I can''t is cuz'' I don''t have a magic-focused ss, and I have no talent for magic at all. Only magic-users can have familiars."

    "Ah... Alright, that makes some sense. Well, I''m not a pure fighter, I''d say. I can use some spells, so."

    "Huh... interestin'' fe... Yer sayin'' ye ain''t here to try''n buy my shop?" The man behind the table said, still slurring his words, and Foster quickly nodded his head, "Exactly. We''re just here to buy some armor."

    "Then take a look around or somethin'', and bring whatever ya want over to me... I''ll tell ya the price..." The man said, beforeying his head down on the table, trying to take a nap. His hair nearly hit the candle''s mes, so Foster quickly pulled the candle away so that this man''s hair didn''t just suddenly catch on fire.

    "Alright, well, let''s take a look then." Foster said with a wry smile, unsure if this was really the best choice after all. Well, everything would probably be a lot cheaper than in those stores up there, and that was the most important part for now.

    However, as they walked around the store, Foster and Octer weren''t able to really see anything, while Lynol was looking around as if the darkness didn''t bother him at all. And as it turned out, it didn''t.

    "Of course I don''t mind the darkness. My eyes are capable of seeing in such darkness without issue." Lynol said bluntly, before scoffing lightly, "What, are your puny human eyes not able to see these items?"

    "Dude..." Foster red back at Lynol... or at least he thought it was Lynol, altzhough it turned out to be just a mannequin standing near him. Their build was pretty simr...

    "The man that owns this ce probably doesn''t need to bother with light. He probably doesn''t get too many customers." Octer pointed out with a sigh, and Foster turned around confused. "What do you mean? Then how is he supposed to see?"

    Octer scratched the back of his head, remembering that Foster doesn''t really know that much about this world yet, "Well, he seems to be a Dwarf, so... Y''know... They also have dark-vision."

    "Wait, seriously? He''s a dwarf?" Foster asked surprised, looking at the drunk guy just slightly illuminated by the candle. He was the first dwarf that Foster had met. But weren''t those guys supposed to be able to drink that Dwarven Spirit like it was practically water? How much did he have to drink just to end up like this..?

    He shrugged a bit, since it really wasn''t his business in the slightest, and instead chose to lift Aster up all around the shop, led by Lynol, so that he could light up thenterns hanging all around the ce as well. And so, soon enough, this room was bright enough so that they could take a closer look at everything.

    And immediately, Foster realized... that this ce was much more dirty and messy than he expected it to be.

 Chapter 40 - Deal

    Foster looked around through the items on the ground, but in the end, really didn''t find much that he was particrly interested in. He didn''t mind continuing to fight with these gauntlets, and it wasn''t like he really knew how to use other sorts of weapons properly in the first ce.

    While he wasn''t the biggest fan of using them, he did have some experience with guns, but he doubted that he would be able to find one of those here anyway. And sadly, there weren''t any instructional moves for what he should do with different weapons in any of the books he took with him from Thiodrus'' ce back then, even though Thiodrus had clearly been able to use so many different weapons, as evident from his collection.

    "But then again..." Foster muttered quietly as he thought about the words he read when he unlocked the legacy, and continued his train of thought silently in his head, ''...it did say that this legacy was aboutbining necromancy and martial arts, and not that specific style... So maybe I can find some other instructions for weapons...''

    He looked around, and soon found a sword that looked pretty cool. He ran over there and picked it up, pointing its tip at Octer, who was standing near him, with a grin on his face, "What do you think, should I be a swordsman like Lynol?" He asked, and Octer looked back with a bit of augh.

    "Right, you''re never gonna be a swordsman like Lynol. ording to what you told us, you never liked using weapons too much." Octer pointed out, "I think being a martial artist with that style of yours is gonna be fine."

    "Well, I didn''t say I ''never'' liked using weapons... I do use weapons a lot, honestly. Just more, like... environmental stuff? Or well, when I was like 14, I would take these long metal pipes with me the whole time, because I thought they looked cool..."

    "Wait, then why did youugh at me because of my sword?"

    "Because you''re an adult, Lynol. And the way you said it was just hrious. Anyway... If you think a sword isn''t good for me, then is there any other weapon youthink would be good for me?" Foster asked, trying to change the topic so that Lynol wouldn''t bring upst night''s tournament as a revenge, and Octer thought for a moment.

    "A staff, I''d guess. But it''s not like you really need a weapon in the first ce, right?" He pointed out, and Foster scratched the back of his head for a moment, "I guess you''re right, yeah. Then let''s just look for some armor."

    As the group of three kept looking around, not finding anything that seemed to fit Foster at all, the drunken dwarf at the desk in the back of the room seemed to wake up again, if he was ever asleep at all. It seemed almost like he was just listening to them the whole time. He sat up and leaned back in his chair, "If ya want a good set of armor, ya gotta look over there. That one might fit ya."

    He pointed into the corner of the room, where a particr pile of rusted clutter had gathered, and Foster curiously walked over there. He removed some of the items, and soon found some things that seemed to actually be some decent armor.

    And when he tried it on, it seemed to fit him perfectly as well. It didn''t particrly restrict his movement either. The whole set actually left open quite a few spots, covering his arms, legs, chest, and parts of his shoulders, meaning that it let Foster move around perfectly since it didn''t really cover his joints.

    There were just a couple of issues with it. One, it was nearlypletely covered in rust. Not only did it look like a piece of shit that would break within a few hits, but it felt like it as well. And on top of that, it was just incredibly heavy. It was probably some kind of steel, which in itself wasn''t the issue, but instead of thin sheets it was surprisingly thick.

    As he voiced hisints to Octer and Lynol, he quickly heard their response, "I don''t know about the rust, but the weight might as well be a positive for you. You know your style relies on a sturdy base stance and heavy, powerful attacks rather than quick, albeit lighter, attacks. This sort of armor may as well help you pull more power out of your style."

    "...Seriously?" Foster asked surprised. Considering everything, Thiodrus'' whole body couldn''t have weighed more than 35, at the very most 40 pounds, and that was including his clothes. Maybe that was part of why he was beaten so easily back then, simply because his weight was barely a thing at all. A huge detriment to martial arts based on weight.

    "I guess you''re right..." He muttered quietly, and slowly took the armor off again, bringing it over toward the desk where the Dwarf was sitting.

    "Erm, how much would this armor cost?" With a wry smile, already expecting another absolutely ridiculous number, Foster waited for the Dwarf''s answer. He took a quick look at it and then shrugged, "1500 Val."

    "Eh?" Foster let out surprised, and turned around toward the others. They were staring at him and immediately nodded their heads, advising him to immediately buy the armor before the Dwarf went back on his word. So, Foster quickly took out the pouch that was filled with his coins.

    The money system was a bit confusing, though... There were a few kinds of currency he knew of, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and tinum. Each had three levels to it as well. ''Piece'', ''Coin'', and ''Large Coin''. For example, a Copper Piece was worth 1 Val, a Coin was worth 5 Val, and a Large Copper Coin was worth 20. A Bronze Piece then was worth 50, a Bronze Coin was worth 250, and a Large Bronze Coin was worth 1000. So, a ''coin'' was worth five times more than a ''piece'' of the same currency, while arge coin was worth four times more than a coin. That was always the same, although the starting worth of the ''pieces'' were always different in rtion to therge coins, of the next smaller currency. Hence, confusing.

    For his work during the whole trip here to Arcadum, Foster earned a total of 2000 Val, which was a really decent starting amount. It was roughly 400 dors, after all. Not much for a full month of work, but it was better than nothing. It didn''t even include all the coins that Foster took with him from Thiodrus'' ce, since he wanted to have them properly exchanged for money at a bank first, to be absolutely sure of their actual value.

    So, Foster took out some of his coins. Thergest currency he could pay in was bronze coins, and he chose to exchange some of his smaller currency for Octer and Lynol''s bronze coins so that he could just give the Dwarf six of them and be done with it.

    "Oh, by the way..." Foster said before he gave the dwarf the money, "How much would it cost for you to remove the rust from this?"

    "...Hm..." The Dwarf muttered, "I ain''t doin'' that..." He said with a slurring voice once more.

    "I can give you a bit more money, wouldn''t that be worth it?" Foster asked with a wry smile, but the dwarf just shook his head, "I don''t care about money,d..." As he was speaking, the dwarf was searching for something under the table, and quickly pulled it up. It was a bottle clearly filled with alcohol, that he ced to his lips and started pouring down his throat like it was water.

    And then, Foster grinned as he figured out a way to get this dwarf to do it without him having to spend too much, or really any, money.

    "How about I bring you some of the best booze I know of, then?"

 Chapter 41 - Bet

    "Yo, George, how''s it going?" Foster asked with a smile on his face, approaching that tall-grown old man. George turned around toward him and raised his brows, "Ah, it''s you guys. Sorry, we didn''t manage to prepare everything yet. We just barely managed to unload the caravan, so we couldn''t sort anything out thus far."

    Foster quickly shook his head, "Don''t worry about it, that''s not what we''re here for yet anyway." He pointed out, and George looked back surprised, "It''s not? Do ya guys need more work?" George looked past Foster at Octer and Lynol, but both of them quickly shook their heads.

    "Not for now, but thanks for the offer." Lynol said, "We were looking to procure something from you. We have met with a surprisingly skilled and cheap weapon- and armor-smith, but he is a bit... troublesome to say the least. We were hoping to bring him something to get him on our good side."

    "...Who are you talking about, exactly? I know most of those in this city. Been here a few times, we sell many of our wares to them." George exined, and Octer quickly replied.

    "Ah, I think he said his name was... Zhaine or something?" He replied, and George''s light smile immediately turned wry, "Zhaine, is it? An elderly dwarf? The one that still didn''t give up his shop on the bottomyer?"

    "That''s the one." Foster replied, "So you know him? Is he any good? Like, is it worth it to try and get on his good side?"

    George closed his eyes for a moment as he crossed his arms, letting out a deep sigh as he shrugged, "That''s a tough question to answer, actually. Yes, and no. He''s an amazing craftsman, one of the best I know of. Or at least, he used to be. But ever since he started drinking that much, he''s been a bit unpredictable. His work became sloppy, he became insufferably rude, and... he''s just not the same man as he used to be. The Hignd Company actually used to supply him regrly, but now his shop just isn''t popr anymore to make that worth it."

    "What, so just becauseh is shop isn''t doing as well, you gave him up?" Foster asked with a frown, "Isn''t that a bit much?"

    "You''re misunderstanding me. We would bring him materials because he just couldn''t procure enough because of the amount of customers he had. Then that changed, and he just didn''t need our services anymore. We do still deliver some more specific things that are hard to get around these parts to him, though." George scratched the back of his head, and soon managed to catch onto what it was these three were actually here for, "You three wanna bring him some Dwarven Spirit, right?"

    Foster lightly turned his head away, since he felt kind of bad about supporting the addiction of this old man, but soon just nodded his head, "Yeah, kinda... But don''t worry, I have a n, I''m not just trying to bribe him or anything... Especially not after hearing your story."

    "I''m gonna trust ya, then. While Dwarves can usually take a bit more of this stuff, you still saw what it did to the big guy. I heard he drinks enough as is." George said, as he turned around. He walked through the warehouse, and returned a minute or soter holding a bottle of Dwarven Spirit.

    "Great. Then could you just remove the price of this from-"

    "Don''t worry about it." George said with a light wink, "Let''s just take this as a gift for an old customer we want to bring back to us. And not that it matters in the first ce, we''re already down a dozen of them because of you."

    Foster took the bottle with a slight chuckle, "Dude, I literally saved your ass with that."

    "You did, which is why I''m not charging you for all those bottles. Now go on, ande back in a couple days when we actually managed to prepare your bonus." George smiled, sending off the group of three. When they stood outside of the building, they all looked at each other, clearly surprised by what just happened. Octer shuddered a bit as he looked at the bottle, holding his hand in front of his mouth to stop himself from getting sick.

    "Well, that worked out a lot better than I thought. I didn''t even have to convince him at all." Foster pointed out with a light smile, carefully putting the bottle into his bag.

    "That''s true. But what is your n for this?" Lynol asked, "If you don''t just want to give it to Zhaine, then what else would you want to do?"

    "I think it''s better if I don''t tell you guys... I think you would want to stop me anyway..."

    ---

    "Let''s make a bet, old man. You against me, whoever can drink more of this stuff wins." Foster said with a grin on his face, although he quickly felt arge hand on his shoulder that pulled him around.

    "What are you doing?! Are you insane? Did you actually forget what that stuff did to me?" Octer asked with a deep stare, but Foster just smiled back at him, "Don''t worry about it, man. I''ll be fine." He replied bluntly, since he had a secret trick up his sleeve.

    Foster knew the perfect ways to make himself throw up incredibly quickly. And of course, since Zhaine was already incredibly drunk, this should be an easy win for him. Or at least, that''s what he was hoping for. If not, then he was probably going to be in a lot of trouble after this.

    "You know that we still have a bunch of stuff to do today, right?" Lynol pointed out as well, while Octer turned his head toward him confused, "That''s that you''re worried about? Seriously?"

    "As I said, just don''t worry about anything like that for now. I know what I''m doing, seriously. Kinda." Foster said, as he looked back at Zhaine, "So? What do you say?"

    "Hm... Well, what''re we bettin''?" He asked with slurred words, looking at the bottle of Dwarven Spirit with glistering eyes, and Foster grinned, seeing that this seemed to be working, at least for now.

    "Alright. If I win, you be our personal smith. And with that, I don''t mean you can''t sell to anyone else, but just that you properly listen to our requests and then work on them properly withoutining. And if you win... I''ll pay you double for this armor, and anything else that I might buy from you in the future." Foster said with a grin, and Zhaine raised his brows curiously, before slowly starting to grin, "Make it triple, and I''m in."

    With a grin, Foster extended his hand toward the man in front of him, "Then we''ve got a deal. You got some shot sses?"

    Before Foster was even able to finish his question, Zhaine had already ced two down on the table. He opened the bottle with a broad grin, and poured the first round. Both Foster and Zhaine picked up the sses, and ced them to their lips. They downed their shots at the same time, and ced them back down a momentter.

    Surprisingly, Zhaine grimaced a bit after drinking it, letting out a bit of a yell, "Ooh! That''s a good burn, ain''t it,d?!" Zhaine stared back at Foster, who slowly ced the ss down onto the table in front of him, and slowly nodded as he smiled, not even having flinched from drinking that shot, something that impressed not only Octer, who nearly threw up just smelling the alcohol, but also Zhaine. A heavy drinker, and a dwarf on top of that, who himself wasn''t able to drink it without reacting even a little.

    With a slight chuckle, the dwarf poured the next round, "Heh.... Guess this is gonna be a bit more fun than I thought."

 Chapter 42 - Knockout

    "Ya still doin'' alright,d?" Zhaine asked with a wry grin on his face. He was clearly soon about to reach his limit, especially seeing that smug grin of his ''opponent'' throughout this whole thing.

    Foster was still sitting there with a straight back, and a light smile on his face. His speech barely changed from what it was when he waspletely sober �C one could even think that Foster just had a few beers, and that was it. But they already went through about nearly half the bottle. There were only four shots left in there, two for each.

    "I''m doing fine, thanks for asking. How about you? Don''t you think it''s about time for you to give up now?" Foster said with a soft smile, although Zhaine was barely able to see it anymore, the world just spinning around him continuously, "Urgh... I can keep... goin''..." Nearly missing, Zhaine tried to pour another round of shots, although he wasn''t even able to properly grab the bottle. So instead, Lynol started pouring the drinks at this point.

    Both Foster and Zhaine grabbed their shot sses, and held them to their lips. With their eyes locked, or at least that''s what they were trying to do, they downed the shots. Zhaine immediately held his hand in front of his mouth, nearly throwing up. But he was able to hold it back just barely, and looked at Foster, whose face was still nk. He was calm, eerily so, even after drinking this much. That was the case at least on the outside.

    ''Oh, just fucking give up already, you old fuck! I''m about to die over here!'' He screamed inwardly, although he was trying his best not to let it show on his face. Back when he was part of the syndicate, he had to go through simr situations like this. Things like drugs and alcohol were something obviously consumed incredibly often in the criminal underworld, and since Foster didn''t want to overdose on drugs, trying to make a deal with someone over alcohol was far, far easier.

    Actually, this situation was eerily simr to another one that he had to go through quite a while ago. There was this weapon dealer that was nearly going to back out of a deal that they had already agreed on, so Foster had to find a decent way to convince him without starting some kind of international gang-war. And the way he did that was alcohol, since the guy he was facing was an incredibly heavy drinker.

    Of course he agreed when Foster suggested that bet, since his pride told him that there was no way he was going to lose, it was actually surprisingly easy to beat him in the bet. Since it was based on passing out or giving up, Foster just had to make the person in front of him give up before the alcohol really hit him.

    He was doing the same thing now. He kept a nk face, acting as if he was absolutely unaffected, while he logically was piss-drunk already. Foster was just a good actor, that was all. And since that was the case, he was able to convince his opponent, who would already be feeling the influence of the alcohol quite a bit thsmelves, that there was little chance for him to win, bringing them to give up more easily. That''s exactly what Foster was currently aiming for.

    "Do you want to go another round, or are you finally done?" Foster asked with a smile, trying to hold back the urge to throw up or even just gag right now, and Zhaine slowly looked back at the young man in front of him, "I''m good for ''nother round... you?"

    "Same as you, Zhaine. Then shall we? Lynol, please." Foster said with a smile, his eyes closed shut for a moment. The reason for that was of course that the room was spinning around his head, and he didn''t particrly want to get nauseous right now.

    Lynol carefully poured two even shots out of the rest that was left in the bottle, and Foster quickly picked it up. Zhaine was obviously hesitating right now, though.

    "What''s the issue? Are you feeling sick already?" Foster asked with a light chuckle, something that made Zhaine grind his teeth together angrily. He grabbed the ss and immediately drank its content. He mmed the ss onto the table, nearly shattering it in the process, while Foster carefully drank his own shot as well. And the two of them were just looking at each other for a few seconds.

    Because that was all the time it took for Zhaine to lose his bnce and fall over on the ground backward, "I-I... I give... You win, ya psycho!" Zhaine said in a slurring voice that made it nearly impossible for the group of three to understand him at the moment, and Foster started to grin broadly as he slowly pushed himself off the table, "Perfect. We''lle back to discuss everything in a little bit, then... oh, and we''ll also need some insurance so that we really..." Foster said, but when he stood up, he could already feel the vomit in his throat. He quickly swallowed it, and continued, "So that we really know you''ll keep your word. Don''t want you to forget."

    Slowly, Foster turned around, although it seemed like Zhaine was already sleeping anyway. He looked at Octer with a wry grin, "What''re you doing, fucking help me walk already..."

    Immediately, Octer came rushing toward him, grabbing Foster''s arm as he was already leaning to the side a little bit. It was now clear to Octer and Lynol as well that he was about to reach his limit. They quickly rushed out of the building, and Foster pointed toward the alley that was directly adjacent to the building. There, he quickly fell to his knees and immediately threw up the contents of his stomach.

    For one, since it was just instinct, and two, because he had to get as much of the Dwarven Spirit out of his body as possible before it had been processed properly. It took a while for Foster to finally stop throwing up, though, and surprisingly, Lynol hade to hold his hair since it was otherwise going to justy in the vomit.

    "You''re a good friend, dude, love you..." Foster said, quickly followed by another violent ray of vomiting out of his mouth.

    Meanwhile, Lynol slowly turned around toward Octer, "Foster really does owe me one for this."

    Octer grinned a bit, "Don''t worry man, I don''t know what you used to do up north, but this... this kinda is some genuine bonding down here."

    "Yeah, but Foster isn''t from ''here''."

    "...Fair point, maybe he''s just a freak, then." Octer agreed, although Lynol quickly shrugged, "Oh, we already know that part. But I have to admit.... His quite weird tactics did lead us to getting the services of a rather skilled, and cheap, craftsman."

 Chapter 43 - Flirting

    "Hello there, we would like to help our friend sign up as an adventurer." Octer said with a smile on his face, and the young man in front of him slowly nodded his head, "Of course. Are we talking about the young man clothed in that ck martial-arts uniform?" He asked, already seeing that this won''t be particrly easy this time.

    "Yep, that''s him... He''s had a bit too much to drink... You know how it is..." Octer tried to exin, and the employee at this public guildughed a bit as he nodded his head, "We get those around here a lot, don''t worry about it. But since he is currently quite intoxicated, we can only fully finish everything once he is sober, since there are certain procedures involved that require it to be so. One of my coworkers is a healer with ess to the Detoxification spell. For a small fee, we will dly take care of this for him." The employee exined, and Octer raised his brows and immediately nodded his head.

    "Oh, that''d be great! Yeah, please... Erm, how much would it cost, though?"

    "Just 50 Val, that''s all." The employee exined, and Octer let out a sigh of relief as he pulled out a small pouch, and handed a bronze piece to the employee, "Will this be fine?"

    "Of course it will be, just a moment, please." The employee replied with a gentle, professional smile, before he turned around and made his way to a room further in the back of this building. At the same time, Octer turned around and pulled Foster toward him, "I guess we''re lucky that they have someone that can cast Detoxification... But really, what happened to that cool and collected guy from earlier?"

    "Dude... I fucking threw up more than what I''ve eaten in a whole monthbined... leave me be..." Foster said with a wry smile, and Octer rolled his eyes a bit, "Come on, even I didn''t-" He was about to say, but Lynol was already standing there, staring at Octer. He was wearing a mask, so he couldn''t be sure, but Octer was positive that he was being judged right now.

    "...Ignore that..." He muttered, and instead just turned back toward Foster, who was having a tough time just standing up straight without falling right on his face. He was trying to keep his eyes shut so that the spinning room wouldn''t make him even dizzier than he already was. It didn''t take long until the employee from earlier came out with his colleague, and the two walked in front of the public guild''s front-desk.

    "Please, take a seat over here." The female healer said, seemingly quite annoyed. She then practically dragged Foster over toward a chair at the side of this room, and pushed him to sit down on it, "How much did you drink?"

    "Not that much..." Foster said, leaning back against the wall as he tried not to throw up again, "Not much... Just like, half a bottle of Dwarven Spirit..." He said with a bit of augh, as the healer turned around shocked toward Octer and Lynol, "You let him drink that much Dwarven Spirit?!"

    "Hey, he''s an adult, and he immediately threw up most of that when they were done anyway." Octer said, nearly trying to defend himself, and the healer let out a deep sigh, "Fine... Either way, this is going to take a little while, then." She said, and stared at Foster, "Take off that shirt."

    "Huh? Take me out to dinner first, or somethin''..." Foster groaned loudly, although he slowly did as he was told anyway. He practically just threw the top of the martial-arts uniform as well as his regr t-shirt to the side, and then stared up at the healer, who just rolled her eyes. She squatted down in front of Foster, and pressed her hand onto his chest, inbetween his belly-button and his heart.

    Just a momentter, Foster could feel the spell being activated. Heat filled his chest and belly, and that heat spread out through his body within a few seconds. At some point, the heat became nearly unbearable, and he began to start sweating profusely. He had seen it when Octer was being treated for drinking that whole bottle of Dwarven Spirit, but feeling it was a lot more ufortable.

    His head was just spinning even faster right now, and he felt like throwing up right on this woman in front of him. But soon, maybe fifteen, twenty minutester, that started to change. Foster''s head was starting to feel a lot clearer, and he was very obviously sobering up, even though he waspletely drenched in sweat right now. Another ten minutester, and he didn''t even feel tipsy anymore.

    Surprised at how effective this was, Foster jumped up and smiled, "Damn, magic is fucking amazing, huh?" He said with a light grin on his face, his hands ced on his hips. But at that point, he noticed the reaction of the people in front of him.

    "...Right. Just take a bath as soon as possible, and... stay away from open mes." The healer said, clearly exhausted, and Foster quickly nodded his head in response, "I''ll try my best..." He replied with a wry smile, slowly turning his eyes toward Aster, who was sitting on the back of his hand right now.

    "Don''t you dare do that thing again... even if it was pretty cool." He warned the small nature spirit, but it just turned its head to the side as if confused. The healer slowly turned around with a deep sigh, before slowly turning around again, and looked Foster up and down for a few moments, "By the way, if you were serious about the dinner, try not being drunk the next time we meet." She said with a wink, and Foster couldn''t help himself but grin a bit.

    "You got it." Foster quickly put on his shirt again, but chose to just carry the jacket of the martial-arts uniform, since the shirt was a lot easier to clean upter.

    As the healer left, probably to rest a bit, the Octer, Lynol, and the guild employee all looked at Foster rather stunned, "What just happened?" Octer asked with a wry smile, and Foster shrugged, "What do I know? By the way, what''s her name?"

    "...I''m going to ignore this part of that exchange between you two. For now, should we start with having you sign up for the guild?" The employee suggested, and to Foster, it seemed like he was feeling a bit bitter. For the whole duration of him being healed, Foster and the healer were being a little... flirty. And with that bit at the end, the employee''s jealousy seems to have risen a bit more. Either way, since Foster wasn''t here to pick up a girl, he didn''t really care that much for now.

    "Got it. What do I need to do?" He asked, and the employee quickly turned around and led him back to the desk he was at before, "I just need you to write down a bit of information here on this sheet of paper. Ah, if you can''t write, I can help you out, free of charge of course." The employee said, quickly returning back to his professional demeanor.

    "Great... moer paperwork...." Foster grumbled, as he grabbed the writing pen next to him and got started writing down his information.

 Chapter 44 - Familiarity

    Foster finished writing his basic information on the sheet of paper that he was given by the public guild employee. The information was roughly simr to what he had to fill out to enter the tournament, just a lot more detailed. It still didn''t ask for too specific information, it just asked for a lot more than the one before. For example, there were areas that Foster had to cross off depending on what sorts of abilities he had, and then there were also some spots that one could fill up with information about personal achievements, not that it was something that really mattered to him. He''s been a part of this world for not even two months now.

    When he was finally done, he ced the pen down on the desk and handed the multiple pages of the document back to the employee, who quickly nced over them.

    "Oh? You have a resistance to Necromancy? How did you get a hold of that?" The employee asked curiously, since it was clearly a rather unique ability. And that was just when it was a ''resistance'', instead of aplete ''invincibility'' to it. But luckily, in one of the books that Foster took from Thiodrus'' cabin, he read of ways to increase one''s resistance to Necromancy, something that was clearly important for a Necromancer to have.

    "Well... I can''t actually say for sure, but as far as I know, I died while my mother gave birth to me, and was immediately resurrected by a powerful priest my parents knew. That''s the only way I would know I could have gotten it." Foster exined. He didn''t like giving out personal information to random people, but... when it was fake information? He really didn''t mind that much. It might actually just turn out rather helpful to him somehow, establishing himself with in this world with a fake background that some people might end up spreading around.

    "Ah, I think I heard of that kind of phenomenon... Yeah, during your birth, you are particrly vulnerable to outward magic influences." The employee slowly nodded his head, but soon raised it to look back at Foster, "I do apologize for asking such an insensitive question, however. But it is a rather unique im, so I had to at least hear a reason behind it. When people make false ims on these documents, they often back out when we ask them about it. Of course it''s not enough to verify it as an absolute fact, but it''s enough, at least." The employee neatly ced the pages on top of each other, and then slowly pushed them to the side.

    "Alright, then everything is set for now. You just need to return in a week to pick up your Guild Card, in exchange for a fee of 25 Val that we ask you to provide in exchange. For now, I will work on giving you a temporary pass, so that you can be verified as a provisionary Guild Member." The employee exined in a blunt and professional voice, "Now, if you happen to join a private guild, please inform us a week before your official entry into that guild so that we can prepare everything properly."

    "Perfect, sounds good." Foster said with a smile, as the employee wrote on a small wooden board the sitze of a credit-card. When he was done, the ink lit up in a dim light, and the information was carved into the small wooden board, which was quickly handed to Foster just a momentter.

    "Here you go. Then for now, would that be everything?" The employee asked, and Foster slowly turned around toward Octer and Lynol, and the two of them seemingly already had something else that they wanted to ask.

    "Yeah, actually..." Octer started, and Lynol quickly continued, since the two of them seemed to be on the same page with this, "Can you perchance rmend a Handler for us that the three of us can work with? We''re new in Arcadum."

    "Hm? Handler?" Foster slowly let out, since that was a surprisingly familiar term. He had a few Handlers working under him that helped him manage the people that worked under him in the Syndicate. Basically, they were just managers, or rather, middle-men that would give Foster''s requests to the right person. He couldn''t really remember all of his underlings, after all. Only the ones that directly worked under him, those that he tried to train himself when he was bored or just had the time.

    "Yeah, we''ll exin itter." Octer told Foster, who just shrugged and went along with this. They would probably know best in regard to all this guild-stuff.

    The employee quickly nodded his head and smiled at the group, "Yes, we indeed do have a few Handlers working closely together with us. There is a particrly skilled on that is currently looking for new people in her care. If you would like, I could prepare a meeting with her by the time youe back to pick the Guild Card up in a week?"

    "That would be great, yes. Thank you." Lynol replied with a brief nod, "We''lle back soon, then. We still have to settle in and learn more about the city."

    "Ah, of course. The great library on the east side of town is open for anyone to enter, so I suggest you head there. There, you will be able to find plenty of information about the city and its history." The employee exined with a smile, before he intertwined his fingers with each other, "Is there anything else I may help you with?"

    "For now, that''s it. Thanks, man." Octer said, and he quickly turned around with a slight wave, and was followed out of the building by Foster and Lynol. Once they were all outside, Foster looked at his friends with a wry smile, "That was a bit more... bureaucratic than I thought it was going to be."

    "Bureau-what-ic?" Octer replied with a wry smile, "In my opinion, it just felt kinda dry. I mean, at least I wasn''t called a dumbass first thing. That''s usually what happens in guilds... especially public guilds."

    "Public guilds are the reason why I have a reinforced strap on my mask. Way too often did people try to rip it off my face. Sometimes, seeding, in fact." Lynol added, "An in return, I would bash their fac-"

    "Yup, that''s about what I expected. I don''t know, so many of these ces here are just... Weirdly... You know, familiar." Foster exined, focusing especially on thest word, something that both Octer and Lynol picked up on.

    "So you''re saying..."

    "That there are more people like me here."

 Chapter 45 - Rejection

    Foster, Octer and Lynol made their way back to the Red Riverside Inn, so that they could head back to one of their rooms and talk about this a bit more. The im that Foster made was something one really had to think about for a while, after all.

    But when they stepped into the building, they were met with something that would cause this discussion to be pushed to the background for a little while. There were two people waiting there by the entrance, and they were both rather familiar to Foster. Although he was more than annoyed by the fact that he had to see these two again, since he knew what was going to happen now.

    These two people were Jasmin and Argo, the two other winners of one of the initial rounds of the tournament, the same one that Foster took part in yesterday.

    "You!" Jasmin eximed as she stood in front of Foster, trying to block his path as much as possible, "Finally you''re here! Listen, we don''t have much time to train, so juste on already!"

    Foster rolled his eyes and proceeded to simply... walk past Jasmin. This entrance area was ratherrge, there was no way for her topletely stop him from going inside.

    "Wait, what are you doing? I''m talking to you!" Rather angrily, Jasmin came rushing after Foster and grabbed his arm to pull him back. So of course, he stopped and slowly turned around, while Jasmin looked back at him triumphantly.

    "Listen kiddo, I only joined in yesterday because I wanted to see how Ipare to the maniacs of this city. As we could see, I did pretty well. I know what I want to know, and now I''m moving on."

    "And I told you that you can''t do that! Don''t you know that the next round is a teampetition? You''re the third-strongest person that took part in that round, so why would we want to get the fourth?!" Jasmin eximed, and Foster''s eye suddenly twitched, "Alright, let me make a few things clear here, alright, kid? One, don''t act like you''re stronger than me. Both of us know that''s just not true. Not in the slightest. And I don''t know why you''re so obsessed with having me join your little team, but it won''t happen. Alright? Cool."

    Once more, Foster just stepped past Jasmin, before he felt himself being grabbed once more. This time, it was Argo''s hand that was ced right on his shoulder, "Then how about we make a bet? You and I have a fight. If you win, you don''t have to join us. And if I win, then-"

    Before Argo was able to finish his sentence, Foster had grabbed his arm and twisted it around. He kicked the side of Argo''s body, and then pulled his foot away. He fell to the ground within just a moment. And then, Foster just kicked Argo into his stomach and sent him flying a few meters.

    "Welp, seems like I won." Foster said,pletely unimpressed by this guy trying to do this. Of course, Foster basically did the same thing with Zhaine earlier, just using alcohol as the medium instead ofbat, but at least Foster wasn''t forcing anything on Zhaine. Right now, it felt like Argo and Jasmin wouldn''t stop bothering him until heplied.

    "You-You''re just a coward!" Argo yelled out, as Foster just let his head slump down. He slowly approached the young man in front of him and squatted down as he was trying to stand up, "I''m just going to say this one more time. Stop bothering me. I already officially dropped out. Even if I wanted to join back in, I literally couldn''t. I was explicitly told so."

    "H-Huh?" Argo muttered, "What do you mean..?"

    "Exactly what I said. I dropped out of the tournament. So please, just save all of us some time, and leave me alone? Alright, kid?" Foster said as he quickly pushed himself back up, and quickly turned around. Jasmin quickly rushed over to Argo to help him up. It seemed like they were slowly giving up on Foster.

    He approached Octer and Lynol again, and the group just made their way back to Foster''s room, since it was the closest.

    Once Foster closed the door, it was clear that both of the others wanted to hear what all of that was about. And so, he exined it to them, although Lynol already heard most of it.

    "Huh? Really?" Octer let out surprised, "I didn''t know you liked participating in stuff like that."

    "I mean, as I said, I really just did it to figure out how strong I ampared to others here. And clearly, I''m doing pretty well." Foster exined, "But I have absolutely no interest in fighting in more of the tournament."

    "Wait, since you''re not continuing, does that mean those two are disqualified?"

    "Nah, not at all. They''re getting a recement for me in their team or something, I don''t care." Foster pointed out, "But that reminds me, I do have to tell that guy that I''m not continuing..."

    Immediately, Octer and Lynol stared at Foster confused, "Did you not just say you already did that?" Lynol asked, while Foster justughed, "Yeah, that was a tant lie, that one. I just didn''t wanna deal with them anymore. But let''s just ignore all that, I really don''t wanna keep thinking about that anymore."

    "Right, so let''s instead talk about the idea that this city is filled with Otherworlders at such high positions that they can influence the way that Arcadum works from the ground-up." Lynol replied, and Foster smiled back at them, "I mean, that''s not a bad thing, right? Rather, it means we might be able to find people that can help us out more easily. What else to bond over but being from the same world, right?"

    Slowly, Octer and Lynol looked at each other, before turning back toward Foster, "You don''t have Otherworlders in your world, right?"

    "...Alright, what''s that supposed to mean?"

    "It means that not all otherworlders are... like you." Octer exined with aplicated expression on his face, "In simple terms, otherworlders are split up into two categories..."

    "Viin and Hero types?" Foster said, and Octer quickly nodded his head, "That''s exactly it, yeah... How much do you know about it?"

    "Literally just the terms."

    "Alright, then let''s exin it like this." Lynol said, "The ones chosen toe to this world from yours usually turn out to be extremely powerful.. And then, the rest depends on their personality. Will they be a hero that can save people, or will they be a viin that will doom them?"

 Chapter 46 - Astronomers

    "I figured it was something like that, but..." Foster muttered quietly, before scratching the back of his head, "I doubt that there''s only those two groups of otherworlders, you know?"

    Lynol and Octer looked back at Foster surprised, unsure what exactly he meant, "You think there''s other kinds? Like what?" Octer asked, before Foster let out a deep sigh. He thought about it for a moment, until he found a simple way to exin the idea to them, since it seemed like they thought the concept was oundish, "Civilians." He said, since that was the most of it.

    "Not everyone is some kind of huge genius, not everyone wants to be out in the public''s eye. Not everyone will be able to be extremely powerful... some will just want to... you know, live in peace." He pointed out, and his two friends looked back at him surprised.

    "Ya have a point..." Octer pointed out, "That means there might be a lot more otherworlders mixed in with the people of this world than expected..."

    Foster closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment, "If I could somehow find others like me, then... honestly, I don''t even know. It''d be great to meet others from my old world, but it''s not like it''s going to make a huge difference, right?"

    "We can''t know until it actually happens. Although, ya don''t seem like you particrly wanna search for anyone, ya know?" Octer exined, and Foster shrugged in response, "It''s cause I don''t. If we end up picking up some kinda clue to finding an otherworlder, I might wanna pursue it, but I don''t wanna go out of my way right now."

    "I guess that just means we will proceed as nned? Get equipment from Zhaine, and then head to a small dungeon." Lynol said, and everyone seemed to agree, although Foster still had a bit of a question about thatst part.

    "By the way, how many dungeons are around this city..?" He asked, and Lynol was able to quickly answer that question, "There are about a dozen conquered dungeons, and three unconquered, not including the ''Great Dungeon'' of course."

    "Huh, that seems like a lot for this area, doesn''t it?"

    "To be fair, ''around this city'' means anything within a week''s travel of here." Octer said, something that surprised Foster even more. He let out a deep sigh, "That''s so weird..."

    "Huh? What is?" Octer asked confused, and Foster looked back at him, "In my world, if you wanted to, you could get anywhere in the world within... a day or two, I guess."

    "Wait, what, how is that possible? Did you guys perfect warp magic?" Octer asked, but Lynol quickly interrupted him, "No, Foster said they don''t have magic... But that really does not make sense. Is your world just incredibly smallpared to ours?"

    "Nah, I don''t really think so... Our worlds are probably roughly the same size, considering stuff like the distance to the horizon. There might be a bit of a difference of course, but it shouldn''t be huge. I was actually quite surprised at how simr this world is to mine. The same gravitational pull, the moon is roughly the same size and so is the sun, the temperature ispletely the same, give or take a couple degrees... Although, thatst bit isn''t that surprising. This sort ofplex life can''t really flourish on a outside of this temperature range. But then again, you guys do have magic and this weird ''Archaic Records'' thing connected to you, so that might not be particrly the case?" Foster pointed out, slightly losing Octer and Lynol in the middle of his small monologue. But at the same time, he realized something else that he wanted to do.

    "Yo, wait... We''re not really short on money right now, and we can still always sell the coins I took with me from Thiodrus'' ce if we need to. So for now... could we go to an astronomer, maybe?" He asked with a light grin on his face, and Octer looked back at him with a wry smile, "Astro-what?"

    "Astronomer? The guys that study stars ands and stuff. I really want to learn about the officially recognized constetions and any other noticeable asterisms." Foster said with a broad smile, already kind of excited for it. On earth, he already knew most of what there was to know about any nearby celestial bodies, and anything that could be seen directly from earth. But now that he was here, he had an ocean of new things to learn about, so it was kind of exciting.

    Octer looked at Lynol to see if he understood what Foster was talking about, but that didn''t seem to be the case, "But... why?" Octer asked, still confused. Clearly, he didn''t put much importance into such things. Well, it''s been a while since Foster had met someone on earth that was as enthusiastic about stars as he was, and it made a bit more sense for that to be the case here, where people didn''t know as much about space yet. So, Foster just replied as bluntly as he could, "Because I wanna. I think space is neat, so I''d like to go talk to an Astronomer in this world about it."

    "...Alright, I guess that''s fine, then. We might have to walk for a while to get to one of those guys though, it''s a huge city." Octer pointed out, and Foster just smiled and shrugged, "That''s fine. It would be better if we learned more about this city anyway, right? We mighte across some other hidden gems like Zhaine''s ce, right?"

    "You have a point. It would be worth it long-term if we took the time where we can''t do that much work-wise anyway and spent it on things like this." Lynol exined, and Foster looked back at his friends excitedly, "Perfect. Then should we just go right away?"

    "I think we should probably go tomorrow... We don''t even know where they are, and they probably won''t be working soon anymore, right?" Octer pointed out, and Foster looked at him with a wry smile, "They''re astronomers... They look at stars... They''re gonna be working at night."

    "...Fair point..." Octer replied, before Foster let out a slight sigh, "Let''s figure out stuff for food first though. It doesn''t feel like we did that much today, but it''s already nearly evening."

    "Let''s just go to the restaurant connected to the Inn again, they have decent, cheap food." Lynol suggested, "And when we got here the other day, I saw someone eat this really big hunk of meat that looked really, really good..."

    "You didn''t even take off your mask for breakfast this morning, you just squeezed it through a small gap when you lifted it." Foster pointed out, and Lynol lightly shrugged, "Ah, that.. Well, I thought about it, and I think I''m going to stop wearing a mask and this huge cloak."

 Chapter 47 - The Market

    "This city is just so damn cool..." Foster said with a smile on his face, standing along the railing of the top streetyer and looking over the huge marketce in front of him. It seemed like it was only really built along the bottomyer, even though there were still rings of otheryers around thisrge circr area.

    "Are people looking at me..? It feels like people are looking at me..." Lynol muttered quietly, trying to practically hide behind Octer. It was the first time that he was walking around without his mask and cloak in such a huge city, or in any sort of city at all, really.

    "Guys, seriously, are you kids or something?" Octer grumbled with a wry smile, clearly at least slightly annoyed by the way that his friends were acting. He slowly turned around toward Lynol, "You sure you don''t want your mask, at least? I put it in my bag before we left."

    "...No, I... I am going to be alright. This situation is just very foreign to me..." Lynol exined, nervously rubbing his arm as he held his head low, nearly stabbing his horns into Octer''s side. It was clear that he was incredibly nervous about all of this, but it was somethign that he chose to do for a simple reason. Lynol never wanted to hide, he just had to. In most cities, the most ''exotic'' races that one may see would be an elf. But here in Arcadum? This city was a ce where numerous different people of all backgrounds came together. People with wings, people that towered over others at eight or nine feet tall, or people with four arms... Compared to some of those, Lynol wouldn''t really stick out too much with his red skin and small horns.

    This was a fact that Lynol was already aware of before evening here. Rather, it was the reason why Arcadum became his destination. It was the city where he wanted to restart his life, where he hoped he would be able to live as a normal person. But after living in ces where he had to hide every bit of himself for years, it became a natural thing for him. Walking around outside like this, he practically felt naked. It would take him a good while to get used to this, and maybe he went about it a bit too heavily. Both Octer and Foster actually tried to warn them about that, but Lynol said he wanted to do it like this anyway.

    Foster turned around with a smile, leaning against the railing, "Don''t worry, man, everything''s gonna be fine. Even if people end up staring at you, just try to ignore them and keep walking around normally, and they''ll stop staring at some point." He said with a smile on his face, "You know, that one time-"

    "Please, do not tell us another one of your... ''stories'' while we''re out here in public." Octer suggested, and Foster just shrugged, "Eh, fine. Anyway, wanna go down there and take a look around?"

    "Hm? What for?"

    "Well, you said that Adventurers usually make money by either fulfilling requests, or they''ll sell materials monster parts, right? That means that we''ll probably find some things rted to the dungeons or monsters around there. It''s a good idea to figure out what sorta things sell around here, and for how much money. I mean, the market for that stuff is probably gonna be pretty unique with how many dungeons are around here." Foster exined rather simply, and Octer took a step closer toward the railing as well, looking down toward the market.

    He slowly nodded his head, "You''ve got a point... I mean, when we get our handler we won''t need to worry about this sort of thing too much. They usually handle everything like that. They help us get certain request, set up meetings with clients, deal with a lot of guild-rted stuff, and also end up setting up a sort of trading-system so that we can sell the materials we gather properly." Octer exined, and Foster raised his brows surprised, "Damn, that''s a lot more than I expected, actually. But well, that''s fine and all, but I think it''d still be good if we knew all that stuff. When we need to make the choice, we should know what stuff is more useful or valuable, right? It''s not like we can carry everything wee across."

    "Well, fair enough." Octer replied, "Although I''m a bit surprised how much you know about all this... I thought you didn''t have this sort of thing.... where you''re from."

    "Ah, that..." Foster said with a wry smile, "My... well, he''s basically my brother... Anyway, he was really into games, and when we lived together, he would go on and on about dealing with this sort of thing sometimes. ''Inventory management'' was a big deal for him or something." He exined, as the group made their way down the stairs of this streetyer, alhough it was clear the others didn''t really understand what ''games'' had to do with all of this, and Foster didn''t know how exactly he was supposed to exin all of this. There was plenty that he would need to talk about if he wanted them to understand everything, after all.

    "For now, all you need to know is that I picked up a few things like this, alright?" Foster pointed out, before he and the others finally reached the bottomyer. Now that they were down here, the market looked even more impressive. There were a lot of stalls set up, all of them trying to sell anything they could to the people walking past them.

    Jewelry, food, books, antiques, all those sorts of things. A lot of the items they were trying to sell were actually pretty cool... Just that they were extremely expensive.

    "Just... forget about buying anything, we don''t have that kind of money right now." Octer warned both Foster and Lynol, but before he had even finished that sentence, they were already running around looking at what was being sold here. There were some interesting weapons here, some in shapes that Foster had never even thought he would see. They seemed pretty... useless, for the most part, but they were selling extremely well. And just as Foster was about to take a closer look at one of the items, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. It was a map thatid out on the nket, but it wasn''t a regional map... rather, it was more like a blueprint or something... a map that described the interior of something.

    Curiously, he stretched his hand out to grab the map, curious what it was about, when he saw someone else''s touch it at the same time as him. Foster turned his head to the side and saw a young woman with long blonde hair, wearing a white dress decorated with light pink details. She had a small harp strapped to her hip, and soon locked eyes with Foster.. She was really quite beautiful. And while he was thinking about that, Foster could feel the map being snatched away from under his hand, "Too slow~!"

 Chapter 48 - The Failed Dungeon

    Foster looked at the woman in front of him with a wry smile, "Erm, sorry I guess..." He said, kind of weirded out by the way she was looking at him right now, as if she won some kind of grande battle just now. She seemed nearly disappointed that Foster didn''t try to do anything to get the map anyway.

    She rolled her eyes and quickly handed the guy selling the map the money for it, although he seemed surprised at the item she picked up, "You''re not nning on going there, right, girlie?" He asked, and the woman looked back at him with a frown.

    "What if I do?" She asked, and the merchant sighed deeply, "You''re probably going to die, if ya do. Not even high-tier adventurers wanna go there, and to me... ya don''t seem all that strong. You got a party, at least?"

    "Why would I need a party for a beginner dungeon filled with nothing but undead?" She asked annoyed, "I''m a cleric! I can deal with a few measly undead!"

    "Aye, I can see that, girlie... That''s the issue... That ain''t a dungeon you go to alone, ya hear?" The merchant advised, and Foster became rather curious what that was about.

    "Sorry, but what exactly are you talking about?" He asked with a light smile, and the merchant let out a deep sigh, "This girl here wants to go to a beginner dungeon that''s nearby. But it''s too dangerous for her, you know?"

    "She looks like she can take care of herself, though?" Foster pointed out confused, as the merchant sighed, "Listen, that ain''t the issue. The dungeon is a ''Fail'' type, you know?"

    "..." Foster looked at the merchant, and slowly turned around toward Octer, who grumbled quietly before starting to exin, "A ''fail'' dungeon is basically a useless dungeon... Like... a dungeon that''s nothing but a hallway and then the boss room, with a couple vermin in it. Young, weak dungeons are usually described like that, since there''s just no reason for anyone to try and clear them."

    "Aye... just that this time, it''s different. It''s too hard for beginners to clear, and the kinda party that could actually clear it already has no reason to even enter a measily beginner dungeon, especially considering the risk that stilles with it." The merchant exined, saying something that made Foster even more curious than before , "Why exactly is it that dangerous?"

    The merchant sighed deeply, "Well, basically... The dungeon''s filled with monsters that give off necromantic magic. And if ya don''t know, the feedback from necromancy literally has your flesh rotting of your bones. Worst of all, the monsters there ain''t strong, technically. But they''re horde types. Meaning-"

    "They''re a bother to kill or fully avoid. Got it... Yeah, that doesn''t sound like a fun dungeon..." Octer pointed out, and not only him, but also Lynol and the merchant were seemingly all thinking that this seemed to be a rather horrific dungeon. The other two here, however, thought something rather different.

    "Exactly! And with my skills, I can get rid of those guys suuper easily!" The woman said with a broad, smug grin, while Foster''s heart was beating with excitement and he eximed, "And you say nobody ever cleared it?"

    Foster immediately turned around toward his friends, staring at them before they realized why exactly he was so excited about this. Octer and Lynol looked at each other perplexed, unsure if this was really going to happen.

    "No," Octer said, finally, "You''re already draggin'' us to look at the fuckin'' stars, you ain''t getting us to enter a rotting hole of death!"

    "Wait, you ain''t also nning on heading there, right? You look to be a martial artist, that''s literally the worst ss you can have for that!" The merchant eximed, but Foster just turned around with a broad grin, "That makes it even more fun, doesn''t it?"

    ---

    "Dude, we''re still not going to go there, no matter what you say." Octer groaned loudly, and Foster once more looked at his friend, "But why not? Where''s the issue? Those guys literally can''t do shit to me. I can be the bait, and then you guys can do your thing."

    "Haaahh... I don''t think you understand, man. Horde type monsters don''t attack just a single target. You can''t be the bait. And even if, I''d bepletely useless. We can''t take on that kinda dungeon without skilled magic users or clerics in our team. And if nobody has gotten through that ce yet, it''s really not to be underestimated, man."

    "...I guess you''ve got a point... Erm, but shouldn''t we have tried stopping that girl, then?"

    "And why should we? She made the choice herself, and is clearly hell-bent on going in there. And she''s a cleric, so she''s probably going to be able to get out of there somehow, at least." Lynol pointed out, "Not that she would have listened to us anyway. You saw what she was like, right?"

    "I guess. But I was just kind of thinking... A young woman, probably weighing a third of Octer''s weight, heading out into a dungeon without people like us even trying to do anything about it? That might be kinda..." Foster pointed out as he walked ahead a little, barely able to hide his light smirk properly. Octer and Lynol both knew what their friend was trying to do, but the worst thing was, he was actually kind of right.

    "...Let''s try to learn about that dungeon first, then. It''s a ''fail'' type, so it''s probably not on most official lists." Octer groaned, and Foster turned around with a broad smile.

    "Great! We''re meeting with K at noon tomorrow at the Inn to talk about it." He said, and right as he finished speaking, he climbed up the stairs beside him to reach one of the upper streetyers and avoid the conversation that would surelye with his statement just now.

    "Foster, wait up!" Octer eximed, basically running after his friend. His heavy footsteps nearly made the steps shake, while Lynol was rushing past him to try and catch up to Foster first. Of course, still wanting to avoid the conversation until he found a way to change the topic immediately, he just kept on running up the stairs as fast and casually as he could, although that ended up being a rather contradictory concept that he clearly wasn''t able to properly execute.

    But even so, he still reached the top of the stairs first, but when he did, Foster was just stunned by what he saw. Everything up here waspletely dark. Thearium was right here, and there were people here on the tform trying to measure the positions of the stars. The astronomers that Foster was looking for.

    But he didn''t even focus on those right now. Rather, he was just stunned by this view. He had only seen something like this a couple of times, when he went on some trips a couple of times. The light pollution and smog in the city Foster grew up in made it impossible to see anything but the moon, and even that only on good days.

    But now... he was able to see a view that he just so rarely saw with his own eyes. The beautiful, colorful night sky. Formations he had never seen before in his life.. And at the same time, he realised that he now lived in a ce where he would be able to see the beauty of these stars every single night.

 Chapter 49 - Complex Arithmetics

    Foster stood there, utterly stunned by the view of this beautiful night sky. Even though he should have been able to see this sort of thing before while they were traveling here to Arcadum, as if it was a habit, Foster simply never looked up. Back then, there was nothing for him to see there after all. But now, that was different. He had a reason to look up at the sky now.

    While he was just standing there, Octer and Lynol finally caught up to him as well. They were about to question him about what he had just told them, but then, they saw him there, staring upward.

    "Are you okay?" Octer asked, and Foster slowly turned around with a smile on his face, "I''ve never been better."

    "...We''ll talk about thister I guess, for now, let''s just go and ask those guys about... whatever it is you wanna ask." With a deep sigh, Octer stepped up to his friend, slightly pushing him into the direction of where all of the Astronomers were standing. For some reason, Foster felt extremely nervous to talk to these guys. It was as if he was trying to talk to his crush in school.

    "Sorry, erm..." He said, really unsure how he was supposed to start right now. The astronomer that he approached turned over toward him, although he was clearly still trying to sketch some things down on some sort of parchment.

    "Yes? We''re slightly busy right now, it''s a perfectly clear night, and we''re-"

    "-trying to chart thes and their rtive positions to each other, right?" Foster asked, interrupting the man in front of him, and the astronomer raised his brows, "...Exactly so. How can I help you?"

    "Ah, well... Erm, I''m new in town, and I was hoping to be able to talk to you guys for a bit? I''ve got a lot of questions about... you know, the stars..."

    "Right, of course. Well, as I was saying, we are quite busy right now. But once we''re done, I''m sure one of my colleagues will have time to answer some of your questions." The astronomer said, slowly noting down more information that was given to him by his colleague. Still incredibly curious, Foster looked at the map that the astronomer was drawing with the specific positions of the stars ands, most notably marking down their apparent distance to this world as well as their rtive distance to each other.

    From all of these notes, and considering that there were some simr drawings on drawing boards, just from a few weeks ago, made Fostere to a quick conclusion, "Are you guys trying to build a model or something?" He asked, and the astronomer snapped his head to the side, "How did you-"

    "I mean, it was kind of obvious, but..." Foster muttered with a wry smile as he saw the most fatal mistake of these drawings. He had hoped that someone had corrected these guys before, someone that came from earth, but... that clearly wasn''t the case, "..that map ispletely wrong... I mean, notpletely wrong I guess, the numbers are right and all, but..."

    "But what? What are you trying to say?" Nearly insulted by what Foster was insinuating, the astronomer stopped his work and walked up to this uninvited guest, deeply staring into his eyes. With a wry smile, he slowly turned his head away, "You''re making that map with the assumption that this is at the center of everything... that everything else just revolves around us. But it doesn''t... first of all, the sun is at the center. The moon does revolve around us, but the others, as well as us, revolve around the sun..." Foster tried to exin, and the astronomer looked back at him shocked.

    "How do you-" He said, "I mean, you arepletely correct, or at least most of us were thinking the same... But how do you know? Most buffoons around here still think that this archaic system is correct... Also, do not tell anyone I said that, or the lord of this city will have me beheaded for calling him a dunce... You don''t look to be an astronomer yourself, so how are you so knowledgeable?" The astronomer, extremely intruiged by Foster all of a sudden, looked at him as if he was more interesting than the stars ands he was supposed to study.

    "Well, it''s a hobby, I guess. I learned about it from... a friend. I did a little bit of research on my own after that, so I probably don''t know as much about the stars as you do... I know the concepts better than actual information."

    "Interesting... Young man, are you perhaps skilled inplex arithmetics? If you have the time, you could help out a little, and in return I answer some of your questions while we work." The astronomer said, now really wanting Foster to stay although it seemed like he just wanted him gone a few moments earlier.

    Lynol let out a deep sigh as he walked up behind his friend, "Tough luck, Foster. Maybe you can help out otherwise, however."

    "Huh, what do you mean?" Foster asked with a frown, and Lynol raised his brows, "Well, I doubt you will be able to help them with...plex ari..."

    "Complex ''arithmetics'', dude. And why do you think I can''t help them with that? I''m amazing at math." After quickly replying like that, Foster walked up to the table that the astronomer was working at. While the astronomer slowly pushed aside the weights he kept the parchment pressed down onto the table in this windy weather up here, Octer and Lynol stared at each other.

    "Did you know Foster could do math?" Lynol asked, and Octer quickly shook his head, "Of course not, even I barely know how to..."

    "Guys, I''m not deaf." Foster sighed deeply, before turning back to the astronomer, "What exactly is it you want me to calcte?"

    With a broad smile, the astronomer replied, "You see, our observatory gets its funding from the city''s lord, and he personally requested that we work with this oldary model in mind, saying that the model we suggested to him is ''sphemy'' of some sort. It is bothersome, but without him, we would be unable to do our work. But even so, we would still like to privately work with what we know to be true. So, could you prepare the calctions so that we can trante the values from what I am drawing currently over to the actual model?"

    "Oh yeah, of course... But erm, I don''t think I''ll be able to calcte everything by head, so I''ll really just prepare the basics, alright?"

    "Of course, we have others working with us that can do the gruesome part of the calctions. But now, tell me.... what do you want to know?"

 Chapter 50 - Cold

    "So, let me get this straight �C you walked up to someone, told him that his work waspletely wrong and basically a pile of shit, and then you suddenly do math that I will never even be able to hope to do, and then you get a bunch of books shoved onto you? And most of those books are just filled with what, more numbers?" Octer asked with a deep stare, looking back at his friend, who very slowly nodded his head as he leaned back on his bed in the inn, "Yes, as I''ve told you probably like five times already. Now stop repeating yourself."

    "...What are these numbers, even?" Lynol asked, "I tried to keep up, but..."

    "Eh~? My oh so great martial arts teacher doesn''t understand something~? That so?" Foster replied with a grin on his face, before grabbing the book from his friends and showing them another page than what they were looking at just now, "It''s not just numbers. Here is an actual star map. You guys know how to read regr maps, right?"

    "Of course, we''re not that dumb..." Octer pointed out with a wry smile, and Fosterughed a bit, "That''s not what I meant, sorry. Anyway, look here at this star map. I''ll just exin it to you in the way that I know it for now. Horizontally here you have ''Right Ascension'', and vertically it''s ''Declination'', which are basically longitude andtitude respectively on a regr map. Then here on the map, you have the designation for the most notable stars, like... PAL-13 right here." Foster exined, pointing at a specific star on the map, before flipping the page back over.

    He searched through the table filled with seemingly random numbers, until he found the one that regarded the star ''PAL-13'', before continuing to exin, "Alright, here it is. Then right here this is the ''declination'', ortitude, and this here is the ''right ascension'', or longitude. The rest of the numbers should... just be references to how these stars are referred to in different systems, I guess?" He exined, and Lynol leaned over to take a look at the page with a strong squint.

    "Seriously? That''s it?" Lynol asked, and Foster shrugged, "Basically, I guess. I mean, over here is some other more specific information, although it doesn''t really matter to me right now. I''d just like to find some stuff out about the stars for now in general. Luckily, the star maps are all sorted by recognized asterisms or constetions. And then I can take that, move over here, and read up on the constetion itself. Like, the myths and stuff."

    "...You didn''t even like reading those martial arts books, and they''re mostly just pictures..."

    "Don''t judge me, Octer... It''s not like I''m even trying to remember all this raw data or anything, I''d just like to be able to recognize some of the more notable stars, alright?" Foster said, trying to convince his friends that he wasn''t as big a nerd as he was clearly appearing to be.

    "But honestly, it surprised me to hear how you did all that math so easily." Lynol pointed out, adn Foster turned his head toward him with a wry smile.

    "You trying to call me dumb or something?"

    "No, I''m saying I thought you were dumb, but that clearly isn''t the case. You even surprised that astronomer with your ability to calcte such things."

    "Well, I guess... but that''s mostly because I know methods that are a lot more refined. Remember, my world was hundreds of years ahead of this one in such aspects." Slowly, Foster ced the book to the side, and leaned back against the wall behind him. And then, Lynol and Octer chose to tal about something that they were slightly worried about.

    Octer scratched the back of his head awkwardly, and looked at his friend, "You know, Foster... if you would rather work with those guys at thearium... you don''t have to be an adv-"

    "If you finish that sentence, I''ll break your nose." Foster interrupted Octer with a loud grown, "Dude, I''m good. I don''t wanna work as an astronomer. I like knowing about this stuff, but it''s just a hobby. I get a bit deeper into this math aspect of things ''cause I''m just pretty good with these kinds of numbers. And you wanna know the reason why that is? Cause I specifically studied the math I might need for this stuff. I''m a moron, I ain''t gonna survive a week in that job. Just let me punch things, aight?"

    Lynol couldn''t help himself butugh after hearing Foster''s exnation, and slowly approached the door, "As long as you say so, then that is fine. Just don''t go back on your word in a few weeks, alright?"

    Lynol and Octer made their way out of Foster''s room again, heading back to their own, leaving this space-nerd alone with his new books. Slowly, he turned his head toward Aster, who was making himself something like a small nest out of Foster''s shirt. He was so tiny that the balled-up shirt made it look like that scene from ''My Neighbor Totoro''.

    Foster smiled as he looked at the small nature spirit, and slowly pulled his hairband out of his hair as he leaned back, pressing his head onto his pillow, "Goodnight, buddy." He said with a light smile on his face, looking at the ceiling above him.

    Realizing that he was still wearing the vial-ne filled with those frost seeds, Foster quickly took it off and ced it onto the bedside table, before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

    His mind slowly faded away. For most of the night, everything was fine. He ran through the normal dreams that one would have every night, until there was one particr dream... a strong one, a vivid one. A... cold one.

    Snow fell from the sky, touching Foster''s skin as he was sitting on the dirty, muddy ground. With empty eyes, he looked into the dark night sky, until he soon heard a voice from a man beside him.

    "Foster,e over here outta the snow." The man said with a loud groan, clicking his tongue. Foster shuffled over the ground and approached the man in front of him. He stuffed his hand into his pocket before pulling something out of it. He nervously held it in his hand, while the man in front of him ced some bags onto the ground, "What''ve you got there, kid?"

    Carefully, Foster raised his head and looked up at the man, slowly pushing his hands forward. He showed a small white lump with a yellowish tint to him, "I... I lost my first tooth today... C-Can I give it to the... to the tooth fairy...?"

    "Huh? Tooth fairy? Where''d you hear ''bout that thing?" The man asked surprised, squatting down in front of a young Foster, who slowly replied, "I heard... heard someone talking about it... one the yground... a kid said that they get money if you give it to her..."

    The man slowly took the small tooth out of Foster''s hand and looked at it for a moment. And the next second, he threw it to the side with an annoyed sigh, "The tooth fairy ain''t real, kid."

    "B-But he said-"

    "Well, the kid was lyin''. Anyway, wait here. I''ll be back in a few hours." The man said as he rolled his eyes. He turned around and groaned, "By the way, if there was some magical being giving you money for teeth, that one definitely wouldn''t have been the first one ya lost."

    As he was leaving, Foster quickly moved over into the snow, looking for the tooth in a hurry. The snow picked up, as he clutched the small object in his hands, "You''re the one lying...."

 Chapter 51 - Sudden Blossom

    Foster slowly opened his eyes, although his eyelids were as heavy as lead. He was feeling kind of weird all of a sudden, and wanted to just curl up with a nket on top of him. That vivid dream he hadst night had already mostly faded from his mind, but he was still able to feel the cold touch of snow all over his body, so much so that it lingered even after he woke up.

    "Wait..." He muttered, pushing himself off of the mattress. He turned his head away from the wall, and looked at his nightstand. There, half a dozen of small blue flowers were sprouting, the roots burying themselves in Foster''s shirt. They were arched over the small nature spirit that was sleeping on top of the piece of cloth.

    "What the..." Foster muttered, pushing the flowers out of the way, soon finding the vial that had shattered into a few pieces. It was clearly where these flowers came from. The cold breeze that they gave off was nearly ufortable with all of these in the same spot, and now that he was leaning over them, he was even able to see his own breath flowing between them.

    Now it made sense why these were only roughly scattered around Thiodrus'' cabin, these flowers really gave off incredibly cold air.

    He pushed his hand through the flowers and carefully picked up Aster. But as he touched the small spirit''s body, it was like it had beenpletely frozen. Or rather, as if it was made of ice in the first ce. Slowly, Aster seemed to warm up through Foster''s touch, and he soon woke up. He stretched a little, his fur loosening and starting to wave around its body somehow.

    "Buddy..." Foster said, turning Aster to let him look at the flowers, "Did you do this?" He asked. He wasn''t sure if this made any sense, since he didn''t know much about spirits at all, but it sounded like it made sense for a nature spirit to be able to influence nature to an extent. And what represented nature better than flowers.

    With a quick nod, Aster looked at the cold flowers, before Foster let out a deep sigh, "You were able to do that? Seriously, it would be kind of nice knowing what exactly you can do..."

    And as if he had summoned it, since he basically did just that, a certain message window appeared in front of his eyes.

    ---

    [Nature Spirit''s Magic][Level �C 1]

    [Rating �C Rare]

    [Description: The magic that a nature spirit is able to innately cast. As the spirit develops into maturity, so will this skill, unlocking more spells along the way. The specific spells that a nature spirit is able to cast depends on its origin.]

    [Magic Spells]

    -[Blossom]

    -[Gust]

    -[Spark]

    ---

    Foster raised his brows as he saw this skill information in front of his face, and looked back at Aster, "Well, that''s a good way to figure that out..." He muttered, looking at the spells curiously.

    ---

    [Blossom][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Feed a nt magical energies, to make a small flower near you blossom]

    -

    [Gust][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Control the air around you to create a gust, strong enough to snuff out a candle or even a small campfire]

    -

    [Spark][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Create a small me in front of you, which can be used to light candles,nterns, or campfires]

    ---

    ''I knew about the Spark spell, but the other ones are new to me... Gust and Blossom... they can probably be kind of useful somehow'' Foster thought to himself as he read through the information floating in front of him. Carefully, he moved his hand over toward one of the flowers growing on the bedside table, and quickly plucked it. He held it with a smile on his face, before quickly jumping up. He had gotten himself a small mug of waterst night in case he was thirsty, so he just quickly ced the flower in there.

    "I guess that''s fine for now." He whispered to himself, before quickly plucking the rest of the flowers, and ripping the roots out of his shirt. And then, when he actually held it up in front of him again, he saw that it was now perfectly littered with a bunch of holes.

    "Well then, that''s real great, isn''t it..?" Foster grumbled annoyed, "Well, it''s still fine to wear under my other stuff, so it''s fine."

    Foster quickly pulled the chilled shirt over his chest, and couldn''t help himself but shiver. Although, it would probably be a quite pleasant feeling once he stepped outside. It was summer here in this part of this world as well, and it was quite a bit hotter around here than where he grew up, actually. It didn''t seem like some kind of tropical area, but it was at least warmer than he was used to.

    Either way, a shirt this cold would definitely cool him down. Foster put on the jacket of his martial arts uniform, although he kept it loosely open for now. He quickly put on his shoes and got ready for everything. They would meet with that girl they met yesterday at noon, and since they only went to bed prettyte, it already seemed to be rather close to that time.

    Foster quickly opened his window and stuck his face out of it, staring to the right where he could just barely see the clocktower. It was around 11:45 right now... meaning that they had to get ready.

    The group of three had talked about how the first one to wake up would go and get the others, meaning that Foster was apparently the first one to wake up. And luckily so... they were nearlyte for the meeting.

    Since it was no clear he was in a rush, Foster quickly stuffed the freezing flowers into his bag, of course first loosely wrapping them in another piece of cloth to protect them, before he rushed out of the room.

    He locked the door, and quickly pulled his hairband off his wrist. He pressed his hair together, quickly giving the hairband to Aster as he pulled everything together, and then tied his hair into a ponytail again.

    Foster walked around the Inn and quickly woke up his friends. It seemed like they were both going to take a little while longer, and so that they wouldn''t end up beingpletelyte, Foster just made his way over to the ''restaurant'' part of the Inn. Rather than a restaurant, it was more like a pub, really, but close enough.

    When he stepped inside, he was once more surprised that, although it wasn''t even noon yet, there were already plenty of people sitting around and drinking. From their clothes and how dirty some of them were, it seemed like they were working throughout the night though, so this time was practically their evening.

    Foster sat down at a table in the corner where everyone would have plenty of space, and chose to just wait for everyone. And just as he sat down, he already heard someone approach. As Foster turned his head to the side and smiled as he quickly stood up, "Hey there K, sit down.. The others are going to be here any moment now."

 Chapter 52 - Introduction

    K sat down at the table, and Foster quickly did the same. With a gentle smile, K looked at the man in front of her, "So... We didn''t really get the chance to talk about that much stuff yesterday, but I''m sure you''re a Martial Artist, right?"

    "Yup, that''s right. Although, that''s not all there is to it. I''ve got a bit of a special ss that lets me use some magic, and it also let me form a contract with this little guy." Foster exined, grabbing Aster from his head before holding it forward. It was important for K to know about him if they were going to explore a dungeon together, otherwise she might end up trying to attack the small spirit.

    "Oooh!" She let out with a broad smile on her face, "It''s adorable! What is it?"

    "He''s just a nature spirit. I only recently formed a contract with him, though." Foster exined with a smile on his face, rubbing his finger over the top of Aster''s head. With an excited expression, K leaned forward to take a closer look at the small spirit.

    "That''s so cool! Clerics can''t really form contracts with spirits, otherwise I already would have..." She said, extending her finger out toward Aster to rub his belly, while Foster lightly smiled.

    "Is that so? Sorry, I don''t really know much about religion, I was raised in a ce where nobody really cared for it." Foster pointed out, and K lightly chuckled, "Don''t worry about it! Not many people are incredibly religious! And most of the gods have different ways for their believers to pray to them. For example, I''m a cleric to the goddess Melodia, the goddess of voice and song! She really doesn''t have any churches built for her... sure, you might find a shrine in arger temple, but for the most part, we show her our love through performance."

    "Ah, that would exin the harp." Foster said, pointing at the instrument by her side, and K quickly nodded her head, "Mhm, it''s one of Melodia''s signature instruments~! I do know how to y all of them, but the harp is my personal favorite, you know?"

    "It is a pretty instrument, yeah. Honestly, I can barely even hold a note."

    "Haha, don''t worry, I was like that a long time ago as well." K exined, "It took me until I was twenty just to master my voice, and then another one or two decades to master most of the instruments I had ess to~! It just takes practice!"

    "...What?" Foster let out with a wry smile, "Sorry if that sounds rude, but... are you not human?"

    "Hu- Oh! Haha, no, no, I''m not human at all! I know I look like it quite a bit, but I''m actually an Aria!"

    "...Act like I don''t know what that is..." Foster said with a wry smile, and K raised her brows surprised, "You see, we Aria are-"

    "Sorry for beingte!" Octer interrupted K, just as she was about to exin what exactly an Aria was. Although maybe he kind of saved Foster, since it might be rather rude to ask about those sorts of things here... He actually really didn''t know what was considered rude here and what wasn''t.

    Either way, he quickly looked at his friends as they both sat down, "Don''t worry about it! Well, I guess everyone is here, so we should introduce ourselves properly?" Foster suggested, and everyone seemed to agree that this was a good idea.

    "Then let me start, since you two probably already talked a bit, right? I''m Octer, and my ss is ''Shield Bearer''. I have a few years of experience as an adventurer, although I kinda just did odd-jobs and hopped around different parties to make money, y''know?" Octer exined, "Obviously, I''m a tank, and I can use Martial Skills like ''Iron Skin'' and ''Mock''."

    "Oh! Those are pretty special ones, right? I heard not that many people have those!" K said, happy to hear that Octer seemed to have such useful abilities, although Foster turned toward Lynol, not aware why those were ''special''. He had only seen the ''Mock'' ability, Octer had used it during the fight with that huge wolf.

    "Yeah, I know, I was kinda obsessed with magic growin'' up, so I ended up training for skills that felt a bit more like magic, you know?"

    "Oh, I totally understand what you mean!" K said with a light chuckle, while Foster leaned over toward Lynol, "You can train to get different martial skills..?"

    "What? Of course you can... It''s how people usually get their most useful martial skills. A lot are given to you through the base skill, but they''re usually just very... generic, basic, and low-power. You''re just lucky with yours, since they were basically hand-picked by your predecessor..." Lynol exined to Foster, giving him a lesson about something he wasn''t aware he even needed to learn about. At times like these, Foster hoped that he was as enthusiastic studying about things other than space, then maybe he would think about such stuff earlier next time.

    "So, I''m K!" She exined quickly, taking the next turn after Octer was done, "I''m a Cleric to Melodia, meaning that I cast miracles through sound! Mostly through song, but I do know about some miracles that are just based around speech as well~!"

    "Oh, that sounds a lot like a bard..." Octer pointed out, and K quickly nodded, "Mhm! Many people that follow Melodia do be bards, but due to some circumstances, I became a cleric instead! I was thinking about advancing my ss a bit more into the area of magic when it finally reaches maximum level, so maybe I''ll be able to cast some spells then as well, like a bard would!"

    "Huh, so bards are magic users?" Foster asked, "I didn''t know that..."

    "Haha, not all bards, of course! Most just like ying music! But some bards do have the chance to expand their skillset into the magical realm as well~!" K exined quickly. Although he was surprised to hear about this, his thoughts about that quickly faded as Lynol introduced himself.

    "I''m Lynol. I like swords." He said rather bluntly, before both Foster and Octer stared at him confused, "Could you say a bit more than that, dude?" Foster asked, and Lynol rolled his eyes.

    "Alright. I like swords, and also food." He added, and Octer let out a loud sigh as Foster pinched his friend''s leg, "Dude, introduce yourself properly, you''re being rude..."

    "...Fine." Lynol gave in, and looked straight at K, "I''m a Swordsman. My style ofbat, despite the weapon I use, is based around fine control of my de and swift, smooth movements. However, due to the nature of my style, it is unfit for particrly small targets, in particr swarm-type monsters. Since Foster''s style relies on heavy and slow attacks as well as a steady base stance, and Octer is a tank withparatively little offensive ability, the three of us are not a good fit for such a dangerous dungeon, as the one we are here to discuss today. And since you are a sound-based caster, you will only attract the attention ofrge amounts of enemies. This concludes my introduction, and is at the same time my farewell to you, considering that it is clear we are a particrly bad matchup for such a dungeon.." Lynol said in a blunt voice, basically trying to already make this whole meeting obsolete.

 Chapter 53 - Discussion

    Foster, Octer, and K looked at Lynol, unsure what they should say to him. At the end of the day, he was right with what he said. They could very well be the worst team-up for that sort of dungeon.

    "Well..." K finally said, pulling the rolled-up dungeon map out of her bag, cing it down onto the table in front of her. She pushed it opened and weighted down the sides with some copper pieces, "Just take a look at this, alright? This map was drawn by someone with a special skill, and it even shows where which monsters are mostmon... The monsters that we need to worry about are on the first three floors, but they''re really only a thing on the very first floor. And on the second and third floor, they berger and easier targets. Any other monster won''t really give off that effect, you know?"

    "So? Who says we will even be able to make it through those first three floors, then? More skilled parties with a better skill configuration entered that ce and didn''te back out." Lynol said bluntly, and the others knew that he was right, "Without information beside just this map, I will not even think about approaching that ce."

    "...Then what if we did have more information than that map?" Foster asked, looking at the first floor shown on the map, "The only type of monster on the first floor is that monster that gives of necromantic magic, right? Do they do any other sort of damage?" He looked at K, who quickly shook her head.

    "I don''t think so, no... they''re like small slimes that do magical damage instead of physical one, and that''s basically it. I spoke to someone that did enter the dungeon once, and he described it as those slimes taking over the corpses of other creatures, although they just rot away until only their bones are left. On the first floor, that''s mostly things like mice, rats, and other critter, on the second floor it''s different, somewhatrger animals, and on the third floor... they''re actualrge beasts, like wolves or wildcats."

    Lynol rolled his eyes and leaned back deeper into his seat, "Knowing rough characteristics of the monsters won''t be enough either, so just forget it."

    "...I wasn''t talking about that. I''m just going to... you know..." Foster said, "Go in there on my own for a bit, explore the first floor, see what these monsters are really like... maybe get used to them a bit? That kinda thing."

    The moment that he suggested this, both Lynol and Octer stared at him intensely, "Dude, what are you doing? Why are you talking about this now, in front of... her?"

    "Oh? What are you muttering about?" K asked curiously, "Would it be his absolute resistance to necromancy?"

    Now, three pairs of eyes quickly wandered over toward K, "Wait, how did you- Foster, did you tell her already?" Octer asked, and Foster immediately shook his head.

    "Of course I didn''t! Why would I do that? I was gonna go for the resistance story again! But seriously, how did you know?" Foster looked at K, wondering if she somehow listened in on a conversation between Lynol, Octer and Foster. But K simplyughed.

    "I have mentioned it before, have I not? I''m an Aria. We are a special people, just like the Lorgrans." K said with a quick wink directed at Lynol, and the group of three looked at her, unsure what exactly to expect after this.

    "I''ve never heard of Aria before... In what way are your people special?" Octer asked with a frown, and K chuckled, "We have a special ability~! It''s just like... knowing certain things, you know? It''s like I can tell what people are best at! And when I looked at you three, I was able to tell. A man with an incredible defensive ability, born to be the perfect wall against his enemies. One of the most talented swordsmen I have seen in my life, who is set to only improve the more he fights. And... a man who may not be the greatest martial artist-"

    "Oi..."

    "-but! He is still an amazing fighter nheless! And that man is not only able to resist, but also wield death as a weapon. I didn''t know the extent, but... I just made a quick guess~!" K exined with a smile on her face, "I didn''t know that it was really true until your reaction just now! But if this is the case, then this is really great! I agree that you should try and head into that dungeon yourself for a bit, but make sure to stay near its entrance in case something does happen~!"

    Foster turned his head and looked at Octer with a wry smile, "You hear that? She guessed... she guessed, Octer."

    "I heard her as well, I''m not deaf..."

    "Yeah, but you''re a fucking moron..." Foster grumbled quietly, as Octer turned toward his friend with a re, "Yo, what did you just say?"

    "What, are you deaf after all?" He asked as he returned the re quickly, while Lynol let out a deep sigh before talking to K again.

    "Listen, please keep it a secret, alright? We don''t want any trouble with anyone... You know that necromancy isn''t particrly... epted." Lynol pointed out, "And are there any more Aria here in the city that you know of?"

    "Hm... maybe a handful, I guess? There aren''t too many, and most are a lot younger than me, so they can''t control their abilities too well! So, nothing to worry about!" K exined with her ever-gleeful expression and voice, before Lynol raised his brows at something she said.

    "How old are you, then?" He asked, and although K''s smile stayed on her face, it suddenly had a lot more threatening undertones than before.

    "I don''t think that''s something you should ask ady, Lynol." K pointed out, before Lynol''s whole body suddenly became covered in goosebumps. He had been able to face incrediblyrge beasts in the north without even flinching, but for some reason... K just terrified him.

    "R-Right, sorry about that..." He stuttered in response, while the small fight between Octer and Foster slowly settled down again.

    "So..." Octer started, "I think it might be something worth looking into, really. Lynol, I get your concern, but you know... we do have a guy that''s totally immune to necromantic feedback... Doesn''t the idea of conquering a dungeon that has never been conquered before seem kinda... fun to you?"

    "...I would be lying if I said it didn''t, but my concerns still stand. I am worried, and we are not the best party for this job. And nobody actually knows what''s in the lower floors, right? There might be more of those magic slime monsters deeper down. What if something happens, and we can''t deal with it?"

    "Then I can just scout ahead, right?" Foster suggested, "Come on.... let''s just give this a try!"

 Chapter 54 - Enter The Dungeon

    The small group stood right in front of the entrance to the ''Fail'' type beginner dungeon that they wanted to explore. Its entrance was mostly barred up, but there was still a small, mostly rotten, wooden door right in front of it to stop people from just identally wandering into it. But beside that, there was nothing in front of this entrance at all.

    There was a small part of the grass in front of it that had been pressed t before, and was now growing slower and worse than the rest right around it. It was clear that this dungeon was cared for far less than the others supposedly were, which was also the reason why it was so bothersome to actually get here. The dungeon was ced in the middle of a small forest near arcadum, and the paths leading to it had been allowed to overgrowpletely.

    "I guess it''s time to get started now, huh?" Foster asked with a wry smile, actually getting a bit nervous about this now. He was about to enter this monster-infested, old undergroundbyrinth right now, after all.

    "At any point, if you feel you''re in any sort of danger, immediatelye out, alright?" Lynol told his friend, who immediately nodded.

    "Yeah, of course... I''ll just head inside, see what I can find out about those guys, see how much a threat they are... and then I''lle back out!" Foster said, practically just repeating the n in the most basic way again, before he slowly approached the old wooden door in front of the dungeon''s entrance. He ced his hand on the handle and slowly pulled it open, something that made the whole door fall over forward right onto where Foster stood just now. Of course he was able to dodge pretty easily, but it still didn''t help his nervosity, "Now that''s a great start..." He muttered.

    "Foster, you can back out of this, y''know? You don''t have to do this." Octer pointed out with a worried expression. There was basically just one person that was absolutely excited about this experience. K.

    "Don''t worry, he''s going to be totally fine! He has the map with him and everything~!" She pointed out, and everyone slowly started calming down a bit more. Foster turned back toward the entrance to the dungeon.

    He turned to his hip and lit up thentern he attached to his bag, the samentern that he had taken from Thiodrus'' manor. He looked at his friends and quickly waved at them as he walked into the dungeon. As he stepped further into the darkness, thentern, which was run by something other than a simple candle or some gas, became brighter to aodate for him. Along the walls hung some torches that Foster had Aster light up, so that he could at least easily find his way back to the entrance. Although they had sketched out a path on the map that Foster should tkae so that he could easily return to the entrance, he wanted to make sure he would be totally fer.

    Something was... weird, though. The more Foster walked through thebyrinth, constructed with stone bricks along the walls and ceiling, the more anxious he felt. Since he had realized that his ''fear'' from back then was rather something of a stunning excitement, he thought he wouldn''t be worried about something like this. He knew for a fact that the sort of enemies he would face wouldn''t be an issue, he literally survived in a sludge that caused a grown man''s body to disintegrate within seconds.

    And then he had to run away from those horrid monsters, andter fought against a giant wolf without worries... not to mention the fact that he was actually kind of used to this tight space, walking through darkness and not knowing what enemy might be in front of him. Having been the strongest fighter in the syndicate, he of course led ''raiding'' groups during fights against other criminal organizations. Foster knew that he practically had no risk to face in here, but for some reason, he still felt weirdly uneasy.

    Although, he really didn''t have too much time to think about this, since he soon heard a sounding from in front of him. It was a mixture of quiet, blunt ckingbined with a weird, ufortable squelching. And there was a lot of it. Soon, the source of this barrage of sounds came into sight. It was a group of maybe a dozen or so ''rats''. Rather, they were rat-shaped, but their flesh was dark but translucent. Due to the light thentern by his bag was giving off, he was able to see the bones of rats floating within a weird ck, translucent mass.

    The first of these things soon attacked Foster, jumping at his leg. He could feel a slight tingle, but... that was it. It didn''t try to bit him, it didn''t try to scratch him. It was simply trying to affect him with necromancy. In the end... this really just felt like someone was spreading some kind of jello with pop rocks in it all over his skin.

    "This really isn''t a big deal at all, now is it..?" He muttered with a wry smile on his face. Foster rolled his eyes and proceeded to crush one of the slime-rats with his foot. He could hear its bones cracking apart into pieces, but it was still trying to resist in usually impossible ways. Its bones were practically trying to squeeze away from underneath Foster''s foot, but he simply pressed down a bit harder whenever that happened. And soon, the creature just stopped squirming, as the sludge just flowed away to the sides, forming a small puddle. At the same time, a message window appeared in front of Foster''s eyes.

    ---

    [3 Experience Points Rewarded]

    ---

    "Huh? Just 3? That''s not even a tenth of what one of those wolves would give me... And like, less than a percent of that huge guy?" Foster pointed out with a wry smile on his face, as he continued to just crush these monsters underneath his feet, making more message windows pop up.

    ---

    [2 Experience Points Rewarded]

    [3 Experience Points Rewarded]

    [1 Experience Point Rewarded]

    [3 Experience Points Rewarded]

    ---

    "Ah fuck... 3 is the max? Seriously?" Foster grumbled to himself as he just shook off the rest of the slime-rats that were covering his body, quickly crushing them underneath his feet.

    Once this small wave of monsters had been taken care of, he had be a total of 26 experience points richer, "I thought these guys were supposed to be super troublesome..." He whispered, as he turned his head toward Aster, who was currently hanging off of one of the torches on the wall, "Seems kind of like a ripoff, huh? Although, to be fair.... others might already have rotten chunks of flesh falling off their bodies right about now."

 Chapter 55 - Monster Source

    Foster walked deeper into the dungeon, as the path behind him became more lit up through the torches that Aster was lighting up. And soon, Foster reached a certain crossroad within thisbyrinth. He knew that he could just go left to loop around to reach the entrance again, at least that''s what the map was saying, but the thing was that there was something that Foster was rather curious about beyond this crossroad�� Most of these slimes seemed toe from specifically this direction, from the right where he was currently standing, and there was quite a lot of noise a bit deeper in that direction.

    On the map, it was marked that there were a lot of these guys there as well. It was marked as ''especially dangerous'', but Foster wondered why exactly that spot was so special in why there were so many over there. So, he just so slightly abandoned the n and instead took a step further to the right. It didn''t take long until another flood of small slime-covered critter skeletons came rushing at him. There were some blobs of this slime that were trying to move without anything, even, but they were incredibly slowpared to the others.

    But at least, Foster noticed something when he crushed them with his feet. There was something of a ''bubble'' floating in the center of their bodies. It was stillpletely filled with slime, but there was some form of membrane around that bubble, and when it ripped, the slime actually died. He didn''t know if that information was all that useful to anyone but him, but it did feel a little interesting at least.

    Soon, however, the amount of these slime-creatures just increased by many more times, to the point where they even nearly overwhelmed Foster, not that they were able to injure him even in the slightest. They were just a lot more annoying, covering so many different parts of his body.

    And then, Foster reached the end of this path, where the map was practically scratched out to stop anyone from going here. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves, that were for some reason still slightly acting up. Mostly because he had no idea what was here. The reason why there were so many of these monsters gathering here was marked as unknown anywhere, and even K didn''t know about it.

    Despite the fact that she had done quite a bit of research on this ce to try and get through here on her own, it made sense that there were things she didn''t know, considering that no sane person would actually want to go in here and spend time researching this ce.

    "Wait... was it a good idea to go along with K after all, then..?" Foster muttered quietly, while watching Aster just look back at him from the wall with his head tilted slightly to the side, "Right, you can''t talk..."

    Soon, Foster was able to see something at the end of the hallway. It was an opening to arger room. Not sure what exactly was in there, even Foster tried to be careful. He took one of the lit torches off the wall, and chose to throw it into the center of thatrge open room. For a few moments, nothing happened, until something started dripping down from the ceiling. The liquid gathered in one ce on the ground, and then soon came together to form one of those things that Foster had been fighting. And then... a faint light came from within the small slime. The light seemed to move throughout it for a few seconds, and when it stopped, the small slime-creature suddenly had a rat''s skeleton floating within it.

    "Excuse me..?" Foster muttered confused, "What just happened..?"

    Slowly, Foster leaned into the room, and tried to see where that ck liquid had dropped from before. And there, stuck to the ceiling, Foster was able to see a mummified corpse, ck sludge making it stick to the ceiling. In its mouth was a lightly glowing orb with a deep crack in it. And out of that crack continuosly came that ck liquid.

    "Hm... if I destroyed that Orb... wouldn''t that decrease the amount of these slimes that coulde at us?" Foster muttered as he turned his head to the side, with a light grin on his face. Sadly, he didn''t have anything that he could throw at it to even try and do that. However, excited that he found something that would actually help them out, Foster rushed back out of the dungeon, ready to tell his friends.

    ---

    "Are you an absolute fucking idiot?" Octer asked with a wry smile on his face, "There''s a reason that part of the map is scratched out..."

    "Well, yeah, because anyone else would die the moment they go in there, but I wouldn''t. I''d be fine." Foster pointed out, before Lynol rolled his eyes, figuring that there was no way his friend would see too much fault in what he did, "Fine, then what did you see in there?"

    "Ah, right. The source of the slime." He exined with a smile on his face, and the three people in front of him stared back for a few moments.

    "Excuse me?" K asked,pletely taken aback by what he said, "Did you just say you found the source of the slime? But the dungeon should just be creating it, right?"

    "I don''t think so, at least not directly!" Foster exined, before he continued to tell the others exactly about what he saw in there.

    K looked down at the ground, rather perplexed, "So, the dungeon creates the bones within the slime to make it easier for the creature to move, but it doesn''t actually create the slime? That ''orb'' thing you mentioned somewhat sounded like... some sort of trap-like system..."

    "A trap? Doesn''t really sound like it..." Orc pointed out, but K quickly shook her head.

    "Trap basically refers to anything stationary that causes some sort of reactionary effect, but since this one is constant, it''s not really that, which is why I said ''trap-like''... There are things in dungeons that are made by the dungeon itself, like an ''infinite'' source of water, but I never heard of something like that that makes monsters!" K eximed, "This dungeon must be really intelligent!" She pointed out with a broad smile on her face, weirdly excited about this situation.

    Thinking that something was clearly not quite right, Lynol finally stepped in front of her and simply said exactly what he wanted to say.

    "Alright, spit it out. This whole time it felt like you''ve been hiding something, and now you act about dungeons like Foster does when he speaks about the stars.. Soe on, tell us. Why are you really here?"

 Chapter 56 - Clerics

    K looked back at Lynol, and her head slowly proceeded to drop down. She intertwined her fingers with each other, and clearly seemed to want to figure out a way to avoid the question.

    "Erm... I..." She muttered, but she soon realized that there was no way for her to get out of this conversation. With a deep sigh, she readied herself for her answer, "I... I really like dungeons..."

    "...What?" Lynol asked with a wry smile, "There''s not some special artifact hidden in there that only you know about? You''re not trying to trick us to get our items? You just... really like dungeons?" The swordsman asked with a wry smile on his face, before K slowly nodded her head.

    "Yeah, but that''s not too weird, right? I mean, there''s so much we still don''t know about dungeons! How could you not be excited about it?!" She asked, her voice getting more and more energetic after she spoke, "Each dungeon ispletely unique, but why is that the case? We know that dungeons have a certain level of ego, but how deep does that ego actually go? That''s... that''s why I''m here..."

    "Huh? Couldn''t you just pick a dungeon that''s easier to go through then?" Foster asked with a wry smile, wondering if he made as little sense as K did when he was speaking about astronomy to his friends. The cleric immediately shook her head, "No! It has to be this one!" She nearly seemed to demand, as if she was a child about to start pouting because she realized she wasn''t going to get what she wanted. Foster, Lynol and Octer slowly looked at each other, and with a nce discussed what it was that they were supposed to do now. Lynol seemed to just want to go back to town immediately, since he thought this whole thing was a waste of time from the beginning, but both Octer and Foster were really quite curious about what was going on exactly. And since, in this discussion, it was two against one, Foster and Octer won.

    With a triumphant grin, after winning a discussion that never even took ce, Octer turned toward K, "Alright, let''s just take a seat over there." He said, pointing at some logs that had been ced here quite some time ago, seemingly just as some sort of bench-recements.

    The group sat down on the logs, and everyone was intensely looking at K, waiting for her to start exining, while she kept staring down. Once more, she seemed to want to think about what she should say to not seem like aplete maniac. After a good bit of thinking had been done, she let out a deep breath.

    "So... Basically, the difference between a ''conquered'' and an ''unconquered'' dungeon is substantial. The people that first conquer a dungeon are given something special tomend that feat, right? A special item, a skill, and in rare cases even a ss... And during that time, when this reward is given to people, is the only time when a dungeon''s core will actually talk to people! Meaning..." K said, trying to catch her breath, as Foster slowly finished her thought.

    "Meaning that being the first to conquer this dungeon will be your only chance to speak to a dungeon core?" He asked, and K immediately nodded her head, "Yep! That''s exactly it~! So you understand, right? Does that mean that-"

    "No, no, that''s not all there is to it, right..? Right..? You''re risking your life, just so that you can talk to a dungeon once? I know the strength of your ss, and you clearly seem at least somewhatpetent. If you just trained a few more years, got some proper experience, then you would be able to take this dungeon down easily with a decently constructed party." Lynol pointed out, "Since all you want is to speak to the dungeon, you don''t care if the reward is otherwise useless to you, right?"

    "Yeah, but I can''t wait that long!" K eximed, "They''re nning on ''blocking'' this ce!"

    "...Blocking?" Lynol asked, since this seemed to be something he wasn''t particrly familiar with either, and K took a deep breath before she chose to start exining.

    "Well... like when you close off a bottle with a cork, they want to permanently block off the entrance to the dungeon. It''s what usually happens to ''fail'' types, it''s surprising that this one survived as long as they did... This usually happens by them just encasing the whole entrance in a huge hunk of metal. There''s only very few dungeons that can change the position of their entrance, so it''s usually enough to just... to just basically suffocate it, and cause it to die off." K exined to the group, "That means this is the only possible ce where I could maybe get the chance to speak to a dungeon."

    "...Couldn''t you just hire arge party, with the actual skill to get through there, toe with you? Why did you have to search for a random group of people instead?" Foster asked with a light frown, when K slowly turned her head to the side with a wry smile.

    "Dude... no fucking way..." Foster let out with a wry smile, and the woman sitting in front of him was clearly trying to avoid eye-contact with everything she could.

    "So, you tried doing that, but failed, and instead started trying with random people you met at the market?" Lynol asked, but K immediately turned her head toward him, "No! I was trying to figure out how to do it alone! I heard rumors about someone selling a map for this ce, and that''s when I met you guys!"

    Lynol let out a deep sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Do you know when exactly they''re nning on blocking off the entrance to the dungeon?"

    "In a month? Maybe two?"

    "...Then why the fuck did we have to go so soon?" Lynol asked with a wry smile, as he turned his head to the side, "Well, what would you expect from a cleric..."

    Suddenly, the conversation seemed to take a slightly different turn. Foster and Octer looked at each other, both having a hunch about what was going to happen now, and neither of them particrly wanted to hear it.

    "Wait, what''s that supposed to mean?" K asked with an annoyed frown, as she stood up. Lynol did the same, and the two just stared at each other. Lynol scoffed slightly as he looked back at her, "You know exactly what I mean. You clerics do nothing but trust blindly, you don''t ever actually think for yourselves. That''s why you didn''t think about how stupid this whole n is."

    "Stup- What did you just say? Clerics aren''t stupid!"

    "Well, if that''s the case, you''re not much proof for it." Lynol rolled his eyes. For some reason, he had clearly built up some form of animosity toward clerics, although neither Foster nor Octer had any idea why that was. They knew a good bit about each other, but by far not everything there was to know.

    And while those two weren''t sure what they were supposed to do, a small verbal fight broke out right in front of them.

 Chapter 57 - Invitation

    The fightsted probably half an hour. Foster and Octer had tried interrupting them a couple of times, but whenever they did, the animosity seemed to be turned toward either of them for some reason. So, they just chose to stay out of it for now and wait for the two of them to just finish their fight.

    "I lived around some of the worst criminals you could ever imagine for even a decade, but even I never heard some of that..." Foster muttered with a wry smile on his face, and Octer slowly nodded in agree.

    "I never thought such words coulde out of such a litlte frame... K really is hardcore..." He added. Octer slowly turned around, noticing that both Lynol and K finally sat back down on the logs, "Let''s go, I think they''re done..."

    "Let''s hope so..." Foster said with a slight shudder, as the two of them quickly returned to the pair. They practically seemed out of breath at this point, "You done?" Foster asked, and Lynol slowly nodded his head while he kept staring down at the ground.

    "I think so." He grumbled, and K turned around with a huff, "He might be, but I''m not!"

    "Please, let''s just... let''s just be done..." Foster said with a wry smile, "Listen, I know there''s some animosity between you two, but could we avoid this in the future?"

    Lynol shuddered as he looked up, "What do you mean, ''in the future''? We''re done here, right..?"

    Octer scratched the back of his head as he nervously looked at his friend, "While you two were... discussing all of that, Foster and I were talking for a while as well. K, would you want to join our party, maybe?"

    "You can not be serious!" Lynol jumped up angrily. Today, Octer and Foster had seen him show the most emotion ever since they had first met him, but Foster quickly interrupted what he was going to say next.

    "No Lynol, you can''t be serious. She''s a cleric. I know you might not be happy with that, but we need someone with her skill-set, right? I mean, at least I think so, Octer said so... but most importantly... she fucking knows about a huge fucking secret of mine, so I definitely am not going to let her out of my sight anytime soon. Cool? Yeah, figured so." Foster pointed out, and Lynol really wasn''t able to fight against that.

    Since K knew that Foster was immune to damage from necromancy, if she were to share that information, it could really backfire on Foster.

    "Honestly, I expected her to ckmail me with it to begin with, but she doesn''t seem like that kinda person, you know? I just wanna make sure that �C and no disrespect toward you K �C she won''t fucking snitch." Foster exined, "So, what do you say? Will you join us, or not?"

    K slowly turned her head toward Foster, and locked eyes with him for a few moments, "You want me to be a member of your party?"

    "If you''d like to be, you''re wee to join us, at least. And again, it would really put my mind at ease." Foster pointed out, and K slightly nced at Lynol, "I''ll think about it... under one condition... Lynol stops insulting clerics."

    "And why would I do that?" The swordsman asked bluntly, before Foster stared back at him, "Dude, I''m not a huge fan of religion either, but just... let''s just talk about thister, alright?" He asked, not sure what to say since he had no idea what exactly Lynol''s issue with clerics was in the first ce.

    Lynol rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine. For now, I''m going to agree to a ''trial'' phase for her to join us. The ''miracles'' she can cast are sort of useful, after all."

    "...Thanks." K replied, "I''ll try my best to be useful to you guys, then. But does that mean that we''re going to try and clear the dungeon..?" She asked curiously, and Foster slowly turned his head to look at Octer, who simply shrugged.

    "We''re considering it, at least. We were talking about trying to get through the first floor for now... K, being a cleric, you must have some kind of miracle in your arsenal that lets you do first aid or somethin'' in case something happens, right?" Octer asked, and K thought about it for a moment, "I heard ''cure'' can help against it, but it''s not like I ever had the chance to try that out... And honestly, it would be best if it didn''t happen in the first ce..."

    "This is Arcadum, so if something happens, it shouldn''t be too hard to find someone that can help us." Lynol figured with a sigh. Foster looked at him with a light smile, "Changed your opinion on this all of a sudden, huh?"

    "...You guys are going to do it anyway, and I will not let you go in there alone. So no, I did not change my opinion, I just have to babysit a few children." He replied immediately, not even having to think about what he wanted to say.

    "Lynol, you''re literally the youngest one here, bud." Octerughed a bit, but Lynol just rolled his eyes, "I know, I''m very aware. But Foster is just a few years older, you''re an old man stuck in a young person''s body, and K is probably a hundred years older than me. Meaning there''s one guy that''s barely more mature than me, as well as two senile people. Hence, my point still stands."

    K red back at Lynol and squinted strongly, "And I was just starting to like you a little..."

    "Well, that''s your own fault." Lynol replied, "But again, let''s think about some tactics for this dungeon, alright? It is still incredibly dangerous. If Foster can somehow manage to destroy that... crystal orb thing, then it''s definitely going to decrease the amount of these monsters there. As long as we manage to reach the safe room at the end of the floor, we can figure out what to do next after that, but I doubt that the creation of these slimes works too much different in the other floors."

    "...That''s usually how it works, yeah. There''s patterns like this in most dungeons, and there are simr crossed-out areas in the parts of the map here for the deeper floors." K exined, and ced her hand in front of her mouth as she started to think, "How about... we have Foster lure them all into one ce, and then I try to kill them all at once with a miracle?"

    Lynol crossed his arms in thought, "That would work, but it could be rather risky. Dungeons aren''t dumb, right? They react to the actions of the people within them quite often. Especially a dungeon with nobody within it for such a long time will pay attention to someonepletely immune to someone utterly immune to its attacks." He pointed out, "Could we try to lure them to the exit, maybe? Dungeon Monsters can''t leave the dungeon, so..."

    "Ah, actually... that''s not always true... Some monsters can, so we shouldn''t be too sure..." K added. Lynol and K both started thinking deeply about a tactic, while Foster slowly looked up into the sky.

    "Oh, I have an even better idea." He muttered, as a certain concept popped up in his mind, "K, don''t you have that ''Holy Aura'' blessing thing?" Foster asked, and K slowly shrugged.

    "I do, but it''s one of my weakest blessings... rather, one of my weakest miracles, period. It''s only real useful for high-level clerics."

    "Well, I''m not so sure about that." Foster pointed out with a light grin, "I think we can use it to create an undead-devouring ck hole."

 Chapter 58 - Weak To Fire

    "An undead-devouring ck hole?" Octer asked, "What''d you mean?" He asked, and Foster slowly turned toward him with a smile on his face, "Isn''t it obvious? This ''Holy Aura'' thing, it does damage to undead, right?"

    "...It does, but again, it''s pretty much useless at my current level." K exined. Foster crossed his arms as he shook his head, "It''s really not. Just cast it on me."

    Lynol, Octer and K looked back at Foster for a few moments in contemtion, while Foster looked back confused, "What, what''s the issue? Wait, does this holy magic stuff have a simr feedback to necromancy?"

    "No, no, it doesn''t... it''s not magic directly, really... It''s a whole different thing... But do you really think that''s going to work? It means you''re going to have a whole lot of undead slimes crawling all over you." K pointed out, but Foster really didn''t care too much. He simply shrugged.

    "I''m aware. I mean, I''m invincible to it, I already saw it inside. It''s really not an issue. They''re going to crawl over my body anyway, if I can do some damage to them like that, I''ll be fine." Foster suggested. K held her hand in front of her mouth as she started to think about this idea.

    "You know what... This... this actually might work..."

    "But that tactic would still be really dangerous. They must have other ways to deal damage, right?" Lynol stood up and paced around somewhat nervously, but Foster immediately shook his head, "Not as far as I noticed. They sometimes tried to scratch me a little bit, but it''s like... scratching your own nails over your arm, it''s not even painful at all."

    "Then I guess it''s settled. We already did a good bit of nning beforehand, so should we try our luck right now?" Octer suggested, picking up hisrge tower shield with a smile.

    ---

    "Stop." Foster said as he took a step forward, his skin radiating a light glow that just so slightly illuminated part of the path in front of him. Octer immediately stopped a few steps behind him as well, trying to block as much of the path ahead of them with his tower shield. And then, Foster simply kicked down onto the small group of ''Death Slimes'' that came rushing at him.

    "I think this is as far as we should go together... I''ll head off and destroy the first of those... erm, monster sources, was it?" Foster rubbed his foot over the ground to get rid of the sludge that was sticking to his soles. K quickly replied, "Yeah, that''s the word. But again, be careful, we don''t know what might happen when you destroy it."

    "The worst it can do is throw a whole bunch of necromancy at me, right? That won''t do much." Foster grinned as he stepped forward, while Aster nervously peaked out of his hair and waved at Octer, in case this was thest time they were going to see each other.

    As Foster made his way through this part of the tunnel, he was able to hear a whispering song being sung by K, as she gently yed on her harp. She was currently casting a ''miracle'' that would somewhat help damage and weaken the death slimes as they were trying to approach. Since Lynol''s swordy was incredibly precise despite the size of the sword, he would be able to pierce the center of any of the slimes'' bodies, those extra bubbles that Foster had found, and Octer was able to use some martial skills that would help fending off the attacks of the slimes as well. It wasn''t the best solution for now, but it was better than nothing.

    And since the first monster source wasn''t too far away, Foster figured that he would be back pretty soon anyway. The others were currently waiting in a spot with rtively little death slimes anyway, so it should be fine.

    Once more, another group of slimes approached Foster, just that it was a bit bigger this time. He wasn''t fully able to squash all of them under his feet, and some started climbing up his body. But while they were just sticking to him, the outermostyer of the slime simply shriveled up and hardened. It didn''t do much, but the slimes quickly fell down, and Foster was able to crush them more easily.

    "Hm... something is weird though..." He muttered in thought. The slimes were moving around a bit weirdly. They were basically sticking as far as possible to one of the walls, "It''s always the one opposite to where the torches are..?" Once he figured that out, Foster slowly stopped moving and figured he should just try it out.

    He picked up one of the torches, that Aster had lit up while they were walking through here just earlier, and when the next group of slimes came, he tried to poke one of them with the lit-up part. Obviously it wasn''t that happy about it, as Foster expected, but what he didn''t expect was that it simply stopped and steered around the torch immediately, even nearly breaking up its body in the process.

    "You guys really don''t like fire, huh?" Foster muttered, although a grin was just forming on his face, "Hey there, buddy... let''s try something out, shall we?"

    Foster squatted down and picked up one of the slimes, properly cupping the central bubble in his hand so that the slime wouldn''t be able to escape him too easily. He crushed all of the others, before he grabbed Aster out of his hair, holding him on his other palm.

    "Come on, Aster. Use ''spark''." He said, and Aster seemed to look at Foster for a few moments before tilting his head to the side.

    "Right, this isn''t pokemon..." Foster sighed, "Aster, could you use your spark spell on this slime?" He asked instead, and Aster slowly nodded his head. A small funnel appeared on his mask as Foster opened his palm, and small mes shot out of Aster''s mask.

    The moment that they actually hit the slime''s shriveled-up outeryer, that somewhat leathery skin simply lit up like a torch. Of course, Foster immediately threw it down onto the ground, where the slime just turned into a puddle on the ground. The only thing that had somewhat kept its shape was that bubble, although even it wasying there like a pancake.

    With a grin on his face, Foster shook his hand around to get rid of the rest of the slime that was stuck on his gauntlet, "Knowing this, even Lynol shouldn''t be able to get pissed about this. Although, having another couple molotovs would reallye in useful... Or even just having Rob around, he had great aim. He would''ve been able to shoot up these bubbles with ease." He sighed slightly. For the most part, Foster had been so distracted that he had barely any chances to think back onto the people that he had left behind on earth, but in moments like these, his friends just forced their way to the front, and he wasn''t able to do anything about it.

    "Do they even have guns here? Or maybe archers, then? Would definitely be good to have one of those around, Octer did say we needed a ''ranger''..." Foster pointed out, as if speaking to Aster. But of course, the nature spirit didn''t really seem to know what the hell he was talking about, and simply nodded his head along with his contractor, as the two entered the room they were heading toward.

    And on the ceiling hung that corpse with the cracked crystal orb in its mouth.

    "Time to get rid of this thing, huh?"

 Chapter 59 - Slime Puddles

    Foster carefully peaked forward as he stepped into thisrge open room. Immediately, a flurry of slimes attacked him, trying to cling to his legs. But of course, their outeryer immediately dried up and Foster touched them with the torch that he was holding, causing them to stter open. He crushed the bubbles in the center of their bodies and moved on. He soon stopped underneath the corpse stuck to the ceiling, and crossed his arms.

    "Alright. Now how the fuck can I reach that thing?" Foster asked himself with a wry smile. The ceiling was probably five meters high, so there was no way he could just reach it. He turned his head to the side and grabbed a small bundle out of his bag, while crushing another one of the slimes underneath his foot, and quickly pulled one of the throwing-knives off of the bundle.

    He grabbed it tightly inbetween the tips of his fingers and threw the knife up at the orb, trying to, if possible, hit right into the center of the crack that this ck slime was leaking from. But instead of him hitting that magical orb, the knife pierced that mummified corpse''s forehead, seemingly stuck in the bone without any chance of iting back out.

    "Well, shit." Foster looked back at the bundle of knives and tried to grab a second one off of it, a little annoyed that he already lost one of them, and got ready to throw the second knife. However, right as he was doing that, Foster started to hear some cracking and groaning above him. Dust dropped down onto the ground in front of him, and instinctively, he jumped backward with the knife tightly clutched in his hand.

    "Now that''s just grand." With a wry smile, Foster looked up at the mummified corpse, watching as it was trying to rip itself loose from the dried roots that were tying it to the ceiling. Its flesh, which had partially fused with the rock, began to rip.

    Foster looked up at the moving corpse, and soon saw it drop down from the ceiling. Clearly, some of its bones had been broken in its fall, but the undead didn''t seem to care in the slightest. It tried to push itself off the ground, crawling over toward Foster.

    "At least I can reach it now." Foster shrugged, walking up to the undead. With a light smile, happy that he was getting his knife back after all, Foster kicked down onto the back of the undead''s head. As its forehead was pushed to the ground, the throwing-knife was just pushed further into its skull, clearly doing quite a bit of damage. The undead''s body went limp for a few moments, but it didn''t take long until it started to move again, albeit a lot slower and far more sloppy, as if it was struggling to get its body under control again.

    "You know, this dungeon is kind of fucking dumb." Foster pointed out to himself, as he kicked the side of the undead''s body to turn it around. Of course, the undead couldn''t control its body well enough to stand back up from that, and Foster just leaned down, lodged one of his knives in the orb''s crack, and then kicked down on said knife. With incredible ease, he managed to destroy the orb, and the undead that was biting down on it immediately died for a second time. Foster got a bit more experience, and he happily squatted down and grabbed his two knives out of the corpse. Luckily, this undead had no sort of blood or pus in its body to speak of, so they weren''t too dirty. There was just a little bit of dust stuck to them.

    Curious if this was going to be worth anything, Foster pulled the magical orb, which had cracked clean in half, out of the corpse''s mouth. In the center of the orb seemed to be some kind of ck gemstone, which was clearly the source of the slime. Foster was actually quite surprised that he managed to crack it in half so easily, since he thought gemstones should be a bit tougher than this.

    But he didn''t really bother to think about it too much, and just pushed the whole thing in a jute bag that he then tied to his regr bag again. And somehow immediately, Foster noticed something happen to the slimes all over the room. They didn''t die, but they just stopped moving, slumping down into a puddle. Or rather... they looked like someone filled a stic bag with water, tied it up, and then ced it down on the ground. They ttened out, but everything still stayed together.

    Curiously about what was happening, Foster approached one of the small slimes and picked it up. Its surfaceyer immediately dried up, since Foster still had the holy aura covering his body, but the slime didn''t try to escape at all.

    "Huh. I guess it''s gonna be pretty easy to get through this ce after all." Foster said with a grin on his face. That gem had created these death slimes, and for some reason, they became unable to move now that it was broken. If Foster searched all the floors with these sorts of monsters on it, then he should be able to take out all of the death slimes that they came across. K said that the death slime version on the other floors were probably created in a simr way. With a slight smile on his face, Foster kept holding onto the slime, and walked back through the dungeon. Soon, he heard the voices of Lynol, Octer and K talking to each other, just trying to do a bit of smalltalk here and there while still staying vignt of their surroundings. It seemed like they noticed that there were suddenly less slimesing at them from the direction that Foster headed to.

    "Yo guys, I''m back." He eximed with a slight wave, and they all seemed immediately relieved, "I''ve got some good news for you guys. One, these things are really fucking easy to destroy. The undead that the orb was in was still ''alive'', but its pretty weak, so y''know, nothing to worry about. Anyway, after I destroyed the orb, these little guys stopped moving." Foster stretched his hand forward, showing that he was holding onto one of the slimes. Its surface was dried up and slightly crumbling away, but more importantly, it wasn''t moving.

    "Wait, what?" Octer asked, "It just stopped moving?"

    K looked at the slime, leaning in a bit. Probably a bit too close for Foster''sfort, since he still had the image of a person literally rotting into nothingness within seconds in his mind, but she seemed to have an exnation for it, "Well, if that setup was really something like a ''trap'', then that... makes sense. You disabled the trap, and so the slimes don''t function anymore, I guess~?"

    The second that Lynol heard the exnation, his arms slumped down, and the tip of his sword scraped over the ground, "So that means..."

    "That means that we can clear this dungeon after all.." Foster grinned.

 Chapter 60 - Black Mist

    With a grin on his face, Foster looked at Lynol, "That means that we can clear this dungeon after all."

    Lynol let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes as he started to think for a while, "If you can actually immobilise the slimes on the other levels as well, then yes. But if it doesn''t work for some of them, we rethink it."

    "Honestly, good enough for me. Let''s take a look at the map for now. I think there was some other path behind that room which could be a shortcut to the end of the floor, right?" Foster said with a smile on his face, as he took a few steps away to get rid of the slime in his hand safely.

    K quickly grabbed the map from her bag and unrolled it, holding it in front of her while Foster looked around to make sure he could quickly get rid of any slime that was approaching the group, "Yes, there is a path there that we could use... it''s pretty far away from all the other crossed-out areas, and I doubt there are going to be that many slimes in the others'' territory�� So, yeah, let''s try it!" K eximed, "Traps usually take a little while to reset, so we should be able to get there and back easily. We''re not prepared to go beyond the first floor anyway, so let''s return after that."

    "Cool, cool, cool, sounds like a n." Foster said with a smile, turning toward Lynol and Octer, "Are you two fine with that as well?"

    "Do we have much of a choice..?" Octer asked with a wry smile, and Foster shrugged, "I don''t know, do you? Oh, before I forget it, I found something else that might be kind of useful to us. So, when I touch them with the holy aura thing, the slime kind of dries out, right? Well, when you then hit that dried-up skin, it basically burns up and the whole slime turns into a puddle."

    "Wait, seriously?" Octer held his shield to the side and made a confused expression, "That... that''s weird, right? Isn''t that weird?"

    "It is, but... maybe not? Holy energies and fire are some of an undead''s greatest weaknesses, and they are known to work in unique ways whenbined against undead sometimes. If the slime is some kind of undead being, then it''s definitely possible." K exined, "Either way, I don''t think we shouldin about a revtion like this~!"

    "K, can you cast some kind of miracle that''s simr to holy aura, but just... with arger area of effect?" Foster asked, and K thought about it for a moment, "Somewhat, yes. There''s the ''Holy Field''... it''s usually just a miracle used to turn an area into the equivalent of a chapel of sorts during longer adventures... It''s pretty weak though, and I can''t move around at all, and I can only use it once a day. And it onlyst for an hour."

    "So basically, it''s useless." Lynol pointed out, rolling his eyes with a deep sigh, but Foster immediately shook his head, "Not necessarily. If there''s some kind of emergency going on, we can use that. Whenever one of those slime things touched me, they immediately moved away from me after being hurt. So if that works on the ''stronger'' ones as well, then we should keep that in mind."

    "On top of that, what if the boss monster of this dungeon is something simr to those slimes?" Octer pointed out, "That doesn''t sound impossible, right?"

    "You have a point. I was thinking something simr as well." K replied, and Foster grinned lightly, "So if that''s the case, shouldn''t we get a few more molotovs before heading into the boss room?"

    Octer and Lynol slowly looked at each other, and then stared back at Foster, "Do not use that kind of thing inside of enclosed spaces." Lynol said in a blunt tone, while K slightly tilted her head to the side, confused about what a ''Molotov'' was even supposed to be.

    Foster let out a deep sigh, slightly grumbling to himself, while the rest of the party made sure that they were ready to continue through the dungeon.

    ---

    "Wow, is this it?" K asked curiously as she looked at the mummified corpseying on the ground in front of her. Foster turned around and raised his brows, before he slowly nodded his head, "Yeah, that''s the one. I hit it with my knife, and then it just ripped itself loose from the ceiling. It looked kinda disgusting, to be honest."

    "Hm... So it only reacted when that orb was in danger, huh? Interesting."

    "Kind of? It really just put it into more danger. That high up, and with the constant dripping of that slime, it was a lot harder for me to hit the orb when it was up there. I was able to take it out pretty easily like this." Foster exined, while Octer and Lynol were nervously trying to kill more of the slimes with the torches that they picked up along the way, just in case they suddenly woke up again.

    "Cleric girl, are you sure that the dungeon can''t repair the trap anytime soon?" Lynol asked from the other side of thisrge, empty room, and K quickly nodded while she pulled open the mouth of the corpse in front of her with a short dagger to take a look inside.

    "In small dungeons like this, it should take a day or two, especially with theplexity of the trap. I mean, it''s a magic gemstonebined with a ''living'', albeit undead, monster, and that was then turned into a trap. That kind of thing can''t be regenerated quickly." She exined, something that really calmed both Octer and Lynol down quite a bit.

    Meanwhile, Foster made his way to the rotten wooden door on the other side of the room and pulled it open. The slimes had seemingly carved their way through the bottom of the door, causing it to just rot away as they pushed against it. Any biological matter was affected by the rot of necromancy, after all, and that even included wood created by the dungeon itself.

    "Honestly, I really don''t get how dungeons work at all." Foster added with a wry smile. This kind of thing really seemed foreign to him. The only thing that he couldpare this sort of thing to, would be... if the dungeon core were some sort of advanced artificial intelligence taking care of a base in some sci-fi movie. But even that didn''t really seem to be urate. Magic itself was still tough to grasp in itself.

    Just as he was thinking about that, Foster figured he should test that one magic spell out again. That ''Dead Sight'' spell. He felt a deadly chill in his eyes that made him shudder for a moment, as the world around him slowly faded away, losing its color and edges that made things stick out. And all that he was able to see then was a sort of ck mist covering the corpse that wasying there on the ground, as well as all the ooze that was leftover from Foster killing the slimes.

    And from his bag as well, a faint ck mist streamed out. And then, just a secondter, startled by what happened, Foster deactivated the spell and the world around him turned to normal.

    "Eh?"

 Chapter 61 - Safe Room

    Foster stared forward at the corpse, as well as his hand that still had some of that slime stuck to the gauntlet, and then quickly connected the dots together, "Ah, I think I get it..."

    "You get what?" Octer asked, overhearing what Foster was saying. He slowly turned around and looked at Octer with a wry smile. He stepped toward him and whispered, "My second magic spell... ''Dead sight''. Seems like I can see necromancy with it or something?"

    "What makes you say that?"

    "Well, I saw it just now. On all the slime, and that corpse? It was surrounded by ck smoke when I saw it or something." Foster said. Octer raised his brows and turned his head toward the mummified body that wasying on the ground in the center of the room.

    "You sure that it''s necromancy, and not just ''death''? That sounds like it would make much more sense. And y''know... the corpse being dead, that also makes sense? And necromancy also makes sense to show up there, since it''s death magic and all." Octer suggested, and Foster thought about it for a moment, "I mean, maybe? But how is that useful at all? If something is dead, then I''ll know anyway just looking at it normally, right?"

    "...Let''s think about it this way. I heard healers can learn the spell ''Detect Life'' sometimes, and that lets them figure out how healthy someone is. What if it''s the opposite for you? Like, you can see when others are close to death and stuff?"

    Foster thought about that idea for a moment, "There like a... hospice in Arcadum?"

    "What''s that? You mean a hospital?"

    "No, no, a hospice, like... they''re kinda like hospitals, but they''re usually for people that are terminally ill or super old or something. People that are about to die?"

    Octer quickly shook his head, since he never really heard of something like that, "Usually, churches take care of people like that. We could try and head by one for a while and ask to help out or something."

    "Sounds good. Thanks for the help, big guy." Foster said with a grin on his face, before pping his hands together. The ng of his gauntlets hitting each other quickly echoed through the room, "Let''s continue, shall we? We should try to get to the end of the floor as quickly as possible, right?"

    K quickly stood up and wiped her hands clean on a piece of cloth hanging out of her bag, as she quickly and happily skipped over toward Foster and Octer. Still nervously looking around, Lynol joined the group as they all continued. After passing through the door on the other side of the room, the group immediately went back into their regr group setup.

    Foster in the front, with the holy aura miracle cast onto him, while Octer was protecting the others right behind him. Meanwhile, both K and Lynol made sure to be ready to react to anything that might happen while they were being protected by the two in front of them. Every once in a while, they woulde across some ''unconscious'' slimes that most likely came from the room that the group just came from, but the further they moved on, the more they were encountering groups of slimes that were still moving around.

    Of course, Foster was really trying his best to make sure that he was really hitting and killing all of them. And just like that, after Foster moved on ahead to destroy one more of those monster sources on his own, just as easily asst time, the group finally reached the end of the first floor.

    Curiously, Foster looked down the staircase in front of him, "Huh. So it''s really ''floors''..?" He muttered, as he looked at the others, who were slowly taking a seat here in the room.

    "Wait, what''re you guys doing?" Foster asked, and Lynol slowly closed his eyes as he leaned back onto the wall, clutching his sword and not letting go of it even while taking a break at the moment, "This is the safe room. Dungeon Monsters can''t leave the floor that they were ''created'' on, and that means that they also can''t step onto the staircase. This part is basically part of it, so the monsters can''te inside of this room." Lynol exined, before pointing at the open space near the long corridor that Foster was standing next to.

    A small slime-rat was approaching, but it suddenly stopped moving when it came close to this room that the group was in, and was just standing there, waiting for them toe closer. Curiously, Foster stepped into the corridor, grabbing the small slime rat and trying to carry it further toward the stairs.

    A few stepster, the slime''s outer skin simply popped open, together with the bubble at the center of its body, simply killing it.

    "Neat." Foster muttered, before he wiped his hands clean. He leaned against the wall like the others, still slightly peeking at the staircase.

    After a few moments, K stepped in front of the group and smiled awkwardly, "So, what do you guys think..? Should we continue down? The amount of those slimes is just going to decrease from now on, so..."

    "Yes, but they will also be a lot harder to kill. What was it, they are the size of dogs on the second floor?" Lynol asked, and K quickly nodded, "Yes, sure, but at the same time, there are paths we can take to nearlypletely avoid them from the second floor on! Knowing what these areas with so many of the slimes are now, we can get through it super easily!"

    K excitedly grabbed the map that she had hanging off the side of her bag, and rolled it out on the ground, "Look, here! If we go through here, then there is a spot to rest in this corner while Foster goes off toward the monster source in this room. It''s going to take out a third of the slime, since there aren''t that many sources on the second floor, and then we can move on super easily right?" She exined. Foster slowly frowned as he stood up. He took a closer look at the map and at the path that K was describing, and then turned toward Foster.

    "We will head down to see what the regr undead and the slime are like down there. If you wouldn''t be able to handle a small group of undead on your own, or if the slime are too aggressive even for you, then wee back and think about it again.." Lynol decided, since he knew that not only Foster and K, but at this point even Octer felt quite excited about the idea of being the first to clear this dungeon.

 Chapter 62 - Second Floor

    The group finally descended to the next floor, and immediately, at the end of the lengthy hallway in front of them, they could see their first enemy. Just that this time, it wasn''t one of those death slimes. Instead, it was an animated skeleton. Of course, it immediately reminded Foster of Thiodrus, even though this one clearly didn''t have even an ounce of intelligence or sentience.

    It was just a wild beast in the shape of a skeleton, shown by it just running at the group the first chance it got. With Foster in the front of the group, as they were still following the same formation as before, he was of course the one that had to take initiative to attack first and foremost.

    He pressed his feet into the ground and waited for the skeleton to approach him, taking a deep breath while it was still out of range. And once it was actually close enough, Foster let out a deep huff of air and pushed his fist forward at the height of the skeleton''s chest, using the single-strike martial skill to empower the attack.

    The moment that Foster punched the skeleton, its ribcage shattered apart as it was thrown away. As the monster hit the ground, a message already popped up in front of his eyes.

    ---

    [21 Experience Points Rewarded]

    ---

    "...For real? That''s it?" Foster asked with a wry smile, looking at the skeleton that just died a second time, as he slowly turned around toward his friends, "I mean, I knew that skeletons were light, but this light..? They feel pretty useless as enemies..."

    "That''s only the case when they''re alone like this. The bad part about animated skeletons is that they can end up surrounding you pretty quickly. When they throw themselves at you, and especially when they can grasp you, it can be really hard to escape." Lynol exined as he looked at the skeletal corpse slowly disappear into small particles, standing above it while clutching the handle of his sword. Somehow, it seemed like he wasn''t talking about knowledge he was taught by others. Rather, it was as if he spoke from experience.

    "That so? I mean, it shouldn''t be an issue with all of us though... Honestly, I thought it would be a bit harder..." Foster pointed out, somewhat disappointed, but K quickly chuckled, "At the end of the day, this ce is still a beginner dungeon. Beside the slimes, this ce should be pretty easy to conquer."

    "But even then, it does seem weirdly easy... is it just because none of us beside Foster actually had to fight the slimes?" Octer asked, and K nodded her head with a wry smile, "Most likely, yeah..."

    Foster grinned a bit as he continued forward, "What does it matter? If it''s easy, that''s even better for us. We''ll be able to get to the fifth floor in no time at this rate!" He eximed, and just a momentter, he could hear a familiar sound in the distant darkness.

    "Lynol, get back, a slime ising, I think." Foster warned, getting into a position where he could quickly react. It did seem like this slime was moving surprisingly quickly. The worst part was the slime''s color. Since it was so dark, it was hard to spot it here in this dark dungeon. But even so, it didn''t take long until its white bones came into view.

    It was certainly a bitrger than before, but it was still just a small animal. It was a slime surrounding an actually quiterge hare''s skeleton, which was running at Foster at full speed. Compared to before, just the impact from this thing should hurt quite a bit. Although, Foster figured that this was a good chance.

    "Aster, spark some fire to the left." He instructed the spirit sitting on top of his head, and it quickly did as Foster asked. It let out arger ''spark'' than normal, which the hare-slime naturally tried to avoid, and instead ran toward the other half of the hallway. But there, Foster was kneeling, using his ''block'' martial skill. He wanted to see how good it worked against these sorts of enemies.

    Foster could feel the front of his body be surrounded by some sort of invisible shell that the hare-slime soon jumped against. The shell cracked apart immediately, but in return, the hare-slime was also stopped to move for now, a chance that Foster immediately took to push his hand into the slime''s body to destroy the bubble in its center.

    The slime fell apart and the bones disappeared, and Foster turned around with a smile, "These are also super easy to take care of!" He eximed, wiping his hands clean from the slime that was still on them, "It really seems like we could take care of this floor pretty easily as well."

    "As long as you''re sure about that, then good." Lynol replied, and Foster took a deep breath as he kept looking ahead. With a broad grin, he kept walking forward as hispanions followed him. They were on the fastest path toward the room where the closest monster source on this floor could be found. They encountered more skeletons that were carrying at best rusted and bent weapons, and at worst weren''t carrying anything at all. Sure, sometimes there were groups of death slimes running at him, but they were manageable as well, especially since they now knew that the death slimes were going to avoid them, at least as long as there was a more essible target, in the form of Foster, avable for them.

    There were some close calls every once in a while when the rare slime ended up running past him, but for the most part, everything went quite smoothly.

    "Alright, then now.... it would be best if we all went over there together, right?" Foster asked, looking at the mostly rotten wooden door at the end of the hallway that the party was currently walking down.

 Chapter 63 - Empowered Throw

    The group walked forward step by step, until they reached a point where it felt too dangerous for anyone but Foster to continue forward, "I''ll make sure to be back as soon as I can be." He said, and soon reached the door. Using his foot, he pushed it open, which was quite easy since it was barely hanging from its hinges anymore anyway, and looked into the room. The moment that he leaned forward, a small death slime came running at him.

    It seemed to aim for the gap between his legs, but Foster quickly punched downward, and the force of his single strikebined with the holy aura on his body caused the death slime to stter open, unable to move for a few moments. Then, Foster simply pushed his hand into its body and closed his hand around the bubble, causing it to pop open with little force.

    As he fully stepped forward through the door, he was able to see what he had to face in this room. This time, it didn''t seem to be attached to the ceiling, but rather one of the back-walls. It was a mummified undead creature once more, fused with parts of the rock. It hung maybe two or three feet elevated on that wall. Instead of it being in its mouth, a cracked crystal orb was now stuck in his chest right in front of where its heart should be.

    It was a lot bulkier than that mummified undead before, and it was wearing rusty metal armor all over its body, with the exception of arge hole in its chestte that the orb could be seen through.

    There were multiple more skeletons, on the slightly better-equipped side, walking around the room as well. And of course, a rtivelyrge number of death-slimes. There were some wooden shelves and desks standing around the walls, so the first thing that Foster did was pull the desks toward the door that he just walked through, before the skeletons could reach him.

    He barricaded the door as much as he could, so that he didn''t need to worry about the death slimes running toward the rest of the party, and then took care of the skeletons. They were quite easy to deal with, honestly. Their blunt weapons didn''t hurt more than being hit by a child with a stick, and their des were all too blunt to get even close to cutting through his clothes.

    And then, to his luck, before he even got to attacking that mummified monster source, he saw some messages in front of his eyes.

    ---

    [You have leveled up!]

    ---

    "Awe hell yeah! First time I''ve leveled up since that big fucking wolf!" Foster said with a broad grin on his face. He could feel strength filling his body as his muscles seemed to bulge up and forcefully flex for a few moments. Foster felt lighter, and full of energy, as his mind cleared up.

    With a smile on his face, Foster approached the mummified undead on the wall. If it was in reach like this, it should be easy to kill it, or at least to destroy the crystal orb in its chest. Or at least, so Foster thought. When he stepped up to it, and was about five meters away, it suddenly started moving. It opened its eyes and started violently pulling itself away from the wall. The parts of its skin that were fused to the wall began to rip, while the areas where its armor fused to the wall instead took part of the rock with it

    Undead were weak. They were corpses, after all. Their muscles were either nonexistent or rotten into basically dust, and the only thing that made them move now was magic. At the very least, that''s what one of the book Foster took from Thiodrus'' ce said. But despite that... this undead had been able to pull rock off of a wall with it, instead of destroying or loosening the thick, but dried roots that tied the rock to the armor in the first ce.

    The undead soon pulled a club off the wall as well, which it seemed to have been holding tightly the whole time, and swung it forward at Foster. It had an incredibly long reach, so the club nearly hit his face if Foster hadn''t dodged in time.

    "Well, shit... that''s kind of an upgradepared to before, isn''t it?" He pointed out to himself with a wry smile, before pulling one of the throwing knives out of his bag. He grasped it tightly in his hand and threw it forward. It seemed too dangerous to approach that thing too closely right now.

    However, before the knife hit the chest of the undead, the creature simply hit it away, and quite easily at that, "Fast too? Fucking hell, man..." The undead took a step toward Foster and swung therge club once more.

    Foster dropped down and jumped forward, trying to jab at the crystal. And he did manage to hit it, causing the crack that was in it to open up further, but all that happened was that more slime now came pouring out of it.

    "Guess I gotta use a knife after all... shit..." Foster dodged out of the way as the club came swinging at him again, just that this time, it actually did end up hitting his arm. Luckily he was wearing the arm-guard, so it wasn''t that painful or anything, but that hit instantly destroyed his whole stance.

    Foster held another knife in his hand, ready to throw it at the undead. He was standing there, trying to wait for the club to be pulled as far back as possible, and then threw the knife at the core as fast as he could. He practically imagined the knife being practically a bullet, with something like an explosion of force simr to the single strike''s pushing it forward. And to his surprise, as the metal of the knife stopped touching his fingers, something of an explosion of force really did happen. It pushed Foster''s hand back since he didn''t expect it, and the knife flew forward in a straight line. It hit the crystal dead-on, piercing the ck crystal in the center.

    ---

    [57 Experience Points Rewarded]

    [You have learned the Martial Skill {Empowered Throw}]

 Chapter 64 - The Usefulness Of Supporters

    [You have learned the Martial Skill {Empowered Throw}]

    ---

    Foster looked at the message window that was floating in the air in front of him, "Empowered throw?" he muttered, before quickly opening the skill window for his ''Martial Necromancy'' skill.

    ---

    [Martial Necromancy][Level �C 2]

    [Rating �C Legacy]

    [Description: You use your body as a conduit for necromantic magic, inflicting harm upon those around you.]

    [Martial Skills]

    -[Single Strike]

    -[Block]

    -[Empowered Throw]

    [Magic Spells]

    -[Chilling Touch]

    -[Dead Sight]

    ---

    "It''s really there..." he whispered, and before his surprised expression turned into a broad grin, "It exhausted me quite a bit more than just a ''single strike''... but this will definitely be useful."

    During his training, while trying to figure out how to use his new abilities, Foster figured out a few things. The most important thing that he had to pay attention to was that magic spells drained his mana, and that martial skills drained his stamina. The single strike martial skill did so to just a minimal degree though, and he could use it maybe a dozen times before losing even a single point of stamina in his status.

    When he used ''block'' before, it seemed to practically drain all the air out of his lungs when he was hit. Or at least it felt that way, and it probably drained quite a bit of stamina from him. With this new ''empowered throw'' martial skill, it was probably very simr. It felt less than what ''block'' drained, but it was still quite substantial. He wouldn''t be able to use this that often, although he didn''t really need to either. He was a ''hands-on'' kind of guy, after all.

    Quickly, Foster pushed his hand into the chest of the undead, and pulled out the crystal orb that was inside of it. He pulled the ck gemstone out of its center, and ced everything into his bag with the ones from before.

    He looked at all the death slimes that had now been turned into motionless, wobbly discs, and quickly pushed them out of the way. He didn''t want the others to identally step into themter, after all.

    ---

    "Lynol!" Octer eximed with a slight change in his stance as he ced his tower-shield steadily in front of his body. A group of three skeletons had approached them. Immediately, Lynol jumped in front of his friend and swung his greatsword at the first of the three skeletons. With ease, thisrge hunk of metal cut through its bones, and split the skeleton''s body in half in a messy way, causing splinters of bone to fly around him.

    Meanwile, Octer had approached one of the other skeletons, and used the weight of his body to m against it. Through the impact, the skeleton''s body simply shattered apart into its parts along the joints. The magic used to hold its body together wasn''t strong enough to hold out against the amount of force and stress that the skeleton''s body was put under. Before all the parts of these two skeletons hit the ground, they had already disintegrated.

    Lynol, being the faster of the two, quickly moved to take care of the third skeleton, and then returned back into the formation that they held earlier.

    "Seriously... I feel pretty useless with you two around, you don''t even need my help..." K pointed out with a wry smile, and Lynol simply shrugged, "Good that you figured that out on your own, at least."

    "Yo, man..." Octer stared at Lynol awkwardly, and then turned toward K, "Don''t worry about it. You''re a support type cleric, so ain''t it a good thing if you''re useless? As long as you''re still ready to react when necessary."

    "That''s true, I guess it would be worse if I had to heal you guys every time you beat an enemy." K agreed, although she still seemed somewhat bothered by the fact that she wasn''t all that helpful beyond giving Foster his holy aura. Annoyed, Lynol rolled his eyes and looked at her.

    "Supporters are the backbone of a good party. They help their members do things that they otherwise couldn''t, whether through buffs for the party, debuffs for the target, or healing after the fact. However, the moment that a party needs to use their supporter for every second of the hunt, that means that the party itself is useless. If they don''t, the party is good. And a good party needs an even better supporter." Lynol pointed out. He basically just repeated the things that he was told at the public guilds. Since he was always fighting solo whenever he could, he got this sort of advice quite often from meddlesome employees.

    And right now, he figured that it would make K less annoying, however, it seemed to have basically the opposite effect. K looked at Lynol with a broad, excited smile while her cheeks took on a rosy color.

    "Hehe, so you''re saying I''m a really good supporter? A better supporter than you''re a swordsman?" K asked with a happy smile, and Lynol stared back at her for a second as he thought about what he had just said.

    "That is not what I meant." He replied immediately, but K seemed to have ignored his words at this point. Somehow really pumped up over this, K straightened her back and was even more energetic than before. Her bubbly behavior when she was like this seemed even more annoying to Lynol, who couldn''t deal with people like this all that well.

    "Hm? Oh, I think Foster is on his way back." Octer pointed out, looking into the hallway in front of him where his friend had gone earlier, as the martial artist soon came into sight.

    With relieved sighs that everything seemed to have gone well, they started walking toward Foster, "How''d it go?" Octer asked immediately, trying to move on so that Lynol wouldn''t start yelling at Kter because he was annoyed by her or for some other random reason.

    "Pretty well. I killed all the skeletons in that room easily, but the actual monster source dude was a little tougher. But, in order to deal with him, I developed a new martial skill." Foster said bluntly, before the others looked at him confused.

    "You... you what?"

    "I developed a new martial skill." Foster replied to Lynol, slightly tilting his head. They had told him that it was possible to do this, so why were they so confused.

    "Usually... creating new martial skills takes rigorous training and dedication... you can''t just do it in the middle ofbat." Lynol pointed out, and Foster stared at him with a nk expression for a few moments.

    "Eh?"

 Chapter 65 - Fail, Or Not A Fail, That Is The Question

    "Well, there are exceptions, I guess..." Octer pointed out, "You do have a pretty unique ss... and if that was a martial skill you were supposed to get soon anyway when leveling the skill up, then I guess it''s more likely for that to happen." He exined.

    Foster slowly scratched the back of his head, "I mean, I''m not going toin about it, you know?"

    "Either way, I think we should keep going for now. The fact that he randomly developed a martial skill like that is not the most surprising thing about you anyway." While walking toward the door on the other side of the room, Lynol tried to end this part of the conversation. Figuring that it made sense to try and finish getting through the floor as quickly as possible, the group left this room. If they were lucky, they would probably be able to get to the end without encountering too many death slimes anymore.

    "By the way, my new martial skill drains a lot more stamina than I thought... you know why?" Foster asked, and Octer looked at him surprised, "Eh, what tier is it?"

    "Ehh, wait, let me check for a second." Foster said, as he pulled up the skill information. He figured that it was going to be tier one, like his ''single strike'' martial skill, but it actually turned out to be a tier two skill instead. After conveying this to Octer, he lightly smiled, "Then that''s the reason. Higher tier martial skills drain more stamina from you, but they''re also more powerful."

    Foster raised his brows as he watched the message windows disappear from in front of him, "How many tiers are there by the way?"

    "Technically, ten, but those are super... and I mean, super rare. Thest time anyone used a tier ten spell or martial skill was... like 200 years ago or something?" Octer exined, before carefully pointing at the snake-bracelet, the legacy artifact, around Foster''s wrist, "By the way... erm... your good friend that left you that thing over there... was one of the few people that apparently used tier ten skills..."

    "Yo, what?" Foster let out, somewhat excited, "That''s fucking awesome, and I''m inheriting his abilities?"

    Octer looked at him with a wry smile, "Apparently so."

    "Stop babbling like that. Watch what''s ahead of you." Lynol warned the two from right behind them, making both Foster and Octer jump for a moment, "Right, sorry..."

    And as if Lynol''s words had summoned them, a pair of skeletons suddenly appeared in front of them. Immediately, Foster rushed forward toward them as Lynol rushed out from behind Octer. And while the former used his single strike martial skill topletely crush the skull of one of them, Lynol''s heavy greatsword ripped another apart, and in just an instant, the two skeletons were no longer an issue they had to concern themselves with.

    "What did I say? Pay attention." Lynol grumbled slightly, as he swung his sword over his shoulder, making ity on the leather pad with its metal strip, that seemed to be made for exactly this.

    "And you too, pay attention... you keep nearly throwing that thing into my face..." K said with a wry smile, "That thing can shrink down for a reason, right? So make it shrink."

    "It''s too risky. If we''re suddenly ambushed, it''s going to take too long for my sword to return to its normal size. It might already be toote then." Lynol replied immediately and without even a moment of thought, while K turned her head toward the spot where two skeletons stood just ten seconds ago, "I don''t think that''s going to be an issue..."

    ---

    "And here we are, floor two, safe room." Foster said with a light smile on his face, turning around toward the others that currently entered this space. They let out a sigh of relief, and it was silent in here for a few moments, "Are we... continuing?" Octer asked, slowly turning toward Lynol.

    It was clear that everyone beside him was extremely eager to continue, and since nobody was exhausted in the slightest, they wanted to move on as soon as possible as well. Lynol slowly closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

    "Let''s rest until we recovered most of our stamina and mana, and then we''re moving on. ording to the map, only the next floor has slime, right? If that''s the case, we can rush through the rest of the dungeon rtively quickly." Lynol suggested, and the rest of the party figured that this sounded like a good idea.

    So for now, while they were resting and taking a break, drinking some water and chewing on the jerky from their provisions, they were all looking at the map for the third floor.

    "The slime on the next floor will be a lot more dangerous on an individual level." K exined, "But worse than that, it''s going to be hard for us to find a spot to hide out with theyout of the floor."

    "Couldn''t we use the ''Holy Field'' miracle while Foster is gone?" Lynol asked before taking another gulp of his water, but K slowly crossed her arms as she started to think about it, "It''s not like we can''t, but should we? Again, I can only use it once a day, and it would be good to save it for the boss fight just in case."

    Lynol sighed slowly, "I thought about it, and using it for the boss would be just dumb. It means that we would hide out while Foster is taking care of it, and that''s just not a good idea."

    "Yeah, but what else will we do if the boss ends up being a slime?"

    "Actually..." Foster said, speaking before Lynol could respond to K again, "I''m not sure about that anymore... From what I understand, dungeons should be easier on the first floors, and then get harder?"

    Unsure at what Foster was getting at, K replied, "Yes, but this is a ''Fail'' type... those rules don''t apply."

    "I mean, you guys are calling it a fail type because low-level adventurers can''t get through it, and high-level adventurers just don''t want to bother and risk anything, right? I mean, I''m a low-level adventurer, and I don''t have anything to struggle with in here. So what if-"

    "It''s made for people with necromantic resistance?" K asked with wide open eyes, "If that was the case, then that means that the slimes are the ''mob'' enemies, and the regr undead are supposed to be the real threat... which would make sense considering that there is a potentially endless amount of slimes if you don''t take out the source...." She muttered in thought, before raising her head excitedly, "That would mean that we can''tpletely refute the possibility of the slime ying a roll in the boss fight, but it''s very, very likely that the boss itself is going to be a more powerful undead like in other dungeons like this."

 Chapter 66 - Lumps Of Metal

    As he walked through the third floor, the group was making sure to proceed carefully. Until they reached the spot where Foster would split off of them to go take out the monster source, the only one that could do anything against the slimes was Foster.

    And on this floor, they were actually rather troublesome to take care of. Sure, they were easier to hit wiht Aster''s mes, but the nature spirit couldn''t use that magic that many more times, so they had to be more conservative using that magic ability.

    The moment that Foster seemed to see a nce of a monster, he got ready. This time, it was a death slime, "Stand back!" He eximed, warning the others. The shape that this slime took was that of a somewhat slender wolf. Those guys were particrly troublesome. They dodged his attacks surprisingly well, at leastpared to the other slimes he faced before. If he wasn''t careful, then they might rush past him and attack the others, and Foster certainly wouldn''t let that happen anytime soon.

    He knew that Lynol would chew his ear out for this, but he figured that he couldn''t use that slowbat style perfectly right now, at least not against such an agile opponent. So instead, Foster used something that he had to use in the past to defend himself against stray dogs. It was a bit self-destructive, but it would probably be fine.

    While the slime ran at him, Foster just kept standing there, unmoving. He slightly held his right arm in front of him, and somewhat squatting down while staring deep into the eyesockets of the skull created by the dungeon.

    And then, the slime jumped at him. Luckily, the slimes acted like whatever being they were supposed to immitate as well. It bit down on Foster''s arm with all its might. Luckily, his martial arts uniform seemed able to hold back the teeth for now. They were still noticeable, of course, but for now it didn''t seem like they would end up piercing Foster''s flesh. Usually, he would have his metal arm-guard there as well, but he slightly pulled it away to let the dog jump at him like that, since it wouldn''t have been able to bite down onto his arm otherwise.

    With a light smile, happy that the slime was trying to bite deeper into his arm even despite the holy aura still enveloping his body due to K''s efforts, Foster swung his body around and flung his arm toward the wall. The slime was thrown against it, and some of its bones were obviously broken.

    The slime let go and wasying on the ground while trying to re-arrange the bones in its body to be able to move properly again, since some joints were pushed around in the impact, and Foster quickly used that chance to stomp down onto the bubble in the slime''s center.

    "Hell yeah." Foster grinned a little, and quickly turned around toward the others, "Let''s-" He started, but stopped immediately as he saw Lynol''s death-stare.

    "Why would you do something rash like that? Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked, and Foster immediately shook his head, replying in a somewhat awkward tone, "I''m good... But well, it worked, so it''s fine, right?"

    Letting out a deep sigh, Lynol slightly motioned at the end of the hallway, "We will speak about thister. For now, we need to take those guys out." He said, moving up to Foster, as a group of skeletons approached them.

    The skeletons on this floor were a lot more well-equipped than before, but everything they were using was still restricted to rusty and dull weapons and a little bit of armor here and there. Sure, they were a bit faster and stronger, but more than some scratched as the skeletons flung their weapons around while dying, the group wasn''t injured in the slightest.

    The same was the case this time, just that the group now had to split up again. They were getting quite close to thest room with a monster source, apparently in the whole dungeon, ording to the map. But that also meant that the enemy here might be quite a bit stronger than the others, and the amount of slime in the room where he would fight it would be quite high as well.

    "Be careful, alright? If you don''t think you can manage it,e straight back." Lynol instructed Foster, who simply smiled back at his friend, "Don''t worry, I''ll be fine. I''m tougher than I look." He said with a wink, before quickly turning around.

    "More importantly, you guys worry about yourselves. Don''t get ambushed or something." Foster said as he started jogging down the hallway. He still didn''t want to take too long for this.

    In the hallway, Foster first encountered some more skeletons. As he was running past them, he dodged the swing of a sword and then proceeded to strike up against the underside of the skeleton''s jaw,pletely removing its head from its neck. Of course, this wasn''t enough to kill it, so Foster caught the skull and continued running, "How''re you doing, bud?" He smiled lightly, before he came across another death slime. Immediately, Foster threw the skull at said death slime. The thinyer around the slime beast''s body halted the movement of the skull, and stopped the slime from moving for a second as the skeleton''s head was iling around. And while still running, Foster simply chose to jump over the confused slime, and kicked down at the skull that he threw at it.

    Said skull itself broke apart and slowly faded away, while the bubble was pushed out ufortably close to the slime''s skin. So for that, Foster quickly stopped after jumping, turned around, and kicked the slime beast into its stomach, managing to rupture the bubble quite effectively.

    In a simr fashion, Foster managed to kill the other monsters that could still be found here in the hallway, until he finally reached the door. If it could still be called a door. The only things that were left were some scraps of wood where the top of the door was before.

    Foster quickly moved through it by ducking underneath, and looked around to spot the source of the slimes on this floor. And then, he heard it. Something suddenly fell to the ground right behind him, and it caused an incredibly loud crash as it fell onto tables and chairs.

    Immediately, he tried to turn around to see what it was, but right as he did, he felt an impact in his stomach. It was so strong that the metal of his armor was bent, and Foster himself was thrown halfway across the room. Luckily, some boneless version of those death-slimes halted his fall. They were rather useful, really.

    But even then, the bent armor made it ufortable to move around. With an annoyed groan, Foster looked at what it was that had thrown him over here like that.

    And there it was, the monster source in question. It seemed like this one had been stuck right above the door that Foster came in through, so he didn''t see it.

    To an extent, it looked like it might be easier to deal with, but at the same time... also not. It was arge figure, even taller than Octer. Its hands were tied behind its back with shackles, and it had two blocks of metal tied around its feet. Or rather... fused with its feet, as if someone had pushed it into two masses of molten metal and let it cool down.

    And that thing was moving around with those blocks of metal as if it they were regr old houseshoes.

 Chapter 67 - Jump

    Foster looked at the undead that was currently walking toward him with heavy steps, and was utterly confused. It wasn''t wearing any armor, but just thin, cheap, and ripped clothes. It didn''t have any sort of weapon either, excluding those lumps of metal that were its feet now.

    This undead simply didn''t fit into the theme of this ce. All the others, even the other monster-source undead that Foster had seen were fighters to some extent.

    But this one wasn''t, ''It looks more like a prisoner'', Foster thought to himself, as he pushed his hand into his chestte and tried to push against it from the inside. Luckily, it seemed like he was somehow able to push it back a little bit so that it didn''t constantly push against his chest now. The moment he could move and breathe properly again, Foster jumped up and looked at the undead that he had to fight now. He still wasn''t able to spot that crystal ball on this one. Since he was apparently still faster than that undead, he figured he would try to run around it for a bit, until he spotted the crystal ball. Without finding it beforehand, Foster didn''t know if he could beat it as easily as the others he had killed so far.

    And then, he did actually spot something that seemed to be the crystal ball in question. The back of the undead''s skull was cracked open, and Foster saw a light glimmer reflect off something in there. And when he saw some slime pour out of it, he realized that this was the orb that he was looking for.

    However, this undead was moving around too fast for Foster to be able to get a good angle, and he couldn''t move in too close like this either, considering that the undead was clearly going to kick him the moment that he got into range.

    "Hm... at the back of the eyesocket should be a small hole... if I can hit its eye, then maybe I can pierce the orb like that..." Foster muttered to himself as he was running around the room, trying to deal with the death slimes and other weaker undead that were gathered in here, so that he could focus on that stronger undead.

    Foster ran around for a while, trying to dodge the undead whenever it tried to attack him. Luckily, he always had something near him that he could throw, whether it was a mostly-rotten chair or table, another weaker undead, or even some of the death slimes. It actually sped the whole thing up quite a bit, since the undead could destroy thempletely with just a single attack, and that with ease.

    That meant that it didn''t take long for the room to be mostly empty, except for the death slimes that were still continuosly being created from the undead''s head, pouring down its neck and appearing from underneath its clothes. It was actually quite disturbing. Foster pushed his hand into his bag and pulled out some of the throwing-knives. He concentrated, and held one of them tightly inbetween his fingers.

    Foster threw the knife, activating his new martial skill ''Empowered Throw''. A sharp whistle was heard as it flew through the air in a straight line. It seemed like the knife was going to hit the undead''s eye perfectly, but in just thest second, it turned its head downward. As such, instead of hitting the eye, the knife hit the undead''s forehead, getting stuck in the thick bone. Without even being bothered by this fact, the undead simply continued running at Foster, the ground underneath its feet nearly cracking at the sheer weight of the impact of those two huge lumps of metal.

    Grinding his teeth together annoyed, Foster jumped out of the way to try and dodge the attack, just barely avoiding one of the lumps of metal. But the surprisingly agile undead managed to twist its body around using the momentum of its weighed-down foot, and once more hit Foster''s chest. Once more, he was thrown through the room, but this time made impact with the wall instead.

    The damage from both his front and back definitely hurt Foster quite a bit. But he didn''t have any time to recover, since the undead still came rushing at him.

    "Urgh... let''s hope this works... It worked with something much faster than this, at least..." He muttered to himself with a wry smile, as Foster forced himself to move forward, he prepared to do something insane. The undead in front of him pushed its right foot forward. At the speed that both of them were going, just a single impact would take Foster out immediately.

    But even so, while thatrge lump of metal moved toward him at an incredible speed, Foster jumped up and pulled his feet as close toward him as he could. And predicting the moment that the metal was going to be underneath him, Foster pushed his feet down as fast as he could. Like that, he jumped off once more, using that metal as a tform.

    Of course, due to the sheer speed that they were both already going, Foster''s feet were now slowed down while his torso kept its momentum, meaning that he flipped over wildly. It''s what happenedst time as well, so he was expecting this.

    The good thing, however, was that he just barely jumped over the undead''s head. The rotation actually helped him just barely avoid impact. And as Foster flipped over his opponent, he struck down at the back of the undead''s head with a single-strike.

    The impact was strong enough to not only crack the crystal orb into pieces, but also topletely ruin the way that Foster was twisting around into an uncontroble mess. He fell to the ground and was just barely able to turn his shoulder, so that he wouldn''t fall down face-first, but couldn''t stop himself from rolling over a couple of times, denting the metal even more.

    Even so, Foster turned his head, seeing the undead keel over foward, while the death slimes that were still in this room stopped moving and turned into t discs. Slowly, Aster climbed out of Foster''s clothes, since he found it safer in there than on his head during all this, and sat down on top of the dents of the chestte.

    "Hah... Zhaine is gonna kill me for ruining this armor like that..." He muttered to himself, before looking at the undead again, "But seriously... how was this harder than doing the same thing with a moving car...?"

 Chapter 68 - Prisoner

    Afterying there for a few moments, Foster slowly stood back up. He could hear K''s music in the distance, her ying her lyre while singing, so that she could keep the Holy Field miracle active. Although, it didn''t take long until said music stopped. It seemed like they had figured it out.

    Slightly stretching, to make sure that his condition didn''t seem too bad overall, he walked toward the hallway where the others were, and just waited for them toe here. Their footsteps became louder and louder, but there were some from the other side as well, albeit ones that were quite a bit lighter.

    They were more skeletons, the more numerous enemy here on this floor. He was quite lucky that there weren''t too many here in this room before, but it seemed like now, with that special undead killed, they slowly approached this space in the hopes of filling in any gaps that might have been created.

    Of course, Foster had been able to take care of them quite easily despite his injuries, considering that they were still incredibly weak, especiallypared to that undead just now.

    It didn''t take long until the others reached the room as well, and quickly looked around. They made sure to avoid the discs and puddles of death slime that were covering the ground.

    "Did everything work out alright?" Lynol asked, looking down at the ground instead of Foster to make sure he didn''t suddenly lose a leg, especially now that this particr danger had been practically fully taken care of.

    "Yup, I''m good." Foster said with a light smile, "Although, I could maybe use some healing..." He pointed out while looking at K, who raised her brows surprised and looked Foster up and down. Only then did everyone realize that his armor waspletely dented, and that there were multiple ces where not only the leftover furniture of this room, but also certain parts of the walls had been cracked up to an extent. And then, they looked at the mountainous undead that wasying motionlessly on the other side of the room, seeing that it had huge lumps of metal on its feet.

    "That thing kicked you with those..?" Octer asked with a wry smile, as he tried to lift one of the lumps of metal up. Just one of them was as nearly as heavy as his tower shield.

    "I mean, it''s not a big deal. I''ve been hit by worse." He pointed out bluntly, "And sure, I got a bit hurt, but this armor helped me out pretty well. I won''t have to fight alone against enemies anymore either, so we''re good." Foster added quickly, but Lynol simply rubbed the bridge of his nose, somewhat annoyed.

    "Fine, alright. You''ve got a point. Considering that we managed to get past this, we''re not turning back now anyway, or else we''ll have to do it all again some other time, and that would be even more annoying." Lynol said in a blunt tone, before Octer tried to get the attention of the others.

    "Erm, I... This guy... I think he''s a prisoner..." He said to them, "That doesn''t really fit the theme of the dungeon, right?"

    Foster turned toward him, but was quickly pulled back since K was busy trying to cast a miracle of healing on him, "Don''t move." She said, as she yed a specific melody on her lyre.

    With a slight sigh, Foster just spoke from here, "Fine. But yeah Octer, I thought the same thing. It felt kind of out of cepared to the others. But what makes you think he''s a prisoner?"

    "...Because I know people who''ve been punished like this. They do this to people that are particrly strong, to stop them from trying to escape." He quickly exined, slowly looking at the hands of the undead, "This as well... His hands were tied in a specific way, where his thumbs would break if he tried to pull out with force, not that he would be able to get much further than that anyway."

    "Huh, I think I know a knot like that as well. A bitch to try and get out of." Foster added, "But is it really that weird? I mean, couldn''t the other skeletons just be guards, while this guy is a prisoner? Maybe the skeletons on the next two floors will have a clearer prison theme or something." He suggested, but it was clear that Octer wasn''t particrly happy with that exnation. Or at least, he wasn''t sure whether or not that was really it.

    "...Maybe." He replied, before slowly standing up again, "Either way, we should just get going, right? With only regr undead left, we should be able to get through pretty quickly."

    "You''re right, let''s get moving." Lynol agreed immediately, opening the door on the other side of the room. This monster source seemed to be the only one on the third floor, meaning that all the death slime on this floor were going to be unable to move from now on. So as long as they paid attention so that they wouldn''t step into puddles of slime, then Foster didn''t need to be the one in the front anymore.

    Rather, it would make more sense to take on a more ssic structure. Octer and Foster in the front, K in the middle, followed by Lynol. Since Lynol needed a good bit of open space in order to swing his weapon properly, the slow andrge Octer with his ridiculouslyrge tower shield might end up getting in the way, even if Lynol''sbat was based on speed and agility. Foster was easier to match up with another person, while it was easier for Lynol to be a bit more alone so that he could unleash his full attacks, especially in an enclosed space like this.

    "By the way, do you guys also think that Zhaine is gonna be pissed, or is it just me?" Foster asked, looking down at his dented armor. Octer slightly turned his head and shook his head, "Something like that can be fixed super easily, so don''t worry. Trust me, my shields tend to get quite banged up, but they''ve always been repaired easily. As long as they weren''t pierced." He exined briefly, rxing Foster a bit.

    "Good... if it''s not a big deal, then that''s good. I don''t want to go back and then return the armor that I nearly poisoned myself for, in a basically ruined state."

    "Huh?" K let out, "What do you mean, you nearly poisoned yourself?"

    "Oh, that. Yeah, that was dumb." Lynol replied, "Foster won a drinking contest against Zhaine, a cksmith we met. Which would usually be fine, but Zhaine happens to be a dwarf, and the drink of choice was dwarven spirit."

    "....Are you an idiot?" K asked, looking at Foster''s back, before she realized what Lynol just said, "Hold up, he won?!"

 Chapter 69 - Boss Speculations

    Foster kept his solid stance, waiting for the skeletons in front of him to rush at him. Since this style wasn''t based off speed as much as power, he had to use his battle sense in order to figure out the right time to strike. It was a bit bothersome with arger number of enemies, but since Foster wasn''t alone, it was fine.

    Octer acted as a wall in front of therger number of undead that appeared on the fourth and fifth floors, pushing them back with a few simple shield-bashes, and only letting through the ones that Foster and Lynol could take care of. Of course, this tactic meant that Octer did end up getting attacked quite a bit, injuring him a fair extent, but that was what a tank was there for sadly. And luckily, K was a skilled healer, so the injuries never stayed around too long.

    But even so, here toward the end of the first floor, maybe the group was rushing a bit too much. They were the first group of people to ever get this far into this dungeon. That was an undeniable fact, so of course they were all a bit excited. They wanted to finish up this dungeon-dive within the next couple of hours as well so that they would have enough time to get back to the beginning of the dungeon before the monster sources regenerated.

    "Urgh, these guys are getting annoying. Their equipment is better on this floor as well." Foster groaned loudly, looking at the scratches all over his gauntlets and armor. They had just entered the dungeon''s fifth, and with thatst, floor. The jump of quality of their enemies had increased quite a bit as they entered this ce, but they should be able to adjust quite swiftly.

    "Sure, but we''re still able to manage everything with no sorts of wounds beyond a few scratches here and there. That means that we should be able to deal with the boss as well. Thest floor of a dungeon is supposed to be a pretty good indicator to the strength of the boss." Lynol exined quickly, a fact that K quickly confirmed as well, "Yup~! And on top of that, it''s been found that in 95% of the cases, the boss monster of a dungeon bares a high amount of resemnce to the main monsters on a dungeon''sst floor!"

    "Hm, so the boss is just gonna be a really strong skeleton?"

    "Probably!" K replied to Foster, who smiled lightly, "Nice, it''s easy to give a nice beating to these guys. And seeing how much stronger these guys can get would be neat as well." He pointed out, and took an excited step forward, when he felt something underneath his shoe. He raised his foot, and saw a small shard of ssying there.

    Confused, he squatted down and picked it up, taking a closer look. It didn''t really seem to be ss, and instead looked more like those crystal balls, or the ck gems that were inside of them.

    "Oh, finally!" K eximed, looking over Foster''s shoulder, "Seems like the skeletons down here really are strong enough."

    "Hm? What''d you mean?" Octer asked, trying to get a closer look at what Foster was holding, and K quickly exined, "It''s a magic stone! Some people call it dungeon stone, but I think that''s a pretty dumb description, since you can''t only find it in dungeons... Well, mostly, sure, but it''s not exclusive, you see?" K exined, but was only met with the stares of her party members.

    She scratched her cheek and smiled wrily, "Well basically, when dungeon monsters die, they sometimes leave these behind. They can be used to make magic tools, or for spellponents. Oh, and of course, they''re materials to make potions or spell scrolls and such. So you can sell them pretty well."

    "Wait, didn''t you guys enter dungeons before? Howe you don''t know this?" Foster asked surprised, and Lynol shrugged, "Dungeons are rare, and I never went that deep into them."

    "Yup, it''s not a surprise that they don''t know~!" K added, "Dungeon monsters need a certain level of strength, so mana concentration, to be able to leave them behind. And it only happens quite rarely anyway. But they''re a big way how high tier adventurers in Arcadum make their money, beyond the treasure they can find in dungeons, of course."

    "Hold up, you can find treasure in dungeons?"

    "Of course you can! It''s mostly a way for dungeons to lure people into them." K replied, and Foster looked at her even more confused. Why would a dungeon want people inside of it? Isn''t that kind of counter productive? Why would you purposefully lure people to break into your home?"

    With a smile, happy that she''s able to talk about dungeons with someone so intensely, she quickly exined, "Well, I mentioned how dungeons are basically like living beings, right? They need to live off something. Sure, they can survive off of ambient mana, but you wouldn''t like to eat and drink only the bare amount necessary for you to survive, right?" She exined, and Foster looked back with a slight, nostalgic smile, "Yeah, I wouldn''t want that."

    "Right? Well, if a dungeon wants to really strive, and potentially grow, it needs to have arge amount of people in it! A dungeon feeds off the mana that people naturally give off, their aura of sorts."

    "Wait, people always let mana out of their bodies?" Foster asked surprised. He didn''t really notice that, although using mana always felt so... weird to him. He figured he''d notice if anything happened with it. K lightly tilted her head to the side, "You don''t know? Don''t you have magic abilities?"

    "Right, of course, but I still don''t know much about it... sorry." Foster said with a wry expression, unsure what to say, as K quickly chuckled, "Don''t worry, it''s fine. Not everyone has the chance to get an in-depth education about this sort of thing. Anyway, you know how your mana regenerates when you used a spell, right? Well, it doesn''t stop when your mana is filled up. It does slow down, but it doesn''t fully stop. And so, while new mana is generated in your body, the surplus is slowly and naturally pushed out of your body. A lot of people try to increase their mana capacity by forcefully keeping the mana inside of their body, by the way, but I heard that can be pretty dangerous..."

    "Huh." Foster let out surprised, "Neat. So wait, I''m guessing your mana regen depends on your mana capacity, right? So can you tell how strong someone is by the amount of mana they let out?"

    "Technically, kind of? But well, high mana capacity doesn''t make you a skilled mage. And physical fighters often don''t have a high amount of mana in the first ce, so you can''t really say it that easily. In the first ce, you would need a way to urately measure someone''s mana output, and that''s just not really a thing... it''s easier to just ask for someone''s max mana capacity."

    "Right... That.... does make sense."

 Chapter 70 - In Front Of The Boss Room

    The rest of the fifth floor, while a fair bit tougher than the rest thus far, was cleared easily within the next few hours. Having that special map with them really helped find the best path. But that in itself seemed a bit weird.

    "Seriously, how''d that guy manage to make a map of this dungeon if it was never even cleared?" Octer asked out loud as the group was taking a break in a rtively safe area, and Lynol quickly replied before K could, "My guess is that he has a special skill of sorts. Is that not so, K?"

    "Yup~! He''s a Cartographer with a special mapping skill! It''s kinda... like irvoyance of sorts? By connecting his consciousness to a dungeon, he can map it out! Although, it does take a while. I think... he spent a week out here by the dungeon to map everything, day and night? If he had gone inside it might''ve been faster, but y''know..."

    "What, why would he make a map for a dungeon that nobody ever enters?" Foster asked with a wry smile, but K shrugged, "That, I don''t know. But he has a big collection of maps, apparently. Although he can''t usebat magic, and although he can''t fight at all, he keeps hiring adventurers to bring him deeper into dungeons so that he can map them out easily. But since nobody wanted to head in here, he had to spend a week alone."

    "That''s some dedication, though. If I didn''t know how to fight, I don''t know if I''d take the risk. I''d just find another job." Foster pointed out, whilst Aster was quickly nodding his head while sitting on top of his contractor''s.

    To the surprise of everyone, the ever-emotionless Lynol was the one that seemed to understand him the most, "If you have a passion like that, would you really let arbitrary dangers like that stop you? If he has the money to hire capable adventurers, then let him do it. It''s part of our job to assist people like that in the first ce. And he doesn''t seem dumb, so he probably stays out of danger otherwise." Lynol pointed out, and his arguments did make a lot of sense to Foster and Octer. Slowly, the three of them were feeling quite some respect for this man that they didn''t even know. Meanwhile, K turned away awkwardly. She grew suspiciously silent, to the point where Foster was sure she was hiding something.

    "...What''re you leaving out?" He asked with a frown, and K silently scratched her cheek, trying to find proper words for what she was about to say. The group fell silent, as she soon revealed, "Erm... actually... as it turns out, he never works with the same party twice... because they refuse to work with him after the first time... I don''t know why though, s-so it might not be his fault at all, you know?"

    The other three simply stared at K, and soon, Foster stared at the ceiling, "I know plenty of people like that, then... His kind... they''re just absolute fucking idiots..."

    ---

    After making their way further through the fifth floor, all the whilst silently judging the man that had created the maps that they were using to so easily get through this dungeon, they finally reached the final space within this dungeon.

    The boss room. Arge arched double-door stretched up all the way to the high ceiling. The door was covered in ornate structures, seemingly all made of bone. For now, the party of four chose to take a quick break before entering the boss room. While it was a beginner dungeon, they still had to be extremely careful.

    "So, what do we do if the monster in there has an aspect of those bothersome slimes as well? We can''t just let foster fight it alone." Octer pointed out, addressing something that everyone had been thinking about for a while. They had concluded that the boss monster probably didn''t have too much of a connection to the slime, but they couldn''t bepletely sure about that either.

    "I mean... I doubt we have to anyway." Foster pointed out, "I mean, let''s say there''s just a huge slime in there as a worst-case scenario... I''ll distract that while you guys take out the crystal orb. It''s not like it can just not be there, right? Like, shouldn''t the boss monster at least follow the rules of the dungeon? And so far, the rule was that the slimes could be taken out by destroying their source. So you guys just do that, and we''re good."

    "And what if it''s not like that? What if it doesn''t have a source?"

    "Well... then you guys just give me some emotional support?" Foster replied with a slight grin, "Come on, let''s not chicken out now! It''s gonna be fine, we''ll be able to fight against it, with no problem. We managed the rest of the dungeon, right?"

    Lynol slowly pushed himself up with his sword, and stepped up closer to the boss room''s door, "You all already dragged me this far. If you back down now, I''ll be pissed." Lynol said in a cold voice, although Foster was convinced that he was actually quite excited at this point himself.

    "Exactly. He''s gonna be pissed, and we don''t want that, do we?" Foster said as he leaned onto Foster''s shoulder with his elbow, grinning lightly.

    "Are you making fun of me?" Lynol asked with a slight frown, but Foster just grinned in response, "I''ll tell you after we''ve killed the boss."

    "So that means we''re going now?" K asked, clearly quite excited, stepping up to the other two standing by the door.

    "I guess it does..." Octer sighed as he quickly followed behind her. They all ced their hands onto the door, and pushed it open together. This in itself was quite a struggle though. But at some point, once they''ve pushed it a certain amount, the door simply opened by itself.

    And there, on the other side of thisrge circr room, stood the boss. It wasn''t a slime, luckily. But it also wasn''t a simple skeletal soldier like they had hoped. Rather than that.... It was a giant frog''s skeleton, eerily staring at the group that just entered this room.

 Chapter 71 - Skeletal Frog

    Bright white bones, as if shining through the darkness of the room. A towering build, that would overwhelm any opponent. The empty eye sockets, filled with tworge crystal orbs. With a loud, rumbling noise, the boss monster finally began to move, as the door mmed shut behind the four adventurers.

    With a single swift movement, the boss monster leapt into the center of the room, letting out an ear-deafening... croak.

    "It''s a frog? Seriously? The boss monster is a frog? How the hell is that supposed to be in-theme?" Foster asked with a wry smile, staring at therge undead.

    "Oh shut up, what does the ''theme'' matter right now? Be careful, and get ready." Octer said with a stern expression, holding his shield in front of his body as he stood in the front of the group. For now, they couldn''t act too rashly, as none of them knew exactly how this undead was going to attack them.

    And as they were all standing there, waiting for anything to happen to break this silence, Foster noticed something. He looked at the two crystal orbs that the skeletal frog had instead of eyes, "Well shit... those crystal orbs, they''re the same kind that ended up creating those slimes... just intact."

    "That means that it''s probably partially rted to the slime anyway, then." Lynol added, "Good to know."

    As if it realized that the group noticed one of the frog''s traits, itunched its first attack at them. Slowly, it opened its mouth, and all that could be seen inside of there was a ck void that seemed to swallow everything that touched it. And well, that wasn''t directly wrong either, considering that the ''ck void'' was actually a mass of death slime.

    Foster immediately got ready to run forward and take care of a slime, in case this frog simply started summoning them, but instead something different happened. A long, thick ck tongue shot out of the frog''s mouth, aimed directly at the group.

    Luckily, Octer moved quick enough in its path, stopping the impact with his shield. But that wasn''t where it stopped. Like a regr frog''s tongue, it seemed like this one was meant to retrieve things, and it got stuck on the shield''s surface.

    Octer''s muscles bulged up as he tried to hold onto the shield, although rather than either the frog or himself letting go, it seemed like he would be dragged along with the shield.

    "K, cast a holy aura on Octer''s shield, quick!" Foster eximed, and the cleric reacted immediately. She was ying her harp and singing the tune that Foster had heard a couple times today already. And just a moment after she begun, Octer''s shield started to give off a faint golden shine. As this shine grew more intense, the surface of the frog''s tongue started to dry up and crumble, making the undead frog release its grip on the object.

    "Good, now we have a way to defend against it. Did anyone get hurt?" Lynol asked as he looked around the group, but nobody ended up touching any of the slime, "Octer, keep its attention, Foster and I are going to attack it. K, support us from back here." He said, as the two vanguard fighters quickly rushed toward the frog. Octer yelled loudly and hit his shield, trying to get the frog''s attention. Luckily, since it seemed to have at least some semnce of intelligence and the ability to enrage, the frog fell for Octer''s ''Mock'' martial skill, and kept trying to use its tongue to attack him, all the whilst staying steadily in the center of the room.

    "Let''s try to aim for its eyes first! If we destroy those, maybe it won''t be able to use its tongue anymore!" Foster eximed, and Lynol quickly nodded. But first, they had to get the chance to do so in the first ce.

    If Foster tried to throw a knife at one of them right now, he wasn''t sure if he would be able to pierce all the way through to the point where he could properly break it. If possible, Foster wanted to attack it from close up, so that he could make sure they were both immediately broken.

    "Aim for its front-legs." Lynol advised, and Foster immediately nodded. It was a risky position to attack the undead frog, at least for Lynol himself. It was close to its mouth, and if the frog could use any other abilities beside just that tongue-based attack, this was obviously a very risky position to be in.

    But that didn''t stop him from attacking the undead. He swung his sword at its front-leg, thinking that he would be able to shatter it apart immediately. But instead of it being as easy as he thought it would be, all he could do is create a slight crack in the bone. And it wasn''t particrly deep either.

    "It''s bones are incredibly hard! Make sure to attack the same spot as much as you can!" Lynol eximed, so that even the others could hear in case they needed to attack the monster somehow, and the two quickly continued on attacking the frog.

    Its attention was slowly being pulled away from Octer over to its two attackers, but luckily, Octer hadn''t gone all out yet. With his huge body came huge lungs as well. Lungs that allowed him to let out an even louder yell, which once more drew the frog''s attention.

    "Hurry it up, you two! I don''t think it''s going to work for much longer! Undead are super resistant to ''Mock''!" Octer yelled from where he was standing, slowly moving around to lure the tongue into a better position for Lynol and Foster to attack the frog''s legs.

    More and more, the attacks of the two sped up, so that they could try and break the frog''s bones apart, not only incapacitating it, but also making sure that the two of them could get closer to the frog''s crystal eyes.

    And then, a shiver started to run over Foster''s body. Something bad was about to happen, he just knew it. The frog''s tongue shot out once more, but this time, it wasn''t directed at Octer, but at someone else in the group. It was neither Foster or Lynol, the ones that were actually attacking it... but the one that was letting out the same pesky energy that kept hurting its tongue as it attacked the shield.

    The tongue shot at K.

    Immediately as he realized, Foster rushed forward to try and pull the tongue away from its current trajectory, but he wouldn''t be able to get there in time. The tongue was too far away. Instead, someone else with a greater reach attacked the tongue.

    Lynol''s sword sliced through the pitch ck tongue with ease, and the slime beyond the point where he cut the tongue immediately fell apart into a puddle. Luckily, it didn''t reach K, but it was damn close.

    As the ck slime slowly dripped down Lynol''s weapon, the swordsman yelled out angrily, "Pay attention, you two! Do you want to get killed, or something?!"

 Chapter 72 - Shattered Eyes

    "I-I''m sorry, I-" K stuttered, but Lynol and Foster were too busy to take notice of what she was trying to say. Foster immediately tried to rub away as much of the slime from Lynol''s sword as possible, "Should be fine, but be careful." Foster warned the swordsman, who quickly nodded his head, before turning toward Octer, "Make sure that she''s behind you at all times, alright? She''s not dying on us." He said with a deep frown, and immediately, the shield bearer and the cleric stuck closer together, just in case.

    However, there was another issue. Due to the nature of Lynol''s weapon, there were plenty of gaps in the de itself, and the slime seeped into those gaps, slowly pentrating further toward the handle, "A lot of my sword is made of wood, it''s just going to rot away at this rate. We need to hurry."

    "Aight, I think I know what that means. Let''s go for its eyes right away."

    "Way ahead of you." Lynol replied, as the two quickly continued to attack the skeletal frog. It was tough to find a way to reach them, but they had to figure it out. Breaking the bones clearly wasn''t an option anymore. But at the very least, now that the tongue wasn''t a danger anymore, Foster could quickly try to climb onto its head by pressing its foot into its jaw, while the slime was still trying to regenerate inside of the frog''s mouth.

    He jumped up and kicked down onto the jawbone, making the frog immediately close its mouth. But before then, Foster had already reached forward and grabbed onto a small edge on the skull, pulling himself up.

    Immediately, he pushed his hand forward and tried to crush the first of the two crystal orbs. Although the ones from before broke so easily, this one barely cracked at all.

    "Fuck, fuck, fuck..!" Foster yelled out, as he continued trying to break one of the crystal orbs, simply by continuosly hitting it with ''single strike'', until it seemed like it was finally close to breaking. However, as Foster tried to push one of his knives into the deep crack that had formed, the frog suddenly started to move. It squatted down, making Foster''s stomach cave in.

    A momentter, the frog jumped up high inside of this room, nearly hitting the ceiling. Foster was just barely able to hold on to the frog''s skull, and tried to pull himself as close to the undead''s body as possible so that he didn''t hurt himself too much. However, that only really worked for the first time. It didn''t take long until the frog repeated this same thing, jumping up and down multiple times, hurting Foster quite a bit every time. And the frog never held still for long enough to let him properly hit the crystal orbs.

    But then, suddenly, the frog didn''t jump back up again, and Foster could hear loud straining noises from underneath him. As he turned his head, he spotted the edges of Octer''s shield peaking out from underneath the frog''s skeletal body, as the boss was held up on it.

    "Hurry the fuck up!" Octer yelled out from underneath the frog, and Foster immediately did as prompted. He stabbed the knife into the crack in the crystal orb, and pushed harder once more by punching the handle of the knife with a ''single strike''.

    The ck gemstone in the center of the crystal orb shattered apart, and the skeletal frog seemed to scream out in pain, even if that didn''t directly seem possible, being a skeleton and all.

    Either way, Foster quickly hurried and started attacking the other crystal orb as well, all the whilst the undead frog continued its attacks. Instead of using the slime to form a tongue again, now, it seemed to just shoot outrge balls of ck slime at whatever was nearby. Since it was still on top of Octer''s shield, it wasn''t able to turn around, so for now, Lynol and K were safe, but it didn''t take long for this to change either. Octer was already struggling earlier, and with the frog iling around even more wildly than before, it was just a matter of time for one of its feet to touch the ground again.

    The moment that it did, the frog jumped away from the center of the room, throwing Foster off of its head in the process while knocking Octer over onto the ground.

    The frog turned around, and shot even more balls of slime at the group. Octer propped the shield up and pulled K toward him immediately, while Lynol hid behind the width of his sword. Meanwhile, Foster threw Aster behind Octer''s shield immediately and did his best to block as many of the slime balls with his body, so that they wouldn''t hit the others.

    Of course, it dealt some damage, but at the very least Foster wouldn''t die from it. As for the others... it would have been instant death, basically. Foster saw what this sort of thing could do to people, and he certianly wouldn''t let that happen to his friends.

    ---

    [Warning! Your health has dropped below the 5 point threshold]

    ---

    A message window popped up in front of Foster''s eyes, but he could only scoff, "What, you think this is enough to take me out?! Come at me, you big fucking frog bast-"

    "Ah, fuck it." Foster heard from behind him the moment that the attack using balls of slime stopped, and watched Lynol''s sword fly toward the frog in itspact form. However, as it was moving through the air, Foster could practically see its wooden parts rot away, causing it to fully open up again. But even then, it fell apart into its separate parts in the middle of the air. Part of therge dended in its mouth, while most of the sword justnded on the ground. Another part of it, however, struck the remaining crystal orb stuck in its eye-socket, causing it to crack open.

    Immediately, Foster saw the chance, and quickly ran toward the frog that was now going haywire after being injured like this, holding one of his throwing-knives tightly in his hand. He ran at the skeletal frog, once more using the frog''s lower jaw, which was now being forced to stay open by the part of the de thatnded in it awkwardly, to jump up, quickly using his new ''empowered throw'' ability to throw the knife straight at the second crystal orb.

    The knife slid through the crack as if they were made for each other, and shattered apart the gemstone in its center.

    The slime inside of the frog''s mouth immediately turned liquid and flowed out of it, as the frog shook its body and threw Foster away. Quickly, he tried to twist his body around, and luckily didn''t seem to have taken any further damage.

    Foster got ready, with a broad grin on his face, excited to just break apart this freaking frog''s body.

 Chapter 73 - Little Undead Laboratory

    "The boss still has slime all over its body, it''s too dangerous for us to attack it right now. Especially now that I don''t have my sword anymore." Lynol pointed out, while Foster was staring at the skeletal frog.

    The slime had turned liquid and was now covering arge part of the frog''s bones, but beyond that, it seemed like it was going to be a lot easier to fight. But not if Foster had to fight it all alone... instead, they had to find a way to get rid of the slime. If even a little bit of it was left, it was going to be far too dangerous for anyone beside Foster to try to fight it.

    But then, he had an idea. The only reason why Foster didn''t have any of the slime stuck on his clothes and his gauntlets was that on the floor that had the slimes, he was basically always covered in K''s Holy Aura.

    With a smirk, he turned around and looked at the cleric, "K, is it possible for you to give the frog a holy aura?"

    "What? Why would I- That''s a buff, I''m not going to give it to our enemy! In the first ce, it''s an undead, it''s not going to ept the holy aura anyway!" K eximed, and Foster simply looked at her, "But you can still try, right? Even if it''s just for a moment, that should be enough."

    "...I don''t know what you''re thinking at all, but fine, I''ll give it a try." K replied with a deep frown, as she slowly started to y her handheld harp, singing a short song in tune with it. The holy aura disappeared from Octer''s shield, and instead, a faint glowing mist was flowing through the air all the way over toward the undead frog.

    It slowly enveloped the skeletal being, and part of the slime dried up. But before it was all able to truly crumble away, the holy aura dissipated, and K choked up in her singing as the yed note went awry, "See? I told you, it doesn''t work! And I can only use holy aura two more times now! And if I try to cast it on the frog again, it''s going to take up two slots again, so it''s useless! It''s not enough!"

    Foster looked at the dried up ck slime slowly dropping off the frog''s body, while the skeletal animal was shaking in response to the holy energy, as an idea popped up into his mind.

    "If that doesn''t work... then I have another idea. But you''ve got to trust me, alright? Cast it again, on my signal."

    "What? I just told you, if I cast it on the frog again, it''s going to take up the rest of my holy aura uses!" K replied angrily, and before Foster was able to really exin his idea, Lynol cut in. He looked at the skeletal frog that was slowly recovering from the damage that had been done to it, and then turned toward K.

    "Do what he says. Please." The swordsman said, and K let out an annoyed groan, "Fine, but don''t tell me I didn''t warn you guys. It''s useless."

    "Just trust me, it''s going to do something, at least." Foster replied, as he quickly rushed over toward Octer, grabbing Aster from his shoulder. Foster had thrown him over here so that he would be safe from the iing slime earlier, but now, he needed his spirit''s help.

    The moment that K started preparing for the cast of the Holy Aura miracle, Foster started running, counting in his head for when the miracle would actually be ready, and slowly looked at Aster sitting on his gauntlet, "Please fire yourst spark at the frog, alright? Squeeze everyst bit out of there." He said with a smirk, while slightly turning his head, "K, now!"

    At that moment, both Aster and K reacted basically simultaneously. Aster''s mask turned into a slight funnel so that he could spout out that fire, while a slight glowing mist was traveling from K''s harp over toward the frog.

    The moment that the mist surrounded the frog''s body, Aster''s mes shot forward. In that instant, the skeletal frog was not only enveloped in a holy aura, but also in scorching fire. Foster saw himself how the slime reacted uniquely to thebination of the two, so he was hoping that this would do something useful as well, something that could be used to take the frog down. It was a stretch, but it was the best thing they could bet on, as far as Foster was concerned.

    And exactly like he hoped, the two forces reacted together. Not only did the majority of the slime covering the frog''s body dry up just to be pushed away by the force of the fire, but the cracks that Lynol and Foster had formed in its front-legs earlier continued expanding while the skeletal frog was practically writhing in pain.

    It didn''t take long for both the mes and the holy aura to disappear, though, but Foster quickly turned to attack the frog''s front leg again.

    Using only one ''single strike'', Foster was able to shatter the bone that wouldn''t budge earlier. Thebination of the holy aura and the mes had made the frog''s body brittle.

    "Hurry it up!" Foster eximed, but Lynol and Octer were already on the way. Octer was holding one end of his shield, swinging it at the frog''s skull to do as much damage as possible, and Lynol had picked up part of his sword''s de from the ground, awkwardly holding it at one of its blunt parts. But even so, he was able to exert enough force to shatter the frog''s other leg apart as well, allowing all three of them to continuously attack the frog''s spine and skull.

    Like this, the damage to the boss'' body umted, until its skull simply caved in on itself, and the skeletal frog fell apart by its joints.

    It took a few moments for the realisation to set in, but Octer, Foster, and Lynol all looked at each other, slight grins forming on their faces as they were filled with excitement. Excitement that was prompted to explode with the message that soon appeared in front of each of their eyes.

    ---

    [You are the first to clear the Dungeon {Little Undead Laboratory}]

 Chapter 74 - The Dungeon Cores Incarnation

    "We... did it?" K muttered from behind the group, slowly approaching them so that she could quickly heal everyone that needed it. She was clearly giddy and excited about the fact that they were able to clear this dungeon.

    Meanwhile, Foster just stared at the message in front of his eyes.

    ---

    [411 Experience Points Rewarded]

    [You have leveled up!]

    [Your {Martial Necromancer} Skill has leveled up!]

    ---

    "Awesome, I leveled up again." Foster said with a light smirk, as he opened his status window to see what changed, "Hm, strength and charisma by two, and the rest just one?" He sighed slightly, although he could feel his muscles slightly tensing up and bulging in response to the increased strength. But then, he quickly moved on to his skill that leveled up, which he was a lot more interested in. But just before he could open the skill window, he could hear an unfamiliar voice in the room.

    "Hm, you four managed to clear the dungeon? Huh." The clearly tired owner of the voice said, as if they had just woken up from a nap. Everyone immediately turned around toward the source, and soon saw a young man, maybe in histe-twenties, standing there. He had ruffled, sholder-length ck hair that stuck up in every direction, as well as a quite slim build. While the clothes he wore seemed high quality at first, upon closer inspection, they were slightly torn up and quite dirty, especially the long white leather coat, simr to abcoat in appearance, that he was wearing.

    More things of note were his tired, slouched stature and his characteristic eyes.

    Immediately, three of the four party members quickly turned toward thest remaining, Foster, before Lynol slightly squinted, "Do you... know him by chance..?"

    "What? No, obviously I don''t know him, what makes you think that?" Foster asked with a wry smile, and Lynol immediately replied while Octer and K just awkwardly looked back, "You''ve got the same cold, dead, bloodshot eyes, as well as the dark rings underneath."

    "Fuck off." Foster said with a nk expression, "The dude appeared out of nowhere, and you''re looking at his eyes? Also, I have insomnia, so don''t judge me."

    "Erm, could we get this over with? I didn''t expect anyone toe here anymore, so I kinda got into a habbit of not talking to anyone. You''re kind of interrupting said habit." The man pointed out while tiredly scratching the back of his head.

    K returned to staring at the man, and took a few steps closer, "Are you... are you the dungeon?"

    "Well, technically not. I''m the Dungeon Core, but it''s practically the same thing." The man replied, "Anyway, there''s a bit of a thing I''ve gotta do or something. Yada yada yada, congrats on killing the boss, yada yada, you get a gift, yada yada yada, hurry it up and leave."

    "W-Wait, I came here to talk to you! Could you... could you tell me more about yourself?" The cleric asked with a broad, excited smile, but the dungeon''s incarnation simply rolled his eyes, "Listen, I really don''t want to. I made this dungeon the way it is to meet someone again, but that''s not possible anymore, so fuck off and leave me alone."

    "Huh?" K replied, "What do you mean? You made the dungeon this way on purpose?"

    "Yes I di- Listen, missy, did you not hear what I said? Tell me what gifts you want, and leave." The man groaned loudly, clearly annoyed, "If you don''t tell me soon, I''ll give you all random stuff, alright?" He sighed, all the whilst cluttering in the background was annyoing him quite a bit. He turned his head, watching as Foster exhaustedly took off his dented chestte for once.

    But then, the man saw the symbol on the martial arts uniform that Foster was wearing. The incarnation''s bored, tired eyes shot open in excitement, as he rushed over toward Foster, "Th-This! Where did you get this from?!"

    "What? I bought the armor in town..." Foster replied, really unsure what this guy wanted from him, but the incarnation immediately pulled on his uniform, "Not that! I mean this! This! Are you... do you know Thiodrus?!"

    Immediately, Foster''s eyes opened up wide as he looked back at the man in front of him, frowning deeply, "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

    "Considering that you''re wearing this sigil on your chest, I''d fucking hope so! Come on, now tell me, how''d you know him?" The dungeon''s incarnation asked, and Foster sighed, deeply annoyed, "Just fucking let go of me, will you? Exin why you want to know first, and then I''ll maybe tell you what I know."

    "Right, of course!" The incarnation said with an excited expression on his face. Octer and Lynol, knowing which ''Thiodrus'' this man was talking about, stared at Foster nervously, while K was simply jealous about the dungeon''s incarnation being so excited to talk to Foster.

    The man ced his hand onto his chest, and quickly exined, "You see, this ce used to be a hidden research center, researching ways to turn necromancy into a weapon without actually having to let necromancy flow through your body. It''s practically a poison, after all, feeding off your own life to sprout. That''s what those orbs you must have seen on the boss were. Using them, I managed to create independent slime sources that didn''t need my supervision, so that I could create a ce that only a being like Thiodrus, already long dead, could traverse. The slime would hold off weak adventurers, while I restricted my natural ability to grow so that I would be unappealing to those who did have the power to clear me, with the exception of those that had a close connection to necromancy itself. It had worked, and nobody got past the second floor, until you four showed up." The incarnation quickly exined, a story that K was absorbing with every fiber of her being. But even then, she slowly realized something. A ''long dead'' man named Thiodrus with a connection to necromancy. Thiodrus wasn''t too umon a name, but the rest of the information made it obvious to her as well.

    But before she could ask, Lynol asked something, since Foster was mostly thinking about what he had just learned, "And why were you waiting for him..? Why were you waiting for Thiodrus?"

    "Why?" The man replied, his brows slightly raised, "Well, because he is my father, of course."

 Chapter 75 - Thiodrus Creation

    "Eh?" K let out, surprised by the thing that the dungeon''s incarnation had just exined to the group, "Your... father? But aren''t dungeon cores born through ambient magic?"

    The man quickly turned toward the cleric and nodded, "Usually, yes. It happens because of an abnormally high concentration of ambient magic. It will start to form a cluster, which will then pull more and more magic toward it. The more magic it can absorb during its embryonic phase, the higher its tier will be when it''s born. Usually, the type of dungeon something bes depends on different factors, and the magical element simply doesn''t y much of a role, but in this case, I was born in a quite unique way. I-"

    "You were born because of Thiodrus'' magic?" Foster asked slowly. He had experienced an extreme output of... well, something when fleeing from that corrupted tree back then. He was certain that it was rted to Thiodrus'' powers now after he used part of them himself. Foster didn''t know much about magic, but this seemed like a logical possibility to him.

    K scoffed slightly, "That''s ridiculous, no single person can create a dungeon core themselves. The amount of mana that they need for that would be absolutely astronomical. That''s why only nature''s magic can create them."

    Foster turned toward K and locked eyes with her, "Cmities." He said, "The people, I mean. They''re usuallypared to forces of nature, right? Beings that ravage the world, unstoppable by the people living in it. Or at least, that''s how it was exined to me. If it''s one of them, wouldn''t it be possible?"

    "So... You mean... you mean Thiodrus Argomna? You''re somehow rted to him? To that... that thing?" K asked with a deep frown, taking some steps back, "Are you kidding me right now? Is that why you got that weird immunity? Because of him?"

    "No, it''s not because of him. It''s actually just a big coincidence that I ended up around him." Foster sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I''ll exin it to youter, alright? You can just leave us be forever for all I care, but just stop it right now. We helped you out with your goal, so don''t be so picky about it now."

    Foster turned his head toward the man standing next to him, "You said it wasn''t possible to meet him anymore, so you know, right? That he''s dead?"

    "It''s just as you said. I''m made from his own personal magic. That''s why, yes, I know that he''s dead. I noticed that his strength was dwindling for a while as well." The man said with a bitter expression, looking down at the ground, "Do you... know anything about how he died?"

    "...He was attacked by a group of adventurers. I doubt that usually they should''ve been able to beat him at their strength. Even I was able to violently beat one of them up, and I didn''t even have a ss yet. He was weak, much, much weaker than normal. He was using his strength to seal something up, and in the end, he died so that he could destroy said something." Foster quickly exined, "He really helped me. Without him, I probably would have been randomly ripped apart by some monsters. He gave me new clothes, he gave me food... he gave me a ce to sleep. He even gave me the ability to speak to people here, and then passed his legacy onto me."

    Slowly, Foster held his hand forward, showing the bracelet of the snake biting its own tail wrapped around his arm, and the man looked at it with a slight smile, "If it is a legacy, then your words must be true. A legacy can only be passed on by the former owner''s will. Even if the owner is killed, the legacy will die with them if they haven''t chosen a sessor."

    "How do you know all this? You''re a dungeon core, so how can you get all this info?" Lynol asked, confused about quite a few parts of this conversation, and the incarnation quickly exined, "Mana is the building-block of the soul. It is that which contains the mind. With the mana he gave me, he gave me his knowledge as well. He even gave me his own original appearance, from before he died the first time?"

    "Huh?" Octer let out confused, while the others looked at the man just shocked, "Hold up, you mean that this is what Thiodrus Argomna looked like? Before he foolishly killed himself with his own magic?"

    "I don''t know what you mean?" The man replied with his head slightly tilted, "Thiodrus didn''t kill himself. This isn''t the appearance of Thiodrus himself either. It''s that of the man he was before he died. Thiodrus Argomna was a being that was born through necromancy, a simple skeletal soldier. His summoner was the first owner of the legacy this boy now holds, and in death, he handed it to the closest being. And that was Thiodrus."

    "Hold up, so you''re telling us that Thiodrus looked like that once? Seriously? Foster, are you sure you''re not rted to him?"

    "I''m fucking positive, yeah. How could he be, I''m not even from-" Foster said, before quickly stopping himself mid-sentence, "That''s not what''s important right now. This is a lot of information to take in all at once, man. I don''t really get any of this anyway. I don''t give a shit who you look like either. Just... do you want to know something else about Thiodrus? I don''t really have much I can tell you, honestly."

    "No, I think that''s fine. I know quite a lot about him anyway. But I do have another request for you." The man said somewhat awkwardly, "Since I built this dungeon in this way to wait for Thiodrus, nobody can reallye. But you guys managed... do you think you can make your way through this dungeon every once in a while? Since through this man you''re now all connected to Thiodrus, I don''t hate talking to you four that much anymore."

    "Wait... what?" K let out surprised, "You mean that... no matter how many times wee... we can talk to you all we want?"

    "Well, not all you want. There is a time-limit for this thing. Which is another five minutes in this case, by the way. But yeah, I don''t mind talking to you every once in a while. But don''te bother me too much." The man said as he scratched the back of his head, "I know you four had quite some troubles the first time, but now that you know what to expect, it should be fine, right?"

    "Urgh... sure, we''ll figure something out." Foster sighed, kind of annoyed right now. This guy''s personality was a bit too much like Foster''s own. The way he was talking, from tone of voice to his cadence, all the way over to how he carried himself, was weirdly simr to Foster''s. Creepily so. Maybe thenguage part was because Foster was given Thiodrus'' understanding ofnguage, and so did this dungeon''s core, but it was still annoying.

    He hated himself, so he was quite bothered by this guy as well.

 Chapter 76 - The Dungeons Gift

    "Okay then, you guys did earn yourselves some gifts. What''d you want?" The man asked, tiredly yawning into his hand, as everyone in the group looked at each other. K was still confused about everything that''s been happening here, but she as well knew that they had to figure something out now. She knew a lot about dungeons, so she knew the best way to go about this, "Could you give us what you find the best for each of us?" She asked, and the dungeon''s incarnation let out a deep sigh, "Urgh, right."

    The man''s eyes seemed to sh up with a dim light for a moment as he nced at everyone standing in front of him, and first stepped up to K, "For you, I''ll awaken your mind to a special miracle." He said, quickly waving his hand. A momentter, K became excited looking at what she had been given.

    "This is super rare! I''ve never actually met anyone that had this!" She eximed, and Octer looked at her curiously, "So? What is it?"

    "It''s the ''Cure Rot'' miracle!" She replied immediately, "Meaning that we don''t have to worry as much anymore in ces like this. And... I can probably help victims of this dungeon as well." K exined with a slight smile, looking at the message window floating in front of her eyes.

    Next, the dungeon''s incarnation stepped up to Octer, "You. You have a clear focus on defense, but I see two possible paths for you. Do you want to go even deeper into defense, or do you want to be more offensive?"

    "I..." Octer let out, unsure what he should do, before slowly closing his eyes, "I''m a tank. It''s not the path I dreamt of, but it''s the one I''m on now. So I''ll go all out, and be the best. Give me a defensive ability, please."

    With a nod, the incarnation waved his hand, and Octer received his new ability, "Bone Armor? I''ve never heard of it before."

    "It''s a quite special skill. Technically, it can be counted as a spell as well. Both mages and warriors can learn it, and it will simply align with the focus of the user. In your case, it will mostly use stamina, but it will also drain some mana, so be aware of that." The man exined quickly, as Octer stared back at him, "W-What? A spell? It''s... it''s actually a spell?"

    "Technically, you could say so." The man replied, while Octer simply stared at the message window excitedly, giddy like a little kid. Meanwhile, the incarnation moved on to Lynol.

    "For you, I''m sorry to say that I will not be giving you a new skill. You seem to not rely on your martial skills in the first ce, and you are not fit for magic. So instead, I will give you an item. Albeit, an unfinished item. A material, rather." The incarnation walked through the room, over toward the copsed corpse of the giant frog. He ced his hand on a bone on the frog''s hind-leg, its femur, and closed its eyes. A momentter, the rest of the frog''s bones seemed to rattle and shake, as if it was about toe back to life.

    But instead of that, the bones were all pulled toward the femur and were soon absorbed into it. It seemed quite unreal, but it was clearly some powerful magic. The femur itself grew in size, and soon, not a single bone was left beside said femur, which the man carried over toward Lynol.

    "That being that you have in was the first undead I had created for this dungeon. It has grown to that size over the years, growing in strength. But it has also attained something else, a weird mockery of life. I can, and will have to, create new versions of it, but they will be different to this one. They will be like the other skeletons you faced, disappearing upon death. But not this one. These bones are strong, stronger than the steel of your former sword, and I strengthened them even further. A monster''s bones are special, so a skilled craftsman should be able to forge a wonderful new weapon out of this for you." The incarnation exined, and Foster slowly held the bone on both his arms. It was clearly heavy, even too heavy for Lynol himself to properly hold it, but he was clearly happy with what he was given.

    His old weapon was destroyed by the frog''s slime, making the wooden parts of the mechanism rot away so that it could only fall apart into its smaller metal parts. So he would need a new one anyway. This did seem like a good fit.

    "Now, for thest two." The incarnation said, moving on. Foster looked back at him with his brows raised, sort of confused, "Two? But it''s just me left?"

    "Oh? So you are saying you and that spirit in your hair are the very same?" The man asked with a sigh, as Aster slowly peaked out Foster''s hair, looking at the incarnation of this dungeon. The moment that he saw it, the man raised his brows surprised, "A mask spirit? Interesting."

    "Mask Spirit? Isn''t he a nature spirit?" Foster replied surprised, and the man immediately said, "He is a nature spirit, but that''s just an overarching category. More specifically, he''s a mask spirit. Depending on their nature, their mask will change and shift during their lifetime, and once they have fully matured, they can draw power from special masks. It seems this one returned to the start of his growth-phase, so I will give you something for when said phase is over."

    With a flick of his wrist, the man pulled an object out of mid-air. It was a mask made of bone, in the shape of a skeletal face, "Well, considering that you are this spirit''s master, you could probably use the natural powers of this mask spirit to gain certain benefits yourself, but that is something you will have to figure out on your own. I don''t know much about the inner workings of their abilities." The man said, handing the mask to Foster, since it was clearly toorge for Aster to carry, "Currently it''s just a normal, albeit incredibly durable, mask. It has powers in it that can only be drawn out by a mask spirit."

    "I see... erm, thanks, I guess?" Foster replied, looking at the mask with a wry smile. It was sort of a weird thing to look at, but that wasn''t all. The man wasn''t finished yet, after all. He waved his hand in front of Foster, before a message window simply popped up.

    ---

    [You have received the martial skill {Bone Breaker}. It has been integrated into your {Martial Necromancy} skill]

 Chapter 77 - Leaving The Dungeon

    "Bone... eh, it''s got sort of a sinister name..." Foster pointed out as he looked at the message window. The man slowly looked back and started to exin, "It''s a simple one, truly. As it says, it makes it easier for you to break a being''s bones. Try to use it well."

    "Right, right. Anyway, we''ve only got like a minute left, right?" Foster replied, making the message window disappear from in front of him. The dungeon''s incarnation nodded and took a few steps back. He snapped his fingers once, and a message window appeared in front of everyone.

    ---

    [You have received the status effect {Dungeon Invisibility}. For the next 24 Hours, you will be invisible to the monsters in the dungeon. The status effect will disappear once you leave the dungeon or actively attack a dungeon''s monsters]

    ---

    "Wait, what? That''s a thing?" K let out confused, "I''ve never heard about this!"

    "Of course you haven''t. Because we don''t give it out to random people. Anyway, hurry it up and make your way out quickly so that I can go back to sleep." The incarnation said quickly, turning around and ready to head off. But someone in the group had another question.

    "Before you go... The undead that held the crystal balls for the slime... Erm... You didn''t make them, right?" Octer asked with a slight frown. The incarnation turned around and locked eyes with him, "They were in here when I was born, I simply took control over them."

    "So it was a real prisoner, then..." Octer muttered slightly, grinding his teeth together. Foster and Lynol looked at each other, not knowing why this was so important to him, but they didn''t want to pry either.

    "Yup, something like that. Anyway, see y-" The incarnation said, disappearing mid-sentence, as if he was never there in the first ce.

    "Alright. So now that he''s gone... without being bothered by the monsters, it should take an hour or two to get out at most. That means we have plenty of time to talk, don''t we?" K said, staring at the group of three that she had joined in order toe into this dungeon, "Just exin to me what''s going on. What is your rtion to Thiodrus Argomna?"

    Foster locked eyes with K, and then let out a deep, annoyed sigh, "Listen, first of all, I''m not a threat to you, alright? You already know about the fact that I''m immune to necromancy and stuff, right? Well, that''s the only reason why he gave me his legacy. I met him for a day or two, and I do owe him a lot, but I don''t have much of a ''rtion'' to him." He replied immediately, and K simply stared back.

    "Why would he give a random kid his legacy? He''s a vile, evil creature, so why would he give something like that to someone that isn''t the same as him?"

    Rolling his eyes, Foster quickly replied, "I don''t know much about what he did in the past, but to me, he seemed like a good guy, alright? In the ce I met him... the whole ce waspletely taken over by, well, something. It was this big fucking tree made of bones and flesh... It corrupted everything around it. Nature died, and water turned into pure necromancy or something. Either way, when a dude fell in there, not even his bones remained. Thiodrus gave up his strength and powers to seal that ce away, and as I just fucking said, he gave his life to destroy it. I picked up this weird crystal ball thing that was in the middle of his chest the whole time, and when he saw that I did that, I think he made up his mind to give me his legacy."

    "..." K looked at Foster with a constant, deep frown, before squatting down with a loud groan, "Urgh, what the hell? Is that seriously it?"

    "...You just believe him? It seems sort of... ridiculous, right?" Lynol pointed out, and K slowly turned her head, "I mentioned how Aria have the ability to figure out someone''s... talents, powers, that sort of thing, right? Basically, the way it works is that I see someone''s... core. Like a me surrounding someone''s heart. Looking at the color, the way that the me moves, its size and shape, and feeling the heat it gives off... and just the feeling that it gives me... that''s how we can figure those things out. We read the me to learn about it. And at the same time, it lets us see when someone is trying to trick us, or is just tantly lying. But that''s not the case here right now." K exined, "He''s not lying to me... Usually, I wouldn''t go just off that, but neither of your guys'' cores acted weird. That means that first, you two knew about his connection to... that man... and that, ording to your knowledge, he was telling the truth."

    "...I mean, thanks, I guess? But... does this mean that you''re gonna leave, or are you going to stick with us anyway?" Foster asked, looking at K with his arms crossed. He''d like to have her around, considering that she was a decent healer, something that they would obviously need. Their opponents would only get stronger from now on.

    "Well, I can''t just let you run around randomly on your own, can I? You don''t seem like a bad guy, but until I know for sure, I''m keeping an eye on you." K said with a determined, deep frown, before Lynol scoffed slightly, interrupting the conversation.

    "You sure it''s not just because you''re aware you won''t be able to talk to him again if you just leave us now?" He asked, but instead of acknowledging his words, K quickly turned toward the door, "Anyway! Let''s get that magic stone the boss dropped, and then let''s get out clear-proof!"

    "Huh? Clear proof?" Foster said as he turned his head toward Lynol, who quickly exined it to him while K went to pick up the thumb-sized magic stone that dropped from the boss monster, "When you leave the boss room after clearing the dungeon, you get the ''clear proof''. It''s basically just a small coin with the sigil of the dungeon engraved into it. It''s a bound item, so only the owner and those he fully allows to can hold it."

    As the group stepped toward the boss room''s door and pushed it open, just as Lynol had exined, a small coin appeared in front of Foster. He held his hand out toward it, and it quickly dropped onto his palm. It was a small, slightly rusted metal coin, seemingly made of copper.. It had a sigil on it, a simr sigil as what''s on Foster''s chest, just slightly different in a few key ways that wouldn''t let you immediately form the connection if you didn''t know about the connection between this dungeon and Thiodrus himself.

 Chapter 78 - Encounter In Front Of The Dungeon

    "Is this the ce?" A man, wearing a heavy full-te armor, asked as he stood in front of the entrance to a dungeon.

    "Yes, it is. We can go in a little bit so that you can see it for yourself, if you want." Another man, wearing a finely crafted suit, replied to him. There were plenty of other people surrounding the two, but it seemed as if they were only there to do as told instead of making any particr decisions themselves. The man in the suit was the only one that didn''t carry any weapons with him.

    "It looks like a normal ce to me. Is sealing it up really worth it?" The armored man asked, and the man in the suit immediately nodded, "It''s the best way to go about it. It''s a fail type, and the dangerous kind. If novice dungeon divers were to enter it, underestimating the dangers or simply overestimating themselves, they will most certainly die, ore back crippled."

    "Did anyone ever clear it?"

    "No, not as far as we''re aware at least. The items and skills you can get from this ce are very low-tier, so the adventurers that would be capable of it are simply not interested. We tried persuading them, but they say it''s not worth their time. And beyond that... even if they''re powerful, due to the nature of the enemies, there is still an incredible danger to them. Just a single attack from one of them will potentially cost them life or limb." The man in the suit said with a bitter expression

    "It would be a shame to let it go unclearedpletely, but that''s how it is. I don''t feel interested in clearing a ce like this either, so I can''t really me anyone." The armored man replied with a slight sigh before turning around, looking at the people surrounding him, "Go ahead and measure out the entrance area. One of the mages that has the spell, create an earth wall a bit deeper in to make sure nothing cane out and bother them."

    Immediately as the armored man said this, a group of people walked toward the Dungeon''s entrance to get to work. The first person to go inside was a cloaked woman holding a tall staff in her hand. After holding the staff forward, its tip let out a dim light, but soon, the woman slightly flinched, looking deeper down the passage.

    "S-Sir! I think there''s someone in there!" She eximed, and immediately, both the armored man and the man in the suit rushed over toward the entrance, "What? What did you say?"

    "I can hear voices!" The woman replied, and the armored man quickly stepped in front of her, and soon heard the voices as well.

    "...hy couldn''t you have just used thentern? It would have made things so much easier!" A feminine voice eximed first, followed by a retaliating masculine voice, "I''m a martial artist, I need both my hands!"

    Quickly afterward, another, cold and emotionless masculine voice, said, "You were clearly using the torches on the wall, though. Or you could have just given thentern to K, or tied it to your bag."

    "...Come on man, just admit that you forgot you had yourntern in your bag the whole time." A third, deep and rough masculine voice added, as the group came into view. It was four young adventurers, three men and one woman.

    They were casually walking through this dungeon, lit up by a handheldntern. As they came closer and noticed the armored man as well, they stopped for a moment, looking at each other.

    "What the- What''re you standing there for?! Come the hell outta there, you''re gonna get yourselves killed!" The man said, yelling out angrily. However, the group just walked out casually, not really minding the fear, worry and anger in his voice.

    It didn''t take long for them to reach him, though, and they simply stepped past him as he stood there utterly baffled.

    "Erm... so, this is kind of unexpected." Foster let out, seeing that it wasn''t just that one man, but a ratherrge group of individuals just standing there. A momentter, while everyone seemed shocked to see four people just walking out of that ''fail type'' dungeon, the armored man rushed up to them, pulling the closest person to him, the young man carrying thatrge, cloth-wrapped pir on his shoulder, around.

    "Answer me! What were you thinking? Don''t you guys know what this -"

    "Don''t touch me." Lynol replied, hitting the man''s hand away, "Also, fucking calm down, we''re fine, right? That not seem weird to you? Look at this." He said, holding forward the coin that he got leaving the dungeon, the clear proof. Immediately, the armored man turned around and stepped back to the dungeon''s entrance, using his foot to rub away the moss that had overgrown the first few steps.

    He pulled it away, seeing the exact same sigil as was on that coin. Quickly, he jumped up again, and tried to grab the coin out of Lynol''s hand, which the swordsman let him do. The man''s hand simply seemed to faze through the coin, as if it was only an illusion.

    "It''s the... Clear Proof." The armored man said, looking at everyone else in the group, as they were also holding up their respective clear proof coins. A broad smile formed on the man''s face, and he started tough loudly and hysterically, "You bastards fucking cleared it, huh?"

    Immediately, the crowd around them started muttering to themselves. They all heard about this ce. A beginner dungeon that had never been cleared, because nobody wanted to bother. The only fail type dungeon anywhere near Arcadum. And now, a simple group of four took this ce on and managed to clear it without any sort of visible injuries? That seemed not only unlikely, but tantly impossible.

    "Are you four adventurers?" The man asked, looking at their appearance, and Foster quickly got his attention, "Kinda, I just signed up a couple days ago, so it''s not official just yet."

    "A couple- What..? What strength tier are you guys?" The armored man stared at the group, and Foster quickly turned his head, not knowing this term.

    "I''d say we''re all tier two? I don''t think any of us have tier three abilities yet." Lynol replied quickly, and Octer quickly scoffed, "Maybe you guys. I have a tier three ability. Well, sort of... I''ve been practicing, but it seems like I''ll properly learn it soon."

    "So that means..."

    "Yep, we''re still beginners, technically." Lynol said, finishing the man''s sentence.

 Chapter 79 - Silent Step

    In the middle of the night, the group of four finally reached Arcadum again, walking through the gate exhaustedly.

    "I''m staying at an Inn nearby, so I''ll head there now... should we meet again tomorrow, to figure out what to do next?" K asked with a slight yawn, and the others quickly agreed, "Let''s do that. I think we should go to Zhaine''s smithy tomorrow as well, so we can just meet there." Lynol suggested, while still carrying the huge bone on his shoulder. Even if it was wrapped up with cloth, it still looked quite weird from an outside perspective.

    "Sure. I think I know where it is... It''s the ce on the bottom level along the market street, right?"

    "That''s the one." Foster quickly replied, and so, the group quickly split up. They dragged their feet across the streets and up the seemingly neverending stairs to reach the topmostyer, soon reaching the entrance to the Red Riverside Inn. Just walking here took another hour, and it was so crowded that they couldn''t even walk atfortable speeds.

    Without even saying much more, the group split up and all went to their own rooms, ready to head to bed. Foster took off his armor and threw it onto the table exhaustedly, before simply stripping out of his Gi, dropping the clothes to the ground, and then let himself drop down onto the bed.

    It was just so incredibly hot here that Foster could immediately feel the sweat collecting on the concave part of his back like a small puddle.

    "Urgh..." He groaned loudly, and slowly rolled over onto his back so that he was looking at the ceiling, "Let''s hope that I can sleep properly tonight..." He muttered to himself, so exhausted and hot that he didn''t even realize that normally, those flowers should be cooling this room down considerably. But even so, the whole room felt like an oven.

    ---

    An hour, maybe two,ter, Foster slowly pulled his legs over to the side of the bed, pressing the soles of his feet onto the wooden floorboards.

    "And there I thought that maybe I was doing better... I''d been sleeping surprisingly welltely." Foster sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. He had beenying in bed for the past while, trying to fall asleep. But no matter what he did, his mind simply didn''t drift away like he hoped. While the only time that Foster could remember himself sleeping all through the night was the night after he arrived in this world, he had generally been able to sleep at least a cumtive amount of four, maybe five hours every night. It was quite a lot for his standards.

    Foster turned his head over toward the side, looking at the small nature spiritying in the small nest that Foster had made for him out of one of his shirts.

    Slowly, he stood up, scratching the back of his head. Usually he would go for walks at this time of the night, but he wasn''t sure if it would help in a ce like this. It might make it even harder for him to sleep.

    "Maybe some exercise helps..? If I just use up my stamina, then maybe..." Foster thought to himself, stepping into the center of his room. At that thought, Foster realized that he had forgotten to check on the changes in his Martial Necromancy skill when it leveled up again.

    He pulled the window up, and saw two lines sticking out to him. Again, he got a new martial skill and spell, beside the ''Bone Breaker'' martial skill that he got from clearing the dungeon.

    "The spell... siphoning touch..."

    ---

    [Siphoning Touch][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Through your hand, you drain the energies of life from your target into yourself or another target you are currently touching]

    ---

    "...the hell is that supposed to mean?" Foster asked himself, "Is that a healing spell or something? But at least it''s tier one, so it shouldn''t be too hard to use... Although it''s not like I can test it out on anything right now."

    After getting rid of the description for the Siphoning Touch spell, he quickly moved on to his new martial skill.

    ---

    [Silent Step][Tier �C 1]

    [Description: Strengthen your body in order to move around quickly and silently. Increased Damage Received. Decreased Damage Output]

    ---

    Foster scratched the back of his head, "That does seem kinda martial-artsy, at least."

    He slowly closed his eyes, and tried to think of a good way to imagine this skill''s usage. Silent Step... the way that he thought about this sort of skill, it would be like his body bing practically weightless and far more agile, so that he could move around as he wanted to. That''s what came to mind when he thought about this skill, at least.

    He could feel a cold energy fill out his body, particrly his legs and back... and immediately tripped over while standing still.

    "The hell..?" He groaned, managing to catch his own fall. When he used this skill, it felt like his legs became weak. As if he was drunk or high and his body simply refused to work with him anymore, that sort of thing. His sense of bnce simply vanished and he fell over forward, thinking that his legs weren''t able to hold him anymore, "What a weird feeling..."

    Foster slowly tried to use the skill again, but this time held onto the table to make sure that he wouldn''t fall over again. After getting through the first initial wave, that ufortable feeling quickly faded away, and his mind and body grew more ustomed to it.

    Taking a quick step forward, Foster could feel his foot move forward far quicker than he thought... It was simr to the feeling of when you lifted a lot of weight, and then you tried to move around without the muscles again. Just that this feeling didn''t fade away after a few seconds, and instead lingered around.

    It was a bit awkward, since his legs didn''t move the way that he was expecting, but it was quite an amazing feeling as well.

    With a slight smile on his face, Foster simply hopped slightly to see how else this would help him, and despite just slightly hopping like that, not even fully kicking off the ground, he hit his head on the ceiling, and quickly fell down onto his back, forcing the air out of his lungs.

    Laying there, Foster let out a deep groan while sitting up, having just remembered something, "Wasn''t there something about this in the books? Something about a proper way to move around outside ofbat?"

    Quickly, Foster sat back up, and walked over to the the books that heid down next to his bed. After flipping one of them open, he started looking for the right passage. Figuring this out was as good a way to spend the night as any.

 Chapter 80 - Rooftop Park

    Foster flipped through the book, soon reaching the page that he had been looking for.

    "Here it was... ''The Silent Step is a basic movement technique vital to a martial artist...'', huh..." He read to himself. The silent step martial skill was apparently something that was supposed to be usedpletely outside ofbat, which made sense considering the side-effect of decreasing damage dealt and increased damage received, "So it''s for what? Tactical retreats?"

    With a slight sigh, Foster flipped to the next page, looking at the sketches on the next few pages. As far as he could tell on first nce, the stance that he needed for this was simr to the ''Basic Footwork'' that he had already learned a good bit. He was at 70% for that technique within the legacy training mode now, so he figured he should be able to pick this up pretty quickly.

    Or well, at least the regr running... there seemed to be plenty of other techniques rted to the silent step. Specific ways to jump, whether it was to jump as high or as far as possible, vaulting over obstacles, dodging under obstacles... dodging under obstacles while jumping at the same time? There were quite a few descriptions for this. The whole book was basically just about these sorts of footwork techniques in rtion to silent-step type martial skills.

    "I guess I have a lot to work on, then." Foster sighed slightly, figuring he should just start with the basics. He took in a deep breath, and saw it appear in front of him. The rough silhouette formed out of chaotic scribbles in the air, as well as some message boxes that appeared at the same time.

    ---

    [Legacy training mode has been activated]

    [Argomna Style �C Basic Silent Step �C 0% Progress]

    ---

    "Maybe I should go outside for this..." Foster thought to himself, as he quickly put on his Gi. He didn''t grab his armor, because he simply didn''t need to, and simply ced Aster into the fold of his shirt where he wasying as if it was a hammock, grabbing his pouch-wallet and the book on the silent-step.

    He made his way outside and thought for a moment. He was pretty sure there was some sort of rooftop park around here. It was the middle of the night, around 1, maybe 2am, so it shouldn''t be too busy there right now.

    Foster had to search a while, but soon, he turned a corner and managed to seevish green grass, flowers, and even trees nted on the nearby rooftops. They were all connected via bridges so that you could easily visit the different parts of this rooftop park.

    There luckily really didn''t seem to be that many people here, just one or two scattered around here and there. And so, Foster took another deep breath, watching the legacy training mode''s guide appear in front of him once more. Slowly, he stepped into the figure, feeling his body practically slide into ce.

    Since the stance was quite simr, Foster figured that he needed to flex the same muscles as with the regr footwork technique. There were quite some differences though, right off the bat.

    The regr footwork technique was based around making quick, agile turns, letting you be able to turn your body around at a moment''s notice in reaction to anything around you. It was made to let you move around perfectly inbat, where you needed to change your movement at a moment''s notice. The silent step technique described in the book seemed to have a simr, but opposing use. Sure, you had to be able to be agile and react to external stimuli, but it was made to move away as quickly as possible instead of letting the user linger in the same spot.

    "Well, let''s just try this..." Foster muttered slightly, as he activated the silent step martial skill. He could feel his body grow lighter, as he started to move ording to the silhouette that was practically guiding his body, as if pulling him into the right position.

    But the moment that Foster tried to move in this new way, his foot slid over the ground and he nearly did a split.

    "This is way harder than it looks..." Foster grumbled slightly, before trying again. But this time when Foster moved, he instead ovepensated, pushing his foot too strongly into the ground, causing him to fall forward, making him slide over the gravel path he was standing on.

    "Fuuuck!" Foster groaned loudly, "This would be so much easier if Thiodrus was here to teach me... urgh..."

    After pushing himself off the ground, Foster entered the stance once more. Again and again, he tried to use these techniques, but it never actually worked. Every time, Foster either just fell straight forward, slipped, or the technique broke up when he tried to prevent either of those two thing from happening.

    Soon, Foster heard a bit of a chuckle from nearby. He turned his head, and saw a young woman, sitting on a nearby bench, watching Foster try to use his silent step.

    "New at martial arts? What is it you''re trying to use, silent step?" She asked, and Foster turned toward her with heavy, exhausted breaths, and slowly nodded. This woman seemed to be a sort of martial artist as well. But she was wearing a different sort of martial arts uniform. He could recognize it as such, but he really didn''t recognize the sort of uniform it was, though.

    "Yeah, what about it?" Foster replied, and the woman rolled her eyes, "Does a swordsman really pick up a real sword for his first ever training session?"

    "...What do I know, I''m not a swordsman." He said immediately, and the woman chuckled, "That''s not what I was getting at, but you have a point. Anyway, what I''m trying to say... get used to the movement without using the martial skill first. Get the muscle memory up and running, and then try again, but slowly. Learning martial arts is a long and tiring process, you know?"

    "I guess that makes sense." Foster sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Well, thanks for the tip. You got a name or something?"

    "Of course I do. You dumb or something?" She scoffed in response in a mocking tone, "It''s Sofia, what about you, newbie?"

    "Foster. But sorry, I''m not really the type to talk while I''m training, so I''d prefer some silence."

    "Right, right, go ahead. Didn''t wanna disturb you. You just looked pretty pathetic like that."

    "Lady." Foster said with a wry smile, looking at Sofia perplexed, "Don''t you have anything better to do?"

    "Nah, not really. So go ahead, I need some entertainment." Sofia replied immediately, as Foster let out a deep sigh. He was irritated as is. This sort of person really didn''t help with that either. But well, at least she did give him a good tip.

    For now, Foster took on the stance again, ready to move around ording to it. He could feel the silhouette moving around, and let his body follow in a way that felt natural, just that he wasn''t using that hard-to-control martial skill this time around.

 Chapter 81 - Fosters Protection

    [Argomna Style �C Basic Silent Step �C 13% Progress]

    ---

    "Hm... that''s not too bad for one night..." Foster muttered quietly to himself. He had been trying his best to consistently run circles around the rooftop park while keeping up the right stance. It was slightly awkward at first, but it didn''t take long for him to realize that this was really a great way to run.

    His movements seemed generally lighter, allowing him to change directions quickly, and even without using the silent step martial skill, he should be able to jump from any point in the movement incredibly easily.

    "That''s a neat style though. What''d you say it was called?" Sofia, that martial artist that gave Foster some tips throughout the night, asked. But Foster simply sighed, somewhat annoyed, "You can ask a thousand times more, but I''m not gonna tell you, alright? It''s none of your business."

    "I know... but you saying that makes me even more curious." She replied with a smirk on her face, before jumping off the bench that she was sitting on, "Anyway, you''ve done quite well overall, so I''ll show you something as a reward."

    Sofia slowly raised her foot forward, as if she was trying to do a slow-motion step. But then, before Foster even knew it, she disappered from in front of him. Startled, as he was barely able to see a blur pass by him, he turned around to see her standing behind him. She hadn''t even made a single sound, or left any sort of trace in the gravel or dirt that she moved through.

    Immediately, Foster could feel a broad grin forming on his face, "So this is what happens when you properly use silent step, huh?"

    With a slight chuckle, Sofia nodded her head, "That''s right. But well, it''s going to take a few years for you to reach this level." She said, swiftly turning around, before casually walking off. She walked for a few dozen feet, and then turned to look at Foster again, "I tend to be here practically every night. So if you want me to give you some more tips here and there, you know where to find me."

    "I''ll consider it, I guess." Foster replied, and Sofia quickly disappeared behind the closest corner. When she was gone, Foster quickly looked at the horizon, "I guess I should head back as well... maybe I can get a bit of sleep after all."

    ---

    "Morning." Octer said with a loud yawn, seemingly having slept quite well. He looked at Foster and Lynol who had been waiting at him with a broad grin, "You guys ready to go?"

    "Mhm, sure." Foster said in a tired tone. At times like these, after particrly bad nights, he would usually walk around and st some music on his headphones. But those shattered apart together with his spine back then. And it wasn''t like he had a phone to y the music on anymore either.

    ''Hahhh... I miss technology...'' He thought to himself, following behind his friends. The streets were really quite full around this time of the day. Looking down at the bottom level, there were mostly carriages or people actively working by hauling things from A to B.

    The group of three quickly made their way through town, or as quickly as they could, at least, and soon reached Zhaine''s smithy. They walked inside, and were quickly hit by a cloud of dust hitting their faces. They quickly saw what that was about as well. All the shelves and weapon or armor disys had been pushed over. On top of that, plenty of the items in the shop had been bent or broken, beyond what seemed possible through the basic impact of everything falling over.

    "Zhaine? You in here?" Foster asked with a worried expression, trying to peak over the shelves. And from the other side of the room, the dwarf in question soon replied, "Get the fuck out, ya damned bastards! Ye''ve done enough, din''t ya?!"

    "It''s us, remember? The guys you promised to work with? The ones that beat you in a drinking contest the other day?" Foster said, and Zhaine stayed silent for a few moments, "So it''s you, eh? Come in. But be careful, ye don''t wanna cut yer dainty lil'' feet up, do ya?"

    "Ha-ha, very funny." With a deep sigh, Foster was the first to quickly climb over the shelves to get to Zhaine, and soon saw him, sitting on his stool, currently wrapping his arm in bandages. With a deep frown, Foster approached him, "What happened in here? Who did this?"

    "None of yer business,d. Now tell me, what''d ya want? If yer just here to make fun of me, ya can fuck right off." Zhaine growled, but Foster couldn''t help but roll his eyes annoyedly, "Oh shut up already. And what the hell are you even doing with those? Urgh, goddammit..."

    Foster squatted down in front of Zhaine and proceeded to pull the bandages off his arm. There was a quite nasty cut there, but it was too neat to have happened on ident.

    "Oi, what''re-"

    "I told you to shut up." Foster interrupted Zhaine, giving him a quick death-re, before pulling the rest of the bandage-roll out of his hand. He turned his head and saw the first-aid kitying on the table, and swiftly pulled a woundpress out of it. And then, he looked at the suspicious bottle standing near it, that Zhaine had obviously been drinking from. After smelling it once, Foster took a quick sip.

    "Urgh, that''s really strong. Good." He groaned, before pouring a bit of it over Zhaine''s wound. Of course, the dwarf slightly flinched, but Foster kept a tight grip on his wrist, so it didn''t do much. Then, Foster tightly pressed thepress onto the cut, and wrapped the bandages around his forearm tight enough to make sure that it would hold out for a while, "A friend of ours ising by in a bit as well, she''s a healer. This should hold out until then. Nowe on, tell us what happened here."

    "...Don''t meddle in things ya don''t wanna deal with. Just tell me what ye''re here for already."

    "That''s secondary. We''re not in a hurry right now. Now spit it out. What happened?" Foster asked, and now, Zhaine finally gave in.

    He sighed deeply, and exined, "Down here, there really aren''t shops anymore, since they''ve expanded upward. The most ya can find are storages for biggerpanies, housing for the poor folk that can''t afford sunlight, stables, and of course the scum of the city. In this part of town, there''s a group that just keeps bothering everyone, and they''ve been trying to have me supply weapons to ''em. I''d rather fuck an elf than y along with those bastards."

    Foster let out a deep sigh, "In terms of adventurers, how strong would those guys be?"

    "Huh? Tier 1 or 2, 3 at most." Zhaine replied, before realizing why Foster asked, "Oi, ya don''t mean to-"

    Foster climbed back over the tipped-over shelves, and approached the door, while not only Zhaine but also Lynol and Octer were looking at him like he was insane. With a grin on his face, Foster looked at them, "The moment I had you work with us was the moment I''ve put you under my protection. Anyone that fucks with you, fucks with me. And trust me. I don''t let people get away with that."

 Chapter 82 - A Penny Or Two

    Lynol grabbed Foster''s arm, stopping him from just rushing out of the shop without thinking, "What are you saying? And most importantly, what are you thinking? You can''t just go and mess with those sorts of people."

    "''Those sorts of people'' are my people, Lynol. Criminals, scum, dealers, extorters. But what they''re doing here? That''s the lowest of the low, trust me. People that go and mess up an old man''s ce like this do much, much worse than what I would''ve ever stooped to. And that''s why I need to... deal with that." Foster exined immediately, and Lynol locked eyes with him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

    "Yes, that''s what I just said, right? Listen, back where I''m from, we used to do simr things. We took control of bars, clubs... you know, nightlife stuff. But every once in a while, I would also take care of regr ces. Mom and pop shops, that were being bothered by other scum. We obviously wouldn''t make them pay us or anything, but I would put them under my protection. To make sure that scum like me just with different priorities wouldn''t end up fucking them over. That is exactly what happened here." He said immediately, "For now, you two just stay here and wait for K, I''ll be back in... well, give me an hour or so."

    And with that, Lynol let go of his friend''s arm, epting that this was something that Foster was more than just determined to do right now. Lynol closed the door and tried climbing over the shelves, as the door was being swung open again, "By the way, Zhaine, where can I find those guys?" Foster asked with a wry smile, forgetting that he had no idea where he had to go.

    ---

    Huddled around in a circle, a group of five young men and women were gathered, all around 16 or 17 years old, proudly looking down at theirtest loot, "See this? It''s a bit rusty, but a weapon made by that old man is really fuckin'' good anyway. Oh, and this armor? Look at how fucking light it is!" One of them eximed, holding a chestte in front of himself with a broad grin on his face, as the girl next to him added, "With this, those south-west fuckers have no chance against us!"

    "Yo, T, how much money did you manage to grab?"

    "Just finished counting, it''s... one silver piece, a bronze coin, three bronze pieces, eight copper coins, and 21 copper pieces! So that''s... erm... 800 val!"

    "That''s amazing, that''s a great grab!" Another one of the group eximed, before they could hear a loud groan from behind them.

    With an annoyed tone, the owner of the voice said, "961 val. Not 800. It''s simple addition, you kids don''t even know that? How are you not being scammed everywhere you go?" Foster asked, "Anyway, doesn''t matter. Hand all the shit you stole from Zhaine over, right now."

    The group of five turned around, seeing Foster approaching them casually. They were a bit startled at first, but it didn''t take long until one of these five stepped forward, "Heh, get outta here, you bitch. You''re way outta your league here!"

    Foster couldn''t help himself but chuckle slightly as he saw them, "Listen, you''re all just kids, I''m not going to hurt you if you just give everything to me and hurry up home, alright?" He said, stretching his hand out, waiting for one of them to give everything to him. And surprisingly, one of them did actually grab one of the itemsying on the ground, and was slowly reaching out to give it to Foster. But quickly, the boy''s expression turned from regretful to excited and angry, as he immediately swung his arm down, ready to cut into Foster''s outstretched hand.

    But of course, Foster had to just pull his arm to the side and then grab the one-edged sword at its back to avoid being cut by it. With a quick tug, he pulled it out of the boy''s hand, "Seriously? You don''t even know how to hold it properly... Urgh, for real, I wish you hadn''t done that, kid. Because now I gotta treat you like an adult, and neither of us really wants that, right?"

    "Sh-shut the fuck up, you-" The boy yelled out, but wasn''t able to finish his sentence in time, since he soon felt a fist hit his face. He was thrown backward and soonid on the ground. Obviously. Foster was just using his bare fist, and didn''t put on his gauntlets or use any skills or techniques he had learned here. That was just a basic street-fighter''s straight. Since Foster was nice, he even avoided hitting the boy''s nose. He would only end up with a ck eye instead of having to rearrange his own face after this.

    "Ouch. I don''t think you got frozen peas here, do ya?" Foster grimaced, "Listen, I wouldn''t have hit you like that had you not tried to cut my fucking hand off, aight? Dish out like an adult, get hit like an adult." He said with a deep sigh, and soon had one of the other kids running at him. He was the physically biggest one of them tall, and he was also the one that had counted the money earlier. With a big arch, he tried to swing his fist at Foster, but it wasn''t a real punch. He was just trying to swing his outstretched arm at Foster, like some kid.

    With a sigh, Foster stepped to the side, quickly sweeped the boy''s foot away, and kicked him on the rear end, making him fall to the ground and slide over it a good few feet.

    "Seeing all this shit, I doubt you five were actually the ones that trashed Zhaine''s ce. My guess? You were just there with the ones that did it. So go on, just tell me where I can find them, and I won''t bother you anymore."

    The boy that attacked Foster first slowly stood up, holding his cheek and eye with a few tears clearly gathering there, "Th-They''re by the... they''re by the warehouse... just walk down the alley there, can''t miss it... buncha big guys fuckin'' around in front of it..."

    "Gotcha, thanks." Foster said, as he walked over to the spot where the big kid dropped the money, squatting down to collect it. But then, Foster took a closer look at these kids. They were clearly not doing well. They were malnourished, pale, and wearing nothing but tatters.

    With a sigh, Foster picked up the silver coin, "Great fucking job, kid. You''ve got such a big skull that I hurt my hand when I hit you. Now I only have the strength to grab one of the coins." He sighed annoyedly, stepping away past them down the alleyway, while the five of them were standing there perplexed. Foster turned around with a slight grin, "Oh, by the way, as thanks for telling me where to go, I''ll give you tip for a quick job-opportunity. I heard the shop of some old guy near here was trashed, he might need some help cleaning that up. If you ask nicely, he might even pay you a penny or two."

 Chapter 83 - The Warehouse

    Foster walked down the alley, and it didn''t take long until he managed toe across the ce that those kids had seemingly been talking about earlier. It was a run-down warehouse where lots of shady-looking people were gathered, sitting around, drinking andughing. It was a ssic sight, really. Even the syndicate that Foster was a part of before would buy plots ofnd or warehouses and use it as gathering-ces to run their operations from, simply due to the convenience connected to it.

    But if this was the case here as well, then these guys sitting out front were most likely just goons made to sit there to make sure nobody was bothering the more important people inside.

    "Maybe it''s a bit more well-organized than I thought..." Foster muttered, seeing the clothes that those guys were wearingpared to the clothes that everyone else he came across here in the area did. They were obviously of a rather high quality, or at least decent enough for them to be something you might see on Earth.

    The whole vibe that Foster was getting was that these guys might be a bit more annoying than he thought, meaning that he couldn''t just walk in there. They might try toe and retaliate. And with that in mind, Foster slowly looked down at his clothes. There were plenty of people wearing Gis walking around, and even if none of them actually looked exactly like Foster''s, he doubted that any of these guys could exin his outfit better than as a ''ck martial arts uniform''. So, he then had to hide his face. For that, just yesterday he had received something useful.

    Pushing his hand into his bag, Foster pulled out the bone mask in the shape of a skull. It was meant so that Aster couldter pull power from this mask, but that didn''t mean that it couldn''t just be used as a normal mask until then.

    With a grin, Foster pressed the mask onto his face, and tied the leather strips connected to it together on the back of his head until it held there tightly. It did slightly restrict his sight, but it wasn''t to an extent that he couldn''t deal with.

    And then, he walked around the corner, heading straight at the warehouse. With a slight wave once he stood in front of the group sitting there, he said, "Y''ello. Just a quick question, but is it you guys that keep bothering the few shops left around here?"

    One of the people in front of Foster stood up. He had a slightly blueish tint to his skin and waspletely hairless. His ears looked a lot like fins, as if this guy was some sort of fish-man. Now that he looked closely, none of the guys here seemed to be humans, they were some other races. Foster had seen many of them until now, and while arge portion of the people he came across were humans, the majority actually weren''t. They were all humanoids, sure, but most of them were just... different.

    Octer and Lynol tried to teach Foster as much about the different races as they could, so he knew a little bit at least. The guy standing in front of him right now was a sort of Gilman, a race that can be found living inrge bodies of water. Then another one of them was a Lizardman, arge, bulking guy whose teeth seemed like they could tear Foster''s skin apart immediately.

    Then there was a Goblin, the smallest of the bunch, squatting on his chair instead of actually sitting on it, ring at Foster to try and intimidate him.

    "The fuck wants to know, huh?"

    "I do. That''s a weird question, you know?" Foster replied immediately, turning his head back to the man standing in front of him, "Well, usually when people answer like that, it means ''yes'', so I''ll just take it as that. You seem to be some wannabe gangsters anyway, so taking care of you should be fine." He pointed out as he slightly stretched, pulling his arms back, and cracking his knuckles.

    With a loudugh, the Gilman turned toward his friends, "The balls on this guy, eh? Come on, let''s take care of ''im and-"

    Before the Gilman could finish talking, Foster had already punched him in the stomach. The punch seemed strong and precise enough to make the Gilman quickly fall over, before Foster pressed his foot onto his back to keep him down.

    "Now, you guys want some too, or you gonna show me where your boss is?" He asked, but before he even finished his sentence, the other two guys jumped up as well. And of course, these three weren''t the only ones here. This whole warehouse was filled with people, all ready to attack the intruder. Some of them seemed a bit more skilled than others, but for the most part, they were all just at the ssic goon-level, trying to swing around anything that they could get their hands on.

    And as someone who spent most of his days trying to educate scum like this into not being absolute morons, getting through this ce was an easy task. Sure, he was hit every once in a while due to the sheer amount of people that were attacking him, but he would retaliate just a momentter and knock whoever hit him out clean.

    It didn''t take long until a certain point had been reached. A point where the waves had stopped. Not because Foster had already beaten everyone here, but because so many people had piled up around him that it became clear to everyone that they didn''t have a chance against this intruder in front of them.

    Instead, they finally did what Foster had asked them for, they went and got their boss. But instead of just that one guying out, it was a group of five. One of them was a human with a sword on his hip, another was a tall Orc, as far as what Foster had learned from the others. There was another Lizardman as well, and what seemed to be an elf with a slight yellow green tint to her skin.

    They were all standing behind the man that Foster figured to be the boss here. He was a Hogmir, a humanoid Boar person. One of his tusks was cracked in half, and he had a deep, gashing scar running across diagonally across his mouth.

    He was wearing arge trenchcoat, but not in the normal way. He had it hanging on his shoulders and didn''t put his arms through the sleeves. Foster let out a deep sigh, "Seriously? You''re wearing it that way? Could you be any more of a cliche asshat than this?" He asked with a loud groan.

    "Kir. Take care of him." The Hogmir said in a rough, raspy voice, before the Orc walked toward Foster. He was really quiterge, probably seven, maybe seven and a half feet tall. He had deep green skin and short-trimmed ck hair. He had two tusksing out of his lower jaw basically the same size as the Hogmir''s, and scars all over his arms. Considering the way that his fists were bulging, he was clearly a fist-fighter.

    With a broad grin underneath the skeletal mask, Foster looked at the Orc in front of him, ready to fight against a new opponent in a fistfight.

 Chapter 84 - Foster Versus An Orc

    Foster looked up at the Orc standing in front of him. The towering figure slowly leaned forward, scratching the stubble on its chin, "Why wear that mask? It mean you want dead?" He asked, in an extremely strong ent. Although, it was an ent that he really couldn''t recognize.

    ''Right... I have no idea what sortanguages there are in this world...'' Foster thought to himself. He basically cheated, and learned how to speak thenguage of this country without even needing to try, just because Thiodrus was kind enough to teach it to him through magic. The only downside to it was that Foster apparently had a sort of ''old'' way of speaking. The way he pronounced certain words and his word choice in particr were things from Thiodrus'' time, things that Foster inherited with his understanding of thenguage. It was as if he was speaking in english from a few centuries ago.

    But well, it wasn''t like this really mattered right now anyway, it just stuck out for a moment. Ignoring it for now, Foster locked eyes with the Orc through his mask, "Well, I don''t really have any ns of dying today, sorry."

    "Too bad. I make you dead." With a broad grin on his face, the Orc swung his fist forward. At a nce, it seemed weirdly simr to the way that the kid from earlier was trying to swing at him... but obviously much more refined. As if that kid was just trying to imitate this Orc while filling in some gaps. If Foster was right, then that kid wasn''t a human either, since he had some tusks simr to that of an Orc. Well, otherwise he looked like a human though, so Foster had no idea.

    For now, it really didn''t matter, though. Foster ducked down and dodged the heavy but fast attack, proceeding to slide his feet over the ground and hitting the Orc''s torso. It felt like he was hitting a b of rock, though, despite the fact that the Orc''s chest waspletely exposed.

    ''Guess I''ll have to use that after all...'' Foster thought, as he moved out of the way of the grapple that the Orc was attempting. Against an opponent like this, whose fighting style clearly based in speed, using the Argomna style might be a bad idea. Foster''s attacks were slow that way, after all. And in the first ce... against people like this, using some regr street fighting might be better anyway.

    And so, as he moved out of the way, Foster rxed his body, letting himself naturally exit his basic stance. As the Orc was recovering his own stance, clearly being an experienced fighter to an extent, Foster reached out his hand, grabbing onto one of the Orc''s tusks. Foster kicked his opponents knee, putting all his weight into it. As he was letting himself drop down at the same time, he also pulled on the Orc''s tusk, making him naturally fall forward. Or at least, that''s what Foster had thought would happen, but with sheer physical strength, he managed to hold himself up, with Foster just pressing onto the Orc''s knee, forcing his leg to be straight, while hanging onto the tusk.

    "Erm... shit?" Foster let out nervously, before seeing the Orc''s fist fly toward him at high speed. Thinking that this might be a good chance, the moment that the fist hit Foster''s stomach, he simply let go of everything, pulling himself toward the Orc''s huge fist and grappled onto it, something that pulled the big guy forward even more.

    And then, Foster just let go of everything again once he was in a position where he could quickly set his feet onto the ground. The Orc, not expecting Foster to randomly let go like that, ovepensated as he pulled back, in multiple ways.

    Not only did the Orc throw his head backward, but he also angled his knee too much as he tried to force it out of the straight position, and at the same time pulled his arm back to try and force Foster off.

    But then, Foster himself quickly rushed over toward the Orc, hooking his foot behind the Orc''s calf to pull his foot away, causing him to fall over backward.

    While he was trying to swing his arms around to stop his fall, Foster moved in the way. The Orc, who was now looking at the ceiling while falling backward, soon had a fist shoved into his face, followed by the explosive impact of a ''single strike'' echoing out. Now, he had no way of stopping the fall backward, and was rather forced to impact with the ground even more. But this wasn''t where Foster stopped.

    The moment that the Orc wasying on the ground, Foster climbed on top of his chest, pressing his face in ce with his knees and pressing his feet into his armpits, as he truly started his assault. Again and again, Foster hit the Orc''s face, using ''single strike'' for tougher ces like the Orc''s forehead.

    Although the Orc tried to defend himself, trying to pull Foster away from him, he simply kept on going, until his opponent gave up.

    Energetically, his clothes, fists, and mask covered in blood, he stood up, looking at the people standing in front of him. It was clear that this Orc, Kir, was the strongest fighter amongst all of them, but he had been taken down so quickly.

    "So? Ready to give in?" Foster asked, his head just so slightly tilted to the side, but the people in front of him, while cowering in confusion, didn''t respond. And so, Foster turned around, and grabbed the Arm of the Orc, "Hm, I get it, you guys don''t think I''m serious yet." He sighed, "Seriously, you''ll have to apologize to your buddy hereter. This is only happening because you guys just aren''t giving up."

    Foster ced his foot onto the Orc''s shoulder to keep it down, while grabbing his arm by the wrist, pulling it up as straight as possible.

    "Wh-What is it you want from us?" The Hogmir yelled out, and Foster grinned, although it was clearly hidden by the mask, "Well, first of all, I want you guys to apologize, and give back all the thing you stole from Zhaine''s shop earlier."

    The Hogmir red back at him, "You''re here for that? Because we nicked a few things from a rundown old shop?!"

    "Rundown or not, that shop is under my protection. And you guys fucked with it. So, I have to teach you a lesson. Now, I''ll give you one more chance to give it all back, before I give you a real reason. So, will you cooperate?"

    "And... what if we don''t?" The Elf asked with a deep stare, as Foster, in a devilish voice, replied, "Wrong answer." He said, as he hit the Orc''s forearm. Instead of using ''single strike'', though, he used his new ''Bone Breaker'' martial skill. He could practically imagine it, his hand being a huge wrench that shattered apart anything it hit. And when he managed to hear a loud crack that echoed out through the warehouse, he knew that it worked.

    The human in the group took a step forward, ready to pull his sword on Foster, "Fucking bastard, you-"

    "Stop." The Hogmir interrupted, "Let''s... Let''s just talk, alright? You don''t need to keep doing this. We''ll give you back everything... Just please, go." He said, and Foster locked eyes with him, as he let go of the squirming Orc''s arm. He slowly approached him, looking deep into this humanoid Boar''s eyes.

    "Alright then. Hand it over." Foster said in amanding tone, "And in addition to all this... I want to have a bit of a conversation with you."

 Chapter 85 - Cooperation

    Foster leaned against the edge of a table, looking at the man standing in front of him. It was the Hogmir, the boss of this small organization.

    "Are you working for, or with any other organizations?" Foster asked, and the Hogmir shook his head immediately, "No, we don''t. We work alone."

    "What''re your goals?"

    "..." The Hogmir stayed silent for a while, before finally speaking when Foster''s re didn''t disappear, "We just want to live. I used to be an adventurer, but I couldn''t continue work. I was thrown out, I was cast away. I became useless in this town. And then, when I found myself down here... I started doing what I had to do. I gathered people around me, and... things got out of hand."

    With a slight sigh, Foster closed his eyes for a few moments, "What''s your name?"

    The Hogmir looked back at the man standing in front of him, and started pacing around the room, "It''s Himkijl. I doubt you''ll tell me yours, though."

    "...Call me Odin." Foster said bluntly. It was his middle name, and he would sometimes go by it if he didn''t want to reveal his first orst name. He barely had any records of his existence back then in the first ce, so someone being able to find a connection to him through just hisst name was very unlikely. It became a hard-to-break habit, not that there was much of a reason to break it in the first ce.

    "I''ve got experience in this business. For certain reasons, the organization I used to work for... disbanded. Now, I''m trying to get a footing in this city. You get where I''m going with this?" Foster asked, and Himkijl slightly red back, "You want to work with us?"

    "No. I want you to work with me. And be careful with your words, or ''with'' changes to ''for''." Foster replied immediately, "Also, before you make up your mind, I''m not asking for ridiculous things. I''m going to help you be more... well, ethical, to an extent, while you help me out in different ways. Through information, contacts, things like that."

    "We''re criminals, what do you mean with ''ethical''?" The Hogmir scoffed, as Foster quickly replied, "Easy. You protect the people from trouble. Bring order into the crime that''s happening around here, and you do it with a strict code. All the whilst you stay in the background. Run things from behind the scenes."

    Himkijl shook his head, "Right, because that''s as easy as you make it sound."

    "It''s not. It''s absolutely not. But I''ll be helping you out. We''re starting in a simple way. You sort out everyone that you can''t trust, everyone that acts against you and your orders, or will cause trouble with the new form that this group will take. You will do that with any excuse you need toe up with. Push all of the me on me if you want, just get it done." Foster said, "Oh, and before that. You''re going to give me anything and everything that you stole from Zhaine''s shop as well. In the future, when you want to contact me, you''re going to leave a message with Zhaine himself. And to make it clear, I mean you, and exclusively you. Nobody else is to set a foot near that ce without my permission. Understood?"

    Walking up closer to Foster, Himkijl locked eyes with him, "You keep talking like we''re already working with you."

    "Oh, you are. Both of us know that." Foster said with a smirk underh is mask, walking past the Hogmir, cing his hand on his shoulder as he did. In the process, he saw something, though.

    "Your arms. What happened to them?" He asked immediately, and Himkijl let out a deep sigh. Jerking his shoulders, he pushed the jacket off of them, showing Foster the reason why he was wearing the jacket like this in the first ce.

    His right hand waspletely petrified. Quite literally so. It was made of rock, with clear, sharp edges visible through his sleeve up to his upper arm. His other hand, turned into a fist, was the same, but it seemed like the petrification didn''t run as far up that arm.

    "What''d it look like?" Himkijl asked, and Foster simply stared at him, "Would I ask if I knew?"

    "Seriously, kid? It''s magic feedback. I used to be a Geomancer. It just builds up over some time, and then when a spell of mine went out of control, this happened." Himkijl said, "I''ll give you a tip, be careful with magic."

    "...Thanks. I''ll remember that." Foster replied, as he walked out the door of the room that him and Himkijl had been in. He walked past the members of this organization, all ring at him intensely. When he reached Kir, Foster stopped for a moment, "No hard feelings, eh? Don''t worry, it''s a clean break. Should heal nicely." He said quickly, patting the Orc on the shoulder as he made his way to the warehouse''s entrance. There, he waited for another little while, until a few goons brought over some bags, filled with a bunch of items and some money that had apparently been stolen from Zhaine''s ce. Throwing said bags over his shoulder, Foster made his way back through the alleyway, soon reaching the main street. In front of Zhaine''s store, a bunch of wood had piled up from the broken shelves being disposed. To Foster''s pleasant surprise, he could see one of the five kids from earlier currently bringing some of said wood outside.

    "So you did choose toe here, huh?" Foster asked with a smile, before he heard a yell from inside, "Yeah they did, and they returned my money that they were apparently given by you, ya fuckin'' bastard!" Zhaine yelled.

    "You did? Well, I left it with you kids just in case you chose not toe here, but even then, I''m surprised you gave it up like that. Great." Foster said with a smile, as he stepped into the store. It was still messy as hell, but at least it was a lot more orderly than before. He carefully ced the bags down on the ground, and turned toward the group of people inside the room.

    "Oh, K. You''re here. Perfect." He said, finally taking off his mask with a deep sigh, "I think I need your help as well."

    "Holy- What happened to you?!" She yelled out, quickly rushing up to Foster. She was seeing the dried-up blood all over his face, and she was even more surprised when he took off his top and showed the bruises and small cuts all over his body. His Gi could repair itself, but some cuts and stabs still got through it to injure his skin.

    "Didn''t you say you''d take care of it, and not to worry?" Lynol asked, looking at Foster with an annoyed, wry smile.

    "Oh please, this is nothing. But given the opportunity of being healed, I''d rather take that." Foster pointed out, as he turned to see the kids from earlier staring at him confused, "You... you really... got everything back from them?" One of them, the kid who Fsoter punched in the face, asked. He simply shrugged in response, "Of course I did. It was easy. Well, except that one guy. Kir was his name. A huge dude, an Orc or something. I mean, I still beat him up pretty easily, but it was a lot more fun, at least."

    "Hold up, you beat Kir?!" The other boy that had attacked Foster asked, "No way you did! Stop lying!"

    Foster scoffed in response, while K was annoyedly healing the most worrisome wounds, "Believe it or not, but I did it. Now I don''t want to brag, but- Fucking shit, K, that hurts!" He yelled out, pulling his arm away.

    The cleric red at him intensely, pushing down on the bruise even harder, "I know, it''s supposed to. Damned idiot."

 Chapter 86 - Commission

    Foster sweeped over the floor to get rid of thest splinters of wood that wereying there. Now that they were forced to clear out the store like this, it was actually quite spacious. Theyout was pretty nice as well.

    "You know, since we need to get new stuff for the shop anyway, we can change things around here a bit. What''d you think, Zhaine?" He asked loudly so that the dwarf could hear him while he was rummaging in the back, "We''re not gonna change nothin'' around here! All''s gonna be as it''s supposed to be, ya hear?!"

    With a deep frown, Zhaine stepped up to the front part of the shop again, ring at Foster angrily, "Also, if yae back with yer armor lookin'' like this again, ya can be sure I''m never lettin'' ya set foot in here again!"

    "Ohe on now, you don''t mean that."

    "Fuck off!" With that, Zhaine returned to the actual smithy of this shop to fix up Foster''s armor. Once he was gone, and the room became silent again, it didn''t take long until Foster turned toward his friends, "By the way, why am I the only one cleaning up anymore?"

    Octer, Lynol and K all stared at Foster with practically nk expressions, while he just stood there returning those stares.

    "Alright, good point, good point. I''ll just let that sink in for a bit, then." Foster said jokingly, as he finished sweeping the floor for now. He turned his head toward the window-front, seeing those five teens standing out there, just talking to each other.

    While he was looking out, K said, "At least something good came out of that. Helping those kids was nice of you."

    "Well yeah, I couldn''t just let them stand around there." Foster said bluntly, before slightly nudging his chin toward the wrapped-up object leaning against the wall next to Lynol, "Zhaine say something about that while I was gone? Can he do something with it?"

    Lynol turned his head toward the bone, "I didn''t show him yet. There were more imminent things to take care of. And then when you came back... well, you know the rest."

    Foster looked around the shop at the different itemsying around, "Do you guys think we should all upgrade a bit? Your armor also got pretty scuffed up in the dungeon, Octer. And Lynol and K aren''t even wearing any armor at all."

    "I''m a cleric, I don''t wear armor..."

    "Oh, bullshit." Lynol scoffed in response while looking at K, "Plenty of clerics wear armor, especially the adventuring kind. Maybe not all casters do, but being a cleric definitely isn''t an excuse."

    "I''m not a battle cleric, though! Armor is just going to make it harder for me to y my music!" K pointed out, but Foster couldn''t help himself butugh at that, "Why would it stop you from ying?"

    "It... it... it just would! And first of all, armor is just so... ugly, and clunky, and not stylish at all!"

    Octer, Lynol and Foster all looked at K, quite confused, before Octer replied to her, "You''re worried about being stylish? Seriously?"

    K looked down at the ground awkwardly and nodded her head, "That''s not a bad thing, is it?"

    Foster rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter next to him, "You can be stylish and wear armor at the same time. Like... there''s gotta be some weird fantasy materials that are super strong that you can use, right?"

    "What? Fantasy materials? What are you talking ab-" K asked, while Foster could feel Lynol''s death-stare on his skin, "He''s just talking nonsense. But he does have a point. You can have something that is protective and looks nice at the same time, if that''s so important to you."

    "...What excuse do you have then?"

    "The kid''s a.... what was it? Lorgran? They''ve got skin as tough as rock. Natural armor." Zhaine pointed out, stepping into the front of the shop while cing the armor down on the counter next to Foster. Lynol frowned and looked at the dwarf, "How do you know that?"

    Zhaine scoffed as he sat down on his stool, "I''m much older than all of y''allbined, I''ve seen things none of ya can even imagine. Anyway, red Lorgrans like him? Warrior folk. Just how it works." He pointed out, "Although the ''stone'' could still be a bit thicker in yer business, so some more armor than the little bit ya''ve got would be better."

    "Fine, it''s not like I wasn''t nning on it anyway." Lynol pointed out, as he finally picked up the cloth-wrapped bone standing next to him, carrying it over toward Zhaine, "But first, I willmission you for something else. My sword broke in the dungeon, so I need a new one. And that sword could barely scratch the surface of this thing, and that was before it was enhanced even further by the dungeon." He exined, pulling the cloth off of the bone, before the dwarf jumped up from his stool.

    "Wh-What kinda monster''d you get this thing from?" Zhaine asked surprised, and Foster quickly replied, "It''s a giant frog''s femur.", and everyone slowly turned toward him.

    "...you know what the bone is called?" Confused, Octer looked at his friend, who shrugged, "You gotta know some anatomy when your job is to break people''s bones."

    "You seriously need some help."

    "Yeah." Foster replied without hesitation, "Anyway, the femur is the thigh bone, thergest bone in the body, even for frogs."

    "No matter what it''s called, I sure can make somethin'' nice out of this. Ya got any other materials you want me to add into ''er? I''ll probably need a bit of metal anyway, so if ye''ve got the pieces of yer sword with ya, then I could use ''em." Zhaine exined, clearly already nning out exactly what to do with this bone, as Lynol quickly grabbed the bag that he had tied to his back, pouring the contents onto the counter in front of him.

    Different to what Zhaine expected, instead of being pieces of cracked and shattered metal, it looked more like the parts of some sort of mechanical creation. He didn''t question it, though, and instead looked at the metal without a moment''s hesitation, "Hm, this should work nicely? Ya mind if I were to use all of it? Probably won''t, but I gotta know how much I could use."

    "It''s broken. I don''t need it anymore." Lynol replied, "Anyway, the kind of sword I want is-"

    "Aye, I can tell, don''t worry. Might need to change the shape slightly, but I''ll make it as close to what its predecessor was as I can." With a somewhat excited grin, the first time any of these four customers had seen this expression on this drunkard''s face, Zhaine picked up the bone with ease, although even Lynol had struggled to even pick it up.

    Zhaine ced the bone down in the back, and then hurried back to the front, "I''ll have it done in a few days. Now, ya want anythin'' else?"

    "Oh, yeah, could you maybe repair this shield? Maybe reinforce it a bit?" Octer asked, casually pulling the huge tower shield from his back before handing it to Zhaine, who nodded his head without hesitation, "Sure I can. Should be done by tonight. If not, tomorrow. Just pick it up when ya can." Zhaine exined, before looking at the group in front of him, "Since half of ya are still on the fence about what sorta armor ya want, and I already got some new projects, just figure stuff out for now and then tell me when ya pick the shield up. Ya just cleared a dungeon apparently, so I doubt ye''re gonna do much crazy stuff for a couple days anyway."

 Chapter 87 - What Now?

    "Alright, what now?" Foster asked, leaning against the wall outside of Zhaine''s shop, looking at Octer, Lynol and K.

    "What do you mean, ''what now''?" Lynol asked, and Foster immediaely shrugged, "I don''t know, like, what are we gonna do now? It''s another couple days until my Guild Card is ready, and until then I can''t really work with the guild. So what are we gonna do now?"

    "Did- Did you not hear what Zhaine said inside?" Octer asked with a wry smile, "He was right when he said we wouldn''t be doing anything for a few days. We just cleared out a dungeon, Foster. It was a first-time clear. We wouldn''t be taking new requests for a few days anyway."

    Foster raised his brows surprised, "Really? Huh... I mean, fair enough. Some freetime it is, then."

    "Freetime? Who said you''re getting freetime?" Lynol asked, "We''re going to keep training. We only trained three techniques from the book. And you can do a lot better with those three as well. I''ve booked us a training room at the Inn, so we''ll be spending a few days there until our meeting with our new handler."

    Foster stared at his friend perplexed, "The whole time? Seriously?"

    "Of course. Since the training room is at the Inn, we can maximize the time we have for actual training."

    "Didn''t I show you that I''m good enough in the dungeon already? Come on, I can do this!"

    Lynol rolled his eyes, "You showed that you can fight against mindless, weak opponents pretty well. We''re going to be entering the Basement soon, things will be different there. You can''t beat every enemy with forward strikes in there."

    "...What''s the ''Basement''?" Foster asked confused, and Lynol sighed in response, turning his head to look down the street, "I mentioned it before. The ''Great Dungeon''. It''s nicknamed ''Basement''. It''s a huge underground dungeon that this city is built on, and since you descend down into that space, it''s dubbed ''Basement''."

    "Hold up, this whole town is built on top of a dungeon?"

    K grumbled slightly, her arms crossed, "You don''t even know that? Yes, it is. It''s the whole reason why this city is even here. People found the dungeon, and created a camp around it. They thought it was just a beginner''s dungeon at first. When they figured out that it was actuallyrger than they thought, more and more people came, and the settlement grew and grew, and turned into Arcadum as it is now."

    Foster raised his brows surprised, "Wait, why did theye think it was a beginner''s dungeon?"

    "Because it''s special. ''Great Dungeon'', ''World Dungeon'', whatever, that sort of ce has a lot of names. We have no idea how deep it is. But it starts at a beginner level with monsters that even kids can take care of, but the deepest known levels are too tough for the strongest adventurers in this city to even attempt to enter. It''s a magical ce, really~! I can''t wait to head in there!" K said, going from annoyed to excited incredibly quickly, "Ooh, I know! I''ll go and buy some maps! And I think I can go and ask some people about strategies for the first few floors~!"

    Lynol nodded, "Good, do that. What about you, Octer? Do you want to train with Foster and I, or do you want to go off and do your own thing for a few days?"

    "Wait, you''re letting Octer choose?"

    "Foster, Octer has so much more experience as an Adventurer than you do, and he''s much stronger than you are. So am I. I need to bring you to our level, but I don''t need to do that for him." Lynol said bluntly, and while Foster stood next to him, pouting annoyedly, Octer replied, "I''ll join you here and there I think, but for now I''m just gonna explore a bit."

    "Then do that. But you should really make sure to join us at least for a short while. To test your new martial skill out, I mean." Lynol suggested.

    "Right, I yed around with it a bitst night. It was he weird. I''ll show you guyster." Octer said, "Let''s split up for now. We meeting for dinner?"

    "I cane by, I don''t mind~!" K replied immediately, and with that, the group split into three, and they all went their way for now.

    ---

    "By the way... aren''t there, like... more stances... in the book?" Foster asked, breathing heavily as he turned over toward Lynol, who was currently swinging a weighed-down training sword as practice. The swordsman turned his head and looked at his friend, "Of course. But why are you asking me? You''re the one whose eyes are glued to those books."

    "I know, but... why does the training mode thing only teach me the ''basic stance''? Even if I try, it won''t teach me the others."

    Lynol sighed and let down the training sword, "Listen, if it won''t teach you, then that''s just not the way of the ''Argomna Style''. That stance that you are practicing is not a ''normal'' stance. You have seen me fight already. I''ve got more than a dozen different stances for different situation drilled into me, but they all have certain aspects inmon. What you are learning now is the ''inmon'' part of yourbat style. You will easily branch off to other stancester, don''t worry. For now, just keep on practicing it and the different strikes in the book."

    "Right... about that... I think I''m missing some books." Foster pointed out, "I don''t have ess to theplete style."

    "...and the only guy that could teach you is dead." Somewhat annoyed, Lynol pressed his hands onto his hips, "Were there any other books at the hut where you got these ones?"

    "Well, yeah, but I didn''t want to bring a dozen books with me."

    "..." Lynol stayed silent and thought about what to do next, "Those guys you met there probably reported the location. And if you found it, so did they, meaning that the books are gone even if you went back to try and get them. I doubt they''re going to release the information in the books either, not that we would find out anytime soon."

    Foster squatted down and leaned against the wall, "Maybe the dungeon-dude knows something about it. We promised to go back anyway, so we can ask next time, right?"

    "Or you learn another, simr style to fill in the gaps." Lynol suggested. The two of them looked at each other for a while, and both of them knew that Lynol''s suggestion was a worst-case decision. Slowly, the gaze of both of them turned toward the bracelet that Foster was wearing.

    The small metal snake seemed to practically stare back at them.

    "Do you think that this one knows something?"

    "It is a legacy artifact." Lynol pointed out, "And the one that used to own it is the creator of this style. I think it is a good bet."

    Foster rubbed his fingers over the small snake''s head, "I guess we just gotta figure out how to learn about all that stuff."

 Chapter 88 - Kicks

    Foster dropped down onto the bench, looking up at the night-sky with heavy breaths.

    "Oh, nice, so you''re meeting your new Handler tomorrow?" Sofia asked with a curious smile, "Let''s hope they''re nice, mine was sort of... well, unique, to say the least."

    Replying with a shrug, Foster said, "It''s just a meeting thing tomorrow or something. Hopefully we''ll find a handler, but it all depends on whether we end up vibing or not. Otherwise, we''ll look for another one." He exined, turning his head toward the woman sitting next to him, "More importantly, I''m finally getting my guild card tomorrow. Guess that means I''ll be a real adventurer."

    "Meh, it''s overrated. I used to be an adventurer as well, but I''m a merc now. It''s a lot more ludicrous, trust me." Sofiaughed slightly. Surprsied, Foster raised his brows, "A mercenary? What''s the difference?"

    "Mercs are hired directly and specifically, but adventurers are paid to fulfill requests that other people just gave to the guild. Well, and mercs often do some more long-term work, and some in the darker... you know what? Doesn''t matter." She jumped off the bench and looked at Foster with a slight grin, "Rather, don''t you think you should keep on practicing your silent step? The only thing you''ve been practicing is the basic running thing. At least do some leaps or lunges or something."

    "Considering that I need to know how to run so that I can properly do those leaps and lunges, I''ll just wait for a while longer. I''m not really thatfortable with it yet, so I''ll wait until then." Foster pointed out, of course leaving out the fact that the legacy training mode didn''t let him learn the more advanced aspects of the argomna style''s silent step.

    "Actually, there''s something else I wanted to ask you." Foster pointed out as he stood up, "Your martial style is very kick-heavy, right?"

    "Mhm, yeah, so?"

    "Can you give me a tip to get cleaner kicks? Like, my style is really dependent on weight and stuff, but I don''t want to carry around an extra fifty pounds at all times just to properly use it. And then there''s some other problems..." He exined, before Sofia crossed her arms, "Show me one of the kicks, then."

    Foster quickly nodded, pressing his feet into the ground. He entered his stance, letting his legs slightly slide to the sides. Sofia looked at Foster somewhat confused as she saw the way that he stood there, "That''s a stance for a punch-based martial arts. Kicks shouldn''t belong in there."

    Foster sighed with a quick nod, "That''s exactly it, but my martial art basically uses anything it can. It has a rather wide range... Anyway, the specific stance doesn''t actually stop me from quickly going into a stance for a kick, look." He said, as he quickly twisted his torso around, lifting his let foot off the ground while shifting his weightpletely over to his other leg to support this sudden movement while shifting his center of gravity, followed by a rather simple kick where the top of his foot would hit the target from the side.

    Sofia, as if she was in a daze, looked at Foster somewhat perplexed, "Wait, what just happened? How did you- That''s so weird..." She muttered with a wry smile, "No wonder your stance looked so weird, it''s made for things like this in mind, right?"

    "Right, but... it''s super hard to do. I can do this rtively well right now, but only when I stand still like that, so I can''t really use it in a fight, not yet at least. But that''s not even the issue... the kick is super light, so it''s just useless. It''s a northern style, so it''s based on the user being heavy and carrying a lot of stuff with them, but that''s not really the case for me. You got any tips to make up for that?" Foster asked. He had asked Lynol the same thing while they were training of course, but it seemed like Lynol''s n used a style based on punching, simply because kicking wasn''t useful in the environment they lived in. The ground was too uneven in the mountains, and everything was frozen and snowed over, making it easy to slip at any point. That''s why Lynol hadn''t really been able to help him beside telling him to try and add some more weight onto himself, either through heavier armor or by simply eating more for a while. So, Foster hoped that Sofia had some ideas.

    She was standing there, looking at Foster while deep in thought, although the silence in the air simply stretched out a little bit too long, "I guess not, huh?" Foster sighed, crossing his arms annoyed that nobody seemed to have an answer, "I guess I''ll just get some really heavy boots to make up for it or something."

    Sofia sighed slightly, "Yeah sorry, I guess that''s the only thing you can really do. Besides just getting better at using this move, of course. It''s clearly designed to do a lot of damage, so at some point you''ll just kinda... get it, I guess. Like, thisst hurdle to be able to use the move properly."

    "Let''s hope so." Foster said with a sigh, "Anyway, thanks for the help, again. But I think I''ll be heading off first tonight. I''ll try to finally get a little bit of sleep, I have a weird feeling that tomorrow is goin to be annoying and mentally straining." He pointed out, leaving with a wave, turning around the corner quite soon. It was the first time that he left before Sofia in the few nights that they had started meeting here, so it felt somewhat weird.

    For now, Foster made his way back to the Inn. He walked past the person that does the night shift at the reception every day and lightly smiled at them as well. Foster knew them better than the day-staff at this point.

    As he walked past them, Foster realized something, "Staying at an Inn forever seems sorta... expensive. Maybe we should buy an apartment together or something." He thought to himself, as he opened up the door to his room, "But also... how expensive is that gonna be? Urgh, I hope rent in medieval times is cheap..."

    With a loud groan, Foster stripped out of his Gi and the shirt he wore underneath, and dropped down onto his bed, watching as Aster climbed out of his hair onto his face over toward his chest, rolling up before going back to sleep.

    "...Maybe I should get a part-time job at the observatory for some money..." Foster groaned, "I''d be using my time wisely then, at least."

    Slowly, he closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. He barely slept the past few days, despite how exhausted he''s been from the training that Lynol had put him through. But now, for once, he actually seemed to be dozing off! He moved into the world of dreams, ready to wake up more energ-

    "Yo Foster, you awake? I need your help." Octer loudly knocked on his room''s door, quickly waking him up again.

 Chapter 89 - Stuck

    Foster stood up annoyed, since it felt like he was about to finally have a good night''s sleep. He stomped over toward the door, and quickly pulled it open, seeing Octer standing there, half his face covered in deep white bones, as if they were a sort of mask, mimicking the skull of some sort of demonic creature. Simply put, he didn''t look like much of a person right now.

    "What happened? Do you need help training the martial skill again?" Foster asked, letting out an annoyed sigh as he walked back into his room. Octer quickly followed him, mming the door shut, "No, no, you don''t get it, I''m not using the skill right now!" He eximed with a clearly worried expression. Foster snapped around and looked closer at his friend''s face, seeing the dark rings under his eyes, "...What''s your stamina at right now?"

    "I don''t know, like 2, maybe 3? I''m just... I''m just really damn exhausted right now, man... but the skill won''t deactivate..." Octer was clearly worried about what was going on, and that he was suddenly stuck like this.

    "Did something happen? Like, did you do something different to usual?" Foster asked, as his friend sat down on the bed, cing his face into his hands despaired, "No, I- I didn''t! I was just ying around with the martial skill a bit. You know how it feels sort of hot when you use martial skills? Well, I suddenly felt really damn cold... and then the skill deactivated for the most part, but my arm and face are stuck like this..."

    With a slight frown, Foster crossed his arms, "I don''t know much about this whole stuff yet, but that sort of sounds like magic?"

    Octer raised his head, looking at Foster confused, "What?"

    "Well, that''s what it feels like to me, at least. Martial skills feel sort of... well, your body heats up, because you''re manipting your body to do something, I guess? But using magic feels like... a cool gust of air running through your veins, or something like that." Foster pointed out, and Octer immediately nodded his head, "That''s it, that''s exactly what it felt like to me!"

    "Well, if that''s the case, then... well, congrats? You used magic for the first time! That''s what you wanted all along, isn''t it?" Foster said, but saw that Octer didn''t seem convinced, and rather just more nervous, "The dungeon dude said it, right? That it can technically be counted as a spell too, but it''s counted as whatever the person has an affinity for or whatever. Maybe your affinity for magic was right on the edge, and using the skill just sorta tipped it over that edge." He suggested, and Octer looked at him confused, staring at right hand, which was covered in the bone-like substance.

    "Then... then how do I get rid of this?"

    "How do I know? Treat it as a spell instead or something. It works different to a martial skill, you have to kinda... force it back in or something." Foster exined, "Or just, try to activate it as a martial skill again, and instead of letting it just sort of fade away, force the skill to deactivate."

    Octer slowly nodded his head, nervously closing his eyes. Slowly, more masses of bone grew all over his body. And a few secondster, those masses of bonespletely disappeared again, together with the ones that had been stuck on Octer''s body until now. Once he opened his eyes, he saw that the bones disappeared from his right hand, and quickly touched his face. With a sigh of relief, he looked at Foster.

    "Thank the gods... and thank you! I was really freaking out there!" He eximed with a broad grin, but Foster just rolled his eyes with a slight grin, "Don''t worry about it, man. It''s what friends are there for. But why''d youe to me, and not Lynol? I barely even understand how, well, anything works."

    "Ah, that... I... thought about what would happen if I went to ask Lynol for help, and I figured I shouldn''t waste my time and went to you instead."

    Foster looked back at Octer, and then looked at the door, imagining how Lynol would react, "Heh, I guess that''s fair. Anyway, big guy, get up. I''m trying to sleep. You get some rest as well, you obviously need it. We''ve got a few hours left till we have to get up." Foster pointed out, and Octer slowly nodded his head, "Yeah, you''re right..." Octer said, and tried to stand up with a loud groan. But after managing to lift up a few inches, he immediately fell back onto the bed, andpletely copsed.

    At first, Foster rushed up to him, worried, but then he could hear the snores already setting in.

    "God fucking dammit, Octer." Foster let out an annoyed sigh and walked over, trying to wake Octer up. But no matter what he did, Octer didn''t even twitch or flinch, so it was clear that he wouldn''t be able to wake him up.

    "Well shit." Just barely stopping himself from letting out an angry yell, since he didn''t want to bother the other guests in the rooms next to him, he started to search Octer''s pockets for his room-key, but of course, he couldn''t find it anywhere.

    Foster, knowing that this wasn''t the first time he slept like this, annoyedlyid down on the ground using his clothes as a pillow. And just like that, it didn''t take long until Foster fell asleep, hearing the sound of rain outside the window.

    ---

    With a loud ssh, the puddle underneath his feet sshed into all directions, covering not only his own clothes, but those of the man next to him as well.

    "Urgh, kid, the fuck''re you doing?" He asked, rubbing the muddy water off his face, before wiping his hand clean on his scruffy, dirty beard.

    "I saw some other kids ying like this the other day. It looked like fun."

    "Well, you ain''t like other kids, buddy." The man said annoyedly, "They can go to their warm homes, take a hot bath, and change their clothes. But you''ll have to stay in those dirty clothes, and''re gonna end up sick."

    Immediately, the young Foster next to the man shook his head, "No, Carol said I''m not going to be sick�� As long as I pray to the stars every night, I''ll be fine!"

    The man stopped, as if his whole body became frozen, and squatted down in front of Foster. He grabbed both of his arms, and started shaking him, "Don''t you dare talk to that woman again, you hear?" The man yelled, and Foster flinched confused, "Wh-What, but wh-"

    "Just promise me you won''t fucking talk to her again, you damned brat!" The man''s voice became louder and angrier, "You know nothin''! Just fucking listen to me, and don''t speak back!"

    Scared of the man in front of him, the young boy started to cry. Grimacing annoyed, the man stood back up and quickly turned around, "Stop acting like a little bitch. Come on, we''ve got to keep going."

    Trying to follow the quick step of the man in front of him, Foster tried to stop himself from crying any more than he already did, and ran after him.

 Chapter 90 - Guild Card

    Foster slowly opened his eyes, feeling his mood soured so early in the morning. The dream that he hadst night quickly faded away from his memory, but his mood didn''t particrly improve, "Urgh, this is pissing me off..." He groaned at the fact that he couldn''t even remember what annoyed him like that all the whilst he quickly got dressed. Looking outside, it seemed like they still had a little bit of time until they had to head off to the guild.

    But even then, there was something else to take care of. Foster walked over toward his bed, and lightly kicked the shin of the man that was sleeping in it, "Wake up."

    With a flinch, both from pain and from surprise at suddenly being woken, Octer shot up, and looked at his friend, "Foster? What are you doing in my room?"

    With a wry smile, trying to hold his annoyance in, Foster quickly replied, "This is my room, remember?" He asked, grinding his teeth together, and Octer slowly looked back at him as he realised what was going on, "...Sorry?" He said nervously, and Foster couldn''t do anything but sigh in response.

    "Just get to your room and get ready, we''ll have to leave soon." Foster told him, and with a loud groan, Octer stood up, and Foster quickly turned toward him as he made his way to the door, "By the way, why did you just immediately fall asleep? You were a damn rock, man. A boulder, even..."

    "Ah, that..." Octer said, "I was already super low on stamina, but then I activated my bone armor again, and it just sort of seemed to have drained a lot more ''cuz it was stuck, y''know? And when your stamina runs out, that''s what happens."

    Foster sighed slightly, "Alright, I''ll keep that in mind. But good to know that it won''t kill me to use up my stamina. I never really had to deal with actual... well, values like that in my old world."

    "Really? You said you didn''t have the system, but you don''t even have things like stamina?"

    "Of course we do, we just don''t have numbers connected to it like that." Foster replied immediately, "It just didn''t feel quantifiable like that. I can try to exin it some moreter, but for now, seriously get to your room and get ready." He said, opening the door for his friend. With an awkward expression, Octer stepped outside into the hallway.

    He scratched the back of his head, "Again, sorry. And thanks for the helpst night. I was really freaking out there."

    With a smile, Foster patted Octer''s shoulder, "Don''t worry about it, man. It''s what friends are there for." He said, stepping back into his room. And right before shutting the door, he said, "Oh, but you do owe me today''s food cost. If not for helping you out, for the fact that I had to sleep on the ground."

    ---

    The trio stood in front of the guild, waiting for their fourth. They got here a bit earlier than they were supposed to, since Foster insisted that you were supposed to be early for a business meeting, but it seemed like K was of another opinion.

    "I still think we should head inside to get your guild card first." Lynol pointed out, but Foster turned his head while leaning against the wall next to the guild''s entrance, "When we came by the other day, we set the time for both picking up the card and for the meeting with our handler for 9am. They''re gonna do both at the same time. I don''t wanna go in there and then say, ''oh, our fourth party member is still on her way, sorry''." He said, and Lynol looked back with a wry smile.

    "What? Why that? It''s not our fault."

    "So? We''re a party, I''m not going to push negative attention on K." Foster pointed out, and Lynol let out a deep, annoyed groan, all the whilst Octer finally saw someone that could stop this conversation right beside them.

    He raised his arm and waved at her, as K quickly came running over toward them. With heavy breaths, she looked at the trio, "Sorry... for being...te..." She said apologetically, and Lynol sighed annoyedly, "You are notte, we still have ten minutes." He said. Immediately, K turned her head toward Foster, and slightly red at him.

    "But you said the meeting was supposed to be at 8:45..." She pointed out, and Lynol slightly grinned, "Yup, I did say that. Just as a bit of... well, insurance, in case you werete." He said, walking past K while patting her head before walking into the Guild.

    "More importantly, let''s go in, now." He said, and the others quickly followed him, although K was ring at the back of his head the whole time. Lynol was actually slightly grinning at the fact that Foster messed with her. Although his grins could barely be seen, so nobody beside Foster noticed.

    The group lined up in front of one of the reception-desks, with the same receptionist sitting there asst time. It took another couple minutes until it was their turn, but soon, they stood in front of him. The young man quickly recognized the group, "Ah, here to pick up your guild card?" He asked with a smile, and Foster immediately nodded his head, "That, and for the meeting with the handler you were going to introduce us to."

    "Right, of course. My colleague is going to take care of that." The young man said, as he quickly stood up, walking to the shelves behind the reception desks. He picked up one of the small wooden boxes there, and quickly returned.

    The man opened up the box and quickly pulled out a small metal card, the size of a regr credit- or id-card, a small booklet, as well as a folded-up piece of paper, "Together with the card, you will receive a small rule-book, holding basic information about the guild, a general code of conduct, as well as information about how to act in emergencies while adventuring. There are some locations for rmended shops for new adventurers as well." He exined, sliding the book forward, before cing the folded-up piece of paper onto it, "This is a detailed map of Arcadum, so that you can find your way through this city. The rmended shops noted down in the book are marked on there as well."

    With a broad smile on his face, the receptionist then picked up the small metal card, and handed it over to Foster with both hands, "And most importantly, here is your guild card! Please make sure not to lose it, as re-issuing can end up being sort of pricy."

    Foster took the card with a smile on his face, and looked at it. It had his name and age written on it, as well as his current adventurer tier, one. There was a small bar at the bottom that Foster wasn''t sure what it was for, but it was probably just decoration anyway, "Well, thank you. I''ll make sure to read this as soon as I can." Foster said, putting the book and map into his bag, while the receptionist looked at him with a smile.

    "Is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked, and Lynol quickly stepped forward, "Yes, now that he is officially part of the guild, we would like to register as a party."

    "Of course, right away! Then I would need everyone''s guild cards for this." The receptionist said with a smile, and all four of them quickly did so. K and Foster''s cards were the most pristine out of the bunch, while Octer and Lynol''s were slightly scratched up along the edges, showing that they were adventurers for a while already. They were both Tier 2, and the bar at the bottom that Foster thought to be just decoration was filled up with a decorative pattern to a certain extent. Lynol''s was filled up just an inch, and Octer''s was filled up more than half.

    "Alright." The receptionist said, taking all the cards into his hand, "Who is going to be the party leader?" He asked, and Lynol immediately pointed at Foster behind him, "Him, Fo-"

    "Lynol." The others replied in tune, interrupting him as he spoke. Confused, Lynol looked at them, and Foster looked at him with a wry smile, "You''ve been acting as the leader anyway, and you''ve been doing a hell of a good job. And I literally know nothing about any of this."

    "...right. Then, I guess I''ll be the party leader." Lynol said, not having expected to take on this role in the group.

 Chapter 91 - Rachel

    The receptionist gave the guild cards back to everyone, and then lightly smiled at them, "My colleague will be here any moment now. Please wait over there." He said in a professional tone, and the newly established party made their way over to the waiting area, while Lynol looked at his guild card, staring at the small symbol that appeared next to his adventurer-tier, showing that he was a party leader.

    "Do you three really think I would be the best for this job?" He asked, without raising his head, and the others immediately looked at him as if he was kidding, "Guy... obviously you are. Come on, man, don''t doubt yourself now. We said it, right? You basically were the party leader already."

    "Rather, I was surprised you didn''t think so. You''re the only one in this group that has a calm head on his shoulders all the time, y''know?" Octer pointed out, before slightly ncing at the martial artist standing next to him, "And by the way, I''m kinda confused why you were about to suggest Foster instead of K or I..."

    "Do I really have to say it? I was a solo adventurer all my career, you hopped from party to party, and K just doesn''t seem very responsible in a position like that." Lynol pointed out bluntly, "Just look at her."

    "You wanna fight?"

    Ignoring the cleric''s res, Lynol continued, "And did you not hear Foster''s stories? He used to work for arge organisation, and had a lot of people working under him. He had a lot of responsibilities, and took care of everything."

    "About that..." Foster said with a wry smile, "I was never really responsible. All I did was drink, fight with people around town, and act like a big dog in front of my underlings. I had people take care of everything for me, mostly." He pointed out, "I''m really not good with stuff like that at all... but I had to because the strongest guy in the ce couldn''t just be Underling-C all the time."

    Lynol and Octer stared at their friend, while K looked at him sort of confused. She still didn''t know that much about what Foster used to do before, she had just heard bits and pieces about his... tendencies. The moment he heard the exnation, Lynol looked at Octer, "You know what? I think that was a good choice after all."

    "Right?" Octer said somewhat nervously, slowly turning back toward Foster. But when he did, he had already walked away, "What''s he-" Octer let out surprised, when he saw where Foster was walking right now. Instead, he just groaned slightly, and leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed.

    "Hello there." Foster said with a slight smile on his face, as the woman in front of him slowly turned around, "Hm? Oh, it''s you." She said, with a slight smirk on her face. It was the healer that had treated Foster with detoxify a week ago.

    "That it is. And this time, neither drunk, nor stinking like the sewers." Foster pointed out as if it was an achievement, "I can see, and smell, that. You''re here to pick up your guild card, right?"

    "Yup, just did. We''re going to meet with a potential handler right now, but if you want we can talk more about things I do or don''t smell liketer. Over that dinner we talked aboutst time?"

    The healer looked at Foster with a light smirk, "Not many people have the guts to ask me out after showing themselves to me like that. But well, I don''t dislike it." She replied, "Fine. I don''t have time tonight, but I can do tomorrow. You''re new around here, right? So... let''s do this nice ce I''ve been wanting to go to for a while."

    Ripping off the corner of a piece of paper in front of her, she quickly wrote down the the address of the restaurant in question, pressing it onto Foster''s chest, "Oh, and maybe try to wear something else beside a martial arts uniform, alright? We''re meeting there at sundown." With a smirk on her face, the healer started to walk away, while Foster looked at the address on the note that she gave him, and proceeded to wait for her to leave the room, before he smugly walked back over toward his friends.

    "...I know I asked the same thingst time, but man... what just happened?" Octer asked confused, and Foster grinned at him, "What just happened? What just happened is that I now need to find a ce where I can buy a suit. Or well, something close to it, I guess." He pointed out, folding up the note and putting it into his bag so that he wouldn''t lose it.

    "I still don''t know how you did that... the first time you met her you were practically ckout drunk... but dude, even then, she was flirting with you."

    "I don''t know why, it''s just natural charisma, I guess." Foster replied with a grin, but his braggery was quickly interrupted once they were approached by another guild employee. She looked at the group with a slight, professional smile, "You must be the party looking to find a handler, correct?"

    "That''s us." Lynol replied immediately, quickly introducing the group, before the guild employee nodded her head, "Perfect, then please let us go. She is already waiting for you in the waiting room."

    The group, for now moving on from the conversation that they just held, swiftly followed the guild employee through one of the doors, walking through a hallway until they reached a small private room. The employee opened the door, and waited for everyone to step inside. Once there, they saw the person that might end up being their handler.

    She was a young woman, maybe a few years older than Foster, with dark gray skin, as if she was a walking corpse. She had short white hair with a purple tint, and her eyes seemed to practically grow in a deep, bright purple as well. It was obvious, but this person wasn''t human, although Foster hadn''t seen anyone else that looked like her around. He might just not have been paying any attention.

    With a slight smirk, she stood up and looked at the group. She was pretty tall as well. In height, she was somewhere between Lynol and Foster''s.

    "I''m Rachel. But you can call me Rae. Or not, I don''t care." She said bluntly, before raising her brows, "Although, I was told there would be three of you. My guess is... the shorty there is the extra?"

    K looked around confused, before she realized that she was the shortest person in the room, "Hey! I''m not short, I''m just...pact!" She eximed with a deep frown, before Rae scoffed, "Right. Anyway, is that all of you? Or will there be any other surprises?" She asked, dropping down on the couch that was standing here in the room.

    The first to sit down in front of her was Lynol, as the party leader, "This is all of us right now, yes. We will most likely look to expand our party when necessary, however." He exined quickly, while the others sat down around him as well.

    "As you should. Seems somewhat unbnced right now." Rae said bluntly, "Anyway, if you guys want to work for me, you better show that you''re worth the trouble."

    "Please, slow down. I heard you do not have much experience as a handler, but the rtionship between adventurers and handlers are those as equals. We are not applying to work for you, we want to meet you so that we may work together." Lynol said immediately, already not wanting to deal with this. Rae scoffed, and shook her head, "Aight then, you guys ain''t it. You can go." Moving her hand to signal them to leave, it was clear that she wasn''t interested. Seeing this, and not wanting to deal with people like her, Lynol stood up and looked at his party.

    "You heard her. Let''s go. We don''t need to deal with this." Lynol pointed out, before his eyesnded on Foster. He expected that he was going to sit there, just as annoyed as Lynol, but to the fresh party leader''s surprise... Foster was just sitting there, with a slight grin on his face.

 Chapter 92 - Tests

    "Foster? Youing?" Octer asked, not noticing the same things that Lynol did from where he was standing, but Foster simply shook his head and slowly raised his hand, before speaking up.

    "Why are you this confident? Do you really think that you can be picky, without anyone to work with you right now?"

    "...I''m the best damn handler this town has ever seen, so you can be damn sure I''d be picky." She replied, and Foster slowly leaned forward, intertwining his fingers with each other, "Really? Then how about before we show our worth, you show yours?" He asked, and Rae did nothing but scoff in response.

    "Fine, if you think that''s necessary, go ahead."

    "Right. Well, actually, you could say that your personal ''test'' already started. Part of a handler''s responsibility is to set up meetings with clients, and work as a proxy. You have to work with others. And from what you''ve shown so far? You''re not a people-person, I can tell. You act professional, but if you''re rude as shit beyond that, it doesn''t matter at all. So, you failed the first part immediately." Foster said bluntly, "But since you were rmended to us, you must be able to make up for that fact. Now, something else that a handler does is deal with selling and buying items and materials for the party, so that they can focus on doing what they do best, so you''ve gotta be good with numbers, right? Then how about you answer a few questions of mine?" He asked next, and Rae shrugged in response, apparently ready to be asked whatever Foster wanted.

    With a grin on his face, he finished doing some mental calctions himself with the knowledge that he picked up here and there when studying up on the mary worth of different things here in this city, "We take on a guild request to take out an average-sized horde of Aperids south of Arcadum. Let''s say, because of different circumstances, we manage to harvest 120% of the regr expected amount of materials from them, but at 90% of the base quality. Wee back to Arcadum, but because the base amount of Aperids close to Arcadum doubled a while ago due to unknown means, the market is flooded. For that, just go with the regr amounts and qualities to make it simple. Now answer me, with as much detail as possible, what would our profits for this trip be?" Foster asked with a curious expression. The moment that he noticed that Rae''s expression didn''t wave for a second, he knew that he was on the right track here.

    She let out a slight sigh, and leaned forward as well as she started to exin, "First, they''re not called a horde, but a troop of Aperids. There would be no reason for you to go south, since the closest area south where you might be able to find a few Aperids is close to another rtivelyrge town for adventurers, so nobody would pay the extra price to have people from Arcadume. Taking out a troop of Aperids of that size would be a Tier 3 mission, so you couldn''t do it anyway, but let''s say you can, and let''s say by that point your party remains at the size it is now, with the same members you have now. I would make you take a mission to apany a trader to a town near the mission, and make you gather a few materials you can only get in those areas on the way. Food and provisions will be cheaper in that small town as well, so you''d buy ''em there. There is a rare nt that Aperids feed on that goes for a lot, and because there''s so many Aperids, they''d cost more to be procured, so that''s going to take care of the fees for the porter and the trip back at the very least, since only then can you bring back all the materials so easily. The whole trip would take... in total maybe 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the situation on the road." Rae started, and then took another short break to think for another moment or so, "With those amounts, that quality, and the market situation... together with the fees and prices for materials, items, and repairs... you would make a total profit of 25 thousand to 27 thousand Val, give or take, which is... alright for that amount of work, I guess. I can go into detail on the math, but those three probably won''t be able to follow, and you already know I''m right, so let''s just skip that boring shit."

    Foster and Rae locked eyes, and both of them knew that she was right. Foster had studied up on a lot of things for a couple of days specifically to ask a question like this. He tuned it up a bit for Rachel here, considering how cocky she was being, and it seemed like that was the right choice. She was clearly capable enough.

    Slowly, Foster turned around toward Lynol, and the two looked at each other for a few moments, before the party leader gave up with a deep sigh.

    "What other qualifications do you have? Special abilities, special connections, things like that?" Lynol asked, and Rae shrugged, "Everything I do is special, bud." She pointed out. Rolling his eyes, Lynol sat back down.

    "Fine. Then exin to us what you want us to do." He said, and K immediately stepped up beside him in protest, "Wait, what? Seriously? We''re letting her be just because she can do a little bit of math?"

    "It''s more than just math." Foster pointed out, "Trust me. I have a good eye for people."

    "Tsk... I don''t know about that." K clicked her tongue, crossing her arms as she slightly turned her head away. For now, it seemed like she just gave up. With a smile, Rae looked at the group.

    "I was told a few things about you all. Well, those three at least. Sorry, didn''t know you were gonna be here, and all." Rae said, slightly ncing at the Cleric who simply ignored her, "One of you has a resistance to necromancy, right?"

    "...That''d be me, yeah." Foster replied quickly, wondering where she was going with this. With a grin, she crossed her leg, "Perfect. You know, there''s this ce around here. A dungeon, that''s only been cleared in the past few days. The moment I heard about it, I thought that it would be a great test for you bunch." Rae exined, and everyone in the group focused their attention on the woman in front of them, already having a rough idea where this was going.

    "Obviously, I''m not expecting you to clear it, I''m not insane. But what I want you guys to do is to reach the end of the first floor, ande back." She said bluntly, "With someone that''s resistant to necromancy, that''d be easier than usual, right? And you''ve even got a cleric. And since I''m nice, I''ll even allow you to hire other people for your party for the time being to make things easier for you."

    "...Hm, maybe she''s not as good as I thought." Foster said with a wry smile, slowly standing up. The group got ready to leave, and Rae let out a deep sigh, as if she was disappointed, "Heh, if you don''t think you can get to thest floor of a simple beginner dungeon, then I guess it makes sense."

    The group slowed down and turned back around, as Foster looked at her, "We''re not worried about that, it just seems like you didn''t do as much research as we thought. That dungeon isn''t a ce that''s as easy to get through as you seem to think."

    Rae raised her brow surprised, "Huh? What''d you mean?"

    "It''s a fail type... most people that go in there don''te out with all their limbs attached." K said bluntly, although she quickly frowned when she stared at the woman sitting there, "Hold on, you knew about that? Seriously? And you wanted to make us go anyway?" She asked angrily, stomping up to Rae with a deep re, "What a foul woman you are! Actually, what''s wrong with you?!"

    Rae looked up at K surprised, nearly startled, "I... I obviously wasn''t going to actually have you go in there... I''d have stopped you before you go through the entrance. I need to see how people would react. At least you''re thinking for yourselves, but you don''t have any guts. You didn''t even think about it!" She said immediately, and K rolled her eyes annoyedly, pulling a small coin out of her pocket. She showed the sigil to Rae, who quickly recognized it after having done research on the dungeon, and dropped it into her hand.

    Of course, the coin immediately fell through Rae''s hand, and K caught it again, "Screw you!" She said immediately, and turned around, stomping out of the door that Octer was holding open. With slight smiles, the rest of the party followed K, after the first meeting with a potential handler broke down, while Rae sat there baffled beyond belief.

 Chapter 93 - Trial Period

    "W-Wait!" As the group left through the hallway to get back to the front of the guild, a confused Rachel ran after them as fast as she could, which was actually surprisingly quick. She soon stood in front of the party of four, trying to block them from walking any further, "It was you four? You were the party that cleared the fail type?"

    "So what if we are?" Lynol replied, "After Foster tested you, I thought it might be worth it to listen a bit longer, but as it turns out, we would never be able to work together."

    Rae looked at the man in front of her with a deep frown, "Dammit, I already said that it was only something to test your guts, I wouldn''t have let you guys actually go in there! Come on, it''s fine, right? I''m not actually ''that'' irresponsible!"

    "Maybe you''re not irresponsible, but you''re just kind of a dick." Foster said with a wry smile, "And just totally unprofessional, at that."

    The group stepped past her and was ready to leave, before Rae once more yelled out, "Ten percent! I''ll work with you for a ten percentission! The regr rate is 15! So it''s a good deal for you guys as well, right?" Even though that was clearly the case, the group continued to walk steadily, not caring.

    "I... I''ll work for free, for a month!" Suddenly, she made another offer, that seemed really quite interesting to the group. They stopped and turned around, looking at the handler in front of them. As the party leader, Lynol spoke up, "For free, for a month?" He asked, "Why would you do something like that?"

    "...Because you''re a group of beginner tier adventurers that managed to clear a dungeon nobody thought possible for people at your level." She said bluntly, and Lynol was slightly taken aback. He didn''t expect her to answer in such a blunt manner. She was looking at him like he was an idiot for now realizing the reason, at that.

    With a sigh, Lynol looked at the others. K clearly didn''t want to work with her, Octer was on the fence, and Foster overall seemed for it. He was just as annoyed as the others at first earlier, but he worked with worse people in the past, so this was nothing for him. Annoyedly, Lynol stepped past Rae and walked back toward the room they had been talking in earlier, "You wait out here, we''re going to discuss whether or not we want to go for that." He said immediately, and Rae immediately nodded her head, ready to wait however long she needed to.

    Foster closed the door behind him and looked at the others, and they all looked at him.

    "What?" he asked, and Lynol shrugged, "You''re the one that wants to work with her the most out of all of us. So, what do you think?"

    "Why''re you asking me, she''s the one that can literally read people''s auras." Foster said, slightly nudging his head toward K, who rolled her eyes in response, "I can figure out things like abilities and if someone is lying, but I can''t figure out someone''s personality yet." She pointed out, before crossing her arms, "...But... her aura is pretty clean and a nice color, so I don''t think she''s a bad person. She''s just..."

    "A dick." Octer sighed, "In Foster''s words."

    Lynol scratched the back of his head, "If Foster is for it, and you say she''s not a bad person, I guess we can just take her up on it with a few extra conditions. But if either of you ever notice that something is wrong, let me know immediately." The party leader said, deep in contemtion over what sort of extra conditions he should set.

    "I..." Octer said, "I''m still not sure about this, though. She seems sort of... I don''t know, untrustworthy?" She pointed out. Immediately, Foster raised his brow, "Seriously? After all I''ve told you about what I used to do... she seems untrustworthy to you? Trust me, she''s an angelpared to me." He pointed out, but Octer let out a deep, unsure sigh.

    "Right, I guess you have a point. But this is really just a trial thing, right? We''re not gonna sign a contract or anything yet?"

    "No, not yet. Maybe something provisionary to make sure she can''t screw us over during the trial, but nothing serious." Lynol said, still thinking about something, "Should we ask her to help us search for new party members as well? And a more permanent ce to stay? Handlers don''t usually do that, but we might be able to have her help us a bit more than normal."

    Foster raised his brows and thought about it for a moment, "Hm...bour exploitation... I like it."

    "Of course you would. So, are we all on the same page here?" Lynol asked, and once everyone agreed, he opened the door again. Rae was patiently waiting out there, like she said she would. The moment the door opened and Lynol made way for her to step inside, she came rushing in, although she seemed to hesitate for a moment at first.

    Rae sat down on the couch, and Lynol looked at her with an intense stare, "First, we have a few extra conditions." He said immediately, and before Rae could say anything, Lynol continued, "If at any point during this month we don''t want to make use of your services anymore, we will stop working together without youining about it."

    "Right, of course! I expected that anyway." Rae replied without a moment''s hesitation, and Lynol rolled his eyes, "Mhm. Anyway. For this month, you will help us out in additional ways beside just the normal services of a handler, for example finding additional party members, or helping us find more permanent housing."

    Surprised at that condition, Rae raised her brows. It seemed like she didn''t particrly like that condition, but in the end, her will to make this work seemed to be higher than her hesitation, "...Fine. But I don''t have all the time in the world either, so those things will have to be on the back-endpared to regr handler-work."

    "Sure. We will figure something out in regard to your duties. Either way, ourst condition is the requirement for full transparency. We need to know exactly why you want to work with us so badly, since I doubt it''s just because we somehow impressed you."

    Rachel let out a deep sigh, and crossed her legs, "I guess that''s fair. It''s pretty simple, really. I like money."

    "...Then why would you work with us for free for a whole month?" K asked confused, since it seemed like Rae was telling the truth. With a quick scoff, she replied, "Because I''m not dumb enough to forego long-term profits for the pennies I could get with others if I didn''t pursue this further. I''ll say this again, you are a party of four that did something thought to be impossible at your level. You just got to Arcadum what, a week ago? Shit, if I didn''t expect you guys to hit it big in the future, I''d be aplete dumbass." She exined clearly, not hesitating for a moment. It was something that made the party feel quite good, actually. Sure, they had heard it before from that group that was there when they left the dungeon, but in this context, where this was a risky thing to do for Rachel, it felt a lot more sincere, and not just like an emptypliment like before.

    Lynol looked around and the others, and it seemed like everyone here was more or less convinced to at least go through with this trial. They quite literally had nothing to lose, after all. Lynol leaned forward over the table and stretched his hand out, "If that''s the case, let''s work together well to make that happen."

    With a grin on her face, Rae leaned forward as well and grabbed Lynol''s hand, as her trial period began that very moment.

 Chapter 94 - Getting To Know Each Other

    "First thing first, I need to know this party''s capabilities. If possible, I would like toe with you to a simple request so that I can see you fight." Rachel exined to the group, as they were all sitting around a table in a bar close to the general adventurer''s guild. It was still quite early in the day, so it wasn''t all too full yet.

    Lynol quickly nodded in agreement, "That sounds like a good idea. Now that Foster is fully signed up, we were nning on heading into the Basement soon."

    "Did any of you ever go?"

    K slightly raised her hand, "I entered a bit into the first floor. I really like dungeons." She replied to the woman sitting next to her, as she quickly wrote something down into a small notebook that she was holding. It seemed like she wanted to ask something else, but before she could, Foster let out a loud groan, "Come on, before all that, shouldn''t we just get to know each other? Like, on a personal level. If we''re gonna be working together, that''s a good idea, right?"

    "You got a point, bud." Rae replied, slowly closing her notebook as she leaned back, crossing her legs and arms, "Then out with it, what''d I need to know?"

    "Well, what do you want to know?" Foster asked in return, and Rae simply shrugged, "How about... how did you guys meet?"

    Octer quickly replied to her, since he knew that Foster would try to be witty and cool with her, while Lynol would just keep it to the bare minimum. Having him exin it was the simplest, "Basically, us three met on a caravan travelling to Arcadum. Foster was hired by a merchant to help carry stuff around since he wasn''t an adventurer yet, and Lynol and I were hired as guards. We got closer throughout that, and after we fought of a Giant Wolf together, we figured we''d better form a party once we got here." Octer exined quickly, and both Rae and K looked at the three of them surprised.

    "You guys took out a Giant Wolf? Just the three of you? How''d you manage that?" Rae asked curiously, even more interested in this party now, and Foster quickly exined. His molotovs were the main reason they were able to take it out that easily, after all.

    "Basically, we did a bunch of damage to it with a makeshift weapon I made. We took some of the Dwarven Spirit that the caravan was transporting, put some booze-drenched cloth in the opening, lit the cloth, and threw it at the wolf. The bottle broke, and it exploded all over it." Foster exined smugly, nearly as if he was the one that came up with the idea of the molotov cocktail in the first ce. However, the two women sitting in front of him were unsure how to react.

    "Why would you- So you were fighting a burning Giant Wolf after that?" K asked confused, before Lynol let out a sigh, "The alcohol burned off pretty quickly, so the fire neversted too long. But it did a lot of damage, trust me. Without those things, we would never have been able to beat the Giant Wolf, at least not as easily as we did."

    "But..." Rae muttered, opening her notebook. In the back, she soon found what she was looking for, "Right... a couple days ago, a merchantpany introduced some prototype items to some smaller guilds to have them test it inbat. They called it the... Locke-Style Explosive? It sounds quite simr to what you mentioned."

    "The what-style explosive now?" Foster let out, and Rae slowly raised her head, "Locke-Style. I heard about it from someone in the Handler-Union. He works with one of the guilds that are testing it."

    Foster slowly closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, "Do I really want my name connected to that?" He muttered quietly, and Rae startedughing loudly, "Right, so it was a person after all, huh. I thought it was a weird coincidence."

    "Urgh... I''ll have to go and talk to George about that..." Foster sighed, although Lynol pointed something else out, "If it was him that made it, at least. There were a lot of different merchants that saw you use it."

    "..." Foster looked at the table in contemtion. Did he really want his name to be connected to something like that? Sure, he used it, but... what if his name would then be used for a whole bunch of other explosives like that? "Erm... is ''Locke'' an umon name?"

    "You''re the only person called ''Locke'' that I know. And I know a lot of people." Rae replied without hesitation.

    "Fuck." Foster let out, moments before a loud m could be heard upon someone''s forehead hitting the wooden table in front of him.

    Raeughed again, and looked at Foster with a grin, "Fine, I guess it''s your turn now."

    "Right... how old are you?" Foster asked, not raising his head from the table. It seemed like a sort of weird questionpared to what Rae had asked them. Since the table was silent, Foster finally raised his head with a groan, "I mean, you look around our age and all, but you have those weird wrinkles next to your eyes, and kinda white hair and stuff. And I''ll be honest, I grew up only around humans, so I don''t know much about how other races age and shit." Foster exined quickly. He thought that maybe Rachel was offended, like K was when Foster asked her about it. But rather than that, she seemed... confused.

    "I don''t have wrinkles?" She said with a slight frown, not sure what Foster was talking about. At that point, the rest of the group was confused. There were definitely some wrinkles right next to her eyes.

    "Hm... are those just a thing that your race has, then?" K asked curiously, pointing right next to her eye so that Rae knew what they were talking about. As if she just had an epiphany, Rae opened her eyes wide andughed.

    "You''re talking about these?" She asked with a grin, pointing right at the wrinkles. With a slight smile on her face, she leaned forward so that the others could see better. And then, the wrinkles seemed to twitch. They were... opening up. Six more small purple bead-like without pupils appeared, three on the side of eachrger eye. Foster looked at her surprised, and even slightly flinched when he saw them. He really didn''t expect it, after all.

    "I''m an Arachnia. These are the rest of my eyes." She pointed out, "People look at you weird when you have extra eyes like this. Rather, four eyes is the max for them, any more than that and you''re just a freak." Rae scoffed with a smile. She had a fair point. Foster was slightly freaked out the moment he saw those extra eyes pop out, but only because he didn''t expect them. He''d like to think that he really didn''t care about stuff like this. And just a few more eyes aren''t really something weird to get used to either, at least notpared to Lynol''s deep red skin.

    "Ah, and before you''re surprised, I''ve got these too." Rae added, as four extra spider legs sprouted from her back, two reaching over her shoulders and the other two peaking out beside her waist.

    That.... might get a bit more getting used to.

 Chapter 95 - Familiar License

    A bit further into the conversation that the group was having about possible ways to work together for the next month, Rachel made a suggestion that would help the party grow, "If you want to expand your party, I think you should get a mage, scout, and porter. I can search for a porter through the guild, and for the mage we can go to the Mage Tower and see if we find anyone that''s interested. Finding a good scout is gonna be a bitch of a task, though."

    Foster raised his brows slightly, turning his head toward his friends. He slightly leaned in, and whispered to Octer, "Yo... what''s a Mage Tower?"

    Octer slowly closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh, "It''s an organization that helps magic-users in different ways. Research, education, that kinda stuff."

    "Right, it''s like the Martial Alliance, which I''m assuming you three are a part of." Rae pointed out immediately, but she was soon met with nothing but empty stares, "You''re fucking with me, right?"

    "None of the ces I worked had a Martial Alliance office." Octer replied bluntly, and Lynol quickly added, "And I never thought it was necessary."

    "Never thought it was- The hell''s that supposed to mean?" Rachel asked perplexed, "Of course it''s necessary, the Martial Alliance can give you a shitton of ressources. You can even get training tomes from all over the ce there. Especially in Arcadum, I heard they even have a tome with techniques from some cmity or whatever there."

    Immediately, Foster''s ears perked up, and so did Lynol''s. They looked at each other, and turned back toward Rachel, "Which cmity?"

    "The fuck do I know?" She replied immediately, "But that''s not important right now anyway. You didn''t tell me what your excuse is yet." Rae pointed out, looking at Foster.

    He slowly stared back at her for a few moments as if his mind went nk, and slowly averted his gaze, "I plead the fifth."

    "Alright fine, I don''t have any fucking clue what that means, but go ahead, don''t tell me I guess. Either way, you''re gonna have to sign up with the Martial Alliance sooner orter. Preferably sooner. Also, what about you? You an official member of the church?"

    "That I am." K replied immediately, "I''m a devout member of Melodia''s church." She said bluntly, and Rachel slowly nodded, "Good, at least one of you knows how to do stuff. You, Foster, you just signed up, right? Meaning you got the booklet and map with all the info and stuff? It should have the location of the Martial Alliance in there, so you guys should head there as soon as you''ve got time. It might take a while to sign up. I mean, at least none of you are mages, signing up with the Mage Tower is even more fucking annoying, I heard."

    Immediatley, Foster let out a loud groan, once more dropping his head onto the table, "Seriously? Even more bureaucracy? And I guess that means I have to sign up at that shitty tower thing as well..."

    "Hm?" Rachel let out confused, "What do you mean? I just said you''re lucky you don''t have to. You guys are all martial sses, so you don''t have to bother."

    "Actually... I''ve got a hybrid ss or whatever. I can use magic as well." Foster said bluntly, making his handlerugh out loud, "Hah, right! As if someone like you would end up being a mage. I''d be surprised to find out you can read, with the weird way you''re talking."

    "Fucking hell, why does everyone bring up the way I talk? It''s an old dialect, so what, dammit..." Foster let out with a loud groan, before pushing his hands into his hair, pulling out the small spirit that had been sleeping,pletely wrapped up in his contractor''s ponytail. The moment that Rae saw the spirit, she looked back up, "Is that... a familiar?"

    "Yup. His name is Aster, he''s a nature spirit. That proof enough for you?" Foster asked annoyedly, and Rae let out a loud groan, "Yes, fine, it''s proof enough for me. I have no idea how someone like you can learn magic, but that''s not important. If you''re not signed up with the Mage Tower, that means you don''t have a Familiar License. And if you don''t have a Familiar License, you''ll end up with a big fucking fee if they find out you have a familiar before you report that you do yourself."

    Not only Foster was surprised about that statement this time, but the rest were as well, "...What? That''s a thing?" Foster asked, and Rae crossed her arms again, letting out another groan, since she seemed extremely bothered to have to exin this, "No, but yes... urgh, I don''t know, it''s an Arcadum thing? The way stuff is handled here is a lot different sometimes, as you might have noticed. It''s thergest city on the continent, nearly three times as big as the secondrgest. There''s a lot of people here that want to do bad shit, and a lot of spirits just running around through the tiny corners of this ce. It''s just something they wanna do to get stuff under control, I guess."

    "Huh." Foster let out, "I mean, I guess that sounds reasonable enough. I still don''t like bureaucracy, though."

    Rae rolled her eyes, standing up from the table, "Want me to hold your hand while you gotta do that scary stuff?"

    "...would you?" Foster asked with a slight squint, and Rae let out another loud groan, "You know what, maybe you guys won''t hit it big in the future after all. Either way, I''ve got to go now, and don''t worry, I''ve got the bill for today. But next time you guys are paying for your own drinks." She said, walking over toward the bar, as the small party was left alone.

    K scratched her cheek somewhat awkwardly, as she looked at Rae''s back, "You know, I think she might be able to do a great job."

    "You were the most angry out of all of us, but you are the first to say something like that?" Lynol asked with a raised brow.

    "Yah... so what?" K replied immediately, "Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

    Interrupting them before this conversation could decline into another fight between the two, Foster leaned backward, "Nothing at all, don''t worry. Anyway... I guess we should go sign up at the Martial Alliance now, and then I''ll head over to the Mage Tower and figure shit out there?"

    Lynol shook his head, "Actually, I think you should go to the Mage Tower first, and then we are going to meet at the Martial Alliance." He suggested instead.

    Foster crossed his arms and looked at Octer, "Youing with me? To ask about... you know?"

    "Erm, I- I might... I''ll think about it, I guess? Just... could you ask about it, maybe?"

    Lynol and K looked at Foster and Octer confused, "What? What are you talking about?" The party leader asked, and Foster looked at Octer, "You didn''t tell them?"

    "Tell us what?" K asked, concerned. Octer let out a deep sigh, "Last night, I was practicing my new martial skill in my room, y''know? That kinda thing. And while practicing... I apparently sorta used the magic side of it, and the skill got stuck, and I went to Foster to ask him for help to fix it. There, that''s all. Nothing to worry about."

    "Your skill got stuck?" K asked with a deep frown, "What do you mean, ''nothing to worry about''? Of course that''s something to worry about!"

    Lynol let out a deep sigh, "Alright, I got an idea. Octer and I will head off to the Martial Alliance and sign up, and try to ask some people there to see if we can figure something out. K, do you mind going with Foster to the Mage Tower and help him figure things out there? Maybe ask around for things like this together?"

    "No, I don''t mind at all." K said immediately, and Lynol quickly stood up, "Good. Then that''s how we''re doing it, I guess. Let''s just head off right now. It sounds pretty serious, so figuring it out early would be good.." The party leader suggested, and with that, the group quickly split in two for a few hours.

 Chapter 96 - The Martial Alliance

    Arge number of warriors and martial artists were streaming out of one of thergest and most impressive buildings in the city. It seemed to be one of the few ''standalone'' buildings, with no connections from any of theyers around it, as if they were just circling the upper floors of the building.

    The only entrance was down on the bottomyer. This showed just how long this ce had been here, nearly since the very beginning of Arcadum''s existence. It was even within the confines of the first wall that had been built, before the city had been expanded outward with that huge ring around the whole city.

    But even though this was the oldest part of the city, crammed with buildings everywhere, the bottomyer here was incredibly differentpared to the outer parts of the city. There, everything was dirty. A constant smell of mold floated through the air. But here, it was clean, or rather, as clean as it could be in a highly-popted city like this.

    The moment that they saw this ce, both Lynol and Octer were thinking how great it would be if the bottomyer further out from here was anything like this. Maybe then, Zhaine''s shop wouldn''t be in the situation that it was currently in, and the Dwarf wouldn''t need to struggle that much to keep his own shop to himself.

    "Let''s head in." Lynol suggested, not wanting to think about this much more. Octer quickly nodded his head as well, and the two headed through the tworge doors that seemed to constantly be open due to the steady stream of people walking in and out of there.

    When they walked inside, what they had expected was something more akin to the Adventurer''s Guild, rather than what this seemed to be. It was more like a training center rather than where you went to take care of official business like this. There were different rings set up all around the room, where people were publicly fighting against each other, whether it was just as a sport or to settle disputes. Some were using weapons like spears or swords, but many were just fighting with their fists.

    With a quietugh, Octer pointed out, "Foster would love it here, wouldn''t he?"

    Lynol shrugged slightly, "Probably. It does seem like it, at least." Lynol pointed out, as he continued trying to look around the room. It was quite crowded here, and many warriors and martial artists tended to be pretty tall, so Lynol could barely see any of the walls in the room. But luckily, Octer was amongst the tallest here, and quickly managed to find their destination.

    The two of them pushed through the crowd, and soon reached the reception-desk on the other side of the room. Luckily, it wasn''t all too crowded there right now. Lynol let out a sigh, and walked up to the man sitting at the reception, "Good morning. We''re looking to sign up with the Martial Alliance." He said immediately, and the man slowly turned his head.

    "Huh? Signing up? Ehh, sure, that''d be the third floor, then. Just take the stairs over there." The man said, more focused on one of the fights going on in the rings here on the bottom floor rather than helping these two people talking to him. Somewhat annoyed, but too bothered to do anything about it, Lynol simply turned around and walked toward the stairs, with Octer right behind him, "Damn... that guy was sorta rude, right?"

    "He has to deal with fighters all day, every day, so it makes sense that he would start acting like one. Rather, I think we are lucky he didn''t flip us off at the end there." Lynol replied bluntly, "Most fighters aren''t as rxed as you and I."

    "...I''m rxed?"

    "Now you are. When we met you, you were a huge asshole." With a slight smirk, Lynol looked at the man standing next to him awkwardly, "But well, you are just a big softie, at the end of the day."

    Octer scratched his cheek awkwardly, "Erm... thanks? I guess?"

    "Don''t worry, it''s a good thing. I much prefer that than having two Fosters trying to one-up each other with grim stories about their pasts." Lynol said, and Octer seemed to shudder at the thought, "Yeah... we should really talk to him about that again... he seemed way too happy about getting that bone-breaker martial skill..."

    "...Yeah..." Quietly, Lynol turned around the corner, not wanting to admit that he was actually sort of jealous that Foster got that skill and he didn''t. With a martial skill like that, he would have no problem easily cutting through his enemies. His sword slowing down or getting stuck on bones was one of the most bothersome things to him.

    But before the conversation continued, the two of them already reached the third floor, which looked a lot more like the adventurer''s guild already. Swiftly, the two of them walked up to the desks on the other side of the room, talking to one of the employees, who immediately looked at them, "Hello there, how can I help you today?" She asked, immediately more weing than the guy at the help desk down there.

    "We''re here to sign up at the Martial Alliance." Octer exined briefly, and the woman quickly nodded her head. But Lynol noticed something weird. And that was that her eyes slightly widened, and she flinched, as if she was excited about this. And more than that... A lot of the people here, especially the employees, were just staring at the two of them from afar.

    No... not the two of them. They were staring at Lynol. That was weird to him. Sure, he did stick out with his red skin, hair and horns, but that was mostly the case in regr cities. In a ce like Arcadum, where the racial diversity was absolutely incredible, he shouldn''t stick out too much. By the gods, down on the first floor, Lynol saw a nine foot tall guy with four arms and three eyes. Compared to that, a different skin color shouldn''t be too weird, right?

    "Is that so?" The employee asked, "Are you already part of another international organization? Such as the Adventurer''s or Merchant Guilds?"

    "Yes, we''re adventurers." Lynol quickly replied, and the employee pped her hands together, "Perfect. If that is the case, if you give me your guild cards we can skip a few steps. We still need some of your information, however."

    Both Lynol and Octer quickly pulled out their guild cards and handed them over to the employee, and she quickly noted down a few things on two sheets of paper, and then gave a few sheets of paper to them again, "Can you two read and write? If not, we have someone that can help you fill the information out."

    "We''re fine, but thanks." Octer quickly replied, taking his stack of papers before moving over toward one of the tables to fill everything out. But before the two of them left, the employee curiously asked, "Before you go... Can either of you two use Aura?"

    "Not yet." Lynol replied immediately, "But we''re hoping we will get there soon." He said, and Lynol and Octer stood at the nearest table, looking at each other awkwardly.

    "Why''d she have to remind us we can''t use Aura yet?" Octer asked with a wry smile, and Lynol slowly looked up from his papers, "Probably for the entry-examination thates after this. They want to know what they can expect. At the end of the day, you should still expect people working at the Martial Alliance to have an interest in, well... martial arts."

    "Right... I forgot about that. But speaking of... did you do any Aura training yet?"

    "No, I''m not fully there yet." Lynol replied, before stopping briefly, "Well, that was a bit of a lie, sorry. As a child I did Aura training toward a specific type of Aura, but it''s notpatible with the sword, so it''s quite useless now."

    "Damn... But really, I''d love to have a cool aura. Hey, if I can actually use mana as well, I might get something pretty amazing. But in the end, I''ll probably just get a shield aura, as you''d expect..." Octer said in a bragging tone, and Lynol just slightly smiled, "Just imagine awakening your mana on top of that. That''d be pretty fun, right?"

    "...That makes me even more jealous of Foster now. By the way, how do you think he''s doing?"

    "He should be fine. K is there, so she will stop him from doing anything dumb. Like reveal that he can use necromancy."

    ---

    Foster looked at the man in front of him, holding his hand forward.. Cloaked in a sinister ck energy, he showed off his magic to this member of the Mage Tower, "So yeah, I can actually use necromancy."

 Chapter 97 - Familiar Registration

    "Foster, what are you doing?" K asked with a loud groan, looking at the guy that stopped in front of a shop''s window for probably the fifth time while they were on their way to the Mage Tower. Slowly, Foster turned his head, "Oh, sorry, that just looked really cool. I really don''t know much about magic, so this ce seems just kinda... you know, really cool?"

    K looked at Foster and sighed slightly, walking up next to him. She looked into the shop window, seeing things that were basically just small gimmicky toys created by artificers. She looked up at Foster with a smirk, "You know, there might be some even cooler stuff in the Mage Tower."

    "Well yeah, probably. But I was just wondering how that stuff works." He pointed out. This was the first time that he had really seen magic like this. Sure, he had experienced magic before, in the form of Thiodrus using it tomunicate with him, or K using something simr to magic to cast miracles on them in the dungeon. Foster had even used magic himself before. But this... was a whole other deal. It was full-on magic. The sort of thing that seemed just impossible. Any one of these things would turn the whole world-view on earth upside down, while here? They were just toys being sold at any one of these shops in this part of town.

    K crossed her arms and looked at the things in the shop again, "We''ll be going around to figure out something about Octer''s new skill anyway, so we can ask about these things while we''re at it."

    "Hm... sure, let''s do that." Foster slowly nodded his head, and finally moved away from the shop window. Relieved that they could finally move on, K quickly rushed back up to his side. It didn''t take long until they did reach the Mage Tower. They were quite close to it already, and it was a huge building, after all.

    It seemed to be thergest structure around here, towering far above anything else, as if they had expanded along with the rest of the city. The building continued downward as well, but the only entrance seemed to be up here on the topyer, as if the others had been closed down. The moment that Foster and K stepped through the doors, they saw colorful decoration along the walls, people walking around with scrolls, wands and staffs in their hands. It wasn''t nearly as crowded as K and Foster had thought, but it did make sense. Magic users were rare, and even then, they could be split up into many categories, most of which had their own organization to deal with things like that.

    Magic users were prideful, and they wouldn''t like being ced into categories they didn''t identify with. That was why, for example, Druids had their own organization. They of course used magic, but they were so far removed from how Wizards handled it that they couldn''t be called the same thing, and they didn''t want to be called the same thing either.

    "Wizards, and just those that use the sort of magic that you have ess to, are a lot more... schrly, usually. It takes a lot of work to learn new spells beyond what a ss might teach them." K said, finishing her exnation as the two of them were walking through thisrge open hall. Foster let out a loud groan already, "I guess that''s that for learning new spells then. Because that''s probably not gonna happen, no matter how cool the spell is." He said with a wry smile, and K looked at him awkwardly, "Seriously, why was it you that got his hands on a fusion ss?"

    "Iunno." Foster shrugged, as the two of them soon reached the reception desk on the other side of the room. The young woman sitting there looked at the two people standing in front of her. She seemed fine with K, but when she looked at Foster, her face basically contorted into something that could only be called disgust.

    "I''m... here to sign up." Foster exined, and the woman in front of him looked back with a frown, "You? You''re a martial artist, so why are you here?"

    Grinding his teeth, Foster grabbed Aster from his hair, and ced him down on the desk, "I''m a magic user, and I''m here to sign up and register my familiar."

    The moment that the woman saw the familiar, something that proved that Foster was indeed a magic user, her disgusted expression immediately disappeared. She still didn''t seem happy that someone that looked like Foster was trying to sign up, but at the very least she wasn''t looking at him like he was the scum at the bottom of the trashcan.

    "If you wish to sign up, please make your way to the second floor offices. Room 7 should be open for you." She exined, and Foster quickly picked Aster up again, "Cool, thanks." Foster replied immediately, as he turned around toward the stairs, walking to them annoyed. As they left, K red at the woman sitting at the reception desk as well.

    "Urgh... how nasty..." K grumbled quietly, and Foster shrugged, "Yep, but there''s nothing you can do about it. Let''s just go, I''ll sign up and then we''ll see what to do after that."

    ---

    Copsed and defeated, Foster looked at the ceiling. Never in his life did he think he would have to face something like this. Nervously, afraid of what he would see, he looked at his hand. Completely cramped up, it clutched the pen.

    "Fuck, that hurts..." Foster let out, as he set the pen down for a moment, clenching his fist to try and get rid of that ufortable feeling, before going back to signing and filling out all these documents. Signing up wasn''t actually thatplicated, but registering Aster as his familiar? That was something bothersome. Incredibly so.

    "Alright, that should be it for now, then." The employee in front of Foster exined. Luckily, this one didn''t look at him like he was garbage, but treated him normally. He pushed the copies of some of the documents Foster signed into an envelope, and handed a small stamp to him.

    "This will be your personal stamp. It is a sign that you are part of our guild, so please don''t lose it. You are expected to use it whenever you do things regarding the Mage Tower, so please simply use it to stamp the wax seal, just to test it." The employee exined, and Foster slowly nodded his head, really wanting all of this to be over.

    The employee poured some molten wax over part of the envelope, and Foster quickly pressed the small stamp onto the wax, soon seeing the pattern that it formed. It wasn''t anything special. It was just something like a fingerprint, a unique pattern to identify him with. Or at least, that''s how it was exined to him before. Once the wax hardened again, Foster could put the envelope into his bag, and slowly stood up.

    "Now, there shouldn''t be any issues with your familiar. If anything happens, as long as you can prove within 48 hours that it has indeed been registered, there won''t be an issue." The employee exined, walking toward the door with Foster.

    "Right, thank you. But I do have some other questions, if you have the time to answer them." Foster exined. Now that he was finally done signing up, he could ask if they knew anything about Octer''s skill.

    "I can show you around the tower, if you would like. You can ask any questions you have then." With a calm, professional smile, the employee looked at Foster, who immediately agreed. He wanted to see what this ce was about anyway, so that might not be a bad idea.

    And so, the employee opened the door, and waited for Foster to step outside, where K was still waiting for him.

 Chapter 98 - The Mage Tower

    "You all done?" K asked, seeing Fostere back out of the office. For privacy purposes, she was asked to stay outside for the duration of the process, to which she only hesitantly obliged. But it seemed like everything went well, so she didn''t really mind.

    Foster looked at her with an excited smile, "Yep, he''s going to just show us around real quick."

    "Oh? You don''t mind that I''ming along?" K asked, looking at the employee. Immediately, he shook his head, "Of course not. This is a space where all knowledge is shared, so of course anyone has ess to this ce. But we do only give these tours to new members, so you are lucky that you came along with Mister Locke."

    "Yep, super lucky..." K replied, already seeing that Foster was incredibly excited about seeing the inside of the mage tower, even though he clearly dreadeding here earlier.

    "First, let me briefly introduce you to the structure of the tower. Below us, along Arcadum''s bottomyer, is a storage facility, where we keep any materials that our mages might need. Right above that are the archives, in which we keep general information that we umted, which is also used for research. Things such as the locations of special materials, or where we could ess natural manaylines." He exined, "And along the middleyer are living spaces for our in-house researches. Many of them wanted the chance to spend as much time here as possible, so we renovated that space for such a purpose." The employee lead Foster and K down the hallway as he exined that there was obviously no need for them to head down there, and that they would concentrate the tour on the upper floors, were the actual research was happening.

    "In total, taking the lobby as the ground floor, the Mage Tower has a total of 20 floors. Here on the second floor, we have our offices of course. Floors three to five are exclusively for coborative research for everyday magic that could better the lives of all people." The employee said, as they climbed the stairs up to the third floor. In front of them extended arge open space, separated into different workstations. Clearly, a lot of different projects were being worked on.

    In one corner, Foster could see some sort of water-fountain that clearly wasn''t hooked up to any pipes. Somewhere in the middle of the room, a bright light shone right into his eyes. As if someone pointed a spotlight right at him, just that the ''spotlight'' was the size of a fist and was floating in the middle of the air. The wizard responsible for this quickly apologized to the people around him. But everyone here had something inmon, something that Foster had already seen in the adventurer''s guild quite a bit.

    "By the way... why is everyone wearing gloves? Is it dangerous to touch magic or something?" Foster asked curiously, and the employee looked at him baffled, "What? I mean, yes, of course it is dangerous to touch magic, but not inherently, it''s..." The man exined, looking at Foster''s hands. There were some scars along his quite rough hands. They really looked more like that of a martial artist rather than a true mage, so it seemed clear that Foster didn''t know much about magic yet. He most likely only recently started exploring the path of magic. Realizing this, the employee quickly chose to exin everything, taking off his own gloves.

    His hands were a lot more red than would be normal. Traces and scars from popped blisters covered them, and a lot of the man''s skin was just gone, especially around his palm, "It is due to magical feedback. It is mostly noticeable in regard to elemental magic. Personally, I have a high affinity for fire magic, so I use it quite often. Over time, one''s hands tend to look like this, simply because the magic you use tends to affect your physical body in small amounts. Those amounts stack up more and more, until you reach such a degree where it''s impossible to reverse anymore." The man exined, "As such, when you see a mage wearing gloves, it means they are either there to hide the stacked up feedback, or they are special gloves made to somewhat counteract the feedback."

    Foster scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He knew that he would never have to deal with something like that, but he really wondered what would happen to him if he did. If he didn''t have that immunity... would his hands just slowly start rotting away off his bones?

    "Erm... can you measure your affinity for a specific magic element somehow?" Foster asked, trying to move away from the topic of magic feedback, but the employee quickly shook his head, "Not directly, no. But you see, as you follow a mage type ss, your affinities will soon reveal themselves. Certain magic will be easier to cast than other, and remembering how to use specific spells could be like second nature, while for others you will have to attempt and study for years toe. Of course, you will not have thattter issue with spells given to you through your magic skill''s progression, but it is rare for a skill to give you ess to anything higher than tier three spells anyway. And after that point, you need to proceed through the study of magic, upon awakening your mana for yourself." The employee exined, "Only then can you truly be considered a schr of the arcane, a wizard."

    Foster slightly tilted his head, having heard an unknown term, "Awakening your mana? But doesn''t everyone have mana already?"

    The employee looked at Foster with a slight frown. Sure, he knew that Foster clearly wasn''t quite experienced with magic, but not knowing something this basic still felt rather weird, "Of course, everyone and everything holds mana. But truly mastering your mana, truly making it your own, that is another matter. Only when one awakens to the truth hidden within one''s own mana can you fully proceed forward along this path." The employee exined. Foster nodded as if he understood what any of that meant, since he didn''t want to seem any dumber than he clearly already did.

    "Now, that was the test and disy floor, where our schrs cast these daily life spells to test current progress and brainstorm. The other two floors, however... are the actual research floors." The employee exined, as they stepped into the next floor. It was theplete opposite of what they had seen before. Instead of all that shy magic floating around, all that Foster could see were shelves, bookcases and desks, where dozens of wizards were sitting quietly, working together or independently on new potential spells.

    "It''s really not as shy as before, but this is what most of the floors look like. Research for new spells, or changes on existing spells, it''s an excruciating amount of work. A lot of time and money goes into it. Sometimes, while it is not usually the case for these ''simple'' tier 1 spells, plenty of wizards spend their entire carreer trying to create new spells. Especially shorter-lived races like we humans... for us, this happens more than you may expect."

 Chapter 99 - Uncomfortable

    The employee guided Foster and K further up the stairs, "Now, most of the leftover floors are split up into spaces that are reserved by specific researchers. But they arerger, and based on long-term research, so we can see a few more interesting things. These are the experts that wee to depending on certain types of magic." He exined, as they stepped further into one of the floors. The employee walked toward one of the open doors, slightly peaking inside, "Right. This here is the research space of our conjuration expert. We do try to sort everything a little bit, so all the surrounding spacesd are reserved for conjuration-based wizards."

    Both K and Foster took a closer look into the room as well. It was filled with numerous random items, as well as two pedestals in the center of the room. But more importantly, numerous small critter, of a sort that Foster had never seen before, could be seen climbing around, carrying different books and tools over to the man sitting at the desk on the other side of the room. Foster couldn''t see him very well from all the way over here, because there was a lot of clutter in the way, but something seemed sort of off about him.

    Slowly, Foster looked at the employee, "Sorry, but... what exactly is conjuration magic? It''s like... summoning something or whatever, right?" He asked, and the employee raised his brows surprised, "Yes, indeed! That is the fundamental of conjuration. The spell calls upon something at another space, and transports it over toward you. That does make it quiteplex, however. Often, it is done to summon creatures such as these for one''s aid from other nes."

    "Ehm... right... I heard about otherworlders some time ago, does that work simrly to this?" Foster asked. He sort of became jittery and nervous after asking that question. After all, he still had not the slightest idea about how he even got here. Maybe he could find a way to get home like this.

    However, as the question entered his mind, the employees smile immediately disappeared, "Otherworlders... They... Well, we do not know exactly how they suddenly appear in our world, but it is assumed that it works simrly to-"

    "No, otherworlders are not summoned through conjuration magic." A deep voice came from inside the room. Neither Foster nor K had noticed that he started moving, but the man that had been sitting at the desk suddenly stood in front of them. He was towering, truly. He was maybe three meters tall, and scarily thin. As if he was a normal guy who had just been stretched out to look like this. The summoned critters were climbing over him, along his arms and shoulders, something that didn''t seem to bother him. Hisplexion didn''t make him seem particrly healthy, though."

    "Here, let me show you." The man said, suddenly moving one of his creepily long arms, and wrapping his stick-like fingers around one of the critters. Suddenly, the man''s hand seemed to glow, and patterns suddenly appeared around the fist. Circles, triangles, and writing in anguage that Foster didn''t recognize. They were spinning around the critter, before suddenly, the man spoke, "Banish", and the creature fell apart into dust that disappeared into nothingness before it hit the ground.

    "Conjuration is not permanent. Things are simply pulled to another ce for the duration of the spell. So in theory, it should work on otherworlders as well." Slowly, the man raised his hand upward, holding his huge hand in front of Foster''s face. With his deep, creepy voice, he once more said, "Banish."

    Foster flinched, seeing the slight light appear on the man''s hand, before the giant man slowly continued, "Otherworlders are right where they are supposed to. Meaning that either, they are nothing but a myth made up to scare children into doing housework, they have been brought here through non-magical means... or nobody has ever been powerful enough to bring them back." The man exined, slowly turning around again, moving through the room at a surreal pacepared to the speed at which he was moving, through his incredibly long limbs.

    "S-Sir, please do not cast such spells on others." The employee asked, slowly ncing at where the dust from that critter should have gathered on the ground, "And also, we have repeatedly asked you to refrain from using banishment on other beings in general. You summoned them, so there is no need to put them through unnecessary... stress.

    "Right, right. I''ll remember." The man said, "That was an interesting question, though. If you have more, go ahead ande to me some time, young man." Looking at Foster, the man once more slightly turned his head. But really, Foster himself was nothing but ufortable. Through his sheer presence. He had no idea what it was. He had seen far weirder people around, but for some reason, this one made him feel just... icky.

    "Let us move on for now." The employee suggested, slowly pushing Foster and K away from the door, as if he was regretting having brought them here in the first ce. Out of the corner of the eye, as he left, Foster saw something in the other rooms though. Something that immediately distracted him from the difort that he was experiencing right now.

    He instantly turned his head to try to see what it was, that weirdly familiar light. But the moment he tried to, it had already disappeared. Instead, the employee ushered the two people with him back toward the stairs, to try and get as far away from here as possible. Like that, they made their way up another few floors, just walking around the more prominent research areas. Luckily, even if sometimes quite entric, nobody was quite as weird as that man from before, who still didn''t escape Foster''s mind, even if K seemed to be having fun.

    And then, they made their way up another floor. Foster and K already nearly stepped onto there, but the employee immediately pulled them away, "Ah, no, maybe you should not go there. You are new here, right? Maybe we should introduce you to this ce some other ti-"

    "Hm?" Suddenly, from the other side of the hall here, a man approached, "Oh! Craig, was it?"

    "Actually, it''s Ca-"

    "Nice to see you again, Craig. And who are you two?" The man asked with a smile on his face. His hair was as white as snow, and his skin looked like he never even heard about sunlight. His ears were long and pointed, and his eyes were glowing in a bright red color.

    "I''m Foster, this is K. I just signed up here, so we''re getting a tour of the ce." Foster exined, sort of intrigued about what was going on in this ce.

    "Oh! Great! Wee to the Mage Tower! Do you want me to show you around?" The man asked curiously, "Oh right, first, my name is Samria! Nice to meet you." He said, weirdly excited about meeting someone new. The employee was letting out a deep sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

    "If you do want to show them around, please take it slow, alright?"

    "I''ll take that as a yes!" Samria eximed, quickly stepping behind Foster and K, pushing them forward as he started to exin everything, "So, I practically have this whole floor for myself. I''m the only researcher of my specialization, and the others didn''t want to be around me for some reason. I don''t know why, honestly, I''m pretty sociable, right? But! I do get a lot of space and funding for everything I do here!" In a flurry of words that seemed toe out of this man''s mouth without any sort of stop to it, Foster and K were guided around, not even knowing what he was working on. That was something that the employee was apparently trying to prepare them for, though.

    "Before you go in there, I must ask you not to freak out or be scared. It may be frowned upon and even illegal in other ces, but I promise that we put this magic under strict supervision, and that we have been given permission by the emperor himself to not only allow research into this magic, but to also let mages that signed with us and are under our supervision use it themselves." The employee exined, but still didn''t mention the magic, as if he was dreading it. As if he had a rough idea that the moment that these two people heard about it, they would run away screaming.

    Samria, however, had a broad grin on his face, pushing Foster and K into the room in front of them, "Wee to Arcadum''s Mage Tower''s very own Necromancy research center!" He eximed, as they all set eyes on a human skeleton casually walking around the room.

 Chapter 100 - Business Offer

    "Necromancy...?" Both Foster and K asked at the same time, and Samria quickly nodded his head, "Yes! And before you get those scared looks on your face like everyone else, necromancy isn''t ''just'' making things rot and causing dead monsters to rise, it''s only... a very prominent part of it!" He eximed, excited to tell two new people about this topic. Before either Foster or K could say anything, the Mage Tower employee stepped in front of them.

    "As I said, Necromancy isn''t illegal in Arcadum, and if you''re signed up with us, anyone is allowed to use it, even with some stricter rules connected to it." The employee exined quickly, "And I want to assure you-"

    "Anyone?" Foster asked immediately, and the employee looked at him confused, "You''re saying that anyone is allowed to use necromancy? You won''t be persecuted, you won''t be arrested, nothing like that?"

    Confused, the employee looked at the man standing in front of him, "I mean, yes. Of course, we cannot do anything against the prejudice of the people... but officially, you cannot be persecuted for it, yes."

    "Do you need to register that you can use necromancy? Or do you have to pay a fine if you don''t?"

    "...No, of course not. We do hope that our mages tell us if they can use it, but it is not a definite rule." The employee replied with a slight frown, really not sure why Foster was asking such questions. Samria, however, seemed to have a rough idea, "Don''t tell me, you..."

    Foster held his hand forward, before it was soon cloaked in a sinister ck energy, "So yeah, I can actually use necromancy."

    The employee took a confused step back, suddenly seeing the unexpected use of necromancy. K rubbed the bridge of her nose annoyed, "Seriously? You''re just telling them?"

    "Of course, why wouldn''t I? I mean, if it''s not illegal, I''d rather disclose it now so that I can have someone to talk to about it. I don''t know shit about necromancy." Foster said bluntly, before someone excitedly pulled on his shoulder, "Another necromancer! Perfect! But wait, if you don''t know about necromancy, how did youe to use it? Did you find some sort of grimoire? But no, that would require studying, so you would know about it... Tell me! What happened?!"

    Foster slowly turned his head toward K, who was standing there with crossed arms, looking at him annoyed. It was as if she knew something like this was going to happen. But at the same time, she seemed sort of relieved to Foster. As if she was d that they didn''t have to hide the fact that he could use necromancy, at least.

    "It... seems like you want to talk a little, so I will just head back down and make sure to take a note that you know how to use necromancy. But... don''t carelessly use magic like just now, alright? Necromancy feedback is not nice in the slightest." The employee exined, as if worried about Foster after seeing that he so casually used that spell. It was low-tier, but that didn''t mean that it wasn''t dangerous. Slowly, he excused himself, and made his way back down the stairs at the entrance of this floor. Meanwhile, Samria dragged Foster into the room.

    "Now, tell me, how did you learn to use necromancy?" He asked curiously, still holding onto his shoulder. Somewhat annoyed, Foster jerked his body away and looked at Samria, "Dude, calm down a bit, will you? I get that you''re excited about this, but I''m not going to tell you about my past like this. I''m not gonna ask you about how you learned necromancy."

    "Oh, if you want to know how-"

    "No, I don''t want to know. Sorry. Just... I have a few questions about necromancy in general. The magic. Where I can learn new spells or something. Or just a little bit about it in general." Foster said immediately, "I''m not looking to be a researcher here, I just want to know how to not fuck up and hurt my friends while using it."

    Samria looked at Foster somewhat surprised, "I see. In that case, hold on for a moment." He said, slowly turning around and walking to the other side of the room. Foster felt sort of bad, since Samria seemed hurt, but at the end of the day he didn''t really care. He wasn''t here to make friends, anyway.

    "Wow. I''ve never seen him that quiet. Teach me your ways."

    "What ways, I''m just a natural dickhead." Foster replied instantly, still looking at Samria''s back. It took him a few seconds to realize that the voice was not that of one of the three people that were supposed to be in here. He turned his head, and looked at the person that spoke. It was the skeleton, standing next to him and looking at Samria as well.

    K had moved away to the other side of the room nervously, not having expected something like that to suddenly happen. Foster, however, just looked at the skeleton a little surprised, "Huh. I thought talking skeletons are rare, but I guess not. What''s up?"

    Slowly, the skeleton raised his head and stared at the ceiling, before looking back at Foster with a shrug. Overall, this skeleton seemed rather lethargic. The opposite to the way that Samria was acting, "So you''re like a proper undead, huh?"

    "Yep."

    "Cool, cool." Foster replied. Weirdly enough, the conversation seemed... very normal. It didn''t take long until Samria returned with a few books in hand, mming them on a table in front of Foster.

    "Alright! Here you go! These books are filled with the basics of necromancy! I get that you don''t want to exin your past to me, and that''s totally fine! But even then, since necromancers like us are rare, I still want us to work together!" Samria eximed, as excited as before again. Even though he wouldn''t have cared in the end, Foster was still happy that he didn''t absolutely shatter this guy''s feelings. It was true that he would be useful to him in the future.

    Foster looked at the books and picked one of them up, starting to flip through it, "So are there like, spells in here that I can learn or something?"

    "Spe- Oh!" Samria eximed, "No, no, of course not, these aren''t spellbooks, obviously. The only ce you can get those are upstairs in the library, but you need to be properly approved to be able to read those. I do have a few spellscrolls for some though, you can learn the spell through those!" He exined somewhat excitedly, making his way back to the shelves on the other side of the room.

    Then what were these books about? Were they seriously just filled with boring theory and research stuff about necromancy? Foster already knew that he wouldn''t like this sort of thing. Maybe if there was some sort of magic rted to space, ands and stars, then maybe he might enjoy learning magic... but if he had to know all of these sort of things to even have a chance? He would just rely on leveling up his Martial Necromancy skill to learn new magic instead.

    Even when Samria ced the scrolls on the table and Foster got to take a look, he didn''t get much more excited about it. Sure, he could see all those cool patterns like those that came from that creepy guy''s hand earlier, but he had no idea how he was supposed to learn to cast a spell like this.

    "Fucking hell..." Foster muttered with a deep sigh, as Samria quickly took the scroll from him again, "You... don''t look like a wizard."

    "...I''m a martial artist. Hybrid ss." Foster exined briefly. Immediately, Samria seemed curious, "Hybrid ss... martial artist... interesting... a unique sort of battle mage then." He muttered, before growing a broad grin, "I have a suggestion for you. I will give you these scrolls, for free, if you agree to work with me."

    "I''m not a researcher, dude. I''m seriously not." Foster said, scratching the back of his head. K stepped up right next to him, looking at Samria suspiciously. Foster knew her expressions by now. It seemed like she was trying to read Samria''s ''me'' to see if he was up to something or not.

    Samria, however, only brought over a small wooden box, "You see, tools for wizards have to be attuned directly to the sort of magic being cast. If we''re talking necromancy... well, barely anyone uses it! I''m good at research and making these tools, but I''m not... the greatest caster. I made Jeremy here byplete ident! I still don''t know how he can talk!" Samria eximed, causing Foster and K to immediately look at the Skeleton in question, who once more simply shrugged.

    "Anyway, if you agree to test these tools out in the field, and report back to me about how well they work, then you can have them and any necromancy scrolls I have, for free!"

 Chapter 101 - Gloves

    Foster looked at Samria with a suspicious frown. That offer definitely sounded intriguing, but at the same time, it seemed too good to be true.

    "For free? Not at a reduced price?" Foster asked confused, and Samria immediately shook his head, "No, no, I''m not nning to sell this stuff anyway. I''m a researcher, not a merchant. Knowledge is the only money I need!"

    "Really, now. As for me, money is the only money I need." He replied quickly, quickly turning toward K, "What do you think?"

    Slowly, she turned her head toward Foster, even though her eyes were still locked onto the man that was gathering a bunch of different scrolls and books on the table in front of them, "Well, I didn''t notice any weird fluctuation... excitement, sure, but as far as I can tell, there wasn''t anything hidden behind his words."

    "Meaning that this is a good deal?"

    "That... I don''t know yet. It depends on what the items are, I guess? And this might still just be a trick thates as second nature to him... he might be a scammer?" K suggested, and Foster looked at the back of the excited necromancer rushing through the room. He thought about it for a moment. All the scammers that he personally knew all had a certain air about them. They were calm and calcting in their actions. And if K was right, then this whole way that Samria acted wasn''t just an act, but this was truly just him. He didn''t seem to be a scammer to Foster.

    "Right, so, what sorta stuff do you want me to test for you?" Foster asked, "And before you say anything, this isn''t me agreeing yet. I just want to know what I''d be signing up for."

    Samria looked at Foster with a broad smile, and walked over to open the small wooden box that he ced on the table just earlier. Inside were a pair of ck gloves with white stitches and lines all over it.

    "..." Foster looked at them confused, "You trying to get into fashion or something? I don''t know if I''m the best one to test this stuff, then."

    Samriaughed out loud, and shook his head, "Of course not! They''re a simr thing to the gloves that I''m wearing. They''re made to change the flow of magic to slow down the speed at which you experience magical feedback."

    "Oh... well, I don''t need them, then. I don''t need to worry about that, I have a high resistance against necromancy anyway." Foster pointed out bluntly, and Samria looked at him in shock, "Necromancy resistance? Really? In that case, then- Oh, yes, I do have an even better idea!" Immediately, Samria closed the box and practically threw it across the room, before he quickly grabbed another, older, dustier box from one of the shelves. He opened it up while walking over toward Foster and K.

    "These here were a prototype pair, one of the first that I made. Normally, gloves like these work by pulling the magic outward to lower the impact on the physical body of the user, but these don''t do that. Instead, Ipletely focused on the secondary objective of such gloves, and that is the increase in maniptive ability the user has over their magic. If you don''t need to worry about magical feedback as much, then this is the perfect chance to study this secondary effect and improve it in future models." Samria exined in an excited tone, and Foster slightly raised his brow. Samria turned around to go grab something else, while Foster pulled the gloves out of the box, and quickly tried them on. They seemed to fit perfectly, as if they were made for him.

    Once more, he tried to activate the ''Chilling Touch'' spell. Immediately, he could notice a difference. Usually, the cold energy took a while to gather in his hand. It wasparable to trying to pour out honey. But now? Inparison to before, it felt like water was pouring down into his hand. And not just that. The energy that was practically just eminating from his hand before, now wrapped itself around it like a veil.

    "Huh, nice." Foster said with a light grin on his face, as Samria turned to look at him again. With a shocked, nervous expression, he stared at him and his hands, "Wait, you- you al-already put them on?"

    "...yeah, sorry. Should I not have done that?" Foster asked confused, and Samria slowly approached him, "It... doesn''t hurt?"

    Foster''s smile immediately disappeared, as he stared at Samria, "The fuck is that supposed to mean? Is it supposed to hurt?!"

    "No, no, it''s not supposed to hurt! But still, it often tends to sting the user... or well, me, at least, I guess... It has a few... errors, since it''s a prototype and all." Samria exined nervously, "But hey! If it doesn''t hurt, that means there''s no need to worry about it potentially fusing to your skin permanently! So that''s great!"

    Foster slowly closed his eyes, and pulled the gloves off his hands. And a momentter, he was already pulling Samria up by his cor, "Listen here, you little shit. The next time you give me something that can potentially fuse. With. My. Skin. You will fucking tell me!" He yelled out, and Samria nervously looked up at him, quickly nodding his head, "Of course, of course! I mean, that''s why I have these undergloves to make sure it doesn''t happen! I meant to give them to you! B-But since you are resistant to necromancy, it seems like the gloves aren''t able to affect you like that! So that''s good to know, right?"

    Grinding his teeth, Foster let go of Samria''s cor, and walked back over to the gloves. It seemed like he wouldn''t need to worry about any sort of side-effect from those gloves then. He was still pissed off, though.

    "If at any point I get hurt by one of the things you give me, you owe me much more than a few scrolls, alright?" Foster asked with a deep re, and Samria didn''t hesitate for a moment to agree to that. Annoyed, Foster just held onto the gloves for a moment, and then looked at the necromancer next to him again, "Anything else you want me to test, then?"

    "N-Not for now! But here, you can have the scrolls. These are all low-tier necromancy spells though, so you might want to see if you can get scrolls for some other regr spells. Those are always good to have... right?"

    Foster clicked his tongue and looked at the scrolls, trying to unroll some of them to get a closer look. Meanwhile, K finally asked some questions that Foster was now clearly too annoyed to ask himself.

    "You probably know a bit about non-necromancy spells too, right?" She asked, and Samria turned toward her with a broad smile, "Yup! Most magic shares a lot ofmon points."

    K slowly nodded, "Right, so... Our friend recently got this martial skill, right? But it''s a special sort, because while it is a martial skill, it''s also a spell at the same time. It was exined to us that it depends on the expertise of the one that gets it, and that the same skill can be used by mages and martial artists."

    "Oh! I''ve heard about those, yes! I''m pretty sure I saw a book or two about those in the library." Samria replied, and K raised her brows surprised, "Really? Great! So, anyway, while our friend was using that skill, it used stamina like any normal martial skill. But then, he apparently used some mana as well, and the skill got ''stuck'', sort of, and even though the skill wasn''t active anymore, the effect was still there."

    Samria crossed his arms and started to think, "That... sounds interesting. I haven''t heard about something specifically like this, but I also don''t know much about the topic. But it makes sense. The activation of martial skills and spells isn''t all too different. Both depend on the image of the user, and the main difference between the two is the feeling that internal energy, or stamina, and mana give off to the user. It''s a little different for everyone, so it could be that a certain aspect that this friend of yours relies on to activate martial skills is also something that he would use to activate spells. Does he have any ability to use magic at all?"

    "Not that I know of, no..."

    "Right, then if he had never used magic before, it sounds logical to me. He wouldn''t know about how to properly use his mana, so he can''t fully differentiate between the use of the two. Usually it wouldn''t matter, but for that sort of skill... that sort of ovep could definitely cause issues." Samria exined, and to K and Foster both, it seemed to make a lot of sense. Slowly, Foster turned back around, "So, what can we do to make sure it doesn''t happen again?"

    Samria crossed his arms, "Your friend could try to practice mana maniption. Or even just trying to directly manipte his internal energy would help too. As long as he can figure out the difference between mana and internal energy in the field of activation for that skill? That should be enough. If it''s not, then you should try to look for experts in that field, or look for the books about it."

    "That''s more than we knew before, at least." Foster sighed, picking up as many of the scrolls as he could hold.. Because he wasn''t going to leave any of them behind, especially after Samria practically nearly crippled his hands.

 Chapter 102 - Pride

    Octer and Lynol finished signing the Martial Alliance''s documents, and were soon led into arge open room. Compared to the rest of the building, it was rather empty here, which was a nice change of pace.

    "So, now, we want to test out your guys'' strength." The employee that was guiding them around said casually, "It''s nothing big, we just need to make sure you can actually handle yourselves. We can''t have random, regr people sign up with us. You get how it is, right?"

    "Right. It''s a normal test. So how does this work here? Are we simply showing off our martial skills, or do we have to fight someone?" Lynol asked, and the employee grinned broadly, as if he was already excited for what he was going to see soon, "You''re going to have to fight someone. You know, you''re he lucky. You can fight one of the alliance grandmasters."

    "...Doesn''t everyone do that? So we wouldn''t really be lucky." Octer pointed out, and the employee scoffed, "Not you, big guy. You''re just getting one of our regr trainers. You''re a shield bearer anyway, so your test isn''t going to be a proper fight. But you, red. You''re the lucky one." The employee exined, but before he could say anything more, Lynol and Octer were already too annoyed to keep listening to him. He didn''t make any attempts at being actually helpful and professional, so the two of them didn''t want to treat him as a proper employee either.

    Either way, it didn''t take long for both of them to realize why exactly everyone had been staring at Lynol like that. They recognized him from somewhere. Well, not him specifically, but rather his race. Out of the door on the other side of the room stepped a tall, muscr man. His hands were covered in thick rock-like formations, creating something like gauntlets. The two horns on his forehead stuck out through his thick, long burgundy colored hair. The color of his skin as well, was the same as Lynol''s, even if maybe a bit darker. Or maybe it was correct to say that Lynol was palepared to this man. It was another Lesser Lorgran.

    As Lynol and this fellow member of his race looked at each other, they both couldn''t believe their eyes. But immediately, they felt a sort of excitement, as if they had just met their long-lost brother.

    "Heh... there aren''t many of us around here." The other Lorgran said, and Lynol nodded his head without a moment''s hesitation, "I noticed that too. How long have you been here?"

    "Five, maybe six years. If you''re here to sign up, that means you just got here?"

    "About a week ago, yes." Lynol replied immediately, and the man in front of him slowly stretched his rock-covered hand forward, trying to shake Lynol''s, "The name''s Liam."

    "Lynol." He replied, before Liam looked down at the hands of the man in front of him, "Haven''t achieved the higher level of the teachings yet, huh? I''d hoped that I''d be able to have a good fight for once."

    "About that." Lynol said, slowly walking over to the wall, where a bunch of different weapons for training were hung. He walked over to one of thergest swords, one that was evenrger than he himself, and slowly took it from the wall. Casually, he swung the sword around as if it was nothing to him. In that moment, Liam''s excited smile disappeared without a trace that it even existed, "A swordsman? You''re a fuckin'' swordsman?"

    "I am." Lynol replied, already knowing where this was going. Liam ground his teeth together annoyed, "How dare you? You are practically spitting on your existence as a proud Lorgran!"

    Now, Lynol was the one that was insulted, "Proud? What do you mean, ''proud''? The only reason we exist is to be ves. I reject such an existence." He replied without hesitation. Liam yelled out, "Then ovee the boundaries given to us! But don''t throw everything away!"

    Lynol ground his teeth. It''s been a while since he''s felt this way, "For a moment, I thought this might be some sort of trick. But no, you really are a Lorgran. At least you sound like everyone else back there."

    "I''ll teach you to speak about your own in disrespect like that!" Liam yelled out, mming his fists together. The moment that the two masses of rock hit each other, a loud sound echoed out, sounding as if the earth was ripping apart right in front of everyone.

    With slow, heavy steps, Liam was now steadily approaching Lynol. He, on the other hand, readily held the sword in his hands, prepared to fight against this man that was clearly much stronger than him. Lynol ran forward until he was in range, before stopping and sliding his feet over the ground, pushing his own momentumpletely into the sword while leaning into the opposite direction to counteract the weight.

    The sword swung at Liam, but the martial artist simply raised his hand and caught the attack. Lynol''s attacks were rather fast despite the heavy sword he was using, but even though Liam wascking any sort of speed, he still managed to catch the attack easily. And the rocks covering his hands didn''t even crack.

    "...You''ve reached the seventh level..?" Lynol asked, as Liam ground his teeth as he swung his arm to the side, pushing the de away, "Seventh? I''m at the ninth."

    Lynol stared at the man in front of him, and took a few cautious steps back, "Ninth..? You''re... an elder?"

    "I would be, if I hadn''t left that ce. But what do you care? You''re nothing but a child who threw away everything!"

    Lynol red back at the man in front of him, who continued steadily approaching him. A ninth level grandmaster wasn''t someone that he could face. Lynol barely just entered the road of the swordsman, there was no way that he could win this. But even so, faced with this impossible challenge, he couldn''t help but feel excited about it.

    Once more, he pushed his whole body forward, shing at Liam''s body, but he simply tried to swat the de away. And right before his eyes, the sword changed its trajectory. Instead of aiming at his body vertically, Lynol swung the de in a triangle form and soon shed at him horizontally. Liam reacted. The de was already slightly buried into his flesh by the time he managed to grab it, stopping it in an instant.

    "How did you-"

    "Just because I''m not using those martial arts doesn''t mean I never used them." Lynol pointed out, slightly ncing at the scars that covered his hands all over. Liam realized that they were not from battle, but rather, from something else.

    "You tore them off? Why would you-"

    "Because, as you said, I reject my existence. I''m not going to y along with the rules of the ones that simply submit to others without a fight." Lynol said, angrily, "I''m walking my own path now."

    Liam slowly pulled the de out of his body, and once more pushed it away. But instead of engaging in further battle, he turned around, pressing onto the wound on the side of his body to slow down the bleeding, "You''ve passed, obviously." He said emotionlessly. Lynol stared at the back of his fellow Lorgran, letting go of the handle of the borrowed sword in overwhelming anger. Octer quickly approached him, trying to help him calm down, while an employee ran up to Liam to help treat his wound.

    "How did that happen? You''ve never been injured by a rookie like that." The employee pointed out, following Liam as he left the room. Slowly, he turned around, looking at Lynol leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, emotionally overwhelmed, "That kid... we should make sure to watch him. He''s a prodigy. But rather than pursue his talent, he follows his passion. Someone like that might be worth keeping an eye on, no matter how much he infuriates me."

    "Eh?" The employee let out, "You sure you''re not saying that ''cause you''re being sentimental?"

    With a scoff, Liam shook his head, "When have I ever been sentimental in that way? Now shut up and get me treated."

    "...Right away, Sir.." The employee said, quickly rushing off to go get one of the in-house healers, while Liam lingered slightly behind, still staring at Lynol through the hallway.

 Chapter 103 - Boring

    Octer and Lynol both stepped out of the room in which they were tested, upset over different reasons. They both finished rather quickly, since Octer''s test was quite straightforward as well. After all, him being a shield bearer, the only thing that had to be tested was his ability to wield his shield. And since he could very easily move his tower shield around as if it was made of paper to block any iing attack, it became clear to the testers that he was skilled enough to be a member of the martial alliance.

    But even so, he wasn''t particrly happy about how things went down after the fact, or even during it. After Lynol''s fight with Liam, Octer was practicallypletely ignored, since everyone was shocked at the idea that Liam was damaged by a rookie.

    "Seriously, they could''ve at least pretended to care about my test at all..." Octer groaned loudly, before Lynol looked at his friend, cing his hand on his shoulder, "Don''t worry, all that matters is that you did well. We''re properly a part of the martial alliance now, so that will hopefully be helpful. Now, all that we have to do is find someone that could answer our questions about your martial skill.".

    "Oh, right, we did have to do that too." Octer let out, as if he had forgotten all about it, even though that was his greatest worry until just earlier, "We can take our time asking around, it doubt that Foster and K will be here anytime soon."

    "Right. But let''s hope that they didn''t get into some sort of trouble." Octer exined, "When you joked about Foster revealing his... magic earlier, I kinda freaked out. Obviously he wouldn''t do something like that, but he also told total strangers about where he''s from... twice. And the first time around, they turned out to want to kill him for it."

    Lynol scoffed and shook his head, "Seriously, don''t worry, he would never."

    ---

    "You did what?!" Lynol yelled out with his eyes wide open, staring at his friend who was sitting on his bed. But Foster simply shrugged in response, "I told them I can use necromancy."

    "Why the fuck would you do something like that? Are you aplete moron or something?" Octer groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose, before turning toward K, "And why are you so rxed about it? You''re a cleric, you know just as well as we do that necromancy is-"

    Shaking her head, K quickly replied to the question, "Trust me, I was worried about it as well, but this was the right choice as far as I''m concerned. Because fact is, it''s not illegal. Frowned upon, sure, but Foster clearly doesn''t care about doing things that are frowned upon, even publicly."

    "Wait, what? What do you mean, it''s not illegal?" Lynol asked confused, and before K could respond, Foster exined the situation to them, as well as all the things that they learned in the Mage Tower from Samria. Both Lynol and Octer were just perplexed about this information, since it seemed simply illogical to them.

    "I mean... I guess the empire is pretty open and progressive about these sorts of things... and if the Mage Tower has its own Necromancy division, then it must be true." Lynol pointed out, even though he was still quite nervous about this, "But even then, the fact that you revealed this information without consulting us is sort of..."

    "Yeah... I''m sorry about that. In retrospect, I figured that it was pretty risky. But well, it''s not like I would''ve given you guys up."

    Octer sighed, "That''s not what it''s about. Just, before you make big decisions like that, let''s talk about it, alright?"

    "Right. I''ll talk to you guys about this stuff from now on. But yeah, I now have a deal with this Samria guy, and he''s going to give me magic tools to test out, as well as some magic scrolls. So as soon as I can figure them out, I''ll have more spells in my repertoire." Foster exined, and Octer thought about it for a moment, "Yeah, but you''re not really a spellcaster. The only sort of spells on scrolls are the kind that need actual casting, in the form of magic circles and such. The ones you have right now are raw energy-based spells, so I got no clue how useful they''ll actually be."

    Foster stared at Octer silently. This continued for a few moments of eery silence. And then, Foster slightly tilted his head to the side, "There''s a difference?"

    "Gods fucking dammit..." Octer groaned, in response to which K sent him a deep re which he swiftly ignored, "But even then..." He said, trying to move on quickly, "The fact that you can openly use the spells that you do have is really useful. Especially once we enter the dungeon where we mostly don''t have to worry about harvesting materials from the monsters, those spells''re really gonna help out."

    Foster grinned slightly in response, "Yeah, I''m super excited about it too. I kinda want to try out my new spell, Siphoning Touch. It''s a life-steal kinda thing."

    "...That sounds sort of eery, but alright." Lynol pointed out, "For now, we should look into finding Foster either a magic tutor, or a proper mage for our party that can help him out while we are not out and about."

    K scoffed immediately, "A magic tutor? You know how expensive those are? Buying some books about magic theory would be better. The mage tower sells them at a reduced price to members. If he was somehow chosen by a cmity to take on his legacy, then he must be able to handle it, right?"

    "Well, let''s hope so." Foster replied bluntly, "Either way, everything worked out. And, we figured out how to help Octer so that the skill doesn''t get stuck again."

    "...That is true as well." Lynol replied with a sigh, "Maybe he should try to study up on magic together with you, Foster."

    Instantly, the martial artist in question jumped up from the edge of his bed, "Right, sure, but before then... I wanna go shopping."

    Perplexed at the sudden topic change, the whole party looked at Foster, who quickly exined, "I have my date tomorrow, so I have to look nice. And also... the only reason why I''m wearing this Gi all the time is because I don''t have anything else to wear, and it''s like a magical thing so it doesn''t really get dirty and shit. But I''d still prefer something more... causal for everyday stuff."

    "Now that you mention it... I haven''t seen you wear anything beside that this whole time."

    "Me neither..." Octer added, agreeing with K immediately.

    pping his hands together, Foster then quickly approached the door, "Right, good to know that we''re all in agreement that I need new clothes. Soo...e on, seriously, I want to get going, I have no idea how long it''s gonna take to find anything good in this city."

    Lynol shrugged, not really seeing the importance of clothes, "Just wear whatever. The only thing that needs proper cleaning is your shirt, the rest of the Gi is fully clean when you run a bit of water over it. So why do you need anything else?"

    "...Because I look like a weirdo only wearing a Gi all the time?" Foster pointed out bluntly, "Honestly, you should try and pick something for yourself as well. You look sort of... well, boring is a good way to call it."

    "...I look boring?" Lynol asked, looking down at his body. He was wearing a beige shirt and some slightly darker beige pants, and the most basic thin brown shoes imaginable. And most of the time, Lynol was wearing a cloak above these clothes as well, so the answer was rather clear. Although, the only ones that seemed to even think about things like fashion before this were K and Foster, since Octer didn''t particrly understand the topic either.

    "Then I guess it''s settled." K said with an excited expression on her face, "We''re all going shopping for some new clothes!"

    With that, the party of four made their way out of the room and Foster locked the door behind them, before they all left the Red Riverside Inn to head to the shopping district.

 Chapter 104 - Clothes Make The Man

    The group of four stepped into the shopping district, looking around for a clothes'' shop or tailor that they could go to. There were some seemingly more expensive shops around that they of course avoided. Clothes didn''t have to be expensive to look good, after all. But soon, in an alley on the middleyer, they found a neat little tailor that seemed to sell high-quality clothes and that wasn''t too expensive.

    "Really, I don''t think this is necessary. I can keep wearing these clothes. They fit quite well, and are ratherfortable. And most importantly, thin. It''s simply so hot around here." Lynol pointed out, hisints continuing throughout the whole time that the group was on their way over here. Of course, neither K nor Foster would have it, "You''re our party leader, man. You can''t go around lookin'' like that. If the boss of a group looks like a slob, people''re gonna underestimate them. You have to look good to get people to respect you.." Foster pointed out, pushing his friend into the store ahead of him.

    With a loud groan, Lynol turned his head, "Can I not simply get people to respect me through my skill?"

    "Hah, yeah right." Foster scoffed, "If you were as strong as this Liam dude you told us about, maybe, but at our level? Nah man, that''s not happening."

    "Heh. From the strongest in your crew to someone ''at our level''. Funny, isn''t it?" Octer let out with a slight smirk, but he was soon met with a prating re from the man in front of him, "Shut it, don''t remind me. It''s frustrating enough as is. Also, don''t think you''ll get out of this so easily."

    "Urgh..." Awkwardly following the others into the shop, Octer looked around, already overwhelmed by everything that he was seeing. There were so many different pieces of clothing around here, in numerous different colors, to the extent that he didn''t even know where to start. K, however, was already at work picking out some things for herself. Meanwhile, Foster stepped in front of Octer and Lynol, "For now, just go around and pick out some things you think look good. But don''t buy anything without my or K''s approval."

    Lynol turned his head and looked at the woman excitedly running through the shop, "Why do we need her approval? She looks like... I don''t even know what she looks like. Something weird, at least."

    "What? Oh, you mean because she''s wearing all that frilly white and pink? I think it looks pretty nice." Foster pointed out, patting his friend on the back, "Also, let''s try not to judge her before we see what you''re going to pick out for yourself, alright?" He said with a slight wink, before looking around the store. He already had a good idea what sort of thing he wanted. Mostly, he would just wearfy and chill clothes, pretty often somewhat oversized.

    Right now, he was just looking for a base outfit. Walking around the store, there were a few things he liked. First, he picked out a few simple ck shirts, and then picked out a thin charcoal jacket. It was too thin to be called a jacket, really, it was more something aesthetic. Foster was pretty surprised to see something like this, honestly. It was pretty close to a casual zip-up hoodie in style, just without the zip-up part. It was the kind that just hung loosely open.

    "Is it supposed to be tied close or something?" Foster wondered, since it sort of reminded him of his Gi''s jacket. Either way, after that, Foster went around the store and soon found something in a beige tone. It was just that it was a roll of cloth hanging on the wall, and nothing seemed to be made of this material. Quickly, Foster walked over to the single employee, a middle-aged woman with slightly pointed ears.

    "Sorry, could you help me for a moment?" He asked, and the employee turned toward him surprised, but quickly nodded, "Of course, what can I do for you?"

    "That cloth over there, do you maybe have pants made of that?" Immediately, the employee looked at the color that Foster was pointing at, and slowly nodded her head, "I think we do, yes, let me check for you." She said, quickly making her way to the back. Meanwhile, Foster thought about something he hadn''t realized yet. His bracelet, the snake biting its own tail, was an essory he couldn''t take off. Or well, he could, but it was too risky to leave something of that valueying around, "It''s not like it looks bad, though. Just not normally my style." He said, forgetting that he has been wearing nothing but a Gi for the past month, something that anyone would find insane back on earth.

    It didn''t take long until the employee returned from the back with a pair of pants just like Foster imagined them. They would work great together with that outfit overall.

    "Awesome, thanks. Now... do you maybe have something like suits? Readymade? I don''t have the time to get one tailored specifically for me, sadly." Foster exined, and the employee looked him up and down, before she pped her hands together, "I think we do have a few suits your size, yes!"

    "Oh, perfect! Could I maybe have a look at them?"

    "Sure,e right over here with me." The employee replied, guiding Foster into one of the adjacent rooms. It didn''t look like customers coulde back here, but there was really a whole other section of the shop back here.

    However, when Foster looked around... he was utterly perplexed. He went into this shop with an open mind anyway. All of the mannequins set up in the front were looking far too fantasy-like to him already, but here... this really seemed a bit over the top. Rather than the formal suits he expected, these suits were... like those of medieval nobility, or formal military uniforms.

    "Urgh..." He let out. Foster definitely wasn''t going to wear any of these. Especially not to a date.

    "Are they not to your liking?" The employee asked, and Foster let out a deep sigh, "They weren''t what I was imagining, at least. I was hoping for something less... extravagant. Something more sleek and simple, you know?" He exined, walking through the room to get a closer look at the mannequins, while the employee was trying to understand what exactly he meant.

    But then, Foster stopped in front of one of the closets. It was slightly ajar, but inside of it, he could spot something interesting. He slowly opened the closet, and saw a decent, ck suit jacket.

    "What about that?" Foster asked, and the employee rushed over, soon seeing what what he was talking about, "That? That sort of thing really isn''t what most customers ask for... it looks quite..."

    "Boring? Compared to everything in here, sure, but this is exactly what I''m looking for." Foster grabbed the suit jacket, and quickly tried it on. It fit as if it was made for him. It was a deep ck color, and the material felt rather nice too.

    "Hm, alright. I usually go for a dark blue, but... I can work with this." Looking down at his body, Foster already knew what he was going to pick out toplete this. The only thing in the closet was this jacket, but that also meant that he could freely choose the whole suit for himself. And to him, there was only one way to really go with a suit like this.

 Chapter 105 - The Date

    The employee packed all of the clothes that Foster picked out into a few boxes, and he quickly paid for everything. Although... it really did cost quite a bit of money. He should really get to figuring out how much the coins he took from Thiodrus'' ce are worth, or else he would run out of money soon.

    Foster ced the boxes down behind the counter for now, since the employee allowed him to, and then he went over to see what the others had picked out. Of course, out of the other three, the only one that had a bit of a sense of style was K. She picked out a few different outfits for herself, for different purposes. After all, the dresses that she usually wore weren''t always the best fit for every situation, so she picked out some darker clothes for herself as well. Something that was easier to move in. Right now, she had tried on one of the outfits that she picked out with the assistance of one of the employees.

    Some basic clothing pieces may beying around for anyone to pick up, but for most of them, it seemed like you had to speak to the employees and have them assist you in getting everything together.. Maybe this was so that the higher-quality clothes couldn''t be easily stolen? Foster had no idea if they had any anti-theft measures here.

    K wore wide charcoal pants and some dark blue-gray vest, with a red-purple undershirt. But overall, the style of everything really just yelled out ''Fantasy Adventurer''. It looked sort of over-the-top to an extent, but when Foster actually thought about it, this wasn''t that bad of an outfit on a functional level. And it wasn''t like it looked bad, it was just something that Foster would consider to be weird if he saw it back on earth.

    However, both Lynol and Octer picked out outfits that were both far more over-the-top than K''s, and looked horrific at the same time. It seemed like the employee that had tried helping them out was speechless as well, and not sure how to say that the things they picked were absolutely horrible.

    Lynol was wearing nothing but dark swampy colors, as well as anything that absolutely didn''t go with red. Meanwhile, Octer went the opposite route, and chose the probably most shy clothes in the whole store.

    Both K and Foster were utterly perplexed, "Alright, you guys don''t get a word in this anymore." Foster sighed, turning toward the employee, "Get him a dark blue overcloak, but not, like, a huge one. Nothing that covers his whole body I guess. Then the shirt he''s wearing in a silver or light gray tone, and... those pants over there in ck. And then... the vest he''s wearing, in the same ck as the pants." Foster said, and the employee immediately nodded his head, happy that he could fix that fashion crime right there. It didn''t take long until he gathered everything, and Lynol was shoved into the changing room against his will. Meanwhile, K had been helping out Octer. She picked some mostly brown, gray and ck things for him, colors that worked pretty well together.

    This was the first time that Foster had to do something like this. He never really paid that much attention to the way he looked, but even he knew a thing or two about it. Rather, he knew what looked good and what didn''t. And soon, Octer and Lynol stepped out of the changing rooms, wearing some actually good-looking clothes. They still had that whole ''Fantasy Adventurer'' feeling about them, but that was something unavoidable. The fashion sense in this world in regard to things like that was obviously a lot different to Foster''s.

    But either way, it was finally time for him to change into his new clothes too. He picked out the things for the casual outfit from the things he already bought and entered the changing room, quickly taking off the martial arts uniform that he had been wearing for so long. It felt sort of weird, but at the same time, it was something that he had to do. Because he had been wearing the very same thing ever since he first got to this world, things felt a lot more... temporary. But with this, with these clothes, Foster admitted to himself that this was anything but temporary. He would be here for a long time. He didn''t even know how he got here, not to mention how he could get back.

    Foster hesitated for a while because of just that feeling. As he pulled the ck shirt over his torso, it felt like he was in a dark, cold ocean. With the thin, loose charcoal jacket, it was like he was unable to move anymore. And with the beige pants, he could feel the weight on his feet dragging him down further. He hadn''t felt like this a lot sinceing here, but somehow, something as simple as this made him feel so hopeless.

    With slow steps, Foster approached the changing room''s door, and slowly pushed it open, the Gi folded up in his hands. Stepping out into the space in front of him felt impossible somehow. But before he knew it, Foster stood there in front of his friends. Clearly, they were surprised at how simple his outfit was, but especially K and the employees quite liked it.

    With a slight smile, Foster approached his friends, a little closer to epting the truth that he might never return to earth.

    ---

    The sun was slowly going down, and Foster approached the location of the restaurant that his date suggested they met at. And right in front of it, she was already waiting for him. It seemed like she was looking around to see if he wasing.

    "Silvia." Foster said with a light smile, and she quickly turned toward him, "Ah, there you are. You know, usually you should try to be there a bit early." She said with a smirk.

    With a chuckle, Foster stood in frront of her, "Sorry, the roads of this town are quite confusing. I still haven''t properly gotten used to the differentyers."

    "Hm... good excuse." Silvia replied with a slight huff, before looking Foster up and down. He was wearing something that wasn''t quitemon here. He was wearing a fully ck suit. Even the shirt, vest, and tie werepletely ck. Since Foster was even wearing ck gloves and had deep ck hair, the only thing that stuck out was his face, and his practically glowing emerald green eyes. Even though his outfit looked somewhat weird to Silvia, it was undeniable that Foster looked great right now.

    "Should we head inside?" He suggested, and Silvia slowly nodded her head, turning around to head into the restaurant first. It was something nice, but clearly rather high-ss. Luckily, Foster had exchanged some of the coins he took with him from Thiodrus'' ce at a bank earlier today, otherwise he might not have enough with him to pay for dinner.

    "A table for two." Silvia said, walking up to the man standing in the entrance area of the restaurant, and he immediately nodded, "Of course, miss."

    He quickly guided the two of them through the restaurant. And sure enough, it was a fine ce. Live music was yed, and although it was clearly on the expensive side, it had a sort of casual atmosphere to it. Foster and Silvia soon made it to the table and sat down, before a waiter quickly approached them. They ordered a wine for now and then started figuring out what they wanted to eat while the waiter was gone.

    "Have you been here before?" Foster asked, and Silvia quickly nodded, "A couple times, yes. Although, with nobody quite as handsome as you." She pointed out in a sort of seductive tone, and Foster couldn''t help himself but smirk.

    "If that''s your way of trying to secure a second date, you''re on the right path." He quickly replied, and Silvia slightly leaned back, "Ah... about that... I would just like to say, I''m not particrly looking for something... serious. I haven''t been in this city for long, and I''m still-" She exined, as if she already felt bad about leading Foster on to let it get to this point.

    However, Foster interrupted her by grabbing Silvia''s hand over the table, "Don''t worry. I think we''re on the same page." He pointed out with a slight wink. Silvia''s nervous expression disappeared and turned into a rxed smile.

 Chapter 106 - Your Choice

    "Hold on, seriously? There''s another town basically right underneath us?" Foster asked perplexed after swallowing the food in his mouth. Silvia smiled lightly and nodded, "Not just one, actually. Once every ten floors, there''s going to be a small settlement. Of course, the one on the tenth floor is thergest right now."

    "Right, but why? That seems sort of... stuffy. And there wouldn''t even be proper space in abyrinth like that, right?" Surprised that anyone would do that to themselves, Foster imagined what it would be like to live in a space like that, but Silvia couldn''t help herself but chuckle, "No, no, it''s not abyrinth-type. Well, there are parts of it that are like that. The ''theme'' changes every five floors. But yeah, the space in the dungeon is truly surreal, as if it''s its own world."

    Raising a brow, Foster wondered about what he was just told.. He really couldn''t imagine it, but if he was told by someone that worked at the Adventurer''s Guild, then it must be true.

    "Hahaha, and then what''d he say?!" An ufortably loud voice echoed out from another corner of the restaurant. A group of five people were sitting around a table,ughing and talking loudly. To an extent, there was nothing wrong with that, but since they were obviously disturbing the whole restaurant, it did be an issue rather quickly. And they only became louder and louder, especially one of them. A young man, who clearly thought himself to be above others. There were plenty of people like that on earth, and quite a few of Foster''s former underlings and colleagues were people like that too. Obviously, he did his best to educate them, but most of the time people wouldn''t just change their behaviour over night.

    "Let''s just ignore them." Silvia said with a deep sigh, "Trust me, there''s a lot of those sorts of peopleing in and out of the guild every single day. It''s easier if we just don''t acknowledge them and wait for them to leave." She suggested. Of course, Foster knew that she was right. If someone tried to stop them, the situation would only escte and be far more annoying. And worst of all... Foster could no longer bepletely confident that he could beat others up.

    While one''s physical appearance did influence things to an extent, one''s physical attributes connected to the system couldpletely overturn everything. Foster learned that not only in the dungeon, but even when looking at others train. The speed of higher-tier adventurers, their strength and endurance, far seeded Foster''s. Even while he was practicing his Silent Step martial skill, sometimes a high-tier adventurer would easily surpass him with just a casual jog, even though Foster was trying to run at full speed.

    So, until Foster became better at judging others'' abilities, staying out of trouble might be for the better. As such, he continued eating and talking to Silvia. Now that they had both made their intentions behind this date clear, things were a lot more rxed. They both already knew where things were going after they were done here, after all. They joked around andughed together. Foster just knew that they would be able to be pretty good friends in the future.

    "Huh? Wait, that was you?" Silvia asked confused, and Foster smirked with a light nod. He pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out the coin that acted as the clear-proof for the necromancy-dungeon. She looked at it curiously, and then raised her head to lock eyes with Foster, "But wait, you just signed up at the guild, right? Were you a mercenary before this?"

    "No, no, I worked for arger organization in my hometown. I was in charge of a few people, and took care of troublesome stuff that would happen in the area." Foster exined. Technically, he didn''t lie, but he didn''t want to just openly admit that he was part of an incredibly notorious criminal syndicate before this. That wasn''t really a topic of conversation for a first date.

    "But really... clearing a fail type dungeon, that''s pretty impressive. You should be able to get into a big guild if you..." Silvia pointed out, but quickly shut herself up, since she was basically rmending one of the most promising members of the public guild to join a private one.

    With a chuckle, Foster shook his head, "I''m not nning on joining a guild right now. Actually, we did get an offer right when we left. We met some guy from a bigger guild, and he asked us if we wanted to join when he found out we cleared the dungeon. But as a group, we decided against it for now."

    "Oh? Really, why that?"

    "Well, we''re just settling in. We haven''t been here for long, so we need to figure the situation out first. And I don''t even know if it''s necessary to join a private guild. Either way, we won''t be going anywhere anytime soon." Foster exined, taking another bite of his food, as Silvia curiously looked back at him, "So... which guild was it that inv-"

    Silvia''s question was suddenly interrupted by the sound of something crashing and shattering in another corner of the restaurant. One of the waitresses had fallen down, dropping a bottle of wine and some sses on the floor in the process.

    "Urgh, fucking bitch, how ipetent are you?! Look at this, I''m covered in that shit!" The same man from earlier yelled out angrily, since the waitress fell down right next to their table. The waitress clearly hurt herself on the shards of ss, and the yelling of the man was overwhelming her. One of other waiters came over to try and calm the man down, while his friends at the table were simplyughing at the situation, as if they were enjoying some sort of show.

    "At least apologize to me, you dumb- this dinner better be free!" The man continued yelling out, while the waitress he was yelling at, a young girl that probably didn''t work here for that long yet, had started crying because of the situation. Since it had alreadye to this, things would only escte more anyway.

    And then, a small copper piece hit the man''s forehead, before dropping to the ground. It made a loud ''ng'' sound when it hit the shardsying there. Slowly, a thin stream of blood was flowing down the man''s face, since the copper piece seemed to have cut his skin when it hit him at such high speed.

    "What the- Who was that?!" He yelled out, as he wiped the blood from his face. Slowly standing up, Foster approached him. He was quite happy that he managed to hit his target so perfectly. He had been practicing how to use the ''empowered throw'' martial skill properly, and his aim had only gotten better during that time, since the projectile seemed to go exactly where he wanted it to nearly every time.

    "You''re lucky that was a coin, and not my knife." Foster said bluntly, casually approaching him. Even if he didn''t know if he could actually beat him in a fight, Foster still knew that he could easily intimidate a thug like him.

    "And who do you think you are?!"

    "A guy that''s fed up with your antics."

    "Listen to me, you little-"

    "No." Foster interrupted the man immediately, groaning loudly, "Just shut the fuck up, before I kick your teeth in. You and your friends are just going to get up and leave this ce, because I know that I''m not the only one that noticed that this girl here tripped over coincidentally right when you fucking groped her. So either you leave voluntarily, or you''ll be on the way to your dentist tomorrow." He said bluntly. He somehow thought that he had ruined his date with Silvia with this, but rather, she had followed him and was already in the middle of healing the girl''s cuts. She was a healer, after all.

    "Really? And why would I do that?" The man asked. Well, shit. Clearly, Foster hadn''t been able to intimidate him yet after all. And now, his friends were also standing up, clearly ready to start a fight with him.

    Foster sighed out loud. He didn''t want to beat someone to a pulp in front of a date, so he did something else instead. Something that was going to help him gauge how exactly people were going to react to him in the future when his abilities became public knowledge. Now that he knew it wasn''t illegal, Foster had no intent of particrly hiding it, after all. Him having to pretend he couldn''t use this would only cause him headaches.

    So, Foster slowly stretched his hand out toward the table, and grabbed one of the flowers acting as table-decoration. He held it between his index finger and thumb, and watched as the flower wilted in front of his eyes, before falling apart into a rotten sludge, that soon dropped right onto the shoe of the man in front of Foster.

    It was a rare sort of magic, but there was very little that could cause effects such as this so easily. The face of the man went pale, as he took a step back. But as he did so, Foster took a step forward, stepping right between his feet, and pulling one of them closer to make him trip.

    As the man fell backward, Foster grabbed his shirt''s cor with the very same hand that he made the flower fall apart and rot. With a gentle smile, Foster locked eyes with him once more.

    "It''s your choice."

 Chapter 107 - The End Of The Date

    "Fucking piece of shit..." The man that had been causing a mess in the restaurant slowly walked away, slightly turning his head to re at Foster as he left, his posse following right behind him. Most people in the restaurant hadn''t seen what Foster did to make them leave, but there were a few that noticed the flower rot away, making them quite nervous as they watched him just stand there now. In the end, even if necromancy was legal, it was still a sort of sinister magic that was clearly frowned upon.

    "Are you alright?" Ignoring all those people, Foster looked at the young woman that had fallen over before, and she slowly nodded her head, "Yeah I- I''m fine..." She replied, before turning her head to look at Silvia, ncing from her to Foster and back a few times, "Really, thank you so much for your help... and for healing the cuts as well...."

    "Of course, don''t worry about it." Silvia replied with a gentle smile, cing her hand on the girl''s back for a few moments. Things slowly settled down again, and the shards of ss and wine on the ground were cleaned up. Meanwhile, Foster and Silvia returned to their table to try and finish their dinner.

    They sat down, and just looked at the table in silence for a few moments. The stares from people across the restaurant still prated Foster even from afar, so he was getting more and more annoyed.

    "So..." Silvia finally said, and Foster slowly raised his head, "Necromancy, huh..?"

    "...Yep." He replied, "I mean, it''s not like I picked it out, it just kinda... happened, you know?"

    "No, I get it. I heard you''ve got a necromancy resistance too... so it just kind of makes sense." Silvia pointed out. Once more, the silence continued, as Foster was trying to gauge exactly where this conversation was going. But he really had no idea. After all, he only knew about the bad reputation of necromancy through Lynol and Octer, who had repeatedly told him that he shouldn''t tell others about it. So he really had no idea how Silvia was going to react to this.

    "Are you nning on turning me into an undead?" She finally asked, and Foster raised his brow, "Not currently, no."

    "Do you want to take over this town with your undead army?"

    "I actually can''t even do... undead stuff." Foster pointed out, "I just do... what was it? Energy-based casting? Like the thing I did earlier, that was ''Chilling Touch'', where I just-"

    "I''ve heard of it." Silvia replied with a shrug, "If you''re not nning on using it on me, then I don''t really care. It''s sort of a creepy magic, but... that doesn''t mean you''re bad?" She pointed out, and Foster lightly smiled. He reached his hand out over the table, and Silvia reached out hers, as they grabbed each other''s hands with light smiles on their faces.

    ---

    "Wake the fuck up, you little bastard!" Loud knocks on the door echoed throughout the small, empty room that Foster was in with his date. They had just started making out, and now an interruption like this came? How bothersome. With a loud groan, Foster stood up and approached the door of this small apartment, "Who''s there?" He asked, and the man on the other side became silent for a few moments.

    "Who''s there? Who''s there? I''m the guy whose wife you''re fucking right now, you piece of shit!" The man on the other side of the door yelled out. Foster turned his head, looking at the girlying on his bed half-naked, "You''re married?" He asked her. The girl shrugged, "Sort of."

    "Urgh..." Foster let out a loud groan and opened the door, "Sorry man, I didn''t-" He said, but before he could finish, the man kicked against the door and pushed Foster on the ground. And while he was trying to stand up, the first thing that he saw was the barrel of a gun.

    "Who the fuck do you think you are?!" The man yelled out, and Foster looked at him with a wry smile, "Maybe you could point that thing somewhere else, and I can answer you?" He asked, and therge, bulking man red at him angrily.

    Rolling his eyes, Foster told him, "Listen man, I didn''t know Jessica was married, she didn''t tell me!"

    "Huh? Who''s Jessica?!" The man yelled out in response, turning his head toward the girl currently covering her body with a nket, "Who the fuck are you?"

    "No, who the fuck are you?" She replied with a frown, "And by the way, my name is Jasmin!"

    "Meh, same thing." Foster replied annoyed, as the man red back at him, "Where the fuck is Hannah?"

    Opening his eyes wide in surprise, Foster let out a loudugh, "Oh shit, you''re Hannah''s husband? How''s she been doing? Did she get her back checked out?"

    "Well yes, she did, but- Fucking piece of-" The man stepped forward and pressed the barrel of the gun against Foster''s forehead, cing his index finger on the trigger, ready to pull.

    "You sure you wanna do this, dude?" Foster asked with a slight grin, and the man was clearly ready to shoot him into his smug face. But just then, Foster kicked the edge of the table near him, pushing something off its edge. The man was distracted for just a moment, which Foster used to turn his head to the side and grab the man''s arm, pulling him forward. After a strike to the man''s face with his elbow, Foster unloaded the gun and threw it on the table. He pulled the bullets out of the magazine and gathered them in his hand, while the man was trying to get back up. But Foster just kicked him to the ground again, stuffing a handful of bullets into the man''s mouth, pressing it shut.

    "How about you just turn around, go home, and fuck your wife?" He asked, and the man slowly nodded his head, while Foster proceeded to pull him toward the door to kick him out. After closing the door behind this random guy, he quickly turned back toward the bed, smiling at the girl that was still sitting there, "Alright, where were we?"

    ---

    Foster woke up, looking at the ceiling. He turned his head to the side and saw Silviaying next to him. With a quiet groan, he sat up, ''What an unpleasant dream...'' he thought to himself. Slowly, Silvia woke up as well, and with a light smile looked up at him, "Good morning..." She said tiredly, and Foster smiled back at her, "Morning. Just curious, but you''re not married, are you?"

    "Married?" Silvia asked, confused where this wasing from, "Of course not. What makes you ask that?"

    "Nothing, just a bad dream." Foster said, before he looked out the window, "The sun has barely gone up... and I only have somewhere to be at noon.

    "...and I have the afternoon shift..." Silvia replied, as the two of them looked into each others'' eyes, before she pulled him back down onto herself. An action that Foster would dly use to distract himself from that bothersome, bad dream.

 Chapter 108 - Trick Question

    "See youter." Foster said with a smile on his face, waving at Silvia as he left her apartment. She waved back at him briefly and then stepped back inside. Walking down the stairs of the building, past all the other apartments seemingly supplied to the employees of themon guild, he suddenly saw another familiar face. It was the young man that had taken care of them at the guild a few times, the receptionist that they had the luck to speak to every time they went there until now.

    "Huh? Mister Locke?" He asked, "What are you doing here?"

    Foster looked at him with a raised brow. He figured it was pretty obvious what he was doing here, considering his appearance right now. His hair was a mess, he was carrying his jacket over his shoulder, and just loosely threw his tie around his neck. Seeing someone like that in an apartment building where they didn''t even live really did not leave much up for imagination. It seemed like the young man quickly realized this as well.

    "You had that date with Si- Oh! Oh, I''m so sorry, I didn''t mean to- I''ll just.... I''ll just leave you be..." He pointed out, and Foster smiled lightly. It seemed like he was on his way to work now, so Foster simply threw his arm over his shoulder and figured that they could just go part of the way together. Themon guild was on the way to the Red Riverside, after all, "Come on, let''s talk a bit, shall we?"

    "T-Talk? But about what?" The guild employee asked, and Foster smiled at him, "I don''t know, maybe you could give me a few tips? Or hook us up with some nice quests here and there."

    The employee immediately shook his head, "I''m sorry, I can''t favor anyone over others... that would be really hical."

    Foster looked away, clicking his tongue, before quickly turning back, "Come on, we''re friends, right? I''m not telling you to hide this stuff from anyone else, I''m just asking you to... you know, help out a new and naive adventurer. You can''t in good conscience just let me take random quests that are too dangerous for me, right?"

    "...Do you even know my name?" He asked, and Foster stopped for a moment. He locked eyes with the young man in front of him, and slightly squinted his eyes, "Aaa.... Bb... C..." Foster started, trying to gauge his reaction. But then, out of nowhere, he got an epiphany, "John!"

    "Chris. My name is Chris."

    "That''s what I said!"

    "No, you-"

    "Listen, Chris, buddy." Foster said, letting out a deep sigh, "I''m dyslexic, alright? I mix letters up all the time, it just happens. Are you just gonna judge me for that?"

    "...I don''t think that''s how it works." Chris replied bluntly, and once more, Foster clicked his tongue, "Wow, just throwing away all those years. All those adventures. I left my wife for you." Foster said bluntly, as Chris rolled his eyes, figuring that it was easier to go along with it than try to fight against it, "Fine, what do you want to hear?"

    Foster thought about it for a moment, and then finally asked, "What is the fastest way to advance your adventurer tier?"

    "The fastest way?" Chris repeated, surprised, "You really just have to fulfill quests, that''s it. There''s no trick to it. You just have to do it."

    "...Seriously? So you can''t advance by just being strong or something?"

    "What? No, of course not. That''s not what the adventurer''s guild is about. We''re an organization that helps connect clients with adventurers that can help them out with their requests. Well, of course, the higher tiered quests need people to be adequately powerful, so it does y a role, but just being strong doesn''t help you advance." Chris exined to Foster, who couldn''t help himself but let out a loud groan. He was used to things working out just because he was strong, so having something where he actually had to do work for his sess was rather annoying.

    "Fine. Then what sort of quests let you advance most quickly?" He inquired, and Chris had to think about it for a few moments, "Things that are above one''s expected skill level. Because, well... I might have said that skill doesn''t matter, but that is only really the case from tier three onward. Then, everyone has to follow standardized testing through the Guild Headquarters to advance to each next tier. Even private guilds need to do that."

    "...Is there a quest that would let me get to tier three right away, then?"

    "Well, no. Except if youpleted something at the level of a tier 5 quest, then maybe, but since you can''t ept those anyway, that''s not really possible." Chris pointed out. Foster was even more annoyed now. There were so many troublesome rules. But then, Chris said something interesting.

    "Although... if you can reach the tenth floor of the basement, it should be pretty simple for you to advance to tier 2, at least. We have frequent requests for materials from floors around there that we evaluate quite highly, so those should help you out. You should talk to your handler about it, they should know a bit more."

    With a slight grin on his face, Foster nodded his head, "Awesome, sounds good. Thanks for the tip then, bud." He said, hitting Chris'' back, "Anyway, I''ve got to head back to my Inn now, so I''ll see you... some other time, I guess?" He said, while Chris was trying to rub the spot on the center of his back where he was hit. Foster turned around the corner and quickly started making his way to the inn, so that he could get changed in time for the meeting at noon.

    It didn''t take him too long to get back there either, and before he knew it, he was back in his room and could drop down onto the bed. Aster slowly climbed out of his hair. He was clinging to him quite a lot sincest night. Since he didn''t want the small spirit to witness everything that was happening in Silvia''s bedroom, he had created a small ''nest'' of sorts in his suit''s chest-pocket and hung it up outside her room''s door, so that he wouldn''t be able to see anything. But for some reason, Aster didn''t want to seem to let go of him anymore.

    "Don''t worry, everything''s fine, bud." He said, closing his eyes for a moment. It didn''t take long until someone knocked on his room''s door, though, making him quickly sit up, "Who''s there?"

    "Lynol."

    "Come in, it''s open." Foster replied immediately, and the swordsman quickly stepped inside. Seeing that Foster was still wearing the suit that he left inst night, he could conclude what happened rather quickly, and stared at his friend, "Seriously? So you are with Silvia now?"

    "Well, not really." Foster replied quickly, "It''s just sex, so nothing serious."

    Lynol shrugged in response, since he didn''t particrly care about that anyway, "As long as she doesn''t distract you from training, I don''t care." He pointed out, and Foster looked at him with a wry smile, "Is everything about training to you?"

    Confused, Lynol squinted his eyes and stared at friend, "Is... is that a trick question?"

 Chapter 109 - New Sword

    Foster stepped out of his room, now wearing his new casual outfit. He figured that he should only wear the Gi for actual training and when they went out for adventurer-rted things, or when they entered a dungeon. Otherwise, wearing these clothes was more than enough.

    "You guys ready to go?" He asked. Octer shrugged, "That''s why we''re here, right?"

    "Fair enough." Foster replied, looking his friends up and down for a moment. They were wearing their new outfits as well. Octer clearly seemed quite happy with it, but Lynol seemed somewhat nervous. It didn''t particrly show on his face, but he was fidgeting with his new cloak quite a bit. As if wanting a distraction while they started walking, Lynol pointed at Foster''s hands, "Why are you wearing those gloves? You wore them when you got back earlier too."

    Foster looked down and slightly held his hand up, "They''re those casting-support gloves that the necromancer at the mage tower gave me. He told me to wear them as much as I can to get used to them.. It can feel sort of awkward to have my mana flow through them, so that''s why." He exined, "Well, he did also want me to wear some under-gloves most of the time. He thinks I only have some level of resistance, and notplete invulnerability like I do."

    "...Why would that matter?"

    "Ah, there''s some kind of necromancy gemstone set into it. I really don''t get it, but that''s sort of what he said." Foster replied quickly, and Lynol wondered, "Are you nning on learning those spells on the spell scrolls that he gave you?"

    "Yeah, I was thinking about it. But I don''t really know if I will. I don''t really get how it works." Foster said, "But maybe I''ll figure it out at some point, who knows?" He pointed out, as the group of three made their way to their appointment together. It was as busy on the upperyer as it always was, so they went down to the bottomyer to save some time. Zhaine''s ce was down here anyway, and the streets weren''t as confusing as up there.

    It didn''t take long until the three of them spotted the sign of the restaurant, as well as Rae and K standing in front of it, waiting for them. They were here to introduce Rae and Zhaine to each other. Zhaine was going to be their cksmith of choice, so if Rae was going to try and be their handler, those two were going to be working together closely at times. Introducing them now was better thanter.

    Everyone greeted each other, although Lynol seemed to bepletely distracted throughout it. He was staring at the shop''s door, wanting to just storm inside as quickly as he could. Today was the day that his new sword was going to be ready, after all.

    "Let''s get inside." Foster suggested, noticing Lynol''s longing expression. Before he even finished speaking, Lynol had already pushed the door open and was inside. Hearing the ringing of the bell that told him someone was there, Zhaine stepped out from the back of the shop, "Ah... yer here."

    "Yes. Is my sword ready?" Lynol asked, not wanting to wait another second. Zhaine smiled lightly, and nodded his head, "Aye, of course it is." He said, pointing at the corner of the room. There was a white sword, hanging from a few hooks. Its shape was mostly simr to the sword that Lynol used before, with some differences, of course. It seemed like only the edges of the sword were made of the bones, while the core was still metal. Metal that was taken from Lynol''s old sword. And the handle as well, it was recycled and ced onto the new sword.

    Lynol stretched his hand out, wrapping his fingers around it, as he pulled the sword toward himself. With one hand, he started lifting it up, and soon added his other hand, since the sword seemed to be heavier than he thought.

    "Seriously, those bones? Harder to work with than you''d think." Zhaineined, "Fairly malleable with the right techniques, but it''s just damned dense."

    "Thank you, Zhaine." Lynol said, looking at the sword with a smile, "It''s heavier than I''m used to, but that''s fine. Rather, it''s perfect. But... do you maybe have a sheath of sorts for it?"

    Zhaine scoffed, "Ya think this is my first day?" He asked, throwing something toward him. It started unrolling in the air. This was the sheath. Of course, you would never be able to pull something this size out of a normal sheath, so it was basically just a leather strip that Lynol had to throw diagonally over his body. On his back, there would be a hook to hold onto the handle, while the tip of the sword went into a rigid pocket, to hold everything in ce.

    Lynol ced the sword into the sheath and then put it onto his back. He seemed quite happy with all that weight ced onto his body, weirdly enough.

    "We should go test it out as soon as we can." Lynol suggested, looking at his party, "Don''t you think it''s time to go head into the basement as well?"

    "Hol'' up for a moment." Rachel said, interrupting this conversation from going anywhere, "You''re not even aplete party yet. You don''t even have a porter yet."

    Lynol sighed, looking at the handler, "If we head into the dungeon, it is just to get a feeling for it. Not to try and get particrly far into it or anything." He pointed out. Rae looked back with a frown. She thought about it for a moment, and then soon came to a conclusion, "Fine, you''re right. It''s just, I don''t suggest you going particrly far without having someone that can at least take care of ranged attacks. From the fifth to tenth floor, there are a lot of flying monsters, and I''m not sure you would be able to take care of them that easily with your current party."

    "...Good point." Lynol replied, before looking at K, "What do you think?"

    "Huh? Me?" She asked, surprised that Lynol would ask her for her opinion. But the swordsman simply nodded his head, "Of course. I''m pretty sure you know the most about the dungeon out of all of us."

    "...Well, that is true, but Rachel already said all there was to say. We shouldn''t try to get past the fifth floor until we have at least some sort of tactic to deal with them." K replied, and now, at least more than before, everyone in the party epted that suggestion. Something that seemed to annoy Rae quite a bit.

    "Oi, why''d you believe it when she says it? She''s a cleric, what does she know about dungeons?" She scoffed, before K red at her. That was something that made her even more angry than Lynol talking badly about religion or the gods.

    She stepped up right in front of Rae, and locked eyes with her, "Listen here, I know more about dungeons than you can ever hope to be able toprehend, you little brat!"

    "That so, then-" Rae started, but Foster quickly stepped inbetween them and pped his hands together, "Please both of you, shut it. We''re not done here yet." He said loudly, and both Rae and K fell silent. Foster quickly turned toward Zhaine, "You''ve still got something left to show us, right?"

    "Heh... I knew you''d notice..." The Dwarf chuckled, as he slowly stepped into the back of the shop, soon bringing a wooden crate to the front that he ced onto the ground, "I finished the sword quicker than I thought, and you mentioned that you need some new armor too, so I took the liberty of using the bone scraps to make some for ya. I also used some of the metal from yer old sword." He exined, presenting some new armor to Lynol. He raised his brows surprised, slowly picking it up.

    "This looks like amazing armor. Thank you, Zhaine." The swordsman said, but the dwarf justughed quietly and shook his head, "No need to thank me, it was a fun project." He pointed out, before turning his head toward the next person who he did work for, "Now to you. Yer shield was a real pain in the ass, ya know?"

    "Ah... sorry, I know. It was really damaged, right? I know I should probably get a new one, but I can''t really let go of it yet." Octer pointed out awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. But Zhaine immediately shook his head, "It''s not that... but rather... where did you find a ridiculous item like that?"

 Chapter 110 - Bracer

    Octer looked at Zhaine, clearly confused about what he meant, "A ridiculous..? I just... it''s a family inheritance." He replied, although with too little confidence to make it appear as the truth, or at least not the full truth. It did not seem like Zhaine was going to try and pry the truth out of him, however.

    "Ya got one hell of a family then, boy. That ''shield''... is not a shield at all. Or at least, it was never supposed to be.." Zhaine exined, "I can recognize the material. The techniques are even older than the ones taught to me. And after a bit of research... I found what it is, or was."

    Confused about what he meant, Octer stared at the dwarf. Even if he didn''t seem to want to reveal everything about where he got the shield, it seemed like he didn''t know much about the shield''s origin either. But what Zhaine did then did not help him figure much out either. The dwarf slowly tapped the outside of his lower arm.

    "What? It was an arm?" K asked with her head slightly tilted to the side, as Zhaine let out a deep sigh, "No,ss. A bracer. This shield was a Giant''s bracer." He exined, "The patterns on here are that of the army of the ancient giants. Most of them died by now, but some still wander thesends." Zhaine exined to them. Octer looked quite perplexed. He didn''t expect that. So what he was using was never a tower shield after all?

    "But... how does that make sense?" Octer asked, "It doesn''t look like a bracer at all..."

    Zhaine quickly nodded as he made his way to the back of the shop to go and get the shield, "Yer right. The bracer was changed so that it could be used as a tower shield. Quite skillfully so. But the traces of when it was a bracer are still there."

    Octer was speechless, not having expected something like that. Zhaine raised a brow, since he wasn''t sure why this was shocking him so much. Before the conversation continued down that road, Foster asked something that he himself was curious about. He epted the fact that beings like Giants obviously must exist in this world, so he didn''t even bat an eye in regard to that. Rather, he was curious about what Zhaine had said earlier, "Then... how was it a pain in the ass? Did you have to work with it in a different way to a normal shield or something?"

    "Of course I did." Zhaine replied immediately, "I could remove the dents pretty easily, but when I realized what it was, I didn''t just want to leave it in the state it was in." He exined, "So, I did a little more work on it. And hell, it was fuckin'' tough to be able to match those old techniques." Zhaine said, finally bringing the shield back to the front of the shop. Until a few days ago, it looked like nothing but a scratched up metal b. It did have some decorative patterns carved into it, but they couldn''t rely shine in the face of how old and used the shield clearly was.

    But now? That was different. It looked like the shield waspletely new. It was practically impossible to see even a single scratch, and it had a newyer of paint covering it. Before, only traces of its ck surface could be pointed out here and there, since it had mostly been removed through repeated impacts duringbat. It even had a ring of leather right around the central area, inbetween that and the thicker rim on the outside of the shield.

    Octer looked at it perplexed, and slowly grabbed it from the Dwarf, "You... did that this quickly? How did you get this done, on top of the sword and new armor for Lynol? That''s just... insane." He pointed out, and Zhaine couldn''t help but feel sort of smug after hearing that remark. With a grin on his face, he looked at the man standing in front of him excitedly. He was about to say something, but before he could, Foster spoke up, "Ooh, did you do something cool with my armor as well?" He asked, and Zhaine''s smug grin immediately disappeared, and was reced with an expression that one could only describe as filled with contempt or disgust.

    Zhaine slowly pulled something out from under the table, and pushed the small crate into Foster''s arms, "If I ever see yaing back with yer armor in that state, I''m kicking yer ass, ya hear me?" He said furiously, and Foster couldn''t help himself but smile wrily, "R-Right... sorry ''bout that..."

    "Now, I properly sorted everythin'' back into the shelves, so if ya want anything, you can have a look around. Ya need some armor too, remember,ssie?" Zhaine changed the topic, slowly looking at K. As the cleric got sort of excited about finally getting some armor for herself, Zhaine nced at Rae, "And I don''t think we''ve met. But if yer gonna fight together with these guys, I suggest ya get some armor as well." He pointed out, but Rae immediately shook her head, surprising Zhaine. She had been looking around the shop for a while now, so he thought she was interesting in buying something.

    However, she quickly stepped in front of him, "For the time being, I''m their handler, Rachel. I came with them to see where they were getting their equipment from, so that we could work together more closely."

    "Ah, right, right. And how''d you imagine that?"

    "Basically, when they have something they would like you to make or repair, but you don''t have all the materials you need. Especially when ites to making items from monster parts, I heard that the synergy between the ingredients is important. If you need some sort of other special material that you can''t buy here, I will speak to my contacts and figure it out, or have these guys retrieve the material themselves somehow." She exined briefly, and it seemed like Zhaine was anything but against the idea, "Interesting. Back in the day, people would just never understand the nuances of creating such items. It seems like times have finally changed. Alright, then I look forward to working with ya." The Dwarf said, stretching out his hand. Rae seemed a bit surprised for some reason, but quickly shook Zhaine''s hand as well.

    And then, everyone became busy. Zhaine walked around the shop with K to see if there was anything he would rmend for her, while Octer looked at his fully repaired shield and Lynol tried on his new bone armor. Foster also looked around a bit, but he was mostly just thinking about something while looking at a specific piece of armor. Slowly approaching him, Rae whispered to him, "What... what did you guys do to make Zhaine act like this? I heard his business was going under because he scared away all his customers... this doesn''t look like someone that would do it... He also doesn''t seem like the drunkard I heard he is."

    Foster slightly turned his head and scoffed, "He still drinks, trust me. Haven''t seen him fully sober yet either. But yeah, we just figured something out, I guess. I don''t know why he acted the way he did before either, so I''ve got no clue what part of it made him... better, I guess?" He pointed out. Rae let out a deep sigh, "Right, thanks." She said somewhat annoyed, although she was clearly still curious, "So... What was it that you did that might''ve done it?" She finally asked, and Foster smiled at her, starting to tell her the story of what happened with Zhaine thus far.

 Chapter 111 - Weapon Techniques

    "...Just beating him in a drinking contest, and helping him clean up made him like this? Seriously?" Rae asked perplexed, and Foster simply shrugged, "Listen, I said it before, but I''ve got no idea what it was exactly that made him open up. But either way, if it''s like this now, then why worry about it?" He pointed out, picking up some thick, heavy boots. Compared to the light, thin shoes that he was wearing until now, these would be much better in a fight. Luckily, they seemed to be about his size too.

    Foster squatted down, quickly trying the boots on. It felt sort of weird to wear thempared to before, simply because he wasn''t used to them, but they would probably work fine. Trying to move his feet around, it did feel like his kicks would be a lot more powerfulpared to before. He would just need to try it outter. Foster still didn''t know exactly if these boots were going to help him somehow go from that low basic stance into a kick, or if they were just going to make it harder for him. He just had to try it out..

    "Shouldn''t you try and get a weapon or something? Barely any dungeon divers do martial arts, because a lot of the monsters are, well, beast-types." Rae advised Foster, and he slowly turned his head, looking up at her, "I''m not ready to start training with weapons yet."

    "...What?"

    "I said what I said. I''m training my general mastery of my style right now. Weapons are something more advanced than that. Lynol said at the rate I''m going I should be able to start the staff-based training in a few more weeks." Foster exined. The main reason why he didn''t start practicing the few techniques he knew about that were based around actual martial weapons was that the Legacy Training Mode didn''t help him with those yet. Lynol had told him that there was most likely a reason behind that, so Foster followed along with it for now.

    Rae let out a deep sigh, looking at Foster surprised, "You didn''t seem like the kinda guy who would care about something like that."

    "Meh. I like fighting, and training''s been sorta fun until now. So I figure, why not take it seriously? Although... there are some things that I should probably buy. Some throwing knives." He pointed out, thinking about it now. Rae raised her brow, "Throwing knives?"

    "Yeah, I''ve got pretty decent aim, and in the dungeon I used them a couple times. They''re pretty useful."

    "Are there throwing techniques in your style?" Rae asked, and Foster thought about it for a moment. He turned toward Lynol, who was stretching his body while wearing the armor to see how it felt when he was wearing it and moving around, "Yo. Does it make sense if there were throwing techniques in my style?"

    "Do you mean throwing your opponent, or throwing objects?"

    "Objects. Like my knives."

    "If it''s a nothern style, then that would be limited torger objects like spears or axes. But that doesn''t mean it''s impossible. There are some knife-throwing techniques that work together with northern styles quite well." Lynol exined, "We still need to find more tomes on your style."

    Rae listened to the short exchange, and seemed sort of confused, "What sort of style do you have? Can''t you just find your teacher and ask him or something?"

    "I''m learning the techniques through books that the creator of the style made." Foster exined immediately, "And he''s dead now, and I don''t think anyone else ever learned it beside me now."

    Rae suddenly seemed sort of annoyed, looking at Foster with a frown, "What? Why''d you learn a useless, small style like that? Just pick arge, popr one or something. Those are good, right?"

    Foster answered basically immediately, "It''s not about them being popr. I chose this one." He said immediately, "Although, the fact that I can''t find more tomes about it seriously is a hell of a pain..."

    "Fine. What''s the name of the style? I''ll see if I can find something." Rae sighed, deeply annoyed, "Making sure that you can properly grow is part of my tasks as well." She pointed out. But Foster wasn''t sure what he should say. After all, his style was that of a cmity, and that wasn''t something that he could just exin away upon revealing it.

    "You won''t." Lynol said immediately, "Trust me. As we said, it''s a small style. We wanted to head to the martial alliance to see if we can figure something outter. Right, Foster?"

    "Huh? Oh, yeah. Right. We''re gonna do that." Foster replied, looking at Rae, "But thanks for trying to help, I appreciate it."

    Rae let out a slight sigh and shrugged, "Fine, alright. But do tell me if there''s something I can help with. Anyway, if that''s so, I''ll just prepare whatever you need for the first dungeon dive." She said, slowly turning around to have a look around the shop as well.

    Lynol walked up to Foster immdiately, and whispered to him, "You may be able to openly reveal your necromancy, but your legacy and who that legacy came from? You should keep that to yourself for as long as possible."

    "...Do you think there''s gonna be a time where I can''t keep it a secret anymore?"

    "Knowing you, all of Arcadum will know by next week." Lynol pointed out, "So let''s make sure that you''re as trustworthy as possible before then. If you be someone that everyone knows, and a notable, powerful adventurer, then when it doese out, we should be able to minimize the damage if the information gets out."

    Foster sighed and slowly started to smile, "It''s really great to have you around, man. I''d be totally fucked in this town without you guys."

    "Yes, you would be." Lynol said bluntly, "Now hurry it up and grab some throwing knives. If we actually want to get to the martial alliance, we should do it soon."

    ---

    "Here I am, back in my Gi after just a few hours..." Foster muttered slightly, as the party of four were on their way to figure out how to get their hands on the tome of the Argomna Style that they had at the martial alliance.

    "Who cares, you''ve been wearing it for a month." Lynol replied immediately, and Foster couldn''t help himself but slightly re at him. But before he could say anything, K stepped inbetween the two of them, "More importantly, what''s your guys'' n? You can''t think they''ll just let you read it, right?"

    "..." Foster and Lynol looked down at her silently for a few moments, making her let out a deep groan, "Really? You didn''t think this through at all, did you?"

    "Of course they did." Octer said with a slightly awkwardugh, "They just have ns based more on... intuition, I guess." He pointed out.

    "Right... But, like... I don''t think this is something you can do by feeling." K said, but Foster quickly ced his hand on her shoulder reassuredly, "Don''t worry, it''s gonna be fine. We''ll definitely figure something out. And it''s not like we''re nning on taking it back with us today. We just gotta see exactly what we could do to get it." He exined, and the cleric sighed in relief that they did seem to have thought it through a little.

    "Like... gaps in their security, how it''s guarded, where it''s even kept. That sorta thing." Foster said, and the group suddenly stopped. Lynol looked at his friend immediately, "Did you... think we were going to steal it?" He asked, and Foster looked back somewhat nervously.

    "Wait... we''re not?"

 Chapter 112 - The Book

    The party walked up the stairs of the martial alliance, trying to get to the library that could be found on the upper floors.

    "Alright, so how exactly are we going to get our hands on it, then?" Foster asked, and Lynol continued walking ahead of the rest of the group, speaking in his regr emotionless tone, "I have an idea." He said, and Foster turned his head toward the others, who were curiously following after him. It didn''t take long until they reached the entrance of the library. Compared to the other floors, this ce was practically deserted. Most people seemed to prefer active practice over the kind of research that was supposed to happen in here. But even so, it was clear that this ce held numerous books on different martial styles andbat theories. Of course, considering that they were this openly avable, it was clear that none of these books were going to contain any incredibly special techniques or martial styles. Rather, they were the kind that would be the most spread througout this area. The martial alliance''s library did have some restricted areas, so it would only be logical if you could only find the more unique or special tomes in there.

    Wondering what exactly his n was, Foster looked at Lynol''s back, as he soon ced his hands onto his hip. "We will search this whole library, even if it takes hours. They must have ced the book in a locked location, so it should be easy to narrow it down for now.." He suggested. Foster was somehow a bit underwhelmed and disappointed. Anyone could havee up with a n like that. However, it did seem logical. It wasn''t like they could just go and ask where to find the tome at the front desk.

    "Yes, hello, erm... we''re looking for the martial tome from one of the cmities? We heard about it, so we wanted to see if it was actually real or not." Octer said with a calm and kind voice, having done exactly what Foster had considered to be the worst possible idea. To his surprise, the woman sitting there quickly nodded her head, cing down the book she was reading, "Right, of course. For that, simply walk to the other side of the room, and there will be an open door leading to the section reserved. Of course, you can''t hold it, but it isying on disy there. You aren''t the first ones that wanted to see it, but a lot of people already lost interest." The employee exined. With a smile, Octer turned around, "Thank you for your help!" He said, quickly meeting back up with the group.

    "Alright, let''s go." Octer told the others, who looked at him perplexed, "Why did you-" K started, but Octer simply let out a deep sigh.

    "Listen, we don''t even know if this is really... you know, his tome. We just know that it is ''a'' cmity''s tome, and it''s not like he was the only martial fighter amongst the cmities. And obviously it makes sense that people are interested in the cmities, if they didn''t want anyone to look at it, the martial alliance never would have advertised that they have it." Octer pointed out, quickly walking ahead of the group to the other side of the room.

    "Eh... that... is a fair point." Foster replied, and quickly followed, while Lynol just stared into empty space, practically frozen up. K scoffed slightly, happily patting his shoulder, "Don''t worry, everyone has their weak points."

    Like that, the group of four made their way to the room described to them, although Lynol just stayed silent for a while. However, since it didn''t take long until they reached the room, he couldn''t keep sulking forever. The four of them were inside the dimly lit space. It was clear basically immediately that the room was secured with magic. It made sense, after all, that was the easiest way to semi-permanently secure a ce. But beyond that, there was only one exit to this space, and it was in full sight of at least a handful of employees at all times. And considering what this building was, only a madman would try to invade here and steal something like abat tome. Even Foster understood that now that he managed to get a proper look at things, not that it made him want to do it any less. No, the thing that did that was the book itself.

    "It''s not... it''s not something made by Thiodrus." Foster said immediately, the moment that the sketches and writing on the pages that had been pulled out of the book came into view. And the book itself, which had plenty of its pages simply ripped out of its body, was nothing like what Thiodrus would make. The Thiodrus that Foster had met was someone more simple than this. The book was overly decorated and tasteless, nearly as if it was specifically make someone think it was made by someone powerful like a cmity. And even ignoring that, while the sketches seemed to belong to some sort of martial arts, it was nothing like the Argomna style.

    "A dead end, huh?" Foster sighed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. In the process, he nced at his bracelet, "Listen, you''re alive, right? Can you at least confirm whether or not we''re on the right track?"

    However, as expected, it didn''t respond in the slightest. There wasn''t even a twitch. Clicking his tongue, Foster turned around, stepping out of the room annoyed. Quickly following behind him was K, who was the first to notice his current state of mind.

    "Is everything alright?" She asked with a concerned expression, but Foster simply clicked his tongue annoyed, "What do you care? You''re just here to make sure I don''t cause havoc anyway. The fact that you''re here to help find a book ''he'' wrote is a miracle." He said bluntly, looking down at the cleric standing next to him, "Or what, did you have a change of mind or something?"

    K stared up at Foster, her worry quickly reced with anger, "What are you even on about? You and I both know that this situation is far, far moreplicated than that."

    "Is it really? All I know is that you were basically looking at me like I''m Hitler just because I took a chance I was given to survive in a ce I didn''t even fucking know."

    "Who is goddamn Hitler? I don''t get what you''re talking about at all! What''s going on, Foster? You''re inplete... disarray, and just because that book wasn''t what you thought it was going to be? You didn''t seem that hopeful about it anyway!" K replied, slightly raising her voice, even though she was trying not to let this whole situation escte.

    Foster let out a loud groan, "I- Urgh, I don''t even know what''s going on... man, I''ve been remembering shit I didn''t want to remember ever since I got here, and there''s so much stuff I just don''t understand, and the one thing that could help me, is just fucking sitting there not doing anything." He said, pulling the snake bracelet off his wrist. It let go of its tail, and started slithering back onto his wrist, attaching itself to him again.

    "See? It can move around all it wants, but does it when I need it to? No, of fucking course not." Foster let out together with a deep sigh, "This is just... frustrating."

    "...Do that again." K muttered, confused. Foster looked at her with a frown, "What? Sigh?"

    "No, just- Take it off again to make it move."

    Confused, but thinking that there was a reason, Foster did as she told him. The moment that the snake let go of its own tail, K''s eyes opened wide, "There! That! It has- it''s got a me!" She eximed, watching as the me disappeared the moment it returned back to the state of being a simple bracelet.

 Chapter 113 - Haimous Ragnrodt

    "What do you mean, ''it has a me''?" Foster asked with a confused expression, "Like, the kind you see in people?"

    "Right, it''s like... something that all living things have, sort of. Even nts have something simr... Maybe the word ''me'' is a bit too strong... for the snake, it''s just a sort of weird glow, but it''s definitely there! And it disappeared when it bit its tail just now." K exined, and Foster looked at the snake that had turned back into nothing but a bracelet, "So what you''re saying is that when it stops biting its tail, it''s gonna be able to hear me, huh?"

    "Huh? Well, that''s not really what I mean, but-" Before K was able to finish talking, Foster ripped the snake off his arm one more time, grasping it tightly in his fist, "Stop wiggling and listen to me." He said, and immediately, the snake stopped trying to get out of his grasp.. Annoyed, he looked it into its lightly glowing eyes, while K stood there, perplexed that it actually worked, "You fucking with me? All I had to do was take you off? Urgh... alright, then now, let''s try this again. Do you have a way for me to find more books that Thiodrus wrote?"

    The snake kept staring into his eyes, as if it was thinking for a while. Foster was getting a bit impatient. Rather, the embarrassment of his emotional outbreak just now was catching up to him, and he just wanted to move on as quickly as he could. But before that, since the snake didn''t seem to be doing anything yet, Foster looked at K, "So, erm... sorry about just now... This whole situation is just really frustrating to me, you know? And I really appreciate you sort of...ing around on the whole situation."

    "...Well, I get it. I might have overreacted a bit?" K said with an awkward expression, before thinking for a moment, "Yeah, no, I think I reacted totally right in the moment. But nevertheless, knowing you a little better now, you really don''t seem to be a bad person, so I''m just trusting that for now. It''s still kind of hard to ept, though."

    "No, no, I get it. I mean, if I had known he was a cmity, I probably would have thought a bit longer about epting it." Foster replied, before him and K looked into each other''s eyes for a moment. They had spent some more time togethertely, but only now was it really starting to feel like the two of them were really getting along as friends, weirdly enough. A library felt like a unique ce to bond to Foster, especially considering that he had been inside one maybe half a dozen times, tops.

    However, before the two of them could continue their conversation further, the metal snake in Foster''s hand suddenly started forcing its way out of his grip. It slithered up his arm and down his back, until it reached the ground through his leg. At a surprising speed, the snake started slithering through the library. Foster rushed after it, hoping that nobody saw it. But well, even if, he could just say that it was some sort of pet. Having a metallic snake as a pet didn''t seem much more unlikely than having a tiny mask spirit as a familiar, at least from Foster''s perspective.

    However, it didn''t take long until the snake came to a stop again, moving through another open door. And the moment Foster stepped through, he wasn''t sure what exactly he was looking at. The rest of the library was clean and neat, but this room? It was cluttered and dirty, not to mention, too dark to even properly see anything.

    Moreover, Foster''s head was starting to hurt a lot, and he was feeling somewhat dizzy. But then, the snake stopped moving, and Foster could see its lightly glowing eyes hanging off one of the shelves. As he walked over there, he picked it up and watched as it turned back into a bracelet.

    "Foster?" K asked, after finally catching up to him. It seemed like she had told Lynol and Octer that something was going on, since they were right behind her.

    "Yeah, over here. You guys got any idea what this ce is?" Foster asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose to try and cope with these intense migranes. Lynol looked at a sign outside the door, barely visible since a decorative nt had been ced right in front of it, as if nobody ever went in here anyway, "It''s the... ''storage room for excess tomes''. But looking at them, these are only rundown, single volumes. So it does not seem to be a ce to store duplicates, but instead, where they keep the ones that... are excessively useless." Lynol suggested, stepping into the room to follow after the others, "And the... snake led you here?" He asked, and Foster slowly nodded his head.

    He turned toward the shelf that the snake had hung from, and looked at the books. However, he immediately froze up, not even caring for his headache anymore. He pulled one of the books out, looking at the symbol painted on the cover. It was simr to the one on his cover, simple hidden in random patterns as if someone was trying to make sure that only someone that knew what they were looking for would be able to see it in there. Immediately, Foster looked at the name on the book, but was surprised to see that the writing wasn''t the same one as he had been seeing all over the ce. As if it was anothernguage.

    "Old Argian? You don''t really see that around anymore... How bothersome." K pointed out, and Foster turned his head, "...can you not read it?" He asked, and K shook her head, "Hah, no. The only ones that still know how to speak it are people that lived, what, three hundred years ago? Actually, Zhaine might know it. It sounded like he is really, really old like that." She pointed out, and Foster raised his head to look at the others, before clearing his throat.

    "Actually... I can read it." He said. If it was ''Old Argian'', then it made some sense that he could read it. As long as the system didn''t draw a clear distinction between Old Argian and New Argian, then the message that told him that Thiodrus had transfered his knowledge of the Argiannguage to him might include more than just one form of it. K looked up at Foster surprised, "Seriously? But- You''re in your 20''s right..? Are you really a human?"

    "Yeah, I am. I just... learned Argian from someone that was apparently really, really old like that." Foster said, slowly looking at the cover. The biggest distinction he could draw from the top of his mind between old and new argian was the writing. But even so, each of the symbols corresponded to a letter of the current argian alphabet. Otherwise, he might not have spotted what was weird about the name of the author, "Haimous Ragnrodt." He said, "That''s the name of whoever wrote this."

    "Hm... sounds like a sorta old dwarven name." Octer pointed out, "If the book is here, then Zhaine might really be able to tell us something about this. He might-"

    "No, he wouldn''t. It''s an anagram. It''s spelled in a way that can be rearranged to say Thiodrus Argomna. The symbol is in there, so is the name, and looking inside..." Foster started, finishing with a grin on his face, "The sketches are all of humans, from what I can tell. If it was made by a dwarf, then wouldn''t the sketches show, well, a dwarf?"

    "...So you''re saying-"

    "That this was made by him. Thiodrus made this book." Foster said with a broad grin on his face.

 Chapter 114 - Hidden

    "What? Why would- Why would he do something like that? And why would he go to the length of writing it in old Argian, using a fake name, and even hiding a sigil on the book''s cover?" Lynol asked, not sure if he really believed in Foster''s statement. However, it seemed like the man in front of him was already convinved, "I know it might sound like a stretch right now, but just think about it. He couldn''t just go around spreading books about his personalbat style, advertising who he was. And in the first ce... I don''t think that Thiodrus was nning on leaving that forest alive. He had already been weakened considerably after trying to seal away whatever... that thing was. And then, he gave his legacy to a person he had met just a day before? He was clearly pretty desperate to find a sessor." Foster exined, and even Lynol had to admit that thinking about it like this made his theory appear quite logical.

    "....Let''s just take it with us for now. I know that they sometimes sell books instead of renting them out, and I doubt that they mind getting rid of a few books in here." Lynol suggested, "For now, let''s see if there are any other books written by the same person."

    Immediately, the group got started and searched throughout the room. In total, there were maybe a dozen more books written in old Argian, out of which three were written by the same man as the book that Foster found, Haimous Ragnrodt, "Then let''s see if we can buy these four." Foster said, somewhat excitedly. He stepped out through the door, but was blinded by the ring light of the library''s main hall. He forced his eyes shut, stumbling backward slightly. Luckily, Octer stood right behind him, and managed to grab ahold of his shoulders before he fully fell down.

    "What''s wrong? Did something happen?" Octer asked, and Foster slowly turned his head around, "Nothing much, sorry, I just... I''m not feeling too god, I don''t know why." He exined, and Octer looked down at his friend surprised, seeing that his face was rather pale as well.

    "When did this start? You looked fine earlier..." Octer pointed out in a concerned tone, and K quickly rushed in front of the others, looking Foster up and down, "This... Foster, did you run out of mana?" She asked, and Foster slowly turned his head, "What? No, how could I, I didn''t use a single spell all day..."

    "Yeah, but maybe... just open your status and check, alright?" K asked, and Foster let out a slight sigh, quickly pulling up his status window.

    ---

    <strong>[Name: Foster Odin Locke][Age: 23]</strong>

    <strong>[Race: Human][ss: Martial Necromancer][Level �C 6]</strong>

    <strong>[HP: 32/32][MP: 3/28][SP: 35/38]</strong>

    <strong>[Attributes]</strong>

    <strong>[STR: 21][AGI: 23][END: 24]</strong>

    <strong>[INT: 18][WIS: 16][CHA: 19]</strong>

    <strong>[Titles]</strong>

    <strong>-[He who is one with Death]</strong>

    <strong>-[Otherworlder]</strong>

    <strong>[ss Skills]</strong>

    <strong>-[Martial Necromancy �C Lvl. 3] </strong>

    <strong>[Familiars]</strong>

    <strong>-[Aster - Lvl. 1]</strong>

    ---

    "Huh?" Foster let out surprised, "But how- I''m on 3 mp..."

    "...So it was like that, huh? Right, I think that the artifact can move through your mana." K exined, "That means that you won''t be able to just let it guide you to other books..."

    "It also means that you shouldn''t overdo it too much. If you feel that bad after draining nearly all your mana, then we should make sure it does not happen often." Lynol added, and Foster simply couldn''t help himself but feel a bit annoyed, "Fine, I guess that makes sense. Still fucking bothersome, though." He said, clicking his tongue. K quickly took the books from Foster, so that he didn''t need to worry about them for now. The group of four made their way to the entrance of the library, cing the four books down on the counter.

    "We would like to purchase these books, if possible." Lynol said immediately, without even greeting the woman seated there. She raised her brows, and looked at the books, "These... They are written in old Argian, aren''t they? Why would you want books like that?"

    "Ah, about that-" Octer started, trying toe up with an excuse, but Foster quickly interrupted him, "I know old Argian." He said immediately, and the woman turned to him surprised, "Excuse me?"

    "I know old Argian. Or rather, I know the basics. I happened to find these books, and seeing the sketches inside, it seems like the style is pretty simr to my martial art. I figured if I want to be more well-versed in it, using something that I already have a lot of context for would be a good idea." He exined, a bit too bothered to worry about subtlety and being particrly convincing.

    "Ah, right, right. Well, these books are... yes, they are for sale. They have practically just been taking up a lot of space." The woman exined. Lynol seemed sort of curious about something, and quickly asked, "Could I ask, why is that the case? From what I can tell, the martial art described there is quite useful."

    "About that, they''re lower intermediate-level tomes, and require the reader to know the beginner-level techniques already, but we never found any tomes rted to those. That means that there would barely be anyone that could read them anyway. And beyond that, the vast majority of people that speak Argian are a few hundred years old. Amongst those, the ones that pursue martial arts have already gone far past the level where these tomes could be of any use whatsoever." The librarian exined. d that they could apparently buy these books without any issue, he quickly grabbed the coin-pouch from his bag.

    "How much?" Foster asked, and the librarian flipped through a book in front of her, "That would be... 400 Val."

    ''...So still 20 bucks per book, roughly?'' Foster thought to himself. He figured that this was on the cheap side, though. He heard that books were supposed to be really, really expensive during this time, so it made sense that even books that they practically wanted to throw away would still cost a little bit. Either way, it wasn''t like Foster struggled with money anyway. As it turned out, the coins that he took with him from Thiodrus'' ce were worth up to four of five times the normal price of coins, because of how old they were. Of course, that depended on whether or not they were damaged, but even so, Foster got quite a bit of money when he went to exchange some of those coins. It wouldst him a while, at least.

    Foster pulled a silver piece out of the pouch, and ced it on the table. It was shaped like a tiny pyramid madepletely of silver, interestingly enough. He wasn''t sure why exactly that was the case, though. The librarian took the silver piece and put it into a small box, before bringing out two bronze pieces, which Foster quickly put into his pouch again. And following the pouch, the books quickly went into his bag.

    "Then, have a good day." Foster said, with a slight smile on his face. Now that he knew that Thiodrus had hidden books all over the ce for his potential sessor, it should be possible to go all the way after all. He would be able to do this, and learn this martial art to its fullest extent.

 Chapter 115 - More And More Techniques

    The group somewhat quietly left the martial alliance''s building, and made their way through the bottomyer of the city until they reached a more calm part of town, where they were able to speak properly.

    "Really... you even know old argian? You seriously are full of surprises." K pointed out with a chuckle, and Foster looked at her, leaning against one of the walls while pulling out one of the books, "I guess so. I didn''t realize it was such a weird thing." He pointed out, starting to flip through the book. And just as he thought, he was able to read everything without the slightest issue.. Having thenguageprehension of someone that old really was useful.

    "Ah, there it is! Weaponbat! There''s the... Bo staff, Straight-Sword... Spear... and Bow?" Foster read out loud, and Lynol quickly walked over, surprised, "Really, it even holds bow-arts? Interesting."

    "Right? In here, it seems like it''s just the basicbat with these weapons. Don''t martial arts have some specific shy techniques or something?" Foster asked, somewhat sad that he couldn''t find anything like that in here right now, and Lynol quickly shrugged.

    "Sure, but those are more advanced things to learn. Right now, you simply have to study the basics, and build up a steady base. You need to ingrain the movements into your body before you can even think about being able to use those sorts of techniques properly. You''re still struggling with just the basic kicks, so those techniques don''t seem like a good idea yet." Lynol pointed out, but Foster couldn''t help himself but click his tongue annoyed. He wanted to be able to do those sorts of shy things, though.

    But for now, that didn''t matter as much, "Alright, so... now I have one book about basic punches and kicks, one book about silent step, one bookpletely about chaining techniques together smoothly, another one that''s all about how to use martial skills and spells, and then now one book about basic weapon techniques... I sort of wish the books were a bit thicker." Foster sighed, as he flipped open the next book, surprised to see the description of the content when he started to read the text, "Huh? Hold on, this- finally something fun! It seems like this book is aboutbining the basic spells that I''m learning with the... martial skills?"

    "Wait, what?" Lynol let out surprised, looking at the page and the sketches, "Is it really speaking of thebination of those?"

    "Yeah... here, this one, look." Foster said, showing the page to Lynol, Octer and K. There was a sketch that showed one of the basic punches that he already learned, copied four times. In the top left corner, it showed the punch without any change, but in the top right, it showed some sort of waving, mist-like energy surrounding the fist. In the bottom left, it showed a sort of visualized explosion in the middle of the air in front of it. And in the bottom right, it showed what practically seemed to be an explosion of that mist-like energy, as if the two others werebined into this single image. Foster didn''t even know that this was possible, but this certainly made him feel rather excited. However, reading through it, Foster saw that it relied on some terms that he hadn''t heard before that he apparently needed for context.

    Quickly, he opened the other books up, trying to see if either of them exined more context. While one of the two leftover books spoke about something boring like meditation and breathing techniques, the other one was about defensive techniques based around blocking or deflecting attacks. Nowhere was Foster able to find the terms on concepts that the technique ofbining magic spells and martial skills was based off.

    While Foster had done something simr before, that was just him using both at the same time. He used the Chilling Touch spell at the same time as the Single Strike martial skill, but that was inherently diffe tobining them. That seemed to be at a whole other level, especially seeing the surprise of the others when Foster mentioned what the book was about.

    "But... I guess that''s really proof that Thiodrus wrote the books, huh?" Octer pointed out, "If it actively mentions necromancy and shows a specific punch that Foster already learned... there''d be no other way, right?"

    "Huh? Oh, yeah... Well, that''s true!" Foster replied, only now realizing that. He had sort of epted the idea that Thiodrus wrote these books as a fact, at least internally, so he hadn''t even considered this aspect of it. Even if this book was able to tell him just about that, acting as definite proof that he was right, then that was worth it in and of itself, even if Foster would have a tougher time figuring out how to do the things in this book without further context about those energybining techniques.

    "We can still figure things out. These books probably aren''t the only ones that he left scattered around, anyway. But for now, I think it''s obvious what we will do." He said bluntly, and Foster turned his head somewhat confused, "Huh? Is it?"

    "Of course. We will get you a bo staff, a straight sword, a spear, as well as a bow so that you can practice with them as soon as the artifact allows you to." Lynol said immediately, "It doesn''t mean they have to be special or anything. Just something good enough to practice with privately, as well as in the dungeon."

    "Wait, we''re gonna use the dungeon for practice?" Foster asked surprised. He was feeling somewhat annoyed that he was going to need to buy more stuff just for practice, although he never really liked using weapons in any form anyway. But well, having them around might be useful, just in case, so he agreed that he should practice those techniques.

    K immediately replied in Lynol''s stead, "Of course! The dungeon''s first five floors are perfect for that! Easy to kill, really weak monsters. They''re small and many, so even though there''s a lot of people in the first five floors, there''s going to be enough of us to train with." She exined, before realizing, "Oh! Wait! If Foster''s style has bow techniques, then we could take on the floors after the fifth!"

    Foster looked back with a wry smile, "I''m not really the... shooting kind."

    "You just bought two dozen throwing knives." Octer pointed out, and Foster scratched the back of his head. He did have a point. Foster had a steady hand and great aim. And it wasn''t like he was bad at shooting guns, rather, he was amongst one of the more skilled of those that he knew. He simply didn''t like the idea of guns.

    "Fine, I guess so." Foster sighed, epting that he had little choice in the matter anymore. Octer looked like he would simply make the bowstring snap every time he tried to pull it back, K was ying music during thergest portion of a battle, and Lynol had no interest in anything beside swordsmanship. So in the end, he was the only one that could take on this role.

 Chapter 116 - Inner Constellation

    Foster carried the weapons into the training room, and ced them down onto the ground, "Did I seriously already have to buy them? Can''t I train the rest first?"

    "Of course you can, but that doesn''t mean that we shouldn''t already get these weapons and prepare you for learning those new techniques." Lynol replied immediately. Foster rolled his eyes, watching as Aster slowly climbed out of his hair, "Oh, hey there, bud. You''ve been sleeping a lot the past few days. You alright?"

    The tiny mask spirit set its feet down on the back of Foster''s hand, slowly nodding its head. Soon, he dropped onto his butt, and looked around the room, "Hm... by the way, don''t you think it would be a good idea to have Aster level up a little bit more? You know... to help him mature a bit more quickly?"

    "....I have no idea how those things work, sorry." Lynol replied instantly, as Octer stepped into the room with a wry smile, "But I do. Generally, yes, helping your familiar grow is important. But at the same time, while you grow, so does your familiar. Meaning that by helping you level up, we help him level up." He exined, and Foster lightly smiled at him.

    "Awesome, thanks, big guy." He said, before tying his hair up into a ponytail again. He put on his new, heavier boots, and jumped up and down a few times, "Alright, then let''s try this out."

    Foster entered his basic stance, pushing his feet to other side of his body. He started to shift his weight, and tried to lift his foot off the ground. But before he was able to finish the motion, Lynol held his sword in front of Foster.

    "Yo, the fuck''re you doing?" Foster asked with a wry smile, and Lynol closed his eyes before letting out a slight sigh, "That''s what I was about to ask you. Is your head fine again?"

    "Yes, of course it is." He replied, and Lynol locked eyes with him. Foster really wasn''t sure what exactly Lynol was so worried about. With a slight sigh, the swordsman pointed at the floor with one of his hands, "Take those shoes off, and sit down. Now." He said with a slight frown. Foster really wasn''t sure what was going on, but he didn''t want to fight with Lynol when he was like this. Pushing his shoes off his feet again, Foster sat down, looking up at his friend.

    "Now what?" He asked, while Lynol was walking over to Foster''s bag. He grabbed one of the books and threw it over to Foster, "Do this."

    "...You want me to meditate?"

    "Yes, I do." Lynol replied immediately, "Meditation can help you grow calm, and it can bring the energies within your body back into order. It''s worth it, trust me."

    Foster looked at the book with a wry smile, not sure if that was really worth it, "But it''s, like... kinda useless, isn''t it? I mean, meditation is just sort of a hoax thing or something, right?"

    Octer and Lynol looked at each other for a moment, and then turned back toward Foster, "What do you mean? Meditation is a legitimate method of internal and mental training. If you''ve got any sort of energy you use in your everyday life, meditation is sort of... a must."

    "Say what now?" Foster replied after Octer''s statement. He didn''t expect it to be all that serious. To him, meditation just seemed like something that weirdos and ''enterpreneurs'' did to show off. But then again... internal energy, or stamina, as well as mana weren''t a thing on earth. So maybe meditation could really help? He did have to manipte them mentally, after all.

    "Alright. For now, I will help you, since it does not seem like you know what to do." Lynol said, slowly sitting down as well, although he clearly wanted to y around with his new sword. Foster sighed, and saw that even Octer sat down, so that the three of them could meditate together.

    "Try to read the exnations of the meditation technique in the book first." Octer suggested, "That way we know what you need to pay attention to."

    "Fine." Foster grumbled slightly to himself, before he started to read the text. There was a pretty lengthy introduction based around general knowledge on meditation and breathing techniques that Foster mostly skipped over until he got to the actual descriptions and sketches, "Hm... here it is... first I need the breathing technique apparently. So... ''To learn the mana breathing technique, first calm your heart rate and breathing down to as low as you can get it''. Then some boring stuff, more boring stuff... ah, here, ''Consciously circte the internal mana through your magic circuits, creating a specific flow of energy.''" Foster read out loud, and flipped through to the next page, soon seeing an illustration of the human body, in quite a lot of detail. It showed a sort of branch-like pattern running through it, with certain points highlighted throughout.

    And then, the whole next page was dedicated to describing the exact path that mana had to take in excruciating detail, "Seriously now? No way am I gonna be able to figure this out..." Foster groaned loudly, dropping the book on the ground in front of him as he dropped to his back. Aster climbed onto his face, unsure what was going on, while Octer picked up the book and looked at the descriptions.

    "Foster... How about... you think of this as a star map?" Octer suggested, and without a second''s hesitation, Foster sat back up. Aster was nearly catapulted off his face, but he managed to grab onto Foster''s nostrils before that happened.

    "Star map?" He repeated curiously, and Octer quickly nodded, "Yeah... The meditation technique I use is much more simple than this, so to me it looks basically the same anyway. The fact that I can''t read any of the text sort of helps with that, weirdly enough..."

    Foster raised his brow, and stretched himself to pull his bag over to himself. From there, he grabbed the notebook that he had used to create his own personal star maps and sketches of different constetions and asterisms. Quickly, he flipped to thest page, and pushed the page from Thiodrus'' book underneath it, tracing the points into the notebook.

    "Huh... you''ve got a point, I can see this being a bit simr to stars." Foster said with a grin, "This might actually be kind of fun, then."

    "...Really? Numbers are what make this fun for you?" Lynol asked perplexed, looking at his friend who, without even looking up from his notebook, replied, "Yup. I mean, sort of. It makes it easier for me to remember, at least."

    Once Foster wrote the connections between the different points, or ''stars'', within his body down in the same format as he would connections between stars in a constetion, he slowly closed his eyes. This whole thing was a bit moreplicated than a constetion, but if he went about it the right way, then he should be able to manage it. And so, he started to concentrate on his mana.

 Chapter 117 - Breathing

    Large pearls of sweat were rolling down Foster''s forehead and bare chest. He had taken off his shirt and the jacket of his gi, since his whole body was sort of heating up as he was in the middle of this. Or well, at least part of his body was. Right now, Foster only managed to get started on the flow of mana within his arms and legs. And it was only a one-directional flow, even then. He was just moving the mana out of his limbs the way that the book told him to. But just that was enough for his body to feel like he was sitting in a sauna.

    ording to the book, that was just a normal side effect of setting up an iplete flow of mana. Luckily, that also meant that he would have a direct way of knowing when he managed to establish the intended flow.

    "You still not ready?" Lynol asked with a groan. Him and Octer had gotten to starting their normal practice after all, since Foster was going to take a while. But once he was ready to start his meditation, they would sit down with him and they would all do it together..

    "No, I''m still not ready." Foster replied immediately, looking at his notes that he had propped up on his bag. He was trying to extend the flow through his body ''star'' by ''star''. It was progressing steadily, but at least it was progressing. Foster had no idea that he could do something like this. But luckily, since it didn''t seem like he originally have mana, he knew how to point it out in his body quite easily. If you had something weird moving around inside of you at all times, anyone would be able to do that. But even then, it was tough to take control of, even if he was getting better at it by the second.

    It took about an hour for him to even establish part of the flow in his limbs, and then another two hours to spread his control through his whole body. While he was moving the mana around, he became so much more conscious of every part of himself. He could feel his internal organs inside of his torso, he could feel his heart beating inside of him, even though the heartbeat was as light as Foster could get it. It even seemed like he could feel the traces of when he was stabbed or shot a couple times. He was aware of everything that made his body unique.

    And then, Foster finally managed to close the circle of the flow, by connecting the two major ''stars'' in his lungs together. At the end of the day, this was still a breathing technique, so having two concentrations of mana in his lungs made quite a bit of sense. However, the moment the flow waspleted, Foster felt the heat disappear in just an instant. Until now, it felt like he had spent a few hours in a sauna, but now, he had stepped out of it and plunged right into an ice-bath. To him, it seemed as if the pearls of sweat covering his body were just going to freeze in an instant.

    Making sure to keep up this flow the whole time, Foster read the rest of the instructions in the book written by Thiodrus, "Alright... here we go... ''Once the flow has been established, draw deep breaths into your lungs, bringing them to their full capacity. Hold your breath for ten seconds, and breathe out until there is no more air to give. Repeat''. Sounds simply enough..." Foster muttered. He did as instructed, and pulled as much air as he could into his lungs, trying to hold it there. It was fine up until the five-second mark. After that, all hell broke loose inside of Foster''s body.

    It felt like ice fell right into his lungs. He forcefully pushed all the air out of them and leaned over in a coughing-fit. Of course, the flow of mana that he just managed to establish was starting to fall apart as well, making his body heat up again.

    "Fuck..." Foster let out annoyed. His whole throat was hurting now, and even swallowing was hurting. This was all for nothing, that method clearly didn''t work, "Seriously, why did I expect that a literal skeleton would know how to breathe..?"

    Lynol handed his friend the bottle of water that they brought to the room, and Foster quickly drank something, trying to calm his throat down a bit, "I can just teach you my meditation technique for now. Clearly, that one isn''t working for you." Lynol suggested. Foster thought about it for a moment, and swallowed the water finally. He thought about it for a moment, and then let out a deep sigh, unsure about what he should do. But for some reason, it felt a bit weird. Not sure what it was, he let out another breath, and touched the lower part of his throat confused, "It feels... a lot easier to breathe."

    "...was it hard for you to breathe until now?" Octer asked with a wry smile, and Foster slowly turned his head toward him, "I... I did a lot of drugs in my time. Breathing could have been easier..." He admitted, and Octer looked down at him with a wry smile, "Right... Erm... you don''t do drugs anymore, right?"

    "I haven''t done any hard stuff in... a year, maybe? Either way, that''s not important. If that did something, then maybe I just need to try again?" Foster suggested, closing his eyes again. He tried to repair the mana flow in his body before itpletely unraveled again. Luckily, he could fix it rtively easily by concentrating on the more important points of focus within his magic circuits. Once more, Foster took a deep breath, trying to hold the air in his lungs for ten seconds.

    Again, after five seconds, he could feel incredible pain in his lungs, getting stronger each second. But then, at the tenth second, it became bearable, as Foster slowly let the air escape his lungs, pushing it out of his lungs. It still hurt to breathe like this, but at least it wasn''t as bad as he thought it was going to be. He quickly got used to it, and before he knew it, breathing like this becamefortable, and even rxing. It was a steep decline from excruciating pain until this point was reached.

    Slowly, starting to breathe normally again until he knew what to do next, Foster picked up the book, "Now... ''Once you are able to breathe like this in a rxed way, you can begin the meditation technique. Notice, this breathing and mana cirction technique is only useful in corrtion with regenerative meditation or rxation. It will lower your physical capabilities during its use, making it useless forbat''... Yo what? Then why did I spend literal hours practicing this..?"

    Lynol sighed, and started to sit down again. It seemed like Foster was finally ready to start his meditation, after all, "If it''s a regenerative breathing technique, then it''s going to improve your general health. If you keep using it, it might as well increase your physical ability. And considering that you''re supposed to fill your lungs to your limit, it might help raise your lung capacity too."

    "...Fair point." Foster replied, looking at the meditation technique that was illustrated on the page. He pressed the soles of his feet together and straightened his back. He pulled his shoulders back and pushed his chest forward, while pressing his palms onto his thighs, as if he was pressing them t onto the ground, even though he wasn''t supposed to exert pressure. Only barely enough to make sure that he was sitting still. And then, he started to breathe.

 Chapter 118 - Mana Capacity

    Foster continued to breathe, the air that seemed so incredibly could due to the mana it dragged out with it rubbing past his lips. As he continued to breathe in this pattern, and Foster''s body continued calming down, it seemed like his consciousness just started to fade into nonexistence. Until a few moments ago, he was able to feel the warm, humid air of the room touching his skin. He could hear the breathing of his friends that were meditating with him, and the faint noise of other people training in the adjacent rooms.

    But all of that seemed to slowly disappear. The only thing that Foster was able to feel was his own body, and the magic that flowed through it. He could already feel himself be more aware of every part of his body earlier, but now, that was brought to an extreme, as his mind was only filled with that. But soon, things shifted beyond the realm of just his physical body. Rather, he was starting to feel like something else was hidden within him.

    The flow of mana that he could so clearly feel disappeared beyond his grasp, but he knew that it was still going on. Instead, the focus points of mana in his body, which he had thought about as stars so that he could concentrate on them better than with such an abstract concept rted directly to magic, were now appearing as true stars to him. It was like he could feel them burning inside of him. He could feel them rotating around themselves at the center of their own sr systems, while all the stars seemed to be moving in a circr motion together, focused right around the tworgest points in his lungs, which revolved around each other, in constant motion.. But of course, these points never actually moved even a fraction of an inch. It was a sort of illusion, and although Foster was aware of this fact, he couldn''t help himself but feel wondrous at the fact that he started to feel himself be one with a world beyond his own, with the stars that he had always just been able to look at from below.

    The more Foster pushed mana out of his lungs while breathing, the more he could feel this extend beyond just his body. As if more stars were forming around him in the air, as if he was the center of an infinitely expanding universe. As he breathed out, he created more of this space around him, and as he breathed in, he took some of it into himself, just to use it to create more a few momentster.

    He had never thought that meditation could bring something like this about. A sort of ever-growing peace of mind.

    "...oster. Foster!" Octer''s voice cut through this silence, as Foster opened his eyes annoyed, "What?" He asked, grinding his teeth together.

    "We''ve got to go, our time in the room is over." He said, and Foster raised his brow, "What are you talking about, we paid for 12 hours. It''s barely been, what, two or three?"

    Octer turned his head, looking at Lynol, who quickly shook his head, "No, the time is over. You spent the rest of the time meditating, filling the room with your mana. That became pretty ufortable after a while, by the way."

    "...Excuse me?" Foster said with a wry smile, "The hell are you talking about? I-" In the middle of his sentence, he was interrupted by a message window popping up in front of him out of nowhere.

    ---

    <strong>[Due to consistent usage of a high-quality Mana Breathing technique, your mana capacity has permanently increased by 1]</strong>

    <strong>[Due to the consistent melding of mind and spirit, your understanding of your own mana has risen]</strong>

    ---

    "Say what now?" Foster muttered as the understanding of what these messages said flowed into his mind before he even finished reading them.

    "What? Something wrong?" Lynol asked, and Foster slowly shook his head, "No, it''s fine, I... I''ll exin it on the way. I think I believe that some weird shit happened." He pointed out, slowly trying to stand up. As he did, his body let out some loud cracks and pops, as if he had stiffened up over the past few hours that he was sitting here. But at the very least... he was sort of well-rested. As if he had slept for the first time in a while.

    ''...Did I fall asleep while I was trying to meditate or something..?'' He wondered to himself, grabbing his bag and leaving the training room with Octer on Lynol. On his way out of the Red Riverside Inn''s training rooms, Foster started to exin what his meditation felt like to him, and the content of the two messages that appeared in front of him once he was done.

    "So that meditation technique lets you increase your mana over time? That''s... just insane, what the hell?" Octer let out surprised, "Do you think you could... you know..."

    "I''ll make you a copy of my notes, don''t worry. And I''ll make it more readable for you." Foster replied quickly, "Since it said that my understanding of my mana rose, then it could do the same for you. It''s the perfect thing, really. At the very least, that should be able to stop that skill from getting stuck again. What about you, want to learn it as well?" He asked, looking at Lynol. The swordsman quickly shook his head, however.

    "I''ve got no use for mana. I barely even use internal energy." Lynol pointed out, sitting down on one of the chairs. Foster and Octer looked at him, "What do you mean? You use martial skills, so you must use internal energy." Octer said with a frown.

    "Huh? No, I don''t use martial skills. I used to, of course, but ever since I switched to Swordsmanship, I haven''t used them." He quickly exined, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, "I''m not at a stage in my swordsmanship where I can rely on them yet."

    Foster raised a brow, "What do you mean? Do you think that we''re weak because we use martial skills?"

    Immediately shaking his head, Lynol exined what he meant, "Of course not. You both are strong, with or without martial skills. It is just that my... teacher, he told me not to use martial skills until I reached a certain point in my training. Until I awaken my aura, I''m not allowed to use martial skills at all."

    "Damn... but yeah, I guess I''ve never seen you use a martial skill before." Foster said, crossing his arms, "But well, not that it matters. You obviously don''t really need them."

    "Not currently, yes. I try to make up for it in technique and physicality. A lot of greatsword wielders simply try to build up their muscles and swing their sword around as if it was a huge metal club. They''re slow and clumsy, so they lose a lot of the potential power of the greatsword. This is why I made my way here, to this town. The ''Basement'' is the perfect ce for me to train."

    Octer grinned lightly, "Then we should make sure to head down there soon, huh?"

 Chapter 119 - Standing In Line

    It was almost like the ground was shaking around them. The flood of people walking around them, some carrying utterly unrealisticallyrge weapons, while others were unrealisticallyrge themselves. The subtle scent of different foods mixing together in the air, as they were being sold anywhere you looked. If you were able to see through the thin gaps in the crowd in the first ce. It almost seemed like some sort of festival, where people were gathering for some sort of special event.

    But the truth was that it was simply the everday truth of this ce. Right in front of them was the reason as to why they all came here, why this whole city was constructed. This huge open za with that towering building cing in its center, in the center of this city as a whole, was where the entrance to the World Dungeon, dubbed ''Basement'' by the people of Arcadum, was located. Most of the people in the crowd gathered here were either directly headed in or out of the dungeon, or were looking for others to join them as they dove into it.

    As Foster looked at the tower in front of him, even if it wasn''t the dungeon itself, he couldn''t stop his heart from nearly jumping out of his chest. He wasn''t good at many things, nor did he care about much. Rather, there were only two main, consistent things in his life that were part of his very being for as long as he could remember. The stars, and fighting. And this? This was the ce where he could fully live out at least one of his passions, and that without ruining others'' lives in the process. He could fight to his heart''s content and be praised for it.

    "Youing?" Octer asked, turning around toward him. He was clearly as nervous and excited as Foster was, but trying to keep a cool head, he was instead focusing on his party as they all made their way to the dungeon''s entrance.

    Foster immediately nodded, and took a few quick steps forward to catch up with the rest of the group again. They walked toward the tower''s entrance, and lined up. Making sure that everyone in the party had everything they needed, Rachel looked them all up and down, before exining the procedure.

    "So, there are a few rules that you have to follow in the dungeon, alright? First of all, and the most important as far as most people here are concerned, if one party is fighting against a monster or a group of monsters, except if they specifically ask for help or are in reasonable danger... don''t interfere. For some weirdos, stealing someone''s prey is even worse than murder." She exined, "But beyond that, the only thing that you really need to know is that, while fights between adventurers are heavily discouraged, they are allowed as long as both parties agree to it. You can''t just randomly attack others. Otherwise, you just need to follow the same kind of rules as are expected of you within the adventurer''s guild itself."

    "Have you been in the dungeon before?" Foster asked her curiously, since she seemed to know a lot about the process, but Rachel quickly shook her head, "Not myself, no. Of course, I did a lot of research on it and the rules around it, but I never felt like heading in there. Not much for me to do in the first ce."

    "What are you talking about? There''s so much to do in the dungeon, isn''t there~? I heard that there are some really beautiful sights around where the dungeon settlements are built~!" With a broad, excited grin on her face, K joined the conversation. She was clearly the most giddy about this whole thing. But rather than being nervous together with it, like Octer and Foster were, she was purely excited. Even considering the fact that she had gone into the dungeon a few times before, even if not beyond the first floor.

    "...Right. But well, I don''t care much about ''sights''." Rae replied, rolling her eyes, "And really, please make sure that you don''t randomly run off somewhere once we''re inside. You''re our primary healer. In case of an emergency, you-"

    "I know, I know~! Don''t treat me like some idiot, will you? It''s not like this is my first time in a dungeon. I''m well aware of how I''m supposed to act in there." K interrupted Rae, her demeanor changing from giddy and even somewhat childish, over to calm, collected and mature. It was in just an instant, but it was clear that K would be absolutely fine once they went into the dungeon.

    However, before the conversation could continue any further, cheers could be heard from outside. Confused, most people inside of therge hall turned around toward the entrance, watching as the crowd, inside and outside the building, parted ways to create a path for a certain few people to follow.

    Foster was quite curious about what was going on. It was sort of dark in here, and the bright light outisde made it impossible to see everything. However, Rachel''s eyes seemed to have adjusted a little quicker, as she soon let out a loud, annoyed groan, "Perfect, today of all days." She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

    Lynol finally turned around as well. He didn''t seem to care before when everyone outside was cheering, and rather seemed annoyed and bothered by it. But now that Rachel seemed a bit annoyed as well, insinutating that something could disturb today''s dungeon-dive, he started to pay attention as well. He looked at the handler next to him, "What is it?"

    "...Grandosia. They''re thergest, most famous guild in the city." Rae stated, "They''re also the guild that holds the record for the deepest reached floor in the dungeon, and they''re heavily believed to be the prime candidates for being the first to clear it."

    "So? What''s so bad about them being here, then? They''ll just pass through the first few floors quickly, so we won''t see them after this anyway." Foster pointed out. That''s what he figured was going to happen, at least. But Rae quickly shook her head, "It''s not them directly, it''s that... urgh, so many people enter the dungeon on days that they start their dive to try and impress them and be scouted, that it''s going to be impossible to do anything on the first floor. We''ll have to go the fourth or fifth if we want to be able to do anything." She exined, "Even though this wasn''t supposed to be that long a trip... great."

    "Isn''t it fine? We can just clear the fifth floor, go to the settlement, restock on our supplies when we''re there, and then juste back out." K suggested, and Rae thought about it for a moment, "...I don''t have anything strictly nned that can''t be pushed back a little, so that''s fine with me. What about you three?"

    Since none of them had any real ns for the next while either, Foster, Lynol and Octer also agreed with it, so this group of five chose to head a bit deeper into the dungeon than initially intended. Before they could discuss the connotations of that fact, the party of dungeon-diver ''heroes'' started walking through therge hall, passing by the lines. They were apparently treated with priority when it came to matters like this, which kind of bothered Foster, but at the end of the day, there wasn''t anything he could do about it anyway. It was just how things went.

    Therge group went through the space. There were maybe two dozen people at a nce. At the back of the group were clear nonbatists, which seemed to be ''porters'', as Foster had heard a few times before. They were carryingrge bags on their backs that were clearly stuffed with different supplies and tools. In the center of the group were the ''regr''batists. Mages, clerics, fighters, all wearing high-quality armor, but they all looked roughly the same. None of them really stuck out to him immediately. However, the three that were walking in the front were clearly different.

    One of them was a huge woman, maybe eight, if not nine feet tall with naturally dark brown skin, white scars covering her body from top to bottom. She had thick horns on her head, and by her hips were two massive swords, which somehow looked rather smallpared to her own sheer size. In front of her walked a man, tall, but next to her, he looked like K looked right next to Octer. He wore bright, decorated armor, clearly being the center-piece of this group. The leader, the head of the party.

    However, for some reason, Foster''s eyes were most focused on the third one right beside them. A human, with light brown hair and thin-rimmed sses. He looked rather inconspicuous, wearing something inbetween a robe and normal clothes, but in a weirdly different stylepared to everyone else.

    "That guy... the one wearing sses? Who''s he?" Foster asked, slightly turning his head toward Rae, figuring that she would know.

    "That guy? Ah, I''m pretty sure... he''s their strategist, or something like that. He''s supposedly a really strong mage as well, but those''re just rumors, I guess." She exined. Foster quietly watched as therge group stepped over to the other side of the room, stepping onto a tform. A magic circle was carved into the ground, and once everyone stepped onto it, that carved pattern slowly started to light up.

    And then, Foster saw something that he didn''t expect to see ever again. His own broke, shattering into its small pieces, after all. That man, the strategist, pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small, hand-sized, ck b.

    He held it, and suddenly, Foster could see a reflection of light in the strategist''s eyes. He was in disbelief, so it took him until after they were gone to truly realize it.

    The strategist was holding a smartphone just now.

 Chapter 120 - Sam

    Nothing but disbelief filling his mind, Foster stared at the spot in which all those people stood just earlier. Even when the noise of more and more people rushing into therge hall would usually be deafening to him, he wasn''t distracted in the slightest.

    "He... He''s..." He muttered quietly to himself. He only snapped out of it when Lynol pulled on his arm. The line was moving pretty quickly, since more employees were brought out to take care of therge influx of people that wereing in. Apparently they had heard that this was going to happen today.

    "Hurry it up, we need to get in there quickly." The swordsman said, while Foster slowly stared at his friend, "We have to follow them."

    "Huh? What, do you want to try to show off to them too? I thought you did not want to join any guilds." Lynol replied with a frown. Immediately shaking his head, Foster leaned over toward his friend, whispering into his ear, "The strategist... He''s from the same ce as me."

    Lynol opened his eyes wider, "That guy? Hm, interesting. Then you''re right, we do have to follow them. And to do that, we have to first sign up at the desk." He pointed out, continuing to drag Foster down the line. It didn''t take long until they were the next to be helped out.

    "Are you five a party?" The employee asked immediately, and Rae quickly replied with a nod. Without saying anything else, the employee pulled five white marbles out of a jar, and ced them on the table, "Each of you, take one of these and press a drop of your blood onto them. If you don''t have blood in the conventional senes or, for some reason or another, cannot currently use it, pouring your mana into the marble is fine as well. If that is not possible either, please move over to the side, and someone wille to help you momentarily." The employee exined, trying to get through everything as quickly as possible. Not wanting to wait for too long either, the group all grabbed the marbles and each put a drop of blood onto it. Immediately, the pure white marbles turned ck. Practically ripping them out of their hands, the employee grabbed the marbles and ced them into a small ss bottle.

    "Thank you. Make sure to stay safe. Please move over to the teleportation tform. Next!" The employee yelled out, and the group of five did as told as the next party stepped up behind them.

    "Erm... what were those for?" Foster asked with a wry smile, and surprisingly, this was something that Octer and Lynol didn''t seem to know about either. While the group stepped onto the tform, waiting to be let into the dungeon with arge batch of people, K started to exin, "It''s a system designed specifically for this dungeon! The marbles are now linked to our mana signatures, so the moment that we die, they shatter and someone is notified. If the whole party is wiped out, they will send someone to investigate~!" She said, in a weirdly far too excited tone of voice. She continued to speak about a bunch of different things, while more and more people gathered on the tform. And about five minutester, the magic circle underneath them started to glow.

    Foster waspletely focused on the fact that he had to run off and find that strategist the moment that they went into the dungeon. It''s been about twenty minutes, and the floors in this dungeon were supposedly huge mazes with numerous different routes. So if he didn''t find them now, then he would probably never be able to catch up to them. He was so focused on all this that he didn''t even fully notice that his body started to feel lighter and lighter as the magic circle became brighter.

    And then, he felt weightless. It was a weird sensation for sure, but it didn''t take long until it became weirder. His sight was filled with bright light, but it didn''t hurt his eyes at all despite that fact. And once the bright light subsided, Foster felt the weight of his body return, and the view in front of him hadpletely changed. Instead of thatrge crowded hall, he was in the center of a circr room, that was basically abandoned, beside the two people standing next to the tform.

    "Please step off the tform, thank you." An employee of the organization managing this dungeon said, and everyone did as told.

    "That it? Do we need to do something else?" Foster asked, looking at his group, and Rae quickly shook her head, "No. Now we just need to get into the dungeon through thatrge door over-"

    "Right. Lynol, I''ll be heading off first! Make sure to keep to the route we nned out, I''ll find you guys there!" Foster said, yelling out to them as he started running toward the entrance to the dungeon. Rachel, K and Octer werepletely confused about what was going on, but Lynol just stood there, letting out a deep sigh, "Don''t worry about him, he''ll be fine."

    ---

    "Thirteen enemies ahead, at position 2. Four hiding behind the rock, the rest burrowed underground." A calm and collected voice exined. The moment he finished speaking, some of the fighters right behind him already ran forward. Small monsters, a mixture between something like an oversized mole with sharp ws, burrowed out of the ground. Before the dirt had even fully settled, their heads had already been removed from their bodies, and dissipated into nothingness a momentter. The same man that had discovered the monsters earlier let out a deep sigh, "This is so bothersome. Why can there just not be a way to skip to thest settlement we reached?"

    "This is already more than easy enough with you here, Sam. We should reach the first settlement by the end of the night." The man next to him pointed out, his heavy te armor making bothersome noise with every step he took. Sam rolled his eyes, and pulled a small object out of his pocket. With a single touch of his index finger to the small circr spot in the back, it lit up.

    Swiping over the object with his thumb, the things disyed on it changed, and Sam pressed onto an image of the monsters that they had just encountered, before a map of this dungeon appeared instead. After pressing on the spot where the monsters had been found, and then seemed to enter more information on another screen that popped up.

    "Seriously, why do you keep fiddling with that artifact all the time?" The man next to him asked, letting out a deep sigh. Sam looked at him over the edge of his sses, and quickly replied, "It lets me collect a lot of information about this dungeon. I enter the information about the monsters we encounter, where we do, and what they drop, if they drop anything at all, and then it automatically updates the data that I had found before. Like this, we can find the easiest route through each floor, and know where to find whatever it is we need." Sam exined. He saw it in this man''s eyes that, despite the fact that he was the one that asked, he clearly didn''t actually care about what he was doing, as if he was just trying to be nice.

    All of a sudden, a shiver was sent down Sam''s spine, and he turned around, "A humanoid target is approaching from behind at high speed. It doesn''t seem like it''s running away from something, but rather... it seems like whoever it is, they''re looking for us." Sam warned the others, pulling his leather gloves over his hands in case he needed to cast any spells, and watched as everyone in the group took on the proper stance for this.

    "Hm. Arcia, just go ahead and scare off whoever it is." Said the only one that didn''t seem to care. The man wearing that shy, bright armor. Sam let out a deep sigh, "Seriously, Cain? Could you take this any less seriously?"

    "Why would I take it serious? It''s just another random adventurer trying to show off to us." Cain replied with a shrug. At the end of the day, he was probably right. But even then, Sam didn''t like to take any chances with things like this, especially since his whole being told him that something was different about whoever was approaching right now.

    Maybe that was why it took him longer than normal to notice therge monster burrowing its way into this tunnel from above, right as the man that was running toward them came closer.

    "Shit!" Sam let out. It didn''t matter if this was the first floor of the dungeon, having a rare variant drop right on top of some poor sap was still dangerous. He really didn''t like to watch people die.

    Rocks started to fall down to the ground together with the mole-like monster that was maybe two or three times the size of the others. But even though this was the case, the man that was running toward them, d in all ck, didn''t stop for even a moment.

    Just when he was about to impact with the monster, did he slow down. He twisted his body around, and hit the monster''s head. An explosion of power shot into the monster''s body, together with some sort of ck, sinister energy.

    "N-Necromancy?" A mage from the group muttered, and Sam became even more focused on what was happening. The monster''s body twisted around mid-air, and the man that had run toward them once more twisted his upper body, practically using his whole weight to strike at the monster while it was falling to the ground, making it m into the ground violently. Just a momentter, its body started to disappear.

    "Finally... caught up... to you..." The man said, breathing heavily. He had been sprinting this whole time, so it made sense that he was a bit exhausted. Slowly, the man approached the group, soon locking eyes with Sam.

    "You.... get the fuck over here."

 Chapter 121 - Half A Year

    Foster was running as fast as he could, making use of the ''Silent Step'' martial skill that allowed him to move a lot faster than he normally could. And beyond that, just through the increase of his attributes, he had be so much faster than he normally could have ever thought possible. He would definitely be able to get a gold medal in the olympics with this.

    The hardest part of all this was trying to find the route that therge group with the otherworlder took. But even that wasn''t thatplicated, since there were plenty of people that he could ask about them. And at some point, he could just hear the echoing of their footsteps and ttering armors as well, so he just had to follow that. But well, considering that this whole floor looked like apletely inconsistent, huge cave system, he still wasn''t sure if he was running the right way. That was, until he turned the next corner, and saw arge group in the distance. He could see the light of theirnterns lighting them up. That did remind Foster that he hadpletely forgotten to turn his ownntern on again, not that it mattered anymore now.

    He continued running forward, when he suddenly saw the expression of that strategist. He was ncing at the ceiling, as if something was there. Just as Foster realized this, he could hear it, the sound of rock cracking apart. Pushing his foot into the ground, he tried to stop running, watching as rocks of different sizes started falling down all around him. He deactivated his silent step, and watched as some furry creature entered his peripheral. After running through this dungeon thus far, he had seen these a few times, even if this one looked a little different. But that didn''t matter right now in the first ce.

    Just slightly ncing upward, Foster saw the monster falling toward him, and pushed his fist up toward it. He wasn''t sure how strong this monster was going to be, so he shouldn''t try to pull his punches. As such, he used both of the abilities that could be used in this situation. One of them, he hadn''t used in realbat ever since encountering that giant wolf.

    Stacking them both on top of another, Foster used the ''Chilling Touch'' spell and the ''Single Strike'' martial skill at the same time. The moment that his gauntlet impacted with the monster''s head, a small explosion of necromancy and internal energy shot out from his arm. Fur started floating through the air while the monster''s body was being flipped around. Before it hit the ground, Foster pushed his other fist right into the monster''s chest, this time only using ''Single Strike'', to try and push it into the ground.

    As he did, to his surprise, the monster twitched just once or twice, and then started to fall apart into nothingness, disappearing like any regr dungeon monster did upon being killed. Breathing heavily out of exhaustion, Foster turned his head, looking through the group of people standing there, just watching him. While approaching them with slow steps, Foster grinned, "Finally... caught up... to you." He said, soon locking eyes with the man that was his target, "You... get the fuck over here." Foster added. He had been running for a while, and didn''t want to bother pushing through a group of armed people, so having that guye over to him would be the easiest thing to do. However, instead of the person that Foster actually wanted to talk to, someone else came through. It was that incredibly tall, muscr woman. Her hands were wrapped around her twin swords stillying in their sheaths by her hips.

    "Who are you, and what do you want from us?" She asked, her voice clear but powerful. Foster looked up at her, raising his brows, as his breathing finally rxed again, "Well first of all, I think I want to marry you? Like, just look at you, you''re fucking gorgeous, and cearly he determined to do what you love as well." He pointed out bluntly. And of course, this was something that absolutely took her aback, "H-Hah? What nonsense are you spouting now?"

    "Ah, sorry, I tend to be a bit too... well, straightforward in situations like this? Anyway, we can talk about thatter, first of all, I want to talk to the dude with the sses back there." Foster said. He often half-joked like this when he was nervous. Obviously, this woman was incredibly attractive to him, but blurting it out like that might have made this situation somewhat weird.

    "Why do you want to talk to Sam?" The woman in front of Foster asked, and he quickly looked up at her, "Ah, that''s a bit..." He said, not sure where to go from here. He slowly nced past her, once more locking eyes with that man, Sam, who was staring at him this whole time.

    Slowly, he said something, although he probably had a really weird ent. He''s only beek speaking in Argian for about a month now. In english, he said, "I think we''re both from the same ce."

    The moment that Foster spoke, Sam''s eyes opened wide in confusion, and he rushed forward, pushing through the crowd, until the two of them stood in front of each other.

    "You''re... Where are you from?" Sam asked, in a simrly awkward manner as Foster. It seemed like he also hadn''t spoken english for a while. But Foster quickly replied, "...Here and there. Mostly upper east coast though, around New York but not directly, y''know?" He said, and Sam let out a loudugh, cing his hand on Foster''s shoulder, "Holy shit, you''re really from earth? Ah, I''m from London, by the way. Fuck, this is great! I heard there were others like us here, but I haven''t actually met anyone!"

    It was as if all his suspicions simply disappeared in nothing but an instant, because he was happy to see someone from the same world as him. It felt like meeting someone that''s from the same area as you while on vacation.

    "Erm... I feel the same, like, I''m he fucking happy to hear that you really are from there too, but... should we maybe talk in private?" Foster asked, looking past Sam at therge group of people that were staring at the two of them perplexed. Sam turned around as well, looking at the group with a wry smile, realizing that he hadpletely forgotten about them. The leader of the group walked up to them, and stared at Foster with a deep frown.

    "Sam, who is this guy?" He asked, of course in Argian again. Sam turned around quickly, "Ah, he- He''s from the same country as me. I got a little overwhelmed."

    "From the same country, huh...? My condolences. I heard that something happened, bringing that ind to ruin." He said, with a slight smile on his face, even though Foster was able to look through it without a second thought, "What was it again..?"

    "Yeah, fuck off, bud. I don''t care if you''re suspicious of me, but at least don''t make it that obvious, will you?" With an annoyed groan, Foster rubbed the bridge of his nose, and then looked back at Sam while Cain''s mind was still trying to catch up to what just happened, "Again, could we speak alone?"

    "H-Huh? Yeah, of course... Erm... Cain, sorry about that, but I would really like to talk to him, could we maybe just push ahead the break a little? This ce is as good as any other." Sam said, practically already pushing Foster away from the group. Cain clicked his tongue and looked at the people behind him, "You heard''im, we''re taking a break."

    Once they reached a spot that was far enough away, Sam flicked his wrist. A magic circle appeared in front of his palm, before invisible walls lit up around them for a moment, "I created a quick barrier, just in case. Sorry, I got kind of overwhelmed back there." Sam said, with a smile on his face. Foster immediately shook his head, while he walked over toward where he saw one of these ''walls'', touching it with his hand. When he did, a wave of light moved through the wall again, "Don''t worry about it... also, the fuck''s a barrier supposed to be?"

    "Huh? A barrier... like, a wall created through magic, that follows a specific set of rules set by the caster, and- Ah, sorry... would you prefer English or Argian? By the way, how long have you been here? Your Argian sounds really smooth, it took me years to figure out how to speak it without an ent." Sam said, clearly extremely excited about this whole situation. Foster raised his brow, "...Years? How long have you been here?"

    "Hm... I got here when I was 20, and I''m 27 now, so... yeah. It''s been seven years." Sam exined, "How about you, how long have you been here?"

    "...A month."

    "Huh?"

    "I''ve been here for a month. But... sorry, could you show me your phone again?" He asked, and Sam looked back at him confused. He pulled it out of his pocket, and showed it to Foster. It had gone through a lot, and has been modified, a little, but he could immediately recognize it even then. With a frown, he opened his bag and pulled out a small pouch. He pulled hispletely shattered, broken phone out of it, "I have... had, the same one."

    Sam opened his eyes wide, "What the hell did you do to this thing? And why do you even have a seven year old phone?"

    "That''s the thing." Foster replied, "I bought this phone when it first came out.. Half a year ago."

 Chapter 122 - Repair

    "Half a year ago? What do you mean?" Sam asked with a wry smile, "It''s been... it''s been seven years since then."

    "What year was it when you got here?" Foster asked, and Sam, looking at the broken phone in front of him, slowly lifted his head, "Erm... it was... 2021, February 26th."

    "...I got here in August 5th 2021..." Foster replied. Sam wasn''t sure what he was supposed to do with this information. He looked at the ground, not sure what this was supposed to mean. He closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh, "You know what? It''s fine. It doesn''t make a difference, at all. Whether six months or seven years, we''re here now. And it''s not like our situation makes any sense in the first ce... right?"

    Foster smiled lightly, "Yup, that''s what I think as well. So, erm... how the fuck is your phone still working after seven years?" He asked, excited to see the weirdly rxing glow of a screen again. The kind that wasn''t floating right in front of your face, seemingly defying allws of physics in the process.

    "More importantly... How did yours break that badly? It''s like you deliberately took it apart."

    "Ah..." Foster replied, "You know, the regr. Falling off a 200 foot cliff."

    Sam looked back surprised, not expecting that sort of answer, "A 200 foot cliff?"

    "Maybe 250?"

    "...I think I need a bit more information here. What happened since you got here? The abridged version is fine." Sam said, clearly concerned for what this man in front of him was about to say. Foster thought about it for a few moments, and then scratched the back of his head, "I mean, sure, but if I tell you, you''re gonna have to tell me a little bit as well."

    Sam nodded without hesitation, "Of course, why wouldn''t I?"

    With a shrug, Foster continued to think for a few more moments to figure out what to say, and then started his extremely abridged exnation, "Alright, so. I had just finished something rted to my work, was listening to some music, and then, poof, I''m on this cliff, right? There''s a huge ass monster behind me, I fall down a cliff, and basically die. The system ''initialises'' inside of me, and heals me for that, and in the process makes me not give a shit about the situation I was in to make me calm down. I stand up, meet this guy that happens to be an animated skeleton speaking right into my mind. I follow him, he feeds me and gives me new clothes. Fast forward, next morning, he''s killed by some random guys, I beat one of them up, the skeleton guy teaches me Argian through magic, this giant fucking monster tree dies, we run away. I told those guys I''m an otherworlder, and-"

    "You did what?" Sam asked, interrupting Foster as he was speaking. The situation exined to him thus far was already crazy enough, but he couldn''t believe that someone would just tell others that sort of thing, "Why did you do that?"

    "Don''t look at me like that, as I said, the system made me not give a shit about the situation. I didn''t even ''want'' to think about what I should and shouldn''t do." Foster exined.

    "Yeah, but isn''t itmon sense?"

    "Why the fuck would anything rted to traveling to another world with fucking magic and talking skeletons be calledmon sense?" He responded instantly, and although Sam wanted to somehow retaliate, he realized that Foster had a point, and simply let him continue, "Anyway... They then told me about the whole Hero-type and viin-type bullshit that''s going on with otherworlders, but they seemed chill at first. They then went to bed, and I overheard them talking about killing me, so I ran away while grabbing a bunch of shit from the skelly dude''s house. He had a map that led me to a nearby town, and there I was told I shoulde to Arcadum. I joined a caravan as an employee, met two people that are now part of my party, and we''re adventurers. First time in this dungeon, and all."

    Sam slowly nodded, "Honestly, that was a good choice. I haven''t told anyone that I''m an otherworlder, personally. It just seems too... risky. I''ve read up a little bit about the history of otherworlders, if you want I can refer some books about that to you. Now that you''re here, those guys shouldn''t be able to find you."

    "Right. So, how about-"

    "No, sorry, I still have a question... Did you just use necromancy? And through that sort of spell as well... That is really, really dangerous." Sam pointed out, "You really shouldn''t do something like that. You see, after using a certain amount of magic, it can happen that your body starts being affected. And especially with necromancy, it seems like your body would severely suffer."

    With a grin on his face, Foster shook his head, "Actually, not at all. When I basically died back then, the system gave me a title, ''He who is one with Death''. It was specifically made for me, and all, even says my name in the description and stuff. Anyway, it makes me immune to necromancy or something."

    Once more perplexed, Sam wasn''t sure what it was that he just heard, "It- You have a unique title? Are you serious?"

    "Yup. That''s why I can use necromancy without worrying about magic feedback or whatever." Foster said with a smug expression, even though he really didn''t do anything himself to get this title. He just fell down a cliff,pletely coincidentally.

    Sam ced his hand onto his chin, starting to think, "If you''re immune to it, then that would really make it easy for you to learn necromancy without particr repercussions. But well... more importantly, I think you deserve an exnation on my side now as well." He pointed out, "On earth, I was aputer science student. I was on my way back to my apartment one evening, when I suddenly found myself... well, here, on this world. Although, I was a lot luckier than you. I happened to find myself near a small vige, and managed to find shelter there for a few months while picking up a few simple phrases, and then started to move on. While I was travelling, I happened to meet an artificer, and he taught me the magic engineering skill. Using that, I was able to modify my phone,ptop, and tablet to run on mana instead of regr electricity. I gathered some data, and made a learning app for the Argiannguage and different magic spells to let me remember them more easily."

    Foster raised his brow, curious to hear about all of this, "Really? You don''t think you can repair my phone and give me a copy of that spell-learning app?"

    "Hm... I mean, I''ve switched out most of the important parts in my own things, like the GPU or CPU with processors thatpute things through magic... so I should probably be able to repair the base board as well... I might have to improvise for the screen, though, and I guess I''ll have to write a custom OS... I doubt that whatever was on there before is going to work after I repair... that." Sam replied, in thought, before looking back up from the pieces of the phone into Foster''s eyes, "Just give this stuff to me for now, I''ll try to repair it in time. We''ll probably have a lot downtime during the dive, and we''ll gather a lot of high quality magic stones and other materials that I should be able to use. So by the time I''m back, it should be useable again, at least."

 Chapter 123 - Code-Like Magic

    "By the time you''re back... so that means, when? I know the dungeon gets pretty deep, but I have no idea how deep, really." Foster pointed out, and Sam smiled back at him, "The record is 49, currently. We''re hoping to beat the mid-boss this time around. So that would be... a month, maybe 6 or 7 weeks at most."

    "Holy shit, that long? Seriously?" Foster let out surprised. He didn''t expect that dungeon dives couldst this long.

    "Yeah... It is pretty long, but that''s nothing yet. It''s assumed this dungeon has 100 floors, if not more. But going by the 100 floor assumption, we''re guessing it would take a whole year to get to the bottom floor if you were a group that could just barely clear the dungeon. Considering the increase of difficulty of the floors up until now." Sam exined, scratching his cheek, slowly looking around toward the direction where the rest of his group were waiting for him, "I don''t know if I can talk for too much longer, so I''ll just briefly wrap up my story real quick, if that''s cool."

    Immediately, Foster nodded his head. Of course he was fine with hearing the rest of what happened to Sam after he got to this world, "So, anyway, I continued learning magic and Argian itself of course, and I found that I have a talent for non-elemental magic. Elemental magic is often based around the reference of something tangible that exists in the world around you, but non-elemental magic is something more abstract. And for me, it was like... information as a concept itself, I guess. I have spells that let me gather,pile or send information itself, but I can also make barriers like this that work with specific rules and patterns. I think my casting-method helped me out a lot with this, too." He exined, although Foster was a little confused, "What do you mean, your casting-method?"

    "Hm? Oh, I mean the way that I construct and cast spells. The people that were born and grew up in this world can grasp the concept of magic more easily, but we can''t, right? It''s just apletely foreign concept to us. So, I filled in the gaps with something that I did understand, and that was code! I looked at the things that made up magic circles as their own codingnguage with its own unique syntax. I learned thatnguage, and it''s as if I''m writing code bit by bit. I actually managed to make some spells more efficient by mixing in some algorithms from earth." He said quickly, trying to show the step-by-step construction of a magic circle right above his palm. From what Foster could tell, after seeing magic circles a few times before, it did seem like this one was being constructed in apletely different way. But he couldn''t pin-point how exactly.

    "How do you cast spells?" Sam asked, and Foster simply shrugged, "I don''t know, really. In the first ce, the spells I use are different to the ones you use. Mine are just energy-based right now. Chilling-Touch, Siphoning Touch, and Dead Sight. I just concentrate on the affected spots, and think about death, or something?"

    "Oh, alright... Interesting... I mean, most energy-based spells can be improved through magic circle construction as well, it will just take a bit longer to activate them. It can make them more mana-efficient as well, so it might be useful in some situations." Sam pointed out, as a simple side-note, "But well, if you want to figure out a way to create magic circles, you just need to try and think about it in a way that makes sense to you. Anything to help you grasp the mystery or magic a little better. I brought order and logic into it for myself, but for you it could be really different."

    "I see..." Foster replied, thinking about what could help him cast spells. But since he obviously wouldn''t be able to figure anything out all too soon, he looked back at Sam, "So anyway, what did you do after that?"

    "Ah, right. I kept traveling around the Argian Empire, and then at some point heard about Arcadum. It''s one of the biggest cities of the continent, and it just seemed like the kind of ce that otherworlders flock to. I came here, did a few random jobs for a while, and then joined the adventurer''s guild. At some point, I met Cain and Arcia, we joined a party together, and then, five years ago, we gathered a bunch of high-ss parties and smaller guilds, and founded Grandosia."

    "You created thergest guild in the city just five years ago? That sounds... impressive."

    "Well... if it was any other sort of organization, maybe. But for adventurers, the most important thing is to be strong. And, well... we''re strong. We pushed the exploration of the dungeon further and further, so we became more renown quickly, and a lot of people wanted to join us. It was easy to grow, really. For the past five years, we did nothing but adventurer-work at arge scale." Sam exined, before turning his head to the side. He could see Cain standing nearby, as if waiting for him to finally finish, "It seems like I have to go now. I''m sure you''ll at least hear about it when we''re back, so at that point, juste to the Grandosia headquarters so that we can talk some more. And to pick up your hopefully repaired phone." Sam said, waving his hand just once, seemingly making the invisible barrier around the two of them disappear, "You should get back to your party as well."

    "Right, of course." cing his hand onto his hips, Foster looked down the cave. First right, and then left, "Erm... do you maybe have a map on that?" he asked, pointing at Sam''s phone. With a quick nod, he replied, "Yeah, of course. There''s actually a pretty simple way for you to get back to the entrance." He exined. Quickly, Sam showed Foster the route on one of the apps on his phone. He tried to remember it as well as he could, and then thanked his fellow otherworlder, "Well, see you in a month or so, then."

    "See you in a month." Sam replied with a smile, quickly making his way over to Cain. And then, Foster started to make his way back to the entrance so that he could try and catch up to the others. While on his way, he pulled Aster out of his hair, and looked at the small spirit, "Guess we found a good new contact, huh? He''ll definitely be good to have around."

    The finger-sized spirit tilted its head, the round white mask practically shining at him. Foster tried to keep it clean, since, for some reason, it got really dirty incredibly fast, "You know, after meeting him, I feel like using magic some more... and a familiar is supposed to help with that, right? How about we both try our best to get better at using magic, huh?" Foster suggested. Aster looked up at him, and slowly nodded his head, excited to do this together.

 Chapter 124 - Some Good Data

    "Goddammit, just get off me." Foster groaned, kicking down onto one of the mole-monsters. In response, the moel fell apart into nothingness, "Annoying ass monsters..." he let out. He had encountered a fewrger groups of these monsters while running through this dungeon to try and find his party. They really were incredibly weak. He could defeat the small ones in a single punch, and therger ones in two or three at most. There were simply many of them. But even then, they didn''t really do much damage, so they were not a particr threat. Foster couldpare them to... rats. Just regr old rats. They gathered inrger groups and attacked together. And while they could certainly do some damage if you didn''t pay attention for a while, it was fairly easy to get rid of them, even then.

    Foster did understand why these were supposedly easy for training, though. They were the perfect targets. They came from all directions, burrowing through the walls and ceilings. Since these moles could jump up pretty high as well, you could practice arge variety of different attacks on moving targets. The only thing that made them slightly annoying was that they didn''t seem to want to leave Foster alone. He tried running past a group of them earlier, but they chased him for maybe five minutes without stop. It was nearly impressive, actaully. The only thing he could do was to kill them, though, otherwise simply too many of them would gather at some point. That seemed to be the greatest challenge of this and the next few floors.

    "Hm? I think I can hear her..?" Foster muttered to himself. In the distance, he could hear the echo of a harp being yed together with a harmonious humming, that sounded a lot like K. With a grin on his face, he ran further into that direction. And as he thought, it didn''t take long until he was able to spot his group, illuminated by the light glow of the torches ced on the walls by the organization taking care of this dungeon. They were ced throughout most of the rmended routes on these floors, apparently.

    Seeing them, he slowed down, "Yoo, I''m back!" he yelled out loudly, waving his hand. Upon hearing Foster''s voice echo out through cave''s tunnel, the four people in front of him quickly turned around. Seeing that he returned, Lynol and Octer seemed quite relieved. Meanwhile, K and Rae were clearly feeling something on the opposite side of the spectrum.

    "Why the fuck did you just run off?! Are you aplete idiot, you little piece of-" Rae yelled out, walking toward him ready to rip him a new one. However, she was sort of taken aback by the broad grin on Foster''s face. He was sweating a lot and breathing heavily, since he had been running for a while again, but it was clear that whatever he did was worth it to him. Seeing that this was the case, and that Foster was fine, she didn''t really feel like yelling at him anymore. K, on the other hand, did not share that sentiment.

    "Answer her! Why did you just run off like that?!" She asked loudly, and Foster simply looked down at her. He smiled lightly, "That guy, the strategist, he had something from my old home with him. I just... felt like I had to talk to him about it."

    K frowned. She could tell that Foster wasn''t lying, but it seemed like she knew that he was also hiding something that was hidden beyond the bare truth that he had told. Foster was clearly trying to mislead her, even if he didn''t technically lie, "...Fine. But don''t just run off like that again, alright? So, what did you two talk about?"

    "Ah, nothing special. Just... what happened after we left that ce. He invited me toe over to the guild once they''re done with their current dive so that we can talk some more." Foster exined, "And, he also hyped me up a lot. So, let''s get started, alright?"

    "...about that, I''m not sure that will work. The floor is getting overfilled with people. We barely managed to encounter one group of moles." Octer pointed out, "We were nning on heading deeper into the dungeon for now."

    "Hm... alright, then let''s hurry it up." Foster replied, closing his fist tight enough to make his knuckles pop just from that.

    ---

    "What did that guy want?" With a deep frown, Cain looked at Sam, who simply smiled back a little, "I told you, we were just talking a bit, alright? He didn''t want anything."

    "But I saw him give something to you." Cain replied instantly, making Sam stop in his track, "Right, he did. I told him that I can do some artificing, and he asked me to look at some toy his parents gave him or something. It broke some time ago, apparently, and he''s been looking for someone to fix it." He said quickly, "I didn''t feel like prying. It seemed like a sensitive topic."

    "...Right."

    "Why do you care that much anyway? He''s not going to steal me away, y''know?" Sam pointed out with a smirk, and Cain let out a deep groan, "Obviously, I know that. He''s clearly just some weak beginner. But even then, he''s a necromancer. It feels like he''s up to something."

    Sam quickly shook his head, "Seriously, he''s not a threat or anything. He seems like a good guy to me. I invited him to the guild for once we''re back, you can talk to him a bit then as well."

    Cain sighed, "Fine, if you say so. It''s not like you''re ever wrong anyway." He said, slowly turning around. Right then, arger mole monster, simr in size to that one Foster had taken down, dug its way through the cave next to Sam and Cain. Of course, neither of them really cared at all, or even reacted.

    They both simply walked forward. The moment that the mole tried to attack Cain, the one standing closest to it, it simply disappeared, as if blinking out of existence. Sam rolled his eyes, looking at the cave wall that had been painted red for just an instant, as the mole was practically disintegrated through a single instantaneous attack, "You say that, but you seem a bit annoyed, even then." Sam said, pulling out his phone to note the appearance of another monster into his app, as if this was normal.

    "What do you expect? We have to drag all those weaklings with us. We could get to floor fifty and back in a week with just us three."

    "Right, but we have to take the time to train them all up, don''t we? We can''t have the high-rankers of our guild stay that weak forever. They''ve got to be able to do some odd jobs, at least." Sam replied with a sigh, "And beyond that, we need some numbers for the puzzle on floor 49. Last time, everyone else died, and we couldn''t do it. Just don''t let them die this time likest time, alright?"

    "Tsk. Not my fault they couldn''t take care of a single mob." Cain clicked his tongue, "And it''s not like you did anything to stop them from dying either. I''m just your right hand man, you''re the Guild Master. If anything, you should have helped out."

    "Well, fair enough.. At least it made for some good data, huh?" Sam chuckled, walking back over toward the group of people waiting for them, all the whilst pushing his phone back into his pocket.

 Chapter 125 - The Fifth-Floors Settlement

    "Behind." The generally emotionless voice of Lynol sounded out, warning Foster that he was moving past behind him. There were quite a few monsters on this floor, even more than on the past few floors. They had thought that the amount of monsters would disappear, but that wasn''t really the case. This whole situation became a lot more bothersome, quite fast. With how fast these floors increased in difficulty, it became quite simple for everyone to understand why even the strongest people in this city weren''t able to get past the 50th floor yet.

    The sound of something dropping onto the dirt- and dust-covered ground dered the end of this fight, as thest of the monsters currently attacking the group had been killed. And, upon dying, they dropped some small gemstones onto the ground, even smaller than the ones they all got in the Fail-Type Dungeon they cleared.

    As the fight was over, they all started to gather any magic stones that they could spot, putting them into the bag that Rachel was carrying for them. She didn''t take part in the fights, so that she could watch the party''s cooperation and general capabilities, so instead she simply acted as an interim porter for now. Although, there wasn''t that much to carry on these lower floors in the first ce. Since they were going to stay in the first settlement, they didn''t need camping gear either, so she really just carried around the few magic stones that were dropping from these monsters.

    "It''s getting prettyte. We should hurry up and make our way to the settlement. After that, let''s have you clear the sub-boss and rest properly." Rae suggested. This was what the group had decided on as they were making their way through the first few floors.

    In this dungeon, every five floors, there was a ''boss'' monster. It worked basically the same way as the fail-type dungeon worked, just that there were more floors once you beat the boss. Generally, there was only one benefit to beating the boss monster now. They would have to beat it again next time they made their way through these floors anyway. However, upon clearing the first boss, you would receive a ''clear proof'' coin for this dungeon. It would change a little bit every time you cleared a new boss within this dungeon, to show your current progress within it. The greatest use this had was that you would receive slightly preferential treatment within the entrance section, at leastpared to those that have cleared less floors than you.

    That meant that the next time the party came here, they wouldn''t have to wait as long to be able to enter the actual dungeon. Since they were making their way to the settlement anyway, which was constructed basically directly in front of the fifth-floor boss room, this was a good opportunity for them.

    "What''s the boss for the fifth floor anyway?" Foster asked, as the group continued through the fifth floor which they entered a short while ago. Of course, K was able to respond to him immediately, "It''s the King Mole! It''s basically just a supersized version of themon monsters that we fought on the first five floors here. Well, normally, at least. If we''re lucky, we''ll be able to face a ''rare'' boss."

    "Rare boss?"

    "Yup~! Basically, for big dungeons like this, there is not always a single possible boss. For the fifth floor boss there''s three different kinds. There''s the King Mole, which appears about 95% of the time, and then there''s the Rat Knight. The Rat Knight is a bit stronger than the King Mole, but in return you get better rewards as well. I mean, it makes sense, right? The rats only started appearing in the fourth and fifth floors together with the moles." K exined diligently. It seemed like she really wanted the group to encounter the more rare Rat Knight.

    Curious about something that K mentioned, Octer asked her, "You said three kinds, right? Then what''s the third?"

    "Well..." K replied, "I''m not sure if it really counts or not? It might not be random. It only appeared a handful of times, I think."

    Rae immediately nodded her head, "She''s right. The Cave Golem is the third possible boss for the fifth floor. It''s strong enough to be considered the boss for the tenth floor, if not higher. Or so I heard. Actually, that strategist friend of yours from the Grandosia guild encountered it once." She said while looking at Foster, who raised his brow surprised, "Huh, alright then..." He replied. That was pretty interesting, though. Was it a coincidence that Sam of all people encountered a boss that appeared only a handful of times?

    Although, if it was something rted to being an otherworlder, then Sam would have probably mentioned something about it... right? Either way, no matter which boss they encountered, it wouldn''t matter either way. They were strong enough to handle anything that came up.

    The rest of the floor wasn''t that tough either. The giant moles and rats weren''t a real threat to them, anyway. There were just a lot of them, although even that mellowed down soon enough. And it didn''t take long to see the reason why the amount of monsters became less. It didn''t take long to hear and smell the reason either.

    The bustling noise of a busy town echoed through the caverns where earlier only the groans of exhausted adventurers could be heard, "Is this it?" Foster asked curiously. As they were walking, the tunnels of this cave became a lot better lit. And toward the end of the straight path they were currently walking, a wall made of stone-brickpletely blocked off thisrge tunnel. At first, Foster nearly mistook that wall for the entrance to the boss room, but then he remembered that it was supposed to be behind the town.

    They approached the gated entrance to the town. It was wide open, but as they passed by, it seemed pretty easy to push shut in case a flood of monsters came out. Once the party stepped through the gate, they finally found themselves in the dungeon''s first and busiest settlement. They carved buildings into the walls of the cave, and the ground was paved like a proper road. There were restaurants and inns in here, and apparently, some people just permanently lived here.

    There was one main road reaching through this settlement, and on the other side, arge iron gate could be seen. Clearly, it was the entrance to the sub-boss room. It looked a lot more impressive than Foster thought, considering that these first five floors were literally just caves.

    "Wait, so... how do they stop the monsters from digging through the walls? They''ve been popping up out of nowhere the whole time..." Octer asked as he looked around. It really didn''t seem like there were any particr defensive strategies beyond the simple walls ced on the entrances to the settlement. "Actually, they-" Rae opened her mouth, ready to exin, but was quickly cut off by K, "They don''t need to! This is too close to the boss room for the monsters to form in the walls themselves, and they usually don''te all this way unprovoked anyway. But in that case, they woulde through the open tunnels, and not through the wall~!" She exined with a broad smile on her face, excited to be able to talk to others so much about this dungeon.

    Rae rolled her eyes and started walking down the paved road, "Either way, we''ve got to hurry and get a room at the Inn. They usually fill up pretty quickly." She pointed out, before stopping and turning around, "Oh, and before you''re surprised, the rooms at this inn are a bit.... different."

 Chapter 126 - Capsules

    "No... fucking... way..." Foster let out, seeing the rooms in front of him. Rae walked past him with a wry smile, "I told you they''re a bit unique, right? There are too many peopleing down here at times for anyone to be able to stay here properly without something like this. Of course, there are somerger ones if you need them, but there''s only a couple dozen of those." She said, climbing up thedder on the wall to reach her ''room''.

    Rather than actual rooms, there were simply spaces for beds carved into the wall that only fit a bed and a smallpartment for one''s belongings. Foster recognized this concept. This was a capsule hotel, like they had in japan. He heard that a ce like this opened up near where he lived, but he never had a reason to stay there, even though he always wanted to try it out. Who would have thought that he could get the chance in another world?

    It seemed like K was sort of excited as well, since she probably already heard about this beforehand, and quickly climbed into her capsule, leaving Foster, Lynol and Octer standing there alone.

    "What... is this supposed to be?" Octer asked with a frown, looking into the capsule that was supposed to act as his ''room'' for the night. It had a small hatch-like door in front of it to make sure that you couldn''t just enter a capsule that wasn''t your own.

    "Ah, it''s actually pretty cool. They had these... you know, where I''m from. I never was in one of these, but they''re pretty cheap, right? And all you really need is a bed anyway." Foster pointed out, jumping up and pulling himself up toward his own capsule, before opening the hatch and crawling inside. He peaked out, looking at Lynol and Octer, "The beds are a bit ufortablepared to the red riverside Inn, but better what I expected from a cave."

    "..." Lynol was a bit confused as well, clearly, but it seemed like he didn''t particrly care where he slept. Thus, he soon climbed into his own capsule as well, until only Octer was standing there, "Urgh... right..." He groaned, "I guess I''ll see you guys in the morning then... goodnight..."

    Seeing that everyone seemed ready to head to bed, Foster closed the hatch to his capsule, and slowly sat up. There was just barely enough space for him to sit up straight. He took off his Gi''s shirt, folded it up, andid it down in the corner, together with his bag and other items that he had carrying with him. He held his open palm toward his shoulder, and watched as Aster climbed out of his hair, jumping onto his hand.

    "Alright, let''s take a look at you, then." Foster muttered slightly, opening up his status window. At the very bottom, he saw the field saying ''Familiars'', and quickly concentrated on Aster''s name, making the spirit''s status appear in front of him instead.

    ---

    <strong>[Name: Aster]</strong>

    <strong>[Race: Immature Nature Spirit (?)][Level �C 3]</strong>

    <strong>[HP: 5/5][MP: 31/48][SP: 1/3]</strong>

    <strong>[Attributes]</strong>

    <strong>[STR: 2][AGI: 3][END: 1]</strong>

    <strong>[INT: 11][WIS: 15][CHA: 3]</strong>

    <strong>[Personal Skill]</strong>

    <strong>-[Nature Spirit''s Magic �C Lvl. 3]</strong>

    ---

    "Alright, you leveled up twice. Your health and stamina didn''t improve, but your mana did? Your intelligence and wisdom were the only attributes to rise as well." He whispered, before focusing on the thing at the bottom of the window, the skill ''nature spirit''s magic''.

    Foster knew that skills increased in level the more they were used, however, the only times that the level rose were when Aster''s own level did. So for spirits, it might work a bit different, especially since Aster practically ''reset'' himself a while ago. Along with his actual level, that skill''s level seemed to rise, "Your level-up rate is really slow though. But then again, those monsters barely gave experience... I didn''t level up even once during all five floors." Foster sighed, a bit annoyed, before concentrating on Aster''s ''personal skill''. When his own martial necromancy rose, he got a new martial skill and a new spell, so he figured that something simr might be the case here. And when he saw the list of spells, it seemed like he was correct. Looking at the list in front of him, it had increased from the three it had at first, over to five, so one new spell per level. Concentrating on them, he made the description to both of them appear as well.

    ---

    <strong>[Pebble][Tier �C 1]</strong>

    <strong>[Description: Create a small pebble in front of you] </strong>

    -

    <strong>[Ssh][Tier �C 1]</strong>

    <strong>[Description: Create a small amount of clear water in front of you] </strong>

    ---

    "...Those... don''t really seem that useful." With a wry smile, Foster read through the spells, scratching the back of his head while Aster seemed to re up at him, even if his eyes were hidden behind that tiny mask he was wearing, "Sorry, I didn''t mean it like that. It''s just, they''re not particrly useful in a fight, you know? That''s going to make it harder for you to level up more. But it is pretty in-theme, I guess. All your spells are sort of the same level of nature-based. Fire, air, and now water and earth. What are you, the avatar?" Foster scoffed slightly, "And the ''blossom'' spell for nts as well... I wonder what your next spell is going to be."

    Aster looked up at Foster, curiously listening to what his contractor was trying to say, "So, let''s just try them out. First, could you use the... pebble spell?" He suggested, and Aster quickly got to work. His mask seemed to slowly change. While it was round and smooth before, it became a lot rougher and had more edges, as if the mask turned into a rock itself. Aster held his hands forward, and a pebble slowly started to form. Inparison to Aster himself, it was a quite sizeable rock, but to Foster, it was barely the size of his fingernail.

    "Hm..." He let out, grabbing the pebble. Trying to see how tough it actually was, he tried to rub it between his fingers, "Alright, so it''s not just dirt, but an actual rock. Can you make it bigger than this?"

    Aster immediately nodded his head while his mask returned back to its normal state. Using his hands, he quickly showed howrge a pebble he could make. It wasn''t that big though, maybe three times the size of the pebble before.

    "Is it because of your mana, or is that just the limit?" Foster asked, and Aster stared back for a few moments, before tilting his head to the side. With a chuckle, Foster rubbed his finger over the spirit''s head, "You don''t know either, then? Well, that''s fine. Could you show me the ''ssh'' spell next? Just enough to cover a little bit of my palm."

    Without hesitation, Aster walked over toward Foster''s hand, as his mask started to change. It was somewhat simr to what it was like when using the ''Spark'' and ''Gust'' spells, with a sort of funnel forming through the mask. Just that now, water came pouring out of it, quickly covering Foster''s hand. A momentter, Aster already pulled back, while some luke-warm water was now sitting on Foster''s palm.

    After quickly smelling it, and not noticing anything, Foster drank the little bit of water. It wasn''t particrly much, and Aster probably couldn''t do much with this in the end, but it was enough to get a little bit of emergency water, "This works, alright. Good job, Aster. Let''s just keep going like this, and you''ll be the strongest spirit around in no time, alright?" He said with a smirk, and Aster quickly nodded his head excitedly.

    But for now, they had to do something else. At least, Foster did. He had tried it a few time since then, but the meditation technique described in that book... it was incredible. Not only did it make him feel surprisingly at peace whenever he used it, but he felt actually quite rested whenever he was done. It reminded Foster of something he heard before; you could rece sleep with meditation. It didn''t seem logical to be able to do it after only a few tries, but then again, in this case mana was involved. If a small creature like Aster was able to make drinkable water appear out of nowhere, then Foster should be able to rece his sleep with meditation more easily, right?

    At least, meditation was something that he could actively initiate, while sleep was something he just sort of... had to let happen. He had never been good at falling asleep, or staying asleep, or sleeping in general, but meditation just felt different to him.

    And so, with a few deep breaths and a steady flow of mana, Foster''s thoughts faded away.

 Chapter 127 - Stories

    Foster slowly opened his eyes, seeing Aster pull on his finger to try and get his attention. With a smile, he looked at the spirit, "Thanks for waking me up." He said, turning his head to wait for the message windows to pop up.

    ---

    <strong>[Due to consistent usage of a high-quality Mana Breathing technique, your mana capacity has permanently increased by 1]</strong>

    <strong>[Due to the consistent melding of mind and spirit, your understanding of your own mana has risen]</strong>

    ---

    "Awesome, it rose again." Foster said with a grin on his face. It had been a few days since he first started actively meditating like this, and nearly every time he did, his mana capacity seemed to rise by a single point. He didn''t know how much his ''understanding of mana'' actually rose, though, it wasn''t something as easy to keep track of. It was easier to manipte his mana by now, though. Either way, overall, his mana rose by five points now. When he did itst night, although he meditated for the same amount of time as he did now, his mana capacity didn''t increase.

    After speaking to Octer about this, he simply exined that his mana wasn''t going to increase the same amount each time he did it. It only rose this often because he just started using this technique. If it rose once for every time he meditated, this time next year he would have a capacity of nearly 400 mana, and that didn''t even include the increase in points he would get from leveling up in that time. While 400 mana wasn''t an unrealistic amount for a mage to reach, it wasn''t something you could get to simply through meditation. But well, Foster didn''t mind. He was using meditation to rece his sleep, so he would probably get some more mana every once in a while, and that was enough for him. Chilling touch didn''t use that much mana in the first ce, and that was the only spell he actively used up until now.

    Foster grabbed the small, portable hourss that he bought, and pushed it into his bag. The biggest downside to the meditation was that, if he wasn''t woken up, he probably would meditate forever and eventually starve. So, he used this five-hour hourss, and asked Aster to wake him up when the time ran out. Aster did spend most of his time asleep, but he did tend to wake up every once in a while, so when he then noticed that the time on the hourss ran out, he could just wake Foster then.

    It would probably take another couple of hours until all the others were going to wake up, so for now, Foster could just look around this settlement for a bit. After getting fully dressed again, he climbed out of the capsule and locked the hatch-like door behind him, and then started to make his way through this inn to get back to the settlement''s streets.

    Despite the fact that it should be night around now, this ce was just as busy as it was when the party got here. And that made sense, since daylight obviously couldn''t affect this ce, so people just did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. But even then, the vibe of this settlement did feel a little different. A lot more rxed, but somehow far louder than before. A lot of people were drinking, it seemed.

    "Urgh... I really want a drink right now..." Foster sighed, although he knew that Lynol would kill him if he decided to drink even though they were going to head out to kill the boss in a few hours, "...I wonder how Jon''s doing... Gammy''s birthday should''ve already happened as well. I hope they''re not worrying about me too much." He let out, but quickly tried to find something to distract himself with. Usually he would just sit down somewhere and try and find random constetions ors, but considering that everything that could be seen above him were rocks, that obviously wasn''t possible right now.

    So instead, he just chose to take a walk to see if there was anything interesting around here. As he did, he happened to walk past a particrly busy ce. It was a bar set up outside by the streets instead of inside, although there really wasn''t a proper ''inside'' and ''outside'' in this ce. A few people were gathered around a table, apparently listening to some random story. Curious to hear what was so interesting about it, Foster leaned against a nearby wall and decided to listen in.

    "...and then, luckily, Kris came to our rescue! We really needed a third, and he did pretty well during the first round. With his help, we got through the next round easily enough! The three of us were actually the top three in the whole thing, heh!" A quite cocky-sounding, and drunk, voice eximed. It seemed eerily familiar, though, "And then, when the tournament was over, right? Guess who was there? The asshole that just dropped out of the tournament''s first round! We announced that we were going to form a party to go dungeon-diving, and he was just trying to leech off us, that cowardly bastard! Literally begged us to join our party!"

    "..." Foster silently turned his head toward the ce where the story was being told. Part of that sounded familiar, again, but the rest of it was something he hadn''t heard of before.

    After the drunk guy stopped yelling, the girl sitting next to him smugly continued for him, "What was his name again? Frank, something? Well, it started with F, anyway... I wonder what that fool is doing now." She said in a cheeky tone. It was a voice that Foster recognized a lot more easily than that of the other guy. He had been a lot more quiet and held-back before, but alcohol did bring out certain hidden parts in people.

    Considering that he had a few hours to pass, Foster figured this was a good was to spend his time. ying around like this was always fun, "Heey~! So, what did you say the guy''s name was? Something with F?"

    "Huh?" The girl replied, not able to see Foster through the crowd, "Yeah, I guess. Fabian, Felix, Finn, whatever."

    "Eeh..? You don''t even remember his name? Must be a real loser, huh~?" Foster said, barely able to hold his grin back. With a loudugh, the drunk guy replied, "Hahaha, that''s right! He was justpletely forgettable! And you wanna know what the worst part is? The guy was wearing martial arts clothes, but he was fighting like aplete moron, as if he never learned how to fight properly! His attributes were probably just super high or somethin''! Total amateur, I tell you!" He eximed, and the people in the crowd all started tough together with him. Once they settled down a bit, Foster asked his next question.

    "Does that mean that you would be able to beat that guy in a fight?"

    "Obviously! No way would I lose to someone like him! He just got lucky!" He yelled out in response.

    "Really now? I quite vividly remember him telling you guys that he could beat the three of you all together in a fight every day of the week!" Foster replied quickly, slowly starting to push his way through the crowd. The drunk guy started squinting, and tried to find the person that was just talking, "What? Something like that never happened?"

    "Oh, really? But I''m pretty sure that''s what just happened." Foster pointed out, finally making his way to stand directly in front of the group of three. He was right, it was really them. The two other people that won the first round of the Red Riverside Tournament. Turns out one of them won the whole thing, huh?

    Foster grinned lightly, as the drunk guy, Argo, flinched and took a step back, "H-Huh? Foster?"

    "Great, seems like my face jogged your memory a bit." He replied, slightly turning his head to lock eyes with Jasmin, the girl next to Argo, before simply winking at her. The other guy with them, clearly a lot more quiet, with a sword sheathed on his hip, was just standing back and watching everything unfold.

    The crowd that had formed around these three as they were telling their stories about fighting in, and winning, that tournament, seemed rather confused. So, to make it a bit more obvious, Foster continued on a bit, "So, now that I managed to remind you of who I am, how about you remind me of when I begged to join your party?"

    "Th-That..." Jasmin stuttered, but before she was able to say anything, Foster saw a spearhead suddenly being pointed at his throat. It was waving back and forth, since that drunk guy was holding it, but it was still a quite sharp weapon, "You wanna fight, huh?" Argo asked, "Come at me!"

    With a smile on his face, Foster shook his head, "I don''t think you really want to fight me, man. Especially not now, you''re drunk as shit."

    "I-I''m not drunk! Now fight me!"

    Rolling his eyes, Foster yed along. He didn''t actually feel like fighting these guys, he just wanted to mess with them a bit. And even though Argo eximed his own will to fight that much, he somehow let Foster casually grab onto the wooden shaft of his spear, "You really think you should y with this right now?" He asked, and Argo started to re at him, "What''s that supposed to mean?"

    "I don''t know, nothing much. Just that you''re probably going to regret doing thister on." Foster pointed out.

    "And why''s that?" Jasmin asked, with a broad smile. She seemed a lot more confident after Argo grabbed his spear, so she probably wanted to y along with this and embarrass Foster a bit more. However, there was one thing she didn''t expect.. And that was for Foster to snap Argo''s spear in half with just one hand, "Because one of you just lost their weapon."

 Chapter 128 - Magic Manipulation

    "Huh?" Argo let out, confused as he noticed the weight of his spear lighten. And a momentter, he saw Foster holding onto the front of his spear after it had been removed from the rest, which Argo was of course still holding onto.

    "I gotta say, though, that was a pretty nice spear. Well, emphasis on ''was''. Although, you might be able to salveage it if you find someone good." Foster pointed out, carefully cing the part of the spear he was holding into Argo''s hand.

    "Youplete maniac! Why did you do that?!" Argo yelled out, finally realizing what happened. It seemed like he finally sobered up a little bit with that. With a shrug, Foster quickly replied, "I mean, you were going around spreading rumors about me. So... that''s what you get, I guess?"

    "I''m going to-" With a furious expression, Argo was clearly getting ready to actually fight Foster, when Jasmin started to mutter, "That... the wood... How did you...?"

    "I guess I''m just a lot stronger than you guys were just saying, huh?" Foster said bluntly. Of course, that was just a tant lie. He had used chilling touch to make the spear''s wood rot so that he could easily make it snap. People reacted weirdly whenever he tantly said he was a necromancer, though, so he figured he should hold back a little in that regard.

    "Just a shitty spear, I guess. What, were you scammed or something?" Foster asked with a grin, having fun messing around like this for the first time in a while. After hearing what had been said about the weapon that he prided himself in so much, Argo ground his teeth and pushed forward the tip of the spear that he was now holding onto separately. It was pointed right at Foster''s stomach, a nasty position to be stabbed. Not that Foster was nning on letting that happen.

    The Argomna style was a slow, heavy one. It relied on blocking instead of dodging or diverting, and it used heavy but slow attacks. But despite that fact, it was one that required an surprising degree of agility, since the different stances, particrly their transitions between one another, were weirdlyplex and hard to pull through if you couldn''t move certain parts of your body quickly enough. That was why it was nothing but an easy task for Foster to twist his own feet and use them to rotate his body to the side in a split second. He wasn''t really wearing any armor, so he didn''t want to risk getting stabbed all of a sudden by trying to block that attack.

    However, the moment that the spear moved past his body, Foster used one of the simple low-kicks that he started practicing recently, kicking Argo''s front leg. Even if this was a sort of town, they were still in a cave. The ground was uneven, and a drunk guy would have a tough time steadily setting his feet on the ground, which was the case for Argo. And so, the kick was enough to make his foot slip backward during that forward mortion of his arms and torso, of course making him fall forward.

    Since Foster didn''t want to look like the bad guy for bullying a drunk guy, he of course grabbed onto the back of Argo''s cor. And even though it slightly choked him, the spearman avoided falling to the ground. Jasmin didn''t let all this go either, though. Foster was the one that challenged them before, after all. She pulled a knife from her hip and swung it at the man in front of her. A bit annoyed, Foster grabbed Argo''s arm and pulled it in front of him, using the back part of the spear, which he was still holding onto, to block the knife. At that point, Argo let go of this part of the spear, at least, and Foster was now holding onto it himself. He let go of Argo''s cor and let him drop down, but slowed his fall with his foot so that he didn''t hurt himself falling down with the sharp spear-tip in his hand.

    At the same time, Jasmin slipped her knife underneath the part of the spear in Foster''s hand, which was really just a short wooden staff now. Grabbing both ends of this staff, Foster quickly pushed down on Jasmin''s arm. He kicked up his knee and pushed the staff into Jasmin''s elbow while continuing to push down on it. Then, he pulled the staff a bit to the side and twisted it to push it under her armpit, letting Foster remove one of his hands from the staff, which he used to press her lower arm further toward her shoulder. The staff was now tightly locked by both her elbow and her armpit. Swinging her other arm, Jasmin tried to punch Foster, but he simply pushed one end of the staff to the side to force her torso to twist around. Like that, it was easy for Foster to avoid the punch. Jasmin was also a little drunk, after all.

    After dodging the punch, Foster pressed more onto Jasmin''s arm, trying to force her to let go of her knife, which was an easy task when he started twisting her wrist a little. Argo wasying on the ground, and Jasmin had been disarmed. It was clear who had won this.

    With a sigh, Foster let go of Jasmin and threw the knife on the table behind them, before turning toward the crowd, "Next time, don''t listen to rumors like that, alright?" He said with a wink, and then made his way through the crowd, which was now silently parting ways. Foster was feeling pretty good after that. Putting people in their ce always felt satisfying to him.

    "Alright, what next?" Foster muttered, stretching slightly. He figured he could train a bit more. He didn''t have anything else to do, and he didn''t feel like justying down in bed again either. Although, it didn''t seem like there was any good ce to train around here. It was way too busy for that.

    "Great..." He sighed slightly. Looking around, there was a bit of an overhang here in thisrger central cave. It wasn''t connected to anything, so at least he could be somewhere where nobody would bother him if he got up there. Foster walked over to a corner and started to climb up the wall where nobody could see him. It didn''t take him long to reach the overhang either. A few people probably noticed him, but they clearly didn''t really care. Everything in these caves was sturdy enough to hold a few people, so they knew that even if someone messed around a bit, they wouldn''t be bothered by it. And Foster was just up here to get a bit away from others. He was going to practice something that he didn''t feel toofortable to do in a tight space like the capsule, and doing it in the middle of a crowd felt wrong as well. This ce up here actually wasn''t all too bad. It seemed like others climbed up here sometimes, since Foster could see some footsteps pressed into the ground.

    Either way, for now, Foster sat down cross legged. He was far too bothered to do this, usually, but there was nothing better that he could do right now. He held forward both of his hands, making his palms face each other. And then, he manipted the mana inside of his body, trying to make it flow out of his hands.

    It took a while, but about a minuteter, a small light suddenly appeared in the air, as if it was a firefly. Slowly, the light moved around in a straight line, leaving a trail in the air. Soon, the light stopped, and then changed the direction that it moved. A little whileter, it changed direction again. It didn''t take long until a triangle was drawn into the air using this light. It was mana, and what Foster was doing right now was a simple form of practicing magic maniption outside of one''s body. In order to draw a magic circle, one needed to be able to easily form it into any shape one wanted, so usually to practice this, people were made to draw different patterns into the air in this way.

    It was sort of cool at first, but it was also incredibly boring and hard to do for Foster, so he didn''t like doing this all too much.

    "But well..." Foster muttered, peaking over the edge of the overhang, seeing Jasmin and Argo rushing around the settlement''s streets to look for him, "It''s better than being forced to deal with this guys more than that...."

 Chapter 129 - Spellcasting Functions

    "Huh? What is it? You want me to go down there?" Foster asked, looking at the small spirit that was tugging on his pant-leg. He peaked over the edge of the overhang that he was sitting on, and could still see Jasmin and Argo running around as if searching for him. It''s been probably half an hour since they started, and they somehow still didn''t give up, "Yeah, sorry, no I won''t do that. They''re bothersome. And yes, I know that I was the one to go talk to them in the first ce, but that doesn''t mean I want to deal with them more than that. I had my fun, I don''t want to be bothered by them." He said bluntly, and Aster continued peaking down the edge, as if he was feeling bad for those two.

    Foster rolled his eyes and leaned back against the rock wall again, continuing to try and draw into the air with his mana. Currently, he was just drawing the triangle on repeat until he was able to make it look perfect. After all, most magic circles were supposedly made of carefully calcted geometrical patterns and shapes. If he couldn''t even draw a full straight line, he didn''t even need to try using that sort of magic. Even if he couldn''t be injured even if he did fail casting necromancy spells, he should still be careful. There might be side-effects that he doesn''t know about.

    "Urgh..." Foster groaned, and pushed his hand into his bag, pulling out a small booklet out of it. After flipping it open, he could see sketches and lists filled with nothing but numbers, "Let''s see here... this one... Sali-V... at the observatory at midnight a week ago... it was here." He muttered to himself, trying to think about the positions of the stars based on the star surveys that he got from the Astronomers at the observatory. They had gotten a lot of things right, but there are some things they can''t do with the knowledge they have now. For example, gauging the distance of stars, something that had only been possible on earth for less than two hundred years as well.

    Foster nced past his book as he started to take notes, and saw Aster staring at him, "...What? Using mana is hard, just let me do what I want..."

    The small spirit just continued staring at Foster without even flinching, as if he was petrified. Foster finally gave in, "Fine, at least let me do it with just one or two of them, alright? I''m nearly done with the positions of stars in some major constetions in this world. I want to show it to the guys at the observatory, hehe." He chuckled slightly, continuing to note things down on one of the pages of his notebook.

    "Now, half a year, plus one week, ago, the same star was... over here, alright." Foster kept whispering to himself, as he finally started to do something with this information. The way to calcte the distance from the to a star was simple, at least it was using the parax form. The same way an object in front of you seems to be in a different position depending on whether you look at it with only your left or only your right eye, a star was also in a simrly different position. Of course, with just your eyes, it was impossible to gauge this difference, so instead, you took the charted star position during different times of the year to calcte the distance.

    The easiest way was to just use two positions with half a year between one another, since that meant the was on the opposite side of the sunpared to before. Since the distance between the center of the and the center of the sun was one astronomical unit, that made the difference in position roughly two astronomical units. That way, the form didn''t have to be adjusted.

    "Now, just to calcte the angle between the two points... then divide one astronomical unit by this angle, and... there we go... roughly 34 million kilometers, and... assuming that the distance between the sun and this is the same as on earth... that would be 549 light years." Foster said with a light grin on his face. For some reason, knowing this sort of thing was really calming to him. Especially considering that he was quite possibly the only person in this whole world that knew how far that star, or any star at that, was away from them right now. It made him feel sort of in control of everything that was going on around him at the moment.

    Foster continued calcting the same things for a few more stars, until he fullypleted everything for the Salicia constetion, "Man... let''s hope Sam can really repair my phone, that way I could do more urate calctions..."

    Dropping right onto his back, Foster looked at the ceiling. He really felt like watching the stars for a bit right now. Slowly, he raised his hand, and is if it knew what he was longing for, mana slowly streamed out of his fingers. Just for some instants, the mana seemed to create glowing dots in the air that practically made the air itself glitter. But to Foster, who was looking at the dark cave''s ceiling, the glittering looked like stars. And then, it dawned on him.

    "On the map... the entrance to the boss room was perfectly east... so meaning, that''s north..." Slowly, he started to manipte the mana that was flowing through the air above him, until he created one single dot, "Let''s say... my arm''s length would be 500 light years... and my right eye is the world..."

    The dot slowly moved through the air, and settled right above one of Foster''s fingers, now taking on the role of Sali-V. Following that star, Foster made more appear, "The Salicia constetion has ten stars... that''s more than I''ve ever made, but it should be fine... they''re not moving, so..."

    It didn''t take too much longer until ten glowing dots were floating above Foster. And there, he could see it. He was seeing the Salicia constetion, one of the clearest and easiest to watch in this world''s night-sky, floating above him. It was the first constetion that he had been able to point out in the sky after reading up on this world''s constetions.

    As he looked at the ten tiny stars above him, his arm still stretched out toward them, he suddenly saw two more glowing points appear. But this time, they weren''t created by himself. They were the eyes of the snake bracelet wrapped around his wrist. And soon, a translucent message window started to float in front of his eyes.

    ---

    <strong>[You have begun stepping onto your own path through the world of magic. The spellcasting functions of the {Snake of Death} have been unlocked]</strong>

    ---

    "Spellcasting functions?" Foster read, and while the stars behind the window faded away together with his focus on them, the snake bracelet started to slither over his hand. It started wrapping itself around his index finger, its tail resting on his palm. When its hand reached the tip of his finger, the snake''s lower jaw started pressing onto his fingernail and the metal seemed to shift, as if it was conforming to the finger''s shape, practically swalling the tip whole in a weird way. It didn''t take long until the snake finally settled again, its head now resting around his fingertip, while its body tightly wrapped and conformed itself around his finger, as if it was a thin bandage instead of something that had acted like a bracelet just a few moments prior.

    "The fuck''s this supposed to be?" He let out with a wry smile, looking at the snake confused, "Is this like a... wand now or something? I can''t fight with it like this."

    Foster turned his head, now looking at the message window that was still suspended in the air next to him. He started stepping onto his own path? What was that supposed to mean?

    "Argh, this shit is so fucking confusing man... just be straightforward for once, what can you do, and what am I supposed to use you for?" Foster asked with a deep frown, really quite annoyed at what was going on right now. But then, he realized something, "Wait... So, like... you have spellcasting functions, does that mean you havebat functions as well? Like, can you turn into a weapon or something?"

    But of course, the snake wrapped around his finger didn''t react to his question in the slightest, even though he tried to feed it mana while he was asking the question.

    "Man... fuck this shit...."

 Chapter 130 - Lord Of The Cave

    "There you are. Where the hell did you go?" Rachel asked, looking at Foster with a frown, while he simply shrugged in response, "Just went out for a walk. That''s fine, isn''t it?" He replied, and Rae let out a sigh, "I guess so, but let one of us know next time. We''re still in the dungeon, despite how this ce looks."

    Foster climbed up the thindder to his capsule to go and grab all of his things. As he dragged his armor out of the small space, he nced at his wrist. Luckily, he could at the very least make the snake turn back into a bracelet, so it wouldn''t actually bother him during his fighs. He was going to try and y around with this a bit more, but he didn''t want to waste his mana right before they were going to head into the boss room. On top of that, they still had the whole trip back to the surface to go through.

    He just really needed to figure out what this new ''mode'' for the snake did, since he really didn''t notice any particr difference. More than that... he just ced dots of mana above him, it wasn''t even a real spell. It would be easier to say that those dots were a fraction of a part of what would then make a spell.

    "Let''s go line up for the boss room." Rae said, "Let''s hope that it won''t take too long for us to get a turn."

    "Huh? We''ve gotta line up?" Foster asked confused, "Can''t we just go in?"

    "No, of course not." K replied instantly, "Only a single group can enter the boss room at a time. It''s actually why the settlement was built right here! When the dungeon was first found and people came flooding into it, they had to wait for days, if not weeks to be able to enter the boss room, so they figured they could just make this ce a little cozier while they were at it." She exined, "But usually, it''s really not that bad. There are a lot of people here, but only a dozen groups tend to try and fight the boss every day, usually. But on busy days... well, it gets busy, alright."

    Surprised to hear all this, Foster tightened the strips that held the armor to his body, "So, how long do you guys think it''s going to take this time?"

    "Well..."

    ---

    "Six hours. It took six fucking hours for us to get in there, seriously?" Foster said with a wry smile, as his party finally approached the boss room''srge metal doors. Due to the Grandosia guilding through here on another clear attempt, a lot of people came down to try and clear the boss room to follow behind them, making everything take far longer than normal.

    "Just be happy that the monsters in this dungeon don''t take as long to regenerate." Rachel said immediately, and Foster quickly became quiet. If they had to wait a day after each group entered the boss room, then there was no way they were going to wait here until they could clear the fifth floor. In other, smaller dungeons, it seemed like that sort of thing happened quite quickly. But a world dungeon like this apparently adjusts to the people within it a lot more than others, so to lure them deeper into the dungeon, the monsters regenerate at a much faster rate.

    The boss monster especially. While it did take a short while for enough mana to gather in the room to form another boss, once that mana was there, the boss monster would form the moment that the doors closed behind the next group.

    Foster was the first in the group to ce his hand on therge metal door, and started trying to push it open. When he did, certain parts of the metal carving on the door started to light up, and the door practically opened on its own. Which Foster was quite happy for, it would be impossible for anyone to push open something like this themselves.

    The party of five stepped inside after mentally preparing themselves, and watched as the metal door mmed shut right behind them. But the moment that the door closed, Foster felt something weird. It took just a single instant, but that was enough for goosebumps to cover his whole body, head to toe. Maybe it was just his nerves acting up before this boss fight, but it was certainly bothersome. He hadn''t felt this way for a while.

    "What''s going on? Shouldn''t the boss be here already?" Lynol asked as he looked around confused, "We waited for long enough, I would rather finish this up quickly."

    K chuckled with a grin on her face, "Don''t worry, the fight has already started. The King Mole appears in the cave walls around us, so we need to be careful. It coulde from anywhere~!" She said, in a slightly too excited tone, as everyone quickly entered theirbat stance. If the boss coulde from anywhere, then they had to be prepared to react no matter from where it attacked them.

    The group stood there for a while, slowly trying to make their way into the center of the room so that they were at least more protected in case the King Mole came from the side walls. If they had taken a few more steps toward the center than they managed, they might have been crushed by the rocks that started falling from the ceiling. Octer made sure to shield everyone from most of the smaller rocks that were going to be tough to avoid, while they all dodged out of the way of therger ones.

    And then, just a moment after the rocks settled on the ground, a huge mass of fur fell down into the boss room from above. Trying to take the initiative to get it before it got the chance to recover from the drop, Lynol shed his sword at it. But the moment his de cut through its hide, he jumped backward while trying to hold the others back too, "Something is wrong. The King Mole is already dead."

    Startled, the party looked at the corpse of the vastly oversized moleying in the center of the room. For just a moment, Foster activated his Dead Sight, and could see nothing but a cloud of ck mist in front of him. And ncing up, it seemed to continue deep into the hole in the ceiling that it fell out of, "He''s right. It''s dead, and it has been from the start... But why isn''t its body disappearing?"

    "That... Boss monsters are unique existences even within dungeons. Their bodies will only disappear once the boss room has actually been cleared. Some boss rooms require you to solve some sort of puzzle even after the boss is dead. But that has never been the case for this part of the dungeon. In deeper floors, sure, but here..?" Rachel exined, while the party started to look around the room. Maybe there was something in here that could exin the situation.

    "Watch out!" Lynol yelled out as the party started to split up to look around, as he still stared into the hole in the ceiling. As all the eyes in the room focused on the hole, something else fell down into it. It seemed like just another rock at first, but soon, its surface cracked open, revealing arge purple ss orb the size of a bowling ball.

    K flinched back when she saw it, "It''s- It''s the Cave Golem instead? Really?" She asked confused. While she was excited about this ideast night, it was clear that she was scared when she was actually faced with it. After all, the Cave Golem was supposed to be far more powerful than they were expecting. But then, something else happened that nobody in the group could even hope to expect. The ss orb cracked, nearly split in half.

    First the King Mole, and then the Cave Golem? They were both dead, so something was definitely wrong. But before any of them could even hope of figuring out what that ''something'' was, they were surprised by another visitor. Just this time, it was certainly alive, and in extremely high spirits at that. Climbing out of the hole from above was a clearly heavily wounded creature. It looked like a huge, bestial rat. It soon dropped down to the ground, standing on its hind legs, its proud body stretching up into four meters of height. It wore a rusty metal chestte and carried a long, cracked spear. Its tail had clearly been violently ripped off, and just recently so, the same with basically its whole left ear.

    As the party tried figuring out what was going on, they watched the rat dig its spear into the dead King Mole''s body, before violently ripping its hide from its corpse. With blood sshing everywhere, the rat pulled the hide over its back. While the hide settled on him, it seemed to change and transform into a proper, albeit a bit rough, cloak hanging from its back. But even then, it didn''t seem like it was done yet. It reached down and grabbed the remains of the broken ss orb, pushing it into its mouth like candy, practically unhinging its jaw to fit it in. With ufortable crunching, the ratpletely devoured the orb, and it didn''t take long until the effects of this could be seen.

    The rat''s body started to transform as its eyes began to let out a soft purple glow. Soon, its body was covered in patches of thick rock as it grew in size even more, now reaching a full five, maybe six meters. Its spear as well became covered in a thickyer of rock, adjusting it to fit its wielder''s new physical size. The rat stepped forward, and started holdings its spear forward, as this party faced a never-before seen boss.

    The Lord of the Cave.

 Chapter 131 - Lord Of The Cave - Part 2

    The party stared at the boss monster that appeared in front of them. Clearly, this was something that had never happened before. Even K was shocked and confused, and she usually knew everything there was to know about dungeons. While everyone else was left in a stunned silence, there was one member of the party that kept a cool mind in everyone''s stead.

    "This changes nothing! Treat it like any other enemy, and we will be fine!" Lynol eximed loudly, his voice echoing through the room, making everyone snap out of it. Octer tightened his grip on his shield, and K''s fingers started running over the strings of her harp as she started to y the song of a miracle that the group really needed right now.

    Foster could feel the song buff his body. It was like warm water was running through his body, forcing its way around his muscles. He felt stronger as this heat filled every part of him.

    ---

    [Strength has been temporarily increased by 10% by the Melody of Strength]

    [Agility has been temporarily increased by 10% by the Harmony of Speed]

    ---

    The first to move was of course the first one that was ready. Lynol pushed himself forward and swung his sword at the giant rat staring down at him with those glowing eyes. And for the first time ever, the party saw someone actively block one of Lynol''s attacks.

    The skeletons in the other dungeon weren''t physically strong enough to block it, and all other monsters they fought were simply like animals. So as long as Lynol swung at them with his regr precision, the monster was usually dealt an immense amount of damage, if they didn''t outright die the moment the de cut through them.

    But now, the giant rat pulled its spear in front of its body, stopping the de right in its track. It swung the spear to the side to push the sword away, before trying to stab at Lynol. The swordsman jumped backward to avoid it, but the rock spear was toorge, forcing him to have to block the attack using the side of his sword. As Lynol was pushed back behind the others with a single attack, Foster started to run forward at the rat.

    It changed its focus toward him, when a loud voice drew its attention, "Look at me, you oversized rodent! I''m your opponent!" Octer yelled out, using his Taunt skill to force the rat to look away from Foster.

    While it was distracted, Foster took the chance to attack the rat. It was sorge that he had a tough time attacking anything but his legs, so he figured he would go for the most vulnerable area he could think of that was in range. Extending his arm forward, Foster struck the side of the rat''s knee. If he was able to damage anything in there, then that would be perfect. Toppling this giant rat was the most important thing right now.

    But even though he attacked the rat''s knee with as much power as he could reasonably show at that point, it was like it wasn''t even bothered. After all, the rat''s skin became as tough as rock. Or rather, it quite literally turned into rock, giving it an immense amount of defensive capabilities. Foster didn''t give up, though. The rat was still distracted by Octer, so he simply continued striking its knee again and again. At some point, it should be damaged, right?

    However, it didn''t take long until the rat started to attack Octer, pushing its spear toward the man that taunted it. He quickly tilted his shield to the side, seeing the iing attack. If he took that straight-on, if he was unlucky, then that attack could pierce through the shield. And even if he was lucky, he would have to use far too much strength to properly hold that attack back. Diverting it like this was the easier choice.

    The rock spear slid over the surface of the shield, soon hitting the ground. In an instant, the rat pulled the spear back, and pushed it forward again. But once more, Octer reacted in time and diverted the attack to the side. This continued on, and the rat''s spear sped up with every single attack. It wouldn''t take long until Octer wouldn''t be able to react in time anymore.

    But of course, they were hoping that this wasn''t even necessary in the first ce. Lynol ran back at the rat as soon as he could and swung his sword at it. While Foster was attacking its legs, Lynol attacked its arms so that it wouldn''t be able to fight back anymore.

    Even though Lynol was attacking with everything he could, he barely did any damage at all. How were they supposed to beat something like this?

    "K! How was the Cave Golem beaten?" Foster yelled out, and K nced at them, interrupting her singing. Luckily, these miracles stayed active even a short while after the song stopped, so replying to questions could easily be taken care of.

    "They blew it up to expose the core, and then destroyed it!" She eximed, quickly returning to singing to keep up the buffs for the party.

    "Tsk!" Foster clicked his tongue. They had a source of fire, since Aster was able to simply create it, but they didn''t have anything that could then actually blow up, ''What else can we do with fire, then?'' He thought, trying to figure this situation out, when suddenly Foster had an idea.

    He jumped back, and pulled something out of his shirt. It was a ne with a small vial wrapped in cloth hanging off of it. Inside the vial was a small blue flower that gave off a constant cool air. Foster had started wrapping it in cloth, since the ss started freezing to his skin when he was sweating too much. And rather quickly at that.

    "Aster, I need you to make this some more of these nts grow, alright? Just do it right when I tell you." Foster told the small spirit that was holding onto his hair, before he rushed right back at the giant rat while pulling the flower out of the vial. Luckily, the rat was still distracted by Octer''s taunt and Lynol''s continuous attacks, letting Foster push the flower right into a small gap inbetween the rocks covering the rat''s knee, before telling Aster to make it grow.

    And while it wasn''t all that much considering the rat''s body, it was enough. The roots and flowers of the flower grew all throughout the rat''s knee, already cooling the rocks down a lot, "And now, push as much water into it as you can!" Foster told the spirit, holding him as he started pushing water out through his mask. It flowed into the gasp inbetween the rocks, and it didn''t take long until a loud crunching sound could be heard as the water froze in the gaps between the rock. The rat wasn''t able to move its knee anymore, reducing its range of motion quite a bit.

    But of course, it wouldn''t just simply let something like that happen without retaliating, and soon focused on Foster instead. It swung its spear at him, and as quickly as he could, Foster raised his hands in front of his body and hid his face behind them, entering a defensive stance of the Argomna style while using his ''block'' martial skill.

    But even then, with that single attack, Foster was thrown through the room, "Urgh, why the fuck is it always me, huh?!" He let out annoyed. At least his armor wasn''t dented this time, it just had a few scratches.

    While the rat was still focused on him, but unable to move well because of its frozen knee, Lynol took the chance to fight against it in a more straightforward way. Standing in front of it, he swung his sword upward diagonally. The rat was forced to defend against him again, but this time, Lynol slipped the sword away to move it above the spear, now pushing down onto it instead.

    The rat didn''t want to y along, though, and started to attack in retaliation instead. But Lynol was skilled enough to divert the attack in a simr way that Octer had done, letting him attack quickly instead. The two entered a bout of both skill and strength, and currently, they seemed surprisingly well-matched due to Lynol''s surreal amount of skill with his de.

    This being the case, the rat had to repair the damage done to its knee, and the rocks covering it started to shift slightly, widening the gaps around the knee. At that moment, Foster took the chance and ran at the rat, while Octer once more let out loud screams to try and taunt the rat.

    While it looked over at the shield bearer, Foster reached the rat and pressed his palm onto its knee, trying to force necromantic energies through them with ''chilling touch''. As if the nts carried the energy through themselves, it flowed onto the rat''s flesh and started making it fall apart. The giant rat let out a scream of pain, falling to its knee.

    Lynol and Foster nced at each other for a moment, quickly understanding each other. Foster jumped up, punching the rat''s torso, this time using both Chilling Touch and Single Strike, forcing the necromantic magic to spread through the exposed patch of skin right above its chestte. It had been out of range this whole time, but now that it fell to its knees, that was no longer the case.

    The rat''s flesh started to rot, and Lynol shed down at the patch of weakened skin.. Blood spurted out of the gashing wound, as the rat continued to yell out in pain.

 Chapter 132 - Lord Of The Cave - Part 3

    Blood spurted out of the gashing wound above the giant rat''s chest, right below its throat. The red liquid covered the rusty metal chestte that it was wearing, dyeing it a deep crimson color that didn''t seem to want to go away, as if the metal was a sponge pulling the blood into itself. The rat wasn''t dead yet, but it had finally been damaged to arge degree.

    To try and stop the bleeding, the rat pressed its palm onto its wound. Some of theyers of rock covering its arms moved over toward the wound, pressing it shut like apress. Of course, that meant that the rat wouldn''t immediately die because of the wound, but it also meant that its arm was now easier to attack. Lynol had already been shing at it continuosly, chipping away at the rock armor that was covering it. But now, he should be able to do some fair amount of damage. But before that could happen, the giant rat started to run away, trying to build distance despite its injured knee.

    It pressed its spear into the ground once it was standing on the other side of the room, its back pressed against the wall. Careful about what might happen now, the party stayed behind. While moving back, Foster got the chance to look at Rachel. She was standing at the back, perplexed at what was going on. She said she was able to handle herself, but it was clear that she wasn''t a fighter. She was good enough to stay out of trouble and navigate around the group as they were fighting, and she had enough knowledge and rudimentary skill to be able to tell how strong everyone here in the group was, and what sort of people they needed toplement theirbat styles. But that was the limit to her abilities. She was practically defenseless in this particr situation. That was fine, she was a handler and not a fighter, after all, but it still made this fight a bit more troublesome. They had to make sure to defend her as well, after all.

    And considering the next attacks they were faced with, that became even tougher to do. The giant rat pushed its spear into the ground, before pressings its ws into the wall behind it. With a single pull, it dragged a small boulder out of the wall, and proceeded to throw it at the party at high speed, as if it weighed nothing at all.

    "K, use a defense buff on Octer instead!" Lynol eximed, "And then hide behind him, you as well, Rachel!"

    The swordsman turned his head while the music started to change. For a moment, Octer''s body seemed to light up, but not only that. At the same time, he activated his Bone Armor, covering his body in an extrayer of protection. K couldn''t move much while she was ying her songs, so she was an easy target if there wasn''t anyone to protect her like this.

    Meanwhile, as those three stood in the back, trying to protect themselves from the boulders that continued being thrown at them like nothing, Lynol and Foster moved around in an attempt to avoid the rocks while distracting the rat and hopefully closing some of the distance between them. In order to be able to dodge properly, Foster actually used the silent step martial skill to get around more quickly. Of course, it was quite dangerous, since his defense dropped as he used the skill to increase his speed. But considering the size of those rocks flying all over the room, Foster doubted that he would be able to survive a direct impact with those anyway.

    Just as he pushed off the ground to sprint forward, a smaller rock shot past Foster''s face at a speed he was barely able to even notice. But certainly, once it passed by, shivers ran down his spine as he realized what just happened. Not only did the rat use boulders to try and break through Octer''s defense, but he was using smaller rocks to hit Foster or Lynol as they tried to approach.

    The first one to reach the rat again was Lynol, as he used his greatsword to block or deflect the smaller rocks instead of having to dodge out of the way like Foster. He shed his sword at the giant rat''s arm, but it pulled one of the boulders in front of its body, using it like a shield to stop the de. Even Lynol couldn''t cut through something like that.

    But while the rat was distracted, it gave Foster enough time to approach close enough as well. The rat was still hunched over due to the injury to its knee, and part of the wall behind it had copsed, creating the perfect stepping-stones for him. Jumping off of the rocks, Foster deactivated the silent step skill, and instead activated another. He hadn''t actually used it inbat yet, because it simply wasn''t worth it to do so. Simply using single strike,bined with chilling touch if necessary, was enough until now. The stamina use of this martial skill was a lot higher than for most others he had. It was the ''Bone Breaker'' martial skill that he received after clearing the ''Little Undead Laboratory''.

    It prated through the target''s flesh and directly impacted the bone. He did test it out on a few bones he bought at a butcher, and it seemed like just using the skill on bones was enough to make them crack sometimes. And if hebined it with a strike, the bone would shatter like ss. So now, Foster wondered what would happen if he used it together with his single strike.

    The principle behind the two were the same. Pushing out internal energy in a burst upon contact with the target, just that each had a different mental image connected to them. For a ''Single Strike'', Foster imagined his hand bing something that simply did more damage, like a sledgehammer, while for ''Bone Breaker'', his mind was filled with the idea of bones shattering. For obvious reasons, these two things worked together quite perfectly in his mind. However, Foster didn''t aim for his arm or neck. No, those areas were all covered in rock. Instead, what he aimed for was what basically just a hole in the side of the rat''s head. The ce where its ear was before it was apparently quite violently ripped off, most likely either during the fight with the King Mole or the Cave Golem.

    The inner ear was incredibly important to a person''s sense of bnce, something that was obviously vital in a fight to the death. Foster didn''t know too much about anatomy, but he did know a little about things like this. One of his former coworkers specialized in information gathering through torture. Foster was pretty disgusted by him, but he picked up a few useful things like this here and there.

    Foster''s strike hit the rat''s ear perfectly, and its head was forcefully swung to the side as the effect of the attack traveled through the rat''s body. While there was only a small bone inside of the ear that was part of the vestibr system, those sorts of frail bones tended to shatter more easily, and with the extra impact from the ''Single Strike'' skill, Foster was sure that it was enough to simply tear apart the rat''s inner ear. While he didn''t know how simr a rat''s anatomy was to that of a human, this was just something he had to try. If it seeded, it would make the fight much, much easier.

    The rat''s eyes rolled into the back of its head, only showing the whites. It dropped the rock that it was holding onto and fell to its knees once more. Now, Lynol had a straight view of the part of the rat''s arm that became exposed so that some rocks could close the wound on its chest. With his whole body, the swordsman swung his de at it, cutting through the flesh and bone with ease, as the rat''s dominant arm fell to the ground.

    It let out a loud squeak, which really just sounded like an agonizing scream of pain. It struggled and tried to stand up, but its destroyed inner ear didn''t allow it to, making the rat quickly fall forward onto the ground. It tried to catch its fall, but since it only had one arm left, it dropped onto its side.

    Foster and Lynol stood over its body, and Foster was the first to attack it. Once more using the Bone Breaker skill, he shattered rat''s face wherever it wasn''t covered in rock. And then, with incredible ease, Lynol stabbed his sword through its skull, and a message window appeared in front of the five people in the room.

    ---

    <strong>[You are the first to clear the Unique Sub-Boss {The Lord of the Cave}. Special rewards will be awarded]</strong>

    <strong>[787 Experience Points Rewarded]</strong>

    <strong>[You have leveled up!]</strong>

    <strong>[Your Familiar {Aster} has leveled up!]</strong>

    <strong>[Your {Martial Necromancer} Skill has leveled up!]</strong>

    ---

    The body of the giant rat started to disappear the moment the messages popped up. By the time they disappeared, the boss'' body, together with that of the Mole King, were gone, and the room had repaired itself. There were a few things left behind, however.

    The cloak belonging to the Lord of the Cave made from the Mole King''s hide stillid there, and peaking out from underneath it was a small purple marble. And on top of the cloakid a crystal a bitrger than a finger.

    "Huh... is it normal for something like this to be left behind?" Foster wondered as he looked down at the cloak.

    "Normal....? Did you just ask whether this is normal?" Rae muttered, "Nothing is normal about this situation!"

 Chapter 133 - The Plan

    "Nothing is normal about this situation!" Rae yelled out, staring at the party in front of her with a perplexed expression. Of course, they were all exhausted and injured through the battle just now, but beyond that, they acted just like they did when taking out a wave of moles while they were making their way to the fifth floor the day before. This fact not only confused, but also irritated Rachel.

    "Then how do you expect us to react?" Lynol asked in a blunt tone, locking eyes with the group''s handler, "Isn''t this what you wanted? A party filled with people strong enough to not care for something like this?"

    Rae red back at the swordsman in front of her, and soon let out a loud sigh, "Fine. But I guess it''s more important to just head back into the settlement now so that everyone can heal up before we head back outside." She said, turning around to head back to the boss room''s entrance. But before she could, Foster eximed, "Before that, don''t you think there''s something else we need to do?" He asked, and Rae looked at him, unsure what he meant.

    "We just beat a never-seen-before boss. That''s a big deal, right? Personally, I don''t want to deal with people like King after us." Foster pointed out, while the cleric, currently busy healing the more imminent injuries to Octer''s body, suddenly snapped her head around, "What''s that supposed to mean?"

    Foster nced at her with a light smirk, "You know exactly what it means. You''re a weirdo. But that''s fine, all of us are. You about dungeons, me about space, Lynol about swordsmanship, and... actually, Octer is the only normal person in our party. He''s our rock." He added with a wink directed at the shield bearer, who was trying to hide his slightly embarrassed expression.

    "What are you suggesting?" Lynol asked, "Things like this are a big deal. That monster was far too strong for this floor, so we need to share its existence with others."

    "Obviously, yeah. Just that this information won''t being from ''us''. The stuff that the boss dropped for us can be hidden easily enough, so officially, we just encountered a King Mole, like the majority of others around. If you want, we can even say we encountered the Rat Knight, if you want us to stick out a little more as a party without being bothered by people." Foster exined, "And then once we''re back on the surface, I meet with some people I wanted to interact with anyway, and I trade some information with them. Anonymously, obviously. And then, that information is going to slowly spread throughout the city."

    Everyone thought about Foster''s suggestion for a while, but the one that was first toin about it was Rachel, "Why would we have to go through all this trouble? And if you do it that way, nobody is going to believe it anyway."

    With a grin, Foster shook his head, "Of course, maybe at the start. But once the information spreads, people are going to want to figure out where it came from. It''s going to be impossible to hide from it forever, so sooner orter people will probably figure out it was us, although the kind of people that would be the first to find us should be keen on keeping a good secret for themselves. And when that timees, I''ll havee up with something else to deal with it. Don''t worry, I''ve dealt with this sort of thing for nearly two decades now. I know how it works." Following his exnation, Foster quickly picked up all of the things dropped by the Lord of the Cave, so that they could have a better lookter, and then started to head over toward the door.

    But after a few moments, he realized just how silent everyone was. He looked at them with a wry smile, "Did I say something wrong?"

    "No, nothing... ''wrong'', I guess, just... how old did you say you are again?" Octer asked a bit confused, and Foster slightly tilted his head to the side, "I''m 23, why?"

    "Erm... nothing, it''s fine." Octer replied quickly, as everyone got up and walked to the door, with Foster in the front. Still confused, Rachel walked over toward Lynol, quickly whispering to him, "Do you know what he''s talking about? What kind of things did he do when he was a kid?"

    "...I have a rough idea of the life he used to lead, but even I don''t know what he did as a child." Lynol told her, "And I have no interest in prying into it either."

    ---

    A gust of cold air hit the party''s face as they stepped out of the building. They were finally back on the surface. Even though they had only spent two days in the dungeon, it felt like forever, considering what happened down there.

    "It''s getting prettyte now, how about everyone just goes back to rest for now, and then we can have everything appraised tomorrow?" Rachel suggested, slightly patting the pouch hanging by her hip that was filled with all the small magic stones that were dropped by the monsters of the first five floors.

    "Appraised? I thought the magic stones are evaluated by weight." Foster pointed out, as Rachel quickly exined before K could intervene, "The magic stones, yes, but the cloak and that purple crystal are magic items. We need to have them appraised to figure out their effect."

    "Huh... I thought that the purple thing was just a special kind of magic stone or something."

    "It looks like some sort of crafting material. So it might be possible to enhance something with it." Lynol suggested, "But more important than that, who do we go to? Doesn''t an appraisal show the source of the item as well?"

    Rachel thought about it for a moment, and then looked at Foster, "What do you think? The appraiser might figure out what happened, like Lynol said. Do you think it''s worth it?"

    "Nope. Listen, just leave it to me for now, I''ll figure it out somehow." Foster said with a confident grin on his face. The others didn''t seem all too excited about the idea, knowing the kind of contacts that he would most likely bring these things to. Realizing this, Foster grinned at his friends, "Don''t worry, you can trust me with this. I think I already know who to bring these things to."

    "That''s right, let us just try and trust Foster for now. If he messes up, we can still have him work to make up for it." Lynol pointed out, slowly convincing the group to leave everything to Foster, who stared at his party a bit annoyed, "Right, right... speaking of work, though. Did you get enough info on what we can do now?" He asked, looking at the group''s handler.

    Rae raised her brows surprised, and quickly nodded her head, "Yes, I did. Obviously, you''re even stronger than I thought you were. I mean, you took care of that thing while I was just standing there, still trying to figure out what was going on. I have a rough idea of what sort of people couldplement your party well, so I will reach out so some people if you''re fine with it."

    "That would be great, thank you for your hard work." Octer said, smiling lightly, "Should we split up for now, then? Ah, you will sell the magic stones for us, right?"

    "Of course, that''s my job." Rae said smugly, "Let''s meet in a few days, and I''ll have the money from this dive for you guys. Shoulde down to quite a sum, especially with that rather big stone from the boss." She exined, and with that, the group split up, all making their way to their respective amodations.

    Soon, the three fighters found themselves back in the Red Riverside Inn, where they went off to their own rooms without exchanging many more words. They were all rather exhausted from their first dive into the world dungeon, so it made sense. But despite his exhaustion, one of the three stayed up. He took off his clothes, and changed into another outfit that he had recently bought. In order to hide it for now while making his way to his destination, he simply put on the cloak that the lord of the cave dropped. Apletely ck suit like that was easily recognizable, after all.

    Foster walked back through the Inn, and quickly made his way to themercial district, where he soon found himself in the bottomyer. Once there, he took off the fur cloak and ced it into his bag, instead taking out the white bone mask inside of it.. He pressed it onto his face, and tied his hair into a bun, "I guess it''s time for Odin toe out again."

 Chapter 134 - Trust And Respect

    Foster walked through the alleyways. Of course, with his outfit, he quickly became an object of attention to whoever he passed by.

    "Oi, you there. In the wrong part of town, ain''t we?" A random thug pointed out with a grin, trying to look tough in front of the others around him. Foster looked at him, evaluating him with a few nces. He did have a pretty strong build, but that didn''t mean that he was actually all that strongpared to Foster. He himself had be much stronger in the past few weeks, after all, "I''m right where I want to be." He replied bluntly. The thug red at him, walking forward with his chest pressed out. He seemed around the same height as Foster, even if he was taller right now because he was trying to appear as such to seem tougher.

    Foster let out an annoyed sigh, and simply walked past him. He didn''t want to deal with any thugs right now. But of course, being in front of others, the thug didn''t just let Foster go. With an already bothersome expression on his face, he grabbed Foster''s shoulder, trying to force him to stop. A bit annoyed, he slid his right foot forward, making his body follow behind, while kicking his left leg backward, using his torso to bnce it out. The kick wasn''t just a normal kind either, though. The moment that his foot impacted with the pit of the thug''s stomach, something like a small, familiar explosion of force traveled outward. Like something was trying to make the impact stronger than it actually was. It came through Foster''s new Martial Skill that he learned once his skill leveled up.

    ---

    <strong>[Heavy Kick][Tier �C 1]</strong>

    <strong>[Description: Hit your target with a single strengthened kick]</strong>

    ---

    It was practically just ''single strike'', just that he could use it with kicks. Foster had been trying to replicate this with just single strike for a while, since the word ''strike'' didn''t necessarily just refer to one''s hands, but it seemed like skills and spells were still a bit stricter than he had hoped. It wasn''t like he could use his ''Chilling Touch'' spell anywhere but through his hands either.

    Either way, it seemed like the kick was rather effective, especially since that guy didn''t expect it. He was touching his stomach in pain after falling to his knees. Given the chance, maybe Foster should try and test something else as well. He turned around, and pressed his hand right onto the thug''s face. There were two spells that he didn''t have the chance to try out yet, and one that might actuallye in useful this time around.

    A chilling energy flowed thorugh his arm. One that made Foster himself feel rather nauseous just thinking about. It was forced into the thug''s body through Foster''s gloved hand, and it didn''t take long for it to take effect either. The thug, unsure what just happened to him, tried to stand up and fight back against this random man in front of him, but the moment that he tried, his legs gave in, and he fell back to the ground. The thug''s breathing became heavier together with his whole body.

    "Wh-What did you do to me..?" He yelled out, followed by a cough attack, and Foster simply smirked as he started to walk away, "It''s just a flu, don''t worry about it."

    ---

    <strong>[Diseased Touch][Tier �C 2]</strong>

    <strong>[Description: Through your hand, you let transformed Necromantic energies flow into your target, infecting them with disease imitating a strong flu. In rare cases, this disease can infect others around the target through their mana]</strong>

    ---

    Foster walked away, quite happy to have figured out that this spell did indeed work rather quickly. While it took a lot of mana to use, being a Tier 2 spell, it was definitely worth it. Chilling touch was useful, but for the most part it was a bit too gruesome to use if he wasn''t nning on killing the being in front of him. It quite literally made part of one''s flesh rot away, and even in light cases, it would cause disgusting rashes on one''s skin, apparently. But this? It simply immediately weakened whatever he used the spell on. And as far as Foster understood, spells like this onlysted as long as the caster''s mana lingered around. He figured that with the amount of mana he used for it, the spell wouldst a few hours at most, so it wasn''t really lethal either.

    "I really hit the jackpot with this ss, huh~? Necromancy feels a bit sinister, but it''s not as bad as I thought." Foster said with a grin underneath his skull mask. It didn''t take long for him to reach the warehouse. The people sitting in front of it looked Foster up and down, until they recognized the mask he was wearing. Immediately, they jumped up and out of the way, scared of what this man was here for.

    "Calm down, I''m not going to do anything this time. Except if you give me a reason to." Foster said with a sigh, "Where''s Himkijl?"

    "...He''s in the office..." One of them replied quickly, before Foster passed by them without another word. Of course, as was to be expected with what Foster did thest time he was here, anyone that noticed him stopped whatever they were doing, just staring at this person walking through the warehouse like he owned it.

    With a casual stride, Foster climbed up the stairs, before pushing open the door to Himkijl''s office, "Honey, I''m home~!"

    The moment the door mmed open, the people inside jumped up, "You!" The Elf of the group yelled out. But she wasn''t the only one that was upset with seeing Foster. The Orc, Human, and Lizardman weren''t that happy about his sudden appearance either.

    The Orc''s arm was wrapped up in bandages, but nothing more than that. The broken bone was probably healed through magic, since the Elf seemed to be a mage of some sort. The ones that entered theirbat stances first were the Human and Lizardman, though, both of which seemed ready to rip Foster''s head off the instant they got the chance.

    "Stand down, he''s not here to fight, you know this." The Hogmir, which the four of them had been trying to hide behind their bodies, told them. Listening to their boss'' words, they reluctantly stepped to the side, and Himkijl stood up, "Odin, what can I do for you?"

    Foster looked around the room for a moment, and quickly closed the door behind him, "I need some favors from you guys."

    "Favors? Who do you think you-" The Orc yelled out angrily, but Foster''s re that peaked out through his mask quickly interrupted him, "Shut up, if you don''t want me to break your other arm as well. You all understand that I''m not the bad guy here, right? You robbed an old man''s store andpletely trashed it, but the only thing I did was break a few bones. And then I even offered to help you clean up this organization. And this is the thanks I get? Great job taking care of your underlings, Himkijl."

    The boarman walked past everyone, and soon stood right in front of Foster, "I know that we were in the wrong, but you''re no saint either, Odin. So please refrain from talking about my people like that."

    With a grin, Foster ced his arm on Himkijl''s shoulder, "That''s what I like to hear. Listen, I told you before, I''m here to help out, alright? The lot of us are scum, but we''re not inhuman. Defending your family is the least you can do. And of course, if we all want to work together, a bit of trust and respect is needed, right? Not just between you all, but me too." He pointed out, and slowly ced his hand onto his mask, before pulling it off his face. Surprised, Himkijl took a step back.

    "My full name is Foster Odin Locke, I''m a novice adventurer in this town. But just because I''m a novice doesn''t mean I''m weak, obviously. I''m used to fighting, but only recently did I get my ss. I''m both a Martial Artist, and a Necromancer, believe it or not. What I used to break that guy''s... Kir, was it? Anyway, I broke his arm using the martial skill ''Bone Breaker'' that I got as a reward for clearing the Fail-Type Dungeon, ''Little Undead Laboratory''." He exined, telling his true information to them.

    It was a risk, obviously, but a risk that he had to take at this point. Foster found Himkijl to be the sort of person he could work with together quite well, and he seemed as trustworthy as a gangster could be. And since those four were still here, he figured that they were people that Himkijl could trust. Foster told him to get ride of those he couldn''tst time he was here, after all.

    "Why are you telling us all this?" The boarman asked, before Foster stepped past him, as well as the others in the room. He dropped down onto the armchair that Himkijl sat on just a few moments ago, crossing his legs with a light smile, "As I said, trust and respect are needed in our business to be able to work together well. So this is the least I can do, if I want us to work together from now on. After all, I''m serious about this, believe it or not. You did stuff I don''t like, but let''s be honest, I did stuff in the past that disgust the ''me'' from today as well, so I''m in no position to hold a grudge.." Foster exined, "So now, let''s get to business."

 Chapter 135 - Shaman

    The five people in front of Foster stared at him, not sure what they were supposed to do or say. The first one to do something was the most surprising person of this group. While letting out a loud, seemingly quite annoyed groan, the Orc sat back down where he had been sitting just earlier, "We listen." He said, and the Elf stared at him as if he had gone insane, "What? This guy broke your arm, and you just want to entertain him?"

    "Holding grudge, ugly." Kir replied, "Showed trust. Kir return trust."

    Clicking his tongue, the human swordsman was the second to sit down, soon followed by the Lizardman. The Elf looked at Himkijl, "What about you? Will you just listen to him as well? How do we even know that he''s telling the truth?"

    "Ah, if that''s what you''re worried about..." Foster said, pushing his hand into his pocket to pull out his wallet. Most of the things he had in there when he first arrived in this world were useless now, so he just kept them separately at the inn. Now, the only things inside of it were his Guild Card and the two clear-proof coins, the first he got from the Little Undead Laboratory, and the second from beating the sub-boss of the World Dungeon.

    Foster stretched his hand out toward the human, who currently sat closest to him. A bit surprised, the human took the card from him and looked it over, "He seems to be telling the truth. At the very least, it looks like a legitimate guild card." He exined, showing the card to the Elf as well. She practically tore it out of his hands and looked it over, before staring at Foster, "And how do we know this is actually yours?"

    Letting out a loud groan, Foster stood up to get the card back, "Listen, I can tell that nothing I could tell you is going to convince you, so at least listen to your boss'' guts, alright? He seems to be on board. So if he trusts me, and you trust him, then you trust me." He said, quickly grabbing the card before sitting back down, "Can we just get to it and start talking about why I''m here now?"

    Himkijl slowly nodded his head, pulling another chair toward him with his foot. His arms didn''t really work anymore, after all. He sat down on the chair, and leaned back, "What is it you want?"

    "You''re a mage, right?"

    "Yes, but I''m not really in the business anymore, for obvious reasons." The boarman pointed out, ncing down at his arms, and Foster immediately nodded, "I know, I know. I''m not asking you to use earth magic for me or anything. But considering that you''re a mage, it made me curious as to why you would have your men rob a craftsman. And not just his money, but his items. And very specific ones as well."

    The two men locked eyes with each other, and Himkijl soon replied, "What are you getting at?"

    "All the items you got from Zhaine''s ce were old. Rusted, and not well taken care of. To be honest, I don''t know much about dwarves, but they''re supposed to be the best craftsmen around, right? So maybe, there was something special about his items before Zhaine... got ill." Foster suggested, before the Elf scoffed while shaking her head, "Ill? That man is nothing but a drunkard, he-"

    "Addiction is a disease, to the point where it has hereditary aspects to it. If you want to be part of this conversation, shut the fuck up about things you don''t understand." With a deep re, Foster stared at the Elf, who was quickly taken aback. Foster was good at changing the air in a room in an instant with just the tone of his voice, a skill that came in more than handy in situations like this. He looked away from the Elf and back at Himkijl, "Point is, when you gave me the weapons back, they were clearly split up. I got the chance to look around in Zhaine''s shop before you robbed him, and while it looks chaotic, there is a certain order to things. So usually, the items should be sorted ording to that order. But they weren''t, they were mixed and matched seemingly randomly."

    "So? Some of my men must have yed around with-"

    "You can use the appraisal spell, can''t you?" Foster sighed, getting right to the point. He didn''t want to y around anymore. The hogmir''s eyes widened for just a moment, although he was trying to react as little to Foster as possible. With a grin, the young man leaned back, "So it''s true, huh? Perfect. Listen, I don''t know why you''re hiding the fact you can use the appraisal spell, and I don''t really care about it either. It''s your own business. But... I do need you to use that spell on two items for me."

    "..." Himkijl silently stared at the man sitting across from him, "Everyone but Kir, could you please leave?" He asked, and due to the silence in the room, it seemed like everyone understood that this was a situation that they shouldn''t meddle in.

    They got up, and walked to the door. Of course, they didn''t leave without the Elf getting the chance to re at Foster one more time befoer closing the door behind them. Himkijl turned his head toward Kir, the Orc sitting right beside him, "Nobody here can use appraisal, first of all. If that was the case, then we wouldn''t have any issues. Getting an item appraised properly can be really, really expensive. We have a method of doing something simr, but... well, just show it to him, Kir." He said, and Foster turned his gaze over to the Orc.

    Kir had closed his eyes, and was whispering in anguage that Foster didn''t understand. He knew that Kir probably wasn''t from here, he had a very strong ent and spoke in rather broken Argian. He probably didn''t live here for all too long yet. Soon, the tattoos that were covering his body started to give off a feint glow, as a sort of ethereal white, luminescent mist started to pour out of them until it practically covered Kir in a thin veil. Soon, he opened his eyes, which were giving off the same glow as his tattoos.

    "I am... shaman. Not fighter." He exined, and Foster raised his brows surprised, "A shaman? Oh, so he''s the one that does the appraising? Basicallymunicating with otherworldly beings to help him figure out what something is? But wait, wouldn''t that be a sort of magic, then? I know I''m not one to talk, but if you''re using it with your whole body like that, shouldn''t that cause to... you know... magic feedback stuff?" He asked, ncing at Himkijl''s arms. However, rather than exin the situation to him further, both the hogmir and orc stared at him as if he was insane.

    "That is all?" Himkijl asked, and Foster looked back a bit perplexed, "Should I have said something else? I know a little about the core ideas of shamanism, but nothing too specific... sorry if I said something wrong."

    Himkijl and Kir looked at each other for a few moments as if they were more than just confused, while Foster was sitting there, unsure what to say, "Erm... I obviously don''t know what''s going on, so could you... I don''t know... talk?"

    "Right..." Himkijl said, collecting his thoughts again, "As you said, Kirmunicates with ''otherworldly'' things to roughly appraise objects. Of course, they are usually not actual beings, but normally he converses with mana itself. Most shamans can''t, but Kir is gifted in a rare assortment of ways, and learned unique methods."

    "Mhm, mhm. Cool. But, like... why can''t you just use that to do business openly? It seems like an incredibly useful thing. You could make some good money." Foster pointed out quickly, and now, it seemed like something finally clicked for Himkijl, "You''re not from the Empire, are you?"

    "I''m not. Why?"

    "...Shamanism has been ouwed in the empire. People with sses of the Shaman system are immediately arrested and are to be executed immediately." The Hogmir said, and Foster looked back at the two in front of him, when he started to realize what was going on. He had heard a bit about the emperor while at the observatory, so figuring out the reasons wasn''t too hard, "So basically... the emperor is a religious fanatic and thinks that shamanism is sacrilegious to his beliefs. But even in Arcadum, a city where even the use of necromancy is legal, you have to hide being a shaman, huh? I don''t really get the reasoning, but it''s not like it''s hard to believe, honestly." Foster guessed, and Himkijl was even more perplexed than before.

    "That is exactly it... were you just ying, pretending not to know?"

    "No, no, I was just able to guess. It''s not like it''s a rare pattern." He pointed out, before realizing something else, "Oh, but... with this, I guess that means our cooperation has been settled. You revealing something that could cost Kir his life must mean you trust me enough. Then let me tell you of the context of what I need your help with.." Foster said, as he pulled the Lord of the Cave''s cloak as well as that purple marble out of his bag, cing them on the table in front of him, before starting to exin the situation properly.

 Chapter 136 - Request

    "And that''s basically all. I''m guessing you understand why I don''t want to just have anyone appraise these things, right?" Foster asked, "I don''t want to deal with troublesome stuff."

    Himkijl looked at the magic itemsying on the table in front of him, finally giving a short nod of approval, "We will do this for you, but not for free."

    "I mean, I can pay if you want, I don''t really care that much about money." Foster grabbed a pouch from his hip and threw it onto the table. It contained all the coins that he usually carried with him whenever he was out. But Himkijl quickly shook his head, "It''s not money we want from you. I don''t know if I should believe what you said in regard to where these items came from, but for now, I will assume that you are telling the truth. We will find out in a few minutes anyway." Himkijl pointed out, "Rather, we... I, want you to help us. I did what you asked me to, and removed anyone that I can''t trust from this organization. The rest... they are people that I truly trust. And they are like us... good people that ended up in a bad situation."

    "So? What is it you want, then?"

    Himkijl looked Foster straight into his eyes, and then voiced his will, "I want you to form a guild, and let us be part of it."

    Unsure whether or not he heard the hogmir in front of him right just now, Foster leaned forward and even nced at Kir to gauge his expression, "Erm... say what now?"

    "You said it yourself, didn''t you? You want us to work ethically, and protect the people instead of... well, you know." With a bitter expression, Himkijl slightly bowed his head forward since he couldn''t gesture with his arms, "So please, help us do this."

    Foster leaned back, knowing now that he didn''t misunderstand what was asked of him, and then let out a loud, deep groan, "Dude, I meant that I want you to adjust what you''re doing, not changepletely. I''m not a good enough person to help all of you turn legit."

    Persistent in what he wants, Himkijl did not give up, "We can still protect the people as you want all the same, if not more when we can stand there where the public can view us. We can''t form a guild like that. It just... wouldn''t work, trust me. But under you, someone that the world dungeon itself clearly acknowledges as special enough to create a unique boss monster for? We would flourish wonderfully. After all... when given the choice, would you really stay a criminal?"

    Foster''s heart jumped a beat, hearing Himkijl''sst question. Would he stay a criminal? The answer for that was obvious. He was literally given the perfect new start, in a whole other world without a trace of his existence. And just a month after arriving in such a ce, he had already associated himself with a new criminal organization.

    "I..." he started, "I''m... scum. I am not a good person. Neither am I special or unique enough to be acknowledged by something great like the world dungeon. The only two things I''m really good at took me my whole life to learn how to do. I''m not even that smart. I''m just lucky, or unlucky, depending on how you want to see it. I will never be able to help you be what you want to be." Foster said with a light scowl on his face, as if he was disgusted by Himkijl for even suggesting that the reality was anything other than that. He turned his head, looking at the window. It was so dark down here that the window could have been just another wall, and the amount of light getting in here would never change, even though it should still be bright out around this time. The only thing he saw was his own reflection in the dirty ss, and his disgustingly green eyes staring back at himself.

    "But there is someone else that might be able to." He said, turning back away from the window, "I''ll talk to him about it. He''s the leader of my party, and if there''s anyone that can help you get to where you want to be, then it''s him," before Himkijl couldment on what was said, Foster tapped the table in front of him, "Are you going to appraise this for me, or not?"

    With a slightly nervous expression, Himkijl turned to Kir and nodded his head to him. The orc stood up, grabbing what seemed to just be a book from one of the shelves, before sitting back down. He took a few breaths to calm himself down, and then Kir quickly closed his eyes, and started reciting the same sort of ritualistic prayer as he did before, entering that shamanistic state. When he was done, he grabbed the first of the two magic items, the cloak. He ran his fingers over it, took in its scent, and basically tried to interact with it as much as he could in this rtively simple manner.

    He started whispering something at some point, and although Foster could tell that Kir was speaking, he couldn''t understand or even really hear what was said, ''So this is him talking to the mana, then?'' he wondered for a while, until Kir ced the fur cloak back onto the table.

    With his injured right hand, he flipped the book in front of him open, revealing that it wasn''t a book at all. Rather, on the left side, there were a few sheets of paper pinned to the cork background, and on the right was a wooden box. It simply looked like it was a book from the outside, though. Kir pulled the lid off the wooden box, and revealed the ck ink inside of it. Carefully, he ced the tips of all his fingers on his right hand into the ink, but only enough to cover his fingerprints.

    Kir then pressed the tips of his fingers onto the paper on the left side of the fake book, carefully drawing patterns onto it. Once the page was more ck than the off-white beige from before, Kir pulled the page away with his clean left hand, cing it to the side, before grabbing the small purple marble with that same hand.

    But this time, probably since he could easily hold it with just one hand, Kir kept holding onto the marble while he repeated the same process again on another sheet of paper. It didn''t take long for him to be done with this either, slowly cing the marble back onto the fur cloak to stop it from rolling away on ident. Keeping his ink-covered right hand away from his body, the orc took a few more deep breaths as the glow that had illuminated this whole room faded away from his eyes and tattoos.

    "Very powerful, for where they from." Kir exined, seemingly rather exhausted, before looking at his hand, "I get water."

    "Don''t worry about that." Foster said, leaning back to grab an empty bowl on the desk behind him, "Mind if I use this?" He asked, looking at Himkijl, who quickly shook his head, "Alright then. Aster, could you fill the bowl with water for me?"

    Himkijl and Kir looked at Foster, confused at who he was talking to, since he didn''t even avert his eyes from where he was looking before. However, soon, the small spirit pushed its way out of the hairbun on its contractor''s head, climbing down to his arm. Without much further ado, Aster started to fill the bowl with water, before Foster gave it to Kir so that he could clean his hand.

    "More importantly, what is it that you... well, wrote down, I guess?" Foster asked, looking at the two pages of paper, "Recognize writing?" Kir asked, clearly surprised, and Foster shrugged.

    "I''ve never seen that before, but it just makes sense for it to be writing, right?" He replied, "More importantly, what''d you find out?"

    "Ah, right. Erm... let me try to read that for you." Himkijl said, leaning forward to properly see the pages, "This manner of writing belongs to an orcish shaman tribe, the one that Kir is from. I came across a few of their hunters during my travels, and they invited me to the tribe. I stayed with them for a while, and they taught me the way to read this writing, at the very least. Kir is still learning Argian, so tranting this is usually a bit tough." He exined, although Foster didn''t really care that much about who of these two told him about this.

    Himkijl looked the first of the two pages over, before starting to smile, "At least there is undeniable proof that you were speaking the truth now. It was acquired on the fifth floor of the world dungeon, and is made from the hide of the King Mole, but transformed through the dungeon''s own mana. It''s enchanted with low-level blunt force resistance, and has a special aspect on top of that. It''s sort of weird, but as long as they''re standing on solid rock, not dirt, pure metal, or the likes, they have a tighter grip on that surface."

    "Hm... seems useful enough." Foster muttered, before thinking to himself while Himkijl started to read through the second sheet of paper, ''Lynol sometimes slides a bit over the ground when he swings his sword too hard. It would probably be perfect for him. He also likes cloaks a lot in the first ce...''

    While he was lost in his thoughts for a moment, Foster noticed Himkijl''s expression as he stared onto the page, "This... this is.... a dangerous magic item."

 Chapter 137 - Request - Part 2

    Raising his brow, Foster picked up the purple marble, "Really? How so?"

    "That isn''t a crystal, it''s a pill. Whoever takes it gains the ''Rock Armor'' spell... It lets you create, well, an armor of rock directly onto your or someone else''s skin. Obviously I don''t have to tell you why that is dangerous, you understand magic feedback well enough, anyway... If you learned this spell the regr way, this wouldn''t be an issue, but this pill will force the energy it fuses with into an elemental state for a moment, and if you''re not a high-tier mage, then you''re going to feel the effects of magic feedback instantly." The hogmir exined, bitterly looking at his arms, which had been turned into rock due to magic feedback.

    "...Magic feedback only happens with elemental mana, right? Focusing on the ''mana'' bit for now. What if internal energy takes on that elemental aspect instead?"

    Himkijl thought about it for a moment, "That... right, it could also fuse to internal energy to give you a simr martial skill instead. But only theoretically. Apparently, it was originally a golem core that was processed through the boss'' body, so it''s innately magical. It needs mana to dissolve and spread through the body, so it''s going to innately grab onto the mana afterward."

    Crossing his legs, Foster tried to think about the best course of action with something like this, "So then... the person I would like to give this to recently got a simr ability, ''Bone Armor''. It''s a special ability he got after we cleared the ''Fail'' type dungeon I mentioned. We were told that it can be either a martial skill or a spell, depending on the person. Now, for my friend, that became a martial skill, but it got ''stuck'' because of the influence of mana inside of him."

    Raising his brows at the story, Himkijl considered the possibility, "So you''re saying that his mana is strong enough to be recognized by the skill, but not enough for him to consciously manipte?"

    "Yup. That''s literally it. I guess you''re not a mage for nothing, huh?" Foster replied, and Himkijl slightly grinned in response, "ttering me, huh? Well, I''ll ignore that for now. But either way, people in the exact situation your friend is in might be the only ones that can use this safely. Mana is connected to the user''s mind. Only when they can consciously grasp it will it truly be useable as mana for spells and such. If he''s in a ce between not being conscious of it at all, and slowly growing conscious of it, then that mana should be strong enough to activate the pill, but not strong enough for the elemental energies of the pill to grab onto it, so they will have to search for something else, which would be internal energy."

    Excited, or rather, ecstatic to hear that this pill was practically made for Octer, Foster was ready to rush back to the inn to give it to him. However, it seemed like Himkijl still had some concerns, "I heard of some magic towers that did experiments rted to this to try and figure out magical feedback better, and while those people could assist in the casting of a spell, they were free from any sort of feedback, since the mana practically broke down the moment it was strained through the spell, and the people in question lost consciousness quite quickly after, and the further along they were in discovering their own mana, the stronger this was. In some cases, it even caused their heart to stop beating. Usually they''re fine when some of their mana recovers, but there''s obviously no recovering from... well, death."

    Foster thought about it for a moment. He himself couldn''t decide on this, but if Octer wanted to take the pill himself, then that was another story. Worst case, Foster might have to do some cpr, but that wasn''t an issue for him either. However, was it really worth it to take that sort of risk?

    "But then again..." Himkijl pointed out, "It is just a low tier ability, and if the person in question has a low understanding and amount of mana, then maybe even if magical feedback were to ur, it might not ur too strongly in the first ce. He certainly wouldn''t look like I do."

    Letting out a loud sigh, Foster stood up, "Either way, if we''re doing this, then soon. Thanks for the help. And... I''ll update you in regard to the guild situation." He said, as the boarman lightly smiled at him, "Thank you. I will make sure to prepare everyone here for the possibility, at least." Himkijl said, while Foster could feel a pit form in his stomach. He didn''t want this many people to rely on him like this. Just as Foster was grabbing the cloak and ''skill pill'', he noticed that Kir was having trouble still using his arm.

    "...What kind of healing was used on his arm?" He asked. Octer and Lynol had drilled all kinds of information like this into his head, so he knew that there were at least some differences, "Ah, Rosalie uses magic of nature."

    "That was... erm... it uses, like, one''s own regenerative ability or something, right?"

    "Yes, exactly. It is strengthened, so it can heal things that the body usually couldn''t, but it often tends to leave behind some injuries still."

    Foster thought about it for a moment. Somehow, it reminded him of how he was healed to the bare minimum while the system was installed in him. He approached the Orc, and ced his hand onto his arm, right where he had used the Bone Breaker martial skillst time. And his other hand, Foster ced onto his own chest, pushing it underneath his dress shirt to touch his own bare skin, and then took a deep breath.

    He could feel his heartbeat, and it was as if the direction of his bloodflow changed, although it most likely didn''t. It felt like all his blood was flowing toward his other hand, and through his palm into Kir''s arm. Foster was feeling a bit dizzy, and could literally feel his health points decrease with every second. But soon, it seemed like it was enough, and he pulled his hand from the Orc''s arm, "It should be a bit better now. I hope, or that was for nothing."

    "Wait, what did you just do?" Himkijl asked, seeing Kir rub his hand over the arm that was injured just a few moments prior.

    "I transfered some of my vitality to him or something. Apparently, it''s a more direct way of healing, so his arm should be feeling a lot better." Foster exined, as Kir tightened his fist, soon nodding excitedly, "It feels better! My arm is strong!" He eximed, before watching Foster put his skeleton mask back onto his face.

    "d to hear that. I will be making my way back now. Again, thanks for the help." And with that, the door closed behind Foster as he left again, leaving Himkijl and Kir alone in the room. The hogmir looked at the orc, "That thing you wrote onto the bottom of the second page... Is that the truth?" He asked, as Kir slowly nodded in response.

    "Yes. Someone... something, watching him. Very dark... evil..." Kir exined, looking down at the pages on the table. Soon, he added one more word in a tribal orcish tongue, "Brikilsk..."

    Himkijl''s heart seemed to skip a beat the moment he heard that word. The fur covering his body stood on its end, while the hogmir couldn''t help but smile wrily out of nervosity, "Ah... maybe it was the wrong choice to ask him to form a guild for us...."

 Chapter 138 - Cesti

    Foster soon found himself outside of the alleyways again. He looked around to make sure that nobody could see him, and then took off his mask before throwing the cloak over his body again, hiding his suit.

    "Hm... maybe Zhaine is still up." He muttered to himself, as he decided to walk a bit down the street. The smithy wasn''t too far away, after all. And to his surprise, there really was some lighting out of the shop. Just when Foster ced his hand on the handle, the door was already pulled open from the other side, and a man suddenly stood in front of him, towering about a head over him.

    He was wearing a full te armor, covering his body from head to toe. The only bit of skin that Foster could see was through the eye-slit ced into the helmet. The metal had some patches of ck all over it, as if the paint that had coated it rubbed off over time, although there didn''t seem to be the slightest scratch or dent anywhere on the armor. On thing that stuck out was that there was a clearly useless amount of spikes all over it. However, that wasn''t all. In some parts of the armor, other, clearly foreign pieces, had been forced into it. The already existing metal bracers had another set of thin bracers hammered onto them, and what seemed to be twopletely different brooches were forced into the chestte, one of them right above the sr plexus.

    Clearly, that whole set of armor was incredibly impressive, but for some reason it felt a bit perverse. The way that those other pieces had been ced into it just make them seem nearly parasitic. A few momentster, Foster realized that he had just been staring at this man, and awkwardly stepped aside to make way for him, "Eh, sorry, go ahead." He said, and the man stepped out of the shop, simply letting out a groan and a quick nod.

    Foster wanted to enter the shop before the door closed, when he noticed a small figure rushing after the man. At first, he thought it was some animal, but before he knew it, the figure clutched onto one of the armored man''s hands. It was a child that was happily walking alongside this man that even Foster was admittedly a little scared of.

    ''Well, it''s not the weirdest thing I''ve seen, to be fair...'' Foster thought to himself, before entering the shop, this time a bit more attentive, to make sure that he didn''t walk into anyone. Once inside, Foster looked at the other side of the room, seeing Zhaine sitting there with a bottle in his hand, his face obscured because of the shadows created by themp standing behind his back.

    "...Zhaine? You good?" He asked, seeing the old dwarf slightly flinch, "Huh? Ah... it''s you." Zhaine replied, "It''s prettyte, what''re you doin'' here at this time?"

    "I was in the area... Erm, did something just happen? You seem kinda out of it."

    "Heh, just had somethin'' to drink, don''t worry about it." Zhaine replied with a scoff, but Foster wasn''t sure that was the truth. Zhaine very easily started slurring his speech when drinking, and although his voice was certainly shaky, it was still very clear, "Who was that guy with the kid just now?" Foster asked, and Zhaine shook his head instantly.

    "Don''t concern yerself with those people. For yer own good." The dwarf warned. But Foster was still concerned, "Did that guy do something to you?" He inquired with a deep frown, followed by the sound of the bottom of Zhaine''s bottle mming t onto the table in front of him, "Drop it, Foster. Please."

    Foster wanted to fight Zhaine about it, considering that he wanted to help him out with this sort of thing, but it seemed like this situation was beyond that. At some point, forcing someone to talk about something like this didn''t help either, "Alright, I will."

    "...How was the dungeon?" Zhaine asked, trying to change the topic, and Foster couldn''t help himself but grin a little bit, "It was surprisingly fun, honestly."

    "Fun? Ya don''t hear that often." Zhaine scoffed, pouring the content of the bottle he was holding down his throat. Confused what he meant, Foster looked back at the dwarf, "What do you mean? I figured that other people enjoy dungeon diving as well."

    Zhaine thought about it for a moment, and then simply shrugged, "There are some like that, sure. Thessie, K, she likes it because she likes dungeons. Others like the fame thate with exploring its depths, but most just do it for the money. It''s a big town, but work''s hard toe by, ya know?" The dwarf exined, and Foster looked back at him in silence for a few moments. He really couldn''t deny that. It was like that most of the time, anyway, especially in big cities like this.

    Foster hadn''t really thought about this sort of thing, since work and money was one thing he didn''t struggle with in this world thus far. He took a lot of the money left behind at Thiodrus'' ce, and then he got lucky enough to get a job that allowed him to so easilye to Arcadum. And here, he was able to work while doing something he was really, really good at. And it seemed like he was going to do well in this job in the future as well. But what if he wasn''t able to fight as well as he did? Would he usually be able to find a job?

    "Foster, why did you enjoy being in the dungeon?" This question broke through the silence in the room, putting a sort of pressure onto him that felt awkward to cope with, "Just... the fighting, I guess? But not in a weird way, I don''t enjoy killing things, just... the act of fighting itself."

    Zhaine pressed the bottle onto the table, and slowly jumped off the stool that he sat on, "Ya usually use some gauntlets, right?"

    "Huh? Yeah, I guess I do�� why?"

    Zhaine let out a deep sigh, "Gauntlets are armor. Some fools use them as weapons, but that''s not what they''re for, in the end. While they do strengthen a hit quite well, there are much better things to use." He exined, before opening a box in the corner of the room, taking out something wrapped in cloth before bringing everything back to the table. Clumps of dust fell off the cloth while it was being carried, "Now, these are simr to gauntlets, but they''ve been made to be used as a weapon." He said, unwrapping the objects he carried.

    At first nce, they looked just like gauntlets, but the differences quickly became clear. First of all, while Foster''s current gauntlets were madepletely of metal, these were mostly made of leather strips that would wrap around the arm, with metal tes ced in the main areas of impact during a fight, "These are cesti. Battle-gloves, you could say. Come, put em on."

    Foster slowly pulled off the gloves he was wearing right now, the ones made to help him use necromancy more easily, and then pushed his hands into the cesti. The leather seemed pretty stiff, and a bit ufortable, but overall they actually fit surprisingly well. When he put them on, Foster noticed that there was another bar of metal on the inside of the glove, making it easier for his fist to stay solid in a fight since he had something to wrap his fingers around. Covering his knuckles was another thick metal te that seemed like it could do some good damage during a fight.

    "These definitely seem pretty useful." Foster pointed out, before Zhaine scoffed, "That''s not all. Look here." He said, before grabbing Foster''s hand. He slid his fingers underneath the metal te on the knuckles and tilted the te forward, letting him pull the te off. It was like some sort of mechanism released. Then, Zhaine grabbed some more tes that were still hidden underneath the cloth. Two more pairs. Instead of just a blunt metal te, one pair had spikes ced on them, while another had a de that would run along his knuckles. Zhaine picked up the spiked te, and ced it onto the cestus that he removed the blunt one from just now.

    "I made these so ya can switch the de out. It should hold for quite a while at a time, but yer gonna have to take care of them more than normal." Zhaine exined, "I''ll show you how, and what ya need to pay attention to the most. If youe back and they''re done for, yer banned from the shop."

    Foster smiled at the old man standing in front of him, "Don''t worry, I''ll treat them well." He said, reaching to the pouch hanging by his hip to get his money, but Zhaine pushed his hand away again, "Don''t pay me. Treat it as yer reward for helping me get back my things the other day."

    "You sure about that?"

    "Tsk, what, don''t like free stuff? Just take them before I change my mind." Zhaine clicked his tongue, before looking back at the cesti, "The good thing about these is that they''re pretty easy to make, and with these exchangable tes, it''s going to be easy to upgrade these when ya get new materials."

    "Right. Thanks, Zhaine.." Foster said somewhat quietly, while Zhaine kept looking at the tes, "Don''t mention it,d."

 Chapter 139 - New Skill

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    Foster walked out of Zhaine''s shop after the two of them spoke for a little while longer. Zhaine exined the benefits of the cesti that he had given him in a bit more detail. Really, Foster wasn''t even sure if switching to the cesti was necessary at first, but after that exnation, he had been convinced. He sort of felt bad about leaving the gauntlets behind, though. He had quite literally stolen them from a dead guy, whose death he practically caused himself.

    Until now, he had used them in every proper fight he was in. They were scratched up and dented, but Foster still felt bad about it, "Doesn''t mean I have to throw them away, I guess." He figured, looking down at his bag that was now holding the cesti, while he made his way back to the Red Riverside Inn. Since it wasn''t even all thatte yet, and neither Octer nor Lynol were the type toze around especially after this sort of first-time dungeon experience, Foster figured that they were sitting in their rooms evaluating the way they fought in the dungeon.

    He made his way over to Lynol''s room, since it was the closest to his own, and knocked on the door. From beyond it, the swordsman''s slight grunts could be heard. Lynol was probably working out right now. Soon, Foster heard footsteps, before the door opened up in front of him, "What?" Lynol asked with a slightly annoyed expression, his upper body exposed and drenched in sweat.

    "We''re heading to Octer''s room,e on." Foster said, and Lynol looked his friend up and down, seeing that he was wearing his suit, "Did you go on a date again?"

    "What, no, I went to get the items appraised. But we''ve got something to talk about. I''d like K to be there, but we''ll just have to talk to her about it tomorrow I guess." Foster exined with a sigh, watching as Lynol went inside to grab a shirt so that he wouldn''t walk around bare-chested. He was clearly annoyed that his training was interrupted, but he still followed along without another word. The two of them soon arrived at Octer''s room, and waited for him to open the door.

    "''Sup, big guy? What were you doing just now?" Foster asked, and Octer rubbed the back of his own neck awkwardly, "I was trying to use your meditation method again, but I just can''t get a proper grasp of it. Can''t really move my mana that well, I guess."

    "Great." He replied with a grin, confusing not only Octer, but Lynol as well. Foster walked into the room, and sat down on a chair, "Close the door."

    Octer shut and locked the door once Lynol and Foster were both inside, and the three of them sat around the table in the corner of the room, "What is it you want to talk about?" Lynol finally asked, and Foster looked at the two of them with a serious expression.

    "First of all, I want to ask... what do you two think about Shamanism?" He asked, and his friends looked at each other confused. Octer was the first to reply, "Shamanism is a bit... well, I''d prefer not to have to deal with it, I guess."

    "And I have only heard the name, I don''t really know what it is." Lynol then said, "Is it something troublesome?"

    "Not troublesome, it''s just... pretty sinister, I guess." Octer exined, and Foster immediately let out a deep groan, "At least you''re not super anti-shamanism. But just let me tell you, shamanism isn''t any more sinister than any other religion. It''s just that most people don''t get it, I guess. Basically, shamanism is a religious practice through which people sort ofmunicate with spiritual energies... or something like that. It''s nothing evil or sinister at all. Apparently, shamans in this world can just sort of talk to mana." Foster told them, and Octer looked back a bit confused.

    "Yeah, but isn''t that sort of... weird?"

    "Any weirder than the otherworlder sitting in front of you?" Foster sighed, "Listen, shamanism isn''t anything bad, trust me. Either way, the reason I''m asking you this is because I got our magic items appraised by a shaman."

    Lynol raised a brow, "They can do that?"

    "Apparently. I told you guys about the Hogmir dude from before, right? An Orc that works for him is a shaman." Foster exined, "We can probably get anything else we need appraised by him as well. But, well... in return for appraising these items, Himkijl, the hogmir, asked me to... well, to look into founding a guild and taking them under me. They want to go legit, so they were hoping to do that with my help."

    Octer looked at Foster with a deep frown, "You can''t be serious. Foster, they''re criminals, why-"

    "They''re criminals of circumstance, not of choice." Foster interrupted him, "Himkijl was an adventurer, but his arms are now petrified and unusable because of magic feedback. He couldn''t get any other work. And that Orc? Obviously a shaman wouldn''t be able to find any legitimate work in this city. Himkijl told me he got rid of people he can''t trust, and I believe him when he says that. They''re criminals because they had to be. Meanwhile, I was one because I chose that path. You ept me in your party, so at least consider it, alright?"

    With a conflicted expression, Octer sat back down. Foster was right, and all three of them knew it, "However, that''s exactly why I can''t help them. I chose to be scum, so how could I help others not be scum? That''s why I want the choice to be up to our party leader here. If anyone forms a guild, I''d want it to be you." Foster said, looking at Lynol, who seemed a little surprised, "And why would I do that?"

    "I don''t know, but it''s not like you didn''t consider forming a guild anyway, right? Just... consider it. That''s all they asked for, for us to consider the idea."

    "...I will think about it." Lynol replied, slightly averting his gaze, "Is that all?" He asked, clearly wanting to leave again. But Foster quickly shook his head, "No, it''s not. Now we''re getting to the good part. The cloak has ''low-level blunt force resistance'' and gives you better grip as long as you''re standing on solid rock. I figured this might be good for Lynol."

    The swordsman raised his brow and looked at the folded-up cloak that Foster was holding. Octer quickly agreed as well, "It does sound useful, yeah. Either him or me, but it shrunk down a lot after the boss died, and it doesn''t look like it would fit me anymore, so..."

    "Yeah, I thought the same." Foster said with a wry smile, "But there is something for you as well. This thing, as it turns out, is actually a pill." He exined, holding the small purple marble toward Octer. He quickly started to exin the dangers and benefits of taking the pill, and that the only one in the party even capable of taking it was Octer.

    The shield bearer looked at the purple marble for a few moments, as his breathing became heavier, "Obviously, if you don''t want to take the risk, don''t take it. We can probably figure out a way to use it otherwise, or sell it to the magic tower. It seems like something they''d be interested in." Foster suggested, but Octer quickly shook his head, "No... I''m taking the risk." He said, immediately pushing the pill into his mouth. Foster and Lynol both jumped up, surprised, looking at their friend.

    "Take some more time to think about this, man! You don''t have to do this right now!" Foster yelled out, "Fucking idiot, I told you this could kill you!" He pointed out, realizing that the pill still seemed to beying in Octer''s mouth, since he didn''t get the courage to swallow it yet.

    Octer looked at his friends, and shook his head. He closed his eyes, and with a loud gulping sound, forced the pill down his throat. Immediately, Octer started coughing loudly, and just a few momentster, his eyes started giving off a slightly purple light. The color became more and more intense, and the light became more radiantly bright, until suddenly, in a wave starting from the center of Octer''s chest, his body turned into solid rock. And then, his body stopped movingpletely, and his coughing ended as well.

    "Octer..?" Foster asked with a wry smile, "You alright, man?" Quickly, he ced his hand onto his friend''s shoulder, trying to figure out what was going on. But no matter what happened, Octer didn''t react. Or at least, not for a few moments.

    Theyer of rock suddenly disappeared, and Octer dropped onto Foster who was trying his best to hold his friend up, "Urgh... that..." He let out, "That was fucking horrible..."

    Foster let out a sigh of relief as he looked at his friend, helping him to sit back down on a chair, "Did it work?" He asked, and Octer slowly nodded his head, "Yeah, it did..." He replied, looking down at his arm, "I have another new defensive martial skill."

    "Good." Foster said with a deep re, "If that''s the case, let''s test it out, shall we?" He suggested, pulling his new cesti out of his bag and putting them onto his fists.. This seemed like a good enough way to relieve himself of his anger.

 Chapter 140 - Growth

    Octer and Foster stared at each other from across the table. Nervously, Octer turned to the side to look at Lynol, "Yo, help me out here, will you?"

    "Why would I?" the swordsman replied immediately, "I''m on Foster''s side. What you just did was more than just idiotic." Lynol pointed out, while Octer was just perplexed, "What do you mean, idiotic? You wanted me to take the pill, right?"

    "Sure, but why would you not even think about it, you fucking dumbass?!" Foster let out, "I told you, even if it didn''t kill you outright, you could have keeled over in horrendous pain, and then you just swallow it? What kinda fucking idiot takes random pills they''re just given-" He eximed, stopping himself soon after. He stood up straight, and slowly started removing his cesti. Confused, Octer and Lynol looked at him, "What just happened?" Octer asked, and Foster awkwardly looked away.

    "I''ve taken random pills I found on the floor of random clubs... I shouldn''t be the one to lecture you here..." Foster admitted, before looking at his friend again, "Still, just... don''t do that again, alright?"

    "R-Right, I won''t..." Octer replied awkwardly, "But well... I have three martial skills that give me natural armor now. Iron Skin, Bone Armor, and Rock Armor..." He soon realized, and Lynol curiously looked at him, "Speaking of, I haven''t seen you use Iron Skin before."

    "Hm, right, the only time I had to use something like that was the boss in the world dungeon, but Bone Armor is more powerful than Iron Skin, and its cost is just a little more, so..." He exined.

    Foster raised a brow, "Then how about you try using them together? Like, at the same time?"

    "Huh? I mean, I guess I could try, but it would take way too much internal energy to activate."

    "Right, but you mentioned that the activation is the worst part, after that the amount to actually hold it isn''t that bad." Foster pointed out, "So, just activate Bone Armor and Rock Armor with mana, and then feed them internal energy."

    "What do you mean, ''just'', do you know how hard that would be? And I can''t even control my mana well enough in the first ce to do something like that..."

    Foster thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged, "I mean, you don''t have to learn to do it right now, but like, in the future. You wouldn''t need the defense from all three of those things anytime soon anyway, right? But in the future, it might be useful."

    Octer rubbed his neck again, trying to think, "Fair enough. I''ll just try doing it with internal energy for now."

    "Didn''t you say that would take too much?"

    "Too much for a fight, but I''m heading to bed after this anyway, so it doesn''t really make a difference." Octer replied quickly, before taking a deep breath. He stood up straight, stretching out his back. Once he let out his next breath, his quite rough, somewhat dry skin turned smooth and seemed to reflect a bit of light off of it. His skin turned a more pale, grayish colour as well, making it generally more metallic, "Right now, my Iron Skin skill is at a low tier, so this is the extent of it for now. But when I advance it through training, it should get a bit stronger than this." He exined, before taking another deep breath, holding it a bit longer this time. And again, while breathing out, his body slightly changed.

    Ayer of bones grew all over his body, already bulking him up a bit. The bones looked the same as they normally did, just with a metallic aspect to them. They were smoother, and a bit darker than normal. At this point, it seemed like the activation of Bone Armor already tired him out a bit more than it usually did, but even then, Octer took another deep breath in preparation of activating his newest martial skill.

    As he breathed out, Octer''s body bulked up even more as cracks seemed to appear on theyer of bone, as thisyer itself seemed to be transforming into something between rock and bone.

    Foster and Lynol looked up at their friend, who seemed to have grown by a few inches after activating these three skills, "Holy fucking shit, you look terrifying... and super awesome, damn." Foster soon let out, practically involuntarily. Octer slowly looked down at his body, every movement causing his joints to let out loud creaks, as if every part of himself was pressing so hard against others that he was about to shatter apart if he moved too fast.

    "It''s... interesting..." Octer pointed out, his voice sounding distortedpared to what it was before. It sounded somewhat echoey and weirdly fake, as if a recording taken in a cave was yed through an old radio, all while his voice had dropped an octave or two. Slowly, Octer tried to take a step forward, but the moment he tried to lift his foot, it dropped back down onto the wooden floor that let out a loud creak, showing that it was clearly just about to break under Octer''s sheer weight.

    "I... can''t... move..." With a tone that clearly showed that this situation wasn''t as cool for himself as it appeared for Foster, Octer tried cing a hand onto his chest, "...breathing... is... hard... even blinking... takes effort..."

    "Then hurry up and undo it, before you have a heart-attack or something." Foster told him, watching as his friend''s body shrunk back down, returning to what it was before. For a few moments, Octer seemed a bit dizzy, as if he had to newly orient himself in his body, even grabbing onto the back of the chair standing next to him for bnce. He took a deep breath, and as he let it back out, looked at his friends, "That was an experience, alright... It''s not something I can do right now. Maybe when I level up a bit more, sure, but not right now." He quickly exined, looking at his hand as if he was surprised how easy it was to move around again all of a sudden.

    Lynol stood up, looking at the shield bearer curiously, "Something... seems different about you all of a sudden."

    "Huh?" Confused, Octer looked down at his body, trying to figure out what he was talking about. And then, Foster looked at him again as well, even taking a step back to see if he could notice anything. And then, when he saw Lynol and Octer standing next to each other, he finally realized what was wrong, "Motherfucker- you''re taller than you were before!"

    Octer practically flinched as he heard Foster''s words, and Lynol looked up at him as well, quickly realizing that it was true, "He is right. An inch, maybe two, but you are definitely taller than you were before," Lynol exined, looking down at his friend''s waist, slightly pulling at the bottom of his shirt, "Look, you can see it here as well. A bit of your stomach is exposed. You are definitely taller than before."

    With a wry smile, Octer looked down at his body, pulling on his shirt and looking at the ends of his pant-legs, "A-And... why the fuck did this happen...?"

    "...I mean, if mana effects the body, then why can''t internal energy? It''s fine though, right? It''s not like it makes a huge difference. Most of your stuff should fit you well enough, anyway," Foster exined, walking around Octer for a moment, "And if your clothes are a bit tight, I can just widen them a bit, so it''s not a big deal."

    Somewhat distracted by what Foster just said, Lynol turned his head, "You know how to sew?"

    "I had like a single outfit for the first half of my life, what do you think?"

    "...Fair enough." Lynol replied, before looking back at Octer, patting his shoulder, "Anyway, it''s time for us to go now. We should probably rest a bit. Using those three skills at the same time probably exhausted you a good bit anyway, right?"

    "Yeah... I am a bit tired.... So let''s just- Wait, no, hold on, we''re not just skipping over the fact that this martial skill made me grow two inches?! Why are the two of you so rxed about this?" Octer asked with a wry smile, and Foster and Lynol looked at each other for a moment, before shrugging, "It''s honestly not the weirdest thing that happened so far, is it?"

 Chapter 141 - Notes

    Foster entered his room and locked the door behind him. As he undressed, he looked at the small spirit that was already on his way to his small ''nest'' on the bedside table to continue sleeping over there. He held his shirt in his hands for a moment, noticing its slightly weird texture. Looking at it more closely, it didn''t really seem like normal cotton. For a moment, while holding onto his shirt, Foster was practically stunned by the flood of his own thoughts that entered his mind. If this wasn''t cotton, then what was it? It didn''t seem like wool either. Then was it some sort of creature that he couldn''t even imagine, or some grotesque nt that was growing in fields somewhere nearby?

    "I don''t know anything about this ce at all..." Foster muttered slightly to himself. He just watched his friend''s body grow in size, possibly permanently, in literal minutes. And it was caused by a crystal pill that was left behind when they killed a giant, humanoid rat in a non-euclidian space that had formed underneath this huge city. And then, Foster visited a talking boar and an orc who can talk to an energy he didn''t even know existed a few months ago. This all just seemedpletely ridiculous in his mind. It all seemed... fake. Like a game, or a dream that wasn''t actually happening. But, just now, his friend did something that could have very, very easily killed him. Even then, Foster was still far too casual about this whole situation.

    Letting out a loud groan, he dropped onto his bed, "Maybe I have to take this all a bit more seriously..." he thought to himself, turning his head toward Aster, "This is all real... and I''ll be living here from now on. I can''t just fuck around like I used to." He said to himself. When he was still on earth, even if he didn''t try to actively learn something, he would still find out about it somehow. Things that weremon knowledge, that were either taught to every little kid, or were mentioned on TV every once in a while. The sort of stuff you picked up on by simply living.

    But Foster didn''t have that sort of knowledge in regard to this world, because he simply didn''t care enough to figure it out yet. Sure, he asked Octer and Lynol about some basic stuff, like what big countries there are, important religions, how the monarchy worked in this country they were in, and of course, what sort of races existed in this world. However, he had no idea about things beyond that. He was just assuming things to bergely the same as on earth, but that was impossible, if he just thought about it a bit more. That meant that he had a decision to make.

    "Either, I fullymit to the ''I''m from a foreign country and don''t know how shit works here'', or I actually do the effort to try and figure out even the most basic bullshit..." Foster groaned quietly to himself. If even the simplest things, like fashion, were so absurdly different here that Foster couldn''t figure it out properly even after a full day of trying to put outfits together that his friends would like, then how was he supposed to figure out anything at all?

    "Aster, what''d you think? You were born in this world, you gotta at least know something, right?" He asked, turning his head toward the being that he very well knew lived in a forest away from civilization for nearly all of its life. Aster slightly lifted his head, locking eyes with Foster through that small white mask. The two of them stayed like that for a moment, before Foster finally gave up, "...just keep sleeping, bud, don''t worry about it."

    Triumphantly, as if he just won something, Asterid his head back down to continue napping. Foster turned his head, looking at the ceiling above him, letting out a deep, exhausted sigh.

    ---

    "You did what?!" K yelled out, jumping up and mming her hands on the table in front of her as the group had gathered in the inn''s restaurant, drawing the attention of a few people toward them. With an awkward expression, Octer scratched his cheek, before slightly waving at everyone that was looking toward them. Foster ced his hand on K''s shoulder to try and pull her down and rx her, "I feel the same, don''t worry. But in the end, he was the only one that could take it anyway."

    With a deep grumbling, the cleric crossed her arms and sat back down, as if pouting, "You could''ve at least waited until I was around... I could have probably helped if something went wrong..."

    "Right, I''m sorry about that. I really am. But... it felt like, if I hadn''t taken it then, I might not have been able to take it at all." Octer exined, "It was a decision I had to make for myself right that moment, or else I would have been too cowardly."

    "Isn''t it fine? Just because he did something unexpected doesn''t mean that we should stay hung-up on it. Especially you, Foster. You''ve done absurd things more than once without talking to us about it." Lynol pointed out, before he took a bite of his foodying in front of him, not looking up from the te the whole time. For a moment, Foster felt like protesting against that statement, but he couldn''t really say anything. In the end, he was right. So instead, he figured he would change the topic. There was no reason to continue talking about this the whole time, since they had discussed it more than enough already. And since Octer seemed fine, everything worked out pretty well, anyway, "I do feel a little bad, though. Octer and Lynol got the item drops from the boss monster, and I''m going to get something from Sam when he''s back. You''re the only one that didn''t really get anything out of the dive."

    "...What are you even talking about?" K asked with a wry smile, looking around nervously before leaning forward to whisper to the group, "You showed me a unique boss monster that never appeared before in the history of the world dungeon... that''s more than enough!" She pointed out, grinning excitedly at the thought, "Although, I do feel a little bad that I wasn''t able to take any notes on it... the fight was too intense for me to focus on that sort of thing..."

    "Oh, that''s fine, I already wrote everything down." Foster pointed out, pushing his hand into his bag, taking out a small booklet. It was different to the one that he took his astronomy-rted notes in. He had bought multiple of these, and was nning on using this one to take notes on everyday,mon things that he had to know about if he lived in this world, like how much the money in this world was worth, for example. And beyond that, he had written some notes on the boss monsterst night, since he wasn''t able to sleep too well.

    Lynol raised his brow, finally looking up from his food, "You took notes on something like that?"

    A bit confused, Foster looked back, "Huh? I mean, yeah, why wouldn''t I? I said I''d take care of the whole flow-of-information stuff in regard to this, and K mentioned how important it is for others to know about this boss monster in case it appears again all of a sudden. So obviously I wrote down everything I could remember." He exined, flipping the book to the page in question. It waspletely filled with notes on anything that Foster could remember from the fight. Things like the size of the rat itself, and the size and weight of its spear. The sort of things that the rat seemed to focus on during a fight, and tant weakpoints that Foster might have been able to see, but wasn''t skilled enough to take advantage of yet.

    "How did you... huh?" K let out confused, "This is so detailed, how did you remember all of this?"

    Foster leaned his cheek onto his hand as he started to exin, "I mean, I remember the way most of the people I''ve fought move, I guess. Most of them were self-taught, like I am, so they didn''t have any pre-set patterns like you have with martial arts. Whenever one of those weirdos tried toe after me, obviously I had to know how they fought so that I could defend myself properly, right? If I prepare to fight an in-fighter, but they turn out to be an out-fighter, even I''d be in trouble, I guess."

    Lynol leaned over the table to look at the notes. He nced over them, before turning his sight on Foster, "You can read someone else''s movements to this degree of precision, but you can''t even follow through with basic stances in a clean way?"

    Foster and Lynol locked eyes for a few moments, until the former of the two turned his head back toward K, not wanting to engage his friend with this too much. If he did, it probably wouldn''t turn out too well for him. Foster could still feel the muscleaches from Lynol''s training even a few weekster, "Erm, anyway... I hope those notes are enough for now?"

    K stared at the pages with a broad smile on her face, her annoyed expression from earlier nowhere to be seen, "Enough? This is absolutely perfect!"

 Chapter 142 - Return To The Tower

    "You sure that''s enough for you?" Foster asked, looking at an excited K as she continued smiling back at him with a broad grin, "Yep, it definitely is~!" She replied, turning her sight back toward the book filled with notes on the unique boss monster that they had encountered. Clearly, she was already trying to fill some of the gaps that were in the notes, but was incredibly happy to see so much detail about its behaviour.

    Seeing that things wereing to an end right now, Lynol looked at his party, "That being the case, I suggest that we meet again this evening. Just to have a drink, celebrating our first sessful dive into the basement." He exined, and seeing that nobody was against it, he moved on, "But for the rest of the day, I think we should just go and do our own thing. Rx a bit, and do whatever we want, or need to do for now."

    "Ah, I was about to suggest that as well~; I wanted to help out at a church today, a friend of mine asked me to." She exined, "Apparently, there''s some kind of disease going around that they need help with..."

    Foster raised a brow, his cheek still resting on his palm, "Then be careful you don''t get sick yourself."

    K smiled smugly, "Don''t''cha worry about that, clerics are bestowed resistance against diseases, so I''ll be fine!"

    "Fair enough." Foster shrugged slightly, seeing K stand up with a smile, "Then I''ll see you all tonight!"

    "Bye, see youter." Octer lightly waved at her as she left, before he got up as well, "I think I should practice my new martial skill a bit more, so I''ll head to my room to do that for now."

    "Take it easy, bud. Just rest for today if you want, no need to go all out." Foster told him, but Octer just shook his head, "It''s fine, I would just really like to figure this out. See you guyster." He said, soon turning around to head back to the Inn''s rooms, leaving Foster and Lynol alone.

    Lynol turned his head toward his friend, noticing that something was wrong at a nce. It seemed like he noticed it earlier, but didn''t want to bring it up in front of the others, "Are you alright? You seem even more tired than normal."

    "Hm? Oh, nah, I''m fine. The meditation works as a decent recement for sleep, so I actually feel more rested than I did in a long time." Foster exined quickly. But even then, he knew what Lynol meant. He felt a little more depressed today than he did thest while, since a lot was on his mind. But he didn''t really feel like talking about it, something that Lynol picked up on as well, "So... you said you wanted to start learning magic more intensely. Did the books that we bought help at all with that?"

    "Kinda? I mean, not really. Everything is based off of shit I don''t really get. I technically understand all the words in there, even superplex and weird ones, like I know what they mean, but I can''t really rte to the meaning in the first ce?" Foster exined, letting out a deep sigh while leaning back in his seat.

    "I guess that would happen when you suddenly get another''s understanding ofnguage." Lynol pointed out, "But didn''t you say your magic advanced a little?"

    Foster raised his brow, and held his hand forward, "Right, I did. I figured out how to do this while we were resting in the dungeon." He said, and a few momentster, small glowing dots of mana seemed to appear right on top of his palm, seemingly in a random manner.

    "I see... even if you are unable to draw lines, this is still great progress. Which circle are you attempting to draw?" Lynol asked, and Foster immediately shook his head, "This isn''t supposed to be a magic circle, it''s the Salicia constetion with a proper scaled distance to each other." He said, cing his free hand''s index finger onto a spot on his palms hand where a few of the folds wereing together, "This here is where this should be in rtion to them right now."

    "...I don''t get it, aren''t stars just... t up there or something?" Confused, Lynol looked away from the glowing dots, and Foster somewhat smiled, "No, of course not. Stars are the same as the sun, giant bodies of gas glowing in the distance."

    "...But the sun is made of fire, not gas?"

    "I mean, fire is sma, which is just... you know what, let''s not get into that for now. Just trust me on this one." Foster said, looking back at the ''stars'' floating on top of his palm, "Anyway, apparently, this was enough for me to step on my own path of magic, ording to the snake. Just that I don''t know what to do next. I still don''t even understand necromancy properly..."

    Lynol crossed his arms in thought, "In that case, let''s go to the Magic Tower."

    ---

    The two of them stood in front of therge building that towered over all the others in the area, and quickly stepped inside. Therge, open entrance hall was mostly empty right now, with the exception of a few mages doing their own work, and both Foster and Lynol seemed to stick out here quite a bit. They both seemed like fighters, after all. Lynol more so than Foster, since thetter was still wearing a pair of gloves simr to what everyone else was wearing, protecting his hands from magic feedback. Lynol on the other hand, was walking around wearing a fur cloak with a greatsword made of bone on his back.

    "Can I help you?" One of the Mage Tower''s employees asked, stepping in front of the stairs in what could only be an attempt at blocking them from entering the main part of the mage tower, "Im just heading up to see Samria."

    "...Why do you need to meet with him?" The employee asked, her demeanor suddenly changing. She seemed somehow quite nervous. Foster pulled the small stamp out of his bag and held it forward, "I''m a member of the Mage Tower, and I''m heading upstairs to meet with a fellow Necromancer. Something wrong with that?"

    "You''re a necromancer?" The employee asked surprised, looking at the sword on Lynol''s back, "I see... in that case, please head to Samria''s floor as soon as you can," they said, stepping to the side, even more nervous than before. Foster rolled his eyes and started walking up the stairs, unsure what the issue was, but choosing not to think about it too much. Making sure to rush past a particr one of the floors to avoid a certain someone, the two of them soon found themselves on a practically abandoned floor. It was mostly empty, to the point that Lynol was unsure whether or not they were supposed to be here, but Foster led the way to the other side of the floor to reach Samria.

    Seeing the open door and cluttered space behind it, Foster stepped right inside, seeing some familiar, and some unfamiliar figures. Samria and the talking skeleton created by him were practically forced into a corner by three hooded figures. Of course, since they didn''t walk in particrly quietly, they soon noticed that someone entered, and everyone turned toward the two of them. The three people that had their backs turned toward the door now revealed their faces, surprising both Foster and Lynol.

    Foster simply had never expected to see something like this in real life. They were gue doctors.

 Chapter 143 - Handprint

    In front of Foster and Lynol stood some gue doctors, with the bird masks and everything. Just that they all looked a little different than he remembered from random pictures he saw online. In the center stood a woman with a long ck dress and a white apron strapped to the front, like some sort of old maid or nurse style uniform. She wore a ck crow mask with two yellow pieces of ss as lenses for her to see through, although they were opaque from Foster''s point of view. She had a few bottles with random liquids strapped to her hip that he couldn''t recognize even if he cared enough to.

    Next to her stood two other figures. One of them wore beige and red clothes, as well as a red bird mask, although it didn''t look the same as the crow mask. Foster couldn''t tell what sort of bird it was supposed to be, though. Either way, from what he could tell, the clothes that this person was wearing were more suited tobat than the others. Leather padding was covering their vitals, and they were very clearly hiding a few knives underneath the loose cloth bound around their hip. They were also wearing thick, gauntlet-like gloves that were clearly too clunky to be useful for someone like a doctor. And on the other side of the crow was someone wearingpletely brown and beige clothes. This one was the physically smallest, and probably youngest, of them all, judging from their build. They were holding some sort of leather notebook and a pen, so this one might just be a sort of assistant to the other two.

    "And who might you two be?" Asked the Crow, and although her eyes were obscured through those yellow lenses, it was clear that she wasn''t asking out of curiosity.

    "...Just someone trying to visit their colleague, what''s it to you?" Foster replied immediately, before the loud, prating voice of the red doctor quickly prompted him, "Answer the question."

    With a somewhat annoyed expression, Foster looked back at the gue doctor, but without him having the chance to say anything, the Crow chuckled, "Now, now, Condor. We are the ones that came here unannounced, it makes sense for them to be a bit hostile." She pointed out, before the red-clothes doctor, Condor, nodded nearly nervously, "I apologize, Lady Crow."

    Without minding her colleague any further, the Crow turned her head, looking back at Foster, "We came here to investigate an incident. I''m sure you''re familiar with our line of work, yes?"

    "And what if I''m not?"

    "...Then you must not be from around here. Finch, give them a quick rundown of who we are and why we are here, please," the Crow said, and the young one standing next to her quickly nodded, shutting the book they were holding before starting to speak in a nervous tone, "Yes, Lady Crow! We are members of the gue and Cmity Protection Order, a specialized group directly under the emperor in charge of protecting the empire and her people from curses, gues, and other cmities that maye in simr form. Today, we are hoping to investigate a concering case of a new disease that seemed to have appeared in one of the lower districts, and said investigation has led us here."

    Foster crossed his arms as he listened, enduring the fact that the Condor was clearly evaluating him and Lynol in some form right now. Once the Finch was done, the Crow ced her hand onto the girl''s shoulder and nodded, "Thank you, Finch. As you heard, we are part of a Protection Order, which led us to investigating the necromancers of this tower. Your being here makes me assume that you have some corrtion to them, at least?"

    Foster looked those three up and down. Obviously, this was the first time he heard of this Order, or any sort of Protection Order in the first ce, so he wasn''t sure how much authority they really had. But if these guys could bepared to some investigation bureau as he had to deal with a few times before, then they might turn out a little annoying. At the very least, he could be sure that they were the real deal, otherwise they would never have made it up this high into the mage tower.

    "I''m a necromancer, I only joined the tower earlier this week, though. My friend''s a swordsman, so he''s unrted." Foster said quickly, not wanting to pull Lynol into anything he didn''t need to be involved in. If this was something rted to necromancers, worst-case being that those guys that killed Thiodrus somehow got this organization to look for Foster, then this was something he had to deal with on his own. But once again, it seemed like his appearance made it rather hard to believe that he was a necromancer, "You''re clearly a martial artist. We don''t have time for your jokes."

    "Urgh..." Foster groaned loudly, "Seriously? This again? I''m a legitimate member of the tower. Samria,e, tell them."

    "Huh? A-Ah, yes, right... he is, he is a necromancer affiliated with our tower, yes..." Samria said in a nervous tone of voice, and the Crow curiously looked at the man in front of her, "Is that so? Then that is perfect. I heard that there were only a few necromancers in this tower, so this will save us some time gathering them all together." She pointed out, cing her hands behind her back as she started to slowly pace around the room, "Last night, around midnight, one of our members out on patrol came across a certain genteleman that seemed to be suffering from a heavy fever, chills and sweats, as well as persistent dry coughbined with a shortness of breath and general physical weakness. The symptoms of a generic flu, of course, so that would usually not be anything particrly concering, but while assisting this man enter a short-term quarantine, that patrol-troop member noticed something unusual. Once the lighting of a streetmp illuminated the man''s face, the imprint of a hand could be seen on it, that area being distinctly more pale than the rest of the man''s face. Upon further investigation, we also found that the disease was created magically, and not through normal pathogens."

    Foster looked into the crow''s eyes, not letting it show that he was getting a bit annoyed. It was obvious that they were talking about the guy that Foster used his ''Diseased Touch'' spell on the other day. But well, this wasn''t the first time he had to tantly lie to the police about something that he very clearly was the perpetrator of. He wasn''t caught often in the past, and he wouldn''t let this random encounter add onto his record.

    "So he got that flu through a spell?" Foster asked, responding with the bare minimum. Quickly, the Crow nodded, "That''s right. And that is why we are here, to investigate the necromancers of the tower. ying with diseases is a dangerous, dangerous thing. If they can''t control their magic for some reason, we might end up with an epidemic sweeping through the city."

    "That does sound pretty serious... I hope you find whoever did this soon enough." Foster said with a genuinely concerned expression. He had enough chances to practice that one in the past.

    "You sound as if this doesn''t concern you at all," the Crow pointed out, and Foster shrugged, "It really doesn''t. Not like I can help you with this at all. I''ve got nothing to do with that, and the only other necromancer I know is Samria."

    "You''ve got nothing to do with it? So you''re saying that you don''t know any disease-rted spells?" The crow asked curiously, and Foster looked back with a frown, "I never said that. I said that I didn''t cast one on some random guy. Just because a house burnt down, you don''t just think that a fire-mage did it, right?"

    With a loudugh, the Crow nodded her head, "You''re right, you''re right, I apologize if it seemed like I was suspecting you. I just wanted to make sure I fully understood your words. But if I may ask, what sort of disease-spell do you know?"

    "Ray of sickness. Haven''t had the chance to test it out yet, though. Our party just came out of the world dungeon yesterday, I leveled up toward the end of our dive." Foster exined. Of course, he didn''t know the spell called ''ray of sickness'', it was just a spell mentioned in the notes that Samria gave him the other day.

    The Crow stayed silent for a few moments, and then shrugged, "Well, the effects of ''Ray of Sickness'' don''t particrly fit the description we were looking for either. But still, it''s a good thing that we met you while we were here. We ask that you refrain from using such spells outside of dungeons unless absolutely necessary, and for you to report any and all useage of such spells to the gue and Cmity Protection Order."

    "Is that aw, or just a request from the Order?" Foster quickly asked, and the Condor took a slight step forward, seemingly annoyed at Foster''s words, "Calm down. Just trying to make sure I ''fully understood her words''."

    "Which is your right, of course. But no, it is not aw, but it may as well be. Regtions regarding necromancers still have not been fully put in ce, but I assume this to be aw sooner orter," the Crow pointed out, as she started to walk closer toward Foster and Lynol, stretching her hand out toward the former, "I apologize for the disturbance. Since you said that you know nothing about the incident, we will move on for now to investigate other possible causes. Thank you for your time." She said, practically forcefully taking Foster''s hand the moment he just slightly raised his own toward her. Overly enthusiastically, she shook Foster''s hand with both of hers, as if enveloping his handpletely. Once she was done, she quickly left the room, followed by the Finch and the Condor. It didn''t take long until the three of them had left the floor, and Samria seemed to let out a breath of relief.

    "Haah... you handled that really well just there! Those guys scare the shit out of me, seriously..." He let out nervously, and Lynol slowly nodded his head as well, "I had heard stories about them, but they certainly do feel quite capable. But at the very least they do not seem to be suspecting you anymore."

    "...Right." Foster replied, looking down at his hand, ''I wouldn''t be so sure about that...'' he added in his mind. While she was shaking his hand, the Crow had practically slung her fingers around his, as if she was trying to see how big his hand was.. As if she wanted topare it to the handprint on that guy''s face.

 Chapter 144 - Two Birds With One Stone

    Samria looked at the eerily silent Foster, and quickly pped his hands together to cut through that silence, "Anyway, what can I do for you? You said you came to talk to me about something?" he asked with a smile on his face, and Foster slowly nodded.

    "Yeah... I''ve got some questions about necromancy. I told youst time, but I honestly don''t know that much about it," he said, but before the man in front of him could reply, Foster held his hand toward the man next to him, "Ah, sorry. This is my friend, Lynol. Lynol, this is Samria, the necromancer I told you about."

    "It''s a pleasure." Lynol said in his cold, emotionless tone, something that seemed to make Samria a little ufortable. For someone that dealt with death all day, he was a far too cheerful person, anyway, "...likewise. But well, how can I help you, exactly?"

    "I just kind of wanted to ask what you can even do with necromancy." Foster exined, and the man in front of him became silent for a few moments. If his finger weren''t twitching ever so slightly the whole time, Samria''s generally paleplexion made it seem as if he had died the moment he heard what he was just told. It took him a few moments to respond, "Could you be more specific?"

    "Right, yeah. Sorry." Foster replied quickly, "Alright, so... for the most part, the spells I got from leveling up were always directly death-rted, you know? Like, I could make something rot, for example. Or I can steal life from someone and give it to someone else. But now, as I said earlier, I got a spell about disease, so I kinda... got confused? I mean, the spell seems useful and all, but it just seemed a bit different to the other spells I have?" He said, trying to exin it as well he could. Generally, he still had a tough time really grasping magic in general.

    Samria slightly tilted his head, as if he was confused about something, "I don''t understand?"

    "Oh, sorry..." Foster let out surprised, "I mean, I want to know the range of spells that necromancy involves, sort of?"

    Samria sighed, taking a seat on a chair covered in crumpled sheets of paper and clothes that had clearly been there for a while already, "I got that part, I just don''t understand how ''disease'' is so oundishly different to rotting and life-force that you can''t understand the corrtion. One is the cause, one is the consequence, and one makes it possible in the first ce."

    This time, it was Foster''s turn to be confused, "You mean death?"

    "What else? We''re talking about necromancy here!" Samria let out with scoffedughter, "It''s the same as when you look at other magic. A pyromancer''s mes can be used either as an all-devouring weapon, or a soothing tool to keep you warm during your travels. That is because that''s the nature of fire itself," he exined, turning his head to look at the flickering candle on one of his desks. Of course, considering the state of this room, the existence of the candle in itself was a considerable fire-hazard. But Samria ignored that, and quickly moved on, "And death is much more versatile than that. Disease and death are directly linked. One is the cause for the other. Obviously, a serious disease may kill you, but the rotting corpses of men or animals will lead to more disease. And of course, only that which is dead can rot, so it bes part of our domain, as well. And, as life and death cannot possibly exist without the other, we necromancers have, albeit limited, control over life too. Or rather, you could say that we control life by manipting the death surrounding it. Like controlling the flow of a river by shaping the ground."

    Foster listened to the exnation, and thought back onto the river surrounding the tree in the region that he had first arrived at. Thiodrus said that the water turned to acid. Since Foster wasn''t affected by it, that was clearly necromancy as well, meaning that acid and poisons were part of necromancy as well. Octer''s new martial skill, ''Bone Armor'', was based around necromancy as well. While it wasn''t magic, that was still true, ''So ''bones'' themselves were part of necromancy too, then?'', while in thought, Foster looked at the skeleton still standing perfectly still in the corner of the room, as if it was pretending not to be sentient.

    "Then what about ''undead''? Stuff like zombies, ghosts, skeletons, that kinda thing. Obviously I get that it belongs to necromancy, but to what extent?" Foster asked, and Samria seemed to take a moment to try and think of an answer, "Well... any, I guess? There''s theoretically no limit to what a necromancer can turn into an undead, really. Just practically. Souls are also part of the domain of necromancy. We can either control existing souls, or create a sort of... mock soul. Of course, these ''mock souls'' aren''t that much like the real thing. They can''t pass on to the afterlife, and if they''re not connected to a body or actively supported by the creator''s mana, they will fall apart immediately. He has one of those, by the way." He exined, pointing at the skeleton, which finally started to move, slightly waving at Foster and Lynol. Thetter of the two was slightly startled at the skeleton''s movement, taking a step back while moving his hand toward the grip of his sword. Of course, Foster stopped him from actually shattering the skeleton''s body into little pieces, "Don''t worry about it. He''s cool."

    "Thanks. You''re alright as well." The skeleton quickly replied, patting some dust off of his shoulder as he took a few steps forward, walking over toward one of the nearby shelves, pulling out a small booklet before handing it to Samria, "There are a lot of different types of Undead. We call those like him ''Raised Dead''. Then there are different Ghost types, but those need actual souls. And then there are ''possessed'' or ''animated'' objects. Armor to guard some underground tomb, pens to write what you dictate, or golems to do brunt-work."

    "Golems? I thought golemancy is a discipline of earth magic." Lynol asked surprised, and Samria quickly smiled at the swordsman, "Yes, but those are different types of golems. Geomancers can manipte masses of earth or rock to do very specific tasks that they bestow on them through their magic. Like... ''carry this heavy stuff down this road''. If you want to change what tasks they can do, or fine-tune how they do it, it takes a lot of work. But golems created through necromancy are capable of a lot more. You can teach them. They remember, and adapt, to an extent at least. Just that they take a lot more effort to create than a geomancer''s golems. The more massive the body you want to ce a soul into, the more skill and magic you need."

    "Then why not just use a skeleton? Why would you even make a golem?" Foster asked with a raised brow, and Samria lightly smiled. He stood up, and grabbed the arm of the skeleton standing next to him as close to its shoulder as possible, lifting it up as far as he could. Samria, despite having a quite small build, was able to lift him up rather easily, "They''re literally just bones, they don''t weigh that much. That, and the natural connection to death that bones have, make them easy to create, but they''re weak. They can''t carry much, and unless a lot of extra magic is used, they''re not really strong at all. And more importantly, the bones need toe from somewhere. But you can make a golem out of basically any material you want."

    Foster looked at the skeleton, watching as he started carrying books from desks to the shelves, practically trying to clean up after Samria. And that was when an idea popped into Foster''s mind. He hadn''te here to figure out how to actually cast new spells. He only wanted to learn more about necromancy, since he wasn''t able to put the pieces together based only on Thiodrus'' books.. But now that he was already here, he found a way to kill two birds with one stone.

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